A/N: This one shot was written for my best fine feathered friend's birthday! I really hope that you guys like it, and again, HAPPY LATE BIRTHDAY BOOHBEAR19!

A/N 2: So Boohbear19 is writing a really freakin' awesome story called Destiny High on her account, and if you guys haven't stopped by to check it out yet, you really should! It's a Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy crossover, taking place after the second Kingdom Hearts game, where a ton of the characters go to Destiny High boarding school. Boohbear19 is an amazing author; all of her stuff is ridiculously funny and addicting!

Here's her description of the story:

"Sora, Riku and Kairi are in boarding school...which is a lot more interesting than you think. (Re-Post, DON'T LIKE DON'T READ! CROSSOVER WITH FINAL FANTASY) Pairings: Sora&Kairi Riku&OC Roxas&Xion? Or Roxas&Namine? Cloud&Tifa Zack&Aerith Tidus&Yuna Shuyin&Lenne and many more!" (Romance/Humor)

And here's the link if you could go check it out. I promise, once you start reading it, you will fall in love with it!: s/10560887/1/Destiny-High-Repost

Spring had finally arrived in Midgar.

The winter was unusually cold this year; Marlene and Denzel loved all of the snow, and the snow days that came with it. Cloud, on the other hand, couldn't hate it any more. Of course he loved seeing his children happy; he hated seeing them anything but. But the one thing he hated more than seeing his children unhappy was trying to drive in the snow, especially when ALL of the worst drivers in Midgar decide to go out driving right when Cloud had to make his deliveries.

During the winter, Cloud was miserable. He had to work extra-long hours, starting deliveries an hour early and returning home two hours later every day. Cloud hated being away from his family any longer than he needed to, but he needed the overtime to help the family live comfortably. Helping his loved ones came, at a price, though. Whenever he was home, Cloud was either sleeping or too grumpy to spend quality time with his beautiful wife and kids. Ever since the deaths of his beloved friends, Cloud had grown rather quiet and reclusive, hurting Tifa more.

All she wanted was her Cloud back. At least tomorrow is Cloud's first day on his normal shift, I'm sure he'll be back to his normal self soon enough. Tifa thought with a smile as she dozed off into a peaceful sleep.

Tifa awoke to an all too familiar sight: the indent in the bed where her sleeps every night, with him nowhere in sight. Had she overslept? She rolled over to get a good look at her clock which read 6:00. So she hadn't overslept; Cloud must have just gone to work early again.

That's strange, Tifa thought to herself, Cloud's been saying for weeks now that he couldn't wait to finally sleep in and when he finally can he doesn't?!

A cool gust of air blew in through the bay window, causing the curtains to blow around, revealing the most beautiful day Midgar had seen in years. Oh well, maybe he's just still used to his old routine. I won't let his absence ruin such a perfect day. Tifa thought as a smile crossed her face.

The day had gone quite nicely: the weather held out all day, she took the day off, after the kids got home from school, Tifa took them both out for ice cream, and she even got to go shopping with Yuffie. It was a relaxing day that seemed to have come straight out of her dreams. It was only missing one crucial part: Cloud. No matter how hard she tried to enjoy everything she did that day, she couldn't help but imagine how much greater it would have been with Cloud there. A quick jolt of guilt shot through her body. What am I thinking? When I'm here thinking that my day wasn't perfect because Cloud wasn't here, he's probably out there busting his butt wishing that he could just take a five minute break!

Tifa shook off the feeling of guilt and walked up to her and Cloud's bedroom and dumped her bags on the tidy bed. She removed the various articles of clothing and carefully removed each tag. As she reached the bottom of the bag, she noticed a shirt that she didn't remember buying. Hmm, that's funny; I must have accidently pick it up. This actually looks a lot like… Her thoughts trailed off as the dots began to connect. The short sleeved, thin, pink fabric, scarlet buttoned shirt was just like…Aerith. Tears came to Tifa's eyes as the fond memories of her friend flooded back. She walked over to her full length mirror, held the shirt up to her chest and examined herself. She sighed, put the shirt back into the bag, and moved it off the bed and onto the nightstand by her bed.

Oh, Aerith, you know that I could never pull that look off like you did. And you know that I could never replace you, either…

With that thought, a small bit of jealousy flickered inside of her as she remembered the time when Cloud lived with Aerith instead of her.

Is that why he has been going in early and coming home so late? Is it not for the money at all? Is he just not over Aerith?

Now, the jealousy in her heart was replaced with loneliness. She cradled her face in her hands as the tears began to flow.

Her heart stopped when she felt something grab onto both of her shoulders. Instinctively, Tifa swung around; fists balled, and nailed whatever grabbed her right in its head. A surprised gasp escaped his mouth as the perp tumbled to the ground. She instantly regretted her hasty attack.

"Cloud?!" Tifa called out as she knelt down on the floor next to her husband. "Cloud, are you okay?"

With a gloved hand, Cloud gently rubbed the area where Tifa had struck, but quickly turned to Tifa with a slight smirk on his face.

"Wow, Tifa, remind me never to sneak up on you again."

Tifa gave him a broad smile and wrapped her arms around Cloud's broad shoulders. At first, Cloud flinched at the touch, but eventually warmed up to the sudden act of affection. He placed his hands on her bony hips and rested his chin on her small but strong shoulders, placing his lips just away from her ear.

"Hey, I'm sorry I've been gone so much this winter, and that I probably haven't been much fun to be around."

"Please, don't apologize." Tifa whispered back.

"But I have to. I've been gone for months and then I finally get back home and what do I do to thank you for everything, overwork myself and be moody all the time."

"You weren't moody…most of the time." Tifa teased.

"Yeah, well, either way, I got something for you as a little 'thank you' for everything. I know that I can never truly repay you, but I thought that this may be a good place to start."

"Cloud, you didn't have to…"

Tifa was silenced by a pair of soft lips being pressed against hers. It was short and sort of awkward, mainly because Cloud was never the one to initiate a romantic act.

"It's okay, Honey, I wanted to." Cloud whispered before planting a much sweeter kiss on Tifa's forehead, making her blush.

"Now, close your eyes."

Tifa did as she was told. She heard the sound of Cloud's clothes ruffling and paper crinkling. Tifa's heart pounded as the situation began to sink in. Cloud's home, he's finally home.

"Okay, Tifa, open your eyes."

Tears once again flooded Tifa's eyes as she took in the scene. Cloud sat cross legged in front of her, holding a bouquet of twelve red roses and a pink, heart-shaped box of chocolates. There was a moment of silence between the two before Tifa tackled Cloud and wrapped him in a tight embrace, rubbing her silky hair against Cloud's soft face. Why do I feel so weak all of a sudden? No one has ever made me feel this way before. Cloud returned the embrace just as happily as she gave it to him. The two sat in a comfortable silence for a minute before the sound of soft sobs and the feeling of Tifa's hot tears snapped Cloud back to reality. He helped his wife into a sitting position so that he was able to see her face. He was perplexed to see her both crying and smiling at the same time. An obviously dumbfounded look crossed Cloud's face.

"Tifa, what's wrong?" Cloud whispered, his voice filled with concern.

"Nothing, nothing at all!" Tifa exclaimed with joy. "I'm just so glad to have you back!"

Tifa reached her neck so that she could find Cloud's lips. This time, Cloud didn't hesitate for a second…

TBC

A/N: Sorry to end the story right when it was getting good (if you know what I mean ;)), but this story was written for Booh bear's birthday on May 19th, and I have been so swamped with school work and finals that I haven't had the chance to finish it yet, and I can't stand to make her wait anymore, so think of this as a little teaser, but the rest should be up this weekend.