Respect Me Not

Warnings: There still are mistakes in grammar, I think. Also Shounen-ai, which means malexmale love. NOT FOR KAIRI FANS! (or Naminé) Also, there might be some drug using, self-destructive activities and maybe some character deaths… Crossovers from Final Fantasy VII and VIII…

Pairings: SoraxRiku, one-sided SoraxAxel and RikuxKairi, WakkaxTidus, CloudxLeon, AerithxCid and maybe some more…

Disclaimer: No, I still don't own anything. :sigh:

Chapter 27, Breaking News

There were few soft knocks on Axel's apartment's door. The said man tore his eyes away from the television screen and looked at the door, which was on his left. He frowned, as he slowly stood up and started to walk towards the door.

Who the hell would even think about interrupting his peace during Christmas?

The redheaded man opened the door, and immediately a man with spiky brown hair jumped in and tackled him on the floor. Axel blinked as he looked at Sora, who was currently sitting on his chest and grinning.

"Sora, that resembled so much Selphie that it already scares me." Tidus said, as he walked in and yanked Sora away from Axel, so the said one could stand up.

The brunette man smiled to Axel, "Merry Christmas!" he said, while opening his bag again and pulling out a package, which was wrapped into red paper. The red-haired man blinked his eyes few times, before snatching the pack from Sora and examining it. He lifted his eyebrow and looked at the brown-haired man.

"Uhh…"

Sora just smiled and titled his head to his left slightly, "What's wrong Axel?"

Axel opened and closed his mouth, before shaking his head a little. Seeing Sora smiling to him that innocently didn't help him get rid of thoughts of Roxas at all. Those big sky blue eyes… that innocent smile, which resembled more a pout, but anyways, it was beyond adorable… Axel could honestly feel nosebleed coming.

Tidus groaned and folded his arms. He didn't like the look on Axel's face. It looked like he would want to jump on Sora every moment now. No, he wasn't jealous, but his brotherly instincts just told him that there was something fishy going on.

"So, I guess we should go now, Sora." Tidus mumbled, as he grabbed Sora's arm, and started to lead him out of the house.

"No wait." Axel said suddenly, and Tidus froze. He looked over his shoulder and let Sora go. The redheaded man turned around and disappeared somewhere, before returning with a small box, "It's nothing special and means nothing."

Sora took the box from Axel and looked at him. The red-haired man was a bad liar… so bad that even Sora noticed that he was lying. The brunette chuckled, and hugged Axel quickly, "Thank you!"

Axel's face was as red as hair in only mere seconds. He spun around, so two men wouldn't see the blush on his face, "So if you don't have anything else, I have something I need to take care of. So, see you later…"

Tidus grabbed Sora's hand again, and pulled him through the door, before slamming it close behind his back. Axel just stood there, his back facing the door, and his head bowed down. He could still feel the hotness on his cheeks.

These feelings were a lot harder to deal with than he had thought.

Leon squeezed Cloud's shoulders, as he stared the blonde man, whose eyes started to close slowly and he started to lean towards him. The brunette watched helplessly, as the other one collapsed into his arms.

He looked around and yelled, "Someone help me! Call an ambulance or something!"

LeBlanc, who was sitting on a nearby table, immediately stood up and dashed the fastest she could to the two men. A cameraman was following her, and immediately started to take pictures of Leon and Cloud. LeBlanc sighed and smiled, "Oh, this will make such a good article."

"What are you doing here?" Leon growled, as he stood up, carrying the blonde man in his arms, "And I need freaking help, someone get an ambulance here for god's sake!"

Other reporters started to gather around the two of them, taking pictures and asking stupid questions, clearly not realizing that Cloud didn't faint on Leon's arms, just for attention. The brunette let out a low and hatred-filled growl, before shoving the reporters out of his way and walking towards the counter, carrying the unconscious blonde.

"Leon, what's up?" Riku asked, as the brunette walked past him, "What's wrong with Cloud!"

Leon looked at the silver-haired man and shook his head, before proceeding to the man, who was standing behind a counter, "Call the ambulance. Now, or I swear you'll be one head shorter before you are able to say 'murderer'." He said coldly, his every word piercing the air like sharp daggers.

The barkeep blinked few times, before picking up the phone underneath the counter and dialled few numbers hastily.

Riku touched Cloud's forehead, as Leon placed him on the floor. The blonde's temple was cold, and his whole face was pale. The silvery haired man looked at Leon, deep frown on his features. This was not good… "Don't tell me that he's…"

"Don't…" Irvine, who had appeared behind Riku's back, stopped his speech. He looked at all of the gossip magazine reporters, which were gathered around them. The man with the cowboy hat snorted, as he rested his hands on his hips, and looked at LeBlanc, "I don't know, or even care whatcha doin' here, but what I care is that if you don't get heck outta here at this very moment, I'll just have to go get Sephiroth."

LeBlanc shivered slightly, before snorting loudly, "Well well. That is pretty rude, since I don't seem like being the only reporter here." She said, as she pulled out her fan from her pocket and started to wave it in front of her face.

"No, maybe you're not, but you're the most rudest and the most annoying." Tifa said, while walking past her, and kneeling next to Cloud, "What happened here?"

"The ambulance is coming!" The barkeep yelled to Leon, who nodded his head, but never tore his eyes away from Cloud, who lied still on the floor.

Tifa looked at Leon, then Cloud. However, when she realized that the brunette wasn't going to give her any kind of reply, she turned to look at Riku, who had his eyes closed. The atmosphere was something beyond awkward and sad.

"If I may ask." LeBlanc said, while pulling out her notebook, "…This is only a trick to get more fame, isn't it? See, you can't hide anything from LeBlanc, loves. I've been working with selfish celebrities ever since I can remember, and I've seen lots of situations like this."

Leon balled his fists. He really felt like murdering the annoying blonde reporter. But then again, he was too worried about Cloud to leave his side. He took the pale man's hand into his and squeezed it gently. Deep inside, he had known that this day would come eventually, even though he had tried to deny it. And even if it was happening right now, he still didn't want to believe that it was real.

He hoped that he could turn back the time, and live through the moments all over again. Maybe he could do some things differently. Even if this day probably wasn't avoidable, he could help this sadness inside of him. Maybe he had been only stupid that he had let the feelings for Cloud take control over him, even though he knew very well that the blonde man wouldn't live for long.

Everything happened so fast. Men, dressed in white, ran through the door to the balcony, carrying stretchers. They kneeled next to Cloud, before placing him on the white base, and lifting him up. Leon stood up too, and one of the man frowned, "Who are you?"

"I'm…" Leon said, not sure what he should say, "…his boyfriend."

The man lifted his eyebrow and nodded his head, "You can come with us if you want to."

"Can I come too?" Riku asked, as he stepped next to Leon, "I'm a really good friend of Cloud's."

The man shrugged, and Riku took that as a yes. They started to hurry towards the elevator, leaving the dumbfounded reporters and rest of Melancholic Requiem stand in the middle of the balcony.

"Sora…?"

Sora looked at Tidus, while they were walking on an icy pavement, both of them nearly falling down every second. The blonde man sighed, as he stopped walking for a while and looked at his friend, "I… I think that something's going on with Wakka."

Sora stopped walking and turned around, so he could look at Tidus, without falling down on his face, "Why you think that?"

"He…" Tidus looked down and shook his head, "I dunno… It's all so weird… He never talks to me anymore. It's like he's trying to push me away."

Sora took few steps towards his friend, but ended up falling on the cold sidewalk, because of the frozen pond right underneath his feet. Tidus glanced at Sora for a while, before offering his hand, to help the brown-haired man stand up.

"Sorry about that…" Sora scratched back of his head awkwardly, "But… I think that he probably has reasons for his actions. And, why on earth he would want to push you away? You are such a sweet boy, so I don't understand why anyone would want to break up with you."

Tidus blushed slightly, and playfully punched Sora's shoulder, and nearly made the shorter one fall on the ground again. The brown-haired man had probably no idea that what he had just said didn't sound too innocent in Tidus' ears. Even though, he knew that Sora would never even think about cheating on Riku, he couldn't help this odd feeling inside of him.

He shook his head, and helped Sora to regain his balance, before starting to walk again, on the slippery pavement.

"H-hey, wait up!" Sora cried, as he caught up with Tidus the fastest he could, without falling down on the sidewalk. The brunette looked at Tidus and saw a gloomy look on his face, "…Sorry if I said something that made you mad…"

Tidus blinked his eyes few times, before looking at the shorter one and chuckling, "Nah, it's not it. I'm just… thinking… about… you know… stuff."

Sora laughed, and started to run, "C'mon, I'll race you home!" but before he could take more than two fast paces, he fell on his butt, "Ah, oopsie… oww…"

"Ahahaha, you would've never won anyways." Tidus snickered.

"You sound like Riku." Sora replied, before standing up and scratching the back of his head absently, "Oh, speaking of which, I need to go to Riku's place later today."

Tidus laughed, but somehow his voice sounded rather cold. It made Sora frown, but only for mere seconds, before he broke into a heart-warming smile again, and grabbing his friend's arm, "Let's go home Tidus!"

Leon and Riku sat in a pure white corridor of a hospital. The brunette was leaning his head on his palms, while the other one was banging the back of his head on the brick wall behind him. Neither one of them said a word. Not before Riku couldn't stand the silence and stood up.

"How long are they going to make us wait!" The silver-haired man grumbled, as he kicked the chair where he had just sat, "This can't be happening! N-not now! I… I can't stand it, if Sora finds out."

Leon looked at him, sorrow filling his eyes, no matter how hard he tried to hide it, "Riku… calm down." He said, despite the fact that everything inside of him screamed him to do something… but then again, there was nothing he could do.

"Cloud will make it."

The scar-faced man sighed. He hoped that Cloud would be okay, though he knew that nothing would be all right ever again.

Riku let out a loud growl, as he slammed his balled fist on the white wall, before cursing colourfully and kicking the poor chair one more time, "Shit… Just when I thought that… we all could be happy again, it all falls apart. Right when I got the hold of the happiness, fading away before I'm able to catch it again."

"Riku, that makes no sense." Leon said, his voice somewhat angry, "We all knew that this day would come sooner or later. We… didn't do anything. I don't even understand why we just stood back, and watched as Cloud started to wither away right in front of our eyes."

Riku opened his mouth to protest, but he just didn't know what to say. Leon was right… they had just ignored Cloud and his condition, while just hoping that tomorrow they could finally find a way to get enough money for his treatment. They… had never thought how fast the time would go by, and how the time ran out, slowly but surely.

"You're right…" Riku sighed sadly, before sitting down beside his friend, "We… let this happen."

Loud footsteps echoed in the corridor, and soon the rest of Melancholic Requiem and Zexion, Sephiroth and Irvine appeared from behind a corner.

"Leon, Riku!" Yuffie gasped, as she was the first one who reached the two men, "It's a disaster! So many reporters waiting outside, since the cameras aren't allowed inside of the hospital… We can't get out without being attacked by millions of paparazzi!"

Riku looked at Sephiroth, who sighed heavily and shook his head in defeat.

"Sorry Riku, I tried to stop them." The silver-haired man said, and rested his hands on his hips, "…I guess I just need to call some backup."

Tifa walked to Leon and Riku, and after glancing them for a while, she asked, "How's Cloud? Have you heard anything yet?"

Leon just looked down and Riku was silent. Tifa sighed sadly, and glanced towards one of the closed doors. She was positive that Cloud was behind it, and his condition was terrible.

Suddenly the door opened, and a man with a white dress stepped out. He looked at the crowd in front of him and frowned. He decided to ignore the other ones, as he walked to Leon and Riku, "You may go look him, while we are preparing for the operation. We can't say anything yet though."

"I see, thank you." Leon said, as he walked into the room where the doctor had come from. Riku followed him, but when the rest of the gang tried to walk through the door also, the white dressed man stopped their way.

"I'm sorry, but I have to ask you wait in the corridor."

Yuffie was ready to kick the doctor's head off, but Wakka grabbed her shoulder and shook his head. So, she just decided to snort loudly and lift his chin up into the air.

Sephiroth turned around and left to call his 'backups'. Zexion started to walk back and forward nervously, while Wakka still held Yuffie's shoulder. Tifa kept her eyes locked at the clock, which was hanging on the white wall. Irvine pulled his hat down to cover his eyes.

But neither one of them said a word.

In the hospital room, Leon sat next to Cloud's bed, while Riku kneeled next to it. The blonde man looked at them wearily, his face paler than ever. He was about to say something, but Leon placed his finger on his lips and shook his head.

"You don't have to say anything." Leon said, "Try to save your strength. You'll be okay… they're going to operate you."

"But what about the payment?" Cloud asked, while he sat up, but Leon pushed him back down.

"That's nothing you should be worrying about right now." Riku stated seriously, staring right into his sky blue eyes, "We'll take care of that. The most important thing right now is to heal your cancer, right?"

The blonde keyboardist sighed and closed his eyes. He felt weak, and his head spun. It felt like he was going to pass out once again. He knew that he wouldn't make it. But yet, he didn't want to ruin that hopeful look on Riku's face. Even Leon, whose face normally was emotionless, had a glimmer of hope.

"T-thanks…" Cloud mumbled. He opened his eyes and jumped towards Leon, tying his arms around his neck, "Leon, I'm glad that I met you and… I-I…"

Leon blinked few times, before returning the hug, and burying his nose into Cloud's spiky locks. He inhaled a deep breath of the scent of Cloud's hair. Both of them wished that time would just stop and they could stay like this forever.

Riku looked at the two men, and decided that it was his time to leave. He tiptoed out of the room and closed the door quietly. The people in the corridor gave him odd looks, but he just shrugged, "Let them be together, since this might be their last time together in this world."

Aerith yawned loudly, as she stretched her arms. Quick nap had clearly helped her to deal with the break up with Cid. The world seemed much brighter now. Though, she still felt really sad, because of what happened with the blonde man… But, maybe they would still end up together, in some mysterious way?

Or maybe she was still dreaming…

She shrugged off the feeling of loneliness, as she stood up and started to head towards the living room. She had absolutely no clue how long she had been sleeping, but she didn't even really care.

The brown-haired woman walked to the downstairs, and found it empty. She knew that Riku, Cloud and Leon were going to go to the parties, since their first CD was released. But where'd Sora and Tidus go? She shrugged and sat down on the couch and picked up the remote controller.

She opened the television and searched through the channels, trying to find something interesting to watch. But there was really nothing special on air at the Christmas Eve.

Eventually, she just ended up watching some news. Immediately she fell into her thoughts, staring into the space in front of her, not really seeing anything. That's why she missed more than half of the news, until familiar name tore her back into the reality.

"In the worlds of celebrities has happened many things recently. Today was day that Melancholic Requiem's first CD was released. But during the parties, which were held for the release of the CD, the band's keyboardist, Cloud, suddenly passed out. We are currently waiting for more information in front of the local hospital. From what we have heard, Cloud has been suffering from serious brain cancer tumour for a while now."

Aerith couldn't believe her eyes. There has to be some kind of mistake… Cloud couldn't possibly have a brain cancer? And if he had, he would have told her… right?

She rubbed her eyes few times, just to make sure she really was awake. But still, she just couldn't believe the fact that her own son had serious brain cancer tumour, and never told her anything. She gritted her teeth and balled her fists on her lap.

She didn't know what to think.

"We can't enter the hospital with the cameras, but we still wish for Cloud's well being." The reporter said, smiling sweetly.

The brunette woman stood up, her whole body trembling. She shut off the television, and dashed to the front door. Hastily, she pulled her shoes on and snatched her coat, before hurrying out of the door and nearly crashing on Tidus and Sora, who were walking towards their house.

"Mom?" Sora asked, as he saw the horrified look on his mother's face.

But Aerith didn't say anything, just ran past them, tears coming from the corners of her eyes. Sora tried to run after her, but Tidus' strong arm on his waist stopped him. He looked up at his friend, who just shook his head, as he started to pull the brunette towards the house.

Sora looked down at the ground and sighed heavily, "I wonder what happened… I've never seen mom like that before…"

"I don't know…" Tidus replied sincerely, as he opened the door and pushed Sora gently inside, "But… I think we'll find out sooner or later."

Few nurses were pushing Cloud's bed towards the room, where his operation would be done. Leon was walking next to them, holding the blonde's hand, and rubbing his palm with his thumb. Riku was walking slightly behind them, frowning sadly all the way.

"Wait!"

Everyone turned to look at the direction where the sound had come. They saw Aerith running towards them, her hair was messy and tears were staining her cheeks.

Cloud's eyes widened, and he felt few tears rolling down from his eyes too, "M-mom…"

The brown-haired woman stopped right next to the bed and kneeled down, exhausted because running all the way from the entrance to the third floor. She grabbed her son's hand and pressed it against her cheek, before looking at Cloud, "Why didn't tell me anything!"

Leon and Riku glanced guiltily at the floor, pretending that they weren't listening Aerith's and Cloud's conversation.

"Mom, I…" Cloud started, but wasn't able to finish his sentence, because the nurses started to push his bed towards the operation hall again.

"I'm sorry, but we can't wait any longer." The other nurse said, never looking at Aerith. Situations like these were always hard to deal with. No matter how long you worked in a place like this… the sorrow that death caused would never ease.

Leon kept following Cloud, holding his hand all the way.

Aerith remained there, sitting on the floor, as she watched Cloud disappear behind a corner. The blonde looked at his mother, mouthing two simple words: 'I'm sorry'. Somehow, she managed to form a small smile to the pale looking man, before he disappeared from her sight.

Riku stood next to the brunette woman, unable to find words, which would describe his feelings properly. He could tell that he felt Aerith's pain. He knew what it felt like to watch someone die, right in front of your very own eyes.

Suddenly, memories of Zack came back to his mind. He closed his eyes, and prayed soundlessly for that memory to fade away. This wasn't right time to linger in the sorrows of his past.

"You knew about this all the time, didn't you?"

Riku looked at Aerith, who had her head bowed down. He frowned sadly, not wanting to admit the truth… He sighed, "Yes, I knew about Cloud's cancer all the time." Was his short and quiet reply, before he held his hand out, offering his help to help Aerith up from the floor, "…I'm so sorry…"

The brunette woman took Riku's hand and the said one helped the woman stand up. She looked at the silver-haired man, with strict frown on her features. She wanted to scream at Riku, but yet she knew that it wasn't his fault.

It hurt though that everyone knew about Cloud's illness before her. Nearly the whole world knew about it, yet the blonde had never told her anything. And she should have noticed it too… the way Cloud acted… like he would have been hiding something. Still, she couldn't understand why he hadn't told her.

"He didn't want you to worry about it, that's why he didn't tell you…" Riku mumbled.

Aerith blinked few times, "Excuse me?"

"You heard me." The silver-haired man said, his voice barely louder than a whisper, "…Being stubborn as ever, he is."

The brunette woman felt tears walling up on her eyes again. Suddenly she leaped forward and tied her arms around Riku's neck and buried her head on his shoulder. Loud sobs came from her and her whole body trembled, as the slightly confused Riku returned the hug.

"Please tell me that he'll be okay…"

CC: Ahh, crappiness. Anyways, please review.

Riku: Thank god it will be over soon… this whole story I mean.

CC: Yeah. But, you know… I'm kind of planning to write a sequel though.

Riku:stare:

Sora: Sounds like fun.

Riku:stare:

CC: You'll love it Riku. Maybe… Dunno… I think not… Ahehehe, anyways, like I said already, review:D