Cloud and Tifa

"A Misunderstanding"

Written by Strifegirl

Pairing: Cloud/Tifa

Type: One-Shot

Status: Complete

Summary: Cloud and Tifa are constantly fighting over everything and it worries the children because they feared that Cloud will leave again because of his strong friction with Tifa.

Timeline: A year after the events in Advent Children.

Disclaimer: Final Fantasy VII and its characters are owned by Square Enix. No copyright infringement.

"A Misunderstanding"

That night, Cloud and Tifa were having a fight. Once again, Tifa was upset because Cloud had arrived late.

"I'm tired of dealing with this all the time!" she claimed.

"I didn't ask you to wait for me..." Cloud replied with sarcasm.

"I do it because I care about you!" she shouted.

"No need to worry about me…" he responded.

Denzel couldn't sleep because of the terrible dispute between them and rose from his bed to see what was happening. He didn't know what to do at this point and he could only hear them fight.

Lately, Cloud and Tifa were fighting over everything and it started to worry him because he feared that Cloud would leave them again because of his fights with Tifa. Denzel stood there listening through the door and the screams of both of them were becoming louder, which made Marlene also woke up.

"What's happening?" she asked Denzel as she approached the door.

"Cloud and Tifa are fighting again..."

"They're always fighting ..." Marlene sighed.

"I know... and I'm afraid Cloud is gonna leave us again... for good."

"Cloud is leaving?" Marlene squeezed her little Mog tight. "I don't want Cloud to abandon us again..." Tears started rolling down her cheeks.

"Don't cry Marlene ..." Denzel tries to comfort Marlene but she begins to mourn bitterly.

Suddenly, Cloud and Tifa cease their fight after hearing Marlene's cry.

"Do you hear that?" Tifa asked.

"It's Marlene!" Cloud claimed.

Both adults ran quickly upstairs to the children's bedroom. Denzel, on the other hand, was trying to calm Marlene and he did what he could to reassure her but she was still crying bitterly.

Cloud entered the room first, followed by Tifa and they discovered the children.

"Denzel, what are you doing still awake?" Tifa asked.

"Well... I uh…" he murmurs to himself, not knowing what to say.

Cloud went to Marlene who was still drowning in tears. "Marlene, what happened? Why are you crying?" he asked gently. Marlene clung tightly to his little Mog and continues to cry.

"What happened here?" Tifa asked Denzel.

"Well... we couldn't sleep because of the yelling... and then we heard you fight and Marlene began to cry."

Concerned, Tifa and Cloud looked into each other's eyes through the darkness. They both felt guilty about all of this and they lowered their heads in embarrassment. Cloud returns his attention to Marlene who was still crying and tries to reassure her.

"...Marlene..." his voice trailed off and Marlene stops crying for a moment only to say something.

"Cloud, please don't go... I don't want you to go..." Cloud's heart begins to break upon hearing her words and his face immediately filled with sadness to know that all he did was to cause her pain. Cloud takes her into his arms and carries her to the other room to try to calm her while Tifa stays with Denzel in his room.

"Come Denzel, let's get you to bed."

Tifa also felt guilty about what happened and didn't know what to do to remedy the damage they had caused. She was obviously very upset and didn't realize that her actions were also hurting the children.

"I'm sorry for all of this." She said to him. "I guess we went too far this time."

"That's okay, Tifa." he replied. "I know you guys didn't mean what you said. I just hope this doesn't turn into something bad…" he lowered his head. "I really don't want our family to split up." His voice trailed off.

Tifa smiled tenderly and placed her hand on his head to reassure him.

"Don't worry." She stroked his hair. "I promise I'll never ever fight like this again. I won't let this affect our family." she winked.

Denzel smiles slightly while he nods his head and then he embraces Tifa before returning to bed. After a while, Tifa covers him with his blanket and kisses him on the forehead. She lies down with him and stays with him until he goes back to sleep.

Meanwhile, Cloud was in the other room trying to calm Marlene. Her cry was tearing him apart and didn't know what to do to comfort her. He never wanted to hurt anyone, especially the ones he loved.

"Marlene, please don't cry..." he begged her while he rocked her. Carefully, he placed Marlene on the edge of Cloud's bed and then lowered himself to kneel in front of her to wipe her tears.

"I'm sorry Marlene..." He dried her tears. "I didn't want this to happen..."

"Cloud... don't you love Tifa?" She asked gently while rubbing her eyes.

Cloud was surprised to hear her question. Marlene was always very perceptive about the things happening around her and Cloud knew that they could not easily fool her.

"Why do you ask me that?" He said confused.

"Well because... lately you've been discussing all the time... and Daddy says that when people fight a lot is because they hate each other."

"That's not true..."

"Then why you keep fighting?"

Cloud didn't answer.

"She gets very sad when you fight with her..."

Cloud is left speechless and he simply lowers his gaze.

"I know she loves you... and that's why she worries about you when you're not here."

"I know, Marlene."

"So then why do you fight?"

Cloud sighed.

"Because, we're upset about things not going our way… and we tend to lose patience sometimes... and I guess we don't know how to deal with our problems ..." His voice was becoming more subtle.

"And why not ask for an apology so you can solve your problems. Daddy says that it's easier to ask forgiveness than permission."

Cloud let out a soft chuckle after hearing her logic. Although she was only a child, her ability to reason things was sometimes better than an adult. In some ways, she takes after Tifa; which makes sense because she became like a mother to her, so is only natural for him to feel this much affection for her. After all, she was like a daughter to him.

"Cloud?"

"Yeah?" he focused his eyes on her.

"Denzel said you'd leave us again... Is that true?"

"Of course not." He shook his head.

"I don't want you to go." Marlene looks at him with concern.

Cloud chuckled.

"That's not gonna happen." He placed his hand on his head. "I'm not going anywhere."

"Promise?"

Cloud smiles slightly and nods his head. "I promise."

Marlene smiles again and throws her arms to embrace him while she clings to his neck. Overwhelmed, Cloud returned the embrace with the same tenderness and wraps his arms around her little body. Although Cloud wasn't a very expressive guy, somehow, he always had a soft spot for Marlene. She was the only one who could disarm him with her tenderness and innocence.

Exhausted, Marlene starts yawning more often and Cloud lays her on his bed. He placed her Mog Plush with her and then covered her with the blanket. She closes her eyes and falls asleep next to Cloud. Cloud lay beside her and gently he leaned forward to place a tender kiss on her forehead. He stayed there for a while just to make sure that she was asleep.

After a few minutes, Cloud hears footsteps coming from the hallway. He gets out of bed carefully so that Marlene wouldn't wake up and heads towards the door. Once there, he saw Tifa supported on the wall of the hallway and her name slipped from his lips in a sigh.

"...Tifa ..."

Tifa reacts after hearing her name and looks at him.

"...Cloud ..."

They look into each other's eyes for a moment and after a while; they broke eye contact upon feeling the awkward silence.

"Umm... How is Marlene?" she asked.

"She's feeling better. Now she's resting."

"Good..." she sighs with relief.

"What about Denzel? Is he okay?"

"Yeah, he's okay. He was just scared… but he was very understanding about the whole thing."

"I see..." he trailed off.

Once again, silence surrounded them.

Cloud scratched the back of his head while Tifa rubbed her arm with her hand. Both said they did not know that after such a bitter episode. They knew they had to solve their problems somehow; otherwise, they would end up causing more hurt to one another.

"Cloud, I..." "Tifa, I... "

Both broke the silence at the same time and stared into their eyes. Their thoughts were synchronized as they try to speak; but their words were interrupted with the other. Cloud looks elsewhere to avoid eye contact and Tifa does the same.

"What's gonna happen now?" she asked him softly.

"What do you mean?" Cloud looks at her confused.

"Well... it's obvious that both are to blame for all of this." She affirmed.

Cloud frowned and then scoffed. "Speak for yourself..." he replied sarcastically. Confused, Tifa gazes at him and Cloud realizes that he was beginning to argue again. He took a deep breath and then sighed. "Sorry." He lowered his voice. "I think I'm still upset by all of this." His voice trailed off while looks away.

"I know." She looks down. "I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to say all those things."

Cloud looks at her once again and shook his head. "You do not have to apologize... it's my fault."

"No, it's not..." She interrupted him. "It's me and my stupid pride..."

Cloud does his best not to chuckle and tries to break the ice.

"Well... at least we agree in something." He said with a smirk. Tifa turned her head with a frown and Cloud couldn't help chuckle. Tifa relaxed her face to see that he was just joking and chuckles with him as well.

"I guess we seem a lot, don't you think?" she teased.

"Yes." nodded his head.

They both smiled as they stared into his eyes. They remained so for a while without breaking eye contact. It was now their eyes that were speaking for them. Tifa made a huge effort not to cry and bit her bottom lip to hold back her tears. She was overwhelmed by all of this and Cloud could feel her pain through her eyes.

"Come here..." He approaches her and takes her in his arms. Tifa does the same thing and wraps her arms around his waist. Cloud placed soft kisses on his forehead as he stroked her hair gently. Tifa's eyes grew moist as she felt his touch and couldn't hold back the tears any longer; so she buried her face in his chest. Cloud tightens the hug and she begins to mourn in his chest. He also was about to burst into tears but he did his best to fight the lump in his throat so that he could comfort her.

"I'm sorry..." he whispered gently.

Tifa took a deep breath and let out his words with a sigh. "I'm sorry too..." she said with a weak voice. Her tears began to wet Cloud's sweater and she grabbed it to pull him closer to her. Overwhelmed, Cloud begins to mourn too.

"Some hero I turned out to be ..." he said. "I can't even protect you from myself."

Tifa tighten the embrace and buried her face in his neck. Cloud begins to lull her in his arms as she gently pressed her forehead to his neck. Both clung to each other and stay that way for a minute to catch their breath.

"What is happening to us?" she asked bitterly. "Why are we fighting like this?"

"Because we love each other..." he whispered. "And because... that's what couples supposed to do, right?" he teased.

That last comment made Tifa laugh and Cloud relaxed to hear her laugh. Cloud loved the feeling of her laugh. It was so warm and contagious that he simply couldn't resist and smiled as well.

Tifa dry her tears and buried his face in Cloud's neck. "I love you." She whispered softly in his neck. A smile crossed his face to hear her tender voice.

"I love you too." He responded with the same tenderness and then kissed her forehead.

Tifa is released herself from the embrace only to find his lips, which he took as his own. There was nothing better than a kiss of reconciliation. There was something about those kisses that made them so addicted. Their passion increased and Cloud gets carried away by the heat of the moment. All he wanted right now was to be with her and to let her know that he loved her; and what better way to show it than kissing her.

After a while, the two of them separate their lips to catch their breath. Cloud dried her tears and then kisses her on the cheek. Tifa hugs him again and deposited him several kisses on his neck. It was her favorite part, somehow she felt very safe in it.

"Promise me that we will never fight again..." she said rubbing her nose with his.

"I promise." He smiled slightly.

Once again, they joined their lips. This time their kisses were more tender and warm. Tifa melted with each of his kisses and all she wanted was to be with him and share something more than just a kiss.

"I love you." She said as she kissed him.

"I know sweetie... I love you too." He kisses her back.

"Are you going to stay with Marlene?"

Cloud nods his head in response.

"Well... in that case, I will stay with Denzel."

"Okay."

"Good-Night." Tifa pressed a kiss on his lips for the last time and then heads back to the children's room.

"Good-Night." He whispered.

Cloud stands there looking up while she goes into Denzel's room. He felt so lucky to have her that he just couldn't stop smiling like a fool. Tifa turned once more and returned the gesture as well. She said something with her lips but only Cloud could read what she was trying to say. Cloud replied in the same way, and with that, she returns to the room.

Cloud also heads back to his bedroom where Marlene was still sleeping. He leans to one side and lies beside her. Slowly, he wraps one of his arms around her to hug her gently. After a few minutes, Cloud closed his eyes and falls asleep with Marlene in his arms.

A small smile appeared in Marlene's face.

The end