Disclaimer= Do not own, but do want. I only use the characters for my own amusement.. no profit made!!! TT^TT
A/N = I seem to be writing alot of angsty fics lately... Well, the plotbunny makes them in my head so, blame it!!
Rated for language and one boy x boy kiss!
It finaly happened. Even Aerith didn't know what sparked it off.
The temperature in the room dropped dramaticaly. The next thing the others in the room new, Leon had stood, knocking over his chair, and reached for his gunblade in the corner before leaving. He had slammed the door with force enough to brake one of it's large hinges. Aerith simply looked at the space he had occupied infront of her moments before. The resounding slam echoed in the room for a few seconds, its aftermath for at least half an hour.
Leon hadn't been back in two days. It seemed to have more effect on the Restoration Commitee members than a Heartless attack.
Cloud, for one, wanted to know what the hell had happened.
"Aerith, I'm going to look for him." He didn't wait for a reply, knowing that the green-eyed girl would only nod. With the reassuring weight of the buster sword on his back, the blonde warrior carefuly closed the damaged door behind him and started walking. He had no clue where Leon had been for two days, but he at least knew where to start. if he isn't at the Bailey, I know we have a problem. Cloud had been sent up there several times before to fetch the scarred man.
Leon's routine had always been the same, from what he had heard from Aerith. So that was why when this... whatever it was had happened, it made everyone so nervous. Leon had been holding up everything in Hollow Bastion, it had obvioulsy... got to him, at last. That in itself worried Cloud. And how he had slammed that door, it reminded him of his own strength; but Leon had never even seen mako, let alone been subjected to its horrors! It was scary, or would be if Cloud hadn't seen worse things.
As he turned out of the empty bailey (he had expected Leon to have gone further than his usual sanctuary), he heard a loud roar. It shook him slightly. Cloud picked up on the direction it came from. The castle, shit! The blonde's blood went cold. If that was Leon's shout he had heard, then the man must be fighting for his life.
The castle loomed over Cloud, it's dark shadow casting a heavy feeling in his heart.
"Damnit Leon... Where are you?" He whispered. Leon wasn't in the Postern, or any of the winding corridoors. He must have gone deeper into the castle. The Heartless factory, perhaps? It seemed the most logical place if the scarred brunette wanted to let off steam...He picked up his pace, his feet pounding as worry hit him hard. The wind in the castle was cold as it whipped around him and his shivering increased. Mako-blue eyes widened and locked onto a dark figure in the middle of the white factory. "LEON!" He jumped from the balcony, ignoring Tron's protests for his safety.
"Cloud... Get OUT of here!" Leon's voice made Cloud consider that order. It was... Well it was more forceful than he had ever heard. Even Sephiroth's voice hadn't made him hesitate for two seconds. But, he stepped forward, wincing as his leg protested. Must have... hurt it in the drop. Cloud braced himself and leaped forward, slashing his Buster Sword around him frantically, trying to take some of the attention off of Leon. The swarm of black creatures didn't go down or divert their focus.
"I'm going to... help whether you like it or... not!" Cloud swung around, with little grace, and took out several of them. He winced as one caught his arm and turned to look at Leon. The brunette was almost entrancing when he moved. His movements were swift, controlled and almost like... almost like liquid! The large gunblade looked as if it was feather light in Leon's hands, slashing left and right. But, even as Cloud watched, he knew that behind each captivating swipe, there was anger. Cloud had to tear his eyes away to kill several more Heartless. Their numbers had lessened (probably due to the forse Leon was putting into his swings) so Cloud judged it safe to get closer to the other. "Leon, calm down! There aren't many left, just these few! Come on, we should get out of here!" Cloud tried to reach towards Leon's arm, trying to get his attention.
"No! You go. I'll finish them off.." Leon's strength was dwindeling, that was obvious. Cloud turned away to kill the last few remaining Heartless.
"You're a stuborn idiot, you know? Should have just let me handle it!" As soon as the words left his lips, he heard a loud thud. "See? Gone..." He turned to glare at Leon. Well, he tried but Leon wasn't- "Leon!" Stupid man! He must have been fighting for... hours! Cloud groaned, wanting nothing more than to go to his little house and sleep for two days straight. But that didn't seem like it was going to happen anytime soon. He sighed deeply, a sharp pain cutting through his damaged leg and limped over to Leon's unconcious body. "I should have brought a potion or two..." Picking up his companion, he winced. I better get Aerith to take a look, damn it hurts! Cloud gritted his teeth, placing Leon over his shoulder. His eyes drifted over the area of Leon's limp body he could see. Argh! Why did I pick him up that way! Now all I can see is his ass... Not that it's a bad ass... Shaking his head, Cloud snickered to himself. "If I end up looking there again, I'll hit him."
---
Aerith was cleaning. Again. She sighed quietly to herself, Yuffie had at least left her alone to clean up for once. Usually the small ninja would hang around generaly creating more mess! Then, if luck was on Aerith's side, she would be distracted by Cid or one of Merlin's 'shiney things'. At least this time Cid had taken the hyperactive girl to help in the Castle Postern with some repairs.
"Hmm... I wonder if I'll have time enough to clean the upstairs as well as the kitchen..." She mused to herself. Aerith twiddled one of her plaits in her fingers, toying with the end as her green eyes took in the pots next to the sink. "Well, this should be done in no time! Without Leon's..." She sighed. For the last two days, she had been worried sick about Leon. He had just flown off of the handle! It was... well, it was worrying!
"Aerith! I need help!" She turned sharply, recognising the voice from the back door.
"Cloud? What on earth happened? Is that... Leon?!" Cloud staggered in with the brunette slung over his shoulder, blood staining more of his leg as he limped.
"Yes, it is. He... went to the Heartless factory and... well, there were too many of them. Had to save his ass." Aerith watched as Cloud lay Leon's limp form on the large armchair, feet hanging over one side and head resting on the other. "Can you fix him?" She looked up from examining the brunette. Cloud looked worried.
"Why, of course. He'll be out of it for a day or two but; he should be fine." Aerith smiled reassuringly. "Don't fret, Cloud! It wont improve his mood, but all his aches and pains will go away." Standing, she put a hand on his bicep gently. Cloud nodded simply.
"Alright."
"I'll heal him now, but you should probably keep an eye on him over night. He will be alittle groggy when he wakes up!" And I think he would rather wake up with you nearby than Cid or myself. She added to herself. Cloud nodded again, sitting down opposite to let Aerith heal Leon and his leg.
---
Sharp, lightning fast pain shot up Leon's spine as he tried to sit up.
"Gods... what the-!" He looked down, voice failing him as he saw a large gash on his side. Vaguely, he remembered fighting... something... at some point, but the details were lost to him. Leon looked over his upper body, checking for any more damage he might have recieved. Suddenly, he remembered something. His mind became a little less blurred. "Oh no... I didn't..!" Groaning, he let the memory come to him.
"I know it's late, but I have to take a look, Aerith. If it fell down during the night someone could get hurt!" He tried to reason with the green eyed girl, but she wasn't going to let him go.
"Leon, you need to rest! Your arm is playing up again. I can send Cloud to go, he's more than capable." She rested her hand on his left shoulder. Sighing in defeat, he nodded. Leon didn't trust Cloud. The blonde was suspicious, at least in Leon's eyes he was. But Aerith seemed to trust him enough. Cloud was... he was unatural. The way his eyes glowed eerily in the dark, and how he could lift things twice his size with such ease!
"I don't trust him, Aerith. He's dark inside." Aerith shook her head.
"No, he isn't. I know him! Cloud has been through alot of darkness and-"
"And we haven't?" He chuckled and smiled sadly. Leon felt his anger rising. "I've had to grow up here, with no one I recognise. You know these people! I'm alone... alone, Aerith..." The anger replaced itself with sadness as he looked back on his life. Rinoa, Seifer, Zell; they were all gone! Cid, Aerith and Yuffie knew each other and now they had Cloud! Leon didn't have anyone. It just wasn't fair.
After that, Leon recalled leaving and walking somewhere but, other than that it was gone.
"Leon, you awake?"
"Oh, Sora. Yeah, I'm up. What's been happening?" He sat up as the bouncy teen entered the room. Sora took a sea on the end of the bed, grinning as he always did.
"Nothin much, I just thought I would pop in to check on you! When Cloud carried ya in all bloody and cut up, I thought you'd been got by the Heartless! But, it seems not so... yeah. I think that's it!" Sora grinned again, his hands clasped behing his spikey brown hair. Leon just stared at him. So Cloud brought me back? He was shocked! He and Cloud had hardly said two words to each other...
"Cloud... brought me back here?"
"Yep, he did. But he didn't want me to say anything so... keep it a secret?" Leon had to smile, when Sora grinned it was infectious. He nodded and ran a hand through his hair. "I've gotta go now, we're off to Beasts Castle for a little bit! Belle wanted to thank us with a feast! Can you believe it? See you later!" Sora bounded up and off the bed, giving a small salute to Leon as he ran through the door.
Leon sat quietly for a while.
He had no right to have been angry at Aerith... She hadn't done anything wrong to deserve it! But whenever he thought about the past it tended to consume him. Leon decided to go downstairs. The brunette wanted; no, needed; to apologise to Aerith and Cloud. Neither of them needed to have been involved in his mood swings. Not that they happened often, of course. Leon pinched the bridge of his nose, wincing as the covers agitated his wounds. Sitting up straighter, he swung his legs around slowly to hang over the edge of the bed. He hadn't been injured enough to be bed ridden in... a long time at least! The small crack of sunlight from between the curtains told him it was around midday. So most of them will be working or entertaining Sora. At least that gives me time to get out of bed... Damn it... If there was one thing Leon couldn't stand, it was being dependant on someone else.
It took him ten minutes to get out of the bed. Leon's clothes were on his body, he was glad to know. And this is where I thank whatever deity there is tat this is a one level house. A smile formed on Leon's lips for a moment. He began to shuffle down the hall, trying not to agitate the still healing leg wounds he had.
"Gah! What the..." His big toe conneccted with something hard, making his cry out slightly. He looked down with curious, if still wet, gun-metal eyes. A boot. A big, heavy boot. He didn't own boots that hefty! But Cloud did... So he was still here? Leon looked around, trying to determine where the blonde warrior would be. Kitchen sounds empty... not in the bathroom... He looked around the small living room. Surely enough, someone was asleep on the couch. Quietly, he limped up to the figure, recognising it as Cloud. Leon manouvered himself round to sit in the rather large armchair Cid often used, facing Cloud's sleeping form. He saved my life... I guess, for Aerith's sake, I should trust him. I can try, right?
Even as he slept, Cloud was troubled. His brow was creased in thought and his hands clenched into fists. But, as Leon watched, something changed. The tense look to him lifted slightly, as if something had lifted his sorrows. Leon's eyes drifted over the blonde's body curiously. It was a change to see Cloud quiet for a reason other than being his usual self! The sun played in his blonde spikes, giving them a golden aura that seemed to draw his attention to Cloud's face. Leon took in the delicate features, wondering how this man could be a killer. If he hadn't seen Cloud fighting, he coujld easily have mistaken him for another civilian. His eyes lowered to the other man's neck. Cloud's zip-up turtleneck had been un-sipped, the fabric curled slightly and revealing a small expanse of the ivory skin there. The skin looked smooth, lightly reflecting the light and causing shadows at the hollow of Cloud's neck.
What scared Leon was how mmuch he wanted to touch it. To kiss it.
Shaking his head, Leon leaned back in his chair.
"Looking for something?" His eyes shot open. "'Cause if you think I have a mole on my neck, you're mistaken." Cloud smirked, eyes still closed and shoulders turning towards Leon. Shocked, Leon didn't know what to say in reply.
"...Whatever..." Cloud chuckled slightly under his breath. He sat up and opened his mako-blue eyes. They glowed eerily in the small amount of sunlight filtering into the room. Cloud rellaxed into the chair silently. The small flash of light shining off his single earing caught Leon's attention.
"So... You feeling better now?" Looking up, Cloud stared hard at Leon.
"Y-yeah. Aerith healed me pretty-"
"I don't mean that. I mean... Do you... feel better?" His gaze softened. Leon blinked several times, his throat working to get words out. W..what? I don't-... Oh.
"I guess I do... About that; Cloud, I'm sorry. I put you in danger for no reason. None of it was intentional." He sat slightly straighter, confused why Cloud hadn't moved or replied when a minute went by.
Another minute passed. Then Cloud gave a noncommital shrug, leaning forward in his seat, hands clasped infront of him and focusing on the floor.
"I was worried." A subtly wave of tension filled the room. "Not sure why but... When I saw you leave it worried me!" Cloud ran a hand through his golden hair, playing with the end for a moment then letting his hand fall. "Then when I found you I... I just couldn't shake the feeling off that you were going to die." He looked up at Leon then. His usualy shiney eyes were a little dull. It may have been a trick of the light but that dullness made Leon's stomach fall.
"Cloud I-"
"No, it's alright... It wasn't your fault. Whatever was troubling you, I hope it's gone now. I'm glad your leg's better." Cloud stood, turning to pick up his discarded boots. Leon didn't stop him from leaving, he felt frozen to the spot. His mouth wouldn't work, his feet were like stones and his mind was blank. Vaguely, he heard the door close quietly.
--
Cloud's heart was beating wildly. He could still feel Leon's eyes on him, even if he had got the wrong impression. Since he had gone after the brunette, it was if he was being broken down... But in a good way. The feeling was painfull after, but it thrilling when he was with the other man. None of it made sense to him... But it does! You know what it is, you just don't want to admit to it! His breath hitched. Zack would have teased him about it... If he were here... He isn't here and wont be ever again! Just... Let it go. He tried, he tried all the time! Every day he wanted to forget those violet eyes and gleeful smile! But he couldn't; and never would.
His feet carried him to the small garden Aerith had began tending near the edge of the city. At least she had a natural connection to him. Not that it was any use. But in that small garden, he found it possible to relax slightly, let the tension ease slightly from his shoulders. It wasn't much, but it was something, right?
Maybe Leon would benefit from this place?? Unless he already knows about it!
Cloud let himself slip into the bench Aerith had made him place there. He had to think of the brunette then. It was true, what he had said to Leon. He was worried about him. Even if they never got to be friends out of combat, he would still worry. Leon was... He was someone Cloud had never met anyone like. Except myself. Even then it isn't... that close of a connection. Cloud lifted a hand to sift through his blonde spikes. He thought he was overreacting, the way his chest began fluttering when he imagined Leon's face only ten minutes ago. The cold grey eyes, they never really seemed cold. They were something else.
Cloud took a moment to adjust himself on the bench. The Leon in his mind grew, a whole person now. The outfit was the same. Short leather jacket with its insignia, white tee-shirt that clung to his sculptured chest and those ridiculous belts. Smiling, Cloud looked closer at the Gunblader. His legs, for example, in the image Cloud had of him were... long; long and almost perfect. Cloud didn't dare look at his face. The butterflies in his chest had gotten worse.
I wonder if it's... soft, like it looks. He stepped forward in his mind, reaching out to touch the man's bicep. Clouds fingers ghosted over the leather-clad muscle, moving softly over to the opening at the top of the white tee-shirt. He traced the collarbone gently. This was... nice.
Almost. Those butterflies had steadily got worse. The image in his head popped out of existance. The rate his pulse had gone up to stayed. Cloud wasn't used to this feeling, it wasn't something he had ever dealt with before! He pressed a hand to his chest, trying to think of what to do.
--
The sun had set by the time Cloud returned to Aerith's house. A warm glow enveloped the small cottage, instantly making him feel better. The front room was empty when Cloud sat down, removing his boots silently. His mind wandered slightly, not that it was unusual, to the people he was around in this place. Aerith, who he had known for what seemed like forever, was the same as she always had been; kind, sweet and surrounded by warmth and healing. Cid, his usual gruff self but still caring in his own way. Yuffie still bounced around rooms instead of walking in them and Sephiroth... Sephiroth had been just as Cloud had last seen him.
Then there was Leon. Quiet, powerful, magnetic...
Cloud stopped his thoughts before he would need to keep track of them. The blonde warrior stepped towards the kitchen, trying to leave his thoughts next to his discarded boots.
"Cloud, could you pass me that spoon?" Aerith's calm voice barely registered. "Cloud? Wakey wakey in there, are you alright? I hope you haven't been working yourself too hard again!" She laughed, the sound alerting Cloud's attention.
"Oh, er.. No, I was just thinking."
"Who about?" Aerith's ability to ascertain what he held close to him would never cease to amaze him. Her eyes were curious, her lips pulled up into a small smile.
"No one, really. Just... all of you. How it isn't fair Leon hasn't..." He stopped, something pulling at his chest. Not this again. The butterflies came back full force. "I've got you, Cid and Yuffie... Even... Sephiroth was here. And Leon... He lost all of them!" Anger began to build in his chest, his eyes lighting up with Mako. "I want to..." Aeriths eyes were soft as they studied him; she knew already, before Cloud did, how he felt. She nodded, the smile on her lips deeper and more warming.
"Tell him." Was all she said, before turning back to her oven. Cloud stood for a moment, digesting his own feelings. The butterflies began to swarm through him. He nodded, forgeting Aerith couldn't see the action.
--
Leon's eyes scanned the world in front of him. From the top of the castle to the small town underneath. His stormy eyes took in every detail from the edge of the cliff he had stood on not a month ago, when Sora had nearly completed his mission. His chocolate brown hair rustled in the slight breeze coming from behind him. The moon had come out, her reflected light shining down softly to blanket Hollow Bastion. A scuffing noise made his head turn, hair falling around his face. He could see the glint of moonlight off Cloud's earing. Cloud didn't speak, didn't say anything at all, so neither did Leon.
Turning fully, Leon faced the blonde, their eyes meeting harshly. Cloud took a few steps forward and stood next to the stoic brunette. They kept eye contact, shoulders almost touching due to Cloud's closeness. Leon could feel the warmth of Cloud's skin, even though the night air was chilled. Something was wrong. Cloud's eyes were... They were slightly less vibrant than usual.
Suddenly, Cloud faced him fully, one hand on Leon's bicep. The heat from his hand sent a shiver down Leon's arm and through his chest, settling in the pit of his stomach. His body relaxed of its own accord. Cloud stepped once more closer to him, looking directly at him. Then, he rested his head on Leon's shoulder.
Leon placed his arms around Cloud's lithe waist. His mind was blank as he held the smaller man. His heart stopped for a moment when he felt warm, soft lips touch his neck, lingering for a second or so. The blonde's head rose, eyes soft and uncharacteristicaly full of emotion. Again, Leon's mind was blank. Again, Cloud's soft, warm lips touched him, but this time on his own lips. Cloud pressed himself against Leon, their body's warm together. the brunette stood still, his eyes closed as he felt a small space in his chest fill.
Cloud pulled back, his nose tracing a path down Leon's cheek and to his neck. The sensation was new, but welcome. Leon sighed gently. His eyes stayed closed as he let Cloud do what he wanted. It was... good, to let go like this. It wasnt much but it was still something, right?
The moon seemed to watch them as they stood together. Then, in early morning, the sun rose, illuminating the world of Hollow Bastion and a new day brought Leon his answer.
All comments and reviews welcome!!!! (crap end i know, i lost inspiration!!!!)
x Muffin x