THIRTY-TWO

Early the next morning, Jessie and I sat outside on the front porch of Aerith's house in a pair of cushioned wooden chairs by the door. The splashing of the waterfall filled our ears while I worked with her on her exercises, doing what I could to help her get her strength and mobility back. I didn't have much experience with physical therapy, but Zangan had taught me a few things about muscles and training, so used what I knew to help Jessie with her recovery.

She seemed a bit stronger today, her movements not as sluggish or as strained as they'd been lately. Her attention did wander from time to time, though, and I had to remind her every now and then to focus on what we were doing. But I couldn't really blame her. Cloud was outside as well, training by himself over in the yard and working up a sweat as he expertly swung his sword through the air. Jessie sighed happily, her bright brown eyes finding him again.

"Over here, lovergirl," I teased gently, waving at her.

Jessie giggled. "Hmm? Oh, sorry, Tifa. Guess you caught me, huh? Cloud's just such a dream to look at…"

I knew he was. "Can't deny that. Try moving it again."

"You guys all set for tomorrow?" she asked as she slowly flexed her injured wrist. "It's the big day, after all."

"We're as ready as we'll ever be," I nodded.

As I'd thought we would, Barret, Lena, Red, and I had made it back here yesterday before Cloud and the others, and we'd all had quite a bit to talk about once they'd shown up. I shuddered as I thought about the underground test site they'd found with all those people floating inside the mako tubes. Shinra was involved in so many horrible things, and I wondered how we could ever stop them. Jessie had promised to get the data Lena had saved to Reeve to keep it safe.

That was a start, at least. But from what Cloud and Aerith had told us, Sephiroth was the greater threat. So tomorrow we were gonna leave Midgar and start after him. I'd miss my friends here, but at least I knew they were alright. The truck was ready, parked just down the road a bit from the house, and its fresh paint glistened in the daylight—deep red instead of the sky blue it had started out as. Barret, Red, and Biggs were out in town getting supplies, and Wedge and Lena were spending some time alone together, probably at her place.

Jessie kept working her arm, pushing herself like always. "Good to know. It'll be different when you're gone, though."

"I'll miss you, too," I smiled.

"You'll keep in touch, won't you?" she asked.

I nodded. "When we can. Like you said, Shinra watches the phone lines and cell towers, so it probably won't be often. Don't need to draw attention to ourselves and tell them where we are."

"Yeah, makes sense," Jessie agreed. She smirked. "Kinda defeats the purpose of sneaking around outside when ya hold up a big sign saying 'Here we are, Shinra! Come and find us!'"

"That'd definitely be something to see," I chuckled.

She joined me, her eyes dancing. They were a lot brighter now, the mako glow in them clear and unmistakable. Barret and the others had finally noticed it last night, gaping in surprise as she had showed them off to everyone and laughed. She seemed fine, and Aerith hadn't found anything wrong with her when she'd looked her over, but I still worried what might come of her change. And there was something else as well. It had been on my mind for a while now.

"Jessie…" I began, lowering my voice. "There's something I've been meaning to talk to you about."

She paused in her exercises. "What's on your mind?"

I sighed. "It's about Cloud…"

"You're worried about those attacks he's been having," she said. "So am I, Tifa. I've seen them, too."

"Has he told you anything about it?" I asked.

Jessie shook her head. "No. But I can tell it's bothering him."

I frowned. "I wonder if Sephiroth's involved…"

"I think he is," she said. "One more reason to kick his ass. But I also wanna know something, Tifa. When we were listening to Cloud's story, did anything seem off about it to you?"

I nodded. "Yes. More than I'd like to admit."

Jessie slowly flexed her wrist again. "Thought so. You had that look on your face. And since you've known him longer than any of us, you'd be able to tell if anything wasn't adding up."

"It seemed like it was bothering you, too," I noted.

"Yeah…" she sighed.

But I didn't understand how or why that was possible. Jessie hadn't met Cloud until recently. "Care to explain?"

"In a bit," she said. "But how about you go first?"

I kept my voice low so only Jessie could hear me. Although I could tell that Cloud was still intent on his training and wasn't listening to us at the moment, I didn't wanna take any chances. So I leaned a bit closer to Jessie until my mouth was almost at her ear.

"I don't think Cloud was at Nibelheim," I murmured. "At least, not that I can remember. It was someone else instead, a SOLDIER who had black hair. And I think his name was—"

"Zack," Jessie finished.

My jaw dropped. "How did you know?"

She went on, as quiet as I was. "I met him once, Tifa. Years ago, the day he and Sephiroth left for Nibelheim. Back when I was still working at Shinra. I'd only been there a year. He flirted with me a little, though I was more interested in his friend."

I listened carefully as she explained how she'd unwittingly collided with that trooper in her rush to get back to work and had been helped up by none other than Sephiroth. It was amazing, really. And then she told me how he had left and Zack had come up later while the trooper had helped her gather the papers she'd dropped.

When Jessie admitted to shyly inviting him to see her, I chuckled a little, hardly able to believe she'd ever been that way with as forward as she was these days. But, as Marissa had also told me, she'd been quite a bit different back then and not as outgoing, confident, and self-assured as she was now. As she kept talking, I slowly realized that she was very carefully avoiding the topic of who the trooper was. And as I was about to ask, she shifted the story over to Zack again.

"He peeked around the stairs to tell his friend that they had to go," she said. "So I only saw part of him. That's when I asked the trooper to come see me when he got back. I couldn't see his face with that helmet, but he had such a sexy voice. I loved it."

"Sounds nice," I smiled. "So who was he?"

Jessie shrugged. "He never actually told me his name. And I kinda forgot to give him mine. But anyway, Zack showed up like I said. It was only for a minute or so, but I remember him. Bit of a charmer, actually. Told me I was pretty enough to be worth being late to his mission for. I never saw him again after that day, though."

I hadn't missed how she'd quickly moved past the trooper's identity again and had cleverly switched the conversation back to Zack. I didn't know why she didn't wanna talk about it, but I decided to leave it alone for now. Jessie must've had her reasons, and I trusted her. I also wanted to know more about Zack and how he fit into this. My mind was full of questions and not nearly enough answers.

"So that's why Cloud's story bothered you…" I said, understanding. "You knew Zack had gone to Nibelheim."

Jessie nodded. "Right. And although it took me a while since it had been so long, I eventually recognized Cloud's sword. Have you, Tifa? It used to be Zack's. I didn't get to see him for very long, but he had it on his back that day just like Cloud does."

I had, alright. "Yeah, Jessie. I remember. But why does Cloud have it now? And what happened to Zack?"

"I don't know…" she sighed, shaking her head.

"None of this makes sense," I agreed.

Jessie went on. "Cloud's not lying—I think we can both see that he really believes he was there. So something else is going on. I think you and I should keep a close eye on him, Tifa."

"I think so, too," I said. "And let's not say anything to him yet. I'm a little scared of what might happen if we do. I don't want Cloud to have a breakdown or worse, especially if Sephiroth's involved. Those fits and headaches of his might be connected to it."

"They've gotta be," she replied.

I went on. "I heard you had a little episode yourself yesterday when you were in Sector 7, Jessie. You okay?"

She looked away. "Yeah, I think so. I feel fine."

"From what Biggs told me last night, it was kinda like the ones that Cloud's been having," I continued. "And that worries me. Do you think it's related? You've never had them until now."

"It could be, Tifa," Jessie admitted. "To be honest, I'm a little scared myself. I don't know what it all means. Cloud hasn't talked to me about it yet, and I don't wanna go into it right now, either. He's got enough on his mind as it is, and I don't wanna worry him."

I laid a hand on her shoulder. "I understand, Jessie. You know, I'm really glad you're here with me. If you weren't—like all the other times this has played out—I wouldn't know what to do. I'd have just kept it all bottled up inside and hoped for the best."

She smiled. "Happy to be here for ya, big sister."

"That's you too, you know," I gently reminded her as I returned the favor. "We'll figure this mystery out together, don't worry. But for now, I think we should keep it just between us."

Jessie nodded. "Gotcha. Oh, and I think it'd be best if we didn't say anything to Aerith about Zack, either. Not yet, anyway. He was her first love, you see. Like Kunsel was to me. Aerith told me about him when I was still living here way back when."

I blinked. "I didn't know that. You're right, though. And even if we did, there isn't very much we could tell her anyway. We still don't know what happened to him or where he is. So it'll be our secret for now. But if we ever do find out, we'll let her know."

"Definitely," Jessie agreed. Then she smirked impishly at me. "And speaking of cute guys, are you gonna have that drink with Biggs before ya leave tomorrow? You know he'd love it."

I blushed and ran a hand through my hair. "Oh, um… yeah. We've already set it up, actually. I'm meeting him outside the Leaf House later tonight. Says he knows a good place in town that we can go to. It won't be the same as Seventh Heaven, of course, but it should be nice. We can sit outside and just relax for a while."

"Sounds like a date to me!" she giggled.

"W-What?" I stammered. "No, um, it's just drinks, that's all. I, uh… I didn't wanna leave without keeping my promise to him. That's all it is, really. I-It's nothing like… what you said."

Jessie didn't look convinced. "Sure… just keep telling yourself that, Tifa. But I know better. And you're excited."

"I-I don't know what you mean!" I insisted, my cheeks red.

"The hell you don't!" she laughed.

I didn't wanna admit it, but I knew Jessie was right. I hadn't gotten to see Biggs alone since I'd left to go to Wall Market the night the plate had come down. And it was more than just keeping a promise, though it scared me a little to think about it. Despite the looks and attention I'd always gotten at Seventh Heaven, I didn't really have a lot of experience with this sort of thing. But even so… I couldn't deny that I was looking forward to tonight. Fortunately, I got a reprieve when the door opened and Aerith stepped outside with a grin.

"Hi, guys!" she said, walking over to lean against the porch railing. "I see you've been busy admiring the view."

Jessie gazed at Cloud again. "Oh, hell yeah. You bet!"

I had to agree. "Sure is nice."

"Too true!" Aerith chuckled. "Anyway, Marlene's gonna be waking up from her nap soon, Jessie, so I thought we could get things ready for your little dinner date with Cloud. Mom's working late at the clinic and I'll be heading into town with Barret, Red, and Marlene for a while, so you oughta have a few hours to yourselves."

Jessie beamed. "Awesome!"

She smirked. "But first, there's something that Tifa and I wanna tell you. It's about Wall Market and the little adventure you had there a few years back. Trust me, Jessie. You'll love it!"

"It really is amazing," I agreed, knowing what she meant.

"Well, then, spill it!" Jessie laughed.

So we did, telling her about what we and Cloud had learned about her exploits in Wall Market, how her showdown with Don Corneo and her daring escape from his twisted mansion had become a local legend. Jessie listened in open-mouthed wonder as Aerith explained how what she'd done that fateful night had inspired so many young women of the town and had given them courage and hope.

"And that's why they call you Firebrand," Aerith said. "The grenade and your hair, you know. And how you torched Abzu. Made our battle with him a lot easier, if you ask me."

Jessie smiled. "Oh, wow… I never knew about all this. About being a legend and all. Didn't have a clue. Makes me so happy that I was able to help those girls, though, even if I didn't have any idea I was doing it. Feels good, you know? Never been a hero before…"

"Well, you are now," I smirked.

"Firebrand, huh?" she chuckled. "I like it. I like it a lot."

Aerith grinned. "It definitely suits you."

"Well, since I'm planning on heading over to Wall Market in a few days anyway, I'll have to stop by and see Lydia," Jessie said. "She helped out so much in Sector 7, and I wanna thank her."

"That'll make her day," I agreed.

Jessie winked. "Exactly!"

Aerith went back to the door and opened it. "And in the meantime, Jessie, let's get you ready for tonight."

Holding onto her chair, Jessie slowly stood up, brushing off Aerith's attempt to help her. Instead, her legs still wobbly, she limped unsteadily toward the door, her hands moving to the wall to support herself. She'd been able to move her wounded arm around a bit more and was able to use it to stay upright as long as she put some weight on it. Aerith and I watched, knowing how much she wanted to regain her strength and be independent again. And we knew she would.

I was waiting outside the Leaf House like we'd planned as night fell across the slums. Although I was pretty much back in one piece again, I still had a few aches here and there. Nothing too bad, but of course it hadn't kept Lena from fretting about it when I'd stopped by to visit her and Wedge at her place a little while ago. After all we'd gone through at the pillar, though, I couldn't blame her.

I'd considered grabbing a few flowers from one of the gardens that Aerith, Ms. Folia, and the rest of the staff had planted along the side of the building, but then I'd changed my mind. I didn't wanna push things too fast. I'd already made that mistake with Jessie a year and a half ago, and I wanted it to be different with Tifa.

I hadn't dressed up all fancy, either. As I'd insisted to Lena, me and Tifa were just gonna have a drink together. Like friends always do. She hadn't bought it, though. I don't think Wedge did, either. But neither of 'em had pushed me about it. So here I was, wearing an outfit that was a lot like my old one—mostly dark green, with my leather gloves, boots, and belt, and I also had my red headband.

When Tifa showed up a few minutes later, I felt my heart slam into my ribs so hard I had to remember how to breathe. She hadn't dressed up either, but she was still beautiful. Although I did my best to act cool and casual, I didn't have Jessie's skill at that kinda thing, so I didn't pull it off as well as I'd hoped. Still, Tifa didn't seem to mind. I gave her one of my crooked little grins as she walked up.

"Hey there, Tifa," I said.

She smiled, filling my stomach with feathers. "Hi, Biggs! Looks like we're all set to—what's that you've got there?"

I was holding a small, flat box in my hands. "Oh, this? I, uh… I got ya something while I was out today. Go on and open it, Tif. I hope they fit alright. Had to guess on the size."

"Aw, you shouldn't have…" Tifa chuckled.

I handed her the box and watched, more nervous than I wanted to admit, as she opened it. When she'd taken the lid off and looked inside, she gasped in delight and just gazed at her gift for a moment. A pair of tough leather fighting gloves, but different from the ones she had now. These had been fitted with a shiny mythril backing with three materia slots—two linked and one unlinked.

"Oh, Biggs…" Tifa beamed. "They're wonderful!"

I smirked. "Let's see ya try 'em on."

After taking the gloves out of the box and giving it back to me, Tifa took off her old ones, put them away, and put on the new pair one at a time. She flexed her fingers, stretching out the black leather of her new gloves, and pulled them snug over her wrists.

"You did great," she said. "They fit really nice."

I grinned and pointed at her hand. "There's more, Tifa. Make a fist and squeeze it tight. This is the best part."

Tifa nodded eagerly, then did what I'd said. She held her right arm up in front her, then clenched her fist tight. Almost as soon as she did, three long, curved mythril blades shot out from the front of the glove's metal backing to hover over her knuckles, sharp claws ready to rip into anything stupid enough to attack her.

"Oh, yeah," she agreed. "I am so liking this!"

I went on. "Since you're leaving tomorrow, I figured you could use a beefier weapon to kick ass with. Never know what kinda things you'll run into out there. Also, the guy at the weapon shop said these mythril claws can even make your magic stronger."

Tifa blinked. "Really?"

"Yeah," I answered. "Has to do with the mythril, I think. Supposed to be some kind of natural amplifier or something. And you can focus that magic to set some kinda trap for your enemies, too. Dunno how it works, but it oughta come in handy."

She flicked her wrist, and the blades retracted. Then she threw her arms around me. "Thank you so much…"

"Sure," I said, a little unsteadily. "Glad you like 'em."

Neither of us let go right away. It felt so good to hold her, so right. I didn't ever want it to end. When we looked at each other, her eyes held onto mine so tight I thought I'd lose myself in 'em. And I wouldn't have minded one bit. The moment seemed to stretch on forever, and it only ended when we heard a fit of giggling nearby.

Tifa and I backed away from each other as if we'd caught fire, both our cheeks red. And when we looked in the direction the laughter had come from, I wasn't surprised to see a few of the kids peeking through one of the first floor windows. Maddy, Oates, Sarah, and Ben. The four of 'em were grinning at us and pointing.

"Alright, guys, cut it out," I chuckled, shaking my head.

Maddy opened the window and smirked. "You and your girlfriend are just so cute together, Biggs!"

I swallowed. "W-What? I mean, uh…"

"Bring her to the hideout sometime!" Sarah added.

"We'll see," I said. "In the meantime, you guys best get settled in for the night. Ms. Folia's got lots of activities planned for ya tomorrow. I'll probably be out most of the morning, but I'll swing back over this way and see you in the afternoon for a while."

Oates waved. "Sure thing, Biggs. Enjoy your date!"

My jaw fell open, but nothing came out. I didn't even wanna know what Tifa was thinking. Amidst another fit of giggling, Maddy and the rest of the kids closed the window and disappeared. At first, Tifa and I just stood there, neither of us looking at each other. I was almost afraid to. What would she think? What did she feel?

Finally, I turned to her. "Uh, sorry about that…"

"Oh, um, it's okay," Tifa assured me, blushing furiously.

"Thanks," I said, still damn nervous. "So… you, um… ready to go? The place is just down the road."

Tifa nodded. "Of course! Lead the way."

Relaxing a bit, I did. As we walked casually down the narrow street next to each other, following it as it turned past the clinic, neither of us said anything about the kids and how they'd teased us. We talked about other stuff—the journey she was going on tomorrow, how much better Jessie was doing, what I was gonna do after Tifa and the others had left for Kalm, and more—but always danced carefully around what tonight was to us and what the kids thought we were.

It was more of the same once we finally got to the little bar with its tables outside. But as we kicked back and enjoyed our drinks together, how I felt about her was always at the front of my mind. As close as she and I had gotten lately, though, I doubted she was interested. She was a powerful fighter, tough as nails, and while I could handle things in the slums well enough, I didn't hold a candle to her.

Tifa was outta my league, and I knew it. Why would she ever want a guy like me? She'd probably be better off with someone stronger, who could back her up in a fight. But as often as I'd told myself that, it never seemed to matter. Whenever she smiled at me, I felt as if anything was possible. And that maybe I had a chance after all.

Twilight was slowly falling over the slums as I stood in the garden, Buster in hand. I'd finished up my training for the day and was holding the blade carefully in front of me in both hands, pointing it upward. As I held it, I closed my eyes for a moment and bowed my head. I couldn't remember where I'd learned this little exercise, but it helped me focus, so I did it whenever I practiced my skills.

Embrace your dreams… and whatever happens, protect your honor. Always remember that, buddy.

My eyes flew open, startled by the voice. It wasn't Sephiroth's, but it was still familiar somehow. There was no one there, of course. It wasn't the interior voice of that strange little kid that I'd heard inside me once in a while, either. This was from memory, some faint image hovering at the edge of my mind. It slipped away every time I tried to catch it, until I finally gave up with a long, tired sigh. I felt like I should know who it was, and it bothered me that I didn't.

"You okay, Cloud?" Aerith asked as she walked up.

I nodded as I shouldered Buster. "Yeah. I was just finishing up out here. Training, you know. Where's Jessie?"

She smiled. "Inside, waiting for you. Dinner's ready."

"Oh, uh… okay," I said. "Guess I'll join her."

"Have fun!" Marlene giggled.

Aerith was holding her hand. "Yep! We're gonna go see Barret and Red and have ourselves a night on the town! Within reason, of course, since we've got little Marlene with us."

"I see," I told her. "Try to keep Barret outta trouble."

She laughed. "Now that's pushing it!"

After giving her a faint smirk, I headed toward the house while she and Marlene walked down the curving dirt path toward town. I almost didn't wanna leave this place tomorrow what with how peaceful it was, but I didn't have much choice. I had to go after Sephiroth and settle up. At least I could leave knowing that Jessie was okay. That made it easier. But that strange headache she'd had yesterday bothered me. It was a lot like the ones I'd been having. Too much.

Had I passed on more than my blood and mako to her? Was there something else going on? As I slowly walked onto the porch, I stopped for a moment, remembering Sephiroth's words to me back in President Shinra's office. From what he'd said, Jessie had been unwittingly drawn into this whole thing somehow. Through me. And he had some sort of plan to take advantage of it. To use her somehow.

The hell you will, Sephiroth, I swore. You'll never touch her.

Taking a breath to steady myself, I got moving again. There wasn't much I could do about it right now, and I didn't intend to waste the last night Jessie and I would have together for a while worrying about it. So I walked over to the door and headed inside.

Jessie was there waiting for me, sitting on the sofa. She'd dressed up for the occasion, her hair spilling down freely over the shoulders of her dark blue blouse. The sleeves were short, showing off her slender arms, and on her right one I could see faint, round scars here and there from where she'd been shot in the pillar that night. They'd fade eventually, of course, but I doubted they'd ever fully heal. Jessie would never be what she once was. She'd been hurt too much.

I looked at her white ankle-length skirt. "Bit of a different look for you, isn't it? Uh, not that it's bad or anything."

"It's not my usual style, that's true," Jessie admitted.

"Well, um… I like it," I told her.

She smiled as I sat down next to her. "Thanks, Cloud. Since this is gonna be our last night together for a while, I wanted to dress up. And to look nice for our date, too. Aerith was a big help. Gave me the run of her wardrobe. Whatever I wanted to wear."

"You look great, Jessie," I said, my heart pounding.

She laughed. "Oh, another compliment from the cold-eyed merc? I think I may faint! You're just so sweet."

The corner of my mouth turned up a little. "I'd catch you."

"You'd better, SOLDIER boy," Jessie teased.

Then she kissed me, her lips touching mine as she pulled me to her with her good arm. Lightning shot through my brain, and I had a hard time thinking about much of anything—the feel of her mouth moving against mine blew away any sort of rational thought for at least a good thirty seconds. And I couldn't get enough of it.

I finally had to come up for air. "Good start for tonight."

"I thought so," Jessie agreed.

"I, uh… forgot to get changed, though," I said.

She ran her good hand lightly over the front of my sleeveless black tunic and winked. "Oh, that's okay, Cloud. I just love a guy in uniform. It is so sexy. So don't you worry about a thing."

"Thanks," I replied. Then I looked at the table. "Pizza?"

Jessie chuckled. "Of course! It's what I promised you. Aerith helped me a little, but believe it or not, I did most of the work. Wasn't easy, but I'm not gonna heal if I don't push myself."

I knew she was right, of course, and I was impressed. "Smells good, Jessie. But what's with the candles?"

The table had been set for two, with a light pink tablecloth, plates, glasses, napkins, and a large round pan in the middle with a whole pie just for us. And there were also two candles, long and thin and red and burning softly at the tips. With all of the lights off, they filled the room with a warm, welcoming yellow glow.

"It's supposed to be romantic," Jessie giggled.

I blinked. "Oh, uh… I see."

She took my hand and smirked. "Come on, Cloud. Let's go eat. You don't want my home-cooked pizza to get cold!"

Sliding my arm around Jessie's waist, I helped her to her feet. Then we headed over to the table. Her steps were slow and unsteady, but she never stopped. Once we got there, Jessie let go of me and held onto the table to stay upright while I pulled her chair out for her. Once she'd sat down, I carefully pushed it back in.

"Aw, you're such a gentleman, Cloud!" Jessie quipped.

I sat down across from her. "Thanks, I guess."

She reached for a slice of pizza. "You know, this reminds me of the first time we ever had dinner together."

"It was my second night in the slums," I remembered, filling up my plate. "I'd gone on my first escort run with you that day. And you'd also shown me the Hardy. Seems ages ago now."

"Time really flies, doesn't it?" Jessie murmured.

I nodded. "Sure does."

We ate and we talked—well, it was more me listening to Jessie talk and occasionally saying something in return, but neither of us minded. We'd always been that way and were pretty comfortable with it by now. Jessie reminisced about some of the things we'd done together—riding the Hardy, parachuting off the plate, our picnic in the secret place, our first kiss after she'd beaten Tifa in that sparring match, blowing up that nest of eaters, and our midair reunion when I'd flown in and saved her in the pillar that night, changing her fate.

When we were finished, we went back to the sofa and sat together. There was something I wanted to tell her, that she needed to know, but now that the moment was finally here, I wasn't quite sure how to do it. I knew, more than anyone, just how much it had been weighing on her and keeping her up at night—her emotional breakdown in the Sector 4 underplate was still vividly clear in my mind—and the terrible sense of guilt she still felt about what had happened.

"Did you like dinner?" Jessie asked, taking my hand.

I nodded. "Yeah. I did eat half a pie, after all."

She smiled. "Thanks. I aim to please!"

"Sure," I said. "Jessie… there's something I wanna tell you. Haven't really had a chance to do it until now."

"What is it?" she wondered.

I gazed intently at her. "When Tifa, Barret, and I were at Reactor 5 and Shinra cornered us in that trap outside, President Shinra talked to us through a hologram, taunted us. That's how we found out that you'd been in Shinra—he told us himself."

Jessie sighed. "Yeah. Barret explained what happened when he and Tifa came back to the bar without you."

"Right," I said. "But there was something else, too."

She blinked. "What do you mean?"

I went on, my eyes never leaving hers. "The president also said that Shinra had made sure the reactors would go up. They screwed with the second bomb, and they must've done something with Reactor 1 as well. I don't know how, but it was them. Not you."

"What…?" Jessie's jaw fell open. "Are you… are you sure?"

I nodded. "Positive. The bastard was gloating about it. Jessie, what happened in Sector 8 wasn't your fault. Your bomb didn't cause all that death and destruction. Shinra did."

For a while, she didn't say anything. She just looked away, her face a mixture of surprise, wonder, and profound relief. It was the first time I'd ever seen her at a loss for words. As I watched, she slowly closed her eyes and let out a long, deep breath as if a heavy weight had just rolled off her shoulders. Tears slid slowly down her cheeks, and I couldn't tell if they were happy or sad. Maybe both. But when she finally did look at me again a few minutes later, she was smiling.

"Oh, Cloud…" she breathed.

I held her as she leaned against me. "Jessica…"

Her eyes were still wet, but they glowed more brightly and fiercely in that moment than what any amount of mako could've caused. Jessie kissed me again, the intense pressure of her lips slamming passionately into mine telling me what she couldn't put into words just yet. Volts of current seared through my blood as I responded, showing her through my own awkward affection that I understood.

Jessie's tongue dove into my mouth, dancing with mine as she held me against her with all the strength she could manage. Caught there in the middle, I could barely breathe, but I didn't care. The moment went on and on, as if it would never end. She didn't stop or even slow down, and I was almost overwhelmed by the sheer ferocity of her passion and love. I knew where it came from, of course, so I did my best to keep up with her and give her as much as she gave me.

Eventually, Jessie pulled away, as completely out of breath as I was. "Wow… talk about a major moment…"

"You alright?" I asked.

"More than you can imagine," she smiled, hugging me.

I held her close. "Good. I knew, even after what happened between us in the underplate that day, that it was still bothering you. How guilty you still felt about the bombings."

Jessie nodded. "Yeah… that kinda thing, it doesn't go away easily. I used to live in Sector 8, you know. Back when I was still acting. And… and when I saw what it was like after Reactor 1 went up… fire burning everything, people hurt and dying… it tore me apart inside. Seeing my old home devastated like that… a place I'd lived in for years and had so many good memories of… was heartbreaking."

"I know, Jessie," I told her. "You talk in your sleep sometimes. And cry. I've seen it a lot lately, even here."

"And all this time, it wasn't my fault," she murmured.

I shook my head. "It was Shinra."

Jessie laid her head on my shoulder. "You know, Cloud, that night, when we first came out of the tunnel and saw what was left of Sector 8, I felt like I'd become everything I hated, everything that I'd been trying to get away from for so long. I felt…"

"Like you'd become exactly what Scarlet wanted," I finished for her. "What she tried to turn you into."

"Exactly," Jessie said, wiping her eyes.

I gently took her by the chin and lifted her face toward mine. "But you're not, Jessie. You didn't. It wasn't your fault."

Her kiss was more tender this time. "Yeah. It wasn't."

"You're not Scarlet," I reminded her.

"Not even close," she agreed. "Thanks, Cloud. Thank you so much. This means everything to me. Now I can finally find some peace about it. And maybe a little about my past, too."

I gave her a faint smile. "Good. You need it."

"I'm gonna seriously kick Shinra's ass, though," Jessie went on, only half-joking. There was steel in her eyes and voice. "And I think I know now how they did it. Same as with Reactor 3."

I remembered. "By remotely controlling the mechs. Only this time, they sent them after the core, not people. It had to have been after we'd left mako storage, otherwise we'd have seen it."

"Yeah," she agreed. "I should've thought of this ages ago."

"No way you could've known," I told her.

Jessie nodded. "I guess you're right. What matters is that they were the ones who caused all that death and destruction that night. Not me. And I'm pretty sure I know who was behind it."

"Your dad," I said. "Right. I gave him a little chin music on the way outta the Shinra Building, if you don't mind. He won't be forgetting me anytime soon. Not with a scar like that."

"Hah! You must've been pissed," she laughed.

I kissed her. "Bet your ass I was."

"He talked about me?" Jessie wondered.

"Yeah," I answered. "Not in a good way, either. And I made sure he knew just how big a mistake that was."

She snuggled closer to me. "Thanks, Cloud. I appreciate it."

"I won't let him hurt you again," I promised.

When Jessie's lips found mine, I let her pull me in again. This time it was slower, softer, but still passionate. We stayed that way for a while, savoring every moment, our tongues dancing and our mouths melding together. I didn't know when I'd see her again after tomorrow morning, so I wanted to enjoy what time I could with her.

"Hey, Cloud…" she breathed. "We can… if you want."

I blinked. "You sure?"

Jessie gazed hungrily at me. "If we're careful. I won't be as energetic as usual, though. Or as flexible. So you'll have to help me a little and be more in control. Think you're up for it?"

"Of course," I told her.

"Then what are we waiting for?" she smirked.

Getting to my feet, I gently picked her up and held her in my arms, one around her waist and the other under her thighs. Jessie smiled and wrapped her good arm around my shoulder while her other one rested in her lap. Her eyes glowed with mako and happiness when she looked up at me. I knew we'd only have a few hours before the others got back, but that would be more than enough.

Holding Jessie close, I carried her upstairs.