His blue eyes lingered, watching her. She had beautiful straight black hair, that fell just past her shoulders and wennt wild in the wind as she ran around with her friends. He looked down at his feet which were swinging around. He hated this swing. He spent every recess sitting here, watching her play with her friends.

He hated her friends even more than the swing. They spent so much time insulting him, making him feel worse that he thought possible. And they always did it in front of her. She never insulted him, she was not like them. Instead she looked at him with sympathy and curiousity as she wondered who he was.

He never really talked to her, she once said hi to him as she passed him in the hallways. He remembered that day well. That's when he looked into her eyes and saw she was a kind person, none like anyone else in the school. She was the perfect girl. Smart, pretty, kind, not at all like the people she spent her time with.

He'd often wondered why she hung out with those people.

"Yo, Spike."

Cloud looked up to see a fist swinging at him.

 

"Just put some ice on it, try a heal materia if possible, and it should clear up in a little while." said the school attendant as he opened the door for Cloud to go out. "And try not to start these fights anymore, alright?" Cloud nodded.

He closed the door and Cloud stuck his tongue out. He'd long given up trying to explain that they hurt him for no reason, but they won't listen. If a little boy keeps coming into the first aid room with some injury, they'll assume it's his fault. He always did hate people with authority.

"Are you ok?" asked a friendly voice.

Cloud spun around to see her. There she stood, the prettiest girl in school. He stuttered. "Yeah, I-I'm fine."

Tifa leaned close to look at his black eye. "You don't look fine. What happened?"

"Nothin'." he said, "Wha'cha doing out here anyway?"

Tifa smiled. "The teacher was wondering why you were taking so long, so I volunteered to come get ya. You're not going to tell me what happened?" Slowly they started walking to their classroom.

He looked into her eyes, and knew he'd say it. When she looked at him with those pleading eyes, she could get him to say anything. He looked to his feet. "Some kid hit me."

"It was one of my friends, wasn't it?"

Cloud nodded.

"Which one?"

"I don't know which one it was this time."

"You mean everyone hurts you?"

"Yeah, but I don't care. When my daddy gets back, he'll show them not to be mean to me."

Tifa looked at him, trying to fight back the tears. The whole town knew Cloud's father was gone. She wondered if Cloud really believed he was coming back or if he was trying to lower the pain. "You don't have any friends here, do you?"

"What's it to you?"

"Cause I don't understand why a nice person like doesn't have any friends."

"So?"

"So why don't you and I become friends?"

Cloud looked at her. "Huh?"

"I wanna be friends with you. Can I be your friend?"

He stopped, and she looked in his eyes. She didn't see the punching bag everyone else did. Deep within the blueness, she saw kindness, someone very very loney. It always hurt her to see him with such sad eyes.

"Please?" she asked.

Inwardly, Cloud smiled. It was refreshing having someone worry about him. Her eyes were so pleading, and he couldn't believe she wanted to be friends with him. Tifa Lockheart, the sweetest girl in all of Nibleheim, befriending Cloud Strife, the town's loner.

"Sure." he said, and she smiled. The teacher chose that time to come out of the classroom into the hallway. "Finally." she said. "I was beginning to think you fell into a hole, Cloud, and that you fell in too Tifa."

The children smiled. The teacher always said cute stuff like that, trying to cheer Cloud up at anytime he looked like he needed it. Cloud especially liked it this time, because is sounded like Tifa would save him if he was ever in trouble. They giggled and followed her into the classroom.

"Yo Spike." said one of the kids. Cloud's smile faded as he looked at the guy. "Did ya wake up like that and not brush your hair?"

There it was, the pain of insults returning. Cloud could fell his dignity dying once more, but suddenly, "Hey come on, leave him alone." said Tifa. Cloud looked at her, his eyes thankful. She smiled back at him.

She looked into his wonderful eyes, and nearly fainted. She finally saw the happiness she always longed to see. Secretly, she vowed right then and there to always help him, and never let those eyes show pain.

Always.

 

Tifa cringed as she looked into Cloud's eyes; they held pain and anger. She'd hoped that the death of Sephiroth would bring joy to those eyes, but no luck. Right now he leaned against the railing of the deck, staring down at the remains of Midgar.

He's come a long way since his childhood, she thought, but his eyes hadn't changed, they still were not happy. She remembered the day when she'd befriended him, stood up for him, and vowed to always help him.

But she hasn't helped him, not like her, his true love. When they were in the crater, she noticed that when she reached down to him, he was smiling, for his mind was obviously elsewhere.

She knew who he was thinking of....

But she didn't hate Aeris, not in the least bit. She was a wonderful woman, who literally gave her life for everyone else. Most importantly, she captured his heart, when Tifa had been fighting for it all this time. It was devestating when they'd lost Aeris.

Deep down in her heart, she knew Cloud loved her, but not in the way she'd hoped. He'd kept his promise to her, and had saved her when she was in need. He was her hero, and will always be.

She sighed, and went inside.

* * * * *

Cloud silently sighed. What was wrong? He'd killed Sephiroth, saved the world, and had witnessed a miracle. He had so many friends finally, but he still wasn't satisfied.

His mind wandered. Was it Aeris he wanted? He definately had feelings for her, but he didn't know exactly what they were.

Staring at what he guessed was the remains of sector seven, memories came flooding back to him. Joining AVALANCHE, the explosion of the first reactor, destroying the second reactor, the look of fear on Tifa's face when he fell from the reactor....

Who knew that that was the beginning of a journey that would save the world from Shinra and Sephiroth? All he was originally looking for was a bar to drown his sorrows in.

But what was missing from his life?

He knew......

* * * * *

Cait Sith fumbled with the Tarot cards, then produced the exact one Tifa had chosen. She offered a weak smile and thanked him for the time, but she seemed, distant. "Is something wrong?" he asked.

"No," she smiled politely. "Just tired."

"Can't blame ya." slurred Cid, taking a break from his beer. "That was one heck of a fight! Ain't gonna never top that one!"

"What are everyone's plans?" asked RedXIII. Yuffie grinned.

"Well, with all that materia you guys are giving me, I wanna open a Materia-Pawn shop!"

"But Cloud isn't going to give you the materia." said Tifa.

"Not yet," grinned Yuffie with the look that showed others she had her ways of getting materia if asking didn't work.

"What about everyone else?" RedXIII asked.

"I'm gonna head back to Corel and start a new life with Marlena." said Barret.

"I'm thinking of tearing the Highwind apart and building a better ship." sang Cid, grabbing a new beer. "And I think I'll have to ask Shera to marry me."

"Really?" asked Cait Sith. "So you DO like her!"

Cid shrugged. "Yeah, I guess so. I couldn't stop thinkin' of that woman back in the crater. Plus she's given up her life to make me tea. now that's a REAL woman. What about you, Red?"

"I'm going to continue taking care of Cosmo Canyon." he replied. "Vincent? Cait Sith?"

Vincent shrugged, but everyone knew he'd try to go back to Lucrecia. Cait Sith bounced merrily. "Well, I am artificial intelligence that works only when Reeve isn't controlling me, but he told me he'd be improving my software. Tifa, what about you? What are your plans?"

Her heart sank. She didn't want to think about her future. "I guess I might be moving to Nibleheim alone and starting up a new Seventh Heaven." She put a slight emphasis on "alone" because that's what she knew how she'd be living her life.

Cloud walked into the room finally. "Hey dudes, what's up?" Tifa looked into his eyes. They looked different, as anxious as a little boy. She hadn't seem those eyes since the day they became friends.

"We were just goin' over what everyone's plans were." greeted Barret.

"Yeah," said Cid. "What's YOUR plans, Spikey?"

Cloud smirked. "You really wanna know?"

"Not really." said Yuffie.

"Shut up brat." said Cid, then he turned back to Cloud. "Yea I wanna know."

With a boyish smirk on his face, he motioned for them to follow them. "Come out onto the deck." Curiously, they all followed him. Outside, the midnight sky sparkled with hope. Cloud took her arm and pulled her slightly closer to him. He looked into her eyes, full of curiousity and hope.

He got on one knee.

"Tifa, will you marry me?"

She took one look into those wonderful eyes, and threw herself into his arms. And at the same moment, a star shot across the sky.