"Are we there yet?" Kadaj called, from where he was sitting at one of the computers, his head resting heavily in his hands. He got bored with driving, long ago, and passed the wheel on to Cid.

Cid groaned. "Will you stop asking that?"

Yazoo was vaguely amusing himself with drawing on a sleeping Loz's face. "But it feels like we've been flying for years."

Vincent scoffed. "Don't exaggerate." Even so, he leaned over Cid's shoulder, whispering in his ear. "Seriously, Chief, are you taking the scenic route?"

Seph, who was sitting nearby, watching his legs swinging through the railing, started giggling.

"Will everyone just relax, we're almost there."

Finally, the Highwind settled down in the outskirts of Trecht. A small town along the edge of a forest, sort of out in the middle of nowhere.

The boys started to unload the airship, piling the supplies on the back of their bikes.

Yazoo and Kadaj laughed openly as Cid started to lead the two Chocobo from the hanger. "Are you two really going to ride those things?" Yazoo managed, as Loz finished securing the knot to the back of his bike.

Cid scoffed, sliding a saddle onto the Golden bird's back. "You boys have your transportation, and these are ours."

Kadaj threw a leg over his bike, smirking. "Do you really think those stupid birds can keep up with our rides?"

"Don't let this old bird fool ya. She's a lot faster than you think."

Kadaj gave the bird's scrawny legs a snide look. "We'll just have to see about that."

"Now boys." Vincent chimed, settling Seph atop the black Chocobo. "This isn't a race."

"I beg to differ." Snorted Yazoo, kick starting his bike. "You're just saying that because you know you're going to lose."

Vincent just rolled his eyes. "You're not going to bait me into-"

"You're on, ya little punk." Cid snorted, pulling Kiwi up alined with the three bikes. "I'll show ya that you don't always need all that fancy crap for speed."

Vincent stared at his husband in confusion, for a bit. He wasn't truly sure if he had heard him right. Did Cid just support something other than technology?

"Bring it on, Gramps." Kadaj jeered, readying to take off.

"You better watch it, Kid."

"Now, hold on, Cid." Vincent turned Keri to make his way over. "You're the adult here. Don't stoop to their-" Before he could even reach them, the four riders had taken off, leaving a cloud of dust to completely consume Vincent and Seph. Keri warked in alarm, flapping her wings at the dust. She finally settled down, about the time the dust cleared, Vincent staring off at the retreating cloud. "-level." He snorted, blowing a lock of hair from his face.

Seph sputtered at the remaining dirt, then folded his arms in a huff that seemed a little mature for his size. "Ruffians."

"Tell me about it."

xXx

The four riders were relatively well matched for a while, Yazoo soon pulling ahead a bit.

Loz grinned determinedly. His feet kicked down on the ignition, twisting the handles to pick up speed, until he was somewhere between his brothers.

Cid was lagging behind, much to his disappointment. He loved having opportunities to school these young whipper snappers. "Come on, girl." He pleaded with the Chocobo. "I know you can run faster than this. Don't let those kids show you up."

"Wark."

"No back talk, soldier. If ya beat em, I'll give ya a whole bushel of fresh greens."

"Wark?"

"With some choconuts thrown in." Cid finished in a snide whisper.

"WARK!" Kiwi actually skipped, then bolted forward, when she hit the ground, nearly dislodging her rider.

Cid laughed as they closed in on the boys. "Yea, that's my girl."

There were protests of disbelief from the remnants, and Cid just jeered back at them. "It's better this way, y'know. It's not like you three even know where you're going."

Kadaj growled, his eyes narrowing on their father. He called back to his brother, and they picked up speed, racing after Cid.

Cid jeered, urging Kiwi to pick up speed. Those damn bikes were a lot faster than he thought they'd be. "Ya don't get the greens, if you lose."

Kiwi actually growled, picking up her pace.

Trecht came into view, off in the distance. The Highwind household was actually located in the woods, past the town. Respectfully, it would be a good idea to go around the village, and enter the woods that way... though this is not the case when you're racing.

The four riders were closing in on the entrance to the town. It was a small gate, which would have to bottle neck the group, potentially deciding the winner. Cid and Kadaj glanced over at each other, both realizing this at the same time. A snide sneer spread across Kadaj's face, and he swerved a bit, as if to run into Cid. Kiwi warked in shock, flapping her wings, but getting his point.

It took Cid a bit to calm her down, by then the boys had whizzed into the town. Cid swore loudly, urging her on in.

Many people shrieked, jumping out of the way, as they whizzed through the central street. It wasn't a very large town, but there was a sort of stone structure in the center, which they had to swerve around. Fortunately, they missed it, which was good because they didn't need any further damage to this poor town.

Soon, they hit the end, racing off into the woods. Cid caught up with them soon enough, finding he had an easier time weaving in and out of the trees on his mount, than the boys did. There was a small house, close into the woods, coming clearer into view. "Slow down, boys. We don't need to wreck the house."

The remnants sneered, not wanting to try and give Cid a chance to win. The four closed in on their destination, skidding to a halt in another cloud of debris. Once the new cloud of dust cleared, the boys were already arguing about who won.

Cid scoffed. "Fat chance. My bird wiped the forest floor with ya all. You just don't want to admit it."

"Nuh uh, we left you in the dust."

"You also cheated. Bumpin me like that, you tryin ta kill me?"

"Course not, Captain." Kadaj smirked, climbing from the bike.

As they continued to argue, a few heads poked out of the door, eying the newcomers in question. Shortly, however, everything went quiet. There was a very ominous aura looming in on the small group. All eyes swiveled around to see a dark figure coming though the woods. The pressure grew as Vincent closed in on them. He brought the Chocobo to a halt, not bothering to look at any of them.

He climbed down, helping Seph from Keri's back. Even the bird was spooked, though the brunt of her unease diminished when those blazing red eyes turned to his family. A group shudder ran through their bodies, the silence thickening.

Seph clung onto Vincent's coat, grinning viciously to his brothers. "Ooh, you're gonna get it."

Vincent folded his arms across his chest. "Seph, would you please take the luggage from Keri?"

"Ok."

Slowly, Vincent started to walk towards his children, increasing the tension. He closed his eyes briefly, taking a steadying breath. "Boys, do you notice something missing?"

They stood at attention, casting sideways glances to each other, a bit confused both by what he meant, and that their father figure still had red eyes behind that anger. "I-I don't-" Kadaj started, then flinched when Vincent's hand snapped out. He was half expecting him to hit one of them, but instead he pointed directly towards their bikes. "Take a good look."

They stared at the three bikes, but couldn't for the life of them figure out what he meant. Their bikes were fully intact, it didn't seem like they had lost any... all three froze, the truth seeming to hit them at the same time. "Uh." Loz raised a timid hand, like a child in class. "The-the um... lugg-"

"That's right." Vincent's eyes blazed, stepping into them. "I don't know what was going through your minds, but there is no excuse for you to act like a bunch of crazed hoodlums. We have taught you better. This is not a good way for this family to make an impression." No one dared say anything, more scared by the fact that Vincent was not yelling, but giving them that stern snappish disapproving tone. His hand thrust back towards the village. "Our luggage, as well as it's contents is strewn across the fields. Now, I want you three to go back and collect every bit of it, and apologize to the people in that village. I'll decide your punishment when you return, do you understand me?"

Their eyes shifted to the ground. When they didn't respond, Vincent growled, "Do you understand me?"

"Yes sir." They mumbled and started for their bikes.

"You will walk." Vincent snapped, not even bothering to look back at them. "It's the only way I can make sure you don't cause any further problems."

They grumbled, but did as they were told, heads hung low.

When they were out of sight, Vincent sighed, trying to calm his nerves. "As for you." Instantly, he whipped around to Cid, who was trying to sneak away. Cid froze, standing at attention.

"I can't even begin to express how disappointed I am with you." Vincent snarled, closing in on him. "You are supposed to be the adult here. You are to set an example for those boys, not egging them on into acting like wild children."

"Yea, but they-"

"I don't care what they did. You can't let them drag you down to their level." His hand snapped back after the boys. "You're going to supervise. Against my better judgment, of your previous actions, I'm trusting you to make sure they get done what they are supposed to, without further incident."

Not wishing to anger his love any further, Cid hung his head, and followed after the boys. "Yes, Dear."

Vincent sighed in aggravation, rubbing at a dull throb in his head.

"Well, look who's finally starting to blossom."

The tension dulled a bit, as Vincent turned towards the voice and smiled. "Hello, Aunt Gracie."

A short woman, with thin graying hair, and a very broad smile walked up to him ignoring the fear that everyone else had. She pulled Vincent into a hug, kissing him lightly on the cheek. "Hey, Shoog. It's good to see you boys again." She pulled back, smiling broadly. "You're certainly getting the hang of this parenting thing." She laughed, patting him on the arm.

Vincent chuckled, uncertain, running a hand through his hair. "I just can't believe them sometimes."

"Those boys definitely keep you on your toes, huh?"

"They do that."

Gracie started messing with Vincent's hair. "Say now. I thought you just had it tied back. What happened?"

"Oh. It was getting in the way. I cut it some time ago."

"It looks nice, Dear."

Vincent flushed, tucking the hair behind his ear. "Thank you."

Gracie seemed to have just noticed the pair of green eyes gleaming at her from behind the black bird. Her own eyes lit up, moving around to get a better look at him. "Oh, now who's this?"

She moved around to try and see him, but Seph yelped, running around the other side of Keri to get to Vincent. He clung to the ex-Turk's leg, hiding his face in his pants.

This reaction didn't seem to perturb her at all. On the contrary, she seemed to find it adorable. "Aww, how sweet, he's shy." She stepped closer, giving Vincent a snide smile. "I'll bet he gets that from you."

"I suppose."

Bending over, to try and make eye contact, Gracie gave Seph one of the sweetest smiles she could muster, which was still rather warming. "Hi Sweety. I'm your Aunt Gracie. Can you come out and say, hi?"

Seph whimpered, hiding further into Vincent's leg.

"Come on, now. It's ok." Vincent crooned, kneeling down to pull the small child in front of him. "Aunt Gracie, this is Seph. Say hi, Seph."

"Hi." He squeaked, staring at his twisted fingers.

"You are simply precious. Can I get a hug, kiddo?" She held her arms out, and Seph pulled back into Vincent.

Vincent laughed lightly, drawing him into his arms. "That might be a while."

"I see. He really does take after you, huh?" She straightened up. "I'm getting a hug before you leave. Come on, and meet the rest of the family. Well, some of it."

Gracie helped him carry the baggage and lead the way inside.

Everyone had retreated back into the house, as Vincent approached, still terrified of Vincent's earlier rage fit. There were three other people sitting in the den, watching him silently as he walked in. "Hi, um." Vincent's face flushed, bowing to the group. "I'm sorry about that, back there. They're really better behaved than that."

"Since when?" Seph snorted, and Vincent nudged his arm.

"Take these to the guest room, Dear." Gracie began, handing the suitcase to a dark blonde man, standing next to the door to the kitchen. He did as he was told, rushing up the stairs. "Everyone." She began, giving him a squeeze. "This is Vincent, and this little darling is Seph."

Vincent felt his face burning against their stares, finding he was falling back to the same level as the shy child clinging to his hand. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea for him to send Cid away.

"Vincent- come on, Dear- this is my daughter, Jenna." She motioned to a young woman, probably in her late 20s, who liked like she was trying her best not to show how terrified she still was. "Hi."

"And this is Janis."

Vincent's eyes immediately snapped at hearing the name of Cid's mother. She seemed to be in rather good shape, for her age, but there was a wear in her eyes that showed her true age. The once blonde sheen in her shoulder length hair had long since grayed, but when she stood to greet him, the smile gleamed in her eyes in a way he knew so well in his husband's gaze. Janis moved forward, reaching out to shake his hand. "It's nice to finally meet you. Gracie has told me so much about you." Her gaze fixed on him, taking on a note of uncertainty. "You look very familiar. Have we met?"

Vincent's face flushed deeper. "I um, don't believe so."

Her eyes flicked between Vincent and Seph. She must have resolved an answer, because she backed up laughing. "You're right. The man I met would be much older, than you." She waved a hand, starting into the kitchen. "Why don't you two come on in here. I made tea."

Seph glanced up at Vincent, tugging his hand. "Have you met her before?"

"Shush."

They started after her, when the man from before came back down the stairs. He seemed to steel himself, shaking Vincent's hand tightly. "Good to finally meet ya, face-ta-face. I'm Charles."

"Oh." Vincent gave him his full attention, actually looking at him. It was kinda unnerving how much this guy actually looked like Cid. His hair was darker, and his eyes were brown, but they could easily be twins. He kinda wondered if their personalities were similar as well.

Charles lifted Vincent's hand over his head, looking him over. "Damn, you're pretty. Cid's a lucky man." He chuckled. "Hell, I'd turn for you."

Vincent's cheeks turned a deep red, but he couldn't help but smile. Definitely similar.

Gracie sneered, snapping Charles by the ear. "You watch your tongue, young man. There's no call for that kinda talk."

"Ow, ow, ow. Sorry, Ma. I was just jokin. Ow, let go."

Vincent smiled, following them into the kitchen. He had an inclination that he might actually be alright with these people. Given the initial exposure with his dear pilot.

##

AN: Holy! Is this one still living? The hiatus mainly started cause the plot kept going through a bunch of re-writes, but I think I've finally settled on something that could work. WOO HOO! The last time I tried writing this chapter, I wasn't really liking it. I definitely liked this better, making Vincent go into mega-mommy mode AKA: my mom. And just cause, Lil Sephy was channeling me. Any time my brothers were in trouble, I was sitting back laughing at them. MWAHAHA