Promise by Aridea Moons

Chapter 10

1 day before the fire
Cloud opens his eyes and wakes up to see a smiling Tifa next to him.
T: "your awake, good we need to talk"
Cloud gets up and grabs his head in pain.
C: "what happened?"
T: "There was a man watching us from afar...he said 'he's coming"
Cloud looks down and Tifa notices
T: "whats wrong?"
C: "...I..(sighs)"
Tifa holds his hand
C: "Ive been seeing things"
T: "seeing things?"
C: (nods)
T: "is that why you've been so..distant?"
Cloud turns his head the other way and his eyes followed
T: "mm..you said you would tell me everything"
C: "I just....didn't want to make you worry"
T: "...you have to tell me these things..these days I thought you needed your space"
C: "......I gotta check on the highwind"
Cloud gets up and is met with Tifas hand on his arm
T: "Its 6 pm, Cid is already packing up"
C: "but-"
Tifa kisses him on the lips and Cloud gave in immediately. He hasn't touched her for days and he missed her presence while he was gone. Cloud put his hand on the back of her hair going for a hard kiss. Cloud put his hand on her shoulder sliding her strap down, Tifa jumped on him wrapping her legs around him and they both kissed away into the bed naked. After so much sweat that sparkled both of their bodies they both finished making love again. Tifa rested on his chest while Cloud hugged her with his arm. Cloud looked down at her to see her peaceful and smiling.
C: "Are you okay?"
Tifa looks up at him with a smile and says, "more than okay, I feel safer with you"
Cloud stared at the ceiling lost in his thoughts, the sound of  birds chirping filling the void as the sun appearing from thin air
C: "Tifa...I don't think you should be around me anymore"
"What?" Tifa looks up at him quickly with a scary look in her eyes
C: "Tifa...I don't wanna mess up again"
Tifa rests her head once more on his chest and she didn't say anything for a while
C: "Tifa?"
T: "I don't want you to go again..."
C: "mm....I know you will understand, you usually do...thank you for that"
Tifa quickly gets up and changes into her clothes leaving Cloud a concerning look on his face. Cloud gets up and follows in her footsteps as quickly as he can. He ran after Tifa out the door and he quickly catches her.
C: " Tifa...I'm..."
Tifa hunches over the floor as if Cloud was helping her from falling on her face
T: "stop.."
C: "Tifa-"
Cloud looks over at the floor and sees tears slamming on the shiny ground
C: "Tifa...Im sorry for everything but all I do is bring you pain"
T: "no...I lost my family...my friends....my teacher...I don't want to lose you too", she sounded so hurt when she said this which only made Cloud wonder if he was making the right choice for her safety. He looks at the ground and lets go of Tifa whom fell on the floor to her knees bending forward hiding her face.
T: "everyone I loved died....you know what thats like"
Tifa was speaking as if she wasn't crying but she looked so depressing with her hair covering her face and trying to hide her tears. Cloud took a step forward trying to reassure her from the suffering she had to endure wont happen again.
C: "Tifa-"
T: "I always thought you were weird when we were kids...but I was the weird one...I went after my dead mother in the mountains looking for her...I went into a coma for a week because of my own selfish needs. Sephiroth killed my father, I watched my father take his last breath...when we were at midgar taking down the reactors. I was so scared of losing more people only it resulted in killing hundreds of people because....we ruined lives Cloud..."
C: "...."
Cloud steps in-front of her and kneels down with his hand offering her, with this kind gesture Tifas eyes lit up with hope. Cloud smiled at her and his eyes lit up too as he was startled by her sudden embrace.
C: "Tifa...I'm sorry, I wish I was there for you when it all happened...when I woke up and realized that years have passed. I always worried about you..."
Tifa let her tears run in silence, she let her voice go with her tears.
T: "I worried about you too"
As soon as Tifa let go Cloud kissed her except this kiss was different. It was a kiss that was sorrowful and longing.

"Heh...Cloud why do you try to have emotions that aren't even there. We both know your just an empty vessel"

Cloud opens his eyes and lets go of Tifa, he grabs his keys and walks out the door leaving Tifa confused.
C: "Ill be back"
Tifa nods at his response but she knew he had something to do alone so she let him go.

C: "Sephiroth where are you?"
Cloud rides on his motorcycle searching for any kind of sign and even though he was looking he always found himself back in the same place. He searched for answers at the church waiting for anything a sound, a crow, Sephiroths voice again anything at all. As Cloud stepped inside the Church he sees a dark hole in the ground beside the healing water, he steps closer and examines it further. Suddenly a flock of black crows appeared flying out the darkness he was examining, it tipped him backwards as he looked straight ahead he sees a black feather gracefully falling back to the hole were it once came. Cloud was left concerned arching his eyebrows at the strange coincidence, he had the need to look up at the broken roof with the sun hitting the healing water. Then he heard the kids voices calling him from afar. As he looked back he saw none other than Marlene and Denzel.
M: "Cloud"
C: "Marlene?"
D: "We were looking for you"
Clouds gaze fell to the ground feeling unsure and once he looked up the kids disappeared. He looked around the Church trying to find them but they were completely gone.
C: "what the hell?"
Clouds eyes started to shapeshift once again and he started hearing voices of all sorts as if they were memories from a dying soldier.
"Your just a puppet"
"Tifa-!"
"We're friends right?"
"Im gonna do all kinds of things when I get to midgar"
"Get down!"
"Cloud?"
"Hellooo"
"Hahahahah"
Cloud struggles to keep himself in the present and he groans from the pain of all the memories and voices coming at him all at once like an avalanche.
~
At another perspective a boy with a frustrated look on his face appears walking in the land of filth and garbage.
D: "Marlene, where are you?...ugh...mm maybe shes at the church again"
Denzel wonders off from a distance and looks down at the mud puddle. He knees down and looks closer to find a small white flower growing from it, he couldn't help but wonder if the dump would end up being a field of overgrown grass and flowers. Denzel carries on and starts humming to himself an old song that was graceful to him when he was a child. The sound of footsteps echoed on the wooden floor as he stepped inside the church to see a wreck as always. Marlene had told him that Tifa and the enemy have fought inside the church before but he couldn't help but look at the wreckage with the seats. His eyes drifted from the seats to the healing water, he walked close enough to see his own reflection and even admired how sparkling clean the water is. He kneed down to face the miracle water that changed everyones lives from the time of death. A sudden groan appeared and Denzel looked over to his right to see a sleeping Cloud.
D: "(sighs) why do you always come here when you can come home with us?", he asked himself.
Denzel steps closer to see Cloud that only made Denzel worried, instead of helping him or calling Tifa. He just sat beside him talking to him, telling him things that he wanted to until he wakes up.