I do not own "Final Fantasy VII" or any of the characters in this story

"Happy Thanksgiving:FF7 Style"

Cloud smiled as he awoke to the yummy smell. He rubbed his hands together and chuckled deviously. "Finally, the day has come when I will beat Zack to the punch!" He rolled over in bed to find that his wife, Tifa, had already gotten up. Obviously, she was the one cooking the Thanksgiving Day meal this year. Every year, the friends took turns cooking. First, it was Aeris and Zack. Then it was Cid and Sherra. After that, it was Yuffie and Vincent. Sephiroth would never cook, but he always came for the food.

And each and every time, it was always ZACK who got to cut the turkey! Well, not this year!

Cloud sprang up from bed and ran over to his closet, where he his brand new turkey cutting buster sword. He bought it the day before. This thing was a real beauty: shiny silver color, smooth handle, so clean that it looked like a mirror you could see your sparkling reflection in.

This precious beauty would be the blade that would be the first to cut the sumptuous bird this year!

"Cloud, are you awake yet?" Tifa called from downstairs.

Cloud sheathed his new sword at his back. "Coming!" he called back as he marched down the stairs.

Tifa saw him with his sword on his back, just as he had it every year. She knew what this meant. "You're not seriously going to fight over the turkey cutting again, are you?"

Cloud smiled brightly. "Come on Tifa. It's almost a tradition!"

She narrowed her eyes at him. "May I remind you what happened last year?"

He chuckled nervously. "Uh…"

"The minute Zack whipped out his own buster sword, you just had to jump up from the table and get yours out, right?"

"Well--"

"--And in the process of fighting over the cutting, you accidentally cut the kitchen table in half, right?"

"Actually--"

"--And I had to be the one to pay for a new one, right!?"

Cloud held up his hands in defense. "Come on Tifa. It's Thanksgiving! And this is my way of saying thank you for my brand new turkey sword!" He unsheathed it to show her. She was not impressed.

"Well… Alright. But just behave a little better than you did last year, okay?"

"Okay, I promise!"

oOo

That evening as everyone arrived, Tifa and Cloud greeted each of them happily. When Sephiroth came, he was wearing his usual apathetic look on his face.

Cloud held out his hand to shake. "Hi Sephiroth! Happy Thanksgiving!"

Sephiroth just stared at his hand, his face not changing. "That's General Sephiroth to you, cadet."

Cloud cowered like a little girl. "Uh… Yes, sir… General Sephiroth."

Sephiroth nodded before walking into the house and taking his place at the supper table.

Cloud huffed. "Why does he always do that? Can't he just lighten up for once?"

"Hey, Cloud!" Zack greeted as he entered the house with Aeris, who quickly headed into the kitchen to help Tifa with the food.

Cloud shook hands with Zack, grinning deviously to himself in his mind. "He has no idea what I've got up my sleeve!"

Zack noticed the sword on Cloud's back. "Cloud, is that a new sword?"

Cloud nodded. "Yep! It's the sword that will be the first to cut the turkey!"

Zack placed his hands on his hips and cocked his head. "Oh, really? You think so?"

Everyone at the table just shook their heads. "Here we go again," Cid whispered to Shera.

Yuffie leaned in closer to Vincent and asked, "Why must they do this every year?"

Vincent shrugged. "To them, it's a test of manliness. The one who carves the bird is normally the head of the group."

Yuffie shrugged. "That's stupid."

Sephiroth just sat there, not saying a word, waiting for the turkey to be placed on the table. He really didn't care who cut the turkey, he just wanted to EAT it.

Finally, Cloud and Zack took their places at the table. Within a few minutes, Tifa and Aeris came out, carrying the large turkey on a silver platter. They sat it in the middle of the table. It was all cooked and steamy, surrounded by steamy vegetables. Everyone's mouth started watering.

Zak stood up and cleared his throat. "First of all, thank you so much Tifa for making such a beautiful meal." He quickly reached for his buster sword. "And now, if I may have the honor--"

"--HOLD IT!" Cloud jumped up and whipped out his new sword. "This yeah, it's gonna be me!"

Zack made a stern face and took up his usual fighting stance. "Forget it Cloud."

"Back off Zack!"

"This one is mine!"

"Not this time!"

Everyone jumped up from the table and rushed to find a place for refuge. Obviously, this was about get ugly!

"Just cut it out, you two!" Tifa exclaimed.

They both looked at her. "I'M TRYING TO CUT IT! BUT HE'S IN THE WAY!" they both shouted at once.

Cloud gritted his teeth and raised his sword above his head and began to… glow

Tifa's eyes bugged out. "NO CLOUD! PLEASE DON'T DO THE OMNISLASH ON MY TABLE!"

Zack raised his own sword, also glowing and ready for Omnislash.

Aeris covered her eyes. "I can't watch!"

They both hollered as they began to glow, but just as they were about to throw their swords down onto the cooked bird… someone else beat them to the punch.

Instantly, they both calmed down and stopped glowing, staring at the freshly carved turkey… which had been cut by the long and slender Masamune.

Sephiroth cut his own piece and served himself. He then stood up and raised his glass. "Happy Thanksgiving, everyone."

The End

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thanks so much to Kyotasumi, who helped come up with this idea. Have a great Thanksgiving everyone!