"But, I let you die…" he thought, seeing her face again. She turned to him, and smiled.

"You came, though. That's all that matters. And I'm glad for that. Thanks, Cloud."

Cloud woke up. He must have fallen asleep. Cloud lay on the bed upstairs in Tifa's bar. He had tried so hard to let go of the past. It had been 3 years now. But, no matter how hard he tried, everything played back in his mind like a movie. Even when he wasn't asleep. And the surreal dreams with her became more frequent. But, he kept it to himself, though, as not to worry Tifa or the others.

"Cloud! Cloud!" A voice rang from downstairs. "You gettin' up?"

Cloud slowly rose, and sheathed his new, improved blade behind his back. He turned around as Denzel ran up the steps towards him.

"Hey, Cloud. Are you comin' down. You got a phone call."

"I see. Thanks, Denzel. Is Tifa down there?" Cloud asked.

"Yeah, she is. Oh, I gotta get going. Me and Marlene are gonna go down to the shop to get some Materia. I'll see you later, ok?" Denzel said as he ran off.

Cloud walked downstairs, and down into the bar area. Tifa walked into the room.

"Hey. You're up late. What's wrong?" she asked. Cloud shook his head.

"It's nothing. Did someone call?"

"Yeah. Reeve was calling for you. He said he had an errand for you."

"Right. I'll see what he wants this time," Cloud replied with a sigh. "Hopefully, it's not something long and drawn out…"

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