And so we come to the epilogue. Enjoy.
It was perhaps an hour after sunset when Cloud's mother heard a knock at the front door. Curious about who would be visiting at this hour, the blonde woman removed her apron and stepped away from the kitchen sink. Moving quickly to answer the second set of knocks, she opened the door to find a pair of teenaged girls on the other side. One was the neighbor girl, Tifa Lockheart, but the woman had to think for a moment before recalling the shorter girl's name.
"Ah, Tifa and… Aeris, was it?" she greeted them, "What can I do for you girls tonight?"
Tifa opened her mouth to reply, but was cut off by her friend, who the blonde couldn't help but notice chose to lay a staying hand on the young martial artist's arm. Oh, what's this?
"It's nice to see you again, Mrs. Strife," the girl announced cheerfully, "We were wondering if Cloud was home? Tifa needs to speak to him."
The elder woman looked from the flower girl to Tifa, taking note of the slight blush on top of her grim expression. A degree of understanding lit the woman's mind, and she sighed softly.
"What has he done this time?" the weary mother asked.
"He decided to be helpful," the fighter replied flatly. Noting the confusion on the blonde's face, Tifa reached into the pocket of her shorts and pulled out a sheet of paper, which she extended toward Cloud's mother. "I am not the one that wrote this," she explained, "And Cloud tricked me into giving it to Aeris."
Accepting the note and turning to read it in the light spilling from the doorway, Mrs. Strife very quickly came to understand the situation. The content of the letter was quite heartwarming, but the fact that it was fake sat very poorly with her.
"Oh, my," she lamented, "You're saying Cloud wrote this?"
Wordlessly, Tifa nodded, her expression becoming more angry, despite the other girl now rubbing her back. Cloud's mother cocked an eyebrow at the sight, some of the deviousness her son had inherited bubbling to the surface.
"Well," she asked casually, "Did it work?"
Both teens gaped at her in shock, though the shorter girl's expression quickly shifted to one of bashful joy.
"It did," she replied happily, taking one of Tifa's hands in her own, "But it was awfully rude of Cloud to trick us like that. That's what Tifa wants to speak with him about."
"I see," the woman replied thoughtfully, smirking at the girls' reaction. They certainly made a cute couple. However, as a good mother, she needed to make sure her son learned from his mistakes, so she came to a decision.
"Well," she said briskly, turning toward the crimson-faced brawler "Cloud is home. Tifa, feel free to discuss things with him. But please, try not to destroy anything you can't replace." Here, she turned her attention to the other girl. "Aeris, why don't you and I sit out here for a bit and talk? Tifa is practically a niece to me, so I'd like to get to know you a bit better."
She stepped out of the doorway, giving Tifa room to pass. The teens glanced at each other in surprise, before, with a shrug, the fighter walked into the house, closing the door behind her. Left outside, Aeris eyed the elder woman with a small degree of apprehension.
"Um, was there anything specific you wanted to talk about?" the girl asked unsurely.
"Ah, just one moment, dear," Mrs. Strife replied, holding up one hand in a shushing gesture. She leaned toward the house, listening for something. After a moment, Aeris imitated her, unsure of what-
"CLOUD STRIFE, YOU ASSHOLE!"
Tifa's muffled shriek startled the girl. It was followed by a loud thump, and what sounded like Cloud's panicked response.
"I was helping!" he shouted, just barely audible outside the house.
"YOU WERE AN ASSHOLE!" came the brawler's much clearer response, followed by another loud thump and what may have been the sound of wood cracking.
"Oh, god! MOM! HELP!"
"Your mommy can't help you now! NO ONE CAN!"
There was another, louder crash, and the house shook. The flower girl was slightly worried about her blond friend, but his mother seemed unconcerned. The woman simply shook her head and laughed softly. She turned to the girl.
"You'll treat her well, won't you?" she asked suddenly, smiling warmly.
Aeris blinked at the unexpected question, then blushed.
"Of course I will," she replied quietly, "She's been precious to me for a long time. I would never do anything to hurt her."
The woman's smile widened at the response. She pulled the girl into a friendly hug, laughing happily.
"Then welcome to our odd little family, Aeris. I'm sure her parents will be just as happy as I am to learn that you two have finally become a couple."
The thought put a smile on the flower girl's face as she relaxed into the embrace and returned it. She hadn't realized how nice it would feel to be welcomed into someone else's family.
Just as she was about to thank the woman for her kind sentiment, the door of the house slammed open, Tifa storming out. Despite looking somewhat disheveled, with about half her hair pulled from its signature fishtail, her expression was much more pleasant than it had been upon entering the house. She trotted up to her girlfriend, holding up an envelope, a satisfied smirk on her face.
"Here you go," she announced, tucking the envelope under one of the straps of Aeris' dress, since her hands were currently occupied.
Leaping away from Cloud's snickering mother in embarrassed surprise, the flower girl quickly yanked the envelope out of her clothing.
"What's this?" she demanded, blushing brightly at Tifa's sudden boldness.
"That," the fighter replied, "is what I thought I was giving you earlier. The actual list that Cloud wanted to give to you." Her smirk grew wicked. "I thought I'd deliver it for him, since he decided to be so helpful this afternoon, and I was here anyway."
The flower girl looked over the plain envelope once before tucking it away in an actual pocket. Really, Tifa... She was about to make a comment about it when both girls found themselves wrapped in another hug, courtesy of the blonde woman whose son had just been assaulted.
"Well girls," Mrs. Strife said with a smile, "It's been fun, and I'm so happy for you, but I'd better get inside and survey the damage." She released the teens and looked to Tifa. "Was anything broken?"
"Not this time," the fighter replied unabashedly, "but there is a new hole in Cloud's closet door. I'll get you the money for it as soon as I can."
"Don't bother, sweetheart. He can live with it."
"Okay," the girl replied enthusiastically, grabbing her companion's hand, "Have a good night, then!"
With that, the dark-haired girl turned and started tugging Aeris away, Cloud's mother giving one last laugh as she closed the door.
The flower girl allowed herself to be pulled along merrily for a short time, before she realized she wasn't being led to the inn she had intended to stay at tonight. Confused, she determined that Tifa appeared to be leading her to the house beside Cloud's: The Lockheart residence.
"Uh, Tifa?" the puzzled girl questioned, "Where are we going?"
"My house!" the brawler replied cheerfully, "We're having a sleepover!"
The older girl blushed brightly at the implications of that.
"Um," she said uncertainly, "I mean, I know we've liked each other for a while, but shouldn't we wait a little while before we get… physical? We just started dating this afternoon."
The taller girl stopped so abruptly that the flower girl walked straight into her back. Aeris watched her curiously, unsure what she'd do next. Suddenly, the fighter spun to face her, cheeks very nearly glowing red. Her mouth bobbed open and shut repeatedly, apparently trying and failing to form words. The shorter girl got worried; it didn't sound like her companion was breathing.
"Tifa?"
"I DIDN'T MEAN IT LIKE THAT!" the brawler cried, "I was talking about a normal sleepover! With separate sleeping areas and everything!"
"… Oh," Aeris replied simply, cringing at her ringing ears. She was a little embarrassed that she had jumped to conclusions (though she felt a small, unexpected twinge of disappointment that she had been wrong, which she filed away for later examination), so she took the lead and pulled the mortified fighter along.
"In that case," she chirped playfully, "let's get moving! We've got a great day behind us and a fun night ahead. Don't wanna be late!"
As Tifa was pulled along to her own house, she couldn't help but agree, her embarrassed expression shifting to a wide smile. They had the first of what she hoped would be a great many fun nights ahead of them, and she didn't want to miss a single second.
And so it ends. This story ended up almost three times longer than I intended it to be. Perhaps there will be more in this AU later, but for now I am spent. If you've read this far, thanks.