A/N Gosh I haven't been on here in a minute. I just finished playing the Final Fantasy VII Remake, and I had to write something for Cloud and Tifa. Their relationship is just so sweet and genuine!

This is a college AU, and will probably be around 5 - 6 chapters or so. Enjoy!

The Things We Don't Say

Taped on the fridge was a blue post-it note that read:

Really sorry about eating your food. Drinks are on Biggs the next time we go out! - Wedge

Cloud narrowed his eyes at the messy scrawl. He took the note and crumpled it in his hand before tossing it in the trash. This was hardly an apology, and everyone involved knew it because (a) Biggs was the sacrificial lamb, and (b) Cloud had never willingly joined them for a "fun night out," as Wedge would put it, in the time that they had all lived together as college roommates.

Whenever they managed to drag him out, it always ended with Wedge crying in a drunken stupor and Biggs having to take care of him. Cloud learned his lesson and refused every outing since.

Normally, he wouldn't have been as irritated by Wedge's food-stealing habits, but he had just finished the last, and longest exam of his life (an evening exam no less) for the semester, and he was starving. His stomach had been growling the entire duration of the exam, and the girl beside him kept giving him irritated looks as if he could control the noise.

He clutched his stomach as it let out another angry groan.

Cloud grabbed his wallet from the kitchen counter and shoved it back in his pocket. It was already 10 pm, and his only option was the small convenience store that stood across the street from their apartment building. He didn't think he would last much longer if he tried to look for better food elsewhere.

As he made his way to the store, he realized that he had never actually gone inside before. Wedge would always stock up on snacks from this place, but Cloud wasn't big on snacking. Usually, all he needed was a couple cups of coffee to get through the day, and convenience store coffee was never an option because it was consistently terrible no matter where you got it from.

Upon entering the shop, the harsh, fluorescent light hurt Cloud's eyes. It took a second for his vision to adjust to the bright environment. Blinking, he saw that the space was small but reasonably clean. Only one other customer was inside, and he was spending an inordinate amount of time choosing between BBQ or all-dressed chips. Cloud made a beeline for the refrigerated meals. He was so hungry that anything would do, so he grabbed the cheapest thing that looked edible. While making his way to the cash register, he absentmindedly added a bottle of orange juice to his late-night dinner. It was a depressing meal, but his options were limited.

Cloud shoved the items toward the cashier and pulled out his wallet. He heard each item beep as she scanned them.

"Your total comes to $9.87. Will you be paying with cash or..."

Cloud was too distracted thumbing through his cards to notice that the cashier had paused mid-sentence.

"...Cloud? Is that you?"

Cloud's eyes snapped up at his name. He hadn't been paying attention at all, and he was only realizing now that the cashier in front of him was a Very Pretty Girl who apparently knew who he was. He stood up a bit straighter, finally making eye contact. When he got a closer look at her face, he couldn't quite place where he had seen her before, but her features were familiar. She had long, black hair that was tied in a pony-tail, and round, warm eyes. It was her distinct eye colour that made him remember—they were closer to red than brown.

He glanced at her name-tag. Hi, my name is...TIFA.

"Tifa?"

"Cloud it really is you!" Tifa exclaimed. She was smiling now. "How long has it been? Four years? Five?"

Cloud barely had time to react when the guy behind him cleared his throat. Cloud quickly tapped his card on the machine and grabbed his things.

"I'm off in ten minutes. Can you wait for me?" Tifa gave him a soft, pleading look.

"I uh..." Cloud almost instinctively racked his brain for excuses, but he had none. "Yeah. Sure."

After heating up his meal, he settled in one of the stone tables outside the store. He could hardly enjoy the food now that his brain had thrown him down a memory lane that didn't exactly recall the highlights of his life. He had met Tifa in middle school, and back then, he could only describe himself as a Pathetic Loser. He was smaller than all the other boys, and even had trouble keeping up with some of the girls. Tifa was one of them.

Bullied for his small stature, Cloud stopped trying to socialize altogether and spent most of his sad, middle school years eating alone in the bathroom.

Tifa, though, was one of the few classmates who actually nice to him. She would share her snacks, and be his partner for in-class games whenever the teacher asked the kids to buddy up. Cloud figured that Tifa probably did all this because she pitied him. Still, it didn't stop him from developing a huge crush on her and following her around like a goddamn puppy. He knew that he and Tifa lived on different planes of existence, and he never tried to overstep his boundaries. As pathetic as it seemed, he'd hold onto all the light that she was willing to give him.

When high school came around, Cloud had grown up a bit. While he still wasn't the tallest boy in class, he at least wasn't a scrawny little kid anymore. He had started working out, and the changes were apparent enough to make some girls notice. Not that he did all that for their attention. Going to the gym became an activity that cleared his mind and passed the time. He never got good at making friends, so there were no parties or spontaneous escapades that were supposedly a part of the high school experience.

To no one's surprise, Tifa remained popular among all their classmates. All the girls wanted to her friend, and all the guys wanted to be her boyfriend.

At that point, the two of them stayed in their respective social circles. Tifa would sometimes smile or wave at him, and he'd nod back. Whatever that had transpired between them in middle school was now a distant memory. After graduating, he never saw Tifa again...

...until today.

Cloud realized that he had barely eaten his meal when, in his peripheral vision, he saw her slide into the seat next to him.

"Hey. Thanks for waiting up," Tifa chirped. She eyed his bowl. "How's your food?"

Startled, Cloud almost dropped his spoon. "It's fine," he said, trying to hide his surprise at how close she was leaning. She didn't say anything for a while, but kept an even gaze on his face.

"Is something wrong?" he finally asked, slightly unnerved by her staring.

Tifa snapped out of her trance. "Oh! I'm sorry. That was rude of me," she said, almost bashfully. "I just can't believe that it's really you. That's all. And you look different."

Cloud raised an eyebrow. "Good different? Or bad different?"

Tifa opened her mouth, then closed it. She took a second to think before speaking again. "Good different. You look...older, I suppose."

"That's the funny thing about time."

"Ha-ha. You're a riot," Tifa responded, but she couldn't help but smile.

Cloud widened his eyes, then averted his gaze. He didn't understand how, even after all this time, she still had this effect on him. Tifa had always been attractive, but the Tifa sitting before him now had a distinct maturity in the way that she carried herself. Any roundness that had clung to her facial features in high school was gone, and she had fully grown into her body.

"What have you been up to these days? I'm curious." Tifa rested her elbow on the table, propping her chin in her palm.

He leaned back in his chair. "Nothing exciting. Just finished my third year for physiotherapy. How about you?"

"This is it," Tifa said as she made a sweeping gesture with her arm, "I've been working here full time to save up money for my final year in college."

Cloud wondered how it was possible that he never saw her around in spite of living directly across the street. But then again, he didn't recognize her right away earlier. Cloud naturally moved through the world with tunnel vision, so he shouldn't have been surprised. "Oh yeah? And how long have you been here?"

"Just a month. I used to work at a bar, but my manager didn't—" she paused for a moment to search for the right words, "—respect all of my boundaries."

Sensing her discomfort, Cloud quickly caught on and said, "Well I'm glad you got out of there."

"Me too."

A silence settled between them.

Cloud awkwardly checked his watch. "Are you waiting for your boyfriend to pick you up?"

Tifa shot him an amused expression. "And what makes you think that I have a boyfriend?"

Embarrassed, Cloud made a vague gesture with his hand. "I was just guessing," he finally said. There was no way in hell that he'd admit his assumption was based on how objectively gorgeous she was.

"I don't have a boyfriend," she laughed. "Do you? Have a girlfriend, I mean."

Cloud hesitated to respond. He always found it hard to answer this question. Technically, he never broke up with his last girlfriend because she passed away. Not that he was holding onto this status, but the topic brought up old wounds that he wasn't eager go into. "No. I don't," he said, almost too quickly.

"Really? I'm surprised," Tifa hummed.

"Why's that?"

"Oh I don't know. You have that whole, dark-and-brooding thing going on." She playfully nudged his shoulder with her own. "I just got the sense that people would be all over you. Am I wrong?" She was teasing him already, and he didn't know how to respond.

"I should be saying that to you," he said dryly. He was surprised to see a tinge of red bloom on her cheeks at this remark.

Tifa started to stand up. "Well I guess I better get going. It was really nice to see a familiar face. Stop by more often, yeah?"

Cloud instinctively stood up as well, nearly kicking his chair over. "You're not planning to walk home alone are you?"

"Of course I am. I don't live too far from here."

Before he could fully think through what he'd say next, the words were already coming out of his mouth. "I'll walk you home. It's dangerous for a girl to be out alone at this hour." It's not as though he cared about Tifa in particular. He didn't know her well enough. But it would be on his conscience if tomorrow's headlines reported an assault on a girl at around 11 pm, on Knight and 45th Avenue. Better safe than sorry after all.

Tifa blinked, then smiled warmly. "Cloud, it's sweet of you to offer, but I promise that I can take care of myself. Evening shifts are part of the job."

Cloud wanted to protest, but he stopped himself. He didn't want to come off as a persistent creep. He took out his cellphone from his pocket and held it out to her. "Fine, but at least let me know once you get back home."

When Tifa didn't immediately respond, Cloud began to regret his decision. Damn it. She probably thought he was just trying to get her number. She must've been used to advances from lowlifes all the time. Before he could backtrack, she finally pulled out her own phone and handed it to him. They promptly exchanged numbers.

Cloud suspected that she had put in a fake number, but he wouldn't put it past her.

"Goodnight, Cloud," she said, flashing him that smile again. She turned around and began to walk in the other direction.

Cloud watched her back until she disappeared behind a street corner. Just in case.

He looked at his half-eaten meal and made a face at just how unappetizing it looked now. He discarded the remains and made his way back to the apartment.

Later that night, Cloud received a text.

He was lying in bed, and was just about to go to sleep until he heard his phone ping. When he reached over to grab it, he saw the name Tifa pop up in his notifications. Cloud stared at the screen.

Home safe! :)

It took him a solid minute to process the fact that Tifa had actually texted him. How was he supposed to reply? Should he reply? She made it home in one piece and that was all he wanted to know.

A couple more minutes passed. He entered a thumbs-up emoji, then immediately erased it. God was this a test to reveal just how lame he really was? He quickly typed, "Great," and sent it before he could think twice. That was a standard enough response. He placed his phone on the nightstand and rolled over.

Before he could even close his eyes, his phone pinged again. He inhaled sharply, then grabbed it.

What about you? Home yet?

Cloud raised his eyebrows at the question. Her concern was unnecessary, but he was reminded of just how naturally caring she was.

Yeah, I live right across from the convenience store.

She took a bit longer to respond this time. Now, Cloud felt pathetic for the way he was just lying there in anticipation for her reply. He nearly jumped up when his phone pinged again.

No way! Guess we'll be seeing each other all the time now

Cloud read the message, then read it again. His heartbeat quickened just slightly. In the entire time that he had known Tifa, she had always, always shimmered, but she remained untouchable no matter how close he got to her.

He knew that his twelve year old self had fallen a little bit in love with her, and he feared that her proximity would somehow make the pitiful tendencies he had as a kid resurface. The rational part of his brain reminded him that he was definitely overthinking this.

Besides, every time he felt even a remote attraction toward any girl, a wave of guilt washed over him. Aerith had died almost two years ago, but she still visited him in his dreams. Dreams that seemed so real, he swore that he could feel her as though she was right there beside him.

Cloud put his phone away without replying. He wasn't going to allow one encounter with Tifa Lockhart make him spiral. He wasn't twelve years old anymore.

Reviews are always appreciated :)