Two days had passed since Aerith and her new boyfriend had returned from their impromptu vacation, and her friend was still glowing. Tifa was amazed at how different Aerith was after only a few short days. More than anything, though, she was dying to meet the man responsible. She wanted to thank him for everything he'd done. Aerith had kept her promise from the call to introduce them, and tonight the three of them were all meeting up at a restaurant downtown.

Tifa had dressed in her favorite formal wear, a simple V-neck black dress that ended just above her—also black—heels. She'd arrived a little early, unable to contain her excitement. Glancing around, she wondered if the boyfriend was any of the men she could see. Of course, she didn't even know what he looked like in the first place.

"Tifa!" she heard Aerith call out, and she turned to greet her friend.

Tifa felt her jaw hit the floor as she caught sight of Aerith. She was wearing a stunning pink dress, completely different from her normal one. It began at her neck with a choker, connecting down to the waist leaving her shoulders and upper back exposed. It didn't reveal any of her cleavage, but fit her body in a way that emphasized her curves without hugging them. Her right leg was partially exposed by a slit that began halfway down her thigh, allowing for easy movement in the otherwise tight dress. In short, it was the kind of dress her friend had never had the self-confidence to even try on in the store when they'd gone shopping together.

Tifa blinked rapidly, desperately trying to regain her self-composure as Aerith walked over to her, a smile spreading across her friend's lips. "I'm not sure I've ever had a woman look at me like that before," she teased as she reached Tifa, hugging her in greeting.

As they broke apart, Tifa kept her hands on Aerith's shoulders, looking into her eyes. "What in the world happened? That dress is beautiful, but I've never seen you wear anything like it before."

Aerith did a happy little twirl, grinning when she completed her spin. "I like looking nice for my boyfriend," she explained, her shoulders giving a small shrug.

"Speaking of, where is he?" Tifa asked, glancing around behind Aerith to see if she could spot any likely candidates. "Oh, is he that hulking gorilla over there?"

Aerith playfully swatted at her, laughing. "He's not here yet, silly. He texted me something about having trouble with his tie and that we should just meet inside."

Together, they made their way inside the restaurant, a waiter escorting them to their table in the back, before saying he'd return once their final member had arrived.

"He's actually real, right? You're not just leading me on some wild goose chase?" Tifa asked, winking at Aerith to show she was just messing around.

"Oh, he's real alright…"

"Now you're just getting sappy," she complained, grinning. "I can't believe how much of an impact he's had on you."

"Neither can I," Aerith replied, serious now. "He's the actual proof of what you've been telling me all these years. I'm just so glad we ended up meeting."

"It certainly—"

Aerith interrupted her as she jumped to her feet, waving at someone behind Tifa. "Cloud, over here!" she called out.

Tifa froze, assuming she must have misheard the name. As the man wearing a crisp black tuxedo with a pink tie the same color as Aerith's dress walked into view, however, she realized she hadn't.

"Cloud?" she exclaimed, almost falling backward out of her chair in shock.

"Tifa?!" Cloud yelled, his eyebrows flying upward—eyes wide.

Aerith's head flipped between the two of them. "Wait, you know each other?"

"He's my ex!"

"She's my ex!"

Dozens of emotions surged through Tifa. Surprise, sadness, loneliness, but she was relieved jealousy wasn't one of them. The emotion trumping the rest was one of overwhelming happiness. Happiness, that both of her friends who had been hurt so badly had managed to come together through some crazy twist of fate to find the joy they so very much deserved.

There was a long moment of silence after Cloud and Tifa's joint declaration. Aerith's eyes were darting between the two of them, and Tifa saw a look of fear on her friend's face that nearly broke her heart.

"It's fine, there's nothing for you to worry about," she reassured her, placing her hand on Aerith's arm and gently squeezing it. "Cloud and I are good friends now, and more than anything I'm glad to see both of you so happy together."

"Is this really okay?"

"Yes, it is," Tifa firmly replied. She was relieved to see Aerith hesitantly smile back at her. Glad her friend seemed to be doing better, Tifa turned to Cloud. "I don't understand. Given your… condition I never expected you to be the one who'd asked Aerith out."

He smiled softly at this. "I didn't, actually. I walked away, planning on leaving the crazy flower girl alone. She's the one who chased after me."

Aerith's eyes were like saucers, her mouth wide open as she stared at Cloud in mock offense. "Crazy flower girl?!"

Tifa wasn't paying enough attention to catch the rest of their exchange, her mind running over all the conversations she'd had with both of them the past month, the pieces slowly clicking together.

"Wait, so when you asked me if you should show up to the date or just bail on her, you were talking about Aerith?" she asked Cloud, interrupting the two of them in the middle of their banter.

"Hold on, you almost stood me up?" Aerith asked, actually sounding upset now.

"No!" Cloud protested, hesitating as Tifa raised an eyebrow. "Well… I mean, kind of? But I didn't!"

Aerith turned to look at her, a look of gratitude in her eyes. "Thank you for talking my silly boyfriend out of doing something stupid."

Cloud grumbled something unintelligible in response to this, causing Tifa and Aerith to laugh together. The quirk of his lips showed he was just as amused as they were.

Aerith tented her hands together as she gave Tifa a playfully evil look. "Now, what else can you tell me about Cloud?"

Epilogue

Cloud descended the stairs from the second floor into the main area of the flower store, reminding himself again to fix the middle step as it squeaked under his foot. Walking to the front of the shop, he stepped up behind Aerith and gave her a tight hug from behind, kissing his wife on the neck in her favorite spot. She laughed happily, setting down the arrangement she'd been working on, and turning in his arms to meet his lips with her own.

"Good morning, love," she greeted him, as they broke apart after a few moments. "Did you remember to feed Raspberry?"

"I swear that cat eats better than both of us combined," Cloud grumbled playfully, nodding to indicate he'd done as she'd asked.

"I hope that's not an indication of what you think about my cooking, dearest," Aerith replied, one eyebrow arching upwards.

Cloud panicked, unsure if she was actually upset or not. "What? Err, no, of course not! I was just…"

He relaxed as she smiled and leaned in to kiss him quickly. "Sorry, it's just too fun to fluster you," she said with a laugh.

Cloud smiled sheepishly back at her, still as madly in love with her as when they'd gotten married, just over a year ago. The wedding had been a small, but joyous affair, three months after their trip to Gold Saucer. As per his wife's request, they'd held their honeymoon in Costa del Sol, and it had been a week neither of them would ever forget.

"I take it, those are the deliveries for today?" he asked, gesturing to the variety of arrangements she had lined up on the table.

"Yup! Just let me finish up this last one and you're good to go."

He watched as she went back to work, still impressed with her dedication to making each and every arrangement unique and as close to perfect as possible. Aerith's flower business was booming now, thanks largely due to its new delivery service option, which allowed them to serve customers across the entire city. Cloud was happy to be able to contribute in any way to the success he felt his wife deserved for her tireless hard work.

Once she finished her final touches, Aerith helped him carry the flowers out to his waiting motorcycle. Cloud had worked with Cid to customize the side compartments to be better able to transport the delicate arrangements, so they'd arrive as if they'd been picked up in person.

As Cloud finished carefully storing the flower deliveries, he paused before hopping on Fenrir. He looked back at the house he'd built for them with pride. It hadn't been easy, but he was willing to move mountains for her. Purchasing the building behind her stall had nearly drained his savings, but it was a small price to pay. The hardest part had been converting it to meet their needs.

The first floor was dedicated to the flower shop, with large glass windows to easily allow the sun inside. Their personal living space was contained to the second floor, complete with a kitchen, living room, bathroom, and bedroom. It wasn't the most stunning of homes, but he was still proud of it because of how personal it felt to have built it from the ground up. He was already planning the next round of upgrades.

When he'd asked her why she was so attached to this particular location, Aerith had admitted it was because she'd felt like she didn't deserve anything better. Now, however, she wanted to remain because it was where they'd first met. Cloud smiled fondly to himself as he threw his leg over Fenrir.

"Drive safely," Aerith said, leaning over to kiss him—her lips moving away too soon. "There are only a few deliveries today, so you should be home early. We'll have plenty of time to watch a movie together or... something." She winked.

Cloud chuckled and slipped on his helmet, fastening it tight.

"Love you!" he called out in farewell, starting up the bike as she stepped away. He eagerly set out on his route, looking forward to completing it so he could spend the rest of the day in the arms of the woman he loved.

It honestly feels kind of weird to be posting the end of this story after working on it for so long. I started back at the very end of October so it's been almost exactly two months since then. The story has come to mean so much to me, and as I said in the opening note, I really hope I was able to tell a story that made you feel. I also have to once again thank my absolutely incredible beta Lichtschwert for all of the incredible feedback that really helped polish this story and take it to the next level. This story would not be the same without you. Thank you.

For those of you who liked this story, I have some good news and some bad news. The good news is that the story isn't over just yet! I've got both a prequel AND a sequel planned within this universe. The prequel will be my first ever foray into Cloud/Jessie, detailing the story of how he met Avalanche and everything up until that one, fateful day. It was a lot of fun to write the two of them together in his flashback, and I felt like I needed to give them their own moment to shine. The sequel, on the other hand, picks up shortly after the epilogue you just finished. Cloud has made some… unfortunate mistakes over the course of this story, and there are going to be consequences for them. Don't worry, it's still a happy ending for our two love chocobos!

The bad news is that both of these stories aren't going to show up for quite a while. I've actually been working on a separate Clerith AU for about a month now while working on polishing up this story. It's VERY different from anything else I've worked on, but I'm having so much fun writing it. It's also going to be quite a bit longer than anything I've written before so I'll be moving back to posting as I go instead of after it's all finished like I did this time. I hope some of you will enjoy it, I'm trying to explore another side of our favorite pair, while still keeping their unique bond intact. I've got a very small teaser from the first chapter here for you, which I hope to have posted around mid-January.

Sneak Peek

"Look, I'm glad you're amused, but I need an answer. Tonight," Rufus said firmly.

Her smile widened as she saw his throat bob and his eyes dart from hers once he finished talking. This was exactly what she enjoyed about their interactions. Why he was one of the few clients she even accepted multiple requests from. Rufus might have been the president of Shinra Electric, with hundreds of employees at his beck and call, but that didn't mean he wasn't terrified of her.

Aerith thrived on that terror—drinking it like a fine wine.

"My, my, so insistent tonight," she purred, dropping her hand back to the table and directing her entire attention at him. She struggled not to laugh as she saw him shift uncomfortably in his chair. This was too much fun. "Who's the target?"

"Can I take that as your agreement to the assignment, then?"

"Who's. The. Target?" Aerith hissed, not pleased to have to repeat herself.

There was a long pause as Rufus reached up and loosened his tie, a bead of sweat tracing down his brow. "A researcher. From Junon. He's been in town for a week."