Title: To Belong

Author: Backlash Symphony

Music Listened To: "Cruel" by Tori Amos
"Say My Name" by Destiny's Child
"Frozen (Dance Remix)" by Madona

Summary: It's one thing to be told you belong, to be accepted by others because of your appearance, but to truly belong, people need to see past the shell and into the true depths of your tortured soul. Marlene found where she belonged in the most unlikely place; in the arms of Kadaj, Yazoo, and Loz. Kadaj's Gang/Marlene OneShot

Extra: It's another one shot but for Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children. I thought of this and figured I could make it work. Oh! And I'm going to say Marlene is about 17 or 18 in this because I'm having trouble finding out how old she was to begin with. I thought she was somewhere between five and seven in AC but some other sources say she was actually 10. Personally, if she really was 10, Denzel must've been at least fourteen and he looks nothing close to that, so I'm assuming it'll be safe to say she can be 17 or 18 in this fic while Kadaj is 18, Yazoo is 19, and Loz is 20.

And anyone who didn't realize it, this is an AU because Marlene wasn't even close to hitting puberty in the movie and this never would've happened anyway.

Disclaimer: I really hate these things…No, I don't own Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children.

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'Thoughts'

"Speech"

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The mostly clear blue water rippled as the gentle breeze brushed its imaginary fingertips across the surface. The eerie glowing white trees remained silent as always to the human ears, only conversing with the surrounding plants. The sky was pitch black as usual with the grand glittering moon and its sparkling rays that filtered through the bare glowing branches of the trees. No one could tell the difference, however, for the trees were already abundant and covered almost every inch of possible land.

The water remained mostly still as it formed the deep pool outside the obscenely large seashell-like structure on the small island that was situated in the center of the beautiful forest and surrounded innocently by the water. Everything looked beautiful, dazzling, the most amazing as it usually did.

This was the Forgotten Capitol. This place held such brutal memories, such tender moments, such gruesome history, and soon, she was going to become a part of the grand scale of events that would lead her name to the top of the list.

"You just don't get it yet, do you, Marlene?"

The young woman sitting with her back against the cold wall of the room with her arms crossed over her chest glared defiantly towards the youngest of the three Sephiroth clones, Kadaj, the one who was a sweet talking strategic mastermind with a cute face and one hell of a body. Not that his 'brothers' didn't have good bodies.

In her opinion, Kadaj had the best looking face if she wanted cute. The body that looked the best belonged to Loz but his face reminded her of a rough edge type of sexy. It didn't make her want to give him a hug and snuggle with him like she felt with Kadaj's face. No, his face and body were perfect, but his type made her stomach feel strange, like it was clenching and coiling.

It wasn't as if she didn't think Yazoo wasn't attractive, she felt he was right up there with his brothers. What shut off almost every possible attraction to the man was the fact that she thought he was a woman when she first met him.

'Perhaps if he cuts his hair it'll be easier to tell…'

"I already told you I want nothing to do with you three. You've already caused enough damage as it is!" Marlene stood suddenly, her light brown bangs shifting along her face.

Yes, her hair had lightened considerably over the years, or at least her bangs, while her eyes remained their deep coffee color. It was a mystery how her bangs had gotten lighter while the rest of her hair had changed to strictly black. She had filled out nicely, however, everything staying in proportion. Her waist wasn't obnoxiously tiny nor was her chest disgustingly and abnormally large. The best way to describe her body would be to take a look at Tifa from the neck down, shrink down the chest about an inch and a half, and cut down the overall height by three inches.

Apart from looking somewhat like Tifa, Marlene had been taking fighting lessons from the young woman and was doing much better than expected. A few people, Cloud, Vincent, and Denzel, even mentioned the two becoming twins. Marlene had her own little way of proving them all wrong and that was how she dressed.

She dressed relatively similarly to how the normal teenager should look. She had on a black spaghetti strap top with an identical one in white over it. There was a jean skirt that came two inches below mid thigh with a pair of black sandals. That was pretty teeny looking, right?

"I'm afraid we can't just let you go," Loz said casually, lifting a hand and gesturing to Marlene as he, too, pushed himself from the wall a few feet away from the girl.

She scoffed and turned to face the oldest of the trio, taking note that Yazoo was leaning against the wall at the exit of the room. She sent a small glare towards him for further increasing her already significantly less than slim chances of escaping the psychotic group. Her eyes met with Loz's and she found the sudden intensity in keeping that small eye contact with him nearly impossible. Luckily, Kadaj answered for Loz and this allowed Marlene to break the unwanted form of contact.

"You belong with us. This isn't a black and white situation. This is simply a one choice decision," he explained, walking towards her from her far left.

She was the center in a triangle formed by the three bodysuit-clad men. She didn't like her position any more than she did an hour ago when they brought her there. They had been trying to convince her that she should leave her family and friends to be with them but now the reason had finally come up. She looked at Kadaj with a raised brow before transferring her gaze back to Loz.

"I belong with you?" she questioned skeptically. "That was what ended up being so important that you had to kidnap me and bring me back to this forsaken place?"

Loz, who was at a much shorted distance from Marlene than Kadaj was, began to make his way towards the young girl who was too startled to actually move when the few seconds had passed. He was standing right in front of her, his body at least a head taller than hers. She reached her hands up to lightly push against his chest in a mild warning that he shouldn't come any closer.

She tried to remain defiant by staring straight ahead, her gaze directed at his upper chest and neck, but the sudden feel of fingers gripping her chin forced her to break the look and form a new gaze with Loz's eyes. Once again the intensity made her stomach feel strange and she looked away from his eyes, now looking at the wall but looking at his lips out of the corner of her eyes.

"Yes. You belong with us just as much as you belong to us," Loz explained softly, tapping her chin with his thumb before brushing it across her bottom lip.

"To you" she questioned in a somewhat annoyed tone, eyes racing back to meet his.

"With us just as much to us," Kadaj repeated into her ear, suddenly appearing behind her.

She gasped when she felt one of his hands slid beneath her two tank tops to rest on her stomach. His fingers were frighteningly warm against her somewhat cold flesh. His body molded itself behind her, his other hand coming to rest on her shoulder while his face rested on the same shoulder his hand was on.

Her head ripped from Loz's holding fingers in an attempt to see what Kadaj was doing to her. She knew she was too close to Loz to be able to see Kadaj's hand on her stomach but she could certainly feel those fingers of his stroking meaningless patterns upon the pale flesh. It wasn't helping any that she was now sandwiched between the two grown men.

"W-What do you think you're doing?" she asked with wide eyes as Loz pulled her face back towards him, though he and Kadaj both knew the question was directed at the younger man.

The two chuckled and Marlene could feel the vibrations in her body. Her hands clenched on Loz's chest as her own chest moved faster with the sudden need for her lungs to take in as much air as possible. Her stomach quivered under the ghostly touches Kadaj performed in it.

"It's not quite like him to do something without thinking about it," Loz muttered, clearly amused by the smirk on his face.

Marlene suddenly felt a distinct warmth at the junction of her neck and shoulder and gasped loudly upon realizing it was Kadaj's lips sucking at the skin. She opened her mouth to tell him to stop and froze when lips covered hers for a brief moment. Her eyes widened even more.

"Just say yes, Marlene. Please, agree to be with us," Kadaj pleaded against her skin, moving over the exposed skin of her shoulder, planting soft kisses along the flesh.

She calmed down considerably upon hearing the tone of his voice. He was begging her to stay, to abandon everything. She looked defeated as she though, something Loz picked up instantly. While she was caught up in her thoughts, she didn't realize that she was practically melting between the two.

She let Kadaj brush the straps of her tank tops down her shoulder, allowing him to press his lips against the round edge.

Marlene could understand what it meant to be loved. She received it from her father, from Tifa, from Cloud, the other orphans she had grown up with, and most importantly from Denzel.

It had become painfully obvious that the two shared feelings for one another but no one understood, apart from Denzel and Marlene, that some of the things they did that were more or less meant for those in a relationship, their close behavior, was a side effect of the painful truth that a relationship closer than their already close friendship would most likely ruin the relationship they actually shared.

The two had actually gone ahead to discuss it between themselves to see how they should proceed and there was only one thing they agreed would determine whether they should go on with their close friendship or take the next step and begin dating. The two had heard Tifa and Cloud go through the same problem and although the two were together, they had to find a way that was innocent enough to allow them to maintain their friendship without any awkwardness but also allow them to understand if they would be able to advance.

They had kissed. It turned out to be meaningless to Denzel and Marlene and the two continued their close friendship without a single awkward moment. Although Marlene sometimes wished the kiss actually did mean something, she knew she was extremely grateful to have such an amazing friend that knew her dark secrets, could cheer her up, and loved her in perhaps the best way possible outside of marriage type love.

She loved everyone in her life, she really did, but there was still a difference between loving and belonging. It was like one of those ever-ironic situations where you have the perfect family, the perfect life, the nearly perfect everything, but there's that one completely insignificant thing that you're missing that you want. Eventually, the opportunity appears to gain the one completely insignificant thing but you need to abandon everything you had for it.

Was it worth it? Was it worth abandoning her life and the love she received? The people who raised her? Grew up with her? Supported and assisted her? Could she actually leave all the things she loved for the simple feeling of belonging? For the three men who could provide her with the missing link she yearned for, was it worth tossing everything aside like the morning trash?

…

To feel secure…?

Yes.

To feel wanted…?

Yes.

To feel complete…?

Yes.

"Alright…I'll stay."

Loz and Kadaj smiled at Marlene and Yazoo made his appearance beside her, smiling just the same. The three answered all at once.

"We knew you would."

Yazoo gave her a gentle kiss on Marlene's cheek while Kadaj planted one on her should Loz gave her a final soft one on the lips before pulling away and grabbing Yazoo to form a group hug.

It's one thing to be told you belong, to be accepted by others because of your appearance, but to truly belong, people need to see past the shell and into the true depths of your tortured soul. Marlene found where she belonged in the most unlikely place; in the arms of Kadaj, Yazoo, and Loz.