Type of history: Final Fantasy 7
Pairings: Tifa X Zack
Cloud Strife, Zack Fair and Tifa Lockhart and the other FF7 characters are (C) to square enix.
Story written by: Siren Helene G.
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this story, even if I used a lot of time on it to make it!

--
Chapter: 1
Love again

Tifa stared out her window, Cloud hadn't called her for a while now. The last time she had seen him, was when he was on his way with a new delivery. She dried the dishes, in her bar. The rain was poring down outside. Who knew, was Zack really dead? Or had he tricked them? She could never know with that guy. Her thoughts were jolted away when their phone rang. The brunette walked up the stairs and picked up the phone.

"Strife delivery service…" she muttered and waited for someone to answer, but no one was there, all she could hear, was the rain outside. She felt panic, was it Cloud? Had something happen to him? She froze, why didn't she get an answer? What was going on anyway?

"hello?" she tried again, but she still couldn't get any answers. The panic turned from panic to something more annoying for her. Who the hell could call someone, and then start acting like a kid with not saying anything? She rolled her eyes and hang up. She laid the phone back on their desk, and sighted. Someone with a bad sense of humour had just called her; she crossed her arms and went down to her bar again. Her black skirt flew behind her when she walked. Her only problem left was the fact that she had no idea who it was that just had been joking with her. Their phone started to ring, again. She sighted and tried so hard to ignore it, but she couldn't. Tifa dried her hands at the rag, and once again she went up the stairs and answered the call.

"you know… I don't find this funny anymore!" she hissed like a annoyed cat, but was surprised over hearing someone in the other end this time. Tifa smiled and stared out the window, she knew who it was who tried to call her, it was Yuffie, off course it was her! it was her sense of humour.

"okay… I think I should call you another day then" Yuffie muttered and after that it was a long pause. Tifa started thinking, wait, wasn't it Yuffie that had called her from the start? Then who was their first caller?

"uh… okay… eh, Yuffie, did you call me for like five minutes ago?" Tifa wondered while she bit her lower lip. There was a pause again, and Tifa felt her heart go faster and faster. Then Yuffie started laughing.

"I'm calling you now, aren't I? And to answer your question, no, I haven't called you before… why?" Yuffie grinned, while Tifa rolled her eyes again.

"just wondered, don't worry! I bet the first one called the wrong number" Tifa tried to convince herself about that too, but it didn't work, at all. Yuffie understood it, and sighted loud in the other end.

"Cloud hasn't called you back yet?" Yuffie wondered, and Tifa shook her head, even if she knew that Yuffie couldn't see her.

"He has been gone for two weeks now…" Tifa muttered and rolled her eyes again. Then she remembered that it was Yuffie that had called her. She forgot Cloud and all the other boys for a while.

"I'm sure he'll return soon… he's a royal pain in the ass you know…" Yuffie laughed and Tifa had to laugh a bit too. Yuffie was right, sometimes.

"Cloud is Cloud, but seriously, why did you call?" Tifa chuckled and sat herself down on a chair. Yuffie was quiet for a while. She didn't answer.

"Don't know, I just wanted to talk, I guess... But I have to go… I'll call you again another time…" Yuffie muttered and hang up. Tifa sighted and went down to her bar, again. She stopped in the stairs when she saw a new motorcycle, one she hadn't seen before. She went outside and scanned the motorcycle with her eyes. She had never seen it before, and thought that maybe Cloud was home again. The rain had finally stopped, and the sun was rising up from nowhere.

Zack smirked when he saw Tifa around the corner, he walked silent behind her and stopped next to her.

"Heya! what? You like it?" Zack laughed when he saw the expression on the girls face. There he stood, in front of her with his arms crossed. She tumbled a few steps backwards and gasped when she saw Zack with her own eyes.

"Z-Zack? What are you doing here?" she gulped and looked at Zack with widened eyes; he raised one of his eyebrows and laughed.

"what? Aren't you glad to see me?" he laughed and pushed Tifa friendly in her shoulder. She bit her lower lip and looked at him. Her perfect eyes staring at her made her blush; she looked at her shoes and tried to cover her face with her forehead hair.

"Off course I am… but I thought you died!" she smirked and swept away her forehead hair from her eyes. He sighted and stared at the girl in front of him.

"so thought I, but I was in a coma… " his voice was lower this time, and his head hang down. Tifa's brown eyes stared at him; she could see that he didn't want to talk about it. So she tried to change the subject, but she had no idea what she could talk about with a guy Tifa had thought was dead. Or… everyone had told her he was dead. This time she lowered her head, she remembered the things she had said to him before he… before she thought he was dead. The girl had told him that she hated him, but she was angry, and didn't really mean what she had said.

"Hey… Zack! " she started but paused, she could see that she had got his fully attention. She bit her lower lip again before she continued, and took a deep breath.

"I'm sorry for telling you that I hated you… I didn't really mean it… I don't hate you, Zack! And then you were dying and I was afraid that I never would get a chance to say I'm sorry to you in person! " she mumbled and saw that he had tears in his eyes, but he blinked them away. He smiled to Tifa.

"Hey, Tifa! Its okay, you know… I know you were angry, but you were also right… everything you said was right… but I'm glad for your apology, and you're forgiven…" he said it while he stared into her brown eyes, and she smiled back to him.

"you can come into my bar… if you want to…" she muttered and stared at Zack. He nodded and followed the girl into her bar. His eyes scanned the grey walls in her bar. He looked at all the pictures that hang on the wall. The lights from the roof reflected in their hair, and Zack stole a glance or two of Tifa when she wasn't looking. The bar was free from dust, and it seemed like the time stood still, the shiny plates in her bar reflected by the sunlight that came through the windows. The chair and tables in 7th heaven was well treated for sure, and clean as well. The whole thing made Zack gasp, and Tifa turned around and smiled to him.

"you're not in the middle of something… are you?" Zack wondered as he touched one of the shiny plates and it tickled under his palm. Tifa stared at him again and grinned.

"No, you came at a perfect time… I could need some company I guess… " she sighted and looked at the boy in her bar. His curiosity and excitement made her grin even more. He looked at her again and grinned back.

"Guess my timing is perfect then…" he laughed and stared at the stairs in front of them. She nodded and was on her way up the stairs, and Zack followed her. They come into the room that looked like a bedroom. It was two beds there, in medium size. Zack sat himself on one of them, he stared out the window. He let his hand slide over the red blanket on the bed. Tifa stood in front of him, but she sat herself down at the bed next to him after a while. Her chocolate brown hair fell down in her face. Zack's face turned into a grin when he saw a picture of Tifa, Cloud and two kids on the bed where Tifa was sitting.

"is Cloud your boyfriend?" Zack wondered while he saw the picture, Tifa's attention was on Zack. She lifted the picture up and glared at it. She shook her head and laughed.

"No, he's not my boyfriend… he's my best friend… I decided to be more away from him after Aerith confessed her feelings for him… I mean… they were as created for each other; she was the first one that made him smile… " she looked away from Zack, but he still stared at her. The girl raised herself up from the bed and went over to the window. She stared blankly out of it, Zack stayed quiet for a while, he remembered Aerith… and he knew about her feelings for Cloud, if Tifa could stay away from Cloud, so could Zack stay away from Aerith.

"So… are you hungry?" Zack stared at Tifa with hope in his eyes, he was starving, and he hoped that they could go out and order some food. It took awhile before Tifa answered him, she was thinking on Cloud. Tifa turned around and stared on the guy in front of her.

"yes, we could go out and order something… I'm hungry as well…" Zack's face lighted up, and Tifa grinned. Zack went away from the bed, and followed Tifa out of her bar. He went over to his new motorcycle, while Tifa stared at Zack and his motorcycle. Zack waved his hand as a sign that she should come, but she didn't.

"Oh, gods Tifa! You know me! I don't bite… at least not so hard" he laughed and patted on the spot behind him. The girl walked over to the motorcycle, and sat herself behind Zack. He held him around his waist. And then he drove off to the motor road. His dark hair flew in the air, and mixed itself together with Tifa's brown forehead hair. Tifa's feelings was mixed, she had always been on Cloud's motorcycle, but never on Zack's.

"Where's Cloud anyway?" Zack muttered, as he drove the motorcycle. Tifa was quiet for a while.
Cloud… he was on a delivery, and that had been his excuse almost every time he had been home for a while. Tifa felt that Cloud hadn't been there for them lately, but she knew that Zack would say the same as she thought if she says it loud to him.

"He's out on a delivery… he hasn't been here for a while… like two weeks or something." She muttered sadly, and Zack's eyes widened. Tifa smiled when she saw Zack's expression, it looked funny. The brunette girl looked away from Zack, and stared on her shoes. The black haired boy shook his head and sighted. Cloud, Cloud, Cloud… delivery didn't sound like Zack, but it that was what Cloud liked…

"Still he has no reason for being away from you, Denzel and Marlene!" the noise from his motorcycle made it difficult to hear something, and Tifa didn't hear a word of what Zack was telling her. She raised one of her eyebrows, and her brown eyes glittered in the sun.

"what did you say? I couldn't hear you, really!" Tifa chuckled and shook her head. Zack sighted, he new that Tifa was going to protect Cloud no matter what he told her. Zack kept his eyes on the road, without saying anything else, there was a pause. And they didn't stare or look at each other. Zack decided to change the subject.

"Are we there yet?" Zack broke the silence, and Tifa's attention was once again at Zack. She opened her eyes and starred over Zack's shoulder, the road at least looked known. The girl knew that they were at the right direction.

"Yeah, just a few blocks from here…" she muttered into his ear. She made it clear for him where they were heading, and Zack stopped his motorcycle when they were there. Zack's eyes glanced at all the houses; he turned around and looked at Tifa again. The city was ruins, nothing like he had remembered it before the day he was shot. The boy raised a eyebrow, and his smile was faded.

"I guess a lot of things have changed… since you last saw it, Zack… the rest of this town is just ruins…" she said sadly, while she looked at Zack. He seemed confused, and that wasn't weird.

"So… we're going to the Golden Saucer?" Zack muttered, and starred at Tifa again, she nodded, and started to run. It took a while before he ran after her. Tifa's shoes hit the ground for every step she took, the brunette girl looked behind her, it took Zack only a couple of seconds to come up next to her.