Chapter Twenty-two

At the beach, it didn't take long for everyone to disperse. But not without a little chaos first. The Turks had made it to the shore at about the same time that Rufus had landed. And while they were flying back to the base, the damn thing had exploded, so they returned to the beach. There, all three helicopters landed, and the crowd emerged.

Rufus ordered his Turks to stand down from attacking Kadaj and his gang. "They're Claire's brothers," he said, pointedly, watching for Reno's expression. As expected, the redhead was flabbergasted.

Then Sephiroth and Chris and Jill emerged. Chris, explaining, that he'd tracked down exactly what happened to the crew and finding a way to get transported to the Planet so he could protect his sister. He kept Sephiroth close at his side, determined to protect the child from any attackers (especially Cloud).

Leon explained that he'd found the others in the basement, and he got slapped by Tifa for his abduction of the sub and chocobo. Judging by the look on his face, Claire decided that what Leon liked best in a relationship was being abused. Sad, but true.

She broke away from Vincent and gave him a quick hug and a kiss on the cheek. Then Rufus caught her attention, and officially introduced her to Tseng. He was, she decided, an imposing man, with a stern face. But he told her that she'd done a fine job and told her that he'd have to get her a suit. The Turks uniform of choice was a dark blue suit, and he didn't see any reason why she should be denied the honor.

Which reminded Claire that everyone had to burn their clothes and sanitize themselves. There was a decent amount of grumbling at the prospect. But Chris shed his shirt, making Elena gape like a fish. And Leon stripped out of the borrowed uniform and ditched his jacket, which had gotten a bit of blood on it. The rest of his clothes had been spared.

Tseng ordered Reno to give Claire his shirt and jacket so that she could strip, but Jill saved him from the embarrassment of barring his chest after Chris's impressive display. She went into the sub and emerged with a bag of spare clothes. When the former thief had left, she'd made sure to bring back-up clothes.

So Claire ordered the boys to look away, and stripped out of the Jasmine outfit. Tifa kindly cast Water, and she scrubbed the blood from her body as best as she was able. Then she put on her old and comfortable jeans and midriff top.

It was easy enough to strip the clones. With their new brother already bare chested and their first ever sister changed, they ditched their clothes faster than the more modest girls could look away.

Jill materialized some clothes for them. Kadaj and Yazoo fit the clothes easily, but Loz didn't really fit any of the shirts. He didn't seem to mind being bare-chested though. Cloud and Vincent seemed most reluctant to strip, but eventually Cloud capitulated with the help of some taunts from Sephiroth. He left his purple clothes and put on a pair of leather pants that Jill thoughtfully had saved for him. They hugged his hips nicely, and left little to the imagination.

Vincent flat out refused to change while anyone was present, so Claire volunteered to stay with him and burn the clothes. Then they would walk to the Temple of the Ancients and pick up the chocobos and meet the others on the main-land.

Chris gave her a quick hug, then pulled her aside for a brief conversation about his new brothers. Claire apologized, and explained what and how it had happened. Chris, shaking his head, promised that he would meet her in Edge. "Don't take too long," he added. "I'm going to need your help adjusting."

"I'll be there in a snap," she said. She then hugged each of her new brothers, promising them that she would see them soon, and asking them to keep an eye on Chris for her until she got to Edge. Then, promises secure, she offered a hand to Cloud.

His lips quirked into a smile. "It's been interesting," he said.

"Sorry about your bike," Claire offered. "And sorry if I adopted your brothers-who-you-don't-get-along with."

"I guess I'll get over it," he said. He gave her a brief hug. "Be good to Vincent. He really cares about you." He headed toward the sub and then paused. "And bring my chocobo back to me in one piece, okay?"

"Sure thing."

Her good-bye with the Turks was a bit more formal – with less hugs and apologies. Tseng told her that she had earned the week off. And he introduced her to Elena (who wanted to know if Chris was single). Claire honestly told her that he was, but said she'd reserve judgment on whether he would be able to date Elena. Of course, the blonde didn't know what that meant, but Rufus had a pretty good idea what she meant.

"Elena's not a slut," he assured her. Then he gave her her own spiffy, Turks-issued phone and ID. Tseng promised to call her and let her know where HQ was when the time was right. Then the lot of them piled onto the Tiny Bronco and took off before Cloud realized they were taking his ride.

Her good-bye with Leon was quick and only slightly bitter-sweet. She knew now, and it seemed like he did too, that they would never be together. She still loved him, admired him, and even wanted him, but it wasn't with the same rush and hypnotic allure that set her soul on fire when she was near Vincent.

And after a while, they were gone, and the two were alone on the beach. "Gonna strip now?" Claire asked.

"I've had this since I first went to sleep in Nibelhiem," he said.

"About time you burned it then," Claire said. "You can always get a new one."

He snorted, but obliged her by stripping and dropping the closes into the pile. Then he lit it all on fire. His pale skin was brilliant in the sunlight; it reminded Claire of the vampire Edward's skin in Twilight. Only more real and less obviously computer-animated.

She walked up to him, resting her hand on his back. "You angry with me?"

He stiffened. "Angry?"

"That I ditched you? And then ignored you?"

Vincent turned, catching her in a gentle embrace. He locked eyes with her. "I could never be angry with you Claire. I was . . . afraid when I lost you that I would never see you again. And then I was . . . jealous when I saw you were with him."

"Rufus?"

He shook his head. "No, I could see there was nothing there. But Kennedy . . ."

"Leon was my first serious crush," Claire said. "And if I hadn't met you, I'd still love him more than any other man I've ever met."

"Even Chris?"

"Ha, ha," Claire said, slugging him lightly. "Everyone says that who knows me and my brother. But I don't love Chris like I love you." She froze. She'd never meant to say the L-word to Vincent. It was too risky. And her heart wasn't ready to hear him talk about Lucretcia.

"I love you," Vincent said, voice odd. She thought for a second that he was merely repeating what she'd said. Then he said it again, this time while moving to kiss her. His lips were cool against hers. But the kiss deepened, passion igniting inside her.

He slowly stripped her, moving her body down to the warm sand. And they made love on the beach. Any monsters that might have attacked them stayed away – maybe fearing the retaliation of the star-struck lovers. Or maybe just cautious considering the recent number of beach invaders.

Claire didn't care which it was. She didn't actually think of them anyway. Every fiber of her being was lost in the lure of Vincent's body. And one way or another, she knew that she was never going back to Earth. Her home was here now. Her family was here now. And her future was going to be a good one.

~The End~