the story begins after advent children. cloti, cloud tifa, call it what you want. its my first time writing a fanfic so please go easy on me! enjoy!
The rain slid down her silky smooth hair, trickling onto her cream- colored skin. "Thank you Aries… Thank you for everything. "She whispered to the rain. Now sitting on the cold cement steps that lead up to 7th Heaven, Tifa Lockhart had been close to losing everything she loved and cherished just moments ago. To be able to be sitting there and crying unnoticed in the rain seemed almost unbelievable for her. She owed all of her hope of happiness to one person. "Thank you." Tifa repeated. Tifa tilted her head towards the sky, taking in the serenity of the moment. The roads clear of any traffic, the sky filled with stars. Closing her eyes, she reminisced on the day's painful events. "Cloud! " Tifa screamed as she witnessed the explosion. Seconds ago she was rejoicing over Sephiroth's defeat. Now teary-eyed and face pale, Tifa cupped her hands over her face and sobbed, "You can't leave yet… I still have so much to tell you Cloud..." It was then a familiar voice rang in her mind, 'Go to the church, and there you will find him.' Tifa shot up, eyes puffy and red, turned to Cid and murmured, "The church..." She shook her head violently, water sprinkling all over herself. 'He's still alive; he's still with me…' Tifa reminded herself. She tried focusing her thoughts on something else and her eyes rested on a small figure in the distance nearing at a quick pace. A smile crept across her lips as she made out the spiky hair and the sound of a motorcycle.
Thoughts raced through his mind as Cloud rode fenrir through the quiet, deserted streets of edge. It was late evening and everyone was probably making preparations for bed after a long day. 'Maybe I shouldn't have stayed out so late helping them set up shelters…' Cloud thought as he stifled a yawn. He was beat after such a long day of events happening one after another. After a long ride, 7th Heaven finally came into view. Squinting through the rain, Cloud spotted a small figure sitting on the porch of 7th Heaven, drenched in the rain. "Why isn't she asleep yet…" he mumbled, clearly unhappy with Tifa's decision to wait for him in the cold rain. He sped up and zipped through puddles of water, causing water to splash up on the pavements. Coming to a halt at the garage of 7th Heaven, Cloud stopped the engine and without even bothering to park the bike, he hopped off it and dashed towards Tifa who stood up abruptly at his unusual entrance. "Wha…?" before she could finish her sentence, Cloud herded her into the house and out of the rain hastily. Only when Cloud had a fluffy towel wrapped around her did he let her speak. "What wer…" "Why were you sitting in the rain? Look! You're drenched!" he cut her off as he was drying her hair with another towel. Tifa didn't know what to say. On one hand she was delighted that Cloud still cared about her but on the other hand she was frustrated with him for coming home so late. Cloud noticed her silence and stopped drying her hair which was in a complete mess now. Before he could lecture her again, Cloud stared at her now disheveled hair and was overwhelmed with laughter. Tifa astounded at Cloud's sudden outburst of laughter, placed her hands on her hips and questioned, "What is SO funny Mister Strife?" Cloud had already collapsed on the floor clutching his ribs and laughing hard. Tifa bent down and gave his ribs an impatient dig but Cloud only responded by pointing to her hair. Tifa glanced at her reflection in the nearest window and gave a small 'oh' before rushing to her room to fix her bombastic hair leaving Cloud sprawled on the sleek wooden floor of the bar trying his best to stifle his laughter.
Tifa sat down before her dressing table and tackled her hair with a comb. After a few strokes, her hair began to fall into place with a few strands sticking out. Tifa let out a sigh of relief as she set her comb back down onto the table. She stared into the mirror and was deep in thought. She was very thankful for her hair acting the way it did at the right time. Or she would have never have gotten out of such a situation with Cloud. Never has Cloud reprimanded her… Or laughed at her for that matter. 'I guess whatever happened today really did change him for the better.' Tifa pondered over that thought. "I feel lighter now." Cloud said as he sheathed his sword. "Maybe I lost some weight from all that dilly-dallying." Tifa smiled and her reflection in the mirror smiled back at her. "I'll just have to deal with him tomorrow…" Tifa muttered under her breath as she yawned and crept into bed.
Cloud's laughter wore off after awhile as he was dead beat. He found his eyelids drooping and decided to take a rest on floor. 'I'll just get up in 5 minutes… Besides, I really need the rest.' Cloud running the excuse through his mind to make sure it sounded convincing if he should sleep through the night. With a big yawn and a stretch, Cloud lay on his back with his hands behind his head and his right leg propped up. 'Wow, I never knew the bar's floor was so comfortable…' Cloud thought as he drifted off to sleep. Tifa was awoken by a deep persistent sound that seemed to be coming from the bar. She hid her head under a pillow trying to block out the sound but to no avail. Tifa was beginning to get frustrated as she checked her clock on her bedside table. It read 3.00am. With a soft grunt of frustration, Tifa sauntered out of bed and down to the bar to find out what was making the noise. 'Luckily the kids are such heavy sleepers…' she thought as she walked down the stairs. Standing at the door that led from the living room to the bar, she noticed that the sound turned into a distinctive snore. Upon the realization that it could only be one person behind that door, she let out a sigh and shook her head. Tifa pushed the door open and squatted down beside Cloud's sleeping form. She glanced at his right arm, where the bluish-black marks of geotisgma used to be. Now his skin was clear of the marks. 'Now he doesn't need to wear that long ugly sleeve anymore.' Tifa thought happily with a smile tugging at her lips. Tifa leaned back against the bar and sat down, thoughts running through her mind. 'He really pulled through for us. Never in my life would I have ever imagined that Cloud was capable of such laughter.' She reminisced that moment where Cloud was laughing uncontrollably at her disorientated hair. Tifa loved Cloud that way. She wished that he would stay that way. 'It was much better to look at a cheerful Cloud than a always cold looking Cloud.' She agreed with herself as she started to tickle Cloud in an attempt to wake him up. In result, Cloud waved feebly at Tifa's hand, trying to swat her away as if she was a fly. Tifa persisted and Cloud opened his eyes wearily as he could take it no longer. "I really need the sleep…" He mumbled, turning on his side to continue sleeping. " "Well, if you need the rest you shouldn't be getting sleep HERE." Tifa whispered repeatedly as she tickled him mercilessly. "Alright, alright. I'll go up to my room. Care to join me?" Cloud extended a hand to Tifa, grinning. Tifa, caught by surprise, slapped away his hand playfully and ran up to bed as her cheeks started to warm. Cloud shrugged, stifled a huge yawn and slumbered his way up the stairs. Tifa rushed into her room, shutting the door with a click, and leaned against the door, panting as her cheeks were flushed. 'Cloud has really changed…' Tifa thought as she moved over to her bed and lay down. 'I really hope that he's still the Cloud I know.'
Author's Note: Sorry for the short first chapter. If i get many review then ill continue on the 2nd chapter! haha.