Holy cow, this is the longest chapter EVER! I just couldn't find a place to cut it and, figuring that it was one of the last chapters of the story, decided to just let it go and see where it ended up. So, ya…enjoy? Read one half now and the last half later if you must! XD Just to let you all know, I have no experience with courtrooms, so if I messed anything up just consider the difference is because this takes place in a Twilight Town courthouse so the rules might be different…yeah… ^^;

Humungous thanks go out to: ChaosGarden, Cracked Plastic Crown, Clockwork Phoenix, xHanako, TMX Archives, rainingcolors, ooXloveXoo582, chibi heishi, dumdam, becauseimthefavorite, Nekotsubasa, Love-in-the-Stars, RealityInABottle, SUFFERINGLOSTSOUL, BlackCatHikari, Jellicle-Wishes, CloudedMirror89, Shinimegami7, xacilia, Aindel S. Druida, Vedensolina, MadeInHolland, MadeInHolland, MadeInHolland, Dragi, doomshuriken, nearcreature, Shukakku the adorable raccoon, Trempush, ramen-is-my-goddess, Bane-Dane, , and Becca86!! You guys are the awseomest! :D

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Chapter 20

The week passed in bursts and stalls for Squall. He and Sora had tentatively moved back to their own home the same day that Cloud woke him up with the early morning phone call. Zexion, Demyx, and Riku had moved out of Xigbar's house that day as well, finally letting the strange man have his home back to himself. Squall had figured that the Organization would be in too much of an upheaval to worry too much about hunting them down now that Cloud had apparently placed their most notorious members under arrest.

Even so, Squall had still been hesitant to return; he wasn't sure if the Organization knew where he lived and didn't want them to find out. A thorough search of their home though had finally convinced him that there was no one laying in ambush and, for the moment, that was good enough for him. The instant that he stepped inside, he realized how good it was to be home again. Sora seemed to be relieved to be back as well, and after everything that happened Squall definitely didn't blame him.

Returning to anything resembling a normal schedule was a very odd sensation. After taking about a week off of school, Sora found a pile of homework waiting for him when he got back, although Squall made sure to inform the school that his absence had been due to a family emergency. He had needed to come up with some excuse; otherwise Sora would've been in danger of having to repeat yet another year. It was mostly true anyway. As for himself, he was going to work. Not for Zexion, but his new job, with Cid. And it was definitely a strange wake-up call.

He had rode his motorbike into the town center after dropping Sora off at his high school Monday morning and had then driven directly to Cid's shop. After all, he had told the man he would be back in a week and it had been about a week. Luckily he had been able to keep his promise…Parking just outside a side-door, Squall peeked his head in, finding himself looking into the darkened back room, "Cid? Are you in?"

"Wha-? Who's there?"

Squall couldn't help but grin as the scruffy blonde man stumbled out from the front of the store. He looked like he had just barely woken up and crawled out of bed, though he already had a cigarette hanging out between his lips. That seemed about right for the man, "It's Squall Leonhart, I saw you last week about a job?"

"Aw right, the SeeD. Ya here to work?"

"That's right, Sir."

"Just call me Cid, kid…and, well get yer ass in here and I'll find something for you to do."

Obediently moving all the way into the room, he paused as he began to close the door behind him. He really didn't want to do this but Cid was going to figure it out eventually as his employer, even though he had only been his employer for a few days. "Cid, there's something that I should probably tell you."

Glancing back at him, Cid raised a brow, "Yeah, what's that?"

"I really appreciate the chance that you're giving me, and I don't want to ruin my chances of actually working a real job but…I want you to find out about this from me before you learn about it on the news or something."

Seeing the seriousness in Squall's eyes, Cid scowled before leaning back on a workbench. Pulling his cigarette out of his mouth, he flicked off some of the ash, "If you've got something to say, spit it out, kid."

Squall ran his fingers through his hair. It'd probably be best not to beat around the bush, "I haven't exactly had, respectable jobs in the past and, to make a very long story short, I'm going to be a, witness in an important trial coming up, so I might have to take some time off already."

"Trial? Do ya mean that big one in Twilight Town?"

Starting, Squall's eyes widened a bit, "How did you know?"

Cid gave him a smug grin before he straightened up and walked across the room to where a beaten-up motor was sitting up on a pair of cinder-blocks. Bending down, the older man grabbed a piece of newspaper that had been laid out underneath it and, after shaking off some engine oil, held it up so that Squall could see. It was the front page of Traverse Town's local paper, a single headline stretching all the way across the top: Twilight Town PD takes down major crime organization!

Accepting the page from his boss, Squall narrowed his eyes as he quickly skimmed the story. The paper was a few days old but it seemed to have a lot of the details already written down; most of it was dedicated to recounting how some TTPD personnel had also been arrested in connection to the case. There was even a picture showing the Police Chief, according to the caption, giving a press conference. A small smirk stole its way across Squall's lips as he caught sight of Cloud standing in the background along with a few other policemen, looking very solemn in his suit, his badge hanging clearly from his jacket pocket. The article itself didn't actually mention Cloud too much, although it did say that Detective Strife had been in charge of the investigation that led to the breakthrough discovery of the informants in their department. Typical of the press to emphasize the wrong parts of the actual events…

As he handed the paper back Squall sighed. He didn't know why he was surprised to see it in the papers but it felt weird after having partially lived through it. "Like I was saying, I'm wrapped up in all that so I'll have to take off a few days."

He felt Cid's eyes boring into him as the man re-evaluated the soldier, "You're not a part of that Organization thing, are ya?"

"No. I'm," Squall thought for a minute, trying to find the right words. He never was particularly eloquent, "I am, was, more of a, private contractor."

"That's fine then, do what you need to do."

Squall's head snapped up in surprise, "You're okay with that?" He had just admitted to participating in criminal activity, and Cid was just waving it off?

"If you'd been with them Organization freaks, that'd be another thing, but you seem ta have a good head on your shoulders so who'm I to care what you did? Besides, I'm planning on paying you by the hour, so whenever you come in or don't come in's up to you. An extra hand would be nice around here, but I got on fine by myself and I don't expect that'll change much."

Squall was sure it wouldn't; the man standing in front of him seemed much too capable, and too stubborn, to ever admit to not being able to run his store by himself. "I suppose then that this would be a good time to mention that I'm still technically on active duty in SeeD and eventually I'm going to have to go back to finish up the last five months of my contract."

It took a few moments but after Squall's words soaked in, Cid's face dropped into a scowl, "What'cha getting a job for then if ya can't keep it for more than a few days?!" Snorting, the man shook his head, "Should'a figured this assistant thing would be more trouble than it's worth…But like I said, do whatever the hell you need to do. If SeeD wants you back, you don't have to worry, there'll still be a job here for ya when you get back."

Once again surprised, but very relieved, Squall nodded again, "Thank you, thank you very much. It'll be…a weight off of my mind to know that."

"What, you really think I wouldn't take ya back? Just give me a head's up when you're leaving town so I know not to try and call you or somethin'. Believe me, I know how goddamn annoying the military can be sometimes, I won't hold it against you. But what I will hold against you is if you don't get yer ass in gear and start working! Come on, I'll show you the ropes."

Squall had spent the rest of the day earning his pay. Although Cid's shop was mostly a pawn shop, the man also ran a sort of garage or workshop out of the back of the building and Squall had spent hours hauling heavy machinery around, picking up parts from around town, and then delivering orders. By the time he got back home, he was surprisingly worn down. He had thought that after doing all that thieving this new job would be a walk in the park, but he had been wrong. Then again, though the work may have been less intensive, the 9 to 5 workday was longer than what he had grown accustomed to.

He and Sora had almost managed to get back into a natural rhythm when the end of the week finally rolled around and it was time to visit Cloud. A few days ago, the detective had left a message on his phone about the time and place they were all going to meet the lawyer he had hired. Instead of meeting at the police station, they were apparently going to meet up in a restaurant; Cloud had said something about it being "her idea".

The end of that week was a harsh slap of reality though, the force of which didn't quite hit Squall until Saturday morning when he opened his front door and found Riku on his doorstep.

The silver-haired man smirked at his shocked expression, "What's up Leon? You look like you've seen a ghost."

"What the hell are you doing here?"

His grin didn't falter, "What the hell do you think? I'm here to catch a ride to the train station, Zexion said that he'll meet us there."

Looking back inside his house, Squall caught sight of the clock on the wall. It was only 8:30am. "We're not supposed to get there until ten."

"Yeah, well, I thought I'd drop by early. Those pajama pants are adorable by the way, I like the blue stripes."

Squall glared at the hit-man. He wasn't dressed yet, so what? He had been in the middle of making breakfast when Riku had interrupted what was supposed to be a relatively relaxing morning, bringing the reality of the world with him. That's right; Squall was not in fact an ordinary guy working for a crotchety shop-keep but was in fact a criminal awaiting his chance to testify in court in order to receive his pardon from prison…Damn it. "Whatever. Just get out of he—"

"—Riku!"

Resisting the urge to slam his head into the front door, Squall pursed his lips as Sora poked his head out of the kitchen, probably to find out what was taking so long. However, the younger Leonhart's attention had been caught in an instant and he ran over to stand beside his brother, "What are you doing here?"

Riku smiled back at Sora's bright face, "Just stopped by to see if Leon here could give me a lift. It looks like I stopped by too early though, so I guess I'll just have to come back later…" By the way the man's voice trailed off, Squall knew that he was waiting for Sora to protest. Unfortunately, Squall knew that Riku wouldn't be disappointed. His little brother had clearly developed some sort of sick, disturbing, fondness for the assassin, probably because he didn't know how psychotic Riku could actually be.

"No way! You can just hang out until it's time to go, right Squall? Hey, have you eaten yet? Do you want to have breakfast with us?"

Squall rolled his eyes. "Sora, I'm sure Riku has something that he could do somewhere else—"

"—Actually," Riku interrupted, an evil glint flashing through his eyes, "that sounds really nice. How about it, Leon? Can I stay?"

Damn him. One glance down at Sora and Squall knew all of his objections would immediately fall apart. He could practically feel the puppy-eyed look his brother was giving him. No matter how old he got, he would probably never be immune to that look; he was falling for it now as easily as he did when he was sixteen years old and Sora was five. "Fine. Riku can stay for breakfast, but that's it."

Smiling his thanks, Sora hurried back into the kitchen, undoubtedly to put out another plate at the table. With a smirk, Riku stepped into the house and closed the door behind him, "Cute kid. I have to say, he works the pajama pants better than you."

That was it. Grabbing onto the other man's shirt, Squall lowered his voice to a whisper as his eyes narrowed dangerously, "If you make a pass at my brother, I will snap your neck. Got it?"

Brushing Squall's hands off, Riku's grin finally fell away, lowering his voice as well, "I told you before Leon; don't threaten me. Besides," the tension lifted somewhat as Riku walked passed him towards the food, "I like Sora, I'm not trying to get into his pants. Yet." That bastard! Squall didn't care what had happened over the last few months, Riku would get to his little brother only over his cold, dead body.

Before Squall could reply, Riku had made it into the kitchen and Sora cheerily rejoined the conversation, effectively stopping their argument. With Riku there, breakfast was a little more animated than usual. Although Riku did behave himself like a sane, respectable adult, he and Sora just kept talking. Well, it was mostly Sora talking to Riku, but every single minute grated on Squall's nerves as he sat brooding at the end of the table. They were acting like they were friends or something when Sora shouldn't even be associating himself with someone like that. Not that he was really one to talk, but still.

He hustled Riku out the door as soon as he could manage, spending only five minutes getting himself dressed and ready to go so as to minimize the time Riku and Sora spent together without his supervision. Telling Sora to call if he decided to go anywhere while his was gone, Squall locked the door and led Riku around to the side to where his motorcycle was waiting for them. Picking up his helmet, he actually thought about it for a minute before pulling it on. Usually he gave his helmet to his passengers but this was Riku. If the guy wanted to be protected in case they crashed, he should've brought his own helmet.

Knowing the drill, Riku got on behind Squall as he revved the engine to life. "You know, I think this is the longest I've gone without shooting somebody in years…"

Squall glanced back over his shoulder as he pulled out of the alleyway and onto the street, barely able to hear the other over the sound of the engine, "It's only been ten days."

"I know."

"…You've got some serious problems."

Riku smirked, "Tell me about it. It's the only thing I know how to do; this straight-laced thing is a headache."

Squall wasn't surprised. He couldn't even imagine Riku doing anything else besides robbing and killing people. Nothing else seemed to fit the other man as well. Even thinking of him in the military as a sniper or something…just didn't feel right. What was more surprising was that Riku seemed to have actually stayed away from illegal activities since their last job together. He didn't think the hit-man had any other side job like he and Zexion did so Squall had no idea how the man was earning an income. Then again, Riku might have a job for all Squall knew. He had no idea about the silver-haired man's life outside of the criminal scene. Riku could've been using some of the money they had scored from the Organization but even that wouldn't last him very long.

Deciding that it wasn't worth the time it took to think about it, Squall returned his focus to driving them to the train station. Having lived in Traverse Town for his whole life, he could probably drive the roads blindfolded but it was probably still a good idea to pay attention.

Just like Riku had promised, Zexion was waiting for them at the train station, the man looking rather sharp in a button-up long sleeved shirt and slacks, despite the crutches and the cast still around his right leg. Glancing down at his own boots, jeans, and leather jacket, Squall raised a brow as they boarded a train to Twilight Town, "I didn't know we were supposed to dress up for this?"

Gratefully taking a seat, Zexion shrugged, "My attire has little to do with our meeting with the detectives and their lawyer. I have to go into work for a few hours after we get back and this is what is appropriate at the office."

Riku took a seat on the other side of Zexion, "It's strange; it's been a while since I've seen you. How's your leg?"

"Still sore, but that is to be expected I suppose. I broke it just about a week and a half ago after all…"

"Are you still all drugged up?"

Zexion turned to shot Riku an icy glare. "Demyx has been slowly reducing the amount of pain killers I am taking each day to something resembling a reasonable level…."

"Good, because we're going to need you to be sharp for this."

"Believe me, if something goes wrong during our little interview, it will be no fault of mine."

Leaning back in his own seat, Squall crossed his arms over his chest and listened to their bickering. It seemed like whether or not the two were on a job or not, they both loved to talk back to the other. He wasn't sure whether that meant that they couldn't stand each other and so started an argument or if it meant that they actually liked each other and that this was just how they interacted. Squall thought it might be the latter, just because he had seen them working together and had seen Riku's reaction to Zexion's injury.

Looking across the aisle, he saw a man with his face hidden behind the pages of a newspaper. He wasn't suspicious of the man, he was just some old businessman, but what did catch his attention was the news story on the front. It was another front page exposé on the Organization that read: Tempers flare as debates of Org. guilt continue! The trial hadn't even started yet and people were already starting to fight over the possible outcomes? Cloud hadn't been kidding when he said that this was going to tear the city up…

The train ride was the same as usual, although all of them were complaining about it as they stepped off onto the platform at Twilight Town. Shoving his hands into his pockets, Riku frowned up at the pale sun, the coming winter making it so its rays weren't quite as strong as they should be, "I still don't see why we have to come all the way out here every time the TTPD wants to have a chat. Can't they come to us?"

Squall nodded. Twilight Town was a nice place, but he had been seeing too much of it recently, "They could at least meet us somewhere half-way." There were plenty of smaller towns in between the two with restaurants that they could've gone to.

Joining them as they began to make their way towards their designated meeting place, Zexion raised a brow, "Perhaps they felt as if they needed the benefit of the home field. Either that or they feel confident enough in their hold over us to be able to order us around, a much less acceptable interpretation."

Squall agreed, though he thought it was just more Cloud setting up what was more convenient for himself rather than thinking about manipulating his witnesses. He didn't seem the type to do that sort of thing, although Squall had been wrong about him before.

They had all seen the restaurant they were scheduled to meet at before during their multiple trips into Twilight Town. It looked rather nice and was located a block down from the police station, City Hall only three lots down, so it probably was a place where a lot of Twilight Town's politicians went for lunch. Stepping inside, Squall immediately felt out of place.

The restaurant was arranged by lots of booths and tables made of dark woods and leather, and he knew now why Cloud had chosen this place. Even with a group as large as theirs, they would be able to talk and no one would really be able to overhear what they were saying thanks to the floor design. However, nearly all of the tables were already filled with men dressed in suits and ties and women wearing silk blouses and pencil skirts, making Squall feel like he was a bum that just walked in off of the street in his scuffed up jeans and worn leather jacket. By the look the hostess was giving him, she had the same impression. "Can I help you?"

Hobbling forward, Zexion immediately stepped in, looking almost presentable in his work clothes, "We were supposed to meet someone here; a Detective Strife?"

The woman blinked in surprise before giving a tight nod, "Right this way then."

Glancing back at Riku, Squall was a little comforted by the fact that the other man was also in street clothes and was looking completely at ease with the situation. Trying to relax himself, he followed the hostess as she led them back into the restaurant and through a few different rooms until he finally spotted a familiar blonde head of hair. As they drew closer, Squall realized that there was a rather pretty woman sitting beside Cloud at a large circular table tucked into a back corner, papers already strewn across the tabletop. That must be their lawyer then. Pushing down a small surge of jealousy at the way they were leaning close together, Squall put on a stoic face as the three felons took a seat at the table.

Cloud and the woman had both looked up when the hostess walked over and now the woman was eyeing them warily as the detective straightened up. Waving to her, he looked at each of them in turn, "This is Tifa Lockhart. She's the lawyer who is going to be trying our case for us. I've known her since college and she'll do a good job for us as long as everyone cooperates. Tifa, this is Ienzo "Zexion" Corazza, Squall "Leon" Leonhart, and Riku," As he said their names, he pointed to each of them.

The lawyer, Tifa, smirked as he got to Riku, brushing a strand of her long dark hair behind her ear, "What, no real name for you?"

A small sigh escaped Cloud as Riku smirked back at her, "They've all been…difficult, to say the least. You should be happy with the information we have on them."

"I wouldn't be doing my job if I was. Now, there's supposed to be one more coming today, right?"

"Yeah, Axel is supposed to come in too." Checking his watch, Cloud frowned, "He should be here soon…ah, speak of the devil…"

As Cloud's gaze locked on something behind him, Squall turned in his seat to see the redheaded detective making his way through the restaurant, devoid of any guide and conspicuously dressed in black jeans, a t-shirt, and a beat-up black leather jacket. It was then that Squall realized that he had never seen either Axel or Cloud off duty before or in casual wear. He couldn't even imagine Cloud in jeans; the blonde man was always wearing a suit.

Tifa nodded to him as he took his seat, "Since we're all here now, I guess I can go ahead and start." Gathering together a stack of papers, she skimmed the first page before looking up again, "Basically, as Cloudy here has explained it to me, you four are our top witnesses for our case." Squall caught the small blush that spread across Cloud's face at the nickname and stifled a grin. This was the first time he had seen the other man embarrassed. "So let's get down to business. Tell me everything that happened from your own point of view. In brief of course, otherwise we'd be here all day, and Cloud already gave me a detailed report."

Squall and Riku both looked to Zexion who, after a moment, caught on and gently cleared his throat, "I will speak for all three of us." They had spent a day or two trying to come up with a good cover story but in the end Squall and Riku had quickly gotten fed up with it and said that Zexion could say whatever the hell he wanted. "I suppose the main reason that we are testifying is that we were the ones to provide the data set concerning the Organization's illegal activities to the police. In short, we came into possession of the disk through a series of hand-offs through the black market. I will not be so foolish as to pretend that the three of us have not participated in illegal activities ourselves, so any of us will be fine admitting to that."

Tifa looked up at him, her pen stilling from where it had been busily jotting down notes, "So basically, you're saying that someone sold you the information?"

"Correct."

"Who was it?"

"I am not at liberty to say; even if I was, I would not be able to provide you with a specific name or description. That is the nature of the black market, I am afraid."

By the look on her face, Tifa didn't seem to be completely buying their story. Cloud and Axel looked equally dubious but, to Squall's surprise, not one of them raised their voice in protest. Looking down at what she had written, Tifa nodded to herself, "So, why did you purchase the information?"

Zexion pursed his lips, "Because we do not work for the Organization and they were beginning to grow antagonistic toward us. It was an act of self-defense, as it were. Unlike many people's perceptions, not everyone who works against the law works together. Having the Organization dismantled works just as much in our favor as it does for the police."

"Alright, I can probably work with that…" The comment was made more towards herself than anyone else at the table, Squall watching curiously as she scribbled a few more things down before turning her attention back towards the table as a whole, "Now, as your lawyer, I need you to tell me everything about yourselves so that nothing the defense says comes as a surprise. I'll bet everything that they're going to attack your character in court so I need to know all of your dirt so that I can come up with a proper retort beforehand. We'll start with you." Pulling a pen out of her purse, Tifa jabbed it in Zexion's direction, "Go."

Shifting in seat, Zexion narrowed his eyes, "This is rather unorthodox for a lawyer, and I do not feel comfortable with the implications—"

He was cut off by Cloud, the blonde detective narrowing his eyes, "Look, just do what she says. The more you say, the better your chances are of this working out. Besides, this isn't being taped, nothing that you say here can be used against you. Unfortunately."

Zexion glared lightly at him before taking a small breath, "Very well…I do not particularly have anything that another attorney could attack as far as character is concerned besides my criminal occupation."

"Just tell me about yourself then, I need to know you as a person."

It looked like Zexion was having teeth pulled. Squall knew that the man was very secretive by nature, so this had to be rough for the guy. Nonetheless, Squall was paying full attention. Maybe he would learn something new about his accomplice himself. "Fine. I am twenty-seven years old, was born in Dark City, and have a Master's degree in Computer Science from Dark City University. I have been participating in illegal activity from a very young age and that continued into my adulthood. I have an actual job in Traverse Town with the city helping the unemployed find work and live with my partner in an apartment in the same city. That is all that there is to say."

Tifa sighed, "Well, you didn't say too much. But I guess its good enough for now." Squall was a little shocked himself. He didn't realize that Zexion was so highly educated; it sounded like the shorter man had actually gone through graduate school. Someone with that sort of education could be doing a lot more with his life than what Zexion had chosen.

"Anyway, let's move onto you." Squall blinked as Tifa motioned with her pen that it was his turn, "From the paperwork Cloud gave me, it said that you were involved with the SeeD. Tell me a little about that. Juries love uniforms so maybe you could wear yours to the trial."

"Um, alright." He would probably need to get it dry cleaned before then… "I joined SeeD to help pay for some, living costs. But I had to leave after my parents got into a fatal car accident so that I could take care of my younger brother, so I deserted."

Tifa winced, "Oo, let's skip the uniform then. We'll try to keep that can of worms closed. But you said that you deserted in order to take care of your younger brother?"

"That's right." Squall crossed his arms as he looked at Tifa, trying to ignore the feeling of Cloud's eyes on him. He was also uncomfortable with spilling out his whole life to this woman who he'd never met before but knew that Cloud had been right in what he had said to Zexion. The details might matter, and if Tifa was going to be defending his side of the case in the courtroom, he wanted to show her all his cards. Well, most of his cards. "My brother, Sora, he's under-aged and would have been put into foster care if I hadn't come back. And when I got back I joined up with Zexion and Riku because I needed a job and no one else had any available."

"Why did you need a job so badly?"

"My brother has," Squall paused, trying to remember the exact name, "he has Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. He was diagnosed about two years ago. He needs a lot of medical care, which costs money. Then there were the bills to pay and everything else."

Writing down a few sentences, Tifa looked up at him curiously, "How old are you, Leon?"

"Twenty-six."

"Wow, pretty young still, huh? Alright…" She fell silent for a second and Squall waited patiently; she looked like she was thinking pretty hard about something. "Hm…it's too bad about the uniform, you would've looked really handsome." Squall closed his eyes and rested his face in his hand as Riku laughed beside him.

Riku's chuckled subsided as Tifa turned her piercing gaze to him, "I don't know what's so funny, its your turn next. In fact, you're the person I have the least information about, Riku. How about telling me a little about yourself."

Now properly sobered up, Riku leaned forward in his seat, a frown crossing his pale face, "Like what?"

"Like anything? Real name, age, interests, hobbies? Cloud literally gave me a sentence of background information on you. It said, and I quote, 'Riku is clearly a professional gunman who seems to take pleasure in toying with others; he is a stubborn, prideful man and should not be taken lightly.' That's all I got."

Riku smirked, "Aw, Cloud wrote that? I'm touched." Tifa didn't seem to be buying his expression though and his smile fell away, "I don't see why you need to know. If these guys haven't figured it out, the defense shouldn't be able to."

"Humor me. Pretend like the Organization has boundless resources and connections and are by some miracle able to pull up something about your background and deliver it to their lawyers to use against you in court."

Everyone sitting at the table knew that Tifa wasn't being unrealistic; the Organization could very well do something like that. Even Riku seemed to realize this as his face fell and he let out a breath of air, "Fine…let's see, in order, my name really is Riku…last name, doesn't really matter."

"Sure it does."

"Nah, it really doesn't." Riku smiled dryly, although there was a spark of pride in his eyes before he leaned forward and they disappeared behind his silver bangs, "I've been through the witness protection program, let's see…four times now? For making deals with the local police. Each time I've convinced them to destroy all of my records, so every time I get to start out new. Right now, my name is technically 'Riku Shima', but it's only been that for about…six months now, I guess. What was next? Oh yeah, I'm twenty-two years old, my interests and hobbies are money and shooting people. Pretty straight forward."

To Squall, there was nothing straight forward about it. Riku was only twenty-two? He never would have guessed that the hit-man was so young. And he wasn't the only one who was surprised, Cloud leaning forward, his face shocked and blurting out exactly what Squall was thinking, "There's no way you're twenty-two! Roxas is twenty-two!"

"I can assure you," Zexion's calm voice cut through Cloud's surprise, "that Riku is indeed twenty-two years old. I met him once when he was younger…he was probably only sixteen at the time. Now, I do believe that is enough about us, Ms. Lockhart, so if you would please continue? There is undoubtedly more to be discussed today than our personal histories."

She narrowed her eyes before nodding, "You're right and, while none of you are off the hook yet, I'll move on for now. But you'd better do better under pressure on the witness stand than you did at this table!" From there, Tifa turned her attention onto the rest of their case, trying to develop a cohesive series of events that enveloped Cloud's entire investigation, Zexion, Squall, and Riku making inputs only when they thought it was necessary, which was quite often as Cloud tried to save face. Once she had gotten everything as straightened out as she thought possible, Tifa turned her eyes onto Axel and for the next half hour they listened as she interrogated him about every aspect of his involvement with the Organization. She was so relentless that Squall was definitely glad that he wasn't in Axel's shoes; every detail the redhead gave as an attempt to appease her only strengthening her resolve to get even more information out of him. Meanwhile, the rest of them had ordered lunch and watched the theatrics unfold. Even Cloud looked mildly amused at his partner's discomfort. Then again, maybe they still weren't on the best terms.

After Tifa had wrung every bit of information that she could out of everyone, she gave a loud sigh and slumped back in her chair, "Well I'll tell you what Cloud, you've sure got some case on your hands. I'll see what I can do to pull this out for you but it's not going to be easy. As for you guys," She motioned to the rest of the table members in general, "I expect the rest of you to show up at the courthouse bright and early the Tuesday after next. And for goodness sake, wear something respectable, suits and ties, please." Riku snorted, clearly not okay with that idea, but she continued on undaunted, "Now that I've got this stuff sorted out, how about you take me back to your office and let me take a look at that CD you keep going on about Cloud?"

The detective nodded, "Sure. I guess you all are free to go. Just, like Tifa said, show up on Tuesday morning. If you think you need an escort to get passed any protestors, call the station the night beforehand so we can arrange for a car to come pick you up."

Axel frowned at the dismal, "Hey, let me tag along with you guys. I can help setting up an argument or something."

"Sorry Ax, you know that can't happen. You're not allowed back in the station until all of this is settled."

The redhead nodded slowly, "Yeah…never hurts to try though, does it?"

Cloud's eyes were on the other detective as Axel pushed his chair out and headed dejectedly for the front of the restaurant, only looking away once the other had disappeared from sight. He was pretty bothered by all of this then. Squall had been pretty sure that was the case since he had seen how close they were on the job.

Zexion and Riku were apparently eager to get home as they followed Axel's example and stood, Squall following suit as Tifa put all her paperwork away in a small briefcase. She and Cloud rose to their feet too before she waved her hand, "After you gentlemen…"

Rolling his eyes, Riku took the lead, making sure to give the hostess a cheeky wave before stepping out onto the sidewalk. Glancing back inside as Zexion limped out, Riku smirked back at Cloud and Tifa, "You two might want to see if there's a back door or something."

"Why's that?" Pushing his way passed Squall who had made it to the threshold of the door, Cloud peered over the SeeD's shoulder, his eyes narrowing as he looked down the street. Outside of City Hall a few buildings down a large group of people was protesting. They had picket signs and everything, yelling out unintelligible chants towards the municipal structure. Squall looked back over his shoulder as Cloud let out a small huff, the warm air brushing up against the back of his neck, "Not this again."

"What is it?"

As if realizing how close he was standing, Cloud leaned back, ignoring the look the hostess was giving them for blocking the doorway, "They're protesting about the case. For whatever reason they think that we're going to let the Organization off without any sort of punishment, as if that's something that would be our fault. It's up to the jury after all…They're still better than the protestors who think its some sort of violation of the members' basic human rights not to provide bail, which is bullshit. Thanks to their money and lawyers, they might as well be in hotels instead of jail. Not to mention the moment we set bail, they'd probably take off to another country. Both groups are getting rowdier every day."

Riku winked as he took a few more steps out, "Then if I were you, I wouldn't let them see my face. They'd probably start throwing stones or something."

Tifa's eyes brightened, "I'd like to see them try! I'd have them all in prison before they knew what hit them."

Shaking his head, a small grin made its way onto Cloud's lips, "And as much as I believe that, I at least, should probably find another way out of here."

Looking back at the mob, Squall frowned. Their attention was firmly directed on City Hall but there were so many people gathered that the chances that one of them was going to look over and see the blonde detective was pretty high. But it seemed stupid for Cloud to have to try and escape through some sort of employee's exit. "Just walk beside me and they won't notice you."

Cloud eyed him incredulously, "I don't think that will work."

"Why not? You're shorter than me, just keep me between you and them and they won't even see you."

Seeing that this might take a while, Zexion followed Riku outside, "We will start heading for the train station then. Leon, we will see you there or, if you miss the train, we will see you later. Come on Riku, there is no need for us to waste our time waiting for them to reach a decision."

Squall frowned as they walked away but stubbornly stayed where he was while Cloud thought. The detective still didn't look completely convinced but he also looked like he didn't want to go sneaking out the back. Finally he shrugged, "Alright, but Tifa, you're my witness. If anything happens, hold Leon responsible."

She grinned, "Got it! I'll go on ahead and make sure that no one's protesting at the police station too. If you get caught by the crowd, give a shout and I'll come running back to hand out court summons!"

Waiting a moment for the dark haired woman to walk out, Squall checked once to make sure that the crowd's attention hadn't been attracted and stepped out, motioning for Cloud to follow. The officer did so tentatively, frowning at him as they began to walk up the sidewalk, "They're still going to notice. You're not that much taller than me, you know."

Cloud was right. He wasn't that much shorter than him and, moreover, he was fairly distinctive. But they had already started and at this point it would be more noticeable if they went back into the restaurant than just continued forward. "Just keep your voice down and they won't care. If you're worried about it, walk closer to me." Cloud had put about a foot of space between them which didn't exactly help Squall keep the blonde hidden.

"I'd rather they spot me than get any closer than this."

Grinning mirthlessly, Squall looked down at the detective, "Hey, we're working on the same side now."

Cloud's blue eyes flashed, "I'm still not interested."

"In what?"

"You know what."

Squall did know what, he just wanted Cloud to say it. Over the last month he had slowly begun to realize that he was, to put it bluntly, sexually attracted to the blonde. He had never been very interested in people before Cloud came along but there was just something about the other man that seemed so…compatible with whatever he was looking for. He knew that Cloud felt at least something between them, the night they had spent together proved that much. Curious, Squall took a step closer so that his arm brushed up against the detective's, watching as a shudder ran through the man before he jumped to the side as if he had been burned. "Not interested, huh?"

The blonde grit his teeth, "Shut up. My emotions have been all over the place recently, I don't need you to mess them up more."

Thankfully none of the protestors seemed to notice the movement, the two already halfway down the block. Now that he was satisfied, Squall allowed the space to remain between them as they continued to walk. From what he could tell, Cloud seemed interested, but at the same time Squall could tell that the other man was going to shut him out for a while now. Whatever he had to do was fine, Squall could wait until the man broke down.

Time passed by much too quickly for Cloud, the world going by in flashes of color and motion and before he knew it the day of the trial had arrived. He had probably gotten about eight hours of sleep total over the past week and was running on adrenaline and coffee. It was a comfort to know that many of his fellow officers were fairing similarly, including Roxas. They were all being run ragged in their efforts to keep the town from tearing itself apart and to get everything in order for the trial itself. Tifa had practically taken over Axel's old desk and might as well have not gotten a hotel room since she spent about twenty hours there, constantly reading and writing and calling people up. It was rare for him to see his friend so serious but it was refreshing to see that she had become as dedicated as he was to the case.

That Tuesday was a whirlwind of non-stop activity from the moment Cloud woke up. He had gotten three hours of sleep, practically a record for him these days. Rolling out of bed, he showered, shoveled some food into his mouth, put on his best suit, and ran out the door, just barely remembering to lock it before jumping into his car. By now his arm had healed enough to the point where it wasn't too uncomfortable to keep his arms outstretched while driving, which he was very happy about. It had been a real hassle waiting on Roxas to chauffer him around.

Pulling into the police station, he was glad to see that no protestors had come out yet. It was still early but these days you could never be sure. He had heard from one of the beat cops that people had camped out in front of the court house last night so he already knew that getting everyone into the courtroom was going to be a real pain.

Hurrying inside the station he spotted Roxas just sitting down to work at his desk, a large mug of coffee in the younger Strife's hands. "Hey Rox, anything going on yet?"

The shorter blonde looked up at him with bleary eyes. Clearly he hadn't gotten much sleep last night either. "Nah, everyone's just getting here. Tifa's back in your office though, I think she got here about ten minutes before I did. When are you guys going over to the court house?"

Cloud pulled back his sleeve to check his watch, "In about…ten minutes. Shit. Did you decide if you were coming or not?"

Roxas glanced down at his computer screen before shaking his head, "I'll stay here and let you do your thing. I don't want to deal with all of those protestors and crap." By "and crap" Cloud was pretty sure that Roxas was referring to the chance of running into Axel. His brother had been stubbornly avoiding the redhead or any mention of said redhead since the incident in Fisher's office. "I'm just gonna be glad when this is all over."

"You and me both. I'll call you during the breaks to let you know how it's going."

Not waiting for Roxas to respond, Cloud continued on into his office, giving Tifa a brief wave as he saw the woman sitting at Axel's desk, "Hey, sorry I'm late."

"No worries. Since I know when you went home last night and what ungodly hour we both had to get up at today, I brought you coffee." Looking over at his desk, Cloud hurried over and snatched up the cup waiting for him by his keyboard. Taking a sip, Cloud closed his eyes and felt the caffeine flow into him and start to work its magic. It was even the good kind of coffee, not that crappy instant stuff they had here at the station.

"You're a lifesaver Tifa."

"You know it! Anyway, we'd better start heading over there."

Seeing that she was packing up her things, Cloud reluctantly set his coffee down to see if he could help, "Do you have everything ready for today?"

"Just barely, but yes. I should be ready to handle whatever those overpaid suits try to throw at me."

"I see you dressed up for the occasion."

Cloud was being half-serious, half-sarcastic. Tifa was clearly not afraid of playing up her image, wearing a suit top with a black mini-skirt and high heels, her hair pulled up in a loose bun. She simultaneously managed to look seductive and like she could kick your ass. "Hey, I'm making use of what I have. I figure we could use every advantage we can scrape up. Now let's go. We can probably walk, it'd be too much of a hassle to try and find parking. Don't forget your coffee."

Scrambling to gather his own briefcase and his coffee, Cloud followed Tifa out amidst a hail of good wishes from the on-duty secretaries and officers. Thanks to the early hour the scene outside of the courthouse was still relatively sane and they didn't have too much trouble getting inside with the help of the security guards. As they walked through the halls towards the assigned courtroom, Cloud's eyes were distracted by a flash of red down a side hall. Telling Tifa he'd meet up with her in a bit, Cloud slipped away to investigate only to find a familiar face leaning out an opened window with a cigarette in their mouth.

Slowly walking over, Cloud leaned up against the wall, "Hey Axel…I'm surprised to see you here so early."

The redhead's green eyes flashed over to him before he smiled, exhaling a breath of smoke outside before turning to face him, "I didn't want to deal with traffic. I'm tense enough as is."

"It's good to see you in a suit again."

Axel's smile grew a bit, "It's good to be back in one. Almost like I'm back on duty."

"Today you are."

A chuckle escaped Axel as he looked back outside, "Thanks…I'll try to do the TTPD proud." Cloud nodded. He was sure that Axel was going to try his best in there today. They all were. They've worked way too hard on this to go back now. "By the way, I should probably mention, your witnesses came in a few minutes before you walked through. At first I didn't think it was them but then I heard them complaining about the train."

"What? They're here already?" Running a hand through his hair, Cloud let out a frustrated sigh, "Come on, we'd better go make sure that they're not causing any trouble."

Practically forcing Axel to put out his cigarette, Cloud dragged him back through the corridors until he found the right room. Pushing one of the double-doors open he peeked inside and saw that small groups of people were already beginning to assemble in the courtroom around the defendant's and the plaintiff's tables up in front, Tifa and three other familiar figures settled in among the latter. The jury box was still empty but the bailiff was already standing at attention, clearly ready to break up any fights that might crop up between the two main parties. As Cloud walked down the center aisle, his eyes widened a bit in shock.

Leon, Zexion, and Riku actually looked presentable. They looked, well, damn it, they looked more like movie stars than criminals. All three were wearing suits, Leon and Riku's looking suspiciously new as if they had had to buy one for the occasion. But the new wardrobe really did make a world of difference. Realizing that he was staring, Cloud quickly diverted his gaze before Leon could notice, "It looks like the three of you managed to find something decent to wear."

Riku brushed a strand of hair behind his ear, he and Leon having both chosen to leave their longer hair down for the occasion, as he smirked, "And it looks like you finally showed up. I'd expected that you would've been here an hour ago or something."

"Some of us had material to prepare for today. Speaking of which, are we all set up Tifa?"

"It looks like it. All we have to do now is wait. Sometimes that's the hardest part though."

Nodding in agreement, Cloud took the seat next to Tifa, Axel joining him on his left. Leon, Zexion, and Riku were sitting in the row directly behind them, which Cloud was thankful for. If it had been the other way around, he might not have been able to stop staring at a certain SeeD. Taking a long sip of his coffee, Cloud sighed. This was going to be a long day.

It took another hour for everyone to be seated in the courtroom and for the judge to make his way to the bench. The jury filled in too and brought back memories of another scandal that had rocked the city; that the defendants' lawyers had demanded that jury members be brought in from another area so that they wouldn't be "tainted by the media" or some other thing. While Cloud understood the basis of their complaint, the hassle of busing in an entirely new panel of jurors had just added to the police's workload. His eyes narrowed as the defendants themselves walked in, all in high-end suits despite the pair of handcuffs wrapped around their wrists. Today they were trying the three biggest figures of the case: a tall, imposing white-haired man who went by Xemnas, a blue haired man named Saix, and, of course, Detective Dilan "Xaldin" Fisher. Instead of shrinking away, Cloud met his former supervisor's gaze evenly as the other man glared. He wouldn't let himself be intimidated. Not now.

As Cloud had anticipated, Tifa did a wonderful job in her opening statement, blowing the defendants' lawyer out of the water as far as jury impact went. Not only did she bring her looks to the table but she accompanied that with a gale-force introduction to the defendants' guilt. One by one, the opposing lawyers brought witnesses to the stand and cross-examined each person. As they had expected, Leon, Riku, Zexion, and Axel were all called up for questioning. Even Cloud himself at one point was called up to the stand to testify. Everyone, even Riku, managed to hold their composure. Having some of the most powerful members of the Organization standing in front of him just hardened Cloud's resolve to see them behind bars so that made him happy.

Their witnesses' characters were of course attacked and Cloud had to hold his tongue while the defenses' lawyers hammered away at Leon, Zexion, and Riku. However thanks to the meeting they had had earlier, Tifa had a retort ready for each and every one of their remarks. The men hadn't come up with anything new. When they had started to accuse the three of multiple robberies, Tifa had finally called Cloud back up to the witness stand.

Approaching the bench, Tifa leaned up against his seat, "Detective Strife, Mr. Larsen here claims that these three cannot be trusted because they committed a number of crimes in the community. You were the officer assigned to their case, so you're probably the expert on the matter. Tell the jury exactly what you found."

From the look in her eyes, Cloud could tell what answer she was looking for and was only too happy to give it, "While it's true these men have committed crimes in the past, there are no crimes that we have been able to pin on them concretely so, as far as the law is concerned, they are not nearly as much of a menace to society as the defendants whose guilt is backed up by physical and testimonial evidence."

Axel had given him a strange look at the time and Cloud knew that he was going to be questioned later. Sure enough, as soon as he had sat back down, the redhead leaned over to whisper into his ear as Tifa launched into another point, "Hey man, don't flat out lie like that."

Cloud's eyes narrowed as he flipped through his notes, "I wasn't lying. We don't really have any proof that would link them, without a doubt, to any of the break-ins."

"What about the DNA?" Cloud froze for only half a second, but he had faltered long enough for Axel to notice. The other man's brows furrowed as he lowered his voice, "Cloud, what about the DNA?"

Pursing his lips, Cloud set down the papers he was fiddling with and pulled something out of his pocket just enough for Axel to see. It was the DNA swab he had used to get a sample from Leon. Axel's jaw dropped as he struggled to keep his voice low enough so as to not attract the judge's attention, "Cloud, you dumbshit! Have you kept that with you all this time? That was supposed to go to the lab like two weeks ago!"

Cloud knew that; he just, hadn't gotten around to it ye..oh, who was he kidding? He just flat out couldn't go through with it. Shoving the DNA swab back into his pocket, he ignored Axel's glare. Ever since Axel had told him that he would be the one who was going to have to turn it into the lab, he had been meaning to do it. But every time he found himself there he just was never able to hand it over to one of the technicians. Every time he couldn't help it as memories from that night played over in his head and he just couldn't do it. He knew that the DNA would match that found at the tower in Dark City, but, just like he knew that Leon, Riku, and Zexion had been the ones who had set that bomb off a few nights later, he found it infuriatingly impossible to tell anyone else. He shouldn't be protecting the other man, his desire to see Leon rot in a prison cell for the rest of his life hadn't faded, but slowly more and more of those thoughts were being rerouted to somewhere much more dangerous.

As the day drew on the defendants tried to put forward exonerating evidence but Cloud could tell by the jurors' faces that they weren't buying it. By the end of the day Cloud was confident that the Organization members would be charged guilty for at least some of their crimes, if not all of them. They would have to wait to find out though because although the lawyers had finished expounding their cases, the jury would probably take a few hours more to come up with a verdict.

As the judge dismissed the court for the day, Cloud felt a hand on his shoulder just as he was about to stand. Glancing up, he frowned as he saw a certain detective staring down at him. "What do you want Luxord?" He had seen the other man in the audience when he had been delivering his testimony but hadn't expected the man to confront him.

His worries were soothed a bit as Luxord raised his hands, a small grin on his face, "Relax, I come in peace. Just wanted a quick word to commend you; your investigation was aces. However, I feel obligated to warn you to be more cautious of whom you challenge next time."

Cloud raised an eyebrow, "And you're not upset at all about them possibly going to prison?"

Luxord's smile grew a little drier, "While it will cut into my income a bit, it may be nice to be able to work a little more honestly. We'll see. Oh, and Axel," The redhead on Cloud's other side looked up, "I hope to see you back out in the field soon. Let me know if either of the two of you plan on coming into Dark City any time soon, perhaps I'll treat you to lunch."

"Right." As Luxord disappeared into the crowd funneling out of the courtroom, Cloud ran a hand over his face, "Alright…I think we should follow his example and get out of here."

Zexion leaned forward from behind, "I do not suppose there is any way we procure a ride back to Traverse Town, is there?"

Cloud frowned, "I'm sure we can arrange something. Why?"

Zexion glanced out of one of the darkened windows. They had worked straight through the day and through dusk, the sun by now having fully set beneath the horizon, "It seems a hassle to take the train at this hour. Besides, I do believe I can hear a ruckus coming from the front of the courthouse from all the way in here and after our performance I think it would be best to avoid the public eye as much as possible."

Cloud looked back at the other two and Riku and Leon looked like they were in agreement. Nodding, Cloud rose to his feet, "Sure, that makes sense…If you walk back with me to the station I'll find someone who can drive you back to your homes. Tifa, are you coming?"

The woman looked up, her face tired but content with a job well done, "I'm going to spend a few more minutes packing up then probably walk back to my hotel."

"Will you be alright by yourself?"

"Please Cloud, you know I can take care of myself. Besides, this is Twilight Town, not Midgar. I think I can handle it."

Cloud sighed. He knew she was right. "Okay, but call if you need anything."

As Leon, Riku, and Zexion got to their feet as well, Cloud glanced over at Axel, "I would invite you but, you know, the restriction is still good until the Chief says otherwise."

"I know, I got it. I wasn't going to ask. I'll see you tomorrow, alright?"

Tomorrow they had more of the same to go through, although the other trials weren't going to be nearly as spectacular as this one. Whatever the jury decided to convict Xemnas, Saix, and Fisher of was pretty much going to set the precedent for the sentences of the rest of the bunch. They weren't even asking Leon, Zexion, and Riku to come back as witnesses because they just would have said exactly the same thing. Besides, Leon had other places to go.

That thought made Cloud pause for a moment, his gaze sliding over to the SeeD. The man had a stoic expression on, as per usual, but Cloud was convinced that he saw more emotion raging in Leon's gray eyes. Having just stepped out into the hallway, Cloud grabbed Leon's sleeve while waving for the other two to continue, "We'll meet you at the entrance."

Leon looked surprised but Zexion just nodded and a smug smile spread across Riku's face, "Sure thing. Don't take too long though, or we might get bored." Wincing, Cloud shook his head; he didn't want to know what sort of trouble Zexion and Riku could get into if they became bored in a courthouse. Luckily, he didn't plan on this taking long, although the plan that he did have wasn't very well thought out.

Tugging Leon off into one of the side corridors so that they had a little more privacy, Cloud looked up into the curious man's face, "So I read that you're going to be deployed in less than a week."

Leon started a bit, his hands pulling out of his suit pockets, "How did you know that?"

"I have access to some government information." Cloud would never admit that he had been keeping tabs on Leon's SeeD profile on the police database since the day he stumbled across it. A few days ago the soldier's status had changed from "on leave" to "active duty", the date that he was going to be flown back in stamped cold-heartedly across the screen. "Does your brother know yet?"

Cloud knew that he had hit upon a sore subject when Leon's gaze faltered, the other man turning to stare back towards the main hall before an answer finally escaped him. "…No. I haven't, figured out how to tell him yet."

Sensing that there was a lot more to this, Cloud pressed on. It was unusual, at least he thought it was, to see Leon so bothered by something. The man's troubled expression was upsetting. "What are you worried about? He's a strong kid, he'll be alright."

Leon ran a hand through his hair as he let out a long breath of air. The glance he gave Cloud told the detective that the man wasn't sure if he should be talking about it but that he needed to talk to someone. "…Sora's still under-aged. If I'm not there, he still might be put into foster care. After everything, I don't think I'd be able to live with myself if that happened."

Narrowing his eyes, Cloud leaned back against the wall, "You don't know anyone who could watch him?"

"No. There's Zexion, Demyx, and Riku, but, I don't want any of them getting any closer to Sora if I can help it…" Right. Of course Leon didn't know anyone else; otherwise, he wouldn't have gotten into this mess in the first place.

Silence settled between them as both men fell into their own thoughts. Cloud knew that Leon still had five more months of his contract with SeeD to fulfill. That was a long time to leave a teenager by themself, especially Sora since he was still dealing with the lingering affects of his illness. If anyone noticed that the boy was living by himself, they could report it and the authorities could very well place Sora into foster care until Leon returned. If Leon knew another adult who could act as his brother's guardian it would be different, but…Cloud's thoughts trailed off. He couldn't believe what was about to come out of his mouth. "How about this then; sign him over to me for the five months. I can drive to Traverse Town on the weekends and check up on him. If your brother has an emergency he can call one of the others."

Leon's head whipped around to stare at him, "Why would you do that?"

Cloud thought for a moment longer before shrugging, "It, would be a good way for me to keep an eye on you." That was true, in a way. Any news about Leon's condition would be sent to his family, meaning Sora, so if Cloud hung around, he would have access to that information. And he would die before he admitted anything else about the matter, even to himself.

His response drew a dry smile from Leon, "…We are both just using each other, aren't we?"

Cloud couldn't help but smile at that, "Yeah…that pretty much sums it up." Straightening, he motioned for Leon to follow him back out into the main hall, "Well, when you get back, don't worry about finding transportation back to your house. We'll have a probation officer waiting there for you to pick you up."

He heard a short chuckle escape the soldier, "I'll try to keep that in mind."

Cloud swallowed back his emotions as Leon brushed passed him, watching the other's back for a moment before letting out a growl of frustration. The reality that this could be the last time he ever saw the other man crashed down around him and Cloud ran forward and grabbed the man's elbow. Before Leon could even ask, Cloud had pulled him around, closed his eyes, and pressed their lips together, pulling away before anyone could see. Opening his eyes again to see Leon staring down at him in shock, Cloud could only shake his head, "Just…Good luck out there, alright?"

Leon nodded and, leaning down to steal one more quick kiss, gave him a tight smile, "Thanks. I'll need it."