hey guys sorry its taking me so long to update. I'd say ;ast year really hit me hard but ive had a rough few years. I hope you enjoy and thank you for sticking with me.
You woke up the next morning completely refreshed, well aside from the fact that you slept on the couch in your room. You had tried to share the bed with Alyssa but she kicks too much in her sleep so at about 2 in the morning you kicked Jeremy off the couch as a sore back was the lesser of two evils. Alyssa and Jeremy were still asleep. You checked the clock and it was already well past noon but the house seemed quiet. You rolled over onto your back remembering the previous day, it was hard to believe that Cloud returned, Sephiroth is gone, you died and came back and you finally told your friends about the abuse you suffered at Ryan's hand. It did feel good to have finally talk about it, maybe thats just another step to finally healing.
You decided to get up, and shower for the day. It was getting late but the house is still quiet and you assumed all of your friends and the kids were still asleep. You took your time showering, you could still feel the scar along your spine but for the first time in years you didn't feel pain, just a dull awareness of it. This was probably the most relaxing shower you've ever had, it was as if the hot water washed away the past leaving you ready to finally move on.
You dressed in black skinny jeans and a black crop top with a boat neck line that hung loosely on your shoulders, the chain with Cloud's wolf earring hung on your neck. You didn't even bother drying your hair, just brushed it out to let it air dry.
You made your way downstairs to find Vincent sipping on some coffee and reading a newspaper. He glanced up as you approached and gestured to the coffee pot, it was half full and smelled freshly made, but you shook your head, and helped yourself to a glass of water.
"It good to see you happy again" he said suddenly.
"Its good to be happy" you replied with a smile. "Hows the news?" you asked after a moment. Vincent just held up the front page, the headline read Geostigma Mysteriously Cured. You smiled to yourself, silently thanking Aeirth for the gift. The two of you sat in a comfortable silence, enjoying a quiet morning.
You heard muffled footsteps upstairs you assumed everyone was starting to get up so you decided to start making breakfast, pancakes seemed like the perfect choice, even Vincent helped out. Tifa was the first to find her way down, but she was soon followed by Alyssa and Jeremy. As you finished up the first batch of pancakes the kids came running down the stairs, Tifa passed out the plates as Alyssa poured juice for everyone, while you got to work on the second batch. Barrett, Cid, Reeve and Nanaki wandered in sometime later, even Reno and Rude showed up. For the first time in a while it was truly a full house, and you loved every second of it, it reminded you so much of your childhood home in Hazeltown, it was always full of friendly faces.
You placed another batch of pancakes on the table and they were quickly devoured so you and Vincent started on the third batch. A strange silence spread across the room, you curiously peeked over your shoulder to see Cloud standing in the doorway.
"Ah…morning" he greeted everyone a bit taken aback by the silence and stares. The kids greeted him with a chorus of good morning but everyone else was a bit weary.
"I see you're still here" Barrett said carefully.
"I promise I won't leave again." Cloud replied without skipping a beat.
"What if you have another episode?" Skylar asked.
"The post traumatic stress disorder" Riley added, you could tell he was proud that he knew the correct terminology.
You watched curiously as Cloud approached the kids and kneeled to their level, "It will probably happen again, but you'll help me right?" Both kids nodded enthusiastically.
You smiled to yourself and continued to make pancakes as the chatter began to pick up again. As you finished up this batch you figured if they wanted more someone else could make them, its your turn to eat. So you made yourself a plate and found yourself a place to sit on the counter as there was definitely no space at the table. Once you were comfortable and about to start eating Cloud leaned against the counter next to you and offered some coffee.
"Just how you like it" he said as you took the mug from him.
"Thank you" you replied with a soft giggle.
"Whats so funny?" Cloud asked curiously, he looked happy, genuinely happy.
"Nothing, it's just I'm sitting on the counter and you're still taller than me" You told him.
He chuckled softly, before kissing your forehead, you couldn't help but blush, you never expected him to be so affectionate, but then again Cloud Strife is just full of surprises. "I think you're the perfect height" he told you.
"Well you two are awfully cozy" Barrett announced, catching everyone's attention.
"Get a room you two, theirs children present" Cid added. Which only made you blush more, but Cloud seemed perfectly content.
"No! Do not get a room!" Reno yelled out in a panic. Then instantly regretted it because he sunk back into his seat looking embarrassed. Jeremy and Alyssa started to comfort him.
You tried to eat your breakfast in peace and enjoy your coffee, the idle chatter turned to other topics- Alyssa and Jeremy heading home in the next few days, Reno and Rude getting sent out to Fort Condor for their next job, Reeve is gonna be in town for a while to help Edge with the rebuilding, Nanaki is gonna head back to his home, Cid and Barret are going to drop them off on the way to a new Oil field where Barrett is gonna find work.
"What are you gonna do Cloud?" Cid asked suddenly.
"Yeah man, didn't you ruin your business, you haven't worked in months" Barrett added.
Cloud thought for a moment, "I guess i'll start with the shops, if they don't have deliveries for me, they'll probably be willing to let me work as a mechanic for a while."
"You should do that today, no more freeloading" Tifa told him with her arms crossed. Cloud just nodded, he knew he deserved that.
"Don't you wanna know what I'm gonna do!" Yuffie jumped up standing on the table.
"Get your boots off my table!" Tifa yelled and Cid covered his ears, "We already know you're gonna keep hunting materia, now sit down and shut up."
"Awe you're no fun" Yuffie mumbled.
"What about you missy?" Cid asked you.
"Well Edge is kind of lacking in the medical field, I was thinking of reconnecting with some of my mentors in Junon, maybe they can help me figure out how to open a clinic."
"I think that's a great idea" Tifa agreed.
"I'll do everything I can to help" Cloud told you.
As the day went on, Reno and Rude left as did Cid, Barret and Nanaki but not before Barrett made arrangements for some new living room furniture for Tifa. You, and Yuffie helped clean up the house, it was a wreck especially after you turned the living room into a makeshift clinic Cloud went out to find work just like he said he would, while Alyssa and Jeremy took the kids to the park. Vincent had disappeared a little while ago but you figured he'd turn up sooner or later like he always does. You were pretty amazed that Tifa and Yuffie were able to get the old couch out of the living room with ease, you always forget how inhumanly strong all of your friends are.
The three of you took a break and were just hanging out at the bar. As Tifa and Yuffie were talking about the new furniture Barrett bought, you took this time to send some emails to your old mentors from medical school.
"I feel like such an old lady that I'm excited for a new couch" Tifa laughed.
"It was about time anyway, that old couch was killer on the back" Yuffie added.
"Then I guess it's a good thing I bled all over it" Jeremy said as he walked into the bar, followed by Alyssa and the kids. It's hard to believe it was just the other day Alyssa dragged him through the door on the verge of death.
"Yeah really gave you a great excuse to finally replace it" Alyssa added as the kids swarmed around you.
"How was the park?" you asked. "You didn't spend much time there"
"Well, most of it was in ruins," Marlene said.
"Yeah those scary guys destroyed most of it." Riley added.
You frowned, then turned to Tifa, "Do you think that's something the W.R.O can help with?" you asked.
"I don't know but I'll call Reeve, it's worth a shot" She replied.
"Come on I'll show you kids some fun!" Yuffie announced as she began marching toward the front door. The kids followed.
"should we be worried?" you asked with a laugh.
"nah" Tifa replied, then thought for a moment, "We should check on them in ten minutes" to which the rest of you shared a good laugh.
As Tifa went back to cleaning, while Alyssa and Jeremy went to go make everyone lunch, you decided to call Skylar's mom. As much as you hate the women, you knew you'd have to tell her that her daughter is stigma free. You frowned knowing you'd have take her home soon. The phone only rang once before going straight to voicemail 'leave a message after the beep a servant will get back to you.' You rolled your eyes, even the voice greeting is pretentious. After the beep you left a brief message, reminding her who you are and letting her know that Skylar is perfectly healthy again. Then you joined Tifa in cleaning, with how quickly the cleaning is going you wouldn't be surprised if everything is done before the bar opens tonight.
Thankfully when the bar did open it was a decently quiet night, it only got really busy for happy hour, but after that it was just a few of the regulars. Alex and Jacob were in their usual seats and you made them their usual drinks.
"Hey Autumn" Jacob said getting your attention, you turned to him as you brought over their drinks, setting one in front of each of them. "How do a bunch of heros end up working in a bar?" He asked.
"What do you mean?" you asked curiously.
"We were in the plaza yesterday, you, Tifa and all your friends running around like you save the world all the time" Alex added.
"My friends really are amazing aren't they" You mused, "I just got in the way a lot."
"But how do you all just go back to.." he gestured to the bar "doing this?" he asked again.
"I don't really know, I guess it's just life." You told them, but they didn't seem satisfied with your answer. Thankfully Tifa overheard the conversation and came to help.
"It wasn't always like this" Tifa started, She told them how she and Cloud grew up in Nibelheim, how she was a martial arts student and that Cloud left to become a SOLDIER. The beginnings of avalanche with Barrett, meeting Cid, Yuffie, Reeve, Nanaki and the Turks along the way. How you turned up looking for Riley one faithful morning.
"So you're all just normal people?" Alex asked. "how do you go from bar owner to kicking ass"
"I wouldn't say normal," Tifa laughed. "But we do try to help when we can. We all have to do our part to make the world a better place."
"Say Autumn, you never did tell us what you do? You can't just be a bartender." Jacob asked.
"I'm actually a doctor" you replied.
"So if i'm dying you can save me" Jacob asked as he finished his third drink.
"In theory yes" You replied wondering why people always ask that question.
Thankfully Cloud came home shortly after, which saved you from talking about yourself too much.
"Is that grease on your face?" you asked as you offered Cloud a beer. Cloud just nodded. "So finding work worked out?" you asked.
"Well, in a way" he replied. "Most of my contacts found other delivery services, but i stopped by Pop's shop, he said he'll pay me by the day, so i can still do my deliveries and when I don't have enough work, I can go over to his shop and work"
"Well that's good" You told him with a smile, but he seemed pretty upset. you caught his attention by putting your hand on his cheek. "It will get better Cloud" you told him.
He sighed, knowing you're right, "I just can't believe I messed up my business so bad" he admitted. Unsure how to respond you just gave him a soft smile but that seemed to be what he needed as he sighed and mumbled that he'll just have to work hard to salvage his contacts.