In fact, although the lights were off, Cloud hadn't slept at all. He had been waiting for Tifa to come back. Because he wanted to figure something out.
Although his memory was currently very chaotic, and his mind somewhat unclear, no matter how you looked at it, after being brought here, he suddenly felt, Tifa shouldn't be treating him so coldly.
So he really wanted to ask Tifa what was going on, why she suddenly acted that way toward him.
Only, after he knocked on the door, no one inside responded. He only heard the sound of water splashing.
So he knocked on the door again, raising his voice, "Tifa, are you home? It's me, Cloud."
At that moment, he heard a familiar male voice coming from inside the room, "Tifa is taking a bath now. Cloud, do you need something?"
"Taking a bath, huh? Then I'll come back la—" Cloud had only spoken halfway when his eyes instantly widened.
'Wait a minute, what's going on? Why is there a man's voice in Tifa's room?'
Even in his current muddled state, he realized something was off.
"You are... Aiden?" After thinking for a moment, Cloud finally remembered who that familiar male voice belonged to, it was the guy who was hired alongside him by Avalanche.
"It's me." On the other side of the door, Aiden nodded, "So, Cloud, what do you need from Tifa?"
"Why are you in Tifa's room?" Cloud didn't answer Aiden's question, instead asking in a dumbfounded voice. His mind was blank, and his heart had taken a heavy blow.
"Tifa and I are already living together. Why wouldn't I be in her room?" Aiden also asked back, "But you, coming to see Tifa this late at night, what are you here for?"
"Li... living together? That's impossible. I remember clearly Tifa liked..." Cloud didn't finish the sentence. He remembered everything that had happened over the years. How he had left his hometown, been away from Tifa for so long. He was no longer sure.
But even though he didn't say it, Aiden helped him finish, "You want to say, Tifa clearly liked you, right?"
"Yes." After a moment of silence, Cloud answered with extreme difficulty.
"Unfortunately, Tifa likes me now," Aiden said bluntly. Though it was harsh, there was no helping it. Matters of the heart have always been cruel, from ancient times to now.
"That's impossible. That's impossible. It's only been a few years. I've only been gone a few years," Cloud suddenly felt a splitting headache, clutching his head and muttering.
"A few years is already a long time, Cloud," Aiden said.
At that moment, the bathroom door opened. Tifa, wrapped in a bath towel, walked out while drying her wet hair with a towel. She asked, "Aiden, who are you talking to so late at night? Is it the landlady? What's she doing here so late?"
"It's not the landlady. It's Cloud." Aiden pointed at the door and said, "He wants to see you."
"Cloud?" Tifa's hand stopped drying her hair. Her expression suddenly became complicated, and a trace of panic flashed in her eyes.
And outside the door, upon hearing Tifa's voice, Cloud's headache seemed to ease significantly. He immediately called out, "Tifa, can you open the door? I want to talk with you."
"I'm sorry, Cloud. I just got out of the bath. It's a bit inconvenient right now," Tifa bit her lip and declined.
"Inconvenient?" Upon hearing this, Cloud stood frozen as if struck by lightning. His heart was filled with sourness and bitterness, unable to calm down for a long time.
After a long while, he finally came back to his senses and said in a low, dejected voice, "I understand. In that case, I can only wish you two happiness."
"Thank you, Cloud." Tifa's heart felt a bit of pain, a bit of guilt, but more of it was a sense of release.
"Heh..." Cloud only gave a bitter smile and then returned to Room 202.
After closing the door, Cloud clutched his head and crouched down on the floor in pain. At that moment, a woman's figure suddenly appeared in his mind.
This figure was not unfamiliar to Cloud. Every time he had a headache, this woman would appear in his memory.
And in those memories, this woman really liked him, and he also really liked her, perhaps no less than he liked Tifa.
"It's okay, Cloud. Someone still loves you," Cloud murmured to himself. "I'm still lucky."
But unfortunately, this figure in his memory wasn't clear. He didn't even know this woman's name.
———
Listening to the door closing in the room next door, Tifa let out a long sigh of relief. Then she turned around and handed the towel in her hand to Aiden, sitting on the sofa and beckoning him, "Aiden, help me dry my hair."
Aiden nodded, walked over to sit beside her, wrapped the towel around her hair, and gently started rubbing.
"This is so nice." Tifa said with her eyes closed. Last time when Aerith asked Aiden to help her in front of Tifa, Tifa had been extremely jealous.
Then she continued, "Aiden, how about you and Aerith move in together? Anyway, there are lots of rooms in this building."
"I'd like to, but Aerith's mom probably won't agree." Elmyra only had one daughter, even though she wasn't her biological child, she had raised her for so many years, and adopted her after her husband died in the Wutai war. It was anything but simple.
"Then just ask Aerith's mom to come too. She's old and needs someone to care for her," Tifa pressed Aiden's hand, then pulled the towel aside, lay in Aiden's arms and said, "I'm usually free. I can help take care of her too."
Aiden held Tifa, inhaling her fragrance. His hands instinctively climbed to her peaks while saying, "Let's talk about this later. I'll need to discuss it with Aerith and get her opinion."
"Mm." Tifa bit her lip and nodded. She was already starting to feel it, and instinctively lifted her head to offer a kiss.
After the intertwining of lips and tongues, the bath towel between them felt like a great hindrance to Aiden. He pulled it off Tifa in one motion.
Underneath the towel, her perfect body wore nothing. Her flawless white skin seemed to glow under the light.
A blush spread across Tifa's face. Feeling his unruly hands on her body, she couldn't help but let out a soft moan.
Then, Aiden picked her up and carried her toward the bedroom.
"Tifa, keep your voice down later. Cloud is in the room next door," Aiden bit Tifa's ear and said wickedly.
———
After a night of intense action, Aiden and Tifa woke up very late. The two of them had worked hard all night and didn't feel like getting up.
It wasn't until noon that Aiden finally dragged himself out of Tifa's bed. After having lunch with her, he returned to Sector 5.
Just like yesterday, Aerith had locked herself in her room. But surprisingly, Elmyra was also at home and hadn't gone to work.
Seeing Aiden return, Elmyra expressed her displeasure for the first time, "Where did you go last night? We couldn't see you all night."
"Sorry, Miss Elmyra. I had something to do last night," Aiden didn't dare say he went to see Tifa, otherwise Elmyra would definitely go nuts.
"Listen, Aiden. No matter what business you had, something's not right with Aerith these days. You'd better stay home and accompany her for a few days, understand?" Elmyra still had a good impression of Aiden and didn't question further, just gave a reminder.
"I understand." Aiden nodded, then walked to Aerith's bedroom door and gently knocked.
"Aerith, I'm back."
Click!
As soon as his voice rang out, the door immediately opened. Aerith, looking haggard, appeared in front of him.
"Aiden, I'm so sleepy." Seeing Aiden, Aerith hugged his waist tightly, her head pressed against his chest.
Seeing that Aerith hadn't slept all night, Aiden's heart ached. He immediately picked her up and walked to the bed.
"I want to sleep in your arms," Aerith mumbled with her eyes closed, not letting go.
"Okay." Aiden nodded, then sat on the bed with Aerith in his arms.
Just like that, Aiden stayed home and accompanied Aerith for three days.
And three days later, at nightfall, as a train arrived at the station near Mako Reactor No. 1, two fully armed Shinra soldiers, holding guns, were conducting routine inspections of the newly arrived train.
One soldier nodded to his partner, then walked toward the back of the train, scanning carefully, not wanting to miss a single clue.
When he reached the fourth car, he suddenly heard strange noises behind him. He turned immediately, only to find that his partner had mysteriously disappeared.
Realizing something was wrong, he raised his gun and ran to where his partner had stood. But halfway there, a man wearing a red headband suddenly appeared behind him and covered his mouth.
As an elite Shinra soldier, even with his mouth covered, he didn't stop resisting. He swung his gun backward.
However, the red-headbanded man wasn't working alone. Just as the Shinra soldier raised his weapon, another headband-wearing woman jumped down from the train roof, took a few quick steps, and kicked him hard in the stomach.
"Urgh!" Though the Shinra soldier had received strict training and had better physical strength than average people, that kick still made him curl up like a cooked shrimp, then black out completely.
"So weak." Jessie, with the red headband, curled her lip, then waved toward the top of the train. Several more people jumped down.
"Hurry up and get moving. Don't waste time," said one of the new arrivals, Avalanche branch leader, Barret.
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