A/N: Thank you so much to kitsune13, xoVanilla-Bean, KCVII, NailoSyanodel, Kisdota-The Freak Gamer, Valentine'sNinja, Calenlass Greenleaf, vanillacookiesxD, Amos Whirly, Ritsu-San, Sigbru, Creative Spark, Sekihara Tae, strifegirl27, P.P.V.V, MyfinalfantasyVII, vx-Luna-xv, and 1080 for reviewing!

Stay

Cloud had been home for a week and it still seemed somewhat of a novelty. It was all completely familiar, the smell of the building, the sounds of the bar during the day, the pictures on the walls, the faces around him. At the same time, it was all different. The sickness and pain was gone and the sound of laughter came more often than it had before. He was different.

He could hear the sounds of the bar downstairs dissipating as Tifa's customers finished their drinks and began to head out so she could close up for the night. Cloud would have gone downstairs to help her clean, but he was trapped beneath a pile of limbs. The nights he didn't have deliveries, the kids wanted to be near him, and the nights he did have deliveries, they kept themselves awake until he got home. Tifa said that they had just missed him and wanted to spend time with him, but he knew that they also just needed reassurance that he was there to stay. Tonight, he had willingly sat with both of them on his cot to listen to them chatter about their day. He hadn't really expected both kids to fall asleep on him, but Marlene was sprawled across his lap with her arm curled around his back, and Denzel was slumped half on Cloud's shoulder and half on Marlene's back.

Cloud's maps and delivery slips were still scattered on his desk; something else he needed to get done tonight. He looked down at the two sleeping kids. It was something else that could wait.

He brushed Denzel's hair back from his forehead--a forehead that was unmarred and untainted, completely clear of the black pus that had been present since the day Cloud had found him collapsed beside his motorcycle. Denzel stirred a little, causing Marlene to shift and jam her elbow into Cloud's side. He wiggled his fingers under her elbow, hoping to nudge it out of the way, but she only dug it in deeper and made Denzel move again, this time positioned with his knee in Cloud's stomach.

Cloud gave up and just sat still as the sounds of voices from downstairs ceased entirely, soon followed by noises of Tifa washing dishes. Before long, there were footsteps on the stairs, and she stopped in front of Cloud's office door. She took in the sight of Cloud pinned to the bed by the kids and broke into a smile. "Wait right there," she said softly, as if he really could go anywhere.

Tifa hurried off and returned with the camera. "Smile," she said lightly.

"Tifa…" Cloud blinked as the camera flashed several times.

Tifa snapped pictures from several different angles. Grinning, she set the camera on his desk and moved to the side of the cot that Marlene was occupying. She lifted Marlene's legs and slid under them, her arm pressing against Cloud's. "You could have just put them in bed."

"I didn't want to wake them." And…it was nice. It was nice to sit here with their small, warm bodies snuggled up against him. It was a tangible reminder that they were safe, that they were alive, that they were content. Proof that for once, he hadn't failed them because they were all here. Sometimes he needed that reminder just as much as the kids did.

Cloud glanced at Tifa, who was watching him with knowing eyes, her gaze saying that understood the fear and relief and need. She lifted a hand and grazed his cheek with her fingertips, and her touch was somehow both tentative and assured. It might not have seemed much, but it told Cloud what Tifa had always told him, in her words, her glances, her gestures and touches--that she was always there, that she would never leave. She had stayed with him through more than most people could ever fathom, let alone actually do.

Cloud's face still tingled where Tifa had touched it when she moved her hand down to take the ribbon and ties carefully out of Marlene's hair. She unwove Marlene's braid and smoothed her fingers through the wavy locks, then rested one hand on each child and leaned against Cloud's shoulder.

He wasn't sure how long they sat like that before he realized Tifa had fallen asleep, too. He covered the hand Tifa had on Denzel's arm with his own, curling his fingers around hers. Tifa made a small noise in the back of her throat, flipping her palm up to grasp his hand in return. She turned her head, breathing a sigh against his neck, her chin now resting completely on his shoulder.

Cloud had heard people say that no one really knew what they had until it was gone, but that had never been a problem for him. He'd lost enough already to know exactly what he had and how amazing it was. He also knew how close he had come to losing it all. To losing them. And it was more than nice to sit here with all of them, to be able to be the one that they could lean on and not just the one who needed. It was ironic, really, that this was his life. Having kids had just not been on his list of life goals. A couple of years ago, he'd barely ever been around a child, let alone known what to do with one. Now this--this was all that mattered. So he remained where he was, though he still had work to do and though he wasn't tired, because at that moment all he wanted to do was stay there and have the reassurance that this was still real.

Even with Denzel's knee in his stomach, Marlene's elbow poking into his side, and Tifa's chin digging into his shoulder, eventually he, too, succumbed to sleep.

When he woke early in the morning, they were all still there with him.