Author's Notes: This is a rather angsty fanfic, which is odd, since I usually stay away from things that will easily depress me. However, once I beat Final Fantasy VII, I had a lot of mixed emotions and many questions left unanswered. While most say FF7 was the greatest game of all time, I'm rather disappointed at the fact they left me so unsatisfied with the end result. I like absolute endings, and FF7 had a rather vague and loose conclusion to its extremely lengthy and in-depth storyline. Therefore, this fic is to sum up my conflicting feelings towards the strange "love" that flitted in and out of the game.

I think it should be known that I am a Tifa fan, and although I prefer the Cloud and Tifa pairing to the Cloud and Aeris pairing, I have no final decision as to the true couple of the RPG. Although to be left wondering who was part of the game's mystery, I know many out there would be glad to have a final answer. Perhaps this fic will help give you a piece of mind.

Disclaimer: "Final Fantasy VII" is copyright to Squaresoft. I do not own them, and had no part in their creation. Please, do not sue. Finding change off the street does not bring in the largest income...

"Mirrors"
--Sometimes you find your reflection in the strangest forms...

Moonlight shone down on the ocean, radiating the brilliant colors of the night. Stars danced in the sky and twinkled with light, at the sound of the hearty laughter that echoed in the mountains of the Wutai territory. The world's unusual group of "heroes" were enjoying a celebration of receiving their materia back (after chasing Yuffie around for it) and winning another battle against the latest creature known as "Rapps."

Cid lit a cigar and puffed, watching the smoke fill the already Shinra polluted air.

Yuffie had found a stick lying around and was chasing Red XIII back and forth along the beach in an attempt to poke him. Laughter filled the night as Yuffie dove for Red, missed, and ended up face-first in the sand; a sigh and look of disgust plastered across her face.

Barrett filled another glass with his favorite alcoholic beverage and through his head back with joy, slapping Cid on the back and telling Tifa to "fill 'er up."

Aeris, of course, was flirting, or at least trying to flirt, with Cloud. Cait Sith threw confetti and other surprises by Cloud's head, which received a downward cast eyebrow from Cloud and a happy giggle from Aeris. Cloud turned away to get a drink, with Aeris close behind.

Vincent was, as usual, hanging off in the distant, checking his beloved "Shortbarrel," a recently bought gun from Wutai. He ran his hand across the smooth surface. Other than Lucrecia, guns seemed to be the only thing he had any real care for.

As Cloud and Aeris walked up to the "bar," a flash of jealousy ignited in Tifa's eyes, but was quickly replaced with joy when Cloud asked for a drink. Aeris seemed irritated with the attention he gave to Tifa instead of her, and Tifa could see it in her face. She watched as Aeris caught sight of Red XIII and decided to pat him on the nose.

I wonder if she's really that easily distracted...

Tifa put her thoughts away when Cloud responded to his fresh drink with a "Thank you." Tifa smiled her usual smile, as though there was nothing special about his remark, and placed the bottle of booze down to go and sit by the ocean. Walking away, she felt eyes on her, and she wondered if they were Cloud's...

----------

Bringing her legs to her chest and wrapping her arms around them, she sat down in the warm sand, staring out into the sea, searching for something.

Searching for what?

An answer would be nice.

An answer to what?

That, of course, was a completely rhetorical question. However, it wasn't just one question, it was many questions, but they all revolved around the same thing.

Does he love me? Does he even care about me? Are we still just friends? Does he love Aeris? And if so, does he love her more than me? What does he feel? How do I feel? Do I hate Aeris? Am I angry at Cloud for giving Aeris attention?

Tifa processed these questions in her mind. She tried to make logic out of the questions that constantly repeated in her spirit. But nothing about love was ever logical. Still, she hoped that making sense of at least a few questions would bring her a momentary comfort.

He does care for me, even if just a little bit. Otherwise, why would he have stayed with Avalanche? But, did he stay because we're old friends, or because he feels something else? I know he cares for Aeris. He went to all that trouble to save her. She is pretty... How can he love someone who seems to irritate him so? Does she irritate me? Sometimes Aeris irritates me, but I also want to protect her. She's important, if not to the world, but to Cloud... How can I be angry at Cloud when I don't have the nerve to make advances towards him myself. Is the whole thing my fault? Why do I keep coming up with more questions the more I think about this?!

Tifa turned her gaze from the sea of water to the sea of stars. They seemed to...call her... They seemed to know her, understand her. Tifa wondered why the stars were so familiar

Maybe because they are so admired by everyone, yet no one knows what they're really like. Who knows the vast mysteries that those bright and burning balls of gas hold within their masses. The people see the stars for their beauty and brilliance, yet they still don't understand. Don't they see there's more to the beauty, more to the brilliance? Don't people care? Wonder?

They remind me of myself...

Barrett noticed Tifa sitting by herself. He yelled out to her with his happy and boisterous voice, signaling her to come over and join the party. Tifa laughed and waved back, motioning that she was enjoying the night's celeste. Barrett grinned and nodded, pointing towards the glass of liquor, meaning that he'd save one (or two) for her. She smiled in response to his kindness, only to turn her attention back to the stars.

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Enjoying the smooth fill of liquor slide down his throat, Barrett laughed again, obviously slightly on the tipsy side, and gave a dramatic stretch.

"Tifa's a good girl, eh guys? Always happy and cheerful!"

"Yeah! She can definately hold her liquor."

Cid laughed and clinked his own glass of whiskey against Barrett's, toasting partially to Tifa, and partially to her ability to drink. Cloud shook his head.

"You guys are toasting to her because she can drink a lot of alcohol?"

Barrett and Cid looked at one another, and then at Cloud. The rest of the gang seemed to get quiet at the unusual outburst from their leader. His tone was a cross between anger and irritation, which meant somewhere along the line, they had insulted Cloud's respect for Tifa. Aeris looked at Cloud for a moment, eyes searching his profile for some sort of answer to her own question.

"We didn't mean nothin' by it..."

Cloud turned around and walked off, and this time, not even Aeris followed behind him.

----------

By the time Vincent worked his way over to Tifa, she had lost most of her sense of reality gazing at the display of stars. He sat down beside her quietly, awaiting her acknowledgment. After a few moments, she noticed his presence, and smiled.

"Sorry Vincent. I didn't hear you."

"Quite alright."

"Need a drink?"

Vincent closed his eyes and looked down at the sea. He ran a slender finger through the sand, imprinting nothing in particular. His eyes opened after a few moments, still staring into the sea. "I would never disturb you for a simple drink."

Tifa gave him an apologetic smile. "Sorry. You just don't seem like the type to chat."

He gave his own smile in return. "You're right. I'm not. But I thought you might want to hear a story."

She looked at him, pondering his profile and his thoughts. She nodded. "I would."

Vincent brushed a strand of hair from his face, revealing his stone-set eyes. A cool breeze swept past them both, swishing his hair and cape back and forth peacefully. Tifa felt a gentle brush against her bare skin. She touched her arm, feeling somehow closer to the team's most mysterious companion. Her eyes stared at his with wonder and curiousity; anxious for the story filled, no doubt, with words of wisdom, that Tifa felt, were for her ears, and her's alone.

Vincent shut his eyes again. "The bullet pierced the heart of the enemy. A trigger had been pulled by the hand of a young Turk, quiet and unusual. Pride flashed in his eyes for a moment, but felt as though the bullet were in his own heart, for he felt the weight of a thousand moons inside his breast. He longed for his heart to return to him, as he asked the same questions over and over again. 'What was wrong with me? Was I not good enough? Does she care about me at all?'"

Tifa's own questions flashed in her mind as Vincent continued his story.

"But the young man had already made the decision that if she was happy, he was happy. His love for her was that deep...that strong...that sincere... The Turk tried speaking with his love many times, but she always ran away... The young woman he loved so dearly had chosen another, and although the love she had for the other man was true, his intentions were not noble. Thus, her life became a life of misery and despair, empty and unfulfilling. Noticing what was happening, the Turk tried to stop her woe, but failed, and was cursed for the remainder of his life, wearing the memory of the woman on his arm...and in his heart..."

Tifa did not cry, but she felt the tears within her.

Is life this cruel?

Vincent's eyes stared into the sea still, sadness replacing the emptiness that was previously there. His cape danced gracefully in the blowing wind. As he sat there, the sea wept for him, spraying small drips of water across his face, and across Tifa's as well.

----------

Red XIII had parked himself a ways away from Cid's choking cigarette smoke and Barrett's boisterous laughter. Leaning on his paws, he licked his chops and scanned the surrounding area. His fearful eyes swept by the crew, quickly examining each of them.

He saw Cloud standing silently, having returned from his previous tamtrum, Barrett and Cid drinking still, Aeris lost in her own thoughts, Cait Sith prancing around with his microphone, and Yuffie being hyper and obviously scheming some new plan to steal their materia. His eyes then fell on Vincent and Tifa, who were sitting alone on the beach shore, several kilometers away from the rest of the gang.

Yuffie, who had come up empty-handed with materia-stealing plans, turned her attention to Red XIII, whom she adored torturing, and noticed his gaze. Following it, she saw Vincent and Tifa on the beach.

"Hey!!"

Everyone turned their attention to Yuffie's sudden outburst.

"What are they doing?"

She pointed towards the spot where Vincent and Tifa were sitting. Turning their attention in the direction of her finger, the rest of the crew watched the two sitting silently, gazing towards the sea. A gentle breeze swept by them.

"Hehe. Maybe Vincent's noticing what a cool chick Tifa is!"

Yuffie's comment got a few snickers from the crowd. Aeris smiled a wide smile, then looked up to Cloud. Her smile was quickly replaced by surprise, as she thought she saw a flash of jealousy flicker in Cloud's expression...

----------

The silence between them seemed to have lasted for hours....as did the sinking feeling. Vincent turned his eyes from the sea to Tifa. More minutes seemed to pass...

"You know Tifa, the love that young Turk had for that woman may have been deep and pure, but in the end, it consumed him, and turned his life ugly and dark. Please...don't make the same mistake. Don't be like me... You're too gentle to have to live such a life."

With his closing comment, he turned his gaze up to the stars. "I like to look at the stars too. They remind me of myself..."

Tifa's eyes widened. As they did, she scanned Vincent's profile again, searching for something. It was strange how much he looked like her. He had the same black hair, and the same ruby eyes, and that same pale skin... And he was so sad, with a troubling past, and he was turned away by a woman he loved, kind of like her...

He reminds me of myself...

Tifa turned her attention back to the stars, but this time, just for a moment. Replacing her solemn look with a smile, she gave her own words of sympathy and advice to Vincent.

"You're absolutely right, Vincent. Love can consume you. But it's better to love and be rejected, then never love at all."

Vincent's forehead narrowed in thought.

Tifa smiled again. "This time, I hope your dreams are sweet."

With that, Tifa got up and offered a hand down to Vincent. He looked up at her outstretched hand, and then up to her face.

That face...

His once again emotionless eyes averted their gaze back to Tifa's glove-covered hand. He gave a small smile and took her hand.

----------

Vincent and Tifa, long having released hands, walked over to the rest of the gang. They had returned to their normal state of loudness soon after Yuffie's comment, and were now watching as Yuffie tried to sneak up on Red XIII, again, and tackle him. Unfortunately, she missed, again, and landed in the sand, punching the shore with her fists.

Barrett, after giving a good laugh, noticed Vincent and Tifa. He grabbed a few bruskies and handed them to Tifa.

"Drink up Tifa! I think it's 'bout time we serve ya' instead of ya' servin' us."

Tifa smiled and took the liquor out of Barrett's hand. Using her thumbnail, she flicked the cap off with expertise and drank twenty seconds worth of the booze. Flashing a wide, teeth-showing smile, she slapped Barrett on the back and laughed.

"Nothing like a bottle of liquor to take your mind off your troubles!" She looked over at Vincent. "Want a drink? I'll fix it myself!" She waved the bottle in front of him tauntingly.

"No thank..." Vincent stopped himself and thought about it a moment. He looked at her again, then down at the bottle, then back at her face again. "I would like that very much, Tifa."

--End--

Author's Notes Continued: Just in case you didn't notice, there were four instances in which "mirrors" were present. I gave two mirrors each for the two most focused on characters. For Tifa, the first mirror was in the stars, and the second account of her "seeing herself" was in Vincent. I felt this worked well since Vincent's predicament in love is similar to the one in Tifa's.

The first mirror for Vincent was also the stars, and the second was Tifa, which is expressed when he states "That face..." towards the end of the story. It makes sense since mirrors reflect everything they see. If Tifa sees Vincent as a reflection of herself, then likewise, Vincent would see Tifa as a mirror, since they are a reflection of one another.

I also feel I should clear up any misunderstandings made about the "relationship" between Vincent and Tifa in this fanfic. Since many like to pair up Tifa and Vincent (largely due to the line in FF7 on the Highwind when he states, "I'm so glad you're alright, Tifa..."), I thought I should make it known that I don't really see the two as a couple. Although I think it's most feasable, as well as more entertaining than Tifa pairing up with that jackass Cloud, I don't think it would happen, for the main reason that Vincent still seems obsessed with Lucrecia, plus, there isn't any real hard evidence in the game. Of course, that's what fanfics are for...

When Vincent says "That face...," he isn't saying it as a sign of attraction, but rather a sign of revelation. He noticed that Tifa is a mirror, or reflection, of himself, not just in the romantic sense, but also in the physical sense. Tifa and Vincent have similar features, which makes it easy to picture them having a sibling relationship.

Anyway, I just wanted to clear that up in case someone ended up interpreting my story the incorrect way. Hope you enjoyed it, and I hope to receive many reviews (at least a few, anyway). Mail me at [email protected] for any comments or questions, or to discuss FF7 in general. Thank you.