It was night now, you had spent the rest of the day talking to Tifa and catching up with Riley. You were so thankful that he was well taken care of. You found out that Cid usually took care of Riley but whenever he got really busy he'd leave him with Tifa so that he could play with Marlene and Denzel, two other orphans the group of friends had taken in.

Riley started to yawn. You looked at the time it was past eleven.

"Kido I think its time for you to go to bed," you told him.

"But I don't want to leave you" Riley said as he clung to you, you didn't want to leave him either but it was late, he was tired and you had no idea where you were going to stay tonight.

"I promise I'll be back first thing in the morning," you told him.

"Nonsense, you can stay right here," Tifa, said, "we have enough space, and you two have been looking for each other for so long"

"Tifa, I wouldn't want to impose" you admitted. It was strange you couldn't remember the last time someone was so kind to you, it felt weird and you weren't sure how to react.

"Nope, you're staying here, that's final"

You were speechless but finally said, "Thank you Tifa."

She just smiled, Riley yawned again. "You should get that little guy to bed, I should get Denzel and Marlene ready for bed too."

You nodded; Riley got excited "Come on Autumn! Can you tell me a bedtime story like you used to?"

"Of course" and with that Riley pulled you upstairs with Tifa not far behind.

Riley led you to the room that he shared with Denzel, as he went to the bathroom to get ready for bed, Tifa introduced you to Marlene and Denzel. Once Riley returned you sat on the edge of his bed as he cuddled into your lap. Denzel sat on the floor next to Tifa and Marlene, all of them waiting for your bedtime story.

"Once there was a brave SOLDIER named Jace," you told a story about one of Jace's adventures with Zack. The kids loved it. It seemed like Riley didn't remember Jace, you guessed that he blocked the incident a few years ago from his memory after all he was only four at the time, and he was probably better off not remembering.

Once all the kids were tucked in and drifting off to sleep, you and Tifa went back downstairs.

"Would you like coffee or tea?" she asked.

"Tea please" you replied as she put the water on the stove to boil. She then sat at the table across from you.

"So you knew Zack Fair?" she questioned awkwardly, as if she was choosing her world carefully.

You nodded a bit surprised, "He used to come whenever Jace came home, did you know him?" you asked.

"No,"

"oh" you mumbled.

"though I heard he was a great guy," She added quickly, "Cloud, he lives here…sometimes, was Zack's best friend, they were in SOLDIER together, Cloud was there when Zack died, but he doesn't talk about him anymore" Tifa rambled awkwardly.

"Cloud sounds familiar, I think Jace knew a guy named Cloud" you mused as you played with the ring on your necklace. Tifa noticed.

"That ring is so pretty" Tifa said in awe, the ring had a decent sized diamond set in intricate white gold

"Thank you" you replied with a sad smile.

"Oh I hope I didn't upset you" Tifa replied sensing your discomfort.

"No, no its ok" you reassured her but after a few moments Tifa asked if you wanted to talk about it. She was very sincere. She wasn't trying to pry or anything, she just saw that you were upset and thought talking about it might help. You heard a door open and close but didn't think much of it.

"Its just really hard for me to talk about, Sephiroth just went insane and…" you trailed as you blinked away tears realizing that you've already said too much. After a moment you said, "I just don't think that I'm ready to talk about it."

Tifa's eyes widened in shock as she silently apologized. The two of you sat in an awkward silence for a few moments. The silence was broken when a tall spiky haired man walked into the room and said "Tifa"

"Oh Cloud, I didn't know you were coming home tonight" Tifa said as she spun around.

"Why did someone say his name?" Cloud asked, his voice was serious and slightly cold. He completely ignored the fact that you existed.

You stared at the spiky hair man, he was tall, muscular and wore black pants and a black shirt with one long sleeve. Then you recognized him; "You were the guy that almost hit me this morning" you accused with an icy glare.

Cloud glanced at you, then looked back at Tifa. You suddenly remembered why the name Cloud sounded familiar. "You were friends with Zack and Jace," you mumbled to yourself, a habit that you could never seem to break.

"How did you know them?" Cloud snapped narrowing his eyes. You found yourself staring at his piercing blue eyes, the same eyes Jace had…

"You don't have to be rude" something about his tone and how he treated you, annoyed you. He may have the same eyes as Jace and Zack but he's nothing like them.

Cloud abruptly turned away, "I'm going out" and with that he left the room. Seconds later you heard the door slam and a motorcycle drive away.

You released a breath you didn't realize you were holding.

"Sorry about him" Tifa said, "Cloud is very distant, he's like that with everyone, don't take it personally"

"Its alright, I just don't understand how Jace and Zack could be friends with such a jerk" you crossed your arms in annoyance.

"That's Cloud for you, but he's been through a lot, he used to be sweet when we were kids" Tifa sighed

"So you two grew up together?" you asked trying to relieve some of the tension.

"Yeah we're from Nibelheim. Once Cloud was old enough he joined SOLDIER and he was never the same again, we happened across each other when he was a mercenary, I was working with Avalanche at the time and we hired him. Cloud never talks about what happened while he was with SOLDIER" Tifa rambled.

"I was from Hazelton, I used to go to Nibelheim all the time. I used to get supplies for my town, though sometimes my friends and I would sneak into the Shinra mansion" you smiled remembering your friends when you younger and carefree.

The two of you sat in an awkward silence for a few moments. You wanted the awkwardness to end so you said, "I really appreciate you letting me stay here"

"Its fine…you know you can stay here as long as you like" Tifa told you.

"I don't want to impose" you said quickly, it's been so long since anyone wanted to help you, you didn't know how to accept it.

"Don't worry, you're not, Just help with the kids, Marlene and Denzel seemed to really like you, and maybe help me with the bar" Tifa said. You hesitated, so Tifa continued, "you know, you and Cloud are a lot alike, both of you are so stubborn, and so scared to accept help."

You smiled, "thank you Tifa, I'll stay"

"Perfect! Come on I'll show you to your room."