A/N: Happy Valentine's Day!

I plan to stick with the biweekly update schedule for at least the time being. It'll be much easier for me to maintain while still working full-time. So, the next chapter should be out on the 28th.

Cloud had thought he was ready. Ready to see Aerith again. He had spent so much time with her and Zack while his memories still failed him, so it shouldn't have come as that much of a surprise to find either of them living again. Sure, his reunion with Zack was a little emotional, but he still did a pretty good job of it, he thinks. He handled himself rather well, considering. And naturally he thought that this reunion would go just as well.

He was wrong.

He hadn't made it more than five steps into the church when he found himself freezing head to toe, Yuffie's shuriken hanging limply from his hand. For in the center of the room, kneeling in front of her flowers, like she always was in his dreams, was Aerith.

There'd been flashes of her, of course, when he had been living out of the church. Soft laughter here, the flick of a braid there, the words I'll be going now playing on repeat through his grief-riddled mind. But the sight of her here now – so real, so alive – is both more wonderful and far more painful than anything his depression had be able to conjure up.

He's not the only one who startles to a stop, either. Yuffie stands speechless next to him for once, the girl gaping unbelievingly at the sight of their once-lost friend. Cloud can understand, though. The light shining through the holes in the roof definitely does a splendid job of making Aerith appear far more ethereal than ever. She had always seemed rather angelic before, but the sunlight bathing her now just gives her a distressingly otherworldly glow. And that, in and of itself, is a nearly unbearable reminder of her death.

Luckily (or frustratingly), Zack takes their paralysis in stride, the teen patting both of them on the head as he calls out to Aerith. "Hey, babe? I have a surprise for you."

"Huh?" Aerith stands and turns towards them, her eyes immediately landing on Cloud. "Oh! Hi Cloud!"

He had thought that seeing her again was bad enough, but the warm smile she sends him – the same one as when she had died – literally takes his breath away. And all he can do is croak pitifully as his heart clenches painfully in his chest. "A-Aerith…"

Her smile disappears at his sorry display, concern now etching itself across her face – even with his memories back, all he's good for is worrying her. "Cloud, are you ok?" She takes a step forward as if to check on him, Cloud still no help whatsoever, when she finally notices Yuffie and a small sound of surprise passes her lips. "Yuffie, is that you?"

Aerith's attention is all the invitation Yuffie needs to pull herself from her stupor and launch herself at their friend – "Aerith!" – fat tears falling behind her as she runs. It was probably good that Cloud had confiscated her weapon when he did, otherwise he wouldn't have had the time nor the wherewithal to save Aerith from a potentially sharp greeting.

Kneeling just in time, Aerith catches Yuffie, letting the girl cling to her like she had to Cloud in the storage room. And as Yuffie starts to wail into her collarbone, Aerith pulls her closer, gently coaxing her from her sorrow just as Cloud had done earlier. "Shh, Yuffie, it's ok. I'm here now." Her hand rubs slow circles into the girl's back as she continues to whisper. "None of that was your fault, dear. Nobody blames you."

Cloud is still a little dazed as he walks up the aisle and gently lies Yuffie's shuriken and his equipment against the side of one of the pews. This was real, all of it was. Sure, he should have realized that after seeing Zack… and Sephiroth again, but perhaps the adrenaline coursing through him earlier and the overwhelming need to find Yuffie had made those confrontations easier. Or maybe just having confirmation that both Zack and Aerith were actually alive again really hammered everything home, in an extremely visceral way.

"Cloud wouldn't let me keep all the materia I found!"

Yuffie's whining voice pulls him from his memories just as Aerith turns shining eyes his way, a question plainly visible behind her unshed tears. A question that was probably meant to determine whether he remembered as much as if what Yuffie said was true. Cloud nods in response – his voice still not working – and the smile that stretches over Aerith's face is the brightest and most dazzling he's ever seen. "Don't you mean the materia that you stole?" Aerith teases, a bright laugh bubbling out of her as she squeezes Yuffie tighter.

"You're supposed to be on my side!"

Yuffie can't see Aerith's answering smirk, but Cloud definitely doesn't miss it, his eyes still glued to her shining face as they are. "You haven't forgotten that you stole my materia, too, once upon a time?"

"I said I was sorry…"

Aerith just laughs at Yuffie's petulance and presses a big kiss to her forehead. "I'm so happy to see you, Yuffie."

"Well, I'm happier!"

Cloud doesn't know when he starts crying. He doesn't even realize he had until Aerith is in front of him, wiping his tears away like she had only a few days ago. "Hey you," she murmurs, reaching forward to tap him on the nose.

Cloud blinks once, twice, and then sighs – both out of exasperation and utter fondness. "Did you just boop me on the nose?"

Giggling happily – so happily that Cloud couldn't have it in him to be upset even if he wanted to – Aerith pulls him into the tightest hug yet. "It's so good to have you back," she says, one thumb brushing across his neck, the other over his ribcage as she holds him to her.

"It's good to be back… Aerith," Cloud responds, wrapping his arms loosely and ever so cautiously around her in return. He might be unenhanced, but he's still not entirely sure of his own strength. He can't hurt her again.

But Aerith was always good at reading him – entirely too good – and she pulls his arms around her tighter, scolding him, "You're not going to blame yourself for anybody's deaths anymore, you understand?"

He opens his mouth to complain, to contradict her – entirely on instinct – but, no, Aerith's right. He does blame himself. He's always blamed himself. If only he had been faster, stronger, better… But he knows just how stubborn Aerith (and Zack) can be. Just how easily they can see right through him. If he doesn't want to be lectured on how everything is not his fault – but really with the name 'Strife', it kinda was – there really was only one course of action right now. "…Yes, ma'am."

"Good boy."

If Yuffie hadn't liked Rufus and Cloud scolding her for attacking Sephiroth and throwing the whole Tower into chaos, then she absolutely loathed Aerith doing it. "You're supposed to be on my side!" rang through the church once more as Yuffie dissolved into a childish rant about how it wasn't fair that Sephiroth got Cloud all to himself. Cloud's face had definitely heated up faster than Ifrit's flames at her words, and Aerith hadn't made matters any better by winking at him.

To lighten the mood, and to perhaps distract Aerith from scolding her for Don Corneo's death – though going from the twinkle in Aerith's eyes, her heart definitely wouldn't have been in it – Yuffie begs to show off her knack for gardening ("I know soooo much about flowers now!"). And Cloud finds himself lying on the closest pew as Yuffie starts showing off her 'mad skills'. She had tried to convince him to join in, too – threatened, really – but Cloud had some calls to make.

One hand cradling his head, he dials Tifa's number – after everything they had been through together, after everything she had done for him, she would always be his first. The call is answered almost immediately, Tifa's worried voice drifting over the line. "Cloud, are you ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, Tif." She sucks in a harsh breath at his use of that nickname, and he feels a smile spread over his face – he was glad he finally remembered, too. "Though, I do have a question for you."

"Y-Yes?"

"Did I really brag about being trained by Sephiroth?"

Tifa gasps, the relief (and tears) evident in her voice as she chuckles at him. "You really remember…"

"I do. Thanks for always having my back, Tif." Before he can say anything more, though, there's a soft rumbling from the other end and Tifa's answering, "It's Cloud, dad." He's almost surprised at how easily that sentence unnerves him, but the man had never liked him, and had always been very verbal about it. "Tifa, what are you – "

"Hold on, Cloud, my dad wants to talk to you."

"Tifa, wait! No!"

"Cloud."

Cloud hopes his nervous gulp isn't audible, but he guesses Tifa's father is almost as scary for his 14-year-old self as Sephiroth is for his adult one. "Uh… Hello, Mr. Lockhart, sir."

The man laughs at him in response, and this was so not how he had expected this conversation to start. But the words that come out of Mr. Lockhart's mouth next shock him even further. "Thanks for looking out for my daughter."

"…I'm sorry, sir, can you run that by me again?" The words are out of his mouth on auto-pilot, but nobody can blame him for his confusion – how else was he supposed to react to the man thanking him?

Mr. Lockhart laughs again – which really doesn't help anything, but whatever. "Tifa told me about everything – Sephiroth, the mako reactors, Meteorfall. Thanks for keeping my daughter safe, Cloud."

"Oh, I… Uh." Out of all the reasons Tifa's dad could have for thanking him – which honestly was a pretty non-existent list from Cloud's viewpoint – the man knowing everything never would have crossed his mind. "To be honest, sir, Tifa's saved my behind – " he almost says 'ass', but that probably wouldn't endear the man further to him " – so many times, too."

"Regardless, thanks for being there for her."

"Of course, sir."

"Also," there's a regretful tint to the man's voice, and wasn't that a first for Cloud, too. "I owe you an apology. I shouldn't have blamed you for Tifa's fall. I wanted a target for my anger and you were easy prey. I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions so hastily." Cloud tries to tell the man that he's overreacting, but Tifa's dad cuts him off, "Let me finish, please. Regardless of whether you were at fault or not, I shouldn't have turned a blind eye to your bullies. Can you forgive an old fool like me, Cloud?"

"But, sir – "

"Don't try to tell me that her fall actually was your fault, young man. Tifa told me everything. Like how you still blame yourself for everything."

"I… I should have been faster, sir."

"Cloud. It wasn't your fault. Think you can repeat that for me?"

Cloud sniffles, the arm that was cushioning his head now rubbing rather frantically at his burning eyes. Damn these 14-year-old emotions. "I… I-It wasn't m-my fault…" If Mr. Lockhart hears the way his voice quivers, he's kind enough not to say anything.

"Good. Now I want you to work on actually believing that. Ok?"

"…Yes, sir."

When the PHS is finally returned to Tifa, Cloud can't help himself. "What. the hell. just happened?" he bites out, exasperation blending easily with the massive confusion already roiling in him. Good Gaia, was everybody tag-teaming on him today? Could he not go an hour without somebody telling him not to blame himself?

Giggling, Tifa's answer is simple, if a little less than helpful. "What should have happened a long time ago."

"Whatever you say…"

They fall into a comfortable silence at that, Tifa humming contently on the other end, Cloud watching Yuffie be calm for perhaps the first time in her life, the girl running her hands happily through the dirt. He's glad he brought her here, Aerith was definitely a good influence on her. "Cloud…" his ears perk up at the sorrow in his friend's voice. "Marlene and Denzel… They're gone…"

Sitting back up, Cloud pulls a knee to his chest and tries to blink back the returning tears. He still can't stop the grief from seeping into his voice as he tries to console her, "I know, Tif. I miss them, too. But… I guess now they can finally know their birth parents." He knows it's probably better this way, but why does he feel so terrible?

"I want them back…"

"…Same here, Tifa."

There's a much louder commotion this time and what he swears is another, grating cry of "Marlene!" He can already guess that somebody else is there even before Tifa's muffled voice comes through the speaker. "It's Cloud. He remembers. Hey, let go – "

"It's about damn time!" Cloud yanks the PHS from his ear as Barret yells – the man was always so dang loud. "Tifa, what are you – No."

"Stop being a brat, Barret. Give me back my phone."

"But I want to talk to him, too!"

"We can put him on speaker!" Tifa shouts, obviously annoyed with Barret's immaturity. She must be successful in re-confiscating her PHS, cause her voice is much softer as it comes over the line again. "There. Now we can all talk to him."

"Howdy, kiddo!"

A great big smile stretches across Cloud's face – he would know that gruff voice anywhere. "Cid. How's it – "

But he doesn't get any further than that, as Barret interrupts again. "You sure took your good ol' time, Blondie!"

"Aww, Barret. I love you, too." His 'confession' is horribly dry, but that doesn't stop Barret's embarrassed spluttering. Hopefully that would teach the man not to interrupt him.

"Aww! You made Barret blush!" Tifa's giggling is easily drowned out by Cid's boisterous guffawing. "Oh my! What're ya gonna tell dear ol' Myrna?"

"Shut up, Cid! Who asked you? I'm just glad he remembers is all! I'm allowed to miss my friend – "

Barret's ranting continues more or less unheard as Cloud's eyes fall on Yuffie and a smirk makes its way over his face – he's so going to enjoy this. Stretching, he rises from his spot on the pew and takes the few steps needed to make it to the edge of the flowerbed. "Barret, hold that thought. I've got a surprise for you." He doesn't wait for a response as he crouches in front of Yuffie, winking when the girl's mischievous eyes catch his own. Pressing the button to put his PHS on speaker, he holds the device out in front of Yuffie. "Say hi."

Yuffie certainly doesn't disappoint, the girl taking a deep breath before hollering into the phone, her hands still playing with the dirt. "Haw haw haw! Did ya losers miss me?!"

"Wait, Yuffie?" Tifa's surprise is once more lost, Barret and Cid taking the opportunity to freak out, matching shouts of "Brat, what the hell are you doin' in Midgar?" and "Yuffie, what the hell are you doing?" ringing through the main sanctum.

"Saving Cloud from Sephiroth, of course!"

"Saving Cloud…?"

"Guys…" Cloud's the one who interrupts Barret this time, the hints of a blush definitely not growing on his cheeks. "You'll never guess what Yuffie just did."

Cid cackles. "I love where this conversation's goin' already!"

Vincent was next – Cloud still hadn't thanked him properly for his help with Johnson… Or thanked him at all really. He's barely dialed the number that Aerith had given him, though, when Vincent picks up, the Turk-once-more answering simply, "Cloud."

Well… that was unexpected. Aerith had said that Vincent refused to take Cloud's phone number, something about wanting Cloud to give it up freely – which Cloud won't deny is absolutely adorable and so very much Vincent. So, naturally, Cloud had fully expected the man to be in the dark as to who was calling… and he might have been brainstorming ways to get some amusement out of Vincent's shock. "Aww, Vincent, you took the fun outta that." He really hadn't expected his words to come out as that much of a whine, but whatever, he'll blame it on being a kid again.

"I didn't know the number and the President just told me that you remember, so I connected the dots."

"Vincent's so smart!" Aerith cheers, the girl clapping happily around the trowel in her hands.

"Aerith," Vincent returns.

"I see you finally got your own PHS," Cloud points out – the man certainly hadn't had one the last time he remembered him.

"Rufus insisted I needed one for the job. Besides, somebody told me they would let me know if sins are ever forgiven. I've been waiting."

Cloud smiles ruefully, he remembers that conversation in the Forgotten City. Remembers telling Vincent that he would 'phone in the verdict'. But then everything with Kadaj and Sephiroth (and getting blown up) had happened so fast that he had forgotten. Though, he supposes he does have a verdict now. "It seems that they really can be forgiven," he tells Vincent, sending Aerith and Zack a meaningful look.

Vincent's answering sigh is barely audible, but the relief in it is unmistakable. "That's good to hear..."

As Vincent trails off, Cloud figures now is as good of a time as any. Gesturing to Yuffie, he tries to get her ready to prank the Turk, too, a twinkle already appearing in the girl's eyes. Vincent may have ruined the surprise of Cloud remembering, but at least they can still pull the rug out from underneath the man with Yuffie's presence. But he supposes he really should have known better, Vincent not missing a beat to remind them exactly why he was (and always will be) a Turk. "I assume Yuffie is there with you, too. Or did she sneak off to cause mass mayhem again?"

Yuffie groans from next to Cloud, dirt sent flying as she flails her arms in displeasure. "You weren't supposed to know, ya meanie!"

"Hello, Yuffie." Vincent doesn't seem at all bothered by Yuffie's petulant grumbling – "Not sayin' hi to a meanie like you" – the man instead informing her, "I hope you realize that the President is punishing Tseng for that little stunt you pulled."

"Good! That traitor deserves it!"

Yuffie must still be mad at Tseng for 'betraying his country', then. But even lost in his thoughts as he is, Cloud doesn't miss the smirk in Vincent's voice as he replies, "I'm pretty sure Tseng is enjoying his punishment."

The effect of Vincent's revelation is immediate and violent, Cloud left to choke on his spit – cause of course Vincent would be the only one getting anything over anybody – while Aerith laughs merrily. Cloud supposes he shouldn't be so surprised. If Aerith shipped him and Zack, then of course she would ship Rufus and Tseng. Heck, she even seemed thrilled with the idea of him and Seph… No. Stop that train of thought right. there.

"I don't get it!" Yuffie's aggravated complaining makes its way through his pathetic display, Zack following suit shortly after, "Right there with you, kiddo."

Cloud might have been surprised that Yuffie wasn't suspicious of Rufus and Tseng's relationship – she certainly had noticed Roche's attentions – but he was still somewhat rattled from Vincent's disclosure. Luckily, he doesn't have to stumble through an explanation for their undoubtedly R-rated activities, Aerith taking over the conversation and winking at her boyfriend. "It's ok, Zack. You'll understand when you're older."

Last but not least was Nanaki. Cloud had made sure to grab his friend's number – well, Bugenhagen's number – from Vincent after he talked with Reeve. He still has absolutely no idea what Reeve meant about leaving Cait Sith in Corel, but whatever, it was really good to hear his voice again.

But now, now it was Nanaki's turn. He never would forget Nanaki, not even with how he was still reeling from Vincent's revelation that 'Johnson had lost his johnson'. He didn't even have it in him to be exasperated with the pun. Nobody else seemed to mind, either – Aerith had just laughed, leaving Vincent pleased that at least somebody liked his joke.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Master Bugenhagen. It's Cloud."

"Ho ho ho! I take it you remember then, little one?"

"Yes, sir."

"Fantastic! Nanaki! Cloud's on the phone! He remembers!" The rushed clomping of paws follows, and then Bugenhagen is chortling once more. "Ho ho ho! Slow down, young one! He's not going anywhere!"

"Cloud." Nanaki pants as if he had been running for miles rather than from one end of his house in Cosmo Canyon to the other. "You really remember?" The raw hope in his friend's voice now is in stark contrast to the smug amusement from a few weeks ago.

"Yeah, Nanaki. Sorry it took me so long."

"How are you doing?" Cloud tenses at the worry in Nanaki's voice, he feels like he already knows what's coming next. "Vincent told me about Johnson…"

Even though he was half-expecting it, Cloud still can't help his slight (massive?) wince at the bully's name – this was getting old really quickly – but at least Nanaki was on an entirely different continent and couldn't see him. "No need to worry, I'm fine."

Cloud thought he had done a pretty good job of masking the pain, of keeping his voice masterfully even. But he must have given himself away somehow, Aerith and Zack grimacing unhappily next to him, Nanaki calling attention to his fib, "…It still bothers you, though."

Cloud groans. "Nanaki, you're thousands of miles away right now. Could you pretend that you can't read my mind for like 5 minutes?"

"My apologies." Nanaki's chuckling is proof enough that his apology isn't entirely sincere.

"Wait, wait!" Yuffie yells, coming to Cloud's defense while also giving herself away. "Just who is this Johnson?! Vincent mentioned him, too! Do I need to kick his sorry ass?!"

The hush on the other end of the line only serves to highlight Aerith's mumbled "Probably", but then Nanaki is sighing, hard and long-suffering. "Should I even ask what Yuffie is doing there?"

"Rescuing Cloud, duhhhhh!"

Rolling his eyes, Cloud tries to will back his growing embarrassment as he gives his friend a more accurate explanation. "Yuffie snuck into the Shinra Building, managed to make it all the way to the top of the Tower undetected, and then tried to kill Sephiroth. Something about stopping him from seducing me to the dark side."

"Ho ho ho!" Bugenhagen's laughter echoes through the PHS and around the church as Aerith sends a sly look Yuffie's way, "It's a good thing Sephiroth doesn't know you're supposed to offer cookies."

"Oh, good point!"

Nanaki breaks his weighted silence with a sound somewhere between a groan and a growl. "Of course she did. Why am I not surprised?"

"Cause I'm the best there is!"

"That's not what I meant."

"Hey, hey, Red – " Cloud can imagine Nanaki is probably rolling his eyes right about now " – will you let me ride on your back now?"

"…No, Yuffie."

"Oh, c'mon! I'm only 9 this time and you're a strong kitty! Puh-leaaassssseeeeeeee!"

"No, Yuffie."

"Stingy!"

It's not until he's promised to call again once things have settled down that Nanaki allows him to hang up. Returning his PHS to his pocket, Cloud sends Yuffie a sly grin. "Hey, Yuf. Race ya to the attic."

The girl's face lights up immediately and she returns Cloud's look with a cocky one of her own. "Ohhh, you're on!" Pulling her hands from the dirt, she gives them a long, thoughtful glance before wiping them off on Zack's pants. Ignoring Zack's mostly confused "Hey!", she sizes the teen up. "Whaddya say, pretty boy – race me next?"

"I don't know…" Zack runs a hand through his hair, stalling like he was trying to find a way out of indulging the girl. "I'm still recovering from our game of Whack-a-Shuriken earlier."

Cloud only half-hears Yuffie's "woulda smoked you anyway…", puzzled as he is. He's tempted to ask who had come up with such a ridiculous name – honestly it could go both ways – but then morbid understanding sinks in as Zack's words fully process. "Whack… a-Shuriken?"

"Yeah!" Yuffie exclaims, the girl back to her normal, vibrant self. "It's where I throw my shuriken and pretty boy here – " she gestures to Zack as if Cloud didn't already know who she was talking about " – tries to whack it away with his sword!"

"Yes, Yuffie, I know. I saw." Cloud pinches the bridge of his nose, Aerith smiling sympathetically at him. "What I want to know is whether Zack batting your giant ass shuriken away was the entire point of the game in the first place?"

Yuffie grimaces – "Uh oh, he's mad" – while Zack answers sheepishly, "Well, I mean… The kid insisted that I would never ever in a million years be able to block her attacks. What else was I supposed to do?"

"Ignore her?" Cloud answers flatly. Next to him, Aerith sighs, the girl sounding just as unimpressed with her boyfriend as Cloud was.

"Angeal's always saying that I need to protect my honor as SOLDIER!"

"That's not what Hewley meant and you know it." Cloud shakes his head. "I don't know whether I should be surprised or not that you allowed yourself to be baited by a 9-year-old…"

Zack pouts. "That's not very nice, Cloudy…"

"You and Yuffie are never allowed to be alone together again. Do I make myself clear?" Cloud orders. Granted, Zack does technically outrank him by a lot, but old habits were hard to break. Cloud had been the one everybody relied on for so long before this whole time rewind thing. And from the sound of things, they still were.

Zack and Yuffie turn as one to Aerith – and why did it feel like they were asking mom after dad said no? But Aerith just raises an eyebrow at them, not swayed in the slightest by their twin puppy dog eyes. "Don't look at me like that, you two. I'm with Cloud on this one."

If he wasn't already so exasperated with the two of them, Cloud would almost be impressed with how in sync their answering "Noooo fairrrrr…" is.

.

.

.

"On your mark!"

Aerith faces them, one arm held high in the air as she counts down. Fingers flexing on instinct, Cloud goes over the route he plans to take once more. Sure, Yuffie had speed – possibly more so than he did now that he was unenhanced – but Cloud knew the church better than the back of his hand. If he played his cards right, he totally had this in the bag.

"Get set!"

On the other side of the church, in front of the other set of doors, Yuffie crouches closer to the ground, the same cocky grin back on her face.

"Go!"

Aerith drops her arm and Cloud is off like a shot (or like Yuffie after a horde of materia). He takes the same path he had when he was (unintentionally) hiding from Aerith and Biggs – up the stairs, over that dang crate, and down the hallway to the ladder as fast as his frustratingly small legs will take him.

It's not until he's placed his foot on the first rung of the ladder that he notices that Yuffie was being uncharacteristically quiet. He thought he would have at least heard or spotted her on his dash to the ladder, but perhaps she had gotten sidetracked. There probably were a few orbs of materia lying around here somewhere – he definitely remembers seeing a few when he and Aerith were running from Reno.

Distracted as he is, he doesn't realize his mistake until it's entirely too late. Halfway up the ladder, he's already (silently) congratulating himself on his victory when Yuffie's head pops out from the opening to the attic. "Wow, you're really slow."

Heaving a great sigh, Cloud feels disappointment roll in as he trudges the rest of the way up the ladder – of course Yuffie would find some way to beat him. Why had he thought he could outclimb even a 9-year-old Yuffie? "How did you get up here so quickly?" He asks, defeated, once he finally pulls himself into the attic. She must have been here since before he had even finished climbing those two flights of stairs, and wasn't that quite the blow to what pride he did have.

"I'm a ninja, duhhhh." She blows a raspberry at his undoubtedly pitiful-looking face. "There was rubble leading alllll the way to the top floor," she expands, using her best who do you even think you're talking to voice. "I coulda just shimmied up one of those pillars, though. Wouldn't have been that difficult."

"You really are the best…" he concedes (not bemoans), running a weary hand through his hair. He guesses the girl had been right before, the only thing he had going for him was his enhancements – I woulda totally roasted you if you were playing fair…

"…could say it like ya mean it…" she grumbles dejectedly.

And, oh, the pout on her face does him in. She was only 9 now, he had no right acting like a sore loser over her well-earned victory, regardless of how humiliating it was for him. Ruffling her hair, he drops down in front of her, a smile now on his face. "Sorry, Yuf. You really are the best." The sincerity in his voice is enough to convince her to return his smile, the girl practically beaming now. "You really got me good."

"Didn't I?"

He chuckles at her excitement. "You sure did."

"Go!"

Aerith watches fondly as Cloud and Yuffie race off. She's so glad that they're finally having some fun. That Cloud's finally having some fun – he sure has had a rough few days. But even more so, she's so incredibly happy that Cloud was whole again. That she got to see him whole again.

Or perhaps she was seeing him whole for the first time ever.

Sure, there had been glimpses of his true self here and there, even back then. That was why she had joined him in the first place – that and because he reminded her of Zack, but who could blame her for clinging to even a vision of her lost love? But those glimpses could never measure up to the reality. Could never prepare her for the reality of seeing Cloud so vibrant, so alive.

And honestly, it left her almost as speechless as seeing Zack again. She had been so overcome with a terrible yet wonderful mix of hope and grief that she had defaulted to scolding Zack for keeping her waiting, just so she could stop herself from crying in front of him.

…She had still cried, of course, but he hadn't said anything. He was too busy crying himself.

Wiping away her tears now, she turns to find Zack watching her, a dopey little smile on his face. She can't help the blush nor the fluttering sensation in her stomach even as she rolls her eyes at her goof of a boyfriend. "What are you looking at?"

His smile grows, twinkling eyes never leaving hers while he ambles up to her. "I missed you."

"You just saw me yesterday," she teases, poking a finger into his side.

But Zack catches her hand, the charmer threading their fingers together as his other hand comes up to card through her hair. "I always miss seeing your beautiful face."

Aerith snorts. "Flatterer," she accuses, but doesn't stop him as he cups her face and leans down for a soft kiss.

She had figured it would just be a small peck since they weren't exactly alone. But as the seconds pass, Zack's lips continuing to slide against hers in a slow, gentle dance, she gets the feeling that the teen won't be sated that quickly. Sighing through her nose, she pulls back ever so slightly, tutting as Zack tries to follow. "Zack, the kids are upstairs," she reminds him.

"That's ok. We'll be quiet," he whispers, pulling her back in and brushing their lips together once more.

"GET A ROOM!"

Breaking away from Zack with a soft 'oh!', Aerith looks up to find Yuffie leering down at them from the ceiling, the girl cackling at their dumbstruck expressions. Cloud groans next to her, a hand coming up to rub his forehead. "Sorry about that," Cloud calls, the tone of his voice obviously embarrassed. "Yuffie is… well, Yuffie." Ignoring her swatting hand – "What's that supposed ta mean?" – Cloud points to the hole in the roof behind him. "We'll leave you two alone. We're going treasure hunting."

Aerith giggles. "Up on the rooftops?"

"That's where the best treasure is!" Yuffie claims, the girl trying to strike a pose even as Cloud ushers her across the ceiling joists and outside.

Shaking her head, she turns to find Zack with one hand on his hip, the other scratching his head. "Well… Guess we were caught," he concedes, an entirely dazed look on his face.

"You can't get anything by Yuffie. She's sneaky sneaky."

"I can see that…"

"Now…" she drawls, waiting until Zack's attention is on her again before asking, "Are you going to tell me what's bothering you or do I have to guess?"

His shock lasts for the barest of seconds, something like grief flickering through his eyes as he deflates in front of her. Chuckling bitterly, he observes, "You and Cloud sure know me so well."

"That's because we care about you a great deal."

Zack smiles sadly. "You sure do," he agrees, his arms sliding around her and cradling her to him. She lets him hold her like that, breathing her in, her arms coming up instinctively to provide the comfort he so obviously needs until he's found his words. Until he's ready to share what is so clearly hurting him. "The troopers that were after Cloud and Yuffie…" He sighs, his fingers twitching around her. "They were the ones that killed me last time."

Her inhale is harsh and entirely involuntary. "Oh, Zack…"

"For a second there, I was back on that cliffside again, convinced that I would never see you again."

She pulls him closer as she vows, "They can't have you again, you hear me? I won't allow it. I'll keep you safe this time."

Zack's laughter is light and wonderfully sincere this time. "Yes, ma'am."

"The Great Ninja Yuffie wins again!" Yuffie declares after she's jumped from the rooftops to the ground below. "And the crowd goes wild!" Miming a roaring crowd, the girl does her best to thoroughly rub her 'victory' in Cloud's face.

There's only one problem.

"We weren't even racing, Yuffie," Cloud sighs once he's joined her on the ground. "Besides, weren't you the one begging to jump first? Something about showing me how it's done or whatnot?"

"You're only saying that cause you lost!" Yuffie quips, the girl sticking her tongue out at him. But whatever Cloud's about to say, whatever retort he had come up with is lost as the mischievous glint fades from Yuffie's eyes, the girl pointing at something behind Cloud. "Intruders!"

Whirling around purely on instinct, Cloud's eyes have barely landed on these so-called intruders when he notices movement in his periphery. Shooting a hand out just in the nick of time, he grabs Yuffie by the scruff of her neck and pulls her back before she can embarrass him anymore that day. "Yuffie, these are my friends."

For standing in front of them now, entirely stunned, are Biggs, Wedge, and Jessie.

"Bro?"

"Heya, Wedge," Cloud replies, offering an awkward wave to go with his greeting.

Sniffling, a hopeful look starts to dawn on Wedge's face, but the boy remains cautiously quiet – perhaps afraid of the answer to whatever question was running through his head. Instead, Biggs takes his silence as permission to step forward hesitantly. "Hey, Cloud… You're looking better."

Cloud snorts – he can imagine. "I'm feeling better, too. Thanks for having my back, guys." And as he turns to Jessie, that hopeful, wide-eyed look is mirrored on all three of their faces. "Though I do have to say, Jessie – you still owe me a pizza."

Jessie chokes, one hand covering her mouth, the girl remaining otherwise rooted to the spot. "You really…?"

Cloud chuckles and shakes his head – it sure was good to see them again. "Yeah, Jessie, I remember."

Wedge is the first to act, the boy needing no additional encouragement to launch himself at Cloud, a strangled cry of "Bro!" passing his lips. Cloud's almost tempted to remind Wedge that they aren't brothers, but as he wraps his arms around the trembling boy, he supposes he can just let it go. "It's good to see you, too, Wedge."

A few seconds pass before Jessie's wavering voice finds its way through Wedge's waterworks. Her words – "I'm all for this type of action!" – are the only warning Cloud has before she's colliding with him, too, the girl laughing cheerfully while Wedge continues to sniffle against him.

He's not sure how long the three of them remain tied up together, Jessie and Wedge clinging to him tightly, Yuffie oddly quiet and reserved next to him. But when he does pull back, Wedge's tears have long since dried. Before Cloud can let go and figure out what had happened to Biggs, he finds himself trapped, Jessie wrapping her arms around his neck and fluttering her eyelashes at him. "It's so good to have you back, honey!"

Cloud sighs – so they were doing this again. "I see you really haven't changed, Jessie."

"You're so sweet!"

Rolling his eyes, Cloud pries Jessie off of him with a soft "Happy to see you, too." Ignoring her feigned swoon (all the world's a stage?), Cloud steps over to Biggs and raises an eyebrow at the still-frozen teen. "Well?"

But Biggs doesn't understand his prompting, the teen blinking uncomprehending at him. "Well…?"

Cloud chuckles softly to himself – he guesses he had been rather distant the last time they really knew one another. Curling a hand into the collar of Biggs's shirt, he yanks the teen into a big hug. Gaia, he hadn't even realized how much he had missed these three goofballs. "I'm really glad you guys are alive again."

Biggs melts into the embrace at his words, the teen wrapping his arms securely around Cloud. "I-It's..." Biggs lets out a shaky breath. "It's so good to see you, Cloud."

"You too, Biggs."

Biggs curls himself around Cloud, the teen noticeably quieter than his partners in crime, but Cloud can tell he's just as relieved. Their hug doesn't last more than a few seconds, though, before Yuffie grows bored with being silent. "I swear, Cloud, everywhere we go, everybody's all head over heels in love with you." She pouts, kicking a rock listlessly to the side, her voice soft and petulant as she continues, "I mean, I don't blame them… but we were playing…"

Pulling away from Biggs, Cloud walks back to Yuffie's side and crouches in front of her. "Sorry, Yuf," he says, patting her on the head. Standing back up, he slings an arm around her shoulders and steers her around to face the rest of the Avalanche crew. "Guys, this is Yuffie. She's the best friend a person could ever ask for." He smirks as he tacks on, "When she's not trying to steal your materia, that is."

"You didn't hafta say it like that!"

Cloud ruffles her hair, laughing as he turns back to the others. "And this is Biggs, Wedge, and Jessie," he introduces, pointing to the three of them in turn. "They're the other members of Avalanche we told you about."

"Ohhh." Yuffie shrugs off Cloud's arm, the girl striding over to Wedge and looking up at him thoughtfully.

"Uhh…" Wedge looks concerned for all of two seconds, before kneeling down in front of Yuffie, a smile on his face. "Hi there."

"You're the one who saved Cloud from those guard dogs and that one sweeper, right?"

Wedge's smile falls from his face, confusion written all across his scrunched brow. "…How did you know about that?"

"Cloud told me, of course."

Wedge turns his entirely gobsmacked expression Cloud's way. "Y-You did?"

Cloud nods. "Of course. You really had my back."

If Cloud had thought that Wedge was finished with the crying, if he had thought that the boy couldn't possibly admire him more than he already did, then boy was Cloud wrong. It wouldn't be the first time, though – nor the last he can almost hear Tifa say. "B-Bro…"

Jessie takes pity on the boy's renewed sniffling, the girl looking at Cloud approvingly – or perhaps she was just checking him out again, he can't really tell. "I might not have changed, honey, but you sure have."

"…Did Tifa and Barret not tell you the truth?"

"They said that you weren't really yourself when we first met, but wouldn't say more than that."

Cloud takes a deep breath – he wasn't exactly ready to talk about that creep again, but Biggs, Wedge, and Jessie deserved the truth. Cloud trusted them with truth. "Have you ever heard of a man named Hojo?"

.

.

.

They had been understandably distraught when Cloud finished his story, more than just Wedge left sniffling this time. They hadn't entirely believed him when he said he was fine, either, but Cloud had insisted. Granted, he probably wasn't exactly fine if these warring feelings concerning Sephiroth were anything to go off of, but he'd gotten this far by ignoring his pain. It'll be fine.

"Not that I don't like seeing you guys, but what are you doing down this way anyway?"

His diversion is far more successful this time, all three forgetting about his Hojo problems, alarm filtering over their faces. Well, that doesn't look good. "We came to warn Aerith to stay away from Wall Market," Biggs answers, the teen's frame tense. "The place is absolute chaos right now."

Cloud almost snorts – he can imagine it's in chaos after what Yuffie did. "Did you find anything out?"

"Not much. All I heard was something about a 'giant ass shuriken'."

"…Goddammit, Yuffie!"

A/N:

- In the Advent Children movie, Cloud asks Vincent if sins are ever forgiven. Vincent says he's never tried. So, Cloud decides that he'll try and tells Vincent that he'll phone in the verdict. Well, Vincent didn't have a phone at the time and the first thing he says when he gets to Edge for the final fight is "Where can I buy a phone?"

- If anybody didn't get the cookies joke, the phrase I've always heard is "Come to the dark side, we have cookies."

- Tseng's 'punishment' and a more detailed account of 'Johnson losing his johnson' used to be at the end of the previous chapter, but is now its own piece - Should We Really Be Doing This Here, Sir?. The rating for this one is mature (I wanted to keep the teen rating for this main fic).