Disclaimer: Don't own Final Fantasy 7 nor it's characters. But that doesn't mean I can't write about them!
Chapter 1: A new life
"YES!" Yuffie shouted out loud excitedly. "WE DID IT!"
Yes, they finally did it. They finally had gotten rid of their enemies. They stopped Meteor, they killed Jenova, they destroyed Shinra inc., and he finally beaten Sephiroth once and for all. He had avenged all the lives that Sephiroth took with his long incredible massive sword, the Masamune. To think once that Cloud used to admire him, wanting to be like him just to be noticed. He never did think he would have to neither face him again nor destroy Shinra inc. along with the rebel group, AVALANCHE. But of course there were loses, his hometown, his from Soldier, Zack and the flower girl, Aeris. But it was finally over; they saved the planet and created a new era.
Cloud looked down from the flying Shinra machine Highwind. He stared down at Midgar city, where he and his companion's journey to save the planet began. Meteor was headed right towards Midgar and almost shattered the whole entire city along with the rest of the planet. Holy didn't work, was it strong enough? Or did Holy decide that Meteor was the right for the planet that humans were killing the planet and it was better off without them. But the lifestream saved the planet, and the human race. It was a close call.
Cloud looked back at his fellow members and friends of AVALANCHE. Yuffie was still break dancing from her excitement. Cid had a smoke and grinned from ear to ear. He didn't even cuss out Yuffie when she almost made him drop his cigarette, which was a huge improvement. Barret gave a bear hug to Red XIII. "Hey…! I …can't…bre," Red said breathless, Cloud thought he was going to squeeze him to death. Cait Sith was doing his so-called victory dance. Cloud let out a diminutive smile.
Vincent was away from all of the commemoration. His eyes were closed and he was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. He was silent as always and motionless as ever. He had always kept to himself and usually he seemed to be in deep thought. Cloud thought with all the excitement and all their enemies defeated he would at least lighten up, just a little bit. As Cloud walked past him, he thought he had caught a glimpse of Vincent smiling. It wasn't his cold smile either, it was warm and gentle. Cloud laughed to himself.
Realizing one person was missing that he wanted to see, Cloud went to go find his childhood friend Tifa. He lost her through out the excitement and celebration. He thought she would celebrate with Yuffie, who was still break dancing, or hang out with Barret and the rest of the AVALANCHE members. When he finally found her she was away from the group like Vincent. Cloud walked towards her and noticed that she stood completely still looking down at her feet in shock.
"What's up?" Cloud asked, as walked closer to her.
Tifa jerked her head up, realizing Cloud was right in front of her. She stared at him for a moment as if she was trying to see if it's really him that stood there in front of her. She took a step back and opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. She looked bewildered. Cloud figured the shock of actually defeating Jenova and Sephiroth, saving the planet, and living to tell the tale got to her.
"I…" Tifa finally spoke slowly, barely above a whisper. She moved her hands on her face, covering her mouth for a second before speaking again. "…I…we did it Cloud. It's over. I can't believe it. The planet's been saved."
Cloud nodded in agreement. "Yeah. It's over. We came a long way for this. But we finally did it. We all worked really hard, and everyone did a great job on their part. We couldn't have done it without their help. I suppose it would kind of a shock really, but—"
Before Cloud could say anything else, Tifa threw her arms around him, almost knocking him over.
"Tifa!"
"Oh Cloud! It's over! We did it!" She said in a more excited and cheerful voice.
Cloud was taken back by her action. Her breasts were pressed hard against his chest (not that he was complaining) and her smile was wide. Cloud had a sudden urge in his stomach. He felt glad that he was close to her. To be hugging her like this was… indescribable, beyond believable. Cloud blushed deeply thinking of Tifa like that. He took a few seconds to push his thoughts aside and retaliate to hug her back.
After another few seconds they broke apart. They froze staring, studying each other eyes with great affection. Cloud thought her big brown eyes sparked with the most attraction he had ever seen in a long time. His stomach gave a tight twist, desiring to be closer. His heart pounding so hard, he thought Tifa could've heard it. She's…Cloud thought. She's my friend. I…I…can't…I'm not worthy…I…can't… Their face closing in on each other, Cloud's mind went blank.
Tifa closed in to Cloud's ear and whisper low enough so only Cloud could hear. "Cloud," Tifa said softly, her voice ticking Cloud's ear. "You're a really great leader, you know. We would've never done it without you."
Cloud went back to his senses in a snap. What was he thinking, he thought to himself. "Oh…well, I couldn't have done it without you guys. You guys really did help me out a lot."
Tifa giggled and pulled away. Smiling in a teasing sort of way. "You're so modest. We could've never done it without you. You and your takin' leader thing. You were always acting so cool and cocky."
"Acting?" Cloud mumbled under his breath.
"You knew where to go and what to do." Tifa smiled faded and blushed a little. She stared into Cloud's eyes once again with more enthusiasm than ever. "Listen Cloud…" Tifa said, softly again. "I'm…I…"
"YO!" A rough briskly voice said, that made Cloud and Tifa jumped. They looked to see Barret, their huge friend, waving at them. "Get ya' ass'ss over her'! We've gott'a celebrate y'all!"
Tifa and Cloud exchanged looks, and smiled at each other. They walked together with Barret to celebrate with the rest of the members of AVALANCHE (Yuffie still break-dancing).
After an hour or so of celebrating, Cid mentioned where he should drop them off. Cloud knew this would happen sooner or later. He knew they would have to go their separate ways, they had their own lives to get to. Cloud even said, the night before they fought Sephiroth and Jenova that they should go to visited their loved ones to tell them what they are fighting for. And that if they don't come back, he'll understand. They all came back and fought aside with him. Now they will go back to their love ones. For a while now, AVALANCHE had been Cloud's only family. With them gone, where would he go now?
Red XIII said that they should spend the next three days together in the Gold Saucer before they go their separate ways. It was going to be the last time they were going to see each other for a long time. Everyone agreed and they finished discussing what they would do. After a couple of minutes, Cid marked a new destination and headed off to Gold Saucer.
"Erm…Cloud?" A young female voice said. "Can I have a word with you?"
"Sure." Cloud said.
They moved away from the rest of group, Yuffie leading Cloud towards a dark quite corner.
"Mm? What's up Yuffie?" Cloud said, but as soon as he finished his sentence he knew what she wanted.
The young jovial teenage looked very agitated like she was preparing for a great speech. She took a deep breathe before speaking. "Since we finished Sepiroth and there's no more Shinra, we don't have to do any more fighting right?"
The way she spoke Cloud figured that she rehearsed this.
For a long time, Yuffie tried to get his and his fellow companies Materia. One time, she actually stole their Materia and ran off to her hometown, Wutai. It took forever to find her. Even when they did found her she tricked them and took off with their Materia yet again. After a while, they finally found her again and got their Materia back. She said she was sorry and promised that she'll never do it again. It was fortunate that they decided to let her come along with them again.
"So," Yuffie continued, "so…since you guys won't be fighting anymore, I have your Materia!" Yuffie said hopefully.
Cloud knew why she wanted Materia so much however. She wanted to make her land powerful again. Since they lost the war with Shinra, her country had become poor and weak. Yuffie resented that and swore to find something that would restore their honor and make them strong. Then she thought that Materia would bring her land back to life, so she set off on a quest for Materia.
Cloud sighed. "We are done fighting. I suppose it wouldn't hurt giving you the Materia now since we don't really need it."
Yuffie let out a loud shriek. "Oh my gawd! Really! Oh Cloud, I love you!"
Cloud rolled his eyes and continued. "So which Materia do you want?"
Yuffie looked like she would kiss Cloud. "Well for starters, the major ones I want are Phoenix, Bahamut Zero, Hades, and Knights of the—"
"Hell no!"
"But you said," Yuffie protested. "Y-you said that I could have your Materia."
Cloud shook his head, and said simply, "Yes I did said that, but you're asking for too much. Those Materia are rare Yuffie."
"But you don't need them now!"
He should've known that Yuffie was going want those Materia. Not that he didn't trust her but Cloud still had a bad feeling letting Yuffie have all those strong infrequent Materia.
"Come on Cloud!" Yuffie pressed on, "Sharing is caring!"
"…Where did you get that from?"
Yuffie pressed on the subject several times on their way to Gold Saucer, trying to convince Cloud to give her his Materia. She said she would take good care of it and wouldn't lose it. It was getting on Cloud's nerves, having Yuffie around him, bugging him about Materia. He thought he was going to snap. Finally to shut her up, Cloud said he'd think about it and make his decision on their last day in Gold Saucer. Yuffie was in a good mood all through the trip.
As they waited, Cloud walked around the airship. He began thinking about what will everyone do now. Where will everyone go? Cloud knew Yuffie was going back to her Wutai, her homeland, with all her new Materia and probably his. Cid will go back to Rocket Town and back to his normal self. Red XIII will probably go back to his homeland, Cosmo Cannon, and protect it like his father and mother did before him. Barret will go back home to his daughter and start their normal lives together. Reeve, now that Shinra is gone, will probably start rebuilding Midgar to make it a better place to live. Cloud suspected that he should throw his toy away, Cait Sith.
With Vincent however, Cloud was unsure what he was going to do or where would he go. Vincent has always been capricious. Cloud thought that Vincent wouldn't return when Cloud said they should go back to their loved ones before the battle of Sephiroth. He would understand if they didn't return. Vincent returned to fight Sephiroth the next day. This surprised Cloud; he was always so colder than the others. He didn't seem like he cared, with the exception of Hojo. With Hojo dead, he was certain that Vincent would no longer stay with them anymore; yet Vincent came back to fight along side with him and the rest of the AVALANCHE. But now since everything is over, where would he go? Cloud wasn't too sure but he suspected Vincent would travel or go back to his casket to sleep. Everything that Vincent does is unpredictable.
Cloud and Tifa had no loved ones to go home to. Cloud's only family was AVALANCHE, and he knew Tifa felt the same way. Tifa will probably start a new bar. She was a great cook; there was no doubt about that, so there won't be a problem. She just has to decide where to open it.
But what would he do? Where would he go? It had been a long time since he had peace. He was a mercenary before he decided to officially join AVALANCHE. Now finishing his journey, he really didn't want to fight anymore. He didn't have a reason nor the will any longer.
It took another hour to get to Gold Saucer. It was the same and pretty as always. Appealing fireworks shot to the sky with brilliant colors. There were more people there than the last time he visited. He could hear them talking about how Meteor almost destroyed Midgar but Meteor was destroyed before it could completely obliterate the city and the world.
People had their own versions on how Meteor was stopped. Some said that Shinra prepared a new weapon in Midgar at the last minute and destroyed Meteor. Barret couldn't help but stop and cuss out whoever said something like that. Others said that the Planet protected itself and destroyed Meteor.
Some of the rumors were not to far from the truth.
Cloud didn't mind if they didn't get the credit, as long as the planet was saved and Sephiroth finally beaten.
Cloud and the others agreed not to tell the people what really happened. That Sephiroth summoned Meteor, that they defeated Sephiroth, and that the lifestream saved the planet. They were just going to enjoy the free time that they've got together. Without worries or any destinations, they were just there to have a good time.
Cid, Barett, and Yuffie went to the Chocobo Square to bet on their Chocobos. Red XIII went to the game room to win some more GP. Cait Sith walked around and told people their fortunes. Vincent went back to the inn, saying he was tired and needed to rest. Tifa went to the Event Square to see a play. Cloud remembered having a part in one of those plays. They didn't give him any lines or any directions, they just told him to act it out and they would do the rest. Somehow he'd managed and went with the flow of the play. Looking at it now, he can laugh about it.
Cloud decided to go to the Speed Square, which were Roller Coaster and a shooting game combined. It was pretty fun and one of Cloud's favorite rides was there. Once he got there however, the ride had broken. Cloud turned back in disappointment and wondered what he should do now.
Without any warning he bumped into someone.
"Hey!"
Cloud looked to see a young man. He only seemed to be a couple of years younger than him. He had staggering protracted black hair with navy blue eyes to match. His face was slightly pale and agitated. He reminded Cloud of someone, but he couldn't put his finger on it.
"Watch it!" He barked and left with in vast storm.
Cloud shrugged it off and walked on. He decided he should go back to the inn and wait for the rest of the group. What a waste of a first day, he thought to himself. But then again, he was pretty tired. He had a long day.
But everyone else seemed to be at full energy. Cloud knew it was their way of celebrating but...
Once he got to the inn, he decided to wait on his friends before calling a day. Vincent was already asleep when he got there.
It took fifteen minutes for Yuffie, Cid and Barret to get back.
"Guess what Cloud!" Yuffie said excitedly.
"#$&! That racing track was &$# rig!" Cid said angrily.
"Yea'! We didn't win a damn thang'." Barret said also angrily.
"Oooh! You just got to have the great ninja skills that I have!" Yuffie said, observably taunting them. "The great ninja sense is a very important tool. You can anticipate the opponent every move, including a chocobo. Something you guys wouldn't understand! You guys got to have proper training and disciple to learn those kinds of techniques. It's very difficult for muscle headed hauteur, such as you selves. "
"…What the &$ did you call us!" Cid shouted.
"Great ninja sense my wide ass!" Barret said.
"Unlike you guys," Yuffie continued, "I have a key sense of those kind of stuff. That's a big part of being a great ninja."
"That's some BS, man." Barret said.
"Yo! What the &$ did you called us!" Cid shouted again.
"You see, that's the kind of attitude that won't let became a great ninja like myself. Now, if you excuse me, I think I'll turn in." Yuffie said as she ran to her room.
"She really won and you guys didn't?" Cloud asked them. "How many times?"
"Every &$# time!" Cid said, furiously.
"Yeah, it's a damn shame." Barret said. "I'm with Cid. Somethin' was up today, man. Hmph. Great ninja sense my ass."
Barret and Cid were cussing loudly all the way to the rooms.
They looked like they had lots of fun, Cloud thought. If only he wasn't so tried. He felt left out. He knew it would've been fun to hang out with them. Seeing Barret and Cid swearing endlessly was a hilarious sight. He could only image the look on their faces when Yuffie won each time.
Another thirty minutes of waiting, Red XII, Cait Sith and Tifa came back.
Red came inside with a tired grin. "Played so many games. Got lots of GP though."
"And I've still got it!" Cait Sith said out loud. "People were crowding me all because of my fortunes!"
"Are you ok?" Tifa asked.
Cloud nodded. "Yeah, just kind of sleepy."
Tifa smiled. "I am too. I fell asleep as soon as the play started."
"Was the play that boring?"
Both of them laughed.
"Well, I'm going to call it a night." Cloud said.
Tifa let out a small yawn and stretch out her arms. "Me too."
Cloud let out a small smile and they walked towards they rooms. I'll do more stuff tomorrow, he thought.
Cloud got up the next day; eager to spend more time with his friends. Come to find out unfortunately, Yuffie, Barret, and Cid went to the Chocobo Event to bet again. Red XIII went to the Battle Event to fight along with Vincent. Cait Sith walked around again, telling people their fortunes. How long was I sleeping? He thought to himself.
"So they all left already, huh?" Cloud asked Tifa, who stayed behind to tell him where everyone went off.
"Yeah," Tifa said.
The squad all scatted before Cloud even woke up. They all started the day early and wasted no time going to have fun. Whether it was enthusiasm or the fascination to have a tremendous time before they go their separate ways, Cloud felt he was being recluse. The leftover days would pass down rapidly, and it will probably be the last time he see his fellow companions for a while. He wanted to make the best of it, a memory to remember before departing.
The days they have together, the harmony they have equally is a time of gratification. Cloud decided to enjoy the time he have with them. Even if it's limited, it was the time to relax and amusement.
He still knew the days were going to go by faster than expected, so he would enjoy the time he has left. Everyone else were enjoying their free time and making the best of it as well.
Cloud turned his attention to Tifa. She was staring at her feet, avoiding his eyes and looked very edgy.
"Mm? What's wrong?" Cloud said anxiously.
Tifa snap her head towards him by the sound of his voice and gave him a nippy small smile. She opened her mouth to speak, but within split seconds she closed it again, and smiled yet again. "I," she started, "I thought about what I was going to say, but it's kind'a embarrassing..."
She saw the confusing look on Cloud's face and shook her head to let him know not to worry about it and continued on. "It's nothing. Let's go ahead and catch up with the rest of the guys."
"…Right." Cloud hesitated agreed.
What was so embarrassing that Tifa couldn't tell him? They had been very close since their journey. He didn't think there would be anything embarrassing substance that they could not share with one another. But then again...
Tifa led Cloud out of the inn briefly. After a big discussion, they both decided on going to the Chocobo Event where Barret, Yuffie, and Cid were. Tifa thought it would be fun betting. Cloud thought it would be humorous watching Barret and Cid bet and lose against Yuffie, since both have such a short temper it was a sight to see.
When Cloud and Tifa got there, it wasn't hard to find their companions. Barret was so large; he was a clear figure to see to anybody. And Cid with his inappropriate mouth was cussing out loud as usually. Yuffie was also saying some intimate stuff out loud. They weren't actually making a small scene, but that's what Cloud expected from them.
"Ooh, hi!" Yuffie yelled out when she noticed them.
"Hi Yuffie," Tifa greeted.
"Yo' spiky head!" Barret said as he walked closer to greet them too. "Ya' fin'lly decided 'ter wake up, huh?"
A sudden regret swept Cloud yet again. He wanted to be there along with the whole gang, instead of sleeping away. Not showing any of his sudden feelings, Cloud forced out a small smile. Not knowing what to say, he just nodded his head.
"So what brings you two here?" Cid said, joining in the conversation.
"We just came to see how you guys were doing," Tifa replied.
"Yuffie jus' won again." Barret started. "I swear, 'dis betting game isn't fo' me."
"Anyway," Yuffie said, with satisfaction in her voice, "are you guys are going to bet on come chocobos?"
"Yeah, since we're here." Cloud said.
"What about you?" Tifa asked anxiously.
"Oh erm, we were just about to leave." Yuffie said. "That was our last bet, we were going to leave just after that."
"B'sides, 'dis place is rigged anyway!" Barret added.
"Yeah well," Cid said. "Have fun you two. We'll see you at the inn."
"Yeah, see you." Yuffie said.
And with that, all three of them left.
Cloud motioned his head towards Tifa again. She looked off towards Yuffie, Barret, and Cid with a content look on her face. She noticed Cloud was looking at her and responded with a warm smile.
"Are you ready to lose Cloud?" Tifa begin, obviously trying to intimidate him to bet against her.
Cloud chuckled and both started betting on the Chocobos. Within an hour of playing, Cloud did not won a single game, but Tifa won a few. Cloud began to know why Barret and Cid got mad. Maybe it was the luck? But Tifa won so much that Cloud just loss the will to play. It seemed that Barret and Cid were right about the place being rigged.
With Cloud quitting on playing the game, he suggested that they do something else. He recommended that they should go to the Battle Event to check on Vincent and Red XIII. Tifa didn't disregard of the idea and both headed towards the Battle Event area.
The Battle Event was Cloud's favorite place in Gold Saucer. In the Battle Event you were suppose to fight different opponents, depending on how long you last you'll get high points. With those points you can buy different prices. Cloud thought it was a great workout to tests his skills. He used to go there whenever he can to test himself. But Cloud had lost the desire to fight now and only wanted to go there to see what Vincent and Red XIII were doing.
Vincent spotted them as soon as they got there. He was standing with his arms cross impatiently as if he was waiting for someone. With Cloud and Tifa in his sight, he gave a little small nod as he walked over to greet them. Red XIII saw Cloud and Tifa shortly after Vincent. Red XIII ran gracefully towards them. "Hi!" He greeted blissful.
"Hey," Tifa also greeted elatedly. "We just came from the Chocobo Event."
"…Wasn't that where Yuffie and the others where at?" Vincent asked.
"Yeah," Cloud answered. "But they left already. They didn't tell us where they were going but I think they went back to the inn. I thought they were going to play some more."
"Oh," Red XIII started. "We're tied from all that fighting in there, but we won a lot of prices! We were planning on going back to the inn, though."
"Ooh. Really?" Tifa said with regretful tone of voice.
"Yeah, we're tried." Red XIII said. "We're going to take a break for a while at the inn. See ya'."
And with that, both of them left.
"That's strange." Cloud said thoughtful.
Tifa turned towards him and let out a confused look. "What is?"
"Didn't they seem to be rushing a bit?" Cloud said. "To get back to the inn I mean. They left pretty fast without really talking. Doesn't it look that why to you?"
Tifa shook her head. "Not at all," she said simply.
Cloud raised his eyebrows. "Really?"
"Yeah."
Cloud tried to ponder on it a bit, but sighed in defeat. "Never mind…Yeah, I guess you're right."
Tifa smiled gleefully. "You worry too much."
Cloud and Tifa discussed where they were going to go next. But in the end, they just end up randomly walking around going on different rides. For a while, Cloud forgot how to have fun. Being there with Tifa was the most fun he had in quite a while.
"Oh, it's getting late. We should get back to inn." Tifa said after one of their rides. "The others might be there."
Cloud had forgotten all about them. "Oh yeah." Cloud said scratching the top of his head. He had simply lost track of the time.
Cloud and Tifa headed back to the inn. When they got to the inn, Cloud was a little bit stunned at what saw. The inn was full of bright rich, vibrant colorful decorations like it was a great homecoming. There was a long stretched table in the middle section of the inn. On it was large size chocolate and vanilla cakes along with ice cream and other delicious foods.
It reminded Cloud of some kid's big surprise birthday party. And it seemed like he was that kid that was suppose to get surprised. He looked around and saw all his companies all enormous smiles on their faces. Even Vincent, with his cold and mysterious features gave Cloud a small and contented face. He turned to Tifa to find she was looking at him with the same massive smile as his fellow companies.
Cloud should've have known she was in on it as well. He responded with a smile of himself.
"So what about it?" Yuffie said first. "Are you surprised? We put a lot of work in this, surprising you and all."
Cloud turned towards Yuffie and let out another smile. "I hate to break it to you," Cloud said smoothly. "But I was on to you guys at the very beginning."
"Yeah right!" Yuffie said delightedly. "You were surprised and you know it!"
"Anyway," Cid cut in. "Let's hurry the #$ up and get on with the party. I haven't eaten all day and I'm starvin'!"
They partied mostly all night and almost all day the next the day. Cloud was such in a good mood that he didn't mind when Yuffie asked about his Materia. He decided that he'd give her almost all of his Materia, he didn't need it anymore anyway. But sooner or later, the party had to end. Late in the afternoon, they had to go their separate ways. It was the start of their new life.
A/N: Well, that's the first chapter. Make sure you read the second chapter and review! And thanks for reading this boring fanfic