Love at the Well
"Cloud,
dinner is ready!" a cheery voice called out the window. When there was no response, the source of
the voice walked to the front door and popped her head outside.
"Huh,
where is he?" The woman tossed some of her raven hair over her shoulder and
walked outside of the house. Hearing a
noise coming from down the street, she trotted off looking for a certain
spiky-haired young man.
She
found him at what could be considered the edge of town. After meteor had been destroyed, she and
Cloud had returned to Nibelheim. The
people who Shinra had placed there had long since left the area. With the pain of past memories burning in
his mind, Cloud had refused to let Nibelheim stand any longer and torched the
entire town. Every building was burned
to the ground but one- her home.
She
had asked him why, and he replied that he didn't want her to lose her home
twice. Besides, they needed a place to
stay. Since then, she and Cloud had
been roommates.
Cloud
stood before a large boulder holding the Buster Sword in his hands. He was unaware that he had a visitor and
continued with his exercises. Closing
his eyes, he summoned his strength and concentrated. Energy waves pulsed around him as he powered up, and he raised
his sword.
Cloud
charged towards the boulder at top speed.
He slashed through it from left to right so fast that it was a blur,
then he reversed and slashed from right to left back through it, and finally
slashed a horizontal path straight across the rock face. The boulder exploded into a thousand pieces,
and Cloud grinned at his handiwork.
"Lookin'
good!" a familiar voice cheered as she clapped her hands. The young warrior turned his head to see his
best friend smiling at him. Her long,
raven black hair flapped in the cool evening breeze, and her knee-length blue
sundress made her look as lovely as ever.
"Hey
Tifa, what's up?" Cloud strapped his sword onto his back and headed towards
her.
"You're
still practicing?" she teased.
"Yeah,
I guess I'm used to fighting all the time.
Plus, I want to learn how to use my higher-powered attacks all the
time." Tifa looked at him curiously.
"What
do you mean? What about the Cross-Slash
you just did?"
"Tifa…you
know that I'm capable of doing much stronger attacks. But for some reason, I can't get back to the level of power that
I used when we were fighting Sephiroth."
"Why
would you want to?" Tifa asked with a worried expression. "Are you afraid that
the fighting isn't over?" Cloud smiled and squeezed her hand; she was so sweet.
"No,
it's not that. But if something or
someone threatens this planet again, I want and need to be ready." Cloud
squeezed her soft hand, and Tifa blushed slightly. He released it gently not wanting to embarrass her.
"I'm
sorry…did you need me for something?" Tifa broke out of her thoughts of Cloud
holding her hand long enough to comprehend his question. She put her hands on her hips and put a smug
smile on her face.
"Yes,
I've been calling you for the last ten minutes, Mr.. I was trying to tell you that dinner is ready, but if you don't
want to eat, that's fine with me," she huffed and set her chin in a classic
stance of a pure snob. The expression
almost made Cloud laugh, and Tifa tried hard not to giggle herself.
"Are
you kidding? I wouldn't miss your food
for the world; besides, I can't cook anyway so without you I'd be in big
trouble." A bright smile crossed Tifa's face.
"So
you need me huh?" Her lips quirked, and she cocked her eyebrow at him. This time, Cloud couldn't help but
laugh. That expression looked so
natural on Tifa that it was scary. He
quickly became serious and smiled warmly at her.
"I'll
always need you, Tifa…I'll always need you by my side." His statement made her
face flush bright crimson, and her heart fly up into her throat. She turned her head and looked away from him
shyly.
"Hey
there…" A strong hand cupped her cheek and turned her towards him. Tifa saw the warmth in his mako, blue eyes,
and her body shivered slightly. "…What happened to the Tifa that I know so
well…what happened to that sassy woman of mine, hmm?" That got Tifa's attention
immediately. Challenged issued. She grabbed his chin and squeezed his cheeks
so his lips curled up like a fish's mouth.
"Who
you calling sassy, you big dope!" Challenged accepted and returned.
"Okay…okay…I'm
shorry…now lemme go…" Tifa released him and smacked him on the behind.
"Now
come on, my food's getting cold!"
"Yes
ma'am!" Cloud saluted. Tifa shook her
head, and Cloud followed her back to the house.
Later
that night, Cloud walked outside to get some fresh air and saw Tifa standing on
the platform by the old well. She was
leaning against the old wooden cylinder and silently gazing up at the
stars. He quietly made his way over to
join her.
Tifa
took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.
It had been a long time since she'd had a quiet evening. In Midgar, there was always something going
on. Even in the slums, people were up
and about all hours of the night. But
here, in this little corner of the planet, it was quiet and serene. Stars filled the night sky, and you could
see every one of them clearly. Tifa
sighed as she realized how much she'd missed seeing the stars. They always reminded her of that night…the
night when she and Cloud had been here at the well…the night just before he'd
gone away.
"Tifa?"
A hand touched her shoulder and brought her back to reality. She turned her head and found a gorgeous
pair of blue eyes shining at her. It
was him.
"Whatcha
thinking about?" She smiled at him warmly.
"Nothing
much."
"Remembering
old times?" His question caught her a little off guard, and she turned towards
him. Her eyes gave him his answer, and
Cloud nodded his head.
"Do
you remember the last time we were here?" Tifa asked.
"In
every detail. But you know that don't
you?" he answered. She nodded her head
in agreement; Tifa remembered seeing his memories of their night here. He'd remembered everything- the well, the
stars, the moon, and her.
"I
remember what I told you that night.
How I was gonna join Soldier and become stronger. I wanted to make you notice me- at least
somewhat. I knew that you had every guy
in town pawning over you, and I didn't want to bother you."
"You
never bothered me, Cloud!" Tifa interjected.
He smiled at her.
"I
know that, Tifa, but I guess I felt that I wasn't good enough to be around
you. I needed to better than I
was…stronger…that's why I wanted join Soldier."
Cloud
stopped talking and leaned back against the old well. Tifa watched him carefully.
She remembered how he'd told her all this when they were in the
Lifestream together, and yet, now, he was telling her a second time.
"Cloud…I
remember seeing your memories of what happened to you. You just wanted to fit in with the rest of
the kids, but you were tossed away. Now
though, you've grown into a strong warrior; a warrior who saved the planet if
you recall." Cloud chuckled at her statement; yes, he was no longer the 'runt
of the litter'.
"You
know, Tifa, when I came back to Nibelheim with Zack and Sephiroth, I saw you sitting
by the entrance, waiting to see if it was me who was arriving. I remember seeing you, and you…you…" Cloud
turned towards his best friend, "…you looked so beautiful, Tifa. You were like a jewel shining in the center
of a desert."
Tifa
felt her cheeks flush as he complimented her; her heart was pounding as she
listened to him tell her his deepest secrets once again.
"I
saw you sitting there and thought about how I'd failed in what I wanted to
do. I knew that you wanted to see me,
and I wanted to see you too, but I couldn't face you. I couldn't face you because I hadn't changed. I was still the runt that I'd been so many
years earlier, and I hated myself for letting you down."
"Cloud!"
Tifa suddenly grabbed his hands and held them tight. "I wouldn't have cared who
or what you were; I just wanted to see you again; I'd missed you so much." The
young warrior opened his arms and wrapped her in a gentle hug.
"Thank
you, I needed to hear that, Tifa." He released her slightly and stared down at
her.
"Even
though I was afraid to see you, Tifa, fate had us destined to meet once
again. That day at the Mako reactor
when Sephiroth threw you down those stairs…" Cloud clenched his fists, and his
muscles tightened.
"…I
was there…I saw you falling and there was nothing I could do. It tore at my heart because you represented
my home to me; it was like my town and my life were being taken from me. When I saw you lying helpless on the floor,
I felt anger welling up inside me; it was pure, unadulterated rage. I didn't care who Sephiroth was or how
powerful he was; he was going to pay for touching you."
"Cloud,
I…" Tifa didn't know what to say; her eyes were starting to fill with tears as
she listened to him pour out his heart to her.
"I've
never felt like that before, Tifa. It
was like I was consumed with an unending desire to protect you. I charged at him and stabbed him square in
the gut. After I'd hurt him, I felt my
pain going away, and I realized that your safety was more important than
revenge. But…"
Cloud
calmed himself, and he opened his hands.
"…When
I was going to carry you back to town, I saw Sephiroth; he was still alive and
trying to leave with the Jenova specimen.
It was at that moment when I decided that I wouldn't let him hurt anyone
else. No one deserved to have their
friends and loved ones slaughtered like animals."
"I
went to confront him, and Sephiroth thrust his sword right up under my
chin. He ordered me to back away, but I
wasn't afraid of him. Something inside
me told me that I could beat him so I grabbed his own sword and flung him over
the edge and into the Mako reactor." Cloud finished his story and looked up at
the stars.
"Know
something, Tifa, I thought that I didn't have anything to live for, but when I
saw him destroy this town and nearly destroy you, I realized that it didn't
matter if I was noticed or not. Being
noticed was not what was important, knowing that you're protecting the ones
that you care about is what's important."
"Oh
Cloud…you had to learn everything the hard way!" Tifa had tears dreaming down
her cheeks, but Cloud wiped them away.
"No,
Tifa, don't cry for me; I don't anymore tears shed in vain. You know, I never got a chance to thank
Aeris or you for helping me."
"Huh?"
she gasped. "What are talking about?"
"Both
of you helped me patch up the holes that I had in my personality." Tifa lowered
her head shyly and stared down at her feet.
"Well,
I know that Aeris was a big help to you, but I really didn't do that much."
Cloud cupped her chin and lifted her head back up.
"Tifa,
you're right. Aeris was my guide, but
that wasn't all I needed. I needed hope
to show me where to go and that hope was you.
Aeris merely showed me the path, but you helped me walked down it. I want to say thank you." Cloud's fingertips
brushed against the softness of her cheek, and she nuzzled her face against his
palm.
"Cloud…I…I…you're
welcome." Tifa didn't know what to say!
She'd never expected him to say something like that to her. She'd always thought that Aeris had played
the biggest part in helping Cloud overcome his difficulties, yet he'd just told
her that she was the one who helped him the most.
Cloud
drew Tifa into his arms and buried his face in her long, raven hair. He breathed in deeply, and he could smell
the scent of her vanilla-flavored shampoo.
She was so soft…like an angel brushing her wings against him.
"Tifa?"
"Yes?"
she asked looking up at him.
"I
wanted to say that I'm sorry for not telling you this earlier. I've wanted to tell you these things for a
long time, and now that I have, I feel that you deserve to know my deepest
secret of all."
"What
do you mean, Cloud?" The young warrior encased her in his arms and brought her
so close that their breathing intermingled.
"Tifa,
you're my best friend, and you always will be, but I want you to be more than
that. I want you to be the only woman
in my life. I wanna dream about you
every night and wake up every morning to find you next to me. I wanna hold you in my arms every second of
every day and show you what you truly mean to me…" The young woman's heart was
pounding so hard that it nearly exploded out of her chest.
"…Tifa,
what I'm trying to say is that I've fallen for you. I love you and want to be with you for the rest of my life. If you don't feel the same way, I
understand, but I just…"
Tifa
jumped up and kissed him. She grappled
her arms to his neck and hung on for dear life. His arms tightened around her, and he let out a satisfied groan
of approval.
"…felt
like you deserved to know," Cloud finished when she let him up for air. She looked up at him with tears in her eyes.
"Oh
Cloud, I've been in love with you for such a long time. I…I didn't want to say anything because I
knew that you liked being independent and free-spirited."
"Yes,
Tifa, I do, but I love you more.
Nothing that I have or will have will ever matter to me as much as you
do."
"I
love you, Cloud Strife." Now that she was able to say them, the words flowed
from Tifa's lips.
"I
love you, Tifa Lockheart." He picked her up and brought her lips to his. The two young warriors and saviors of the
planet locked into a passionate kiss that stole them away into their own
private realm. The stars twinkled
overheard as Cloud and Tifa fulfilled their hopes and promises at 'their well'.
Author's Notes: It's
been a long time since I've done FF7 piece, but my mind kept screaming to write
it so I did. I hope you liked it and
remember to R&R for me. I
appreciate it.
