QE:It's a small bit of fluff.
Evestar:Leon's suffering from Insomnia.
E.S.P:She owns nothing.
QE:Except the rocking chair.
The brunette really needed to sleep if a certain ninja wanted to see the age of twenty. To be fair it wasn't her fault for once he couldn't get to sleep. He seemed to be in a state of insomnia. He tried to count off how many hours of sleep he had. Three in as many days.
Green eyes looked at him sympathetically. "What's on your mind?" She asked continuing to cook dinner.
"Working out how much sleep I've had." He sighed leaning his head backwards.
"Is he asleep?" Asked a hyper voice quietly.
"No I'm not Yuffie." He warned.
Aerith rolled her eyes.
He sat there. He felt bad for taking it out on his friends but he really needed to sleep and they weren't always quiet.
"Have you tried lavender?" He nodded. "Warm bath?" He nodded again. "Do nothing?" Again he nodded. "Change covers?" He carried on nodding. Nothing worked but Aerith tried.
"If you stopped pacing at night you might get some?" Someone laughed whacking the back of Leon's chair. He glared at the older blonde.
"I'm surprised no one else is losing sleep with your relentless banging." Leon hissed. "Sorry Cid." He hung his head.
"Maybe..." Before the eldest of the restoration committee could finish Cid was already at him about magic not being all that great.
"What I was going to say Cid." Merlin glared. "Is maybe you need some time away. Or at least a day off."
Leon shook his head. There was no way he was leaving all the work to them. He had already loaded a huge amount of work on them in the last three days.
"Have you tried wearing yourself out?" Aerith smiled helplessly as she set out dinner.
Cid was the first to speak up. "Yuffie wears us all out."
"What?" The ninja grinned as she jumped out from under the table. "You are too old to keep up with the great ninja Yuffie."
Leon grabbed his plate and went upstairs. The shouting was going to start and he was just too tired to care.
Aerith sighed. "Yuffie can you take Cloud his food up."
"When did Cloud get here?" Merlin asked.
"About an hour ago." No one asked anymore when they saw Aerith's sad face. Cloud had lost again.
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It was Midnight when Leon admitted defeat and when downstairs to get a cup of hot chocolate. He may as well finish some paper work.
With a mug in one hand and files in the other under his arm he attempted to make his way upstairs. Blinking twice at the fact Cloud's door was open a crack and the light was on.
He was going to ask hello but Cloud never answered or ever seemed to be doing anything wrong. He thought it was be nice to be perfect.
He glanced in the room and nearly dropped the cup. His sleep deprived brain tried to process the room. He had never really been in before. There was just a bed and set of drawers and the rocking chair Cloud was sitting in. Leon felt bad instantly he had caught himself checking out Cloud bare torso. Said Cloud hadn't seemed to notice him. He had his feet up on the second draw that was pulled out slightly and he looked so...human. His guard was down. He didn't look like an untouchable god or warrior of old.
"Leon." Shivers ran down his spine at how Cloud had said his name. He looked in to unnatural blue eyes. "You getting any sleep?"
"I could ask you the same." Leon stated defensively. Who was he to walk into his home and demanded stuff off him? Or he knew Cloud lived here as well but the point still stayed.
"What to talk about it?" Cloud asked before returning back to his book.
"Rich coming from you." He wasn't meaning to be an arse but he couldn't help himself.
Cloud nodded. "I lost to Sephiroth again." A small realization betrayed itself on his angelic face. "Sit." He said pointing to the bed before jumping up.
Leon only sat down on the bed because the chocolate was hot and the papers were falling everywhere and he was resorting the papers, not looking to Cloud tight behind.
A small leather bound book was placed on Leon's lap. Cloud had resumed his place on the rocking chair. Leon blinked at the book then Cloud. Inside were pictures of a woman with bright blond hair and a small kid next to her. They were probably mother and daughter.
"That's my mum." Cloud said quietly. "When me and my friend went off to make it big she stayed in Radiant Gardens." Leon frowned and stared at the kid. It was hard to tell if it was Cloud or not. The kid was smiling and gave off an aura of happiness. Cloud was just an emo.
Realization dawned on Leon. He had always assumed Cloud was from elsewhere because he didn't turn up in Traverse Town like everyone else. He hadn't even remembered him from his childhood. That also meant Cloud was nowhere nearby when darkness took the original. "I'm sorry." Leon stated handing back the album. He felt sick inside. He had been there to defend his family. Cloud hadn't.
"Stupid woman. She always used to say she would die in a blaze of fire and I would come back just to dance on her grave." A smiled rested on Cloud's lips. "She never said I couldn't come home but between the two of us I could only really come back when we had made something of ourselves."
"My dad was useless." Cloud's mood was rubbing off Leon. "He couldn't cook. Look after the house or himself." He rested against the wall. "He was the first to stupidly run towards the heartless." He closed his eyes and blinked back the tears. He may have been a moron but he was Leon's moron.
He felt Cloud move next to him but didn't bother to do anything.
"She might have been right behind him with a frying pan."
Leon couldn't help but laugh. The dead seriousness in Cloud's voice just pushed him over the edge.
"You are thinking I'm joking. Even Sephiroth could not stand a chance against that woman." Cloud sounded so warm towards her.
"I think this is the most you have spoke in one go." Leon smiled softly. He felt pleased he had broken the icy cold exterior.
"It's hard to talk around Yuffie."Cloud smiled. He glanced at Leon. Yup. He had fallen asleep. Slumped against his shoulder. Cloud smiled and wrapped the covers awkwardly around him before returning to his mum's rocking chair. If she was around he would be feeling the flat end of her frying pan. He watched Leon sleeping form for a minute or so before throwing a bouncy ball at the light switch. He smiled to himself; Aerith owed him big time for getting Leon to sleep.
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The covers felt different. He couldn't place why. Or the sense that there was something danger in his room. He glanced around. Since when was his wall a pale green colour. He looked to the side of him. Cloud was sitting cross legged in an awful dark blue rocking chair. It was surprising that his lanky body fitted in. He was asleep with his cheek resting against his fist. Leon's heart bounded in his chest. He couldn't remember why he was in Cloud's room or how he got there. He got up and snuck out. He headed downstairs ignoring the stupid voice nattering in the back of his mind.
"Morning." Aerith smiled brightly. Yuffie greeting something intangible into her breakfast.
"Hi." He nodded before sitting down.
He tried to understand what had happened. He remembered going into Cloud's room and then feeling lighter and happy but he couldn't work out why or how. A part of him told him to be happy that he woke up clothed but another part of him was saddened by that fact.
"Did you get any sleep last night?" Aerith asked gently.
He nodded.
"He was snoring well away in Cloud's room." Yuffie yawned.
He glared at her.
"Oh yeah. Cloud asked me to tell you the documents are in the office and he hoped you didn't mind him drinking your hot chocolate." Yuffie said intelligently before hitting her head on the table and promptly fell asleep.
"He was up at six worried about you but I said you needed the day off."
Leon looked at her and then the clock. It was two in the afternoon.
"Yeah you missed the fun." Yuffie yawned into the table. "Me, Cloudy and Loudmouth were taking out the heartless when one attacked us with sleep power."
Aerith smiled. "It's been peaceful." She mouthed winking at Leon.
He smiled and nodded back at her. He picked up Yuffie gently and took her to bed. If Aerith wasn't worried then she would be fine. He checked on Cloud.
The blonde haired warrior was looking at him.
"You're an idiot." Leon stated.
"No." He smiled. "Only Yuffie and Cid got hit. I'm faking it." He stood up and stretched. He looked seriously at Leon. Only centimetres separated them. "If you ever need to get something off your chest. I'll listen but only if I can expect the same off you."
"So that's what happened last night." Leon said happily.
Cloud bowed his head slightly. "I think we were both too tired to stay in character last night." He walked off downstairs.
Leon stayed in the middle of his room for a minute or two before heading back downstairs. He felt so much better but now he had a problem with the new unfamiliar relationship between him and Cloud. Why did one problem go only for another to appear?
QE:Yay. Fin.
Evestar:See the review button? Yes? Ok.