Final Fantasy VII Fan Fiction

What's Important

By Kraven Ergeist

Watching the children run and play, she didn't notice his approach. She was too fixated on the tossing and tumbling of youthful joys as Marlene and Denzel danced and played in the gardens. It had been months now since the Geo Stigma had been lifted from the boy's brow, and now energy flowed through him in sporadic bursts of happiness and joy.

"Daddy!" the girl screamed, and it was only then that Elmira noticed the big man approaching from behind.

When she turned, she saw Barret, a big grin plastered to his face as his daughter came running.

"Marlene!" he exclaimed, scooping her up in his arms.

"Daddy!" the little girl cried, hugging her father. "You're home!"

Elmira smiled. She knew how hard this tiny family had it. Ever since Marlene's mother passed away, Barret had been raising the girl all on his own. Oh, sure, Tifa and Cloud had helped when they could, but ever since their falling out, neither had been there for Marlene, and she wasn't quite old enough to be taking care of herself. Barret was hard pressed to spend time with her, with his duty to the world drawing him out of town so frequently. It was the least Elmira could do to offer her support.

It was almost the way it was when Aeris was still running through those gardens.

Elmira brushed a tear away. Every time she thought about Aeris, it brought back painful memories. They would never truly abate, she knew, so she accepted them and cherished them fully.

Elmira cooked dinner that evening. With two boys to feed, however, she was hard pressed to match their appetites. It must have been so embarrassing for Barret to have his nine-year-old daughter lecture him about over eating.

Elmira suppressed a chuckle.

After dinner, the kids were playing around upstairs. Barret offered to help with dishes to make up for nearly eating her out of house and home.

Elmira didn't seem to mind the company.

"Thanks for looking after Marlene like this," Barret said, softly. Sentimental words never came easy for the big man, but when it came to his daughter, he never thought twice.

"Oh, I don't mind at all," Elmira smiled in return. "She's a wonderful girl, and it gets so lonely here…"

Barret nodded. "Yeah…sometimes, she just amazes me. Having a kid really changes your perspective on things. It really makes you want to be a better person…you know, for their sake. Some folks say that makes you weaker…but if you ask me…I think it makes you stronger."

Elmira nodded, drying her hands off. "I know exactly what you mean, Barret. Even before Aeris, I…"

Barret finally looked at her. "Oh…it's okay, Elmira. I don't…I don't know what I'd do if anything ever happened to Marlene. For it to happen…twice…with you, is just…"

He broke off after seeing Elmira grab hold of the counter to stabilize herself.

"Hey," he stammered, holding out an arm. "What's wrong?"

The woman hid her expression behind a smile. "Nothing…I just…need to sit down…"

Barret nodded and took her arm, leading her to the couch and easing her to a sitting position.

She took a breath. "Thank you…"

The old man shrugged. "I don't know how you do it Elmira…living here all by yourself, supporting two little kids…"

He paused again after Elmira slumped onto his shoulder.

"What…" Barret mouthed before he saw that she was crying. "Hey!"

The woman clutched his shoulder. "I'm sorry…I don't mean to burden you with all my problems…but it's just…the day I learned that she'd died…I was so proud of her…but still so sad. But I didn't have anyone to tell. I didn't have anyone to cry to. I didn't have anyone to tell me it would be all right. I just…held it all in…and now I-"

"Shh…" Barret said, soothingly, his good arm wrapping around her. "I understand, Elmira…I know, sometimes I think I'm not the greatest father…sometimes, I think I'm not the greatest man…but I have to try. So if you need someone to cry on…I'm here for you, all right? I gotta do my best…for Marlene's sake. Doesn't matter if that means moving to a new town, working three jobs for her schooling, supporting her caretaker, or hell, even overthrowing an evil government. I gotta do it."

He squeezed the woman close to him, and she returned the embrace even harder, tears streaming down her face, tears soaked in agony for years on end.

"You've…you've always been there for her…" Barret breathed. "Even more than I myself have. And that's not something that I'm just gonna overlook. So whatever you need from me…whatever I can give you…don't…don't hesitate, alright?"

Elmira clutched him tightly, sniffing back tears, her voice pitched in sobs. "Thank you…thank you so much, Barret…you don't know…how much that means to me…"

Barret stroked her shoulders, gently kissing her forehead. "It's gonna be okay, Elmira. Look – Marlene's already growing up into a beautiful young woman. And it's all thanks to you. All that's hurt us in the past is over now…what's important is trying to keep what we have now together…"

Elmira looked back at him with reddened eyes. "Barret…I…"

"Shh…" he cooed again. "It'll be alright…"

She felt his warm touch, his compassionate embrace, and finally, she was able to relax. Her tears set to rest after years of prolonged distance; she melted into his arms, content at last.

She rested her against his chest, feeling his warm heart strumming, and felt her eyelids flutter as sleep began to settle over her. This time, however, it came without a night's worth of tossing and ill-fraught dreams. Lying there, resting in his arms, she dozed into slumber, her pain finally abated, her tears finally spent.

And as she felt him kiss her again, she knew that Barret was right.

What's important is trying to keep what they had now together…