The Polls Are In
"What are you doing?"
Yuffie looked up from a pile of papers placed on a clipboard and smiled innocently at the swordsman raising an eyebrow at her. "I'm putting together the results of the last poll I took of the townspeople!"
Cloud raised his other brow so that they were at equal height to show his skepticism. "Oh? And what was this poll for?"
"I asked whether they thought Tifa or Aerith was prettier." She looked down at her results. "So far, they're pretty much even, and I think it's going to stay that way, though Aerith's got like four or five more votes so far."
"You're just setting them up for a fight, aren't you?" the blond deadpanned. "Those are fighting words, you know."
She laughed and waved it away. "Oh, I asked them first, and they said they didn't care! …Who do you think is prettier, Cloud?"
Cloud blanched. "I-I… I don't— That's totally— They'll kill me!"
"I don't see why— Leon!" Yuffie chirped, smiling as the brunet walked into the room. "Hey, just the guy I wanted to see! Who do you think is prettier; Tifa, or Aerith?"
Leon raised an eyebrow at the abrupt question. "Which one's prettier?" When she nodded confirmation, he frowned and crossed his arms, absentmindedly tapping his chin. He didn't notice the two women in question stroll into the room bearing trays of a teapot, cookies, and cups. "…Well, I guess it really depends on what kind of pretty you mean. If you mean a feminine kind of pretty, my answer would have to be Aerith. If you mean a tough kind of pretty, I'd say Tifa." He paused, then smirked. "And if you meant a mischievous sort of pretty, I'd have to say that only you could earn that place."
"Aw, Leon, that's so sweet!" Aerith cooed, causing the man to jump and stare at her like a deer caught in the headlights. "I didn't know you thought like that!"
Tifa grinned. "Yeah, Mr. Stoic Pants. Who knew you actually thought like that?"
"So, what did Cloud say?" Aerith asked, looking at Yuffie.
"Nothing yet."
Cloud mouthed at them wordlessly before covering his face with a groan. "I never win!"
-x-x-x-
"I have the results to my latest poll!" Yuffie declared, walking into dinner the next week.
Cid snorted. "And what was it of this time? Whether red grapes or green grapes were better?"
She paused, then pointed at him. "No, but that's a good idea. Actually, my poll today was whether Cloud was more attractive or Leon!"
Cloud raised an eyebrow as Leon spat out his water in response to the girl's answer before looking back at the ninja. "Oh? And what did you find?"
She grinned. "Out of one-hundred-fifty people asked, eighty-four people said Cloud was more attractive and forty-three people said Leon was."
"…That only adds up to one-hundred-twenty-seven," Tifa stated, frowning.
"Well, yeah, but that's only because when I said 'Cloud Strife' twenty-three of the people just said 'who?'" she replied, shrugging it off. She frowned when Leon stood and immediately left the room. "Leon, it's nothing to get upset over! Hey! Hey!"
Aerith frowned in concern and looked at the ninja. "Yuffie, did you ask Leon and Cloud before you did this poll?"
Yuffie frowned and rubbed the back of her head. "Well, no, but I didn't think they'd really care."
"Well, Cloud doesn't," Tifa admitted, glancing at the blond and frowning as well. "He's really too good-looking to care, isn't he?" She turned her gaze back on the ninja. "But Leon's different from Cloud. I mean, sure, neither of them talk much, but we all know Cloud doesn't care about how people think of his appearance. Leon never says anything one way or the other. …And… maybe he's a little self-conscious?"
"What the hell does he have to be self-conscious for? He's freaking gorgeous!" she exclaimed, scowling.
Cid raised an eyebrow at her. "Are you serious? Did ya forget about this?" he asked, dragging a finger over his face in the same area Leon's scar was. "I'm surprised he can look in the mirror without flinching anymore."
"He used to flinch?" Cloud asked, tilting his head slightly in surprise.
Aerith grimaced—which was unusual, because she usually settled for a rueful frown or something of the like. "When he was younger, every time he'd see he reflection, he'd flinch. That, or he'd just stare at the scar for minutes at a time, and you could just tell he was ashamed of it."
"Oh…" Yuffie frowned and rubbed the back of her head. "I guess I should go apologize."
"Provided you can find him."
-x-x-x-
Leon rubbed his scar absently, pacing back and forth. The bailey was such a comfort, though why, he didn't know. He just knew that he was hurting, humiliated, and feeling lower than dirt.
He wondered vaguely how anyone could think he was more attractive than Cloud. He was so gorgeous, with his stunning blue eyes and small but pleased smile. His spiky golden hair was strange but added to his masculine beauty nonetheless. He was strong, too, adding more to his all around sexiness and making him one of the most desirable but unapproachable men in Radiant Garden.
And then… then there was him; plain old Leon, with the scar across his face and his hair hanging in his eyes, hiding them from view. He was more approachable than Cloud, true, but he figured that that was only because he'd proven that he'd do anything asked of him and he was always terribly polite to the townspeople. They liked him very much, despite his stoic disposition.
But just because they liked him didn't mean that they didn't give his scar glances. He was well aware that they wondered what it was from. …He'd rather not think of it.
"Leon?"
The brunet jumped in surprise, then turned, tilting his head slightly. "Cloud?"
"Yeah." Cloud shoved his hands in his pockets and walked over to stand with him at one of the windows looking out toward the cliffs. "Yuffie's looking for you."
Leon blinked in surprise, genuinely confused, before his expression darkened. "Someone told her about what I used to do with my scar, didn't they?"
"Mm." The blond nodded absently. "Aerith did. Yuffie wants to apologize for not asking like she did with Tifa and Aerith."
He scowled in response. "Why? I don't care. I mean, why should I care if someone thinks I'm attractive or not?"
Cloud paused in thought, then turned toward him, raising an eyebrow. "Can I touch it?"
"If someone thinks I—what?" Leon blinked at him again before frowning unsurely. "…Touch what?"
"Your dick, Leon," the blond answered sarcastically, rolling his eyes, before giving him a skeptical look. "Your scar, Leon. Can I touch your scar?"
The gunblade wielder scowled and took a step away. "I'd rather have you touching my dick. Why the hell would I want you to touch this thing? Especially since it's on my face—and you're not exactly the most gentle of guys."
"Hmm." The blond smirked. "Scared I'd hurt you, Leonhart?"
The brunet rolled his eyes and turned to walk away. "Whatever."
"Backing down from a challenge? Gee, Leonhart, never figured you for a coward."
He refused to fall for the bait. "I don't want your hands anywhere near my face, okay? It's bad enough you look at it all the time, but you actually want to touch it? Please. Leave me some of my dignity."
Cloud turned and watched him leave in surprise. He hadn't realized he'd been so blatantly obvious when he looked at the brunet's scar. It felt… humiliating, in a way, and he felt guilt knotting in his stomach. He could tell that the man wasn't comfortable with his scar, and here he was, just staring at it as if it was the most fascinating thing ever. He couldn't imagine how badly he made Leon feel just by looking it, and adding insult to injury by asking to touch it.
Because he never looked him in the eye; he was always too busy staring at the scar slanting across his face.
-x-x-x-
"Yuffie, seriously, it's fine. I'm not mad at you," Leon stated, frowning, as he patted the girl on the head. "Stop beating yourself up about it, okay?"
Yuffie sighed and clasped her hands behind her back. "I'm still really sorry. I should have asked first."
"…Your next poll should be about who's more oblivious; Sora to Riku's attempts at courting him or Riku to Sora's flirting."
"That's sheer brilliance!" she exclaimed, before turning and running to go begin her poll.
Really. With restoration basically over, this is what she did with her time?
Leon rolled his eyes and turned to walk toward the castle, only to let out an undignified 'eep' when he found glowing blue eyes frighteningly close to his. "…Strife! Don't sneak up on me like that!" he exclaimed angrily, gripping his hands into fists.
Cloud smiled innocently. "I did no such thing. I've been here for a few minutes. You just haven't noticed me."
"…Whatever," he muttered, walking down the stairs to start up to the postern. "Think what you want."
Cloud's smile turned into a smirk as he trailed after him. "Thank you. I think I will."
Leon didn't even dignify that with an answer. Instead, he continued walking. Tron needed to be checked up on, and he wanted to get some files downloaded from the internet.
And he wanted to check his email, too. Sora often sent him updates on what was going on with him and his friends when they weren't visiting.
He frowned when he heard the blond walking behind him and glanced over his shoulder. Cloud had no reason to be following him. So why-?
Whatever. Who knew what that bastard was thinking half the time?
Leon let out a yelp as he was suddenly shoved up against the wall near the postern. He reached up to shove the offender away, but his wrists were quickly grabbed and held above his head. He growled angrily. "Cloud Strife! Get off of me!"
"No." The blond in question made sure that he had the other man's wrists in a firm, unbreakable grip before reaching his free hand up to gently trace just beneath the scar on his face. He angrily hissed and shut his eyes tightly. Seeing the brunet's eyes close, he slid his fingers up the fraction of an inch needed to trace over the scar.
The brunet flinched slightly and let out a whimper. "Stop touching it-! Why would you want to touch it?!" He struggled weakly. "It's ugly and—" He let out a squeak and opened his eyes in surprise after feeling his mouth being crushed by the other man. He didn't really understand why he was kissing him, but figured he should just go with the flow; Cloud was a little nutty sometimes.
Cloud growled and forced his tongue into the gunblade wielder's mouth, sliding his hand from the man's scar to his hip. He smiled to himself as he felt the brunet shiver beneath his hand and released his wrists, preferring to wrap his arms around the other's waist.
Leon hesitated before winding his arms around the blond's neck and tilting his head into a more accommodating position. "Mm… Mm…" He whimpered as the blond slid a hand down to rest on his butt and gave it a quick squeeze, instinctively arching his hips forward to grind against his to escape the too-friendly appendage. "Mm!"
The swordsman broke the kiss with a grin only to slide his mouth down to the brunet's jaw and begin nibbling and sucking. "Mm… A little loud, aren't you, Leon…?"
"Ah… what are you doing?" he asked softly, blushing lightly as he felt his shirt being pulled from tucked in his pants.
Cloud slid his hands up the smaller man's shirt and trailed his mouth down to his throat, deciding that telling him what he was doing wasn't one of his priorities and publicly molesting him was. He smirked as his fingers found a nipple and gave it a sharp tweak, chuckling as the man arched his back and gasped.
The brunet whimpered again and tried to push him away. "What are you doing, you pervert? We can't do this here! Someone might see—"
"Shhh… No one will come unless you call them."
"But— I can't— Ah-!"
"This doesn't require speaking, Leon. …Though you can keep whimpering. I don't mind that."
-x-x-x-
"Hey, Leon, I was just wondering—" Yuffie began, looking through her polls, before lifting her gaze and stopping in surprise. Then again, who wouldn't be surprised?
Leon had his legs wrapped around Cloud's waist and was pressed up against the side of the cliff, blushing. Cloud was the one pressing him up against the wall, still struggling to get off his belts. He seemed oblivious to the girl's presence. Leon was not.
"Get off! Get off, get off, get off!"
"Ow! What the hell-?!"
Leon shoved him away and quickly tucked his shirt back into his pants, reaching down to grab his jacket. He tried desperately to ignore the blush burning across his face and shot the blond a glare. "I told you someone might see, you pervert!"
"No, no! Come on! I finally got your stupid jacket and two of your belts off! All my hard work!"
The brunet strode away from him quickly and grabbed Yuffie's wrist, leading the girl away from the fuming blond. "Come on, Yuffie. Let's let him cool off."
"Woah! That was hot!"
"…Please don't encourage him."
"Hey, hey! Can I make a poll on whether you or Cloud tops and see what the other people think?!"
"Absolutely not."
Cloud scowled and stalked after them. "I wasn't finished with you, Leon!"
Leon braved a glance over his shoulder and squeaked, then threw the ninja over his shoulder. And then he took off sprinting. "Sorry, gotta talk to Yuffie!"
"Come back here! Come back!"
-x-x-x-
"Funny, Leon's usually here by now. Cloud too," Aerith stated worriedly, pulling the curtains aside from the window to peek outside. "Dinner's going to get cold."
Yuffie waved it away carelessly. "Oh, I don't think they'll be back until tomorrow. Cloud wanted to take a new poll."
The flower girl turned and blinked at her. "…What?"
"Yeah. He asked Leon whether he liked it better standing up or lying down. I didn't hear his answer, but I'm pretty sure Cloud took him to the hotel."
"Ah. …I see."
-x-x-x-
"…Leon…?"
"Mm." Leon turned onto his side to face the blond and raised an eyebrow inquisitively. "What is it?"
Cloud slid an arm around his waist and yanked him closer, frowning. "I think you're beautiful."
The brunet blinked at him in surprise, then graced him with a sweet smile. "Thank you."
"And I think everyone else is stupid for saying I'm more attractive than you. You're gorgeous. …Prettier than Aerith and Tifa put together."
"Thanks. …I think." He frowned. "Did you just call me girly?"
Cloud frowned. "No. I called you beautiful. Being girly and being beautiful are two separate things."
"Ah. …Well, thank you." He smiled again. "You're pretty good looking yourself." He blinked and looked down in confusion, then blushed. "You horny bastard! Do you ever need a break?!"
The blond flashed a feral grin before rolling on top of him. "Blame the mako."
"Wa-wait! Aerith's going to wonder where we are!"
"And Yuffie's going to tell her. Stop squirming."
"Don't do this to me again, you bastard! I won't be able to walk!"
Cloud smiled cheerfully. "That's the point. That way I can sex you up tomorrow, too!"
"Hey-!"