Epilogue

Part R

I don't think Tifa wants to admit that this day has come. She's standing on the balcony, gripping her hands, and biting her lip. She looks like a nervous wreck, seriously, but every kid grows up.

"Hey, thanks for…well, this," Cloud says from behind me.

I glance at him. "It isn't a problem. He's gifted, and he deserves the best education anyone can give him."

"Yeah," Cloud says, dropping a stuffed duffle bag into the truck.

I shrug. "At least he'll be going somewhere he already knows."

Cloud frowns. "Been a few years since Edge."

I grin. "Hey, I might as well put my pull to good use. You know, most parents would be glad they didn't have to pay for their child's education. You've got two more to take care of him."

"Three," Cloud says.

My eyebrows raise. This could be dangerous. Pregnant Tifa and myself do not get along. I remember the first time Tifa got pregnant I was on a warpath politically speaking and had hardly anytime to visit the old crew. That combined with my personal mail getting piled beneath a bunch of business mail left me completely clueless and cutoff from the gang. Yuffie showed up at my office one day inexplicably, though, and forcibly drug me from there to the bar in which I proceeded to exclaim something very rude and stupid to Tifa, pregnant or not.

'Good God woman, you've put on some pounds!'

'I'm not fat you belligerent idiot, I'm pregnant!'

This of course became a rather quick joke, especially when Tifa got pregnant again.

"Really? Already?"

"Hey, we waited another year."

I chuckle. "I wonder if you two will ever stop."

Cloud narrows his eyes, before shrugging.

The door bangs open to the villa, and Denzel comes rushing out with another bag on his shoulder, and a pillow stuffed under one arm.

He grins as he reaches us, looking down at us. You know, Cloud's height or lack there of was never more obvious than in this moment. Denzel's a tree, really, I figured he would've stopped growing by now.

Apparently I was wrong.

"Is that everything?" I ask him.

He nods his head, still grinning.

"Toss it in the truck, then, and we'll head for the ferry soon," I say, and Denzel complies.

"I better go get Tifa," Cloud mutters.

"She'll come," Denzel says.

"No she won't," Cloud says. "She knows you won't leave till you say goodbye, and you can't say goodbye if she doesn't come."

"Oh, she's delaying the inevitable," I muse, and Cloud nods his head.

"Why don't you go get her, Denzel?" Cloud suggests, and Denzel rushes back into the house to pull the woman away from the balcony.

I glance at Cloud. "So how much worse do you think she'll be when Emily and Ben go to college?"

Cloud glares at me. "Please don't mention that."

I smirk. "What? Don't want to see your little girl as a full grown eighteen year old?"

Cloud's about to let out a few choice words, but my saving grace is actually the subject.

Emily comes rushing out of the house, tugging on her brother's arm.

"Be careful, Emily. Don't hurt your brother," Cloud intones, probably an hourly saying.

It's strange, even after two children and nearly five years of seeing it, I still can't believe Cloud's a father. It's crazy, it's always been crazy. It's a little disturbing, and a little crazy…

I remember back when Emily was conceived Cloud came to me worried that the mako or the Jenova cells would affect the baby. I did some tests, and the results were unclear, and that only made him more anxious.

But Emily came out fine, healthy and normal. Ben was a little on the small side, but he was as healthy as his sister. I know after Ben was born he was fine, but now that Tifa's pregnant again, good lord again, I'm sure he's worried that what didn't go wrong the first two times will go wrong this time. What is it, third time's a charm? I hope not in this case.

"Strange, seeing him go to college," Cloud says, picking up Ben. "I never went, and neither did Tifa. He'll be okay, right?" He asks me, glancing at me.

Ben's staring at me. He's an exact replica of his father, and it's a bit unnerving staring at mini-Cloud. I can truly say this is almost exactly what Cloud looked like when he was two…although there is a bit of Tifa to Ben, not much.

"Reeve?"

"Oh right, yeah. He'll be fine. College is fun; you learn a lot of things, gain experience for life—

"Don't let him…do anything stupid," Cloud says in his warning tone.

"What? Like—

"Like something stupid. Don't let him do anything I would do."

"You now or you eighteen? I'm sure those would've been quite the contrast of personalities. Weren't you the one apart of a terrorist group, and carried a huge sword on your back? Still do, might I add—

"Reeve—

"Daddy?" Emily looks up at her father with her big, red-brown eyes.

"What is it, Emily?"

"Hug me," the little girl demands, holding up her arms.

"Um, Em, I'm holding your brother—

"Hug me."

"Emily—

"Hug me."

"Em—

"Hug me."

Cloud sighs, trying to put Ben down, but Ben breaks into a wail of terror as his feet touches the ground. Cloud lifts him up quickly, Emily covering her ears. Cloud grunts, shifting Ben into his right arm, and picking Emily up with his left arm.

Emily sighs as Cloud straightens, crossing her arms. "I told you to hug me…not pick me up."

Cloud narrows his eyes.

"Smart kid, for a four year old," I state.

He glares at me.

The door opens, though, and Denzel comes out followed by Tifa. Huh, she does look a bit wider around the middle.

She's a bloody baby factory.

"How big of a family do you want, Cloud?" I mutter.

He glares at me again. "That isn't your concern."

"I can't get full scholarships for eight children—

"We've only had two—

"You've got another one on the way."

He opens his mouth to say something, but Tifa reaches us. She takes Ben, smiling sadly at Denzel.

"Well, I guess this is it."

"I'll be back in a few weeks…to visit," Denzel replies.

"You better," Emily huffs. "Else I'll be mad."

Denzel ruffles her hair, and kisses her cheek, pats Ben on the head, and hugs and kisses Tifa's cheek too. Cloud gives him an awkward, one armed hug, and Emily manages to throw her arms around Denzel's neck from Cloud's arm.

"At least Marlene will be there with you, Denz." Tifa smiles.

"That's right…we've got to go pick her up too," I mutter. "Barret's going to be eight times worse than this."

"If he cries, please record it," Cloud mutters.

Denzel laughs and we say our goodbyes and head for the truck.

We climb in it, and I glance at Denzel.

"Say Denzel, how many kids do you think they'll end up having?"

"What? Is Tifa pregnant again?"

A/N: Insanity...I haz it. Thanks for the reviews loves! Sorry it took so long. I repeat The insanity otherwise known as life.

:D