The children rushed out to greet you as you approached the Leaf House. You could hear them clamoring inside. Some of them were crying as they crowded and hugged you. You ignored the pain in your side as they hugged your waist. 

"You're back, [F/N]!" a little girl gushed. 

"Hey, where's Biggs?" one of the others asked. He was hugging your waist and looking up at you. You ruffled his hair.

"He really wanted to come see you all, but he was busy today," you explained. It was partially a lie. It wasn't that Biggs didn't miss them, you both just knew he needed to conserve his energy. You didn't plan on going on the next mission with him, so you didn't prioritize R&R like he did, even though you were the wounded one. 

Ms. Folia walked out behind them, waving with a warm smile. A young lady carrying a flower basket came out behind her. "[F/N]," she smiled. 

"Ms. Folia," you replied with a nod. "How are you?"

"All right," she said. 

"Who's this with you?" You knew you saw her around before when you lived in Sector 5. 

Ms. Folia looked at the girl behind her, who waved at you with a friendly smile. 
"I'm Aerith," she said. "I bring flowers here every so often," she explained, holding up the flower basket. 

"I see," you nodded. "Nice to meet you... Aerith." As her name rolled off your tongue, it came off with a strange familiarity. It sounded similar to a name that had been thrown around with the Turks. You didn't know if it really was, though, or just sounded similar. "I'm [F/N]," you responded finally. She nodded as if she knew that, but said nothing of it. 

"So, you used to work here? With the guy before Ms. Folia?" she asked. 

"Yeah!" one of the kids chimed in. "Biggs!"

"I see," Aerith said, looking down at him with a smile. She then looked back at you. "Why'd you guys leave?"

"Oh, it's a long story," you said. You two never told anyone why you left. You couldn't even come up with a good enough excuse. 

"I've got time," Aerith said. "I'm done delivering for the day."

"Over dinner then," you said. "Before I leave for Sector 7 tonight. Just because I wanna spend time with the kids first. Is that all right with you, Ms. Folia?" You asked. "We'll help you out."

"Of course," Ms. Folia said, "but why are you leaving so soon?"

"I have work to do tomorrow," you told her. "Really I hadn't planned on coming today, but I was free and I hadn't dropped by in a while. I'm sure Biggs would have came along if I would've planned ahead." 

"That's fine," Ms. Folia said. "We're glad you at least dropped by. The kids collected some things for you, if you wanna go take a look."

"Oh yeah!" a girl piped up and grabbed your hand. "Come look! Come look!" The kids guided you to the bedroom, Aerith trailing behind all of you. There was so much in the filing cabinet that a couple drawers were stuck open and some things needed to be kept on top. 

"My gosh..." you exclaimed. You fanned at your eyes as you began tearing up. "You're all so thoughtful."

"We got stuff for Ms. Folia, too! Just like you said," a boy added triumphantly. It made you wonder how these sweethearts ended up with a lousy life in an orphanage. Parents dying or being unfit to take care of them was one thing, but somehow the universe landed so many wonderful souls in one of the most unfortunate livelihoods.

You sat on the floor and went through all the new things that had turned up, conversing with them. This went on for at least an hour or two. After that, you would go on to drawing or playing hide-and-seek. 

Eventually, sunset came around and you were helping Ms. Folia prepare dinner. You were exhausted, but happy all the same. All day you didn't have to think about anything strenuous or stressful. It was a peaceful evening. 
After you called everyone to the meal, you joined them all outside to eat. You sat with Aerith and Ms. Folia for some adult talk while the kids talked amongst themselves.

"So, what'd you leave the Leaf House for?" Aerith asked again.

"Biggs was really the only one with a reason. I just accompanied him. I work for the Neighborhood Watch in Sector 7, though I've been laid off a couple days," you explained.

"'Laid off'?" Ms. Folia asked. "Why? Did something bad happen?"

"I got injured out on a job a couple days ago," you lied about the time interval to make it seem less dire. You lifted your shirt to show half of your torso wrapped in gauze. 

"My word!" Ms. Folia exclaimed. "How did that happen?"

"Some monsters that wandered into town," you told her. She looked shocked. You could tell Aerith didn't buy it, but she wasn't hostile about it and actually just went along with your story.

"Maybe you should think about a safer job," Ms. Folia suggested. You waved your hand dismissively. 

"I was just off guard is all," you insisted. "I'm all right now."

"If you say so," Ms. Folia shrugged. You smiled and nodded before looking over at Aerith.

"So, you sell flowers?" You asked her. "It's rather bleak here in the slums, they shouldn't really grow that well."

"It's strange, yeah," Aerith replied. "But there's some places around here they just like growing in. Like my house, and that ruined church in town. There's a hole in the roof and they grow in the light it casts."

"That's neat," you said. "Maybe I'll buy some later.

You all talked a while longer as it began getting darker. After everyone finished eating, you accompanied Ms. Folia and a few children to clean up the place. Aerith did as well, and went home after. You stood at the door, giving the kids hugs and saying goodbyes. 

"You'll come back to visit us, right, [F/N]?" one of the girls asked. 

"Of course I will," you said. "I always do, don't I?" She nodded in return and wiped some tears from her eyes with her sleeve.
"I hate when you have to leave," she whined. 

"Me too," you told her. "I wish I didn't have to."

The kids waved and repeated their goodbyes as you limped away from the Leaf House. It was almost past midnight. You probably wouldn't reach Sector 7 until three a.m.

*
*
*

You made it home at about a quarter til' three. The lights were off and Biggs didn't seem to be home. You unlocked the door and went inside. "Biggs? You home?" You whisper-shouted. If he was here, you wouldn't wanna wake him up. He did say you two were gonna have a couple drinks when you got back. 

You looked around the house for him. He was nowhere to be seen. There wasn't any sign of disaster or struggle anywhere that maybe signaled an unwilling leave. It was unlikely that anyone would be out for him though. In the meantime, you decided to shower and hope for the best case scenario. 

You didn't hear the door open until almost four in the morning. You were sitting against the bedroom wall with a towel wrapped around your head. You were wearing one of his shirts, since it wasn't tight on your torso and gave your wound a bit of time to breathe for once. You could hear rustling by the door and a tired scoff. He hadn't said anything, but you could tell it was him. 

"Biggs?" you called. His footsteps made it to your room and he stood in the doorway. He was holding a few bottles.

"Did I keep you waiting long?" he asked. You shrugged.

"More or less. 'Bout an hour-fifteen," you said. 

"Sorry about that," he said, grunting as he sat next to you. "Here," he said, "the drink I promised." You took the towel off of your head and discarded it as he handed you a bottle. 

"At least you remembered," you said. "I'll give you the benefit of the doubt." He chuckled a little and opened his bottle before handing you the opener. "What took you so long, anyway?"

"We took an unexpected trip topside with Jessie tonight," he explained.

"'We'?" You said.

"No one," he said, stifling laughter. "Just me and my wife." You punched his shoulder tiredly. 

"Didn't I say come off that? Like a long time ago?" You scolded, opening the bottle.

"You did," Biggs said, smiling. "I just don't care all that much."

You scoffed with a joking smile and went to take a drink before adding, "That joke's like three years old." Then you took your drink. 
"I know," he said before taking a swig as well. 

"So what'd you go topside with Jessie for?" you asked, drinking some more as he responded. Your alcohol tolerance wasn't very high, but right now you didn't care. You were tired and wanted it to knock you out at some point. 

"She couldn't get in touch with our supplier who gave her the blasting agent, so we went and helped her into the 7-6 Annex to steal what she needed. We also got some of the Midgar Special on the way there."

"Sounds fun," you said. "How'd you get back so fast?"

"Parachutes."

"You used a parachute to get from the plate down here?" 

"Yes, Ma'am," he said. You laughed and set your finished bottle aside. 
"That's one way to do it, I suppose." He nodded in response. You held your hand out and he handed you another bottle. 

"You should be careful with how much you drink right now," he said. "Don't wanna get anything more than tipsy." You shrugged again.

"What if I do?" You asked. He chuckled softly.
"I'll have to put up with you when you do something dumb and wake up crying with a hangover."

"Rude," you remarked. He just gave another laugh in response as you opened the bottle he passed you.

You shared a moment of silence for a while, filled with only drinking and the occasional 'tink' of the bottles whenever you would set them down. He eventually broke the silence. "[F/N]...? Can I ask you something?"

"Shoot," you said.

"Is [F/N] really your real name?" he asked. The question caught you off guard. You were tired and half-intoxicated. 

"No..." you told him. "It's not."

"What is it, then?" he asked. 

"I'll tell you when all of this is over..." you suggested, yawning. "How does that sound?"

Figuring you were too tired, he didn't want to push the topic. Especially in the state you were in. Asking you to spill your guts while you would drunk, he thought would be a jerk move, since you couldn't really dictate what you did and didn't tell him. It would be like you were being honest on accident, and he wanted the real awake you to tell him. He also didn't want to upset you.

"Alright," he said. "Just a thought." The two of you then changed the topic.

 You two talked and squabbled a while longer before you started to feel sleepier. You rested your head on his shoulder, staring at the wall. He stayed still enough to keep you comfortable. As you started to doze off he took the bottle from you and set it aside so you wouldn't knock it over. 

"Love you," you mumbled tiredly before you gave into sleep, not even staying awake long enough to hear his response. You weren't awake long enough to realize what you said or worry about what he thought about it. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

1920 words this chapter. Nothing like forcing yourself to update a fanfiction so your friend isn't allowed to go through your phone at the end of the year. I'll edit this on my phone later, just like the last chapter.