A/N: Surprise! We're doing it now.

[Day 43, 1755 Wutai Standard Time]

Vincent hauled himself and a jacket over one edge of the roof, moving more carefully than he might have before. Without Ashura, they had theorised, he would no longer heal as quickly, no longer seem so impervious, even though his body's exposure to mako remained.

Yuffie lay flat on her back, arms spread. Vincent flipped the jacket over her torso, and brushed the hair from her face when the jacket's landing disturbed it.

"I know I'm being stupid."

Vincent lay back beside her, feeling the cold, hard grooves of the tiles through his shirt, knowing his lower back would give him hell for this later. It was still strange, still half a wonder.

"I just, it's nearly time, and I can't stop wondering, what if I'm no good at it?"

"Remind me," he said. "How many times have you saved the world?"

"I know. I know! And I mean, all my life I was arguing with dad about his decisions, I was so sure I knew what was good for Wutai, and now I don't have to have those arguments at all and I just—"

He rolled himself up on one elbow, reaching and dragging her in, careful to keep the tips of the claws away from her skin. He kissed the top of her head, and she wriggled pleasantly beside him until she was comfortable.

"Myto Yuffie will always find somebody to argue with," he said. She smacked him on the arm.

"I'm tripling your taxes. Forever."

"There she is," Vincent said, suppressing amusement. "Her legendary justice and charity..."

"Okay, okay, I'm going to bed." She threw the jacket over his face and scuttled to the edge of the roof.

She paused. He waited.

"...you coming?"

"I'll be right behind you."

He was.

FIN

Thank you to everyone for your absolutely inhuman patience as I rewrote this over the last entire decade, holy crap. We finally have an ending, and I can finally write other things without feeling like a jerk. Much love and happy impatient waiting for the eventual remake Square keeps promising us, Cheloya/Rave/Rose Flame.