Author's Note: Hey guys! Thanks for the reviews so far! I have absolutely loved writing this story so far. Writing Denzel and Marlene's dialogue has made me laugh and squeal so much! Sometimes little kids have such profound words, you know? I had a little cousin live with my family and I for a while and sometimes she would say things that were so deep! Anyways, I hope you enjoy this next chapter! There will be one more after this!
Disclaimer: I don't own FFVII or any of the characters.
"How did it go with Tifa?" Denzel asked the next morning over breakfast.
Marlene stabbed at her pancakes, scowling slightly. "More unsuccessful than when I tried to convince Uncle Cid to stop smoking."
Denzel whistled softly. "That bad, huh?"
"Worse." Marlene said, stuffing a chunk of pancake into her mouth. "She denied it at first, but then she started talking about how it was probably something Cloud didn't want. I gave her a piece of my mind before I went to bed." She swallowed her food before continuing. "I basically told her that it's worth it to tell someone when you love them, even if you're a chicken-wuss about it."
"You're not wrong." Denzel replied, smiling a little.
"I know! That's what makes it so frustrating!" Marlene groaned dramatically. Denzel chuckled as he reached for the syrup. "Have you talked with Cloud yet?" Marlene asked after a moment.
Denzel shook his head. "He came home really late last night and I fell asleep waiting up for him. But I will tonight!" he added hastily as Marlene gave him a look. "I promise."
Marlene smiled. "Good to hear."
Denzel was about to ask Marlene about how he could ask Cloud about his feelings, when Tifa walked back into the room. Marlene quickly went back to finishing her pancakes, trying to look as inconspicuous as possible. Denzel once again reached for the syrup as Tifa sat down across from them, filling her own plate with food. For a while there was no sound except for cutlery scraping against dishes.
"You two are awfully quiet this morning," Tifa remarked, looking at the two of them. "is everything okay?"
"Fine," Denzel said, right as Marlene said, "Yeah, sure, everything's peachy keen."
Tifa raised an eyebrow, but didn't question further. Denzel began to pour some syrup on his pancakes when he heard footsteps coming down the stairs. He looked up to see Cloud in his usual attire, his blonde hair flat on one side from sleeping and covering his mouth as he yawned.
"Morning Cloud!" Denzel and Marlene said unison.
"Hey," Cloud mumbled as he sat down in the chair beside Tifa. He reached for a mug and began to pour himself some coffee. His eyelids kept drooping, however, and at one point he missed the mug by a good few inches. Coffee poured on the table, splattering everyone's arms and hands.
"Here, let me do it," Tifa said, gently prying the handle of the coffeepot from Cloud's hand. Cloud simply nodded in reply, yawning again. "Marlene, could you wipe this up, please?" Marlene nodded and dashed into the kitchen. Denzel was still working on his pancakes, but he was watching Cloud closely.
There were previous days when Cloud would make a mess because he was so tired, but he never let Tifa do anything. He would insist on cleaning up the mess himself. Denzel didn't know if him letting Tifa clean it up was because Cloud was more tired than usual, or if the suspicions he had about Cloud warming up more to Tifa were true. Denzel did notice, however, that as Tifa finished pouring his coffee, Cloud was looking at Tifa in that soft way again. But Tifa didn't seem to notice. She put down the coffee and resumed eating.
Marlene came back into the room shortly afterwards, holding a damp rag. She sopped up the coffee quickly and gave a small smile to Cloud as he thanked her. Marlene laid the rag aside, sitting back down beside Denzel.
"That's….a lot of syrup, Denzel," Tifa said with a laugh. Denzel snapped out of his stupor only to see that his pancakes had so much maple syrup that it was dripping off the sides of his plate and onto the table. He quickly tilted the bottle back up, ignoring Marlene's laughter.
"Got a lot of deliveries today?" Denzel asked Cloud as he began to wipe up the spill.
Cloud took a long, slow sip of coffee before replying. "Not too many. Hopefully I'll be home early if no one else calls."
"That's good," Tifa said, smiling. "maybe you'll get the chance to work on Fenrir."
"I hope so," Cloud answered. "I haven't taken a good look at it in about a while."
"Can I help?" Denzel asked eagerly.
Cloud shrugged. "I don't see why not."
"Yes!" Denzel shouted, pumping one fist into the air in excitement. Tifa let out a small laugh, and Marlene smiled. When neither of the adults were looking, Marlene gestured to Cloud, then to Denzel, then made talking motions with her hands. Denzel nodded in confirmation. Marlene gave him a thumbs up with a wide smile.
"I should get going," Cloud said after quickly downing the rest of his coffee. "they're expecting this first delivery in a little bit."
"Do you want anything to eat before you go? All you've had is some coffee." Tifa asked, concerned.
Cloud shook his head as he stood. "No, I'll be fine. I'm more awake now."
"Oh! Hang on one second," Tifa said, standing abruptly and walking to the kitchen. She came back a moment later with some food in a portable case. "Here, I packed a lunch for you."
"Thanks," Cloud said, giving her a small smile as he took it. "Appreciate it."
"No problem," Tifa answered, smiling back at him. There was a short pause before Tifa suddenly reached up and ran her fingers through the flattened part of Cloud's hair. Marlene, who was slurping some orange juice, gasped in surprise. She set down her glass, sputtering slightly
as she and Denzel watched the two of them closely.
"What are you doing?" Cloud asked. Denzel could detect the smallest of quivers in his voice.
"Part of your hair was lying flat," Tifa replied, still brushing his hair with her fingers. "I didn't want you going out looking like you just rolled out of bed." There were a few moments of silence before Tifa finally said, "there you go." She had been so fixed on Cloud's hair, however, that she failed to notice just how close she was to him. Her brown eyes widened slightly, and the faintest trace of pink tinted her cheeks.
Marlene turned slightly to Denzel, her eyes wide. Denzel could practically hear her internal scream: DO YOU SEE WHAT'S GOING ON RIGHT NOW?! Denzel resisted the strong urge to laugh as Marlene turned to look back at Cloud and Tifa.
"...Thanks," Cloud said softly after a rather tense pause. Was it a trick of the light, or did Denzel see that his cheeks were slightly pink too? Cloud cleared his throat. "I should, uh, head out."
"Oh! Right," Tifa exclaimed, dropping her hand to her side. "well, have a good day. We'll see you when you get back."
"Bye, Cloud!" Denzel said. Marlene just sat in her chair, transfixed at the scene that just unfolded before her. Denzel wouldn't be surprised if she turned around and she had pink hearts for eyeballs. Denzel gave her a slight nudge. Marlene finally managed to say goodbye just as Cloud shut the door behind him.
"You two should finish up," Tifa said, looking at the clock on the wall. "you have to leave for school in a few minutes."
Marlene shoveled the rest of her food into her mouth before bolting upstairs to grab her bag. Denzel merely picked at his now soggy pancakes, thinking hard. Cloud was not someone who talked openly about his feelings. If anything, he strongly resisted it. How could he ask Cloud in a way that wouldn't make him shut down?
"You okay, Denzel?" Tifa asked in concern as she sat back down.
"...yeah," Denzel replied, managing to take a few more bites of his syrup-drenched pancakes. He swallowed his food before mumbling, "I just miss Cloud when he's gone."
He wasn't planning on being truthful with Tifa. Being the only boy in the house while Cloud was gone was difficult. Denzel had a few friends at school, but none of them lived close by. He liked hanging out with Marlene, but it just wasn't the same as when Cloud was home. There was a lot of drawing and endless talking with Marlene as a best friend. Sometimes Denzel just longed for the comfortable silence that was prevalent between him and Cloud.
Tifa looked slightly surprised at first, but quickly covered it with a gentle smile. She put a hand over Denzel's. "I know, buddy. But today is your lucky day, since he's planning on being home early. You two can get some one on one time."
"Yeah," Denzel replied, smiling. "that's true." He stood up, picked up his plate and walked over to the sink. After rinsing off his dishes, he went up to his room, put on his shoes and grabbed his schoolbag after making sure he had everything.
"Bye, Tifa!" Marlene shouted over her shoulder as she ran to the bus. Tifa didn't reply. Denzel stopped for a moment and looked back at her. She was no longer eating, but staring into space with her hands under her chin.
"Do you miss him, too?" Denzel blurted out, just as Marlene called his name from the street.
Tifa blinked and seemed to come out of her train of thought. She opened her mouth, then closed it again. She paused for a moment, then said: "I do. I really do." Her voice was quiet and somewhat sad-sounding.
"DEENNNZZZEELLL! We're gonna be LAAATTTTEE!" Marlene screeched. Denzel bid Tifa goodbye and shut the door behind him before running onto the bus.
Later that same day…
Cloud was already home by the time school was out. He looked more awake than he did this morning, and Denzel noticed that he kept glancing over at Tifa. A small smile would come to his lips whenever he did so. A few times Tifa noticed and would smile back at him before going back to what she was doing. Poor Marlene was so frustrated by the lack of talking between them that she had a crease in her forehead by dinner.
Denzel had pondered all day about how to bring it up to Cloud. When he asked Marlene how she brought it up to Tifa, Marlene simply shrugged and said, "I just flat-out asked her. That way she wasn't left with excuses. That might be best for Cloud, too. You know how he is."
Which was what ultimately led Denzel to ask, as he and Cloud were in the garage working on Fenrir later that evening, "Cloud, why haven't you told Tifa you love her?"
Cloud, who at that moment was tightening something on Fenrir, dropped the wrench onto his foot. He let out a few choice words before picking it back up, deliberately not looking at Denzel. Denzel could see that his face and even some parts of his neck were beginning to turn red. Cloud turned back to the motorcycle, returning to his task. Denzel waited patiently. He knew that Cloud had heard his question just by his reaction alone. He also knew better than to press the issue; that would only push Cloud away.
After a few moments, when Cloud had screwed on the part tighter than it needed to be simply for the sake of not answering, he finally looked at Denzel. Cloud tried to maintain his usual stoic expression, but Denzel could practically feel how caught off-guard he was.
"….Why are you asking me that?" Cloud finally asked.
"Because it's kind of obvious," Denzel said, spinning the screwdriver he held in his hands. When Cloud didn't question it further, he continued: "I mean, the way you look at her and stuff."
"Is that so?" Cloud replied, his attempt at keeping his voice monotone unsuccessful.
"Yeah," Denzel said, smirking slightly at Cloud's discomfort.
"...Did Marlene put you up to this?" Cloud asked, after another pause.
"Uh...not really." Denzel replied, his voice hesitant. It wasn't exactly a lie, but it wasn't the truth either. Cloud raised his eyebrows. "Okay," Denzel confessed, letting out a sigh. "she kind of did. But it was both of our idea. We just noticed that—that you and Tifa -" he paused for a moment, trying to figure out how to say it. "We just noticed that you and Tifa are acting more awkward around each other. I mean, more awkward than usual. Like this morning when she fixed your hair."
"She was just doing it because I didn't notice it," Cloud said, holding out his hand for the screwdriver. Denzel handed it to him. "I would've looked like an idiot if I went out like that."
"Or maybe she just wanted an excuse to run her fingers through your hair," Denzel mumbled, not exactly quietly.
Cloud stiffened a little at Denzel's blunt choice of words before replying. "What put that idea into your head?"
"Like I said, the way you look at her." Denzel scooted himself across the floor to get closer to Cloud. "and the way she looks at you when you're not looking."
Cloud didn't answer for a moment. He simply looked at the screwdriver he held in his hand, looking lost in thought. "Tifa's put me up to things, too." he finally said.
"Like the time she made you wear a dress and wig?" Denzel snickered.
"No, that was Aerith," Cloud said with a sigh. "and it was only because we had no other option."
"But you did it for Tifa, right?"
Cloud looked at Denzel. Denzel sat there on the dirty garage floor, looking at Cloud in a very serious way. Denzel was a somewhat serious kid in general, with all the things that he had been through, but he looked more solemn now than Cloud had ever seen him. The intense look Denzel had in his blue eyes nearly gave Cloud goosebumps.
"….Yeah," Cloud answered. "I did."
And it was true. The moment Cloud knew that Tifa had been kidnapped by Don Corneo, nothing else seemed to matter anymore. Not even his discomfort at cross-dressing. Not even the knowledge that a pervy old man could potentially pick him to be a "bride for the night." The moment he knew she was safe it felt like the world had been taken off of his shoulders.
"Because you love her." Denzel said, more as a statement than a question.
That much was true, too. Cloud always knew that he loved Tifa, even when they were children. It was the one solid fact that was never distorted through his Mako poisoning. It was the one thing that held him together whenever times got hard. Hearing Tifa's voice, seeing her smile...it became an anchor for him in desperate times of anguish.
It was also the one thing that held him back. Tifa was one of the few friends Cloud had. Not only that, she was the one who knew him the best. What kind of jeopardy would their friendship be put into if he were to tell her how he really felt? And not only that, Cloud didn't even know how to tell her in the first place. One of the main reasons he never said anything was because he was waiting for her to make a move.
But what if Tifa never made a move? Was it possible she was just waiting for him to do so?
Cloud let out another sigh, running his fingers through his hair. "Denzel, it's not that simple."
"I know," Denzel said softly. "but you shouldn't keep someone waiting, even if it is scary. You never know when they might stop waiting and move on."
The door to the garage opened and Tifa poked her head in. "Denzel, don't you have some homework to do?"
"…..no." Denzel said. Tifa immediately caught the lie in his voice and gestured for him to come inside. Denzel sighed, stood up and slumped over to the door. Tifa stepped aside to make way for him.
She was about to follow him in, when she noticed Cloud looking at her. "You okay?" she asked, concern lacing her tone.
"...I'm fine," Cloud said, turning back to Fenrir. When he heard the door close behind him, he let out yet another sigh. He rested his forehead against the cool metal of the motorcycle, thinking hard. Denzel's words reverberated inside of his head:
"You shouldn't keep someone waiting, even if it is scary. You never know when they're going to stop waiting and move on."
After staying up late, fixing Fenrir and thinking harder than he ever had in his entire life, Cloud came to two conclusions: sometimes kids knew exactly what to say when you needed to hear it. And he would be damned if he were to ever lose the one person closest to him.
Author's Note: stay tuned for the last chapter! Thanks for reading (and hopefully reviewing)!