For this chapter, I want to give a dedication to fuzzy, who was one of my earliest friends to read this – and who has been patiently waiting for Reeve's first true appearance. It happens here.

Chapter 74. December 17 (7am) - December 18 (7am), εуλ0009

They'd left the church, to find a line stretching for what seemed to be forever.

Everyone seemed civil, patient; now that they knew the cure was there. Families with their children, waiting to be healed. Murmurs followed Cloud as he passed with Tifa, Marlene, and Denzel; he heard the word hero more than once.

He finally felt like he deserved it.

Not because he beat Sephiroth. Because here he was, a man with his family, a family he would live and die to protect. And that, he realized, was what really made him a hero.

What gave him the strength to beat Sephiroth. Because he had something Sephiroth never would.

"Strife Delivery Service!" he heard a voice call.

He remembered the young man now. He'd come to him asking about fuel some time back; Cloud had sent him to Don Corneo with barely a second thought. But now here he was with – Kyrie? Where had she been hiding? Was she still up to her no-good tricks? – and a kid he'd never seen, but another obviously bearing the disease.

The boy spoke up. "You get it healed here, right? Cloud? That was your name, right?"

"Yeah," Cloud replied, suddenly bashful. "You'll be fixed here soon enough." He smiled and turned to the man. Evan. That was his name. "Your kid, then?" He looked suspiciously at Kyrie…

"Nah, my friend's kid," Evan replied. "But… Kyrie and I are taking care of him now. His name is Vits."

"I'm Marlene," the girl next to him piped up, "and this is Denzel. He just got healed too!"

That brought a smile to Vits's face. Evan stroked his hair, just as Cloud had so many times stroked Denzel's. Another father in the making. "So, uh, you remember Leslie?" Evan replied. Cloud nodded. "He's back with his girl, you know?"

"They were reunited?" Tifa asked in delight. When had she come up beside him?

"Yeah, and they're expecting," Evan said. "Hey, man, you should come by sometime."

Cloud pondered. Maybe I will.

Tifa extended one hand out to Kyrie. "It's so good to see you again," she said, and Cloud knew his beloved wasn't being fake. "You'll have to come by the bar sometime."

"Oh, but not today," Marlene protested, tugging on Tifa's arm. "We're reserving it. My dad said he's going to drink everything you have!"

"We'll see about that," Tifa said primly.

"Marlene's dad?" asked Kyrie, confused.

"Barret." Cloud put his arms around Tifa's shoulders. "We're not related by blood, but we are family. Just like you."

The men shook hands, the women waved, and Cloud led his family towards home. Marlene chattered as they walked. "Just you wait, Cloud," she said. "I even got Vincent to come!"

The party was in full swing. Even with the bar "reserved", plenty of neighbors had come purely out of goodwill, and others to take stock of the man they'd seen inside the church.

The same man who was hiding in a corner now, nursing a drink.

He looked at Tifa, in the center of the crowd where he'd rather stay away. More than ever, he realized how much he loved her.

"You better look after her now, dipshit," Cid had told him, with his own form of affection. "You just never know." He looked with pride at Shera. "Women who will stand by our side, no matter what. Even when we fail them, they let us try again. How the fuck did we get so lucky?"

Cid. Another man who had come so close to losing the woman he loved. And today, Cid had taken steps to make sure that never happened again.

Reeve sat across from him; the WRO commissioner had come down from his headquarters to pay his respects. Cait Sith was off somewhere, the robot on its own. "So have you thought about my offer?"

"What offer?" Cloud asked.

"The one I left on your phone," Reeve replied.

"Oh." The phone that was lying at the bottom of a lake in the Forgotten City. "I… sort of lost my phone."

"Well," said Reeve. "Anyways. I was thinking of you and Tifa coming to work for the WRO. In some capacity still undetermined. We could put you on an appropriate stipend." He looked around. "It's a nice bar, but is that and the delivery service enough to keep up with the expenses of two growing kids? Especially as we establish more infrastructure. Prices of everything will start to go up. No more bartering. It's an inevitable side effect."

Cloud knew what his answer had to be. "No."

Reeve leaned forward, disappointment on his face but otherwise unruffled. "Don't you want to talk it over with Tifa?"

He glanced to Tifa, surrounded by children of the neighborhood, handing them kiddie cocktails with joy on her face. All he'd ever wanted, right here in this room. "I think in this respect, I can speak for us both."

"Well," Reeve stood. "You know where to find me if you change your mind. I think I'll go mingle a bit before I have to get back." He looked at Cloud's mug. "Try not to drink too much, okay? Mako or not, you still want to be sober driving that motorcycle of yours."

I won't be driving anywhere tonight. Or tomorrow too, if it works out like I planned. "Ill remember that," Cloud smirked, amused.

He remained at that table for perhaps another hour, greeting people with as few words as he could; but the strain of conversation was taking its toll on him, and he found himself desperate for a break. Alone, somewhere. He began to head upstairs, hoping to hide in his office or even the children's room if necessary, until things calmed down a bit. Yuffie and Barret had been in a drinking contest last he saw; the party didn't seem to be ending anytime soon.

He started up the stairs; reaching near the top, he nearly stumbled right into another person, grabbing them instinctively before turning to look right into Tifa's equally surprised eyes.

They just stood there for a moment. How long had he waited to hold her again? Too long, and suddenly he couldn't wait another instant. Taking the last two steps, he drew her into his arms, close to his heart.

For a long time they just stood there like that, lovers reunited; her head on his shoulder, his hands on her back as he clung fiercely to her. The simple feeling of her in his arms – even as it made his heart quicken, he felt his mind slow down, and for the first time in as long as he could remember, felt completely at peace. She overwhelmed him just with her presence, her body fitting so well against his that it seemed they were made to join together. How had he ever walked away from this?

"It's so good to have you back," she finally whispered.

"Tifa," he replied, and the way he said her name carried all the overtones that I'm sorry ever could. "I couldn't stand the thought of causing you pain."

"Nothing hurts more than being without you, Cloud," she said, her shoulders shaking with the beginning of sobs. "Nothing."

Despite it all, he was shocked to the core. Tifa, do I really mean that much to you? How could he have miscalculated so badly? Was it really as simple as just… being there?

"It's okay," he told her, softly running his fingers over her back; leather on leather, but the brush of their bare arms was enough to set him on fire. "I'm here with you. I'm home." And he was going to be selfish and keep her by him, even when he thought she'd be better without. I'm not running anymore. I may live at home or die at home, but I'll be here. You'll never have to reach out and find the other side of the bed empty again.

They drew apart to look at each other once again; he was about to dive in for a kiss, when they were interrupted by the sound of footsteps coming up the stairs. He wouldn't let her go, cradling her head in his arms as Vincent appeared at the top. He gave the couple nothing more than a flinch of his eyes, an acknowledgement of their privacy as he swooped past. Cloud and Tifa exchanged looks that meant later, and together they smiled as they separated; with one hand on her back, Cloud gently steered her downstairs towards their waiting friends.

All but the AVALANCHE circle went home.

Barret shared Marlene's bed, cooing over the rare chance to cuddle his daughter. "Soon she'll be too old," he said with regret. Denzel had given his bed to Cid and Shera, with the airship being too far away to walk; the giddy couple were now snoring together, while Denzel thankfully had the office to himself. Vincent had disappeared to who-knows-where, only bothering to say goodbye because apparently Marlene had made him promise; she'd insisted on throwing her arms around him in an affectionate hug. Nanaki had curled up on the floor beside him, insisting he was fine, and Yuffie –

Well, she'd simply passed out in one of the booths. They'd thrown a blanket over her and called it a night.

Cloud and Tifa were finally, completely, alone.

Together, they headed up to the bedroom that was theirs once again.

Tifa's eyelids were drooping, rife with emotional and physical exhaustion of the fight and a long, worried night spent awake – worried about him. He helped her undress for bed, simply for the pleasure it gave him, and steered her calmly but firmly towards the blankets.

She yawned, slumping against his shoulders. "I thought you'd want to…"

Yes, he did. But he also wanted her awake and participating, not falling asleep underneath him. "Sleep now, Tifa," he told her gently, pulling the covers over them both and tugging her closer. "I'll be here in the morning when you wake up."

Satisfied, she curled tightly against him, and was asleep inside a minute. Relishing her comfort, Cloud chose to stay awake for a few minutes longer, softly stroking her hair.

She needs me, he realized, just as much as I need her. And he would simply need to learn how to be worthy of it. There might still be hurt, but when there was, it was up to him to fix it. He could make mistakes, and still be loved.

It was his job in life to love. More than that – it was his promise.

And with that resolved, he, too, let himself fall into sleep.

Tifa woke, and he was there.

She yawned, still sleepy, but looked at him lovingly with half-open eyes; he offered back a gentle kiss.

"Good morning," he said.

She gave him a naughty look. "Sleep well?"

He chuckled. They both knew the punchline to that old joke.

She started to move away, throwing the blankets away from her, but Cloud grabbed one arm and tugged her back. "Where are you going?"

"I have to take care of the kids," she reminded him.

"Barret's already taken them for the day. I heard him mumbling about being hung over as he left," he told her. "To give us some time alone."

"But what about the bar?" she fretted, but slid in back beside him. "People will want to keep celebrating. We can't keep it closed today, too."

"Shera and Cid said they could handle it tonight," he told her placidly. "Shera also said she'll bring up breakfast whenever we're ready." He paused. "Yuffie, uh, said she would help."

Tifa hoped she'd still have a bar at the end of today. "But what will my customers think I'm doing?" she fretted.

"Probably exactly what I plan to be doing with you, several times if possible," Cloud replied.

Tifa felt her face turn red even as the rest of her body eagerly responded. "I would have thought Cid and Shera would want the day to themselves, after…"

That had been one of the biggest surprises. After all the children had jumped in, Cid had literally thrown Shera into the pool, jumping right in after her, and has her Geostigma healed before his eyes, he'd gone on one knee and proposed right there in the water. The pain and relief and love on Cid's face – all things Cloud had recognized, and as Shera laughed out her yes and the crowd roared in approval, Cloud felt like his own soul was a little freer as well.

"I was just surprised he already had the ring – " Cloud started, then cut off.

A ring. He'd given Tifa a ring. And as he took that hand and stroked his emblem that she wore, he started to think. What was a ring?

A ring was a promise.

It had begun with a promise under the stars, nearly nine years ago to the day, but it had been promises built on promises ever since.

He looked into her eyes. He could look into her eyes forever.

"I want to keep my promises to you," he told her, stroking the silver and mythril intertwined.

"You always have," she told him with the sweetest of smiles.

"Not just the ones I've made," he told her. "The ones I'll keep on making."

"I know you will," she said.

And as her gaze held his with eyes full of love, he saw something he hadn't truly grasped before. He'd fallen in love with Tifa as a girl, with no idea of the woman she'd become – and look what a treasure he had found. Someone who would help him find his strength, be there beside him, a partner in life; pulling each other towards the future.

Each other's hero. As it was meant to be.

He didn't need forgiveness from Tifa, she was his forgiveness; and every day he survived, and loved, and made his path with her through life, was just a little more of that he earned.

Something must have shown in his face, because she suddenly asked with concern, "What is it?"

"Oh," he began, "I was just thinking how precious you are to me."

If he had thought she smiled before, that was nothing, as her smile spread as bright and as wide as the sun. She stretched out her hand, softly stroking his cheek. "I love you, Cloud," she whispered, raising her face to kiss him.

That smile… that smile. He'd do everything he could to keep that smile on her face.

"I love you, Tifa." Always. And as he pulled her leg over him, on top of him, and kisses grew deep and long, he really, truly understood.

He could live for that smile.

He could live…

Not The End Yet!

Author's Note: DEAR GODDESS MINERVA. I can't believe I've FINALLY made it to the end of canon – though as it says, not the end. Not for a while.

But I have a little homework to do first. I do my research – all the canon sources. Compilation materials, U;timania translations. I had to buy the Reunion Files and watch ACC – I watched it in both English and Japanese – practically frame by frame. Right now, I'm watching Max Dood's Dirge of Cerberus playthrough, because, although DoC isn't really part of the story, Vincent will be. And then at sporadic timepoints, I have to go back and reread my own work – yes, all 300K words of it – to make sure I don't lose track of the story.

The tl;dr: you KNOW I'm dedicated to this thing.

See everyone soon!