InsaneJournal

Cloud frowned at the clock as he lingered over his coffee, the kids discussing their hopes for the day in the background as they ate their cereal. It was almost ten, and Tifa still hadn’t come down for breakfast. While they both were making a habit of sleeping in a bit on family days (getting up at eight instead of six), she’d yet to come down later than nine. Setting his cup aside on the counter behind him, he straightened from his slouch and headed upstairs to see what was keeping her, pausing only to admonish Marlene to leave the sugar bowl alone, and to remind Denzel to eat his fruit.

The bathroom was empty and Tifa’s door still shut. Cloud knocked softly and waited, entering after receiving only a faint moan in reply. She was curled into a ball in the middle of her bed, blankets bundled around her in a tight cocoon, and she ignored him when he sat down beside her. Her light, sweet fragrance permeated the room, twining with another – though still faint – musky scent to give him a good idea of what was wrong. Easing the comforter away from her face, he gently brushed her hair back, taking in the pinched, uncomfortable expression she wore. Moaning again she shifted, burrowing back under the covers and inching closer to him at the same time, drawn to the heat of his body. Pressing a kiss to her head he tucked her blankets more firmly around her, and promised he’d be back in a few minutes.

Tifa definitely wasn’t feeling up to an outing to Cosmo Canyon as originally planned. Pondering what he could suggest instead, he started running a bath, turning the water on as hot as was comfortable for him, and then easing it down a bit for her. After hesitating over it for a minute, he dumped in some of Marlene’s bubble bath, too.

The kids had finished eating and were waiting for him in the bar, eager for the day’s promised adventure.

“Where’s Tifa?” Marlene asked, looking up from her drawing of Nanaki when Cloud walked in the room alone.

“She’s still sleeping,” he answered. “I don’t think she’s feeling well, so we’re going to have to wait and visit Cosmo Canyon another time.”

“Is she sick?” Denzel’s tone and expression were worried, the idea of anyone being ill while geostigma was still fresh in their memory was deeply disturbing.

How do I explain this? Cloud thought, glancing back and forth between the two concerned little faces. “She’ll be fine,” he hastened to assure them. “Her stomach is just a bit upset, and she’d feel more comfortable staying home today.” It was true, if drastically over simplified, and seemed to satisfy them.

“What are we going to do instead, then?” Marlene asked, her eyes solemn and curious.

“Yeah, we’re still going to spend the day together, right Cloud?” Denzel asked, blue gaze practically begging him to say yes.

Smiling, the adult reached out to ruffle the boy’s hair. “If you want. I think we’ll just have a quiet day here at home.” It was his way of saying he’d be around if either child needed him, or wanted his company. “For starters, though, I’m going to check on Tifa again, and then run out to pick up a few things. Would you two like to come?” His errands would take longer, as they would walk rather than use Fenrir, but he didn’t really mind.

“Yes!” Their answer was an emphatic chorus, faces wreathed in smiles. Cloud was struck, yet again, by the notion that he must be doing something wrong for the kids to jump at the chance to go shopping with him, but unanimously opt to stay home when Tifa made the same offer. After giving them instructions to put on their shoes and jackets, he jogged back upstairs to check the tub, and try to wheedle Tifa out of bed.

She hadn’t moved since he left her, except possibly to curl herself even tighter. Approaching the bed, he again pulled the covers back, and let his voice turn coaxing. “Tifa? You really need to get up now, sweetheart.” There was something about her in a vulnerable state that let that word slip from his tongue with remarkable ease. “I’ve run you a hot bath. It should help with the pain, and then you can eat something and take some pills.” Her brown eyes were dark with discomfort and fuzzy with confusion as she stared at him, but her mind was still too tired to make sense of her own questions. “Come on,” he urged, shoving the blankets toward the foot of the bed and picking her up in his arms.

He carried her into the bathroom, setting her on her feet and leaving her to get undressed on her own while he went to fetch something for her to wear. He returned with underwear, loose drawstring pants, a dark colored tee, and a flannel shirt she’d purchased for him and he’d worn once. A pair of thick, fuzzy socks wobbled back and forth on top of the rest. His knock on the bathroom door was answered with the gentle sound of water splashing and a soft, “Come in.”

She was reclining in the tub, her hair piled atop her head and bubbles up to her chin. The pinched expression was fading, but her eyes were still somewhat confused as she watched him place the stack of clothes on the counter.

“I told the kids you weren’t feeling well, and we’d be staying in,” he explained, turning back to the door, pausing on his way out with one hand on the knob. “We’re going to run to the shops and pick up something I can fix for lunch and dinner.” The kids were easy: although he was no chef, he could keep them happy with burgers or hot dogs. Tifa was a bit more finicky, and usually didn’t have much appetite at this time, anyway. He’d have to find something more tempting.

She nodded, and he was already in the hallway, door almost closed, when she called him back. Craning his head around the door he looked at her questioningly.

“How did you know?” she asked, gesturing vaguely at the tub, herself, and the clothing.

Raising one eyebrow, he considered her for a moment, then slipped back into the room and closed the door behind him. “Tifa...” one hand rubbed the back of his head as he leaned back against the counter. The explanation when it came was blunt yet hesitant at the same time, and perhaps a bit nervous, too. “I traveled all over the planet with three women for months.” Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her eyes widen, and a hint of pink touch her cheeks. “I may not comment on a lot of things, but it wasn’t difficult to notice there were times when the three of you would insist on inns with hot water and bathing facilities, or became even more fond of chocolate than usual.” The blush had darkened to rose, and she was sinking deeper in the tub as he spoke. “Although you each had moments when you insisted we stop for them, Aerith in particular became fond of pain killers, probably because she wasn’t as athletic as you or Yuffie. It was also usually best to just get out of your way and let you three take care of the monsters, as it helped your moods considerably.”

By the time he’d finished, his arms were crossed comfortably across his chest, and a teasing twinkle had crept into his eyes. Tifa had sunk until only her eyes and the tip of her nose were visible above the bubbles, and her expression was approaching mortified. “You knew?” she demanded in a whisper. Cloud nodded. “Did all of you know?”

He shrugged. “Nanaki probably knew, and Barret may have noticed. I doubt Cid paid enough attention, and Vincent wouldn’t have cared.” Smiling comfortingly, he moved to kneel by the tub and brush her bangs away from her forehead. “Is it really that bad? It’s natural and healthy, right?”

She grudgingly agreed, although her tone was still somewhat sullen when she answered. “Yes, but it’s somehow embarrassing that you could tell, just the same.”

Arms folded on the side of the tub, he rested his chin on them and tilted his head slightly. “If it helps any, I also noticed that Cid went through a pack and a half of cigarettes a day, and that Barret was particularly hard to get along with after eating chili.” Those observations earned him a laugh and a light smack on the arm, which he returned with a slight grin of his own. Tifa still watched him with narrowed eyes as he stood.

“Cloud?”

“Hmm?” his response came as he wiped water and bubbles off his hands and arms.

“I haven’t asked for chocolate, pain killers, or a hot bath, and I haven’t lost my temper at any monsters lately. But you still knew.” He stilled, his back turned toward her but his face a hazy reflection in the steam covered mirror. “How?”

He said nothing for a long moment, then gave an extended sigh. “The same way Nanaki knew when we were traveling.” He turned to face her, and elaborated when he met her confused gaze. “SOLDIER senses, Tifa.” Still she continued to stare, brows drawn together in puzzlement, and he sighed again, reaching up to tap his nose.

Although delayed, her reaction was both severe and comical. Red as a tomato, she bolted upright in the tub, hands clenched to her chest and expression shocked. “You can smell it?!” she demanded in a near shout, “I smell?”

Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, he shook his head. “Your scent changes all the time,” he explained. “The same is true for everyone else... well, adults, anyway.” His smile was wry. “I wasn’t the best student, but even I remember being taught about pheromones.” Subsiding, Tifa nodded and slipped back under the bubbles. “I guess having enhanced senses means I’m just a bit more aware of them.” He moved closer to the tub, until he could look directly down at her. “You always smell good to me,” he assured her earnestly. “Light and sweet and welcoming, even inviting.” A few weeks before, when his patience with moving forward slowly had abruptly snapped, her scent had been more than inviting, it had been heady. He wasn’t sure telling her was entirely a good idea right now, though. “Any change is very faint. Only someone like Nanaki or myself would ever notice.”

With those blue eyes watching her so carefully, and his words and tone so sincere, Tifa relaxed. “Okay.” That one word was acceptance and understanding, and he visibly relaxed when he heard it.

“Good.” Reaching for the doorknob he nodded, just once, and slipped outside again. “We’ll be back soon!” His words, though muffled, carried through the door along with his quiet footsteps down the hall, and Tifa smiled.

An hour later, wrapped from head to toe in comfort clothes, and feeling much more human, she padded into the kitchen. Cloud was unloading groceries, and she could hear the kids chattering in the living room. Although she wasn’t hungry, she knew she needed to eat, and Cloud had apparently anticipated her lack of interest. A large double-chocolate muffin and a steaming cup of coffee – the fancy flavored kind, from the shop a few blocks away – were waiting on the table. Murmuring her thanks as she slipped past him, she sat and let the coffee and chocolate convince her that things were right with the world. When she was halfway through the muffin, a bottle of pain pills – the brand she’d favored for years – appeared by her plate.

For all that he could frustrate her no end, there were times when Cloud really was impossibly sweet.

After she finished eating, she curled up on the couch with a book, while Denzel and Marlene persuaded Cloud to play Turks and robbers with them. Of course, Cloud ended up being the robber. Snuggling under a blanket, she set her book aside and let the sound of the kids’ delighted laughter and surprised squeals lull her into a light doze. When the children grew bored with that game and moved on to another, Cloud joined her on the couch, shifting her head to his shoulder as he settled at the end of the sofa. She fell asleep to the muted sound of the television, and the feel of his hand stroking through her hair.

Around two o’clock the kids began clamoring for lunch, and Tifa was surprised to find that she was a bit hungry, too. Joining them in the kitchen, she was once again touched by how much attention Cloud paid to the little things, without ever once letting on he’d even noticed. While he and the kids ate hotdogs and chips, she had baked macaroni and cheese: one of the specialties at her favorite deli. Reheated in the microwave it was hot and rich, the bits of ham sprinkled throughout adding the salty-savory taste she craved. When Denzel and Marlene finished, and Cloud brought out fudge brownies, she stopped fighting the soppy grin that wanted to take over her face, and leaned over to kiss him. The tips of his ears turned pink in reaction, flushed and quietly pleased to have made her happy.

The rest of the afternoon and evening passed much the same way. Tifa and Marlene watched a sappily romantic movie together, while Cloud – reclining on the opposite end of the couch, with his feet almost in Marlene’s lap – pretended to doze when he wasn’t making unsolicited comments. After particularly snarky remarks, both girls would attack those bare feet, and although Tifa knew he wasn’t really ticklish, Cloud always responded as if he were. Denzel, when not participating in the tickle fights, sat propped against the sofa, flipping through a stack of motorcycle magazines Cloud had brought in from the garage. Occasionally he would hold a picture or article up for inspection, and the older man always had a word or two to say in response. By the time he was old enough to drive one, Tifa suspected the little boy would be even more enamored of the two-wheeled monsters than his idol.

Thanks to her quiet, spiky-haired boyfriend, (and didn’t that give her a little thrill whenever she thought it) the day was far more relaxing and comfortable than she’d had any right to expect when she woke up that morning.

So, of course, the pains came back as soon as she tried to go to bed. Whether it was that the sheets were cold and gave her a chill, or the pills had finally worn off, she tossed and turned uncomfortably for what felt like forever, long after the kids had been tucked in, and Cloud had kissed her goodnight. Grumpy and irritable, her good mood evaporated as if it had never been, she dug the hot water bottle out from under the bathroom counter, and went to heat the kettle.

Downstairs, she found that Cloud was still up, stretched out on his back on the sofa, and reading one of the magazines Denzel had left scattered around. He looked up at the sound of her footsteps, and she had no idea what picture she must have made, but he clucked sympathetically and held out his hand, the other patting the sofa.

Hair mussed and expression pouty, the hot water bottle dangling from her hand, Cloud thought Tifa was both adorable and pathetic. “Pain killers wear off?” he asked, as she plopped despondently down on the edge of the couch beside him. She shrugged and nodded mutely, then scooted backward to press closer. Remembering how she’d done the same thing that morning, he tugged her down on top of him, turning her onto her stomach and shifting until her legs rested between his. The position snugged her hips in the cradle of his groin and thighs, and she moaned as his body heat settled into her aching frame.

Cloud was always warm, slightly feverish to the touch, from the mako in his system. Relaxing against him felt fantastic. She’d never use a hot water bottle again, not if she could have this. When his palms came to rest at the small of her back, fingers moving in a slow massage, she whimpered with relief and went completely boneless. Which only allowed more of his heat to sink into her, further soothing her discomfort. Without thinking, as she wriggled to wrap her arms around his waist, she sighed into his shirtfront. “Can I keep you?”

His chest rumbled beneath her cheek as he chuckled, but his voice was husky and laden with emotion when he answered. “I think you’d better, because I’m not going anywhere.” Tifa smiled, already more than half asleep when she felt the blanket she’d used earlier in the day being pulled over her legs.

They were still curled together that way when the kids came down for breakfast the next morning, Cloud’s head on the arm of the couch, and hers over his heart.

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So... I wanted Cloud to know without Tifa having to say, "Look, it's a girl thing and I feel like hell!"  And if she'd been stomping around the house, that would've been easy for him to figure out.  But then I'd miss the scene in the bedroom where he's so sweet, and the one where he runs a bath.  Then I thought maybe those enhanced senses would tell him something.  And I found articles saying that at least two different studies show that men notice a difference in the way a woman smells during different times of the month.  So... there you go.