Vagaries of Fate

New Home

Chapter 33 

They went through a few more songs that Clarissa could think of as well. By the time they got to the fourth one, at least the boys had relaxed a little. She almost fell over when Kadaj showed a hint of a smile. It was the most beautiful thing she had seen in a long time.

After that, she called a halt to their antics, as they still had dinner to prepare. When she shooed the boys into the bathroom to clean up, Sephiroth turned to her with a solemn look. "Don't ever mention that to Genesis."

That was too much. Clarissa nearly fell over she was laughing so hard. She had to grab the wall to keep herself upright. When she caught sight of Sephiroth's frown, she laughed even harder. Though she did try to wave off his concern. It took her a moment before she could speak. "I will promise that I will not tell him. At least not before I get him to do it too."

Sephiroth froze at that point. It was several seconds before his brow rose, and he smirked. "That is something I would like to see."

Clarissa gave him a grin. "I'll make sure you both have a chance to participate."

He took a step back when he noticed the glint in her eyes. He also realized what she meant and decided that perhaps it was time to change the subject. He didn't get a chance to before the boys came out. They all looked at him before Yazoo spoke. "Will you be staying for dinner again?"

Sephiroth swallowed a sigh as he realized he would need to reevaluate what was important. He then gave them all a nod. "Of course."

They didn't need any further confirmation from him before they turned to the kitchen. Though Loz stopped and turned back with a curious look. "Could we possibly-"

He cut off and looked away with a frown, but Yazoo was there by his side. He rolled his eyes at his brother before he looked back at Sephiroth and finished the sentence for him. "He wants to know if we could have a sleepover soon. Like the one Shelke told us about."

Sephiroth looked shocked for a moment. That was an unexpected request. His gaze flicked to Clarissa, and she gave him an expectant look. This was going to be up to him. Finally, he turned back to the boys, and his gaze firmed. "Of course. Besides, it would be best if a Soldier stays with you at night if you decide to move into the larger apartment. It would be like a sleepover every night."

That was enough of an answer for the boys, and they both went to join Kadaj. However, Clarissa turned a curious look to her commanding officer. "I know you mentioned it before, but I forgot about the other place. I suppose it wouldn't be a bad idea, since there is a park near that location. Still, it may be some time before we are up to that."

Sephiroth didn't speak right away. Instead, he watched the doorway where he could still see the boys moving around, gathering the things from the refrigerator. They were more mature than they should be at that age, but he was beginning to see they had more of a chance to gain back what he had lost, what Hojo and the other scientists had stolen from them all. He finally turned back to Clarissa with a wry smile. "I think that those three will shock us. Perhaps it would not be a bad thing to ask them, at least."

After a second, she gave him a nod and a grin. "You're right. I was also thinking about asking them if they wanted to go to the company daycare with me. It would do them good to interact with other children their age. Maybe not for a while, but the park would be a great place to start." Sephiroth gave her a nod before they moved into the kitchen to finish making the evening meal.

It wasn't until they were almost finished that Kadaj finally brought up what they were all thinking. "We heard you mention moving and also going to the same place where Shelke goes during the day."