A one shot that I just had to write because I can't find a story like this on fanfic so here it is! Please review!
There he went again, the bastard, walking out on her and the kids that they had adopted together, so he could try to "find himself" or some other such nonsense. Tifa sighed, she had to be honest, and he probably thought that he was keeping from hurting her but damn it all! Couldn't he see that he was just hurting her more? If only he could see her as something other than a friend if only he could try to love again. She was just as good as Aerith, probably better right now she thought to herself no I know I'm better I'm alive and here and ready….she decided to just stop after all he was never going to return her feelings.
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Two months had passed since the last time Cloud had left and she was slowly starting to get her life and her heart back. A new customer walked into the bar and Tifa looked up, with a smile that was no longer faked. to see…Vincent? What was he doing here? She had never seen him drink, not even when they had all been fighting together or at some party celebrating some victory or another, so that must mean it was a social call.
"Vincent hey how are you? Long time no see."
"Yeah" he replied. "I got a call from Marlene saying you were making my favorite for dinner so I should get my tail over quick if I wanted any."
Tifa couldn't help but laugh just a little. Who would have thought that Big Bad Wolf Vincent would have homemade macaroni and cheese as a favorite dish? She got control of herself and said "yep it's almost ready and the kids have been hovering ever since they smelled it" at this she got a crooked smile on her face "you would think I never fed them."
Vincent smiled just a little smile. He had a huge soft spot for kids especially Marlene who was never scared of him and Denzel who looked at him like he was some kind of hero which made him feel special if a little awkward.
Tifa just smiled at him which gave him a funny feeling in his stomach and said "Go on into the kitchen they will be overjoyed to see you."
Vincent thanked Tifa and walked into the kitchen where he was promptly tackled by two hyper active children. They ended up wrestling a bit on the floor while Marlene tried to tickle him and Denzel tried to hold him down. He wasn't really ticklish but he knew it made the two kids laugh when he pretended he did, even if they didn't know it was pretend.
They finally stopped to notice Tifa in the doorway laughing and when they stopped she smiled slyly and went to help and when she touched his sides he realized he was wrong really, really wrong. He WAS ticklish and as he rolled on the floor trying to get up he realized that if it meant she would touch him like that he didn't care. Somehow, while they were rolling around on the floor, completely by accident mind you, Tifa and Vincent's lips somehow ended up touching and well neither really wanted it to end. Over their shoulders Denzel and Marlene gave each other a thumbs up and Marlene mouthed "Mission accomplished" and they snuck out of the room and into the empty bar.
Marlene whispered "phase one: matchmakers is complete!" Denzel thought that she was getting just a bit too into this but smiled anyway he wanted these two together he thought about Cloud and knew he didn't want Tifa to waste her life waiting for someone who only saw her as a friend.
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Meanwhile in the kitchen Tifa and Vincent finally broke apart Tifa was blushing a deep red and Vincent just looked like he had found heaven. Finally Tifa spoke.
"I think I should check on dinner." She said a little nervously Vincent just nodded and smiled. He knew that she would need a bit of time to think on what had happened and let her be for a bit while he got off the floor. Soon dinner was on the table and everyone was eating and talking happily Vincent saying a bit about what he had been up to and the the other three diners talking about how their lives had been going.
After, Tifa tucked the kids into bed and went downstairs to see Vincent off but suddenly a thought struck her.
"Vincent?" she asked a shyly.
"Yeah?" he replied.
"Why don't you stay here tonight it's late?"
Vincent thought on it a minute an decided it couldn't hurt just to stay one night here….under the same roof as her, and nodded Tifa showed him to the guest room and said a quiet goodnight before turning and walk to her own room where her head was filled with thoughts of how Vincent's kiss had made her stomach leap to life with a thousand butterflies.
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Things continued that way for another couple of months until finally Vincent wasn't staying in the guest room anymore but with Tifa. The first night they had both been shy neither was a virgin but neither had ever felt this way about another before either. It was slow and sweet and both fell asleep truly at peace for the first time in much too long.
Denzel and Marlene were both ecstatic that they had helped bring these two together and had started looking at Vincent the way they had tried to look at Cloud. Vincent was there everyday and eventually they all sat down and decided that Vincent was moving in with them because he was there all the time anyway and things progressed happily for almost a year after that Tifa never looked sad anymore, the kids were much more open and had made more friends in school than they knew what to do with, and Vincent didn't worry about Lucretia he knew she would want him to be happy and so he was.
Vincent had to go away for a few days. He was going to help so people in a town just day away with some monster problems they had been having. As he left he wondered if Tifa would make macaroni and cheese when he got home like she always did. She said it was because she was proud of him for helping others and truth be told he felt good doing it and not just for the dinner he got at home either.
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Tifa was cleaning the bar it was closing time and she wanted it to look its best because Vincent was going to be back first thing tomorrow. Someone opened the door. She yelled out "Bar's Closed!" and heard the door shut, so she thought they had left, then she heard footsteps. She peered around the corner and saw who else but Cloud.
"Cloud what are you doing here?" She asked looking confused.
"I came home Tifa I didn't find her but I think she would have wanted me to move on and be happy" Tifa had a puzzled look on her face and with each word Cloud said her face looked more and more shocked which Cloud wasn't sure if it was a good or bad sign. She tried to say something but he held up his hand "Tifa I have to say this it's way overdue I should have said something way back when I realized it instead of running and trying to hide it" as he talked he walked closer to her until he was right in front of her "Tifa I love you." Just as he bent down to kiss her the door opened quietly.
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Vincent was getting home a day earlier and wanted to surprise Tifa, she like it when he woke her up. He was trying to be quiet so he opened the door slowly and almost fell over from shock at what he saw. After about half a second of standing in the doorway he started to laugh so hard his sides hurt.
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Cloud thought this was going well she hadn't started crying or throwing things at him so he assumed all was well until he realized his feet weren't on the ground, he wasn't kissing Tifa anymore, and then he was hitting a wall and couldn't figure out why.
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Tifa stood in shock thinking "O gods now I have to kill him" as Cloud tried to claim her mouth and before he had done more than barely touch their lips together she had thrown him across the room as his faced showed his puzzlement.
Cloud sat up and heard some guy laughing but didn't dwell on it. "Tifa" he said seeing her eyes were so mad he thought he should have died by now "What's wrong I thought you wanted this?" His confusion was clear.
"Cloud I wanted this for years and you always left and didn't even give me the time of day now you come back a year later and expect me to feel the same about you? Did you think I would just wait forever Cloud?" Since this was exactly what he had thought he had the grace to at least blush. She continued "Cloud the kids and I have moved on we did quite a while ago and you have only yourself to blame, I however am glad with how things worked out I have someone who cares for me and doesn't want to leave me for a dead girl. He takes care of the kids and we have all been better because of him."
Cloud just sat there stunned but then it registered that there was still some guy getting control of his laughter. Cloud realized that this must be the guy Tifa was talking about. He got up and was about ready to kill the man when he realized it was Vincent standing in the doorway. He was wondering why Vincent was there but decided to wait until later to figure it out.
"Vincent, do you know who this guy that she's talking about is?"
Vincent started to laugh harder but managed to nod.
"Well who is it I'll kill him!"
At that even Tifa started to laugh and it slowly dawned on Cloud why they were laughing and why Vincent was there. Cloud jumped up form his position on the floor.
"You!" He shouted at the top of his lungs, pointing his finger at Vincent with so many conflicting emotions on his face and then he just opened and closed his mouth with no sound coming out so much so that he looked like a fish. The kids were at the top of the stairs watching all of this a bit amused but also a bit wary they hadn't counted on Cloud ever coming back so they didn't know if Tifa would stay with Vincent or not but Vincent had no worries he knew how Tifa felt about him they would be married soon and they were planning on surprising the kids with it tomorrow.
Tifa saw the kids there and walked to Vincent, putting her hand on his arm she whispered that he should take the kids back to bed while she sorted Cloud out he nodded and gave her a light kiss before scooping up the kids and taking them to their rooms.
Cloud just stared totally bewildered then, he smiled, it actually looked kind of evil. He was thinking that he could get Tifa back he was sure she loved him best so he tried to kiss her again. This time he didn't even get close she just moved out of the way and he hit the floor.
"Cloud we need to talk." She said and walked to a table and sat down he followed and sat opposite her.
"Cloud" she said before he said anything, "I do not love you as anything more than a friend now." She said as his face fell so much for that plan he thought to himself. She went on to tell him of what had happened and as she talked he noticed that she was really truly happy. Not that fake happy she was whenever she was waiting for him to leave again. He sighed when she finished and looked at her.
"Cloud we are getting married soon he is formally going to adopt the kids and that's that there just isn't anything left between you and I."
Cloud understood then that he had totally messed up that life that he could have had, he saw it all in that moment, and he knew without a doubt that never again would he even have a slim chance a it they were gone from him and it was all his fault.
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He stayed at an inn in town and eventually got himself a house there. He kept his delivery service and watched what might have been his family leave his grasp forever at the wedding. Eventually he even managed to snare a wife but he was never truly content. Tifa, Vincent, and the kids had a happy life and even had a baby of their own, a little boy, with his mother's eyes and fathers hair. They didn't live happily ever after, no one does, but it was close.