Disclaimer: Nothing belongs to me and I sure as hell don´t get any money out of it.

Summary: Tifa confess her feelings to Cloud. But what if Cloud´s heart already belongs to someone else?

AN/A: So this is the first story I´ve ever written in english and to be honest I´m a little bit nervous. My motherlanguage is German, so if you see any mistakes be it grammar or something else please correct me. This is a Oneshot I´ve written just for the hell of it. I hope you like it. A short warning, slash (malexmale) is mentioned. Don´t like it, don´t read it. So I hope you enjoy.

Bye Loraliell

Love Hurts

„I love you…" The blond froze. Then his face closed off and in his eyes a short pained light could be seen before they were once more emotionless. His darkhaired childhoodfriend looked at him in despair.

„Cloud, look at me! Why won´t you answer me?" The blond Ex-SOLDIER gazed into her brown eyes but stayed mute. Tifa didn´t know what she should do. She folded her arms under her breasts.

Why has she told him? Because she has been in love with him for such a long time but for the sake of their friendship she has forced her feelings back and tried to forget. But now she had to know one way or the other, she had to know, so she could stop thinking about all the ´What if´s´. Her close-mouthed blond friend just looked at her, no emotions could be seen on his blank face.

After another couple of moments he opend his mouth. „Because I can´t Tifa." She has always liked his voice. It was deep and soothing, in her opinion he should talk more often, but she knew it wasn´t going to happen. But now she wished that he hadn´t said anything. It felt like her heart was breaking into thousands of pieces and there wasn´t a thing she could do to stop it. She felt the tears in her eyes threatening to spill over, but she refused to cry, not infront of Cloud. She wouldn´t show a weakness, but she couldn´t stop the small tremble in her voice. „Is it still because of Aeris?"

A emotion raced through Cloud´s eyes, so fast she wasn´t sure if what she has seen was real or not, but for a moment she could have sworn, that there was pity in those beloved blue orbs of his. Anger raced through her, she didn´t want his pity, didn´t want to be pitied by him for falling in love with him.

Cloud sighed softly. „No, not because of Aeris, she has always been just a good friend a sister of sorts that I wanted to protect. But even that I couldn´t do." His voice was bitter on the last part and full of self-loathing.

„Why then Cloud? Please tell me, I want to understand! I have to." Her voice nearly broke on the last part. The blond sighed again. „Because my heart belongs to somebody else.

I have always loved him and just him and I will continue to love him, even when he is dead and has been dead for a long time. I still love him. It wouldn´t be fair to you Tifa." Tifa bit her lower lip, she had a clue, but she still had to ask, had to know. „With whom are you in love Cloud?" A shadow settled in his beautiful blue eyes before they were once more blank.

„Zack. My hearts belongs to him, it has always been his and always will be. The only reason that I´m still alive and haven´t ended my existenc is because I know he wouldn´t want it, wouldn´t want me to end it and so the only thing I still have are my memories Tifa. I´m broken, not able to feel more for anyone than friendship." Tifa flinched, this was the longest she had heard Cloud talking, this was more than she had heard him talking in the whole month before! Any other time she would have been happy with hearing him talk for such a long period of time.

But what he has told her hurts, a lot. But still, she tried to smile. „I understand. I still love you Cloud, but I understand and I respect it, I´m sure, that I will get over it one day. I know I will and I won´t let my feelings destroy our friendship. I am and always will be your friend and you can be sure, I will always be there for you. That I can promise you." Cloud closed his eyes and relaxed slightly a little nearly invisible smile tugged on his lips. „Thanks Tifa." It was just a soft whisper, but it was enough for her. Feelings be damned she would made sure to be always be there for him.

Cloud opend his eyes again, she could see his heartfelt thanks in his eyes and her smile turned into a real one. „Of course thats what friends are there for." He nodded slightly before turning to his Fenrir, he still had a delivery to make. Tifa watched him till she couldn´t see him anymore. Just then when she was sure that he couldn´t see her anymore she let her tears flow.

She startled when a hand fell heavily on her shoulder, there was only one person with a copper-claw. „Vincent. How long have you been there?" The normally emotionless voice of the former Turk had a soft tinge to it. „Long enough. Come inside it´s cold out here." The darkhaired girl nodded and went inside the 7th Heaven together with the red-eyed Ex-Turk. He piloted her to a little table and then went to get a bottle of Wodka and two glasses.

He filled a glass and set it down on the table before Tifa. „Love is one of the most beautiful and one of the most awful emotions there is on this world. Beautiful when she is returned, awful when she isn´t returned or when the one you love is gone." Vincent looked at the wall with an almost wistfull sigh and sipped on his drink.

Tifa has already tossed back her glass and filled it anew. „Have you ever been in Love Vincent?" The ravenhaired man looked at her. His facial expression unreadable. „Yes and it was Heaven and Hell at the same time. During an assignmet I fell in love with the person I was assign to protect. Lukrezia, for me she was an angle. When she told me, that she loved me, I thougt I was in heaven.

But then, when I woke up thirty years later and was told, that she was dead. At this day I thougt I would die a thousands deaths. But the worst was when I discoverd that it was her who implanted the Chaos-gen in my body. It´s hell. I hate her for it, but still there is a part in me that loves her and always will love her."

Tifa listened with fascination, normally Vincent never told anything of his past, he lived in the now, it was the first time he parted with informations about himself like that. Tifa sighed. „We two are something else. Du you think you will get over it one day?" Vincent looked at the darkhaired girl before him pensively. „To be honest, I don´t know it Tifa. I hope so. But you, you will get over it, that much I know." Tifa dropped her head slightly and continued to draw wet circles with her glass on the tabletop. „Do you – do you think Cloud will get over it one day?"

Vincet looked sadly at the girl in front of him and sighed slightly. „No, I don´t think so. When you love sombody with every fibre of your self, when you continue living for this person even if it nearly kills you, when you need everything you have so you can go on everyday and you do it, just for this one special person. No you can´t get over such a deep love. Cloud fights everday anew to go on and he does it because he promised Zack he would. Because of this love he goes through hell every day anew and he tries to live, tries to continue.

And even if it´s sound cruel or heartless, but I hope, for Clouds sake, that his suffering will end soon and he will be able to find his peace." Tifa remained silent, then she tossed back her remaining Wodka before banging her glass on the table. „Love hurts."

The End

AN/A: So like it, hate it? Please tell me what you think about it.