I just started writing this one day, trying to capture the love triangle between Aeris, Cloud and Tifa. I hope I did it justice! ^_^ Send your comments to aeris_love@hotmail.com
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She looked so beautiful tonight, with her long golden-brown hair gently flowing down her back, and in the silky lavender dress, which was the perfect color for her light, pink skin. DON'T STARE AT HER, I told myself... Tifa would kill me. I shook my head, and turned my attention to Tifa, who was talking away quickly.
"So, Cloud, I was thinking of going down to the store to buy myself a new skirt... I don't know, what do you think? Should I get a leather one? Those are nice, but..." She trailed off, because she realized I wasn't paying much attention to her. I was watching Aeris again, who was giggling, and stroking Red XIII's fur... I wished I could be Red XIII at that moment. Tifa released an exasperated sigh.
"Are you even listening to me??" she said, glaring at me.
"Huh?" I glanced at her. "Oh, oh, yeah, of course I am."
Tifa shrugged, and went on talking. I kept my eyes on my dinner plate as she talked, not letting them trail to Aeris again.
Want to hear the truth? Whenever I look at Tifa, I don't see her as the woman she's grown into. I see the child she used to be... My best friend. I can see what she feels for me, though... When she speaks to me... When she looks at me... But I just... I just can't feel the same for her.
"...the black one or the blue one? Tell me honestly, Cloud," Tifa said. She was holding up a fashion magazine. There were millions of models wearing different mini skirts and T-shirts. I blinked. Most of them were black and blue. I raised an eyebrow.
"The black one," I said, trying to sound like I was listening to her.
"Yeah, I like that one too, I think it..." Tifa went on.
"Sorry to interrupt," came a voice. I looked up, to see Aeris. Interrupt?? She was more than welcome! "But, Tifa, I think you should get a new dress instead of a miniskirt... Maybe a short summer dress in white? I have one in my closet, if you want to see it, except it's light blue."
"Hey, that sounds cool, doesn't it Cloud? Why don't you wear it downstairs?" Tifa said.
"Well, I don't know... I think it's a little revealing for my tastes..." Aeris said doubtfully.
"Oh, that's ok..." I said, then wished I hadn't. "Uh, Tifa wants to see it..." I said, trying to cover up quickly. Aeris raised her eyebrows, and giggled.
"Ok, why not? Just a second!" she said, and walked upstairs. Tifa was looking at me strangely.
"Cloud?" she asked. I looked at her. She shook her head, and said, "Nothing, it doesn't matter... Can you pass me some of the steak, please?"
I shrugged, and passed the plate over to Tifa. I looked at Red XIII, who had been very quiet throughout the meal.
"Red?" I asked. He didn't reply. I looked a little closer. His eyes were shut. It looked like he was asleep. "Red??" I repeated. He opened his eyes.
"I was meditating," he said crankily.
"Er... Yeah,ok, get back to it, sorry to bug you," I said, scratching my head. He closed his eyes again. "So, Tifa, what do you think?" came Aeris' voice.
I quickly turned my head to look at Aeris, and could feel my mouth fall open. The light blue dress reached her mid thigh, and showed off her long legs. It emphasized her curves... The color made her eyes shine and her cheeks glow radiantly. The only thought running through my head was that she looked incredible.
"Close your mouth, you're drooling," came Cid's voice into my ear. He had just arrived from the weapon store, where he had been buying a new spear. I shut my mouth quickly.
"It's a great dress, Aeris... I'd like one, but maybe in red, or green... I don't know if white would suit me," Tifa said. I don't think she had seen me looking at Aeris. She turned to me. "What do you think? Do you like the dress?"
"It's beautiful," I said, taking my eyes off Aeris for a second to look at Tifa. She smiled.
"Ok, great, I'll get one," she said. She pushed her dinner plate away in front of her, and stood up. "I'll come along, too, I know a great store," Aeris said.
"Count me out," Cid said, sitting down at the table, piling steak onto his plate. Tifa glanced at me. "Cloud, do you want to come, too?"
"Sure!" I said, jumping out of my chair, dropping my knife and fork onto the floor. I think Tifa thought I did that because I was excited to go with her, because she began smiling broadly. She didn't understand it was because of Aeris... It would be hard to explain. Before Aeris, we had gone out on a couple of dates, because I had fooled myself into believing Tifa was the right one for me. But after I met Aeris, I realized that, no, Tifa was just a friend.
We walked out of the house. Tifa was walking on one side of me. She was talking animatedly about next month's fashion (or something like that). Aeris was walking silently on my other side, looking at the animals and plant life around us. She gasped, and pointed at a field of brightly colored flowers.
"Oh, those are so beautiful, I have to gather some of them! They're just gorgeous!" Aeris said, smiling.
"Let me help you," I said, and quickly kneeled down by the flowers, and started picking them, making a big bouquet for her.
"Oh, I don't need that many," Aeris said, kneeling down next to me. "Here, you can split it in half, and give one half to me, and one to Tifa."
I quickly split the flowers into two groups. I shoved one into Tifa's hands, and then gently handed the other one to Aeris.
"Thanks, Cloud," Aeris said, smiling.
I grinned. "Uh, my pleasure." I noticed Tifa looked just a little bit uncomfortable. "Let's go, the store's gonna close, soon, Cloud," she said.
When we reached the store, Aeris and Tifa went to look for outfits. I sat down for a second to think. I had lost track of my thoughts during the walk to the store. I decided I needed to put all my feelings together, to understand myself.
What did I feel for Aeris?? I had never been romantic, or interested in love... But Aeris brought out feelings in myself that I had never experienced. But why?? What was it about Aeris that made her so special and different? It didn't have anything to do with her being an Ancient, did it? Or was it just her sweet, wonderful personality? Or the fact that she was so gorgeous it made her glow like the sun? I felt really bad feeling all of this, despite Tifa's feelings for me... Maybe if I told her, I would lose the guilt...
Aeris was in a changing room trying on another dress. Tifa was looking slightly flustered and uncomfortable, as she searched through the dress racks.
"Cloud..." she said slowly. "Can you come here for a second?"
I nodded, and walked over to her.
"Remember when we used to go on dates and stuff?" she said. I nodded. "Why don't we do that anymore?" she insisted.
"Uh... You mean like, uh... Dates? Well, those weren't really *date* dates... They were more like friends going out for meals and that kind of stuff..." I said, scratching my head meekly.
"Really," Tifa said, a little sarcastically, but then she got emotional. "Cloud, I remember that you kissed me once... Didn't that mean anything to you? Remember, it was late at night, and we had just finished dinner... We went back to the old well, like we did when we were kids... And you kissed me... That meant a lot to me..."
I bit my lip. "Tifa... That was one time, and... Well, I think we both know that what used to be there isn't there anymore..."
Tifa's eyes brimmed up with tears. "Cloud... I still... I... I think I still..." She choked out the last words. "I still love you, Cloud..."
"Tifa... I... I think I love Aeris," I said slowly, looking straight into her eyes.
Tifa sighed, and the tears slid down her face. She shrugged dejectedly, and walked away from me, to another dress rack, where she kept on crying silently. She picked out a dress, then took it with her into a changing room. I sighed, and sat down to think again. I knew I did it all wrong... I had really hurt her. But at least I had told her, instead of keeping it a secret until the end. But now I had to somehow tell Aeris.
"Cloud," came a gentle voice. I stood up and spun around. Of course, it was Aeris. "I think Tifa's crying..."
"Yeah... I know... We had a disagreement..." I said.
"Is it something personal, or can I hear about it?" Aeris asked, concerned.
"Well, I suppose you'll have to hear about it sometime... I used to sort of... Uh, go out with Tifa... On dates and stuff," I said. Aeris nodded. I went on, and I begun beating around the bush. "But, I realized there was this other girl who I liked better... She's gorgeous, and intelligent, sweet, and everything I could ever want..."
"Do I know her?" Aeris asked. She really didn't know who I meant. "Uh..." I said slowly. "You are her..."
Aeris raised her hand to her mouth, surprised. She looked at me, then back at the changing room where Tifa was getting changed, then back at me.
"Cloud..." she said softly.
"Do you... Could you feel the same for me?" I asked her nervously.
"Yes, I could... I think I already do... I think I love you," she said, looking at me in shock. My heart leaped in joy. "But what about Tifa? We can't leave her like this..."
"I know we can't... But before anything, can I do something that I've wanted to do ever since I met you?" I asked her slowly.
"What do you want to do?" she asked curiously. I leaned in and kissed her. It was the most wonderful kiss I'd ever experienced. As I wrapped my arms around her neck, Tifa came out of the changing room.
"Cloud!?" she yelled out. Aeris parted the kiss in surprise, and we both turned our heads to her, still in each other's arms.
"I can't believe I wasted twenty years of my life... Loving you, Cloud..." she muttered.
"Tifa..." I said gently.
"Goodbye, Cloud," Tifa said, on the verge of tears, and marched back into the dressing room. I looked back at Aeris.
"Cloud... Maybe we should give her some time to cool off," she said softly. "Come on, let's go..."
She took my hand, and we walked out of the store. Night had fallen, and the stars were out, twinkling away. We walked silently for about a minute. Then, I spoke. "Do you think it's wrong?" I said gently.
"Do I think what's wrong?" she said, confused.
"The fact that even though Tifa is suffering, I want to take you into my arms and kiss you?" I asked, innocently. She stopped walking, and we gazed into each other's eyes. A smile slowly crept across Aeris' gorgeous features, and she leaned in, and we shared another sweet kiss. Once we parted, I smiled at Aeris.
"I... I... How can I say this..." I stuttered. I just let it rush out: "I love you, Aeris." She smiled her beautiful smile. "I love you, too, Cloud."
"You know... I still feel sort of bad... About Tifa..." I said, scratching my head.
"I think she'll be alright... There's somebody for everyone on this planet of ours..." Aeris said, smiling at me. "It may take her a day... Or it may take her another twenty years. But she's going to find her Mr. Right, and she will be happy forever." "I hope so," I said gently. "I hope so."
We got back to the inn, and I kissed Aeris goodnight, before we parted ways to our rooms.
"Cloud? Wake up!" came a voice. I yawned, and opened my eyes sleepily. A blurry image of a girl appeared before my eyes. As it came into focus, I realized it was Tifa.
"Cloud, I wanted to say I'm sorry for... For acting the way I did. Believe it or not, I'm really happy for you and Aeris, really, I am... I just was really surprised... I thought that the two of us still had a chance... But I guess not. I just want you to know that, while I am sad, don't blame yourself. If you don't love me, you don't love me... You just can't pretend, it wouldn't be fair to either of us. And Aeris really does love you..." Tifa smiled a little here, and looked down. "I hope we can still be friends."
"Of course we can, Tifa..." I said, smiling. "You'll always be one of my best friends."
Her eyes sparkled with tears, and I hugged her gently. She then stood up, and began leaving the room. But before she left, she turned around, smiled again, the tears gently making their way down her cheeks.
"Goodnight, Cloud."
"Goodnight, Tifa."