AN: The final chapter! Thank you all so much for all your support and fabulous reviews! I sincerely hope that you have enjoyed the journey; I know I have. All my love and hugs!

The waves were warm on her feet as Tifa wiggled her toes in the sand. Grinning, she turned to see Genesis setting up an umbrella for them on the beach. After everything that they'd gone through, being here was like waking from a nightmare. With the Bond humming with Genesis' happiness and her own matching it, this felt more real than any of the darkness they'd faced. She still had nightmares sometimes, sneaking into Genesis' room when she did, but they were slowly dissipating. She had a feeling Minerva had a hand in her mind recovering nearly as swiftly as her body, and she sent thanks to the deity every day.

The biggest boost to her healing, though, was Genesis' unwavering belief and support. He had a darkness inside him that had lived very close to the surface while he was undercover. A few nights ago, however, he'd admitted that he thought Minerva had calmed it. He said that the struggle with his own genes wasn't there anymore and-after having the struggle his entire life-he hadn't realized how weak it made him.

That had prompted her to gape at him. If he considered himself weak before, she wasn't sure what kind of Hell he could unleash now. It was a good thing AVALANCHE had died completely and Wutai had finally surrendered.

Her surname still fit her, 'Lockhart', as it was still a struggle for her to speak up about her feelings and wants, but Genesis was scary good about anticipating her. Even before the Bond, if there was something she wanted and he knew about it, he'd make sure she got it. Fiddling with her new-more elaborate-earring, she wondered if she should feel embarrassed about that.

"No," he answered her musings, wrapping his arms around her. "I quite enjoy spoiling you, love." Nuzzling her hair, he sighed at the sight of the white pearl. "I am sorry we were unable to recover your original."

Swallowing, she shook her head and finally felt ready to tell him. "It wasn't in the rubble of Deepground." Holding his forearms tightly, she clarified, "They didn't take it from me. I guess they thought its magic was part of the Mark's, since they couldn't figure out what the Mark was. One of the men thought he'd try a different form of interrogation and the protective spells were triggered. They'd been tested almost to max during Rosso's torture, and this was the final straw. The spells pretty much disintegrated him, but in the process, disintegrated the earring as well."

Closing his eyes, Genesis tried to get his fury under control. He'd wondered if any of the cretins had attempted something like that, but as none of the reports contained indications, he hadn't asked. The last thing he wanted to do was make her relive that kind of attack.

"Did any of them try again?" he gritted out.

Shaking her head, she leaned back into him. "No. I think it scared the daylights out of them. Scared me, too. You saved me more than once down there, Genesis."

Releasing a breath, he decided not to pursue the topic. She'd already recounted what had happened when Nero forced his Darkness into her, which was a kind of rape unto itself, the mage felt. They were in Costa del Sol for two weeks of good memories. He wasn't about to let the past encroach on them in such a near-paradise. Especially after the discussion his brothers had forced on him shortly after Tifa recovered.

The corner of his mouth hitched up when he glanced down. Untangling their hands, he teasingly traced the top of her swimsuit, delighting in the blush that spread across her décolletage. It made her Mark dance and their magic sing.

"You were wrong, you know," he murmured to her, his lips against her shoulder.

"Huh?" she stuttered, her skin prickling with goose-bumps as that familiar electricity rose between them.

"I find your blush more than 'cute', love, and I am most definitely going to call attention to it."

Shuddering at the light brushes of his lips on her skin, she made an inarticulate sound in the back of her throat. She felt him smile a moment before he swept her off her feet and carried her back toward their blanket.

Sometimes she felt very young in their life and sometimes she felt very old. She'd spent most of her life feeling not good enough; always reaching for what she didn't think she'd ever have.

From the very first, Genesis had wiped all of that away. No matter what, he'd always given her something to believe in: herself. Because, well, he'd always believed in her, and if Genesis said something was so, then it was the gospel truth.

"You're beautiful," he breathed against her lips as she bashfully let her hands return his affection.

"Minerva bound us more than even the Bond, didn't she?" Tifa asked softly, watching his face as she traced his toned chest, seeing the crackling ball of electricity that had blossomed over his heart after their trip to Banora.

"Aye," he agreed, catching her hand and kissing her fingers. "You're mine, Tifa Lockhart. You even bore my name while I was away."

Her face heated at the reminder. "I don't know if it's more embarrassing, or less, that they started calling me 'Rhapsody' on their own."

The corners of his eyes crinkled in that way that always made her heart swell. "They wouldn't have done it, had you asked for it, love. None of the Guard is a fool. Even ignorant of our Bond, they recognized my claim on you."

"I'm not a dog bone," she grumbled, though it was pretty pathetic sounding as he'd taken that moment to begin pressing kisses to her wrist and inner arm.

Sighing, she collapsed backwards and wrapped her arms around his neck when he leaned over her. "You had to wait a long time for me, didn't you?"

Rubbing her nose with his own, he shrugged. "Not really. It wasn't a chore to be endured, my heart. You were young and so was I in a great many ways. You taught me how to love you without even realizing it. Because you weren't of age, I didn't feel pressured to act on the situation; I felt that we had time to grow into each other. I had always kept my ambitions a priority above dating and so I was rather lost as to what to do with you when you appeared in my life." A smile lit his face. "It was quite enlightening, being the confidante of a teenage girl."

That made her giggle, curling into him as he shifted to lay on his side. "I was jealous of the girls fawning over you, even if I didn't know it at the time. I can't believe you were so nice and supportive about me going on a date with Zack."

His expression turned smug, making her frown in suspicion.

"What did you do?"

"I didn't do anything to the boy, although Sephiroth may have threatened him with Masamune."

Groaning, she thumped him. "And, I suppose you were an innocent bystander while this happened?"

"Of course."

Tifa rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "How come I didn't get to threaten anybody over you? And don't tell me that you didn't threaten Zack. I know you well enough to know that you said something to him he probably took as a veiled threat."

Unable to help the chuckle, he looked down at her. "I seem to recall you tossing Scarlet out the chopper door, love."

Mortification washed over her as she winced. "I'd blocked that out of my mind. Stop laughing! I didn't know who she was then! All I saw was this crazy bimbo flinging herself into a restricted helicopter as we were leaving! It was my first mission with you and I was really excited."

"You don't know how much torment she endured because of that, my heart. My men despised her and seeing you do what they all wished they could brought quite a bit of happiness to the Guard. I'm still not sure how I managed to keep a straight face. I was flabbergasted at the whole thing."

Finally giving into the humor, she smirked. "You yelled at Peterson to take off and then rubbed your eyes before sighing and looking at me. 'Tifa,' you said, 'that was Scarlet Scarlet, the head of Weapons Development.' I thought you were furious with me. I was almost sick right there because I'd messed up so royally and you had never been cross with me."

He snorted. "I was trying to reign in my laughter and sudden desire to kiss you. I could have fallen in love with you just for that. When you turned white and sort of hunched down, my own magic berated me."

Red swirled with blue as she looked at him. "That was when Peterson lost it. I swear he sounds like a demented rooster when he really gets to laughing."

Genesis grinned, letting her trace the bolts of lightning that decorated his torso. "I've never thought about it, but he does, doesn't he? However, I made sure you knew I wasn't upset with you."

"Yeah, you rolled your eyes at Peterson and then winked at me. We had the side doors open so the wind was whipping your hair back and then the sun hit you just perfectly. You took my breath away," she admitted quietly.

Pulling her up, he kissed her, tracing the seam of her mouth until she relented and gave him access. It still made her dizzy with anticipation and giddiness, his kisses, but she was slowly learning what made him lose his mind and forget that they were in public.

"Tell me another memory," she requested a while later, when he was able to pull himself away. "Something good."

"Something good," he mused, tracing her shoulder down to her hand. "I remember the first time I knew that you didn't think of me like a brother."

At her questioning look, the mage's face turned amused. "The first time I believe I wasn't wearing my uniform around you."

Knowing what he meant, she flushed and covered her eyes with her hand. "Oh, I can't believe you remember that!"

"How could I not? Every time after that I wore jeans, you asked me how I wasn't assaulted. I did have the misfortune of being the focus of some unwanted attention, which is why I don't usually wear jeans at HQ. When I did submit to comfort, however, it was worth the irritation to see your reaction."

Reaching down, he pulled her leg into his hand and kneaded her calf. "Your turn, love."

Shifting, she wiggled until she was pressed into his side, thrilling at the feel of their skin sliding against each other. "The last night you left, when I was messing with you about staring at my chest, it kind of took me aback that you didn't even blink at my flirting."

Genesis arched a brow and slid his hand up to rest behind her knee. "Of course I didn't. I wanted you and was simply waiting for a sign from you that you returned the sentiment. You had turned of age and the fact that you even thought to flirt with me let me know you were at least subconsciously ready for more overt advances. You were a very bright light to me during that mission, love. I don't think I could have completed it had I not had you."

"You let me believe the Bond was more of an accident than it really was," she accused, though the words held no heat.

A calculating expression crawled onto his face. It was familiar to her, however, and so her only response was to raise her brows pointedly.

"Perhaps," he compromised. "There was a time when you didn't question anything I did, you know."

She stuck out her tongue at him. "I think I questioned more than you want to remember. Regardless, that was before a goddess practically married us."

At that topic, he paused and met her eyes seriously. "She was exceptionally generous to us. Will you tell me what she said to you?"

The question was simply curious-not pushy and Tifa wondered if she could even begin to relate how monumental the conversation felt to her.

"She asked me if I was strong enough for you."

Startled, Genesis felt his brows draw together as he listened, studying her embarrassed, still-awed, features. From the Bond, he could feel just how deeply the conversation had touched her.

"It was more than just that, though. It was like she saw everything inside of me and wanted to know if I could open myself to something greater than just me. She was protecting you, but she was also pushing me to embrace what I knew would be my happiness. I realized that I could lose my sight and I'd still find a way to keep living. If I lost you, I…," she trailed off, shaking her head as the words she needed fled. Deciding that the simplest way might be the best, she settled on clarifying with, "I couldn't live without my other half. So, that was answer enough. I told her 'yes'."

Pressing light kisses to her face, he worked through his emotions. "I've guarded her Materia since I was a child. Should the wrong person activate it, the power of the Lifestream would corrupt them."

"She called you a guardian of light," Tifa whispered, seeing his contentment and happiness at the words.

"She wasn't speaking only of her Materia, love. She was charging me with your protection as well. Allowing you a return Mark on me-even without mage status-sealed the Bond between us eternally. You called it a marriage-you were right, love. For better or worse, we are each other's, as I saw the day you breezed into my world."

An annoying tune broke the charged moment. Scowling, Tifa rolled over and dug through her bag until she found her phone. Flipping it open, she growled when she saw what had interrupted her. Curious, Genesis sat up beside her and read the message over his shoulder. His eyes narrowed as he did.

"He can't be serious," he scoffed.

"It's Zack," she grumbled, "of course he's serious. You know he met that girl Cissnei through Elena and has been over the moon ever since."

Snatching the device, he typed out a curt answer and then turned off the phone. Tossing it back into her bag, he rounded on her.

"Now, Gen…" she began, holding out a hand to ward him off.

Catching the appendage, he stopped her retreat. Feeling her giddiness and anticipation, he let a dark look slither across his face; a preview of what was to come. When her nipples hardened under her suit and her eyes dilated in response, he rolled her until he was settled between her legs.

"I believe we were discussing good memories," he drawled against her mouth.

Whimpering, Tifa eagerly agreed. The Bond flared between them until all they knew was each other.

And they were home.

The End