Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Calamity's Child ❯ Chapter 2
[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
By: Divanora 
Non Anime: Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Shounen / Angst / Romance / Drama | Type: Yaoi | Uploaded On: 09.26.2010 | Pages: 2 | Words: 4.8K | Visits: 290 | Status: Work In Progress
Non Anime: Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Shounen / Angst / Romance / Drama | Type: Yaoi | Uploaded On: 09.26.2010 | Pages: 2 | Words: 4.8K | Visits: 290 | Status: Work In Progress
stared at the door to Seventh Heaven. Three weeks had passed since he had gotten the fateful news from Reeve, and while it wasn’t obvious to anyone else yet, the blond was aware that his time was up. It still didn’t seem real to him, though, even with the weight gain. He had mentioned that to Reeve a few weeks earlier, asking if it was possible to redo the tests. The executive had agreed to it, clearly understanding Cloud’s desire for it to all be a mistake. Unfortunately, it wasn’t. Reeve had mentioned that it was sometimes hard for even women who had been consciously trying to get pregnant to believe it at first, which the blond had grudgingly accepted. Still, with the disappearance of his six pack he was forced to take the situation more seriously.
The morning sickness that was far too misleading a name had also led him to spending less and less time at the bar. Cloud had told Tifa his illness had been backlash from being so close to the Lifestream after getting Mako poisoning. She had seemed to buy it, but he knew her; if he continued getting sick she would get worried, and wouldn’t rest until she knew what was really wrong.
The last few mornings it had been a struggle to get into his pants, and Tifa was far too observant to stick around any longer. If they had still been sleeping together, she would have already noticed his weight gain, but fortunately for both his secret, and to make the separation easier, they hadn’t been intimate in some time. Tifa had attempted to start something a few times since his visit with Reeve, but even she had broken it off after a few half-hearted kisses.
Reeve’s words still came back to him – but he couldn’t bring himself to believe the executive. Tifa would either pity him or feel guilty, and he wasn’t quite sure which was worse. Barrett and Cid would most likely be utterly disgusted and leave, which truthfully wouldn’t bother him too much, but neither was known to be very quiet, or subtle. Yuffie...would probably think it was the best thing since ninjas, which was its own danger. She was also just as loud as the other two. If Yuffie knew, it was a fair guess that the entirety of Wutai would know by nightfall. Nanaki and Vincent would be the only other two that he would trust. Unfortunately, Vincent was impossible to find when you needed him, and Nanaki, though he would be trustworthy, and calm, was still young. By the standards of his own kind, he was a child.
Meanwhile, he had more or less memorized the wooden exterior of his girlfriend’s bar. It had to have been about twenty minutes of procrastinating by now. Just because he knew what he had to do didn’t make it any easy.
Before he could gather his courage, however, the door opened from the inside, and Tifa stood there, hair pulled up in a messy tie and her arms crossed over her chest. An eyebrow was raised as she stared down the sheepish looking blond.
“You can face down Jenova, Sephiroth, and whatever monster Gaia can throw at you, but you’re defeated by a door? I heard Fenrir pull up, and wondered if you got lost.”
Cloud managed a small smile, and stepped past the brunette into the closed bar. “Sorry Teef. I just...I need to talk to you, and I...” He sighed. It was something he needed to do, but he had promised to protect her, and didn’t that mean from things like this as well?
Tifa sighed behind him, and spun him around, tilting his chin down so he had no choice but to look into her wine red eyes. “Let me make it easy on you then, hmm? You love me, but you’re not in love with me. And that is good because that’s how I feel about you. I swear, men make things so difficult.”
“I...what...” Cloud was shocked and no little bit surprised at her bluntness. He also wanted to hug her for making it so easy on him.
Tifa sighed, and sat down, looking much older than her twenty years. “I had plenty of time to think, with you gone so much the last couple of months. What do we really know about each other? Important things, I mean. Neither of us are anything like we were when we were fourteen, we’ve both been through too much. I could yell, and scream, and rant about how we’re supposed to get our happily ever after and be the perfect couple, but that wouldn’t solve anything. Personally I’d much rather end this relationship now and be friends than let this continue and end up hating each other. You’re too important to me for that. It’s also perfectly clear to me that I’m not what you need. If I was, you wouldn’t be running around the Planet.” She paused, and Cloud realized how much it must hurt her to realize that even with how hard she tried, it just wasn’t enough. He wished she was, Gaia he did, but it wasn’t something he could force. “You need to find someone who is what you need...and so do I.”
The last part was said quietly, but both knew that his enhanced hearing could pick it up. Cloud was amazed that the ‘princess’ he remembered from his childhood had grown into such a strong, smart woman. She would certainly make someone very happy; just not him.
He leaned down and kissed her check, pulling her into a hug. “Thank you Tifa.”
She smiled shakily. “Of course. You are my friend Cloud; more than that, you are family. I just want you happy.”
“You deserve to be happy too.” Gaia help him, if things had been different, he would have stayed with her and tried his best to make her happy. He breathed in the scent of her hair, the vanilla shampoo she used. They were probably both thinking the same thoughts – if things had been different, it’s possible they would have been very happy together. The future Cloud had always seen however – making SOLDIER, returning to Nibelheim a hero, and sweeping Tifa off her feet – was no longer a possibility, and it would be better for both of them to let the past go. They had both changed too much, been through too much and neither of them were the same as they had been.
“We both will be, it just takes time. Now, grab a broom, there’s only a few hours until the bar opens. If you’re good I’ll even make those cookies you like for desert when we’re done. “
That got the blond’s attention and he eagerly grabbed one of the brooms. Even without the cravings, Tifa’s cinnamon raisin cookies were more than worth it.
The brunette laughed at his actions. “I’m glad you like them. Still, it’s good to see you’ve been eating more. You were far too skinny before.”
Cloud paused, barely keeping a hand from going to his stomach. It was good that he had planned on leaving tomorrow – it seems he hadn’t been as good at hiding the changes as he thought.
______________________________________________________________ _______________
Cloud eased Fenrir to a stop, staring at the one place he never thought he’d return to. Still, that fact made it more reasonable that no one would think to look for him here. It didn’t make him like it any more though.
Riding forward slowly, he passed into the main square, looking around at everything that was the same, yet still off in some indiscernible way. The townspeople looked up as he passed by, not particularly caring, just going about their little acts. He didn’t know if it was because they were ignorant about Shinra’s fall, or if they just didn’t care. The town was self-sufficient either way.
It didn’t take long before his destination came into view, and he had to pause a minute as the memories rushed back to him; some his and some Zack’s. This place had been the source of so many nightmares, and would be the source of more, apparently. He put his hand on his stomach, where the slightest curve was just starting to show. At three months, it should have been smaller, but apparently Hojo had been impatient. That was in his favour at least; it meant his morning sickness was gone that much quicker.
Once he was sure he wasn’t going to be hit with any more flashbacks he eased forward again, after pushing open the gate that was still in need of a good oiling. Cloud wasn’t planning on changing that though – when he was a child, there had been enough dares to sneak into the ‘haunted mansion’ and it would be extremely embarrassing to have his cover blown by some neighbourhood kid. The adults may have originally been actors hired by Shinra, but at this point they all had families, and kids are the same no matter where you go. Turning the bike off, he braced himself and walked up the stairs to the entrance.
The mansion was just the way he remembered it – dusty and unused. Still, it would give him something to do in the coming months. After throwing his stuff in one of the rooms upstairs - All right! First a change of clothes! - he headed back downstairs. He walked to the kitchen, figuring that was the most pressing thing to worry about. As he had expected, there was nothing remotely edible, but at the same time, thankfully nothing...growing. The fridge was completely bare, and the cabinets empty. To his surprise the appliances still worked – he supposed he should be thankful for Shinra’s meddling for that reason at least.
Cloud spent the next few hours cleaning the kitchen. He was dirty and sweaty, but he was happy with his progress. Not quite as sparkling as Tifa kept the kitchen at Seventh Heaven, but still a vast improvement. He decided to take a break from the cleaning, and go hunting to actually have something in the kitchen.
The hunt went well, and he field dressed the Nibel Wolf and quickly wrapped up the meat to bring back with him. It had been a fairly large beast; it would keep him fed for a week at least, since the fridge was working. That had been his big worry; hunting wasn’t a problem for him, but there were very few small animals around Nibelheim thanks to the large predators and harsh climate, and it would be a waste to have to kill a Wolf each day just to eat. Not to mention the bodies would draw larger predators, like dragons, which would mean he would have to go farther out to hunt, and while at this point that wasn’t a problem, he knew that in a few months that wouldn’t be a possibility.
Having cleaned and partially stocked the kitchen, it was time to do what he was dreading - facing the rest of the town. He had a story in mind to tell any curious locals, but he hated and was very bad at lying, so he could only hope the truth was so farfetched that no one would figure it out even if they did guess he was lying. Mostly he would just try to stay quiet, and ignore everyone else as much as he could, but coming from a small town – even if it wasn’t really the same town – he would be the main source of gossip, probably until he left.
Going through the few bags he had found, he pulled out the women’s clothing he had asked Reeve to get for him. His mind automatically went back to the last time he had to dress in drag. Still, he reasoned if he could fool Don Corneo with Aerith and Tifa right there, he had a decent chance of fooling the people in town. Reeve had nearly been punched for suggesting it, but it was the easiest thing to do. After all, people saw what they wanted to see, and once he really started showing, no one would think he was a pregnant male dressed in drag, even if it was the truth. He couldn’t count the amount of times people had walked up to them when Nanaki was with them, asking to pet the ‘puppy.’ So, for the next few months, he would hide in plain sight.
For the near future he would just swap out his top for women’s tops; once he grew out of his pants, however, he would be resigned to dresses. Just getting baggier cargos would work for a while at least. They had tried, but unfortunately the cut of women’s maternity pants just didn’t work with a male’s body. He still had a few pairs, just in case, but he doubted he would be able to use them. At least he hoped he wouldn’t – there had been enough comments made about his ‘feminine’ figure – he didn’t need hips on top of it. Once he had the stuffed bra and shirt on, he headed out, praying that the red on his face would be mistaken for wind burn, and not embarrassment.
The noise of Fenrir gained everyone’s attention once again, but he ignored it and walked into the general store. All he needed was the basics – the things he couldn’t get for himself. Cloud’s first thought had been to find someplace completely cut off from all civilization, but that idea had been shut down by Reeve when the older man brought up the fact that there would come a point where he wouldn’t be able to fend for himself like that. There was also the fact that what would be good enough for a healthy man in his prime would not be good enough for someone pregnant. His bag was full of prenatal vitamins, but Reeve had said they’d only last a month or two. He had also been given a stern lecture of the dangers of stress on pregnant women, and how in his situation the risks would be even higher. There was also the fact that his body would be changing, his centre of gravity shifting, and he wouldn’t be able to react as quickly. The first lecture had left Cloud’s mind spinning, and a queasiness that wasn’t the result of morning sickness.
Cloud was not pleased about the thought of being so weakened, but as long as he didn’t go out searching for trouble, it was unlikely he’d run into anything that could damage him, even in his condition.
Actually, Reeve had spent a good portion of the last few weeks explaining and lecturing to the blond about everything he could expect in the next few months. Cloud had found out that the brunet had a whole slew of older sisters, and a veritable horde of nieces and nephews. As such, he had a lot of secondary experience which he was more than willing to impart to the blond. One happened to be married to a doctor, so if it became necessary Reeve could get him involved. That was on the list of ‘as a last resort’ however. They’d know for sure if the man needed to be contacted once Reeve had given Cloud Hojo’s notes to go over, and they had a better idea of what they were working with.
He gained a few looks and whispers as he shopped, but it was easy to ignore. Right now it was just the curiosity of having someone new in town – especially one who rode a bike and was living in the abandoned – and allegedly haunted – mansion. Memories of the slander his mother had received for being a single parent assaulted him, but he reminded himself that this was temporary he didn’t care what they said, and forced the memories back.
Once he had what he needed (or at least thought he would need) he headed up towards the counter. The old man sitting there gave him a long look, and Cloud nearly panicked. He really didn’t want anyone to recognize him, or even realize he was actually a man. There weren’t too many options for towns he could go to that WRO or his friends wouldn’t think to search for him.
But all the man did was start ringing up his purchases.
“New in town?” Not really much of a question, as the answer was obvious, but Cloud nodded. Hopefully he could get an early reputation of not being a big talker. He had practiced pitching his voice higher, but it hurt his throat after a while, and there was always the chance he’d slip and forget. His voice was far too deep to be mistaken for a female’s.
“And living in the mansion all by yourself? Place is pretty big for one person.”
Cloud nodded again; both the question and the statement were also true. Apparently the man figured out that he wasn’t about to start a conversation, and finished packing up Cloud’s supplies in silence.
“Fifty eight gil for everythin.”
He counted out the money and grabbed both his bags and change. With a small smile, and a mumbled ‘thank you’, the blond left the first store.
Three stops later, and Cloud was ready to go ‘home’ and collapse. Shopping was by far more exhausting than fighting. The second store – where he had picked up the household supplies like blankets and towels and such, because he certainly wasn’t going to use anything currently in the house – had a female clerk who had immediately latched onto him and chirped at him excitedly about how nice it was to have ‘another girl her age’ in town. She was clearly still a teenager, but since Mako had stunted his own growth, he didn’t look like was twenty-one. Apparently the kids were all much younger than her, and the adults much older, leaving her pretty much by herself. By the time he had finished and paid, he knew more about Mae’s history than he really had any desire to.
She had also managed to wring a few answers out of him – where he was from (Midgar), why he was there (to get away from Midgar) his name (he had decided to go with his mother’s name, Sera) and where he was living. Thankfully, she hadn’t seemed too concerned at his lack of conversation, rivalling Yuffie in her ability to talk nonstop. Thankfully he had picked up headache medicine in the general store, and gratefully downed a couple of those.
The last stop however, was the worst. He knew he had to fix up the mansion a bit; there were leaks, broken windows and missing floorboards that he really did need to fix, and other repairs that weren’t really necessary (such as repainting, at least in the rooms he would use) but that he could do to pass the time.
It seemed ironic, since he had every intention of burning the place to the ground, but he’d be stuck there for the next few months, and not only would it give him something to do, but he wouldn’t be able to handle living in a decaying building for that long. In one of the books Reeve had given him, it had also mentioned a ‘nesting phase’ at the end of the pregnancy, which, if it affected him the same way as women, meant he’d want the place to shine.
Unfortunately, the worker at the home goods store was a younger man, still probably a good five years older than Cloud, and nearly a decade older than Mae (if he had to take a guess at their ages) but close enough where he had immediately started flirting. He was blatant enough about it that even he could pick up on it.
Cloud ended up having to count to ten – repeatedly, and in every language he knew – while the man showed him around the store ‘helping’ him because a ‘pretty lady’ shouldn’t have to be carrying anything, and offering to do the work around the mansion for him. No fee of course. Cloud grimaced to himself thinking about what ‘fee’ he would expect. The thought of his reaction to finding out the ‘pretty lady’ was actually a guy made Cloud have to disguise his snickers as coughs, but the thought at least made the shopping experience slightly less miserable.
At least, it proved his ‘disguise’ was working. He wondered what Mae and the man (Kale) would say once they found out he was pregnant, but he actually wouldn’t mind if the two shunned him afterwards. Unfortunately he had the sneaking suspicion that would only push Kale into trying to ‘woo’ him further; probably attempting to make himself out to be some knight in shining armour. The visual actually brought a small smile to Cloud’s face as he finished putting everything away in the kitchen.
______________________________________________________________ ____________
Loud knocking on the door dragged the blond out of bed a few days later. He groaned, and glanced at the clock. Alright, so it was already ten, but he had been sleeping far more than normal the last few months. Yet another annoying side effect of the pregnancy – really, how did women handle it? And some of them even had multiple children! Grumbling, he staggered out of bed. It was probably the annoying Kale yet again – each day he had stopped by with offers to help with fixing up the house, or to take the blond out to dinner, or other aggravatingly see-through ploys to trick ‘her’ into bed. With a long suffering sigh, he grudgingly dragged on more women’s clothing and stomped downstairs. He was not giving up his boots for any reason – they would still be on his feet even once he was forced into the damn dresses.
Yanking open the door, he was prepared to start yelling, when he noticed that Kale wasn’t at the door. Actually, nobody was at the door. No one human, anyway. Cait Sith sat atop the Mog robot he used as transportation. Cloud nearly punched him anyway, just on principle.
“Hi Cait.”
“Weeell, look at ye, laddie. Ya don’t make a bad lass.”
“What do you want?” If he had known it was just Reeve’s annoying robot he wouldn’t have worn the ridiculous outfit. He gestured the cat inside, and as soon as the door was closed started stripping out of the top and bra, before grabbing one of his own shirts.
“Not much, not much. Reeve jus wanted ta know how ye was faring. Long way away from Midgar up here, ya know.”
“That’s why I’m here.”
Cait Sith just stared at him a few minutes, and he was unnerved as usual by the strange intelligence that shone out of its eyes. “Hmm. Well, if ya say so, I’ll leave ya to it. Reeve’ll be heading up once he has all the books and such ya wanted. Now, before Ah go, how about a fortune?”
Cloud opened his mouth to say that wasn’t necessary (or wanted) but the Mog had already started to make its strange noises.
"Hmm, let's see what we've got here... 'Good things come to those who wait.' Not bad, not bad."
“That’s an adage, not a fortune.” Cloud had to point out. Cait Sith just shrugged.
“Well, it’s good to remember anyway, right? Right-o. Well, Ah’m off. And remember, Reeve’ll be heading your way soon enough. Bye laddie!”
The Mog waddled its way back out the newly cleaned foyer, and out the door. Cloud had to wonder what the villagers had made of the strange contraption – or maybe it hadn’t even gone through Nibelheim at all. Cloud had never paid too much attention to Reeve’s toys – the one time he had asked for an explanation, he had gotten a very long-winded explanation that he had barely understood.
It had, however, given AVALANCHE a sure-fire way to put Yuffie to sleep when she got too annoying.
_____________________________________________________________ ______________
The following week the house looked much better. The kitchen, dining room, foyer, and the bedroom he used (with attached bathroom) were all cleaned, and he was slowly working on the rest of the downstairs. There still wasn’t word on the research papers of Hojo’s that Cloud needed to know if a doctor was going to be necessary for him, but he had also picked a second room that he could clean if that happened.
All of the windows were repaired, and the roof fixed as well – that had been the first thing on Cloud’s list, as there was no predicting how quickly the pregnancy would progress, and he didn’t want to suddenly be unable to do those repairs.
Thankfully, Kale had backed off, although Mae was either more persistent or just an idiot. She still would come over every other day, wanting to talk about ‘girl stuff.’ At least the rest of the village seemed to notice and respect his desire to be left alone. He was actually tempted to contemplate the idea of getting Mae and Kale together – effectively killing two birds with one stone. The only downside is that he had no idea how on earth he’d pull that one off.
He had just finished making himself a quick lunch – the second one of the day – when he heard the door and the ring of his PHS at the same time. Flipping open the phone, he saw a text from Reeve, saying that it was safe to open the door. After the first time Cait had shown up, Reeve had called and promised that if it was him, he’d let the blond know beforehand so that he didn’t have to bother getting changed. Thankful he could stay in his own clothes, he made his way to the door, but still glanced out the window first. Paranoia was sometimes a good thing.
It wasn’t Reeve or Cait Sith in front of the door, but he opened the door anyway, and let Nanaki in.
“Hello Cloud. I hope you don’t mind me showing up here, but Reeve had said you could use a friend. Now I can see why.”
Knowing there was no way of hiding the truth from the lion-like creature, he resisted the urge to cover his stomach. Nanaki could probably smell it on him anyway.
“It doesn’t bother you?”
Nanaki shook his head, and stared at Cloud with that strange combination of young and old wisdom. “At least you have been given the opportunity to have a child. I will never have that, unless I am lucky enough to find another of my tribe.”
Cloud frowned, not able to say anything against that that wouldn’t sound incredibly callous and cruel. Their situations were completely different. Still, at least Nanaki was willing to overlook the sheer unnaturalness of it and remain his friend.
“Well, I can see you’ve already started to clean this place up. I might not be able to do much, not having opposable thumbs and all, but I’ll do what I can.”
“Thanks Nanaki.” Cloud smiled slightly – he would never admit it, but it was nice to have a friendly, familiar face while he was trapped in this house.
The morning sickness that was far too misleading a name had also led him to spending less and less time at the bar. Cloud had told Tifa his illness had been backlash from being so close to the Lifestream after getting Mako poisoning. She had seemed to buy it, but he knew her; if he continued getting sick she would get worried, and wouldn’t rest until she knew what was really wrong.
The last few mornings it had been a struggle to get into his pants, and Tifa was far too observant to stick around any longer. If they had still been sleeping together, she would have already noticed his weight gain, but fortunately for both his secret, and to make the separation easier, they hadn’t been intimate in some time. Tifa had attempted to start something a few times since his visit with Reeve, but even she had broken it off after a few half-hearted kisses.
Reeve’s words still came back to him – but he couldn’t bring himself to believe the executive. Tifa would either pity him or feel guilty, and he wasn’t quite sure which was worse. Barrett and Cid would most likely be utterly disgusted and leave, which truthfully wouldn’t bother him too much, but neither was known to be very quiet, or subtle. Yuffie...would probably think it was the best thing since ninjas, which was its own danger. She was also just as loud as the other two. If Yuffie knew, it was a fair guess that the entirety of Wutai would know by nightfall. Nanaki and Vincent would be the only other two that he would trust. Unfortunately, Vincent was impossible to find when you needed him, and Nanaki, though he would be trustworthy, and calm, was still young. By the standards of his own kind, he was a child.
Meanwhile, he had more or less memorized the wooden exterior of his girlfriend’s bar. It had to have been about twenty minutes of procrastinating by now. Just because he knew what he had to do didn’t make it any easy.
Before he could gather his courage, however, the door opened from the inside, and Tifa stood there, hair pulled up in a messy tie and her arms crossed over her chest. An eyebrow was raised as she stared down the sheepish looking blond.
“You can face down Jenova, Sephiroth, and whatever monster Gaia can throw at you, but you’re defeated by a door? I heard Fenrir pull up, and wondered if you got lost.”
Cloud managed a small smile, and stepped past the brunette into the closed bar. “Sorry Teef. I just...I need to talk to you, and I...” He sighed. It was something he needed to do, but he had promised to protect her, and didn’t that mean from things like this as well?
Tifa sighed behind him, and spun him around, tilting his chin down so he had no choice but to look into her wine red eyes. “Let me make it easy on you then, hmm? You love me, but you’re not in love with me. And that is good because that’s how I feel about you. I swear, men make things so difficult.”
“I...what...” Cloud was shocked and no little bit surprised at her bluntness. He also wanted to hug her for making it so easy on him.
Tifa sighed, and sat down, looking much older than her twenty years. “I had plenty of time to think, with you gone so much the last couple of months. What do we really know about each other? Important things, I mean. Neither of us are anything like we were when we were fourteen, we’ve both been through too much. I could yell, and scream, and rant about how we’re supposed to get our happily ever after and be the perfect couple, but that wouldn’t solve anything. Personally I’d much rather end this relationship now and be friends than let this continue and end up hating each other. You’re too important to me for that. It’s also perfectly clear to me that I’m not what you need. If I was, you wouldn’t be running around the Planet.” She paused, and Cloud realized how much it must hurt her to realize that even with how hard she tried, it just wasn’t enough. He wished she was, Gaia he did, but it wasn’t something he could force. “You need to find someone who is what you need...and so do I.”
The last part was said quietly, but both knew that his enhanced hearing could pick it up. Cloud was amazed that the ‘princess’ he remembered from his childhood had grown into such a strong, smart woman. She would certainly make someone very happy; just not him.
He leaned down and kissed her check, pulling her into a hug. “Thank you Tifa.”
She smiled shakily. “Of course. You are my friend Cloud; more than that, you are family. I just want you happy.”
“You deserve to be happy too.” Gaia help him, if things had been different, he would have stayed with her and tried his best to make her happy. He breathed in the scent of her hair, the vanilla shampoo she used. They were probably both thinking the same thoughts – if things had been different, it’s possible they would have been very happy together. The future Cloud had always seen however – making SOLDIER, returning to Nibelheim a hero, and sweeping Tifa off her feet – was no longer a possibility, and it would be better for both of them to let the past go. They had both changed too much, been through too much and neither of them were the same as they had been.
“We both will be, it just takes time. Now, grab a broom, there’s only a few hours until the bar opens. If you’re good I’ll even make those cookies you like for desert when we’re done. “
That got the blond’s attention and he eagerly grabbed one of the brooms. Even without the cravings, Tifa’s cinnamon raisin cookies were more than worth it.
The brunette laughed at his actions. “I’m glad you like them. Still, it’s good to see you’ve been eating more. You were far too skinny before.”
Cloud paused, barely keeping a hand from going to his stomach. It was good that he had planned on leaving tomorrow – it seems he hadn’t been as good at hiding the changes as he thought.
______________________________________________________________ _______________
Cloud eased Fenrir to a stop, staring at the one place he never thought he’d return to. Still, that fact made it more reasonable that no one would think to look for him here. It didn’t make him like it any more though.
Riding forward slowly, he passed into the main square, looking around at everything that was the same, yet still off in some indiscernible way. The townspeople looked up as he passed by, not particularly caring, just going about their little acts. He didn’t know if it was because they were ignorant about Shinra’s fall, or if they just didn’t care. The town was self-sufficient either way.
It didn’t take long before his destination came into view, and he had to pause a minute as the memories rushed back to him; some his and some Zack’s. This place had been the source of so many nightmares, and would be the source of more, apparently. He put his hand on his stomach, where the slightest curve was just starting to show. At three months, it should have been smaller, but apparently Hojo had been impatient. That was in his favour at least; it meant his morning sickness was gone that much quicker.
Once he was sure he wasn’t going to be hit with any more flashbacks he eased forward again, after pushing open the gate that was still in need of a good oiling. Cloud wasn’t planning on changing that though – when he was a child, there had been enough dares to sneak into the ‘haunted mansion’ and it would be extremely embarrassing to have his cover blown by some neighbourhood kid. The adults may have originally been actors hired by Shinra, but at this point they all had families, and kids are the same no matter where you go. Turning the bike off, he braced himself and walked up the stairs to the entrance.
The mansion was just the way he remembered it – dusty and unused. Still, it would give him something to do in the coming months. After throwing his stuff in one of the rooms upstairs - All right! First a change of clothes! - he headed back downstairs. He walked to the kitchen, figuring that was the most pressing thing to worry about. As he had expected, there was nothing remotely edible, but at the same time, thankfully nothing...growing. The fridge was completely bare, and the cabinets empty. To his surprise the appliances still worked – he supposed he should be thankful for Shinra’s meddling for that reason at least.
Cloud spent the next few hours cleaning the kitchen. He was dirty and sweaty, but he was happy with his progress. Not quite as sparkling as Tifa kept the kitchen at Seventh Heaven, but still a vast improvement. He decided to take a break from the cleaning, and go hunting to actually have something in the kitchen.
The hunt went well, and he field dressed the Nibel Wolf and quickly wrapped up the meat to bring back with him. It had been a fairly large beast; it would keep him fed for a week at least, since the fridge was working. That had been his big worry; hunting wasn’t a problem for him, but there were very few small animals around Nibelheim thanks to the large predators and harsh climate, and it would be a waste to have to kill a Wolf each day just to eat. Not to mention the bodies would draw larger predators, like dragons, which would mean he would have to go farther out to hunt, and while at this point that wasn’t a problem, he knew that in a few months that wouldn’t be a possibility.
Having cleaned and partially stocked the kitchen, it was time to do what he was dreading - facing the rest of the town. He had a story in mind to tell any curious locals, but he hated and was very bad at lying, so he could only hope the truth was so farfetched that no one would figure it out even if they did guess he was lying. Mostly he would just try to stay quiet, and ignore everyone else as much as he could, but coming from a small town – even if it wasn’t really the same town – he would be the main source of gossip, probably until he left.
Going through the few bags he had found, he pulled out the women’s clothing he had asked Reeve to get for him. His mind automatically went back to the last time he had to dress in drag. Still, he reasoned if he could fool Don Corneo with Aerith and Tifa right there, he had a decent chance of fooling the people in town. Reeve had nearly been punched for suggesting it, but it was the easiest thing to do. After all, people saw what they wanted to see, and once he really started showing, no one would think he was a pregnant male dressed in drag, even if it was the truth. He couldn’t count the amount of times people had walked up to them when Nanaki was with them, asking to pet the ‘puppy.’ So, for the next few months, he would hide in plain sight.
For the near future he would just swap out his top for women’s tops; once he grew out of his pants, however, he would be resigned to dresses. Just getting baggier cargos would work for a while at least. They had tried, but unfortunately the cut of women’s maternity pants just didn’t work with a male’s body. He still had a few pairs, just in case, but he doubted he would be able to use them. At least he hoped he wouldn’t – there had been enough comments made about his ‘feminine’ figure – he didn’t need hips on top of it. Once he had the stuffed bra and shirt on, he headed out, praying that the red on his face would be mistaken for wind burn, and not embarrassment.
The noise of Fenrir gained everyone’s attention once again, but he ignored it and walked into the general store. All he needed was the basics – the things he couldn’t get for himself. Cloud’s first thought had been to find someplace completely cut off from all civilization, but that idea had been shut down by Reeve when the older man brought up the fact that there would come a point where he wouldn’t be able to fend for himself like that. There was also the fact that what would be good enough for a healthy man in his prime would not be good enough for someone pregnant. His bag was full of prenatal vitamins, but Reeve had said they’d only last a month or two. He had also been given a stern lecture of the dangers of stress on pregnant women, and how in his situation the risks would be even higher. There was also the fact that his body would be changing, his centre of gravity shifting, and he wouldn’t be able to react as quickly. The first lecture had left Cloud’s mind spinning, and a queasiness that wasn’t the result of morning sickness.
Cloud was not pleased about the thought of being so weakened, but as long as he didn’t go out searching for trouble, it was unlikely he’d run into anything that could damage him, even in his condition.
Actually, Reeve had spent a good portion of the last few weeks explaining and lecturing to the blond about everything he could expect in the next few months. Cloud had found out that the brunet had a whole slew of older sisters, and a veritable horde of nieces and nephews. As such, he had a lot of secondary experience which he was more than willing to impart to the blond. One happened to be married to a doctor, so if it became necessary Reeve could get him involved. That was on the list of ‘as a last resort’ however. They’d know for sure if the man needed to be contacted once Reeve had given Cloud Hojo’s notes to go over, and they had a better idea of what they were working with.
He gained a few looks and whispers as he shopped, but it was easy to ignore. Right now it was just the curiosity of having someone new in town – especially one who rode a bike and was living in the abandoned – and allegedly haunted – mansion. Memories of the slander his mother had received for being a single parent assaulted him, but he reminded himself that this was temporary he didn’t care what they said, and forced the memories back.
Once he had what he needed (or at least thought he would need) he headed up towards the counter. The old man sitting there gave him a long look, and Cloud nearly panicked. He really didn’t want anyone to recognize him, or even realize he was actually a man. There weren’t too many options for towns he could go to that WRO or his friends wouldn’t think to search for him.
But all the man did was start ringing up his purchases.
“New in town?” Not really much of a question, as the answer was obvious, but Cloud nodded. Hopefully he could get an early reputation of not being a big talker. He had practiced pitching his voice higher, but it hurt his throat after a while, and there was always the chance he’d slip and forget. His voice was far too deep to be mistaken for a female’s.
“And living in the mansion all by yourself? Place is pretty big for one person.”
Cloud nodded again; both the question and the statement were also true. Apparently the man figured out that he wasn’t about to start a conversation, and finished packing up Cloud’s supplies in silence.
“Fifty eight gil for everythin.”
He counted out the money and grabbed both his bags and change. With a small smile, and a mumbled ‘thank you’, the blond left the first store.
Three stops later, and Cloud was ready to go ‘home’ and collapse. Shopping was by far more exhausting than fighting. The second store – where he had picked up the household supplies like blankets and towels and such, because he certainly wasn’t going to use anything currently in the house – had a female clerk who had immediately latched onto him and chirped at him excitedly about how nice it was to have ‘another girl her age’ in town. She was clearly still a teenager, but since Mako had stunted his own growth, he didn’t look like was twenty-one. Apparently the kids were all much younger than her, and the adults much older, leaving her pretty much by herself. By the time he had finished and paid, he knew more about Mae’s history than he really had any desire to.
She had also managed to wring a few answers out of him – where he was from (Midgar), why he was there (to get away from Midgar) his name (he had decided to go with his mother’s name, Sera) and where he was living. Thankfully, she hadn’t seemed too concerned at his lack of conversation, rivalling Yuffie in her ability to talk nonstop. Thankfully he had picked up headache medicine in the general store, and gratefully downed a couple of those.
The last stop however, was the worst. He knew he had to fix up the mansion a bit; there were leaks, broken windows and missing floorboards that he really did need to fix, and other repairs that weren’t really necessary (such as repainting, at least in the rooms he would use) but that he could do to pass the time.
It seemed ironic, since he had every intention of burning the place to the ground, but he’d be stuck there for the next few months, and not only would it give him something to do, but he wouldn’t be able to handle living in a decaying building for that long. In one of the books Reeve had given him, it had also mentioned a ‘nesting phase’ at the end of the pregnancy, which, if it affected him the same way as women, meant he’d want the place to shine.
Unfortunately, the worker at the home goods store was a younger man, still probably a good five years older than Cloud, and nearly a decade older than Mae (if he had to take a guess at their ages) but close enough where he had immediately started flirting. He was blatant enough about it that even he could pick up on it.
Cloud ended up having to count to ten – repeatedly, and in every language he knew – while the man showed him around the store ‘helping’ him because a ‘pretty lady’ shouldn’t have to be carrying anything, and offering to do the work around the mansion for him. No fee of course. Cloud grimaced to himself thinking about what ‘fee’ he would expect. The thought of his reaction to finding out the ‘pretty lady’ was actually a guy made Cloud have to disguise his snickers as coughs, but the thought at least made the shopping experience slightly less miserable.
At least, it proved his ‘disguise’ was working. He wondered what Mae and the man (Kale) would say once they found out he was pregnant, but he actually wouldn’t mind if the two shunned him afterwards. Unfortunately he had the sneaking suspicion that would only push Kale into trying to ‘woo’ him further; probably attempting to make himself out to be some knight in shining armour. The visual actually brought a small smile to Cloud’s face as he finished putting everything away in the kitchen.
______________________________________________________________ ____________
Loud knocking on the door dragged the blond out of bed a few days later. He groaned, and glanced at the clock. Alright, so it was already ten, but he had been sleeping far more than normal the last few months. Yet another annoying side effect of the pregnancy – really, how did women handle it? And some of them even had multiple children! Grumbling, he staggered out of bed. It was probably the annoying Kale yet again – each day he had stopped by with offers to help with fixing up the house, or to take the blond out to dinner, or other aggravatingly see-through ploys to trick ‘her’ into bed. With a long suffering sigh, he grudgingly dragged on more women’s clothing and stomped downstairs. He was not giving up his boots for any reason – they would still be on his feet even once he was forced into the damn dresses.
Yanking open the door, he was prepared to start yelling, when he noticed that Kale wasn’t at the door. Actually, nobody was at the door. No one human, anyway. Cait Sith sat atop the Mog robot he used as transportation. Cloud nearly punched him anyway, just on principle.
“Hi Cait.”
“Weeell, look at ye, laddie. Ya don’t make a bad lass.”
“What do you want?” If he had known it was just Reeve’s annoying robot he wouldn’t have worn the ridiculous outfit. He gestured the cat inside, and as soon as the door was closed started stripping out of the top and bra, before grabbing one of his own shirts.
“Not much, not much. Reeve jus wanted ta know how ye was faring. Long way away from Midgar up here, ya know.”
“That’s why I’m here.”
Cait Sith just stared at him a few minutes, and he was unnerved as usual by the strange intelligence that shone out of its eyes. “Hmm. Well, if ya say so, I’ll leave ya to it. Reeve’ll be heading up once he has all the books and such ya wanted. Now, before Ah go, how about a fortune?”
Cloud opened his mouth to say that wasn’t necessary (or wanted) but the Mog had already started to make its strange noises.
"Hmm, let's see what we've got here... 'Good things come to those who wait.' Not bad, not bad."
“That’s an adage, not a fortune.” Cloud had to point out. Cait Sith just shrugged.
“Well, it’s good to remember anyway, right? Right-o. Well, Ah’m off. And remember, Reeve’ll be heading your way soon enough. Bye laddie!”
The Mog waddled its way back out the newly cleaned foyer, and out the door. Cloud had to wonder what the villagers had made of the strange contraption – or maybe it hadn’t even gone through Nibelheim at all. Cloud had never paid too much attention to Reeve’s toys – the one time he had asked for an explanation, he had gotten a very long-winded explanation that he had barely understood.
It had, however, given AVALANCHE a sure-fire way to put Yuffie to sleep when she got too annoying.
_____________________________________________________________ ______________
The following week the house looked much better. The kitchen, dining room, foyer, and the bedroom he used (with attached bathroom) were all cleaned, and he was slowly working on the rest of the downstairs. There still wasn’t word on the research papers of Hojo’s that Cloud needed to know if a doctor was going to be necessary for him, but he had also picked a second room that he could clean if that happened.
All of the windows were repaired, and the roof fixed as well – that had been the first thing on Cloud’s list, as there was no predicting how quickly the pregnancy would progress, and he didn’t want to suddenly be unable to do those repairs.
Thankfully, Kale had backed off, although Mae was either more persistent or just an idiot. She still would come over every other day, wanting to talk about ‘girl stuff.’ At least the rest of the village seemed to notice and respect his desire to be left alone. He was actually tempted to contemplate the idea of getting Mae and Kale together – effectively killing two birds with one stone. The only downside is that he had no idea how on earth he’d pull that one off.
He had just finished making himself a quick lunch – the second one of the day – when he heard the door and the ring of his PHS at the same time. Flipping open the phone, he saw a text from Reeve, saying that it was safe to open the door. After the first time Cait had shown up, Reeve had called and promised that if it was him, he’d let the blond know beforehand so that he didn’t have to bother getting changed. Thankful he could stay in his own clothes, he made his way to the door, but still glanced out the window first. Paranoia was sometimes a good thing.
It wasn’t Reeve or Cait Sith in front of the door, but he opened the door anyway, and let Nanaki in.
“Hello Cloud. I hope you don’t mind me showing up here, but Reeve had said you could use a friend. Now I can see why.”
Knowing there was no way of hiding the truth from the lion-like creature, he resisted the urge to cover his stomach. Nanaki could probably smell it on him anyway.
“It doesn’t bother you?”
Nanaki shook his head, and stared at Cloud with that strange combination of young and old wisdom. “At least you have been given the opportunity to have a child. I will never have that, unless I am lucky enough to find another of my tribe.”
Cloud frowned, not able to say anything against that that wouldn’t sound incredibly callous and cruel. Their situations were completely different. Still, at least Nanaki was willing to overlook the sheer unnaturalness of it and remain his friend.
“Well, I can see you’ve already started to clean this place up. I might not be able to do much, not having opposable thumbs and all, but I’ll do what I can.”
“Thanks Nanaki.” Cloud smiled slightly – he would never admit it, but it was nice to have a friendly, familiar face while he was trapped in this house.