Disclaimer:

We all know I don't own anything from FF7 or square-enix/soft. No characters. No locations. No vehicles. No Chocobo. All I own is myself, and I'm not even sure about that one.

Oh well, at least this story's mine. See, I can see the silver lining to every Cloud... :-p

Sorry, couldn't help that one :-p

Don't upset the Lifestream... I want to share the fun too! Wait for meeeeeeeeeee!

Part 1: Epilogue -Towa no Mirai

"Hey."

"Cloud!" She had not heard him come inside. Indeed, she had not been expecting him back before the end of the week. "Is something wrong?"

"No, nothing at all…"

"You're back earlier than I expected."

"Um… yeah. I got some phone calls." The young man combed his fingers through his hair as he usually did when he was nervous. "Say, Tifa, how about we go on a picnic? Just the kids and us? I know a meadow near Kalm that would be OK."

Tifa laughed out in surprise. "That's wonderful! What a great idea, Cloud! Thank you!"

The young man blushed at her enthusiastic response.

"You have to thank Vincent… and Yuffie… and Cid and Barrett, Nanaki and Reeve. They reminded me that it was a long time since we've done anything together… as a family."

Tifa laughed.

"It doesn't matter who said what. Just give me some time to get ready and we'll be on our way! The kids are gonna love that, you know?"

"Yeah."

"Marlene will be so happy, as will be Denzel. They missed you."

Cloud's face darkened and his voice wavered. "I am sorry…"

"Oh no, you're not going to do this again, are you?" Tifa smiled at the surprise and puzzlement showing plainly on his face. Some things just never changed…

"Do what?"

"Stop blaming yourself so much. We all have a lot to get used to before we get a proper routine. None of us blames you for forgetting us sometimes while you're busy delivering important parcels to people who might otherwise never have received them."

He cocked his head to one side, thoughtful. "Is this how you see my job?"

She nodded and pushed back a stray lock from her eyes. "Yeah. What you're doing is important. You're helping people stay in touch with those they are far from. Without someone like you, who knows when they might have received that little something from a loved one which says how much that person cares for them? Marlene and Denzel know that and they respect you for it."

"Thank you, Tifa."

He had never considered his job in that light. He had always seen himself as just a delivery boy. In fact, what she said shamed him because he knew, deep down, that another reason for his new choice of career was the fact that delivering parcels all over the world meant that he was also away most of the time. Away from her. Away from his family. Away from the ones who could make him forget the past. And here she was, making of him a hero when all he had been was a coward. Perhaps still was, since he was still doing that job.

She continued to smile as widely and turned to go the children's room. She was at the foot of the stairs when he called her name.

"Tifa."

She looked at him, waiting for him to go on.

"I… memories are important, but not as important as what is happening now."

Slowly, she came back to him, resting her hand lightly against his left arm; it no longer bore the stigmas, but Cloud had decided to have the sleeve sewn back on. Else, he had jokingly said, they would look like they were wearing some sort of uniform.

Well, she had replied, we both work for the Strife Delivery Services and Seventh Heaven is it not?

He had merely smiled. Trust me Tifa, you don't want to wear a uniform for any length of time. Plus, I couldn't stand to wear one anymore…

And so it had been decided; the sleeve, which he had adopted to hide the stigmas, had become an integral part of his wardrobe. Beneath her hand, she felt the rough weave of the fabric, and the warm lifeblood pulsating through his veins.

Cloud had missed five years of his life. In short, he had had to step from adolescence to manhood in the blink of an eye when he had awakened near Midgar. Slowly, he was catching up on those lost years by travelling the world alone. He was rediscovering himself, forging who he would be in the future, thanks to Aerith.

"That is what defeated Sephiroth in the end, isn't it?"

He stared at her, speechless.

"You found your light again, didn't you?"

It hurt to say that, but it had to be said. In the past, too many things had been left unspoken and look where it had led them. Loneliness. Pain. Estrangement from each other. Tifa was determined not to let history repeat itself if she could help it.

"I had found a note on your desk, when you were gone. It was for a delivery. The client was Elmyra. She wanted you to… deliver a bouquet to the Ajit…"

"Oh." Cloud's gaze shifted to the floor as he sat down on one of the stools at the bar. Tifa followed suit on the stool next to his. That reminded him of that night when he had first stepped in the original Seventh Heaven. It seemed so long ago now, almost like another life. How strange. Time flowed in quite bizarre ways sometimes. But fuzzy as the rest of his memory might be, that night was one he would never forget. Tifa and him had sat down at the bar after the opening hours, talking about all the things they had missed out on after years of separation. Of course, then, his memories of his past had been altered. Maybe it was the time to do it right, this time round. Let the past flow unbound between them.

The Ajit. It had been the first time he had been there after Aerith's death. He had gone tthere and stayed at the side of the lake for long minutes before delivering the bouquet. At the time, the first visible signs of Geostigma had already appeared on his arm and started to spread. He had seen Elmyra's request as a sign, so he had waited there for something, anything. He had tried to reach out to Aerith, called out to her from his heart. But nothing had happened and he had returned to Edge… There, he had waited for a sign from her in the church, night after night after night, whenever he was in the city.

"I went there to find an answer."

"Which you found."

"No... That is why I stayed in the church. I was waiting for an answer, for a miracle. In the end… I was just there. I don't think I was really waiting for anything else than death."

"Cloud…" Once again, her hand rested lightly against his. He clenched his fist.

"I remember thinking that when I die, you and the kids would… be alone. So I never returned. Pretty lame excuse for a coward, isn't it?"

"No, you're not!" Tifa's hand tightened on his gloved one. "You didn't want us to worry, isn't it? I can understand that. But where you went wrong was thinking that your absence would not worry us as much as the stigmas. We are a family, Cloud. Whatever affects you affects us too. Also, we're here to help each other out. Together, we can do it!"

He risked a peek at her determined face through his hair. She really seemed to believe what she was saying. That brought a small smile to his lips and he nodded.

"Yeah... Tifa? I am sorry for all of this. I guess I was just…" He searched for the words for a moment before remembering something Vincent had once told him. "…wallowing in self-pity. I did not see what I was doing to all of you. I am sorry."

Tifa removed her hand from his and leaned back against the bar, facing the windows. Light filtered in through them, the bright sunshine of a beautiful late spring day, spreading splashes of mellow warmth on the seats and the wooden flooring.

"You know what?"

"What?"

"I absolve you of everything you think needs to be absolved if you get us out of here before it gets any later." He was about to say something when she hushed him with a shake of her head. "And if you think that you owe us anything, you don't. Cloud, you're allowed mistakes. This is perfectly normal, because we're humans, after all. And if we learn from our mistakes, we eventually grow wiser and better from them. Someone who has never made a mistake is not great; just ignorant and probably shallow, in fact."

"You've never made a mistake," he pointed out cautiously.

"Oh, I did," she replied quietly. "Lots. Think about Sector Seven. Think about the first reactor we sabotaged. All of those who have died because of AVALANCHE on those days. I keep thinking of the reason why I joined in the first place. But I try to learn from them. Not just to pay back for the wrongs that I have done, but also to be a better person for those around me. Vincent... everything he does is to atone for his sins; everyone needs to atone for his wrongs, but one cannot let it dictate the rest of one's life. That is when growing up comes in; to move beyond atonement by letting go of one's guilt, forgive oneself for being a mistake-making human, and moving on to be a better one."

"I've never seen it that way…"

She shrugged. "Well, me neither. But it seems that the more we talk, the more things start to make sense, isn't it? Perhaps we should talk more often."

"Yeah, we should."

"Perfect! That's settled. I'll go get the children ready now."

Cloud watched the young woman saunter away; she was right. Absolution or redemption, acceptance of one's failings, moving on; it was all about growing up. He had been so fixated on what had happened before; he had neglected to see what was right in front of him and what was to be. He had learned something precious from this last battle with Sephiroth, something that had come into better focus in the church, when he had come back.

Everything was important, but most important of all was those around you who care for you. They are the key to the future, and the hope they see in you, you can also see it in them. Each human being holds it within himself, the inextinguishable flame of hope that can carry you through the worst life can deal. Together, they could make it.

'…Yeah, I've found my light. I promise never to lose sight of it now. Thank you. All of you…'

He looked out of the window.

The peaceful, boundless blue sky opened up to an unseen horizon, far beyond the city of humans.

Cloud didn't know what tomorrow was made up of, but he was, for the first time in his life, eager to discover it.

Author's Notes:

This is the first part of the epilogue... else, it would have been too long! The second part of the epilogue will be a surprise... or not. ;-)

If you've played Kingdom Hearts 1 and 2, you must have noticed the references to it here and there. Also, if you're a Rurouni Kenshin (a.k.a. Samurai X in the U.S.) you know what the title means. If you don't, wait for the next installment of the epilogue!

Your light... never lose sight of it.

Celeste.