Disclaimer: I disclaim ownership of the characters of Final Fantasy VII.

Fixing Fenrir

Late nights without Cloud weren't anything new for Marlene, considering his busy schedule with deliveries and whatnot, but these days were different than before. He was different than before. Ever since he broke his bike, Cloud was a lot grumpier to everyone in the house, and to be honest, Marlene was starting to get annoyed. And the fact that she had lost a tooth didn't make her feel any better.

As she sipped cautiously from her mug of hot chocolate, Marlene stared out beyond her window, gazing in awe as the snow continued to sprinkle down on the streets of Edge, coating the surfaces in a blanket of white. It was a beautiful thing, snow. She definitely wasn't too used to seeing such sights, as she had grown up in the Slums of Midgar, where the plate blocked all precipitation and sunlight.

Despite the cold weather, Cloud was still outside, fiddling with his stinkin' motorcycle and refusing to come in. Tifa had gone out multiple times, telling him he was going to catch a cold and that he should leave it for another time, but every time, Cloud would just give her a quick nod, and go back to messing with his bike. Marlene decided it was time to take things into her own hands. Tifa was obviously unable to scold him, since the two had been going out on occasional dates every now and then, but Marlene saw things differently. If someone didn't stop this, eventually Cloud would return to how he was before the whole Geostigma ordeal! Marlene couldn't let that happen.

She set her mug on the side table and hopped off her bed, scurrying to her closet and grabbing the thick hooded jacket Yuffie had bought for her last month. She walked out of her room, descending down the stairs, and paced past Denzel, who was busy flipping through his Gaia History textbook to finish his worksheet.

"Where're you going?" Tifa asked, stirring the broccoli cheddar soup.

"I'm going to go teach Cloud a lesson!"

Tifa giggled.

"Don't beat him up too bad, okay? He's just frustrated about his bike."

Marlene nodded and headed out the door, gasping at the sudden drop in temperature. It was fun to step around in the snow, dipping your shoes into the beds of frost and picking at the ice that stuck to the bottom of your pants. But for now, Marlene disregarded the temptations and marched off around the building. Cloud was in his usual location, crouched down against the wall and rubbing his chin at the bike (which in Marlene's opinion looked absolutely fine).

"Cloud! I wanna talk!"

Cloud glanced up, blue eyes questioning.

"What is it, Marlene?"

The brown-haired girl crossed her arms and scrunched up her brows.

"You're acting very mean to everyone these days, and I don't like it one bit!"

Cloud stared, wide-eyed.

"I know it may be frustrating to break your motorcycle, but that's no reason to shove everyone away! Especially Tifa, who's only trying to help!"

"Marlene, I—"

"I don't wanna hear it, Cloud! Just think about what I said!"

Marlene stomped off. The corner of her lips was twitching slightly, and she couldn't help but feel proud at how adult-like she must've been.

Cloud, on the other hand, was baffled. He had just gotten scolded and put down by a six year old. He was a little confused at why she was so abrupt and upset, but then began to ponder his own recent behavior. Maybe he was being too selfish. After all, his family was only worried about him.

Cloud dropped the broken kickstand and rose to his feet. Somehow, he was going to have to apologize to Marlene without Tifa or Denzel watching. It would be too embarrassing.

He sighed at the warmth of the heated air within the walls of Seventh Heaven, and immediately headed for the stairs, hoping that Tifa and Denzel would let him pass.

"Marlene's mad," Denzel muttered, still straining at his history book.

"Oh," was all Cloud said.

He climbed up the staircase and tossed his gloves and jacket onto his bed, then turned to the children's room. Marlene was on her bed, sipping at a mug with her back towards him.

Cloud sighed.

"Marlene."

Silence.

"I'm sorry, Marlene."

More silence.

"Are you mad?"

A nod.

"I'm sorry."

Silence again.

"Look, can I make it up?"

She shook her head.

"Then what should I do?"

"You should be nicer to everyone!"

"Alright, Marlene. I'm sorry I was being selfish. I'll…" Cloud paused, a little perplexed at the situation he was in. "I'll be nice."

Marlene finally turned around, slowly. Her round eyes and soft lips still emitted an expression of anger, but she nodded, signaling his forgiveness.

Cloud let out a soft sigh and nodded back, grinning slightly.

"Wanna have a snowball fight?" he asked, stepping into the room.

"Tifa's too good. She murdered us last time!"

Cloud smiled.

"That's because she was angry about the toothpaste prank we pulled on her."

Marlene let out a soft giggle, grinning at the memory.

"What's wrong with your bike, anyways?"

"The kickstand snapped off. I tried to fix it, but I ended up breaking it in half."

Marlene shook her head.

"That's because you're clumsy!"

"I guess," Cloud said, smirking.

"Did you try gluing it? Or using duct tape? Duct tape fixes everything!"

"Haha, I'm not so sure if duct tape could hold up the bike's weight, though. That's what the kickstand's used for."

Marlene nodded, thinking deeply.

"Why don't you just try buying a new one?"

Cloud shrugged.

"I checked out the automotive store, and kickstands were ridiculously expensive."

Marlene jerked her head up. "I have gil! I saved up at least seven hundred to buy a moogle doll! You can use it!" she exclaimed, her voice full of joy.

"That's alright, Marlene. I think you should get the moogle doll. I'll fix the kickstand."

After another half hour of conversing, the two were summoned by Tifa and brought down to eat dinner. The dinner table featured four bowls of warm broccoli cheddar soup, and though it was a light meal, everyone was content with the warmth it provided.

When they were all finished, Cloud offered to do the dishes, which was a surprise to Tifa. She was about to say something, but Marlene quickly tugged at her arm.

"It'll keep him busy!" she whispered. "Can you take me to the auto shop? I wanna buy a new kickstand for Cloud."

Tifa smiled.

"You're going to fix his bike for him?"

"Uh-huh."

"Alright, then. Let's go," Tifa said with a slight nod.

While Denzel kept Cloud busy with endless questions about Gaian history, Marlene and Tifa quietly tip-toed out of the bar, both of them dressed appropriately for the cold weather. Marlene's footsteps were still scattered around the snow from before. Silently, Tifa reached down and balled up a handful of snow, chucking it at Marlene's back.

"Hey!"

Marlene quickly retaliated with her own snowball, and the two began to pace along the street in this manner, giggling and shouting gleefully. When they finally reached the automotive shop, Marlene gasped at the countless tools and gadgets that were displayed along the walls and shelves.

"Which one's a kickstand?" she asked.

"Hmm…"

Tifa led the girl down the aisles of the store, scanning her eyes over the shelves and searching for something that looked like a thin metal rod. The only problem was that there were too many thin metal rods that weren't kickstands!

"May I help you?" a saleswoman asked.

Marlene nodded.

"We're looking for a motorcycle kickstand."

The woman led them to the motorcycle area, and picked out three different sizes of kickstands.

"Do you know which size?"

Marlene shrugged, but Tifa stared down, trying to decide which one was right. Last week, she had held the kickstand in her hands during her moment with Denzel. It was at least a foot in length.

"I think it was the twelve-inch," she said, pointing at the middle kickstand.

"Here you go, then."

They returned to the check out table, and Marlene retrieved her gil pouch that hung from her belt.

"It'll be two hundred gil," the woman said.

Marlene nodded and counted out the appropriate amount, sliding it across the table.

When they returned to the bar, Marlene and Tifa busily began to work at the motorcycle. Cloud's toolbox was already placed near the bike, and so they used the screwdriver to take out the broken kickstand, and replaced it with the new one.

"That wasn't so hard!" Tifa said, dusting off the snow from her gloves.

Marlene nodded.

The next morning, Marlene checked under her pillow to see if the tooth fairy had left any gil in exchange for her tooth, but was a little disappointed when she found nothing at all. What kind of tooth fairy took teeth without leaving gil?!

After stretching out her limbs and hopping out of bed, Marlene gasped at the huge moogle doll that was placed at the corner of her room.

Meanwhile, Tifa knocked on Cloud's door, but figured he was out delivering again when no one answered. She went in to leave his laundry, but caught a glimpse of the receipt that was placed on his table.

It read: Oversized Moogle Doll – 680 G