Dislaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy VII or any of its characters.

Getting Over You Chapter 3: You Don't Know Me

You give your hand to me And then you say hello

And I can hardly speak My heart is beating so

And anyone can tell You think you know me well

But you don't know me

No you don't know the one Who dreams of you at night

And longs to kiss your lips Longs to hold you tight

Oh I am just a friend That's all I've ever been

Cause you don't know me

I never knew the art of making love

No my heart aches with love for you

Afraid and shy I let my chance go by

The chance that you might love me too

You give your hand to me And then you say goodbye

I watch you walk away beside the lucky guy

Oh you will never know The one who loves you so

Well you don't know me

You give your hand to me And then you say goodbye

I watch you walk away beside the lucky guy

Oh you will never know The one who loves you so

Cause you don't know me

Oh no you don't know me

Oohh...you don't know me

~ Jann Arden; You Don't Know Me; My Best Friend's Wedding

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The light of the setting sun illuminated the sky with golden hues. Feathered clouds stretched across its great dome and a faded crescent moon shown faintly.

Tifa leaned out of her window to watch the sunset as she waited in her hotel room for Yuffie to finish taking a shower. Her chocolate strands blew in the wind as she observed Junon. The city of Junon had grown considerably, and the old shabby looking harbor it once was had changed. The citizens of Junon had worked hard for the beautification of their city, and it had paid off very well. They had cleaned up their ocean, the scraps of metal now gone. The houses had become larger and accommodated small gardens. The inn had grown, and other hotels were springing up in competition. Now Junon was a fairly beautiful city. The hotel that they were staying it was the Malahide Hotel. It had wonderful service, beautiful rooms and of course, it was very very expensive. But it was no big deal, the hotel rooms were already paid for by the new government, Kaiho.

She walked over to the vanity and looked over herself one last time. After brushing her hair thoroughly, she placed it up in a French twist and applied a gloss over her naturally shaded lipstick. She traced the black vines that winded down the length of her indigo dress, which ended halfway past her knee. Fastening the strap on her black high heel, and checking if the hair on the top of her head was lumpy, she was fairly satisfied with her appearance. She turned her head impatiently to the bathroom door and sighed. When was Yuffie going to be finished?

Vincent had promised her that Cloud was going to be there, and she was very anxious to see him. I mean, after five years, who wouldn't be excited to see their best friend? Plus, she finally decided that she was going to tell him. Everything. She was little annoyed that Vincent wouldn't tell her where Cloud was, and before she could sneak off to follow him he would be gone. But after awhile, she realized that she shouldn't go about snooping. Cloud had his reasons and she trusted him.

Tifa walked over to the window again and saw that the sun had finally sunk into the ocean, but its light glared out in defiance of the sea's blue coldness. She turned toward the bathroom again. "Yuffie!" she shouted, "Hurry up!"

"Okay, I'm almost done!" was the muffled reply.

She nibbled at her bottom lip in impatience and started to pace. Suddenly, the door to the bathroom opened and steam preceded the wet Yuffie. Her long dark hair clung to her neck and shoulders as she held on to the towel that was wrapped about her.

She laughed, "You're ready already? Geez, sorry about that. Go on ahead, I'll catch up later."

"Are you sure? I'll wait longer if you want me to."

She shook her head, "Nah, it's ok. Go ahead."

Tifa smiled as she picked up a thin piece of dark cloth and headed for the door, "Alright then, see you there, okay?"

"Okay" Yuffie replied as Tifa wrapped the cloth about her shoulders and opened the door. Then she left.

The party was being held in the ballroom of Cypress Inn, another large hotel that was more known for its ballrooms than actual service. Cypress was walking distance and it was still light out, so Tifa didn't bother to call taxi. Walking to Cypress, she passed by a dress store called Lucile's.

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"Cloud, what about this dress?" asked Aerith as she came out of the fitting room. She wore a forest green dress that flowed to her ankles. It was strapless and the fabric about her upper torso was crushed velvet.

"It looks great on you," Cloud replied as he straightened out the collar of his suit. "Don't forget about the shoes."

"I got them right here," she replied as she slipped on her black heels and fastened the strap. "You don't look too bad yourself."

He smirked. "So, are you gonna get that?"

"Yeah," she replied while looking behind her to see the back of her dress. "What should I do about my hair?"

"Just leave it down. I'll go pay for it."

"Okay then."

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Where is he? Tifa asked internally as she stood by a pillar. Most of the people here were government officials but she already had spoken to Reeve earlier. With champagne glass in hand she saw a familiar couple walk through the doors.

"Cid! Shera!" she yelled as she walked quickly over to them.

"Hey, Tifa--" Cid started to say but then was surprised by her sudden hug. Then she hugged Shera, being careful since Shera was already seven months pregnant.

"It's great to see you guys again. You guys look great." Tifa remarked.

"I don't look that great." Shera replied as she placed a hand over her swollen stomach. "But it's alright."

"Hey, there's Reeve, we'll talk to you later. Okay?" Cid said.

"Okay then, talk to you later." replied Tifa as the couple walked away.

It was eight and by this time all of the guests had arrived. Barrett had arrived earlier, but hadn't brought Marlene or Elmyra along. It was quite interesting to see that large man in a suit. Reeve had brought Cait Sith along and he was amusing the guests by telling their fortunes. Yuffie had finally arrived with the company of Nanaki and Makka; Vincent had even arrived. But a certain spikey-haired blond still wasn't there. Everyone was about talking about their current lives and what has happened so far. It seemed as if everyone was fairly happy with the way things had turned out.

Tifa was actually enjoying herself, but kept her eye on the door. Finally, a figure appeared in the doorway. She immediately started to head towards the figure, even though she cut herself in the middle of her discussion with Yuffie.

"Cloud!" she yelled as she headed towards the figure. He looked down at her and he beamed.

"Tifa! It's been a long time!" he walked towards her and caught her in an embrace. She hugged him and took a step back. He barely changed. He still had the same golden hair, beautiful blue eyes, and wonderful smile. He just looked a bit more mature.

She smiled brightly, "There's so much we have to talk about."

He nodded, and looked behind him. Tifa followed his gaze and there she saw a person she hadn't seen for five years.

She gasped and placed her hand over her mouth. "Aerith?" she felt tears forming.

Aerith smiled and nodded. "It's so great to see you again, Tifa."

Tifa stood frozen there for a moment, speechless. "Is it really you?" She said as she approached Aerith slowly and her tears were falling freely now. She saw a blurred image of Aerith slightly nod and she went forward to embrace her. After breaking away she abruptly wiped her eyes. "I missed you so much. After you died..." She heaved and shook her head. "Well that's in the past. But how? We tried to revive you ourselves but we were already too late to use spells or phoenix downs."

"The Planet granted me another chance." she replied

"I'm not dreaming am I?"

Aerith laughed, "You're acting the same way that Cloud did."

Tifa turned around and pointed an accusing finger at Cloud. "You! How could you keep this a secret?! How long has she been alive?!"

He raised his hands up defensively and smiled. "For about a month and a half! Don't hurt me!"

She smirked, "Jerk, keeping our friend hidden so you can surprise us at some huge party. And then not saying  a word to any of us, except for Vincent, for five years." She knew she should've been angry. She should've been enraged. But, actually, she was enjoying this. She couldn't help it, she was just too happy to see all of her friends again.

A smile tugged at the corner of his lips. "Yeah, I missed you too."

Then there was a loud commotion. A whirlwind of questions surrounding Aerith and Cloud about their whereabouts and Aerith's revival. They both tried their best to keep up with them and give immediate answers.

Reeve coughed a bit at all of the rambling in order to get their attention. "Well anyways, I suppose we should eat dinner now. To your seats everyone. Waiters!"

 After the guests then retired to their seat, the waiters came out with their platters of food and began to serve. All of the heroes sat at one long table, each eating their fill. During the dinner Yuffie noticed something glittering on Aerith's hand. Taking a closer glance at it a bit of her old self came back and she suddenly exclaimed, "Wow Aerith! Where'd you get that huge rock!"

Yuffie's sudden outburst attracted everyone's glance and Aerith blushed a bit, "Oh, about that. Um…uh…" She glanced over at Cloud for a little bit of support. Currently he had a bit of chicken stuck in mouth.

He swallowed quickly, "We're engaged."

Her heart stopped, frozen, then shattered into small little pieces. All of that pent up emotion. All of that mustered up courage and resolve to say that she loved him. It all seemed pointless. A cry was caught in her throat as everyone told the couple congratulations. The other heroes looked at her with concern, since they knew of her secret love for Cloud. She felt their gaze on her and suppressed her urge to cry. Following the crowd she also smiled and told them congratulations.

"Really? When?" Yuffie inquired after their initial shock had subsided.

Aerith blushed and turned to Cloud. He answered the question for her.

"In three months. We still need to set up the entourage." Cloud smiled.

Tifa was deaf to the conversation. Her concentration was focused on not crying out and exploding with emotion. Now was not the time to make a scene. Now was not the time to tell them, to finally admit her feelings. She didn't want to be a burden, so she pasted on a smile and hid within herself for the rest of the night. I should be happy for them. I must be happy for them. It repeated in her head like a mantra.

She heard snippets of the conversation. Who would be the Maid of Honor? We had wanted Tifa to do it. Will you be the Maid of Honor Tifa? She nodded blankly and showed off her fake smile. The others were too blinded by their happiness to notice her emotional detachment from the world.

She kept her mask on for the rest of the night not letting anyone see what she felt. At least it was someone she knew, a close friend, that she had lost Cloud to. But she still could not get over her sorrow. She had lost him, again.

Deciding it would be for the best, she decided to stay on the balcony for the majority of the night. She didn't feel like talking to anyone at the moment but a fiery beast came through the entrance.

"Hello, Tifa," a feminine voice said.

She turned her head to see who it was. "Hello Makka." She replied.

"Are you feeling alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine." She lied.

"No you're not. I smell tears. What's wrong?"

She turned around and knelt. "I don't really feel like talking about it, Makka and I'm tired." Of trying, she silently added.

"Perhaps you should go back to your hotel room, maybe you'll feel better. It is getting rather late."

Tifa smiled sadly, "Sounds like a good idea, I think I will."

Embracing all of her old comrades and wishing them good night she left. She walked a cold and lonely rode back to the Malahide. As she unlocked the door to her hotel room, she felt her mask crack. I should be happy for them, I must be happy for them, the mantra repeated. They deserve each other, she silently said as she entered her room. "And he doesn't need me." she whispered. Her own comment hit a chord and she felt her tears forming, begging to be released.

As she leaned against the door, her lip quivered and the mask melted away. Letting herself sink to the floor in a fetal position, she finally let her emotions break free as she sat there and cried. I must be happy for them. Then she whispered, "But it's just so hard."

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AUTHOR'S NOTES: Hello again! Whoa, this chapter was really hard to write. Didn't this chapter suck? Poor Tifa, look at what I'm doing to my favorite character. Eh. Anyways, yay, I'm finally on to the main part of the story. I really like that song, it really portrays Tifa's situation with Cloud. So don't be lazy and go read the lyrics. I'm not really sure about the whole spells and phoenix downs comment I put in there but it seems reasonable. In its own way it would kind of explain why Aerith wasn't revived after being stabbed by Sephiroth. Not sure if it's true though, just my own opinion on the situation. Well, anyways, I'll update eventually. ^.^ Buh bye! ~ uchiki-angel