Long chapter, kinda makes up for the wait, ya? Maybe?

I did some major reworking on the story which held things up a bit (notice a chapter disappeared?).

Reviews are awesome. Thanks for reading.

"What part of 'we have to meet someone at five' is so hard to understand?" Riku asked as they approached the beginning of the business district.

"Oh, admit that you were having fun with Seiya and lost track of time, too." Cloud returned easily. "And there was no way I was going to interrupt that animated discussion over the pros and cons of serving dinner plated or buffet."

"Well, seeing that this is my wedding also, or so I'm continuously being told," Cloud smirked. "I'd prefer doing a family-style thing. Each table gets its own dishes and everyone at it can serve themselves."

The younger angled his head in thought. "Actually…I like that. It's informal and allows everyone to still take what they want without it becoming a free-for-all. I think we should go with that."

"I'm glad you like it."

Riku took his hand and squeezed it. "You need to speak up more, Cloud. You have great ideas and it is your wedding, too."

"I haven't needed to." The blond assured. "I pretty much agree with everything you've decided."

"Good." Riku was very happy to hear that. He worried that Cloud was just going along with what he wanted. At one point, he'd had the paranoid thought that Cloud was acting so laid back about the wedding because his heart wasn't in it and at the last moment, he was going to back out. "We're almost to the coffee shop."

They did not let go of one another's hands as they walked the two blocks further to their arranged meeting place with Jacen. They passed several people who gave them looks but those were more curious than anything. This part of town was considered the 'artist area' with two art galleries, a photography studio, the bookstore and the music shop. People frequenting here tended to be more laid back and open minded.

Slightly leading, Riku pulled Cloud with him across the street. Now that the temperature was cooling a bit with the coming evening, some of the outdoor tables had customers at them. A few were reading, others working on something or another. No one looked at them as they entered the shop.

Riku took a quick glance around and spotted his therapist for over a year now sitting in one of the conversation circles that was a bit removed from the other settings. The man was writing something on a legal pad and did not appear to have noticed them come in. Even when they approached he did not stop writing.

"Hello, Riku."

"Hi. Sorry we're late. Seiya kept us."

The brown-haired man smiled as he completed his work and close the notepad. "No trouble. It gave me time to finish up some notes."

"Slacking on your paperwork again?"

"I've been trying not to." Jacen stuffed the pad into the satchel on the floor near his feet. He then finally looked up and smiled at the couple. He did not stand but leaned forward and nodded at Cloud. "It's a pleasure to finally meet the infamous Cloud Strife."

"Uh, yeah." It was painfully obvious how uncomfortable Cloud was. He nodded back stiffly and shuffled his feet, not quite bringing himself to look directly at the man who probably knew more about him than he wanted to think about.

Riku grinned a little and squeezed his lover's hand. "Can you get us some coffee?"

"Sure." The blond confirmed, relief in his voice. He quickly released Riku's hand and left for the counter.

As Riku sat across from Jacen, the therapist chuckled. "He is almost painfully shy, isn't he?"

"It's not so much shy as uncomfortable." Riku corrected, glancing over his shoulder to make sure Cloud was all right. "He just found out about you."

Jacen lifted an eyebrow. "Oh?"

"Yeah." The silvered one quickly explained. "It's my fault for that. I assumed that when he found out about the meds I was on, he'd understand that therapy was part of the package."

"That must have thrown him." Jacen picked up his tea to sip at it. "He's probably wondering just how much I know about him."

"Probably." Riku agreed. "Unfortunately for him, he's a rather private guy surrounded by people who aren't. Everyone pretty much knows everything about everyone else."

"That would be difficult. My brother was much the same way." The therapist spoke with a hint of sadness in his voice. Riku had noted some time ago that Jacen grew sad any time the subject of his own family came up, especially his siblings. He always wanted to ask why but refrained. It was not appropriate nor any of his business. Jacen was his therapist, not his friend; sometimes he forgot that.

Cloud returned and handed Riku a large cup before sitting down beside him. He quietly stated, "Coffee's a lot cheaper here."

"That's because it's locally grown." Riku explained, removing the lid and blowing lightly on the extra hot beverage. "No import costs outside of bringing it from the south island. I should probably buy a few pounds of beans for you to take back with you."

"Do they grow anything on Radiant Garden yet?" Jacen inquired. At Cloud's surprised expression, he smiled. "Yes, I know all about pretty much everything. Sephiroth gave me the full picture when he was here."

"Did he?" Cloud asked neutrally. "So you talked to him."

"Only a few times and only about Riku." The named teenager watched Jacen carefully, seeing immediately that the man was making mental notes of Cloud's reaction. Jacen was well aware of the severe animosity between Riku's lover and his brother; it had been the subject of many recent sessions.

Cloud did not say anything.

"So back to my question." The dark-haired man set his cup down. "Have they set up any agriculture there?"

Realizing that he was the only one who could answer that, Cloud replied. "There are six communal farms and two livestock pens. They're working on getting a few orchards going."

"It'll take a huge strain off the budget the more self-sufficient you get."

"I guess. I don't really know about any of that." Cloud picked at the sofa arm. "Leon handles all of that; I'm just manual labor."

"Is he here, too?"

"Yeah." Riku sensed Cloud's increasingly melancholy mood and took his hand. The last thing he wanted was for his lover to go into a depressive fit, not with him leaving tomorrow. "He suggested it and Sora helped put the details together."

"You both really have some great friends." Jacen noted, taking a drink of tea. "How are the wedding plans coming along?"

"So far, it's all coming together." Riku handed the coffee back to Cloud. "Seiya insisted on going to Miss Sarah. I don't want to know what that's going to lead to. I've heard stories…."

"From what I've heard, the groom has the bulk of the embarrassing stuff."

"I'm officially the bride." The silver-haired teen declared. "I'll even wear a dress if I have to."

Cloud snorted softly. "You just want to see me make a fool of myself."

"Never." Riku's tone was not at all believable. He reached over and took Cloud's hand, sending him a soft smile. "We can both look like fools."

Jacen glanced between them and an amused look crossed his expression. Riku caught the look and raised an eyebrow at it but the therapist merely continued the conversation. "So, arcane rituals aside, everything is proceeding as you both want?"

"For the most part," Muttered Cloud. At Riku's abrupt tensing, he squeezed the younger man's hand. "I still have some…reservations to get rid of."

Riku felt an uneasiness at the way Cloud said it but the reassuring hand squeeze kept it from becoming anything more than a faint feeling. He knew that Cloud was working hard to resolve as much of his linger animosity toward Sephiroth as he could. He was going to do his best to help by not pushing that process.

"From what I understand, that applies to all soon to wed couples." Jacen noted easily. "I'm sure you're going to find things about Riku you'll have to come to terms with also."

"Oh, I'm sure of that." The teenager murmured, earning a frown from Cloud. This time he gave the gentle hand squeeze. "I'm expecting the next year to be as rough as it will be happy."

"Good approach." Jacen's brown eyes flicked toward his watch. "Well, I hate to end our visit but I have a few things I need to do still tonight."

"That's cool." Riku released Cloud's hand and rolled his shoulders. "Seiya's probably waiting for us to get back with a whole new list of things it's absolutely imperative we decide now."

"How much more can there be?" Cloud grumbled. "I thought we were doing a simple, small gathering."

"This is simple and small." Riku informed him with a grin. "The big ones take nearly a year to arrange. We haven't been engaged three months yet."

"You are on the fast tract, Cloud." Jacen added. "I've seen these things get ridiculously complicated."

The blond pursed his lips. "Captain Jack is still an option…"

"There's better rum than that here."

Riku snickered. "He's not talking rum, Jacen, and no he isn't, Cloud."

The brown-haired therapist looked confused but left it alone. "All right then. Well, Cloud, it's been a pleasure to finally meet you."

Cloud nodded in acknowledgement.

Standing, Jacen addressed the couple. "I was going to leave this in a card for the two of you but since I have the opportunity to personally speak with you together, I can just tell you. I don't know all the details, but you both have been through hells that scarred each of you. Since finding one another, many of those wounds have healed but there will always be ones you can't repair. Don't let those become the focus of your marriage. Your relationship is not supposed to change just because of a piece of paper binding you."

From the corner of his eye, Riku saw something in Cloud's expression change. Something about Jacen's words must have struck him but Riku could not guess at what. The statement had affected him also, but Riku had already come to that conclusion; getting married was something he wanted and it meant more to him than he could express but it ultimately didn't change how he and Cloud felt about each other or how their relationship functioned.

Maybe Cloud had thought it would.

"Thank you." The blond swordsman spoke quietly. He moved his hand to Riku's knee. "And thank you for being there for Riku."

"It's my job." Jacen dismissed. A fond little smile tugged at his lips a moment later. "Though…I'm glad Riku was assigned to me. Once again the Force knew what it was doing."

Both Riku and Cloud looked at him in confusion. Jacen merely smiled mysteriously and bid them good night. He told Riku he would see him next week and then left the couple.

"Come on." Cloud stood up and pulled Riku up with him. He took the last drink of their coffee and tossed the empty cup into a waste bin a few feet away. "I'm getting hungry."

Riku was a little hungry also. "There's a restaurant that I really like a few blocks away or if you want to see the Boardwalk, there's a stand that does different seafood, kind of a local favorite thing. Sora loves the shrimp there."

"That sounds good. I want to get my fill of really fresh seafood while I can."

"Okay." Riku flicked his bangs and took the lead out of the shop. They turned right toward the ocean front.

Cloud fell into step beside him. "What's the time difference between here and Disney?"

"Um…" It was a bit of a random question and Riku had to think about it for a moment. "They're eight hours ahead of us."

"So if we're gonna call, do it really late tonight." Cloud nodded. He glanced at Riku with a smile and a bright shine to his eyes. "I want to get the king confirmed for the wedding. Then we can get everything else finalized so when the time comes, we can focus on us and not anything else."

The younger male studied his fiancé for a long moment. Whatever it was that Jacen had said that had settled within Cloud's mind had made him suddenly more eager about things to come. Whereas there had been something that kept his enthusiasm in check before, it now appeared that Cloud wanted this wedding as much has Riku did.

Returning the smile, Riku slipped his arm around Cloud's waist. "Yeah, as little stress as possible that week before would be nice."

"I want our wedding to go without a hitch." They were entering the wharf and Boardwalk area. "Let the others deal with any little snags and we can just focus on us."

Riku loved the sound of that.

His phone beeped and with his free hand he pulled it from his pocket. The text was from Sora asking what they were doing. Riku was tempted to say something really kinky for them to be doing but opted not. With one hand, he told him they were headed for the Boardwalk, sent the text, and waited for Sora's response.

It came seconds later. Cool. Were at the shrimp stand.

Riku put his phone away. "Sora and Leon are at the stand. He must have been craving shrimp po' boys."

"I love po' boys."

Aqua eyes blinked. "You do?"

"Zack introduced me to them." Cloud explained softly. "They were popular in Gongaga and he had his mom's recipe. He used to make them a lot…. They had them in Costa de Sol but they didn't come close to Zack's."

"Oh."

Cloud still did not talk much about his deceased lover but it had gotten better though there still was always a sad tone to his voice when he did. When Riku had first listened to Cloud speak of Zack, it had been painful to hear the heartbroken tone and see the almost lost look to his eyes. For a long time, Riku believed he would never be able to overcome the memory of Cloud's lost love.

Over time that had lessened and the grip Zack had once held on Cloud loosened greatly. He knew Cloud had not entirely let go of Zack but he no longer ruled the blond's heart and soul. In a strange way, he was glad that Cloud still held a reverence for his fallen love.

"Zack made them with whitefish because it that was cheapest to get in Midgar." Cloud continued as they walked up the steps to the Boardwalk itself. "He said one day we'd go to Gongaga to have the real thing."

"That would have been a nice trip."

"Yeah, I would have loved going to his hometown with him. He always talked so fondly of it." Cloud looked at Riku with that smile of his that lit up his eyes. "I'm glad I get to see your homeworld with you."

Riku grinned back easily, his heart swelling with affection and he squeezed Cloud's waist before dropping his arm reluctantly. There were a lot of people still milling about and enough of them were likely to have a problem with gays that it was not worth the risk. Cloud picked up on this and increased the space between them by a few inches.

"Hey!" Sora's voice drifted toward them.

The couple turned their heads enough to spot Sora, Leon, and Wakka sitting on an ocean-side bench across from the seafood shack. All three were eating the shrimp po' boys Sora loved. Riku glanced at Cloud, silently asking if he wanted one also. When Cloud nodded, Riku went to the stand counter while Cloud joined the others.

"Where were you two?" Sora queried, drinking from a large cup. "We saw the two of you hurrying off somewhere from my house."

"Riku wanted me to meet his therapist." Cloud eyed Leon's cup, which appeared to be filled with the same liquid as Sora's, a thick, creamy white drink with pinpricks of black.

"You met up with Jacen?" Sora asked with a note of surprise.

"Yeah." The blond confirmed as Leon held out his cup to him and murmured 'it's good'. He took it uncertainly. "I wish I had known about him sooner."

"Riku didn't tell you about him before?" Sora frowned.

"He assumed that I would assume he had one to go with the pills he was taking." Cloud sipped experimentally at Leon's drink. It tasted of coconut and some other fruit he couldn't identify. It was really good.

"That sounds like Riku." Wakka noted.

"Huh." Sora shrugged. "He's really cool and helpful. I talked to him a lot about Kairi and Leon. I know Sephiroth really liked him."

"It sounded like it." Cloud muttered, handing the cup back to Leon. "He knew a lot more than I expected and I know he knew more than that."

"Sephiroth told all of us a lot of things Riku didn't." Wakka crushed his food wrapper. "Riku was rather put out about that, too."

"But you needed to know it." Riku's voice was soft as he stepped beside Cloud. He held up a hand holding two wrapped sandwiches, one of which Cloud took from him. His other hand had a large cup like the ones Sora, Leon, and Wakka were drinking from. "I was a real idiot about everything."

"You were," agreed Sora.

"But we forgive you, ya." Wakka added.

Riku huffed and rolled his eyes. Next to him, Cloud was already unwrapping his po' boy. The silvered one watched him casually as he revealed the sandwich and bit into it. The small smile that pulled at his lips told Riku that he liked it a great deal. Unwrapping his own, he asked how the blitz game was.

Wakka spent the next fifteen minutes detailing the apparently dismal game the three on the bench had witnessed. Sora added a few of things but otherwise remained quiet like Leon. Observing both of them a little more closely, Riku notice they were each thinking deeply about something. He was acutely curious as to what.

Cloud finished his food and reached for the drink in Riku's hand. "So what's next?"

"Wakka has until ten." Sora slurped the last of his drink. "We can stick around out here or go back to the house."

"I like being out here." Leon spoke softly, shifting into a more casual position on the bench. "It's relaxing."

"It is," Riku seconded. "There's something about the ocean's roar that's calming."

"So let's go down to the actual beach and sit in one of the clusters, ya?" Wakka suggested, standing up.

The group went to one of the short staircases leading down to the sand and located a small circular gathering spot nearby that was empty. There were several of them along the upper beach near the Boardwalk; areas consisting of clusters made of two short benches, a square table and a post of a beach umbrella. Since the sun was setting, the beach had mostly cleared out and there was no one around for a good dozen feet in any direction.

Riku and Cloud took up the bench that was angled more toward the water, Riku settling easily beside Cloud. Sora sat in the other bench while Wakka hopped up onto the table. Leon dropped down into the sand nearby, his knees bend up before him and body facing the ocean. It gave him a clear view of the waves slowly breaking as the water rushed closer.

The group was quiet, content with just watching and listening to what the ocean had to show. Riku leaned against Cloud as the older rubbed at his neck and nuzzled his hair. Sora and Leon were still thoughtful and Wakka was simply relaxed. It was a peaceful moment and they all were taking it in for as long as they could. Who knew when another would come?

It was eventually broken by Leon's phone ringing. He took a long breath and with clear reluctance, removed the device from his pocket. When he answered, there was an underlying concern to his voice. "What's going on? …you did?" Surprise flitted across his expression. "…he did? Good. …stop complaining and do the work, Yuffie…. Sephiroth has my full permission to start any new projects he wants. …Yes, I do. …You agreed so now you're stuck…. Goodbye, Yuffie."

Leon pocketed his phone and sighed heavily. "That girl is going to kill me."

"What was that about?" Sora frowned, bringing his legs up to put his feet together. At some point he had removed his shoes.

"Sephiroth managed to complete all of the current projects I left." Leon was obviously pleased about this. "He went ahead and began three new ones. Yuffie is bitching."

"Because now she has to keep working instead of taking tomorrow off." Cloud concluded. He continued rubbing Riku's neck. "I hope we come back tomorrow to find her hanging off of a very high beam by her headband."

Riku snorted loudly. "Why can I see Seph doing that?"

"Because he would. Your brother has a twisted sense of humor and always has."

"I noticed."

Sora smiled at the ease in which the couple was speaking about Sephiroth. It reassured him that they would ultimately be okay and that the most important thing to him right now. The smile dimmed as he wondered what would happen when they fought on Radiant Garden. Who would Riku go to when they argued then?

"Man, it's nine-thirty." Wakka noted. "I have to go."

"We can walk with you." Leon offered though he clearly was not ready to leave the beach.

"Naw, it's cool." The redhead slid off the table. "Have a safe trip back, guys. I'll be helping Riku move in a few weeks so I'll see you then, ya."

"I look forward to it." Leon nodded.

"See you later, Wakka." Sora waved.

"Bye," Riku smiled a touch. Next to him, Cloud declined his head.

As Wakka jogged off, Leon leaned back on his hands. "We should probably get going soon also. We need to leave early tomorrow."

"We don't have to be back until evening, Leon." Cloud countered. "Sephiroth won't give you the full report until the morning anyway and you already know they're ahead of schedule."

"I suppose."

"But," Cloud kissed Riku's earlobe. "We do have a phone call to make."

"Yeah." Riku squeezed the blond's knee and leaned his head back to nuzzle against Cloud.

Sora watched them snuggle for another minute, noting how…soft they were with each other. It was different from how he usually saw them and while it was wonderful to see them so content, the cuddliness was bordering on obnoxious. "Wow, Leon, you were right."

The sable-haired man was staring out at the ocean again. "I told you."

"So, who do you have to call?" Sora questioned, eyes still on Leon. Something about the man's position and near-absentness was troubling.

"Mickey." Riku replied with a faint sigh. Cloud was pressing his fingers to his lower back and it felt incredibly good.

Sora angled his head curiously. "Wait. You can actually call him? Like directly?"

"Yeah, it's just extremely expensive and the message bottles are actually more reliable if slower."

"I didn't know he had a phone."

"He does." Riku flicked his eyes at his at his best friend. "You want to call?"

"That would be cool, but…if it's expensive, I don't want to start babbling and you know how I get." Sora frowned in disappointment. "It's not like I really have anything to say to him anyway."

Hearing Sora's depression, Riku pulled away enough to take his phone out. Flipping it open, he ran through his contact list until he found King Mickey's number and selected it. As the call connected, he turned on the speaker-phone. That way, Sora could at least say hello to the ruler. Maybe Donald or Goofy would be with him…

"Well, good evenin', Riku." A high-pitched voice greeted with a chuckle. "You timed this just right; I'm walking into a meeting with Goofy."

Sora brightened as the distinct tones of one of his former traveling companions became clear in the background. "Hi, Goofy!"

There was a noise, followed by a mutter and a click that Riku assumed was Mickey putting them on speaker. "Now he can hear ya, Sora."

"Hey, Sora!" Goofy laughed. "Hyuck, how's things at home?"

"It's all good."

Riku smiled at Sora's joy but knew they needed to get to the point of the call. "If you're busy, this can wait."

"If you're callin' me, it's gotta be something important." Mickey noted. "What's goin' on?"

"Um, well," the teenager worried his lower lip, "I have a favor to ask of you."

"A favor, huh?" There was something oddly knowing to the mouse's words.

"Yeah." Nervousness was creeping up within him and he took Cloud's hand for reassurance. "You got my last letter, right?"

"Yep. I'm sorry I haven't gotten back to you. Things have just been busy around here lately. It's finally starting to calm down."

"Good."

"I'm guessin' Cloud's with you?"

"Yeah, he's sitting beside me."

"Whelp, congratulations to you both on your engagement." Mickey sounded extremely pleased. "I had a feeling that you were in it for the long haul, especially with all you had to go through."

"Yeah," Goofy added from the background. "I know yer going to be really happy for a long time."

"Thanks." Cloud quietly returned for the couple. "That's actually what Riku's calling you about."

"Oh?"

Riku retook the conversation. "The wedding is in two months-"

"Fifty-five days." Cloud, Sora and Leon all stated in unison.

Aqua eyes narrowed into a glare as the three chuckled. He even heard Mickey and Goofy laughing. Setting his jaw, he continued. "Yes, fifty-five days. Cloud and I, we were wondering if you might be available to officiate. If you aren't, we totally understand."

There was a long pause. "You want me to marry ya?"

"Yes."

Riku waited for his answer, barely hoping his royal friend would say yes. He really would understand if it wasn't possible and he realized that if couldn't do it, also meant that he wouldn't be attending the wedding, but he did want his friend there. Mickey was a very important part of his life.

"Whelp, I don't reckon I can deny you a favor."

Riku's lips pulled up into a full smile. He felt Cloud wrap his arms around his waist and settled against him in relief. It was not that he had been worried, he had just been hoping for this more than he let on even to himself. "It won't interfere with anything, will it?"

"Of course not. Nothing is more important to me." Mickey declared easily. "Send another letter with all the details and I'll be sure to get everything arranged."

"I'll get it out tomorrow."

"Good. Whelp, if that's all, my captain of the guard and I have a meeting to get to."

Riku poured gratitude and joy into his words. "Thanks, Mickey."

"Anything for a friend, Riku."

Everyone said their goodbyes and Riku ended the call. He leaned against Cloud and felt Sora and Leon's eyes on them. "Well, that's the last lingering piece."

Leon regarded them casually. "So, ready to get married?"

Riku glanced at Cloud and found his fiancé giving him the exact same expression he imagined on his own face. He had no good explanation for it but finalizing this last major detail had somehow made him feel that much closer to the idea that in only two short months, he would be a married man. He and Cloud would be together and never have to part. Cloud was feeling the same thing.

"Yes."

The mood light, Sora stood and stretched. "Let's get home, guys."