Disclaimer; I do not own any of these characters or games
This is another backstory from my main story 'Ruby Haired Beauty' I want to get the whole vibe of the family going and like I have said before I fallen in love with writing them as a family. I hope you enjoy.
'Zack, what've you brought me here for?' A very peeved twenty year old Cloud interrogated.
'Oh stop moping around man,' the raven haired male replied clearly enjoying putting his best friend through so called 'torture.'
Zack Fair had persuaded Cloud Strife to accompany him while shopping for an anniversary gift for his girlfriend of two years, Aerith Gainsborough and of course the blond male was not best pleased, he despised shopping more than anything and he was angry he was missing his Saturday afternoon which he could be having with his girlfriend of five years Tifa Lockhart and their little three year old daughter, Kairi Lockhart.
The slightly older male had dragged poor Cloud through jewellery stores, clothes departments, chocolate shops and every other kind of retail place which a woman would adore for about three and a half hours.
The blond was getting fed up and was desperate to get back to his little cottage he shared with his small family.
Cloud knew Zack was atrocious at keeping secrets from anyone, so when him and Aerith both had shown up at the door earlier on that morning it didn't come to a surprise to Cloud nor Tifa that Aerith knew exactly why Zack was dragging him to go shopping.
The brunette had casually just laughed and went to go cuddle her unofficial niece as Tifa ushered the two men out of the door before putting the kettle on for her best friend.
Cloud could picture them all now, Tifa and Aerith sat with their feet up watching telly waiting for their men to return home while Kairi would be on the floor playing with whatever toy she had an obsession with today and here he was sat on a stool in some shoe department store while Zack bumbled about with some platform heels asking the assistant if they had them in his girlfriends size.
The blond was getting restless and frustrated; he ran a calloused hand through his bangs and rested them gently over his eyes rubbing slightly.
Zack could see him getting aggravated but it didn't bother him one bit, if anything he found it quite amusing.
Once out of the shoe store after Zack had actually in fact finally purchased something they walked past a tiny modern looking boutique; Cloud kept walking but something caught Zack's eye and made him call over his best friend to come and have a look.
'Cloud man, you've got to get Kairi that!' the twenty one year old man exclaimed, smiling.
The young father glanced in the window to see what his older friend was talking about; his eyes widened ever so slightly but the rest of his features stayed stoic refusing to show any emotion.
There on the ledge of the window display was a mannequin modelling an onesie pyjama suit in the style of a Chocobo.
It was a full body outfit with a zipper which reached from the mid section to halfway up the neck, it had long sleeves that broke off into little mittens at the end so if the child wanted to free their hands they would be able to do so.
The legs were all the way down to the floor but there were bright orange booted slippers which came with the package. A huge tail was at back of the costume but it was detachable if it wasn't wanted and finally there was a hood which displayed two blue eyes, an orange beak and a tuft of yellow hair.
Cloud had to admit it was pretty adorable and his little girl would look so sweet in it, but he shook his head and began to walk away.
'Dude, go and get her it,' Zack commanded once again yanking his best friend back to the window for another look.
'There's no way I'm going in there,' the blond retorted looking almost insulted that Zack would even suggest such a thing.
'Stop being such a pansy, if you were a real man you'd go in there without a second thought and buy your little girl that,' the older male coaxed.
Cloud shot Zack a nasty glare before looking over to the flowery feminine shop; he looked down at his attire which consisted of a turtle neck asymmetric sleeved shirt, black trousers, leather gloves and thick boots. He would look ridiculous going in there.
He was definitely not the most sociable of characters and he found it difficult to talk to people so he usually stayed quiet, his face was void of emotion for most of the time and a lot of people found it hard to approach him.
Zack however was the complete reverse, he never seemed to shut up, he always found time to smile and he knew exactly what to say to keep a conversation going.
But being opposites only made their bond stronger somehow and it was why they were still best friends after all these years, the only thing Cloud despised though was when Zack pushed him into something he would really rather not do.
'I'm not going in there,' he pointed towards the shop before gesturing to his clothing, 'like this.'
'Go!' Zack argued while he pushed him into the shop before calling in after him, 'don't buy too much!'
The raven haired male laughed as he received the middle finger from his blond chum just before the door closed; he went towards a bench that was just across from the shop and waited for Cloud to emerge with a bag in hand.
As the door slammed shut the two ladies behind the counter looked up to welcome the new customer and even though they seemed polite and friendly, Cloud could tell they were slightly shocked to see somebody like him in a place like this.
'This is so embarrassing,' he thought as one of the women came up and stopped in front of him looking up in awe at his height; she must have been somewhere in her thirties and the woman that was still behind the counter looked around her forties.
'May I help you Sir?' the lady asked in a kind tone making Cloud wince inwardly at the social awkwardness he felt, what did he say to them?
Clearing his throat he took a deep subtle breath and tried to smile even though it came out like a struggled weak curve of the lip.
All he had to do was ask if they had anymore of the suits which were in the window, it wasn't rocket science, he could do this. He did have a voice, he did know how to speak, he was a human; he just didn't show human emotions most of the time.
'Do you have any more of the playsuits in the window?' he asked keeping calm and collected even though he hated every second of this.
'Yes we do dear,' the woman smiled as Cloud cringed once more at the affectionate tone.
She walked over to a small rack and picked out a suit and the matching slippers before bringing it to the counter and placing it on the top.
'Will that be all?' she enquired as Cloud nodded silently before pulling out his wallet, 'that'd be fifty gil please.'
The male handed her the cash and watched as she began getting his change and wrapping the pyjama's in some pink paper before setting them into a bag with the shops name printed on it.
'Is this for a present or do you have a little one?' the woman questioned kindly looking slightly surprised as a gentle, relaxed smile fell naturally on the man's lips.
'I have a little girl,' he began as he loosened up a little, 'she's beautiful.'
Both the women behind the counter let out a small 'aw' and giggle as Cloud turned red and tensed up again before saying a swift thank you, grabbing the bag and making his way out of the store quickly.
Zack caught sight of the blond spiky hair 6'2'' man speed out the shop and waved him over.
'Hello Miss Cloud, did you enjoy your trip to Betsie's Baby Boutique?' he teased earning a harsh shove and the bag being thrust into his arms with mild force.
'Shut up and you're carrying this until we get back to mine,' Cloud snarled as he once again began walking ahead ignoring the guffaws of his obnoxious best friend, even so though a small smile made its way to his lips as he thought about his purchase.
It was a quiet ride home as Zack had expected, the man next to him hardly uttered a word anyway never mind the fact he was now sulking, although it did surprise him when Cloud spoke up taking his eyes off of the road for a second to look at Zack who was sat in the passenger seat.
'You're a twat,' he laughed. Zack's eyes widened when he heard his best friend chuckle but joined in any way without a second thought.
'Yeah I know but think of the outcome; Kairi is going to look so funny,' the raven haired man stated laughing quietly.
'Zack, she isn't going to look funny she's going to look cute,' Cloud retorted giving a short side glare stopping his laughter abruptly.
'Funny and cute,' Zack smiled.
Entering his apartment he shared with Tifa, Cloud called out her name and once both men were signalled into the living room they wandered in slowly.
They were met by the smiling faces of Tifa and Aerith who had cups of coffee in their hands; the television was on some random talk show on a low volume and the fire was on, warming up the place.
A tiny red haired blur came running towards the two six foot males and hugged the blond ones leg with as much strength she could muster; which wasn't a lot.
With the bag still occupying Zack's hands it meant that Cloud's hands were free to pick her up. He bent down, placed his hands on her hips and lifted her over his head walking over to Tifa as she shrieked in joy.
He placed the three year old into her mother's lap and gave her a kiss on the nose before lifting his head up slightly and giving a tender kiss to Tifa on the lips.
'How was shopping?' Tifa whispered with a smirk but Cloud just gave a strained look that showed her it was awful and didn't say anything.
Cloud walked over to one of the arm chairs and sat down with a large sigh.
'We need to show these two what we got the little one Cloud,' Zack began as he sat next to Aerith and made himself comfortable after giving her a quick hello kiss.
Tifa raised an eyebrow and glanced over to Aerith worriedly who shared an equal expression on her features; two males who usually hated shopping, especially the father of who the present was for, had managed to find something for the three year old. Tifa didn't know if she should be apprehensive or thrilled, but she kept quiet and watched as Zack revealed the item out of the mysterious carrier.
As soon as the canary yellow playsuit was exposed both female's eyes softened and a small smile formed on their features. Tifa looked at Cloud who sent her a tender rare smile only aimed for her before she turned back to the item in Zack's hands.
'Oh yeah, let's get this on my baby girl!' Zack exclaimed excitedly as he undid the zipper.
'Your baby girl?' Cloud responded with his eyes narrowing vaguely.
'Just because she's your blood and not mine does not mean I can't call her my baby girl too,' Zack retorted while winking at Tifa and Aerith who just giggled at the wound up Cloud, 'she is my niece after all.'
Tifa took off Kairi's little pink long sleeved shirt and her white cotton trousers and left her in her nappy. The young nineteen year old mother placed her gently on the floor and ushered her over to Zack.
Once at the bottom of the sofa the little girl scrambled up and crawled onto Aerith's lap who gave her a gentle kiss on the head and wrapped her arms around her small frame.
Meanwhile Zack was working out how to get the suit on Kairi without hurting her, since it was an all in one it was going to be a little gauche to get her into it.
'Zack, hurry up man, she's getting cold,' Cloud interrupted the comfortable silence that had fallen over them, he walked over to Aerith and picked the little girl up into his arms and brought her back over to the arm chair with him.
The little girl was shivering slightly so cloud wrapped the cloak part of his outfit around her and smiled tenderly as he watched her snuggle into it.
Zack managed to find another zip located down the side which meant that it would be easier to get Kairi into. He gave the suit to Cloud who took it with a genuine smile.
Tifa's heart melted when Cloud acted like this, she walked over to the chair and knelt on the floor at Cloud's feet while taking the outfit and opening it up so he could slip Kairi in with ease.
It wasn't long before the tiny three year old was a human Chocobo, Zack quickly placed the slippers on her, flipped the hood up and stood back admiring the little girl in Cloud's arms.
'Oh she looks so cute!' Aerith squealed as she took out her phone to take a picture.
Cloud was bouncing Kairi on his knee while holding her waist to keep her stable, but the little girl was getting distressed at everybody looking at her. Even at such a young age she was very attention shy and Tifa often said that she took after Cloud for that.
Reaching out for her Mum she uttered two gurgles which sounded strangely like, 'Mama.'
All four adults froze and bore their eyes into the girl; Cloud turned her slightly so he could see her while Tifa grabbed her petite hands and wrists in each of her own and rubbed her thumb over the small knuckles.
'Say that again baby, say ma – ma,' the young mother coaxed delicately making sure to emphasise the two syllables. Kairi however was eyeing her surroundings and turned her head to face her father.
'Say ma – ma,' he encouraged in the same soothing tone as Tifa.
The room was silent for a minute or so, neither one of the four adults daring to say a word in case they missed anything. Zack nudged Tifa's right hand off of Kairi's left and gently tugged at her miniscule fingers with his right as he squatted in front of Cloud, Aerith bending down slightly at the back of him.
'Ma – ma,' Zack said also trying to get the little girl to repeat it.
'Mama,' a little mumble came from the girl's lips causing Tifa's eyes to tear up in happiness.
'She did say it, she said her first word, oh my gosh Cloud, she's said her first word!' the dark brunette exclaimed excitedly as she pulled Kairi out of his arms and cuddled her close leaving Cloud awestruck.
'And she said it after my go at coaxing her, oh yeah, Uncle Zack is obviously her favourite,' the twenty one year old male declared proudly only to shut up by a slap on the arm by Aerith and a smack upside the head from a now standing up Cloud.
The blond man walked over towards his two favourite girls and gathered them in a hug; looking down at Tifa he lent down to give her a chaste peck on the forehead and then reached with his left hand for Kairi's right affectionately massaging the top of the tiny appendage.
'Say da – da,' Cloud tried as he looked into the eyes of his three year old but she just blinked and let out a tiny giggle.
Tifa put her on the floor in amongst all of her toys and each of the young adults went back to their seats and quietly watched her. Cloud had taken the liberty to take off the tail as it was bothering her and pull down the hood because it was getting in her eyes, so she now sat in the middle of the floor in a yellow suit and orange feet playing with some Lego completely oblivious to the four sets of eyes gazing lovingly at her.
'Why don't you try again, Cloud?' Aerith's voice sounded making the blond stare at her confused, 'try get her to say da – da.'
'Yeah, or I could do it,' Zack laughed only to receive a pillow in his face by Cloud causing the two women to laugh at the men's playful antics.
Cloud crawled to the floor next to his little girl and sat with his left leg propped up so his left elbow could rest on it casually while his right leg was bent at the knee and resting in front of him. He began idly making a tower with the multicoloured bricks using his right hand only for Kairi to knock them down with a giggle.
'Cheeky,' he laughed as he looked up at Tifa with a shaking head; 'obviously she get's this from you.
Tifa pretended to look shocked and gave a mock pout before turning her eyes back to the little girl who was grabbing her father's index finger and chewing on it with her soft baby teeth. The male grimaced at the warm saliva running down his digit but did nothing to stop it; it was only Kairi after all.
Looking towards Zack who was chuckling slightly he decided to give it a go, he wanted Kairi to be able to say 'dada' as well and if she said two words in one day he would be immensely proud of her and so would Tifa.
Leaning his head down to the level of the little redheads his long bangs draped over his eyes and he gave a soft smile when Kairi clumsily brushed them out the way, poking his left eye slightly by accident even though it didn't faze him.
'Say da – da baby girl,' he whispered quietly to her accentuating his words.
She just smiled as she didn't understand and turned back to her masterpiece of a town she was making; Cloud sighed and was about to give up when he caught Tifa, Aerith and Zack making over exaggerated gestures to keep trying.
He wasn't going to lie, he was actually really embarrassed, if this had been with just Tifa then he wouldn't have been so humiliated but with two of his best friends there to witness him saying 'dada' of all things in the vocabulary, it wouldn't have been his first choice to have picked to do on a Saturday afternoon. But he'd be also lying if he said he didn't want Kairi to say it; he was becoming desperate.
'Come on, say da – da,' Cloud pleaded as Kairi's purple orbs locked onto his mako enhanced ones once more.
'Dada,' the little girl repeated quickly.
Cloud's eyes widened and without skipping a single beat he picked her up while in the process of standing and spun her around twice levitating her slightly above his face before standing still and burying his face into her fair, soft baby locks while kissing the same spot on her head repeatedly.
It wasn't long before Aerith and Zack made their way home leaving Tifa and Cloud with a very sleepy worn out Chocobo; it was approaching seven thirty in the evening which was Kairi's bed time.
Tifa and Cloud were cuddled up on the sofa with Kairi resting in Tifa's lap, her eyes were slowly drooping and it was only a matter of minutes before the yellow clad bundle was stretched out between her mother and father.
The little girl's head was rested on Cloud left thigh and her body was cuddled on both of Tifa's thighs.
Cloud's legs were stretched out and placed comfortably on the coffee table with his right hand playing with Kairi's locks, his left arm cradling Tifa's shoulder pulling her closer while she rested her head on the side of his chest and her left hand sat nonchalantly atop of Kairi's hip.
They were nowhere near a perfect family but they were so happy and that is all that mattered.
Probably very OOC, especially Cloud.
Review.