Author's Note: This is a little story I wrote a while ago (after listening to a combo of 'Lithium' (Evanescence), 'Saving Me' (Nickelback) and 'Lips of an Angel' (Hinder)), and that I hadn't dared post 'cause it was just too... I don't know. It's a fairly bleak outlook on life, the universe, and everything, particularly what would happen if Cloud started drinking.

But moving on now, my friend Rinoa finally convinced me to post it after I let her read it. She thought it was awesome drama. Whatever, Rin. :P

Anyway, I decided to separate it into parts, 'cause a) the whole thing would be a really long one-shot and b) if I separated all the flash-backs etc., those would make for pretty short chapters. Enjoy (I hope)!

P.S. The parts in italics are flash-backs!!

P.P.S. PLEASE REVIEW!!

Lithium

- A Slightly Twisted CloTi FanFiction -

Ring... ring... ring...

Cloud Strife opened his blurry eyes as the sharp sound cut into his consciousness, screaming and drilling into his numb brain.

At first, he thought he had imagined it; he had often gotten drunk and had picked up the phone in the hopes that for once, he hadn't hallucinated, and that it was her... only to be greeted by the cold, unfeeling dial-tone.

He was beginning to wonder if he'd ever see her again...

But after another ring, Cloud slowly moved to pick up the reciever. Cold, sticky liquid flowed between his fingers and onto the ripped, tangled sheets. He suddenly realized that he had fallen asleep with the alcohol bottle still in his hands.

"Shit..." he swore quietly, tossing it aside and listening to it fall into place and drain with the dozens of others in the corner...

"Cloud?"

Cloud was staring down at a tall glass of alcohol, bubbling and inviting. He took a swig, slammed it down with unnecessary force - so hard it made his girlfriend jump -, then asked, "What is it? What's wrong, Tifa?"

He looked up at the beautiful ebony-haired woman, standing in the doorway and clutching the shawl covering her shoulders. She was staring at her toes uneasily.

Cloud had just come back from a series of long deliveries. He had to leave the next morning. In fact, he was barely home at all, nowadays...

Tifa swallowed the lump in her throat and said softly, "Please don't drink when you come home." She was still staring down at the floor.

"Come on, baby, it's just a little drink. Never hurt anybody. Besides, I barely ever do -"

"No, you did last time you came back, and the time before, and the time before, and the time before that..." Her voice was rising unsteadily as she tried to contain her emotions.

"Tifa, come on. It's fine," he insisted.

"I don't want to," she said. "I will not have you drunk everytime you come home. The kids don't need to see that."

Ring... ring...

The telephone brought Cloud back from his dark ruminations. He grabbed the receiver. "Hello?" he asked.

There was silence on the other end, then he heard a tiny, almost inaudible whimper.

"Hello?" Cloud said more forcefully.

Another second of silence, then a quiet, fragile voice replied fearfully, "Cloud?"

Tifa...

Cloud almost dropped the receiver. "T-Tifa?" he stammered. He clutched the nightstand for support. Could it be her, his lost love?

"Oh my god, Cloud..."

"Tifa? Are... are you still there?" Cloud asked frantically, reaching blindly for a lamp. He flicked it on, and the light burned his eyes, but he didn't care; he needed to be sure this wasn't a dream.

"Y-yes," was the shaky reply.

Oh, god, it was good to hear her voice...

Cloud sighed. "The kids don't see it," he muttered.

"No, of course they don't, I forgot. They're always over at Barret's, like now, in case you care. And do you want to know why that is, Cloud? It's because they're afraid of you now. And whose fault it that?" Tifa snapped. It was unusual for Tifa to react this way, and Cloud's mind being tired and unstable, he replied without thinking, "Well, maybe if I didn't come home to such bitching."

The remark cut deep, and frustrated and hurt tears sprang to Tifa's eyes as she watched Cloud take another drink. She retaliated, "Well, you know what? I tried to be civil, I tried to work this out, but maybe you'd like someone else to share your bed!"