Thank you for taking the time to read. All reviews welcome.
~I do not own FF VII... I only own the little here and there i made up~
A handsome blonde stands bravely on top the train, he grabs the hilt of a large sword sheathed onto his back and draws the blade placing the flat against his forehead. He then swings his sword around over his head before preparing to assault the Mako Reactor... All in order to save the planet.-My name is Cloud Strife, SOLIDER First-Class-
At least... that is how I envisioned it...
Tifa Lockhart slid a beer across the counter; a patron of the bar took it raising it as thanks. Tifa smiled as she gave back a small wave and starts preparing another drink.
"Hey Teef! How about another 7th Heaven Special" a drunken man grinned to her.
"I'm closing your tab." She sighed. "Come back with yesterday's dues and I will give you one on the house." She smiled sweetly to the patron soon after.
"Teef you are so nice." the drunken man hiccupped and stumbled out of the bar.
"Auntie Tifa, Auntie Tifa!" A small girl ran downstairs a big smile on her face.
"Marlene, you know how late it is? You should be in bed Hun" Tifa smiled moving to hug the small girl.
"But Tifa did you hear that sound a while back?" she whispered quietly. Being under the plate of Midgar, you could hear the loud explosion of the reactor being blown up.
"I sure did... now you know what that means right? That means your papa is going to be on his way home. Are you sure you want to stay up?"
Marlene giggled and nodded, "Yup yup!"
"Aw alright" Tifa laughed some and stood up stretching. Marlene helped Tifa around the bar and soon the giant man known as Barrett burst through the saloon like doors his machine gun arm warming up to fire rounds.
"Oh no no no! Everyone out now we are closed!" Tifa quickly shooed out her customers and Barrett finished chasing them out firing several rounds outside.
Briggs, Wedge, and Jessie soon entered. Tifa smiled to herself as she placed a hidden plate of food from behind the bar onto a table. Of course Briggs helped himself to the drinks, Wedge to the food, and Jessie begun to fiddle around with her electronics. Tifa then walked out of her bar to apologize to her customers. Seeing their upset faces while Barrett ranting guarding the porch stairs embarrassed her. "I'm sorry, please come again!" She bowed in apology.
Tifa walked back into her bar and stopped to fix her hair turning around just as her childhood friend Cloud walked in. She smiled and let out a breath of relief. Not a scratch on him, those golden locks were darkened from dirt and his face was smudged with some black. All the dirt and grime from today's mission just made his eyes pop even more.
Marlene sprinted up thinking that the next person in would be her father, "Papa!"
Upon site of Cloud she blushed red in embarrassment and quickly hid behind Tifa, holding onto the edge of her skirt. Tifa lets out a small laugh at the child "Marlene, Aren't you going to say anything to Cloud?"
Tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear, Tifa smiled at her childhood friend. "Welcome home Cloud. It looks like everything went well. Did you fight with Barrett?"
Cloud smiles at Tifa, "Not this time... However he sure was trying to pick a fight"
"Hmmm" Tifa narrows her eyes some but then shakes her head in her own disbelief, "You've grown up... When you were little you use to get into fights so often."
"Did I really?" Cloud thinks back. "I don't think I did..."
Tifa laughed some and soon noticed a small pink flower. Fully bloomed and fresh like it was just picked. "Flowers? How nice... You almost never see them here in the slums. But a flower for me? Oh Cloud, you shouldn't have" Tifa blushed some with a giggle. Marlene held tighter to Tifa's skirt which caught Cloud's attention.
Cloud smiled sheepishly laughing at Tifa and knelt down to offer it to Marlene.
Tifa smiled down at the small girl and with a silent sigh she moved back behind the bar to clean. She watched as Barrett came crashing in picking up his little girl. Oh how Tifa was ready for a family of her own to hold and love. To see smiles on little one's faces at the sight of her. To care and hold and show them the love of a family. Sure she had Marlene while her father was on missions; nothing however beat having your own.
She snapped out of her dazed thinking when she heard the grinding sound of the Pinball passage sink down to the basement. Briggs, Wedge, and Jessie all jumped down after Barrett. Feeling her heart tighten some at the sight of Cloud moving to follow, she called out.
"Hey Cloud... Come sit." Tifa was nervous, Cloud had grown handsome since she last saw him, and they were just small children back then. His SOLIDER uniform top was tight around his muscles. He had gotten so tall over the last few years. Well, Tifa was not quite tall herself at 5 feet 4 she considered herself average. She thought fast of what to say as he sat down. Looking around she let go of the breath she held, "So you want something to drink?" Why was she so nervous around him?
"Sure... Give me something hard" Cloud scratched his neck.
Tifa gave him a shot of an old whiskey, watching him throw back the golden liquid she smiled softly, "I am so relieved that you made it back safe.
"Huh? What's with you all of a sudden... That job wasn't even tough."
"I... I guess not," Tifa eyed the blonde suspiciously, "You were in SOLIDER..."
"Eh... once I get that money I'm outta here" Cloud got up from his seat shifting the glass over to Tifa.
"Cloud…" Tifa felt a sting from his words, her friend before her... Things just were not right, "Are you feeling well?"
Taken back some he looked back confused. "Yeah, why?"
"No reason... Perhaps you should get yourself some good rest. Head on downstairs, I am sure Barrett would like to debrief you."
She watched Cloud hit the nearby pinball machine going down to the basement. Resting her elbows on the bar she looked to the empty whiskey glass and sighed. "How am I suppose to tell him." the pang in her heart felt heavier everyday she looked to Cloud. "I guess I should just be happy that I have found him again" Cleaning up the bar she couldn't help but touch the glass Cloud used, her heart beat heavily. "Do I love him?"
Tifa heard the pinball machine rumbling below, someone was coming up.
Cloud comes up and makes his way out of the bar, 'W-wait, I just found him, why is he leaving now?' moving around the bar counter she called out to him.
"Cloud wait a minute! Where are you- I thought you were going to join us?"
"I am sorry Tifa" Cloud looked somewhat angry.
"Cloud, the planet is dying... We have to do something about it" She pleaded.
"Then let AVALANCE do something about it. I don't have any attachment to any of this" He turned to face her.
"So... you are really leaving? You are just going to ignore your childhood friend?" Tifa crossed her arms tilting her head some.
After a heavy sigh Cloud seems to loosen up.
My poor Cloud… Tifa smiled thinking back, "You forgot about your promise too... didn't you?"
"Promise?" Cloud looked confused.
"So you did forget..." Tifa smiled even more moving closer to Cloud, "All those nights ago by the well?"
Cloud lifted his head up closing his eyes, "Yeah... I remember now. It was getting cold and I thought you would never come."
"I know I apologized for that" Tifa laughed some. "But you promised me that when you get really famous, and if I was ever in a bind, that you would come and rescue me."
Cloud sighs, "I'm not a hero and I'm not famous... I can't keep that promise.
Tifa's eyes looked away from Clouds... She just didn't have the heart to tell him... "But you got your childhood dream, you joined SOLIDER. So you have got to keep the promise."
Cloud was about to reach out to Tifa, to comfort her in some way, when the loud deep voice rang out.
"Wait a sec Mr. Big-time-SOILDER!" Barrett came up from the basement. "A promise is a promise... Here's your damn gil!" he tossed the blonde a bag of money.
"You call this my pay?" Cloud smirked as he weighed the bag in his hand.
Tifa caught the smirk to her direction. "Huh? So then you-"
"You have another mission lined up? I will do it for double this"
"What!" Barrett nearly fell over.
"Barrett it's alright, we need the help" Tifa whispered to her friend.
"But... That money... it's for Marlene's schoolin" he whispered back. The gun-armed wielding man looked to Cloud, "2000 gil... And that's it!"
Tifa smiled to Cloud, "Thanks Cloud..."
Cloud smiled and nodded to Tifa. "So I got pretty messed up back there… Do you mind?" Cloud scratched his head some.
"Oh! No, not at all." Tifa led the way up the stairs, from a hall closet she pulled out a towel and fresh clothes. "These might be a bit big on you, but once I wash your uniform these will have to do." She turned to see Cloud right before her. Like a young school teen Tifa reddened in the face as she handed the folded pile to him.
"Thanks Teef, I will leave these on the bar counter." Cloud moved past her and into the bath room.
Tifa smiled and made her way into Marlene's room, Barrett would most likely tuck the small girl in when she tires out. Continuing she entered her room she fell back onto her bed. Her long locks fanning out the best they could while tied at the end. Tifa took in a deep breath and wrapped her arms around herself in an embrace. This was fate; it was destiny that had brought them back together.