--------------------------------------------------------------
PART 7 Our Separate Ways
{TAK TAK TAK TAK}
'Is someone at the bar?' Zack wondered. He rushed over to
Seventh Heaven and saw a dark, muscular man nailing a sign
onto the door. He had a small girl on his shoulder.
"HEY! YOU!" Zack called out. The man turned around. "What
in the world are you doing?!"
"What does it look like?"
Zack read the sign.
"SEVENTH HEAVEN IS PERMANENTLY CLOSED," it read.
'Permanently?!' Zack thought, feeling like he had been
stabbed a million times.
"The owner, Tifa Lockheart, asked me to put this up for her,"
the man said. "Sorry buddy but there ain't no more beers for
ya. Gotta go somewhere else. Tifa ain't comin' back, according
to her."
Another million stabs. "I-It...it's not that..." Zack replied.
The man shrugged. "Who are ya, anyway?"
"I'm Zack. Tifa's friend."
"OH!" The man smiled and shook Zack's hand. "Pleasure ta
meet ya! Tifa's told me about ya! You two been living together,
ain't I right?"
"Y-Yeah..."
"Name's Barret Wallace. Teef's one of my best buds."
"Oh yeah, I know you. Good to meet you."
"I hope you didn't go and do nuthin' to her! No offense or
nuthin' but I don't trust ya just yet. It ain't like Cloud was
bad enough..."
Zack lowered his eyes at the mention of his name. He began
to think of Tifa with him. With a man who didn't love her back.
How could she possibly love him? Why couldn't she just love---
"This here's Marlene," Barret said, interrupting his thoughts.
Barret lowered the little girl on his shoulder.
"Hello," Marlene greeted.
Zack patted her on the head. "You're a cute little girl, you
know that?"
"Thank you very much."
Zack tilted his head to one side. "Why aren't you smiling,
Marlene? You'd look much prettier if you were smiling."
Barret carried Marlene on his shoulder again. "Marlene's sad
'coz Tifa ain't here no more. We dun know where she's at and
it's hard not to be worrying when Tifa's out there without
anyone but Cloud. And I don't trust Cloud that much to be
taking care of her."
"I..." Zack began. "I know how you feel."
"I tried to talk her outta it but she's just too stubborn when
it comes to Cloud. She loves him too damn much and whenever
he asks her to do something, she agree without even thinking
it over. He can ask her to jump off a cliff and she'd do it. I'm
tryin' ta get it through that head of hers that Cloud dun love
her back but she just ain't listenin'! He can be a bastard
sometimes, always taking advantage of her."
'Yeah...' Zack thought sadly. 'That lucky bastard...'
~*~*~*~
"This... This is OUR HOUSE???!!!" Tifa exclaimed breathlessly.
"Yeah," Cloud replied with a smile on his face.
Tifa threw her arms around his neck. "It's beautiful!!!"
Indeed, it was. It was a large two-floor, four-bedroom,
two-bathroom house with an incredible kitchen. It had
everything they needed and more. It was practically perfect.
Now, if only Cloud would tell her what she wanted to hear the
most...
"How did you ever manage to get a place like this?" Tifa asked.
"Uh..." Cloud paused for a second. "Well, I just did a good
job, that's all..."
"I'm so proud of you!" Tifa took a minute to look around the
house. "But, Cloud?"
"Yeah? What is it, Tif?"
"I'm wondering why you bought such a big house. I mean,
we're only two people and there's so many rooms!"
Cloud grinned sheepishly. "Well...it was kinda for the future,
y'know..."
Tifa felt herself blush at this. Her heart felt like it would jump
out of her chest any second. She was overwhelmed with joy!
Did this mean that Cloud was planning for them to have a
future?
Tifa grabbed him into a tight hug. "I love you so much,
Cloud!!!"
After a while, she realized what she just said. She never
meant for it to turn out that way. 'SHIT!!! Don't tell me I just
told him that I---'
"I love you, too," Cloud whispered back.
Tifa's eyes widened as she pulled away to stare at him. She
could hardly believe it. In fact, she couldn't believe it at all.
Had Cloud just said he loved her?
"C-Cloud..." she stammered. "D-Don't make fun of me..."
"I'm not..." Cloud said, brushing hair away from her face.
"I've come to realize that. I realized that I've been an ass,
running around, not being able to see past my own nose. I
realized that I'm really lucky to have you around, Tif. And I
hope that it's not just as my best friend."
"C-Cloud..." She looked at him with hopeful eyes. "Do you
really mean that?"
"With all my heart..."
Tifa smiled, trying to contain her happiness. She embraced
him. "Cloud! You make me so happy!"
He embraced her back. "You make me happy, too, Aer---
Tifa..."
~*~*~*~
'Good,' Cloud thought when he peeked into Tifa's room. 'She's
asleep.'
Cloud quickly went outside and got into his car. He drove as
fast as he could to his destination so that he would get back
home before Tifa was awake.
He stood before the stone monument.
"Aeris..." he whispered before falling to his knees. "I miss
you a lot, you know that? Dammit! Why did you have to
die???!!!"
He placed a bouquet of flowers in front of Aeris' memorial.
"But don't worry," he said. "You're coming back soon. I
promise."
~*~*~*~
"...Tifa ain't comin' back, according to her."
Those words played in his mind over and over again, making
him come to a painful realization: Tifa wasn't coming back. It
unbelievable but true. He had never realized how much the
trust could hurt. It was more painful than he could ever
endure. He would have much rather die than experience this
pain. But he couldn't do that. He promised her he wouldn't. He
wasn't going to go back on his word now. Even if she was the
cause.
'But...' he thought. 'Why does it hurt so much?'
Why DID it hurt so much? Tifa was a very nice person. She
was a great friend, letting him stay at the apartment even
when they barely knew each other at the time. Sure, he would
have been sad that they wouldn't see each other again but
why did it hurt THAT much? It hurt so much that it was starting
to hurt more than when Aeris died... But...why?
PART 7 Our Separate Ways
{TAK TAK TAK TAK}
'Is someone at the bar?' Zack wondered. He rushed over to
Seventh Heaven and saw a dark, muscular man nailing a sign
onto the door. He had a small girl on his shoulder.
"HEY! YOU!" Zack called out. The man turned around. "What
in the world are you doing?!"
"What does it look like?"
Zack read the sign.
"SEVENTH HEAVEN IS PERMANENTLY CLOSED," it read.
'Permanently?!' Zack thought, feeling like he had been
stabbed a million times.
"The owner, Tifa Lockheart, asked me to put this up for her,"
the man said. "Sorry buddy but there ain't no more beers for
ya. Gotta go somewhere else. Tifa ain't comin' back, according
to her."
Another million stabs. "I-It...it's not that..." Zack replied.
The man shrugged. "Who are ya, anyway?"
"I'm Zack. Tifa's friend."
"OH!" The man smiled and shook Zack's hand. "Pleasure ta
meet ya! Tifa's told me about ya! You two been living together,
ain't I right?"
"Y-Yeah..."
"Name's Barret Wallace. Teef's one of my best buds."
"Oh yeah, I know you. Good to meet you."
"I hope you didn't go and do nuthin' to her! No offense or
nuthin' but I don't trust ya just yet. It ain't like Cloud was
bad enough..."
Zack lowered his eyes at the mention of his name. He began
to think of Tifa with him. With a man who didn't love her back.
How could she possibly love him? Why couldn't she just love---
"This here's Marlene," Barret said, interrupting his thoughts.
Barret lowered the little girl on his shoulder.
"Hello," Marlene greeted.
Zack patted her on the head. "You're a cute little girl, you
know that?"
"Thank you very much."
Zack tilted his head to one side. "Why aren't you smiling,
Marlene? You'd look much prettier if you were smiling."
Barret carried Marlene on his shoulder again. "Marlene's sad
'coz Tifa ain't here no more. We dun know where she's at and
it's hard not to be worrying when Tifa's out there without
anyone but Cloud. And I don't trust Cloud that much to be
taking care of her."
"I..." Zack began. "I know how you feel."
"I tried to talk her outta it but she's just too stubborn when
it comes to Cloud. She loves him too damn much and whenever
he asks her to do something, she agree without even thinking
it over. He can ask her to jump off a cliff and she'd do it. I'm
tryin' ta get it through that head of hers that Cloud dun love
her back but she just ain't listenin'! He can be a bastard
sometimes, always taking advantage of her."
'Yeah...' Zack thought sadly. 'That lucky bastard...'
~*~*~*~
"This... This is OUR HOUSE???!!!" Tifa exclaimed breathlessly.
"Yeah," Cloud replied with a smile on his face.
Tifa threw her arms around his neck. "It's beautiful!!!"
Indeed, it was. It was a large two-floor, four-bedroom,
two-bathroom house with an incredible kitchen. It had
everything they needed and more. It was practically perfect.
Now, if only Cloud would tell her what she wanted to hear the
most...
"How did you ever manage to get a place like this?" Tifa asked.
"Uh..." Cloud paused for a second. "Well, I just did a good
job, that's all..."
"I'm so proud of you!" Tifa took a minute to look around the
house. "But, Cloud?"
"Yeah? What is it, Tif?"
"I'm wondering why you bought such a big house. I mean,
we're only two people and there's so many rooms!"
Cloud grinned sheepishly. "Well...it was kinda for the future,
y'know..."
Tifa felt herself blush at this. Her heart felt like it would jump
out of her chest any second. She was overwhelmed with joy!
Did this mean that Cloud was planning for them to have a
future?
Tifa grabbed him into a tight hug. "I love you so much,
Cloud!!!"
After a while, she realized what she just said. She never
meant for it to turn out that way. 'SHIT!!! Don't tell me I just
told him that I---'
"I love you, too," Cloud whispered back.
Tifa's eyes widened as she pulled away to stare at him. She
could hardly believe it. In fact, she couldn't believe it at all.
Had Cloud just said he loved her?
"C-Cloud..." she stammered. "D-Don't make fun of me..."
"I'm not..." Cloud said, brushing hair away from her face.
"I've come to realize that. I realized that I've been an ass,
running around, not being able to see past my own nose. I
realized that I'm really lucky to have you around, Tif. And I
hope that it's not just as my best friend."
"C-Cloud..." She looked at him with hopeful eyes. "Do you
really mean that?"
"With all my heart..."
Tifa smiled, trying to contain her happiness. She embraced
him. "Cloud! You make me so happy!"
He embraced her back. "You make me happy, too, Aer---
Tifa..."
~*~*~*~
'Good,' Cloud thought when he peeked into Tifa's room. 'She's
asleep.'
Cloud quickly went outside and got into his car. He drove as
fast as he could to his destination so that he would get back
home before Tifa was awake.
He stood before the stone monument.
"Aeris..." he whispered before falling to his knees. "I miss
you a lot, you know that? Dammit! Why did you have to
die???!!!"
He placed a bouquet of flowers in front of Aeris' memorial.
"But don't worry," he said. "You're coming back soon. I
promise."
~*~*~*~
"...Tifa ain't comin' back, according to her."
Those words played in his mind over and over again, making
him come to a painful realization: Tifa wasn't coming back. It
unbelievable but true. He had never realized how much the
trust could hurt. It was more painful than he could ever
endure. He would have much rather die than experience this
pain. But he couldn't do that. He promised her he wouldn't. He
wasn't going to go back on his word now. Even if she was the
cause.
'But...' he thought. 'Why does it hurt so much?'
Why DID it hurt so much? Tifa was a very nice person. She
was a great friend, letting him stay at the apartment even
when they barely knew each other at the time. Sure, he would
have been sad that they wouldn't see each other again but
why did it hurt THAT much? It hurt so much that it was starting
to hurt more than when Aeris died... But...why?