Just a note: This is the first fanfic I've been confident enough to post, please be kind/constructive!

The title is temporary until I think of a better one, sorry it's cheesy.

I suck at summary's.

I absolutely promise it's not fluff for the sake of fluff and that it is absolutely going somewhere! Rated M just incase ;p

Also currently working on Chapter 2 :)

CHAPTER 1

Eva fair fidgeted self-consciously as she sat in a café in the city of Edge, just outside what was left of Midgar. She was unaccustomed to the feeling of her legs being bare and kept tugging the hem of her dress down further. This was the first time she had spent any real time in Edge and it was extremely warm in the glare from the relentless Sun which sat high in the azure mid-afternoon sky, which was the reason she had called into the little café, which sat along the main thoroughfare, in the first place. Now she was gazing absently out the window watching the people walk by going about their daily business as the ice in her cool lemonade melted, slowly diluting the yellow liquid to a tasteless, pale, watery consistency.

Eva glanced down at the half empty glass in front of her, wrinkling her nose at what the heat had done to it. She glanced around to see if she could find the waitor to catch his attention inadvertently catching sight of her reflection in the large ornate gilt mirror hanging on the wall. She was all dark hair, pale skin and large eyes, the bluest of blues.

"Colour of the sky, right?" she could hear her brothers words echo in her head. Eva smiled ruefully. It was a bittersweet memory and she could feel the tears prick at the back of her eyes. Four years on and she still missed him bitterly. Feeling the tears starting to roll down her cheeks she turned away from the mirror and the reflection that so reminded her of him, dipping her head to stare into her glass again instead. She hated for anyone to see her cry.

So engrossed in her thoughts she barely noticed the man approaching until he spoke, startling her from her reverie.

"Are you okay Miss?" He asked quietly, his voice soft yet husky, almost like velvet.

Eva looked up to see who had spoken and found her eyes locked with another set of luminous blue eyes. "Eyes infused with Mako energy. A SOLDIER trademark…" Her Brother's words echoed in her head again.

"Zack?!" she uttered before her brain engaged and she noted the man's sandy blonde hair and finely sculpted facial features. Not Zack. Zack was dead. "Sorry, I'm so sorry, your eyes… I thought you were someone else for a minute." Eva's face flushed as she stumbled through an apology, realising when she had finished that the stranger had visibly paled and frozen, he hadn't taken his eyes from hers once and seemed to be barely listening. "Are you okay?" she mirrored his question quietly.

He ran a hand through his spiky blonde hair visibly trying to gain his composure but failing miserably. Eva couldn't help but imagine how soft that hair would feel, she had to resist the urge to reach out and run her own hands through it. She shook the thought from her mind. She didn't even know this guy!

"I… You… Zack?" He mumbled, the words tumbling over one another as his thoughts probably were too.

Eva flushed pink again, "Sorry, Zack was my Brother, he died, your eyes just caught me off guard for a moment. His were that colour. Mako infused right?"

"Yes. Like yours. You look so much like him." The blonde almost whispered.

"You knew my Brother? Zack Fair?" Eva asked.

"He was my friend." The Blondes face darkened slightly at some memory he was recalling as he sank into the seat opposite her. "I…. I was there when he… when he died." He looked defeated suddenly, the coffee in his hand long forgotten.

"I'm glad he wasn't alone," Eva whispered looking the blonde in the eyes once again. "I'm Eva, Eva Fair." She offered.

"Cloud Strife," he answered not taking his eyes from hers, "Your Brother was a hero, he saved my life."

"That's Zack," she replied almost bitterly.

"Let me get you a drink, lemonade again? I think my coffee has gone cold." He frowned as he realised how trivial he sounded after what they had just talked about.

Eva smiled back at him, "That would be lovely, thank you, Cloud."

The sound of his name from her lips sent a little shiver through him. Her accent was so similar to Zack's and that, combined with her appearance, was wakening old memories and wounds inside him, along with the old guilt he felt over Zack's death. Yet he found himself eager to spend more time with her.

Cloud got up from the table and walked to the counter, using the small amount of time to try and clear his thoughts a little and register what was happening.

Eva watched him as he walked away from the table, tall, not quite as tall as Zack had been but she'd guess roughly around 5'7 and he was lean and toned, a body clearly begotten by hard work and not just made in some gym somewhere. He turned to see if she was still there and she blushed a little at getting caught staring and averted her gaze quickly to wait on him returning to the table a few moments later.

"What is it you're doing here in Edge then," he asked as he handed her the cool, fresh lemonade, "Gongaga is a long way away from here"

He was assuming she still lived in their hometown.

"It is." Eva conceded, "I thought it was time I saw where my Brother Died. I never expected I'd meet anyone who actually knew him, especially not like this." She half laughed, half sobbed, her voice catching in her throat a little. Talking about Zack always made her cry.

"You resemble him so much it would be hard for anyone who really knew him not to notice you."

"It's hard, but comforting at the same time. The resemblance I mean. I feel like he's still with me when I look in the mirror. Stupid, I know."

"I don't think it's stupid at all." Cloud looked at her warmly, he didn't want to tell her, a girl he had just met, that being with her and seeing her face was making him feel closer to Zack right now, as hard as that was for him, it was also oddly comforting.

"I should go though; I don't want to take up any more of your time than I have!"

"Stay!" Cloud almost shouted. Blushing at his outburst he added, "At least finish your drink, I'll give you a ride home if you like? Where are you staying?" He didn't feel quite ready to be out of her company just yet somehow.

"I'm staying at a hotel not too far from here, ehm, Veld's I think it's called. I don't want to put you out,"

"Veld's is halfway across town, that's not very close by," Cloud laughed, "It's near 7th Heaven, the bar I live above, it's on my way home." He smiled.

"Oh, thank you," Eva smiled at him.

"How long are you staying in Edge then?" he asked casually.

"I'm not sure yet, I was going to see where Zack died tomorrow, I was going to decide after that, I'm not sure what else there is for me around here" She mused.

"I'll take you!" Cloud blurted, surprising even himself.

"Pardon me?" Eva asked, perplexed by his sudden outburst.

"I'll take you, to see where he died, if you'd like, it can be hard to find if you don't know where you're going, it's a fair distance outside the city too and dangerous. I can show you some other places he liked if you want; maybe you want to see some of old Midgar?" Cloud rambled on a little; he didn't want her to have a reason to leave the city so quickly.

Eva smiled at him. "I'd like that, I was almost afraid to go alone if I'm honest, it will be nice to share it with someone else who knew Zack."

"I go up there a lot," Cloud admitted sheepishly.

"He meant a lot to you, didn't he?" She asked.

Cloud nodded silently.

Eva reached out and touched his hand where it sat on the table, gazing at him reassuringly and he smiled back at her sadly. He was warm and soft and she didn't want to pull her hand away but she did afraid she would come across badly to him.

"Are you finished?" She asked a little awkwardly to break the silence.

"Yes, sorry, I'll take you home now" he replied a little sadly.

"I'll just pay the bill and we can go then" Eva smiled

"I already paid it, when I ordered the drinks" Cloud grinned at her sheepishly.

"That was very unnecessary but thank you."

"My pleasure." Cloud said as he led her outside to where he'd parked his bike.

Eva gazed in admiration at the Shiny black and polished gold machine in front of her. "Nice Bike!" She told Cloud excitedly, whilst at the same time thanking her paranoia for making her wear a pair of shorts beneath the dress.

"She's called Fenrir," He explained fondly whilst gazing at the machine in front of him.

"She's a beauty, obviously your pride and joy" Eva conceded.

"Do you ride? Erm, bikes that is!" Cloud asked, flushing slightly pink at what he had said and turning to look at her and noticing her attire for the first time, "Oh, sorry, I never thought…" he trailed off embarrassedly, indicating her dress.

"Oh, don't worry, I wore shorts," Eva grinned, "And yes I do, A little. Nothing as impressive as this is though."

"You'll have to show me sometime," Cloud mused; he seemed suddenly much younger with his face animated and the excitement of his interest in the subject laced through his voice.

"Maybe I will," Eva laughed as Cloud sat astride the bike and held his arm out to help her on behind him.

He passed her a spare pair of mirrored goggles to protect her eyes from the wind. "I'm sorry I have no helmet for you," he frowned.

"I'm sure you'll keep me safe," she grinned, sliding her arms around his waist as she said it. His chest was all hard muscle below his shirt and she flushed at the thought, glad he couldn't see her face.

Cloud paused for a moment, it had been a long time since he'd had anyone on the bike with him and her arms felt good around him as did her warm body pressed against his back. He shook his head a little to clear it. "Hold on tight," he called as he started the bike up and she roared to life. He could almost feel Eva grin behind him as he pulled out into the afternoon traffic, feeling her arms tighten around him as he sped up which pushed him to go a little faster than he might have done otherwise. Unfortunately this left him disappointed when he arrived outside the Hotel not fifteen minutes later.

Eva held on for a few minutes longer than she needed to, confused as to why she didn't want to let go and feeling very alone when she did. She could however not wipe the grin off her face caused by the adrenaline from the ride.

Cloud grinned back at her in response.

"I have to say, I am thoroughly impressed Mr Strife." She grinned from the footpath, not quite ready to say goodbye yet.

"You must be easily impressed; I barely got her opened up" Cloud grinned back, somehow not quite ready to go.

"Oh is that so? I'll be expecting a better demonstration tomorrow then," Eva teased.

"The roads out there are big and empty, you can count on it," Cloud smirked, suddenly feeling confident but losing himself again when he looked at her, he couldn't believe how closely she resembled Zack.

"That sounds good to me," She smiled, "Shall we say around twelvish? If that suits you, of course."

"Sure, give me a call if you need anything before then," Cloud handed her a card for Strife Deliver Service with his mobile number on it which she accepted.

"Thank you, Cloud." Eva touched his shoulder lightly as she said it.

"It's no problem. Zack... He meant a lot to me, you're his family, I owe him this much at least." Cloud smiled ruefully.

"You're making this easier for me." Eva admitted.

"Look, I'll be at the bar, 7th Heaven later…," Cloud started but he was interrupted by her phone ringing.

Eva frowned down at the caller ID before apologising to Cloud, "Sorry, I have to take this, it's the, uhm, Family, checking in on me." She stammered as she headed towards the door.

Cloud looked after her, confused, as she went.

Eva turned to him and called "I'll see you tomorrow, thank you again," and smiled as she disappeared through the large glass doors leaving Cloud staring after her for a few moments before he headed back to the bar.

Tifa was on his case as soon as he walked in the door.

"Cloud!," she called. "I have been ringing you all afternoon, clients have called saying you never showed up!"

"Something came up," he shrugged at her. Things had been a little strained since their relationship hadn't worked out. He'd felt better after the Geostigma had been healed and all the other stuff with Kadaj and his gang and Sephiroth had been sorted two years ago. They had tried to make a go of things but he hadn't been able to fully let go of the guilt he was carrying around over Zack and Aerith and Tifa hadn't been able to cope with sharing him with a memory so they had reverted back to how things were before, just with some added tension.

"Something more important than your business?" She pushed.

"Yes and I'm taking tomorrow off, if anyone calls again let them know, I'll sort it when I'm back."

"Cloud.." She started.

"Please, don't." Cloud pleaded with her as he sat down beside Barrett at the bar.

"Yo, Spiky!" Barrett greeted him. "Good to see you! Don't you know how to pick up your phone?"

"You know Cloud, Barrett." Tifa admonished him. Cloud just smiled at his friend. He was glad to see Barrett; he spent so long away working.

"Marlene has missed you," Cloud told him, speaking of Barrett's Daughter who stayed with them at the bar.

"I know," Barrett smiled ruefully, "I'm going to take her away for a few days, spend some time with her before I go back, I'll take Denzel too."

Cloud smiled, "She'll love that, so will Denzel." They were good kids and Denzel only had them left after the sector 7 plate fell and killed his parents.

Cloud spent the evening sitting with Barrett and Tifa, listening to the stories Barrett was regaling them with about his time away but his mind wasn't focused on them. He couldn't get Eva from his mind. Tifa cut into his thoughts.

"What is wrong with you Cloud," she demanded, clearly noticing his vacancy from the conversation.

"Leave the boy alone, he works hard." Barrett scolded her.

"Yeah, I'm just tired," Cloud replied, glad of the excuse. "I think I'll head to bed actually."

Tifa glared at him before getting up to grab another drink. Barrett used her absence as a chance to turn to Cloud.

"I got your back Spiky, everything okay with you though?"

"Honestly Barrett, I'm fine" Cloud smiled at his well-meaning friend "I'll catch you before you all head off in the morning," Cloud said before bidding him goodnight and heading up the stairs behind the bar which led to the living space and bedrooms upstairs.

Heading into his room and locking the door behind him, Cloud threw his shirt to the floor and fell back onto his bed. He was frustrated at how hard it was to get this girl out of his head, he'd known her all of five minutes and he could barely think straight. What was wrong with him! Was it because she so closely resembled Zack? Was it that old guilt which used to eat away at him resurfacing again? Is that what was making him feel like he'd already do anything for her, anything to keep seeing her? Or was it just the miserable, haunted look in her Mako blue eyes when she looked up at him that first time. A look he'd seen on his own face all too many times.

Why were her eyes Mako blue? He started to ponder that when his phone buzzed and distracted him. An unknown number. He opened the message despite the fact that he so rarely replied to them or even answered calls.

Thank you for today, you have no idea how much it means to me to meet a friend of Zack's and to have someone who actually knew him to share this all with. Sorry I left so suddenly Earlier. Families, eh? I'm looking forward to tomorrow, yet dreading it at the same time if that makes sense. I'm looking forward to seeing you Cloud. Thank you again for making this easier. Eva x.

Cloud read and re read the message a few times, unsure of how to reply. He praise made him a little uncomfortable if he was honest. He didn't deserve any thanks. He saved the number before opening a new message to send to her.

Please don't thank me, I don't deserve thanks. I owe this to Zack, thank YOU for giving ME the chance to do this for him. I look forward to seeing you tomorrow as well. I will have a helmet for you this time; Zack wouldn't thank me for putting you at risk. Cloud x.