queenoftheskies (queenoftheskies) wrote in kinkfest, @ 2007-09-01 06:26:00 |
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Entry tags: | a: queenoftheskies, f: final fantasy vii, p: aeris/tifa, september 01 |
Final Fantasy VII (Aeris/Tifa)
Title: Between Friends
Author/Artist: queenoftheskies
Rating: PG
Warnings: a little touching at the end
Word count: 1,748
Summary: Aeris eases Tifa’s loneliness.
Prompt: #8. Final Fantasy VII, Aeris/Tifa: Grooming - Late at night
A/N: Set after Advent Children.
Between Friends
Rain tapped gently on the window pane and lulled Tifa into comfortable half-sleep. She rolled onto her back with a sigh, wishing she had the energy to drag herself out of bed and undress. It had been a hard day at the bar, the crowd unusually rowdy. With Cloud on an out-of-town delivery and Barrett undercover on a monster sighting, she’d battled the unruly patrons alone.
It had taken all her energy to get the kids fed and settled down to sleep before dropping into her own empty bed. Sometimes, it was nice to have that time alone, but other times—like tonight—she’d have given a lot for a back rub and a warm body to curl against.
Cold seeped through the frosted window pane. There would be snow in the mountains tonight. She only hoped that neither Cloud nor Barret ran into trouble on their respective journeys and that both would return home safely.
A creak on the floor board brought her upright with a gasp, but there was no one in the room with her, only the half-light and perpetual cold. She rose to close the blinds, flinching at the pull of tight muscles when she rolled out of bed.
Something stopped her, her hand already halfway to the drapes. Something that reminded her of the day they’d gotten their lives—and Cloud—back. Maybe it was the light patter of the rain. She remembered how it had struck the windows of Cid’s airship, remembered the wonder she’d felt when she’d first realized the source of the rain.
“Thank you,” she whispered again. Ever since the moment the children had been cured and Cloud had been rescued, ever since geostigma had been purged from their land, she’d been certain someone—a special someone—had been watching over them, making certain they were free from further contamination by the mutated life stream.
“Life is never as complicated as you make it out to be.”
Tifa whirled, torn between fear and amazement. She was there, even more beautiful, her smile more radiant, than she’d been in life. “How…”
Aeris giggled behind one hand. Her braid bobbed behind her. “If you know all the secrets, then life’s no fun, is it?”
“I…” Tifa crossed from the window, rounding the bed. “Guess I’d never thought of it that way.”
“Too much time spent worrying. Not enough time spend enjoying.”
Tifa wanted to retort that the Ancient didn’t understand, that she was dead and didn’t have to deal with life any more. But, she sure looked alive, looked strangely solid, and Tifa couldn’t help but feel a twinge of guilt when she remembered the horrible death she had died.
She thought of the hard work Cloud put into building his business up, making it thrive. Of the amount of time Barret spent away from home, most of it in distant lands, struggling to keep their world safe. “Sometimes…” she said sadly. “There’s just…not enough time to…enjoy.”
“Enjoy the small things.” Aeris captured her hand. “The joy of friends, the laughter of children.” Her gaze shifted to the window. “The cleansing rain.”
“You washed away our sadness.” She followed Aeris to the bed, settled atop it while the Ancient crawled on behind her. The mattress creaked…the way it did when Cloud crawled into bed beside her, when he tried to be quiet and not wake her. “You washed away our disease.”
“I couldn’t have done it,” Aeris whispered, her breath light on Tifa’s shoulder, “if it hadn’t been for the strength and the love within your hearts.”
“I don’t under…” Tifa turned, but Aeris was gone. “Stand.”
Before she could scramble from the bed, Aeris said, “This is pretty.”
She stood at the foot of the bed, a beautiful dressing gown draped across her hands. Tifa couldn’t ever remember having seen it and she squinted, crawling to the end of the bed on all fours to examine it further. “I’ve never…”
“Cloud bought it for you in Wutai.” The Ancient’s fingers caressed the delicate green fabric, traced the elegant design. Her smile grew mysterious again. “But, I won’t tell if you won’t.”
Tifa opened her mouth to question, but found that the question refused to emerge.
“Just act surprised when he gives it to you, okay?”
Tifa bobbed her head, more curious by the moment, but when Aeris laid the beautiful garment across the end of the bed, she couldn’t help but run her fingers across it and marvel that Cloud had chosen something so lovely for her. Tears burned in her eyes, tears of happiness, tears of loneliness.
“Don’t be sad,” Aeris said, crawling back onto the bed, this time between Tifa and the garment. “Cloud will be home tomorrow and Barret will take the children for the weekend so the two of you have lots of time alone.”
“But, Barret…”
“Didn’t want to wake you to tell you he was home.” Aeris smiled, deft fingers unfastening the front of Tifa’s top. “Though he’s dying to see Marlene.”
The Ancient’s fingers were light against her skin, and though Tifa wasn’t quite sure what the other woman was up to, she couldn’t deny that it felt good, couldn’t deny that she enjoyed the attention. The top dropped to the floor; Aeris’ fingers slid lightly over her breasts, then settled on her shoulders, where they worked tight muscles with surprising strength.
“This is the last time,” Aeris whispered, her voice as light as a breath of wind. “You won’t be alone any more, Tifa. He’s going to see to that.”
Tifa wanted to ask what Aeris was talking about, but found that she couldn’t, found that she hadn’t the voice left to speak. Instead, her eyelids drooped until she watched Aeris through long lashes, concentrated on the places the Ancient touched her and how wonderful it felt.
The dress felt smooth and slinky against her skin, though she knew she hadn’t put it on and didn’t remember Aeris dressing her. It felt as if she’d slept, but she hadn’t dreamed and was still sitting in the same spot she’d claimed when she’d climbed onto the bed.
Aeris sat behind her now. She knew from the soft singing, from the stroke of the brush through her hair. She couldn’t remember anyone having ever brushed her hair, except for her mother when she was very young.
“That feels so good.” Her voice sounded distant, as if she was hearing it from far away.
Aeris smiled. She wasn’t sure how she knew, but she did. She could feel it, somewhere deep inside, the same place the love and strength Aeris had spoken of earlier lived.
“There,” the Ancient declared. “You look so beautiful.”
She passed a mirror around to Tifa, an antique hand mirror that had belonged to her grandmother. She hadn’t seen it in years, had lost it when she’d moved from her old house and into the rooms above the 7th Heaven.
She didn’t question, but accepted it with a smile. She’d loved her grandmother and had admired the mirror since she’d been a child. It had been no surprise it had been left to her. She clutched it to her chest, wondering if it would disappear when Aeris left again.
“Look at yourself, silly,” the Ancient laughed.
The reflection that looked back at her in amazement was nothing short of beautiful and while Tifa had always been proud of her appearance, she wasn’t sure if she’d ever been beautiful before. “Thank you. Thank…”
But, when she turned, Aeris was gone and she was filled with a sadness she couldn’t explain.
“Don’t be sad,” Aeris’ voice whispered in the room. “Enjoy the small things: the joy of friends, the laughter of children, the cleansing rain.”
The cleansing rain. Suddenly Tifa felt weary and with the soft staccato against the pane, she fell asleep.
#
“Wake up, sleepy head.”
With a sigh, Tifa opened her eyes to the sight of Cloud bending over her, his dirt-streaked face illuminated with a smile.
“Cloud!” She threw her arms around his neck, threatening to pull him down into bed with her when she used him to pull herself up. “You weren’t supposed to be back until…”
“I can leave,” he offered, gesturing toward the door with his thumb, “and come back…”
“No!” Throwing herself from bed, she wrapped herself around him, unconcerned that he was covered with dirt and filth from the road.
She pulled back suddenly, brushing back a stray strand of hair as she looked down at her clothes.
“You must’ve been pretty tired,” Cloud observed.
The beautiful dressing gown was gone, replaced with her day-old clothes.
“I…”
“Things been okay around here?” He studied her with a critical eye.
“I just…I…” It must have been a dream. That was the only explanation. In her loneliness, she’d conjured an image of comfort. It wasn’t surprising that image had been Aeris. But, she’d known…she’d said he’d be home today.
“You okay?”
She nodded, pressing herself against him. “I’m just glad you’re home.”
“I saw Barret down the street,” he said, settling his motorcycle saddlebags on the floor. “Said he’d be down to get Marlene once you were awake. Said Denzel could spend the weekend with them, too, so we could have some time alone.” Before she could answer, he dug around in one bag until he pulled out a package wrapped in plain, brown paper. “Here, I bought this for you. I hope you like it.”
With trembling fingers, she took the package and dropped onto the side of the bed. It only took a moment to rip it open and pull out the most beautiful green print silk dress she’d ever seen. The same dress Aeris had shown her the night before, the same dress that had slid across her bare skin.
“Oh, and I found this on the way in.” In his hand rested the hand mirror she’d missed for so long. “It looks pretty old. Is it yours?”
“I love you,” she whispered, dropping the dress onto the bed. She took the mirror and set it on the edge of the nightstand that flanked the bed, then pulled Cloud close and kissed him.
His hands worked their way up under her top. Her hands worked their way under his belt.
“I hope Barret doesn’t come too soon,” she whispered against the side of his face.
Cloud closed the door with one well-placed kick. “If he does, we’ll just pretend nobody’s home.”