-P is for Playing House-
"Would you like some more tea, Cloud?" Marlene's normally sweet, almost angelic voice held a smug edge to it as Cloud glared from his cramped position at the too-small table. At her expectant stare he finally nodded and held up the tiny pink cup as Marlene filled it with invisible tea. She frowned at him and reluctantly he took a sip, pinky out as the girl had instructed.
In a white button down shirt and tie, Cloud could only relish the fact that he was in a better situation than Denzel. The poor boy had been manhandled into a hot pink dress, complete with little pink bows adorning his brown hair. He looked miserable and Cloud couldn't blame him.
How he was talked into playing house he would never know. All he remembered was one moment Tifa was asking him to watch the kids while she went shopping and the next this slip of a girl was shoving him into his best shirt and nearly strangling him with a tie. Shoving him into her and Denzel's room, he took in the little white table adorned with an even smaller pink tea set. The brown haired boy was already there, tied to one of the little pink and white chairs Cloud had spent a week making for her birthday last year. He gave the older man a pleading look to which Cloud could only shrug. He had heard of this before…according to Barrett there was no getting out of it.
He glanced at Marlene as she talked to the stuffed chocobo she cradled in her arms gently. After declaring the name of the game, she ran off only to return moments later. Decked out in oversized purple dress and heels that he remembered Tifa being fond of when they were kids, Marlene declared she was the mom to Cloud's dad and Denzel and Goldie the chocobo were their daughters.
"So Denzella how was school today?" Expectant eyes stared at Denzella until he mumbled a quiet fine. She nodded before shifting her attention to Cloud, pausing only to give Goldie a sip of tea.
"Cloud dear, would you be able to mow the lawn later? We're having Denzella's birthday party Saturday and everything needs to be perfect!" Cloud smiled and nodded his affirmative and Marlene beamed as their game continued pleasantly, if you ignore the struggling and glaring coming from the boy in the pink dress.
It was about an hour later when Marlene finally got bored and decided playing tag was far more appealing then the sight of Denzel in a dress. As they rushed out the door, Cloud paused just long enough to clean up before following them outside, a book in hand. He sat on the front steps and pulled on his reading glasses before he cracked open his book. He only got as far as the first paragraph when suddenly watching the two kids, his two kids, became far more appealing than reading.
He had no idea how long he watched them but he did know the warm body that sat down beside him and the delicate scent of vanilla that invaded his senses.
"What did you guys do today?" Her voice was light, and he smiled as he gave a small shrug. He looked up just as Marlene tackled Denzel to the ground. He looked down in to ruby eyes and his smile grew just a bit. Her answering smile was gorgeous.
"We played house."
She was silent for a before laughing in delight. "Oh, I wish I had been there!! Why does all the fun stuff happen when I'm not home!" Her giggling went on for a few more moments before she calmed and rested her head on his shoulder. He wrapped an arm around her waist and they turned their gazes back to the scene before them.
Soon she would have to start dinner and he would have to get tomorrow's maps together. Soon they would have to send the kids upstairs to cleanup for dinner and force them to their homework before Tifa opened the bar. But for now they just enjoyed the day, each other, and their small family.
