Only for a Little While
The next of my 'Strife Family' compilation (if I'm allowed to call it that lol). I hope you like it!
I do not own Final Fantasy or anything related to it, it belongs to Square Enix
"No! Why do you have to go!" Marlene demanded with tears rolling down her already reddened cheeks. She had her arms locked around Cloud's neck.
"It's for work, honey. I won't be gone that long. It's only a little over a week. Nine days." Cloud said as soothing to her as he could.
"No! Don't go. I'm scared." Marlene sobbed in her meek and vulnerable voice. Cloud held her on his lap. He wasn't sure but he thought the last time he had her on his lap like this in such a vulnerable state was when she was quite small.
"What are you scared of?" Cloud asked her softly.
"I'm scared you won't come back! What if you don't come back? Then me and Denzel and Tifa will be all alone forever!" Marlene cried harder. Cloud closed his eyes feeling a lump in his throat. Marlene couldn't help it. She already had a history of men coming in and out of her life and she was a little more sensitive than usual right now. Cloud leaving Midgar for nine days on business was getting to her and right now, she just couldn't help but wear her heart on her sleeve.
"Marlene. What makes you think I won't come back to you and Denzel and Tifa?" he asked her trying to help her through this the best he could.
"Because…you're my dad and my dad's always leave me." Marlene admitted through teary, glassy eyes. She was right about one thing: Dyne had left her, Barret had left her and even Cloud had left her…once. Cloud was baffled by her overly tender state but he was pouring every ounce of energy he had into not questioning why she was reacting the way she was over a business trip. Cloud took Marlene's sheet of her bed in his hand and wiped her tears. Marlene moved her hands and was holding on to her lower abdomen like she was in pain.
"Listen to me, okay? Honey, I swear on my life I will never, ever leave you." Cloud promised her as he wiped her tears again.
"But what if you change your mind?" Marlene wailed at him as she squeezed her hands tighter around her.
"Not gonna change my mind, honey. Come here. It's gonna be alright. Sssshhh…everything's gonna be okay." Cloud promised her putting his arms around her.
In the bedroom, Tifa was packing Cloud's suitcase because she was already well aware of the situation in Marlene's room. "Tifa? Is Marlene gonna be okay?" Denzel asked sitting down on the bed. She could sense Denzel's genuine concern for Marlene.
"She's going to be fine, sweetie. Don't worry. She's just going through a tough time right now.
"But why is she so sad? She's not normally like that." Denzel said still worried.
"I know she's not but…sometimes…we…cry and get upset and…it passes. She'll be fine in a couple days." Tifa promised Denzel.
"If you say so. Are we going to get to see Cloud's plane leave today?" Denzel asked.
"I'd say we will." Tifa said. Just then the phone rang.
"I'll get it." Denzel said hopping off the bed. Tifa opened a drawer and threw some things on the bed behind her. Cloud returned to their room, leaving Marlene by herself for a little bit. He sighed.
"I can't stand to see her like this. Tifa she's so upset. It's like she's…she's so sad, Tifa. She's convinced I'm not gonna come back or something. It's just a trip! I mean what the…why!" Cloud searched Tifa for answers.
"She can't help it. She doesn't mean it. Deep down she knows this is just a business trip." Tifa said turning around to put the final things into Cloud's suitcase.
"Then why is she breaking down over this and Denzel is fine?" Cloud demanded.
"Because Cloud! Her body is changing! This is her second period and she's just really sensitive because her hormones are raging like a freight train. Give her two days, she'll be back to herself again." Tifa said spelling it all out in black and white for him.
"Oh my god! That's what that is!" Cloud asked rather frustrated with himself. He shook his head. "Is she really that…out of balance?" he questioned. Tifa stopped dead in her tracks.
"Yes, yes she is, Cloud. That stuff isn't fake. She's puffed up like a beach ball and because of that, physically, she feels uncomfortable. I put a heating pad on her last night to help ease the cramps, she's headachy and that's just all the physical stuff. That's not even beginning to touch on all the chemicals that are out of whack with her." Tifa said resuming the packing.
"So, then why don't you go through what's she's going through?" Cloud asked.
"I've been on birth control for nearly a year now. Birth control fixes all that. Which one of these do you want?" Tifa said holding up two different collared shirts.
"The gray one. So why not put her on it?" Oooooh wrong question, Cloud. Tifa put his shirt in his suitcase and stared at him more shocked than she ever had before.
"What the hell are you saying, Cloud! She's eleven! Pumpin' her full of estradril isn't the answer! A couple pain relievers and a heating pad will work for now. If it persists for the whole year, then yes…yes…it's something to consider. But god, it's her second time. It may get better." Tifa shook her head wondering how the hell he could be that dense. Tifa didn't want to be irritated with him though, after all he was leaving and she sure as hell wasn't going to let Cloud get on a plane with her being pissed at him. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry it's just that…you…you don't understand and that's okay. I think I'm just…a little sensitive about what she's going through. This is the first obvious proof that…she's growing up." Tifa said sitting on the bed beside Cloud. He put an arm around her.
"It's okay. I understand what you mean. I really do because…let's face it…Denzel isn't going to be far behind her and my god how I dread that. Believe me, if Zack were here…I swear I would make him explain everything to Denzel that I…will have to rehearse with you at least three dozen times and then I'll still mess it up when I do it for real." Cloud confessed.
"Thank god you never had to explain where babies came from. You would not be good at that." Tifa said putting her head on his shoulder.
"You're right...I would have given that one to Zack too." Cloud said.
"Come on, let's get finished here. We need to get to the airport. You want to eat on the plane or do you want to stop and get something on the way or do you want to eat something here?" Tifa questioned as she threw a few more things in his suitcase.
"I'll just get something on the plane." Cloud said.
So this was it. Cloud was leaving on business related to the delivery service. The goal of the trip was to get another delivery service near Kalm to start running air deliveries to Midgar using Cloud's business as the primary carrier of those packages once they were pulled of the cargo planes in Midgar. If this was success, it would mean the first expansion of Strife Delivery Service and an eventual buyout of the service in Kalm. This could potentially be a pivotal point in the delivery business. They had all four talked about the trip three weeks prior and so Marlene knew in her heart it was happening and that it truly wasn't a big deal but right now, biology was getting the best of her.
"I'm sorry I haven't been much help packing. Thanks for picking everything out and all." Cloud told Tifa as she zipped his suitcase.
"It's alright, you've had Marlene to deal with. She's needed you this morning. I just hope I didn't pack too many short sleeves." Tifa said doubting her own packing skills. It had been a pleasant April thus far in Midgar. The springtime air coming through the apartment felt so wonderful, even though it wreaked of exhaust and other city fumes sometimes. Tifa only hoped that Kalm would be this pleasant this time of year.
"You have plenty of cash, right?" Cloud questioned her.
"I do. The real question here is, do you?" Tifa asked moving his suitcase to the floor and sitting beside him once more. Cloud examined his wallet.
"Yeah…350…that should be plenty. I'll find an ATM if I need more. I can't imagine spending 350 gil in cash in nine days though." Cloud said. "So, have you heard from Barret cause he hasn't called my cell and we know he hasn't called here. Is he actually gonna go through with this?" Tifa sighed.
"I haven't heard either. I hope to god he doesn't back out. Marlene is sensitive enough already and if he backs out of seeing her…I might kill him just a little. I will not stand for him making another empty promise to her. Frankly, I'm nervous about the whole thing. You know how much I love Barret and you know that we would never, ever keep him from seeing Marlene. And this was her choice but I'm just…so nervous and I don't know why. God Cloud, what if he breaks her little heart?" Tifa asked him.
"Hey, he may be a hell of a lot bigger than me but I swear Tifa, if he breaks her heart I'll break his. I don't care that I've known him for so long; I just won't stand for it. You call me immediately if him coming to see her doesn't happen. I'm serious. If he doesn't stop in, you call me." Cloud said. Tifa shook her head.
"I will." Tifa said. There was silence between them for a moment.
"What if he wants her back? You know…like…for good?" Cloud asked genuinely concerned.
"That can't happen. He signed over full custody of her to us when we got guardianship of both her and Denzel. Furthermore, we adopted her. Even if he wanted her back…he can't have her back." Tifa laughed at herself, but it was a disgusted laugh. "Listen to me…talking about our little girl like she's a…piece of furniture that you can't return after you've had it sixty days. My point is…yes Barret was once her father but Cloud you and I are her parents…she loves us, she knows that we love her, and she's just…Barret wants to see her and it's so wonderful that she's letting him into her life." Tifa said. Cloud shook his head.
"I know. She's my daughter…not his. He had his chance. The only difference is that he blew it and I almost did." Cloud said looking at Tifa. She didn't say anything; she just took him in her arms. Maybe leaving for nine days was harder on Cloud than he had initially thought it would be. "So, uh…what are you all gonna do while I'm gone." Cloud asked letting go of Tifa and getting up to take the suitcase into the front room.
"Well, Yuffie is going to meet us for dinner somewhere tonight. I'm going to help Denzel with his science fair project this week. Marlene and I have that mixed martial arts class we're taking. Of course there's the thing with Barret if it happens. I'm sure we'll stay busy doing some other things too. I'll take Denzel out on his bike and see how he does." Tifa said referring to the motorcycle that she and Cloud had surprisingly got for Denzel for his birthday back in March. In Midgar, it was okay for a minor to be on a motorcycle as long as a license holder was on the same bike. Denzel had never been so surprised in his whole life. He cried tears of happiness over that bike for a good fifteen minutes or more. Cloud enjoyed fixing it up for him at one of the garages in town. It had been terribly difficult to keep it a secret from Denzel for nearly three months.
"Don't let him lock up those brakes and make sure he leans in to those turns." Cloud cautioned Tifa. She smiled and followed him into the front room.
"I will. Oh here, this is just in case you're sitting toward the back of the plane." Tifa said handing Cloud some individually wrapped anti-histamine pills. It was the best sleep aid she could think of that he could take on the plane without the risk of it being confiscated. She didn't want him getting sick thirty minutes into the flight.
"Thanks. I'll take this stuff to the car. We need to go soon." Cloud said slinging on bag on his shoulder and pulling the suitcase behind him.
"Yeah, we do. I'll go check on Marlene and tell Denzel to get his shoes on." Tifa said as he slipped out the door and down the stairs. "Hey honey, we have to go soon, get your shoes on okay?" she told Denzel peering her head around the doorframe.
"Okay." Denzel said putting his schoolwork aside and reaching for his shoes. Tifa knocked on Marlene's closed door and a weak voice told her to come inside.
"Hey. It's time to go, sweetie." Tifa said sitting on the bed and putting her arms around Marlene.
"Okay." She answered Tifa, resting her head on Tifa's shoulder.
"You okay?" Tifa asked hugging Marlene against her. Marlene shook her head yes against Tifa.
"It hurts." Marlene said pitifully. Tifa hugged her tighter.
"I know it does, honey. I'll make it better, I promise." Tifa whispered to her rubbing Marlene's back. If Tifa promised her daughter she would make it better…she most certainly would.