Disclaimer: FF7 belongs to Square Enix.

Note: So, do you guys want a little smut? With some angst? Okay. This one takes place before my fic "The Honeybee Inn". Special shout out to Senigata and Denebola Leo, whose fics have had a heavy influence on mine lately. This is kinda more lengthy than my other one-shots. A scene here was inspired by the amazing artist hugo-the-starving-artist from Tumblr, whose art really just blew my mind. The title of his work is "Privacy", a part of his Midgar series. I hope you guys check it out, coz I can't copy the link here due to the website's rules. Like really, his art is simply awe-inspiring. I also wanna take the time to do another special shout-out to Alcantis, who has been one of the best readers and who introduced me to the Final Heaven Discord server in the first place. Being in that chatroom and trading ideas with the members has been therapeutic for me and therefore led to the number of CloTi fics I've uploaded the past two weeks. Thank you guys!

Reunion in the Slums

by theClosetPoet7

Summary: She stops the sob from coming out of her pink lips. She almost missed him. Almost passed him by. Almost left him there to nod his days away. 'Cloud, what happened to you?' [Prequel to the Original Game]

She nearly stumbles when she kicks the door open. Carefully, she drags his body into the pristine floors of Seventh Heaven, muddied boots leaving scuffled marks onto her recently mopped deck, dark splotches painting the wooden panel. She doesn't care though, and with bated breath, she adjusts her hold on him while carrying the enormous sword she swears belonged to a man she hasn't seen in a while.

She wonders if he knows about what happened to their hometown, wonders if he now saw Shinra as the enemy like she does and maybe that is why she found him at that train station, with clotted blood disguising his blond hair, rendering him unrecognizable.

She stops the sob from coming out of her pink lips. She almost missed him. Almost left him there to nod his days away.

What if she didn't come closer to further examine him? What if she just went about her own way; hurrying to Sector 7's Market because she had run out of eggs? Or worse, what if someone else found him? Decided to mess with the crazy boy slumped over by the steps? Midgar has no shortage of thugs; evil men and women alike, looking to take advantage of defenseless people.

Cloud.

How is he here? Seven years after she last saw him.

A flash of the shy yet determined boy who promised her he'd make it into SOLDIER passes through her thoughts, and she swallows her emotions, putting herself on high alert. The instinct to heal him overcoming any form of reminiscing. She leans the large sword on the wall before she turns the knob to her own room. Then, she lowers Cloud onto her bed, not caring about the fact that he's dirtying her sheets.

"Hgghn, Tifa."

He had come to his senses when he had seen her.

"Tifa?"

"Tifa!"

He said strange things; told her that it's been five years when she remembers not seeing him for seven. Then again, it's not like she can trust herself either. Waking up in Midgar all those years ago, being told that Nibelheim was no more, Tifa had felt lost and confused.

It had taken some time for those memories to come flooding in.

Sephiroth at Mt. Nibel.

Zack following in.

Her chest hurting...

Hurting a lot.

He's still out of it, unconscious after falling to his knees on their way back to the bar, catching her off guard as he held his head between his shaking hands, groaning and murmuring indistinguishable words until he nearly toppled over only for her to catch him.

'Cloud, what happened to you?'

The floor is dampened by the droplets of water falling from the tub of tap she's brought over to place on the table next to her bed. Cloud is still asleep, whimpers coming out of his mouth. He smelled of blood and dirt. Tifa scrunches her nose as she dips the cloth on the water mixed with her bath soap and carefully wipes the grime off his face. She cleans up the blood first, to make sure that it isn't his own; and, because the iron scent always made her think of her father's. A memory which served to only remind her that she had once been too late. Not this time though.

She found him.

Just in time.

There is some sense of relief when she concludes that the blood isn't Cloud's. And, as she examines his head for any scratches, she sees that he isn't at the very least, in any danger of losing his life.

She focuses her attention on his sleeveless shirt.

Tifa recognizes the uniform, it was one members of SOLDIER wore, she remembers how Zack Fair had donned it with pride, his charming smile marveling at their town's landscape as she showed them around. She shakes her head at the thought, the renewed hatred she had for Shinra pumping even more resentment into her whole person.

She hates them. Hates them with her entire being.

Tifa shakes her head again, to direct her focus instead on the man in front of her. She needs to see if he's injured underneath that shirt of his. She gulps, trying to ignore her girlish shyness from overpowering the sense to do what is necessary. Sure she's always held favor for Cloud Strife, ever since that promise, she couldn't stop thinking about him. Tifa holds her breath, hands shaking when she's about to tug his zipper down.

His hand suddenly stops her.

"Tifa..."

"Cloud."

"Where am I?"

His voice sounded different, deeper than the one she remembers. He pushes himself up, grimacing when the change in position leaves him dazed and nauseated.

"You're at my bar, Seventh Heaven."

"Seventh Heaven."

"At Midgar."

"Midgar."

He's absentmindedly repeating her words, as if he's chasing after reality while whatever is giving him headaches obscures his other senses. He looks like he's about to slip away again. So, she puts her hand over his, shifting his attention to her.

"You're safe."

There's a look in his eyes, a peculiar color she notes, because she could swear that he had deeper blue. On that night. Even so, she shakes the doubt off her mind. This is Cloud Strife here. She knows as much. He's alive and in front of her.

After all these years.

The barmaid grips the washcloth hard to stop herself from wrapping her arms around him, lest she ends up making things uncomfortable.

When she guides him to the bathroom though, and tells him to leave his shattered clothes on the floor, Tifa leans her back against the bathroom's door, the sound of the shower relaxing her senses at the realization that she's been reunited with a precious person from her past.

Not just any person.

Her first love.

It takes some convincing before Barret accepts Cloud into the group. And with his past exploits as an ex-SOLDIER, Tifa couldn't blame their leader. They are after all fighting the very company that her friend used to work for. She puts her foot down and raises the fact that she's the one who owns Seventh Heaven. And accepted or not, Cloud is going to stay with them.

She supposes that her insistence has managed to convince the other man. With the way he curses under his breath though, Tifa can tell that he still isn't completely fine with Cloud being here. So with a huff, she takes off, leaving the other members stunned at her strong words, probably not used to seeing this side of her. Biggs has this look of disappointment in his eyes while Jessie and Wedge merely give her an awkward smile as she storms off to her room to check on her friend. Thankfully, Marlene is already asleep.

She doesn't know why she's letting her temper get the best of her. Maybe it is because she didn't like the way they painted Cloud in such a bad light, when they've never even met him. They don't know the boy whose dreams had stirred the beatings of her heart, don't know the timid smile he gave her when she arrived at that water tower, don't know the way he reminded her of better times, when all she cared about was for him to come home.

Except that...There's no home to come home to.

Not anymore.

He immediately straightens his back when she opens the door to her room, probably eavesdropping on her earlier conversation. Cloud is still shirtless, wearing a black pair of pants which she had asked Biggs to let him borrow. He looks like he's been caught red-handed, although he has that confident aura about him, one that she still can't place with the boy she once knew.

"Maybe it isn't such a good idea for me to stay, Tifa."

She shakes her head at this, casually tossing his clothes into the washtub with powdered detergent.

"I want you to."

He seemed a bit hesitant in her claim. Already, she remembers the way he'd watch her and her friends from afar, like he had been wanting to join in the fun. However, as quickly as that expression appears, Cloud replaces it with a smirk on his face, a bit uncharacteristic of him, yet provides her with some ease nonetheless.

"If you say so."

She answers him with a smile, and takes off her boots while she pulls her thigh highs along with them, already in her sports bra. Tifa notices the way he averts his eyes, veering off from her state of undress. She's used to wearing her current outfit when she's training, so really isn't conscious of the fact. The brunette sits on her bed, the squeak of the old springs filling the room as she prepares to do the laundry. Then, she walks towards the other side of her quarters. Cloud makes a move to stop her when she hunches over the small tub, indicating that he should be the one to wash his own clothes. However, she tells him to sit.

He needed to rest.

And while she's cleaning off the remaining blood on his cotton uniform, she couldn't help but realize how mundane it all seems. He's cross-legged a few feet away from her while she scrubs away, a look on his face that honestly intimidates her a little and awakens the butterflies in her belly at the same time, her slumbering feelings nudged awake at the sight of him.

She tries to fight the feeling of self-consciousness as he fixates his gaze on her, tries to stop herself from asking more about what happened since he left. There's time for that later. Besides, she's just grateful that he's here.

With her.

He's improving day by day.

A week into having Cloud live with her, Tifa notices that he's already becoming restless. One day, he comes out to watch her spar with Biggs. There's an astonished look in his eyes, like he's surprised to see that she's as skilled as she is. At first, she finds this pride within herself to let him see that she didn't need to be saved anymore, like she had been when she was thirteen. At the same time, a part of her still wants him to come to her rescue, to take her away from all this death around her.

She knows though, that it's merely a fantasy, one she shouldn't hold on to. Especially because she isn't so sure about what he remembers.

Sometimes, he stares at her like he's trying to find something. And sometimes, he looks at her with suspicion, even though he thinks he isn't being obvious. She can see it alright. He has his doubts. The same way she has hers. Even so, it is a rare occasion, and one she doesn't dwell on.

Biggs almost lands a punch on her face only to abruptly stop himself before he can make contact. She is left stunned because this has never happened before. She's never been caught off guard. Well, it isn't everyday when your childhood crush makes an appearance and watches you train. The way Biggs looks at her held some understanding in them, and she knows that he has deduced correctly. She did tell him about it.

"How is it that someone like you is still single?"

"I dunno, maybe I'm still waiting on my hero to come save me."

She still feels a little guilty about rejecting him. And it wasn't like she didn't try. She had said yes to a date with him. Although the night didn't end well when she had to stop him from stealing her first kiss. She'd nearly given in, however, as she stared at his brown eyes, she couldn't help but want to drown in blue ones instead.

Biggs steps away and bows towards her, a signal that their spar is over. He doesn't say anything when he turns his back and proceeds to go inside while playfully crooning that she owes him a drink, leaving her and her childhood friend alone.

Cloud pushes himself off the wall and walks to her, that look of intrigue in his eyes.

"I don't remember you being a fighter, Teef."

He's taken to calling her that way, a sign that he's beginning to feel comfortable around her, even when they still held each other with cautious regard. A step forward if she must say.

"I couldn't just sit by and wait for my hero."

She isn't able to stop the words from spilling out of her mouth. In an instant, the friendly atmosphere shifts. Cloud stares at her and Tifa tries, tries hard to find any semblance of recognition there, if he remembers their promise.

But it looks like he doesn't.

The very fact dampens her mood and consumes her thoughts the rest of the night.

The first time Barret finally allows Cloud to join in a mission, Tifa worries. Already, she's telling their leader that she definitely isn't staying behind. Despite that, Barret glances at her with a serious look in his eyes and strictly informs her that he wants her to stay with Marlene.

Tifa bites into her lower lip to stop herself from saying anything rash. Barret was right anyway, if there was someone who could watch over Marlene closely, it was her. The implication of the order has her nervous, because it meant that the mission this time is more dangerous than the past ones.

Why else would Barret want to make sure that someone can take care of Marlene?

Cloud just watches as they discuss the details, his sword strapped to his back while he crosses his arms in front of him and leans against the wall, the side furthest from the rest of the team. He nods his head as Jessie lays out the blueprints to the Mako Reactor they're attacking the day after, and he offers some information about the military grunts' usual formation and battle strategy. These contributions make Tifa eye Barret, silently challenging him to say that Cloud shouldn't be trusted.

Seriously, he's been staying with them for a month now. Occasionally, he'd take over Barret or Bigg's place, acting as a bouncer once in a while. He'd also make himself useful around the bar too. Would even assist Wedge as he fixed the lights, or run errands for Jessie to secure certain mechanical equipment for whatever she's building in that workshop of hers.

Tifa doesn't miss the way the red-head's whole demeanor would light up once he's in the room. A fact she actually finds cute considering that not too long ago, Jessie had been putting the moves on her.

Cloud had slowly wormed his way into the team. So, it frustrated her when Barret would give him that look of distrust.

Perhaps it is his papa bear instincts coming out? He had been treating her like a daughter, had been protective of her. Maybe he disapproves of the fact that Cloud has been sleeping in her room?

Still though, Cloud doesn't deserve this.

Later on that night, she takes Barret aside.

"You have to stop treating him with such animosity."

The gun wielder releases a grunt.

"You can't expect me to trust a member of Shinra."

"I don't. I expect you to trust Cloud."

"Tifa..."

"I know him. I know his heart. He isn't the kind of person you think he is. Cloud is a good man." The emotion in her eyes must have shown because the warrior she has come to trust with her life remains silent, quietly studying her.

"You can't let your feelings hinder your judgment, Tifa."

"I'm not. Please. Give him a chance."

Barret tries.

"You really should stop trying to defend me."

The rest of AVALANCHE have already retreated to their quarters. And, since she wouldn't be going on the mission, Tifa opens the bar an extra hour to secure their upcoming expenses. Surely, they will be needing more funds for equipment after the next bombing. For some reason, Cloud lingers behind, even though she tells him to go rest. It's sweet actually, and she would be lying if she said that she wasn't happy that he was willing to stay up with her.

"And why is that?"

He's sporting the glass of scotch she's poured while she wipes the counter top and sprays some bleach over it.

"If they don't want me to join, then I can find work elsewhere. I may have overstayed my welcome."

Again with this. It hurts her whenever he talks about going away. As if she didn't matter to him as much as he mattered to her. Like their reunion didn't hold any meaning.

He had called her to that water tower years before right?

They were friends, right?

She chews on her lips while she breathes in deeply to calm her distress. Already, the prospect of him suddenly leaving had her heart torn to shreds.

"You're really leaving? You're really going to leave your childhood friend?"

She gulps, she had said too much this time, sounded like a jilted lover, feeling bitter that he's even thought about abandoning her.

Didn't she matter at all?

.

.

.

Tifa's eyes widen.

He suddenly has her pinned between the bar and his own hard body. She pauses, fingers still wrapped around the washcloth she's been using to dry the glasses, the skin on her nape heated with careful anticipation while she waits for him to say something. His arms are caging her in, gloved clad hands gripping the table.

"Cloud?"

"I..."

He's hesitating, that cocky aura replaced by one that reminded her too much of the boy she was neighbors with.

"I don't think I want to be just your friend."

The confession comes out in a huff, fanning her hair while he waits for her response and leans his head to the back of hers, making her feel numb, or perhaps she was feeling too much, the implication of what he had said awakening her desire not only to reciprocate his advances but to do something more. To give in to her girlish fantasies of that young man coming home to her, to ask her father's permission for her hand in marriage, and for them to seal their promise with a ring. Her own personal happily ever after.

Except that, life is just full of tragedies, so full of unfulfilled dreams.

He didn't come back.

Her father is dead.

And, she has too many scars for someone to want to marry her.

Still though, when she places the items she's been holding and turns her body to his, the barmaid doesn't stop herself from lifting a hand to brush his hair out of his face. So she could see that boy again.

See this man.

His eyes are not the ocean blue she had remembered, with greenish specks and a roguish glow to them, she traces her fingers down to his cheek, carefully examining that look in his orbs.

When he suddenly puts his hand over hers, turning it over so he could kiss the inside of her wrist, Tifa tries not to let her knees buckle.

Cloud is looking at her with intense heat, his tongue coming out to lick the skin where his lips had been, never breaking their eye contact. The brunette moistens her lips, and it is all the permission he needs before he takes hold of her chin and tilts it to him, pressing his mouth to hers in an action full of want and need.

She doesn't even think to stop him.

He brushes her lips with his; gently at first, then with an eagerness she couldn't help but return with equal fervor when she opens her mouth to his tongue's intrusion, gasping when his hands find purchase of her waist and pull her more tightly against him.

It starts to get to be too much and when they separate to take in the much needed oxygen, Cloud leans his forehead on hers, the smell of scotch teasing her senses as she closes her eyes to rest her hands on his shoulders, breathing deeply, to calm her pounding heart.

"You have no idea how long I've been wanting to do that."

She giggles lightly.

"Me too, since the water tower."

The way his body stiffens is not one she could miss, the hold he has on her slackens and Tifa's heart aches when he pulls away and looks at her with confusion.

"What do you mean?"

The question shatters any form of hope she has for that dream of hers to come true. Does he really not remember? She'd always questioned his memories of that night five years ago, when their village had burned down to the ground. He had remembered things that he shouldn't have and now she sees proof that he's also forgotten things that he should.

The realization hurts her heart, crumples it like a discarded sheet of paper until what was once beating as fast as it could out of excitement, is only dead now.

Pulseless

and unmoving.

Maybe she should remind him of that promise, maybe she should question why he's placing himself in the last days of Nibelheim when she doesn't remember seeing him at all. She nearly opens her mouth to tell him, but suddenly recalls how he'd put his hands over his head and scream, scaring her to the point that she fears that she'll lose him altogether if he undergoes one of those attacks again.

So instead, she keeps her mouth shut, and shakes her head in defeat to say that she didn't mean anything by it.

.

.

.

She doesn't miss the way his eyes glowed as he watched her leave him after that.

He comes and goes sometimes; disappearing for a few hours without telling her where he's going, rousing that feeling of worry before she shakes it off, and reminds herself that he will return.

He has to.

When he comes back with an air of triumph on his face, carrying a few more items for their mission and occasionally bringing back a tropical fruit he's haggled out of a wandering merchant, Tifa would let out a sigh of relief, lips tilted up as she watches the rest of AVALANCHE get excited over what he's brought, her heart skipping a beat when he glances at her and smirks.

Barret has even taken a liking to Cloud when one day he comes home with a flower in his hand and gives it to Marlene, quite a charming move which only led to the four-year old associating him with the prince in her bedtime story books. And her, the princess.

Except that she isn't a princess, and he isn't a prince.

On some days, he flirts with other ladies, that confident exterior of his showing through. And by flirting, she means that he rewards them with his smirks as well, perhaps to get more tips. Or, something else. It was obvious how much the number of female patrons have increased since Cloud arrived. Jessie jokes about this incidence while puffing her cheeks, a tint of jealousy over her features.

Tifa would offer her ear as the young mechanic goes on and on about how forward some women were, agreeing with the red-head though still trying to appear apathetic about it. They haven't defined what they were yet, except two adults messing around once in a while.

One night, she sees a dark haired beauty lean in and whisper seductively in Cloud's ear, the curve of her red lips forming into a suggestive smile while she runs a hand over his bicep, eyeing him with her womanly charm. The mercenary had stiffened and looked dazed for the remainder of the night while he held on to the napkin with the woman's number in it.

During times like this, Tifa feels a renewed feeling of discontent, a hint of bitterness in her person when she too flirts with her customers. It comes with the job description. Every time she realizes the fact that she's treading into dangerous emotions, the martial artist stops, berating herself of the fact that what she is doing is immature and so unlike her nature.

She would be lying though, if she denies the fact that she just loves it when Cloud clenches his fist when she lets another man's touch linger a second too long, and she loves it when his eyes would follow her throughout the night, lightly giggling when he would click his tongue as she gives her smiles to someone else.

When Jessie notices the tension, she drunkenly proposes that she would love to have a threesome with her and Cloud. The barmaid laughs it off but could not miss the way her friend had meant every word she said. Jessie had developed feelings for Cloud. It wasn't surprising, considering how handsome he really was, with his intense eyes and his Adonis form, stirring something within her, making her think about how absolutely delightful it would be to have her body pressed against his hard physique. For him to show her what it was like to be a man and a woman.

He would catch her staring, only to look away with that smug expression of his. And she notices when he awkwardly adjusts his gauntlets or runs a hand through his hair, seemingly aware of the fact that she's still keeping her eyes on him.

His lips would find hers during closing hours, a touch of longing in them, hands heating her up with the temptation to cross the lines of their friendship. And with her legs around him while he lifts her onto the bar's counter, and her fingers tangled in his smooth locks, Tifa wishes that he'd take the initiative to move things further.

Especially when she feels his desire for her.

She's in love with him.

This much Tifa knows.

Of course, maybe she has always been in love with him. He was the reason why she could never find chemistry with anyone else, the reason why she never went out on a second date. Because, she couldn't help but compare all of them to Cloud Strife.

And she knows that he wants her. Maybe not in the way she wants him. Notwithstanding, the attention still flutters those butterflies again.

Tonight, she pours him his third drink while she works on her second glass; scarlet eyes boring into his blue ones, silently telling him what she has been thinking of ever since he first joined AVALANCHE.

Her face must have mirrored her desire because her childhood friend had suddenly leaned in to claim her pink lips.

Since the first time he's kissed her, Cloud has become more forward, more honest with his intent. And his intent was to fuck her. He tells her. With his hand on her thigh and his tongue in her mouth, Cloud pulls away to tell her that he wants to do more.

"Can I? Tifa?"

Maybe she should've said no. They are playing with fire, blurring the lines of their friendship, advancing past the threshold into something that can potentially destroy the bond they have rebuilt over the course of his stay. But she loves him. And she wants him as well.

Gaia, she wants him.

So, with alcohol flowing through their system, flushing out the nerves and only heating up their bodies, making them crave for human touch, making them crave for each other, Tifa leads him to their shared quarters.

When she closes the door to her room, Cloud's hands pull her back to him, mouth crashing to hers as he closes their distance. She accepts his aggressive approach, basks in his forwardness while wondering if he's had this experience before, if that is where his confidence stems from; taking the lead without hesitation. A stark contrast to how she is currently feeling.

The thought of him with another woman, perhaps that beauty the other night, stirs a feeling of envy in her that Tifa couldn't stop herself from deepening their kiss, her tongue pushing past his lips to tangle with his, feeling a sense of boldness she can't quite comprehend, except that she wants him to know that he's hers.

Tifa gasps when his hand suddenly touches her breast, moaning at the way he rotates it in a clockwise motion while he watches her with his eyes. It is a sight so raunchy, that it manages to make her wet with anticipation. The thought of what they are about to do, already making her moist with want. He pulls away to cross his arms and tug his shirt off, rewarding her with the sight of his sculpted form.

She's seen his body before, they had gotten into the habit of washing clothes together. But to see him again, his chest taut and his abdomen defined by the lines of his muscles, with the intent to have her beneath him, Tifa feels her mouth dry at the sight.

To keep her hands from running over his rugged form, she settles with snapping the ends of her suspenders off, carefully sliding the straps one by one. She doesn't miss the way Cloud's eyes glinted in the moonlight as she does this. And she could see it. The fact that his pants looked more strained against his crotch.

With this sense of rare daring in her, Tifa meets his eyes and maintains the contact while she takes off her boots and then her white shirt. He stands four feet away from her, like he's enjoying the sight of her stripping in front of him. The barmaid tries to swallow her shy instinct, womanly aches encouraging her to continue, especially when he's looking at her like that. She's about to take off her skirt when Cloud puts his hands over hers, effectively stopping her.

"Keep them on."

It takes all of her to not fall on her knees then, his touch, albeit rough yet hesitant at the same time, tease her incessantly, he starts by running his hands over her waist, one hand palming the flat of her stomach while he ascends to cup one breast, thumb brushing over a nipple which allows a spark of electricity to pass through her body and onto her core.

"Cloud."

He takes hold of the small of her back and pulls her close to his hips, taking one thigh and holding it against him.

"Wrap them around me."

He whispers into her ear. Tifa wastes no time in wrapping her legs around his hips, mind already lost to the desire to have a man inside her, to have him inside her for the first time in her life.

Cloud drops her onto her twin-sized bed, lips already finding their way back to her neck, biting lightly and then sucking; effectively marking her as his even though she always has been. His strong body encompasses hers as he places both his hands on either side of her head while he holds himself up and watches her. Tifa averts her eyes when he runs a hand over her breast again, only to huff in disappointment when he merely glances over them, following a path down her stomach...

Her breath hitches, because suddenly he's palming her through her panties, her skirt lifted off her while he spreads her to his attentions.

He plants another kiss on her clavicle while he follows the trail his hands left heated in their wake, pleasing her with his tongue here and there until he's before her core. It is then when he looks up at her, silently asking for permission.

In answer, Tifa spreads her legs wider and lifts her hips up when he hooks his fingers at the hem of her panties and pulls them down, kissing the inside of her thigh while he sheds the last barrier between him and her maidenhood.

She arches her back when his fingers brush over her damp center. The feeling foreign yet sensuously good. His eyes held that sense of wonder in them, and he watches her features while he continues to brush two of his digits over her moist heat.

"Does it feel good?"

She never would've pegged him for a talkative lover. That being said, it's not like she has anyone else to compare him with.

"Teef?"

He touches her deeper, thumb parting one fold while his fingers continue that back and forth motion, teasing her every now and then. When he touches that part of her she's always tended to on her own, spreading her wetness over that bundle of nerves, Tifa gasps. And he asks her again.

"Good?"

She could only nod in reply.

He leans over her, pressing open mouthed kisses against her neck while he continues to caress her with indecent intent. Maybe it is because she's beginning to feel herself crest into something she couldn't define, or maybe it is because she's just as overwhelmed by the fact that it's Cloud she's doing this with, Tifa couldn't help but moan wantonly at the ex-Soldier's ministrations, and she couldn't help but claw at his back while he flicks her clit gently at first, and then with purpose, letting her reach the point of no return. When she feels like she's about to come undone, he pulls away, that teasing spark still in his eyes.

"Cloud, wha-?"

He swallows her words with a kiss, indulging her in another round of their tongues sliding against each other, mixing their saliva, the taste of scotch still hot in his mouth while he unzips his pants and lowers it down. She cups him through his boxers, her cheeks warming at the feel of his hardened shaft, stiff with want, ready to drive deep within her virgin sheath, already wet with pre-cum at the tip.

Cloud hisses when she strokes him through his shorts, burying his head in the space between her neck and shoulder while he instinctively moves his hips to her hand, seducing her with his thrusts, giving her a preview of what is to come. He grabs her hand that had been touching him lewdly and pins it to the side of her head, eyeing her with such intensity that there was nothing else to do but lean up to meet his lips again, pulling his body to hers while she lets him settle himself between her legs.

"I can't wait anymore." He's humping into her moist heat, his underwear the only thing keeping them from coming together.

"Then don't. Cloud, I want you."

It feels like a confession, even though it isn't. They're just two adults, having consensual sex. Letting their bodies take control of anything else. Caution thrown out to the wind for one night of passion.

She helps him with his pants, along with his navy blue boxers, while he helps her take her sports bra off and discards her skirt along with it, so he could finally take a taut nipple into his mouth. The feel of his cock nestled between her thighs gives her a sense of unease at first. When he touches her with his fingers again though, Tifa wishes for him to just fuck her already.

So she can finally give herself to him.

And he could give himself to her.

"Have you done this before?"

The question had always lingered at the back of her mind since she's closed the door to her room.

"I don't know. Maybe?"

The admission nearly causes her to retreat in disappointment, then again, how could she fault him for that? Surely a virile man such as Cloud would have catered to his sexual appetites during his many travels? Of course, who wouldn't want him? Still, a part of her wants to know who it was. Who was lucky enough to have charmed Cloud Strife into her bed?

Her jealous thoughts are cut off when he shifts her attention to him, telling her with his eyes that it isn't what she thinks, and this isn't some meaningless fuck. That their past means something to him too.

"I don't remember with whom. I don't know why, somehow, I know my way around a woman's body."

The sentence sounded cocky at best but the way his eyes yet again held that wonder in them, Tifa questions if it bothered him as much as it bothered her. If he's trying to chase after that thing in his head that she can't quite see.

"Cloud, where are you?"

She helps him shake away the fog of his intrusive thoughts, hand coming up to catch his cheek as a form of comfort. The action makes his eyes clear, and there's a tint of tenderness there, a gentle look full of meaning when he says;

"In Seventh Heaven. In Midgar."

He leans down to kiss her once more, while he showers her with other pleasurable sensations as he grabs hold of his hardened member and guides it into her warmth. Taking a sharp intake of breath when the head of his cock makes contact with her moist sheath. He inserts an inch or two, but she gasps at the sharp pain that slashes through her when he stretches her in a way that she hasn't been stretched before.

She notices that he looks a bit perplexed at the fact that she had just given her virginity to him, yet doubt is quickly replaced with determination when he puts a finger in his mouth and lubricates it with his saliva, carefully flicking her clit as he eases into her.

Inch.

by.

delicious.

Inch.

"Cloud."

His name is the only thing she can gasp out, and when she has him buried deep within her, the feel of him blowing her mind, Tifa envelopes him in her arms and clenches her legs around him as she hesitantly tells him to start moving.

It is an uncomfortable feeling at first, granted that he seemed bigger than what she expected. He's as gentle as she's always dreamed of, slowly sliding out, only to push back in while he holds himself back. The way he clenches his jaw and the way he calms his breathing, shows her just how much he's preventing himself from being too rough with her. It makes her heart swell; the fact that he's treating her with such care.

When the pain has eased and what was sharp before only becomes aching, Tifa begins to adjust to his girth, and she begins to feel the pleasure he had already invoked within her just moments ago.

It is then when she tells him that he needn't hold back. She was a strong girl; and she wanted him to show her. Show her what it was like to fuck. Show her what he was like once he'd lose control.

The fact that she had used such a foul word stirs something in him, and the next thing Tifa knows, Cloud's thrusts become quicker and harder. He rolls his hips to hers roughly, pressing her onto the bed, the springs singing to their bodies' tune while the headboard bangs against the wall as he moves within her. Pumping wildly, while she remains soft and pliant, letting him rut against her, his hurried pants puffing against her ear, telling her that he is enjoying this as much as she is.

She moves with him, nails leaving crescent shaped dents on the expanse of his hard back, emitting a deep guttural growl from him as Cloud digs his knees into her floral sheets and rams into her, unhinged and unyielding, moving to his own release. A hand grabs her ass cheek, using it as leverage while he continues his harsh jackhammers until he suddenly comes inside, the feel of his warm cum heating her walls while he grunts her name and slumps against her.

She doesn't know if this is the way it's supposed to end, aching and feeling like she just missed something.

"I'm sorry." He murmurs against her breast.

"It's okay. I enjoyed it."

He shakes his head and lifts it up to stare at her.

"You didn't cum."

It's funny how intimate this conversation already is. A few minutes ago, she might have laughed at the prospect of them ending up in bed together tonight. But here they were, Cloud's ejaculate dripping from her core while he talks about how he wasn't able to give her an orgasm. Not that she knows how it feels like anyway.

It's enough though, feeling him inside her is enough, and she tells him so. He shakes his head again and slides down her body to pleasure her with his tongue.

And my oh my was it divine.

He knew just how to get her going, and Tifa, could only hold onto him while she feels herself taper on to that foreign edge, fingers threading through his chocobo hair while he sucks and licks intermittently, fingers curling deep within her until she feels herself burst, eyes rolling to the back of her head, sparks going off while he rubs her cunt as she arches her hips to his mouth, legs shaking and bucking up.

"Fuck."

She hasn't even come down from her high before he's parting her legs and settling himself between them to slide into her again, the head of his cock parting her folds as he drives in. He gives her a second to adjust to his intrusion before he resumes his passion-filled thrusts; hips pumping hard and with such precision unlike before, hitting something deep within her that only makes her pant with need at how good it felt.

It felt so good.

He forces her legs wider apart, fucking her without restraint. She comes again with his cock still buried deep, her walls sucking him in while she embraces him tight, nearly pausing his movement because it feels like it's too much. However, he's still pounding into her, still thrusting harshly.

"Cloud, I can't... It's too..."

"You can."

She feels like she might shatter if he doesn't stop. Everything inside her has become too sensitive, and with Cloud hitting a spot that's more sensitized than any other place on her body, Tifa raises her hips to his, meeting his thrusts in wanton abandon, as he leans in and flattens his body against hers, connecting them intimately while he continues his strong pumps.

"Cloud... I can't..." She tries to tell him again.

"Open your eyes."

She hasn't even realized that she had slid them shut, mind too lost in all these sensations. She opens her carmine eyes, and the sight before her becomes her undoing. Because there was Cloud Strife, keeping his eyes locked with hers, an expression of intense desire on his face as he continues his rough thrusts, lacing their fingers together. He meets her lips again, hips increasing his pace. Tifa whimpers at the feeling, returning his passionate kisses until he pulls away to murmur in her ear.

"You can, Tifa."

Her eyes are brimmed with tears when he takes her to the edge of oblivion, fucking her to such heightened pleasure that all she can do is hold on until he pulses and swells inside her and cums with a deep and hard drive, spilling his essence again, hips assuming a broken rhythm as he prolongs the pleasure;

A sheen of sweat covering his whole body,

Making it glisten in the moonlight as she gazes up at him.

Beautiful.

Simply beautiful.

She thinks that she doesn't really mind if the Cloud before her no longer holds any resemblance to the boy she had once waited on. Even when she wishes that he gave her some hint that he was still there. But then again, even if he's different now, it wouldn't change things. Because here they were, seven years after she'd last seen him, and she still managed to fall in love with him all over again.

She's in love with him.

The current him.

All cocky and rude sometimes, yet gentle all the same, considerate, and protective.

Her hero.

And as she traces his cheek, and slides his blond tresses off his face to look at him closely, Tifa knows that he's still the same boy either way.

He's still Cloud.

The boy she grew up with, the shy teen who called her to the water tower, the young man waving goodbye, boyhood dreams lighting up his cerulean eyes.

She swears that she'll never leave his side. Not as long as he wants her beside him. She'll protect him. Watch over him. Make sure he's alright.

Every night.

Every day.

Maybe every lifetime.

She smiles when he opens his eyes, greenish hue filling her with doubt yet that flicker of familiarity in his deep orbs fluttering her heart.

.

.

.

He's still Cloud.

Author's Note: The idea of Jessie being bisexual is originally from Senigata's "Journey of a Barmaid", it's an awesome fic over all. So, I wanted to explore their first time, granted that I left out the details in the Honeybee Inn, though I've been shying away from putting in too much, but then again, I'm looking for some CloTi smut. By the way, for any background of the Biggs/Tifa thing, my fic "The Fighter" covers it. :D

Er, Read and Review?