Say I Love You
By LastCetra
"I need you more than anything in my life,
I want you more than anything in my life,
I'll miss you more than anyone in my life,
I love you more than anyone in my life."
"Something about us" by Daft Punk
Tifa looked out of her house in Nibelhiem. Two years later, everyone had moved on with their lives. But not her. She had just moved here after months of aimless wandering. The world was moving on as well. Towns had started to develop, scientists were making extreme advances in technology that were curing diseases, even the reactors had been shut down and coal mining and hydroelectricity were taking its place. Because of this Junon and Coral flourished. She had seen it all, but moved back to the town where nothing had changed. Why Nibelhiem? There was only one reason.
"What are you looking at?"
He was here.
Tifa turned around to look at him. He hadn't changed either. Same hair, same build. Two years of peace had not affected him physically at all. He still had those beautiful muscles, the same spiky blonde hair and those sparkling blue eyes. His clothes were different now though, his battle gear gone in exchange for jeans and t-shirt.
Same feeling of falling to her knees when she saw him. Same absolute wanting to touch him, hold his hand, kiss him, just being with him. Same smile that made her feel she would melt right there on the spot. Same love for him.
She flashed him a smile.
"Why are you so curious?" she asked.
"No reason," Cloud replied, smiling back at her. "Just wondering."
"It's a beautiful day," she said looking longingly out the window once more.
Cloud looked at Tifa. Her maroon eyes were sparkling with happiness. Simple things like a sunny day always made her happy. He liked that about her. She was an upbeat person, forever the optimist. Unlike himself. Forever reflecting on the past. He watched her turn back to the window. She wore a red skirt and a white t-shirt, that complemented every curve of her body. Her chocolate hair cascaded down her back, lock after lock. It was loose, so it flew freely in the wind and caressed her face when she moved. It looked so soft and shiny. He longed to touch it.
Touch her.
"Why don't we go for a picnic," he suggested, quickly pushing that last thought out of his mind. Tifa looked at him in surprise.
"That's the first time you've offered to go anywhere since…" she trailed off realising the mistake she had made too late. Cloud bowed his head.
"How long?"
"Two years and eight months today," he answered.
"It's gone so fast," she breathed.
Cloud didn't reply.
They sat in silence for a while. Cloud pressed his hands into his eyes. After a few minutes he looked up, a smile on his face. But that was not what Tifa noticed. She always saw the water in his eyes.
"How bout that picnic?" he said.
Tifa hastily agreed.
Tifa and Cloud walked up a little hill on the nicer side of Nibelhiem; not toward the dark death-trap that were the Nibelhiem Mountains, but instead towards Cosmo Canyon. The dusty amber desert lay to the left of them, while the Wutai Continent stretched in front of them, across a vast expanse of clear blue sea. The hill was a lush green; red poppies and snow white daises littered the ground. Tifa took off her shoes and socks and ran easily up the rest of the hill. The sun had warmed the grass beneath her feet and it almost felt like she was running on a soft fur carpet. She turned back and saw Cloud looking at her.
"Cloud!" she yelled. "Come on up here, it's wonderful!"
"I'll take my sweet time," he replied easily. "Unlike you, I enjoy a walk, not a sprint."
"My apologies, dear sir," she said, bowing low. "I shall wait up here until thou art willing to be in my presence." Laughing, Tifa started to twirl around and around where she was, slowly making circles with her hands.
Cloud followed at a normal pace, or a fast pace for most people as he was so fit. He walked up as if he was walking on flat land.
He looked at Tifa with a sparkle in his eyes. Her skirt billowed out around her as she spun, and the sunlight seemed to hit and light up her face in a way her had never imagined.
She was truly beautiful.
Cloud realised that he was staring and averted his eyes so he wouldn't make her uncomfortable. At this moment, when she was so relaxed, so herself, it was the last thing he wanted. He walked up the rest of the hill quickly to hide his own embarrassment.
At the top Tifa had stopped spinning and had fallen to the ground, incredibly dizzy. She took a few moments to right herself and then proceeded to take a couple of items from the basket she had brought with her. She took out a long blanket first of all, checked with red and blue. She caught the corners and with a quick snap of her wrists the blanket was flying into the air. She guided it down onto the ground and spread her hands deftly across it to flatten it.
Cloud walked up behind her.
"Need a hand?" he asked.
"Not at all," Tifa replied, finishing her task. "Sit down."
Cloud sat. Tifa turned her attention once more to the basket and handed him a few sandwiches. Cloud took them gratefully and opened them. A beautiful smell of cooked ham assaulted his senses. He popped a corner of it into his mouth and took a bite. It was really tasty! Tifa was an excellent cook. He lay down fully on the blanket and stared at the sky.
Tifa took some of her own sandwiches but didn't open them. Instead she lay down with her belly to the blanket and looked at Cloud.
"Cloud?" she started. He turned his face towards her, a brilliant smile lighting his features. Tifa felt her stomach tighten.
"How often do you think of her?"
"Every day." He didn't need to know who her was.
"You really do miss her, don't you?"
"Yeah."
Tifa let the silence fall between them. Cloud just stared at the sky. He didn't like this conversation, and hated that he didn't know where it was going. In the two years and eight months since her death, Tifa had mentioned her very rarely. And yet, to mention her twice in the one day? He knew that something was the matter.
"Tifa, what is it?" He kept his eyes on the sky, not wanting to look at her.
"Did you love her?"
"What?" he asked, turning his face to her. She had the gravest expression on her face.
"Did you love her," she repeated.
Cloud looked away. For some reason this was a question that he had known she would ask, but didn't know when she would ask it. It was a scary question, one that he had never answered for himself but now he had to answer it for his best friend.
"I think…I did. When she died, I was torn Tifa. I still am." He placed a clasped hand to his heart. "When I think of her, it hurts deep inside me, right where my heart is. All this grief I've kept inside me for too long. Sometimes it's so strong I think that she's haunting me. But I still love her."
"Is it love, or just regret?"
Cloud hesitated.
"I don't know," he confessed. "A bit of both maybe?"
"If she had stayed alive, do you think it would have worked between you?"
"I don't think so. We were so different, herself and I. It probably wouldn't have. But, I just would have liked to have had the chance to know it wouldn't have worked."
Tifa was crestfallen. He really did love her.
"Maybe being opposites would have made you closer. Did you ever think of that?"
"I lied Tifa. It wouldn't have worked because I am in love with two women."
Tifa's heart began to beat faster He loved someone else?
But…
"Who?" she asked.
Cloud just gave her a knowing look, and said no more. The silence resumed.
"Is this how you pictured it would all be?" asked Tifa.
"To be honest, I thought we would all explore the world together again for another few years," he replied. "I didn't think we would all go on our separate ways so quickly."
"Mmm," she mumbled, thinking about what he had just said to her. He was right, of course. Everybody had left, gone on with their lives.
"But you're still here, " he said
"What?" Tifa asked, half surprised. She sat up to look at him properly. "How do you mean?"
"You had every chance to go for the past two years but you didn't. At least somebody still cares."
"Is my staying here that important to you?"
Cloud sat up and smiled. He gazed into her deep maroon eyes and brought his head closer to her until they touched brows.
"Yes Tifa, it meant everything to me. It meant more to me than you could possibly imagine."
She stared back into his eyes. His crystal blue eyes that had so much, beauty, so much emotion. She was truly shocked. Cloud had never said anything like this to her before, never shared such deep feelings to her before.
"Never been this close to her before."
"Cloud," she whispered, so softly that as soon as the word was out of her mouth, it was snatched away by the wind.
"Tifa, promise never to leave me, never to leave me ever?"
"I promise."
He tilted his head towards her, closer than ever, and for the first time Tifa felt what she had always dreamed of. She slipped her arms around him and kissed him back.
"Cloud Strife is kissing me," Tifa thought to herself. Finally, after years of longing, years of wanting, this moment had come and it was even better than she had thought it would be. Her whole world slipped into nothingness as she closed her eyes; it was just this time she wanted to remember as the best in her life, nothing else, no one else.
Cloud parted, and he saw her eyes flutter open, knowing that she had loved it just as much as he had.
"Tifa Lockheart," he said. "I love you."
"I love you too, Cloud Strife," she answered.
Cloud looked slightly embarrassed. He took a deep breath.
"Will you marry me?"
"Yes, Cloud, the answer has always been yes."
"Thank you," he said gratefully. He pulled her back to him and held her. "I promise to make you happy for the rest of your life, because it has been you who has made me happy. It has been you who has made me proud of who I am."
Two months later…
Tifa stood at then entrance to Nibelhiem town frowning. They all promised that they would be here, yet they weren't. Vincent and Reeve had yet to be here. Everybody else was here on this, the most important day of her life to date. Except those two. It made her really mad! The wedding was in less than an hour! She took to pacing back and forth in front of the entrance.
"Tifa, stop worrying, They'll be here."
Yuffie was standing behind her, a massive grin on her face. Tifa turned and looked at her. Now a young woman of eighteen, her hair had grown longer and made her look much older, much more mature for her age.
"What's the grin for?" she asked, slightly suspicious.
"Oh, nothing," she said innocently.
"Yuffie," said Tifa, taking a step forward.
"My dress is finally ready," she said quickly, changing the subject. "Maid of Honour, I feel so special!"
"And so you should be."
"Marlene's dress is so much nicer though. And she's just a flower girl."
"Well, if you were twelve years younger, you could be a flower girl too and have the same dress. But you're not so you'll just have to tough it out."
"Fine, fine, I'll quit complaining. I'll just pride myself in being more special than everybody else."
"You do that," said Tifa. Yuffie looked out of Nibelhiem and saw the figure of Reeve in front of her, about one hundred yards from where Tifa was standing. He put a finger to his lips and shook his head. Yuffie smiled and turned back to the conversation.
"Well, you'd want to be getting ready. The wedding is going to start soon."
"When everybody is here I'll - AHH!"
Reeve had grabbed Tifa by the waist and started to tickle her.
"By the way," said Yuffie. "Reeve's here." She turned and laughing, walked away.
"Yuffie! Come back and help me!"
Tifa was trying to grab Reeve's hands, but he was just out of reach. He forced her to the ground and continued to tickle her. Tifa, now short of breath and laughing insanely, begged him to stop.
"Sorry I'm late," he said. "But I always could make a grand entrance."
"Stop Reeve, please stop! I'm going to be sick! Stop tickling me! STOP!"
Reeve stopped and they stared at each other for a second before they both burst into a fit of laughter. Reeve helped her up. Tifa, with all the hate she could muster, glared at him. Reeve just smiled sweetly back at her.
"Good to see you too Tifa. Am I the last one here?"
"Vincent is not here yet."
"Come on Tifa, you know Vincent. He'll slip in quietly two minutes before it starts."
"I could also be here on time like Tifa asked me to be."
Reeve jumped. "Vincent, never do that again."
Tifa smiled. "I'm glad you're here," she said.
"So am I. Now go get ready."
"Now that you're all here, I guess I can," she said, before running off.
Cloud however, had been ready with ten minutes, except for his hair; which at the moment he was trying to tame desperately with a brush. It wasn't working.
"Cloud, my advice would be to leave it. Tifa likes it that way. Just brush it the way it's spiked." Barret was looking at him with an amused smile on his face. Cloud flung the brush on the table with a grin.
"Good advice. I hate hair."
"Now you know how I feel," said Red XIII from the corner.
"And that's why I'm as good as bald," said Barret.
"It's just hair though," said Cid. "As long as you can keep on top of it, it's alright."
"Come on," said Red XIII. "You ready Cloud?"
Cloud took a deep breath and smiled. He had never been more ready in his life. This was what he wanted to do. He nodded at everyone.
"Let's mosey."
Cid, Red and Barret groaned.
Barret went into Tifa's house where she was getting ready. Yuffie was just finishing Tifa's hair by braiding a small white thread into her side locks. They then came around her loose hair and held it in place. Barret stood in the doorway and smiled. Tifa saw him and smiled back.
"Let me take a look at you," he said. Tifa stood a spun in a slow circle. Yuffie left them be. Tifa walked over and gave Barret a hug.
"It's finally happened," she said. "After so much waiting.." Tears started to spring in her eyes.
"Ahh Tiff, don't cry. What is it?"
"I wish that Biggs, Jessie and Wedge could have been here today," she whispered.
"Wherever they are, I'm sure that they are proud of you. As am I."
"Barret, you know I love you, right?"
"Of course I do. And if he does anything to hurt you I'll smash his brains in."
"He won't."
"I know. That's the only reason I'm letting you marry him." Tifa laughed.
"Lets go. He's waiting."
Cloud stood at the well, with both Cid and Red at his side. He couldn't choose a best man, so he asked them both to be. He was waiting, his eyes fixed on the door, for when Tifa would walk through it. First Marlene had come out, with a basket of flowers in her hand. Everybody was awwing at the way she threw the flowers clumsily around her. Then came Yuffie walking up the aisle with a small bouquet of flowers in her hand. A lot of people hadn't seen her in a while and marvelled at how grown up she was.
And then Tifa walked through the door, her arm linked with Barret's. Everybody gasped in awe. Shera, Elmyra and other people from their journey were here in the crowd to watch the occasion. She had never looked more beautiful in her life. He dress flowed down past her ankles, hugging her hips and gently flowing as she moved. The dress was simple; no huge designs but just plain material that made her look like an angel. Simple and uncomplicated. But before he could marry her, Cloud had one thing to do.
Aeris, he thought. Wherever you are, know that I will always love you. But I love Tifa too, and for that reason I must let you go. I'm sorry Aeris, but this is the way it had to be. You dying made me sad. But Tifa, and Tifa's love will make me happy. Goodbye.
Cloud took Tifa's hands and smiled at her.
"You look more beautiful than ever today." Tifa blushed.
"Thank you. You're looking quite handsome yourself." And he did. She saw he had made some effort to brush his hair today but it hadn't worked. Still, at least he tried.
The priest looked at them both.
"When you are ready, I would like you to make your vows."
Cloud started.
"Tifa, I've always found it hard to express my feelings about anything. Even to you, though you've been my best friend for years. This well was a place where we made a promise, many years ago and I can still remember telling you who I wanted to be. Two months ago I told you who I wanted to be with. Tifa, I'm not afraid now to share my feelings. I love you, and I promise to love you until the day I die."
Then Tifa said her vow.
"Cloud, I've loved you from the very first day I knew you, but I only realised my feelings the night we talked at the well. That night, I was afraid to lose you. The day I saw you at Midgar, I knew I didn't want to lose you again. On this day, we become one, and no other feeling can make me happier than that. I love you."
"Now," said the priest smiling. "Cloud, do you take Tifa to be your wife?"
"I do," he said staring into Tifa's eyes. Nothing else matters, as long as we're together.
"And Tifa, do you take Cloud to be your husband?"
"I do." Cloud, let me love you forever.
"I now pronounce you man and wife." He turned to Cloud. "You may kiss the bride."
Cloud did, and a huge cheer erupted from the crowd. When they parted, Tifa looked at him, bursting with love.
"You've made me the happiest woman on earth," she said. And she meant it.
"I did promise it, remember?"
"Yes you did."
The End.
Okay, to be honest, I think Cloud and Aeris are better together, but you can't have every story with her coming back to life now, can you? Nonetheless, I think it turned out pretty well. Feel free to review and bye for now!
LastCetra.