Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I clicked my heels three times and nothing happened. Well, my heels hurt, but nothing useful happened. Aside from the plot, I own nothing.

The faint 'clink' the ice cubes made as they knocked against the sides of the glass was barely audible over the onslaught of rain outside. Slender pale fingers made fruitless attempts to dislodge stubborn drops of water that clung relentlessly to flaxen locks. Cloud sighed, swirling the amber liquid around in his glass, worriedly peering out of one of the windows at the storm outside that showed no signs of letting up.

He pressed the redial button on his phone and groaned in frustration when the monotone operator's voice informed him that the number he was trying to reach was out of service. Rubbing his temples, he willed himself to take deep, calming breaths, trying his best to stave off the migraine that was slowly building up. The frequent claps of thunder were only adding to his misery. Glancing around, he noticed that the few other patrons of the establishment were like him, tired and drenched. They had taken refuge in the old bar to escape the storm and were now essentially stuck here.

"You know, there's an old payphone down in the basement if you'd like to try your luck."

Cloud jerked his head up, taking notice for the first time, of the lone, young bartender who was holding the fort down that evening. Bright blond hair and an equally sunny smile almost managed to cover the fatigue that was wearing heavily on his face. In his outstretched hand, he held a flashlight. Noting Cloud's gaze, he explained, "The power's out and the generator doesn't really cover the basement. So, I thought the flashlight would help with the…well…you know."

He didn't need to finish his sentence. Cloud knew exactly what he was talking about. The flashlight was for the darkness, which five years ago had gained an identity of its own, becoming something unsafe and something that needed to be feared. Of course, it was what was lurking in the dark that was really to be feared.

Cloud had barely made it to the basement when a particularly loud clap of thunder shook the old metal pipes and he swore as he lost his grip on the flashlight with the shock. He dropped to the ground, hands splayed, fingers scrabbling like deranged spiders as he searched for it. All around him, the gale force winds howled and the building groaned, but all Cloud could hear was his own heartbeat, painfully loud as it thudded against his ribcage.

The room was lit up for a split second by a flash of lightning, but that was all Cloud needed to see the gleaming metal of the flashlight. Grabbing it, he switched it on and willed himself to breathe again, letting the light fall on the reassuringly empty space in front of him. Once he had soothed his frayed nerves, he swung the torch around, looking for the payphone the bartender had mentioned, spotting it in the corner. Now he just had to hope that Reno hadn't borrowed all his spare change.

Downtown

One man's blessing is another man's curse.

Dress shoes were most inopportune for trying to escape one's potential murderer. As soon as the thought entered his head, he let out a laugh that sounded more like a choked sob. It was amusing, the thoughts that flitted across your consciousness when you were about to die. Swerving to avoid a lamppost, he swore as he skidded on the slippery pavement. He was running on adrenaline and that was it. The sharp stitch in his side was getting worse and his breathing was labored. His eyes were running and he grinned ruefully; just yesterday, he had been buying drops for dry eyes.

But he kept going; some small part of him hoped that he could make it to the main road. If he could, then there had to be somebody, anybody who could save him. A particularly bright flash of lightning disoriented him and he tripped, landing gracelessly on the cement. Trying to push himself up on his elbows, he grimaced at the pain that flared in his ankle. He had twisted it in his fall.

Combined with his inability to breathe properly, he knew he was finished. Even so, he struggled backwards, pushing himself to move. But he could hear his assailant's footsteps getting louder and louder with each passing second.

"Please," he managed to gasp out, "Can't we talk this out? I'm sorry, I'm sure we can fix this." The cold eyes that stared back held no remorse. "You should stop talking, it'll make this faster."

"Don't do this!" he begged. He coughed as he was kicked in the side, his attacker letting out a scream of frustration. "What about the words, 'Shut up' do you not comprehend? I should have done this ages ago and saved us all the misery. No one's going to look for me Victor, because tomorrow morning when the rain stops and the clouds clear, you know what people will see? A drunken fool who was out in the rain. No one will look beyond that because they won't want to."

He was vaguely aware of a faint prick on the inner side of his elbow. The rest of it was surreal. He watched the colors mesh together in a fantastic kaleidoscope before everything faded away into a blissful black. All around him, the deafening roar of the rain dulled into a muted trickle. All he could hear was the dancing of fingertips on the piano. He shut his eyes tightly, willing himself back to that lovely spring party where his life had changed, where he had experienced love for the very first time. His heart went into overtime, trying to work against the poison, but eventually it gave in.

But Victor was already gone, to a field of green grass and honeysuckle, where the sun shone bright and strong.

King of Hearts Bar

Cloud got through on the third ring. "Yeah?" a deep baritone answered. He rolled his eyes; always the epitome of warmth and welcoming, his neighbor was. "Leon," he drawled, "So nice to hear from you too. Is Roxas there?" That was a pointless question and he knew it. Of course Roxas would be there. Leon always looked after Roxas when Cloud was busy and Cloud repaid the favor in kind by keeping an eye on Sora.

He twirled the phone cord around his fingers absentmindedly as he listened to Leon call out to his brother in the background. "Everything alright?" Cloud shrugged before remembering that Leon couldn't see him.

"Well, I can't complain. I'm slightly damp but it could be worse." He smiled as the man on the other end chuckled. But whatever Leon was about to say was cut off when his younger brother grabbed the phone. "Where the heck are you?"

His grin grew wider, he'd never admit it, but he was worried about Roxas. "I'm fine darling, thanks for asking." Ignoring the indignant squawks, he fumbled in his pockets for another coin. "I'm in a bar somewhere in the outskirts of town. Probably about half an hour from home."

"Cloud, this is no time to be drowning your sorrows." This time, it was his turn to splutter. It was nice to know their terrible sense of humor ran in the family. "I am not 'drowning my sorrows', I got stuck in this rain. The job in Junon took a lot longer than I expected. I'll be back home in the morning though," he ended on a softer note.

"You'd better be! I can't keep bothering Leon and Sora like this, they'll kick me out soon. See you in the morning and uh…ride safe." He was about to hang up the phone when Leon's voice trickled through the receiver, "There's no danger of us kicking him out, I hope you know. He's always welcome here."

"Thanks Leon," he laughed, "I owe you one for this though." The other man replied without missing a heartbeat, "Sure, think you can keep an eye on Sora this Friday evening? I need to pull a double shift at work. I'll see you in the morning for breakfast then?"

Cloud stuttered, "That's unnecessary, I really think that would be imposing on you."

"I'll make pancakes?"

"That's a hard argument to counter. I'll guess I'll be seeing you then."

Walking back to the bar, he handed the flashlight over to the bartender, Demyx his nametag read, and listened to the thunder roar outside. It was going to be a long night.

The ride home was uneventful. He weaved through the debris that the storm had washed up overnight and noticed that in spite of the Corporation's best efforts to improve the City's infrastructure, it was all too easy to see the cracks that hid beneath the surface, too shallow to remain hidden by events like the storm.

Stopping at a red light, he leaned back, thinking fondly of his bed at home. He needed sleep. Granted today was also laundry day but Roxas and him would get around to that in the evening. And he really needed to pay Leon back for this.

Shifting his weight slightly, he let his thoughts wander to Leon. They had met five years ago, in the hallway of the apartment complex they were living in now. Cloud and Roxas were on their way out to pick up some groceries when they bumped into Leon and his brother Sora, who were obviously moving in. They had greeted each other politely, Sora and Roxas being the more enthusiastic of the quartet before continuing on their way.

Leon and Cloud ran into each other on a fairly regular basis, in the laundry room, in the hallways and occasionally on the stairs (neither of them took the elevator). The revelation that they lived on the same floor did little to change their relationship. Both men valued their space and other than the few times their eyes met, it was as though the other didn't exist.

The turning point came when Roxas and Sora ended up friends, owing to the fact they shared a majority of their classes in high school. Cloud and Leon slowly progressed from a casual nod in the hallway, to a slight smile and finally, if one was in a good enough mood, a greeting would be thrown out in the open.

When their brothers enrolled in the same college, Cloud and Leon suddenly found themselves spending more time together. Two years after their first encounter, things were finally beginning to settle down after the invasion and Cloud managed to land himself a job in the local police department. It was small, but it was a drastic improvement from the minimum wage job he had before. Suddenly, his work hours became erratic and he couldn't always be at home with Roxas.

This had been something that had worried him at first, till one day, Leon had come up with a suggestion while they were folding clothes in the laundry room. Cloud remembered how he had dropped the pair of fuzzy socks he was holding in shock when Leon offered to look after Roxas while Cloud was away. The brunet had quirked an eyebrow at his expression and added that he was looking at another job and if Cloud returned the favor, they would have nothing to worry about.

It took a while, but gradually, the pair fell into a rhythm. It was also an added bonus that Leon cooked comparatively better than Cloud. In return for feeding him, Cloud often found himself helping out with Sora's coursework in college. He had once admitted wistfully to Leon that he would have been a Science major if the invasion hadn't ruined things for him. He supposed that they got along well, because in reality, neither of them wanted to ruin the strange, delicate friendship they had struck. There was no prying, none of the extra smiling and bonding that they'd otherwise be required to partake in. Which in reality was perfectly acceptable for the both of them.

His coworker had raised her eyebrow when he had brought this up at work once and he knew why. Leon was by no means unattractive. He looked like a male model, with his messy brown hair, stormy grey eyes and brooding visage. Granted he had a personality akin to that of the yeti, but it certainly didn't mean he wasn't wonderful viewing material to someone interested in men, a category Cloud fell into.

Except, Cloud didn't have time for relationships, his main worry was putting food on the table for Roxas and himself. That in addition to keeping Roxas in college was enough work to keep him busy. Additionally, he didn't really know too much about Leon. When they first met, Cloud thought it was part of his persona, a mysterious aura crafted to interest people but maintain a respectable distance. It barely took him a few months to realize that Leon was very serious about his privacy.

All Cloud knew about Leon was that his name was Leon Hikari and he had a younger brother named Sora. They had moved to Traverse Town after the Invasion when their home, Hollow Bastion, had been overrun. Both their parents were dead, so even after Bastion was restored, the pair remained in Traverse town.

Aside from that, he liked to read, was remarkably astute and was a good cook. It wasn't anything to write home about and certainly not enough to consider starting a relationship over. Cloud wasn't planning to leap into a new relationship anytime soon, not after Sephiroth at least.

Shuffling uncomfortably, he rubbed the back of his head nervously. Leon's scrutiny was starting to unnerve him. "I am absolutely, perfectly fine. Now if you wouldn't mind, I'd like to say hi to Roxas and then shower. I'm starting to feel a bit musty."

Leon nodded slightly, "You can shower here. Save you some trouble, I've got some clothes you can borrow. Though they might be a little big for you," he finished with a grin.

Cloud glared and opened his mouth to retort when he was tackled by a flying blur. "Roxas, can't breathe!" he managed to gasp out. Leon let it continue for a few minutes before gently prying the younger boy off, "I think you might want to let him go. He's starting to turn blue." Ushering Roxas into the kitchen, he jerked his head towards the bathroom. "I'll leave some clothes out on the bed."

Ten minutes later, he was stumbling into the kitchen, pointedly not meeting Leon's gaze because in reality, his shirt was actually a size too large. He had needed to roll up the sleeves a couple of times and the jeans were quite loose fitting.

All unharmonious feelings were dispelled when a plate of steaming hot pancakes were set in front of him. Cloud dug in with such fervor that Leon snorted. "Quiet," he said, waving a fork at him, "I didn't even eat dinner!" He noticed Leon hadn't brought a plate out for himself. "Did you eat with Sora and Roxas?"

Sipping his coffee, he shook his head, "I don't really eat breakfast." Their conversation dwindled after that. Sora was in the shower and Roxas had gone back to their flat to pack some things. The pair had made plans with some friends for lunch.

"You should get some sleep," Leon noted, not looking up from his newspaper. Cloud grimaced, "I know. I plan to become intimately associated with my bed for the next few hours. You'll need to surgically remove me."

But apparently, the Universe did not concur.

He groaned when he saw the caller ID on his phone. Letting his head drop to the table, he answered, "I don't want to know do I?"

The female voice on the other end sounded amused, "I highly doubt it. However, we did get assigned this." When he grunted to indicate for her to continue, she added, "Some guy was found dead in an alley. They want us to process him."

"What was it? Gunshot or something?"

"Well, actually, there was no indication of a struggle. The guy seemed to kind of have washed up with the storm?"

He huffed, "It sounds like a traffic accident. Why are we being called in for a traffic accident?"

"I have no idea. Don't shoot the messenger alright? Look, Reno and I will head out now and I'll see what I can do. I'll text you the co-ordinates. See you in a little bit?"

He sighed, she sounded as tired as he felt. "Yeah. I'll be there."

"That was Serena then?" Leon asked when he hung up. He nodded, Leon had met her once. Serena was his coworker, the investigator who normally accompanied him on his cases. Along with Reno, the three had been good friends in college and had ended up working in the same company.

His phone beeped. True to her word, she'd sent him the coordinates. He vaguely recognized the location, it wasn't very far out. Picking up his plate to wash up, he was surprised when Leon waved him off. "Go on," he said. "You can do lunch on Saturday and help Sora out with his Chemistry assignment."

"Thanks Leon," he beamed gratefully. "Whatever." The otherwise cold reply was slightly negated by a soft smile.

Unlocking Fenrir, Cloud had to firmly remind himself for the umpteenth time that his elusive neighbor was off-limits. No matter how nice his pancakes were.

Author's Note:

So here begins my next multi-chaptered story! I'd like to clarify in the beginning, this is a Cleon story and there will be Original Characters in this, primarily as it's AU. Thanks for reading, be sure to leave some feedback!