Disclaimer: Oh, thank you everyone for all the reviews! Especially Ezri-Candy and Emri! Both of you are such an inspiration to me! Oh, and Emri, I got the cub's names off of a baby name website. Nariko is Japenese, Nova and Kayo, I believe are either Arabic or Hebrew. I forget what Naava is. And thank you everybody who reviewed! You guys have no clue how inspiring it is to check your email and find a bunch of reviews. It's like Christmas! I hope you like this chapter! And to all of you who don't want Vincent to leave Tifa, well, I have a plan! So don't come and chase me down the street with an aluminum baseball bat if you don't like it! You'll like it better when I post chapter 12! But until then I hope you enjoy this chapter!
The next morning Vincent woke me up about seven. I put on fresh clothes and brushed all the tangles out of my hair. I slung my bag over my shoulder and picked up the cubs then followed Vincent down to the chocobo stables.
When we arrived Red was already there and both of our chocobos were fed and ready to go. Red told Nariko and Seto to stay close to Yuffie or me at all times and not to move around too much while we were riding on the chocobo. An idea popped into my head as I grabbed my bag from its place on Seraph's saddle. I unzipped it and placed both cubs inside then made sure it wouldn't fall off while I was riding.
"Thanks again, Red. I'll take good care of them."
"I know you will. Have fun," he said, before Vincent and I spurred our chocobos towards Nibelheim.
We arrived in Nibelheim late morning. After getting the cubs a drink of water from Vincent's house I went back outside and got ready for my journey to Rocket Town. Vincent was still out back, tending to Dakota. Before getting on my mount I walked up to him.
"You sure you're gonna be okay?"
"Yes."
"Okay," I said, getting up on my tiptoes and giving Vincent a hug. "If you need me for anything just give me call. I'll miss you."
I backed away from him and he nodded. He patted my forearm a few times before speaking.
"I will miss you also. It was nice to spend time with you Tifa."
I smiled before I said my last goodbyes to Vincent and sped away from Nibelheim.
The trip through the Nibel Mountains was uneventful. By the time we arrived at Rocket down if was mid afternoon. I found a place to put Seraph and grabbed the cubs from my bag.
"Follow me you two," I told them, setting them down on the ground. "We're going to see a friend before we go to Wutai."
They nodded and followed me through town until we arrived at Cid and Shera's place. I knocked on the door a few times then stepped back. Cid came to the door a few moments later. He had an agitated look on his face but it was replaced with a wide smile when he saw me.
"Well, hot damn! Tifa! How ya been?" he asked, stepping aside so I could come in.
"Great! How are you?" I said, looking behind me making sure the cubs were still there.
"Where'd ya find these little rascals?" Cid asked, kneeling down and picking up Seto.
"They're two of Red and Seta's children," I said, picking up Nariko and stepping inside.
Cid shut the door with his foot and sat down in a chair in the living room. He set Seto down on the table and looked him over.
"Yeah, I heard that Red had kids but I didn't think they'd be this big already."
"They're only about four and a half months. They'll be over a year old when I give them back to Seta and Red."
Cid looked up at me with a confused look on his face.
"Wha' do ya mean?"
"It's a long story. But Red and Seta are letting me keep them for nine months. It's sort of a preparing thing."
"Oh," Cid said, looking back at Seto. "Well, what's your name little guy?"
"Seto."
"Whoa, he can talk already!?" Cid exclaimed, jumping back in his seat.
"They started talking at about three months," I said, setting Nariko down next to her brother.
"Hi," Nariko said, walking towards Cid. "I'm Nariko."
"I'm Cid," he said, shaking Seto and Nariko's small paws.
"Can we call you 'Unca Cid?'" Nariko asked, her yellow eyes bright.
"Sure," Cid said, shrugging his shoulders.
"Well, anyways," I said, taking a seat next to Cid. "Where's Shera?"
"She had to run a few errands. She'll be back soon."
"You probably already heard this from everybody else but-"
"Vincent called you," I said, cutting him off.
"Yeah, he did. Did you find him?"
"Yeah, Reeve told me where he was. He was living in Nibelheim but he came back with me to Cosmo Canyon and stayed there while I waited for the cubs to get older."
"Well, I could kinda tell that Vince had a crush on you," Cid said, leaning back and running hand through his messy blonde hair. "I would always catch him looking at you like you were the last thing on the Planet. He'd only do it when he was sure no one was lookin'. Boy, was he wrong!"
"He never caught you?" I asked, leaning forward a little bit.
"Nope," Cid said, shaking his head with a wide grin on his face. "I would always have my nose stuck in a magazine when we weren't on the ground so whenever he was lookin' at ya I would always catch 'im. I actually got as far as taking a picture of him when I caught him in the act."
"You took a picture of him?" I asked, surprised. "And he didn't catch you?"
"Naw. I bought one of them digital cameras at a general store somewhere. I turned the flash off and took a picture of him. I lost the camera, though, after we fought Sephiroth. Too bad. I would have printed that out too."
I smiled as I looked over at the clock. 3:30. If I didn't leave soon I wouldn't be back at Wutai until nightfall. So I got up from the table and grabbed Nariko and Seto.
"Well, I've really got to be going. Tell Shera I said hi."
"Are ya sure?" Cid said, getting up and following me to the door. "You can stay here for the night."
"Well, I promised Yuffie that I would be back tonight. I really wish I could stay longer though."
"Yeah, me too," Cid said, following me outside. "It feels like I haven't see ya in ages."
"But I'll drop a line every now and then. It was great getting to see you, Cid," I said, walking forward so he could give me a hug.
"Yeah, it was great seeing you too. Take care now."
"Alright. Bye, Cid!" I said, turning around and walking toward the chocobo corral where I put Serpah.
I laid the cubs back in my bag and took off for Wutai.
I arrived early evening. After putting Seraph away I walked inside our house and began unpacking my things.
Nariko and Seto sat on my bed and watched me as I walked back and forth.
"Where's Auntie Yuffie?" Nariko asked, scratching her ear.
"Yeah, we wanna meet her!" Seto exclaimed, standing up on all fours.
"I'm not sure if she's home yet," I said, resting a hand on the top of my dresser. "She's probably still training."
Then the silence around me was shattered by a deafening scream from the front room.
"TIFA!!!! You're home!!!" Yuffie screamed as she ran into my room. Upon seeing the cubs she squealed with delight and ran over to them. "Oh, they're so cute!"
She hoisted them up into her arms and squeezed them.
"Calm down, Yuffie!" I exclaimed, laughing at her reaction. "They're cubs not plush toys."
"Of course they are!" She said, setting the cubs back down on the bed.
"You must be Auntie Yuffie!" Nariko said, looking at Yuffie with a smile on her face.
"Yeah, I'm Seto!" he said, sitting up and putting a paw on his chest. He looked at Nariko and pointed at her. "This is my sister, Nariko!"
"Those are such cute names! What are the names of the other three cubs? Yuffie asked, looking at me.
"Naava, Nova and Kayo."
"Those are adorable too!" Yuffie said, hugging herself. "I'm gonna go make dinner now. What do you think the cubs eat?"
"Red said it was okay to give them whatever we eat but just to make sure we don't give them a lot of junk. But for right now lets stick with meat. Do we have any?"
"Yeah, I bought some today. I'm gonna make stir fry."
"That sounds great, Yuffie. Make sure to cook extra meat then," I said, gathering the cubs into my arms and following Yuffie into the kitchen.
"Will do," Yuffie said, getting everything out.
After dinner Yuffie and I watched a little bit of TV while the cubs snoozed on my lap. Every so often they would look up at me and ask to go to bed. So, after saying good night to Yuffe, the cubs and I went to bed.