Miley sat in the fountain, which was in the central of the Banoran Village. There were several other children playing in there while their parents watched and spoke to their friends. Not one did Sephiroth ever imagine that he would be one of those parents.
Zack stood in the fountain holding the bottom of his black trousers up. Miley looked up at Zack with mischief in her blue eyes. Zack looked down at her and shook his head. "No! No! No!" He shouted quickly, as Miley splashed him.
Sephiroth watched from the doorway of Gillian's house. Angeal looked at him and grinned. "You're smiling." He told him.
Sephiroth looked at him. "I am?" He asked, almost surprised.
Angeal nodded and looked at Miley. "Zack's almost like an older brother to her. You should go and play with her."
Sephiroth snorted slightly. "The last time I played with her it was all over the news and magazines." Before Angeal or Sephiroth could say anything else, Miley's little wet form ran to them, laughing and giggling.
"I-I spwashed Uncwle Zack…!" She laughed. Sephiroth smiled slightly and patted her wet blond hair. "Daddy come pway wit' me…!" She begged, pulling on his trousers. Sephiroth was not wearing his leather, he said it was to hot for that, so instead he was wearing a black T-shirt, black trousers held up by a brown leather belt, and black shoes. When he did wear a jacket, it was a short material one, black of course. Miley had helped him tie his hair back that morning when he had helped Gillian with the cooking; he could not be bothered to take the hair band out.
Sephiroth shook his head. "Pwease…" Miley looked up at him with big eyes, she didn't see Zack getting climbed on by children, getting constantly splashed and fall back into the water.
"Not today." He told her.
"Aw…" Miley whined.
"Why don't you play with her, Sephiroth?" Gillian asked, coming behind them. "It's not as if anything bad is going to happen, the worst that can happen is Angeal taking photos."
Sephiroth sighed. "You don't understand."
"Angeal's told me all about pride and honour. However, you do not feel honoured when you are with Miley and it does not seem to me that you are proud to be her father. You grew up with most of the people here, if anything did land in the papers it would either be a rumour or a true fact."
Sephiroth sighed again. "I read what the papers said last time." Angeal spoke, as he pulled the video camera out of his pocket. "Is this the general's daughter? And on the news, it was mostly about how you fought in Wutai. Nothing else..."
"Daddy…!" Miley whined, as she pulled on his trouser leg again. She squealed as Zack listed her up and walked back to the fountain with her, while tickling her stomach. Genesis gave Angeal a look. He nodded and pushed Sephiroth forwards. Somehow, Zack, Angeal and Genesis pushed Sephiroth into the fountain.
Sephiroth spluttered and coughed slightly as he sat up in the water. "Daddy…!" Miley squealed, as she hugged him from behind.
"You will ALL pay for that!" Sephiroth growled at them. Gillian laughed and smiled as Sephiroth started to play with everyone. All he needed was a little push. Gillian would try to explain to him later and give him a talk about how a parent should act. She had just the thing. Several home movies, something enjoyable and that Sephiroth could learn from.
Miley squealed as Sephiroth and Zack played with her. Angeal filmed from a distance and Genesis came along later with his parents.
Genesis mother, Lucia smiled when she saw the children of the village attacking Sephiroth. Genesis father, Exodus laughed at the site.
"H-hello Mr Gen'sis daddy…! Hello Missis Gen'sis mummy!" Miley called, waving at them as she sat on Sephiroth's stomach as he lay in the water pretending to drown as the children climbed on him as if he was their climbing frame. He could get them off him if he wanted too, but he would wait a while until they got worried.
"Hello Uncwle Gen'sis!" Miley called. Genesis waved at her slightly, and put the two jugs he had been carrying on a wooden table that Angeal had brought out the house. Lucia put down a packet of plastic cups and a carrier bag full of little white paper bags that were full of sweets for the children.
"You didn't have to bring anything." Gillian told them kindly.
"We wanted to. We love the children here almost as much as you do." She smiled at Sephiroth. "And Genesis explained how Miley loved sweets. There's lemonade as well."
Gillian smiled and thanked them again. "I hope my son was good when he stayed over after coming home."
Genesis had slept at Gillian's house in Angeal's old room after finding that his room had been piled high with boxes and old magazines and gardening tools, his bed was collecting dust too, so he had been told he could have the shed or Angeal's old room.
"He was fine. They've all grown up now after all."
"I know. It is sad... Make's me wish I'd had more children."
The children were soon called out the fountain for sweets and lemonade. Exodus had even said he would give them a story.
It was afternoon when the story was finished. Miley had been changed out of her wet vest and knickers into a small pink dress. It was only until she went to bed in ten minutes. Gillian had told him to let her have all the time out that she could.
"Time to come in now…!" Sephiroth shouted from Gillian's doorway. He had changed his wet clothes and was now dressed in loose cotton trousers and shirt. Everyone had been surprised when he had played with all the children. They did start to get worried and think he was dead when he did not come out of the water, but after one child poked him in the forehead and shouted: "I think he's dead! Let's kill him!" Sephiroth rose from the water, making several children scream and laugh as half of them fell off his stomach and into the water.
"Aw…" Miley whined. "B-bu' I don' wan' to!" She was playing with one of the friends she'd made, a little girl named Beatrix. Beatrix's mother came to her front door and started to call her daughter in as well.
"You will do as you are told…!"
Gillian sighed from her kitchen and shook her head, before coming to the front door and calling out to Miley. "Beatrix is going home now! You can play tomorrow!" Miley pouted a little but came inside all the same.
Sephiroth immediately put Miley into her nightclothes and put her to bed. She was asleep a short while after.
Sephiroth sat at the wooden table in the kitchen where everyone else was seated on wooden chairs. "Was playing with Miley all that bad?" Gillian asked as she rested her head against the back of the chair.
"It was hard to tell, all the other children kept getting in the way." He replied jokingly.
Gillian smiled. "See. You are in a better mood after you play with her. Moreover, she wants you to play with her, it is not as if she's asking you not to."
"You did look like you were enjoying yourself. And I've got it on camera to prove it." Angeal grinned as he laid the camera on the table. "Several pictures too."
"Angeal, do me a favour." Gillian said. "Please take the video camera back with you and film Miley. I'll never know how to use it, and it will be awkward going over to Genesis's parents when I want to watch what I've filmed." Angeal nodded and agreed.
"I've already arranged with my parents for us to go over there tomorrow and watch what Angeal has filmed already." Genesis explained. "It'll be an hour before Miley's bedtime so we'll have the rest of the day to enjoy ourselves."