There are moments that stop us from moving, and moments that keep us from stopping.

Ruins in Midgar

Prologue

Two years had passed since the fall of Meteor. What rose out of the ashes and clouds was a city in tatters and a people in ruins. Through the dusts that blew, no one could see. All did not seem as if it had been lost; all was lost. There was nothing to do, but go out and find a new way of living again. Broken bodies were lifted by spirits bent and the inhabitants of Midgar sought to build their city and their lives again.

What Tifa Lockheart saw every morning through the window in her room was a sky still thick with clouds. But if she sat up and looked further, that statue was still there. Ever since she could remember, the stone figure had always been watching the same street, right outside her bedroom. In the days before Meteor, an angel perched over the streets of Midgar seemed somewhat ironic. Midgar was not known for piety. Now though, with the city brought to its knees, this stone angel, her finger lifted to the sky and her eyes bent towards the earth, seemed to say, "wait. Wait and hope." Every morning, wait and hope. And every morning, when Tifa lifted her body that felt so heavy, she heard the words and nodded in silent agreement.

"Wait and Hope." Okay.

What exactly a city needed to rebuild itself, no one could say for sure. Money, however, did appear to be the base for everything. Supplies and necessities could not be purchased without money and money was not to be had without spending to get it. Jobs were precious-few while the cost of living was high. The apartment Tifa lived in was two levels and the second story was large enough to be used as the living level, while the space on first level could be turned into a business. As thanks for taking care of his daughter Marlene, Barrett used his resources, (possibly illegitimate) to build Tifa a pub. For even in the worst of times, people still had money to spend on alcohol.

It worked. Every day at three o'clock, the door to Red XIII (named after a friend) opened and Midgar trickled in. At first, all Red XIII offered was a limited variety of beers and an even smaller amount of hard liquor. But as the months rolled by and the money was steady, Tifa expanded and Red XIII now boasted of a small kitchen and an equally small menu. But that meant that up until eight o'clock at night, when the kitchen closed down, mothers could bring their children in to eat and friends could sit over a meal. It meant more money. And of all the cares that weighed down upon Tifa, it was so nice to feel one of them lifted off. While everyone else struggled to earn a living, while buildings were slow to rise, while he was nowhere to be found-Tifa made a life for herself and Marlene.

But Cloud…

Once, angry at the distance he always kept from her, physical or emotional, she had screamed how fitting his name was to him. Cloud Strife. Strife. Discord. Conflict. All these things he created around him. All these things he created for those who surrounded him. To himself he kept the hurt and guilt and to Tifa he gave nothing. Yes, she had been angry at him that time. So angry. And she yelled her hurt at him hoping for some kind of reaction. But those eyes, so wild and blue gave her nothing. Suddenly sorry, she flung herself into him. Burying her face into his chest, Tifa cried. She had not meant it. She only wanted-

Something. Anything, please.

Let me know you care.

Let me know you even want to care.

Please, Cloud…

His arms did not reach around her body. He did not lift a finger to brush away the waves of dark hair that hid her face. He didn't do anything. Tifa looked up. The blue eyes gazed at something far away, someone far away from her and this moment between them. Almost ashamed, she stepped back. Cloud took a breath, as if to speak, but only sighed and walked away.

It had not always been like that. Once, his body was near to hers. Once his heart was open to hers. There was days he looked at her and smiled; there were nights his embrace surrounded her. Once upon a time, he gave her reason to hope. Tifa looked forward to the day when Cloud would call her his own, when the light that burned in his eyes would be for her alone.

So much had changed since those days and those dreams. Now, hope was far away.

Wait. Wait…

Okay.