An introspective on Leon, sort of. It probably came out a bit OOC for him, so I apologize for that.
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It was a quiet morning in Hollow Bastion. It was early spring now, and the morning air was chilly, slowly warming as the sun painstakingly dragged itself over the distant horizon, framed by pink skies and wispy purple clouds.
Leon took a deep breath of the cool air, exhaling it softly. He sat staring out at the vast expanses of blue hills and mesas that surrounded the walled town, watching the steadily rising sun shift and play with the shadows falling across the valley. He had woken early this morning, and, deciding not to bother with breakfast, had gotten dressed and walked out beyond the break in the bailey to simply sit, watch the sunrise, and think. He had brought his sword, but surprisingly enough, the Heartless and Nobodies hadn't given him any trouble. Still, it would probably be best to head home after the sun rose.
Home... Home had changed so much for Leon in his life. Home was once in the beautiful town of Radiant Garden, where he smiled every day and had a nice house and a nice family and a nice girlfriend. Then everything changed, and suddenly, home was a shared hotel room in a refugee town where the sun just wouldn't rise.
Finally, he was back to where he started—Radiant Garden, but not Radiant Garden. No, Hollow Bastion, where he lived in a strange house filled with strange people surrounded by strange events. Gone was the nice house, family, and girlfriend, gone were the smiles and the worriless lifestyle. Now, every day was filled with danger and endless hours of work that seemed fruitless.
He shouldn't have been happy here. He should have hated Hollow Bastion for pretending to be Radiant Garden, pretending to be the place where he had lost everything.
He shouldn't have been happy, but he was.
Because the Heartless and Nobodies raised constant danger, but they gave him a purpose. Because Leon still smiled—not as often, but he did. Because a strange house full of friends was better than a nice house filled with nothing. Because the work wasn't really fruitless; each day brought them closer to restoring Hollow Bastion to Radiant Garden. No, it would be better than Radiant Garden; he'd make sure of it.
So Leon let a tiny smile grace his stern face. Perhaps the monsters that infested this place were frightening. Perhaps Yuffie was too loud, Merlin too confusing, Cid too profane, and Cloud too monotonous. Perhaps their home, a cross between a wizard's tower and a computer lab, could stand a little improvement. Perhaps Hollow Bastion didn't have the grandeur and the wonder that Radiant Garden did. But it didn't matter, because as long as he was happy... he was home.
As the sun climbed into the sky, Leon grabbed his sword and walked back to his home to see his friends, his life, his happiness... and hopefully some breakfast.