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"She woulda liked you."
"You think so?"
"I know so."
Cloud let his head fall back onto the pillow below, resting on his side, facing Barret.
"She woulda seen straight through you. Day one." The larger man lay on his back, tilting his head to his side to face Cloud. "Straight through the tough guy act. Right down to the lonely little kid underneath."
"She wouldn't of been the first." Cloud remembered how no one had really bought into his facade. Even Biggs, who had complimented him unapologetically, had made the kid comparison.
"'Course not." Barret agreed. "But she was real good with kids. She woulda treated you right. Way more patiently than me, that's for sure." He elaborated, fondess radiating off of him.
Cloud gave his usual, barely perceptible smile.
"She wouldn't of pushed your buttons or teased you." Barret waved his hand in a dismissive motion. "She would... let you know she was there. Open and ready to listen whenever you felt ready to talk. Really talk." His gaze softened as he stared up at the ceiling.
"She... would let you know without even needing to say it. Just give you the softest smile you've ever seen, cross her arms and wait..."
"She'd be waiting for a long time then." Cloud admitted.
"Maybe. But she'd know better than to get hung up on it. She'd get on with stuff in the meantime." Barret wiped one of his eyes, tilting his head to face Cloud, smiling easily at the young man.
Cloud stared back at Barret. His fondess was contagious.
"She sounds..." Cloud thought carefully about what to say. "...like she was down to earth."
"She was." Barret confirmed. "Helped keep my head on straight more times than I can count. And if I had a shit day at work? She was always there to remind me what I was doing it all for."
Cloud felt a small tug in his chest. He wondered what it must be like to devote yourself to someone in that specific way. Marriage. He couldn't help but feel a disconnect whenever people talked about their spouses. The idea of a "one and only". A "soulmate" as Barret put it. In his mind, he couldn't live up to that.
"She woulda found you real cute too."
Cloud was snapped out of his thoughts.
"Don't get me wrong. You are not her type." Barret chuckled. "She woulda found you cute in a sorta... cute kid kinda way."
Cloud raised an eyebrow at that. He believed it. But the kid comparisons weren't flattering.
"What was her type then?" That question sounded a little unnatural coming from him.
"Mature." Barret replied quickly and clearly.
"Surprise she ended up with you then." Cloud smirked.
"Trust me, I was shocked for sure." Barret laughed. "Come to think of it... She definitely thought I was cute, too..."
Cloud noticed the glint in Barret's eyes intensify as he trailed off.
"I bet you were." Cloud spoke up, placing a sympathetic hand on Barret's shoulder, then letting it trail down to rest on his stump. Barret covered it with his own.
"I was real immature back then. Could barely grow a beard." He continued.
"How old were you?"
"'Bout your age."
"Hard to imagine."
"Wasn't that long ago."
Cloud paused to think, looking away for a moment before refocusing his attention on the man in front of him.
"How would you have acted, if we were the same age?"
Barret considered the question, turning it over in his mind. He smiled and laughed softly.
"Woulda hated your guts."
"I figured."
"Probably woulda picked a fight more than once. Try to knock you down a peg."
"I would've faught back."
"Oh, I know you would." Barret grinned and pat Cloud's hand gently.
"But Myrna and Tifa would stop us. Before things got outta hand." He began elaborating, mixing the two scenarios.
"Probably pull our ears. Tell us how stupid we were being." His smile didn't waver for a second.
"You think..." Cloud hesitated. "Dyne would pick a fight too?"
"Good luck with him." Barret laughed, louder this time. "He wouldn't stop unless Eleanor told him. Even then, he wouldn't come around eventually, neither."
"You would?" Cloud looked up at the other man, who looked back softly.
"Yeah. I would." He said quietly, giving Cloud's hand a small squeeze.