But it's a pretty reasonable theory. It makes sense that (SPOILER)Cloud would want to move on with his life and love, but he's not sure if that's what Aeris wants, so Cloud wants Aeris' forgiveness to "allow" him to move on. I think FFX-2 had a bit similar themes with Tidus and Yuna, as Yuna wasn't sure whether to move on with her life or still keep chasing for her lost love, and under certain conditions, you can decide about that: when the Fayth asks, "You want to walk together again?", you can either choose "Yes" or "It's better this way. He's already with me."Originally Posted by Pivi
I haven't seen Last Order or read On the Way to a Smile, but how's Cloud and Tifa relationship described there? 5-7 years prior to FFVII, Cloud had a crush on Tifa, maybe even more, and (SPOILER)Cloud only joined SOLDIER because he wanted to be strong enough, so that he'd never let Tifa get hurt again, so that she'd notice him. When Cloud came to Nibelheim with Sephiroth and Zack, he was so ashamed of his weaknesses that he couldn't bear to tell Tifa that he was just a normal guard, so he just kept his helmet on to hide his identity. That's why Tifa tells Cloud in the Lifestream, "You weren't here. Cloud did not come to Nibelheim five years ago. I... waited. But, Cloud... never came."
When they were teenagers, Cloud had a crush on Tifa. When they were adults, Tifa had feelings for Cloud. What Cloud feels is the key question here, but I thought each FFVII player can decide about that themselves since in the game, you are Cloud, and you can choose how to treat each character in the game and that way decide who you go out with in the Gold Saucer date sequence.