I know it's a little early for this Holiday, but, I wasn't about to wait three months to upload it.

Final Fantasy VII and all related characters belong to Square Enix.

Story inspired by "Still Alive" by Lisa Miskovsky. I highly suggest listening to it while reading this.

Enjoy!

Missing Them

The engine cut off as Cloud dismounted Fenrir. Fighting back a yawn he rolled his shoulders to loosen them up after the long drive home. Today had been especially busy. It was a holiday after all. He had hoped that the work would keep his mind from wandering, but it didn't help when all of his deliveries were constant reminders. He shoved his own personal feelings deep within as he presented himself politely to the clients' destinations. One recipient in particular was very hard to say no to when she invited him in for a glass of milk and a slice of the pie she had taken out of the oven just minutes before. Tempting as it was, the memories it generated were too painful and so he politely refused, besides it was unprofessional.

It was hard delivering all of the packages which were mostly flowers and other meaningful gifts to mothers. Cloud had to make a note not to work next Mother's day. Huffing a tired sigh he tried to push all those thoughts out of his mind as he entered the Seventh Heaven. No doubt Tifa would sense something was bothering him if he didn't find something to distract himself with. Heck, he'd even take a surprise visit from Barret, Cid or Yuffie. They were good for many things, but distractions seemed to be their specialty. What greeted him upon entering was something a bit more shocking.

The bar was, "Closed?" he couldn't help but read aloud at the sign on the door which should have been flipped to open. Looking around more he instantly felt his warrior's spirit stir as he saw all of the broken glass littering the floor. If someone had broken in, they were in for a nasty surprise. The fusion sword was still stashed safely within Fenrir, but Cloud didn't really need a weapon to scare off a thug. He could win with bare hands alone thanks to the mako coursing through his veins.

Taking a careful step forward, he made sure he didn't step on the glass. He heard movement coming from the kitchen and tip-toed towards the two small, wooden swaying doors. One of the doors pushed open and a flash of black hair caught Cloud's eye as the person bumped into him.

Tifa had been so busy trying to find the proper cleaning supplies that she didn't hear Cloud enter. She looked up at him and blinked.

"Tifa?" he asked. "What happened here?"

Tifa sighed as she looked around at the damage. "Denzel."

"Is he alright?" asked the warrior.

Tifa shook her head. "I sent him up to his room. I've never seen him act that way Cloud."

The blonde's eyes widened as he took another glance around the room. "Denzel did this?"

Tifa nodded. "I don't know what got into him. He wouldn't tell me."

"Where's Marlene?" was Cloud's next question.

"Barret took her out to dinner and to see a movie. They won't be back for a while. I told them I'd stay here and clean this place up," she replied.

"I think Denzel needs to take responsibility."

Tifa shook her head. "I tried that, he just buried his head in his pillow and wouldn't talk to me." She then tilted her head. "Maybe you'll have better luck?"

He nodded and headed for the stairs, but hesitated when Tifa called him back. "Just don't be too hard on him. Barret already gave him a good lecture and it only made it worse." Cloud nodded and proceeded to head upstairs.

When Cloud got to the kid's room he thought about barging in, but thought better of it and knocked once. He didn't expect to get an 'enter' in the kid's current mood so he poked his head in instead. Seeing Denzel was not in the room he opened it wide and scanned the room. Except for the pre-teen's messy bed nothing seemed out of place. The window was open and Cloud noticed the curtains blowing in the gentle night breeze.

Up on the roof Denzel was sitting with his back against the chimney. He was looking up at the sky and letting his tears fall. Up here he was certain he'd be undisturbed and he wouldn't be seen crying in shame. At least, he thought he didn't.

Footsteps to his left made him quickly wipe at his eyes with the palm of his hand before looking behind him. He was hoping Tifa wouldn't be mad at him for not staying in his room where she had sent him after he trashed the bar. He was surprised to see Cloud instead. Even more surprising was the warrior wasn't looking at him, but merely leaning against the chimney, staring up at the sky as if he wasn't aware of Denzel's prescience. The boy knew full well he was though, and that he was the whole reason why Cloud was up here.

Minutes went by as the two stayed up there, not moving, not saying anything. Denzel finally couldn't take it any longer and broke down under pressure.

"Just get it over with," he told him. "give me a lecture. Tell me what I did was wrong."

"Sounds like you've already been lectured enough," replied the blonde, still not taking his eyes off the night sky.

Denzel blinked in surprise. "You...you're not mad?"

"I'm not happy," Cloud replied. "Why'd you wreck the place? Tifa had to close the bar tonight because of all the damage."

"I know, and I'm sorry." Cloud could piratically hear the tears in the kid's voice. Something was definitely wrong.

"Denzel, if something's bothering you, you can talk about it. We'll listen."

Denzel looked up at Cloud, who still avoided making eye-contact. He secretly looked up to Cloud as his idol and saw him as a hero. How could he open up and admit his own weaknesses to someone like him?

"I've just...had a bad week," he lied.

"It's because of today, isn't it?" asked Cloud, catching the kid off-guard.

Denzel blinked in shock as flashbacks of today's events replied themselves in his mind. seeing the mark on the calendar that it was Mother's Day and remembering that every year he and his father would get her a special gift. Then it flashed back to when the plate had fallen and they had lost their lives.

Cloud watched him from the corner of his eyes. He saw the boy look down at his fists as they clenched tightly. He saw them shaking with pain and he heard the faint sniffles as Denzel fought to hold back his tears.

Sitting down next to him, Cloud wrapped a comforting arm around Denzel's shoulders. That was all it took and Denzel turned and cried into Cloud's chest. He couldn't hold it back any longer. It was too much to hold in and he just couldn't bear his pain alone anymore.

"Why'd they have to die? They never did anything to deserve it! It's not fair!"

"It never is," Cloud replied, thinking of the way his own mother died. Some of his own memories of his mother and his childhood were still hidden in a fog, but the memory of her death was as clear as day. He gently rubbed Denzel's back in an effort to calm him.

"I didn't mean to mess up the bar," Denzel continued in between sobs. "I just got so angry and before I could stop myself I had thrown the chair across the room. It shattered all of her drink bottles. I know they cost her a lot. I just couldn't stop myself. I...I..."

His voiced started to turn into a high-pitched squeaky whine as the tears were getting the better of him and Cloud brought his other arm up to take the kid in a hug.

"Shhhh," the warrior tried to calm Denzel. There had to be a way. He inwardly gave himself a hopeless smirk realizing he was mentally asking himself what would Aerith do? That's when he realized.

"You know Denzel, your parents aren't gone forever."

"What?" the boy sniffed and looked up at him, tear lines streaming down his face.

"It's true. They're in the lifestream, but they still exist. Just like my own mother does."

"Your mom?" repeated Denzel as tried to blink his tears away. Cloud pulled out a cloth handkerchief he kept with him and gave it to the kid.

"Yeah. She's in the lifestream too. It was years ago now, but I like to think she's still watching over me."

"How can you know for sure?" Denzel asked before blowing his nose.

Cloud tried to hide a smirk at the action before replying. "I don't, but just in case, I want to make her proud. I want her to know she raised a good kid."

"I wonder if my parents saw what I did today? I bet they're furious," Denzel replied as he looked down at the cloth he had set in his lap.

Cloud shrugged, "I think they'd understand that you had a good reason."

Denzel let out a relieved sigh and looked back up at the sky. "I miss them."

The warrior's grip tightened slightly on Denzel's shoulder. "I know you do, but as long as you don't forget them and you make them proud, they'll always be there, watching out for you." Cloud stood up then and turned to look down at the kid, giving him a friendly smile. "Come on, let's see if we can help Tifa clean up. I can hear her cursing from here."

Denzel couldn't help but smile as he let Cloud help him up and the two proceeded downstairs to help the barmaid clean up the broken glass that was once her pride and joy mixes.

It never ceases to amaze me how easily a song can inspire stories and ideas. I was feeling down because my writing muse hit a sudden dead end and I was stuck on all of my stories. Then this amazing song starts playing and it inspires this. I know Mother's Day is still well off, and won't be here until sometime in May, but This was what the song gave me and I had to go with it. Plus, I love getting any chance to write about the bond between Cloud and Denzel. It could be a brotherly bond, or Cloud could be more of a father-figure to him. Either way, he helps the kid in so many ways. It's one of my favorite things about FF7. The song that is responsible for all of this is such an amazing find. It also fits in well with the Frozen water rescue chapter from my other story, "Snowstorm".