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“Cloud, I mean it this time,” Tifa looked over her shoulder from the bar table and towards the man paying half attention. “You really don’t have to get me anything fancy.” She gave the table one more good wipe down before slinging the rag over her shoulder.
Much to her annoyance, the blonde swordsman offered a smirk in return. Cloud wasn’t the best with money, but he had gotten better at discussing larger purchases with her first. When her birthday came around, however, that’s when she’d notice him acting sneakier with his funds. “If you get something that shines, I’m going to be upset.” She pushed as stern a voice as she could in the face of his bright cerulean eyes.
Cloud only nodded and folded the map he’d been agonizing over for the past hour. “I hear you Tifa.” His small smirk only grew with her deepening frown.
“You hear me, but are you listening?” She tossed the rag at him playfully, but Cloud caught it with ease.
Their eyes locked, and Tifa’s breath caught when she saw all signs of Cloud’s teasing leave his eyes. “You know I always listen to you.” His voice was soft when he said it, and his sharp gaze only reinforced his point.
Tifa sighed in defeat. “Look, you know I love that you remember my birthday every year.” She stepped towards the table Cloud had set up his paperwork at. When close enough, she ran her fingers through his spiky, blonde hair. “As long as I have you and the kids, I really don’t need anything else.”
She saw that Cloud understood, but he still had a stubborn glint in his eye. “How about this then?” He revealed a brochure that he had tucked under his travel logs. “New restaurant opened in Kalm. We can go, have dinner, and take our time riding back.”
Tifa had to admit the idea was nice. She hadn’t the chance to go to Kalm outside of business since last summer. However, before she could agree, she needed to clarify something. “And that’s going to be my gift.” It wasn’t a question.
“Not exactly,” Cloud met her stern gaze with a bashful smile, “but I promise what I got you doesn’t glitter.”
“It better not,” Tifa’s radiant smile let off a sinister intent, “or we’re returning it the next day.”
Cloud shivered under her threatening smile, but didn’t allow a hint of his intentions. “I just hope you like it.” He hummed when Tifa affectionately pulled one of his spikes before returning to wiping down the bar. It wouldn’t be long before the after work rush, so he packed up his work and started for the kitchen to help prep for a busy evening.
Marlene and Denzel returned from their schooling not long after, and with them people started trickling into Seventh Heaven. Another day in their mundane yet happy life came to a close.
>>>
“I’m never going to get this right.” A frustrated young Tifa pouted down at yet another failed attempt to make a dumpling. The mound of mush lay formless on a cutting board, sadly torn and leaking the minced filling it was meant to cradle.
A gentle, warm laugh drew her crestfallen gaze to the other occupant of the kitchen. A head of golden hair, half pulled back into a messy bun, framed the face of a gracefully aging woman. Her eyes were a strong, clear blue, and they glistened with recognition at Tifa’s frustration.
“Yes you will, you just need a bit more patience.” Claudia Strife, a longtime neighbor and family friend, gracefully swept the failed dumpling into the trash bin. With expert precision, she took a portion of dough and firmly tossed it onto the board. She used her fingers to flatten it further, before taking a pinch of minced meat mixed with vegetables and spices. She placed it in the center of the dough, and like a magician executing a trick, she sealed the dumpling with a perfect, pretty swirl.
Tifa watched, amazed at how effortless it all seemed. “You make it look so easy.” She said, breathless.
“Oh stop.” Claudia swatted the air as if knocking away the compliment. “I didn’t always know how to find my way around a kitchen.” Her sharp eyes caught Tifa’s shock. “Believe it or not, I wasn’t too different from yourself. I would run around and get myself into all kinds of trouble.”
“You couldn’t have been this bad.” Tifa looked at her dumplings in slight embarrassment. Compared to Claudia’s perfect creations, the few she managed to seal looked too ugly to eat.
“I could burn water like the best of them.” Claudia chuckled at the confession. “My grandmother, bless her, was patient when I said I wanted to learn.” The older woman looked up, smiling wistfully. “I would watch her bake, and she would shine like the sun. Humming tunes I never heard before, practically dancing around the kitchen. She made it look fun.”
Tifa listened intently. Claudia rarely spoke of her family, but it was always warm memories when she did. “So how long did it take for you to learn…” Tifa nodded towards the dumplings.
Claudia dramatically looked around before leaning in to whisper, “Cloud was still in diapers before I could do it properly.” She laughed when Tifa’s jaw dropped. “Like all good things in life, dear, the harder they are, the more worthwhile they’ll be.”
“So it’s kind of like martial arts.” Tifa’s face brightened with a fire of determination. Her crimson eyes met her cooking teacher’s with renewed resolve. “Alright, I’m ready to try again!”
Claudia returned her fiery determination with a soft shine in her blue eyes. “Now that’s what I like to hear.”
>>>
The night of Tifa’s birthday date came faster than she expected. Between running their businesses and caring for two active kids, days felt like minutes on a clock.
Tifa held tight to Cloud as he drove them down the expressway to Kalm. She looked at the setting sun painting the sky in vivid golds and reds. Soon, a blanket of night will cover its work, and she hoped they’d have some time to admire it.
It wasn’t long before they arrived at the flower town, a snapshot of times long past. Cobblestone streets and thatched roofs poked from old town walls from ages of kings and queens. Kalm was proof of a rich history partially buried beneath modern metal. Tifa always had a soft spot for the town for that very reason. It felt like home without the bad memories.
Cloud found a spot to park Fenrir, and the pair navigated the cozy streets to the restaurant. It was tucked around the corner from the inn, in a repurposed building with three floors. They entered and Cloud gave the woman at the front their name.
“Two for Strife.” Cloud said without a second thought. The hostess hesitated before looking for the name on her list.
Tifa remained silent, but she did catch the hostess sneak a glance at Cloud before meeting Tifa’s blank stare. She spotted color dusting the hostess’s cheeks before she nervously showed them to their table.
She wasn’t a stranger to catching women and men alike looking a little longer at Cloud. He was gorgeous, and his eyes held a soft strength she herself was drawn to. Their eyes would look him over hungrily, and it made something flair in the far corner of her mind.
It wasn’t jealousy as much as… annoyance? Whatever she felt, it wasn’t so much possessive as much as defensive. They weren’t looking at him right. Don’t greedily drink him in. He deserves to be sipped, carefully considering his appeal.
I might need to get out more. Tifa thought to herself. Comparing proper Cloud admiring etiquette to how to properly appreciate liquor was quite the feat.
The hostess took them to their seats and Tifa was stunned. The part of the restaurant they were taken to looked like walking into a painting of a night sky. The walls were colored dark with brighter, cool colors that abstractly swirled and speckled onto eachother. Warm lights dangled from a tall ceiling at different heights to moodily brighten the room. Paired with the rich, polished wood of the floor, Tifa was transported back to an old watertower on a mountain village she once called home.
Her eyes swept across the room in a breathless daze before flicking over to see Cloud staring at her. He had been watching every second of her reaction with a knowing smirk. Speechless, Tifa caught the hostess also watching with a dazzling smile.
Tifa took a moment to piece everything together before giving Cloud a sideways look. “You planned this.”
“Can’t claim all the credit.” Cloud’s hands shot up in surrender before he slid out a chair for Tifa to sit at their table. “Had a delivery here just before the grand opening. Told the interior decorator about nights in Nibelheim and she specifically offered a table in this section.”
Unable to hold herself back, the hostess chimed in. “Once we heard about you two making a childhood promise under the starry sky, we had to insist he come in with you.”
Tifa leaned back before raising an eyebrow. “You told them about that?” She wasn’t really sure how to feel about that, and Cloud sensed it, judging by the stiffness to his posture. “How did that topic come up?”
“Our decorator, Donovan, wanted to hear his happiest memory related to the night sky, to see what the room was missing.” The hostess energetically answered, oblivious to the tension.
That detail shot a warm feeling into Tifa’s chest. The promise was such a childish thing between them, but it spoke to her very core everytime Cloud affirmed how he cherished the memory. “So,” but she could stand to let him sweat a little longer, “what did Cloud’s story inspire?”
Her red-wine gaze saw a smug flash in Cloud’s eyes before he nodded to her right, towards the wall closest to them and unobstructed by any other tables.
It was a very subtle detail, almost negligible among all the small specks of paint made to look like stars. Like a secret signature, the streak of a shooting star immediately caught Tifa’s keen eye.
Once again, it never failed to leave her breathless whenever Cloud displayed how vividly he recalled details about her. The Lifestream had shown her with overwhelming clarity, but he repeated it at the most unexpected times.
The feeling of Cloud putting his hand on hers brought Tifa back to reality. Words still felt far from her, so Cloud took the chance to speak instead “Happy birthday Tifa.”
>>>
“Happy birthday Tifa.” Claudia watched her with glistening eyes as she presented the neatly wrapped gift.
Tifa took it, stunned at the surprise. “Thank you.” She whispered, conflicting memories of her own mom greeting her with a small gift the mornings of her birthday. Tifa shoved them to the back of her mind, unwilling to let them spoil Claudia’s gesture.
The older woman may have caught the brief reaction, but made no signs of it. Her soft smile remained. “Now, when I was your age, my grandmother gave me my own. She told me it was a right of passage, and when the time came, I’d take it to my own kitchen.”
Claudia narrated Tifa neatly unwrapping the gift. The young woman’s eyes grew and sparkled when she lifted an apron high for her to examine. “This is mine?”
“Yes, dear.” Claudia fought tears building in her eyes before injected a stern tone to her voice. “However, it stays here until the time is right. Think of it as a way for me to say you’ve mastered everything I’ve taught you.”
Tifa tilted her head, looking from the apron to Claudia. “What time is that?”
>>>
Just as they had planned, Cloud and Tifa took their time on the way back to Edge. The night sky sparkled above them, a crescent moon smirking down as Cloud smoothly followed the road away from Kalm.
Tifa admired the sky, firmly holding on to Cloud atop Fenrir. The restaurant had been a magical experience, but she always preferred a real, starry sky. Her eyes dropped to Cloud’s back, and a gentle smile formed on her lips.
She’d spotted how nervous he’d been on the ride to Kalm, hoping she’d enjoy the little surprise.
I wish he’d give himself a little more credit. Tifa thought to herself before pressing closer to him as the night wind whipped by.
It felt too soon when they turned onto the familiar street that their home was on. Seventh Heaven stood dormant for the evening, only a couple of lights in the windows hinting at life. Cloud opened the garage and expertly parked Fenrir in its designated spot.
The pair went to get off and Tifa spotted Cloud reach into the large satchel strapped to Fenrir that he used for deliveries. She heard the crinkle of paper and fixed a slight frown. “Cloud, that better not be another present.”
Cloud dipped his head like a scolded child before meekly meeting her stern gaze. “I said it doesn’t glitter.” He held eye-contact as he passed her and into their home.
Tifa followed, mildly annoyed and listing which shop she’d need to go return whatever it was he got. They were keeping their heads above water financially, but they couldn’t afford to stray too much.
Her heels clicked across the clean floor of her sleeping Seventh Heaven as she stalked Cloud to the bar top. When she came to a stop nearly chest-to-chest with him, he shyly offered her the wrapped present.
Tifa growled low when she recognized the handiwork of the wrapping. Cloud had no skills at it, and Denzel wasn’t much better. This wrap job, however, was passable but showed signs of impatience. The folds were correct, but clumsy. This was Marlene’s doing.
“Don’t think getting the kids to be accomplices is going to save you.” Tifa’s threat had a frustrating lack of teeth. Going by Cloud’s handsome smirk, he knew her heart melted a little.
Cloud’s smug smirk softened, and a thread of nerves made his steady breathing more uneasy. “Go on,” he nodded to the present, “open it.” He visibly swallowed afterwards.
Tifa had caught every sign of his body language. See? If you actually appreciate his beauty correctly, you’d see these things. She wasn’t sure who exactly she was hissing at in her mind, but she mentally nodded sagely in his or her nondescript face.
Snapping from her thought, Tifa began to carefully open the present. A wave of nostalgia hit her unexpectedly, as if she’d lived this moment before.
“Normally it’s not something I’d do for a birthday present, but it’s the only thing I could think of.” Cloud began to nervously explain.
Tifa was almost able to finally see what had him so shaken. Just a few more pulls…
“I mean, everyone kind of looked at me like I was an idiot, but once I explained they seemed more okay with it?” Cloud forced himself to shut up when Tifa finally saw what he had given her.
Tifa was stiff as a statue, eyes wide with disbelief. A bundle of soft cloth lay neatly folded under the wrapping. It had been folded to near geometric perfection. This was Cloud’s work.
He folded clothes slow enough that you’d think he was hit by a Slowaga spell, but his folding lines were pristine. He said there wasn’t much beyond it he valued from his time as Shinra infantry. This present, however, radiated care.
Tifa reverently unfolded it to hold up in all its glory, a sight she thought long burned with her innocence. An apron dyed a pale purple was in her hands, as if transported through time. Tifa’s thumb felt the familiar softness of the fabric, same as the day Claudia gave it to her.
Her eyes scanned every detail in sheer disbelief. The embroidery along the collar strings was nearly identical, a cluster of flowers local to Nibelheim surrounding a Forget Me Not that nearly yanked tears from her seven-year-old self.
Her mother’s favorite color, and her mother’s favorite flower perched near her heart when she’d wear it. Watery, shaky eyes looked up to Cloud in disbelief. How?
Cloud reached out and put his hands over Tifa’s. “That day I went to see my mom, I spotted it hanging up in the kitchen. Knew it wasn’t hers, and it looked special.”
Tifa’s gaze didn’t waver, she had more questions.
“I can’t even remember when you said it. Might have been sometime after we left Mideel back then.” Cloud looked away for only a moment before looking at her again. “You mentioned that my mom taught you how to cook, and I put two and two together.”
Confusion still didn’t leave Tifa’s face. Words still escaped her. “Who made this?”
“Lola, the Item Shop Keeper’s wife.” Cloud answered softly. “Did them a big favor last winter and picked up an emergency stock of medicine, remember? During that white-out storm?”
Tifa blinked as the memory came to her. Denzel had been up all night worrying about Cloud, innocently voicing her own concerns. She had made them hot cocoa and played cards with him to try and distract themselves. She was glad Cloud was the type of man to answer such a dangerous call, but was even more glad when she saw his snow-covered form shuffle back into their home. “I remember.” She whispered.
“I tried to keep them from paying me extra, I knew they needed the money.” Cloud fidgeted with a spikey strand at the back of his neck. “But when they insisted I settled for them owing me a favor.”
So he asked Lola to sow the apron. Tifa deduced. “But what about the design? The embroidery?”
Cloud smiled softly with fatherly pride. “Had Marlene draw them and I asked Denzel and Elmyra about looking up the flowers.”
“This sounded like quite the group project.” Tifa was stunned. So much work put into one of Cloud’s unusual display of a near photographic memory.
“Of course it was.” Cloud declared. “We all love you, Tifa.” His voice was soft, just above a whisper, and it nearly knocked her to her knees.
“When you have a family of your own.” Claudia’s voice echoed through time into Tifa’s memory. “Then, you can wear this and cook up a whole bunch of precious memories.”
So many emotions swirled within Tifa, as she gazed at the apron in a daze. She didn’t know if it was on purpose, or by sheer luck that Cloud managed a gift that said so much without a single word. She wasn’t sure why, but the words once so far now felt nearer than ever.
“She wanted to show me that she never forgot.” Tifa choked out, her fingers gently caressing the flower neatly embroidered on the breast of the apron. “She wanted me to keep her close. Always.”
Cloud licked his lips, anxious about what he wanted to say. It had been eating at him for a few months, and he wasn’t sure if now was a good time. “I know, we don’t want memories of Nibelheim to weigh us down.” He made sure to use a phrase he heard her say once. “But I don’t think that means shaking off the good things too.”
“The good things?” Tifa repeated and continued to stare at the apron. Soon, a soft smile formed on her lips. “No, no I guess that wouldn’t be any good either.”
Memories of Thea’s beautiful smile flooded back. Days of piano lessons under her lovingly strict tutelage made her fingers itch to recite her warm up drills. The memories all made her feel lighter.
“So,” Cloud nervously started, “I take it you like your present?”
Tifa blinked, stunned at him. A mischievous glint sparked in her eye, as she calmly started for the kitchen. “You know, giving a girl an apron for her birthday would usually land you on a couch for the foreseeable future.”
She didn’t need to look at Cloud to know his face was slack jawed, his life with her flashing before his puppy dog eyes. Tifa opened the door to the kitchen and threw a look over her shoulder, “good thing you got the kids to be your accomplices.”
Cloud’s mouth flapped like a fish, utterly confused on how this was going. When Tifa motioned for him to follow, he obeyed.
“Definitely not going to wear it during business hours.” Tifa was half talking to herself. “And your mom specifically said this was for when I have a family of my own.” Her face lit up when she found an open spot on the wall, next to a side table where she’d prep ingredients. She mounted the apron on a hook in the wall, and smiled proudly.
Cloud raised an eyebrow at that. “She did?” He received a nod in response.
Tifa met his confused gaze and offered a warm smile. “Thank you, Cloud. It really is a thoughtful gift, and it doesn’t glitter.” She mimicked his trademark smirk and added a bit of her own sass to it.
“I owe Marlene 5 Gil.” Cloud said under his breath. When he saw Tifa give him an interested look, he chuckled. “Uh, don’t worry about it.”
“Fine, Mr.Secretive.” Tifa shot him a side eyed look. They both laughed before making their way to the stairs. The kids were each out for the night, so Tifa’s birthday celebrations weren’t quite over.
“Oh, by the way,” Tifa stopped on the stairs and looked Cloud in the eye. “Your mom told me she got her apron from your great grandma?” She examined his reaction, or lack of it. Her mouth fell open in disbelief, “Don’t tell me…”
Cloud couldn’t fight the smile on his face. “Let me guess, said something about her making cooking look so fun?”
“All fake!?” Tifa nearly fell over when Cloud managed a nod between laughter. “Did your mom tell a single true story!?”
“It was always the story you needed to hear.” Cloud weakly defended. He shrugged when Tifa shot him a sour look. “I don’t make the rules.”
Tifa laughed in disbelief again. “Unbelievable.” She whipped around to look at Cloud in mock indignation, “And all with a straight face!”
“She had a talent for it.” Cloud helplessly shrugged and placed his hand on the small of Tifa’s back. They ascended the stairs and entered their room to enjoy the rest of their childless evening.
Tomorrow, they’d be back to their mundane routine, but now Tifa had something to look forward to. Every so often, when she experimented with a new recipe for their family meal, she’d wear her new apron. The memories of two, precious women would always be near.