Author's Note:
Alright everyone, I'm new to fan fiction and this is my first story, so be honest (but gentle) with the reviews if you so choose to review. To paraphrase the infamous quote: "alright everyone, lets mosey!" -Cloud Strife
Disclaimer:
The author (Pride_Of_Rukongai) does not, in any way, shape, or form, own any of the characters, elements, or concepts, in part or full, based on FFVII, FFVII:AC, ON THE WAY TO A SMILE, or any other artistic work based on FINAL FANTASY VII, which is the sole property of SQUARE-ENIX, and is borrowed on the basis of the authors wish to express his own creative opinion based on said artistic works. [i.e.: I don't own SQUAT!]
"I Promise"
...Denzel...
"From those to whom much is given, much is expected."
-Luke 12:48
"Tifa?," Denzel said as he gently tapped his finger on Tifa's Bedroom door, his unflinching gaze never straying as he waited for a reply.
Nothing.
"Cloud?," Denzel inquired, this time using a little more force on the bedroom door separating him from a special present he had been waiting for all week.
....
Denzel had been ecstatic when he learned that cloud would be delivering a massive ball of yarn to Nanaki in Cosmo Canyon. For what Nanaki would do with said ball of yarn, he did not know. Denzel had never been to Cosmo Canyon before and had begged, pleaded pathetically almost, for Cloud to bring him "along for the ride". Begging, Denzel concluded, was acceptable so long as it was because the road beckoned, which was true, rather than admit that he wanted nothing more than to see the furthest reaches of Gaia atop the highest peak of Cosmo Canyon's observatory, not to mention it's world famous windmills.
Cloud, however, thought otherwise. First of all, Denzel had school and by default had to look after Marlene. Second, he had to be the man of the house and by default needed to help Tifa with any housework. And third, they were all going to take a month long vacation at Cosmo Canyon in a few weeks and by default would be going shortly anyway.
A previous client at Cosmo Canyon was an elderly couple that were now managing the Shildra inn. Business had been slow since Meteor and the two didn't quite have enough Gil to cover the delivery fee. Cloud, selfless as he was, didn't have the heart or audacity to siphon them of their meagre income, so he said he'd let them pay him back next time. But the humble couple would hear none of it, insisting that it was bad luck to incur any debt, be it monetary or otherwise. So they offered Cloud a month's long stay at the inn for him and his immediate family, including guided tours of the canyon, bed, breakfast, and unlimited use of their courtesy chocobos. It was the least they could do for a former member of AVALANCHE. Seeing that they wouldn't take no for an answer, Cloud reluctantly accepted and everyone had been looking forward to the trip ever since. Still, Denzel was dejected Cloud wouldn't let him tag along, settling instead for as many photos as Cloud could humanly obtain of Gaia from the observatory telescope. A simple promise.
So imagine Denzel's shock and surprise to see Fenrir parked in the garage much earlier than normal one afternoon after school, thus heralding Cloud's early return home from deliveries. This was a welcome surprise as Denzel had often stayed up until Cloud would return at some ungodly hour of the night, much to Tifa's dismay. After locking the door upon he and Marlene's entry, he haphazardly flung his backpack over the bar, positive that Marlene would see that it was safe and secure for him. Denzel raced madly around their humble home which was Seventh Heaven, frantically searching for Cloud, leaving a bewildered and more than miffed Marlene in his wake.
Denzel marvelled at his noticeably greater speed, a product of his training with Cloud, to which Tifa vehemently objected the use of swords or bladed weapons. Not wanting to disappoint Denzel, Cloud ingeniously found a way to circumvent Tifa's ban on bladed weapons, by entrusting Denzel with the infamous Nail-Bat, which was surprisingly effective, though he would've much preferred something closer to Hard-Edge. Nail-Bat, though, was decidedly better than the umbrella that he had been using prior to Nail-Bat, which according to Cloud was a lethal weapon in the hands of a true SOLDIER. Yeah right.
After several minutes of searching for Cloud, it was apparent to Denzel that he wasn't on the main floor. Disheartened at Cloud's apparent powers of invisibility, Denzel raced upstairs into Cloud's room, but found nothing but Cloud's sad wreck of a bed, collapsed in on itself at the center as a result of Denzel and Marlene's "trampoline escapades" as Cloud called it. He and Marlene had become very competitive as of late, either because Denzel wanted to show her how strong he had become or because Marlene wanted for them to stay close to each other. The latest outcome was a function of both it seemed. Denzel inwardly winced, half comforted by his belief that it was all Marlene's fault.
'She was the first one on the bed after all', reasoned Denzel.
Searching virtually every room, Denzel deduced that the only place he could be was Tifa's room, which was odd since Tifa usually took a quick nap before she had to open the bar for the evening, which was in about an hour.
'Doesn't cloud have anything better to do than lock himself up with Tifa in the middle of the afternoon?,' thought Denzel. 'Doesn't sound like much fun.'
...
All of which led up to this moment. The moment he had been counting the days and the hours and the minutes to, patiently waiting for his long sought after photos of places he had only dreamt of seeing. Places he had only dreamt of after Tifa and Cloud had tucked him and Marlene into bed at night and told them bedtime stories loosely based on their travels together. Cloud wouldn't forget his promise now would he? Not after he had come back to them, cared for them, and trained him like he said he would, right? No matter what, Denzel thought he had waited long enough and would be damned if he waited another precious minute for a reply from the other side of Tifa's bedroom door.
"In and out," Denzel calmly reassured himself as he built up the courage and resolve to sneak into Tifa's bedroom without her permission to retrieve his prize, which was suicide in any other circumstance.
It was, in theory, no different from all the times he'd sneak into his and Marlene's room while she was napping, quietly borrowing her nail clippers to, well, clip his nails. Borrowing metallic pink nail clippers was not unmanly ... so long as no one knew about it. He had also become proficient at lifting a few cookies fresh off the baking tray while Marlene distracted Tifa. Their Aunt Yuffie sure knew what she was talking about, even if Denzel wasn't completely sold on the "Nine Steps" just yet. He and Marlene really did make a good team ... when they felt like it.
Taking a deep breath, maybe his last if his hand was "caught in the cookie" jar so to speak, Denzel deftly twisted the knob open. Tifa didn't believe in "locked doors" inside the house, so long as you knocked first. Which he did, twice in fact. Opening enough of a crack to squeeze himself inside, Denzel carefully surveyed the area. The room was clean as a whistle, with only a pair of black boots and shoes at the foot of Tifa's bed ruining the otherwise pristine environment. The boots, in fact, bore a striking resemblance to the ones Cloud wears.
'Now why would Cloud leave his boots in Tifa's room?,' thought Denzel seeing as how Cloud wasn't standing anywhere in the small bedroom. Just then, Cloud's side bag came into Denzel's field of vision.
Stealthily, Denzel "ninja'ed" his way towards Cloud's side bag. Denzel made sure not to use the term "ninja'ed" around Cloud, as he was weary enough of Yuffie "sneaky little materia whore" Kisaragi, who may or may not be lurking around at that very moment. Then again, Cloud believed she was always lurking around, waiting for him to bend over to tie his boot laces before she would pounce. He also believed this was just an excuse for Yuffie to feel him up, seeing as how she was perfectly capable of stealing his materia without having to make much physical contact in the first place.
Denzel was still perturbed. No visible sign of the photos or Cloud. That is until Denzel made it to Cloud's side bag, which hung off of the First Tsurugi's hilt as it rested against Tifa's night stand next to Tifa's leather gloves. Denzel silently rifled through the seemingly endless sea of papers that was cloud's very full side bag. It contained all manner of paper records and documents, pages upon pages of bills and cheques and Aerith knows what else. Finally coming across a manila envelope marked:
"For Denzel...
...c.o. Cosmo Canyon Observatory...
...from Cloud."
Triumphant, Denzel did his best impersonation of Cloud's victory stance he'd seen hundreds of times after Cloud had slain various random attacking monsters. Satisfied with the physical evidence that Cloud had indeed not forgotten his promise, Denzel decided to make for his escape, when he happened upon Tifa's bed, or more precisely, its occupants.
Denzel had finally found a slumbering cloud, curled up to a soundly sleeping Tifa nestled snugly in his arms. Despite both of them being fully clothed, Cloud did look a tad cold as it tended to get on the cool side at this time of year. Tifa hogging most of the blanket also didn't help much in that respect. At first Denzel found it odd for Cloud to be sleeping in Tifa's bed, especially with Tifa still in it. It just didn't seem like something Cloud would do, since he had his own room and all. Not that Denzel thought there was anything wrong with that. They were his guardians after all, that's something guardians do ... right? Besides, they seemed so relaxed, content, and even happy. The light of the slowly setting sun began to filter in through Tifa's bedroom window, making it seem that the sleeping couple was glowing in its radiance.
"They must have a pair of angels watching over them," thought Denzel, the scene before him serene.
And as he watched, his heart warmed at the ghost of a smile playing on Cloud's face. Not that Denzel would admit that his heart did such things. Real men scowled, and smoked, and drank unnecessary amounts of tea. At least that's what his Uncle Cid says. Well, at least the things he actually understood. Denzel wasn't quite sure what "~!#$%^&*" meant. Still, there must be a logical reason Cloud was here. In Tifa's bed. With Tifa.
"Hmmm...," Denzel mused, tilting his head toward the ceiling as he did so. His head sequentially deduced the following:
1) Cloud's bed is broken (not my fault); Cloud needs a bed; Therefore, Cloud is in Tifa's bed.
2) Cloud looks cold (Tifa requires a LOT of blanket); hugging Tifa = very warm; Therefore, hugging Tifa will keep Cloud warm.
3) Cloud finished his delivery early; deliveries are tiring (wouldn't be if I were there); Therefore, Cloud is tired.
"That's it!" Denzel exclaimed, though he quickly covered his mouth with his hand to avoid making any further noise. Cloud stirred ever so slightly, no thanks to his incredible mako-enhanced hearing.
'So not fair,' thought Denzel.
When Cloud made no further movements, Denzel's hand lowered itself from his mouth and exhaled a noiseless sigh of relief. He would live to fight another day it would seem. And with that train of thought Denzel pondered just how much he had to give and how far he had to go to be everything he saw in Cloud. His hero.
Don't get him wrong. Denzel very much cherished what he learned that fateful day at Johnny's Heaven when he had met Uncle Reeve, Mrs. Tuesti's son, to try and enlist in the WRO. That everyone, man, woman, and child, could be strong with or without the sword. He knew then that he didn't have to be a soldier to impress his favourite SOLDIER. But there were so many he wanted to repay, so much he wanted to give back.
To his parents and those that had saved his life the day the sector 7 plate came crashing down on his, no, everyone's world
To Mrs. Tuesti, who took him in so he wouldn't be all alone. Who gave her life to save his yet again.
To Tifa, who gave him a chance at living with a family again. For encouraging him to never give up and to protect those he cared about. For believing in him, never doubting him for an instant.
To Marlene, for watching his back the moment he met her, even if they loved to rile each other up here and there. For sticking with him whenever they decided to bend the rules once in a while to sneak a few of Tifa's amazing cookies before dinner. For letting him slack off on his chores here and there, even though she knew he'd do them in a heartbeat if she asked, or threatened, him to. For letting him be a kid again.
To Cloud, who rescued him in his greatest time of need instead of leaving him to bleed. Who taught him that selflessness and compassion was a true soldier's greatest attributes. Who showed him that words aren't the only way to let people know how you feel. For just being there when he needed him. For always keeping his promise.
There were a million things Denzel was thankful for. And a million things he wanted to do to show everyone how much they meant to him. They would have to wait until he was stronger, until there was nothing left his training could teach him, until he was the one people could look up to and be proud of. But that day would come soon enough, Denzel was sure of it. For the time being he decided to take in the majestic sight before him a while longer. Content with his reasoning that cloud was tired, cold, and in need of a bed, Denzel thought it only fair that Cloud and Tifa share her bed. At least until Cloud gets a new one, his well earned reward resting dreamily at his side.
"Way to go Cloud," congratulated Denzel.
Absorbing the peace and tranquillity that was almost tangible filling the room, Denzel gazed gently upon his sleeping hero, clutching his greatest prize tightly, almost afraid to let go. Silently, Denzel made a promise he would not soon forget.
"One day Cloud ..." vowed Denzel.
"... I'm gonna be just like you ..."
As if aware of Denzel's creed, the ghost of a smile playing on Cloud's lips seemed to get the best of him, curling the corners of his mouth upward ever so slightly, if only for a moment.
"... I Promise."