Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters despite asking Santa very nicely for the past 11 years

Author's Note: Well this came about as a youtube video contest thing where you had to make an episode/drama type thing and I thought, you know what, I'll just make a story for it as well. If you want to see the videos I'll have links up on my profile. Only episode 1 is finished just now but I recommend waiting for about Chapter Five of this to avoid spoilers, unless you really dont care, this is after all just a basically a more detailed version of the video's story. When episode 2 is finished more chapters of this story will follow. I will warn you though that episode one has Squall, Rinoa, Tidus and Yuna as the young Zack, Tifa, Cloud and Aeris.

In the End

Zack Fair absolutely hated ballroom dancing. He never felt comfortable in the fancy clothes and the music was always so….posh. It just wasn't him at all. Unfortunately, there was always a ball on at some point during the year that all military personnel were to attend.

Sighing with boredom, he leaned back against the pillar and surveyed the room. Unsurprisingly, most of the people he recognised on the dance floor where the ones that always tried to suck up to their commanders. And usually they were told to get a life by said commanders, a thought that made Zack smirk a little.

Then he blinked as he caught sight of a bright white dress in the middle of the room. A young woman, perhaps sixteen at the most, was standing alone in the middle of the floor staring up at the roof. Zack glanced up and back down to her again. The ceiling was clear glass so you could see the night sky easily, something that Zack didn't much care about as he had seen it many times before.

But it suddenly dawned upon him that this girl probably had not ever seen the sky. The lower slums of Midgar never saw the sky because the upper plates covered it completely.

As if sensing his gaze, the girl turned her head towards him and gave him a small smile before holding her pointing finger of her left hand up and tilting her head to the side. Zack blinked at her. Her smile grew a little and she walked towards him.

Now he was what many would call a "ladies-man" and had no trouble whatsoever when it came to women. But as this girl stopped in front of him and stared with her large brown eyes he suddenly felt really uncomfortable.

"Do you want to dance with me? I kind of look stupid on my own right?" she said, raising one eyebrow in a flirtatious manner. Zack swallowed thickly.

"Sure," he answered. She smiled again, showing her perfect white teeth and her eyes seemed to light up. Zack thought as he stared into them, that he could almost detect a hint of crimson among the brown. He did not have time to think much about how pretty she was because she had already grabbed his hand and led him onto the dance floor.

"So," he started after a moment. "Are you in the army?"

"No," she replied as she moved her hips right and left, following the music with perfect rhythm. "I'm here with my father – Lieutenant Lockhart."

"Oh."

"Are you a Soldier?"

At last, Zack felt his confidence returning to him and he gave her a large grin. "No Ma'am. I'm Zack Fair, Soldier, First Class." He winked at her for good measure. She raised her eyebrow as she had done before.

"Impressive," she commented coolly as she twirled into him and back out again. "And please! No Ma'am it makes me sound so old! Call me Tifa."

"Tifa," he repeated, testing it. "That's a pretty name." Her smile returned.

"Thank you," she said as she moved forward to finish the dance, clasping her hand with his and bringing their faces just inches apart. The music faded away softly and Zack's grip around her waist unconsciously tightened. She locked eyes with him before they drifted down to his lips. Without thinking, he leaned his head forward but before the kiss had started, a sudden burst of fireworks made him jump and look up.

"Now I hate ballroom dancing for a whole new reason!" he muttered, glaring up as another firework went off. Tifa laughed and stepped back. However, she never let go of his hand.

"Come on," she whispered, pulling him towards her. "Let's go!"

"What? Where?"

"Wherever," she replied with a wink running towards the door to the gardens. When they were outside, Tifa walked to the edge of the top step and took a deep breath.

"It's not much like Nibelheim," she sighed, letting herself fall into a sitting position. "But it is air none the less. I felt like I was going to suffocate in there!"

"Nibelheim?"

"My hometown," she replied. "My father and I just moved from there after he got transferred to this division. I don't like Midgar much it just seems so…dull."

"Yeah, it is depressing," Zack muttered as he joined her. "I come from the countryside as well – Gongaga."

"Oh! Is that near Cosmo Canyon? I've always wanted to visit that place!"

"Yeah," he replied. "And I don't blame you. Cosmo Canyon is a beautiful place."

They fell into an amiable silence for a while, staring out at nothing in particular (mostly because Midgar didn't have much to look at) when Tifa suddenly spoke.

"I probably should have asked this before I asked you to dance but…you're not…I mean… are you …Um, do you have a girlfriend?"

"Not yet," he replied looking straight at her as he spoke. Even in the pale moonlight, he could see her cheeks colour just a little. "Do you have a boyfriend?"

"Not yet." Tifa answered with a grin.

She was, without a single doubt, the most beautiful and perfect woman in the world. And that was absolutely crushing to a ShinRa grunt like him. What would a famous singer ever see in him, Cloud Strife, who was no more than a lowly cadet?

He continued to watch her from the crowd, letting her soft voice carry across to him and imagining that the love she was singing about was about him. Her hair was swept across her face from the light breeze that had suddenly started but even as the cold whipped their faces, nobody took their eyes off the stage.

Many times, he had pictured just walking up to her and telling her, that he was completely and hopelessly in love with her but he was terrified that she would laugh in his face. Not that he would blame her because he was, after all, just a cadet.

As usual, he stayed until the end of her concert. As usual, he built up his courage and stayed with the crowd that would hassle her for autographs. As usual, he would stare like an idiot as she descended the stairs and smiled at her fans.

As usual, he would walk away like the worthless boy he was.

But this time, as he walked away, she passed him with her bodyguards and he dared himself to look up into that flawless face. Her eyes moved slightly to catch his and she smiled the most perfect smile in the world.

"Hi," she greeted pleasantly before turning left with her party. He stopped and stared after her in shock and for a second, he saw her turn her head back in his direction. Clenching his fist and gritting his teeth, he summoned his courage once more before taking a deep breath and running after her.

"Aeris!" he cried, causing her and her group to stop dead in their tracks and turn towards him.

"No more autographs!" said a large man, pointing his gun arm threateningly.

"Barret!" Aeris scolded. "Is something wrong?" she asked Cloud.

"I just…"

And without a word and before anyone knew what he was doing, Cloud moved forward, grabbed her shoulders and pulled her into a kiss. It lasted barely a second before her bodyguards wrenched her away but it was a second that Cloud would keep forever.

"Sorry," he whispered. "I just wanted you to know…" He turned to walk away when he heard soft footsteps and a soft poke on his shoulder.

"You know, normally you ask a girl on a date first before you start kissing her."

"I know."

"So?"

"Huh?"

"I'm waiting," she smiled.

"Huh?" Cloud repeated, blinking stupidly. She shook her head slowly.

"For you to ask me out." she said with a suppressed giggle.

"Oh okay," Cloud stated dumbly before realising what he had said and correcting himself. "I mean, I would like to ask if you would like to go out with me sometime."

"I'd love to. I'm free on Saturday night but I have a concert first, but since I've seen you at all the other ones, I guess you know that."

She smiled again and disappeared with her group leaving Cloud alone to drink in all that had happened.

"She said…she had noticed me before," he whispered to himself, a goofy grin spreading across his face.