While venturing through that passage in a relationship where you end up finding yourself spending more nights sharing the bed of your significant other's than in your own, you start to learn some new things about them.

For example, Cloud Strife himself was born with an unfortunate scowl as his neutral facial expression(causing frequent misunderstandings among his peers while growing up in the smalltown of Nibelheim) and he had always assumed that Leon suffered from the same predicament. It wasn't until after he slept with the man that he discovered what an misconception that had turned out to be; waking up the next morning to Leon's still slumbering face covering his vision, a serene and unguarded expression painted across his lover's visage, one he had never witnessed there before and a sight he doubted many before him had been privileged to either.

Behind locked doors and underneath warm comforters, the proverbial frosty barricades that always seemed to accompany the older man would melt and wither, and there Cloud had found an unexpectedly warm and compassionate character. Well-hidden beneath several layers of repression.

But his latest discovery about his lover was by far the most riveting.

Normally Leon was a light sleeper, with his gunblade constantly within arm's reach the man would always be alert and ready for action regardless of the hour. But not long after their relation to each other turned more physical, Cloud came to realize that such wasn't necessarily always the case and that there was one way to greatly influence the older man's sleeping pattern without the latter even realizing it. The secret was that, after having sex, Leon would invariably fall into a much deeper slumber than what was usual and he went from being roused by the slightest out-of-place creak in the floorboards to having to be shaken awake with vigor. It was an insight that he had yet to share with Leon and occasionally found himself using to his advantage, usually with the older man's best in mind – It was an efficient maneuver to guarantee that the man got some sufficient, uninterrupted rest and prevent him from overexertion. However, that wasn't what made such a seemingly trivial quirk so lucrative to Cloud.

Leon, their otherwise tight-lipped leader, talked in his sleep. Profusely.

At first, Cloud didn't consider it much more than an endearing, albeit at times irritating, habit. Most of what was said sounded like whispered gibberish or was referring to events and people that Cloud had no relation to, presumably originating from Leon's past, so he didn't pay it too much mind. It wasn't until one night, when Cloud accidentally raised his voice to the surrounding darkness and his slumberous lover responded, that things truly turned interesting.

He discovered that, while inside that comatose state where sleep talking tended to occur, Leon would answer everything he was asked with completely uncensored, utmost honesty. Even though some of the answers given would be too diffuse without proper context for him to fully comprehend, it was one of those rare opportunities that the blond man simply couldn't bring himself to slip past him. His amusement over his finding and the burning curiosity about his bedmate easily quashed the feelings of guilt that he probably should of had for prying into his lover's private matters, in such an under-handed manner no less.

...And that was how Cloud found himself in bed, propped up on one of his elbows, holding yet another clandestine conversation with his unconscious lover lying next to him.

"–So... What did you do before you came to Twilight Town? What was your occupation?" Cloud asked forthrightly, having learned from experience that keeping the questions clear, concise and to the point tended to deliver more relevant answers.

Leon simply parted his lips and released a deep breath before responding – his voice coming out thick and slurred. If Cloud hadn't known better he would have thought that Leon was inebriated.

"... ' was a SeeD... Commanderr... planted 'n a garden..."

Cloud arched a dubious eyebrow at that answer but felt a light pull at the corner of his lips all the same. It was difficult for him to tell sometimes if an answer given was truly relevant to the question he asked or if it somehow got mixed up with whatever the man was presently dreaming about. It gave way for some pretty humorous citations gathered from the otherwise reserved man, some of which Cloud genuinely considered writing down in a notebook for keepsake but hadn't gotten around to it yet.

"You used to be a 'planted seed'? Does that make you a flower now?" He teased and grinned slightly at the way Leon's eyebrow scrunched together a bit. Apparently, even when unconscious, Leon did not appreciate being used as the butt of a joke.

"... Noo..."

Cloud chuckled briefly under his breath, a glint of humor sparkling through azure blue eyes, before proceeding, "Could've fooled me. Hmm... How many partners have been with apart from me?"

"Jus' one..."

"Only one? A handsome guy your age? That's hard to believe," Cloud said thoughtfully and couldn't help but to reminisce on his own past romances and flings. He didn't consider himself a Don Juan by any means but he couldn't deny that he did carry a significantly more promiscuous history in the baggage than what Leon apparently did. He filed that tidbit of information away into the corner of his mind as a reminder to not bring up the subject thoughtlessly in the future.

"What was their name?"

Leon shifted slightly in his sleep, resulting in him burrowing his face further into the pillow which coincidentally muffled his words against it and caused Cloud to lean in closer.

"... 'noa... Hea... 'ly..."

Carefully, Cloud pressed his palm down on the pillow to prevent it from obstructing Leon's voice and asked again: "What was their name, again?"

"Rin'a... Rinoa... Heartilly'..."

A woman.

The fact that Leon had been with a woman before really shouldn't have surprised him, shouldn't have irked him like it did, and that sudden twinge of covetousness that fluttered through his mind and body was completely uncalled for. And yet...

"...Was she pretty?" Leon hummed in agreement, "... Yes... ' guess..."

… Could it be that you're more attracted to women?

Cloud quickly shook that thought out of his head. This was ridiculous. There was no need for him to know the details concerning Leon's past relationships, no right for him to find out about them this way, and his private inquisition was quickly moving too far into what could only be describe as an invasion of privacy than he had originally intended it to be.

It was getting really late, the morning sun was already on it's way up judging by the fine fragments of dust that danced across their upper arms within stray rays of light, and he should of probably have called it a night by then. And yet...

"... How long were you together for?"

"... I don' know... Sssince I 'as eighteen 'til..." Leon shifted once again, his eyelashes fluttered anxiously and his brows lowered – twisting his restful features into a familiar scowl, "... until our star burnt out..."

… Would you still be with her if you were given the choice?

His Adam's apple bobbed in his throat as he swallowed the question that swelled in his mouth and replaced it with a more simple: "I see."

Fuck!

He was struck with the sudden urge to smack himself senseless. These self-piteous thoughts that pricked at his skin was unreasonable, hypocritical even, and a part of him was grateful that Leon(or anyone else in the house, for that matter!) wasn't aware enough to notice how goddamn pathetic he was being.

He had no right to possibly be giving his lover nightmares because his own selfish curiosity brought back painful memories to the older man. He had no right to partake in this sort of private information without having received Leon's voiced consent first. And yet... A part of him hungered for more.

"... … Cloud...?"

Leon's lashes fluttered again before gradually revealing a pair of weary, gunmetal colored eyes staring directly into those that belonged to his blond bedmate.

Taken aback for a moment but quickly catching himself, Cloud answered apologetically, "Sorry... Go back to sleep, I didn't mean to– "

The last part of his sentence caught in his throat when he saw the rare smile languidly stretch across Leon's face and a strong hand reached out to press its palm against the softness of Cloud's cheek, tracing the younger man's cheekbone affectionately with his thumb.

"... Cloud... ' love you..."

The moment didn't last very long, and before Cloud could even begin to grasp the events that had just transpired between them, Leon's eyes were closed once more and his hand fell limply back at his side.

No questions, not a single more word, were exchanged afterwards.

That night Cloud learned yet another thing about his lover that he didn't know about before. And in the end, he didn't even need the questions in order to find it.

(AN: Inspiration struck me to write a one-shot. Yesterday. At 3 am in the morning. I woke up today. Looked at the mess I had created. Hated it, but decided to try to fix it anyhow and now I'm okay with it. I originally intended to write something smutty and erotic but my muse said "Nah, make it sappy instead!". Oh well. Maybe next time!)