Title: Missing Time
Fandom: Final Fantasy: Advent Children
Characters: Cloud, Yuffie, Vincent, Cid, Denzel, Tifa
Prompt: 006 - Hours
Word Count: 942
Date finished: 06/21/2006
Rating: G
Summary: Cloud wonders how long he was gone.
Author's Notes: So did I. So I figured it out.
Disclaimer: Characters are owned by Square Enix and Sony Pictures as far as I know.

"You okay?"

He looked up at Yuffie, who crouched next to him. "I think so. How long was I gone?"

She smiled, and he envied her the ability to smile so easily. "About 48 hours," she said. "Almost. Long enough for us to really get worried about you."

Cloud stared at her. "48 hours?"

She laughed; Vincent appeared behind her. "Yes, that long," she said, and stood. "We got back to the bar after the explosion, and the kids wouldn't leave us alone. They finally dragged Tifa here, physically; they were starting to panic. And then…" Words failed her, but she was still smiling. "There you were!" She gestured to the pool so enthusiastically that she had to step over him or she would have tripped.

"Cloud," Vincent said. "Tifa said to get you back to the bar. It's getting late, and chilly."

He started to get to his feet, and couldn't do it. Vincent took his arm and pulled him up, and Cloud shivered. Tifa was right. It was getting chilly, and if he wanted to do his deliveries….

His thoughts stopped right there. The bike. And the sword. Fenrir, at least, was pretty far from the center of all the destruction, but the Tsurugi had been right in the middle of the explosion from Loz and Yazoo. "Are they gone?" he asked, reaching to balance himself against the wall.

"The remnants?" Vincent asked. "As far as we could tell. Kadaj's exit was… obvious. We didn't find anything of the other two."

Cid arrived then, scowling. "Tifa's mad. Let's get moving before he gets sick," he said, jerking his thumb at Cloud.

Cloud was having a hard time keeping his eyes open. "And before I fall asleep," he mumbled. He'd missed them, this bunch of strange companions. But things had simply been so…

Well, no, if he were honest, he was just being stupid. He pushed away from the wall and started from the church, only to stumble as he reached the door. Cid was suddenly next to him, pulling Cloud's arm across his shoulders. "Reckon Tifa's right," he said. "You're tired, chilled, and probably hungry."

He hadn't thought of it, but he was hungry now that Cid mentioned it. "Yes, yes, and yes," Cloud said, leaning gratefully on the pilot.

They didn't have to walk far. Someone stopped by them and offered a ride, which they thankfully took. Cloud slumped against the side of the truck, glad it wasn't yellow, and let his eyes close. Whatever Tifa had planned, as soon as he got warm, he was likely to sleep. Even chilled in the wind, he was ready to fall asleep.

But then bright lights shone in his eyes, and Cid and Vincent were pulling on him to get up; beyond them he could hear Yuffie talking away at someone. Leaning heavily on Cid, Cloud stumbled into the bar, shivering now. He followed where Cid led, up the stairs to a small room, where the pilot roughly stripped his wet clothes off and dressed him in something dry. "Tifa says to eat before you sleep," the pilot said.

"No use," Cloud said. It was getting harder and harder to keep his eyelids up. "Tell her I'm sorry."

Cid muttered a curse as he turned away to do something, then pulled Cloud bodily off the floor where he leaned against the wall and had him lay down on what seemed to be his own bedroll. "Thanks," he mumbled, and sank blissfully into sleep.

When he woke up, Denzel lay against the wall, working on something. Cloud stirred, stretched, and sat up as Denzel jumped to his feet and ran to the door. "Stay there," he told Cloud, and left.

Still drowsy, Cloud blinked slowly, trying to figure out where he was. His memories from the night before - anything after climbing out of the pool - were blurry. He thought he remembered Yuffie talking to him, but what she might have said…. Of course, he usually couldn't follow Yuffie's conversation anyway.

Something smelled wonderful, and Cloud's stomach growled. He started to get to his feet, to follow that scent, when it came in on a tray Tifa carried. She smiled at him as he settled back down, and set the tray next to him. There was enough there for two, and she settled down across the tray from him. "How are you feeling?" she asked.

"Better," he told her.

"Good." Her smile slipped. "Don't do that again," she said softly.

He reached out and touched her cheek, not entirely sure to what she was referring. "I'll do my best - whatever it is you don't want me to do."

She laughed, which was pretty much what he'd hoped. "Don't just… leave me alone like that," she said, sobering.

Cloud regarded her seriously. Was she being vague on purpose? He opened his mouth to ask, then closed it again. "I won't," he said. Whatever she meant, he would mean that he wouldn't pull away from her again. It had been cowardly and stupid of him, and he would not do it again, no matter what happened now.

She searched his face, then smiled, slowly. "You'd better eat," she said. "Before it gets cold."

So he did, just glad she hadn't given up on him.

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