I don't own Final Fantasy 7.

Summary: AUish Cloud would not normally admire someone so much. It wasn't him. Tifa knew there had to be some other reason... Some other reason she quickly found out... SephirothCloud. Onesided TifaCloud

Admire Or Love

Cloud told Tifa of who he wanted to be like when he was older. A hero, handsome and strong. Sephiroth. She thought it was cute that he admired someone. It was structure Cloud needed to become a good man. The brown haired girl fell in love with the blonde boy that day.

Tifa noticed how Cloud collected pictures of Sephiroth. He knew all the stories of the older man by heart. The girl started to get worried about her crush. Just a little. Then again heroes like Sephiroth only fall for one girl and one girl only. Tifa wanted to be that only girl for Cloud.

They had a secret meeting one night. Cloud announced that he wanted to leave their hometown and finally become a hero. Like him. Tifa finally admitted that something strange was up.

Cloud wouldn't normally admire someone so much. It wasn't like him. The blonde never liked following everyone else or being like anybody. That's what made him such an outcast.

Why would Cloud want to be like Sephiroth so much?

She just watched as he left.

"I'll come back stronger, okay?"

"Yeah."

Soon Tifa left as well. She had met up with a big man named Barret. The brown haired teenager learned from him that the Shinra wasn't all it was cracked up to be. She was determined to bring them down.

Tifa hoped that Cloud wasn't a part of that group anymore.

Barret tracked down a group that was coming to her hometown. Tifa quickly went back home. She met her old teacher. The martial artist that trained her to fight and protect herself. Tifa asked him to teach her more.

She never ran into him, which was sad because Tifa wanted to see if he had become a hero or not. Finally it came to the point where they met. Sadly, it wasn't alone.

Tifa escorted the Shinra soldiers up to the old reactor. She knew there had to be another reason why Cloud adored Sephiroth so much. It was a reason Tifa quickly found out.

She found them after the bridge broke. They had split when the fell. Cloud ended up with Sephiroth and Tifa ended up with one of the soldiers. The first surprising thought was that the blonde's hero held him closely as they fell. The other was that they hugged. When the two thought no one was around. But Tifa saw it. The guard pretended not to.

Tifa realized something. Cloud and Sephiroth were lovers.

It must have been hard for Cloud, when Sephiroth went insane. Killed her father, their town, and almost him. Tifa never meantioned this to anyone.

The fate of those two seemed to be entwined for heartbreak and death. Cloud remained strong even when Sephiroth manipulated him for his doing. Even when the silver haired man broke the blonde. Tifa saw it all.

The one thing she was glad about was a lover's scorn. Cloud never forgave Sephiroth. And even killed him in the end. Tifa was glad Sephiroth could never have Cloud again.

And she was glad neither one of them could remember.

The End.