Title: Memories
Characters: Cloud/Marlene with hints of Cloud/Tifa
Rating: Teen
Disclaimer: I do not own anyone/anything from the forum Final Fantasy. Square Soft/Enix owns Final Fantasy and its characters. There is no copyright infringement intended. I do not make any profit/money or take any credit.
Summary: Memories leads to sharing a bowl of yoghurt
A/N: Yeah, I'm a nut but here's another sequel to 'Please Get Better' and 'Sharing'. It can be used as a stand-alone.
Timeline: Set after AC/ACC
Memories
Marlene sighed as she made her way into the kitchen. The weather had gotten colder causing everyone to dress warmer than their usual outfit. Instead of her dress, Marlene was now wearing comfortable dark blue demin jeans that had a stitching of a gold chocobo and the pocket over her right cheek and dark purple long sleeves top with a picture of a moogle.
Her hair was out of its plaits, favouring a low pony-tail instead. After seeing Cloud and Tifa remove the pink ribbon, that they wore in the memory of Aerith, and moving on, Marlene was struck that she needed to move on as well and from that point; she removed the pink ribbon from her hair and stopped putting it in a plait.
She had noticed Cloud and Tifa's curious looks when they saw her forgoing her plaits but they left it alone, obviously understanding that it was Marlene's choice and she had made it. It just made her love her guardians even more.
Marlene reached the fridge and opened it to see the large white bowl in the middle of the fridge with cling-film over the top. With a smile, she reached in with both hands and grasped the fragile bowl before pulling it out, shutting the fridge door with the heel of her right foot before moving over to the large round table.
Placing the bowl down in the middle, she moved over to the counter to open a drawer and pulled out three spoons. Humming to herself, she made her way back over to the table and sat down on one of the chair, placing two spoons off to the side and peeled the cling-film off the bowl.
Marlene pulled the bowl closer to her and dipped her spoon into the partially eaten strawberry yoghurt. She smiled as she remembered Tifa coming home one day frustrated.
Marlene had been in the bedroom, playing with her stuffed chocobo toy and her doll while Cloud was in the garage fixing his bike when the front door opened before slamming shut, causing the young girl to jump.
Looking over at the bedroom door with curiosity and fear, she wondered if she should sneak out and see who has made their way into their house. Cloud and Tifa constantly cautioned her on hiding away whenever she heard someone coming into the house without calling out who they were until one of them had dealt with the intruder.
Battling within her, her curiosity won her over, she wanted to know who had dared to intrude in their house without an invitation. Sneaking carefully out of the bedroom, she ducked down when she reached the railings of the stairway. Peeking through one of the bars, she saw Tifa huffing as she stormed into the kitchen, her hands empty of the usual plastic bags she usually have whenever she came back from shopping.
Another door opened and Marlene turned her head to see Cloud coming up from the garage, a crowbar in his hand as he cocked his head, puzzlement clear on his face before he heard something that her own ears couldn't pick up and relaxed.
"Tifa?" he called out. Tifa came out of the kitchen with a harassed expression clear on her face and it worried Cloud as he moved closer. Marlene noticed that he was dressed in his dark jeans with no top. There were streaks of black marks over his bare chest, arms and hands. Marlene noticed a flush crept up on Tifa's cheeks when she spotted Cloud before it disappeared as frustration took over her once more.
"Did I disturb you, Cloud? I'm sorry," Tifa told him. Cloud shook his head as he walked back over to the garage door and placed the crowbar on the stairs before he moved back over to Tifa.
"Are you okay?" he asked and Tifa sighed as she raked a hand through her black locks.
"I can't find any more strawberry yoghurt," she confessed. Cloud frowned, confused. "They're sold out everywhere. Because of the rise of monsters in travel areas, deliveries are finding it hard to get the fruits and such transported so foods aren't being created."
"So, we'll just wait until they have the stuff to transport, unless you are giving me a hint that you want me to fight the monsters for money," Cloud gently teased her but Tifa missed it, shaking her head.
"I was going to buy more yoghurt today but they had none in store. Apparently the strawberries ones are harder to come by and because I've been buying them in bulk, they weren't able to keep up with the demands."
"Tifa, I don't understand. Is buying strawberry yoghurt really that big of a deal?" Cloud asked, confused. Marlene felt the same. Even though she knew that she and Cloud loved the sweet stuff, they could live without it for a few weeks but Tifa had been adamant that they shouldn't have to.
"I made a promise to you," Tifa confessed, her voice quiet and sad.
"Tifa?" he placed his hands on Tifa's arms, both of them forgetting the grease that covered his hands.
"I made a promise that I would get you all the strawberry yoghurt there is," Tifa told him. "I don't want to break the promise." Cloud frowned.
"Tifa, when did you make that promise? I don't remember it," he told him and she nodded.
"You were in the coma at the time," she confessed quietly. Curiosity perked even more, Marlene shifted closer to the bars, wanting to hear more of the time Cloud had been ill. Her father and Tifa rarely talked about it because it made Tifa really upset. "I said that when you got better, I would get you all the strawberry yoghurt I could get my hands on." Cloud sighed as Tifa lifted teary red eyes to meet his. "You kept your promise to be my hero; I just wanted to be able to keep my promise."
Cloud's hands slid up her cheeks, cupping them as he pulled her into for a kiss. Tifa's eyes widen in surprise before they closed in contentment, her hands sliding up Cloud's arms before linking around his neck.
Marlene was torn over making a face at the public of display her guardians were making and squealing with delight over how sweet they were. Cloud still had his moments where he retreated into himself as he tried to deal with the loss of his friends and family but seeing him and Tifa like that was enough to make Marlene hope that she would find a boy like Cloud when she got older.
"Tifa," Cloud pulled away so he was looking into Tifa's eyes, "The only promise I need from you is that you will always be here by my side." Tifa's lips curved into a quivering smile as she reached up and kissed his lips before she pulled back.
"But strawberry yoghurts are your favourite," she reminded him and he smirked, leaning down and saying something in a hushed whisper that made Tifa blush and slap his shoulder before she pulled away from him, taking his hand and leading him into the kitchen, leaving Marlene wondering if she should be curious over what Cloud had said before she decided to leave it alone. There were some things a five year old shouldn't know.
Marlene came out of her thoughts with a small giggled as she scooped up some more of the yoghurt onto her spoon and swallowed it. Tifa had gone on a frenzy. Instead of buying the yoghurt or having to wait for the strawberry ones to come back into the store, Tifa had taken it upon herself to make the yoghurt.
Both Cloud and Marlene had been a bit worried that Tifa was taking on more things than she could handle but soon saw that she was enjoying making the yoghurt. Although there were trial and error in making the yoghurt and sending Cloud to further places that was only possible to be reached by his bike in order to get more strawberries, with her two willing taste testers – Cloud and Marlene – Tifa finally managed to get the correct recipe and was soon making the perfect strawberry yoghurt one after another.
Tifa had found that she enjoyed making the yoghurt so much, and once she had gotten it correct, she started making different kinds and putting it on the menu much to the delight of their customers.
Marlene lifted her head when a noise broke her out of her thoughts to see Denzel, her adoptive brother, making his way into the kitchen. It warmed her heart to see him lively and energetic than before. When he first came to live with them, he had been struck with the Geostigma, a fatal disease that had taken many lives.
Denzel was currently clad in black combat pants and a green t-shirt with a black hoodie. He smiled when he saw Marlene was sitting at the table before spotting the bowl of the strawberry yoghurt. Much to Tifa's amusement, it turned out that strawberry was also the boy's favourite and ended up having to double the quantity of yoghurt each time she made it to keep up with all three of them.
Denzel sat down at the table, picking up one of the spoons and dipped the metal utensil into the bowl before he placed it into his mouth, savouring the sweet treat.
"Hm, Tifa always makes the best yoghurt," he groaned, looking a bit like a cat having its stomach scratched. Marlene giggled as she nodded in agreement.
"Have you finished your homework?" she asked, having finishing hers a while ago and Denzel nodded.
"Yeah, I had a bit of problem with my maths. I just got to get either Tifa or Cloud to look at it later for me," he told her, dipping the spoon back into the bowl with Marlene following a suit. Both of them lapsed into a comfortable silence, enjoying their treat when they heard the door opened and turned to see a familiar figure making their way into the house.
Dropping his weapon off to the side and placing the new packages that he had acquired along during his deliveries, he peeled off his driving gloves and his goggles, placing them on the table before peeling off his boots.
Cloud yawned as he made his way into the kitchen, rolling his shoulders to work the kinks out of them when he spotted Marlene and Denzel giggling as they shared the bowl of yoghurt and playfully narrowed his eyes at them. Cloud was dressed in his black jeans and a long sleeve version of his zip up top. Due to the weather turning colder and the lack of monsters now roaming, he was able to wear heavier clothing without having to worry about them impending during his fights.
"Don't you dare finish that off without leaving me any," Cloud warned them and got bright innocently smiles in return, ones that he didn't trust at all. He knew them too well and their pranks that they liked to play.
"How was your trip?" Denzel asked as Cloud sat down on the other chair and picked up the last spoon, digging into the treat.
"Fine, no monsters," he assured them and got giggles in return, causing him to roll his eyes. Tifa used to lecture him on fighting monsters. Apparently whenever he went out on a delivery and came back, the kids would think he was a death's door because he always seems to have scratches, bruises, broken bones, cut skin and what not.
Marlene remembered when Cloud had pulled away from them after contracting the Geostigma, not that any of them knew at the time. The only reason why she and Tifa found out was because they had gone by the church to see if Cloud was there only to find a long piece of strip covered in inky black puss, bringing them to the answer that Cloud had so desperately tried to hide from his family.
Thankfully once the Geostigma had been healed, Cloud returned to his normal cheerful self, especially after a lecture from Tifa that he wasn't allowed to leave them in the darkness over any future illness and such. If she wasn't allowed to hide things from him, then he wasn't allowed to hide things from her.
"Bring anything back?" Marlene asked and Cloud chuckled as he tugged lightly on her ponytail.
"You will just need to wait and see," he teased her, getting pouts from the kids as they continued to polish off the yoghurt when they heard footsteps coming up the stairs from the bar. Looking over, they saw Tifa making her way into the kitchen dressed in a pair of light blue jeans and a black strappy top. She had her long black hair up in a pony-tail.
Tifa smiled brightly when she saw them.
"Cloud, you're home," she greeted. Cloud had obviously come through the back way instead of the front. Tifa looked at the kids. "Have you done your homework?" she asked and got nods. "Good." She narrowed her eyes when she saw the bowl and the spoons just laying in it before her eyes widen in disbelief. "Oh you can't have finished that already!" Tifa planted her hands on her hips. "I just made that yesterday!"
"We may love you, Tifa," Marlene stood up with a bright smile.
"But we love your yoghurt better," Denzel finished as he stood up with a bright smile before the two of them dashed out of the kitchen, their laughter filling the air, warming the adults' hearts at over hearing laugher after the long arduous months they had.
Tifa playfully scowled as she looked at her lover with an arched eyebrow, waiting for his excuse. Cloud just smiled as he got up, moving over to Tifa and slid his hands over her hips, leaning in as he did.
"I just like the taste of yoghurt on you," he whispered into her ear, causing her to blush and smack his shoulder before he took her smiling lips into his, allowing Tifa to taste the strawberry yoghurt.
The End (and I mean it!)
Again, I would think that Cloud would become less emo after the battle of Sephiroth after all, Zack showed up! How can you stay moody with that guy about? Again, just a bonus for me to write Denzel in
Poor Tifa, the fridge always seemed to empty of yoghurt