Title: Cleris, Tiferis, Cloti & Charis
Fandoms: Final Fantasy VII
Rating: SFW
Length: 5488 words
Characters: Aerith Gainsborough, Cloud Strife, Tifa Lockhart, Barret Wallace, Hojo, Gast, Reeve Tuesti, Elmyra Gainsborough, OCs (kinda)
Relationship: Cloud/Tifa/Aerith
Summary: Dancing makes them more than the sum of their parts.
Notes: This is a sort of fusion with Steven Universe - though for the most part it is just gem-fusion as applied to the Cetra and how that might have amended the game story. The fic works off the old and mostly ignored notion that the Cetra originated from somewhere other than the Planet (to match to the gems of Steven Universe). The fic also draws heavily from two episodes of Steven Universe. "Lion 3: Straight to Video" forms the basis of Ifalna's message to Aeris. Most of the fusion moments are directly inspired by "Alone Together". Thanks to raaj as always for suggesting Clariti (I think) as an alternate ship-name and for Charis which I keep using.


The monitor flickered and fuzzed as the tape played. Another burst of static and the screen showed a man dozing on a bed. It looked as if he was still wearing all his clothes and had fallen asleep while writing something. The image wavered and shook accompanied by muffled bangs. Light sources flared as the image moved and once it stabilized the screen showed a snow covered woodland, white flakes falling through the air. A rabbit crept cautiously across the ground.

"Isn't it remarkable, Aeris?" The voice was gentle, warm but tinged with sadness. "This world is full of so many possibilities. Each living thing has an entirely unique experience. The sights they see. The sounds they hear. The lives they live... are so complicated. And so simple. I can't wait for you to join them." Another rattle and the image whirled now pointed in the opposite direction. A women with long, brown hair and a red dress stared out of the screen. "Aeris; we can't both exist. I'm going to become half of you. And I need you to know that every moment you love being yourself; that's me loving you and loving being you. Because you're going to be something extraordinary. You're going to be a human being. Take care of them, Aeris." The woman smiled and the rattling came again as the view skewed and then vanished into static.

Hojo leant back, his lips curled into a sneer as he looked down at the bound Gast. He shook his head. "It's been too long Gast. Time to go back." Hojo glanced at the crib. "You and your child."

***

Gast never looked at him during their weekly chats as Hojo liked to call them. So be it. If the man refused to further the course of science, that was his loss. He had already done so much damage by abandoning the project. Finding the last of the Cetra almost made up for it. Almost. Alas, Gast had tampered with such a precious final sample; there was so much they could have learnt by recovering her intact. However; Gast's relationship had given rise to a hither-to unsuspected situation. Ifalna was gone; in her place was the child Aeris - not wholly Cetra nor wholly human.

"I have been reviewing some of your recordings, Gast." Gast did not look up but flinched at Hojo's words. He had struck a nerve. "Particularly the oral history the late Ifalna provided." Another twitch. "Her account drifts from the myth at several key points. And I realize this is still a trying time, and after such a loss, but I would like some clarification on precisely where she obtained this information. Were there recent written copies or is the history solely oral?" No reaction this time. "A pity; a written copy, even in recent memory would be a better anchor point." Hojo sighed. "Still, I will take what I can. Now, I wish to know more about the Cetra's arrival." A larger shiver ran through Gast at his words. "I wish to know why they came here originally. For what purpose? And..." Hojo's smiled, Gast unable to see his expression. "I wish to know how their somewhat unique properties contrast to Jenova. She is not quite the same as a Cetra, but... Well. You know exactly what she can do."

***

The man with glasses and a thick mustache took shuddering gasping breaths, the girl beside him weeping as he struggled to focus on Elmyra. His face contorted with pain as he choked out his final words.

"Please. Take. Aeris. Somewhere. Safe."

Elmyra did not hear him say anything further and when she knelt down beside him, his chest was motionless. She wrapped her arm around the child - Aeris? - and pressed two fingers to the man's throat. Nothing. He was gone. Elmyra glanced around, hoping someone might help her. No one would meet her gaze. The guard on the station ducked his head and shuffled his feet even as she tried to attract his attention. There was no one else to help with this. No one to care for this man - whoever he was. No one else to take this child. She tried to keep her eyes from the dark stain under the man's clothes as she spoke in quiet, gentle tones to the girl. She would take her for now. Look after her - she could not just leave a child out on the streets. Keep her safe for a night maybe and then find someone else who could care for her. Someone who knew how to be a mother to her.

***

It was night-time in Costa Del Sol. Aeris had decided to get away from the crowded inn for a while to take a stroll through the cool night air. Cloud had had a similar idea. Sort of. He was acting a little odd, his attention focused on the road out of town as it vanished into the sparse scrub-land that surrounded the sea-side resort. Whatever held his attention was soon disrupted when she spoke and he happily chatted to her on the beach. The sea-shore at night was so different to the day-time hours. Even though the day's heat still hung in the air, the sand was deliciously cool and the breeze was refreshing. In the town behind them rhythmic bass music pulsed as the nocturnal revelries got under way; a crush of people swayed and moved to the electronic beat. Aeris wistfully remarked it had been some time since she had last had a chance to dance. Cloud said he never had.

"You never danced?" Aeris frowned at Cloud.

Cloud scratched at his head and frowned. "Well, no. They kinda had some dancing back home but I was never interested in it. Kind of done around harvest time. Nothing like that though," he said, jerking his head back behind them towards the night spot. Home remained a sore subject for Cloud, no matter how freely he talked in Kalm. The memory stung him in a way that seemed impossible to salve, and Nibelheim - while a good way distant - increasingly seemed like a place them might wind up. No; rather it seemed Sephiroth might head there. And they were bound to follow him. Aeris shook her head. Not something to dwell on right now.

"So, let's do it."

Cloud blinked, a look of fright and a strange thrill crossing his face. "Do it?" he asked, his voice trembling.

"Dance," she said, resisting the urge to roll her eyes at his slightly crass interpretation of her words.

Cloud flushed, but soon scrambled to his feet as Aeris started swaying to the audible beat. Her partner was awkward, his movements stiff and almost robotic. He was moving his head far too much.

"Relax," she said, grabbing his arms. "Just try to feel the music. Let it guide you."

Cloud flushed deeper at her touch, but responded as she moved her arms, guiding his. Bit more of a sway there, a little more fluid movement here. He was relaxing more and more as they went on. She stepped forward, Cloud's leg not moving as she did. She fell into him, catching a glimpse of Cloud's shocked face as he fell back and she dropped on top of him.

***

The stranger looked somehow familiar as they paused in the doorway of the inn, gaze scanning the crowd. Tifa watched them carefully. Whoever they were, they seemed to be looking for someone. But why did they look so maddeningly familiar? Oh - that was it; that shock of blonde hair was so reminiscent of Cloud's spikes. And that braid looked a lot like Aeris's. They even had the pink ribbon. And the pink dress. But the stranger was wearing blue pants under the dress which was open to their waist. A brilliant white gem covered their belly button, the jewelry not looking anymore out of place than the other mis-matched garments. The stranger's gaze met her own and their face brightened.

"Tifa!" they called, hurrying across the bar, weaving between tables and other patrons. Tifa glanced around. No one else had responded to the stranger's call. So they were after her? Why? Someone involved with Shinra? "Tifa," the stranger gasped again as they sank into the seat opposite her. "I'm glad you're still up."

"Um," Tifa said, catching a frown from Barret nearby. "Do I know you?"

"Know...? Oh!" The stranger's eyes widened. "Sorry, of course..." The stranger cleared their throat. "It's.... me. It's... us." The stranger blinked. "This isn't helping," they said. "Names," they added after a pause, the intonation so different. The stranger met Tifa's gaze again. "I'm, we're, Cloud and Aeris." Tifa blinked furiously and frowned. The stranger waved their hands urgently, awkwardly pushing their hands together. "It's the two of us combined. We... fused." The stranger flushed and scratched their cheek as they looked away.

"Fused?" Tifa asked, trying to figure the words out puzzle out.

"Yeah. It's a... Cetra thing." The stranger looked back at her, unsure. "I didn't think it was possible with humans."

Confirmation of a sort; Cetra was not a term in general use. "Aeris?" Tifa asked quietly. The stranger nodded. "Cloud?" They nodded again, eyes wider. "Is this... permanent?" she asked fearing the answer.

"Oh, no," the stranger said, smiling. "We can separate. It's just... It's different like this. I, we, just want to see what it's like. For a while."

"This is a lot to take in," Tifa said weakly.

"Sorry," the stranger said. "Just for tonight though. Then we'll split again."

Tifa sighed and nodded. "So, what should I call you? Aerud? Cloris? Cleris?"

"Cleris," the stranger smiled. "I like the sound of Cleris." A pause and Cleris nodded. "Me too."

"Well, Cleris," Tifa said. "Do you want the others to know?"

Cleris nodded. "Oh yes! I would love to meet them."

"But you... Oh. Different you said?"

Cleris nodded again and their stomach rumbled. "And, um, can we get some food?"

Tifa smiled. "Sure. Welcome to the team, Cleris."

***

Aeris rolled over lazily, her arm jarring against something warm. She opened her eyes. Cloud. They had separated sometime in the night as they slept. For all her insistence the fusion could be undone at a moment's notice, it had been difficult to consciously separate again. The last she remembered- Aeris frowned. The last Cleris remembered was talking in the early hours with Tifa, the two of them curled up on her bed. Where was...? Aeris raised her head and looked over the top of Cloud. Tifa was fast asleep on the edge of the mattress. Aeris smiled. Last night had been unexpectedly fun.

But there was a worry in the back of her mind, something that did not sit right. She had no experience, no former instance of a fusion to draw on, but still; something seemed slightly wrong with the merger. It was as if there had been a third entity in their combination. It was implausible; Cloud fused with another? She had not felt a new materia anywhere on Cleris's body. Was it something else? But then what could induce that sensation of whispering on the edge of hearing? It was quiet, distant. Almost constantly overwhelmed by sound. But she had heard it. There was something else in Cloud's past, or something else about him she still did not know. She could remember Cleris's memories - matching almost exactly to his words at Kalm. But there was nothing beyond them. It had been easy to overlook before when everything was fresh and new, but now...

Not something to easily discuss. Maybe if they found a chance to fuse again - maybe then it would not seem so weird to discuss the memories. Aeris flopped back onto the mattress. The three of them in one bed did not leave much room for each of them, but she did not mind. There was a comfort to being so close to the two of them. Though next time she could prefer to be in the middle.

***

"Aeris?" Tifa asked, leaning back under the sea of stars at Cosmo Canyon. The drumbeat of a ceremony somewhere in the canyon was audible even up here.

"Mmm?" Aeris replied from her spot flat on her back.

"I know I asked before, but... was it really that different? When you were fused?" Aeris sat up and stared at her. "Sorry if it's personal. I just... think about it."

Aeris shook her head. "It's fine." She grinned and laced her fingers together. "Can you remember the first time you breathed the air, or tasted food, or wore clothes?" Tifa shook her head. "Me neither. But I remember the first time Cleris did. It's the contrast. Something so familiar, felt for the first time. It's... quite an experience. All new. Everything."

"It sounds... interesting?" Tifa said, carefully not looking at her companion. "I mean... It sounds..."

"Tifa?" Aeris leant towards her. "Do you want to try?"

Tifa looked around in surprise. "Fuse with you?" Just what she had been hinting at, but said so bluntly. "Can I? I mean... Would you want to? Am I even capable of it?"

Aeris tilted her head to one side and stared at her for a moment. "Let's find out." She scrambled to her feet and held a hand out to Tifa. After a moment of indecision, Tifa took the offered hand. "I don't know if it is possible," Aeris said as she guided her companion away from the edge. "But I'm willing to find out. And we wouldn't be Cleris. We'd be..." she trailed off, deep in thought.

"Aerti?" Tifa offered. She frowned. "No. That's not that good."

Aeris hummed as she turned Tifa towards her and moved to the drumbeat. "How about Tiferis?"

"Tiferis?" Tifa spluttered. Aeris smiled and Tifa followed her companion's lead. The other girl's rhythm was easy to adapt to. "Tiferis," she repeated. "Yeah. I think that works."

"Tiferis it is then," Aeris said, as she drew Tifa in closer.

"So," Tifa asked, their faces close together. "How does this work?"

"I don't entirely know," Aeris admitted. "I've only done this the once; dancing lead into it last time."

"You got Cloud to dance?" Tifa smiled. "How is he?"

"Very stiff," Aeris grinned. "He loosened up though." She span them both around. "You're much better at this then he was."

Tifa smiled.

***

Cloud looked up from the fire, glanced at the stranger walking towards them and then took a longer look. He blinked. The stranger had long dark hair in a long braid, tied back with a pink ribbon. They wore a red bolero jacket, a pink dress open to the waist, and under that, a black mini-skirt. He scrambled to his feet.

"Hi Cloud," they said as they approached.

Cloud felt his lips curl into a smile. "So, the two of you...?"

"Yep!" Tiferis nodded. "Tifa wanted to give it a go." They glanced past him to the fire for a moment. "Actually I wanted another try too."

"It's... something else, isn't it?" Cloud asked.

Tiferis nodded. "And this feels completely different again," they said.

"Did you... do it the same way?" Cloud asked.

"Dancing?" Tiferis asked and Cloud nodded. "It was a little easier. I think some of the stuff I learned here helped me understand it a little better. I think it's one of those practice makes perfect situations."

"Well," Cloud said. "Guess, we better introduce you to everyone." He turned to find the others staring past him. Of them all only Cait Sith looked bemused.

***

"Cloud, stop," Tifa screamed. The fuzziness faded and appalled Cloud took a stumbling step backwards. He had almost brought his sword down on Aeris. His hands trembled and the Buster Sword slid from his grasp. It tumbled to the floor with a heavy metallic clang. Aeris smiled, her eyes opening as a movement drew his gaze upward. Something fell towards them. Black and silver, metal reflecting the bright light in this subterranean cavern. He could not move. Could not stop the inevitable. Sephiroth dropped. The Masamune's blade shot through Aeris's body with sickening speed, the angle of the blade strange. Even as he could not avert his eyes from the horrific action right in front of him, some part at the back of his brain questioning why he would try to kill her like that. Not aim for something more vital. The blade curved through her back and exited through her stomach - it would scarcely damage any vital organ.

With sadistic slowness, Sephiroth drew his blade back, Aeris jerked forward by the movement. There was a momentary flicker across her body and then - with a burst - she vanished. Suspended in the air for a second was a white sphere, cracked and splintered by the blade. He had been aiming for her materia. The one that belonged to her mother. The materia Aeris insisted did nothing. Cloud watched, desperate to move but unable as the sphere hit the floor, the impact cracking the gem a little further. It bounced between the stone columns; each time it struck the floor, the sphere cracked a little further. At last it plunged into the water and sank.

"Aeris!" Cloud yelled, hands reaching for his sword as Sephiroth watched him, a mocking smile on his lips.

***

The black materia was massive, cold in Cloud's hand. It all came down to this. Each of those black cloaked figures had taken the sphere, carried it for a while before dying at Sephiroth's hand. He tried not to fixate on that moment of death. How each form had flickered before disappearing, leaving nothing behind but the unbroken black materia. Each time it fell he could not help but remember when Aeris's fell. Cloud looked down at the orb, fingers tracing across it's surface. No crack, no chip marred it's surface. It did not matter anymore. He had been lead here for a purpose. One final purpose. How could he have betrayed Aeris so? Had she seen who he truly was in that moment they were one? Seen how empty he had been inside?

No. The past was gone. His role was set. Cloud stood, still suspended upside down beneath the lattice holding the gigantic materia crystal in the centre. His cocoon. Sephiroth's truth; they had never been truly pursuing him; merely a mirage, a shadow. A reflection that passed through so many different forms, so many different bearers of the black materia. Until at last it fell to him; his duty. He had expected to take the sphere into himself like the others. So that he might waver and blink out of existence just like the others. The sphere had not reacted - that fate was not for him. He was to continue to suffer.

Cloud held out his hand towards Sephiroth. The imprisoned man's eyes remained closed, the unyielding surface of materia between them. He could not reach him. The materia wavered and it was like pressing his hand into water. The sphere slipped inside the cocoon. Sephiroth's eyes flickered and the lattice heaved. The world shook around him. This was the end.

***

Cloud was falling. Sinking deep into the Lifestream, falling between massive chunks of broken materia, splinters of crystal swirling around him. Aeris rushed through the debris. His eyes were tight closed and no matter what she tried he did not respond to her voice. She looked around in frustration; there was no sign of Sephiroth. Would it have been better to use this moment as a last attempt to ensnare him and leave Cloud to perish?

No. No, she could not let him die as well. Aeris ran her fingers through his hair and tried to pull him into her arms. He refused to awaken. Realization came in stages; his mind slumbered, shutting itself away from the implications of Sephiroth and Hojo's words. His memories were a jumbled mess of sensation. But there was a consistent thread running through them; Tifa. If Cloud was to have any hope of recovering, she was essential. If only she could reach her.

Aeris swam deep into the Planet, traversing the swirling streams of mako, heading for the vents on the opposite side of the Planet. The furthest from a reactor she knew of. With a last look she pushed him up and out in the ocean. At least he had a chance at life. Her last silent prayer was that somehow Tifa might find him.

***

"Tifa." She turned at the voice. Aeris stood in the green-tinged darkness.

"Aeris," Tifa gasped. "Where's Cloud?"

"Close," Aeris replied. "Tifa; he needs you. He's more awake now, but..."

Tifa shook her head. "He doesn't need me. I couldn't do anything. I could only watch him day after day."

Aeris smiled. "You cared for him. You did more than just watch. And you can do more here; you're the only one who can. Tifa... I can fuse you with him."

"Fuse us? But... I'm... He's..."

Aeris took a step closer. "I need you to help him. You're in his memories. You're the key to everything."

Tifa glanced away to the infinite dark around them. "Can you help me? Come with me?"

"Oh, Tifa," Aeris sighed. "If I could, I would. But there is more at risk now. There're more I need to do. I... can keep an eye on you, but you will need to do this yourself."

Tifa took a shuddering breath. "Okay."

Aeris smiled vanished. A green world came into focus; an impossible floating of island of rock and almost familiar scenery in the vast endless green tinged darkness. And floating above it, transluscent and ethereal; Cloud. It felt so familiar here. So oddly safe. For a moment she forgot all about the strange world she stood in. Forgot about Mideel crashing down around her as she tried to get Cloud to safety. She breathed and focused on the sensation. The newness of it. There was little to see, touch, feel, taste or smell here - each sense weak. But the sensations were appreciably new.

"It's the same," Tifa murmured. She glanced up past the visible edges of this place to the infinity beyond. "Aeris? Can you still hear me?" No response - at least nothing audible. Instead there was a touch of warmth inside her. Tifa smiled. She had not abandoned them. "It is the same," Tifa continued, to herself, to Aeris, to Cloud if he could hear. "It's like when I was Tiferis. But this time..." She stared up at Cloud. "Cloud; we're... Cloti."

***

Cloud was panting as Sephiroth's eyes widened and he burst into brilliant white light. It was over. Finally over. Tendrils of green energy began to wind through the darkness all around him, their light brightening as their number increased.

"Cloud," an unexpected voice called from behind him.

He whirled to find her. "Aeris," he gasped. "You're... here."

She nodded. "Where I've been ever since..." she trailed off.

Cloud stared at her, putting into words the suspicion that had grown in his mind. "You... can't come back, can you?" he asked. She shook her head. Just as they had surmised. Her materia was too badly damaged by the Masamune. If it had not cut so deeply; if he had been able to catch it as it fell. No. It would do him no good to dwell on what might have been. He had to look for the future. "I... We... Worried that might be how it turned out."

"There... there is one way," Aeris said, staring down at her feet as she shuffled them. "The only way I can come back with you. But it's costly."

"What... is it?"

Aeris sighed. "Dance with me. One more time."

Cloud blinked. "You mean...?"

"Yes. If we become Cleris again; then I can go back with you."

"Cleris..." Cloud murmured.

"But it's up to you, Cloud. We would never be able to unfuse if we do it now. I can't exist independently anymore. You would have to give up your life so we could live as one. Are you really prepared to do that?"

Cloud fidgeted in the green light. "It's a big decision," he said.

"The biggest of your life I would say," Aeris replied.

"You know what's been happening, don't you?" Cloud asked. "You saw when I fell into the Lifestream at Mideel didn't you?"

"With Tifa?" she asked. Cloud nodded. "Of course."

"And how do you feel about her?"

Aeris frowned. "How do I...?"

"Before, when she helped me, I remembered how much I cared for her over the years. How important she was- is to me. I want to stay with her after this, see where we might wind up. I still want that. But-"

Aeris smiled and interrupted him. "I would never ask you to choose between us like that. It's clear you love Tifa. Go to her. I'll be fine."

Cloud shook his head. "It's not that. I know you fused with her before, and I wondered..." He licked his lips. "Do... do you love her too?"

"Do I...?" Aeris blinked. She took a deep breath. "I... I.... Yes," she said, looking deep into his eyes. "I love Tifa too."

Cloud took a deep breath and stepped towards her. "Then I think we can make this work."

***

There was a movement in the mako pool beneath her. "Cloud!" Tifa called, stretching her hand towards the thrashing arm just visible beneath the surface. She grabbed hold and pulled, straining as she pulled Cloud back to safety. To her immense surprise, Cleris emerged from the Mako instead. They gasped, spluttering for a moment as they focused on the girl in front of them.

"Tifa!" they exclaimed, throwing their arms her.

"C-Cleris?" Tifa stuttered, too surprised to return the hug for a moment. She relaxed and returned the embrace. "You... you... You're back?"

Cleris sat back and nodded. "It was the only way for us both to come back. Tifa, there's more..."

Tifa held up her hand and shook her head. "Not now. Let's live through this first. Once we get out of here, we can talk about whatever you want."

"Who is that?" Cid was just about audible as the cavern shook around them. The creak of stone moving obliterated whatever Barret's response was. Cleris frowned at the path leading down to this depth - the one now breaking apart as the glow below them intensified.

Cleris smiled. "I think, I might be able to help a little," they said and stretched their hand upwards, towards the top of the North Crater.

"What are you doing?" Tifa asked.

"Making sure we get to see tomorrow," Cleris replied. With a succession of crashes and angry shouts from Cid, the Highwind dropped into view.

***

The Highwind shuddered around them. Tifa caught a glimpse of Cid hanging onto the Highwind's wheel even as the deck threatened to slip out from under him. Tifa lost her footing as something knocked against the airship, sending the craft turning end over end. Cid yelled something obscene and there was an collective yell as the craft spun. She scrambled back, arms flailing, trying to find something to hold onto; some way to not fall over the rail and towards the distant ground. Her arm jarred and she stopped moving. Cleris held her hand with one arm, the other keeping a tight grip on the rail.

"You okay?" they yelled above the din as white exploded up out of the crater.

Tifa could only nod as she tightened her grip on their hand. Beyond Cleris, from the vast crater a burst of white energy erupted into the sky. Tifa smiled. Even as the Highwind stabilized, as it broke down into a smaller craft, Cleris never let go of her hand.

***

"Is it possible?" Tifa asked. She looked away from the remains of Midgar to where Cleris sat. They pursed their lips and looked up to the sky.

"I can't see why not," they said after a long pause. "Though there's no way to know if we're doing something wrong if it doesn't work right away," they said, twisting a blonde curl around one finger.

Tifa smiled. "I'd like to try. It's... I want to be with you both." She looked over at Cleris. "If it doesn't work, I'll still be happy like this, but if we can..."

Cleris grinned. "You don't have to explain that. And it doesn't have to be permanent - if it does work. No objections to trying from this side."

"Then let's try." Tifa glanced around. "We need music though... don't we?"

Cleris stood up, brushing some dust off their dress. "I don't think it's essential. It helps, but the dance is the important part."

"But dancing without music..." Tifa stood and cleared her throat. She hummed softly and Cleris's face broke into a smile as they listened. Of course they would recognize the tune; the same one she picked out on a piano keyboard so many years ago. Cleris took the lead; their hand on her waist, her hand on their shoulder. They danced, moving to Tifa's voice. It was trickier this time, the beat not as rhythmic, not fading into the background like before - she had to concentrate to keep it going. But it would be enough. She knew it would be.

***

"You don't have to come, you know."

Reeve twitched but met his companion's gaze levelly. "I feel I should though. I gave Elmyra the bad news before and upset her so much. It's selfish, but I want to see her happy this time." He cleared his throat. "I do apologize for intruding on this moment however." Reeve looked worried now. "No. No you're right. I will visit later. I do still need to let her know what we can provide for her."

His companion waved their hands at him. "Don't be so silly. It's fine. Thank you for coming with us like this."

"My pleasure," he beamed.

"Well, I have to be here," Barret rumbled. "Gotta see my baby girl."

"Of course, Barret. We wouldn't dream of stopping you."

"So," Reeve as they approached the house in Kalm. "Would you like me to make the introductions?"

A momentary pause. "Yes... yes please."

Reeve nodded and rapped his knuckles on the door. A nerve-wracking moment of silence from within the house before the heart-stopping sound of the locks turning. The door opened and Elmyra peered out. She frowned at the sight of Reeve, almost smiled at Barret and blinked at the stranger. Reeve bowed. "I am terribly sorry for troubling you, Ms. Gainsborough, but I was accompanying Mister Wallace here-"

"What you being so formal for?" Barret asked as Marlene pushed past Elmyra with a cry of 'daddy'.

"That's just how I am." Reeve sighed as he straightened his back. "Ms. Gainsborough; I wish to introduce a companion of mine and Mister Wallace's." He gestured. "I would like you to meet Clerifa."

"Charis," they corrected glancing at Reeve. "We settled on... Charis." Charis smiled at Elmyra, who looked somewhat confused.

"'Charis'?" Reeve asked. "I thought Clariti was the other- Oh never mind." He cleared his throat. "Ms. Gainsborough, I would like you to meet Charis."

"It's... nice to meet you," Elmyra said. "Mister Tuesti... Why are you-?" She cut herself off as she stared at Charis The pink dress should have been an indicator. And the bow. Or even the dark brown hair twisted into a braid, except where a few spikes stuck up at the front. Maybe the differently coloured eyes; one dark green, the other dark blue. "Aeris?" Elmyra gasped. "You came back? No. You're not... Not just her are you?"

Charis shook their head. "We're... Cloud and Tifa too." They licked their lips, more nervous now than while waiting. "Sorry for surprising you like this."

Elmyra shook her head, the corners of her mouth nearly curling into a smile. Not yet. She was still processing the situation. "No. Don't apologize." She smiled. "Never apologize. You're here. That's all I wanted."

"I think I will take my leave," Reeve said, turning away as Elmyra continued to stare at Charis. "I'm sure you have a lot to talk about."

"Reeve," Charis frowned. "You don't have to run off like that."

He shrugged. "I have a lot to do still. I'll see you later. Ms. Gainsborugh, Mister Wallace, Miss Wallace... Charis." He grinned.

Elmyra smiled. "Thank you... Thank you, Mister Tuesti."

"Reeve, please."

"Reeve." Elmyra nodded to him as he wandered away. She glanced at the others. "Charis, Barret, Marlene? Won't you come in and have a drink? And if you want to stay tonight, I will make up a room for you all."

"Thank you... Mom," Charis said. They felt nervous as they said it, a bursting rush behind their ribs. The same nerves melted away with Elmyra's reply.

"Welcome home, Charis."