A/N: Hehehe...I'm such an English nerd. So I was looking at the Word of the Day on and to my great amusement, tintinnabulation was the word. There is only one appropriate use for such an awesome word, so I let my hands do the talking. Thus the birth of this little oneshot.

My goal for this collection is to take the word of the day, give myself a limited amount of time, and then poof! Oneshot love for the masses. Granted I can only do this when I actually have the time, but I think it'll be a fun little project that will force me to write better under pressure.

This collection's genre will range widely and the content will have little to no continuity.

So yeah, read, learn a new word, and review! Thanks.

WORD OF THE DAY

Tintinnabulation

n. a tinkling sound, as of a bell or bells.

Unlike most people in the working force, Monday was usually Tifa's day to sleep in. After all, owning a popular bar and working as bartender in said bar meant late nights, especially over the weekend. Most people were still too hungover or too exhausted from work to really have the heart to party on Mondays. Hence, why she allowed herself the little pleasure of taking Mondays off.

But the luxury of sleeping in was one that she was granted only recently.

In the past, even though she took Monday off, she still had to wake up early to bring the kids to school. Regardless of how tired she was, she would never be so irresponsible as to let two children under ten walk to school by themselves. She loved them too much for that. That and her maternal instincts would never let her conscience be.

But, all that changed one day two months ago.

It had been an unusually busy—and rowdy—Sunday night at the bar. It was rare that anybody—inebriated or not—would dare start a fight in her bar, but for some reason or another, all the idiots in town had gathered in the Seventh Heaven that night. Several brawls broke out sporadically throughout the night, which proved disastrous for all the breakable and mobile things in the bar. Nor did it help alleviate the growing ache in Tifa's head.

In the end, she had had to knock a couple drunkards unconscious herself before she herded everyone out the door with the threat of bodily harm. By that time, the first traces of breaking dawn had already appeared in the distance, and the drained barmaid didn't find herself in bed until the glow of the morning sun illuminated everything in a pale shroud of light.

Needless to say, she had passed out immediately.

And so when the faint tintinnabulation of clanging metal drifted into her ear canals at seven in the morning, the only appropriate description of her response would be an animalistic growl.

She stumbled out of bed with a less-than-graceful tumble, taking half of the comforter to the floor with her. Running a frustrated hand through the tangled mess her hair had become, she slowly and drowsily made her way out her bedroom door and down the stairs—a dangerous venture for someone in her state of consciousness—only to find herself staring at a rather unusual sight.

Namely, a young man by the name of Cloud Strife—donned in a frilly pink apron that Yuffie had given her one year as a gad gift which she never wore for the simple fact that it was pink—digging through the cupboards—hence the clanging pots and pans she realized—for God knows what and looking rather lost at that.

"What in the name of all that is good are you doing, Cloud?"

His head swiveled in her direction and his bright blue eyes were wide open with surprise. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she couldn't help but think that he looked a startled chocobo. The sleep deprivation didn't help much to control her giggling.

By the time she had regained her composure though, Cloud was already by her side and had placed his hands firmly on her shoulders to guide her back to her room.

"What are you doing Cloud?"

"Go back to sleep."

"I'm already up, and Denzel and Marlene need to leave soon for school. I still have to make breakfast."

"You have to get more sleep."

"But—"

"I'll make breakfast and get the kids to school."

"Huh?"

He had to chuckle at the utterly confused expression plastered on her adorably drowsy face. She was obviously still far from fully awake. "You sleep. I cook."

He pressed a hand to the small of her back as he half pushed, half directed her to her bed. She put up little resistance although her sluggish mind still hadn't quite grasped what was happening while Cloud tucked her into her covers and pecked her gently on the forehead.

"Get some more sleep, Tifa."

She mumbled something incoherent before the sweet embrace of sleep once again overwhelmed her senses.

...

Tifa panicked for the briefest moment when she glanced at the bedside clock several hours later feeling refreshed and ready to tackle the world. She rushed downstairs calling out Denzel and Marlene's names before the note tacked onto the refrigerator caught her eye.

"Breakfast is in the microwave. I don't have many deliveries, so I can pick up the kids today. I'll see you in a couple hours. Hope you slept well. - Cloud"

A gentle smile touched her lips, and she thanked all that was good in the world for restoring the family she thought she had lost for good. After all, it had always been the little things that mattered most.

Hence, every Monday after that, Tifa always indulged in the little pleasure of being pampered. Cloud, eager to take his place in this family, was happy to oblige.

A/N: Btw, this was yesterday's word, but I started writing it late last night before getting sidetracked by my other responsibilities, so I think it's okay that I'm posting this a day late.