A/N: I'm hoping one of these days to have a Reunion with my old followers. I'm writing again, so hopefully that will start drawing them back in to this...place. What happened here? Seriously.

Disclaimer: Still not mine.

Andria waited in the parking lot with Axys for the rest of their group to show up. Her mom and Rude walked up with her siblings, Kandi giving her a shit eating grin.

"Stop enabling your brother's sugar addiction," she said, slapping her on the backside.

Andi laughed. "Nah, since it does nothing to his sleep schedule," she said gesturing to the little boy asleep against Rude's chest. She peaked down at her baby sister in her mother's arms. "Hey Rhea Rhea!"

The infant gurgled at her and cooed. Kandi shook her head and leaned forward, placing a kiss to Andi's cheek. "Have fun and be careful. It's Friday, so no curfew. You'll be with Ax or Az, right?"

"Yeah, we'll probably all hang out together," Andria told her. "I've got my phone and weapons and materia, so no worries."

"Okay, call if you need anything. Love you."

"Love you, too," she replied, standing on her tiptoes to kiss Rude's cheek.

"See ya at home," he said.

She nodded and walked with Axys to the entrance of the field house, waiting for their friends. Axys lit up another cigarette as they waited.

"No riots. I'm disappointed," the red-head sighed.

"Too many rent-a-cops. Central was scared."

"Pussies."

The field house doors burst opened and Ethan Nadir hobbled out quickly, followed by Azrael; Bryce and Paulo tugging on his arms to try and stop him.

"I told you to fucking stay away from her!" Azrael was seething, yanking his arm out of Paulo's grip. "I'm serious, Ethan. If you don't leave Andi alone, I'm going to fucking tear you apart!"

"You don't own her, Azrael," Ethan retorted. "I can talk to her if I want to, so fuck off."

Axys reached out and grabbed one of Ethan's crutches, forcing the injured boy to stumble and put his weight on his broken leg before he collapsed to the ground. Cigarette hanging out of her lips, Axys pushed the crutch against his thigh hard, watching with satisfaction as pain flashed across his face.

"I think you better listen to the General, Ethan," she told him. "I'd leave her alone if I were you."

"He doesn't deserve her!" Ethan yelled through his pain. "He's the one who fucking knocked up Courtney Stephens!"

Andi's heart fell to her stomach, even though she knew instantly it was a lie. Axys gawked at Azrael, then pushed harder on Ethan's leg.

"That's a fucking lie!" Azrael yelled, breaking free of Paulo and Bryce, absolute rage covering his handsome face. "I'd never touch that girl. Ever! She's a bitch and a liar if she told you that!"

"Oh come on!" Ethan yelled back. "We all know Andi's not giving it to you. You jerk off in the bathroom all the time. Why wouldn't you be getting it from Courtney?"

Azrael kicked Ethan in the head, knocking the boy out. "Fucking asshole!" he shouted, spitting in his unconscious face. He turned toward Andi, his rage calming just at the sight of her. He reached out, taking her by the shoulders. "You okay?"

Violet eyes shone with tears as she looked up at him. "You talk about me…to him?" she hissed. "What am I, just locker room gossip to you?"

"What? No, Andi, I wouldn't do that to you."

Bryce stepped up, taking the crutch from Axys before she snapped Ethan's leg in another place. "Andi, Az is telling the truth," he explained in that calm manner of his, tossing the crutch aside. "If he speaks of you to anyone, it is only in the highest regard, I assure you."

Paulo had knelt down beside Ethan, feeling for a pulse, making sure his genetically superior friend hadn't unintentionally killed the hated teenager. "Bryce is right," he reassured her, rising to his feet. "Ethan's jealous. He wants you and will do anything to cause problems with you guys."

Azrael looked down into Andria's face. "You know me better than anyone," he said quietly, pressing his forehead to hers. "Do you really believe him over me?"

She shook her head. "No. I just don't want him thinking about me like that," she whispered. "I don't like him…at all."

Azrael kissed her gently. "I know," he answered, pulling her against his chest. "I don't want him thinking about you like that either. I can't stop it though. All I can do is beat his ass daily until he gets the hint."

Axys turned her eyes away from them, swallowing the jealousy she felt as Kaya bounced out of the field house then, cheer bag slung over her shoulder. She saw Ethan on the ground unconscious and gasped. "What happened?" she asked, hurrying over to them. "Did you finally kill him, General?"

Paulo took her bag to carry it for her. "Just about," he grumbled. "Can you heal him and manipulate his memories so he doesn't recall the last twenty minutes or so?"

Kaya nodded, her curly ponytail bouncing across her shoulders. "Sure, no problem," she answered with a grin. Kneeling beside Ethan, she extended her hands as they began to emit a soft glow. "I'll make him think he was attacked by puppies. Mako enhanced puppies! With pink fur!"

Axys rolled her eyes. "Make it something believable, Kaya," she snapped. "Like a stray dog or something."

The cheerleader stuck her tongue out at her delinquent friend. "You're no fun, Ax," she mumbled. "Fine, but the stray is pink."

"In what universe do stray dogs have pink fur?!"

"Ax," Bryce said sternly. "Leave her alone."

Axys threw her hands up in the air. "Y'all are idiots," she stated as she turned and walked away. "Az, I'm sure you've got Andi taken care of. I'm out of here. If I'm caught with some dude who was attacked, I'm getting arrested again. If I get arrested again, Mom'll have my ass."

"I'm done," Kaya said, rising to her feet. "He's good to go. We're all golden. No worries."

Andria took Axys by the arm. "Come on," she said. "I thought we were going out."

"Yeah, right now, the twins sound better than this shit," Axys grumbled. "I'm going home."

"At ten o'clock on a Friday night?" Bryce asked with a grin. "No way, Sinclair. You're with us. That's an order."

"Fuck you, Bryce," Axys growled, though she couldn't help the smile that crossed her lips. "Oh fine. You assholes couldn't have fun without me anyway. Andi, give me back my shit."

Andria passed the weapons back to her before slipping her hand in Azrael's. "Where we going?" she asked.

Axys passed out the fake ID's. "Anywhere we want," she snickered. "Where's Marlene and Denzel?"

"They had to go," Kaya explained. "Barrett picked Marlene up after the game. He's taking her for the weekend. Denzel has to work with Cloud tomorrow, so he had to get home, too."

"Ah, we'll catch them next weekend then," Axys said. "So, where to?"

"Usual place?" Az asked, pulling Andria closer.

"Sure," Bryce answered, gesturing to Axys. "We'll get the drinks and meet you all there."

Axys grinned at flicked her tongue at him. "I'm driving, Prez," she stated, picking his pockets for the keys to his Viper.

"If you wreck this car, my dad will kill you," Bryce told her, keeping a death grip on the passenger's side car door as Axys took a 35 mph corner at 76. "He almost docked Reno's wages for a year when you wrecked the Audi."

"Ah, your pops is good for it," Axys said. She turned and grinned at him wickedly. "Plus I think you like watching me handle your stick shift."

Bryce groaned as she stroked the gear shift suggestively. "You enjoy teasing me, don't you, you minx?" he asked.

"Immensely," she stated with a sideways glance toward him.

The Shinra heir grinned at that. Axys' vocabulary always seemed to improve significantly when in his presence. He liked to think he was having a positive influence on the red-head. Axys was damn smart. She simply downplayed that intellect as a front to catch others off guard.

"You can get me one of these for my birthday, Prez," she told him. "I like red, you know."

"Ah, but Dad would not authorize such a purchase for a friend," Bryce explained with a wink. "For a girlfriend, however…"

"Still barking up that tree, Bryce?" she laughed as she turned into the liquor store parking lot. "I already told you, I'm not interested in dating you. It would fuck with the friendship, future employee/boss dynamic."

"You realize you don't have to become a Turk."

Axys slammed on the brakes and turned to glare at him. "I have been working my ass off for the last four years to prepare myself to be accepted into the Turks. That is my dream! You want me to throw that away just to date you?!"

"Fine," Bryce countered. "I don't have to take the company over after Dad retires then."

Axys stared at him. "You have no choice," she told him. "You're his heir. Whether you like it or not."

"Shinra is a company, not a kingdom," Bryce told her. "Besides, what if I want to become a…painter or something? I'm entitled to that decision."

"You're entitled, all right," Axys grumbled. "Do what you want, Bryce. I'm gonna be a Turk. I'd always planned on protecting you with my life, but fine. If you want to go paint, go for it. I'll protect your dad until he retires and then whoever he picks as his successor."

"I don't want you risking your life for mine!" he exclaimed. The blond ran his hand down his face. "Shiva…I don't want that for any of you guys. What if you…or the others…get killed because of me? I couldn't bear it."

Axys leaned her head back against the seat. "It's part of the job, Bryce," she said softly. "We know what it's all about. Hell, we've grown up with it. But, hey, you know, the planet is a different place than it was when your dad was taking it over. Assassination attempts should be minimal on your life. I think you'd be an awesome president."

Bryce looked over at her. "You have that much faith in me?" he asked.

"I do."

He sighed heavily. "I could kiss you for that."

Axys laughed and leaned over, taking his face in her hands. "Go ahead, you spoiled bastard," she whispered in his breath.

Bryce looked into her eyes, mere centimeters from his own. Lifting her chin with his fingers, he placed a chaste kiss to her nose. "Not yet," he told her. "I'll kiss you properly when you really want it to be me, not a substitution for someone else."

The red-head blinked, confused. "Huh," she huffed. "Well, you missed your chance, Prez. I doubt you'll ever have that offer on the table again."

Bryce nodded his head and opened the car door. "Probably not," he replied as he exited the Viper and headed inside the liquor store.

Axys watched him walk away from her, admitting to herself that he really did have a nice ass.

A/N: FYI...Bryce is super fun to write. Reviews are loved.