Chapter 8: A Childs Understanding

"Cloud?"

At the sound of his name his body shot up like a rocket, his heart rate increased and body tensed. He was ready to strike anyone who dared enter his personal space; natural reaction considering his past. The soft, timid voice made him pause a moment, thankfully choosing to reconsider a hasty, deadly response. His mako colored eyes landed on a pair of brown, frightened eyes.

He let out a heavy sigh, "Marlene," And swiftly wiped at bloodshot eyes and running nose. 'Holy shit, I must look a mess!'He thought as she studied his face intensely. Her body pulled into itself, in fear of his impetuous reaction.

"Marlene, what are you doing up?" he asked as he suddenly stood up, wanting to hide from her searching eyes. He walked around his room; picked up his tossed pillow, straightened out photo frames and letters, unnecessarily- wanting to occupy his mind, which warrant unsuccessful.

She twirled her fingers into her pajama top, twisting and knotting it in a nervous gesture. "Uh," she continued to watch him as he moved about his room. "I heard…um, noises. I just wanted to see…if you were okay?" she asked, her voice a mere whisper.

Cloud stopped; looked at her and noticed her discomfort. He rubbed at the back of his neck sheepishly. 'Damn I probably look like a caged animal, ready to strike, which I was.' He walked to her extending his palm to her; taking her hand in a soothing manner. He sat heavily upon his bed; guiding her by the hand to sit by his side.

"I'm sorry, Marlene, if I frightened you. I just wasn't expecting anyone to come in here and see me like this. I'm, uh, kind of embarrassed." He said as he rubbed at warm, red-rimmed eyes. "It's really unlike me." He added.

She shrugged. "It's okay, but you were kinda loud." She said honestly. Cloud chuckled nervously. "Oh great, you think anyone else heard me blubbering?" He said with a smirk, wanting to lighten the mood for her sake and needing to stay clear from the more serious topic of why he was crying in the first place. Marlene wasn't amused, but gave him a worried smile for his effort.

"You don't have to worry about Denzel, he sleeps like the dead. There's no waking him up. And as for daddy, well, I saw him drinking that brown yucky stuff." Cloud looked at her with a smirk and asked, "Brown yucky stuff?" She gave him an incredulous look that said you should know this already. He offered his hands up for her continuance.

She continued. "Anyway, daddy gets really, really sleepy after drinking that, stuff—so he's no bother. But Tifa, she's a different story." Cloud groaned and shook his head. 'I wouldn't be surprised if she came busting in here right now.' He thought as he turned his eyes to the door in expectancy.

"I'm sensing some hostity—"

"You mean hostility?" Cloud interrupted. Marlene nodded in agreement. Cloud continued. "No, no hostility. Where did you get that from anyway?" He asked. She shrugged, not offering an answer.

"Why were you crying?" She asked abruptly. Cloud looked at her in astonishment and shook his head. "You are too young to worry about such things, and even then, it's personal, grown-up stuff. You understand?" He looked at her expectantly. She looked away, embarrassed. "It's just you grown-ups tend to make things harder than they are. I just wanted to help." She replied as she pulled on a stray yearn from Cloud's bed.

Cloud pulled her tightly to his side, giving her a hug. "Well I appreciate it, but I'll be fine." He said. She looked up at him; gave him a small smile. They sat in silence for a while, both deep in thought. "Tifa cries a lot too, you know." Marlene said, interrupting the silence. Cloud looked at her in surprise. 'Well, wasn't expecting that.' He thought, but not really knowing what to say.

She continued. "I think she likes to pretend that she's all strong and stuff, but she's real sad…I guess. But really, I think it comes more from being…hmm, what's the word for being tired of dealing with the same thing all the time?" She asked, looking to Cloud for clarification. Cloud looked at Marlene, thinking. "Hmm, I believe that would be frustrated…maybe." He answered.

Marlene looked thoughtful before continuing. "Yeah that sounds 'bout right. She's frustrated; so she cries." Cloud sighs; rubs his head feeling another headache coming on. 'This is just proof that I have let everybody down.'

"Does she usually talk to about this stuff?" Cloud asked.

"Stuff, oh about her being…frustrated?" she replied, trying to stifle a yawn.

Cloud nodded in agreement. "Well, sometimes…cause everyone else is gone; daddy, you, and the rest of the group. You guys got your own thing. And she definitely can't talk with Denzel. He just looks at her so confused!" she chuckled at her friend's expense before her mouth broke out into big yawn.

"Well I'll see what I can do to help, Tifa." Cloud said. Marlene's eyes perked up with Cloud's reassurance. "You promise to stay here with us?" She asked excitedly. Cloud couldn't help but feel like it was some sort of set-up, because he's broken a lot of promises, to a lot of people, he didn't want to add Marlene to that list. "Listen, Marlene, there's time when I will have to go, that's part of my job. But I promise to try my hardest to be…here."

She smiled big and said, "That's good enough for me!" Cloud brought her to a standing position with him and pulled her into his arms for a hug. "I think it's time for you to go to bed. What do you say?" He asked, taking in her droopy eyes and constant yawns. She nodded wholeheartedly. He led her to the door; opened it for her. "Good night Marlene." He said quietly as he nudged her to her shared room. She waved a tired hand in response.

He closed his door gently as to not disturb anybody else. As he was making it to his bed he heard a light knock at his door. Shuffling his way to the door, he had a feeling of who it was. When he opened the door he came face to face with brownish-amber eyes.

"Hey, Cloud can we talk?"