Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, in any way, shape, or form. Though I wish I did.
Warning: Shonen-ai, Yaoi, OOC, doujinshi interference. Seme!Cloud. Uke!Leon.
Description: Aerith has a secret, and it's going to affect everyone, when Tifa and Yuffie find out.
Aerith's Secret
The sun was setting in Hollow Bastion; the temperature was slowly lowering from the day's high of 101 degrees. Leon was walking down the empty street to Merlin's after a long day of repairing and restoring the town. His chocolate colored hair stuck to his tanned forehead, and his muscles screamed in resistance to each of his movements. The man's trademark leather jacket had long since been removed and was now resting around his shoulders like a towel. He glistened, covered in a thin sheen of sweat, and couldn't wait to get home and relax. Just as he turned the corner towards Merlin's, the man heard a gut wrenching shriek coming from the restoration crew's home base. Leon, being the forever protector that he was, immediately started sprinting towards the source of the scream, ignoring his body's protests. Thinking it was a Heartless attack; the man unhooked his Gunblade from his hip and held it tightly in his palm.
As soon as the lion reached Merlin's, he opened the old, worn door without hesitation, but stopped on the threshold, listening. When the scarred man heard nothing, he sidled into the front room, keeping the Gunblade in a ready position. He surveyed his surroundings, looking for any form of life, signs of struggle, anything. But Leon could find nothing amiss with the room, other than the fact that it was strangely empty for this time of day. Usually Cid would be at the huge computer he was so obsessed with, and Aerith serving dinner to any members of the committee who had returned earlier than he had. Yuffie would usually be bouncing around, already have had her supper, and Tifa would usually greet him at the door, seeing as she usually arrived home a few minutes before him. But as far as Leon could see, there was no one here. But if that was the case, then where did the scream come from? With all these thoughts racing through his head, the tanned man forced his body to keep moving.
Leon looked all throughout the first floor meticulously, making sure not to miss any kind of sign of where everyone was. There had been no more screams, so he was sure, if someone had been taken, there was nothing he could do about it right now. With the first floor checked, the brunet walked swiftly to the spiral staircase that lead to the second, third, and fourth floors of the house. He darted quickly and quietly up the stairs, and walked out onto the second landing. He cautiously stepped onto a nearby room, which happened to be Tifa's. He looked around, seeing only her martial arts equipment and her empty bed. Okay, one down.
He crossed the hallway to Aerith's room, and gently pushed the tip of the Gunblade against the door. As the door swung open with a whispered creak, a strange scene was revealed before him. Yuffie and Tifa were lying on Aerith's bed, unconscious. Yuffie's face and upper torso was covered in blood and the right side of Tifa's face seemed to be turning a deep purple. Aerith was eventually revealed when the door was fully open; showing the flower woman kneeling next to Yuffie, holding to her face what seemed to be a pink handkerchief. Leon was floored; he had so many questions that needed to be answered, right this very moment. But before the brunet could articulate a single one, a leather covered hand plopped down on his shoulder. The scarred man tensed visiblely, be for whirling around on the spot, in a defensive stance.
Leon looked at his would-be attacker, and saw blue eyes, spikey, gravity defying blond hair. As he looked up in to the man's face, instantly recognizing him, he slowly slid out of his defensive position. It was only Cloud, so he minisculely inclined his head and turned back to Aerith, who had stood up from her position on the floor.
The green eyed woman wiped her hands on the bloody handkerchief before walking over to stand closer to the men enclosed in her doorway. Leon raised one eyebrow at her and Cloud monotonely questioned her.
"Aerith?" Since said person had known both of these men for so long, she understood exactly what they were both communicating to her. She smiled slightly before replying.
"Yuffie got a bloody nose and accidently hit Tifa in the face. Yuffie is unconscious from blood loss and Tifa fainted." This explanation didn't do the scene a justice. There was too much blood for a simple nosebleed. And since when does Tifa faint from getting punched?
"That's not all." It wasn't really a question, more like a statement. The brunet who had asked only looked at the flower girl expectantly. As Aerith started to rely, a low groan was heard from the bed, and Aerith turned quickly back to the prone figures, braid swinging. It had been Tifa who had made the noise, she was starting to awaken.
"Ugh…Aer? What happened? You don't still have that thing, do you?" The black haired woman asked groggily, and then warily. Both men looked at each other with a raised brow. 'What thing?' Both shared the same thoughts on the whole ordeal.
"No, I put it away, for now. Are you okay to sit up, or should we wait a moment?" asked Aerith pleasantly.
"No, I'm okay. I'll drink it now." Tifa said as she sat up, pulling down her shirt that had been riding up. Both Leon and Cloud averted their eyes, neither really wanted to get a punch to the face for 'peeping'. Aerith pulled a vial of shimmering green potion and handed it to Tifa. The woman then downed it all in one gulp, making a face. As she placed the vial on a nearby table the dark purple on her cheek started to fade rapidly, immediately looking about a week old. Tifa sighed contently, and threw back the bed sheets surrounding her body and got out of the bed. After straightening her clothing and hair she glanced around the room, her chocolate eyes landing on the men standing in the doorway. She turned bright red at the sight of them and bowed her head.
"I've gotta get outta here!" She muttered before crossing the room to the doorway, where both males stepped aside, and she quickly dashed from the room.
Leon looked at the blond man and raised an eyebrow. The brunet waited for some form of reply. 'What do you think that was about?'
The Buster Blade wielder slightly shrugged one shoulder. 'Honestly? I have no idea.'
Both men decided at the same time that they did NOT want to know and therefore had no reason to hang around. The scarred man exited the room and walked down the dim hallway towards the bathroom. He desperately needed a hot shower to soothe his muscles and to wash the day's grime and dirt from his body. It had been a long day, and he honestly couldn't find it in himself to care about what had happened. Everyone was safe, no one was hurt, and all was well in the brunet's world. Or so he thought.