Author's Notes: I'm sorry, but if you're in Year 10/11 at school you'll know what it's like! I've got loads of GCSE work and everyone keeps telling me to update! I'm not even in the last year of school and I've got GCSE's. How unfair! Okay, no rush – I'll take my time, alright? I do admit I wanted to get another chapter in quick, but it wasn't THAT bad, was it? Oh and by the way, before I forget – Smack 54, thank you for your criticism, but why so harsh? "This is tripe, pure and simple." And "FF7 takes place in a different world, they have no Christmas." I'm sorry but HELLO? It's FANFICTION!!! Fiction meaning NOT TRUE! OK? You can have anything in fiction – it's about imagination. Use it! Anyway, enough stressing and on with the story!
Fear and Courage Chapter 21
Arriving at their next destination, the comrades decided to wonder around and meet up later at Tifa's house, which she pointed out to her friends. They all dispersed in different directions to search the town of anything interesting to buy or look at. Yuffie found a Materia store and ran straight in, not caring who was in her way, if anyone was.
Nanaki was reading the sign in front of the town. It read:
WELCOME TO SETOWN
FAMLUSA DU SETOWN
BIENVENIDO A SETOWN
His eyes rested on the fraction of the word that was the centre of his thoughts and the reason why he was feeling so guilty at that moment. His father, along with his mother, had protected Cosmo Canyon, when he thought that his father had abandoned the fights like a coward. Seto, a name he would never forget, a name that had such an important past, a name he would have pride in forever. If he ever found a mate and had cubs, his first son would be called Seto, he decided. He smiled with the pride that filled his chest.
"Smiling at anything in particular?" That voice. It was obvious who it belonged to straight away. Cid Highwind. He stood staring at what the small face and bright eyes was looking at.
"Yeah! Have you seen all of this Materia? It's incredible! Tell Tifa I'm moving next door to her!" Yuffie exclaimed in sheer delight, happiness and glee dancing together in her eyes. "Well I better %&$&£$ warn her then," The gruff pilot sniggered.
She snapped back, "Hey! I'm not that bad, ya know!"
"Whoa whoa, calm down! I was jus' kiddin'."
She let out a deep sigh and picked up a Destruct Materia and rolled it between her index finger and thumb. "Is that everyone thinks, huh?" She started. "That I'm some, I dunno, immature brat or somethin'? Well I've got news for ya. I'm not. I've grown up since two years ago, believe it or not."
Cid was shocked to see Yuffie like this. Sure, she always did have something to complain about, but when crystal tears were falling down her cheeks and she was choking between sobs, this was definitely something to be serious about. Her shoulders dropped and she wiped the tears from her eyes. He really had no idea it hurt her like this. He walked over and put her arms around her. Cid was like a father to Yuffie and always had been. "I really was jus' kiddin'." He sighed.
"I wish," she whispered. "I wish you'd just treat me like the adult I'm trying to be. You and Barret carry on like I'm just a kid."
Cid chuckled and replied. "That's because you're like a daughter to us. We're all like a big family, ya know? We don't mean nuttin' by it, 'kay?"
She nodded and smiled as he released her. "Tell ya what. To show you how sorry I am, which one of them Materia d'ya want?"
"Why?"
"Cus I'll get it for ya. How's that? And I'll tell Barret to back off."
"Thanks Cid, I really appreciate it." And she genuinely did.
Vincent walked alone until he met up with Nanaki, still staring at the welcoming sign. "Something on your mind, Nanaki?" Vincent asked. Nanaki grunted, and replied. "My father. They named this town after him. It leads to all sorts of memories, that's all." Vincent nodded with understanding. "Come back when you're ready then." Vincent murmured with a smile as he walked back into the town.
Barret sat down on a bench with Marlene whilst talking to one another about just about anything. Suddenly, something caught her eye, and she ran over to the grass, where a bunch of flowers was growing alone. "Papa, papa, come see this!" Her father walked over and saw what the little girl was crouched next to. "Would ya look a' that? Flowers! Don' see many o' them now, do ya?"
"I know." Marlene looked up vertically to see her father's face. "Maybe the flower lady sent them, maybe she's watching over us, Daddy!"
"You could be right." Marlene did say some strange things, but this got him thinking. Was Aeris really watching them?
Just that second, Cloud was walking in their direction. Marlene felt that he'd want to see them too. "Uncle Cloud! Come see!" A smile spread across his face just to see her so happy. He carefully paced through the grass to see what the little girl was so cheery about. When he looked down at where she was, he understood why. Flowers. Don't see many of them now, huh? "Flowers?"
"Yeah! I think the flower lady's watching over us, don't you?"
He thought for a second of the appearance she made to him. "Yeah, yeah I do. She's probably watching us now." He grinned as her face lit up.
"By the way, has anyone seen Tifa?" Barret nodded and looked to the floor. Maybe Cloud knew what was up with her? Well, besides her... you know. "She's down at the beach. Cloud, can I talk to ya before ya go?" Cloud turned around. What now?
He answered, "Sure." They both walked onto the grass and sat at the edge of the miniature cliff, which overlooked the coast. They could both see that sat down on the beach was Tifa, sat alone, making patterns in the sand with her fingers. He smiled a genuine smile, which he was doing a lot lately, especially when he saw her.
"You know," Barret pointing at Tifa. "There's somethin' wrong with her, really wrong. And I don't mean her... ya know. It's somethin' else. You know what it is?" Cloud looked at him in bewilderment. There's something else wrong? Oh no. Not another thing. He shook his head solemnly. "Yeah well, neither do I, an' it's killin' me to watch her like this. What she wants... before she goes.... is a little happiness, and it's what she deserves. Don't ya think?" He's so right, he mused. It's what she deserves. Just go and tell her for God's sake! Cloud stood up and nodded, then walked away, down to the beach. Barret smiled slightly as his daughter ran up to him with the doll that Tifa had bought her for Christmas.
And there Tifa was. Sat down on the sandy coast gathering sand in her hands and letting it slip through her slender fingers. She had also written in the sand:
Tifa
♥
Cloud
She put a circle around it and smiled. She felt like a teenager defacing a school desk with her undying love fore her childhood friend. Her eyes grew wide as she heard footsteps and quickly smeared the writing with her right hand. Looking up, she saw none other than Cloud Strife himself. She could have sworn her body paralysed for a second. "Hey Teef, mind if I, uh, talk to you?"
A grin spread across her face from ear to ear. "Of course not. Sit down." He did as her was told and place himself next to her. He knew why she was sat here. Number one: the view was picturesque. The sun setting low on the sea, the oranges and the reds intertwining in the sky. And number two: to be alone. This would be somewhere he'd like to sit alone, he thought.
"So," Tifa was the first to break the unbearable silence. "What do you want to talk about?" Now that he was here, what could he say?
"Um. You know what? Now I'm here, I'm not sure what I wanna say. Strange, huh?" Tifa looked off into the distance. She was thinking again. This reminds me of something. Ah yes, the conversation we had the night before we fought Sephiroth...
Flashback
"Hey Tifa...... I...... There are a lot of things I wanted to talk to you
about. But now that we're together like this, I don't know what I really wanted to say... I guess nothing's changed at all... Kind of makes you want to laugh..."
"Cloud... Words aren't the only thing that tell people what you're
thinking..."
End of Flashback
"Tifa? You okay?" Cloud sounded worried for the young woman. "You zoned out for a few seconds, you scared me." He let out a bit of a laugh to cover up his nervousness. "Hmm? Oh I'm fine. I was just thinking, about the night before we fought Sephiroth, the words you just said were like the words you said that night." Cloud looked up to try and recall that night. Of course he did, how could he not?
"Yeah, I remember now, heh, guess they were. Tifa I ... I just wanna say that," Oh yeah! She remembered. He was going to tell me something on the airship.
Okay Cloud, calm down and tell her how you feel dammit!
"Tifa, can we crash at your place now? We're sooo tired!" Yuffie shouted from the top of the cliff. For Cloud, this was beyond a joke. His eyebrows creased in anger, not that Tifa noticed. "Um, sure," Tifa threw the keys to Yuffie as everyone walked into her home. "What did you want to say, Cloud?"
"I just, wanted to say... thanks Teef. For everything. You've been there for me when everyone wasn't, for helping sort my head out in the Lifestream, just everything." He suddenly blushed.
"Oh Cloud, that's what best friends do, right? That's really nice of you." She kissed him on the cheek and smiled. All of a sudden a deep voice shouted. "You two get you're asses up here now! Ya here me?"
Tifa and Cloud sighed deeply as if on cue. "Coming, Barret." Cloud stood up, dusted himself off and offered his hand to Tifa, which she gladly accepted as he pulled her up. She, too, dusted herself from the sand and together they walked to her house.
He smiled inwardly and his heart was soaring in his chest. Next time, Tifa I swear I will. I'll get you alone and I'll tell you. I promise.
Fear and Courage Chapter 21
Arriving at their next destination, the comrades decided to wonder around and meet up later at Tifa's house, which she pointed out to her friends. They all dispersed in different directions to search the town of anything interesting to buy or look at. Yuffie found a Materia store and ran straight in, not caring who was in her way, if anyone was.
Nanaki was reading the sign in front of the town. It read:
WELCOME TO SETOWN
FAMLUSA DU SETOWN
BIENVENIDO A SETOWN
His eyes rested on the fraction of the word that was the centre of his thoughts and the reason why he was feeling so guilty at that moment. His father, along with his mother, had protected Cosmo Canyon, when he thought that his father had abandoned the fights like a coward. Seto, a name he would never forget, a name that had such an important past, a name he would have pride in forever. If he ever found a mate and had cubs, his first son would be called Seto, he decided. He smiled with the pride that filled his chest.
"Smiling at anything in particular?" That voice. It was obvious who it belonged to straight away. Cid Highwind. He stood staring at what the small face and bright eyes was looking at.
"Yeah! Have you seen all of this Materia? It's incredible! Tell Tifa I'm moving next door to her!" Yuffie exclaimed in sheer delight, happiness and glee dancing together in her eyes. "Well I better %&$&£$ warn her then," The gruff pilot sniggered.
She snapped back, "Hey! I'm not that bad, ya know!"
"Whoa whoa, calm down! I was jus' kiddin'."
She let out a deep sigh and picked up a Destruct Materia and rolled it between her index finger and thumb. "Is that everyone thinks, huh?" She started. "That I'm some, I dunno, immature brat or somethin'? Well I've got news for ya. I'm not. I've grown up since two years ago, believe it or not."
Cid was shocked to see Yuffie like this. Sure, she always did have something to complain about, but when crystal tears were falling down her cheeks and she was choking between sobs, this was definitely something to be serious about. Her shoulders dropped and she wiped the tears from her eyes. He really had no idea it hurt her like this. He walked over and put her arms around her. Cid was like a father to Yuffie and always had been. "I really was jus' kiddin'." He sighed.
"I wish," she whispered. "I wish you'd just treat me like the adult I'm trying to be. You and Barret carry on like I'm just a kid."
Cid chuckled and replied. "That's because you're like a daughter to us. We're all like a big family, ya know? We don't mean nuttin' by it, 'kay?"
She nodded and smiled as he released her. "Tell ya what. To show you how sorry I am, which one of them Materia d'ya want?"
"Why?"
"Cus I'll get it for ya. How's that? And I'll tell Barret to back off."
"Thanks Cid, I really appreciate it." And she genuinely did.
Vincent walked alone until he met up with Nanaki, still staring at the welcoming sign. "Something on your mind, Nanaki?" Vincent asked. Nanaki grunted, and replied. "My father. They named this town after him. It leads to all sorts of memories, that's all." Vincent nodded with understanding. "Come back when you're ready then." Vincent murmured with a smile as he walked back into the town.
Barret sat down on a bench with Marlene whilst talking to one another about just about anything. Suddenly, something caught her eye, and she ran over to the grass, where a bunch of flowers was growing alone. "Papa, papa, come see this!" Her father walked over and saw what the little girl was crouched next to. "Would ya look a' that? Flowers! Don' see many o' them now, do ya?"
"I know." Marlene looked up vertically to see her father's face. "Maybe the flower lady sent them, maybe she's watching over us, Daddy!"
"You could be right." Marlene did say some strange things, but this got him thinking. Was Aeris really watching them?
Just that second, Cloud was walking in their direction. Marlene felt that he'd want to see them too. "Uncle Cloud! Come see!" A smile spread across his face just to see her so happy. He carefully paced through the grass to see what the little girl was so cheery about. When he looked down at where she was, he understood why. Flowers. Don't see many of them now, huh? "Flowers?"
"Yeah! I think the flower lady's watching over us, don't you?"
He thought for a second of the appearance she made to him. "Yeah, yeah I do. She's probably watching us now." He grinned as her face lit up.
"By the way, has anyone seen Tifa?" Barret nodded and looked to the floor. Maybe Cloud knew what was up with her? Well, besides her... you know. "She's down at the beach. Cloud, can I talk to ya before ya go?" Cloud turned around. What now?
He answered, "Sure." They both walked onto the grass and sat at the edge of the miniature cliff, which overlooked the coast. They could both see that sat down on the beach was Tifa, sat alone, making patterns in the sand with her fingers. He smiled a genuine smile, which he was doing a lot lately, especially when he saw her.
"You know," Barret pointing at Tifa. "There's somethin' wrong with her, really wrong. And I don't mean her... ya know. It's somethin' else. You know what it is?" Cloud looked at him in bewilderment. There's something else wrong? Oh no. Not another thing. He shook his head solemnly. "Yeah well, neither do I, an' it's killin' me to watch her like this. What she wants... before she goes.... is a little happiness, and it's what she deserves. Don't ya think?" He's so right, he mused. It's what she deserves. Just go and tell her for God's sake! Cloud stood up and nodded, then walked away, down to the beach. Barret smiled slightly as his daughter ran up to him with the doll that Tifa had bought her for Christmas.
And there Tifa was. Sat down on the sandy coast gathering sand in her hands and letting it slip through her slender fingers. She had also written in the sand:
Tifa
♥
Cloud
She put a circle around it and smiled. She felt like a teenager defacing a school desk with her undying love fore her childhood friend. Her eyes grew wide as she heard footsteps and quickly smeared the writing with her right hand. Looking up, she saw none other than Cloud Strife himself. She could have sworn her body paralysed for a second. "Hey Teef, mind if I, uh, talk to you?"
A grin spread across her face from ear to ear. "Of course not. Sit down." He did as her was told and place himself next to her. He knew why she was sat here. Number one: the view was picturesque. The sun setting low on the sea, the oranges and the reds intertwining in the sky. And number two: to be alone. This would be somewhere he'd like to sit alone, he thought.
"So," Tifa was the first to break the unbearable silence. "What do you want to talk about?" Now that he was here, what could he say?
"Um. You know what? Now I'm here, I'm not sure what I wanna say. Strange, huh?" Tifa looked off into the distance. She was thinking again. This reminds me of something. Ah yes, the conversation we had the night before we fought Sephiroth...
Flashback
"Hey Tifa...... I...... There are a lot of things I wanted to talk to you
about. But now that we're together like this, I don't know what I really wanted to say... I guess nothing's changed at all... Kind of makes you want to laugh..."
"Cloud... Words aren't the only thing that tell people what you're
thinking..."
End of Flashback
"Tifa? You okay?" Cloud sounded worried for the young woman. "You zoned out for a few seconds, you scared me." He let out a bit of a laugh to cover up his nervousness. "Hmm? Oh I'm fine. I was just thinking, about the night before we fought Sephiroth, the words you just said were like the words you said that night." Cloud looked up to try and recall that night. Of course he did, how could he not?
"Yeah, I remember now, heh, guess they were. Tifa I ... I just wanna say that," Oh yeah! She remembered. He was going to tell me something on the airship.
Okay Cloud, calm down and tell her how you feel dammit!
"Tifa, can we crash at your place now? We're sooo tired!" Yuffie shouted from the top of the cliff. For Cloud, this was beyond a joke. His eyebrows creased in anger, not that Tifa noticed. "Um, sure," Tifa threw the keys to Yuffie as everyone walked into her home. "What did you want to say, Cloud?"
"I just, wanted to say... thanks Teef. For everything. You've been there for me when everyone wasn't, for helping sort my head out in the Lifestream, just everything." He suddenly blushed.
"Oh Cloud, that's what best friends do, right? That's really nice of you." She kissed him on the cheek and smiled. All of a sudden a deep voice shouted. "You two get you're asses up here now! Ya here me?"
Tifa and Cloud sighed deeply as if on cue. "Coming, Barret." Cloud stood up, dusted himself off and offered his hand to Tifa, which she gladly accepted as he pulled her up. She, too, dusted herself from the sand and together they walked to her house.
He smiled inwardly and his heart was soaring in his chest. Next time, Tifa I swear I will. I'll get you alone and I'll tell you. I promise.