met for a split second. Neither of them ready for it, and they quickly dropped their gaze to the floor.
"So, where we are we going?" asked Tifa, quickly changing the subject.

"Where do you want to go?"

"Umm…How about the Utai mountains?"

"Sure" Cloud said, turning the ship in that direction.

                  On the way, Cloud and Tifa talked about the Shinra, Sephiroth and Meteor, but always ended up with discussions of Nibelheim, where their story and feelings all started. Then a long pause would prevail until the subject was changed.

                Upon arrival, Tifa told Cloud she was going for a walk outside. Cloud didn't know what to do, he wanted to go with her, but didn't want to impose. Why doesn't she ask? Maybe she really doesn't care. No, she cared. In fact, he knew she cared. She was the one who saved him in the Lifestream, and supported him even after he gave the Black Materia to Sephiroth.

                C'mon Cloud, let's take a walk, maybe then I can tell you how I feel when we're alone together. Please! I don't want to lose the very last chance I get to your SOLDIER training! I love you, please give me the chance to tell you! These thoughts flooded her mind until she was almost in tears. She moved towards the ladder and begun descending. She paused for a second at the top rail to take a last look at Cloud, and then disappeared from view.

                Cloud could not believe he had let her go. How could you!?!?! He searched his brains for an answer, but just got more upset at himself. Tifa was his life, his hopes and dreams, he couldn't live without her, and yet, he had let her go right before the end of the world?

He tried to clear his head by walking around the airship and by visiting the Chacobos in the stall, but no matter what he did, he couldn't get Tifa out of his head. Finally, he gave up running from his fears and returned to the cockpit area. He peered through the Highwind's huge glass windows. There, he saw her, sitting at the edge of a cliff, watching the approaching sunset. Beyond her, the sea looked like a mirror, reflecting the sun's rays and the sky's vibrant colors perfectly. He slowly slowly moved towards the ladder.

How am I going to do this? What can I say? What if she laughs at me like the other boys at Nibelheim? These thoughts spiraled around his head and made him stop for a moment. She hasn't seen me yet, I could just go back up and act like nothing happened. But then I would never know what Tifa feels. He began to remember. The night at the well, when he thought he heard Tifa cry when he told he was going to leave for Midgar; her concerned face when she saw him half-dazed at the train station after his experience with HoJo; her never-ending patience and devotion at his side while he was unconscious with Mako poisoning at Mideel; her voice calling him in the Lifestream, lonely, frightened, from what? losing him?; and her incredible courage amongst haunting voices when she saved him from utter insanity. No, he couldn't just walk away..... He took a deep breath and climbed down.

Tifa was in tears by the time Cloud exited the Highwind. She had concluded that to herself that Cloud cared nothing about her and that she had been foolish to think so. When she heard Cloud approaching, her heart leaped, but she didn't dare move.

Cloud was nervous. What would she think now that he had come? She probably wanted to be alone, but he had to be with her. He stopped a few feet from her and waited.
CLOUD!!!…CLOUD!…Cloud… "cloud…come closer." What had she done!?!?!? In her head the words started as a shout and crept up her throat until she actually said it! She began to tremble inside as Cloud came and sat beside her.
Their hearts began to race. After Cloud sat himself next to Tifa, neither of them dared to say a word,