My Reunion

[loveandstrife.livejournal.com]

Characters: Cloud, Tifa, the kids and Aerith if she's around?
Progress: Ongoing.
Summary: Cloud meets up with the family again.
Location: Luca
Date: August 14th, 1804, before Zack arrived in Luca.
Warnings: Wibbles.

There was a lot Cloud was frightened of, yet none of it seemed to be as terrifying as seeing his family after so long. To them, it had been almost a month. For Cloud, it had felt like years. So much time in the Void had him completely unaware of any progression his family had made and the fact that they were all here confused him further. Weren't they supposed to be at home? He would prefer to be alone in a strange world and know they were safe at home than have them with him in a world they didn't belong to.

Adjusting his sweater and flicking his blonde spikes from his eyes, Cloud strode through the streets, following the directions he'd been given. His stomach throbbed uncomfortably from riding on the airship and, after a few moments, he paused to lean against a wall to catch his breath and stop the world spinning.

As soon as he felt ready, Cloud walked again, making his way through the bustling city to find his family. Finding the door he was supposedly looking for, Cloud paused outside. Would they even want him? Did they really even need him? He didn't think he was any use to them.

With a deep breath, Cloud opened the door and stepped in.

Comments

[xnotyetaherox.livejournal.com]

Rex heard the door and jumped off of Denzel's bed and raced down the stairs barking loudly, tail wagging frantically. The dog's sudden movement also caused Denzel to get up to go investigate. He had only gotten to the top of the stairs when he saw the familiar blonde figure.

His eyes widened, a grin set on his face and he raced down the stairs as fast as he could, even at the risk of tripping and breaking his neck, to tackle Cloud with a diving hug. "CLOUD!"

[littleprotector.livejournal.com]

As if Marlene couldn't hear Denzel's shout. At the exclamation, Marlene raced out of her own room, flying down the stairs.

"Cloud! You're back!" Pouncehug.

[tinymakoaddict.livejournal.com]

Shelke was seated on a chair in the living room, a book in her lap and a kitten on her shoulder, when Cloud came in. She probably would have said something, but stopped when two tiny bodies came flying through to collide with the blonde man.

Instead she just nodded her head at him and let them have their moment.

[heartofheaven.livejournal.com]

How did Tifa always know when Cloud had arrived home? Easy: just listen out for the kids. She leapt up, feeling like a kid herself, she was so excited, and ran to the door to meet him.

By the time she got to the entrance hall and saw Marlene and Denzel hug him, Tifa had composed herself enough to lean nonchalantly (so she imagined) by the staircase. She folded her arms and smiled at him.

"Look who's back."

[loveandstrife.livejournal.com]

A startled grunt came as a rather large dog came bounding down the stairs to meet him, barking so loud that Cloud's ears hurt. He had no idea who the animal was, but this felt familiar and that alone put him at ease. Catching the two small bodies that dove at him, Cloud let them hug him, resting a hand on Marlene's head and the other on Denzel's shoulder.

Nodding right back to Shelke, a faint smile appearing for the quickest second, Cloud looked up as he heard Tifa's voice. It was strange; he'd been in the Void for what felt like so long, but seeing her made it feel like even longer. He'd missed her so much yet he hadn't even known it.

All aprehension about his supposed engagement melted away and Cloud smiled willingly for a rare moment. It took all his restraint not to pull himself from the kids and simply hold onto Tifa like his life depended on it. "Sorry I'm late."

[xnotyetaherox.livejournal.com]

"We knew you'd come back! We knew it!! You always come back eventually, Cloud." Denzel continued to hug for a moment longer, just to make sure this was real and not a dream, before tugging at Cloud's arm to pull him down so he could whisper. He leaned up on tippy toes too.

"This is the part when you're supposed to sweep Mom off her feet and smooch her. All the storybooks say so."

[littleprotector.livejournal.com]

"We never gave up thinking you'd come back. You always do." She'd continue to hug for just a brief moment before she went to pull Rex away.

"Rex is just happy to see you, Cloud."

[heartofheaven.livejournal.com]

It was wonderful to see the children's joy. They'd all missed Cloud so much...

"We all are," she said, beaming. She hadn't heard Denzel's whispering, and she certainly wasn't expecting to be swept off her feet - not that Tifa would mind it, of course.

[tinymakoaddict.livejournal.com]

Shelke set her book aside after a moment or two and reached up to pull Ruby off her shoulder, holding the cat in her arms. She pushed off the couch and moved to stop near the others, though she didn't approach more or try to hug or anything.

Still, Cloud was home. That was worth standing up for, right?

[loveandstrife.livejournal.com]

Cloud blinked a few times at what Denzel whispered, letting out a breath of a laugh. He couldn't blame him for the suggestion - really, Cloud wanted to do just that, but it was probably a little too much for him. He wasn't exactly the romantic storybook type.

Nodding lightly at Marlene's assurance that Rex was just happy to see him, Cloud stepped by, squeezing Shelke's shoulder gently, knowing she wouldn't like a hug.

Finally, he reached Tifa and tilted his head at her a little. "...Tifa." Without another word, he simply pulled her forward, hugging her. A little too personal in front of the children, perhaps, but he needed to assure himself of just how things were.

[xnotyetaherox.livejournal.com]

Denzel couldn't hide his slight giggle. After all, his dad was back and now they could all be one big, happy family again - well, at least until Garland was beat and they all had to go home, but Denzel was trying not to think about that at the moment.

He petted Rex on the head, already feeling much better now.

[heartofheaven.livejournal.com]

And Tifa wouldn't have said it, but she needed that reassurance too. She fell into his embrace easily, hugging him back with an intimacy that even Cloud couldn't possibly mistake.

Okay, now the children were probably laughing at them. Tifa shifted to wrap her arm around Cloud's waist, nestling into his shoulder. She could face the children standing like this.

"Why don't you guys tell Cloud what you've been up to while he was away, hmm? Shall we sit down in the living room and catch up?"

[littleprotector.livejournal.com]

Things were starting to look up, save for the fact that they'd be going home soon. Enough about that though. Marlene let Rex go, who bounded off to go lay down somewhere.

At the hug, Marlene smiled brightly, giggling. She was happy to see Cloud and Tifa happy.

[tinymakoaddict.livejournal.com]

Shelke was getting so used to physical contact she didn't even seem to care about the hand on her shoulder. For the moment, anyway. As Cloud moved passed, she shifted Ruby in her arms and pushed the cat up onto her shoulders again, where she sat, peering intently at Denzel for reasons only cats can figure out.

She shifted to the side when Tifa suggested they all sit, moving to stand against the wall near the door. She was far used to standing than the other children, so she didn't feel the need to rush back to her couch seat when someone else might want it.

[loveandstrife.livejournal.com]

Cloud nodded lightly, wrapping an arm around Tifa's waist and leading her towards the living room, sitting down on the couch and shifting to get comfortable. It was almost normal for him, and that was the part that confused him. He was surprised by this place and how familiar it felt, yet so foreign all the same.

"Tell me... what you've been doing while I was... gone." He didn't know how to phrase it. He didn't feel like he'd gone anywhere, only arrived here.

[heartofheaven.livejournal.com]

Tifa snuggled into him, simply happy that Cloud was here with them again. If she answered his question fully, the conversation would become serious very quickly, and Tifa didn't want that just yet.

"We've been staying with Auntie Aerith, haven't we?" she said, encouraging the children to elaborate.

[littleprotector.livejournal.com]

"Right!"

Marlene moved over to a chair and climbed up, sitting down into it. "We had so much fun over there! And Tidus said he'd teach us how to swim!"

[tinymakoaddict.livejournal.com]

As the others explained what they were doing, Shelke felt a need to at least comment on where she had been...even if it didn't seem to matter much anymore.

"I was not here while you were gone. I went to join the SeeD's at Garden."

She remained standing where she was against the wall.