Woot! Another story before I finished all the others! Lovely... now I have even more to write... oh well!

Disclaimer: Final Fantasy characters/locations/phrases do not belong to me!

New Home Chapter 1: Adjusting

I stared at the wall of my new 'home'. I didn't know why the Strife's bothered. Why would they adopt me, out of all the others at the orphanage? I was nothing special.

I was ushered into a bedroom by Mrs. Strife… or Tifa, as she insisted on being called.

"Here's your room, Cian. Tomorrow we can go shopping to add a bit of "you" in it, if you want to." She smiled kindly at me. "I'll leave you to get settled. Try to be downstairs by seven, that's when Denzel will be home. He's been waiting to meet you."

She smoothed my hair and left the room. I sat on the bed, letting my pack drop to the floor.

I wanted to just curl up and cry, but I knew better. I'd have to get to know the Strife's a bit better before I could really show weakness, even to myself. I was sixteen. I didn't let myself cry anymore.

I got up and started pacing; it always helped me to organize my thoughts and feelings.

The Strife's had been kind so far, but most were when they'd adopted someone. I felt a little better knowing that Denzel had also been adopted, too; he might understand me a little.

I had mixed feelings about being adopted. I wanted it, of course, but I also didn't like intruding on other's lives.

I wanted to find a family to belong to. Everyone does.

But every time I was adopted or sent to a foster home, I was scared, nervous, and untrusting. I think that's why I was always sent back to the orphanage.

It's not that I didn't want it to work out, it just always felt wrong.

Before… it happened, Vailia had said that I was too quiet and shy to really feel like I belonged. She told me I had to step up and show people who I was and be proud of it.

She said that if anything ever happened, I would know when I belonged somewhere. I took her at her word; she'd never been wrong before.

And, before the Strife's, nowhere felt right.

My conclusion ended up being that I'd try.

I glanced at the alarm clock on the dresser beside the bed. It was just a few minutes before seven.

I sighed and headed downstairs. The entire place was actually a bar and a home; upstairs was the house, downstairs the bar/restaurant.

"Cian, there you are," Tifa said. "Cloud and Denzel are home."

I nodded and followed her to the kitchen, where the back door was. Cloud (Mr. Strife, as I kept thinking) and 14-year-old Denzel were just walking in.

Cloud greeted his wife with a kiss, and Denzel opened up the closet and hung up his hoodie.

I had already met Cloud, and nodded to him. Then I looked at Denzel. His short-ish brown hair with almost unnoticeable blond highlights, he had sparkling deep green eyes, and pale skin.

He looked like he could actually be the Strife's biological child.

He glanced up at me and grinned. "Hi."

I offered a shy smile and said softly, "Hi…"

Tifa smiled widely; that was the first word she'd heard me speak all day.

She and Cloud left to go help run the bar, which was filled with cheerful customers.

I shifted my weight to my right, looking down. "This is… a really nice place," I commented. I hated being shy around younger people, but around strangers it was all I was capable of.

Denzel noticed, and didn't seem to mind. "It is. There are lots of nice people, especially the family friends. You'll meet them later," he added. I nodded. He smiled again and said, "Want to go upstairs? We could hang out in the game room."

"Sure," I replied. But when he headed for the front stairs, rather than the back, I froze.

"Are you okay?" he asked me. I looked away.

"I'm… not used to being around lots of people," I admitted.

He took my hand and grinned. "It's okay, we're just going to go past them to get to the stairs."

I stared at him. Most of the time any other kids in the foster families resented me; Denzel was the exact opposite. He treated me like I really was his sister, and had always been.

I followed him through the kitchen door and through the restaurant. People smiled and waved at us. It was so friendly!

Tifa, managing the bar, was beaming at us. She looked so happy that Denzel and I were getting along.

We went up to the game room, and Denzel showed me all the stuff there was.

"Most was made by Cloud and Cid," he said proudly. "But we bought a few."

I nodded again, trying to ignore the fact that he still held my hand. Almost as if he had read her mind, he let go and picked up a remote, putting it back in what I assumed must be its designated place.

I pulled at the collar of my turtleneck nervously. "Who is Cid?"

Denzel smiled. "One of our friends. He curses a lot, though. And smokes."

I could tell that it bothered him a lot, probably from a former foster home, because I often had the same expression.

"You don't like that he smokes, do you?"

He looked at me, surprised but accepting. "I should have known that you'd be able to tell. It's just that…" he frowned and looked away.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to," I said quickly.

"No, it's fine." He sat down on the couch, and I followed his action, leaving a respectable distance between us.

"One of the foster homes I was in… the husband smoked a lot. I guess it's not the smoking itself that bothers me, just that it reminds me of him."

I nodded sympathetically. "I know what that's like," I whispered. "Well, to have something that reminds me of someone I don't like very much."

He looked at me, green eyes sparkling again. "I'm glad that we at least have a few things in common. It makes it much easier."

I laughed softly, and he jumped up. "Yes! I got you to laugh!"

His comic expression of triumph made me laugh harder. Pretty soon we were both laughing so hard we were rolling on the floor.

I loved it.

And I had a feeling that this home might actually work out.

When Cloud came up to check on us, we were still laughing. The blond smiled.

"Hey, Tifa's got dinner ready."

Denzel hopped up, the odd chuckle still escaping his lips, and I got to my feet.

I smiled at Cloud, something inside making me want to try hard for this home to work.

He blinked, bright blue eyes slightly wider than normal, then grinned back.

I bit back another giggle with a grin, realizing that I was mostly communicating by smiling. I'd have to work on that.

We went back downstairs and I wasn't bothered by the presence of people. Cloud put a hand on my shoulder, another on Denzel's.

I blushed a little, unable to remember when someone had even tried to touch me in a comforting way.

We ate in the kitchen, where Tifa had made us all dinner. Some other employees were taking care of the restaurant.

We sat at a small table, me next to Denzel and across from Cloud. Tifa sat next to him, across from Denzel.

It was nice, to sit at a table again with a family who seemed to really care.

They included me in the conversation, and I felt my shy exterior already beginning to crack.

"So how do you like it here?" Denzel asked when we were all pretty much done. I rolled my eyes. He was completely shameless.

Tifa was about to send him a warning glance when I said, "Great. It's a really nice place."

Tifa nodded, smiling. "We're glad."

Denzel nodded enthusiastically. "I like having a sister."

I grinned at him, and elbowed him gently. "I guess having a brother is okay, too!"

He returned the nudge, and it turned into an all-out poking-war. He was so easy to get along with that it didn't matter if I'd only known him for an hour. We were already like siblings.

"Alright, you two," Tifa said. "Try not to fight at the table."

"Not fighting," we said in unison as the poking turned into tickling.

Cloud glanced at Tifa with one eyebrow raised, but on his lips was a small smile.

Then Tifa gasped. "Oh crap, I totally forgot to get those forms!" She groaned, putting her head in her hands.

"What forms?" I asked curiously.

"The ones for school for you!" She frowned, then turned to Cloud. He looked at her for a moment and then sighed in defeat.

"I'll go get them."

I giggled. Tifa obviously had Cloud wrapped around her finger. Whipped!

After Cloud left to go get the forms, me and Denzel helped Tifa clean and put away the dishes.

After that, Tifa told us to go to bed, as it was almost ten. I didn't follow Denzel; I wanted to talk to Tifa.

"What's up?" she asked, wiping off the table. I shrugged.

"Nothing much… I… I just felt like saying thanks. For adopting me, and being so kind." I looked down, unsure of how to word it. "I… I like it here. Better than anywhere else… and I really hope that…" I paused, not knowing if I should continue that thought out loud. I decided that it was too soon and changed what I'd been about to say. "I really hope that this works out."

Tifa walked over and pulled me into a bear hug. I squeaked.

"You have no idea how happy it makes me to hear you say that!" she breathed.

I hesitantly hugged her back. Having people care was something I hadn't had in my life for a long time, so I cherished it when I got it.

Tifa was still hugging me when Cloud got back. He didn't seem to get what was going on. I waved at him, peering over Tifa's shoulder. He walked over, standing next to us, wrapping an arm around each of us.

I hid my face in Tifa's shoulder, trying not to cry. Nothing like this had happened to me since before the accident.

After a few more minutes, we all pulled back a bit. I rubbed my eyes with my sleeve.

"… Good night," I said with a small smile, and rushed upstairs.

I passed Denzel's room on my way to my room.

"Hey, Cian," he said. I stopped in his doorway, leaning against it.

"Hey," I replied quietly.

He motioned me in, and I sat on the edge of his bed. It felt right.

"You okay?" he asked. I nodded.

"I'm surprised. None of the other places I've been made me feel like part of a real family, and definitely not so fast. What was it, two hours?"

He smiled, green eyes soft. "Tifa and Cloud are like that. They care about people. I felt the same way when they took me in off the streets after I ran from the group home."

"The streets, eh? That must've been rough."

"It was, especially since I had Geostigma."

I gaped at him. Geostigma? "Holy snicker doodles."

He laughed. "Snicker doodles? That's a new one."

I cocked my head. "You've never heard it before?"

"Nope. With my friends, it's mostly just normal, non-imaginative language."

"I'll have to change that!" I said with a quiet laugh.

"Cian… you are going to stay here, right?"

I blinked, looking into his hopeful eyes. Then I grinned. "Of course I am. I doubt I'll get another chance like this! Besides, where would that leave you?"

He sighed in relief. "Good." Glancing up at me and fidgeting, he smiled sheepishly. "I always wanted an older sister," he explained. I ruffled his hair.

"Well, you got one now," I stated.

He nodded, yawning. I got up. "We should get some sleep. Well, I have to. Tifa said she'd take me shopping for things tomorrow."

He sat up suddenly. "I'm coming, too."

At my questioning glance, he said, "If it's Tifa, you'll need all the help you can get."

"Oh. She's one of the heavy shoppers?"

"She is the heavy shopper."

"Ha… the maybe you can show me around town after?"

"Sure…" He yawned again, already drifting off into sleep. I smiled, getting up and turning off the light.

Just as I was about to close the door, he whispered, "'Night, sis."

I blinked in shock. Then my heart filled with a warmth I hadn't felt in a long time. I smiled, though it was hidden by my hair.

"'Night, bro," I whispered back to him.

I shut the door and headed to my new room, tactfully ignoring Tifa and Cloud, who had obviously been eavesdropping.

I went into my new room, closing the door behind me. I went over and fell onto the bed, too tired from the day's emotions to change.