Title: Sharing
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: You have to share when it comes to Yoghurt… Cloud and Marlene share a childhood time together.
A/N: I re-read my 'Please Get Better' one shot and this little plot bunny came in the shape of a fridge! So here's the result. Hope you like.
Timeline: Set anytime after FFVII but before Denzel comes in.
Sharing
"What the…" Cloud glare into the fridge, his blue eyes scanning the different shelves in hope that he would find what he was looking for but came up empty. Hearing soft footsteps making their way down the hallway and happy humming following along, Cloud lifted his head and looked over the door of the fridge and into the hallway to see Marlene walking past, huddling a red pot close to her chest. In her other hand held a spoon and Cloud's eyes narrowed.
"You little sneak," he startled Marlene into giving a little yelp as she spun around, her eyes wide.
"Cloud!" she greeted in a sweet innocent tone that didn't fool Cloud one bit. She took a step back as Cloud closed the fridge door and stepped forward. Giggles slipped from her lips as she fought to hold back her laugher. Cloud's lips twitched as he fought to hold back his smile.
"You know you're supposed to share," he teased her, inching closer. Marlene inched backward.
"Share what?" she asked, innocently.
"Oh, you don't fool me," he warned her, shaking his index finger. "You took the last strawberry yoghurt."
"No I didn't," Marlene told him, hugging the pot tighter.
"Yes, you did," Cloud teased as he moved closer. Marlene giggled as her back hit the table, preventing her from going anywhere else. "So…where did you hide the rest? I know I saw four this morning and you can't have eaten them all already." Marlene was about to claim her innocence once more when she saw Cloud's eyes narrowed and pouted.
"Fine, I put them in the bottom cupboard," Marlene pointed to the cupboard next to the fridge. Cloud arched an eyebrow at this before he turned to the cupboard, opening it to see the other three pots hidden there.
"I knew it," he muttered as he scooped up the pots, closed the door and opened the drawer to pull out a spoon. Marlene watched as he placed the pots on the table along with the spoon before he made his way over to her and scooped her up into his arms. Marlene let out a squeal of delight; she liked it whenever her daddy or Cloud would lift her up; it always made her feel so tall.
Cloud walked over to the table and placed Marlene on the chair before he took the one next to her. "Share?" he asked and she smiled.
"Share," she agreed, both of them opening a pot and dipping their spoons into the fruity creamy yoghurt.
"Hm, why are the strawberry ones always so yummy?" Marlene asked as she licked the back of her spoon. Cloud shrugged.
"My mom always said it was something to do with it being really sweet," Cloud told her as he finished off his spoon, both of them dipping the metallic cutlery into the pots of yoghurt once more.
"Because strawberries are sweet?" asked Marlene with a dubious tone. She had tried strawberries before; Tifa had managed to find some while she was shopping and Marlene hadn't enjoyed them that much, which was weird as she loved the yoghurt.
"The strawberries in the yoghurts have been refined from the normal ones, which makes them taste different," Cloud pointed out, knowing Marlene's distaste for the fruit. "But yeah, strawberries that had the right amount of sun and have been taken good care of can be really sweet." Marlene nodded thoughtfully as she took another spoonful before she hit on something else.
"Hm, do you know why Tifa keeps buying you the strawberry ones?" Marlene asked with a puzzled tilt of her head and Cloud shook his head.
"No, she said something happened during the time I was in a coma and she promised that she would buy me all the strawberry yoghurt she could get," Cloud explained, frowning. "I don't remember much during the time I was in a coma and the doctor says that it is common for those who had ended up prologue exposure to the mako."
"Kinda like the time that doctor kept you in the tank when you were younger?" Marlene asked. Cloud arched an eyebrow at the young girl and she smiled sheepishly. "I overheard daddy and Tifa talking about it. Tifa was worried about your nightmares." Cloud nodded.
"Yeah, kinda like that time. I was only lucky because a good friend of mine got me out before I died," Cloud explained. Marlene looked thoughtful.
"Do you think he is watching over us?" Marlene asked. "Kinda like with Aerith did during the whole meteor thing?" Cloud nodded.
"Yeah, I thought I heard him a few times on my travels. Of course, I was mixed up over who I was so it didn't register to me who it was. It was only after I got most of my memories back together that I remember who he was."
"What was he like?" Marlene asked and Cloud grinned.
"He was like a puppy," Cloud told her. Marlene's brown eyes widen in surprise and curiosity.
"A puppy?" she repeated and Cloud nodded.
"He had boundless of energy, he was always on the go for something and he always had a smile on his face. No matter how tough or bleak the future was, he made sure that our spirits were uplifted," Cloud explained. "He was the best. He could make you laugh and feel better about yourself, no matter what. You knew that he would never judge you." Marlene sighed sadly.
"I wish that I could meet him," she told him. "He sounds like a lot of fun." Cloud nodded in agreement as finished their yoghurt off in silence. Once they were finished, Marlene let out a yawn that she tried to stifle with a hand over her mouth. Cloud looked at the clock on the wall.
"It's nearly time for your nap," he told her. Even though Marlene was near age to start school, Tifa didn't want to her to come out of her routine straight away. She said it was better to gradually bring Marlene out of her routine so that when it was time for Marlene to go to school, she wouldn't be falling asleep in class.
Marlene nodded as she hugged her stuffed golden chocobo close to her chest, her eyes blinking slowly as she fought back the sleep.
"Can you take my nap with me?" she asked. Cloud smiled as he nodded.
"Sure, head into the living room and get ready while I clean up this mess," he told her. She gave him a sleep smile before sliding off the chair and padding into the living room. Cloud stood up, lifting the empty pots and placing them into the bin before rinsing the spoons clear and into the dishwasher. He had managed to convince Tifa into buying one to save her from doing the dishes every night.
The bar was usually very busy at night and by the time she had closed it down, she was falling asleep on her feet. Cloud had worried about her doing the dishes at night while Tifa protested that she didn't want to wake up to a dirty kitchen so they had managed to compromise, Tifa was to get the dishwasher and wash anything that couldn't be placed in the dishwasher.
It had saved her time and allowed her to get more sleep, pleasing Cloud as he knew that his nightmares sometimes woke up the young woman.
Once Cloud had finished putting the spoons into the dishwasher, he headed into the living room to see that Marlene had already gotten her blanket ready. She looked up when she heard someone come into the living room and smiled when she saw Cloud. Cloud smiled back as he climbed onto the couch, lying on his back while Marlene curled up into his side, her stuffed Chocobo was squashed between them.
Cloud reached over and pulled the blanket over the two of them while making sure that his right arm was wrapped securely around Marlene's waist, ensuring that she wouldn't fall off the couch during her sleep. Soon both of them fell to sleep, feeling at peace.
Tifa hummed to herself as she made her way into the house half an hour later, noticing that it was quieter than usual. Looking at her watch told her that it was Marlene's nap time. While Marlene was sleeping, Cloud usually shut himself in their bedroom or his office so he wouldn't disturb the young girl. He had learned first hand just how grumpy Marlene could be when she was woken from her sleep.
Shifting the white plastic shopping bags in her hands, she made her way over to the kitchen only to stop when she heard a shuffling sound coming from the living room. Curious, she made her way through only to stop when she saw the sight in front of her.
Marlene had, somehow, managed to climb up onto Cloud's chest during her sleep, one wing of her chocobo held tightly in her right hand while her left hand was curled around in the white material of Cloud's t-shirt. Cloud's left arm had taken over securing Marlene to his chest while his right arm dangled off the couch. The blanket on the floor had been forgotten.
Smiling to herself, Tifa placed the bags on the ground next to the wall before tip-toeing forward, picking up the blanket and placed it over their bodies before she smoothed back one of Cloud's spikes to see a small contented smile on his face. It had been a while since she saw Cloud sleeping peacefully and it warmed her heart to know that the nightmares were giving him a break for once.
Leaning down, she pressed a soft kiss to Cloud's lips then transferred her lips to Marlene's forehead. Stepping back, she made her way over to the desk and picked up the small camera that she kept there for moments like these. Making sure the flash was off, she took a picture and placed the camera back down and picked up the bags.
With one last look at the sleeping duo, she headed into the hallway and into the kitchen. Tifa smiled as she placed the plastic bag on the counter. Opening the fridge door, she pulled the small red pots from the bag and placed them into the fridge, filling up the two shelves for the strawberry yoghurt loving duo. Just like Cloud's keeping his promise to be her hero, she's keeping her promise to buy him all the Strawberry yoghurt there is.
Cloud and Marlene should be happy when they wake up.
The End
I guess it could be considered as OCC but I always thought that Cloud would be a less emo after the war with Sephiroth only to become broody again when the geostigma arrived, infecting people, and ultimately himself.
For the part about Zack, I thought it was something Cloud would tell Marlene about. She knows about Aerith and I thought it would be nice to sort of complete that part (after all, Zack is the best! And he was a friend of Cloud.)
One more – the pots of yoghurts that I was thinking about in 'Please Get Better' and this story is the small kids' pots. You know the ones where you have the colours to show what flavours – red for strawberry, yellow for banana, orange for peach (I think). It just smooth flavoured yogurts without the bits (I hate the bits) and I thought it suited them for some reason.