Weeks later, life at Seventh Heaven was it's quietest by far. Cloud, Tifa, Denzel, and Marlene had fallen into a comfortable daily routine that was beginning to become as natural to them as breathing. The days passed quickly, and the only thing that really changed was the weather, which was becoming colder day by day, as wintertime got closer.
Tifa was always up first, closely followed by Cloud. The bar opened at eight, but Tifa was usually up and going by six. Soon after, Cloud would trudged down the stairs, bleary-eyed and looking less than enthused about going outside and scraping the early morning frost off his motorcycle.
Truth be told, both of them wouldn't minded an extra half-hour of sleep or so, but mornings were one of the only times they had to themselves. Of course, there was never much to talk about in the mornings, but when the bar was still dark and the house was quiet, they found that it was worth getting up earlier just so they could sit in each other's company before the hustle and bustle of the day really started.
Sometimes, Cloud learned, it was in these quiet shared mornings that he learned the most. For example, he could tell when nightmares had plagued Tifa dreams just by looking at her eyes. He ought to recognize that haunted look; after all, he had seen it in his own eyes many times. He found that at times, all it took was a quick squeeze of the hand to chase the look out of her eyes.
And then there were the few rare mornings when he'd have to hold her for a few minutes, until she was brave enough to smile again. Cloud had bad nights too, and he soon figured out that Tifa could read him as well as he could read her by the gentle way she treated him those mornings. But they never spoke of it. They already knew all about each other's horrors of the past
But luckily, those mornings were few. Cloud and Tifa had discovered that it was in the times that you were the happiest and most at peace that all the bad things of your past come back to haunt you, simply because there is nothing more urgent on your mind. But they had yet to have a dream bad enough to haunt them throughout the day.
Even if the comfort of each other's presence wasn't enough to chase their past away, the two bouncing balls of energy they lived with would most certainly be enough. Marlene and Denzel had never failed to wake up at least fifteen minutes before Cloud's departure to run into the bar sunny-faced.
The peaceful bar always began to lose its quiet morning serenity at this point. As the bar filled with the morning light, it also filled with the unceasing chatter of the two children. Almost instantly the two children would begin to beg Tifa to let them drink coffee like Cloud, and after she said no, they would instantly begin begging Cloud for a sip of his.
Cloud, as always, was less resilient than Tifa. He let the children sneak a sip once, and had to hid his chuckle from Tifa when their faces puckered at the bitter taste. They accepted their juice with much less sulking after that experience.
After Cloud left every morning at 7:30 or so, Tifa would begin to open the bar. Seventh Heaven was open every day from 8 am to 9 pm. They were strange hours for a bar, Tifa would admit, but Seventh Heaven wasn't so much a bar as it used to be nowadays. The bulk of costumers came between 11 am and 6 pm.
Marlene and Denzel usually ran around the house for the first part of the day. Marlene still loved to help with the bar, and Denzel usually grudging followed her example till after lunchtime, when to his great relief, Tifa chased them outside to go play with the other kids.
They always stumbled back in before dark, much more tired and dirty than they had been when the day started, ready to eat dinner. Usually they didn't mind that Tifa insisted they come home before dark, but as "before dark" got earlier and earlier due to the days getting shorter and shorter, their wheedling finally convinced Tifa to allow them to stay out until at least 6:30, provided that they stay in sight of the bar if it's getting dark.
And so, after dark, when the bar was more or less empty, Tifa and the kids sat in the bar together waiting for Cloud to get home. Granted, Cloud made it home every night, but whether he'd come home at 7 or 9:30 or any time in between was always a mystery. The good part of this arrangement was that it kept Denzel and Marlene quiet for a couple of hours while Tifa cleaned up the bar; each of them wanted to be the first to hear the putter of the motorcycle that meant Cloud was home.
And that's where Tifa found herself today. The glasses had already been cleaned and stacked and the soft lighting of the bar glinted off their surfaces. She'd even found time to clean the floors. Marlene and Denzel were sprawled out on their stomachs on the floor quietly playing a card game with Tifa's old beat-up deck. They were already cleaned up and in their pajamas.
Tifa sighed and absently straightened a chair or two. From her spot on the floor, Marlene was beginning to yawn and Denzel's head was drooping from where it rested in his hands. Tifa glanced at the clock; it read half past nine. So it's going to be a late night today... she thought. She looked sideways at the staircase. Cloud had bought a new phone to put in his room upstairs along with a new cellphone. If he was going to be later than ten, he'd call.
She walked over to the kids and sat on the floor next to their sprawled out figures.
"Sure you two don't want to go to bed?" she asked softly, already knowing the answer.
They both shook their heads and pushed their cards around half-heartedly on the hardwood floor. Marlene sighed and sat up, leaning against Tifa's side.
"This game's getting boring..." she told Tifa matter-of-factly.
Denzel lifted his chin out of his hands and nodded.
"Me and Marlene always tie." he said, tucking his feet under him as he lifted up off his stomach. "Except when I win."
Marlene made a face at him and turned to Tifa.
"I usually win." she corrected.
Denzel shrugged and leaned against the wall. Even the prospect of an argument of Marlene didn't seem all that exciting at the moment. Marlene sighed when she realized the argument was over before it had even begun. Tifa collected the cards slowly and slipped them back into the box. They sat in silence for awhile before Marlene perked up.
"Hey Tifa?" she asked, her voice losing the bored, sleepy tone. "Let's play dragons and princess, like we used to!"
Marlene was smiling eagerly, but Denzel seemed less sure.
"I don't really want to play that game..." he said, looking at Tifa uncomfortably.
Tifa looked at Denzel confusedly for a moment. Pretending to be a dragon and chasing Tifa around the bar (while she screamed realistically as possible) had once been a favorite past time of Marlene and Denzel. But then Denzel looked away with a troubled expression on his face, and Tifa remembered that he had witnessed Tifa being knocked unconscious by a real dragon, on one of the most frightening days of his life.
Though comprehension had dawned on Tifa's face, Marlene was still staring at Denzel's strangely closed face curiously.
"Why-" Marlene began, tilting her head.
But she never finished the question as a sound outside caused her to scramble to her feet.
"Cloud's home!" she said, rushing to the front door.
Tifa and Denzel rose up more slowly. Denzel's eyes were still pointed towards the floor. Tifa gently put an arm around his shoulder.
"I guess that game's not so fun anymore, huh?" she asked softly.
Denzel shook his head silently.
"Well... we'll find a different game that's just as fun, okay?" she said briskly.
Denzel gave a small smile and nodded.
"Maybe Marlene could be the princess and we could attack her." he suggested. "That would be fun!"
Tifa laughed and jostled his shoulder playfully, glad that the troubled look was gone from his face. Denzel began walking out of the room to greet Cloud, but Tifa stopped him.
"If you ever want to talk about it." Tifa told him gently. "You know you can talk to me or Cloud, right?"
He nodded solemnly and walked out of the room. Tifa watched him walk out and shook her head with a small smile. Denzel wanted so much to be like Cloud, but he was already like him in more ways than he knew.
After the excitement of Cloud coming home, it had been nearly impossible to get the kids to fall asleep. In the end, Tifa had agreed to let them stay up while Cloud ate his late dinner, knowing that they'd drift off eventually and they'd end up getting carried up to bed.
So within about fifteen minutes, Tifa was turning off the lights and quietly closing the door to the children's bedroom. She walked down the stairs cautiously, careful not to make one creak that might wake them up again, and went into the kitchen where Cloud was devouring his meal.
"No time for lunch today." he explained when Tifa cocked an eyebrow at him.
She smiled in understanding and sat down in another chair.
"Busy day?" she asked him sympathetically.
Cloud nodded and stared at his food. The fact that he hadn't told Tifa the bad news Reeve had told him weeks ago had been eating at him recently. But as the days went on, nothing new turned up and... Cloud guiltily stabbed his food with his fork. He just hadn't found an opening to tell her.
He glanced up at Tifa to see if she was going to question him further, but she seemed preoccupied with something completely unrelated. He put his fork down.
"Hey..." he said softly. "Something wrong?"
Tifa troubled sigh bothered him.
"Do you think the kids think about that day much?" she asked Cloud quietly.
There was no reason to specify what she meant by "that day." Cloud ran a hand through his hair thoughtfully.
"I don't know." he said truthfully. "Being kidnapped and all was probably pretty scary for them."
"Yea..." Tifa said softly. "But everything turned out okay in the end so I just figured..."
"All's well that ends well?" Cloud finished.
Tifa nodded, corners of her mouth tugged downwards. Cloud watched her carefully.
"Did one of the kids say something about the kidnapping?" Cloud prompted gently.
She shook her head, brow furrowed.
"Denzel... he said something about..." she looked up at Cloud. "Oh, you weren't there yet were you? When Bahumut attacked I-"
A look of understanding came over Cloud's face.
"Oh. That." he said softly.
Tifa looked confused.
"You already know?" she asked.
Cloud nodded, looking thoughtful.
"Denzel told me what happened awhile ago." he told Tifa quietly. "He was pretty shook up about it."
Tifa frowned.
"Why didn't he say something to me?" she wondered.
Cloud was silent. He knew exactly why Denzel didn't say anything to Tifa. It was scary to see Tifa hurt, and it frightened both Cloud and Denzel much more than it probably frightened Marlene to see Tifa knocked unconscious. Cloud ruefully remembered the conversation he and Denzel had after Denzel told him about the Bahumut attack.
"I didn't think anything could hurt Tifa." Denzel had admitted shyly. "She had her gloves and everything..."
Cloud had hesitated before saying anything. He imagined that Tifa and himself seemed invincible compared to Denzel's late parents. It most have been a cruel shock to him to find out that Tifa could die just as easily as his mother had despite their weapons and battle-hardened bodies.
"No one's invincible Denzel..." Cloud had replied slowly.
Denzel had nodded in understanding before looking up to Cloud, admiration shining in his eyes.
"But nothing bad will happen to any of us as long as you're around, right Cloud?" he asked eagerly.
All Cloud had been able to do was smile and nod, before gesturing for Denzel to go play with Marlene again.
In the present, Cloud shook his head and sighed. He sat with Tifa in silence for a bit, both caught in their own thoughts. He was surprised to feel Tifa lean her head on his shoulder after a minute, hiding her face.
"I just want either of them to end up..." she trailed off.
Cloud closed his eyes and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. Like us... he finished silently.
