***
"So, have you thought of any names yet?" Tifa sat at the kitchen table with her husband, munching on the peanuts she had started to crave.
"No." Cloud lied. He had only one name in mind for his little baby girl, but he was worried it would make his wife upset. "Have you?"
Tifa stopped eating for a second. "No, I haven't." She then started to eat another peanut, but she winced.
Cloud sighed. "Not craving that anymore?"
Tifa got up and walked over to the fridge. "Nah. What've we got in here?" She then began to sniff at the contents of the fridge, occasionally stopping to wince or smile.
Alex then walked in. "What's mommy doing?" He asked as he took his trademark place next to Cloud.
"The baby inside her wants something, but mommy doesn't know what it is. It's nothing to worry about."
Tifa then smiled and pulled out an entire watermelon. She cut it in half before she sat down and began to eat it. "Hmm, it's missing something..." She then went back into the fridge and began to rummage around. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.
"I'll get that. Don't move, you two." Cloud was always overprotective of his wife and son.
He was slightly surprised at the figure that greeted him. "Yuffie?"
Yuffie's expression was far from upbeat, and Rikku was holding her hand. "I need to talk to Tifa. May we come in?"
"Sure..."
"Yuffie!" Tifa seemed equally surprised to see her best friend. Alex and Rikku exchanged excited looks. "What brings you here?"
Yuffie sat down on the chair opposite to Tifa, which was the same one Cloud would normally sit in, so that she was next to Alex. "We need to talk." She said in a soft voice. She then turned to Cloud. "Alone."
Cloud nodded. "Okay guys, they need some alone time. Let's go." Alex's expression was still excited, but Rikku's was an expression of regret as she left her mother behind.
Tifa sat back down, a jar of jam in her hand. One of Yuffie's eyebrows slowly raised itself as Tifa spread the jam on the watermelon. She took a bite and smiled. "Oh yeah..." She then noticed Yuffie's expression. "Oh, sorry." She embarrassedly rubbed her mouth. "What did you want to talk about?"
Yuffie was silent for a minute, but Tifa didn't cut in. Yuffie sniffed as tears began to form in her eyes. "Rikku asked me something this morning..."
Tifa leaned forward so that she was closer to Yuffie. "What?"
"She asked me why she didn't have a daddy..." Yuffie thumped the table with her fist, but Tifa's look remained unchanged. "What am I meant to tell her? WHAT?!"
"Why don't you tell her the truth?"
Yuffie laughed sarcastically. "Oh, yeah! Great idea! I'll tell my daughter that her daddy was a man who slept with me once and ditched me when the going got tough!"
Tifa still remained calm, despite this outburst. "Who is her father?" Yuffie gasped. "Come on, I'll track him down for you."
Yuffie looked at the ground. "Reno."
Tifa's expression finally changed. "What?"
Yuffie looked at Tifa. "She's Reno's daughter."
Tifa was about to yell, but she noticed Yuffie's genuinely remorseful expression. "Why did you do it?"
"I don't know! He took advantage of me after Aeris died! I was upset!"
"I understand, Yuffie. Say no more."
Yuffie sniffed again. "Can you really find him? It's time I faced my responsibilities as a parent."
***
"You guys like being outside, right?" Cloud had taken the two four-year-olds into downtown Nibelheim, browsing the local shops. Rikku started to tug on his shirt.
"Mister Cloud, can we have a look in the clothes shop?"
Cloud smiled. "Sure, and call me Cloud."
Alex then gave his father a nudge. "Daddy, do we hafta go to the clothes store?"
Cloud knelt down next to his son and began to whisper in his ear. "Come on, pal. Rikku is our guest, so be a little polite. If you don't complain, I'll buy you an ice cream."
Alex growled, frustrated at this arrangement. "Aww..."
***
"Do you want me to go in with you?" Tifa put her hand on Yuffie's shoulder, but Yuffie gently took it off, her gaze never leaving the giant building in front of them.
Tears of anger, anticipation and fear started to form in Yuffie's eyes. "No." she said softly. "This is something I've gotta do alone."
Tifa nodded, and hugged Yuffie from behind. "I'm here if you need me."
Yuffie started to walk towards the door to the building, but as she reached for the handle on one of the doors, she suddenly stopped, shaking all over. She sighed and walked in.
A huge room greeted her, with a secretary sitting behind a desk. There were several paintings hanging on the wall, and there was a soft violin piece playing softly in the background. Yuffie thought for a minute. "Am I in the right place?"
"Can I help you?" The secretary finally talked, looking at Yuffie with annoyance.
Yuffie sighed again. "Sorry. I'm looking for Reno Turk..."
The secretary opened a notebook and flipped through the pages. "Yeah, he's free. Who are you?"
Yuffie thought about what she should say.
"I'm the mother of Reno's daughter."
"Um, just an old friend..."
The secretary smiled. "Floor twelve."
"Thank you."
Yuffie began to walk up the stairs, her heart beating furiously in her chest."Come on, girl...Do this for Rikku..."
She got to floor twelve within two minutes. She inhaled deeply and opened the door.
And gasped at what she saw.
"E-Elena?"
Elena looked up, her body concealed behind her desk. There was an office behind her, as well as an office perpendicular to her. "Yuffie...?" She clenched her eyes to try and focus on Yuffie more. "Is that you?" Yuffie didn't move, but slowly reached for her pocket, about to get out the thing she always kept in case of emergency. Elena, however, noticed this. "No, no! There's no need for that!"
Yuffie looked at Elena, obviously confused. "What?"
Elena stood up. She was wearing a suit very similar to the one she wore when she and the other Turks fought Yuffie and her friends. "The Turks disbanded. Me and Reno are more interested in work and Zell than we are in fighting."
"'Zell?'"
"Oh Gawd..."
Almost on cue, the door from the perpendicular office opened. Yuffie slowly turned her head, and saw a young boy of no more than three, with dirty blonde hair and green eyes. "Mama, hungry..." He then pointed at his mouth.
"Aww, Zell..." Elena then picked him up, his face nuzzling into her shoulder.
Yuffie froze. "You and Reno have a son?"
Elena smiled and stroked Zell's mop-like hair. "Yeah, what's the big deal?"
Yuffie's fists clenched, and she forced a smile. "Oh, nothing. I've got a daughter, too."
"Really? Who's the dad?"
Yuffie's forced smile lengthened. "No-one you would know."
"Oh. What are you here for, anyway?"
Yuffie's smile faded. "Can I talk to Reno?"
Elena placed Zell on the floor and entered the office behind her. Yuffie looked at Zell, especially at his green eyes. "They look just like Rikku's eyes..." she thought to herself.
Elena came out a couple of seconds later. "Reno's on the phone at the moment. He'll be done in ten minutes, if you'd like to wait."
Yuffie nodded blankly, and sat on the bench leaning against the wall. After about three minutes of staring into space, listening to the clicking sound of Elena's keyboard, Zell toddled his way over to her. Yuffie once again found herself drawn in by his saucer-like eyes.
"Lady..." Zell said quietly, and Yuffie smiled to herself.
"Look how small his vocabulary is... Am I really that good a parent to Rikku?"
Elena smiled as well. "He's a little shy. Say 'hello' to Yuffie, sweetie!"
"Yuffee..." Zell whispered, and Yuffie smiled wider, not realizing at that moment that this boy was her half-son, and Rikku's half-brother.
Reno's cold, dry voice spoke up on the intercom a few minutes later. "I'm done with the phone conversation. Send her in." Yuffie shuddered; it was the first time in almost five years she had heard his voice. She stood up, trying to show as much confidence as possible, and slowly opened the door to Reno's office.
***
"Why?"
"I really don't think I should..." Cloud sighed as Rikku looked at him with her emerald-green eyes.
"I really want it, Mister Cloud..."
Cloud looked at the price tag on the dress Rikku had picked out; 500 Gil.
"Holy Hell..." He knelt down in front of Rikku. "Listen, it's really up to your mommy, and she isn't here. I'm sorry, but I can't buy you this..."
Rikku shrugged. "Alright."
Cloud scratched the back of his head, remembering some of the tantrums Alex had thrown. "What discipline for a four year old..."
Alex sat on a chair near to Cloud, his legs swinging, as if independent from his body. "Is Rikku done, daddy?"
Cloud looked at Rikku, who nodded. "Yes. Let's get going, son."
As the three of them started to head back, Alex pulled on Cloud's pants leg. "Daddy..."
Cloud rubbed his eyes. He wasn't used to going out with his son. "What is it?"
Alex looked at the ground, as if he was afraid of the man he adored so much. "You promised me an ice-cream if I behaved..." Rikku's look brightened.
Cloud smiled. "Yeah, sure."
Cloud looked at his son with utter disbelief. The way Alex ate ice cream was horrendous. "Alex..."
Alex, who literally had the ice cream right in his face, stopped eating, his mouth and nose covered with the stuff. "What?"
Cloud's gaze fixed on Alex's best shirt, which was now caked in ice cream. "Try to slow down a little, okay?" He then saw Alex's bright gaze turn into one of large gloom. Cloud put a hand on his son's shoulder. "I'm not telling you off, okay?" Alex always looked disappointed with himself when Cloud told him off.
Rikku, however, had not gotten a spot of ice cream on her. She just licked and licked, careful not to spill a drop.
Cloud stared at Rikku, his eyes sparkling with curiosity. "How? How has Yuffie raised her so well by herself? She's younger than me and Tifa..."
"CLOUD!" Cloud jumped slightly, causing Alex to drop his ice cream on the floor of the café. Cloud growled at this mystery voice as he saw tears welling up in Alex' big, brown eyes.
"Who did that?" If there was one thing Cloud didn't like, it was seeing his son get upset. "When I get my hands on him, I'll..."
"You'll what?" Cloud yelped, but quickly covered his mouth embarrassedly as he realized whom the voice belonged to.
"B-Barret?!"
"Long time no see." Barret looked at Alex, and saw what had happened. "Gee, I'm sorry. Tell ya what, Alex. Here's five gil. Go buy yourself another one."
As Alex leapt up and hurried towards the counter, Barret sat down next to Cloud. "What's up, spiky?"
"Not much. Where's Marlene?"
"She's with a friend. She hasn't had much trouble making friends since she started school three years ago."
Cloud looked at Alex. He had forgotten that he was due to start school soon.
"Who's the girl?"
Cloud broke out of his trance. "Oh, that's Rikku. She's Yuffie's daughter."
Barret's look suddenly became serious. "What?"
"She's Yuffie's daughter." Cloud repeated.
"YUFFIE'S daughter?!"
Cloud started to look uneasy. "Yeah, that's right."
"Well, who's her father?"
"She-She never told us..."
"WHAT?!" Barret leapt up. "She never TOLD you?!"
"What the hell have I done..." Cloud said to himself.
***
"Well, well." Reno smirked and leant back on his chair. "Look who it is."
Yuffie looked straight at Reno, battling with the tears. "Reno..."
"What do you want from me?"
Yuffie looked at the floor, unable to look at Reno. "My...our...d-d-d-d..."
Reno finally got up. "Well?"
Yuffie finally broke down. "OUR DAUGHTER, RENO! I HAVE OUR DAUGHTER!"
Reno's eyes widened momentarily, but he relaxed. "Our daughter? You didn't cancel it?"
Yuffie walked up to the desk Reno was standing behind, and thumped it with her fist. "SHE'S A 'SHE', NOT AN 'IT', RENO!"
Reno smiled, but not a normal, easygoing one. "Why should I care?" Yuffie gasped. "You're a mistake, and so is that little kid of yours. I only slept with you to infiltrate into your little operation. It didn't work, and that's that. You were part of a plan, you silly girl."
Yuffie shook her head, tears finally streaking down her face. "No..."
Reno sat back down in his chair again. "You were the one who was in love, not me. You were the one who decided not to abort the baby, not me. You, Yuffie Kisaragi, were the one who decided to raise the damned thing, not me. Now, if you excuse me, I have work to do."
Yuffie's knuckles were white, which matched the colour of her face. "I think Elena should know." Reno's expression suddenly changed, and he looked at Yuffie. "That's right, Reno... I think I'll bring your daughter here. I'm sure she and Zell will get along fine."
Reno stood up again, and looked at Yuffie angrily. "You leave Zell and Elena out of this. The child is your business, not mine."
Yuffie turned and began to walk away. However, she stopped just before leaving. "I'm not asking much, Reno. Just meet your daughter tomorrow, and accept her existence." Reno growled.
"GET OUT!" His voice pierced Yuffie's ears, and she rushed out of there as fast as she could.
Elena stood outside, frozen, with Zell clinging onto her leg, crying.
They had heard everything.
~*~*~*
Ooh, sorry for the cliff ^^ Stay tuned!