Author's Note: I tried to find out the name of Noctis' kingdom in FF Versus 13. Unfortunately, the name of the kingdom has not been revealed. So I just invented a name. Enjoy reading, folks! :)

Chapter 2

Seventh Heaven usually opens at noon and closes at midnight. It operates from Tuesday to Saturday. Sundays and Mondays are the days when Tifa would close the bar so she could have a rest.

It was a Tuesday when Tifa saw the man she met at the park. He entered her bar. When he saw her behind the counter, he was amazed.

"You own this place?" he asked.

Tifa smiled at him and nodded. "May I have your order?"

She served him the food he preferred from the menu. Tifa noticed that the guy kept glancing at her while he was eating his lunch.

When he was done, he came up to her and said, "This is the second time we met. May I know your name?"

Tifa could not resist from staring at him. He was too handsome. He looked like a movie star. He seemed harmless too so she answered him. "I'm Tifa. Tifa Lockhart."

The guy beamed at her. "My name is Noctis Lucis Caelum. Call me Noctis or Noct." He extended his hand. Tifa took his hand and shook it.

"I am not from around here. I am not familiar with Edge," Noctis told her. "Thank you for leading me to that apartment. It's beautiful."

Then he added, "It's also near your bar. It took me only ten or fifteen minutes to walk from there to here." He looked at her flirtatiously.

Tifa felt both wary and awkward. She blushed. She had no idea how to deal or react with guys who flirt with her. She simply answered, "You're welcome."

I wonder if he is married. His wife is lucky to have a gorgeous husband like him, she thought. Suddenly, she felt like an idiot for thinking of his status. They just met and Tifa only knew his name.

He gave her another smile and left the bar.

Tifa was walking in the market one morning, buying the ingredients she needed when she encountered Noctis again. She was searching some market stalls to find the vegetables she wanted when she noticed him behind her. She initially thought he was also buying something in the market but he kept on following her.

Everywhere she went, he was aways behind her, just a few meters away from her. She was feeling creepy and shy of what he was doing. When she could not take it anymore, she approached him.

"You've been following me the whole morning," she said, hiding the irritation in her voice. "What's up?"

Noctis scratched his hair. "Sorry. I just want to watch over you. Some thugs might steal your bag or kidnap you, you know. If that happens, I'll run after that person."

Tifa suddenly wanted to laugh. He made her feel amused. "Noct, it's nine-thirty in the morning. No one will dare to take me away. I'm a big girl. I can handle myself."

He took the plastic bags containing the vegetables she bought. "Let me carry these. Sorry again. I am just someone guarding a person I want to be my friend."

He is a gentleman, Tifa thought. She was not used to men helping her carry her things. She was more used to lift things alone. Then his last sentence puzzled her.

"Friend?"

"Yeah. I want us to be friends, Tifa. Is that okay?" he asked. He flashed a gorgeous smile again. "Please."

Tifa returned his smile. "Well, you seem like a good person. I don't see why not."

The two of them began to search around the market together. When they were finished buying food, they headed to the bar.

That was the beginning of a new friendship between Noctis and Tifa. Over the next weeks, Noctis would regularly eat lunch in her bar. He would sometimes eat dinner there or have a drink. There were times when he would help her in managing the bar and the customers. He would help him in cooking the food in the menu and washing the utensils. Tifa felt grateful and shy at the same time. Noctis was too good for her.

"You should not do this, Noct," she told him. "I don't want to abuse your kindness. Don't you have a job? I might be disturbing you."

Noctis would just smile and say, "There's nothing for me to do here in Edge anyway. I am only on a vacation here. I am happy in assisting you at the bar."

"Let me pay you then," Tifa insisted. "I don't want you to work here for free."

Noctis answered firmly, "I don't want money, Tifa. I have more than enough of that. I just want to be close to you."

Yuffie Kisaragi, Tifa's close friend, who would sometimes visit their home and help her in the bar, was beginning to doubt Noctis' behavior. "I think he likes you, Tifa," she told her while Noctis was out of earshot. "He won't be spending time with you if you are not special to him."

Tifa dismissed Yuffie's opinion. "He doesn't. We are just friends. He is not a citizen of Edge. He needs friends and companions."

Yuffie laughed. "You're too blind or oblivious. The two of you are just friends for you. But for him? No. I see something romantic. He does not see you as a friend, Tifa."

Yuffie was not alone. Even Barrett, Marlene, Denzel and Vincent Valentine, another friend of Tifa, were thinking the same. Barrett and Vincent teased Tifa once.

"You have a new boyfriend now, Tifa?" Barrett asked. "What about Cloud?

Vincent remarked, "Yeah. What about Cloud? You really are into guys who have spiky hair, Tifa!" He and Barrett laughed.

Tifa punched Vincent lightly in the shoulder. "Shut up, Vincent!" She laughed.

Marlene and Denzel admired Noctis' kindness to them. He would sometimes give them ice cream or chocolates and play with them.

Denzel was awed. "Tifa, I am glad you met a friend like Noctis," he told her one night. "He was so cool!"

Marlene agreed. "Even though I am rarely here anymore, he treats me nicely. I wish I am still here so I could have more time to play with him."

Tifa liked how Noctis would socialize and get along with her friends and the kids. He was so good in making friends. He got along well with almost everyone, except for Cloud.

Ever since her argument with Cloud, Tifa barely talked to him. Cloud was busy in his deliveries. He would leave in the morning and come home for dinner. When the two of them talked, their topic was related only to their jobs as delivery boy and bartender. There were no more personal conversations between them although sometimes Cloud would ask her to eat with him during meal times and ask her how her day was. Tifa was no longer affected by Cloud's manners. She was used to them and his attitude no longer hurt her. She did not care anymore if Cloud remained at the distance.

When Cloud saw Noctis and Tifa, there was no reaction from him. He would just greet them with a casual nod and go away. He was also distant to Noctis.

"Your friend is always gloomy," Noctis commented, referring to Cloud.

Tifa replied, "He is always like that. Get used to it. He is not good in mingling."

One night after they closed the bar, Tifa went outside to have some fresh air. The sky was starry and beautiful. She sat on the grass and gazed at them. "Very beautiful," she said softly.

"Just like you," Noctis said, sitting beside her.

Tifa blushed. "Stop it."

Even though Noctis was great in making friends, there was still something mysterious in him. He did not talk about himself or his family. He just said that he lived in a faraway place. Tifa wanted to know more about him.

"You get along so well with me and my friends," Tifa said. "Yet you do not tell us about yourself."

Noctis gazed at her. "That's because I do not trust people too quickly. But if there is one person I have a full trust and confidence with here in Edge, that's you, Tifa."

Tifa was flattered. "Thank you. I want to know more about you, Noct." She really enjoyed his company. He always treated her nicely. He was not a boring person. He knew how to make a good conversation. He would always have an opinion or a comment on everything.

Noctis took a deep breath and continued staring at her.

"Where do you come from?" Tifa asked. "Where is your family? What are you really doing here in Edge? Tell me."

The look on his face sent butterflies to Tifa's stomach. "I'll be honest with you," Noctis responded with a smile. "I am actually a prince from the kingdom of Sapphire. My father is the king there."

Tifa was shocked. She could not believe that the person she had treated casually was a prince. She suddenly felt embarrassed for accepting his help in working at the bar. "Sapphire? Where is that? I have never heard of it."

"It's a kingdom very far away from here. I left. I ran away. I figured I wanted to be free. Being a prince was difficult," Noctis replied. "I was always guarded. Opinions of other people were always important in defining me. I was not allowed to be myself." He looked at the sky. "So I came here using my own jet. I wanted to take a break from being a prince."

"Does your father know that you are here? What if he is worrying for you?"

Noctis looked back at her. "He knows. He wants me to go home. But I don't want to. Not yet. I told him not to send bodyguards for me. I love being here. Sapphire would do well without me."

Tifa admired him for his honesty and humility. He was a wealthy and pampered person yet he was very down-to-earth.

"How is life in Sapphire?" she wanted to know. "Is it better there than here?"

"Sapphire is a modern kingdom or—should I say—city state. More prosperous than here actually," Noctis said. "Life here is simple but I am happy here." He smiled at her again.

"I suddenly felt…mortified," Tifa told him. "You assisted me at the bar. In your kingdom, I am sure you don't do a single chore or work since you have other people to do it for you."

Noctis laughed. "It's alright, Tifa. I told you I am happy here. I like helping you. I am happy we became friends."

"What about your mother? Do you have siblings?" Tifa was eager to know him more.

"I'm an only child. My mother died when I was a kid."

"Same here. I'm an only child, too." Tifa remembered her parents and her pain of losing them.

"Where are your parents, Tifa?"

"Mother died when I was eight years old. My father was killed in our hometown." Tifa felt comfortable with her conversation with Noctis. She trusted him that she was willing to talk her family life with him.

The two of them sat next to each other in silence under the stars. Noctis eventually broke the silence. He gazed at her emphatically.

"That must have been hard for you. You are a strong person. If it was a different person, he or she could have given up hope. I admire you for your courage," he said.

"Being courageous was the only thing I could do," Tifa answered. "It's a good thing I have Denzel and Marlene. I regard them as my own children. They are adorable kids. I love them so much."

Noctis honestly felt uncomfortable at Tifa's lifestyle. She was only twenty-two years old but she shouldered greater responsibilities earlier than what she should have. "I am curious. You're too young to be a mother. I am not saying that it's bad. But at your age, you should be enjoying life. You should be having fun. Travel to different places. However, you act older than your age. You are a mother to Denzel. You used to be a mother to Marlene. A young mother. Why?" Noctis was three years older than Tifa but the latter was more matured than him.

Tifa looked at him with an honest expression. "He was an orphan. He used to live in Midgar. It was me and the AVALANCHE's fault why Midgar was almost destroyed two years ago. His parents died in that incident. It was just right for me and Cloud to give him a place to stay. I love being a mom to him and to Marlene as well. I loved Marlene since she was a toddler."

Noctis became more curious at the mention of Cloud's name. "Is Cloud just a friend or a boyfriend? You live in the same home."

"We have been friends since childhood," Tifa said. "We were never more than that. He is interested in someone else."

A flash of relief crossed Noctis' face. "Great," he said.

Tifa's brows went up. "Great?"

It was Noctis' turn to blush. "Nothing." He stood up. "I have to go now. I'll see you tomorrow."

Tifa stood up as well. "Take care, Noctis."

Noctis smiled once more and walked away.

Tifa went back to the house. She was really glad to meet an amazing friend like Noctis. She loved how he always spent time with her almost every day.

When Noctis was inside in his luxurious apartment, he smiled to himself. He could not get Tifa off his mind ever since they became close. She was amazing. She was beautiful. She was fun to be with. She was the first person whom Noctis felt comfortable. When he was with her, he could act like himself without worrying what others would think or say about him.

I'm happy when I'm with her, Noctis thought.

Meanwhile, Tifa was in her bedroom, thinking of Noctis. He is very down-to-earth.

Someone knocked on her door.

"Come in."

Then she saw Cloud enter her room.

"What do you want?" she asked him curtly.

Cloud stared at her in bafflement. "I just want to ask how your day was. But I think you're not in the mood to talk so I won't ask anymore."

"Sorry. It was great. How was yours?"

"The usual," he said. "Just made some deliveries here and in Kalm."

Tifa yawned. "I want to sleep, Cloud. Lock the door when you go out. Good night."

"Okay. Good night." Cloud locked the door. He stood outside Tifa's bedroom and thought, I miss you, Tifa.