"What would you do without me, Leon?"
It's been a few days since then. Since Aerith asked Leon that stupid question. She was joking, of course, since it was only Leon-who was unable to find the keys to the storage room. She had giggled and gotten the keys from off the table. She handed them to the wide-eyed swordsman and simply went her way.
But little did she know that the question stuck to Leon like stupid tree sap sticks to your skin.
Leon pondered on that question for a good while. Three days to be exact, and it was starting to kill him.
What would he do without the shining flower girl?
"Leon?"
Leon didn't realize he was zoning out until he heard the sweet voice of the brunette who was leaning towards him.
"What?" he stepped back.
She giggled, "Just came to make sure you were alright. You usually don't stay out this late."
"Sorry. Didn't realize what time it was…," he looked out at the destroyed Hallow Bastion castle and the sun setting beyond it.
"Walk back with me?" she tilted her head.
"Sure." He nodded.
Aerith talked as they walked back to their home. Talked about the restoration, and what things needed to be rebuilt. Though Leon was listening he would only reply with a simply nod or 'mhm.'
"Goodnight, Leon." She whispered sweetly before going the opposite direction to which her room was.
Leon waited for her door to quietly shut then headed toward his own room. When he got to his room he laid down and unfortunately that stupid question popped into his head once again. Leon growled when he thought about it. He didn't want to think about it. He didn't want to think of waking up and not seeing her smile welcome him. He didn't want to think of the shining aura that she had to disappear. He didn't want to think about something bad happening to her to which she wouldn't be around anymore. He didn't want to think about that because when he thought of her it was her smile, her glow, her voice, just…her.
He knew the answer to that question.
He just couldn't be without her.
"No!" he yelled as he sat up in bed.
He was breathing heavily and he could feel the cold sweat on his forehead. Without thinking he ran out of his room across the wall, and busted open Aerith's door.
"Aerith!"
She sat up quickly, startled. The moon was shining on her face perfectly. Worry came across her face and she instantly got up and went to Leon.
"Leon, what's wrong?" she touched his arm. He was trembling.
"Nothing," he breathed, trying to calm himself. He then realized it was a nightmare.
"You're trembling." She looked up into him then-into his eyes.
He didn't look into her eyes, though. He looked through her. He didn't want to look into her eyes.
"Sorry." He turned but she grabbed his arm.
"Silly," she whispered, "you can't just bust into someone's room, wake them, and just say it's nothing. Plus…you're sweating."
Damn. She got him there.
"Sit on my bed and let me get a cold wash cloth," she let go of his arm and turned on the light. In seconds she was in her bathroom with the water on.
Leon silently went to her bed and sat down.
Suddenly he felt something ice cold on his forehead, "That's too cold!" he pushed back. When did she walk back into the room?
He looked at her then. Looked at her white cloth night gown. Then he looked back down.
"Uh, thanks," he grabbed the cloth from her hands and put it on his forehead himself.
She sat down next to him and touched his arm. He could smell the flower fragrance on her, still.
"What's wrong?"
He couldn't really get out of this. He was stuck here when busted through that door, when he woke up in a fright because his dream had been about her, because she had to ask him that stupid question that was still on his mind.
"Just a dream." He sighed. "Sorry."
He stood again to leave but she instantly grabbed his arm…again. "You're not leaving yet." She told him sternly, "now…sit." She demanded.
"There's not much else to say." He looked at her again, and he regretted it. Her eyes held worry for him. Worry that she didn't need. She had enough on her mind already.
"What was the dream about?"
"Aerith, go back to sleep. It was nothing." He snapped and left the room before she could grab his arm. It was far from nothing. It was everything.
"Idoit." Leon told himself as he walked back to his room.
The next day Leon had woken up early before anyone else and gone out to survey the area. He didn't want to see Aerith after what he had done. She probably wouldn't ask him about it again, and she would give him her warm morning welcome like usually, but Leon would know how stupid he had been. All she was asking was about the dream, and he could have just given her a simple answer. Hell, even a lie would have worked.
But he couldn't lie to her.
"Leon!"
It was the little ninja.
"What's up Yuffie?" he turned and threw his sword over his shoulder.
"Cid saw a few things on radar, one to the north and one to the south. He thinks it's nothing but he wants to make sure." She explained.
"Right. You go south, I'll go north."
They instantly parted. Leon ran and the farther he went up the more Heartless began to appear. He didn't like the look of this. They just didn't stop, and he was beginning to get tired. There was no time to go get the others now, he had to get to the source and destroy it.
He wouldn't let his dream come true.
"Yuffie!" Aerith called as the ninja ran toward her.
"I went to the south there was nothing," she confirmed with a smile.
"Good." Aerith nodded.
"Something huge is coming from the north!" Cid yelled as he hit the door open. "Yuffie didn't you check?!"
"I didn't…," she looked down.
"Leon did." Aerith finished.
"Aerith!" Cid called after the flower girl.
Leon tried hard to push himself back up. He had finished off all the small Heartless to have found the leader of the group. A huge armored Heartless to be exact. Leon had scratches and bruises from head to toe, and he ached all over. The Heartless had hit him sending him backward, hitting his head on the ground.
"Get up."
Leon told himself over, and over. Get up, get up. If you don't get up this Heartless will destroy him, the town, and her.
"Get up!"
He yelled, and soon with his sword in hand, rushed toward the monster. His eyes narrowed from anger as he slashed the beast multiple times with Renzokuken.
The Heartless began to shake violently and soon it burst. Leon looked in the sky as a small heart faded away. He smiled then. Not a big smile, but a small smile of confidence, and victory.
His vision started to become blurry and he could hear a faint voice calling his name. Such a sweet voice. He knew that voice. His feet couldn't hold him anymore, the pain over came him and he fell hard to the ground.
"Leon!" Aerith called as she rushed up to him.
It wasn't long before Aerith was by his side holding him on her lap. She shook him a little to try and open his eyes.
"Leon, please wake up!" She shook him, but not too much to hurt him.
His eyes squinted open and he looked up into her eyes. He could see how scared she was for him. She wasn't smiling which wasn't a good feature for her-she should be smiling, but there she was, tears whaling up into her eyes because she was scared for him.
"Leon!" she smiled.
Ah, there it was.
"Why did you fight that Heartless alone?!" she scolded.
"I killed it." He replied.
She sighed, "Well, yes you did but-,"
"What would you do without me, Aerith?" he smirked even with all the pain.
"Wha-," she stopped for a moment to really take in the joke.
It had hit her, like it had hit him.
"I don't know," she shook her head.
Of course Aerith could answer an uncomfortable question even when it was meant as a joke.
"I don't know," she repeated as it sunk it.
"My dream…," he started, "was with you. I had lost you, and I woke up afraid it was true."
She shook her head, "You'll never lose me."
She smiled down at him and began to heal his hurt body. Soon Yuffie and Cid caught up heaving and wheezing.
"Damn, Aerith," Cid breathed, "why did ya have to use Hastaga?"
"Yeah!" Yuffie complained.
Aerith laughed, "I had to get here and heal him because I don't know what I'd do without him."
I don't know what I'd do without you, too.
He didn't have to say it. She could read it in his eyes; she knew. They didn't want to think about what it would be like to not have the other.
"Hastaga?" Leon lightly chuckled.
"Stop moving while I'm healing you!" Aerith grinned.
"Ow!" Leon cried.
"That's what you get for going off by yourself…again." Aerith sighed.
Yuffie and Cid laughed as Aerith healed Leon, though it was more like torturing him. He wasn't afraid anymore, his dream wouldn't and would never come true. He would protect her till the end. Because he knew he was nothing without her.
Author's note:
Yeah...so this is officially my first Leon/Aerith story/oneshot. I think it sucks XP But I have other Leonith ideas so hopefully I will get better at writing them. I wasn't sure how to end this...which has happened to me recently -.- so sorry its so sucky XP lol but expect more Leonith :3