Hello~ I can´t sleep and therefore bring a new chapter^__^ It´s not that long this time, sorry, but the next ones will get longer again (actually I´ve finished chapter 31 and 32 mostly, only need to get my ass up for the actual next chapter -_-).

I hope you enjoy it, and as always I thank my lovely beta purefoysgirl for the great job she did!



29

Three weeks later the little family sat around the table in the dining hall and had their lunch. Zack had also come along, much to Kadaj's delight. He sat sandwiched between his bestest friend and Loz – whom he had slowly warmed up to during the last weeks, though he still refused to forgive him entirely. Once in a while he inconspicuously let some bread crumbs fall on the carpet for Berny to nibble at. The kitten had become a cat now and was rolled into a lazy ball to the feet of his keeper, making satisfied noises as it licked the crumbs from the carpet.

Sephiroth generously ignored the sneaky interaction and helped himself with the sauce. Next to him Yazoo impassively observed Loz wolfing down his serving while he himself only sporadically guided a half-full fork to his mouth. He didn't even pay attention to the on-going conversation until the meal was over and Sephiroth laid his napkin aside to beg for their attention by discreetly clearing his throat.

"I invited Elena for dinner tonight and I wish for you all to be present."

"Awesome! You can count on me, I'll definitely be there!" Zack announced immediately, and excitedly beamed at Kadaj, who seemed equally chipper at the news. He didn't know what exactly had happened to his foster father but he suspected that it was all thanks to his teacher that the General had changed so much. He still wasn't exactly loving and interaction with him felt awkward, but he wasn't hostile either. They had a housekeeper now who would come thrice a week to take care of the chores so Kadaj didn't have to do them anymore. Furthermore, Sephiroth hadn't hurt him once since then. He hadn't even been angry with Kadaj! Though Sephiroth was still rather busy and was seldom at home – and if he was he was mostly in his home office – it was all right. They had their evening meals together and the General would ask how school was going and even had a friendly word for them when they did well. This didn't mean that Kadaj had forgotten what had happened in the past, but he couldn't cling on to his hatred forever, and he was too busy enjoying the current harmony to hold much of a grudge. Besides, Zack visited often, as he had promised, and took his mind off of such things.

Loz however didn't look so enthusiastic and nervously shifted in his seat, throwing helpless glances at Yazoo, who just ignored them. The long-haired youth's eyes were fixated on his father, who either really didn't or choose to not see it. He noticed Loz being uncomfortable however.

"What is it Loz? You already had plans for tonight?"

"Uhm… well… kinda… a bit?" he peeped, voice sounding small.

Sephiroth intertwined his long fingers and arched a brow. "Really? What is it?"

"Yeah, well," Loz scratched his head and stared at his plate, his cheeks flaming as he admitted. "Actually Tifa asked if we could meet…"

"I see," the General said calmly, still watching the fidgeting youth. He looked thoughtful for a moment before he announced, "Well, why don't you ask her to join us then? I would like to meet her."

"Really?" the bulky youth mouthed, dumbstruck.

"Of course," Sephiroth stated matter-of-factly and reached for his water glass.

"Cool!" Kadaj exclaimed, nudging Zack as he saw Loz getting even redder and snickered. "She's really nice and Loz is sooooooooo in love with her!"

"Shut it!" Loz hissed, throwing his little brother a half-hearted glare since he was too busy being embarrassed. "Am not!"

"So are!"

"Not!"

"Are too!"

"Not!"

"All right, that is enough now." Sephiroth held his hands up and silenced them at once with one of his infamous, strict looks. Then his gaze wandered over to his middle child, who still stared holes into his skull, and suggested in a friendly manner, "And why don't you invite that redheaded friend of yours?"

For only a split second Yazoo looked close to someone who'd suddenly been thrown into an icy lake in the middle of the winter, but then his features merged back into the smooth, aloof mask and he replied with a somewhat mean edge, "Maybe I will do that."

"Good," Sephiroth replied, unimpressed, though his eyes weren't as calm as his face. In fact, they were rather cold, but Yazoo didn't have time to analyze it because the man's attention was drawn back to Zack, who just announced, "Hey, what about we have a barbeque-party? The weather's nice and all. I can go and get some steaks, sausages and lemonade. I bet my buddy'll join me eh?"

He winked at Kadaj who, naturally, was as keen as mustard and excitedly bounced up and down on his chair. The soldier looked at his superior for consent and got it in the form of a simple hand gesture to go ahead.

"Great! Now, go wash your hands Kadaj, I'll wait for you outside. Oh, and can you bring some paper and a biro? We can make a list on our way to the grocery store."

"Sure, will do," the youngest shouted from the door and out he was.

"I'll call Tif," Loz announced and was out of the hall as well, pushing the buttons of his cell already.

Sephiroth didn't even deign it worth his time to inform his remaining child where he was going. He simply stood from the table, throwing his napkin on his empty plate, and left with long strides.

Yazoo sat stiffly in his seat, watching his father leave. As he was all alone in the empty hall, his eyes narrowed. This had developed into a full-fledged catastrophe if one asked him – which, unsurprisingly, no one did – but two could play at this game. And so he grabbed for his own cell phone and dialled a number of his own.

*

Yazoo sat in his chair under an umbrella on the terrace, impassively holding his orange juice and watching everyone having 'fun' and being hyperactive. 'Everyone' included, so far, Kadaj who impatiently bounced next to Zack, pestering him about wanting to grill a sausage too. Loz tried to calm down his hyperventilating girlfriend, who had almost fainted when she was introduced to Sephiroth as Loz's father. Currently, they were sitting in the shadows by the pool a bit farther away, Loz worriedly holding Tifa's hand while she was taking deep breaths and looking a bit pale.

Sephiroth occasionally spared them a glance or two, but he wisely refrained from coming over as long as Tifa hadn't recovered yet. He stood near the grill with Zack and Kadaj, observing them as well, so that they wouldn't accidentally burn down his beautiful mansion. He wore a dark blue polo shirt now, and black, light pants, silver hair shining in the still powerful late afternoon sun like a waterfall made from pure silver…And he didn't spare one glance for Yazoo.

The woman hadn't arrived yet, so the silver-haired teen let his expressionless gaze wander over to Zack – who wore a ridiculous apron with the words 'kiss the cook' written on it – and Kadaj. The former just told his awed little brother a story about how their ancestors had barbequed what they had hunted just a few minutes before, effectively distracting him from the hot and slightly dangerous fire place.

The table where Yazoo was sitting at was already filled with plates, cutlery and a big bowl of noodle salad Sephiroth had curtly ordered him to make. Though it had been extremely tempting, Yazoo had abandoned the thought of adding a special spice of purge, but this didn't mean that he appreciated the situation at all. No, for now he'd sit back and observe…

"They even hunted bears," Zack importantly told Kadaj, and expertly turned the steaks around so they could get crispy from the other side as well.

"Really?" Kadaj breathed, impressed, and absently took Bernhard up, pressing him against his chest.

"Yeah, really big ones, too," the soldier affirmed with a nod, face very serious.

"How big?" the boy queried, shuffling his feet in excitement.

"Hm, let me think…" Zack said, looking thoughtful and tapping the barbeque fork against his chin. His gaze wandered over to Sephiroth, who stood beside them, arms crossed over his chest and following the conversation with a calm expression. "At least…thrice as big as your dad."

Kadaj's eyes darted over to his foster father, who had arched a brow in scepticism, and then bestowed his attention back on his bestest friend, looking equally as unconvinced.

"You're lying…"

"What?!" Zack pretended to be utterly incredulous and deeply hurt, but then he winked at the boy with an impish smile, "Ah, okay, maybe just twice as huge."

Kadaj gave a chortled laugh at that and was about to reply something, but the sound of wheels driving on gravel cut him off. The three turned their heads in unison and watched the automatic gate close behind the black limousine driving in front of the mansion.

Sephiroth unfolded his arms and went to the car, followed by Zack, who quickly pressed the barbeque fork into Kadaj's hand and told him to watch the steaks for a moment.

Before the two men reached the limousine, however, the driver's door was already opened and Cloud Strife emerged, rounding the vehicle and opening the back door with a straight face and quick, mechanical movements.

Elena had difficulties getting out of the low, soft seat without dropping the bowl of salad she had in her hands, but somehow she managed. She felt a bit uncomfortable with all the luxury suddenly surrounding her. That was, she was used to rich people surrounding her – or at least their children – but suddenly being thrown into that world made her wish she could have a break sometimes to catch her breath…

While she was still busy rearranging her skirt, the young man who had picked her up at her apartment straightened suddenly and saluted with a jagged, "Sir, Miss Elena, sir."

Sephiroth just waved a hand in dismissal at him and bestowed his attention on his flustered girlfriend. "Here, let me help you with that." He carefully took the large ceramic blow out of her hand and pulled her into a brief embrace.

"Thank you," she replied weakly, still not completely sure if this was all but a dream she'd wake up from any minute. It usually was like that only for the first few minutes, though. After that it all went 'normal', meaning she could enjoy herself without fearing an embarrassing fainting fit at any given moment. Today Elena was especially nervous, though, seeing that she was 'introduced' to Sephiroth's family as his girlfriend…hopefully the boys wouldn't think badly of her now…

"Hey there! I'm Zack." A cheerful young man, rather curiously and blatantly looking her up, pulled her out of her worrying thoughts by gifting her with a sunny smile and sparkling eyes.

"H-hello. Elena, nice to meet you" Elena replied, a bit startled, and hurried to take the hand that was outstretched towards her. His firm grip and eager shaking left her a bit breathless, but fortunately Sephiroth saved her with a warning, "That's enough, now."

The teacher withdrew her slightly hurting arm, and leaned closer towards Sephiroth, but she didn't really dislike Zack. On the contrary, he reminded her a bit of an overly lively little puppy, or one of her more clever students.

And surely the young man turned his sunny smile to his second victim after he had been forbidden to molest the young woman and Sephiroth was quietly speaking to her anyway. "Hey Spiky! Lookin' sharp in that uniform!"

Cloud only flinched ever so slightly, but his expression was straight as always and he didn't deflect his saluting position for one moment. "Thank you, sir."

"Ahh, c'mon, don't be like that," the other soldier laughed, clasping the man on the shoulder. "It's weekend, you're off-duty. Not that I don't appreciate you bringing the lovely Miss Elena into our rows," he quickly added, throwing her an adoring look and then murmuring into the blond's ear, "She's hot, man."

Cloud shot him an awkward look, not sure how he was supposed to behave now. Indeed, it had been a personal favour from the General and technically he was off-duty, but he just couldn't slack off in front of his personal hero, could he –

"Hey, I know! Since you're here, why don't you join us anyway? We're barbequing and there's enough for everyone!" Zack suddenly exclaimed, startling Cloud even more. The question wasn't directed at him though, but at the General who simply waved a hand in approval since he was busy with Elena and not listening to Zack's constant blabbering anyway.

"I – it's an honour, sir!" The blond hurried to stammer, taking the hat from his spiky hair and bowing deeply to show his gratitude.

Zack just smiled at him and draped his arm over the young man's shoulder, dragging him behind. "Okay, that's enough with the formalities! Let's get started, I'm starving!"

tbc


A party, yay! I wished the weather here was better so I could have one of my own, but then better not... So busy *sigh*

Valitiel: Haha, well, yes, pouty Kadaj is a bit manipulative, he´s a clever little guy^^ I wanted to include a bit of his personality from AC already, I hope it worked the right way. You might have seen not only a glimpse of Old Seph there ;)

Natzilla: Yay!!! I´m glad you enjoy it now! I can see how you would feel uncomfortable with them, they even scare me sometimes. I really explore their darkest sides here, I guess… I need Zack and Kadaj as 'comic relief', sort of, to not become too angsting, but the draws the contrast between them even more sharply I guess… Well, things are looking better now anyway^^

IA1979: I couldn´t resist to let my inner fangirl to partake as well ;) I was just imagineing how I would react if Sephiroth would ever call me, and then the rest was pretty easy to write, haha. Hm, I suppose Sephiroth won´t change from wacko sadist into happy-go-lucky guy in one night, and he probably will never be the latter, but I suppose he´s trying. Yazoo *fingers in his ears*: "Lalalalallalaala, can´t here you :P" Hehehe, maybe he´ll have his own socializer *glances at a certain redhead*

Wildfire Sniper: I´m happy you found it funny^^ Zack got a bit too excited there, I´m afraid, but he only meant good of course, and maybe he´s not that off the mark? We´ll see ;)

Xyleel: Ola! Uhm, naja, nachdem was er getan hat, wird er wohl nie völlig zum good guy mutieren , da hat er wohl ein bisschen zuviel Mist gebaut... Aber er versucht zur Abwechslung mal, nett zu sein. Und für Kadaj kann das ja nur gut sein, der hat schon genug mit ihm durchmachen müssen. Hm, Yazoo scheint mit der Gesamtsituation eher unzufrieden... Aber vielleicht gibt es ja jemanden, der ihm das austreibt? Wir werden sehen XD

Purefoysgirl: *glomps* Thank you for all the wonderful reviews, you made my day! I´d so pass out too, and on the actual date I would get a peep out! You could at least talk to him about the army, I bet he´d be delighted to listen to you! (At least I was XD) And I am happy you found Kadaj´s reaction plausible, I was a bit worried that it would seem a bit rushed… Well, yes, Yazoo doesn´t seem too happy with the situation, but he might just think that he can find himself someone who actually appreciates him… Yeah, Zack *rolls eyes and smacks him as well*

Review please?