._.''start.

"Happy Birthday, Tifa!" exclaimed Marlene and Denzel.

Tifa smiled as she bent down to look at the cake. It was sloppy, yes –but they had made it themselves. It was her favorite flavor –vanilla, with a little bit of rainbow sprinkle on top. She could barely read the 'Happy Birthday Tifa!' on the white frosting of the cake, but she didn't mind.

"This really means a lot to me," Tifa smiled, placing the cake down on the bar counter as she engulfed them in a hug. "Let's stay up late and watch a movie. It's a Friday, isn't it? So that's okay with me."

"Yeah!" Denzel exclaimed, scrambling to the couch with Marlene in tow.

It was already ten o' clock in the night. Her friends had surprised her with a party, all set up by Yuffie. But Tifa hadn't seen Cloud all day. Deliveries, deliveries –didn't he ever stop working? She took a peek outside the bar's door before hearing the kids call her.

"Tifa, come on! The movie's starting!" they exclaimed.

"Just one moment!" Tifa hollered, turning back to look out into the lonely streets.

There were no sounds, and she hoped to at least hear the familiar rumble of Cloud's motorcycle. Tifa shook her head, sighed, and slowly headed back to the couch. The kids comfortably settled by her sides, forgetting that Cloud was even supposed to be home.

"It's my birthday," Tifa whispered. "You could at least remember to be here early and wish me a happy birthday. That's all I want."

Soon, the kids had fallen asleep. Tifa was still looking out towards the door, hoping Cloud was going to burst through any moment with a huge bouquet and wish her a happy birthday. She fell asleep, her neck angled awkwardly as she rested her on the top of couch with the kids.

Morning had come sooner than she thought, and she found herself wrapped up in a light blanket. The kids were gone, and she was back in their room. Cloud had come home, but she was guessing he had been back late –sometime during dawn. She tiptoed downstairs, hearing the glass clinking and water running in the kitchen.

Cloud was finally home, but he had forgotten about her birthday.

It didn't take Cloud long to realize he had forgotten to give Tifa a birthday present, lest wish her a happy birthday. When he had returned around dawn, he had noticed the bar was in bad condition. The seats weren't pulled up on the table tops, there were drinks everywhere, balloons popped, uneaten cake, and glitter littered the floors. A big banner had been put up, and that was when he had smacked himself upside the head, cursing himself. He had forgotten all about her birthday. He was busy, he wasn't going to admit that he had anything else. It was work. Work had made him forget about Tifa's birthday –he had a ton of deliveries to send that day.

But the unusual thing that hit him was that Tifa didn't care. She acted as if it was a normal day, and she never once ignored him. She didn't give him the cold shoulder, or insult him. Nothing. He hadn't really expected that. Guilt clawed out of the tiny hole in his heart and spread like wildfire.

"Hey, Cloud," whispered Denzel, waving him over.

Cloud stared at his adoptive son, bending down to level himself with Denzel.

"Tifa's been seeing another guy lately," Denzel whispered, cupping his hands to Cloud's ears. "She told me to keep it a secret."

Cloud looked at Denzel, awestruck, but quickly hid it. He simply shook it off, telling Denzel it was probably just the mailman he had mistaken for a man she was dating.

"Cloud!" Marlene gestured him over another day. "Tifa says she hates you."

Cloud narrowed his eyebrows. The kids never lied –he didn't know why they were suddenly talking about Tifa in such weird context.

"Cloud, Tifa's seriously thinking about leaving."

"Cloud, Tifa's been baking cookies. You know she never does that unless she's mad!"

"Cloud, Tifa's acutally gone on a date with that guy I told you about!"

"Cloud, Tifa says she never wanted to talk to you for a whole week!"

"Cloud, Tifa doesn't want to sleep in the same bed anymore!"

"Cloud, Cloud, Cloud, Cloud, Cloud!"

He was about to rip his hair from his head. This was frustrating. But he refused to believe the silly things the kids were talking about. Tifa was perfectly fine with everything –she was perfectly normal. She smiled at him, laughed, talked. He couldn't think of any signs of her ignoring him. But what if she was feeling that hatred inside?

He decided he needed to get her a present and wish her a happy birthday. He was growing paranoid with what the kids were whispering to him about. He ran to the nearest store, wrapped her present in a white box with red bows, and wrote her a note. He placed it on their bed, hoping the whispers would stop.

"Cloud," Marlene whispered to him one day. "Tifa says she hates your present."

Cloud felt distressted and useless. Did she really? Sweating nervously, he confronted Tifa by himself.

"Tifa," Cloud said. "Happy birthday… and I'm sorry for forgetting."

"That's alright, Cloud," she smiled. "Payback is sweet, isn't it?"

Cloud lifted an eyebrow, "What?"

"I said, payback is sweet, isn't it?" she smiled cheekily. "Oh, and Cloud? I absolutely love the present."

He wasn't sure how to take it.

But at least he knew she wasn't angry at him anymore, because the whispering had stopped by the next morning.

._.''end.