Both from Nibelheim, Cloud and Tifa work together in AVALANCHE under the guise of childhood friends. In reality the two were not permitted to see each other due to Cloud's status as the town scapegoat and an accident that resulted in Tifa falling into a coma. Despite this, he developed a childhood crush, and she eventually began to do the same. Tifa and Cloud's affections for each other did not bud simultaneously, but developed under similar circumstances: both began as a naive infatuation with something unattainable.
Being left to spend his days alone, Cloud became obsessed with the pretty little girl everyone adored. He tried to interact, but shyness and bullying often pushed him away to watch from afar. After rousing the courage to join SOLDIER, he asked for Tifa to meet him by the town well for a final goodbye and a promise under the stars. He promises to play the fairytale white knight whenever she's in trouble.
As more of his past is explored in the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, we find that the promise and the girl at its center are integral to many of Cloud's decisions. He takes his promise to protect Tifa very seriously and it becomes the backbone on which most of his affections are based. However, Cloud himself does not seem to truly understand these feelings during his training under SOLDIER (but what teenager does?), and only feels the heavy regret when he is unable to protect her upon his return home.
Zack: Tifa's safe, don't worry.
Cloud: If only I were SOLDIER...
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Zack: By the way, do you know Tifa?
Cloud: Sort of...
Zack: Talked to her?
Cloud: No...
Zack: I'm sensing some issues here... shouldn't you do something?
The vague categorization of "issues" is arguably the best -- if only -- way to describe Cloud's infatuation with Tifa, and it can be applied conversely as well. At the same time in Nibelheim, Tifa found herself wondering about the boy that promised to come to her rescue, and this opened several opportunities to romanticize his image in her mind's eye. She dresses to impress when she hears SOLDIERs are coming to the little town of Nibelheim, and is disappointed to find that Sephiroth and Zack are the only SOLDIERs enlisted.
When they finally do meet again, Cloud is masquerading as a First Class SOLDIER--the promised war hero, but hardly the same Cloud that lived next door. Like Aeris, Tifa is able to recognize Cloud's act for what it is. However, unlike the other woman, Tifa is unsure of her own actions and holds back in fear that the truth will do more harm than good. Tifa momentarily plays along, eventually convincing herself it is true (see Jenova side note). Even so, she makes a point to bring up the promise when she fears Cloud may desert AVALANCHE, and when push comes to shove, she's driven by the "memories we have together" to keep vigil when he succumbs to mako poisoning.
Essentially, that spontaneous, childhood promise becomes the backbone on which both of their deeper feelings for one another are formed as well as a front for those feelings when neither can -- or wants -- to fully understand them.
Coming Together
It takes a plunge into the Lifestream, to finally sift through the "issues" between them, and the full reverberations of the promise on Cloud's psyche begins to emerge. His literal id tells her that he had been moved to join SOLDIER to not just prove the town wrong, but so that "even Tifa would have to notice" him. Even if they were not the childhood friends they once claimed to be, this promise and his memories of trying to impress Tifa are proof of his existence before Hojo's experiments, and the ultimately bring them closer together in the present.
Through this journey in his memories, Cloud forms a strong friendship with Tifa that he can fall back on in a time of need. After traveling the world as well as Cloud's own memories, Cloud and Tifa find that all they really have is each other. When Cloud has trouble articulating this, Tifa assures him that "words aren't the only" way to communicate, effectively laying the foundation for another kind of relationship (a side note).
As he begins to piece together his past and start fresh, Cloud's the one that takes the initiative in the relationship, assuring Tifa of his newfound peace and accrediting it to her. When He drags her out of her depression after Meteor, plainly stating that he'll be there for her in their New Life. She's stronger than she realizes, and if she ever forgets, he'll be sure to remind her. This is a marked change from the shy, troubled boy from Nibelheim. Unlike the hero persona he previously presented to Tifa and the rest of the world, his new outlook is genuine.
Cloud travels with Tifa and Barret, eventually settling in the new city of Edge where they work together to rebuild the bar. When Barret goes off on his own self-enlightening journey, Cloud stays at the new 7th Heaven, living with Tifa and Barret's daughter Marlene. This adds a pseudo-spousal dynamic to the developing relationship between Cloud and Tifa as they are suddenly faced with the the challenge of balancing their own businesses, a home, and caring for a young child.
This marital dynamic comes into focus in the novella On The Way To A Smile and is enforced in the film Advent Children. Written mostly from Tifa's point of view, this dynamic is primarily measured by their success with the two children they come to raise. As a result, when the relationship starts to sour, Cloud and Tifa are faced with more responsibilities than the usual young couple. This is discussed more in-depth in the family section.
Domestic hiccups that come with living in close quarters as well as Cloud's exploration of his past become common place for a prolonged period, and his private battle with Geostigma places a notable wedge between the two. However, unlike when they first reunited in Midgar, Tifa goes right to the source of the problem, painfully voicing each fear and anxiety that drove them apart. She understands him well enough to know what's bothering him even when he does not, and she insists on facing his illness, his fears, everything together. Cloud doesn't answer her at first, but after an additional confrontation with Marlene and Aeris' spirit, he comes to a similar conclusion: he needs his friends -- he needs her -- if he wants to move on.
Cloud and Tifa have come together to forge what is possibly the strongest bond the Final Fantasy series has turned out. It is not an obnoxious case of puppy love, nor are they simply comrades in arms. They are best friends -- more than friends -- who work together in most everything they do. Even when they have come to a time of relative peace, they live together, they run their businesses with one another's help, and they raise two children. Throughout each crisis -- big and small -- Cloud and Tifa really are a family; despite what he may insist, they're each there for one another when it counts.
More on this relationship is discussed in the family section as well as at my Tifa shrine.
A side note: let's talk about...
So, like, Cloud and Tifa Do It (or at least do something naughty) in the third act of Final Fantasy VII?
To be honest, the idea of the two sleeping together under the Highwind was one I saw as being within the realm of reason but I never took the bait. Looking back, I couldn't really tell you why. My first excuse is to cry "but they're Lego people!", but this is the third act. My belief has been effectively suspended to accept Aeris death, Cloud's emotional beating, and every other woe the game has thrown my way. A meaningful, sexual encounter between two adults should not be difficult to grasp, especially when all of the tired cliches are there.
Say you're watching a movie. The hero and leading lady are sitting under the stars at the end of the world. After a moment of soul searching, she assures him that "words aren't the only thing that tell people what you're thinking" as the camera pans up to the sky and fades to black. By this point, the pair has come to terms with their past and are starting to understand what they mean to each other in the present. As they stare down death, their other friends leave to pursue their personal passions, but these two realize that the other is all each has left.
Seriously, what do you think they're doing?
The 10th Anniversary Ultimania highlights an interesting conversation between Nomura, Kitase, and Nojima in which they discuss the evolution of this scene and its emotional impact. This scene is crucial to the characters and -- at least for the time being -- puts their arc to rest. The scene was originally mapped out to take place within the Highwind, ending with Cloud emerging from the Chocobo stables and a cautious Tifa exiting a few moments later, looking around her as she walks. A romp in the hay it may no longer be, but the sentiments are there in the final version--if not stronger.
I like it this way--much more so than the roll (roll, roll) in (ze) hay. It's a nice way to bring the promise under the stars full circle -- from an innocent, childhood rendezvous to a mature encounter of adulthood -- and the subtlety rightfully contrasts the crass humor with which the subject of sex has been treated up to this point.
