A/N: This has got to be some sick record. I published this story nine years ago. I am so sorry. Can I finish this for you? Will you read it?

Disclaimer: Random OC's are mine. Some are dantesdarkqueen's, some are Mystic's. Also, I am a horrible person who leaves fics abandoned for years. Forgive me.

Axys pulled her keys out of the door and stepped inside her apartment. Yuffie was in the kitchen and the twins were in their highchairs, eating puffed baby cereal.

"Hey Ax!" Her stepmom greeted cheerfully. She gestured to the microwave. "I made pancakes if you want some. They're keeping warm in the microwave."

"Bitchin'. Thanks, Yuffs," Axys said with a grin, going to grab some food. "I'm starving."

Yuffie giggled. "Did you guys have fun?"

The redhead nodded. "Yep," she replied. "Where's Pops?"

Yuffie rolled her eyes. "Cigarette run," she said, sipping on a cup of coffee. "He was out this morning and you weren't here to bum off of."

"Sucks to suck," the redhead chuckled as she dropped a kiss to each little boy's head. "Hey twerps."

Zane and Shang grinned at her; identical smiles stretched across their faces. Zane threw a piece of cereal at her and giggled as it landed in her syrup. Axys laughed. "You little shit," she said, taking it off her plate and sticking it to his head.

"Don't get syrup in his hair!" Yuffie laughed, cleaning him up. "Leviathan, you can tell they're Reno's brats, can't you?"

"Yeah, the red hair just won't die; or dye," Axys snickered. "Or the eyes. You guys better stop. There's already four of us. We don't need anymore."

"I know, right?" Yuffie said.

Axys turned to the door as it opened. Reno walked in and grinned at her. "Hey, baby girl!"

"Hey Daddy," she replied, getting up to kiss his cheek.

"Fun night?"

She nodded. "Hey Daddy?" she asked. "Do you have any old pictures of Zack Fair?"

Reno raised an eyebrow. "Uh, I might," he said, gesturing for her to follow him into his and Yuffie's bedroom. "Kandi would have more, I'm sure. Why do you need them?"

"Art project," Axys answered, finishing her pancakes.

Reno fished around in a box under his bed, finding an old photo album. He tossed it to her. "Should have some in there," he told her. "What kind of art project?"

"A painting," she muttered, flipping through the pictures. She found one of Akalara and Sephiroth and whistled. "Damn, Az looks just like his dad."

Reno looked at the picture and grinned. "Identical," he agreed. "Except the eyes. Those are all Ak's."

"Holy Bahamut, Dad!" Axys shrieked, turning to the next picture. "Why do you have pictures of Zack and Sephiroth naked?!"

Yuffie screamed and ran into the bedroom. "Give me! I want to see!" She giggled. "Is this from that time you told me about?"

Reno tried to get the pictures away from his daughter, but she quickly bolted to the door, grabbing Yuffie's hand and running into her mess of a room. She locked the door and cast a mastered Barrier spell on the lock to keep her dad out. "Ramuh's beard, these are hot!"

Yuffie grabbed them from her, drooling. "He told me how he got them drunk and had his way with them one night."

"Bi-sexual deviant!" Axys screamed at him as he pounded on her door.

"Gimme back my pics, you bitches!"

"No!"

Yuffie flipped through the album and found a good picture of Zack with his clothes on. "Here, this should work," she told her, taking the rest of the pictures. "You're too young to see the rest, poor, innocent girl."

"Gimme!"

Yuffie cast Dispel and flew out of her room. "No! These are mine now! Nyuk, nyuk, nyuk!"

Axys laughed as her dad tried to tackle Yuffie to get his pictures back, only to fall flat on his face when she leapt in the air. Grabbing her bag, she went back into her room and studied the picture. It would work perfectly. Selecting a canvas size she wanted, Axys set up her paints and started working.

She quickly found the lighting in her room sucked for this project. Sighing, she stuffed all her supplies in her art bag and opened her window, taking the fire escape to the roof of their building. Setting up her easel, she started again.

Axys sketched it out first. Her best friend was one of her favorite subjects to work with. Andria's features were as familiar to her as her own, perhaps more so. She drew her often enough. Andi had a facial structure that most artists drooled over: perfect and symmetrical.

Kaya's was similar. Plus, Kaya had those adorable dimples that were so fun to sketch out and a full set of lips that formed her epic pouts of doom.

Paulo's eyes were her favorite because they were so dark and deep. He had eyes that made girls melt when he smiled at them.

Azrael's body was the most fun to draw. It was perfect. Strong, masculine, and angular. And when he had his shirt off, he had that perfect 'v' shape that trailed into his jeans. She just wished she could get him out of those jeans and sketch him nude. Or paint him nude. Or just look at him nude.

Bryce's hair was sexy as hell. He had that gorgeous blond hair that fell perfectly over his eyes. His eyes were amazing as well; a deep, vibrant blue. He was fun to paint because of all the colors she could use with him.

Axys grinned. She loved her friends. They were great practice for her art.

"How much did last night's festivities cost me?"

Bryce stopped mid-step and backed up until he could peer into his father's study. Grinning, he answered, "Just a little over a thousand gil. I bought two bottles of 200-year-old Scotch."

Rufus arched an elegant blond eyebrow. "Where did you find that?" He asked, impressed. "I wasn't aware it was available for purchase anywhere in Edge."

"It isn't," Bryce explained, walking into the study, and sitting opposite his father at his desk. "We had to find it in Old Midgar."

"We?"

Bryce winced before admitting, "Axys and I."

"That girl," Rufus sighed. "I don't understand what you see in her."

His son smiled fondly. "It's hard to explain."

"And how is your car?"

Bryce laughed at that. "The Viper is fine," he reassured him. "I told her you would kill her if she wrecked it. This one seems to be her favorite. She asked for a red one for her birthday."

"That child is precocious at best, a delinquent at worst."

"She's a delinquent," Bryce agreed. "But she's a beautiful delinquent."

"She is an unconventional beauty," Rufus conceded. "Her eyes are her best feature. However, her haircut leaves much to be desired. The shaved left side is off-putting with the remainder falling over the right half of her face; her pierced and tattooed face."

"It's edgy," Bryce grinned. "Axys pulls it off effortlessly."

"Hmph," Rufus murmured with non-commitment. "Well, as agreed, you owe me a day's worth of college testing preparation in exchange for your Friday night of fun."

Bryce frowned. "Yes, Sir," he said with a nod as he got to his feet and headed toward the door.

"Bryce."

The younger blond turned and faced his father. "Yes, Father?"

Rufus sighed and rose to his feet. He took his son by the shoulders and stared into the spitting image of his younger self. "I push you because I want the best for you."

Bryce smiled and clasped his father's arm. "I know, Father," he replied. "I appreciate what I have, I really do. It's an easy compromise. Besides, I want to do well on the tests. It'll make my life better."

Rufus returned the smile and patted his son's shoulder. "That's my boy," he said proudly. "We'll discuss the Viper for Axys later."

Bryce chuckled at that and left the study, heading up to this room. He closed the door and took his phone out of his pocket, tossing his letterman jacket on the back of his desk chair. Flipping through his pictures, he found the one he covertly took this morning.

While Axys had been taking her picture, he snapped one of his own. In the first rays of morning light, she was absolutely beautiful. She never ceased to take his breath away.

A/N: Just a quick update. I'll have more soon. Please don't hate me.