Title: Tears & Dreams
A/N: Heya, yet another oneshot from me, hehe. I was quite pleased that people reviewed my last two Ff VII: AC oneshots, I thought no one would review, hah. Anyway, this is yet another CloTi oneshot, hope you guys like it!
Tifa padded softly over the floor of seventh heaven its polished parquet floor making no creaks or cracks as she walked across it. Looking out of the nearby window, she could see that in the midst of the pitch black darkness of the sky, countless stars still shone like little diamonds against a dark velvet cloth.
However, there was only one concern floating nervously in the dark-haired girl's conscience, Cloud. The blonde young man had come down with a serious fever that day for some reason, and he had remained in bed the entire time.
Tifa didn't need to worry about the kids as Marlene was busy sitting in Barret's lap listening to him read to her and Denzel was busy playing a game of poker with Yuffie and Vincent. Barret had come down for a visit and had picked up Yuffie and Vincent on his way.
Tifa gracefully padded up the staircase, her long slender fingers sliding along the oak banister of the opulent staircase. She reached the end of the staircase and she slowly made her way to Cloud's door to check on him.
It was time Tifa took Cloud's temperature again anyway, to see if his fever had gone down. Even if his temperature had reduced by a bit, it still made a difference; not only to Cloud's health, but also Tifa's concern for him.
Usually, Tifa never entered Cloud's room at all. The only time she entered was either to sweep and mop the floor or clean the windows; otherwise, his room was pretty much out of bounds to her and the kids.
The pretty hazel-eyed girl slipped carefully into Cloud's bedroom, scanning the entire room with her eyes. The blonde young man was still lying on his back on the bed, his entire forehead and the sides of his face bathed in his sweat.
Tifa's eyes furrowed with worry. She didn't just look at Cloud as a good friend; she didn't look at him as a brother either, and yet fate and circumstances seemed to be preventing her from getting any closer to him.
Cloud had been her next door neighbour ever since birth, but strict circumstances prevented her from getting to know him. Tifa had always been popular with the kids in the neighbourhood; while Cloud was the exact opposite, being reserved and rather bashful.
The remembrance of the day Cloud told her he was leaving to join SOLDIER replayed ever so clearly in her mind. He had asked her to meet him in the evening and although she had been late, she still turned up anyway.
It was that very day that Tifa had found out that Cloud had harboured a secret crush on her.
"I'm trying to impress someone," said a young Cloud.
"Who?" asked a curious Tifa.
"You," replied Cloud.
However, little did Tifa know that that day would also be the last day in 7 years till she would meet Cloud Strife again.
Tifa removed the cloth from Cloud's forehead, and drenched it once more in the ice water in a bowl on his bedside table. She gently wrung the cloth dry before positioning it once again on his forehead.
Cloud's face was flushed and his hair was rather untidy. Tifa stared down at him, admiring his facial features. She probably had to honestly admit that she had always thought Cloud had nice lips and she could distinctly remember his intoxicating blue eyes.
Knowing that Cloud would probably be too delirious to even realise she was there, Tifa boldly extended her right hand and caressed his cheek lovingly.
"Please get well soon, Cloud." Tifa whispered, slowly inching down and was about to plant a gentle and loving kiss on the taut skin of Cloud's forehead, when something that escaped his mouth made her pull back sharply.
"Aerith," Cloud mumbled in the midst of his sleep, his face suddenly contorting into a pained and depressed expression as he tossed slightly.
"Aerith Gainsborough," Tifa mumbled quietly under her breath, as she stared down at a tossing Cloud.
Tifa's eyes slowly welled up with tears as she listened to what Cloud was mumbling in his sleep. He was obviously dreaming of Aerith, and only a fool would fail to realise that when every sentence that escaped his lips had her name in it.
Tifa felt searing pains cut painfully across her chest as she continued watching the one and only love of her life. Cloud had run away from Seventh Heaven many times due to his guilt because of Aerith's death, and already the fact, that despite Aerith was no longer living and Cloud still went looking for her, tore Tifa's heart to shreds.
Cloud thought of her day and night, and yet now even as he slept in the midst of a fever, he still thought endlessly of the attractive flower girl. What did Cloud see in Aerith that he didn't see in Tifa?
No doubt Aerith was graceful, feminine, pretty and wise, but Tifa was just as attractive and just as capable. Maybe Cloud had really grown out of his crush on her and had forgotten her long ago.
Tears slid in silent streams down the hazel-eyed girl's face as she watched Cloud toss and turn in his sleep saying Aerith's name over and over. Was there really no room left in his heart for her?
Tifa sometimes felt, when she was extremely depressed, like killing herself and replacing herself with Aerith, if it was possible. All she wanted was for Cloud to be happy, and ever since Aerith's passing it was as if Cloud's happiness had been sucked away with it.
Tifa had given and done everything she could for Cloud, and she didn't do it just out of her love for him. She knew he needed support and he had sunken so deep into depression she had begun to worry about his mental health. She had given everything she could give to Cloud that now she had nothing left that she could offer, and yet she was willing to sacrifice her own happiness for his.
Tifa slowly drew in a breath before she sunk to her knees on the floor and buried her face into the side of Cloud's bed, her tears seeping into the bed sheet. A gust of wind blew through the bedroom window, urging a teary-eyed Tifa to look up at it.
The zephyr whipped the hair around Tifa's face for a moment, as she stared out into the starry night sky. She shook violently as another gust of wind blew; her hands were icy cold and she knew she'd catch a chill if she didn't put on a jacket soon.
However, Tifa didn't care. She knew Cloud was suffering silently due to his raised temperature, and she wanted to suffer with him. How she wished she could just kiss him on the lips and suck all his pain and suffering out of him and right into her and bear the suffering for him. She wanted to share his pain and at the same time, ease his pain as well.
"You so obviously love him, don't you Tifa?" came the hushed voice of Yuffie Kisaragi, who was standing by Cloud's bedroom door, before she slowly came in and sat beside Tifa, who tried to wipe her tears away without her noticing. "Vincent sent me to come and check up on you, you've been here for almost an hour already."
Tifa just remained silent, still staring at Cloud, who was now no longer talking or tossing in his sleep.
"Don't try and hide it, girl. We all know you love Cloud, even Vincent has noticed." Said Yuffie, placing a concerned hand on Tifa's shoulder.
"I just want him to be happy and have a bright future, I don't want him to be stuck mourning his past." Answered Tifa, finally breaking down, more pearly tears escaping from the sides of her hazel orbs.
"We all do, Tifa, and you're the key thing for that to happen. For him to move on, you need to help him with it; you need to move on with him. Tell him you love him, let him know that you care." Said Tifa knowingly, surprising Tifa a little with the fact that Yuffie could actually say something this wise instead of immature.
Tifa looked down for a second, her eyebrows furrowed slightly as she felt fresh tears brimming her eyes.
Finally Tifa looked up at the sleeping Cloud, "Cloud…d'you love me?"
Yuffie quietly slapped a hand to her forehead and pulled it down her face, "Gosh Tifa, I said tell him not ask him." The teenage ninja girl thought to herself.
Tifa knew she'd do anything to be able to freely love Cloud without him thinking of another girl in the back of his mind.
Cloud stirred slightly, and Tifa rose to her knees brushing aside some loose strands of his blonde hair. The blonde young man eyes were rather blurry, and Tifa could tell he was still delirious.
Tifa rested her hand on his cheek, stroking it gently as more tears came rolling down her cheeks.
"W-Why're you c-crying? Y-You're so b-beautiful…" stammered Cloud, looking up at Tifa. The hazel-eyed girl smiled gently, still looking down at him, however, what he said next would plunge a dagger into Tifa's heart once more.
"I l-love you…" Cloud choked slightly, his eyelids slowly rolling shut again. "Aerith,"
Tifa's eyes widened before they slid shut again, fresh tears sliding down her cheeks as she felt jolt after jolt of pain sear through her chest.
Cloud's eyes were open and he was staring right at her, and for that split second, when those three precious words Tifa had longed to hear from him escaped his lips, she thought she was in heaven; but he was hallucinating. Even while looking up at her, the one he truly saw was Aerith.
For once, Yuffie felt sorry for Tifa; seeing how a young woman loved a young man with all her heart and soul and yet, she remained unloved despite her constant efforts to make him love and accept her.
Tifa rose to her feet and strode out of the room, and as she did so. Yuffie could hear Tifa break into a full-blown burst of tears as she cried noisily in her bedroom behind a closed door.
Yuffie pursed her lips as she looked at an unconscious Cloud once more. The blonde young man was practically blind to Tifa's love for him, and by being blind, he had literally killed her, not physically but on the inside.
A/N: Another angsty fic written by moi, hoped you liked it! Now pls show some love and drop a review! Sorry for any errors by the way!