#longe

Anyway, here is my ugly loser they

Twig-like leafhopper nymph, Pseudocephalelus bleusei, Cicadellidae

Hey, no worries! Sorry for a tldr answer!

TLDR > Zack, Cloud and Tifa are always together, even if not living in the same apartment and Denzel lives with Barret and Marlene away from the Edge.

LONG ANSWER >

They don't and they do. Sort of.

In our AU, we settled that the building has more apartments. As in - there's a tiny little courtyard sort of in the back? That's where Cloud's garage/workshop is. This courtyard is a space these houses share. What I'm trying to say is that they live in almost the same house, but different apartments.

I was very adamant about the fact that Cloud wouldn't ever leave Tifa behind and needed to make sure he's always there for her, whenever she needs anything. He's just... in my AU, he feels like he owes her his life, so he wants to do the best he can do for her. And since for some, to him absolutely insane reason, what she wanted the most, was to be around him, he lived with her. Not like he had anyone else more important to him. And it made her happy. He'd do anything to make her happy. Until Zack was found. And Cloud realized he could and did have strong feelings for somebody else.

I only hinted it in the 'Arguments' comic, in one panel, where Tifa's standing alone in the apartment. However, Zack and Cloud moved out some time before they got together.

Zack couldn't sleep on their couch, because it was tiny and he's biggy biggy, he kept waking up with anxieties because WHERE is Cloud???, so Tifa found him sitting by their bedroom door a few times at night. He was asleep. And when Cloud found out about that, he decided it needed to stop and there was NO way he would ever force Tifa out of her own bed. So-- he took Zack and sort of left.

To a different floor/apartment.

He was being practical, as always.

'Our' Cloud has STRONG feelings for Tifa. He respects her, loves her, would do literally anything for her. But. All of those feelings are stronger when it comes to Zack, who was everything Cloud ever wanted and always treated him as his equal. While making him laugh, sacrificing his life for him etc etc all the events of the games hahah. But, I wasn't asked why I like ZC so much. SO.

As for Denzel...

I won't lie and try to make excuse - but man, I'm not a fan of the kid. Or more like - what he represents. For me he always stood as a representation of Squenix being too scared to admit, that yes, Tifa and Cloud are together and have kids together. No. That could enrage some of the fans and we need to make as much money from this as possible. So. Hey. Cloud found a kid. And declared him his son. And together they lived happily ever after. Eyeroll.

I drew most of my comics before I read the 'On the Way to Smile' book. I did see the episode Denzel meanwhile and loved it, because it showed events of VII from a pov of a bystander. And man do I love such stories. But Denzel never grew on me. So we always assumed that he left with Marlene, when Barret took her to live with him in the house shown in 'Gardens' comic. He's a big boy and he wants to be useful somewhere.

Then I read in the book that Cloud adopted him, eyerolled so hard and then shrugged, because I am, in fact, drawing a fan comic about my favourite character surviving his own death, so I suppose I can legit sort of skip some other things too, right.

It's a fanfic.

There's so much more we have on the topic of what happened later and in between. I was so sure I'd be drawing at least 150 pages more of the story and start telling a story with the three of them AND Kunsel joining them. But. Hey. I just. I burned myself out too hard with FFVII and I wasn't as excited about Rebirth as I hoped i'd be. So. Who knows if I ever manage. I still do want to draw at least some scenes, though.