p((My first fic since everything got destroyed. Enjoy. Oh...and the title doesn't have anything to do with this fic. I couldn't think of a title.))
pThe waves rolled gently onto the golden sands just outside of Nibelheim. It was just like it always was. There were no children playing, nobody swimming, just the beach and the waves. The sun was just rising out on the horizon. Tifa Lockheart sat there observing it, comletely alone.
pNobody lived in Nibelheim any more, not since Shinra pulled out their occupants. Nobody visited. Nearly everyone who lived there was dead by now, and those who weren't...they had no reason to return.
pThe cold water nipped at her bare feet, but she didn't recoil them. She stared out at the orange sun blankly. The expression on her face showed no emotion but a small nip of pain. And that pain wasn't easy to see...it was tucked away so that you wouldn't know it was there unless you knew her.
pThen again, it must have been obvious in some way; Because Cloud Strife could pick up on the depression at once.
p"Tifa..." His voice was quiet. He wasn't sure what he'd said, but it was obviously not the right thing. But what did she expect? She'd gone off on him without any reason that he could recall. And some of the things she'd said...she definatly had no right to say. He rubbed at his pink eyes. He wasn't a morning person...especially not when he'd only gotten to sleep about three hours before morning.
pShe ignored him. She stared out into the sunrise, not moving a muscle. If she turned she would reveal the tears in her eyes, and if she spoke she would reveal the ones in her voice. She wouldn't let Cloud know that she was hurt so deeply by what happened last night.
p"Come on...talk to me, Tif. I wanna hear what you have to say." This wasn't the right thing, obviously, as she shuddered with a deep anger as he said that. She didn't turn, but covered up the pain in her voice the best that she could.
p"I said everything I had to say last night. Maybe you should've listen-"
p"-I did listen! And all I heard was you yelling at me for having feelings for Aeris! You think it's my fault I loved her!?" He interrupted, his voice raising invoulentarily near the end. Now he was choking back tears as well. She bowed her head. This was DEFINATELY not the thing to say. And Cloud could even figure that one out. He sighed deeply.
p"Tifa...I'm sorry I-"
p"-don't apologize. You have no reason to be sorry for what's in your heart...." She whispered. More tears stung his eyes, but he wasn't sure why this time. He sat down just behind her, glancing up at the sunset.
p"I think I do..." He said quietly. He set his hand gently atop hers, causing her to instantly recoil.
p"Cloud. I'm sorry for what I said...it...it wasn't right of me to say those things...but..." Cloud would've been able to deal with the apology, but there was more. There had to be more. She had to make sure he got hurt...that's what he figured.
p"...but I still think that's true. Even if you don't think so...or maybe just don't realize it...it is....most everyone around you can tell." She whispered. Cloud listened. He didn't want to hear it, but he listened. He didn't see anything wrong with missing Aeris...she meant so much to him. But obviously, there was something wrong.
p"Tifa. Listen. I wish I felt different. I really do...but..." She suddenly turned and stood up.
p"Cloud! STOP! You feel how you want to feel! If you wanted to change it you would!! Please just stop talking about this...forget it ever came up! JUST FORGET IT ALL!!!" She screamed, tears streaming down her reddened face. She ran away from the beach and from him as fast as she could the second she stopped speaking. Cloud stared into space where she was for moments before he even realized she ran off.
pHe stood slowly and shakily. He knew he messed up badly...and he was begining to understand why. He went over some of the highlights of the previous night in his head.
i'You still don't get it, do you!? What I've been trying to say all this time!'/i He obviously didn't. Not untill now...but could she really have been trying to say what he was thinking now? He thought back further in their relationship.
i'words are only one way to tell someone how you feel.'/i i'Aeris would probably be able to just out and say it...What I'm trying to say is...I....'/i and ever further back...i'You could come and rescue me when I'm in trouble. Just once, I'd like to experience that. My hero coming and saving me...'/i He was begining to understand. All this time...she was always trying to tell him the same thing. He realized it a minute too late.
pHe started as fast as he could towards Nibelheim. This wasn't the sort of thing that blew over in time, and would eventually be forgotten...this had to be dealt with right away. He never realized he could run as fast as he could at that moment. Nibelheim was a few miles off from the beach...a nice long walk. Every muscle in his body screamed in protest; His lungs stung when he breathed in, his legs were numb as he ran. He was close...not close enough for his taste though.
pIt took him just minutes to make it back to Nibelheim. Sweat dripped freely down his face as he approached Tifa's old house, which the two of them shared. Tifa had suggested they stayed together...another sign that Cloud had ignored. He whipped open the door and stopped. The sound of the piano from upstairs filled the room, though very quiet. He started slowly up the stairs, quiet as he could be. He stood in the frame of her doorway. The music flooded him, a slow and gloomy tune. The same one he'd played when he visited eight years ago.
p"That song..." Cloud whispered. Tifa looked up at him, tears staining her face. She continued playing, not needing to look at the sheet music. She knew the song by heart. The notes were easy enough, and the mood of the song matched her own. It was written by a man who had lost the woman he loved to another man. iThe Song of Lucretia.pShe'd never thought much of it before, but now it made sense. Hojo...she'd almost overlooked the fact that Vincent ever felt anything for anyone. He was so cold, and she'd assumed that he'd always been that way, but it wasn't true. Hojo and Lucretia, then Hojo....
pBut Lucretia...in a way, the root of all evil. The mother of Sephiroth...the one who started it all. But then...Vincent...another root of evil? He never said a word concerning it...could he have been responsible for Sephiroth's birth as well? She shook her head.
p"...do you like it?" She asked quietly. His face looked pained, and she could tell that he didn't. He walked into the room and sat down at the piano next to her. He glanced at the sheet music, and many of the same thoughts that Tifa just had passed through his own mind.
p"No wonder it's so sad..." He half-joked. He pulled away the sheet music and started paging through what she had there. He smiled and set a sheet in front. Tifa looked at him...the song was about the opposite of what was just played. Cloud studied the music for a moment, and began playing.
pTifa admired him as he played the smoothe love song. She never realized he could play as well as he apparently could. She smiled slightly. The anger and hate she'd tried to build up against him instantly melted away. How could he do that to her? She was like a puppet to him. She smirked to herself, knowing he'd hate to hear it in that term...but that's what it was like.
p"...I think this one is a lot nicer. It's pretty..." Cloud admitted shyly. Tifa smiled as Cloud finished the song. He was right. This song was much nicer than the previous.
p"..it is. Very pretty...it was my mother's favorite...." Tifa said thoughtfully. It didn't really matter, did it? Cloud wouldn't understand...
p"Yeah...I heard it playing when we were younger. I asked my mom if I could have a piano to play, but we didn't have the money. You know..." Tifa nodded. Cloud wasn't one of the more fortunate people in Nibelheim. Her mother and his were close friends, though. They'd grown up together...Tifa recalled Cloud's mother telling her stories about their childhood after her own mother died, and after Cloud left for Midgar.
p"...you can play now." Tifa whispered. Cloud smiled, and turned to face her.
p"It doesn't seem quite as important any more." He whispered. Tifa felt a slight confusion begin to creep up on her. She shook her head, staring into his colbalt eyes.
p"I know what you mean...things not seeming important..." Tifa said quietly. Cloud felt like an icy hand gripped his heart. He prayed silently that she didn't mean anything she felt for him wasn't important any more. He looked at her.
p"What kind of things?" Did he really want to know? Tifa sighed. She might as well out and say it...nothing more to lose. Nothing to lose if she didn't have it to begin with.
p"The fact that the heart of the man I love will always belong to someone else...." She whispered, bowing her head. Tears dripped off of her porcelin-like face. Cloud couldn't decide whether or not she was talking about him. Maybe it was Vincent...maybe she loved him, but knew he would always love Lucretia. He didn't want to make assumptions about it being himself, only to look like a fool.
p"I don't know a man who wouldn't give his heart to you if you asked." Cloud whispered. Tifa looked up at Cloud, her crimson eyes piercing into his sapphire ones. She drew in a deep breath.
p"Cloud....can I ask you something?" She whispered. Cloud stepped off the piano bench and took her hand, leading her to sit down on the bed. He nodded.
p"And if I ask this...will you promise to say yes?" Cloud frowned. What was she talking about? He sighed...whatever it was, he would do it if it would make her happy. He nodded.
p".....I promise......." He said quietly. She smiled a little, and looked away.
p"Can I have your heart?"
p"Yes." He replied without hesitation. She let out a dry laugh, staring at the ground. He didn't see anything amusing about it...of course he meant it.
p"That isn't really fair...I tricked you...." She said quietly. Cloud smiled, and tilted her chin so she was facing him. He smiled, edging his face closer to hers.
p"You didn't even have to ask...you already had it."
p((A/N:Blah! I don't think this one came out too well. And the whole Vincent thing...I just felt like putting him in there. I know none of that really makes sense with the game, but just deal with it, okay? Oh, and go ahead and flame. I know it sucked.))
pThe waves rolled gently onto the golden sands just outside of Nibelheim. It was just like it always was. There were no children playing, nobody swimming, just the beach and the waves. The sun was just rising out on the horizon. Tifa Lockheart sat there observing it, comletely alone.
pNobody lived in Nibelheim any more, not since Shinra pulled out their occupants. Nobody visited. Nearly everyone who lived there was dead by now, and those who weren't...they had no reason to return.
pThe cold water nipped at her bare feet, but she didn't recoil them. She stared out at the orange sun blankly. The expression on her face showed no emotion but a small nip of pain. And that pain wasn't easy to see...it was tucked away so that you wouldn't know it was there unless you knew her.
pThen again, it must have been obvious in some way; Because Cloud Strife could pick up on the depression at once.
p"Tifa..." His voice was quiet. He wasn't sure what he'd said, but it was obviously not the right thing. But what did she expect? She'd gone off on him without any reason that he could recall. And some of the things she'd said...she definatly had no right to say. He rubbed at his pink eyes. He wasn't a morning person...especially not when he'd only gotten to sleep about three hours before morning.
pShe ignored him. She stared out into the sunrise, not moving a muscle. If she turned she would reveal the tears in her eyes, and if she spoke she would reveal the ones in her voice. She wouldn't let Cloud know that she was hurt so deeply by what happened last night.
p"Come on...talk to me, Tif. I wanna hear what you have to say." This wasn't the right thing, obviously, as she shuddered with a deep anger as he said that. She didn't turn, but covered up the pain in her voice the best that she could.
p"I said everything I had to say last night. Maybe you should've listen-"
p"-I did listen! And all I heard was you yelling at me for having feelings for Aeris! You think it's my fault I loved her!?" He interrupted, his voice raising invoulentarily near the end. Now he was choking back tears as well. She bowed her head. This was DEFINATELY not the thing to say. And Cloud could even figure that one out. He sighed deeply.
p"Tifa...I'm sorry I-"
p"-don't apologize. You have no reason to be sorry for what's in your heart...." She whispered. More tears stung his eyes, but he wasn't sure why this time. He sat down just behind her, glancing up at the sunset.
p"I think I do..." He said quietly. He set his hand gently atop hers, causing her to instantly recoil.
p"Cloud. I'm sorry for what I said...it...it wasn't right of me to say those things...but..." Cloud would've been able to deal with the apology, but there was more. There had to be more. She had to make sure he got hurt...that's what he figured.
p"...but I still think that's true. Even if you don't think so...or maybe just don't realize it...it is....most everyone around you can tell." She whispered. Cloud listened. He didn't want to hear it, but he listened. He didn't see anything wrong with missing Aeris...she meant so much to him. But obviously, there was something wrong.
p"Tifa. Listen. I wish I felt different. I really do...but..." She suddenly turned and stood up.
p"Cloud! STOP! You feel how you want to feel! If you wanted to change it you would!! Please just stop talking about this...forget it ever came up! JUST FORGET IT ALL!!!" She screamed, tears streaming down her reddened face. She ran away from the beach and from him as fast as she could the second she stopped speaking. Cloud stared into space where she was for moments before he even realized she ran off.
pHe stood slowly and shakily. He knew he messed up badly...and he was begining to understand why. He went over some of the highlights of the previous night in his head.
i'You still don't get it, do you!? What I've been trying to say all this time!'/i He obviously didn't. Not untill now...but could she really have been trying to say what he was thinking now? He thought back further in their relationship.
i'words are only one way to tell someone how you feel.'/i i'Aeris would probably be able to just out and say it...What I'm trying to say is...I....'/i and ever further back...i'You could come and rescue me when I'm in trouble. Just once, I'd like to experience that. My hero coming and saving me...'/i He was begining to understand. All this time...she was always trying to tell him the same thing. He realized it a minute too late.
pHe started as fast as he could towards Nibelheim. This wasn't the sort of thing that blew over in time, and would eventually be forgotten...this had to be dealt with right away. He never realized he could run as fast as he could at that moment. Nibelheim was a few miles off from the beach...a nice long walk. Every muscle in his body screamed in protest; His lungs stung when he breathed in, his legs were numb as he ran. He was close...not close enough for his taste though.
pIt took him just minutes to make it back to Nibelheim. Sweat dripped freely down his face as he approached Tifa's old house, which the two of them shared. Tifa had suggested they stayed together...another sign that Cloud had ignored. He whipped open the door and stopped. The sound of the piano from upstairs filled the room, though very quiet. He started slowly up the stairs, quiet as he could be. He stood in the frame of her doorway. The music flooded him, a slow and gloomy tune. The same one he'd played when he visited eight years ago.
p"That song..." Cloud whispered. Tifa looked up at him, tears staining her face. She continued playing, not needing to look at the sheet music. She knew the song by heart. The notes were easy enough, and the mood of the song matched her own. It was written by a man who had lost the woman he loved to another man. iThe Song of Lucretia.pShe'd never thought much of it before, but now it made sense. Hojo...she'd almost overlooked the fact that Vincent ever felt anything for anyone. He was so cold, and she'd assumed that he'd always been that way, but it wasn't true. Hojo and Lucretia, then Hojo....
pBut Lucretia...in a way, the root of all evil. The mother of Sephiroth...the one who started it all. But then...Vincent...another root of evil? He never said a word concerning it...could he have been responsible for Sephiroth's birth as well? She shook her head.
p"...do you like it?" She asked quietly. His face looked pained, and she could tell that he didn't. He walked into the room and sat down at the piano next to her. He glanced at the sheet music, and many of the same thoughts that Tifa just had passed through his own mind.
p"No wonder it's so sad..." He half-joked. He pulled away the sheet music and started paging through what she had there. He smiled and set a sheet in front. Tifa looked at him...the song was about the opposite of what was just played. Cloud studied the music for a moment, and began playing.
pTifa admired him as he played the smoothe love song. She never realized he could play as well as he apparently could. She smiled slightly. The anger and hate she'd tried to build up against him instantly melted away. How could he do that to her? She was like a puppet to him. She smirked to herself, knowing he'd hate to hear it in that term...but that's what it was like.
p"...I think this one is a lot nicer. It's pretty..." Cloud admitted shyly. Tifa smiled as Cloud finished the song. He was right. This song was much nicer than the previous.
p"..it is. Very pretty...it was my mother's favorite...." Tifa said thoughtfully. It didn't really matter, did it? Cloud wouldn't understand...
p"Yeah...I heard it playing when we were younger. I asked my mom if I could have a piano to play, but we didn't have the money. You know..." Tifa nodded. Cloud wasn't one of the more fortunate people in Nibelheim. Her mother and his were close friends, though. They'd grown up together...Tifa recalled Cloud's mother telling her stories about their childhood after her own mother died, and after Cloud left for Midgar.
p"...you can play now." Tifa whispered. Cloud smiled, and turned to face her.
p"It doesn't seem quite as important any more." He whispered. Tifa felt a slight confusion begin to creep up on her. She shook her head, staring into his colbalt eyes.
p"I know what you mean...things not seeming important..." Tifa said quietly. Cloud felt like an icy hand gripped his heart. He prayed silently that she didn't mean anything she felt for him wasn't important any more. He looked at her.
p"What kind of things?" Did he really want to know? Tifa sighed. She might as well out and say it...nothing more to lose. Nothing to lose if she didn't have it to begin with.
p"The fact that the heart of the man I love will always belong to someone else...." She whispered, bowing her head. Tears dripped off of her porcelin-like face. Cloud couldn't decide whether or not she was talking about him. Maybe it was Vincent...maybe she loved him, but knew he would always love Lucretia. He didn't want to make assumptions about it being himself, only to look like a fool.
p"I don't know a man who wouldn't give his heart to you if you asked." Cloud whispered. Tifa looked up at Cloud, her crimson eyes piercing into his sapphire ones. She drew in a deep breath.
p"Cloud....can I ask you something?" She whispered. Cloud stepped off the piano bench and took her hand, leading her to sit down on the bed. He nodded.
p"And if I ask this...will you promise to say yes?" Cloud frowned. What was she talking about? He sighed...whatever it was, he would do it if it would make her happy. He nodded.
p".....I promise......." He said quietly. She smiled a little, and looked away.
p"Can I have your heart?"
p"Yes." He replied without hesitation. She let out a dry laugh, staring at the ground. He didn't see anything amusing about it...of course he meant it.
p"That isn't really fair...I tricked you...." She said quietly. Cloud smiled, and tilted her chin so she was facing him. He smiled, edging his face closer to hers.
p"You didn't even have to ask...you already had it."
p((A/N:Blah! I don't think this one came out too well. And the whole Vincent thing...I just felt like putting him in there. I know none of that really makes sense with the game, but just deal with it, okay? Oh, and go ahead and flame. I know it sucked.))