Why did Tifa, a woman who has romantic feelings for Cloud, lie about having the conversation at all then if Cloud and Aerith’s relationship is platonic? Let’s go with for Cloud’s feelings for Aerith are platonic, but clearly for Tifa telling Cloud the truth is much more complicated than that for her. She doesn’t see it’s platonic on Cloud’s end? The date means he chose her. Her affection is at its highest here for the date to happen presumably. If she didn’t feel like there was anything between Cloud and Aerith since on Cloud’s end we go with it being concerned for a close friend it would’ve been so easy for her then to say “I have and you should talk to her yourself” or “I have and it’s just not my place.” Wouldn’t it? Let me say again, the date happening with Tifa implies that Cloud chose her so why did she lie then? It’s a romantic date. It should be easy to talk about this if the relationship between Cloud and Aerith is platonic but this is a love triangle. If it was all just Cloud being sad for Aerith as a close friend that her ex seemingly abandoned her he could’ve asked her himself, instead he seemingly has Tifa do it. As we see in Aerith’s version of the date, he’s standoffish and kind of a jerk. His arms are folded when they are sitting together. AERITH brings up Zack, saying she saw Zack in Cloud and that he isn’t Zack and that’s okay because she wants to be with him and how she’s trying to find him, his arms go to his knees. Then CLOUD brings up if Tifa talked to her. The same cutscene plays and Aerith says “I think so? But not about anything important” which implies she didn’t think Zack being mentioned was important. Tifa makes it seem as if the conversation could not even be had with Aerith by lying and saying she hadn’t spoken to her yet and Cloud assumes that it was a “touchy subject” when it seems that Zack being brought up wasn’t a problem for Aerith or at least wouldn’t be from her date at least. But Tifa lies that her conversation with Aerith about Zack did not happen at all. That makes absolutely no sense for her to do unless she is aware there is something happening between Cloud and Aerith romantically. She did talk to Aerith in both versions of the date, she just lies that it happens in hers, you can’t deny that.