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The past few days have been nothing short of exhausting for Tifa Lockhart, both physically and mentally. In the span of only a week, she managed to escape her execution at Junon, discover a comatose Cloud tucked away in a backwater clinic, plunge into the depths of the Lifestream with him, and finally, finally unravel the truth hidden within his memories. Quite frankly, it’s a miracle her legs haven’t given out yet.
Following Cloud’s return, it is quickly decided that the best course of action is to pursue Shinra and secure the Huge Materia. Emboldened by the return of their leader, the group sets their sights on Junon, hoping to intercept the Huge Materia before it is transported out of Shinra’s underwater reactor. They’ve only just left Mideel, but Tifa welcomes the opportunity to rest, the burden of leadership no longer weighing down on her shoulders.
As she stands alone atop the Highwind’s deck, her eyes drift back to the massive crater that now resides where the little town of Mideel once stood, a blemish on the otherwise impeccable scenery. Even as the sun begins to set, she can make out the faint tendrils of light emanating from its center. The Lifestream’s power was truly something to be feared, but to Tifa, it’s a place of reunion. “Back then, when we were in the Lifestream, y ou were there, weren’t you? Thank you, for protecting us. He’s okay now, don’t worry. Aerith, I...I’ll take care of him, I promise.”
For a split second, she thinks she can hear the flower girl’s gentle whisper lilting on the evening breeze.
Tifa hears the door to the observation deck click open and smiles; she doesn’t need to turn around to know who it is. His footsteps pad across the wooden floorboards, unaccompanied by the metallic ambience his sword and plated gloves usually provide when he walks.
“Hey,” she says over her shoulder.
He stares at her for a moment before replying. “...Hey.”
“Feeling better?” She asks as she turns to face him fully.
Cloud shrugs, but Tifa doesn’t fail to notice the way his lips curl upward as he shakes his head. “Yuffie and Cid are at it again. She wanted to fly the Highwind this time. Said it would help her stomach settle down, but the old man wasn’t buying it, and…well, you know the rest.”
She smiles inwardly at the image her mind provides. Over the course of their journey, she’s come to learn (sometimes the hard way) that the members of their band of misfits all have their own unique quirks and personalities, personalities that were bound to clash from time to time. Cid and Yuffie in particular were some of the rowdiest in their group, and a heated argument between the two could be as irritating as it was entertaining. It was no wonder that Cloud would have chosen to come out here.
He wordlessly joins her by the railing and gazes out at the vast expanse of blue below them.
He’s quiet, not at all bothered by the speed at which the Highwind is moving. The breeze ruffles his flaxen, windswept hair, gently brushing the spiky fringe from his eyes. His hands, no longer hidden away underneath the leather of his gloves, lightly rest on the railing, and if she looks close enough, she thinks she can catch a twinkle in his cerulean eyes. Still, Tifa can’t help but worry; his motion sickness is well-known among their group, but she in particular knows firsthand just how bad it can get.
“You going to be okay out here? We’re moving pretty fast.”
“No, it’s fine. It’d get worse if I went back in anyway. Long as I look out instead of down, I think I’ll be okay.” Then, in a quieter voice, he adds, “and, being here with you...it certainly helps.”
The uncharacteristic remark causes her to look away bashfully, but her smile remains.
The ocean beneath stretches for as far as they can see, and if it weren’t for the ominous shadow looming above them, she thinks the scene would have made for quite the picture. Shimmering waves crest and fall in gentle, rhythmic succession, filling the salty air with its evening serenade. Flocks of seagulls converse loudly overhead, their silhouettes outlined by rays of gold. The sun hangs low over the horizon, its light painting the watery canvas below with a myriad of warm oranges, purples, and pinks, and for a moment, Tifa can’t tell where the sea ends and the sky begins.
The peaceful atmosphere allows her mind to wander, and before she knows it she’s back in the Lifestream, clutching a younger Cloud’s hand as he guides her through the most sacred of his memories. Memories of the incident at Mt. Nibel, the same incident that had landed her in a week-long coma. Memories of scathing remarks directed at him that no child should ever have to hear. Memories of his constant fights, and his fervent desire to be enough, sufficient, worthy of someone’s attention. Memories of his town in flames, with the silhouette of a man he had once held in such high regard fading into the smoke and blackness. She remembers so vividly the panic, the fear, the anger he had felt when he discovered her still form sprawled across the reactor floor.
Tifa snaps out of her reverie and chances a glance in his direction. Her friend’s unruly hair is set aglow by the setting sun, and upon closer inspection, she thinks she can see the beginnings of a smile forming on his lips. It’s a small smile, but it’s Cloud’s. His shoulders have relaxed a bit as well, and for the first time ever, when she looks into his eyes, she sees the quiet blue of the boy from her childhood. The mako still persists, outlining his irises with its eerie, pulsing glow, but never before has Tifa seen it so dulled.
“I need to apologize.”
His statement catches her off guard, and she tilts her head ever so slightly. Ruby eyes glance up at him in unspoken question.
“I...never intended to lie to you, about any of that.”
Tifa shakes her head, and in a rush of boldness, she reaches out to rest her hand over his. “I know, Cloud,” she says gently, “but you can’t blame yourself for it. You didn’t know. You couldn’t have. The mako poisoning...it altered your mind.”
She had recalled overhearing a conversation outside his room between Barret, Cid and one of the Mideel doctors back when he was still ill, and at the time, what she heard was almost too much for her. Cloud’s mind was so overwhelmed with knowledge the planet bestowed upon him that a complete recovery would require nothing short of a miracle. And yet, despite all odds, he had somehow pulled through. That was Cloud, she supposed. Her Cloud.
“I know. But still, regardless if it was intentional or not I...I did lie to you. I broke my promise. I never did manage to get into SOLDIER. When Nibelheim burned, I was supposed to be there for you, but by the time I got to the reactor, it was too late. I was never–”
The hand resting over his drifts up to cup his cheek. He still doubted himself, but she’d always be there to remind him of the way he was back then.
“Cloud, look at me. If I'm being honest, it never...truly mattered to me if you made it in or not. I mean, yeah, I had faith that you one day would, and there was a time when I would search the newspapers for your name, but now that I think about it, I think...I think I just missed you. Besides, the promise wasn’t that you made it into SOLDIER, was it? It was that you would come for me in my time of need. And you did. You kept our promise, and you’ve honoured it more times than I can count.”
Her declaration causes him to stare blankly at her, and for a moment, Tifa wonders if her confession came off as too pushy. She doesn’t anticipate what he says next, though.
“You...you missed me?”
His words freeze her in place, and in that moment, the memory of what the younger Cloud had told her in the Lifestream flashed through her mind. After a moment’s deliberation, she shoots him a sheepish smile. “Of course I did. A lot more than I’d like to admit.”
Tifa watches as his quiet smile blossoms into a full-on boyish grin, and when she feels his arms suddenly draw her to him, her smile widens as well.
“What’s gotten into you all of a sudden?”
“I don’t know. I guess...I want to make up for lost time.”
“...Me too,” she says as she returns his embrace.
Tifa smiles into his wool of his sweater, and the two stay there for a moment. She closes her eyes and leans her head against Cloud, lulled to sleep by the warmth of his body and the ambience of the waves below.
“Thank you,” he says as he leans forward to rest his forehead against hers.
“Hmm?”
“In Mideel, when I was sick. You chose to stay with me, even though I showed no signs of recovering.”
Tifa laughs and tells him that even if he never recovered, she would have continued to take care of him for as long as need be. Cloud can only tighten the embrace in reply, but when her head drifts back to rest against his collarbone, he takes the opportunity to tenderly brush his lips against her forehead. Ruby eyes suddenly fly open in surprise.
“I...sorry.”
“You missed,” she replies after a moment’s hesitation.
She smiles at the way his eyes widen in response and nuzzles herself deeper into his chest.
“Try again?” she asks timidly.
Cloud doesn’t miss the second time.