The carriage started to wobble a little then move, I looked out of the window and suddenly realised how high up we were. I put my arms around Cloud's shoulders and looked down at him.
"Is this um...safe?" I asked a little embarrassed. He gave a small laugh and put his arms around my waist.
"Yeah Tifa don't worry it's not gonna drop." He said as he rested a head on my shoulder. I did my best to relax but I was still very much aware of how high up we were. I started to twist one of his spikes around my finger and looked over at Barret. He was looking at the floor and still looked depressed. 'I wish there was something I could do to help... I hate seeing him so down...'
"Uhhhh I don't feel so good... I hate stuff that isn't… fixed to the ground!" Yuffie moaned as she put a hand on her tummy. Suddenly her expression changed to one of excitement and she put her hand on mine.
"Tifa check out the view behind you!!" She said. I quickly turned my head as did Cloud. I could see fireworks and the amazing structure of the Gold Saucer.
"Wow" I whispered. I suddenly felt the cart shake a lot more than before and looked up to see Aeris jumping up and down.
"Yay I can't wait!!!" She squeaked. I could see Barret sat behind her still looking upset and not even slightly interested in the wonders of the Gold Saucer. I leaned over and put my hand on his but he didn't respond.

"I'm just going to go talk to the ticket seller." Cloud said as he went over to them man by the door.
"oooohhh do you think you can win materia here?" Yuffie asked me excited.
"haha maybe, I've heard so much about this place but I never got the chance to come here until now... my dad had always said he really wanted to bring me here one day." I said looking down.
"Eh your lucky Tifa, my dad wouldn't have tried to find the time to bring me here even if it was part of our village..." She said as she also looked down.
"Uh look at us getting depressed when we are in the so called most fun place in the world!" I said as I poked her a little.
"Yeah and hey at least we don't have that guys job!" Yuffie said as she pointed to a guy walking round dressed as a choccobo. We both giggled as we finally entered the Gold Saucer.
I suddenly felt Aeris push past me as she ran to the front of the room we were in.
"Wow! Let's have fun!" She screamed. There was no reply as everyone seemed more concerned about Barret who was stood with his back to us. I really didn't know what to do. Suddenly Aeris walked over to him. 'Uh stop her she will make things worse!' I thought to myself.
"I know this isn't the right time to do this." She said. "Hey, Barret, cheer up!" She said with a big grin. He responded by stepping away from her which was a lot less than I would have done.
"I ain't in no cheery mood. So jes' leave me alone." She said, I could tell by the tone of his voice he was trying to control his anger but he would snap soon.
"Really? That's too bad." She said grinning. I sighed and put a hand over my face. As if he wasn't in a bad enough mood already. Aeris next decided to anger me as well as Barret by running over to Cloud and grabbing his arm.
"Let's go!" She said with a grin. I looked away and suddenly I was overcome by a feeling of pure rage.
"Tifa calm down..." I heard Red whisper. "Take a deep breath then go and advise her to not be so insensitive in the future." He whispered. I nodded and walked over but I heard Yuffie call behind me.
"And if that doesn't work slap her!" I smiled a little and tapped Aeris shoulder, she was holding onto Cloud's arm and looking up at him like she had never seen a male before. He looked relieved when I came over. I didn't know if I should be jealous or feel sorry for Cloud. I put my lips to Aeris' ear.
"...whisper... whisper... (Wasn't that a little harsh, Aeris!?)" I asked. She let go of Cloud and whispered back in my ear.
"...whisper... whisper... (Just act normal when this happens)" I frowned, she really didn't get it.
"...whisper... (You think so...?)"
"Of course!" She said with a grin then before I could stop her she ran over to Barret again.
"We're gonna go play..." She said with a grin. I could actually see Barret shaking with rage now. There was one thing I had learnt over the years and that was when Barret said he wanted to be alone he really meant it.
"So PLAY! ...messin' round #$! Don't forget we're after Sephiroth!" He screamed before running and jumping into the wonder square portal. I knew he had gone to avoid any violence but I was relieved to hear him scolding us and telling us to keep our minds on the job. It sounded like he was getting back to his normal self.
"...I think he's mad." Aeris said looking a little shocked. I quickly covered Cloud's mouth with my hand to stop him making a sarcastic comment.
"He'll be fine. He seems to be doing a little better now." I said as I moved my hand and smiled at Cloud. He smiled back.
"Right Tifa and I will go together and you three can go together. Um have fun but be careful." Cloud said.
"What?! But Cloud I thought you and I could go have some fun together... alone!" Aeris said winking at Cloud. 'Uh I know exactly what that bitch is suggesting!!' I thought as I dug my nails into my palms. Cloud took hold of my hand tight and shook his head.
"Sorry um those are the er teams..." He said as he quickly lead me away. I giggled and stopped him.
"We'd better be careful, Sephiroth might be around." I warned but I was still grinning over Cloud's obvious rejection of Aeris.

Cloud pulled me close as we sat down in the beautiful arena of the events square. We were silent for a while, I couldn't help looking around me and admiring the structure of the arena. Soft music was coming from somewhere and apart from that the only other sound was couples soft whispers to each other.
"I'm… sorry if Aeris upset you before... I feel guilty because I'm the one who let her come along in the first place." Cloud said as he looked down at my right hand which he was holding on his lap. His grip was a little tense showing me how worried he was.
"It's ok Cloud, Barret and I can cope with her…" I said with a smile trying to reassure him. Cloud had enough to worry about. Aeris bothering me shouldn't be added to that worry. "She is harmless." I said as I kissed his cheek. "And besides I know you only wanted to help what you saw as a person in trouble... one of your many good qualities..." I whispered. I couldn't believe how honest and open I was being but sitting there in such a happy and relaxed atmosphere I suddenly felt so close to Cloud... so in love.
Clouds hand instantly relaxed.

"Ha one of my only good qualities..." Cloud said scratching the back of his head as his cheeks went a little pink. I smiled 'he looks so cute when he is all embarrassed.' I thought to myself. "I wish I could be more like you Tifa... you are so friendly and get along with people so easily. Even when we were kids you were like that..." he said quietly and I felt him squeeze my hand a little.
"Yeah I remember..." I said "I guess being the only girl in the village I couldn't risk being all shy or I would have just ended up an outcast..." I said as I stroked his hand with my thumb.
"It was in your nature Tifa... I just wish it had been part of mine..." He whispered. I looked up at him, his face was very close to mine because we had been whispering.

"Cloud… you remember our childhood?" I whispered. I wanted to hear memories that actually fitted, I wanted to feel close to Cloud again.

"…I remember Tifa…I remember everything…" His grip on my hand tightened and it was almost painful… "I remember what it was like to be so alone… but I always had you…" I closed my eyes trying to remember everything. My first memory of Cloud… what was my first memory of the man I feel like I have loved all my life… He suddenly stood up and pulled me to my feet. I was shocked at his change of mood... I had been so comfortable sat there with him… it was as if we had been in another world and he had suddenly dragged me from it.
"Cloud..." I whispered.
"Sorry Tifa I just think we should keep moving…" he said as he pulled me a little. I didn't move. He turned and put his hands on my shoulders and sighed. "…besides… I know you will want to see all of this place before we leave." He said as he smiled and put an arm around me and lead me out of the door and out of that other world…

I tried to relax... Cloud always seemed to hate talking about the past...even when it didn't concern soldier... even when I talked about our childhood. I couldn't understand why...

"Yeah you bet and I wanna go on every ride and everything!" I said as I laughed and gently pushed him into the portal for the Speed Square. As soon as we entered we were greeted by a well built man wearing nothing but leopard skin pint underwear! I turned away in disgust.
"Ewwww I do not wanna see a man in his 40s dressed like that!!!" I whispered to Cloud. Cloud laughed but tried to hold it in when the man started talking to us.
"Hey boy." He said with a grin.
"Boy..." Cloud said rather un impressed.
"How is it? You having fun?" He asked. Cloud was too busy glaring at him to answer, I was about to when the man looked me up and down and laughed. "Mmm, so you ARE having fun. Well, good, good for you boy." He said as he winked at Cloud. 'Uh macho pig!' I thought to myself and I crossed my arms over my boobs mainly to stop him staring at them!
"My name's Cloud. And stop calling me boy." Came Cloud's cold response.
"Mmm? Me? I'm the owner of the Gold Saucer. The name's Dio." He said as he admired himself in one of the shiny walls."Just call me 'Dio'." He said as he ran his fingers through his hair. I rolled my eyes and pretended I was looking at the portals.
".........(Not even listening)"
"By the way, boy, do you know what a 'Black Materia' is?" He asked casually. Cloud and I both looked at each other. I had never heard of the stuff but it didn't sound good. "What is it? "Why d'you ask me?" Cloud asked.
"Well, a while back, a boy your age came in and asked me if I had a 'Black Materia.' I thought you might know who he was, seein' as how you're both about the same age." he said still admiring himself. 'Oh god it can't be... Black materia sounds like an evil kind of magic... what would he do with it?' I thought to myself.
"Did he happen to have... a Black Cape..." Cloud asked a little reluctantly, he knew who it was as well as I did.
"Why yes, yes indeed. And a tattoo on his hand that said '1'." He said as he gestured to his right hand.
"Where did he go!?" Cloud asked, he suddenly looked worried and I felt him grip my hand as if he was trying to make sure I was still there.
"Ha ha ha, I have no idea." Dio said with a grin. He put one hand on Cloud's shoulder. "Well then. I say, stop by the Battle Arena if you like, boy. You'll probably like it. Many of my collections are on display there. Ha, ha ha." He said as he left the room still laughing. I looked up at Cloud who seemed lost in thought.
"I didn't like him" I whispered.
"Neither did I..." Cloud said as he looked down at me. "Do you think Sephiroth is still here?" He asked.
"No I don't...he found out what he is looking for isn't here so he left. He isn't the type to hang around." I said, I suddenly felt like my first experience at the Gold Saucer wasn't going to be so much fun after all.
"Tifa don't look so depressed... the others won't want to leave yet so come on lets go have a look around." He said as he smiled at me... My spirits were lifted as we made our way to the Wonder Square.
"I can't wait to go on the arcade games... I haven't played video games for years. I remember I used to play with the boys in the village all the time and I would beat them all!" I said smiling at the fond memory.
"hehe well you won't beat this boy." Cloud said as he playfully slapped my bum.
"Oh yeah we will see!" I said as I poked him in the ribs gently. Before we could go up the stairs we were approached by a... cat riding a moogle?
"Oh god I would never dress up in silly costumes like that no matter how much they paid me!" Cloud whispered to me.
"Yeah but you would dress up as a girl!" I said with a laugh.
"Heeeey that was to save you!"" Cloud said as he came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist.
"Hey you!! What're you lookin' so down for!?" The cat said making both Cloud and I jump. "How 'bout it? Want me to read your fortune!? A bright future! A happy future! Oh, but don't hold it against me if it's not a great prediction!" He said with a grin. I just stared at him, how the hell did it work? The cat was too small to have a guy inside and it's mouth and eyes were moving! "Oh, so sorry! I'm a fortune telling machine. The name's... Cait Sith" he said as he extended a paw to me. I shook it still a little shocked.
"You can only read the future?" Cloud said doing his best to sound un impressed. "You kidding!? I can find missing things, missing people, anything!" Cait Sith said. I knew exactly what was coming next.
"Then can you tell me where a man named Sephiroth is?" Cloud asked. I laughed a little, either Cloud was predictable or I knew him quite well.
"Sephiroth, right? Okay, here goes!!" Cait Sith said as he did a little dance. After a few readings that had nothing to do with anything Cloud lost patience.
"...Forget it." He said annoyed. I was also losing patience... I liked all that seeing into the future stuff but this guy wasn't very impressive.
"Wait, wait give me another chance!" He said. Cloud shook his head and took my hand trying to move me away from Cait Sith. "Wait! Let me try it again!" He said. I sighed and stopped. 'I know I'm too soft but I would feel mean if I didn't give him one more chance...' I thought to myself as I watched him do another dance. He gave Cloud the paper with his reading on but this time Cloud didn't read it out loud straight away... he just kept looking at it.
"...What the!?" he said sounding a little distressed. I was suddenly worried... I knew Cloud didn't really believe in this stuff so it must have been bad for it to actually have an effect on him.
"What does it say?" I asked.
"What you pursue will be yours. But you will lose something dear." He said as he looked up at me... he looked worried and I didn't feel so confidant either. '...lose something dear.... what if it means me... is Sephiroth going to kill me?' I thought as I moved my hand over the place where he had struck me.
"I don't know if it's good OR bad... This's the first time I ever got something like THIS." Cait Sith interrupted. "Then shall we?" He said.
"Excuse me?" I asked, surely he didn't think he was coming along with us!
"As a fortune teller, I can't help but think about this. If I don't see what it leads to, I won't be able to relax. That's why I'm going with you!" He said folding his arms. I looked over at Cloud who didn't look happy.
"Is that all right, Cloud?" I asked.
"I'm comin' with you no matter WHAT you say!" He said.
"H... hey!" Came Cloud's response. Cloud grabbed my arm and pulled me away but Cait Sith followed.
"Tifa!" He hissed in my ear, "knock it out and we will run away." He whispered.
I looked behind me at the smiling Cait Sith.
"...Cloud it's a moogle and a cat... I can't hit it!!" I whispered back.
"Uh… me either... Barret would be useful right now!" Cloud said as we entered the arcade.
"Lets forget about him for now and have some fun." I said smiling and pushing thoughts of the prediction to the back of my mind.
The next two hours were the best in the journey so far, we played the arcade games, rode the roller coaster in the Speed Square (making it onto the wall of fame with our high score), betting on the choccobo races and just generally enjoying our time together and getting to know each other better. Unfortunately Cait Sith was never far behind which was a bit of a mood spoiler and it stopped the conversation getting too serious otherwise I might have told him... who am I kidding?
"Hey Tifa we haven't been to the Battle Square yet. That Dio said we should check it out." He said.
"Ok lets go," I said as I put the small stuffed choccobo Cloud had won for me in my items bag.
"Hehe what are you gonna call him?" Cloud said as he poked the head of the toy which was sticking out of my bag.
"Hmmm maybe I'll call him Cloud, your hair kinda looks like a choccobo." I said as I giggled and ruffled his hair a little.
"Hehe so cheeky Miss Lockheart." He said as he pushed me into the Battle Square portal.