Promise
Final Fantasy VII

By: Bahamuts AngelVII

A/N: Italicized means thinking. If you like this story, read my similar one called Blue Ocean.
Please review! I love getting them.

Chapter Four

Tifa lay quietly on her bed. She listened to the giggling of Cloud and Aeris and the rest of her friends as they watched a movie in the other room. She faked sickness. Even though she loved Aeris and Cloud, she wasn't really ready to see them acting like a happy couple. She couldn't deal with it yet. She stared at the ceiling, almost willing the tears to come. Maybe, she thought, if she cried, she would feel a tiny bit better. But she doubted it. Tifa let her body relax into the down comforter when she heard the door creek open. Please don't let it be Cloud and Aeris… She turned and sighed in relief. It was Yuffie.

Yuffie bounded in and locked the door behind her. She bounced noisily onto her own bed and settled in comfortably before she started to talk.

"I know you aren't sick, Tifa. What's up?" Yuffie asked. She was pretty sure she knew what it was all about, though. Poor, poor Tifa…

"… I think you know." Tifa mumbled half-heartedly. "Cloud and Aeris… How come… How come I'm not good enough for him? Is there something wrong with me? Am I really… Am I really… Is Aeris really that much of a better person than I am? She's everything I'm not… I can never help feeling like I'm not important to him at all… He loves her so much, and I should be happy for him… Why are there so many things wrong with me?" She breathed in heavily to keep herself from crying. She lifted her head from her pillow and looked earnestly into Yuffie's eyes. Yuffie almost cried, hearing all these words from Tifa…

"No! Don't ever think you're not good enough. It's just… Cloud sees something in Aeris… You'll always be his best friend, Tifa. Don't ever, ever forget that." Yuffie faltered. " It's just…" She trailed away, and for once in her life she was speechless. She didn't like herself for failing to make Tifa feel better.

At that moment, a big pounding came from the bedroom door.

"HELLO? TIFA!" Barrett's voice came through the door. "Open up!" Eyeing each other warily, they waited a few moments before Yuffie jumped at the door. She threw it open.

"Whaddya want!" Yuffie yelled in his face. "It's girl time!" Tifa added.

"Just wanted to see if Tifa was feeling better…" Barrett commented.

"Sure, I'm okay. How is Aeris?" She asked before she could stop herself.

"She's worried about you." Barrett replied. He looked a little sympathetic.

"Tell her I'm okay."

Barrett closed the door quietly, and Yuffie locked the door again. She sat back on the bed. "So what… What are you gonna do?" Yuffie questioned.

"I really, really don't know…" Tifa collapsed onto her bed again. "What is there that I can do? I think for now I just have to be happy for them…"

"You're a good girl, Tifa." Yuffie said.

"Well, I'm just glad to see him happy."

"Okay."

The Next Morning

Tifa rolled out of bed to find Yuffie already gone. It's already twelve… When did I turn into such a late sleeper? Tifa rolled out of bed and walked downstairs to find Aeris and Cloud cooking together. Cooking. Since when did Cloud cook? Tifa watched them for a moment.

"Cloud, what are you doing?" Aeris chimed from her position at the stove. "Stop mixing so hard! You're gonna crush the blueberries!" She cried playfully. She walked over and punched him on the arm lightly.

"Oh, sorry, miss Princess of Pancakes." Cloud joked. Aeris giggled. Cloud twirled the spatula faster and faster until pancake mix flew out of the bowl and hit Aeris on the face.

"Eww! Hey! Not fair…" Aeris put her fingers into the mix and smeared it all over Cloud's face.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Cloud feigned sympathy before covering Aeris' cheek with a swab of pancake mix. She laughed and then removed the pancake mix from Cloud's cheek with her fingers. They stopped for a moment, staring into each other's eyes. Cloud kissed her, and Tifa couldn't watch any longer.

She turned to walk back upstairs, but could still hear them giggling and laughing. She could hear Aeris. Cloud, stop it! We have to make breakfast! Tifa sighed, disgusted, and clambered up the stairs. She slammed the door closed and peeled off her pajamas. She stepped into the shower. She thought about Aeris. She thought about Cloud. She thought of both of them… I've known Cloud my whole life… Aeris had only met him awhile ago… How come she has been able to make him open up to her, while I can never seem to get him to open up to me? How come I can't have him…? How come I'm not good enough? Tifa felt the tears drip down her cheek, and once she started, she just couldn't stop.

Later That Night

"We're going out to dinner." Yuffie said. "You can't just sit in here forever, you know. You have to come out some time." She said. Tifa had been sitting on her bed since she finished her shower six hours earlier.

"I can do what I want." Tifa replied. "I don't wanna go."

"I know you don't want to see it but… Tifa remember how you said you were really happy for them?"

"Yes…" Suddenly Tifa felt like a bad person. Of course she said she would be happy for them. She stood up. "You're right. I had no idea what I was thinking. Let's go!"

I have no business being happy… Tifa ran down the stairs. The rest of her friends were waiting by the front door. Yuffie jumped down out of nowhere using her ninja techniques. Tifa smiled her most dazzling smile at them. She opened the front door.

"Where are we going?" Tifa asked.

"The little 'coffee shop' down the street." Cloud replied. "Alright!" Yuffie exclaimed.

They all left the house, Vincent locking the door behind them. When they went into the restaurant, a waiter whooshed over to them.

"Nine?" He asked with a cute accent. "Yes." Cloud replied. The crew followed the waiter, Cloud and Aeris' hands intertwined all the while. They sat next to each other and scooted their chairs close together.

Yuffie and Tifa spent most of their time shooting spit balls across the table at each other. Vincent, Reeve, and Red XIII were in a deep conversation at one end of the table. Tifa sat next to Aeris, and watched her and Cloud out of the corner of her eye. They were snuggling and whispering to each other. Tifa felt her heart break. How many times had that happened? All she wanted was to be happy but… If Cloud and Aeris were happy, then that's how it would be…
When their dinner came, the friends murmured in excitement and dug in.

One Hour Later

"So, Cloud, why did you want us to come out here?" Yuffie called from across the table. The friends' burble immediately silenced.

"Well…" Cloud blushed. Should I… "I…"

Cloud stood up and moved his chair so he could stand next to Aeris. He kneeled down. All of Tifa's senses heightened. Oh my God… Cloud brought out a small box. He opened it. Everyone gasped. A shining diamond protruded from a golden base. Cloud smiled at Aeris.

"Aeris, will you marry me?" Cloud asked.

"I, I… Yes! Of course! I love you." Aeris said. She knelt down to hug him.

Tifa watched on. She couldn't believe it. No, this can't be happening...And she had so much she wanted to say…

Eleven O' Clock That Night

"Yuffie, I can't believe it." Tifa heard Aeris exclaim. "I never expected Cloud to propose to me!" She laughed. Yuffie nodded. "It's awesome." She said it half-heartedly, torn between her two friends and Tifa.

"Yeah… It's great huh?" Tifa heard Cloud from across the room. He was talking to Reeve. "I just love her so much… I have to marry her."

Reeve cast a sideways glance at Tifa. He turned back to Cloud. "I'm happy for you two." He stated.

Tifa couldn't take it anymore. She walked upstairs without saying good-night. No one noticed except Yuffie, who chased after her.

"Tifa!" She called. But Tifa didn't want to talk. She slammed the door closed. "Tifa…" Yuffie meekly called again. There's nothing I can do… She's going through something no one has ever felt. Yuffie returned downstairs. Everyone was staring at her. They had obviously heard Tifa bang the door closed, and now they wanted to know what was wrong.

"What's wrong with her?" Aeris asked innocently.

"You're such a sweetheart." Cloud murmured to her. He kissed her lightly on the head.

"I'm going to talk to her." Vincent said from his corner. They all turned to look at him. "It's okay." He muttered, blushing.

Vincent whisked himself up the stairs. "Go, don't worry." He said. They started to talk among themselves.

"What's wrong with Tifa?"

"I hope she's okay…"

"Do you think it has to do with –"

"Don't talk about it. Not here."

"Right."

Vincent knocked softly on Tifa's door. She didn't answer. He put his ear up against the door quietly and could hear sniffling. Frowning, he opened the door. Before his eyes was Tifa, crying so hard on her pillow. She looked up at Vincent. He had never felt his heart go out to someone as quickly as it did at that moment.
Her face was tear-streaked, her nose dripping. She didn't bother to wipe it. Her pillow was soaking wet. She had never looked so weak in her life. Their eyes met. She looked back down before standing up.

"I'm sorry. I'm so damn pathetic. I know, I know, you're going to get mad. I should be happy. I should be ecstatic. I should definitely be happy at the sight of my true love and my best friend together. Right? I'm sorry." Tifa sputtered out before she could shut her mouth. He stared, wide-eyed, at her. "No, no. I'm so sorry Vincent. I don't mean to be rude…"

Without a word, Vincent closed the door behind him. He sat down next to Tifa and produced a tissue out of his pocket, and gingerly wiped her face, like a gentle mother or a best friend would do. Tifa started crying again. She didn't know why. She had never felt so cared for in her whole life, sadly. She felt so weak, so feeble. She fell against Vincent's chest and whimpered. She shook and cried so hard, and she had never felt so spent. They stayed like that for who knew how long. When she finally stopped crying, she looked up at Vincent with her big ruby-red eyes.

"Why did you come here?" Where the first words she said. She could barely speak.

"I'm worried about you…" He replied.

"Why?"

"Because… I know what you feel like…" Vincent began. His voice became merely a whisper. "… Lucrecia…"

"Oh, Vincent. I'm so sorry. I've been acting so spoiled about it lately. I almost had forgotten about your past… I'm so sorry that I've made it all about myself." Tifa immediately replied. She buried her head into his chest further. The folds of his crimson robes closed gently around her. She felt warm and safe.

"Tifa, its okay… I know it's hard. Please, stop feeling like everything is your fault. It is very, very natural to feel how you do. And I know how much it hurts… You love that person so much, and every time you see them with that other person it just shatters your soul… You feel like you have no reason left to live…" Vincent trailed off. Tifa gazed at him with an unreadable expression in her eyes. He smiled wearily at her. "Sorry to go off like that." He said.

"No, it's okay. Please, tell me everything about you and Lucrecia… I want to hear your story… And how you dealt with it. Will you tell me? I don't want to pry…" Tifa had a pleading look. He couldn't resist.

"Of course, Tifa, anything for you…" Vincent and Tifa had never really connected, but now, Vincent felt like he had finally found someone he could relate to. Tifa had never questioned Vincent and his mysterious history, but she felt safe. Anything they would talk about would never be repeated, and this would be their special moment…

As Vincent went on to tell his long and sad tale of his life, Yuffie was listening outside the door. She wanted to make sure they were both okay. She smiled. Tifa… I know Vincent will be able to make you feel better… Don't be sad, okay?
Four hours later, when everyone was heading to bed, Yuffie gently knocked on the door. When she got no response, she opened it. The sight she saw made her smile. Cloud appeared behind Yuffie, surprisingly without Aeris next to him.
Tifa and Vincent fell asleep in each others' arms. Her head was laying on his shoulder, and his head on hers. Her right arm was pressed up against his chest and his left arm was draped loosely around her waist. But what made Yuffie smile the most was that they were holding hands. Yuffie could see a slight smile on Tifa's face, and Vincent looked very peaceful.
Yuffie looked over her left shoulder at Cloud. He was scowling slightly at the couple. He was staring at something, so Yuffie turned to see. He was glaring at their hands entwined. Yuffie smirked, satisfied. Cloud was jealous, that much was obvious. He has no right… He has Aeris. And with that, Yuffie entered the room and closed the door in his face.

"Good night, Cloud." She said through the door.

"… Good night."

A/N: Review! I don't update without reviews telling me if you guys like it or not!