Author's Notes: Happy Birthday to Nojima sensei for giving us this beautiful story that is Final Fantasy VII, and for me this is a very special one shot I've written for the first time about my oldest video game couple CloTi for Under The Highwind24.

Vows Beneath The Highwind

Where would I even begin? That was the one question that sat with me for a while after Nibelhiem was destroyed. We had nowhere else to turn. The situation escalated with each passing second. So I relied on the one simple task that was the most obvious outcome for our own sake. Run. Live to fight another day. I knew that concept better than anyone, or so I thought... Perhaps I might've been wrong about it this whole time. I wasn't entirely sure what to make of what transpired at all. All except for one simple truth that stuck with me onboard the Highwind. To have been alive despite everything. Except, I wasn't the only one alone on the ship's deck. My oldest friend was there beside me. She had long silky black hair that fell midway tied in a bow that formed a dolphin-like tail split down her back. I could tell a lot was eating away at her as Tifa looked over the clouds beyond the glass.

"What are you going to do, Tifa?" I asked.

She shot her crimson eyes towards me streaming in tears, "Did you forget? I'm... all alone, I don't have anywhere to go." slammed her fist against my chest and buried her face on my shoulder."Any...where..."

This wasn't the first time I've seen her like this. Not that I could ever blame Tifa for being in that state. After all, I'm the one who should take the blame. That's not something I could've ever admitted to Tifa, but deep down I knew it more than anyone. Yet,my left arm wrapped around her.

"I'm sorry... Tifa.." I stated casually.

She was lost, "Don't be, it's gentle this time..."

That response left me stunned, "Oh... That's not what I was referring to, but..." my eyes looked upon the view, "We could stop there, if you'd like?"

Tifa drew her head back to the windows to witness a cliffside coming into view, "Sure thing..."

Five minutes later...

The ship hovered near the center of the field before the two of us hit the grassy terrain. Tifa looked on ahead with her hands behind her back. My direction was towards the right at the azure sea. The reflection of my disbelief was all I could see until her screams creeped up and I was taken aback. Followed by a sigh when my eyes went back to Tifa.

"Everyone's gone..." She said quietly.

"Yeah, We don't have anywhere or anyone to go home to." I nodded.

Tifa echoed, "You're right!" and pushed her back behind her ear, "But... I'm sure someday... They'll come back, don't you think?"

"Hmm.. I wonder..." I continued with my hand over my chin then faced her view, "Everyone has something irreplaceable they're holding on to... But this time our opponent..."

"Hmm... But it's alright, even if no one comes back..." She paused momentarily to match her gaze with my own, "As long as I'm with you... As long as you're by my side... I won't give up even if I'm scared."

"Tifa..."

Tifa clenched onto the edge of her skirt, "No matter how close we were... We were far apart...Before this... But when we were in the Lifestream surrounded by all those screams of anguish, I thought I heard your voice..." her voice croaked as tears fell off, "you probably don't remember this..." then moved towards her white tank top, "But in my heart I heard you calling my name, or at least I thought I did..."

"Yeah... At that time I heard you calling me... You were calling me back from the stream of consciousness in the Lifestream." I slowly walked over towards her direction after my hand smacked against my forehead, "After all, I promised if anything were to ever happen to you, I would come to help."

She looked towards the stars in the night sky, "Cloud...? Do you think the stars can hear us?" and pointed my direction over to them, "Do you think they can see how hard we're fighting for them?"

"I dunno, but...Whether they are or not." I answered softly, "We still have to do what we can, and believe in ourselves..." and looked upon her once more, "Someday we'll find the answer right, Tifa? That's what I learned from you in the Lifestream."

Her eyes dim before her cheeks turned red, "Yeah... That's right..."

I quickly exhaled the air from my mouth, "Hey Tifa...There are a lot of things I wanted to talk to you about..." then shook my head in disbelief, "But now we're together like this, and... I don't really know what to say... I guess.. Nothing's changed at all... kind of makes you want to laugh..."

Tifa placed her hand over my cheek and directed my gaze in sync with her own, "Cloud... Words aren't the only thing that tell people what you're thinking..."

My heart beated steadily when she leaned in closer and her nose touched mine. It was as time came to a halt when our lips locked. I never knew what this feeling was before. Never once had I experienced this, but with her. A girl I've known since we were both still teenagers. It was something I could've never regretted. No sense of rush. No sense of urgency. It was just the two of us. No one else within sight. Her hands slithered around the back of my neck, and my hands wrapped around her slender waistline. My body rested against the soft meadow fields when she rested herself above me while our lips were still locked together.

She silently breathed, "I never thought... I'd ever get to have this with you..."

"Hey... Propose me one thing..."I softly adjusted the strand of her hair back, "When it's all said and done... Would you... The two of us..." She nodded affectionately, "After we've everything, I promise... You and me... Together!"

"Our promise..." I corrected her.

She nodded, "Until the end of time.." then met her lips with mine once more until we lost consciousness in peace for the first time in a very long time since that night from so long ago at the water tower when Tifa & I made our first vow together.

Under The Highwind has been such a monumental moment for CloTi's love story, and capturing that in the form of writing for my very first attempt at writing CloTi definitely had me nervous in that respect. What really motivated me in writing is adding in a few minor additions to further enhance the moment between Cloud and Tifa' romance. Lastly, the ending of this one shot was what always stuck in my mind when I started writing because the promise between Cloud and Tifa at the water tower at the very beginning of FFVII was such a powerful scene, and I wanted to echo in a similar experience yet also be different in its own way. All in all, I had so much fun writing Vows Beneath The Highwind for CloTi, and it has inspired to write more CloTi fics in the future. Who knows, I might even write a fic series that's either leading up to the events of Advent Children or after the events too. That being said, I hope you all enjoyed reading my very first CloTi one shot which I acknowledge may not be perfect, but please feel free to share you thoughts on Vows Beneath The Highwind and as always thanks for reading!