Disclaimer: I don't own anything. FFVII belongs to SquareEnix :)

Author's note: Hi all, here's something new that I've wanted to try ever since writing Dear Cloud. I'm a CloTi fan, so this is definitely a new experiment for me. Hopefully it works. :) This won't be a long story; I've pretty much finished it - unless readers are willing to read more... ;)

What if Tifa chose a different ending with "him"? Follows the events after chapter 6 of Dear Cloud, a twist to the previous story… CloudXTifaXRufus.

Chapter 1: Hero

August 11, 0013: 1:18AM

"I won't let tomorrow come."

The five words fluttered into Tifa's ears, dancing like a melody, surrounding her, engulfing her, drowning her, suffocating her. Muscular arms wrapped tightly around her, hugging her body against the as-hard-as-steel-chest, fingers clenched firmly around her shoulders. Her head started to spin wildly. It must be all the alcohol. Scenes from merely a moment ago replayed in her mind.

"It makes no difference if Tifa doesn't feel the same..."

"Why don't you ask me that yourself?"

"... ...I thought I was just your friend..."

"...My heart felt like...twisting itself when I heard your voicemail...I...I wanted to call you...stop you. From getting married... ... ...I'm sorry... ..."

"If I'm getting married tomorrow, what would you do now?"

"I won't let tomorrow come."

No. No.

Tifa blinked, finally acknowledging the situation she was in. She was in Cloud's arms, a place she had dreamt of snuggling in. Two years ago. But not anymore. She shook her head against his shoulder. From this moment on, she knew she was completely over him.

"Cloud."

The blonde tightened the embrace.

"Cloud," Tifa tried again.

The man buried his nose into the soft brown hair. Vanilla filled his senses.

"Cloud, no." The barmaid pushed the man gently away, ruby eyes glimmering brightly.

"Tifa-?" Mako-blue eyes pierced through her, in pain. His fingers lingered on the woman's shoulders.

Shaking her head again, Tifa stared down at her boots. "No...I can't."

Awkward silence filled the air. The two childhood friends (lovers?) fathomed, welcomed the bittersweet truth of their feelings, sinking, absorbing, penetrating straight into their hearts. They stood like that for what seemed like hours until the door of the bar suddenly swung open.

"Hey babe -" The smooth calm voice stopped as abruptly as it appeared. "What the hell?"

Both Tifa and Cloud turned toward the swinging doors, where Rufus Shinra now stood, dressed in the iconic white suit, smooth blonde hair slicked back flawlessly, icy blue eyes burning with fire as he slowly grasped the scene.

"Rufus -"

"What the hell is this?" Rufus demanded, narrowing his cold eyes at the two.

Cloud dropped his hands to his side immediately, face pale. Simultaneously, Tifa dried her face hastily and took a step away from the spiky-headed blonde. Then everything happened so fast that all Tifa could see was a flash of blue right before her eyes. She fell onto the wooden floor roughly. Looking up, she stared briefly in amazement at the terribly poor martial arts skills the two blondes were employing...

Clangs, bangs, punches, kicks, slaps, shouts, yells, pokes. Pokes? That's not martial arts!

"Stop!" The barmaid clambered up and shouted again. "Stop it! Before I kick both of your asses!"

She threw herself into the middle of the tangled mess of arms and legs, hands reaching out toward the Shinra President.

"Stop! Rufus, please!" Tifa yelled, ruby eyes pleading, hands on his shoulders.

"You're helping this pathetic little man?" Rufus bellowed, pointing a finger at the other blonde.

Cloud growled, Mako-eyes burning with rage.

"No," Tifa replied quietly. Instinctively, her fingers reached out and dabbed the corner of the man's bleeding lips.

Immediately, the President softened.

"What was that -?" the man asked coldly, brows furrowed.

"I -"

"We were figuring out our feelings. With words." Cloud's voice was equally cold.

With 'words'? Something familiar scurried away in the back of Tifa's mind. She turned and noticed Cloud's lips were bleeding too. Her heart tightened.

"Hm, I was having the impression that you were trying to seduce my fiancee with those sad eyes and lanky arms of yours," Rufus sneered. "Like I've said earlier today, Strife, I will strike back if you insist."

"No, really, Rufus, it was nothing you were thinking -" TIfa tried again.

"Of course. With those lousy fighting skills of yours, I'm terrified," Cloud smirked.

Tifa felt Rufus' body stiffened.

"Is that so? Then we better have a go -"

"Now, stop it you two!" Tifa exclaimed, ruby eyes flashing dangerously. "If you two insist, I'll give both of you proper martial arts lessons! And I won't be easy on you either!"

The men tensed up. She may be a woman, but both knew not to mess around when it came to martial arts.

"Now, please, Rufus, would you mind if Cloud and I go out for a walk?" the professional martial artist asked calmly, red eyes boring into the light-blue ones.

"A walk at 2 in the morning?" the man said wryly.

"Rufus, please."

The blonde hesitated. He knew that tone. Rufus may be Shinra President, always authoritative, domineering, and arrogant, but under that deadly stare of ruby eyes and menacing tone, he resigned. Sneering, he acquiesced, knowing that he could (and should) trust the woman. He gave a slight nod and turned abruptly toward the door leading to the second floor bedrooms.

Finally, Tifa breathed, never realizing she'd been holding her breath the entire time. Her red eyes gave Cloud a sharp glare, and she stalked out of the bar and into the night air. It was hot, but a soft night breeze blew gently, soothing her.

A short while later, Cloud appeared beside her. "I'm sorry," he muttered.

The barmaid sighed deeply and stared at the moon overhead, reminiscing so many years ago, under the bright moon, legs dangling under the well, a hero promising to save her whenever she needed...Somewhere not too far away, a stray Fang howled.

"Cloud, you were my hero," Tifa smiled softly. "You've kept your promise when we were fighting together. You've saved me countless times. I don't think I've ever thanked you for it."

Cloud shook his head.

"But these past two years...you've been such a disappointment," Tifa croaked. "My hero left me. When I needed him the most, he never came. He left Denzel. He left Marlene. He was our hero. But he left. Not that leaving is a problem, but you," she fixed her eyes on the Mako-blue ones, "you've completely ignored us, abandoned us." Tifa's voice went quiet.

"Why did I ever let you leave, I asked myself?" the barmaid sighed, exasperated. "I thought maybe I could be the kids' hero instead. I thought maybe I could save them, save myself..."

"Tifa...I..."

She shook her head, eyes closed, in pain.

"I...I thought I could lie to myself, that things would be okay. That you'd come back and visit. Visit the kids. Visit your friends. Visit me. But you never did. I've lost faith. I've lost me." The barmaid opened her eyes and faced Cloud, ruby eyes reflecting the bright moon. "But he found me. He saved me from a bottomless pit. He picked me up and gave me light. He was here. He was real. I was saved."

At that moment, under the white moonlight and navy starry sky, Cloud understood. The woman had a new hero. She no longer needed him.

Author's note: Ahhh I really wanted a happy Cloud, but, again, this is something new I'm experimenting, so hopefully it's realistic and believable. I've never written Tifa being with someone else before… :|

Oh, and I've finally managed to find out the official age of Rufus, during the events of meteor fall. I was rereading the translations of On the Way to a Smile: Case of Shinra, and found that Rufus is 25 years old. So my prediction was pretty accurate. Thus, in this story, Rufus is 30…