(A/N) The first little bit of this chapter is a sort of recap, so that's why it's written in the past tense. I didn't know how else to do it, but hope it doesn't get too confusing. O.o

Holding On
Chapter VII

Even before I open my eyes, a terrible sick feeling begins churning in my stomach, because I know that the day I've been dreading has already come. There wasn't enough time at all, and now I'm going to have to say goodbye to the most important person in the word to me, because today is Cloud's eighteenth birthday; the fateful day that the ShinRa army is going to show up in our town to recruit, and he's going to leave me.

We've spent the past week with each other, savoring every second of the time we had left to be together. Like we do so often, most of our days were spent up on our hill; lying together and wishing that each day would never come to an end. Cloud did his best to distract me, because although I accepted that joining ShinRa was something that he needed to do, he was well aware of how hard it was going to be for me after he was gone. He seemed to kiss me more often than usual, and that became the only thing that I found to be an effective means of distraction.

My father seemed to realize that it was a very sensitive subject for me, and I could tell that he did his best not to mention Cloud's departure. He even let Cloud stay over at our house much later than he usually would, which I was thankful for. From what I've heard from Cloud, his mother took the news of him leaving even harder than I did. Like me though, she apparently understood that Cloud needed to go, so she didn't put up a fuss or ask him to stay.

I lay in my bed for a long time after waking up, trying to prepare myself, as if it was even possible, for having to go say goodbye to Cloud this morning. We won't even have any time to spend together today, because the ShinRa truck that's heading back to Midgar will be here all too soon. I'm hoping that he'll somehow be able to come and visit me after he's been there for a little while, but Midgar is so far away that I know it's probably a long shot to wish for that.

Sighing heavily, I throw the covers off of me and push myself out of bed, glancing at the clock on my wall to try and gauge how much time I have left. I dress quickly, heading towards the bathroom to brush my teeth and comb through my hair. When I'm done getting ready I go downstairs, grabbing the package that has Cloud's birthday present in it, but not bothering with trying to eat something before I go to the door.

I stand in front of the door for several moments, exhaling deeply and trying to fight back the urge to start crying, though I know it's not likely that I'll be able to hold myself together for long after I see him. For some reason, I thought the town would be quiet this early in the morning like it usually is, though I suppose I should have expected the commotion that greets me when I finally step out the door, because Cloud isn't the only one leaving Nibelheim today.

The recruiters from ShinRa only come here a few times a year, probably because Nibelheim is such a small town that's basically in the middle of nowhere, so they wouldn't be able to recruit as many people as they could in a big city. The age limit for joining is eighteen, and I find myself cursing them for not coming only a day sooner, so Cloud would have been too young to leave. It's selfish, I know, but I can't stop myself from wanting to keep him here with me for even a little bit longer.

There are quite a lot of people bustling about the town square, much more than there usually are, but I don't think I really know any of the other boys that are leaving today. None of this matters to me though, because all I want is to find Cloud. I move carefully through the crowd, trying to avoid bumping into anyone, and I end up resorting to standing on my tiptoes to try and see over the other people so I can find him.

After a few minutes of searching, I finally spot him standing over to the side of the water tower in the middle of the town square. As I get closer to him, I'm able to see that his mother is standing by his side with a bag in her arms, which is probably full of all of the things that Cloud has packed to take with him. It takes me a moment to make my way over to him, but the instant that Cloud's eyes find me a smile appears on his face.

I realize then, that although his mother and I only see him leaving as a bad thing, Cloud is excited about going. He's going to miss both of us, I know, and he feels bad about making us sad by leaving, but I guess it never occurred to me that this might not be something he's doing only out of necessity. He probably wants to do it; to go off to the city with dreams of becoming a hero, like the other boys do. I do my best to smile back at him, knowing that I should be happy that he's doing this for me, and that he has this opportunity.

When I finally reach him, his mother quietly excuses herself so that we can be alone; setting down the bag she had been holding and melting into the crowd. I follow her path with my eyes, and realize that she's going to go stand by my father, who must not have been at work this morning like I thought he was. I turn back to Cloud after she's gone, and although he looks hesitant to say anything, probably from fear of upsetting me, I give him a small smile.

"Happy birthday," I say, handing him his present that I've wrapped in paper and tied a ribbon around.

He looks almost startled that I got him something, probably because this day is so much more eventful than just his birthday, but he takes it from me anyway. After untying the bow, he hooks his finger under the crease in the paper and tears it open, and stares down at what's inside. I decided to get him something practical; a notebook and a pen, so that he can write to me while he's away. I also tucked a picture of the two of us, one that his mother took a few months ago, between the pages of the book, where I know he'll find later.

He seems to understand the meaning of his gift, and he smiles genuinely at me. "Thank you," he says softly. "I promise I'll write to you every chance I get."

I smile back at him, glad for his reassurance, but my heart drops when I hear the sound of what I know must be the ShinRa truck coming into town; a mechanical rumbling that's steadily getting closer. Cloud's mother breaks through the throng of people then, and I step back to let her have a moment with him. She gives him a big hug and kisses his forehead several times before she finally lets him go, and through the noise of the crowd I can hear him promise to write to her as well.

She glances over at me, and although she looks reluctant to leave him, she seems to know that I need to say goodbye to him now too. She touches my shoulder gently as she walks past me, and I notice that the tears only start running down her cheeks after she's turned away from Cloud; she doesn't want to make him feel guilty for leaving any more than I do.

All of my tension seems to have suddenly glued my feet to the ground, but luckily Cloud walks over to me instead of waiting for me to come to him. He puts his arms around me wordlessly, holding me tightly against his chest as my arms hook around his waist. I don't have any hope of stopping my tears now, no matter how hard I try, so I give up and let them flow from my eyes freely.

"I'll come back for you, I promise," Cloud whispers against my hair.

I nod my head against his chest, letting him know that I believe him. No matter how hard it's going to be for me while he's gone, as long as I have the hope of him returning, I know I can get through it. The ShinRa Company truck that has pulled into town honks its horn suddenly; a deafening sound which I instantly recognize as being the signal that they have to go.

Cloud pulls back from me reluctantly, wiping the tears away from my eyes with his thumbs so that I can see him. Our eyes lock for a moment, and then he leans in towards me, capturing my lips in a passionate kiss despite the fact that most of the town, as well as our parents, could be watching. I can't find it in me to care about anything else at that moment though, and I throw my arms around his neck as I kiss him back.

When he pulls back from me finally, his eyes are burning with emotion. "I love you, Tifa," he says earnestly.

My breath hitches in my throat then, because as long as Cloud and I have been together, he's never actually said those words. I don't doubt even for a second that he means them though; I know he wouldn't say it if he didn't really mean it. I beg my voice to start working again so that I can tell him how much I care about him, but right then the truck's horn sounds once more, and Cloud starts to take a step away from me. He walks over to pick up his bag, tucking his birthday present under his arm, and that's when I'm finally able to force the words from my mouth.

"I love you, too!" I call over to him, not caring in the least who else might happen to hear me.

Cloud turns back to look at me, a huge smile spreading across his face, and he strides quickly back to where I'm standing. He takes my cheeks between his hands, bringing my face to his, and kisses me one last time. We both know that we're out of time then, and he has to get going, so after throwing me one last smile he turns back towards the truck and disappears into the crowd in a matter of seconds.

It's a strange feeling, watching someone so important to me walking away and knowing that I'm not going to see him again for a long time, maybe even several years. It's almost ironic, because before he started talking to me that day he walked me home in the rain, he was just another one of the boys in town to me. Now though, he's quickly become my whole world, and I feel like half of me is going with him, leaving me incomplete.

It's hard to watch him go, maybe even harder than anything else I've ever had to do before, but I try to tell myself that crying about it is silly. Cloud is doing this for me, so he can be able to take care of me, and doing that will make him happy, so I have to support him no matter what. He loves me, so that will have to be enough to hold us together until he gets back. Besides that, I'll see him again, I know I will; he promised me.

To be continued…

(A/N) I was going to update this several days ago, but Fanfiction was being weird… Anybody else get that "login/submission area glitch" message? O.o

Anyway, thanks for the reviews everyone! :D You guys know how much I love you, right? ;)

-punkiemonkie