A/N: This is rather odd since the idea came to me for this fic during today's church service…it's just so depressing that it doesn't seem to fit my style. I also had some inspiration from "My December" by Linkin Park, since music is needed to live, and this song has been on repeat since I found it. I always want to know what you think and so lemme know if this is a good change or a bad one, don't worry because I'm not even sure which it is. Square-Enix would make me cry if they wrote this and so they can claim all of FF, but please don't let this happen to my beloved Cloud! Now that that's said, on to the reading of the story…short I know, but sweet, too.
"Snow Covered Hope"
By MakoRain
The snow fell all around, slow and gentle as if it knew of the occasion it was intruding upon with its white elegance. The only sound was the wind whistling through the trees, singing a sad song as silhouettes faded away until only one figure remained. A form in dark garments of mourning and hair as black flowed freely kneeled by the fallen, the hero who fought for this world and gave his life to save it once again. No one had moved him, instead leaving him untouched as the snow started to dust his form, unable to melt without body heat. His skin was cold to the touch, face no longer able to share that rare smile, lips blue and frozen; eyes unseeing and no longer holding that spark of determination, only showing the cold hard reality of death.
Tifa looked into those eyes, once so blue and intense that she would get lost in them at the slightest glance. She could see the swirls of grey sky above reflected in the orbs and she gently moved her fingers to close the unblinking windows to his soul extinguished soul. Cloud now looked peaceful despite the way he left this world…it was almost as if he were sleeping. But why would he be sleeping in the snow? The thought struck Tifa as odd and a faint smile crossed her lips, recalling the times she would wake up next to him and just watch him slumber. It was the only time she would see the Cloud Strife of her childhood, the boy who had taken her heart, without the barriers and seclusion of the man he had become. She still loved him, both past a present, and was comforted by the fact that the last few months before all that happened were filled with joy and love form him, with her by his side.
Tifa kissed his cold lips one last time and clung to this last thought as her time with Cloud came to an end; his body dispersing into the Life stream. The blue green aura mingled with the white snow flakes and she felt somewhat lifted, thinking about how winter was his favorite season and how he had loved to play with her in the snow. It was this last memory that got her to stand, watching as her true love's soul returned to the Planet. She could not cry; she had done so already for so long that if she did now, she would drown in her sorrow. Still, a single tear willed its way through, escaping her eye and slowly slid down her cheek. The cold seeped in and the trail froze, lost in the wind as it carried it away.
"You're not alone, Cloud. I will always be with you." Her soul whispered these final laments while she walked away, her hair catching once again on the wind. Tifa felt a final embrace from her love before it faded away forever, mingling with the last traces of snow.