A/N: See notes at end of story.
Easy to Make That Promise
"Damn Jessie, what kind of drink is this? If I didn't see you make it I'd believe Tifa were still here!" Biggs cheerily said, taking a deep swig of the ruby red drink Jessie had just handed him.
Jessie beamed at him in response, preparing her own to share with him. It was currently just the two of them in Seventh Heaven. Barret was out for a walk with Marlene, Wedge was tending to his cats, and Tifa hadn't returned from her mission to Wall Market yet. Jessie took a swig of her own drink before leaning her elbows on the back of the bar.
"That's a Cosmo Canyon. Tifa's been training me in mixology. Obviously my good looks and charm will do wonders behind the bar, but they only go so far when you're dealing with folks who are picky about what they drink," she shrugged.
Biggs rolled his eyes at Jessie's casual self-praise, but continued to drink regardless. He let his eyes travel around the uncharacteristically empty bar. His eyebrows furrowed as his thoughts carried him away, his suspicions growing.
"Biggs, I can hear you thinking again," Jessie noted teasingly.
Unperturbed, Biggs set his glass down and clasped his hands together, resting his forehead against his thumbs. "Don't you think it's a little odd it's so slow? I've got a really bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. And it's not like Barret to be out for so long, even when he is spending quality time with Marlene," he sighed.
Jessie frowned in silent agreement. She'd normally tease Biggs for his worrying, but he had a point in this case. The bar being slow was easy to chalk up as people not coming in with Tifa being away—but Barret being gone for this long was certainly odd. As if on cue, the doors banged open and Barret came charging in, Marlene in her normal place on her shoulder, but looking absolutely terrified.
"Shinra's attacking the pillar, we need to move, NOW!" he growled.
Biggs and Jessie were so caught off guard by Barret's statement it took them a minute to process, Biggs' glass frozen midair as he'd gone to take another sip.
"Move!" Barret yelled again, this time turning back to Marlene.
"You know what to do babygirl, you stay in here and you don't come out for anyone except us," he sternly commanded.
Marlene stuck her lips out as she put on her brave face and ran around behind the bar, where she promptly shut herself in the cupboard. Finally snapping back to reality, Jessie and Biggs were hot on Barret's tail as they leaped out of the bar. Stepping outside, the three turned around and looked up at the pillar holding the Sector 7 Plate up. A cacophony of shouts and gunfire were sounding from all levels of the tower, and the screams of the Sector 7 residents sent chills up Jessie's spine. Why are they doing this?
"Heard from HQ. They know we're holed up here, Shinra's gonna drop the plate and blame it on Avalanche!" Barret yelled, his voice shaking with fury.
Not waiting for a response, Barret sprinted as fast as his 300lb body would let him towards the base of the tower. Biggs and Jessie shared a brief look before falling in to step behind him. As they made it to the base of the tower, the three of them met up with Wedge, the look of pure terror on his face only conveying what they all felt.
"This right here is where we show them what Avalanche is truly made of. We set out on this mission to save the planet. Now, we need to save our home. This isn't how our story ends, and we are all going to make it out of here today. Now get your asses up this tower and show them holy hell!" Barret roared.
"AVALANCHE!" Jessie, Biggs, and Wedge yelled in response, as the group began their ascent. As they passed the dead bodies of several members of the Neighborhood Watch, Jessie felt her heartbeat grow faster and harder. Despite herself, her mind drifted as she climbed step after step, and recounted the last 2 weeks.
After her conversation with Tifa, Jessie knew in her heart that somehow, someway, Cloud had survived his fall from the Reactor. She had no verifiable proof, but she knew that the thought of seeing him again was all that was keeping her stable, and she couldn't bare the thought of letting go of that hope no matter how insane it sounded. She operated on autopilot for the most part, and her innate ability as an actress aided her significantly in pretending that everything was okay.
About a week in from hearing the news that had devastated her to her core, Jessie was sitting in the basement of Seventh Heaven working on some explosives. She'd promised Tifa she'd take over looking after the bar for her while she went on a reconnaissance mission to Wall Market, and she doubted she'd have much time to work on her arsenal until she got back. She'd managed to increase the size of the blast for her standard grenade without making the shell itself much longer using a new combination of blasting agent. As she finished stashing the pile of newly minted grenades into a box underneath her work station, the sound of the elevator coming down grabbed her attention. Eyes looking up, she saw Biggs with his arms crossed on the platform, looking as pensive as always.
"Hey partner," Jessie chirped.
Biggs sighed in response as he walked over and sat down on the couch next to the work station. His head rolled back and his eyes closed. Jessie leaned her chin in the palm of her hand as she stared at him expectantly, knowing full well he'd launch into whatever subject ailed him in a moment.
"I really don't like Tifa's plan," he finally muttered.
Jessie raised her eyebrows in her only external indicator that she was surprised about his choice of topic. Opening one eye, Biggs took in Jessie's expression as an invitation to continue.
"The shit we've heard about Corneo around here…he's scum, Jessie, the lowest of the low, and he uses his wealth and his connections with Shinra to treat women like…like…" he trailed off.
"Like toys he gets bored with and throws away?" Jessie offered.
Biggs just groaned in response, burying his face in his hands. Jessie understood his concern. He and Cloud hadn't been close, but the loss of his capabilities was still fresh. Tifa was an integral part of not just the team but also the family, it was only natural he'd be worried. But Jessie knew for Biggs it went beyond just that.
"Biggs, you and I both know that Tifa could kick any man's ass to hell and back with her eyes closed. Regardless of the type of man Corneo is, you really think she can't handle herself?" Jessie asked, leaning forward in the chair with her arms loose against her knees.
"It's not that at all! I don't think anyone doubts Tifa, least of all me. She's incredible Jessie, watching her fight, god I wish I was as skilled and graceful as her," he quickly defended.
At that praise Jessie couldn't stop a smirk from crossing her face. Moving so she was sitting next to Biggs on the couch, she rested her head on his shoulder.
"We sure know how to pick 'em huh?" she sighed.
She felt Biggs' shoulder tense, and she looked up at him, fluttering her eyebrows exaggeratedly.
"Oh Tifa, the way you beat those Shinra flunkies to a pulp is just SO amazing, I can barely contain my lo—" Jessie was cut off chuckling as Biggs shoved her away, jumping off the couch. He walked several paces away before whirling around and giving her a rare, angry glare.
"It isn't funny Jessie! If you'd known Cloud was walking to his death would you have let him go?" he spat.
Jessie's face paled, and her lower lip trembled as she fought to keep her composure. Her eyes stung with angry tears as stared at Biggs coldly, all trace of her joking attitude gone.
"He's. Not. Dead," she responded icily.
"Get a grip Jessie! You knew him for two weeks, he fell from topside. Of course he's—" Biggs retort was cut off as Jessie's fist connected with his jaw, sending him sprawling to the floor.
Jessie stood above Biggs, her whole body shaking violently with tremors as silent tears streamed down her face. Biggs was holding his jaw gingerly where Jessie had punched him, avoiding her gaze. The two held their position for what felt like an eternity before Biggs finally stood up. Walking over to Jessie, he lowered his hand from his face and held his arms out, beckoning her in for a hug. She tried to shoot him as dirty a glare as she could, but when their eyes connected any lingering anger dissipated and she returned his embrace. The two stood like that for several minutes, neither one of them willing to break the silence. It was Jessie who pulled away, her fingers brushing away remaining tears.
"Let's go talk to your girl, alright?" she smiled at him.
Biggs only nodded as the two took the elevator up to the bar. Jessie went behind the bar and poured herself a glass of wine, opting instead to walk over towards a secluded table to give Biggs and Tifa some privacy. Tifa was washing some dishes behind the bar, humming to herself quietly. Biggs had taken a seat at the bar, but hadn't said anything yet. Come on kid.
"Hey, uh, Tifa?" Biggs started, his voice cracking slightly.
Tifa turned her head around to smile at Biggs, still washing the dishes.
"Hmm? What's up Biggs?" she asked kindly.
Biggs shifted on his stool, his discomfort so apparent Jessie thought he might just sprint out of the bar. He ran his hand through his messy hair with a sigh, before steeling his resolve and meeting Tifa's eyes.
"I just, well, I wanted to let you know that I'm worried about you going to see Corneo. I know that we need to find out what he's up to and his relationship with Shinra. But, well, we've all heard the stories and…" he trailed off, losing steam as Tifa's continuous smile disarmed him.
She dried her hands before gently resting one on Biggs' hand, giving him a grateful pat. "Biggs, I'll be fine. You've seen firsthand how much ass I can kick, haven't you?" she offered, her head tilting slightly.
Biggs sighed, clearly frustrated he was losing this battle. "Of course, Tifa! I don't doubt you for a second," he responded.
Thinking the conversation was over, Tifa nodded, before returning her attention to cleaning the bar. Biggs caught Jessie's eyes before shaking his head and walking out the door. Jessie sighed, knowing that the chances of her friend ever coming clean about his feelings for Tifa were slim to none. The man thought too much about the proper way to get dressed in the morning much less how to talk to the girl he likes. Jessie stood up and walked over to the bar, resolving to take matters into her own hands.
"He's crazy about you, you know," Jessie said simply.
Tifa gave a little jump at Jessie's sudden remark, and she stopped wiping down the counter, giving the redhead her full attention.
"What are you talking about?" she asked, her eyebrows furrowing.
"Oh come on, Tifa. You fend off thirsty guys in here every night. You really can't tell when one of the good ones is interested?" Jessie scoffed, rolling her eyes.
Tifa tilted her head, still confused, before her gaze drifted to the doors that Biggs had just walked out. A blush creeping up her cheeks, she dropped her head and returned to wiping the counter, this time with significantly more fervor.
"He's just being a good friend, worrying about me is all. No different than the lecture I already got from Barret," Tifa quietly explained.
Jessie couldn't contain the laugh that escaped her throat as she doubled over. Her giggles only served to make Tifa blush even fiercer, and resulted in the very wet rag missing Jessie's head by inches as it was thrown at her. Choking down her laughter, Jessie mockingly wiped her tears of mirth away.
"Girl, you've got a whole mess of other issues if you think that what Biggs has going on for you is at all similar to what our big oaf of a leader thinks," Jessie declared, shaking her head.
Tifa leaned back against the bar, sighing as she took in Jessie's words. She had noticed Biggs hanging around the bar a little more than usual lately, and he'd even offered to help her with customers, something only Jessie would usually do.
"Why would Biggs be interested in someone like me?" Tifa asked meekly, her cheeks still faintly pink.
At this, Jessie sobered almost immediately, as Tifa's lack of self-confidence hit her like a ton of bricks.
"Huh? You mean aside from the fact you're the most beautiful woman anyone around here has ever seen, you're a kickass martial artist, you're uncommonly kind, and you make drinks that are good enough alone to fall in love over?" Jessie responded in an altogether shocked tone.
Tifa didn't answer immediately, only moving to start putting the chairs up onto the tables for the night. Jessie's attention flew to the clock on the wall and she realized it was closing time, and that Tifa needed to get ready to be picked up for her rendezvous at Wall Market. Jessie moved to help Tifa finish cleaning up the bar, letting her collect her thoughts. After they'd finished buttoning up the place, the two stepped outside the bar and locked up, before standing side by side looking up at the steel sky.
"I…I've never been with anyone before, not in any real way, at least," Tifa offered.
Jessie's mouth opened slightly as she took in Tifa's words, unable to hide her surprise. Tifa was far too incredible a woman, and a human, for her to believe she hadn't found some guy willing to go the extra mile for her.
"I've had plenty of…propositions, especially since opening the bar. But, most of them I can tell only see the me on the outside. And I'm not exactly the most comfortable sharing the me on the inside, so I've kind of just always gotten by on my own," she continued.
Jessie nodded silently, unwilling to interrupt for fear she'd scare her away.
Tifa turned to look Jessie square in the eye, and she offered a sad, but gentle smile.
"Cloud was—is—my best friend, even if our history is a little complicated," she continued. "I've been through some things I sometime wish even he didn't know about. Biggs…well, I like that Biggs sees me as strong and independent. I like that he doesn't see me as how I feel on the inside. Weak, and scared. For a long time, I think I felt like the only person I could ever be close with was Cloud because of our shared history, and I thought he felt the same," she paused.
Jessie swallowed slightly, as she realized the implications of what Tifa was saying. They hadn't talked about Cloud since the day they'd come back from the Reactor, and Jessie had certainly never had such a frank conversation with Tifa about her feelings for him—it made her uncomfortable, and even a little jealous. But before she could stop her from saying more, Tifa continued.
"That was until we went on the mission together. I told you before he fell that he said it wasn't the end, and that he would come back. But there were a few points where I saw him kind of get lost in his head for a bit. Cloud is Cloud, and he does that a lot. But some times were different. Sometimes he would space out, and he had this ghost of a smile on his face. I asked him about it, and he just said he couldn't wait to get back…home," she explained, accentuating the last word.
Jessie's eyes widened as it dawned on her just what Tifa was implying, and what she had been working up to revealing to her.
"You think…you think he thinks of me, of where I am, as being his home?" she asked in awe.
Tifa smiled in response, and she returned her gaze to the steel sky.
"Home is wherever you feel comfortable. Wherever the people are that make you happy. Wherever you can be that gives you, however brief, a moment of solace. I do think that you do that for Cloud," she finished.
Jessie found herself at a loss for words, and she scrambled to redirect the conversation back to Tifa.
"So…where is your home Tifa?" Jessie prompted.
Tifa's smile faltered a bit, and a lone tear escaped her normally otherwise steeled eyes.
"Well, my home is with all of you now. Just like what you did for Cloud, Sector 7 did for me," she looked off in the direction of Biggs' house.
"And Biggs?" Jessie pushed.
"I'm not sure I'm fit for him, Jessie. I think…I think I'm too broken for anyone," she sighed.
"Girl, you're crazy," Jessie scoffed.
Tifa looked up at Jessie, confusion written all over her face.
"First of all, I'm pretty sure you're the kindest human being on the planet. And while you're absolutely gorgeous, so much so I downright envy you, I know in my heart it's that kindness that draws Biggs to you. Being around you makes him happy. I don't think there's anything broken about that," she explained simply.
A small, timid smile found it's way on Tifa's face, and Jessie felt like she'd at least made a little progress—at least enough to convince Biggs to try talking to her about how he feels again.
"Be careful, okay? We all need you here, not just Biggs. Come back safely, and soon," Jessie reiterated, pulling Tifa into a tight hug.
"Thanks Jessie. I'll see you soon. Hold down the fort for me okay?" Tifa asked.
"People will be singing my praise to you when you come back," Jessie winked.
Tifa waved farewell as she made her way to her apartment to get ready. Jessie sighed, making her own way back to her apartment. Her thoughts drifted to what Tifa had said about Cloud, and her hand made its way over her heart. She knew it was strange that she felt such a strong connection with the Soldier given their limited history. But at the same time, she knew it was real. Having spent much of her life pretending to be someone else, constantly putting on a show, she never felt more like herself than when she was with him. A smile found its way across her face as she promised herself she'd be completely open with Cloud the next time they saw eachother. She needed to let him know he was her home too.
Jessie sprinted towards the Shinra soldier desperately trying to reload his weapon, opting for a roundhouse kick to the face that sent him flying. Wedge ran past her, throwing his full body weight against the air soldier that tried to propel to his escape; their combined weight brought them both down to the ground. Debris was steadily falling around them and fires had already broken out further up in the tower. Biggs was firing shots up the nearest stairwell, attempting to clear their path further up. Barret was somewhere several floors up already, having barreled his way through before the three got caught up.
"Biggs, status!" Jessie shouted.
"I think we're clear! Come on guys, we need to catch up to Barret!" he shouted back.
The three of them made their way to the next landing, taking in the wreckage and several dead Shinra soldiers. Barret had clearly decided the time was past for taking hostages. The sight made Jessie sick to her stomach, but so did all of the members of the Watch the soldiers had killed mercilessly.
"So this is what it means to be at war…I wonder if Cloud had to see this during his time with Soldier…" Jessie mumbled to herself. She felt a large hand rest on her shoulder, and turned to see Wedge giving her an encouraging smile.
"How much you wanna bet he shows up just in time to save all of us huh? He's always had a flair for the dramatic, wouldn't you—" Wedge was cut off as a figure slammed into him.
"Wedge!" Jessie screamed.
A very wounded Shinra soldier had wrapped himself around Wedge, charging with him towards the edge of the tower. Wedge was too caught off guard, he couldn't regain his balance. It felt like time had slowed down, and Jessie and Biggs could do nothing else except watch.
"No, please Gaia no!" Biggs yelled.
Wedge and the Shinra soldier wrestled briefly with eachother, before the two fell over the edge. Biggs reached out desperately to try and reach Wedge, but their hands missed one another by inches. Wedge let out a horrible scream as he fell from several stories up. Unable to watch him hit the floor, Biggs pulled Jessie from the edge as the two made their way to the next set of stairs. Jessie's body had already begun to wrack with sobs as the reality of what had happened just hit her. Silent tears made their way down Biggs' face as his eyes grew cold and his fists clenched. Pulling Jessie into a tight embrace, he waited for her to regain her composure.
"They're not gonna stop, Jessie. Not unless we stop them," Biggs uttered.
Jessie nodded, wiping the tears from her face as the two turned and continued their path upward. As they rounded the next landing, three elite soldiers trained their weapons on them. Jessie immediately pulled one of her smoke grenades out, tossing it towards the closest soldier's feet. They cried in surprise as the smokescreen enveloped the whole floor, giving Biggs and Jessie enough time to make their way to the next stairwell. As Jessie began the ascent, Biggs grabbed hold of her elbow.
"You go on! Someone needs to help Barret. I'll hold them off down here," he assured.
"Absolutely not! I'm not leaving you here to die some martyr, I'm not losing anyone else," Jessie hissed back.
Biggs smirked in response, shaking his head.
"You don't need to be Soldier to be a hero, I'll be fine Jessie. Barret needs you, get going!" he finished, giving her a gentle but stern shove.
Jessie held out her hand for a fist bump, before turning and sprinting up the stairs. Biggs allowed himself a look down the side of the stairs towards the burning Sector 7, and smirked as he saw a set of familiar blonde locks carrying a giant sword sprinting towards the tower. His heart skipped a beat as he realized Tifa was running with him.
"Bout time you showed up kid. Let's see if I can't show Tifa I can be a hero too," he mumbled, bracing himself as the smoke from the grenade began to clear.
Jessie made it to the next landing, finally hearing Barret's shouts just one floor above her. She sprinted her way around the pillar to get to the next stairwell, stopping as three slug rays moved to block her route. Grabbing a grenade from her belt, she tossed it into the air a few times.
"Today's your unlucky day, cause I never miss!" she declared, kissing the grenade before pulling the pin and throwing it towards the center machine. The grenade promptly exploded, summarily destroying all three enemies. With them out of the way, Jessie sprinted towards the stairs. Faster than she could blink, a billowy figure appeared in front of her. The blood running through her veins turned to ice, and she felt that horrifyingly familiar weight settle on her chest. Eyes widening, she took in her surroundings and saw three different phantoms surrounding her.
"This…this is what I saw the last time," she choked out.
Her last few experiences with the phantoms flashed through her mind, as she remembered the flames that surrounded her. The pillar had become increasingly unstable while she had climbed, and she had no doubt that Shinra was currently winning this battle. Legs frozen in place, she watched as two of the phantoms moved up above her, and proceeded to crack part of the ceiling of the landing directly above her head.
"The crushing feeling of my chest…the fire…it was the future. This is…this is how I die?" Jessie cried out.
The phantom in front of her drew closer to her, and she swore she saw it nod in affirmation. Her gaze steeled as she remembered one other part of her vision though. She found herself playing with the wolf ring she'd bought for Cloud. She'd taken to wearing it to remind herself every day that he would come back to her.
"No. Not until I see him again!" she shouted.
As if in response to her defiance, the phantom in front of her flew up and destroyed the ceiling above her. The rubble that fell on top of her pinned Jessie to the floor, and she could tell she was bleeding profusely as her clothes became progressively wetter. Coughing, she fought desperately to break free, but all of her strength had left her. As took in the wreckage around her, the weight of not only the rubble but of all her sins began to overwhelm her.
"Cloud…" she choked out.
Cloud found himself staring intently at the top of the tower. Tifa and Aerith were beside him, tending to Wedge. He'd broken his fall with his grappling hook, but was clearly in rough shape. His thoughts flew to Jessie, who he knew would make sure she was in the thick of the fighting. He pulled his sword out, taking several deep breaths in a desperate attempt to calm his nerves.
She's fine. She's gonna be okay. Just gotta reach her.
"Go," Aerith said from behind him.
Cloud turned to look at Aerith, whose eyes were darting between him and Tifa, a stern but reassuring smile on her face.
"Save them," she said simply.
Cloud's gaze flickered to Tifa, who had been shellshocked from the moment Wedge had fallen. She blinked a few times as she collected herself, and nodded at him in response.
"Aerith, I run a bar in the center of town called Seventh Heaven. There's a little girl there, her name is Marlene…" Tifa started.
"Don't worry. I'll make sure her and Wedge are safe. Now get going!" Aerith urged.
Not waiting a moment longer, Cloud and Tifa began their ascent up the pillar. Cloud was only vaguely aware of Tifa's steps immediately behind him, as his own legs seemed to be moving on autopilot. Flashes of his Jessie's face crossed his mind, and he felt himself move even faster, leaping over debris and dead bodies without a second thought. As they rounded what had to have been the seventh or eighth landing, Cloud stopped dead in his tracks as his heart leapt into his throat. Tifa's gasp beside him all but confirmed what his eyes were already trying to share.
Biggs was lying up against a pile of debris, and his shirt was completely stained red with fresh blood. Unable to move, Cloud could only watch as Tifa sprinted over to him.
"No. No no no NO NO!" she began screaming.
"Biggs, please. Biggs open your eyes, I need you to open your eyes and look at me okay?" Tifa's voice trembled.
Cloud swallowed, his eyes surveying the surrounding area. He didn't see Jessie anywhere, and he wasn't sure if that granted him relief or not. The sound of a horrible cough snapped his attention back to Tifa, who was freely sobbing now.
"Tifa?" Biggs croaked out.
"Oh Gaia…you're gonna be okay Biggs, everything is gonna be okay, we're here now," Tifa cried.
"Ha…I'm sorry. Thought I could pull off being the hero this time. But I guess that's always gonna be your job huh Cloud?" Biggs coughed, a ghost of a laugh in his words.
"You did a great job, Biggs. You all did. I'm sorry I'm late," Cloud responded firmly, his fist clenched tightly at his side.
Biggs chuckled again, this time followed up with a much more severe cough. Tifa wiped the blood from his chin with the back of her glove, and found herself cupping his face. Biggs looked at her briefly before returning his attention to Cloud.
"Jessie…she went on ahead. Please, Cloud…" he begged.
Cloud shared a glance with Tifa, and a notion of understanding passed between them.
"Go, find Jessie. I'm gonna stay with Biggs," she affirmed.
Cloud nodded, taking off as fast as he could up the next set of stairs without looking back. He could tell there were some things Tifa needed to say to Biggs, even if she hadn't figure that out for herself yet. And he needed to find Jessie. He wasn't going to lose someone again.
Cloud reached the next floor and was immediately knocked back down several stairs by a cloaked figure. The phantom was blocking his path to the landing and Cloud knew right away it was because Jessie was on the other side.
"Out of my way, asshole!" he shouted.
Cloud's whole body glowed a vibrant green, the same green as his eyes, and he channeled all of his energy into the Buster Sword. Breaking his limits, he unleashed a flurry of slashes that pushed the phantom further and further back. He wasn't sure he was necessarily harming it, but he was definitely making headway and that's all he was concerned about. Calling forth the energy from the fire material in his bracer, he launched a fire ball at the phantom, catching its cloak on fire. That seemed to have done the trick as the phantom immediately started flying away. Cloud surveyed the surroundings and his eyes widened as he spotted Jessie underneath all of the rubble.
"Jessie!" he shouted.
Sprinting over, Cloud violently lifted the pieces of concrete and debris off of Jessie's body, his heartbeat frantic enough he thought it would explode right out of his chest. Her eyes closed and unable to tell if she was breathing, Cloud slipped his arms underneath her and carried her over bridal style to a much more cleared area. He laid her down and kneeled next to her, his hand instinctively brushing the hair out of her eyes. They flickered at his touch, and he couldn't contain the huge sigh of relief that escaped him as they locked eyes.
"Cloud…you came to save me," Jessie hummed, the barest hint of a smirk on her face.
"I'll always save you," Cloud responded, his voice shakier than normal.
"I knew you were still alive. I knew a little fall wasn't gonna take you down," Jessie coughed.
"Save your strength, Jessie. I…I'm sorry I made you wait," he said, his tone betraying his self-hatred.
Jessie shook her head, bringing her hand up to his cheek. She rested it there as she held his gaze with as much strength as she could muster.
"Don't do that. Don't blame yourself. I know you did everything you could. I think…I think I deserved this. They were my bombs…I…I hurt too many innocent people," she claimed.
Cloud's eyes widened as the implications of what she was saying dawned on him, and he instinctively pulled her in closer.
"No! You've done nothing to deserve this. You and the others…you had something worth fighting for, you showed me that," Cloud responded desperately.
Jessie smiled at him, and her heart fluttered the same way it always did whenever she found herself under his gaze. She still could hardly believe the same cold, cocky Soldier who'd waltzed into Seventh Heaven a few weeks ago had melted around her. But who was she kidding, she'd melted around him too. Jessie's eyes dropped to the wolf ring on her finger, and she brushed it against Cloud's cheek. Catching his attention, Cloud's eyes settled on it and his eyebrows rose in recognition.
"I went back and got it for you. I knew you wanted it. Biggs thought you'd think it was a proposal…" Jessie trailed off, chuckling at the memory.
Hands trembling now, Cloud removed the ring from her finger and placed it on his own. Admiring it briefly, he returned his attention to Jessie, who was growing paler by the second.
"I'm gonna get you out of here. Plate be damned," he declared, moving to stand up with her.
"No!" Jessie cried out. She didn't move away from her, but she clutched his shirt tightly in both hands and buried her face in the cloth.
"It's okay Cloud. I need you to know it's okay. Please, save my home," she begged.
Cloud's whole body had gone numb, and he felt as if the blood in his veins had turned to ice. He was too weak…still. And he was late…again. A lone tear escaped, falling onto Jessie's cheek. Using her last bit of strength, she pulled Cloud down to her and kissed him with everything she had. She could feel her body failing her, and Gaia be damned if she wasn't about to let this man know how much he meant to her. The kiss was sweet and short, but she swore that every cliché that had ever been written about kisses came true in that moment. Cloud held her fiercely, and when she finally broke the kiss, he rested his forehead against hers.
"Jessie…I…I can't lose you, too," he sighed.
"You'll never lose me, Soldier-boy, I promise," Jessie responded, her hand closing around the ring on his finger, as she finally felt the last bit of her strength fall. Even after she'd gone limp in his hands, Cloud found himself unable to tear himself from her. A tap on his shoulder woke him from his shock, and he turned to see Tifa, her eyes swollen, and looking every bit as lost as he did. Shaking her head, she leaned down and pressed her lips to Jessie's forehead, before helping Cloud lay her back down. In silence, the two returned their attention the next flight of stairs, both vowing to make Shinra pay for this.
Coda
Jessie yawned, her arms reaching above her head to stretch in the same way she did every morning. Eyes flickering open, she surveyed her surroundings with mild curiosity and confusion. She was in a small bedroom that looked vaguely familiar. As she tried desperately to piece together what was going on, her gaze fell on the bed next to hers that currently held another sleeping form. Eyes widening, as she realized who it was, Jessie moved to jump out of bed before becoming overwhelmed with a pain in her leg and a sense of vertigo.
Laying back down, Jessie brought her hand to her head as she thought back to the last thing she remembered. She had been fighting with the others to defend the plate from collapsing, and she remembered kissing Cloud.
He's alive!
A smile breaking out across her face, she rolled over and looked at Biggs' sleeping form before she felt the waves of exhaustion take over again. She'd figure out what had happened while she was out later, but at least she knew Cloud was alright. Before she fell asleep, she promised herself she'd tell him she loved him—and she marveled at how easy it was to make that promise.
A/N: Well, the last chapter is finally here! Sorry it took me longer than I thought to get this one out, I REALLY struggled with the ending. I wanted to twist what happens at the pillar enough to feed the ship, but I also wanted it to come across as authentic. If I'm honest I'm still not super content with it, but I wanted to get it out there. The little blip at the end is just my interpretation/wishful thinking of what Remake's ending may have implied :) I'm not giving up hope we get a canon pizza date until the credits roll on the last part. Anyway, like I said this is the first piece I have ever put out there before. Please read and review, let me know what you liked, and let me know what you think I can do to improve my writing! I have some ideas for a Tifa/Biggs story (in case that wasn't clear from this chapter) so if that's something anyone would be interested in let me know about that too. Thanks everyone, I hope you enjoy.