"Things are fine between us, right?"

The unsaid and unanswered question was one that ate at Tifa as she glanced over at Cloud, his black clad form situated quietly in a nearby booth.

It was one that had haunted Tifa before. Then she'd managed to push the thought from her mind. But as Cloud unfolded the napkin her latest customer had left behind, the digits and lipstick smeared across thin creases and folds hauled the question to the forefront of her thoughts.

Once more, the bartender attempted to silence the voice in her head, an act made easier as the blonde crumpled up the scrap and pushed it to the other side of the table. She felt them then: a swell of relief followed by a tide of guilt.

'Stop it," urged Tifa's inner voice. "He's not interested. Why would he be? She would have noticed. She always noticed him. He wouldn't have left then. You're not her. You're not-"

"Tifa," came a familiar voice. "You all right?"

She looked up then, the world before her blurred.

"You're crying," noted Cloud, surprise and concern lacing his tone.

"Yeah, just cut up some onions a while ago," she lied, a false smile accompanying the untruth. "I'm good."

Sky blue eyes narrowed then, the Mako in them sharper for but a moment. Cloud moved to speak, lips parting only to close once more without ever having made a sound. That changed after a moment.

'I'll clean up down here. Already got done with my deliveries. Only had a few anyway. You go upstairs. Take a rest. Lunch rush was pretty big," recounted Cloud.

"No, I can do it," protested Tifa despite the quake in her voice. "My bar anyway."

Silence followed, broken only by a deep sigh as Cloud turned away from her. "Just remembered I've got a delivery."

Not too long afterwards, he was speeding off on Fenrir, having left with her only a promise.

'I'll be back," vowed Cloud. "I promise."

The same words he'd always repeated to her since his return home three months prior after the fall of the Remnants. He'd always kept that promise. Promises were what bound them together.

"Maybe they're not enough," whispered Tifa.

Affirmation came in the form of a flower. Harmless, fragrant and belonging to a woman who'd known his heart and soul.

"Hey," greeted Cloud softly as he turned, his form seated on a stool as he placed the blossom in a vase atop Seventh Heaven's counter. "I brought this home. Thought it'd look nice."

All it took was a moment for her hurt to vanish, replaced by a familiar bitterness as she made her way behind the counter. "You don't have to stay."

"What?"

"You don't have to stay. You can go to her."

"Tifa, I-"

She turned to him then, the kindness of her carmine eyes transformed into a hostility neither of them had ever known. That changed when she met the azure of his gaze. Nothing lay there except confusion and hurt.

"I'm sorry," he whispered after a moment. Cloud left then, silently making his way upstairs. In the days that followed, that was all Tifa received from him. Not a word was said between them, a state that even Marlene and Denzel had taken notice of.

'We're just tired. Busy." She heard an exhausted breath escape him as he reassured their sleepy young ones in the darkness of their room.

"You sure?" asked Denzel.

"I thought you and Tifa were fighting," admitted Marlene.

"We're not," fibbed the SOLDIER, his laugh forced. "Good night, you two."

More time passed, each one marked by the passing of another flower in the same vase. And with the death of each one, the void between them grew, fights and bickering filling the air instead of warm things unsaid.

That all changed one day. Cloud had arrived early, the sun still high as he placed a single slip of paper on the counter between them.

"I think you're right," admitted the swordsman, his expression tired. "I'll go."

Tifa had no reason to ask questions. After all, they'd already been answered by the signed contract before her, proving how a recent apartment had been purchased by one Cloud Strife.

Marlene and Denzel had not taken it well. Luckily, Tifa and Cloud had managed to cease their quarreling for five minutes to construct another lie to tell them.

"I've gotta start taking care of myself. It's what us grown ups do. You've all taken care of me enough," stated Cloud as the younger pair sniffled, their eyes red as they settled in for the night. "Besides I'm just down the street. I'll visit everyday."

"Promise? You promise?" asked Denzel, his voice almost frantic.

"He will," replied Tifa, earning a nod from Cloud.

'Hmph," grunted Marlene, curled up beneath her blankets as she turned away from them. Seconds later, Denzel did the same, leaving their caretakers to slink out of the room.

Cloud brushed past Tifa, only to find her hand on his shoulder.

The fighter swallowed. "It doesn't have to be like this. W-Why'd you buy a new place anyway?"

He didn't turn to face her, replying with nothing but a shrug. "You said I could go, remember? Besides, it's not like anyone cared to stop me."

And all Tifa could do then was look on numbly as he walked down the hall, shutting the door to his office behind him to leave her with the silence of all the things she wanted to say but didn't.

She expected someone to come. To say something. No one did. Not even Barret. The gunner had simply asked her if Cloud had begun living on his own. When Tifa had answered in the affirmative, all she'd gotten was a grunt.

Their lives found a new rhythm. Seventh Heaven grew in popularity, known in Edge for cold drinks and warm meals. The Strife Delivery Service traveled from one end of the Planet to the other, bringing in more Gil with one delivery after the other. And surely enough, Cloud stopped by everyday, greeted warmly by Marlene and Denzel. In time, Tifa found it within her to speak to him as well, old warmth she'd thought forgotten blooming in her. Long held gazes. Fingers almost brushing. The flowers of reunion he brought daily had even found their place atop her counter, a simple decoration that brought a splash of color to Seventh Heaven.

Yet neither one of them said a thing. All it took for that to end was a call.

"Hey." Tifa smirked, expecting a sarcastic remark.

Instead, she got a cough and a wheeze from the other end of the line. "Hey," replied Cloud, his voice weak. "We need to talk. It's serious."

"Oh. uh..." trailed Tifa. "Sure. Come over."

Cloud did, skin pale and his gait unsteady as he passed through Seventh Heaven's doors. His old friend helped him to a stool as she fought to remain calm.

"So w-what's going on?"

The SOLDIER wasted no time in relaying the severity of his condition. "I'm dying."

Shocked silence was all Tifa could offer in return before she managed to collect herself. "What? How? Cloud…"

"SOLDIER, remember? Rufus told us back when we fought the first time. I didn't believe him. But he wasn't lying. I talked to Reeve. Got checked up. It's the Mako. Jenova too. He said they might be able to fix me. But I'll have to leave for a few days. We need to tell the kids."

"No…" whispered Tifa, her voice weak as heavy breaths escaped her. "They're at school. We, uh, we'll tell them you're sick when they get back. But not…"

Cloud nodded in silent understanding. And when Marlene and Denzel returned, the couple did as they had planned. Their children were far more optimistic this time, oblivious to the true weight of the situation. Tifa wasn't. And that night, for the first time in a long time, she shared a bed with the boy next door.

"You'll be all right, right?"

He nodded silently, struggling.

Tifa took him in then. It hurt to do so. He looked the same, built of sleek and well-defined muscle save for the pallor of his skin. The strength he'd fought alongside her with had begun to eat him from the inside, destroying the form his training and Mako had built. A memory struck Tifa then, her mother's voice praising the handsome young boy across the dinner table, only for her to nod along and to blush warmly when she'd realized what she'd done. That boy had found her cat when it had gone missing. He'd made her a promise beneath starlight. He'd stood by her.

Now he lay dying beside her. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

"I'm sorry too," he replied to her surprise, forcing himself to sit up. "Tifa, if I don't…"

"No." Her dark tresses fluttered as she shook her head. "You'll make it. Promise me. It's only for a few days, right? You'll be back. You'll bring those flowers you always bring. And then we'll…"

Her vision blurred once more. And like always, Cloud was there. "I'll be back. I promise."

Tifa prayed it would be enough then. No one answered as the days turned to weeks turned to a month.

Barret called one day. What followed was a blur that ended with her and the kids at his bedside with their friends.

Barret, Cid and Shera simply stood silently, their heads hung in grief.

Vincent ran his fingers through Red XIII's fur, comforting Cosmo Canyon's protector.

Yuffie hid her face in Cait Sith's fear, wetting the robot's fluff with her tears as Reeve struggled to say anything.

Tifa, Marlene and Denzel simply stared blankly at Cloud as he lay there. With the blade wielder shirtless, they could see how the Mako had turned him into a husk of his former self, his toned physique patterned by blackened veins.

But through it all, Cloud managed to offer them a smirk as his hand held out a flower he'd left them with so many times. Tifa took it from his shaking hands, still praying a promise would be enough to save him.

Seven days later, they buried Cloud Strife atop the cliffside where the Highwind had stood the evening before their final battle. All had boarded the Shera save for Tifa, holding the dried corpse of the final flower of reunion he'd given her.

The irony of his resting place had not been lost on her as she, through teary eyes, beheld the remains of the flower in her hand. The same one he'd given her when they'd been reunited in the slums of Midgar. The same one he'd cradled her in a bed of after her defeat at the hands of a Remnant nearly a year ago. The same one he'd offered for months on end, an unspoken plea and promise of more.

Now all Tifa had was a wilted flower and the silence of the many things both of them had wanted to say but hadn't.

I always wondered how Cloud's newfound truncated lifespan in Remake would factor into the new timeline and how it might affect his future if Advent Children (or a variation of it) still happens. I also wanted to play around with what would happen if he and Tifa remained passive about each other forever. This is the result.