Title: Sailing

Rating: K

A/N: Almost done... so sad. I really enjoy having fun with these fan weeks! Everybody who has done things so far are so talented. Kudos to us! This also was my favorite story to write, so I hope you all like it.

SAILING

Denzel had been nervous when his guardian's friend, Cid Highwind, had invited them all for an afternoon cruise on his new boat. But once he had stepped foot on the water craft all fears disappeared and he was happily hanging onto the railing as he watched the water rushing towards the boat.

Marlene had settled into a comfy seat. She was reading the latest teen romance novel craze, something about a vampire falling in love with a boring high school student, and was having a good time on her own.

But Cloud and Tifa were missing.

Denzel immediately was concerned. A fear gripped his stomach- but he did what Cloud taught him. He took a deep breath, counted to ten, and assessed the situation. Obviously, the two have not fallen off the boat. An alarm would have rung. Then he remembered that Cloud suffered motion sickness, and that he would most probably be laying down under deck or hanging out by a rail. Denzel took another deep, calming breath and set out across the deck to find his foster parents.

Barett was sitting about midway through the boat, hooking a worm on a fishing line. He looked up at the sound of Denzel's feet, and gave the kid a warm smile. Denzel could not help but give one back- Barett, the biggest man he had ever seen- he even had a gun arm!- would strike fear into anyone he met. But the big man had such a soft heart for kids. When Denzel first met him he could not help but feel instantly comforted by him.

"Hey, boy." He said his familiar greeting. "Having fun?"

Denzel nodded. "Yeah! I thought I saw a monster under the water."

"Really?" Barett took a quick peek at the waves. "Could be good eating."

"Ew."

"Hey, when ya got nothing, ya eat somethin'." Barett chuckled, and casted his line. "Need anything?"

"I..." Denzel got a little shy. He didn't want to let it be known that he was worried about Cloud, but Barett might know where he was. "I needed to ask Cloud something. Have you seen him?"

Barett chuckled again. "Yeah. He's not well. He an Teef are in the back of the boat." When Denzel moved to get to the back, Barett shot him a warning look. "I'm telling ya now, it ain't pretty."

Denzel nodded, squared his shoulders, and marched towards the stern of the boat. This caused Barett to laugh quietly to himself, then he turned his attention again to his fishing line.

It only took a minute for the young boy to reach the rear end. As he turned a small corner, he caught sight of his two guardians, and felt relief spread through him. They were safe. He went to go to them, but stopped himself.

Tifa was rubbing Cloud's back, as the man hurled his breakfast up and into the water. She was humming a soothing song to him, and placed her head on his back shoulder blade.

"I'm sorry. You were right, ya shouldn't have eaten the french toast."

"Oh gods..." Cloud moaned. "Please don't mention food."

Tifa chuckled and moved behind him. She took both hands and placed them on his shoulders, massaging the blonde mercenary. He relaxed and placed his hot head on the cool railing bars.

"Feeling better?" Tifa asked.

Cloud took a deep breath. "A little." He lifted his head and looked out over the water. "I thought I beat my motion sickness."

"Maybe you're just having an off day." Tifa started running her nails up and down Cloud's back. Denzel's skin prickled at the thought; he loved it when Tifa did the same to him. "Cid said we should be sailing into port in about twenty minutes."

Cloud nodded. He reached down to the deck and picked up a water bottle. He brought it to his lips, swished it around, then spat overboard. Then he reached into his pocket and pulled out a pack of mints. He popped two into his mouth.

"Sorry."

Tifa smiled at him. She went to his side, into an open arm, and leaned against him lightly. "It's okay. I figured this would happen."

Cloud smiled, almost shyly, back at her. "I wanted to give you a big romantic kiss on a luxurious boat ride-"

"Please don't." Tifa laughed, lifting her hand up and pretending to block him.

Cloud's smile grew a bit bigger. Denzel smiled at the sight of them, then turned around to go back to the front of Cid's boat. His family was doing fine.

He was going to enjoy the ride.