Comfortable Silences Ch.2

The next morning, I woke up with a heavy tiredness because of the lack of sleep I had last night. I slept for only 4 hours or less and I was still feeling a bit drowsy. But even so, I didn’t complain about it. I needed to vent a few things and last night really helped me out with the stress that I was developing from work.

As usual, I got out of bed to take a cold shower and then went to get myself some coffee to start the day. As expected, Tifa and the children were still sleeping upstairs, so I tried to not make too much noise so I wouldn't wake them. I took my things and then went to work on Fenrir.

That night, I returned very late from work. It was already 11 pm and I was feeling much more weary than usual; so I went straight to bed to get some rest and didn’t even bother to undress myself. As soon as I laid on the bed, my cell phone started ringing.

“Hello?” I said drowsyily.

“Oh, I’m sorry, did I wake you up?”

I got up immediately when I heard Tifa’s voice. I was so tired that actually forgot about my meeting with Tifa.  

“No. I was just...” I ran my hand down my face, “Resting my eyes.” I heard a giggle after that.

“It’s okay Cloud. I understand if you don’t feel like having a drink tonight...”

I felt bad for not being able to be with her that night.

“We can still talk through the phone.” I tried to sound more awake.  

“Really? But I thought you didn’t like talking on the phone...”

“Things have changed now.” I laid on my bed and then switched to a more comfortable position.

“Are you sure? Because I don’t want to bother-”

“Trust me. You’re not a bother.” I interrupted her.

“Okay then.” She chuckled. “So... How was your day?”

“Well, you know, the usual.” I changed the phone to my other ear. “Same old routine with frustrated people and their deliveries. Not to mention my endless battles with monsters around every corner.” I said sarcastically, earning a chuckle from Tifa.

“Well, you’d be surprised with the kinds of customers I receive. They’re worse than the real monsters.” I chuckled as well.

Once again, we spent the whole night talking through the phone. I was looking forward to spending more time with Tifa for a change and despite the fact that my lack of sleep was gaining me; it didn’t bother me at all. There were moments when I had to pretend I heard what she said because I was falling asleep but she was smart enough to notice my change of tone. She tried to cut me off many times but I didn’t let her since this was the only way we could talk to each other and I was willing to sacrifice my sleep just for that. Although I wished we could’ve done this at another time of the day; I wouldn’t trade this for anything. There’s something about her voice that makes me feel warm. Her voice is so soothing and very welcoming that I mentally cursed myself for not having done this before.

“Oh shoot.” She said suddenly.

“What’s the matter?”

“My battery is running out.”

As soon as she said that, my cell phone started ringing as well.

“Mine too.” I replied and she chuckled.

"Well, I think it's time we both go to sleep."

“Yeah.”

“Thanks again for the chat. I really had fun talking to you.”

“Right back at ya...” I replied and she giggled some more. There was a pause after that. None of us wanted to hang up but then she broke the awkward silence.

“Hey Cloud? If you're not too tired tomorrow, would you like to do something?”

“What do you have in mind?”

“Um... I don’t know, maybe watch a movie?” She sounded insecure.

“Sounds good to me.” I smirked.

“Okay then. So, I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“You bet.”

“Okay.” She smiled. “Good-night Cloud.”

“Good-night, Tifa.”

We hung up after that. I was amused by all of this. How come we never did this before? It seemed so natural to be together like this, just the two of us; chatting and sharing comfortable silences. Maybe this is what they call a real friendship. But still, there was something missing.

The next morning began as usual. Once again, I felt a little exhausted by the little rest I had the night before but for some reason I was in a better mood than other days. Could it be that the long night with Tifa helped me out with my stress?

A few hours later while I was still on the job, I received a phone call. It was Tifa. She was in a video store looking for a movie which we could see tonight. I personally didn’t care much about the genre of the movie, but she wanted to make it enjoyable for both of us. As expected, her choices were very different from mine. She preferred romantic comedies while I leaned more for the action movies. In the end, she ended up choosing the movie for both and asked me to also bring some snacks for the evening.

When I arrived at the bar, Tifa was still cleaning the dishes from that night, so I took the opportunity to take a shower while she finished her tasks. After the bath, I put some clothes on and went downstairs to meet her. She was wearing her usual sleepwear with a plain black tank and some red shorts and I was wearing a simple white T-shirt with a pair of trousers.

We both went to the living room and she placed the tape into the VHS, placed the popcorn and the rest of the snacks on the table and got comfortable on the couch. The movie was about a teenage girl who got pregnant who ended up, falling in love with her best friend. Talk about cheesy movies. Anyway, we watched the first 40 minutes of the movie and then we started to make jokes about it. There were parts when Tifa and I began to make our own dubbing and we laughed about it.

“Aw man, I can’t believe we spent money on this crap.” I said amused.

“Well, at least we’re having fun with it.” She replied.

Tifa chuckled and became silent for a moment. I turned my head slightly to see what she was up to and then she sighed.

"Have you ever wondered what it's like to have children?" She began.

I stared at her confused. “Well... I don’t think that's physically possible for me.” I raised an eyebrow at her and she burst into laughter.

“No silly! I meant to have a family!” She said chuckling.

“But we already have a family.” I replied incredulously.

“Yes, but don't you think it would be wonderful to have your own children with the person you love. To raise them, play with them and watch them grow.”

“I suppose.” I said, awkwardly.

“I’m sorry for bringing this up.” She tried changing the subject. “It's just that, sometimes I feel it wouldn’t be the same when Marlene and Denzel grow up and leave us. I don’t want to grow old and be alone raising cats, you know?” She chuckled.

“You won’t be alone.” I said with a serious look and she looked at me. “I’ll be here with you to help you raise the cats.” I smirked.

“Oh, you...” She punched me on the shoulder playfully.

“I’m going to get me a soda. You want me to bring you one?” I stood up from the couch and Tifa paused the movie.

“Nah, I’m good. Thanks.” She smiled.

“Okay then, I’ll be right back.”

I went to the kitchen to grab another soda from the fridge. The movie was so bad that I was actually trying not to fall asleep. I was actually having a great time though, but my tiredness was winning me over. I needed something to wake me up, so I looked for some Red Bull and headed back to the living room.

When I got back, I saw that Tifa was already watching the movie without me. I was about to protest, but for my surprise, she had fallen asleep on the couch. I didn’t want to wake her up so I tried not to make sudden movements when I sat again on my spot. She snuggled against my shoulder and I let her sleep for a while. I assumed she was also tired from of the lack of sleep we both had, so it was only natural that she would feel weary.

Finally, the movie reached its climax and I turned off the TV. Tifa was still sleeping peacefully on my shoulder and I couldn’t help the smile when I saw her sleeping face. She looks kinda cute when she sleeps.

Later after that, I managed to get off the couch without waking her up and took her in my arms to go upstairs. She wasn’t heavy at all, but my strength wasn’t like it used to be because of obvious reasons. When I finally arrived to her room, I kicked the door slightly to open it and gently put her in her bed. I took off her sandals and tucked her in the sheets; and just when I was about to leave, Tifa extended one of her arms to reach my hand.

“Don’t...” She said drowsily. “Don’t go... stay...” She whispered softly with her eyes still closed.

I wasn’t sure what she meant by that, but I didn’t have the heart to leave her now. I suppose she wanted me to stay with her for a while because she got used to my company. I lay beside her on the other side of the bed; facing each other. Like me, she wasn’t a heavy sleeper so I had to be sure she was fast asleep before I go back to my room. But despite my efforts to stay awake, I succumbed to my tiredness and fell asleep in the process.

To be continued...