As the morning was busy with his senses, one of them was faintly alerted by something else. This was one of the most important senses one could ever have for it can provide warnings from any harm that may come physically. This sense, the sense of touch, was excited by something that constantly bothered Cloud's face.
It came like a storm. At first you don't feel it then the next you know, it is there. When it is there, its presence is overwhelming. This definitely bothered Cloud, for he wanted to relax a little more. The annoyed blonde dismissed it as a mosquito or a fly, and as soon as he felt it again, he tried to slap it with much irritation.
He failed though, and succeeded in slapping his own face. Voices came afterwards.
Finally, it was gone... Temporarily. Cloud knew it would come back yet the everlasting desire for a little more laziness kept his guard down and he did nothing to prepare for the next wave of attacks. Sure enough, it came, surprising the unsurprised blonde. This time, it brought an ally which is nearly impossible to swat away. This ally felt warm, and had a sweet scent to it.
Cloud frowned as it began its annoying wave of assaults. First it was on his forehead, then it moved down to each eye, left first, then right. Cloud felt more of this foreign object and he found it surprisingly relaxing. Despite his frown, his lips twitched upwards and his distorted face began to soothe and smoothen out.
As soon as it passed through the bridge of his nose and on his nose, he realized that this was actually human breath. Its sweetness, warmth and comfort reminded him of his own mother. It stopped for a while, probably to take in another gulp of air. A few moments after, its femininity was there again. This time, he could feel it on his lips. And it stayed there for a while.
Even though it was soothing, it still disturbed his peace. Cloud turned his head and buried his face in the backrest of the couch. This move, though it protected his face, left a vulnerable spot on his head wide open to attacks.
The breath took advantage of this weakness and exploited it, brushing right into the relaxed but irritated blonde's ear. Cloud placed a hand over his ear and turned his head back in reaction to this fatal blow.
He tried to say something, anything to stop this relentless onslaught but the only thing that came out of his mouth was a grumble. Again, he heard those voices again, giggling in delight.
Still, Cloud kept his eyes shut, relaxation was his primary goal- a goal that grew farther and farther from his grasp. The blonde remained determined to get it back.
Soon, more assaults made any of his attempts futile.
Cloud felt that annoying feeling once again but this time, he will catch that culprit. Groggily, his eyes opened to meet a little girl with brown hair and brown eyes. Small strands of her hair was on his face.
The little girl let out a cute shriek and ran up the stairs.
Now that she was gone, Cloud can now get his much-awaited morning rest and relaxation. Somehow he peculiarly found himself lazy today. He raised his arms and placed his hands behind his head. He then closed his eyes, a satisfied smile was painted across his face.
Soon, he will be thrusted into the world of daydream land.
Suddenly, he heard a woman's voice exclaim, "Three!"
Immediately afterwards, he felt the world explode on him as the sofa turned him over to the ground and collapse onto him in a heap of pillows and cushions. His trip to daydreamland was instantly cancelled. "The hell?" his muffled voice remarked.
Laughter filled the morning air, serving as a symbol of good health and happiness in the household. The disturbed blonde didn't find anything funny and fumbled his way out of the battle-scarred rubble that was once a couch.
There were more laughter and giggles as blonde spikes began poking out of the mess, followed by a large mass of blonde. The dazed victim stood and faced the three suspects. "So, this is how you welcome me and greet me good morning?" he pouted, lips twitching upwards.
The eldest of the three replied, "And this is how you repay our generosity; scattering all your filth on my beautiful sofa?" and stiffled a small laugh. The other two ran at him, hugging him tightly.
"You're back!"
The blonde placed each hand on each child's head and gently ruffled their hair.
"Hey," the woman interrupted, "Now don't you contaminate your filth on those poor children." and crossed her arms. She received a curt smile in reply.
The little boy looked behind his shoulder, towards the woman and spoke, "See, we told you he'll be fine!"
Tifa merely smiled. Once again, she felt whole. Her family was complete and happy, now that Cloud was around. This family, as she pictured, consisted of different colors. Each color was each personality in each of them. All these colors were painted around in the canvas of their home, creating a masterpiece which, hopefully, would last.
"Well, aren't you going to join in?" a manly voice snapped her out of her reverie.
"Yeah! Come, Tifa, group hug!" came a squeak from the little girl.
"Not until that guy over there is clean." Tifa pointed. Her red orbs focused deeply into the blue, warning it.
Cloud blinked and put up the most innocent face he could make.
Tifa put on a serious face and curled her lips in. She glared at him, despite her inward smile. "Bath. Now."
The ex-SOLDIER raised his hands in resignation, "Alright, you win." He picked up the plastic bag from the table and sighed. It was a good thing he placed Tifa's gift inside it and it did not raise too much suspicion.
"Cloud, what's that?" Denzel asked, pointing at the object in his hand.
Cloud raised the bag away from their reach and lied, "Some stuff..."
"What stuff?" he asked with much curiosity.
The ex-mercenary wasn't a good liar and walked, in an attempt to escape further interrogation, "Objects. Uh, things. You know." he then smiled. "Um, better take a bath before something happens." He began to walk past Tifa.
Even if Cloud's head was facing directly ahead, his eyes were glued on her. Because of this, he caught her looking back at him. Her face became softer and more relieved as her ruby eyes followed him.
"After you're done," she whispered, "come back downstairs. I'll have breakfast ready."
Cloud faced her and whispered back, "Mmm... Can't wait."
The two suddenly found themselves unable to move. Azure locked with ruby. They stood on the same staircase, on the same flight of stairs, and on the same stair. The narrow corridor encouraged their close proximity with each other.
"I thought you were going to take a bath?" Marlene asked.
"Yea, in a short while..." Cloud spoke, as if in a trance.
A low grumble severed the connection the two had established on the stairs. Tifa blinked and smiled, her head lowered, "Looks like someone's hungry." She spoke softly, in a motherly tone.
"Yeah," Cloud replied, placing a hand on his stomach, "Since last night."
"You did not eat last night?" Tifa said, with a hint of worry in her voice.
"Well, I thought maybe I could have dinner with you guys. But when I arrived you were out so..."
"So? You did not eat?"
"I thought about calling you but my PHS' battery was dead."
Tifa became silent. She opened her mouth to speak, but instead of hearing her voice, she heard Cloud's.
"But I was able to cook some instant noodles. Somehow, I was able to eat something." he tried to smile.
"Cloud, I- I'm sorry," she sighed, "We ate out and, I didn't know..."
"It's alright, I'm used to eating that way. When I was in Shinra, I enjoyed feasting on tasteless and rationed food in rusty cans."
"Cloud, you're not in Shinra anymore. You're here, in our home, and you must be eating good food!" Tifa retorted. "I'm sorry Cloud. I didn't mean to..."
"Tifa, it's my fault. I failed to inform you. Besides, I think you guys enjoyed your dinner and that was enough to fill my stomach."
"Well actually," the woman smiled, "we didn't. Food wasn't cooked well."
"Oh," Cloud looked thoughtful. "Looks like nothing can beat Tifa Lockheart's cooking."
"Thanks," Tifa smiled.
"Well, guess we're even now, eh?" Cloud took a few steps further up, "Looking forward to breakfast." then he walked away.
Back downstairs, Marlene whispered to her playmate, "See, told 'ya they like each other!"
Denzel shrugged.
Breakfast went by smoothly, obviously enjoyed by all. This is exactly how breakfast was supposed to be eaten: together as a family, eating heartily with no regrets, conversations revolving around positive topics, and good food. And as a bonus, Cloud was now clean.
Though it is agreeable that mashed potatoes mixed with tomatoes in an omelette do not seem like a very appetizing dish, the four enjoyed it.
Cooking is about love for your work. Fear of experimentation must be set aside, and exquisite taste must be developed. But most of all, there must be passion- the drive to create delicious meals. For their cook however, her dishes have all been made out of her love for the family. It is her joy to serve them with love and her passion for their smiles drives her to create such wonderful meals.
And none of those chewing on her mashed potatoes-mixed-with-tomatoes-omelette can ever deny that, save for the fact that children dislike vegetables no matter who cooked it or what or how it was cooked. But as long as it was created by Tifa's hands, no large problem was ever encountered.
It was Sunday today and the bar was closed. It was a perfect day to enjoy the company of each other.
"Alright, so what do you want to do today?" Cloud asked, swallowing a chunk of food down his throat.
"I wanna go to the mall!" Marlene piped in.
"Me too!" Denzel agreed. Food sprayed from his mouth as he spoke and immediately, he covered it with his hands in shame.
"Be careful." Tifa reminded him as she retrieved a piece of napkin, "Next time, do not talk with your mouth full." she then wiped off the half-digested mounds of omelette.
Unable to speak due to the remaining food in his mouth, Denzel nodded his head in acknowledgement, and slightly bowed it in apology.
"The child's excited." came a comment from Cloud.
Tifa sighed and crumpled the napkin, "Even so, they should learn to control themselves. People might think that they are being raised by savag-" She stopped mid-sentence as soon as she looked at Cloud.
His hair was even messier now, his cheeks were puffed due to the amount of food in his mouth, and his plate was messy. Disturbed by the woman's abrupt mid-sentence halt, he looked up at her. "What?" he asked, muffled by the omelette which occupied a large percentage of his mouth.
"Never mind," Tifa sighed again. She looked back down at her food, "Now we know who Denzel's role model is."
Marlene giggled. "So, we're going to the mall?"
Cloud raised a finger as he chewed the last bunch of the omelette from his mouth and swallowed it. After his mouth was clear he spoke, "How about you, Tif? Any place you had in mind?"
"Well," the young woman began, "I was thinking about taking a breath of fresh air in the park."
The two playmates exchanged looks of boredom and giggled at their own silliness.
"But of course, we can go to the mall first." she added.
Marlene and Denzel searched for any sign of approval on Cloud's face. Of course, it wasn't difficult for them to find it.
"Well, looks like it's alright with your 'mom', isn't it?"
Tifa's lips stretched into a smile, "Yes, why not?"
The two children faced each other with glee.
"Alright you two, now finish your food before we change our minds." Cloud warned and the two obeyed without further words said.
Breakfast went on smoothly and soon, they were done. The two kids could have left and gone to their room, if only Cloud allowed them too.
"Cloud what is it?" Marlene asked with much impatience.
"Just be patient for a moment," Cloud kept them in place. He tossed and turn, as if having a nightmare, as his eyes scanned for an object he allegedly misplaced. 'Now where did that thing go?'
It was then that Cloud noticed a disturbance under the table. This disturbance made its presence known as soon as his foot hit its familiar form.
He reached under the table and grasped the disturbance. It responded to the blonde's capturing hold by uttering a familiar crumpling sound.
"What's that?" Tifa peeked under the table.
Cloud smiled, "View's much better on top of the table- not under."
"What's in the bag Cloud?" Denzel's eyes gleamed with curiosity. He propped himself higher and attempted to peek inside the plastic bag.
Marlene tried to pull him back down on his seat. 'Behave or you're not gonna get it,' Tifa would usually say, whenever she brought something for them.
The ex-mercenary frowned and looked thoughtful, "Honestly, I have no idea. Why don't you guys take a look?"
The little girl was unable to hold herself back and released her hold of her playmate, propping herself up as well. The two were oblivious to Tifa's 'now you two behave''s and practically lunged for the plastic bag.
The two children's eyes grew at their discovery. They immediately hugged Cloud with much glee and thanksgiving.
"Cloud!" Tifa gasped, "those candies are expensive! How are you going to pay our bills?"
The man began to speak however, the brunette cut him off.
"Are you going to take more jobs now?" her voice, though soft, was very much audible. It rang through everyone's ears and commanded a resounding silence. "I'm not saying that it's unwise to give this to them; as a matter of fact, I'm glad you did." Her voice lowered again, and brought her head along with it, "it's just that, you might, you know..."
The ex-mercenary felt like something he never thought he felt before. Oddly, he felt like a hero. And for what reason, he did not understand. When the once happy world turns sad, these heroes will come and save it, and everybody will be happy again.
Now that the world is sad, here comes super Cloud to help return the upward bend on everybody's lips. "Yeah," he nodded, "Let's just say, I might begin to listen to you guys more often."
And as always, the heroes save the day and everyone is happy.
After a short while, the two youngsters were upstairs brushing their teeth by order of their mother while Cloud remained sitting on the table. He slowly lifted the nearly empty box of candies with a hand and tilted it towards him. Tifa nearly laughed at his bewildered expression as she washed the plates.
"How were they able to-" was all the blonde managed to say. It was like a storm has passed and the casualty was a horribly deformed empty box of candies.
"It's impossible to steal candy from those two babies; You'd be too late."
She heard no reply.
"Cloud, I'm sorry for what I've said," she continued, expecting to hear a vocal reply. But instead, she saw the reply and nearly jumped.
Out of the corner of her eye, a beautiful red rose appeared, wrapped in plastic. "No, I'm sorry Tif. Here, you didn't think I had forgotten all about you, right?"
Slowly, she took the rose with both hands. She mustered up as much courage as possible to lift her gaze from the red rose to his blue eyes. In those mako blue eyes, she could see the color of the rose reflected in it.
She realized that she was wrong. The red reflection in his eyes was not the color of the rose. Actually, it was ruby- the same color of her eyes.
"Meet me outside the bar tonight, after we arrive." then, Cloud playfully ruffled her hair, "You're welcome Tif." and left.
Tifa was dumbfounded. She stared at the mass of blonde as it drifted out of the room. She didn't even bother to fix her messed-up hair but continued to hold the rose with both hands.
Soon, the little happy family were out, spending the day with each other.
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"They're on to us. We must act now."
"Sir, if it would be possible, we need more resources and time. Most are ready but it is still not enough."
The chair creaked and the shadowy figure sighed, "Redouble your efforts. For now, commission all men that you can. We need to proceed with the plan right now."
"Yes sir, I'll see what I can do but I'm not sure if we can reach the target quota."
The shadow on the sofa let out a disapproving sigh, "Alright. Before you leave, I want you to take care of our little 'visitors'. They will definitely be a liability."
"Sir are you sure? I mean they are in the holding cells anyway."
"Now Neil, there are two types of people in this world. Those who follow, and those who doubt. As I know it, those who doubt usually have their very lives in doubt." The voice was stern.
Neil raised his arm in salutation, turned around, and left. As he closed the door behind him, two soldiers followed closely behind.
They continued to walk briskly down the building. Its ambience turned from dark to darker as the group went down the various floors.
As soon as they arrived in the holding cells, Neil turned to one of the soldiers, "Bring whatever men you can get down here."
The soldier nodded and left.
Neil spoke to the other soldier, "Take care of the prisoners. They pose a threat."
The soldier opened one of the cages. Two weary-looking men looked up at the soldier. The Avalanche logo on their clothing glimmered in the dim light.
Back at the cell entrance, a faint elevator ping pierced through the walls. As the door opened, groups of soldiers poured out and jogged towards the holding cells.
Loud bursts of gunfire echoed throughout the level.
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Soon, it was nightfall. The trip was very tiring and Marlene and Denzel began to droop in their exhaustion, so they had to bring the kids home.
Now, it was seven in the evening. The woman reached for the knob. Before she turned it, she browsed her mind, trying to determine if she was able to do what she needed to be done for the night. Food was out for Marlene and Denzel, the bar is clean, the glasses are now stowed inside the cupboard, and everything seems to be in order.
She opened the door and greeted the cool, night air.
It was a beautiful night. People walked the streets of Edge, cars moved smoothly with ease as traffic was not apparent, the city lights shone like diamonds in the night sky. Strange enough, the stars were not present. The starry night sky she used to look at when she was little lacked its starriness. It was pretty odd.
She looked at her watch. One of the lights reflected off its glass cover, making it a little more tedious to read the hands as it spelled seven-forty. And it seems that she was the only biological organism around the area. 'Now this isn't strange.'
Tifa sat on one of the steps and twirled the rose in her fingers in absolute boredom and impatience.
"Sorry I'm late."
Tifa looked up at the figure. She almmost tumbled over in shock. Cloud's hair was surprisingly neat yet some of the spiky strands are beginning to protrude from the blonde mass. Soon, his hair will be as messy as before.
And she loved him that way. It was... attractive. "It's alright."
Cloud flashed an excited smile and looked up at the starriless sky.
"You do know that you asked me out on a date."
"Well, I honestly have no idea." Cloud looked at her then at the rose. "There's something special about that rose," he said. "Just hold on a minute."
Tifa too was looking at it.
Cloud raised an arm at her, "Come on Tif, shall we go?"
"Cloud, as I recall, I have not exactly said 'yes' to this date." Tifa teased.
The blonde looked thoughtful, "Now let's see... Make-up, a nice blouse, a nice skirt, perfume, and shiny hair... Hardly the attire of someone who plans on staying home."
"Alright," she sighed, "Let's go, smarty pants."
The two walked side by side. Tifa held the rose with both hands.
"So, where are we going?"
Cloud slightly shrugged.
"You asked me out on a date and you have no idea where we're going?"
"Yeah, I do," the blonde defended.
Tifa raised an eyebrow.
"Well actually..." Cloud scratched his head, "No."
The young brunette smiled at her date's silliness. She took his hand in hers and was undaunted by the surprising tremble in the blonde's hand. Tifa pulled him around a bend.
"What are you doing?" Cloud uttered as he was dragged along.
"I am taking the initiative and hopefully mask the consequence due to the incompetence of my date."
"Alright but take good care of that rose. There's something very special in it." Cloud was finally able to get his feet to work as optimally as Tifa's pull. "Where are we going anyway?"
"The park."
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Heavy boots made loud, thumping sounds on the floor. One black-clad figure approached another, "Sir, all five hundred prisoners are executed."
"Good. Bring me their heads. Then deploy the troops. How much time do we have until they are ready?"
"About ten hours sir. Fastest we can do."
"Make it faster. We must begin now."
The soldier saluted and gestured to the others. The other soldiers pulled out knives and approached the stack of corpses.
Then their work began.
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The park had a small area, suitable enough for a few who would like to take a break from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. It was a satisfactory park, with trees, walkways, a pond and some lampposts.
There were benches spread evenly around the park, giving their costumers plenty of views to choose from.
Tonight the park was illuminated by the bright glow of the moon. In light of this natural beauty, the lampposts were turned off in order to conserve electricity and in order for the park-goers to enjoy this moonlight.
The only thing negative about the place is that a small military outpost is situated right next to it. But the environment more than makes up for it.
Anyway, it's the military that funds the park so its location is of no question.
Cloud and Tifa sat on a bench right next to the outpost. Anyway, the view was beautiful in that area so they had no second thoughts about staying there.
Tifa studied the rose in her hand, "What's so special about this anyway?"
"Why, don't you like it? I know girls love roses."
"Yeah I do. It's just that you said there is something special about this and I wanna know what."
"Just wait, you'll find out soon enough." Cloud looked behind him at the outpost. He could see two soldiers leaning on the fence. 'At least those soldiers can admire the view. Hope I can say the same for those who can never open their eyes again.'
"Isn't this great?" came a voice beside him.
Strands of black hair whipped his face and drew his attention. He saw the smoothness of Tifa's face. The moonlight reflected off her ruby eyes, magnifying its color, and the wind gently brushed her face and played with her hair. How he wished he could be the wind. "You're beautiful tonight Tif."
"Oh," the brunette blushed. She kept on staring straight ahead. "Is that why you were looking at me?" She turned her head to face him.
Cloud immediately looked away and turned as red as Tifa's eyes. He could admit, she was beautiful. Especially how her hair danced on her face and how the redness painted it.
"Or is it because of something else?" she added.
"Huh?"
"Nothing, Cloud." she looked back. "It was nothing. I have the same opinion of you too."
Cloud looked up and fumbled with a screw on the bench. "So you think I'm beautiful?" he joked.
Tifa laughed. "I think so. In fact, a good wig and a fancy dress will suit you nicely."
The blonde smiled and imagined himself wearing those. His smile faded, "Now that does not seem right."
Tifa giggled. She shifted her gaze downwards to the flower and gasped.
The tangled mass of red in her hands slowly unfurled. As the rose bloomed, she felt something bloom inside her- something that will not bloom without the person beside her.
She marvelled at the beauty unfolding in her hands.
Her heart skipped a beat as soon as nature has finished doing her wonder. Resting on one of the petals of the now opened rose was a silver figurine which glistened in the moonlight.
She took the figurine in her hand and studied it. It was a figurine of a armored man carrying a lance in one hand and a shield in the other hand. He sat on an armored chocobo. The figurine began to blur.
"Remember a long time ago, on a night similar to this, you made me promise something? I hope I'm keeping that promise 'cuz either way, I intend to do so."
Tifa looked at the man who spoke these words. Cloud, like the figurine, was blurry as well. This was when she realized that she was in tears.
She practically jumped on Cloud and hugged him tightly. She knew that Cloud would never let her go. She could feel his hands slowly wrap around her back. She could feel utmost security.
Cloud could admit, he really felt like he was a part of the family. He was accepted with utmost care and he was loved without reciprocation. And he had loved them back.
This familial love had branched out into a different kind of love- a love that can be shared, if possible, with the family's matriarch.
He had his whole world in his arms. Not to mention in the bar as well.
Both of them half-heartedly pulled back. Their arms remained wrapped around each other and their eyes locked. Ruby and azure swam in a canvas of mixed emotions. Their breaths gently brushed through their skin and their lips found a sense of attraction with each other.
Slowly their faces went closer until the tips of their noses touched. Cloud raised his hand to wipe a teardrop off Tifa's cheek. Then he brushed some of her hair back.
Tifa closed her eyes. Everything was perfect.
Then everything went to hell.
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A/N I extremely apologize for the excruciatingly long update. I've been having writer's block and schoolwork is getting more hectic.
Once again, I apologize. Still hope you'll enjoy.