HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRO!

Today is SaphirActar's birthday, so as a last present, I wanted to give her a fic~ It's been so hard not to tell her about the plot or anything x'D She's a big fan of Liverpepper, so I decided to write a piece about that~ [Reminder of the LP Universe : Earth AU, Cloud and Leon are married and are Sora and Roxas's adoptive parents. The twins are around 15.]

I hope you will enjoy, especially you, bro! *sends hug*

Disclaimer : Kingdom Hearts is Square Enix's property. LiverPepper was created and belongs to Jay. Check out LiverPepper on Tumblr!

"For the last time, Roxas, this is a no. End of discussion."

"Are you serious? This is the chance of my life and you want to throw it away? Dad said he didn't mind! What kind of father would take his son's dream away from him?"

"Well, maybe that's because I'm not your father!"

A silence followed Cloud's statement. He was standing and clutching the edge of the table, looking appalled by his own words. Roxas, facing him, was staring at him with rage in his eyes, and his cheeks were hot due to the anger. Very calmly, the kind of calm that was threatening more than peaceful, he answered to Cloud.

"Yeah, you're my father. But that doesn't stop me from hating you right now."

On these words, he turned around and left the house, slamming the door.

"Roxas, wait, I-" But as the blonde tried to move towards the door, Sora's hand grabbed his wrist.

"I think you've done enough for now, Pa. I'm sorry I have to tell you this, but I don't think he'll want to see you or to listen to you right now. I'll go talk to him. Meanwhile, you'd better think of a good apology for when he'll be coming back."

"Could you tell him… I suppose I owe you an apology as well. I shouldn't have said that."

"Rox loves you, Pa, and I love you too. It's okay. He'll calm down. I'd better go after him. See you later."

"I love you, Sora."

"Love you too."

Sora left, closing the door much more softly than his twin before him, leaving Cloud alone in their living room. The blonde crashed his body in the sofa, his hands shaking.

Lea was beating his high score on his videogame when he heard the pounding on the door. He lazily paused and got up to open. He had not expected to see a Roxas with red, puffy eyes standing right there.

"Hey, Axel. Do you mind if I…?"

"Come in. What will you need? Hot chocolate? Blanket? Hug? I'm feeling generous today, so you can even have all three of them!"

Roxas sniffed and laughed. "The three of them sound nice."

Lea grinned and sat the boy on the sofa. He threw a blanket on his head, hurried to the kitchen to prepare a cup of coffee and one of cocoa, and came back with the two steaming mugs. He put the cups on the table and sat back on the couch, wrapping an arm around Roxas.

"Want to talk about it?"

"Not really."

"Okay. Whenever you're ready. I'm a good listener."

Roxas cuddled up against the red-head. "I know."

Lea grinned at him, squeezed him a bit with the arm wrapped around the boy, and took his controller back. "Wanna see how good I am at this game?"

"Sure."

He played for a bit less than half an hour, with Roxas cheering him, when he heard some hesitant knocking on the door. He paused and sighed. "Sure is lively today. I'll be right back."

He wasn't that surprised to see that it was Sora. When Roxas was feeling down, the brunette usually wasn't too far away, ready to be there for his brother.

"Hey, Lea… Is… Is he…"

"On the couch. Come on in. But I'm the hugging one today, got it?"

Sora smiled. "Sure. Thanks." He walked into the flat. "Hey, Roxas. Are you… Are you okay?"

Roxas sniffed and didn't answer. Lea sat back to his seat and Sora sat on the other side of Roxas.

"You know, Pa didn't mean that."

"He sure did. He wouldn't say it if he didn't."

"You should have seen him… He was beyond sorry. He was so miserable… He regrets, Rox. He really does."

"You really thinks he regrets forbidding me to go to the Art Fest? For real? I doubt that."

There was a silence, and Sora frowned.

"I wasn't talking about that. I was talking about… The other thing. About him saying…" Sora's voice started to quiver. "That he was not our father."

Another silence. Roxas looked at Sora, surprised. Lea tried to stay out of this, silent, but Sora's statement still made him gasp.

"What? He's feeling sorry for that? But of course I knew he didn't mean that! He won't run away from being our Pa so easily! Why would I be mad at him for that?"

"So… You are not hurt by these words? Quite frankly… I am. A bit."

Roxas reached out and took Sora's hand.

"I know it's been worrying him for days. Since that day we told him we were studying genes in biology and he realised we'd never share his. I don't really know why, but it's like he suddenly realised that we would never be connected by blood, and I could see that was bothering him, that he was afraid we wouldn't see him as family anymore. I think his treatment is making him feel really down lately, too. I would never blame him for being scared of losing us!"

Sora closed his eyes. "Is that so… I think you should tell him that, Rox. I really think you should."

"Sorry to step in, that's none of my business, but… What's this story of Art Fest, Roxas?" Lea was mindlessly playing with Roxas's hair, his hand buried into golden locks.

"Next week, we were supposed to celebrate Dad's birthday. But then we learnt about the Art Fest, and when I realised it was both on the same day… Dad said it was okay for me to go, but Pa got angry at me and told me I wouldn't go." All the anger was gone from his voice, replaced by deep sadness instead.

"So let me sum this up for you. You are ditching a family moment for a festival. You, who always put your family first. You are angry at your father whom you just said was feeling down and worried because he feared you wouldn't be a family anymore because he wants you to prove him you are still a family. Is that it?"

Roxas's silence was enough of an answer. "Roxas, there isn't a thing I wouldn't for you, but right now I feel like punching you. Go to that goddamn restaurant. Forget about the Art Fest."

"But… I can't let you guys down either! We've worked on that forever! It's not only about me, it's about you too, I can't just ruin all your work!"

Lea smacked the back of the blonde's head. "Quiet now! There always will be a next festival. And we will shine brighter then than ever! So you keep your trap shut, you hug your brother, you go back home, and you hug both of your fathers and apologize for being such a moron before you start feeling bad. Got it memorized?"

"It's memorized, Axel. Sorry."

Sora smiled at Lea and mouthed a Thank you to which Lea answered with a wink. Roxas finally got up, folded the blanket and put it on the sofa. His brother jumped to his feet and walked towards the door.

"Want a ride? I'm driving you home."

"Thank you, Lea. That's really nice of you."

"Nice is my second name!"

"Really? According to Saïx, it's troublesome." laughed Roxas, and the sound of his laughter relaxed Lea. He was glad to see a smile back on the blonde's face.

"I have many names! Okay, off we go!"

Roxas sat on the passenger seat while Sora sat behind him. Lea's flat was a bit far by bus, but it took him barely ten minutes to drive them home.

"Thanks again, Lea." greeted Sora as he got off the car, leaving his brother some room to thank the red-head. The boy noticed Leon's car was parked, and prayed everything would be better.

"Guess who got home earlier?" Leon's cheerful voice took Cloud out of his dark thoughts twenty minutes after the twins' departure. The brunette put his coat on the hanger, humming the song he'd just heard on the radio. It was only when he stepped into the living room that he noticed his husband, sitting in tears in the couch, a glass of an amber liquid on the table.

"Cloud? What is going… Wait, what's in that glass?"

The blonde lifted his blue eyes full of despair towards him. Leon quickly walked to him, picked up the glass and smelled it.

"Alcohol? Really? You are taking medicines, Cloud. I hope you didn't… I should have thrown that bottle away a long time ago. Did you drink that?"

"I wasn't even brave enough for that. I'm just a coward. And an asshole."

Leon sighed, relieved he wouldn't at least have to deal with a medical emergency tonight. He sat next to his husband and tried to take his hand. Cloud took it away immediately, snapping.

"Don't you dare, Leonhart. Don't you try to be kind with me. If only you knew what I just did… You would hate me too. Just as much as I hate myself right now."

Leon reached out for Cloud's hand nevertheless, almost taking it forcefully. Cloud didn't move, this time.

"Tell me, so that I can judge whether you deserve that hate or not."

A sob escaped from Cloud, then another, and it took him a couple of minutes to be intelligible. Leon waited, his thumb caressing the back of his lover's hand in a comforting motion.

"I've always dreaded this conversation would happen one day. But I thought it would be the other way around. I never thought I would be the one acting like a child and say selfish things to them. Horrible things. What have I done?"

"So you had a fight with one of the kids? Which one? No, let me guess. Roxas."

Cloud nodded.

"I just wanted us to be a happy family, Leon. I just wanted us to… Did I ruin everything?"

He buried his face into his hands, and Leon wrapped his arms around him. "I'm sure you didn't ruin anything. We will always be a family, no matter what. Would you mind telling me what exactly happened?"

Cloud inhaled deeply and closed his eyes.

"For your birthday next week, we have booked a table at this restaurant, remember? The one where you need to book three months ahead."

"Yes, I remember. That's where we had dinner the day after our wedding."

"This was planned forever. And Roxas came up to me this afternoon, telling me there's this… Art Festival or I don't know, that his art club is going, that it's the chance of his life or something, but it's on the day of the dinner. He wanted to know if it was okay to miss the dinner, because it was really important to him… I thought family was more important, and I refused. He was so mad at me, but I couldn't cede to that…"

"Oh, he told me about that yesterday, right. I said that if it was that important, I didn't mind. Should have told you earlier, sorry. That put you in a difficult position. Is that what turned you in such a state?"

Cloud shook his head. "If only… He was angry and asked me what kind of father would prevent his son to reach his dream, something like that, and I… I said…"

"Hey, it's okay. It's okay. You can tell me. I won't be mad at you, no matter what. I promise."

"I told him that I wasn't his father anyway. Why did I say that? What kind of monster am I?"

He expected Leon to let him go, but instead, the brunette hugged him tighter.

"Did Roxas answer to that?"

"Yeah, you're my father. But that doesn't stop me from hating you right now. And then he left."

"That's good, then."

"How so? Did you miss the I hate you part?"

"Did you miss the You're my father part? He's probably angry because he can't go to the festival, not because of what you said." Leon dropped a kiss on his lover's forehead. "He loves you as a son would love a father, because he'd never thought of you any other way. Stop worrying too much. He will calm down. Do you know where he went?"

"No. Sora went after him."

"Good. I bet he's at Lea's. He's going to be okay. They will be back. They still are your little boys, no matter what."

Cloud closed his eyes and rested against Leon's body. "Thank you, Leon. I love you."

Leon smirked. "You'd better, spiky boy."

When Sora came into the house, followed by Roxas, Leon looked through the window and waved a thanks to Lea. He smirked at the boy's shock - it wasn't often he would be nice to him. Leon then welcomed his sons with a well-deserved hug. When he embraced Roxas, he could feel how tensed Cloud was behind him. Nervous. He released his son and pushed him towards his husband.

"Pa, I- " "Roxas, I-" They talked at the same time and stopped at the same time. Leon did his best not to laugh. The moment was pretty important and he didn't want to ruin it. He exchanged an amused look with Sora instead, and let the brunette boy take his hand.

"Do you mind if I go first?" Softly asked the adult, looking almost shy.

"Sure."

"I'm really sorry for what I said. I was tired and I… No, there's no excuse anyway. I will always be your father and you always be my son. This will never change. Saying otherwise is the worst thing I could ever have said, and I am sorry, Roxas, Sora, for these words. Also, about that festival…"

"No, Pa. Don't worry about the festival. You are right, you're my dad. We are a family. We will always be a family. And as such, I have no right to throw away some family time that was planned so long ago. I know you are worried we might not see you as our 'true' family because we haven't got the same blood running in our veins. But that's not what family is. You've always been there for us. You raised us. You protected us. And that makes you our righteous father, more than any blood connection or whatever. Forget that festival. My family is worth so much more than that."

He ran into Cloud's arms, and Sora ran into Cloud's arms, and Leon wrapped his own arms to complete the family hug. He liked the mood better this way.

"Boys, are you ready?" Cloud called from the bottom of the stairs. Sora rushed down, ready for hours. Roxas was looking at them, a bit suspicious.

"How come we are going this early to the restaurant? We usually don't dine before at least eight."

"Couldn't book a table later." Shrugged Cloud. "If you're ready, get into the car. We can't be late."

"Yes Pa!" The boys rushed into the car, cheerfully chatting. They were so immersed in their conversation it took Roxas forever to realise they weren't taking the right road. It's only when Leon parked the car that he really looked at where they were.

"This is not the restaurant."

Cloud smiled.

"Not quite."

Someone opened Roxas's door. "Come on, Cinderella, you can't be late to the ball! We've got less than an hour for our rehearsals, so you'd better hurry!"

"Axel? What is… Just what…" Agape, he was looking at everyone. Cloud was smiling. Leon looked proud. Sora was smirking. And Lea was waiting outside the car, impatient.

"You were right, Roxas. It's important that we get some family time. But that doesn't mean we have to throw your dreams away for that. Go."

"Pa… Thank you so much. I love you. Don't miss our performance!"

And Roxas ran after Lea, to the lodges where all of his stuff was already waiting for him.

"By the way, Roxas, Larxene thought you wouldn't come and she's so pissed, I think she wants to strangle you or something!"

"Oh, Roxy Boy, there you are! Ready to give your everything?"

"Roxas, where the hell were you? We had an understudy in case you wouldn't come, but I'm glad to see you!"

Roxas stared at his team, his drama club. Everyone was ready, in costume. With a smile, he took the outfit Lea was handing out to him. He couldn't have felt happier.

After a moment of comfortable and comforting silence, a few minutes before the twins came back, Leon suddenly realised something with a start. "Aren't we the worst fathers ever, though?"

Cloud scoffed. "I might be, but I don't think you'll ever be. What's the matter?"

"Our son is telling us this festival is one of the best opportunity of his life, and we're just going to sit at a restaurant without him? How is that okay?"

"But that's your favourite rest-"

"Screw the restaurant. Screw the dinner. No offence, Cloud, but I won't let a dinner, no matter how good it is, come before my family. Roxas is going to that festival, and so are we."

Cloud looked at Leon with shiny eyes. "How about we surprise him, then?"

Leon smiled back. "My thoughts exactly."

The performance was over, and the crowd did a standing ovation. As all the comedians came back on the stage to greet the public, Roxas scanned the crowd to see his family. Sora was crying, moved by the play, and Cloud and Leon were smiling at him, their eyes filled with pride. He felt his heart jump in his chest, and Lea's hand squeezed his as they bowed for the first time. They finally left the stage under the cheering of the public.

Roxas felt a hand ruffle his hair. Lea, obviously. The older boy was grinning.

"I like your face better with a smile on it. Be sure to bring it with you next time you come to visit."

Roxas laughed. "Yeah, I will."

"Roxas, you were awesome! That moment when you pretend to be in pain, I almost jumped on the stage to help you!"

"He really did. I had to grab him by the collar to stop him."

"Leon, should I remind you who was threatening that kid who played the role of the villain?"

"That kid was poisoning my kid!"

Roxas took Lea's hand and laughed again.

"See? I hardly see how come I wouldn't smile, when I have these weirdos as my family."

And in Cloud's heart, peace was back.

They really were a family.

And he was proud to be their father.

Hope you enjoyed! That wasn't the happiest piece of my works, but hey, it ends well!

Once again, happy birthday Saphir!

[Note : About the whole Lea/Axel thing, Axel is actually a nickname the Org Members call him. Quote from LiverPepper : "Axel is just a nickname! his name is still lea hehe. same goes for isa, ienzo, even, dilan, braig and aeleus–their 'x' names are just nicknames they sometimes call each other by. only demyx, marluxia, larxene and xemnas have their regular organization names! there's a reason for the x nicknames though, but i can't yet say what it is ^O^ " ]