Cloud runs his fingers through his hair, he has to get up and go make breakfast, he doesn't want too. His toes are numb, his body his numb, and his mind is numb. The walk downstairs is longer then it should be and Marlene is already up. She's got pans and pots out all over the kitchen and on top of stoves. Theirs flour on her face and she smiles at Cloud when he walks into the room.
"Hi Cloud!" she says waving her hand at him and turning back to an open book, "I thought I'd make breakfast this morning so you didn't have too!" Her voice is sweet and caring, Cloud always enjoys when she does these types of things since even though she's young, she is a much better chef then Cloud is.
His mouth twitches into a smile and he has a desire to hug her, but instead he nods and stares over everything she has in bowls and pans, "Looks good Marlene! Thank you for doing that!" He ruffles her hair and takes a scoop of something sweet and licks it off his finger, "It's gonna be good."
Marlene smiles, pleased at her own achievements, "Well you'll just have to wait and see!"
"Hey," Cloud pipes in licking his lips, "Where's Denzel?"
"Still sleeping," Marlene sighs and pulls out a giant spoon, "He said he didn't feel well or something, so I just let him be."
Cloud nods and paces the room, he should brush his teeth, he really, really needs to brush his teeth, "Oh, alright."
Marlene notices that Cloud is distracted, probably thinking of something mindless but deep down he's thinking about something real important. She's sort of nosy and has a desire to ask him what's on his mind but she just turns back to her work and ends the conversation. She'll go wake Denzel up when it's time and she'll let Cloud relax until then.
Cloud stares over at her, hard working, he wants to help but he doesn't want to taint anything, "I'm going to go take a shower quick!" He rushes upstairs, he knows Marlene doesn't really care what he does and she shouldn't because she's occupied.
The water hits him like a brick, it's not relaxing how he imagined it, it's just painful. He runs his finger through his tangled and matted hair and pulls out a few of the knots. He curses underneath his breath because working them out is kind of painful. He thinks he should go wake up Denzel but really he's thinking about Tifa's call. How rude of him was it to just hang up- how rude of it was her to just leave? Who is she with? Why is she sad? He curses a few more times and gets out of the shower- quickly drying himself off and running into Denzel's room. Denzel's still asleep, his mouth is hung open just a little bit and he's unconsciously mumbling something. Cloud shakes him nervously hoping he'll wake up quickly, he doesn't so Cloud shakes him a little harder until he see's Denzel's eyes flutter open.
"Wha-?" Denzel mutters wiping the sleep from his eyes.
"Good morning!" Cloud says brightly, making Denzel cringe in fear, "Marlene is cooking breakfast, it should be ready soon so why don't you take a shower quick and run on downstairs."
Denzel stares up at him, Cloud's mood is off, his tone of voice is, there is just something completely wrong with him at the moment. He's chipper, he sounds lonely, he sounds like he's masking everything with happiness? Not a Cloud move at all.
"Okay." Denzel says nodding his head and stepping out of bed.
Cloud nods and stands there for a few seconds before removing himself from the room. He sighs when he gets outside the door and falls to the floor covering his face with his hands. He's not crying but he wishes he could be. Today is a good day for him, Marlene is cooking, Denzel is cooperating, he's happy, really happy.
Breakfast is silent except for Marlene telling her daily plans and Denzel's mindless babble. Cloud kind of wants to go to with Marlene but he decides that is a Yuffie thing and knowing Yuffie, she'll show up any minute for some food and some laughs. Cloud thinks about something he could do with Denzel, when nothing comes to mind he realizes he should be out today. He needs to meet Vincent and some other men, some things are happening and they're going to need Cloud's help to fix them. He stands up from the table and pours his dish into the sink, he wants to ask somebody else to do the dishes but he knows that's his job. He chuckles at that, dishes? Cleaning? His job. Marlene's next to him scraping off excess food into the trash and then dumping her plate next to Clouds. He bends down so that he's her height.
"You gonna take off today?" he asks, receiving a nod from the girl, "Well you just be safe then, okay?"
You just be safe then, okay?
The words mock him as they fall off his tongue, they mock him endlessly and he wishes he could take that whole sentence back. He touches the side of his cheek like it hurt for him to speak. Marlene kisses his other cheek and he drops his fingers. She runs out of the house yelling okay to him and he sees her meet up with Barret who was just coming up the driveway. They walk off together, Barret probably has something to say to Cloud and will be back later. No sign of Yuffie but Cloud trusts Denzel on his own so he just gathers his things and heads for the door leaving Denzel at the kitchen table clearing off plates and cups and things.
The clanking glasses remind him of his dire need for a drink, maybe later today he would stay up later then normal and reminisce on his life, maybe call back Tifa just to add to the effect. Then he thinks about Denzel and Marlene, they'd want to talk to her, it would be unfair of him to call her and not let them talk with her. He shakes his head because it's still his life, those two don't have to be part of everything, besides Marlene would be with Barret all day, he was more a caretaker then Cloud ever could be, and Cloud could call Tifa during the day instead. He wouldn't feel so guilty then, knowing that Marlene was distracted by Mr. Wallace and as for Denzel, well that was a whole different story.
He clutched his cell phone in his hand as he walked through the town. People were outside planting, playing, doing whatever because it really was a lovely day. He sighed and turned a couple corners until he found what he was looking for. He waited outside of a minute, tapping his foot gently, until he was ready to walk in and start his day. He never liked being the center of attention which is why normally he's early to these gatherings but today he wasted all that time with petty thoughts and now everybody's staring at him and muttering hello's just to be polite. This group was not the friendliest bunch and Cloud liked it that way, he fit right in although he himself had to admit that he had become quite the softie.
A/N: THANK YOU to everybody that read, reviewed, alerted, etc. I really appreciate it! I'd love to know what you think so reviews are welcome! :)