The Simple Life

By generalquistis

Author's notes: Setting takes place after AC. Gotta warn you though, this has CloudxAerith, RufusxTifa, RenoxElena and YuffiexSURPRISE! Haha. Anyway, if you have anything against one or more of those mentioned pairings (although this isn't really a love-team infested fic because this was orinally intended to be a RufusxTifa-only fic), better go now and spare me your rantings and flames on why those couples aren't meant to be depending on what your opinions are.

oOoOo

When Cloud arrived at the 7th Heaven Bar in its new location in Edge, he sighed heavily as he looked around. And he muttered to himself, "Home sweet home." He said with a little sarcasm on his tone.

He felt a slight shove from behind him and he turned around. It was Tifa, nudging him to move away since he was blocking the doorway and she and the others needed to pass.

Mindlessly, Cloud moved away from the door and proceeded to sit on one of the chairs facing the counter as he continued to look around as if he has not been in that place for a long time already.

"We're home!" Marlene cheered happily as she jumped up and down while heading for the stairs with Denzel.

"Clean yourselves up, kids. We're having a celebration tonight in honor of Cloud's victory. Right, foo'?" Barret called out, turning to Cloud.

Cloud just sat still, staring into empty space.

Vincent joined him, sitting beside him. "You seem to have a lot of things in mind." He said.

Cloud was quiet at first before replying, "I'm… just trying to get used to my new surroundings here."

"Seriously, how long have you been away from us anyway?" Tifa asked, interrupting them as she went behind the counter and went to the sink, washing her hands that had been soiled from the final battle.

"I'd suppose you know how long I was away, Tifa." Cloud said with a slight smile on his face.

Tifa was surprised by his answer. She just smiled back at him. "Things had been so busy around here I never even thought about you when you were away." She said before punching the air by his face, making him jerk backward.

"Watch it." Cloud warned her with a slight laugh before he got up.

Tifa, Yuffie, Barret, Cid and Vincent were surprised to hear Cloud laugh. "You're laughin'." Barret pointed out with a dumbfounded look on his face.

Cloud blinked. "What's wrong with laughing?" he asked nonchalantly.

Silence.

"You just got cured of Geostigma and you're acting like nothing happened." Tifa said.

"That's what matters, right?" Cloud answered.

She was surprised at him. "What's with the sudden change of attitude?" she thought in surprise.

"Vincent," Cloud began, turning to the red-caped man who was still seated and looking at him in wonder. Vincent raised his eyebrows at him in response. Cloud smiled. "A sin can be forgiven." He said before he turned and walked out the door.

"Where are you going?" Tifa called out.

"To Rufus." Cloud replied.

They heard his Fenrir start and the sound of it zooming off into the streets.

Vincent was stunned.

"What was that shit all about?" Cid asked Vincent as he sat down beside him and told Tifa, "Gimme a drink, bartender-lady. Feh."

Tifa frowned disapprovingly at him. "What sort?" she asked, trying to keep her patience.

"Something cold." He replied.

Tifa just grabbed a random can of soda from the refrigerator and tossed it over to him. "That's 2 Gil." She told him with a wink before proceeding to the kitchen. "A little help here, please?" she called out.

Yuffie thought for a while before rushing to the kitchen. "Sure! What are we going to cook?" she asked excitedly.

"Aw, c'mon, Tifa! Just give it to me for free!" Cid called out.

"Hey, I'm running a business here. In a business, there are no friends." Tifa replied with a teasing tone.

"Damn. That sounded so ShinRa-like." Cid muttered to Vincent and Barret.

"She is just a good entrepreneur. Just pay for it." Vincent pointed out.

Cid rolled his eyes and grabbed some random bills from his pocket and placed it on top of the counter. "Here. Keep the change!" he called out to Tifa.

"Thank you, Cid! Heehee!" Tifa called out.

Barret shrugged. "Well, better check if there's room for you guys to sleep upstairs." He said before proceeding to the stairs.

"Don't bother. I'll leave after dinner. I have to be back in Rocket Town. Leaving Sherra in the house heightens my anxiety." Cid said miserably.

"In that case, I'll just have to put Vincent with the kids. You don't mind sleeping on the floor, do ya?" Barret asked, stopping by the first step and turned back.

Vincent blinked. "…Denzel and Marlene?" he imagined himself to be babysitting children. "…Alright. Sure." He replied with a look of awe on his face.

"Cloud has his own room here, right?" Cid asked.

"Yeah but it's small. There are two other small extra rooms which Tifa uses as a stock room. Gotta clean that though. She's quite messy with her stuff." Barret said miserably before proceeding upstairs.

xXxXxXx

Tifa was quietly slicing the onions, trying her best to suppress the tears in her eyes. However, she could not fight the urge to sniff. Yuffie heard it and turned instantly to her. "You okay, Teef?" the young Ninja asked as she turned away from the stove.

Tifa just swallowed hard. "…Yeah. But these onions are strong so…" she began.

"You've been awfully quiet ever since we were walking back here this afternoon after it all ended." Yuffie pointed out with a concerned look on her face.

Tifa chuckled lightly, pretending to be carefree about the situation, "Whatever gave you that idea, Yuffie? And since when did you start becoming so concerned about me?" she asked nonchalantly.

Yuffie shrugged and bowed down her head slightly. "Well… I figured that… since Aerith is gone… and I don't have anybody else to talk with in this group… maybe we could become friends?" she asked.

Tifa stopped slicing the onions and turned to Yuffie with a surprised look on her face. "We are friends, Yuffie." She emphasized.

"Well… like best friends?" Yuffie asked.

Tifa was silent.

Yuffie sighed heavily and turned back to the stove and stared at the saucepan. "I guess we all just miss Aerith." She said softly with a miserable look on her face.

Tifa lowered her gaze to the floor, contemplating on what Yuffie had just said. "I wish she was still here…" she said softly.

"Getting sentimental in here?"

The two girls jerked in surprise when they heard Cid Highwind from the doorway of the kitchen.

"N…no." Tifa fibbed before turning back to the onions and continued to slice them. "Where's Cloud?" she asked.

"He left, remember?" Cid asked, wondering what was bothering her and Yuffie.

"Oh. Yeah. Now I remember. Must've slipped my mind…" Tifa said, trying to sound like she had really forgotten it. "Been quite busy though I know we must all rest. Been a tiring day for all of us…" she began to blab.

"Just hurry it up with your preparation for dinner coz I gotta friggin' go back home by midnight. What time can we expect dinner?" Cid asked impatiently.

"6 sharp." Tifa replied with a determined tone.

"Sure." Cid turned and walked away, leaving the two girls alone.

"And it's 5:10 in the afternoon." Yuffie muttered.

"We'll get by. And we'd better hurry too. I have to open the bar at 8:00 and that's after dinner." Tifa said.

"Gawds! Don't you ever rest?" Yuffie asked in disbelief.

"If I miss a day of work, we wouldn't have anything to eat for tomorrow or for the day after tomorrow. That's how life is in here." Tifa replied with a hint of misery in her voice.

Yuffie pouted. "You don't like what you're doing, do you?" she asked.

"I have no choice… but don't get me wrong, I like bartending… but sometimes it just gets tiring when you do it everyday." Tifa replied, rolling her eyes.

"You just need more manpower around here… like you know, more workers to go around the bar?" Yuffie asked.

"Can you do that later on?" Tifa asked.

"After I wash the dishes." Yuffie said, although in her mind, she was already complaining. She's Wutaian Royalty and she's going to do the dishes. If her father finds out about that, he would say something bad to her. "But oh well, he'll never know…" she decided in her mind.

xXxXxXx

Cloud slowed down his Fenrir once he reached the area of Sectors 3 and 4, observing how people were getting by. Children were playing, some houses were being repaired for damages, grown-ups walking back to their homes with happy smiles on their faces.

"They all seem to be happy." Cloud mentioned softly.

"Indeed they are. Thanks to you." Somebody answered pleasantly from somewhere. But he could not see the person. Still, he knew who it was. Cloud had a pleased smile on his face upon hearing the voice. "No, thanks to you." He corrected sternly.

The person giggled. "Oh Cloud, you did your part; I did mine."

"And Zack too." he mentioned.

"Uh-huh."

"Where is he anyway?"

"Hmm… somewhere."

"Why aren't you with him?"

"Because I'll be in your heart forever. Teehee!"

"No, really. That's just a figure of speech, if you know what I mean, right?" Cloud responded with a ridiculous smile on his face.

"But I have a choice to hang around here with you. So watch out."

Cloud breathed in. "Alright. Just don't go snooping around when I'm in the bathroom or something…"

He heard her laugh. His eyes widened.

"Oh Cloud, I've seen it a thousand times already. Hahahaha!"

Her laughter rung in his ears like a melody of gentle wind chimes. He smiled sadly despite the embarrassment. He wished he could see her. But for now, he could only hear her… and he must never ever reveal to the others that he could; otherwise, they would think that he had gone mad.

Not wanting to delve deeper into the subject and wanting to forget his embarrassment, he decided to change the subject. "Where are we going again?" he asked casually.

"One of the local inns here." She responded gently.

"Which one?"

"Stop."

Cloud braked. He turned to the small unstable-looking building to his left and stared at it from its top to the bottom. He blinked. "This is it?" he was thinking.

"Better get going before the sun completely sets. Tifa and Yuffie are almost done with dinner." She told him.

He nodded as he switched off the engine of his Fenrir, got down from it and walked inside the building. He arrived at the small lobby and approached the inn-keeper standing behind the front desk and playing with the keys of the unoccupied rooms upstairs. The inn-keeper was a middle-aged man, probably around the age of 35 and he does not look very friendly. Aside from the fact that he was giving off a cold stare at Cloud, he also looked bored. "Room rate here is 700 Gil a night." He revealed.

Cloud was taken aback. "700 Gil a night? Isn't that too expensive for a place that looks like this?" he asked straightforwardly.

"This is the only decent inn here in Midgar right now. Where do you want to go? The Sector 1 Grand Hotel? As if it's still standing! Hah!" the grumpy old inn-keeper reacted harshly.

"…I would just like to ask about some of your guests here, sir." Cloud replied, trying to keep his patience and to sound polite for he could still feel his constant companion hovering around him like clean fresh air in a dumpsite.

"Go ahead." The inn-keeper gestured to the logbook lying on top of the desk.

Cloud moved forward to it and began to read the names. He scanned all the pages.

"Not here…" he muttered. "Are there any other inns in here?" he continued.

"100 Gil a night next block. The other one's in Edge, 200 Gil a night. But those are in worse conditions right now." The inn-keeper replied mindlessly.

"Are you sure these are the only guests in here?" Cloud asked.

"Duh. Once I have new customers, I ask them to log their names." The inn-keeper replied impatiently.

Before Cloud could react further, he heard a familiar voice calling his name, "Cloud."

He froze for a moment before turning around to the door. He blinked. "Rufus," he began, trying to sound surprised like he was not expecting him and the Turks.

"Yo Cloud!" Reno greeted cheerfully.

"Like, oh my gawd! What are you doing here Mister Cloud?" Elena asked in awe as she approached him and shook hands with him. "Congratulations on you saving the Planet again! ShinRa owes you a lot, right, Prez?" she asked happily.

Rufus was just quiet. He was still seated on his wheelchair but he had no blankets draped on him anymore. Cloud examined the look on his face. He looked quite worried about something although his facial expression remained stiff and emotionless.

"What are you doing here?" Cloud asked, trying to sound like he does not know anything.

"I had to check out of the Healin Lodge since my Geostigma is gone…" Rufus began.

"I see… but why are you still on that wheelchair?" Cloud asked.

Rufus just stared at him. "And what are you doing here?" he asked, not wanting to answer Cloud's inquiry.

Cloud felt a little dismayed but he still went on. "I just thought I'd go around and check whether everything's alright…" he fibbed. "Anyway, we're having a victory dinner tonight. Care to join us?" he invited.

"Oh cool! Sure!" Elena cheered happily.

"Elena, the President will decide." Tseng muttered.

Elena blinked and moved away. "Oh. Sorry…" she said sheepishly.

Rufus swallowed hard, thinking things through. Bowing down his head slightly, he nodded. "Of course, Cloud." He replied with a low tone.

Cloud wondered what was going on in Rufus's mind, but never bothered to ask. He turned back to the inn-keeper again and then back to Rufus. "So… you're planning to check-in here?" he asked.

Rufus looked up at the ceiling and everyone clearly saw that he cringed slightly. "I have no choice…" was about to say but he stopped himself.

Cloud could see the sudden vulnerability in Rufus's eyes. He felt his invisible companion give him a nudge. Cloud jerked slightly and began to make a proposal, "Nah. Don't stay here. Stay with us for the night instead. We have extra rooms."

Silence.

"That would be wonderful…" Rufus replied rather weakly, forcing a smile at him.

Cloud nodded. "Alright. Let's go. If we're late Tifa will start nagging me again… this time, along with Barret, Marlene and Yuffie…" he said as he led the way to his Fenrir.

"You're riding that? What about us?" Tseng asked with a ridiculous look on his face.

Cloud stopped and thought for a while as soon as they got outside. He shrugged and asked, "Don't you have any transportation?"

Silence.

He turned back to them.

The Turks looked disturbed while Rufus was looking at Cloud with a scornful look in his eyes. "We're saving on fuel. You know how energy is scarce these days…" Rufus responded rather coldly.

Cloud swallowed hard. "There must be something wrong…" he thought to himself as he turned to the streets, waiting for a cab to pass by. When a cab happened to drive by, he instantly raised his hand to hail it. The cab stopped and went to them. The driver rolled down his window and smiled at Cloud. "Aren't you the lad who saved Midgar?" he asked kindly.

Cloud blinked. "Eh… uhm… yes…" he answered sheepishly. "Uh… could you take President Rufus and the Turks to Edge? I'll lead the way with my motorcycle and you follow. I'll pay you extra. What can you say about 100 Gil for this ride?" he asked.

Rufus was surprised at him. "No, really, this isn't necessary." He began, but Cloud hushed him.

The cab driver shook his head. "We saw the President's effort to prevent world destruction so I'm giving this ride for free." He said nicely.

They were surprised.

However, Rufus did not feel the least bit happy about the situation. He hated receiving charity and he could not interpret the current situation in any other way than what he was thinking of at that moment. But he just kept quiet. The Turks, however, were pleased with the deal.

Cloud smiled kindly at the driver. "You're too kind, sir. Let me give you a tip too." he said.

"No, Mister Strife, I insist…" the driver said.

"But I insist that I must give you a tip." Cloud said, bringing out 50 Gil from his pocket and handing it to the driver.

"That's too large for a tip." Reno remarked in awe.

The driver hesitated for a moment before finally accepting Cloud's offer. With that, Rufus got up from his wheelchair and went over to Cloud. "I refuse to ride with the Turks. I'll just go with you, Cloud." Rufus decided.

His decision surprised the Turks, especially Cloud. "What?" Cloud asked.

"Sir, wouldn't it be dangerous for you to be unguarded?" Tseng asked with a concerned look on his face.

"I can walk on my own and stand on my own. I have some things to discuss with Cloud Strife so please just get inside that cab and go to Edge. I'm sure you know where Cloud's house is." Rufus said sternly.

"It's actually Tifa's house. She… bought the lot and had a house built on it. She used her own money for everything." Cloud corrected and elaborated.

"Whatever. Just go." Rufus replied coldly, eyeing the Turks with a stern look on his face.

The Turks nodded and saluted before putting Rufus's wheelchair at the trunk of the cab, and then got inside the cab. They did not even look back at Rufus in fear of getting scolded even as the cab took off.

Cloud, meanwhile, went to his Fenrir. Rufus followed after him, taking small shaky steps. Cloud watched him as he neared the Fenrir. Cloud hopped onto his motorcycle and Rufus followed, seating himself behind him.

"Hold on." Cloud said with a hard tone as he started the engine. With that, he sped off.

During the ride, Cloud was waiting for Rufus to say something. "Didn't he mention earlier that he has some things to discuss with me?" he was thinking to himself. However, Rufus was quiet.

There was a traffic light and the light was red. They had to stop for a moment. Cloud looked up at the skies. The clouds and the skies have turned red-orange and some parts of the horizon were already dark blue to purple darkening to black. "Did you communicate with Reeve regarding the World Recovery…" he began.

"The WRO? No." Rufus replied sternly.

Cloud was quiet.

"Thank you for what you did…" Rufus said with a stiff tone.

Cloud turned his head slightly to the side, looking at Rufus through his peripheral vision.

"Thanks to your friend too…" Rufus continued, his gaze to the ground.

Cloud was quiet.

"Her name is… Aerith, if I'm not mistaken?" Rufus asked.

Cloud looked away with a faint smile on his face. "Yes. Her name is Aerith." He said as he watched the traffic light transitioning from red to yellow and then to green.

xXxXxXx

From the dining room area, Tifa heard the door of her bar open. "Hey, we're still closed!" she called out as she was putting the bowl of vegetable soup in the middle of the table.

"Turks in da house!"

Tifa and Yuffie exchanged glances. "Reno?" the former asked in surprise.

Tifa instantly went to her bar and stopped in her tracks when she saw the four Turks standing by the counter. "Oh… good evening." She greeted politely.

"Cloud sent us here. He said we'd join you guys in your victory party-dinner whatever. The Prez is with him!" Elena pointed out.

Tifa was stunned. "I… see. Where are they?" she asked rather uncomfortably. The idea of having Rufus joining them for dinner suddenly gave her the shivers.

"Going for a ride. The Prez refused to ride with us in the cab. But here's his wheelchair. Where can we put it?" Reno asked, wheeling the wheelchair towards Tifa.

Tifa blinked. "Uhm… just put it in that corner over there." She said. "But… did Cloud carry him?" she asked.

"He can actually walk and stand up but his legs are still weak from the damage inflicted by the Diamond Weapon." Tseng stepped forward as he explained. "And while he's not around, my colleagues and I would like to make a proposal to you, Miss Lockheart." He began.

Tifa frowned slightly, feeling uncomfortable as she braced herself for what she was about to hear…

oOoOo

Cloud Strife switched off the engine and hopped off from his motorcycle. "Alright. We're here." He announced to Rufus.

Rufus ShinRa slowly got down from the motorcycle and took small shaky steps to Cloud while staring up at the two-storey house and turned his attention to the door leading to the bar. "What time does it open?" he asked mindlessly.

"Usually at 8. Closes at midnight or 2 in the morning. That's what I know." Cloud replied as he turned to Rufus, noticing his wobbly legs. "Need help?" he asked.

Rufus shook his head. "No, thank you. I can manage." He replied stiffly, but Cloud could tell that he was having a hard time keeping his balance. Sure he was cured of Geostigma, but the side-effects from the injuries caused by the Diamond Weapon are still there. Without second thoughts, Cloud got hold of Rufus, putting his arm around his shoulder to guide him in walking.

Rufus just looked at him with a look of slight confusion on his face.

Cloud just smiled lightly at him.

Giving up, Rufus obliged to take Cloud's help and they began to walk towards the house.

They passed through the back door leading directly to the dining area.

All eyes turned to them once the door burst open.

Everybody was quiet was and staring at them in awe but they just remained seated in their respective seats around the dinner table.

Rufus tried his best to keep his gaze on the ground and never to look at any of them but Cloud.

"You're late." Tifa blurted out to Cloud.

Cloud just ignored her as he looked at the wall clock. 6:30.

"Traffic." He pointed out before aiding Rufus to the empty seat in between Tifa and Denzel.

Tifa got up from her seat and helped Cloud with Rufus. "Pleased to have you here, President Rufus." She greeted, trying to sound pleasant; however, her voice was shaky as she spoke.

As soon as Rufus sat down, Cloud moved over to the chair located at the other end of the table, for Barret occupied the other end.

To Barret's left was Vincent, then beside Vincent was Tifa and then Rufus, then Denzel. Facing Vincent was Tseng, then beside Tseng was Reno, then Elena and then Rude.

To Cloud's right was Cid, to his left seated Yuffie.

Cait Sith and Red XIII were eating their meals on their own food dishes on the floor by Cloud's feet.

"Awright, foo's. This dinner is to celebrate our victory… and to celebrate new friendships…" Barret began as he raised his mug filled with beer.

The others followed with their own glasses, however, other glasses had four seasons-flavored juice in them (Tifa, Marlene, Denzel and Rufus).

"Here, here!" Cid cheered pleasantly.

"This is also for Aerith." Cloud added.

Everyone stopped before they could make a toast and they all looked at Cloud.

Cloud just smiled calmly at them. "For Aerith." He repeated.

Tifa smiled gently. "For Aerith." She repeated, urging the others to go on.

They all made a toast.

Dinner became lively because of the Turks sharing stories to the others. Cid, Yuffie, Barret and Vincent joined in the conversations; Marlene and Denzel talked to Rufus, but Tifa and Cloud were quiet.

Cloud and Tifa had two separate thoughts in mind. Tifa was concerned about what she was going to do with her new household guests while Cloud was talking to someone in his mind. However, Yuffie was the only one who seemed to have noticed his new mannerism of looking up at the ceiling, and then back to his food again. She found it weird but decided to discuss it with the others later on.

After dinner, Cid instantly left to go home to Rocket Town while Vincent went to the living room to watch the news with Barret. The Turks, on the other hand, went over to the bar to start helping out Tifa; while Yuffie, Marlene and Denzel washed the dishes.

Cloud, on the other hand, remained with Rufus in the dining area, seated with him and having some tea.

"What are the Turks doing in the bar?" Rufus asked Cloud with an impatient tone.