Tifa waited outside the small house in the countryside, waiting patiently, as the afternoon approached. Now seventy-three, Tifa Strife was retired and owned a farm alongside her husband of fifty years, Cloud Strife whom she still loved as much as the night the two made their promise, a promise that first bound them on almost the same day sixty years ago. Though the two had left Edge to retire, Seventh Heaven and Strife Delivery Service were still running under Marlene and Denzel who often came to visit them.
As years passed, Tifa's hair started to change colour, to a pretty shade of grey. It was tied in a loose braid, and other signs of age started to show. Though she'd not quite been as good, Tifa was still a martial arts expert, even after a pregnancy in her thirties, and as death started to catch up.
The house the couple lived in was built in the area where they first confessed their mutual feelings to one another, the night before the impending battle against Sephiroth in the Northern Crater more than fifty years earlier. Down the path leading up to the house was the farm filled with crops and animals which the couple treated humanely as possible, though for meat, Cloud generally preferred to go out hunting.
Over the planes, Tifa saw a man on a chocobo, carrying something with him. When she saw his face clearly, Tifa smiled as she stood up. The man who came up to her was her beloved husband, Cloud Strife, aged seventy-four and still dashingly handsome, even with his aged face as he dismounted his chocobo and made his way up to Tifa. His hair was tied in a ponytail the same way he had it when he was a child, and he started to grow a full medium-length beard which Cloud claimed made him look more like a farmer, and his eyes still glowed from his exposure to mako, and always would.
"Cloud!" Tifa said as excitedly as she always did.
"Hello, Tifa," Cloud said, "I brought you something,"
Cloud and Tifa gave one another a hug that was as tight as the ones they always had during their marriage. When the hug ended, Cloud took Tifa's hand in his and opened it to reveal an old locket in the shape of a heart. Within it was a picture of their wedding day as the couple held each other's hands and gazed into one another's eyes. On the other side, there was an inscription reading: I promise, a phrase that had many meanings for Cloud and Tifa over many years.
"Cloud, you found it!" Tifa said happily, "Where was it?"
"I found it in the shed," Cloud said, "It was in the a one of my tool boxes, funnily enough. I knew you'd be thankful when I found it,"
"Oh Cloud, thank you," Tifa said.
Tifa picked the locket up and put it around her neck, afterwards slowly giving Cloud a kiss on the lips. Cloud kissed back and held Tifa in his arms for longer this time. Even after years of marriage, the couple never got tired of these loving gestures with no words needed to express their love for one another, only the comfort of their presence.
Inside the house, Cloud found that some chunky potato soup was waiting for him in the cooking pot, made from vegetables from their own farm. With the ladle, Tifa poured a bowl for Cloud and he looked down at the contents, containing some vegetables and strips of chicken. With this, he sat down at the table with a piece of bread by his side as he waited for Tifa to sit down in front of him.
Tifa's cooking always brought happiness to Cloud, and after his retirement, she'd started to teach him to cook himself. Though he'd struggled at first, he got better with time, with Tifa's approval going up each time, making Cloud proud of himself. Tifa's cooking though would always have a special place in his heart, being from the woman he loved more than life itself, the woman he would lay down his life for.
When Cloud ingested his soup, he felt at peace with its warmth and taste so much like home, with Tifa and the farm. As he dipped his bread, he thought of his and Tifa's family, both biological and adoptive, some with children of their own. Tifa though was the woman who gave Cloud the most comfort, and they always supported one another, even if none was needed.
After lunch, Cloud and Tifa went to sit on the couch where their cat Bell slept. Bell was a beautiful white cat who loved to sleep, and meowed a lot, especially in Tifa's presence. Tifa had been given the cat by Cloud accompanied by Barret who was, amazingly enough, still alive and healthy at eighty-eight years of age, and was now living a quiet life in Kalm. He'd told Tifa he found the cat whilst walking with Cloud in Kalm, wandering the streets without an owner, so Cloud told Barret he and Tifa could take care of her.
Tifa picked Bell up, waking her and she meowed. Soon, however, she settled, and as Tifa started stroking her, she was purring. Both her purr and meow were beautiful and reminded Tifa of Maru, her first cat who was of the same shade. Tifa had an attachment to the cat, one which Cloud understood as he too had taken a liking to her and would often feed and pat her himself.
Cloud then picked up a book that had been marked near the end and started to read to Tifa. Though he was not known to be very talkative, Cloud had a soothing reading voice, as he told of a tale of a sailor lost at sea with no way home except the northern star, but no matter how much he sailed, he never reached the shore, until one day he saw the golden coast of the beach, and the sailor was so relieved, he jumped off his boat and swam towards the shore. It was there that he had met once again with his true love, a beautiful woman, a head shorter than the sailor, and she cried and cried until her eyes were dry, and the sailor held her tight, tighter than he ever had before, and told her, he would never let her go again, and they without another word, they kissed. Tifa leaned down on Cloud's shoulder as he read, and when the protagonist reunited with the heroine, she let out a sigh of relief, as the two reminded Tifa of a man and a woman she once knew, but never as a couple, and were long dead. Even the descriptions sounded much like them.
After Cloud finished reading, a knock was heard on the door.
"I wonder who that could be," Tifa said, as she and Cloud got up.
Behind it was Denzel, now aged sixty and dressed in a leather jacket reading 'Strife Delivery Service'. He'd grown a stubble, but his hair was the same wavy hair he had as a child, without a strand of white in it but he had visible wrinkles lining his face.
"Denzel!" Tifa said, "What do you have for us today?"
"Hello, Cloud, Hello, Tifa," Denzel said, "I've got you both something I think you'll like." He passed a small box to Cloud and Tifa and when opened, the couple found an old photo of themselves, taken during their honeymoon at Costa Del Sol, in which Cloud held Tifa in his arms, as she sat on his lap, and with her, smiled at the camera.
"Denzel, where did you find this?" Cloud asked.
"In the bar's storage room," Denzel said, "It was well buried – no wonder you never found it. In fact, I found it completely by accident and decided to give it to you whilst I was working. I'm afraid I won't be able to stay, I'll have to be going right away,"
"Thank you, Denzel," Tifa said, "and how's Marlene?"
"Marlene has been slowing down as of late," Denzel said, "but she's confident she can hand the business down to Cole once she retires."
"I see," Tifa said, "This is the second lost item that was found today. Thank you for visiting, Denzel."
With this, Denzel hugged his adoptive parents before he left, the sound of the Fenrir roaring into the distance. Later, Cloud and Tifa left the house, walking down the dirt road to the farm. They were followed by their farm's chocobo, Koko, who helped to carry crops up the way to their house as well as working as an alternative to the Fenrir now owned by Denzel, which Cloud knew would scare the animals with its loud engine, whereas a chocobo only had it's chirps and talons that made sound.
The farm contained a field of wheat as well as some vegetables and fruits some in full bloom with others approching. The two were often visited by their son, Sky who had often come to the farm for assistance. Sky was a handsome man in his forties with Cloud's spiky hair and Tifa's shade, and he wore a smile on his face all the time, especially when they came to greet each other, having admired each other in every way possible, and his eyes were blue like the ones that Tifa remembered Cloud having when he was young, hence the name Sky.
"Hi Mum, hi Dad," Sky said to them as they crossed paths, "You both look to be doing well. Do you suppose I could join you for dinner tonight?"
"You're always welcome, Sky," Cloud said.
"Very well then, I'll see you tonight," Sky said, "take care!"
With this, Sky went back to working, killing weeds and harvesting plants. Crops that Cloud and Tifa included in their farm were ten different types of greens to feed their chocobos, as well as the same number of nuts when it was tiem to breed them which held the purpose of providing chocobos for the population of Gaia as well as a comfort animal for Cloud who had a natural affinity to the birds, as they become attached to him automatically, as they did for Sky as well.
In the field, Cloud took Tifa's hand and walked with her, observing crops that weren't quite ready for harvest, with others seemed to be getting along well. Though Cloud had once been one who never knew the names of vegetables, he'd since learned after being taught by Tifa during his days as a courier, and now in his old age, he'd known more than he could name.
"These radishes look like they could be ready for harvest soon," Cloud said, "These gysahl greens are looking well too. The chocobos will be happy,"
As Tifa had attempted to crouch down to observe, however, she heard the cry of an animal. When she and Cloud turned around, they saw a baby chocobo with its foot stuck in the fence and being threatened by monsters.
Cloud rushed to the chocobo's aid, which in turn, scared off the monsters with his speed which was just like that of his twenty-one-year-old self. By the time Cloud reached it, the baby chocobo seemed to have calmed down, and he observed the stuck leg.
"There now," Cloud said, "let's take a look at that leg."
The chocobo did not attempt to struggle when Cloud held it and successfully freed its leg from the fence. When Cloud took a closer look, he could see only a braise and mild breeding on the leg, which was otherwise in very good condition, as it didn't struggle to stand and curled up to Cloud with a loving sound. Further, inspection confirmed that the chocobo was a girl.
"Aw Cloud, it looks like you made a new friend," Tifa said, as she went to pat the chocobo.
"I think I have," Cloud said, "I think she wants me to fix her leg."
Cloud and Tifa travelled to the shed where they found a bandage and wrapped it around the chocobo's leg and afterwards housed her in the stable alongside the other chocobos, and one set in particular cuddled her, perhaps her parents, Cloud thought.
After dusk, Cloud and Tifa went back home and had dinner with Sky, who informed the couple that the cattle had been doing just fine with no more indigestion, as had the chickens and sheep. Knowing the couple liked their privacy though, Sky didn't say long, and left not long after he'd finished Tifa's soup which he expressed great pleasure in, as he always did with his mother's cooking, and returned to his wife and seven-year-old son.
When Midnight came, Cloud and Tifa sat outside, sitting on the same rock they sat over fifty years ago. There they gazed up at the stars and reminisced about that day. Unlike in the city of Edge where there was much light pollution, there were many stars visible on the curtain of night where Cloud and Tifa now lived, as much as there were in Nibelheim.
"It's been sixty years," Tifa said, "Do you remember, Cloud?"
"That night on the water tower..." Cloud said, "I could never forget. You were thirteen, I was fourteen. I told you I was going to Midgar to become a SOLDIER. I said I wanted to be like Sephiroth... I promised that if you were ever in trouble, I would come to save you,"
"And you always did," Tifa said, "even if it hadn't been the way I'd imagined all those years ago, and although I could save myself. You were always there Cloud, thank you,"
"I always will be, Tifa," Cloud said, "No matter how old you or I get, I will never forget our promise. I love you, Tifa,"
With this, Cloud gave Tifa a kiss, a mild yet loving kiss, as they often were, and Tifa could only kiss back. Cloud's arms curled around his wife's back and Tifa did the same. No matter what, Cloud would be Tifa's hero, even if all was lost and they were the only two people left on Gaia, Cloud would protect Tifa, forever.
Tifa rested on her husband's shoulder, and Cloud held her closer. Gently, he picked her up as though they'd just gotten married and carried her into their house and up to their bedroom on the second floor of the house where they went to sleep without changing clothes, and Bell jumped up to sleep with them as she did every night. Tifa still felt light in Cloud's arms, and due to the JENOVA cells in his veins, he was still strong even though his age started to show, and so was Tifa.
Cloud lay down next to her, holding her close as if she were going to disappear the next day, knowing their bond was without strings, and even when she or he died, Cloud would continue to love and cherish her in his heart. They hadn't pulled over the blanket when they were sleeping, but when they woke up, they woke up happy and comfortable, and just like every morning, they gave a kiss when they woke up, and walked down into the golden field of wheat hand and hand. If there was anything Cloud knew for certain, it was that he would love her.
For eternity and beyond...