Multitasking is a skill I often use. xD Relive, afw and watching DVDs. I'm sorry if it's not like what you expected.
For The Sacred and Profane. :D
I present you Relive.
She walked down the aisle calmly, hiding her giggles. Her braid swayed gently with each step she took. She had a lone lily in her clasped hand. He stood in awe at the dais, observing her.
Once they were side by side, "I will take her," he said solemnly. "…to be my bride." He turned to her with his light brown hair slightly rippling. She gave him one of her best smiles.
"And I accept him," she whispered, almost. "…as my husband. And together, we swear…"
"…that we will love each other…" he continued, his aquamarine eyes looking deeply into her dark ones.
"…forever," they finished at the same time and he lifted off the small lacy handkerchief covering her head.
Bubbles suddenly surfaced from the small pool next to them, which was generously surrounded by lilies. The two stared, unblinking. A dripping, pale blue hand shot out of the water with some bits of flesh falling off. The fingers tapped the wooden edge of the pool slowly. It hauled the whole body up, making small waves behind. A head rose slowly with the torn skin showing a piece of white skull. Tangled threads of brown hair stuck closely to the skin and where a thick braid was supposed to be, was now a net with algae and the pink ribbon was nowhere to be seen.
The little girl gasped while the little boy continued to watch in horror.
The face began to come to view, all wrinkled and a cheek was absent, pouring water out of the hole. A green eyeball popped out of its socket, hanging by the last string of muscle left. The mouth was already smiling, showing perfectly plaque-layered teeth. As the being turned her head to them, she stood. Her clothes were tattered and one of her hand plopped back to the water. Sensing that it was missing, she bent down to fish it out.
The little boy didn't wait and seized the chance. He grabbed his companion's hand.
"Run, Tifa!"
They started their steps and ran to the entrance as fast as their legs could—only to be stopped by a tall, dark figure. His raven-black hair was unmistakably spiky, his outfit was still fresh, and his eyes were blue. The thing that's off was he was see-through. And grinning. They stood still, terrified.
Two bony hands grabbed their shoulders from behind. As her teeth parted, a hoarse whisper coughed out.
"I will bless both of you…"
They screamed and passed out.
-- -- --
What happened before that…
"Tifa, my teacher said that you can't sleep on clouds, is that true?" Marlene kicked a pebble as she walked along with Tifa. Denzel was at the back with Reno, nodding to all the explanation about the EMR. Tifa nodded yet her eyes were fixed onto Reno.
"Yes."
"We can't touch them either?" Tifa shook her head, rolling a candy in her mouth randomly.
"No. But you have Cloud to touch or play with. You don't really need another Cloud, right?" Marlene laughed. True, Cloud wouldn't even mind if she had hidden his shoes, eat his ice-creams and so much stuff she had literally gotten away with. She would hide behind Tifa and Cloud would let her off if Tifa's present. …And Tifa would always scold her after that.
"Say, Tifa…" Marlene began. "I was wondering… How was your first date?" Tifa coughed all of a sudden. She had swallowed her candy whole.
"What? Why?" Marlene shrugged.
"Yuffie brought it up and she said you would probably stare and unstare at each other awkwardly."
"Unstare is not a word. And that's not true," Tifa defended. "We…ah…" Her voice trailed off. "…held hands on our first date. We watched a really good live concert, too," she mumbled. Marlene blinked.
"You stewed rats on your first date? And you watched an oily boot hive faucet? Were you really dating?"
Why am I saying things like this to a child? Tifa sighed. "Just…forget about it." Marlene pulled her hand excitedly and went to a familiar direction.
"Tifa, let's go to big sister's church!"
-- -- --
Reno had watched Tifa pander to Marlene's every whim. At times, he observed a faraway look on her face when she was watching Marlene. He had let Denzel play with his EMR for a time being. He sat on a pew beside her and pulled her close to him. She purred slightly at his warmth.
"Gil for your thoughts?" Tifa rested her head on his shoulder. Marlene was sprinkling water at Denzel. He jumped in and splashed a great amount at her. They continued countering each other, happily laughing without a care.
"… As much as I do enjoy adulthood," Tifa paused. She could feel his breath on her face as he hummed, signaling her to continue. "Sometimes I wish I'd like to relive my childhood once." Reno nodded.
"Mm. I would, too."
Without warning, everything stopped. Denzel's falling body halted mid-air. Water dripping from Marlene's hand froze, making beads out of them. Reno and Tifa stood, wondering what happened to them. Reno waved a hand in front of Denzel.
"What happened here?" he asked, frowning. Tifa shook her head in worry but she couldn't resist the urge to flick one of the pearly water droplets from Marlene to a random direction. It burst in contact with her fingernail. Reno stared at her incredulously when she laughed softly, having fun on her own.
Be careful what you wish for. A male voice interrupted them.
Familiar giggles from a woman. Your wish is my command, though. Three hours. The other voice laughingly added. Tifa recognized those voices.
"Zack and Aeri—?" A gust of wind blew and when they opened their eyes, Reno found himself splashing into the pool and water drained from Tifa's hand.
Reno climbed out of the pool, finding it hard, because he felt short.
"Denzel? What are you doing?" a light voice asked him. Reno looked up to find Marlene looking down to him with her hands clasped at the back like Tifa used to do.
"Uh, what? Marlene, I'm—" He caught his reflection on the water. He wasn't sure what to say or do. He was completely stumped. What he saw was not himself in the water, but Denzel. With his aquamarine eyes. "What the f—"
"Finish that sentence if you dare, Denzel," 'Marlene' told him in a tone which Tifa often use to scold the two little monsters. He stared up at her.
"Marlene, look, I'm not Denzel. I don't know how this happen…" Reno noticed she was frowning at him.
"Marlene? What are you talking about? I'm Tifa. Tiiifaaa," she huffed, crossing her arms.
"Eh? Tifa? You're…in Marlene's body?" Tifa ran to the pool, clearly glaring at her own reflection. She was looking at Marlene, with of course, her own eyes.
"I what?!" Reno grinned, seriously amused at her reaction. She narrowed her eyes and swiped some water at his direction. He wiped it off with ease.
"Since our real bodies aren't here, I'm guessing Aerith was keeping them safe for a while. You did mention that you want to relive your youthful days."
"Mm-hm." Reno grabbed Tifa's hand and pulled her out of the church. "Reno, wait—uh!"
"Then let's get going!"
-- -- --
Reno had dragged her almost everywhere—an amusement park, the movies, where everything is halved for children. And most importantly, a place considered as heaven to children their age, candy shop. Tifa walked out carrying a huge blue cotton candy in her hands. Reno broke some piece from her occasionally.
"Don't you think you should stop? You'll get a toothache," Reno asked, taking another piece. Tifa laughed. The floss she ate dissolved completely in her mouth.
"Speak for yourself. You're the one who ate most of it." Reno grinned cheekily and took another big piece.
"Yo, babe, I brush my teeth every day. It is essential for a sweet tooth like me."
"Coming from you right now, it's not really convincing. Denzel has toothpaste issues." They laughed together. "It's really fun today." An idea came to Reno's head.
"You know what's more fun?" Tifa raised her eyebrow. Reno continued grinning and pulled her to a direction where she knew very well.
-- -- --
"Reno, are you sure about this?" Tifa whispered to him. He snickered at his guess about what might happen.
"Trust me. If Denzel and Marlene could pull this off, so can us."
"I'm not sure—" Tifa gasped and Reno shushed her. The door of Seventh Heaven creaked open. Cloud went in. It was time for his break. It was already a routine for Cloud Strife to stop by…and gorge himself. He noticed 'Denzel' and 'Marlene' grinning up at him and sitting still.
"Welcome home, Cloud," they greeted. Cloud opened the refrigerator and automatically took a drink without noticing what it was.
"Yeah, I'm home." He twisted the cap open. The two watched in anticipation. Cloud descended to the basement. Silence.
"When do you think he will drink that?" Reno asked, resting his head on his palms.
"He could be busy, looking for spare parts—"
Cloud suddenly emerged, pushing the door open and headed towards the sink, emptying whatever he had in his mouth. Reno laughed out loud with Tifa.
"What. Was. That?" Cloud growled, glaring at the two of them. Tifa cleared her throat.
"Um… Mustard," she said timidly. "We're sorry, Cloud." Cloud shrugged.
Sorry? That's a first. Usually Tifa has to tell them off before they really are, he thought. "Make sure you two behave. I have to clean my mouth." Cloud went up to the bathroom.
"I'm not," Reno stated, grinning as he leaned back on his seat.
"Reno," Tifa warned as she nudged him.
"Not yet, anyways. He'll fall for another. The toothpaste trick."
"You filled that with mustard too?"
"No. The white sauce in the fridge. I forgot what." Tifa gasped and at the same time Cloud yelled out Denzel and Marlene's name from the bathroom.
"Aah! Run!" Tifa shrieked and they both bolted out of Seventh Heaven, leaving a really irritated Cloud. Once they were out at the streets, they were recoiling from their hurting stomach—from laughing too hard and running so suddenly. Tifa coughed and wheezed, unable to find words.
"That was fun, wasn't it?" Reno quipped. "Now I'm sorry. For Cloud, that is." Tifa gave a coy smile at him.
"Indeed. You've had your share for the fun and it's time for mine. We're going to do what I had always dreamt of as a child."
Tifa dragged him back to where it all started—Aerith's church.
"Tifa, we've done this before," he said in a monotonous tone. Marriage? Is that what girls really dream of? Tifa smiled at him, clasping her hands behind—something she always do as a 'pretty please'.
"I know. But isn't it good to relive?"
Well, she's trying to please me, eh? Reno smirked. "Okay, then."
And it happened.
-- -- --
Zack laughed, clutching his aching sides. "These two can be quite a combo," he coughed on his words. Aerith pushed his shoulders slightly.
"Oh, you. I knew we shouldn't bring in my body. I look horrifying." Zack kept his grin.
"You sure are." Aerith shot him icicle glares.
"Zack." Zack raised his hands.
"Okay, okay. Let's return them back. Their time's up, anyways." Aerith nodded.
-- -- --
"Tifa? Reno? Wake uuup," Marlene sang.
Reno and Tifa stirred. Tifa found themselves in their real bodies sitting on a pew, leaning side by side with each other.
"It's getting late," Marlene said, pulling Reno up.
"Big sister told us you'd still be here," Denzel added. "We were also sleeping somewhere big sister took us. It's biiig and white. I got really bored so I slept."
"I drew us all in there. I gave it to her, though. She said it's really pretty. My drawings improved!"
"Big sister? Oh," Tifa mumbled. "Aerith… Aerith?!" She shot up, glancing everywhere. No rotting Aerith. No ghost of Zack. Reno yawned and stretched his arms.
"Maaan. That was a good nap. Let's go, kids."
Nap? Wasn't he with her before? All the things they did… Denzel and Marlene were in front, skipping to puddles. Tifa lagged behind, still mulling. Reno was there. How could he forget? He should remember what Zack and Aerith mentioned during the time stop. Reno caught her gaze and he wrapped his arm around her waist, kissing her softly. He stopped, confused when she didn't respond to him.
"Tifa?" She sighed.
"Aerith…made us switch with them. You didn't remember?" He smirked and pulled her to a lip lock.
"How could I forget your demanding for a second marriage?" he breathed between kisses.
That was enough for her. The day was really fun. Now, they had to worry at what Cloud might tell at the innocent party a few yards in front of them.