Author's Note: Hi everyone! Thanks so much for being patient with me. I know I said I would upload more stories after the Vincent Christmas one, but I just started college classes up again and I've been SO. BUSY. But it's been so much fun! I just haven't had as much time to write as I would like. But I had this idea in my head for a while, and I thought it was so freaking cute and funny that I couldn't not write it. I hope you enjoy the beginning of this short story!
Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy VII, or any of it's characters.
"Man, Denzel," Marlene said with a heavy sigh, "raising two grown-ups is hard."
Denzel looked up from his homework to see Marlene sitting across the table from him. Her chin rested in the palm of her hand, her long braid falling over her right shoulder. Marlene was looking at nothing in particular, but Denzel could see frustration in her dark brown eyes.
"Raising two grown-ups?" Denzel asked, confused.
Marlene answered in a tone of voice that showed Denzel how stupid of a question that was. "Tifa and Cloud. Duh."
"I know who you're talking about," Denzel said, annoyance creeping through his voice. "I just don't know what you mean by us raising them."
Marlene let out another sigh. "Don't you feel like sometimes we're the only ones who can talk sense into them?"
"I...guess so?" Denzel questioned. The truth was, he knew what Marlene meant. As smart as Tifa and Cloud were, sometimes it felt like he had to spell some things out for them. It only led to frustration on both ends for not understanding one another. "Yeah," Denzel said after a moment, putting down his pencil and turning his full attention to Marlene. "I know what you mean. Why do you ask?"
Marlene's hand dropped from her chin and onto the table with a small thunk. "I just wish the two of them would say something already. Yesterday when Cloud came home from delivering stuff, Tifa looked really happy."
"She always looks happy when Cloud gets home." Denzel pointed out.
"I know," Marlene said defensively, "but that's not the point. The point is," she leaned across the table, her voice lowering slightly. "she went up to him like she was going to hug him, but at the last second she just said, 'Welcome home,' and went back to the bar. I was drawing last night, and I was kind of close to her, and she just looked...sad." Marlene's voice dropped to a whisper as she continued, "I think she chickened out because she loves him."
Denzel could feel his eyes widen slightly. "Really?" At Marlene's nod, he said, "I mean, I know they're good friends and all but I wouldn't have guessed that."
"Because you're not a girl," Marlene said wisely as she straightened up in her chair. "We know these things by instinct. Which probably explains why Cloud is so oblivious to how Tifa-"
"I wouldn't say that." Denzel interrupted. Marlene gave him a questioning look, and he continued. "I mean, Cloud's done some things like that too."
"Really? Like what?" Marlene asked, somewhat skeptically.
Denzel thought for a moment, trying to remember what happened a few days ago. Once he got his thoughts collected he began: "The other night I woke up because I was thirsty, so I went downstairs to get some water. Tifa was cleaning the bar because everyone was gone, so I stayed on the steps because I didn't want to get in trouble for being out of bed. And then Cloud walks in. Tifa didn't see him because she was humming to herself and stuff – you know how she gets when she cleans." Marlene nodded and Denzel continued. "And the weird thing was, Cloud just kind of...watched her. Like, he usually comes in and says hi or that he's home or something, but he just stood by and looked at her." Denzel repeated Marlene's earlier actions, leaning across the table and lowering his voice to a whisper. "And then...he smiled."
Marlene let out a small gasp. "No way!"
"Yeah!" Denzel said, nodding vigorously. "And not one of the smiles he gives us – you know, where his mouth barely moves – but a real smile." Denzel sat up in his chair, stretching slightly. "I mean, when have you ever seen Cloud do that?"
"Never!" Marlene answered at once. "What happened after that?"
"Well, he eventually said he was home and Tifa said hi. And here's another thing – he was looking at her all..." Denzel struggled to find the right word. "All...soft. You know what I mean?"
"Yeah!" Marlene said, nodding her head in enthusiasm.
"But then Tifa noticed I was on the stairs and that was the end of that," Denzel said with a sigh. "anyways, I think Cloud feels the same way Tifa does, because I've never seen him act like that before."
"Denzel," Marlene stated in an authoritative voice as she slammed her fist on the table, "we have to do something!"
"Like what?" Denzel asked, a bit taken aback by Marlene's sudden shift in demeanor. "You know how they both are. They'd probably deny how they feel until the chocobos come home."
"That's exactly why we have to do something!" Marlene insisted. "if we don't at least tell them to get their act together it'll never happen!"
"But we're juts kids," Denzel pointed out. "what can we do?"
"They usually listen to what we have to say," Marlene said dismissively. "and as for what we can do, I have a plan..."
Later that same day...
Marlene was helping Tifa dry the dishes from dinner when she dropped the question. She said it in the most casual way she could think of: "Tifa, why don't you just tell Cloud you love him?"
Tifa let out a short gasp, dropping the plate she was washing into the sink. Soap bubbles flew into the air, and a good deal of water covered the front of both her and Marlene's shirts. Tifa quickly handed Marlene a nearby dry hand towel.
"Sorry about that." Tifa said, wiping away some bubbles that had landed on her upper arms. Marlene wiped the bubbles off of her own shirt, waiting patiently. It was a solid minute before Tifa let out a sigh and said, "what made you want to ask me that?"
"Because," Marlene began, in a very matter-of-fact tone of voice, "you guys make googly eyes at each other all the time."
"Oh really?" Tifa replied, with an eyebrow raised.
"Yep!" Marlene set down the towel and looked up at Tifa. "you also always look like you want to hug him, but you never do. And you smile more when he's around. And you're less stressed when he's home. And you always worry about him so much when he's away, and -"
"Okay, okay," Tifa interrupted, holding up her hands. "fair enough." She turned back to the kitchen sink and resumed washing the dishes, scrubbing a bit harder than was necessary. Marlene noticed that her cheeks were flushed slightly, and there was a crease between her eyebrows that always appeared when she was frustrated about something.
"….So why don't you say anything?" Marlene asked again, making sure that her voice was soft.
"It's not that simple, Marlene." Tifa answered, her voice taut and quiet.
"Yeah, it is!" Marlene insisted. "you just have to say it. I know you want to." she put her hands on her small hips as she continued. "Denzel and I are getting sick of you two dancing around each other and nothing happening."
Tifa attempted to smile, but it came out as more of a grimace. "Sorry, kiddo. You may just have to deal with that."
"But why?" Marlene asked, her hands dropping from her hips in frustration. "Don't you want to tell Cloud how you feel?"
Tifa, who had just put the last dish in the drying rack, pulled the plug in the sink. The gurgling of the water going down the drain nearly drowned out what she said. "Of course I do." After a slight pause she added, much more quietly, "more than anything." She wiped her hands on the towel and fully turned to Marlene. "but like I said, it's not that simple. There's lots of contributing factors."
"Like?" Marlene prodded, gesturing to Tifa to continue.
"Like..." Tifa paused for a moment. "like the fact that he and I have known each other for forever. Or that we both have baggage. Or of how shy he is and sometimes doesn't want to talk." Tifa walked over to the adjacent wall and turned off the light switch.
Marlene followed Tifa from the now dark bar to the stairs. "Is that all?"
Tifa let out a small laugh. "Hardly."
"But you care about him, right?" Marlene asked as she and Tifa began to climb the stairs.
Tifa paused mid-step and looked over her shoulder. "Of course I do! He's my best friend. But Marlene, you have to understand: it takes more than caring about someone to make a relationship." She continued as the two of them made their way to the top of the stairs. "And with all that Cloud has been through, the last thing I want to do is force him into something he doesn't want."
Marlene stopped in front of her bedroom door. She put her small hands on her hips and gave Tifa a look that so resembled Barrett's stare down in battle that it gave her slight deja-vu. "What makes you so sure he doesn't?"
Tifa's breath caught in her throat. There was silence between the two of them, but she swore she could hear her heart beating in her ears. A small flower of hope – one that she had continually squashed and smothered – was blooming inside of her heart. Did Marlene know something about Cloud that she didn't? Was it possible that Cloud did want something like that when she had tried so hard to convince herself that he didn't?
"What are you talking about, Marlene?" she finally asked quietly.
Marlene threw her hands in the air with a groan. "I'm just saying that you two need to stop being such chicken-wusses and just tell each other already. If that's how you feel, then it's worth it whether you're chicken-wuss about it or not." She turned, walked into her room and turned to Tifa, her hand on the doorknob. "Geez, you two are worse than Cid and Shera before they finally got together." And with a roll of her eyes, she shut the door.
Tifa stood on the landing, her mouth slightly open. She is more like Barrett than I thought, she said to herself as she slowly walked into the master bedroom. Tifa sat down her bed, her head in her hands. She had to give Marlene credit: that little girl could read her emotions better than most. Tifa thought she could hide how she felt about Cloud; after all, that's what she'd been doing for years. It became as normal as the air she breathed.
The possibility that Cloud could feel the same way brought both a smile to Tifa's face and a pain to her heart. If he did, she could stop the act and finally show Cloud just how much she cared about him. Tifa had what felt like a whole ocean of feelings for Cloud, and she often felt like she drowned in them lately. The other night she wanted to hug Cloud, but a voice of reason pulled her back: he's been through so much/he's so damaged/i don't want to force it/what if he doesn't want to? So she simply let her arms hang limp at her sides and welcomed him home instead.
Tifa suddenly remembered how Marlene was standing close to her as that event happened. That girl is way too observant for her own good, she thought, shaking her head with a smile.
If Marlene was wrong, it would hurt more than the pain of hiding how she felt about Cloud now. Things would never be the same between the two of them. The friendship would be gone. The loss of their deep friendship almost seemed more sad than him not returning her feelings. The two of them had been through so much, more than most friendships would ever withstand. But this was one thing that could possibly unravel it.
Tifa had had this conversation with herself so many times that it was practically memorized. But this time, Marlene's stark, honest advice stuck out more than the problems and concerns she had:
"If that's how you feel, then it's worth it whether you're chicken-wuss about it or not."
Tifa came to a conclusion: sometimes you didn't need to convince yourself to not take a chance. Sometimes you just needed the wisdom of an eight-year old girl.