A/N: Can I just admit to how much I love this very unusual family? Tifa gives them stability, Denzel gives them courage, Marlene gives them hope, and Cloud gives them strength… and comic relief. Heh!

Summary: Marlene gets her mitts on Cloud and won't let go until she has the answers she wants. The problem is Cloud is scared to death by her question because he doesn't know how to say what he feels. (I'm picturing Marlene to be about twelve or so.)

Jealousy, Take 5

By Ivy Tanté

The look of utter terror on the face of Cloud Strife wasn't something Marlene would forget for a long time to come. Yet he didn't run in panic as she fully expected. No, he just stood there like someone had cast Stop on him.

When she narrowed her eyes and leaned forward a bit, Cloud nervously cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his neck. Hard. "Well, ah… um… Marlene, I think Tifa could explain it better..."

Like you're getting out of this that easy when it's your actions I don't understand, Marlene thought with disdain. Making her eyes wide and innocent, she pleaded, "But I want your answer, Cloud. Tifa will just tell me I'm too young to comprehend." And Tifa would stick to that reply no matter what. Cloud, on the other hand…

"And I can't do that, too?" There was a hint of desperation in his voice that tickled her to no end.

Folding her arms across her chest, she rapped out, "No. You've always told me you would answer my questions, whatever they were. So spill it, Strife. Why can Denzel have a girlfriend and everyone is fine with that, while I can't even talk to most boys without you breathing down their necks or fingering your sword?" She poked him in the arm and added, "Or watch you do both?"

He cast about frantically for something to save him; a monster, a falling meteor, a threat to the entire human race. But nothing presented itself, leaving him sputtering helplessly. Any man that answered the inquiry honestly would become a target for murder - bloody, vicious, painful murder.

You just didn't tell a female like Marlene you growled and threatened any male courageous enough to approach her that you were afraid she might fall in love and stop being your little girl. You didn't admit you feared for her safety when said female had been training with Tifa in martial arts long enough that teeny little woman in front of you could toss you across the room with the right leverage. And you certainly did not make any type of comment on the fact Denzel was male and Marlene was female.

That last was guaranteed to get your butt kicked in a big way.

But Marlene was standing there looking at him with suspicion, foot tapping the floor in an increasingly rapid tempo the longer he stalled. "Well.. But... I..." Closing his eyes, Cloud gave up for the moment and just sank down the wall to the floor, letting his aching head rest on his drawn up knees. In fact, very little of him didn't ache at that moment; an unexpected attack right outside of Kalm had left him battered and bruised and cursing every Kalm Fang that infested the area. The very thought of home had been a balm to soothe his soul on the long trip back to Edge.

Then he walked right into Marlene's ambush. In his own office, no less. She'd waited just behind the door for him to limp in, and there simply wasn't time to gather his thoughts or wits before she pounced. Or what of them I have, he thought with a wry chuckle at his own ineptitude. How was any man expected to hold his own against a determined woman? The humor of the situation finally got through and had him laughing softly at himself. Dropping his knees, he held out his arms to Marlene and she climbed right into his lap without hesitation.

"What's so funny, Cloud?"

Shaking his head, he ran a hand over her hair and tugged on her braid teasingly. "I am. A grown man, terrified of a girl's question. You can really put fear in me, you know? If I answer you the way I'd like to, you'll probably cut a slice out of me." Snuggling her close, he finally said, "There are a dozen reasons why I react the way I do. I guess the most important is that I love you, and have little trust in others. I don't want you hurt or afraid or scarred."

Leaning back to punch him in the chest, Marlene snorted, "That isn't an answer! All the boys want to do is talk to me. What's so bad about that?"

Rolling his eyes, Cloud reminded, "Tifa talked to you about boys and girls, Marlene."

"What's that got to do with anything?" The question came out huffy.

He gave into the urge and bumped his head against the wall a few times. "Not all boys are interested in talk. Sometimes they want more, and don't give me that squinty-eyed look," Cloud ordered. "Whenever some boy comes sniffing around I'm worried they might be in the 'I-want-more' category. It gives me nightmares sometimes, thinking I might miss their less-than-honorable intentions. All I want is to protect you, keep you safe and happy. I don't ever want to see some boy worm his way into your heart and leave you crying when he walks off for whatever reason."

Trying to reason with him, Marlene framed his face in her hands and pleaded, "But they can't all be like that, Cloud! Surely there are some good ones out there. I mean, Tifa found you, right?"

Oh, gods. Not a good example, Marlene! "Think of everything Tifa and I went through before we trusted each other enough to have a real relationship."

The careless shrug eased the ache in his heart. "That's because you were stupid. It took that last battle with Sephiroth to finally beat some sense into you."

The laugh seemed to burst out of him. As his ribs already hurt from the Kalm Fang that smashed into him earlier, it only served to aggravate the nagging pain. Chuckling and groaning at the same time, Cloud slowly slid down the wall until he was laying on his side, slightly curled up while still laughing. He wasn't aware Marlene had left the room until Tifa was leaning over him, activating a Restore Materia.

As the wash of green light flowed over him and stopped the pain, he looked up into her concerned eyes and smiled at what he saw there. Reaching out, he touched her beloved face and whispered, "Have I told you how much I loved you today?"

"Twice," she confirmed with a smile, sticking the Materia in her apron pocket. "Once this morning and again on voicemail. Up with you now, Strife. Any other injuries I should know about before I throw you into the shower?"

Accepting her helping hand, Cloud pulled himself up and slid an arm around her shoulders. "Marlene wants to know why I growl at the boys that come around."

"Does she? Goodness, Cloud, I can tell her why." Looking at his faint blush, she realized she didn't have to. "You tried to explain? I mean, really attempted to tell her? With words and everything?"

The implication he couldn't communicate had his eyebrows furrowed. "I can talk, Tifa. I'm not sure if I got the message across, but I did use actual words."

The snappy tone of his voice had her wrapping her arms around him and cuddling close. "I know you can talk, Spiky." Her use of the nickname coined by Barret earned her a slit-eyed look, but she ignored it as she continued, "But men can't seem to understand there are times a woman isn't upset that he wants to stand in front of them and take any damage life metes out. You can't, of course - we all have to take our lumps or we don't learn the meaning of life. But the fact that you love and cherish her so much that you wish you could protect her is vital. It makes her realize her value, her worth; she will never question if she is important. Marlene will always know she's priceless."

Frowning, Cloud admitted, "But she's getting so pretty. It worries me."

Tifa nodded encouragingly as they approached the door to his office. "Marlene will learn to keep an eye on anyone she's with and not trust blindly. I've been teaching her gradually, but I think you might have gotten more across than you think."

"Then that's all I have to tell her?" Cloud asked in surprise.

"Well, it would have been all," Tifa said dryly as they both caught sight of Marlene's braid disappearing around the bend in the stairwell. "Our little eavesdropper," she said fondly. They took a moment to share an intimate smile before she turned the topic toward him. "Now, about your grimy, gritty, sweaty self that smells like wolf fur..." She should have known not to give Cloud Strife such an opening.

Grinning, he steered her in the direction of the bathroom. "Shower, you said," he drawled out, letting his hands wander through her hair and down her back. "Why don't we try conserving some water?"

After all, she'd told him once, very long ago, that words weren't the only way to tell someone you cared...