Hey there everyone. I am a fan of Final Fantasy VII, just like the people who are reading this. Like many out there, I am a fan of the pairing of Cloud and Tifa. I got this idea from a RP that I was in. I am only hoping that my fans who have read my other work will like this as well. This takes place after the game but before Advent Children. Well enough of my typing, on with this Fic. Tell me if you like it.

Disclaimer: I do NOT OWN Final Fantasy VII or any of its characters.

You Are Back

Tifa stood behind her recently built bar, Seventh Heaven. It had been about six months after her and a group of eight others decided to save the world. After that, she didn't know what to do; she decided to start her bar up again. Mainly because she wanted something to do to keep her mind away from a childhood friend, and working in this bar did just that. Although there were times where she wished he was there because the drunks got out of hand. Not that she couldn't take them, she packed a pretty hard punch, she just felt safer with him around. Her brown eyes looked out over the bar as she cleaned a glass. A few of her regulars were here, and also a few newcomers. At this time it wasn't to busy. She smiled at a customer who was ordering something to drink. Placing the glass down, she began to fill it.

"That will be 5 gil." she said, offering another smile.

The man placed the amount on the counter, and she gave him the drink. After taking the money, she put in a safe place where she kept her money until the end of the day. She would then take that small box and put it back in her room to make sure no one got her well earned money. Although she really didn't need the money, for she had a lot of it. All of the fights she had been in had given her enough gil to last a while. Not to mention the mastered Alls she had acquired over her journey.

A few minutes had passed, and the bar was filling up again. There were a few drunks that were hitting on her as usual. She was quite used to it by now. There wasn't anything she could really do to stop that. Since Tifa was gifted in the chest area and had a body to go along with it, she learned to deal with the people who just were pervs. It was something that she had grown accustomed to over the months that she had the place open.

She turned her back to the door to get another glass from the sink to clean. Hearing another person come through the door, she only welcomed them as she stuck her hand in the water and took out a glass. Her back was turned to them. She could hear heavy boots on the floor as they walked up to the bar.

"Give me something hard." was all that this person said. Judging by the tone, it was a male. She rolled her eyes as she turned around and looked at the man. It took a few minutes to realize that she had to answer. He didn't look up at her but she knew who it was just by the hair. Her brown eyes looked at him with wonder. It was as if she were in a dream state for a few minutes. Had he really come back?

"That's 5 gil." she said, softly.

He reached in his pocket for the money. He set it on the table and refused to look up at her. He merely ran his hand through his blonde locks that somehow were always spiked.

She nodded and finished cleaning the glass. Looking for the bottle of liquor that she just had; she grabbed the bottle and poured him a glass of it. Her brown eyes looked at him for a few seconds before she heard another customer calling for another refill. She sighed and moved towards them.

However, he looked up at her before grabbing his drink. He noticed that she hadn't taken his money, and he wondered about that. Why hadn't she? He sat there and pondered on that. Also on why he had come back here. Every so often he would look at her, watching her work with ease. His mako-infused eyes watched her carefully as she fought off the many men here who were hitting on her. She had always been pretty in his eyes, but he would never tell her that.

She looked back at him and offered a small smile. Her brown eyes connected with his for the first time, and it seemed like time froze. She stood there, forgetting about the rest of the bar and just looked at him, easily forgetting everything and only thinking about him. The reason that she had opened this bar was to forget all of these emotions she had, and now here she was falling yet again. Just one glance from this man could do this to her.

He looked down again, breaking the gaze. Every time he looked at her like that, it made his heart begin to pound. It was only her that did this to him. It had always been like this ever since they were children. He just couldn't shake the feelings he had for her. All this time they were still there. He looked at the table and tried to forget the emotions that were surfacing again.

"Can I get you anything else?" she asked, now standing right in front of him.

"No, I am fine."

"Let me know if you do." she said and then started to walk away. She stopped once she heard him call her name. How she had missed his voice, his eyes, everything.

"Tifa."

"Yes." she said, looking back at him.

"May I stay here for a while?" he asked, looking up to see her face in shock.

She had not expected him to want to stay. Not that she was complaining about this at all. She looked at him and smiled a bit, happy that he wanted to spend some time with her. It came as a shock to her. He was a loner, and yet he wanted to stay. She felt as if something was wrong, but she pushed that feeling aside.

"Sure. I don't mind." she said, smiling warmly at him. "Just put your things in the back."

He nodded and stood up. Carrying his belongs to the hall, he made his way to her room. Once he entered, he looked around a bit before stepping all the way in. She had a good size bed in the corner. Across from the bed was a couch. On the other side of the room was a desk and her closet. His eyes looked at her desk as he walked closer. He set his things by the couch and walked to the desk. There wasn't much on it, just a couple of pens and some paper. Of course, there was a picture of Tifa and a blonde haired man by her side on the desk. She looked happy in that picture. It was not everyday that he saw that much happiness in her eyes. He could only smile at this.

After a while, he walked back out and sat at the bar. A hand ran through his blonde locks as he sat there watching her work with grace. He knew that coming here was going to be hard on him, but he hadn't seen her in a while. He thought that it would be nice to spend some time with her. His mako blue eyes watched her move from one person to the next.

"Oh, you came back." Tifa said, smiling at him. "Can I get you anything?"

"Not at the moment, but when you get a chance, I would like to tell you something." he said, sitting there for a few moments, before standing up.

She nodded. "Alright." she said, looking back at all of the people. She thought about closing the bar early just to spend more time with him. "Cloud?" she asked, watching he walk back to her room.

He turned his head to her. "Yeah?"

"I am glad you are back." she said, smiling warmly at him.

"For now."

"It doesn't matter. You are here now, and that's all that matters."

What was it about her words that could make him feel almost happy? Is that why he had decided to come back and see her? He didn't even know. He was so confused on everything. All he knew was that she was the only friend he ever felt comfortable with, and that is why he came back. Or so he thought. It was only one of the many reasons.

She smiled and continued to clean the bar. Telling everyone in there that it was closing hour. She knew it was early, but she didn't care. She had a guest, and a rather important one to her at that. Many of them left, and she began to clean up after all of the messy people who had been here. She could hardly wait to hear what he had to tell her.

End Chapter...

So, how do you like it so far? Tell me, so I can write more or just delete it. I know that I am going to be getting flames for pairing Cloud and Tifa. Well to those people I have one thing to say. I don't care what you think. This is my opinion, and I shall write it how I want to write. Thank you and please review. See ya