((Tee hee. You guys are gonna get a kick outta this. I just hope I don't get kicked. ~_~;;; Anyways, I FINALLY decided who Cloud's gonna be with, so enjoy.))

Cloud woke late in the night. He'd obviously woken eariler to shed his shoes and shirt, but hadn't remembered doing so. Something was moving around in his room.

Cloud stretched his arm out to grab the handle of Ultima Weapon.

"Woah!! You wouldn't impale your friend, would ya!?" Cloud's grip on his sword tightened at the sound of the voice. He knew he'd heard it in the past, but couldn't place it. The dark form came and plopped down on the bed next to him.

"Who are you?" Cloud demanded, tightening his hold on the sword. The other man fidgeted nervously.

"Hey...buddy...don't remember your old pal?" Cloud reached over to the bedside table and turned on the lamp, knowing that would be the only way he'd identify the man. Light spilled over the bed and off into the far corners of the small room.

The man's appearance was one similar to Cloud's, and Cloud recognized him immediately. He wore the same deep blue, almost violet SOLDIER outfit. He had a mako tinge to his deep gray eyes, which could be seen easily, despite the fact that the man was partially transparent.

"....ZAK!?" Cloud's eyes were wide, and he jumped up. The man broke in to a grin. Cloud dropped the blade, staring at Zak.

"Heh...you're probably wondering what I'm doing here, right?" Cloud nodded. Zak smiled again, and stood, pulling a crumpled sheet of paper from his pocket.

"I'm a messenger from the lifestream. We were bored, so we decided to give you advice on who to choose!" Cloud groaned. He was getting advice from the dead now. He decided that he wouldn't fight it.

"Well...let's see..." He said, uncrumpling the paper.

"From Tseng: Tifa, Tifa, Tifa. Damn, I'd like some of that...ooh yeah...Tifa." Zak read in a mechanical voice, which made Cloud chuckle slightly.

"From President Shinra: Oooh...take a bit of that Cetra girl. Mmmm...Cetra..." Zak continued in the same tone of voice. Cloud shook his head, sighing. This was amusing to say the least.

"From Rufus: Damn it! Who was I talking to, Cloud? He was the spikey one right? Erm...I'd have to go with...ah...that is..." Zak smirked.

"From Biggs and Jesse: You're kiddin' right!? You'd take that little sissy girl over Tifa!? I can't believe this is a problem for you!"

Cloud sighed. Biggs, Wedge, and Jesse had barely known Aeris...of course they'd have a bias towards her.

"From Don Corneo: Cloud...the cute blonde girl right?" Zak and Cloud both laughed, and Zak looked at Cloud.

"Okay...these last two are gonna be....interesting...." He warned, smirking slightly and shaking his head.

"From....Sephiroth: Kill them puppet, kill them both." Cloud smiled as Zak continued.

"still from Sephiroth: Naw, I'm just kiddin' around. That's just a force of habbit after Jenova. Anyway, I'd say Aeris...she was cute." Cloud's eyes widened. He was sure at this point that he was just having a strange dream.

"From Mom, er, your mom: Hi honey. How are you. Are you taking care of yourself? You look thin, dear...eat something. Have that sweet Tifa girl make you a nice dinner. I love you honey, take care of yourself. I'm sure no matter who you choose, you'll make her very happy." Cloud groaned. Just like his mother to be like that.

"Oh, and I say Tifa all the way. Aeris is mine. I had her first." Zak joked, shoving the paper back in his pocket. Cloud recalled vaguely the first time he'd mentioned Aeris. Of course Cloud hadn't realized it at first. 'I have a girl that lives there who I can stay with. Wait, the mother lives there too...' Cloud remembered Zak saying something to that affect.

"Hey...I gotta split...um...this is a dream to you. That's the only way I can talk to you, anyways, you'd better get to it once you wake up!" He called out before dissappearing.

True to Zak's word, once he was gone Cloud awoke from a dream. He swung his legs over the side of the bed, thinking about what he was going to do. It was early, still before dawn, but something wouldn't let him get back to sleep.

He suddenly felt an urgency deep inside him. His heart picked up speed, and he shot up. He looked around the room for a moment, and grabbed his Ultima Weapon before running out of the room. He didn't feel that he had any time to waste, and neglected his boots and shirt.

He ran down the ramp from the Highwind, running off along the stream. He didn't know where either Tifa or Aeris were, but something was telling him to go that way. Off in the distance he saw a form.

He immediately recognized the figure as he neared. There she stood, the woman he loved. She held in her hand a dagger and a red rose. She turned her head towards Cloud and smiled softly.

"This flower...it brings back old memories, doesn't it Cloud?" She asked quietly. He recognized the blade in her hand as one of his own. A dagger he'd gotten back when he was with ShinRa.

"What are you doing!?" He demanded, his eyes wide. She positioned the dagger towards her body.

"I don't want you to hurt any more over me." She said quietly. Cloud dashed forward, and blocked her heart from the dagger blade. It went through the palm of his left hand, and dug a deep cut into the right hand. She quickly dropped the blade.

"Cloud!" Cloud pressed a finger over her lips, silencing her.

"We'll talk later." He whispered, pulling her towards him and bringing her lips to his, enveloping them in a warm, moist kiss.

--fin--



((A/N: GWAAA HAA HAA HAA!!!! Short chappie, yeah, but it gets to the point. From here I'm gonna make two different sequels so I can please everyone. One CloTi, the other CloRis. Just put whoever you like Cloud to be with more in the mystery girl's place. ^_^ Hope to talk to you all in the sequels, later! --TIFA STRIFE--))