Because Lefora is Down

Shaun smirked, and he waited until Rosetta pulled into the driveway. Once she was out of the car, he glanced at Aidan, mouthing One, two, three...
"Rose!" He said before tossing the snowball at her.

Cloud raised an eyebrow at Sora, but then he chuckled.
"Yeah, you're almost there." he said ruffling his hair. "Maybe in a few years you can get one that doesn't wash out, huh?"

Aidan threw his snowball at the same time, Shaun's catching her in the arm and Aidan's on her thigh. Rosetta jumped, startled, but a moment later she laughed. 
"Why you little-" She growled, stalking toward Aidan. She caught him and lifted him up, hugging him close and placing kisses on his cheek.
"Mommy!" Aidan squealed, trying to push away from her while he giggled. "Daddy made me!" 

Sora smiled, nodding.
"Mom said that too." He told Cloud. He put his hand in his father's and walked with him to the rink. "Don't let go, okay?" He asked, a little unsure about this. 

Aeris had come up with a custody agreement shortly after moving out of Cloud's house. Her lawyer had tried to go at Cloud's with a full out attack, but in the end she just approached Cloud herself and cut the lawyers out of it. Cloud had Sora every weekend, which included dropping him off at school on Monday mornings, and a full week every third week of the month. Aeris had him the other days, which she figured was as 50/50 they could get. She split holidays with him evenly, but she was flexible about it. If Sora wanted to stay an extra night at Cloud's sometimes, she didn't fuss about that either. Whenever his parents were meeting for a drop-off though, Sora got sad. It would clear up a few hours later, just as it was lifting now, but it happened every time. 

A woman passed them then, the instructor of the youth hockey team. She had crystal blue eyes, and long black hair. Aeris had spoken with her before about possibly enrolling Sora into the team, so she recognized him and slowed to a stop.
"Hey, Sora right?" She asked, and he nodded. "And you must be his father. He looks just like you!" She said to Cloud. 
"Hi Ms. Evelyn." He said.

Shaun laughed as Rosetta snatched up Aidan and he moved towards them. He put his hand over his heart, his face in disbelief.
"I would never!" he said shaking his head.

Cloud looked up when he heard a woman, and he raised his eyebrows. He had never seen her before, but then he remembered Aeris had mentioned the team.
"Oh, hey." he said and he chuckled. "Yeah, pretty much a carbon copy. This is my eldest, Emma."

She gave a small wave at the woman.

Rosetta rolled her eyes, and Aidan giggled.
"She knows you're lying, Daddy." He told his father, smirking. He had Shaun's smirk. 
"I think you know me too well, little man." She kissed the top of Aidan's head before setting him down. "What do you guys want for dinner?"
"Pizza!" Aidan yelled, and Lancelot barked. Aidan often shared with the dog. 
"Pizza! Okay, let me change and order it." Rosetta laughed. She kissed Shaun lightly before heading inside.

Evelyn waved to Emma.
"Oh, hey! I didn't know Aeris had more kids." She told Cloud. Aeris was only three years older than her, twenty-six, but Emma looked fifteen...Not that Evelyn was judging, she had Ume young too but still. Just as she was thinking it, Ume skated up, eyeing Emma. The girls were in the same grade, and Ume was a popular cheerleader. She usually made Emma's life hell whenever possible. "This is my daughter, Ume." 
Ume looked disinterested, but she nodded hello.

Shaun chuckled at Aidan and Lancelot, he knew what the kid did.
"Come on, Lance." he said following them inside. He hung up his coat and put away his boots before plopping himself on the sofa.

Cloud blushed slightly, and he shook his head.
"Aeris' isn't my mom..." Emma mumbled. While she loved Aeris, and often looked up to her as a mother figure, she still felt a bit weird, almost guilty. When she spotted Ume she made a face, turning away.

Aidan followed Shaun, taking his stuffed Tigger over to the couch. He crawled up into his father's lap, reaching for the remote. 
"Can I see Sora later this week?" He asked Shaun. 

Evelyn blushed, laughing slightly.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Of course. Well, I should get going, I have to be over the other rink for practice soon. See you on Tuesday, Sora!" She told him, waving.
Sora waved back, glaring at Ume. Ume was amused, giving Emma a sneer before skating off.
"Mom says Ume is a little bitch." Sora informed Cloud.

Shaun nodded, giving Aidan the remote.
"Sure, I'll text his parents later on." he said. He had moved passed his issues with Cloud ever since the kids were born, even some of their old humor returning. In a way he was glad.

Cloud had to fight back laughing, while Emma snorted very amused.
"S-Sora...you can't talk like that." Cloud said, trying to keep a straight face. "That's grownup talk."

Aidan smiled, flipping through the channels. 
"Thanks Daddy, you're the best." He told him. 
"Okay boys, I'm going out for the pie!" Rosetta said.
Lancelot raced to the door. RIDE! RIDE! RIDE!
Aidan wasn't far behind, liking the car too. 

Sora didn't know why Emma snorted, but when his dad reprimanded him he blushed.
"Sorry." He muttered, but Cloud couldn't have been too mad because he was smiling. 
"Emma?" A male voice said as Zack skated up. "Hey! I thought that was you." 
Aeris had once teased Cloud that Zack would become a lady killer, but it was significantly less funny when the boy had grown up to be exactly that. Sporting icy blue eyes and black hair, a strong jawline, and a lean, tall frame, Zack was not only popular but very lusted after. Emma had been there for him when his parents went through a nasty divorce and his mother had fallen into alcoholism, so he was never mean to her. In fact he often blew off most of his friends for her.

Shaun shook his head at the dog, and then Aidan. He was going to get up when the house phone rang and he checked the caller i.d. His heart sank, recognizing the number.
"You guys go on..." he said, knowing he had to answer.

Cloud shook his head and ruffled Sora's hair affectionately. When he heard another voice he raised an eyebrow. He looks like trouble..., he thought to himself.

Emma had the biggest crush on Zack. She never acted on her feelings, always valuing their friendship more than that. He was a popular kid after all, and she never believed he could like her back.
"Hey, Zack." she said smiling. "I didn't know you were here."

Rosetta could tell by the look on his face that something was wrong, but she didn't want to alarm Aidan. 
"Okay, race you!" She told her son. All three of them ran for the car, but Rose let Aidan win. 
Before taking off, Rosetta shot Shaun a text telling him she loved him. She hoped it would help.

Sora smiled slightly, looking up at his dad. He thought it was cool Emma had Zack, like how he had Aidan. 

"Yeah! I came cause my brother is on the youth team, he has practice soon." He explained. "I didn't know you'd be here, when I was texting you I thought you were home." He said, confirming Aeris's words from earlier. "Oh, hi Sir." He said to Cloud. He had met Sora before.

The text did help Shaun, and he answered the number.
"You...are a hard man to track, Barrett." Chris said. "How's the wife and kid?"
"Fuck you." Shaun got out, moving to the bedroom. He went into the safe. "What do you want, huh? Money? You can have it you prick."
"Oh, money would be a start." He said. "But you know the bosses. You need to properly leave Arcadia you know. It was easy to find your number, how hard do you think it'll be to get someone down there and say hello to the missus?"
Shaun quickly looked out the window, he couldn't see anything. There was no way, but he knew how they operated. Chances are they were following them for weeks, maybe even months. "What is it?"

Cloud glanced at Emma, before looking to Zack when he addressed him. Maybe he wasn't so bad if he could address him as 'sir.'
"Hi. You're this Zack I keep hearing about, huh?" he asked staring the kid down. Let's see how he acted under pressure.

Rosetta let Aidan help her count the change at the counter.
"Did you have fun with Daddy today?" She asked him, the little boy on her hip. She had left the car running for Lance so he didn't get cold.
"Yes! We had a snowball fight." He smiled. "I won!"

Zack nodded. His mother's boyfriends, if they could even be called that, smacked him around enough that he had started fighting back at fourteen. He was tough, emotionally and physically, so he didn't bulk at all when Cloud stared at him.
"You talk about me that much?" He said to Emma instead, raising his eyebrows before he laughed. "I guess that's me, yeah. You must be the dad of the year, Sir." He said. He knew Emma got along well with Cloud.

Shaun finished the phone conversation, throwing the thing across the room. It practically broke in half and he slumped against the closet wall. He thought he was done with Arcadia, thought he could just disappear, but they had other things in mind.
"One more job, and we'll let you have your freedom. If you don't, well...there won't be anything left for your wife to bury."

Emma's face couldn't get any redder, and she shook her head.

Cloud on the other hand just looked at Zack in disbelief, it was his turn to blush.
"Ah, well...I wouldn't go that far." he said. Maybe this kid wasn't so bad...

"I'm gunna skate with Zack for a bit..." Emma manged to get out, wanting to seperate the two of them.

Rosetta returned with Aidan fifteen minutes later, with pizza and breadsticks. She was practically tripping over Lancelot, the dog already in beggar mode.
Aidan ran up to Shaun and gave him a hug. "We're back! Did you miss me?" He asked his dad.
Rosetta smiled, heading into the kitchen. "Okay boys, come dish up!" She called, laughing as Lance raced in. "Not you!"

Zack shook his head, then waved to Cloud.
"Nice to meet you Mr. Valenti!" He said, before skating off with Emma. "Your dad seems nice." He told her.

Sora let Cloud drag him around for a bit before he was ready to try without the hand rail. He didn't do badly at all, keeping up with Cloud well enough as long as Cloud didn't go full stride.
"I asked mom if we could get a dog." He told Cloud.

By the time they came back, Shaun had collected himself the best he could. He hugged his son and he smiled, smoothing down his hair.
"I always miss you, kid." he chuckled.

Emma smiled softly at Zack and she nodded.
"Yeah, he's alright." she said. "I think he likes you."

Cloud kept his pace slow, so Sora didn't lag behind, just coasting along. When he spoke he looked down and raised an eyebrow.
"Oh, and what did she say about that?"

Aidan smiled, hopping off of the couch. He thanked his mom for his plate and took a slice of pizza, going to the couch. He loved Hey! Arnold, and it was on. In the kitchen Rosetta pulled Shaun close.
"Are you okay? Who was on the phone?" She asked him.

Zack tilted his head before he shook it.
"I hope so, maybe we can hang out sometimes if he does." He said, looking over at her.

"She said I would have to be responsible for it, but she would talk to you about it. Cause sometimes I'm at your house and she doesn't know if you'd like a dog." He explained. "We should all just live together." He smiled.

Shaun wrapped his arms around her, and he let out a deep sigh.
"That call I've been dreading." he whispered. He had talked to Rosetta about his worries that Arcadia would find him. "One more job."

Emma smiled as she looked to the floor.
"I would like that, yeah." she said quietly.

Cloud thought about it. It wouldn't be completely bad, plus a dog would be kind of fun. When he said they should live together, he frowned, wishing they would too.
"Well, a dog does sound like a lot of responsibility." he said. "But...I think we can make it work out.

Rosetta frowned, instantly entering worry mode.
"What kind of job?" She asked him, her hands cupping his face.

Zack never felt shy around anyone, except for Emma. She had this cute way of looking at him, like he was really worth something.
"Me too." He told her quietly.

"Really?" Sora said, almost falling he got so excited. He steadied himself grabbing Cloud's hand. "Thanks Dad!" He said, looking at Cloud like Cloud hung the sun in the sky.

Shaun leaned into her touch, closing his eyes.
"Not entirely sure...some kind of sweep out in Egypt." he said. "I...I have to leave by the end of the week."

Emma nearly melted when he spoke. Maybe...just maybe...
"Maybe this Friday?"

Cloud chuckled, steadying Sora when he got excited.
"Haha, no problem, kiddo."

Rosetta let her hands drop, hugging him tightly instead.
"We should just kill them instead." She muttered, pressing her cheek against his shoulder. She hated thinking of Shaun in danger, and she couldn't even leave with him to protect him. She had to stay home and protect Aidan. She knew how Arcadia played, if Shaun had agreed they must have threatened him badly.

Zack tilted his head before he nodded.
"Yeah, sure! I play in a game this weekend," He played on the football team, "but it should be done by nine."

"We can go to the shelter tomorrow!" He told his dad. "Maybe mom will come with us. Would you ask?"

Shaun smirked, he'd love to kill them all too. Still, he had to think about the both of them. Sure they could always go back on their word, and still come after him and his own, but he knew it was messy to do business that way. It was easier to forget the innocent people left behind.
"I love you." he whispered.

Emma nodded.
"Sure, I'm looking forward to it." she smiled.

Cloud chuckled, but he nodded.
"Yeah I'll ask her."

Rosetta pulled back to look at him, her eyes soft.
"I love you too." She whispered, kissing him tenderly. "We'll get through it, together. For now let's just watch cartoons with your mini me, okay?"

After skating for a bit, Sora got tired. He smiled sleepily up at Cloud, not wanting to get out of the rink.

"Your brother looks dead on his feet." Zack told Emma.

Shaun chuckled and he nodded.
"Maybe if everything turns out alright we can work on your mini." he whispered, kissing her once more.

Cloud shook his head at Sora.
"Come on, kid, you can't sleep-skate."

Emma laughed.
"He's a stubborn donkey." she teased. "That's probably the sign we're leaving. I'll text you."

Rosetta blushed, biting her lip. It wasn't a secret that she wanted another baby, she had discussed it with Shaun when Aidan was two. With her going back to work and Aidan being a lively toddler, things were just hectic. That didn't mean she wasn't trying to make a mini her with him almost every night though.
"I thought we were working on it." She whispered, pressing against him.

Sora pouted, but he obeyed, smiling sleepily.
"Ok-ay." He groaned.

"Okay, see you Emma." He smiled, waving.

Shaun chuckled and he shrugged his shoulders. His hands trailed lightly down to her bottom, giving it an affectionate squeeze.
"Uhuh...well.." he whispered. "Now it's even more official."

Cloud picked Sora up and he made his way out of the rink. He helped him out of the skates.

"Bye!" She said heading out towards her father and brother.