Disclaimer: FFVII I do not own... Salem Valentine... I DO own

Fin...

Don't Cry...

It was a normal day for Salem. Nothing much had changed. He just get really bored more than ever. For the day he figured he would head over to Tifa's place to get a drink and stop off at Vincents and see of he had any cleaning tools for his gun Salem could borrow. But today... Unlike anyother day... He out of ALL the people in the world... Would have just another problem on his shoulders.

"Hey Tifa..." Salem said walking through the door of 7th Heaven.

"Hey Salem! How yah been?" Tifa asked with her normal, bright smile.

"Aaah... Same old... Hey you think you could get me a glass of wine?" Salem asked waisting no time.

"Sure give me a minute... It's down in the cellar..." Tifa hurried out of the room and vanished, but only for a moment.

"Here you go..." She said grabbing a wine glass and pouring the purple substance into it.

"This bottle is seasoned... Very good."

"Thanks Tifa..." Salem replied drinking down the glass with a gulp.

"Say... Salem?"

"Yeah?"

"How... H-How have you been?" Tifa asked with a conserned expression.

"Uh... Fine... Why?"

"I was just asking... Cause... Well I needed someone to talk to... And I didn't want to bother you if you were having problems of your own..."

"Aaaah..." Salem said seeming like it was oke to ask... But really trying to ask himself: Do you really want to listen to this? "SURE! Go right ahead... All I got to do later is go down to Vince's and get some gun cleaning supplys..."

"Well if you were here for Christmas you would know that he bought you something..." Tifa ran from the room, vanishing again only to appear again with a red wrapped box and a black ribbon tied at the top. "Here you go... From Vincent to you..."

"Vince got this for me?!" A slight smile came across his face. He slowly began to unwrap it and found gun cleaning utencils and tools. "I guess I got to get him something... And he can be picky... Anyway go ahead..."

"Well... It's..." She seemed troubled. "Its about Cl-"

"Strife..." Salem finished.

"Yeah..." She said releaved that Salem didn't flip out at the sound of his name (Salem+CloudHATE one another). "He's just... He's..."

"You love him don't you?" Salem said wrapping a cloth around one of the tongs and sliding it into the barrel.

A look of suprise over took Tifa's face. "Are you kidding?! No no no no no... NO! Me and Cloud are just friends! Friends since we were kids! Noooo! Besides I got this other guy on my mind. But what I wa getting at was!" Tifa calmed her voice. "He's just so... Depressed all the time... And as a friend I want to help him... But it seems no matter what I tell her he's alway avoiding it.."

"Well..." Salem paused. "I can't really help you out with the whole 'friend' thing... Don't really have much of them..."

"Oh..." Tifa thought for a moment and spoke again. "Well can you help me with something else then?"

"Sure..."

"All right." Tifa said with a smile before continuing. "There is this guy..."

"Are you sure it's a guy?" Salem said jokingly pulling the tong from the first barrel to the next.

"Shut up!" Tifa said pushing his shoulder. "Yes... He is a guy... But he's not what a woman would think of as 'crush material'."

"Go on..."

"He's not like anyother guy I've met before... He's kind hearted in ways, yet, sometimes, dark and mysterious but not to mysterious, like Vincent. He listens, when he wants to of course. He's brave when the situation comes to it. He loves kids. He can also do two things at once... But he has his share of down to him... Are you even listening?"

"Yeah!" Salem said with a smile looking up from his gun. "I can multi-task. Go on... You were at his 'down falls'." Salem said looking back down at what he was doing.

"Oh right. Well, he's angry, hateful, he doesn't let anyone in but not like Cloud he just doesn't trust anyone. He used to smoke. He never tells anyone his problems which is equals BIG points cause Cloud is starting give me suicidal thoughts..."

"Is this anyone I should know? Barret? Cid?... It sounds like you know this guy personaly..."

"Well I wouldn't say... You know him... Like know him as a friend..."

"Don't have any."

"Oh right..."

"Well he seems like a dick to me... I'm just being honest but this guy is like a major assho-"

"Salem its you..." Tifa said cutting him off and gripping the dry towel, waiting for the reply of the man who was now slowly lifting his gaze to her.

"Me?"

Tifa nodded.

"Why me?"

"I dunno!" Tifa said stomping her foot and leaning over the bar counter. "Your just... You... You arn't afraid to speak your mind... And your wonderful with the kids..."

"So is Strife... And Barret... Hell... Even Red..."

"Yeah... But you... Your..." Tifa fell into thought from the looks of it.

"I'm?... What?"

Tifa gazed into his eyes. "Not like the rest..." Tifa made her way around the bar and to a few table's starting to wipe them off. Clearly she was embarrassed cause they were already clean to start with.

Salem smile. "Tifa..."

"Yes?" She said leaning up from her work.

Salem took a step off the stool and made his way over to the table she began to clean again. "There is no need to be embarrassed about this... Hey, you came out and told me..."

"Yeah but I shouldn't have..."

"Yes... I'm glad you told me..." A smile came across his face but quickly faded. "But Tifa... You... One of the most happiest... Go lucky people I know... Shouldn't want someone who looks at life the opposate way that you do... I know at this very moment... This is someone you have never seen before... But this is not the real me..." He paused. He didn't want to give her no hope... But she was better off with anyone but him. "I just... I just want you to know its-"

And Salem was then interupted with a kiss from Tifa. Not just a kiss on the cheek... Or a wet lips kiss... A kiss that he could tell had been kept inside for a long time... And in realizing this, he let her and after a moment... He fell into it, savouring the moment that would probably never happen again. It had been so long since he had felt a kiss like this... He couldn't help but give passion in return.

"I'm so sorry!" Tifa screamed breaking away and backing off. "I don't know what came over me! I just... Aaaah!" In that moment Salem had heared something that made him feel... Guilty. Tifa began to cry. Throwing her hands into her face and taking a seat in one of the chairs.

"Hey hey hey." He said with the softest voice he could manage, following her quickly and grasping one of her hands and crouching. "You listen to me... Don't cry over that... That was impulse." Salem paused for a moment giving a smile for her to look at. "But I can't say it was impulse for me... You shocked me... You really did... But... I... Liked it..."

Tifa wiped her eyes as best as she could. She could only feel that it would never happen again. But in another way she felt as if she had let something go.

"I'm sorry." She said still trying to master the tack of wipping her eyes.

"Its fine!" Salem let out with a smile until his face turned focused. "I know how it feels to be alone... And I can tell you it sucks and from time to time I picture myself with others,just trying to see how it would feel... But the truth is... I'm better off alone..."

The 7th Heaven grew quiet. There was now a true connection between the two, not a 'love connection', but a friendship.

The door boomed open and in came Cloud, Marlene, and Denzel from what looked like basketball. The room filled with noise as Tifa turned to them but Salem didn't take his eye away from her. It was a shame... Why he was this way. But after years of living the life he had... Thats what he had become... A shell with nothing in it. So he thought.

"Everything okay?" Cloud asked looking over to the red eyes Tifa and cloud whom was infront of her holding her hand.

"Yeah!" Tifa smiled. "I just stubbed my toe on one of the barstools thats all. It really hurt."

Cloud gave a unasured nod and made his way upstares with the kids. Salem came to his feet along with Tifa.

"Tifa?" Salem whispered.

"Yes?"

"You have my trust..." Salem said smiling and giving her a kiss on the forhead.

Tifa nodded and smiled. They stood there only inches from each other. If only, if only...

"Well I have to get going." Salem said his cold voice taking over.

"Okay..." Tifa nodded and smiled as she always did and Salem began to gather his things. "I'll see you soon then?"

"More than likely... So you better get used to me." He said giving a light smile.

"Oh I could never get used to you Salem Valentine." Tifa laughed.

Salem began to walk to the door, Tifa following him with her sight.

"I'll see you later, Tifa..."

"Until next time, Salem."