This New Day
Chapter 2 - The Determination
The smile! He turned to look at Tifa- the woman who was wearing his ring but on her right hand; the woman who fought with him on the battlefield and in the house; the woman who knew him better than he knew himself. Why aren't we together? he thought.
Sure they were together. Two years prior, the night before the dreaded Meteorfall, they found that their feelings for each other were the same. He told her there were things he wanted to say, but couldn't find the words. Her response was "Words aren't the only thing that tell people what you're thinking," which was bold coming from her; just weeks earlier, she had tried but failed to say the L-word to him. So in the darkness of an uncertain future, only their feelings for each other were certain. They consummated their new relationship without words.
The following day they fought along with their comrades, and with help from above, were able to lessen the impact of the meteor. Like many other survivors, it wasn't long before they rebuilt and settled... together.
"Together" ended up meaning everything but; it meant taking care of their friend's 4-year-old daughter, adopting an 8-year-old orphan, running two businesses, early mornings, late-night deliveries and pick-ups hours away from home, 18-hour work days, and on top of it all, guilt. Not survivor's guilt, but the guilt of having had a part in the destruction of countless lives and the inability to fix it.
And then he left her. Not long ago, he left for work one day, didn't come back, and didn't say why. He went into hiding. Already weakened with guilt and self-doubt, he had gotten the stigma, and wanted no one to know. He felt unable to care for anyone.
Upon giving up, he was confronted by evil, and had to choose to fight or to die.
"Now," he determined, standing in the Holy water, "the past is behind me. Everything lies ahead..."