Warning: This story will contain yaoi (boy/boy love) so if you don't like it, then i suggest you hit the little back arrow.

Disclaimer: I own none nothing of Final Fantasy or any of the Final Fantasy characters. (If I did then Zack would NOT be dead.)

Authors note: This story here takes place about 60 years after Advent Children, give or take a year and includes flashbacks to Crisis Core times. Unfortunately I know nothing of the Dirge of Cerberus plot line, so for this story we're just going to pretend it doesn't exist. : ) And I had to throw some OC's in there, so if you don't like OC's I'm sorry! (please don't hurt me!) and the M rating is just to be safe (cause i am paranoid) it would probably be fine as T, but oh well.

Enjoy! : )

Chapter one

"Thank you Ms. Rocket for taking this job. It's very much appreciated." Ashe smiled back at her new supervisor, a striking brown-haired man who had to be in his early 30's.

"Oh no, thank you for hiring me." Mr. Devon, her new supervisor, stood up and led her out of his office. He ushered her to follow him as he led her down the hall. They took a couple turns before he started leading her down a particularly depressing hallway. There were no decorations gracing the walls and there seemed to be an eerie silence lurking in the hall.

"Yes well, it's just that I know you had to come in on such short notice. I hope you weren't inconvenienced."

"No, not at all. Now Mr. Devon, you said that a patient would require special attention. Can you elaborate on that please?" Mr. Devon blew out a sigh before speaking as he continued to lead her down the hall.

"Do you know who Cloud Strife is, Ms. Rocket?" Ashe's eyes lit up at the name.

"Cloud Strife? Of course! Who doesn't? He saved the world twice about 60 years ago. He was a hero. My grandpa and him were friends actually."

"Good, good. You might be able to connect with him better then." Ashe gave him a funny look as they stopped in front of a door with the name Cloud Strife on it.

"Pardon," she asked.

"Cloud Strife is the special patient I had talked to you about. Here at Midgar nursing home, we take pride in caring for those who have served us, so to kick him out is unthinkable. But he does not make things easy."

"Sir, how is he special?"

"Well, to be honest, he's completely crazy. The other caretakers call him crazy old Cloud. He talks to himself, stares at things that aren't there, has night terrors and whenever we assigned a male caretaker to him, he mistakes them for someone else and then gets quite violent when he realizes it's not who he thought. I've had 3 people quit because of him."

"Mr. Devon, I'm sure he can't be that bad. He's been through a lot in his life. It's understandable that he behaves this way." Mr. Devon shrugged.

"Maybe, but that still doesn't change how he acts," Mr. Devon muttered, "but anyways, Cloud will be the only patient you will be in charge of at this time due to the circumstances." Ashe shot him a confused look.

"Sir, I worked at Healen Nursing Home for 4 years and have dealt with difficult patients before. I am perfectly capable of caring for more than one patient."

"I have no doubts in your abilities Ms. Rocket. But we want to make sure he gets the care he needs. And between you and me," he leaned in and whispered, "Mr. Strife probably won't be with us for much longer."

"Oh, I see." Mr. Devon gave her a friendly pat on the shoulder.

"Well, I'm sure you'll be fine. Terra will be around in about an hour to debrief you on Mr. Strife's needs. Feel free to look around the facilities while you wait." Ashe nodded.

"I think I'll introduce myself to Mr. Strife and try to talk to him." Mr. Devon shrugged.

"Suit yourself," he said before walking off. Ashe turned to the door and took a deep breath before opening it. It was a standard nursing home room, white washed walls,a bed, 2 chairs, and a nice large window. The room was fairly bright due to all the sunlight coming in through the window and the sound of birds chirping could faintly be heard.

An old man was sitting in a chair by the window and was staring out the window. Ashe could hear him whispering words that she couldn't quite make out. She closed the door behind her and walked closer. He was dressed all in black and his hair, which her grandpa said had once been his pride and joy, was white and in a haphazard mess all over his head. Even at an angle, she could see how wrinkled and weathered his face looked. She cleared her throat.

"Umm, excuse me? Mr. Strife?" The whispers stopped and he slowly turned to look at her. He just stared at her with his ancient soldier eyes.

"I'm Ashe Rocket. I'm going to be your new caretaker," she said, speaking with confidence as her grandpa always told her to. He gave a bitter laugh.

"I see. Did you pick the short straw? You must not be well liked if you were put in charge of crazy old Cloud." Ashe stood up straighter and her brow furrowed.

"Of course not! It's an honor to be able to meet you sir. And as for the other employees, I honestly don't give a damn what they think." Ashe kept her voice strong. Cloud chuckled.

"Heh, an honor huh? They don't see it that way. But. . .thank you," he paused for a moment and studied her. He saw a young woman who had a lithe body, stood at about 5'9, with long red hair that she had in a ponytail, gentle gray eyes, and several piercings in her ears.

"That red hair, you seem familiar. Have I met you before?" Ashe smiled.

"No sir. But you know my grandpa. His name is Reno." Cloud just stared for a moment before he completely burst out laughing.

"Reno? Really? Oh my gods! That's funny! Reno's a grandpa!" Cloud laughed so hard he started to have a coughing fit. Ashe rushed over and straightened Cloud's upper body so he could breathe and she encouraged him to take deep breaths. After he calmed down, he took a deep breath and sighed.

"I must seem pretty feeble, huh," he asked with a hint of despair in his voice. Ashe shook her head.

"Sir, considering what you've been through, the fact you're not dead baffles me." Cloud chuckled.

"Blunt honesty. Heh. Just like Reno. You sure are his granddaughter," Cloud sighed again, "But you know, I didn't use to be this weak. I used to be invincible. I could do anything." Ashe nodded.

"I know sir, I've heard the stories from grandpa." Cloud shook his head.

"But it wasn't worth it. I . . .I lost too much to make it worth it. The price I had to pay to become that strong was. . . much too high." Ashe looked at him in confusion.

"I'm afraid I don't understand Mr. Strife." Cloud looked at her with tears starting to form in his eyes.

"Before I became that strong, I was a lowly cadet. The weakest in the class, I was an outcast. There was only one person who cared for me, who loved me even though I was weak and he was strong. He paid the ultimate price, all so I could go on." Ashe was truly confused.

"He? You don't mean Aerith?" Cloud gave her a sad smile.

"No, Aerith was a good friend, but I didn't love her. Not like that."

"Then who are you talking about?" Cloud looked her in the eye and Ashe could've sworn she saw sadness right down to his soul.

"The only person I've ever loved. Zack Fair." Ashe watched as a single tear fell down his face. She walked over to the other side of the room and pulled the second chair over to next to his and sat down.

"Start at the beginning." He gave her a sad smile at that.

"Thank you," he whispered. He cleared his throat.

"So it was about 70 years ago, and I had just joined Shin-ra. . ."

So what do you people think so far? Love it? Like it? Hate it? You should really tell me and review. It helps me write more. : )

Just some real quick notes. I don't think I have ever put so much effort in to a fanfic. All the constant reviewing and looking over and editing. so hopefully this will be one of my best ones. i hope. and I will try to get the chapters out as fast as I can, just please be patient

I also just want to thank my best friend Sa-chan, for always reading my fanfics and asking for more. Many thank yous to you sa-chan! And I also want to thank my mom (yes, my mom) for reviewing and giving me her opinion and advice for this story. (and for correcting some of my horrible mistakes) It wouldn't be what it is without her. Love ya mom!