On Wednesday, Tifa touched Cloud's bicep.
It was fleeting, a snapshot of a moment in time, but she saw it when it happened, felt it when feathers and leather and soft skin met that tender, pale flesh above his bracer. He'd blushed before he nodded, and when Tifa looked up at him, their eyes had met, and she knew at once that he was smiling.
He never smiled at her that way.
It was silly, really. The smiles she cherished were miles and years away, evaporated somewhere deep into the space-time continuum. She never expected to see them again, had resolved that they were probably lost forever. They were a distant memory, pulling at her through green threads she was too terrified to confront but that were somehow beckoning her constantly.
At first, it was the sword. Its broad blade had reeled her in, made her body awaken as her pulse raced, truths and possibilities unearthed beyond that cut of steel. Her panic quickly turned to hope, and she had almost fallen to her knees in desperation as she chased it, her fingers itching to reach out and touch its hilt.
His glower was nothing like the bright, sunny smile that he once wore, and although she clung to him, desperate and unwilling to let him go, she realized he was not the same. She could argue and lie and fabricate and try as much as she wanted, but beneath the surface, the differences of their personalities had been as stark as the differences in their hair color.
When that small but powerful hand fell to his skin, he'd immediately reciprocated by lifting a hand to her waist, gripping it lightly. She wondered why he held on to Tifa as if she might evaporate, as if he might lose her forever if he didn't grip her tight.
She watched their smiles, catching the exact moment they eclipsed before Tifa blushed and turned away, and Cloud was left standing there, watching her as she turned and ran away, full hips swaying beneath her skirt.
On Wednesday night, Tifa became her best friend.
Her magic was useful but weak, depending on the enemy she confronted. But Tifa was always strong. She marveled at the way that her legs would roundhouse and assault, the way that they would defy physics as they tore a combatant down. She still couldn't forget the look on Kotch's face when she'd sent him flying straight across the back of the room.
But ever since that moment, she'd protected her. She shielded her body with her own, clasped her wrists in her palms and tore her away to safety. Beasts and ghouls were imperfect, flailing foes against the fire in her fists. Even her bodyguard and his wield of that sword that made her heart ache paled in comparison to Tifa.
But Wednesday was when she knew.
On Thursday, things became clearer. They now stood on the other side of the expressway, the city behind them. There was no shelter, no looming steel to protect them from the vengeful wrath of the open sky. There was nothing but blue and deep violet, a sky streaked by the tears of the sun that was saying goodnight to the horizon.
On Thursday, Tifa wrapped her arm around Cloud's and leaned against him.
She'd felt it then - it was bordered by a gentle viridian, a feeling of envy she immediately cursed herself for. Yet she had felt its pulse, reminding her that despite the sudden rises and flourishes in her chest, despite the uptick of her heartbeat, he was false.
His eyes were blue, but not the blue of the sky. They were the blue of midnight, lit up by a thousand stars.
She was longing for a blue that was lit up by the sun.
She kept her distance that afternoon, walking quietly to herself several feet away from them in the back of their small group while Cloud and Tifa clung to one another near the front. When it began to rain, it gave cover to her tears.
On Thursday night, Tifa hugged her.
It warmed her more than anything she could recall in recent memory. They were standing at a clearing that was haloed by the luminance of Midgar's eternal green glow, the reactors bright in the sky beyond. They were in the Wastelands, but still more than forty miles from the next town. Their limbs were sore, and she'd nearly collapsed from the exertion, dropping beside a thick oak and holding her knees as she tried to recapture her breath.
Tifa found her, dropping her hand to her arm. She looked up at her, finding her eyes dark, cherry-red pools of acceptance. She started to cry, feeling her weakness erupt and bubble forth.
"It's going to be okay," Tifa said, and then, she hugged her until she stopped weeping.
It was much later that night when Tifa curled up beside her in front of the fire Barret had built, and her body brought with it an almost forbidden warmth that chased away the lingering desperation.
"I'm so scared," Tifa said.
Suddenly, she knew that Tifa was not so strong, at least, not all of the time.
She smiled, reaching out one hand for hers, and they instantly bonded, leather greeting her soft flesh. Tifa dropped her forehead to her shoulder, and she felt her sniff, realizing that she was crying.
"Tifa?"
"I'm sorry," she choked.
But she knew, and there was little need for further words. She squeezed her arm in response, and, impulsively, reached up to swipe a dark tendril of hair from her eyes.
"It's okay," she said. "Everything will be okay, Tifa. And… you have Cloud."
Tifa sat up. "What do you mean?"
"He loves you," she blurted, the admission escaping with a frenzied wisp, her heart breaking as she thought again about turquoise eyes and jet-black hair. "He really cares about you."
On Friday morning, Tifa kissed Cloud.
She hadn't expected it - they'd made camp in that same clearing, Cloud announcing that their travels to Kalm would have to wait until morning, and she'd settled against Red XIII overnight, his body warm and soft and a perfect cushion as he snored lightly, the flicker of his tail warm beside her thigh.
She stood, rising and stretching her arms out to greet the sunlight, the grass around her still dewy from the previous night's drizzles. Her bladder full, she made her way through the line of trees, seeking privacy from Barret and Red to handle her business.
She found them at the trunk of a weeping willow. Tifa was folded inside of his lap, his knees a fortress around her body as she curled into him. She froze, watching as the girl who'd become her one and only friend leaned up and pressed her lips against the boy's who reminded her of her one and only love.
Flinching, she turned away from them, her heart now centered in her throat. The sky opened up, a bright bolt of lightning tearing through the white sunshine and announcing a fresh rainfall.
He loved her.
She loved him.
It had become obvious.
She crossed her hands over her heart, her mind returning to that moment on the expressway, to the flash of light and the moment his shoulder had brushed hers.
She turned back to the clearing, watching Cloud shelter Tifa's body with his as the rain began to fall.
"You okay?" she heard Cloud whisper.
These were words she'd never hear him say, not to her. Even from here, she could see Tifa tremble in his embrace as she turned to glance up at him.
"I'm okay," her full, chapped lips responded.
Suddenly, she wanted to hold onto both of them forever.
The rain fell heavy then, and she looked up at it, angry with fate and wondering why she had been betrayed by it, why she was left alone under the unrelenting torture of the bright blue sky.
The sky was oppressive, but it held the truth beneath its colors. And as Tifa and Cloud deepened their embrace beneath the cover of rain, they pressed their lips together, creating a chain that would never break between them.
She surrendered herself to the inevitability of the future, turning away from the clearing and seeking mercy from the skies.
One day, she would find him and his love again.
She would die trying.
FIN