Chap 10:
Around 6 PM, 7th Heaven bar...
The bar was closed for the night for a private party set up by the owner. The tables and chairs were moved to the wall, making the space bigger. Snacks and drinks were on the bartender's counter. Scary spider web decorations were hanging all over the walls, along with battery-powered candles scattered across the hall. The dim lighting and the eery candle lights made the ample space feel quite spooky if the Tifa could say so herself.
Although the party hadn't started, the kids, on the other hand, were extremely excited and ready for the night. Marlene came running down the stairs dressed in a Moogle-looking outfit with tiny purple wings and a bouncing red ball sticking out from her headband. Although she was hopping all around the hall, her excitement was most probably because the whole gang was getting back together for this evening.
Denzel, meanwhile, wasn't as excited as she was. Tifa could swear that he acted like a mini Cloud, minus the spiky blond hair and mako-infused eyes. The boy didn't want to dress up initially, but with Marlene's begging and all their friends were getting dressed, he decided to join in. He sported a plastic silver-colored plating resembling a knight's armor. As for his accessories, he had a toy shield and sword; some Chocobos were drawn on them, making him a Chocobo Knight.
"You two already?" Tifa called out to the two kids while carrying bowls of candy and sweets out from the kitchen, placing them on the bar counter as soon as she got to it. She dressed in a beige mini skirt, a matching beige vest jacket over a plain white undershirt, and a cowboy hat and boot to tie the outfit together.
"Tifa! Tifa! Look at me!" Marlene ran to the woman and twirled, showing off her outfit. "Do I look Moogle enough?" The pure joy she had was rubbing off on the tired women.
But Tifa smiled regardless of her fatigue, patting Marlene's head, hoping it would calm the girl down. "Yes, you do Marlene." Afterward, she turned her attention to Denzel, who was playing with his gamepad. "What about you?"
Denzel looked up from his game when he was spoken to "I'm done." He put the gamepad on the table and walked to the two girls. "Mandy and the others will be here soon," he added, fixing his helmet since it was blocking his vision.
Tifa got down to the kid's level and pulled out an old-looking cellphone from her back pocket. "Alright, I won't keep you long. But promise to call me if something urgent comes up, I'm on speed dial #1" She reminds them before handing the phone to Denzel since he was the oldest, therefore the responsible one, "ok?"
The kids replied with a nod and smile, then headed to the front door to wait for their friends. But before stepping out the door, Marlene stopped dead in her tracks, recalling something important, so she turned back and ran to Tifa again, "Tifa! Before we go, I've got something important to tell you!" She yelled, stopping just inches away from the older woman's face before she got up. "Some friends are coming over later. Can you please let them stay till we get back?" she begged with her ever so pleading eyes.
Tifa replied with a nod, "Alright, I'll keep them here till you get back from treat collecting" she poked the red ball that stuck out of Marlene's headband with a smile. "Now get going before it gets too dark" She led the little girl out to the other kids waiting for her. Tifa soon watched over the children as they left her view.
Standing at the front door still, she sighed, letting her tired form lean on the door frame. Preparing the bar for the party was one thing over and done with; waiting in the quiet bar was another. While the kids were mostly noisy and hyperactive, they gave her some activity to get her mind off the stress of party planning. Maybe she could call Shelke or Yuffie to help with big preparations next time. But, for now, it would be best to get a nap before the party.
As she headed back inside, she heard the familiar sound of the Fenrir's motor coming down the street. She immediately stopped her retreat and looked over at the narrow lane for said motorbike. Forgetting her exhaustion completely.
Cloud soon came into her view, stopping right in front of the bar, the engine roar coming to a halt. As usual, he climbed off the black bike and rolled it into the garage, not noticing her initially.
Tifa soon followed him into the garage, her footsteps as light as she could make them, hoping to sneak up behind him this time. She stood near a wall behind him as he was busy messing with his motorbike. "Welcome back home, Cloud." She said with a smile, leaning on him and giving him a soft peck on his cheek while wrapping her arms around his neck.
"It's good to be home" he returned the smile to her, holding her arms and kissing them, making her blush. He then carefully turned himself to face her, admiring the blush on her face. "Are the kids still here?" He questioned, noticing that the bar wasn't as lively as usual. There were no customers today, and the laughter from the ever-so-active children was missing.
"You just missed them," She replied with a giggle, getting closer to the man who was previously a lone wolf. She stared straight into his eyes and stood on her toes to get up to his face, but she was still unable to reach his level. "So it's just you and me here at the moment... All alone, the bar all to ourselves."
"I see" he smiled, lowering his face to get them on the same level as hers. They both glanced at each other's eyes before they finally got close enough for their lips to connect.
...
An hour till Party Time...
'How did she convince him to get dressed in his old infantryman uniform again?' just looking at the uniform gave him a bitter taste in his mouth. He hates Shinra, and wearing this outfit is just a reminder of how arrogant he was back then, unaware of the dark background the company hid behind their employees. 'Damn you Shinra. You cost me my friends and half my sanity.' He thought before forcing himself to wear the uniform. Meterofall was about being the thing people hated most and facing their fear, recalling the horrors of meteor almost killing them. Though the kids don't really care about the history behind the occasion, they simply enjoy collecting the candy.
"Cloud? You done yet?" Tifa opened the door and peeked in at him. He realized by now that her outfit was similar to the one she had in Nibelhiem but much more covered for the kids' sake, primarily for his sake.
"Yeah," he gave a short answer, like always. She went over to him and fixed the little details on his scarf and pockets. "Is everyone coming to the party?" he questioned his girlfriend, trying to break the silence between them.
"Yep, I finally got ahold of Vincent this morning and convinced him to come, in a costume" she continued to fix Cloud's outfit; after finishing, she stepped back to ensure that every detail was accounted for. Then, satisfied that he was ready, she took the helmet off the dresser and placed it on him. "There, now you're ready to go. Just don't use your sword on anyone tonight".
"If no monster attacks us then I won't," he answered, holding her in a quick embrace. She was blushing, heart racing, surprised by his sudden action.
"C-Cloud?" She questioned him.
"Don't I deserve some compensation for dressing in this?" A grin plastered on his face as he teased her. He ensured that his hold on her was tight, preventing her from escaping him. He got closer to her face; they were just inches away from kissing.
"Hey! Forgetting something, lovebirds?" The heavy, rough voice belonged to none other than the big dark-skinned man named Barret, dressed as a regular man of the sea. He stood watching the two from the open door, and behind him was Red XIII. The intelligent wolf had a headband with a red ball and a pair of tiny purple wings on his back. Obviously, he was dressed as a Moogle with his creative touch of his fire tail and natural red fur.
Tifa and Cloud quickly parted; both their faces were red from embarrassment. "W-when? How did you two get in?" she tried to change the subject for both herself and Cloud's sake.
"We did knock, but no one answered. So Barret got his spare; and opened it, He said that you two might have been busy," the wolf-like creature replied, "Though I did not expect this to be honest" He glanced back at the big man. "Did you?"
"Hell yeah, I did! This isn't the first time I caught them in the act" Barret laughed while Tifa used her hat to cover her face; Cloud lifted his scarf to cover his. Red XIII felt sorry for the two after seeing how the dark-skinned man could easily expose them at any moment.
An hour later, the rest of the guests had finally arrived. Cid and Shera were dressed as Frankenstein and his bride. Reeve as his Robotic cat while said Cat as a Cactuar. Yuffie as a ghost, Shelke as a Chocobo. And finally, Vincent as a vampire, though his costume was his usual outfit with the addition of fangs. Everyone enjoyed the evening chatting or snacking while Vincent and Cloud leaned on the wall a bit farther from the group. Everything seemed normal, not including Yuffie, who was more hyperactive than usual; she had a lot of sugar before coming to the party.
"I hope you guys don't mind a few kids coming," Tifa mentioned, remembering Marlene's request. "Marlene had invited her friends at the last minute, and I couldn't say no to her" She apologized to the group in advance.
"It's not a problem. As long as they don't cause problems," Reeve joked while sipping his drink; the others didn't seem to mind either. So Tifa sighed in relief.
Just then, there was a knock on the front door. 'Probably the friends Marlene mentioned,' Tifa thought and made her way to the front door. Her fingers didn't even touch the handle before the electricity suddenly went out.
"Ok, who the Heck forgot to pay the electricity bill?" Barret asked loudly. He could tell the others were glaring at him even in the dark.
"Maybe the fuse burned out?" Shelke made the second, yet most likely, suggestion.
"I made sure that everything was okay before coming down here," Cloud replied, slowly reaching behind his back, his hand hovering over his sword's handle in anticipation.
The door bursts open, causing everyone to panic, especially Yuffie. "J-Just so you know. I was n-not scared!" She stuttered, clearly frightened. She stumbled across the room till she found Vincent and hid behind his cape.
Soon a pair of glowing green eyes floated into the hall. Their eyes all widen with fear after hearing the voice of the madman they thought was gone for good so long ago.
"Anyone Missed me?" Sephiroth, the one-winged so-called 'angel' Had finally arrived.