Cloud & Tifa

[Tifa Lockhart]

Tifa nodded and smiled to Vincent.
"Goodnight Vince. Thanks for everything." She'd say gently, her voice nearly a mere whisper as he vanished down the hall and into his room, she then returned her gaze towards the stairwell and saw Cloud had already climbed the stairs and was waiting in front of her, his eyes gentle.
"Yes... i don't know how well they'll sleep though..." She said, her eyes sympathetically tender as she glanced at the slightly open door.
Now that they were alone, Tifa felt nearly compelled to just break under the pressure, but when she felt her carefully crafted walls beginning to crumble she stuck her thumb in her mouth and bit it till it bled, trying to calm herself down again. Falling apart now would not help things at all... and would just add to Cloud's already monstrous list of things to worry about.

Reno wound his way up the track towards where the Turks were basing themselves. He was completely unaware of being followed by anyone, even though he was having the suspicious feeling that something was not right. Finally he reached HQ and pulled up his car. Climbing out he locked it and jogged up the stairs.
He knocked on the door and called out his name to announce his arrival. Upon entering the complex he found everyone was waiting, just as he'd requested.
"Real bad buisness guys. I think we've got some investigating to do."

[Cloud Strife]

Vincent disappeared into his room with nothing more than a simple grunt when Tifa told him good night - a hand appearing between the crack in the door to offer a little wave before finally closing behind him. Nothing was heard after that - the man extremely gifted in being unnaturally silent. To many, it would seem as though he settled in for sleep...where in actual reality? He was leaning against the wall instead - finding that sleep would not come. Crimson gaze remained wide as he contemplated the nights events, his injuries still there but mostly healed at this point. Chaos...

Metallic fist slammed into the wall of the bar, a soft snarl escaping him as he sat there. He had lost control. AGAIN. And it pissed him off. Lids fell over those dual crimsons as he sat there...attempting reign in his temper before he lost control for the second time that evening. Hmph.

Meanwhile, Cloud regarded Tifa calmly, merely nodding his head when she spoke of the children and their difficulty with sleep this night. Yeah, that was only natural after all. Tonight had been...terrifying. Never had he had a direct assault so close to home...and the very thought that the children might have been killed in his 'home'....was extremely unsettling. It was then that he noticed Tifa's sudden change. He knew her well, the blond did, and as soon as she bit down on her thumb? Well, strong arms encircled her form gently, protectively. "Go ahead, Tifa." Whispered words of encouragement escaped him as he rested his cheek on the top of her head. He hated this side of the woman...her pessimistic views unnatural for her usually optimistic nature. He wanted her to smile again, to tell him that everything would be alright just like she always did.

She needed a good cry. And Cloud understood this.

As Reno entered headquarters, as expected, Rude, Tseng, and the rest of the crew were standing there. Rude in all of his stoic glory accompanied by Tseng's rather impassive demeanor as well. The others were all in their various positions of comfort, leaning against the walls, standing straight, etc. All the same, it was Tseng who spoke first - clear, pointed, and direct just as always. "Well? Elaborate." Always, ALWAYS straight to the point of things. No greetings, no nothing. Always business with Tseng.

[Tifa Lockhart]

Reno glanced out the window again and locked the door before he turned to the others.
"Tifa was attacked without provocation in Seventh Heaven today." He paused slightly to let it sink in. "If i hadn't of been there she probably would have been killed. What troubles me is that the man attacked her to monitor the reactions of the others." He frowned lightly and scanned his eyes across his gathered colleagues. He'd made sure to remember as much abut Tifa's attacker as he could.
"The make of gun her attacker used was not one you can just go and buy anywhere, so her assailant had to be more than just a man with a vendetta... and he had some kind of poison in his pocket that he killed himself with before Cloud could question him."

Tifa shook her head at first when Cloud hugged her and encouraged her to cry, she didn't want to let herself go, because it would make the situation all that more difficult to deal with. But the moment his protective arms went around her she felt it all come tumbling down and she broke into tears. She wanted to immediately apologize for this slip of her composure, but the tears didn't stop long enough for her to form words.
She was very, very scared for the children, for the others... and for Cloud. She felt partially responsible, because she'd kept her concerns about how things were going to herself, instead of warning people before things got serious.