(A/N) This is going to be short drabbles of stories about Cloud and Tifa and how they got a dog that looks and acts like Zack. These aren't going to be long at all so don't be too disappointed :D And I'm not stopping This Changes Everything this is just something I decided to cook up for the Christmas season :)

Zack the Puppy- 1) He's Late.

It was very busy at the Seventh Heaven, probably because it was a Friday. The tables were a mess from the rowdy customers, which were mostly men. Most of the men that came to the bar were because they were really lonely or really horny. The men that wanted to glance at the pretty barmaid had a sliver of hope that she would be easy. If only they knew the truth. But the other people that didn't go in for her, like the women and their men, was because it was the most popular bar in Edge.

A dim light bulb was the only thing that brought light in the empty bar. The Barmaid was cleaning the last of the tables from any food or drinks that were spilled on it during the day. After each table she cleaned, she would lift up the chairs on top of it so she could sweep the ground beneath it. It was very quiet and the only noise in the room was her own footsteps and the brush of the broom. But her back stiffened when she felt that she hit something with the broom under the table.

Ever since Tifa was a child, she was afraid that a stranger would come in her house when she was all alone. That fear has yet to go away. She thought that it was foolish though because she mastered martial arts, had to travel the world to fight a madman, and have the world almost destroyed by a chunk of rock. So why was she afraid of one stranger breaking into her bar?

Tifa carefully leaned the broom up against the wall before slowly bending down to inspect what was underneath. She almost jumped out of her skin when she actually found a person there. He looked to be passed out, but the odd thing was that he was naked.

The thing is, Tifa never lets someone run around naked, especially in her own bar. So how did this happen? She always kept her eyes on customers to make sure that this did not happen. But it looks like this fool was going to be the first.

"Hey, you!" Tifa trued to call to the man, but his eyes did not open. A groan escaped from the man's throat and he buried his face underneath his arm. Tifa grabbed him by the arm and jerked him from underneath the table. That's when his eyes snapped open.

"Hey!" he yelled in protest from the sudden movement. He rubbed his head most likely from the splitting headache then looked around.

"It's probably time for you to go home now," Tifa said and then the man realized that he didn't have any clothes on. He looked around the bar and saw that his clothes were missing.

"Uh, where are my clothes?" the man asked, not even embarrassed for not being dressed in front of Tifa.

"I have no idea, now get out," She said and picked up the broom from its resting place on the wall.

"But I can't go outside! It's below freezing out there!" The man said dramatically.

"That's not my problem, you shouldn't take your clothes off if you don't want to be cold." Tifa said trying to keep her eyes on his face.

"Well if you didn't know, lady, that there's a law that you can't go outside naked." The man said smartly.

"And if you didn't know, buster, there's a law against being naked being in a public establishment." Tifa replied and dropped the broom so that she could cross her arms across her chest.

"That's not true, what about a strip club?" he smiled smugly and Tifa had the urge to punch him across the face.

Tifa sighed in annoyance before going behind the bar and grabbing a towel and tossing it at the man.

"Thank you kindly." He said with a smile and walked out of the bar.

'I need Cloud, he's late again' Tifa thought as she went back to her cleaning. After the Geostigma incident, more and more people started to come because they wanted to celebrate the cured epidemic. Then after the Deepground incident, when the lifestream was restored, people started to enjoy life again. Needless to say, The Seventh Heaven started to get very busy. And to top it off, it was Christmas season so Cloud had a lot more deliveries and got home really late. And Tifa's customers started to get more confident /reckless.

Tifa sighed. She knew that she could take on any of the dumbasses that tried to put a move on her. One time one man just kept coming back until she had to actually throw him through the wall. When Cloud saw the gaping hole on the side of the building, he had a lot of questions. But he still isn't aware that guys are flirting with her.

She sighed again as she scrubbed leftover food on a table. It's very hard to manage a bar by herself, but she can't hire anybody else because the budget is close enough to the belt as it is. It may be the most popular bar in edge but it was only that way because they offered high quality drinks and meals for cheap prices. They want to have some luxuries sometimes. Plus they have to save up any extra cash to by nice gifts for the kids. And she wanted to get something nice for Cloud. They started dating a few months after the Geostigma epidemic, Tifa let a smile creep across her face as a memory consumed her

* * * *

It was a cold winter day and Cloud and Tifa were walking down the street towards the bar. It was winter vacation for the kids and they were presently at Barret's so Marlene could spend some time with her adopted father. Denzel was with her because he didn't like to be all alone with the adults. The kids had a whole month from school for winter vacation. Naturally the kids were very excited to having a month off.

It was very chilly in that winter morning and snowflakes were slowly falling around them. Tifa forced Cloud to take a walk with her so she could enjoy the beautiful winter day. Earlier when Tifa suggested it Cloud was in the middle of watching some mechanic program, and was probably picking up some ways to improve his precious motorcycle, Fenrir, he grumbled a fine then got up. Cloud would do anything for Tifa.

He was walking next to her wearing a navy blue heavy jacket with a pair of dark trousers and black cotton gloves. During the winter, instead of his leather gloves, he wore cotton ones. Tifa was wearing a white jacket, a pair of jeans and a pink scarf. Her arms were crossed over her chest while Cloud hands were buried deep in his jacket pockets.

Even though Cloud was wearing heavy layers he was shivering slightly and his cheeks were flushed from the cold. The weather was one of his weaknesses, he never dressed appropriately for it, like now he wasn't wearing anything to keep his neck and up warm. Tifa saw this and grabbed his hand so he would stop. He turned to her confusingly and said, "We're almost back, let's keep going."

In response, Tifa tugged on his hand, demanding him to stop. He tilted his head to the side as she pulled off one side of her scarf and tugged him closer. She wrapped one of the sides of the scarf around his neck and brought it back so it was around her neck. So now they were standing very close to each other, both wrapped in her pink scarf. Cloud's arms slowly wrapped loosely around her slim waist and he was glad for the heat that the scarf gave and Tifa's body heat.

"You want to go back yet?" she asked teasingly and Cloud flushed, but not because of the cold. He shook his head slightly and brought his freezing forehead to hers and then she started to flush. A small smile was blooming across her face and she looked up at him to see that his eyes were closed, but there was a small smile on his face. The small delicate snowflakes were landing on their shoulders and Cloud opened his eyes lazily. He kept one arm around her waist but brought the other one up so he could cup her incredibly pink cheek. He bent his head forward slightly and he planted his lips on hers. She found his lips to be unimaginably soft and warm despite the cold atmosphere. Her arms slip up his chest and went to the nape of his neck where she played with the hair there.

When they pulled apart their breaths mingled before they both smiled in understanding. They walked home with their fingers linked and the scarf in Cloud's hand.

* * * *

Tifa was pulled out her memory when Cloud opened the door with a bundle under his arm and he locked the door behind him. He turned to Tifa with a look of slight apprehension.

"Cloud?" Tifa questioned slightly and Cloud bowed his head a little.

"Don't be angry," Were his first words. Uh oh.

"What is it?" She asked with a little concern.

"I know we never talked about it, but I got something." Cloud unwrapped the blanket slowly and a little black dog's head poked out. It barked happily in a very puppy way and for some reason it had a little bang that poked out and a small white spot on its chest. It had an X shaped scar on his cheek that made Tifa think that Cloud got that puppy from an abusive home. And this little puppy reminded her of a certain deceased SOLDIER…

"His name is Zack the puppy," Cloud stated and the dog looked up at Cloud then looked back at Tifa with glowing blue eyes and his tongue lapped out of his mouth a huge dog smile on his face.

Tifa dropped the rag she was holding and it fell to the floor with a small plop. She quickly rushed over to the puppy, a large smile on her face. She brought her hands up and placed them on the puppy's cheek, and Zack shook his head free from her hands but that same dog smile stayed on his face.

"Cloud, He's adorable!" She gushed. Then she placed a ton of kisses on the dogs face. Zack grunted but it seemed like he didn't mind.

Cloud watched with a small smile. He was really glad Tifa didn't throw a fit, like he was afraid she would. He knew that they were having some troubles with money so he took it upon him self to take on some more deliveries, and he knew that the dog wouldn't really help them financially. But when he walked past that animal shelter and saw that happy looking dog in the window that looked suspiciously like Zack he knew he had to get him.

"So, you like him?" Cloud asked, uncertain.

Tifa looked up at him. She was absolutely glowing; Cloud was slightly breathless for a second. "Of course!"

(A/N) So what do you think? Love it? Hate it? Let me know :D

And I got the flashback from a picture I saw once, incase you are wondering :)