A/N: Da da da da snap snap. Da da da da snap snap. Da da da da...da da da da...da da da da snap snap. We're sneaky and we're sexy; We've partied down with Zexy; What else rhymes with 'sexy'? The damn Turk Family! Da da da da snap snap. Our building is collasal; We've partied down with Axel; Our boss was once an asshole; Oh Fuck! I think he heard me! Da da da da snap snap.

Disclaimer: (whispering in 'Field of Dreams' fashion) If I owned it...I would cum.

Tseng learned his lesson from The Giving of Thanks Feast. This time, he had Yuletide dinner catered in the ShinRa building. No Turk's cooking, no Turk's cleaning. Just time with his family and his new adopted son, Paulo. The young boy had never experienced Yuletide before. His first had been more than memorable. And now, a week later, they were preparing for the beginning of the New Year celebration, held at one of the banquet halls of Edge's five star hotels.

Elena was over at Tseng's apartment, finishing getting ready for the party. Paulo stared at her in awe as she walked around the apartment in a short silk dress, applying make-up and touching up her hair. Tseng chuckled and closed Paulo's slacked jaw with his fingers.

"Don't get any ideas," he told the boy. "She's mine."

"She's just so...pretty," Paulo whispered. He then gave Tseng an evil grin. "Is she going to be my new mother?"

Tseng's mouth dropped at that and he was temporarily at a loss for words. Clearing his throat, he managed a strangled, "Perhaps."

Elena came out of the master bedroom and giggled. "Tseng, why are you making him wear a suit?" she asked, kneeling down in front of Paulo and straightening his tie. "I know this is a formal party, but he's just a child."

Paulo smiled at her as she ran her fingers through his hair to straighten the unruly black locks. "I don't mind, Miss Elena," he said softly. "I'm just happy to be here."

Elena kissed his cheek tenderly, wiping off the lipstick she left. "Sorry," she giggled, giving him a hug. "I'm glad you're here, too. And don't call me 'Miss Elena'. I'm not a school teacher. Elena is fine."

"What about 'Mom'?" Paulo asked with a snicker.

Elena laughed at the look Tseng got on his face. "I like this kid, Tseng," she said rising to her feet and linking her arm through her boss'. "He's smart."

"He's a smart aleck," Tseng grumbled. He tossed Paulo his coat and helped Elena into hers. "Come. We don't want to be late."

"Are the other kids going to be there?" Paulo asked as they entered the elevator and rode down to the ground floor.

Tseng smiled. "Oh yes," he replied. "You will have plenty peers to converse with."

"Okay, something has got to happen soon," Kandi said, chewing on her nails. "Akalara hasn't done anything since she heard that message on Revan's voicemail."

"Well, did Rev talk to her?" Rude asked as he drove her and Andria to the hotel.

Kandi shrugged her shoulders. "I hope so."

"Az said that he caught his mom crying the other night," Andria said softly, leaning between their seats and joining the conversation. "She was really upset. But, you know, I don't think Niki-chan would ever do that. She's in love with Reno. And I know Revan loves Aunt Ak. There's no way he would cheat on her. So, everything will turn out okay."

Kandi glanced back at her daughter with a smirk. "And when did you become so smart with all this love stuff?" she asked.

"Mom, please," Andria said rolling her eyes. "I am a genius."

Kandi snorted. "Whatever, Spawn," she said rolling her eyes back at her. "Granted, you are fairly smart. But just remember who you get that from."

"Dad?" Andria said innocently. "And by that, I mean Zack."

"You little..."

"Ladies, don't make me turn this car around," Rude told them gruffly. He reached back and tweaked Andria's nose. "Sit back and fasten your seatbelt."

Andria grinned and pecked his cheek before she did. "Yes, Daddy Rude," she said sweetly.

Rude smirked in the darkness, grabbing Kandi's hand and kissing it. "And you behave," he ordered. "I'm still your superior."

"Yes, Sir," she replied with a smile. She took her hand back and held it up, trying to catch the light on the stones of the gift he had given her for Yuletide.

"Mom, you're blinding me with that thing!" Andria giggled. "Seriously, Daddy Baldylocks, where'd you'd find all that ice?"

"Nice jewelry store in Icicle Village that Ram told me about," he said. "Went there on a mission, saw the bracelet, thought is was perfect. Besides, the Northern Crater is known for it's diamonds."

"Huh," Andria said thoughtfully. "Mom, you never did tell me what you got Daddy Cueball for Yuletide. Pales in comparisson to what he got you, huh?"

"Ha fucking ha," Kandi said, leaning forward and partially unzipping the back of her dress, revealing a new tattoo on the skin of her lower back. "That's what I got him."

Andria leaned forward and burst into laughter. "You got a pair of sunglasses tattooed on your lower back?" she exclaimed. "Mom, lame gift."

"Hey, I think it's awesome," Kandi told her, situating herself again. "Rude likes it, don't ya, Babe?"

Rude nodded and smirked. "Sure do," he said. "Ink is hot. She also got another piercing for me."

Kandi smacked him on the arm. "We shall not discuss the piercing in front of the Spawn," she hissed.

"What'd you get pierced, Mom?" Andria giggled. "One of your nipples? Both of your nipples?"

"Andria!" Kandi shrieked.

"Mom!" Andria shrieked back. "Remember; Deepground? Uh, nothing shocks me anymore."

"She got her cl--"

"Rude, shut it!"

Andria laughed again. "Ah," she said, sitting back again and crossing her arms over her chest knowingly. "I see."

"Oh Shiva," Kandi mumbled.

"Yeah, I'll bet Shiva has hers pierced, too," Andria mused. "She always struck me as a tantric goddess."

"Zack, why did you curse me with such a smart child?" Kandi asked, throwing her arms up in the air in defeat. She glared back at her daughter who simply smirked at her.

"So, when can I get mine done? Double digits, same as the nose ring?"

"Not until you are considerably older," Rude told her. "Try when you're eighteen, okay?"

Andria pouted. "Fine, Daddy Chrome Dome," she said with a grin. She reached up and rubbed his bald head. "You're lucky I'm such a good kid, you know? I could be throwing a huge tantrum right now and yelling obscenities and stating obvious facts that you are not my father. But I wouldn't do that to you, cos I love you, Daddy No Hair."

Rude grinned back at her in the rearview mirror. "Yeah, and you know that if you were to say something like that, I would take your Yuletide present away."

Andria clasped her fist around the necklace Rude had given her for Yuletide and pouted. "Good thing we have this understanding then, huh?" she asked.

"Yeah, good thing," Rude said pulling into the circle drive of the ShinRa Heights Hotel. The valet came around and opened doors for everyone. Andria stood beside her mother and nudged her hip.

"I can't believe you're wearing a dress," she giggled.

Kandi rolled her eyes. "Don't get used to it," she said, running her fingers through her daughter's hair. "This is pretty much a one-time thing."

"Too bad," Rude said, snaking his arm around her waist and kissing her neck. "You look fantastic."

"I'm freezing my ass off, so let's go in," she said with a smile. Andria bounded to the doors ahead of them, her own purple dress shimmering in the soft lights of the hotel. She turned around and grinned at them before heading in. Kandi's breath caught in her throat.

"What's wrong?" Rude asked.

Kandi stared after her daughter. "I just caught a glimpse of what she's going to look like when she's older," she said softly. She turned to Rude and shook her head. "I'm in trouble."

Rude laughed lowly and kissed her softly. "We both are," he told her, leading her inside.

The banquet hall was spectacular. Food and alcohol had already been laid out on several tables against the walls. The stage was set up and Organization XIII was playing some slower songs. Tseng had booked them at N.C.'s request. He thought of the half-Wutain rookie as a little sister and as such could hardly tell her no. Besides, since her boyfriend was the lead vocalist, he thought it would be nice to invite them to the party anyway. And they were a damn good band.

Kandi looked around trying to spot a head of green hair. Or silver for that matter. If Az was here, then Akalara was too. What she spotted was the flaming red-hair of Reno coming toward her.

"Where's Ak?" she asked him.

Reno shook his head. "I don't know," he said, gesturing to Revan with his glass of scotch. "Rev's going nuts, Man. She's not talked to him in over two weeks. She's been keeping to herself. Brit don't even know where she is."

Andria was taking her cell phone out of her purse. "I'm calling Az," she said, hitting the button for his number. Kandi and Reno looked down at her, Kandi accepting a glass of champaigne from Rude as he joined them. "Az? Hey! It's Andria. Where are you?" She paused as he answered, her face breaking into a smile. "Okay! Cool! See you in a minute then. Bye!"

She hung up and turned to her mom. "They're on their way," she said, relief in her voice. "Just pulling into the drive way."

Axys bounded over to them and grabbed her father's hand. "Dad, uh, Niki-chan's had three glasses of wine now," she told him. "And she's mumbling something about releasing the Lifestream from it's porcelain prison."

"Shit," Reno said, hurrying over to Niki-chan. Axys giggled and grabbed Andria's hand, leading her over to where the other Turk Spawn and Mini-Rufus were sipping sparkling grade juice.

Minutes passed and Akalara and Azrael finally made it. Azrael waved over to his friends and turned to his mother. "Are you going to be okay, Mom?" he asked in concern.

Akalara gave her son a smile and nodded her head. "Have fun, Sweetheart," she said, kissing his cheek tenderly. Azrael returned the smile but wiped her lipstick off his cheek before going to his friends. He immediately went to Andria but Axys grabbed ahold of his arm, begging him to dance with her, much to Bryce's chagrin. Akalara smiled at that, knowing her son would have much the same experience as his father had with women fawning all over him. She jumped slightly as a hand slipped into her own.

"You look beautiful," Kandi told her, squeezing her hand.

Akalara turned to her friend and balked. "You're...wearing a dress," she said in awe.

"Ugh, don't remind me," Kandi said, taking a drink of her champaigne. "It sucks." She cocked her head, her hair falling over her eye. "Are you okay?"

"As good as I'm going to be," she sighed. "Niki has Reno and Revan."

"Did you even talk to him, Ak?" Kandi asked. "I mean, when I gave him back his cell phone, I asked him what he did that weekend. It's nothing what you think."

"You gave him back a smashed cell phone?"

"No, of course not," she said waving her hand dismissively. "I fixed it. And yes, I am that good, so shut up. Just talk to him, Babe. And please, whatever you are planning to do to Niki..."

Akalara's red eyes darkened. "Stay out of it," she said lowly. "It's none of your concern."

"Yes, it is, because it involves two girls that I think of as sisters," she snapped. "Gods damn, but I have a lot of sisters and keeping them from killing each other is getting to be a rather annoying full-time job. At least Ram and Trina love each other."

"Oh, look," Akalara interrupted, breaking away from Kandi. "There's Lily and Joel. I'm going to go say hi."

"Ak..."

"Damn Green Bitch."

Kandi turned and smiled at Brit. "No doubt."

Akalara stepped out onto the balcony, closing the door behind her. It was too stuffy in the banquet hall with everyone dancing and laughing and drinking their heads off. She needed some air and some time to think.

Looking down, she smiled at the thought that went through her head. Jump. So easy, so simple. So final. The only thing she had was Azrael anyway. Reno was with Niki tonight and he seemed to be favoring her anyway. Though, it didn't really matter. She knew despite their sexual relationship that they would always be friends. She loved him, that was true. But something had hit her when she lost Revan.

She was in love with him.

Not in the same way as she had been with Sephiroth. No one would ever be able to replace him in her heart. But Revan...

The doors to the balcony opened and the man she had just been thinking of stepped through carrying two glasses of champaigne. She turned away from him and stared out over Edge.

"Akalara, please talk to me," Revan pleaded, setting the glasses down on the railing. "What have I done, Baby? Just tell me."

Akalara rubbed her bare arms and shook her head. "Revan, just leave," she said harshly. "I know you don't want me anymore. Just go."

Revan balked at that. "I don't want you anymore?" he asked. "Where in the hell did you get that idea?"

Akalara turned to him, red eyes flashing dangerously. "I know you slept with Niki," she hissed. "She got to you to get me back for what I did to her, writing Razor's name on her back. So she took you, too!"

Revan grabbed her arms and pulled her to him. "Now you listen to me," he snarled, steadying her thrashing. "I know that we are not exclusive because of this fight for that damn redhead; but as far as I'm concerned, I am in a committed relationship with you. I would never cheat on you. Especially not with Niki because I know how you feel about her. And I know you may hate me for this, but I'm actually hoping that she wins Reno's affections."

Akalara glared at him. "Why?" she seethed. "So she can take more from me?"

"No," he said softly, placing a hand to her cheek. "So that I can have you to myself. No more sharing. All I want is you."

Akalara stared into his eyes, blinking her own to fight back tears that she never saw coming. "You...didn't sleep with Niki?" she asked. Revan shook his head. "I heard the voicemail from her; thanking your the other day and saying how amazing you were."

Revan arched an eyebrow. "When was this?" he asked. His eyes widened. "After the girls' night out?"

"Yeah."

Revan laughed. "I found her on the street, freezing cold, curled up in a little ball and covered in snow," he explained. "I gave her my coat, bought her some coffee and something to eat and we talked. She was really upset about your prank. Then I walked her back to her place and finished Yuletide shopping."

Akalara breathed a sigh of relief. "Really?" she asked, daring to be hopeful for once. "Are you telling the truth?"

"May Odin strike me dead right now if I'm not," he declared. He reached into his inside breast pocket and withdrew a small wrapped box. "And because you haven't spoken to me for the past few weeks, I wasn't able to give you my Yuletide present."

Akalara tenatively accepted the gift, unwrapping it and lifting the top off the black velvet box. A pair of white gold and ruby earrings sat in the box, glittering in the moonlight. "Revan," she breathed out. "They're beautiful. Thank you."

"Ak," he said, grasping her hand in his. "I know I'm just your second. I know that. And I'm okay with that. As long as I can have you, even just a little bit, I'll be satisfied. For now. I love you and I just want you to be happy, okay?"

She nodded as they faintly heard the others inside began the countdown to the New Year. "I am happy," she told him, wrapping her arms around his neck. "With you."

"Three, two, one...HAPPY NEW YEAR!"

Inside, various couples kissed to welcome the start of a brand new year. Rude had Kandi bent back as he ravished her mouth, Randak and Nilto doing the same. Joel and Lily kissed until they couldn't breathe. Elena lived up to her nickname of Hot Lips as she kissed Tseng. Brit attacked Torr nearly to the ground, the only thing preventing them laying out was the chair he collapsed into. Sage had Ram pressed up against the sound system of the band. Demyx and N.C. were together and well as Kai and Zexion. Feather had opted for Black, so Roxas found himself molested by Sil, which was fine by him. Axel and Vincent were arguing over Katrina who suggested that they kiss and she watch. Rufus pulled Magni to him and as she kissed her boyfriend, she glanced over his shoulder to Wei, who simply lifted his glass to her and smiled sadly. Nina and Widdow shared a kiss and as soon as Reno stopped gawking at them, he pulled Niki to him and kissed her possessively.

Even the Turk Spawn were sharing cheek kisses with each other. Axys pouted as Azrael kissed Andria, but brightened when Bryce took her hand and planted a gentle kiss to her cheek. Paulo shyly took Kaya by the hand and kissed her sweetly, causing her to blush and her little brother Damian to cover his eyes with protestations of "GROSS!"

Back outside, one couple shared a kiss that put the others to shame. For in that one kiss was not just hope for the New Year, but hope for a new love.

The Morning After New Year's, At Work...

It was a good thing that New Year's Day was a declared holiday and no one was expected back at work until January 2. Niki scooted through the airconditioning vents quietly, kicking the cover off the one in Brit and Akalara's office. Time to get the Green Bitch back for the prank she pulled, writing that bastard's name on her back.

"Hmmm," Niki thought outloud. "What to destroy? What to destroy? OH! Pretty present!"

The little rookie plopped down at Akalara's desk and turned the package around, squealing as she read the name tag. "It's for ME!" she said excitedly. She jumped when the door opened and Reno walked in.

"Niki, what are you doing here?" he asked with a grin.

"Uh, pranking Akalara," she said, returning his grin with one of her own. "What are you doing here?"

"Brit's my morning girl, remember?" he said slyly. "Guess she hasn't made it in yet. Whoa, what are you doing?"

Niki was unwrapping the present. "It's for me anyway!" she said sticking out her tongue. "So I'm gonna open it and keep it before she can take it back."

Reno sat on the edge of Akalara's desk as Niki opened the box, revealing a very beautiful music box. "Oh!" Niki exclaimed clapping her hands excitedly. "I love music boxes! I wonder what it plays?"

She opened the gold lid and squealed again as the theme from 'The Phantom of the Opera' started playing, two figures, a man and a woman, dancing in a circle, moving closer and closer together. "How cool!" she giggled, leaning forward to watch the dancers.

"That is pretty neat," Reno said, patting her head. "See, she's not that..."

He paused, listening as the song ended and the dancers stood, almost touching. A small hiss, the sound of a fuse being lit, reached his ears. "Niki!" he yelled, trying to get her to move.

But it was too late.

A small explosion erupted from the music box, flames and shrapnel flying from it and into Niki's face. The rookie was knocked back against the wall, her head cracking the plaster with a sickening sound. Reno had been knocked to the floor with the force of the blast, a few pieces of the shrapnel hitting his face. He scrambled to his feet and went over to Niki. She was out cold, her face and upper body badly burned and bleeding.

"Oh gods," he cried, quickly reaching into his jacket pocket for his cell phone. He dialed the number to the Medical Facility. "Get up to floor 69 now!" he yelled. "Akalara and Brit's office. We have a Turk down!"

He reached for one of her hands and felt for a pulse, whimpering pathetically when he found nothing.

A/N: Sorry this took so long to get out. I have been so busy at work and sick on top of that. Hopefully things will get better. Review! And Happy Belated New Year!