Chapter I

It had been a while since we had come here… maybe six or seven months. The Heartless and Nobodies still wandered aimlessly around Hollow Bastion, driving most of the people away. It was nothing we couldn't handle, of course, but enough to make life difficult. We all shared an abandoned house, for safety's sake, considering the fact that we were ambushed every week or so. So here I was, Cloud, Yuffie, Aerith, Cid and I, holed up in a smelly little house in the middle of Hollow Bastion. What a joy.

We were civil. I wouldn't say we were all best buddies, by any means, but we were okay. A dysfunctional family, if you will. Yuffie and I were close, as much as I hated to admit it. And don't get any ideas - if anything, she was a sister to me. We looked out for each other; although, I don't think she really needed looking out for. She was a tough little brat, despite her small stature.

Aerith looked out for all of us, but seemed to take a heavier kindness towards me in particular. I wasn't sure why, considering the fact that I hadn't said more than two words to her the entire time we were here. I barely knew anything about her, but she was a sweet girl; light-hearted.

Cid was a crotchety old fart, but he was always there for us, almost as a father figure; especially towards Yuffie. He looked out for her specifically, and thought of her like a daughter. When he wasn't needed, he kept to himself by working on blueprints and programs.

But Cloud and I… our relationship was the strangest. We hardly ever talked, and when we did, it was brief. And yet, we knew almost everything about each other. Almost. But whenever the shit hit the fan, we always stayed close, looked out for each other. We had saved each other's asses a few times. And yet... It was almost as if none of it had ever happened.

I was ripped from my thoughts as Yuffie's high-pitched voice rang out, calling my name. "Squaaaall!!" she cried, trotting into the living room rambunctiously as usual. I cringed, repeating like I always did, "Leon." Rolling her eyes, she continued. "Squall, I'm going out with Aerith and Cid for a bit. We're gonna go to raid the town. You wanna come?" I shook my head idly, lost in my own thoughts. It had occurred to me that Cid never let the girls go out by themselves. But it was the same old stuff - she knew my reply before it even fell from my lips. "Nuh-uh.. I'ma stay here with Cloud, hold down the fort," I muttered halfheartedly. She rolled her eyes again and shrugged, leaving the room.

I sat for a few minutes, half-listening to the three others leaving the house, half-listening to the TV. About twenty minutes of staring at infomercials passed before I spotted it - a little black blob sliding over the carpet. It took me a minute to realize what it was, mostly because I hadn't expected to see one in the house. There, in the middle of the living room, sat a Shadow heartless, eyeing me curiously. "Fuck," I muttered, standing up and kicking it across the room.

Shadows were pretty much harmless, but it still worried me that one had been able to get in the house. I picked up an empty mug from the coffee table and chucked it at the thing, which disappeared in a black puff of defeat. Shaking my head, I stood up and headed for Cloud's room.

I didn't bother knocking - no one around here did, usually. I simply opened the door to his bedroom and stuck my head in. I opened my mouth to speak, but paused when I saw him scrambling to put something away, what had appeared to be a photograph. I pretended that I hadn't seen it and continued to speak. "Hey, we've got a problem. There was a Shadow in the house," I muttered.

He watched me for a moment, raising his brow curiously. "Just now?" he asked. I nodded and waved for him to follow. I headed back to the stairs, grabbing my gunblade on the way down the hall for good measure - and stopped at the top of the stairs when I saw them. There were probably seventy-five or so Shadows, and another fifty Dusks milling around the downstairs now, too stupid to have yet come to the second floor.

I held my arm out, stopping Cloud in his path. "Look," I muttered. He cringed, but I noticed him mostly looking at my arm in front of him that just barely brushed his chest. I dropped it back to my side, dodging his glance. "What now?" he muttered, shaking his head. "We can't take them all." I shook my head in disagreement, pointing back to his room. "Go get your sword. We're damn well gonna try."

I didn't wait for him to find his sword in his unholy mess of a bedroom before charging down the stairs, slashing at several Dusks that had decided to climb them. I took down about twenty of the little bastards before glancing around, realizing there was a lot more than I had originally thought. They weren't strong, but they were sneaky little shits in numbers.

I looked for Cloud, who was still nowhere to be seen. "Cloud, god damn it, where the hell are you!?" I yelled, swinging my blade at everything around me. He ran down the stairs a second later, holding his sword out like a joust. I slashed my way towards him, being careful to stay close by, not wanting to lose him in the waves of shadows. And of course, to protect my own ass too, as much as I hated to admit it. There was no way either of us could take this many enemies on our own; no matter how weak they were individually.

We continued to slash our way through the droves of Shadows and Dusks, both becoming equally exhausted, as our lethargic movements proved. Minutes that seemed like years passed before they eventually became too much to handle, hundreds of them swarming over me and climbing my body. It didn't take much longer for the darkness to swallow me whole.

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He had been out cold for a while, but I never thought I'd worry so much. Leon was always the most capable of taking care of himself, so I had never been faced with a situation like this. I watched him as he slept, sitting by his bedside, listening to his soft, steady breathing. I never realized how handsome he was before - I suppose because now, he couldn't scowl in his sleep. I reached over and brushed a small lock of hair from his face. He flinched in reply. 'God, Leon... You have no idea how much I just wish I could…'

I was ripped from my thoughts as Leon's eyes opened halfway, blinked a few times, and finally opened to look at me. Those beautiful, deep blue eyes looked up at me, a mix of confusion and tiredness brewing in them. "Hey sleeping beauty," I muttered half-sarcastically, offering him a crooked smile. He groaned, rubbing his head. "What the fuck happened...?" he muttered.

"Well... Cid and the girls came back a few minutes after you got knocked out. We figured out where they were getting in and fought the rest off... Someone left the god damn window open," I replied. Leon rolled his eyes, sighing. "Mmm... figures... How long have I been out?"

"'Bout... Three hours," I muttered softly. He raised an eyebrow. "You been here the whole time?" he asked. I looked away sheepishly. "Just about. On and off, anyway…" I mumbled, then added quickly, "Aerith and Cid were here too." He watched me curiously for a second - he obviously didn't buy the part about the other two - before closing his eyes and giving the tiniest, faint smile. "Thanks," he mumbled.

Surprised, I nodded - and then realized he couldn't see me - and murmured softly in return, "Anytime." A few more moments of watching his soft expression passed, before I figured he had fallen back asleep.

It tickled me a bit to think how he had absolutely no idea how much I wanted, right that moment, to simply lean down and take those soft lips in my own. And god, what would he think if he did know? He'd probably deck me right in the face… Or run screaming.

Either way, I figured now would be the best time to simply let him rest, rather than rape his face and leave him emotionally scarred for the rest of his life. Chuckling halfheartedly at myself, I stood and left the room - pausing to take just one more lingering glance at his soft, handsome face.