Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Final Fantasy, nor do I make a profit from these proceedings.

A/N: I got you all a nice big long chapter. Hopefully I can do one update a week from now on. No promises. Thanks for the awesome reviews. They are seriously what kept me writing this week. Give yourselves a nice pat on the back for that. Enjoy my fluff. You'll get more plot, when I have enough details to continue the plot.

P.S. I would like to thank faunalind for pointing out my lack of clarity. For those of you who agreed, I rewrote that particular section and hopefully it flows better. For those of you who are clueless, it came out perfectly on my first try.

Sephiroth woke up because a bright light had filled the room. It wasn't unusual. Hojo usually had him woken up with someone turning on the lights in his current room.

What was unusual was that the mattress was really comfortable and he had more than one pillow. He actually felt the urge to resist waking up and go back to sleep. Then he realized that this place didn't smell like the labs, but the aroma was quite pleasant anyway. The light was also softer than the ones in the lab. All in all, it was much preferable to the labs, but it was alien all the same.

Sephiroth opened his eyes. A strange, yet familiar room looked back. He blinked once then he remembered.

This is home, he thought. The word still gave him pleasing sensations.

He had been sleeping in the bed Cass had provided for him, which was of a much higher quality than he was used to. He had no idea that a second pillow really made that much difference in his comfort. He settled down deeper into it, indulging in his desire to sleep a little more. He had a feeling Cass wouldn't particularly mind.

Then something in the light shifted. It caught his attention and he sat up. The light wasn't from a light. It was from a window. He had a room with his own window. He hadn't noticed the night before because it had been dark. He slid out of his bed to wander over to it.

The view was not spectacular. Being three stories tall, there were taller buildings obstructing the horizon. But there were people down below. People who wouldn't know about Hojo or the labs. Ordinary people. Then the thing that had shifted the light came back into view. He watched it for a moment before deciding it was one of those bird things Cass had told him about before. He tried to think of the specific forms.

A pigeon? Cass claimed they were common. And a tad annoying. Still Sephiroth watched it. It walked rather ridiculously, with an obvious head bob. It had a dusty gray coat as well. It pecked a few times at his sill before flying away empty handed. He watched it fly with mild interest. The grace it lacked on the ground it gained in the air.

He watched the people pass by a few moments more, then decided to see if Cass was awake. If she wasn't he'd go back to sleep as well, he decided.

He opened his door quietly and stepped out into the hall. Her door was open. Sephiroth could see her unmade bed from where he stood. She was absent, however. He stepped carefully over to the kitchen.

She was sitting at the same table as the night before. She had an expression which she claimed meant she was "lost in thought". It happened occasionally, but had happened less and less as she stopped working on that mysterious equation. Sephiroth guessed she wore it when she thought about it again. She blinked when she caught sight of him.

"Morning, sunshine," she said.

"Good morning," he replied. He climbed up into a chair opposite Cass.

She was not properly dressed or really prepared. Her hair was down again and Sephiroth successfully fought the urge not to stare at it. It looked mildly frizzy, but still rather appealing. Her clothes were very loose fitting and did not match in the slightest. She looked a little sleepy too. She yawned once.

"Would you like some breakfast?" she asked.

"Yes, please," Sephiroth said.

"What would you like?" she asked.

"I don't know," Sephiroth asked.

"I don't feel like cooking," Cass said, "how does cereal sound?" He nodded. Cass got up rather laboriously and shuffled over to one of the cupboards and pulled out some bowls and a box of something. She got a large container of milk from the refrigerator. She set them all on the table, then went back for spoons.

Sephiroth got up on his knees and reached over to grab the box. He recognized the material inside and poured some in each bowl. Cass sat down with an amused look on her face. She let him pour in the milk.

"Thank you," she said and passed him a spoon. He accepted it and started eating.

"How long have you been pouring your own cereal?" she asked.

"I don't know," Sephiroth said. She nodded, munching contentedly.

"That's cool," she mumbled through her mouthful, "Did you sleep well?"

"Yes," Sephiroth said, swallowing his own, despite Cass's obvious lack of manners. He paused.

"Did you?" he asked. She shook her head.

"Kept waking up," she said, "don't know why." That would explain why she looked so tired.

"I'm sorry," Sephiroth said. She shook her head again.

"Not your fault," she said, "You slept like a rock. Besides, I don't have anything else planned outside of getting you clothes and decor. I think I can schedule a naptime." Sephiroth nodded and continued his simple breakfast. Cass drank the dregs of her milk straight from the bowl. Sephiroth followed suit, suddenly disappointed that he never thought of doing that and mourned all the milk that had gone to waste.

It tasted better that way too.

He followed her over to the sink. He shook his head when she held out her hand for his bowl. She grinned as she stepped aside and let him rinse his bowl himself. She was looking at him funny when he turned back around.

"Did I do it wrong?" he asked.

"I don't think you can do the dishes wrong," she said, "outside of not doing the dishes. I was just thinking that you might be the only person I know who wants to do the dishes."

"Is that wrong?" he asked.

"No," she said, "there are loads of parents who would be jealous that I have a kid that likes it." She paused. "Do you want...a list of chores?"

"Chores?" he asked.

"Small duties to do," she explained, "typically they involve keeping the home tidy." Sephiroth nodded. She chuckled silently.

"Very well," she said, "but you can't take them back when they become boring and you don't want to do them anymore." Sephiroth nodded again. He didn't think he'd get bored of anything that involved Cass, but apparently chores were not a fun thing for people to do. Cass sat down again.

"Hmm...let's see," she said thoughtfully, "well, let's start with you making your bed everyday. I'm not going to be stringent about that since I hardly ever make mine."

"I could make yours for you," Sephiroth said.

"No," she said, "It's my bed, my responsibility. You worry about yours. What else?" She looked at the sink. "For now, you wash the dishes and I'll dry them and put them away. We can switch later if that's what you want to do.

"You don't have clothes to worry about laundry yet," she continued, "I clean on Sundays, pets aren't allowed in the building...You could handle the trash?" Sephiroth nodded. "I'll show you the bin when we go shopping. It's pretty easy. I can't think of anything else to shove on you. Is that enough?" He nodded again. She nodded back.

"Now, do you want first dibs on the shower or do I?" she asked.

"What?" Sephiroth asked.

"You have lovely morning hair," Cass said, tugging gently on the ends of his, "but I don't think anyone else will agree. A quick shower will fix that. Do you want to go first? It'll give you time to dry off." Sephiroth nodded again. She stood up.

"Very well," she said, "off to the shower with you." She followed him to the bathroom. "Do you have the shower figured out?" he nodded, "Then I'll leave you to it. Leave your clothes on the floor. I'll get you a fresh set."

Sephiroth was rather impressed with Cass's shower. It was not nearly as big or fancy as the one Hojo allowed him to use, but the hot water was easy to adjust. There wasn't a millimeter between lukewarm and scalding hot. He also liked the smell of the soap better. It was lightly sweet, but not overly so. It also made his hair feel a lot smoother and easier to handle. That was one of the more difficult parts of having longer hair. It got harder to handle the longer it got.

In addition, her shower curtain also had a pattern of moogles that was was amusing to look at.

He stepped out and reached for one of his towels. It was very thick compared to the lab's towels. It wrapped all the way around him and then some. The mirror had fogged over and he leaned over to start wiping it away. There was a knock at the door.

"May I come in?" Cass's voice asked.

"Yes," Sephiroth replied. She opened the door with a new bundle in her arms. She smirked at him as she set it down.

"Your hair is dripping," she said.

"I know," he said, "It always does that."

"Would you like some help with that?" she asked. Sephiroth eyed her long tresses and decided that Cass would probably have more experience than the usual technicians with this sort of problem. He nodded. She picked up another towel.

"Tell me if I'm being too rough," she said and dumped it over his head. She started rubbing very firmly, but not roughly like she was afraid of doing. Sephiroth let out a giggle and started to bat her away. She lifted up. Sephiroth kept giggling. She smiled.

"Put your shirt on," she said. He did. She wrapped the towel on his head.

"Leave it like that for a bit," she said. He nodded and continued dressing with a grin on his face. When he exited Cass was waiting.

"My turn?" she asked. He nodded and Cass shut the door behind her. He heard the water start and decided to go back into his room until Cass was finished. He watched some more people pass by on the street. He saw another bird, but it wasn't a pigeon this time. This was was sleek and black, but about the same size. He made a note to ask Cass about it when she came out.

Then he heard a sound from the bathroom. After a moment he identified the moonlight melody from the night before. Was Cass...singing? In the shower?

After sticking his head in the hallway Sephiroth decided, yes. Yes she was. She wasn't terrible either, though the running water may have muffled it somewhat.

This was a strange phenomena. The shower was nice and the moogle pattern curtain amusing, but it didn't necessarily earn a serenade. He didn't know what to make of it.

The water stopped.

The singing stopped.

There was some quiet shuffling inside the bathroom. Then the door opened with a small puff of steam. Sephiroth approached the door not sure of exactly what to expect. Cass was drying her much the same way that she had been drying Sephiroth's. She caught sight of him and hesitated.

"Sephiroth?" she asked, "is something wrong?"

"Were you..." he started, "singing?" Her face turned a little sheepish.

"...Yeah," she said, "I kinda...do that...in the shower." He cocked his head. "I've...done it...forever, I suppose," she said, "When I lived with Aurore, she didn't mind because she couldn't hear. Then I lived alone and there was no one to hear and..." she left it off with a shrug. "There's no other explanation. I get in, and I can't stop it." They looked at each other for one long and very awkward moment.

"I'm terrible," she said, "I'm sorry."

"No," Sephiroth said, "It wasn't bad...I...I've just never met someone who does something like that." Cass shrugged again.

"What can I say?" she said, "I'm weird."

"But the good kind of weird," Sephiroth finished. She grinned at him again and started attacking her hair again.

"Brush your teeth," she said and the moment was over. Sephiroth stood next to her and picked up his toothbrush.

Cass watched as Sephiroth very studiously brushed his teeth. Hojo at least instilled a few healthy habits in the boy. A few. He was still a Class-A asswipe.

It was amazing what a mere change of clothes did for him. He didn't look like Hojo's little specimen anymore. Sephiroth looked almost like any other kid, except for the silver hair and ghost-like skin that contested that he rarely, if ever, went outside. And the eyes, but Cass could honestly admit that she had seen weirder eyes in her lifetime.

Mako did some strange shit to people.

Cass gave up on getting her hair any drier and folded up her towel. Sephiroth kept brushing his teeth. She started attacking the mess on her head as Sephiroth spat and rinsed. She bit back a smile as Sephiroth tried not to make it obvious that he was watching her, before picking up his hairbrush and doing the exact same thing.

"He adores you," a familiar, long lost voice said in her mind. She had admitted last night that she missed Gast, for more reason than that she missed a friendly face in the workspace. Gast had been a good friend, nearly a mentor if she hadn't been the smarter of the two. She hadn't expected ever to see him again and it was her own fault for it.

That made the phone call after Sephiroth had gone to bed even stranger.

"Cass?" Gast said. She nearly dropped the phone hearing that voice again. She choked on air before recovering.

"Gast?" she sputtered, "What...Why?"

"It's a payphone Cass, you can relax," he said, "I made sure they won't track me if I called you. I had to call you. I have to tell someone."

"What happened?" she asked, "Is everything alright?"

"Everything is better than alright," he said. She could hear the joy in his voice. "Ifalna's pregnant." She almost dropped the phone again.

"Sweet Mother of Gaia," she said, "Congratulations."

"It's a girl," he said, "It's far too early to really tell, but it's a girl. I just know it. I wish you could be here to celebrate with us."

"I do too," Cass said. Gast paused for one long moment.

"Is Sephiroth still doing okay?" Gast asked.

"Yes," Cass said, "I...I kind of have good news about that too."

"What?" Gast asked, "Did Hojo have a heart attack?"

"Sadly no," Cass replied, "but...let's just say that Sephiroth is sleeping in my spare bedroom."

"...Are you serious?" Gast asked.

"Yep," Cass said, "As of this week I am Sephiroth's legal guardian." It was Gast's turn to sputter.

"You did it!" he said at last, "you got him out."

"Sort of," she said, "he still goes to the lab, but he comes home with me every night. And weekends. My request for adoption was denied. This was the next best thing."

"How?" Gast asked, "How did you override Hojo?"

"I went over his head," she said, "and someone listened. I'm fairly decent at argumentation...or Hojo's just a little bitch. One of the two."

"I'm surprised he let you out of the labs alive," Gast said.

"He tried," she said, "He sent a couple of his experiments after me. They didn't last long. A recent promotion has gotten me out of the labs for good. Hojo can't do anything about it without getting unwanted attention from people who matter." They chatted more about this and that, but it wasn't the same if they couldn't be face to face anymore.

Cass hadn't been able to sleep after. She hoped Gast would be happy. He certainly sounded happy, but his guilt at leaving her behind was still evident.

She looked at the Sephiroth reflected back at her who was trying to perfect the technique Cass used on her hair and decided that her decision had been well worth it.

Sephiroth looked at himself in a mirror and fiddled with his collar again. The walk to this building had been very pleasant. The ordinary people walking along the street paid them no mind. The sun felt very warm on his skin, as if he were still curled up in his bed, but the breeze bashed that image away with cool caresses.

He would have preferred to continue walking instead of coming here. He felt eyes upon him as soon as he walked in. The expressions on the faces were not as kind as Cass's had been. He made sure to focus on his feet, hoping that interest would be lost, that always worked when a new assistant or technician came into the lab.

Cass tried to keep it normal, finding some clothes and ushering them off to a place so that Sephiroth could try them on and see what he liked best. Now that he was away from those eyes and faces, he didn't want to leave.

So he stood there and fiddled with the shirt collar which now felt like it was choking him.

"Sephiroth?" Cass's voice asked, "Sephiroth are you okay?" Sephiroth didn't reply.

"Unlock the door and let me in," Cass said. Sephiroth obeyed. Cass came in.

"You okay?" she asked. He looked down.

"I don't know," he said. She sat down on the floor.

"Is it because people are staring?" she asked. He nodded.

"Okay," she said, "It's going to be fine. I'm going back out there. You try on those clothes, okay? I'll find something that will make them stare less." There were such things? Sephiroth doubted it, but...if anyone could fix this, it would be Cass. He reached for the nearest item and slid it on.

Cass knocked after a few variations.

"Can I come in?" she asked. He unlocked the door again. She smiled when she saw him.

"I like that," she said, "it suits you." He looked down and the black V-neck he was wearing and agreed.

"I like these shirts," he said, "the others...feel wrong."

"You don't like the collars on them do you?" Cass said. He shook his head, "That's fine, we'll get some more of these. Hojo said we were supposed to get some uniforms for you as well, so I'm afraid that we have to get some of the blue ones as well." He nodded. The blue one was naturally the least comfortable, go figure.

"I didn't peg you to like jeans," she said nodding at his pants.

"Jeans," he said trying out the word. They were not his favorite, but they fit very nicely.

"I like the black ones better," he said.

"You can get whatever you want, Sephiroth," Cass said, "just tell me what you like and we can go back to get some more."

"What about..." he trailed off. She pulled out something small and black.

"It's not foolproof, but it might get you less stares," she said. She pulled it on his head, tucking his hair inside. He looked at himself again. He still stuck out, but not as badly, he decided. He nodded and stepped out with her. He felt more confident in pointing out what he preferred and Cass picked them out happily.

Cass led him over to a place, where she handed over money for what Sephiroth wanted. The lady stared at Sephiroth for a long moment.

"Cute, ain't he," Cass said. The lady mumbled something and turned red. She didn't look at Sephiroth again. He felt a little better when they walked out.

Cass carried a sack filled with Sephiroth's new wardrobe. The streets were more crowded than before. Sephiroth felt more eyes on him. He was under the impression that the more people there were the less he would be noticed. He'd get lost in the sheer volume. Fate was not as kind.

Cass could take care of one or two, but not the amount that Sephiroth felt. The frown on her face said the exact same thing. She checked her watch and looked around for an obvious escape route.

"What the fuck is wrong with your kid?" someone asked, "Do you not let him outside or something?"

"He's been under the weather recently," Cass said, "some infection called noneofyourgoddamnbusiness." Sephiroth glanced up, only a glance. The speaker still paled a little.

"What the hell?" he said. Cass pulled Sephiroth aside.

"And you had the gall to ask why he doesn't go out often," Cass snapped, "Fuck off." She and Sephiroth slid into a nearby store, but there was no escape there either. The people inside had seen the encounter and were watching them. Cass rubbed her forehead and bit her lip. The crowd outside thinned a little and the stranger had finally gone. Sephiroth glanced behind him and saw more than a few openly glaring at them.

"This was a bad idea," Cass said quietly. She pulled him out of there and they walked away.

"I'm so sorry, Sephiroth," Cass said, "We don't have to go back there ever again." He nodded. He could feel them staring at his back now.

"Can we go home?" he asked.

"We're going there now," she said, "We can pick out new sheets from there and someone can bring them to us." He nodded with a deep sigh. Getting out had been nice at first, but now he just wanted something familiar.

They were not stared at on the street, though and the sun and breeze still felt really nice. He calmed down quite a bit when the familiar door came into view. Then he saw that someone was stuck at the door.

"That's the guy who lives down the hall," Cass said, "don't worry. He's very nice. He just can't get the door." He nodded.

"Stuck again?" Cass called. He turned around and smiled at them both.

"Aren't I always?" he replied.

"You'll get it," Cass said, "eventually."

"I don't think I will," he said. Cass led Sephiroth up the steps. She opened the door with a vicious kick to the bottom. He laughed as it swung open.

"Thank you again," he said following them in.

"It's no problem," Cass assured him starting up the steps. He followed behind after shutting the door.

"Is this the young man you were going to adopt?" he asked.

"Yes," she said, "this is Sephiroth."

"Very nice to meet you," the man said.

"Hello," Sephiroth said.

"You forgot my name again, didn't you?" the man said to Cass.

"Yes," Cass said, "I'm usually quite excellent at names, but for some reason you're just 2B who gets stuck outside."

"It's a very appropriate title," he admitted, "but my parents insisted on calling me Lazard."

"I'll try to remember it for your parent's sake," Cass said as they reached the landing.

"Nice meeting you Sephiroth," Lazard said passing them in the hall. Sephiroth nodded in reply and slipped inside as Cass opened the door.

Cass took his new clothes and hung them neatly in his closet. He put them on hangers and she hung them up. His room looked nicer with them in it, he decided. More lived-in if nothing else.

"Do you want anything to eat?" Cass said, "It's a little late for lunch, but I could go for some take-out."

"Okay," Sephiroth said. Cass called someone and not too terribly long after, they brought over some food, which smelled very delicious and tasted much the same. Cass packed up what they didn't eat to save for tomorrow. He felt much, much better after that. The memories of feeling scrutinized was passing.

He felt really tired about it though. Cass had apologized for it multiple times.

"I didn't want you to feel uncomfortable," she said, "I spend so much time around you that I forget that some people would think you strange."

"It's not your fault," Sephiroth said and was sincere about it. Really, how could Cass know that they would react like that? She couldn't read minds, except for maybe his.

As a further apology, Cass took him up on the roof. He watched the sunset again, in it's entirety. It was very pretty, with all the colors of the night before and a few more. Cass had told him the names of a few, but he hadn't been really paying attention. When the sun disappeared entirely, Sephiroth decided to ask.

"Could we...watch the stars come out?" he asked.

"Of course," she said, "the lights in the city will make the view less spectacular, but we can see what we can." At Cass's instruction, Sephiroth laid back on the cement. He realized with a smile that this was almost the same position that they first met in.

Cass pointed out some patterns the stars made, she called them constellations, as they appeared. Some he could see, others he had to stare at for a long time before they made sense. The moon was barely a sliver, but Cass assured him that it would get bigger and bigger until it was full, then it would shrink again.

He sat up when he felt himself yawn.

"Could you read to me again?" he asked.

"I thought you'd never ask," Cass said taking his hand.