Title: Too Many Yesterdays
Pairings: implied SephCloud, Cloud+Tifa
Warnings: Advent Children spoilers, angst
Rating: PG
A/N: Mostly inspired because of the Tifa bashing I did in 'Secrets.' In hindsight, I seriously regret doing it, and I refrain from doing it in my current projects. ;;;;
Summary: It didn't surprise Tifa Lockhart at all to find the Savior of the Planet, the leader of AVALANCHE, the great Hero, slumped over the bar at three in the morning and gulping vodka.

Too Many Yesterdays

It didn't surprise Tifa Lockhart at all to find the Savior of the Planet, the leader of AVALANCHE, the great Hero, slumped over the bar at three in the morning and gulping vodka. Without a word, she walked behind the bar and lightly slipped the bottle from his hand. He stared at her with eyes brighter than ever, and the helplessness in them made Tifa's own eyes burn.

"You never did say what happened out there," Tifa commented, carefully keeping all inflection from her voice as she sat beside the blond.

Cloud Strife shrugged one shoulder, gaze returning to the vodka bottle in Tifa's hand. More than half the bottle was gone, yet Cloud's eyes remained clear. Tifa absently wondered how many more bottles Cloud would have gone through if she had not arrived.

"They're dead," Cloud said simply, his soft voice surprising her. She wasn't really expecting him to respond. "The rain that killed them also killed the Geostigma. That's all."

He made a move to reach for the bottle again, but effortlessly, she held it away. He didn't try again.

"That's all?" Tifa asked, allowing the slightest hint of doubt to creep into her tone. She wanted to directly confront him on the subject, but as always, something kept her quiet. It was the same something that quieted her when Cloud would boast of Zack's accomplishments, when Cloud placed himself in Zack's shoes in Nibelhelm. The same thing that quieted her when Cloud's eyes went distant and sad even before Aeris's death or when Cloud would sound betrayed when he spoke of Him.

If Cloud could not forgive himself for failing Aeris and Zack, then that was the sin for which Tifa could not forgive herself.

Cloud leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. Other people saw the move as nonchalant, even cool, but Tifa recognized the self-protective move for what it was. She shook her head. "Cloud . . ."

"He died, too," Cloud interrupted. "Just like he did before. One omnislash was all it took."

Tifa tried to catch his eye, but he stared determinedly at the bottles lined up behind the bar. One gloved hand trembled on his sleeve before he clamped it into a fist.

"His final words were that he refused to be a memory," Cloud continued, his voice a little too even to be casual. "Even now he's not truly gone. Aeris says it's because he can't be fully incorporated into the Lifestream due to Jenova's hold over him. That's why they sent me back. Because he would be back, and they needed someone to fight him."

Tifa wanted to hold him, but she knew he wouldn't let her. Instead, she put the bottle on the bar and lightly touched his clamped hand. Everyone assumed their closeness hinted at betrothal, that Tifa's dedication and devotion to Cloud was a sign of her romantic love.

Instead, it was Tifa's way of saying he wasn't alone.

Cloud fell silent again and stared moodily at the bottles. Useless condolences burned Tifa's tongue, and she bit it to keep the unwanted words back. Quietly, carefully, she squeezed the hand beneath her own.

She could do nothing about the past, but she would fight the Planet itself to give him a tomorrow.