A/N: Okay, back on track now, people! It's been a little while since I've updated, but everything's been really hectic lately. What with my finals coming to an end, my first year of high school coming to a close and the struggle for peace and quiet in my household kinda barred me from thinking of finding inspiration to contiune writing. Now that my youngest brother is in summer school for another month and my parentals are out of the house all the time, I'm free to write and discuss these things with my older brothers about the fic. I also realize that it has been over three months since I've posted. I've been on vacation and haven't had access to a computer for a long time. I'm back now,but I'm not sureif this will be the last chapteror not. I will be re-vamping it and changing a few things around so that it flows better, but it will be discussed at a later date. Now, without further ado, Kyonkitchi and Company are proud to present Fire and Ice part seven.
Cloud held Tifa in his strong arms, telling her over and over again how much he loved her. She was silent the whole time, shaking like a frightened rabbit or a leaf in a wind storm. She couldn't believe this. "Do you really mean it?" she asked timidly. Cloud looked into her eyes.
"Tifa, if I didn't mean it, why would I waste my time trying to lie to you?" he answered. Tifa clung to him as tightly as she could. "I don't know, Cloud. I really don't know..." she shuddered. Cloud looked down at her with eyes filled with sympathy. Those fiery red eyes he loved so were now hidden behind her tears and still-wet-lashes. Not knowing what else to do or say, Cloud just held her like he was protecting a precious treasure that no one else could touch. Tifa sniffled her way to Cloud's broad chest, resting her head and listening to his steady heartbeat soothe her to sleep. Cloud let out a sigh of relief. "God knows it'd be the first in a long time you'd sleep well," he smiled gently as he lay her on his bed.
Walking out of his room, he began to think. "What if Aeris was right? She couldn't have been serious when she said that. She and Tifa were friends. Why would she want to make her suffer? The Aeris I remember would never want to cause anyone to suffer...Aeris, what happened to you in the Lifestream?" The more he wondered, the more he worried about Aeris and Tifa. He made his way downstairs to the bar and poured himself a drink. He was deep in thought, trying to figure out just what the hell was going on with everything. As he thought about it, the moreconfused he got. He kept coming back to one question; Could the Lifestream really change someone? If it could, then why didn't he and Tifa when they were in the Lifestream? Frustraighted, he slamed his glass so hard on the bar counter it shattered, sending shards of broken glass behind the counter. Cloud glared at the remnants of the now broken shot glass and watched as his blood trickled down his fingers. "Why did it have to be us?" he growled, still gazing at his hand. With Tifa still sleeping upstairs, Cloud began to pick up the pieces of his broken glass.