Finding the Missing Piece
Chapter Three

The next morning is much more normal than the night before, because I'm making breakfast like I always do. It's early, but Denzel and Marlene already left over an hour ago to visit a friend's house down the street, so it's been quiet in the house. Today is Sunday, the day both Cloud and I take off from work, and unlike the kids he's still in bed. He'll probably get up soon though, because he never seems to sleep in for long, especially with the smell of food in the house.

Sure enough, a few minutes later when I'm almost finished with the first batch of pancakes, he comes down the stairs. I look over at him, noticing that he must have already taken a shower, because his hair isn't quite as messy as it usually is when he first wakes up; the water tends to tame it down a bit. He's fully dressed, like I am, but he still looks like he might be half asleep. This would be another one of those interesting little things that I've learned about him over the past couple of years; Cloud is most certainly not a morning person.

I pour another big glob of batter into the pan, listening to it making a quiet hissing sound as it cooks. Cloud takes a seat at one of the barstools in front of me, propping his elbow up on the counter so he can rest his cheek in his hand, his eyes closing sleepily. We do have a proper dining room with a table and several chairs towards the back of the house, but since the kitchen is in the bar area, it's usually more convenient to just eat at the bar when there's only a few people in the house.

"Good morning," I greet him brightly after he sits down, setting the finished plate of pancakes and a glass of milk in front of him.

"Morning," he says groggily, and it's accompanied by a big yawn.

"The kids went down the street to play," I inform him, pushing my spatula under another pancake and flipping it over.

Cloud nods slightly, but that's the only kind of a response that I get from him. He's always like this after he first wakes up though, so it's really no surprise, and I don't take any offense to it. He stabs his fork into the stack of pancakes after covering them with syrup, shoving the portion into his mouth and starting to chew slowly. He stays quiet for awhile, but then he suddenly seems to remember something, because he sits up straighter, instantly looking more awake.

I look away from the stove to stare at him, puzzled by this abrupt change. He looks like he wants to say something, but he still hesitates for a minute after swallowing his food.

"How did your date go last night?" he asks cautiously, looking almost worried.

I'm taken off guard by the question, because when he didn't mention it after I got home last night, I just assumed that he wasn't going to ask me about it at all. I'm not quite sure how to answer anyway, because I honestly don't know how it went. I had fun, I suppose, but since I found out that I'm not attracted to the guy, what does that make of it? It takes me a moment to sort it out in my head, and Cloud watches me curiously before I finally decide on how to answer.

"It was alright," I reply, shrugging my shoulders and averting my attention back to finishing up the last of my pancakes.

Cloud takes another bite of his breakfast, speaking around the food. "Do you need me to watch the kids again the next time you go out with him?" he asks slowly, eyeing me carefully.

I try to keep myself from smirking, because I know that his question is a cleverly disguised way of asking whether or not I'm going to be seeing him again. Although I'm still not entirely sure of why me going out on dates bothers him so much, I'm flattered that he cares enough to be concerned about it.

"No, I don't think I'll be going out with him again," I say, piling my pancakes onto my plate and walking around the bar to sit down next to him.

"I thought you said it went well?" he asks, a perplexed frown appearing on his forehead.

I'm unable to hold back an amused smile then, because I'm not used to him quizzing me like this, and his reactions to my short answers are almost comical. It's unlike him to ever try and pry information out of me; he's usually the one that doesn't want to talk about things.

"It did," I agree, pausing to take my first bite and continuing after I wash it down with some milk. "But I don't think I need to date anyone; I'm happy just being here with you and the kids," I finish.

It's an honest statement, because I am happy with what I have, but that doesn't erase the feeling inside of me that wants more. We fall into a silence then as we continue eating, though out of the corner of my eye I can see Cloud frowning again, looking as if he's deep in thought. A few minutes go by without any words exchanged between us, though it doesn't ever feel awkward, and I get lost in my thoughts before he speaks up again.

"What if…I asked you to go out with me?" he asks hesitantly, peering over at me.

I freeze with my fork halfway up to my mouth, staring back at him in shock as I try to figure out if I heard him right. There's an expression on his face that I don't think I've ever seen him make before; a lopsided grin that pulls one side of his mouth up further than the other, and an almost suggestive glint in his eyes. The longer I gape at him the more pronounced his smirk becomes, because he seems to be amused by my reaction.

"You're serious?" I ask after a moment of studying him, trying to determine if he's just teasing me or not.

"Of course," he answers, looking concerned by my skepticism; his smile faltering a little though it doesn't fully disappear.

He waits patiently while I take another minute to try and process this information, because it seems so out of place to hear coming from him. Cloud and I do go places together quite often, whether it's to pick up the kids at school, taking a trip to the grocery store, or some other kind of errand. We take the kids places just for fun sometimes too, though we've never gone anywhere like that by ourselves, and certainly not on a date. Now that he's asking though, I begin to realize just how appealing that sounds to me.

"Alright, that sounds like fun," I say finally, watching as he glances away from me to try and hide his returning smile. Cloud has never been one to show his emotions freely, but I've learned how to watch for them.

He takes a big gulp from his glass before turning back to me. "Maybe we could go somewhere tonight?" he suggests.

"Sure," I agree quickly. "I'll call Yuffie and ask her to watch the kids; she owes me a favor for something, I'm sure," I add.

Cloud chuckles once, a quiet sound that is pleasant to my ears, and he nods in agreement with a knowing smile on his lips.

"Where are we going?" I ask him.

He pauses for a moment before he replies, and another unusual expression, a sly grin, appears on his face. "It's a surprise," he says, finishing the last of his pancakes and grabbing his dishes as he gets up from the bar and heads for the sink.

I decide not to push him for more information, because he seems to have preplanned this to some extent, though I can't imagine when he would have gotten the idea to ask me. I find myself smiling then, anticipating going somewhere special with him, though it strikes me as odd that I feel so differently now than I did about going on my date last night. This is Cloud though, not just some guy from the bar, so that must be why I feel better about it.

To be continued…

(A/N) Only one chapter left, I'm sorry to say, but I hope the conclusion is satisfying enough. :3

Thank you so much to everyone who has reviewed so far! :D I love the feedback, and I always reply to my reviews, so don't be shy. ;)

-punkiemonkie