Aishiteru

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Final Fantasy, and I'm not making any money from this fic. I guess the plot of this could be said to belong to me, though…

Summary: After the events in Advent Children, Cloud finally realises just how much he cares for Tifa, since he came so close to losing her. However, he also feels the need to punish her because of the seemingly total disregard for her own safety that she had during the happenings of the film

Warning(s): Spanking (obviously); possible ooc:ness; possible mistakes in the canon

Author's Note: I've had this idea in my mind ever since I first watched Final Fantasy VII Advent Children. For those of you interested, Final Fantasy is a series of games, and Advent Children just came out on DVD. You can find out about the storyline and characters by searching on Google (and other search engines, I assume). Also, Aishiteru means 'I love you' in Japanese

Cloud looked around at all of the children who had finally been healed from the GeoStigma, and, for one of the only times in his life, actually felt happy. The events that had happened two years ago still caused him grief, but he was beginning to feel a bit better about them. Maybe it was simply because of the appearance of his other friends to help against Sephiroth's avatars.

And the way they had reaffirmed their faith in him by giving him the boost he needed to fight. Even Aeris…

Somehow, Cloud knew that he wasn't going to see Aeris again. But that was all right. He had finally been able to forgive himself for her death, and, even though it still saddened him, he knew now that there were more important things to do than dwelling on what had been lost. There were people alive now, who needed him. People who needed him. His friends…

Tifa…

Cloud's gaze moved towards his childhood friend, and dark eyes unflinchingly and boldly stared into his. She had thrown herself into battle with a complete disregard for her own safety, and, even if her actions had saved Denzel, and probably others, Cloud still couldn't get past the feeling that he had almost lost someone he loved deeply, before he had even had the chance to tell Tifa how he felt about her.

It wasn't a mistake that he would continue to make…

Cloud waded out of the water in Aeris' temple, and made his way over to the young woman. "Are you hurt, Tifa?" he asked quietly, making no attempt to hide the concern in his face.

Tifa stared at him with a look on her face that almost seemed to say, 'Oh, so now you're so concerned about me?' "No, I'm fine," she replied, looking away for a moment. "Not hurt at all." –Well, apart from my heart,- she added silently. The events of the day had harshly reminded her of the fact that she didn't have Cloud's love – that went to Aeris.

"Good." Cloud just stood there for a long moment, trying to decide just how to put his feelings into words. Of course, he didn't really want to go into personal things in front of everyone, especially given what he wanted to say to Tifa about the danger she had put herself in.

Tifa waited with her head tilted to one side, waiting to see if Cloud was going to elaborate on his words. When he didn't, she instead turned and greeted the friends that had showed up, finally able to talk to them and ask them how they'd been since the last time they'd seen each other.

For his part, Cloud quickly found himself accosted by Yuffie, and then Barrett, who commented that he would now be able to take Marlene home with him. Cloud was a little concerned about that, since Marlene and Denzel had become quite close, but he decided that Marlene would have to decide what she wanted to happen.

At least she didn't seem upset with Cloud anymore… He had to admit that he couldn't blame the girl for being unhappy, even though his reluctance to continue being a 'hero' was pretty natural. He was grateful for the fact that she hadn't lost faith in him completely, and now the GeoStigma was completely gone. Or, at least, it seemed to be totally gone.

Gradually, everyone filtered out of the temple, the children going off with their parents and other members of their families. The people who had been hurt during the attacks were taken to be treated, and, finally, only Cloud and his friends were left in the temple.

"Why don't you come back with us?" Tifa suggested, her eyes moving over each face before finally coming to rest on Cloud's. Her question was addressed to him as much as the others. "We have enough room, I'm sure," she continued. "Besides, we've still got a lot to catch up on."

The others all voiced their agreement, until only Cloud was left. He locked eyes with Tifa as he said, "I'll be coming as well. I think that we've got quite a number of things to talk about."

Tifa blinked at that, looking a bit taken aback. If she didn't know any better, she'd say that Cloud looked almost angry with her. But why? Surely she hadn't done anything wrong? At least, she couldn't remember doing anything wrong. Biting her lip slightly, Tifa gave a kind of troubled frown, and attempted to cover up her sudden insecurity by saying, "Well, let's get going, right?"

Not everyone was convinced by Tifa's smile, but no one chose to comment on it, since neither Cloud nor Tifa really looked like they wanted to talk about it. Marlene slipped one hand into Barrett's, and took Denzel's with her other hand. She then skipped off with them, causing the others to smile a bit, and exchange fond glances, before also making their way out of the temple.

As Cloud walked next to Tifa, he slipped his hand into hers, and squeezed tight, eliciting a slightly startled glance from her. She didn't say anything, though, and neither did she pull her hand away.

Later, everyone had gone up to their respective rooms at the building Tifa and the orphans had been staying in. It had been a rather tight squeeze, but, somehow, they'd managed to fit everyone in. Now, the only ones still awake were Tifa and Cloud.

For her part, Tifa felt kind of nervous. Cloud had been touching her hand and shoulder a lot, but she could still see the anger in his eyes, and feel the tension in his touch. In a way, she'd wanted everyone to leave so that they could get the whole 'conversation' out of the way. But, now that it was finally here, it was the last thing she wanted.

Cloud took a couple of deep breaths, thinking about the best way to word what he wanted to say. He sat down on the sofa, and then looked up at Tifa. "You know, I don't think I've ever told you just how much you mean to me…"

Tifa blinked. Whatever she'd been expecting Cloud to say, it certainly hadn't been that. After a moment's hesitation, she sat down next to him. "… You don't have to say it…" she said slowly.

"I think I do," Cloud replied, turning so that he could face Tifa, and then pulling her into a tight hug. "I love you, Tifa," he said quietly. "I love you so much… I can't lose you, to anything."

Tifa shook her head against Cloud's shoulder, but didn't try to pull away from the embrace. "You don't love me…" she said quietly. "You love Aeris. You stayed in her temple rather than here with me…"

Cloud rested his forehead against Tifa's, his arms tight around her. "Yes, I loved Aeris," he admitted. "But she's no longer in this world – and I think that what I loved about her was an ideal. You, I'm in love with… And I always have been." He stroked her hair softly. "I'm sorry that I kept away from you… I don't know how I can ever make things right."

Tifa finally relaxed against Cloud, closing her eyes for a moment. "You don't have to…" she whispered. "… I… understand…"

Cloud let out his breath in a soft sigh of relief, and then kissed Tifa's forehead. He then loosened his arms around her, and, taking her wrists gently, pulled her over his knees.

Tifa was too startled to really react when Cloud started to pull her across his knee. However, once she was right over with her upper body supported by the sofa, she immediately began struggling, trying to get to her feet. "What are you doing?!" she demanded, her voice rising in panic.

"You can hate me for this, Tifa," Cloud said, resting his hand on her bottom. "But you put yourself in danger with those avatars of Sephiroth… You might have saved Denzel, but I couldn't stand to lose you, and I need you to realise that."

"You're crazy!" Tifa felt the slight pressure of Cloud's hand leave her bottom, and she flinched, knowing what was coming. She wasn't disappointed – a moment later, a forceful smack landed on her bottom, and she jerked slightly, wincing a bit.

Cloud placed his other hand gently in the small of Tifa's back as he continued spanking her. It was more for comfort, both for himself and her, rather than restraint. Tifa's body jerked with each hard smack, which she could feel even through the material of her trousers.

Cloud continued the hard spanking for a few minutes, until he could hear Tifa's quiet sobbing, and he knew that her bottom had to be quite sore. Then, he stopped, and rubbed her back with the hand he had just used to punish her, murmuring soft, soothing words as she calmed down.

Tifa slowly pushed herself up, and then gave Cloud a hard hug, which he returned fiercely. Cupping her chin in his hand, he kissed her deeply, and then pulled her down so that her head was resting on his shoulder.

Tifa just held onto Cloud, giving thanks that they were finally together, and that Aeris no longer seemed to be hanging over Cloud's head like a dark shadow.

Things weren't perfect… But they were slowly getting better.