Private Paradise

[endless_scrolls]

Title: Private Paradise
Type: Drabble
Fandom: Kingdom Hearts II
Theme: 084. Island [Word count: 293]
Character(s): Tifa Lockhart, Cloud Strife; brief mentions of Merlin, Aerith Gainsborough, Squall 'Leon' Leonhart, Yuffie Kisaragi
Pairing(s): CloudTifa friendship, possibly a hint of something more
Warning(s): Creative license of events and making use of unknown information in the Kingdom Hearts timeline
Disclaimer: I own nothing but these words.
Note: Short drabble meant to be part of a series based on the events of the Kingdom Hearts Compilation. Theme borrowed from ficlets100.
Dedicated to: sealedflight, the best Cloud Strife a girl could ever ask for~ ♥♥♥

Merlin's house had always been like a safe haven for them. For him. Even after Aerith and the others had offered up their homes to them, he had always found his way back here on the magician's rooftop. And Tifa never understood why, at least not in the beginning. Although she never questioned it. Cloud knew what he wanted, and though he had a tendency to crumble under obligations or some long forgotten sense of chivalry, in the end Cloud would do as he pleased. No matter what anyone else thought.

Through reasons and causes of his own, Cloud lived his life in a way that made the most sense to him. No one else.

But the more time they spent under the crowded roof with their friends, as they were allowed to make up for all those years of separation straining their friendship, the more Tifa began to understand. Living with Aerith, Leon, and Yuffie was stifling for someone who had spent the better part of seven years as a solitary figure wandering through the worlds with nothing more than his shattered and broken memories. And here, in the quiet stillness of Merlin's rooftop, it was like a paradise, isolated from the rest of the world and the ominous castle that loomed just on the edge of the Radiant Garden. And when it rained...

"Tifa..."

The sudden soft rumble of his voice pulled the young woman from her daze. And with a mental shake of her head, Tifa turned all attention to her childhood friend, brow quirked in a curious way.

"...Ten more minutes. I promise."

And to that, the young woman simply smiled before turning back to the monotone world that stretched out before them. Tifa was not one to argue.