Cloud and Tifa
"Once upon a Story…"
Written by Strifegirl

Pairing: Cloud/Tifa

Summary: Everyone was so happy to see that Cloud was still alive, especially Tifa. She was so thrilled to see her childhood friend finally overcame his fears from the past and hopefully, he'll stay to live a normal life with them.

Timeline: Right before the ending of Advent Children.

Disclaimer: Final Fantasy VII and its characters are owned by Square Enix. No copyright infringement.

"One Upon a Story…"

After defeating Sephiroth and curing Denzel's Geostigma, the party returned to the Seventh Heaven bar to celebrate Cloud's return. Everyone was so happy to see that Cloud was still alive, especially Tifa. She was so thrilled to see her childhood friend finally overcame his fears from the past and hopefully, he'll stay to live a normal life with them.

After the celebration, everyone goes back to their lives, including Cloud's current family. Tifa closes the bar and then waves to their friends before returning inside to clean up the mess from the celebration. Meanwhile, the children were playing in the galley along with Cloud. When Tifa entered the room, she couldn't help noticing that Cloud's face was different. He was smiling for the first time; and not just any slight smirk, but a warm and wide smile. She couldn't help the feeling and she found herself smiling to see his face so full of joy. His blue mako eyes were glowing more than ever. His eyes were full of hope and happiness, as if all that insecurity he once had disappeared in a blink of an eye. She stood there for a moment admiring the lovely scene with a smile on her face.

"This is something you don't see every day", she thought.

Cloud felt that he was being watched and immediately turned his head to gaze at Tifa. Their eyes met across the galley and she narrowed her eyes with a shy smile. Her smile was like the sunrise, so bright that she could light up the darkest place, so warm and welcoming that made him feel as if he never left home. Cloud couldn't help staring at her smile and he also responded with a smirk. Tifa blushed slightly upon seeing his smile. There was something about it that made her feel safe and secured; as if he was trying to tell her that everything would be okay from now on.

A few hours passed and soon it was getting dark. Tifa stopped washing dishes and went to the living room where the children were with Cloud.

"Okay kids, it's almost bedtime." Tifa stated.

"But I'm not… sleepy…" Denzel yawns. Marlene closes her eyes and begins to yawn as well. Cloud smirked when he saw the two of them yawning and he got up from the couch to help Tifa to put them to sleep.

"Come on kids…" he grabs Marlene. "Let's get you to sleep." He then goes upstairs with Marlene in his arms followed by Tifa and Denzel. Cloud waits at the doorway, while Tifa puts the children to bed. She gives them a kiss on their forehead like she always used to and then reaches for the little lamp from the table to turn the light off.

"Goodnight Cloud. Goodnight Tifa."

"Goodnight." Tifa replied. Just before they leave the room, Marlene gets out of her bed and reaches for Cloud.

"Hey Cloud, can you tell us a story?" she pulled his arm and Cloud raises an eyebrow.

"Come again?" he asked puzzled.

"You know… a bedtime story!" She frowned. Cloud sighed and gazes at Tifa arching an eyebrow. She was fighting a chuckle when he saw his face and then he scratched the back of his head.

"Sure… why not?" He responded. Marlene smiled and went back to her bed to lie down. Tifa gives him a nod and then Cloud follows Marlene to her bed. He leans on to a side and sits on the edge of the bed while Tifa goes downstairs to clean the dishes.

"Okay… so what kind of story you want me to tell?" Cloud asked the children.

"Any story would be nice…" Denzel replied.

"All right then…" Cloud sits straight and begins to tell the story.

"Once upon a time… there was a little boy named… Spiky." He paused for a moment and then continued.

"Spiky was a very shy kid and he didn't have many friends. All the other children from his village thought that he was a weird kid and they never played with him; except for a little girl who lived right next to him. She was very popular among the other children from the village and the boy saw in her something more than just a friendship. He wanted to be noticed by her, but for some reason, he just couldn't get closer to her. One day, the little girl had an accident and the little boy tried to save her, but he was too late. The girl was badly injured and the boy was blamed for it. He was devastated because he couldn't protect the little girl and he ran away from home." Cloud eye's trailed off for a moment and looked down.

"And then what happened?" Denzel asked. Cloud looked at him and proceeded.

"He went to the city to join the army. He wanted to become stronger, so that one day, the little girl would finally notice him."

"Are you the little boy from the story?" Marlene asked. Cloud was surprised to hear her question. Marlene was always very perceptive about the things happening around her and Cloud knew that he couldn't easily fool her.

"Maybe…" he gave her a slight smirk.

"And… who's the little girl? Denzel asked. Cloud let out a soft chuckle upon hearing their questions.

"That's another story…" he affirmed with a smirk in his face.

"You'll be here to tell us the rest of the story, right Cloud?" Denzel asked.

"Yeah." He nodded. "Well, time to to hit the beds." Cloud stands up from the bed and begins to tuck the children into their sheets. He brushes Denzel's hair playfully before he covers him with the blanket; and he does the same with Marlene. He places her little stuffed Mog in her side and leans forward to press a soft kiss on her forehead. Marlene smiles and extends her arms to embrace Cloud. Overwhelmed by the gesture, Cloud returns the embrace with the same tenderness. He always had a soft spot for Marlene. Although Cloud wasn't a very expressive guy, somehow, she was the only one who could turn him into a softy. After exchanging warm caresses with them, he heads to the door and turns around to greet the children one last time. "Good night kids." He then turns the lights off as he closes the door.

Meanwhile, Tifa was downstairs cleaning up the mess from the celebration. She was too busy thinking about everything that happened that she didn't hear when Cloud came downstairs.

"Cloud?" She startles. "You scared me…" she let out a sigh.

"I'm sorry." Cloud muttered while he sits on the counter. Tifa shook her head and tried to break the ice.

"That's okay. You just caught me off guard. I guess I'm not used to see you around here." She smiled with a slight frown.

"I guess not." Cloud lowered his head after hearing her statement. She noticed that her words only made him feel guilty and she offered something from the bar to ease his frustration.

"You want me to fix you something? How about a drink?"

"Nah, it's okay Teef. I've had enough for today."

Tifa looked at him with curious eyes before she returns to the dishes. "So… what happened to the little boy from the story?" she said with a smirk in her face. Cloud's eyes widened after hearing her question and immediately he turns to her to look into her eyes.

"You were listening?" he asked with a puzzled look.

"I couldn't help it." She smiled at him. Cloud blushes a little while he scratches the back of his head. Tifa bends a little to place her elbows on the counter and then put his face in her hands to look at him. "Can I know how it ends?"

"Well… to tell you the truth, I'm not sure how it's gonna end… the end of the story it's not quite finished." He trailed off from her gaze.

"I see…" she looked disappointed. The night was getting heavier, and Cloud offered himself to help her finish cleaning the dishes while she rests a bit.

"You want me to help you with that?" he asked her.

"Nah, it's okay. I'm almost done here. But you, on the other hand, need to get some rest. It's been a rough day for you."

"I suppose you're right." Cloud's gaze trailed off a bit and gets lost in his thoughts for a moment, thinking about how it would be like to have a normal life now that his geostigma had disappeared. Tifa looks at him with concern in her eyes. She knew that look on his face and it could only mean that he was feeling unsecured again, so she tries to wake him up from his trance.

"What is it?" she asked him. Cloud snaps from his thoughts and looks at her.

"It's nothing." He shook his head. "I'm just tired." He sighed. "Maybe I should probably go to sleep."

"You do that." She gave him a nod.

"So, I guess I'll see you in the morning."

"Sure." She replied. Cloud stood up from his chair and headed for the stairs. Tifa follows him with her gaze until he reaches the stairs and calls him.

"Cloud?"

He turns around. "Yeah?"

Tifa looks at him for a moment before she continued. "Good-night." She smiled slightly. Cloud chuckled at this and then replied.

"Good-night…"

Tifa smiles once again and then, he turns around to go upstairs.

A/N: There's still one more chapter ahead :3