1 -Like a Good Neighbor...-

It was, least to say, an absolutely miserable day for Tifa Lockhart.

It started as a relatively good morning. The sun was shining, blue skies clear of any clouds, and the birds were all chirping their merry song. And this good morning was spent driving to the realtor's office to meet with the agent in the area. All her favorite songs were playing on the radio and Tifa even found time to pick up some specialty coffee prior to her meeting. So when she entered the office, she was quietly humming to herself as she sipped her excellent coffee, her long hair swaying as she had an extra skip in her step while she walked.

But when she left the office with the real estate agent.

Oh boy.

The wind was howling and the rain poured down with an almost bruising force. And although this was typical weather for Midgar, Tifa hadn't thought about bringing an umbrella or a raincoat when the morning weather seemed so innocuous. In a matter of seconds, Tifa's large grey hoodie was soaked and it hung off her shoulders heavily. Her sneakers squelched uncomfortably with every step she took, the cold water seeping through her socks and causing her poor toes to curl.

And in that poor miserable state, she visited every apartment the agent had showed her.

Tifa's very high standards reared its ugly head at every single apartment. Bathroom too small, no laundry in the entire building, the neighbors are wannabe rock stars and/or DIY handymen, the list went on. And towards the end of the day, Tifa was growing desperate, her cranky mood definitely not helping.

"There's one last apartment but it's on the other side of Midgar, near the Shinra Military Base and Academy. It's a little far from Midgar Medical but there's a direct line via the metro," the agent said in a detached manner, completely unaware of Tifa's plight, and made his way to his own car without looking back. Tifa grumpily got into her own car and followed.

They pulled up to a rather plain, but very tall building. And Tifa could only glare. This better be good, she thought.

The humidity had made her hair curl on itself and Tifa was positive she looked like a raving mad witch so she pulled the sopping wet hood over her hair and wrapped her arms around herself. The apartment was on the 27th floor but Tifa was surprised to find it was still relatively well heated. The hallways were well lit by large glass windows and her squelching sneakers were muffled by plush red carpets.

"This building is mostly meant for the cadets and officers at the military academy, but they make a few exceptions for civilians," The agent remarked.

Shinra sure knows how to treat their officers well, Tifa thought dryly, but the building looked promising so she kept silent. When they got to the door of the apartment, the agent looked startled as he patted down all his pockets.

"I could've sworn…" he muttered.

When he looked back up to Tifa, he pushed his glasses back up the bridge of his nose.

"I'm afraid, I've misplaced the key, Miss Lockheart. I can go by the office to pick up a spare and you could wait here, if you'd like."

Tifa gave a tight lipped smile and nodded and watched as the agent left in a hurry. She looked around for the first five minutes before giving up and sitting by the door. Her knees were drawn close and she wrapped her arms around herself. Even the well heated halls couldn't keep away the onslaught of shivers from her drenched hoodie. Everything was quiet save for the soft whirring noise of the vents for a while until a soft baritone voice cut through the silence.

"Hey, are you okay? Did you get locked out?"

Tifa's head snapped up and her brain short-circuited. Her wine colored eyes met with an electric blue eyes. This man's eyes had to be the most startling feature because they glowed. There was a faint green ring around the iris and looked almost bioluminescent. And his hair, Tifa wanted to scream out in jealousy, looked like it was spun from gold under the natural light filtering through the windows, almost causing a halo-like effect. This man was standing in front of her with a brown paper bag in his arms full of groceries with a look of concern, but all Tifa could see was a heart stopping, unfairly attractive model.

Then she realized she was staring.

"U-uh, I'm waiting for-"

The man gave a soft chuckle, "If you're waiting for the locksmith he doesn't come for a good, solid three hours."

"O-oh," Tifa stuttered out, trying to have some semblance of normalcy. Noticing the girl was shivering and sniffling every so often, the man spoke again.

"If you want a towel I can give you some, it looks like you caught the worst of the storm. C'mon. I'm two doors down. You'll catch a cold sitting out here. You can wait at my place until the guy comes."

Tifa nodded dumbly and trailed behind the man as he juggled the bag to fish out his keys.

"So," he grunted out as he pushed his door open, "What brings you to this humble apartment complex on the far south side of Midgar?"

He took his boots off and dumped them on the floor, causing two very distinct heavy sounds as they hit the floor.

"Uh…I'm looking for an apartment for this coming Fall."

"Huh, so you weren't waiting for a locksmith?"

Tifa tucked her socks into her soaking shoes and stood up straight.

"No, the realtor."

The man began to walk down a hall and disappeared into one of the rooms. Tifa took her chance to look around. The large tinted windows from the outside hallway actually gave a lot of natural light to the living room. The sofa set were of modern design with black leather and chrome handles. There was a large LED TV propped on the wall in front of the sleek coffee table. But things were in a complete disarray. There were clothes flung over the top of the chairs, from formal suit jackets to- is that a pair of boxers?. There were books carelessly stacked on the coffee table and a large collection of uncleaned coffee mugs. There was a pizza box open with still a slice left right next to a jumble of black wires that connected a game console to the television. The counter of the open kitchen was covered in manila folders stacked on top of each other with no sense of order and a potted plant in the corner, clearly dying of dehydration. Tifa crinkled her nose at the warzone before her.

"So did you find one?" he yelled out.

"Find what?"

The man stepped back out with a towel and a stack of clothes on top.

"An apartment that you liked."

Tifa shook her head.

"This building was the last one, but I didn't get to see the inside of the apartment yet."

"Yeah, Shinra treats their cadets well. I thought you were my new neighbor, but I guess not. That apartment room you were by was just signed two days ago."

Tifa slightly wilted. If the layout of the apartment was anything like the one she was currently in, she would've signed the lease in a heartbeat. The metro was inexpensive, albeit complex, and the Shinra Academy area was a safe. And neighbors like this man wasn't all that bad of a perk either.

The man looked down at the items he was carrying before handing them to Tifa, "Here are some towels, my friend Aerith left a few woolly socks you can use for now if you'd like. And there's a hoodie to change into. Bathroom is on the left, third door."

The bathroom followed the same modern sleek design, white marble floors with glass panes around the shower. The large mirror was bordered with a bright LED light. She placed the stack of towels and clothes on top of the toilet seat and began to wring out the water in her long hair.

She stared back at her reflection in the mirror and sighed. No openings, huh. She'd have to try and settle a deal with Midgar Medical to live in a dorm nearby or something. Her friend Barrett might have something too. Maybe if she calls her dad, he might have some long lost relative in Midgar where she could crash with for a couple months.

She finally dried out her hair and changed clothes, slipping on a pair of very thick and woolly socks that instantly made her frozen toes feel again. She sent a silent thank you to whoever this Aerith girl was as she rubbed her hands together. Tifa almost drowned in the black hoodie the man gave her and Shinra Military's crest was emblazoned across the front. So he's definitely military.

Now dawned in the dry warm hoodie and thick socks, when Tifa looked into the mirror again, her situation suddenly hit her.

She was in a man's apartment, alone, wearing his clothes, and she didn't even know his name. She could almost her her mother screaming at her all the way in Nibelheim about getting into dangerous situation with men. One would think with twenty years of being alive, a girl would have some self preservation, a voice in her head not unlike her mother scolded. Yeah, but he looks hot, a voice reminiscent of her friend Yuffie chimed in, but then added, use your instincts, he doesn't seem all that bad, if you're not getting bad vibes I'm sure he'll be okay.

Tifa nodded to herself, and then steeled her wits to leave the bathroom.

The man was leaning against the counter, holding mug of water precariously in his left hand while he handed a mug to Tifa with his other.

"Water?"

Tifa took it and muttered a thank you before taking sips. The man seemed to be in deep thought for a moment before setting his cup down on the counter and crossed his arms.

"So, I was thinking," he paused almost hesitantly and went silent. Tifa nodded reassuringly for him to continue.

"If, maybe you wanted to, uh, stay, only if you wanted of course, perhaps-" the man continued to trip over his words. Tifa only tilted her head in confusion and set her mug down to mirror his posture.

"What I mean to say is," he paused again, "If you're looking for, like, an apartment maybe you can room with me? I mean I know I'm like close to a stranger but there's a lock on the spare bedroom door and honestly I can send you some letters of recommendation from other neighbors? I'm not like creepy or anything, I swear. I just, kind of need to split the bill around here because I've been spending most of my bills repairing my bike, and you kinda just showed up like an opportunity on a silver platter. I mean I can still pay most of the rent since I'm on military discount and what not-" the man kept rambling and Tifa could only chuckle behind her hands tucked inside the sleeves of the hoodie after the mention of 'letters of recommendations'.

Inner Yuffie was right. Her instincts were telling her this guy isn't so bad.

"-and wow, I just realize I don't even know your name and I'm inviting you to room with me. Sorry what's your name?" The man finally finished. He looked flushed and out of breath from his long monologue.

Tifa grinned and extended her hand to him.

"I'm Tifa Lockhart."

The man reached for the hand with his own and shook tentatively.

"I'm Cloud. Cloud Strife. Nice to meet you, Tifa."

"Likewise, Cloud. I think," she tapped her chin thoughtfully and then gave a knowing look to Cloud, "I'll take you up on that offer."

The slowly growing shy smile Cloud gave her felt like sunlight after a rainy day and Tifa could only feel herself returning the favor with a beaming smile.

AN:/ Here's the first rewritten chapter! Unbetaed so if there are any errors, please tell me! As for the title of this chapter, I dunno, every time I hear 'good neighbor' I can only complete the sentence with the state farm ad. As you can see there are a lot of changes, because let's be honest, this scenario is far more likelier than the first one I conjured up. This story will be following Cloud and Tifa's relationship as they develop from roommates to something more.

Questions and Concerns? Leave a review and let me know!