Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy VII or Advent Children.

A/n: Fixed the grammatical mistake. Thanks to Kattzia for pointing it out.

Intertwine

Floating somewhere in the sea of thoughts churning in his mind and drowning him in misery, was the knowledge that Tifa Lockhart was watching him out of the corner of her eye. He felt it, a prickling sensation at the back of his head, a potent awareness deep in his bones and he felt it despite the weary state he was in and despite the attention diverted to the search of blood on his upturned palms.

She radiated apprehension in abundant waves, exuded bone-deep worry, and wincing, Cloud acknowledged the accompanying exasperation.

Everyone had their limits, and Tifa, apparently had just reached hers. Yet even something so trivial in the grand scheme of things, in the world that had been his burden twice and his bane a thousand times, did not fail to obliterate every other thought and feeling flooding his mind. And Cloud knew…Tifa wasn't leaving him alone even when she was leaving him alone. Nearby, she had him in her sight, and at a distance, in her thoughts, and far, far away, in her dreams and her memories and her heart.

And in so many ways, Cloud didn't think he was leaving her alone either.

He tried, time and again to dismiss the unruly auras of worry and fear and curiosity circulating the air above them, tried to close his mind off, to bury himself in his self-imposed mission-all he had to do was find the blood, but Cloud knew that, even when he wasn't at the center of attention of her quiet, perceptive gaze and those alluring, dark eyes, he was pretty much trapped. Tifa was always watching him, somehow, with her eyes sometimes and with her heart all the time and Cloud didn't really think he wanted to be anywhere else. It wasn't merely comfort he felt when she was nearby. It was belonging and belonging was breathtaking.

Still, he gazed absently at his hands, forcing his attention to his worn palms once again, not really finding the blood but not quite ready to give up the search because of a firm belief that it was there. Failing as many times as he did, blood was bound to stain his skin like it had done his mind and searching for it had become a daily routine.

But something in the air told him that today was different. He felt disoriented by the overpowering silence in the bar unaccustomed to the absence of Tifa's voice in the air as she hummed while tending to her chores and he felt unsettled by the lack of idle conversation, by the sound of her weary sighs and the nearing footsteps and the hands that came to rest against his.

Cloud didn't recall ever being so distracted before.

He heard the soft rustle of her clothes as she kneeled down behind him, felt the gentle weight of her forehead pressing into his back but when he tried to turn and settle questioning eyes on hers, he couldn't. He was frozen to the spot, completely entranced by the image of her slender fingers moving in between his.

He frowned, an eternity later, still stunned by the image of her elegant hands settled upon his palms, slender fingers tucked comfortably between his and he didn't know where it came from, but he couldn't deny that sense of tranquility that assaulted his body and freed his mind from the guilt that had never been his to shoulder.

"Tifa?" Cloud started warily, listening to the quiet, even breaths she exhaled upon his back. He curled his hands curiously against hers and gazed at their intertwined fingers, as the words tumbled quietly from his lips bearing a sense of serenity and an evident element of surprise. "What are you doing?"

"Hmm?"

She shifted behind him and turned her head to rest her cheek against his back instead, her eyes roaming the dim bar as if she searched for an answer.

"Taking it away," she answered easily and his hands closed over hers in a sudden, startled grip when the weight of her words fired the dread already brewing in his blood. She winced but didn't pull away and buried her face in his back again mumbling against him, "It's mine too."

Cloud sighed and shook his head wearily, easing his grip on her hands but not letting her go. She didn't need to do this, stain her deceptively delicate hands with the blood on his. It wasn't her burden to carry. But at this point, still gazing at their joined fingers, and with a warm, foreign feeling pushing past the guilt to trickle into his chest, Cloud realized that it didn't matter anymore.

He felt her move away from him, lean back on her heels and lift her eyes to the back of his head.

"Can I?" She was firm about her request and thoroughly certain though fatigue and frustration laced her voice and Cloud nodded, squeezing her hands in response.

"Can you?" he asked a touch of a smile curling the corner of his lip and Tifa chuckled wearily at the amusement in his voice.

"She didn't bleed Cloud, right?" He heard the nervousness in her voice and sighed softly as she fell silent waiting for his answer. But he waited too, mulling through her words in his mind, opting to listen to her instead of speaking and for a while it seemed that neither was ready to break the silence until Tifa, comforted by his nearness found the strength to word her thoughts.

"I don't think she did. I don't think you'll ever see her blood on your hands."

Cloud wasn't really sure if Aerith had bled or not, and he wasn't sure how many others he'd failed, or how much blood was on his hands, and slightly surprised with himself, the two-time hero didn't feel the urge to search his memories and relieve those moments when death had been all around him anymore. The thought was a fading ray at the back of his mind, quietly sinking back into the farthest corner overpowered by something serene and simple and a thousand times more beautiful.

He smiled.

"I don't think so too." His voice was stronger as he spoke the words. Lighter. Happier, and Tifa's keen senses detected the change and she pulled back again, straightened to gaze at his back, as if she could bring herself to understand what had changed just by looking at him.

"Cloud?" she said, frowning as she pulled herself to her feet.

He leaned back into her when she stood up, sensing her eyes wide and confused, leveled at the top of his head and kept a firm grasp on her fingers to hold them between his for another lingering moment. Then, with a sharp movement, Cloud tipped his head up to meet her eyes, his hands sliding away from hers, freeing her in one way and trapping her in a million others.

His eyes were clear, a stunning, hypnotizing blue that Tifa thought she'd never see again, and it stole the breath from her lungs and a distant, dreamy voice flitted lazily across her melted mind, trying vainly to remind her that once she'd started drowning in those shimmering pools of blue, she really couldn't hope to find the surface again.

She felt his hands settle on her cheeks, and the warm, unexpected contact jerked her out of her trance. Her hands slammed down onto his shoulders for balance, and she tried to find her bearings and her breath again only to have it whipped right back out of her when Cloud pulled her lips down to his.

She froze, even as he kissed her, too stunned to know what to do, and stood very, very still when he pulled away to gaze into her wide, stunned eyes.

"Thank you, Tifa."

It took a while for his voice to register through the daze and when Tifa heard the words of appreciation Cloud spoke, she snapped back into attention and frowned, bewildered, not understanding why he was kissing her or thanking her or if he was kissing her to thank her and utterly clueless over the response she was meant to give in return. She hadn't done anything yet about his insecurities but Cloud was so much lighter and relaxed and at peace that Tifa couldn't help the trace of hope from straining her wispy words.

"She didn't bleed?"

Cloud lowered his arms and rested his hands on the table, dropping his gaze to his upturned palms once again. And he looked for all the blood that was there, all the blood he was so sure was there, but realized that no matter how thick or permanent or cold it felt against his hands, he was still seeing something else.

And it made him smile.

The silence extended on, long enough that Tifa's worry became more than she could handle and she was about to call his name and bring his attention back to her again when Cloud swiftly pressed his hands onto the surface of the table and pushed himself to his feet, turning to face her.

She looked beautiful, standing there, bathed in moonlight, her brows drawn together, shimmering eyes narrowed questioningly beneath them as they searched his gaze for an explanation.

"It doesn't matter, Tifa."

Cloud shook his head to stop her words when her lips parted to let them through and he took her hands in his, dropping his eyes down to them. His gaze lingered and a serene, peaceful smile slowly stretched his lips, staying as he slipped his fingers in between hers and met her gaze once more seeing everything that truly did matter right here in his arms.

"Not anymore."

And when he kissed her this time, slow and soft and sweet, it wasn't a kiss of gratitude.