HeY everybody! This is my first fic ever, so be nice! Lol I just love the whole Leon/Cloud pairing, they're both so quiet and cute lol. Anyway, I just thought I'd let you know right now that I dont know much about these character's actual backgrounds in like Final Fantasy. I tried to play some of the games and stuff and get in to it, but the lack of Ps2 in my household is not helping.

And I just want to try and explain now so it's not too confusing. The first point of view is Leon's. Then the little break thinger means it's Cloud's and it switches back and forth. Tell me if it gets too confusing.

Oh yeah p.s. I don't own Kingdom Hearts or any characters associated with it.

Chapter 1

Visitors

-------------Leon's PV------------

I halted momentarily in my walk to look around. Nothing. As usual. You would think I'd be overwhelmed with the fact that the heartless were appearing less and less, but no, I was bored. And Traverse Town was becoming especially quiet now that Sora was appearing less and less too, like the heartless.

I started walking again and didn't stop until I was in front of an old hotel. I simply stared at the handle before going in. Did I even want to go in? What was there to do in there? Even less than out here, that's what. The old hotel was currently being cleaned by Aerith and Yuffie, and I sure didn't want to get stuck helping. I turned away from the door of the building and started in the opposite direction I came from.

Sure, our small group of friends got the occasional visitors here and there; which were usually old friends and simply passing by. No one stayed for very long. Could you blame them? Traverse Town had to be the most tedious world of them all. I sighed and kicked a pebble with my foot.

Now I definitely was a very antisocial guy. I don't like being around people all that much, especially a lot of people at the same time. But when a person would stay with us, sometimes I found him-self sticking around the place a lot more, hoping to hear news of the outside worlds.

"Squ-... I mean uh... Leon?"

Damn. I've been found.

I stopped and slowly looked over my shoulder to see Yuffie standing behind me with her hands on her hips. I gave a small grunt: my show of acknowledgment.

"We have a visitor."

I stayed calm and simply stared at her, but my insides were practically shouting with excitement, "Who?"

Yuffie giggled, "An old friend of mine, Aerith's, and Cid's. I don't think you know him."

I stood there for several more minutes without saying anything.

"I'll be back later." Then I walked away, my way of saying this conversation is over, so go away.

But, as usual, Yuffie didn't take the hint and jumped up and down, "Hey! I think you might actually get along with him! He's just as broody as you!"

I didn't look back, but I heard Yuffie giggle again and skip off towards the hotel.

----------------------------Cloud's PV--------------------

The number one thing I hated. Girls ... or at least girl's fussing. Seriously, I made it in one piece, nothing was about to fall off, and I was well fed. There was NOTHING to fuss over!

"Oh Cloud! You're oookkkayy!" Yuffie dragged the last word out as she clasped her hands together and hopped up and down.

"Yuffie! We all realize he's okay, damnit! So get away!" I smiled as I recognized Cid's voice and silently thanked him.

Cid gave me a half wave as he walked by, "Hey kid."

I stood up and followed him, "Hey old man."

Cid grunted and glared at me over his shoulder, "Oh shut up, I ain't that old." I chuckled and proceeded to trail after him out the door, "So ... is that everyone you're living with? Aerith and Yuffie?"

Cid turned a corner and shook his head, "Nah, we got Squall too. He's around somewhere."

"Squall?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Don't dare call him that though. He goes by Leon now." Cid gave me a stern look and stopped in front of a door. He stared at me for a moment, "You seem different."

I stared right back and shifted uncomfortably, how did I seem different? "How so?"

He shrugged, "I don't know." Then Cid opened the door and waved good-bye. I nodded and walked down the hall. This place sure was boring.

I found my way in to what seemed like an old check-in room. There was a small front desk by the door and a couple fake trees at the corner. A fire place sat in the opposite wall with a couch and a coffee table. Several dusty old photos aligned the wall behind the desk, but I didn't care about them.

"Cloud?" I stood absolutely still as I recognized that voice. Cid had said it was only him, Aerith, Yuffie, and that Squall guy living here ... right? My eyes widened as I tried to think this over. Maybe I had just imagined the voice. Yeah, that was it! Confident that it was just my imagination, I kept walking.

"Cloud!" I stopped again, this time daring to look over my shoulder. My suspicions were right. It was her, "Tifa!" She smiled and nearly jumped in to my arms. I hadn't seen her since our world disappeared. I thought I had lost her.

"But Cid never said you were here?" I stared at her in shock as she hugged me.

"I just got here! When did you get here?" She let go of me.

"Just a bit ago."

"It's true! I thought Aerith was lying!" I backed up as I saw an excited Yuffie running in to the room. Tifa laughed and the two girls embraced in a hug and jumped up and down together: my cue to leave.

I opened the front door and gracefully stepped outside. The cool air stung my cheeks for a moment before I pulled up my scarf. What was there to do in this small little town anyway? How did people make a living? Aerith had told me that it is supposed to be a refuge for people who have lost their own worlds. I sighed and rubbed my neck. I didn't even miss home. Sure I missed all my friends, but they were here now. Well, most of them were anyway. My stomach lurched as I thought of Vincent. A part of me yearned to figure out if he was okay, and another part of me knew he was okay. He always was. I sighed again and paced. I was confused. Our world was destroyed a while ago. Yuffie, Aerith, and Cid had obviously made it here right away. I had ended up in a different world but I made it to this one eventually too and obviously Tifa had as well. But time was getting shorter and although seeing the others had given me a little more hope, there was still something that told me there was always a chance Vincent hadn't been so lucky. I shook that thought from my head and turned back towards the building.

The warmth of the building hit me in a heat wave. Obviously someone didn't like the cold. I unwrapped my scarf and yelled Yuffie's name. She instantly came bounding down the hall, "What? You think you can just call me over to you like a servant?" She huffed and crossed her arms. I suppressed a smirk and shrugged. But Yuffie could never be down for long and her posture immediately shifted and she smiled up at me, "Well, what did you want?" I pulled off my cape and draped it across my arm, "Where am I sleeping?" She put a hand to her mouth to stifle a giggle, "In Squ-, I mean Leon's room." I raised an eyebrow at her, "What's so funny?" She laughed and started across the room, "Good look with him ... he's broody, he's mean, though I have to admit he's definitely good-looking, especially when he's-" I cut her off and grunted, "Yuffie, shut up. I don't care what he's like, I just want to know where he sleeps." I mentally slapped myself as we both stopped dead and I realized how stupid that sounded. She giggled and kept walking, "Oh I see what kind of guy you are ... mess around with them and then leave them." She giggled for the millionth time that night and stopped in front of a room. I glared at her as hard as I could and muttered 'shut up' before walking in the room, slamming the door behind me.

As soon as I walked in I realized how cold it was in the room. The rapid temperature changes were starting to make me feel sick and I put a palm to my forehead. It obviously wasn't Leon ... or was it Squall?, who didn't like the cold. I looked around and noticed a cot in the corner of the room: my cot, I guess. I kicked off my boots and slid beneath the covers, too tired to change my clothes. I turned so I was facing the wall and went to sleep.

----------------Leon's PV--------------

I looked up at the stars in the sky and realized how late it must be. I stretched my sore muscles and stood up. Why was I even trying to patrol the area? There was nothing here. I ran a hand through my hair before climbing up the steps and heading towards the hotel. As soon as I stepped in the door I felt a different presence. Oh yeah ... we had visitors. I headed straight to my room without stopping in the kitchen to talk to the others. I softly kicked the door open and smiled at the cool air. Just the way I liked it. It didn't take long for me to sense another person in the room and I quickly turned around. There was a cot in the corner with a blond sleeping in it. I made a face that was probably a cross between annoyed and confused. Why would the visitor be in my room? The small hotel had at least six bedrooms and only four were normally occupied. I crossed my arms and glared at the wall. If this was another one of Yuffie's dumb ideas, she was going to get a crack over the head later.

-------------------Cloud's PV-----------------

I woke up slightly shivering and took in my surroundings. I didn't recognize anything and stared at the other bed, slightly confused. Oh. Right. Traverse Town. A small hotel. Some random guy's room.

Speaking of said guy ... where was he? I never heard him come in last night and I never heard him leave. I sat up and rubbed the sleep out of my eyes.

I was already dressed so I walked across the room and out the door. The heat hit me again and I groaned. Damn the different temperatures! I walked in the direction that I guessed was the kitchen and was apparently right once I smelt breakfast cooking. I stepped in to the large room and took in my surroundings. Cid was reading through a gummi manual, Tifa and Aerith were busy cooking and Yuffie was leaning back in a chair, yawning like crazy.

I stepped further in to the room and everyone suddenly noticed me. Yuffie snickered, "So how was sharing a room with Leon?" I rubbed my eyes and stood awkwardly as I noticed everyone's eyes on me, "I don't know... I didn't see him at all." Aerith's face turned to one of worry and she shook her head, "He's not getting nearly enough sleep and he can't possibly be eating enough."

Yuffie scratched her chin, "I don't get it ... usually the stubborn idiot sticks around the place a lot more when we have visitors."

Cid chuckled, "He probably wasn't happy after realizing last night that he has to share his room."

"Why? It's not like he's ever in it anyway." Yuffie snorted.

Aerith looked out the window at the town, "I'm sure he'll be back for supper, he usually is."

They all nodded and continued to eat breakfast.

-------------Leon's PV----------------

I stopped for an omelet at a small cafe in the first district. When I was done I paced around the front gate and thought. It had been over two months since we last saw Sora. I'm sure if anything had happened to the kid we'd would have known by now, but still. He usually stopped by every few weeks for supplies and the last time he did, he hadn't grabbed very much. They would have had to run out of potions and elixirs at least a month ago. Hopefully that meant that they just weren't dealing with enemies that much lately.

I jumped on the few boxes stacked near Cid's shop and climbed up on the roof like usual. I watched the people walk around the town with a care and sighed. Once again, nothing to do. First I watched an older couple walk hand in hand in to the same cafe I had just left. A redheaded girl was chatting with a friend in a language I had never heard before. They both laughed suddenly and then the redhead walked away. I raised an eyebrow and looked around. I spotted a familiar head of blond hair appearing out of the alley and I watched as the kid stopped in the street to look around. Probably exploring. I couldn't help but feel a jealousy towards him. He was new here so every district was like a discovery to him and exploring the town would actually give him something to do. I knew the town like the back of my hand and every little corner was familiar to me. Nothing was ever new.

The blond stared at each building for a moment before pressing on to the next one. None of them seemed to catch his eye, so he eventually pushed open the doors to the Third District and disappeared completely from sight. I stared after him for a moment before deciding to follow him. At least it will give me something to do. I jumped down from the roof and on to the usual boxes. Those boxes actually weren't always there. I think Cid had seen me try to get up there with difficulty once, because the next day they had mysteriously shown up. I got down off the boxes and headed for the steps.

At first I wasn't sure where the blond had gotten to but I eventually saw him staring at the Lady and the Tramp monument. There were plenty of people standing around or passing through so I easily blended in as I followed him across the stone street. He stopped here and there to examine things like engravings in the ground and walls or signs that pointed in every direction. Eventually I grew bored with following him as well and turned to head back to the hotel.

"SQUALL LEONHART! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?" Yuffie tapped her foot. I'd barely made it in front of the place before she had burst out the door and glared at me.

I rolled my eyes and sighed, "My name is Leon." I tried to walk past her but she put her arm out to stop me, "Well then Leon Squallheart, where have you been? In the past week I think I've seen you twice!" I shrugged, "Maybe you weren't looking in the right direction?" With that I pushed her arm out of the way and walked inside. Yuffie closed the door behind me and practically screamed at the top of her lungs, "AERITH! I FOUND HIM!" I winced and looked back at her, "Was that really nessicary?" She stuck out her tongue and headed toward the kitchen. I followed her.

"Leon! There you are!" Aerith smiled and handed me a plate, "We were just eating lunch, want a sandwich?" I waved her and the sandwiches off and turned to stare at a black haired women. She stared back for a moment before smiling and saying, "I'm Tifa." She looked like she was about to stick her hand out, but was obviously a lot smarter than she looked because she instantly dropped it.

I turned back to Aerith and raised my eyebrow, "We have two visitors?" Aerith smiled again and nodded, "Oh yes! It's been wonderful too! Someone who can finally help cook!"

I ignored that comment and glared, "And what about the blond who is annoyingly taking up space in my room?" Aerith's smile didn't leave her mouth but she opened it to say something until Yuffie cut her off, "That's Cloud Strife! He's just as cute as I remember too! I'm telling you ... you guys sure will get along. Both quiet. Both mean. Wow, I think that sentence was the most I've heard you say since we met! Aerith, can I have a sandwich?" I blinked at the rapid change in subject and the others simply stared as well. Aerith broke the silence and smiled as she handed Yuffie a plate, "Cloud's staying in your room because Tifa is taking one of the spare rooms and the other room still isn't finished."

I heard footsteps in the entrance and glanced at the door. The familiar blond was watching us all before simply saying, "I'm kind of hungry." Aerith quickly grabbed the plate of sandwiches, while Yuffie complained she was still hungry, and Tifa started cleaning dishes. I stood awkwardly amongst it all until I felt Tifa's hand on my shoulder, "Leon... I don't mean to meddle, but you really should eat something. You look very thin." I glared at her for a moment. She didn't even know me or what I normally looked like. She averted her gaze and quickly stepped back. I shook my head, "I'm not hungry."

--------------Cloud's PV--------------

I watched the man leave and finished my sandwich. I left my mess on the table and quickly got up to head to his room. Well, our room, I guess. I slowly opened the door and stepped in. He was sitting on his bed with his head in his hands and barely looked up as I entered. Trust me, I liked silence just as much as this guy probably did, but this was one of those strange and awkward silences.

"So uh... I heard you guy's hadn't heard from Sora in a while?" I attempted a conversation.

He lifted his head to stare at me as if he was seeing me for the first time, "Yeah."

"Well, if it helps put you at rest at all... I did see Sora and his two little ... friends ... about a week ago over at the coliseum." When I thought of his friends it disturbed me. I've seen plenty of strange things and creatures before, but something about those two was just... weird.

Leon looked up at me again and sat there silently. I shifted and avoided his piercing gaze. He sighed and rubbed his neck, "How are they doing?"

I shrugged, "Well if the normal for them is being constantly upbeat and energetic all the time, then well... I'd say they were doing fine."

Wait! No way! Did I just see a smile appear on the man's lips? I think so! I wasn't even sure if he was capable of smiling.

But just as soon as it appeared, it disappeared. He nodded and lay back on his bed. I did the same and we sat in silence that wasn't even all that awkward. It was a nice change.

I woke a little later on and realized I was alone again. I peered out the window and noticed it was dark out. Well, it was ALWAYS dark here, but I knew it was a night time dark. I stood up and stretched. Glancing at the empty bed again I slipped out of the room. Where did this Leon guy always go? Ah, well ... who cares. I trudged down the hallway and peeked around the corner to the kitchen. Aerith was sitting at the table drinking tea and reading a letter. Does she ever leave this room? I looked for a sign of Yuffie as I slowly went in.

Aerith looked up from her letter and smiled, "She's not here. Her and Leon are out patrolling." I sighed in relief and sat opposite her. She instantly stood up and shuffled to the counter, "Would you like some tea? Or something to eat?"

I shook my head and waved her off, "Nah, not hungry."

She stared at me for a moment before sitting back at the table.

I looked around for a clock but I couldn't find one. I groaned in frustration and kept looking. Aerith looked up from her letter again and grinned, "It's only eight o'clock."

I stared at her with confusion. How did she do that? She went back to reading her letter and sipping her tea. I stood up to leave but she quickly said, "Don't be too late. Tifa and I are going to start making some dinner soon."

I looked back at her and noticed how sad she looked.

------------------Leon's PV--------------

I nearly strangled myself as I listened to the ninja babbling on and on about something I really didn't care for. Did she ever stop talking? Most likely not.

I noticed she was staring at me and probably just asked a question too, "Huh? Um yeah ... me too."

She smiled and threw up her arms, "See! I told her! But noooooo! Tifa seems to think-" I went back to ignoring her as we kept walking. It was ever colder out than usual and I stuffed my hands in my pockets.

Suddenly I could see that familiar blond walking towards the alleyway. We locked gazes for a second before Yuffie waved, "HEY CLOUD!" Cloud nodded to her and kept walking. Yuffie pouted, "Damnit!" I gazed at her with a questioning look and she simply sighed, "Obviously he's bored already. Going back to his broody self and all." She truly looked upset as she kicked at a few loose pebbles, "It's only a matter of days before he leaves again."

But Yuffie was wrong. Cloud was gone by that night. We were all sitting at the table eating dinner when Yuffie growled ,"Why does he always go? Are we that bad?"

Cid grunted, "You know him. Disappears for long periods of time ... it's just how he is."

Tifa gave her a reassuring smile, "He'll come back, he always does."

Yuffie looked from Cid to Tifa and sighed, "Well, where does he even go?"

Everyone looked to Tifa but she shrugged, "Don't ask me!"

Aerith suddenly spoke up from the counter, "Has anyone seen Vincent since our world disappeared?" Realization struck everyone's face as silence fell over the group. I rolled my eyes, hating to be the only one at this table that was from a completely different world, "Who's Vincent?"

Tifa gave a sad smile, "Cloud's friend."

It was silent for several more minutes before Yuffie spoke up again, "So is he out looking for Vincent or what?"

Cid shrugged, "Probably."

Aerith smiled, "I highly doubt he's gone. He's not easily taken down."

Tifa slammed her fist down on the table, "Of course he's not! But I'll be damned if I let Cloud come back without him. You know Cloud. He'll go out looking for him once, come back, and never go again. I don't care if it takes him years to find him, I refuse to let Cloud hate himself again."

"Hate himself?" Cid raised an eyebrow.

"You remember how he was after Zack." Tifa growled.

Everyone nodded and sighed.

Two weeks later and still no sign of this Cloud kid. Everyone's getting antsy, I can tell. No matter what they're doing they always glance at the door, as if he'll walk through any second. I even found myself starting to do it too. This kid was weighing on everybody's emotions and it was starting to stress me out. Even Aerith wasn't her usual cheery self. Tifa seemed to have made pacing and stopping to look out the window her daily routine. Yuffie and I were training to help keep her mind off things, but I realized after two unblocked hits to her stomach that she wasn't really in the fight all that much.

"Leon?" Yuffie asked as we took a break and sat in the grass.

"Hmmph?" I replied.

She sighed and I saw a shiver run up her spine. It was a chilly day and frost was covering the ground still from this morning.

"Do you think Cloud will come back?"

I glanced at her for only a moment, then crossed my arms for warmth, "I'm not sure... I barely knew the guy. Actually... I don't know him at all."

Yuffie bit her lip in thought, "Yeah, I know. It's just that... I don't know ... you seem to know everything. I was just wondering if you had a gut feeling or anything?"

I thought for a moment... I seem to know everything? Not in my eyes ... some days I feel like I know nothing at all. I looked over at the ninja and studied her. Her shoulders slightly sagged forward and her head hung a little low. Dark circles were forming under her eyes and yawns escaped her mouth a little too often. Had she been sleeping at all?

I was about to ask her this but she suddenly looked up at me and smiled, "So watcha think?" I stared at her long and hard but her smiled never faded, "I think he'll be back." Her smile widened at my simple words and scooted closer to lay her head on my shoulder, "You see Squall ... even if Cloud doesn't come back, it'll be all right. I know you and I know you'd never leave us. At least not on purpose. I don't care how mean or antisocial you can get... I know you care. Maybe you don't express it very much, but I know."

My mouth opened in surprise and I stared at the top of her head. Her breathes came out slowly until they turned into the soft breathes of sleep.

I leaned back and on my hands relaxed while I let Yuffie sleep. We sat like that for hours, but I didn't mind. I needed to rest just as much.

"Leon." Tifa came around the corner.

Yuffie didn't wake but I turned my head to look at her.

She watched Yuffie for a second before sighing, "Wake Yuffie. Cloud's back." From the look of sadness in Tifa's eyes I could tell Cloud had come back empty handed. She turned and slowly walked back to the hotel.

I shook the ninja laying on my shoulder, preparing for a burst of energy. She squinted in the light and rubbed her eyes, "Huh?"

I shrugged, "Oh nothing."

She glared at me and laid back down, "You jerk! You woke me for nothing!"

I shrugged, "Yup. For nothing. Oh yeah Cloud's back."

Her eyes shot open and she jumped to her feet, "WHAT? Come on!" She pulled me to my feet and took off at a dead sprint. I chuckled once I was up and slowly made my way back to the hotel. But I still couldn't get that look on Tifa's face out of my head.

----------------Cloud's PV--------------

Great... MORE fussing. Just what I wanted.

"Cloud, where'd you go?"

"Did you find Vincent?"

"Is he okay?"

"What about Sora? Did you see him?"

"Where'd you get that bruise? Eww... that's kind of nasty looking."

I sighed, "Too many questions!"

The two of them immediately shut up and took a step back. I smiled in relief. I saw Tifa leaning against the counter to my right and sighed, "Tifa, I tried. I couldn't find him. I think he's go-." Then the door burst open and Yuffie flew through with a bored looking Leon behind her.

"CLOUD!" She practically jumped across the room and threw her arms around my neck. Yuffie repeated all the questions from earlier and I groaned. I glanced over her shoulder and saw Leon leaning against the wall with one leg crossed over the other. He seemed amused by my obsessors. I glared at him and looked back at Yuffie. She was still asking questions and I finally blew up, "I DIDN'T FIND VINCENT, OKAY? Just leave me ALONE! If you guys are so worried why aren't you out looking for him, huh?" I jumped up and knocked my chair back. Yuffie and Aerith gasped. "What do you want from me? First you're all upset that I left in the first place and then I come back and you get mad at me for coming back!" I stormed out of the kitchen towards the bedroom.

I wasn't all that surprised when I realized Leon had beat me to the room. I just had a feeling he would all ready be there anyway. When I entered he only glanced over his shoulder as he untied his boots. I leaned back against the door and closed my eyes.

"I saw Sora yesterday." I suddenly sounded calm..

Leon stopped with his boots and looked over at me, "Where?"

"He just got done locking Atlantica. Said he was going to explore a new world for a little bit then head back her for a visit." I saw Leon try to hide a smile. He wasn't as feeling-less as I thought.

"Do you have feelings for the kid?" I suddenly blurted out. I mentally kicked myself in the head and closed my eyes again, "Sorry ... that was a personal question and we don't even know each other."

He stared at me in shock. I stared back.

Eventually I heard a soft knock on the door. Aerith.

"Boys?" I stared back at Leon a second longer then turned to open the door.

Aerith softly slipped in and smiled at us. I looked back at Leon and realized the shock hadn't left him.

Aerith noticed this and raised an eyebrow, "Leon? You okay?"

He snapped out of it and waved her off.

She sighed and looked back at me, "Cloud, you should go to bed. You look like you need sleep."

I glared at her and her motherly instincts before starting to pull off my clothes. She turned a little pink in embarrassment and turned away, "Leon, you should get some rest too."

"It's still early." Leon grunted.

Aerith bit her lip and pouted, "But Leon, you haven't slept more than a few hours for weeks."

He shrugged.

Yuffie chose that moment to hop in to the room, "Yeah! And no running off from now on! I'm talking to both of you. No leaving the house unless you're together or something because I know Leon would never leave this world without us and Cloud wouldn't skip a meal ... so maybe you guys could teach each other a few things." She gave me a small smile, as if she was afraid I'd blow up again.

We both glared at her and finished changing. The two girls slipped back out and we were left in silence again.

"No." Leon suddenly said, not even looking at me.

"No? No what?" I stood confused.

He shrugged, "No, I don't have feelings for Sora."

"Oh." Was all I said.

We both climbed in to bed and laid in the somewhat dark room.

I watched him sleep. He seemed to like to fall asleep on his back and not move, unlike me, who fell asleep on my side and tossed and turned all night.

Did he not have a problem in the world? He looked that way when he slept. It must be nice ... not having to worry.

-Roxis