Marlene faced a closed bedroom door. Her fingers felt itchy. The rule was, when the door was closed, you were not supposed to try to open it or wake them up. Especially this early on a weekend. Unless it was something important. Really important.

They had gone over the definition of "important" a few times. Being sick counted. Definitely if something was on fire. Broken bones, bleeding. Bad dreams – well, it depended how bad. You could probably knock if you were crying about it. But if you were just confused about a dream where Daddy and Cloud were racing Chocobos…

Well, they might get a little bit annoyed at you.

"Marlene, come on."

Denzel always listened to Cloud and Tifa's rules. And somehow, he always seemed to get into less trouble than she did.

"Do you think Cloud is in there?" Marlene whispered, bending down to squint under the door.

"Dunno," Denzel said. "But I'm not waking him up if he is."

Marlene frowned. She wished Denzel would. Cloud and Tifa already knew all of Marlene's tricks. But Denzel might be able to convince Cloud and Tifa that it had been necessary to wake them up early on a Saturday.

Denzel trotted down the stairs, leaving Marlene behind. She gave one last contemplative glance at the door before sighing and following him.

Probably, Marlene could get Cloud and Tifa to come downstairs without knocking if she really, really wanted to. She considered a few options as she slid down the stairs on her bottom, feet first.

She could go downstairs and scream, really, really loud.

One time, she had been up early with Tifa and Denzel, in the Seventh Heaven side of the house. It was really early. And Cloud had gotten home late the night before, long after Marlene and Denzel had gone to bed. Tifa had been stern – well as stern as Tifa got, anyways – that they were to let him sleep in.

Marlene and Denzel had been competing to see who could eat their breakfast more quietly. Denzel had shushed Marlene as she chewed her toast. It was not her fault, though, that Tifa made it the perfect amount of crunchy and chewy. Marlene had glared at Denzel as he slurped his juice. Did he have to drink so loudly?

Out of nowhere, Tifa had screamed.

Tifa sighed sometimes if you disappointed her. She might explain in a gentle, slightly strained voice if you had done something you were not supposed to have done. But she did not yell. And she really did not scream.

It put Marlene and Denzel on alert immediately. Denzel spilled his juice. Marlene knocked her toast onto the floor.

That is when they saw it – a big, fat rat. It stole Marlene's toast off the floor and scurried away. Marlene and Denzel both shouted too.

Within seconds, Cloud was there, wild eyed and on alert. He had looked around frantically – to the children, standing on the seat of their booth, and Tifa, pressed flat against the side of the bar. He had been barefooted and unarmed.

He had only been wearing his underwear.

Tifa had slapped a hand over her mouth. She looked embarrassed, but she had also been hiding a smile. Cloud had taken the scene in slowly, realizing that nothing was actually amiss. Tifa had apologized.

It was just a rat! We haven't had any here before – I'm so sorry, it just startled me!

Cloud had blinked, slowly relaxing out of his tense stance.

A muffled snort, coming from Tifa, and suddenly all four of them were laughing. Cloud was red, but he laughed too. Marlene had belly laughed, holding onto Denzel to stay upright. Denzel was laughing too. Hard.

In those days, it was rare that Denzel even smiled. It was true of all of them back then. Laughing had been almost unheard of. Denzel was sick. Cloud was gone almost all the time. Tifa was quiet and busy and sad.

But they had laughed together then. Cloud had gone upstairs to put on clothes, muttering about getting a cat, but he had come back down and they all ate breakfast together. It had been the first time they had done so in ages.

I could scream now, Marlene thought. Nobody would know that there wasn't really a rat. And besides, they had never gotten a cat anyways. It would be a double win. Cloud and Tifa would run downstairs. They could have breakfast sooner rather than later and maybe they would also hurry up and get a cat.

"Marlene, what are you doing?"

Denzel was waiting impatiently at the bottom of the steps.

"Nothing," Marlene said. "Just thinking."

"About what?" he asked, suspicious.

Rule follower, Marlene thought, grumpily. Really, if Denzel cooperated, between the two of them, they could already be sitting down with Cloud, eating whatever Tifa made for breakfast. Tifa would probably make something really good since it was a Saturday and Cloud was home.

Or at least Marlene assumed he was. Hoped he was. Both Denzel and Marlene had fallen asleep on the sofa but woken up in their beds. Usually that meant Cloud had carried them up.

"Come on, Marlene," Denzel urged. "Let's go check the garage."

Marlene perked up.

Right! If Cloud was home, then Fenrir would be parked in the garage. And, even better, whatever supplies he had brought back would be stacked up against the wall. Marlene and Denzel always helped Cloud carry everything in after he made a trip to get things for the bar.

They could get a head start on helping Cloud. And they would definitely only help bring everything in. They would not do anything else. Like look through the things Cloud had brought back. They absolutely would not taste test anything.

Sometimes, Cloud brought back candies from Junon or Kalm or some other more faraway place that you could not find anywhere in Edge.

Marlene slid off the bottom of the stairs and scurried behind Denzel through the living room, into the muck room, and toward the garage. Denzel was ahead of her, but she stuck to his heels. He carefully lifted the security bar on the laundry room door and opened it.

They exchanged excited looks as they looked into the garage. Cloud's motorcycle was there. Packages were lined up against the back wall. Cloud had definitely come home last night.

"We could help Cloud carry things into the bar," Denzel suggested.

"Right!"

Marlene nodded and pushed past Denzel into the garage. There was a box stacked on top of the others, closest to the interior door. She poked it tentatively, satisfied when the contents rattled inside.

"Ooh," Marlene said. "This one looks fragile."

"I can carry it," Denzel proclaimed.

He experimentally lifted one edge of the box.

"I can bring it in, if you get the door."

Denzel picked the box up with both arms. Marlene hurried in front of him to open the garage door.

"Careful!" she warned.

Marlene held the door open as Denzel passed through, holding the box cautiously. She followed behind him as he moved back through the house into the living room. Marlene pointed him towards the bar area.

"We might as well bring it into Seventh Heaven," Marlene directed. "Most of this stuff is probably going there anyways."

Concentrating on his task, Denzel only nodded.

Again, Marlene rushed to clear the path ahead of him. She opened the door to the office space between the living area and the bar. Briefly, she acknowledged its cleanliness. She frowned a bit. All my colored pencils were in here. Where did Tifa put them?

But she quickly forgot the issue as Denzel followed behind her, box in hand. He hefted it onto the first table in Seventh Heaven. They eyeballed the box together.

"Come on Marlene," Denzel said reluctantly. "We can help bring everything else in too."

Neither of them moved away or took their eyes off of the box.

The boxes and packages were the best part of Cloud coming home, other than Cloud himself being there. Marlene and Denzel could not resist them – contents hidden inside, but always full of stuff.

It was not always stuff that Marlene and Denzel were interested in. It was mostly supplies for the bar – obscure spices or dry goods. Bottles of liquids they were too young to drink.

But sometimes, sometimes it was something good. Candy. Savory snacks that Cloud just happened to pick up, thinking they would like. Perhaps a game or toy that a merchant had been selling in the same marketplace where Cloud had been buying supplies.

You just never quite knew what you would find when you opened up a box.

"We could help by opening it," Marlene ventured.

Denzel scoffed. "How does opening it help?"

Marlene pouted, prodding the box again with a finger.

"Well, maybe we sort everything. Tifa says it's important to be organized."

This felt like the truth to Marlene. After all, everything would need to be put away. If they put everything together that was supposed to go together, that would be much quicker to put away later.

"Good idea," Denzel said seriously.

His voice was all business. But Marlene could see him curiously eyeing the corner of the box, where the tape had not done a very good job of sealing the lid. Really, a few tugs along the upper seam of the box, and it would open easily. They would both get to see what was inside.

"Okay," Marlene said. "Open it!"

Denzel frowned at her. "You do it."

Marlene rolled her eyes. She had to do everything around here. Marlene interlaced her fingers and stretched her arms out in front of her, the way Tifa did when she was really getting down to business. She tugged experimentally at the open flap. Denzel huddled closer, peering over her shoulder.

"I told you security was no good around here, Tifa."

Denzel and Marlene both jumped, Marlene nearly dragging the box off the table. A quick-moving hand reached out to grab it, pushing it back to safety.

Cloud and Tifa had snuck up on them.

"Seems you were right," Tifa said, shaking her head but smiling. "This place is crawling with little thieves."

"Not thieves!" Denzel protested.

"That's right," Marlene backed him up. "We were helping!"

"Hmm, likely story. I don't know, Tifa, we better call in the Neighborhood Watch. They should probably be taken in for questioning."

Tifa tapped a finger to her chin thoughtfully, eyeing Denzel and Marlene. She gave Cloud's bicep a playful squeeze.

"They're pretty small. I bet we could take them!"

Cloud pretended to size Tifa up and she nudged him with her shoulder, not moving away after. She leaned against him, and they smiled at each other, the children forgotten for a brief moment.

Marlene realized her feet were dancing beneath her in a happy little jig. Cloud and Tifa were like this sometimes, silly and stuck together like glue. They were the best when they were like this. They would be smiley all day – playful with Marlene and Denzel, and with one another. More like big kids than the somber, responsible adults they often were.

Unable to stand it any longer, Marlene launched herself at Cloud, wrapping her arms around his waist in a hug.

"Cloud's home!" she shouted.

Laughing, he hugged her back with one arm, reaching out to Denzel with the other. Grinning, Denzel joined them, arms overlapping with Marlene's around Cloud's middle. His approach was slower and more cautious than Marlene's, but she could tell he was just as excited as she was.

"We really were just helping out," he told Cloud.

Cloud ruffled his hair. "I'm sure you were."

"We were just opening it to get organized," Marlene added. "We don't even care about what's inside it."

Denzel shot Marlene a look and she immediately zipped her lips. Marlene was good at taking action, but sometimes it was better to let Denzel do the talking.

"Is that so?" Cloud asked. "Makes sense. You definitely wouldn't care about what's inside this box."

Immediately, Marlene and Denzel's eyes were drawn to the box on the table. It looked even more tempting than it had before.

"Guess they should get to work unloading the other boxes then, huh?"

Tifa winked at Cloud over the children's heads. Marlene disentangled herself from Cloud and Denzel so she would wiggle in between Tifa and Cloud. She gave both of their hands a tug.

"What if we opened it anyways? Just this one?" she pleaded.

Tifa placed a hand on Marlene's head, smoothing the messy strands away from her face. She always said Marlene woke up with a bird's nest in her hair. Marlene leaned into the gentle touch as Tifa's fingers combed out a tangle.

Tifa shrugged. "It's up to Cloud, I suppose."

Marlene and Denzel both looked at Cloud. He was watching them, eyebrows raised.

"Please, Cloud?" Denzel asked.

Good one, Denzel! Marlene thought triumphantly. She had not thought to try doing manners.

"Yeah!" Marlene said. "Please?"

Cloud glanced at Tifa, then grinned down at the children.

"Go on, then," he said. "Just be careful opening it."

Marlene and Denzel cheered and slid into the booth on either side of the box. Tifa sat down next to Denzel and Cloud scootched in next to Marlene. Together, Marlene and Denzel tugged open the flap of the box that was already partially undone.

The box opened. There was brown packing paper on top, hiding whatever was inside. Remembering Cloud's warning to be careful, Marlene gingerly pulled away a layer, letting Denzel do the next one.

Under the top layers were four cups, nestled safely between a few more pieces of packing paper. Marlene felt a quick twinge of disappointment. It was just stuff for the bar after all. Undeterred, Denzel continued to unpack the box. Not to be outdone, Marlene followed his lead, grabbing a cup and removing the paper surrounding it.

It was not a cup, but a mug. A nice one, really. Marlene had seen artisans make these types of mugs before, shaped from clay, glazed, and fired in a kiln. Marlene turned the mug in her hand, rubbing her fingers on its smooth surface.

As she reached the other side of the mug, Marlene stopped in surprise. Painted across one side of the mug in pretty lettering was a name. Marlene. Wide-eyed, she ran her fingers across it.

"Hey!" she blurted. "That's me!"

Denzel was holding a mug too. He turned it around and smiled shyly at Tifa next to him. He slid the mug over to her. It said Tifa on it.

As Denzel dug back into the box, clearly on a mission to find the mug that was his, Tifa picked hers up slowly. Marlene watched her, feeling a little uneasy. There was a look on her face that was very different from the silly mood she had been in just seconds ago.

Marlene flicked her eyes up at Cloud next to her. His cheeks looked a little red, like maybe he was embarrassed or at least self-conscious. But he was looking at Tifa intently.

Denzel now held a Denzel mug in one hand and a mug that said Cloud in the other. Grinning, he reached across the table to hand Cloud the mug with his name on it. He stopped though when, like Marlene, he noticed the shift in mood.

"Tifa," Cloud said, his voice soft.

Tifa looked up from the mug cradled in her hands. To Marlene's relief, there was a smile on her face. Marlene was confused, though, by the tears in her eyes. Why would a mug make Tifa sad?

Seeming to sense the children's anxiety, Tifa gave herself a little shake. She put an arm around Denzel's shoulders and smiled at Marlene reassuringly.

"I used to have mugs like these," she explained. "Back when I was a kid."

She looked over at Cloud again, who still had his eyes fixed on her.

"I wouldn't have thought you remembered," Tifa said to him.

Her voice was quiet. Cloud did not answer, but they looked at each other for a long moment. Denzel and Marlene exchanged a glance, Marlene shifting impatiently in her seat next to Cloud. Sometimes, when they were like this, Marlene wanted to yank on their arms and say Hello, I'm right here!

But then Tifa looked back at the children.

"My dad brought them home for my mom and me. One mug for each of us, with our names written across the front."

She traced a finger over the letters of Tifa on the glazed surface of her mug.

"Before my mom died, we would always have a special breakfast every Saturday. Mom loved those mugs. She would line them up on the table – coffee for Dad, tea for Mom, and hot chocolate for me."

Tifa stopped speaking. Her arm was still around Denzel. He scooted closer to Tifa, glancing between her and Cloud.

"Tifa used to bring the mugs out for tea parties when she was a little bit older," Cloud continued for Tifa, who seemed to be lost for words. "She had three friends so there weren't enough mugs for everyone."

Cloud smirked at Tifa, and she returned the expression.

"We used to fight over who would have the mismatched mug," Tifa added, laughing.

Tifa placed her mug on the table and Marlene put hers next to it. Reaching next to her, and then across the table, Marlene snagged Cloud and Denzel's as well. She liked the way they looked together. Cloud, Denzel, Marlene, Tifa.

Tifa ran her finger across the line of names.

"Four mugs," she said. "That's a good number."

Cloud and Tifa were looking at each other again. In that kind of way. Marlene cleared her throat impatiently.

"I think my mug is the biggest," Marlene announced.

Denzel frowned, grabbing for his mug.

"They're all the same size," Cloud said quickly.

Marlene and Denzel pushed their mugs together to compare, just in case. Marlene supposed they looked about the same. She was still pretty sure, though, that hers might be bigger. After all, Marlene had the longest name. It would make sense that she would also have the biggest mug.

"Hey, Tifa," Marlene said, something suddenly occurring to her. "We usually have special breakfast on Saturday too, don't we?"

"We do," Tifa agreed.

"Can we have hot chocolate in our mugs?" Denzel asked.

Tifa looked at Cloud. "I think we've been out of cocoa for a while."

The children also looked to Cloud. He shrugged.

"I might have picked some up," he said. "Could be that it's one of those boxes in the garage. If only I had help unloading them…"

Marlene and Denzel both jolted to attention. Marlene scrambled over Cloud's lap to get out the booth. Denzel bounced in his seat a couple times until, laughing, Tifa stood up to let him out. They raced over to door.

"Don't grab anything too heavy!" Tifa called after them.

Before leaving the bar area, Marlene paused and looked behind her to see if Cloud was following. He was not. Cloud was still over by the booth, standing with Tifa. His back was facing them, and his head was bent down. They were totallykissing.

Daddy had given Marlene a serious talk about the importance of giving Cloud and Tifa their privacy while Marlene was living with them. This was almost definitely one of those moments. But Marlene watched them standing together for another second longer.

She realized Denzel had stopped in the doorway too and she turned to look at him. They wrinkled their noses at one another before continuing towards the garage. Despite the silent agreement that kissing was gross, both Marlene and Denzel were smiling.

Marlene hummed happily as she skipped behind Denzel. She thought about the four mugs lined up on the table, without a single space between them. They were like that now too, her and Cloud and Tifa and Denzel. They were close. A family.

They could get more mugs too. Marlene already wanted one for her dad, so he would not feel left out when he stayed with them in Edge. She wondered whether he would want Daddy or Barret written on his. Maybe Marlene could have two mugs – one for Edge and one for Corel. She would negotiate with Cloud over breakfast.

Marlene just knew they were going to have the best day. Tifa would be happy and smiling all day – and when Tifa was in a good mood, Cloud always was too. It made him all goofy. Moments like these used to be rare, but Marlene and Denzel always had the most fun when he was like that.

She was not sure why, but Marlene had a feeling that times like these would not be so rare anymore.

"Marlene, what you doing? Hurry up!"

Denzel called to her from ahead.

"I'm coming!" she yelled back.

Marlene glanced back in the direction of Tifa and Cloud, though she could no longer see them anymore. She walked slowly into the garage, taking long and exaggerated steps. I'm giving you extra privacy time, she thought, feeling magnanimous.

But soon enough, her excitement won out and Marlene sprinted into the garage, searching for a package that was just the right size for her to carry. The sooner they helped Cloud unload, the better. Marlene could not wait to start their day, together as a family.