Ok, new installment, with too many clones. What am I saying? I wish I was buried in silver haired hot androgynous men, too! a dozen Kadajs fall from the sky on top of head AGH!! Fangirl overload! I have no breath and I must squee! Anyhow. Enjoy the chapter. Flames will be fed to my army of Ewok mercenaries.
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Cloud felt like it was taking forever for him to wake up. He knew he should try to raise a leaden arm and grab the counteractive Hyper on the nightstand, but the bed felt so soft and the house was so quiet for a change. He let his head loll to one side. Ten o'clock. Definitely time he got up. Tifa must be up already, the bed's empty. I wonder how late our pals are sleeping. Do I ever remember Sephiroth sleeping? Reluctantly he hauled himself out of bed and absent-mindedly tugged his sagging, faded jeans up an inch. Looks like I fell asleep in my pants. Where's my shirt? He wandered into the hallway rubbing his eyes sleepily and headed for the back laundry room to find some clean clothes. He passed the master bedroom at a leisurely pace, yawning, and glanced over. And stopped dead, staring in.
His tired brain slowly went through the motions, gears turning, switches flipping, until it finally registered that he was seeing TIfa, barely and nearly indecently clad in only a nightshirt, sleeping peacefully in a pile of male legs, arms and silver hair, her bathrobe abandoned on the floor. Slowly it became apparent to him that he really was seeing this, and yes, that was his jaw that had fallen off and was lying on the floor. Loz and Yazoo slept on either side of her, their fingers laced carelessly together over her stomach. Loz's chin rested on top of Tifa's head, but Yazoo was nestled perfectly between her neck and shoulder. Kadaj was on the same side of her as his young brother, but his head lay high up on her thigh, almost in her lap, with both arms and legs wrapped around Tifa's closest leg. To complete the strange picture, Yazoo had thrown his top leg over his brother's side and Tifa's leg.
Úh... he thought. Ten o'clock and I already need a drink. Tifa's eyes opened slowly and she tried to stifle a yawn so as not to wake the pile of boys. Her arm around Yazoo gently rubbed his back and the boy sighed contentedly in his sleep. Cloud made a restless motion in the doorway and her eyes rose. She smiled sleepily at him and managed a small shrug. Go back to sleep, she mouthed at him, but he frowned and shook his head, edging into the room instead.
"I want them to get more sleep," she whispered.
"Fine, I'm going for breakfast," he muttered, wandering back out. Kadaj stirred restlessly and tightened his grip on her leg, a frown marring his face in his sleep. Reaching down, she slowly stroked her fingers over his scalp through the fine hair and gradually the worry lines faded and he relaxed. She smiled at him and sighed gently. When she raised her head again she saw Yazoo awake and watching her.
"Hi," she whispered, a little flustered. He only raised a long white finger to his lips, then pointed down at Kadaj. She nodded apologetically and he slowly moved his leg from over hers and his little brother and rolled to the edge of the bed. She was confused for a moment, then he put his arms around his brother and just stared at her. After a moment Tifa took the hint and climbed out of the bed. Yazoo turned back to his brother and settled him back in the center of the bed, pulling the blankets over him. Kadaj went immediately back to sleep, if in fact he had ever woken up in the first place, and Yazoo got up and walked to the hallway, Tifa following. He found his way down to the front bar and kitchen before turning to look at her with his odd green eyes.
"What's going to happen to them?" he asked her, a wary look on his face.
"Nothing. We brought you here to take care of you, that's all."
"That's all," he said mockingly, raising an eyebrow.
"I won't lie to you, people are worried about why you're here. They thought we should take you in to keep an eye on you. And to protect you."
"We don't need your protection," he snarled. "You killed our brother."
"And he's still weak, isn't he?" she countered, not bothering to refute him. "I don't think he should be moved again for a while do you? People aren't happy about you being here. I doubt even the three of you would survive long. Much less the two of you trying to protect that boy."
Yazoo didn't answer, only glared silently at her.
"Stay here for a while at least. I'm not asking you to trust us, I'm offering you somewhere to stay, food and shelter. At least until Kadaj is strong again. He maintained a sullen silence for several seconds more, then looked at the floor.
"Why does he have to be here? I don't want him near Kadaj." He crossed his arms defensively.
"Who, Cloud? I think we better leave that decision up to your brother. This is Cloud's home, too." Okay, so I lied a little. "Please Yazoo, please just give it a chance, okay? We don't want to hurt you, no one will hurt you. Or your brothers. All right? I want to see Kadaj get better, too." His face softened a little as she put her hand on his shoulder.
"Do...do you know what's wrong with him? They won't tell us anything, and we tried t-" he stopped suddenly and his face flushed as he looked over Tifa's shoulder. She turned, puzzled, and saw Reno standing in the doorway, eyes fixed on the silver haired boy.
Yazoo swallowed hard, and fled back up the stairs.
"Yazoo, wait!" she cried after him, but he didn't stop. "What on earth was that all about?" she asked Reno incredulously.
"Well, we did try to kill each other last time we met, and he tortured Elena and Tseng nearly to death, and he tried to kill Rufus. But otherwise, I have no idea why he'd react like that. But I was sort of hoping someone here would be glad to see me," he said rolling his eyes.
She obliged him with a rib crushing hug and he winced.
"I wanted you to miss me, not try to kill me!" He smiled and leaned down to kiss her. "Looks like I'm calling the wrong girl 'princess.' he's almost prettier than you with all that hair..." he said and she swatted his arm.
"Don't make fun of him, Reno, he's been through hell and he's nervous and embarrassed. Besides, like you have room to talk," she replied, tugging at his ponytail.
"Hey, that's a work of art, he looks more feminine than you."
"Whatever. I've missed you. Where've you been? Or can't you say?"
"I'll tell you about it later, beautiful. Too nice a day to talk about things like that. Anyhow, how're the rest of 'em? Did it go all right?"
"Oh, pretty well. They came in late last night. It went ok until Kadaj had a nightmare or something, woke up screaming. I had to spend the night with them." Reno raised an eyebrow.
"If I didn't know better, Tif, I'd say you keep trying to make me jealous. First blondie, now you sleep in bed with three guys all night, dressed like that?"
"They're still kids, I doubt they even know what sex is. Besides, I hardly think it would be conducive to Jenova's will to teach them about it."
"Yah, well, you're off the hook this time. Where's Strife?"
"Cloud went for breakfast. Hey, I should get a shower, can you keep an eye on them for me? Just for a few minutes."
"Why don't you wait 'til Cloud gets back and we'll take a shower, and he can babysit?" he said quietly running one hand under the edge of her shirt. She smiled.
"Mother?" a low tentative voice asked from the stairway. TIfa turned in Reno's arms to see Loz standing at the foot of the stairs looking uncertain.
"Loz? What's wrong?" He looked at the floor and stumbled over his words.
"Kadaj... n-needs to eat..."
"Oh he's awake now?"
"Y-yes..."
Tifa reached out to raise his chin gently. "It's all right, Loz. You don't have to be nervous here," she said kindly. "It's like...starting over, see? What happened, it wasn't your fault, mostly anyway. You couldn't help it, you didn't know." Loz managed a weak smile and a nervous glance at Reno. Tifa shot him a look over her shoulder. Reno sighed, but acquiesced.
"Truce, ok? I don't wanna fight. Not drunk yet," he said with a brilliant smile. Tifa rolled her eyes and turned back to Loz.
"See? It's going to be all right. Just take it slow."
He nodded and sniffled once, but kept it together. "Ok, good. I'll see about some breakfast. Reno are you hungry?"
"Always, princess." Tifa snorted but hugged him again and gave him a kis before retreating behind the counter. Loz watched curiously, and Tifa, noticing, quickly changed the subject.
"Um, Loz how is Kadaj doing?"
"Resting. He's still...sick."
"What's the matter?"
Loz sat down on the bottom stair and hugged his knees in an endearingly childish posture.
"We were all sick, the Lifestream made us sick. But Kadaj was the worst. We thought he was going to...to die for a long time." He gulped and took a deep breath. "The doctor wouldn't tell us what happened, but Yazoo says it's because part of Mother was in us, and when brother killed Sephiroth - " Loz couldn't continue, and Reno finished for him.
"- he killed Jenova, too." Loz nodded, his head in his hands, shoulders shaking. Tifa knelt beside him and put an arm around him. "And no one had as much Jenova in them as Kadaj did." Blinking back tears Loz continued.
"But the Lifestream didn't make up for what we lost when it healed us. Kadaj is still so light..."
"Well we can definitely change that easily enough. Come sit by Reno, I'll get you some coffee. Do you like coffee?"
"Coffee?" asked Loz, bewildered.
"Kid, you have been missing out, yo!" laughed Reno, slapping him on the back. Loz flinched a little, but didn't react otherwise.
"Regular coffee, Reno. At least until they're better."
"Aw, dammit."
"And no swearing!" she added, waving an eggshell at him.
"I think they're old enough ta swear, Tif. Look at this guy, anywhere else I'd guess he was a construction worker. He'll fit right in around here once he winds down a bit." Loz made tentative eye contact with him.
"You think we could be - normal?" he asked hopefully.
"If ya want to fit in around Midgar, maybe 'normal's too strong a word. But yah, why not?"
Tifa laughed and put two more eggs in the pan, grateful that they were getting along so far. She wanted to keep an eye on Reno at the moment though. After Rufus' missions he often came back...different. In a few days he was always back to normal, but until then he was quieter than usual, and serious. And Reno was never serious. He talked casually to Loz about getting a job, his own place, maybe dyeing his hair. Then she noticed he was keeping his left hand in his pocket, drinking coffee with his right. It wasn't unusual, he was ambidextrous, but he preferred to use his left hand and he had the smoker's habit of never being able to keep his hands still for more than a few seconds.
"Um, Loz? Can you go get Yazoo? Tell Kadaj I'll bring his up to him, breakfast's ready."
"Sure, I don't know if I can get him to leave Kadaj alone, but I'll try." He climbed the stairs surprisingly quietly for a man his size, then Tifa turned back to dishing out scrambled eggs.
"What happened to your hand?" she asked lightly, eyes fixed on the toast.
"Nothing," he said airily, tipping his stool back on two legs. Unfortunately, it tipped too far, and his hand shot out of his pocket to grab the bar rail before he could go over backwards and Tifa seized his wrist with an iron grip, and looked his hand over, turning it palm up. She met his eyes, confused.
"But then...why were you...You're hiding something, aren't you?!" Her face lit up mischievously.
"Hiding, from you? Nahhh..."
"Give it to me!" She reached for his pocket but he slapped her hand away playfully. "Ouch!"
"Ah-ah! No touchie!"
"Give it!" Tifa had half-climbed over the counter, tugging him closer.
"Never! You'll pry it out of my cold...dead...fingers..." he said menacingly. That was Tifa's cue to go all out. Her eyes narrowed and she pounced over the counter, knocking him to the floor and pinning him down. He launched a fist towards her chest, but she rolled to the side and was forced to loosen her grip. Reaching a hand behind her, she grabbed the foot of the stool and arced it over her head towards Reno's face. He blocked it easily and redirected it past him to smash against the floor beside him. He flipped up to his feet and kicked at her stomach, but she was already twisting up and around, grabbing his leg in mid swing and yanking it forward. He nearly lost his balance, then used her grip to brace himself and tackle her around the shoulders. With one deft sweep of her leg she reversed their positions and had him on the floor beneath her again. She had just cocked her fist back to punch him in the head when he held a hand up for a time out. They froze, out of breath for a moment, then broke out laughing.
"Tha's...what I like about ya...don't have to pull m'punches.. But here...you win this time..." He dropped his right hand to rest on her bare thigh below the t-shirt and the other into his left pocket. She smiled breathlessly as he held his secret up to her, and her eyes widened.
"Oh God, Reno that's...I..."
wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww
Kadaj's eyes snapped open abruptly. He sat up and looked around wildly, but the only person in the room was Yazoo, sitting at the foot of his bed looking concerned.
"Kadaj?" his brother said questioningly.
Kadaj...he can't help you, Kadaj... He looked up at his brother. It won't do you any good to tell him, he can't help you. Kadaj pressed his hands to the side of his head and squeezed his eyes shut.
"Shut up!" he hissed under his breath. Yazoo watched him closely.
"Is it...is it mother?" he asked timidly.
"Mother is dead," Kadaj snapped without opening his eyes. Yazoo flinched and continued to watch him sadly.
"I know," he said softly. "It's Sephiroth, isn't it." he said in a low voice. Kadaj's eyes opened slightly, then drew his knees up to his chest, burying his face in the covers.
"Why can't he leave me alone?" he asked miserably. "Mother's gone, he shouldn't be able to talk to me without mother," he choked out. "I don't understand, I want him out of my head, get him out...stop LAUGHING AT ME!!! Get out get out get out!" He sobbed into his blankets, rocking back and forth helplessly. Yazoo leaned forward and wrapped his arms around him, rocking with him and holding him silently. Kadaj gripped his arms tight and cried desperately, trying to block out the mocking laughter in his head. Yazoo's face grew hard.
"I hate her," he said vehemently. "She isn't our mother, I hate her, it's all her fault," he whispered fiercely. Kadaj looked up at him tearfully, shocked.
"But, Yazoo..."
"No, Kadaj. She picked Sephiroth instead of us, got you killed, made everyone hate us, and left us all alone. I hate her. I want to forget she ever existed, that we ever existed, and just start over." He squeezed his younger brother. "But she left him in your head. It's happening over again."
"No!" the younger boy cried out. "No, I won't do anything for him, I'll kill myself first!"
"You're not going to kill yourself, I won't let him make you do anything, I'll take care of you! Don't worry."
"I'll go crazy. I can't stand him being in there, with me, all the time, making snide little comments about everything I do, everything I see. I can't stand it!" Yazoo shook him hard for a second, until the hysteria wore off a bit.
"Stop it! You'll be all right, we'll find a way to get rid of him, ok? We'll take care of you. Nothing bad is going to happen."
"Yaz?" came Loz's soft voice from the doorway. "Is Kadaj asleep?"
"No Loz, come in." Yazoo said in a gentler voice. "Were you crying again?"
"No," he said defensively. "What's wrong?"
"Se-" Yazoo started, but Kadaj squeezed his wrist painfully hard and he stopped. "He just had a nightmare, that's all."
"Oh. Tifa says breakfast is ready. She wants us to come down. She said she'll bring food up for Kadaj."
"All right, go ahead down and eat, tell her I'll be there in a minute." Loz nodded and left the room.
"Don't leave me! Don't leave me alone," Kadaj pleaded, hugging his brother.
"Come down with us. I'll carry you, you can lie down on the couch down there. You won't get any stronger hanging around in bed thinking about him."
"All-all right. What if brother's down there?"
"We'll be with you, I won't leave you, Kadaj. I promise, ok?" Kadaj took a deep breath and closed his eyes.
"Ok."
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Yay! Angsty Kadajs! My favorite flavor! New update soon, beginning of next week? Yell at me if I don't have it done by then. Cheerio!
