Chapter Text
Tifa shut her bedroom door with a sigh.
Even though the day was ending and she hadn't been able to get much sleep last night, she was still restless. The disappointment and embarrassment rolled about in her stomach.
Tifa sat on the piano bench, taking off the hat and giving her cowgirl outfit a sad look. She’d been so excited this morning and she'd thought this new outfit was so cute.
Maybe this time, Cloud would look at her and be impressed. Maybe he’d see how much she’d grown, how she was no longer a child.
But he hadn’t come.
Tifa had thought for sure that Shinra would send him. Wouldn't it make sense to send someone familiar with the area?
Maybe Cloud couldn’t come because he was already on a mission.
Maybe he was sick or injured.
Or maybe he just didn’t want to come back. Maybe he had met someone in the big city, a cute and sophisticated girlfriend, who always knew what to do and say to make Cloud smile and maybe even laugh-
Tifa blew out a disgusted breath and began playing. She had been playing piano to comfort herself for years, starting all the way back when her mama got sick. She'd been the one who taught her and Tifa had played to distract her, and then kept going when Mama claimed it comforted her. Along the way, it had started comforting Tifa too.
She'd started playing even more after Cloud and the others had left.
And now, not only had Cloud not come back but Lt. Fair had said that he didn't even know him. She’d been hoping she could at least send a letter back with the friendly Soldier, but that wouldn't work if he didn't know him.
If there weren’t many Firsts and Lt. Fair didn’t know him, Cloud probably hadn't made it to First yet, that was all. It was tough to become a Soldier, and probably even tougher to become a First, right?
So just because Lt. Fair didn't know him and Tifa hadn't heard anything about him, that didn't mean anything had happened to Cloud.
Her fingers dancing over keys she knew from memory, Tifa glanced out the window, at the water tower-
And noticed that the quiet trooper was there, looking up at it just as she was.
At the beginning, she thought that he didn't like her, but he’d looked out for her on the trails and even taken a blow for her. She’d wanted to thank him, but hadn't been able to talk to him. When she’d tried, Lt. Fair had apologized, but said that he was still resting, but promised that he’d passed along her message. So that was something at least. At least there was one person she’d succeeded in reaching out to.
Still, now that he was there, she could go down and talk to him and thank him in person-
Mind made up, Tifa got up from the piano bench.
The trooper paused- had he noticed that she’d stopped playing?- and started to turn in her direction, only to stop when a voice called out-
Drawing closer to the window, Tifa could now see that Lt. Fair was approaching, phone to his ear. Tifa noticed the oddly serious look on his face before he sighed and hung up the phone, then gestured to the trooper, who began walking.
They walked straight towards Mrs. Claudia's door.
What? Why?
Tifa gripped the window sill.
Had something happened to Cloud? Were they going to tell Mrs. Claudia?
Instinctively, Tifa sprinted through the door and through the house and through the square, over to Cloud’s house.
She heard voices behind the door when she knocked. It felt like it took forever for Mrs. Claudia to open the door, but she didn't look sad when she finally did.
“Tifa dear, what’s wrong?” she asked, kind as ever.
“Mrs. Claudia, is Cloud okay?" Tifa blurted out. "I saw the Shinra people-” Tifa stopped. She looked at the meal set out and the tea in the three mugs. Both the meal and the tea were Cloud’s favorites.
“It’s alright dear,” Mrs. Claudia said soothingly and touched her shoulders gently. “Cloud’s fine.”
Tifa breathed a sigh of relief and looked at the others, just to make sure.
Lt. Fair was nodding and the trooper- was gone?
Mrs. Claudia sighed and Tifa looked back to find her looking fond but exasperated.
Lt. Fair was looking awkward. And the trooper was still nowhere to be seen.
The trooper who hadn't talked but had been quick to protect her-
Tifa's eyes narrowed as the pieces clicked together – as she suddenly realized what about that the trooper’s behavior had seemed so familiar.
“Oh, Cloud’s fine!” Lt. Fair said, quickly. “We- I just heard that Mrs. Strife makes the best stew in town so-”
Tifa didn’t miss the way his eyes flicked towards the table. To the area under the table.
“You said that you didn't know any blond Soldiers,” Tifa said, but she wasn't looking at him anymore. She was looking at the boot that was sticking out from underneath the table. A very military looking boot-
“If I'm ever in trouble, you’ll come and save me-”
The Trooper moving in front of her, guarding her from the monster-
“Uh, yeah. I did say that, didn't I?” Lt. Fair said, rubbing the back of his head. He then noticed that she was not looking at him. He looked at where she was looking and gave the protruding boot a gentle kick and its owner quickly pulled it under the table. He went on to say something else in his cheerful voice but Tifa wasn't listening anymore.
Instead, heart still thudding from her scare, she moved to the other side of the table. She knelt down and looked under it.
The trooper- still wearing his helmet- looked up at her.
“Found you,” Tifa said quietly.
For a moment, the trooper stared at her before scuttling backwards, almost crashing into Lt. Fair, before darting out the door-
Tifa was right behind him.
…
“Shouldn’t we do something?” Zack asked, as he watched the chase through the kitchen window.
“Do you really think they’ll let us do anything?” Claudia asked, handing him his mug, then covering Cloud’s food so he could still enjoy it later.
“Point,” Zack admitted with a sigh and sat back down.
“Besides, learning to communicate with others is an important skill for adults, so I think this conversation will be good for both of them. Once they actually start talking anyway. Now- more tea?”