Disclaimer: I do not own FF7~ If I did, there'll be no LTD... Hehe.
Setting it Straight
With timid steps, the small boy approached his father-like figure.
"Cloud?" Denzel's voice held a tone of uncertainty and shyness in it. The blonde shifted his attention from his delivery slips to the boy at the door of his office. A small but genuine smile grazed Cloud's face.
"Hmm? What is it?"
Denzel took a step into Cloud's office before sitting on a small stool that Cloud offered. Cloud could sense the uneasiness that flickered in Denzel's eyes. That made Cloud a tad bit surprised because the boy, who was once a Geostigma victim- was rarely uncertain, especially after he was cured.
"Umm…" Denzel hesitated before rushing his sentence like the wind. " There's a function in my school next week because of the upcoming Parents' Day so we are asked to bring our parents to school on Saturday so Marlene is asking Tifa right now so I wanted to ask you and I know that you're not that old but can you be my parent on that day?" Towards the end of the sentence, Denzel started to relax a bit and gave Cloud a small, shy smile that looked mischievous, although it was not intended to be.
Even with his mako enhanced hearing, Cloud had to playback Denzel's sentence before getting the full meaning. And with that, Cloud gave Denzel a reassuring smile.
"So you want me to go as your parent?"
"Mm hmm." Denzel nodded.
"Well… Fenrir needs some tune-up on Saturday… I may not be able to use it…" Cloud gave a fake reconsidering look and cupped his chin on his left hand, with his left elbow on the table, hiding a smile at the same time. Denzel's uncertain feelings vanished immediately.
"Cloooouuuud…. Tifa already psyched me into washing the dishes and mopping the floor!" Denzel said with a pout. Cloud raised an eyebrow.
"But… since it's Fenrir…. I can help you out on Friday instead….?" It was a statement and a question.
Cloud knew that Denzel was not going to reject the indirect invitation to tinker with Fenrir. First of all, Denzel loved Fenrir because he thought that it was cool, and spending time with his personal hero was a bonus that came with it. And as for right now, Denzel needed Cloud to be his parent on Parents' Day, so Denzel will definitely not decline.
"Good. Then I'll be there, don't worry." Cloud said as he ruffled Denzel's hair, causing the boy to give a small laugh with fake annoyance along with it.
"Thanks Cloud, you're the best." Denzel gave Cloud a small hug before getting ready to leave the room. Once he was near the door frame, he turned and added: "And Cloud, you really are not old." Cloud opened his mouth to respond, but was cut by Denzel.
"For now." With a mischievous grin, Denzel ran out before Cloud could say anything.
XXX
It was weird. Plain weird. Cloud was cut out for battles. Give him a Midgar Zolom or a Nibel Wolf, his opponents would be down in a flash. However, if you gave Cloud a class, it was weird. Plain weird.
Cloud did not expect shrieks of girly-girl sounds to resonate in the classrooms when he entered it. So as soon as he stepped into Denzel's classroom with the boy that he saw as a son, he was taken aback. Did I dress up wrong?
Cloud snapped out of his thoughts when one of the room's occupant - he couldn't identify who - shrieked out loud before a woman came running towards him.
"Cloud Strife! You're Cloud Strife right? Oh my goodness! I'm getting flushes!"
The unidentified woman continued on with her rambling that Cloud found amusing, but also annoying at the same time. As if it wasn't bad enough, all of the parents there were coincidentally women, and one after another joined in the first woman's rambling. Thankfully, there were some of the parents who could keep their heads cool, while those around him claimed that they were accompanying their "brother" or "sister".
All the while at Cloud's side, Denzel could barely keep his laugh at bay.
Cloud, on the other hand stood there, stuck because of the crowd of 'sisters of the students' around him. He was relieved when the teacher decided to start the Parents' Day thingy. He was glad that he managed to convince Tifa to arrive a bit later. At least he didn't have to handle the unwanted attention for long. Giving out a sigh of relief as the small crowd around him slowly faded, Cloud took a seat next to Denzel.
"Good morning to everyone. I'm Mrs. Winters, the class teacher of your children. Thank you very much for taking the trouble to make it for this year's Parents' Day. This will be a small part of introduction within classes before the main celebration at the hall. All right class, I want you to introduce your parents to the others."
The first student who went to the front of the class shyly introduced her mother to the whole class, followed by another, and another.
Halfway through the introductions, Cloud got sleepy and looked around but immediately shot awake and stared at the front wall, safe safe wall….. Why? Because he was mortified by a few winks sent at his direction by the "sisters" of the students. This kept up until Denzel was asked to introduce his parent to the class.
"Well, hi, my name is Denzel Strife. I came with Cloud today. Although Cloud is not really my parent, he adopted me and treats me like his own son. I really look up to him as my very own father figure and hero. Cloud operates "Strife Delivery Service" and lets me help him to organize his delivery slips regularly-"
One of the 'parents' decided to butt in and ask a question. Denzel paused and listened to her while Cloud perked his ears up at what she wanted to ask.
"So you're adopted, right? Is your 'dad' single and available?"
Cloud's jaw dropped at that question. Parents were supposed to ask about parent-related-stuff: not personal relationships stuff. He really was wondering what went through those 'parents' mind. He'd rather not know, though. Denzel was about to answer, but another 'parent' decided to answer on his behalf.
"Of course not! Can't you see how hawt he is?"
"Yeah! And no wife will let him ride that big motorcycle of his 'cuz it'll juz attract more girls."
More and more of them joined in, before the discussion became purely about Cloud's relationship status. Denzel and Cloud tried to butt in and put things straight, but gave up when the buzz got too big. Even the kind teacher who tried to stop the ruckus couldn't do anything.
Just as things were getting more way out of hand than it already was, the door knocked. Well, nobody could hear it but Cloud could because of his enhanced hearing. The door opened to reveal a ruby-eyed woman who had a small bump on her stomach and Cloud sighed in relief when he saw her. The other 'parents' who noticed the opened door quieted down and wondered whose parent the beautiful lady was. After all, all the students had their own parent there.
Tifa's eyes scanned the room before landing on Cloud. She gave him a small smile, which he returned, before she turned towards the teacher.
"Hi, I'm here for Denzel."
Well, that got the occupants attention, seeing how some of the 'parents' suddenly had a sullen look.
Tifa felt the atmosphere around her change and felt a bit of unease, but continued her sentence anyway.
"I need to take him back right now. There's some family matters that we need to attend to. I'm very sorry for the inconvenience." That's got Cloud puzzled. Why didn't he receive a call about any problem? He took out his handphone from his pocket and saw that it was dead. No wonder.
"It's okay." The teacher said with a kind smile and then motioned to Denzel. "Denzel, you can go now."
Denzel nodded and went to his seat to retrieve his backpack.
"Is… Is that your wife?" on of the 'parents' asked.
Cloud simply answered an affirmative with a smirk before standing up and walking towards Tifa's direction. As soon as he answered, there was another buzz in the classroom. Cloud rolled his eyes while Tifa looked on with a puzzled look plastered on her face. Denzel gave a soft chuckle.
"You were the one saying he was single!"
"Shush!" one of the 'parent's' voice went to a whisper, but still could be heard by the Strifes. "Don't you know how strong she is?"
"She's pregnant!"
"Obviously."
"When did he got married? How come we didn't know?"
Well, the wedding that Cloud and Tifa had was just a small ceremony attended by friends and close relatives. They lacked relatives, but their friends really made their day. So, all in all, their marriage was their business, and no one else's. The media tried to dig up as much news as they could about Gaia's heroes from time to time. Apparently, they failed. The cat's out of the bag though.
The discussion once again sparked. As they were walking away from the class, Cloud thought he heard some sobs and wails.
"Well, " Tifa said into Cloud's ear seductively, out of Denzel's range of hearing, and Cloud shivered at how attractive her voice was. "What was that all about, Mr. Strife?"
Cloud gave a shrug before pulling her closer to him by her waist. He whispered in her ear in reply, making her give a small giggle.
"They were indirectly talking about how lucky you are to have me… 'the very handsome swordsman and savior of the world', as they put it." Cloud planted a small kiss on her cheeks. Denzel was hopping in front of them happily with Marlene who joined them outside Denzel's class.
"So what's the 'family matter'? Is it anything serious?"
"Actually, it's nothing much. Barret decided to throw Marlene and Denzel a visit, so he called me when he found Seventh Heaven empty. I just took the chance to help the children escape. Only for today, though." Tifa said. "You know, you should really remember to organize your things, such as charging your handphone, chocobo-head." She added teasingly.
Cloud gave a mischievous grin.
"That's why I have you."
When they got out of the school compound and out of sight, Cloud planted a passionate kiss on Tifa's lips with one hand caressing her swollen tummy and the other supporting her back, earning him the softening of her lips in turn while Marlene looked on with a sigh that reflected her wish to receive such romantic gesture one day. Denzel rolled his eyes, muttering under his breath.
"Kissy again…"
Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed it~ Please review... Appreciate it! =)