a/n: Thank yous to elebelly and gothica's heart for the lovely reviews, they're much appreciated.

Chapter 17 – I Want to See You

It was dark where he was; so dark he couldn't see two feet in front of him. He was walking around rather aimlessly, his eyes struggling to discern anything from his surroundings when he saw a glimpse of light – a welcome respite from the oppressive darkness. As he got closer, he saw that a lone figure stood in the center of it all – it was a girl, her achingly familiar profile making his heart skip a beat. "Tifa!" he called.

She didn't seem to hear him.

He quickly walked towards her, stopping only when he was close enough to touch her. Reaching out, he placed a hand on her shoulder, and she turned to face him – but she wasn't as he expected her to be.

Tifa's eyes glowed scarlet, and she just stared blankly back at him for a moment before she hurriedly stepped away from him as if his touch was acid and it had burned her skin.

Cloud frowned. "Tifa…what's the matter? Are you alright?"

She didn't answer. He stepped closer to her, grabbing her arm as she attempted to move away once again.

He started to say something, but it was at that moment that the scene around them changed, making him forget what he wanted to say. Their surroundings changed many times – first was to that of Nibelheim, with a much younger version of himself and Tifa sitting in the middle of town, on top of the well. A moment later it was Midgar, and in another moment, Kalm.

"Memories? Tifa's…ours?" he whispered, his eyes filled with confusion.

"Remember…I...you mustn't forget…about us, what we had…" a voice said from out of nowhere; Tifa's voice. He looked over to where she was supposed to be, but she wasn't there – he was holding on to nothing but air, and she was nowhere to be found.

"Had? What do you mean? Where are you? What's going on?"

It was then that she materialized in front of him, her eyes going back to their natural shade. He walked towards her, a worried look in his eyes. "Tifa…what…"

"Please…just leave me here," she whispered, the words coming out of her own mouth this time.

"No." he said firmly.

"Cloud…I…I can't come with you. You have to leave me here."

He frowned. "What? You know I can't do that."

She shook her head vehemently. "No, you have to. Sephiroth…he injected me with Jenova's cells. It's why I'm here – she must not be allowed to awaken inside me."

"Then I'll stay here with you."

"No! You can't…you have to go back." she said,

"I'd have nothing to go back to, Tifa – you know that."

Her resolve weakened at his words; part of her begged her to just let him stay, and the other told her it would be wrong to. She chose to listen to the latter. "Please, Cloud…please don't...say that…you have to go back. You must."

"…I don't want to."

"Please, Cloud…you know this isn't easy for me."

"I know that, but…I can't. It's just…don't you think we've been apart long enough?"

She looked away, trying to keep him from seeing the tears that welled up in her eyes. He did see them though.

Reaching over, he took her into his arms and laid his cheek against her hair. "I love you, you know."

Tifa smiled despite herself, and as she closed her eyes, the tears she'd been holding back fell from her lashes and onto his shoulder. "I will always love you."

He pulled away slightly. "Then come with me. Let's get out of here."

"No. You have to understand…if she wakes up...with this power, she'll destroy the world…using my body."

Cloud refused to give up. "We'll find a way to get her out of you. We'll work it out together!"

Tifa shook her head, a pained look in her eyes. "I can't put you at risk like that."

"It'll be fine, we -"

"No!" she interrupted, a lump in her throat. "If she wakes up inside me completely, she'll take over me completely as well. I won't be able to control my own body, Cloud – I'll be Jenova's puppet, and she will try to hurt you, maybe even kill you! I can't let that happen!"

"…I don't care. As long as I'm with you, I can live with that – we'll find a way to free you, I'm sure of it."

Tifa looked up at Cloud and smiled her sad smile before she planted a kiss on his cheek and said, very quietly, "Well I can't."

It happened so fast it was over before Cloud had time to react – Tifa pushed him away and in the blink of an eye, they were several feet apart, a strong magnetic barrier between them, and she was mouthing the words that would likely haunt him for as long as he was apart from her, and which could just be the rest of his life. "Good bye, Cloud."

I want to see you.

I want to see you more than anyone
Once more, I want you to hold my hand…

As she started to fade from his line of vision, he struggled to keep his eyes open amidst the sudden onslaught of wind, and what he saw in that last second he had with her would forever be burned into his memory – it was her smile – the saddest, most anguished smile he'd ever seen.

"Tifa!"

Bolting upright, Cloud clutched his head as if in pain and tried to calm his racing heart. "A dream…just a dream…" he muttered as he started to get out of bed. It wasn't really a dream, though – more like a nightmare; one he'd been having since the day he lost her to the endless abyss of the lifestream.

That dream…would it ever go away? "Probably not," he mumbled, answering his own question.

With a sigh, Cloud rolled out of bed, stepped into an old pair of shoes, strolled out the patio doors and walked down the sloping path to the now-deserted beach.

It was certainly a beautiful night; the full moon shone brightly against the backdrop of the velvet night sky, and it was so peaceful the sound of the crashing surf was the only thing you could hear. Cloud Strife, however, was oblivious to all of it.

I'm looking for vestiges of your presence still left over in this room;
If I close my eyes, even now

I can almost feel you next to me.
I always took it for granted
Even though I knew that we would part…

His thoughts were, as they invariably tended to be, on Tifa. He really missed her, and the most agonizing part of it was that he saw her face in nearly every place and every thing. His friends told him it would get easier, but he didn't think so. The truth was, he didn't want it to. He simply would not, really could not forget her. She had meant too much to him for too long; it simply wasn't in him to even try to forget.

I want to see you.

I want to see you more than anyone…
I simply cannot forget about you
I cannot see you

I've hurt you so many times,
But once more, I want you to hold my hand…

Cloud continued his solitary walk down the beach for a while longer before finally settling for a seat close to the water. Reaching in front of him, he started to draw circles in the cool sand, stopping only when he realized that he had just written her name. He closed his eyes, letting out a tired sigh.

The moment we met, I fell in love, and without thinking, I hugged you
You laughed at me and said "Silly" and gently kissed me...
From the time they meet until the time they part,
No one realizes true love…

After what felt like hours, Cloud stood up and started to head back to the house, but then he saw something out of the corner of his eye, making him stop cold. That silhouette…it was…it had to be…

I want to see you.

I want to see you more than anyone.
The first time I met you underneath the starry sky,
I wanted to tell you about the feelings that haven't reached you;
My heart is still searching for you…

Inching ever closer to the figure that had so rapidly caught his attention, Cloud's heart started to race.

I want to see you;

I want to see you more than anyone;
I simply cannot forget about you…
If it's for you

Yes, if it's for you...

Stopping a few feet shy of her, Cloud was trembling and his voice was little more than a hoarse whisper as he uttered one name: "Tifa?"

A/n: ok. Cliffie here; forgive me? I just had to do it. Hehe. Anyway, I'm sorry for the delay, I've still got some work left over from that torture machine they call a thesis, unfortunately… I should be done soon, though, and I should be finished with this story by then as well. The song I used is Gackt's Kimi Ni Aitakute single, translated as 'I Want to See You' (yes, that's where this chapter's title comes from). It's an awesome song, by the way, and this chapter is also partly inspired by it. Ok guys…read and review, please? It would be much appreciated. Arigatou Gozaimasu!