Disclaimer: All of the Disney and Squaresoft characters, names, places, etc. in this story are the property of their original owners. I really don't own anything in this story. Don't sue me.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Better Left Unsaid

Chapter 1: Realization

Several months had passed since the defeat of Xemnas and the fall of Organization XIII at the hands of Sora and Riku. Along with Kairi, the red-haired Princess of Heart, they now spent their days peacefully on Destiny Islands. Mickey had returned to Disney Castle to resume his role as king, joined by, of course, his faithful dog Pluto.

Donald and Goofy, however, after a brief period of rest at home with Mickey and the others, had returned to Hollow Bastion, or, as it was now called, Radiant Garden. The city was still being restored to its former glory, and Cid, Yuffie, and the others needed all the help they could get. Wanting to make a difference, Donald and Goofy would help with the construction during the day, staying at Merlin's house at night.

"I'm ready for another one, Donald!" Cid called. In response, the duck picked up a large brick and carried it over to the platform where Cid was working.

"You really should stop smoking, you know," Donald said, eyeing the cigarette in the middle-aged pilot's mouth.

Cid grinned. "Ain't much chance of that happening. Sometimes I feel like these are all that keep me alive these days."

Donald rolled his eyes and headed back to the pile of bricks. He leaned against a half-finished wall and sighed. Lately he was filled with a strange restlessness, and even the hard work he put in daily didn't help to take his mind off it.

Someone was climbing down the ladder. It was Leon. The young warrior had been laying bricks since dawn, but the wall was still far from completion. The heat had prompted Leon to take his jacket and shirt off. As he stood with his hands on his hips, examining his work, Donald noticed his muscular features.

Not one to be mendacious about his thoughts, he didn't mind admitting to himself that Leon's body was practically a work of art, something to be admired; it was a true testament to the warrior's physical prowess and hard-working nature. Of the group originally from Radiant Garden, Leon's strength was infamous, second, perhaps, only to Cloud's. While normally reticent and mild-mannered, Leon was an absolute devil in battle. Donald was glad that he had never been on the receiving end of one of Leon's furious attacks.

In truth, Donald had been thinking a lot about Leon lately. He found himself unable to stop smiling whenever he spoke with the brown-haired young man whose mere presence set Donald's heart beating at a faster rate than normal. Something about Leon gave him a feeling he just couldn't describe.

"Donald? Donald!" Leon said, waving a hand in front of Donald's face.

Blinking, Donald started. "Sorry," he said hurriedly.

"You were zoning out for a minute there," Leon laughed good-naturedly.

"Yeah, don't mind me," said Donald. "Whatcha need?"

Leon hesitated. "We've all been working hard, and Aerith has decided to throw a party to keep us all in good spirits. There'll be food, drinks, dancing, DDR, everything!"

"Really? Sounds fun!" exclaimed Donald, clapping his hands together. "I haven't played DDR since that time I was waiting for Sora to come out of the Winnie the Pooh book!"

Leon scratched his head and looked around strangely at everything but Donald. "Yeah, Cloud said he's going to ask Tifa to go with him."

Donald smiled sweetly. "That's really great. Those two make a really cute couple, in my opinion," he added. "And what about you, Leon? Who are you going with?"

The warrior looked surprised. "Huh, who am I going with?"

Donald winked and nudged him. "Gonna ask Aerith?"

Leon bowed his head. After a brief pause, he looked awkwardly over his shoulder. "I, uh, I have to go right now," he stammered, turning and walking off quickly.

Confused, Donald picked up a brick for Cid, who had just called for another. Leon's sudden and strange departure puzzled the duck, and he found himself unable to put it out of his mind.

As the day progressed, Donald saw no more of Leon, and when the sun sank below the horizon, he returned to Merlin's house more perplexed than ever. Back in his room, he saw that Goofy was already changing out of his work clothes and into his pajamas. "Hey buddy!" Goofy shouted gleefully at Donald's arrival, eliciting a sharp hiss from Merlin, who was trying to sleep. Goofy clapped his hands over his mouth. "How'd your day go?" he whispered sheepishly after a quick glance at the old wizard.

"Not bad," shrugged the duck. "Yours?"

"Great! Me and Sephiroth got a whole mess of work done, hyuck!"

Donald recalled how Sephiroth's return had been a surprise for them all. Initially, everyone had been reluctant to trust Sephiroth, but the silver-haired enigma insisted that he just wanted to help. After seeing what a hard worker he was, they had gradually grown more at ease around him.

Indeed, it seemed that Goofy and Sephiroth were turning out to be the best of friends. Donald had had few opportunities to talk to him, but Goofy was always telling him about things that Sephiroth did or said that made him laugh. The one person who couldn't warm up to him was Aerith, who claimed that she got a strange feeling in her midsection every time she was around him.

Donald tugged off his sweat-soaked shirt. "By the way, did you hear about Aerith's party?"

"Shore did, pal," said Goofy. "Tifa asked me to go with her, so I might as well humor her."

Donald raised an eyebrow, recalling what Leon had told him earlier. "Won't Cloud object to that?"

Goofy shrugged. "Not much he can say, is there? The early bird gets the germ, as they say. Anyway…"

"It's WORM!" the duck protested.

"…Anyway, Tifa already asked me," Goofy continued. "Although, to be honest, the one I really…" His voice trailed off, and he glanced over to make sure that Merlin was asleep. "The one I really hoped would ask me," he continued with a rather sad smile, "is Sephiroth."

"Goofy!" Donald scolded, drawing back the covers and flopping down onto the bed. "You know that the Bible forbids homosexual love!"

Goofy looked guiltily at the floor. "I know that… but it's what my heart's tellin' me. My heart's never lied to me before, y'know?"

Unsure of how to respond, Donald shrugged and rolled over. The two exchanged good nights, and soon the cottage was filled with the sounds of Goofy snoring. Donald, however, lay awake. He gazed out the window at the beautiful, star-filled sky. For a second, he thought he glimpsed a pattern that looked like Leon's face. A second later, all he saw were regular stars.

He couldn't sleep. His mind was filled with thoughts of the day, of Leon's strange behavior. Had he been acting that way because… No, it couldn't be. Donald swallowed and drove the thought from his mind. It returned an instant later, and this time he could not ignore it. Had Leon wanted to ask him to the party? And more importantly, did he want Leon to ask him?

The words Goofy had spoken before echoed in his thoughts. "…it's what my heart is telling me. My heart's never lied to me before, y'know?" Donald sat up in bed, shocked at his sudden realization.

He loved Leon.

He had no idea how it had happened. How long had he even known him? Roughly two years? Their conversations had been sparse, Donald realized, while he, Sora, and Goofy were out on their adventures. It wasn't until recently that he had started really getting to know Leon.

Donald had initially noticed a kind of shy honesty behind the warrior's stern expression. The youth captured his attention the way no one, not even Daisy, ever had. It was Leon's awkward kindness that had made him feel welcome during the first weeks he and Goofy had worked on Radiant Garden. His nephews, Huey, Dewey, and Louie, had remained at Disney Castle. With few people to talk to, the long days of work often left Donald feeling lonely.

Goofy was his friend and always would be, but due to their positions the two hardly saw each other during the day, and by night they were too exhausted to talk. Donald knew that they would never go their separate ways; they simply didn't see much of each other these days. Cid was often impossible to talk to, and most of the others worked elsewhere in the city. No, there really wasn't anyone else around for the duck to connect with besides Leon, and Donald was only now realizing the extent of his feelings beneath the casual surface of the friendship.

He thought again of Leon's bizarre actions. Was Leon going to ask him to Aerith's party? A nervous bubble of hope began to rise in the duck's stomach, and he began to feel excited. Was it wrong? A human and an animal? What would the others say about that? He didn't care. Clutching his pillow, Donald was dimly aware of his drooping eyelids as his thoughts became hazy and he drifted slowly to sleep.