Chapter 3

"Yo, you seem happy." said Reno. He hung his coat up and grabbed a towel to dry his vibrant red locks.

Sephiroth paused his whistling and grabbed his hair-dryer. "So?" He continued to whistle as he dried his own hair.

"What happened, Yo?" Reno tossed the towel back into his locker, his hair fluffed everywhere like a dandelion.

"Good news from my roommate." Sephiroth replied. He grabbed his brush as he continued to dry his hair.

Angeal looked over. "Rain caught you?" he asked as Genesis sulked in, soaked through.

Genesis only grumbled and stripped out of his coat and shirt. He paused when someone touched his back.

"You ok?" Sephiroth asked.

Genesis remained still, trying to keep his breathing at a normal pace.

"You have cuts on your back." Sephiroth removed his hand. "Sorry, didn't mean to startle you."

Genesis sighed. "I'd rather not talk about it." He grabbed his own towel and dried his hair and damp skin.

Sephiroth walked over to Angeal, wearing a leopard-patterned shirt with his black dress pants this time. His silver hair was dry, and now pulled up in a neat, tight bun at the nape of his neck. "He gonna be ok?"

"You said he had cuts. Where?" Angeal asked.

"Shoulder blades."

"His wings. They've sprouted. Something happened."

"He was also consciously regulating his breathing." Sephiroth noted. "I think he found a potential mate."

"Or vice-versa, in which case he may have fought the potential off." Angeal returned. "Opening is in five!" he shouted out for the others to hear.

Sephiroth looked down as Angeal shifted slightly, spotting a youth about six looking from around the older male's leg. He had large, brown eyes and black hair.

"Daddy." the boy said, looking up at Angeal. "Who's that?"

Angeal knelt and picked the boy up. "This is Sephiroth." he said. "Sephiroth, this is Tseng."

"Hello." Sephiroth smiled at the boy. "It's nice to meet you."

Tseng blinked at him, his one eye suddenly turning green. "You're . . . one of us."

"Tseng?" Angeal covered the boy's right eye. "Don't do that here, ok?"

"What was he doing?" Sephiroth asked.

"Tseng's a seer. He can see who's different, and sometimes see the future of the individual he's looking at. For Angels, he can see what will or has brought out their wings."

"Why'd you bring him here today?" Sephiroth asked.

"Yo, Tseng!" said Reno suddenly.

"Reno!" Tseng put his arms out towards the redhead.

"So, you gonna tell me if I'll beat Sephiroth today?"

"Nope." Tseng replied. "He'll still win."

"Dangit." Reno put the boy down.

"Reno, stop abusing my son." Angeal said with a smirk.

"You know I love your kids." Reno replied. "So, uh, how's Claudia?"

"She's in the back. I was allowed her for the day, but she has to go back to the lab tonight, make sure she's adjusting properly."

"And Zack?"

"Napping right now." Angeal sighed. "Get to work."

"Righty-oh." Reno headed off to open the club.

"Brought the whole collection?"

"Kinda have to, now." He sighed. "Tseng said Zack's wings would come the day his mother died. He was right. Zack's having difficulty adjusting to his wings, and sleeps a lot. I need to make sure they're alright."

Sephiroth nodded. He knelt and looked at Tseng. "You take care, ok?"

Tseng looked at him, his one eye going green again. "Why can't I control it near you? Are you someone special?"

"I don't know, kid. All I know, is I just got requested." Sephiroth stood. "See you."

Tseng looked up at Angeal. "Daddy."

"Yeah?"

"Why did I see Uncle Cloud with him when I looked?"

"He's Uncle Cloud's mate."

"Oh."

End of the second period. Genesis sat in the back room, pulling his tie loose. Why was he wearing one of those things again? He tossed the spiteful object across the room, then leaned back, panting.

"Genesis?"

He looked over. "Sephiroth, what are you doing?"

"Second period's over." He came and sat down. "Listen . . ."

"I know, you know about us." Genesis returned. He coughed.

"What happened?"

"Wutanese Angel showed up. Attacked me. I tried to fight back, and they appeared. Just as Tseng said."

"Male or female?"

"Female. A Kisaragi Angel, one of the aggressive types." Genesis coughed again. "I . . . this feeling . . . I hate it."

"What feeling?"

"A dull ache and warmth." Genesis panted. "I don't want her, though."

Angeal stepped into the back room. "Sephiroth, you have a guest."

The silverette nodded and left the room.

Genesis looked up. "What?" he asked.

"You look like hell." Angeal said.

"I don't want that Kisaragi bitch." Genesis growled.

"She's not here for you. She's supposed to be here for Chance."

"Then why'd she go after me?" Genesis coughed again, doubling over in pain.

"Genesis?" Angeal knelt in front of him. "Holding them in all the time won't do you any good."

"I can't." Genesis whispered back. "I try, by they won't come."

"One moment." Angeal stood and left, coming back with Tseng again. "Tseng, I need you to look at Genesis, find out what's wrong."

The boy nodded and tilted Genesis's face up. Once again, his right eye turned green, but swirled into an ocean color before turning blue. "I see pain. The wings weren't out enough to stay open. The doctor needs to cut them out, so they don't hurt anymore. I see warmth, unwanted, unbidden. She is not the mate sought after. She does not match the heart. I see . . . the match. Your desire is close by, it causes the warmth without breaking into heat. The one you want is close, yet so far."

Genesis sighed. "You know who it is?"

"No, only a shape." Tseng replied.

"What shape?" Genesis asked. "Is it . . . male or female?"

"Tall, lithe. I don't think it's an Angel." Tseng replied. "I can't grasp a gender. I'm sorry."

"It's ok." Genesis shuddered again. "Can I make it through my shift, before I have to see the doctor?"

"It'll hurt, but yes." Tseng replied. He went back to Angeal, squirming a bit and whispering something in the other's ear.

Angeal nodded. "Take a painkiller, then back on the floor, Gen." He walked back to his office, where he fed his daughter.

Genesis swallowed the painkiller, then headed out to the floor. Within moments, he found himself sitting beside a slightly heavier-set girl, with Sephiroth on the other side of said woman. She was babbling on about some sort of actor she was into. Genesis tried to pay attention, but couldn't. Something seemed to be blocking out about 60% of his hearing. A fog that couldn't be described as anything but intrusive and thick.

"Excuse me for a moment." Genesis got up and walked to the washroom. The fog faded the further away from the woman he was, and he could think clearer, too. Just what was she? He finished his business in the washroom and headed back out. The fog became thicker in his ears, and as he sat, he noticed Sephiroth was having an issue with her as well.

Just then, Loz showed up at the club. The tough-boy of the triplet brothers, he had actually been banned from this particular club twice for getting into fights.

"Oh no." Reno muttered. "Dude, you aren't allowed here."

Loz looked at him. "I'm not here for a fight." He pointed at the girl. "I'm here for her."

The girl looked over. "Shit." she hissed.

Sephiroth grabbed her arm as she tried to move away. "You're not escaping him." he said. He stood and walked the girl over to his brother. "This is your's?" he asked.

"The precinct's, actually." Loz was a junior police officer, in his first year on the job. He was also what Hojo had determined as an Angel-hunter catcher. "She's wanted all over the continent." He handcuffed the girl. "You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. Thank-you and duck to get in the car."

"Ugh." Genesis shook his head. "I can hear again."

"You, too, huh?" asked Sephiroth. "An Angel-hunter." he muttered under his breath.

"Last Call!" Reno shouted out.

Fairly soon, the club was empty, and they were cleaning up for the night.

"Everything alright?" Angeal asked.

"Had a Hunter in the club." Sephiroth replied. "Loz came by and picked her up."

Angeal nodded. "Gen?"

The redhead was kneeling on the floor, doubled over in pain.

Reno came over. "Dude?"

Genesis suddenly seemed to breathe easier once Reno touched him.

"What the heck?" Angeal asked.

"Hey, you gonna be ok, buddy?" Reno asked. "I know you guys have secrets you keep, but I'm still here, ok?"

Genesis nodded. "You're not all you look like, either."

"Me? Yeah. Tseng said I have a soothing effect. Don't really get it, yo, but if it helps."

"A Hunter." Tseng said softly. "But he doesn't hunt."

"Ma said we were hunters of something. But she never cared to hunt 'em. She said 'All peeps in this world belongs here, no matter whats they is'. Her grammar was never the best, yo. I made her proud when I got this job."

"Come on, I'll drive you to the lab." said Sephiroth, helping Genesis up.

"Thanks." Genesis sighed.

Cloud greeted them at the lab. "Sephy!" He clung to his lover, snuggling his chest.

Genesis blinked at him. "You two . . . together?"

"Yeah." said Sephiroth, right before claiming his kiss.

"Cloud!" Tseng and Zack came running over, one on each of the blonde's legs.

"Careful!" Angeal called out, even as he carried Claudia into the building. "Uncle Cloud's pregnant, you know."

Genesis blinked. "So, it's a half?" he asked.

Cloud shook his head. "Sephy's an Angel, too, Genesis."

Genesis sighed, wincing.

Hojo walked over. "Wow, got the whole set." he said. "Oh, Cloud."

"Yeah?"

"He paired, now."

Cloud's face seemed to brighten up. "Really? Great. I'm so glad it worked."

"He's leaving for Wutai, but it'll be with his mate."

Cloud nodded. "I'm just glad Chance found a mate."

Tseng looked up at Cloud. "Can I look?" he asked.

Cloud waited for Zack to let him go before kneeling. "What are you looking for?"

"Your wings."

Cloud nodded. "Ok."

Tseng's right eye turned green again but it grew darker, swirling an odd brown before turning red. "I . . . I don't see them." he said. "All I see is blood, pain, and a shadow." The boy was trembling. "Darkness."

He suddenly collapsed, and Cloud caught him.

"Tseng?"

Ageal, having finished putting Claudia back in the nursery, came over. "Is something wrong with him?"

"I let him look for my wings, but . . . he said he didn't see them. Only pain and darkness."

"You are pregnant, Cloud. He may not have been able to see because of the baby." Angeal replied. He picked Tseng up. "He's limp."

Hojo motioned for Angeal to put Tseng on the examining table in his office. He checked the boy over before handing him back to Angeal.

"Well?"

"He's physically alright. He's only fainted, which is a good thing. He'll wake up on his own."

As if to accent this, Tseng shifted, trying to snuggle into his father.

"That's good." Angeal cuddled his son. "Now, about Zack . . ."

The little guy was found snuggled onto Cloud's lap while the blonde was sitting with Sephiroth. Zack was awake this time, and enjoying a bit of a back massage.

"So, like this?" Sephiroth asked, trying to mimic what Cloud had shown him. Zack giggled, but tried to stay still. It failed, and he laughed and squiggled onto the floor.

"What were you teaching him?" Angeal asked as he put Tseng to rest on the couch and picked up the giggly Zack.

"Back massage." Cloud replied. "It can help sore backs."

"Like your's?"

"It's not sore yet." Cloud returned. "I'm only ten weeks."

"And showing." Angeal added, taking Zack back to Hojo.

"Hi, grampa." Zack said.

"Ha ha." Hojo teased back. "Ok, now what's his problem?"

"Since his wings appeared, he's been asleep about 75% of the day."

Zack yawned. "Nighty-night." He curled up on the table and just zonked out.

"I see what you mean." Hojo checked Zack over. "I'm not quite sure, but he may have a vitamin deficiency." He looked up at Angeal. "A children's multi-vitamin should fix that. Might want to start Tseng on it, too, just in case his wings appear."

Angeal nodded.

"Now, why was Genesis brought in?" Hojo asked. "The Rhapsodos Project was my wife's case."

"I know, but he was acting . . . off, at the club today. Apparently, his wings emerged earlier today." Angeal replied.

"Well, I called in Lucretia, so we'll soon see what's up."

Genesis lay on the couch, his back very sore and his mind still confused. He'd had pain before, but Reno's seemingly magic calming effects had never done what it had today. His breathing had gotten easier, his back had hurt only like a paper-cut. Was it possible that Reno, born a hunter of Angels, was a potential mate?

A hand touching his face, snapped him out of his reverie.

"It's been a while." said Lucretia. "You've grown quite a bit, Genesis."

"Dr. Lucretia?" He shifted, but a shock of pain placed him back where he was before.

"Angeal said you're wings had come out."

He nodded. "I was attacked by the Wutanese Angel."

"Chance's mate? Most likely. Yuffie is a rather active girl. Can I check your back?"

Genesis nodded, struggling to get up and shrug his jacket and shirt off. He ended up lying down again, gasping and exhausted.

"These cuts, they're already partly closed over. You didn't let them stay out long enough." Lucretia said. "It's going to hurt for them to emerge again."

Genesis lay there, panting. "How?" he whispered.

"I'm not sure how." She felt his forehead. "You're heating up." Lucretia turned around. "Hojo! Angeal! I need some help here!"

The two men were there quickly. "What is it, dear?" Hojo asked.

"He's starting to heat up. I think he's finally chosen a mate."

"You?" Angeal asked. "That's impossible."

"Not me." Lucretia replied. "I think his mind has been on someone, which is probably why it's a slow, steady rise, as opposed to a spike like when you met Cynthia."

"Genesis?" Angeal turned his friend's face towards him. "He's out of it."

Genesis groaned softly as Angeal let his face go.

"Is it possible to get Tseng to see who it is he's thinking of?" Lucretia asked.

Tseng wandered into the room. "Daddy?" he asked, rubbing his eye.

"Tseng, can you see who Genesis is thinking of?"

"That takes a lot." Tseng replied. "But I can try."

"Even if you don't know the name, a description works."

"Ok." Tseng walked over and tilted his head so he was looking at Genesis's eyes properly. His right eye turned green, remaining that way this time. "Tall, slender. Not an Angel. He's wearing a suit, like a bartender. Blue eyes . . ." Tseng suddenly gasped, pulling back and hiding his face in Angeal's leg.

"What is it?" Angeal asked.

"It's a hunter." Tseng whimpered. He looked up. "Genesis chose a hunter for his mate."

"What?" Lucretia asked. "But . . ."

"I think I know who." Angeal flipped out his phone. "Hey, can I get you to come by the lab? - The one Sephiroth's parents work at. – Thanks." He closed his phone. "He's already close by. Should see if this is him in four – three – two – one - ."

Reno stepped into the lab. Dressed in a suit that looked like a bartender, and his blue eyes glittering. "What is it, boss?"

"Genesis." Angeal replied. "You asked what we were hiding from you. Genesis is an Angel."

"The creature Ma said we were to hunt, but she didn't want to." Reno said. He knelt beside Genesis and touched his shoulder. "Hey, buddy. Guess the feelings were mutual after all, huh?"

Genesis let out a relieved sigh. "Reno?"

"It's ok. I may have Hunter blood, but when was the last time you saw me kill anything I didn't eat?"

Genesis snorted a laugh. "That fly in the club today."

"Bugs don't count." Reno returned. "Hey, you're back's looking bad. I'll stay here, ok."

"Don't . . . don't scream." Genesis whispered. He closed his eyes, and suddenly, there was a tearing sound. Two red wings, crimson like blood, appeared and lay behind Genesis.

"They're beautiful. Red, like your hair." Reno smiled.

Genesis looked at him. "Reno, did you mean what you said?"

"That they were beautiful?"

"No, that you liked me."

"Yeah. I was always wondering when I should try to approach you."

"Now's good." Genesis whispered. "I . . . I need you, Reno."

Reno nodded. "I know." He picked Genesis up, noticing the other clung to him in order to not fall. "Where can we go?"

"Room 13." said Lucretia. "Here, it'll keep your stamina up." She handed Reno a small blue pill.

Sephiroth walked in just as Reno and Genesis vanished into one of the rooms. "Oh, that's going to be fun at the club." he commented. "Mom, Cloud said he needs you."

Lucretia followed Sephiroth back to where Cloud was sitting in one of the examination rooms. "What is it?"

"I . . . it feels weird." Cloud replied.

"What is it? What's it feel like?" she asked, getting the young Angel to lie down.

"I don't know." Cloud replied.

"Is it painful?" she asked, gently feeling the light swell on his abdomen.

"No." he said. "Just . . . there, again." Cloud frowned.

Lucretia looked at him. "Would it feel kinda like a feather, or a marble, lightly touching your insides?"

"More like the marble, but yeah." Cloud frowned. "There, it happened again." He looked worried.

"It's the baby." Lucretia replied with a smile. "You're starting to feel your baby moving inside you. Your far enough along, I might be able to show you on an ultrasound."

"Really?" Sephiroth asked.

"Yeah. We can see a baby on an ultrasound at five weeks gestational, and your ten, so it'll be easier." She got the portable and put the jelly on Cloud's belly. After a bit of pressing with the wand and moving around, she pointed out the shapes. "There you are. Oh, that's gonna be a full belly." she said.

"What, why?" Cloud asked.

"Ok, there's one, all by their little lonesome. Then there's two here in the same pocket. They're going to be identical twins. And then, down here, is another little one. That's four, Cloud."

Cloud blinked at her. "Four?" he asked.

Lucretia looked at them. "Yeah. You're going to have four babies."