Cloud blinked open his eyes. For a beautiful, bittersweet moment, all he could feel was Tifa next to him. He'd forgotten everything else and simply rolled over to observe the woman beside him. The man let out a slight laugh. Fantasies of beauty after sleep was just that: a fantasy. Tifa's hair was a rat's nest, her "natural" makeup all over her face and pillow. However, her face was relaxed, not tight or snarky as usual. Cloud didn't like her this way. She wasn't Tifa, she was an angel. Perfect was dull to him. He almost wanted to wake her up, when her eyes did it for him. They stared at each other for a moment, before Tifa, half-awake, yawned.

"Cloud, I…" she sat up, Cloud following suit, "A lot has happened. I spent most of last night awake, watching you, making sure you didn't have nightmares. I just didn't want you to be unhappy or crying again. I'd never seen you crying before yesterday, and I didn't like it."

"I didn't like you crying either."

"I know. That's why I want to stay, for a little while anyway, to make sure you're okay."

"Tifa, I'm a grown man, I can…"

"Shut up." Tifa got to her feet, "Listen, Mr. Grown-Ass Man, 'cuz I'm never going to say this again. I want to stay for myself too, okay? I want company. That so hard to believe?"

She didn't wait for him to answer. Instead, she left his room, closing the door behind her. Cloud blinked, not quite processing what just happened. Through the conveniently thin walls, he heard people enter the apartment. There was some mumbled talking, then a loud exclamation. Some more talking. Cloud got dressed and checked his phone. No calls, one o'clock in the afternoon. With a sigh, he turned to see his bedroom door bang open. It was Axel.

"DUDE." his face was incredulous, "ARE YOU FUCKING GAY?!"

The blonde didn't miss a beat, purring, "I may be, Sugar-tits" and topped it off with a suggestive wink. Axel's eyes widened. A split second passed before he shot out the door, and out the apartment. Reno came into the room, a lot more mellow than his brother.

"What'd you say to him?" he asked, not really concerned. He sounded like he'd done this a thousand times before.

"Nothing," he waved a dismissive hand, "Hey, is there a hole in my wall by the doorknob?"

"Shit, yeah. What happened?"

"Tell Axel he owes me five hundred bucks. And a peck on the cheek."

"Sure."

Cloud watched Reno go after his brother. He was a little taken back by Reno's reaction, but then again, he'd grown up with Axel. He knew what to expect by now. Pulling a shirt over his head, he tried to put on a smile as he walked down the hallway into the kitchen, when he froze completely.

Sitting around the islet was Leon, Tifa, Yuffie, and Cid. They were going through cold cuts and rolls. They talked quietly amongst themselves, not the usual uproar around lunch. Cloud wasn't shocked by their abnormalcy. It was their lack of noticing Zexion that really got to him. The boy was there, standing in the living room. He wore a blank expression on his face, blinking occasionally, watching the family of friends. Cloud's heart threatened to jump out of his ribcage.

"Zex?"

The group's ears perked up and they switched their attention to Cloud. Tifa matched his gaze, observing the living room, "Cloud? Cloud, are you okay?"

Silent, emotionless Leon let a hint of worry ebb his tone, "Hey man, you alright?"

"Zexion. He's there." Cloud pointed, pale-faced, "Look."

All of them turned.

"You trippin'?" Yuffie gave him a funny look.

"What? No! Don't you see him too?"

"Of course not! There's no one there! What kind of sick joke is this, Cloud? We're all upset he's gone too, you know."

Cloud's hand dropped to his side. The man looked from his friends, to Tifa, to the living room and back again. They couldn't see him. Only Cloud could. Some would try talking to it, but Cloud didn't believe in ghosts. He calmly told himself he was seeing things, and sat down next to Tifa. Everyone else tried to clear the thick air by going back to their casual conversations while Tifa's leg brushed Cloud's in comfort. At some point, Axel called Leon and invited them to his parent's house.

"It's a different atmosphere, there's a shit ton of food, why not? Bring your suits if you want; there's a pool in the back," he said, "And tell the homo to keep his hands to himself. I don't feel like wearing a shirt today."

Leon kept his voice monotone, "But Sugar-tits, you've such an admirable figure."

Axel hung up.

Leon borrowed one of Cloud's suits and changed in his room, Cloud grabbed some swim trunks and went into the bathroom. After he took off his shirt, he turned to look into the mirror. The time spent at the delivery service lifting heavy boxes gave him an appreciative set of muscles. Cloud turned, expecting his lean torso to stare back at him in the mirror, but there was no Cloud. The man's heart skipped a beat when he saw Zexion reflected in the glass.

It wasn't the Zexion that died. In the mirror was the young Zex, short hair, unscarred face, gap-toothed smile. But he wasn't smiling. He shared the same blank expression as the one from the living room. Cloud was frightened by that alone; children always had an emotion on their face. Then, five-year-old Zexion spoke.

"Uncle Cloud," his pre-puberty voice echoed in Cloud's ears, "Why?"

Why did you kill me?

His voice didn't change, "It's story time! Once upon a time, there was a little boy. He was a sad little boy. His Mommy and Daddy hated him. He thought no one wanted him. Then his uncle came. For the first time in that little boy's life, he thought someone cared. He was wrong. His uncle waited for him to trust him, then killed him without warning. It was all. His. Fault. The poor little boy died without love, alone. All alone. Never loved. Poor little boy..."

A fist came to make a loud crunch. Cloud's knuckles dripped blood onto the floor. At least twenty little Zexions, each distorted in their own section of the mirror, laughed their mirth in a hysterical chorus. Their eyes were wide and their smiles held fangs. They all sang in an eerie chorus, "The End!"

Their voices, and images, were cut off altogether by another strike.

Tifa's voice sounded in the corridor, "Cloud? Cloud, what's going on in there?"

Cloud's knees made an audible thud on the bathroom tile.

"I'm coming in!"

She opened the door, and shrieked at the blood, the shards of glass embedded into Cloud's hands. Cloud looked up to see a fuzzy human-shape in the door frame. To him, the cry was distorted and didn't even sound real. Fear rooted him to the ground.

"Tifa? Is that you? What's wrong?"

The shape's "arms" came up to cover its mouth. Cloud vaguely heard it mumble something like "ambulance" and then it ran away. As a pair of strong arms grabbed him and pulled him to his feet, he went limp and had to be carried to the car. Head lolling with the winding road, Cloud chanted aloud:

"The End, The End, The End…"