A/N: I would like to give thanks to the newest reviewers, Hegodart and vx-Luna-xv. Also, I would love to give a HUGE thank you to my favorite reviewer, punkiemonkie. I don't know what I would have done if it wasn't for you!!! XD

Getting Close

Cloud really thought it was a good idea to spend the rest of the day enjoying the great outdoors. However, Cid was still in his thoughts, along with the questions that needed to be answered. He thought that maybe the reason Tifa came up with this idea was because it would probably help him ease his mind.

Tifa slipped on a pair of sneakers and brushed her hair. Her long locks didn't really needed to be brushed, but she figured that it would be nice to do so, anyway.

"Are you ready?" she asked Cloud, who was in the living room.

"Yeah," Cloud replied. "Where are we going?"

"There's a park near a huge lake that's not too far from here," Tifa explained.

"Okay. Let's go."

They both went out the back door that led to the garage. Cloud pushed a button that was on the wall to open the garage door. The bartender's heart began to race. She was anxious to ride on the motorcycle with Cloud, running free like the wind. The blonde climbed on the Fenrir first, then Tifa.

"You're ready?" he asked, putting on his goggles.

"Mm-hmm," Tifa said. She wrapped her arms tightly around the swordsman's waist.

Mixed emotions started to flow through her mind as she felt his warm body against hers. Cloud started the ignition. The loud engine caused Tifa's eardrums to throb. It sounded like they were inside a long tunnel. Cloud pushed the kickstand up with his foot and took off.

The brunette closed her eyes, feeling the wind touching her skin. She kind of wished that she had a pair of goggles or shades, at least so she could definitely enjoyed the view. Tifa slightly opened her eyes to see where they were. There were a few buildings, houses and the rest were nothing but grassy fields and a few trees. She later felt the vibration of the motorcycle slowing down and coming to a stop.

"Is this the place you were talking about?" Cloud asked.

Tifa opened up her eyes and there it was. The lake was so huge that no words could describe, and it looked like it could go on for miles and miles. Half the lake was surrounded by grassy fields with yellow flowers scattered everywhere.

Tifa could tell that Cloud was amazed to see the endless lake by the way he slowly took off his goggles. There was something in his blue eyes that made the bartender smile. His eyes sparkled like the sunlight reflecting on the surface of the lake.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" she asked him.

"Yeah…," Cloud answered slowly.

The swordsman parked his Fenrir by one of the trees, close to the lake. The afternoon sky was filled with orange and pink streaks and some clouds slowly passing by. Tifa walked over to one of the trees and sat down. Cloud was still standing over by the lake, observing what the planet had to offer. The soft breeze really brought the lake into life, forming dozens of ripples as it set off to the east.

For the past ten minutes, the two adults sat together underneath the fully grown tree, reminiscing about their past.

"You know," said Tifa. "It feels like it was yesterday when we were just kids and now, here we are. All grown up."

"Yeah," Cloud agreed, resting his head on the trunk. He closed his eyes and a smile curved his lips.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Six year old Tifa Lockhart asked her mother if she could go outside and play. Mrs. Lockhart was preparing to make dinner while she told her daughter not to go too far from the house. Tifa gave her mother a bright smile as Mrs. Lockhart crouched down to her level and gave Tifa a kiss on her rosy cheek.

Little Tifa skipped her way out of the house in her light blue, summer dress. She stopped in the middle of the lawn and looked up at the sky and watched some birds soar above. Tifa imagined herself as a bird as she spread her arms out and began flapping them, running around in circles.

Something caught her eye when she came to a stop. She saw a little boy sitting on the front steps of the house to the left of Tifa's. The boy looked like he could be the same age as Tifa. The girl couldn't really see his face because of his spiky hair. He looked as though he was sad because he was resting his chin in the palm of his hand.

Tifa slowly walked her way across the lawn, towards the child. She was amazed how golden his spikes were. She wanted to touch them.

"What's wrong?" she asked the boy sweetly.

The boy slowly looked up, his ocean-blue eyes laid upon Tifa's. It seemed that he was crying, due to the puffiness of his eyes.

"No one wants to play with me," he answered, his voice sounded a bit hoarse.

"Why?" the curious girl asked.

The boy just shrugged his shoulders.

"What is your name?"

There was a short pause. "Cloud."

"My name is Tifa," said the brunette. "You can play with me."

"I can?" Cloud sniffled.

The little girl nodded. A small smile grew across the boy's face, and his eyes lit up. Tifa told Cloud to wait as she ran back to her house.

"Mommy! Mommy!" she shouted with excitement.

"What is it, sweetie?" Mrs. Lockhart said, setting down her oven mitten on the kitchen counter.

"There's a boy outside and he wants to play with me! Can I play with him, pleeeeeeeeease?"

The mother looked out the window to see if she could see the little boy. Cloud was standing by a tree with a tire swing, waiting patiently for Tifa to come back outside.

"Okay," Mrs. Lockhart finally said, turning away from the window. "I guess you can go ahead and play with him, but you two don't play rough, okay?"

"Okay, Mommy," Tifa replied, wrapping her small arms around her mother's thighs.

Mrs. Lockhart smiled as she watched her only child ran out the house. Ever since the day Tifa was born, she had always been protective of her. The mother had nothing against Cloud. It was just strange that this was her first time seeing the little boy, and she wondered why she had never seen him play outside like the other kids, but she was happy to know that Tifa was willing to be Cloud's friend.

The children took turns swinging on the tire swing. The sadness was no longer on Cloud's face. He didn't say much, but Tifa knew that he was happy to have her as a friend. Almost everyday, the first thing the little girl would do was to go next door and asked Cloud's mother if he could come out and play. Mrs. Strife was really nice, and sometimes she invited Tifa over to their house. Cloud had a feeling that he and Tifa would become the best of friends.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

"Cloud?"

"Hmm?" The blonde opened up his eyes and saw Tifa standing in front of him.

"Come on," she said. "It's getting late."

She held out her hand to help Cloud get back on his feet. They both took one last look at the wonderful sight, and they could see the orange sun beginning to set behind the mountains.

Cloud and Tifa almost forgot how quiet the house was with Marlene and Denzel gone. Usually, the kids always had the adults busy, playing games, making sure they did what they were suppose to do or just hanging out. The swordsman always liked it when it was quiet. He had nothing against the children for being there or anything like that; he enjoyed having them around.

"You're hungry?" the bartender asked.

"A little," Cloud replied, sitting down on the barstool.

Tifa looked into the fridge and pulled out a box of frozen pizza. After she placed the pizza in the oven, she walked over to the living room to see what was on TV. She put on a channel that showed nothing but movies, and headed back over to where Cloud was.

They later sat together on the couch, enjoying their food and a comedy movie. Cloud wasn't much of a movie person, but he was satisfied. Apparently, Tifa was so into movies. When the third movie came on, she got a little teary-eyed when they were watching a romantic movie. Cloud got up to get a box of tissue and gave it to Tifa.

"Thank you," she told him, taking the box.

They didn't realize what time it was. It was ten minutes to eleven, but they continued watching movies. The bartender tried so hard to stay awake because one of her favorite movies was on. As for Cloud, he was getting there, but he wasn't as sleepy as Tifa was. He tilted his head back on the couch, and stretched his legs out, with his feet underneath the table. He later felt something leaning against his left shoulder. He slowly turned his head and noticed Tifa was resting her head on it. He couldn't really tell if she was fast asleep or not. Tifa's soft and steady breathing indicated that she was.

Cloud could feel his heart beating rapidly. He and Tifa had never been this close before. Not like this. He could smell a fruity fragrance coming from the martial artist's hair. Cloud didn't really know if he should wake her up and tell her to go to bed, or just let her sleep peacefully on his shoulder. It pretty much felt like as if he had an angel sitting right next to him and protecting him with her presence.

The warm sensation he once had in the pit of his stomach was back. Only this time, it was much stronger. He really loved to have Tifa by his side, but the awkwardness was in the way.

A small moan escaped from the brunette's lips as she stirred her body towards Cloud. Unfortunately, his left arm was becoming numb because Tifa was lying against it. He carefully and slowly lifted his arm up, without trying to disturb the bartender's beauty sleep.

She let out a soft sigh, stirring her body once more. Unexpectedly, her left hand was placed on the side of Cloud's chest, right above his heart.

I can't believe this is happening. Cloud thought. This moment feels like a dream…

He carefully placed his left arm around Tifa's shoulders. His hand gently touched Tifa's bare shoulder, due to the fact that she was wearing a tank top. Cloud started to yawn and rested his head back on the couch, closing his eyes. The tension he had in his heart was finally starting to subside. Even though they were just friends, the swordsman wanted to cherish this moment, because he felt so special to have someone he cared sitting right next to him.

A/N: I had to do some quick changes to this, but I hope it turned out okay. The flashback you've read earlier, I guess you can say that Cloud and Tifa both shared that flashback, if you know what I'm trying to say. ;P I'll update soon! Don't forget to review, please! Thanks!! XD