A/N: Ahem. This is a gift fic that I present to my wonderful friend Hoshiko Shinomori. To anyone else who reads this, I appreciate any and all reviews but if you don't like it, I'm sorry. This is for my friend and no one else in particular. Hoshi, this one is for you. Happy 16th B-day! Hope you enjoy the story!

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy VII. There. Good enough.

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Mistaken Heart

The sun shone brightly in the sky over the beaches of Costa Del Sol. For this resort town, however, this was far from a rarity. Everyday was always a fine day, inclement weather had no place here. Not a cloud was to be found anywhere and the temperature wasn't too hot but rather just right. The waters of the ocean were warm, heated by the trapped light of the distant star above.

Cloud and company had unknowingly picked a perfect spot for a short break from their journey to stop Shinra.

The Buster Sword-bearing former mercenary walked along the wooden walkway that stretched along the sides of all the buildings, providing safe passage to those who were unwilling to walk barefoot among the hot sands of the many beaches. He wasn't dressed as if he were going to relax, but just by looking at him, you could tell he was relieved to be here. Much had happened in the past few days and everything had come at him and his new friends so fast that they didn't know what to make of it all. The encounter with Jenova on the cargo ship certainly didn't help things. For the time being though, none of this mattered. Whether they meant to come here or not, they were best served to take this opportunity to rest up. The journey ahead of them was sure to be both long and hazardous.

A ball lightly tapped him on his right shin. He looked down at it and then at the children who basked in the light of the sun not far from him. They said nothing but looked at him longingly, eyes begging for what had hit his leg. Without a word but with a nod, he kicked the ball up and then over to the children who went back to laughing and playing as they had been before. The sentient beast known as Red XIII lay not far from where the children played. His eyes were closed, dreams of his homeland filling his mind. Cloud had come around to make sure that everyone was doing okay but he decided to go ahead and let Red sleep.

Cloud passed by one of the windows of the room they were supposed to stay in while they were in Costa Del Sol and stopped to look inside. Tifa had said that she was going to be inside since she wasn't terribly sure if she wanted to do much sun-bathing or not. She never was much for tanning for she liked keeping a fairly light complexion. That, and the sunny beaches were just too hot for her. Cloud looked around for a moment and saw that no one is inside. He shrugged and continued on.

He saw Yuffie standing triumphantly behind a simple table with an awning over it. Curious, he walked over to see what she was so happy about. He didn't have to get close before he found out.

"Materia!" yelled Yuffie to passers-by. "I got your materia right here ladies and gentlemen! Fire materia! Lightning materia! Got your Chocobo Lures right here folks! Yessirree! Step right up and get your materia while they last!"

Cloud sighed and stepped forward, catching his new friend's attention. "Yuffie, what are you doing?" he asked.

She placed one hand on her hip and shot the other toward the air. "What's it look like? I'm gonna make a fortune off of materia!"

Cloud blinked and checked a pouch on his belt. "Well, you don't have my materia-"

"Yet," interrupted Yuffie.

"…so where did you get the materia?" asked Cloud as he finished his sentence.

"Easy!" she said with glee in her voice. "Some stupid shopkeeper asked if wouldn't mind looking over his shop while he went to the bar! While he's been gone, I altered the deeds of this little shop so everything belongs to me! Bwahaha!"

Cloud shook his head. "Don't you have a conscious?"

She looked at him, puzzled. "Kon-shus? What's that?"

He sighed, turned around, and walked away. "Try to keep yourself out of trouble Yuffie."

"Uh huh, yeah, okay," said the non-attentive Yuffie as she went back to peddling "her" wares. "Materia! Get your materia right here!"

With Red and Yuffie down, that left only Aeris, Tifa, and Barret to check on. Like Tifa, Barret was supposed to be somewhere in the hotel. He had mentioned something about seeing how something looked though Cloud had no idea what he was referring to. Since he was already close to the hotel, he figured that he might as well go ahead and check on him.

As he passed by, he heard laughing through the window of the room Tifa was supposed to be in. Curious, he went to the window and took a peek inside. His eyes widened when he saw Tifa hugging a man he had never seen before. "What? Who's that?" he wondered to himself in confusion.

The two broke apart from each other and sat down on the bed. "It's good to see you again Johnny," said Tifa.

The man smiled brightly. "Likewise Tifa. It feels like forever since I've last seen you." He took one of her hands and held it gently with both of his own. "I really missed you Tifa."

Tifa giggled. "I missed you too. I wasn't sure if I'd ever see you again after what happened."

Cloud slowly sank below the window outside and propped his back against the wall of the hotel. Who was this guy? Was he an old boyfriend? He couldn't recall ever seeing him before, but… He shook his head. "Did Tifa give up on me while I was gone?" He sighed. "Guess that's what I get for trying to play the tough guy. Her signs were always completely obvious and I just refused to take any true notice of them."

He sat for a moment longer before standing up and walking away from the window. "You've got no one to blame but yourself Cloud." He eyed the local tavern not from where he once was and thought it might be a good idea to get his mind off of his own personal problems. "Won't do me any good to worry about stuff like that now. Best to drink my worries away now so I'll be ready for when we leave tomorrow." He took a step toward the tavern and stopped again. "Then again… it's gonna feel pretty awkward to be traveling with Tifa after…" He shook his head and made his way into the bar.

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Cloud wasn't much of a drinker and he didn't realize this until after he had ordered his first mug of the cheapest liquor he could get his hands on. All he did was stare at the glass as bubbles of carbonated fizz rose to the top and popped. Many thoughts ran across his mind, most of which concerned Tifa. The two had been friends since they were small children and had stayed by each other's side for years since then. Even after he left for Midgar, he kept as regular of contact with Tifa as he could, whether it was just simple letters or the occasional trinket or other souvenir from Midgar.

His mind trailed back to Nibelheim. Sephiroth's burning of the village, the brutal murder of Tifa's father, the moment that Sephiroth cut down and almost killed Tifa… all of these events had weighed heavily on his mind for the past five years. All of these only further fueled his desire to not only protect her but simply to be closer to her. All this time, he could've said just how much she meant to him.

"But you just had to play the tough guy, didn't you?" said Cloud as he damned himself.

"Problems with a girl?" asked a friendly voice beside him.

Cloud broke his hypnotic gaze from the ale-filled mug and turned to the source of the voice: a well-groomed older man, perhaps in his late thirties, with brown eyes and short blonde hair with grey around the edges. The blue uniform he wore was familiar to him as was the matching goggled helmet that sat on the counter. He was of Shinra, yet Cloud felt no sort of animosity from the man. Did he not know who Cloud was? Perhaps he did, but it didn't matter anyway. Cloud was not worried by his presence. Besides, to him, whatever was going to happen was going to happen, regardless of what he did.

Cloud shrugged. "Maybe. What's it to you?"

The soldier nodded. "I apologize. I didn't mean to-"

The ex-mercenary waved a hand. "Don't worry about it. I've just got a lot on my mind." Cloud turned his attention back to the ale and closed his eyes.

The older man smiled. "Maybe you should just talk to her. I'm sure it's all just a misunderstanding."

Cloud looked over at the soldier with a questioning gaze. "How-"

"Lucky guess?" said the man with a laugh. "Nah. When you've been in the military as long as I have, you see the face that you just made quite often. Lot of the younger troops have to deal with the same issues. It usually just turns out to be misunderstandings." He took a drink from his own glass. "I may not know the details of what bothers you, but I'm sure you're just over-analyzing things. Take a moment to take a breath and just let everything flow. Everything will work out just fine."

"…who are you?" asked the confused Cloud. "Do I know you from somewhere?"

The older man smiled. "I'm sure you don't. As for me, I'm just a tired old soldier. Another year or two in the service and I'll finally hang my weapons and armor on the wall, perhaps as a souvenir for my children or grand-children."

"I see…" Cloud stood up and took a deep breath. "I think… I need to do some thinking."

"Atta boy," said the older man with a heart-felt smile.

Cloud nodded and reached into his pocket to fish out some gil. The older man waved his hand and threw a few gil on the counter. "I'll take care of the drink. Might drink it myself anyway."

Cloud nodded. "Thank you," he said as he walked away and through the door of the tavern."

The older man's eyes remained fixated on the door a moment longer until another soldier far younger than himself said, "Sarge, that guy looked kind of familiar. Was he-"

The older man shook his head. "No, he wasn't the one we were looking for."

"You sure sir?"

"Positive." He picked up Cloud's mug of ale and handed it to the soldier. "On me."

The soldier took the mug happily with one hand and saluted with the other. "Yes sir! Thank you sir!" Mug in hand, the younger soldier walked away and rejoined his fellow troopers at the table.

The old soldier raised his own mug to his lips and took a sip. "Good luck Cloud," he thought to himself. "I hope we never have to meet again."

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Cloud sat on one of the many beaches of Costa Del Sol, his mind lost in thought, as the sun finally began to show the first signs of setting. The words of the eerily familiar soldier had slowly began to sink in. Over-analyzing? Maybe that's all it was. Was it just a misunderstanding? He hoped so. Should he-

"Cloud!" yelled someone from behind him.

He turned around and saw his life-time friend walking towards him. "Tifa…"

"Here you are," she said with a hint of relief in her voice. "Everybody's been wondering where you were!"

Cloud turned back to the setting sun. "I'm sorry. I just had to do some thinking."

Tifa noticed the lost look in Cloud's eyes and immediately knew that something was wrong with him. She sat down next to him in the sand. "What's wrong Cloud?"

He shook his head. "Nothing's wrong. I just-"

"You're lying."

He turned to her. "What?"

"I know when you're lying Cloud," she said. "Others can't see it but I know you well enough to know when something's wrong with you. Why won't you tell me?"

He turned away again. "It's nothing you need to worry about."

Tifa was starting to get upset. She was terrible at hiding such emotions so she didn't even try. "Fine Cloud. If that's the way you want to be, then that's okay with me." A single tear born of frustration rolled down her cheek as she stood up and started to walk away. "Always trying to play the tough guy. I thought you trusted me more than-"

"I'm sorry Tifa."

She stopped. "W-what?"

He turned back to the ocean. "I just don't want to take a chance on upsetting you."

She turned back to him with confused eyes. "Upset me? What do you mean?" She walked back over to him, sat back down, and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Cloud?"

He glanced at her briefly. She always was a stunning girl but for some strange reason, the look of concern she wore on her face seemed to bring out her beauty even further. Tifa was one of those girls who external beauty was actually bolstered by her inner beauty. Her smile brought joy to any witnessed it. The source of her tears were felt by all. Her worry, needless or not, was shared by those close to her. Whatever emotion she felt, it only helped to amplify her beauty. Perhaps it was her soul-filled eyes that had this effect on any who gazed at her. Regardless of the cause, Cloud was lost the moment he gazed at his life-long friend.

"…Cloud?" Tifa repeated.

He shook his head. "Sorry, I…" He lowered his head as if her were ashamed. "I saw you hugging a guy I never saw before. When I saw that, I… I don't know."

She tilted her head. "Cloud, what do you-" She stopped and thought for a moment. A smile slowly crept across her face and she giggled in the cute way that she always did. "Oh, I get it. Cloud, you're so sweet."

He turned back to her. "Huh?" he asked, confused.

She closed her eyes. "Hehe, Johnny's just an old friend from Nibelheim. I met him shortly after you left for Shinra, but after what happened with Sephiroth, I hadn't seen him since. He's just a friend. He could never replace you."

"…really?" asked the relieved Cloud.

She nodded. "Mmm. And besides, Johnny is, well…" She leaned over and whispered something in his ear. Once done, she giggled and pulled away.

Cloud grinned and shook his head. "I see. Makes sense as to why you're not interested in him." He placed his hand on her knee and looked at her again. "Sorry about all this Tifa. I didn't mean to-"

She put a finger to his lips. "Don't worry about it. Besides, I'm happy now!"

"Happy?" asked Cloud.

She shook her head and smiled. "Haha, always trying to play the tough guy, huh Cloud?" asked Tifa of herself. "Even when you've fully exposed your heart, you're still trying to hide it. Well, at least I have nothing to fear now. Here goes nothing…"

She took a deep breath. "Cloud I'm happy because…" She choked. "Because…"

He took one of her hands gently into his own. "I want to be with you Tifa."

She nearly fell over. "W-what? You mean it!"

He nodded. "I'm sorry it's taken me so long to admit it but…"

She shook her head feverishly. "No no no, it's okay!" She wiped a tear of joy from her cheek. "I'm so happy to hear you say that Cloud. I've wanted to tell you for so long, but…"

He pulled her close to him and embraced her. "I know. It was pretty obvious. I'm sorry for being such a damn fool. I promise to never hide anything from you again."

"You promise? Really?" she whispered softly into his ear.

"Promise," he whispered back. He pulled back. "Never again do I want to be the source of your sadness."

Her smile brightened. "I don't have to worry about that anymore. Now you're my source of limitless happiness."

Simultaneously, they turned back to the setting sun. Tifa leaned against Cloud and asked, "Isn't it beautiful?"

He nodded. "Sure is." He chuckled. "Hey, aren't the others going to be worried about us?"

She closed her eyes and cuddled closer to Cloud. "Let them worry a little while longer."

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Happy 16th birthday, my dear friend Hoshiko. I hope anyone who reads this enjoyed it, but I hope you enjoy it most of all. Thanks for being such a wonderful friend to me.