Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children and PlayStation are owned by Square Enix and Sony, respectively, meaning they do not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original Final Fantasy VII or Advent Children storylines (such as Rayne, Marcus, and Kale) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

(A Growing Family)

"I'm sure he'll love you." Astrid looked at Tseng and Elena nervously, "Right?"

Elena raised her hands in defeat, "Don't bring us into this. He is, after all, your 'son'."

Astrid sighed, turning back to Kale and straightening his tie. "Don't worry, he will… at least tolerate you."

Kale fidgeted nervously, looking down at his feet, "Do I have to wear this all the time?"

"Of course not." Astrid smiled, brushing off his shoulders, "But, remember, first impressions are always the most important." There was a roar as the helicopter set down and Astrid jumped to her feet, wringing her hands. "Well, here it goes."

………

Rufus Shinra stormed into the room with a few choice words in mind to bellow at Astrid, but when he saw her practically beaming with her hands on the shoulders of a small, nervous boy in a tuxedo, he bit his tongue and stuck with shaking his head.

"Astrid, Astrid, Astrid…"

………

Astrid watched Rufus's reaction nervously, smiling at Rude and Reno as they walked in to see what the fuss was about.

"Now that you're all here, I have someone I'd like to introduce you to." She knelt, moving her hands from Kale's shoulders down to his upper arms, "Everyone, this is Kale. Kale, this is Reno, Rude, and Rufus." She pointed to the three men in turn.

Kale bowed slightly, "H-hi. My name is Kale." He then fell silent.

Rufus, who up until this point had been frowning slightly, walked forward and knelt in front of the boy.

When Astrid felt Kale tense under her hands, she rubbed his arms slightly, watching Rufus warily.

The man stared at the boy a moment longer, then smirked slightly, "She's a bit crazy, isn't she?"

Kale's head tilted, "Who?"

"Astrid." Rufus said, smirk widening slightly. "Dressing you up like that… she'd have to be crazy to do that."

Kale paused, then snickered, "Yeah."

"Hate it, don't ya?" Rufus asked, laughing lightly, "Uncomfortable things, tuxes. Scratchy, too."

"Yeah, it is itchy." Kale nodded, his hand raising to scratch his arm.

Rufus nodded, then suggested, "Be a lot better if you took that coat off."

Kale nodded again, slipping the jacket over his shoulders and off his back.

Astrid, who had stood and stepped back, watched in silent shock as Rufus was cordial… no, more than cordial; kind to Kale. Friendly. As if he'd known all along that the boy would eventually be coming and had prepared for it.

"Reno." Rufus said suddenly, standing and nodding to the flame-headed Turk. "I want you to keep an eye on Kale for a moment. Tseng, Rude, Elena, go unpack the helicopter. Astrid," He nodded to her, "I'd like to talk to you."

She nodded, throwing a smile to Kale as she followed Rufus down the hall and to her bedroom. Inside, he motioned for her to sit on the bed and stood before her, frowning down at her slightly.

"How official is it?"

"Papers are right here." Astrid said, pulling an envelope out of her pocket and holding it out. She began to narrate as Rufus took it and opened it, looking over the papers, "Usually, the process would have taken several weeks, but because the Geostigma has been healed there's been a rush for adoptions. The agencies are cutting procedure down to the bare minimum, so we were in and out in four hours. As of seven o'clock this morning, Kale Masterson became Kale Cray. He is officially my son."

Rufus nodded, looking over the papers several times. "Midgar Agencies… dependable, if I remember correctly. Then, chances are, this was a legal adoption."

"It was." Astrid assured, nodding, "I had Tseng and Elena check."

Rufus nodded again, then sighed and knelt in front of her, looking up into her face searchingly, "Astrid… what you did is fine, but… I want to know that you didn't do it for the wrong reasons. Tell me, here and now, that this isn't about Marcus."

Astrid blinked, looking down at him, "And in the case I can't?"

"Then I'll take the kid back to Edge." Rufus answered immediately and surely, "I won't have you doing this because of him… It's unhealthy."

Astrid stared at him for a moment, then smiled. She grabbed the back of his head and leaned forward, an action Rufus mirrored. He stopped, though, when she rested her head against his neck.

"There's nothing to worry about." Astrid mumbled, wrapping her arms around his neck, "I did this for Kale, not Marcus. I like Kale, and I want what's best for him. That's it."

Rufus sighed, rubbing her back, "Fine, then. The kid can stay."

"Thank you." She straightened, smirking at the man, "Well, should we go check on him? I'm not sure leaving him with Reno was the best idea, but…"

Rufus smirked back, "Not quite yet." He stood and pushed her onto the bed, leaning over her with both hands on either side of her head, "That was a cruel little trick you just played, tease." He leaned in, smirk widening, "I think you're going to have to pay for that."

Astrid's eyes widened, "Rufus…" She closed her eyes and turned her head, inhaling sharply, "Not like this…"

He stared down at her for a moment, blinking slowly. He then closed the space between them, pecking the corner of her mouth. "Fine, then. I can wait." He stood and walked to the door.

"I'm sorry."

"You have nothing to apologize for." Rufus said, smirk returning as he nodded to her, "We'll go at your pace."

Astrid blinked in shock, sitting up, "My pace?"

"You're the only one I want, Astrid." Rufus stated calmly, the smirk fading to a more serious look, "I'm willing to wait." He opened the door and started to step out, "I'm going to go check on how Tseng and the others are doing. Get some rest." And the door closed.

A frozen, shocked Astrid stared at the door, her heart in her throat and her face pulsing with the sudden wave of heat that had taken over her body. She shuddered, falling back onto her bed and wrapping her arms around her stomach.

'What the hell was that?! Rufus… he…' She clenched her hands tighter, squinting her eyes shut. 'This is… what I wanted… right? …Why does it feel so…' She sat up abruptly as the door opened.

Kale peeked his head in, looking around nervously, "Can I… come in?"

Astrid smiled widely, brushing her thoughts away, "Of course, hon. Come on."

He stepped into the room and shut the door, walking nervously to the foot of her bed and wringing his hands.

She frowned, "Something wrong, Kale?" Her eyes narrowed, "Did Reno do something?"

"No, ma'am." He answered immediately, his shoulders hunching slightly.

Astrid's frown deepened, "'Ma'am'?"

"I'm sorry." His hunch became more pronounced, "I don't mean to be a burden."

"Kale!" Astrid jumped forward and grabbed his shoulders, pulling his slight, emaciated form onto the bed and looking at him seriously, "Honey, you are not a burden! You're just fine!"

Kale bit his lip, lowering his eyes and looking away, "Yeah, but…"

"Kale." She cut him off, grabbing his chin and turning his head so he faced her. She smiled, "Kale, nothing has or has to change between us, honey. You can still call me 'Astrid', you don't have to give me any specific titles, and you can still just be 'Kale' to me if you want me to be. The only difference is is I'm taking care of you, now. You don't have to change anything."

"Really?" He blinked, eyes shifting away, "But the other kids said you'd want me to call you 'Mom' and stuff…"

Astrid quirked a brow, "If you mean my 'and stuff' that I'll be expecting you to go to school, then you are damned right I want you to get an education." She smiled, tilting her head and rubbing his cheek, "But you don't have to call me anything other than 'Astrid' if you don't want to."

Kale nodded, looking back to her slowly, "Alright, Astrid…" He waited, as if expecting something to happen. When nothing did, though, he scooted off of the bed and stood, looking down at his tux with a frown, "Do I have to wear this anymore? It's really stiff."

Astrid stuck out her lower lip and frowned, "Mroooooo, but you look so cute in a tuxedo."

"Aaaaaastriiiiiid." Kale moaned, scratching his arms.

"Fine." Astrid laughed, standing and walking to the door, "You bags are under the bed, so go on and change. I'll be in the foyer if you need me!" After closing the door behind her, Astrid spun around and danced down the hall, humming to herself and smiling. When she leapt through the final door and into the front room, she pirouetted once and held out her hands, bowing.

The room was silent.

When Astrid had straightened and opened her eyes, she burst into laughter at the wide-eyed looks she was getting from Rufus and the Turks.

"Sorry about that," She giggled, shaking her head, "I'm just happy right now."

"Riiiight…" Rufus said, raising his brows cynically. He paused, then picked up a box that was beside him and held it out, "Here… we found this outside. It's for you… from Kadaj."

Astrid felt a jolt and her body went cold, a tingly/panicky feeling of fear gripping her heart and her body. "What?" She whispered numbly, voice suddenly hoarse.

"A gift." Rufus said, walking forward and placing the box in her hands, "From Kadaj. Probably sent it before he died, and it's just now getting here." He looked at her and shrugged, "We didn't open it yet, so be careful."

She looked at the box in her hand, the brown cardboard and twine string a mockery of innocence, considering who it was from. Astrid fell to her knees, setting the box on the ground and gripping the two ends of the twine tensely. What was inside? What would Kadaj have sent her? …Why were there holes in the top?

Giving herself no time to think about the answers, Astrid quickly pulled the knot loose and removed the top, blinking at what was inside.

Wide navy eyes stared up at her, innocence and blue fire burning in their depths at the same time. A sleek, black/blue body circled once, then sat right in front of her and directed the head up, tilting the neck ever so slightly. It blinked.

"Mew."

"Dark Nation?..." Astrid murmured, reaching out with one hand and resting it on the edge of the box. 'No… not Dark Nation… but a kitten… cub of the same species.'

The miniature hellcat stretched its neck out and licked the tip of Astrid's finger, then looked back up at her and mewled again.

"I am sorry for what I did to your cat, Sister." Rufus said suddenly, reading from a letter, "Please, accept her and believe me when I say I regret what happened. Kadaj."

When the hellcat kitten mewled again, Astrid picked it up and cradled it against her chest looking up at Rufus and smiling, "My family just keeps getting bigger and bigger…"

Rufus sighed and shook his head, "Greeeaaaat. Another mouth to feed."

"Hey, hey, hey!" Astrid growled, jumping to her feet and hugging the kitten closer, "Don't talk about our daughter like that!"

"'Our' daughter?" Rufus asked, raising a brow and crossing his arms, "We aren't even dating, Astrid, so how can anything be 'ours'?"

She thought about this, then smiled, "Take me to dinner and we'll call it even?"

The President blinked, then sighed heavily and smacked his forehead, "Fine. Dinner. Be ready in thirty minutes. Tseng," He looked at the Turk, nodding, "You, Elena, Rude and Reno are babysitting."

"WHAT?!" The four Turks exclaimed, looking at Rufus with wide eyes.

Astrid burst into laugher, "From assassinations and espionage to babysitting! You Turks really do do everything, don't you?"

At that moment, Kale walked into the room, looking at everyone in confusion, "What's going on?"

"Rufus and I are going on a…" Astrid began, trailing off as she looked at the small, lost boy. 'Crap… bad idea. It's his first night here, I can't leave! Besides, he doesn't know about Rufus and I…' "We're all going to the Gold Saucer!" Astrid finished, ignoring the shocked looks of Rufus and the Turks.

"Really?!" Kale exclaimed, smiling widely, "I've never been there before! Am I going, too?!"

"Of course you are." Rufus said, catching on when Astrid threw him a look, "As if we'd leave you behind."

"Go and grab a jacket, Kale, and we'll go." Astrid said, nodding.

Kale nodded, his face glowing, then turned and ran back down the hall.

Astrid sighed and turned to Rufus, who had a brow raised.

"Last minute changes?"

She smiled sheepishly, "I can't leave him here… It'd be irresponsible of me."

"That's right, Miss Cray, it would." Tseng said, nodding approvingly, "It's good to see you acting like a proper parent."

Astrid looked at the Turk and quirked a brow, "Like you'd know. You and Elena haven't even officially admitted you like each other yet!" Tseng's eyes widened and Elena turned red, but Astrid went on, "Besides, Tseng, you and I have known each other for almost three years now. Call me Astrid."

Tseng opened his mouth to say something, but ended up snapping it shut abruptly when Kale ran back into the room.

"Let's go!"