Hey guys! I'm super happy this story finally got a review! Either way, I hope you enjoy the story and the next few chapters are some of my favorites so far. (and yes i'mactually up to writing chapter 29, i write chapters super far in advance and update irregularly because i am super bad at keeping a schedule and notorious for getting writers block)

It was just after noon when Cloud pulled up to a large mansion at the edge of Kalm. It was eerily similar to the Shinra mansion, it was slightly creepy looking from the outside but took up a ridiculous amount of space. You dismounted fenrir followed by Cloud but Skylar remained on the bike. You felt so awful you knew the poor girl didn't want to go home but as much as you hated it, she had to.

Reluctantly Skylar got off of fenrir and took off the helmet, her eyes were full of tears. She offered the helmet to Cloud.

He shook his head, his gravity defying hair staying perfectly in place the whole time, "You'll need it when Tifa has me pick you up" he said.

You couldn't help but smile, you knew he really meant that he'll be happy to pick her up. Skylar smiled, a bit of hope in her eyes as she returned your jacket, even though it was you mother's you felt it was only right to give it to the kid, besides she seemed to like it and every kid deserves their first badass leather jacket.

Skylar shook her head when you refused your jacket, "You're going to on the back of a bike for a few hours, you're going to get cold."

You laughed, it was unbelievable the change in this girl since you met her. "Oh we're witty now?" you questioned. Skylar smiled as you heard Cloud's phone ring, he listened for moment before rolling his eyes and handing the phone over to Skylar.

"Hey Marlene" Skylar said, you decided it was best not to listen to their conversation, so you walked over to Cloud who was trying to get the intercom for mansion gate to work. When suddenly the screen lit up and you saw a harsh looking security guard.

"What do you scum want?" he asked.

"We have names" you replied, "And we're expected" you stepped aside so the guard could see Skylar. He sighed and the screen went dark. Seconds later the gate opened and you saw several security guards head towards you.

As the guards approached Skylar finished talking to Marlene and handed Cloud his phone back. Skylar was clearly upset, she grabbed your wrist, you could tell it comforted her, and the three of you followed the security guards into the mansion. They brought you to what you assumed was a living room but it looked like no one had been in here in years. Even though you were in the house Skylar never let go of your wrist.

You and Cloud stood awkwardly in this extravagant room feeling really out of place with a kid from this lifestyle clinging to your arm. After a few minutes a strict looking women with high cheek bones and a board expression entered the room.

"Well it took you long enough" The women said, your suspicions were correct this was Skylar's mom, you'd recognize that awful voice anywhere.

"Its a four hour trip from Edge" Cloud said.

"and you should have left last night" The women said. "Well get going, my daughter is home, you have no reason to be here any longer."

You looked at Cloud seriously contemplating kidnapping Skylar, with the look on his face you could tell that he agreed with you. Skylar finally released your wrist which surprised you so you gave her a curious look. Before you knew what was happening Skylar hugged you.

You looked up towards Skylar's mother, the only person who rivaled your hatred for this women is Sephiroth. Once Skylar released you, she ran over to Cloud and hugged him too, in a surprisingly tender moment, Cloud kneeled down to her level and offered her a bag of candy, after all she was promised sweets. You couldn't help but smile at how sweet Cloud is, you know he's a sweetheart, he just tries to hide it for whatever reason.

You walked over to Skylar's mother, she glanced down at you. "Skylar is a really good kid you know" you told her, but this awful women seemed completely uninterested. "Back home, she became good friends with my little brother Riley and the two other kids we care for Marlene and Denzel" You added.

"This matters to me why?" she asked.

"I want you to know that Skylar is allowed to come stay with us whenever she wants and I would like your permission for the kids to come here and visit her."

"Well thats out of the question, you're clearly of a lower class."

"Do you really think there are still classes, the world could end tomorrow with how much Shinra and Sephiroth destroyed the environment, can't you see how happy Skylar is, it would make her happy to see her friends once in a while" you argued.

The women sighed, "Fine my staff will contact you when a visit is feasible, but for now get out of my home."

You nodded before walking back to Cloud and Skylar, you told her that her mother agreed to letting her visit, to which she hugged you tightly thanking you for everything you've done. Your goodbyes were cut short when the security guards escorted you and Cloud off the property. As soon as the gates closed behind you, you could feel your emotions getting the better of you. You hated that someone as awful and uncaring as that women could have a child, when your only chance was taken away.

"Autumn?" Cloud asked quietly, you refused to turn, you didn't want him to see you like this, you weren't ready to tell him or anyone about this. "Autumn" Cloud said again as he put hid hand on your shoulder. You shrugged away and wiped the tears from your eyes trying to get your emotions in check. You forgot how fast Cloud could move because before you could blink he was in front of you. You could see the concern clear on his face. "Autumn, you don't have to tell me whats wrong" he said quietly, "just tell me how to help you" he pleaded. Without thinking you closed your eyes tight and hugged him, Cloud seemed shocked for a moment but timidly wrapped his arms around you. You couldn't help but cry into his chest, and you felt awful for subjecting him to this but you couldn't help it, you've been suppressing your emotions about this ever since Sephiroth killed everyone and you were sad to say this was your breaking point.

You weren't sure how long You and Cloud stood there in front of Skylar's home but you finally released Cloud. He gave you a questioning look but it was full of concern. You sniffled a little before saying "I'm ok now."

Cloud gave you a skeptical look before the realization set in. "Your last secret?" he asked quietly. You nodded, Cloud nodded thoughtfully, understanding, before he guided you back towards fenrir, he was right you couldn't stay out here forever, and he had his deliveries to do. You were thankful that Cloud didn't ask you about your secret. You were so upset and out of it you didn't even realize what was happening. Cloud helped you onto fenrir, this time in front of him, you assumed because you couldn't be trusted to hold on right now. Once Cloud started up the bike he headed towards the city of Kalm.

You assumed that Cloud was going to start his deliveries so you were surprised when he stopped in front of an inn. You looked back at Cloud as he dismounted and offered a hand to you. You were shaky and upset, still on the verge of breaking down and being overcome with emotions that you pushed so deep down you knew it wasn't healthy.

"what are we doing here?" you asked quietly as you began to take off Cloud's sunglasses, then you decided to keep them on after all your eyes are still red and puffy from crying.

"We can stay here tonight." He replied simply.

"What about you deliveries?" you asked.

"We can do them tomorrow"

You wiped a tear from your eye before looking up at Cloud, sometimes you forget how tall he is. "Thank you Cloud."

He nodded before leading you into the inn. You waited while he got the room, a few minutes later he came back with two keys and handed you one, just in case. As if on autopilot you followed him upstairs and to the top floor and into decent sized room, with a small bathroom, and two beds. You didn't even notice that Cloud had brought in your bag until you saw him place it on one of the beds.

You absently sat down on one of the beds, trying to calm yourself. Cloud sat across from you on the other bed and offered you a water bottle. You smiled a thank you and took a sip of water. In that moment you realized that you've been carrying around all of this emotional baggage ever since that awful day and you didn't want to be alone anymore. You had always shared everything with Jace and Melody, then Zack, Vincent, Alyssa and Jeremy later, they knew every detail about your life but the ones who could truly understand are gone. Now sitting across from you if the one person whose completely understood all of the pain you've been through. You think he could understand this or at least you hoped he could.

You closed your eyes tight as you took a deep breath. You were about to speak when Cloud cut you off.

"Autumn, you don't have to tell me if you aren't ready to" He said quietly. you stayed silent a moment but Cloud continued, "I never want you to feel like you have to"

You sniffled again as you wiped a tear away, trying to stay as calm as possible. "I appreciate that Cloud, but I want to tell you." you said honestly. "I've never even admitted it out loud." you mumbled to yourself.

"Then I'm here for you" Cloud replied without a second thought.

You took a deep breath, unsure how to start.

(Cloud)

Autumn shifted awkwardly as she played with the ring on her necklace. You hated to see Autumn like this but couldn't help but wonder what hurt her so much. How could anything be worse than Sephiroth's massacre, Jace's death and being physically and emotionally abused by Ryan while searching for Riley.

"I'm sorry" Autumn said suddenly as she looked away.

"Why?" you asked in confusion. "You haven't done anything wrong."

She wiped her eyes again, you could see a scarlet blush on her pale skin as she shifted uncomfortably. Were you making her uncomfortable? "I just keep dumping all of my problems on you" she said quietly, you could see the tears streaming down her face.

Without thinking you moved to sit next to her, she glanced at you through her hair as you sat down. "Autumn, your problems are my problems."

She sniffled again, it took all of your will power not to pull her slender frame into your arms. She turned so she was facing you and said "You know the night I came here, I thought you were kind of a prick" she admitted quietly, you frowned. You remembered that night, you had been a bit startled to see a stranger having tea with Tifa but you were so distracted by Autumn's beauty, you initially tried to ignore her. "Sorry Spikey but you're not great at first impressions." you frowned again, what exactly is she getting at? "The point is, I felt like I could trust you right away. Even when Vincent showed up and he wanted to protect me from you, I wanted you know everything that happened even if it hurt."

You stayed silent, unsure what to say but knew it made you extremely happy that Autumn trusted you so much, you've felt so useless since Zack's death, but Autumn made you feel useful, she made you feel after being numb for so long.

Autumn sighed again playing with the ring on her necklace, it looked like she was trying to find a way to start.

You wanted to make her feel comfortable, and try to ease her pain, all of the other times she told you of her past it seemed take a weight off her shoulders. So you did the only thing you could think of.

"I didn't take Zack's death well" you started catching Autumn's attention. She looked at you curiously with her big brown eyes, they were still a bit red from crying. "Once I got over the mako poisoning, my head was pretty messed up." You looked into Autumn's eyes, you couldn't help but worry about how she'll react but you knew you could trust her. "I spent a year thinking I was Zack" you said quietly. You didn't want to see Autumn's reaction so you turned away.

You suddenly felt soft finger tips on your check, startled you turned to Autumn. "Sorry" she mumbled as her hand fell to her side. "Thank you for telling me" she said. you stayed silent for moment but Autumn started playing with her ring again as she continued, "Are you alright?" she asked the concern clear in her expression.

You nodded, still a bit worried that she'll see you differently now but it felt good to finally have no secrets from Autumn. "Tifa, Cid, Barret, Yuffie and even Vincent helped me…" you explained.

Autumn giggled, "Thats not what I meant Cloud" she said with a small smile, "you don't have to explain it to me, I don't think you're crazy." And just like that she dispelled all of your fears. "I meant do you feel better now that you told me?" she asked.

You nodded, "Thank you for understanding" you said.

She nodded with a ghost of a smile, for a moment it looked like she was going to reach out to you but she stopped herself before taking a deep breath. "You remember what I told you about when Sephiroth attacked my town?" she asked timidly. You nodded and she took another deep breath trying to hold back her tears. You fought the urge to wipe her tears away. "I left out one detail, I didn't know it at the time or I would have run when Jace told me to, but I was a few weeks pregnant." She paused to wipe her tears but they kept coming. "I lost the baby, and the stress of the wounds and the miscarriage were too much." Without thinking you grabbed her hand in an effort to comfort her, she glanced at you a moment before continuing. "Cloud, I can never have kids, I'm infertle and I lost the only piece of Jace I had left without even knowing it."

You were shocked, but everything made sense, why Autumn broke down after leaving Skylar's, the way she treats Marlene, Denzel and Riley. You pulled her into your arms, it seemed like the right thing to do. Autumn just cried into your chest, she almost instantly wrapped her arms around your torso, you hoped finding comfort in your arms. You pushed all other thoughts out of your mind because right now the only thing that matters is comforting Autumn, you'll deal with the struggle between your crippling guilt and your feelings for Autumn later.

(Autumn)

You felt so safe and comfortable in Cloud's arms, you tried to ignore your feelings for him, but its hard to ignore when he's literally wrapped around you. You had never admitted it out loud, what had happened when Sephiroth attacked. Aside from Cloud, only Alyssa, Jermey, Ryan and at some level Riley knew but only because they were there. After you recovered it was never mentioned again. You've been suffering in silence the past three years but you suddenly felt lighter, and Cloud's reaction was exactly what you needed.

You weren't sure how long you stayed in his muscular arms, you eventually relaxed, still a bit sniffly but you were content. As much as you enjoyed being in Cloud's arms you were getting pretty embarrassed. So you pulled away and looked up at the soft spoken ex-SOLDIER. You gave him a genuine smile, he stayed silent but nodded his head understanding that it was your way of saying thank you.

Cloud looked like he was about to speak but his phone suddenly started ringing, he looked it before finally deciding to answer it. You moved to sit with your legs crossed as he answered the phone.

"Strife" he said in greeting. You couldn't help but giggle, of course he answers the phone like a badass. He listed for a moment before saying, "I'll deliver it tomorrow"

He could clearly hear the angry voice on the other side, yelling that they saw Cloud ride into town and they want their delivery today. Cloud was about to cut the man off when you caught his attention.

"It's ok Cloud, you don't have to worry about me, " you told him. Cloud gave you a look as the man was still yelling on the other end of the phone. "I promise, I'll be here when you get back" you told him. Cloud sighed before cutting the man off by saying that he'll have it delivered in the next half hour. The man was still yelling as Cloud ended the call.