It was midmorning, and the persistent rain had been replaced with blaring sunlight. Bright rays of light crept in through the window and onto Cloud's face, causing him to wrinkle his brow unconsciously. Two big brown eyes noticed this with a jolt of panic, and quickly, two little hands reached way up to jerk the curtains closed.
The room was now dark, and Cloud continued sleeping peacefully. Marlene smiled in satisfaction and turned to the doorway where Denzel was watching her. He was hovering in between Cloud's room and the hallway, clearly struggling between being loyal to Cloud, or going along with Marlene.
Marlene rolled her eyes exasperatedly.
"Come on Denzel!" she urged. "Don't be such a goody-goody."
Denzel's eyes flicked nervously to Cloud's sleeping form.
"I'm not being a goody-goody..." he whispered defiantly.
"Then come here and help me!" she said, motioning him vigorously to her side.
Sighing loudly, Denzel crept into the room and stood next to Marlene. She shot him a sly smile before pulling him over to Cloud's desk. He dragged behind her, look apprehensive.
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" he asked anxiously.
"Just trust me!" she whispered. "Do you want him to stay or not?"
Denzel shut his mouth. He didn't want Cloud to leave again. Marlene's idea did seem pretty plausible... He wondered how mad Cloud would be if they got caught. Denzel wrung his hands nervously. Tifa would probably get mad too. Or perhaps not. Tifa wants Cloud to stay too... Denzel thought as Marlene watched him impatiently. She'll probably be glad.
"Okay." Denzel said to Marlene. "Let's do it."
Her face lit up, and they immediately began to get immersed in their task. Marlene crawled under the desk and rustled around a bit. Denzel shushed her, glancing nervously over at Cloud. Finally, Marlene made a little triumphant noise, and began pulling on a black wire.
"I'm pretty sure it's this one." she whispered, crawling out from under the desk holding a plug.
Denzel nodded.
"Okay, let's grab it then." he said.
Marlene leaned over the desk and pulled the phone over to the edge of the desk. Denzel reached out to grab it, and they began walking towards the doorway, being as quiet as they could. Just before they left the room, Denzel stopped in his tracks, causing Marlene to run into him.
"Keep going!" Marlene hissed, turning back to make sure Cloud was still asleep.
Denzel shook his head.
"What are we gunna say when he notices the phone's gone?" he asked Marlene.
The look on her face told him that she hadn't thought about that yet.
"Shoot..." Marlene whispered, looking thoughtful.
A moment passed, and her face light up with an idea.
"Come on Denzel!" she said, pushing him out the door. "I got a idea!"
The two children crept into the hallway, closing Cloud's door quietly behind them. Marlene quickly ran into their room, leaving Denzel alone holding the phone for a minute. When she returned, she had a heavy metal tool box in her arms. Denzel eyed it apprehensively.
"Marlene, where'd you get that?" he asked.
"Cloud's room." she answered immediately. "I stole it a long time ago."
She set it on the ground and knelt next to it. Denzel glared at the back of her head.
"I'm gunna tell Cloud that you're the reason he's always missing stuff!"he threatened.
Marlene turned around and met his accusing stare.
"If you tell Cloud..." she began. "I'll tell Tifa that you're the one that hid a special surprise in a costumer's plate!"
Denzel and Marlene glared at each other for a minute, but their faces cracked into smiles as they remembered the shrill scream the lady had made when she found the worm. Tifa had apologized profusely, but the lady had blamed it on her six year old son. Denzel felt a little guilty about that, but he was mostly relieved that Tifa didn't know it was him. He gulped.
"Okay, okay... I won't tell." Denzel promised, kneeling next to Marlene on the floor.
He watched her as she produced a screw driver with a grin. She held her hand out expectantly, and Denzel handed her the phone. She turned it over, and with clumsy inexperience, began screwing the back off.
"What are you doing?" Denzel asked curiously.
"Breaking it!" she responded cheerfully.
"Marlene!" Denzel hollered.
She looked up.
"What?" she asked defensively. "If the phone's broken, he can't get any phone calls."
When she saw that he was still staring at the phone skeptically, she continued.
"You know how it works... the phone rings, Cloud leaves." she stated matter-of-factly.
Denzel sighed and motioned for her to continue with the screw-driver. She smiled and patted him consolingly on the back.
"It's for his own good..." she said, lowering her voice dramatically.
It took awhile, but eventually, the two children were satisfied that there was no way the phone could possibly work. The inside of the phone was mangled beyond recognition. Denzel screwed the back of the phone on, and Marlene put their tools away. They examined their handy-work.
"You can't even tell it's broken!" Marlene said proudly.
Denzel turned it over in his hands, looking it carefully over.
"Looks the same as it did before." he said finally, placing it back in the cradle. "We better go put it back before Cloud or Tifa wakes up."
A distant noise interrupted Cloud's deep sleep. He let out a grunt, and for a minute it stopped, only to resume a second later. He could hear two voices conversing quietly and nervously. He tried to ignore it and fall back asleep, but when the voices persisted, he groaned and opened his eyes.
The room was dark, but he could see that the sun was shining behind his closed curtains. Strange, he thought idly. I don't remember shutting my curtains. He shrugged it off, and looked around his room. He located the source of the two voices almost immediately.
"What are you two doing in here?" he asked, as he noticed two faces looking at him nervously from next to his desk.
Right away, Marlene and Denzel produced their most innocent faces. Cloud's instincts were telling him to run, but he restrained himself.
"You didn't put anything in my bed or anything, did you?" he asked nervously.
They shook their heads vigorously. He gave them a suspicious look, and angelic smiles bloomed on their faces. He sighed. Marlene and Denzel exchanged triumphant looks when he wasn't looking, and sat at the foot of Cloud's bed.
"What are we doing today Cloud?" Denzel asked eagerly.
Cloud yawned tiredly and scratched the back of his neck.
"Dunno..." he said, voice scratchy from sleep. "Seems like your room is a mess... maybe you guys could take care of that."
Marlene and Denzel laughed loudly at Cloud's joke. Well, at least I tried... Cloud thought, giving in and cracking a smile at their amused laughter.
"Well then what do you two want to do then?" Cloud asked.
Immediately they began talking loudly and animately at the same time. Cloud nodded his head and pretended to be considering their suggestions, even though they were both talking to loudly and enthusiastically for him to make out a single word. His bed wobbled slightly as they bounced up and down to emphasize their words.
"Okay, okay..." Cloud chuckled, shaking his head. "We'll figure it out later."
They nodded, and Marlene leaned forward eagerly.
"Cloud, let's go eat pie for breakfast!" she begged.
Cloud hesitated.
"I don't think Tifa wants us eating pie for breakfast..." he began.
Denzel interrupted him.
"She's still asleep!" he said eagerly.
The children saw the wavering resolve in Cloud's face and grabbed his hands, pulling him out of bed and towards the kitchen. He let himself be dragged into the kitchen by the two excited children. Overall, they seemed completely untraumatized by the previous day's events. He figured that a million questions would come later, but for now, all they cared about was their pie.
They reached the kitchen, and shared a conspirational smile.
Tifa awoke to the sound of Cloud, Marlene, and Denzel's laughter, and she smiled. Their voices seemed to be coming from the kitchen, and she could hear their voices all the sudden get low and secretive. She laughed softly and rolled over onto her stomach, propping her elbow up and resting her chin in her hand. They think they're so sneaky... she thought with amusement. I suppose I'll let it slide this time... Pie for breakfast never killed anyone.
She took note of the bright sunlight streaming through her window. It's been awhile since I've been able to sleep this late... she thought with a smile. Despite the exhausting day before, she felt incredibly energetic and cheerful. Tifa chuckled to herself as she heard something drop loudly on the floor downstairs, and hoped Cloud and the kids weren't completely destroying the kitchen. She wondered if she should wait and give them time to hide the pie evidence, or if she should walk downstairs now and give them all a heart attack. The thought made her chuckle.
She sat up in bed, and the thick comforter that she rarely used slide off her shoulders. As she swung her legs over the side of the bed, she noticed the unusually warm condition of her room. Stretching her hands above her head, she walked over to the thermostat, and titled her head curiously as she saw that it was cranked up much farther than usual.
Must've been Cloud... she thought, a warm feeling swooshing through her stomach. It was almost beginning to feel like Cloud never left. You never stopped caring, did you Cloud? she thought happily, leaning against the wall. As she heard more muffled laugher coming from downstairs, Tifa almost felt tears spring up in her eyes. Everything's really is going to be okay again... she thought happily. We're going to pick up just where we left off.
Tifa quickly made her bed up, and left her room quietly. She tip-toed down the stairs, Cloud, Denzel, and Marlene's voices getting louder with every step she took. They actually thought I'd sleep through this? she wondered with amusement, placing her hand gently on the kitchen door and pushing it open silently.
Just as she suspected, the three of them were gathered around a half-eaten pie with forks in their hands. As always, seeing the three of them together made her smile. The first few times she had caught them eating pie for breakfast together, she had let them go at it, the scene was too cute for her to interrupt. Tifa considered letting it go again; she loved seeing the three of them together, and she would feel kind of bad if they found out they weren't as sneaky as they thought they were and she'd known all along.
But just as Tifa was about to slip quietly out the door, Marlene looked up from the pie and her fork clattered to the table in surprise. Cloud and Denzel's heads whipped around to see what she was looking at, and their faces immediately froze up. Tifa had to restrain herself from laughing. You'd think I caught them doing drugs or something... Tifa thought with amusement.
Denzel's eyes flicked between Cloud and Tifa. He nervously leaned over in Cloud's direction.
"Are we in trouble?" he whispered.
Cloud scratched his head and smiled nervously in Tifa's direction. She shook her head exasperatedly at him, a grin beginning to tug at the corners of her mouth. She placed her hands on her hips, giving them all a playfully stern look, eyes sparkling.
"Is this your way of telling me that my breakfasts are no good?" she asked them teasingly.
The kids jumped up quickly, Marlene's arms clinging to her waist, Denzel tugging at her hand. Their sweetest smiles looked up at her as they quickly flattered every single breakfast she had ever made.
"Your pancakes are the best Tifa!" Marlene said, nodding emphatically.
"Yea!" Denzel said quickly. "And your toast is way better than...uhh...better than..."
"Better than pie?" Tifa supplied helpfully, smiling amusedly at the kids.
They winced slightly at the word pie, but continued to smile hopefully at her.
"Are you mad?" Marlene asked her sweetly.
Tifa laughed and gently untangled herself from Marlene and Denzel.
"I'm not mad." she told them, wiping chocolate off their faces.
Their little shoulders slumped in relief and smiles lit their faces up again. Tifa looked over their heads and couldn't help but laugh as she saw that Cloud looked almost as relieved at the children.
"Does that mean we can still have fun today Tifa?" Denzel asked Tifa hopefully.
"Oh, I suppose so..." Tifa said playfully.
Marlene smiled excitedly.
"What are we gunna do first?" she questioned eagerly.
Tifa bent down so she her eyes were on the same level as the kids.
"How about..." she began, smiling at the anticipation on their faces. "You two go clean your room?"
Marlene and Denzel groaned loudly, but scampered off, racing each other to the staircase. Cloud and Tifa watched them go with amused smiles.
"You know..." Cloud said as Tifa turned around. "When I suggested that, they just laughed at me."
Tifa laughed quietly at this as she sat down at the table across from Cloud. The empty pie pan sat idly between them. Cloud glanced nervously from it to Tifa.
"You really aren't mad?" he asked her.
She shook her head. He leaned in, examining the look on her face.
"You're sure?" he asked her, his tone serious but his eyes playful. "You're not going to make me clean my room too?"
They both burst into laughter.
"Not this time..." Tifa promised him, chuckling.
Still laughing, Tifa grabbed the pie pan and stood up. She walked over to the sink and began cleaning it. After a minute, Cloud stood up too, and leaned on the counter, watching her.
"Did you sleep alright last night?" he asked her.
Tifa smiled at him as she put the pan away.
"I slept fine..." she said, unable to keep the teasing tone out of her voice. "But I was a little warm this morning."
Cloud blushed a little, and Tifa smiled to herself, pretending not to notice. She finished up at the sink and turned around, leaning against the other side of the counter top across from Cloud.
"So what's going on today?" she asked him, chin in her hand.
He shrugged, a thoughtful look on his face.
"I suppose we could go into town." he suggested. "They'll probably need some sort of help after that mess yesterday."
Tifa smiled and nodded.
"We'll go into town then." she said decisively. "I'm sure the kids will be all for it... especially if we give them candy money."
Cloud laughed and stood up straight, heading up to his room to get dressed. He paused for a minute in the doorway, turning around to give Tifa a shy smile before leaving a kitchen. Tifa smiled at the closed door long after it swung close. Today's going to be a good one... she thought happily.
