Promise
Final Fantasy VII

By: Bahamuts AngelVII

A/N: Italicized Thinking.
Review… That's all I gotta say.

Chapter 10

Tifa watched through the window as Vincent sped away, his long cloak trailing behind him. She sighed. She wanted to go, to see what was wrong with Aeris. She wanted to help her, but she also couldn't. A small part of her wanted Aeris to go again. She was selfish, she knew. Tifa still couldn't help it. Sometimes her own wants and needs and fears peeked out beneath her shell of security. And Vincent could read her like a book, which didn't help much anyway.

She turned around and faced the dark house. It needs some light… The sun was already over the horizon, and she threw open the gigantic curtains to reveal a beautiful rising sun. It reminded her of so long ago, when she used to get up early and sit on her roof to watch the sun rise. Once, when she went to the well to watch the sun, Cloud joined her. It was a memory that surprised Tifa.

Flashback

Tifa sat on the edge of the chilly well, her neck hurting slightly from tilting her head up at such a strange angle for the morning. She was watching the sun rise, as she did every day before school. Her mother and father never knew she left the house so early to watch the sunrise. If they had, they would've stopped her right away.

Tifa heard the door open. She immediately whipped her head around, hoping that it wasn't her parents. She sighed in relief. She saw the spiky little head of Cloud Strife's, his cute little face popping up next to her.

"Hi, Tifa." He said shyly.

"Hi!" She said brightly.

"Can I sit here with you?"

"Of course!"

Cloud craned his neck up, and Tifa glanced at him to look at his reaction.

"It's pretty, isn't it?" Tifa asked.

"Yeah…"

"I do this every day before school."

"I know…"

"You do?"

"Sometimes I see you from my house in the mornings. Once my mom saw you too and said, 'Cloud, don't you ever sit up there! We wouldn't want you to fall in or break your leg!' She's sometimes a little over protective, but that's okay." Tifa laughed at these words.

"I don't like to think about the danger."

"You've always been optimistic."

"Thank you, Cloud."

"Yeah."

"I'm gonna miss you when you leave, you know."

"I know, I'll miss you too."

"So why don't you stay?"

"It's not that easy, Tifa."

"Nothing is easy. Everything has its consequences, Cloud."

"You're right." Cloud smiled at her. "Like always."

"Oh, Cloud, I'm not always right."

"Trust me, Tifa, you are."

"Cloud…"

"Tifa?"

"I... I l-like--"

Cloud's mom called his name. He jumped down immediately and waved good-bye to Tifa as his mother scolded him. She smiled at Cloud, who smiled back before disappearing into his home.

End Flashback

That was the last sunrise I ever watched… "Everything has its consequences"… Cloud said that to me last night. Did he think about that morning at the well? Our childhood memories… Tifa smiled at the thought of their old memories together and gazed at the sun, for a moment, content with her life.

It wouldn't hurt to watch it again.

Meanwhile

"Aeris…"

"She's not dead, but she's not awake… And no one faints with their eyes open," Reeve observed, "but what else is she?"

"Aeris…"

"Vincent, help us!" Yuffie exclaimed.

"I don't know…" Vincent murmured. He watched Aeris intently.

Suddenly her chilled green eyes turned warm. She sat up, her head throbbing, her wounds cauterized and bandaged. Aeris surveyed the room, finding six of her friends' concerned eyes looking at her. She smiled wearily.

"What happened?"

"We heard a crash, and I came running in, and you were on the kitchen floor, covered in cuts and bleeding… Your eyes were open but you weren't conscious." Cloud kissed her lightly on the lips. "I'm worried."

"It's okay, I…" Aeris suddenly trailed off, her eyes growing larger and larger. She started coughing violently.

Aeris coughed more and more, and Cloud held onto her. She stopped suddenly, and then gave a last vicious cough. Blood came out of her mouth. She stared at it before fainting again. Cloud shook her and yelled her name.

Aeris' friends all reached forward. Barrett scooped her up and brought her up to the bedroom, and Cloud stared motionlessly behind him. Everyone followed Barrett except for Vincent who sat down in Aeris' old spot.

"Are you alright?" Vincent asked.

"I… I'm scared for her…"

"We are all scared."

"No, but I'm so much more… I love her, I'm afraid to lose her again. Because last time it was my fault. I wasn't strong enough to protect her! This is the second time, the second time that I failed. I won't let now be the third…"

"Who was the first?" Vincent couldn't help but let his curiosity shine through a little.

"… Tifa."

"Tifa?"

"I couldn't protect her from Sephiroth in the reactor. I couldn't protect her or my town, or my mother. I wasn't even strong enough to get into… … I couldn't protect her. I loved her then, you know?"

"You did?"

"I really did. I know that it wasn't puppy love either… I knew that I wanted to be with her, so badly…"

"Why don't you anymore?"

"I… She never loved me back. She didn't love me, and I think it's because I couldn't protect her. Aeris still loves me, thank God. And I love her."

"… I see."

Cloud was about to say something but was interrupted by a shout and a slam. Yuffie rushed down the stairs, whose feet pattered lightly on the carpeted stairs. She noisily tripped down the last steps and came to a stop a few feet away from the two on the couch.

"Sorry, but Aeris is awake! She really wants to talk to you, Cloud!"

"I'll be right there." He jumped up from his spot on the couch and raced up the stairs. Vincent followed suit, with Yuffie behind him.

"Aeris!" Cloud exclaimed. He bounced onto the bed next to Aeris. She sat up slowly and he supported her with an arm.

"Cloud…"

"Aeris, what's wrong?"

"I… You need to find out."

"… How do I do that?"

"I think… I think you should go back to Icicle Inn. If there's anything to know, it will be in my parent's old home. Please…" Aeris whispered into Cloud's ear, "Please hurry…"

"I promise, Aeris, I won't let you go again…" Cloud glanced to Cid and Vincent. "Cid, can you take me and Vincent to Icicle Inn?"

"Yeah."

The three boarded the Highwind that sat on the outskirts of Nibelheim. The ship seemed empty without the rest of their friends. Vincent took to his corner, and Cloud stood at the front of the airship. Cid nodded at him before watching over the pilot.

Cloud stared out over the ocean and watched as it sped beneath him and the airship. What if I lose her again? What if she leaves me… I can't… I can't stand the thought. My life would fall apart without her… Who would piece me together? … Tifa… Oh, Tifa. She would always be here for me, I know. But she's grown so apart from me lately… I know it's my fault. I've been ignoring her. God, what am I doing? What am I doing…? Tifa… I'm so sorry… I still… I still…

"Cloud! Let's go, we're here." Vincent broke Cloud out of his thoughts. Cloud stared blankly at him for a moment before nodding and following him into the village.

The twinkling street lamps sparkled on the snowy streets. The chilly air mixed with the fog from their breaths made the whole thing feel like a set-up. Cloud walked ahead of Vincent and opened the front door to the old home. It felt like years ago when Cloud had last stepped foot in here to find out how to resurrect Aeris. And now he was here to save her.

"I'll look through the bottom floor. Can you get the top?" Cloud asked, already stepping down the stairs.

"You got it." Vincent started to search.

"What were you saying before?" Vincent asked after a few silent moments of searching.

"What?"

"When we were back in the mansion. What were you going to say before Yuffie came out of the room?"

"Oh… Oh, yeah. I love Aeris a lot, and I mean it." Vincent nodded. "The thing is, while my love for Aeris is right there, right up front, sometimes I can't help but feeling like…" Cloud took a deep breath, "I can't help but feel like that I love Tifa. There's something about her that stirs me deep inside, and I can't place it. But sometimes…

Sometimes these old feelings resurface and I don't know what I'm doing. But then I take a look at Aeris, and all those feelings are gone. I'm afraid to confront those feelings because I know she doesn't love me. She doesn't truly love me."

"Who doesn't?"

"Tifa."

"Why don't you think she loves you?"

"She doesn't… I can just tell by how removed she is around me. I think she is mad at me for leaving her like that. I'm so sure that she doesn't love me that I have to leave her. Being around Tifa…" All these feelings that Cloud never knew he had surfaced and he couldn't stop telling Vincent. "Being around Tifa makes my heart hurt. My head hurts. All these old feelings and new emotions cloud my vision and I can't even tell what I really want."

"But you love Aeris, don't you?"

"Yes, I really do love her. I love her with all my heart."

"But Tifa…?"

"… Tifa…" Cloud honestly couldn't put words together to explain how exactly he felt.

Whenever Cloud thought of Tifa, no words came to mind. Just emotions. Love, jealousy, anger, regret. Cloud forced the thoughts of Tifa out of his mind. Right now, I have to find how to cure Aeris… What if she leaves me again? Cloud was relieved that Vincent didn't press the topic. If anyone knew anything about love and regret, it was Vincent.

"Find anything?" Cloud called after ten minutes.

"No, all these things are about Weapon or Jenova." Vincent replied, "I'm going to help you search down here." He said as he walked down the stairs.

"Alright."

"I'm going to check under the beds, maybe there's something there."

"Maybe…" Cloud joined Vincent at the farthest bed from the door and together they over turned the mattress.

"There's nothing he—" Vincent began.

"Look!" Cloud interrupted. He reached down and plucked up a crimson red book from the dusty corner of the bed frame. He brushed off the dust from the book and opened it. The yellowing pages sat fragilely in the book.

"It looks like a diary." Vincent pointed out.

"Could it be…"

"Ifalna…"

"…" Cloud opened up the diary.

January 13

Professor Gast, well, my new husband, wants me to keep a record of all Ancient magic. In this journal, there are many different things.

"It's not a diary; it's a journal of Ancient magic stuff." Cloud said.

"Okay, maybe it'll help."

Cloud didn't reply but instead read on.

Table of Contents

Weapon – Page One

Jenova – Page Fifty

White Magic – Page One-hundred Thirty-two

Resurrection – Page Two-hundred One

"Here!" Cloud pointed at "Resurrection – Page Two-hundred One".

He flipped hurriedly to the page. A few brittle pages snapped and fell to the floor. He finally stopped and squinted hard at the yellow paper to read out loud.

"'Resurrection of a Cetra is unknown to most. Since the morals and standards of Cetra are high, we do not like to tempt fate by resurrection. Although there are certain times when our standards must be put aside, we mostly do not take part in this ritual.

Besides morals being broken, there are also many faults to the resurrection. The process has never been refined and therefore does not prove to always be successful. The chance of a resurrection working is small, even when a Cetra is doing it. There is a fifty percent chance that it will fail. When a non-Cetra performs the ritual, chances are cut in half.

Upon resurrection by a non-Cetra, there is also a fifty percent chance that within one month the victim will die. Causes are unknown. Symptoms begin with losing consciousness, although eyes may be open.'" Cloud stopped. His hands were shaking. Vincent put a caring had on his shoulder and took the journal easily and began to read aloud, so that Cloud could listen.

"'After fainting there will be nosebleeds, coughing up blood, and high fevers. After fainting the victim will initially last only a few hours. We Cetra have reason to believe that when this process occurs, the body is destroying itself from the inside. We do not, however, feel much pain as we are about to be reunited with the lifestream.

Speculations as to why a Cetra could possibly die are wild and some very possible. The reason that is the most popular is that Mother Nature is angered. We have tampered with the after life, and have taken her stones in which she placed immense power. The Gods will have been angered too, as much as to take the life of the one whose life had been treasured so much as to work so hard for.'"

Vincent couldn't keep going. He threw the journal on the floor and replaced the mattress. He couldn't look Cloud in the eye, who was staring into his hands while sitting on the other mattress.

Finally, Cloud spoke. "We have to go back and tell her." He looked up at Vincent with tears in his eyes. Before he would never have admitted to crying, let alone doing it in front of others. But this time he couldn't help it.

Vincent didn't rub it in or tell him to toughen up. He sat down beside him and patted him on the back. "It's okay to cry."

A/N: Okay so they did sound kinda girly/gay then. But there's nothing wrong with that, after all they're too hot and handsome.