I don't own squat…except Cody…but what's new?

Crimson eyes occasionally glance out the window above the sink to watch the two boys playing in the backyard, before returning to the soiled dishes soaking in the sink. Denzel was gently tossing the ball for the three-year-old to catch, and when the smaller boy did manage to catch it, he would fall on his rear from the size and impact of the rubber ball. Nonetheless, he would get back up and toss it back to the older boy, even though it managed to fly off in a different direction. The man chuckles when he witnesses the ball actually going in the direction of the eleven-year-old catching him off-guard and hitting him on the forehead. Denzel falls onto his back while holding his head, which causes the younger to run over with fear and concern for his older brother and check on him.

Quiet footsteps alert the gunman to another presence and he turns around to acknowledge the person and smiles at the sight of his tired wife. The woman, Tifa, was sick with the flu and currently recovering but not well enough to be on her feet in his book. The raven-haired man walks over to her after drying his hands and kisses her forehead as he pulls her into an embrace and she lays her head on his chest.

"You shouldn't be out of bed Love. You still have a fever."

"I just wanted to see why it was so quiet."

"I made the boys take their ball outside. Are you hungry?"

"A little bit."

"I'll bring something light for you."

"Thank you, Vincent."

Vincent nods and nudges her toward the stairs and watches as she walks back up to their room, and then he turns back to the sink and finishes the dishes before starting to make some soup. As he searches the cupboards for some crackers, the three-year-old runs in with a tear-streaked face and latches onto Vincent's leg and sobs loudly.

"What is Kami's name is going on Cody?"

"I didn't mean to Daddy! I didn't…"

Vincent sighs and picks up the sobbing child after he retrieves the salted crackers from the cupboard and sets them on the counter, and he wipes away the dirty, tear-stained face.

"Okay. Tell me what happened."

"I hit Big Brother in the head and he fell but he said he was okay and got back up and started to play with me again. We were bouncing the ball to each other and a rock hit his face and…and-"

Cody begins to cry again and the raven gently rubs his back and walks toward the back door after turning down the heat on the stove. Vincent mentally chuckles to himself at the thought of one of the boys getting hurt since it always turned out that way. No matter how many times he told the boys to be careful, one of them managed to get hurt. The father of two walks over to the crumpled form of Denzel and sets the younger down, and he brushes back brown locks to reveal a forming bruise with a small cut weeping its life fluid's. Storm blue eyes slowly flutter open and Denzel hold his head to stop the world from spinning around him and looks up into crimson eyes. His adoptive father helps him to his feet and the three walk back into the kitchen, and Vincent lifts the older boy onto the counter and studies the small injury.

"That rock got you good didn't it?"

Denzel nods as Vincent grabs the first aid kit from the closet and applies antiseptic to the wound before applying a bandage to it. The brunette jumps down from the counter after the raven finishes and he grunts when Cody wraps his arms around his waist and looks up at him with guilt in his eyes.

"I'm sorry Denzel! I didn't mean to!"

"It's okay. It wasn't your fault. It was nature's fault okay?"

Wide red eyes look up at him and consider his words before scrunching delicate black eyebrows together.

"Why is nature being mean?"

"Because we were having too much fun and it was getting jealous."

Vincent rolls his eyes as he stirs the chicken and vegetable soup on the stove and he looks out the window again to find black clouds rolling in quickly. The gunslinger smirks as he turns off the stove and pours the soup into a bowl and he makes a cheese and crackers platter as a snack for the kids before turning to them.

"I think nature was telling you that it's time to come inside because it's going to rain."

As if on cue, thunder rumbles loudly, causing the youngest to yelp and hide behind Denzel for protection. Vincent smiles as he leads the boys into the living room and sets the cheese platter on the table, and he puts a movie into the player and turns on the TV. After he makes sure the two boys are comfortable and entertained, Vincent climbs up the stairs to his and Tifa's room and places the soup and crackers on the bedside table. The resting brunette's mahogany eyes soon reveal themselves, and she hums in appreciation when her husband kisses her forehead again. She sits up when she smells the chicken and vegetable soup and her stomach growls in its own appreciation of available food. Vincent chuckles at the sound and looks out the window when the first drops of rain hit the window and he gets up and closes the curtains to keep out the cold seeping in from the window.

"Are the kids inside?"

"Hmm…they only came in because nature got mad and threw a rock at Denzel's head."

Tifa scrunches her eyebrows in confusion as she eats her food and the man in front of her chuckles. Realization dawned on her as she thought over what Vincent said and she shakes her head in disbelief. The boys always ran into trouble, even if the trouble mainly consisted of getting bruises and scrapes on their bodies…but nature getting mad at them and throwing rocks? That was certainly one she hadn't heard yet.

"That's a new one."

"The boys were bouncing the ball to each other and I think it caught the edge of a sharp rock which managed to knock out Denzel for a few minutes. He does have a nice bruise on his forehead though."

"How exactly does that explain the mad nature?"

"Cody thought it was his fault and that was the story Denzel came up with to make him feel better. Needless to say, but I don't think the little one is going to be very happy with the earth hurting his big brother."

Tifa uncharacteristically snorts at the thought as she finishes her light meal and lays back down. When she was positive she wouldn't bring her lunch up again, she relaxed comfortably into her pillow and allowed the man to fix the sheets and gather the few dishes he brought up but leaving the crackers.

"Get some rest. I'll make sure to protect the boys from any more unwanted rocks flying their way."

His wife laughs quietly and curls up into the warmth of the bed and he leaves the room and walks back down to the living room to find Cody curled up on the couch sleeping while Denzel was thoroughly engrossed with the movie. The gunman quietly grabs a blanket from the hall closet and lays it over his sleeping son and motions to the older to be quiet, and then takes the empty plate that was occupied by cheese and crackers.

With two sons, a wife, friends, and a bank account overflowing money to support them all, Vincent would describe his life as just…perfect.

Something I thought up of in my Religion class because my teacher is so dang boring. Hope you enjoyed it! Reviews make my day a good one (no joke they really do).