Leon sighed aggregately as he ran a hand through his brown locks. Cloud had gone missing once again, and he was the one who always went to find him. Leon didn't particularly mind going to find Cloud; in fact he liked to look for Cloud. It not only gave him a chance to get some fresh air… but to find out how Cloud manages to get away. Cloud going out, and never coming back – until someone went looking for him - was happening very frequently now, and Leon, Yuffie, Cid, and Aerith had to watch over Cloud 24/7. But what Leon couldn't understand was that if everyone was watching over Cloud each second of the day, then how did cloud still manage to get away? It was bizarre! On many occasions Leon and Cloud had been in their now shared room just sitting in comfortable silence, when Cloud would just disappear. Leon would not have been looking away for more than 5 seconds before he just vanished. The only thing that could explain this would be either an opened window or door. But how could cloud have disappeared that quickly?
Aerith always told Leon to find Cloud as fast as possible; Leon always took his time while looking for him. After the first couple times Leon realised that Cloud could always be found in the same place – in the middle of the forest, near by a clear blue stream. Leon took his time because he felt that Cloud needed at least a little more alone time. Having four people constantly watching you must drive someone mad. Leon always hoped that one day when he would go looking for Cloud that he would tell him what's bothering him. Himself and Cloud had a close relationship before this all started. They used to go out sparing everyday; they would even smile at each other, which is something no one else could get. This brings us to another change about Cloud. The blonde's attitude to everything changed. He stopped sparing with Leon, he stopped eating, he hardly ever talked… But that wasn't all the time, sometimes he would be really helpful and talkative, the next he would just stop talking or start shouting at someone and be… well, evil.
Leon slowly walked through the forest breathing in the silence. The house was never silent, not with Yuffie and Aerith always yelling at him for not helping Cloud. Leon sighed once again and started to pick up his pace a little, it was getting dark and he didn't want Cloud getting ill. As he neared the stream Leon caught sight of Cloud's hair. Cloud would always been facing away from Leon, and he had to be careful because of it. You had to make sure you were made known before you could approach Cloud, otherwise you could end up with some nasty cuts and bruises. Leon coughed nervously as he always did, and trudged nosily towards Cloud. As he reached him, Leon lowered himself softly onto the ground next to Cloud, and wrapped an arm around his shoulder. The blond was different today… he was not just sitting there with an angry or confused look on his face... Cloud had a completely blank look, and his face was drenched with tears.
"Cloud?" Leon tried to make his voice sound soft, but his name came out as more of a gasp. Usually Cloud would never look at Leon when he said his name but today he turned his head slowly and looked into Leon's eyes – it wasn't for every long, but he still looked at him. Cloud let out an easy breath before looking at Leon again, with a very vulnerable look. If anything could make your heart crush into a thousand pieces it was the look Cloud was giving him now. As more tears fell down Cloud's face he gaped, as if thinking how to explain himself to Leon, but something told him that Cloud couldn't even explain it to himself.
"I…" Cloud started. Leon hushed Cloud gently and started to rock Cloud. After a couple minutes the blonde's breathing evened out, and tears stopped rolling down his face. As Leon thought Cloud was sleeping, he slowly picked him up to take him back home – could not have Cloud getting ill. Leon looked down at Cloud; he was taken back by the look on Cloud's face. They say people look innocent as they sleep, but his face was far from innocent. But as Cloud stirred in Leon's arms the innocence slowly returned. He looked up at Leon and said sleepily:
"I just don't understand…"