A/N: Okay! I'm ba~ck! ^^; It's been… a year?!? *jaw drops* Gomen nasai minna! . Demo… I'm finally getting around to writing this fic right now! Although, so far, this is only a repost because the previous stuff was beginning to bug me so I decided to revise it. ^^ That and my other account decided to be evil and it's kinda frozen so I can't really use it… eheheheheh…. ^_^V
ANYway… Yes, I'll be working on this! And Yes, I'll actually be adding more chapters. When I finish revising this whole entire thing, anyway… (Ack! Don't kill me!)
Just wondering… does anybody actually like or read this story? Hm… probably not that many people… *si~gh*
Moving on… "My Sister, My Brother" is placed on hold, BTW, until I start getting writer's block again. ^.^v I did decide to add something else to my little "Heart's Desire" arch… but you'll just have to wait and see. XD
Finally… the key! Just because it'll be more convenient…
Key:
… Interrupted stuff, like thoughts or actions while someone else is doing something… or in a letter… hint hint
"…" Talking
/…/ thoughts/thinking
* * * scene change
Anything else, I'll add. ^^
Pairings: Not sure yet… Tifa/?, Reno/?, Sephiroth (XD You'll just have to see… *snicker*)/?, and Cloud/? [I'd do one for Aeris but at this moment she's dead and I don't know if she's actually going to make an appearance in this fic...]
And before I forget: The all mighty disclaimer: Anything (or should I say "one"?) you recognize here does not belong to me. It belongs to Softsquare. Sue me and you get pocket lint, my annoying bratty brother (take him! It's your life and not mine he bugs then!), and some pennies.
On to the fic!
[heart's desire]
.:prologue:.
Broken hearts… are always so hard to heal… child… we give you life… come… we offer peace… heal the hurts that you have gained…
Do not cry…
Tears do not suit you…
Love is with you always…
Friends…
Family…
Do not cry…
We offer peace… and life… come to us… our child… come… we heal…
It reached out for their crying child… their hurting child…
We heal… we love…
* * *
Tifa stared at the letter. Again. A letter... The Letter.
Dear Tifa,
When you get this I'll be long gone and you'll probably be more pissed seeing as I kind of stood you up.
/Kind of? KIND OF?/ Tifa shook her head at *that*. /HE stood me up...royally. And all he left was a letter./
I'll be gone... long gone. I'm going to a little island that's called "Paradise". It's located a long way from here. I don't want to be found or followed but I can't leave without saying good bye and telling you why I'm leaving.
You see, last week, I had a dream. Maybe it was real... maybe not... at first I chalked it up as an illusion or a dream but the more and more I thought about it I realized it had to be a prophecy, an omen, or some sort of "divine intervention". Kinda funny, don't you think?
/Funny. Right. That's why I'm sitting up here crying./
Because, *Aeris* appeared in my dream and told me of this place... this island, actually, of where she was living. She didn't say how, just that she loved... *loved* me and would wait for me and not to blame myself for her death. Tifa... the time we had together this past year and the time I went out with you was great. Hell... it was wonderful, fun, and most of all, I got to spend time with you after all these years. My best friend.
But I'd be lying to you if I told you I loved you romantically... and I'd be lying to myself and Aeris, which I could never do.
/So you could lie to me? Fool me? So you could play with *my* heart? Cloud... that's not fair... to use me for as long as you could... and then dump me when you believed it would be all right... that's not fair at all. You could have just told me face to face... I would have understood... let you go.../
Tifa, please understand and remember that I love you... as a sister. I'm sorry if I caused any trouble and maybe one day we'll meet again. Hey, keep smiling!
/How? Cloud... I feel so... how would *you* feel? I wish you were here so I could sock you good!/ Tifa wiped the tears that fell down her face. /Why must you still be inconsiderate of other people's feelings? At least last time you told me face to face.../
Love,
Cloud
Tifa glanced at the last words and closed her eyes. She felt her warm tears slide down her cheeks and cried silently. /Why couldn't you just tell me face to face? I would have let you go, wished you the best of luck... and that you *would* find your *true* love! Cloud... you don't know what love it... you really don't... otherwise you wouldn't have left me like this!/
"Tifa?" Barret called from the doorway. He stared at the young woman her too bright garret eyes, and disheveled dark chocolate brown hair. "You okay?"
"I'm fine, Barret. I just want to be alone for awhile." Tifa answered in a tired voice.
"All right." He didn't believe her and she knew it.
/She must have been reading that damn letter again. Cloud, you bastard, when I get my hands on you...!/ Barret sighed and closed the door softly behind him.
"How is she?"
Barret jumped slightly in surprise. "Christ... are you planning to scare me to death, you bastard?" Barret grumbled as he turned his attention away from the depression Tifa was in to the red hair man before him.
"Geez, are all you AVALANCHE members so tense?" The man asked in a off-hand manner. "No wonder why spiky boy left. He just couldn't take the pressure."
Barret growled. "That has *nothing* to do with it! And you know it! So just *shut* *up*."
"All right, all right already! Yeesh... can't you take a joke?"
"Reno... if we didn't have that no fighting 'treaty' goin' on, I would punch you out. Right now. This is *not* the time for jokes."
"Okay! Okay! I got you the first time!" Reno held up his hands in the universal sign of surrender. "So how's she doin'?" They didn't need to clarify who "she" was.
"I don't know. I guess pretty well for her situation. Yeah... for someone who's long time crush and love just ran out on her and didn't even say good bye to chase some ghost of your dead rival. Pretty well, don't you think?" Barret's scathing reply made Reno flinch.
"Okay. I guess I deserved that."
"Of course you deserved it, askin' a stupid question like that."
Reno sighed, brushing his hand through his thick, spiky, red hair. "Do you think she'll be okay, though? I mean... after awhile... will she be back to normal?"
"Can't tell."
"What? You've worked, loved, traveled, fought, and are friends with her! How can you not tell?"
"Tifa... she's something else. She's strong, all the way. But I don't know whether or not she'll get through this all right."
"It still doesn't make any sense! Are you saying she's strong in and out, but might not be able to get through this? What kind of crap is that?" Reno was beginning to look fustrated and well as mad. Barret shrugged.
"But nobody is _that_ strong. Even the most emotionally strong person in the world would fall to heartbreak. And she's loved this person since childhood... how would *you* feel if your love suddenly just got up and left without and explanation or 'good bye'?"
"Ah... well..." Reno scratched his head.
"Anyway, Vincent will probably be able to understand Tifa's situation better." Barret nodded toward the quickly approaching "Vampire boy". "And he'd probably give you a better explanation, Turk." Reno flashed a smile at Barret when Barret used his "old name".
"Hey! Vincent!" Reno greeted the man, almost making the mistake of placing his arm around the ex-Turk's shoulders. But then he remembered that touching the silent and cold man would mean horrible back pains for the rest of his life or just one less arm. Reno opted to keep his arm and save himself from the pain.
"What?"
"Nothing to get defensive about! I just wanted to talk! That's all!" Reno put his hands up the universal gesture of peace. "Besides, what's between Turks? Right?" Vincent just narrowed his eyes and glared.
"What do you want?"
"Well… Barret says you'll be able to answer or explain…" Reno frowned but went on, "this better. Barret says Tifa is strong but he can't be sure if she'll come out all right through this ordeal. I don't get this crap. Why the hell not?"
Vincent studied the youth before him. /Something is going on here…/
"What? Why are you staring at me like that?" Reno backed away defensively, trying to avoid the cold, calculating eyes. "Are you going to answer the question or not, Vinny-boy?"
"Don't call me that. Not if you want me to answer you question."
"Then answer it, damn it."
"She'll get over it. Slowly. She would already be much better if Cloud had told her face to face – if she had been told good bye, face to face. She loves him so much that she would never want him unhappy; she'd give up her own happiness for his happiness. You and I know that. She knows that. Cloud doesn't know that. He just… *didn't* understand. I doubt he ever will." As Vincent finished his little speech he realized, with some irony, that it had been almost as much as half of all the words that he had ever spoken to the group AVALANCHE.
/It's just Tifa's case is so much like my own… I hope she makes the right choice./
"Do you… do you think… do you think she'll try something desperate?" Reno asked, unable to keep some of his anxiety out of his voice.
/Oh ho… some this Turk brat *does* like Tifa, does he?/ Vincent noted amusedly.
"No. She won't do anything stupid." With those words, Vincent turned around and walked back down the stairs.
"Hey, wait a second!" Reno protested. "Can't you answer the rest of my questions?"
Vincent ignored him.
"Vincent! C'mon!... Vincent…? Vinny-boy…? Vampire man…?" There was still no response. "Geez… he must really be gone."
/No. I just feel like dealing with idiots like you./ Vincent thought at the bottom of the stairs. /It's too tiring./
Confidante that he was by himself, he whispered, "Please be okay," through the closed door, but the inhabitant of the room would never hear the words or the meaning behind them. The young girl was exhausted from the emotions that ran through her and crying all day, she had fallen into a deep, dreamless sleep, where a voice spoke to her, but not even that would give her peace.
Please… please…
Child…. We would help you…
Please… it hurts…
Find us… we will help you… we will heal… give life…
Give peace… give love…
Heal…
A soothing presence in her mind, and still, her sleep was restless and fitful, yet inside, she held some hope for something better… tomorrow.
Because, tomorrow is another day.
A new day.
A/N: Bored to tears of this author's notes yet? ^^ Or should I just rename them "author's rants"? Eheh… SO…. What did you think? Feedback is very, very good for an author's ego and writing abilities you know! *hint hint*
First off… All the different fonts you see in the prologue that wasn't there before? We just got a new comp. and it has all these cool fonts so I couldn't resist playing with them! XD ^^;;;;; I hope you could read them all… and if you can't, just e-mail me or something. I'll fix it!
I've also seemed to have made Cloud into a evil bastard… eh… heartless bastard.
And then there's Vincent, Reno, and Barret. *winces* I really, *really* tried to make them more IC, but they're still really OOC, ne? *wince wince*
C&C is always welcomed! Criticism helps me improve my writing, you know! And nice comments makes me want to write more!
Oh, and meet my new muse(s)! Dai-chan!
Dai-chan: Ohayo gozaimasu! ^_^
Shi-Angel: He's the sweet one. If anything turns out overly sappy or what not, blame him. My other one, in charge of dark and angsty scenes, is sulking somewhere. He wanted even more angsty and less "sap" in this prologue. -_- Since I'm probably sure you're not reading this anymore, or if you were you were bored by the end so you didn't finish, I'm allowed to say "Review, now, damn it!"! ^_~ Ja! (And I'm *trying* to get everything revised and reposted really, really soon!)
