Prompt: #1 Love

Summary: Sometimes words are more important.

Love

As she finds herself blinking, no gaping, in a mixture of wonder and joy with a lot of surprise in there too, she wonders if maybe she heard him wrong. She was too young to be hearing things, right? No, she definitely heard him right. When she realizes that they really had been what Cloud had said before he walked out the door to make sure the kids got to the school bus safely, she finds a giddy grin on her lips. A blush soon follows, along with a giggle and she feels like jumping up and down with glee.

Breathe. She needs to not forget to breathe and then she marvels at how vastly different everything looks now because of the words he had just uttered before leaving. Everything had looked so bleak this morning and now everything just… it just looks so much brighter.

It dawns on her how contradictory women were, then, herself included. Always saying one thing and meaning another and always expecting more. Then, when that doesn't happen, they get depressed and then angry and resentful. She doesn't like that she finds herself always keeping such feelings to herself, just because she didn't want to make a fuss. Sometimes she wishes she has Yuffie's straight forwardness and bluntness. The feisty little ninja never had a problem letting everyone know exactly what was bothering her at any given moment. But then again, Yuffie was also a brat, a loveable brat but still a brat and somehow Tifa couldn't bring herself to be a complete brat. Her feeling like a brat sometimes notwithstanding.

To be honest, she knows she's been completely unreasonable and downright irrational at times. She just can't help it. Actions truly did speak louder than words, didn't they? Cloud has been showing her every day, through his actions that he loves her. His actions spoke volumes to the depths of his feelings. Even their friends had noticed the changes in him and they smiled at her proudly now. No more pitying looks and loudly whispered confrontations from Yuffie about why she stayed with Cloud.

So she should be happy.

Yes, she was happy.

Truly.

Really.

But she hadn't been. You'd think that after the honest heart to heart they'd had, she'd be more secure. She promised that she'd try. It wasn't fair to Cloud if she didn't and she honestly had. She does and things really were better. But like any woman, she had found herself wanting more, again. She wants more from him. More in the sense that actions weren't enough anymore. She's not sure who she's more annoyed with because of this, herself or Cloud.

Not that she would have said anything or even asked. She just went carrying on, keeping her unhappiness to herself and only being angry in her head. She had not thought she had given her black mood away outwardly this morning. She had gotten ready. She had gotten the kids ready. Then she had made breakfast and made sure to have the everyone's lunches within easy reach when they ran out the door. The sounds of Denzel and Marlene chatting away about the day ahead with Cloud's softly spoken replies had mollified her and she had even joined in the conversation.

When Denzel and Marlene started rushing off to go after shoveling down their breakfasts, she could feel that sadness settle in again. She hadn't even noticed that she gave away her melancholy when she felt Cloud at her back. The warm moistness of his breath in her ear had a shiver run right through her. Then he kissed her sweetly on the cheek just as the kids were rushing past them and out the door with loud good byes.

"I love you," he said giving her waist a reassuring squeeze, before calling out for them to wait for him.

Which is why she's standing here like a love sick fool, feeling the world is a brighter place because he finally said the words. Cloud finally told her he loves her and she feels all those other things just disappear to be replaced by happiness. So when he returns from seeing the kids off a minute later, he finds her waiting for him with a dazzling smile on her face and smiles back. Because that's just how he's been lately. He seems to know just when she needs him and what to do and feels herself fall even more in love with him in return.