[Final Fantasy VII] By The Sea

[The Silver Muse]

Any environment could become a heaven. It all had to do with attitude, with atmosphere, with the people who made up that world within one lackluster, wooden establishment in the slow and dreary city of Edge. The bar, along with the delivery service, was as it always was after the events of Sephiroth’s near second awakening. Seventh Heaven itself could have been heaven because of the fact that it seemed to remain after everything, every time, and was always a place to return to. It endured. But the only one who was actually there from day to day, hour by hour, was her. And she was no angel. Tifa Lockhart was just another woman.

When Marlene and Denzel were spending time with Barret, it was very quiet. Cloud himself was often soft spoken, but it wasn't necessarily silent when he returned. It was when he left again. It was always the same routine. And it was too quiet when he was gone. It was easy to continue through each day, keeping herself busy for their ‘family’ and never being bothered with the fact that they weren’t, really. It bothered her, though, when they were all gone. She had never cared to be lonely. That didn't change even after five years since the bar had been rebuilt. She was still capable of that feeling.

As if loneliness only existed in that place because of its people, or lack thereof, she had decided to get away for a while. She told herself it was only a vacation, and that business was slow. Barret took the children to visit the Golden Saucer on a long trip, father and daughter and friend. Cloud was as busy with his business as ever. She could take the time off from the quiet. Her note was brief, telling whoever might have read it where everyone was except herself, and that she’d be back once she found the perfect new wine or cocktail or grill recipe for the bar. There was also some food left in the refrigerator.

That was almost a week ago. Edge was a dreary city, but that was mostly due to the climate and the time of year, rather than the reconstruction. Costa Del Sol, on the other hand, was bustling and bright all year round. The diners and shops it had were always packed, and there seemed to be no end of tourists. Even though it was slower now compared with ShinRa's greatest days, it was still busy. It was easy to be lost in there.

She had spent most of her time checking out new and old restaurants, writing food reviews, talking to chefs, making every moment as worthwhile and as distracting as possible. At current she was on the beach with a fruit cocktail, glass resting on a coaster at the small table beside her lounge chair and umbrella. She wore a new white bikini with a bold but simple orange flower print furling across the left aspects.

Wordless, upbeat music played along the warm wooden exteriors of the buildings. There was a notepad and a pen poised in her hand, though nothing had yet been written. Her warm amber and wine eyes were instead gazing out from her sunglasses, to the clouds, wondering when the tropical rain would finally fall.

 

[Mortals_Dream]

Cloud knew that he got to wrapped up in his work sometimes. Okay... he knew that he got wrapped up in his work far too often for any normal woman or family to put up with. The blond haired swordsman had been lucky that Tifa had never been and was still not a normal woman. She had been understanding and perfectly fair with him. He did have a delivery buisness which meant he had to be away for long periods of time, but he never spent more than a couple of days at the Seventh Heaven. He hadn't thought too much about it before, but with this note staring him in the face he couldn't help but curse his stupidity now.

It might look innocent enough to anyone else. Simply a note telling friends and family that she had gone out to find something and not to worry. Simple except for the fact that it didn't say where Tifa was heading off to. Cloud may be dense even at the best of times, but he knew that Tifa leaving the Seventh Heaven and the home that they had been working on was a bad sign. A very bad sign.

Cloud had thrown himself back into work for a couple of days, delivering more packages in those two days than he usually did in a week. Working himself to exhaustion to stop thinking. It might not look like it, but Cloud had put a lot into Tifa and the two kids. He might never be there, but they had been a stable point in his life, always there and always waiting. It hadn't been fair to them but he had relied on them. With Tifa gone and the kids on vacation he was a bit adrift.

It took those two days to decide to go looking for Tifa and another four days to find her. He finally did though. A woman like Tifa wasn't going to pass through places unnoticed and he found out where she was. So now he stood at the edge of the beach, looking across the sands at the woman he coudl barely see because of people and embrellas, trying to figure out what to do.

 

[The Silver Muse]

It took a moment for her eyes to focus apart from the slow scenery, wavering with the heat floating over the sand, to the people passing it by. Even when she had, she still couldn’t quite believe the daytime mirage lying at the edge of it. It was Cloud. Her head lifted from her reclining against the wood, the chair having been draped in a large and luxurious beach towel. The sunglasses she wore were taken up and away from her eyes to rest on top of her head. He stood out. If not because he was overdressed for the setting, or because of his brilliantly colored hair, then because of who he was. It looked like he was on another job and he very well could have been. Costa del Sol did tend to order quite a bit of everything.

A familiar and warm smile curved the corners of her rose pink lips, and she sat up, feet touching and sinking slightly against the white sand. She had been the one to leave a place where she would have known when she would see him next. But even though this was unexpected, and perhaps even a bit awkward considering how or why he had gotten there, she was still glad to see him.

The way he stood there, at the end of the steps leading into the sand, meant that he was at a loss for something. That was... rather characteristic of him, too. Maybe he didn't expect her to catch sight of him, though she had. It might have been impossible for her not to. Lifting a hand, she waved to him, waving him over as well. She would meet him halfway as she got to her feet, and beyond that point if he needed her to.

"Cloud!" She called to greet him when he was close enough to hear. "You surprised me. Are you here on a delivery?" She went on as casually as she could. It was possible that he hadn't seen the note yet. Standing next to him, she was rather under dressed, but she never had been particularly self conscious about her appearances to others. What did it matter to them what she chose to wear, so long as it was acceptable? "Um... I hope you don't mind if I borrowed the villa for a bit." Tifa's voice softened a bit as she finally averted her gaze and absently tucked a lock of her dark hair behind an ear. The pearl drop there caught the bright sunlight. "Are you.. Do you think you can stay for a little bit?" She ventured to ask, glancing back up towards him.

 

[Mortals_Dream]

Cloud hadn't actually meant to let Tifa see him. In fact he didn't actually mean to do much of anything with this whole experience. He had been worried and feeling a bit cut loose when she had disappeared and he had been searching for her with no particular plan than just to find the black haired woman. Now that she was there in front of him he didn't really know where to go with this.

She had been with him all of those years before and of course he had always felt certain feelings to her. He loved her, if that could be connected to any feelings that the normal stoic blonde had ever had, but he had never done much about it. He had even known that she was beautiful, hell that was right in front of him. Still looking at her now, filling out that very small bikini so well.

"Not actually here on a delivery." Cloud said, raising his hand to his head and running it through his hair with a bit of embaressment. "I guess I thought I would just find you. You didn't say where you were going in your note."

 

[The Silver Muse]

His response was simple and straight forward. To the point without really accusing her of anything at all. She liked it better that way. There was usually more time to be direct and less to be avoidant, dancing in circles that never led anywhere at all.

"So you saw that, huh." She laughed softly in spite of herself, her turn to be somewhat embarrassed. She had rushed it and it was an impulsive decision. She didn't know if she would do again in retrospect. And then the real extent of his words began to catch up with her. He wasn't on a delivery. Costa del Sol was too far away from Edge to be a place he might just happen to pass by. He was looking for her. It had been six days.

"You could have called. You can always call." She suggested to him, though it didn't mean she would have picked up right away. Well, she would have. But who knew what she might have said to tell him that everything was all right, not to worry, and to go on the same way he had been doing so and always had been?

Crossing her arms beneath her chest, head canted away to an indiscreet spot of sand, Tifa was thoughtful for a few more beats. Finally, she dropped her arms, a hand coming up to rest on one of the thin bow straps that tied up either edge of her bikini bottom. Her expression was as kind and bright as ever as she looked over him. "Well, now that you're here, how about a drink? I found a pretty good place.." She started past him to lead on, her fingers brushing by his wrist to be sure he would turn and follow. From behind, she hadn't chosen a thong bikini, but curves above the pillar of each thigh hardly needed the additional exposure with her gait.

 

[Mortals_Dream]

"Yeah. Not really what I expected from you to tell the truth." He wanted to go farther with that sentance. To mention that he was at least partially aware that he had somethign to do with her having to move away for a little bit. Aware that he didn't spend enough time together as a family and aware that he ignored her much more than he deserved. He didn't say any of those things though, well aware that even though he was happy enough to fight monsters, he wasn't brave enough to do that.

"I coudl have called, but it seemed like a bad choice. Besides I didn't know if you woudl have your cell phone. You didn't tell us where you woudl be. I was kind of afraid you weren't comng back." Cloud's blue eyes met her brown ones and he let her next statement drain away a little bit of the tension. Here wasn't the time to have some heart to heart even if he had been ready for one. She seemed to just want to do some relaxing and he didn't want to stop that for her.

Still even though his thoguhts were swirling he couldn't help but focus her eyes on her. That swimsuit that she was wearing was quite revealing and even though Tifa was a knockout from the front she was great from the back as well. A toned and tanned body that curved in the right places.

"So have you done anything interesting while you have been here?"

 

[The Silver Muse]

"I would have come back." She reassured him. She attempted to make the tone and words light enough that it could remain casual, but in the end she sounded a bit softer than she might have imagined. His words meant that he had thought about her enough to worry and come, at the least. Enough to come and bring her back even if she didn't intend to. In the end she would have made it back to Seventh Heaven. They all would. Smiling in spite of herself, she averted her eyes forward as she led on.

"Interesting? You mean aside from swimming and sun bathing? I suppose you could say I did." They had come to an open bar not too far into the marketplace on the cobblestone streets, surrounded by wicker chairs, torches, and floating lanterns strung along long strings from one corner to the next. "I've been trying out a few things. Finding something fresh to make for the bar. It might be nice to get some inspiration from a sunny place like Costa del Sol and be able to bring it back to Edge." Walking up to the bar, Tifa greeted the bartender by name, Fredrick, and called for two piña coladas.

"So this is him?" The middle aged man behind the bar indicated towards Cloud with a nod of acknowledgement. "It's about time you had some company. The boys on the beach were getting real restless." He teased.

"I've been trying to crack his recipe for this." Tifa conversed easily and explained, passing Cloud one of the cream colored drinks served within a coconut shell and of course... a little umbrella. She left a few gil on the counter and Fredrick saluted them off. It was a busy night as usual.

"Let's go back to the villa. Have you eaten?" Tifa asked, deciding they shouldn't idle too long and pass off more pleasantries in social circles. Cloud was never very good at those sorts of things anyway. "You must be tired."

 

[Mortals_Dream]

Cloud just let himself be led by the black haired fighter. Normally he was easily composed and serious person, years of fighting having a way of doing that to even the most scatterbrained person. Yet in this moment he felt a bit off balanced. He had been thinking some of the worst scenarios before he had met Tifa. She had run away with a guy, debt collectors were after her and she was on the run, even a really off the wall idea that she might be captured by one of their many enemies. To find her safe and happy made him wonder why she had headed off in the first place.

THe comments of the bartender didn't go over his head either. He had definitly seen other boys, even a coupl of girls, following Tifa with their eyes as she had walked over to this bar. Cloud had never worried about Tifa's dress before, but now he wasn't sure that he really liked her being dressed like this in public. Sure they were near a beach but off of the sand it didn't seem to be right walking around on the roads.

"Yeah I wouldn't mind something to eat. I skipped lunch." Cloud said, standing up, his fruity drink still held in one hand while he sipped it slowly.

 

[The Silver Muse]

"How do you like it?" Tifa inquired once he had taken a few sips of the drink. "It's different. Maybe a little too sweet, but I think they use more coconut milk." She told him thoughtfully. She could take or use any topic or subject at hand and spin it into a tangent that carried on to much more if she wanted to. It was how she made conversation at the bar. One needed to be good at dealing with people. Regardless of if it were something she were seriously interested or something to pass the time. Tifa was also rather good at appearing completely fine and all right when that wasn't completely the case. As well as she took care of people, she oftentimes did so without considering herself.

"Let me get a change of clothes at the villa and we'll go to a place with good burgers. Unless you're in the mood for something else?" She suggested. She didn't mind that she was walking around in a bathing suit. The night was warm, and there were several other people who did so, being the place that it was. She had the idea that it might have been more comfortable for them both if she did put on something a bit more conventional though. Especially if they were going to a place meant for dining, not sun bathing.

"I... hope you don't mind if I borrowed the villa. No one was using it and I thought it was a good place to stay at for a bit." She admitted more quietly once they had gotten off of the main street towards their destination. She was usually in charge of booking the location, mostly for their friends or references, so she knew that it was available. In a way they all owned a part of the property.

 

[Mortals_Dream]

"It is different. Might be too sweet for Seventh Heaven. Under the plate people aren't really looking for that though the kick might draw them in." Cloud had gained a bit of knowledge of the bar when he had spent time there between delivers. He didn't have Tifa's eye for it of course but he did know enough to have an opinion at least.

"Sure we can go to the villa. Don't worry about borrowing it either. You helped raise the money to buy it after all. The deed may be in my name, but it belonged to all of us. We just never use it." Cloud looked over his drink at her. Of course he was a bit more uncomfortable with her in a bikini, not because she was wearing so little but because people could see her. Cloud was not a sharing kind of man and he certainly wasn't a public kind of an. He wasn't good at saying it, but he hoped that Tifa knew how he felt.

"So you don't mind me crashing your vacation?"

 

[The Silver Muse]

Tifa shook her head vigorously, almost surprised that he should think of it that way. "No, not at all!" Smiling sheepishly, she looked down as she stirred her drink with her straw and added more quietly, "Actually, I'm glad that you did come. How long will you be able to stay?" She ventured to ask, more of an invitation than an assumption that he had planned to, if at all. "If you think you can, that is. I know you're busy.."

The door to the villa was unlocked. Most of the places around them most likely were. There had never been a real problem or paranoia with burglary there, a few security personnel hovering around now and then. For the most part Tifa was able to handle herself in any situation. Aside from the furniture and things too heavy to make a clean getaway with, there wasn't anything particularly valuable she left inside. Just clothing, her phone, and a picture of her family. She always wore her antique pearl earrings. Everything else inside had practically come with the villa when they had acquired it. Over the years, it was likely fuller than it had been, their guests bringing and leaving any variety of souvenirs and items that they figured they could pick up again next time, or the time after that.

The lobby was in slight disarray, showing evidence that someone had obviously been using the space for the past week. Some snacks were left out, along with papers and notes. It made a comfortable working area. Tifa quickly took the step down into the space in order to quickly tidy up a few things. It wasn't like her to be anything but neat. That was when the bar had an image to maintain and when she had to set an example or standard for Marlene and Denzel. Without them, even she was allowed to relax a little bit, wasn't she?

"I'm going to change." She told him going back into the bedroom. "Just a second. Where did you leave your bike, by the way?" She rose her voice slightly so that he could hear her as she shuffled through her belongings behind the closed door.

 

[Mortals_Dream]

"I can stay. I've been busy recently so a vacation wouldn't be so bad. After all I've had plenty of time where I have been working so I have quite a lot saved up. I could probably get by without working for a while." Cloud was happy enough to accept the explanation of hers and the invitation hidden there. He hadn't liked coming back to find Tifa not there, a little part of his life that was always there for him. He had an idea of how she might feel with him and he was suprised that she had stuck with him.

They stepped into the villa together, really a place where he hadn't been all that much. He had spent quite a lot of time earning the gil for this place, but he had never really used it. It was just a place that they all owned together. He did know that some of the others used this place, but he had been too busy working to ever take advantage of this place.

Cloud leaned beside the door to her room, listening to the sound of clothing sliding off of her body. They had never gotten physical yet, their relationship always a bit too rocky to go that far, but he had plenty of imagination for that kind of things. Tifa's clothing was quite revealing and left little to the imagination, but for once Cloud really wanted to see Tifa in full. Not because of the physical pleasure it would undoubtably bring, but it woudl mean a certain closness between the two of them

"I left it right beside the Villa actually. Just walked around after that."

 

[The Silver Muse]

"Isn't it funny how this place has always been here? We know where exactly where it is and how to get back... But we've never actually stayed just because we could." Tifa was musing as she finished up inside. Opening the door, she glanced out at him and smiled before stepping out completely. Her swimming suit had been changed for a pair of faded blue capris and a white tank top that slightly exposed her midriff. Not too entirely different from the one she used to wear when they traveled the world, but with thinner straps across her shoulders and a slightly lower neck line. Not enough to draw too much attention unless someone was directly next to her, and the only company she would have there would be Cloud.

"I'm glad you can stay." She made sure to tell him. Given the new situation, they might finally have the chance to talk without something else to worry about. In a way she wished that she had the courage herself to ask him to come. The way that things had played out, it was likely the only way. She had even been able to see his own determination in coming after her. "Let's go bring your stuff in and then get some dinner."

"We might need to pick out a new swimsuit for you too, I think." Tifa added with a wink, beginning on the way out again after setting their drinks down on a table to clean up later.

 

[Mortals_Dream]

((Sorry it was a while. A death in the family took a long time to work out here.))

"Well we have always been plenty busy. Saving the world and then trying to get our different buisnesses off the ground. Maybe it was time for a break though. For both of us." Cloud fell into step beside Tifa. The clothes she wore were somehow better than the swinsuit had been to him. While they still showed off her body they hid as much as they offered. Without having to worry about other men looking at her too much Cloud could actually enjoy her looks a lot more than before.

"I didn't really bring to much. No more than usual at least for one of my trips. We may need to get me more than just a swimsuit." Cloud smiled finally, a small grin creeping across his face for the first time since he had seen here today. The tension seemed to be seeping out of him as he got used to Tifa being back beside him.