Sephiroth had not felt this bad since he was six years old. Frost cough, Del Sol Fever, Chocobo Pox, and half a dozen other childhood illnesses had laid him flat for almost a month. At the time, Jenova had protected him, but the parasite was gone now. He should know. He'd dealt the final blow himself. Which did not explain why he felt like a Behemoth's chew toy. This much pain meant that he was still alive, and he really ought to be dead. Except, apparently, he wasn't.

Dragging his eyes open only added to the pain, the bright glare of sunlight stabbing his eyes like a dagger. Squinting, he tried to focus on the shadow that had put itself between him and the sun. For a brief moment he thought it might be the Professor looming over him. No, the hair was not nearly neat enough. Perhaps it was Vincent? It reached a hand toward him; delicate fingers roughened by thick callouses brushed his temple as they smoothed his bangs out of his eyes.

"...Elfe?"

Out of all the faces he had expected to see looking down at him, hers had not been one of them. Used to waking up to techs, nurses, and researchers, he could count on one hand the number of times he'd awoken to see someone who actually cared about him as more than just a broken weapon. His eyes had adjusted enough that he could see her smile, the last wisps of worry evaporating in a relieved sigh.

"Hey," she told him. "Welcome back."

He opened his mouth, but could not decide what to ask first.

"We won," she said, taking his hand in both of hers. "Everybody's fine. Vincent, Genesis, Zack, Aeris, your brothers, everyone."

Closing his eyes, Sephiroth allowed himself a deep sigh of relief. Good. Everyone was safe. Jenova was gone. That meant he could lie here for a little while longer. Every muscle fibre slack with exhaustion, he wasn't sure he could get up even if he tried.

"How bad?" his voice came out weak and scratchy. Elfe smiled and shook her head.

"Well, the Plate came down, but not all at once. It's kind of...at an angle now. Civilian casualties were minimal thanks to Aeris and the Summons."

Sephiroth nodded, enjoying the sound of her voice as she went on.

"We did take some losses, but there were more wounded than dead. It could have been a lot worse. Even Deepground didn't fare too badly. We're still taking a headcount, but most of their human troops are still alive and Jenova-free."

"And everyone else is okay?" he asked.

"Yeah," she smiled, squeezing his hand. "Everyone's okay. Including you."

Leaning, she touched her lips to his forehead and then rested her own forehead against his, her wrapped strand of hair brushing against the side of his head. Sephiroth let go of her hands, tracing up her arms to drape his own around her neck. He smiled as she let out a deep breath through her nose, her closed lips curving up in a smile.

"I'm glad you're okay."

"You too," he murmured, tugging her down until their lips met. The kiss was softer, more quiet than the one following their duel, but every bit as sweet. When their lips parted, Elfe laid her head on his shoulder. Sephiroth shifted so his hands rested on her back, his cheek against the top of her head.

"Still tired?" she asked.

"Yeah," he mumbled into her hair, already half asleep.

"Take a nap, then," she told him, arms snugging around him in a brief hug. "You've earned it. Rufus and I can call the shots till you're better."

"Rufus can do it his damn self," he replied sleepily, locking his arms around her. "He's president now. Let him give orders for a while."

She giggled, her diaphragm bouncing against his torso as she laughed, her amusement ending in a sigh. "I guess I don't have to tell you what it's like running the show. Your men have all been amazing, by the way."

"Our men," Sephiroth reminded her.

"Yeah," she agreed, "our men."

Their men. Sephiroth sighed heavily, knowing this moment could not last forever. Eventually he would have to find the strength to get up, to take command, to help Rufus and Elfe bring order to the chaos they'd created. Of course he wanted to see Vincent again, and Genesis, and his brothers, Zack, Azul, and Cloud, and all his other friends. He wanted to see for himself that they were alright. Except right now, all he wanted to do was stay here, exactly as he was, with Elfe right beside him.

"What is it?" she asked.

"I'm not ready for this to be over."

Elfe lifted her head, confused. "For what to be over?"

"This," he repeated, gesturing with one hand at the two of them. "Us. Together."

Her smile was reminded him of his mother's; a beautiful mix of happy and sad all at once.

"We're both still here. We agreed we'd vanquish Jenova first, and we did. It's not over, we haven't even gotten started yet."

"Haven't we?" Sephiroth teased, and was rewarded as Elfe's cheeks stained pink.

"No," she smiled, and leaned to kiss him. "Not yet."

Wow. 06/24/15 - 08/24/16

A year and two months ON THE DOT.

Guys I do not even.

This is probably one of the biggest personal projects I've ever taken on to date. I was not sure this thing would be finished, and I continue to be amazed by how well it's been received. I had no idea it would snowball the way it did. I'm so glad that you've all enjoyed it. I hope you had as much fun reading as I had writing it.

Giant shout-out to all my Betas, you know who you are. Also to the many, MANY people who allowed me to flail at them when I was stuck on a particular aspect of the fic. Special thanks to all the fandom old timers out there who inspired my heandcanons and let me play in their sandbox. I love you all so much. Thank you to all who left Likes, Kudos, and especially comments. You cannot imagine what that means to me. 3

This is the last of "Haunted House", but there's plenty to do in this universe. I plan to write more, but I won't be adding any additional chapters to this volume.

Thank you all. It's been a wonderful adventure.

If you'd like to read more regarding Vincent, Sephiroth, Elfe, and all the other characters in "Haunted House", I've begun a series of followup fics:

1. Triage - Set in between chapters 60 and 61 of "Haunted House". Elfe, Zack, and Rufus keep things running while Sephiroth and Genesis recover.

2. Lost Boys - Sephiroth still isn't 100% yet, and his brothers have gone missing. It's up to Elfe to retrieve them and deal with the last traces of Jenova.

3. Foreign Relations - Wutai finally reenters the picture. Rufus, Sephiroth, and Elfe all form a delegation to try to patch things up between Midgar and the one nation that dared to defy Shinra. While new bonds are forged politically, Sephiroth and Elfe attempt to negotiate on a much smaller level.