A/N: So, this is not the long awaited part two of Ch. 3, but I do hope that this rewrite pleases you all! My writing style has changed a lot since the last time I worked on Fighting Forever so I sincerely hope that you guys enjoy it this time around. The plot will stay the same mostly. It's no longer an FFVII x Dead Fantasy crossover and is merely it's own story.

Please enjoy!

I do not own any of the characters or Final Fantasy itself.

Fighting Forever

By Kaitlin A. Blagg

June 19, 2015

Summary: "Things happen for a reason; and those things might be cruel and those things might break us down for reasons unknown, but they happen and sometimes we can't stop it-Maybe it was for the best, so they could continue their legacy because theirs ended here, so we could continue it for them." An old evil rises with new plans for someone you wouldn't expect. { Tifa-centric. CloTi. }

Genre: Romance & Hurt/Comfort

Character A: Cloud S.

Character B: Tifa L.

It is at times like these that one would be paranoid and one would be comforted. Peace in this world is not common; for some, it is appreciated and welcomed with open arms. For others, it's taken as a warning, a sign of impending doom. To one person, demons are usually embraced and prominent. To the other, they're locked away, hidden behind the facade of a content smile and ruby red eyes that were, at times, hard to read.

Cloud Strife isn't one to show his emotions so freely. Yet, after his revival, something in him changed. He helped the barmaid out more often, spent more time with the kids, helped out those who needed that little extra push for the day. To those close to him, it seemed like he finally had the closure he needed to be able to move forward.

Tifa Lockhart, on the other hand, usually was pretty vocal about what she felt, yet sometimes wore it simply on her face. Yet, after his revival, something in her changed. She seemed more introverted, not smiling as much, sometimes staring off into the distance with a pained look on her face. At times, it was Cloud who had to take care of the kids and the bar instead of going on a delivery.

It concerned the blonde to no end, and when he did confront her about it, she would say "I haven't been sleeping lately, that's all," or "I'm fine. Stop worrying so much," with one of those smiles of hers, but he knew; he knew it wasn't that trademark Tifa smile. It was forced and calculating and doubting. She wasn't one to doubt so much, to be so withdrawn from the world. In his mind, it's like the two switched places.

And for the first time in his life, he was terrified. Sephiroth scared him but nothing could compete with his Light being so dim, almost dying out into a hollow shell.

He had enough.

He came home from a delivery in the dead of night, the bar already closed and taken care of. The upstairs portion of Seventh Heaven was quiet, he noticed as he approached the staircase with soft steps, careful not to make too much noise. Despite the floorboards creaking quietly beneath his boots, it wasn't until he reached the top when he heard it. Soft whimpers, broken cries, tossing, turning, noise that rang in his ears though it was nearly silent. He located the source to be coming from Tifa's room, her door just slightly ajar. He peeked through the crack to see her in a restless sleep, covers messy. Her face was twisted in pain and fear, her hands clutching at the sheets beneath her. He pushed the door open gently and stepped inside. While he tried to be as quiet as he could, the sound was more than enough for her to awake from whatever was terrorizing her. She shot up from her bed, eyes wide and chest heaving, instantly focusing on the blurry intruder.

"Teef?"

She relaxed only a little at the familiar voice, looking down so he couldn't see the look upon her face. How embarrassing. Cloud shouldn't have to worry about her; he was always worrying. "H-Hey," she stuttered, clearing her voice to try and get rid of the shakiness. "Didn't hear you come home," she commented, playing with the hem of her shirt, refusing to look at him.

"Don't."

She looked up at him in confusion, brows furrowing with the slight tilt of her head as she watched him place his sword against the wall. "Wh-What?"

"Don't avoid it," he sighed, taking slow strides to her bed and sitting down across from her. He kept his eyes towards his boots, his arms resting on his knees. "What were you dreaming about?"

She stayed silent for a long while, her heart pounding in her ears and her blood fiery in her veins. In the back of her mind, she was reeling, escaping, dying hundreds of times over while trying to find the right words to say. "I don't remember," she settled with, trying to sound as convincing as possible. It must've worked because he looked at her with a sad smile and nodded, reaching over to smooth over some of her hair with his gloved hand.

"Try to get some rest then. I'll see you in the morning," he replied before standing and leaving her room with a gentle shut of her door.

Sleep wouldn't come for either person for the rest of the night.

A/N: Alright. This is the prologue. Definitely different than the other one. I tried to show that there was an internal struggle within Tifa that we may not have seen during AC and that Cloud's death/revival only made it worse. Please expect Chapter 1 later today!

xx Kaitlin