A/N: Almost done with the story! Thanks to everyone who has been reading!

Zack

Zack was feeling guilty about how his appearance made Cloud take a turn for the worse. He was debating completely scraping his plan with Tifa and letting Cloud move on without those horrific memories. Cloud was probably better off without him, but he wasn't. He needed Cloud, and he didn't care if that made him selfish.

The past few weeks he felt lonelier than he ever had his whole life. At least in the lab they had each other. But being out on the road alone, believing his best friend to be dead. That was the worst feeling.

"I've got keys to his apartment, he might still be asleep though so be quiet," said Tifa, "Wait here for a minute so I can check on him."

Zack nodded. A few minutes later she called out for him.

"You can come in now," Tifa whisper-shouted, "He seems to be okay to talk right."

He found Cloud sitting up in his bed, hands on his face and looking down. Tifa was sitting next to him, massaging his back in circles.

"Hey Cloud," said Zack gently, "Do you remember me?"

Cloud slowly moved his hands from his face. Their Mako laced eyes met each other.

"Zack. You're Zack."

"Yeah Spikey! I'm Zack. I'm so happy to see you. Do you remember what happened?"

"N..no. I remember some things. Hojo, the lab. But why? Why was I there? Is it why I'm this messed up?"

Zack gave a quick run down of what he told Tifa earlier today. Reliving those memories twice in one day was a lot for him, but he powered through for Cloud.

"Ahhh" said Cloud quietly, "I still don't remember. Sorry."

"That's alright Spikey. Nothing good happened there anyways. I'm glad you don't remember," said Zack.

"Yeah but, I don't really know why I know you either. It sounded like we were close. Also, why do you keep calling me Spikey? My name is Cloud."

His heart fell.

"We were there together. We took care of each other. We were…we were brothers. And I called you Spikey because I could," he ended lightly.

There was more silence, and Zack slowly moved to sit next to him.

"Don't worry about anything Spike. I'm here. I'll take care of you," said Zack.

"I'm really tired," Cloud said, "Can you leave for a bit?"

"Oh..alright. I'll see you around then."

Tifa got up to leave too. Cloud grabbed her hand, "Can you stay?"

At this point Zack was too overwhelmed. Cloud never asked him to leave. Even when they fought in their cell, they always stayed close.

He shut the door and walked off, not bothering to hear Tifa's answer.

As he walked through Sector 7, he decided it was time to go see Aerith. Cloud could meet her later, when he was feeling better. His spirits rose at the thought of seeing her after all these years.

He found her near the church. She was tending to her flowers in a pink dress, ribbon in her hair. As he walked towards her, she looked up.

"Zack," said Aerith. She looked like she'd seen a ghost. In her defense, she probably thought he was dead.

"Hi Aerith."

She dropped her basket and ran to him. They hugged. This was exactly the reunion he imagined. His heart was fluttering.

"I knew you weren't dead. Where were you all this time?" She asked.

Not wanting to repeat what happened for a third time, he tiredly said, "How about tomorrow? Right now I'm just happy to see you."

"Of course. Come on! I'll show you my flower garden."

They walked around the garden together. He listened to her chatter away about what she'd been up to the past few years. She kept it light, but he could tell something was wrong with her too. Tomorrow, he told himself. Today was going to be happy. He needed it after what happened with Cloud.

He knew deep down Cloud would remember him. They'd been through too much to assume anything otherwise. He just needed to be patient. He was glad Tifa was with him, keeping him company with less torturous memories. That should be enough after everything they'd been through. Cloud was a fighter, he would get through it.

Seeing how happy Aerith was around him filled him up with hope for Cloud. For the first time in years, he was truly optimistic for the future. They would all get their happy ending soon. Him, Cloud, Tifa and Aerith. He was sure of it.