Christmas Scrapbook

"Hah! You guys are standing under the mistletoe!" Yuffie exclaimed, pointing at both Leon and Cloud and laughing.

Leon turned and looked at Cloud, who gave him a hesitant smile, before huffing and walking away from him. "Yeah, right!"

Cloud sighed and rubbed the back of his head, frowning. "Damn…"

Yuffie, now sporting a frown as well, walked up to the blond. "What's wrong with Leon? Did you guys get in another fight?"

Cloud grimaced. "Um… Sort of. He's mad at me, I don't know why, and he won't tell me. He's in one of… 'those' moods."

The ninja tilted her head, blinking innocently, before sighing and shaking her head. "He'll get over it eventually. So, what did you get Leon for Christmas?"

"See, that's another thing!" Cloud exclaimed, then turned his head sharply to make sure Leon was listening. After making sure said brunet was preoccupied with helping Aerith bake Christmas cookies, he turned back to her. "I don't know what to get him! I don't want to drop by and disturb Belle—she's too busy planning her own Christmas— and he has enough of everything that he already owns! I… I don't know what to do!"

Yuffie sighed and rolled her eyes. "Well, you can't get him a puppy; Fenrir would just get jealous and agitated. Hmm…" She crossed her arms and scratched the back of her head thoughtfully. "…Well, have you ever gotten him any jewelry? Has he liked that?"

"Gave him a promise ring. He won't wear it," he muttered, crossing his arms. "Then again, I should have realized that. He's got to be able to carry his Gunblade, right?"

"What about a necklace?"

"He won't take off Griever."

"Chocolate?"

"Doesn't like sweets."

"Cologne?"

"He bought some yesterday."

"Ugh!" Yuffie shot Leon a glare. "He is so hard to shop for!"

"What did you get him?" Cloud asked desperately, running a hand through his spikes.

"I got Sora to bring a book over from Port Royal when he came to visit for Christmas," she admitted sheepishly, looking down at her feet. "Sorry."

Cloud scowled and sat down on the couch in frustration. "Getting someone you love a gift shouldn't be this hard!"

Yuffie sat down next to him and sighed. "You're right. How long have you two been together now?"

"This will be our forth Christmas together," he answered, then let his head fall back onto the back of the couch. "Four glorious years and I can't come up with a gift!"

The ninja crossed her arms. "Sorry, Cloud. I really wish I could help you. …You know all you have to do is try to cook or clean up after yourself to make him happy for Christmas, thought, right?"

"I've been doing that because I thought that's what he was mad about!" the blond exclaimed in exasperation. "And besides, making him eat whatever I've managed to make that's still edible doesn't seem like a very good Christmas gift!"

Tifa, having wandered over and to hear what they were talking about so seriously, just smiled and shrugged. "Well, if you can't find a book for him, why don't you make one?"

Yuffie squealed and clapped her hands together. "Oh, that's such a good idea, Tifa!"

Cloud tilted his head, a little slower than the ninja (though that was sort of to be expected, because whenever he upset Leon, Yuffie was there to smack him in the head). "What do you mean?"

Tifa peeked over her shoulder to make sure Leon was still busy, then leaned down, lowering her voice to a whisper. "Just make a scrapbook and put in pictures of you guys at your happiest times. Add some pictures of Fenrir and some family photos— family being us, by the way— and bingo! You have the perfect gift!"

The blond frowned and rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Hmm… I don't know, guys…"

"Have we ever steered you wrong?" Yuffie asked, smiling at him. When he refused to dignify that with an answer, she rolled her eyes. "I mean when it comes to gifts."

"…No," Cloud admitted, lowering his gaze.

"Great! So that's what you have to do!" Tifa exclaimed, smiling. "If you need any photos, I won't mind giving you some."

"Me either!" Yuffie added, patting his shoulder. "You need all of the help you can get!"

Cloud rolled his eyes. "Gee, thanks, Yuffie."

-x-x-x-

"So, Leon, why were you so sharp with Cloud earlier?" Aerith asked innocently, putting icing on some gingerbread men.

Leon sighed and sat across from her, shingling the roof of a gingerbread house with mints and icing. "He and Fen don't get along lately. Cloud snaps at Fen and in return, Fen has been snarling at him. I don't understand why he can't be nice to Fen; whatever he's mad about, he doesn't have to take it out on the dog!"

Aerith frowned and looked up at him. "Oh? That's too bad. On a different note, what did you get Cloud for Christmas?"

Leon paused in his shingling before smiling up at her. "I bought an upgrade for his motorbike."

The girl gave a small squeal and clapped her hands. "Oh, Leon, that's great! He'll love that!"

"What did you get him?" Leon asked, tilting his head.

Aerith smiled and shrugged. "I bought him a knew jacket— his old one has been a little threadbare for a while, don't you think?— and I was going to bake some chocolate chip cookies for him."

"Oh, that's great," Leon answered, smiling at her again. "Cloud loves your cookies. I'm kind of jealous; he doesn't like mine half as well as he likes yours."

"Oh, that's not true!" she laughed, waving it away. "Cloud likes everything!"

"Which I suppose is how he survived his own cooking when he lived alone," he muttered, frowning. "I love him and all, but… all he can make is coffee."

"That's because he can't survive without it," Tifa stated, plopping in a seat next to them and dragging a tray of gingerbread men toward her. She turned a sly smile on Leon. "I know what Cloud's getting you for Christmas!"

Leon tilted his head but knew better than to ask what it was. "Will I like it?"

"I should think so," she answered, then leaned toward Aerith and whispered— what Leon assumed— his present into her ear.

Aerith smiled and nodded. "That's a wonderful idea, Tifa!"

Now he was intrigued. "What is it?"

"I can't tell you, Leon!" Aerith exclaimed, shocked he'd even ask.

He sighed in defeat and went back to shingling his candy roof. "Fine."

-x-x-x-

Cloud sighed and gazed at the book he was going to be using for his little arts and crafts projects, then scowled at it. "This is the stupidest thing I've ever done."

Deciding that the cover was too plain, he stuck a picture of Leon, himself, and Fenrir on it and, in surprisingly nice handwriting, wrote Leon. Not the best of things to write, but he had to start somewhere. Right?

Grabbing the first photo he happened to see on his already messy table, he couldn't help but smile. Yuffie must have snapped the photo. Only a ninja could sneak up on them when they were kissing. Especially their first one.

"Hey, Leon," Cloud murmured, sliding his arm around the brunet's waist. "Why didn't you want to date me at first?"

Leon shrugged and let his head rest against his shoulder. "It's nothing."

"No, tell me."

Leon sighed, nibbling on his bottom lip anxiously, before answering, "I didn't want you to hurt me. I need someone there for me, Cloud, and you just wander off. You don't even answer your cell phone. I… was afraid."

Cloud frowned, then moved to face him. "Leon, I'd never hurt you. At least, not intentionally! I really care about you!"

Leon smiled sadly. "Yeah, right."

"Don't say that!" Cloud exclaimed, scowling. "I care about you, damn it! Why do you think I chased you so long?"

"Prove it," Leon ordered, scowling as well. "You can't, can you?"

Cloud growled, eyebrow beginning to twitch, before leaning down and smashing the brunet's lips with his. Leon gasped softly, eyes wide, before moaning and leaning into the kiss. Then there was a flash.

Leon decided that killing Yuffie was a higher priority than kissing his boyfriend.

"That was a good day," Cloud murmured, smiling. Their relationship had taken a definite turn for the better after that.

The first two pages were of their firsts: first date (what a freakin' fiasco), first kiss (damn Yuffie), first make-out session (damn those girls and their cameras), first argument (who knew Leon could be so cute when he was angry), and various others. The one he put front and center, though, was first Christmas.

Cloud smiled. "That was a good day, too."

"Ooh! You guys are standing under the mistletoe!" Yuffie exclaimed, grinning. "Now you have to kiss!"

Leon and Cloud looked at each other for a few seconds, Leon with his head tilted adorably in confusion and Cloud simply wondering why Leon was so confused. Deciding that they should get it over with, Cloud leant down and gave the brunet a quick kiss, then continued on his way in, making a bee-line for the kitchen.

Leon frowned and touched his lips in confusion, then looked up at the sprig of poisonous plant. "…Okaaay…"

Later, when Leon and Cloud were walking back home, Leon slid his hand into the blond's and frowned. "Cloud?"

Cloud looked at him in surprise and tilted his head. "Hmm?"

"What was with that whole… mistletoe thing?" Leon asked, waving at the air above him. "I didn't get it."

Cloud blinked at him, then smiled a little, scratching his cheek. "You really don't know?" When he received a nod, he chuckled and looked back at where he was going. "I'd never think you wouldn't know that, Leon."

Leon scowled. "Just tell me!"

"Fine, fine…" The blond sighed, then shrugged. "Not much to it. Some people associated mistletoe with the Norse goddess of love— Freya— and developed the custom of kissing under branches of mistletoe for good luck in love."

"…Why do you know that?" Leon asked, tilting his head. This did not seem like information Cloud should know off the top of his head.

Cloud smiled innocently. "I wanted to know why the first time I heard of it, too, so I looked it up."

"Oh." The brunet tilted his head the other way. "So… does that mean that we have to have mistletoe to kiss during Christmas?"

"…If that was the case, Leon," Cloud asked, smirking. "And if I were to wear mistletoe above my head the whole Christmas season, would you kiss me every time we hugged?"

Leon shrugged innocently and released his hand, walking away from him nonchalantly. "Maaaybe."

"Maybe?" This perked the blond's attention. "Did I hear a maybe?"

"Maybe," Leon repeated, smirking at him, before walking into the house.

Cloud grinned devilishly and followed him into the house, slamming the door and locking it behind him.

"…Probably some of the best sex we ever had," he muttered, smiling.

"What are you doing?"

Cloud let out an uncharacteristically high shriek and jumped to his feet, spinning around to be confronted with Sora, Riku, and Kairi. Glaring at them as he tried to regain his breath, he asked, "What the hell?!"

"Well, we knocked," Kairi explained, shrugging.

Sora nodded. "Yeah! We've been watching you for like, ten minutes! …What are you doing, anyway?" he asked, looking down at the book.

"…Making a scrapbook," the blond muttered, then slammed the book shut so Sora couldn't see.

"Making a scrapbook?" Riku asked incredulously, raising an eyebrow. "For what?"

Cloud scowled and sat back down. "For Leon's Christmas present, if you really must know. Can I help you?"

"Ooh, I have a picture you can use!" Sora exclaims, searching in his duffle bag. "Just a sec, let me find my photo album!"

Cloud tilted his head, immediately interested. Sora was just as good as Yuffie when it came to getting pictures. …He sometimes wondered if the Keyblade wielder had gotten lessons from his ninja friend… Huh, he'd have to ask her later.

"This one!" Sora exclaimed, slapping a photo onto the table.

He'd somehow managed to snap a photo of the two while they were napping after a rather tiring match at the coliseum. Contrary to popular belief, Leon liked to snuggle. And when he latched onto you, he did not let go. Thus was Cloud resting his head against the brunet's. Ah, young love.

"…I'm not even going to ask how you got this," Cloud stated, waving the picture in the teenager's face. "But let me know if you have anymore, okay?"

"Will do!" Sora chirped, smiling, only to yelp as he was bowled over by a black blur. "Ooph!"

Fenrir tilted his head, seemingly surprised to see him. His eyes seemed to express the statement, 'I don't remember you.'

"…Yeah, that's not Leon, Fen," Cloud stated, patting the large dog on the head. "Leon's still with Aerith. They're making cookies."

Fenrir seemed to huff as only a dog could, then moseyed over and rested his head on Cloud's thigh.

"Well, I guess we'll go see Aerith then!" Sora exclaimed, hopping to his feet.

Riku snorted. "You just want cookies."

"Yeah! After you ate nearly all of mine!" Kairi added, scowling at him.

"I did not—"

"Did too, you freakin' liar—"

"Bye Cloud!" Sora chirped, waving, before dragging his friends out of the house.

Cloud raised an eyebrow. He never pictured Riku to like cookies that much. Shrugging, he sighed and looked down at Fenrir. "…You know what? I'm giving you your Christmas present early. Come on. Let's go to Scrooge's. See if he has anything in that little pet shop he just opened."

Fenrir jumped at the prospect of going out and ran to the door, barking. Cloud placed the picture Sora had given him on the final page, smiling, wrapped the present as quickly as he could with a dog barking furiously at him to hurry the hell up already!

-x-x-x-

Leon sighed and shoved his hands in his pockets, gazing around at all of the stores in disinterest. Damn, he did not know what to get Yuffie! And knowing the annoying ninja, whatever she wanted would be insane. Damn ninjas.

Seeing Cloud walking Fenrir, he quickly hid in some shadows. Cloud paused at the pet shop window, staring at a little gray kitten. The kitten stared back at him, then lifted a pause and pressed it to the window. The blond bent and trailed his finger over the window, to which the kitten chased and tried to attack. He chuckled softly.

Fenrir, wanting to see the reason for the hold up, growled, then barked at the kitten through the glass. The kitten looked miffed, then batted at the dog's nose through the glass. Fenrir blinked, then started jumping up and down, realizing a game was afoot.

Cloud sighed and dragged him to the door. "Come on, Fen. We're just getting a new bone and a toy. No kitties; Leon might not be happy with us."

In the shadows, Leon grinned.

-x-x-x-

"Now, I don't know how much you're going to like this," Cloud warned, handing Leon his gift.

Leon smiled at him. "Oh, come on, Cloud. It's not like you bought me a leash."

"I told you, I mislabeled the gifts last year!" Cloud exclaimed, glaring at him. "The leash was for Fenrir and the gloves were for you!"

"I know, I know." Leon gave him a playful shove. "I just like teasing you."

Cloud growled. "Open it, damn it!"

The brunet chuckled, carefully pulling the wrapping away (it was just a fetish he had), then tilted his head as he found the scrapbook. He opened it, then gasped and covered his mouth. "Cloud!"

"You like it?" he asked tentatively, leaning toward him.

Leon looked up at him, then smiled and threw his arms around the blond's neck. "I love it!"

"Good. I didn't know what else you wanted," he answered, then placed a few kisses on the brunet's shoulder.

Leon shivered, tempted to just let him continue, but Cloud needed to open his present. "Okay, your turn!"

Cloud sighed in disappointment, then took the box Leon was holding out to him. "Fine…" He pulled the lid off and sighed again, staring into the box, before squeaking as he finally saw what it held. "Kitty!"

The little gray kitten poked his head out, surprised, then meowed questioningly, causing Fenrir to look up from his bone. Cloud pet the kitten for a few minutes, grinning, before lifting it out of the box and setting it on the floor. It tottered around for a few seconds, unsure of where to go, before waddling over to Fenrir. Fenrir blinked, then rested his head on the ground, sighing. The kitten licked the dog's muzzle.

Fenrir lifted his head again, frowning, then stood, grabbed the kitten by its scruff, and wandered over to his doggy bed. Placing it on the bed, he circled it, then laid down, gently resting his head on his paws. The kitten blinked, then settled down for a nap as well.

Leon grinned. "That was so cute. What are you going to name her?"

"Hmm… Shiva," Cloud answered, resting his hands behind his head. "She's feisty enough to fit the name."

Leon snuggled up to him and sighed, nuzzling the blond's chest. "Mm… Thank you for the scrapbook, Cloud. I love you."

Cloud hummed happily, then nodded. "Love you too. Thanks for the kitten. But how did you—"

"I have magical powers, Cloud," Leon stated, sighing. "Don't question them, because I won't answer."

"Hmm… Do these powers have anything to do with spying on me?"

"No."

"Alright, then I don't care." Cloud smiled. After a few minutes, he added, "Merry Christmas, Leon."

Leon sighed again and smiled as well, planting a soft kiss to his neck. "Merry Christmas, Cloud." He nuzzled Cloud's chest again. "Mm… Did Aerith say we could bring Fenrir? Because if she did, we should probably bring Shiva, too."

"Hmm… We have a few hours before you need to go help her with dinner," Cloud stated, smiling lazily. "Why don't we look through your scrapbook?"

Leon squeaked happily and grabbed the scrapbook, opening it quickly. "Yay!"

"You're so easy to please, Leon. It's so adorable…" The blond leaned down and kissed the top of his head. "Almost adorable enough to make me want to jump you right now."

"Where'd you get this picture? How did you get this picture?!" Leon exclaimed, eyes widening. "Cloud, we're in the shower!"

"That was our first shower." The devilish grin on his face was almost alarming. "So therefore it had to be in there."

"But Cloud, we're naked!"

"And what do we have to be ashamed of?"

Leon blushed a violent shade of red and smacked him in the shoulder, scowling. "Cloud!"

"What? You have a nice sized d—"

-x-x-x-

"IF YOU FINISH THAT SENTENCE I AM GOING TO RIP OUT YOUR TONGUE!"

Aerith, Tifa, and Yuffie looked at each other in surprise before tapping their glasses of orange juice together in a toast.

"To Cloud's awesome gift," Tifa stated, smiling.

"And to Leon's awesome temper," Yuffie added, a grin beginning to form.

"And to their forth Christmas together," Aerith finished, smiling warmly.

"They never would have survived if it weren't for us," Tifa sighed, shaking her head.

Yuffie shrugged. "I like my Cleon. I am going to get millions for my doujinshi!"

Aerith giggled softly. "If Leon could hear you now."

"He'd want in on the money, I know."

Tifa laughed. "I don't think that's what she meant, Yuffie!"

"MILLIONS, I TELL YOU!"

"…If I shade it, can I get in on part of that?"

"Of course you can, Tifa. Of course."