A/N: Man, oh man, there were so many good words in April! Too bad spring quarter has been so busy and I've been a little short on time. That and I've suddenly been stricken with new inspiration for IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE that has had me writing things up for it like crazy. Maybe I'll go back and do some of the old words though.

Read, enjoy, learn a new word, and review! Thanks!

WORD OF THE DAY (4/26)

Somnolent

Adj. 1. Sleepy; drowsy; inclined to sleep. 2. Tending to cause sleepiness or drowsiness.

Cloud rarely slept through a whole night without waking up at least once before day broke.

In the early years after the Meteor incident, sleep came paired with the many demons haunting his dreams. They'd made sleep more of a horror than actual rest, and the only reason he would occasionally let his mind drift into the chaos of his consciousness was because his body's physical limitations demanded he stop running from his nightmares if only for a couple of hours at a time.

And so it seemed with every passing day that the demons would only grow stronger, their hold on his sanity ever tightening until their claws dug deep into his mind and poisoned his waking moments as well as his nights. Then one day, the evil of those demons manifested itself in the form of black pus leaking from festering scars in his arm. Sleep would forever be tainted first by sin, then by excruciating pain. There was no escape.

But just when he thought he could go no further, could not endure another sleepness night, he'd found redemption. And while it took him death and life—or life from death, or something like that—to find it, he was still hesitant to embrace it—it felt almost wrong to leave the darkness in his heart to the past—but the clouds rolled back a little more each day, and sometimes—just sometimes—he could feel the healing warmth of the sun wash through him and consume him with its peace.

The demons of his past hadn't left him completely, and they probably never would—he was thankful enough that they left him alone for most of the day—but he'd been able to take small steps forward. He'd learned that even though he was a broken man, it was okay to love; that his presence wouldn't bring disaster upon his whole household; that even if it did, they would all rather have him there than for him to bear his burdens on his own.

And slowly but surely, he found that a woman and two children were the greatest warriors he'd ever known. Because they were the ones who battled his guilt and came away victorious. Because they refused to give up on him even when he'd given up all hope himself. Because they represented sunlight in his darkened mind and oh how he reveled in their warmth!

Yet, even now, though he had the nightly comfort of sleeping with Tifa's wondrously somnolent presence tucked tightly into the curve of his body, it was still difficult to get a full night's sleep.

A wet cry sounded out in the silence of the night and he was immediately awake. Years of sleeping on guard had taught his body to react to the slightest of sounds, never mind a wail that was created for the sole purpose of survival.

He gently extracted himself from Tifa's hold, feathering a kiss to her temple, and rolled out of bed, heading straight for the back of the room. With a small smile, he reached into the cradle and gently rocked his daughter in his arms, pressing a kiss to her forehead. (And how good it was to be able to show affection for those he loved without reservation!) "Hush, Kelsey. We don't want to wake up Mommy, now."

Lithe arms wrapped around his waist from behind and Tifa's sleepy, but content—and oh how important to him it was that she be content!—voice floated up slightly muffled as her lips murmured against his back. "Mommy's already awake. But thank you Daddy anyway." The feel of her lips against his bare shoulder blades sent a fierce tingle running through his body and he was reminded once again why his demons would never win. Her love was simply too powerful a force to be reckoned with.

Cloud's smile grew as he maneuvered around to pull Tifa close into his side while cradling his child reverantly with the other arm. It still amazed him sometimes that this was real. That he could now call the woman he loved more than life itself his wife. That he had this little bundle of joy and hope cradled in the safety of his arms. That he had two other children who—for whatever reason—thought him to be the hero they really were. That he was happy.

And yes, he still couldn't get a full night's sleep, but his family—his beautiful, beautiful family—was well worth the sacrifice.

Shoutouts: Qui-Xux, Spiritslayer, DarKxKunoichi, elebelly, Ylandel, Fairheartstrife, rapturesrevenge, Cliocat, ishmaranara, randomcat23, Ch0k-naT, kitsune13, vx-Luna-xv, Sacred3, pockybandits89, rokusan23, Asterxia Sy, shadowneko003, Sokka's Fan-Lawyer, Binkledup

Wow...it's such an honor that every time I do this, the list seems to get longer. Thank you sooo much for all your support! Much love to you all!

One last note about the name of their daughter. I personally am not a big fan of naming their kids after Aeris and Zack just because it's been done so often. What can I say? I'm such a rebel. :)