I awoke on a very soft and comfortable matress. It was warm, too. "Am I dead?" I asked. "Maybe I'm in the lifestream now, or maybe I missed and landed on Cloud Nine" I muttered to myself. The bed under me chuckled.

"Close enough" it said. I shot up and found myself looking at the bare chest of Cloud. My mouth dropped and I gaped at all his sexy godliness. I was nearly drooling as he sat up and gave me a kiss, snapping me out of it. He also wrapped his arms around me and pulled me back down with him when he laid back down. I settled back down against him as I remembered what had happened. "You're really quiet" he suddenly stated.

"You're really sexy" I said as our skin rubbed together. 'Wait… skin!' I thought and I looked down to see I had no shirt or bra on and it felt like I was only in my panties and him in his boxers. My face flushed red.

"You should see yourself" he said. "More than just your geostigma changed."

Feeling braver, I got up and walked over to the full length mirror in the room, ignoring Cloud's stare, and saw that not only did my skin look normal, but my hair had changed colors, too. Now there was orange in it that started four inches from the roots and turned blond again at the tips.

"My old color!" I smiled. "This was my hair color before Jenova" I indicated the orange.

"So you're not as blond anymore" he stated. It didn't sound like a joke but I got the idea. I stalked over to the bed and pounced on him. We struggled and wrestled until we hit the floor in a tangle of blankets.

The door flew open to reveal Reno. "Are you okay? I heard a thud… is anyone, oh… I see you're busy… I'll come back later" he said. The look on his face was priceless. He quickly exited but not before saying "Your dad is waiting for you to wake up."

"My dad?" I asked. "That's right! His stigma is gone, too."

I untangled myself from the blankets and Cloud and looked around for my clothes. "Looking for this?" Cloud asked, throwing my dress in my face. "Sorry, your boots aren't dry yet and your shirt and leggings were ruined."

"That's okay" I smiled as I slid my arms into the dress. "All that was to cover my geostigma. Since I don't have it anymore, there's no need, and I'll go barefoot." I buckled up the dress and turned to Cloud, who was also nearly dressed. His vest-shirt was still open though so I took the opportunity to walk over to him and zip it up. I used the collar of his shirt to pull him down to me and give him a quick peck on the lips. He smiled and watched as I then walked away, swinging my hips a little with each step.

I sauntered down the stairs and into the bar where I saw the whole gang and they were all drinking. 'Really? This early!' I thought as I ordered some vodka, which I downed like a shot.

The room seemed to grow silent at my presence. I smiled and walked over to my father. "You wanted to see me?" I asked.

"I just wanted to see if you were okay" he said.

"More than okay" I said with a smile as a pair of strong arms wrapped around my waist.

"She'll be just fine…" said Cloud from behind me.

"Cloud, I would like to talk to you about my daughter" my father suddenly said. My jaw hit the floor. Father was going to give Cloud the "talk." I almost started laughing when I realized someone was still missing.

"Where's Atlatl?" I asked no one in particular.

"The garage" Reno answered me. "Would you like to see her?"

I looked over to see Cloud and my father still talking. "Yeah, let's go" I answered. Reno turned and started off in that direction and I waved to Cloud and followed. We entered the garage and I immediately saw Atlatl covered in bandages and splints.

"We found her under some rubble. She was nearly dead, but the best doctors looked at her. She'll be fine" he explained.

"Thank you" I whispered as I walked to her side and laid against her stomach. She woke as I stroked the fur on her side.

"You're okay" she purred. "That's good."

"You don't look so good" I said.

"I feel fine" she said. "Be better in no time."

"I hope so" I smiled.

"You smell like him" she said. "But not as if you've done anything. What does this mean?"

"We're together" I said. "But we haven't said it. No need to."

"That's good" she said.

"Reno, leave us" I requested. He nodded and walked out. Right after he left, Cloud walked in.

"Your father laid down some ground rules but I guess he's okay with us" he told me as he walked over. I motioned for him to sit by me and rest on Atlatl's stomach like I was.

"It's strange" I said.

"What is?" asked Cloud.

"Sephiroth wanted me to come with him. He offered everything I wanted, but he wouldn't have ever given it to me. Yet, you haven't tried to and you already have." I said.

"What did you want?" he asked.

"I wanted a normal life and a family. I wanted someone who I didn't have to run from who could care. You've come closer to doing that for me than anyone ever has" I said.

"Anything I can do" he said. "So, what will you do now?"

"Stay here of course" I laughed. "Help with the bar… I'm done running. The meaning of my life used to be to die. You gave my life new meaning so I'm not going anywhere soon."

"Good" he said as he pulled me to his chest. "Your father would have killed me if I let you go."

"I don't know where I was going before" I said. "I told Tifa I wouldn't see the end of my journey but here I am and I've done more than just see it." I smiled and laid my head on his shoulder. "It was also nice to know that the only person that blamed me for the state of the world was me. Zack never blamed me, that's what mattered."

"I don't think Zack would blame you anyway" said Cloud.

"Probably not" I admitted. "But it helped to hear him say it."

"Do you know we only met two days ago?" he asked.

"Feels a lot longer, doesn't it?"

"I feel like I've known you for years."

"Ditto" I smiled. "But, think about it. If I hadn't run away and Sephiroth hadn't gone crazy, we may have known each other a lot longer by now." My mind wandered for a moment and I realized something new. In a way, the past few years had been resolved in these two days and that made those two days feel like years. "I can't believe that two days ago, my whole purpose in life was to die and hurt as few people as possible doing it. Now you've given my life a new meaning and me a reason to live. I didn't really have any plans because I thought I was going to die. Now that I'm staying, I don't know if I'll know what to do with myself."

Cloud chuckled. "You can always keep me company on deliveries."

"No, I hate those motorcycles."

"You'll have to get used to it someday. After all, you do ride a large cat."

"Atlatl" I corrected him. "And she cares about my safety. Does your bike care about yours?"

"Fenrir" he corrected me this time. "And I'm slightly insulted that you don't trust my skills as a driver."

I pouted. There was no winning this. "Fine, if you're nice, I'll try riding with you. But you have to agree to try to ride Atlatl."

His jaw dropped and he looked at her as if he wasn't sure and then said "Deal." I exploded into a fit of laughter and rolled so I was laying in his lap. "Glad you think it's funny" he muttered.

"Sorry, I just can't believe you agreed" I giggled.

"Well, I did" he said indignantly. "I hope you're happy."

"I am happy, Cloud" I smiled. "And it's because of you."

"Glad I could help" he chuckled.

I closed my eyes and snuggled into his stomach. This was what it was like to have a normal life, and this man had made it possible.

"Thank you, for everything, Cloud."