Author's note:

This fic has been moved from my website around 7/25/11 because as of August 2011, Verizon will not be supporting FTP, and I have to find another webhost, and XHTML is a gigantic PITA so I'd rather not have to do all that coding over again if I decide to change my site around. It's not worth it for such an old story.

Soooo...yeah. Old story...

This was a fanfic I wrote waaaaaaaaaay back. This fic is AT LEAST 10 years old by now. Chapter 17 is missing, as when I wrote this, I was younger and dumber, and didn't back anything up. So I lost that chapter when I moved my site from GeoCities (now defunct...see how old it is?) to Verizon.

My Real Ghostbusters fanfic is soooo much better. Really. It is. I think I was still toying with the characters, and how to write, etc. etc. etc...and well, this reads pretty darn silly to me years later. Lots of typos and terrible characterization, especially in the light of Advent Children, which came waaaay after this.

Poor Tifa! I handled her terribly in this fic. This story's here for ol' times sake more than anything. ^_^

Final Fantasy VII:
A Ring from the Storm

I.

It's all over. It's finally all over. Or so she thought.

The light from Holy and the Lifestream together was beautiful in the night sky. It contrasted with the ugly red light from Meteor. Meteor was about to be absorbed into Holy so the energy could be used for the good of the planet. The Lifestream was the combined power of all those who have died, pushing Meteor away so it didn't crash into the planet. That was fine according to Tifa.

All of Sephiroth's plans came to nothing, Tifa thought as she watched the light show. Absolutely nothing. Well, not really. This is probably better for the Planet in the long run. The energy from Meteor will actually improve the planet's natural beauty, and perhaps even cover up the areas that were massacred by Shinra. Especially the destroyed reactors and villages.

Tifa broke away from her thoughts to take a long look at Cloud. The rest of the team had already gone down below the deck of the Highwind after Cid gave his orders for everyone to follow him and do some heavy celebrating. But Tifa stayed behind, because of what she wanted to say to Cloud, and she knew this was the right time to say it.

Cloud stayed behind, too. She knew he wasn't much for partying. He liked the rest of the team, but he wanted to get a look at the last couple moments as Sephiroth's whole plan fell to pieces and the planet was saved. Then he wanted to enjoy the silence of the night sky.

Cloud's face always looked warm to her, even when she first found him after he stepped off the train three years ago. Even when he acted so cold to everyone around him. Even with those mako eyes that he had. Those beautiful eyes... Funny she didn't notice them when they were kids. But inthe three years they fought together for the planet, she was noticing more and more about him besides his eyes. And all of it she liked.

"What...?" Cloud said as he found her gazing at him.

"It's time," she said almost under her breath.

"Huh? For what?"

"Cloud...I've been waiting until this fiasco with Sephiroth was all over so I could take some time with this. I wanted to say..."

The exact words she wanted to say just didn't happen for her. Instead she might try saying something else, just to help calm her nerves.

"Your eyes are so..."

An angry look shot from Cloud's glowing blue eyes as he turned away and started removing his armor, walking toward the stairs to the deck below.

"Yeah. I heard it all. Weird. Spooky. Cursed. Day-glow. When I returned to midgar after I was experimented on by Shinra, I heard all kinds of choice phrases for them." He didn't want Tifa to see or hear how disgusted he was with Midgar. He may have been the leader of the team through most of the time they were working to save the Planet, but that didn't change who he was when he saw certain people he knew from his past, or what they would say about him. "Go ahead, hit me with it. They're what? Bug zappers? Messed-up? Posessed?"

"Beautiful!" she cut in. That made him stop in his tracks.

She caught up to him, grabbed his arm and spun him around. She looked at him sternly. He was always so elusive when she wanted to tell him everything!

"Cloud, they're beautiful. Have you ever heard beautiful?"

He couldn't say anything for a moment, he was so shocked.

"No...I haven't..." he managed to whisper out.

"I might as well say it, Cloud. In the three years we've fought together, I've really come to...to...love you..."

Cloud just stared. He waited so long...

"At first, I wasn't sure. I was so wrapped up in defending myself from monsters that I had no idea what I was feeling hlaf the time. Then I was afraid to make the commitment to tell you. But as I got to watch you more and more, I knew you more and more, I knew you were special, and that you shold know."

"Ten years..." Cloud whispered as he looked in her brown eyes.

"Ten years for what?" She was shaking all over. How was he going to take this?

"Ten long years to hear that. Tifa, even when we were kids, I wanted you to be with me, but I was afraid you wouldn't like me at all, because I was such a weakling..."

"Cloud, we've already been through that. You are definitely not as weak as you think you are."

"But you would always say, 'Be strong'...I was embarrassed when you said you knew the real reason I lied about being in SOLDIER, so I thought I would 'be strong' and drop it. I never thought I would hear anything about your feelings again."

"Well...Ineeded to say that...that I'm all yours." She smiled. "And I want to watch over you to make sure you don't get into any more trouble!" she said as she poked him in the ribs with each emphasized word.

He took her prodding finger and wrapped his hand around the rest of hers. Hmmmm, his hands are warm, too, she thought.

They gazed at each other for a long moment, and Cloud was the first to speak again. "My turn to know something more about what you thaought back then."

"Yeah," she agreed. They walked back toward the railing surrounding the top deck of the Highwind, hand in hand. They reached the rialing and Tifa snuggled close to Cloud as she wrapped her arm inside his.