Get Happy

AN: I own nothing in this story. This is for KCVII so enjoy! Please R&R.

Reno stirred awake as his body decided it was time to get up. The clock beside him read 7:00 AM but it was useless to try and fall back to sleep. When he was up, he was up. So he decided to wake Tifa up. Tickling usually did the trick but as he reached out his arms he was met with empty space.

It was then that he head some noise from the kitchen.

Tifa Lockhart had suplexed monsters twice her size, she had faced down a silver haired bishie with mother issues, and had even saved the world. But the task before her was proving to be more difficult than all those put together.

Tifa couldn't get her daughter to laugh.

"Elly, look at mommy!" Tifa said in her baby talk voice. She then tried all the funny faces she could think of from the classic wide eyed open mouthed look to puffing out her cheeks. The brown eyed babe didn't even crack a smile. The barmaid's shoulders slumped and a few moments later she heard steps coming from behind her.

"Here's my two favorite women in the world," Reno said, wrapping his arms around his wife's waist. Tifa sniffled and Reno nuzzled her neck. "What's wrong?"

"I'm a horrible mother. I can't even get my own daughter to laugh."

"Babe, she's a year old." Tifa huffed at that.

"She'll be a daddy's girl and think I'm her worst enemy when she's older, you'll see," Tifa said softly.

"You know what I think?" Tifa didn't respond. "I think it's mommy that needs to laugh, don't you Elly?" Reno addressed his daughter. The baby giggled a little at her father's voice and Reno moved from behind Tifa, lifting her out of her high chair. "Can you laugh for Mommy Elly?"

Tifa was watching the two of them interact and couldn't keep the smile from her face. Reno had turned out to be a wonderful father and she felt ashamed for ever having doubted him in the first place. So caught up in her thoughts, the fighter took a step and stubbed her toe on one of the chairs.

And as she hopped around to alleviate the pain, Elly started laughing. Tifa turned to look at her and hopped around some more, holding her toe. The child laughed even harder and wiggled around in Reno's arms, trying to imitate her mother's movements. Taking Elly from him, Tifa laughed along with her daughter and sighed.

"Looks like Daddy isn't always wrong, huh Elly?" She moved around a little as she said this and Elly laughed again, chubby hands reaching up to touch Tifa's nose.

"Ma-Mama."

Tifa blinked.

Reno smirked.

"Elly...you just talked!"

"Mama," Elly repeated, squeezing Tifa's nose a little.

"Reno, get the camera!" The Turk dashed off, quickly locating the hand held video camera and returned in the blink of an eye. Tifa moved to the couch, Elly held securely in her lap and as Reno turned on the camera and caught the both of them in it's recording lens, he smiled.

"And here's Elly with her Mommy. Elly spoke her first word today and what was that word?" Tifa pointed to herself and Elly complied.

"Mama!"

"Isn't it wonderful Re?" Tifa asked, looking at the camera.

"It sure is," he replied.

As he captured the moment on the camera, Elly looked at Tifa one more time and opened her mouth again.

"Mama...yo."

"That's my girl," Reno said, his smirk the biggest Tifa had ever seen.

She started laughing then, Reno following shortly after. Elly looked at her parents and wiggled around on her mother's lap, joining her gurgling laughter with theirs.

Tifa had never been happier.