I Want to Protect You

Pairing: Tifa x Aerith

Genre: Romance

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy or any of its characters.

Author's Note: Here's for you, Leah-chan. Happy Birthday and I hope you and the rest of you enjoy this.

It's late at night. The Seventh Heaven is nearly empty and Tifa just gave one last glass to her childhood friend, Cloud. Their mission has been complete and they were celebrating. However, just about an hour later, the team left, except for Cloud. She had a talk with him for about a half-hour before he decided to leave also, which leaves Tifa to clean up everything. She didn't mind at all since she's been working here for a long time.

Another hour passes and it's time to get some rest. However, she sort of feels that she needs a little fresh air before bed. The night is still young and perhaps Aerith is still out and about, carrying flowers like she always does. After she heads out and locks the door, she begins her nightly walk out in the streets. It's nearly quiet out there, making Tifa think that most of them have already went home and went to bed. She stretches out her arms as she continues to walk, observing her surroundings. Some stores are closed, while others are still open for about another hour. People are roaming around, minding their own business and so on. It isn't as lively as it was earlier, but that's to be expected. Still, she wishes she could see Aerith just one more time before bed.

She decides to visit the flower shop to see if she's still there, however, when she gets there in just 10 minutes, the store is empty. She must have gone on her own walk, carrying a basket of flowers to give to some people. She looks around to see where Aerith was going when she left. But as she starts to turn a corner, she notices a flower on the ground. Then another 10 feet away and then another. Something's not right. Why would she run off without picking up what she dropped? It is then that Tifa gasps and realizes that she must be in trouble.

She dashes through the streets to search for her as quickly as possible, following the track of flowers that's been left behind. Then, she comes to a dark alley where Aerith's basket and the rest of the flowers have been dropped. She grits her teeth and turns toward the alley. She sees one guy walking toward a gang of other guys crowding around one familiar person. And they are about to do the unthinkable without Aerith's consent.

"Hey!" Tifa shouts, interrupting what they were doing. "Do you guys have somewhere to be!?"

The big guys turn around and step away, revealing Aerith sinking to her knees, helpless. Her dress is nearly torn and she must have been touched in certain places that weren't meant to be. Tifa clenches her fists at this horrible sight and stomps toward them to shove them away to come to her aid.

"Aerith, are you alright? Did they hurt you?" she asks.

"T-Tifa…" Aerith is shaking. It seems they did a number on her, and were about to do more than that.

"Unforgivable…" Tifa mutters and then stands up to face the guys, who are grinning.

"Another hot chick! Ohhh, I would love to have fun with this one!"

"Let's have fun with both of them once we finish her off!"

"Make sure we show her no mercy!"

Tifa gets to her battle stance. "This fight is mine alone…"

The brawler dive rolls to evade one guy's punch and then dodges a swing of a knife. She rolls back up to give him a few punches, then a roundhouse kick. She then delivers a flying kick to one guy's face, making him stumble back and hit the wall. She performs another roundhouse to the face and knocks him out. One guy tries to grab her from behind. She jumps off the wall to evade and spin kicks him to the face to make him stumble back. He growls and charges to take her down with a tackle. Tifa doesn't give him a chance. She double kicks and then performs a flip kick to make hims stumble back again. The last guy tries to stab her from behind. She turns around, grabs him by the arm and thrusts her arm forward, making his arm crack and lets go of his knife. She shoves him away and ducks from the big guy's meaty fists. She rises and jumps on top of him, wrapping her legs around his neck, riding him for a few seconds before flipping him over and hitting the ground hard. The last guy stumbles to his feet and can feel his arm being broken from that hit. Tifa stomps toward him and punches him back and forth and then a roundhouse to the face again, right toward the wall. That knocks him out. Once that's finished, she turns around toward Aerith and kneels beside her.

Aerith just stares at the brawler for about 30 seconds before tearing up. If Tifa hadn't come to her rescue, she would've been raped and taken away. She's so happy that her prayers have been answered. Aerith begins to cry softly, slightly looking away to try to hide it. But Tifa slowly raises her hands to cup her cheeks and have her face the brawler. She wipes one tear with her thumb and gives her a warm smile.

"Everything is okay," she says softly. "You're safe and sound."

Aerith can only nod while sniffling. She's too choked up on what might have happened to her.

"Come then," Tifa stands up, gently taking her hand. "Let's get you cleaned up."

**Later**

After a nice long bath and a change of clothes, Aerith steps into Tifa's bedroom, where the brawler is closing the curtains and turning toward the flower salesman.

"You feeling better?" she asks.

Aerith nods. Tifa gives a soft giggle and offers to have her sit next to her on the edge of the bed. There is a bit of silence before Aerith speaks up.

"Thank you…for saving me back there," she says.

"It's no problem," Tifa replies. "I followed the trail of flowers you dropped, so I knew you were trying to get away from those thugs."

"But you know….I'm still…shaken from what could've happened to me," Aerith says softly, holding her forearm. "It was so…scary."

"I know it was," the raven haired girl pulls her in a tight embrace. "But I'm here for you. To protect you from any harm. I love you very much, Aerith."

The brunette gives her a weak smile after pulling away a little. "I love you, too, Tifa. My dearest friend~!"

They gaze into each other's eyes for a moment before leaning in to give a passionate, heartwarming kiss. Aerith really needed it. To soothe her more and make her feel safe and sound. And Tifa will give it to her. The raven haired girl deepens the kiss, gently embracing her beloved and they fall on the bed, still smooching. Aerith will need all the love and comfort she needs in order to smile again. Tifa will make that happen.

Before long, after they made love for about a few hours, they now lay in bed, naked under the covers. Tifa is awake, gazing at her sleeping beloved. She brushes away a few strands of hair away from her face and kisses her on the forehead. Aerith's poor soul has now been cleansed by Tifa's love. And she will keep on doing that for as long as she lives. Because she loves Aerith with all her heart.

A/N: Hope this meets your approval, Leah-chan! And again, Happy Birthday~!

Have a nice day!