Disclaimer: Me no ownie.
Cursed.
Sora turned with a start, eyes wide and unbelieving.
"An uprising! What do you mean you're going to lead an uprising!" He shrieked, causing Riku to cut him a look.
"Sshh! You want somebody to hear you?"
The brunette glanced towards the shut bedroom door before focusing on his boyfriend again.
"Riku, I don't under stand! Why would you want to lead an uprising? You're already in big enough trouble with the elders, this would really piss them off! What if you get hurt?"Smiling softly, Riku cupped the side of Sora's jaw and touched their foreheads together.
"It's okay, Sora, everything will be fine. With this uprising we can overthrow the Elders and start a new order- an order where you and I can be together without fear of the consequences."
Sora's brows drew together in deep concern.
"But Riku, who's going to fight with you? And what if you fail? What if..." He choked on the words. "you get killed?"
Riku pressed a soft kiss to Sora's mouth before staring into the brunette's deep blue eyes with the softest, most tender look full of affection and caring; he gently stroked Sora's cheek with his thumb.
"Then I'll be waiting for you in the afterlife."
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Ansem looked up as Sephiroth healed a sealed envelope out to him expectantly; he stared at it over the rim of his glasses for a moment, frowning in confusion before turning his gaze to Sephiroth himself.
"What's this?"
Sephiroth laid the envelope on top of the paperwork covering the desk and slid it towards Ansem, the corner of his mouth twisting up in an amused smirk.
"A summons."
The older man hesitated a moment, his white gloved fingers hovering just over the envelope before he snatched it up, examining it carelessly, before looking back up at Sephiroth, raising an elegant eyebrow.
"Oh? A summons for what?"
Sephiroth flashed him a smile, revealing his gleaning white fangs.
"Why, for court, of course."
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Yuffie sat on the bed next to Sora, patting his shoulder reassuringly, however distractedly, as she seemed more interested in flipping through the magazine in her lap.
"It's not so bad, Sora, these things happen for a reason, and they have to happen in order for things to improve. Revolutions and uprisings are the reasons we make progress. Without them, things would still be like in the Dark Ages and the Feudal Era like it is in the Underground."
Sora lifted his head to look at her.
"You've been to the Underground?"
She nodded, flipping another page in her magazine.
"I can go there anytime I want, because, by birth, I am of the league, but because I live as a human, I am a guest, so there are certain laws and regulations with which I must abide." She glanced up from her magazine, for once a sad expression in substitute of her usual goofy grin. "Things Underground are rough, Sora. The Elders of all the different Leagues rule the people and vampires with an iron fist. If a vampire has something or someone they care about, but the vampire happens to piss off any one of the Elders, then the Elders will destroy of kill what ever it is that is most important to that vampire, in order to keep the vampire submissive and obedient." She tucked her hair behind her ears, turning her attention back to her magazine. "Things have to change, Sora."
Sora's brows drew close together as he followed the stitching in the quilt on the bed with his finger.
"I know they do, but I just... I don't want anything to happen to Riku. What if this fails or he gets killed? What then? If the uprising fails, things will only get worse then they have been."
Her hand faltered as she turned a page, her eyes suddenly growing distant.
"That's why it can't fail."
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"Hey Robin?" Sora called softly, knocking on the door to her room.
"Come in." She called.
He pushed the door to her room open, entering cautiously, before turning to the female sitting on her bed engrossed in a video game on her TV.
"Whatcha playin?" He asked conversationally.
"FF nine, the remake. Live action, no turn battle system, just run up and start killing."
He frowned in confusion.
"FF what?"
"Final Fantasy Nine. A classic. This is the remake, the game itself came out around fifty years ago." She glanced at him. "Did you need something?"
He bit the inside of his cheek, looking around distractedly.
"Um, I need to go over to Riku's house. And in case I do, I wanted to know ahead of time if it was okay to spend the night over at his house."
She nodded, taking out some huge monster on the screen.
"Yeah, that's fine. Just call us if you're going to be home late, if you don't spend the night, that is." She hesitated, then looked at him. "Did the two of you get into a fight yesterday? You both seemed kind of upset when he left last night."
He shoved his hands down into his pockets, staring intently at the scuffed up toes of his shoes.
"Kinda. Things have been like a roller coaster between us lately, which already had both of us wound pretty tight, and yesterday just kinda... well, it didn't help any."
"What? What happened at the store between Irvine and Riku, or something that happen after we got home?" She questioned, rapidly pressing different sequences of buttons on her controller.
"Both."
"Irvine told me about what happened at the store and how Riku was strangely protective and violent yesterday."
Sora flushed with embarrassment, his head snapping up to look at her and see the devilish look of knowing on his new sister's face, before she turned back to her game. Sora ducked his head again, further embarrassed. So she knew, huh? Or at least, she had a pretty good idea of Riku and Sora's true relationship. Oh boy.
"Don't be mad at him. He's just trying to look out for me the best way he can. I know he says he's happy now that we're off the streets, but I know he worries about how happy we are here, if we're being treated fairly, that sort of thing." He forced a laugh. "He worries like that, same way I worry about him and Kairi." He laughed again, this time more genuinely. "I don't worry about Yuffie so much, she can handle her own and then some."
"Is Riku who you're going to live with after your year's up and you can be on your own if you want?" She asked, her bangs hiding her face.
Sora shook his head.
"No. I'm not leaving until Kairi does, when she can live on her own or whatever, then we'll decide what to do."
The subject seemed to upset Robin and she smiled weakly.
"Well, for the time, I'm glad you're here, and when the time comes that you leave, I wish you well." She waved him off with one hand."Have fun over at Riku's, and remember to call if you're going to be getting in late."
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Taking a deep breath, Sora gnawed nervously on his bottom lip, staring at the closed door in front of him, hand poised to knock, suspended in mid air.
What would he say? Riku had been determined, how could he change his mind? Was it possible to change his mind?
Sora didn't want Riku to lead an uprising, the idea gave the brunette a sinking feeling of foreboding in the pit of his stomach. Something bad was bound to happen, when you were dealing with something this big, the results were bound to be drastic. How could he convince-
The door knob suddenly jiggled and opened enough to reveal Riku peeking out into the hallway, the silver haired male blinked in surprise suddenly, frowning in confusion.
"Sora? What's the matter?" He asked slipping out into the hallway and shutting the door behind him.
The brunette's brows knitted together as he twisted the hem of his shirt nervously.
"I-I wanted to see you..."
Riku stepped closer to him, eyes raking over his petite frame.
"What's wrong? You're so nervous you're hands are trembling. I could sense your anxiety as soon as you entered the building. Tell me what happened."
Sora wiped his shaking hands on the front of his jeans absently, before shoving them into his pockets in an attempt to look somewhat composed.
"We need to talk..."
Riku openly winced.
"Those are possibly the four most horrible words on the face of the planet." He replied thickly. "Unfortunately, now isn't the best time, I uh," He cast a backwards glance at the closed door behind him. "have company..."
The first thought that went through Sora's head went that the company might be another man, which caused a wave of jealously and anger to ignite to life in him. But then he stopped, common sense taking over. Riku had marked him, so he would have nothing to do with another male, even if it was someone as gorgeous as Sephiroth. The next thought made his blood run cold in his veins.
"Open the door, Riku."
The silver haired male shook his head.
"Sora this isn't-"
"Open. The. Door." Ordered Sora, his teeth clenched. Riku hesitated a moment, visibly holding his breath before releasing it slowly, turning to push the door open, causing to door to give a moan of protest.
A group of people all dressed in black stood around Riku's living room, all looking guilty as they waved feebly in greeting, like children caught with their hands in the cookie jar.
Riku scratched the back of his head looking just as guilty.
"We were, uh, discussing our, uh, plans."
Sora paled.
Riku, we NEED to talk."
Relenting, Riku nodded, hooking his thumb in his pocket and motioning for Sora to follow as he headed off down the hall.
"C'mon. We can talk out on the roof."
Sora followed along silently, noting the sudden blanket of awkwardness that settled over them. When they got up on the roof, they stood facing each other, but refusing to meet the other's gaze. Sora stared off over at the sunset, wrapping his arms around himself as he shivered with anxiety.
He had... some form of plan, that should work- at least, in keeping Riku alive, it had its own repercussions, but keeping Riku alive was most important, right?
"Sora, what's really the matter?" Asked Riku, breaking the silence. "I can feel your conflicting emotions- so many and so strong it's hard to pin point what each one is. Tell me what's wrong and I'll fix it."
Fix it, Thought Sora wryly, No Riku, that's what I'm going to do.
Sora swallowed hard, tears suddenly burning his eyes. He'd never wanted to have to do this, never wanted for this to happen. He wanted for Riku and him to be together without any negative repercussions, but ever since they had met, it had been one obstacle after another. Surely, it as all a sign, a warning.
Sora was going to listen to the warnings the best he knew how, in order to avoid the pending disaster he felt sure was to come.
"I think..." He began slowly, tongue darting out over dry lips. "I thin that we should... breakup."
He saw Riku go rigid out of the corner of his eye, his eyes clamping shut as though he were suddenly in pain. Sora steeled himself up, blocking his own emotions so that Riku wouldn't have to feel them on top of his own, so he wouldn't know how bad Sora didn't want to be doing this.
"Oh?" Asked Riku, his voice cracked and forced, the sound only adding to the guilt Sora felt. "Why do you want to," The muscles in his jaw flexed. "do that?" Riku couldn't bring himself to actually say the word 'breakup', he just couldn't.
Sora shook his head furiously.
"All I've done is cause you problems since the first day we met. I won't do it anymore! I can't be with you. It wouldn't work. Since the first day, there's been one sign after another, invisible forces trying to pull us apart... And now," He clamped his eyes shut, feeling hot tears begin to course down his cheeks. "now you're wanting to lead this uprising..." he stated, forcing himself to look at Riku, who stared back with the most pained expression Sora had ever seen, his own eyes full of tears. The sight was like a blow to the gut for Sora and a sob escaped him, his shoulders shaking.
"Sora, please..." Begged Riku softly. "This is the only was. This uprising will end all the problems trying to keep us apart! It will ensure that we can and will be together.
"No!" Exclaimed Sora, furiously shaking his head. "No... this uprising will only force us further part, I can feel it! Something bad, really bad is going to happen, I know it! We have to break up, it's the only way!
"The only way for what!" Demanded Riku with an angry sob, causing Sora to look up in surprise. "The only way for what? Breaking up solves nothing! All I want is to be with you! I love you! Don't you get it? I'd die for you!"
"That's what I'm afraid of!" Shouted Sora, throwing his arms, before clutching his hands to his chest with a broken sob. "I'm afraid..." He gave Riku a demanding glare. "What if you get killed in this uprising? Then what's the point? What's the point of fighting for us if I end up loosing you anyway? I couldn't bear to loose you like that... I can't..." He broke off in sobs, his whole body shaking.
"Strong arms enveloped him, and he buried his face in Riku's chest, griping the front of his shirt.
"I love you..." Riku whispered in his ear, only forcing another sob from Sora. He wanted to say it too, he felt it, he felt it so strong it threatened to destroy him if he didn't let it out, but he couldn't, not now, that would only make this harder.
"I know..." He whispered in response, feeling one of Riku's tears fall on his cheek.
"Sora, I'll do anything so long as we can stay together." He whispered, lifting Sora's chin so he'd look at him, his eyes pleading with Sora. "Please..." He breathed, the word nearly lost in the wind, before he dipped his head and pressed his mouth against Sora's, both of their eyes sliding closed, savoring the moment. It was a tender kiss that tasted like tears, both ironic and cliche given the bittersweetness of the moment. They both knew, deep down, all either of them wanted was for the two of them to be together, but it was true that every force seemed set on driving them apart, while all either of them wanted was to protect the other, and yet in the end, they both ended up hurting.
The Fates were cruel, but who knew they could be down right malicious?
Sora pushed away from Riku before the last of his resolve crumbled away like the foundation of a sand castle pulled out to sea by the ocean's waves; he turned and ran from the roof, throwing a hasty 'I'm Sorry' over his shoulder. A few of the others stood out in the hallway in front of Riku's apartment looking concerned as Sora reentered the building. Seeing their faces, Sora bit back a sob and ran by as fast as his legs would carry him down the hall, clamoring down the stairs.
"Sora, wait!" A female called after him, causing him to come to a skidding halt. That sounded like Yuffie.. What was she doing there! He turned just as she came running down the stairs, faltering when she saw the tears coursing down his cheeks. "Oh Sora..." She stated softly, sadly, before taking his hand just as the world around them began to shift and change and they were suddenly in Sora's room at home. She gently embraced him just as the floodgates opened and he began to sob uncontrollably, holding onto as though she were his last life line in this tide that threaten to sweep him away.
"Sshhh..." She cooed softly, running a hand comfortingly through his hair. "There, there, everything will turn out all right..." He could only shake his head. Things wouldn't turn out fine. In fact, things would never be 'fine' again. Everything had gone to pot.
TBC