The old man in the bed breathed slowly, in and out. He had fallen into a coma weeks earlier, and there was no sign of him coming out. He wasn't alone in the room. Two middle-aged men, a young woman, two older men and an older woman with black hair streaked with gray, sat in the room with him. In the corner, a large, red beast sat in the corner, its flaming tail moving of its own accord. Another young woman with short, black hair walked in and took a seat with the others. They gathered together once a week to be with the old man, never knowing when it would be the last time they could all be together.

"It's so hard to believe it...sixty-two and dying..." the Wuutai said.

"I remember the doctors saying it was the Mako in his system," the older woman said, sitting her drink down. "Something he did with magic made it set off some kind of energy surge in his brain." The other young woman with a braid leaned on the man with the same color hair. He put his arm around his wife to comfort her as she cried.

"He's not in any pain, is he?" one of the older men asked, gnawing on a toothpick.

The older woman spoke again. "No," she said. "His spine is damaged as well. He couldn't move his limbs if he wanted too, but as a side effect, he can't feel pain in most parts of his body either. His legs and arms have atrophied too...he's lucky he can't feel that."

The other older man grunted in approval as he flexed his metal hand. "Good," he said. "Man's been through too much already. He don't need no more."

The sleeping man kept breathing slowly. Though his mind was damaged beyond repair, he still dreamed, even now.

"I've been here before," Cloud thought to himself as he stood in a field of flowers. "Years ago..."

A familiar scent brought him out of his attempts to grasp faded memories. "Lavender?" he asked no one in particular. "I know that smell, it's so familiar..." He tilted his head. "Is it you?" he asked.

"Back again?" a kind, feminine voice asked. "I never expected to see you here so soon."

Cloud turned to find the source of the voice, but no one was there. It spoke to him again.

"Do you remember me?" she asked. "I hope you didn't forget our time together."

"I...remember..."

The old man's reading on the monitor changed slowly. His heart slowed along with his breathing, and his blood pressure dropped. The others in the room took notice of the alarm as it went off, and made their way to the bed to be with the man as his final moments approached. The short-haired woman shut off the alarm; there was no need for a response to it now. They all joined hands; even the beast balanced on its hind legs and used its forepaws to join the others. They all bowed their heads in silent prayer, asking the Planet to take the old man in peace.

Cloud felt arms circle around him from behind. They were definitely hers. She wore those silver bangles on her wrists, and he recognized that sapphire ring he had given her to remind her of his eyes, and therefore him, when she wore it. He placed his hands on hers. Tears fell from his eyes, trailing down his cheeks.

"I'm so sorry," he said, his voice shaking. "I was right there, and there wasn't anything I could do..."

"Shh...It's alright, Cloud," she said, giving him a light squeeze. "I never blamed you for it because it was never your fault." He turned around in her arms and returned the embraced, his shoulders shaking with tears that had been held back for far too long.

She continued. "If anyone should apologize, it should be me. I knew that my time was short when I met you," she said as she rubbed his back. "And as soon as I learned of the black materia, I knew what I had to do – the spirits in the Temple of the Ancients told me, and what the price would be. I knew Sephiroth would be there, and I knew he would kill me to stop me, so I left as soon as everyone was asleep, and I readied Holy." She felt his sobs lessen. "In fact, I think he let me finish because he had figured out how to restrain it, and he killed me in front of you just to hurt you. But," she continued, "he didn't take into account that the Planet would save itself in the way it did."

"I believe it," Cloud said, finally having gotten himself under control. Wiping his tears away, he pulled away from her, but didn't let go. He'd never let her go again. She was his, and he was hers, just as they'd wanted it to be, but never had the chance to say it. "I've missed you so much, Aerith. I wish you hadn't had to go."

She smiled at him, placing her arms around his neck. It sent tingles down his spine, and shivers up hers to be like this, holding each other this way. It was a prelude to something wonderful. "I never left you, Cloud," she said. "I've always been there in your heart and in your memories. And now," she said, leaning up, "we can finally be together again."

Their first kiss was a gentle one. They were both nervous, but too prideful to show it. It lasted mere seconds, but when they parted, they knew it wouldn't be the last kiss they shared.

"Together...forever?" he asked, almost afraid of the answer being "no".

"And ever," she added.

The old man's breathing was so very light now. His friends, still around him, said their final goodbyes, and now watched as his life slipped from one world to the next. The monitor silently flat-lined, and the old man released his final breath. His friends, tears in their eyes, wept silently. They knew they would see him again someday, but they lamented the loss of a great man, as well as a great friend. Carefully, they unhooked the IVs and monitors from him and wrapped him in a blanket. In the evening, they took the man to an abandoned city far to the north, one the Cetra called home ages ago. They took the man to the very same lake where another friend of theirs was laid to rest, and the older woman, tears in her eyes, laid the old man on the water. As he sank beneath the surface, she whispered to her best friend, smiling. "She's waiting for you, Cloud. Find her, and you'll the happiness you've sought for so long."

Cloud and Aerith watched as their friends said their goodbyes.

"They really care about you, even after you're gone." she said, arm linked in his.

He smiled. "They cared about you too. Yuffie and Barret cried for days, although he never let us see him do it." Cloud looked at his beloved. "Do you think they'll find their way to us when the time comes?" he asked.

She smiled at him. "They won't have to, because we'll meet 'em there."

They turned to watch the Shera, refurbished since it's near-fatal battle years ago, take off into the sky. With a final wave of their hands, the pair faded into the night, together forever in the Lifestream