Author's Note: Here is my true pride and joy, More Than Love. I've kind of waited a long time to post, because it's so near and dear to my heart... so please be gentle when reviewing it. I wrote it when I first discovered CloTi, and my love for it was love at first sight, I suppose. There may be many changes because my views and opinions on the couple have changed significantly since first finding it, so skim if not reread each chapter from month to month; you may find I've added or changed bits. But here's the first, unedited copy of Chapter One. It may be kinda long and detailed, but I hope you like it! :)

P.S. Almost each chapter is based loosely on a song; for instance, the fic itself is based loosely on 'More Than Love' by Sweetbox.

P.P.S. PLEASE REVIEW!!

Chapter One - A Week After

Tifa opened her eyes.

Everything was blurry for a few seconds, but after blinking once or twice, the blurriness was erased, and replaced by a dim light outside that filtered in through the window. The rest of her vision was obscured by her grey, squishy pillow in its oversized off-white pillowcase. A grating, persistent and seemingly deafening beeping crackled in her ears.

She turned her gaze from the outside to the still beeping alarm clock on her bedside table. 5:30. She plucked it from its place and turned it off. The annoying sound was subdued.

She slung her legs over the side of the bed. They hung limp, but they ached from being tense all night. She didn't know why she was so tense; maybe just force-of-habit, or whatever it was called…

She swallowed, but made a face at the sour, morning-breath taste. She licked her dry lips and pushed herself up off the bed. It took a fair amount of effort; she had waited for Cloud very late last night, later than she normally would have.

Almost automatically, like a zombie, she trudged downstairs and turned on the water in the shower. After Meteor, she didn't used to wait until the water was warm; water and energy were expensive, but it didn't take as long now, so she decided to leave it running. Why not?

After a few minutes of pacing quietly around, she stripped off her white nightgown and stepped into the shower. Though no one was there, she hugged herself as goose bumps covered her arms.

She could tell that the water was still a bit chilly… maybe more than chilly. Oh well. Better to shower cold. It woke her up anyway, she reasoned as the almost frigid water hit her skin. She instinctively recoiled, but stepped back into the water. It slowly warmed up.

She felt it wash over her face, flow over her arms and legs, surrounding her like a soft, transparent veil, washing away everything as she just stood there, immobile, in a sort of lethargic reverie. Washing it away as the Lifestream had done…

"Cloud, where are you?" she murmured, putting a hand on her neck and staring down at her toes for a few moments. "Why haven't you come home?"

She remembered the last smile he'd given her. It was the smile that made her believe… made her believe that everything was alright, that everything was going to be alright…

But wasn't that always the case?

After washing her hair and mechanically scrubbing her body, she stepped out of the shower, wrapped a big white towel around herself and wrung out her stringy wet hair. 6:15 now.

She sighed, angry with herself. She shouldn't have taken so long.

She walked slowly around, brushing the dust off the bar with the tips of her long fingers. She looked outside; it was a bit lighter outside now. Raining.

Raining the Lifestream rain. That made her smile a little. At least it wasn't the cold, hard rain that the soggy metropolis Midgar and its little town Edge - where Tifa and her family lived - usually received this time of year.

It had been only a week since the Lifestream rain had begun to fall, and it made her very happy to see that the sadness and poverty that she had come to know was almost gone, after only a week. The energy crisis was over, thanks to her old friend and comrade-in-arms Barret, who had found a very large oil deposit in Corel.

And what's more, the Lifestream rain had cured all children and orphans with Geostigma - an incurable disease that racked the body with pain and caused short, unhappy life -, including Cloud and Denzel, Tifa's sort of… adoptive son.

Her bliss was interrupted by the small and persistent voice in her head, reminding her of a cold and harsh reality, one more personal and devastating than even the darkest days…

Cloud was gone again.

After defeating Sephiroth for the second time - or Kadaj and his gang, rather, the remnants of Sephiroth - , he had left her and their family again. As the though crossed Tifa's mind, she bit back tears. Maybe I should call, she thought rationally to herself. His cell phone's always on…

But she knew full well that he never answered. Why did she always hope that he'd change? Why did she think that this time, somehow, it would be different?

Tifa discarded the thought.

Still holding her towel, she lifted the chairs off the tables and brought out some glasses, setting up Seventh Heaven for a new day of business. People came more often now, not drowning their sorrows in alcohol, but toasting to each other's health, celebrating and drinking to the happy new days ahead. It was just as Barret had said once: "The solution to everyone's problem is alcohol. We forgot all sorts of things, right? That's the moment we're after." And he was right, in a way.

It made her glad, but right now, in this grey hour, she was completely alone.

Suddenly, Tifa heard a floorboard creak. She whipped around, her muscles tensing up as she prepared to take her usual fighting stance.

There was just her in the bar; Marlene and Denzel were still sleeping. They probably wouldn't be awake for another three hours or so. In fact, nobody in Edge would be awake at this hour anymore…

"We're still closed!" she cried out, clutching her towel tighter. The sound was coming closer. Heavy boots treading on the floor.

Her heart pounding so hard her temples hurt, Tifa instinctively reached to her pockets for her gloves, but they weren't there. She swallowed the lump in her throat. She didn't want to fight, but Marlene and Denzel were in danger. And if they were in danger, she would do anything to make sure they were safe.

She closed her hands into fists.

The sound came closer still…

"Tifa?"