I couldn't think of a better title, okay? Besides, I'm kinda in a rush to uplode this, so I don't really have any time to think of a better one. Anyway, this is mostly Zarith with Cloud and a bit of Cloti at the end.

Anyway, enjoy this installment!

What is Heaven?

Light flittered in through the crumbing roof as the doors to the church slowly creaked open at Cloud stepped inside; it was not much different then what it looked like last time he was there. He slowly recalled when that 'last time' was. In all truth, it had been a long while since he had last visited Aerith's church. A year ago, he often spent every waking moment sitting before the bed of flowers that bloomed in the soil where the wooden floorboards had been removed.

But that was when he had been blaming himself for their deaths, and now that he had finally moved on, he didn't see why he had to go there as often. This visit was only for old time's sake, they lived on in the Lifestream, and in his memories.

He wondered what it is like, Heaven. Was it the paradise that was described to him as a child? Do they really watch you from their high point in the clouds? Cloud had stopped questioning Heaven years ago. But being in Aerith's church again, it caused all those age old questions to crop back up in his mind.

What was Heaven like?

Suddenly, he felt the world around him fade away, and he became aware that he was not alone anymore in the crumbling building. It was as if everything around him slowly disintegrated into vapour and all that was left behind was pure white.

"Heaven?" He didn't know why, but that was the first word that came to mind as his gaze wandered around the distant plain. Glancing at his feet, he found that his feet were resting in a field of flowers. Aerith's flowers.

A giggle greeted his question, he knew that giggle. He turned around. "No, not yet." Aerith stood behind him, her usual upbeat smile on her face, illuminating her vivid green eyes. "I did make it clear that it isn't your time yet."

He looked at her quizzically. "Then... why am I here?" he asked. "Aren't you... supposed to be in the Lifestream?"

Another laugh greeted his question. Cloud knew that laugh as well. His eyes darted around the vast field of flowers until they rested on the young man standing beside Aerith. The first thing Cloud noticed was the uncanny fact that both he and the young man shared similar facial features, the only thing that separated them from being identical twins was their hair colour. Cloud was somewhat famous for his blond spikes, while this young man standing beside Aerith has raven black hair fashionably spiked, subtly.

"Hey," he said with an upbeat grin, "Just 'cause we're dead doesn't mean we can't visit you from time to time. We're buddies, remember, Cloud?"

Cloud allowed a ghost of a smile to appear on his face. "I don't think anyone likes the idea of being haunted, Zack," he replied. "Even if it is an old friend."

Zack shrugged his shoulders and winked at Aerith. "Then call it 'Death Vacation' if you're so worried," he suggested.

Aerith let out a giggle and playfully swatted the raven-haired man on the shoulder. Cloud watched the two of them interact with subtle solemn, just because him and Zack looked so much alike, it did not mean they were the same, personality-wise. It was easy to understand why Cloud was the way he is, but a part of him did sometimes wish he could be a little looser.

"What's it like?" he suddenly asked, cutting through their laughter.

"What's what like?" Zack asked.

"Heaven."

Zack and Aerith exchanged smiling glances and surreptitious winks before turning back to their old friend. Aerith stepped over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"It's like nothing you've ever imagined," she explained, her voice a bit higher than usual and a strange smile on her face. "There are unicorns, purple dragons, and we sit on clouds eating grapes and those little chocolate truffles all day."

It took Cloud a moment to realise she was joking, he sent her a less-than-impressed looked. "Very funny, Aerith," he mumbled. He was somewhat happy to see she still had her flirty, upbeat attitude.

She giggled and waved her hand at him. "Well, I thought it was funny anyway," she said dismissively. "Zack, why don't you tell him?"

The raven-haired man gave her a happy smile, and then took the floor. "It's nothing like Aerith here said," he started, giving her a swift kiss on the top of her head, "To be completely honest, it's far nicer than that."

He moved away from Aerith and spread his arms out, shutting his eyes. "The air... is clean and fresh." He took in a deep breath, and slowly exhaled. He then crouched down to the ground and gently nudged a flower. "The grass, flowers, and leaves in the trees... are so green and bursting with life." He climbed back to his feet and faced Cloud with a peaceful smile. "And, the feeling it gives you... you feel like you're finally at peace with everything."

This sent Cloud into a sort revere. A few years ago, the only thing he wished for was death, and he would have gone through with if not for his desire for forgiveness being overpowering. But then, he thought of Tifa and her staggering patience. She had waited for over two years for him to finally stop blaming himself; she was such a caretaker with such spirit and vigour. He wanted to love her. He did, after all, have a huge crush on her as a child. He supposed those feelings never really went away. He always viewed Tifa as a woman full of courage, vitality, determination, with a sweet, kind, and caring side to her. How could anyone not love her? Cloud certainly did not know.

But then, there was Aerith. To this day, Cloud did not know his full feelings for her. He cared for her, that much was obvious, but love her? He did not know. Her death saddened him, mostly because if Sephiroth had not killed her, he was about to (due to the fact that he was a puppet Sephiroth at the time), but luckily stopped at the last moment. He blamed himself for her death, hers and Zack's. Because, he felt he had been unable to save them. He had the ability to prevent their deaths, but he had failed to use them. At least, that was what he believed. He had carried the guilt with him for two years, keeping everyone else out, including his friends who only wished to help.

The mention of Heaven being a place to find peace echoed in his mind. He knew what his friends would think if they knew what he was thinking. Tifa would be appalled at him; she had worked so hard to help him. Thinking about suicide would be an insult to her. She had once told him that the only way to get over such tragedies is to get back on your feet and carry on from where you left off. Life is short, make the most of it, try everything. Don't throw it away just after one blunder.

Her ability to remain so positive when everything is dire astonished him immensely.

"Of course," Zack's voice broke through his thoughts, "Like I said before, you don't have a place there... yet."

Cloud shook his head, hearing their voices again after thinking so deeply momentarily startled him. "What?" he mumbled.

He saw Zack's boyish grin as he put an arm around Aerith's shoulders. "It's not your time yet," Zack explained. "We already told you, we never blamed you for what happened to us. You, on the other hand, have your whole life ahead of you. Tifa's right, Don't throw it away after one small blunder."

Cloud scowled. "I would hardly call letting your two die a small blunder," he muttered.

Unfortunately for him, they heard every word. "Then live your life, for us," Aerith suggested. "Have what Zack and I will never have. Marry, have children, grow old with the one you love." He saw a glint of mischief in her vivid green eyes. "Watch your grandchildren jump on to your lap for story time."

Zack chuckled while muttering, "Story time." He set his azure back on Cloud. "So... you ready to join the world of the living again?"

Cloud didn't reply straight away. His thoughts drifted over their words. Perhaps they were right; he did have his whole life ahead of him. He was, after all, only twenty-four. Plenty of time to marry and have children, set aside his sword to raise a family. But with who? Immediately he thought of Tifa and her wise words and her dark eyes. Was she the one? A smile slowly spread across his face when he considered the thought.

He turned back to Zack, his smile still on his face.

"Well?" Zack asked.

Cloud slowly nodded. "I am," he replied.

Twilight slowly fell over the streets of Edge, causing the crowd of people walking them to become smaller and smaller until only a few brave hardy souls dared to walk them once night had completely fallen. Cloud was one of them, judging by the unmistakably infamous crop of spiky blond hair. One would say it resembled that of a chocobo's.

Quite casually, he made his way across the city square where a monument was under construction. Nobody would forget the day Bahamut struck. It was almost as terrifying as the day Sephiroth summoned Meteor to destroy all life on the planet only three short years ago.

Most of the stores had closed for the night, but one remained open after hours. As Cloud stepped closer to the one building with lights flittering out the windows, a sign above the door read, "Tifa's Seventh Heaven". Cloud felt another smile spread across his face, their home often served as a lodge for their travelling friends. It was funny how they often went their separate ways, but somehow always managed to meet up somewhere along down the line.

The bar was surprisingly full for a Thursday evening. He watched fondly as Marlene and Denzil ran from table to table gathering people's orders. When they finally saw Cloud, their little faces lit up and they sent him smiling waves, and then went back to work. However, he kept his gaze firmly on one person. Behind the bar counter, she worked, serving drinks and offering hospitable smiles to her customers. If there was one thing Cloud never failed to notice, it was how, despite her own tragedies, she still managed to offer a smile to whoever needed one.

When they returned to their tables in the restaurant area, Cloud took a seat by the counter. "Busy tonight," he said after a few moments.

She halted hallways through polishing a glass. After quickly recomposing herself, she gazed at Cloud with smiling relief. To his surprise, she reached over the counter and swept him into a hug.

"You're back," she breathed after breaking away.

Cloud nodded. "Like always," he said. "I did promise you I would. You know I never break a promise, don't you?"

She nodded. "It doesn't stop me from worrying though," she replied, wiping away a tear. "So, how have you been?"

"Alright, I suppose," he replied with some thought. "Life seems to be going on. How about you? Anything interesting happen here in the bar?"

Tifa raised and lowered her shoulders. "I did have to break up a fight a while ago. The guys must have been new in town, everyone here knows to not start a fight in my bar," she recalled with a broad smile on her face. "Doesn't matter who starts it, I'll always finish it."

Cloud smiled and nodded in agreement. Everyone in Edge knew the number one rule in Tifa's Seventh Heaven was to not start a bar fight, otherwise they run the risk of either being thrown out or knocked out by Tifa. Everyone knew about Tifa and her extraordinary physical strength, and Cloud, among many other people, was not really willing to get a taste of her super human strength.

Tifa rested her elbows on the counter. "Anything interesting happen while you were on your travels?" she asked. "You never tell me about them."

He raised and lowered his shoulders. "You never ask," he said with a smile. They were becoming more frequent, especially around Tifa. Even the rest of the group noticed.

Tifa smiled, he always found her smiles to be refreshing. "Well, I'm asking now," she told him.

He was silent for a moment. "Tifa... have you ever wondered what Heaven is like?" he asked.

Her dark eyes widened a little at his out-of-the-blue question, and a small possibility entered her mind. "Cloud, you're not thinking off-"

He stopped her before she could say it. "No, no I'm not. Not anymore," he interrupted her quickly. "I was just asking what you thought."

She thought for a moment, it was then Cloud noticed how her ebony hair seemed to glow in the dim light. "I don't know," she finally replied. "I guess it's something I never really thought about. Why? What brought this on?"

Cloud thought about telling her about his conversation with the two people he had been brooding over three years prior. After a moment of thought, he decided against the idea. He didn't want Tifa to think he was going mad by claiming he had spoken to dead people. Finally, he shook his head and gave her a rare kind of smile from him, a smile that was clearly for her and her alone.

"I was just wondering," he finally told her.

Tifa mirrored his smile. "Okay then," she replied. "I've always thought of it as a kind of... paradise, somewhere where lost souls can finally find their peace. You know, like a permanent holiday or something." Her gaze gradually drifted to her right. After a few moments, she fixed her gaze back on Cloud. "What about you? What are your thoughts? What's Heaven like to you?"

Surprisingly, he shook his head. "I can't really say until I see it for myself." He reached over the bar and took Tifa's hand in his. "But not right now."

He felt his heartbeat quicken as she twisted her hand under his so her fingers were entwined with his. Her smile brought one to his face.

"I'm glad to hear that," she told him.

Had to add in Tifa because she's my favourite Final Fantasy character of all times. Like I said before, I'm in a rush, so I have no time to chat. R&R!

Tsukikage1213