Title: Family is Forever

Author: Phantom-NorthStar

Word theme: Flowers

AN: I'm not sure anybody's reading this but hey! That's not gonna stop me! I can write even if nobody reads it. So now we meet Zack. And Aeris. Seriously though, does Aeris have any faults? That question keeps bugging me.

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy Seven, Cloud, Zack, or Aeris. But I do own the plots, ideas, and Calypso and every weird thing she does.

It had been a week since Cloud had moved in with Calypso. Our favorite chocobo head was thrilled with some of the simple things his new guardian would do, like play dinosaurs with him, or make fresh cookies. At other times, he was completely weirded out.

I mean, seriously, who lime, lemon, apricots, and chocolate in one pastry?

But it goes without saying that he was probably the only person who willingly stayed around our abnormal Calypso. So he was slightly more accustomed to her strange antics. I stress the word 'slightly' since on this particular morning Cloud was standing in the sable haired woman's bedroom doorway, watching as she spazzed out, running around in circles, waving her arms and hyperventilating. The episode had started out with Cloud waking up in his sky blue pjs, hearing Calypso's panicked voice. The innocent child crawled out of his bed and shuffled over to his guardian's room, only to see her panicking and saying something along the lines of:

"Oh good Gaia! What am I gonna wear?"

"It's sunny out! I can't wear any dark colors!!"

"But I don't really have any pastel colors!!"

"I want to go out, but jeans and a shirt just can't do it! And nothing too complicated!"

"WHATAMIGONNADO?!!!"

Coming back to the present, Cloud continued to watch for a total of two minutes before he became bored. But hey, he's five years old, can you blame him? So, being the amazingly smart kid he is, he walked around Calypso, who had fallen to her knees by her bed, sobbing into the sheets melodramatically, and to her closet which also had her dresser located right next to it. Since it was sunny out and, in conclusion, a very nice day, he pulled out a pale yellow kimono-like top that had a redish tan sash to tie around the waist, light red knee length skirt, and brown slip on shoes. He carried the clothes over to her bed, where he placed them next to the sable haired woman. She looked up after he tapped her shoulder, blinking when she saw the outfit.

She squealed, hugging Cloud. "Thank you Cloud!! You're a lifesaver!" After he was released from Calypso's capture, he quickly left her room, heading back to his own room to get dressed himself. Cloud had grown to like living with Calypso. Despite her odd mannerisms, she acted a lot like a real mother should. She would smile and pay attention to him, spend time with him, and take care of him. She never yelled at him, and when he did do something wrong, she would calmly explain what he did and how he could fix it. He felt safe and warm when he was around her. Not to mention she let him make important decisions like an adult! He got to pick what dinner would be, or what he wanted for breakfast, or even where they ate in the house lots of times. He got to dress himself and he even picked out the color of his room and where everything went. Plus Calypso went to town and came back with important papers that said she was legally his mother. He didn't know what 'legally' meant, but it made Calypso smile, so Cloud decided it was a good thing. He stayed at home most of the time, playing in his room or in the living room, unless he was outside. Calypso told him that next week he would be starting something called 'Kindergarten'. She explained it, saying that he would go to a place called a school for most of the day, where he would learn all kinds of things and get to play with other kids. She also told him that she wouldn't stay with him at the school. So while he wanted to play with other kids, despite how nervous he felt around other kids, he didn't want to be away from Calypso.

But that was a topic for another day. Cloud chose to get dressed in blue shorts, a white shirt with a bright yellow chocobo on it (Calypso even let him choose his own clothes!), and a red zip-up hoodie. He pulled on a pair of white socks and his sneakers. His guardian had told him they were going out to eat breakfast, go shopping for school supplies, and then hang around outside, maybe go to the park. Cloud loved the park. He liked going there to play, especially when the sable haired woman would join in. Despite how many times he had been there, he hadn't made any friends. A lot of the kids liked to pick on him because his hair was so spiky.

As soon as the small blond exited his room, the door to Calypso's room opened. Now her door was definitely unique. She had put all kinds of stickers, pictures, and signs on her door. He may have not known what most of the sayings on her door meant, but some of Cloud's favorites were:

Down with pants! Up with kilts! (Seriously, Cloud had asked Cally once what a kilt was. She just patted his head and said she'd tell him when he was older.)

I shall smite you. (Cloud didn't know what smite meant, but whenever he said it, Cally broke out into a fit of giggles...)

Go now or I shall taunt you a second time. (Cloud always gave Calypso a weird look when he saw this. She just started to laugh, saying it in some strange accent and then laughing some more.)

If you want respect, get on your knees and beg for it. (Cloud never really understood this one...)

Either way, Calypso pranced out of her room, dressed in the outfit Cloud had chosen (boy he felt proud of himself) with bright sunshine yellow and fire engine red feathers in her hair, which she had clipped up in some kind of messy ponytail. A few of the black strands hung loose around her face, some orange beads around the ends. As usual, she wore no make-up and a smile lit up her face as soon as she saw Cloud. "Ready to go eat?" she asked, grabbing her rainbow striped book bag. (Cloud had asked before why it was rainbow. Her response was so that there would always be a color to match whatever she was wearing that day. Though people always looked at her strangely whenever they were out.) Cloud smiled, following her downstairs like a little chick. The two walked into the outer edges of the city, going to the small cafe/restaurant that Cloud liked. After breakfast, and some shopping, Calypso let her charge choose where they would head off to. So far, they were just exploring, since Cloud didn't quite know the city at all. It was nearing lunch time when the blond ran into another boy, who also wasn't paying attention to where he was going. The two fell down, Cloud silently and in slight fear that he would be yelled at or hit, the black haired boy merely going down with the sound effect "Oof!"

Calypso was quick to catch up to Cloud, standing by as he slowly picked himself up, watching the other kid do the same. Cloud quickly hid behind the sable haired woman, peeking out from behind her. The black haired boy dusted himself off, tilting his head when he saw Cloud hiding. "Sorry about that... My name's Zack! What's yours?" he exclaimed, bounding over to stand in front of Calypso, holding his hand out in greeting. A small girl in a white sundress ran to catch up with little Zack, her hair held in a ponytail with a pink ribbon. In her small hands was a straw basket holding sunflowers. "Zack, you left me behind!" she softly cried, reaching out to grab his other hand. Zack smiled at her, rubbing the back of his head. "Sorry Aeris." he apologized. She nodded, smiling when she noticed the blond hiding behind Calypso. Aeris looked to be around six, while Zack around seven. The two watched Cloud with child-like curiosity. It was obvious that they wanted to meet him. Calypso smiled, moving so that she stood behind Cloud, nudging him forward a bit. "Go ahead and introduce yourself, sweetie." she told him.

The five year old nervously waved, squeaking out, "I'm Cloud. Sorry about running into you." Zack grinned like he had just won the lottery. "Hi Cloud! Wanna be friends?" The blond nodded shyly, and then Aeris walked over, taking his hands. "It's nice to meet you Cloud. I'm Aeris. Would you like a flower?" she asked him, offering one of the sunflowers in her basket. Cloud shyly accepted her gift, before blushing when his stomach growled, Zack's doing the same. Calypso looked at her watch. "Looks like it's lunch time. Aeris, Zack, do you two need help getting home?"

The brunette shook her head. "My house is just down the street. I'll see you tomorrow Zack." Aeris then bowed briefly as a good bye before she took off down the street. Zack watched her go. "I gotta get back to the orphanage. Ms. Johnson doesn't like it when I'm late. I'll see you later Cloud! Bye!" he said before he ran off, presumably to the orphanage, waving over his shoulder the whole time. A small smile wormed its way onto Cloud's face. As Calypso led him to a pizza place, she looked over her shoulder, a small smirk on her face.

'Midgar Orphanage, huh?' she thought mischievously.

AN: And Calypso is plotting something! It's kinda sad that Cloud's getting used to her and the things she does. And seriously, does Aeris have any faults? Cause theres a saying 'You like people for their qualities, but you love them for their faults.'