AN: Wow, sorry to keep you waiting guys. Business has been good and life has been busy. I hope everyone hasn't forgotten about this story and i hope you will enjoy this chapter that i have just posted up. It was originally supposed to be a really rinoa-centric story but i decided to give someone else a little bit more focus. Don't worry Rinoa fans, she will get her time. Anyways, i dont own the chars. Enjoy the story. Please Read and Review.


"So which one of us is the inhuman one?" It sounded like such a stupid question at the time. It was certainly one of those moments when the comment made more sense in your head.

It was always unusual for a guy to be the one to light up the room. His glowing eyes always betrayed him in the night. Whenever they fluttered open, it told her that he had woken up once again. They were remnants of the experiments that were enacted upon him so many years ago. A constant reminder that even the most basic and private genetic coding he had was altered against his will in order to push him further into submission.

This hardly meant Tifa's eyes were any less noteworthy. But while Cloud's eyes spoke of a horror story that was on a constant replay, hers held that simple natural beauty that purified all visions of evil. This is where Cloud found his redemption. This is where he felt most like a person.

Tifa sat up on the bed now that she had been disturbed from her otherwise peaceful slumber. Her gaze moved towards the only slight glow in the room as she found Cloud gazing at himself in the mirror.

Often the soldier had jested that it was a mirror reserved for Tifa alone having found her modeling in front of it on many occasions. Naturally she responded that it was always for his benefit in the end. She rarely cared for the more superficial necessities of life. Money was scarce enough without them. Funding a resistance is never cheap.

However something about Cloud's being there almost demanded that she take measures to look her absolute best for him. There was just something about looking and feeling as cute as he saw her that drove her wild. It was a simple enough task for a woman with her body. With wild eyes and dark hair that flailed about in the wind, it was nearly impossible to find her unattractive.

Alright alright. Cloud could go on about her silky skin, long sexy legs and a cute smile, but what got his attention first, even today was always her bust. He was still a man. A warrior who was born to be tough and cause carnage, not an overemotional pansy who would compare her features to some part of nature. And truthfully, Tifa preferred him to be honest in all matters. It was the only way to rebuild the relationship that was weakened by a few stolen years away from one another.

So if all of this was true, why had these two things occurred? First Cloud found himself providing the very same metaphors he earlier though useless, though he constantly tried to 'toughen' them up a bit. And then there was the question he just posed.

He remained standing near the mirror in Tifa's one bedroom apartment. Whether or not they were rebels, the needed to continue living their everyday lives. Fighting to trample an evil institution that created soldiers of death didn't exactly pay well. And people who wanted to make a living needed a home address.

She rubbed her groggy eyes further to bring some life back into them and was finally able to focus in on Cloud.

Yes there were times where he was cold hearted and tough, but he did have another side to him. He was always gentle with Tifa. And she was always gentle with him. Let the world be cruel to them both. It doesn't matter so long as they have each other to comfort. Unfortunately many times Cloud's time to act so timid came late at night when most people desired sleep.

"Cloud? What are you talking about?" Maybe he was in those really romantic thoughtful moods. He apparently thought one of them wasn't human. He loved to call her his angel of the night. Perhaps he was going to go along those lines and say something that would have swept her off her feet if she wasn't already in bed.

Being a barmaid, she had heard more than her fair share of pickup lines with the word angel in it. Everything from 'Heaven must be missing an angel because here you are' to 'You must be an angel because you just flew into my heart.' Those comments quickly stopped after a certain blond frequented the bar during her shifts. The last one to say something like that spent well over a month in recovery.

But angel of the night was something different altogether. He was trying to be romantic, and for whatever reason practical at the same time. The latter was probably the result of him being a man and a soldier.

The nights were always theirs alone. There were no other resistance members to watch out for or missions to accomplish or customers to take care of at the bar. During the nights she could watch over and protect him with great diligence. She actually was his guardian angel.

"Me or Squall. Which one of us is the inhuman one? Which one of us is the monster?" He turned around to face her. She still lay there sitting upon her bed, though now leaning forward so she could rest her arms on her knees. Her hair was roguish as it swept all along the sides and partially covered the side of her face, and yet it somehow added a new depth of allure to her.

"Cloud, I still don't understand what you're talking about." She motioned with her hands for him to come closer. He obediently complied with her demands and went to her. He sat down so Tifa could wrap her arms around him from behind while her she rested her head upon a shoulder. Yes she was going to attentively listen to his grievances and give him her true opinion, not just what would make him feel better, but she was still tired as hell at the hour.

"Now then, explain." So much for romantic thoughtful. This was just deep thoughtful.

"I…I just couldn't help but think which one of us was human. What is it that makes a person, and which one of us qualifies?"

"Don't be – "

"If it's our genes, our genetic makeup that determines what species something is, then surely I am not. You have seen the tests. I've been changed. My DNA is a little different from yours." Perhaps a little different was the wrong way to say it. His DNA was actually more perfect than hers. There was more to code, more advances plugged in. However the result of such DNA was still unclear. Of a program that produced mindless savages, only he could be called a partial success.

"Its your –"

"Thoughts? The memories that make up the way one thinks? Then what of Squall? His memories are suppressed if not gone. Half the time he walks around like a mindless zombie just going wherever Rinoa is, almost like a faithful dog."

"You've seen the progress he has made, the flashbacks Rinoa said he had."

"But is it enough? Which one of us qualifies to be a person?"

"Cloud, what's really the matter? Why are you so concerned with your humanity all of a sudden?"

"Before we knew exactly what happened to Squall, I always felt I was still valid because I thought like a human. I had hopes, dreams, ambition. But after seeing what condition Squall is in, I just don't know anymore"

With loosely pursed lips, Tifa kissed his cheek slightly before resting her head again against his shoulder. "Well if you ask me, one of two things decide if you are a person or not."

Cloud smiled just a little bit. Tifa would be honest, so he knew he wouldn't get some meaningless farce of an answer. At the same time, her honesty always made him feel better, even when it was something he didn't want to hear.

"I think you are human if you think you are human." Tifa quickly smothered Cloud's mouth with her hand to prevent him from interrupting. "And we both know you think you are human otherwise we wouldn't be sitting here like this right now. The other way, is when someone else recognizes your humanity."

She released her hold upon him and turned his face so she could look straight into it. "And Cloud, I recognize your humanity." Tifa cupped his face and sealed her words with a kiss. That made it undisputable fact. It would never be doubted again.

Earlier that evening in another apartment, two people walked into their new home. Rinoa quickly walked in and through the apartment with the excitement of a little girl while Squall stood emotionless by the door, a little dazed by her peculiar behavior. With the passing of each day, he found himself learning more and more about this strange woman, and about himself.

There was still one question that he still could not answer. What was it about this girl that was triggering these random visions that vanished moments later?

She was always there with him now. More to the point, he was always there following her. As of yet he had not been assigned any real tasks to do for the resistance. He pursued Rinoa and acted as her assistant whenever circumstances required it. While his new life was nothing like his old, there was no way he would ever trade it back.

The strolling princess finished taking in the ambiance of the room and walked back towards the entrance. There she pulled Squall into the room and immediately wrapped her arms around him to keep him in a loose hug.

She was always holding him, touching him in some way. He was a man who learned to live without emotion and to disregard thought as a mere annoyance that would surely lead to death. All Squall had were flashes of events that seemingly appeared at random while he was with her.

Rinoa was lost in a tug of wars between her feelings and the sense of hopelessness that was arising. There were so many times when he came too close to remembering on his own or times where he almost abandoned this emotionless face of his, only to be sucked back in by years of being dominated.

But there was someone who had the answer. Quistis. The only cure for someone devoid of thoughts and emotion was to immerse him into it. For someone who knew only abandonment and hate, he needed to know affection and love. So Rinoa would do this much for him. She would act on her feelings of love towards a man who was almost a stranger.

She tilted her head to the side in that cute little way she always does while tucking one ankle behind the other. "So, what do you think? It's cute right?"

A stray strand of hair fell across her face and mirrored the scar Squall had across his face. Instinctively he pulled one hand so he could tuck it behind her ear and slowly caress the side of her face. His face further froze as he realized what he was beginning to do.

Squall had started responding to the environment around him without having being told or taught to do so. That little strand that partially blocked her lovely face triggered him to react. He didn't like anything blocking his view of her. He was depending on her, he needed her. At the institute he was taught that dependence leads to weakness. Here it was his dependence that let him grow.

Rinoa blushed a little bit at his touch. Well, the touch of the leather gloves he still felt uncomfortable without. At least now he could go without the sunglasses though it did make him look more sexy.

"Oh right sorry. Big tough men like yourself don't think in terms of cute do you? Fine, how about, 'do you like it?' Is that macho enough?" She spoke half teasingly, half in jest. Even if Squall made a full recovery, odds are that he still wouldn't think in terms of cute. It just wasn't in his nature as a child, much less now.

The stormy eyed soldier just nodded his acceptance of the apartment after taking a brief look around. It would suit his needs well, all though there was one little catch he hadn't been told just yet. "I will take this room." The living room was the most secure location. He would be able to quickly respond to any threats in the apartment and keep Rinoa safe. Everything else to him was meaningless.

"You can't take this room! It's the living room! The bedrooms are for sleeping." It was a little embarrassing talking about this. Having lived in a one roomed cube for ten years, the concept of having multiple rooms still confused him. Besides, Rinoa couldn't help but have her own dirty little thoughts. Regardless of how little she knew him now, he was still quite the attractive man.

They had finally found some clothes for him to wear. He had black pants that were held up by an intricate brown tribelt system. He wore a simple white t-shirt along with a black leather jacket that had just a little tasteful amount of fur at the edges. While his look had certainly improved, there was still a little something missing.

"Then which one will you take?" Rinoa pointed to the obviously bigger and much nicer of the two rooms available. Why avoid the little luxuries in life when you could claim it. Besides, if Squall was almost a clean slate, she would teach him how to be an absolute gentleman, well almost.

"Then I will take the other one." With a duffel bag in hand he proceeded to head towards the other room until a soft hand blocked him from going any further.

"Actually you'll be in that room too." While she was just blushing slightly earlier, now her face was almost completely red.

"You're right. I will be able to keep better guard of you if I remained in the same room."

Rinoa began quietly shuffling her fingers together as there was more to come. There was a reason she had to move out of her old apartment in this same building to get one with Squall. While he may currently be socially inept, he didn't need someone to watch him 24 hours a day no matter how much he wanted her there.

Squall had already learned what that little mannerism meant. He quietly awaited for her to continue. "See the thing is, I have been telling everyone that I was engaged to this handsome young soldier who was currently stationed abroad."

"You were creating a cover story for yourself. It was an admirable tactic. Most men who would look to create a relationship would not seek it from a married woman." Of course he didn't say that those who just wanted Rinoa for her looks would hound her no matter what, but they would never pry too deeply into her life.

"Also military men are well respected. Saying you were engaged to a soldier would keep most trouble makers away and win you the aid of neighbors should you need anything. However we will need to find a suitable actor for the job." For a man who excelled at analyzing and decoding a situation, he seemed to miss the obvious.

"Actually, uh, WE are the Leonharts. As far as anyone knows, my last mission after you came back was actually us going away on our honeymoon, and we moved into a bigger apartment since my old one was just a studio."

"This is fine. It will allow me to keep watch over you. What is my back story?"

"Well you went to Trabia to instruct there. I have the details written down for you to look at later. Basically you didn't want to actually get married until you finished your term, so we stayed engaged for a few years until just a few weeks ago."

It never occurred to either one of them that they were holding one another in a loose hug again. Correction, it never occurred to Rinoa that they were in such a position again. Squall knew but failed to understand any importance to it.

"So what does it mean now that we are married?" There had been no instruction as to this topic at the institute.

"Well it basically means we love each other and that we like to spend our time with each other more than anyone else and that we can't live without one another and…"

"This is a learn through experience exercise, isn't it?" While it was just slight, his voice had changed in tone a little. He sounded almost…coy.

"Mm hmm. I had some mock photos of our honeymoon and wedding made. I'll handle some of the decorations tomorrow while you go over your cover story. Oh and expect a lot of these." Rinoa leaned in closer to the hug which she pretended not to notice and kissed him on the cheek. "And this." This time it was a well placed but quick kiss on the lips. "Married people do that. A lot. A whole lot. We will actually have to practice this more and more." There had to be benefits to taking care of him.

"What else do married people do?" It was an innocent question with sinful implications.

"Well, you might not be ready for that." Actually she wasn't ready for that. "But there is something that could prepare you and help you keep watch over me." They were already in a relationship of protecting one another. Squall just didn't realize how much Rinoa really did for him yet. Well if he did, he hadn't learn to show hew knew.

"What?"

"Well, remember that time when I came back and you collapsed? You woke up and we were uh…you know…holding each other…in the bed…and stuff.."

"Yes" Actually his memory of that whole event was rather weak. However he did recall the feeling of being held by her like that when he woke up. More importantly he remembered the less pleasant feeling when she had to leave later.

"Well we should do something like that here anyways. Besides, it might be awkward if people somehow found out you were sleeping on the floor." Between some overly snoopy neighbors and Squall being unable to determine what was acceptable to talk about, there was a good chance it would be revealed.

"I agree. Let's start practicing." It was a really good feeling and he was eager for it to return. Squall was nothing but a dedicated soldier, and a good soldier spends a good portion of his time training.

"Yes sir!" And Rinoa was just as eager. They began shifting their way towards the room. Once inside, Squall would say only one more thing this night.

"Rinoa?"

"Yes Squall?"

"I think the apartment is cute."


So what did you guys think? I need to think of occupations for Cloud, Squall and Rinoa. I can't have everyone work in the same bar above thier little hideout. Can anyone provide me some suggestions? It would really speed up the writing process for the next chapter Thanks!

So yeah, this chapter focused a bit more on Cloud, but i think it was necesarry. Like i said before, i want the cast from 7 to play a real role here in order to make this more of a real crossover. I hope you guys like it. Next chapter will probably favor the 8 cast.

Btw, if you are reading my other in progress stories, i am currently writing all those chapters. Be patient, the update comes soon.

Anyways, thanks for staying loyal and for reading. Leave your thoughts, questions, comments and reviews! Oh, and there was probably a ton of bad grammer here. While i did edit it a bit, i only had X amount of time. Be kind!

Anyways, Until next time, take care:-)