Cowlicks and Nightmares

He was a little hesitant at first, having second thoughts on waking her at this time of the night, but he decided it was necessary. Cloud leaned over against the door and tapped two knuckles against the hard surface. Marlene was standing next to him in her pajamas, one hand clutched over the short white limb of her enormous moogle doll, while she rubbed the sleep from her eyes with the other. She glanced up at him, straining, and let out a soft giggle.

"What?" Cloud asked.

Marlene shook her head. "Oh nothing. It's just that your hair looks funny."

Cloud raised a brow, and ran five fingers through the blonde mess, and realized that the right side was much flatter than the left. He frowned and tousled the hair a few more times, hoping it would regain its natural shape before—

The door opened.

Two half-open ruby eyes peered out from the room, a bit alarmed at the late night intrusion. "What is it?" Tifa asked, yawning widely.

Cloud's hand was still clutched over his hair when he said, "Denz seems to be having a nightmare. Marlene and I tried calming him down, but it didn't really work out. I thought maybe you should—"

"Cloud," Tifa interrupted, leaning forward and straining her eyes. "What's wrong with your hair?"

She stepped out, her lips curving up into a wide grin as she reached forward and pulled away his hand. A soft giggle escaped from her mouth before she said, "Wow. That's a pretty bad cowlick."

Marlene laughed.

"Okay…so, about that nightmare," Cloud muttered, lowering his brows as they continued to laugh mockingly.

Tifa nodded. "C'mon. Let's go."

They tiptoed across the hall, cautious not to make any sudden noises. Marlene was still dragging her huge moogle doll, but she was careful enough not to run into any picture frames or other obstacles.

Tifa was in the front, so Cloud couldn't help but grin from behind at her baggy sweatpants and enormous t-shirt that was draped over her shoulders. But then again, it wasn't anything he hadn't seen before, considering she always wore his clothes as her pajamas.

They crept into the room, and Tifa could already hear the muffled hisses and shifting coming from Denzel's bed. The floorboards creaked slightly under their weight, but they managed to reach his bed without making too much noise.

"Denzel," Tifa whispered, brushing her palm over his drenched forehead. He shifted slightly as her fingers combed through his damp hair, but his eyes remained shut. Tifa leaned in closer, studying his distressed look, and frowning at the pain he was in. This was all so familiar to her. His pain, her efforts to comfort him—they were all things that had happened before. Just a few months ago, Tifa made frequent visits to his room during the night, dabbing a towel over his forehead and trying to stop the puss from overwhelming him; Geostigma was a memory she never wanted to relive.

"Denzel, it's okay. It's just a nightmare," she breathed into his ear.

Cloud and Marlene watched from behind as she continued to calm him. It really was a mystery how she was so good at these things, despite her inexperience as a mother figure. Personally, Cloud was still in the process of learning this whole…parent business, but Tifa seemed to have it down pretty well, though he couldn't figure out how she was so good at it.

"Mom…" Denzel groaned, biting his lower lip and trembling fearfully. Tifa frowned. He must be dreaming about his parents.

"Mom…I…"

Denzel clenched his fist, jerking his head to the side and wincing painfully in his sleep. Marlene reached out her hand, wrapping her small fingers around Cloud's and leaning in closer.

Denzel had always been hesitant in sharing truths about his "previous" life, and his "previous" parents, but Tifa and Cloud knew enough to realize that such memories were unwanted and better left forgotten. Denzel wasn't alone in his loss; all the residents of Seventh Heaven had lost their parental figures as youths, though Marlene knew little about her real family.

Tifa reached out, placing her hand over Denzel's chest and whispering something Cloud couldn't hear.

After about four to five more minutes of uneasy shifting, Denzel finally seemed to calm down under the soothing voice of his guardian. Cloud raised his brow, astonished.

"Maybe we should stay here with the kids tonight," Tifa suggested. Marlene's eyes widened, and nodded her head in agreement. "Yeah! Tifa, you can sleep on my bed!"

Cloud grinned. He didn't mind sleeping with the children, and though he didn't show it, he especially didn't mind having Tifa's company. He raised his leg over Denzel's body, making sure he didn't disturb his sleep, and pulled the rest of his weight over onto the bed, causing the mattress to dip lower.

Denzel cracked an eye open, shivering slightly before turning his head to see Cloud.

"Sorry, I woke you…" Cloud whispered. "You were having a nightmare."

Tifa was already with Marlene on the other bed when she asked, "Are you alright now, Denz?"

Denzel nodded slowly. "Yeah."

Marlene scooted under the blanket, but made sure Tifa had enough to cover her shoulders. "I hate nightmares! The other night, I had one about someone stealing Kupo!"

Kupo was the name of her huge moogle doll.

She turned her gaze to Cloud. "Do you ever have nightmares, Cloud?"

"Of course," he grinned. "Even Tifa has nightmares."

Tifa nodded. "But none of them are nearly as scary as what your hair looks like right now," she teased.

Denzel and Marlene giggled.

"You hair does look pretty funky, Cloud," the boy agreed, grinning widely at the strange, disfigured "Chocobo" head.

He shrugged. "Guess I'll have to wash it before I head out in the morning."

Marlene leaned over the edge of her bed, making sure Kupo didn't fall off. "What are your nightmares about, Cloud?"

Cloud paused, a bit startled at the sudden interrogation. He could see Tifa's eyes peering at him through the darkness, telling him it probably wasn't best to share such things with the children.

"I…" he spat out the first thing that came to mind. "I once had a nightmare about Barret wearing a dress."

The room was filled with giggles.

"What about you, Tifa?"

"Oh, you know…stuff like Vincent shaving his head, Yuffie babysitting you guys, frightening little things like that."

Marlene grinned. "Boy, you guys sure do have some freaky dreams!"

Denzel giggled again before saying, "You know what would be even scarier?"

Cloud shrugged.

"A dream about Cloud wearing a dress!"

There was a still silence in the room. Cloud lowered his brows, the horrific memories flashing back into his mind. Such things were best left forgotten, he decided.

He glanced over at Tifa, knowing she was being tempted to speak out.

Tifa grinned.

She had almost said it.

Almost.

"So Denzel," Marlene said, breaking the silence, "Was your nightmare about your parents?"

Tifa tapped her hand under the blanket, signaling that it wasn't a good idea to ask such things.

Nevertheless, Denzel nodded, saying, "Yeah. It was awful."

Cloud rested his head on his arms, finally disregarding the cowlick. For now.

"You miss them?" he asked.

Denzel glanced over at him, eyes showing confusion. "Them?"

"Yeah, your parents. Do you miss them a lot?"

Denzel's eyes shifted to the ceiling. "I'm…not sure what…" he paused, then turned and said, "Why would I miss you and Tifa when you're right here?"

Tifa and Cloud gazed at each other through the darkness, both looking a bit startled.

Then, they smiled.

A/N: I'm not sure if I should start an actual plot with this fic, or just leave it as a series of family-centered snippets. Most of these scenarios are just things that pop into my mind during the day, and I just like to imagine how Tifa, Cloud and the children would react to such normal, everyday things. Anyways, thanks for the reviews!