Disclaimer: Sony and SquareSoft's FF7 characters were used in this story for non-profitable purposes. No infringement intended.

To Malz, avariel, Bianka-chan, Vash-chan aka Makoto Almasy, aes sedai, Riko-chan, Ah-choo, Sabrina Yutsuki, Silent Shadow1, WrexSoul, Forbidden Wings, Cloti-4ever and JessAngel – thank you for the kind words and for reading this far... Sorry for taking this long to post the chapter, and I'm most sorry for not being able to fulfill the promise I made back in the 3rd chapter (4th in ff.net because of the prologue)

To zelda6... For having the patience and everything to put up with me. And Tiy. Glad I "found" you again. :) To everyone reading this: thank you... The Night a Star Fell

Part Four: Undone

I usually am quiet, in class, at home... anywhere, in fact. What I do not say finds its opportunity in my mind, and I end up thinking instead. I ponder on circumstances, and much more.

I can't help it. I guess... that's just part of me. You would know, since you have had the time getting to know me well enough. You don't have to ask me what I'm thinking anyway, because you have this way of knowing... And if ever you have no clue what it is, I'd eventually tell you. That's how much I trust you...

"Hey."

And now, you've found me. Deep in thought. Sitting on a ratty hammock behind my house. Brooding. Frowning... Despite that, I nod, acknowledging your company.

It's funny... You would have disregarded my mood and welcomed yourself in even if I haven't greeted you. And I wouldn't have minded.

"Cloud..." You are watching me with that piercing gaze, mirthful eyes seemingly concealing a flood of emotions. "I knew I'd find you here."

"You want to talk."

I may appear dense to others. But you know, I'm not blind...

"Yeah, well..." You shrug, trying to act nonchalant, as if it means nothing to you. As if the matter was unimportant. I see through the act, though. I guess the two of us can say I know you too well. "I'm just checking up on you, to make sure nothing's wrong, or at least that you're okay."

"I'm okay." I avert my gaze to my feet, as if these worn out sneaker hold the deepest secret in my life. A strangled humorless laugh escapes my throat, ringing out loud. My laughter has this hollow sound... Empty, just how I feel. "Rather, I'm still the same ole' Cloud here, Zack..."

A thin veil of silence envelopes us, and I lift my head, finally making eye contact with you. "She sent you here didn't she?"

You seem surprised for a second, but you are quick to regain your ground. "No." You shake your head. "No, she didn't." You say it again, this time, with more conviction. "I came looking for you in my own free will..."

"Well, you found me." I look up at the small patch of sky that the thick foliage has left exposed. "Now what?"

"You know, she's worried about you, Cloud."

"Zack, tell her..." My voice wavers slightly. "Tell her I'm sorry."

Amidst the gravity of our talk, I hear your smooth baritone laughter – so rich and full, rivaling my cold and bitter one just moments ago. "She just wants to know if you're okay, she isn't asking for an apology, Cloud. And neither am I..." You trail off, deep in thought.

From the hammock, I watch you take a seat on an old tree stump in front of me.

"You've been keeping to yourself the past couple of weeks..." Your sea green eyes capture mine. "What's eating you, Cloud Strife?"

Everything. "Nothing."

"Nothing." You echo after me, blinking once. "Sure, nothing's upsetting you. That's why you're out here, looking like a little kid who just heard that Santa doesn't exist."

You never seem to run out of ways to add wit in anything, do you?

I would have laughed at what you said. But then you are already frustrated and I do not want to rouse another fight, like the one back then. It's been almost a year since our first and only fight. I smile inwardly upon remembering the black eyes and split lips we've dealt each other.

"Zack?"

"Yeah?" You seem surprised that I've chosen that moment to speak up. "There's something in that spacey head of yours, noh?"

There is. "Zack, h... you have fallen in love, right?"

You appear to freeze in your seat, and I find it unusual that such a spontaneous person would be easily silenced by such a simple, random question. For a second, I think I see the faintest hint of seriousness in your face. "Yes Cloud, I have... Why do you ask?"

"Because..." I know you. And I can see right through you. You keep more things to yourself than you let other people see. But, I do not have the courage to tell you all these. After all, I'm not you. "Because I think I have- I may be falling for a girl. And maybe you can help me."

"Wow Cloud, I wouldn't have known! So... who's the lucky girl?" You smile. And yet, I can see a rare show of emotion flashing in your eyes. What I see confuses me, maybe because I'm not used to seeing nothing but laughter in them...

I know you're trying to be happy for me, and I can also see how you seem to hold your breath. But don't worry, it isn't who you think it is. "Zack, it's not Tifa."

What of her, you would have asked me. I'm almost expecting you to do that, but instead you continue to sit there, staring at me.

"Why not her?" There is this dangerous underlying emotion in your word, something akin to protectiveness. I do not blame you for wanting to protect her... You see, I do the same to her. Rather, I try to do so but... there are some things the two of us cannot keep from happening. "Why not her, Cloud?"

I look a way, a frown finding its way into my face. I hate having to deal with questions that may not have any answers at all. "Don't ask me Zack, I don't know."

"Don't you love her?"

Of course I do! More than you'll ever know, more than I show her, more than words could say... I lift my head and look you in the eye. "She wouldn't want me, Zack – "

"You didn't answer my question." you interrupt me, and I can only glare down at my clenched hands. I hear you rise from your seat and before I know it, you are standing right in front of me. Your action has forced me to look up at you, to be cornered into answering the question that I have so tried to avoid. You resolve is admirable. "Do you love Tifa, Cloud?"

How can I not? "Of course I do..."

You are about to walk back to your seat when I continue. "But not the way you imply, nor the way others think..."

"Nor the way..." you do not finish your sentence, but I understand the unspoken words. You tell me that as if I do not know. I've seen it and felt it myself. And I've known a long time ago... Even before I've known that you love her.

I open my mouth to speak, but no words come out. What am I to say? I watch as you go back to your spot. You look at me, and I am unable to read the expression on your face.

"Does she know this?" You ask me, and I shake my head. "You have to tell her, you know."

"I know that." I reply, somewhat angry. "I just don't know how to tell her... But maybe she already knows something, or at least... I hope she doesn't think I'm keeping things from her." That's the last thing I would want to do. I owe her that much, for having to put up with everything... everything about me.

And I guess... I can say the same thing about you.

I got to my feet, about to leave. But seeing you like that, I am unable to find the will to do so. I continue standing in front of you, like a nightmare that continues to linger despite the dreamer's wish that it would go away...

Finally, your eyes lock into mine. "You know... You'll crush her heart."

And I see that I have broken yours too. "I'm sorry."

"You know Cloud, sometimes sorry just isn't good enough..."

I take one glance at you and catch that sad look on your face before steeling myself to walk away.

Your words are one of the last thoughts on my mind before sleep subdued me.

Some actions, no matter how much they have to be unmade, can never be undone...

TBC

Author's Notes: I posted this as soon as I finished it... so, if ever there are some corrections... please feel free to point them out, I wouldn't get insulted or anything. ^_^

Btw... This was the toughest chapter ever... I've written this a long time ago, but I wasn't satisfied with it... I honestly found it especially strenuous looking for ways to have Cloud and Zack interact without having the chapter or the conversation look or appear shonen-ai-ish. (I have nothing against shonen ai or yaoi, but I prefer not to read them... I'm not homophobic either.) I guess being a girl, I'm quite comfortable writing Tifa even as part of the chapter because I'm quite familiar with how girls would act and react compared to how guys would act around each other without any girl or girls... erm, am I making sense?

As I said, it was an ASS to write "Undone" *lets out a sigh of relief* As much as I'm disappointed with this chapter (I wasn't able to get the right "mood" in), I'm glad this one's done with, and now I can move on to writing the other chapters... :D harhar, back to Tifa! Yay for me!

I won't make any promises anymore, because I fear that some of you may think that I have this thing of making false and empty promises... :( I'm really sorry for disappearing on you guys... And I'm sorry for taking this long to fix the blasted chapter...

anyway, short "letters" to the reviewers are located below. :) if ever I managed to leave out someone's name, please do inform me! ^__^

Malz – ^___^ I write my reviewers because... well, you guys deserve that, at least! I mean, here I go, taking my sweet time (but it's not intentional, ok?) and then some of you guys write reviews as soon as they finish the chapter I've posted... so... here's one again, haha! ^_^ and as for your review... ok, I shall overlook that itsy bitsy part... *laughs*

Avariel – *laughs* I can't have Squall under my bed 'cause I don't have one anymore! My sister and I sleep on a mattress on the floor. ^_^ We're moving to a new house (harhar, two streets away O_o) and since our bed is too old, my rents decided we'd be getting a new one. Poor Squall now stays in my closet. *laughs*

Bianka-chan – thank you very much! ^_____^ haha, I *wanted* to reach out and touch people, as I said in the author's notes in the prologue... :D you're gonna write something? GO! ^_^ let me know if you've posted a Tifa fic *laughs* yes, YES, I'm an AVID Tofu fan. *laughs* I mean Tifa fan. :D As for the replys to the reviewers... ^_____^ I think that's the least I can do. I mean, you guys did go and take your time to read and write a review for this, right? A personal message addressed to each of you is a must, I say.

Vash aka Makoto Almasy – harhar... :P spell checks are weird! Hmm... I happen to like that short chapter instead of this long one *sighs* I guess sometimes, the shorter it is, the better, huh? Anyway... did you get my mail some few weeks ago? :( Why were you apologizing to everyone? I don't think you meant to insult anyone at all, you were just making a statement (sailor jupiter ^_^)

aes sedai – thank you! ^_^ I *did* aim to let the readers feel regret, insecurity and love BUT now... with this chapter, I don't think I was able to even show any of those... as for Cloud's character *laughs* gotta agree with that. :D we gotta give the guy more credit, neh? *winks*

Riko-chan – *accepts the Cloud plushie* :D thank you very much! Sorry if I made you wait long or something... But I'm back now... :D hope you won't take back the plushie and the cookies and the brownies?

Ah-choo – ^____^ fictionpress.net? I'll go and check on your story/ies one of these days... ^_^ I'm currently school-less so I have all the time in the world... err, not really. But you get the point, righty? :D

Sabrina Yutsuki – ay, grabe... nakakapagod. And to think di ako pumapasok! Argh... I'm so behind reading your stuff na... don't worry, I will get around to it. BTW, la na ako sa "funk" ko. harhar! ^_^ btw, margot's in baguio.

Silent Shadow1 – *bows* thank you! ^_^ I'm guessing Tifa is one of your favorite characters? *laughs* I happen to like her a LOT. :D I think THAT's obvious, neh?

WrexSoul – ack... :) hahaha... I haven't sent you an email yet even if I already did write a reply (I wrote you twice because the blasted computer rebooted...) I haven't sent it yet 'cause I've been trying to finish this ass-chapter ((I'm soooooooo glad I've finished it...)) oh yeah, sarah, don't strain yourself alright? ^_^ *hug* I'll wring your neck if you do!!! *laughs*

Forbidden Wings – :) thank you! though, sorry for not updating asap as you asked in your review... i had a really difficult time writing this... *winces* hope you're not gonna whack me on the head or something... :)

Cloti-4ever – ^____^ where have you been??!!?? I actually missed ya! ^_^ and as for forgetting to check on this, it's ok dear! *winks* And, well, I'm back now and hopefully, I can update in a week or a shorter interval of time or something... keep your hands crossed for me!

JessAngel – :D hallooooo! I'm sorry I wasn't able to write back... Actually, I've written you a rep but then... haha, my PC rebooted!!! Argh! I made you a new one but I haven't gone and sent it yet because I've been working on this nonstop for 2 or 3 days, I think... *scratches head* though, I'm not sure... My sleep pattern is very erratic... :) hehe, love triangle... I happen to love them UNTIL I got into one of them... :P Though... that has been a blessing in disguise... I wouldn't have come up with this IF that HADN'T happened, right? ^_^

Are you guys still ok with the email thing? I can always cancel if it annoys you guys... ^__^