Much has been made of the FTOIL page and the HAHW scene. But the sad fact is, neither of these two things make Cloud and Tifa canon.
The HAHW scene proves that Cloud has mutual feelings for Tifa. But doesn't the canon Cloud and Aerith Golden Saucer date also prove Cloud has mutual feelings for Aerith? Afterall, Cloud goes on a date with Aerith *after* telling Marlene he hopes Aerith likes him. In addition, a date is inherently romantic. So when you consider that Cloud tells Marlene he hopes Aerith likes him, and the fact that he agreed to go on a *date* with Aerith, it is impossible to deny that he has mutual feelings for Aerith. And whether Aerith realizes his mutual feelings is irrelevant because the LTD has always revolved around, "who does *Cloud* love?"
Yes, SE specifically says that Cloud and Tifa express mutual feelings under the Highwind. But you don't need to state the obvious with a date, especially after Cloud told Marlene he hopes Aerith likes him.
Additionally, SE has said that Cloud is Aerith's koibito. SE has also said that Tifa is "someone's" koibito -- which we all know is Cloud. Since "koibito" means *mutual* romance, this is yet another piece of evidence that supports both pairings.
To me, the HAHW scene and the Cloud x Aerith Golden Saucer date prove the exact same thing -- that Cloud has feelings for both Aerith and Tifa. This is further confirmed by SE saying Cloud *wavers* between two heroines.
But the second question often asked is a much harder question to answer: who is Cloud in a *relationship* with?
This is a much harder question to answer because mutual feelings do not always lead to a romantic relationship. Although that is typically what happens, I do not believe it happened with Cloud and Tifa.
Why do I not believe this? Because when SE had the opportunity to tell us how Cloud and Tifa's relationship changed from FFVII to AC through the use of relationship charts, they described their relationship as "childhood friends" in both the FFVII chart and the AC chart.
Including two charts was meant to tell us how relationships changed from FFVII to AC. Cloud and Tifa's relationship did not change beyond being described as "childhood friends" in both charts. Therefore, the mutual feelings expressed under the Highwind did not lead to a romantic relationship between Cloud and Tifa based on the relationship charts.
One might say that being described as "childhood friends" does not mean they can't be *more* than "childhood friends". But what I think is problematic is that the FFVII 10th Anniversary Ultimania doesn't include an all encompassing chart. If Cloud and Tifa were described as "childhood friends" in an all encompassing chart, that would be one thing. But what I'm pointing out is that because the FFVII 10th Anniversary Ultimania included TWO charts specifically to show how relationships changed between FFVII and AC, the fact that there is a lack of EVOLUTION and CHANGE in the way SE describes Cloud and Tifa's relationship tells me that they did not change or evolve between the two time periods.
I'm not saying that being described as childhood friends means they can't be more than childhood friends. But when there's two charts specifically meant to highlight changes in relationships, and then these two charts do not indicate any change in Cloud and Tifa's relationship between FFVII and AC (and actually use the exact same relationship description that says they are "childhood friends" in both charts), I believe that is problematic and tells us that no evolution from friends to lovers took place between them on a *canon basis.
It is also worth nothing that in Seventh Heaven Cloud has his own bed in his own room, Tifa does not know if Cloud loves her, and Marlene will *always* be Barret's daughter. All of this is not indicative of a romantic relationship, which is reinforced by the relationship charts.
So although Cloud and Tifa share a mutual romantic confession similar to other canon couples, I do not believe it led to a romantic relationship.
In addition, other canon couple have indisputable evidence of being in a *romantic* relationship.
So although Cloud and Tifa have the first part required for a *canon* status because they express mutual feelings, they do not the second part. Cloud and Tifa do not kiss, get married, say "I love you", say "will you be my boyfriend/girlfriend?", no sleeping in the same room, or any other sort of undeniable romantic behavior.
Therefore, Cloud and Tifa confess mutual feelings. But nothing moves Cloud and Tifa beyond this confession. This is evidenced not only by the relationship chart that describes them as "childhood friends" for both FFVII and AC, but because Nomura does not know the status of their relationship after FFVII ends. This tells us that they did not evolve beyond "childhood friends" despite expressing mutual feelings under the Highwind.
And although the relationship charts aren't always consistent, that's not my point. I don't dispute that the charts may sometimes be inconsistent.
The point I'm making is that when given the opportunity to show how Cloud and Tifa's relationship specifically changed between FFVII and AC, they used the exact same description -- "childhood friends". There's simply no explanation for this other than the fact that their relationship did not evolve from friends to lovers between FFVII and AC.
Pointing out inconsistencies is not going to get rid of the fact that when given the opportunity, SE described Cloud and Tifa's relationship as "childhood friends" for both FFVII and AC
The bottom line is, there is evidence that Cloud has feelings of *love* for both Aerith and Tifa:
-Cloud goes on a magical date with Aerith at Golden Saucer after telling Marlene he hopes Aerith likes him
-Cloud and Tifa express mutual feelings under the Highwind
-SE describes both of their relationships with the word "koibito"
-SE describes the LTD as a "hero wavering between two heroines"
But there is no evidence that Cloud formed a romantic relationship with either of them when we look at the official relationship charts. In fact, Cloud never has a favor arrow going to either Aerith or Tifa in any of the relationship charts. Therefore, the LTD will forever be up to interpretation.
EDIT: Since SE never tells us exactly how Cloud and Tifa expressed their mutual feelings, why is it assumed it was anything more than Cloud saying, "I like you and want to take you on a date like I went on with Aerith" and Tifa saying, "Ok! I like you too!"
To assume it was this confession of undying love and commitment is a huge assumption, IMO.
