Tifa Lockhart stood at the window staring out at the field that stretched as far as the eye could see. She could see the rock that was some distance away and the man that was perched on it. He had been sitting there for some time now. He was so motionless that somebody could have easily mistaken it for a person that had been petrified. I wish I knew what was wrong with you Cloud she thought stepping away from the window.
Cloud had been so quiet ever since Sephiroth defeat two weeks prior. Cloud was usually quiet but Tifa knew something was troubling her old friend. And she had a suspicion she knew what it was. She opened the door and stepped outside into the cold afternoon. For being so sunny you'd think it would be warmer Tifa thought adjusting the neck on her dark blue turtleneck. She walked through the field, blades of grass were needlessly crushed under every footstep. She finally reached his side and looked at him coming to a stop. Like her he was wearing was considered not normal everyday clothes for them. His hands were shoved into the pockets of his navy blue jeans. A cream colored sweater was keeping him warm.
"Hi Cloud," she greeted him.
"Hi Tifa," he said back.
"What troubling you Cloud," she asked her hair blowing around her face from the cool breeze.
"Nothings wrong. So what's up with this weather," he asked trying to get her to change the subject.
"I know something's wrong,' Tifa said.
Cloud turned to her, his blue eyes had a thoughtful look. "I was just thinking," he told her.
"About Aerith?"
Cloud turned away and Tifa instantly knew the answer.
"I know your going to tell me to stop-"
"No Cloud, I'm not," Tifa interrupted him.
He turned back to look at her, his gaze was puzzled this time.
"Your not?"
She shook her head, pushing stray locks of long brown hair behind her left ear. "Nope. It's all right if you think of Aerith. After she died you were so busy worrying about Sephiroth and meteor you didn't have time to give the matter much thought," Tifa said giving him a ghost of a smile.
"Your right. I believed that if I didn't ponder over the matter the pain would go away along with my feelings," Cloud said turning to look up at the clear blue sky. "But I was wrong."
You shouldn't as this Tifa's mind told her you'll only end up getting
hurt. But she had to know how he felt about her and Aerith.
"What are you feelings for Aerith?"
"I guess I loved her."
Tears sprang to Tifa's eyes but she fought them. "She loved you too," Tifa told him.
"How do you know? You sound so certain," Cloud asked.
"She told me," Tifa finally admitted.
"But I…" Cloud's face turned a slight shade of crimson.
"Thought we hated each other?" She finished his question.
"Yeah."
Tifa couldn't help but laughing. "Aerith was my best friend. I never hated her."
Cloud nodded his cheeks finally returning to their normal hue. "Guess we were wrong. But I can't move on. I just don't know where to go from here," Cloud's voice was soft.
"Continue to live your life," Tifa said.
"But how? Without Aerith…" he wasn't able to finish.
A tear slid silently down Tifa's cheek and she brushed it away before Cloud could see the pain this conversation was causing her.
"You can do it Cloud. I know you can. Aerith would want you to live your life. She loved you Cloud. She wouldn't want you to sulk for the rest of eternity. If you love her so much honor the love you shared be continuing on," Tifa said fighting to keep her voice steady.
"Continue on? You mean move on?"
Tifa shook her head again, another tear escaping. "No, I meant continue on by living your life loving her. You don't need to move on. Until your heart says it's okay to let her go, love her," Tifa explained.
"I will. I will continue on for the love that we shared for each other. Thank you Tifa," Cloud rose from the rock finally a smile touched his lips.
"Your welcome."
He took her hand and raised it to his lips, placing a gently kiss on the back of her hand. He turned to walk towards the house. Tifa took his vacated seat on the rock. She couldn't stop the stream of tears, but couldn't keep the smile from her lips.
"I guess I've done my good deed for the lifetime," Tifa said. She turned her tear stained face to look at the sky.
"I'm giving him to you," she whispered. A flower petal drifted to a rest on her knee. She grasped the petal between her fingers and smiled.
"Are you coming Tifa," Cloud called to her.
"Yeah," she called back rising off the rock. She began to walk back to him in the direction she had just come from. The walked back to the house silently. Words were not needed for the two friends as Cloud gave Tifa a lopsided grin that she gladly returned. Cloud took off running, racing Tifa home, and her close on his heels. For them, actions always spoke louder than words.
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Authors Note: You want to know what I love about html? Fonts! Ok just thought I'd get that out of the way. Now this story is Aerith/Cloud, even though Aerith doesn't make an appearance. I'm going out of my Tifa/Cloud thinking for a short time when I was writing this. Don't worry folks, I'll be back to writing Tifa/Cloud any day now. I'm just trying something new. Here's what I thought for this story. If Tifa loved Cloud as much as she did and she realized the he did not love her back in return. I think she would have done anything to make him happy. And if that meant letting him love Aerith and her settling with just being his friend. This is my reaction to all those stories out there that have Cloud with Aerith and Tifa being the bitter bitch. I do hope you enjoy and please review! Thank you very much.