"Hey kiddo!" Yuffie said as Marlene threw both arms around her despite how full Yuffie's hands were.
"Guess what! I get to go to the movies tonight! How do I look? I get to leave really soon!" Marlene chattered on.
"You look pretty, honey." Yuffie said running her fingers of her free hand through Marlene's curly ponytail.
"Aunt Yuffie's here!' Denzel said excitedly.
"Hey, did you and Marlene drive each other crazy today?" she asked Denzel knowing that Cloud and Tifa had been at work while these two ran the house alone today.
"We never do that!" Denzel said laughing at Yuffie.
"Riiiight. No, you two would never do such a thing. Here, put this in the oven. Bake it at 350 until it bubbles." Yuffie said handing a pan of something cheesy to Cloud.
"What is it?" Cloud asked.
"I don't know! It has cheese and chicken and tomato sauce and some other crap." Yuffie said putting a pan of rolls, her purse and a baggie full of poker chips down on the counter top. "They've treated the roads out there tonight, they are much better than when Jun went to work this morning." Yuffie explained.
"Hey, Yuffie, Jun come in." Tifa said appearing from the hallway.
"You look pretty, do you always look hot after you get home from work?" Yuffie asked running her fingers over Tifa's fluttery gray sweater tunic.
"Only for you." Tifa said to her. The phone rang and Marlene answered it quickly knowing that it just had to be her friend Stella and her mom downstairs to pick her up. She wasn't on the phone long.
"That was Stella! They are downstairs! Bye!" Marlene said hanging up the phone and quickly grabbing her coat.
"Wait! Wait! Wait! Hold on, come here!" Cloud insisted grabbing Marlene before she could get to the door. "I love you. You call any time if you want to come home. Have fun and be careful, okay?" Cloud said to Marlene hugging her against him.
"I will! I love you too!" Marlene said letting go of him.
"Do you have your gloves?" Cloud asked with his head out the door as she scurried down the stairs.
"Yes!" Marlene yelled back.
"Keep your coat zipped and…" Tifa grabbed Cloud by the back of his shirt and pulled him back inside the apartment. "Get in here. She's going to be fine." Tifa kissed him and proceeded to check on the thing Yuffie made Cloud put in the oven. It was unusual for her to kiss him in front of the likes of company. It was different if it was just Denzel or Marlene…but never in front of company. It sent a message…but maybe the message wasn't in her kiss…it was in her eyes. The message would be much clearer later…after everyone had left.
"Denzel do you want to eat what Aunt Yuffie brought or do you want me to make you something else?" Tifa asked.
"I'll eat what Aunt Yuffie brought." Denzel said sitting at the kitchen counter waiting for the dish to bake. Jun came over and put his hands on Denzel's shoulders, squeezing him. That always made Denzel laugh. Vincent was next to arrive.
"My god it's cold out there." Vincent said wiping his shoes on the mat in front of the door. "I have to admit, I didn't make any of this food I brought tonight. Charlotte made the dip, she made these little cocktail sausage things, and this wrap thing. She said just to cut it in to pieces.
"And why didn't she come with you tonight?" Yuffie demanded.
"She couldn't find a sitter for her son on a night like tonight." Vincent said sitting the covered plates down.
"You mean, I send my daughter out into a potential girls gone wild situation and your girlfriend can't find a sitter for a seven-year-old?" Cloud asked. Tifa shoved a glass of wine in his hand. Long ago Cloud and Tifa had made a pact to never drink in front of the kids…but they quickly broke it when they realized how archaic it seemed. It was much healthier to show your children that you could drink in moderation.
"Man, what are you talking about?" Vincent asked.
"Oh Cloud's freaking out because Marlene and her friend are going to the chaperoned movies with two boys tonight. It's not like they are going to see something R rated, Cloud!" Yuffie explained.
"Ooooh, okay. Well, I can understand that." Vincent said seriously. Of course, Vincent said everything seriously. Tifa and Yuffie took the aluminum foil off everything Vincent had brought. Yuffie searched a cabinet for a bag of chips for the dip that Vincent brought.
"So are we playing in front of the couch on that table?" Yuffie asked picking up one of the full plates.
"Yeah, take it over there." Cloud said. Cid was the last to arrive, pies in hand as requested.
"Hey guys, sorry I'm running late. I had to wait on one of the pies. It's okay though they gave it to me free because I had to wait. Chocolate cream and peanut butter supreme." Cid announced.
"Hi Cid, we're glad you made it. Put the pies in the fridge." Tifa said pouring herself a glass of wine.
"Hey, my chicken thing is done! Cloud you were supposed to be watching that!" Yuffie scolded him.
"Oh, sorry about that." Cloud said swirling the wine around in his glass.
"Is it okay for me to fill my plate and take it to my room? Me and Kai are going to play an online game tonight." Denzel asked.
"Of course you can. Do you want some pie now too?" Tifa asked.
"Yeah!" Denzel answered excitedly.
"Okay, well you come and get whatever you want. Then cut whichever pie you want." Tifa said getting a stack of plates from the cabinet beside the sink.
"We'll spread this stuff out on the counter. There's more room in here anyway." Yuffie said turning the kitchen counter into a buffet.
"This is our next project…doing something about the ridiculous size of this kitchen. We have to do something about the fact that the dishwasher will barely open all the way in this walk space." Tifa said grabbing some hot pads and setting Yuffie's chicken creation on the stove.
"I'll tell you what you should do in here." Cid started. Cloud prayed that whatever he was about to suggest didn't involve any profanity. "Open this up and get rid of your counter tops. I know you all use this space and you're going to say you don't have room in here for a table but think about this. If you knock that wall out where your TV is you could add at least 400 square feet to this place. Hey, it can be done. Me and Cloud could pull that off if you want it to happen, little miss."
"Time out. Don't get Cloud in on this." Cloud said. "You might be able to pull it off and if you want to get with a contractor and work that out; that's wonderful. All Cloud will do is save the floors since they are new." He emphasized.
"You two think about it. I can make you a sketch of what it would look like and a contractor can give you a price." Cid said filling his plate right after Denzel.
"Oh Cid and his visions of home improvements." Vincent said shaking his head.
"I'm going to my room now." Denzel told Tifa.
"Okay, honey." Tifa said putting her hand on the top of his head as he balanced a plate in one hand and a glass in the other. Yuffie poured another glass of wine and took it to Vincent.
"This smells good Yuffie." Cid announced.
"Cloud, go get the deck of cards out of Marlene's room" Tifa said stirring the dip. "The deck is on her dresser."
"I have the poker chips. Did anyone else bring any?" Yuffie asked sitting beside Vincent on the couch.
"I have set." Cid said checking the pocket of his coat.
"We have a set also. Vincent, see that drawer on that table? The chips are in there." Tifa said pouring a glass of wine for Jun and Cid. Once Cloud returned, it was time for he and Tifa to fill their plates and get this card game started.
"Hey, don't let me forget…I have a box of pictures downstairs in the car for you two." Cid said to either Cloud or Tifa but before either of them could say anything Cid caught sight of the new diamond on Tifa's finger. "Holy shit…Cloud why you gotta do that to the rest of us? Come here, let me see that." Cid said reaching for Tifa's hand. "That's one hell of a rock, Tifa. What did you do to deserve that? Oh wait…that's a stupid question. You put up with that." Cid said referring to Cloud. "How many carats are you up to now?"
"I'm only telling you this because I like you, but…nine…four on my hand, five in my ears." Tifa said turning pink all over. She didn't exactly want people to know how many carats Cloud had put on her.
"Oh! That reminds me! I still have pictures of their 'wedding' on my camera. I know it was four months ago but I'm lazy and I never clear the card off." Yuffie said wallowing over Vincent and Jun to get her camera.
"I like how you use the air quotes to describe that." Vincent said.
"It wasn't a wedding! It was a freak show in the court house that day! The cops were dragging a screaming criminal in right before the justice of the peace called for them!" Yuffie said excitedly.
"The transvestite prostitute arguing with that guard was pretty entertaining, Yuffie." Tifa said realizing that she had finished that glass of wine much faster than she had anticipated. "Deal my cards and my chips, I'm getting more wine." Tifa said.
"That was incredibly entertaining. He…or…she or whatever you call them called Tifa ma'am." Cloud said as he dealt the first hand. "White chips are one, red is five and blue is ten. Is that okay with everyone?"
"Sounds great." Cid said. Tifa returned and looked at her cards.
"I'm looking at this picture right here. You obviously have tequila which can only mean Yuffie coerced you into Mexican. But, I have never in my life seen Cloud smile that much. Don't get me wrong it's not one of those big annoying smiles but my god he looks happy here. What did you do to make this happen?" Vincent asked Yuffie. That made Cid laugh.
"Oh, Tifa probably had her hand down his pants. No, no, I'm playing. I caught him at a weak moment." Yuffie said.
"You know we still don't have copies of any of those pictures. You were our wedding photographer, Yuffie. This is poor customer service." Cloud teased her.
"I know, I know. I really need to print these out for you." Yuffie said laying a card down.
"Hey, I know this isn't a great time but I have to ask you…Did Denzel talk to you?" Vincent asked Cloud with concern in his voice.
"Yes, he did. I'm guessing he told you too?" Cloud asked.
"Yeah." Vincent answered him. Tifa proceeded to explain Denzel's situation to Cid, Yuffie and her boyfriend. It was no secret after all, and these were their closest friends.
"I hate to hear that. Denzel is sweet kid. You two are good parents though; you'll get him through it." Cid said. "Weren't you bullied as a kid?"
"Yes, which makes this whole thing that much harder. You grow out of being small but you can't outgrow being a victim of discrimination. I think we got it though. Like you said, we'll get him through it." Cloud explained folding his hand.
"Cloud, please you haven't outgrown being small! I've known you for at least seven years and in that time you haven't grown an inch anywhere! Don't you hold your glass like that and flip me off!" Yuffie said laughing at him.
"It's okay Yuffie, I know you're right." Cloud admitted. "Just for that I need more wine. I'm just going to bring the bottle over here."
"Is that your contribution to this evening? Wine?" Cid asked.
"It is, and it's good wine too." Cloud reassured him. It was Cid's turn to deal a hand.
"So, I want to talk about the one thing that you two never talk about. Now that you're married is the sex just totally gone?" Cid asked rather bluntly
"Cid!" Tifa scolded him rather mortified. It was true that neither Cloud nor Tifa ever discussed their life between the sheets with anyone but each other.
"I'm serious here! I'm not being as ass whatsoever! I am being entirely serious!" Cid insisted. "List, listen here…just give it a number. A zero is the sex is totally gone and a ten is…oh my god!"
"I am not answering you." Tifa said laughing at Cid.
"It's a ten I'm not going to hide it. Besides, I have had two glasses of wine in me…I'm easy now." Cloud admitted. Naturally, that sent Yuffie into a fit of laughter.
"So, how many times a week are we talking here?" Cid pressed onward.
"Oh Cid, he's not that…" Cloud cut Tifa off as he won the next hand.
"It used to be four, we're up to five times now." Cloud answered him.
"Oh my god!" Tifa said slapping Cloud's arm.
"I can't wait until he has another glass. There's so much more I want to ask!" Cid said trying to hold back his laughter.
"You have two kids and you both work full time! Aren't you…I don't know…TIRED?" Vincent asked.
"Are you kidding? We're exhausted after we…" Tifa cut Cloud off, hitting him again.
"Will you shut up!" she insisted laughing at him.
"Aww Tifa, it's okay. You know we love you." Cid said. Tifa sighed.
"Whatever. Give me those cards! I'm dealing." She said laughing at Cid.
