A/N: I have no idea why the italicised parts are appearing larger in font, maybe it has got something to do with Libre, I can't be too sure of that. I would like to thank all of my reviewers for taking out time to give their feedback! I would especially like to note frosterd for actually being the first person to make me keep this writing on. As always, enjoy, please review and if you have any suggestions regarding my style/expression, don't hesitate, I'll try to make that better!

And here is a poster I made for Life, Love and Laughter while just playing with GIMP: albums/af20/Bow-Girl/Signatures/LLL

Chapter 10: Rummaging in Forbidden Drawers

"Hey~ What are you guys doing?" Tifa asked her wards as she saw them busy going through the dirty laundry, "I emptied the pockets of their contents so there is nothing in them," she added scrunching her brow.

"Oh, nothing," Marlene replied shortly while she put the clothes they took out back in the basket.

"Yuffie gave us a new mission Tifa. We have to find a black box around the house and she'll give us a gift. It is part of our n-"

"It is a part of our New Age Methods in Searching course for a club at school we told her about. This is just practice for it she thought of when we were talking on our way back today," Marlene hastily finished Denzel's sentence. If Tifa realised that Yuffie was teaching them the Way of the Shinobi, she'd stop their meeting Yuffie and also do something to their mentor. Trust Denzel to be so idiotically stupid when it comes to telling stuff to Tifa and Cloud. Can't he use his brains and just stay quiet, Marlene thought as she gave Tifa an innocent smile.

"A-han … A New Age Methods in Searching course … I was not aware that you guys had such a course … oh well, if you guys don't mess anything, I'll believe your little story. Meanwhile, I think I better talk to your other daily mentor," Tifa replied to Marlene. The activity screamed of not only Yuffie to Tifa but of Yuffie on a mission to annoy Cloud and her. If anything she was pretty sure that the teen was up to no good as always. What is more, she had decided to get on their nerves via the kids this time around. She was in need of a good, long, fist to face talk. Leaving the kids to their mission she started going upstairs.

"Denzel you idiot, why can't you stay quiet if you can't be smart about what to say when," Marlene turned around and started questioning Denzel the instant Tifa was out of earshot.

"Hey, I just don't think it is nice to lie to Tifa. She is the closest thing to a parent for me and I don't want to disappoint her or lie to her. Or be rude towards her. Or be-"

"Yeah of course Mr. Goody Two Sneakers. That is why you always leave the talking to me. Now hurry up. There's nothing here. We should check Cloud's room," Marlene stated as she started moving up the stairs. From what Yuffie had told them, they were searching for a black velvet pouch or a box of jewelery and their mission was to take a look at it and then tell Yuffie about it. The rest was up to her. Marlene of course had no idea about the importance of the gift otherwise, she might have not gone along with this plan. She just knew that Cloud's possession of the gift will give Yuffie some information.

As Marlene made her way to Cloud's room, she heard the noise of Fenrir's engine stopping outside the bar and a door opening. Ack, Cloud! You had to be back early today. Ooh I hope Tifa can keep you downstairs, she thought while opening the door to Cloud's room and signaling Denzel to make a quick search of his cupboard. She herself made way for his drawers hoping to strike luck fast. She knew that Tifa took care of all their drawers, cupboards, clothes, in fact their entire rooms so everything was bound to be neat and in its place. If anything were to be hidden, it would be easily visible in those ordered rows of items.

"Welcome home Cloud." Tifa said in greeting as the door opened.

Cloud heard Tifa as he was closing the door to the bar and made his way to the cupboard under the stairs where they kept their cloaks, coats and other assorted items required for going outside. He was home early today. Tifa was readying glasses and pewter mugs for drinks while the dishes laid upturned drying off. "Thank you," he replied as he went towards the bar and sat on a stool.

"Here you go," Tifa said turning around and giving Cloud a cold glass of fresh juice.

"Thank you," he replied again with a smile this time. He took a long sip from the glass and said, "You are pampering me with these luxuries Teef. If you keep on feeding me such amazing stuff, I might not even have the heart to leave for work."

"Don't worry Cloud, that day will never come too. My fists would be ready to throw you out of the door in case you ever feel like not going to work for good," Tifa replied with sincerity surprising Cloud. However her expression, the mischief in her eyes gave her away as she leaned on the counter, a similar glass in her hands.

"I knew you were a slave driver Ms. Lockhart," said Cloud with an exasperated sigh in a highly dramatic manner. Anybody who would have seen Cloud like this would have been surprised but the truth of the matter was that he just enjoyed life now. As it came. Maybe not as much as he should have been but what little moments they had, he cherished them and tried to have fun in them.

"Should have thought of that before you committed yourself to this place," Tifa smirked as she answered to his allegation. She registered that what they were doing could be mistaken for flirting but that's just the way they were usually, poking fun at each other with no ill will.

"Maybe I wanted to commit myself to this family," Cloud replied softly, the playfulness gone from his manner. As of a moment ago, they were just having fun but now, they were charting unknown waters. Since Tifa did not reply to Cloud, he just gave her on of his smiles and stood up to change and then help her with the bar but he had not even made it to the stairs when he heard Tifa calling him back.

"I just remembered, from tomorrow onwards, I'll be picking up the kids from school. Yuffie is ninjafying them." This time, there was a finality in her tone and for good reason too.

Weren't the kids smart enough as they were that Yuffie had to go teach them all of that, Cloud thought, I know that brat! She is doing that to get to me for something. Even after all the help I gave her with handling motion sickness she seeks me out to annoy.

"You do that," was his succinct reply as he made his way up the stairs. Halfway up there, he remembered something and shouted, "Hey Teef! Where are the kids?!" If they were by chance away with Yuffie for the day, then he could plan an excursion with Tifa someplace around Edge where they could spend some time catching up on the week's activities.

"Upstairs Cloud," she replied, "Something to do with a mission. And don't shout down the stairs."

"Yeah, yeah," Cloud muttered while moving towards his room.

"Hey! I found a box!" Denzel shouted while going through the side table to Cloud's bed. It was a small black box and on shaking gave the impression of having a lone piece of jewelery in it. "Come on, let's hurry up and open it," he beckoned Marlene towards the window.

Marlene opened it and duly took note of its contents then put it back in it's place. Just as she was done with it, she heard the handle to the door being turned. Instantly stepping away from the cupboard, she started adjusting Cloud's bed sheet while Denzel started thumping the pillows. By the time the door opened, it seemed like they had been at it for quite some time.

"Hey, what are you guys doing?" Cloud asked as he entered his room, a little startled.

"Oh nothing. We just wanted your bed to be all perfect for you Cloud. It is the least we can do after all you do for us, you know," Marlene promptly replied with a smile.

"Mm hmmm, thank you."

"You're welcome~ Come Denzel, let's get prepared for dinner," Marlene replied while heading outside. Her mission was finished. Now all that she had to do was report to Yuffie. She decided to text her report to Yuffie as the message was short and so asked to borrow Cloud's phone. As he easily complied, she just typed two words and sent it to Yuffie later deleting the message to erase record.

Meanwhile, just a few miles away, in an apartment near the centre of Edge, Yuffie paced the length of her room. Ever since she got to know that Cloud was planning to give Tifa a gift, she was edgy. She did not think that Cloud would ever get the courage to move on forward with Tifa and now that he was doing she was annoyed that she didn't have a part to play in that. That is why, when she received a message, she was more than eager for the news. The ID displayed a message from Cloud. Wishful thinking had it marked as a report from Marlene. The message just had two words in its content:

"Fenrir Earring!"

Oh … so Cloud Strife you plan to give Tifa an earring similar to yours. I wonder if I was giving you too much credit when my tracers picked up that conversation you had with Vincent. I hope you don't attribute some sort of symbolism to the matching earrings. That never pays off as a compliment to a woman, especially one like Tifa. It only works in movies, Yuffie thought as she began pacing again. Granted the information was just to quench her curiosity, but it had the exact opposite effect. It annoyed her to no end that Cloud was being so typical in addition of being dense, slow, dumb and a pain.

A/N II: Later in the story, we'll see Yuffie's secrets in more detail. For now, let us suffice with the thought that Yuffie is acting as a catalyst for these guys :)