Tifa beams and says, "Well, it's certainly nice to meet all of you. Now, come on. We shouldn't keep your mom waiting any longer, Cloud. I can walk with you guys as far as his street, but then I've got to go help my dad. He wants me to help him with the casserole since I'm the only one who can read the cards that the recipes are on. I'll drop by tomorrow to get to know you guys a little better."
Cloud nods and they all gather their bags and head through town towards the bakery that Cloud's mom runs out of their home. He'd built her a small store front before he'd left and had sent her back money when he could to help pay for stuff. She always replies telling him she doesn't need it but she still kept it, saying she'd add it to the fund for a bigger over so she could bake the batches a bit faster.
Cloud is anxious to see her again since he hasn't seen her in person since he left to go to Midgar and join SOLDIER nearly two and a half years ago. His excitement helps keep him from noticing all the stares the other townspeople give him as they make their way through the town towards the street where his Mom lives. He can feel his nervousness growing as they arrive at his street and Tifa heads off towards her own home. Sephiroth places a hand on Cloud's shoulder and asks, "Cloud, are you alright? You seem really tense."
The blond nods smiling in appreciation of Sephiroth's attempt to help. He knows reading emotions and trying to help his boyfriends deal with the tougher ones can be difficult for the silver haired man. "I'm alright Seph. I'm just anxious about seeing my mother again. I havent' seen her in person since I left to try and become a SOLDIER."
"Well then all the more reason not to wait around. XOme on, Spike. I can't wait to emet your mom and I'm sure she's excited to see you too." Zack says beaming.
Cloud nods and leads them for the street before stopping in from of the bakery store front behind which his home is. He knocks on the door and takes a deep breath. There's a call from inside of "Just a minute" And a few moments later the door opens to reveal an older woman who looks like she's in her late forties, early fifties.
When the others had imagined what Cloud's mother would look like wasn't that far off from the truth. Seeing the two of them together makes it easy to see where Cloud gets his looks from. He has the same hair as his mother's though hers is streaked with small bits of silver from age and she lacks the distinctive spikes that her son's hair has with only her bangs and the front having some spike to it and the rest being pulled back into a tight braid that is draped over her shoulder. Her eyes are the same shape and brilliant blue color that they have come to love though the skin around them has small wrinkles that are beginning to form at their edges. Her face is the same shape as Cloud's is with the addition of a few small wrinkles that are just starting to show themselves. In all, she looks like what they imagine Cloud would look like if he were a girl, only a little older and more worn with age.
"Hi, Ma. I'm home," He says fighting back a few tears at finally getting to see his mother again after so long. He never really realized just how much he missed her until this moment when he finally gets to see her again.
The woman smiles at seeing him and replies, "Welcome home, Cloud." She opens her arms and Cloud immediate drops his duffle bag and hugs her tightly. It feels so wonderful to get a hug from her again after so long. He places a hand on his head and aother around his back as she hugs him back just as tightly.
The other four stay back a bit, smiling as they let Cloud have a moment with his mother. Even Sephiroth smiles, though he's never really understood the bond between parents and children, since his only reference is Hojo, it makes him happy for a reason he can't explain to see Cloud reunited with his mother.
After a moment Cloud's mother pulls back and holds him at arm's length getting a good look at him. "My how you've grown. I'm not sure your old bed will even fit you anymore," She jokes before her gaze passes over Cloud's shoulder to looks at the four standing behind him.
"Now, why don't you all come inside? Cloud, why don't you introduce me to these fine young men you've brought home with you and tell me which ones are these boyfriends you've told me about." She says.
Cloud blushes deeply and picks up his bag as they all make their way inside, through the bakery store front and into the house that the store front is built off of. Cloud's mother, whose name they had learned a few weeks earlier from Cloud is Claudia, tells them to put their bags in the hall and they can figure out where everyone is going to sleep later.
She asks them if they would like anything to drink and when they try to politely decline, not wanting to be a bother, she merely replies with, "I know you boys are cold, after all you just walked through town in the cold and only two of you are properly dressed for it. Now what would you like? I've got coffee, tea, and hot chocolate?" They look surprised but can't help but grin, seeing where Cloud gets the stubbornness that he shows occasionally whenever he's concerned about his boyfriends and they're trying to insist that they're fine and he doesn't need to worry himself and take care of them.
They then agree with Angeal, Sephiroth, and Genesis all requesting tea. Genesis asks if she would happen to have any Banora apple flavor, to which she replies that she unfortunately does not but she does have others he can choose from. He thanks her and merely says to surprise him, so long as it's nothing too spicy. He's not too upset about her not having Banora apple flavor, cine Cloud had warned him she probably would. Zack requests some hot chocolate, having been told by Cloud that his mom makes the best Hot Chocolate since, if she has it, she'll put some peppermint in it. She stops Cloud when he's about to say what he wants as she tells him with a smile that she still remembers what his favorite it. He can't help but smile and thank her as she heads to put the kettle on while calling over her shoulder for htem to go make themselves comfortable and that they can use two of the dining room chairs so they'll all have a place to sit.
The living room is on the smaller size, but not enough to be too uncomfortable, even with the five of them in there. There's a small television on top of a cabinet against the far wall. Next to which is a pine tree that doesn't have any decorations on it yet. There's three boxes next to it labeled decorations. Across from the tv is an old, well-worn sofa that can fit three people and besides it, across from the tree is a large recliner that looks newer than the other furniture. Cloud had bought the chair for his mother for her birthday several months ago after she'd told him in one of her letters that her old comfortable sitting chair had finally given up the ghost and she'd had to get rid of it.
Cloud, Genesis, and Zack sit on the Sofa, with Sephiroth and Angeal taking the two dining room chairs that the blond brings in. They wait for a few minutes while they can hear Claudia moving around in the kitchen, making the tea and hot chocolate. Zack, whose sitting next to Cloud on the sofa, can see how Cloud is growing more and more nervous as the moments pass in anticipation of having ot tell him mother about them all being his boyfriends.
He places a hand on Clouds where it's clutching his pant leg so tightly that he fears the cloth might tear and kisses his cheek quickly, "It'll be okay, Cloud. We've got your back."
Cloud gives a small smile and nods as his mother comes into the room and sets the tray of tea and hot chocolate on the coffee table and handing them each their cups, refusing Angeal's offer to help. She takes her own cup and settles into her chair before saying, "Now, who are these gentlemen whom you've brought to meet me?"
"So, Ma. This is Zack, Genesis, Angeal, and Sephiroth. They're all members of SOLDIER. Gen, Angeal, and Seph are First Class SOLDIERS and the three Generals and Zack is going to be a first Class SOLDIER with them soon. I meet Zack when I was still an infantrymen and we became friends and he introduced me to the other four. Angeal had been his mentor when he first joined SOLDIER and Angeal had known Gen and Seph since they were kids," He explains, introducing them in order. They each nod in turn and each say that it's nice to meet her.
Angeal speaks up last and says, "It's an honor to meet you ma'am. Cloud has told us much about you and we have all looked forward to meeting the woman who he always speaks of so highly."
His mother nods with a smile, "It's lovely to meet all of you as well. It's nice to see young men these days who still have some manners. Now, Cloud, how about telling me which of these fine gentlemen are these boyfriends you've told me about in your letters. You've barely told me anything about them and I'm eager to know which of these young men won your heart."
Cloud's blush deepens and he replies, "W-well, Ma, that's the thing. Th-they're all my boyfriends."
His mother looks surprised to hear this. "Really? How exactly did this happen?" she asks, curious to hear how her extremely shy and quiet son had managed to get not one but five boyfriends, and extremely handsome and famous ones at that. Not that she didn't think he deserved them, but she knew Cloud wasn't the type to make a lot of friends, heck he'd spent most of his time as a child playing alone in the woods and wasn't the most comfortable when it came to trying to make new friends. The only one he'd ever had back at Nibelheim had been Tifa.
"That's kind of a long story, actually," Cloud tells her.
"Well, I don't have to take the next batch out of the oven for a while and I'm not expecting anyone so we've got plenty of time," She tells him.
Cloud takes a deep breath and Zack once again puts his hand over Cloud's and squeezing lightly as a show of support. The blond appreciates the gesture and takes a moment to gather his thoughts and figure out where to begin before he starts. "Well, Zack, Genesis, Angeal, and Sephiroth were already in a relationship when I first met them. Angeal and Genesis had been together off and on since they were younger and Sephiroth joined them a little while after they met him. Zack became Angeal's student when he entered SOLDIER and over the course of his mentorship with Angeal they got closer and once the mentorship ended he joined them. That was about a year before I met Zack.
I met him on a mission and we became friends. He introduced me to the others and well, I'm still not sure quite how it happened but I knew I liked all of them and somehow they all liked me and eventually, after I'd gotten to know them and had become more comfortable around them, they invited me to join them. They were really great about it and they made sure that I knew they weren't going to pressure me into it at all and I was free to turn them down if I didn't want to join them and if I did turn them down, there would be no hard feelings and they wouldn't try to convince me to change my mind. I asked for a bit of time to think is over and after about a week and a half of thinking it over, I decided that I wanted to at the very least give it a chance. They agree to be slow with me and try not to over whelm me. Things didn't even really change since I had been such a close part of their friends group already. I guess things just got, cuddlier for lack of a better word. I never thought I'd end up in this kind of relationship, Ma, but now that I am, I can't say I regret agreeing to join them one bit. They make me really happy," He finishes, smiling at his boyfriends who sit beside him as they smile back warmly, showing that they feel the same.
Claudia Strife is quiet for a moment, seeming to be soaking in all the information. As she looks at the four young men sitting in her living room, looking at each other and Cloud like they were the most precious things on earth and they'd give each other the moon and all the stars in the night sky on a silver platter if that's what they wanted. Before she can speak up though, one of them does first, and surprisingly, it's Sephiroth who does.
"Miss Strife, I believe I speak for all of us when I saw that we do not know if you will approve of this and I know that Cloud has been concerned that you would not and he would have to choose between staying with us and keeping his relationship with you unharmed. I am the first to admit that I have a limited understanding of my own emotions, much less the emotions of others and of interacting with others properly outside of a military setting, but there is one fact that I know with complete certainty and that is that we love each other very much and we love Cloud just as much. I know that I would never seek to cause him or any member of our relationship harm in any way and I think that they would all agree with me. I believe what I am trying to say is that what we want for him above all else is for him to be happy," he says.
Up until now, the only thing the silver-haired man has said since entering the Strife home was his choice of tea when Claudia had offered them refreshments. Claudia had guessed that he is the friend that Cloud had written about a while back who tends to have trouble with dealing with people outside of a military setting since he had an air of unsteadiness about him since he stepped inside, as if it's the first time he's entered a family home and he isn't sure what kind of behavior is appropriate. To suddenly hear him speak so much and so passionately about something is shocking to say the least. She can see that she's not the only one shocked, with all the others looking at Sephiroth with varying degrees of Surprise on their faces though they quickly turn to loving expressions as they're touched by his words.
"Seph…," Cloud almost whispers, small tears growing in his eyes. He knows that it's hard for Sephiroth to put his emotions in words, the man usually ends up finding other ways to say it either with physical gestures such as kisses or close hugs or with small tokens and other gestures, like leaving them notes occasionally like the ones he always leaves on the nightstand whenever he ends up having to wake up and go into work before him or one of the others. To hear him say stuff like "I love you" aloud is rare, so to hear him speak so passionately about this even when it's clear he still isn't completely confident with his words is incredibly touching.
As soon as Sephiroth sees the tears in Cloud's eyes along with the matching ones in Zack and Genesis' eyes, and the beginnings of them in Angeal's he frowns, not realizing that they're tears of happiness. "Did I say something wrong? I'm sorry," He says, hoping to rectify whatever he said that has made his lovers look so seemingly sad.
It's not Claudia's turn to speak up before any of the others can. She smiles and sips her tea and she tells him, "You didn't say anything wrong, Sephiroth. I can almost promise you that. You're words simply made them happy enough to cry."
At Sephiroth's look of confusion, having never really understood the idea behind tears of happiness, she chuckles and continues, "Crying happens when our hearts feel an emotion too big for us to easily express. The tears can be sad, angry, happy, or any other emotion. I think their tears now though are definitely of the happy variety."
Claudia then looks to her son and says, "Now Cloud. I'm a bit disappointed in you. Surely you know by now that your happiness matters the most to me, not whether you're dating one man, or four, or even twenty. If you are happy than I am happy for you, even if I don't quite understand how a relationship can work with so many people at once. "
"Trust us, Miss Strife. It takes a lot of trust and communication. We do hit road bumps as all couples do but so far we have been able to work through all of them, and I hope that whatever ones come at us in the future we will be able to handle it," Angeal explains.
She nods and continues, "Since I now know that all of you are dating my son, I don't want to hear any more of this Miss Strife business. You can all call me Ma, same as Cloud does, and I don't want to hear any buts about it. Now get up all of you and help me decorate this tree."
They all break into smiles, even Sephiroth who is relieved that he did not say anything to upset his boyfriends. They then agree and all get to work decorating the Christmas tree. Cloud hugs his mother tightly and thanks her to which she replies. "What kind of mother would I be if I tried to deny you the love of these men when it's easy to see how strong the bond you all share is? Not a very good one."
He smiles and joins the others with decorating. The rest of the day passes with smiles and laughter. Zack and Genesis find some ornaments that Cloud had made in preschool and kindergarten with pictures of his young self on them and ending up fawning over how cute he was. This prompts Claudia to break out the old photo albums she has from when Cloud was little. Cloud just ends up blushing like crazy and tries to melt into Angeal's back as the man just chuckles and continues to help hang decorations, occasionally looking over at the pictures as well as asking Miss Strife about how the bakery is doing and what kinds of breads she makes. Sephiroth has more fun that he expected helping to decorate the tree, not even protesting when Zack wraps some extra tinsel around his neck like a boa saying it goes well with his hair. He finds the pictures of young Cloud adorable, though he isn't as blatant about it as Genesis and Zack are, not wanting to embarrass Cloud further. He pauses for a moment though when he asks Claudia for a refill and finds Angeal smiling at him strangely, realizing only after he'd spoken that he'd indeed called the woman Ma, to which she just replies of course. Cloud looks around at his mother and boyfriends, and smiles. Everything he ever needs to be happy is right here in this little slightly cramped living room and he can't imagine anywhere in the world he'd rather be at the moment.