Mornings were always Cloud's favorites. On days when he didn't have any early deliveries, he let himself sleep in so that when he woke, he woke to the sound of Denzel and Marlene running around downstairs, Tifa greeting guests coming down for breakfast, and occasionally, the sound of Mariel singing as she cooked.

But he was becoming increasingly fond of early mornings, when he set his alarm to ring before sunrise for early deliveries, mornings such as this one. His deliveries meant that he'd miss greeting the kids and Tifa at breakfast, but in return, he got to wake up before Mari. On early mornings such as these, with the birds chirping and the grey sky just beginning to light up, Cloud woke with his nose pressed against Mari's neck, just below her ear, and his arms firmly wrapped around her.

The first time they'd slept in the same bed, he'd up woken wrapped around her in a similar fashion, nearly entirely on top of her, and immediately panicked, thinking he'd crushed her in his sleep. Several nights later, when it became clear that his awkward sleeping habits weren't about to change, Mari wiggled her way under him to "save him the trouble" of doing it in his sleep. Now she'd perfected the technique of tilting her hips just so and cradling his head to her neck in such a way that both of them could comfortably remain asleep all night long.

They both liked the room to be colder rather than hotter. The window was always left open to allow a breeze in, and so it was never too warm sleeping with her, except for a few days in the middle of summer. Cloud let his eyes adjust to the low light coming in behind the gently fluttering curtains, automatically synching his breathing to the rise and fall of Mariel's chest against his.

Fingers scratched lightly at a spot on his back and a knee came up around his hip.

"Good morning," Mari murmured drowsily. "Delivery?"

"Yeah. I've got a couple minutes though." He spent a few of them coaxing her back towards sleep with soft, wet kisses.

"Mmm," she hummed contentedly, and wiggled down to use his chest as a pillow. "I don't think you can make your delivery."

"Oh?" he couldn't help but chuckle, and ran his fingers through her hair.

"Nope. Look outside. It's snowing."

"Mari-love, it's May."

"Hailing – whatever. You can't go. I'm sick."

"Sick?"

"Mmhm. Dreadfully ill," she exclaimed seriously. "I've got CDS – Cloud-deficiency syndrome."

He couldn't even formulate a reply to that one.

"And I won't get better without an extra big dose of Cloud today."

"Is that right?"

"Mmhm," she rubbed her nose against his skin. Cloud squirmed a little when a smooth leg hitched up around his middle. All he had to do was turn and her lovely, sleepy lips were right there.

He turned.

"You know I'm joking, right?" Mari breathed when they finally broke apart. Cloud raised an eyebrow, feeling very acutely the rest of her limbs that had found their way around his body in some way. "If you need to go, I won't bother you about it."

They watched each other for a moment.

"Just come back as soon as you can," Mari added quietly. Cloud felt the corner of his lips tugging upwards. He slid a palm up over her cheek. She closed her eyes and leaned into the caress. Her smile was breathtaking, even if he'd already memorized it a million times over.

"I need to go," he whispered, and she opened her eyes, smiling dimming. He paused for effect. "It's a shame I can't."

"Can't?"

"Fenrir's malfunctioned. Needs a new part."

"Oh no!" Mariel gasped, but her fake surprise melted away quickly. "Well, I suppose there's nothing for it."

"Hmm," Cloud agreed, already sinking back down under the covers and lacing his fingers with hers. "I'll call in a few hours. MDS is flaring up again."

"MDS?"

"Mariel-deficiency syndrome. It's fatal, I'm afraid."

"Surely not," she murmured, leaning in. "I'm certain we can find ourselves a cure."

Cloud wasn't so sure, but he kept the comment to himself. They had a few hours before Seventh Heaven awoke and he didn't plan on getting up until every last guest had done so. Perhaps this was his new favorite type of morning. It was certainly something he could get used to.