Memories Chapter 2: Part II, a final fantasy vii fanfic

Well after far too long I am finally updating my Final Fantasy VII fic. I never intended it to take this long, but I always promised myself that I'd finish it eventually. I figure now is as good a time as any. To the people who reviewed I thank you and hope this second and finishing instalment will be as well received as the first was.

You know I don't own it.

Memories

Part II: Sapphire Soul

Present

Cloud stepped out of the sun into the cool interior of the stables, smiling at the sounds of soft 'kwehing' and the rustle of feathers that filled the building. Tifa entered behind him, skipping towards the small section of stalls they had set up for use as a hatchery, squealing quietly as she leant over the railing and plucked a small cobalt ball of fluff out off the straw.

"They're so cute!" Cloud sighed. He would have never expected her to have such a girly side to her. She certainly hadn't seemed it back during the Meteor incident. But the time she spent with the birds was frequently interspersed with affectionate petting as well as work. It was readily apparent that all the birds loved her. Probably because she had fussed over them so much when they were chicks. Leaning back on the wooden crossbeam behind him Cloud thanked the guardian spirits that the Chocobo's gestated shockingly fast and it was proving so easy to repopulate the decimated species. They had been getting more coloured chicks than regular recently.

Feeling a hard beak prod his shoulder gently Cloud turned his head to find Bell, a female green, butting him softly in a request for attention. Chuckling he lifted a hand and delicately ruffled her head plumage, grinning widely when she moved her head into his hand to adjust it's position to one she found more comfortable. Absently he continued to run his fingers through her feathers as he reclaimed his lost trail of thought. The dynamics of the flock-

'Herd.' He grinned.

-Were not hard to keep up with. At first it had been though that colour indicated status in some way and that gold chocobos (which were still rare) were always the herd leaders. Without any left in the wild it was impossible to say either way, but it had seemed a safe assumption. However, careful study of the herd had shown that it seemed the dominant pair were always the ones with the most young. Since Chocobo's mated for life it meant that the position of dominant birds in the group could be changed at any time. Another clutch of eggs could mean that one couple had replaced another. The benefits of this weren't really clear but it seemed that their colour had nothing to do with their status in the herd.

The little blue chick in Tifa's arms was chirping happily and rubbing it's small face against Tifa's cheek. She had named it Reef - she ended up naming most of the birds at their hatchings, Cloud being unimaginative when it came to such things - and it was one of their latest hatchlings. It seemed that the methodology for breeding the birds that the absent minded Sage had provided them with originally was far from complete. According to the parentage of the little bundle of feathers, a blue and green, it should have been born a black. When they had told Bill and Billy about this the younger of the two had suggested that the genetics of the chocobo's were more complex than had originally been assumed. The Sage's guide would work well in the beginning but after that some genes would be dominant and some would become recessive. Until they catalogued many more hatchings it seemed that it was going to be random. Thus far they had received just about equal amounts of blues, greens and blacks. The yellows had dropped in number slightly and they had only two golds.

They had found out the hard way that breeding the two golds together, since they had been of opposite sex anyway, did not necessarily produce another gold. The first chick the female had laid had been a black. She also laid with much less frequency than the other colours. It seemed that golds were always going to be a rarity.

"Cloud!" The blond man looked up, his attention drawn by the woman standing before him, still holding the fluffy azure sphere. He grinned at the scene.

'She'd make a great mother.' A twinge of pain lanced him at the thought, though he managed to keep it from showing on his face. It reminded him too much of what he couldn't have, no matter how much he wanted it. He patted Bell's curved beak reassuringly one last time and stepped away from the stall towards the radiant woman.

"You finished spoiling your chicks now?" He grinned wryly, tilting his head to the side. Tifa glared half heartedly at him and cocked a fist, the other cradling her little companion.

"Don't make me pound your spiky head Cloud Strife. Now come here!" She chirped, as cheery as the birds she cared for. Feeling his grin stretch even more he felt the urge to laugh with joy bubble up from within him. He was here with Tifa, the woman he loved more than anything else and nothing was wrong. No one was trying to kill them, no one was trying to hunt them down. They were just there together. All this time and he was still getting used to it. Joining her by the little pen he hunkered down on the top of the swinging door and examined the multicoloured chicks frolicking in the hay that coated the floor, giving them somewhere comfortable to sleep.

Tifa leant over and placed the tiny bird back into the straw, showing off her shapely body in the process - though Cloud tried desperately not to notice - where it chirped at her once before joining it's brothers and sisters in whatever game they were playing.

"They're so cute don't you think?" Cloud sighed and struggled to wrestle the grin off his face. Here they went again.

"..Hmm. Couldn't say really." Even trying his hardest it was a difficult endeavour to sound indifferent. Tifa turned her attention to him and levelled a flat glare, obviously not fooled in the slightest.

"Uh huh. You think they're cute. You know you think they're cute. More importantly I know you think they're cute. Would it kill you to say it?" She leant to the side and rested one hand on her hip. Biting the inside of his cheek to keep from giving himself away Cloud shrugged, not meeting her wine coloured eyes since he knew he wouldn't be able to keep up the act if he did. This game was one they played nearly every day.

"There's a good possibility that if I did admit such a thing, which incidentally isn't true, that yes, it would indeed kill me. It's not a risk I'm willing to take." Tifa snorted, derision mixing with humour.

"Well, surprisingly enough Mr. Stoic Mercenary, I'm perfectly willing to risk it. Exactly why can't you admit that they're cute?" He could hear the laughter in her voice and ran a hand through his hair to buy himself some time to gather his wits.

"It's just not manly. There are certain things that real men cannot do. If I were to admit that I thought something... cute, then I would be denying my heritage as one of the most manly of men." Tifa was agape, dumbstruck by his speech, though Cloud was pretty sure he was tasting blood, his teeth now sinking too far into his cheek for his own comfort. Cloud continued, pleased he had managed to shock his partner so thoroughly. "In addition it was basic training when I joined the Shin-Ra." Tifa's eyebrow jerked upwards sceptically, her expression showing that she was still stunned by Cloud's uncharacteristic self-aggrandisement. "It's true," He insisted. "The first thing they said to us when they lined us up is that from then on we were soldiers. And there were certain things that soldiers can't do. It's just not soldierly."

"Soldierly?" Tifa seemed to be enthralled by his little story. That or about to collapse if her swirling eyes were any indication.

"Mmm. But even if my years of training were to be disregarded, it would still be impossible for me to forsake my manliness in such a manner!" As soon as he finished the sentence Cloud ran through a series of extravagant poses he remembered one of his old comrades using to try and impress a young female secretary. No doubt they had looked better on his muscle ridden body but that wasn't the point. Letting out exaggerated grunts every time he shifted poses, Cloud soon finished in a highly impractical one footed stance with his arms splayed out to the side and the other foot extended. He flashed a brain-fried Tifa the cheesiest grin he could muster and followed it up with a wink.

Tifa burst out laughing, shattering Cloud's act. He loved her laugh. It sounded like the wind chimes she insisted on putting up around the house. He was grinning now, unable to help himself. Tifa was still giggling, holding her stomach and trying to control herself. Eventually she leant on the railing beside him as he relaxed again.

"That is quite possibly the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. Seriously." Cloud shook his head chidingly.

"It's true though." He was trying for the most patronizing tone possible and hoping Tifa wouldn't smack him around the head for mocking her. "I mean, have you ever heard Cid call anything cute?" The raven haired beauty next to him snorted and rolled her eyes.

"Cid probably spends his spare time using bunnies for target practice or something. Probably isn't a sensitive bone in his body." Cloud restrained the urge to make a puerile joke, silently cursing the recollections of his fellow soldiers and their taste for off-colour humour. That was one set of memories he could have lived without.

"Fine, even discounting Cid's... unique nature," Tifa giggled again. "what about Vincent then? You'll never see him saying something's cute." Tifa threw her hands up in exasperation.

"Oh come on! That is so unfair! Vincent wouldn't know cute if it bit him on the ass! And even if cute did bite him on the ass, he'd shoot it!" Cloud grinned at the mental image.

"Well there you go then. Vincent and Cid. Both two fine upstanding examples of manliness." Briefly Cloud winced at the idea of putting both of his former team mates in the same group as himself, even if it was only in jest. It probably wasn't doing him any favours. Tifa snapped her fingers triumphantly.

"What about Barret? He said things were cute for Marlene all the time! What's your explanation for that Cloud Strife, o manliest of all men?" Cloud pretended not to hear the sarcasm and preened under the apparent compliment, much to Tifa's disgust.

"Barret?" Cloud grunted and turned back to watching the chicks play. "That guy's a few cartridges short of a full clip." Tifa choked back another laugh and slapped his shoulder.

"Don't say thing like that about Barret!" Cloud shrugged and rotated his shoulder absently, noting that she had gotten stronger.

"It's true! Did you know he actually kept that sailor suit he had to dress up in so he could use it to sleep in? He looks like a giant marshmallow every night! I hear Marlene has a phobia now!" His companion gave up trying to hold back the laughter and collapsed back onto the front of the stall, using it to hold herself up.

Tifa sighed and fell into him, leaning on his shoulder as if she had collapsed in despair, much like in the animes she made him watch with her. Cloud tried to ignore the fact that they were touching so closely and revel in it at the same time, not really giving a damn about just how little sense that made.

"Fine." She sighed again loudly, for no other reason than making sure Cloud knew she was exasperated. "Lets get to work. You can be "an epitome of manliness" and still work right?" Cloud nodded, disappointed that there wasn't a reason for her to stay like that, leant against him for a while longer. But she didn't move for a few more seconds and the only sound in the stables was there quiet breathing and the soft 'kwehing' of the chocobo's around them. Eventually Tifa stood up and began to walk deeper into the stable. It had become their habit to check on the chicks then start at the back and work their way forward. As he stood to follow her she remarked casually over her shoulder.

"They are cute though." Distracted by the lack of her warmth on his arm he nodded, his mind elsewhere..

"Yeah, they are pretty cute."

"HA! Got you!" Tifa spun and pointed at him, hopping up and down victoriously. Cloud cursed lightly, realising what he had just walked into. Turning to face the young woman, who would no doubt tease him about this for weeks now, he groaned quietly. But still... it was probably worth it to see her smile. Waving his hand lazily at her and acknowledging his defeat he sighed.

"Yeah, fine, fine you win." His voice dropped into a mutter he was fairly sure she'd hear. "Evil woman..."

"Say something, Cloud Strife?" Her features suddenly didn't look quite as accommodating as they had a second ago. He looked up beaming innocently.

"Not at all Tif. Just mumbling about it being a nice day is all."

"Uh huh. C'mon. Work." Cloud felt the uncharacteristic urge to whine.

Watching her work out of the corner of his eyes, he saw the dull golden light in the stable dapple over her hair and the small aquiline stone he had bought her in Midgar. It sparkled like the sun on the sea. Her favourite colour.

27 months and three weeks ago (3 months and 1 week before the battle with Sephiroth)

Cloud ducked his head, trying to avoid making eye contact with the sailors that ran past him preparing for the docking that would take place within the next hour. The ship from Junon was bustling with activity again after a lull during the journey. He would have to find a way to retrieve his gear later on, maybe after everyone else had disembarked and the cargo hold was quieter. As it was he had decided there was too much commotion in the hold for him to consider collecting his sword and armour until later. He had seen Tifa on the far side of the hold, having a far harder time than he of hiding her identity, come to the same conclusion and was fairly sure everyone else felt the same way.

He felt his face shape itself into a wry smile. The last thing they needed after all was Barret running amok while they were still stuck at sea with no way to escape if they needed to. Shaking his head he made his way to the back of the ship, where he had met up with the rest of the team earlier. Slipping his hand into his pants pocket he withdrew a deep crimson orb that shone dully in the light. Bringing it up to his face he examined it as he walked, always checking to be sure he wasn't being watched by anyone. This new summon materia was dimmer than the others they had acquired and had less of a sheen to it. It seemed that they shone more the greater power they had acquired. The ChocoMog materia for example was much brighter, due to the little training excursion the team had taken after they met Yuffie.

Seeing the Midgar Zolom impaled on a tree back at the marshes had made it clear to Cloud that no matter how much he wanted to defeat Sephiroth, he wasn't strong enough just yet. Perhaps all of them together weren't strong enough yet. As such they had taken a brief detour on the way to Junon from Condor Mountain and used the time to train. They might not be strong enough just yet, but they couldn't afford to wait much longer. Sephiroth was still ahead of them. It seemed the training had paid off though. The Jenova creature they had fought only a few minutes ago had proved to be of little problem, and an easy victory. One which had paid off it seemed. Tossing the red ball absently in his hand, he found himself on the deck, feeling the sea wind in his face and tasting the gentle spray on his lips. Stepping out onto the wooden expanse he slipped the summon materia back into his pocket and strode across the deck to the far side, hoping if he stood in the shadows on the other side of the deck he would go un-remarked upon until the made landfall.

Striding across the deck he found it curiously deserted. Shrugging and choosing not to question the good luck he seemed to have acquired, Cloud continued, only to stumble to a stop upon seeing another figure standing in the shadows he had been heading for. Dressed in the white uniform of the ship's crew, in the same way as himself, the figure stood leaning on the railing and seemingly examining the sea. Cloud hesitated, unsure what to do. There was a chance it was one of his group – well, not Red or Barret since both had bodies that looked nothing like this one – but he didn't want to risk raising the alarm if it was just one of the regular crew members skipping the work he should be doing. Finally shrugging to himself and deciding to hurry out of plain sight he continued to approach the figure, reassured that he could knock out who ever it was before they made too much fuss if it was just a lazy sailor he found. Stepping up to the side of the motionless body he felt his body tense, as it always did when there was a possibility of battle, only to relax abruptly when ruby red eyes swung to blink at him, startled.

It was almost hilarious how Tifa, with one of the most feminine bodies he had ever seen, could pass for a man if her hair was bundled up under a cap and her curves hidden under baggy clothing. He nodded to her and smiled slightly, leaning on the rail next her. She grinned hugely and relaxed abruptly.

"Cloud! I almost didn't recognise you with the hat on." He considered making a sarcastic comment but decided against it seeing as he hadn't noticed who she was until she turned to look at him either. Instead he made a quite noise of acknowledgement. Undeterred by his silence Tifa giggled quietly. "Without the hair you blend in so much easier, 'Spike'." Cloud specifically refrained from twitching at the nickname Barret had so kindly bestowed upon him. Sighing quietly instead he moved his attention to the sea stretched out behind the ship, searching absently for any signs of the Eastern Continent they had left behind. Tifa fell silent at his side and did the same, though when Cloud glanced at her out of the corner of his eyes he noted that her attention was focused on the water being churned out from beneath the ship rather than the horizon. He sighed again, figuring that he had disappointed her with his silence.

Unlike some thought his silence wasn't born from a desire for solitude. He just really sucked at small talk. But it couldn't be said that he didn't try and he didn't want to disappoint Tifa. She was one of the few friends he had left.

"Did you see any of the others?" Tifa looked up, her attention back on him and Cloud could see wisps of her long raven hair escaping the cap that was trying to hold back her tresses and fluttering around her face. She looked surprised and he wondered somewhat sadly if it was that unusual for him to try and talk to her.

"Er, no." She said haltingly. "I haven't seen them since we split up after the fight with the… thing." Cloud nodded. In truth he wasn't sure what to call the enemy they had fought either, even though his Sense materia had labelled it 'Jenova Birth'. Tifa stood straighter and turned to him, trying to keep part of her attention on the deck, not wanting to be surprised again.

"Are you worried about them?" She asked, adjusting her position in the shadows so that she was better hidden as she spoke. Cloud smiled wryly. Her movement meant that if anyone did notice someone lingering in the shadows it would be him they saw. She grinned back at him, noticing his amusement. Rolling his eyes he turned back to the sea, leaving her to keep a look out.

"Some of them, yeah. If things go wrong now it would be a pain to have to fight everyone on the ship." He heard her quiet murmur of agreement. There was a few seconds of silence - just enough to throw him slightly when she spoke again, to make him wonder if this was still part of the saw conversation.

"Are you worried about Aeris?" He blinked, before shaking his head.

"No. She isn't a great fighter, but she can keep her head. She'll be fine. I'm more worried about Red. How he's managed to go unnoticed so far is lost on me." Tifa laughed quietly. "And then there's Barret." Tifa jerked upwards.

"What's wrong with Barret?" Cloud turned to her and raised an eyebrow.

"The man has a gun fused to his arm and hates the Shin-Ra, the company whose boat we are hiding on and are surrounded by. I was half debating whether or not it would have been a better idea to tie him up and leave him in the hold for the journey." Tifa giggled. Cloud found himself smiling softly. He hadn't really known Tifa could giggle. Aeris he expected it from, but from Tifa it came as a surprise. He wasn't sure why. He decided it suited her.

The ebony haired girl repositioned herself on the railing again, this time looking toward the horizon like himself and not at the churning mass off water below there feet as she had been before. They stood in silence for a time, both content to watch the distant horizon and the clear blue sky in the quiet that had fallen. Cloud had exhausted his stock of small talk and Tifa seemed content with the lack of conversation. There wasn't really time to be idly chatting anyway. Soon the ship would dock and then they would be seeking Sephiroth again. Despite his tendencies towards silence and his opinion that pointless chatter was a waste of time, Cloud still regretted that he had not had much time to spend with Tifa. But most of his time was spent with Aeris, seeing as she was the weakest fighter and he had been hired as her bodyguard, if perhaps for somewhat dubious payment. And perhaps for other reasons. But that was still very uncertain.

All these things in addition to the frantic pace at which they travelled had seemingly conspired to refuse Cloud any time to spend peacefully with Tifa. By the time the group was finished setting up camp for the night it was often all they could do to eat and crawl somewhere to sleep. They were pushing themselves harshly, yet despite their little detour for training and the fact that Sephiroth still had the lead on them and Cloud couldn't help but wonder why they always seemed to be so far behind. The white haired former Soldier wasn't on the ship, but the last time the cargo vessel had crossed the ocean had been over a fortnight ago according to the roster he had glanced at in the Shin-Ra headquarters at Junon. That meant that, barring actually having found another way across the ocean, Sephiroth was at least two weeks ahead of them. If they didn't find any kind of indication of his presence when they made land fall it would take even longer to track him down.

"What's wrong Cloud?" The blonde man turned to face his companion, surprised to find his face locked into a scowl and his fingers gripping the railing tightly. Forcing himself to relax, he shook his head, trying not to be as curt as he felt. Tifa lowered her eyes again. After a moments pause she looked back up.

"I've always loved the sea, y'know?" Cloud blinked at her. He had not, in fact, known that. She cocked her head to the side slightly and more raven dark hair escaped the small white sailor hat she had 'borrowed'. "Did I never tell you?" Cloud shook his head, absently recalling that they really hadn't talked that much about that kind of thing as children. Tifa's eyes drifted back to the seemingly endless aqua expanse.

"My family and I came to the seaside once or twice when I was really small. It was when my mom was still alive. We stayed in one of the shore towns south of Nibelheim." Tifa smiled, a trifle sadly. "I used to love waking up to the sound of the sea. I remember thinking it was the most soothing sound in the world. It's my favourite colour as well." Cloud raised an eyebrow. Everyone had their own opinion, but he never saw anything spectacular about the dull darkness of the oceans like the one they were sailing on now. It appeared that Tifa saw his scepticism.

"Not this colour!" She laughed. "This is too dull! No, I mean the kind of colour you get in shallow water when there's sand at the bottom. That really bright aqua colour." Cloud privately admitted that he thought that was a much nicer colour than the flat navy blue of the deep seas. "I always loved that colour." Tifa smiled softly, her eyes glazed with memories and obviously not on the scene in front of her anymore. She turned a smile brighter than the sun on the young man beside her.

"What about you Cloud?" He looked at her, slightly bemused by her question. What about him? She giggled again. "What's your favourite colour?" Cloud blinked. He had never really thought about it. As he considered her question a sharp wind ripped across the deck, snapping the precariously hanging cap off of Tifa's head and splaying her long raven hair out behind her, prompting a surprised squeak. Cloud's eyes were riveted to her ruby red orbs widening in sudden surprise as she looked at him. The hat was whipped off the deck and away on the suddenly harsh breeze. Cloud stared at her, with her dark hair coiling around her shoulders and her wine hued gaze locked with his own. A few hours ago he probably said that his favourite colour was bright forest green. It still was, but that didn't mean he didn't appreciate other colours… like reds….

"So what is it Cloud? Your favourite colour?" Tifa's voice sounded soft and whispery, but that was probably just the way the wind was stealing her words before hw could really hear them. Under her suddenly intent gaze, he felt the abrupt urge to fidget. Fighting to keep his eyes neutral he answered, hoping his voice sounded stronger then it felt. It was quite hard to speak with a dry throat. He compromised.

"Blue." Tifa arched an eyebrow.

"Blue?" Her voice sounded disappointed, but once again he chalked it up to the wind.

"Blue." He affirmed. They stood like that for a while, not noticing a diminutive girl approaching furtively. Or what she though was furtively. It's surprising how conspicuous you look when you stop every three steps and look around for pursuit or observers. Eventually the girl reached the two older warriors, who still hadn't noticed her presence.

"Hey, what's keeping you two! The boat's about to dock!" The man and woman turned to the little ninja in surprise before both staring down the length of the deck to the quickly approaching harbour. Yuffie waved her hands in front of their faces in agitation. "Hello? Anyone home?" Both stared at her again before beginning to move. Cloud stepped past her first, quickly followed by Tifa, leaving Yuffie at the rear.

"Hey! Everyone is waiting on you two you know!" Cloud strode across the deck, not much bothered about keeping up appearances anymore. Tifa's hair was going to cause a stir if they were seen anyway. Yuffie ran past and disappeared into the shadows of the stairs that led down to the hold. As soon as she was out of sight Tifa, reached out and snagged Cloud's wrist, stopping him in his tracks.

"Tifa?" She moved to his side and smiled at him hesitantly.

"We'll be ok Cloud. With Sephiroth I mean. We'll beat him, no problem right?" At the end he wasn't sure if she was reassuring him or asking him to reassure her. He settled for smiling and nodding.

"Yeah. No problems." The girl smiled and let his arm go, before following the younger girl towards the steps. Cloud trailed her and blinked as soon as he entered the cool shadow of the ships hull, trying to get his eyes accustomed to the darkness after so long in the bright sun. After a few seconds he could make out the interior of the ship's cargo hold. The rest of the group were at the bottom of the stairs, huddling behind a pile of boxes to avoid notice from the bustling workers. As Cloud approached a pair of bright, forest green eyes looked up at him, swiftly followed by a smile. He smiled back, or at least as close to a smile as he aver came. Blue was nice, but green had it's perks too…

Present

Cloud watched Tifa as she leant over the stall barrier to pet one of the dark obsidian feathered chocobos, it's golden beak standing out all the more in the shadowed plumage. Even from the far side of the stables he could hear her humming a soft tune under her breath. Apparently feeling his eyes on her she turned and he did the same, carrying his eyes away from hers and tried to pass the incident as coincidence. He had, however, caught a glimpse of her garnet eyes, warm and gentle even in the dim lighting. Screw any other colour. They weren't worth anything compared to her eyes. Cloud sighed and got back to work.

Tifa cooed quietly at the large, dark plumed bird, leaning over the railing in front of her as she did. Suddenly feeling eyes on her, she turned her head and caught her friends bright blue eyes skimming away from her to concentrate on his work. Her eyes fell and the feeling of weightlessness she hadn't realised had over taken her dropped like a mythril anvil, leaving her pained and queasy. Once again she had hoped to find Cloud looking at her with adoration, desire or any kind of interest. Basically anything except the friendship that was all she ever saw from him. A new wound that lanced across her heart. Leaning back over the railing to pet the suddenly neglected bird she hoped that this time she would be able to hold back the tears. Too many times she had found them streaming down her cheeks, when confronted with the evidence that the man she had fallen completely and totally in love with saw her only as his best friend.

The last time Yuffie had spoken to her, months ago now, the young ninja had been shocked that nothing had happened between the two in the time they had been living together - at least in a physical manner. Tifa hadn't said anything but the idea that the two of them might end up sleeping together and then Cloud seeing it as a mistake terrified her. As much as she wanted his arms around her at night and his warmth by her during the day, she wanted his honest love a million times more.

Moving further down the rows of pens and stables, running a cursory eye over the giant birds as she passed to assure herself that of their condition. None seemed to be having any problems that she could detect. Continuing onwards she reached the dividing line between the first half of the stables and the second. To mark the area a stall on either side of the building had been dismantled and the area replaced with the supplies needed to raise chocobos successfully. There were bags of greens and various types of nuts for feed and fodder as well as basic medical supplies for the birds should they incur injury. Fortunately, according to the Sage's vast library Chocobos were one of the few animals that responded well to healing magic. Most creatures - Nanaki's people being the most notable exception - did not benefit much from magical cures, but Chocobos seemed to react favourably. Thus far the ranch hadn't had to deal with any severe injuries, aside for the usual gamut of scrapes and cuts which conventional medicine could cope with. As such the bandages and ointments sat on the benches Tifa was now approaching, ready for use. Squatting next to the bench she ran her fingers through the folded strips of gauze and bandage, wondering absently why nothing magical or otherwise could heal the pains she felt daily.

'I'm becoming to sappy.' She thought, cringing slightly at her self imposed depression. 'I have lots to be thankful for… I have my health, my friends… Shin-Ra is finished and Sephiroth is gone…. And I'm living with the man I'm in love with. He just.. doesn't love me.' Suddenly realizing that tears were starting to leak out of her eyes Tifa wiped her face hurriedly, not wanting the blond ex-mercenary to come across her and inquire about her crying. Getting herself under control quickly Tifa reached out for a strip of gauze to dry her eyes and was startled when she accidentally knocked something off the low bench onto the sand dusted floor. Through watery eyes she swept the tips of her fingers across the floor, wondering what item she had upset. Rubbing at her tears with one hand she soon came across the displaced articles. Kneeling on the dust laden floor she brought the wafer thin object up to her face and was surprised to find herself staring at the 9 of cups. She blinked.

Then she remembered. One of the birds had fallen ill and both Cloud and Tifa had opted to stay up and watch over the creature during the night. To pass the time they had played cards and must have left the pack in the stables when they left the next morning. The dark haired girl smiled softly, reaching down to pick up the rest of the pack that was scattered at the foot of the bench. Gathering the cards together she tried to recall what games they had played, the vision of Cloud throwing the pack at her in fake agitation bring a reluctant smirk to her lips. She had beaten him at one of the games he had taught her. Despite the fact she was certain he had made up the rules specifically in his favour. It was one of her favourites, one he had taught her in the time they had spent raising their chocobos before the final battle with Sephiroth.

25 months ago (1 month before the battle with Sephiroth)

Tifa strode through the metal hallways of the Highwind, tired and aching. Catching Chocobos for breeding was exhausting. The warm air of the Mideel Islands kept the air more stuffy than she'd like in the giant airship, but she certainly considered it better than the areas around Icicle Inn. Tifa groaned slightly as a twinge of pain lanced up her legs, making them tremble more than she'd like. She was certain Cloud wasn't aching this badly. She was also certain that the blond haired mercenary was comfortably asleep. She had ventured out further than she should have after sending Barret and Yuffie back to the Highwind earlier in the evening and it had taken longer than she had expected to return. The night sky was clear and liberally speckled by stars when she had dragged herself up the ladder to the ship, with no little amount of swearing and cursing on the way.

In an attempt to capture healthy Chocobos faster she and Cloud had split up that morning and taken a few other members of the party each for backup. Seeing as they were the only ones equipped with Chocobo Lure materia and more importantly the only ones who had any knowledge of Chocobo breeding at all it was pretty much essential for them both to be out in the field. Cloud had suggested that it might be better for them to split up, seeing as they both had the materia in question. Tifa, though reluctant to leave Cloud's side, had agreed. Aside from her usual ingrained desire to be around the normally taciturn young man, a newer concern kept her almost permanently worried instead. It had barely been any time since their return from the lifestream and Cloud seemed to be still feeling the after effects. No surprise really, he had just found out that the life he believed was real was a fabricated product of mako poisoning, and drugs. She came across him several times sitting in the galley and staring at the wall. She could almost see him mentally filing and sorting memories, holding them up like film, trying to figure out if they fit in anywhere or weren't his at all. She didn't like seeing him at those times, looking like he was sifting through his life, discarding sections that didn't meld with the rest. She had hoped his worries would be banished by what they had learnt together in the lifestream…. But it seemed that was too much to hope for.

Feeling her eyes drooping wearily she trudged forward until she reached her quarters, stepping in only briefly to grab a towel and fight off the idea of just collapsing in her bed as she was and worrying about the consequences later. Standing still long enough to smell the sweat and dirt on her dissuaded her from that line of thought before it was even fully formed though. Grumbling and stifling another groan under her breath the young woman staggered back out of her small room and set off for the showers.

Half an hour later, feeling more refreshed and less exhausted, Tifa headed for the galley in a change of clothes. A quick meal made of whatever she could find in storage that might pass for being edible and then to bed. She had only found one Chocobo worth keeping and the chances were Cloud hadn't been any luckier - the creatures really were rare in the wild. That would mean another day of hunting tomorrow. Wearily turning towards the stairs, Tifa halted, surprised to see Cloud disappearing into the meeting room silently, before the door fell shut behind him. Blinking her ruby eyes twice,. the girl cocked her head to the side and considered. She was hungry and tired… but Cloud outweighed that. Moving down the steps with a bit more energy she ignored the dull echoes of her feet on the metal flooring, more interested in why Cloud was still awake. She had thought he would have gotten back well before her and would have been in bed by now. Apparently this was not the case.

Moving up to the door she hesitated briefly, wondering if he might want some privacy before shrugging lightly and pushing the door open. If he wanted privacy than she would give him some but that was no reason not to try. She was giving herself enough reasons not to deliberately seek out the man's company - she might start blushing, she might swallow her tongue, she might start frothing at the mouth and fall over… - without making up more.

Finding the object of her search sat at the long table in the plush, high backed chair that was closest to the door, she walked into the room prompting the blond to turn from his study of the blank wall and look at her. He blinked and opened his mouth, then closed it again. He seemed to be struggling to find words. Abruptly Tifa remembered what she was wearing. Assuming that no one else would be awake and that she would only be grabbing something to eat before returning to her room, she had changed into something suitable for sleeping in. She was wearing a very loose white T-shirt - one she was pretty sure was his, but was hoping he wouldn't notice seeing as she had no decent explanation for why she would have it - which was slipping off her left shoulder and a pair of loose shorts that had managed to contrive to show about as much as her skirt normally did. That, however, was for mobility. This was just embarrassing.

Cloud stopped trying to speak and resorted to blinking again. Tifa was certain that her face was about to combust since she was blushing so much. She had neglected to wear a bra, which meant that her… assets were displayed more than usual. Swallowing Tifa realised that Cloud looking at her that way really didn't bother her as much as if anyone else were. It would be a sign that he could be at least interested in her, she thought somewhat bitterly.

"Ah.. hey Tif. Something wrong?" It was the girl's turn to blink in confusion.

"No, why?" Cloud shrugged and leaned forward a little in the chair.

"What else could it be?" He smiled slightly as he said it, but Tifa was too busy feeling annoyed to notice properly.

"Oh, so I can't come and talk to you without having a problem now? I didn't realise that my company was so onerous for you. I'll leave you in peace then." The anger seethed in her tone, but Tifa was unsuccessful at driving out the under current of hurt that was also laced within. Turning around and promising dire retribution to the Gods if her eyes began to water, she was startled to feel a hand wrap around her wrist and stop her from leaving. She turned back to wrench her arm away, but stopped when she saw Cloud's tired and apologetic eyes.

"I'm sorry, Tif. I didn't mean it like that." As he spoke he dragged his free hand through his unruly hair and Tifa only now noticed that it was damp, meaning he had recently showered. "I'm just tired is all. You can come to talk to me about anything any time." He frowned slightly then and brought his eyes to the ceiling as if considering something. His tired smile stretched slightly as he brought his gaze back to meet hers again. "Well, except 'women troubles'. I don't wanna hear about that, ever." Tifa smiled at his little joke and stepped back from the door.

"It's ok. I know you didn't mean it. I'm sorry I over reacted." Cloud waved her apology away absently. Silence fell for a second before both of them realised that he was still holding her hand. Gently disengaging his fingers from their position around her wrist Cloud turned away and moved back to the table. Feeling slightly uncomfortable and nervous Tifa absently reached across her body to hold her left arm with her right. Unwilling to let the fledgling conversation they were having flounder so quickly she blurted out the first thing she could think of.

"So why aren't you asleep yet?" She watched his back stiffen and his muscles seemingly twitch slightly and immediately wondered if she had asked the wrong thing. Cloud sighed deeply and his body relaxed again, but slowly.

"Just… bad dreams." Tifa looked away, disappointed that her first attempt at talking to the blond man for an age had started out so badly. "Once I woke up I couldn't get back to sleep so I figured I'd have a shower and just grab something to eat." During his speaking he had turned back to facing the girl and she watched an expression of distaste flitter across his face. Suddenly wanting to giggle she smiled at him curiously.

"The food couldn't have been that bad." Cloud's face contorted as if he had just bitten into a sour lemon. He leant back on the table and crossed his arms lazily before responding.

"Remember in Midgar, when Don Corneo dropped into the sewers?" She nodded, slightly confused by his change of topic. "The instant ramen Cid bought tastes like that sewer." Tifa burst out laughing and was rewarded with a small smile. It took a few seconds for her to quieten down and she soon found herself uncomfortable under Cloud's expressionless eyes. Abruptly standing up, he grinned tiredly at her.

"Hey, since you're still awake why don't we do something to pass the time?" Tifa's face coloured instantly, her mind helpfully replaying every perverted joke Yuffie had ever told her in surround sound. Cloud lifted an eyebrow curiously before jumping to the wrong conclusion. "Unless you want to get to bed. I won't keep you up if you're tired." She shook her head quickly, hoping to both reassure him and dispel her stubbornly persistent blush.

"No! Er, I mean, I'm not tired really. So what did you want to do?" Tifa felt her blush try to renew itself at her words. Aside from trying to rush past the embarrassing part and force a quick change of subject, an image of Cloud kissing her had just run through her mind before she had the chance to mentally beat the crap out of it and subdue the little fantasy. Dammit, now she really regretted spending those nights giggling with Yuffie over the little ninja's stash of romance manga. She brought her attention back to Cloud forcefully, seeing that he was looking at her strangely.

After a few seconds he shrugged and sat back staring at the ceiling in thought.

"How about cards?" He asked the ceiling blankly. Tifa broke into a feral grin. You couldn't be a bartender without learning to play cards. This was not something she could lose. It had become a habit of theirs to waste time in the Wonder Square at the Gold Saucer when waiting for the Chocobo races to start and she enjoyed it, but Cloud always beat her on the Snowboarding Game and it was beginning to rile her up. His score was unassailable. Both she and apparently Cid had tried to beat it - though he would never admit to it - but had so far failed. It was obvious Cloud knew how much it irritated her as well since most of the time they spent there ended up with her on the game and Cloud standing at the side giving 'encouragement'. It was uncharacteristic of him to tease anyone, but the third time he said something like 'Ooh if only you hadn't slammed into that wall you would have almost beaten my score' she had decided that war had officially been declared. And this would be her revenge. He may beat her at that goddamn game, but he would never beat her at cards.

She abruptly realised that she had been spacing out and grinning evilly at the far wall. Snapping back to reality, Tifa found that Cloud didn't seem to have noticed. Trying to salve her dignity she responded hurriedly.

"Cards sound good. Do you have a pack?" Cloud nodded and pulled two decks out of his pocket.

"My original plan was to play a few dozen rounds of solitaire, before trying to get back to sleep."

"So why do you need two packs?" Tifa asked, curiously eyeing the two stacks of playing cards in his hands. Cloud blinked at her, then chuckled briefly.

"I was planning to play Midgar Solitaire. It needs two packs instead of one. All the grunts at Shin-Ra played it during down time. It's almost impossible to win." Tifa's cheek twitched lightly. Ok, so he could play cards then. Not a problem. Not at all.

Damn.

"How about we head out onto the deck? It's warm out anyway." Tifa broke away from her quiet cursing and nodded to the idea. It would be more scenic than playing in the converted board room anyway.

A few minutes later found them both sitting cross legged on the wooden planking of the Highwind's deck. Cloud was shuffling the cards adroitly and without paying too much attention to the process, flicking cards through his fingers and sliding back into the pack in an impressive display of manual dexterity. Tifa found her cheek twitching again. He wasn't as fast as her, but it still wasn't a good sign. After a few minutes Cloud finished and begun dealing cards out between the two of them.

"So what's the game?" Cloud finished dealing, leaving them with seven cards each.

"How about Sword and Cup?" Tifa grinned internally. That at least was one she knew. The game was fairly simple: you had to get rid of all your cards before the other player or players did, while picking up a card for everyone you put down, or two if you couldn't play. After you had run through the pack and gotten rid of all the cards and all the cards in your hand you won. But if another player played the Prime of Swords then unless you had the Prime of Cups to counteract it you had to pick up ten cards. This made worse by the fact that if there was more than three players only two could avoid the penalty seeing as there was only one Prime of Cups in a pack and the game was played with two packs. Picking up her cards Tifa sorted them quickly hiding a grin. While you could put down one card at a time, you could also play runs as long as they were of the same suit and in consecutive order.

Her hand consisted of the three, four and five of Coins, the ten, the Son and the Mother of Batons and the Prime of Cups. She was set up nicely for a head start. She looked up to say something to Cloud about his shuffling being all flash and no substance, but faltered in the face of his wide grin. Feeling a little unnerved she opted for wary silence and played her three Coins on top of the two of Coins that had been flipped from the deck to start the game, picking up three more after she was done. Seeing that the three cards she had didn't match each other or anything already in her hand she turned to watch Cloud. Grinning even wider he lay down all seven cards in top of her five, his hand running from the six to the Mother. Tifa twitched, then began to gather cards, cursing non too quietly as she did. In the unlikely event of the hand dealt being completely playable the rest of the players picked up ten cards each. After she was done and Cloud had collected another seven cards to replenish his hand and stopped chuckling the game set down into a much slower pace. Runs of two or three were followed by long periods of only one card being played each.

The slow tempo of the game allowed Tifa to pay more attention to the man sitting opposite her than the cards and not suffer too much as a result. Still damp, his blond bangs hung lower in his face than usual and the water had tinged them a slightly darker colour than she was used to seeing. His mako blue eyes were the same, though they seemed brighter in contrast to his slightly darker hair. Throwing down a nine of Cups onto the growing pile between the two players, Tifa suddenly wondered what the nightmare was that had woken Cloud up. As she watched him fish a card out of his hand she wondered whether it was worth trying to discuss it with him. If it were someone else she would leave the matter alone unless they wanted to talk about it. On the other hand she was concerned about Cloud in a way she wouldn't be about anyone else. His return from the lifestream might not be as seamless as anyone had originally thought and besides that she had her own private reasons for being more concerned about him than anyone else. Aside from that though Cloud wasn't the type of person who'd talk about his problems willingly. He needed to be prompted or cajoled.

"Cloud?" The man looked up from his cards and met her hesitant gaze. "Do you… want to talk about your nightmare? I mean…" She trailed off, not sure how to finish her sentence. Cloud had looked away from her and was staring across the deck and over the expanse of open land that the Highwind had landed on towards the forests. She realised he was looking in the direction of the remains of Mideel. For a while it seemed that he was lost in his own thoughts and wasn't going to answer her, leaving the girl regretting asking the question which had seemingly destroyed a rare opportunity to spend some time alone with Cloud. Tifa stared at the pile of cards between them morosely, until Cloud's voice startled her. He began speaking tonelessly, sounding dull and devoid of any emotions.

"I… don't remember." Cloud shook his head, looking like he was trying to shake the dream free of himself. "Whatever it was, it was just a dream. It isn't important." He turned back to her and tried to smile reassuringly, but his eyes were dead. Tifa ignored the smile and met his eyes, still reeling from his words and seeing him regress into himself so thoroughly.

"You know… you can talk to us right? It doesn't always have to be you alone Cloud. We… I want you to talk to me more… about things. I don't want you to be keeping it to yourself all the time."

Cloud watched her, taking her in words while she avoided his eyes.

Their shared time in the lifestream had given Tifa a lot to think about recently. She had never realised that he saw her that way, or that he saw her at all really. He was always the quiet one in the village, who seemed above the taunting of the other children. She had no idea it had affected him so deeply. The few times they had spoken she had enjoyed. He was so different from her friends. He hardly smiled, almost never laughed. But he wasn't rude or mean to her either. It had been so easy to develop a crush on the silent Cloud Strife, even though they hardly ever exchanged words and the most she got from him in the street was a nod and never a smile of greeting. The night he had asked her to meet him at the well in the centre of Nibelheim she had been so excited, and a little scared. Maybe he'd tell her he liked her? There wasn't much point to him calling her out late at night for him to tell her he hated her, but the possibility gnawed at her insides when she allowed her thoughts to stray to such an idea.

When he had told her he was leaving town she had been hurt. Asking him to make that promise with her had been a last ditch effort to ensure that they might not lose contact completely. It had made her feel like a princess whose knight was swearing to protect her when he agreed. He wouldn't have agreed if he didn't like her, at least a little right? Well, now she knew. Her childish crush on the boy had become love for the man faster than she had thought possible, and it made her wonder if she had ever really gotten over the quiet youth that hardly ever smiled. Many times over the years her thoughts had turned to him, wondering where he was and how he was doing. Wondering whether he had achieved his dreams and lying awake at night thinking about whether she should hate him for leaving her alone in the village to go and join Shin-Ra, the people responsible for her family and friends death. Finding him at the train station… had been the happiest day she'd had in a long while.

She had spent most of the journey alternately scared of what was happening to Cloud and worried about his wellbeing. His memories were… wrong and he didn't seem to realise it. He talked about things that never happened with absolute clarity. He talked about things he shouldn't have been able to know. It terrified her. But now she knew. Knew that his childhood had been painful, that he had failed to achieve his dream, had spent years being tortured and played with and knew that he had finally come back to her. She was damned if she was going to lose him to a nightmare.

"Thanks Tif. I'll… keep that in mind." The girl sighed quietly. He hadn't said that he would, just that he'd 'keep it in mind'. But maybe that was the best she could hope for right now. Small steps. They sat in silence a little longer, lost in their own thoughts.

"Hey, Tif? You know how to play Mythril Run right?"

Present

Tifa settled back onto her haunches and flicked the pack randomly through her nimble fingers, shuffling it repeatedly. That had been one of the few times she and Cloud had together alone during their chase after Sephiroth. That fact alone made it worth cherishing. Feeling her legs begin to cramp she stood up, letting the pack of cards settle back onto the bench. They had the other set in the house and they might want a deck out here sometime in the future. You never knew.

Cloud reached the end of his side of the stable without incident, taking the time to pet each of the giant birds a little and give them some attention. More of his attention was given to the structure of the building. He had been wondering for a while now about adding a second story to the stables, seeing as their flock was burgeoning and the chicks would soon need space of their own. It would also be nice to have an area dedicated to healing the chocobos as well. Their current method was to leave the injured bird in it's stable pen for the duration of it's convalescence, but Cloud felt somewhere separate for the wounded creature would be a better idea. Unfortunately the stable as it was wasn't sturdy enough to support a second story. He would need to erect stone pillars throughout the stables to make his idea feasible. It wasn't impossible but it was a giant pain in the ass. He was leaning against the doorway, lost in contemplation over his possible plan when Tifa arrived by his side.

"Did I keep you waiting long?" Cloud snapped out of his reverie and looked down at the young woman.

"Not really. Just thinking about something."

"Care to share?" Tifa leaned against the door at his side, both of them just inside the shade of the building. Her shoulder rubbed up against his arm. Cloud suppressed a shiver and cleared his throat, struggling to relax and not tense up completely.

"Uh… Remember I told you we could use more space for the stables?" Tifa nodded, meeting his eyes with curiosity. "I was thinking we could add a second story to the stables we have. But I'd need to put up some stone supports to keep the building safe and sturdy. It might just be easier to build an extension." Tifa bit her lower lip in thought.

"Yeah… but remember space. It might be easier to build upwards than outwards. Besides you know there are predators about, even now. Do you think the stables further out might get attacked or something?" Cloud nodded thoughtfully.

"You're right. I'll just have to put the posts in place. It's more work than I wanted to be doing, but it's a better option than putting the birds at risk. I can get the stone from Kalm the next time we do a supply run." The raven haired girl laughed quietly. It was amazing sometimes how protective Cloud could be of their little flock, or herd, or whatever. Cloud sighed and drooped slightly. It was the middle of summer. It was gonna be boiling when he started work. He'd fry. Dammit. Now he wanted to whine again. His companion punched his arm lightly, garnering his attention again.

"So, what's your plan for the rest of the day?" Cloud pulled his arms up behind his head as they both walked out of the stables, back towards the main house.

"Dunno. I was thinking about putting in a little practice." Cloud's smile took on a sly undertone. "Care to join in, Tif?" The young woman snorted delicately and rolled her eyes. Cloud's smile grew wider. "I understand if you don't want to. No need to tire yourself out." A vein bulged on a pale skinned temple. "You'd be a little out of practice anyway, right? I'd like to-" Tifa reached up and smacked him over the head, snapping his mouth shut and making him thank the spirits that he hadn't bitten his tongue.

"Get over yourself Strife. I'll be there." Tifa's voice began to sound playfully taunting. "Are you sure you wan to do this? We could skip it and save you the embarrassment y'know." Cloud looked up into the blue sky above them and traced the path of a few solitary clouds.

"Oh, don't worry Tif. I won't be embarrassed on your behalf. I'll leave that for you to do." Tifa swung at Cloud again and nearly over balanced as he danced to the side absently. She growled under her breath.

"Just get ready, Strife." He only grinned in reply. Separating at the door, they both headed to their respective rooms to change. Stepping through his door, Cloud's eyes were drawn to the giant Buster Sword on it's stand in the corner of his room. Moving over to his wardrobe he noticed it was getting a bit dull and made a mental note to polish the blade at some point in the future. Aside from the occasional foray for monster hunting, the weapon rarely got much of a workout these days. Pulling out a white sweatshirt and dark grey pants, similar to the ones he had worn during his time in Shin-ra, loose and easy to manoeuvre in, Cloud traced his eyes over the few materia embedded in the blade and studded around the top of the hand guard. After the final battle with Sephiroth he had taken it to a sword smith and had the materia slots upgraded. The growth was at half the speed as a result, but it was equipped with his favourite combinations of materia. Tifa had left her selection in her Premium Heart, but Cloud had an attachment to this sword that he could not break. It was his favourite weapon and a memento of a friend. Breaking out of his train of thought, Cloud quickly stripped and changed into the new set of clothes.

Leaving his feet bare, he padded outside into the hallway then outside. Not surprised to see that Tifa hadn't arrived yet, he ran some quick warm-ups a little bit away from the Chocobo pen attracting a few 'kwehs' of curiosity. Feeling his muscles fill with warmth Cloud ran a hand though his hair, noting that it had gotten longer than he was used to. He'd need to get it cut soon. Stretching his back he debated whether he should keep it as normal or re-grow the ponytail he'd had when he was younger. A trickle of sweat rolled down his temple to his neck, reminding him that it was the middle of the warm season and might not be the best time for him to grow his hair out.

Hearing the soft footsteps of his soon to be training partner in the short grass behind him, he turned and faced Tifa. The first thing he noticed was that she had worn her hair up in the clip she had bought in Midgar. Seeing as it was so durable it would keep hr hair out of her face without her worrying about it breaking. Having changed as well the woman was wearing a pair of loose shorts and a T-shirt tight enough to show the outline of her sports bra. Cloud's eye twitched.

'This might not have been the best idea…' Smirking at Cloud the girl began to stretch and limber up, crouching and flexing her leg muscles before starting on her upper body. Finally she jumped to her feet and Cloud noticed that she too had decided to go barefoot. He watched as she fell into a loose stance, grinning at him cockily.

"You ready to for an asskicking, Strife?" Cloud laughed and dropped into a crouch, ready for her attack.

"Bring it on, Lockheart.' Tifa blurred forward and struck with her left arm, swinging over Cloud's head as he ducked backwards and lashed out with a leg. Dancing to the side she leapt up, foot extended to strike his chest. Cloud grinned. Fun times.

25 months ago

Cloud stood on the bridge of the Highwind, watching the stars above him through the glass window. This was the second night in a row he couldn't sleep. And this time there was no convenient Tifa wondering the hallways to play cards with. The nightmares were becoming more frequent. Since his 'return' form the lifestream he'd had them repeatedly, perhaps two or three times a week. This was the first time they had happened two nights in a row though. Cloud dragged a hand through his ragged hair in frustration. He had a feeling that the closer they came to Sephiroth the more frequent the dreams would become. He shifted stance, feeling slightly uncomfortable. The air was warm but the steel floor of the ship cold, and it was making his feet numb.

They were getting close now… he could feel it. Not just the call to 'Reunion' or whatever it was that seemed to be a constant in the back of his mind. He figured that would go away once Sephiroth was dead. No, instead he felt as if event s were culminating. Everything was going to happen soon. Meteor would strike in a month at most, perhaps whether they defeated Sephiroth or not. The only conciliation in that thought was if they failed, no one would be alive to complain. Strangely that thought wasn't very cheering. He went back to staring at the stars. The dark sky had taken on a dark red cast, even in the dead of night. Meteor had become impossible to miss, lighting up the sky like a second sun. As much as it made Cloud shudder the stars were still visible… and Meteor was on the other side of the ship. He didn't have to look at it. He didn't have to look at a giant flaming indication of just how much he had failed. The creaking sound of the metal pole he was leaning on cracking in his grip prompted him to snap his hands open and step away from the rail guard.

"Cloud?" Clenching his fists, the young man turned away from the night time vista to face the upper deck of the bridge. Tifa was peering around the doorway, blinking curiously and looking nervous. The former SOLDIER realised he probably wasn't looking particularly welcoming and loosened his hands, opening them reflexively and having to put more thought than he felt necessary into keeping them open. Tifa didn't look particularly reassured.

"It's ok Tifa. Come on down." The words sounded grating and for a moment he thought she was going to decline. His jaw tightened when she nodded hesitantly and stepped out of the cover provided by the doorway. He blinked and the world seemed to dance. Tifa's long dark chocolate hair was trailing down her back without the bow that usually tied it at the bottom. Strands were trailing over her shoulders and wrapping around her shapely body, giving her a cute tousled look. Her large ruby eyes shone in the dark, reflecting a little of the latent redness of the night outside, making them appear deep and flowing like ruby wine coloured quicksilver. Obviously set up for sleep the girl was wearing a pair of loose white shorts and a very loose white t-shirt. Her long legs were on display and she was barefoot, explaining why he hadn't heard her walking up the metal stairs. She shifted uncomfortably and he realised he was staring at her. Turning his gaze to the side he uneasily beckoned her to come and stand by him. Hearing her soft padding as she moved forwards he shifted back to the viewing window, trying to avoid meeting her eyes. She moved up to his side, hanging back a little just out of sight.

They stood like that for a while.

"You're up late again… was it a nightmare again?" She asked softly from just behind his left shoulder. Cloud's muscles tensed and locked, his jaw clenched so tightly he could almost feel his teeth giving way. He didn't trust himself to respond without snapping at her and he didn't want to take his foul mood out on her. His silence was apparently answer enough for his smaller companion. His muscles were already tense and he nearly lashed out when she wrapped her arms around his midriff and pressed her face into his shoulder but stopped himself in time, violently twitching his arms away from her, horrified at the idea of hurting the girl. But he was unable to relax.

"You never tell us anything Cloud. You never talk to us. You're always silent - always trying to deal with everything yourself! Stop it Cloud… please, just stop it…" The blond swallowed, hearing the tears in her voice and feeling them seeping through the clothes he wore at his back. She had said something like this before last night… but he had never thought his silence was hurting her this much. He knew she particularly wanted him to share his thoughts and feelings more, but he couldn't. Not until Sephiroth was dealt with. If he did open up, he'd unravel and breakdown. That was fine, he could come apart at the seams later - but right now he had a job to do and mistakes to atone for. Maybe when it was all done he could talk. But right now silence was the only thing that was safe for him. He tried to turn in the girl's arms but she clamped down on his waist and refused to let him move. Sighing quietly, he tried again with a little more force and succeeded in breaking her relatively weak grip on him. Before she could draw away he reached out and caught her, holding her close to his chest. She didn't react for a few seconds, but then wrapped her arms around him again and snuggled into him obviously feeling as cool as he was. Trying not to hunch over her but keep her as warm as possible Cloud leaned back against the railing and held her as she nuzzled his chest sleepily.

'When did I begin to notice she's beautiful?' He thought wistfully, breathing in the scent of her scented shampoo. He'd always seen that she was attractive, in an abstract sense. Wherever they went she was the object of attention, some of it, like Corneo's not that pleasant. But it had always been something he had acknowledged, not really noticed. The sky is blue, Tifa is beautiful. It was so easily a fact that it didn't even warrant noticing. Abruptly he felt like an ass for even thinking about it that way.

But when he had seen her standing on the bridge above him she had looked like an angel. Soft, warm eyes, ivory skin and dark tresses. It had sucked the air out of his lungs and left his head empty. Tifa Lockheart, the closest thing he could really claim to a best friend, even a friend at all, was gorgeous. She'd make some man very lucky.

'And Barret and I will probably end up having a 'talk' with the guy as well…' He smiled slightly at the thought, easily imagining an enraged Tifa berating Barret for threatening her boyfriend as he apologised profusely and squirmed. Cloud saw himself sidling silently towards the nearest door or window to escape her wrath. Maybe they should just send Vincent in… He'd intimidate the guy easily enough just by being there. He resisted the urge to chuckle. Not that a guy with a sword bigger than himself and a man with a gun fused to his arm weren't reason enough to give him pause.

Tifa had settled down in his arms and was just hugging him now. Resting his arms around her he spoke.

"I can't talk to you right now Tif. But when this is all over and you still want me to talk to you, then I will, ok?" Teary ruby eyes looked up at him through strands of midnight hair.

"You'd better Cloud Strife. You're… my best friend. I want to know you're ok." So saying she hugged him again.

'Best friend?' Smiling at the little endearment Cloud returned her embrace a little more then he had been. They stayed like that a while, before Cloud's feet began to feel numb from standing.

"You want to head back to bed Tif?" The girl shook her head into his chest before withdrawing from his arms, to stand shivering on the metal floor.

"No, I think I'm too awake to get back to sleep now. What about you?" Cloud shrugged. He hadn't been planning to go back to sleep anyway. Tifa rolled her eyes at his response. "Well then what are we going to do?" Cloud opened his mouth to suggest cards for a second night, but snapped it shut when she glared at him threateningly. He bit back a smile. He had beaten her at every game they had played last night, frustrating her completely. Eventually she had insisted on playing Snap, a game where her reflexes served her well. So, not cards then. Tifa's glare softened as an idea apparently struck her.

"What about sparring?" Cloud blinked at her.

"Now?" He asked with a tinge of incredulity in his voice. She nodded.

"Yeah, it's a warm night, why not?" Cloud blinked, mulling her suggestion over. She was as good as him with her fists, though for some reason didn't seem to think it and they'd sparred before. It was certainly more effective then beating some of the local wildlife. They weren't much of a challenge any more. He shrugged his acquiescence.

"Sure, why not?" Tifa nodded resolutely.

"Lets go then Cloud." Cloud started forward then stopped suddenly.

"Er, you're gonna change first right?" The young woman blinked at him curiously.

"Why?" Cloud's eye twitched lightly.

"That… might not be your best choice of fighting wear Tif." Tifa looked down at herself and blushed beet red abruptly, startling Cloud. Suddenly speeding towards the door Tifa called back over her shoulder to him.

"Er, I'll, um, meet you outside in a few!" That said she dived out of the room and her dull footsteps were all that Cloud could hear as she ran towards her room. Cloud felt one of the beads of sweat on his brow trickle down his face to his neck.

"What the hell was that about?"

Present

Cloud ducked under her outstretched foot and rolled to the side, avoiding a heel drop with a mixture of luck and skill. Snapping a punch towards her stomach, Cloud felt his hand impact with her forearm as she moved it to block, and pulled his hand back quickly before she could grab it and try to throw him. Quickly snapping up his defence he intercepted a series of strikes to the face, missing one that ploughed into his torso. Coughing briefly, he grabbed her arm and swung her off her feet, watching her spin in the air and land in a crouch grinning.

"What's wrong Cloud? Losing your touch?" She stuck her tongue out and mirth danced in her eyes. Shaking off any last effects from her punch he smirked.

"Just going easy on you to warm up, Tif." Her eyes widened as he leapt upwards bringing his fist down violently and smashing it into the ground where she had been seconds earlier. Blurring to his left he danced out the way of her strikes, avoiding windmill kicks and roundhouses adroitly, matching her easy grin without breaking the beat.

25 months ago

Cloud was leaning against the smooth metal of the Highwind when Tifa leapt down the distance from the upper deck, apparently not seeing much point in using the ladder. Hearing her quiet grunt and the sound of her feet crunching into the grass and dirt he moved round towards the sound, enjoying the warm breeze on his skin. Following her lead he had stepped into his cabin to change into a pair of sweatpants and a loose T-shirt. No need to get his sleepwear sweaty. Tifa grinned when she saw him and skipped over, making Cloud smile at her exuberance. She had changed into a set of clothes similar to his own, though the low lighting made it hard to tell the details.

"Ready to go down Cloud?" Cloud raised an eyebrow and smiled.

"Keep dreaming Tif." She stuck her tongue out at him and fell into a loose fighting stance, barely giving him a chance to follow suit before shooting forwards. Soon enough he lost himself and his troubles in the sparring, ducking back and leaping out of the way of her strikes before returning some of his own. Stumbling slightly as she slammed an elbow into his midriff he was lifted off his feet as she caught him with his guard down and brought a foot upwards into his chest. Spinning in the air he braced his feet against the hull of the airship and launched himself towards her, his kick sailing over her head as she ducked hurriedly.

His turn to catch her off guard, he caught her with two palm strikes before she backed off and shook her head to clear the effects of the hits.

Present

Tifa ducked under a kick and returned one of her own, intending to sweep his legs out from beneath him. Her timing was slightly off and he managed to hop over her leg sweep and grip her from behind, holding her arms to her sides. Tifa blushed fiercely, feeling his chest against her back and his warm skin rubbing against hers. Suddenly feeling hot, she scrambled to break his hold and threw a kick at him to make him back away. Her blush didn't die down though.

'Maybe this wasn't the best idea…'

25 months ago

Having cleared her head Tifa moved forward, on the offensive again. Cloud moved steadily backwards, trying to slap her fists and feet away before they could make contact with him. This was relaxing in a way. It took his mind off anything else as they sparred. Physical work always calmed him down, though he wasn't used to fighting without his sword. It had been a while since he had fought with out a weapon - aside from the times he sparred with Tifa in fact he hadn't had to since basic training. Fortunately his strength and speed helped him keep up with the lithe girl. Otherwise she'd have smeared him across the plains by now.

Present

'This was such a bad idea it wasn't even funny.' Cloud thought darkly. They had been sparring for half an hour now and he was getting more and more uncomfortable. So far they had both managed to press themselves against their opponent numerous times and his attraction to Tifa was getting out of control. Her hair was coming free of the clip and beginning to trail down her neck and she was covered in a fine film of sweat, much like himself, which was making her tight white shirt more than slightly distracting. He caught her arm absently and swung her to the side, letting her momentum carry her away. She was breathing heavily and looked flushed, making her look as beautiful as ever in his eyes.

'Aw shit.'

25 months ago

Tifa stumbled to the side, her attempt at dodging a palm strike resulting in her catching her foot on a rock. Moving forward Cloud's leg twisted and buckled under him and sent him forward to crash into Tifa, sending them both to the floor. The rolled to a stop with Cloud on top, a few inches away from her face. Both of them noted their positions and blushed furiously.

Fate and Irony both love a good joke.

Cloud's eyes riveted themselves to the woman's small lips and found himself wondering if they were as soft as they looked, or what they tasted like. He could smell the scent of Tifa's soap and a thin musk of her sweat overlaid on top. Her arms had found their way around his back and it almost felt like she was holding him down. Wrenching his thoughts off the track they were walking Cloud lifted himself off the prone girl, not noticing her eyes begin to flutter shut in hope of a kiss. By the time he was standing she was too and refused to meet his eyes.

"Er, you ok Tifa?" He asked, rubbing the back of his head and feeling awkward. She nodded and threw him a thin smile in return.

"I think I'm going to turn in Cloud. This... has tired me out more than I expected." The blond nodded, accepting her words at face value. The girl abruptly turned and headed back towards the ship, leaving Cloud to enjoy the warm night alone. Watching her leave, Cloud turned his attention to the south and lay back, staring at the stars without seeing any of them really. He hoped Tifa was ok… she had left rather abruptly. He sighed and closed his eyes. With them shut he couldn't see the red sky. Or Meteor, which was conveniently in the north skies, behind him. He never wanted to see Meteor.

Present

The long grass swished around their legs as they leapt at each other, whipping to the sides as they moved and twisted. Both of them were trying to keep their minds on sparring and nothing else, but it was getting harder and harder to concentrate as time passed.

Abruptly Cloud caught his foot on a rock hidden in the long tussocks sending him sprawling into Tifa's sudden charge and sending them both tumbling. They rolled to a stop with Tifa straddling his chest and staring dazedly down into Cloud's eyes.

As far as Fate and Irony are concerned the good ones never get old.

Tifa stared down at the man beneath her, her mind unhelpfully drawing forth the memories of the last time this had happened. She had dared to hope that time… and it had hurt so goddamn much when he had moved away from her. She had bawled herself to sleep that night, stifling her sobs into a pillow in case she drew attention from the others. It wasn't fair that it should happen again!

'It's not fair! It's not!' She blinked rapidly, feeling tears threaten to fall for the second time that day.

Cloud stared up at her, breathing in her beauty, losing himself in her soft garnet eyes. He wanted so much just to reach out and kiss her, he could almost feel his muscles jerking to do that very thing and only constant refusal from his brain to allow it was stopping them. His arm raised slightly and he gritted his teeth a little at the effort he had to expand to stop it moving further. The last time this had happened he hadn't thought anything of it… had thought about Tifa finding a boyfriend and he and Barret having to make sure to talk to him about treating Tifa well… hadn't even minded the thought of her being with someone else! Now the idea burned, sending his stomach churning and his heart searing.

Tifa shifted uneasily finding herself wondering if it would be so bad to just this once lean down and kiss him. She could claim it was the heat of the moment and everything would go back to normal afterwards. It sounded so tempting… She could feel herself moving forward in anticipation.

Except maybe things wouldn't be the same. Perhaps he wouldn't be able to see her the same way he had before if they kissed now. Perhaps things would become awkward and strained between them. Perhaps… he'd leave.

'No! I can't let that happen! I can't let him leave! I.. can't live without him!' Terror swept through the girl. If he was gone than there would be nothing left for her. Her family, her hometown were all gone, and if the man she loved desperately left too… there would be nothing left at all.

Fear ripped through Cloud at the idea of her finding someone else and leaving him alone. She was all he had left... His parents and home were gone and he loved her more than life itself. He needed her with him. He couldn't let her leave. Life wouldn't be worth anything without her.

As Tifa shifted to stand Cloud leaned up and caught her wrists, pulling her down towards him. She hardly had time to think before his lips were pressed against her own and all possibility of thought disappeared completely.

Cloud felt her lips pressed against his, feeling soft and warm and tasting of strawberries. Slowly he reached up behind her neck and ran his fingers through her hair, coming caught quickly when he realised that the clip still held her hair up. Gently unclipping it he felt her dark tresses cascade over her shoulders and brush past his face. This done, he went back to running his hands through her silken strands.

Tifa felt her hair being unclipped and dully noted it slipping past her cheeks and over her shoulders. Closing her eyes and loosing herself in the kiss she decided that it was alright to enjoy this kiss. It was just a kiss after all. There friendship probably wouldn't change at all. Besides he started it. Feeling Cloud lie back on the ground she moved with him, leaning in to his chest as his free arm snaked it's way around her waist and held her too him. Before she knew it her arms were clasped around her neck with the grass they were lying on rubbing against the outside of her forearms.

Eventually having to break for air, Tifa leaned back slightly and stared at his slightly stunned face. Suddenly all the terror the kiss had driven away came rushing back, smashing into her with the force of a waterfall. All her reasons for accepting his kiss suddenly seemed weak and pointless, providing little defence against the growing certainty that she had made a huge mistake.

Watching her eyes clear, Cloud resisted the urge to gnaw on his bottom lip in worry. It was becoming apparent to him that his panic induced advances might not have been the best idea he had ever had. Watching her eyes flooding with fear he decided that the best he could hope for was to contain the damage to the best of his ability.

The terror reached a fever pitch as Tifa watched Cloud struggle for something to say and it suddenly didn't make any sense to hide her feelings anymore. What was the point? It was all crashing down around her anyway…

Cloud opened his mouth to speak hoping whatever he managed to say would make the problems all go away, but not holding out much hope.

"Tifa, I… I'm sorry, I shouldn't have-"

"I love you." Cloud's brain froze over. The it woke up, went out for a frapachino and a cigarette to help it consider if what it had just heard had in fact been correct, then decided to communicate it's thoughts on the subject to Cloud through the medium of interpretative dance. Cloud then vocalised these thoughts faithfully.

"Guh?" Tifa looked away.

"I love you Cloud. I have… since we met up again in Midgar." Tears dripped out of her eyes and pattered onto his shocked face, sliding down his cheeks. "I'm sorry!" Tifa tried to leap to her feet, but Cloud's suddenly iron vice grip on her wrist stopped her. Abruptly swinging himself off the ground, the blond man rolled them both over so that he was on top staring into her startled eyes with determination.

"Did you mean that?" Tifa blinked tearily. "Did you mean what you just said? Do you love me?" She nodded slowly, tiny sobs making her frame shudder. Cloud stared at her for a few seconds longer before pushing his lips against her once again, kissing her with abandon. Tifa's eyes widened, then slowly closed in pleasure, feeling his arms around her again.

'He's kissing me… kissing me! No one else but me!' Cloud's lips moved from hers and traced fire and ice down her throat. 'He's kissing me, not her or anyone else…' The thought stuck, rammed through her heart like an iron spike. 'Not… Aeris…' Pushing him off forcefully, she scrambled away from him on her back trying to put some distance between the two. Her vision was blurred from her weeping and she eventually collapsed in a heap and sobbed.

Cloud dragged himself up, looking stunned and hurt.

"T-Tifa? What's wrong? I-"

"You don't love me!"

"What? I know I didn't say anything, but I do, Tifa! I-"

"No you don't! You love Aeris, not me!" Cloud winced as if he had been slapped and dragged a hand through his hair in pain and frustration, watching her tiny form wracked with sobbing.

"Tifa…" She spoke into her arms, not strong enough to even lift her head to face him.

"I always knew you loved her Cloud. Everyone did. I.. I refuse to be just something to help you forget Cloud Strife. I won't be a whore-" Cloud blurred forward and sieved her arms, pulling her upright and making her stare, shocked into his frozen eyes.

"Never say that again." Tifa swallowed, trying to stifle her crying. "I would never want you to do that Tifa. Don't even think about it!" His voice and eyes softened again as he watched her. "Aeris.. Aeris isn't here, Tifa. She hasn't been for two years. I don't love Aeris. I love you." Tifa blinked uncertainly, her resolve crumbling under the force of his words. His face was hovering a few inches from hers, so close to her lips.

"I won't be your second prize.." She whispered, unable to rip her eyes from his. Cloud shook his head.

"No. You won't be." Hearing his words Tifa pushed forwards and kissed him, trying to force herself into his arms, and knocking him off his feet again in the process. Neither of them much cared though, lost as they were in each others arms. Time stood still for them, keeping them in stasis while they explored each other's mouths, moaning quietly into each other. Finally, the unfortunate need for air forcing them apart the two of the lay there, Tifa's head tucked under Cloud's chin comfortably and their arms encircling each other. Finally she spoke.

"You love me?"

"More than I thought it was possible to love anyone."

"And… Aeris?" Cloud sighed.

"Zack loved Aeris. And I think she saw him in me too. I don't know how I felt about her, his emotions and feelings were so much a part of me that I'm not sure if I'll ever be sure where one stopped and the other started… But I know for certain I love you, Tifa. Nothing changes that." Tifa tightened her grip on his neck a little, trying to burrow into his chest for comfort.

They lay in silence, glorying in the feeling of each other close together. Wiping her tears away Tifa giggled suddenly.

"You know… we need to celebrate." Cloud blinked up at her.

"How do you want to do that?" She smiled down at him, then flicked his nose.

"You get to take me shopping!" Cloud twitched.

"Er…"

"Besides you need to make up for waiting this long to tell me you love me!"

"What! You didn't tell me either!" Tifa shook her head dismissively.

"Details and semantics, Cloud Strife." Cloud glared at her on outrage. Smiling down at him from his chest she smiled and blinked her large eyes cutely. He groaned and rolled his head back to thump into the ground behind him.

"Fine. If it'll make you happy."

"Woo!" She snuggled in again, her objective completed. "You make me happy, Cloud." She whispered rubbing her cheek into his neck.

"That's all I want, Tifa." He chuckled. "If I make you so happy does that mean… I don't have to take you shopping?"

"Nope!" Tifa grinned into his chest.

"Dammit." Cloud smirked into the blue sky. Then the firmament was blocked out by Tifa's glowing ruby eyes, her face serious once again.

"I love you Cloud Strife."

"Good. Because I love you too, Tifa Lockheart." Their eyes closed and they come together for one more sweet kiss.

It's done! WOO - GODDAMN - HOOO! Seriously, I'm dancing right now! This has taken far to long and it's finally done! I think I'll say it again… WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! I'm so happy, I've taken my pants off! That's how happy I am! Happy enough not to wear pants!

…

Yeah well anyway, I hope this second chapter lives up to the promise of the first. If there are any problems you have with it please say so and if I agree after listening to your reasoning I might change it. I have done such in the past. It's always nice to have a second point of view anyway. And now…

LOOK MA! NO PANTS!... Ma? Oh crud I think I broke her….