I don't own anyone in this story. If I did, I would be a rich, rich woman. Also, none of the events are true – but I guess that doesn't really apply to a video game. Some Advent Children stuff – nothing too major (mostly because I change a bunch of it). Enjoy !
Tifa had never been so scared in her entire life.
It had only been a year, but somehow, everything had changed. It didn't matter that Sephiroth was dead, it didn't matter that Meteor was gone, it didn't matter that the ShinRa were gone. Tifa was a strong woman – barely a woman – and she knew how to take care of herself.
Cloud is dead. Dead and gone. She thought to herself, staring through the dirty window pane. Outside, Marlene and Denzel were outside, eating their lunch in the tiny garden in the back of the bar. Every minute or so, Marlene would look towards the road – expecting someone to appear.
No, Cloud isn't dead, Tifa reassured herself, Cloud wouldn't die. Too strong for that…
But he would leave her.
It didn't matter that Cloud and Tifa had something – love, lust, whatever you want to call it – it was all about Cloud and how he wanted to clear his damn conscious. A year had passed since he left to find Aries. Though he knew well she was dead – if she had come to him in his dreams, then she needed to be somewhere, right? Cloud would find the Lifestream and try and pull her body out if he had to – as long as he knew she was alright.
But he had never felt that way about Tifa. Tifa knew he didn't. But, time and time again, she pushed that thought to the back of her mind. Of course, when he kissed her, he didn't think about Aries! Of course he never wished that Aries could replace Tifa – not for a second! Of course he never loved Aries…
But he was gone. He had been gone for 365 days, a year – a century it seemed like. And he left Tifa alone. It had been hard trying to get over Cloud; Tifa had closed down the bar for the first month. But when Denzel and Marlene complained that there was nothing to eat in the house, they weren't exaggerating. They needed the money, and they needed the money bad.
Tifa opened the bar back up. She hired a few employees since she couldn't manage it on her own, but nothing seemed to fill that empty feeling. Many times she'd find pictures around the apartment – of her, Cloud, Aries, Barret, Yuffie, Red XIII, Vincent… their journey had been hard. And horrifying. But it had been their journey, and no one could take that away from them. She missed the late nights by the campfire, eating and laughing. Even Vincent would crack a smile or two. She missed training with the boys – and talking about them with Yuffie. Now, when she thought about it, she felt a knot in her stomach and tears in her eyes.
She had missed them. All of them.
Barret was gone – off on expeditions trying to make the planet a better place. Tifa now took care of Marlene and her friend, Denzel, who was an orphan that Barret was raising. Yuffie became a materia hunter – she was off to Wutai again to earn her keep. Red XIII was home helping his sick grandfather. And Vincent…well, who the hell knew where Vincent was.
And that left Cloud.
For a while, she thought she would be alright. The journey was over – the biggest part of her entire life so far – and she knew she would never forget it. Cloud lived with her in the apartment above the bar. They re-opened the bar together…kind of like their own little hobby. Tifa thought about Avalanche and Sephiroth and Meteor everyday when she woke up – but with Cloud by her side, she was fine. She was alright.
But Cloud had left her.
And she wasn't alright.
yay for first chapter! I know you want to hit that "submit review" button.