Yours to Hold

Cloud was having a nightmare in the middle of the night, when suddenly, Tifa went to his room to see what was wrong with him.

Cloud was fighting in his sleep and Tifa does her best to wake him, but as much as she tried she couldn't. The dream was too deep and the more he struggled, the more intense the nightmare became. The dream was tormenting him and he growled in anguish as his breathing became increasingly agitated.

It is said that when a dream is too intense, it's better to let the person who is dreaming to wake up slowly, otherwise the dreamer will not be able to distinguish reality and could cause a severe trauma.

Tifa felt helpless for not being able to help and stayed with him until he could calm down. Cloud on the other hand, was still fighting in his sleep and Tifa tried to reassure him stroking his face with her hands.

"It's okay... Everything will be all right... I promise." She whispered softly.

Little by little, Cloud's breathing began to calm down slowly. Tifa wiped the sweat from his forehead with one of his shirts and then stroked his spikey hair to relax him. Cloud moved under her tender touch until finally his breathing returned to normal and was able to recover his composure.

Tifa smiled to see that he was back to normal and she bent to press a soft kiss on his forehead. Then she placed her forehead on his while she stroked his face with hers. After a few seconds, Tifa opened her eyes and looks at him as she listened to his breathing. Her face was so close to him and she couldn't help the urge to taste his lips.

But just before she could kiss him, Cloud muttered something...

"Aerith ..." He said quietly.

Surprised, Tifa stopped when she heard her name. At that moment, she felt a pain in her chest, as if thousands of needles had pierced into her heart. After all these years, he was still mourning for Aerith, which broke her heart into pieces.

After making sure that Cloud was fast asleep, Tifa turned around and closed her eyes in agony. It was clear that he would never be able to overcome the pain of her loss and no matter how hard she tried, there was no way he will let her into his heart.

Tifa was devastated and couldn't hold back her tears and began to sob quietly. Her chest ached and his eyes burned with tears.

After a few minutes, Cloud wakes up and that's when he saw her sitting on the edge of his bed. She was with her back toward him, so she didn't realize that Cloud had already woke up and was surprised when she heard his voice.

"Tifa?" He asked confused.

Tifa let out a small gasp when she heard his husky voice.

"C-Cloud ..." She tried to wipe the tears as fast as she could so he won't see her crying. "You finally woke up." She said relieved.

"What happened?"

"You had a terrible nightmare and I came to check on you. I was so worried so I stayed here until you could calm down."

"I see..." He lowered his head. "I'm sorry if I bothered you."

"Don't worry. You'll never be a bother to me." She tried to put up a smile but he noticed she wasn't herself.

"Is everything okay?" He asked worried.

"I'm fine." She said simply. "I'm just a little tired, that's all."

"Sorry about that..." He lowered his gaze.

Tifa let out a chuckled after that.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine." She smiled.

Silence surrounded them for a while until Tifa got up from his bed. "Well, I should get back to my room, so you can have some rest." She rose from his bed and went to the door, while Cloud followed her with his gaze. "I'll see you in the morning, okay?" She smiled back.

"Okay..." He nodded.

"Good night." And with that, she closed the door of his room.

Cloud stared at the door for a few seconds as if he was waiting for something else to happen, but then he returned to his bed and went back to sleep.

During that time, Tifa was leaning against the door with her forehead. She was heartbroken and couldn't resist the urge to cry. She didn't want to return to her room, so she went downstairs to the bar to get a drink.

Once there, she took a bottle of liquor and poured the drink into a shot glass. And like any good bartender, she drank the shot in one gulp. Again she returned to serve another drink and so on, but then she stopped before she could take another drink and she puts the glass on the table. She lowers herself and then put her head on her arms.

Tifa was devastated by all of this and she couldn't stop the tears from falling. When she heard Cloud say her name it overwhelmed her because she realized he could never take her place in his heart. After all this time, he still had feelings for the flower girl and Tifa lost all hope of being part of his life.

"I will never be good enough for you..." She said crying.

"Who?" Said a male voice.

Tifa gasped and immediately turned her head around to see who it was.

"C-Cloud?" She was taken by surprise and quickly turned her head the other way to hide her tears. "What are you doing here?"

"I was about to ask the same thing... Are you okay?" He asked worried.

"I'm fine. I just felt like having a drink." She tried to put a smile.

Cloud's face changed when he saw her tearful eyes.

"Why are you crying?"

Tifa shook her head and hums in denial.

"No reason." She rubbed one of her hands on her forehead.

Skeptical, Cloud frowned and then sees the bottle from she was drinking. He took the bottle in his hand and saw that it was pure liquor. He knew Tifa very well and he knew the only reason she would drink the liquor without mixing it, was because something was bothering her.

"Then, why are you drinking pure liquor?" He raised an eyebrow.

"I wanted to." She replied indifferently.

"Tifa, you're not a very good liar, you know?" He said sarcastically.

Tifa lowered her gaze and said nothing in return. She was so hurt that she didn't want to talk about it.

"Please, leave me alone for a moment..."

"I'm not gonna do that." He interrupted her. He took one of the barstools and sat beside her. "I'm not leaving until you tell me what's wrong." His gaze was fixed on her and Tifa had no choice but to tell him why her heart was aching.

"I uh..." She swallowed and then sighed.

Cloud tilted his head and waited patiently for her words.

"I just realized that... all of this time, I've been fooling myself." She trailed off. "Apparently, I'm still the same girl who believes in fairy tales and happy endings..." She scoffed. "All these years, I've been living in a fantasy and as much as I keep telling to myself that is going to be all right... deep down, I know it's not."

Shocked, Cloud looks at her with a puzzled look on his face.

"Tifa, what's with you? You're not like this." He frowned worried.

"I'm not?" She mocked herself. "The truth is... I don't even know anymore."

Tifa turned her head and focus her eyes on the pink ribbon that was tied on his arm.

"Sometimes I think everything would have been better if she was here with you."

Confused, Cloud follow her gaze and that's when he realizes what she meant.

"I should have died that day instead of her..."

Cloud's eyes widened upon hearing her words and without thinking, he took her by the shoulders and looks into her eyes.

"Don't you ever... EVER, say that again, you hear me? NEVER!!" He shouted while he shook her. Tifa was dismayed to hear him scream like that. In all these years, he had never raised his voice to her in that way.

Cloud takes her in his arms and clings tightly to her as he whispers in his ear.

"Never again..." His voice began to break from the anguish he felt. He hated seeing her in that state and all he could do was try to comfort her. Tifa on the other hand, didn't know what else to do and began to cry bitterly when she realized what she had said.

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..." She repeated between sobs as her tears flowed.

Overwhelmed, Cloud embraced her tightly and began to cry as well. Her weeping was tearing him apart and he couldn't control his emotions. He hated himself for not being able to protect her from the pain she was feeling and both drown in their own tears while they cling to each other looking for some comfort.

Cloud whispered soft words into her ear to reassure her and Tifa buried her face under his neck.

"Forgive me, Tifa." His voice trailed off. "This is all my fault. Because of me, you're like this." He wiped his tears with his free hand.

"It's okay, Cloud..."

"No, it's not..." He released the embrace to look at her in the eye. "I did this to you. I should have been here when you needed me the most and I ended up hurting you." His blue eyes filled with more tears.

Tifa looks at him tenderly and dries his tears. She had never seen him so overwhelmed, even when Aerith died.

"I don't want you to think that you are not important." He searched for her eyes. "Because you are. More than you think."

Tifa's tears began to flow again as she listened to him.

"I was actually dreaming about this. That night when Sephiroth burned Nibelhaim and stabbed you on the chest; only this time, he did kill you. When I saw you lying on the ground, I took you in my arms and screamed in agony. I wanted to kill him and wouldn't stop until I see him dead. I didn't want to live anymore, so I took my sword and tried to kill myself. And that's when Aerith appeared in front of me and said: It's okay... Everything will be all right. I promise."

Tifa's eyes widened as she realized that these were the same words she had whispered to him while she was trying to calm him. Apparently he had heard her from his subconscious, and because of that he had that dream.

"When I woke up and saw you sitting on my bed, I felt so relieved."

Cloud took her hands in his. "That day in the Forgotten City, was too painful for me." He placed her hands over his face to caress her. "But if anything would have happened to you... I just... I don't know what would have done." Cloud closed his eyes in pain as he puts his forehead against hers.

"Cloud..."

Tifa was moved by his sincere words and couldn't resist the urge to kiss him. Overwhelmed, Cloud took her in his arms and also responded to the kiss in the same way. Both were lost in the moment and they gave themselves in the kiss. The bond that kept them alive for so many years had grown stronger with each battle and even today, that bond still held them together.

After several minutes of making out, they separated their lips to get some air. Cloud wrapped his arms around her and holds on to her tightly. Tifa does the same and she held him close while she whispered in his ear.

"I love you, Cloud..." She said softly.

Cloud's eyes widened after hearing that and immediately he released the grip to see her face.

"What did you say?" He asked puzzled.

"I said... I love you." She gave him a smile and her eyes filled up with tears. "I've always loved you."

Cloud is shocked to hear her say those words and he looks at her perplexed. He didn't know what to say at that moment and the only thing he could managed was her whispering her name in a sigh.

"Tifa..."

Once again, Cloud took her in his arms and kisses her passionately. Tifa responds the kiss in the same way and gets carried away by the moment.

"I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you..." He repeated between kisses.

Tifa couldn't believe what was hearing. He actually felt the same way for her and that made her cry even more from the excitement. After so many years together, they finally confessed their true feelings for each other.

Cloud breaks the kiss and searches for her eyes.

"Stay with me." He whispered in her lips.

She looks at him into his eyes and then nodded. Cloud leaned forward and took her in his arms bridal style and led her into his room while she continues to kiss him softly. Once they reached the bedroom, he puts her gently in his bed and he removed her clothes so he could make love to her.

After so many years together, they finally were able to give themselves to each other and that night became their happy ending.

THE END