Disclaimer: Well, it is called FanFiction for a reason. So, all disclaimers apply. Final Fantasy 7 belongs to Square Enix and Tetsuya Nomura. Hooray for them!

Please enjoy! And don't forget to review. This is my first fan fiction so I'd appreciate your input.

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"Yuffie! Get down from there," Tifa said sticking her head out from the kitchen. The ninja stood balancing herself on a stool. "You're going to break your neck."

"That's alright." Yuffie said jumping down, heir hair becoming messier by the second. "Vincent is right here to catch me…Wait where is he?" Yuffie looked around the room. "He was here a second ago. I swear he was. He and Cloud. Gods! They just slip out as easy as I can take their materia."

Cloud walked past the door and saw Yuffie's back to him as she flung her arms wildly around trying to explain to Tifa that they were sitting on the couch not too long ago. Cloud was fine, almost smiling, seeing how everything had remained so nicely like home.

"You don't think he ran away again do you?" Yuffie whispered.

"No." Cloud found his voice escaping his throat without a warning.

Tifa smiled that beautiful smile that made one feel at home, behind Yuffie as the ninja fiddled with her fingers under his strong gaze. Was he that untrustworthy? It sickened him, but Tifa trusted him. Right? Besides, he didn't feel like leaving. Not now. He wanted to spend some time with his friends, his family.

He walked back to the part of the house that was the bar. Cid and Barret were sitting down with several glasses of liquor already empty before them. And they each held another mug full of beer. Their speech was already slurred.

"I tol' ya, I dwink mow than ya." Barret said laughing.

Their cheeks were red and they kept chuckling and trying to manage a deck of cards between their already full hands. Cid was less than willing to let Barret get ahead of him. He took the mug and emptied it into his mouth, filled it again, emptied it, and filled it again.

"Ya see dat. I'm two whole da—" he hiccupped, "beers ahead."

Cloud left them arguing and dodged something Cait Sith had thrown, served as a shield for Marlene and Denzel who were playing tag, and finally reached the counter of the bar. Vincent sat there quietly with his glass of red wine. He sipped a bit of it; his cloak was open in the first buckle. Cloud sat besides him and by then, Tifa handed him a glass.

"Water please." He said quietly. Tifa grabbed a pitcher from nearby with her ivory hand and poured some. The ice clinked and the water splashed as it landed. Then, she left somewhere to do whatever it was that she did. This if anything, was plenty.

"I need a cell phone." Vincent said sitting his glass down. He looked at Cloud, his hair gently falling over his pale face.

"I need one too." Cloud said just as distantly.

Red XII was sleeping in a corner of the room, away from the hands of a Denzel, Marlene, and a hyperactive Yuffie. His stomach rose up and down with his breath. Suddenly, he got up and shook himself awake. He twisted his head around. Tifa came to him, they exchanged some verses and he left.

"We need to buy phones." Cloud said to Vincent.

He nodded and was about to speak when Yuffie came over. "Cloud tell Denzel I don't wanna be it anymore—wait. I heard something about a cell phone, so I'm getting your number right?" She stared at Vincent for a while. He took his glass, sipped it and said nothing.

Tifa's voice came sweetly out of the kitchen. "Everyone dinner's ready!" She came out of the kitchen carrying several things. As soon as he saw this, Cloud went over to the kitchen to help her. She stepped into the kitchen soon and looked at Cloud questioningly. She shook her head, the way that makes her look so cute, placed the long stray strands of dark hair behind her ear, and smiled. "You want to help?" Her smile was growing.

Cloud felt a bit anxious. Was that what it felt like to be free of worries? Able to feel happy and nervous all at the same time, just standing next to someone you cared for. He nodded a bit and she pulled him by the arm to the island in the kitchen. His heart pounded harder than when he'd fought with Sephiroth earlier. The adrenaline that rushed through his body was nothing compared to now.

She let him go and he felt the urge to just jump out and hug her, hold her really tight and tell her "Please, Tifa. Forgive me for never being there when you needed me." He dug his hands in his pockets to control the need to hold her again, to feel her soft skin.

"Cloud are you listening?"

"Yes." He said a bit too quickly.

"Then go ahead. Take these things to the table while I finish dessert."

He stood silent for a minute then shook his thoughts away. He picked up the hot food and carried it over to the table. Everyone who could sit at the dinner table; Barret and Cid were already asleep on one of the bar tables. Cloud felt so at home with everyone around him. Still, at the same time he felt awkward there, like there was something more to it.

"Did you wash your hands?" Tifa asked Denzel and Marlene as they came down from their room. They nodded and ran to the table as fast as they could. Denzel jumped at Cloud and hugged him tightly. Cloud smiled at him and ruffled his hair. Marlene went over to were Barret was whispered something in his ear and ran back. When everyone was finally seated Tifa asked for everyone to bow their heads. Amazingly, even Yuffie stood still for a second and let Tifa lead prayer.

"…And please help us to always lead a life of hope and action." She finished and as soon as her sentence finished everyone simultaneously lifted their heads. "Okay, go ahead. And remember to save some room for dessert..."

She smiled again, making his heart jump when she looked at him. "Pass the mashed potatoes!" Yuffie yelled in his ear. "Gosh Cloud, you need to listen more—and talk a bit more while you're at it. If not, you'll end up just like Vince."

Vincent lifted his gaze towards her for a second then turned to Marlene. The little girl smiled at him staring at his hair mischievously. "No." he said. Then she turned back to her food a bit sadly.

When dinner was over, Tifa sent everyone, including Barret and Cid to shower. (By then Cait Sith had left, Tifa had warned about the shower before dinner.) They were the two first ones in after Denzel and Marlene. It took each about thirty minutes just getting in the shower. But Tifa would have none of them going to sleep all dirty. By the time those two were out it was dark. Vincent took the shower next. Cloud was waiting patiently for his turn reading one of the newspapers that lay around the living room.

"Cloud, why don't you take a bath in my bathroom? I bet you're tired and would like to relax a bit." Before he could object she ran up the stairs and in a few minutes called him up.

"Cloud." It was Marlene and Denzel. They stared at him for a second and then nearly tackled him to the floor. They hugged him with their little arms and then looked at him for a long time. "You'll be here in the morning. Wont' you?" It was Denzel who spoke.

"Of course—" He began but was interrupted by Tifa who was calling him up again claiming the water would get cold.

They followed him up the stairs. Cloud felt odd as he entered Tifa's room, with Marlene and Denzel behind him. She came out of the bathroom drying her hands in a small towel. "Denzel, get Cloud's clothes and take them to the laundry room please. And Cloud. I left some towels for you and I found some of your clothing, it's setting there too. C'mon Marlene." She took the little girl's hand and walked out of the room.

"It's really nice to have you here." Denzel said almost in a whisper. "You know. I though for a while that Tifa and we wouldn't but hear from you."

"What made you think that?" Cloud said feeling ashamed.

"It was hard not to."

Cloud went into the bathroom and undressed; he put his dirty clothing in a basket and carefully stepped into the bubbly tub. Denzel came in for the clothes. "You know. I didn't like baths either. But Tifa always makes them so fun. She even got some really cool water crayons and stuff for Marlene and me once." Then he walked out of the bathroom closing the door and saying goodnight.

The hot water felt wonderful on his aching muscles. He sunk deeper into the tub feeling the scent of lavender fill his senses. For a minute he thought he'd smell like lavender for a week if he stayed in there much longer, but he was so peaceful, he just closed his eyes.

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He didn't know how much time he spent in the tub. The water was just barely warm, as compared to how the steam rose from its surface when he first got in. Cloud quickly dried himself and dressed. As he pulled the t-shirt over his head he smelt the fresh scent it had. Tifa really did take care of things so wonderfully. He stared at himself in her mirror. Was he any good for her?

There was a knock at the door of her room. Cloud rushed to it and opened it. It was Tifa. She stared at him through the door. His hair damp and free of spikes, wearing a white t-shirt and navy pajama pants. He stared back at her for a second. She had already showered. Her hair was only slightly damp but her skin was fresh. "Good, she said. I wanted to make sure you didn't fall asleep in there. You would've caught a cold if you laid in cold water for over and hour."

She went back the stairs and Cloud followed her. He was about to enter his room when he saw Cid had already taken his bed. Tifa went somewhere down to the bar and Cloud investigated around the house for a place to sleep in. Marlene and Denzel were asleep in their room. Barret didn't even make it to a bed, he just laid his head over one of the bar tables. Vincent was sleeping on the couch, it seemed he was merely sitting, but on closer inspection, his eyes were closed and he breathed deeper than usual. Yuffie was in the living room too, she had a red blanket covering her legs, at first Cloud thought it was part of Vincent's cloak, but the cloth wasn't torn. She was sleeping on the same couch about a foot away from him.

Cloud started feeling that for now, he could not stay there. There was no room for him. He walked down the stairs as quietly as he could. Tifa probably had already gone to sleep. He hadn't checked her room, because that would be awkward. Besides, he had promised to be there in the morning, not that he would spend the night here. He pulled on his boots and twisted the knob on the door.

"Where are you going? It's pretty late you know." Tifa's voice came from somewhere in the bar. It sent a jolt through Cloud's arm and he released the knob. He took his boots off again and walked to find Tifa washing the dishes. "You know Denzel and Marlene are expecting you to be here in the morning. Would it be that bad?"

"What?"

"Would it be that bad? To stay here for the night."

"No. It wouldn't," he said. "There's just no room for me to sleep." Cloud walked closer to her wanting to tell her so badly that he was sorry for always being late and always being stupid, always knowing how she felt, but not wanting to hurt her, but hurting her by ignoring her.

"Why don't you just sleep in my bed?"

Cloud looked at the floor, keeping his gaze away from her, feeling as the pink reached his face. She didn't notice him though.

"I'll sleep in the living room with Yuffie and Vincent. I have to make sure she doesn't wake up in the middle of the night and tries to choke him. You know, he took all the hot water that was left, right before Yuffie went in. He tried to go in and tell her before she got in and just stared at the door for a minute and walked away. But really Cloud, go ahead and sleep in my bed. It is getting really late."

"What about you? Why are you washing dishes so late at night? You should be asleep too."

"I can't keep the bar closed tomorrow. You saw how many people wanted to come in today. I just wanted to have some fam—time with everyone. Besides, I much rather sleep late than to get up early."

Cloud looked at her for what must have been the millionth time that day. He stood besides her as she scrubbed the dishes, their shoulder's almost touching. Instinctively, he took the scrub and plate from her hands. "Here," he said, "I'll wash and you can dry."

She looked at him her eyes so beautiful Cloud was glad they were alone. (Except for Barret who was sleeping on a table nearby, but he was asleep after all.) She smiled again and cloud gave her a nervous glance before turning back to scrubbing the dirty dishes. She took the space just besides him and said "thank you" in the voice more enchanting that Cloud ever heard.

They stood there washing all the dishes, whispering of the great times they had in the past. The clock ran so fast then and the dishes were cleaned just as fast. Cloud felt sad when he grabbed the last skillet from the sink and handed it to Tifa, just slightly touching her hands. He found it interesting that hands that gentle could be so strong.

"Hey Cloud."

"Yes."

"You better get to bed."

"You too."

She took a few blankets from a closet and went to the living room to sleep in the recliner. Cloud made his way up the stairs and to Tifa's room. He stared at the door again for a few seconds then twisted the knob and entered her room. He walked to her bed and lifted the plum colored blankets. He got in and threw the blankets over his shoulders. Cloud snuggled his face against the soft sheets and pillows. No. It wouldn't be that bad. And even the dirty dishes made things better.

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So there you go! My first fan fiction. Please, please with a cherry on the top, review. I'll appreciate your input and I'm sorry if I messed the characters or setting up, I've only seen AC, but it was so good, I just fell in love with it. Also, I had to write this in a hurry I'm taking and AP English class and it takes too much from my time, so there may be a few grammar or spelling errors. Anyway, thanks for reading. Arigato! And did I mention to review? Also, I'm not sure if to continue or leave it there.