Chapter length…7pages
Chapter Four: Teenage Moms
The next day, Cloud and Leon didn't wake up until around noon. For a moment, they forgot where they were. Then the last traces of sleep left them and the teens groaned in annoyance. Cloud sat up and repeatedly poked Leon until the other boy growled at him and got up as well.
"What time is it?" Cloud asked.
"11:53."
"Where are Sora and Riku?"
Leon shrugged; how should he know, he just woke up. Cloud looked worried and got up to look for the kids. He came back into the living room a minute later looking scared.
"They're gone!" He exclaimed. "They're not upstairs and the front door's opened!"
"…" Leon growled in anger. "You check the beach, I'll go walk around up here and look for them."
Cloud nodded and dashed off, Leon followed at a more sedate pace. He glanced into the kitchen and saw two bowls sitting in the sink in addition to the two from yesterday. Leon suddenly wasn't worried at all about the little toddlers. He got the feeling they did this a lot and really, those two didn't need looking after. They seemed perfectly cable of doing it themselves.
Leon shut the door and saw Cloud's blonde hair walking around the beach. He looked truly worried about their young friends and Leon almost smiled. Almost. Instead, he shook the thoughts away and started to wander down the street, keeping a sharp look out for a mob of brown or a flow silver hair. He made it to the end of the street then turned back the way he'd come.
When he was passing Riku's house, he noticed the front door was open. He frowned and made his way over to it. Entering the house without bothering to knock, Leon could suddenly hear the sound of laughing little voices. He walked upstairs and found Sora and Riku sitting in front of a TV playing video games. Riku was playing and Sora was watching and laughing occasionally as his friend continued to beat the computer.
For a moment, all Leon did was watch them. He was slightly disturbed to find that he felt something which could only be described as relief flowing through him. Why the heck did he care about these little brats? It must've been because he felt guilty for turning them into kids in the first place. Ya, that was it. Leon cleared his throat and stepped into the room.
Riku paused the game and turned to look up at him. "Hi Leon, we're playing racing."
"You wanna play?" Sora asked smiling.
"Why did you two run off like that?" Leon demanded, ignoring the request to play.
Sora and Riku looked confused. "Sora doesn't have games like this and we were bored," Riku answered, as if it where the most obvious thing in the world.
Leon cocked an eyebrow. "So you just take off?"
"Momma and Papa don't mind," Sora piped up. Leon sighed; he couldn't exactly punish them for doing something their parents apparently allowed them to do on a regular basis.
"Let's go," Leon shook his head and turned to leave.
"But racing!" Riku exclaimed. Leon growled in annoyance, yet again.
"Fine, bring it with us," he muttered and waited as Sora and Riku scrambled around to get the console and all the games. When they had, the two followed Leon downstairs and back to Sora's house without a word. Cloud saw them and ran up from the beach.
"Where were you two?" He exclaimed.
"Playing," they answered together.
"They were in Riku's house," Leon grumbled. "Their parents allow them to disappear like that."
Cloud shook his head. "Speaking of which, we should call ours now. They probably want to rip our heads off."
Cloud had been right; their parents had wanted to rip their heads off. Despite that, they still allowed them to stay at Sora's house when Leon fed them the lie that Sora and Riku both were sick. Cloud's mother even offered to come over and make soup for them, but they declined her offer.
Once that had been taken care of, Cloud frowned when he saw that Sora and Riku were still wearing the oversized shirts of their teenage selves.
"We have to get them some clothes," he pointed out. "They really will get sick running around in nothing but a shirt."
"Fine," Leon agreed. "But where do you get kids clothes?"
"The mall?" Cloud suggested with a shrug.
"We might run into someone and Ansem said not to tell anyone," Leon countered.
"So then where should we go?"
"Why not try the mini-mall?" Leon suggested with a shrug of his lean shoulders.
"But that place is for the old people," Cloud whined. Leon didn't answer him. "Fine, let's go. Sora, Riku, we're leaving, turn the game off now."
They did as told and walked over to the older boys. "Where we going?" Sora asked.
"To buy you some clothes to wear, you can't run around all the time in just a shirt," Cloud answered.
Sora smiled, "K." He held his arms out to Cloud in the universal "pick me up" way that all little kids seemed to know. Cloud couldn't resist a smile as he lifted the little boy into his arms.
"Riku, would you like Leon to carry you?" Cloud asked kindly. The look on Leon's face said quiet clearly that it didn't matter if he wanted to be carried or not because he wasn't going to do it.
"No, I can walk," Riku said firmly.
"Then I walk too," Sora tried to wiggle out of Cloud's arms.
"No, Sora carried," Riku ordered. "He'll just trip and hurt himself."
"Will not," Sora pouted.
"Will to," Riku countered.
"Will not.
"Will to.
"Not."
"To."
"Not."
"To."
"Enough," Leon snapped. "Let's just go." The four left the house, Riku walking and Sora content with being carried by Cloud.
When they arrived at the mini-mall, they were surprised to see it was a lot like the larger mall they usually went to with their friends. The only real big difference was that the things the stores sold were more suited for adults and older people. Cloud frowned as he glanced around.
"I don't think we're going to find anything for them here," he commented. "But let's look anyways."
Fifteen minutes later, they decided to take a break. They had searched the entire first floor of the mall and weren't having much luck. Sora and Riku were still running around in Sora's teenage self shirts. At the moment, Cloud and Leon were resting at a table and Sora and Riku had wondered away to look around but were still within sight.
"Maybe we should ask someone?" Cloud suggested. Leon raised an eyebrow at him. "I mean someone with a baby, like a mom or something."
"…"
"…Ya, you're right, I wouldn't want to go ask a strange woman where to by kid clothes either," Cloud sighed. "So what do we do now?"
"Check the upper level," Leon answered, getting up. Cloud grumbled and stood as well.
"Sora, Riku," the blonde called and looked for the boys. "Where'd they go?"
"HEY YOU KIDS! GET BACK HERE!" A voice shouted. Sora and Riku came flying out of a store and ran to Cloud and Leon. They hid behind them as an older man chased after them. The man stopped when he finally caught up to the little boys.
"Are those two yours?" The man demanded of Cloud and Leon.
"Why?" Leon snapped.
"They stole from my store, that's why," he accused.
"Riku, Sora," Cloud looked down at them. "Is that true?"
"No," Riku yelled.
"What's stole?" Sora asked.
"It's when you take things without permission and it's not a good thing to do," Cloud explained.
"But stores are where you go to get things," Riku commented, looking confused. "So how can you stole when they're given stuff away?"
"Because they're not giving things away, you have to pay for it before you can take it," Cloud replied.
"Oh…then we had to pay for the chocolate?" Riku asked, looking guilty.
"Yes Riku, you have to pay for anything you get in a store," Cloud sighed and turned back to the angry store owner. "We're very sorry about this, how much did they take?"
"At least five dollars worth of candy," the man said pompously. Leon raised an eyebrow at that; five dollars worth of candy was quiet a lot to eat, even for little kids.
"Riku, how much candy did you have?" Leon asked quietly while Cloud fished around for his wallet.
"I had one and Sora had one," Riku answered, looking at the ground.
"We will give two dollars," Leon said to the man before Cloud paid.
"What? But I said…" He began angrily, but Leon overrode him, looking furious.
"You lied to get them–" he gestured to Sora and Riku "–into trouble. There's no way they could have eaten five bucks worth of candy and not have any mess on them. Either take the two bucks or get out of here."
The man looked taken back before he glared at them and snatched the money from Cloud's hand and stalked off.
"It was only a three dollar difference," Cloud pointed out.
"It's the principal of the matter," Leon grumbled. "He thought he could bully us since we had kids, he was wrong."
"Had kids…" Cloud's eyes widen. "Wait, you mean that he thought Sora and Riku were our kids?"
Leon shrugged, "Probably. Sora does look like you only with darker coloring."
"And Riku does have your hair and attitude," Cloud mused, ignoring the glare sent his way. "Wow, it really does look like we're teenage parents, doesn't it?"
"…Let's find some clothes."
The four had just made it up to the second level of the mall when they saw a familiar shock of red hair. Before they had time to take off, Kairi turned around and locked eyes with them. She looked scared for a moment before quickly covering it up with a smile and calling to them as if nothing was wrong.
"Cloud, Leon," she smiled. "What are you doing here?"
"Shopping," Cloud answered, and then noticed the empty stroller next to her. "What are you?"
"Oh, shopping as well," she said casually, too casually. Something was up.
"Ya…for what?" Cloud pressed.
"Oh, just…stuff," she shrugged. "What about you two?"
"Clothes!" Sora had popped up from behind them and smiled at the red haired girl. Kairi blinked at him in pure surprise.
"Um…who's this?" She asked, frowning a little. "And why does he look so…familiar."
"He's Sora," Riku stepped next to his friend. "And I'm Riku. It's nice to meet you." He added politely.
"Sora…and Riku…" Kairi blinked slowly. "Cloud, Leon, what's going on?"
The two boys exchanged looks. They might as well tell her, she'd already seen Sora and Riku anyways.
"We were in science class and accidentally de-aged Sora and Riku," Cloud explained. "Ansem is trying to make an antidote but we have to take care of them until then. You gotta promise not to tell though."
"You de-aged them?" She asked in shock. "Wow…that takes talent." They glared at her. "Oh, you two look exactly like your baby pictures." She smiled and picked Sora up. "Like a giant teddy bear."
"Didn't you know them when they were little?" Cloud asked. "I thought you three always knew each other."
"Oh no," Kairi shook her head. "I didn't move here until I was seven and we weren't friends until we turned nine and girls stopped having coodies." She giggled.
"Where's the baby?" Riku asked, looking in the stroller.
"Oh, she's um…" Kairi was suddenly very nervous.
"Hey Kairi, I found the perfect outfit for little Eliot, ya!" A voice called out and they turned to see Wakka walking towards them, holding a baby. He froze at the sight of Cloud and Leon. "Heh, Cloud, Leon, what're you doing here?"
"Shopping," Cloud answered. "You?"
"Um…I'm just…" Wakka stuttered.
"Kairi, is that baby yours and Wakka's?" Leon questioned.
"…Yes, but please don't tell anyone!" Kairi cried. "We'd get into so much trouble if people knew!" She clutched onto Sora, who she was still holding, and had tears in her eyes.
"Calm down," Cloud soothed. "We won't tell. But…how?"
"It was a little over a year ago," Wakka sighed, "At the spring dance. We didn't use protection."
"Who knows?" Leon inquired.
"Our family, Sora, Riku, Selphie, and Tidus," Kairi sighed. "They were all really cool about it and helped us through everything. Especially Sora and Riku. Those two have been our babysitters ever since little Eliot was born and all they charge us is a cooked meal."
"They've been lifesavers for us, ya," Wakka smiled. "There would be no way we could afford a babysitter and our parents…weren't pleased when we said we were keeping the baby. They allow us to live with them, but refuse to help take care of their granddaughter."
"That sucks," Cloud frowned. "A deal, then? We won't tell about Eliot so long as you don't tell about Sora and Riku."
"What about Sora and Riku?" Wakka demanded suspiciously.
"They've been turned into kids," Kairi laughed and gestured to the two toddlers, who were watching the baby in Wakka's arms curiously.
"Well…" Wakka blinked. "That's strange, ya."
"Hey," Cloud realized. "You said that you'd found an outfit for your baby."
"Ya…"
"Does that mean you know where to buy little kid clothes?"
"Of course," Kairi laughed then looked to see what Sora and Riku were wearing. "My gosh! You have them running around in shirts?"
"It's all we could find," Cloud snapped defensively. "Their parents didn't keep any baby clothes."
"Well you can't have them running about like that, they'll get sick," Kairi frowned. "Come with us, we'll show you where to go."
The two teen parents led the way to a small store that was devoted to children five and under. There was a small section to the back filled with toys and a couple other kids playing. Sora and Riku laughed and ran off to go play.
"How old are they?" Kairi asked.
"Three and four," Cloud answered.
She pointed to the back left of the store. "Then you'll want that section over there, it's for toddlers and older. Wakka, where's the outfit you wanted to show me?"
While Kairi and Wakka went to check out the baby section, Cloud and Leon made their way to where Kairi had pointed them. They looked at the clothes, then at Sora and Riku playing, and then back at the clothes.
"What do we get them?" Cloud asked, Leon shrugged.
They started looking through the clothes before they realized that they were looking in the girls section.
"Um…where are the boys' clothes?" Cloud muttered, once again, Leon just shrugged. Kairi then chose that moment to appear next to them.
"Having trouble?" She smiled happily at them and they scowled back. "Boys clothes are right over here."
She led them to some different racks in the same section and started going through them. Leon noticed she seemed to be enjoying herself and that Wakka was sitting in the play area with their baby. He was amazed at how these two could manage to take care of a one year old on their own, but he and Cloud couldn't keep an eye on two oddly mature toddlers.
Kairi suddenly squealed and held up a small pair of jeans and matching shirt. The jeans had a baby Tigger on them and the shirt matched.
"Riku, come here for a minute, please," Kairi called.
Riku stood up and ran over to her happily. She placed the clothes in front of him, to see if they would fit, and smiled when it looked like they would.
"Oh, you have to get these for him," the red head exclaimed. "They're simply too adorable not to!"
The teens shrugged, they'd take her word for it.
Kairi sent Riku back to playing and started looking around again. Eventually, she had managed to find three outfits for Riku and three for Sora. She then helped (more like picked for them) find underwear for the two. Once they were done, they went up to the counter and paid for the clothes. Cloud and Leon split the surprisingly low, but still too high, price.
"What about you two?" Cloud asked. "I thought you said you'd found an outfit for Eliot."
"Oh um…" Kairi looked a little embarrassed. "It was a little on the pricy side, so we decided not to get it."
"Go get it," Leon ordered.
"No, we don't need any charity, ya," Wakka interrupted.
"Not charity," Leon answered. "I don't do charity. Consider it…a late baby shower present."
"Ya, and thanks for helping pick out some clothes," Cloud added. "We had no idea what we were doing."
Kairi blushed and Wakka wrapped the arm that wasn't holding the baby around her.
"Thanks you two," she smiled and dashed to get the outfit.
While she did that, Cloud took Riku and Sora to the changing rooms and put their new clothes on. He came back the same time as Kairi and the red head couldn't help but squeal at their cuteness. Sora blushed and dug his face into Cloud's leg, embarrassed; Riku just looked at the girl like she was crazy.
After paying for the baby outfit the group left the store together. Cloud turned to Kairi and Wakka.
"Why not come over to Sora's house for a while?" He invited. "Since you said your parents don't exactly approve of Eliot."
"Oh no, that's all right," Kairi smiled. "But…"
She was cut off by the sounds of grumblings.
"…We haven't eaten all day," Cloud admitted and Wakka laughed.
"Ya, I think they be wantin' something to eat," he teased.
"Well, all right," Kairi agreed. "And you're right, it's not like our parents would care."
"Cool, let's go then," Cloud led the way outside, once again carrying Sora in his arms.
A/N: Why can't I write a pleasantly happy story for once? Just something simple and fluffy without touching on bigger issues, like teen pregnancy or whether it's right to be gay or not? Ah, whatever.
REVIEWS!
First Question from SensiblyTainted: Why is Sora so afraid of the tub?
Answer: I do explain this some in later chapters, but basically it was because his father accidentally left him in the tub when it was filling up and Sora almost drowned. I think that's a justifiable reason to be afraid.
Comment to Luthien-Ikari: I know, I totally agree! Dai and Sora are so much alike. But Sora is more pouty-like and Dai's more the "polite I'm so sorry" type of kid.
Comment to Seena58: Leon is the main character in Final Fantasy Eight. He's a lot like Cloud and just as cute.
Second Question from dimonyo-anghel: Why's Sora afraid of the tub?
Answer: Um…read the answer to SensiblyTainted's review. She asked the same thing.
Comment to Sunshine Pie: Actually, Luthien-Ikari made a doujinshi for my other fic, Forgetful Darkness. That's what I was talking about. Leon Cloud goodness comes next chapter.
Next Chapter: I will tell you only the title. Chapter Five: Thunderstorms (It's just a kiss.)
