Child of an Ancient Chapter 8
By Shigan Lee
Tifa walked down the corridor quietly, afraid to cause any sound that could wake Cloud up. She paused outside his door and slid it open, trying to avoid the squeaking sound as best as she could. His slumbering form was sprawled all over the bed with half of the blanket on the floor. She smiled and shook her head in disbelief.
Boys remain boys.
He was at least at peace now, the first weeks after his return had been haunted by with nightmares. She remembered how she had woken up to his screams every night and had to rush in to calm him, hugging him close to her to make him sure that it had only been a dream. He had refused to talk about the dreams afterwards and she hadn’t wanted to push him. Getting much better after a couple of months in Kalm, he had even gotten the job as the security-chief in Reeve’s company. Both for making some gil and to keep an eye on what the new company was up to. He wouldn’t let another Shinra spring up under his nose.
She closed the distance between herself and the bed and picket up the blanket. She studied his face for a few minutes, thinking of some way to wake him up in a more unusual way. Just as she came up with a few bright ideas, her thoughts were abrupt interrupted as a smile suddenly flashed up in his sleepy face and he lunged out at her. He grasped her by her waist and pulled her down onto the messy bed. She cried out in surprise as she began to wrestle him of her, trying to avoid his more sensitive parts. Both of them laughed when they tumbled around in the bed, sending pillows all over the room.
Cloud finally got her in a dead lock after a few panting minutes and pressed her down as he tickled her. She struggled against his strong arms, darn!
“Good morning Teef, trying to startle me wasn’t you?”
“Get of me you big brute!” Cloud snickered and tickled her some more.
“Whoa, calm down.”
Tifa pressed up her knees against his abdomen ad pushed him off, she followed with a deadly pillow assault as Cloud laughed and took cover under the blankets, which didn’t provide much of help. He grabbed one of the pillows on the floor that he had thrown earlier and ducked out from the blankets to face her. A few blows immediately hit him over the head and the fight was on.
Both of them cried out in laughter as they engaged each other in a hand to hand pillow fight. Tifa couldn’t believe this, they were supposed to be grown ups weren’t they`? Heck, who cared now?
It all ended when Tifa’s pillow finally gave after and broke, filling Cloud’s room with white feathers all over. Cloud took his chance as he saw how she surprised looked at the mess she had accomplished in the room. He let out a battle cry and charged at her. Tifa reacted a few seconds to late and found herself landing on the bed for the second time with Cloud over her with the advantages.
“Second time, I win.” He laughed at her, their faces inches apart. She smiled smugly at him, she enjoyed this as much as he did, even if he won.
“So, glorious winner, what are you gonna do with your poor victim?” He grinned and closed in to her face, a streak of seriousness flashed in his mako blue eyes.
“I am going to demand a favor.”
“What if I refuse?”
“Then I am going to haunt you for the rest of your life.”
“Ooooh, I am so scared. Let’s hear what the favor is then.”
Tifa shivered as Cloud moved himself so that their faces almost touched each other, his eyes locked her in a sea of oblivion as they always did when she gazed into them. It was scary to think of how much power this man had over her as she felt their bodies pressed against each other. His strong arms were resting at the both sides of her head as he played with her ringlets. But she grinned inboards as she knew that she had the very same power over him. She could see it in his face during their shared moments, he needed her.
They stayed like that for a long time, when Cloud finally broke the silence. His voice was like a faint plea as he whispered the two words she had been longing and dreaming for so long to hear from him
“Marry me.”
A single tear escaped her eye as she encircled her arms around him and pulled him down, closing the last distance between their faces and bodies as she caught his lips in a tender kiss. It was barely as she believed it. After all those years of waiting her wish had become true, her childish dream of her knight on white horse had finally been fulfilled. She hugged him close to her as she caressed his unruly hair and answered in a weak voice, choked by her joy.
“Granted.”
Cloud grinned at her and picked up the blanket from the floor, covering them both under the soft fabric. None of them was about to leave the bed for a long time this morning.