How ya been guys?
Here we are with a brand new entry to my little fic series. Hope you'll enjoy.

Golden Respite

Tifa was staring at a huge digital clock as it counted down the last few seconds, a feeling of excitement washing over her as she was standing in one of the many stands of Chocobo Square. All around her people cheered as the starting signal echoed through the riding arena and the race began. Her eyes followed the differently colored Chocobos as they entered the track.

She loved Chocobos. They were so cute and their feathers were so fluffy to the touch. Tifa wished they could have kept the ones they had tamed on the eastern continent to pass through the swamps, but alas, they had nowhere to keep them.

Maybe one day, she thought as she watched the jockeys on their Chocobos. Watching Cloud race yesterday had been exciting, and not just because the prize was their freedom from prison, but because she would have loved to be in Cloud's place at the time.

She was pretty sure she had made a fool out of herself while cheering him on, if the amused looks her friends had been giving her were any indication.

What could she do? She was just a Chocobogirl through and through.

"Oh Cloud," she heard herself giggle inside her mind. "Your hair looks just like a Chocobo!"

She felt a blush creep onto her face as she remembered those words. Yeah, Chocobogirl indeed.

After returning from prison they had decided to take a break for a few days while their present from Dio was being prepared, a decision that she had supported since their day off in Costa del Sol had nearly not been enough after that nearly non-stop chase after Sephiroth to Junon and then actually encountering him on the ship. It was a little too much for her.

Not helping that fact was that they had encountered poor Johnny in the coastal town with his new girlfriend, and she had to break the news about his parents to him. The rest of the day she had spent between mourning and remembering the good times with him.

Though she had to admit it was strange that Cloud had come by to check in on her. Had he been jealous, perhaps?

Her heart raced a little at the prospect that her spending time with other men might bother him. Not like there was anything to worry about in that regard. Her interest was firmly set on Cloud, as much as she was unable to admit it towards the man himself. Sometimes she wished she was her 15 year old self again, putting on a bit of a provocative outfit in hopes that Cloud was one of the SOLDIERs that were deployed to her town. But she had changed.

Nibelheim...

She knew that the trail they were following would lead them there sooner or later. It was another reason she wasn't against taking some time off at the Gold Saucer. Walking upon the ashes of her hometown was not exactly something she was looking forward to.

Tifa was shaken out of her reverie when someone next to her bumped into her. She returned her gaze back to the track and saw that the Chocobos were about to pass by her stand. Pulling out her phone, she pushed her way to the front, covered by a large window that could withstand any of the giant birds crashing into it. With a press of her thumb she switched to camera mode and angled the phone, focusing on the bright green mountain Chocobo closest to her side of the track.

Just as it was about to pass by her, she snapped a picture. Tifa lowered her phone and her lips curled up into a little grin as she inspected it. A really good shot, if she might say so herself.

Putting her phone away she resumed to watch the rest of the race and was pleasantly surprised when it was the very same bird that won. Maybe she should have bet some money on it.

After leaving the stand she moved to the exit of Chocobo Square, pulled the phone out once more, and scrolled through the photos she had taken so far. The little Chocobo dance at the Ranch with a bewildered looking Cloud standing in front of the fence, their first tamed Chocobo, a little group photo with Priscilla the day after Cloud rescued her, and of course a quick snapshot of Barret in his sailor suit that he could never, ever learn of.

After looking at them she scrolled down to one of the photos that Jessie had sent her with what little time she had left, a sad little smile on her lips.

With Jessie gone, Tifa had taken to gathering 'memories' of their journey; it was her way of honoring her fallen friend. Still, she wished Jessie could see all this for herself.

Releasing a sigh she put her phone back into her pocket and put her hands on the railing, looking out towards the rest of the Gold Saucer.

Her friends were dead. She couldn't change that fact. All she could do now was to make sure their deaths weren't in vain. That meant stopping Shinra and Sephiroth from getting to the Promised Land, wherever that was.

Alright, enough moping around, Tifa chastised herself. They were here to relax and have some fun.

Taking a deep breath she smiled lightly, wondering what she should do next. Maybe join Cloud at the Battle Square? He seemed very adamant to win something.

She was turning towards one of the two exits when she heard her name being called. Turning around, she saw a certain flower girl running towards her from the other exit. Tifa blinked in surprise when the other woman came to a stop in front of her, slightly out of breath.

"Hey!" Aerith greeted her after catching her breath a little. "I've been looking all over for you."

"Me?" Tifa pointed at herself.

"Uh huh." Aerith nodded, then her face became a little sheepish. "I kinda have a favor to ask."

Tifa's arched an eyebrow in curiosity. Aerith was a strange one. Of course so were all of them, but Aerith was different, and not just because she was the last of the Ancients. She never had left Midgar before, so everything was new and exciting for her, making her want to experience everything at once. It was hard not to be infected by her enthusiasm.

Tifa liked her, despite the spark of jealousy inside her chest when she saw how forward she was towards Cloud and how easy she managed to get along with him. She could tell there was a connection between them, but of what nature she was not sure, and that brought on a whole different set of anxieties.

Besides, she had comforted Tifa when she had been at her lowest, and that meant a lot.

"OK, shoot," Tifa replied after a short moment.

"I, uh, kinda want to apologize to Barret," she said and folded her hands together. "You know, for having been so callous to him."

Yeah, she remembered that one. And yes, she had been pretty callous, even if she hadn't known the full story.

"I think that's a good idea," Tifa said and a smile formed on her lips.

"Well, and with Cloud holing himself up in Battle Square you're the only other one that knows Barret best and can help me apologize to him."

She tried to imagine Aerith asking Cloud for advice and had to hold herself back from giggling at the mental image of Cloud drawing a total blank on that one.

"Sure, I can help ya with that," she said to Aerith, and the other woman beamed at her, grabbing her hands.

"Thank you!" Aerith said and gave both of her hands a little squeeze. "So, what would be the best approach?"

"Easy." She shrugged. "Get something for Marlene."

Honestly, being good to his daughter was the easiest way to get into Barret's good graces.

"Huh, that makes sense." Aerith let go of her hands and walked around a bit. "But everything here is so pricey..."

"Unless," Tifa said, putting a hand on her hip. "You win something."

Aerith snapped her fingers, then pointed at Tifa. "That's it. We're going over to Wonder Square right now!"

Before Tifa could say anything, Aerith looped her arm around hers and dragged her towards the exit, saying, "come on, come on!"

Tifa shook her head, but still smiled as she was being led around by the other woman. Seems like what she would be doing had been decided for her.

Wonder Square was packed with people of course, with all the games it provided, it had something for everyone, be it children or adults. In the distance she could spot Yuffie playing some sort of dancing rhythm game, a large crowd around her, and Cait Sith, their newest friend, cheering her on with his megaphone.

"Well, those two are having fun," Aerith giggled and turned to look at her. "Guess we should follow their example."

"I thought we were gonna try to win something for Barret?" Tifa quipped in amusement.

"We can still have fun doing so!" Aerith exclaimed and started to drag her around towards one of the many arcades here. "So what do you think Marlene would like?"

"Hmm, anything, really," Tifa said. "As you can imagine, growing up in the slums doesn't exactly provide you with a great deal of toys."

She watched as Aerith's face grew somber for a moment. She also grew up in the slums. Even if her home was a bit fancier than average, she probably didn't have a lot of toys as a child, either. Her smile returned full force. "So how about a plush toy?"

"Never can go wrong with those," Tifa agreed and looked around the arcade until she spied a huge claw machine filled with all assortments of toys. Tapping Aerith's shoulder to get her attention, she pointed towards the machine.

They both walked over and Aerith gave it a once over. "Aren't those things geared towards wasting a lot of money?"

"Isn't that the Gold Saucer in a nutshell?" Tifa shot back.

"Point taken," she said and slipped a GP coin into the slot, then stepped behind the controls. Tifa took a step closer to her to look over the other woman's shoulder.

"So what are you aiming for?" she asked.

"Hmm." Aerith hummed and tapped her finger against her chin, then pointed a finger at a plushy. "How about that one?"

"The Cactuar with the flower on top?"

"Yeah!" Aerith giggled. "Cactuars have a rough exterior with all their thorns, but are so adorable. Kinda like Barret, he's also really sweet deep inside."

Tifa snorted before breaking out into laughter at Aerith's description of Barret. Aerith looked at her before bursting into laughter as well.

"Don't let Barret hear you say that about him," Tifa said after calming down, still giggling a little.

"You mean how he should never see that photo you took of him?"

"You saw that?" Tifa gasped with a huge grin.

"Yeah!" she nodded vigorously. "It was like one second you had your phone in your hand and in the next you had already slipped it back under your uniform!"

"It came out pretty good, too!" They laughed again. Poor Barret. Here they were trying to help Aerith apologize to the man, but were instead making fun of him.

"You gotta show me later," Aerith said, then grew overly serious. "But now we have to get that Cactuar, or all is lost."

"Well, focus then!"

They both turned towards the claw machine and Aerith put her hands on the controls. Taking a deep breath she started to move the claw into the direction of the plushy she was aiming for.

"Slowly, slowly," Aerith murmured and she managed to stop the claw just above the Cactuar. "Nice, now just press this button."

She pressed the button that lowered the claw and they both watched with bated breath as it grabbed the toy, lifted it up—

"Yes, yes!"

—and dropped it again.

"No, no!" Aerith's shoulders slumped and she released a disappointed sigh. "Crap."

Tifa giggled at hearing Aerith curse. That was definitely a first, guess she was a slum girl through and through after all.

"Oh well, can't pull it off first try all the time," she said with a shrug and put in another GP coin to try again.

She repeated the same steps for about the same result, only this time the Cactuar slipped through the claw almost instantly.

"What the—" and another coin went in.

And another.

And after that, another one.

Tifa tapped Aerith on the shoulder. "May I?"

"Sure," Aerith said and moved to the side, glaring daggers at the plush. "That thing is shaped to always fall down, I'm sure."

"Why not try another one, then?" Tifa asked.

"No! It's personal now."

Tifa chuckled and put in a coin. Her try was only marginally more successful than Aerith's in that she managed to move it some before it slipped out.

"This thing is worse than those gacha machines at Wall Market," Aerith muttered and shook her head, her hazel hair moving with the motion.

"You tried those things?" Tifa asked as she put in another coin and aimed for the Cactuar.

"Hmm?" Aerith looked at her in confusion for a moment. "Oh! Yeah. While Cloud was getting all dolled up by a girl in the Honeybee Inn, I tried my luck at one of them. What a money sink, let me tell you."

"Yeah, I heard those were pretty bad." Wait, did she just hear that right? "Wait, what was that about Cloud in the Honeybee!?"

Not paying attention to what she was doing, her finger slipped and the claw grabbed nothing but air.

"Dammit!" Next to her, Aerith giggled and playfully bumped her hip against hers to make her step aside.

"So much for that," she said with a little grin. "And don't worry, it was for a good cause: rescuing you."

Heat rushed into her face and she hoped the lighting would hide her blush, but Aerith giving her a knowing look dashed those hopes instantly.

Another coin went into the machine but unlike the other times, a miracle seemed to happen, and the Cactuar stayed inside the claw.

"Yesyesyesyes!" Aerith cheered and clapped as the claw carried the Cactuar over to the hatch and came to a stop over it.

And remained so.

"Huh?" Tifa tilted her head to the side.

"Shouldn't the claw open up and drop it?" Aerith asked and pressed the button again, but nothing happened. Letting out a frustrated groan she slapped the armature. "Dammit, what now?"

"Ask someone from the staff here to get it for you?" Tifa offered. "You got this one fair and square. It's just stuck."

Aerith looked around. "I don't see anyone. Should we look around?"

"Hmm." Tifa looked at the machine, then also took a look around to see if someone was watching. All clear. Taking a step back, she gave the machine a hard kick, causing it to shake. Looking at the Cactuar, Tifa noticed that it had come loose just a little bit.

"Do it again!"

She kicked it a second and third time, slowly prying it free until it finally fell down into the hatch after the fourth kick. Aerith immediately went to pick up the toy and held it to her chest. With a huge smile she threw an arm around Tifa's shoulders in a hug.

"My hero!" she said and playfully batted her eyelashes, making Tifa chuckle.

"I guess we better go though," she replied as she noticed someone from the staff walking over to them. Seems like their little stunt hadn't gone entirely unnoticed. Aerith followed her line of sight and let out a huff.

"Oh, so now someone is here, huh?" she grinned at Tifa. "Race you to the exit!"

Laughing, they both ran out of the arcade and towards one of Wonder Square's exits before the staff member even had the chance to catch up to them. By the time they stopped, they had arrived at the Terminal floor that connected all squares with each other.

"Well, that was exciting," Aerith said and held out the Cactuar plushy in front of herself. "Now we only need to get this little guy to Barret."

"Let's try at the inn," Tifa suggested, and they headed off to Ghost Square. She had to wonder why they were staying in the one inn in the Gold Saucer that had a horror theme. Probably Cloud finding it funny, of course. She cringed a little when that shrill laughter echoed in the air as they passed by some tombstones. At least the beds were great.

They went up the spooky looking stairs, past the giant devil head, and towards the room that Barret slept in. Aerith knocked on the door and they waited for a reaction.

"Come in," they heard Red XIII's voice call out, and they entered the room. The cat-like creature was the only one that was able to share the room with Barret, since he didn't seem to be disturbed by the man's snoring at all. He looked at them as he was lying on the floor, his tail swishing lazily over the ground, and Tifa had to wonder how the carpet wasn't going up in flames. "Aerith, Tifa, what brings you two here?"

"Sorry to disturb you," Aerith said. "But would you know where Barret is?"

"You didn't disturb me, don't worry. Hmm, I think he mentioned something about going for a walk to 'clear his head'," he told them. "Sorry if that's not exactly helpful."

After what happened yesterday she couldn't really fault the man for needing some time to himself. She just hoped he would be in the mood for an apology.

"Thanks," Tifa said with a smile and Aerith bent down to scratch Red XIII behind the ear, something he seemed to enjoy quite a bit from his expression.

After they had left the inn, Aerith turned towards her. "Where do you think he went?"

That was a tough one. Barret had lost his best friend yesterday, as crazy as the man had become. Maybe a bar? No, drowning his sorrows wasn't his style. Which left...

"Let's try one of the observation decks pointing eastward," she said as they left Ghost Square behind.

There were quite a few of those, but, indeed, after some time they found Barret in one, looking out at the horizon, roughly in the direction of where Midgar was located, past the far off sea that could barely be made out from there. He was leaning on the railing, holding the necklace Dyne had given him in his remaining hand.

Aerith looked a little unsure on how to proceed, another first today, but Tifa just smiled at her and nodded in his direction. The flower girl took a little breath and hid the little plushy behind her back as they both walked towards the man.

"Barret?" Aerith called out. That seemed to wake him from whatever reverie he was in and he looked over his shoulder before turning around to fully face them.

"Aerith, Tifa?" he asked with a raised eyebrow. "What brings ya here?"

"We, well actually Aerith, was looking for you," Tifa said, folding her hands behind her back.

"That so?" Barret turned his head to look at the flower girl.

"I...I wanted to apologize for my behavior yesterday," Aerith said, a little bashfully. "I was a bit overexcited about this place and didn't think about your feelings."

Barret closed his eyes and exhaled through his nose. "It's alright. Ya didn't know the whole story."

Aerith shook her head. "Still, it was uncalled for. I'm sorry."

As she apologized she pulled the plushy from behind her back and held it out towards Barret.

His other eyebrow shot up to join its twin. "And what's this?"

"A gift. For Marlene," Aerith explained and a huge smile formed on her face. Tifa watched as amusement started to shine in his eyes as he put the necklace away and took hold of the little Cactuar in his giant hand.

"Bribin' me with my little girl, huh?" he asked good naturedly and turned his eyes towards Tifa. "Wonder who told ya that one?"

"Guilty as charged," Tifa chuckled.

"Thanks, I'm sure she'll love it," Barret then said, a smile forming on his face. "And don't worry, we're good."

Aerith released a sigh of relief.

"Now why don't ya two go along and have some fun? I still need some time to myself for a lil' while longer."

Tifa nodded. "Just remember, you can talk to us."

"Don't worry, I know," he said and waved the little Cactuar around as he turned to look at the horizon again, where the sun was beginning to set. Taking that as their cue, the two women left the observation deck.

"What now?" Tifa asked.

"Go back to the hotel and have a drink?" Aerith offered. "I think I could use one right now."

"Sure, fine by me."

Onward to chapter 2