Disclaimer: I do not own FFVII or any of its characters. All rights to the game and movie belong to Square-Enix.

Notes: Italics represent thoughts, also what happened in Cloud's dream.

Final Fantasy VII: Sin's Past

Chapter 2: Try, Try Again

Cloud could not seem to get back to sleep after that dream he had. It had disturbed him so much that no matter how much he tossed and turned, it was no use. He switched positions to lie on his back again, staring up at the ceiling. As he stared at the ceiling, he placed his hands behind his head. He breathed in deeply as he let out a long sigh. Trying to contemplate this dream that disturbed him, Cloud closed his eyes in order to remember what exactly happened.

Cloud was standing in the midst of a burning 7th Heaven. The ash floating through the air touched Cloud's face, causing him to flinch as the heat singed him. Cloud was horrified He looked around frantically. Was there something he was searching for? It finally dawned upon him as his eyes widened. "Tifa? Denzel? Marlene! Where are you? Please answer me!" He ran throughout the bar to find his loved ones, but with every door he opened, every turn he took, he was only met with flames. He finally came to Tifa's room. Surely the children would know to find Tifa or Cloud in a situation like this. When he opened the door, he found Tifa holding Denzel and Marlene, all sitting against the left wall. Cloud was relieved to have found them. But…they were terrified. Cloud was confused as he saw the horrified expressions on their faces. However, they weren't looking at Cloud. As Cloud scoured the room more, he saw another man standing in front of Tifa and the children. He held a great sword over his shoulder, smirking down at the terrified trio. He then slowly lowered his head. Then, something he did made Cloud's spine freeze…. he laughed. It was a dark and evil laugh, almost a chuckle really. He slowly tilted his head toward Cloud. The blonde could see the man's eyes. They were a dark brown, as dark as this man's soul. However, something was also odd about them. They were dark, yet they were also….glowing. A greenish glow tinted this man's eyes. Before Cloud could ask who he was, the man spoke first. "You were…never lookin out for me…." He said this as if it was amusing, yet he was as calm as can be. Then, he swiftly turned his head back to Tifa and the children, and brought up his mighty sword, intending to bring it down on Cloud's family. "NOOOOO!" Cloud screamed as he darted forth in front of Tifa and the children. As he shielded his them…

Cloud opened his eyes, the green mako energy shining as always. That was all he could remember. It had happened so fast that he couldn't remember the rest. Cloud sat himself up on his bed. He grabbed his head, showing signs of a slight headache. He opened his eyes, staring at nothing in particular as he still contemplated his nightmare. What could it mean? Cloud then focused on the face of the man he saw. For some reason, he felt like he should have remembered it. I feel like... I know him. However, the answers weren't coming to him, and thinking about it more was just making his headache worse. Cloud ran his hand through his hair, touching the various spikes. He could feel that they were misshapen, a result most likely from sleeping.

After pulling the covers off of his legs, Cloud set his feet on the ground while still sitting on the bed. He stretched his arms and back to further try to awaken his still sleepy state. He got up from the bed, scratching the back of his head. This had become a normal habit for him. He didn't have an itch persay. There were just times where he scratched his head for no reason.

He looked at the clock while he still had a chance. 10:00 am. He was usually up about two hours before that. His delivery service took a lot of his time, and it was important each day that he got an early start. Cloud was dreading having to work today. Gotta make a living somehow, otherwise Tifa will think I've turned into a deadbeat. He made his way to the bathroom where he took a nice long shower. There was a point where he stood under the pouring water, just letting it flow onto him. Perhaps it was a sign of him washing away his fears from the nightmare he had. After his shower, Cloud went back to his room to get dressed.

---

Tifa was having a peaceful sleep, unlike Cloud. She never usually had anything that troubled her soul. Well, that's not completely true. The one thing that had ached her the most since the death of her father was being unable to tell the man she loved how she really felt. Since the time Cloud left to join SOLDIER, Tifa had fallen in love with Cloud. When he was gone, all she could ever do was think about him. The promise she and Cloud had made that night on the tower of Nibelheim had first just been a beginning bond between two friends. However, as Tifa began to fall deeper in love, she began to think that promise was real, and that Cloud would always be there for her. Unknown to her, when Sephiroth had gravely injured her, Cloud indeed kept his promise. He was the one who saved her from Sephiroth; her knight in shining armor, though she never knew this until she helped Cloud rebuild his forgotten memories.

However, what made it hard to love Cloud was not knowing whether he did, or ever would, feel the same way. She didn't even know if Cloud knew for himself. He had always been a mysterious type of person. Quiet and reserved, he never opened himself easily to let people in. When Tifa helped Cloud find out who he really was, he was able to open his heart a little more, though it hasn't been easy. Tifa usually just tried to shrug this off by thinking that he just needs time. But, there had always been that little doubt inside her that says Cloud will never be able to open himself completely, it's just part of who he is. But maybe, just maybe, Cloud will find a way.

Denzel and Marlene were already awake. They had gotten up about two hours after Cloud did, and were playing hide-and-go-seek in the house. Pretty soon, their sounds of laughter and screaming as they scared one another had awakened the brunette. She tried to believe that maybe they would settle down after a few minutes, but that never happened. As another loud scream was heard, followed by laughter, Tifa groaned as she hit the pillow as a sign of resentment in being forced to get up. She was only wearing her white tank top and underwear. After getting dressed in her black top and shorts, she made her way down the hall to go downstairs. Before she descended down the steps however, the open door of Cloud's office caught her eye.

She decided to check in on her friend to see how he was doing. Cloud was sitting at his desk, going through some paperwork of deliveries that needed to be made. Tifa finally made it to the doorway, but stopped there. She just wanted to stand there and watch Cloud for a moment. He didn't even notice her standing there because he was so caught up in his work. A million thoughts raced through Tifa's mind at that moment. Why does he always feel he has to work so hard? Taking a day isn't so bad. As she continued to watch him, one more thought entered. Do you love me, Cloud? That was all she could ask herself it seemed. She just wanted to know. She wanted some form of resolution from him. Unfortunately, Cloud wasn't able to give her an answer.

Almost like he heard her thoughts, Cloud finally turned around and saw Tifa standing there.

"Tifa?" he asked with a confused look on his face. Tifa's attention was immediately brought back to reality when she noticed that Cloud was looking at her.

"Oh! Sorry, didn't mean to bother you."

"It's no bother. Is there something you needed?"

An answer would be nice. But Tifa didn't have the courage to even ask the question. She was almost as notorious as hiding her feelings as Cloud was. Remembering that Cloud had asked her a question, she stumbled to answer him.

"Um… do you have a lot of deliveries today?"

Cloud sighed heavily as he nodded, looking back at his paperwork. "It will probably take me all day to get this done." He turned back to his work, thinking the conversation had ended. Just like a guy, huh?

"Do you think maybe… you could take the day off?"

Cloud sighed again. "Sorry Tifa. I gotta finish this today otherwise I'll never get it done." I can't have you thinking I'm a deadbeat. That's the last thing I want. It seemed Cloud had this image in his head about what kind of person Tifa wanted. He felt himself constantly trying to prove himself in a way. He really hadn't changed much since he was a kid. Cloud was always trying to find a way to get Tifa to notice him. That was really the main reason he tried to join SOLDIER. To this day, he felt like he had never earned Tifa's friendship. But was her friendship all he was trying to earn?

Tifa wasn't showing it, but she became very irritated. "Do you even know what day it is?"

Cloud looked back at her, like it was a stupid question she was asking. "It's Tuesday. What of it? Something I missed?" The heavy breathing of an angry woman echoed in the room now. Cloud obviously knew that this was from Tifa. He looked back at her, seeing probably the most angry face he had ever seen.

I… can't believe… he forgot! "Nevermind!" Tifa stormed out of the room and made her way downstairs. Cloud was very confused now. "What did I do?" he asked himself. Since this was obviously about something in particular about today, he looked at his calendar to check his notes. Once he came to today's date, he lowered his head in shame.

I can't believe I forgot. He now knew that he had to remedy this somehow. The note with the date read: Denzel's birthday.

A/N: BUSTED! I actually though to put that in today since I needed a reason for Cloud and Tifa to fight in the next chapter. R&R please. Please let me know of any problems you might have with the story and what I can do to fix it.