It may be a good idea to read The First Time (ever I saw your face) for the first part of this chapter!

Standard Disclaimers Apply

Family Affair

AU FF7 Fanfiction by Joy

There was nothing but silence as Reno's words started to sink in. He just looked at her, the intensity of his gaze made her even more confused.

"I don't... I don't understand... how could you... all these years?"

Reno knew there was no turning back. "The first time... the first time we got together. I knew, knew you were different. Fuck, Yuffie... I didn't know what was happening to me. All I knew then was what I didn't want to be different. I didn't want to change. I didn't want my life to change, when you told me you were pregnant, I freaked. I didn't know what else to do but get rid of you."

Yuffie just stared at him, his revelation rendering her speechless.

"It was just by chance I saw you in Junon that day. I saw you, and when you fell, I didn't know what to do. I followed you, and before I could leave, Strife saw me and gave me a piece of his mind; I honestly don't know why I stayed…"

Yuffie stayed with her back pressed against the wall, Reno has still to move away from her. "You told me... you didn't care."

Reno closed his eyes and moved his hands to cradle Yuffie's neck, when she didn't move away; he let his other hand drift to her waist. "Everyday I saw you, struggling even before Aidan was born. And after he was, I watched as you changed from this bratty ninja chick to...." Reno couldn't finish his words. He already revealed too much, and her silence started to make him nervous.

"I thought that it was just some pathetic guilt trip that made me want to be a father to Aidan, and at first, it was... I watched you everyday, Yuffie. Everyday I watched as you discovered new things about Aidan, how you taught him how to walk, how you fed him, how you looked at me." He whispered, as tilted her head so they could look at each other. /All or nothing./

"You never said anything."

"I didn't know what to say, would you have believed me?"

"So you decided to ask me to marry you? Out of the blue?"

Reno's lips twitched. "I didn't know what else to do. I figured you'd say yes because of Aidan, and we can take it from there."

Yuffie didn't know if she should laugh, or cry. She struggled with everything Reno told her. All those times she caught him watching her, the way his hands would brush against hers, all those times... "I... I can't believe I'm hearing this." She tried to calm down, but she knew that she was going to fail. "All these times?"

The silence returned and Reno could feel, hear his own heart beat as he waited for Yuffie to say something, anything.

She loved him; He was the only man she had ever been with, the first she kissed, the one she surrendered her innocence to, the one that filled her dreams and nightmares. She made herself believe that he was nothing but a father to Aidan, more like a sperm donor than anything else. But each day that passed, she saw Reno change from the Turk she fought, to the man that Aidan adored. The man that still held her heart no matter how she denied it. All the walls that she placed around herself to protect her from him fell apart at his words. "I… I don't know what to say."

Reno pressed his body against hers. "Talk to me, Yuffie."

Yuffie couldn't tear her eyes away from his. The way he pressed her against the wall brought back memories. He was making her remember, and she knew that he realized it as well as she struggled to control her emotions.

"Do you have any idea how hard it is? To watch you go to your room when I want you in mine? I've never forgotten how your hands felt, how your legs felt wrapped around my waist, how you would moan when I touch your hips, just like this…" he whispered against her ear and demonstrated the action. Yuffie's hands flew to his shoulders almost by instinct as she tried to remain standing.

"Reno..."

"I've always dreamed how you would cry out my name, how you would moan..." His lips travelled to her neck, and Yuffie gasped as his teeth lightly grazed her skin. She was having trouble breathing, and with they way Reno was pressed against her, she didn't know if she could. "I never forgot how good you felt, right beside me. I would stay awake, just to feel your heart beat, to watch you sleep…"

His lips travelled up, inches away from Yuffie's lips. "I could never understand why I let you go."

Yuffie felt a delicious tingle as she drowned in his words. "I'll never let go, not this time. Unless you want me to."

Yuffie stared at Reno. He gave her a choice; he was giving her a way out. Reno practically bared his soul to her, and he was standing, pressed against her, against the wall, but all that mattered was what his eyes showed her. She had seen those eyes filled with lust, anger, and a whole range of other emotions, but the vulnerability she could see in those eyes consumed her. He trusted her with his heart, just as she trusted him once with hers. He used her, and hurt her, and in these past years, he watched out for her, listened and took care of her. In her heart, she knew that she never stopped loving Reno.

Her hands trembled as she reached to hold his face, and presses her lips gently against his. "It's always been you."

He kissed her, and he willingly drowned in her scent. Seven years faded away as Yuffie welcomed Reno back in her arms.

He didn't know how they made it back to their apartment, but they did. The rest of the night was spent simply content in each other's arms. Reno felt Yuffie move and his hands wrapped around her waist. "Stay."

Yuffie turned around and moved closer to Reno. "I want to check on Aidan."

"He's scared of me."

She brushed the strands away from his face as she sighed. "He's not, Reno. He just never saw you so upset with him, that's all."

"I never had a reason to be upset." Reno moved away from her and got out of bed.

"He didn't mean what he said to that other boy, Reno. You know Aidan's not like that."

Reno just nodded as Yuffie got out of bed as well. "I don't want him scared of me."

Yuffie wrapped her arms around Reno, and he returned her embrace. "It'll be alright, Reno. You'll see."

Just a door away, Aidan rubbed his eyes as he walked out of his room and walked towards his mother's room. He still had a few minutes of sleep time left, and he wanted to share it with her. He blinked in surprise when he found her bed empty. He looked behind the empty kitchen and yawned.

Reno ran his hands through his hair as he walked out of his room, and saw his son. Father and son looked at each other before Reno walked towards Aidan. "How's the face?"

Aidan's hand flew to his bruises and winced. "Better...Where's mom?"

"Right here..." Yuffie replied as she walked towards him and kissed his cheeks gently. "Doesn't hurt?"

Aidan just shook his head and wrapped his arms around his mother. "Good Morning."

Yuffie looked at Reno, motioning him to say something to his son. Reno simply walked away and into the kitchen. "I'll make breakfast."

Aidan froze as he heard his father walk away. Yuffie just sighed as her son refused to move away from her.

"What time are you taking me to school, mom?"

"She's not taking you, I am." Reno replied before Yuffie can say anything. Once again, their apartment was filled with silence, and Yuffie frowned at Reno's behaviour.

"Why don't you take a shower now? Breakfast will be ready by then. Okay?"

Aidan looked at his mother and nodded, and practically rushed to his room.

"Reno..."

"I'm trying okay?" He said as he toasted the bread and looked at Yuffie. "I'm trying."

Yuffie gave a small smile as she walked towards Reno. "Don't take seven years before you tell your son how you really feel."

Reno took a deep breath as he took Yuffie in his arms. He could never get enough of her, holding her like this brought him so much comfort, and he kissed the top of her head when she returned his embrace. "What the hell am I gonna do, Yuffie?"

A short distance away, Aidan stood outside his room in shock as he watched his parents. His jaw dropped as his parents kissed, and Aidan retreated back to his room and closed his eyes as he peeked out of the room. He opened one eye cautiously, and sighed in relief when his parents stepped away from each other.

"No way!" Gary said as he looked at his friend while he ate his lunch. "Wow."

"Tell me about it." Aidan replied with a gulp. He took a sip of his juice, and winced as his jaw started to throb. "Ouch..."

"Your didn't get in trouble with your dad, did you?" Gary asked, concerned at what happened to his friend.

Aidan just shrugged. "Don't worry about it… we're cool."

Gary let the subject drop as he took a bite of his apple. "So... guess your parents are together now, right?"

"I guess."

Gary frowned at his friend's reaction. He knew how much Aidan wanted to see his parents act like other parents, and now it looked like it was happening. Why wasn't he more excited?

"Have you finished that assignment for science?"

"Nah. Wish we could actually use materia. I think that would be so cool. Too bad they got destroyed…"

Aidan nodded, not really listening. Meteor. His parents talked about it briefly that night. It was so hard to imagine the Midgar those years ago. Not even a decade has past, but everything that was in ruins was rebuilt, and now, even with the slums, Midgar was one of the best places to live in. His father mentioned about his time in Midgar, what was life like him then?

"Hey, wanna come over my place after school? I have this new video game."

Gary asked, not liking the way his friend was so silent.

"Can't. My dad will pick me up after detention. I'm grounded."

"Well, maybe I can go to your place to play then."

"Can't. My dad took my TV and my games." Aidan replied glumly.

Gary winced. "I got you in that much trouble?"

"Hey, I won't let anyone mess with my best friend." Aidan answered with that confident smile he always had.

Gary grinned back and the two continued to eat their lunch.

That night, Yuffie managed to convince Reno to let Gary come and study with Aidan. The boy was still grounded, but at least his friend could keep him company as he did his homework. The two studied in the living room, under the watchful eye of Reno.

Yuffie tried not to smile as the two friends fidgeted in their seats, unable to study under Reno's watchful gaze. She sat besides Reno and looked at him. He glanced at her and she looked at the balcony. He knew what she wanted. With a sigh, he stood up and walked towards the balcony followed by Yuffie. The two kids looked gratefully at Yuffie and began to talk to each other.

He looked back at the two kids, now completely noisy, and probably not doing their assignments. "You're too soft."

Yuffie sighed. "Reno, they're studying. Well, trying to, at least. You told him no TV and games, you didn't say anything about his friend coming over."

Reno closed his eyes and enjoyed the evening air. It was amazing to see this new Midgar, and to live in it. Who could ever guess that this was the same place he had destroyed a few years back? Everything was so different now. He looked at Yuffie who was watching the city below. He wanted to hold her, but even after last night, he didn't want to take things too fast. He clenched his fists, and Yuffie rolled her eyes as she took his hands in held it. Reno tried not to grin, pleased that she made the first move. Last night was the start of what he wanted to happen to them. They spent the night in each other's arms. He knew Yuffie wasn't prepared to take their relationship to a more intimate level, and that was fine with him. He made it clear to her what he felt, and she accepted him. After seven years of waiting and watching, he finally had her back.

"Cloud and the others coming?" He asked, breaking the silence as he remembered that their son's birthday was coming up.

"Yeah, I've asked Nanaki and Cloud if they could get Vincent to come."

Reno snorted. "If they could get Vampire boy to get out of his coffin…"

Yuffie jabbed Reno gently in the ribs. "Not funny, Reno."

"Hey, I'm just telling the truth. How long has it been since any of you saw him?"

"Not since Meteor. You know we all pretty much went our separate ways."

Reno nodded as the children completely forgot all about studying and began discussing the latest video games.

"So, are you ready for your surprise?"

"Yeah." Reno replied as he took one quick look back. "You think he'll like it?"

"You've managed to get him the official jersey, autographed poster, and

get access to the training camp for his favourite basketball team. Of course he'll love it!!"

Reno smirked. "Heh, this year, my present to Aidan is better than yours!"

Yuffie jabbed him in the ribs, and it was anything but gentle.

It was driving him crazy!

Aidan Mikagi looked at the wall clock impatiently, almost as if he could command it to move. It was five minutes to four, he was five minutes away from being free… just a few more hours and it would be his birthday party! While his birthday wasn't until tomorrow, his mom told him they had somewhere special to go to, so they were having his dinner party with his aunts and uncles tonight.

Kano looked at the grinning boy. He knew why Aidan was happy. It was his birthday tomorrow, and no doubt, his parents had something special for him. He ignored his conscience, telling him what he planned was wrong, but it was for the greater good of Wutai. Lady Kisaragi must return to Wutai, for all their sakes. And until the boy, the bright, innocent boy was alive, it would never happen. He closed his eyes as the bell rang signalling the end of the class. It's for the greater good. He reminded himself. One life sacrificed for the life of many.

"Aidan."

The young boy skidded to a stop as his name was called. He walked back to his teacher with a nervous smile. "Sir?"

Kano opened his drawer and handed Aidan a small box. "Congratulations for topping the class, and Happy Birthday."

The young boy accepted the box gratefully. "Wow! Thanks! I really topped the class?"

"Yes, you did." Kano replied truthfully. "I still… still have to wait to see the other class' marks, but you topped this one, Aidan Mikagi."

"Cool! My mom's going to be so pleased!"

At the mention of his mother, Kano wanted so badly to take the box back. Instead he gave the boy a smile. "You may go, make sure you eat those before they melt."

"Thanks, sir!" Aidan said as he ran out of the room. He stuffed the box in his bag as he ran towards the parking lot.

Reno and Aidan travelled home in silence. Reno could see that his son couldn't seat still.

"You're acting like your mother."

Aidan froze as he looked at his dad. "Really?"

Reno nodded as he continued to drive, making sure to stay within the legal speed limit. "That's how she gets when she's excited. She's practically jumping even when she's sitting down."

Aidan looked at his father thoughtfully. He was always being compared to his dad, because they look so much alike. It made him feel better to hear that he was like his mom. "Uuuuh, dad?"

"Yeah?"

"How come mom wasn't in her room this morning?"

Reno kept his eyes on the road as he tried to think of a way to answer his son. "Did it bother you that she wasn't?"

"No." Aidan replied softly. "I'm just used to seeing her there every morning, that's all."

Reno parked their car in the garage and turned the ignition off. Aidan watched in shock as his father took a bouquet of roses from the backseat. He didn't notice them when he got in the car. Reno looked at his son's expression and resisted the urge to smirk. "You're always wondering why I never gave your mom roses."

Aidan followed his father as they got out of the car. Reno took his son's bag and the two walked to the elevator. They've always been talkative. From the moment Aidan gets in the car until they reach the apartment, they would talk. But now, Reno didn't know what to do or say, and Aidan didn't seem willing to take the first step, which Reno must admit, hurt.

The two was greeted by a smiling Yuffie. "How was school?"

"Okay." Aidan replied with a shrug and hugged his mother, who kissed him on the forehead. He stepped away and watched as Reno kissed his mother on the cheek, and handed her the flowers.

"Thank you, Reno." Yuffie replied gratefully and gave him a kiss of her own on his cheeks.

Yuffie laughed as she saw her son's expression. "Come on, let's get you ready for tonight."

"Hey mom, look what Mr. Kano gave me!" Aidan said as they reached his room. He opened his bag and handed her a box. "He also said I topped the class!"

"That's good! We're very proud of you!" Yuffie told her son as she accepted the box. She kissed her son again and ruffled his hair. "Let's see what this is." She carefully opened the box and saw three piece of chocolates. She looked at the box again and read the label. "Wow, this must be those special chocolates they sell. Want to have one?"

"Nah, you can have it. I'm waiting for Aunt Elena's Chocolate Supreme Brownies."

Aidan replied as he watched his mom shrug and take a bite. "Is it good?"

Yuffie nodded. "Sure you don't want any?"

Aidan nodded as he took the clothes prepared by his mother. "Gary can still come, right?"

"Of course he can!" Yuffie replied as she finished the first chocolate. "That was good."

She was about to take another bite when the door opened and Tifa walked in. "Yuffie!"

"Tifa!"

The two women hugged each other, and outside, Cloud and Reno just shook hands. There was an unspoken truce between the two men, to be civil, but not exactly friendly towards each other.

"When's Elena coming?"

Yuffie led Tifa to the kitchen as she took a bite of another chocolate. "Soon, I've got everything pretty much prepared already."

"Need me to do anything?"

"Tofu Salad for Vinnie. I tried doing it, but I don't think it's edible." Yuffie confessed and Tifa laughed as Yuffie handed her the ingredients.

"Watch closely, Yuffie." Tifa said in a mock-stern voice. "I'm never going to do this again."

An hour or so later, most of the guests have arrived. Yuffie watched as Aidan enjoyed being centre of attention, as he was showered with gifts. She felt a bit hot, but ignored it as she continued to talk to Elena and Tifa. I'm probably just tired

"You okay, Yuffie?" Tifa asked in concern.

"Yeah… I'm fine. I just feel a bit hot."

Elena and Tifa looked at each other before looking back at her, both women with sly grins on their faces.

"What?"

"Maybe we should go, Tifa." Elena suggested with that sly smile still on her face. "We probably should leave the two lovebirds and give them their privacy."

Yuffie blushed as Tifa and Elena laughed. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"You've been giving each other these looks. It was worse when you first got together!" Tifa said as Yuffie turned even redder. The two women continued to talk, but Yuffie couldn't hear them anymore. She looked around her, and everything started to look blurry. She looked back at the two women who were still talking. She could barely see their mouths move as she tried to make sense of her surroundings. If she felt hot before, now she felt as if she was on fire.

"Yuffie?" Tifa asked, and a feeling of dread washed over her as she saw Yuffie's blank expression . "Yuffie, this isn't funny!"

Elena wanted to call out for Reno as Yuffie started to clutch her throat and opened her mouth, almost as if… as if she can't breath.

"RENO!"

Elena didn't know if it was her, or Tifa that shouted as Yuffie collapsed. Elena caught Yuffie before she hit the ground and checked her temperature. "She's burning up!"

"Yuffie?" Reno called out as a small crowd gathered. He took Yuffie from Elena and looked at the women. "What the hell happened?"

"We don't know! We were just talking… and.." Tifa couldn't continue as she looked at Yuffie, eyes still open, but it didn't look like she could see anything, and her skin…

"Mom? MOM!" Aidan cried out as he tried to push his way in.

Everyone was watching in concern, as Rude began to call to paramedics.

"Strife! I need you to take that painting down and punch in 9-1-8-7 in the panel. Get me a cure materia."

Aidan looked at his father in shock as he knelt down and held his mother's hands. Materia? They had materia? "Dad?"

Reno looked at Aidan who looked so terrified. "It'll be fine."

Cloud entered the code and a door opened. He turned the lights on, and he would have laughed if Yuffie's life wasn't in any danger. All around the room were materia, properly labelled in alphabetical order. "Good work, Yuffie." He whispered as he took a Cure from the wall. Tifa took the materia from him and knelt near Yuffie.

It's been a long time since she used materia, but tonight was not the night for doubts.

She was about to prepare for the spell when Yuffie's body started trashing about. Aidan cried in fear as Reno tried to hold her down. Everyone was so focused at watching Yuffie no one noticed the new presence in the room. Reno wrapped his arms around Yuffie and trapped her legs between his, in vain hope that she would keep still. He could feel the heat from her skin, and tried no to watch as her lips turned blue. "What's happening to her?"

"Prepare a bath for Yuffie and use Ice materia. She needs to be cooled down."

Everyone turned around and watched in surprise as Vincent Valentine walked towards them.

"What?" Reno cried out as he held Yuffie tighter. "She needs…"

"Cure will not help her." Vincent replied as he took Yuffie hand's and checked her pulse. "She will not live long if you do not bring her temperature down."

Aidan looked at the crimson eyed man in fear. "What… what's happening to my mom?"

Vincent looked at the boy, an exact copy of his father. It was not his intention to attend the party, but there was something that pushed him to leave his place of solitude and come to Midgar. It was years, even decades when he last saw someone in Yuffie's condition. He prayed it was not so, but one look at Yuffie confirmed his fears.

"Take the boy inside his room." His voice was soft, but held no room for arguments.

"No! I won't go."

Vincent looked at Reno. "He should not see this."

And in that instant, it was the Turk in Vincent that looked at Reno as he repeated his earlier words. "Take the boy inside his room."

Reno looked at Rude who nodded.

"No! I won't go! I won't!" Aidan struggled against Rude, but to no avail. Rude simply took him by the waist and carried him inside his room.

"What is going on here?"

"What has she eaten for the past 5 hours?" Vincent asked instead. "She needs her temperature to go down."

"I'll prepare the bath." Tifa volunteered, and Elena followed.

Cloud looked at Vincent. "She's eaten pretty much everything that we have."

Vincent nodded as he walked over the table, while Reno still struggled to get Yuffie in control.

"She's getting hotter every minute!"

Vincent ignored Reno as he looked at the various food on the table… not satisfied with what he saw, he turned to Cloud. "Are you sure?"

"The bath should be ready in a minute!" Elena called out as she looked at Vincent. "You know what's going on, right? You know what to do?"

Vincent looked at the worried expression on Elena's face before answering. "I need to know what she has eaten."

"Whatever's on the fucking table!" Reno snapped. "Weren't you listening?"

Tifa walked out, a little breathless. "The water's ready."

"Put her there. Make sure the water stays ice cold."

"You know what's going on, don't you?" Reno demanded as he stood up and held Yuffie tight.

"It is important that I know what she ate before I say anything else."

Tifa walked towards the kitchen and grabbed the box of chocolates. "This… she was eating this when I got here."

"Elena, how fast can you make an analysis?"

"Under an hour, with the right equipment. I can take it to Reeve's labs."

Vincent handed her the chocolate. "Go."

"Vincent, what the fuck is going on?" Reno asked, his emotions already going haywire.

Vincent looked as if he was hesitating before finally meeting Reno's eyes. "I have seen the same reaction years ago as a Turk. I need Elena to give me the ingredients of that chocolate to be sure. Get her in the tub, Reno. Tifa will not be able to hold her…"

"Tell me!"

"She has been poisoned. It was used by the Turks long before you but was discontinued. It proved to be too messy, and the prisoners loose their ability to speak making it useless."

Reno glared at Vincent. "What is the cure?"

"I need to wait for Elena. There are two different types of this poison. One can easily be remedied by the right mixture of drugs, and the other… there is only one place to get the cure for the other strand of poison."

Vincent walked closer to Reno with box still in hand. "Wutai."

Reno's eyes blazed in anger. "Son of a…"

"You should also be aware of the real target." Vincent told Reno as he showed him the box. "Your son. The poison was made for your son."

End Chapter

AN I hope it didn't seem like Reno was manipulating or forcing Yuffie... In the beginning. That was not my intention. Whew, this is probably my longest chapter. So… what do you guys think?