Key To Their Hearts

Summary: Her moments of weakness were private, yet he witnessed them. Will it affect their lives or will he continue to have doubts about everything.

Characters: Tifa Lockhart x Cloud Strife

Genre: Romance

Rating: T

"I'm home," said the blonde, spiky-haired warrior as he entered the bar, 7th Heaven, and looked around. There was nobody out there to greet him- no jumpy kids and certainly not his raven-haired companion with her ever-ready smile. He felt a little strange and started panicking. Dropping his keys on the kitchen counter, he started to hurry up the stairs when he heard the patter of two pair of kids' feet climbing down them.

"Hey Cloud, welcome back," said one of the aforementioned kids, "you are late, what happened?" she continued while tugging on her skirt's hem.

Cloud knew this to be a habit of hers when she was worried about something so he decided to give her a complete reply to at least calm her nerves. "Sorry Marlene, I had to make a delivery to Corel so I had to travel across continents. Your father sends his love and a parcel for you," he said as he took out a small velvet box from his pocket and handed it to her. With that done, he nodded at the other kid, his and his partner's ward and asked about the last member of this household, his raven-haired companion, Tifa.

"She's upstairs, watching TV. She seemed tired so we suggested she take a day off and rest while we put up the 'Closed' sign for the bar," replied the shaggy-haired boy in response to Cloud's question.

The man's only response to that question was an okay as he ascended up the stairs towards her room. He knew that no matter how ill Tifa was, she never took days off, so her doing that on the kid's request actually gave him reason to worry about her. He wanted to be sure that she was okay. He knew that he was not around a lot at home with the kids and her, what with his deliveries and job restoring Edge after Bahamut's attack alongside Reeve, but he also knew that he was tied to this home in a sense of duty, a responsibility that he wanted to take and not let go. So, when he discovered that the lady in question, who ran the household with him, was not well enough to do something she loved, he was given just cause to panic.

His thoughts running wild as to what might have happened to her, Cloud made his way to Tifa's room and gently peeked inside. Gently because it was not in his nature to be rushed and haphazard even when tense and also because he thought that if she were busy doing something, then he could make his exit without her knowing it. However, all logic, all sense evaded him when he observed the sight in front of him.

Tifa was busy watching a song and she had tears in her eyes. He could hear the faint music from it but not the lyrics so he was at loss to how to interpret this. All he actually heard was the soft sound of music on a piano and a women in a white body-length gown lying near a fountain as she sang. The song had no colours in its video and somehow, the lighting, and set all gave the song a lonely, depressed feeling so any body's crying made sense to him if it were triggered by that. However, what did not make sense was the person who was actually crying.

Tifa was not the sort of woman who would shed tears at something so girlish, he thought. No she was the sort of person who used to give you inner strength with just smiling in her own sweet way, the determination to do anything you want to do and faith … faith in yourself. So, why was she crying …

So, why was she crying? What in that song had brought up these emotions in her. He thought as he closed the door gently and started making his way downstairs. Stopping near the centre table, he generally asked the kids if something had happened to Tifa while he was away on deliveries, to which they replied in negative and shrugged. Making his way to the kitchen counter, he warmed the meal he knew Tifa would have cooked for him and decided to take it upstairs to have it with Tifa. Maybe even get her to talk about what was bothering her.

While he was still preparing his stuff in the tray, his phone rang. Noticing that it was Barret, he put it on speaker and answered him before calling Marlene in the room. He observed Denzel standing in the doorway as Marlene made her way to the phone and started talking to her dad when a booming voice suddenly exclaimed on the phone, "Oh hey Spiky, open the door, how long are you gonna make me wait here outside!" Startled, Cloud made his way to the door and found his walkway blocked by a giant of a man with a gun in place of his arm.

"Barret," Cloud nodded to the giant in question who just stood grinning.

"I decided to take the kids to Corel for a week. Just decided I wanted to meet Marlene an' she won't have come if Denzel weren't to come," Barret explained with a goofy grin on his face. If Cloud's mind wasn't so preoccupied, he would have remembered his face and teased Barret later about it. Everybody knew that he was this way only around Marlene but that didn't stop them from making a few jokes occasionally.

"But their stuff, it isn't packed and-"

"Don't worry, Cloud, I'll handle it!" Marlene shouted as she efficiently busied herself in packing up two duffel bags. She was done with the packing in such a short time that Cloud just stood there amazed at her haste in going with Barret. Giving the bags to her father, Marlene reached up and hugged Cloud's waist whispering to him when he bent down to take care of Tifa. And with that, she just took Denzel's hand and left in the same flurry she packed.

All this time, Cloud stood and noticed that Denzel gave him a wave as he started moving towards the truck Barret had brought. He remembered waving back to Denzel as he closed the door and started moving upstairs to Tifa's room after grabbing the tray. It was surprising for him that she had still not noticed all that was happening around her.

She was lost. She had nowhere to go. She could not keep up with this charade of pretending to be a mom to two kids when she herself knew so little of childhood. She had grown up pretty fast considering the state the world around her was in when she grew up so having insecurities now was troubling her. She could not even keep the man she wanted to be near their family, their home, her. So when she saw a couple of songs on TV, her already waning mental strength was dissolved of its last barrier and she cried. She cried for all the times that she had seen life play mental games with her and destabilise her, all those times when she comforted others all the while thinking that who'd do that for her, the times when she smiled just so people would feel that everything was alright with her. She cried for herself.

She was self-absorbed at that moment, unaware of all that happened around her. A little part of her said that she was being stupid but she couldn't help herself. She was giving in to emotions that would have been pretty normal for any girl and she felt like being 'any' girl at the moment, not Tifa, not the Avalanche's emotional support, just a normal girl.

"Oh Aeris, I just long to be like you at this moment, lie cold in the ground and forget about everything around me, just give myself up to the life stream and wash my hands off of all my sorrows. Tell me it is time for me to come join you guys up above," she said between tears, "I don't think I have the willpower left to survive this harsh world."

Cloud stood in shock as he realised the depth of her words. He did not have the strength to actually announce his arrival to her. He was too confused and hurt with her words. Confused because he never thought that Tifa would so willingly want to die, she was always so full of life, she was the one who kept bringing him back to life so why did she now want to leave! Her words hurt him because they meant she'd leave and make him suffer endlessly without even giving him the chance to create a life with her, a more meaningful life, one where they shared everything not because they had to for their wards but because they wanted to for their own progeny.

He just sat down outside her door with his back to the wall while she cried inside. His insides were closing up on him, choking him when he suddenly heard the voice to a familiar tune. That piano tune which Tifa was listening to earlier, it seemed that she was now playing it herself. And then he heard her voice. Her soft voice, barely audible but still clear,

I'm so tired of being here,

Suppressed by all my childish fears,

And if you have to leave,

I wish that you'd just leave,

Your presence still lingers here,

And it won't leave me alone,

What made her think that he wanted to leave, he wanted to stay, stay for good by her side. Spend his entire days with her, plan dinners, go for picnics, share breakfast, watch children grow who identify them as their parents. But … how was he to tell her all of this …

These wounds won't seem to heal,

This pain is just too real,

There's too much that time cannot erase,

No. Tifa was wrong here, time is the best healer of all wounds, new and old all fall to its flow and a person moves on. That is what he learned being with her, even when she never said those words explicitly, she showed it by her patience around him. How can she forget all of this now after all that they've been through together. After all the times she has been around him, helping him in battle and out of battle, how can she forget that their wounds always healed in the end. All it took was an act of love and somebody to help you go through with it.

When you'd cry, I'd wipe away all of your tears,

When you'd scream, I'd fight away all of your fears,

And I held your hand through all of these years,

But you still have,

All of me …

Oh Tifa … yes … she was the one who was always there! Through Sephiroth, both times, the Remnants, Bahamut, the Life stream, even Nibelheim. Why would she want to give up on him now … no … wait … she was not giving up on him. She was giving up on life but just because she had lost hope now. His mind was a muddle now that he had figured it all out. He stood up, staggering at the outburst of emotions in him. Part of him wanted to enter that room and encircle his arms around Tifa and comfort her while another part of him wanted to escape.

His logic to escape was fueled by his own insecurities. He had failed her twice, once in the Mako Reactor in Mt. Nibel and once when one of the Remnants had attacked her and left her in the flower field. He didn't want her to go through pain again on account of him. However, if he left, he knew that this way, they'd both hurt for each other. He needed her around him, she gave him a sense of security, of importance and of being wanted and loved.

His hand inadvertently went to another velvet box in his pocket and he fingered its lining. Making up his mind, he made his way inside Tifa's room. It was a little dark now and the only light was from the TV. It gave a last flicker as he turned it off and turned towards Tifa. Her head was down on the piano, resting on her arms. She either didn't notice the lack of light or she was still crying. Making his way to her, he put his hands on her and gently turned her around.

"Tifa … " he encircled his arms around her waist and held her near to him, "Don't cry please, talk to me, I can't stand to see you like this," he continued all the while rubbing her back with his hands. He felt a little better when she responded to him by moving her arms and holding him by his waist.

She stayed in her position, her crying had stopped but she was silent. And still. Just holding him. She was stunned to see Cloud in her room, holding her like this. Maybe this was why she could not respond to him. She was thinking about releasing him when his grip around her tightened. She felt him remove his right hand from her and move to his pocket. Her mind was trying to process all of that which was happening when she heard him whisper her name.

"Tifa, I know I have never been there for you when you needed me, I also know that I am not the perfect guy to live with but I have to tell you something before I make irreparable damage to our life," Cloud said while his hands opened the velvet box behind Tifa and he took out a chain from it, "Tifa, you're the key to my heart, the only one who has unlocked me and seen me for who I am. I want to give more of myself to you. I want you to be more than just the key to my heart, I want you to be the gateway to my soul, the reason of my existence. I want to enjoy a life with you, experience the joy of waking up next to you, with you in my arms. I want … you," and with that he slipped the white gold chain holding the solitary heart pendent studded with diamonds in her neck and clasped it shut behind her.

If Tifa was surprised before, she was openly shocked by now. Cloud was never one who would speak a lot and specifically for something related to his feelings. He liked keeping his personal space with everyone so why was he saying all of this now. She lowered her eyes to look at the pendent and then raised them up to see his face. If anything, his eyes showed love at this moment. Love and a hint of peacefulness. Before she even had a chance to reply, he was holding her face in his hands and moving it closer to his own. Right when they were just an inch away from each other, she heard him speaking again.

"I wanted you to know all of this because I know that it is foolish to pine for somebody and not tell it to them. Life's too short to live like this and I am going to spend everyday with you as if it is our last together. I hope you can forgive me for all the times I was dense enough to not realise that and made you cry," Cloud whispered to Tifa and then closed the remaining distance between their faces by kissing her.

Tifa forgot to show any reaction initially but then responded by moving her arms around his neck and holding him tightly. She felt Cloud murmur her name as his hands left her face and move to her back. She felt him break the kiss and saw him with her eyes fully opened.

"Tifa, I … I-"

"I know Cloud, I feel the same way," Tifa interrupted Cloud before he could say anything. Even if he didn't say those three words, she could feel them in his touch and eyes. Moving her hand to trace his face, she stopped near his lips when she felt him grab her and carry her towards her bed.

After that, they were both lost within each other busy making up for all the lost time and the nights gone by. All Cloud knew was that she was beautiful, she was his and she knew that he was there for her. All Tifa knew was that this was the beginning of a new life, a single ray of light had appeared in the murky sky giving her hope to continue living and smiling.

The first thing Cloud noticed in the morning was the empty bed. He got up from his pillow, rubbed his eyes and observed the room. The windows had been opened, it was a gray morning, implying the possibility of rain or a brief shower. Then his eyes went to a neat pile of clothes on the drawer and a clean pair of clothes near the edge of the bed. He picked them up, and moved to the shower. By the time he was done and came out, he saw Tifa entering their room with a tray in her hands.

"Breakfast?" She asked with a smile.

"Of course. Have it with me?" He responded to her with a question of his own.

"Naturally. I was waiting for you. Come, here by the window is an awesome spot but hurry up with your hair, I am hungry," she replied with a slight laugh.

Cloud hurriedly finished drying his hair with the towel, put his fingers through them once or twice and went to join Tifa by the window after grabbing the plate of sandwiches from the tray. As he joined her, she handed him one of the glasses of juices and smiled at him.

Yuffie made her way towards the 7th Heaven when she happened to glance up. What she saw sent her into an ecstatic fit. It was something out of a picture: Tifa was sitting with her face watching the sky and Cloud's hand was around her waist as he put his chin on her shoulders, both of them with a sandwich in their hands. She instantly took a picture and sent it to all the members of Avalanche with the caption: Oh my god guys, I just happened to witness this. They do look perfect together! The family at 7th Heaven is finally complete! And with that, she backtracked and decided to visit the couple in question later, with a few more of their friends.

A/N: I know Cloud speaks a lot in this but I always imagined Cloud to be full of eloquent words for Tifa and the song acted as a catalyst for him to tell them to her. Moreover, I'd like some idea about how I write, if this actually is T-rated and how this was for you. In short, I'd love some Reviews! Feel free to give constructive criticism on the style and the plot! Thank you, Enjoy!