Shalua knelt in front of the throne. "I humbly reaffirm my dedication to your greatness, Your Majesty."
Tifa waved her hand negligently. "Please, no formalities right now." She smiled down at the genuflecting woman. "Just tell me what you have to report about their activities and I'll tell you what I know about your sister in return. How has their rise to power been welcomed in Wutai and what kind of marriage do they have?" Tifa had other sources of information, but she wanted to see how loyal her spy was after nearly a year away.
Shalua lifted her head up. "Your Majesty?"
"It's been a long time, I want to make sure they're still loyal to me." Tifa told her.
"I have seen nothing untoward on their part." Shalua replied. "It was rough at first, there was serious grumbling about Lady Yuffie's legitimacy to rule. Sir Reno had the troublemakers executed."
Tifa nodded, she already knew about that. "What else?" She got up off the throne and gestured for Shalua to rise, leading her out of the throne room to show her the guest room she would be staying in. "What about her suddenly being the only Kisaragi left alive?"
"You did say he agreed to come right away?" Aerith asked Cora again while they were feeding the twins.
"Yes, Lady Aerith. I don't know what's keeping him…shall I go seek him out?" Cora offered.
"No, it will just have to wait til after dinner I guess. It's almost time, isn't it?" Aerith reached out and patted the heads of her children. "You've had your din-dins, now it's mommy's turn. I love you both!" she told them as she stood up. "Would you please clean up and put them in their playpen and then come help me get presentable, Cora?"
"Of course, my Lady." Cora replied and immediately started obeying the order.
"What could be taking him so long?" Aerith pouted as she walked out of the nursery.
Reno smothered Yuffie's mouth with his own as he thrust into her again. He had already taken the edge off his need for release, but much to his delight, Yuffie had found the new variations surprisingly stimulating, and her eager responses had spurned him on. "This is how it's going to be at the Bacchanalia, understand? Just the two of us." he told her when he had finally worn himself out. He didn't want anyone trying to regress her to how she used to be the last time she was here.
"Yes, my…Reno." Yuffie murmured, keeping her eyes closed as she silently prayed to the Wutaian gods for giving her such a wonderful husband…part of her had feared he had brought her back here to leave her for failing her wifely duties.
Reno smiled and smoothed her hair back from her face. She might have been the last kind of wife he had ever wanted, but something about her struck a deep chord in him, though he would have told anyone they were full of it if they suggested he was falling in love with her. He frowned as a knock on the door disturbed their mutual contentment. "What is it?" he snapped.
"Dinner is in five minutes, Sir Reno, Lady Yuffie." One of the servants announced through the door.
"Fine, we'll be right there." Reno told them and reluctantly separated from his wife.
Everyone was already seated by the time Reno and Yuffie finally made their entrance. She tried to bow respectfully to Tifa, but Reno was holding her close to him, with his arm casually draped over her, so she could only bow her head.
"Nice of you to join us." Tifa remarked frostily.
"Thanks for putting us in a room with such…possibilities." Reno smirked back at her as he and Yuffie sat down next to each other.
"Those are not your proper assigned seats." Tifa's voice was getting testier.
"We don't like being apart from each other." Reno replied.
"That's so romantic, isn't it?" Aerith commented, looking first at Tifa then at Zack.
"Yes." Tifa smiled tightly at her handmaiden while glaring daggers at Reno.
The rest of the dinner passed uneventfully until dessert. "Is it true that you used to embroider?" Aerith suddenly asked Reno.
"What the fuck?!" Reno blurted out, blushing furiously and glaring at her and then Zack. "Where'd you hear that?"
Tifa had shot up out of her chair as soon as Reno started swearing. "No one addresses my handmaiden like that, is that clear?" she demanded to know as the materia she was wearing started glowing. Cora felt herself start trembling when it happened, and Yuffie noticed, feeling herself getting scared as well.
"What's going on?" Aerith asked. "Did I say something wrong?"
"You could never say anything wrong." Tifa calmed down and took Aerith's hand in hers, gently squeezing it in reassurance.
Reno also got himself under control when he saw his wife getting upset. "It was for a mission a long time ago, that's it. I'm not some flaming tailor, alright?"
"Your hair's flaming, isn't it?" Zack couldn't resist needling him. It gave him some comfort to know that Reno would always be Reno, even with the world having gone to hell.
"That's cause I'm such a hot guy!" Reno retorted.
The absurdity of the conversation made Yuffie start giggling, then Aerith and Cora started as well, and the tension eased somewhat as they all finished dessert in silence.
