I thought I'd give you a little update. Sorry it's been a long time, but I'm busy with school and work. I hope this tides you until the next update, which could be a little bit.

Happy Reading,

Illiyah

Downstairs, Tifa and Shera were finishing preparations for Yuffie's surprise birthday party. Tifa was decorating a cake while Shera was setting the table.

"You know, Shera, this is the least we could do for Yuffie," Tifa stated, "I mean, she's just lost about everything because of that asshole father of hers."

"I agree. I hope that the guys pick out something good for her. You know how stupid men can be…" Shera said as she put the finishing touches on the table she had set.

"I know, last year Cloud got me a spoon. A SPOON! He said it was because he loved my cooking, but I know he forgot!" Tifa laughed at the memory.

"And Cid bought me an ashtray," Shera responded, "He was 'thinking of me' so that I didn't have to clean up ashes around the house anymore." Shera giggled, "Who was he fooling?"

"Ya, I know Shera. Men, who needs 'em? Tifa said

Shera nodded, "But I can't help but love him…"

"Love who?" Cid shouted as he came in from his shopping adventure with Barret and Cloud. Nanaki and Vincent were tailing behind them with a bouquet of flowers from the florist. "You fucking got your eye on some man?" Cid asked as he wrapped his arms around his wife.

"Only you, dear." Shera replied as she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

Cloud set the gifts on the table by the cake that Tifa just finished. "Well, who's going to get Yuffie?"

Nanaki walked towards the stairs, "I will get Yuffie, the rest of you should get into your postions." Tifa and the others all hid behind a couch in Cid's living room. By the time Nanaki got to the top of the stairs, he ran into Yuffie, who was on her way to get a drink.

"Hey Red, what's up?" Yuffie asked as she scratched the animal between his ears. "Mmm, nothing, I was requested to bring you downstairs for a meeting." Nanaki purred.

"Oh, I wonder what the meeting's about?" A very clueless Yuffie asked as the two headed down the stairs and into the living room. "Maybe something to do with Wutai…"

"SURPRISE!" The whole gang jumped out of their hiding places and gave Yuffie a big hug.

"Happy Birthday Yuffie!" Shera said while leading Yuffie to her cake and presents.

"Ya Brat, Happy fucking Birthday! Open my fucking gift first." Cid yelled while lighting up a cigarette.

"Um, alright…" Yuffie answered while taking a small package Cid shoved in her face. "Oh Cid, Shera, thank you!" Yuffie was delighted at her first gift, a small chest that had three mastered materia in it.

"Um ya, whatever brat" Cid said, only to be poked in the ribs by Shera.

"What he meant to say is you're welcome. We know you love materia, and your collection is gone, so we thought you might like to start over." Shera smiled as she hugged Yuffie again.

"Here, from Cloud and I." Tifa spoke as she handed over another present to Yuffie.

"Oh, it's a…chess board?" Yuffie looked confused. "But, I don't know how to play!"

"That's ok," Tifa said, then whispered something in Yuffie's ear. Yuffie turned beet red and gave a nervous giggle as Tifa said, "You never know who might teach you."

"….Thanks, Tifa, Cloud." Yuffie said quietly. She walked over to Vincent and said, "Do you know how to play chess?"

"Yes, and I would love to show you Yuffie…" Vincent said as he gently took the chess board out of her hands. "I will set it up later and you can begin learning."

"Thanks Vinnie!" Yuffie said as she returned to receive her next gift. Barret took a bag and threw it towards her, which she caught with ease. She opened the gift and found a light green baby tee shirt that had the word "BRAT" printed on it. Barret had 'customized" the shirt with red marker so that it read 'Barret's BRAT'. "Err, thanks, Barret…I like green!"

Yuffie went to hug Barret, who just shrugged and said, "Hell, I didn't know what to getcha kid."

Yuffie shrugged, put the shirt over the shirt she was already wearing and looked towards Nanaki, who held a small gift bag. "Here," The animal said, "Open it."

Yuffie opened the bag to find a small necklace. On the pendant was a tiny picture of the group that was taken after Reunion. "Oh, Red, Thank you!" She knelt down to Nanaki's level and gave him a big kiss on his nose. "This is so sweet!" Yuffie tried to put the necklace on but she couldn't get the clasp to attach. "Um, can someone help me?" She asked.

Shera walked over to Yuffie and got the necklace to attach. Then she smiled, "Would you like some cake?"

"Yay for cake!" Yuffie answered. "Wait…where's Vinnie?"

Everyone turned towards the spot where Vincent was standing, only to find it empty.

Mwahaha! Cliffie! And I don't even know why I put one in, because I hate cliff hangers….