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He was late.
Fenrir barely came to a complete stop in the garage before Cloud turned the key and swung his leg off the motorcycle. It almost felt like everything was against him today. His delivery to Kalm had taken longer than expected, he got drawn into a conversation when he picked up a package from Elmyra, and on the way back to Edge, he had run into a horde of aggravated monsters that he had been forced to deal with.
Popping open the motorcycle trunk, he reached into it and carefully pulled out the package that Elmyra had hand-delivered to him. He had driven as cautiously as he could without jostling it around too much, but the journey had been a bumpy one. A quick glance at the clock on the wall revealed that he was nearly an hour late—he had promised he’d be back by three.
With a quiet curse under his breath, he slammed the lid down before making his way to the entrance. The door opened with a squeak as he eased it ajar with his foot, and the familiar scent of beer and home cooking filled the air. Seventh Heaven smelled exactly the same as it always had for years, and he let out a contented sigh before stepping inside.
“You’re back!” An all too familiar voice exclaimed. “And late, for that matter.”
Cloud stopped mid-step before turning his head to the side and catching sight of Tifa with her hands on her waist and a raised eyebrow. His gaze flickered downwards to her stomach for a split second before he forced his eyes back up to meet hers. It had only been a week and a half since he had seen Tifa, but somehow, her stomach looked even more round and noticeable now. He wasn’t going to comment on it though; he’d been told that women were sometimes touchy about their growing bellies becoming more visible—not that he understood the rationale.
“Uh, yeah.” His hand rose to rub the back of his neck awkwardly. “It took a bit longer than expected to deal with the deliveries, and uh… I had to pick up something from Elmyra,” he muttered, gesturing to the box in his hand.
A small snort of laughter escaped her lips as she shook her head in disbelief before crossing her arms in front of her. “Guess you got dragged into talking with her for a bit, then. Everyone’s upstairs on the roof,” Tifa explained as she nodded towards the stairway behind her. And then she looked at the package in his hands before giving him an easy smile. “I’ll bring some plates and forks?”
He nodded silently in response before walking past her to the stairs. The wooden steps creaked under his weight as he continued up the flights of stairs to the rooftop, and he paused before reaching the top of the stairs to take in the view for a few seconds.
The sky outside was almost cloudless, and the sun shone down on the three figures in its warm yellow glow. Through the small window of the door, he watched them, each one wearing a bright smile across their faces.
Aerith stood next to Marlene, head bent over the garden box as she tended to the vegetables growing within. Her hair was loose and flowing behind her, and the sun caught in her brown locks and cast golden shadows across her face. She smiled softly while she worked as Marlene pointed to the various plants and flowers surrounding them.
Denzel held the hose in his hand as he sprayed water into a large pot that sat in the corner of the roof. His cheeks were rosy as he spoke animatedly to Marlene and Aerith, and none of them seemed to have noticed his presence.
Unwittingly, Cloud felt the corners of his mouth turn upward.
If nothing else, watching Denzel so carefree and happy made him feel at peace. He didn’t realize how much time had passed until he heard someone say his name a few times and he tore his attention away from Denzel to look at who had spoken.
Aerith, who was staring right at him, was standing up and waving now; her green eyes shone brightly as he returned her wave. Pushing the door open, he walked past the doorway and made his way over to her. Denzel and Marlene, who had heard Aerith calling his name, turned towards him, their eyes widening in surprise.
“Cloud!” “You’re back!” The kids chorused excitedly, and Denzel’s grin stretched wider as he bounded towards him. They crowded around him as he set the package he brought down on the patio table, and as soon as the box left his hands, four small arms wrapped around his waist; Cloud suddenly found himself in a bone crushing hug. His arms moved instinctively to wrap tightly around the two children.
Maybe he had been too busy lately; he hadn’t seen the children in a while.
And maybe Aerith had been right; he could afford to take fewer delivery jobs and stay in town more often. It would probably help Tifa for him to be around more, especially since she was growing bigger by the day. And now that he thought about it, he suspected it was why Aerith had offered to stay behind and keep the kids occupied rather than take a trip to Kalm to see her mom.
Aerith giggled beside him as they finally broke apart, the sound tinkling through the air. “Welcome back,” she said, smiling widely at him as she placed her hand against his arm.
“I’m home,” he murmured, feeling the familiar warmth pooling in his chest, a faint smile curving onto his face. The corner of his eyes caught a glint of silver that twinkled in the sunlight as he glanced down, and there was a sudden lump in his throat as he saw the ring that adorned her finger. Even after all these months, he couldn’t believe that someone like her was willing to marry someone like him.
But here she was.
Cloud leaned forward a little to rest his forehead against Aerith’s, closing his eyes, basking in the warmth radiating off her body—
“Oh, jeez,” Denzel muttered under his breath as he brought up his hands to cover Marlene’s eyes. “Grossness. They’re totally gonna kiss.”
“We’re not kissing,” Cloud replied quickly, though he felt an immediate blush rise to his cheeks as he cleared his throat awkwardly, forcing himself not to give into the urge to pull himself away from Aerith’s touch even though his body was screaming at him to do just that. “Also, stop hanging out with Yuffie so much.”
Marlene took this opportunity to pull down Denzel’s hands and peek past them. “So you’re not kissing?”
Cloud’s cheeks burned a darker red as Aerith giggled again—louder, this time. Lucky for him, the moment was broken as someone else opened the rooftop door, the sound of footsteps following suit.
Tifa stepped out onto the roof, her dark hair swishing along her shoulders, a pile of forks on top of a small stack of plates in her arms. Her gaze darted between them for a moment, confusion evident on her face as she eyed them curiously. The door closed quietly behind her, and Tifa shot him a questioning glance as she placed the plates and forks down on the patio table. “Did I miss something?”
Before he could speak out, Denzel let out a cackle—one that sounded terrifyingly similar to a certain Wutain princess’—and threw his arms around Tifa’s waist gently as he peered up at her. Tifa’s face lit up in amusement and fondness as she laughed lightly at his antics; it was obvious to anyone paying an ounce of attention how much they enjoyed each other’s company. Bringing Tifa into Denzel’s life had been one of the best decisions Cloud had ever made; Denzel needed someone like Tifa to care for him and he had grown and thrived and survived despite everything—all the hardships and heartbreaks—he faced in life.
And Tifa had never complained. Instead, she tackled the challenge head-on and did everything she possibly could to make sure Denzel was taken care of, never once losing her smile, and became the mother figure in Denzel’s life.
She’d make a wonderful mother.
Once again, his gaze drifted to the swell of Tifa’s stomach. On the other hand, he wasn’t so sure about Rude being a wonderful father, though he didn’t doubt Tifa would teach him a thing or two and handle him if anything went wrong. As usual, Aerith had been right, of course; Rude practically worshipped the ground Tifa walked on.
But Cloud’s mind inevitably drifted to the question that had been on his mind—that had been plaguing him for weeks—for the last little while.
Would he be a good father?
Aerith had mentioned offhandedly that she did want children of her own one day, and he wasn’t opposed to the idea. The notion of having a child with her filled him with joy, yet the fear also settled deeply into his bones and made the thought impossible for him to dismiss.
But… would he ever be able to provide for another person? Would he be capable of doing such a task? Would he…be enough?
“ Hellooooo ?” Her voice snapped him back to reality, and he had to blink several times to get his thoughts straight. “Cloud?” she asked, a gentle expression gracing her features as she pressed the back of her hand to his forehead, concern written on her face. “You okay?”
He swallowed nervously as his hand rose to rub the back of his neck. “Uh, yeah. Sorry. I spaced out for a sec.” His gaze wandered the rooftop garden, and it took him a second to realize that the two of them were alone now; the kids and Tifa were nowhere to be seen.
“They went downstairs to wash their hands,” Aerith explained as her hand lowered, and she reached out to grab his hand. “Are you sure you’re okay? You seem…preoccupied.”
Cloud cleared his throat, suddenly aware of how dry his mouth was, before his gaze fell to their linked fingers. “Uh, yeah. I’m fine,” he responded softly. “Just tired.”
She stared back at him for a moment before a shy and tentative smile crossed her face and she nodded, squeezing his hand lightly. “Well, then. Thanks for picking up the cake even though you were tired.”
A wry grin crossed his face. “I’m not sure I had a choice,” he said easily, a teasing tone tinged in his voice. Elmyra had called him twice in the last week to remind him to make sure to drop by Kalm to pick up the cake; both times she had stressed how important it was that he picked it up so that Aerith could have a homemade cake.
Her cheeks flushed red as she snorted with laughter. “Mom didn’t give you a hard time, did she?”
He chuckled, shaking his head lightly. “Of course not.”
Aerith’s face lightened considerably as her laugh faded, and she shifted slightly closer to him; Cloud returned the gesture and leaned forward. He could smell the sweet scent of flowers lingering in her hair, and he inhaled deeply, the corners of his mouth turning upwards into a gentle smile.
She always smiled like fresh flowers.
Cloud studied her face, her bright green eyes shining with happiness and affection as they focused on him. He felt his heartbeat quicken slightly, and just as he was about to lean forward, he remembered the packet of flower seeds tucked away in his pocket. “Wait.”
He pulled away from her slightly so that he could reach into his pocket—his hand fumbled a bit—and withdraw the small folded paper bag of seeds before handing them to Aerith.
She blinked as she turned her gaze towards the packet before looking back to him with a curious expression. Slowly, she reached out, taking the bag from his hand and pulling it open slowly. “What’s this?”
“Flower seeds from Wutai,” he explained with a small shrug. “Seller said they probably wouldn’t grow anywhere but in Wutai, but I figure if anyone could find a way to grow them, it’d be you.” A brief pause.
The way she stared at him in surprise, with her eyes glittering with gratitude, told him all he needed to know. “That’s…” she trailed off as she looked back down at the packet. “Did you see me looking at the flowers the last time we were there? I… Thank you. It means more than you can imagine—”
“I didn’t know what you want—”
“This is perfect,” Aerith cut him off, her smile brightening as she set aside the pouch of seeds on the tabletop and pulled him into a tender embrace that nearly knocked the breath out of him completely. A soft breeze blew through the garden, ruffling his hair slightly, and he sighed, leaning deeper into her as his arms wrapped around her. He looked past her and up in the sky, watching the clouds drift slowly across the blue expanse above him, and revelled in the moment. “What I want is the same every year,” she whispered, voice laced with sincerity and adoration as her fingers played with the fabric of his shirt.
“...Another year spent with you is all I ever want.”
The warmth of her words brought his chest to tighten.
And he knew then that he might not be enough—as a husband, as a father, or even as a friend—but he was sure Aerith would be there to support him through it all anyway.
“Happy birthday, Aerith.”