HAPPY (late) BIRTHDAY TIFA!

[loveandstrife.livejournal.com]

Characters: Everyone who wants to celebrate Tifa's (late) birthday!
Progress: Ongoing
Summary: It's late, but there's a party for her, since she missed her birthday.
Location: Strife-Lockhart Household, LUCA.
Date: 28th May 1804
Warnings: Shenanigans!


It had been difficult to distract Tifa all day. He couldn't talk, so conversations were entirely out of the question, and he was absolutely exhausted, considering he'd arrived home early morning and hadn't slept since two nights previous. Still, he'd achieved his difficult mission for the day and was headed back with her to their house.

The lights were out, as they should be with children in bed, but within the house were guests, all hiding in the dark. It was easy to make a text to Marlene to tell them to hide and turn the lights off.

Opening the door, Cloud flicked the lights on to a room full of guests springing up and shouting "SURPRISE!!"

--

With the party in full swing, a cake was made and decorations were put up by the children. Music was playing and there was a kitchen full of alcohol for the adults along with juice and snacks. Everything had been put together with effort and care, by a family that really did adore their mother figure.

A table stacked high with gifts, from everyone excluding Cloud, was against one wall and there were more coming with the guests that arrived later.

Now everything was done, Cloud sat himself at the dining table with a glass of amber coloured alcohol, out of the way of much of the noise, and soon fell asleep on his arms on the table. It had been a long day getting everything ready for Tifa.

Comments

ARRIVAL

[heartofheaven.livejournal.com]

Tifa didn't suspect a thing. She'd been pleasantly surprised when Cloud had turned up and wanted to take her out for the day. He had looked like he needed some sleep, but he insisted on spending the day with her and Tifa soon gave in.

She stepped into the house behind him and her eyes widened in genuine shock. Tifa was speechless for several seconds before she found her voice, turning to Cloud.

"What's this for?"

If she sounded ungrateful, she didn't mean it, not at all - her expression showed exactly the opposite. Tifa had simply forgotten all about her ruined birthday.

PARTYING, BABY

[heartofheaven.livejournal.com]

All of this, for her. The grandeur of Alexandria's ballroom and Lindblum Castle were nothing compared to this - it had all been put together out of love, and Tifa was genuinely moved by it. She wandered through the rooms, smiling and chatting to the guests. For the first time, this house was beginning to feel like home.

Re: ARRIVAL

[loveandstrife.livejournal.com]

Cloud smiled just slightly, pointing to the large banner in all sorts of colours, specially hand made by the children, that stated HAPPY (late) BIRTHDAY TIFA! It was messy, and colourful, but Cloud liked it anyway.

Kissing her cheek quickly, if only because he didn't want to be affectionate in front of people, he took a step back, letting her mingle and just soon making his way to find a seat.

Dining Room. /naptime

[loveandstrife.livejournal.com]

After having got himself a drink, Cloud had seated himself in the quieter dining room, while the party pumped away in the rest of the house. He really was glad things had gone well, and he had got Tifa a gift, only he wasn't going to give it to her in front of everyone. This was something he wanted to do in private, even if it meant when they went to bed, which he expected would be late, or tomorrow.

He'd taken only two sips, if that, of his drink before he'd just fell asleep on his arms, draped over the dining table. Thankfully, the snacks were in the kitchen.

Re: PARTYING, BABY

[chaos-vessel.livejournal.com]

Some time toward the end of the party, Tifa's Sky Phone began to ring, cutting through the small sounds of the party that were still going on.

ARRIVAL

[heartofheaven.livejournal.com]

"Oh!" A delighted smile lit up Tifa's face. "Oh - wow - what can I say? Thank you."

So many people were staring at her. She felt the heat rise to her cheeks, but this was her house, and Tifa was nothing if not a good hostess.

"Thank you so much," she continued. "This is... wonderful. And unexpected. I'm so glad that you all could make it."

That was enough of a speech; people were already starting to crowd around now, so Tifa just smiled and stepped forward, ready to mingle. She kept a particular eye out for Denzel and Marlene, since she was sure that they'd had a big hand in this. Tifa loved her family so much.

Dining Room. /naptime

[heartofheaven.livejournal.com]

And that was how Tifa found him when she'd extricated herself from the other guests. Smiling fondly at him, she picked up his drink and moved it away to somewhere safer, then sat down next to him and ruffled his hair.

"Cloud?"

PARTYING, BABY

[heartofheaven.livejournal.com]

When her phone rang, Tifa excused herself from the other guests and slipped upstairs into the bathroom to answer it.

"Hello?"

Dining Room. /naptime

[loveandstrife.livejournal.com]

He didn't respond to the touch at first, but his name woke him, and he blinked absently at her as if he wasn't aware of the fact he'd fallen asleep at the table. After a moment, it seemed to click and Cloud sat up properly, blinking to get the sleep out of his eyes.

Reaching in his pocket, he withdrew his phone and tapped out a message to her, rubbing idly at one of his eyes. "Are you having fun?"

[chaos-vessel.livejournal.com]

"Tifa. It's Vincent," he answers, identifying himself, since it isn't often that he ever calls anyone, and when he does it isn't often for mundane reasons the way this call is. "Is this a bad time?"

ARRIVAL

[xnotyetaherox.livejournal.com]

Denzel beamed at Tifa. They had worked really, really hard to get everything ready, but he couldn't take the credit, it had been Marlene's idea, and she had done almost all the planning. He'd just helped set things up, more or less.

"Happy Birthday, Mom." Tifa did so much for them all the time - she looked after them, loved them, cared for them, protected them; it was nice to be able to do something special in return.

[thisdesertrose.livejournal.com]

Firion leaned against the wall, merely watching the party for now and sipping lightly at his drink. It had been hard work, but it had also paid off. The party had been a success. He smiled softly.

ARRIVAL

[tinymakoaddict.livejournal.com]

Shelke stood off to the side a bit as Tifa and Cloud arrived, and she offered Tifa a little bit of a smile and a nod of her head. She'd help with the party preparations as best she could, but she didn't particularly have an eye for decorating or anything like that.

But the totally set into perfect order snack table and booze counter? That was all her. They were even alphabetized.

"Happy Birthday, Tifa."

Dining Room. /naptime

[heartofheaven.livejournal.com]

Tifa nodded. "Everything's great. You all did great." She stood up, smiling as she held out her hand. "But it looks like someone has stayed up past their bedtime. You look exhausted, Cloud. Come on, if you're going to sleep, let's find you somewhere more comfortable."

It was quite hard not to treat him like a child when he was looking at her with his hair so adorably mussed up and his blue eyes blinking at her.

ARRIVAL

[heartofheaven.livejournal.com]

"Thank you, Denzel." Tifa crouched down and hugged him, ruffling his hair. "Did you do all this? You've done an amazing job. I'm so proud of you."

She looked up and smiled back at Shelke, beckoning for her to join the hug. "Shelke, did you help?"

[heartofheaven.livejournal.com]

"No, not at all." Tifa sat down on the edge of the bathtub, smiling to herself. Vincent called so rarely. "How are you?"

[heartofheaven.livejournal.com]

"Firion," Tifa greeted him, walking over. "It's great to see you again. How are you?"

Dining Room. /naptime

[loveandstrife.livejournal.com]

Cloud blinked up a few more times, taking her hand and nodding slightly. He didn't mind her treating him like a child. Sometimes he needed it, and Tifa was the best person for it. He could also give her the gift he'd gotten, now that they were heading upstairs to their room.

Following her, he offered the smallest of smiles, trying to look inconspicuous as they headed upstairs, in case anyone got the wrong idea.

[loveandstrife.livejournal.com]

Cloud found his way to Firion while he left Tifa to mingle with the guests. He didn't need to be stuck at her side the whole time. Tapping a message on his phone, he held it out to his good friend, tilting his head a little.

"Are you okay?"

Dining Room. /naptime

[heartofheaven.livejournal.com]

Tifa walked into the bedroom first, holding the door open for Cloud. She needed to go back downstairs soon, of course, as the party hadn't quite finished and there would be lots of cleaning up to do in any case. But she'd make sure Cloud was okay first.

"I'll be back up soon," she promised softly. "You can get some rest. You deserve it."

[thisdesertrose.livejournal.com]

"I'm fine," Firion smiled and nodded his head. "How are you? Enjoying your birthday?"

[thisdesertrose.livejournal.com]

Firion tilted his head and nodded. "I'm fine. Why do you ask?"

[xnotyetaherox.livejournal.com]

Denzel returned the hug, still smiling brightly. He really was happy to be a part of this family. He felt so lucky to have them.

"We~ll~ Marlene was the mastermind behind it all, I just helped."

Dining Room. /naptime

[loveandstrife.livejournal.com]

Shaking his head firmly, Cloud grasped her hand and pulled lightly. He wished he could talk to her, and tell her what he wanted to say, but it was just so difficult without being able to speak. He was surprised he missed his voice so much.

Reaching under the bed, Cloud pulled out a small blue box with a black ribbon on it, handing it over. Within was a heart shaped locket with a keyhole on the back. (http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/img-thing?.out=jpg&size=l&tid=7919145)

They key, however, was not with the pendant.

[heartofheaven.livejournal.com]

"Definitely. This is much better than my actual birthday was." Tifa smiled, shrugging one shoulder ruefully.