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About a week had passed since the week of the crazy tournament and things were reasonably quiet on the island, or about as reasonably quiet as they could be considering that Sephiroth had three small youngsters to take care of. With the older siblings around he had an easier time of it, but he still found himself bouncing chores around inbetween trying to get some work done at home. He was both flustered and short tempered but put up with things anyway.
Rhyderi had declared sick time while his dislocated shoulder recovered. He kept it in a sling and puttered around his apartment, not really wanting to venture out after such a humiliating defeat. Although he knew that most of the SOLDIERs that had been there wouldn’t give him a hard time about it, he feared the ones that would. he remained mostly in his apartment for the sake of trying to preserve what little pride he still had.
Meanwhile, Kalysto was moody. While not unhappy with the way things were going, something was certainly eating at him. The fact that he spent most of his time at his Alchemy desk or in the shop couldn’t have made the fact any more obvious. Still, when asked, he was in denial.
Jenna had put up with her husband’s attitude during this time, for she too was a bit stressed. It was hard to get sleep with the triplets, for they liked waking up whenever they felt like it, and each one had their own clock. Not to mention, when one woke up, the others woke up as well. Thus, Jenna was frequently power-napping during the day. Also, Sephiroth got no action during this time, for Jenna was too tired. She also had disappeared for a second evening during the course of the night. She never mentioned where she disappeared to when she did get away.
Seres had taken a day off herself in order to recover from the near concussion that Rhyderi had given her. When she returned to work, she became irritated, for now she was alone on guard duty. By the end of the week, she became very fed up and decided to go to Rhyderi’s apartment. Thus, without even knocking or giving warning, Seres teleported into Rhyderi’s abode.
As for Desiree, she was more than glad to have her new son. She dedicated her time to taking care of him and teaching her other children about how to help. However, Kalysto’s mood did trouble her. She couldn’t quite figure out what was wrong with him, for nothing seemed wrong. Still, she tried to make the house seem even better and cleaner in order to cheer him up.
Sephiroth didn’t comment when Jenna disappeared. As much as her disappearances confused him, it didn’t worry him enough to comment right away. However, he was annoyed at being left behind with three tiny children to take care of. He sat in the nursery, feeding the first infant one-handed via bottle while he lay the recently fed one on it’s stomach, rubbing it’s back so it would burp. The third was only just waking up so he could hopefully co-ordinate them all.
*”I hope what you’re doing is worth it.”* He snorted.
–
Rhyderi was in the kitchen and trying to make tea one-handed when Seres appeared nearby. He jumped slightly as he heard her but did not drop the kettle filled with piping hot water – he knew better than that. “You could have just knocked!” He hissed.
When Jenna returned from her venture, she looked a bit less stressed and happier. She didn’t bother saying anything as she moved into her bedroom so that she could check up on the youngsters that she still kept nearby in case of any issues.
–
Seres rolled her eyes at Rhyderi. “Hrmph.”
Without giving any better reason for her choice, she moved in on him before she narrowed her eyes at his shoulder. “You’re not injured enough to be still holing yourself in here. You can sit there all day and be bored to death.”
By the time Jenna had returned, Sephiroth had finished feeding the third infant and had returned to his desk, working by a solitary desk-lamp in the poorly lit room. He wanted to keep the room dark so the children would go back to sleep, which was working so far. Although he had sensed Jenna’s return, he didn’t look up at her. He merely grunted in acknowledgement of her presence and kept working.
–
“Yes, I know.” Rhyderi frowned as he finished pouring hot water into the mug. He set the kettle back on the stove and turned the gas off. “But I have time off until it recovers. I have dislocated my shoulder more times than I care to remember, but at least I know the recovery process.”
He picked up his tea and retreated to the only lounge in his poky little apartment. “I’m not bored to death. I am watching this.” He set the cup down and pointed to the television, which was currently broadcasting children’s cartoons.
Jenna grinned as she noticed that the children were all asleep. So, she stalked over to Sephiroth. As she reached his backside, she set her hands down on his shoulders before she began to gently massage him. “Good work, my love.”
–
Seres growled in irritation. As she responded, she spoke in a deep, dark voice, “I was talking about guard duty. You’ve left me to do your volunteer work all alone.”
As Rhyderi pointed to the television, she narrowed her eyes before she sot Rhyderi an aggitated glare. “You can’t be serious. You can’t be possibly watching that.”
“I am incapable of doing guard duty for the next three weeks, minimum. Surely you have seen my medical reports?” The red-blonde haired male seemed incredulous at her comment.
“Should I be serious?” Rhyderi picked up the cup of tea once more and delicately sipped on it. ” Do not forget – I did not invite you into my house.” He grinned slightly now, humoured at her reaction. “You can’t criticise me as to what I do in the confines of my own home.” He set the cup aside and flicked channels, turning on a news broadcast. “Better?”
–
Sephiroth leaned back in the chair, setting his pen aside. He looked up at her and released a rather heavy tired sigh, frustrated with his current circumstances. “Thank you. It would have been easier if you were here.”
“I just needed to unwind for a short bit, Seph. I wasn’t gone that long. Only a few hours. You did perfectly fine,” Jenna spoke in a soothing voice. “It is not like you never vanish away to swing your sword at the local wildlife.”
–
“Our guard duty doesn’t involve anything strenuous. There is absolutely not activity. You certainly are well enough to sit there on your tush and stare at a portal all day long,” Seres contradicted before she sat on the arm of Rhyderi’s couch. She still wasn’t bothering asking for permission on anything. “If you’re not going to show up to that post, I’m not going to either! I hate it.”
“And… the beard looks good…”
“Pardon?” Rhyderi blinked, reaching up to poke at the stubble and unkempt goatee growing on his chin. “This? I haven’t maintained it. Not that I haven’t been able to, I mean…” He shrugged, scowling as he abruptly changed the subject.
“Why aren’t you going to guard if nothing is wrong with you? I had my shoulder dislocated – I probably need surgery to stop it from happening.” He snorted. “I have paid leave. You can’t opt out of guard duty because you feel like it!”
–
“Phh…” Sephiroth grunted. He couldn’t see a reason to argue Jenna’s comment and he let it slide. “Next time you’re managing them.” He smirked.
“I can so because I never agreed to the duty to start with. You volunteered for it without consulting your partner. Thus, I can tell Genesis to do it!” Seres retorted. “And yes, I meant your beard. It’s fulling out and looking a lot better than what was there.”
Seres crossed her arms and glared down at Rhyderi then. “Still, if you’re not showing up for work, neither am I.”
–
“I can’t possibly manage them while I’m getting away and unwinding, you silly man,” Jenna teased at her husband. Bending down, she slid her hands down from Sephiroth’s shoulders to his abdomen before she began to nibble on the side of his neck.
“What part of ‘I may need surgery’ did you not understand? Perhaps you missed the paid leave part? Dislocated shoulder? Medical report? Oh…” He made an abrupt sound expressing his exasperation. “Oh why am I even bothering?”
He picked up the remote control and flipped the cartoon channel back on. “I can’t see why you approve of stubble and an untidy goatee. I really should have bothered to fix it.”
–
“Well, next time… as in, when they wake again, it’s your job.” He picked up the pen again and clicked the end. “I need to have this handed in by tomorrow morning.”
“Still doesn’t mean that I’m going to show up for work. Hrmph, I’ll guard you and your silly ass. That’ll be just fine,” Seres growled out before she leaned over to poke Rhyderi’s bound shoulder. “And don’t know what you’re talking about. I swear I’ve seen my mother and father dislocate their limbs hundreds of times. They just pop them back in and continue with their lives within a day if not earlier.”
–
“Nothing’s stopping you from getting your work done,” Jenna whispered to Sephiroth as she continued to kiss his neck. She also gently kneaded her fingers into the flesh of his abdomen. “Nothing stopping you at all.”
Rhyderi sighed with tiredness and frustration. “Fantastic. Yet another story about how your parental units are amazing. I hate to inform you of this, but I’m not them.” He was glaring now. “I don’t have… whatever it is.” He shrugged and picked up his tea again, blowing on the liquid’s surface to cool it faster.
–
“Of course nothing is stopping me from getting my work done.” Sephiroth made a soft grunt of annoyance, but it was very half-assed. “Considering the possibility of children screaming. Female touching me. No distractions at all, yes.”
Seres released a grunt of displeasure as she suddenly got up and circled around Rhyderi. Once behind him, she boldly set her hands on his injured shoulder before she began to massage the area. As she massaged Rhyderi, she concentrated on a healing spell that she had learned.
–
“Exactly, nothing’s stopping you, so stop repeating that,” Jenna chuckled into Sephiroth’s ear. “You need to sign your name over there, by the way.”
Jenna lifted her right hand to point to the spot where Sephiroth’s signature was required.
Rhyderi jumped as Seres set her hands on him. He tolerated her massage for all but 5 seconds before quickly moving to his feet, stepping away. Somehow he didn’t spill his tea.
“I-I’m not comfortable with this,” He said quickly, as he swung around to face her. “Thank you for… uh… whatever it is that… you…”He cut himself off and shook his head, starting again. “I appreciate the sentiment but I am all right.”
–
“I’ll sign my name wherever I damn-well want to.” Sephiroth grunted. He quickly scribbled a name and resumed his other work. “If you think screaming kids and wife who has no sense of personal boundaries is ‘nothing’, then I hate to see your definition of ‘something’.”
Seres promptly planted her fists on her hips as she glared at Rhyderi. Baring her teeth in anger, she snorted. “Sit back down, Rhyderi. There was nothing sexual about that. I am just making your injury feel better. Now, sit down before I have to mind control you into sitting down like a good elf.”
–
Jenna released another dark chuckle at Sephiroth’s comments. Meanwhile, she brought her left hand to scratch the top of her husband’s head. “Yes, you would hate it.”
“But I don’t…” Rhyderi cringed as he began to protest, thinking better of it a short moment later when he noticed how cranky she was. “Umm…” He swallowed hard and retreated back to the couch, lowering his head, his posture becoming very rigid.
“Fine…” He mumbled. “Just… don’t… well…” He trailed off, hoping Seres would somehow work out the rest of his sentence.
–
Sephiroth sighed. “I’m sorry but I have to get you to stop… I really need to finish this. Give me another hour. I’ll put it away for the night and we can do something quiet.”
“My god, how can you live being such a mess?” Seres blurted out. She glared at the back of Rhyderi’s head. The elf really was irritating her with the way he was acting insecure.
Thus, as she set her hands down on his shoulders again, she used her psychic abilities to enter his mind so that she could try to calm down his thought processes. However, she didn’t really understand much about the ways minds worked. So, instead of making him feel somewhat doped, she disabled his mind’s ability to restrain his inhibitions.
–
Jenna gave her husband a small pout, though she wasn’t too troubled. Instead or really complaining, she only leaned in to kiss the ridge of Sephiroth’s nose. As she left Sephiroth’s side, she stripped down so that she could take a shower.
Sephiroth watched Jenna walk away, sighing as he watched her strip down. “Probably shouldn’t have done that, she was doing such a good job…” he thought wistfully, “But this stupid project must be finished…” He lowered his head and kept working, already knowing he had probably made the wrong decision.
–
Rhyderi wriggled in discomfort, immediately objecting once he could feel Seres in his mind. He continued to wiggle and squirm until she retreated, then he sat up, shaking his head as if trying to remove something from himself.
“That was awful,” He grunted abruptly. “Take more care when you do that! It felt like slippery tentacles stabbing my brain.”
“I was just trying to help you relax, Rhyderi,” Seres explained. “Sorry, I’m not as good with it as my father is…”
Shaking her head, the girl continued to massage Rhyderi’s injured shoulder. For now, she didn’t think much about the elf’s outburst at all.
“You know I didn’t ask for it, yes? I was going to take a hot shower and go back to bed.” He shook his head, feeling rather annoyed. “I appreciate it, but you overstepped social boundaries even coming here. I could call you in for trespassing but I won’t because that would be selfish and arrogant considering your intentions.” He glared up at her, his expression firm. “Next time, knock. And don’t do this to anyone else.”
“You think that I just stroll into anyone’s dwelling? I came in here because you’re my friend and you’ve been missing for over a week… I mean… Hrmph,” Seres stepped away from Rhyderi and crossed her arms. She was none to happy with herself for even indicating any semblance of friendship with Rhyderi.
“You’ve been lazy and no one’s seen you for a week!”
“I haven’t been missing. Did you read my medical report? You’re the type to go sneaking around and breaching boundaries for personal information. I am surprised you didn’t steal documents before turning up here.” Rhyderi shook his head. “My leave was documented. Hell, you may not have even had to sneak around to get your information.”
He leaned back once more, and then pried his arm out of the sling. “While you’re back there, rub the shoulder-blade.”
“You’re confusing me with my mother now. She’s the thief. She’s sneaked in and out of security systems and finds it fun. And yes, I heard about your shoulder injury. But this isn’t bad enough to make you bed-bound, Rhyderi,” Seres spat out.
Shaking her head, she looked at his shoulder and tilted her head in confusion. “Well, at least you’re not freaking out any longer.”
So, the girl shrugged and returned to massaging his back and shoulder.
“You don’t need to be bed-ridden to be given time off.” Rhyderi shook his head. “Just because you don’t personally agree with a physician’s rule, it doesn’t make your opinion absolute.” He sighed. “I was given time off. It’s authorized. It wasn’t a secret.”
“Then again…” He glanced back at the television. “You’re angry that you weren’t informed, aren’t you?”
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