I DO NOT OWN FINAL FANTASY VII. Here it is, folks, the final chapter!

Change of Heart

Chapter LXIII: Something Borrowed

"Do you like it?" Cloud asked as he watched Tifa put the baby down for a nap.

"It's beautiful." She turned around, offering a smile.

"I'm glad, I wasn't really sure what you'd think." Cloud scratched the back of his head as he entered the room. "About before, I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"That I didn't warn the others about Sephiroth before he came down to the party."

"It's alright." She brushed it off. "What done is done."

He looked down at Brian and sighed. "We're a really messed up family, aren't we?"

"No, we're a unique one. Besides, I wouldn't have us any other way."

Cloud leaned down to kiss Brian's forehead. "You know, Elmyra told me Sephiroth was mad that I was with you at the delivery."

"He'll calm down later. Besides, I was thinking in about a year, that we could try to have one of our own. He asked me to marry him, you know."

"I knew he was going to, he showed me the ring. What did you say?"

"Nothing yet." She blushed, pushing her hair behind her ear. "I'm still kind of shocked that he asked, though I'd seen it coming."

"Why haven't you said anything?"

"I don't know, I guess it's because I'm a little worried at what the others would think."

"Why should it matter?"

Tifa crossed her arms around herself, "Why did it matter about my secret? Because I care about everyone's feelings too much."

Cloud hissed, grabbing her hand and steering her into the hall. "Again, why should it matter? I didn't think about your feelings when I asked Cissnei to stay. I was thinking of mine and hers. Vincent didn't consider Sephiroth's feelings when he asked Lucretia to marry him. He was thinking of hers and his own. Do it the way you did when you asked Sephiroth to stay here. Think of your own feelings for once. To hell with what anyone else thinks."

Tifa looked at the floor, remembering that one instance of selfishness when she didn't dare to care what Cloud might have thought and how good it felt to do what she wanted for herself.

"I'll talk to him when I'm ready."

"I can't believe I'm actually getting married!" She twirled around, her gown swirling around her legs. "How do I look?"

Sephiroth smiled, his eyes softening, "You look gorgeous."

"Oh, thank you!" She wrapped her arms around him and drew him in tight. "Thank you for supporting me in this."

"You deserve each other."

Lucretia kissed his cheek and turned toward Tifa and Cissnei, "Well, here we go bridesmaids." She grabbed her veil and slipped it into her hair.

"Wait!" Cissnei grabbed the bouquet, "Can't forget this."

Lucretia grinned brightly at the sparkling lilies, "Thanks for letting us use Aerith's flowers."

"I think she would've wanted you to." As Tifa spoke, the lilies seemed to brighten as if in positive response. "And Denzel's got the rings?"

"Right here." Denzel lifted the ring pillow above his head.

Cloud walked in momentarily, adjusting his jacket. "I still can't believe Vincent asked me to be his best man."

"Well, it's my job to give Mother away." Sephiroth clarified cockily. "He had to make you feel useful somehow."

"Hey don't be a bully." Lucretia scolded gently.

Looping her arm in Sephiroth's, Lucretia straightened up, holding her bouquet in hand. "Let's do this." Her voice trembled with excitement and she bit her lip to keep from squealing.

Her mirth set Tifa and Cissnei to giggling as they looped arms with Cloud. Cloud blushed and grinned with his own arrogance, "Well I've got two beautiful women to escort. Shall we, ladies?"

"Oh, Marlene!" Tifa called for their adorable flower girl, who came running down the stairs as fast as she could.

"Sorry, my dress is too poufy. I had trouble." She complained, patting her petticoats.

"Why didn't you ask for help?"

"I'm big enough to dress myself." She brushed her off and grabbed her basket from the table.

"Well you look so cute!" Lucretia added.

Giggling, Marlene twirled around, her baby blue dress seeming to blossom out like a flower.

The group looked picture perfect as they paraded out the back door and down the aisle. Marlene left a trail of confetti rather than flowers, which she and Denzel had made themselves. Behind her, Cloud escorted Tifa and Cissnei clad in flowing powder blue gowns that shimmered in the sunlight. A few steps behind them, Sephiroth walked with Lucretia, who was shaking like a leaf. She was so excited to be getting married she nearly ran down the aisle.

At the end, Vincent stood waiting. It was strange to see him in a suit, especially with his hair tamed and pulled back into a ponytail. He would have looked like a different person had it not been for the golden armor covering his arm.

Lucretia's heart raced faster and faster the nearer they came. Going through the motions, the girls took up their place at the bride's side and Cloud stood up beside Vincent.

Sephiroth felt strange giving his mother to be married, but he lifted her veil and kissed her cheek as was the custom before taking his place as one of the groomsmen.

Barret was the one to perform the ceremony, as he was the only one for miles that was actually ordained to perform a wedding – not that it was really necessary nowadays, but it was something he was proud of.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we gather on this day to witness the marriage of Lucretia Crescent and Vincent Valentine…" Barret continued on for several minutes about love, respect, and trust, and why they were important to a marriage.

Tifa and Sephiroth both hung on every word, both simultaneously fantasizing that it was their own wedding. They looked at one another longingly, wishing that they were the ones to say "I do." But neither one knew what the other was thinking. Tifa had not answered Sephiroth's proposal and he'd not brought it up again since that night so many months ago.

That night, Tifa hung out in the bar after the reception. She looked around thoughtfully at the paper garlands, the half eaten wedding cake and the bouquet that she didn't catch. Cissnei had caught it, but forgotten it on the bar when she and Cloud headed up to bed.

"You look beautiful." Sephiroth whispered, his voice carrying through the still room.

Tifa snapped out of her trance, looking surprised as she saw him still in his suit. "I thought you went to bed."

"I figured I'd come to check on you. Are you alright?"

"Uh…yeah, I was just…" She dropped her forehead in her hand. "No, I'm not alright. I need to talk to you." Suddenly feeling hot, she walked past him out the backdoor.

When she got into the cool night air, she took a deep breath, scanning over the remains of the ceremony. The wedding arch and the chairs were still in place, waiting to be taken down the following day.

"What's wrong?" Sephiroth came up to her, wrapping his arms around her from behind. "Tell me."

"There was a beautiful wedding here today and it wasn't mine." She very nearly began to cry, but sucked in a breath powerful enough to keep from losing it.

"Tifa…" Sephiroth wanted to tell her it could have been, if she'd accepted his proposal, but chose not to be so cruel.

"I'm sorry, I know I sound childish."

"Hold on a minute." He ran back inside, returning after several moments with his mother's veil and bouquet.

"Sephiroth?" She held her breath as he placed the veil in her hair and handed her the flowers.

"I can't believe you got me up in the middle of the night for this!" Barret roared as he stomped out the door.

"B-barret? What's going on?"

"You wanna get married or not? I can't believe this shit, you ain't even engaged."

"We both know what we want." Sephiroth affirmed, earning a bright eyed smile from Tifa.

"All right then," Barret walked them out to the wedding arch, "Sephiroth, you wanna get married to Tifa?"

"I do."

"Tifa, you wanna get married to this asshole?"

"I do."

"Rubba-dub-dub! You're married! I'm goin' back to bed, ya impatient bastard…"

Tifa wanted to die laughing. She couldn't believe what Sephiroth did. "Are we really married?"

"I don't know." Sephiroth laughed out loud, kissing Tifa deeply. "I promise, we'll have our own big wedding later."

"Good, after all, Elmyra did give me a dress."

"What?"

"She gave me a wedding dress. And I'm kinda obligated to wear it." She leaned into his chest, "But I've got what I need for a wedding right now." She pointed at her shoes, "Something old," Her dress, "Something blue," Her veil, "Something borrowed…"

"And something new." Sephiroth produced the engagement ring from his pocket. "Will you marry me for real, Tifa?"

Her lip trembled with impending tears, but she sniffed them back. "Yes I will."

THE END

Oh boy! This has been a long time coming. I can't believe I finished this story finally. I was pretty sure I lost it a time or two, and it really fizzled out, I think. But I'm glad I saw it through to the end.

For those of you that followed this all the way through, thank you so much and please leave your thoughts and comments, they are much appreciated. I also want to thank everyone who threw in ideas about what they wanted to see in this story, without you, it would have been a much different story and probably a lot shorter. I was just slammed with PMs from readers asking me to put seemingly random things in, and while the story may have dragged, I hoped I got everyone's requests in. Thank you all so much.

By the way, if anyone enjoys my work, I am in progress with my own original novel, Tokyo in Captivity, it's a dark erotic romance about a young queen who is taken prisoner by her enemy and has to fight her way out or die trying, she marries someone she hates and fall in love with someone that isn't who he claims to be. I hope everyone reads it when it comes out in the future, please be on the look out. I'll be adding original art and excerpts from the novel onto my DeviantArt page (DarkHeianPrincess is the name). Please check it out if you're interested!

Thanks again!