Heh, notes at the end.

Still don't own 'em.

Ever Changing

Rude walked in, expression terse. He headed straight for Tifa, gently reaching out and brushing back her bangs. Zack followed after, having gone downstairs to inform the man that his child was preparing to unleash itself upon the world. He grinned at Cloud and Riku as he took up a spot next to Zell.

Tifa smiled with a slightly nervous look to her eyes. "Well, I guess the wait's over."

"I had a feeling that it was when you began consistently complaining of cramps." Rude stated quietly. "I do know a little about these things."

"Well, it's about time!" Reno's loud voice called out from the doorway. Demyx hovered behind him, seemingly a bit confused as to why they were here. "I was beginning to think you were going to be pregnant forever, yo."

"Move you two." Aerith's gentle tone commanded from the hallway. As soon as the couple did as told, she entered the room. She grinned brightly at Tifa as she approached the bed, "Baby time."

"Yeah," Tifa grimaced, placing a hand on her belly and gripping Rude's hand with the other. She hissed out. "And now that we all know, their kicking into high gear."

Zell folded his arms. "You do seem to moving along really fast. Course that doesn't mean the birth itself will be fast. My neighbor was in full labor for over ten hours on her third kid."

"Any positive news, Zell?"

"The second one took only a total of six hours."

"That would be good." Zack shot a considering look at Cloud who was watching Tifa with a great deal of concern. Riku noticed this also and rubbed the man's shoulders.

"Has the mid-wife been called?" Aerith asked, placing a hand on Tifa's swollen stomach.

"Yeah, I took care of that right after I called you." Zell informed her, earning a warm smile from the woman. "I guess with first kids it can go really fast or incredibly slow."

Tifa groaned loudly and Zack snickered. "I think we're on the fast track."

"Oh, man! That soundsreally painful!" Demyx nearly shouted, looking anxiously at Tifa as her features and body slowly relaxed.

"Way to state the obvious there, Dem," Reno rubbed at the dark blond's shoulder. "It's childbirth, yo. It's supposed to be painful."

Rude shot him a look as Tifa snorted and glared at the redhead. "Did we need the reminder?"

"Hey, Demyx doesn't know about any of this!" Reno rubbed at the back of his neck. "You shoulda heard me try to give him the whole sex talk."

Zack's jaw dropped. "Are you kidding? I would have paid to see that!"

"Hey, I knew where babies came from!" Demyx defended himself. "I just didn't know the details. I still don't get why any woman would put herself through…"

"I'd stop right there, Demyx." Riku advised, recognizing where the former Nobody was going with that statement.

Zell chuckled, also understanding the musician's direction. "Yeah, now's not the time to be bringing that discussion up."

"It's woman's place to bear the pain of childbirth, yo. It's like, their punishment or something." Reno shrugged. "I read that in a book somewhere."

"I heard that, too!" Zack waved a finger. "Something about apples…"

Cloud lifted an eyebrow at him, "Apples?"

"Yeah," Zack nodded. He paused and angled his head. "Or am I confusing that with Loveless…?"

Tifa let out another loud groan and the men in the room all cringed.

Reno frowned and glanced at Zell. "And this is only the beginning?"

The tattooed blond nodded. "Yep; this part could go on for hours."

"At the rate these contractions seem to be going, I doubt it's going to be that long." Riku declared. "Just since Cloud and I got here, they've been increasing in intensity at a steady rate."

"No offence or anything, but I don't think I want to be in here for the actual birthing thing," Demyx stuttered out. "It sounds really…"

"Gross." Reno finished. "Yeah, I don't know how anyone can call it beautiful, yo."

"It's beautiful because it's the arrival of new life." Riku rolled his eyes. "The process itself isn't."

"You know when you get down to it; the whole thing is kind of gross." Zack tilted his head. "I mean, as great as sex is, it's a rather ugly process."

"It totally makes up for that by feeling fucking fantastic." Reno countered. He nudged Demyx, "Right?"

The former Nobody sputtered. "Uh, well… yeah, I guess…"

"Why do you always insist on putting Dem on the spot?" Riku asked with a bit of annoyance. "You know he's not as comfortable with this stuff as the rest of us are."

"Oh, chill. Dem is fine."

Zack studied the blushing musician. "He doesn't look it."

Tifa let out another groan, cursing quietly. Rude shot the group gathered around a threatening look as he squeezed her hand.

"This is gonna get loud, isn't it?" Demyx had recovered from his moment of embarrassment.

"Oh, yeah," Zell confirmed; "By the way, has anyone told Squall or Cid what's going on?"

"Oh, yeah… We should do that, huh?" Reno chuckled. "They might be a little pissed if we don't. Then again, I can't see either of them dropping everything to race over here."

"Squall would." Zack spoke certainly. "He cares a lot about Tifa."

"Someone should find Yuffie." Tifa said a bit weakly. "She's like my little sister."

"Oh, I can just imagine how she's going to react to this!" Reno snorted. "This place is going to get loud enough."

"Well you don't need to be here Reno."

"Hey, Rude is like my brother." The redhead looked hurt. "I want to be here to support him."

"You're not doing a very good job." Zack pointed out. "All you've done is complain."

"I haven't-"

"Quiet!" Aerith shouted.

Everyone present silenced themselves and stared at her. It was still scary to hear the relatively mild-mannered woman raise her voice. She did it so rarely.

Flicking her bangs back, she rather politely began issuing instructions. "Rude stays here; Zell, if you're willing I could use your assistance. Demyx, go find out why the mid-wife hasn't shown up yet; everyone else leave."

"Cloud stays." Tifa announced rather suddenly, the last word coming out as a groan.

The blond man looked surprised by this. Aerith only nodded and made a shooing motion toward everyone else. Demyx immediately hurried off. Reno patted Rude's back as he left. Zack stuffed his hands in his pockets, acting a bit sullen as he stepped toward the door. Riku kissed Cloud's cheek before moving over to give Tifa a brief hug.

He joined up with Zack at the door, catching the man's eye a moment and lifting one eyebrow at him. When Zack shrugged minutely, Riku's expression changed. In a friendly manner, he threw an arm around Zack's midsection. Glancing over his shoulder, he smirked. "Have fun, guys."

"Don't go far." Tifa advised, her voice a bit breathy. "When these two's arms are too bruised I'm moving on to you."

Both males chuckled as they walked out. Halfway down the stairs, the silvered one glanced over. "What's wrong?"

Letting out a soft breath, Zack shook his head, "Nothing really."

Riku did not reply though Zack could tell the teen knew something was up. Honestly, Zack was not certain what was bothering him. Since all the activity had started, he had become increasingly troubled.

On the main floor, Reno had wandered behind the bar and was setting up a line of shot glasses. He did not look up at the other two as he picked out a bottle and began pouring shots. "Come on over, yo. We're gonna need these."

"We're not the one's having the baby." Riku commented dryly even as he and Zack headed toward the bar rail.

"Nope but I know both of you intend to stay here until the kiddies arrive and it's likely to be a long afternoon." The Turk spoke easily.

"I should go find Leon." Zack picked up one of the shots and downed it quickly. He nodded to the others and left before anyone could question him.

Reno lifted a red eyebrow at Riku. "Do I want to know, yo?"

Riku shrugged. "I'm not sure myself."

"Well," Reno took up two shots and handed one to Riku, "To family."

Riku faintly nodded and threw it back. Setting the small glass down, he looked at Reno. "Do you remember your family?"

"Not really. I was a slum brat; all of us kids were like our own family." Reno rinsed out the shot glasses and replaced them with regular ones. He then retrieved a bottle of whiskey and walked around the bar to sit on the end stool. "I got recruited into the Turks when I was fourteen and they became my family."

The door opened up and Demyx scurried in with the midwife in tow. He motioned the woman to go upstairs, then went to the bar, and nearly collapsed upon it. He sighed in relief and turned. "Well, now I can relax. The person who knows what they're doing is finally here."

"Zell seems to have a pretty good handle on things." Reno gently pushed a glass of liquor toward his lover. "He could take care of things on his own."

"I guess." Demyx spoke uncertainly. He refused the alcohol and moved around the bar to get a soda. "This whole baby thing… it just amazes me. It's not something us Nobodies really thought about."

He bit his lip and uncapped the bottle, coming back around to the join the other two. "I mean, we were trying to basically create a real life for ourselves. What's happening upstairs though… Just wow. I'm in awe."

"Yeah," conceded Reno, taking a drink from his glass. "It is pretty damn impressive."

The three fell quiet for several minutes. Each was clearly caught in their own thoughts and none of them was the type to pry into those thoughts. They remained that way even after Zell came downstairs.

The tattooed blond looked over the three and laughed. "Geeze, guys, lighten up! A baby's being born not someone dying."

"Yeah, yeah;" Reno smirked. "This whole thing is just really fucking different than what any of are used to, yo."

Zell nodded easily, picking up the glass Demyx had ignored. "I hear ya."

The door flew open and Yuffie came barreling in. "Where are they? Is Tifa okay? Why didn't anyone find me sooner?"

"Chill, Yuff." Reno advised. "They're upstairs and the screaming should be commencing shortly."

The girl darted up the stairs and they could hear her squeal. Reno, Zell, Riku and Demyx simply shook their heads. It was definitely going to be an interesting afternoon.

--0—0—

Zack and Leon showed up a little over an hour later. They were holding hands as they walked in, which even after nearly a year together was rather unusual. Zack, however, seemed to be in a much better mood than he had been when he left.

Yuffie had come back down a few minutes earlier, stating that things were getting a little too real up there. They had heard some faint yelling then and Yuffie cringed. She said she could not listen to Tifa in pain no matter what the reason but she would be back every half hour to check in then left.

Riku had called Sora, who had gone home for a visit a few days earlier. The younger teen was upset he was not there and made Riku promise to call the second the babies were born. It was still rather humorous to Riku how many people he and Sephiroth had convinced that Tifa was having twins.

Leon nodded at the group, releasing Zack's hand. "How are things going?"

"I was just going to check." Zell finished off the drink he had been slowly nursing. "Wanna come with?"

Leon touched Zack's cheek for a mere moment before following Zell up. After the two disappeared, Zack retrieved an empty glass and filled it up. "We ran into Sephiroth. He said to give his regards and to let him know the outcome."

"He could have come and hung out here with the rest of us." Demyx frowned, opening his second soda.

"He wouldn't have felt right being here right now." Riku countered from the table he was sitting at. "He and Tifa still have some bad blood between them."

Zack joined him. "Well, he did kind of permanently scar her."

Reno made a noise it the back of his throat, "Her and most of the rest of us."

Riku looked to Zack, sipping from his glass. He lifted a silver eyebrow at him in query but asked nothing. He did not want to undo anything that Leon had obviously managed to do while Zack was gone but he wanted to make sure the older man was all right.

Zack grinned at him, violet eyes bright. That was enough and Riku smiled back. Reno and Demyx had started up a quiet conversation at the bar and Riku and Zack were content with their quiet moment.

The relative silence was broken five minutes later by a definite scream. It was not terribly loud but it was obvious to whom it belonged.

"Well, looks like it's starting, yo." Reno chuckled. "I don't envy Rude."

"You wouldn't," Zack threw his head back. "Some of us, however, think a great deal differently."

"Ah, so that's what was eating you!" The Turk exclaimed. "You always did like kids."

"Yep and I'd love to have a few of my own some day." The ex-SOLDIER took a long drink. "But even if I wasn't planning to stay with Squall, I'll never have that."

"Why not...?" Demyx frowned curiously.

"Because the Mako made all of us sterile;" Cloud answered from the bottom of the stairs. "None of us can have children of our own."

The blond sat at the table beside Riku, leaning over to kiss him lightly. He drew away after a moment and took a sip from his husband's drink. He flicked his eyes at Zack a moment, smiling a bit around the glass.

Zack smirked in that cocky way of his and leaned back in his chair. "So, how badly has Tifa bruised your hand?"

Cloud held both of his up. "I'm good for now. Rude's taking the brunt of it. Right now, Leon's in my place."

"How much longer?" Demyx asked with a touch of impatience.

Shrugging, Cloud took another drink. "Bova says Tifa is making excellent progress. The baby's head is coming down like it should and once that happens, Tifa can start pushing."

"So would now be a good time to go up?" Riku looked to him. Cloud nodded and the teen stood. He pressed a kiss to Cloud's temple and without word left.

Suddenly, everyone was looking at Cloud expectantly; the blond glanced around, expression twisting up, "What?"

"Don't 'what' us, Spike." Zack moved forward, elbows on the table and fingers laced together. "Have you talked to Riku or not?"

"Why didn't you just ask him?"

"Because it's more fun to torture you, yo." Reno replied easily.

"I don't see how it's any of your business but yes, we talked and no, I'm not giving you the details."

"Okay." Zack dropped his hands, pushing off with them to get another drink. "That's all I care about."

Reno shook his head. "I swear this baby thing makes everyone crazy."

"You don't want kids someday?" Demyx asked curiously.

"Nope," The redhead breathed out. "I'm totally cool with acting the uncle or whatever but that's it. I was actually pretty surprised that Strife over there agreed to be godfather."

Cloud shrugged. "I've never had anything against kids."

"After watching you with Denzel and Marlene, it makes perfect sense." Zack returned, dropping a glass before the blond and holding on to his own. "You and Riku will be great parents one day."

Cloud said nothing but there was a definite feeling of gratitude from him when he glanced at Zack. He nodded once and began swirling his drink. There was another loud groan from upstairs.

Zack turned in his seat to address Demyx; "So what about you?"

"Me?"

"Yeah, since all the rest of us have talked about it, it's your turn: kids or no?"

The dark blond laughed rather nervously and rubbed at the back of his head. "Uh, well, I don't really know. I mean, I never thought about it. Actually, I've never really been around a baby."

"That will be changing;" Leon spoke easily, walking back on to the main floor. He went behind the bar and retrieved a bottle of water. "A lot sooner than anyone thought."

"Oh?" Zack angled his head back as Leon returned to him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Yeah, Tifa's nearly fully dilated."

"Wow, she is moving fast." The raven-haired man whistled. "Though I guess that supports the twin theory; I've heard that with multiples, the labor tends to go a bit fast."

Leon shrugged. "I have no idea. I think Tifa's about ready to kill the midwife though. It's taking all of Aerith and Rude's strength to restrain her."

"Yeah, she and Bova definitely don't seem to be on the same wavelength." Cloud smirked. He finished off his drink and stood. "I suppose I should get back up there. Apparently, if I'm not there for my godchildren's birth Tifa plans to see to it that I regret it for the rest of my life."

Leon gently nudged Zack. "Go up with him."

A black eyebrow lifted.

"Tifa wants to see you." Leon handed him the bottle and caressed his cheek. "Give this to Rude."

Zack moistened his lip and got up, clearly confused but not questioning. He followed Cloud up the stairs, listening to the faint sounds of conversation below and above them. The tones of those conversations were oddly similar.

They entered the bedroom just as Tifa let out another pained whimper. Riku was at her side and as her grip on his arm tightened, he glanced over and mouthed an ow. Rude was looking more anxious than Zack had ever seen.

Once the contraction passed, Tifa released Riku's arm and relaxed a bit. Her hair had at some point been placed into a ponytail and she looked tired. With a bite of her lip, she lightly flicked Riku's side. "Move its Zack's turn."

Riku laughed as he hurried away. "Won't hear me complain."

He and the raven-haired man switched places. Cloud wrapped his arm around his lover's waist and Riku brought a hand up to rest on the small of the blond's back. Zack settled himself on the bed, looking a bit uncertain about why he was there.

He handed the water bottle over to Rude. The bald man took it with a nod, stepping away. Aerith took the opening and moved to her friend's side. She smiled happily at Zack who could not help but grin back.

The flower girl brought a damp cloth to Tifa's forehead as she quietly spoke. "Leon told us something very interesting earlier."

"He did, huh?"

Tifa grinned also. "Yep."

Zack flicked his eyes between them. "Why do I feel like I'm being roped into something I'm not going to like?"

Riku snorted. "Probably because you are."

"I don't know why you insist on having all these people here." The mid-wife grumbled from the business end of the bed. Behind her on the dresser were several large basins, a stack of towels and a few various other things. "It should be immediate family only."

"This is my family." Tifa ground out, the last word coming out strangled as she half-turned and gripped at Zack's arm with both hands.

"Damn, woman." Zack chuckled. A minute passed and she relaxed, falling back against the pillows. "I knew you were strong but wow."

Bova tapped on Tifa's ankle before lifting up the sheet. The dark-haired woman bent her knees up and the mid-wife did a short examination. She nodded, dropping the sheet and turning away for some fresh towels. "You're ready."

"Oh, good." Zell spoke for the first time since Cloud and Zack arrived. He clapped his hands together and rubbed them. "This is the fun part."

"Aerith, would you please kill your boyfriend for me?" Tifa's face twisted in pained amusement.

"We need him a little while longer." Aerith stated calmly before shooting a mischievous look in the tattooed blond's direction. "But I'll see to it that he suffers later, okay?"

Zack, Cloud and Riku snorted. Zack shook his head. "Yeah, I know just how much he'll suffer."

Bova cleared her throat in annoyance. "Are we going to continue bantering or shall we begin getting ready for the child's arrival?"

Rude send the demure, middle-aged woman a vicious glare but said nothing. He returned to Tifa's side, Aerith stepping away to join Bova and Zell at the other end. Zack moved to get up but Tifa held firmly to his arm.

Mahogany eyes shined at him. "Where do you think you're going?"

"Uh…"

Riku chuckled before kissing Cloud. As he turned to leave and Cloud began walking over to the small group around the bed, he smirked at Zack. "Squall volunteered you. You're in for the duration."

"What?" The ex-SOLDIER looked around him, wondering how that had happened.

Grinning, Riku tossed a wave over his shoulder. "I'll give the others the heads up and call Penelo to check up on Marlene and Denzel."

"Thank you, Ku." Tifa breathed out heavily.

As the silvered teen entered the hallway, he heard Bova begin issuing instructions to those remaining in the room. He was a bit conflicted about not being there to support Tifa but he knew what he was doing allowed the woman to focus on what was important. He would have plenty of time to see his godchildren, which he had decided they were the moment he found out Cloud had agreed to the arrangement, later.

In the bar itself, Reno was telling a very animated story about some mission he and Rude had gone on. Demyx was laughing hysterically and even Leon was smiling with amusement. Cid and Yuffie had arrived at some point and were sitting at the table with the former SeeD.

Silently, Riku slipped by and out the door. One of them had placed a closed sign on the door and a few of the regulars that were passing by asked him how things were going and told him to pass on their blessings. He thanked each of them as he took out his phone and made his quick call to Sora's girlfriend.

Penelo had been eagerly awaiting his call. Sora had phoned her earlier from home for Riku to let her know what was going on. She said that the kids were doing fine and that they were now busy making large birthday cards. He promised to call after the birth and hung up.

When he reentered the building, a loud screech echoed down the staircase.

"Wow." Demyx breathed out looking extremely concerned.

"Woman's got some fucking lungs on her." Cid noted, toying idly with an unlit cigarette.

Riku caught Leon's eye as he crossed the bar. The sable-haired man lifted an eyebrow when he passed and Riku simply squeezed his shoulder, walking around to take the free seat beside him. Yuffie was acting rather subdued, clearly just as worried as Demyx was.

Reaching over, Riku placed his hand over hers. When she glanced up, he smiled reassuringly. "Tifa's fine, Yuff. There is absolutely no sign of trouble or complications."

Yuffie nodded uncertainly but her dark eyes looked a bit more relaxed. Cid cuffed her shoulder and smirked at her. The young ninja pouted but a weak smile graced her face.

"So, if it's fucking twins, Shiva help those two," Reno smacked a hand on the table. "Who wants to take bets which is first: boy or girl?"

"Isn't there already a bet going?" Leon emptied his glass.

"Yeah, but I'm starting another, yo." Reno paced around a bit. "So come on!"

When no one took him up, the Turk actually pouted a bit and sat dejectedly in a pulled over chair backwards. More shouting and noise drifted into the bar and the group waiting did their best to keep talking. None of them wanted to think about the pain the woman who was a sister to many of them was going through. Reno and Cid began bickering good-naturedly and Demyx had come over to talk to Yuffie about some project he wanted to do.

Riku exchanged brief looks with Leon and the two got up, going behind the bar rail. The older one removed a couple of beers and handed one off to Riku. "Was Zack surprised?"

Riku popped the cap off. "More like confused."

Leon made a noise before taking a long draw from his bottle. Pulling it away from his mouth, he gave Riku a careful look. "Are you alright?"

Silver hair shifted as Riku nodded. "Yeah. Cloud has been so excited you would think it was his baby."

"What about you?"

"I'm really happy for Tifa and Rude." The teen fingered the neck of his bottle a moment. He knew that was not Leon was trying to get at. "I'm still really… uncertain about the whole having a family thing. Cloud hasn't said anything, of course, but I know he really wants the whole white-picket fence and dog in the yard thing."

Leon snorted. "Him and Zack."

Riku smirked and gave his own snort. "Why did they split up again?"

"I don't know. Something about one of them dying and the other falling completely in love with a pretty-boy."

Riku cuffed him and Leon simply grinned and took it. The noise from upstairs was reaching a near-fevered pitch and it was obvious it was getting close now. Demyx and Yuffie were still trying to converse but they spent more time looking nervously at the stairs. Reno and Cid, while continuing whatever it was they were talking about, were shifting uncomfortably in their seats.

There was a slightly louder screaming-moan which was followed a moment later by an infant's wail.

Demyx sighed loudly in relief, falling back in his chairs. Yuffie was tearing up and clinging to Cid's arm as she bounced excitedly. Reno blew out a breath but his smirk was rather gentle. "This is the only time I'm gonna be happy 'bout hearing a baby fuckin' crying."

"Yep." Cid agreed.

"I want to see!" Yuffie shouted.

There was another half-scream and Riku chuckled, a smug smile on his face. "I think you all owe me and Sephiroth some munny."

Reno grumbled as Demyx's head shot back up. "It's really twins?! Dude!"

The first baby's cries had just begun to settle when the second's started up. Everyone gathered downstairs found they had nothing to say as they listened to noise of two new lives making their arrival into the world known. It was one of those moments that deserved some kind of reverence.

After a few minutes passed, Zack came down the stairs. He had an awed, slightly stunned expression as he grinned. "We have…babies."

This broke the odd silence that had formed. Cid brushed at his nose with his thumb. "They've got babies, kid."

Yuffie was out of her seat and running toward Zack. She tugged on the tall man's arm, questions spewing from her mouth. "What are they? Is Tifa okay? Are they cute? Which was born first? Can we see them?"

"Yuffie." Leon took a commanding edge to his voice. "Calm down."

Zack threw an arm around the ninja princess' shoulders and guided her back to the table. That amazed look never left his eyes. "That was the most disgusting yet beautiful thing I've ever seen. I mean, I didn't actually look but… wow."

Yuffie retook her seat and Zack walked around to stand beside Leon. He brought his arm around his lover's waist, tugging on it before glancing at Riku with a faint smirk. "Cloud cried. I'm not supposed to tell you that."

Riku bit his lip, fighting off a grin. "That doesn't surprise me at all."

"Well, let's fucking hear it," Reno casually swirled his drink. He was playing bored but his blue eyes said something completely different.

"It's a boy and a girl, the boy first." Zack looked about ready to fall over. "Cloud and I ended up being the squeeze toys so that Rude could do the whole watching thing. He was great even though that calm exterior cracked a few times. It totally disappeared when the kids arrived. I've never seen him that happy."

"Aww…" Yuffie cooed. "I totally want to see them!"

"You can in a minute." Cloud's voice quietly informed her as he left the stairs. "Aerith and Zell are cleaning them up. Once things are settled, you guys can take turns going up. It's pretty messy."

The blond man's eyes were slightly reddened but no one gave him any flack for it. He came up to Riku and the teen quickly wrapped him up in a tight hug. They did not bother speaking.

Bova came down about fifteen minutes later. She glanced rather disdainfully at the group before looking directly at Cloud. "It is greatly important that the mother and children rest. Keep all visits extremely short and only a few at a time."

Cloud nodded at her and she quickly left. As the door shut behind her, he muttered, "Annoying bitch."

Beside him, Zack chuckled. "Yep. If we hadn't needed her, I'm positive Rude would have killed her hours ago. I was going to after ten minutes."

"So, who gets to go first?" Yuffie asked animatedly.

"Why don't I take Cid, Yuffie and Demyx first and get them out of the way?" Zack suggested in a near whisper. "They won't want to stick around very long."

Cloud tilted his head in agreement.

The raven-haired man pulled away from Leon and tapped Demyx's shoulder. "Alright, you, Yuffie and Cid first."

The dark blond blinked. "I get to go?"

"Well, yeah." Zack rolled his eyes. "You're dating the dad's best friend. That makes you part of the family."

Demyx grinned happily and shot up along with Yuffie. Cid was much more subdued but there was clearly more energy to his walk than normal. The three disappeared, Yuffie bounding ahead of them. The other's could hear her squeal the moment she set foot in the room.

Reno sighed, standing up. "I wanna smoke but I know you all won't let me upstairs if I do."

"Wow, Reno." Cloud had amusement in his tone. "You sound like you really care about the brats."

"Hey!" The Turk turned on him. There was a trace of harshness to his features though his voice did not change. "I may be a bit of a fuckin' prick but I'm gonna be the best damn uncle those mini-Turks can ever have."

Cloud held up his free hand in acceptance. "I bet you will."

Leon quirked an eyebrow. "Mini-Turks? I can't wait for Tifa to hear that one."

"I should call everyone." Riku very reluctantly left his husband's side.

Cloud caught his hand. "Wait a few minutes. They're going to want names."

"Oh my gosh! They areso cute!" Yuffie announced, jumping the last four steps. Demyx was right behind her, green eyes all alight. Cid had an odd smile on his face also.

They were followed by not Zack but Zell and Aerith, who both looked tired but quite content. They held hands as they approached the four who had waited to go up. Aerith smiled gently. "I think Tifa's ready to pass out but she really wants to see all of you so make it quick. We're going to step out for a bit but we'll be back later to check up on everyone."

Without further word, Cloud, Riku, Leon and Reno traversed the stairs. When they entered the room, Zack looked over from where he sat at the end of the bed. There was a huge grin on his face. "The girl looks like Rude."

Reno snickered. "She can't possibly be that ugly, yo."

The bald man glared weakly at the redhead from beside Tifa. He held one of the tightly wrapped infants in his arms while Tifa, who was struggling to stay awake, held the other. Both new parents were clearly exhausted and extremely happy.

Tifa gave the rest of her make-shift little family a smile that completely lit up her face. "Marlene and Denzel are going to be speechless."

"They will be." Riku agreed. He and Leon took a few steps closer and Tifa angled the baby toward them as did Rude.

Both twins had their father's complexion and the one in Rude's arms was as bald as him. The other had a light dusting of nearly black hair. They blinked occasionally, tiny fists waving about and their scrunched up faces constantly changing expressions as they worked their little mouths.

Riku almost teared up and even Leon seemed to struggle not to get too emotional. Reno had leaned in between them and snorted. "Yeah, definitely more like their mother."

Tifa chuckled as Reno winked and moved away. Leon also took a few steps over to stand beside Zack. Riku, however, stayed where he was. Cloud approached the opening and placed his hands on Riku's hips.

The silvered one reached out a delicately touched the infant in Tifa's arms soft cheek. "Hard to believe we all started this small."

Tifa's eyes drooped a bit. "Yeah."

Opening them back up, she looked at Rude. After a moment, she shifted weakly. "Sit, Riku."

Riku, a bit confused, did as commanded once Cloud released his hold on him. Rude had gotten up and walked around the bed. Once seated, Tifa held her child out to him. "This is Ayden Kiyoshi."

A bit awkwardly at first, Riku took the tiny bundle. He cradled the boy to him carefully, surprised by how content he suddenly felt. He glanced up to see Rude handing off the other twin to Cloud.

The large man's voice was gentle. "This is Ilea Kaylee."

The married couple both held the fragile beings in their arms, alternating between shy looks at one another and studying the infants they held. After a moment of this, they both smiled faintly at one another. The spell was broken when Zack abruptly chuckled.

They glanced over and both the raven-haired man and Leon were smirking. "So when do we start building the white-picket fence?"

--0—0—End –0—0—

So, how'd I do with this happy little event? Figure this spans over about six hours which does work. I've known several people whose labor went really quickly.

Thank you to everyone who submitted names. The one's used came from BlackIceNinja, Sassy Aloo, and Super Pup (that's sooo much easier to type!). Thank you all!