AN: Feb 24 Prompt is "Home."

I was re-reading "War," and decided, well... why not relate these two?

Summary: Despite leaving their village behind, Tifa still feels nostalgic about it. But he reminds her of where home really is.

Tags: AU, angst, friendship, nostalgia, fluff


On some nights, she would sneak out to the observatory to gaze at the stars.

Not just the ones that occupied her part of the sky, but those that others in different parts of the world could see as well. Sometimes she flipped through the planets that were visible in the night sky and zoomed in to get a closer look.

Currently, however, the screen that projected onto the ceiling of the curved dome was set to a longitude and latitude she'd tried to forget. In fact, it was set to this place on most of her visits.

As much as she didn't like to admit it, she had a certain pang of nostalgia for her hometown that made her want to see the stars from there almost every night. The positioning of the constellations and which planets were visible were a bit off compared to the night sky outside of her Academy. She'd been studying this night sky for nearly three years now, ever since she first discovered the observatory here.

At first, she would curl up in the large room alone and cry. Despite how bad it had been, she missed home – it was at least familiar to her. It was under the Nibelese sky that she and another kid made a promise to leave that place behind and escape together. They sought out SOLDIER Academy to learn how to defend themselves and others in order to make sure no one could ever hurt them again. But she had so many moments where she wanted to go back. It always felt strange to her to want to return to that place.

Eventually, she got over her fears of the unknown. She dove into her work and training at the Academy with a fresh determination after a conversation with the one she'd come here with.

"Cloud… sometimes… I'm scared."

"It's okay. I'll always be here to remind you."

And he did. Whenever she felt herself slipping into a depression or losing focus, he reminded her of why they were there. Of their promise to stay close to one another, to always have each other's backs, and to graduate as SOLDIERs together. She was always grateful to him for that, and for how close they'd gotten over the years.

Tifa didn't move from her spot on the floor when she heard the door open and close. Footsteps across the marble floor led to her position. A light chuckle, then he laid down next to her and stared up at the ceiling.

"Nibelheim?" he asked.

She only nodded.

They remained silent for a few minutes. She glanced in his direction several times, but his eyes stayed on the projected stars above them.

He folded one arm under his head. "You worried?"

Her gaze flickered to him. "A little." Eyes on the sky, she inquired, "You?"

He shook his head. "Nah. And you shouldn't be either."

She rolled her eyes. "Cloud, I don't get you sometimes."

He propped up on one elbow, facing her now. "What do you mean Teef?"

She turned her head to him but remained flat against the ground. "You're not worried about the exams at all? Not even a little bit? What about the written portion?"

"I know I'm a good fighter." Cloud scratched the back of his neck. "And… I've had the best tutor for the written part."

Tifa was grateful for the darkness of the room – otherwise he would've seen her face flush.

"Well, someone has to take it seriously…" she muttered, looking back up at the Nibelheim stars.

He laid back down but didn't say anything. A moment later his fingers brushed against hers. She took a deep breath and slipped her hand into his. He squeezed back in response.

"You're going to do fine Teef. No one at this school is as good as you."

She smiled then, warmth blooming in her chest.

"Thanks Cloud. You're gonna be great too."

Tifa still had her moments where she missed that old village. But she was forever grateful that he was always there to remind her that she didn't need to go back there to feel at home.

Home was with him.