Author's Notes: Aaah, approaching the moment. After the next chapter, the trial shall officially begin, and we can close this damn thing already!

But. Before you read the chapter. I would just like to share something with all of you.

I don't appreciate flames. And, normally, I brush them right off - I actually did get a couple of flames somewhere along the way, but they were more like sparks, so I really didn't care. However, it's come to my attention that someone has given me such an eyesore in their review that it's just impossible to ignore without laughing and serving up a nice big plate of public humiliation. Let this be proof to all flamers: If you leave such a discourteous review as this one, your keyboard should be ripped out of the monitor, with your fingers super-glued together to disable your ability to type.

Courtesy of RaNdOm:

"I SUDDENLY HATE THIS STORY! It's become so boring...
I AM COMPLETELY DESTROYED!
Why no Cloud/Sephy? WHY? WHY? WHY? I SO PREFFER THEM OVER CLOUD AND LEON! CLOUD AND LEON ARENT EVEN IN THE SAME GAME, AND THEY ARE TOO MUCH ALIKE TO LOVE EACH OTHER!
THERE ALWAYS HAS TO BE A MORE DOMINATE MALE! HELO? SEPHY IS THAT MALLEE! DUUDDE, I GUARENTEE IT, YOU'LL GET SO MANY MORE REVIEWS IF YOU MAKE THIS A CLOUD/SEPH, NOT CLOUD/LEON! GET THEM BACK TOGETHER DUDE! AND... umm.. hmm.. yeah... try n spice things up. It's getting very sapped and peachy. Nothing is happening anymore... CLOUD SEPHIROTH! CLOUD AND SEPHIROTH! CLOUD AND SEPHIROTH! I DEMAND THEM BE TOGETHER! IF YOU DO NOT GIMMI AN EXPLANATION, I'LL BE TERRIBLY DISSAPOINTED!"

Kuja's Little Mage Says: UZ PROPR GRAMMAR AND SPELING AND LEARN TO USE PUNCTUATION AND TO NOT TALK IN CAPS, K? My God, every day this netspeak thing gets worse, and I die a little inside.

Quite frankly, this story was not meant to be a Sephiroth/Cloud. I wrote it as a Leon/Cloud. Deal with it.

I would also like to remind you that in the Kingdom Hearts world, Leon and Cloud are in the same fucking game. That's exactly what Kingdom Hearts is. It's a Disney game with blends of Final Fantasy, to mix in for kickass. Leon is an alternate version of Squall, who was portrayed in Kingdom Hearts, and he wasn't even from the FF8 world in that game. Leon's history in KH labels him as a resident of Radiant Garden.

I don't know where you got this "there always has to be a dominant" thing going, especially in the Yaoi world, where anything is possible. I see absolutely nothing wrong with seke pairings where the couple is liable to switching off. Actually, I find it kind of hot, because it means there's lots of sexy fighting in bed of one man trying to best the other until someone is finally top. Do you have any idea how hard it is to write Seph? I cry every time I read Ukeroth. He's plenty dominant enough in my story (for a "Mallee", as you call him), but he's just not going to end up with Cloud, sorry. So sad to disappoint you.

People who share a lot of qualities can SO fall in love, and proof of that is my lovely and handsome boyfriend, with whom I share several of the same interests. So I don't know what rock you live under, but that fact is way off.

I don't need to pair Sephiroth with Cloud to get more reviews. In case you haven't been paying attention, I have 688, including this eyesore of a flame. Can you count that? Six-hundred and eighty-eight reviews.

I'm done here. Go home and don't read this if you're so disappointed. You've overused all the time I think to spare for flamers.

Chapter 51

"Pick-Ups and Let-Downs"

"Sora!" Lisa called. "Dinner's ready!"

Within seconds, she was seeing the usual response to her son's bottomless stomach: Sora came trudging down the stairs like an elephant in his socks and literally slid into his seat at the dinner table, a big grin on his face when he saw the spread. Mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, green beans, and a chicken cooked and seasoned perfectly for autumn weather.

"Ha ha ha ha!" Came the throaty laugh. He licked his lips, holding up his hands like claws and wiggling his fingers. "This looks mm-mmm, good!"

"Leave some macaroni for your sister, now." John warned.

"Yeah, I want the mac'roni!" Selphie cried. Sora grabbed his helpings, and yes, he left plenty of macaroni for Selphie. Then the little girl made another demand. "I wanna say Grace!"

"All right, everyone, join hands." Lisa held out her hands, and everyone did as she said, and they bowed their heads. "Selphie, would you like to do the honors?"

Selphie shut her eyes tight and had a big grin on her face as she recited her prayer. Sora was surprised to find that she was actually saying something aside from the usual thanking God for food.

"Dear God," Selphie said proudly, bouncing in her seat, "Thank You for Mommy's good cooking and for all the new friends I made at school, and for bringing my big brother home safe and sound!" She added shamelessly, "And, God, if I'm a really good girl in our new house, can You call Santa and tell him to bring me a pony for Christmas? You can give Santa a bigger sleigh to carry it, because he always tells me that the pony is too heavy for the sleigh."

The rest of the family chuckled at the adorable remark, and Lisa and John squeezed their children's hands.

"Lord, we thank You for this night and for bringing our family back together again." Lisa said. "And we wish all our neighbors and friends down south good health and long life."

Sora suddenly threw a curveball. "And I wanna thank You, God, for letting me meet Riku," he said. His head was down and his eyes closed, but he was smiling. "And I hope You'll forgive him for all the bad things he's done. I hope You'll bless Riku and give him healing and strength. He really needs it right now."

The table was silent all of a sudden, because they were somehow not expecting the mention of Riku. Sora peered one eye open and noticed this, and blushed. Must not have absorbed all the shock from figuring out my...preference...

Sora cleared his throat. "Amen." He murmured.

"Amen!" Selphie cheered, bouncing again in her chair.

"Amen," chorused Lisa and John, and then the feasting began. The moment Sora began eating, his mother smiled at him.

"That was a very nice prayer you did, Sora." She said. "I think Riku did good finding you."

Sora grinned sheepishly. "Thanks, Mom."

"Mmmm! Chicken!" Selphie cut a bite for herself and stuffed it in her mouth. Sora grabbed the remote for the kitchen T.V. The only thing they would watch was news, but...he wanted to watch news with his family, just for tonight.

"How about some T.V.?"

"Sure, honey, flip it on." Sora clicked it to the daily news channel and began to dig into his macaroni. The anchors were talking about Riku's case again.

"Hey, check it out." The brunet pointed to the screen. "Riku and Miss Lockheart are on T.V.!" Sure enough, when the family looked, there was Riku's face on the television, with a caption beneath him reading, "RIKU LOCKHEART. PLAINTIFF IN COURT CASE."

"I wouldn't be in this case if he wasn't raping me," he said. His hair was up in a messy sort of ponytail, his bangs shadowing his face. "And I dare anyone to challenge themselves to think otherwise."

The off-screen anchor took the microphone for a moment. "Is he really that terrible a man?" And thrust it back into Riku's face. Riku's eyes steeled.

"You saw the pictures from three weeks ago, the ones found on Sora's camera? He's used every one of those toys on me. Yeah, he's that bad."

"What are you going to do if he wins the case?" The anchorman asked. With no room to breathe in between, Riku snapped firmly,

"Ansem's not going to win this case! He's not going to win anything! He's going to rot in a jail cell for the rest of his life—just like a pedophile should be doing."
Selphie and Sora both cheered. "Yaaay! Go Riku!" Tifa's mother now appeared on the screen, with Lisa and John watching with elevated interest.

"Aren't you horrified about what's happened to your son?"

"Of course I am!" Tifa cried. "I'm his mother. How can I not be?"

"But, isn't it true that the legal files have labeled Riku as disowned?"

Tifa shook her head. "That is my ex-husband's fault, not mine. Riku is my boy. I gave birth to him in the hospital—I carried him for nine months. He's my son, and I won't let anything happen to him. He has me to protect him, he has his friends at school—he's not going to suffer anymore. We'll make sure of it."

Sora's mother nodded her head. "The world needs more mothers like Riku's."

"The world needs more mothers like you, dear." John reached over to give his wife an appreciative hug. "You're the best mother I know!" Lisa grinned at him and giggled.

"Oh, John! Stop!"

"Yech. Grown-ups." Selphie stuffed her face with more food. As the news channel flashed through some of the pictures Riku had mentioned, Sora turned his attention to his mother.

"Hey, Mom? Can I go over to Riku's house for a little while tomorrow?"

"What time will you be back?" She asked. Sora swallowed a bite of chicken.

"Uhhh...I don't know...before dinner?"

Lisa smirked. "And just what are you planning to do at Riku's house, hmmm?"

Sora blushed, red as a cherry, glad that the comment would go over Selphie's head. "N-Nothing!" He stuttered. "Nothing, Mom." He cracked a nervous grin. "I-I just wanna, you know, hang out. We might go to the skate park, or...something...?"

His mother looked down at her plate with a certain glint in her eyes that made Sora gulp. "After dinner, I would like to continue this talk with you."

Sora may as well have been wagging a puppy tail. "Does that mean I can go?" He wondered, voice full of hope.

"It means we'll see," his mother replied. Sora sulked. Great—the "We'll see" ploy. The most open-ended answer of all answers. Might as well have been a "no."

Tifa gathered up the dinner dishes and cast her son a furtive glance. "Tomorrow? For how long?"

"Not long," Riku said with a shrug. "Until six, maybe? Just a few hours."

"And just what are you planning to do with those three hours?"

Riku got up to go help his mother with the dishes. "I dunno, hang out at the skate park? Do somethin' with Tidus and Wakka? We'll figure it out."

Tifa looked at Riku full-on, putting the dishes down in the sink. "Riku, I don't know how you could possibly think your mother is a fool, but I wasn't born yesterday." She put her hands on the counter, and Riku sighed. Here it comes, he thought.

"Now, I know that there's no risk of you getting Sora pregnant or anything—"

Riku groaned. "Moooommm..."

"Buuut," Tifa growled, tilting his head up to make him look at her. "You are still a teenager, and you still have hormones, and it is your responsibility to control those hormones. Understand?"

"Yes, Mother."

"That tone was terrible. Say it again with less attitude. Can I trust you not to do anything naughty while I'm out?"

Riku restrained an irritated sigh, and fixed his gaze with Tifa's. "Yes, Mother." He repeated, a little more respectful. Tifa nodded, satisfied.

"That's better. Now," she turned on the faucet and cranked the water to hot, "Let me assure you Riku, if I find out that you disobeyed me, there will be consequences."

"What kind of consequences?" Riku asked, grabbing a sponge and soaking it with water and soap.

"The grounded kind."

Ooooh, but that only makes it more fun! Riku thought, grinning wickedly in his head. I'm sure Sora's probably thinking the same thing...hehehe.

"Okay, fine," Riku said with a smirk, "You've made your point, Mom."

"Good, glad I did." Tifa narrowed her eyes at him. "So you damn well better follow it."

I don't know, Riku thought, I might be feeling a little...needy...

"You shouldn't act so desperate, Ansem." Sephiroth said calmly.

"Desperate? Desperate? How can I not act desperate?" Sephiroth leaned back in his lazy chair, drumming his fingers on the arm of it. He could just picture poor Ansem, cradling the phone to his face, hissing into it wearing his orange jumpsuit. Yep...Ansem was in prison. Like he probably deserved to be.

"You've got to get me out of here, Sephiroth. You gave me Luxord, so can't you do me one more favor?"

"Isn't it by your own course of actions that you ended up in there?" The modeling manager pointed out. Ansem broke into a fire-eyed conniption on the other end of the phone.

"WHOSE SIDE ARE YOU ON?" He shrieked. "What kind of friend are you! You're going to leave me to rot in here?" It was sad, really—his voice could almost be classified as a whimper. Ansem was hair-brained and breaking down fast. Sephiroth couldn't help but feel a little sorry for him. Still, it was his own fault. Better he serve the consequences.

"Sephiroth...please..."

Now, that was just pitiful.

"I can't stand it here! The food is terrible, the inmates are a bunch of apes...get me out of here! I beg of you!"

Sephiroth heard a distracting moan reverberate off the walls from Kadaj's room, and winced. One of these days, I'm going to push those two sinners out the door...

"I'm sorry, Ansem, but I can't do that."

"Why not?" Yes, the other man was whining now—flat out whining. "Sephiroth! Please! Please!"

"Again...I'm sorry."

"No...no! Sephiroth, wait! Wait! Don't hang up! Sephiroth—"

Against Ansem's frantic request, Sephiroth clicked the hang-up button on the receiver and set the phone down, sighing. He now focused on trying to drown out the sounds of Kadaj and Yazoo in the other room, the sick sounds of their lovemaking and the creaking of Kadaj's bed. Sephiroth grimaced and resorted to holding a large throw pillow over his ears. Yazoo was top again. He could tell because he frightfully knew that Kadaj was the one incessantly moaning. Those unthoughtful bastards!

It reminded him of Cloud. Sephiroth could recall how not too long ago, Cloud would be making those same noises, at his mercy, rocking under him in the rhythm of their love. The image was burned into his brain. He opened his eyes when the moaning stopped (right after a couple of roaring cries), and slowly peeled the pillow off his ears, noting that it was silent once more. But in his head, the sounds were begun anew, replaced by the voice of his beautiful blond.

And then Sephiroth bit his lip, worry crossing his features. Perhaps I was too harsh on him. Is it too late to take it back? He cast his eyes thoughtfully to the phone. He could pick up and call...provided Cloud hadn't moved out of that house yet...

Sephiroth didn't need much convincing. Within a minute, he'd picked up and dialed Cloud's house. All the while as the receiver rang, he clenched and unclenched the cradle of the phone, until finally someone picked up.

"Hello?" It was Cloud. Sephiroth sighed with relief. At least a strange man hadn't answered.

"Cloud?"

The blond paused, and then his voice turned angry. "I have a guest over. What the hell do you want?"

Guest? Sephiroth sulked. Shit.

"I...was thinking about you," he said. It sounded corny. Sephiroth hated being corny.

"Oh, is that so." The tone the other held was an unfeeling drone, and Sephiroth got the impression Cloud had been expecting something like that. He licked his lips.

"Cloud...can't we just talk?"

"What's there to talk about?" Cloud demanded. "You took my job away, you cut all contact with me—why don't we talk about that?"

"I didn't cut off contact! I'm talking to you right now, aren't I?" Sephiroth leaned forward in his chair. "Listen, Cloud...this doesn't have to be the end..."

He was cut off by an abrupt burst of laughter. "You're unbelievable. Do you honestly expect me to come crawling back to you after what you did to me? Do you realize what you did? You grabbed all my main finances, and ripped them out from under my feet! I have to move out of this house, Sephiroth, do you know that? I can't afford the house, I couldn't afford the children...you rose up Hell when you broke up with me!"

Sephiroth's eyes narrowed. "Correction. You broke up with me."

"Well, it doesn't matter now, does it? I moved on. You should, too."

Moved on? Sephiroth paled. No...he didn't! He's found another already? How could he?

"Cloud—" The manager swallowed hard, "—Cloud. Listen. I can give it back to you, all of it, I swear. I can re-employ you at the Rising Sun—"

"IF I share the same bed as you. Right?"

Sephiroth opened his mouth to speak, but didn't. The train rolling through his brain hit a penny and flew off the track at two hundred miles an hour, crashing into his system. He couldn't find any way to properly respond to that. Before Cloud hung up the phone, he left Sephiroth with the three most painful words the older man had ever heard.

"Go to Hell."

Author's Notes: (sigh) And now I would like to apologize for not mentioning something at the top there where the flame ate up all my rage. Thank you for your support, you guys. We've got just a little more fluff and sap to go, and then the trial starts, and things will pick up on the rollercoaster again. :p So bear with me a little longer. Hehehe.

For truly, when have I ever disappointed the majority of you?

Kuja's Little Mage - over and out.