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[meteorrains]

[Tifa -

Had to make a delivery in Junon. I'll be back in a couple of days.

- Cloud

In actuality, there was no delivery. Any amount of light investigation could have uncovered that truth. He knew it was a flimsy excuse, knew it wouldn't exactly cover all of his tracks. But it was the best he could come up with on the spur of the moment - and the spur of the moment for him, it turned out, had been when he was already outside, double checking that everything was packed and secure and that he had enough fuel to make the trip he actually planned on. Surely even a poorly thought out excuse was better than no explanation at all.

Highly unlikely, of course, considering just who the excuse had been made to. It had been four days since he had left. Four days of not answering his phone, of dodging each and every possible attempt at contact. And he was fully intent on waltzing back in as if nothing had happened, as if he hadn't pulled the same disappearing act he had performed so many times in the past.

His mind might have been clearer, his thoughts and feelings finally aligning in the way he wanted them to. But at what cost? Some day, probably soon, she was going to get tired of him leaving. She was going to get so tired of it, in fact, that she wouldn't be waiting for him when he returned.]

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[meteorrains]

[There's a soft sort of sound that rises within his throat, struggling to escape even as he attempts to mute it, teeth sinking into the slightly swollen expanse of his lower lip until it falters and fades. Everything within him wants to dive back in to her, wants to press back against her and continue on from where they had broken apart, wants to rapidly move forward down this path they've chosen.

But those words form a question, one that deserves an answer, one that gives him pause and causes him to think. What had finally tipped the scales of his indecision? What had been the final push past his feelings of inadequacy, of the knowledge that he wasn't nearly good enough for her? What had made him decide to leave, to attempt to get those tricky emotions and tangled thoughts unwound and straightened?

He didn't want to lose her. He had lost so much already in this life, far more than any one person should ever have to suffer through. To know that she had slipped away due to his own faults, his own inability to be truthful, to be honest and accept her, all of her and everything she offered would be more than he could bear. To know that he was the sole reason for her departure from his life, that she had finally been pushed too far, past the breaking point and could no longer wait for him to make a choice.

A choice he should have made long ago. He never should have made her wait, should have left her there to wonder.]

I guess I got tired of running. [The words are forced forwards with an outwards breath as he leans forward, forehead coming to rest gently against hers, deep electric blue remaining open and searching.]

[powersouls]

[She's spent so long going back and forth on whether or not he has any feelings for her. Lately, her answer to herself more and more has been no, largely because sometimes it didn't seem like he wanted to be here at all. But the idea that he was running... It makes sense, even if she's not completely sure what he was running from.

That can wait though, she thinks. She's too happy right now to worry, and sick of overthinking this, so she lets her hands fall to his hips. Tifa dips her head to press a kiss against his neck, her voice quiet and her lips brushing against his skin as she responds.]

I'm glad. Welcome home.

[meteorrains]

[If every homecoming was going to be exactly like this one, then he would have all of the incentive he would ever need to continue returning to her. To start switching his thinking, to trying to find ways to come back sooner rather than how to stay way. To begin to realize that he had something good and warm and wonderful waiting for him, something welcoming, something that made him feel as if he finally belonged.

Fingers trail upwards, ghosting over the soft skin of her check before slipping backwards, pushing thick strands of dark hair so it became securely tucked behind her ear.]

Yeah. I am home.