Disclaimer: I don't own the Final Fantasy VII world and the amazing characters in it.

A Long Way from Nibelheim

by theClosetPoet7

Summary: She remembers his blushing cheeks on that water tower years ago. She remembers the promise they made under the stars. But, the man she sees before her is different. And she's different. They are a long way from where they once were. [Set during the Original Game]

There is something about the way his cerulean eyes stare blankly into the distance.

And the way his personality reminded her of someone she once knew.

She feels like he is a stranger dressed in her first love's body.

But Cloud is Cloud.

And she recruits him anyway.

Just to keep her eyes on him.

And...something else.

.

Light footsteps fumble across the hall of 7th Heaven. Cloud closes the door to her room, a hand tangled in her long hair as he pulls her lips to his again. There is confidence in the way he touches her that startles Tifa because the person she is currently kissing is far from the timid teen who had called her to the water tower years before.

She wonders if getting into Soldier could've contributed to the experience he exudes when his hand unabashedly goes down to her bottom. The contact catches her off guard and she pulls away, a hand on his shoulder; putting a bit of distance between them.

"Wait, Cloud I..."

"Do you want to stop?"

It was a good question. Did she? Moments before they had been talking about AVALANCHE's mission. She had opened up about her doubts. The blonde swordsman had lent her his ear, nodding in agreement when she revealed that she feels like she's in a pinch.

The choice of her wording actually had significant meaning to it. But, like she suspected, Cloud does not remember their promise.

It stings her heart.

"Tifa."

Her arms are still around his neck, lips bruised and warm from his kisses. There is a heaviness in her heart when she realizes that it is her first kiss but it didn't seem like it was his. A number of faceless women come into her mind. Surely a First-Class Soldier like Cloud Strife would be admired by several of them.

The barmaid shakes her head internally.

She had seen him back at Nibelheim right? When Sephiroth attacked.

His seafoam green eyes are a stark contrast to the kind blue she had seen back at that Mako Reactor.

'You came. Just like you said you would.'

This person. Though lost and completely different from the shy boy she waited for, this man.

is Cloud.

Right?

No, she did not want to stop.

But.

There's something wrong here.

And she can't quite put her finger on it yet. Still so unsure of him, but even more unsure of herself.

So, she pulls away.

"I'm sorry."

Cloud takes a step back, hands going to his sides.

"No, you don't need to apologize, I shouldn't have taken it this far."

Tifa smiles kindly at him.

"Don't get me wrong. I do..."

She trails off but like instinct she doesn't end the sentence and true to her namesake, she locks up those emotions again.

"We're drunk. I don't want to do something we'll both regret." She finishes.

.

.

.

He doesn't touch her for a while after that.

They regard each other with caution.

Hands almost touching but never doing so.

.

"So I heard that Jessie has a crush on ya."

Barret's loud teasing reaches her ears. The team is currently huddled in a round table a few feet from the bar. Tifa wipes the smudge off a small glass while she listens on.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

His voice, was smooth but a bit groggy, signs of his near inebriation quite evident.

"Well, it's obvious isn't it?"

Wedge takes apart his gun and proceeds to clean the insides, bullets rolling around the table. The picture they painted looks intimidating. A tall big man, with three others, one with a sword that was almost larger than him, the other two assembling guns and setting up explosives whilst drinking their worries away.

"She even made you lunch."

The fact that Jessie is currently downstairs making repairs to their other equipment encourages their gossip even further.

Biggs puts his arm over Cloud's shoulder. The blonde, still a bit tipsy and probably tired from their current mission lets him. He has a stern hand still wrapped around the scotch she had prepared for him.

The other man whispers something in his ear that makes her childhood friend stiffen. Tifa leans on the counter observing them further. But her attention is caught somewhere else. Quietly, she admires the yellow flower in front of her.

It was sweet of Cloud to give it to Marlene.

Her thoughts on the gift are promptly interrupted when the hero coughs out loudly, windpipe blocked by the heat brought about by the alcohol. Barret slaps a hand on his back to calm him with a boisterous laughter that seemed to shake the entire establishment.

"Well she's right there lover-boy."

Tifa quirks an eyebrow. She never noticed that Cloud had said something.

"What are you guys talking about?"

She walks over to them and sits directly across the man of the hour. Cloud turns his head away, a hint of a blush over his handsome face while coolly saying.

"It's nothing."

Wedge winks at her.

"Strife has certain preferences."

Oh. It takes her a while to gather her wits. What were his preferences? Weeks before he had his hand under her skirt but they haven't attempted to do anything more after she pulled away.

Jessie was a pretty girl, long red hair neatly tied into a high ponytail that showed off the rest of her freckled face. A hint of maturity behind her innocent features like she's seen the most terrible things but only came out stronger. She would make a good match for him. Or did Cloud like his women more womanly? With wider hips perhaps? Feminine curves contrasting his warrior virility?

"Care to elaborate?"

She puts an elbow on the table and rests her head upon her gloved hand, sapphire eyes boring deep into the person in front of her. His face is covered a bit by the drink he holds steadily to his forehead.

"Let's just say he likes women who can hold their own in the battlefield."

The three men continue to laugh while the other two allow them. Tifa's eyes focus on her hands. But she can feel it.

The fact that Cloud steals glances at her for the rest of the night.

"You can't die now Cloud! Please, there's so much more I need to tell you."

Her desperate pleas echo on in her head.

She thought she had lost him. But here he was, standing in front of her with the most beautiful woman she has ever seen.

Aerith Gainsborough, she said her name was. And it suited her well. Such an elegant name. She is the epitome of beauty and Tifa begrudgingly pulls her skirt a little lower, and her thigh socks a little higher to hide her unease.

But there is no time to waste, Don Corneo has revealed important intel. There is no time for her to dwell on the fact that Cloud looks a little bit uncertain, far from the confident man he usually is especially when this other woman smiles at him from time to time.

They had a city to save, and Tifa watches with contained worry as Aerith takes Marlene with her.

Away from the danger.

Away from the slums.

Jessie

Biggs

Wedge

.

.

.

They perish in the aftermath of Shinra's destruction.

.

Tifa didn't know if she could hate Shinra even more than she already did.

But she does.

She hates them even more now.

Again, they have taken important people away.

From her.

Again.

They don't really need to know our business.

They don't really need to know what we do.

They don't really need to know where we go.

When it's just me and you.

.

Cloud's sudden kiss is deep and aggressive when they are finally left alone.

And she allows this contact.

She had almost lost him again.

Maybe it was her fears of him suddenly slipping away.

Or maybe he was just as afraid of losing her.

But their teeth clash, and their hands grip hard.

Their bodies look for any semblance of comfort for everything they have lost.

For almost losing each other.

Cloud pulls her closer to him. Arms immediately going to her legs, wrapping them around his waist as he pushes her against the wall outside the house. He makes her feel his desire and starts an up and down motion that only stirs the coils in the pit of her stomach.

And it is too much.

It is too much.

She wants him.

She wants him.

Fuck.

She wants him.

It is Barret's voice that stops them.

Alarmed shouts reverberating through Aerith's home when he says that she's been taken. Cloud's immediate distance almost makes her want to pull him back.

But she is worried as well.

No. Not Aerith.

Not her.

This wonderful person who has done nothing but be kind, selflessly taking in a stranger's daughter. This wonderful person has been kidnapped.

Please no.

The warmth she dwells in is immediately taken and she feels like she's been doused with cold ice when blood starts running through parts of her body that were previously crushed between hard muscle and concrete.

Then, she pushes "them" to the back of her head again.

Their friend is in trouble.

.

.

.

Tifa tells herself that Cloud's urgency does not hurt her in the least.

.

.

.

Besides, wasn't that a selfish thought?

Does she make you feel alive?

By now, I think I know you more.

.

She can't help but fall in love with this girl.

Aerith is so beautiful, inside and out. She is like a big sister who gives her friendly smiles and teases Cloud in a way that is flirty but still so sweet. She pulls her knees closer to her body while she sits across her first love.

He is blushing madly, though a little annoyed.

A date huh?

Aerith, who is supposed to be afraid, laughs childishly on the other side of the wall. But Tifa can still hear the worry in her voice. Of course she would worry. That Hojo person scares her too. There was something off about that guy.

Still though, the lovely flower girl reminds her bodyguard of their arrangement, and since he has held his end of the bargain, Aerith says that she will reward him later on.

It is cute and ever so romantic that it makes Tifa feel completely invisible.

But she isn't.

She knows she isn't.

Not with the way Cloud keeps his eyes on her.

She smiles cheerfully and pumps up her fists.

"Now then, how should we get out of this pinch this time?"

Cloud merely smirks.

There's blood everywhere.

Everywhere.

They follow it through the building.

Her nostrils take in the iron-like scent.

Memories come flooding in.

She sees her father.

His dying body from years ago.

Then, she remembers her own.

Suddenly, the front of her chest hurts, like it has been slashed again.

No.

She almost wants to run.

Whatever they're about to find.

It's not safe.

It's not safe.

.

She feels nothing when they encounter President Shinra's dead body.

Finally his reign is over. She has finally gotten justice over the death of the people she has lost. The people are finally free of the corporation that was slowly killing the planet.

.

.

.

Her body reacts by instinct. A foot roots itself to the floor, ready to spring forth a heavy kick once necessary. Then, she sees "him". Cloud is alarmed as well. He takes a step back and puts his arm in front of both her and Aerith, quickly shielding them.

No.

No.

Years after not hearing news about this man, Tifa had thought that he was gone. Her hatred surges through and she almost poises to attack him like that time years ago. Because she has become stronger since then and she won't let him hurt her again.

"Don't."

There is a slight panic to his voice. She hasn't seen him be this anxious since his arrival at Midgar. The Cloud in front of her reminds her of that boy.

At that reactor.

"Don't Tifa."

Sephiroth disappears again.

The whole building quakes. And, with her adrenaline rush, she manages to get out with the rest, shaky hands holding on to the steering wheel as they escape.

"A memory is something that has to be consciously recalled, right? That's why sometimes it can be mistaken and a different thing... But it's different from a memory locked deep within your heart."

.

.

.

Wrong.

Wrong.

Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.

What Cloud says is wrong.

He wasn't there when she was giving the tour.

He wasn't with her when she was taking Sephiroth around Nibelheim.

Wrong.

He wasn't there.

"Sephiroth did this didn't he?"

"I hate you! I hate Shinra! I hate SOLDIER! I hate you all!"

Zack.

Zack Fair.

What happened to him?

.

.

.

Gongaga is a mountainous area. A small town in the countryside that reminds her of their hometown. Cloud still seems off after meeting her friend's parents. Tifa runs after Aerith when she deviates from the group.

"Eighty-nine letters."

"Huh?"

"I wrote Zack eighty-nine letters."

The dark brunette kneels down next to the last Cetra. She puts a hand on Aerith's shoulder and squeezes it lightly.

"I met him when he was in Nibelheim."

Her watery green eyes widen and the young flower girl turns to her, hope lingering there but gone at the same time.

"He disappeared one day."

Aerith suddenly stands and wipes some of the dirt off her dress.

"And my wagon is no use for selling flowers anymore." She jokes.

"But I..."

The wind stirs her bangs off her face, her tear-stained cheeks lift up when the young woman smiles widely.

"But you know what? I have a feeling that I'll see him again someday."

Tifa's heart aches because it feels like Aerith is saying goodbye.

His lips find hers again in Costa del Sol.

Maybe it was her dark blue bikini.

Or maybe it was the tropical feel to the place.

But he wants to touch her.

His hands are warm against her skin.

His tongue is eager in her mouth.

His mind though,

His mind is somewhere else.

And she knows it.

So she stops him.

Cloud's fogged eyes clear.

His hand is still holding her right breast.

While the other is on her abdomen.

He traces her middle up to the space near her heart.

"I've never noticed this scar before."

She puts her arms around her chest.

Cheeks heating from his detached observation.

.

.

.

So it was a dream after all huh?

He doesn't remember.

Or, he can't.

Because he was never there.

.

.

.

Maybe she wasn't either.

.

She can't help but feel jealous when both adults scamper off. Their date is finally happening. But she isn't really thinking about herself right now. They've been all over the world trying to find their Planet's biggest threat. She has met so many people. So many. Had gotten to know even more of her comrades.

However, the one she wants to understand the most is here and he is fading further and further away. It scares her. But she puts on a brave front. Optimistic eyes keep cheering the others on. Yuffie grabs a handful of Materia from their packs again. Tifa just glances at Vincent tilting her head to where she disappears to. The newest member nods and follows the ninja. Normally, she would berate the young girl lightly but she focuses her attentions on Barrett who seems to be bothered by something ever since they arrived at the Golden Saucer.

She tries to keep her thoughts away from Cloud and Aerith's date.

At least she can make him smile.

"You're still up."

He finds her at the bar later on, nursing a sweet pink drink. Cloud sits next to her and orders a strong one. His usual scotch.

"Did you just come in?"

"Yeah, Aerith is looking for you."

"Hm."

She sips on her drink, a weary look on her person, cautiously studying him. For the first time in a while, Cloud looks relaxed. The past few weeks were difficult. She was beginning to think that he is trying to carry this burden on his own.

He has his own motives, so focused on killing Sephiroth. But she knows that he is being troubled by something else too.

Tifa catches her breath when he suddenly turns to look at her. A hint of a smile on his face, quickly disappearing when he places some gil on the bar and takes her hand in his. His thoughts are easy to read and she follows him, albeit guiltily when he pulls her to the direction of his room.

.

"Your lips are moving ahead, you're all over me. You shouldn't be. And I was never a threat to her."

.

He is more gentle this time. So unlike his forceful nature before. The martial arts expert responds just as eagerly to his mouth's pressing against her own. Shy tongue coming out to taste his. She gasps when he takes her into his mouth.

His hands are on her breast again.

His knee lodged in between her legs.

But he is gentle.

Like he is carefully searching for something.

"Tifa."

He pulls her closer, stepping back to sit on his bed while she settles her legs over him, straddling him, an action she has never done before. That is when she feels it.

The fact that he is hard and wanting.

"Tifa."

She kisses him deeply. Her fingers tangle in his blonde chocobo locks pulling lightly to tease him.

"Tifa."

His muscled arms trap her to his person more tightly.

She feels like she is finally giving in.

She feels like she is finally going to fuck Cloud Strife.

And after all they've been through, Tifa doesn't think about stopping this time.

Is it wrong to want him like this?

Hasn't she always wanted him?

She's been with him for months now. And even though he is still not the boy she remembered, he is still Cloud. Surely he is allowed to change. She isn't the same girl either.

Her mind's debate almost stirs her away from realizing that he has loosened his hold on her. It takes her a second to notice that he isn't responding to her kisses anymore.

"Cloud?"

"I'm sorry. I don't think I can do this."

But she can still feel his desire between her legs.

"It feels wrong."

Aerith's face flashes through her head.

He was right.

"You're right. We shouldn't have done this. You just came from a date."

She starts to get off him but Cloud's hands remain on her hips, keeping her in place.

"It's not that. It's just..."

"She's our friend."

"Yeah."

There is a deafening silence then.

"She told me something weird tonight."

"What was it?"

"Aerith said that she wants to get to know me. The real me."

Tifa stiffens at the confession. And she watches as he pieces his words together.

"I didn't understand what she meant. I am me right? I am real?"

The fact that she herself questioned that very inquiry weighs her down. Of course it would hurt for someone to make you doubt yourself. Ever since they've started their pursuit of Sephiroth, Cloud has been fighting an invisible adversary. The same way she is always wrestling with her memories of that incident in Nibelheim. He looks so confused right now. So she wraps her arms around him and pulls him closer.

The swordsman sighs and returns her hold, head leaning on her shoulder as he accepts her comfort.

"Cloud is Cloud."

She whispers.

.

.

.

"Cloud is Cloud."

She peppers kisses across his brow until he falls asleep.

She feels like Aerith Gainsborough will vanish at any moment.

The very thought tears her apart.

Because she has finally found a companion who understood her well.

She finally has a best friend.

Even if Aerith also held affection for Cloud,

Even if she did make her jealous from time to time,

Tifa still loves her.

A few months of travelling can do that.

Especially when they could potentially lose their lives.

Aerith is lively.

Aerith is thoughtful.

Aerith is her friend.

But why did it feel like she is living on borrowed time with her?

.

The sight of his sword slicing through her pink dress.

The sight of her widened green eyes.

The sight of her bloody lips when she is rendered motionless.

His laughs that echoed throughout the Forgotten City.

Cloud's cries that mirrored her own.

Her body, choked up in distraught alarm, that prevent her from moving.

Erase it.

She wants to erase it all.

And it takes her a while to discern that she has lost her voice.

Tears are just streaming down her cheeks.

And her heart, her heart feels like it's about to burst into a thousand pieces.

Or maybe it already has.

Because she can't feel it.

Aerith is gone.

She's gone.

Tifa can't hear Sephiroth's laughs because of the ringing in her ears.

She clenches her fists and goes berserk.

"...Shut up."

"The cycle of nature and your stupid plan don't mean a thing."

"Aerith is gone."

"Aerith will no longer talk, no longer laugh, cry...or get angry... "

"What about us...what are WE supposed to do? What is this pain? My fingers are tingling. My mouth is dry. My eyes are burning!"

.

.

.

They fail to stop him.

Cloud disappears one day.

The events seem blurry to her.

All she knows is that.

Cloud disappeared.

Like Aerith, Cloud is gone.

But Tifa picks up the slack and becomes the leader of their group.

Until she finds him again.

.

"Cloud."

She can't take it. Seeing him like this. His eyes so lifeless, so devoid of any emotion. He keeps nodding his head like he's on some sort of boat, slowly sailing off. To a place she can't reach.

He can't stand. He can't return her hold. He can't say anything. He can't even see her.

"Cloud."

She finally lets her tears fall as she buries her head in his lap.

"Cloud, please tell me. What should I do?"

Mideel is a tiny place. A few houses, one clinic. Cloud is the only patient in it. The doctor says that he has Mako poisoning. He may never recover. But Tifa stays by his side, nursing him in whatever way she can. Hope still brimming in her heart though it seems hopeless. She's lost him again. But he will come back right? He will. Like last time.

Weeks go by and he still won't respond. Tifa starts to feel the strain on her own body but doesn't care because she wants him to get better. She knows what the nurses say. Poor girl, such dedication. She doesn't see it as pity because she knows that people are genuinely kind. Like Aerith was. She doesn't pity herself either. Things are going to get better.

She'll do whatever it takes to get him back.

This isn't the end of his story.

This isn't the end of theirs.

Ultimate Weapon attacks that very day.

" So, we meet again."

.

.

.

"But now that we're together like this, I don't know what I really wanted to say… I guess nothing's changed at all… Kind of makes you want to laugh…"

.

They may die tomorrow.

They may never have this moment again.

The Cloud she has above her is a mix of the boy she once knew and the man she has stood by all this time. His blonde strands tickle her cheeks as he leans down to capture her lips in his.

For words aren't the only way to tell someone how you feel.

And she hasn't been good with words either.

He caresses her with the softest touch. Mouth sucking on her pulse. This tryst is different from the other ones they had. This isn't even a tryst. It is their own way of connecting their hearts, their feelings.

Their bodies.

For so long they have been dilly dallying, playing this forward and backwards dance that always stopped before it got any further.

But now she knows.

She was made for him.

She feels like she was made for him. Like some godly being created her to be with him in the end. In whatever way she can.

And just like that, she knows.

She is his.

There are no regrets when Cloud claims her.

No second thoughts when he starts to move his hips.

No doubts when he pants out her name.

No hesitation when he takes her nipple into his mouth and starts sucking.

No lingering hurt when he lowers a hand to her essence, slowly taking her to the edge as he picks up the pace.

Cloud is Cloud.

And she loves him.

He raises himself to look at her. Underneath the Highwind, in grassy plains, on the eve of their final battle, she must look a mess. It is nowhere near comfortable. No soft bed to cushion her as he drives her to the hilt. No walls to hide their indecent fucking. No lights to cast a shadow on his beautiful body.

Only stars.

Stars.

She doesn't care.

She doesn't care.

Cloud has made her his.

She is his.

All her flaws.

Her scars.

They're his.

She laces their fingers together, breasts bouncing as he keeps his thrusts going.

Finally they meet again.

It is getting to be too much but it's still not enough. She wants more time with him. Wants more.

More.

"Tifa."

'Please... Minerva. Give me more time with him.'

Tears flow down her cheeks. Cloud brushes them off. And Tifa smiles, she smiles up at him while returning his pumps with her own.

All she breathes is Cloud.

All she feels is Cloud.

The night is like fireworks for her, their bodies and souls soaring high up to the sky, merging into one, until she bursts into a torrent of colors that painted the stars with her unlocked heart's emotions and her love for this man. All her love. She bathes in all the things she leaves unsaid as she pulls him closer. Closer until she doesn't know where she is except under him.

"Cloud."

Tifa doesn't quite reach her peak when he releases into her, shoulders heaving, and sweat sliding down his face and onto her shoulder. But she feels amazing and he feels amazing. And he's still inside her.

Cloud leans in again to touch her tongue with his.

She kisses him back, arms pulling him in deeper because he might disappear again. Or maybe this time, she would disappear with him.

She won't have it any other way.

If tomorrow is the end of their lives then she'll have no regrets.

No regrets at all.

Just as long as she stays by his side.

They are a long way from Nibelheim. Far from the people they once were. And if tomorrow really is the end.

Then she'll die with him.

Because.

She was made for him.

Tifa knows she was.

.

.

.

fin

Author's Note:

Oh my goooosh. My first CloTi Fic. My OTP. Let me know what you guys think. May I request that there be no LTD related bashing please. I love Aerith too.

This was inspired by a lot of things. Firstly by the recent E3 trailer. Tifa and Aerith look amazing! Secondly by these wonderful songs quoted throughout the fic (played throughout while I was typing away):

"They don't really need to know our business. They don't really need to know what we do. They don't really need to know where we go. When it's just me and you." - Bad Love by the Aces

"Your lips are moving ahead, you're all over me. You shouldn't be. And I was never a threat to her." - Shake Her by Fickle Friends

"All your flaws and scars are mine." - Still Falling for You by Ellie Goulding

And of course, quotes throughout the game. References is from the Final Fantasy Wiki page about the events of the game. It's been years since I last played it.

Thank you for reading!

Love & Peace!