As she sat with her feet dipped in the healing waters of the pool, she couldn't help but notice that the man at her side was far too like the man that had raised them.
Well, maybe he was a bit more talkative in general, but she liked that. She missed that.
The newest trait he seemed to mirror was distance. It hurt, but she understood it. She would just have to be patient, even if she was no good at it.
That morning she had breakfast ready and prepared for him when he showed up at the bar. As had become their weekend ritual, they ate together, but this week there wasn't a lot of talking. It tugged at her heartstrings to see him so closed off from her, and yet so vulnerable. But she grinned and bore it like a trooper because it was what he needed.
After their breakfast, they had headed off to 'wander' around, but both of them full-well knew where they would find themselves. It was where they always found themselves.
It was a miracle the old church in Sector Five was still standing. It had most certainly seen better days, and though she hated to think that it would be gone soon, she knew that the next storm that blew through the ruins would knock it to its knees. She frowned at the thought and let her feet continue to splash in the water. It was inevitable. All things, no matter how loved, passed on sometime.
The thought twinged something in her chest, and she chanced a glance over at Denzel. He sat with his arms around his knees, his eyes hooded from view behind that unruly mop of hair. But she knew the far-off look that was waiting there. She had seen it too much in the past few weeks to forget it. It was hollow and it burned into her, making her desperate to fix it. She wanted him to talk, to get it out in the open, but she never pushed him.
Patient persistence. That was perhaps the most important life lesson Tifa had taught her. No matter how badly you wanted to push, you waited. Your family would always come home to you in the end.
She let a sigh escape and tipped her head towards the sky. The sun felt wonderful today, and she wondered if Denzel even realized how lovely it really was. He seemed so far away that she had a hard time guessing what was going on in his mind.
Marlene missed him. Gaia how she missed him.
But she couldn't help but think it was nothing compared to just how deeply Denzel missed Cloud. She knew firsthand that the man's death had left a whole in all of their hearts, but she could see that it left a particularly nasty wound in Denzel's.
Marlene wished that he would talk to her, that he would share his pain and let her shoulder some of the load. There had been nights when she wanted to scream it was so frustrating, but every time Tifa's voice would be there to remind her to be strong. To remind her that Denzel needed her to be strong for him now.
Patience. It always came back to patience.
It had taken some adjustments, but she knew that with a patient and steadfast heart she could not only heal herself, but set Denzel on the road to recovery. She didn't know what to say, didn't know what she could say. She just knew that she had to be there to try, and to pull him up when he let himself get knocked back down.
She felt a bolt of determination strike her, and it brought a smile to her face. If Tifa had been able to wrangle in Cloud, Mr. Introverted and Wounded himself, then she without a doubt knew she could help Denzel.
And she would be damned if anyone tried to stop her.
With earned comfort, Marlene scooted herself closer to Denzel, stopping just shy of brushing up against his arm. She felt his gaze shift to her, but instead of meeting his eyes she pressed even closer. She felt his arm instinctively close around her and let out another contented sigh. No words were needed. It was moments like this that helped her realize just how golden silence could be.
In that little moment the world felt right. The pain of loss was gone. The fear of the unknown was somehow softened. And weakness was strengthened.
Come hell or high water she knew that she would always be there for Denzel. No matter how far he strayed, he would always be able to come back to her. Because greater than any other lesson she had learned in her years with her wardens, it was that the ones you loved always came home.
Always.
Denzel was her home, and she his.
And she had unfailing faith in him. He would always come back to her.
