A/N: Hi guys! So I know I said Chapter One would be up a few days ago but I kinda got busy with a few things. I did make sure to get it up as soon as I could though! So this chapter is pretty similar to chapter one: part one in the original but I did add in some things to a crucial element in the story as well remove part two so it flowed together better. Please enjoy!

"Hush now baby, baby, don't you cry.

Mother's gonna make all your nightmares come true.

Mother's gonna put all her fears into you." – Pink Floyd

10:39 am

On days where Tifa had errands to run, she would prep the bar in the morning and afternoon to make sure the bar would open in time. She stood behind the counter, drying a beer glass before looking up, feeling that a certain gaze was on her. Cloud stood at the bottom of the staircase, hair tousled and eyes tired. His slightly fitted shirt was a bit distracting for the barmaid who quickly averted her eyes. "Morning, sunshine," she mused jokingly, resuming the task at hand. His grunt of acknowledgement made her smile faintly as he took a seat at the bar, resting his head against the table. "Couldn't sleep?" Another grunt.

It was obvious he barely got sleep last night, as he too was groggy and squinting at the little sun that shone from the shaded windows. She wondered if him confronting her and her nightmare had worried him but shook her head in doubt as she set the glass down, "You know," she started, gathering the blond's attention. "I'm now sure it was nothing. Probably just something I was thinking about," she said as she gave him an assuring smile. It wasn't entirely a lie.

He scoffed and looked to her, one of his hands keeping his head up against the top of the counter. "That's funny. Seemed like it was more than that," he replied. Tifa's eyes widened half of a fraction. She swallowed thickly before quickly recovering.

"Remember Cloudette, looks can be deceiving," she reminded as she squelched down her worries, seeing the slightest hint of red in his cheeks and a faint twinge of a smile. That faded in an instant.

"I guess," he mumbled before looking back to his toolbox; it became a habit for him to repair Fenrir's tiniest details when he needed to blow off steam. While she was grateful that he seemed to worry, she knew what would happen. The moment his worries seemed to become too much, he would start to think it was directed towards him and he'd start doubting himself again. Something inside her snapped.

"Damn it, Cloud! Lighten the fuck up! There is no goddamn reason for you to be moping around!" she yelled, slamming her hand down. She had forgotten about the shot glass in her hand though and, as a result, the glass shattered, embedding its sharp pieces into her palm. She hissed in pain, holding her bleeding hand close to her chest. "Fuck!" she yelled again, biting down on her bottom lip. She vaguely heard the sound of her name and the feel of hands clutching her shoulders tightly. She looked up to see crystalline optics staring at her in a mixture of emotions that she rarely saw him openly show. The most prominent emotion was a look of shock laced worry as she then noticed that tears were sliding down her face.

Great, now he'll think that he did something wrong...

"I'm sorry..," he sighed before suddenly grabbing her waist and hoisting her onto the bar counter. Cloud began examining her hand carefully, fingers grazing the skin. "Give me a sec," he murmured before disappearing into the back room. Not a moment later, he came back with the first aid kit and set it down next to her on the counter as he opened it up. Carefully, he began picking out the shards of glass with a pair of tweezers. Tifa hissed and slammed the heel of her shoe against the cabinet underneath the counter. She muttered curses between clenched teeth as an exceptionally long piece slid out of her skin. After her hand was glass free, he wrapped it, making sure he covered every slice with a careful precision. He looked up from her hand and into her eyes; both blushed at their close proximity. When she cleared her throat and looked away, she could have sworn she saw him grin. Unfortunately for her, it was contagious. He stepped back and she hopped down, now looking at the ground.

"Sorry."

"What?" he asked with the slightest head tilt.

"I'm sorry- for blowing up like that. I had no right to-" She hushed at the sound of her name and his hands on her arms.

"Look at me."

Carmine optics slowly turned up to find cerulean blues oh so close, looking so intently into her that she blushed vividly. "Y-yeah..?"

"Talk. This isn't you." His voice was quiet but there was something lacing his words that she couldn't distinguish.

Her lips parted but no words could be spoken. She couldn't tell him. If she did, he would leave for sure. He would think it was his fault and would go back to his hollow shell. He finally started to open up, not just to their friends but to her. He would shoot her a smile, give her a small hug, help her, simply be there for her. She couldn't lose that. "I..." Her voice cracked with just one syllable, tears threatening her eyes again.

He looked patient but impatient all at once, not deterring his gaze from her. He struggled with the concept of seeing her like this. "Please, Tifa."

Something in her snapped and she nearly collapsed into him, bandaged hands gripping his arms as a sob bubbled from her throat. "He won't leave my head... H-He keeps playing it over and over and won't stop!" she wept against him, refusing to meet his eyes. Arms came around her almost protectively, his hand stroking the back of her head. They sunk to their knees as he held her against his chest, eyes staring ahead. He didn't have to ask who 'he' was.

Sephiroth... You bastard... Not Tifa. Anyone but her.

He pulled her away slightly and cradled her face in his hands. "Tifa."

She sniffled as she met his eyes. His heart nearly shattered at the fear on that beautiful face. She had been through so much and yet, she was always taking care of Denzel, always taking care of Marlene, always taking care of Seventh Heaven, always taking care of him. But what about herself? Had she grown so world-worn that she had finally reached her breaking point? Had she grown so used to dealing with her silent pain by herself that she no longer asked for help nor cared for herself? And now, she was being tortured by the same man that initially caused their pain? He almost couldn't take it.

"Tell me everything..."

12:07 pm

The duo sat close together, his arm laid across her shoulders with bottles of ale across them. The alcohol didn't have much effect on the Mako infested man nor on the barmaid who had a high tolerance. Cloud licked his lips as he tried to find the right words to say. "So this all started...two months ago?" A small nod. "How often?" he asked softly, brows furrowing.

"Started out once every two weeks... Then he was just always in my head," she whispered, tracing one of the lines on the wooden counter. "It's only at night. And when I sleep, the nightmares come..."

The man sighed and held her a little closer to him, watching over her. "Nibelheim?" he hesitantly questioned. Another nod.

"And about... Hojo."

The name made his eyes flare green for a brief second, widening in new-found fear. "What?"

She continued with a wobble in her voice. "He would start experimenting on me... Sephiroth... He'd be next to him, watching. Next thing I know, it's like I'm in this ocean and it's all blood... And then I wake up."

Tifa looked up at him with a sniffle, a lonely tear sliding down her cheek. Cloud reached up and wiped it away with the pad of his thumb. "It'll never happen, y'know that right?" Her eyes widened. "You have Barret and Yuffie and Cid and Vincent and Cait. You have me." His eyes softened at her with a faint smile. "I promised you, remember?"

Her cheeks heated in a bright blush as she looked to her bottle, though he did notice the faint smile upon her lips. "I remember. Under the stars." He nodded and smoothed her hair slowly, sending shivers down her spine. "You can't stop him though..." The blonde froze at the words and he felt like time slowed. He almost didn't even notice how Tifa escaped his grasp and was heading for the staircase.

Almost.

In the blink of an eye, Tifa gasped as Cloud gripped her and pressed her up against the wall, eyes boring into hers in a fire of anger and desperate fear, "Are you really thinking this conversation is going to end easily, Tifa Lockhart?" His hands were clasped around her wrists, pressed up near either side of her head.

His voice made her tremble; it was low and close to a growl.

"I'm not thinking it's going to end this easy, Cloud. I just know that it will because it's true. Now, you get your damn hands off me before I knock you into the ruins of Nibelheim and you sure as hell know I will," she yelled, trying to sound strong but her voice strained and gave.

His hold lightened, softening to a touch that made her shiver again; but this was an entirely different feeling. He sighed and let his head fall onto her shoulder. She gulped, closing her eyes and tried, unsuccessfully, to squelch her fear. "Why won't you let me deal with this alone?" she whispered brokenly. In all honesty, Tifa was one to never cry; the last time she had was when they lost Aerith, before that her father. Again, the tears were welling up and she hated it.

"Because a friend of mine told me once that sometimes, the best way to deal with things is with friends by your side," he whispered huskily and her heart swelled. He pulled away from her shoulder and their eyes locked. "You told me that whatever happens, whatever comes our way, we'd fight it together. I was willing to do that then. I still am; but why aren't-"

"Because I'm scared that if you get caught up in this, you'll get hurt and I refuse to risk that!" she shouted; the tears streaming down her cheeks. Cloud looked taken aback.

"Tifa…"

"No. Don't 'Tifa' me, Cloud Strife. You have…you have no right! You have no right in trying to sound like you give a shit when you probably don't even care about me! All I probably am to you is just some girl from your past! It's because I'll never be like-"

Lips crashed against lips in a fiery kiss that took the breath out of her. Her knees were instantly weak, her skin was burning, her insides were blazing and Gaia it felt too good to be true.

Her eyes widened and his hold on her wrists tightened. Eyes fluttered shut and she found her lips moving with his, fitting perfectly against each other. They kissed softly and tenderly, different from the heated nature seconds ago. She belatedly found that his hands had lifted from her wrists and were now clutching her waist. Tifa let her hands run into his golden spikes; his hands pulled her hips against his. She gasped within the kiss and nearly moaned as his tongue began to run across her own.

Was this really happening? It was something she often imagined and yet, here she was pressed up against a wall kissing Cloud Strife.

Her hands tugged his hair lightly, her kisses becoming more needing and heated. His kisses became so intense that it felt as if desire was screaming within her blood. It was awful she could think about, all she could feel, all she could have ever asked for. She finally gave in and moaned into the kiss.

Regrettably, they pulled away, breaths coming out short and ragged. "Never think that I don't care about you Tifa... because I care about you more than you think," he said. He leaned in and kissed away the newfound tears on her cheeks; she still had difficulty believing what just happened.

"I thought you loved her..," she whispered. He pulled away from her cheek, his eyes wide.

"Tifa, she was like a little sister to me. I felt responsible when she was…killed…I felt as if I failed her and Zack," he said, sadness in his eyes. "I still love her and that's not going to change. I'm always going to love her because she was family." Her eyes widened and her breathing nearly stopped.

"So you don't love her?" she questioned meekly.

"Tifa," he said firmly. "I just told you that I love you." His smile was cocky and humorous as he watched her face change from confusion to a happiness he hadn't seen for as long as he could remember. She kissed him hard, wanting to wipe that smile off his face. He matched her kiss, his hand resting on the small of her back. He pulled her close and, with his other hand, cupped the back of her head. Against his lips, she whispered her long awaited confession.

"I love you too, Cloud Strife. I always have."

He pulled away and his Mako blue eyes gazed into hers, seeming to sparkle.

"Seriously?"

She laughed at this, smiling and nodding. "Would I lie to you, Chocobo head?" He too laughed, the sound warming her heart and kissed her again, unable to get enough of her sweet lips.

"Denzel and Marlene are going with Barret after school, right?" he murmured.

She hummed, planting soft kisses on his jawbone. "Correct."

He pulled back with a slight grin. "Good."

A/N: So I know some of you might think it's a bit early to introduce the romance. That being said, it's not just going to be sunshines and rainbows. I have a few plans for you guys. ;) Chapter Two will be up later today. You guys have my word! And let me know what you guys think? Don't be afraid to leave reviews! Also, I am currently looking for a beta reader so I will be in contact of a few people.

-Kaitlin