Okay, so clearly this didn't happen but I like to pretend. The dialogue isn't the same as in the game but I felt this would work better. Fluffy-ness to the max! R&R please, even flames are appreciated :) I don't own Final Fantasy 7.

-x-

Walk quicker, Tifa. Tifa Lockhart told herself as she walked back to her small bar from the supermarket. Sector 7 wasn't necessarily a safe place and Tifa didn't know how well she could fight without breaking the eggs she had in one of her shopping bags.

She glanced down the alleyway that was the shortcut to the bar, but decided against it seeing a shady bunch of people. No, she wasn't scared. Like aforementioned, she didn't want to wreck the food she'd just spent her money on.

So, she was forced to take the long way home, past the train station. She was hurrying now, so she could get home in time to make supper for when Barret and the group got home. She glanced towards the train like she often did, dreaming of a day when she wouldn't be stuck in the slums. She had to do a double take when a sharp streak of yellow blurred her vision. After a second look she saw him.

No, that can't be him. Tifa hurried over towards her childhood friend.

"Cloud?" she shook him softly and he looked up at her, his eyes fuzzy and his eyebrows furrowed. She noticed right away how he'd grown up. He wasn't the little awkward boy anymore. He was a strong, capable man. His hair remained the same, still a bright shade of blond and still gravity-defying. One thing she couldn't believe, however, was his eyes. They were a weird shade of blue, almost surreal. She remembered that his eyes had always been blue and deep, but they had never had the electric feel.

As he looked up at her his eyebrows relaxed and his eyes cleared. "Tifa," he smiled weakly at her, barely able to lift an arm to pat her shoulder. Tifa was stunned at his weakness.

"Cloud, are you okay? You don't look very good."

"To be honest, Tifa," he shook his head and chuckled darkly, "I have no idea."

Tifa was confused but decided not to push it. Cloud looked like he had gone through hell and barely survived.

"Come on, Cloud. Let's get you home." She pulled his arm around her shoulder and helped him walk back to the bar.

-x-

"Look, Bobby, I'm drawing this for Daddy!" Marlene was sitting on her chair on Tifa's side of the bar, talking to the older man sitting across from her. He was a regular at the bar and Marlene had taken quite a liking to him. Probably because he didn't ignore her.

"That's real nice, Marlene." He smiled crookedly at her before turning to Tifa and handing her a few gil. "Thanks a bunch, Tifa. I'll see you next time."

Tifa nodded at the man, smiling as he left the bar.

She returned to washing the dishes after adding Bobby's mug to the pile. "Mar, are you almost done your picture? Barret should be home soon." She smiled at the young girl, who showed her the picture. There was a big brown blob which she understood was Barret. Beside the Barret-blob where two yellow blobs, one bigger than the other.

"This one is you and this one is me." Marlene grinned toothily and ran towards the living room section of the bar to await her father.

The door to the bar opened and Tifa looked up. "Hey Cloud, you're back. How did it go?" Tifa wasn't worried about being overheard, since the bar was deserted.

"All right." He stated quietly, sitting in the bar stool directly across from Tifa.

"Did you and Barret fight?"

He chuckled quietly. "Yeah."

She sighed roughly and turned back to him, about to scold him for not even trying to get along with the AVALANCHE leader. She was stopped, however, when she saw the pink flower Cloud was holding out to her.

"This is for you, Teef." He looked down, his emotions not showing on his face. Tifa smiled at his use of her old nickname.

"Thanks, Cloud. Where did you find a flower in the slums?" she took the flower from him and put it in a vase before filling the vase with water.

He shrugged, "some girl was selling them on the corner. I don't know where she got them."

Tifa smirked at him. He was almost like he used to be. But there was something different about him that she couldn't put her finger on. She shrugged, deciding not to let that damper her happy spirits.

-x-

Tifa stared at her reflection in the mirror. Sure, she knew it was stupid to try and look good right before going to bed, but she was sharing a bedroom with her childhood crush. Since her room was the only room that didn't have two or more people already sleeping in it, it was the only place Cloud could sleep. Not that she had a problem with it. Cloud had insisted on sleeping on the floor but she told him to stop being stupid. She had spoiled herself a year or so before by buying a big bed. She had told him there was tons of room and she wouldn't be able to sleep unless he was comfortable.

She turned away from the vanity and crawled into her warm bed. Cloud was having a shower so she lay awake waiting for him. She liked to ask him about his day before they went to bed. It made her feel like they were something more.

Cloud walked into the room rubbing his blond hair with a towel. Tifa stared at him as he deposited the towel in the laundry hamper and came to crawl in beside her.

"How was your day, Cloud? You never told me how the mission went." She was lying on her side looking at him. He mirrored her position and one side of his mouth pulled up into a half-smile. Her heart melted. She loved going to bed, because this seemed to be the only time Cloud would open up.

"Good. Everything went according to plan. There was a couple monsters but nothing we couldn't handle." His smile widened at this, and Tifa laughed quietly. "What about your day, Teef?"

"It was exactly the same as any other day. Except when you gave me that flower. I really appreciated that, Cloud. It's almost impossible to find anything pretty around here."

Cloud shook his head. "I can think of one."

Tifa's mind was still on the flower so she didn't understand him. "One what?" she asked.

"One pretty thing. It's pretty obvious, Tifa."

She was confused. She furrowed her eyebrows and glanced around the room. He laughed as he saw this, and the sound made Tifa stare back at him, more confused than before.

"You, Teef."

Tifa's jaw would have dropped if she wasn't laying perpendicular to the ground. She stared at him, trying to figure out what the blue eyed boy was thinking.

"You're gorgeous, anyone can see that." He stated, shrugging his shoulders like he'd said it many times before.

Without thinking, Tifa placed her hand on his cheek. It was warm. She was about to pull her hand back, cursing herself for being so outgoing, when she felt his hand place itself over hers. He wanted her to touch his face. She wondered how long it had been since he'd had any sort of contact. It seemed as though his whole being shied away from any physical contact.

"Cloud, why won't you let anyone touch you?" she asked quietly, begging him to answer. She had tried to hug him when he came back from his first mission with AVALANCHE but he had shrugged her off.

"I don't know. Please, don't move your hand."

He closed his eyes, still clutching her hand to his cheek. She felt as though this was a big step for him, and her heart swelled with pride for being able to help. She was also amazed, she was touching him.

He opened his eyes and stared at her. She squirmed under his intense gaze. He searched her face and released his grip on her hand. She took this as a cue to remove her hand. As she did, he put a hand on her waist and pulled her close to him. She was shocked. This was the same Cloud who never wanted to be touched, and now he was pulling her towards him? She tried to comprehend this, but before she had time to his lips were on hers.

Was she dreaming this? Why was this so sudden? She had a million thoughts racing through her head. Why was he kissing her? Did he care for her? All these thoughts stopped in their tracks when Cloud's hand tangled itself in her hair.

Her arms wrapped around his neck and he stopped. He froze. She pulled away, hoping she hadn't done something wrong. "I-I'm sorry." She stuttered.

"No," he whispered, "I'm just being stupid. This is new to me."

She nodded, unaware of what he wanted.

He placed a small kiss on her forehead and sighed.

"Teef, let's keep this between us, okay?"

Tifa nodded silently and snuggled into his chest. He rubbed her back and swore quietly. She looked up at him and questioned him with her eyes. He smiled half-heartedly.

"Do…do you think I can kiss you again some time?" Cloud's cheeks were slightly pink and Tifa giggled.

"Any time you want."

-x-

End of chapter one! I'll be very regular with updating the chapters, I promise! Please R&R I love hearing what people think!

-Kay