Before Cups of Coffee, before the WRG series in dA even, there was a draft for the theme "Introduction" that involved a pair of cosplayers at a convention. This is that draft.

(I'm not sure how well this will be received, so be sure to let me know if I should continue.)

From the very moment I stepped into the convention hall, I knew this was a mistake. Yet, here I was, and with all the time, money and effort that went into the costume, it would have been a waste to not make the most of this. No matter how unnerving the others warned me this was about to get, I could at least… try.

I blinked, and suddenly a large – uh, homely – figure approached me, grinning around a hot dog as he or she waved jovially.

"Hi there!" a pitched voice chirped, answering the question, "I'm Sora!"

"Of course you are," I sent back her way.

"Be nice, Cloud," one of my companions spoke from the side. There was the usual exchanging of pleasantries before 'Sora' left to join a group at the far end of the hall. And that was only the beginning of this long, soon to be exhausting event.

"Are all conventions like this?" I called over the ruckus toward my colleague. He looked up over waving another exited fellow enthusiast away to answer the question.

"You're lucky – this one is smaller and a lot more peaceful than others I've seen."

"You can't be serious!"

"You've just not seen enough," he replied casually. "Just don't wander off on your own, so no one jumps on you."

I froze right there and nearly bolted the way I came. "…they what?"

"Exactly. Stay close so we can protect you."

I did not know if he was being serious, but I did know it was a lot easier said than done. People were jostling against one another, and several times I nearly lost sight of the group as strangers emerged from nowhere to talk to me, most of who were either dressed as characters from the Final Fantasy or Kingdom Hearts games, or were simply after pictures, surveys or strange interviews. Still, there were exceptions…

"Did what I can only assume is an elf just…?"

"Make a pass at you?" another of my companions confirmed for me. "I think so. Somewhere out there, there is a Link-Cloud following-" she sensed I was about to say something, and stopped me right away "just because I can say it, doesn't mean I can explain it."

"Hey Roxas!" someone else from the crowd called to her. "Get over here! You gotta see this!"

"I'd better go see what our 'Axel' is on about," she joked, patting me lightly on the shoulders. "Stay put, alright? I'll be right back."

And suddenly, I realized they had done the exact opposite of what they told me moments ago. While I was proud to call myself a city kid, I wasn't all that comfortable being alone in this hall filled with semi-crazy people that seemed to think draping themselves all over you was the new trend. Picking at the cloth on my one black sleeve, I cleared my throat carefully – quietly – and shifted my feet.

Thankfully, she came back for me before anything too traumatic could happen, though her strange, strange smile should have warned me of what was to come. Before I could question her motives, she had grabbed my hand and hauled me through the crowd once more.

"You'll either thank me for this," she assured, "or spam my inbox with hate mail for weeks."

At first, I remained confused – the failing of a first-time cosplayer – and allowed her to lead me like a lamb to the slaughter. And then I saw what she meant, and agreed with her.

Standing in the center of a circle consisting of random Organization XIII members, SOLDIERs, SeeDs and whatnot… was…

"Cloud, Leon; Leon, Cloud – commence with the yaoi."

Half the nearest crowd was laughing. The other half was wolf-whistling and cheering. The Leon that stood before me blinked. I felt my own face redden before I yanked my hand from that of my once-friend.

"Expect the hate mail very soon," I muttered bitterly.

Given time to think about it, maybe I would admit that I was overreacting – after all, this was hardly the first time anything like this occurred at a convention, but I had trusted that lot to watch my back. One second, they promised to keep potential grief away, and the next they dumped one in my lap. See if I ever took their invitations to go anywhere again.

"Hey Cloud, wait!"

Suddenly, there was a hand on my forearm. I turned to find that same Leon beside me. I was already irritated enough as it was, and I pulled my arm free at once. "My name's not-"

"The look says otherwise," the Leon rebutted smoothly. Quickly, hands came up in a plea for truce. "Which is a really good look, I'll have you know. For a first-timer, you got that costume down pat."

"Listen, lady… sir…" Momentarily, my rant about getting picked up fell short as I realized something, "… good Lord, I can't even tell if you're a guy or a girl…!"

'Leon' chuckled, still giving me absolutely no clue at all. "I get that a lot."

"Really? Even without the cosplay?"

"My mother's not happy about it, either."

He – or she – wasn't really funny, but I was tired. I laughed with this strange person for a moment, and only then – with my head cooled off – did I realize I had been a bit of a wet blanket earlier. "… I'm sorry about my lousy attitude."

"Don't worry about it – before these guys dragged you over to meet me, I've had male and female Clouds, Seifers, Rinoas, Ultimecias and assorted others jump on me several times already."

"And you're okay with that?" I asked incredulously.

"Come in a cosplay, expect to be glomped," 'Leon' uttered sagely.

Again, I laughed, and whoever this person was, they laughed with me. Maybe, just maybe, this wasn't such a bad idea after all. To be honest, this Leon did a really good job on their costume as well, and was admittedly… not bad looking. At least they were of a smart figure more befitting of the game character I knew so well by now.

"Well," whoever this was spoke again, "I'd better get back to our highly imaginative group before they attempt to pair me with anyone else for the night. Are you coming?"

"… I might as well," I admitted. "That Sephiroth there has my wallet."

"How do you know that old man?"

I shrugged to that before adding sarcastically, "he claims to be my dark side of the force and impaled me a few times."

'Leon' caught my drift quickly: "Should I save you from him, should you be saving me, or should we get him together?"

"Whichever it is, it'll give him more stuff to put on FFNet. I just know it."

"I guess you don't mind being my new 'yaoi' date for now, then?"

I thought about it – in truth, there really wasn't much to lose. I was already here, already so much into this. I might as well have some fun.

"For now, then," I agreed at last, extending my hand their way. "My name is-"

"Cloud," 'Leon' finished for me, though they did accept the offer to shake. "There's plenty of time to exchange real names later."

I was smirking before I could catch myself. Whoever this Leon was, I was starting to like them already.

"Sure."