"He is so!"

"So not!"

"Is too!"

"Is not!"

"Okay, you two, break it up," Tifa Lockhart expertly separated Marlene and Denzel from each other before they came to blows.

"She started it!"

"Did not!"

Did too!"

"Did not!"

"Guys?" The two children's faces immediately fell, and they looked, shamefacedly, at Tifa, the woman who had served as their surrogate mother the past two years.

Tifa adopted a stern look, while she bubbled with laughter inside as she looked at the identical hangdog expressions of the kids. "What were you two fighting about?" When both remained silent, she turned to the little girl. "Marlene?" she prompted. She knew she had a bigger chance of getting her to talk than the little boy.

"Well, we were talking about what kind of cloud Cloud is."

Tifa couldn't help but chuckle. "What?"

"Well, we learned about clouds in school today, and we figured that we could match Cloud with a specific kind of Cloud," Marlene said matter-of-factly. "I said he's a Cirrus!"

"I'm a what?" Cloud asked, entering the children's room. He had obviously just come from his deliveries, if the smell of motor oil and the streak of grease on his cheek were any indication.

"I said you're a Cirrus cloud, Cloud!" Now that she started talking, Marlene seemed eager to explain their talk.

"And what is a Cirrus cloud, Marlene?" Tifa asked the little girl, her lips twitching.

"Well, they're clouds that kinda look like feathers! And didn't you say Cloud looks like a chocobo, Tifa? So Cloud's a Cirrus because chocobos have feathers!"

Tifa burst out laughing at the look Cloud gave her. "Well, it is true," she said defensively, even as she chortled. "I did say that you look like a chocobo."

"But he's not!" Denzel burst out.

"And what cloud do you think Cloud is, Denzel?" Tifa asked, ignoring the look Cloud threw at her.

"He's a Nimbus!" Denzel proudly announced.

"I think I'm going to regret asking this, but why am I a nimbus, Den?" Cloud asked.

"Because you're lumpy?"

"Or you're brooding all the time?"

Cloud gave Yuffie and Barret sour looks. "Who told you to come in, anyway?" He muttered.

"The door was open," Yuffie said breezily. "And since we're old friends," and here she conveniently ignored Cloud's snort, "We figured we could just come in."

"So what's this about Cloud being a cloud, poppet?" Barret asked, plopping down on Marlene's bed and welcoming the squealing girl on his lap.

"Well, Denzie and I learned all about clouds today in school, and we were thinking of what kind Cloud is."

"I still say he's a Nimbus," Denzel said stubbornly.

"Because he's emo?" Yuffie asked dryly, and was rewarded by a pillow thrown at her by Cloud.

"Well, he does wear black all the time, and when he rides Fenrir, it's kind of like the thunder, right?"

"Uh, huh," Tifa answered, nodding encouragingly at the little boy. He still had a tendency to shy away from speaking in front of people, so she tried to encourage him whenever he would take the chance to speak out.

"Well, I think he's a Cumulus!" Yuffie enthused.

"Now I definitely know I'm going to regret this," Cloud sighed, "but why am I a Cumulus, Yuff?"

"Because you're lumpy!" Only her quick ninja reflexes prevented her from being beaned by another pillow.

"I'm not lumpy, am I, Tifa?" Cloud whispered worriedly to Tifa, who shook her head and whispered "no" soothingly. Catching the exchange, Barret gave an evil smile, which was immediately caught by the other occupants of the room.

"Well, whatever kind of cloud Spiky is, we do know what makes him one," Barret announced, ignoring the warning look Tifa was giving him.

"And what's that?" Cloud asked wearily, hiding his face in one hand.

"He's dense!" Surprisingly, even Denzel and Marlene joined the chorus, and the four of them ran out of the room laughing, with Denzel closing the door behind him.

Silence reigned after the departure of the four. Tifa, her cheeks blazing, sat on one bed, not knowing what to say after that. Those two! They set us up!

"Uh, Tifa?"

"Why did they call me dense?"

xxx

Poor, poor Cloud. He's really as dense as a cloud.

Anyway, hope you liked it.:D Let me know what you think! I'm thinking about whether to leave this as a one-shot, or make this into a series of one-shots to show how oblivious Cloudy is.

Again, R&R, please! Thanks for reading!