(A/N: Hey all! Guess whose still sick? ME THAT'S WHO! And guess who might have a job soon? That's RIGHT! I'm so special! And now, without further adieu, READ ON, PEEPS!)
Reno scowled deeply. Jayden had spent the last three days holed up deep within the bowels of the wolf compound, not even leaving for food (Pop-Pop brought meals to her) and when she did leave to go to bed at night, she would skirt past him as quickly as possible, saying good night to everyone else and shutting herself up in her room without a word to him.
That's what really bugged Reno, how she was acting as though he didn't exist. Even if he walked directly in front of her, Jayden just walked right around him as if he were a wall, or a piece of furniture.
What bothered him the most was the silence. The lack of conflict was just so annoying. Nobody else, save for Elena, would argue with him…and even Elena had evened out since starting her casual relationship with Rude and rarely ever started up anything with him anymore.
Even Rude wouldn't get into it with him anymore. The only verbal sparring Reno got now was from Pop-Pop when he threw a board with nails into the KEEP pile. Reno actually had started doing it deliberately just so he could get a little bickering in…but usually, Pop-Pop would just ream him, chuck the board into the dumpster and then go about his merry way before things got too heated.
Reno had finally had enough though and had asked Mikayla to take him into the wolf enclosure the moment he had spotted Jayden with her arm down the throat of a wolf (forcing it to swallow meds) It was the perfect opportunity as she had no where to go…since she was kind of trapped at the moment.
Mikayla had agreed on two conditions – one: Reno stayed at her side or Jayden's at all times while inside the compound and made no sudden movements, and two: that Reno keep his voice down so he wouldn't startle the animals.
After agreeing to her terms, Mikayla led him inside, leading him cautiously through the playing, feeding, snapping wolves to where her daughter was.
"Um, not that it's any of my business Keith, but any reason for the sudden urge to talk to J.D.?" Mikayla asked, quirking an eyebrow at Reno.
"Oh, no reason. Just felt like buggin' her, yo." He replied easily, not about to tell Jayden's mother the reason behind her daughter's sudden behavior change.
"Well, okay." Mikayla shrugged, deciding not to push the envelope more than necessary, "Oi, J.D.! I'm leaving Red here with you, okay, hun?"
"…m'kay." she replied, extracting her arm from the throat of the wolf in front of her, "But if he gets mauled? Not my fault."
"Of course, sweetie…it's the wolves and their voracious appetites that'll be to blame!" Mikayla laughed as she walked towards the gate, leaving Reno and Jayden alone.
"Hey listen, I'm gettin' pretty sick of this silent treat-" Reno was abruptly cut off by Jayden as she spoke to him for the first time in three days.
"What did you come here for Reno?" she asked coolly, not turning around. The iciness of her tone caught him a little off guard, but he regained his composure quickly.
"Well you don't have to sound so rude about-!" he started again, only to be once again, rudely interrupted.
"You're right. I'm sorry." Jayden replied in a tone dripping with sarcasm, something not lost on Reno, which caused him to scowl deeply.
"You aren't sorry at all!" he retorted, folding his arms over his chest.
"You're right. I'm not." Jayden replied matter-of-factly, back still to him as she beckoned another wolf to her.
"What is with you?" Reno cried, throwing his hands into the air, "I came out here to apologize! Seriously, I know I acted like a jerk, but you…I mean, what the hell, yo!"
"What does it matter to you how I behave?" she asked coolly, "Even though we're standing so close, we may as well be miles apart."
"What in the hell are you going on about?" Reno asked frustratedly, growing more and more agitated when she didn't turn around to speak to him.
"Once all this is sorted out and you all return to Gaia, you'll start to forget about me." Jayden shrugged listlessly, running her fingers through the fur of the wolf in front of her, "Such is your nature."
"I will not!" Reno cried, so irritated that he didn't notice how much he was agitating the wolves, "Don't you preach to me what I will and won't do, yo!"
"Oh so?" Jayden asked dryly, "Then what was the name of that woman you were with? Can you honestly say you remember?"
"Hell yeah I can!" Reno fumed, more than ready to contradict Jayden, "Her name was…it was…ah…umm…I know it started with an L."
"You see my point." She said with a sigh, giving the wolf in front of her a final pat and rising to her feet, "Once you return to Gaia, your memories of me, earth, my family and the time we spent together will instantly begin to fade."
"Oh yeah? Well whaddabout you?" Reno retorted, arms akimbo as he tried to psychically will Jayden to turn around, "Actin' all superior. Can you really say that you won't forget all of us when we disappear?"
"…no." Jayden said, shocking Reno, "It's the nature of adults. They forget what was important to them in their youth."
"So…so you're admittin' it then?" Reno asked, walking forward so that he was directly behind her, "That you'll forget us?"
"Yes." Jayden replied, back still to him as she still refused to turn around, "I'm not proud of it…but there it is."
"That's bull. I won't forget." Reno said with the air of a stubborn child, "You can't go around telling me what I will and wont do, yo."
"…heh. That's probably one of the biggest lies I've ever heard in my life." Jayden snorted, turning to look at him through the corner of her eye, a weak smile on her lips, "…but I guess it's the thought that counts, huh?"
"I saw that! That was a smile!" Reno whooped victoriously, glomping her from behind.
"Hey, I would call it a smile so much as a muscle spasm." Jayden said wryly, wriggling to get out of Reno's grasp.
"Don't lie, yo! That was so a smile!" Reno smirked squeezing her tighter and grinning like a maniac.
"It was not. I'll deny it forever!" Jayden squealed, throwing her arms over her head and slipping under Reno's grip, making a mad dash for the exit.
"No fair escaping!" Reno cried, darting out after her and slamming the chain link door shut behind him, startling several of the wolves in to barking loudly at the sudden sound.
"It's plenty fair!" Jayden called back laughingly, "But this, on the other hand, is totally underhanded! CHARLIE! KYLE! KEITH'S TRYING TO RAPE ME!"
"Aw, hell!" Reno yelped, turning on his heel and running for the hills as Charlie appeared out of the construction site with a sledgehammer and Kyle sprinted out of the barn with a pitchfork.
"Well I'm glad to see they're all so lively." Mikayla laughed, watching this scene unfold from the kitchen, "Well…I guess I should say 'almost' all of them. Something on your mind, boys?"
Sephiroth glanced up when Mikayla placed a hand on his shoulder and gazed at him and his brothers with concern.
"You're the only ones who didn't go down to the river. If there's anything wrong, feel free to tell me." Mikayla said gently, watching as Loz and Yazoo shifted uncomfortably and exchanged looks with Sephiroth.
"Well, ma'am, we've just come to terms with something rather…rather shocking and it's just difficult for us to accept as true even though we've had irrefutable proof shoved under our noses." Sephiroth mumbled, not looking at Mikayla as she listened with a sympathetic ear.
"I know how that is." She replied, taking a seat in between the three, "When I received news of my husbands death, I didn't believe it and demanded that they take it back…begged for them to make it all not true…even though that was impossible."
"Well, our problem also involves a loss in a manner of speaking." Yazoo muttered under his breath, "You see, we grew up without a Mother…and we've basically raised ourselves. So as of late, we've been wondering…"
"What you've been missing out on?" Mikayla asked, a soft smile appearing on her face as all three nodded slowly, "Welll boys, you're in luck…because this old bird still has a lot of mothering left in her. Howbout it? Want me to act as your mom for awhile?"
"S-seriously?" Loz gaped, eyes widening into saucers as Mikayla nodded, "You mean it?"
"Mm-hm. Doesn't bother me." Mikayla shrugged, "After all, all three of mine are pretty much independent and working on moving out into their own places. This'll help me ease into being an empty nester and give you a chance to experience family life. We'd be helping each other."
All three stared at the middle-aged woman and scrutinized her smiling face for any trace of deception, mockery or the like. When they saw none, they had to wonder what the catch was.
And these suspicious looks were not lost on Mikayla and she loosed a short laugh.
"I'm not messing with ya!" she cried, trying her best to compose herself, "Scouts honor!" Mikayla pledged, switching her fingers into the Boy Scout salute.
"…what are scouts?" Loz asked, lifting an eyebrow at Mikayla…and the look of such childlike curiosity on a full grown man proved too much for Mikayla as she dissolved into giggles.
"Oh, you're just too cute!" she wheezed, arms wrapped around her stomach as she gasped for air, "Ahhhh, it doesn't matter anyway. I never was a scout any way. I suppose I shoulda said Brownie's honor."
"I'm confused." Yazoo murmured.
"Aren't we all." Mikayla agreed, patting him on the back, "All you really need to know is that for the time being, I'll act as your mom, okay?"
"…alright…I suppose." Sephiroth said slowly, wondering to himself, when she had arbitrarily decided all this.
"And to get things off on the right foot, I'd like for you to help me bring in the groceries please." Mikayla smiled, clapping her hands together in a note of finality, "C'mon, on your feet! Let's go boys!"
"Man, oh man! This feels great! Pop-Pop has some great property, huh?" Yuffie asked cheerfully as she waded up to her waist in the tepid river water.
"No complaints on this end. Mmm…lord this feels fantastic." Elena sighed blissfully as she floated on the surface of the water lazily giving a kick of her feet every so often.
"Well it's no small wonder. We haven't worked like this in awhile." Rufus sighed, resting on a large river rock that jutted out over the water.
It was the perfect rock for sunning…diving…and Rude and Reeve were taking full advantage of its location to dive into the river below.
Cid and Barrett were playing a game of Chicken against Cloud and Tseng (Tseng had been taunted until he reached his breaking point – hence why he's playing) Tseng utilizing his anger fueled strength to help him shove Cid off Barrett's shoulders.
"Men…I swear, as cute as they are, I'll never even try to understand them." Tifa sighed, shaking her head sheepishly as she watched Cloud stick out his tongue slightly in concentration before loosing a battle cry and marching awkwardly forward in the water.
"I'm of the same gender and even I can't comprehend the mechanics of their minds half of the time." Vincent replied lazily from under the shade of a tall pine tree, letting loose a long, soundless yawn, "Don't feel too badly about it."
"Somehow, I think she'll be able to survive the heart break, Vincent." Reeve said cheerfully as he pulled himself out of the water and made his way back to the diving rock where Rufus still sunned himself.
"Could you watch where you're dripping please?" Rufus asked, crinkling up his nose as Reeve's wet feet splashed water up onto his legs.
Rude and Reeve then exchanged a look, nodded, and caved into their testosterone. They ducked down, hefted the president of ShinRa Corp. up by his wrists and ankles and heaved him into the water.
"Sorry, sir. But think of it this way…the drips will be less noticeable this way." Rude said with a nod, taking three steps back before dashing forward and cannonballing off the rock and into the water directly next to Rufus, causing a tidal wave to surge over his head.
"Rude! That was out of line!" Elena cried, staring nervously from Rufus to Rude and back again from where she floated…but Rufus, being a man, was also prone to bursts of male hormone and promptly retaliated by dunking his employee underwater and holding him there for a three count.
"Wow…so he can be a dude at times…whodathunk?" Yuffie snorted.
It was late, about four in the morning when the ear splitting alarm had gone off, causing several members of the AVALANCHE resistance and the Turks to nearly give themselves concussions.
The Remnants and the One Winged Angel also had major spaz attacks and had flown out of bed and onto the floor in a most ungainly fashion at the blaring sound.
The sound of several pairs of feet running through the halls was heard through the din as doors were thrown open.
"What the hell is going on?" Reno yelled over the deafening noise at Charlies rapidly disappearing back.
"Poachers in the wolf compound!" he barked over his shoulder, a high-powered tranquilizer riffle in his hand.
"This is the seventh time in five months." Pop-Pop said tersely, a gun loaded with rubber bullets over his shoulder as they ran, not walked, to the enclosure, "They think because its closed quarters it'll make for easier hunting."
"Not that we'd ever make it easy for them." Kyle ground out, running through the writhing masses of frightened animals towards the sounds of gunfire and loud, drunken laughter.
"Wait out here." Mikayla said curtly, "These animals are frightened and many of them are probably hurt. We can't guarantee your safety until those poachers are gone."
"But-!" Yazoo interjected.
"No buts!" Mikayla snapped, eyes flashing with worry, "I don't want to see you get hurt! Now for the love of god, stay here and do as I ask of you! Please!"
With one last look, she darted into the fenced off area and closed the gate quickly behind her.
Despite this…strange moment between her mother and the Silver Haired Man, Jayden said nothing, just loaded an arrow into her bow. Mikayla, also an archer it seemed, loaded her own and the two darted forward.
There was a loud crack of a gun being fired followed shortly after by an animalistic yelp. A cry of triumph split the air and Jayden gnashed her teeth as a older wolf limped over the hillside.
As soon as the first one reared their ugly mug, Jayden and Mikayla loosed their arrows, pinning him to a tree.
He let out a cry of alarm and shouted out a warning to his friends, spurning the family to move that much faster.
An engine started up and headlights came to life, six bodies leaping inside as it took off.
"No fair escaping." Jayden muttered under her breath, loosing three arrows at once, two hitting the left rear tire, one hitting the right front causing it to spin out and flip on to its side.
"That's far enough, don't you think?" Pop-Pop asked casually, aiming his gun into the car before any of the men had a chance to run off, "Kyle? Bring that rope over here, wouldja?"
(A/N: Mikayla announces her plan to adopt the SHM...if only temporarilly and Jayden, while thinking her mother had completely lost her mind, goes along with the gag...and also issues a warning to the three. Yuffie and Rufus go on a double date with Elena and Rude! R&R!)