Follow up for Changes. I don't own anything but the story itself.

Rewritten Nov 3

Revealing Bonds

Riku poured the tea and brought both cups to the breakfast bar. He was not sure why he was so nervous; there was no real reason for it. He had gone through far worse trials just fine. This should be a cakewalk.

So why was his hand shaking as he handed over the cup?

"Calm yourself, Riku." The smooth voice of his brother advised. Somehow, the order worked and he found the butterflies setting a bit.

He added honey to his tea and mulled for a moment over what he wanted to say.

"You have not been this tense with me since our first meeting." Sephiroth languidly sipped his tea. He leaned back casually on the high stool simply waiting.

Suddenly Riku laughed. "Did you have any idea how badly I wanted to kill you when I figured out who you were?"

"Yes. I had been watching you for a while at that point. It was one of the primary reasons I was hesitant to approach you."

The younger one frowned a bit. "You didn't want to talk to me?"

"No, I wanted to speak to you very badly." Sephiroth set down his cup. "However, I did not wish to cause you anymore discord than you already had."

"Oh." Riku studied the swirling amber fluid in his cup for a moment. "Exactly when did you first find out about me? You never did explain all of that."

"It wasn't pertinent to the situation. However, if you really want to know, the first time I saw you was shortly after you abducted the princess of Agrabah. It was shortly after that I learned your identity and how you were connected to me."

"And it took that long for you to talk to me?" Sephiroth had not approached him until after Xehanort's heartless and Castle Oblivion.

"Yes." The elder replied. "As you already know, I was observing you for some time prior and communicated with His Majesty about your status."

Riku placed his eyes on him. "Why did you wait to talk to me yourself?"

Sephiroth actually appeared a bit uncomfortable with the question. He focused on his cup. "I was… uncertain if contact with you would be beneficial or detrimental."

Riku frowned. "How would it have been detrimental?"

"I am aware that I am not at all an approachable person; I never have been. I was concerned that if you had yet another questionable presence in your life, it would prove to be overwhelming. I decided to simply watch over you until I felt it was the proper time to reveal myself to you."

Riku nodded once, slowly.

"Of course, after finding out about Xehanort's heartless I regretted that decision." The tone had not changed but Riku knew his brother felt partly responsible of that turn of events.

"I told you before, you couldn't have stopped it," The teenager stated. "And I think it would have been worse. I was already so weak, so confused, that if I'd had anything else added to it, I would have completely snapped."

"Perhaps." The older brother sipped his tea again.

"At least he blocked out Mother." It was a weak attempt to look on the bright side.

"That is unfortunately true." Sephiroth looked him straight on. "It still shouldn't have happened."

"I know." They had spoken in depth about his possession several times, how it happened, why it happened. Riku always felt so horribly foolish after those conversations. He more than understood he was solely to blame for it; he had completely accepted it.

"Then again, I should never have happened but we've discussed this before."

At length.

"This isn't what you asked me here for, is it?" It was more of a statement than a question.

"Uh, no." Riku gripped the sides of his teacup, the faint warmth soaking into his fingers. Why was he so nervous? Sephiroth would not take the news that badly. He had to already know…

"Out with it, Riku. You know how short my patience can run."

"I'm guessing you already know about Cloud and I." He began slowly.

"Considering I was involved in keeping your relationship intact, that would be a correct assumption." Was the dry response.

Right. Maybe this really would not be so bad. Sephiroth did have a point; he had helped keep them together. He could not be that against their relationship.

"Does this have anything to do with the ring on your left hand?"

Riku looked up sharply. He did not like the tone of Sephiroth's voice. It was a subtle change but it filled him with unease.

Those spring green eyes were narrowed on him. "Say it."

"We're getting married."

There was a long moment were Riku almost did not dare to breath. Yes, his brother had made an enormous amount of progress recovering his lost sanity. He was ever so slowly humanizing. However, when it came to Cloud Strife… he still teetered on a very precarious edge.

Those eyes hardened. "Is that so?"

"Yes."

"Humph." Sephiroth stood. "Well, I suppose congratulations are in order."

"Sephiroth-"

He was cut off by the wave a gloved hand. "There is nothing to discuss further, Riku. It is your life, do with it what you wish."

He made to leave.

"Seph, I don't want you to leave."

"We cannot always have what we want, Riku." A shoulder wing twitched. "Sometimes, we have to make choices that we would rather not make."

Riku understood what Sephiroth was implying. "I'm not choosing between the two of you."

"I never said you had to."

Riku realized that Sephiroth had decided to make the choice for him. This was not what he wanted. "Sephiroth…"

But he was already gone.

--0—0—

"I knew it wasn't going to be an easy conversation, but it never crossed my mind that he would actually walk out on me." Riku sat in the window seat, sketchbook laid out before him. He had thought about drawing something in an attempt to not think about what had happened an hour ago.

Instead, he called Sora.

"I don't know if he's coming back, or if he left for good… hell, he could be going after Cloud again for all I know." He felt so very close to tears. "I really thought Cloud was going to be the difficult one in all this."

"It'll be fine, Riku," Sora assured him in that optimistic tone everyone expected from him. "Seph probably just needs a bit of time to process it, you know? I mean, first he had to adjust to the fact that someone who's been his mortal enemy for longer than we want to think about is dating his only living relative. Now that person is going to be his brother-in-law."

Sora chuckled. "I'd be totally freaked, too."

"I guess," Riku sighed. "I just…hoped for something else."

"Give him some time. He'll come back once he's let it settle in his mind."

"I hope so."

"Look, all that matters is that you and Cloud are happy," Sora spoke firmly, "To hell with everyone else."

Riku chuckled. "You were talking to Leon this morning, weren't you?"

"Before school," he admitted softly. Since it was Senior week, the friends had not seen much of each other at school. Even over the phone, Riku could hear the blissful tone. "They started working on your house."

"Did they?" The question was casual but he felt the grin tugging at his lips. He still did not quite believe all of this was happening.

"Yep; Cloud picked out the design. I guess the decorating is gonna be up to you."

"Fine by me."

Sora giggled. He was the only guy Riku knew who could get away with giggling without sounding like a total idiot. "You are such the house wife."

"Shut up," Riku grumbled. "I don't clean."

"That's because you don't let it get messed up in the first place."

He did not have a good argument for that one. Instead, he switched back to the original subject. "You're probably right about Seph. It is a lot to process all at once. Neither one of us ever actually came out and said I was going with Cloud. It's always just been kinda understood."

"Wait, you didn't tell him anything until now?" Sora practically shouted. "Why not?"

Riku shrugged to himself. "I don't know. I know he knew almost from the beginning but he never actually asked me about it. Like I said, it always just seemed to be one of those understood things that we never talked about."

"Huh." Sora blew out a breath. "Well, now I know he'll be back."

"You do?"

"Yep." Sora was very confident. "Cause if he was willing to go to Cloud and talk sense into him without any kind of verbal confirmation that there even was a relationship, he has to know that you and Cloud love each other. He knows you belong together."

The older one bit his lip. While the logic was sound, this was still Sephiroth they were talking about. The normal rules of logic did not often apply when it came to him. "We'll see."

There was a faint blip. "Crud, Leon's calling."

Riku smirked. "I'll go. Tell him hi for me."

"Yeah, call me after Seph comes back."

"If he does."

"He will," Sora reiterated. "Bye."

Riku set the phone down and let his head fall back against the wall. He really did not need this stress. He had enough issues of his own to deal with but of course, he had to go and fall in love with someone worse than him. Not to mention the added annoyance of being that man's sworn enemy's half-brother.

Why was nothing simple?

He dropped down from the window, leaving his sketchbook. He supposed he should try eating something though he was not at all hungry; he had not been all day. Damn it, this was supposed to be a happy time in his life.

--0—0—

Two hours passed and he gave up on the idea that his brother would return. Eventually, he was going to have to find him and force the older one to talk to him, but right now, he just did not have the energy. He felt exhausted but knew he could not sleep if he tried.

Deciding he needed to center himself, he left his small house and went to the play island.

Hardly anyone went out there anymore, the old group was often too busy for nostalgic trips and it was too soon for the next set to discover the place. It made Riku a bit sad that the little island would not always be their island. New kids would eventually start coming out here, making it their hangout.

He went to his tree, running his fingers along its trunk before hopping up on the side. Even this bent over Paopu tree would one day cease to be his. Sometimes, he wanted to find a way to mark the whole thing as a historical landmark, preserving it forever. It was a fleeting fancy, for virtually no one knew of the monumental events that had occurred here.

He closed his eyes and let the crashing of the waves carry his troubles away. The soft roar always soothed his chaotic mind. When he was struggling with Jenova, he had found that simply sitting here and listening to the waves did more to quiet her than anything else did. The turmoil would just stop.

Riku sometimes wondered what he would do once he left the Islands for good. Sure, he would come back to visit, Kairi and Seiya would never forgive him if he did not, but feasibly he knew it would not be very often. The river on Radiant Garden made a good substitute but it just was not the same. Its soft babble did not compare to the roar of the waves.

"I knew I would locate you here."

Riku did not bother to open his eyes. Even if he had not recognized the voice, he would know that presence anywhere. He leaned his head back. "Let's hear it."

"You seem to be under the impression that I have come here only to berate you."

Riku snorted. "Well, considering the abrupt departure, I'm not entirely sure I want to hear what you have to say."

Sephiroth remained silent for a long moment. He walked around the base of the tree to stop beside his brother. Riku could just hear the rustling of feathers in the breeze. He was truly afraid of Sephiroth's next words.

"I will not apologize."

Riku sighed, returning his head to its original position. The man never did.

"You are very important to me."

The younger one opened his aqua eyes. He flicked them toward the other, noticing the odd look to his features. He had never seen that particular expression on Sephiroth's face. In fact, it was so foreign, that he was unable to identify it with any accuracy.

"I never had a family or any one that I would consider a close enough friend to be considered as such. Of Zack, Angeal and Genesis, Zack would be the closest; perhaps he truly had been my friend. I do not know anymore, and I likely never will."

Riku knew all this already.

"Before Mother, I had no idea of what I was missing in my life. Yes, I was alone, but I always had been. I knew I wanted more but had no idea as to what that more was." Sephiroth kept his tone even, nearly devoid of all emotion. "When Jenova began speaking to me, I realized exactly how isolated I was."

And that was how she got into his head and was able to manipulate him; thought the youngest of the pair. She took advantage of his hidden, desperate need for connection along with his long ago imprinted drive to be best. With Riku, she had tried to latch on to his insecurities and his fear of being weak.

Sephiroth had paused as if considering his next words very carefully. "I believe that one of the many reasons I became so… fixated on Strife was that I knew I was still fundamentally alone."

Riku frowned at this, wondering where Sephiroth was heading with that statement.

"Power is isolating and Mother, as you are aware, is not at all a companionable presence. I had long held a great deal of respect for Strife. I saw how hard he worked, how determined he was to be worth something. Even after he failed to make SOLDIER, he did not give up. Zack had once informed me, that Cloud had decided to be the first to attempt to retest into the program.

"He and Zack had already begun a relationship by the time I really took notice of him. Zack talked about him so often and so fondly, I began taking interest in his progress. Cloud was certainly a unique case, hence why I saw to it that he was assigned to our missions; although I sometimes wondered if the migraines the two caused were worth the effort.

"You know what happened at Nibleheim. I was completely stunned that this scrawny cadet was able to do what a battle hardened First Class could not. It does not matter what drove him; revenge, anger, bitterness, hatred, it is irrelevant. I had all of that and more. He had a strength hidden within him that I very much wanted for myself.

"Mother and I became aware of him several years later, after the bastard began testing Mother's cells in both him and Zack. We decided that we had to bring them into the fold. After Zack died, all of my attention focused on Cloud. As the events with Meteor unfolded, I grew increasingly fascinated by his strength and became even more determined to make him join us. He was the only one worthy of being my companion."

Riku had never heard Sephiroth speak so openly about Cloud. Several of the questions that had been hovering around in his head were now answered, but a completely new set were forming. One was rising above the rest and, though he was certain he knew the answer, he needed to hear exactly how his brother said it.

"Were you in love with Cloud?"

"No. I was infatuated with him."

Nodding, Riku turned to face Sephiroth fully. "Do you think that maybe-"

The elder cut the question off. "No. Contrary to certain other's beliefs, I do not harbor any romantic or sexual overtones toward Strife."

Even though Riku had not really been worried, there was a feeling of relief at that statement.

Sephiroth continued his narrative. "Obviously, Strife despised me, for which he has every reason. Thus began our ridiculous game of cat and mouse. After The Planet was taken by the Heartless and I found myself wandering the darkness alone I began rethinking my life.

"I realized that I had become so desperate for some form of affection or acceptance that I had allowed Mother to completely twist my mind. It was then I knew I needed to discover myself without anyone's influences."

"So you cast Mother off…?"

"Eventually; you are aware of how tight her hold can be."

Oh, did he. Those sessions with Sephiroth on learning how to contain the parasitic entity that was a fundamental part of both of them had been some of the worse moments of his life. He had not imagined anything could be worse than the inside of Kingdom Hearts. Even Xehanort's heartless paled in comparison.

…And Sephiroth had gone through it alone. Riku knew he would never have accomplished what he had if Sephiroth had not been there, guiding him through each step. He really had nothing but admiration for his brother.

Sephiroth was gazing at the ocean. "You asked earlier why I had been hesitant to approach you. My reply was only partially accurate."

The younger one narrowed his eyes.

"I have caused irrevocable damage to those I have had contact with. When I learned of your existence, I felt… an overwhelming sense of joy that I still do not understand. Perhaps it was simply due to the knowledge that I was not alone.

"That joy, however, was quickly replaced with fear. You were already struggling, already so lost; I was terrified to cause you anymore pain." Something in Sephiroth's voice caught. "You were already so much like me; I would not risk making it worse with my own instability."

Riku was openly staring now. Sephiroth had never spoken so candidly before. Raw emotion was creeping into his voice.

"I care a great deal for you, Riku. I see in you everything I have strived to become."

Sephiroth fell silent.

Riku had no words for what he was feeling. All of this was so unexpected. He knew that Sephiroth had become and always would be an extremely important figure in his life, he loved his brother. He never expected Sephiroth would feel something akin to it. He understood that Seph cared about him but now he knew the man loved him also.

"Cloud loves you a great deal." Sephiroth's shoulder wing twitched. "And your love for him is clearly visible."

The older man turned and he met Riku's eyes steadily. "The two of you have something together that no one should be allowed to interfere with. If anyone tries, you have my word I will put a swift end to it."

Riku found himself blinking back tears. He could not believe he was hearing this. He took a deep breath, trying to regain his composure. It did not work very well but he managed a confident smirk. "I think we'll be alright."

"I do not doubt that."

Riku finally got himself back together. He had one more question for the man and however he answered he knew he would be completely fine with it. Sephiroth had given his blessing in his own unique way.

"This may be pushing it," He said slowly. "But I'd really like you to be at the wedding."

Sephiroth studied him a moment before his trademark sardonic grin appeared. "The Cetra and Seiya insisted on a ceremony I imagine."

"Yeah. And Aerith does have a name."

"Have you presented this desire to Cloud?"

Riku nodded. "He said he was fine with it."

"Humph." Something was obviously working its way through the back of Sephiroth's mind. "He did not happen to make this statement under duress, did he?"

Riku turned guiltily away. Okay, maybe he had tortured his lover a bit to get the answer he wanted but he was certain Cloud had meant it. "Not exactly."

Sephiroth laughed. He knew exactly what that meant. "You truly are as twisted as I."

"What there ever a doubt?"

"I suppose not." The former general flicked some of his bangs back. "Seiya would be livid if I did not attend."

"Oh, most definitely." Riku chuckled.

"Well, that is not a woman I want angry with me. She'd be liable to send the Keyblade Master after me."

"He is her son."

Sephiroth let out a light sigh. When he looked again at Riku, his eyes were rather bright and his voice solemn. "I would be greatly honored to attend your wedding ceremony, Brother."

Riku grinned and on complete impulse, hugged the slightly larger man. He pulled away quickly and brushed his shirt. "That didn't happen."

"Of course not," Sephiroth replied blandly.

"Thank you, Seph."

"Don't thank me." He glanced over his shoulder and down. Riku followed the look.

Huddled under the wood bridge were Sora, Seiya and Kairi. Both females were crying and Sora had this smug grin on his face. How in the worlds had those three managed to keep quiet for this long?

Seiya jumped up and somehow hefted herself up over the bridge. She then hurried over and threw her arms around Sephiroth's neck. This only earned her a mild glare. He really did like the woman. "Oh, that was so beautiful!"

Riku folded his arms as he regarded his two best friends. In unison, they pointed at Sora's mom. "It was her idea!"

"Riiight." Riku leapt down to them. Sora immediately began running and Kairi ducked to the side, giggling.

On the bridge, Seiya was animatedly describing her plans. She stopped when she noticed that Sephiroth was not paying attention. He had fixed his attention on the two young men chasing each other across the beach.

She smiled a little, noting the odd lilt to the man's lips. "Those two are certainly something, aren't they?"

The lilt slowly became a grin. "Yes, they certainly are."