A/N: Yo, you awesome readers! Reyaa here. And YES, another story so shortly after the one shot with Marly and Kadaj... It's cause I can indeed be nice sometimes. Anyway, Alice and I had the idea of this little story a while after writing 'Hi, I'm your husband' and 'Daddies'. A question was asked, and it was something along the lines of the following, "Why does it seem as if you guys put Leon in the more responsible position over Cloud?" Good question indeed, one we didn't know how to answer really, so we sat together, Alice and I, and all we got as a reply was 'Huh' and then that very intelligent response was followed by a simultaneous shrug of the shoulder. So, bottom line? No clue. It just seemed to happen that way, and then this idea for a story popped up and we figured, why the hell not use Cloud and Leon once again, cause we really do love those. So here it is! 'Mission Impossible', featuring Leon and Cloud once more, where Cloud is the lesser playful one "insert waggling eyebrows". We hope you enjoy this story! The updates shall be as quick as I can manage, meaning I'll try and upload a new chapter every three to four days. If that does not sound good, then I'm sorry, but I can't help you...

Have FUN!

Why Mission Impossible? I don't know, I tried to be original, but nothing would spring to mind, which is logical, because lets face it, it's like, two am here in baguette land.


Leon

In retrospect, I shouldn't have let that kid handle the nail gun. My first clue should have been when he'd started humming the Mission Impossible theme the second that I handed to him, but I figured that maybe he was just nervous to have me standing over him and inspecting him and his skills.

As the foreman on our construction crew, I usually tried to introduce myself to the new hires during their first week and to assess their strengths and weaknesses so I could put them in the places that needed them most.

Anyways, after about 5 minutes of listening to him hum and nail down the new roof we were installing on a house damaged by the hail storm about a month ago, I'd turned around, intent on making my way over to check the other guys, when the kid suddenly decided that humming wasn't quite cutting it, and he'd thrown his arms out, clipping me on the side of the head with the 10 pound gun, stunning me and effectively causing me to stumble, fall, and slide down the roof.

Slicing my arm up in the process, I came to rest hanging from the edge of it with my good arm. Thank god my assistant was walking by with an armful of insulation, because without him throwing it down to cushion my fall, I'd have probably broken a leg or two.

That little shit was just lucky that the goose egg I was sporting was enough to keep me grounded, not to mention the deep gash into my forearm, or I'd have climbed back up and nailed his nuts to the roof. Still, I was coherent enough now to send the guy who'd given me a ride to the emergency room, back to the job site and send the guys home for the day, and firing the guy who'd knocked me down.

There was no room for clumsy kids on my crew and if the boss had a problem with it, too bad. I glanced at the clock again, sighing as it had only been about ten minutes since I walked in. Unfortunately, I picked the worst day.

There were about 5 other people in the waiting area with me, no one bleeding as bad as I was, but one lady looked sort of green around the gills and it's a good thing she was next to the garbage can, cause I had my money on her blowing chunks in under five minutes.

The gentleman seated next to me, was itching a rash on his leg, and I wanted to vomit as I watched him. Just sick. The other people were in a wheelchair, on crutches, and leaning on a cane, respectively. I couldn't really understand why the guy with the cane was standing and not sitting, but it was amusing to see him sway, nonetheless.

I was still gripping the shop rag against my arm, making sure the blood didn't drip onto the ground. The cut was about three inches wide and pretty deep, along with various other smaller scratches that wouldn't need to much. But I was definitely going to need stiches. Dammit. The last time I'd gotten stitches had been on the scar that ran between my eyes.

That hadn't been my fault either, an older boy thinking it would be funny to push my mountain bike down the old lake road in my small town...too bad I'd been on it at the time. Adjusting my grip again, I sighed in relief as I heard my name called.

Standing, I watched a blond guy in a green nurse uniform approach me, giving me a quick smile. "Let me see?" His voice soft as he reached for my arm.

I winced and pulled it back. "Don't. If you pull it off out here, it'll bleed all over this obnoxiously horrible carpet." I'd figured that he was just some clerk or intern, he looked so young, but as he was standing closer now, I could tell it was just the way that his crystal blue eyes shone with his spiky yellow hair.

And maybe it was the bump on the head, coupled with the blood loss, but I had the sudden urge to throw my arm around his shoulder and buy him a drink...or maybe invite him for some awful hospital food at least.

He gave me a nod, "Alright, just follow me to someplace more private then. Pretty sure the lady over there will throw her guts out if she sees blood." He gave the lady a nice wave, seemingly perfectly polite in her eyes as she couldn't hear what he said. Making his way passed the counter, he led me into an open space where many beds could be found, each hidden away by white curtains.

And I was pretty sure I was watching his ass for almost the entire time he was walking in front of me. In my defense, I wasn't really feeling my best. The world was definitely Spinning a little at this point.

"I've got 5 bucks on her blowing chuncks before you guys get her back here." Grinning, I was secretly hoping that he would talk more, maybe give me an idea if he was gay or not. Can't help it that my mind went there. I hadn't gotten laid in almost a year.

He offered a grin over his shoulder at what I said and then gestured for me to sit down on the bed he'd walked us over too. Once seated, he sat himself down on a stool, rolling over close to me, his knee between my legs as his eyes fixed on my wound, using new wipes to stop the blood from dripping all over him.

"How the hell did you do this?" He asked, spraying something on the next wipe, leading me to realize it was some kind of disinfectant when it stung.

I sighed as the stinging eased up, and I licked my lips as I leaned forward to catch a wiff of his hair. Smelled a lot like mine. "Nail gun accident. And I wish I could say that I dodged flying nails for an hour before succumbing to the laws of physics." I flashed him a grin, "But, instead I am forced to tell you that one of my crew clocked me upside the head with a gun, knocking me off a roof."

The bleeding had eased by now and he placed yet a new wipe onto it, this time leaving it as he reached for the table on wheels not far from him, revealing a needle.

Looking up at me, he smiled. "I'm sure superman had issues flying first time around too." Waving the needle before my face he added, "I'm going to give you a local anesthetic so I can start stitching you up, once that done, we're going to check your head for a concussion, kay?" Reaching up with his free hand, he pressed his thumb gently onto my eyelid, pushing it upwards. "Your pupils are dilated."

Smirking, I murmured, "I just bet they are." I wasn't normally this...flirty or even forward, but I couldn't seem to stop myself. Hell, I still didn't even know if he was gay, but the rational part of my mind, the one that was screaming and banging it's head against the wall in the background because I wasn't listening to it, was reassuring itself that the guy probably got hit on all the time, so no big deal.

His eyebrows shot up, his hand slipping from my face. "Oh." Was that a good or a bad oh? "Nice." He smiled slowly. Okay, so he was definitely gay, or a very clueless and moronic straight dude. Preparing the needle, he added. "But we're still checking you for that concussion." Clearly that wasn't up for discussion.

Feeling up the top of my forearm, he located the place he needed to press the needle into and when it did... I was proud that I didn't wince when he injected me with the needle, and the numbing relief that it offered was heaven sent. My shouders finally loosened as the pain in my arm faded, and I was beginning to feel the soreness that a fall was bound to inflict.

"Ahh, much better. Thanks..." I trailed off and raised an eyebrow, silently asking for his name.

Wiping the spot he'd poked me with, he then tapped the square white name tag pinned onto his green nurse blouse. "Cloud Strife." And then he revealed the needle and thread. "I will try and stitch so it doesn't leave much of a scar, Squall Leonhart."

"Leon." I automatically corrected, watching fascinated as he threaded the needle and started stitching. I'd been unconscious the last time, not that I thought they'd have let me watch as they brought a needle so close to my eyes. "And no worries. As you can see," I waved at my face with my other hand, "I've got my share of scars already."

"Hmmm," He agreed, eyes concentrated on what he was doing. "How'd you get that scar?"

"I was persuaded by the neighborhood asshole to make my way down a very steep section of road. No big deal. How many stiches will I be getting this time?" I asked, now shamelessly studying his features as he steadily stitched me closed.

"Eleven." He murmured, seemingly finished as he pulled away, tying the knot and unhooking the needle before before bandaging my arm up. "That should do it." He gave me a wide smile. "I'm going to shine some light into your eyes now and next I'll ask you to stand and tell me how you feel, head wise."

Standing himself, he pulled a small flashlight from his back pocket, nudging my legs apart so he could stand between them, closely I may add, his finger back on my eyelid to press it up while he shone the light into it, moving on to the next and then back again.

"Nice eyes..." He whispered, but I wasn't sure I was supposed to have heard that that soft it was said. I'd always been rather proud of my grey blue eyes, ignoring the many times I'd been called a cold fish or just plain cold by others in my life, and I was quite pleased that Cloud seemed to think they were nice, stroking my ego a bit.

His blue was sharper and more defined, making his face seem brighter with just his eyes opened. I couldn't help but stare into them, almost disoriented when they didn't seem to blink.

"So? How's the pupil diulation now?" I murmured softly.

"Nothing major, I don't think you have a concussion, but stand anyway and tell me if you feel dizzy or light headed. Are you feeling sick?" He pulled his hand away from my face, stuffing the flashlight back into his chest pocket. I really needed to focus on what he was saying, not on the fact that he'd been standing close enough to wrap my arms around his waist and pull him against me.

"No." I told him honestly, as I stood up. The ground seemed to move though, and I struggled to stay upright for a moment. "Woah." Putting a steadying hand behind me, I tried to use the bed for support.

Cloud let out a grumbly noise, his fingers threading into my hair to seek the bump gently. "Guess you might have a concussion after all." He prodded my scalp softly before slipping his hand back and away. "I will get a doctor to come see you, they'll confirm and then give you a prescription for the dizziness and ache. You might feel sick somewhere during the next couple of days, nothing to really worry about. You want to stay off your feet though and." He gave me a pointed smile. "No work for two weeks, or you'll just make it worse. Also, do you have a partner?"

"Two weeks?" I exclaimed, my mind already coming up with a million and one catastophes that would happen with my absence, not to mention the boredom I was bound to suffer. "No, I don't have anybody. Dammit." Mumbling, I shook my head trying to get the fog to dissipate. Running my fingers through my hair, I winced as I touched the spot that had been hit.

"I feel fine." I lied, hoping that I could make it out of there and take an asprin or two to help the ache. "I really don't have a concussion. My legs were just asleep." That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Cloud gave me a scolding look someone might give to a five year old. "Leon." Apparently he was going to use the corrected version of my name I'd given him without hesitation. "Strong guy like yourself doesn't go 'woah' when standing up. Now don't be an ass and know that you have a concussion. Someone needs to wake you every two hours while you sleep to make sure you're alright. Since you don't have a partner or, I'm assuming, aren't living with anyone, an alarm will do fine."

He smirked and added, "If I knew you better and I had your mother's phone number? I'd totally use it. I have cop connections, so I can always try and dig it up that way. Want me to call your mother and have her make sure your butt stays in bed while you recover?"

I scowled. "I said I was fine and my mother doesn't even live around here." And by here, I meant the city. She lived about a half hour away on a little farm in the country, but still. It was the pricipal of the matter. Sighing in mock defeat, I shrugged. "Fine. No work until I feel better, wake up every two hours, fine." What he didn't know, couldn't hurt him. I'm sure I'd been fine in the morning, and then everything would be back to normal.

Pursing his lips, he raised an eyebrow at me while crossing his arms. "Alright, fine. See if I care when you start having memory loss, problem walking straight and feel drunk without having drunk a drop of alcohol. All that on a regular daily routine basis. Do you enjoy head aches? Cause those tend to stick around too if you don't take care of a concussion right." He tilted his head, giving me an expectant look.

Scowling still, I rolled my eyes and threw my hands up in the air with a grunted, "Fine!" Taking a deep breath, I crossed my arms in front of me, wincing only slightly as the one stitched up moved. "Are all male nurses this strict? Or am I just lucky?" I asked, still glaring, but allowing a small smile to cross my face.

"Maybe I just care about your fine ass." Giving me a wink, he then turned and started walking off. What about a phone number? "A doctor will be right there. Better stay where you are if you ever want to have lunch with me."

Dropping back onto the bed, I chuckled as he walked away. A fine ass, huh? I figured I wouldn't move from this spot until Cloud showed back up to give me his number, or take me to lunch. Either way, I figured I'd definitely call him, first chance I got.

The doctor came in a few minutes later, and after giving me detailed instructions about what I should do and avoid, I had him sign my work papers, citing that I was unable to work for two weeks. He handed me a perscription, shook my hand and then left me behind the curtains, anxiously awaiting Cloud to come back and escort me out, maybe taking one of his pens and scribbling his name and number onto my palm.

After about a half hour of waiting, I finally grabbed another nurse, a short brunette bouncing down the hallway. "Excuse me, can you tell me where I can find Cloud Strife?" Hoping that I came off as a patient still and not a man hoping to catch a date.

She looked me over and shrugged. "Not really sure. He's gone for the day, is all I know." Nodding my thanks numbly, I let my feet walk me out of the front of the hospital, hail a cab and finally make it to my bed, dutifully setting my alarm for two hours from now.

Relaxing on my bed, one hand resting on my chest, the other laying on the bed, I wondered just what in the hell I'd read wrong about the situation. He'd told ME that I had a fine ass. So, why would he skip out? Closing my eyes, I blocked out my confusion, and drifted off.


Cloud - five days later

Death was a regular thing in my life, had to be as I was a nurse in the emergency department of Hollow Bastion's largest hospital. It's shocking the first times you see a patient die, but slowly you sort of get used to it. It's not like it doesn't pain you anymore, of course I feel sad for the family and the person who died, but you manage to move on and not feel the need to throw back a shot of whisky after your shift.

Didn't think I'd get that dreaded phone call so soon in my life though... My mother had died early on. I don't remember her at all and my father... Well, my father was the kind of guy I could just never imagine dying. He was in his fifties and still partying around.

But of all my family members, I'd never have expected my brother, Zack, to die at age thirty five along with his wife, Aerith. In a car accident of all things. I saw the result of car accidents daily, I just never thought such a thing would happen in my family.

It did though, I got the dreaded phone call and then had to step into the whirlwind of funeral preparations. A funeral is something so personal... You can't hire someone to prepare it in your stead. How I wished that were possible though, as having to call all the people that needed to know of the accident and having to pick the right coffin, the right clothes Zack and Aerith had to wear, flowers, caterer, paperwork, paperwork and some more paperwork... You really didn't want to deal with that shit when you were trying to grieve without going absolutely out of your mind.

What made everything worse was that two children had become orphans... Social services contacted me fast. Some time ago Aerith and Zack had asked me to come over and if they could ask me to sign this paper... They were cautious and had wanted to take care of their children best they could, so in case anything were to happen to them, they could feel assured Roxas and Sora would be in good hands.

Out of all relatives... I suppose that I was indeed the better choice. My father wasn't a bad man, but he certainly wasn't the person you'd trust to make the right decisions. Aerith's mother is a full time alcoholic and then there's was me. So I'd signed the paper without hesitation, and could I rewind time, I would do it again. Of course then I hadn't realized it would happen this soon, or at all

Now I was a parent to two small boys that had just lost their mom and dad. It was a lot to take in, all of it combined, I didn't really know how to feel so I focused on Roxas and Sora instead, trying to make them go through the motions as easily as possible.

"Cloud?" Blinking out of my stare, I tore my gaze away from the two graves before me. Roxas had wanted to stay a while longer after the ceremony and I hadn't seen an issue with that, remaining where I was, holding a sleeping Sora in my left arm and Roxas' hand with my right.

I offered my father a tiny smile. "Hey," He most be feeling horrible. Loosing a child was so unnatural... "I'm sorry I couldn't spend more time with you."

He shook his head, his hair so much like Zack's. "Don't apologize. You've got bigger things to worry about now." He offered Roxas a smile and stroked Sora's sleeping head before placing an arm around my shoulders, squeezing it. "Just promise me to take care of yourself as well, okay?"

I wanted to be angry at him for not being capable to take Roxas and Sora in his care... I was only twenty-six years old. I had plans for my career and my life. I was forced to pause all that until I got a grasp on being what Roxas and Sora needed me to be. Of course that thought just made me want to shoot myself. It wasn't their fault.

"Yeah, I'll try. But they come first now." I muttered, nudging the side of my face against that of Sora, who then mumbled something in his sleep, leading me to smile as he sucked onto his thumb, looking peaceful. Roxas was having a harder time since he was old enough to actually understand what was going on. It was kind of getting cold now, but I didn't want to pull him away if he needed a while longer.

"I wanna go home." Roxas said quietly, clutching onto my hand as he looked up at me with his blue eyes bright and his nose red and starting to run. Zack had teased me about how much Roxas looked like me instead of him, and I had to admit that the resemblance was striking. But his eyes were his dad's.

I'd moved out of my apartment and moved into Zack and Aerith's home, hoping that by not moving Sora and Roxas into a new place, they'd manage to go through this a bit better. It was hard for me to live in the house of my brother and sister in law, but I'd asked the social worked about it, Tifa was her name, and she said that I was right to let Roxas and Sora stay in their home as then they would keep familiar surrounding and routine...

Patting his head softly, I nodded. "We can come back here whenever you want, okay?" I told him softly, giving my dad a quick smile as he told me a soft goodbye and left.

Roxas only nodded, giving the graves one last look. When he'd first heard that they had been killed, he of course didn't believe anyone, demanding that we take him to his mom and dad. It was rather heartbreaking to watch him as the days slowly went by, the funeral preperations in full swing, as he slowly came to realize that they were never coming home.

He'd sunk into a rather numb state, refusing to do almost anything. Sora was the only one who could really get a response out of him and Roxas was starting to become very protective of his little brother. He let me pull him in the direction of the car that had taken us from the funeral home to the cemetary, shuffling his feet and his eyes on the ground in front of him.

I knew that I felt like I was doing better when I kept myself busy. To be honest, it was hard not to be what with the drastic changes in my life. I'd prepared a funeral, moved out of one apartment and moved into a house, quit my job and become the legal guardian of two boys. All that in a week.

Sighing, I settled Sora into his kiddy seat, clipping the crossed belts in place. That had been a tricky one at first, but after struggling with it for an hour, I'd finally understood how it worked. Now I was practically a pro. He didn't wake, and I made sure he wouldn't by placing his blanky close to him.

"Would you like to help me with dinner tonight?" I asked Roxas softly, settling in the seat beside him, making sure not to worry about his seatbelt as he'd loudly informed me the other day he knew very well how to do it himself.

"Yes. Sora doesn't like onions and mushrooms. And you put onions in everything." He glared, clipping the belt and reaching over to rearrange Sora's blanket so it wasn't resting on the seat at all.

I breathed in steadily, trying not to let that get on my nerves. I wasn't allowed to be angry with him now. He'd just lost his parents and I figured he was definitely allowed to be moody. But in everything I did, Roxas always found a way to criticize it, correct it, scold me for it. I realized he was more aware of Sora's routine than I was, but I was definitely not going to let this drag out to the point where Sora wouldn't listen to me anymore.

Physical appearance aside, he was just like his dad. Back when myself and Zack only had our dad? Zack had decided to be my protector as the older brother. While it was nice to see Roxas care so much for Sora... I wasn't my father. I was very well capable of taking care of Sora AND Roxas. I just hoped that at some point in the future, Roxas would realize this.


Whut?