Gold Saucer

00

Notes:

-One shot set in an AU in which Noctis has ended up in the world of FFVII with no memory of his own world and history (FFXV).

-Written in collaboration with: @tifanoctis on Twitter.

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Tifa was sitting on the bed, hugging her legs while keeping her head resting on her knees. Her sad gaze was looking at the wall without really seeing it.

She was alone in that hotel room. All alone. So lonely she felt odd. Yuffie and Aerith had left about an hour ago. The former told her that she wanted to see Dio's performances again and the latter that she wanted to ask Cloud out on another date.

Tifa didn't know how to feel about it. She was concerned about Cloud's condition. He was her treasured childhood friend... Still she knew she had to keep her distance. Despite not being himself, he had nearly killed her and had harmed her on several occasions. Certainly going alone with him was not the smartest or wisest thing to do for her. The little progress they had made with his mental health seemed to be less and less sufficient.

Tifa did not know what to do. It was also complicated for her to have to relive all her traumas. Plus, the fact that her story still didn't match Cloud's... Everything was crazy.

The monk put a hand to her chest, right where her scar was. How many times would she have to show it to Cloud before he stopped believing she was an imposter? Would Cloud ever be the same again? Tifa's heart squeezed, insecurity pounding her.

She thought that at least the Ex Soldier would spend some quality time together with Aerith. Tifa had seen the affinity between her and Cloud and she was happy seeing him make new friends. He really needed that kind of support.

Still... The urge to cry was slowly beginning to surface. She had been left alone. And she hated being alone. Her lips trembled and her eyes were starting to get crystalized when someone softly knocked three times on the bedroom door softly.

The monk blinked in confusion and surprise. Who could it be? As she stood up and walked barefoot towards the door she thought they were probably at the wrong one. Yes, it would probably be someone with the wrong number. She would simply have to say that they had mistaken and she would be left alone again.

This was not the case.

Tifa's lips parted, letting out a trickle of air. Her eyelids also opened like saucers. Standing there in front of the door was the boy who had never ceased to surprise her since she had met him. The boy who without hesitation had rushed to her rescue, risking his life to save hers. The boy she had unexpectedly found herself thinking about in the middle of the night, when everyone else was sleeping. The boy who, unnoticed, had slowly crept into her heart.

"Noctis?" she said his name out loud, still surprised to see him there.

The dark haired boy with the piercing blue eyes smiled at the surprised martial artist. But his eyes also moved past her to notice his suspicions were correct, she was alone. Alone on a night like this, where everyone had gone away to have fun, seeing all the Gold Saucer had to offer. He couldn't help but relate, before Tifa, he was all alone too-and it made no sense that they should be alone tonight.

"Well, this is no good'' Noctis tilted his head to the side with a small smile "Wanna go see the sights? Can't have you here all by your lonesome" then he caught himself, not wanting to push anything onto the girl he had developed blossoming feelings for "Unless, this is how you wanna spend your evening?" he slowly added.

Tifa blinked. Was he asking her out on a date? She genuinely looked down at her bare feet. She wasn't even ready.

"Ah...yes...I..." her cheeks turned red. Noctis wasn't the first man to try to date her but he would certainly be the first one she would accept.