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Final Fantasy: A Bond of Love	By : Bubblesoflove Category: Final Fantasy VII > Het - Male/Female > Cloud/Tifa Views: 1937 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VII, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 5
- 6
- 7
This is set nine years down the line (Now in Advent Children)
everything in the past will be shown in flashbacks.

Chapter 6: An Anniversary

�� You
shouldn�t blame yourself,� Aerith said from where she saw Zack standing in
front of the double glass doors that led to the balcony. She was currently
sitting on their bed with the white sheets wrapped around her naked body.
�� Her brown
hair was freed from its usual tie and ribbon and surrounded her soft features.
Her green eyes were soft with sadness for the young man.
�� Zack was
standing in front of the double doors dressed in only his black joggers. He had
made this a habit every year on this particular day.
�� She
did�once,� Zack whispered. Aerith nodded as she bowed her head, playing with
her fingers.
�� I know,�
the painful whisper came from her lips as she closed her eyes, blinking back
the tears that stung them, swallowing painfully as she lifted her head once
more, �but she was in pain when she blamed you Zack, she had lost her father,
her hometown and her one time lover�one after the other,�
�� I know,�
Zack whispered, bowing his head. Aerith slid out of the bed, tightening the
sheets around her as she walked up behind him, wrapping her arms around his and
looked up at him.
�� She has
forgiven you though�you just need to forgive yourself. You lost him because of
men thought they were gods and they were the ones who killed him. Not you,�
Aerith explained.
�� Zack closed
his eyes as he turned his head to the side as the memories washed over him of
when he had finally told Tifa what happened to Cloud.
�� Zack looked up at the bar called Seventh
Heaven. He had asked around if anyone knew where a Tifa Lockhart was and found
out that she was living in Seventh Heaven and has been since the fire in
Nibeliheim.
�� Zack
pushed the door open and stepped into the building. Looking around, he found
the man who he had suggested the name of the bar to. The guy recognised him too
if the short wave was any indication. Zack moved over to him.
�� Hey
Zack, welcome back to the slums, what can I get you?� the man asked.
�� Is
Tifa Lockhart here? I have some news for her,� Zack told him. The man nodded as
he pointed toward the stairs.
�� She�s
upstairs, third door on the left,� the man told him. Zack gave a short nod as
he moved over to the stairs and began to walk them. The place was quite small
and there were numerous of doors in the hallway, each one of them had names on
the door. It was obvious that the bar was being used as a hostel as well for
people who needed a place to live.
�� Zack
finally found Tifa�s door, he knocked on it and waited for a moment before he
heard �Come in,� he opened the door and stepped into the room, closing the door
behind him. Looking around, he could see pictures of Cloud and Tifa, Tifa with
her family and pictures of the troops when they were in Nibeliheim, he could
see that none of them contained Sephiroth.
�� Tifa
came out of her bedroom, curious to come to her apartment and met familiar
purple eyes with hint of mako blue.
�� Zack?�
Tifa smiled brightly when she recognised him. �Hey! How are you?� Zack just
swallowed painfully. Tifa�s smile dimmed when she saw the seriousness on Zack
face before she looked around, obviously looking for Cloud before her eyes
landed on Zack�s once more, a tightening feeling coiled up in her gut.
�Zack�where�s Cloud?�
�� Tifa�I��
Zack trailed off. Tifa just continued to look him with confusion. �He�s dead�I
was too late.�
�� What?�
Tifa just shook her head, denial clouding her head. �What are you talking
about?�
�� Cloud
is dead Tifa, they killed him�I didn�t get him out soon enough�I�m sorry,� he
watched as Tifa took a step back, confused as tears started to fill her red
eyes.
�� I
don�t�� a sob broke free from her lips as her heart started clenching
painfully. Tears filled Zack�s eyes as he tried to keep his composer.
�� They
captured us and experimented on us � they overdosed him on Mako. His body
couldn�t handle it�� there was a smash as a cup hit the wall next to Zack,
missing him by inches.
�� Shut
up!� Tifa screamed, tears now running furiously down her cheeks as she grabbed
another cup and threw it across the room. �Stop lying to me! He�s not dead!�
The cup hit the wall, this time closer to Zack causing him to duck off to the
side.
�� Tifa��
Zack choked out, he didn�t know what to say.
�� Stop
lying to me! Cloud is not dead!� Tifa screamed. �I don�t know what kind of sick
joke you are playing but it�s not funny!� a glass hit the wall where Zack was
standing.
�� Zack
rushed over to her and gripped her upper arms.
�� Tifa,
Cloud�s dead � I saw his body!� Zack shouted, tears now running down his
cheeks. Tifa just stared up at him with a broken hearted look in her eyes, one
that had Zack�s heart breaking.
�� No,�
Tifa whispered as she yanked herself out of Zack�s hands, shaking her head.
�He�s not dead�he promised��
�� Tifa��
Zack reached out a hand but Tifa took a step back, wrapping her arms over her
stomach.
�� He
can�t be dead�� Tifa sobbed as she fell to her knees, rocking. �He promised me
he would come back�he promised!� Zack knelt down on the ground and pulled her
into a hug.
�� Tifa
half heartily tried to push him away but Zack was stubborn that she gave in and
cried into his chest, her fist pounded his bullet vest every now and then. �He
promised me he wouldn�t leave me��
�� I�m
sorry�I�m so sorry�I should have saved him,� Zack whispered as he rocked her,
burying his face into her hair as they both grieved for the man they had come
to known and love�like a lover and a brother.
�� It was
after that that made everything else worse,� Zack whispered. Aerith closed her
eyes as she turned her head, a lone tear dripping from her closed eyelid as she
thought back to that moment Zack had called her frantically from a hospital he
had taken Tifa to.
�� Zack?� Aerith rushed into the hospital,
looking around frantically for him only to spot him standing in front of a
window. Zack turned when he heard her voice. Aerith had to swallow the lump
that formed in her throat at the relief that flooded his eyes. She hurried over
to him and wrapped her arms around his neck; Zack wrapped his arms around her
waist, holding on. �What happened?� Aerith pulled away so she could look into
his eyes.
�� Zack
just shook his head. �I don�t know. I told her about Cloud and she freaked out.
I was hugging her when she just bent over in pain and blood started staining
her shorts. She didn�t understand what was happening so I brought her here.�
Aerith nodded as she embraced him once more.
�� NO!�
a female voice screamed, startling Zack and Aerith as they turned to the window
to see Tifa shove the doctor away from her, clutching her stomach as she
continued to cry. �No!� Tifa brought her knees up wrapped her arms around them
and buried her face into them as she cried.
�� The
doctor and nurse shared a look before the doctor left the room only to meet the
anxious eyes of Zack and Aerith.
�� What�s
happening?� Zack demanded.
�� Are
you family?� the doctor asked.
�� She�s
my sister,� Zack lied, Aerith looked at him before she looked at the doctor.
The doctor gave a short nod before he sighed.
�� I�m
sorry, she had a miscarriage,� the doctor bowed his head before he walked away,
leaving Zack leaning against the wall in a stunned shock while Aerith frowned
as she looked through the window at the sobbing girl before looking at Zack.
�� Zack,
she looks only fifteen,� Aerith said and Zack nodded.
�� She
is � she and Cloud had a relationship before we were captured,� Zack swallowed
painfully. �It was Cloud�s baby she lost.� Aerith cupped her mouth with a hand,
gasping at the revelation. Tifa had just been told that Cloud is dead and now
she had lost the only link she had.
�� Aerith
could only watch with tears in her eyes as the young girl pushed the nurse away
and turned on her side, curling herself into a ball, crying into her pillow as
one hand curled around her stomach, trying to protect the baby she had lost.
�� Aerith came
out of her thoughts with a shudder as she looked up at Zack�s once more. It had
been a horrible time for them, they had spent months with Tifa, looking after
and comforting her. Aerith never wanted to know what it was like to find out
that you had lost your lover and lose your baby all in the same day.
�� Zack reached
out and slid an arm around her shoulders, pulling her into his body as she slid
her hands around so they were resting on his back. Zack buried his face into
the side of her neck while Aerith pressed a kiss to his shoulder before resting
her forehead on it as they both stood in silence, embracing each other in
comfort.
�� Tifa stood
in front of the kitchen sink, dressed a pair of black knee length trousers and
a black shirt, with her hands submersed in bubbles and hot water as she washed
the dishes. There was a board on the wall in front of the sink with post notes
and pictures.
�� There was a
picture of Aerith and Zack together. Aerith was holding a basket of bright
flowers with a bright smile on her face while Zack had an exasperated look on
his face as he held a box filled with flowers.
�� There was a
picture of Zack, Tifa and Cloud from when Shin-Ra had sent the SOLDIERs out to
Nibelheim. Zack was standing off to the side watching Cloud and Tifa with an
amused look on his face. Tifa had one hand holding onto her cowboy hat and the
other one was trying to push a hand away while she laughing. Cloud was grinning
brightly as he had an arm around her waist and the other hand was tickling her
side.
�� Tifa felt a
ghost of a smile crossed her face before she turned her head as a lone tear
slipped down her cheek when she heard a noise. Wiping her hands hurryingly on
the kitchen towel, she wiped her tears away with the back of her hands and
turned around with a bright smile only to see Zack standing in the doorway and
felt her tears come back with a vengeance.
�� Zack just
moved forward and wrapped his arms around her as she cried into his bare chest,
wrapping her arms around his waist. Zack kissed the top of her head before
resting his cheek as he closed his eyes.
�� Aerith
watched from the doorway with a sad smile on her face as tears filled her green
eyes, hurting that she couldn�t help her friends during the worst day of their
lives. She heard running footsteps from behind her and wiped her tears away
before smiling as she turned around to see a young girl and a young boy behind
them.
�� The girl had
light brown hair that was curled around her face, bright brown eyes and was
dressed in a pink nightie with a stuffed yellow chocobo in her arms. The boy
had messy dark brown hair and bright blue eyes. He was dressed in a grey
t-shirt and black bottoms.
�� Aerith; is
Tifa okay?� the girl asked, peering around the older woman to look into the
kitchen where she saw Tifa crying and Zack hugging her.
�� She will
be,� Aerith knelt down in front of the children. �Tifa and Zack have lost
someone very dear to them. They mourn for him on this day because it was when
they had lost him.�
�� Was it
Cloud?� the boy asked, shyly, and Aerith nodded as one of her hand cupped his
cheek while her other hand cupped the girl�s cheek.
�� Yes, so we
need to be careful around Tifa today and do what she tells us to do, right,
Marlene, Denzel?� she looked both of them in the eyes and they nodded. Aerith
gave them a soft smile before she brushed her lips over their foreheads and
stood up.
�� Tifa had
pulled away from Zack during the exchange and gave him a brief smile.
�� Thanks
Zack,� she whispered. Zack just shook his head, ruffling her hair.
�� No problem
little sis,� Zack brushed a kiss over her forehead and wiped away her tears.
Tifa just gave him a short nod before she turned to the cooker so she could get
the breakfast going while Zack grabbed the stuff from the fridge.
�� Zack and
Tifa had shared long nights talks of Cloud that had drew them closer like
brothers and sisters. They could even pass as brothers and sisters as it turned
out that Zack�s father had red eyes while Zack�s mother had lavender eyes.
�� Zack turned
his head and smiled when he saw Aerith enter the kitchen with Marlene and
Denzel before helping Marlene up onto the high stool while Denzel got up
himself. Marlene had come to live with them after Barret, someone they had met
while they lived in the slums, had adopted her. It turned out that her parents
had died.
�� Barret had
decided to leave Marlene with them while he went off scouring the earth for new
things for the world to use rather than just Mako. Denzel had been brought home
by Aerith when she found him slumbering in her church. It turned out the boy
had been thrown out of his home after contracting an illness.
�� Aerith had
healed the young man with Tifa staying by his side to help him through the time
and they had agreed to let the young boy stay with them. Denzel had been shy
around Zack at first, already warming to Aerith, Tifa and Marlene but had
slowly warmed up to Zack and now considered him as an uncle figure.
�� Zack and
Tifa placed the plates on the table before they and Aerith sat down with the
kids and ate their breakfast while they talked about what they were going to do
that day. Marlene had suggested they go on a trip while Denzel wanted to go to
a Chocobo Farm. Zack just watched them with amusement as they argued when the
phone rang.
�� Zack, being
the closest, stood up and walked over to the phone. Picking it up, he greeted
into the phone only to smile brightly when he realise who it was.
�� Ma,�
everyone looked at him, curious to see why Mrs. Fair had phoned them. The kids
had come to love Zack�s parents like grandparents and wondered if they were
going to see them. �Ma,� Zack complained only to bow his head as he got
chastised. Denzel and Marlene giggled together while Tifa and Aerith shared an
amused look, knowing too well just how mothering Mrs Fair could get, especially
when it came to her baby boy, one who she thought would never settle down and
find a nice girl.
�� They had
visited Zack�s mother two months after Zack had came back. Aerith had been
worried about Zack and Tifa that she had phoned Mrs. Fair up and asked if they
could come down for a visit. She had explained everything that had happened and
Mrs. Fair had readily agreed, more than willing to meet the girl that had
captured her son�s heart.
�� When they
had arrived, Mrs. Fair had spent the entire day mothering over Zack and Tifa
much to Aerith�s amusement whenever Zack tried to do something, he would get
his hand slapped away and a firm glare from his mother. Tifa had slowly relaxed
under the watchful eye of Mrs. Fair and had opened up to the older woman about
her relationship and her miscarriage. It turned out that Mrs. Fair had
miscarriage once before she had Zack so she understood what Tifa was going
through.
�� They had
stayed there for six months, Mrs. Fair had been more than willing to keep them
longer but they knew they had go to back and face their past if they ever
wanted to move on in the future.
�� They had
made the promise that they would visit as much as they could and often had the
parents up for Christmas and sometimes they went down for Christmas. Once the
kids had joined them, the parents had taken it upon them to act like
grandparents, loving and spoiling the kids as much as they could.
�� Zack nodded
into the phone before he checked the calendar and looked at the others.
�� Do you guys
want to go up to Gongaga?� there were cheers from the kids while Tifa and
Aerith gave him short smiles and he turned back to the phone. �We can come up
in two weeks.� He grinned into the phone. �Sure thing ma, I�ll see you soon.�
He hung up the phone and sat back down at his table. He tucked into his
breakfast as the kids started to bubble with excitement over visiting their
grandparents while Aerith and Tifa made a list of what they needed to do before
they left for the short break.
�� Tifa turned
to Zack. Zack looked up at her, understanding what she wanted.
�� Are you
sure?� Zack asked and Tifa nodded.
�� Yes, I want
to see him,� Tifa told him. Zack gave a short nod.
�� Okay, I�ll
get the bike,� Zack told her and she nodded as she made her way up the stairs.
Aerith looked at Zack as he watched her leave with sad eyes before turning to
look at his girlfriend. Aerith just nodded in understanding as he reached over
and embraced her, needing all the strength he could get at the moment.
�� Tifa made
her way into the bedroom and over to her dressing table and sat down in front
of the mirror. She picked up her brush and started brushing her dark hair as
she looked at the picture of Cloud she had.
�� It was a
picture of him smiling and laughing as he looked into the camera. She had took
it the day after they had slept together, she had managed to get out of trouble
after being out all night and spent the day with Cloud and Zack, taking
pictures as the two boys played around together. Tifa pulled her eyes away from
the picture and looked into the mirror and at herself.
�� She looked
older, her hair was longer. She was no longer the na�ve 15 year old who had
laughed and smiled when she found Cloud had come back. She was now 24 year old
woman who had lost her lover and child all on the same day. She had saw murder,
saw her home town get destroyed to nothing then built back up like nothing had
ever happened.
�� She placed
the brush on the dresser before sliding a palm over her stomach as she closed
her eyes. Sometimes, she liked to pretend that she was 15 again and that she
knew that she was pregnant and doing everything she could to ensure the baby
was safe and protected in her stomach and knowing that Cloud was going to come
through the door with a bag filled with toys and a bright grin on his face.
�� A faint
smile crossed her face before she opened her eyes and found herself back in
reality. She turned her face away and stood up, making her way over to the
wardrobe as she stripped herself of her knee length jeans and pulled on a pair
of black jeans and her boots. She straightened up just as Zack knocked on the
door and opened it. Tifa turned to look at him; he was dressed in black jeans,
his boots, a black t-shirt and a black vest.
�� You ready?�
Zack asked. Tifa nodded as she grabbed the red rose from her dressing table and
moved over to Zack as he led the way down the stairs and out of the bar and
over to the bike that was in front of the bar.
�� Aerith
watched them leave from behind the bar with a sad smile before she turned back
to cleaning the glasses so they would be ready for the customers that night.
�� Zack pulled
up next to the graveyard. Tifa got off it first, she shot Zack a look and he
nodded as he climbed off the bike before shifting so he was sitting on the bike
with his legs stretched out and his arms crossed over his chest as he watched
as Tifa made her way over to a tombstone.
�� While they
knew there wasn�t a body buried, it had brought some closure for them to be
able to visit a tombstone.
�� Tifa knelt
down in front of the tombstone before she placed the rose in front of it.
�� Cloud Strife, he died young. Baby Strife,
forever safe in his father arms,� Tifa wiped away her tears.
�� It�s been
nine years�� Tifa sighed. �Nine long years and all I could think is that our
baby would have been eight now, a perfect mixture of both of us.� She looked
down at her hands. �I always wonder what it would have been � a boy or a girl,�
she laughed. �I had a dream of a little boy with your hair and my eyes and your
silent personality,� she sobered. �Sometimes I wonder if you are really dead. I
can�t feel you. Aerith says that I should give it time, that you�re probably
not used to the lifestream yet but it�s been nine years�how much longer do you
need to be used to the lifestream?� Another tear slipped down her cheeks. �I
just�I just wish I could feel you, for you to let me know that you are there,
watching me.� She wiped her tears away. �I love you so much. We only had one
day together and it resulted in us having a baby together, one that was ripped
from me way too early,� she lifted a hand and touched Cloud�s name. �Please
just let me know you�re here, that you�re watching me�that you�re protecting
our baby.� She stood up and walked away.
�� Zack walked
over to the tombstone and squatted down in front of the tombstone. He shifted
to look over his shoulder at Tifa standing close to the bike before he looked
at the stone once more.
�� I�m looking
after her, Cloud; I promised you that I would. Rest in peace man,� Zack touched
the top of the stone in a sign of respect before he straightened up and walked
away from the tombstone and over to Tifa, where he gave her a one arm hugged
before he helped her onto the bike and climbed on. With a hard kick, he started
the bike and drove away from the tombstone, missing a shadow that had appeared
over the tombstone.
�� Do you miss
me?� a female voice whispered. He felt an amused grin cross his face as his
hands slid over warm skin of her waist.
�� Of course I
do,� he whispered, flicking his tongue over the spot just above her collarbone,
causing her to gasp as she threw her head back, black hair flying. She looked
back down at him with a devilish grin.
�� You really
are a naughty boy, aren�t you?� she asked, desire making her voice throaty and
breathless. She leaned down so she was near his ear. �Too bad you�re dead and
you killed our child.� He stiffened as she pulled away with an evil grin on her
face, her red eyes slowly changing to blue with hints of green and her black
hair was slowly turning blonde.
�� Do you know
your mission?� a disembodied voice. A pair of bright blue with hints of green
eyes snapped open.
�� Yes,� the
person with the bright blue eyes said and there was a chuckle.
�� Good, my
son,� the voice whispered. �Do me proud�Sephiroth.�

TBC
- 5
- 6
- 7
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Final Fantasy: A Bond of Love