Lonely

Series: Final Fantasy VII

Shipping: Cloud/Tifa

Rating: T

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy or any of the characters.

Lonely

The bar echoed to her footsteps, though she paid no mind to how lonely it all sounded at that time of night.  The patrons had let her be earlier than they usually did, opting to spend time with those that were their loved ones.  In the end, she had closed early because there were no people walking through those double doors of the Seventh Heaven Bar, attempting to apply herself to her own beloved ones as her patrons did.  Yet, at three in the morning, the children she cared for had little to no idea of her loneliness, awaiting the dawn so that their childish troubles could disappear with the moon.

She wished desperately that she could return to her childhood, left with no troubles to worry her little mind over.  Her mother and father would still be alive, doting on her like they always had.  The town would still remain intact, filled with those residents that had believed her to be a darling little child.  And Cloud-

Cloud.

He had been the boy from the house beside her own, his mother a loving yet opinionated woman who cared for her only son with every fiber in her soul.  He had been what everyone called the runt, an outcast, teased because of his family's state of being and his thin and frail body.  The boys that had surrounded her had been the worst to him, and she hadn't seen it past the kind affections that they gave her.  But, somehow, she always seemed to know.  Every time she had seen him watching over her like her own guardian angel, restricted from getting any closer by her family and friends, he had new scrapes and bruises that she could only sympathize over through their numerous bouts of eye contact.

Cloud had been the boy who had saved her from a near fatal accident off the mountain side, back when she had been reeling over the death of her mother.  He was the man who had avenged her father's death by trying his hardest to murder a murderer.

He was the hero that had eventually saved the world.

And yet that shy and beaten up boy had grown up to be such a different young man- a man that was ever too quiet, who had grown sterner over the years.  He was the type to avoid conflicts if he could, yet he would greet them head on whenever it was impossible to evade it.  He never voiced a complaint, no matter what she might have dragged him into in the first place.

In the end, the only thing that seemed to remain was the quiet kindness that even the evil in his blood couldn't deny.

In the loneliness of the bar, the dark haired woman sat herself down onto one of the small tables in the center of the dining area.  Her thoughts remained on her blue eyed knight in shining armor, a soft smile coming to her lips as she thought back to the promise that he had made with her, tears gathering in her eyes as her solitary state began to strike hard at her heart.

He had promised that, whenever she was in any sort of trouble, he would rescue her.

He had dove off a bridge to keep her from dying, tried to stop the bleeding from her abdomen when the supreme devil had sliced her through, and he had kept her thriving and alive as the end had seemed so near.  So why…

Why did he always have to leave her there, alone with the kids?  Why did it always take so long to make deliveries that were only hours away?

Why couldn't he come home and save her from how abandoned she felt?

She raised her hands to her face, hiding the slowly falling tears behind her palms, hoping to seem stronger in case the children might be watching her from afar.  She was forced to be strong, no matter how weak spirited and hearted she truly felt.  And, as she tried to shove down the knot in her throat, s soft sob escaped her, the tears flowing faster, freer, than before.

In all truths, she was alone without him.  It had always been that way since they had found one another at the train station in Old Midgar those years ago, and nothing seemed to be changing.  She needed him to feel whole, complete, and he was always no where to be found.

A creak from the back door alerted her, and her muscles tensed out of habit after all of those years of martial arts practice and fighting for the world's safety.  Through a tear stained gaze, she rose her chocolate orbs in defiance, keeping still and determined- and looked into the crystal eyes of the one she had been cursing for all this time.  She was like a deer caught in the head lights of his motorcycle, caught afraid yet unable to flee.  Concern passed through the windows of his beautiful yet damaged soul, looking at her soft and pained features with worry and unease.

Slowly, but surely, a tear cascaded down her cheek.

Softly, he allowed a whisper to exit his lips, anxiously standing in the back doorway as he debated within himself what he should do.  She could see in his eyes just how difficult the choices seemed to be.  "Tifa?"

The young woman felt all her tension release, pushing herself up from the chair that she had seated herself in with a single brisk movement.  The chair slid back, the legs squealing against the floor until falling down, as she launched her body against his.  She wrapped her arms tightly around his firm, strong chest that she often dared to dream about touching in the midnight hours like these.

Awkwardly, he surrounded her shoulders with a gentle hug, as if saying that everything would be alright- even if he had no clue as to what was wrong.  His gloved hand stroked her hair, attempting to console her as much as he could as she clung to his form with a strong force only she could ever use.

"Don't leave me alone again, Cloud."

The words had been soft, a sob nearly overshadowing the words that she had said to him.  As the words left her, she listened to his heart beating against her ear, her fingertips feeling the small but decisive tension that had passed through him.  She knew that he couldn't keep to that promise, no matter how much he had kept to his last, and he knew it to.  He had to leave, and they had to make money.

But even so, she desperately wanted him to lie, to shield the truth from her and let her think that he might somehow protect her from the agony her spirit was in.  She wanted him to remain with her through this life and the next by her side, and she wanted him to feel the same as she did.

A low rumble from her throat answered her, and she had to listen carefully so not to miss it.  "Okay."