AN: Feb 19 Prompt is "Senses."

Another idea I'm toying around with...

Summary: She fills all of his senses and he can't get enough... but it's costing her too much.

Tags: AU, romance, supernatural, angst, tragedy


He remembered the first time he smelled her. It was before he caught a glimpse of her - before he even entered the bar, he smelled berries and vanilla and knew he'd found his Mark.

He remembered the first time he saw her, all smiles as he found a spot near the back. He didn't need to see her, but he knew as soon as he laid eyes on her lean, curvy frame, her kind, welcoming smile, he was enraptured.

"Welcome to Seventh Heaven!"

That was the first time he'd heard her. And her voice was soothing music to his ears.

For two weeks he sat in that bar, watching her bust tables and smile and talk with other customers. He never made conversation, nor did he need to. Being near her was enough. Her energy flowed to him, her scent wafted under his nose like that of a freshly baked pie, and he needed nothing more than to just be close enough…

But one day, she put his beer down and said,

"What's your name?"

That was the first time he'd ever spoken to his Mark, other than ordering.

"Cloud."


He remembered the first time he touched her. He'd offered to help her with supplies for the bar. When she brushed his shoulder as they walked, someone forcing her closer to him as they moved past, he felt like he'd been shocked. And when she handed him something to carry and their fingers grazed against one another ever so lightly, electricity shot up his spine in a way it never had before. When she hugged him that afternoon in thanks, he wrapped his arms a little too tight, nearly losing himself in her essence. As he left, he felt a little tipsy, like he'd had several drinks. He hadn't smiled like that in a long time.


The first time he tasted her was a few weeks after that, and she was like nothing he'd ever experienced before. He'd never tasted his Marks before, he'd never even touched them, he never got close enough to, but she… she stoked something in him that he never really knew was there.

Her lips were soft, the lavender of her lip balm mixing with her scent as he inhaled her, savoring her. She shuddered and broke away just a bit, breathing hard, staring up at him.

"Did… did you feel that too?" she whispered.

He kissed her again and again and again under the stars, lightening racing up and down his body. He wanted to drink it all in.


The first time she got sick, she tried to work. It wasn't until she dropped a tray full of drinks that he realized with wide eyes what was happening. She'd never dropped a tray before, she'd never even spilled a glass.

As he walked her home and helped her to bed, her energy seeping into his bloodstream as she held onto him, he noticed the dark circles forming under her eyes. But when she asked him to stay, he did, because he needed to be close to her.

Though now he wasn't sure if it was because she satiated his appetite like no Mark ever had, or because he loved her.

A few days later, she was fine. But not for long.


He made love to her often. Too often, he knew, but he couldn't get enough of her, and she couldn't keep her hands off of him for long either. She always fell asleep immediately while he lied awake, feeling drunk and energized, listening to her breathe.

He felt guilty.

So incredibly guilty.

Because he knew he was killing her. She was getting weak and falling ill more often. He realized she was going a lot faster than his other Marks.

He was too close.


So, he decided to leave.

He hated hearing her cry. He hated seeing her tears. Even her scent was sad, like berries wilting in the sun.

"I'm sorry, Tifa."

He missed touching her. He missed tasting her, even just the gentle flavor of her lips.

But he had to. He would die instead, but she would live. She could spread that love to someone else who needed it.

To someone who wouldn't kill her for it.