-Pairing: Cloud x Tifa

-Notes: This fanfiction contains Hetro, which means that it contains boy-girl love between Cloud and Tifa from Final Fantasy. If you do not agree with Hetro then please click that wonderful thing I like to call and back button and leave the page.

- Usual Thing: I don't own any of the characters, nor the games of which they come from, just the plot of my fanfiction.

-Please review this!

It wasn't everyday that you were invited to one of the biggest parties there had been for quite a number of years, let alone be invited by somebody who you didn't even know. Cloud had been unexpectedly invited by a Lady Lockhart who, by the clear Lady that was written before her name, was clearly wealthy and one of the aristocrats that he had learnt about from his mother, Lunette.

He was struggling to try and look presentable, fiddling with his black bowtie and constantly trying to flatten his stubborn hair, eventually giving up and just accepting that his hair would never look normal. He was nervous because he'd never been very confident and he was extremely shy, it was one of the reasons why he was glad that he had a confident best friend, Zack Fair, who would usually do that talking for him.

"Zack's here sweetheart," Cloud jumped slightly and looked up to see his mother peering into his bedroom with an awed expression at seeing her son so dressed up instead of downed in his usually baggy clothing.

"O-okay," Cloud stuttered and gently placed the invitation into his inner pocket of his black blazer. He placed a goodbye kiss on his mother's soft cheek and left the house, laughing slightly as Zack bounded towards him, hugging him tightly.

"Can you believe that we were invited to this thing?" the raven chuckled and dragged Cloud over to his blue BMW.

"Not really," Cloud muttered back as he clambered into the car and stretched his seatbelt across his body.

"Do you know who this Lockhart woman is?" Zack frowned sticking the keys in the ignition and sighed when Cloud just shook his head, causing his blonde bangs to fall in front of his stunning blue eyes.

"No idea," Cloud whispered and linked his hands together nervously as Zack started the car and pulled out of his drive way.

It was odd that during the car ride there that Zack hadn't been able to cheer him up. The tall handsome raven usually had a basket full of jokes and limericks that would have him laughing loudly in no time at all, but he was just so frightened of going to such an upstanding party, knowing he'd be looked down upon because he came from a working class family.

"Cloud," Cloud blinked out of his daydream and looked over at Zack whose hand was gently pressed on his shoulder, "stop worrying, I'm here with you remember?" Cloud hesitated before nodding with a forced smile and frowned as he noticed that they had in fact arrived and he felt his heart jump into his throat at the sight of the grand house before them.

The windowsills had been decorated with many candles, ivy beautifully swirling down the buildings face as if it was greeting the many guests that were entering through the large brown doors. Men and Women of all ages were climbing out of their vehicles in beautiful gowns and smart tuxedos, stunningly groomed faces lightning up at the candle lit lanterns that hung from black poles, hit their skin.

Cloud swallowed deeply and saw Zack's face finally flash with a little worry and he took a deep breath in as they began to make their way to the doors, invitations in hand to be ready to show them to the guards that were checking everybody over.

"Guards?" Zack raised his eyebrow and looked down at Cloud who just shrugged, "do they honestly think people will assassinate these guys?" Cloud chuckled slightly at his friends teasing and shook his head slightly.

"They're aristocrats Zack," Cloud rolled his eyes as Zack playfully nudged him with his elbow.

Cloud pulled at the ends of his long blonde hair as they gradually got closer and closer to the guards, his eyes flickering to the floor as he didn't want to see their disapproving eyes, they were going to judge him, his tuxedo wasn't a labeled one, his hair was groomed properly and he wasn't arriving beside a female like the other men that were attending.

"Invitations please," Cloud held it out with a shaky hand and Zack repeated the action with a confident smile.

The guard raised his eyebrow as he looked the friends over and puffed a little before nodding his head towards the ballroom that both the blonde and the raven could see clearly.

As they entered, they were hit by the beautiful music that was being played by a live band in the corner of the giant hall. A large feast was presented professionally on a few tables beside the stone stairway.

Cloud's eyes sparkled as he stared up at the chandelier that hung proudly above the dancing couples in the hall, he couldn't believe how wealthy these people were and he looked around to try and figure out who had invited them, considering that most of the guests were in fact in their twenties he expected that Lady Lockhart was also an adult.

"Wow," Zack gasped as he gently pulled Cloud over to the wall so that they wouldn't be knocked over by couples twirling passed them, "this is incredible!," Zack exclaimed and his beaming face met Cloud's.

"It really is," Cloud smiled back at him and tilted his head to the side as he saw a brunette girl approaching them, dressed in a pretty black dress that fell down to just below her knees and a silver necklace lay around her neck, the small silver charm hanging above her breasts that were more covered than the other women in the hall.

"Excuse me," she reached out and tapped Zack's arm somewhat shyly and blushed lightly as he turned and looked down at her, his eyes widening softly, "um, would you like to dance with me?" her large brown eyes flashed with nerves and Cloud took an instant liking to her, she seemed sweet and he laughed lightly as Zack nodded and gently took a hold of her hand, pulling her onto the dance floor with the other couples and began to make them sway from side to side.

Cloud grabbed his arm as he watched them with a little jealousy, Zack had always been confident with women ever since he was a small eleven year old. Cloud had always been used to watching girls continuously fawn over his best friend whilst he stood on the sidelines, Zack had tried to set Cloud up a number of times, but whenever the date actually turned up Cloud was far too nervous to start up a conversation and would often just leave the date without a goodbye for fear of making him looking even more stupid than he already did.

Should I dance with somebody? Cloud frowned at his thoughts as he watched Zack dip the bashful brunette in his arms, how could I compete with that? he sighed heavily and removed his eyes as Zack stole a cheeky kiss from the girl and he chewed on his lip as he began to scan over the females that were conversing with each other.

He found his eyes falling on a group of three girls that seemed to be around his own age and looked them over subtly, trying not to seem rude if they caught him. The first girl was a few inches shorter than himself and had her hair up in a high pony-tail, tied with a stylish pink ribbon and was gowned in a long pink dress that covered her slim body, a few brown strand fell to the sides of her face and her sparkling green eyes shone as she laughed with the shortest of the three.

The shortest girl had very short black hair that suited her very well, her short and slim body was dressed in a short dark blue dress, around her head she also had a light blue headband, which Cloud thought was a little strange to see at such a formal event.

But it was the last girl of the group that made Cloud's hear skip several beats for she was definitely the most beautiful out of all three. She had taken a more classical approach to her dress sense and had settled with a long black dress that was a few inches below her knee, a few silver bracelets hung around her left wrist and a silver chain hung around her neck, a small crystal charm dipping onto her breasts that were highlighted in a subtle way and Cloud felt himself blushing as he noticed that small detail, his eyes examined the way her long black hair fell over her shoulders and framed her pale skin soothingly. Her bright chocolate brown eyes had him in a spin as a graceful smile fell upon her thin lips. Cloud pinched his arm tightly as he found himself gawping at her, not noticing the fact that the girl he was currently gazing at was staring straight back at him with a light blush sketching across her cheeks.

When he did notice however, he nearly jumped five foot in the air and quickly turned around, rolling his eyes as he now looked even stranger for he was now staring at the wall.

His heart punched against his chest as he felt a hand tap his shoulder delicately and he slowly turned around until his bright sky blue eyes met those he had previously been hypnotized by. The girl was smiling happily and she was giggling quietly as a heavy blush appeared on Cloud's face.

"Hello," she greeted simply and Cloud felt his throat go dry, as he knew he was now going to have to talk to her.

"Um, h-hi," he stammered and mentally cursed himself as she giggled again.

"What's your name, sir?" Cloud blinked at her formalities and cleared his throat.

"Cloud Strife…miss," he wasn't sure he'd addressed her properly but relaxed slightly as she nodded, seeming to almost feel his uncertainty, "and y-yours?" wonderful, he was stuttering again.

The girl seemed a little confused by the question but shook her head a little and placed a hand on her chest, "my name is Tifa Lockhart," Cloud's eyes widened and a high level of panic settled deep into his heart.

"Oh, I apologize Lady Lockhart," he blushed and looked to the floor mentally cursing himself once more, frowning as Tifa laughed cheerfully.

"Don't be sorry Cloud," his name sounded so wonderful coming from her lips, "I'm not Lady Lockhart," Tifa smiled at Cloud when he lifted his head.

"You're not?" Cloud was very confused and blushed once more when Tifa rubbed his arm friendly.

"No, Lady Lockhart is my mother, she's the person who invited everybody," Tifa explained and Cloud nodded now understanding the situation.

It was then that he noticed Tifa freezing slightly when their eyes locked, she looked like an angel underneath the light being illuminated from the chandelier and he wished that he had Zack's confidence to ask her to dance for he couldn't shake the growing feeling in his stomach that he may be falling for Tifa already.

Cloud flinched slightly as he felt Tifa's finger tips gently brush across his cheeks, her eyes never leaving his as she gently touched his skin and Cloud's eyes fluttered a little as his shaking hand reached out and tucked a few strands of her hair behind her ear gently.

"Your skin is so soft," Tifa whispered and blushed lightly when Cloud's hand touched her, "like feathers," she continued and removed her hand from Cloud's face despite the clear disappointment in his face so she could peer over her shoulder as if startled suddenly.

"Tifa?" Cloud asked and his heart thumped loudly in his ears as the beautiful brunette laced her fingers with his and tugged him towards one of the brown doors that stood proudly on the walls, pushing it open to reveal a small aquarium and shut the door again when they were safely in.

Cloud couldn't understand why he felt so drawn to Tifa as she stood before him, water reflections dancing across the skin that was revealed to him from her dress. Electricity flying between them as Tifa's hand stayed linked with his as they moved closer to one another, foreheads touching as their lips stayed inches apart. Cloud shivered as he could feel her breath dancing across his bottom lip and swallowed once more before daring himself and placing a gentle kiss on Tifa's parted lips, startling himself by his confident move and he watched Tifa's eyes flutter shut as he slender hand placed itself on the back of his neck. It was only then that he allowed his own eyes to close, moving his lips tenderly against hers as the only sounds that surrounded them was their heavy breathing, the sound of their lips parting and the gentle caress of the fish swimming around in their tanks unaware of the embrace of first love dancing in front of them.

Cloud released Tifa's hand and slipped his hands around her waist, holding her close to his tall, strong body as her arms linked around his neck, their lips still locked tightly. Both of them panting each time their lips parted for the small second before diving back for more, their tongues lovingly moving against each other's.

Tifa smiled warmly against Cloud's lips as he shyly kissed her back, her heart was racing in her chest, be it because her oxygen was running low or because she was slowly falling in love was beyond her, all she knew was that she wanted to be as close to Cloud as possible.

"Stay with me tonight," she panted quietly when they slowly parted and Cloud blushed darkly at her suggestion, "please," she brushed his hair out of his eyes and he felt his eyes shut without even wanting to.

"I will," he whispered and gasped slightly as he felt her lips return to his, pulling him back into their passionate embrace.

Cloud hugged his legs as he continued to wait for Tifa to return to the aquarium, he had already told Zack about his secret and had received a rather disturbing smirk from his best friend and a giggle from Zack's new partner, Cissnei. Tifa had asked him to wait for her whilst she had and her parents said goodbye to their guests and he obeyed almost immediately.

She's got a hold on you Cloud Cloud smiled slightly to himself and blushed adorably.

And I don't think you care at all.

This is an entry for thesoldierspromise's (deviantart) contest.

As I can't draw I was beyond happy when they said I could enter a fanfiction instead!

The theme for fanfiction was Romeo & Juliet, so I kept to the whole falling in love at first sight thing and completely fell in love whilst writing this because it's my first time writing Cloud x Tifa. Throughout the fanfiction I made sure to keep the description of Cloud on the scruffy side until he and Tifa finally kissed where his confidence builds and I describe his body as tall and strong *faint* because he is haha. I really enjoyed writing this and I hope it's good enough for the contest because I can't recall how many times I re-read this bloody thing. XD

Also, yes I am a big fan of Zack x Cissnei. Poor Cissnei never gets the love she deserves and I thought 'sod it, put her in' and I gave her to Zack :) (she has officially been noted to have deep feelings for Zack during the games).

Yes, the two other girls Cloud boggled at were Aerith Gainsborough and Yiffie Kisaragi :)

Um, I really hope you guys like this and I must apologize to my OTP (Zack x Cloud) for this fanfiction XD

Enjoy!