Midgar Uni-verse

Summary: University life can be more than just Courses, Fellowships and Studies. That is what Zack Fair and Aeris Gainsborough believe and that is what they'll precisely teach to their juniors, Cloud Strife and Tifa Lockhart.

Genre: Friendship – Romance

Rating: T

Pairing: Tifa Lockhart x Cloud Strife

Setting: AU! It is assumed to take place in a peaceful world and everybody is a College student. Some sort of Royal Hierarchy is implied.

Disclaimer: The characters are © Square Enix. I just played with a setting and some ideas.

Chapter 1: Meet the Freshman!

"Oh look Zack! The list for the new admissions class is up. Time to think of ways to make their life miserable for the orientation week," a brunette shouted over the hallway while skimming through the notices for the day.

"Awesome! Come on Cloud, you have to see this! You can now have your revenge, sweet revenge from what they did to you last year," shouted the guy named Zack as he dragged his friend by his collar to the notice board. "Time to have some fun, eh buddy," he chuckled as he came to stand beside the brunette and pored over the list.

"Woo! There is some hot stuff here on this list man, look at the first roll number," Zack exclaimed, scanning the list, grinning as he scrutinised the details of the girl in question. "Ahhh! She is this year's Tuesti Arts Fellow," he shouted suddenly, his finger frozen on the line where it clearly gave the details. Interested, Cloud gave the profile a look as he himself was a Tuesti Fellow, albeit a Physics one. It's just that the Tuesti Fellowship was the toughest to win in the entire land and somebody who must have won it would be, if anything, passionate about their subject.

The profile was best described like this:

Name: Tifa Lockhart

Age: 20

Courses this Semester: Sketching 101; Art History 101; Art Techniques 101; Analytical Maths 101; Elementary Mechanics 101; Classical Literature 101

Winner of the Tuesti Arts Fellowship

" … I know her, she is the daughter of Lord and Lady Lockhart; the people who are our neighbours in Costa del Sol, the summer retreat, " Cloud observed after going over her profile.

"She is really pushing it with her courses, ain't she?" Zack asked perplexed.

"Not really, no. I know her, she was in the same finishing academy as I was and even though my junior, she had cleared courses I was taking. She doesn't limit herself to a field, she wants to know anything about everything. I remember reading in the Royal Announcements some time ago that she was betrothed to a certain somebody," the brunette explained, wiggling her eyebrows in the end, whose notice nobody took as she had the odd habit of acting cryptically most of the times.

The brunette, commonly known as the Sugar Plum Fairy of the Junior year, sometimes by her name of Aeris Gainsborough was an English Literature major aged 22. People who were friends with her knew that she had a prankster's soul and would not pass up an opportunity to have a laugh at the expense of her friends. She had waist length mousy brown hair which she used to tie up to keep them away from her face and bright green eyes, much like a cat's.

Her friendly countenance could be disastrous for the dumb and the unawares who would miss the mischief in her eyes. The only child of a renowned biologist (Prof. Dr. Gast Gainsborough) and naturalist (Ilfalna Gainsborough) recently awarded with a knighthood due to their research on green industrial measures, she decided to break from the traditional sciences trademark of her family name and decided to study something which would grant her the freedom to enjoy university life as it was portrayed in fiction.

"Off grounds for the public then," mused Zack, "However, that still does not mean that we can't give her a welcome to the campus in our style," he added chuckling.

Zack Fair, 23, was a Business major with a boisterous personality. With shoulder length black spiky hair and blue eyes like frozen crystal, he was a male specimen rarely found in those times: tall, handsome and well-built in physique; chivalrous, honourable and dutiful at heart. The youngest of the three sons of the Earl of Gongaga (Angeal Fair and Genesis Fair being the other two- one a very successful medical practitioner the other a businessman respectively), he had smartly chosen his subjects so that he could help expand his father's estate by managing it and keeping all the records in the eyes of the family.

Ever the ladies' man, Zack was head over heels in love with Aeris and everybody knew that. His behaviour with others was justified for him as he just tried to make every girl feel pretty and laugh easily. He was engaged to be married to Aeris and the wedding would shortly take place after Aeris would graduate i.e. 2 years.

"There is something familiar about her, like I know her … that feeling of having met somewhere before," Cloud wondered out loud ignoring Zack's last dialogue and still going over the profile.

"Oh really, you don't say," Aeris said in incredulously innocent tones as she stood there looking at Cloud. "Tell me what led you to this conclusion genious?" she asked.

"I don't know … hmmm … something to do with a painting," with fingers running through his hair and deep in thought, Cloud replied to her, still thinking about how he knew Tifa and very obviously missing the sarcasm in Aeris' voice. "I got it!" He suddenly exclaimed pounding his right fist on his left palm, "I posed for one of her pictures while on the holiday before I started university. Yep, I am sure of that."

Cloud, a physics major aged 21 was true to his field, forgetful in nature yet extremely perceptive, of things that would interest him. He was passionate to his field to the degree of fanaticism and loved only one thing more than anything in this world- his custom made bike, that was a gift from his parents on his 18th birthday, the Fenrir. With blonde spiky hair that seemed to defy Newton's laws and cerulean eyes that shone like adamantite, Cloud was quiet in nature and as well-built as Zack. The Fairs and the Strifes being blood relatives (brothers) it wasn't really a wonder why most of them had eyes that shone brightly as if they had a spirit of their own.

Not quite fitting the image of a scholar, Cloud looked more like a delinquent or a troublemaker. The eldest of the four sons of the Duke of Kalm, he was declared hopeless by his parents (the Duke and Duchess' Strife), a lunatic by his two younger brothers (Loz Strife and Yazoo Strife) and a gem by his youngest (Kadaj Strife).

"Oooh, so you posed for her did you?" Aeris cooed as she took Zack's hand and pinched his thumb, a signal that she had something to tell him and hoping that for now, he won't question her and follow along with whatever she had in mind.

"So, what kind of pose was it Cloud? Nude or semi nude?" Zack asked, understanding her signal and turning up on his cousin.

"It can't be nude Zack, we were at the beach, right?!" Cloud exasperatedly replied.

"Ri-ight," both remarked at the same time, their heads bobbing in unison.

"Besides, if I remember it correctly, all she wanted me to do was sit by a rock, she said that way I could continue doing whatever I wanted to without even noticing her," Cloud added.

"I'm afraid that is what really happened," Aeris said in a piteous tone as she took Zack by his arm and dragged him to a corner, whispering something to him while his eyes betrayed his reaction to it: first growing wide in shock, then thoughtful and finally shining like they usually were, a devious smile adorning his handsome face.

"So, are you going to memorise the profile Cloud or are we done here because believe-you-me, you'll have a lifetime of memorising to do in any case," Zack said loudly as he made his way back to the notice board where Cloud was still deep in thought.

"If that last jab was at my field, I'll have you know that we don't memorise stuff, we understand the concept behind it and then apply it on our future systems," Cloud said moving away from the board clearly misunderstanding what Zack had said.

"If the future of the world is you guys, then I am pretty sure that Our future is screwed. Now come on, we are getting late for the theatrical club meeting," Zack mumbled as the three friends made their way across the hallway to the right wing of the campus and the drama theater.

Tifa made her way down the winding stairs paying attention to the paraphernalia the administrative office had given her: an ID card, a shuttle service card, a parking permit, a cafeteria pass, her dormitory keys, a library card for the Arts Archive, another for the main archives, a list of the clubs open for the freshmen, her exact time table and a map of the campus. Putting everything except for the map in her purse, she made her way towards the notice board where she noticed a group of two guys and a small girl standing and poring over the New Admissions list. Deciding to actually skip meeting anybody, she made her way towards the Girl's Wing of the dorms and unpack her stuff and prepare for the formal dinner hosted that night to mark the start of the new academic year.

Tifa Lockhart, 20, was the only daughter of the Lord and Lady of Nibelheim and engaged to a family of equal, if not superior, wealth and prestige. Growing up alone, she found comfort in the world of books and as such had an appetite for gaining knowledge. Even though she could have studied any subject the university could offer, she went with Arts as that would have given her the freedom to pursue that even after her marriage. She was extremely proficient in whatever she did and very smart when it came to making personal decisions as was evident by that of choosing her field, which she insisted on doing after meeting her future household and analysing their lifestyle.

With claret eyes that seemed to melt or freeze depending on her mood and change colours and knee-length dark brown hair (that almost looked black) which were either tied high in a ponytail or left loose, she looked like one of those domestic, pretty girls whose mere presence radiated comfort and warmth. However, the aura of strength, determination and a quiet pride underlying that warmth were what defined her and set her apart from all the other girls you would meet out there.

As she entered her room, she noticed two parcels slipped from under the threshold. One of them was a letter from her parents notifying her that her private cellphone number had been registered and was now on its way and asking about her first impressions on the campus, whereas the other was from her parents-in-law who wanted to congratulate her on getting the Tuesti Award and hoped to hear about other great things from her in the coming four years. Included with their letter was the confirmation and customer identification slip to a brand new Mazda RX-7 which was their gift to her so that she would 'not have to depend on anybody for any thing she wished to do when bored,' they had written. She couldn't honestly believe her luck at that and decided to thank them for their generosity and remembering her achievement by sending them a letter and later calling her mother-in-law and vocally expressing her thanks.

Later that evening while Tifa got ready, somebody knocked on the door. Opening it, she found that a brunette was standing there, holding a towel in her hands, hair wet and askew. She recognised the girl as the daughter of Dr. Gast. Trying to rack her brains for her name, she ran fingers through her hair and said, "Hello, may I help you, Ms. Gainsborough?"

"Call me Aeris," the girl replied grinning, "I was wondering if I could borrow your hair dryer, I threw mine at Zack and the idiot ran away with it rather than returning it to me," she explained wringing her hair dry with the towel.

"Let me guess, he couldn't wait to see what you were wearing for the dinner, right?" Tifa replied grinning too, "Or he just got ready before you did and wanted to while away the time," she added handing Aeris a dryer and setting brush. "I'm Tifa by the way, Tifa Lockhart. Nice to meet you," she said introducing herself.

"I know, I saw your picture on the notice board. Welcome to U of M," Aeris said giving Tifa another grin and throwing her towel and hairbrush on the chair nearest to her. "Sorry, I'll just get done with the hair and then take care of it," she said by way of apology as she plugged in the switch to the dryer and started doing her hair. "May I ask about what you plan to wear to the dinner or will that be too inquisitive of me?"

"Oh? No it is not at all a problem. I was just thinking about that to be honest. I have shortlisted two outfits. However, I am not sure of what to wear for an unknown reason. Here," Tifa said as she led Aeris to her wardrobe and took out two very different outfits. One was a full length, form fitting gown of a deep red shade in chiffon with a net gauze of a slightly lighter shade covering the cleavage and her arms. "I decided to tie my hair in a chignon and go for droopy earrings with this one," she explained holding out the dress. It looked simple yet elegant and on Tifa it would work well too as it would accentuate her eyes. The other was a made to fit navy blue blazer with matching slacks and a gray shirt. Even though simple, the brooch on the left pocket of the blazer and the fitting gave it the chic and professional look that would fit the ambiance of the event too. "And with this I decided on setting my hair on the front as slightly rolled while the left are let loose and go for a pearl necklace and earrings with stilettos and net gloves," she said holding out the suit.

"Wow … I am just confused as to what to say," Aeris said gaping like a fish at the dresses. "Both scream perfectness, leaving one for the other would be unfair to that one and you can't wear both of them too," she added in a tiny voice.

"What are you wearing if you don't mind my asking?" Tifa said turning towards the brunette.

"No! Not at all! I decided to go with a semi-professional look. I thought of wearing slacks with a blouse and waistcoat rather than a dress shirt and blazer. That is definitely not me if I wear that but I can work with the other two items I mentioned. I picked out camel slacks with a matching waistcoat and a pale pink blouse. I thought of rolling my hair and tying them up with a ribbon. And voilà, that would be my entire effort for this dinner," Aeris explained her outfit to Tifa hoping to give her the solution to finalising her outfit as well. "Most girls here opt for dresses on the Annual Dinners, the ones held a week after the final exams in July as the mood is much more cheerful then. On Welcoming Dinners and all through the orientation week, people go for the semi-professional look," Aeris added by way of explanation.

"Well then, that decides it. The suit it is for tonight. And thank you for your help, I really appreciate it," Tifa said smiling at Aeris.

"Not a problem," the other girl replied smiling too, one of her soft ones as she returned to her hair. She thought of Tifa as a nice girl and had no problem helping her out even though when just that morning they were planning to make the coming week difficult for her. At the back of her mind, she really thought of who to find as the victim to their pranks for that week since that was their one week of relaxation before all the teachers became serious as well.

"No way! Is this really true?!" Zack asked Tifa as he escorted both of the girls back to their dorms. "Are you really getting married to that numskull?" He asked again, not believing what was just confirmed for him.

"Yes Zack, what is so surprising about that?" Tifa asked Zack in good humour. "After all, girls have to marry the 'numskulls' of this world or else our race will become endangered," she said, mocking the male specimen of the race due to their general lack of all common sense.

Aeris just laughed at the turn their conversation had taken. She had introduced Tifa to her fiancé who after confirming about her engagement had proceeded to ask about things like how she knew the guy, where had they first met, what was it like being associated with him and such. An observer might say that he was acting much like a girl however, Aeris knew that he was just flabbergasted at the news and every time he heard it, he just couldn't control his incredulity at the events.

As the trio made their way, laughing and discussing the Dinner and the teachers, the courses and food, they neared a small pathway connecting the main campus and the external gate to the dormitories. Right near the gate to the girls' wing, there was a fountain situated characteristically such that it would hide anybody sitting around it but make visible to them anybody going to the dorms or coming from that way. As they crossed the pathway, a voice called from behind, interrupting them, "Hello? Excuse me?"

"Cloud?! What are you doing here?" Zack shouted recognising the voice as that of his blonde roommate.

"Oh? It's just you," came Cloud's disappointed voice as he saw up and noticed that it was Zack and Aeris, standing with a third girl.

"What do you mean by 'It's just you', huh? We not good enough to ask anything, huh? Or answer a question?" Zack asked getting in the mood to tease Cloud.

"Well, to answer your question, I was busy finding something here but couldn't find it. When I heard voices, I thought that I could ask them for a little point but upon seeing it to be you guys, decided to drop it," Cloud replied in a matter of fact tone. "However, since you seem to take offense at my previous response and I do not wish to spend extra time bickering about useless things, I wanted to ask if you knew the angle at which I can see the rainbow," he added realising that if he didn't Zack would only get into a long winded pointless argument with him just for the fun of it.

Cloud's question resulted in three very different responses. Aeris, confused, could only come up with, "Come again?" Zack, questioning Cloud's sanity, just asked "What?!" and Tifa giggled at the question (earning a glare from Cloud that she missed) and replied with, "42 degrees for red colour and 40 degrees for the blue colour," in somewhat measured tones, trying to keep amusement out of her voice.

Tifa's response now resulted in another triad of reactions. Aeris, now wide-eyed, exclaimed, "Huh?!" Zack, with his mouth open in shock asked in accusing tones, "What?! You too?!" and Cloud just squinted his eyes and gave a tiny "Oh …"

"What?" Tifa replied, letting the word hang on, "Elementary Optics guys," she said shrugging her shoulders.

"Ahan," Aeris replied.

"Right, right. Of course. How silly of us to not know that," Zack replied staring at Tifa.

"Thank you. It seems that I had forgotten that," Cloud replied turning back to the fountain. To say that Cloud was surprised was an understatement. He was shocked beyond words and it took a lot for people to surprise Cloud. He had never expected somebody who was friends with Zack or Aeris to know about any useful information.

"Verily. You also seem to have forgotten that you can only view the rainbow during the day. The sun's rays refract when they strike the water drops spewing forth from the fountain and then disperse giving you the range of their spectrum. Then if you tilt your head at that critical angle and view a water drop with the sun at the back of your head, you will be able to watch tiny rainbows in every drop. Or if it's raining, if you bend your head at those angles you will see a rainbow every time," she added smiling, no ill will in her tone and just eager to share information.

"Ah … hmmm … you're right … again," Cloud said slowly, standing up from his place by the fountain, rubbing the back of his neck by his left hand. "Well, thank you," he added and with no other word turned around and made his way to the boys' dorms.

"Ummm …" Aeris struggled with words as she tried to explain Cloud's actions to Tifa.

"Ahhh … you shouldn't-"

"Well, I am beat. See you guys around and good night," Tifa said cutting Zack's sentence and with a cheery smile made her way to the girls' dorms too.

"Hey! Wait! Ms. Rainbow?" came Cloud's sudden shout from across the courtyard separating the two dormitories. Observing that Ms. Rainbow had indeed stopped and turned around, he questioned her, still talking across the length of the courtyard, "Do you mind if we watch the rainbow together after my classes tomorrow?"

"I guess not …" Tifa replied tilting her head. At that moment, however, the observer in her woke up and she added, "If you want to make observations though, a camera would be nice and a protractor. Also some sheets to create schematics of the setting. That way you can look over these again and again in case you missed anything the first time."

"Sounds great. Thanks. I'll see you in the main library around 4:00 pm, the philosophy archives," Cloud shouted back and noticing her nod, replied the polite action and turned to go back. He was trying to find an interactive application of physics to introduce to the freshman at the physics orientation.

"Is it just me or are they both that oblivious to social protocol," Aeris asked Zack watching their companions' backs.

"Nah, they are both pretty loose up here, I am sure of that," Zack replied, pointing his finger to his temple, "but Cloud far more than that girl. If she hadn't made any reference to all that nonsense, she'd pass for a pretty normal girl," he added as he took Aeris' hand and moved towards the fountain.

"Pretty much perfect for each other, right?" Aeris asked.

"Right," Zack replied, grinning.

As Tifa made her way out of the Arts orientation, she noticed Zack and Aeris standing near the notice board and waving to her. She waved back and joined Aeris, who was supposed to guide her through the campus for the day, a tour she suggested of all the spots that could be useful during the various phases of university life.

"So, who do you not like in your class so far?" the brunette asked her junior.

"Well, it is too early to say anything. I don't really mind people as long as they don't bother me," she replied playing with a lock of her hair, wrapping and unwrapping it around her finger.

"Hmmm … are you sure that you really want to go for an Arts subject and not a Science major?" she asked a little doubtful as the younger girl's subjects and nature did not necessarily go together according to her.

"Pretty sure, thank you," the junior girl replied smiling, "I chose them after looking at a lot of factors, most of all the family I'm getting married into and their stature in the hierarchy. You see, I believe that universities are places where you can learn all sorts of things without worrying too much about resources. This opens up many minors for me that interest me apart from Arts. Artistic sense came naturally to me," she added by way of an explanation.

Aeris could only look at the girl in shock as the trio pored over the freshmen time table. Unknown to the poor freshman, the two seniors were planning something for the new class, something that they'll never forget. A welcome of sorts that would give them an idea of how interactions would be between the upcoming class.

Author's Note: This idea came to me while a couple of my seniors were standing near the notice board trying to decide the fate of my class not knowing that I was a freshman too. I just had to write this because of what happened next. Please leave your remarks on their personalities and do review!