Title: Waiting for You

Author: Lovely Lady

Genre: Romance / Drama

Rating: T

Pairing: Cloud / Tifa

Summary: After saving the world, the group dismembers and AVALANCHE is no more. Tifa is heartbroken when she finds that her feelings for Cloud aren't reciprocated. Three years pass, and the group reunites. Tifa has moved on with her life, and has convinced herself she is over Cloud. However, her old feelings are rekindled upon seeing him, and Cloud's feelings for her start to develop.

Disclaimer: This is my second fan-fic! I hope all who choose to read this enjoy it. Go Cloud and Tifa! Please read and review. Oh, and before I forget, I do not own Final Fantasy VII or any of the characters. Nope, nobody except Laurence.

Chapter 1: A Shattered Heart

"Yuffie and Vincent are getting married?" Tifa Lockheart's expression was nothing less than ecstatic. "That's great! I had no idea they had a thing for each other. That goes to show that even the most opposites attract."

"You're telling me." Barret's gruff voice was punishing over the phone. "They're the last two I would suspect getting married. I mean, just look at them. Vincent, the reserved albino vampire, with Yuffie, the midget in a ninja suit."

"Yeah, the descriptions are just about right. Anyways, when is the big show?"

"In about a month. They want a simple wedding; it was Vincent's idea…figures."

Tifa chuckled into her cordless phone. "Oh come on, Barret, leave the poor guy alone. He is older than you…actually, a lot older than you." She smiled with amusement at her comment as she stood up from her chair to turn off the kettle on the kitchen stove. "So, who's the maid of honor?"

Barret rolled his eyes. "Who do you think, Tifa? Of course it's going to be you. What kind of question is that?"

"Sorry, but I figured if I was going to be Yuffie's maid of honor, I would have already gotten word from her mouth, not yours."

"Yeah, about that. Yuffie told me to tell you that she was a little embarrassed to ask. She was nagging on for hours about why I should be the one to tell you." He sighed in frustration. "That girl drives me nuts."

Tifa poured the boiling water into a cup with a tea bag. "You know you love it, Barret. Besides, I've known you for too long; behind that tough and intimidating man is a gentle and sensitive little boy."

Barret rolled his eyes again. "Sure, Tifa, whatever you say."

After throwing out the used tea bag, Tifa walked over to her kitchen table with her drink and sat down with excitement. "So tell me, who's going to be there?"

Panic rose inside of Barret as he quickly tried to dodge the answer to her question. "Uh, you know. Nobody you don't know already."

"Like?"

"Um, Yuffie, Vincent, me, Red XIII, Cait Sith, Cid…Cloud."

And then there was dead silence from Tifa. Of course he's going to be there, stupid. What made you think he wasn't going to be there? Finally after what seemed like hours, Tifa spoke into the phone. "C-Cloud?"

"Yeah, he's taking a break from his 'new life' to celebrate the marriage. Which is something you should be doing. Remember, this is about Yuffie and Vincent…not about you and Cloud." Barret immediately felt regret for his choice of words. But he didn't know any other way to put it. Besides, he wasn't a person to put words lightly; he was a lecture sort-of-man. Any other way just wasn't him.

Tifa, on the other hand, felt terrible inside from his honesty, but knew he was right. So she covered her frown with a smile and a cheerful tone. "Of course, I know that. Cloud and I weren't even anything back then. He's probably forgotten all about me by now…So, I'm going to go to the wedding to celebrate their marriage and nothing else." Oh God, please let's hope.

Barret tried to comfort her as much as he could over the phone. So much for the lecture sort-of-man. "Tifa, I'm sorry. I know you better than that, and I know what you felt for him. And trust me, he hasn't-"

"Well, I have to go now. It's almost five and I have to make dinner now. I'll talk to you later?" She inhaled while suppressing a few tears. She needed to end this. It was more than she could handle.

He sighed deeply and decided to let her win. "Yeah, you're right. Marlene will want something to eat as well. I just haven't figured it out yet. Oh, and before I forget, the wedding is on the 17th and it starts at two o'clock. Don't be late. You'll have to meet with Yuffie on the 10th to try on your dress, which is in exactly a week. Don't forget."

"Right-o, Mr. Delivery Man. I will not be late nor forget about Yuffie's wedding. I'll see you then, alright? Oh, and send Marlene my love."

"Will do. See you then." And with that, Barret clicked off his phone in exhaustion. This is going to be one hell of a reunion.

---

Tifa clicked her cordless phone off. Her day had been going well…until now. What is wrong with you? You knew he was going to be there, so why would you bother asking Barret? You are so stupid.

She felt stupid. "Ugh, I don't know what to do." Resting her head in her hands, Tifa tried to think of something else. Before she knew it, she saw him again in her mind.

Tifa was behind the counter of her bar, 7th Heaven. She had closed the store about an hour ago and was finishing the dirty dishes in the sink. She was alone, and besides the sound of running water, the room was silent. "What an exhausting day." She turned off the faucet and dried her hands on the nearby towel. And then she heard footsteps.

"Tifa, are you busy?" Cloud's voice was unmistakable. She loved the sound of his voice. She loved how masculine it was; she loved the way he said her name.

She had loved him since their parting at Nibelheim. She just never had the guts to admit her feelings for him. But she had time. "Nope, I just finished. Do you need something?"

"Actually, yes I do. Can we talk for a little?" There was uncertainty in his voice. Cloud never spoke with uncertainty. Something was definitely on his mind.

"Sure, what's up?" Tifa walked around the counter and sat with him at one of the tables.

Cloud avoided her gaze and instead looked at the floor. "Well, um, I have something important I want to tell you, no, need to tell you."

'What's so important? He looks really nervous…could it be? Is he here to tell me how he feels about me? No, he would never.' Tifa started to feel nervous as well. "What is it? You can tell me."

"Um, well, this has been on my mind for quite some time. And I've never had the courage to tell you. But now, I feel like you're the only person I can tell. Tifa?"

'Oh my God, is he for real? Is that why he's here? To tell me he loves me? What other reason could it be?' "Yes?"

"I…I'm leaving."

And then her heart broke in two. "W-what?"

Cloud still avoided her gaze. Coward. "I'm going away. I need to get out of here. After all that's happened; defeating Sephiroth…and all of the deaths, I haven't had much time for me. What I'm trying to say is, I'm going to start a new life. There isn't anything for me here."

She started to scream before she knew it, and the tears were falling before she could stop them. "But I'm here! I've always been here for you! Why can't you see that?" She sounded so desperate, but she didn't care. "Look at me Cloud."

Cloud continued to avert his gaze. "Tifa, please don't cry. Don't make this harder for me than it already is."

"Harder for you? Oh, you're right, I'm sorry." Sarcasm was pouring out of her lips. "I'm sorry that you haven't kept your promise to me back when we were kids. Oh, but of course, we were only kids. We don't mean what we say when we're kids."

"Tifa, you know you don't mean that. Look, I'm sorry that I haven't kept my promise, but yeah, you are right. We were just kids."

This time it was Tifa who averted her glance. She stared at a bottle of liquor instead. She whispered the next few sentences, but Cloud heard it as clear as day. "Of course, Cloud. I just don't understand how I could have grown to love someone who doesn't love me back."

Cloud finally looked at her. Shock was written all over his face. "Y-you love me?"

"Yes, I love you. I've loved you since we were little kids. I didn't realize it was love until now." She looked at him in his eyes. "But now I know you don't feel the same way, and you never have."

He didn't know what to do. What could he possibly say? "Tifa…"

She started to sob right then and there. She wished she didn't have to look so pathetic in front of him. "I'm sorry that I've grown to love you for what seems like forever and you've never even realized it. I'm sorry that you don't feel the same way for me. I'm sorry that my love just doesn't cut it for you, but Aeris's love was obviously more than enough."

The mention of Aeris was what made him angry; there was no doubt in Tifa's mind. He stood up so quickly that his chair was knocked back. She thought that was it, but no, he had slapped her before he had even realized it. "Shut-up! You have no right to say those things about how I feel about her."

There was so much venom in his voice. The voice she had loved. Tifa was more shocked than she had ever been in her life. She could feel a bruise forming, but that wasn't what she was shocked about. The fact that she heard from his mouth that he obviously cared for Aeris more than he ever could about Tifa. In all of the time that she knew him, he never once expressed how he felt about someone else. Especially her. She was at loss for words; she just stared at him, wide-eyed and scared.

That was when Cloud finally realized what he had done. He lowered his hand and all of the anger left his face. "Oh, gosh, Tifa. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean…"

"No, you're not sorry. Don't say things you don't mean. And yes, you meant every word."

"No, Tifa, I'm-"

She turned her gaze back to the bottle and whispered. "Just leave."

He didn't say anything else, and from what she heard, the chair that Cloud had knocked over was positioned the right way, and she heard his footsteps slowly fade away. Forever.

Br-ring! Tifa woke from her slumber. She hadn't even realized she had fallen asleep. She grabbed the phone next to her now cold tea. Her head felt like she was spinning. Her voice was groggy when she answered her phone. "H-Hello?"

"Hey Tifa, it's me, Laurence. You sound awful. Did I wake you up or something?"

Laurence, my best friend. "Thanks Laurence. Yeah, I was taking a nap. What's up?"

"Oh, I just wanted to tell you that I'm coming by next week. I got laid off from work, so who else would I rather visit?"

Tifa rolled her eyes. "You know if you weren't my friend, I would have taken that seriously, but since I am, I know that you're just trying to find a place to stay for awhile. But I'm going to say, okay."

"Great! You know you're the best. I'll be driving over, so don't worry about waiting for me at an airport."

"Yeah, sure, alright. I'll see you soon." And with that, she hung up on him.

Laurence had been Tifa's best friend for nearly two years; he has always been there for her. She was really glad that he was coming over.

She stood up from the uncomfortable chair and stretched. Wow, how long was I sleeping? Her bones cracked from under all of the weight. Tifa glanced at the clock on the wall, and noticed that it was nine at night. She had been sleeping for four hours. Whoa, I need to start getting more sleep. She went over to the kitchen sink and drained her cup of tea. So much for the energy boost.

A strand of her hair fell onto her face. Tifa lifted her hand to tuck it back, when she noticed something wet on her face. It was then she realized her face was covered in tears. How did this happen? She remembered dreaming about something that made her sad, but the rest was just a blur. What in the world was I dreaming about?

Author's Note: Yay! This is my second fan-fic! I'm continuing to write "Remembering Memories" with Spike and Faye from Cowboy Bebop, so don't worry about me not finishing that (if you've started reading it). I never leave a story unfinished. Anyways, I hope you've enjoyed Chapter One of "Waiting for You." I know I've enjoyed writing it, plus it was longer than some of my other chapters. So, please review. As you know, constructive criticism is good, so don't hesitate. Thanks!