Intoxication Part 5/5 [Cloud/Tifa, AU, R]

[ocvalkyrie.livejournal.com]

Title: Intoxication Part 5/5

Author: Valk

Rating: R

Warnings: Language, sex, deception, politics

Word Count: 15,501

Prompt: Cloud/Tifa, Remedy, “If you are the poison…”

A/N: And here’s the end of it all. Will it be happy or sad? Comment, please! This is my first fic on Springkink… Oh, and that avatar isn't mine. I dunno who's it is, but I couldn't refuse.

Cloud raced up the stairs to his condo with his weapon cocked and ready. He paused outside the door and leaned against the wall, reaching out to turn the knob and shove the door open while pointing his gun around. Zack’s voice called out, “It’s clear, man, but you gotta help Tifa! I… I don’t know what to do, Cloud!”

 

The blond lowered his weapon as he briefly examined the main room and counted the two still redheads on the floor and a gun lying by the female’s slack fingers. He looked over to see Zack sitting on the floor with another gun next to him and a bleeding form in front of him. He recognized it as Tifa immediately and ran over, dropping to his knees as he got closer. A quick survey of the bloody rags lying around told him all he needed to know as he moved to hold the towel pressed to Tifa’s back.

 

Zack moved his blood-stained hands back and slowly asked, “Is there anything I can do to help?”

 

Cloud lifted the cloth to examine the extent of her wound. He cursed under his breath and, unwilling to take his eyes off of Tifa, called over his shoulder, “Get the case in my closet.”

 

“You mean the one-?”

 

“Yes, the one I told you to never touch.”

 

Zack ran off and Cloud focused his whole attention on the bleeding woman before him. He pressed the cloths to her wound with one hand and absently ran the fingers of his other hand through her hair. Swallowing the bile rising up his throat, he mumbled, “Damn it, Tifa… What the hell were you thinking…?”

 

“She saved my life.”

 

Cloud looked up to find his brother standing there, holding the silver briefcase towards him. He took it and set it on the ground. “I want to know what happened once Tifa’s okay, but for now, hold the compress so I can open the case.”

 

Zack nodded and knelt down, pressing both hands to the blood-soaked towel as Cloud shifted to open the lock on the case. Once he did, he lifted the cover to reveal a pile of materia. The raven-haired man watched his brother as he shifted through, examining all the green ones for something.

 

Cloud stopped with a particular orb in his hand and turned to face Tifa again. He motioned for Zack to move back and held the materia over the woman he loved. Focusing all his might into the orb, he felt his strength start to seep away as he poured his energy into the spell and, in turn, to Tifa. Her body glowed with an eerie green incandescence and, slowly, her damaged flesh started to knit back together. Once he was sure her wound had closed, he disconnected the spell and leaned back, feeling a dark fog creep over his mind. Soon enough, the exhaustion of casting such a powerful spell won out and he felt himself fall to the floor.

 

~^~^~

 

 “Cloud…?”

 

He jumped awake at the sound of the feeble moan and turned to his right to find Tifa lying belly-down beside him on his bed. He pulled himself to a sitting position and looked at her with worry clear in his gaze. “Tifa, are you alright?”

 

She gave a pathetic groan and shifted to bury her face in the bedspread. “Cloud, don’t…”

 

He reached out to touch her shoulder softly. “Don’t what?”

 

“Don’t touch me. I don’t deserve to have you touch me…”

 

“Tifa?”

 

“Nn…?”

 

“Shut up.”

 

She turned to look at him again with a confused expression. “Cloud—”

 

He gave his head a shake. “I don’t care, Tifa. I love you. Zack told me you wound up like this because you were protecting him after killing one of your assailants. It’s all the proof I need to know you’re through with the WRO.”

 

“Cloud, I…”

 

“Tifa, if you can tell me you love me and mean it, then I don’t see a point in us staying apart anymore. Yes, you betrayed me, but… You risked your life to save my brother; the only family I have left. You…” He reached out and took her hand. “You almost died today…”

 

Tears started to well up in her eyes and she sniffled to hold them back. “C-Cloud…”

 

“Tifa, if you’d died, I… I don’t know what I’d do. I’ve never felt remotely like this in my life.”

 

She blinked her tears away and cringed when she hiccupped. “Cloud…”

 

“Tifa… Can you tell me you love me?”

 

“Y-yes, Cloud…”

 

“Tifa?”

 

“I l-love you… I love you, Cloud…”

 

“Hey, you kids okay?”

 

Cloud looked up to see Zack leaning in the doorway with a crinkled brow. The blond nodded once and glanced down to Tifa. “Yeah. She’ll live, anyway.”

 

“What about you? You went down kinda quick back there…”

 

“It was just exhaustion. That’s why materia’s so hard to come by. The government has so many laws surrounding it for a reason. I helped to put some of those in place. Materia was still somewhat common when I was in the military, so I got training with it, but most people nowadays…”

 

“Whatever.” Zack shrugged. “Oh, yeah. How do you get blood out of tan carpet?”

 

Cloud sighed and glanced over at Tifa to find she’d dozed off. He gently lifted the back of her shirt to check her wound and, once satisfied with its progress, stood up and walked towards Zack. “Hire a professional and tell them it’s red wine.”

 

“Ah, okay. Anyone in particular you want?”

 

He walked out to the main room and over to the bar. After pouring himself a scotch and downing it right away, he said, “I don’t care. Just open the phone book and pick one.”

 

Zack walked over to where the two WRO bodies were still on the floor. “Better hope they can get ‘wine’ off hardwood, too.”

 

“Zack, you… You know you killed someone today, right?”

 

“Yeah, I know.” He looked up at his brother. “But it was self-defense! I can’t be put away for that, can I?”

 

He poured himself another drink and gulped it down. “There’ll probably be a small court run, but you ought to be fine. It’s more of a formality so they have it all on record.”

 

“Okay… If you’re sure…”

 

“I am. If nothing else, I’ll make sure you get out of this okay.”

 

“Thanks, man.”

 

“I know you can’t always help your instincts, but we’re all the family we have. If we can’t look after each other, then who in the world can we possibly trust?”

 

“Good point, I guess.”

 

“…You know, I never blamed you for anything you did.”

 

“Really?”

 

“Yeah. I know you couldn’t help how that drunken bastard raised you.”

 

“Cloud, despite the fact that he was always drunk and always paid more attention to our neighbor’s rack than to me doesn’t change the fact that he was our father.”

 

“Whatever. I can’t help but be grateful that I never knew him, though.”

 

Zack gave a sigh and pulled a beer from the fridge. “Lucky you. Being born after Dad left with me.”

 

“I couldn’t change that.”

 

“I know… But sometimes… Sometimes I wonder how life would’ve been if I’d been left with you and Mom. I wonder what I would’ve done if I hadn’t been raised around cigarettes, beer, and half-naked women.”

 

“What did you come up with?”

 

“I think… I think I probably would’ve either joined the military or saved up to open a bakery.”

 

Cloud bit back a snort. “You? A bakery?”

 

“Yeah! You know, those cakes and pies that I always have around here aren’t store-bought…”

 

“Seriously? You baked those?”

 

“And decorated!”

 

Cloud couldn’t help his surprise and stood in silence for a minute until a small voice sounded behind him, “Could I try one sometime…?”

 

The blond turned on his heel to find Tifa holding herself up in the doorway to his bedroom, clinging onto the frame and looking about ready to drop to the floor. Cloud swiftly moved to her side, just barely getting his arms around her before she collapsed into him. He held her to him as tightly as he could without putting pressure on her back. “Tifa, what the hell are you doing up for?”

 

She leaned into him and fisted her hands in his shirt. “C-Cloud…”

 

Cloud gave a sigh and slowly lifted her in his arms before cringing visibly as she cried out in pain. “Tifa… You’ve just been shot. You shouldn’t be walking around just a few hours after that.”

 

Zack looked around uncomfortably for a minute. “Um… I’ll get started on dinner.”

 

His brother nodded his appreciation as he carried Tifa back to the bedroom. He laid her down on the bed and sat down next to her while slowly shifting his fingers through her hair. “Tifa, I love you. If you can prove to me, over time, that you’ve changed, then… If you want to, maybe we can resume the engagement?”

 

She turned against the mattress to look at him as best she could. “Cloud, do you mean that…?”

 

He averted his gaze for a moment. “Tifa, I told you, I love you. I’m happy when you’re here with me. If you feel the same, then I don’t see why we should kill ourselves over not being together.”

 

“But… But, how can you trust me…?”

 

“I don’t know, but we’ll work on it.” He stood and made for the door. “Get some rest. I’ll wake you when dinner’s ready.”

 

“Cloud?”

 

He turned back to her. “Hm?”

 

“I love you…”

 

He gave a little nod and clicked the lights out. “I know.”

 

After walking back out to the main room and pulling up a stool, he looked up to address his brother at stove. “Zack?”

 

He turned with a grin. “Hm?”

 

“Why didn’t you tell me you’d been with Tifa?”

 

Zack’s face dropped as shock started to take shape. He stood there, just staring, for a long moment before finally blurting, “What?!”

 

Cloud sighed and looked down at his hands. “She told me, Zack. Why didn’t you? Did you think to spare my feelings, because you know—”

 

Zack managed to find his voice and said, “Look, Cloud, I don’t know what she told you, but I’d never been with her. The first time I saw her was when you introduced me to her and while, yeah, she was—is—a total hottie, she was a little too geeky for my tastes. And you seemed to be pretty stuck on her. I wasn’t going to get in the middle when you’d finally found someone you liked and, apparently, loved.”

 

Tifa’s weak voice sounded from the bedroom, “Cloud.... Cloud…!”

 

He slid off his stool and watched Zack for a moment before turning and walking to the bedroom. Tifa looked up at him as he came inside and sat on the mattress beside her. “What is it, Tifa?”

 

“Can you call Zack? I… I want to explain… I could hear what you were talking about and I don’t want this to ruin your friendship.”

 

“Okay.” Cloud nodded and called for Zack, who came in a moment later and took a seat in the black leather desk chair.

 

Tifa looked back and forth between them for a minute before speaking, “Yes, Cloud, I told you I’d been in bed with Zack. I said that because I was trying to ignore my feelings at the time so I could fulfill my mission. I… I also said it because it’s true.”

 

Zack scratched his head. “Then why don’t I remember?”

 

“As a member of the WRO, I took on a variety of disguises to keep my connections separate. Zack, do you remember Tarja Eneberg?”

 

“Well, yeah, she’s the cutie who told me to fuck off after we—Wait. What are you saying?”

 

“Tarja was me. I was Tarja. Whatever. I was under disguise, trying to pry information on Cloud out of you so I could get closer to him and search for the mako reactor security codes. Things got so messed up… My mission was over the moment I realized I’d fallen in love with you, Cloud. I just didn’t realize it. I was too proud to admit that I fell in love… I thought I could do any job, no matter what… Gods, I’m such a fool.”

 

Zack ran a hand through his hair and sighed. “Oi… This complicates things a little.”

 

Cloud finally spoke, “What happens now?”

 

Tifa looked at him. “What… What do you mean?”

 

“What do you want to do? Where do you want to go? Who… Who do you want to be with…?”

 

“Cloud, I told you, I love you. Yes, Zack is a great guy, but he’s more of a friend to me… You’re the only one, Cloud. The only one…”

 

“What about the other two questions?”

 

“W-Well… I want to stay with you, wherever that may be. I don’t care what I’m doing.”

 

Cloud sighed and shifted to lie back against the pillows. “Technically, you’re as innocent as Zack. You killed on self-defense when two terrorists managed to get into my apartment. You killed one and then got shot yourself. We don’t know the name or face of Bartender… For all we know, she could be halfway around the world. There’s no real evidence pointing you towards the WRO…”

 

“Cloud, I…”

 

“Of course, being the lawful citizen I am, I’d have to make sure you received some kind of unofficial punishment…”

 

“O-okay, Cloud.”

 

Zack cleared his throat awkwardly. “I’m sorry, but am I the only one who’s disturbed by what just happened?”

 

~^~^~

 

Cloud laid back on the plush mattress with his fingers linked behind his head, staring at the ceiling while contemplating the events of two years ago. His eyes shifted to look down as two fingers settled on his stomach and slowly walked their way up his bare chest. A smile crossed his features and he shifted his gaze to look down at the brown hair splaying out from underneath the bedcovers.

 

As the fingers reached up to his chin, he craned his neck to reach out and nip lightly at them. The owner of the fingers gave a startled yelp of surprise and shifted out from under the bedspread. Ruby eyes narrowed at him and slipped one leg across his so she could lay belly-down on top of him. He watched her as she crawled up him and pressed her lips to his.

 

She pulled back and sat up straight, tugging one of his hands out from behind his head and moving it up so she could suck on his index finger. He kept his blue eyes on her crimson ones as she shifted to take his middle finger in her mouth and suck for a moment before moving to the next finger. She brought her tongue into play and ran it along the golden band on his finger, letting her lips curve into a smile as she continued her teasing.

 

He moved his free hand up to bury in her hair and tug her closer, slowly pulling his other hand out of her mouth so he could kiss her. Shifting underneath her, he rolled over to put her on the bottom and straightened himself to look down at her with a smile. “Tifa, I love you.”

 

She gave a little giggle and raised her arms to wrap over his shoulders. “I love you, too, Cloud.”

 

He leaned down to kiss her again and pulled back in surprise when a door slammed from down the hall and a familiar voice called out, “Heeey!!! Cloud! Tifers! You guys home?!”

 

“Shit!” Cloud mumbled, jumping out of the bed and grabbing a pair of lounge pants off the floor before tugging them up. Tifa grabbed a bra and panty set and pulled it on before snatching her silky robe. After pulling that on, she followed her husband out of the bedroom and down the hall of the sunny villa towards the front door. Zack stood in the middle of the sitting room with bags spread all around his feet and a tacky-patterned beach shirt on his back.

 

He grinned. “Geez. You two have been married for, what? Just about a year now and you’re still doing the nasty at…” He glanced at the clock on the wall. “…Seven-thirty in the morning.” He turned to look over his shoulder and called out the open door, “Hey! You forgot to tell me about the time change!”

 

Cloud raised an eyebrow that only went higher as Aerith walked in with a bright smile. “Morning, kids!  How’s life been treating you?”

 

The blond wrapped his arm around his wife’s waist and pulled her to him, kissing her briefly before turning back to their guests. “Very pleasurably.”

 

Aerith rolled her eyes for a moment and took a seat on one of the plush chairs set in the room. “I should’ve known.”

 

Cloud gave a little shrug. “Yeah, you should’ve.”

 

Zack dropped down into another chair. “Yeah, anyway, it’s, like, two-thirty in Midgar, so I was thinking it was that late here, too.”

 

He sighed, moving to sit down and pull Tifa on his lap. “I didn’t think you were coming for another few hours. And why is Aerith here?”

 

The older woman gave a pout. “What? You’re not happy to see me?”

 

Zack laughed at that and said, “Well, like I said, the time change messed me up. As for Aerith, well…” He looked over at the brunette. “You want to tell them or should I?”

 

She shrugged. “You can.”

 

“Okay, so… Aerith and me are dating now!”

 

Cloud’s eyebrows shot up. “Seriously?”

 

“Yep! Aerith came into my bakery and recognized me as your brother, so we started talking. We went to get coffee and one thing led to another! So, here we are, dating! I mentioned I was coming out here to visit you guys and Aerith asked if she could come along. I told her it oughta be fine and that it’d be the perfect opportunity to tell you two about us!”

 

Tifa smiled as Cloud’s arm moved up to settle around her waist and changed the subject. “So, ah, where are you guys staying?”

 

Zack grinned. “Here.”

 

Cloud’s eyebrows went straight up. “Excuse me?”

 

“Aw, come on! You have, what? Five bedrooms?”

 

Tifa shrugged a little and said, “Well, yeah, but one is ours, one was converted to an office, one is still empty, one is a guest room you guys can fight over, and the last one is undergoing the process of being turned into a baby room.”

 

Aerith waved a hand. “That’s okay. We can share a room.”

 

Zack spoke up after a minute. “…Wouldn’t it make sense to wait to set up a baby room until you’re actually pregnant?”

 

Cloud and Tifa just exchanged a quick glance before the former managed, “Well, uh…”

 

The raven-haired man’s jaw hit the floor. “No shit! You guys are having a baby? Aw, this is sweet! I’m gonna be an uncle! Score! Didja hear that, Aer? I’m gonna be an uncle!”

 

Tifa pointed to herself and Cloud. “How about some hype for the parents-to-be?”

 

“Oh, yeah!” He brightened even more and ran over, throwing his arms around his sister-in-law to hug her and then moved on to hug his brother. “Aw, man, this is so cool! Congrats, you guys!”

 

Cloud shoved his brother back with a sincere grin. “Shove off, Zack.”

 

He grinned. “But you’re gonna be a daddy! You deserve a hug!”

 

Cloud shoved him back again, but kept his smile regardless. “Zack…”

 

Aerith beamed at the couple. “So, how far along are you, Tifa?”

 

She smiled and settled a hand on her stomach. “Somewhere between a month and a half and two. We’ll know for sure when we go to our first ultrasound in a week.”

 

“Well, congratulations, you two! You guys deserve this after all the craple-dee-doo you’ve gone through.”

 

“Thanks…” Tifa rubbed her hand over her still-flat stomach. “Aerith…?”

 

“Hm?”

 

“How’s the hunt for WRO going?”

 

Aerith sighed and leaned back in her chair. “Well, we’ve captured the man you called First, plus twenty-seven others. You said the WRO was a small group, right?”

 

Tifa stood up and walked over to look out the window. “Yes. There had to be less than forty members and at least two are dead. So that leaves about ten still out there…”

 

Cloud walked up next to her and pulled her into his arms. “Don’t worry, Tifa. I’ll make sure you and the baby are safe.”

 

Tifa crunched her bare heel down on his toes. “Don’t be stupid. I’ll fight, too.”

 

His face formed a grimace, but he didn’t show any other signs of pain as Zack gave a full-fledged laugh. “Aw, man. That’s good… Nice move, Teef!”

 

Cloud shot his brother glare before grabbing hold of Tifa’s upper arms. “Tifa, look, I…” He glanced over at Zack and Aerith watching them and turned to open the sliding door before stepping out and pulling his wife with him. He called back to the two waiting inside, “Just make yourselves comfortable. You shouldn’t have much trouble finding the guest room.”

 

Zack and Aerith nodded as he closed the door and took Tifa’s hand. He led her down the beach, pausing after a moment to stand in the morning winds. He stepped behind her and wrapped his hands around her waist and pulled her closer to him. “Tifa, I said that because I love you. I don’t know what I’d do if I lost either of you,” he whispered as he slipped the pads of his fingers inside her robe to stroke her stomach tenderly.

 

“Cloud…” She sank back into him and set her hands on his. “I just want you to remember that I’m not some helpless woman who needs protection.”

 

A slow smirk crossed his face and he murmured, “You’re pregnant, aren’t you?”

 

“Huh? Cloud, I don’t- Oh. Cloud, that’s not what I meant and you know it.”

 

“I know, Tifa. I know. I’m sorry… I just want to protect the both of you.”

 

“Cloud, we shouldn’t need protection. It’s been a year and a half since I gave all the information I have to ShinRa and still ten members of the WRO have stayed on the loose…”

 

“Tifa…”

 

“I know. It doesn’t matter, anyway. We’ll be safe here in Costa del Sol. As long as we’re together, Cloud…”

 

“Yeah…” He echoed, “As long as we’re together…”

 



Comments

[amethyst-key.livejournal.com]

I very much liked this! :D

You always come up with such creative plots and worlds.

The ending especially made me giggle... as well as the image of Zack in a tacky-pattern shirt.

[ocvalkyrie.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much! I really couldn't resist putting Zack in that shirt... The image wouldn't leave me alone. Glad you enjoyed!

But, seriously, I owe ValentineNinja so much for helping me with this one... She helped me shape this so much.

-Valk