For Le Pecore Nere, someone who's been following Project 365 since the beginning. Sorry it took me so long to finish this; I started the day you requested! gasp. I know. Fail. Um, yeah... Finished with summer school (okay, I finished last tuesday!) I have some unfinished, older Project drabble/one-shots I started, got bored with, ect. that I'm gonna finish today. I'll catch up, promise!
Cloud Strife frowned. Before him stood the drenched forms of Marlene and Denzel, slowly forming a pool of water on Tifa's hardwood floor. However, that wasn't what made him frown. In the arms of Marlene was an equally drenched, dirty, matted-fur dog. The dog looked like it had been wandering through Edge for years. He sighed, carefully averting his gaze from Marlene's eyes. "Marlene, where did you get that?" He asked, gesturing towards the dog.
"Me and Denzel found him around the Meteor Monument. He looked hungry so Denzel gave him part of his sandwich. Then, we played with him and he came home with us. Can we keep him, Cloud?!" Marlene gave him the most cutest eyes imaginable. Thank god he averted his gaze.
"You'll have to ask your dad, Marlene," he said, frown deepening.
Marlene hugged the dog closer to her chest. "Papa doesn't want a dog," she said. "And Denzel wants to keep him here!"
"Wait, what?" Cloud brought his gaze to Denzel who grinned sheepishly, stroking the fur on the dog's head. "Denzel, we can't have a dog. Tifa doesn't like them."
Denzel shook his head. "No, Tifa loves dogs. You don't like them," he countered, sticking his lip out.
Scowling, Cloud gave the dog a severe, judging look. The thing looked like it hadn't had a proper meal in years, ribs and hip bones jutting out in almost painful ways. It's fur, somewhere beneath the dirt and water, was probably tannish. "No," he said firmly.
"Come on, Cloud!" Denzel took the dog from Marlene, holding him up to Cloud. "Look at him. He needs a loving home! I promise I'll take care of him!"
"No means no, Denzel," Cloud said, sighing. This looked like it was going to be a long day.
The sound of footfalls of boots coming down the stairs brought all three heads—four if you count the dog—towards Tifa. She blinked in surprise, not used to having everyone in the room turn their heads towards her when she entered. Slowly, she finished walking down the stairs, half-expecting someone to say something tragic. Then, her eyes fell on the dog in Denzel's outstretched arms. "Aw!" Swiftly walking to them, Tifa took the dog from Denzel and held it up to her face. The dog licked her chin and cheeks. "Aw, how cute," Tifa cooed.
Marlene and Denzel shot Cloud a smug look. Cloud's eyebrows furrowed.
"Can we keep him, Tifa?" Denzel asked.
Frowning thoughtfully, Tifa ran her fingers through the dog's matted fur. "I suppose so... But, you'd have to take care of him, Denzel. Cloud will be out making deliveries and I have to work in the bar... You'd have to feed him, bathe him, walk him whenever he needs it, and play with him. Only you." She stressed the final word. She knew kids. They wanted a pet, but expected the adults to take care of them.
Grins broke out on Denzel and Marlene's faces. Denzel nodded. "THANK YOU, TIFA!" He cried, throwing his arms around the woman's waist, hugging her tightly. Taking the dog from Tifa, he and Marlene took off upstairs to the bathroom. "We're gonna go clean him!"
"And make sure you clean up after yourselves!" Tifa called after them, smiling. Turning to Cloud, she tilted her head to the side at his frown. "Something wrong, Cloud?"
Cloud, at a loss for words, gestured and said, weakly, "Dog... kids... no... huh?"
"What? You've never wanted something you mom didn't want you to have and kept bothering her until she said yes?" Tifa laughed, grinning. "Besides, it'll do them good. They need to learn responsibility."
Sighing in defeat, Cloud hung his head and nodded weakly. "I suppose. But," he lifted his head, fixing his mako-enhanced eyes on the bar-maid, "you're taking care of it when Denzel's sick."
"Oh, fine, whatever."