"Marlene, Denzel, dinner is ready!" Tifa yelled out the window only to win no response from the two kids. She shook her head. It looked as if they were having too much fun playing in the snow. She was thinking about calling them in again, but the sight of them rolling in the snow and making snow angles was just too adorable. With a happy sigh, she walked back to the bar and finished cleaning up the last bits and scraps from her previous customers before placing their generous tips into a small container. Fortunately, she had enough money to provide for both Marlene and Denzel.

Just as she was about to pull out the soup from the microwave, the phone rang. The ringing reminded her of her little morning scene with Cloud, which made her blush again before picking up the phone.

"Hello?" she answered cheerfully while setting plates and forks in front of each seat on the table.

"'Ey Tifa! It's me Barret!"

"Barret?" She stopped what she was doing and gave the former AVALANCHE leader her undivided attention. "Hey! It's been so long since I last heard from you. How is everything going?"

"Haha, I'm still stuck at Corel trying to help out the people, ya know? Anyway, I can't thank you enough for taking care of Marlene all this time. You just let her know that her Daddy will be up there to see her for Christmas, aight?"

"Of course Barret. You know she misses you alot! But, I'm glad you are safe and sound. We can't wait to see you again!"

"I can't wait to see ya'll again too. Oh, how is the spikey headed ass? He treatin' you right?"

"Hehe...yes yes, Cloud and I are getting along just fine. He's really changed you know! He's alot more opened and carefree. I love the new him..."

"Well that's nuttin new. Teef, for as long as I can remember, you ALWAYS loved him, even when he was a stupid jerk."

Somehow, she could picture Barret rolling his eyes at her. "Hey, don't roll your eyes at me!"

"Teef...you're..."

"I'm a psychic?" she finished.

"More like a psycho! Hahaha, I'm kiddin'. Listen, you all betta have a great night or else I'm gonna have to do something about it!"

"Heh...Marlene is playing outside. Would you like me to go get her so you can speak with her?"

"Nah, if my angel is havin' fun, then let her. You jus remember to tell her that her Daddy loves her. I gotta get back to work now. Christmas can be such a pain in the ass ya know? Thanks again Teef."

"No problem Barret. Good night!"

Well that was a nice and amusing phone call.

She grinned to herself while carefully lifting each steak from the pan and sliding them onto the plates. Things were going pretty well for her today. Business at the bar was great, the kids had fun, Barret called, and for once, her steak did not stick to the edge of her worst cooking pan. The only thing she needed to make the night end perfectly was to have the entire household gather around her warm evening meal. Tifa checked the clock and when she saw it was almost eight, she frowned. They usually ate around seven, but for some reason tonight, it was different. After setting a bowl of dry salad in on the edge of the table with the soup, she wiped her hands on a washcloth and walked to the windows again.

Although it was dark outside, there were plenty of colorful Christmas lights snaking around Midgar City. Some of them were solid, others twinkled amidst the darkness, liberating a sense of holiday spirit. The bar was decorated with strings of red and green lights pouring over the steps and around the sides of the windows. Tifa was quite proud with her accomplishment. She managed to decorate the entire outside bar by herself with her little assistants Denzel and Marlene. The only thing she needed now was to find the old Christmas tree and have that done soon. The tree was important. She wanted Cloud to be part of the special occasion so she was saving it until he had more time on his hands.

Speaking of Cloud...he's pretty late tonight. I hope he's OK.

Tifa assumed his job was keeping him busy. She had to stop worrying. He was a grown man and was fully capable of taking care of himself.

She opened a little crack in the window, just enough to yell out. "Marlene! Denzel! Please come in now! Dinner is ready!"

"We're coming!" Denzel answered back. He threw one last snowball at Marlene before helping the girl to her feet. Both children dashed through the door into Tifa's welcoming embrace.

"Did ya all have fun, hmm?" Tifa grinned kindly as she helped the two take off their coats, mittens, scarves, and hats. Snow landed all over the front entrance, creating a rather big wet mess.

"We did! Thanks Tifa! Oh, we'll help clean up the mess!" Marlene said sheepishly. She was about to go to the closet to retrieve a mop when the woman stopped her.

"Hey! Don't worry. I'll take care of it. Oh Marlene, before I forget, you father called and he said that he was going to come see you for Christmas."

The little girl's eyes lit up with joy as she jumped up and down, her pony tail swaying back and forth with her movements. "Really? Wow! I can't wait to see him again! OH Denzel!" She grabbed the boy's hands. "You will LOVE him. He's the best father in the world!"

"I can't wait to meet him then! Cloud told me alot about Barret...mostly good stuff," Denzel said with a wink.

Tifa was thrilled that the two kids wer so excited but dinner was still mandatory. "You two seem like you could enjoy a nice meal that's waiting for you at the table. There's also hot chocolate waiting for you at your plates." The brunette ushered them to their seats after they calmed down and made sure they made no attempt to get out until they finished their meals.

"Yum! This looks delicious Tifa!" Denzel commented. He could feel his mouth watering just by staring at the meat on his plate, but he remembered the importance of table manners. Like a proper gentlemen, he poured Marlene a glass of hot chocolate before he did the same for himself. Next, he scooped a bunch of salad for the girl who seemed a bit anxious about the formal situation.

"Um...thank you Denzel," Marlene said politely as she accepted his offerings.

"You're welcome Marlene. You must be hungry after all the hours we spent in the snow. You're not cold are you?"

"Oh no no! I'm fine, thank you..." Marlene said again with a tiny blush.

Tifa had to stifle a laugh. She drew herself away from their little scene by picking up the mop to clean the entrance. She could already tell Denzel's biological parents must have been people with incredible manners. Marlene and Denzel were just way too cute. She felt so blessed to have them in her life, for her life wouldn't feel as complete if one of them were to step out. Mopping the floor suddenly became less tedious while glancing at the two children at the table. They both had a voracious appetite after spending so many hours being active.

"Tifa? Where's Cloud?" Denzel asked suddenly. He looked around the bar only to find that it was empty save for the three current residents.

Tifa shook her head. "I don't know..." she admitted honestly. She unconsciously continued mopping the floor while peeking out the window, hoping to see the blonde appear before her any moment. Unfortunately, minutes passed before she sighed heavily. "He should have called if something was up. I guess I'll him to find out what's wrong." She whizzed pass the table and grabbed the phone, her fingers rapidly pressing numbers. "Oh, if you two are still hungry, you can share Cloud's serving. It doesn't look like he will be home for dinner in time. I'll just make him something later."

"Are you sure? I want Cloud to eat with us..." Marlene said sadly as she looked at the full dish in front of the empty seat.

"Honey, he will eat with us tomorrow. I promise I'll make him something wonderful later on," Tifa answered while waiting for the male to pick up on the other line. Come on come on! Where are you?

Marlene didn't feel so guilty anymore. Tifa's warm smile encouraged her to take Cloud's meal and split it with Denzel. "Here Denzel. You can take this." She neatly used two forks to wedge the steak apart, giving half of it to her friend.

Ugh! Why isn't anyone picking up?

Frustrated after ten rings, Tifa placed the phone back on the hook and folded her arms across her chest. She thought hard at where he could be, but couldn't come up with anything else besides work. She prayed he wasn't hurt or anything. It WAS the holiday season and thieves tended to roam the streets during the night, waiting for their chance to pick pocket.

Trying to keep herself and mind preoccupied, she decided to clean up the mess on the table. So much for ending the night perfectly with a nice cozy meal.

"Ohh! Do you know what time it is you two? You better go wash up and I better see you BOTH of you tucked tightly in bed by the time I come up," Tifa playfully warned.

"We're going we're going! Come on Marlene." Denzel grabbed her hand and dragged her upstairs with him. "Oh wait Tifa! Are we decorating the tree soon?"

"Yes we are. I'm going to have it set up tomorrow and we can all decorate it at night. How does that sound?"

"Great!" Marlene and Denzel shouted simultaneously.

"Hehe...Okkkay! But that means you two have to hop to bed now. Good night. Don't worry about Cloud. I'll take care of him." The brunette watched until the children were out of sight before letting out a low groan. Where was HE?

----------------------

I'm late I'm late I'm late! God damnit! First I go to work late and now I'm heading home late. What the hell is wrong with me and why did my cell phone have to die on me NOW out of all times?

Cloud constantly pushed away his messy blonde locks from his face as he ran down streets after streets of endless snow and bright lights. He was getting sick of looking at all the Christmas decorations despite the fact they were completely gorgeous. He just wanted to get back home to Tifa so she wouldn't worry her pretty head off. He checked his watch again and angrily cursed out loud. Fortunately, no kids were in the perimeter to hear his vulgar statements.

His journey through the snow was arduous. Not only did it slow him down, but the freezing temperature was getting to him as well. He whipped his scarf around him in another layer and continued to hurry down the blocks. He forced his legs to move quicker, but any more urging would lead him to collapse dead on the field. He had worked non-stop at the company for eight straight hours delivering packages after packages to rather rude strangers. Thankfully, the pay was decent. He couldn't wait to get home to open his envelope to see how much money was written on his check.

Pulling out his cell phone once more, he let out a frustrated cry when the battery was still dead. He must've made too much calls or received too much on the job. Most of them were urgent messages telling him to hurry up with the job so families could get their presents in time for Christmas.

The night was quiet except for the low holiday tunes playing near the window sills and the light jingles of bells. It must have been the sweetest sounds he heard in Sector Seven. Two years ago, the only sound that rang throughout the air was the loud mechanical engines roaring within the reactors as they sucked out the Life stream to power up the entire city. Fortunately, the engineers found a way to use the Bolt materia to charge Midgar now. Things had been much peaceful and settled ever since then.

A low rumbling caught him off guard. Cloud thought he was hearing the annoying reactors again until he felt his stomach churn. Aside from the cake that Tifa handed him that morning, he ate nothing else due to absolutely no time to stop for a decent meal.

It'll all be worth it in the end when I see her face light up from the necklace.

He could already see the tiny green shimmers outlining the Seventh Heaven Bar just a few more blocks away. Cloud breathed a sigh of relief before picking up speed again from the motivation. He was just minutes away from having a nice hot meal and then heading straight to bed underneath the warm toasty covers. The blonde could already feel his eye lids getting heavy as the thought of sleep came to mind. If he hurried, he could catch a good full four hours of sleep before heading back to work. Tomorrow was going to be an even longer day.

The harsh wind whipped against his skin as he jolted down white lanes after white lanes until the final steps of the Seventh Heaven stood right before him. He finally reached his safe haven.

"Tifa?" He knocked gently on the door. "It's me Cloud..." He waited awhile before knocking again. It was already close to midnight. She's probably asleep...right?

"Tifa?" He cried out again with slight fear in his voice. He started to worry that something else was going on inside. Danger immediately entered his mind. Cloud walked over to the windows to take a peek but the curtains were tightly drawn.

Damn! Why didn't I ever think about getting keys to this place?

A part of him wanted to tear down the front door, but that would not be very rational.

But what if she's hurt...or-

"Cloud...?" a sleepy voice muttered as the wooden door creaked open.

"Tifa! You're all right!" Cloud rushed in, throwing his arms around the female and drawing her into an embrace.

"I...of course I'm all right..." Tifa said slowly, somewhat stunned at the same time. Her body shivered against his touch, but she didn't want him to withdraw...ever.

Cloud noticed her body quaking against his and quickly backed away, not noticing the disappointment written all over her face as he hastily turned around to close the door tightly behind them.

"I'm so sorry," he apologized when he realized he was hugging her with all his wet and freezing clothes on. He immediately discarded his black coat and scarf before running his hands up and down her arms in an effort to heat her. She shook her head and nuzzled her cheek against his could neck.

"It's okay. Where have you been? I've been glancing out the windows upstairs for the past hour or so. I'm sorry I came late to open the door. Finding the way downstairs in the dark isn't the easiest thing..." she laughed softly.

"Tifa...my phone died so I couldn't reach you. I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to tell you that I was really busy at work today. I didn't think it was going to be THIS busy until I got there...I'm really sorry. Please forgive me...?"

Tifa's features softened as she watched Cloud bow his head, seeking her forgiveness. He looked like a little boy who learned his lesson after being painfully reprimanded or had his behind spanked for punishment.

"Really Cloud! It's fine. I was worried, but you're okay and that's what matters..." She cupped his chin and lifted his head until their eyes met. Tifa could feel herself blushing as she planted a tiny kiss near the corner of his mouth. "Um...I made something for you to eat. It's kinda cold now but I can heat it up."

She walked over to the counter with Cloud's eyes trailing after her. He was caught in a daze, mesmerized by her gentle touch and her generosity.

"Well? Are you going to come?" Tifa smiled as she placed a dish of noodles into the microwave, heating up the content.

Cloud nodded quickly. "Yes. Sorry." He pulled up a stool in front of the counter and sat down. Tifa ducked underneath to retrieve some napkins and fork. She popped up right in front of the blonde's face with a huge grin before setting the utensils in front of him.

"Would you like something to drink?"

"Give me something hard."

They both beamed at the same time, remembering those spoken words two years ago at the old Seventh Heaven.

"Heh...I guess some things will never change, huh?" Cloud whispered.

"And I hope they won't Cloud...I hope they won't..." She set her delicate fingers on top of his hand, feeling them being clasped within his grip. She felt his warmth seeping into her soft skin as their fingers intertwined and-

Ding!

Tifa moaned out loud. This was the second time that day that they were interrupted by the sound of technology. She reluctantly pulled her hand away to pick up the dish from the microwave.

"Here, I'll get it. It looks hot and I don't want you to burn yourself," Cloud offered as he prepared to get up from his seat.

"No. I got it!"

"Are you sure...?"

"Yes. Are you doubting my talent as a bar tender?"

"No! Not at all. Just...be careful," Cloud warned as he sat back down.

Tifa expertly kicked the microwave frame shut with her long leg while using both hands to set down the plate of seafood noodles in front of the man. "I hope you like it..."

"It smells delicious already. How can I not?" Cloud picked up his fork and twirled it within the plate, catching the noodles in a bundle before devouring it. He closed his eyes, savoring the mildly salty buttery taste of the noodles with a hint of shrimp and lobster merged within the taste. "God Tifa...this is exquisite. I'm so lucky to be living with the Planet's greatest chief."

"Oh Cloud! Stop teasing!" The brunette taunted with a small yawn in between her words.

"Tifa, you seem really tired..." he observed. Cloud momentarily dropped his fork and looked at her with concern. "You should really get to bed. I don't want to burden you anymore."

"You're never a burden Cloud..."

That's what you think...Tifa

"I'll feel better if you went to bed. I'll be up soon after I finish this and clean up."

"Well...okay..." she replied, unsure if she really wanted to do that. However, she decided it would be for the best when she saw Cloud giving her a stern look from the corner of his eyes. "All right all right! I'm going! Good night Cloud..." she said as she turned at the staircase.

"Good night Tifa. I'll be up soon."

"Oh Cloud?"

"Yes?"

"Um...we're gonna decorate the Christmas tree tomorrow evening. You think you can join us for that?" she asked nervously.

"I...I wouldn't miss it for the world..." Cloud replied genuinely. No one had ever asked him to help decorate their tree before. It would be his first time, and it would be a special time because he would be doing it with Tifa.

"Thanks Cloud!" Tifa exclaimed. "I can't wait and the kids can't either! You have no idea how much this means to them...and to me. I..."

"You what...?" he asked curiously.

"N-nothing. Never mind. I'm just thrilled that we're all going to do this...together." As a family she thought.

"Heh...I'm thrilled too...more than you will ever know..."

Author's Notes: Here's the second chapter. I don't think I will release the next one by Christmas, which is tomorrow so I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Thank you all for reading. I believe this is my first Christmas fic ever and I'm happy to say that it involves my favorite couple ever!