Eoko: In case you're all wonder, no I still don't own anything to do with SE's chars. I don't know why though. I have that bid on E-bay at a whole 5 dollars. That's gotta be a shit load in gil! -sigh- So you have no reason to sue. As an update I have a job now, and will be getting something, but that will go towards paying the $1000 car bill...
I love all your reviews so much. matthewmystar's really touched me. I'm so glad I can cheer you up! And I'll have plenty of Seifer-Zell interaction. Canon demands it as well as I love it.
It was early yet, the sun just coming up, but there were things to do on this particular day and I wanted them finished before the children woke up. I stood at the counter, mixing a bowl of blue icing while the vanilla cake baked in the oven.
I had several other dishes of still white icing laid out on the counter as well. One would become sunny yellow for the chocobo, and the smaller one next to it would be the darker yellow outline. The third and fourth bowl were to be white and green for little flower decorations.
After the icings were all colored, put into their proper bags, and put in the fridge to keep cool I set to work decorating the living room a bit. A few paper streamers here, a little magic there and it was done in no time.
By the time the table was set and everything was ready for the afternoon's party, the cake was done. I didn't set a buzzer, because then the children would wake up, but my instincts with baking had always been top notch. I removed the cake from the oven and set it atop a cooling tray on the counter, next to the partially opened window.
I smiled out over the sea. Everyone had been making little gifts for Zell, trying to keep everything secret from him. Cid had picked out a present I had requested from Balamb a few days ago, and other little things.
"Matwyn?" I heard a little voice and turned to see Zell in the doorway, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. I had somewhat expected the birthday boy to be up earlier than usual.
"Good morning, Zell. Happy Birthday."
A broad smile spread across his face and he toddled over to me, hugging one of my legs around my dress. "I is fouw," he said brightly.
"Yes you are," I said smiling and ruffled his hair. The fact that he hadn't grown very noticeably at all in the month and a bit he had been here, made it even more amusing that he was now four years old.
"I is ol' as Seifew now." He smiled up at me.
"That's not quite how it works," I commented, reaching down to pick him up and hold him on my hip. "He's still a whole year older than you. It's just that you have a birthday early in the year and he has a birthday late in the year."
"I dun ged id…" Zell pouted, his brow drawn tight as he tried to work it out.
"I know dear, but that's how it is. Just remember he's older than you actually."
"Otay!" he squirmed a little instead of asking to be put down, so I set him on the floor. "Can I have some wadew? My mouff is all dwy."
I chuckled, heading to the cabinet to get him his favorite blue cup. Zell had a cute tendency to sleep with his mouth open which usually resulted in him drinking a lot at breakfast or asked for water in the middle of the night.
He reached up on his tiptoes for the cup after I put had filled it three-quarters full and was starting to hand it to him. He smiled brightly when he got his hands around it and brought it to his mouth, gulping it down.
"Don't choke, hunny."
He shook his head a little, cup still at his lips. He finally lower the cup and took a deep breath, smiling again. "Habby Biwfday do me!"
"Zell, shh," I reminded him, holding a finger to my lips. "The other's are still asleep."
"Ooph," he covered his mouth with one hand and made an odd little sound behind it, wiggling about.
I chuckled at him then glanced over at the clock on the wall. It was still a few minutes until they usually woke up, but I couldn't see the hurt it waking them a little early. "Want to go wake them up, Zell?"
His eyes lit up gleefully and I knew his answer was yes. I plucked the near empty cup from his hands and shooed him off to so wake up the others in whatever way he wanted.
Zell trotted back into the bedroom and looked from bed to bed, deciding who he would wake up first.
Having chosen to wake up Selphie, Zell snuck over to the side of her bed and stretched up onto his tiptoes to see her, curled on her side and facing him. The blonde reached out a hand and batted lightly at Selphie's arm. After several swats the bright eyed brunette awoke and blinked at him.
"Zell?" she asked, yawning halfway through the name. Once she had half woken she smiled at the happy looking boy. "Happy Birthday!" she said brightly, still not loud enough to wake the others.
"Shhh!" Zell hushed her, holding his finger to his lips as Matron had done and wiggling about, shifting his weight from foot to foot.
She giggled at him and leaned off the bed to give him a hug. "You fouw."
"Yah-huh!" Zell couldn't do much to hug Selphie back, considering her position, so he waited for her to let go of him. "Wanna hewp me wage up da udders?"
"Yeah!" Selphie said excitedly, this time too loudly and she covered her mouth as she and Zell looked around the room. No on had woken from her scream.
"Otay. Wage up Quissy, 'Kall add Sis," Zell said as he trotted over to Irvine's bed and climbed up on top of it. He sped across the mattress on his hands and knees, then all but tackled the unaware, unconscious boy.
The mini-cowboy-to-be yelped in utter surprise, big violet-blue eyes opening wide in confusion. "Wha!"
"Habby Biwfday do me!" Zell cried, completely stopping his quest to be quiet while waking his friends.
"Biwfday…?" Irvine rubbed at his eyes with the heel of one hand, then rubbed his nose with the back of said hand.
"My biwfday!" Zell cheered and huggled the yet-to-fully-wake boy tightly.
"Oh." Irvine blinked a few times and looked around, seeing Selphie blowing a raspberry on Ellone's stomach. He giggled merrily.
Zell, still having to wake up Seifer, and getting bored with sleepy-Irvine, slipped off the tan and purple bed and headed to where Seifer still "slept".
At hearing the smaller blonde's approach Seifer rolled over and held onto his blankets tighter.
"Seifew…" Zell whispered, looking at the older boy, eyes just reaching over the mattress top.
"No," Seifer said shortly, tugging his covers back when Zell gave them a little pull.
"Seifeeeew…" Zell whined, pouting cutely. "Is my biwfday. Wage up."
"No," Seifer said again, irritation slipping into his otherwise sleepy voice. He wanted to sleep in. He usually wanted to sleep in.
Zell scuttled around to the other side of the bed and looked at Seifer's face, covers up to his nose and eyes shut tight.
The little blonde reached up an arm to touch Seifer's hand. "Pwease…?" he tried one last time.
Seifer's brow furrowed further and his eyes slitted open to the sad little face of Zell. Well, no matter how much of a jackass, no one could turn down that face. But Seifer didn't have to act all nice about it.
"Fine," he grumbled and sat up.
Zell bounded away, face happy and alight with glee. "Yay!" he sang.
Soon everyone was awake and coherent enough to make it into the kitchen for breakfast. "Tocopaws!" Zell squealed as he wriggled in his seat. "Tocopaws, tocopaws." He swayed back and forth.
"Alright, Zell, alright. Calm down a little." I patted him on top of the head and he giggled happily.
"Otay, Matwyn." He beamed up at me, pearly whites and tiny little fang-like canines.
I had my doubts about whether he would be able to calm himself or not.
Everyone followed Zell's example and had Chocopuffs and apple juice for breakfast. Seifer didn't even challenge Zell to an eating war. Everyone was happy and behaving well.
I had my doubts about that staying as it was as well. As soon as they were set loose I had a feeling it would get rather wild.
After breakfast I headed over to the sink with my dishes, the children following suit. I took their dishes from them and placed them neatly in the sink. I'd put them in the dishwasher after I took everyone into the living room and gave them something to do.
They marched after me in their little line, over to the middle of the room. Once there I showed them the little games that were set up.
There was a bean bag toss, a 'pin the tail on the chocobo', and a few other little party games. I smiled and sent them off to play while I finished up in the kitchen. The always needed piñata would have to wait until I could monitor them. Didn't need Seifer swinging the stick at the others.
"Seifew's seading!" came a loud cry from what sounded like Selphie some minutes later.
"Am nod!" was the inevitable reply.
"Yeah, you awe!" That would be Irvine.
"Ged him!" Selphie again, followed by the sound of many little bodies hitting the floor and the occasional yelp.
"Ged ooff!" Seifer screamed and grunted, trying to get away from everybody that was holding him or actually sitting on him.
"No," Selphie squealed. "You seaded!"
I came into the room to see Selphie sitting on Seifer's back, Zell holding one of his feet, Irvine pointing his toy gun at the blonde's head and the others either staring at, or ignoring the scene.
"Selphie! Get off him. Zell, let go, and Irvine, put the gun away and step back from the captive."
Seifer pouted up at me as if saying he didn't need any help to get away. Of course, this was wishful thinking as there was no way he'd be able to escape Selphie and Co.
Selphie, who refused to get up on her own accord, was hauled off the squished blonde and set on her feet. "Now, what happened?" I asked the group as a whole.
"Seifew seaded!" Selphie cried.
"I gathered that much. How did he cheat?" It wasn't difficult to guess what might have been the issue, but if they were going to make such a fuss about it then I wanted a direct answer.
"He was peeging when id was his tuwn ta pud da tawl on da tocobo!" Little Miss Justice of the Peace declared.
I arched a brow at Seifer who merely glanced off to the side with a slight grumble. I suppose he realized that saying "no I did't!" did not work at all.
"Seifer, in the chocobo game you have to close your eyes really tight. It's more fun if you can't see," I explained to him.
"I wand ta win…" he murmured, still looking to the side.
"It doesn't matter if you win or lose. It is only a game. It is for fun, not for prizes, so enjoy yourself and don't cheat, or Selphie will attack you again."
The little brunette beamed happily, quite ready to attack the naughty blonde if he was going to disobey the rules again.
I know my little "lecture" had sunk in, even if Seifer didn't show it, so I left them to their games and returned once again to the kitchen.
The dishes were put in the dishwasher and the cake was brought down from its cooling tray. I was half way through icing the cake when Zell came running into the kitchen, squealing and laughing at the same time.
Right behind him was Seifer, who slowed his chase to a walk as he entered the room I was in and hid his hands behind his back.
I arched a brow at him again as Zell darted behind my legs and clutched onto my dress.
"He's gonna 'tick me!" Zell cried, peeking out to look at Seifer, then giggling and hiding again.
"No I is nod…" he shuffled back and forth in the place he had stopped, glancing between Zell and the floor.
"What's behind your back, Seifer?" I inquired, reaching a hand behind me and down to ruffle Zell's hair.
I was surprised when the child being questioned did not deny the hidden object, and simply looked down at his feet while he held out one of the tails from the Pin-the-Tail-on-the-Chocobo game.
"Seifer, what are you planning to do with that?" I asked, giving him a stern look. According to Zell's cries I knew exactly what he'd been planning, and of course Zell screeched one more accusation around my dress.
"You cannot stick pins into the children, Seifer." I really thought that was a rather obvious rule. None of the other children were running around trying to stick pinned tails onto their little fellows.
"I was't twying ta 'tick him, Matwyn. I jus' wanned ta 'cawe him a widdle." Seifer lifted up his hand and placed the paper tail in my outstretched hand then took a few sheepish steps back.
I sighed audibly and looked down at him. "What am I going to do with you? You can't even behave on his birthday. I just don't know, Seifer. I just don't know." I knew though, at least in part, what I wanted to say. Or at least what my tongue wanted to say without the guidance of my mind. I wanted to say it was hopeless, but I would never use such a dreary, hurtful word towards one of my boys. Besides, my mind had hope for him still.
"I can!" he said in some strange burst of compliance, trying to show me he could follow the rules. He ran around to Zell and before the littlest boy could escape, he had him wrapped in his arms.
Zell squeaked and squealed and giggled, and I had to stop myself from thinking Seifer was attempting to hurt the boy. After a few moments of playful struggle Zell turned about in Seifer's arms and hugged him back, eyes tightly shut as he bounced in place.
I really hoped Zell was in for a delayed growth spurt, because the size difference in the two was almost scary. I cocked my head at the older boy who looked up at me, his arms still around the latest four year old. "Zell wuvs me, see? He know I wood nevah huwt him fow weal."
Zell turned his shining blue eyes at me, and they almost shook with joy. "Seifew mage my chess go tump-tump weal fasd. I go 'ah!' and wun and wun and he tases me. Id is ouw game, Matwyn. Is my and Seifew's game."
I cocked a brow at the two of them. Maybe it was a game at sometimes, but when Zell ran to me crying I knew it wasn't. How was Seifer going to make friends if he kept driving them away? Not everyone would be as openly loving as Zell.
"Well, as long as you're playing. But, Seifer, no actual sticking pins into the other."
He gave me a look as if to say that was completely obvious and unwound his arms from the younger boy. "Shoo," he said, pushing on Zell's shoulders, forcing him back in the direction of the living room.
The little blond giggled and tottered back to his friends. Seifer looked back up at me with a stern look on his face. "I woun't tick him. Dat woud huwt."
"Don't make Zell cry, Seifer." This was meant to mean both from physical means as well as verbal. "You're the eldest boy. You have to protect the little ones." Give him responsibility, make him accountable.
He stared at me a long time, knowing well and good the only child I had placed any power in so far was Ellone. Very slowly he nodded and then returned to the living room where all the others were happily playing.
The day continued to its point of finality. Cake was eaten, presents were given, in the form of both toys and works of art, children played themselves to exhaustion and then were put to bed. I wondered idly, as I sat at the kitchen table sipping my tea, if seven birthdays a year would tired me out. Surely not, though. And surely it wouldn't be long before they were adopted, such sweet little boys and girls, my children were.