You had me at Hello
Tifa greeted him with a smile when he entered, which Cloud half-returned. He muttered he needed to get some paperwork done and then he disappeared upstairs to his office. He could tell that Tifa had been in recently as the desk had been tidied and some more photographs had been placed across the surface. His eyes fell on a yellow flower that lay in front of the photos and he picked it up gently, remembering when he had picked it out the night before:
She watched him twirl the plant delicately between his fingers as he lay there, for once looking as though he was at piece with the world. His eyes were no longer clouded with sadness and guilt. He was free.
Settling herself down beside him, she nuzzled into his chest and breathed a sigh of contentment. When he came here, they would lie among the flowers and be forgotten by the world for a few hours. It was heaven.
"You can take it with you if you want," she said cheerfully. "Think of it as a souvenir."
"Can't I take you instead?" he asked. She blushed and smiled at him, whispering an apologetic no.
When the time came for him to leave, it somehow seemed easier to turn Fenrir on and go back to Seventh Heaven because that yellow flower was in his sleeve pocket next to his heart. It was almost as if having her there with him.
He smiled at the memory as his free hand stroked the soft petals of the plant before setting back down. Now his eyes fell upon the picture of Avalanche that was taken in her Church. It just didn't feel right without her there. But then, he supposed she was always there in that Church. That is why he left and went there when he had Geostigma. He felt safe there and he felt closer to her. Besides, the Church was where they had officially met. It was sacred to him, just like his memories of her.
That Church was the place he fell in love with her, as soon as he opened his eyes and looked into her own emerald gaze. And then her voice, so sweet and flirty, greeted him with a bubbly "hello"
And, in that moment, she had him.
His hand rested on the flower again as he glanced out of the window to the horizon where he could see their flower field and another smile crept onto his lips.
"You had me at hello," he whispered softly. "And even after goodbye, you still have me."