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FF7 - Restore - end of chapter 4.
Still unbetaed. Also, I added a little part about Tifa trying to contact Denzel via PHS earlier in the fic. I'll update the LJ post later. Just, for continuity, she sent him a message that everything was okayish but he should still stay put. >_>;;
If you spot off characterization or grammar problems please tell me. Also I felt like the mood might be shifting a bit fast but it's a strange time for them all, so I dunno. Not sure it comes across properly, or just as "the writer forgot from one line to the next."
Table of contents.
Previous.
It was easy enough to fake Aeris's default attitude: her serene, self-assured friendliness. But the girl Tifa had known had been so much more than the impartially benevolent goddess some people painted her as, afterwards. So different.
She'd been the most horrible kind of tease, and even though she rarely spread any gossip, she sure liked to hear it, and she loved to play armchair psychologist, and when you were sad or discouraged she was more likely to prod you to get back up on your feet than comfort you -- she'd been human. She looked human right now, lost in a too-large shirt and with that smile on her lips that failed to be quite as confidently reassuring as it aimed to be -- too shaky. Too true.
"Good morning," Tifa answered, and smiled back just as crookedly.
She stepped into the kitchen, glad for the towel she was twisting around her hair, keeping her hands busy. Zack waved at her over the fridge door and then plunged back in. Tifa was rather glad for that too. She didn't know what to say to him.
She didn't know what to say to Aeris either, except a quiet "Thank you" when Aeris picked up the coffee pot and waved it toward the cups meaningfully.
Damp towel across her shoulders, Tifa sat, watching the black liquid pour in. It gave her the strange feeling of being a guest in her own kitchen, but that only added a little disquieting, embarrassed note to the rest of the confusion.
"Sugar?"
"Yes, please. ...The top shelf. Thank you."
"Aha! Ham," Zack exclaimed, brandishing the paper-wrapped slices, startling her.
"... It's a bit early for meat, isn't it?" Tifa inquired, blinking.
"It's to make the two of you sandwiches for the road. You'll be in transit for a while, right?"
"I'm sure Cid will have food onboard his ship, though..."
"Oh."
Zack looked disappointed for a second, almost enough to make her want to apologize; but he just put the ham back in and started rummaging again. Tifa took a sip of coffee. The kitchen felt full of things unsaid.
"Chocolate okay? -- oh, strawberry jam."
Tifa smiled a little, though that was mostly politeness, an acknowledgement of his efforts. "That would be nice. Thank you."
Yesterday's argument weighed in her mind still, unresolved, souring the wonder she should have felt. And then there was Yuffie, the grief she must feel, and Tifa was just glad they seemed to be content with empty platitudes, to put things on hold until next time.
Cloud wouldn't be long. Tifa drained the rest of her cup decisively and picked up the PHS recharging on the counter. No messages. She thought for a second, then entered Denzel's number. It was late -- early -- but if he woke up he could sleep in Cid's ship.
She got the answering service.
"Tifa? What's wrong?"
Tifa realized she was chewing on her lip and glanced at Aeris. "Denzel put his PHS in sleep mode. He's not answering."
"Are you worried something happened?" Zack said immediately, straightening up as he stared at her face.
Tifa realized how tense she was, and let her shoulders relax with a long sigh. "No, no. I mean, the three of you plus Yuffie's father plus some unrelated enemy who would know where to find him, it would be a bit much for one night. I just thought he'd want to come." That, and she couldn't help but want him far away from everything Sephiroth-related if Cloud wasn't around to keep an eye on things.
Zack nodded slowly and leaned a hip against the table. "Just go and pick him up, then."
"I would if I knew where he was staying," Tifa replied with some frustration.
"--Huh. You don't know?"
Tifa turned away from them both and started fussing with the toaster. "No. He has his PHS and I know he's safe, that's good enough."
It made her sound like a bad parent, even though she trusted Denzel fine; she knew he had a roof over his head and an adult keeping an eye on him.
She hadn't wanted to know where and with who, because if she didn't know then no one could force it out of her. She didn't want to say that; it sounded so dramatic.
A toast popped out. Too early. She pushed it back in with her fingertips and reset the timer. Cloud had fiddled with it again, she could tell.
"It's alright, he can join us later -- Cid's freighter planes do about a trip a day, he can arrange something. I'll ask Elmyra if she can drive him, send Denzel a message to get in touch with her..."
She paused at the quality of the silence behind her shifted, and then realized.
Aeris was standing by the counter, a shaky smile on her face.
"--Aeris?"
"It's okay, I just -- Mom." She gave a watery chuckle. "I just. Is -- is she well?"
Tifa stepped closer slowly, heart constricting in shared pain. It was a good pain, though, she could tell -- a hopeful kind of yearning. "She's fine. She still lives in Kalm -- Barret and I drive there every other weekend with the children. Marlene calls her Grandma, you know," she added quietly.
Aeris closed her eyes, steadying herself, and gave a little chuckle that was only slightly less unsteady than the previous one. "I bet she likes that."
"A lot." Now it wasn't so hard to reach out, touch Aeris's shoulder, give a soft, understanding smile. "When we come back... I'll drive you there, alright? She'll be so happy."
Aeris let out a little sigh and leaned against Tifa's shoulder, eyes still closed. "That would be really nice. And I think your toast is burning."
Tifa blinked, but Zack was already leaning over the table to get to the toaster, so she didn't have to step away from Aeris. She blushed a little; she'd forgotten the man was there for a short moment. Even now he was trying to be unobtrusive, which wasn't very easy when you were juggling really hot toast and yelping. Tifa chuckled, and Aeris when she opened her eyes.
"... I'm fine. I don't know what came over me..."
Tifa nudged gently her with an elbow. "Yes, I really don't know, I mean, it isn't like you haven't seen her in years and thought you never would again or anything..."
Aeris gave a little huff, and then one of those brilliant grins that always startled Tifa with all the life they packed. "Alright! I'll hold you to that. It's good you offered, because I like the idea of a personal chauffeur, and I am not riding with Zack."
"Oi!" he protested. "I don't drive that badly!"
"Badly no, but recklessly..."
Cloud stopped in the doorway, arching an eyebrow at the lot of them in confusion. "Riding where?"
"Oh, to see Elmyra."
Cloud's expression softened in understanding. "I see. Good idea."
He stepped in, took the abandoned piece of toast from the table, then made a face and started scrapping the well-toasted parts with a knife.
"I called Denzel, but he must have his PHS on sleep mode," Tifa told him, rolling her eyes a little as she put in another slice of bread in the toaster. "I think he'd want to come, but..."
Cloud nodded thoughtfully. "Can't wait. We'll coordinate from the road." He downed a cup of coffee, grimacing faintly at the taste, and stole a glance at Zack. "You two should go back to bed..."
"Oh, we definitely will," Zack replied with fake innocence. "Mm, pillows, mattress, warm blankets, sleeping in until noon..."
Cloud scrunched up his nose in fake annoyance. "Ass."
Zack turned back to the counter with a chuckle and finished saran wrapping his jam sandwiches. "Yep. But you like me like that. Here's your snack, Cloudypoo."
Cloud blinked at the plastic bag he was now holding. Tifa smothered a giggle at his nonplussed expression.
"Zack, I told you... Oh, nevermind." A sigh. "We need to get going."
"Wait a sec." Tifa grabbed a Thermos bottle from under the sink and quickly poured in the rest of the coffee. "Alright, I packed us overnight bags, I don't think we'll need anything else... Oh, the bar."
"We can hold it!" Zack exclaimed, a little too enthusiastic.
"... Have you ever worked in a bar before?"
"Well. No. But it can't be that hard, right?"
Tifa winced. On one hand, losing a whole day would make her checkbook harder to balance, especially with three adults to support. On the other hand... She'd feel better if Zack worked with one of her usual temps first, and there was no way she could get one on such short notice. "It's alright, there's no need. There's a closed sign, put it on the door and keep it locked, and there's a delivery toward noon but it's all prepaid, you just have to sign the sheet and bring the boxes in." What other advice did they need? She was sure she was forgetting something...
"Tifa, I'm sure they'll survive," Cloud said dryly. "Let's go."
She dumped the towel on the back of a chair and followed him out, quickly braiding her still-damp hair. "Yes, yes -- ah! Cloud's PHS number is on the emergency contact list by the bar."
Tifa stopped walking on the garage threshold. Zack and Aeris had followed them through the stockroom; Zack slipped past her to go open the garage door, but Tifa couldn't move to join Cloud. She stared at Aeris helplessly, the surrealism of the situation hitting her once again.
Aeris wrapped her in a quick, tight hug, and almost immediately released her. "Be careful on the road. And... I wish you could tell Yuffie, I'm so sorry about her father."
"We'll tell her -- I promise, when the moment is right." Tifa made a faint grimace. "It's just not going to be very easy to find."
Before she could lose her resolve again Tifa turned away and took the helmet Cloud held out to her. Her jacket was there too; she slipped it on, and then she straddled the saddle behind him. Zack was standing by the garage door, admiring the bike openly.
When Cloud started the engine and drove the bike out they were both waving, Aeris's slender frame leaning against Zack's side. Tifa kept them in sight until they turned the corner, and then she leaned against Cloud's back and stared at nothing as he drove.
He didn't speak at all until they were halfway to Kalm.
"Doesn't feel like any of it was real, huh."
Aeris in her kitchen, tears in her eyes because of her mother. Zack making sandwiches.
Sephiroth in her attic.
"... No," Tifa said. "It really doesn't."
Next.
If you spot off characterization or grammar problems please tell me. Also I felt like the mood might be shifting a bit fast but it's a strange time for them all, so I dunno. Not sure it comes across properly, or just as "the writer forgot from one line to the next."
Table of contents.
Previous.
It was easy enough to fake Aeris's default attitude: her serene, self-assured friendliness. But the girl Tifa had known had been so much more than the impartially benevolent goddess some people painted her as, afterwards. So different.
She'd been the most horrible kind of tease, and even though she rarely spread any gossip, she sure liked to hear it, and she loved to play armchair psychologist, and when you were sad or discouraged she was more likely to prod you to get back up on your feet than comfort you -- she'd been human. She looked human right now, lost in a too-large shirt and with that smile on her lips that failed to be quite as confidently reassuring as it aimed to be -- too shaky. Too true.
"Good morning," Tifa answered, and smiled back just as crookedly.
She stepped into the kitchen, glad for the towel she was twisting around her hair, keeping her hands busy. Zack waved at her over the fridge door and then plunged back in. Tifa was rather glad for that too. She didn't know what to say to him.
She didn't know what to say to Aeris either, except a quiet "Thank you" when Aeris picked up the coffee pot and waved it toward the cups meaningfully.
Damp towel across her shoulders, Tifa sat, watching the black liquid pour in. It gave her the strange feeling of being a guest in her own kitchen, but that only added a little disquieting, embarrassed note to the rest of the confusion.
"Sugar?"
"Yes, please. ...The top shelf. Thank you."
"Aha! Ham," Zack exclaimed, brandishing the paper-wrapped slices, startling her.
"... It's a bit early for meat, isn't it?" Tifa inquired, blinking.
"It's to make the two of you sandwiches for the road. You'll be in transit for a while, right?"
"I'm sure Cid will have food onboard his ship, though..."
"Oh."
Zack looked disappointed for a second, almost enough to make her want to apologize; but he just put the ham back in and started rummaging again. Tifa took a sip of coffee. The kitchen felt full of things unsaid.
"Chocolate okay? -- oh, strawberry jam."
Tifa smiled a little, though that was mostly politeness, an acknowledgement of his efforts. "That would be nice. Thank you."
Yesterday's argument weighed in her mind still, unresolved, souring the wonder she should have felt. And then there was Yuffie, the grief she must feel, and Tifa was just glad they seemed to be content with empty platitudes, to put things on hold until next time.
Cloud wouldn't be long. Tifa drained the rest of her cup decisively and picked up the PHS recharging on the counter. No messages. She thought for a second, then entered Denzel's number. It was late -- early -- but if he woke up he could sleep in Cid's ship.
She got the answering service.
"Tifa? What's wrong?"
Tifa realized she was chewing on her lip and glanced at Aeris. "Denzel put his PHS in sleep mode. He's not answering."
"Are you worried something happened?" Zack said immediately, straightening up as he stared at her face.
Tifa realized how tense she was, and let her shoulders relax with a long sigh. "No, no. I mean, the three of you plus Yuffie's father plus some unrelated enemy who would know where to find him, it would be a bit much for one night. I just thought he'd want to come." That, and she couldn't help but want him far away from everything Sephiroth-related if Cloud wasn't around to keep an eye on things.
Zack nodded slowly and leaned a hip against the table. "Just go and pick him up, then."
"I would if I knew where he was staying," Tifa replied with some frustration.
"--Huh. You don't know?"
Tifa turned away from them both and started fussing with the toaster. "No. He has his PHS and I know he's safe, that's good enough."
It made her sound like a bad parent, even though she trusted Denzel fine; she knew he had a roof over his head and an adult keeping an eye on him.
She hadn't wanted to know where and with who, because if she didn't know then no one could force it out of her. She didn't want to say that; it sounded so dramatic.
A toast popped out. Too early. She pushed it back in with her fingertips and reset the timer. Cloud had fiddled with it again, she could tell.
"It's alright, he can join us later -- Cid's freighter planes do about a trip a day, he can arrange something. I'll ask Elmyra if she can drive him, send Denzel a message to get in touch with her..."
She paused at the quality of the silence behind her shifted, and then realized.
Aeris was standing by the counter, a shaky smile on her face.
"--Aeris?"
"It's okay, I just -- Mom." She gave a watery chuckle. "I just. Is -- is she well?"
Tifa stepped closer slowly, heart constricting in shared pain. It was a good pain, though, she could tell -- a hopeful kind of yearning. "She's fine. She still lives in Kalm -- Barret and I drive there every other weekend with the children. Marlene calls her Grandma, you know," she added quietly.
Aeris closed her eyes, steadying herself, and gave a little chuckle that was only slightly less unsteady than the previous one. "I bet she likes that."
"A lot." Now it wasn't so hard to reach out, touch Aeris's shoulder, give a soft, understanding smile. "When we come back... I'll drive you there, alright? She'll be so happy."
Aeris let out a little sigh and leaned against Tifa's shoulder, eyes still closed. "That would be really nice. And I think your toast is burning."
Tifa blinked, but Zack was already leaning over the table to get to the toaster, so she didn't have to step away from Aeris. She blushed a little; she'd forgotten the man was there for a short moment. Even now he was trying to be unobtrusive, which wasn't very easy when you were juggling really hot toast and yelping. Tifa chuckled, and Aeris when she opened her eyes.
"... I'm fine. I don't know what came over me..."
Tifa nudged gently her with an elbow. "Yes, I really don't know, I mean, it isn't like you haven't seen her in years and thought you never would again or anything..."
Aeris gave a little huff, and then one of those brilliant grins that always startled Tifa with all the life they packed. "Alright! I'll hold you to that. It's good you offered, because I like the idea of a personal chauffeur, and I am not riding with Zack."
"Oi!" he protested. "I don't drive that badly!"
"Badly no, but recklessly..."
Cloud stopped in the doorway, arching an eyebrow at the lot of them in confusion. "Riding where?"
"Oh, to see Elmyra."
Cloud's expression softened in understanding. "I see. Good idea."
He stepped in, took the abandoned piece of toast from the table, then made a face and started scrapping the well-toasted parts with a knife.
"I called Denzel, but he must have his PHS on sleep mode," Tifa told him, rolling her eyes a little as she put in another slice of bread in the toaster. "I think he'd want to come, but..."
Cloud nodded thoughtfully. "Can't wait. We'll coordinate from the road." He downed a cup of coffee, grimacing faintly at the taste, and stole a glance at Zack. "You two should go back to bed..."
"Oh, we definitely will," Zack replied with fake innocence. "Mm, pillows, mattress, warm blankets, sleeping in until noon..."
Cloud scrunched up his nose in fake annoyance. "Ass."
Zack turned back to the counter with a chuckle and finished saran wrapping his jam sandwiches. "Yep. But you like me like that. Here's your snack, Cloudypoo."
Cloud blinked at the plastic bag he was now holding. Tifa smothered a giggle at his nonplussed expression.
"Zack, I told you... Oh, nevermind." A sigh. "We need to get going."
"Wait a sec." Tifa grabbed a Thermos bottle from under the sink and quickly poured in the rest of the coffee. "Alright, I packed us overnight bags, I don't think we'll need anything else... Oh, the bar."
"We can hold it!" Zack exclaimed, a little too enthusiastic.
"... Have you ever worked in a bar before?"
"Well. No. But it can't be that hard, right?"
Tifa winced. On one hand, losing a whole day would make her checkbook harder to balance, especially with three adults to support. On the other hand... She'd feel better if Zack worked with one of her usual temps first, and there was no way she could get one on such short notice. "It's alright, there's no need. There's a closed sign, put it on the door and keep it locked, and there's a delivery toward noon but it's all prepaid, you just have to sign the sheet and bring the boxes in." What other advice did they need? She was sure she was forgetting something...
"Tifa, I'm sure they'll survive," Cloud said dryly. "Let's go."
She dumped the towel on the back of a chair and followed him out, quickly braiding her still-damp hair. "Yes, yes -- ah! Cloud's PHS number is on the emergency contact list by the bar."
Tifa stopped walking on the garage threshold. Zack and Aeris had followed them through the stockroom; Zack slipped past her to go open the garage door, but Tifa couldn't move to join Cloud. She stared at Aeris helplessly, the surrealism of the situation hitting her once again.
Aeris wrapped her in a quick, tight hug, and almost immediately released her. "Be careful on the road. And... I wish you could tell Yuffie, I'm so sorry about her father."
"We'll tell her -- I promise, when the moment is right." Tifa made a faint grimace. "It's just not going to be very easy to find."
Before she could lose her resolve again Tifa turned away and took the helmet Cloud held out to her. Her jacket was there too; she slipped it on, and then she straddled the saddle behind him. Zack was standing by the garage door, admiring the bike openly.
When Cloud started the engine and drove the bike out they were both waving, Aeris's slender frame leaning against Zack's side. Tifa kept them in sight until they turned the corner, and then she leaned against Cloud's back and stared at nothing as he drove.
He didn't speak at all until they were halfway to Kalm.
"Doesn't feel like any of it was real, huh."
Aeris in her kitchen, tears in her eyes because of her mother. Zack making sandwiches.
Sephiroth in her attic.
"... No," Tifa said. "It really doesn't."
Next.
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(On another note, I like this, I do. Especially Zack with his "Oh, must make food for my friends.. and Aeris with her 'My Mommy!')
But Cloud feels a little.. too distant? Almost like he's apathetic towards the whole thing, until the end.
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I love this story. One thing I'd like to say, though - reading your pairing predictions, I hope that this story stays focused on the plot and not the romance? GAH, I sound so snooty and demanding, and that's not how I mean it at all. >.<
Let me try again. This story looks like it has some aweeeeeeesome potential plot-wise, and I just hope that doesn't get eclipsed by the different pairings. (That was one of the reasons I loved Crossed Wires so much - you had the storyline going strong before you even planned to put any yaoi in. And I loved that, because so many authors cannot balance it properly. :D)
....Do I still sound snooty? ;_;
Anyway. <3 this story, big-time.
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Also, I think I've said this before, but you actually write Tifa in a way that I can tolerate her. Which is a huge step, because in my mind Tifa is nearly to the top of the blame list (Conversely, I find Cloud near the bottom, because much of what happened to him really wasn't the poor boy's fault. Hojo tops the list. Because if it weren't for him...Jenova follows him, and Papa Shinra right bellow them. Seph occupies a space somewhere in the middle, because his brain got screwed out his ears, poor thing, but he still gets some of the blame. Zack would probably take the entirety of the blame on his shoulders and really deserves none of it. He tried his very best, even if he failed...and wow that turned into a rant, my brain is tired. Sorry)
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That said, one typo:
In the other hand...
I think you mean *on* the other hand. :)
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Honestly, it's the little things like this that I love about your writing. It's so painfully domestic and realistic and a quiet reminder of how Tifa and Cloud's life had settled down before the trio's intrusion.
Your Zack is wonderful. He's the type who needs to keep his hands busy, and just picturing his disappointment when he realizes Tifa and Cloud don't need lunches, jfdklsa;jf
I'm so happy you've updated this again! Can't wait until the next installment! :D
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Concrit: I agree with one of the other reviewers that Cloud seems inactive in this chapter, but then he had a lot of screentime, last chapter, so they balance? Zack feels a little tacked on, but then we're also seeing him from Tifa's POV, and she doesn't know Zack well. But... Maybe a touch of trouble juggling multiple characters? Just thought I'd point those things out, just in case. LOVE IT!
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I also really like your Tifa better than canonTifa, but my reason for not liking canonTifa has mostly to do with the "she's been the victim of the Japanese-male-game-designers' concept of female characterization" thing. They take a woman who can punch through steel and make her big focus point "promise me you'll come rescue me when (not if, but when) I need it (because I'm just a girl and couldn't rescue myself)" rather than "hell yeah I'll rescue myself (and you along with me because you're lost inside your own skull and the lifestream at the same time and could really use a rescue too, and me rescuing you is OKAY)". I go graaaawr at the hardwired misogyny of game designers and shounen manga writers a lot. ^^;;;;
Whereas your Tifa isn't waiting around for anyone to fix the world for her, and she doesn't have to wait for Cloud to be offstage before she gets a chance to be awesome in her own right -- she's right there with them making her own decisions about everything that comes up, the very first we saw of her she tried to take on Sephiroth by herself, she's not wimping out for anybody! And I really like that. I wish the men who write these things on both sides of the Pacific would take their cues from women's competence more often.
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I think if I was Aeris I would be a little miffed that Tifa doesn't seem too happy to see me alive....almost like it was an inconvenience.^^
I am not sure that I understand Tifa's comment about it being too early in the morning to eat meat (is that a cultural thing you let bleed into your story?) BUT I loved the fact that Cloud seemed to love that Zack made him a sandwich.
Tifa does sound like a bad parent,,,esp. since Denzel IS a teenager and Cloud and the others can handle anyone who's looking to make trouble.
I hope Yuffie gets through the funeral okay. I know she would be happy to know that Zack and Aeris were still alive.
Okay, let me shut up now. I look forward tot he next chapter.
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