Yuffie was snoring on a chair in the corner.

Barrett was talking in his sleep, halfway out of his seat. Swearing—probably going trigger-happy in a dream.

Cid's head had fallen from his hand and straight onto the bar counter about an hour ago. It didn't look like it had phased his drunken slumber in the slightest, however. Discarded cigarette buds laid scattered on the floor around him, their stench still freshly wafting through the bar.

Vincent was nowhere to be found; there was a good chance that he had left hours ago, and no one had noticed. What a surprise.

Tifa tip-toed across creaky floorboards, careful not to disturb her friends. They were going to be feeling awful the next morning, anyways—better to just let them sleep now while they didn't feel the need to vomit everywhere. Besides, today had been a day of celebration; they all deserved to be so joyous, so who was she to ruin the first sleep that they had probably had in days? She scooped up dirty dishes and mugs, throwing them into the crate held at her hip before heading to the sink, tossing pots and pans aside in an attempt to make smaller dishes the higher priority. She, herself, was feeling pretty tired to say the least and a warm bed was going to be well-welcomed. With the children in bed, the whole establishment was quiet. No more laughing, yelling, and sounds of glasses clinking…it was refreshing, though.

The bar maiden scrubbed and scrubbed away at white plates for what felt like ages, until her bruised hands ached and her fingers had been reduced to prunes. She turned the bar taps off and dimmed the lights, keeping them just slightly lit so that everyone may locate the bathroom or more comfortable spot if necessary without falling face first into a table. Or another person. Giving one last glance over her shoulder, she rounded the corner to the stairwell and made her way up to where she had grown to affectionately call 'home'. She had gone up and down these stairs so many times that she knew exactly where they creaked and cracked; carefully, she tip-toed up the sides until she reached the top of the landing.

Several doors sat on both sides of the hall, Marlene and Denzel's room being the first. The doodle-covered door was just slightly cracked because everyone knew Marlene was scared of the dark, and Denzel always had to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night anyways. Tifa quietly pushed the door open, poking her head inside. All was quiet. Both children were sound asleep in their respective beds, with toys scattered about on almost every inch of the floor. Laughing softly to herself, she pulled the door shut once more, leaving the two kids to have their first peaceful dreams in a long while. The room directly across from theirs was the office, once unoccupied for so long save for the incessant ringing of a phone. The door was closed, with only a small amount of light seeping out from underneath. Holding her breath, her nimble fingers turned the tarnished doorknob and she squeezed her eyes as the door groaned in protest.

Cloud had only joined the celebration downstairs for a short while before retiring upstairs, leaving everyone else to celebrate for him. Tifa understood though. The day had been taxing on everyone, especially Cloud, and she saw no reason to make him stay awake longer than absolutely necessary. Now, as she tactfully made her way further into the bedroom, she saw soft blonde hair poking out just barely above fresh blankets. She passed his desk, admiring the number of maps and books he had in his possession.

And on top of it all laid a new photo—a group photo of them together with all of their comrades in front of the church—and Cloud finally with a smile on his face. Yellow and white flowers laid scattered across the desk beside it as a token of remembrance for old friends.

The toe of her foot caught something, and she froze. Looking down to the floor and squinting through the dark, she found a black mass of clothing tossed to the ground with little regard as to where they fell. Tifa bent over and inspected the knit turtleneck tossed onto the top of the pile. It was covered in blood, with several holes torn into it. His pants were in a similar condition, though just slightly better. Belts and a harness laid under his pants, worn around the leather edges and covered in flecks of blood as well. Underneath it all were his boots. Carefully feeling the soles of both, she found one with a large, ragged hole in the bottom, blood staining its black leather. She frowned, huffing a sigh as she took the pile into her arms and rose upright once more. Maybe she'd show him the wonders of new clothing soon—she'd have to, once she got rid of these. There was only so much stitching she could do to fix this ensemble.

The lump in the bed sighed. Tifa quickly turned, her wine-colored eyes wide in fear that she had been caught intruding. She watched as he slowly rolled onto his opposite side, face buried in the pillow with a mess of blonde hair poking out in every which direction. But he didn't wake. Tifa bit her lip, cringing slightly as she crept even closer to the bed. His small bedside lamp was still on, indicating to her that he had been reading something before turning in for the night; sure enough, an old, worn book laid on the floor beside the bed, upside down in order to mark his place. Tifa knelt down and read the faded print on the spine.

Your Guide to the Eastern Continent and More

She couldn't help but laugh to herself. A book of maps-already planning his next delivery. Maybe she should suggest to him when he woke up that he take a little time off.

She turned her attention back to Cloud's sleeping form, which was not disturbed in the slightest by her presence there. Now freed from Geostigma, his eyes appeared less sunken and his skin less pale. He had a pinkish color to him—a lively color, now not so close to death. His blonde hair obscured most of his face, prompting her to extend a gentle set of fingers to brush them behind his ear. With his mouth just slightly open, she listened to his soft breathing. It was so nice to hear that again. She remembered being in this very spot in this room only a few months earlier, speaking to him softly as he slept on many occasions, as she anticipated maybe someday hearing an answer to the question she had often asked him while he slept.

But tonight, she was going to leave him to sleep uninterrupted. He needed it, and she needed it too. Everyone did. And there would be plenty of time to talk about all sorts of things tomorrow. They did, after all, have a bit of catching up to do.

Tifa rose to her feet once more and turned off his lamp, observing him for just a moment more before adjusting the pile of soiled clothes in her hands and turning back to the door. She slipped through the crack in the door and reached for the knob, stopping as she heard a soft voice break the silence of the night.

"…Goodnight."

She peered back in to find a pair of half-opened, tired electric-blue eyes looking back. A faint smile tugged at the corner of Cloud's lips before he closed his eyes once more, his face digging back into the pillows; soon, his breathing slowed and indicated to Tifa that he had effortlessly succumbed to peaceful sleep once more.

She smiled, and quietly shut the door behind her as she left.

It was nice to have him home again.