7.

"…and now we may never get to our reunion," Kadaj finished after pontificating for three solid hours.

Martha Stewart blinked and muffled a yawn. "Reunion, you say?"

"Yes," Yazuu answered before Kadaj could catch his breath to start another round. "It's our sole purpose. Only then will our big brother be able to return to us."

"What a sad story! I'll tell you, you boys have come to the right place," Martha said with a reassuring smile. "Hosting a family reunion for the first time can be a nightmare, especially when you're dealing with a large clan. I'd be happy to help you!"

"You're being so nice to us," Loz sniffled, close to tears. "Will you be our new mother?"

Martha sat back a little, no doubt wondering if the larger brother had all his marbles.

Yazuu sighed, wondering the same thing. "What he means is that our mother is missing, and we really need her advice. You are the one all mothers look to, and so we thought that you could help us."

"Wait, you said –" Loz started, but Yazuu clamped a hand over his mouth.

"All in good time, brother," Yazuu whispered, tickling Loz' ear with his tongue.

Loz forgot what they were talking about and quickly excused himself to the bathroom.

Kadaj helped himself to another handful of cookies and observed, "You do make better snacks than our mother. At least, I think you do. I've never actually met her…"

Martha Stewart sat back, mildly stunned by this news. Then again, it might explain the odd display of affection between the older two… "No wonder you boys were out wandering the wilderness. And it's nearly Christmas! That decides it. You're staying with me until we can get this all sorted out."

"But what about the reunion?" Kadaj mumbled through a mouthful of lemon shortbread.

"Leave that to me," Martha told him, her eyes ablaze with purpose. "All you need to worry about is the guest list."

"Guest list?" Yazuu echoed. "They know who they are."

"A proper party starts with a plan and invitations," Martha stated firmly. "I will teach you how to be a proper hostess – er, host – and you will do the rest. Don't worry, you'll have your reunion. Now, how many guests are we looking at?"

Yazuu ran through the math in his head. "Probably…half the citizens of Midgar – oh, it's 'Edge' now, that's right. Urban blight or some such…"

"And I want Shinra there," Kadaj blurted maliciously. "I want him to see everything!"

"Sounds like there's some bad blood here," Ms. Stewart observed. "It's still good form to invite everyone, and trust them to be on their best behavior. Besides, I have bouncers if things get rough. But we may want to forego the bar…"