(A/N: Hey all! First chapter of my sequel story! Woot woot! Raise the roof! Hopefully this one will go over as well as my last one! And now, without firther adieu, READ ON!)
Welcome to the family
Hope you have a real good life
With my little sister
Yeah, she'll make a real good wife
"What?" Sephiroth said mildly, setting down his vodka and tonic, thinking he had heard incorrectly, "I'm sorry, could you repeat that?"
"Ellie and I are getting' married, yo." Reno reiterated, a bit more slowly this time for Sephiroth's benefit, wrapping his hand around Jayden's.
"Oh honey that's great!" Mikayla squealed hugging her daughter from behind the sofa and ruffling her hair, "I'm so happy for you!"
"…you're marrying him?" Yazoo gaped, earning a dirty look from his adoptive sibling, "Um, don't take this the wrong way, but…why?"
"Yazid!" Mikayla cried, giving her adoptive child a swat on the rear, "Don't be that way! You should be happy for your sister!"
"It's not that we aren't happy for her, mom…we just wanna know what she sees in him." Loz said, staring up and away from his adoptive mother and sister.
"He's funny, sweet when he needs to be, gotta great laugh, kind to animals and small children, buys food for the homeless when he gets his paycheck-" Jayden ticked off crossly before giving her fiancé a sideways glance, "…and he aint all that hard on the eyes."
"Finally she gets to what's important, yo." Reno grinned, slinging an arm around her shoulder and planting a kiss on the corner of her mouth, "Aint she just a peach? You aint to bad yourself darlin'. Glad I got my claws into ya first."
"Bah, you're the only one that wanted me." Jayden said dismissively, leaning against Reno under the weight of his arm, "You had no competition, Red. I swear to g-"
"Listen to you two carrying on! You'd think you we're already married." Mikayla giggled, the comment making Jayden turn tomato red, Reno grin, and Loz, Sephiroth and Yazoo frown deeply, "So, have you decided on a date yet?"
"We're thinking late August." Reno replied, running his fingers through Jayden's hair and snorting, "No competition...didja not see how that skag in Tools was eyein' your goodies?"
"He wasn't looking at me, he was drooling over Carmen in Paint." Jayden snorted, giving Reno's wrist a pinch, "Believe me, no one wants to look like a pedophile by dating me, Red. I have too much of a baby face."
"He was lookin' at you." Reno smirked, ignoring the assault to his wrist and pulling Jayden closer, "You can deny all y'like, yo. But you should know, I really don't like the idea of that fugly creep rapin' you with his eyes."
"You mean like you do?" Jayden snorted, giving him a peck on the cheek, "At any rate, we wanted to let you know the news. I wish that Charlie and Mischa could have been here. Ipo and Kyle too."
"Well, their schedules are pretty hectic, hun." Mikayla replied, giving her daughter's hand a pat, "I'll be sure to pass the news along though. Don't you worry."
"Thanks Mrs…I mean mom." Reno laughed, tugging Jayden up from the sofa, "Well, I'm gonna take your daughter out to dinner, yo. Hope that's alright."
"Well she's your fiancé. Can't see why it would be a problem." Mikayla grinned, completely oblivious to the looks of protest on Yazoo, Loz and Sephiroth's faces, "Just watch it with those hands buddy. I want my daughter pure until you're married, ya hear?"
"Seriously?" Reno cried, a look of distress filling his face while a look of relief filled Jayden's, "So cruel! And here I was gonna have my way with her the second we walked out th' door, yo!"
"Don't be vulgar." Sephiroth said shrewdly, narrowing his eyes at the former Turk whose only response was to stick his tongue out at him, "All mother's asking is that you show some decency and allow our sister to keep her chastity until her wedding night. It is tradition."
"Don't get your nads in a knot, bro. I'll be good." Reno said teasingly, wrapping an arm around Jayden's waist, "You can trust me, yo."
"Somehow, that is none too reassuring." Yazoo muttered as the pair made their way towards the door, "You better watch yourself, Turk. If you take our sister's chastity before your wedding night, there will be hell to pay."
"You don't need to worry, Yazoo. I won't let'm." Jayden replied casually, snickering at the overly dramatic look of horror that filled Reno's face, "Not that I won't let him touch me. Cuz that would be downright cruel, but I won't let him get that far."
"See that you don't, sis." Loz said tugging Jayden back from the doorway and into a hug, "Be careful around him, okay? I really don't like him, Jayden. And I know Yazoo and Sephiroth don't either."
"Alright, geez! Don't go all psycho protective on me." Jayden teased, giving Loz a quick kiss on the cheek, "I may not be big, but I can handle myself. I'll be fine, Loz."
Loz shot a look at Reno, who made a face at him, and gave a worried look to Jayden, petting her hair and giving her one last squeeze before letting her go.
"We'll catch ya later." Reno called cheerfully over his shoulder, catching, Jayden's hand and tugging her out the door, "C'mon babe! I hear th' clarion call of Italian singin' my name, yo."
"Mm, garlic breath." Jayden snorted as the pair walked out the door, "I can't wait."
The Silver Haired Men watched the pair from the window, their adoptive mother squeezing her way between them to wave at her child.
"Well, I'm so happy they finally figured themselves out." Mikayla said cheerfully, watching as Jayden and Reno pinched and poked at each other as they clamored into the car parked against the curb, "I better get Charlie and Kyle on the horn. They'll be absolutely ecstatic."
With that, she made her way through her adoptive children t make the respective phone calls while Sephiroth, Loz and Yazoo continued to stare at the rapidly disappearing taillights of Reno's used convertible.
"You both realize we can't let her do this, yes?" Sephiroth said tersely, eyes locked at the scenery outside the window, "There is no way I'm allowing my little sister to marry that fool."
"I agree whole heartedly." Yazoo nodded, taking a seat on a piano bench, "Anyone but that perverse buffoon. I really don't feel comfortable with that mockery of the human race touching her…or looking at her if we're being honest."
"So…we're all in agreement, then?" Loz asked, looking a little surprised that they had all come to the same decision, "We're going to stop this wedding before it happens. Any ideas as to what tactics we should use?"
"What are the usual things that break up marriage, little brother?" Sephiroth asked casually, crossing in front of the window with languid, unhurried strides of his long legs, "Cheating spouses, dishonesty when it comes to finances, spending too much time away from his would-be bride…the usual things."
"I see…but don't you think we might be in need of a little more...assistance, brother?" Yazoo asked, tossing his "sibling" a sideways glance from his seat on the piano bench, a tiny smirk forming on his lips.
Loz quirk an eyebrow and had to wonder what Yazoo was going on about. His curiosity only grew when he saw a similar smirk appear on Sephiroth's face.
"I agree, Yazoo. I do believe we're going to need some…extra assistance on this particular task." Sephiroth said silkily, a surge of cold energy charging the air around him, the lights overhead beginning to flicker with the sudden rush of power electrifying the atmosphere.
"Oh my! I wonder if we're in for another wind storm." Mikayla remarked from the kitchen as a veil of darkness tore itself apart from Sephiroth and land on the floor in an ungainly heap, taking a few choked breaths as it tried to regain some composure.
"Welcome back, my sibling." Loz smiled, recognizing the lump on the floor for what it was instantly, "We missed you greatly, and your sacrifice to resurrect our eldest brother was greatly appreciated. But now we need your help again…Kadaj."
"Brief me on everything that I've missed Yazoo." Kadaj said, brushing some stray hairs out of his eyes and smirking up at his siblings, "If I'm to assist you in your plans, then I'll need to know the details of the situation and the events leading up to it."
"Of course, Kadaj." Yazoo replied with the barest of smiles, folding his hands together, "I suppose I should start when you tagged out, mm? Well then, after you so graciously donated your body to Sephiroth, we we're brought to this world we now call home."
"Reno? I'm a bit worried." Jayden said as a shiver of apprehension traveled up her spine for what seemed to be the twentieth time that night.
"Eh? Why's that? Your mom was totally cool with our marriage plans, yo. You should be thrilled." Reno replied casually, scooping more spaghetti onto his plate.
"You saw the way my brothers were looking at you." Jayden said pointedly, poking at a sun-dried tomato on her plate, "Those Silver Haired Ninnies definitely wont let our wedding go off without a hitch."
"Oh yeah?" Reno said candidly, shaking parmesan over his spaghetti with great zeal, "And why dya think that? From where I stood, things went down pretty smoothly, yo. Don't stress the small stuff, babe."
"You honestly didn't notice?" Jayden asked exasperatedly as her fiancé began twirling noodles around his fork, "Reno, they really don't like you. In fact, I think it'd be safe to say they hate you. I know they don't approve of this marriage."
"So? What business is it of theirs who you marry?" Reno said easily, reaching across the table and giving her nose a little poke before wrapping the same hand around hers, "Listen up, Ellie – I'm a big boy. I can take whatever they throw at me, yo."
"I know…I know." Jayden replied with a tiny smile as Reno gave her hand a reassuring squeeze, "I just…I just want our wedding to go off without any problems. The sooner we're married, the better."
"Hey, th' stress'll be worth it in the long run, yo." Reno said, lifting her hand off the table and giving each of her knuckles a kiss, "A few months of hell for a lifetime of fun sounds worth it, ne? …well, at least it does to me."
"So optimistic, assuming the good times'll roll after we're married." Jayden smiled, cheeks burning slightly at the act of affection, "You always make everything sound so easy and somehow I'm always inclined to believe you these days."
"Hey, some things are that easy." Reno replied with a shrug, a lazy smirk appearing on his lips, "Falling for you though, that was hard, yo. Very, very hard. Woo boy. Man did you make lovin' you difficult at times."
"Hey! Don't act as though you were the specimen of male perfection." Jayden snorted, rolling her eyes and reaching for her fork, "I could write a book on all the things you did that got under my skin back then. I don't know how or when I fell for you."
"Same here." Reno laughed, giving her hand one last squeeze before focusing his attention back on his food, "But it was like one day I just had to hug you, kiss you...and had the huge urge to blind any other guy that looked at you."
"Very sweet…but could we skip the blinding please?" Jayden asked, inserting a bite of spaghetti into her mouth, "A lot of those people are co-workers and customers…and I'm required to look at them."
"Oh, fine. What fun are you?" Reno teased, lifting a slice of garlic bread off Jayden's plate and eating half of it before she could voice a complaint, "You wanna hit a movie after this?"
"Nah, let's just watch one at home." She replied, scooping a large forkful of noodles Of Reno's plate in retaliation, "I don't want to end up behind a talker and we can fall asleep on the sofa without having to worry about driving home afterwards."
"So practical." Reno smirked, leaning across the table and giving her a quick kiss on the forehead, "Fine, home it is, yo. 'sides…we can have more fun at home."
"No pre-marital sex." Jayden said flatly, poking Reno's nose, "That's something I agree whole heatedly with the Silver Haired Ninnies on…we can make out tho'."
"Sounds like a fair compromise." Reno snickered, hailing the waiter to ask for the check.
"So...stop me if I'm wrong, but...you live here now...and that woman in the next room, Mikayla…she's your-I mean our…new mother?" Kadaj asked in a dry voice, trying his best to absorb the information he had just been fed, "She's taken you in?"
"That's correct." Sephiroth replied evenly, looking completely unfazed, "She took us in, even went so far as to adopt us all. She showed us a mother's love and has opened her home to us all. You are not to lay a hand on her, the girl named Jayden or the boys called Charlie and Kyle. They're our adoptive siblings."
Kadaj had started pacing at this point to ease his building tension. This whole scenario was completely insane. What happened to their ambitions of fulfilling Mother's great dream of Restoring the planet? What happened to the cold calculating Brothers he had left when he had merged with JENOVA?
Kadaj paused his insistent pacing, closed his eyes and drew in a long, shuddering breath, releasing it slowly. He opened his eyes once more and noticed something he hadn't before - photographs lining the wall. Kadaj crossed the room and lifted one off the hook, staring at the faces smiling back at him. Sephiroth, Loz, Yazoo, two unknown men, a woman in her late forties and a girl of about twenty sprawled across their laps with a laughing smile on her face.
"Is this her? Our sister?" Kadaj asked, turning around and pointing at the girl in the photo.
"Yes. That's Jayden." Loz nodded, a small smile appearing on his face, "She's a sweet girl. Ironic, but sweet over all. You two might actually get along Kadaj."
"I…I see." Kadaj said slowly, trying his best to take this all in as he massaged his temples, "So this place...this is our home now. And the girl…our sister…the one named Jayden…she is to be married?"
"Not if we have anything to say about it." Yazoo said coolly, folding his arms over his chest, "The one she wishes to marry is a womanizer and a fool. She could do far better than that poor excuse of human flesh, and we refuse to stand idly by and do nothing. We're going to stop the wedding before it happens."
(A/N: Mikayla and Kadaj have their first meeting. Reno and Jayden scope out sites for the ceremony. Sephiroth launches his first attack! R&R!)