Chapter 2: Moving On

„Hello? Anyone at home?" Tifa's head came up at the well-known, rough voice, and she quickly put the newspaper she'd been reading – or had tried to – aside. The brunette made her way over to the front door, and upon opening it, she found herself face to face with the One and Only Cid Highwind.

"Hey, Tiff." The pilot now grinned, the ever-present cigarette he had dangling from his mouth nearly falling down thanks to the motion.

"Cid!" Tifa called out, surprise in her voice. Behind the blonde pilot, Shera popped up, smiling and waving.

"Hi Tifa!" the scientist cried out before she shoved Cid aside, earning a grumble, and pulled the stunned Tifa into a bone crushing embrace. The brunette gasped at the surprising strength of the delicate Shera, and she nearly ran out of air when Cid decided to join the hug.

"Group hug!" Jen's voice came, and before Tifa knew what happened to her, she found herself surrounded by three people who all tried to hug her at the same time.

"Guys…guys!" the brunette finally managed to cry out. "You're crushing me! Let go of me!" One by one, her three friends moved back, allowing her to breathe again. As soon as she had recovered, Tifa motioned towards the front door.

"Let's get inside now, before the neighbors think we'll have an orgy or something." Jen chuckled at that dry remark, and the quartet made it's way into the house.

***

"Listen, Tiff, I know it's hard. But you should try to move on." Cid spoke in his most convincing tone. Tifa let out a sigh and leaned back in her chair, staring up at the ceiling.

"I would…but it's so difficult." She finally spoke, her voice shaking. When she looked at Cid again, her eyes were glistening with unshed tears. "Everywhere I look…everywhere I go…I'm always reminded of Cloud. No matter what I do, Cid, it all makes me think about him! How am I supposed to move on, then?" Finally, the tears ran, and Tifa allowed Cid to pull her into a comforting hug.

"We all miss him." The pilot spoke softly while Tifa cried into his shirt. "But grieving for years won't bring him back, Tifa." All of a sudden, Tifa's head came up.

"You're right." She said, a somehow weird tone in her voice. "But maybe there is a way to bring him back…" Cid nearly slapped himself for making Tifa think about that.

"No." the pilot protested. "I don't think that…"

"Who knows?" Tifa interrupted him. "The Ancient's knew so much, maybe they also knew about ways to bring back the dead…and maybe I can find a way."

"How?" Cid asked, desperation in his voice. "All the Ancient's are dead, remember?" Tifa nodded, deep in thought.

"Yes…but there must be some things left. Like books, or maybe ancient scrolls…the Cosmo Canyon Library!" the brunette suddenly cried out. (A/N: Yep, yep, I know that there was no Library mentioned in the game. But I need one, and Cosmo Canyon seems like the best place for it, so don't sue me.) Cid let out a heavy sigh and hung his head low. He finally had managed to tear Tifa out of her agony, but now the brunette was determined to bring Cloud back to life. For one moment, Cid wondered if he had done the right thing, then he made his decision.

"Good. We'll take the Highwind and fly over to Cosmo Canyon. If we don't find anything in the library, we'll go back home and never bring the topic up again. Deal?" Tifa nodded.

"Deal." That satisfied Cid, and he lit another cigarette. "Fine. Then pack your things, so we can leave soon." Tifa nodded and hurried out of the room while Cid stayed, still not sure if he had done the right thing.

***

"Bye Shera! Bye Jen!" Tifa waved to her two friends, for the first time since Cloud's death smiling again.

"Bye Tifa! And good luck!" Jen shouted back. Unlike Cid, Shera and her had approved the idea of bringing Cloud back to life; still, the two women had decided to stay, since someone needed to take care of Tifa's bar "Cloud Nine" while the original owner and Cid were gone.

"Tifa! Come in here, it'll be windy outside!" Cid's voice came from the control room. Tifa waved one last time and then left the deck of the Highwind, ready to find a way to bring her lover back to life. Her search for life had begun.