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Attempting to be a fair parent was, to put it mildly, a pain in the ass. Cloud and Leon both had skewed examples for what a good parent could be to young children. Leon had been in an orphanage and hadn’t even met his father until he was a teenager. Even then it had taken years for them to be on the same page and while they’re relationship was rather good now, Leon couldn’t fathom what it would have been like growing up with the man.
Cloud’s story was a little harder to explain. The memories he’d had of his mom had faded over time and it was hard to appreciate all she’d done for him even if he knew that time had been filled with love. Turning to Cid and Vincent as parents was altogether different. There was still love, but the men were barely a decade older than Cloud and they had a job to do. That might have been more growing up on an airship than anything else but it was hard to spoil a kid in cramped quarthers.
When Ventus and Vanitas had asked if they could paint a mural on their bedroom wall, the immediate reaction was a deep sigh and a negative response on the tip of their tongues because why…? But the oldest twins had asked so casually without a hint of the timidness they’d had years prior when they’d first arrived.
It hadn’t seemed like something they’d rehearsed at great lengths or were petrified to ask something boldly just because they wanted it. It was proof of progress and the Strifeharts had never wanted to be ‘because I said so’ kind of parents.
The mural had been approved with a few conditions they thought were reasonable. It would be a weekend activity so it wouldn’t interfere with homework or bedtime. It would also be done on days where the weather was good enough for them to open their windows and if the paint fumes persisted, they would sleep in one of their siblings rooms in their sleeping bags until the smell faded.
The boys had been ecstatic but it started a chain of events they couldn’t stop. If Ventus and Vanitas were going to be painting a wall in their rooms then the others wanted a change too. It wasn’t like it was fair to say yes to the oldest two and not the others. Fortunately the other asks weren’t all that painstaking.
Sora and Roxas wanted stencils of stars across their walls and ceilings with glow in the dark paint and it somehow seemed easier than a full paint job. Yuffie had been recruited and she’d been delighted to help the boys. She did the ceiling while assisting the youngest twins with the stencils on the walls. It had really only taken the better part of an afternoon.
Not to be left out, Riku and Rei had gone in a similar direction. They’d chosen a water theme for their room and Leon had found decals that they’d immediately loved. Now two walls looked like the ocean with decals of rolling waves and the other two walls took an underwater approach with seaweed, jellyfish and sea turtles. Riku had been very pleased by the giant jellyfish decal.
The changes had brightened up all of their rooms and Reiku in particular had been so delighted with the easy change.
Xion had been the last with a request that she’d asked for more quietly. She’d wanted a day bed like the one Aqua had. Something that seemed fancy and pretty and instead of making her bed every morning she could decorate it to look like a sofa. The girl was nine still but she was quickly approaching ten and it made sense that she wanted something similar to Aqua who Xion saw as an older role model on what being a teenager would be like.
The bed, while being an easy change actually took the longest to work out. Xion had been appeased by being able to pick it out herself but she’d had to wait an extra week for it to be delivered to the house. Problems had cropped up when Leon’s car had started acting up and since Cloud was still recovering from the accident, Leon had arranged to take it somewhere to be looked at.
Cloud had complained for two days that he could have done it but Leon had ignored him and done it anyway. The shenanigans had begun when Cloud had asked Zack if he would mind dropping by the house to pull the boxed bed frame and mattress inside the house before they got home. It should have been a simple chore but nothing was ever simple with Zack.
That afternoon, Cloud had first picked up Leon and taken him to pick up his car before they’d both gone to grab their kids. When they’d gotten home and Zack’s SUV was still in the driveway, they were immediately suspicious. The kids had run inside, some to change into different clothes and others to the living room where they’d start their homework. Xion was the one to sprint to her room where she let out a delighted scream.
“What in the world?” Leon muttered, tossing Cloud a concerned look.
It was only a moment later that Zack came down the hall, snickering. “So, uh, we set up her bed. I think she likes it?”
“We?” Cloud asked, dropping his keys on the table. He didn’t feel up to threatening to kick Zack’s ass today so he was hoping he was forthcoming with information.
“Angeal came with me,” Zack offered immediately with a smile that neither Cloud nor Leon trusted just yet.
Leon was the first to recover. “A part of me wants to say you didn’t have to do that but I'm not exactly upset over not having to put a bedroom together tonight.”
“No problem!” Zack grinned, and it occurred to Cloud that Zack was blocking the hallway. “They go together pretty quick.”
“Uh huh,” Cloud deadpanned, arms crossed over his chest. “What are you hiding?”
Zack just laughed. For a man who excelled in special operations, he sucked at lying to his friends. “What? Hiding? Noo.”
“Zack…”
“Papa! Daddy!” Xion came running back down the hall, nearly jogging in place with her excitement. “Come see! Come see!”
Cloud was giving Zack a long look but he took Xion’s hand and let her drag him down the hallway. A few aches sprang up but nothing debilitating, it was another sign he was both healing and getting older.
His daughter nearly burst into her room again and waved excitedly at the black metal bed frame that curved at the back. It was still a twin size bed but it came with a trundle for sleepovers that she was very pleased about. It looked like Zack had already put her sheets on it along with a handful of her pillows and stuffed animals.
“That is a big girl bed, alright,” Cloud said, nodding his approval as Leon stepped in behind him. He ran his knuckles along Cloud’s spine which he appreciated immensely.
“It is!” Xion said proudly, practically in awe of the fact that it was for her.
Leon gave her a soft look and nodded to the bed, “Well? Have you tried it out? Is it soft?” The coaxing was all she needed to climb onto her bed and face plant into her pillows with a giggle. It was going to give her a lot more space the next time Kairi stayed over. Frankly, the trundle beds were something they should have invested in before given the amount of kids that ended up at their house.
“It’s super soft!” She announced just as Sora and Roxas poked their heads in.
“Woah!”
“Cool!”
“Can we pull out your little bed?” Roxas asked, already enamored.
“Uh huh!”
Cloud and Leon exchanged an amused look and they’d bet munny that there would be some kind of sleepover and Xion’s room tonight with at least some of her brothers. They stepped out of the room to let the kids play, both with one very clear thought in mind. Where did Zack go?
“Are your friends just loose in our house?”
“Our friends,” Cloud corrected, walking down the hall with the intention of checking the garage first but he paused when Zack slipped out of their bedroom with Angeal right behind him. “Our soon to be dead friends.”
A frown pulled at Leon’s lips, his arms crossing immediately just like when he was about to scold one of the kids. “I’m very interested to see what excuse you have for being in our bedroom when we weren’t home.”
Angeal actually sputtered while Zack rubbed the back of his head with that nervous laugh on his lips again.
“Ran a little short on time,” Zack muttered, which wasn’t much of an answer.
Cloud exhaled slowly, and rolled his neck a few times. “So, first fight since my accident. I still think my odds are good.”
“Hey, no.” Angeal immediately held up a hand to stop that train of thought. “No one is fighting, we just got you something and figured today would be the perfect day to set it up.” He turned back to their room and gestured for them to go take a look for themselves.
“You don’t get to decide who I fight,” Cloud grumbled.
“But I do.” Leon followed after Angeal with the same look he gave his students when he was annoyed. When he stopped in the doorway of their bedroom, Cloud was quick to follow. Much like in Xion’s room, their bed had been exchanged for a new one. “Why?” Leon asked slowly, unsure what he was looking at.
“Okay, so hear us out,” Zack said, launching into an explanation. “It’s for Spike. We know a little something-something about chronic pain and it’s a really good bed!”
The explanation didn’t actually clear anything up but Cloud followed Leon into their room. “I’m healed up now.”
Zack snorted. “Yeah, sure. If you say so. Look, Spike, you can walk without crutches and your slowly starting your classes again but you’re still icing your ankle a few times a week and your ribs are healed but that doesn’t mean you don’t ache from time to time. That accident took a lot out of you and the bed will help a little.”
“How?” Leon asked and Cloud whipped around to give his husband a look when he sounded more interested in their reasoning than annoyed.
“Both the head and foot of the bed can be lifted depending on how you feel at any given time.” Angeal picked up the remote that had been left on Cloud’s side of the bed. He pressed a button and they watched the head of the bed begin to rise. “This bed also has a massage feature that’s good for back pain. Just one of those things you can have right at home without going anywhere. It came highly recommended.”
“We have one in our guest room in case one of us is having a bad night,” Zack tacked on. “It might not seem like it at first but it makes a difference. Great for those nights you need your legs extra elevated too.”
Cloud grunted once and was sure the four of them knew a thing or two about pain management. Their mercenary work was incredibly successful over the years but that didn’t mean they hadn’t received the occasional injury. “You didn’t have to get us a bed.”
“We didn’t,” Angeal agreed. “But we wanted to so we did.”
Zack swung an arm around Cloud’s shoulder while Angeal handed the remote to Leon for him to play with the buttons. “Besides! Your bed was old. Like have you even gotten an updated bed since you moved in here? You deserved an update just like the kids.”
Now didn’t seem like the time to tell Zack that they had still been using the same bed they’d gotten when they’d moved in together. The mattress had been replaced once about five years prior but that was about all the upkeep they’d allowed. He glanced at the bed again when lights popped on underneath it.
“A helpful feature.” Angeal commented while Leon cycled through the lights that would make looking under the bed easier. “You wouldn’t believe how often those lights come in handy.”
“Little disappointed we didn’t find anything fun under your bed though,” Zack said with a hint of snark that had Cloud shoving him away from him. He hadn’t expected such a bold comment but it was a very ‘Zack’ thing to tease about.
“Zack!” Angeal said in a particular tone but Cloud saw the faint color tinting the tips of his ears.
Without missing a beat, Leon responded in the driest voice, “Lucky you didn’t check the dresser.”
Zack and Angeal both jerked their attention to Leon who was still playing with the buttons on the remote and was purposely ignoring them. Keeping a straight face was almost too hard for Cloud.
“What?” Zack blinked, gaze shifting to their dresser as if it contained secrets he now desperately needed. That was a thought that needed to be immediately nipped in the bud.
“Out,” Cloud said, swallowing his laughter but he couldn’t help a smile. He was not about to have them searching through their things for something that may or may not be there.
“But-”
“Zack.” Angeal nearly scruffed him, grabbing him by the back of his t-shirt. “Absolutely not. Let’s go see how Xion likes her new bed.”
“But!-”
“No.” Angeal nearly dragged him from the room and Cloud and Leon were left to exchange amused glances as they stood in the silence of their own room.
Cloud gave his husband a very pointed stare. “You know we're going to have to put some kind of decoy something-or-other in the dresser now.”
“We’ll tell Yuffie. She’ll find it hilarious,” Leon said, hitting the massage feature and making a humming sound when the bed began to vibrate. He reached out to touch the mattress with a quirked brow. “Massage bed, huh?”
“What’s wrong?” Cloud asked, stepping closer. The vibration wasn’t all that loud but he could tell it was turned on.
“They sure this is for medicinal purposes?” Leon asked with a snort. “It’s just vibrating.”
Cloud sat on the bed for a minute before laying on his back. He could see it helping a little bit but he hadn’t expected a bed to cure every ache. “I mean, it’s not bad.”
“Seems like it’ll come more in handy for sex then it would for helping your joints. You’re friends bought us a sex bed.”
Cloud sputtered, laughter escaping. “Our friends!” He corrected, but Leon was likely on to something. “We’ll have to test it out both ways. I’ll ask Genesis about it. He’d be far more forthcoming about this kind of thing.”
Leon nodded along, raising the settings so the bed vibrated harder and Cloud just laid there, letting himself melt into the feeling. “You like it?’
“Ten minutes of this and I could fall asleep.”
Leon sat on the opposite side of the bed and leaned down to kiss Cloud’s forehead. “Alright then. It was a thoughtful gift and we can thank them. Even if we do need to reconsider them having a spare key.”
Cloud hummed, the noise drawn out with the vibration under him. “They’re ex-mercs. There’s nothing preventing them from breaking in at any time. At least with the key the doors stay intact.”
“You got a new bed too,” Ventus said from the doorway, slipping in and climbing onto the bed to flop down beside Cloud.
“It’s like a hospital bed!” Reiku added, having trailed behind Ventus. He was honestly surprised all of their children hadn't filed in. "The top is lifted up!"
Ventus was already laughing. “It buzzes and moves.”
“Yep,” Leon mused. “It was a nice gift from Angeal and Zack. The bed has a massage feature to help papa feel better.”
Reiku hopped up onto the foot of the bed and hovered so he was staring down at Cloud. “Is it working?”
“You know, I think it might be,” Cloud said, amused with Ventus nearly curling up on his side, his eyes already shut as if he agreed on the nap.
“Good,” Zack said, peeking inside the room again. “You’re not mad?”
Cloud’s answer was a soft, “Meh?”
“Thank you, Zack,” Leon said, capable of being a better adult in this moment. “Anything that helps him is great.”
That alone gave Zack full licence to beam. “Good! We had some other ideas.”
“One thing at a time,” Cloud said, amused when Reiku also dropped down to lay on Cloud’s other side. He had a sneaking suspicion that they’d have a lot of kids in their bed this week. Even Xion who had her own new bed to be excited about.
Leon set the remote down and shook his head fondly at his husband and sons that were curled up together. “I’ll wake you for dinner.”
“I’m not asleep,” Cloud said. He heard Reiku giggle but Ventus was suspiciously silent on his other side.
“Not yet,” Leon agreed, shooing Zack out of the doorway and shutting the door behind them. It had been a nice gift even if neither man were good with surprises. They had needed a new bed even if they hadn’t discussed it.
Reiku’s head slid to his shoulder and Cloud didn’t really feel like moving yet. Regardless of what Leon thought he wasn’t going to sleep. He was just going to rest his eyes.