Author's Note:
Positive reviews and fairly decent visitor traffic has encouraged me to keep going with this story. I hope you guys like it! Like Cloud says, lets mosey!
Special Thanks:
To Ritsu-San for giving me my first review ever and for expertly looking over this chapter before its publication. Anyone looking for a good read best check out her material. You won't be disappointed.
Disclaimer:
The author (Pride_Of_Rukongai) does not, in any way, shape, or form, own any of the characters, elements, or concepts, in part or full, based on FFVII, FFVII:AC, ON THE WAY TO A SMILE, or any other artistic work based on FINAL FANTASY VII, which is the sole property of SQUARE-ENIX, and is borrowed on the basis of the authors wish to express his own creative opinion based on said artistic works. [i.e.: I don't own SQUAT!]
"I Promise"
...Marlene...
"Always care about your flowers and your friends. Otherwise they'll fade, and soon your house will be empty."
-English Proverb
"Denzel?," Marlene said as she picked up his thoroughly jumbled back-pack, placing it on their study desk just behind the counter as she surveyed the collateral damage caused by "Hurricane Denzel".
Disastrous.
"DENZEL!!!," Marlene barked as she went into damage control, picking up various throw pillows and plush-doll souvenirs Cloud had picked up on his travels. Denzel held a near fascination of said souvenirs and often forgot to replace them in their proper places, leaving poor Marlene to pick up after him.
Really, was it so much to ask that he clean up his own mess? Denzel was always leaving her to fix his problems: just look at Cloud's bed for heaven's sake! Sure she jumped on the bed first, but Denzel sooo dared her to, and Marlene was not one to back down from a challenge. Not from Tifa when they had visited Aerith's old church in Sector 5 in search of Cloud. Not from Cloud when he was dilly-dallying at the Forgotten City after being rescued by her Uncle Vincent. And certainly not from Denzel, no matter how risky the challenge. Ever.
Denzel made himself quite useful whenever Cloud or Tifa were around, offering his services for even the most mundane of tasks. It was whenever Marlene was on duty that he chose to slack off a bit, which she admittedly let him do once in a while. But now he crossed the line, leaving her with the remains of Cloud's bed AND a wreck of a bar one only saw after last call, not before happy hour. The nerve of that boy!
Marlene silently cursed Denzel's new found speed. She was having enough trouble keeping up with him before he started training with Cloud on a regular basis. Not to be outdone, Tifa had already started teaching Marlene several battle tested self-defence techniques just in case the need ever arose. However, this did not include full blown combat mechanics or conditioning, and as such, Marlene lacked much of Denzel's heightened physical attributes.
'Stupid Denzel and his stupid training!' cursed Marlene. 'Why doesn't he just take up gardening like me?'
Despite her less than ecstatic mood, Marlene found that she couldn't blame Denzel for being extra excited when they came home from school and found that Fenrir was in the garage much earlier than normal.
...
Ever since Cloud announced that they would be taking their first vacation as a family to Cosmo Canyon, Marlene found it hard to contain her own enthusiasm. Her daddy had told her all about how AVALANCHE was born in Cosmo Canyon and spoke glowingly of Nanaki's birth place. Cloud and Tifa meanwhile had told her and Denzel many a bedtime story about Cosmo Canyon and had always wanted to go visit it one day, just the four of them. Denzel tried to get a sneak-peek of Cosmo Canyon when he learned Cloud would be delivering a massive ball of yarn to Nanaki.
'Just what in Gaia does Red do with all that yarn?,' thought Marlene.
Denzel was bummed out when Cloud had said he couldn't go, despite his rather pathetic attempts at begging. She did find it quite amusing at the time though. She didn't quite buy Denzel's whole "restless warrior" routine, though she didn't entirely doubt it either.
'Obviously he doesn't have a lady's charm,' quipped Marlene.
It turned out that Marlene didn't quite have a lady's charm either, to which she soothed her bruised pride with thoughts that Cloud wouldn't recognize a lady even if she kissed him square on the lips.
'Isn't that right, Tifa?,' Marlene mentally giggled.
Of course Denzel in all his manly density had the audacity to "deduce" that Cloud refused to take her because she wasn't a lady. Marlene's fist deduced that he should shut up, which he did after a well placed upper cut to his solar plexus knocked the wind clean out of him. Cloud did, however, promise to bring back a big bouquet of Cosmo Canyon lilies upon his return, to which Marlene was absolutely overjoyed.
So imagine Marlene's dismay when Denzel began to systematically induce chaos. Taking off like The Highwind on fire, Denzel raced to find his chocobo haired hero. Keeping up to him was like containing the Lifestream itself, anywhere and everywhere one could imagine. Even Denzel's trusty back-pack was not spared his maelstrom's fury as he carelessly flung it over the bar, just missing a bottle of fine wine and a crate of imported beer.
'Sooo not cool,' cringed Marlene.
Marlene swore that the next time she laid hands on him would be at his funeral. Not that she meant it. She loved Denzel dearly, as much as she loved Cloud and Tifa. He was just being one big pain in the butt, as it wasn't long before Seventh Heaven looked like Seventh Hell with the angel Marlene tasked to send it back to whence it came.
...
Once order had been restored, Marlene set her sights to 'KILL'. Denzel was sooo in for it. But their humble home was quiet now. Too quiet.
'The calm after the storm,' surmised Marlene. 'Perfect.'
Marlene scoured the main floor and the basement. Denzel was neither in the kitchen, the cellar, the restrooms, or the lounge. Absolutely no trace of him could be found. Knowing that the only place to go was up, Marlene proceeded to climb the stairs to their living quarters.
Marlene took a peek into the office that Cloud and Tifa shared, doubling as the war room for both Seventh Heaven and Strife Delivery Service. Numerous piles of paper convoluted Cloud's side of the office, making it seem like a mountain range of paper cascaded from his desk to the floor. Tifa's half of the office was organized neatly with the use of several filing cabinets, many filled with several more file folders and boxes, asymmetrical to boot.
'Looks like Tifa's no better with Cloud than I am with Denzel,' Marlene mused to herself.
Moving on, she stepped into Cloud's room, only to be greeted by the sorry excuse for a bed she had helped to create. Marlene's eyes narrowed as she glared like Hades at the wreckage, openly daring it to say something. When she was satisfied that it would not, Marlene headed for the last remaining room, Tifa's room, all the while muttering:
"...stupid Denzel...stupid dare..."
Marlene found herself awed in front of Tifa's bedroom door, the door cracked open just enough for one dense-headed-Cloud-worshipping-nail-bat-swinging-stupid-dare-making-whirling-dirvish-of-a-brother Denzel to squeeze through.
She found it a bit odd Cloud would voluntarily be in there of all places. A sly, knowing grin crept onto Marlene's lips.
'Him...her...alone...in bed,' Marlene mused.
For all of Denzel's logic she still could not see how he couldn't put the pieces together. Even that moron Reno seemed to get it! Although, his penchant for gossip unnerved Marlene, as he is the only living being on Gaia that seems to be able to give Yuffie a run for her money in that department.
"I wonder if all men are as dense as the ones I live with?," questioned Marlene to no one in particular.
Giving in to her curiosity, Marlene pressed her balled up fists together and cracked her knuckles, this beingher new habit. She made a point of performing said action whenever she and Denzel embarked on one of their "missions", usually of the cookie sneaking variety. Slowly, she crept inside.
Marlene made sure to look the room once over to make sure she knew where all the potential hazards lay, of which there were few. Namely Cloud's First Tsurugi and Tifa's leather gauntlets. Marlene mentally shuddered at the possible consequences of being caught inside Tifa's sanctuary without her permission. Everything from receiving a paint-peeling lecture from Tifa to being stared into oblivion by a certain chocobo-haired-mako-eyed-psuedo-masochist-who-was-really-one-big-softie Cloud.
It's a good thing Marlene remembered Aunt Yuffie's "Nine Steps to Bad-Ass Ninjaness":
1) Don't get caught. Ever.
2) Deny any and all accusations, false or otherwise.
3) If you've got it, flaunt it. There was nothing easier than taking materia from a hormonal pre-teen boy.
4) If possible, use a distraction to your advantage. Dangling materia from the end of a fishing pole several stories above your target was the preferred method of choice.
5) Keep a camera handy at all times. Blackmail is the ultimate ninja weapon of mass extortion.
6) If captured, flail and make as much high-pitched noise as humanly possible, especially if your captors were chain-smoking-tea-drinking-foul-mouthed-sexist-airship-pilots. This is apparently poisonous to their health.
7) The use of materia in battle can really pull you out of a bind. Ironically, pursuit of said materia is what usually gets you into that bind.
8) Never abort a mission. The reason being that it was highly possible an ungodly amount of materia could be at stake.
9) Don't get caught. Ever. That, and Cid Highwind is an ass.
'Is he now?,' thought Marlene. 'Uncle Cid is always so nice to me.'
However daunting the situation seemed to Marlene, she was determined to give that boy a piece - scratch that - a whole continent of her mind. She'd picked up after Denzel long enough and her vengeance would not be denied, come hell or Highwind.
"Well I can't abort the mission now," Marlene steeled herself.
Stealthily, Marlene "ninja'ed" her way inside Tifa's bedroom. Still not seeing any semblance of a flower bouquet, Marlene's big heart sank somewhat.
'Cloud didn't forget, he always keeps his promises...right?,' Marlene pondered.
She instead settled for the sight of Denzel, stuck in a trance at the side of Tifa's bed. Locking onto her target, Marlene carefully crept her way to Denzel's side noticing Cloud and Tifa's footwear at the foot of the bed along the way. Finally, Marlene had made it to Denzel's side, ready to unleash her fury when she noticed that Denzel appeared to be lost in thought whilst staring at something in front of him. Deciding to see what was so entrancing, Marlene turned to follow his gaze.
Lo and behold, there in Tifa's bed lay two of the planet's greatest heroes. Cloud, the stoic and introspective lone wolf who often showed little to no emotion, next to Tifa, the firm but gentle maiden who insisted on caring for everyone's needs but her own, locked in a warm embrace beneath the blankets. Check that, mostly beneath the blankets.
'I wonder if Cloud gets cold wearing just that sweater,' thought Marlene only now noticing the cool draft circulating in Tifa's bedroom. 'It doesn't even have any sleeves!'
Marlene supposed hugging was the next best way for Cloud to keep warm. She couldn't really fault Tifa for needing most of the blanket since she herself often felt the need for more heat in addition to her own. Feeling the tug of her heartstrings, Marlene held onto the tender scene a moment longer ... just before she snapped Denzel out of his reverie with a sharp jab of her pointer finger into his side.
"OWW!" Denzel yelped as Marlene quickly covered his mouth with hand to stifle his painful outburst.
Tifa let out a deep yawn and stretched out as far as Cloud's embrace allowed her. Marlene and Denzel both froze with bated breath, muscles tensed and pupils dilated, ready to bolt from the room at any given second. They both, however, relaxed as Tifa settled comfortably underneath Cloud's chin.
"What was that for?!" Denzel seethed as silently as possible.
"For making me pick up after you again!" retorted Marlene.
"You nearly got us killed!" Denzel shot back, the very real prospect of seeing Final Heaven up close and personal fresh in his mind's eye.
"Wouldn't have happened if you weren't in here," replied Marlene coolly.
"We'll see who they believe was sneaking around in Tifa's bedroom while they were sleeping," jeered Denzel, a small smirk plastered to his face.
Marlene's eyes narrowed dangerously. She wouldn't be going down this road again, she would be sure of that. Besides, Cloud's bed was sooo totally Denzel's fault! Marlene pondered whether using Meteodrive was worth the grounding that would follow, not to mention her looking after Denzel for close to a month. Just then, the most sinister ploy was born in her brilliant head which was evident from the amused smile creeping up on her lips.
"Even if they believe it was I in here instead of YOU," Marlene began, thrusting her pointer finger into Denzel's chest to stress her innocence. "I doubt it would be worse than if Cloud were to discover Nail-Bat reduced to a pile of wood chippings," she continued. "Especially since it was entrusted to you."
"Yeah well you can just ..." Denzel froze in mid-sentence, not bothering to close his now slacked jaw as his mind began processing the implications of Marlene's last statement.
Denzel's eyes widened. 'You wouldn't!' they screamed.
Marlene simply reached into her dress pocket and pulled out a relatively fresh Polaroid picture and handed it to Denzel. She then proceeded to cross her arms in front of her, raise her chin up and cocked an eyebrow.
'Try me,' she boasted.
In Denzel's hand was a photo of a pile of wood chippings with shreds of what appeared to be faded white sports tape, with a few broken, rusty nails littering the floor adjacent to the pile. After examining the photo for what seemed like several minutes, Denzel handed it back to Marlene, his face betraying no emotion whatsoever.
'Wow, even Cloud would be proud,' thought Marlene taking back the photo.
Slowly, Denzel made for the door, careful not to wake Cloud or Tifa. Once he made it to the hallway, the steady pace of his footsteps grew louder and louder until Denzel broke out into a full blown sprint furiously racing down the stairs towards the basement, where the wood chipper that was used to destroy wine crates and such was stored. It would only be a matter of time, Marlene figured, before Denzel realized the photo was merely a fabrication of Nail-Bat's unceremonious demise, the real deal tucked away securely beneath her bed.
'Looks like Denzel should've paid more attention to the "Nine Steps",' grinned Marlene, her appetite for vengeance satiated for now.
Turning her attention to her next objective, Marlene began searching for the famed Cosmo Canyon lilies Cloud had promised her. Scanning the room, Marlene found nothing out of the ordinary. That is, until her eyes settled on a vase filled with the most beautiful lilies she had ever seen, sitting on the window sill, where the sun's rays were slowly filtering in. They were absolutely out of this world! Each lily a different colour from the rest, every colour in the cosmos springing to life right before her eyes.
"They must've been sent from heaven!" exclaimed Marlene, awestruck at the lilies vibrant display. On the vase was an inscription near the base. It read:
'Hope I got it right this time.'
Successfully completing her mission, Marlene grabbed the vase and, once secure in her arms, strode over to Tifa's bed to take one last look at the resting childhood sweethearts. Everything just looked so perfect. Cloud might as well have changed his last name to nine, because it didn't look like Tifa was getting off anytime soon.
Marlene supposed she should wake Tifa up to open the bar but decided against that. It was only after Marlene had reflected upon her latest duel with Denzel that she realized how much it really took to look after a family. Their family.
She was amazed Tifa hadn't blown a fuse and just punched-out the entire planet. After keeping AVALANCHE together, putting your life-long best friend back together, saving the world twice, working the bar from sunset to sunrise each and every day, and still managing to raise two little hell-raisers, Tifa still had the patience of a saint. And the heart to match. It's just what she did: take care of everyone. Even if she did neglect herself in the process. It was only fit that it was her needs being met right now in the form of one Cloud Strife.
"Good for you Tifa," cheered Marlene.
While admiring her idol, Marlene couldn't help but feel sorry about Cloud's bed, even if its demise helped facilitate this happy moment. Taking a page out of Tifa's playbook, Marlene set down her prized Cosmo Canyon lilies on Tifa's dresser and quickly skimmed through Clouds records, if you could call them that. Coming across a transaction record for a bed Cloud placed in Kalm, Marlene sighed in slight disappointment.
"Looks like I still owe you one don't I Cloud?" whispered Marlene, who was merely answered with a sleepy groan.
Silently, Marlene clasped her hands together, closed her eyes, bowed her head, and began to pray to someone she loved and missed dearly.
She prayed that one day, she would grow up to be strong so that she could stand up against oppression and injustice.
She prayed that one day, she would have the biggest flower garden in the city of Edge and it would brighten up everyone's day.
She prayed that one day, all the orphans would have someone to come home to, just like she had Cloud and Tifa and Denzel.
She prayed that one day, the world would be happy again and Denzel wouldn't have to train so much.
She prayed that one day, she would be all Tifa had hoped she would be, the apple of her eye.
'Says who?' asked a familiar voice, a joyful echo that played on Marlene's ears as a warm breeze gently crept in through a slightly open window.
Opening her eyes to see who the voice belonged to, Marlene only caught the glimpse of a single drop of dew trailing down the window.
With a sudden lightness in her shoulders, Marlene soaked in the moment for a while longer. Happy that her surrogate mother was finally getting her due, Marlene felt that it was about time Tifa reeled Cloud in, even if she had to throw him back once his new bed arrived. Revelling in the calm and silent joy that was music to her ears, Marlene softly stared at her sleeping idol. Everything a perfect woman should be. Everything a woman would want to be, gently wrapped in heaven's arms.
Filled with a renewed sense of purpose, Marlene held her hands behind her back and gently swayed to and fro, lighting the room with her bright infectious smile.
"One day Tifa ..." vowed Marlene.
"...I'm gonna be just like you..."
Like the all-knowing mother that she was, Tifa let her warm smile grace her beautiful face. Strong, gentle, and true. And as Marlene made for the stairs to tend the bar as she did back in their AVALANCHE days, Tifa's smile lingered long after Marlene had bid them adieu.
"...I Promise."