Chapter One

Cloud didn't bother to open the car door, he simply hopped over it, landing in the seat of his convertible perfectly. He had just gotten that car about a month ago, so it was still shiny yellow. Ironically, it was almost the same colour of his hair. It had a black interior that matched the pinstripe down the side of it. In his car, Cloud Strife looked like a million bucks.

He sure didn't feel like it.

He didn't quite know where he was going that day. He never really did. But he enjoyed just riding down the back roads, where barely any cars drove, letting himself get caught up in the sound of the wind blowing past, warm sun beaming down on him. His skin always tanned from doing this, so perfectly, a perfect shade of gold.

It was an almost flawless day today. Hot, but not humid; Cloud's hair would remain just right. There was just the smallest breeze, and only a few white puffy clouds dared to stay up in that endless blue sky that was just beginning to turn red in some spots from the setting sun. He took off his shirt and threw the tight black T-shirt in the backseat.

No one was on the road. There was a speed limit, but he went over it, knowing that not a soul would know or care. He was in total bliss when he hit 70. Driving alone like this...it was the only time he was ever happy.

After a few minutes of only mother nature's music around him, he turned on the radio. The first song that came on was ending, thankfully. Cloud was in no mood to listen to some pop group made up of guys pushing 30 masquerading as boys, singing about puppy love and breakups. Such a lie... Love doesn't really work that way...he thought.

It wasn't to say that Cloud had gotten over Aeris. No, it was impossible to do that. No matter how hard he had tried, she was still there in his heart. The love, the pain...it would never go away. The wounds would never completely heal. But Cloud could bandage them well enough to push through another day.

The next song began, and cloud turned it up. It was a rock song from a few years ago. Cloud knew it by heart, and began belting out the words. It was over too soon, and Cloud was left with a rap song. He turned off the radio. That was the reason he never listened to it. One in a hundred times would a good song come on.

He relaxed, careful not to get too comfy. The last time that had happened, well, it was the reason he had this new car.

Before he knew it, he had been driving for wat over an hour. He should have turned around and headed home. He would not have himself falling asleep in the car again. But he drove, not knowing to where, but he knew he would arrive.

It had been four years. For the first two years, Cloud had done nothing but mope around. He didn't see how he could survive with out Aeris. Tifa had stayed. She stayed with him as long as she could.

She had had a hard enough time trying to not kill herself in between stopping Cloud's own suicide attempts. It had driven her crazy, hearing him talk about that girl. It was fine to be sad. Despite the fact that they were rivals for Cloud's affection, her and Aeris had become like sisters. It's damaging to loose someone that close. But Cloud took that blow too hard. Tifa tried to cheer him up, but he was convinced that life without Aeris Gainsborough was impossible.

And in the end, it was Tifa that left Cloud. She couldn't help him. Only he could help himself. Maybe if he could get it through his thick skull that there were people that cared about him here on earth, maybe he could have done something with that pitiful thing he called his life.

Tifa locked the door behind her when she left her house. Nothing had been done to restore Midgar, which was where she would have preferred to live now. Piles of debris still filled the cracked streets, and dust still clouded the air. The Shin-Ra building still stood, but its glory was stripped away. It was less than half there, only going to about the 30th floor. Some of the floors were still inhabitable, with wreckage pushed away making a less than adequate living space. It was sad how many lived there.

But among the ruins were only the hopelessly poor or thieves and gangs. Tifa was neither of those.

Tifa Lockhart had done something with her life. She was free of Cloud, and doing well.

She was happy.

"Hey Marlene!" she exclaimed when the little girl walked into the front door of Tifa's bar. She couldn't change the name from 7th Heaven just because it moved to a new town. "Marlene, if you came here with Reno, I will kill him. I will kill him."

Marlene giggled, pulling her shoulder length, dark brown hair from her ponytail. "Reno is not driving drunk....yet. Don't worry, Auntie Tiff, you worry too much."

Tifa wondered if she did worry too much, and if she was getting too much like an "annoying grown-up." Only when Reno is involved, she thought, and laughed at herself. And then he walked in.

"Alright, the party has arrived!" Reno exclaimed, pulling up his sunglasses to rest in his hair wild red. His trademark look. His blue button down shirt was hanging loosely over his white T-shirt. He still looked like a TURK.

"Hey, Reno," she spoke slowly, not wanting to sound excited to see him. It usually didn't work.

"Babe," he said, flirting with her. That would last, oh, about 15 or less seconds before he spotted lovely, delicate Linda-Faye. And she stepped into his vision, a tall, long legged blonde. And it was only a matter of minutes, unless Linda-Faye would go home with him that night, that he would find another pretty girl.

"Tifa?" Marlene inquired.

"Yeah?" Tifa had to force her gaze away from Reno. He was buying Linda-Faye a drink.

"My birthday is next week. What are you gonna get me?" Shit, she had forgotten.

"What do you want?" Tifa had no clue on what to get her. When Tifa had been 10, she wanted dolls, but what did kids today want?

"Well, I would really, really like the new Pop-z-Dazie CD...." Tifa smiled and began to speak, but Linda-Faye had yelled.

"Uh! Shove off!" Tifa looked at Reno who had an phony innocent look on his face accompanied by a goofy smile. She shook her head and snickered.

"Reno, leave poor Linda-Faye alone. She doesn't like you." Tifa teased. Marlene had walked behind the bar and mixed up some drinks for Tifa, Reno, and Linda-Faye.

"I cannot believe you, Reno," Linda-Faye said and stormed out. Tifa looked worried.

"What did you say to her?" Reno pulled her to the side and told her simply what he had said so Marlene wouldn't hear. She was probably too busy anyway, hanging up some flowers on the wall, and pictures. The bar was getting much nicer everyday.

"Reno, you don't know Liffie like I do. " Tifa took this moment as an opportunity, one she had been waiting for. "You've known me longer, so what about mine?" she asked only half jokingly.

"Babe, yours are way better that Linda-Faye's..." Reno moved a little closer. Tifa had been standing against the back wall, and he was closing the gap between them. He-

"Tiff! Daddy's here!" Marlene called from the other side of the room, and the large wooden door flung open. Barret managed to squeeze through somehow. Reno backed off, and Tifa brushed past him. Damnit, Barret, she thought.

"Heeeey. Where is-"

"He's not coming." Marelne answered her father before he finished. Cid was supposed to show up, but he was too busy tonight. It was their usual group, Barret, Cid, Tifa and Reno. Linda-Faye usually was there, too. And always little Marlene, who wasn't quite so little anymore. She was a lovely young lady.

"'Lene, get ta servin' the paying customers."

"Oops!" she said childishly, and went off to tend to the waiting people.

"Reno, did you drive Marlene here tonight?" Barret asked. Tifa told him that she had driven her, hoping her story would check out. As much as Barret liked Reno nowadays, he still didn't trust him. Especially with his daughter in a car.

"Aight," he said.

Tifa smiled, knowing tonight would be special as she looked at Reno. Perfect.