ObsessiveCompulsiveValkyrie's A/N's are in Italics and Topaz Tsubasa's are in Bold. Just read on. All will be explained.

So here is Topaz Tsubasa, lying in her sleep, having one of the most vivid dreams she's ever had and remembers to this day. Yup, it was the idea for this story. I remember waking up and just thinking, "Wow. Just wow." Throughout the day, I'd thought of maybe writing out such an awesome dream. You know, make it a fanfic. But then I remembered how vivid and how in depth it was, and I thought, "how will I be able to trump all of that?" I had a lot of hope for that dream, and I didn't want to mess any of it up. So I just set it to the back of my mind for a while, but it never faded away from my thoughts completely. In the months since I'd had my dream, I thought of asking someone else instead, someone more experienced to write it. But I was a little too shy for that, so the idea just went to the background once again. Then I met Valk. In the midst of one of our PMs, the topic of my dream-idea came up. I was still too shy to be straightforward about writing it, but bless her soul, Valk offered. So I poured out the entire contents of my dream in an obsessively long PM and from that, Valk pieced the incomplete-in-way-too-many-parts-because-it-was-a-damn-dream-information and wrote this beautiful story. Thanks Valk! Bye-B! ^_~

*Blushes* Aw, Topaz! You make me sound so noble… I was just captured by your story and I wanted to see how it ended, even if I had to write it. Anyway, here is chapter one. I wrote it based on TT's freakishly long PM and e-mailed it to her for her review. She told me she liked how it started, so I guess we're on a roll! I hope you all enjoy! -Valk

CHAPTER 1: Dreams of the Morrow

He slammed the shovel into the soil and pressed his foot against the edge to dig it deeper before raising it out and dumping the dirt on a slowly building pile. General Lockhart wanted a miniature river in the garden, so a miniature river he'd get. He wiped the sweat off his brow and rested the shovel across his shoulders to stretch his already finely-built arms.

"Hey, Cloud!"

The thirteen-year-old looked up at the sweet voice and managed a small smile as the young girl came up through the back gate, her pale-blue backpack resting over her shoulders as she skipped down the stone path. Her flimsy white sundress moved around her knees as she stepped closer and her smile radiated brightly.

He nodded his greeting, feeling a little odd while shirtless in front of her. She leaned closer to him and her smile faded slightly. "I just got back from that new school with my father. He had to go into the office, so he sent me home with the chauffer. I have some bad news…"

He wiped the sweat off his brow again and jammed the shovel into the ground. His low voice rumbled, "What is it?"

"I got accepted into the private school. We won't have any of the same classes at all next year… We can't even have lunch together."

He nodded and slowly turned to keep shoveling, knowing Tifa didn't mind. General Lockhart would have him beaten if he'd tried to work while being spoken to. "Good for you. I knew you were too smart for those public schools."

She gave a small giggle. "So are you! If it wasn't for your help, I wouldn't have passed math last year! …Or the year before that, or the year before that… My father hires all those private tutors for me, but they don't really help. They're too busy sucking up to actually teach me."

He managed a tiny smile at the sound of her voice. "You know I'm glad to help. Your father wouldn't be too happy if you failed any of your classes."

"I know. Oh! Your birthday is coming up, isn't it?"

She was the only one who had ever acknowledged his birthday. Every year, she got him a present and, depending on his work and study schedules, took him out for a treat. If he was too busy, she would go and get something like ice cream and bring it back for him—but not without a candle. He was the only one she would do that for. All the other servants got each other presents or celebrated together, but Cloud had never had friends among them. His shocking blue eyes and wild hair were an odd combination to say the least, not to mention his silent attitude and cold demeanor.

Tifa was the only one who had seen past all that and befriended him, anyway. Perhaps it was because they were close in age with him being only a half-year older than her. He was brought to her home when he was just a child of eight. He could remember his parents, but also the horrid nightmares of heat and pain that kept coming back to him, filled with the frightening screams of his mother and father. He'd lost his home and family as a child and had woken up in the hospital. With no other family to take him in, he would have gone to a foster home.

However, the young Tifa Lockhart of seven years happened past his hospital room while on her way to visit her father's wounded comrade with him. She had split off from her father to get a drink from the fountain and found him gone when she'd looked up. Wandering on her own to try to find him, she'd stumbled upon Cloud, alone and partially burned in his room.

She stayed to talk to him and they'd become friends. As soon as the nurses tracked her down by her father's demand, she'd insisted to her old man that they bring Cloud home with them since he didn't have anywhere else to go. He'd agreed, only on the terms that he could use a new gardener and child servants were more profitable than adult ones. All he had to pay for with a child was school and board. With an adult, he had to offer legal wages and healthcare. Once Cloud came of age, yes, he'd have to pay him, but by then, he'd be groomed well enough in gardening that his skill would be worth the fees.

So Cloud had become a member of her household after all the paperwork was signed and he'd gone to his second home. He'd only agreed because the sweet little Tifa was the only thing that had been able to make him smile in the two months since his parents' deaths.

Five and a half years had passed since then and he was well accustomed to life in the Lockhart household. Despite that he'd gone to a public school, he still didn't have any friends other than Tifa. He used to hang out with her friends during lunch and such, but he really didn't know any of them and they never talked to him.

He gave a slight nod to acknowledge the girl in front of him. Glancing away from his work to face her, he bit the inside of his cheek to keep his focus. In the last year, she'd started that spurt from child to young woman and, damn, was she gifted in beauty. He found himself garnering quite the heavy crush on her over time, but he never said a word. There was no point in it. Her father would say she wasn't ready for dating and, even if she was, he'd never let her date a servant.

So he sucked it up and was happy just to be able to be her friend. Across from him, the object of his affections smiled brightly and said, "Do you think you could help me with my first year of high school math, then?"

He nodded again. "Of course. It was pretty easy stuff at my school, but yours might be harder. Good thing I have the extra year to stay ahead."

She giggled. "Thanks, Cloud! When my father gets home, I'll ask him about your hours tomorrow and see if we can get some dinner for your birthday."

……

He sighed as he wandered in the back door and down the stairs to the servant's quarters. He found his room—the Lockhart Mansion was large enough that each servant got their own room—and dumped his worn and dirt-stained backpack on the floor. The general would not be happy when he'd found out what happened. For the third time this week, Cloud had gotten into a fight and had managed to break a kid's nose this time.

He fell back on the metal cot in the small, concrete room sighed, wishing he could catch a nap before starting work. He gave a grunt of distaste as he sat up again and shut the door before swapping his jeans and t-shirt for his ragged and filthy jeans for yard work and a black wife beater. Pausing by the door, he opened the top drawer of his dresser and picked up a small, handmade wooden chest.

He opened it and examined the objects inside, all half-burned things found in his home. A picture of him with his parents, one of his mother's favorite pearl earrings, his first art project of a clay dish, his father's Swiss army knife… Tucked in the front of the box was an item wrapped in tissue to keep it safe. He pulled it out and looked at the set of silver, wolf-head items. Two rings, an earring, a door-knocker, two identical pins, and a belt buckle. They were his gift from Tifa for his fourteenth birthday two months ago. He didn't have his ear pierced, but she said she thought he would like the rest of it. The door-knocker was sold separately, but she said it would be nice once he got his own place in the future.

He nestled the items back into the box his father had crafted and set it back in his dresser. Walking back upstairs, he went outside and out to the gardening shed. He pulled the gardening fork and a wheelbarrow for the bi-weekly weeding job. Hiking the wheelbarrow out with one hand, he made his way over to the first flowerbed on his regular route.

A perky voice sounded from above him, "Hi, Cloud! Already at work?"

He glanced up briefly to see Tifa standing on the stairs to the house, leaning over the railing to talk to him. Shrugging, he replied, "I have to. I get sent to foster care if your father doesn't think I'm doing a good job."

She frowned. "Cloud, you can take a few minutes off. You know I'll make sure nothing happens to you."

"I shouldn't need special favors, Tifa. I can do the work."

"Well… If you say so." She pulled back and started for the door. "I'll have Ms. Crescent make some lemonade, okay?"

He gave a sigh as he shoved the fork into the soil to loosen the weeds. "I'm fine, Tifa. I just started, so I'll be okay without a drink for awhile. Besides, there's water in the shed."

"If you're sure… Just say the word, and I'll get you something." She turned around and ran back to the rail with a grin. "Oh! You know what?"

He raised an eyebrow in silent question as she continued, "Reno talked to me at lunch today!"

His heart plummeted down and he managed a smile. "Oh?"

She nodded vigorously. "He's soo sweet, too! He came over and asked me if he wanted to have a study group!"

He got the feeling that Reno was just extorting her for her smarts, but he decided not to say anything. In the month she'd been in high school, she seemed to have developed a monster crush on a sophomore named Reno Tyler. She hasn't stopped talking about him at all…

Now she seemed to be floating in some ethereal dimension just because he talked to her. If she was happy, then that was all that mattered. He rammed his fork into the ground again to release some of his frustration as Tifa ran into the manor.

"Strife. You better go."

Cloud turned to see Rude, one of the grounds security officers, come running up. Cloud sighed. "The general called?"

"Yeah. He wants to see you—now. Not even time for you to shower."

He nodded. "Alright. Hopefully, I'll be back soon."

Rude just tapped his earpiece and turned off to somewhere else without so much as a goodbye. Cloud set his fork down and walked around to the backdoor to kick off his boots near the other servant's shoes. He turned and jogged up the stairs towards General Lockhart's office, slowing to a walk when someone came into sight.

Usually, when the general wanted to see a servant personally, it wasn't a good thing. Given Cloud's antics for fights at school, he figured his time here was limited. In his defense, he'd fought to defend Tifa's name. Half the students at his school had been in Tifa's middle school class and didn't have any problem with making fun of her when she wasn't there to use her money to her advantage.

He stopped in front of the general's door, sweaty after and dirty just a half-hour of work, and raised his fist to knock. The general's voice came back, heavy and musky, "Come in, Cloud."

He swallowed his spit and turned the knob before walking in and stopping in front of the desk without looking up. General Sergei Lockhart cleared his throat and said in an authoritative voice, "Have a seat."

Cloud glanced down at his dirty jeans and the white chair cushions quickly before looking up at the general. He nodded towards the seat, not wanting to hear 'no' for an answer. The blond slowly lowered himself into the seat, trying to take up the least amount of room as he could.

Sergei leaned forward and crossed his fingers in front of him. "It's my understanding that you've been causing quite a bit of trouble at your school. Care to explain why?"

There wasn't any point in delaying the inevitable. "I retaliated when some of the students at school verbally attacked the house that took me in."

"They insulted me?"

"No, Sir. Your daughter. The students involved were her classmates the previous year and thought they could voice their thoughts while she wasn't there to defend herself. It seemed right that I defend her since she couldn't."

"I see. Was it necessary to resort to physical violence?"

"With all due respect, Sir, I've never been exactly strong with my words. My fists spoke before I could stop them."

"The principle tells me you broke one boy's nose and a girl's arm without breaking a sweat. How did you learn to do that?"

"While still accomplishing my work, I watch some of the new trainees in the training yard. I watch how they move and practice the motions on my own. I'm sorry, Sir, I know those privates pay to receive instruction, but I couldn't stop myself. While at school, my body moved on its own. I honestly didn't think I would have the reflexes to do as I'd practiced."

He leaned back in his seat and eyed the teenager carefully. "Tell me, Cloud. Would you be interested in joining the military?"

"I thought there was an age minimum of eighteen, Sir?"

"There is, but would you be interested once you're of age?"

"You would allow that, Sir?"

"Cloud, once you're eighteen, I won't have any legal guardianship over you. Yes, I would appreciate you staying to work on the grounds, but I would never say no to a man whose dream is to be a soldier for his country."

Cloud slowly glanced down. Maybe, he mused, if he were to build a name for himself through the military, perhaps Tifa—not to mention her father—would see him as more than a gardener. Maybe he could prove himself worthy of her affections. He raised his gaze back to the general's. "Yes, Sir. I would be interested in the future."

He nodded. "I'll be honest with you, Cloud. The military is a difficult place at first, but I'm sure you'll be ready. Many of the young men who enlist are youths of the rich and have no idea how harsh the world can be. You've experienced it all firsthand. You'll be one of Midgar's finest, I'm sure."

I don't care how I look in Midgar's eyes… Just Tifa's. "I understand, Sir. Thank you for the advice."

Cracking a slow smile, he stood and said, "I look forward to seeing you back in this office for an application in four years."

The blond didn't even bother to hide his surprise. "Sir… You remember my age?"

"Of course I do. You are my employee, but more, you are my daughter's friend. Now, the flowerbeds require weeding. You're dismissed."

Cloud stood and bowed, thoughts of life in the military swirling through his mind.

There's chapter one! Any thoughts? I'll forward all reviews to Topaz, so she'll see what you think of her dream put to words!

Review?

-Topaz & Valk