Author's Note: The Sephiroth/Tifa pairings have always been my favourite. Knowing this, I figured, Why not give one a shot. Yeah, at the same time I am writting my Vinti/Cloti, but I have a lot of time on my hands.

Disclaimer: I don't own Square, these characters, yatta yatta. You get it.

Info: This story takes place only a year after the ff7 events. This chapter is from the point of veiw of Tifa. As of now she is living in Nibelheim with Cloud. She works at a small bar now. This is a short introduction-like chapter. Enjoy!

Chapter 1:

Unexpected Guest

It was a slow day. Anytime it rains, it's sure to be a slow day, and today it was raining. The sky was as dark and made me upset. It reminded me of Cloud. Yeah, Cloud Strife, the hero of the world. Do you know him? It seems like everyone does these days.

My hero? Maybe. Sometimes I wish that we, Cloud and I, could be just simple faces in a crowd of other simple faces, no one paying us any mind. People no one recognized. I think maybe if that were the case, Cloud would notice me more. Right now, he could care less.

I can't blame him. I wasn't the one who was going through all the pain he had to endure. I wasn't somebody's puppet, someone's fool.

But I loved Aeris too, ok? I think anyone who met Aeris grew to love her, she was just so... there. Like anything you ever needed was her. You didn't even know what the hell you needed, but if she was there with you, you felt better. We were very close, like sisters. She would call me her sister, sometimes, even out in public. I always laughed and would tell her stupid things like, "We don't look anything alike. Who will believe you?"

She would always reply with the same answer. I still hear it when I think about her. I hear it when I feel upset, or when I am faced with trouble.

"I believe."

I guess maybe that's why Cloud can be so depressing. He still hears her too.

At the present time, Cloud has ventured to Cosmo Canyon. He loves it there, and Nanaki can bring a smile to anyone's face. I visit Nanaki with Cloud at least once every three months. It is hard for me to travel alone, however. Not only do I get lonely, but one can't forget that there is still evil in this world.

Not like Sephiroth, obviously.

Don't take it all the wrong way though. I can take care of myself. I've been taking care of myself for a long time.

The other's were a little harder to keep in contact with. I desperately want to see them all. Cloud told me that maybe one day we will just pack up and go somewhere; He would send message to all of them. "Hey, let's have a reunion. Let's get drunk. $!#&, I really wanna see you guys."

Vincent, Yuffie, Reeve, and Cid. I would bring Barret, and Cloud would come back with Nanaki. Maybe Shera could come with Cid, and perhaps even Bugenhagen could find some way to reunite with us all. This is all too perfect, of course. We can't have fun, not all together. It's too painful. The only thing we will ever be able to do together is save the world, fight for humanity.

The world doesn't need saving anymore. The world is just fine.

Is it wrong to secretly wish something bad would happen, that something would go wrong and we would all be needed like before? We could all be together again. I guess it is selfish. Some people are really happy now, like amazingly happy. I envy them.

Now no one is here. The bar is completly empty.

"Time to close up...", I said aloud to the imaginary guests in the bar, drinking and having a good time.

I began sweeping the floors. I hated the way that no matter how much you sweep, sometimes the dust just falls into cracks to be brought back up again later. I set the broom back in it's proper place and turned to face the cash register. There wouldn't be much, but I needed to get my share of gil. Supplies at home were running low, and I wanted to have enough for Cloud when he decided to return.

"Excuse me?"

I looked up, slightly startled, to see a tall man. A very tall man. He was soaked from the rain and his black trenchcoat hung heavily upon his body. A wide-brimmed hat shadowed his face.

To tell you the truth, this guy gave me the chills.

"I'm closing. Sorry.", I replied, opening the cash register to find seventeen gil. Seventeen freakin' gil and cobwebs to boot.

As my eyes looked back up from the register, the man had taken off his hat and was sitting across from me at the bar. I scanned him. Didn't he get what "closing" meant?

His hair was long. Light. It was a silver colour, and it had been untouched by the rain. My eyes proceeded to move down.

He had once eyebrow raised as my eyes looked into his. There was something unsettling about his eyes, something that made me feel bad. They made me feel like I was small, nothing. They made me feel as if I knew this man, and I knew him from not so long ago.

They were mako eyes. Green mako eyes.

The eyes of a killer. The eyes were smirking at me. They knew something I didn't.

I gazed at his eyes for a long time. I was drowning in them. I'd be kidding you if I didn't say they were the most beautiful things I had ever seen in my whole life, even if they made me cold.

I pulled away from the gaze and saw the man for who he really was. I took in his whole face, and then his body. I took in the large sword peaking through his coat.

"Sephiroth. You..."

That was all I remembered, all I said. The room was making me dizzy, like I had just been up'ed on heavy drugs. I suppose I went out cold. Fainting in front of your worst enemy. A dead enemy at that. Things that night were just going downhill. Downhill on a deadly roller coaster. I was just along for the ride.

"Aw !$&#.", I cursed as I found myself awaking in my bed.

My own bed. In my own house. Had..."it" all been a dream? Sephiroth was dead and gone, hell, we killed em'.

My head hurt. My ears throbbed, allowing me to feel the pace of my heartbeat.

I rolled over, slightly delerious, and fell off my bed to the ground. I was there, on my hands and knees like a complete helpless idiot, my head throbbing harder.

"Geez, meds, gotta get some meds."

I began crawling around on the floor, serching for the doorway. I exited the room and crawled down the hall. I felt like an infant. What the hell was I doing?

I still crawled, however. Hopefully, Cloud hadn't come home late last night. If anyone could ever see me like this, I'd probably die on the spot. It really wasn't worth dying over, but it would be embarassing as hell.

I entered my living area, grabbing at a wicker chair to pull myself up. It was of no use, I was still weak. I crawled around the chair and hopped onto a couch, laying down to try and clam hy head. It was now throbbing a mile per minute, the pain was distracting and annoying.

"Just get it together, Tifa.", I told myself under my breath.

Suddenly, the sound of paper rustling came from a chair across from me. I opened one eye to see if it had been my cat. I hadn't been able to feed the poor thing.

I got the cat in honour of Reeve. I named her Caity. It was cheesy, but when I told Reeve once in a letter, he replied thrilled. I told him to come visit her one day.

Did I mention the noises were not coming from my cat, because they weren't.

Sitting across from me was a bright-eyed Sephiroth, a slight look of concern on his face. As I began to sit up, his face turned into one stricken with disgust.

"Finally awake? You snore like a beast, I was contemplating killing you on the spot."

A snide smirk spread across his face. Sephiroth, the one man I despised, was in my home. Reading my paper. Sitting on my couch.

"How the hell...", was all that could escape my lips. I was secretly stricken with fear. The comment of him wanting to murder me made me no less tense, and I could feel the throbbing become faster and faster.

"I've been watching you. I assure you I mean no harm. I could kill you, but at the moment that would be of no use to me. We have bigger things at hand."

Was I going to believe the man I hated most?

"The question is, do you have a choice?", I heard Sephiroth's voice echo through me.

Then, suddenly, another voice came to mind. One that was soothing. A familiar voice.

"I believe."

Ok, so that was the first chapter, I hope you all liked it. I really enjoy writting from Tifa's POV, and I hope to make this story one of my best.