Final Fantasy 7 One Shots:

One Shots Ten:

Love, it takes Courage

At the moment it wasn't bugging them, not one bit. After all it had been around four years since they had defeated Sephiroth. He hadn't 'risen from the dead' in around two years, so it was alright. A question of if he was ever to return still chilled them to the bone. That was a scary thought, no matter how you looked at it.

One of the most worried out of the group was of course the leader, Cloud. He was the one with the most connection to this little event sequence. He knew that one day the feared legend, Sephiroth, would return to finish what he started. That was the day Cloud feared most.

Sometimes is scared Cloud to think of what would happen to his friends, the ones he cared for most, if he was to ever return? He was haunted with nightmares at the dead of night with visions of what could happen. Sephiroth was the one that had haunted him for all of these years, but what scared him most was that he knew of Sephiroth's last words: "I will not remain a memory". Those were the words that brought up his deepest fears. Fears of the unknown.

This fear tugged at his heart when he least expected it. It caused him to hesitate over and over and mull over thoughts of the past. He didn't know what else he could do about the situation. The thoughts and dreams all said one thing to him; he needed to see if it was true. He needed to know if Sephiroth was coming back one day to finish his work. And if so… What could he do to stop them? If anything, he wanted to do it alone so his friends would not be evolved with this crisis. Especially Tifa, no one meant more to him than her, if anything he wanted her untouched by battle. Even if she knew how to defend herself without any help. The thought of her fighting made him wish to weep.

His thoughts were always on her when he wasn't doing something, thinking of her soft hair… That glistened in the sun. Her sparkling chocolate eyes that he felt himself weak in the knees when she looked at him. Her wonderful smile that matched anything else to perfection…

He knew he was in love.

That was one reason he couldn't bear to see any harm come to his love. If anything happened to her, he could never forgive himself. There was no doubt it that. Tifa meant everything to him… Absolutely everything. He would give his life for her, without a second's hesitation. Cloud was a devoted man to anything he cherished, the one thing he cherished most was the love of his life. Losing her… was like losing himself.

Yet, she wasn't gone. Every single day she was there, taking care of the remaining orphans, and running a bar at the same time… It was amazing how she did it all.

Sometimes he wondered about the others, like what they were doing, and if they ever wondered the same about him. He worried about them from time to time, thinking that maybe they were in trouble or something like that. Thoughts like that drove him into panic from time to time, even if he knew they would be safe. He was just a caring kinda guy.

Cloud sometimes saw his friends, they would stop by, or he would travel and stay with them for a day or two, just to catch up and see how things were going. Of course telling them what had been happening in his life for the past few months. Or year, depending on how long it had been since he had seen that person.

Of course he hadn't seen Vincent since their last battle, not long ago… No, it had been almost a year, it worried him that the sniper was gone once more, wandering the world looking for some sort of 'atonement'. Whatever that was. It was a reason why he hoped Cid would find him, so that they could make sure the man was alright.

Sadly, he didn't have enough time to go out and scour the world looking for his friends. If he did… Well it would make life a lot easier.

But life was never easy.

Not for him and his friends at least. Battle after battle they had fought together their bonds had become stronger, it was a good thing, no doubt. But sometimes he wondered what it would be like if they never met, would he still be in the shadow of memories? Would he be in love with Tifa? What would be going on… would the world be gone? Would Sephiroth exist? How would the world be?

Thoughts like this often kept him up, because he wondered why everything was the way it was, you could say he was being rather philosophical. Then again it could be said that he was channeling Vincent, again. That was usually said when he sounded smart, and not a chocobo haired guy.

A blonde chocobo haired guy, even worse.

So, maybe he was an idiot sometimes, but who… Nevermind.

Sometimes he felt the world was against him. Like when he had three silver haired men… kids… depending on what you took it as, after him and trying to recreate Sephiroth. It happened not long ago, at least he came out of it alive.

It was scary… Sephiroth came back that time. He didn't sleep at least a month after that, the thought of Sephiroth coming and killing him during his sleep caused him many many sleepless nights. Sadly enough, he had to deal with it… The nightmares, and memories.

Amazing wasn't it? How time just flew by, until the day he finally gathered the courage and proposed to the one he loved so much. The one day he went on one knee and opened a box, asking her to spend the rest of her life with him. And she said yes, without a moment's hesitation. She told him she loved him, and that she would be honored to spend the rest of her life as his wife. That made Cloud the happiest man in the world, to be accepted. To finally confess his true feelings to the woman who he loved the most. And that she accepted him no matter what it cost.

That was something, that was called true joy. That feeling, accompanied by true love. It was… perfect.

Perfection, even through two so flawed it can blossom from the one thing that so many want and so few are blessed with, the true perfection of love. In it's purest and most bliss form… It is wonderful beyond words. That was something Cloud and Tifa had.

It was happiness.

Blissful and pure, Cloud loved the feeling he got from Tifa everytime he looked at her, and since they were to be… together forever. It was something that he could and would never forget.

And he realized with all of these events, they all led up to his life to remain with his love, Tifa. Love, to confess it took all of his courage. And he would have never gotten it without Sephiroth. In the most ironic way, his enemy had helped him in more ways than one.

Standing up after reflecting on all of these things, he smiled, glancing out the window at the last spot he had seen his enemy.

"Thanks Sephiroth. Even if you were my enemy, you, after all of our battles…you gave me the courage to confess my love to Tifa. In the end, I have to thank you. Thanks." He walked away, going on his merry way to start a merrier life.

And as he was gone, he could not hear the reply.

"You will not be thanking me long, Cloud Stife." Came the reply of the enemy he hated to his core. "And I'll make sure you hear."