I don't own any FFVII characters, though I wish I did. And I've never played the actual FFVII game, but I instantly loved Advent Children and have read numerous stories on this site, so I'm starting to get a lot of background information. I know, it's not the same as playing the actual game, but I'm working on it. Until then, enjoy.
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Denzel and Marlene sat in Tifa's room, looking outside her window as they watched her walk away. She glanced over her shoulder at the two kids watching her from the window and attempted a smile. Her ruby eyes, however, had lost their sparkle. She turned back around, and headed out for her walk.
"Where is she going, Denzel?" Marlene looked at the orphaned boy whom she had come to think of as an older brother.
"I don't know," he answered. "Maybe she's leaving us. Maybe she doesn't love us anymore.."
"Who doesn't love you?" Marlene and Denzel turned away from the window, as Tifa rounded the curve, making her way out of the city. Cloud was leaning against the door frame, his blue eyes shining.
"Cloud!" Marlene exclaimed, rushing forward to hug his leg. "You're home," she said as she nuzzled her cheek against his knee. Denzel looked at Cloud and asked him where Tifa went.
"She told me she was going to run some errands in town," he replied. Tifa hadn't actually told Cloud anything, except hello and goodbye. He didn't think the kids knew anything was wrong between himself and the beautiful owner of the Seventh Heaven bar. Or so he thought. Denzel just cocked his head to one side, looking pensive. Although he hadn't seen Tifa as she left the city, he had a feeling she wasn't in town. Tifa had been leaving a lot lately, around the time that Cloud came home from making his deliveries. She had dinner ready and kept it in the oven to keep it warm, so that Cloud could feed the children and himself.
"Come on," Cloud said. "Let's go have dinner."
"Wait, what about Tifa?" asked Marlene, as she looked up, her bright eyes shining as she met Cloud's gaze. She reminded Cloud of Tifa, during their childhood. "Even the same sparkle," he thought to himself. They would exchange pleasantries and small talk when she called to give him any messages, but she would always leave as soon as he walked in the door.
After defeating Sephiroth and his remnant Kadaj, Cloud had collected his things from Aerith's church and moved in with Tifa and the children. He felt that he could finally move forward with his life, supporting Tifa and Denzel and helping care for Marlene when her father, Barett, was away. For the first time in a long time, he felt lighter. "Must have been all that dilly-dallying," he remembered telling Tifa when Bahamut SIN was terrorizing the city. She had given him a small, yet understanding smile that he didn't see but sensed.
That was two months ago. He was learning to let Aerith go, and although he knew she was gone, he still felt her gentle guidance everyday. Yes, he had loved Aerith, still loved her, and vowed to continue keeping her memory alive. But Tifa.. his love for Tifa was deeper and stronger than he realized, much more than his love for Aerith, and it amazed him. After she died, Tifa was the one that held him together. Whenever he looked back on his life, into the past, during all the good times she was there. But most importantly, during the worst times of his life, she was still there, supporting him, helping him piece his life back together. She had never left, and he loved her deeply for it. He would always love--
"Cloud!" Marlene tugged at his pant leg, snapping him out of his self-reflection. "What about Tifa?" she asked again.
Cloud knelt down beside the little girl and looked at her. "We'll save some for her when she comes back," he replied.
"Okay." Marlene and Denzel headed downstairs to wash up.
As Cloud stood up and turned to head out of the room, his gaze fell upon Tifa's dresser. He noticed the ring sitting there. He had given her his ring to keep shortly before he became withdrawn and moved into Aerith's church. It was his promise to never abandon Tifa or the children, and a reminder of the promise he and Tifa made long ago. Cloud walked to the dresser and lightly touched the ring. It was as cold as ice.
"Hey, why don't we make a promise? Umm, if you get really famous and I'm ever in a bind... You come save me, all right?" The sudden flashback of the promise he and Tifa made before he left to join SOLDIER seemed to emanate from that ring, like that particular moment in time being replayed constantly within its heavy metal. "What?" was all he could reply, as they sat atop the water tower. "Whenever I'm in trouble, my hero will come and rescue me. I want to at least experience that once," Tifa had said to him. He smiled as he remembered her trying to get him to agree to this commitment. "All right.. I promise," he finally answered.
But he hadn't kept his promise. He broke his promise when he left to hide his geostigma from her; when deserted her to go in search of Aerith, to live in her church in hopes that he would see her again. He broke his promise when he didn't come rescue Tifa as she battled Loz, instead finding her unconscious in Aerith's flowers. If he had, Tifa wouldn't leave every night to cry herself dry in some little secluded area. He didn't know where she went, but he knew that was what she was doing. The ring on the dresser said it all. She was scared that he would leave them again, break his promise again, and he realized it was destroying her. He grabbed the ring and put it into his pocket, then turned and closed her door.