Chapter 01:

The entire bar of Seventh Heaven was crammed with people from all over Midgar and Tifa Lockhart was busier than she has ever imagined.

"And I thought life was supposed to be a bit easier," she quietly joked.

"Tifa, do you normally have so many customers?" Yuffie asked.

Tifa looked to the left of her and saw the young woman diligently scrubbing dishes and piling up bowls, plates, and trays. Yuffie, along with the others of the old AVALANCHE, decided to drift around Midgar for a few days, aiding the restoration of the city. However, Tifa greatly appreciated the fact that Yuffie decided to stay to assist in the bar, especially this day, the first day of tranquility. Other than that, Tifa appreciated the company. When little Marlene and Denzel stay over at Barret's or run off to join the other neighboring children, Tifa virtually had no one to talk to, except…

"Cloud."

"What about Cloud, Tifa?" Yuffie inquired.

"Huh? Wait, what did I say? I-I mean… never mind," stuttered Tifa, "It's nothing."

Yuffie put on her innocent face, begging for more information, only to see Tifa return back to the kitchen to do her normal tasks. Out of curiosity, Yuffie casually strolled over and put a hand on Tifa's bare shoulder.

"Uh huh, nothing?" Yuffie asked, "Let's go, Tifa, out with it!"

"Really, Yuffie, do you think I would hide anything from you?" Tifa said with a smirk, "Come on, you know me better than that."

"I don't know everything! I―"

A calm, rumbling of something that sounded like a motorcycle or motorbike outside drew both Tifa and Yuffie's attention to the front door. Yuffie put up a hand, indicating to Tifa that she will check it out. Tifa already knew who came by, so she merely smiled and nodded.

Cloud shoved the keys into his pocket, leapt off Fenrir, and made his way to the front door of Seventh Heaven. He already had his hand on the doorknob when he heard quick, light footsteps from inside the bar. Cloud pulled open the door only to have Yuffie run straight into his chest and bounce off, resulting in her sitting on the floor in a daze. Cloud raised his eyebrow and offered a hand.

"Hey, you," Yuffie said in a singsong voice, "Are you planning on standing by the door or are you goin' to help poor Tifa out in the kitchen?"

"Hmm, yeah, good idea. There seems to be a surplus of customers today…" Cloud noted as he ambled to the kitchen.

Tifa was still wiping down the counters, while at the same time fixing meals for the customers, fixing beverages, and busily chatting on the phone with Marlene by the time Cloud made his way into the kitchen. He was never surprised to see how well Tifa managed everything, even when the odds were against her. When Tifa finished talking on the phone and continued her work, Cloud slowly walked over towards her. He stopped. Tifa wasn't smiling as much and she seemed to be completely oblivious to everything else around her.

What's happening? She's usually the first one to greet me when I return.

"Well? Aren't you goin' to say anything to her?" Yuffie whispered behind Cloud.

Cloud had no emotion on his face. Nonetheless, he unplanted his feet and walked over next to where Tifa was standing and leaned by the wall.

"Hey, Cloud," Tifa said in a soft voice, "Where were you all day?"

It's only three in the afternoon. And she's worried again, Cloud thought to himself. "By the plains… thinking," he said after a moment.

"Oh. About what?" Tifa asked further, and also sliding Cloud's favorite drink over.

He picked up the small cup, their fingers just hardly grazing over each other. Cloud never was a great talker. He preferred action to words. Then again, when it comes to Tifa and her concern, Cloud had no choice but to talk. "I was thinking about life."

"Life?" Tifa put the last of the drinks by the counter waiting for the customers to pick them up, "Life?" she repeated.

"Yeah, life. I realized that my life isn't as torturous as I once thought it was. I realized… that I'm not alone," he confessed.

"Of course you're not."

Tifa wiped off her hands and turned to face him, "Whatever made you think that you were alone to begin with?" She caught a sight of a fleeting figure behind Cloud. "Yuffie, I know you're back there."

Yuffie peeked out from behind Cloud's back, made a pouting face, and strolled back to the sinks. Tifa grinned at how entertaining Yuffie can be sometimes.

"So, come on, Cloud. What made you think you were alone?" Tifa asked again.

Cloud sighed. He didn't feel like talking about his past―again. "We can talk about this some other time. I guess, when there's less people around." Tifa looked straight into Cloud's blue eyes when he said this.

Yuffie looked over and babbled, "And whatever do you mean by that! Hey, hey, must I remind you that I'm not just 'people!' Clooouuud! Come on!"

Again, Tifa grinned from Yuffie's spontaneous eruptions. Cloud had a sign of a grin too, but he didn't show it as obviously as Tifa did. Such a spunky young woman, she mentally remarked.

Cloud turned his attention to Tifa again. "And Tifa, there are other things we should talk about, too." What am I trying to pull here?

Tifa mouth opened in question, but no words came out. What does he mean? Talk about what? She closed her mouth and just nodded, for what reason, she doesn't know; she couldn't help it. Cloud nodded too and left the kitchen and headed for his room.

"Huh?" Yuffie was confused, "What's going on, Tifa?"

Tifa thought for a moment before saying anything. "It's all right, don't worry about it, Yuffie. Really, it's nothing," she said, although she doesn't understand what's actually going on herself. Yuffie gave up and dropped the matter.

"So, what are you up to tonight?"

"Hmm," Tifa wondered, incredibly relieved for a subject change, "I was hoping you had some ideas."

"I have just the idea. That is, if you're not busy tonight."

"Thank you," Tifa said as a customer paid his bill. She turned back to Yuffie, "I should be free tonight. The bar closes around nine today, but I can close it down a bit earlier if I need to."

"Awesome!" Yuffie exclaimed as she scampered out the front door, "Then I'll be back here later tonight!"

Tifa had never been so confused in her life.

Meanwhile, Cloud was in his room, looking around. Everything was organized and spotless. Evidently, Tifa was maintaining his room even though he rarely even set foot in there. Unbeknownst to him, the thought made him smile on reflex. Cloud took off his exterior armor and sat down on the bed he hadn't slept in for days or even weeks. The Strife Delivery Service was a great success, but it took a great deal of time out of his life.

Denzel, Marlene… Tifa.

They always had to wait for his return. They had to fend for themselves. They missed him. He could see it in the children's eyes.

And Tifa.

That wonderful brunette. She was the one woman that was always concerned about his well-being, the one woman that had always helped him pull through the most hazardous of conflicts, the one woman that he seemed to ignore the most. Unable to hold back, Cloud dove into his past once again…

It was seven weeks after Tifa fell into a coma. Those seven weeks were probably the most distressful of his young life. He fought numerous kids, mostly older ones that were thuggish "friends" of Tifa's. He was blamed for Tifa's nearly fatal fall in Nibel Mountain.

"If only I was stronger, I could've saved Tifa. If I wasn't so weak!" he said once before. Regardless, and miraculously, Tifa woke after being in a coma for seven weeks. Even with the town celebrating Tifa's astounding revival, his antisocial personality forbade him to participate. Besides, he feared the anger of the others.

Still, Tifa snuck away and visited him. Since that day, their small friendship grew and strengthened…

Then, at the age of fourteen, when he decided to join the ranks of SOLDIER, he made his promise to Tifa. She said, "Hey, why don't we make a promise? Umm, if you get really famous, and I'm ever in a bind… you come save me, all right?" To this, he agreed. "Whenever I'm in trouble, my hero will come and rescue me. I want to experience that once..."

And yet, I almost lost her… more than once. Once by Sephiroth's sword, Masamune, in the Mako Reactor of Nibelheim and once at the hands of Loz, of the late Kadaj's gang. Cloud felt an odd sensation when he recalled those facts. He started to feel repentant of the neglect he displayed to Tifa multiple times. Although he was never too affectionate, Cloud insisted it would be his duty to now fulfill his promise to his childhood friend. I will not see her life on the edge again. I will take care of her, he swore to himself and he felt a tear spatter onto his hand. Never had he cried, but even to his surprise, Cloud could not suppress his innermost feelings.

Blinking hard just once, Cloud got back up from his bed and strolled over to his desk, also polished and dust-free. He glanced over and found two treasured photos: one of all of AVALANCHE and one of just him with Tifa, Marlene, and Denzel. He picked up the photo of him, Tifa, and the kids and gazed into the depths for what may seem like hours, since by the time he released himself from the photo, the sky had a mixed color of red and purple. The sun was setting.

Cloud checked his clock… seven-twenty.