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The only reason Cloud doesn't reach for his sword is because no intruder would ever be so inept as to make that amount of noise if they really wanted him dead. He can hear the soft pad of Marlene and Denzel's small feet as they tiptoe towards his bed, whispering to each other. It'd be kind of hilarious, if it wasn't past one a.m.
"I told you he'd still be here!"
"Be quiet, Marlene, you'll wake him up!"
"He stayed, he stayed, he stayed-" A hand is clamped over Marlene's mouth, but Cloud can still hear her excited chant. His heart contracts at the sheer surprise in both their voices, and for a moment he slips back into that void of self-hatred; how could he leave them behind, how could he walk out on them? Sure, he's here now, but how soon would it be before he left again?
He can't think about this now. They can't think about this now. He opens his eyes and and slowly pulls the cover down to look at the children in their too-big pajamas, both too busy bickering to immediately notice that Cloud's awake.
"Marlene. Denzel." The sound of their names jolt them apart, and for a moment they look ready to bolt back to their rooms. They look up at him guiltily.
He ducks his head, ashamed that their worry drove them to physically check to make sure he was still in the house. "I'm not leaving," Cloud says softly. He won't make it a promise, he can't; but he desperately prays that they believe him, just for now.
"Go back to sleep," he tries again, unsure of what else he could say to convince them.
Denzel nods but Marlene steps forward and tugs the covers down, crawling into Cloud's bed with all of the gumption her tiny body has. He freezes, but then Denzel plucks up his courage and joins them, curling up against Marlene, who then curls her face into Cloud's chest, effectively creating a two-child barrier to keep him from sneaking out in the middle of the night. It's weird, and Cloud is uncomfortable, especially with Denzel's cold feet pressed against his shins, but he'd die for these kids. He can stay for them, too.
"Good night, Cloud," Denzel says, pulling the blankets more firmly over himself and Marlene.
"G'night, Cloud," Marlene mutters, already tuckered out. Cloud grunts an appropriate noise and gently lowers his arm protectively over the pair of them. They drift off quickly, though Cloud lies awake listening to their breaths, making a new promise to himself that he'll do right by them.
--
Cloud wakes up again sometime later. The light on the floor tells him it's just past sunrise, and for a moment he's not sure what woke him up, but then he hears it; the clickclickclick of a camera shutter.
Tifa is standing in his doorway in a bathrobe, her phone pulled out, taking pictures with a big, watery smile on her face. Cloud's face turns red and he moves to bury himself under the blanket, except Denzel has it pulled over himself and Marlene with the other half of it trailing on the floor.
"I have to send this to Barrett, he'll die," Tifa mutters to herself, and Cloud would leap up and snatch the phone away if he could, but Marlene is clinging to him like a limpet and Denzel is snoring softly, drooling into Cloud's pillowcase, and it would be a sin to wake them up. Children need sleep, and all.
Tifa slips her phone into her pocket and walks closer, repositioning the blanket so that Cloud is at least partially covered. "Go back to sleep, I'll make some coffee," she whispers, bending down to kiss first his forehead, then Marlene and Denzel's. It's disgustingly domestic and Cloud can't decide if the emotion he's feeling is embarrassment or happiness. For now, he'll settle on a mixture of both.