Chapter 80. εуλ0012 (continued)
Cloud had slid that latch on the bedroom door – playfully, this time, his eyes frolicking over her and she flirting back in response – but as she reached out her hands to motion him forward, he held up a hand for silence, leaning close into the door.
"What…" she began, but he waved her over.
"Come here. You've got to hear this," he whispered.
"Hmmm." She walked over and knelt down, her head under his outstretched arm, pressing her ear to the door crack.
" - in there?" she heard Denzel's voice begin.
"Because they want to be alone!"
"Well, what are they doing that they have to be alone?"
"They're KISSING!"
"Among other things," Cloud muttered. Tifa stifled a giggle.
"But how can they be kissing if they're not married?"
"You don't have to be married to kiss!"
"Oh, this is just too cute," Tifa sighed.
"I think that's probably enough," Cloud replied, smiling his trademark amused grin. Our family can make him smile; the thought filled her with pride. "Now about that kissing…"
Meanwhile, downstairs, the argument was still going.
"So why aren't Cloud and Tifa married anyway?"
"Well…" Marlene bit her lip. She had been winning the argument so far, but now Denzel had stumped her.
"Ha! I got you! You don't know the answer!" Marlene suspected Denzel didn't even CARE so much about the answer – just that she didn't know it.
She thought for a minute. "I know! I know who would know the answer!"
"Who?" Denzel asked, but she was already rushing into the office and to the phone. By the time he caught up to her, she was already dialing a very familiar number.
The other end picked up immediately. "Hi there, my little moogle, how's it going? This is a surprise." Noisy mechanical sounds in the background told her he was outdoors somewhere, working.
"Fine, Daddy!" she squealed happily. "Denzel and I were just having an argument – no, a discussion – that was better, it sounded more grown-up – "and we had a question for you."
"Hmm," Barret replied. Marlene always had questions, but they were usually good ones. "You'd better tell me more."
Marlene briefly recapped, making sure to make it sound like SHE was the one who knew best, but when she finally got to the point where she'd decided to call Barret, he busted up laughing. "Kissing, huh?" He hoped for damn sure that was ALL Marlene had seen, or he'd kick Cloud's ass personally. "I'd better ask Cloud and Tifa first to make sure I give you the right answer. Have one of them call me, would you?" It would probably be Tifa who called, but he would have to talk to both of them eventually.
"Ok, Papa, I love you! You're still coming for your visit, right?"
"Eight days and counting, sunshine. Love you too, and take care of everyone for me." With that, Barret hung up.
As it turned out, it was neither who called back. Barret himself dialed the next day, and to his surprise, it was Cloud who picked up.
"Hello, Cloud speaking."
"Must be a day off, huh?"
"Barret. How'd you know?"
Barret laughed. "Well, you're actually home and picked up the phone. And you didn't introduce it with the business name."
Cloud chuckled in return. "Yeah, we've actually managed to get our schedules coordinated somehow. The bar's closed, too. Tifa has something planned, one of those things families are supposed to enjoy. Marlene solemnly informed me that I'm not allowed to NOT have fun."
Barret guffawed, even louder than usual. "Better listen to the women. Seriously, you know Tifa wouldn't give you shit if she didn't love you so much."
"Um. Fair enough, I guess." Cloud's tone was sulky, but Barret had a feeling Cloud was smiling without even realizing it.
"I've always wondered what a woman like that even sees in you. I guess if she has to be with some dumbass, it might as well be you," Barret teased. Sometimes he had to remind himself, Cloud was fourteen years younger; nearly young enough to be his son. And for all Tifa's maturity, he couldn't stop seeing her as his younger sister. But he couldn't help but be a bit jealous… they were still a young couple, and not tired out by babies either. Marlene aside, for the sake of their relationship, he sure hoped they were getting it on, on a regular basis.
"Um… thank you?" was Cloud's response. Someone should tell Cloud he had a lot to learn about women. Hades, HE had a lot to learn about women – nobody ever told you it was going to be a lifelong project.
"But anyway, Cloud, I actually had a reason to call." He sketched out the details of the conversation the day before.
"Oh, Gaia," Cloud replied, and Barret heard a thump that might have been the sound of Cloud's head hitting the desk. "You're right. Tifa needs to hear this, too." He removed the phone from his ear and called Tifa's name. There was the sound of a female voice calling back, followed by steps on the stairs.
Barret waited patiently on the other end. He had faith in Tifa's ability to handle this, at least.
Downstairs, Tifa handed the wooden spoon she'd been stirring with over to Denzel. Denzel was fully immersed in his role as supervisor, and for once, Marlene wasn't trying to show up her brother. It was a part of the girl's personality that had only shown up in the past few months; and Tifa, having been an only child, had no idea what to make of it.
Cloud started as Tifa entered the upstairs office, wearing a… purple… dress? One that reminded him of a certain rescue way back when. She owned such a thing? "It's Barret. He wanted to talk to us about the kids." Cloud handed the phone off to Tifa, and sat back to instead, admire, well, how damn good that dress looked on her.
Tifa listened for a minute; there was no speakerphone, but Barret, as always, spoke loudly enough that Cloud hardly needed it. Tifa took the news much better than Cloud had. "Yeah. Yeah, I see," she murmured, her face all business. "Yeah, we'll wait until you get here next week. Between you and Cloud, I think you can handle having the talk with Denzel. I have an idea what to do about Marlene." She gave Cloud a pointed look, then handed him the phone to say goodbye.
"Do you want to say hi to the kids? Marlene at least? Or both?" Cloud knew Barret was making a concerted effort not to exclude Denzel, perhaps coming to love the boy as Cloud himself had. Somehow, all these odd family relationships were working themselves out.
"Nah. Then she'll just say she wishes I was there today, too. Let's keep her looking forward to next week, okay?" A cursory goodbye, and both sides hung up.
Tifa had pulled up the second chair next to Cloud; Cloud leaned his head forward onto his right hand. "So, soon, already?" he said glumly.
"Time flies," Tifa replied gently. She wrapped her own hand around his upturned one.
"Well, I suppose Denzel at least is old enough."
"Marlene's pretty advanced for her age," Tifa answered. "Might as well get it all over with at once." She suddenly thought of something. "Who told you? Did your mother…"
"Nah, she found some guy friend in the village. I think he worked at the inn. She might have asked your dad, if he didn't hate my guts by then… How about you?" He paused, remembering exactly how young Tifa had been when her mother had died, wondering if he'd brough up a bad memory.
Luckily, Tifa seemed unaffected. She had, with time, become more accustomed to the loss… or perhaps it had just faded beside the horror of what had happened to Nibelheim. "Actually, my dad stepped up to it. Though I think he had a couple of shots beforehand."
Cloud laughed. From what he remembered of Brian Lockhart – a forceful personality with the one weak spot of his daughter – that sounded about right.
His good mood dropped. "I'm never going to be able to wake up the next morning and look my kids in the eyes again," he moaned.
"Well, maybe for a little bit," Tifa replied matter-of-factly. "Nut they'll get over it. Kids are resilient. After all… look what WE survived."
She cocked her head, and she and Cloud shared a long tender look. All they'd been through together…
"CLOUD! TIFA!" called up Marlene. "ARE WE GOING?"
Cloud and Tifa smiled ruefully, their moment broken. Back to being distracted by children, yet again…
Tifa was serving out breakfast, which meant, of course, that one of the men was doing the dishes. With Barret in the house, Cloud fervently hoped he could pass on the duty for a change.
Marlene was chattering happily to Tifa, excited about anything and everything she planned to do while Papa was there. Denzel was still asleep; so was Barret. Marlene was getting ready to run upstairs and wake them both when Cloud and Tifa carefully exchanged looks. "Marlene, I've got a surprise for you," Tifa began. "What do you think about a girls' day today?"
Marlene put down her fork and looked at Tifa anxiously. "But Papa just got here!"
"Well, I think they're going to have a boys' day with Denzel, too. But we'll be back for dinner together. And won't you be excited to see Elmyra?' The rain to Kalm, had recently been completed, and though it was a good three-hour ride compared to the hour it took Fenrir, it still meant it was easier for the Seventh Heaven family and Elmyra to visit back and forth.
"Yay! You mean we're going to Grandma's?" Marlene's good mood returned immediately, just as Tifa had known it would.
Elmyra had become an integral addition to their extended family. One day, Marlene had spontaneously asked if she could call Elmyra "grandmother" – and Elmyra had delightedly granted permission not just to Marlene, but to Denzel as well. "I may have lost my daughter," she'd said, wiping her eyes, "but now I suddenly have TWO grandchildren?"
And she treated Tifa as – well, Tifa didn't want to be presumptuous enough to think she was taking Aerith's place, but certainly a favored niece, at least. For Tifa's part, she was only too glad to have someone to talk to, someone who would understand concerns even a biological mother wouldn't. Someone to ask all the stupid questions about raising children. ("They're all stupid questions when you start, so you might as well ask them," Elmyra had pragmatically suggested.)
And it gave Tifa a chance to reminisce about her memories of Aerith – the ones that were all her own. She could say a lot more to Cloud about what was on her mind than she used to, but there were some things she still couldn't bring up. Cloud seemed to have come to terms with the pain and the guilt, but there was still that little bit between Cloud and Aerith that Tifa could never be a part of, and the tenderest part of loss that she knew all too well herself.
Barret, Denzel finally stumbled downstairs sleepily, leaving the others to explain their plans for the day. The house was filled with hustle and bustle for a few hours until Tifa and Marlene left, leaving Denzel with Cloud and Barret.
Denzel looked, confused, from one man to the other. "So, uh, what are we supposed to be doing with guys' day anyway?"
"Well," said Barret.
"Um, said Cloud,"
"Were going to have a man-to-man-talk about some things," Barret began, clapping a big hand on the young boy's shoulder.
Denzel's ears were practically bleeding by the time Barret and Cloud were done explaining; it took longer than expected, with the two interrupting each other in their efforts to explain, thoroughly confusing him at first until he finally got the picture. Were they saying THAT was what Cloud and Tifa had been this whole time? Wait a minute – that meant his PARENTS would have had to have done it too? No way!
Denzel couldn't believe it, and he said as much. Barret laughed; Cloud blushed, of all things. "Sorry to break it to you, kid, but everyone thinks that about their parents at first. It's not true."
Myrna, Barret thought, the name still emblazoned on his heart. His own sexual thoughts still revolved around her. They'd only had seven lucky years to be married – but she'd been a little sparkplug, so much passion, so much fire…
It made him think. Maybe it was time he looked around for some new happiness, too.
"The thing is," Cloud added, the redness fading some, "is that it's something you do FOR and WITH a woman. That's the most important part."
Denzel thought about Mina. She was his best friend – he'd never do anything icky like that with her. But it might be okay, to just kiss her when he got older…
The talk with Marlene went better.
Marlene truly was as precocious as Tifa had thought. "Oh," she had said thoughtfully, her only commentary on the subject before she ran out to play, leaving Tifa and Elmyra alone to discuss this latest development of motherhood.
Tifa breathed a sigh of relief. How to be a mother – that weighed so heavily on her mind nowadays. She felt like she was just guessing every day.
"I think that's every mother that ever lived," was Elmyra's answer.
"I'm really thankful to have you to talk to," Tifa said, lifting her coffee cup. Half-eaten pastries covered the plate before them. She unconsciously poked at the crumbs.
"I can give the advice that I can for now," Elmyra replied. "Eventually, Marlene will grow up enough that we'll both be at a loss."
"At least I hoped you can get me through those teenage years," Tifa said.
Elmyra nodded, but regretfully. She couldn't tell Tifa the truth about Marlene. Not yet. It would be something she would have to talk to Marlene about first, but just the way Aerith had known things as an Ancient, she suspected Marlene would bring it up first.
When the time came…
Eventually, the two women had to say goodbye; Tifa meant to get back that night, and the last train was soon. They broke apart with hugs, promises to stay in touch.
"You have no idea what you've done for me," were Tifa's parting words.
No, you, Elmyra thought wistfully, as Tifa took Marlene's hand and walked away. A chance to relive Aerith's childhood all over again.
A small bit of having Aerith back.
The next few days were as awkward as Cloud had feared. Both the children were less chatty than usual, frozen with embarrassment at the dinner table, now knowing exactly What Their Parents Had Been Doing after they went to bed.
Cloud shied away from Tifa for a couple days, but eventually he had to say, to Hades with it. He just wanted to GET to bed, and get on with doing exactly that.
He wanted her undressed first; she was happy to oblige. As he slipped his hands under her short little nightdress, plain cotton, but soft and black – she slung her hair forward over her shoulder, helping him along as he slipped it over her head, leaving her clothed in nothing but the moonlight.
"How would you like it tonight?" he asked her, teasing.
She leaned in, nuzzling his neck. "Hard," she murmured.
"Huh?" he whispered between nibbles on her neck.
She lifted her head just enough to look, heavy lidded, back at his surprised wide eyes. "You heard me," she said, voice husky and low. "Make it rough."
He blinked, twice; then suddenly placed a hand between her shoulders to shove her face down on the bed, with just enough force to let her know this was all for play – and grabbed her hips, yanking them upwards – she knew he could easily break her in half, just as surely as she knew he would never hurt her. One hand clung to her buttocks while he reached down with the other to line himself up with her waiting opening, a second before he slammed into her, her body thoroughly wet and welcoming.
He fucked her brutally, even as he leaned over her, his voice rasping, "Do you like this? Is this okay?" as he pounded. She could only turn her head and nod from where it was buried into the pillow. He reached around and between her legs, wrenching her orgasm out of her – an involuntary shriek that she muffled into the pillow too late, sure that she had woken up the children and traumatized them further.
A couple hard thrusts let her know that Cloud had hit his own climax as well,; he tumbled off her to lie at her side. The exchanged a smiling look, both breathed hard as they calmed from their exertions, and he reached out to brush back a thread of her dampened hair. He casually threw an arm over her, the two of them lazily swinging legs in the air as they lay on their stomachs.
"What did you like about that?" he asked.
"Didn't you like it?" she asked, surprised.
"No, of course I did – wasn't that obvious – I guess I'm just curious."
She contemplated that for a moment. "I guess I like the feeling that you just can't control yourself around me."
He groaned, lifting himself up to one elbow. The moonlight washed over the two of them, leaving its blueish glow. "Believe me, I only barely do most of the time."
"What do YOU like to do most?" she returned.
He looked back at her, staring, not responding for so long that she was starting to wonder if she had asked a wrong question, crossed some invisible line. "I like making love to you the best," he finally said, very softly. "So I can show you how I feel."
She looked at him in wonder and surprise, as it hit her what he was really saying. She reached for him pulling him on top of her, wondering if she still had another orgasm in her. Bud as he slid into her still-moist canal and began to slowly move, she wrapped her legs around him and realized she didn't care; she was entangled with the man she loved, touching, caressing, kissing, and that was all she needed to feel.
It was the flowers.
They had been growing well under Marlene's care; Cloud had kept his promise and helped too, even as he probably felt silly doing it. But he did it.
Marlene had taken some in a vase by her bed; Aerith had seen when Marlene had politely asked the flowers if it was okay. They'd agreed, and now a bouquet of color adorned her nightstand – flowers she'd added from other places, but at the center, the one. The flower of reunion.
It was time.
Aerith could do it now, especially this close. She reached through the ether of the Lifestream, found the spools of dreams. It was a place she'd been before.
She found Marlene's, and entered.
They were in Seventh Heaven; it was the place Marlene had unconsciously chosen, and Aerith helped make it happen. It pleased her to know that Marlene had such pleasant memories of this place, that it felt like home. A home that Aerith had never been able to give her.
Thank you, Tifa,she sent a silent message to her friend. It wouldn't reach her directly, like with Marlene. But it was something.
She thought she'd been ready, but she nearly cried to see Marlene, the clearest she ever had since she was… alive. Her daughter, now eight. Wearing green this week; she hadn't settled on a favorite color yet. But in her hair, as always, the bow. Not Aerith's bow, but close enough it might as well be.
"Hello, Marlene," she started, for lack of anything better to say. "I'm so glad we can finally meet this way. We never got properly introduced. I'm Aerith."
Marlene smiled wide. Zack's smile. "I know who you are," she said softly. "Mother."
Author's Note: Big news. The next chapter is what I consider THE most important chapter of the entire story. Yes, over the Lifestream, the Highwind, over ACC. First among firsts, if you will.
And no, I'm not going to give you hints… you'll just have to RAFO.