Cloud/Tifa -- Acceptance for the Future
((OOC: WOW, this is backdated all the way back to... um... August 13th, two days after Cloud's birthday. Sorry. >.< Anyway, this is right after Cloud's little realization that, hey, Tifa is pregnant. :D))
Tifa: It had been two days since Tifa told Cloud about how she was pregnant, meaning two days that she had to hold in her excitement. She wasn't going to listen to him and give into his fear and denial that he would never be a father, so instead she kept everything to herself. That included looking more into pregnancy, learning more about it all, and already looking forward to the second trimester. Supposedly, that's when she was going to start feeling better and the morning sickness was going to stop. For the most part she was relatively okay, but not that morning. She felt nauseous all day, yet, there Tifa was... in front of the open cupboards. Her hands were on the top of the doors, and her head was resting against her arm as she looked at what was inside.
"I need to go shopping," she muttered to herself, almost making a reminder for herself. It wasn't that long ago that she went shopping last, but she felt that it would be nice to get out of the house a little bit. After being sick for so long before Cloud brought back the water, she spent most of her time at home, then when he came back, they spent most of the time in the bedroom. Going out on their date was nice, waking up to see that their faces weren't in the tabloids was nice as well... but now she was almost afraid of who she would run into. Sure, she didn't look pregnant yet, but that didn't stop her from thinking that she would blurt something out to someone.
As a matter of fact, Tifa didn't even talk about it at home. It was difficult... more than difficult, nearly impossible. She wanted to be excited for the baby already, but she didn't want to be excited all by herself. She knew that if she allowed herself to be, she would look like a lunatic hopping around and squealing, so she tried to remain stoic about it for a little while. She just wasn't sure how much more of it she could take, though. She tried not to seem distant from Cloud, but knowing that they hadn't been intimate in almost two days, not even on his birthday… it was a first for them. Usually she woke him up in the middle of the night with a proposition, but not lately. She was almost afraid that it would just depress him even more. She just couldn't be sure.
Swaying back and forth from her place in front of the cupboards, she heard her stomach growl. Looking down at her stomach, she said, "Be quiet, mommy will feed you in a second. So impatient." She chuckled and placed her hand on her belly, figuring that she better get used to the baby getting impatient, even if it was only her stomach growling. Finally settling on some cookies that were in the cupboard, she shrugged and grabbed a few, then went toward the fridge to find some milk.
Cloud: He was sure that he should have suffocated by now, since orange fur had filled his mouth and nostrils by then. He wasn't even sure how long he had lay there on the floor with the offending carpet pushed aside with his bare feet and Reno purring softly while lying on his throat. It was the purring that had calmed him down after he had lost all composure and completed an action he only had twice in his life since the age of eleven years old. He was ashamed that he had lost so much with the realization of his own failings to just believe in things and let disappointment and grief get the better of him all the time, but it was a character flaw. He hated to cry, and he was glad that no one had been around to see it. He knew Reno wouldn't tell.
Finally, he pulled his face back from being buried in the beast's side, noting that one whole side of the cat was rather wet. He grimaced and pulled wads of hair from his mouth, nose and eyes, wiping it away with the back of his hands before discarding his now furry gloves. He rubbed his nose and shifted, pulling his legs up as Reno shifted from lying on his throat to off of him altogether. He slowly sat up, his back aching from lying on the floor as he had for so long. He made it half-way up before Reno came and jumped on his shoulder, sitting there as he fully rose up to sit, both he and the cat seemingly uncaring of the fact it looked like they had bonded.
He climbed to his feet and swayed a little, his head pounded with headache and exhaustion from an emotional release. He knew he had to find Tifa, to see her even if she didn't see him. He needed to look again and try to imagine for himself where his demented twisting of reality had gotten him. Setting off with the beast still seated on his shoulder, he paused to look into a mirror, aghast of how swollen his eyes were and watery. There were streaks down his cheeks as well, and he hastily tried to wipe them off with no avail before continuing on his way to the kitchen for some water to heal his parched throat and pounding head.
Stopping in the hallway leading to the kitchen, he spotted Tifa there swaying. Maybe she was drunk? He froze at the sound of her voice, and he found himself intrigued by her actions, having seemingly bonded with the flat of her stomach already. He walked forward until he was standing in the kitchen doorway, watching as she was about to consume cookies, thinking that couldn't be all that healthy but he wouldn’t judge. He hung his head a little as he watched her, tilting it aside as Reno mewed at the opening of the fridge and walked along his shoulders before once against nuzzling his face.
Tifa: Softly humming under her breath, she looked for the milk and found it in its usual spot on the shelf and pulled it out. She looked at the expiration date that was printed near the top, then frowned. What was the date anyway? One day after the expiration date wasn't going to kill her, but she still opened it up and sniffed it. ...did it smell right? "I don't even like milk," she muttered to herself, not sure what she was even sniffing for. She liked chocolate milk, she liked milk in her cereal, but when it came to boring two percent milk? She usually found the orange juice or water instead. Well, she wanted milk, so she poured herself a glass then put the milk away.
Returning to her glass, she put one of the cookies in the milk, watching it absorb the liquid for a few minutes before fishing it back out and eating it. It was something that she hadn't done since she was a little girl, but she was in a good mood, so it didn't really matter. She resumed her humming and turned around to find a towel to wipe off her hands, stopping when she saw Cloud standing in the doorway. Putting her hand on her heart, she turned back toward the drawers, not really getting a good glance at him. "You scared me half to death, Strife. How long have you and Reno been standing there watching me indulge in cookies? It's good that you two have been bonding, I guess."
Throwing the towel on the counter, she faced him again, this time noticing his red and puffy eyes. Not wasting a second, she rushed over to him and cupped both of his cheeks with her hands so she could look him in the eyes. "Oh my god, what happened? Are you okay?" Before she was able to say anything else, Reno rubbed against her hand, so she grabbed him off of Cloud's shoulders and put him on the floor, looking at her hands afterward. "Why is Reno wet? Cloud... what happened?"
Cloud: Standing there silently, Cloud simply watched Tifa move around the kitchen as if not even noticing him. He didn't mind though, simply wanting to watch as he moved about. He studied her form, noting the gentle curves that he had come to memorize by sight and feel over the course of their friendship. He had never really come to realize how much she had grown since they had been children, how she had left behind the girlish awkwardness to please to become a very beautiful woman in the prime of her life. Looking at her, she looked as if she didn't have a care in the world, and if he dare think it, she looked so very happy. It was not the first time he had seen her happy, but this reason was so far removed from himself at the moment that he couldn't help but take a short moment to relish in just how happy she was to be pregnant.
His eyes flicked away when she looked so startled to see him and Reno standing there in the silence of the room. He admitted being slightly disappointed to have disturbed her moment alone while enjoying cookies by herself. He didn't answer her question, nor did he avoid looking at her when she turned back to regard him a second time. He almost took a step back when she rushed to his side, aware that it must have looked like he had either been in a fight or actually crying. He knew which one she would guess, and he leaned down into her hands as they came to rest on his cheeks, almost wishing that Reno could remain on his shoulders. He grimaced as she stared at her wet hands from the cat and lowered his head a little.
Without a word, he stepped up and slid his arms around her waist, pulling her body hard against his as he leaned his head down and buried it into her neck. He breathed in her scent, comforted by her presence and feeling just how much this realization affected him with her in his arms. She carried his child, causing his arms to tighten even more, until he was certain he was making her uncomfortable. Even so, he didn't let her go, concentrating all of his attention on her as he let her previous words. If he had denied for so long, he would have missed this moment and all the others they would have together.
Tifa: She looked into his eyes for a moment, unable to figure out why he had been crying. She had only seen him cry twice in the past three years, once when Aeris died, and the other when their friendship was so completely torn that they weren't sure if they were ever going to get it back. Crying was not something he did, she wasn't sure why, but he just didn't allow himself to show that kind of emotion. Tears weren't a weakness, but he was a man and had some strange logic, or something. Plus, it was Cloud. He rarely showed strong emotion on his sleeve as it was, so it really worried her when he cried.
Rubbing his semi dry cheeks with her thumbs, she continued, "Cloud, are you going to say something? Marlene and Denzel... are they all right? Did something happen? Obviously something did, but--" Before she was able to even finish her sentence, she felt his arms go around her, so she trailed off and lowered her hands from his face. Her hands rested against his back, holding him close to her, but he was unable to see the look of confusion and worry that still masked her face. When his arms tightened, she turned her head and kissed his temple. In her mind, she was debating whether or not she should even say any more about it, if he wanted to talk about it he would, and if he didn't want to talk about it, she would find some way to squeak it out of him.
Of course, she felt like he was cutting off her circulation. "Cloud?" She asked, moving one of her hands to the back of his head and playing with his hair. "You want to talk about it?"
Cloud: Still just holding onto Tifa to reassure himself that she was still there and that his denials hadn't chased her off from him, Cloud continued to hide his face in her neck to force the emotions down. He needed to regain at least a little composure before she worried too much about why he had come into the kitchen having cried the last half an hour on his own. He didn't want to admit to her that he had been crying, though he was certain she knew already that he had been. It was pretty obvious, and he did it so rarely that it immediately got her attention for his well-being. The last time had not been the best time for him to have a break-down with their friendship hanging in the balance.
He finally loosened his grip on her when he thought that she might pass out in his arms or worse... he hurt the baby, their baby... the thought alone nearly dropped him to his knees. He maintained himself even if he swayed dangerously as he was infected with the thoughts. He finally pulled his face back from her neck and nodded his head a little to assure her that he was alright and just needed a moment to compose himself, nothing more than that. His eyes rose to peer between his blonde bangs, looking terribly lost and child-like for that moment before his eyes dropped again to where her stomach was.
He slid one hand around and set it to her stomach wordlessly. His eyebrows drew together in concentration to hold in a new wash of emotion, one that thankfully didn't make much of an appearance on his features. He swallowed the lump in his throat and finally lifted his eyes again to regard her, standing in silence for a long time to staring into her face. After a long silence, he opened his mouth to say something then closed it again, looking aside before coming back around to looking at her again, dropping his hands down to his sides. "...I..." he started, his voice heavy with emotion, "...I'm going to be... a father..."
Tifa: Looking around the kitchen as she was in his arms, she grew more and more worried. She was used to him being quiet, but he was unusually quiet, not to mention acting a little strangely. Crying first of all, crying into the cat no less, holding her so tightly that she thought she was going to need CPR.... it was enough to definitely make her very worried. Pressing her lips together, she continued to run her fingers through his blonde spikes, wondering exactly what it could've been that made him cry.
Tifa felt a little relief when he loosened his hold on her, especially because she wasn't sure if him holding her that tightly could harm the baby or not. Even though she wasn't showing yet, the baby was there and there was still so much that she didn't know. She knew she couldn't train as actively as she used to, no drinking, she had never done drugs or smoked, but pressure? She just didn't want to risk it. She flicked her eyes up to look into his, then felt the corners of her lips perk up when he looked down at her stomach.
No, she wasn't going to mention anything about it. She wouldn't want to hurt him further. It was more than clear how upset she was when he told her that he didn't believe the diagnosis, and even though he said that he was starting to believe her, she knew that he didn't. He wouldn't allow himself to believe her, no matter how much he wanted to. When he put his hand on her stomach, she furrowed her forehead in confusion, yet dared not say anything about it. Her hands went down to her sides and she focused on his face, dying to look down at his hand, but didn't want rush him or force him to believe her. No matter how much it killed her on the inside to hear him say he didn't believe that she was pregnant, she already had her fair share of harsh words to him. It wasn't worth fighting over any more.
She leaned forward a little when he tried to speak, so she put her hand on his cheek again, waiting for him to let it out. When he did, she nodded her head slowly and chuckled, staying as calm as she possibly could. "Y...Yeah. You are."
Cloud: Nodding to his own words, Cloud just let them settle between them as he stood there in front of her. His first open admittance to anyone that he had figured himself out and the fact that she had not been lying to him, even if he more believed her late period more than anything a doctor could say. He had to believe her, since he had seen just how upset she had been when he had denied her initial news on his birthday. She had practically been dancing around when she told him, but after he denied, she looked like he had dumped her and planned on leaving the next day. He had felt bad about that, but at the time, he had not been ready to accept the news.
He swallowed heavily and wiped his face with the back of his hand, wondering how she kept her composure after what he had just said. Perhaps she was still very upset with him for the initial denial and didn't want to get her hopes up about him just yet. Or it was probably more like she was waiting to let the emotion build before she exploded into action and tackled him to the floor while doing that silly dancing again. Maybe he could encourage cookies into her instead?
He peered at her again from beneath his hair, looking like a shy teenager again for the first time in years. He shuffled his feet a little and bowed his shoulders enough that he hunched over so they were of equal height. "...can I be a father more than once?"
Tifa: She had to inhale to keep herself in check, even though she wanted to just explode. Maybe if she was too excited already, she would scare him off and he would change his mind or something. It must've been hard for him to accept this reality, the fact that he had been crying proved that, so she wanted to let him absorb it all. Lifting her hand again, she placed it on the back of his head so she could look him in the eyes. "So... you believe me?" It was just a question to make sure, even though she doubted he would admit that he was going to be a father if he didn't truly believe it.
At his statement, she chuckled and nodded her head. It was all she could do for the moment, because he certainly was believing the news and running with it. He rarely planned out his future, more or less planned it from battle to battle, but this was planning it in a much different way. A way that he never allowed himself to and Tifa wasn't sure just how to act. She wanted a big family too, and it only half surprised her that he wanted one as well. Removing her hand from his hair, she took his hand in hers, then placed it under her shirt to rest on her belly, her hand remaining on top of his. "Well, you have about 36 more weeks until this one is born, then I think the woman has to wait another four months until she can get pregnant again..." She was proving to him that she had done research on it, but he already knew that she was planning her future with him. "So um, I'm sure you can as long as you want to be. I... know that I want a big family." Looking into his eyes, she added, "Cloud, we're... finally going to start our own family." She chuckled at the statement and placed her forehead against his. "Who would've guessed this one a year ago?"
Cloud: At her question, Cloud tilted his head to the side questionably, not sure how to react to her statement. He thankfully had himself full composed again, and it must have been the sheer exhaustion that he felt from wetting the cat who was... circling his legs again. He knew what that meant, and he nudged Reno away with a foot so the cat wouldn't climb him again. He nodded his head a little, not trusting his mouth to make words at the moment, not with his parched throat. The thoughts that were running through his head didn't help either, especially the strange urges. He pushed them down to simply draw in a long breath to calm his nerves.
He hoped that his meek question hadn't made her feel bad or anything, but by staring at her face, he could tell that she wasn't upset at him for it. In fact, he thought that she was happy, perhaps as happy as she had been mindless snacking on cookies and talking to the baby. Did babies even have ears right now? He looked down when her hand took his, not resisting the movement, and a shock ran through his system at the feel of her warm skin under his hand, stroking with his thumb for a moment. At her statement, he looked a little dumbfounded, making a few mental calculations of his own before nodding slowly. "That's... not long between babies," he murmured softly, unsure of what to make of that. It was all too much too soon. "...how big is big for you?" He was almost afraid her answer as he remembered her mentioning wanting a big family.
He leaned into her touch, nuzzling her forehead with his nose a little before sighing softly. "I wouldn't have..." he admitted. He removed his hand from her belly reluctantly and wrapped his arms around her waist again. Suddenly, he leaned back and pulled her off of her feet and spun around a little, catching her lips in a kiss before he set her down again. "I'm so happy you are going to be a mother..." he murmured then a sudden smug look pulled over his features, "you're going to lose your figure."
Tifa: His silence was enough of an answer for her, even though the last time he was silent at the same question, the answer was completely different. He did believe her, he believed that he was going to be a father, that he was able to fulfill this part of life. That's all she needed to know to feel her excitement grow again. She wasn't hopping around yet, but she knew given about another five minutes and she would be babbling incoherently again. Maybe it was the fact that she was still slightly nauseous that stopped her. Looking down at Reno, she shooed him away with her bare foot as well, hoping that the cat would give them a few moments to themselves. She was glad that Reno and Cloud got along -- apparently better than they wanted Tifa to think -- but they needed this moment to let it all settle in.
Her smile widened at his thumb moving along her stomach, and she liked that better than him poking at her. It made her chuckle again and she was starting to feel her excitement rush up to the surface. Exhaling to hold it in still, she nodded and shrugged. "No, it's really not, but I was just making a simple statement." Trying to play it off cool wasn’t going to work for her, she knew what her intentions were. In fact, she wondered if she was thinking way too far into the future, but she didn't mind. Shaking her head a little, she gave him a kiss on the cheek. "I don't know. It's not like I have a specific number that I want to hit, but I'm just saying that I want a big family. How about we take it one baby at a time?"
She was now unable to hold in her emotions as he picked her up and spun her around. The moment that he put her back on the ground, she wrapped her arms around his neck and held him close to her, her lips close to his. "I'm so happy you're going to be a father. I want these next 36 weeks to go by so quickly so I can see you with our baby in your arms." She playfully made a face at him. "I know. The figure that I've maintained for so long will finally change, but... I'm excited to be pregnant. I can't wait until I start showing, which should be in another month and a half or two months. Besides, you'll still love me right?" She really wasn't worried about her figure because she knew it would all be worth it. The only thing she wasn't looking forward to was the fact that her breasts were going to grow even more. She could only imagine the back pain she was going to have between those and her pregnant belly, but then the baby will be born and the pain will be forgotten. Now it was her turn to have a smug look on her face, "hey, guess who gets to go to the store at 4 in the morning when I have strange cravings?"
Cloud: He could read the emotions right off of her without even trying. He was waiting for the explosion of emotion as he could see it there in her eyes, that she was once again excited about this news that he was finally sharing in. He looked down at the stomach where his hand was and nodding, not sure what to make of her statement still. It was clear that big family for her seemed to mean, 'if you do not make me pregnant all the time, I will fix the situation' sort of deal. While a part of him reeled away from that thought, the much larger aspect simply settled in and accepted it. Perhaps, at the age of twenty-four, he was ready to settle down in life and look to the simpler parts of life. He eyed her a little then nodding. "...I was just wondering when you were going to stop, that's all. Your idea of a big family and mine might be completely different..."
He nodded his head to her excitement, but after a moment or two, he pulled back and shook it negatively. He looked down at her flat muscled stomach then up at her face, again shaking his head to her words. "No... I don't want that," he murmured, dropping his head down his eyes were obscured. "I want to savour these 36 weeks... all of them. Every day at a time... and after it's all done, then I can hold it." He thought a moment, then nodded in agreement with his own statement.
He regarded her soberly then shrugged. "I don't think you would let me go even if you did lose your figure, and there should be no question in your mind of my love or loyalty." He gave her stomach a gentle poke with his finger then turned his hand over and stroked it with the back of his hand tenderly. "I... feel like I'm in a dream," he admitted, his hand still paying attention to her belly where, despite not seeing it, he had to believe there was a life there protected. "I will protect you and this baby with my life."
He looked up at her last statement and simply nodded his head, as if it was inevitable that she would need to rely on him to get her things. He wasn't yet beyond the fact that he and Tifa were going to be parents, so the thoughts of him having to get up hadn't completely taken root yet. He knew the tales of odd cravings, but no one he knew had had children to talk to about it. "I won't mind... I don't think."
Tifa: "Are you blaming this all on me?" She asked playfully, giving him a gentle kiss on the lips before rubbing noses with him. "Sure, I do proposition you quite often, but you're the one who goes through with it. I never exactly heard you complain about it, and besides, look at what happened." Pointedly looking down at her stomach again, she chuckled. "Possibly the best thing that has ever happened to us. No, I think this is the best thing that has ever happened to us, do you agree?" She flicked her eyes back up at him, hugging him a little more tightly to her. It was the best thing that has ever happened to her, she knew that answer for sure, and she knew he couldn't argue with her. Her whole life had been based on fighting evil generals, thoughtshards, Jenova... having a baby was the first normal thing that she ever really encountered. It was something else that other people went through, and now they were going to go through it. "Well, what is your opinion of a big family then?"
She was confused at his reaction to her statement, then smiled and agreed with his reasoning. When he didn't truly believe that she was pregnant, she wanted to rush through the whole thing so he would believe her and finally grow excited that he was going to be a father. But now that he did believe, he was right. Through all the horrors that she had heard of pregnancy, morning sickness, odd cravings, back pain, swollen ankles... she wanted it all. She wanted to fully enjoy her pregnancy with Cloud right there with her, seeing her through it every step of the way. "Mm, you're right. The baby'll come when it does, and we can just sit back and enjoy the road to parenthood." Smiling mischievously, she added, "And transform your old bedroom into a nursery."
"No, probably not. Maybe a little threatening would ensue, but I know that you won't leave me. Not now, not ever. I know your love and loyalty, and you know mine... even if it is a little scary sometimes." She kissed him again, then looked down at where his hand was. She lifted her shirt up so she could see how flat her stomach still was, but just knowing that there was a baby underneath... She closed her eyes and exhaled. "Me too. One that I want to enjoy and never wake up from." Resting her head against his shoulder, she nodded her head, believing his every word. "I love you."
Chuckling, she knew that he wouldn't mind. At least not at first. "I promise I won't do it all the time. Just once and a while." She kissed his neck gently before exhaling happily, thinking about bringing up the ultrasound, but wanting to wait a little longer. She wasn't sure just how he was going to react to having to go to a hospital for it, and she didn't want to ruin the moment.
Cloud: Nodding his head a little, Cloud also used the opportunity to calculate how long they had been dating to the point where they stood now. They had been dating for four months, but Tifa had been down and out a little while and he had been away looking for a cure for the Jenova cells in her. In reality, they had not spent all that much time simply dating each other. He supposed that the long friendship meant that they only needed the intimacy to move to the next step. Of course, with Tifa being a month pregnant, he regarded their quick pace as anything but normal. He didn't find himself minding though. "We did know that, and it seems that we were right when we talked about a quick relationship," he murmured and thought about the fact that he doubted they would date too long before he would propose. He was still working on that aspect. "Uh... well, if you want more..."
He raised an eyebrow at her and finally nodded. "I guess that it will be. Nothing can be easy, and if any child of mine was like me... we could be in for some trouble." He didn't want to admit that he had occasionally been a naughty boy when he was alone with his mother, but he knew it was a reality. Boys would probably be worse than girls too. "I agree... but usually parents come out with gray hair and too many wrinkles."
He gave her a skeptical look and finally just pulled her harder to his chest before sliding a hand down and scooping her up into his arms. If she wanted cookies, she would have to complain about it later on. He turned and walked from the kitchen to the living room and seated himself on the couch with her in his lap. "At this point, I think you should worry about yourself. The only time I'll be leaving is if I have a job to do around town." He leaned over and kissed her lips gently before he simply shoved her over onto the couch and looked down at her. "You have to take good care of yourself now... no more fighting. Practicing is fine, but I want you protected from anything more." He slid over and set his hands on either side of her head, staring down into her face. "I don't know what I would do if I lost you."
Tifa: "Maybe it's just because we know each other so well. I guess we didn't have to go through the stage of learning to live with each other and finding out our random quirks, we already knew it all. It really takes a lot of pressure off of a relationship, when you think about it. It sounds funny to say after everything that we went through over the past year, but, maybe we had it easy." They had been living together for quite some time, and knowing that Cloud was the first boy that Tifa ever met, that was a lot of time to get to know him. Pausing for a second, she wasn't sure if she should look at him in surprise or not. "What... do you mean by that?" She had a clue, but she didn't want to get excited over it. It actually made her think of a time a few weeks back when he went down on his knee to tie his shoe and she thought he was proposing. Luckily, she was able to play it off as nothing.
Poking him in the chest, she chuckled. "Have we forgotten the little terror I was when I was a little kid? Always ruining my dresses, fighting my mother when she wanted me to practice piano, fighting with my dad when he wouldn't let me date until I was 16... Oooh, boy, with a combination of the two of us, it seems like we're in for a ride with our children." It didn't make a difference to her, as long as they were going through it together. It was just a little scary when she heard horror stories of her terrible twos... and threes.
She giggled when he lifted her up in his arms and wrapped her arms around his neck. Once sitting, she nodded her head occasionally as he gave her instructions. "I promise I'll be a good girl. No training, lots of rest, and so on and so forth. I won't over do it, and if I do, you can punish me." The only thing that was going to bother her was the 'no fighting' rule, even though she knew that it had to come into play. She was just a little worried with Jenova still on the loose and she would be unable to protect herself. The fact that he was going to stay with her made her feel more comfortable. Looking up at him as he was above her, she grabbed his waist and pulled her on top of her before nibbling on his lower lip. "I feel the same toward you. Heh... till death do us part, right? I believe you said that once."
Cloud: Nodding his head a little, Cloud regarded Tifa as he always had. She was probably the only woman that he could live with for a long period of time, that he knew right now. They luckily had similar living habits, which made it easy on them both and meant they didn't fight. "It does... but then, we haven't been ones to have a lot of strain on our relationship save a few times. It's always been other things... like Sephiroth and Jenova." He shrugged his shoulders gently to pass off the comment. "I mean... do you want more children than I said?"
He batted her hand away from his chest and shook his head a little. "I believe I was a little busy trying to grow up and being a terror myself. That or I was inside with mom giving her gray hair." He quirked an eyebrow at her. "Did you really have a guy in mind before you were sixteen?" He nodded. "Kids will be kids."
He could only hope that she would be good and not over-exert herself too much. In the beginning, he assumed that it would be fine, but when she began to show or hit the third trimester, he felt he needed to be more diligent watching over her. "Well... I assume you can practice until your belly gets in the way. Exercise will help keep the edge off." He allowed her to pull him overtop of her, setting his hands on either side of her head but leaning into the nibbling. "I did say that once before... you seem to like the phrase more than I do." He slowly settled himself down on his forearms and lay on her, settling in comfortably. It seemed only more imperative that he removed the Jenova threat now.
Tifa: She had to agree with him, knowing that their relationship had gone very well since the start of it. Things were a little rocky when they weren't technically dating each other, but knowing that they weren't dating each other, they couldn't consider it part of the relationship. Not to mention that that was more of a stressful thing to hide it and keep it secret, and that wonderful feeling of guilt that Tifa felt. "Well, one threat is out of the way, one to go, when you think about it." Tifa wasn't sure when the final plans to take down Jenova were going to be worked out, but she knew that everything would work out eventually. Blushing a little for misinterpreting his sentence, she said, "Oh. I knew that. But, um, I don't really know how many children I want yet. Maybe I'll figure it out eventually."
Nodding her head, she stated, "We were both busy little children then. I had way too much fun going through daddy's office and playing with his files when I was younger. Actually, I did that when I was older too, just to see what I could get away with." Thinking about the question for a moment, she looked away from him, then focused on him again. "I don't know. Well, maybe, but there wasn't anything I could do about it since my parents wouldn't let me date, and... said boy was off getting stronger to protect me when I was in trouble." Sending him a pointed glance, she smiled.
She placed her hand on her belly for a moment, figuring that he probably was right. She just didn't want to hurt the baby by working out like she used to... perhaps there was a way to tone it down a little. "I guess that I could. I'll just be extra careful or something and give you permission to nag me to rest every once and a while." Chuckling, she moved her hands up to his shoulders and gently massaged them. "It's a good line."
Cloud: "I agree... one left to go and her three remaining children. I will find them and remove them to protect the future... our future," Cloud said softly, casting his eyes the side to look around the living room. He never really included himself in any future, always more aware that he could simply be killed and forgotten after the struggle was over. He lived for the futures of others, but now... the coming of a child forced him to re-evaluate his whole idealism on the subject of heroism. He drew his eyes back to note her blush and quirked an eyebrow. "Did you now? Blushing over such a simple question...?"
He thought for a moment about aspects of his childhood. "I suppose... I had to help mom a lot around the house since... well..." he trailed off, not remembering his father in his life. He had been forced to cover and be the man of the house at an early age. "You might have been more trouble than I was..." he finally remarked dryly. He noted the pointed glance and thought for a moment before tilting his head down at her. "True, I was... but, I wonder if things would have changed had we dated when we were much younger and foolish... would I have left Nibelheim at all...?"
He agreed with her, not that he could actually stop her from training, but he could join in to make sure that she was alright during some of the sessions of it. "I don't need your permission to nag you, so don't bother giving it. You're in charge of protecting... our child." The last two words send a shudder down his spine and pressed himself down harder on her, kissing her vigourously. "Our child..."
Tifa: She felt herself blush a little, for she had never exactly heard Cloud use those words. He had always said that he wanted to protect everyone’s future; the people of Gaia, Denzel and Marlene’s, Tifa’s… but never mentioned himself. As a matter of fact, he never talked about even having a future at all, so to have him talk about a future with her, really made her smile. “We do have our future to protect. We have our baby to protect,” she added, placing her hand on his cheek and rubbing with her thumb. Clearing her throat, she put her hand back down to rest on her stomach. “Um, of course I did. Kinda.” Sighing, she continued, “okay, fine, no, it was a misinterpretation. It was just the way that we switched topics… I didn’t really notice that we changed topics, so they kind of melded together and I just…” Giving him a playful slap on the arm, she shyly smiled. “Fine, you got me. You know exactly what I was going for, so no need to have me spell it out.”
Nodding at the way he trailed off, she knew where he was going with his train of thought. She had always considered herself to have a very good childhood; raised by two parents who loved each other, given plenty of good opportunities, had a lot of friends… she was a very happy child. She never really knew just what kind of childhood Cloud had; as much as she hated to admit it, she knew that she wasn’t interested in much besides herself when younger. “She raised you very well, and you turned out to be an excellent man. Like I said before, you know that she is so proud of you.” It was the first time that she had thought about them dating before he left for Nibelheim, and it was very interesting to say the least. She never was interested in him until he decided to leave and join SOLDIER, so perhaps they never would’ve dated… but it still truly made Tifa think. “Things probably would’ve changed. One minor thing like that could’ve caused a major change in the history of everything when you think about it. I probably never would’ve trained with Zangan, perhaps you would’ve stayed in Nibelheim after all, causing me to stay with you. But… what would’ve happened when Sephiroth came to Nibelheim?” The thought made her shudder, because she knew what would’ve happened. They would’ve had the same fate that everyone else in the town had that day.
“The day you nag me is the day that I will be so endlessly amused,” she said, smirking a bit. She had always been the one to nag him, yet she had never been nagged in return. Perhaps one day she would know what it was like. “Besides, if you’re going to nag me for training, I do know other ways to ‘take the edge off.’” Wrapping her arms around his neck when he kissed her, she smiled into the kiss. It had been a few days since they had kissed each other like that, and his words sent a shiver down her spine. “Yes… Our child.” Trapping his legs with one of hers, she put her hand on the back of his head to direct him to her lips again.
Tifa: It had been two days since Tifa told Cloud about how she was pregnant, meaning two days that she had to hold in her excitement. She wasn't going to listen to him and give into his fear and denial that he would never be a father, so instead she kept everything to herself. That included looking more into pregnancy, learning more about it all, and already looking forward to the second trimester. Supposedly, that's when she was going to start feeling better and the morning sickness was going to stop. For the most part she was relatively okay, but not that morning. She felt nauseous all day, yet, there Tifa was... in front of the open cupboards. Her hands were on the top of the doors, and her head was resting against her arm as she looked at what was inside.
"I need to go shopping," she muttered to herself, almost making a reminder for herself. It wasn't that long ago that she went shopping last, but she felt that it would be nice to get out of the house a little bit. After being sick for so long before Cloud brought back the water, she spent most of her time at home, then when he came back, they spent most of the time in the bedroom. Going out on their date was nice, waking up to see that their faces weren't in the tabloids was nice as well... but now she was almost afraid of who she would run into. Sure, she didn't look pregnant yet, but that didn't stop her from thinking that she would blurt something out to someone.
As a matter of fact, Tifa didn't even talk about it at home. It was difficult... more than difficult, nearly impossible. She wanted to be excited for the baby already, but she didn't want to be excited all by herself. She knew that if she allowed herself to be, she would look like a lunatic hopping around and squealing, so she tried to remain stoic about it for a little while. She just wasn't sure how much more of it she could take, though. She tried not to seem distant from Cloud, but knowing that they hadn't been intimate in almost two days, not even on his birthday… it was a first for them. Usually she woke him up in the middle of the night with a proposition, but not lately. She was almost afraid that it would just depress him even more. She just couldn't be sure.
Swaying back and forth from her place in front of the cupboards, she heard her stomach growl. Looking down at her stomach, she said, "Be quiet, mommy will feed you in a second. So impatient." She chuckled and placed her hand on her belly, figuring that she better get used to the baby getting impatient, even if it was only her stomach growling. Finally settling on some cookies that were in the cupboard, she shrugged and grabbed a few, then went toward the fridge to find some milk.
Cloud: He was sure that he should have suffocated by now, since orange fur had filled his mouth and nostrils by then. He wasn't even sure how long he had lay there on the floor with the offending carpet pushed aside with his bare feet and Reno purring softly while lying on his throat. It was the purring that had calmed him down after he had lost all composure and completed an action he only had twice in his life since the age of eleven years old. He was ashamed that he had lost so much with the realization of his own failings to just believe in things and let disappointment and grief get the better of him all the time, but it was a character flaw. He hated to cry, and he was glad that no one had been around to see it. He knew Reno wouldn't tell.
Finally, he pulled his face back from being buried in the beast's side, noting that one whole side of the cat was rather wet. He grimaced and pulled wads of hair from his mouth, nose and eyes, wiping it away with the back of his hands before discarding his now furry gloves. He rubbed his nose and shifted, pulling his legs up as Reno shifted from lying on his throat to off of him altogether. He slowly sat up, his back aching from lying on the floor as he had for so long. He made it half-way up before Reno came and jumped on his shoulder, sitting there as he fully rose up to sit, both he and the cat seemingly uncaring of the fact it looked like they had bonded.
He climbed to his feet and swayed a little, his head pounded with headache and exhaustion from an emotional release. He knew he had to find Tifa, to see her even if she didn't see him. He needed to look again and try to imagine for himself where his demented twisting of reality had gotten him. Setting off with the beast still seated on his shoulder, he paused to look into a mirror, aghast of how swollen his eyes were and watery. There were streaks down his cheeks as well, and he hastily tried to wipe them off with no avail before continuing on his way to the kitchen for some water to heal his parched throat and pounding head.
Stopping in the hallway leading to the kitchen, he spotted Tifa there swaying. Maybe she was drunk? He froze at the sound of her voice, and he found himself intrigued by her actions, having seemingly bonded with the flat of her stomach already. He walked forward until he was standing in the kitchen doorway, watching as she was about to consume cookies, thinking that couldn't be all that healthy but he wouldn’t judge. He hung his head a little as he watched her, tilting it aside as Reno mewed at the opening of the fridge and walked along his shoulders before once against nuzzling his face.
Tifa: Softly humming under her breath, she looked for the milk and found it in its usual spot on the shelf and pulled it out. She looked at the expiration date that was printed near the top, then frowned. What was the date anyway? One day after the expiration date wasn't going to kill her, but she still opened it up and sniffed it. ...did it smell right? "I don't even like milk," she muttered to herself, not sure what she was even sniffing for. She liked chocolate milk, she liked milk in her cereal, but when it came to boring two percent milk? She usually found the orange juice or water instead. Well, she wanted milk, so she poured herself a glass then put the milk away.
Returning to her glass, she put one of the cookies in the milk, watching it absorb the liquid for a few minutes before fishing it back out and eating it. It was something that she hadn't done since she was a little girl, but she was in a good mood, so it didn't really matter. She resumed her humming and turned around to find a towel to wipe off her hands, stopping when she saw Cloud standing in the doorway. Putting her hand on her heart, she turned back toward the drawers, not really getting a good glance at him. "You scared me half to death, Strife. How long have you and Reno been standing there watching me indulge in cookies? It's good that you two have been bonding, I guess."
Throwing the towel on the counter, she faced him again, this time noticing his red and puffy eyes. Not wasting a second, she rushed over to him and cupped both of his cheeks with her hands so she could look him in the eyes. "Oh my god, what happened? Are you okay?" Before she was able to say anything else, Reno rubbed against her hand, so she grabbed him off of Cloud's shoulders and put him on the floor, looking at her hands afterward. "Why is Reno wet? Cloud... what happened?"
Cloud: Standing there silently, Cloud simply watched Tifa move around the kitchen as if not even noticing him. He didn't mind though, simply wanting to watch as he moved about. He studied her form, noting the gentle curves that he had come to memorize by sight and feel over the course of their friendship. He had never really come to realize how much she had grown since they had been children, how she had left behind the girlish awkwardness to please to become a very beautiful woman in the prime of her life. Looking at her, she looked as if she didn't have a care in the world, and if he dare think it, she looked so very happy. It was not the first time he had seen her happy, but this reason was so far removed from himself at the moment that he couldn't help but take a short moment to relish in just how happy she was to be pregnant.
His eyes flicked away when she looked so startled to see him and Reno standing there in the silence of the room. He admitted being slightly disappointed to have disturbed her moment alone while enjoying cookies by herself. He didn't answer her question, nor did he avoid looking at her when she turned back to regard him a second time. He almost took a step back when she rushed to his side, aware that it must have looked like he had either been in a fight or actually crying. He knew which one she would guess, and he leaned down into her hands as they came to rest on his cheeks, almost wishing that Reno could remain on his shoulders. He grimaced as she stared at her wet hands from the cat and lowered his head a little.
Without a word, he stepped up and slid his arms around her waist, pulling her body hard against his as he leaned his head down and buried it into her neck. He breathed in her scent, comforted by her presence and feeling just how much this realization affected him with her in his arms. She carried his child, causing his arms to tighten even more, until he was certain he was making her uncomfortable. Even so, he didn't let her go, concentrating all of his attention on her as he let her previous words. If he had denied for so long, he would have missed this moment and all the others they would have together.
Tifa: She looked into his eyes for a moment, unable to figure out why he had been crying. She had only seen him cry twice in the past three years, once when Aeris died, and the other when their friendship was so completely torn that they weren't sure if they were ever going to get it back. Crying was not something he did, she wasn't sure why, but he just didn't allow himself to show that kind of emotion. Tears weren't a weakness, but he was a man and had some strange logic, or something. Plus, it was Cloud. He rarely showed strong emotion on his sleeve as it was, so it really worried her when he cried.
Rubbing his semi dry cheeks with her thumbs, she continued, "Cloud, are you going to say something? Marlene and Denzel... are they all right? Did something happen? Obviously something did, but--" Before she was able to even finish her sentence, she felt his arms go around her, so she trailed off and lowered her hands from his face. Her hands rested against his back, holding him close to her, but he was unable to see the look of confusion and worry that still masked her face. When his arms tightened, she turned her head and kissed his temple. In her mind, she was debating whether or not she should even say any more about it, if he wanted to talk about it he would, and if he didn't want to talk about it, she would find some way to squeak it out of him.
Of course, she felt like he was cutting off her circulation. "Cloud?" She asked, moving one of her hands to the back of his head and playing with his hair. "You want to talk about it?"
Cloud: Still just holding onto Tifa to reassure himself that she was still there and that his denials hadn't chased her off from him, Cloud continued to hide his face in her neck to force the emotions down. He needed to regain at least a little composure before she worried too much about why he had come into the kitchen having cried the last half an hour on his own. He didn't want to admit to her that he had been crying, though he was certain she knew already that he had been. It was pretty obvious, and he did it so rarely that it immediately got her attention for his well-being. The last time had not been the best time for him to have a break-down with their friendship hanging in the balance.
He finally loosened his grip on her when he thought that she might pass out in his arms or worse... he hurt the baby, their baby... the thought alone nearly dropped him to his knees. He maintained himself even if he swayed dangerously as he was infected with the thoughts. He finally pulled his face back from her neck and nodded his head a little to assure her that he was alright and just needed a moment to compose himself, nothing more than that. His eyes rose to peer between his blonde bangs, looking terribly lost and child-like for that moment before his eyes dropped again to where her stomach was.
He slid one hand around and set it to her stomach wordlessly. His eyebrows drew together in concentration to hold in a new wash of emotion, one that thankfully didn't make much of an appearance on his features. He swallowed the lump in his throat and finally lifted his eyes again to regard her, standing in silence for a long time to staring into her face. After a long silence, he opened his mouth to say something then closed it again, looking aside before coming back around to looking at her again, dropping his hands down to his sides. "...I..." he started, his voice heavy with emotion, "...I'm going to be... a father..."
Tifa: Looking around the kitchen as she was in his arms, she grew more and more worried. She was used to him being quiet, but he was unusually quiet, not to mention acting a little strangely. Crying first of all, crying into the cat no less, holding her so tightly that she thought she was going to need CPR.... it was enough to definitely make her very worried. Pressing her lips together, she continued to run her fingers through his blonde spikes, wondering exactly what it could've been that made him cry.
Tifa felt a little relief when he loosened his hold on her, especially because she wasn't sure if him holding her that tightly could harm the baby or not. Even though she wasn't showing yet, the baby was there and there was still so much that she didn't know. She knew she couldn't train as actively as she used to, no drinking, she had never done drugs or smoked, but pressure? She just didn't want to risk it. She flicked her eyes up to look into his, then felt the corners of her lips perk up when he looked down at her stomach.
No, she wasn't going to mention anything about it. She wouldn't want to hurt him further. It was more than clear how upset she was when he told her that he didn't believe the diagnosis, and even though he said that he was starting to believe her, she knew that he didn't. He wouldn't allow himself to believe her, no matter how much he wanted to. When he put his hand on her stomach, she furrowed her forehead in confusion, yet dared not say anything about it. Her hands went down to her sides and she focused on his face, dying to look down at his hand, but didn't want rush him or force him to believe her. No matter how much it killed her on the inside to hear him say he didn't believe that she was pregnant, she already had her fair share of harsh words to him. It wasn't worth fighting over any more.
She leaned forward a little when he tried to speak, so she put her hand on his cheek again, waiting for him to let it out. When he did, she nodded her head slowly and chuckled, staying as calm as she possibly could. "Y...Yeah. You are."
Cloud: Nodding to his own words, Cloud just let them settle between them as he stood there in front of her. His first open admittance to anyone that he had figured himself out and the fact that she had not been lying to him, even if he more believed her late period more than anything a doctor could say. He had to believe her, since he had seen just how upset she had been when he had denied her initial news on his birthday. She had practically been dancing around when she told him, but after he denied, she looked like he had dumped her and planned on leaving the next day. He had felt bad about that, but at the time, he had not been ready to accept the news.
He swallowed heavily and wiped his face with the back of his hand, wondering how she kept her composure after what he had just said. Perhaps she was still very upset with him for the initial denial and didn't want to get her hopes up about him just yet. Or it was probably more like she was waiting to let the emotion build before she exploded into action and tackled him to the floor while doing that silly dancing again. Maybe he could encourage cookies into her instead?
He peered at her again from beneath his hair, looking like a shy teenager again for the first time in years. He shuffled his feet a little and bowed his shoulders enough that he hunched over so they were of equal height. "...can I be a father more than once?"
Tifa: She had to inhale to keep herself in check, even though she wanted to just explode. Maybe if she was too excited already, she would scare him off and he would change his mind or something. It must've been hard for him to accept this reality, the fact that he had been crying proved that, so she wanted to let him absorb it all. Lifting her hand again, she placed it on the back of his head so she could look him in the eyes. "So... you believe me?" It was just a question to make sure, even though she doubted he would admit that he was going to be a father if he didn't truly believe it.
At his statement, she chuckled and nodded her head. It was all she could do for the moment, because he certainly was believing the news and running with it. He rarely planned out his future, more or less planned it from battle to battle, but this was planning it in a much different way. A way that he never allowed himself to and Tifa wasn't sure just how to act. She wanted a big family too, and it only half surprised her that he wanted one as well. Removing her hand from his hair, she took his hand in hers, then placed it under her shirt to rest on her belly, her hand remaining on top of his. "Well, you have about 36 more weeks until this one is born, then I think the woman has to wait another four months until she can get pregnant again..." She was proving to him that she had done research on it, but he already knew that she was planning her future with him. "So um, I'm sure you can as long as you want to be. I... know that I want a big family." Looking into his eyes, she added, "Cloud, we're... finally going to start our own family." She chuckled at the statement and placed her forehead against his. "Who would've guessed this one a year ago?"
Cloud: At her question, Cloud tilted his head to the side questionably, not sure how to react to her statement. He thankfully had himself full composed again, and it must have been the sheer exhaustion that he felt from wetting the cat who was... circling his legs again. He knew what that meant, and he nudged Reno away with a foot so the cat wouldn't climb him again. He nodded his head a little, not trusting his mouth to make words at the moment, not with his parched throat. The thoughts that were running through his head didn't help either, especially the strange urges. He pushed them down to simply draw in a long breath to calm his nerves.
He hoped that his meek question hadn't made her feel bad or anything, but by staring at her face, he could tell that she wasn't upset at him for it. In fact, he thought that she was happy, perhaps as happy as she had been mindless snacking on cookies and talking to the baby. Did babies even have ears right now? He looked down when her hand took his, not resisting the movement, and a shock ran through his system at the feel of her warm skin under his hand, stroking with his thumb for a moment. At her statement, he looked a little dumbfounded, making a few mental calculations of his own before nodding slowly. "That's... not long between babies," he murmured softly, unsure of what to make of that. It was all too much too soon. "...how big is big for you?" He was almost afraid her answer as he remembered her mentioning wanting a big family.
He leaned into her touch, nuzzling her forehead with his nose a little before sighing softly. "I wouldn't have..." he admitted. He removed his hand from her belly reluctantly and wrapped his arms around her waist again. Suddenly, he leaned back and pulled her off of her feet and spun around a little, catching her lips in a kiss before he set her down again. "I'm so happy you are going to be a mother..." he murmured then a sudden smug look pulled over his features, "you're going to lose your figure."
Tifa: His silence was enough of an answer for her, even though the last time he was silent at the same question, the answer was completely different. He did believe her, he believed that he was going to be a father, that he was able to fulfill this part of life. That's all she needed to know to feel her excitement grow again. She wasn't hopping around yet, but she knew given about another five minutes and she would be babbling incoherently again. Maybe it was the fact that she was still slightly nauseous that stopped her. Looking down at Reno, she shooed him away with her bare foot as well, hoping that the cat would give them a few moments to themselves. She was glad that Reno and Cloud got along -- apparently better than they wanted Tifa to think -- but they needed this moment to let it all settle in.
Her smile widened at his thumb moving along her stomach, and she liked that better than him poking at her. It made her chuckle again and she was starting to feel her excitement rush up to the surface. Exhaling to hold it in still, she nodded and shrugged. "No, it's really not, but I was just making a simple statement." Trying to play it off cool wasn’t going to work for her, she knew what her intentions were. In fact, she wondered if she was thinking way too far into the future, but she didn't mind. Shaking her head a little, she gave him a kiss on the cheek. "I don't know. It's not like I have a specific number that I want to hit, but I'm just saying that I want a big family. How about we take it one baby at a time?"
She was now unable to hold in her emotions as he picked her up and spun her around. The moment that he put her back on the ground, she wrapped her arms around his neck and held him close to her, her lips close to his. "I'm so happy you're going to be a father. I want these next 36 weeks to go by so quickly so I can see you with our baby in your arms." She playfully made a face at him. "I know. The figure that I've maintained for so long will finally change, but... I'm excited to be pregnant. I can't wait until I start showing, which should be in another month and a half or two months. Besides, you'll still love me right?" She really wasn't worried about her figure because she knew it would all be worth it. The only thing she wasn't looking forward to was the fact that her breasts were going to grow even more. She could only imagine the back pain she was going to have between those and her pregnant belly, but then the baby will be born and the pain will be forgotten. Now it was her turn to have a smug look on her face, "hey, guess who gets to go to the store at 4 in the morning when I have strange cravings?"
Cloud: He could read the emotions right off of her without even trying. He was waiting for the explosion of emotion as he could see it there in her eyes, that she was once again excited about this news that he was finally sharing in. He looked down at the stomach where his hand was and nodding, not sure what to make of her statement still. It was clear that big family for her seemed to mean, 'if you do not make me pregnant all the time, I will fix the situation' sort of deal. While a part of him reeled away from that thought, the much larger aspect simply settled in and accepted it. Perhaps, at the age of twenty-four, he was ready to settle down in life and look to the simpler parts of life. He eyed her a little then nodding. "...I was just wondering when you were going to stop, that's all. Your idea of a big family and mine might be completely different..."
He nodded his head to her excitement, but after a moment or two, he pulled back and shook it negatively. He looked down at her flat muscled stomach then up at her face, again shaking his head to her words. "No... I don't want that," he murmured, dropping his head down his eyes were obscured. "I want to savour these 36 weeks... all of them. Every day at a time... and after it's all done, then I can hold it." He thought a moment, then nodded in agreement with his own statement.
He regarded her soberly then shrugged. "I don't think you would let me go even if you did lose your figure, and there should be no question in your mind of my love or loyalty." He gave her stomach a gentle poke with his finger then turned his hand over and stroked it with the back of his hand tenderly. "I... feel like I'm in a dream," he admitted, his hand still paying attention to her belly where, despite not seeing it, he had to believe there was a life there protected. "I will protect you and this baby with my life."
He looked up at her last statement and simply nodded his head, as if it was inevitable that she would need to rely on him to get her things. He wasn't yet beyond the fact that he and Tifa were going to be parents, so the thoughts of him having to get up hadn't completely taken root yet. He knew the tales of odd cravings, but no one he knew had had children to talk to about it. "I won't mind... I don't think."
Tifa: "Are you blaming this all on me?" She asked playfully, giving him a gentle kiss on the lips before rubbing noses with him. "Sure, I do proposition you quite often, but you're the one who goes through with it. I never exactly heard you complain about it, and besides, look at what happened." Pointedly looking down at her stomach again, she chuckled. "Possibly the best thing that has ever happened to us. No, I think this is the best thing that has ever happened to us, do you agree?" She flicked her eyes back up at him, hugging him a little more tightly to her. It was the best thing that has ever happened to her, she knew that answer for sure, and she knew he couldn't argue with her. Her whole life had been based on fighting evil generals, thoughtshards, Jenova... having a baby was the first normal thing that she ever really encountered. It was something else that other people went through, and now they were going to go through it. "Well, what is your opinion of a big family then?"
She was confused at his reaction to her statement, then smiled and agreed with his reasoning. When he didn't truly believe that she was pregnant, she wanted to rush through the whole thing so he would believe her and finally grow excited that he was going to be a father. But now that he did believe, he was right. Through all the horrors that she had heard of pregnancy, morning sickness, odd cravings, back pain, swollen ankles... she wanted it all. She wanted to fully enjoy her pregnancy with Cloud right there with her, seeing her through it every step of the way. "Mm, you're right. The baby'll come when it does, and we can just sit back and enjoy the road to parenthood." Smiling mischievously, she added, "And transform your old bedroom into a nursery."
"No, probably not. Maybe a little threatening would ensue, but I know that you won't leave me. Not now, not ever. I know your love and loyalty, and you know mine... even if it is a little scary sometimes." She kissed him again, then looked down at where his hand was. She lifted her shirt up so she could see how flat her stomach still was, but just knowing that there was a baby underneath... She closed her eyes and exhaled. "Me too. One that I want to enjoy and never wake up from." Resting her head against his shoulder, she nodded her head, believing his every word. "I love you."
Chuckling, she knew that he wouldn't mind. At least not at first. "I promise I won't do it all the time. Just once and a while." She kissed his neck gently before exhaling happily, thinking about bringing up the ultrasound, but wanting to wait a little longer. She wasn't sure just how he was going to react to having to go to a hospital for it, and she didn't want to ruin the moment.
Cloud: Nodding his head a little, Cloud also used the opportunity to calculate how long they had been dating to the point where they stood now. They had been dating for four months, but Tifa had been down and out a little while and he had been away looking for a cure for the Jenova cells in her. In reality, they had not spent all that much time simply dating each other. He supposed that the long friendship meant that they only needed the intimacy to move to the next step. Of course, with Tifa being a month pregnant, he regarded their quick pace as anything but normal. He didn't find himself minding though. "We did know that, and it seems that we were right when we talked about a quick relationship," he murmured and thought about the fact that he doubted they would date too long before he would propose. He was still working on that aspect. "Uh... well, if you want more..."
He raised an eyebrow at her and finally nodded. "I guess that it will be. Nothing can be easy, and if any child of mine was like me... we could be in for some trouble." He didn't want to admit that he had occasionally been a naughty boy when he was alone with his mother, but he knew it was a reality. Boys would probably be worse than girls too. "I agree... but usually parents come out with gray hair and too many wrinkles."
He gave her a skeptical look and finally just pulled her harder to his chest before sliding a hand down and scooping her up into his arms. If she wanted cookies, she would have to complain about it later on. He turned and walked from the kitchen to the living room and seated himself on the couch with her in his lap. "At this point, I think you should worry about yourself. The only time I'll be leaving is if I have a job to do around town." He leaned over and kissed her lips gently before he simply shoved her over onto the couch and looked down at her. "You have to take good care of yourself now... no more fighting. Practicing is fine, but I want you protected from anything more." He slid over and set his hands on either side of her head, staring down into her face. "I don't know what I would do if I lost you."
Tifa: "Maybe it's just because we know each other so well. I guess we didn't have to go through the stage of learning to live with each other and finding out our random quirks, we already knew it all. It really takes a lot of pressure off of a relationship, when you think about it. It sounds funny to say after everything that we went through over the past year, but, maybe we had it easy." They had been living together for quite some time, and knowing that Cloud was the first boy that Tifa ever met, that was a lot of time to get to know him. Pausing for a second, she wasn't sure if she should look at him in surprise or not. "What... do you mean by that?" She had a clue, but she didn't want to get excited over it. It actually made her think of a time a few weeks back when he went down on his knee to tie his shoe and she thought he was proposing. Luckily, she was able to play it off as nothing.
Poking him in the chest, she chuckled. "Have we forgotten the little terror I was when I was a little kid? Always ruining my dresses, fighting my mother when she wanted me to practice piano, fighting with my dad when he wouldn't let me date until I was 16... Oooh, boy, with a combination of the two of us, it seems like we're in for a ride with our children." It didn't make a difference to her, as long as they were going through it together. It was just a little scary when she heard horror stories of her terrible twos... and threes.
She giggled when he lifted her up in his arms and wrapped her arms around his neck. Once sitting, she nodded her head occasionally as he gave her instructions. "I promise I'll be a good girl. No training, lots of rest, and so on and so forth. I won't over do it, and if I do, you can punish me." The only thing that was going to bother her was the 'no fighting' rule, even though she knew that it had to come into play. She was just a little worried with Jenova still on the loose and she would be unable to protect herself. The fact that he was going to stay with her made her feel more comfortable. Looking up at him as he was above her, she grabbed his waist and pulled her on top of her before nibbling on his lower lip. "I feel the same toward you. Heh... till death do us part, right? I believe you said that once."
Cloud: Nodding his head a little, Cloud regarded Tifa as he always had. She was probably the only woman that he could live with for a long period of time, that he knew right now. They luckily had similar living habits, which made it easy on them both and meant they didn't fight. "It does... but then, we haven't been ones to have a lot of strain on our relationship save a few times. It's always been other things... like Sephiroth and Jenova." He shrugged his shoulders gently to pass off the comment. "I mean... do you want more children than I said?"
He batted her hand away from his chest and shook his head a little. "I believe I was a little busy trying to grow up and being a terror myself. That or I was inside with mom giving her gray hair." He quirked an eyebrow at her. "Did you really have a guy in mind before you were sixteen?" He nodded. "Kids will be kids."
He could only hope that she would be good and not over-exert herself too much. In the beginning, he assumed that it would be fine, but when she began to show or hit the third trimester, he felt he needed to be more diligent watching over her. "Well... I assume you can practice until your belly gets in the way. Exercise will help keep the edge off." He allowed her to pull him overtop of her, setting his hands on either side of her head but leaning into the nibbling. "I did say that once before... you seem to like the phrase more than I do." He slowly settled himself down on his forearms and lay on her, settling in comfortably. It seemed only more imperative that he removed the Jenova threat now.
Tifa: She had to agree with him, knowing that their relationship had gone very well since the start of it. Things were a little rocky when they weren't technically dating each other, but knowing that they weren't dating each other, they couldn't consider it part of the relationship. Not to mention that that was more of a stressful thing to hide it and keep it secret, and that wonderful feeling of guilt that Tifa felt. "Well, one threat is out of the way, one to go, when you think about it." Tifa wasn't sure when the final plans to take down Jenova were going to be worked out, but she knew that everything would work out eventually. Blushing a little for misinterpreting his sentence, she said, "Oh. I knew that. But, um, I don't really know how many children I want yet. Maybe I'll figure it out eventually."
Nodding her head, she stated, "We were both busy little children then. I had way too much fun going through daddy's office and playing with his files when I was younger. Actually, I did that when I was older too, just to see what I could get away with." Thinking about the question for a moment, she looked away from him, then focused on him again. "I don't know. Well, maybe, but there wasn't anything I could do about it since my parents wouldn't let me date, and... said boy was off getting stronger to protect me when I was in trouble." Sending him a pointed glance, she smiled.
She placed her hand on her belly for a moment, figuring that he probably was right. She just didn't want to hurt the baby by working out like she used to... perhaps there was a way to tone it down a little. "I guess that I could. I'll just be extra careful or something and give you permission to nag me to rest every once and a while." Chuckling, she moved her hands up to his shoulders and gently massaged them. "It's a good line."
Cloud: "I agree... one left to go and her three remaining children. I will find them and remove them to protect the future... our future," Cloud said softly, casting his eyes the side to look around the living room. He never really included himself in any future, always more aware that he could simply be killed and forgotten after the struggle was over. He lived for the futures of others, but now... the coming of a child forced him to re-evaluate his whole idealism on the subject of heroism. He drew his eyes back to note her blush and quirked an eyebrow. "Did you now? Blushing over such a simple question...?"
He thought for a moment about aspects of his childhood. "I suppose... I had to help mom a lot around the house since... well..." he trailed off, not remembering his father in his life. He had been forced to cover and be the man of the house at an early age. "You might have been more trouble than I was..." he finally remarked dryly. He noted the pointed glance and thought for a moment before tilting his head down at her. "True, I was... but, I wonder if things would have changed had we dated when we were much younger and foolish... would I have left Nibelheim at all...?"
He agreed with her, not that he could actually stop her from training, but he could join in to make sure that she was alright during some of the sessions of it. "I don't need your permission to nag you, so don't bother giving it. You're in charge of protecting... our child." The last two words send a shudder down his spine and pressed himself down harder on her, kissing her vigourously. "Our child..."
Tifa: She felt herself blush a little, for she had never exactly heard Cloud use those words. He had always said that he wanted to protect everyone’s future; the people of Gaia, Denzel and Marlene’s, Tifa’s… but never mentioned himself. As a matter of fact, he never talked about even having a future at all, so to have him talk about a future with her, really made her smile. “We do have our future to protect. We have our baby to protect,” she added, placing her hand on his cheek and rubbing with her thumb. Clearing her throat, she put her hand back down to rest on her stomach. “Um, of course I did. Kinda.” Sighing, she continued, “okay, fine, no, it was a misinterpretation. It was just the way that we switched topics… I didn’t really notice that we changed topics, so they kind of melded together and I just…” Giving him a playful slap on the arm, she shyly smiled. “Fine, you got me. You know exactly what I was going for, so no need to have me spell it out.”
Nodding at the way he trailed off, she knew where he was going with his train of thought. She had always considered herself to have a very good childhood; raised by two parents who loved each other, given plenty of good opportunities, had a lot of friends… she was a very happy child. She never really knew just what kind of childhood Cloud had; as much as she hated to admit it, she knew that she wasn’t interested in much besides herself when younger. “She raised you very well, and you turned out to be an excellent man. Like I said before, you know that she is so proud of you.” It was the first time that she had thought about them dating before he left for Nibelheim, and it was very interesting to say the least. She never was interested in him until he decided to leave and join SOLDIER, so perhaps they never would’ve dated… but it still truly made Tifa think. “Things probably would’ve changed. One minor thing like that could’ve caused a major change in the history of everything when you think about it. I probably never would’ve trained with Zangan, perhaps you would’ve stayed in Nibelheim after all, causing me to stay with you. But… what would’ve happened when Sephiroth came to Nibelheim?” The thought made her shudder, because she knew what would’ve happened. They would’ve had the same fate that everyone else in the town had that day.
“The day you nag me is the day that I will be so endlessly amused,” she said, smirking a bit. She had always been the one to nag him, yet she had never been nagged in return. Perhaps one day she would know what it was like. “Besides, if you’re going to nag me for training, I do know other ways to ‘take the edge off.’” Wrapping her arms around his neck when he kissed her, she smiled into the kiss. It had been a few days since they had kissed each other like that, and his words sent a shiver down her spine. “Yes… Our child.” Trapping his legs with one of hers, she put her hand on the back of his head to direct him to her lips again.