Disclaimer: None of them are mine; they all belong to Squarenix

A/N: I know, I know, and I'm rightfully ashamed of myself. I apologize for the nearly month lapse in updating, but Writer's Block is nobody's friend, no matter what it tries to tell you :P . So, with that being said, I would like to thank everyone who has reviewed, favorited, alerted, and stayed with this little story from the beginning :) I appreciate all the wonderful reviews you guys have left; thank you so much! Well, I'll be the first to admit that I'm not the greatest at endings, though I think this one turned out pretty well; it meets my stamp of approval anyway :) I truly hope this isn't the last we'll see of Terra and Vincent, but it will be awhile before I write any form of a sequel. Well then, welcome back everyone and please enjoy!

None of the news coming out of Midgar seemed at all believable. One account had former Turks looting the old records room on the sixty-eighth floor for any files pertaining to a top-secret Shin-Ra project. Another account had a motley crew of disgruntled constituents setting a Mako bomb in the old reactor down in the building's basement. Whatever the story, however, one fact remained a constant: Syd Daltrey had been behind it all, and was now facing criminal charges, the details of which were not being released by the governor's office. The entire city had known that Daltrey was engaged to the governor's daughter before her disappearance, and so the scandal was being blown wildly out of proportion. It eventually grew so severe that it was requested through certain mutual acquaintances that she not return home…at least not for another few months, and considering what had happened Terra wasn't inclined to disobey that request.

Nearly two days after the entire Shin-Ra building had been leveled to the ground, Vincent and Terra found themselves back on the island. They were both with barely enough strength between them to do much of anything other than sleep, but by the third morning Terra had managed to get herself up and about despite a lingering headache. Memories of what had happened hung heavy on Terra's mind as she milled listlessly about, avoiding Vincent's company merely because she didn't quite know how to face him. What did you say to a man who risked everything to save your life? Using materia so soon after being healed himself was stupid; it was reckless; it very well could have killed him, and yet she found she could not have expected anything less of him. That was just who Vincent was.

By the afternoon she finally gave herself something to do and spent much of her time cleaning the house. She dusted corners, swept under the furniture, and arranged and rearranged the bookcase that appeared not to have been touched in years until finally making her way into the kitchen where there were a few dirty dishes on the counter. A few of them were growing a hearty science experiment which she promptly tossed in the trash, and when she made it back to the sink, she paused when she saw the sparkling feathers of Anouk under what was left of the afternoon light. Vincent was with her, tending to her, and Terra watched him for a long time through the window as he milled about the chocobo. He looked odd without his trademark cloak, the garment sitting on the kitchen table in wait for him to work some kind of stitching magic to sew up the many rips and tears, but she supposed that was the way it was supposed to be. Knights in shining armor always looked odd without their escutcheon.

Dark descended upon the island before long and while Terra had wanted to wish Vincent a good night, she couldn't bring herself to venture outside. Sleeping held no appeal for her either. The rear bedroom was just a little too dark and a little too quiet, and she decided that the small, well-lit kitchen was as good a place as any to stay. Maybe if she washed these dishes, mopped the floor, she wouldn't have to think about what happened, and she immediately began to draw up some hot water in the sink. The water was scalding as she dipped her hands deep beneath the surface, but she didn't mind it. It kept her from replaying the feel of the Mako surging through her, taking over her body. It kept her from hearing her own screams inside of her head as the energy inside of her tore open the skies.

"Terra."

"I'm sorry," she said quickly without even looking up where Vincent stood in the doorway. She just continued to scrub at a greasy plate with a floppy blue sponge. "I didn't mean to keep you awake. I just wanted to get these dishes clean. One less mess, you know?"

His boots thudded on the floor as he stepped further into the kitchen, and she could suddenly feel him, feel his warmth directly behind her, but she didn't stop scrubbing. She couldn't stop scrubbing that stupid plate. "Terra," he said again, his hand coming to rest on her shoulder, and his other hand reached around her to grab her wrist.

"Just let me finish," she said, fighting his grip until he finally jerked the sponge from her hand and threw it away. It landed with a weak splat on the counter far out of reach, and Vincent firmly turned Terra to face him before she had a chance to make a dive for it. She then looked up at him, and the entire weight of everything that had happened came crashing down all around her and she began to cry. It was subtle at first, a few warm tears streaking down her cheeks until it graduated into quivering whimpers, and from there she was sobbing into Vincent's shoulder as she clutched him around the ribs tightly. They stayed that way for a long time, Vincent simply letting her unload every emotion she had pent up inside of her, and somewhere in the turmoil Terra's mouth was suddenly overwhelmed with the feeling of Vincent's full lips. A warm palm cradled her face as a cool frost encircled them and all at once it didn't matter anymore. None of it did.

"I felt you…deep inside I felt you trying to free me; the Mako felt you; it felt your love for me," she whispered through her tears, and she felt Vincent's hand move to cradle the base of her skull.

"I'm so sorry, Terra," he said against her lips, but she shook her head dismissively as she looked up at him.

"None of it was your fault," she said, and Vincent made an odd sort of noise that resembled a laugh.

"You are so forgiving for someone who has been deceived so much."

"That's just it, Vincent." –Terra paused to raise her hand and she touched her fingertips to his sculpted cheekbone. "You never lied to me, and I never stopped trusting you."

There was a long silence between them as they rested their foreheads together, neither of them speaking and neither of them needing to. It wasn't until Vincent finally moved that he spoke again, reaching inside of his cloak to pull something out to show her, and Terra watched him curiously.

"I had this made in Costa del Sol," he explained, tying a leather band about her right wrist and he took a step back so she could examine it properly. It was embossed with an intricate pattern and a few characters that Terra didn't recognize but it all flowed together in such a way that she almost believed them to be a part of the pattern. "It has taken me all this time to steel my nerve to give it to you but…well, there it is. The jeweler informed me that it was called a Binding Bracelet."

"A Binding Bracelet?" Terra echoed absently as she continued to examine it front and back.

"Local legend tells a story of Fire and Ice once bound together with so deep a love that nothing could separate them. When Death came to claim Ice for his throne, Fire traveled the very depths of hell to reclaim her. Upon her rescue, Fire bound her wrist with the leather of Death's shoes to remind her that there was no place he would not traverse to save her. That was my oath to you three months ago." –Vincent paused and held out his own wrist next to Terra's to reveal a matching leather band. "This bracelet is my oath to you from this day forward."

"Vincent I…I don't know what to say," Terra stammered, an overwhelming bubbly feeling beginning to percolate inside her chest, and she desperately wanted to fling her arms about his neck.

"I require no answer for even if you were to refuse me I would still splinter the gates of hell to save you…my dearest Shiva."

Shiva, Terra thought with the widest smile possible. I could definitely get used to that pet name.

And so it was. Fire and Ice were once again bound together by the leather of Death's shoes, never to be separated again.