Cloud pulled his car into a parking spot, a grateful sigh falling from his lips at finally getting to their destination as he put it in park. Before he could rest long though the two children in the backseat clamored for attention and their freedom at noticing the lack of movement. Thus his relief was short lived as he unbuckled himself and stepped out of the vehicle. He had known that the trip would be tough, Midgar wasn't exactly close to their new home of Hollow Bastion, but he hadn't quite expected the trouble the twins put him through on the journey.
"Calm down you two," The blond murmured as he set about unbuckling the child that was seated behind him.
"But Dad~ We're tired of being in the car," The other child whined as he wiggled in his seat.
"It's not going to kill you to wait two more minutes to get into the house Sora," Cloud replied simply as he set the first boy on the ground. "Now don't forget Nanaki, Roxas," He then said as he picked up a carrier that was sitting by the boy's feet before he handed it over to the other blond.
"Never forget Nanaki," The small boy murmured as he took the carrier, a serious expression on his face. He received a meow in reply from inside the cage that softened his expression into a small smile.
After he had done that Cloud shut the door, reappearing a moment later on the other side.
"Calm down Sora," He grunted out as he struggled to unbuckle the squirming six year old from his booster seat. It didn't work very well considering Sora continued his struggle for freedom.
Once he had wrangled the seat belt loose he scooped the child up and shut the door before heading towards the apartment they would soon be living in. He wished it could have been a house, but on his salary he could only afford what could be described as a four-plex. From the looks of the building it looked like two floors with two apartments on each floor. Luckily their apartment was on the ground floor, number 2C, the two he was guessing having to do with the building number since there appeared to be one more identical building on both sides.
Pulling out the key he'd gotten from the building manager earlier that day he unlocked the door and ushered Roxas inside, reminding him to be gentle with Nanaki. Which was difficult considering his other son was practically flailing in his arms in his attempt to free himself. Grunting the twenty-seven year old set (practically dropped) the boy down, sighing as he watched the child dart off to explore. Looking back to Roxas he smiled fondly when he noticed his decidedly quieter kid staring off after his brother. He was obviously trying to keep calm since he'd been told to be careful with the cat, but just by looking at him one could tell he wanted to explore as well.
"Roxas, give me Nanaki and you can go check out the place with Sora," The blond said crouching down and holding out his hand for the carrier.
The smaller male frowned thoughtfully for a minute before he carefully handed over the carrier to his father. After one last glance at the cage the six year old dashed after his brother, a smile on his face. Standing back up Cloud looked around the living room, glad to see that it looked as though the movers had gotten everything here safely. Luckily he didn't have to worry about his bike since his friend Vincent had agreed to store it at his home, since it wasn't exactly child friendly, until he was able to get it. On the other hand that also meant that he would have to start moving things around with two children underfoot. Before he could even begin to really think about it he was startled by a loud knock on the door. Wondering who it could be the blond walked over to the door and opened it, revealing two people he knew very well.
"Cloud!" The shorter one shouted jumping at him with her arms outstretched in her excitement, clearly aiming for a hug.
Luckily he managed to move the poor cat away before she did though he was no less happy with the situation, meowing loudly at being jostled.
"What are you guys doing here?" The spiky haired male questioned, ignoring his cat in favor of giving his two friends a look of confusion.
"Well that's some way to greet the people who came here to help," Tifa replied as she crossed her arms, pretending to be offended.
"You know I didn't mean it that way," He responded back blandly, overlooking the fact that Yuffie was still hanging around his neck like some sort of bizarre necklace. She only removed herself once the twins, who had come to investigate the noise, ran over yelling about their 'aunts'.
"Kiddos!" Yuffie responded in kind as she crouched down to catch the two in a hug before standing up and twirling them in circles.
The boys squealed in happiness as they were spun, Cloud watching on with barely disguised affection. Tifa noticed and prodded the taller man in the ribs, a knowing look on her face.
"Shut up," He muttered back as he schooled his face back into his indifferent mask.
"You're not fooling anyone," She replied back as she returned her attention to the children, "How was the move?".
He shrugged lightly as he set about letting the cat out of his carrier. It took him a minute to reply, choosing instead to watch the feline sniff the carpet curiously.
"It was long. The boys made me stop constantly. Nanaki let us know all the time that he did not like the car ride," Cloud ended up saying as he straightened back up, leaving the carrier on the ground.
"What did you expect traveling with two six year olds?" The long haired woman replied with a light chuckle.
"Yeah I know, but being here will be better for them," The blond muttered watching as his children bowled Yuffie over and proceeded to terrorize her.
"But what about you?" She whispered turning her head slightly to gaze at her friend worriedly. They had kept in close contact over the years and she seemed to know him better than he knew himself, often taking it upon herself to watch out for him.
"It isn't about me anymore," He said simply as he moved away from her gaze and over to the pile of boxes and furniture, hoping to escape the conversation. It didn't work as Tifa just ended up following after him anyways, leaving Yuffie to entertain the boys.
"Maybe not Cloud, but you deserve to be happy too, not just them and not just Aerith," The older woman replied seriously, refusing to let the conversation drop.
"Tifa I just transferred and moved to a new town. I don't have time to be dating. Especially not with two six year olds, I'm busy enough," He replied seriously, glaring at the woman for butting into his love life...again.
"I'm not talking about right now Cloud. I'm talking about the near future. Once you all have settled in. Why not give it a try then?" The black haired woman retorted, giving his glare back two fold.
The blond didn't reply immediately, just stared unflinchingly for a minute before he suddenly seemed to deflate.
"As you can see the last time I tried it didn't work out too well," He practically mumbled motioning to the twins as his eyes lowered to one of the boxes.
Tifa let out a snort and rolled her eyes at his defeatist attitude.
"We all knew that your relationship with Aerith was doomed from the start. It was obvious that she was still pining after Zack at the time. The fact that you two managed to spawn these cuties was a surprise though," She replied with a light shrug of her shoulders, uncaring about the sharp glare he sent her way at her words. "Don't get all huffy with me Cloud Strife, you knew it too. The fact was that you both were lonely and you sought comfort with each other. That's it," Tifa replied bluntly as she reached over to flick her friend on the head. "Plus you've spent too long moping by yourself. She's moved on, why can't you?" The woman added moving he hands to her hips and pointedly not mentioning that Aerith had moved on to who she had originally wanted in the first place.
"As you can see Tifa I have my hands full with Sora and Roxas," Cloud replied nodding his head to the kids as he picked up a box marked boy's room before he walked off down the hall. Said woman huffed before grabbing another one marked for their room and following him.
"Yeah, but now you're here not back in Midgar. You have friends who can watch them for a night so you can go out and relax and maybe find someone," She responded setting her box down beside his before they went to repeat the process.
Cloud frowned finding it hard to come up with a rebuttal to what she was saying. It wasn't even because she was wrong. He knew better than anyone else how long it had been since he had been with someone, but it was that stretch of time that bothered him. He'd been out of the so called game for so long that his skills were rusty, if they could even be called that. Going back out into the dating scene unnerved him and it would be a much better use of his energy to focus on the twins. He opened his mouth to reply.
"Don't even think about saying anything about Sora and Roxas needing you more. You already spend most of your time with them that I'm sure they're getting sick of you as is. Not to mention they're almost ready to start elementary school anyways," Tifa interrupted as she shoved a large box into his arms.
"That's a year away," He replied with a huff, securing his hold on the box as she picked up one for herself.
"Yeah but would you rather they pitch a fit when you leave them with a stranger or have them get used to being away from you for periods of time?" She questioned seriously as they maneuvered around the group wrestling on the floor.
"They spend time at their mother's house, more so now that we live in the same town," Cloud replied as they headed to his room this time.
"That's their mother you idiot. I'm talking about people they don't know as well," The long haired woman said rolling her eyes in response.
Cloud grumbled unintelligibly instead of actually replying, which earned him a rough kick on the rear. He hated to admit it, but the blond didn't like the thought of his boys going to school. It meant they were growing up and that much closer to leaving him. For years he had been giving them his undivided attention and they responded with love for him. The older they got though the more independent they were sure to become...well Sora at least. The older twin took more after his mother and enjoyed chatting to people, even when he could barely utter words. Roxas on the other hand had a harder time dealing with new people and preferred to stick around those he had known for awhile. Hell it had taken him nearly two years to even accept Aerith's husband and he still refused to call him dad, instead preferring to refer to him by his given name. Cloud wasn't complaining.
"Just think about it alright?" Tifa ended up saying on their way back to the living room, giving Cloud what he assumed to be a hopeful look.
He had been about to reply with an answer that she'd probably immediately deem wishy washy before she interrupted him.
"And it doesn't have to be a girl either Cloud! Maybe a man is what you need to cheer yourself up and don't try to deny it either. I've seen you looking at some ass before," The long haired woman blurted out cheerfully as she gave the younger man a supportive grin.
Cloud wanted to reply, he really did, but they had reached the living room and this was not a conversation he wanted his children hearing. It had nothing at all to do with the fact that he was blushing lightly at his friend's astute observations. Of course he really shouldn't have been surprised by it in the first place, what with her constantly butting into his life and all. Instead he chose to turn his attention to the two rowdy children running at him upon Yuffie shouting to 'slay the beast' in the worst medieval voice he had ever heard. Placing a smile on his face the blond crouched down and held out his hands as if he were going to tickle the two boys. This caused them to squeal happily and detour to go hide behind Tifa's legs, shouting at her to save them.
"Oh I don't know boys...what would happen if I were to tell you...that I'm a tickle monster too!" She said contemplatively before turning around with a grin on her face and her arms outstretched.
This caused their laughter to get even louder before they ran from her as well, only to run straight into Yuffie's arms. The two boys screamed as she tickled them mercilessly, flailing in her arms to try and escape. It worked phenomenally well if only due to the fact that there was two of them and not just one. Once free the twins darted off to hide in their room, the self declared ninja right on their heels. Once the noise died down in the living room Cloud chuckled softly before he returned to the boxes. Fortunately having someone there to help with both boxes and children made things go by a lot faster.
By the time six o'clock came around they had all of the containers in their appropriate rooms and even some unpacked, though that was mostly the twin's things and kitchen items. Yuffie even managed to tire out the boys a few hours ago so they napped while she got to help out. Now that everything was for the most part done the blond could focus on dinner. Sadly they had no actual food in the house, he would have to go shopping tomorrow, so for the moment he just ordered some pizza and offered to feed his friends as well to thank them for their help. They of course agreed, the smaller woman a great deal more enthusiastically.
When the food arrived Cloud made the kids their plates first and settled them down on the floor, the kitchen table was covered in boxes, before he made his own. He made sure to sit across from them to make sure that they didn't make too big of a mess, Tifa and Yuffie doing the same on either side of him. Nanaki wanted to come and join in, but he kept getting shooed away since every time he got close he almost got caught by grabby pizza covered hands. Eventually the feline settled himself on the partition between the living room and kitchen, looking down at his humans approvingly.
Once Sora and Roxas finished their food their father scooped them up and hauled them off to the bathroom, asking over his shoulder if they could take care of the plates. He quickly had to turn his attention to the boys again though because they began to make it plenty clear that they didn't want a bath. Grunting he all but tossed them into the bathroom before locking the door behind to help prevent escape. From there it was a matter of patience and practice to get the kids down to their skivvies, but as revenge they covered every nearby surface in pizza sauce. All that could be heard from outside was Cloud grunting and ordering his children around as they protested their need for a bath. It took him nearly an hour to clean them both and by the time he was done he may as well have taken one with them since he was soaked from all of the water they splashed about.
"Geez Cloud, go swimming?" Yuffie snickered out behind her hand as she watched the bathroom door open to reveal two newly clean children and their drenched father.
Sora and Roxas bolted for their bedroom as soon as the door was open leaving their dad to deal with his two mischievous friends and the mess they left behind.
"Stuff it Kisaragi," The spiky haired blond grunted in reply as he hauled all of the dirty clothes and towels to the hamper, cleaning everything as he went.
"Are they always like this around bath time?" Tifa asked curiously, feeling a little bad if so.
He shook his head no in response.
"Normally Roxas tends to do pretty well, but Sora is a bit of a monster about it. Every now and then though they sync up and it's either the calmest bath time ever or...this," He ended up replying as he finished cleaning up the bathroom.
"Have you tried bathing them separately?" She asked tilting her head lightly to the left.
"Yeah, but they get into more mischief when I can only see one of them," He replied with another shake of his head, blinking when he heard a crash come from the boy's room.
"Alright you two, get out, I have to put the tiny terrors to bed," Cloud said as he proceeded to push his friends towards the front door.
"But it's only like seven o'clock!" Yuffie protested, digging her heels in as best as she could into the carpet.
"You do realize it'll take me like two hours just to get them to stay in bed right?" He grumbled back as he held them up and opened the front door at the same time.
"Alright Cloudy, but you owe us a drink each and some catching up time without children," Tifa replied with a smile as she stepped outside.
"Make that two each!" Yuffie shouted back as she was shoved out behind the other woman.
"Fine fine, just go home you two," Cloud responded waving the two off before he shut the door.
He waited until he could here the sounds of their cars leaving before he stomped off to his kid's room mentioning that if he so much as saw a hair out of bed there would be consequences to pay, lpud enough for the boys to hear, but still mindful of his neighbors. He could here muted giggles coming from the room as the twins scrambled to get into their beds. He stood outside of the door for a moment before he peeked in to see them cuddled on Sora's bed, wiggling too much to be asleep, but at least in a bed. After closing the door once more he headed to the kitchen wondering how long it was appropriate to let them continue sharing a bed.
The blond understood that they were close and the move had likely unsettled them no matter their outward behavior at least a little. They were getting older though and he knew eventually they would have to start staying in their own beds and eventually their own rooms if they got a house someday.
Sighing the lithe male grabbed a glass from the cabinet and filled it with water from the sink. Once it was filled he shut off the tap and moved to lean against the counter. Taking a sip he looked around the kitchen and the bit he could see of the living room. It was a little smaller than their last place, but for what he was paying it wasn't too bad. He'd also heard that there was another child living in their building so maybe the boys would be able to make a friend. Before any of that though he was going to have to go shopping and look for a babysitter. He had a few days off before he hand to go in to work, time to get settled. He was thankful for that though, even more thankful for his uncle to give him a job here. Unfortunately he wouldn't be able to bring the boys to work with him like he could at his last job. This time he would be working as a mechanic so it would be too dangerous to let them run around there.
Cloud wasn't looking forward to the process of having to find a babysitter that would work for the twins. The last one had been a lucky find, a friend of his best friend...former best friend? Ex-wife's husband? Either way the man's name was Angeal and the boys had surprisingly liked the guy a lot. He probably should have asked Yuffie if she knew anyone that was available before he kicked her out. Though he was jolted out of his thoughts by Nanaki meowing by his feet.
"You ought to be hungry by now huh boy?" Cloud murmured as he bent down to lightly scratch the feline behind the ears, receiving a purr in return.
"Alright let me find your food," He then said setting his glass down ad rummaging through the cabinets for the cat's food bowls and food.
Once he had found both the blond filled one with water and one with food before setting them both on the ground and out of the way. The long haired cat meowed happily as he trotted over to the bowl and settled himself down to eat. Cloud smiled at the animal before he moved over to his glass and downed the rest of it's contents. It was as he was putting the glass in the dishwasher that he heard muffled talking coming from down the hall.
"Boys!" He called over his shoulder as he shut the dishwasher, "I better not be hearing you playing!"
The noise quickly escalated before quieting down once again, assuring the blond that they had once more dived into one of their beds. This scene happened a total of six more times before the twins tuckered themselves out enough to fall asleep for the night. Once he was sure that they were asleep did he set about preparing himself for bed, including locking the front door. He then went to his own room where the bare essentials for his bed had been unpacked as well as the boxes with his clothes opened. He stripped down to his boxers, since small children meant the inability to sleep naked, before he slipped into bed. Yawning lightly he pulled the covers up, vaguely hearing the cat pad into the room and join him on the bed. Reaching over he gave Nanaki a few light strokes on the head before he settled down to sleep, slipping easily into the dream realm after the day he had.
He was woken up in the middle of the night to a sniffling noise off the side of his bed and a light tugging on his blanket. Blinking his eyes open he spotted Sora standing off to the side of his bed wiping his eyes with one hand and holding the blanket with the other.
"What's wrong S'ra?" He mumbled, having been woken up out of a deep sleep.
"I...I had..a bad dream," The brunette haltingly said, voice wavering lightly as he tried to talk without crying more.
"Okay okay, come here," The older man said soothingly as he reached over and scooped the six year old into his bed.
Once the boy was on the bed he pulled the covers over him and settled back down to go back to sleep.
"Good night Sora," The blond murmured softly, leaning his head down a bit to kiss the child on the head.
"Night daddy," Sora replied already sounding sleepy as he snuggled into his dad's side.
As they were drifting off he heard another pair of feet padding softly into the room. This time instead of tears and blanket tugging the other twin simply crawled into bed on his father's other side. Cloud grunted lightly and shifted, pulling Roxas to his other side.
"Night Roxas," He grunted out automatically moving to give his other son a kiss as well.
"Night dad," The child murmured as he cuddled close.
And that's how they fell asleep on their first night in their new home. All three Strifes cuddled together with Nanaki snoozing at the head of the bed.
(Afterword: Soooooooo I made another story ^^ I can't help it I have so many ideasssss. Though I've decided that there will be no set schedule for updates ((I'm having too many problems at home for that)) so I will just be updating whichever ones I feel like. I'll try not to update the same one multiple times in a row, but it might happen depending on how I'm feeling. Either way I hope you guys like this one ^^)