A/N: Get ready for some fluff. I'm not so good at it. Oh, also, I have a good idea about a Kingdom Hearts Squffie pairing. Keep your eyes peeled.

Beeria: I know it's freaky, but it was the only way for me to get Cloud to have mako eyes. I mean, it wouldn't work if he could take off the helmet, right?

Angelicxox: I'm glad you do. I tried to make the fight good, even if Sephiroth went down so easily. Yeah, Laura's back. Who knows about their future? Well, I do, but you'll have to stick through to find out.

Teddy-the-Bear: Hellz yeah! His Omnislash is da bomb! Vincent is just prepared. After all, he is a wanted criminal.

RoxasXNamine: You reviewed again! I try to put in suspense. It's my thing, y'know?

Bdsproductions: Skimmed! Wow, you make me feel special…geez. Just kidding. The whole J-Pop thing was just because I like Hikaru Utada. And I felt he deserved been fried.

scarlettHuntress: Any suggestions? I was just bored with the whole toes bit. Also, the hooks in the helmet were my way of keeping said helmet on Brandon's spiky head.

Princess of the Knight: He might…or I could make it so everyone dies. Hehe…too bad I like happy endings so much. I'll do my best with the whole writing thing.

Raitokage: I knew it! Thanks for clearing that up. And I try to type fast. Of course, it is slowing down a bit now that my step father came back…

Li the Twilight Knight: It's cool that you didn't review as long as you read. I really like how this story is, too. It's almost like I'm just reading it as I type it. There's absolutely no foresight in this. I really wish the real world was like this, too. That would be totally awesome. If only I could have a KH adventure…Anyways, Sephiroth is going down for real soon. Who's going down with him, though? Thanks for reviewing.

Chapter Thirteen

When Laura walked into the house, she was immediately tackled with a hug. "Are you all right, dear?" Brandon's mother asked, releasing her. "Do you need anything?"

Laura glanced at Brandon. It was hard to tell where he was looking with those sunglasses on, but she could feel his gaze on her. It made a faint blush appear on her face. She knew he was worried, and, in a way, that made her feel better.

"No, I'm fine," she reassured her.

"Tell me yourself next time before you spend the night at someone's house, you hear?" she said.

Laura nodded again but slipped a thankful look to Brandon for the cover-up. One corner of his mouth lifting slightly was the only sign that he saw her.

"Did you guys eat yet?" Brandon's dad asked. He had apparently just prepared spaghetti. Brandon unhappily remembered the pile of buffalo wings Garret called dinner and nodded.

"What's with the bandana and sunglasses, Cloud?" his mother asked, giggling. The bandana hid the bandages and the sunglasses hid his artificially glowing eyes, which marked him as Sephiroth's target and also would bring up awkward questions.

"Thought I'd try a new look," he said, sighing inwardly.

Before his mother could say something potentially cutting, his father intervened. "You two get ready for bed," he said.

Once they were safely in his room, Brand asked, "Where've you been all this time? With Yuffie?"

"No," she replied. "I stayed at the church and prayed…for you guys and for my mother."

Not knowing what to say, Brandon busied himself with finding some pajamas.

"I got fired from my job," Laura said. "Let's do something tomorrow…with everyone."

"School's tomorrow," Brandon reminded her. (I honestly don't know what day it is in this. Tell me if you think it really matters. If you do, I'll try to focus.)

"We'll skip," Laura said with false cheer. "I'll go take a shower."

Laura grabbed the towel he tossed to her and left to change. He'd already taken a shower at HQ to wash away the blood and ash from the day. He lay on his bed, exhausted and drained. As soon as he closed his eyes, he was asleep.

Laura's POV

When Laura came back into Brandon's room, squeaky clean and wearing new pajamas, it was to find him asleep on the bed she'd started to think of as her own. She tried to careful remove him, but it was impossible to do so without waking him. She didn't want to do that; he deserved sleep.

Finally, Laura just turned off the light and crawled over him to lay down by the wall, dragging the blanket with her to cover him.

Her close proximity to Brandon made it extremely difficult to focus on sleep. She sighed and squeezed her eyes shut. He was just Brandon. She shouldn't have these troubles. He wasn't even her age…

Laura's eyes drifted over to Brandon's face. He still had the sunglasses and bandana on. Grinning, Laura saw how ridiculous it really did look. She pulled off the shades and the cloth and tossed them to the floor.

Without the distractions, she could see that he was almost smiling. He looked so very peaceful…and cute. Hair poked out from the bandages in his hair. She frowned as soon as he did. His eyebrows furrowed and he shook his head slightly. She saw him mouth what could only be "Sephiroth".

That was how all of this started. Sephiroth, FF7, fighting, killing…Laura was sick and tired of it. She closed her eyes and kept Brandon's image in her mind. Maybe, if she could just keep an image of him in her thoughts, she could bring him to her dreams, and they could stay there…safe.

Cloud's POV

Cloud walked down a long trail. He'd been walking for what seemed like forever, in the dark. It had been so cold. He looked up and his gaze rested on a shining figure. It was on its knees atop a tall platform and it was beautiful.

He began to run with energy he'd lost so long ago. He ran up the steps to her and felt the warmth and basked in the radiance that became stronger the closer he got. Finally, atop the platform, he saw the shining figure close up.

Aeris Gainsborough held her hands clasped before her, eyes closed. She was praying. A small, tranquil smile was on her face. When she heard his footsteps approaching, she opened her beautiful green eyes and looked at him, smile widening ever so slightly.

He took a step forward but stopped when a shadow fell upon her light. She didn't seem to notice. Cloud looked up and saw what the shadow was.

Sephiroth dropped from the sky, his enormous sword drawn. He fell towards Aeris and impaled her on his sword. Her beautiful eyes widened and said one last thing before her eyes closed and her light faded, gone forever. "Cloud…"

Brandon's POV

Brandon woke up, panting. There was sweat under his bandages, and it stung him, but he was concerned about that. He looked around frantically until his artificially glowing eyes rested on Laura. She looked so peaceful in her sleep. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close, not wanting to ever let go. If he did…

She was smiling, like in his dream. Suddenly, she let out a small sigh. Her warm breath touched his lips, and he was startled at how close they were to hers. His eyes closed and he moved his face closer.

There was contact, and all thoughts of Sephiroth, guns, and fighting swept from his mind. It was like everything was going to be okay if he stayed like that…but then he realized what he was doing and quickly pushed away from her. He landed with a thud to the ground.

Laura poked her head sleepily over the side of the bed and rested her chin on the edge. Her drooping, amused eyes looked down at him on the floor. "Are you okay?" she asked. "What's wrong?"

"N-nothing," Brandon quickly told her, a blush creeping across his face. "I, uh, I had a nightmare." He wouldn't meet her eyes, but he could practically feel her frown.

"Fine," she said with an exaggerated sigh, "don't tell me." She rolled over, feigning hurt.

"Night," he said, trying to get comfortable on the floor.

"You can…sleep up here tonight," she suggested, rolling back over.

"You don't have to sleep on the floor," he mumbled, tired.

"Who said anything about the floor?"

(Friday)

School was finally over for another week. Brandon was sitting in HQ's training room, nursing a split lip and bloody knuckles thanks to the fight he'd just been in. If Garret hadn't intervened, he would've taken Nathan down. Garret was currently doing target practice with Vincent in the next room, and Tiffany was beating the crap out of the punching bag.

"When did you say Laura would be here?" Tiffany asked, sitting down on the couch parallel to his.

"She's visiting her mom, so it'll be a while," he replied, pulling on the beanie Laura got him. It covered the bandages nicely. (Hehe…Cloud and a beanie…)

The sliding doors to the room opened and Yuffie burst into the room, breathing heavily. She put her hands on her knees and caught her breath. Brandon's eyes rested on what was dripping from her hands to the floor. It was a sticky red substance…

"R-Reno," Yuffie panted. She took a deep breath and raised her head. Tears were streaming from her red eyes. "I-I found him."

(later)

"Oh, man," Brandon said, leaning against a building near the sealed off alley. A body bag was placed in an ambulance, and it took off.

Yuffie was crouched on the ground, her face buried in her knees. Her arms were shaking and wrapped around her legs.

Garret crossed his big arms over his chest, his eyes narrowed and his jaw set. He was obviously pissed. "This has Sephiroth written all over it. I'm gonna get him for this," he growled.

"Are you Brandon?" asked a voice. Brandon whirled around and faced a strange-looking man. He had a ponytail, khaki shorts, and a Hawaiian shirt.

"Yeah," Brandon said, frowning. He still wasn't over what had just happened.

The guy stuck out his hand and grinned. "I'm Seth Cait. I'm sure Vincent mentioned me?" he said.

"You're the guy who made the minigames in FF7," Brandon said.

"Yep, that's me," Seth said, grinning. "Uh, so that was Reno, huh?" He looked like he regretted that. "I tried to help him escape, but Sephiroth tried to kill me, and…well, you know." He sighed and shook his head.

"What do you want?" Garret demanded rudely.

"Sephiroth is on the move tonight," Seth said, "and I overheard where he's going to be."

"Where?" Tiffany asked.

"The cemetery at nine," Seth replied.

"What the hell would Sephiroth do in a cemetery?" Garret asked.

Seth shrugged.

"Sounds like a trap to me," Brandon said. He didn't notice the sharp look Seth cast him. "I think Sephiroth wants us to go there."

"To hell with your paranoia," Garret said, pulling a gun from his pocket. "We're gonna kill that bastard…tonight."

A/N: Good news! The computer was moved into the living room! I can get on whenever. Bad news is I'm losing my muse with this story. Sorry for the wait. So many reviewed! I'm so glad. Thanks so much for your support. Please keep it up.