Someone to Love

-one-

It was cold and wet, typical Nibelheim weather. Tifa Lockhart ran through the streets of the small town despite the moist fog dampening her clothes ad hair. She had to get out of that town, she didn't care where she went as long as it wasn't in the city proper.

She ran for an twenty minutes before finding her favorite spot to be alone. It was deep in the woods, hidden behind the dark shadows of the tall trees. A Lifestream well, much like the one in Meediel but on a much smaller scale, that none else had found. At least not to her knowledge.

Tifa sat there, staring at the green depths of the Life stream and she gained an inner peace, despite the war raging within her soul. She could hear Aeris' voice talking to her. Although she didn't quite know what she meant, she could sense her deceased friend's genuine worry for her well being.

Hours passed by, without her knowing it. All she did was stare at the tempting green pool, and deal with her thoughts. What had she done wrong? What did she do to make him do that?!

She was drawn from her thoughts rather abruptly when she heard splashing noises and wild gasps for air on the other side of the mini lake. Immediately she ran to the person, obviously a man from the groans of pain that they were making.

The man lay on his stomach, face firmly embedded in the green-yellow sand. His body was covered in lacerations that were still bleeding. He, groaned out in pain again. The Mako of the Lifestream must have got into his wounds and begun to poison him.

Tifa felt sorry for him and kneeled down next to his shoulders. She turned him over, took a look at his face. She gasped. It was him! The silver hair, now stained a light green. The prominent nose, all the features of a man that she respected, yet hated. A man that had caused so much pain and loss in her life was right here in front of her. Sephiroth.

He opened his eyes, and looked at her. They were no longer the eerie glowing green as they had been when she last saw him. Now, they were a peaceful blue. His face contorted into pain once again.

"Help me." He said to her his voice barely above a whisper. He gasped for air once a gain, and cried out.

Now, it she had to help. He truly needed her help. It was a question of morality, and Tifa wouldn't leave him to die, even if he deserved it.

"It's ok. I'll help you." She said to him. He looked up at her and seemed to recognize her face, remember what he had done to her in the past. "Can you walk? Even a little bit?"

He gave her a weak nod. She stood up and hoisted him up, and put one of his arms around her neck. He walked only enough, so she would be dragging him along. It took forty minutes to reach Nibelheim and thankfully, no one was out in the streets.

She unlocked the door to her house and led him in. They went up the stairs to her old bed room and she laid him on the bed.

"Get some rest." She said. "I'll have to go get some supplies. I'll be back soon."

"Thank you." Sephiroth whispered to her. She simply nodded and headed out the door.

Tifa had never in her wildest dreams, imagined that the almighty Sephiroth would be depending on her. But, she had to admit, he really did need the help.

She wandered the aisles of the store looking for bandages, pain reliever, antidotes, and other things she thought would be needed. He was in pretty bad shape after all.

She purchased her items and walked back home. She trudged up the stairs to Sephiroth's room and sat on the bed next to him.

"Hey, wake up." She said softly to him, while gently shaking his shoulders.

He opened his eyes and looked at her. "I've got to get you cleaned up."

He silently obliged, turning on to his side to giver her access to his cut up back. Tifa sighed, she had a lot of work ahead of her. She wiped the wounds clean and bandaged them. She worked with out question, hearing nothing form him but an occasional whimper when the antiseptic stung.

She gave him an antidote and started to clean up her mess.

"Who did this to you?" She asked him, as she threw away empty boxes and torn wrappers.

"Don't you remember?" Sephiroth said.

"What?"

"Strife did this to me. His Omnislash." He said.

She just looked at him, she didn't know what to say.

"Why are you helping me?" He asked her.

"Leaving you there to die would go against who I am. Even if you deserve death." She muttered.

Sephiroth said nothing. He simply turned his gaze to the peeling wallpaper that covered the walls around him. "I'm sorry."

"What?" Tifa said.

"I am sorry. For everything I did to you. Your father, your hometown, Cloud."

Tifa didn't know what to say to that. It was rather unexpected. She could sense that it was truly sincere. That he was sorry.

"Thank you. Now, you better get some sleep."

And with that, Tifa walked out the door, and down the stairs to the living room. She flipped on the T.V. and nuzzled into a soft chair in front of it. She tried to watch the news, but her thoughts kept turning back to the silver haired menace a floor above her. She stared at the T.V. listening to the late night infomercials, but drowsiness took over and she soon fell asleep to the incessant droning of some stupid weight loss plan.

AN: ok there's chapter one! isn't it great!? anyway.. Because of all the stuff that happened at the end of the game the life stream thing like it said above, there's a little pool out side Nibelheim. And I figured that since Nibelheim is in the mountains, that there would be a forrest around right? So I added that thing in there! Ok, I hope you people liked it, and remember to review it!