SO, this one-shot is in the point of view of Yuffie and then Cloud. :D Yuffie is one of my favorite characters, but besides that I think she is the perfect person to start the one-shots off with. And Cloud is awesome too. :)  Hope you like it. :)

                        By the time Yuffie got to the city Edge it was well past midnight. Everything was dark and creepy, although Yuffie hardly noticed.  Yuffie had been to far creepier and more dangerous places than Edge; she hardly noticed the dark when she was at full strength, when she was starving and exhausted beyond her limit she didn't notice anything except what was right in front of her.  This was both good and bad, and the consequences were equally so.

                          If Yuffie had tried to focus on anything but taking her next painful step, she would have collapsed and she would be completely at the mercy of those lurking in the shadows, watching and observing her every move. The problems came with the fact that she was being watched, quite closely in fact, and she was completely oblivious to it.  All she thought about was making it to seventh heaven, where she could get some sleep and something to eat. She  had no time for fear other than that she wouldn't make it to seventh heaven. 

                      After what seemed like the longest time trudging through the cold city Yuffie finally arrived to seventh heaven.  She could feel a warmth coming from the building, she was safe now. she made her way to the door, she had to feel her way to the doorknob in the darkness. Finally, her hand touched the ice cold doorknob. She grabbed it and turned her hand only to find the door was locked.  She sighed and shivered in the cold, she banged on the door, instead of the loud knock she was hoping for her 'banging' was more of a timid knock than a bang.  She realized then that even banging the door as hard as she could she wasn't loud enough.

                          She tried to knock several more times, but with each knock her arms got more and more tired and the knocking got quieter and quieter.  She gave up, instead she sat down near the door and hugged her knees.  Yuffie very rarely gave up on things, she wished she could pick the lock or use any of the techniques she knew for breaking into houses, but she could barely move.  Soon she found herself shivering, she could see her breath and it had started to snow, if she didn't get inside soon she might freeze to death. A single tear streamed down her face, followed by two more, then three and four more.  She had started full on crying when she heard the lock turn and the door open, letting waves of warmth and hope out with it, Yuffie was safe, at last. 

                                                                         (( ~))    {half an hour before}                    

                              Cloud never was a sound sleeper, but that night was his worst.  Most people rested at night, they usually had peaceful dreams, all he had was nightmares, nightmares and memories. But tonight, he sensed something else, something dark and evil. Beside him, Tifa was in deep sleep. Cloud wondered what she dreamed about, was he the only one haunted by memories at night? Cloud doubted it, Tifa had gone through just as much as he had.  He was thinking about this when he heard a quiet tapping coming from outside.

                                Cloud wasn't the type to get scared over noises, but combined with that strange ominous feeling, he couldn't help being a bit freaked out.  The tapping continued getting quieter and quieter until finally it stopped. Cloud got this strange feeling, a feeling that he should go see what the tapping was.  At the very least he should check on Denzel and Marlene.  Suddenly fear pulsed through him, were Denzel and Marlene alright?  Cloud quickly got up and left the room, he quietly crossed the hall and made his way to the children's room.  The door creaked slightly when he opened it,  making him cringe, but when he looked into the room everything was as it should have been; Denzel and Marlene peacefully snuggled in their beds.

                                Cloud sighed in relief and gently closed the door.  Ever since Cloud had moved back into Seventh Heaven he had been like a father to Denzel and Marlene, knowing they were safe and happy was most important to him.  If anything ever happened to them Cloud would never forgive himself.  Cloud was determined to do something right for once, he had failed to protect Aerith, failed to save Zack, and he had come close to losing Denzel as well.  But he couldn't let that stop him, he had a family and now he had to protect it.  And if that meant searching the house each night he had no problem with it.

                                 He quietly went out into the empty bar and flicked on one of the light switches, a dim light filled part of the room.  The room was empty except for some tables and chairs, there was no sign that someone had been in the room. After searching the room and the surrounding rooms he was sure no one had broken in.  He was about to go back to bed when he got that strange feeling again, check the front door he thought to himself.  He silently approached the door. After taking a deep breath, and prepared himself for the worst, he opened the door. 

                                  He was immediately met with the sight of Yuffie Kisaragi. She slowly got up from where she was sitting and turned to face the door. She quickly stepped into the house closing and locking the door behind her. 

                                       "Thanks Cloud! What took you so long?" Yuffie exclaimed, though her voice was fairly loud and higher pitched than usual. 

                                  Yuffie stepped forward only to fall, Cloud caught her and stopped her from hitting the ground. Her cloths were ripped and ragged, and her skin was ice cold.  "Yuffie, what happened?" Cloud asked his voice full of concern. 

                                    She stood up and tried to get her balance back only to fall backwards, Cloud caught her once again. "I'm fine!" She exclaimed not answering his question.  She stood up and this time regained her ballence.  "How's Tifa?" she asked looking around the room confusedly  "Oh when did you put up polka-dot wall paper?" Yuffie asked looking at the barren grey walls.  "What? what are you looking at me like that for? I can stop by to see my best friends once in a while can't I?"

                                   Cloud sighed; Yuffie was hallucinating and seeing spots on the walls, she was clearly out of it, if he wanted to figure out what happened, he'd have to wait.  "When is the last time you've slept?"  he asked calmly. She didn't hear him "Yuffie?"

                                 "What?? I'm not tired at all!" Yuffie said, "I feel just fiiine!!" she exclaimed. She tried to twirl around like she usually did, but instead blacked out.  She fell to the floor and curled up into a ball.   Cloud sighed and shook his head.  Poor Yuffie, He thought, She just can't ever catch a break.

                                    He scooped her up, she was as light as a feather. Cloud wondered how long it had been since she'd eaten something or gotten a good night's sleep.  Yuffie was like family to Cloud, ever since they'd defeated deepground she'd visited seventh heaven on a regular basis. Cloud had gotten to know her better over that time, now they were like family. Seeing her like this was sad, he's really just preferred she kept out of trouble. But of course, that wasn't her nature at all.

                                     He took her into the guest room and set her down on the bed, drawing the blanket over her. She woke up again, this time she wasn't as delusional.      

                                         "Cloud? where am I?" she asked, apparently she couldn't recall anything that had just happened. 

                                            "Get some rest" said Cloud, "You're safe, that's all that matters"                       She nodded and fell asleep again. Cloud turned off the light and gently shut the door.  Then he crept back into the room he and Tifa shared and climbed back into bed. He heard Tifa mumble something in her sleep, and as he got back to wondering what her dreams were like he slipped into the first decent night sleep he'd had in months.