Final Fantasy VII 1. Chapter 1

The dim and warm lights of the 7th Heaven lit the almost always…always slow,dark,and gray streets of the Edge just a bit.

If you were new in town you would probably see this building as just another clone of the common buildings here in Edge. … But this one…..this one was a little different.

As you walk up to the front entrance you can hear the most joyous laughs and the faint clinking of glasses and the roar of voices men or women. As you open the door a small golden bell rings to let the most beautiful bar owner know you are there.

Her wine colored eyes will always meet yours and her beautiful warm smile will always… make your heart melt… She lives here with her two most important people…her hope…and her joy… They run around the bar sometimes, but spend most of their time outside or in their rooms…you see them run past you to the bar.

"Tifa!!"

They run and hug the young brunette with the melting smile I told you about before. Yes,…Her name is Tifa. As you look at them you know why they give the beautiful and gentle barmaid so much happiness… The young boy has never ending energy.

His name is Denzel... He has the most gorgeous eyes and the rarest laugh. For you see he is an orphan… He has had a bad past that people do not want to ask him about, but pretty much know the details. He has light brown hair styled to just above his eyes.

He is Tifa's hope… Now the young, cute, and smiley girl is named Marlene… Her pale light brown hair is always in a beautiful braid down her back, tied with a pink bow. Her chocolate brown eyes are innocent and sweet. Her smile will make your worst times feel like nothing, and you will never want to see her frown after you've seen it….

You can already tell that this child looks up to the beautiful woman that embraces both her and Denzel…

They all laugh…and you can tell that this bond in front of your eyes…is so strong, it could not be broken…

This was not just a barmaid hugging the abandoned orphans….but a family.

AUTHORS NOTE

sorry i had to take this chapter down to fix it up a little. well here ya go.


	2. Chapter 2

It was another day at the bar for the beautiful woman. Every one of her regulars seemed to be there… Like always. The beautiful brunette looked around the room while drying glasses smiling her oh so perfect smile…. at the familiar faces she knew so well….

"Tifa!... Let me geta nuther round over here!"

She turned her head…her dark brown hair wisping around her shoulders gently falling to her back… She looked to the man who called her and smiled… It was one of her regulars, Chase. He was around forty not too tall but had a friendly smile…Tifa met him about 1 year back...he was her friend.

"Mn…right away!"

She turned to hurry and get the man his drink. Her hands were worn and dry from all the dish washing she did…but they were also small and delicate… She poured the drink into the glass and handed it to Chase.

"Thanks kid…"

Chase smiled as he took a sip of his drink. _Ring Ring Ring_…. Tifa turned to where the screeching noise was coming from…. Her always heart melting smile…. Slowly…. diminished… _Ring Ring Ring_. The bar fell quiet as they turned their attention to the well known barmaid…_Ring Ring Ring_ They then turned their glances away from the young brunette they all loved…and they looked down as their smiles all diminished as well…_Ring Ring Ring _Her wonderfully colored wine eyes glazed over as she too looked down….. _"I'm not going to get it this time…I'm not"_….Two pairs of small eyes peeked out of their rooms…afraid of the silence…not knowing what happened….their eyes caught sight of their beautiful idol in front of them…_Ring Ring Ring. _

"_Why do they keep calling?"_

Tifa mentally yelled.

"Tifa?.."

Marlene walked over to the beautiful mother like figure she loved so much. Tifa's glazed empty eyes snapped back to their always full of light, wine colored,…pretty eyes.

"Marlene?..." she smiled to the young child who's eyes also turned back to their happy state…The light brown haired girl ran up to her idol and grabbed her waist.

"Tifa?..Aren't you going to get the phone?" Tifa smiled and looked face to face with the young girl moving a piece of hair from her face gently…"No." She smiled gingerly. As the brunette turned around she noticed everyone's eyes on her.

"It's okay everyone, a free drink on me!" she yelled as she smiled her usual happy go

lucky smile… Everyone smiled and cheered…already forgetting about the incident that happened…Tifa hurried Marlene along to her room to play with Denzel. She didn't want to answer the phone anymore….when she did it made her think about him…. She shook her head causing her brown cascade of hair to sway lightly.

"_I don't want to think about h him, not now……I'm doing so well…" _

She mentally thought as she walked to the bar getting ready to take the orders of the overjoyed drinkers… _cling _It was the the small golden bell her ears knew the sound all too well…She moved her round eyes to glance at the front entrance… It was a man she had never seen before….Her eyes showed concern and interest. She knew everyone that came into the small bar…but this one…she didn't know. She quietly watched him as he walked across the bar to sit at the far corner booth. She never moved her head, she was good at that…. He was wearing a dark green cap so she couldn't see his eyes. That bothered her, she could tell a lot about a person from their eyes….He was wearing pants and a dark blue blazer. It was tattered and torn but most of the people who came into the warm bar…..were all like that. He looked in his thirties. She couldn't really see his face but he was tall. The average height of a man in his thirties.

"_It sure is busy today…" _Tifa thought as she blew her brunette silky hair from her eyes…

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When the bright orange colored sky started to turn black….drinkers, new couples, and regulars started to leave the old well known building. She say bye to everyone and smiled her trademark smile…she knew they would be back tomorrow, .like always…. Tifa turned away from the door and started to collect dirty glasses from the tables. But a flash of green caught her eyes as she moved her way to the sink. It was the man with the green hat….he was still sitting at the same place he sat when he first came….

"Sir? Were closing now…"

Tifa hesitantly eyes the man never moving her round eyes from his figure. This man gave her a bad feeling…. Then the man got up and started walking towards the door…never making eye contact with the small brunette. She turned her head to watch him leave. When she herd the door close she quickly walked up and locked it…..

_Whew… _

She let out a small breathe of relief as she put her long slender back on the door….feeling the cold of the door made her shiver with goose bumps….

"I hate people like that…" She slid down the door hugging her knees.. "I need to do something…"

She always said this…when she would find herself doing nothing she would catch herself….catch herself thinking about him. She had to keep herself busy. She walked into the children's room. Usually it was loud and full of energy around this time, but tonight it looked like they had tired themselves out…. Tifa laughed quietly at the sight in front of her. Denzel had fallen asleep on the floor next to his beloved skateboard….He spent hours and hours cleaning it and making it run just right…She lifted up the boy and placed him into his bed on the right side of the room. She covered him up nice and tight and kissed his cheek…He stirred slightly at the sudden wetness that soon turned cold on his face.

"You are too cute…"

Tifa said out loud brushing the boys caramel locks out of his eyes.

She turned her wine colored gaze to the small body sleeping on the other side of the floor. Marlene looked like she was playing with her dolls again…She loved the dolls Tifa would buy her, The all had pretty dresses that matched her personality just right….Tifa gently picked her up and placed the small child in her bed at the left side of the room. She kissed the young girl on her head and picked up her doll. Tifa smiled and put it in it's place next to the cute chocolate eyed princess…As Tifa walked to the door of the kid's room…she turned to look once more…

"_I almost forgot they are leaving tomorrow…"_

She mentally reminded herself as she

sadly and quietly closed the door behind her… They were going to spend the day at Marlene's father's house. _Sigh… _she didn't like to be alone at night…who does? She walked into the bar area with downcast eyes…..she then quietly started to fix his dinner… She would do this every night…heating his dinner and then waiting for him to walk through the door. But as you already know…sometimes the dinner would go to waste…She put the dinner into the microwave and while she waited. Made a drink for herself. When the food was done she kept it in the microwave to keep it warm…and then sat at the front bar stool. Putting the cold glass to her lips she gently slid down the drink breathing out through her teeth when she swallowed it…_"_

_Why do I always do this?...why do I always wait?..." _

Tifa turned her stool around to face

the bar door and then softer than a whisper…. she answered her own question…"Because I want to…" As she said that headlights crawled across the inside walls of the bar. She then looked down and closed her dark eyes and listened to the motor of the bike she knew too well….

"He came back."

She smiled to herself getting up from the stool. She heard the clunk of his boots and the chinking sounds of his armor…She turned her back to the door as her heart started to beat faster…_creakkk _she heard him quietly open the door and try to do do the same shutting it. The beautiful brunette with her heart still beating fast did not turn…she took his food out of the microwave and sat it on the bar. She heard his footsteps come closer….She drew in a long breathe quiet enough so he couldn't hear… She looked up at the young blonde man…with blue eyes…She smiled her beautiful smile, but this one was even more beautiful than all the other smiles, this smile was for him. She held her chest scared he might be able to hear her heart beating… Her wine colored eyes glazed over as she moved a piece of hair from her face and looked up at the man she cared for more than anyone in this world…

"Welcome home….Cloud."


End file.
