I own absolutely nothing, just an addiction to Aerith x Leon fan fiction.

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As the rain fell from the heavens, Leon stood in his foyer. As he always did. His thoughts rolled along as they always had, brown hair sticking to his face as the rain pelted his body. The restoration of Radiant Garden was going along well.. He was barely needed anymore, given the fact that the castle in the distance had been vacated. They had fought off an entire hoard with Sora, hadn't they? So why didn't Leon feel at rest?

Better yet, why had he still forsaken the name given to him at birth?

The entire situation boggled him… his thoughts boggled him. He found himself following in Aerith's wake as much as possible.. Looking at her across the room as she spoke, moved, swayed.. Every movement was spell-binding. Even her bad puns towards a computer pumping out heartless… The stoic gunblader couldn't help but smirk at that. Every time he thought about it, he wanted to laugh.

As he looked up to the gray clouds in the sky, feeling the rain beating down on his face, he basked in the cold feeling. The cold was what kept him safe.. The cold was what slowly began to melt whenever he was in Aerith's presence. Then again, Aerith.. Aerith found warmth and solace in another, didn't she?

As Cloud ran away with the light of another, Aerith had been left with little more than a cold stare and a nod when he vanished into the sky in a burst of white light. She stood near the abyss, day in and day out for the opportunity to find the man she loved. Witness his return and welcome him home with open arms.

Sometimes, he thought that if he looked hard enough he could see her pink bow in the far distance but… that was never the case. He fooled himself, just as he fooled these afterthoughts of being in love and being happy. Leon pushed himself away from the foyer, beginning down the stairs and towards the long walkway towards the maw.

She had asked him what he thought about love and finding a person that could be worlds apart.. She always spoke so highly of such, knowing deep in her heart that they'll come together again.. But how could she know what was in store for them in the end? His bitter, loner attitude had left his words lying heavy on his conscious..

"You know, Aerith.." He stared at her back as she slowly walked towards the great maw again. "Sometime's we can't have that fairy tale ending that we've always dreamed of."

"I know, Leon.. But at least we can amuse ourselves with the thought." And with that, she walked away from him. Leaving the words hanging heavy on his conscious.

He wondered if she was right… and then realized that's exactly what he was doing day in and day out. Dreams, thoughts… they all revolved around Aerith and himself. Had the lonesome wolf finally broke off his streak of treading alone? He'd never admit it but… maybe. Maybe only a bit.

As foot steps took him to the abyss where Aerith waited, he looked at her sitting there, looking into the skies above despite the rain. She was soaked through and through, like him.. But it didn't seem to fathom her in the bit. Leon took a few steps behind her, looking at her dress clinging to her skin. Her brown hair coming unbraided and sticking to her back.

Leon took off his black jacket, sitting down next to her before draping the jacket over her naked shoulders. She looked at him, a confused look on her face. "Why are you out here?"

"Because we all can't have the fairy tale ending that we've dreamed of."

"Oh?"

"I figure I'll amuse the thought." He looked away from her, looking up to the gray skies above. "When do you think they'll be back?"

She turned those emerald orbs from him to the sky, looking straight up. "Whenever Cloud can defeat his darkness.. And come back home."

"Well… I'll wait here with you."

"…Thanks, Leon."

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As the hours whirled along, Aerith gradually reclined on Leon, head resting on his shoulder as she began to sneeze lightly in her sleep. Leon turned, pulling an arm behind Aerith's back and moving the second under her legs as he rose to his feet. "Tomorrows another day.." He murmured gently before carrying the girl back to her home in the residential district of Radiant Garden.