Denzel woke in the attic room, freezing. It was late at night, and a whistle of wind blew in through an open window. He groaned and pressed his face into the pillow. It had been so hard to fall asleep lately, and this minor disturbance would render further sleep impossible. His brain was a constant stir difficult to coax, a foreign entity hell-bent on disrupting the body it was confined to.
He heaved himself to the window and creaked it shut. Outside, the village of Kalm was a distillation of its name, picturesque in the moonlight. The sky was a gradient of blues, lightest on the horizon near Edge. He bet that Cloud was also awake, somewhere in Junon, dealing with the tempest of Godo's forces and the dangerous work he was embroiled in.
It had been weeks since Elmyra's death, a tide of mourning punctuated by events that left him in a daze of guilt and numbness. He should have felt sorrow at Elmyra's passing, but the truth was that his mind was in Junon, divorced from the world within this shabby house. This made him a terrible person, he knew. He couldn't even be the big brother Marlene needed. She cried everyday, and he could do nothing to console her.
Barret was staying with them until Elmyra's affairs were wrapped up, and even he couldn't provide the comfort she needed. Denzel wondered if Cloud could.
She'd been having nightmares again, only this time she wouldn't wake up but just whimper ceaselessly in her sleep. Denzel opted to spend most of his nights in the attic.
He leaned against the window, peering out. Barret's snores echoed through the floorboards.
A sudden scurry caught his eye below. A shadow flitted in the street. He thought he'd imagined it, but then he saw it again. Yes, a person dressed in black was outside.
Denzel pressed his forehead to the glass. The figure was coming towards Elmyra's house.
His heart picked up. The person approached their doorstep, right below, and then vanished from view.
Nerves jittered his veins. This person was up to no good, that much was clear. Maybe they were trying to break in. He had to get Barret.
He tiptoed down the stairs, one hand running along the handrail in darkness. He didn't need the lights on; he knew this house in and out and could reach the room where Barret slept in just—
Something blocked his way. Tall, solid. It moved fast, going behind Denzel before he could react, and a gloved hand snaked around his waist, another over his mouth. He tried to scream, to kick at the sudden assault.
"Don't move." The words were right next to his ear.
It sounded like…? Cloud?
"It's okay. Don't say anything."
Definitely Cloud. Was he dreaming?
Denzel halted his struggle, heart pounding. The hand was removed from his mouth. His body trembled, and he pinched himself hard. The person he'd seen outside was definitely not Cloud, so how could this be?
"I'm going to let you go, but be quiet."
The strong arms released him. He turned, facing the darkness, mind racing.
"Go upstairs. Now," Cloud said.
The command was not to be disobeyed. He complied, taking the stairs up two at a time. He could sense Cloud right behind him, following. When he glanced back, the subtle shimmer of Mako watched him. It made his blood run cold because Cloud's demeanor was threatening, powerful. An assassin in the night.
"Don't turn on the light," Cloud instructed once they reached the top.
Enough ambient streetlight came in through the window that Denzel could see Cloud was wearing black flexible armor webbed with mythril reinforcement, something he'd never seen before. Cloud closed the door and stood in front of it, as if on guard.
"Wh-wh-what are you doing here?" Denzel asked, unable to keep his voice steady. Cloud had scared him bad. He hoped his legs weren't shaking too much.
Cloud didn't respond right away. He put his hands on his hips and bit his lip. The sheath adjusted without a sound as he shifted his weight.
"I've been thinking," he began, still talking soft, "about how you handled yourself in Junon."
Denzel's breath caught. This had to be a dream.
"And I heard about Elmyra," Cloud said. "I didn't want you to be alone."
Denzel couldn't help but smile. The fear melted into his feet, and his lungs felt airy and light.
"I wanted to make sure you were okay."
Cloud paused here, waiting for a reaction. Denzel felt his chest would explode. His head rushed. Cloud cared about him. Cloud wanted to know that he was okay!
"Y-yeah. I am— Well, I just—" Denzel stumbled through fragments of thoughts, because truthfully he was not okay and all he wanted to do was run to Cloud and hug him tight for saying these things to him. Cloud, however, did not look like he wanted a hug right now. The lethality practically dripped off his stance and posture.
Denzel exhaled, collecting himself. "I am just surprised to see you. How did you get in?" Then he remembered the other person outside. "There was someone else. Another man in the street. I thought he was—"
"Don't worry about that," Cloud said dismissively. "He's not here for you."
Denzel hesitated, confused.
"I'm here for you," Cloud continued. Then he added, "To keep you safe."
But it didn't sound like the truth. Something was very wrong here. The elation dissipated, replaced with apprehension.
"Safe… from what?" Denzel asked, aware of the alarm going off in his head.
Cloud seemed to sense that he was losing traction. He got right to the point. "I want you to come back with me to Junon."
A sudden crash erupted downstairs. A clatter of wood, something smashing like ceramic. Denzel jumped. Cloud did not even blink. A shout resonated through the floor. Barret was awake and angry.
"What the hell was that?" Denzel said and darted towards the door.
Cloud leaned against it, arms crossed over his chest.
"What are you doing?" Denzel snapped, prying at Cloud's shoulders.
But Cloud was immovable, impossibly strong. After letting Denzel struggle for a few seconds, he grabbed Denzel's wrist and easily overpowered the boy, shoving him away.
"We can't interfere," Cloud said coldly.
A gunshot went off, loud and cracking. More yelling. Barret was stomping through the lower level.
"Cloud, what the fuck? Get out of my way!" Denzel charged once again and this time Cloud caught his shoulders and threw him back with force.
He hit the ground and stared up at Cloud in disbelief.
"Sorry." Cloud shrugged. "I'm not trying to hurt you. But we can't interfere."
Another gunshot, then three popping through the silence. Marlene whined. Denzel couldn't stand it. He got up, fuming, ready to tear through Cloud to help Marlene if he had to, but heavy footfalls were coming up the stairs.
Cloud indicated to be quiet with one finger over his lips and shook his head in warning at Denzel, then he stepped aside just as the door flew open. The inward angle of it concealed Cloud from view to the newcomer, though Denzel could still see him partly in shadow.
Barret huffed and flipped on the lightswitch. "Denzel! You okay?!"
The sudden light burned his eyes. It took a second for him to see Barret standing in the doorway, Marlene tearful in his arms. His metal hand was damaged by a bullethole lodged in the wrist.
"Are you okay?" Barret repeated louder. "Did he come up here?"
Denzel's eyes barely flickered to Cloud, standing right next to Barret separated only by a sliver of wood, and Cloud's intense look kept him silent.
"Say something!" Barret demanded.
"I-I-I'm fine. I heard the gunshots. It woke me up. What happened?" Denzel said in one breath.
Barret relaxed. "Good, glad you okay. Some guy broke in. Don't know what he wanted. He didn't take nothin'. I woke up to a goddamn gun in my face. Wanted to snap him in two, but he scurried off like a little rat."
Marlene let out a sob. Barret cuddled her.
"We goin' down to the police station to report this. C'mon. I ain't leavin' you here alone."
Denzel gulped. Cloud still hadn't moved a muscle.
"No," Denzel replied, "No, I don't wanna go. You two go on."
"This place ain't safe," Barret argued. "We leavin' in the morning for sure. Going back to Corel."
Denzel was worried Barret would walk into the room and, surely, spot Cloud.
"I'm really fine. I'd rather stay here. It'll be okay," Denzel said, walking forward to close the gap between him and Barret.
Barret regarded him suspiciously, and then shook it off. "Fine, do what you want. You old enough I guess. We be back soon."
With that, Barret marched off with Marlene in tow. Denzel heard the front door slam and the deadbolt click. He let out a breath.
"That was good," Cloud said, startling him.
Denzel had already put the pieces together. He wasn't stupid.
"There's a contract out on Barret," he guessed, "and you just stood there." It was vicious, an accusation.
"Do you really think I would've let someone kill Barret?" Cloud responded.
Denzel bristled. "Well, what else were you doing just now? Stopping me from going downstairs?"
"I knew Barret could handle himself."
It wasn't good enough, but Denzel was too flustered to respond. He felt his cheeks grow hot. He couldn't have gotten past Cloud, couldn't have helped in any way. The situation had been entirely under Cloud's control. The restraint was insufferable.
"So what happens now? The assassin failed. Won't another one be assigned?" Denzel let out in frustration. "You could've told me. Given me a warning! How the hell did you even get in without anyone noticing?"
Cloud waited while Denzel soared through his anger.
"And what if you'd been wrong?" Denzel paced. "What if Barret was killed just now? Or Marlene? Did you even think about her? What the hell is wrong with you?!"
Cloud didn't say anything. He tilted his head to one side, hands on hips, complacent. It only made Denzel more angry.
"I can't believe all I've been doing is thinking about you and worrying about you," Denzel blazed forward. "And then you—you just show up like a ghost, and expect me to be okay with you letting Barret almost get killed under the same roof?!"
Denzel let his words hang. The only sound was his ragged breathing and the creaking floor as he paced. There was sweat on his forehead, and his pulse was fire. Cloud's eyes followed him.
"If Marlene had been hurt…" Denzel said under his breath, a wild threat. It felt stupid to be threatening Cloud, but he did it anyways.
The silence continued. It became uncomfortable, how Cloud was staring at him. He cleared his throat, the venom lessening. His blood was cooling. He was starting to feel foolish under Cloud's calm gaze.
At last, Cloud spoke, "If the associate fails, the price goes up and I get involved. But I can be very expensive. Too expensive. Do you understand?"
The tone was stern and controlling, like a reprimand. Denzel nodded.
"Customers who can't pay don't get fulfilled. And Marlene was never in danger. Kids are off-limits."
Denzel was still shaking a little. "What if you were wrong?" he challenged Cloud.
"I wasn't."
"But how did you know the associate would fail?"
"Because I know Barret."
Denzel read between the lines and immediately felt silly for getting so riled up. Cloud had chosen an associate without the skill set to match the target on purpose, to protect Barret, because he knew a failure meant that Cloud himself would be expected to take on the assignment. And if a price going up was all a normal course of business, nobody would ever think twice of Cloud's allegiances. No rumors would spread about Cloud using his power to dismiss contracts on his friends. No abuse of the system. And in that simple quick exchange, Denzel learned that Yuffie had been right about Cloud's occupation.
"I see," Denzel said in quiet defeat.
"So, do you want to come with me?"
The invitation remained open even after his tirade. It made all that rage sour in his stomach. This was all he'd wanted, all he'd thought about, since leaving Junon. And now here it was. Too good to be true.
"...Yes," Denzel confided, powerless to say no. Cloud had drained the life out of him with just a few words.
"Let's go then," Cloud said, as if that settled their whole conversation. "Get your things together."
Denzel did as he was told. He packed up some clothes and the photo he'd taken from the bar, stuffing them into his backpack. He didn't have much that he cared to bring. Cloud was already downstairs, waiting. The first floor was a mess where the associate had been driven out through a shattered window. Denzel left a note on the kitchen table, explaining that he'd run away, he didn't want to be their burden, and that they shouldn't look for him. He did not mention Cloud or Junon. Then he grabbed his coat and left.
Outside the night air was immaculate. Crisp and halcyon. It cleared away any hesitations that clung to him in the house. He hated the way Cloud had turned his emotions inside-out with no effort, but he also enjoyed having a new direction, a purpose. He was going back to Junon. Cloud wanted him to be okay. It would be dangerous, he knew, but Cloud would protect him. His life felt back on track.
He climbed behind Cloud on the motorcycle, parked far on the outskirts of town. Cloud secured his sword in its hungry compartments then ignited the engine.
"What about Godo?" Denzel asked over the rumble.
Cloud glanced back over his shoulder.
"Oh, I have a plan for him."
But the way he'd said it gave Denzel an odd sinking feeling.
Then they were gone, tearing out of Kalm across the dark plains that stretched to Junon. Edge was a jagged honeycomb of light and shadow on the horizon to their side. Denzel clutched Cloud tight, finally feeling at peace.