It had been a year since the Shinra fugitives had first set foot in Mideel. Once they had both recovered enough to leave the doctor's clinic, the townspeople had been kind enough to give them a permanent place to stay. It took a while for reality to sink in, for them to realize that they were both safe, sound, and living in their own apartment together.

Kunsel and Luxiere had visited, as promised. They explained everything about how they had convinced the Turks to help end the chase, and Luxiere apologized properly for the wrong he had done them in the past. After they'd left, Zack had found a box full of unopened letters left on the table, and he spent the next two hours reading every single one of them.

The town of Mideel was beautiful. Palm trees, and other types of gorgeous green foliage surrounded and complimented the red wood of the buildings. At night, Zack liked to go outside—he and Cloud lived on the second floor of one of the homes—to watch the windmill spin and the hot springs ripple and bubble. It never took long before Cloud joined him, and they stood in awe of the view that they had never had at Shinra, nor at their respective country hometowns.

It had been a peaceful year, full of much love and joy. Cloud and Zack were accepted into the town almost immediately, and were treated like family by most. They loved the fact that the villagers were so tightly-knit. They felt at ease knowing that even if Shinra ever came here looking for them, the people of Mideel would keep them safe.

Not everything was sunshine and rainbows however. It had been a tough year for both of them as they learned how to live again after having gone through so much. Worst of all, they had both had to deal with Zack's lengthy recovery. For months, Zack had taken advantage of Mideel's healing springs, soaking in it for hours at a time to try to heal his numerous wounds that failed to get better. Eventually, he had stopped when there just seemed to be no more improvement. This proved to be hard on Cloud as well. With Zack less agile than he once was, Cloud took it upon himself to take care of Zack as much as he could, getting him things when he needed them, and doing most of the cleaning, cooking, and housework, as he didn't want Zack straining himself.

Despite loving their new home, Zack could tell that Cloud sometimes became restless. He always seemed to be busying himself with something. When he wasn't doing stuff around the house, he was usually helping out with odd jobs around the town, or even just taking a walk to clear his head. Zack knew Cloud still worried about their safety and activities involving Shinra. He kept up with the local news as much as he could, and while he knew it could be pure curiosity causing his partner to look into such things, Zack had a suspicion that Cloud had other plans than to stay in Mideel.

One night, Zack waited on the terrace for Cloud to come out, knowing he couldn't stand Cloud's secrecy for much longer. As usual, it wasn't long before Zack heard the door open behind him, and Cloud came to stand by his side. The moon's reflection was glistening on the water. The town was silent except for the occasional peep from surrounding night birds. There was a breeze, but it was quite warm.

"It's so nice out here tonight," Cloud said. He placed a hand on top of Zack's, which was resting on the wooden railing in front of them.

"I know," Zack agreed, but knew he couldn't stall. The suspense was killing him.

"Something wrong?" Cloud asked.

"Uh, well, I don't know. You tell me. There's been something on your mind lately."

Cloud dared to peek at Zack through the corner of his eye, but quickly returned to staring straight ahead when the anxiety started to pile up inside him. He didn't speak right away because he didn't know how to answer Zack without hurting him.

"Do you trust me?" Zack asked. Cloud stared at him now, wondering why Zack would ask him such a thing when the answer should have been obvious.

"Of course I do."

"Then please, tell me what's going on."

Cloud was silent for a minute, then he entwined his fingers with Zack's and looked his partner in the eye. He had to be honest with him.

"Sometimes... I still worry about what happened. And I know I shouldn't get involved again now that we're safe and happy, but—"

"Involved?" Zack asked.

"I heard about a group called AVALANCHE. They're fighting against Shinra, and... This world is dying, Zack. And it's all because of Shinra," Cloud said, and Zack could tell he was having trouble putting his thoughts forward. He looked nervous. Zack sighed, knowing where this was going.

"You want to join them?"

"Well, I was kind of thinking about it. I don't want anyone else to go through what we went through. We had to endure so much to get to where we are now," Cloud said. Zack felt like asking why Cloud would want to throw all that away, everything that they had finally gained, but he knew why. Cloud was just too kind and caring a person to sit around while bad things were happening.

"Are you really going to go?"

"Would you come with me?" Cloud asked, and Zack averted his gaze. The blond wanted to kick himself for asking such an insensitive thing, but he had kind of forgotten about the circumstances.

"I can't really fight anymore, Cloud. My injuries never completely..." Zack stopped talking when he realized how badly those words seemed to be hurting his partner.

"I'm sorry, Zack," Cloud whispered. Zack pulled him into an embrace, and Cloud returned it, keeping his eyes fixed on the beautiful village before them.

"I love you. You know that. And if you decide to go, I'll support you," Zack told him.

"Zack, maybe we were never meant to live a normal life."

"Please, let me finish. Just promise that you'll come back to me after the fight is over."

"I promise," Cloud answered honestly, briefly tightening his arms which were wrapped around Zack's waist.

Zack broke free of the embrace after a minute, and started to slowly pace along the terrace; he wasn't as quick or as stable as he used to be. Cloud watched him, hoping he hadn't hurt him too much. He really did love Zack, and if he did leave, it didn't mean he was ending their relationship. He had every intention of returning when the fight with Shinra was over and the world had settled down enough for them to live a comfortable life.

"We've been through a lot together," Zack said, suddenly.

"Uh-huh."

"Missions, dates, fighting for our lives..." Cloud nodded, keeping his eyes on the ex-SOLDIER that was still pacing back and forth.

"It's been almost five years now since our first date," Zack said, stopping to stare at the blond beauty standing against the railing. "I love you so much, and I've been waiting for this moment for so long. I really want to get it right."

"What are you talking about?" Cloud asked.

"I trust that you'll come back to me, but I really want you to know that I'll be with you wherever you go," Zack said. Cloud's heart started to race as Zack carefully got down on one knee, and withdrew a small black box. He opened it, revealing to Cloud a thick-banded silver ring with three tiny white stones in it.

"Cloud Strife, will you marry me?"

Zack couldn't describe the look on Cloud's face right then. First it looked like he was about to cry, then he was smiling. It was such a soft, beautiful smile, and Zack didn't think Cloud could have looked any more stunning than he did in that moment. Cloud fell to his knees beside Zack, and stared at the ring, his eyes brimming with tears. He gave a shaky chuckle.

"Yes," he said, sniffing.

"Yes?" Zack asked, just to be sure.

"Yes, of course, I will," Cloud said, giving a tearful chuckle.

Their eyes met, and Zack gave Cloud such a serene smile as he took his hand in his own. Cloud watched as Zack slid the band onto his finger. He stared at it for a moment, then collapsed into his partner's warm embrace, shaking with a joy more powerful than he'd ever felt in his life. Zack felt Cloud's arms weave around his neck. His heart was pounding, but it was a good feeling. He wasn't scared. He was at peace here, in this moment.

"Just stay a bit longer. And marry me, okay?" Zack whispered. Cloud pulled away from the embrace, and met Zack's gaze, his arms still around his partner's neck.

"Don't take this the wrong way, but c-can we wait? Until I get back? I want to be worry-free when we... I want it to be..."

"Perfect?" Zack asked. Cloud nodded. Zack leaned forward and kissed Cloud's cheek.

"Then we'll wait. And when you get back..."

"We will," Cloud promised, resting his head on Zack's shoulder. "We'll get married."

Even as Zack watched his beloved partner leave the town of Mideel, the Buster Sword in hand, he knew he didn't have anything to worry about. Cloud was strong, stronger than he'd ever been due to the mako that had once made him so sick. He had the strength of a SOLDIER now, and his will to set things right would lead him to where he needed to go. It would be a lonely few months without him, but when his mind was finally at ease, Cloud-soon-to be-Fair would return. Zack knew he would always return.

A/N: So, there it is. The end. Awwwwwww! Cloudy and Zacky are gonna get married! So, anyway, yeah, there's the alternate ending for ya! Now that the end is here, I can reveal that that's why the summary to this story is written the way it is. Something like, "Will they be able to fight it this time?" Yeah. That was my way of implying that they would escape their fate that SquareEnix doomed them to. Haha.

So, what to say? How about THANK YOU one last time to everyone who read/reviewed/faved/tried/liked/loved/did fanart for! Haha, did I forget anybody? Thanks to everyone who supported me and/or this story in any way, as usual. It was so fun uploading this for you guys to read, and thanks so much for the awesome feedback and motivation you all provided me with along the way.

Now, I have some news. Over the past few months, I have been working on a sequel to this story (which is partly to blame for the slow updates lately). Before you lose your mind, it's not done yet, and I'm not sure if it ever will be done, but I'm gonna try. I just had so much fun writing this, and I'm such a Clack fan that it's hard to stop writing about them and move onto other things. So, don't hold your breath waiting for the sequel to come out, but maybe keep your eyes peeled for it sometime in the future. I'll probably upload it to my DA account as well. I still haven't gotten this one up there, but I'll try to do that sometime soon.

Well, I guess this is it. Thanks again, everyone! It's been fun!

Axel-KH signing off!