Hello, everyone! How've ya been? Long time since I uploaded a fic, so here's one! I don't plan on it being too long.
First of all the title – Somewhere Out There. Before you ask or say anything, no I did not get it from the song in the cartoon, American's Tail. Okay, now that that's cleared, I think you'll find the meaning of this particular title as the story progresses.
Summary: Leon knows he did something very wrong. He can only take comfort in the fact that somewhere out there, Cloud was still there. One can only hope for a happy ending. LeonCloud
Next, don't ask about the crappy summary. I can't think of anything else in particular to write. And as you go on with the fic, I think you'll realize that the summary applies mostly to the first chapter (maybe second chapter, too) only. The last line, 'One can only hope for a happy ending' is mostly for the rest of the fic. I suppose you'll probably know Leon did something that Cloud didn't like much, and vice versa. Read on and find out!
Enjoy! Review, okay? X))
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Chapter 1: Light
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"Leon! Le –""C-Cloud! It's not that it looks like."
"H…h-how…how c-could y-y-you…?"
"Cloud –"
"S-stay away! S-s-stay…away…you b-bastard…"
"Have you found your light?" Sora asked.
Cloud Strife closed his eyes and thought.
Have I found my light?
"Apparently not," was his quiet answer. He clashed his glowing, brilliant, mako-infused blue eyes with Sora's sky-blue, lively ones.
"Why are you loitering around here? This isn't your home world," the brunette said pointedly.
Cloud knew it wasn't his home world. The Olympus Coliseum was hardly a place for him. What with Hercules killing monsters for show everyday, and his girlfriend always being attempted at for kidnap. Not to mention Hades was parading the Underworld, and throwing his tournaments. No, this was the haven for a warrior, with burly muscles and curly hair and a stupidly heroic attitude. Cloud didn't consider himself a hero. To him, nobody was a hero. Because heroes always disappointed people with the things they did at one point or another.
Like Sephiroth.
Like Leon.
They would be nice, wonderful, amazing for a certain period of time, and then they would show their true colours. They would be monstrous nightmares. They would hurt others, they would try to break hearts – they could do anything. It was a sordid reality.
"And you?" Cloud said softly. "Why are you here?"
He knew the boy should be back in Destiny Islands, where he belonged. Of course, Sora could travel anywhere with the Gummi ship Cid had constructed specially for him, but it wasn't like Olympus Coliseum was Sora's favourite world. Cloud knew the boy to be pacifistic, and knew that he disliked fighting and violence.
"I've been to Radiant Garden," Sora said.
Cloud froze for a moment, his icy mask slipping just very slightly.
"They said you haven't been home for ages," Sora's voice was barely audible. It was soft, imploring. Begging him to go home. "Why, Cloud?"
The blonde didn't answer. It was not Sora's place to pry into his private affairs. It didn't sound as if Sora had come for that purpose, anyway. Cloud could read people well, and he knew that Sora had come with intentions of bringing him back, not to learn the events of the past few months.
When Cloud didn't say anything, Sora continued to talk.
"They're very worried," Sora's voice was disturbingly quiet. "I searched everywhere for you. Aerith was crying."
The blonde tried not to let the brunette know that that little detail had tugged on his heartstrings a little. He could feel the familiar sense of guilt well up his chest.
But he couldn't bring himself to go back to that place.
Absolutely not.
"Yuffie doesn't stop looking," Sora spoke again. "Tifa's searching more than the last time. Merlin keeps working on location spells. Cid locks himself in his shop all day, and doesn't even sell things anymore. Vincent(1) has to pass him food through the window. And Leon…"
Cloud turned away.
"Leon…he won't stop blaming himself," Sora's voice was just above a whisper. "Cloud, I don't mean to ask what happened…"
I knew it.
"But what you're doing now is hurting more people than you think," Sora was beseeching, and Cloud didn't know how much more of this pathetic but distressingly effective persuasion he could take. "I don't know what happened. And I don't really want to know. But you know, and he knows. If Leon has done something wrong to you, you should at least give him a chance to apologize. Tell you everything. And you…you should at least go and listen to what he has to say."
"I don't need to listen to what anyone has to say."
"No, you don't have to."
Cloud looked up in confusion.
"You're not the type of person anyone can just force," Sora sighed. "I know that, even though I don't know you all that well. You don't like to talk, you seem to hate people, but I know there's more to that. Because that's why everyone's fretting over you. That's why everyone's worried sick, and that's why they begged me to find you, because nobody else could."
"Did you tell them you found me?" Cloud asked emotionlessly. It was no real panic, really. He could just run to another world, and who would be there to stop him? Sora could chase him across the worlds relentlessly, for all he cared.
"I haven't told them yet. I figured you wouldn't like that."
Cloud frowned. "I don't understand you."
Sora laughed humourlessly. "And I don't understand you, either. You have the strangest methods to cool your head. No, I honestly haven't told anyone at Radiant Garden I found you here. So they won't come chasing you, I can promise you that. Unless Cid's new Gummi ship is finished. I guess I just wanted to tell you that everyone's waiting. And you can go home anytime. And that you should give Leon a chance. Also…" he turned around, about to leave.
Cloud stared hard into the small of the boy's back. Sora was going.
"I'm staying here for three days. Donald and Goofy are with the King now, so they aren't here. But Riku's staying with me. He's my best friend," Sora started to walk away. "I'm staying at Hercules's place. Come find me anytime, if you want to go."
Cloud watched Sora walk away. So Riku was with him. That didn't change anything.
Because I don't want to go.
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"Did you find him?" Riku asked.
Sora nodded tiredly, falling onto the bed.
Riku's eyes lighted up. "Really? What did he say? Is he coming with us?"
"I don't know, Riku."
Sora draped an arm over his eyes, and Riku's delight died away. He frowned. "Oh. That means he hasn't given you an answer."
"Yeah," Sora pulled a pillow over his face. "I told him we'd be here for three days. But it's hard to say anything. I told him about how everyone's doing at Radiant Garden. He seemed to waver a bit, but at the end he looked completely hardened again. I don't know what to think."
"He's just…um, collecting his thoughts?" Riku bravely attempted to sound hopeful. Sora was in the dumps, and it was not a common thing for the hyperactive little brunette.
It had been more than two weeks ago since Leon and the rest of them completely cracked under the pressure, and forced themselves to ask Sora for help. To find Cloud, the wayward blonde who had left Radiant Garden a few moments ago, a little bit after Sephiroth and Xemnas's defeat. It was the result of a misunderstanding that involved Leon. Aerith was in tears and painfully begged them not to ask for the details of the argument, but Leon's face was full of guilt. Riku himself wasn't about to demand the details of the men's private lives, but Sora had, of course – readily agreed to find Cloud throughout the worlds. It was a horrifying feat.
With each world, Sora's spirits dampened more. The light in his eyes dulled considerably, and no amount of cheering could convince Riku that Cloud was somewhere out there, and that he was fine. But that didn't give Sora much hope. Nobody seemed to have news of Cloud. Finally, they landed in the Olympus Coliseum where – thank Shiva – Cloud had been seen around the Coliseum, but never partaking in any fights.
Riku had let Sora confront Cloud himself, because he knew that was what the small brunette wanted. Riku would just be a hindrance. After all, he hadn't even met Cloud Strife before, much less know what he looked like, except from the pictures back in Radiant Garden of a stony-faced, but feminine and extremely stunning young man, with the most gravity-defying blonde spikes Riku had ever seen, complimented perfectly with a pair brilliant, vividly glowing blue eyes the deep colour of the ocean, ringed with the pale blue of a coral reef. It was disturbing really, how his eyes could look so eerily intense. And the glowing. It was absurd. From what Riku had seen of the pictures, Cloud's complexion was pale and smooth, his cheekbones high, his overall body stature rather bony. He had feminine grace, Riku had to admit – maybe too feminine. The first time he'd seen Cloud's picture, he'd sadly mistaken the guy for a girl, since it was only a half-body shot.
Still, seeing somebody in pictures was not as good as knowing them.
"What if he doesn't want to come back?" Sora groaned. "Then I would be failing Aerith."
"You won't be failing anyone," Riku said, running his fingers through Sora's soft brown hair. "Hey, you did your best. Whatever happens from here on is Cloud's decision. We can't force him into anything, and he can't force himself to follow us if he doesn't want to."
"Maybe I wasn't persuasive enough," Sora frowned. "Do you think that's the case?"
Riku laughed. "Oh, I highly doubt it." He pushed away the pillow, and tapped the boy's nose. "You're very persuasive. Don't beat yourself up because of Cloud for now, okay? We gave him three days to make his decision. Whatever the outcome…it's not our fault. It's nobody's fault, really."
"What do you think Leon and Cloud argued about?" Sora asked, tilting his head to one side questioningly.
"I really have no idea," Riku admitted, leaning against the headboard of the bed comfortably, and slipping his feet beneath the blanket.
"Do you think maybe…they liked each other?"
Riku frowned. "I always knew Leon was so not straight from the first time I met him."
Sora chuckled. "Whatever. I'm just thinking of possibilities. Maybe Cloud rejected him?"
"Maybe Leon rejected Cloud."
Sora curled his nose. "That sounds horrible. How could anyone reject Cloud? I know he's the most unfeeling bastard in all the worlds, but the fact that he actually, you know – likes someone proves that he's found a bit of humanity in himself. Anyone daring to tear him down because of that is a fucking monster."
Riku chortled. "Don't get offensive. I don't think anyone's thick enough in the head to reject Cloud. Don't get jealous, but I think he's very cute."
"Don't get jealous, but I think he's beautiful," Sora sighed. "I know you've never met him, but seeing him in real life is better than the pictures."
"I'm jealous," Riku muttered.
"His blue eyes, you know – I sometimes think they're like a little kid's," Sora said absently, staring into blank space. "They're all icy and stuff, but I looked in really deep when I had the chance, and I knew he was hiding a lot of emotions. Most people like him, they try to hide their frailties. He doesn't talk much, but there's this aura around him – you'll know when you meet him, whenever that is – it kind of makes you want to sit down and meditate. Maybe brood a little. Think about the past, think about all your actions." He laughed nervously. "I guess I sound like an idiot, but I that's really what Cloud makes people around him feel. He's completely anti-social, but still Aerith and the others care about him so much. That proves just a bit of something, doesn't it?"
"Proves what?" Riku was interested and fascinated by this blonde man he'd never met. It was something hard to understand. Of course, he wasn't planning on cheating on Sora or anything of the like, but he just wanted to know the blonde, like everybody else did.
"He always says, "I'm looking for my light,"" Sora made small circles on the bed sheets. "And every time I meet him, I'll ask him if he's found it yet. But you know what I think? I think he's already found it, but doesn't know it's there."
"What kind of light?" Riku asked.
"I think he means his humanity," Sora locked his fingers behind his head and leaned back leisurely, slipping his feet beneath the sheets as well. "Aerith told me before that Cloud's been through a lot. Something about experiments. I don't exactly know what it means, but I think he's trying to find himself again."
"Find himself?"
"Yuffie says he can't remember much about the past, because of things that happened. But I think it doesn't matter if he remembers or not, because it's not going to change anything, right? It's the past. When he says, "I'm looking for my light" it probably means the old him."
"But how could he have found it already?"
"It's already him," Sora rolled his eyes. "Oh, c'mon – I know you haven't met him, but really – can you imagine that stoic guy in the pictures actually jumping around like me? Cloud doesn't know maybe, but I think he's found his humanity in a way that's he found friends. But he doesn't want to respond to these friends. He doesn't want to listen to Aerith and the rest. He doesn't want to accept Tifa's feelings, and he doesn't want to go back and hear Leon's apology."
"I think I'm starting to get you a bit," Riku frowned. "Maybe whatever Leon did cracked him up really bad."
"I don't think Leon's that evil."
"You never know."
"Cracked up or not," Sora rolled his eyes. "I think Cloud's just refusing to accept the friends he has."
"He seems to accept you pretty much."
"Yes, only because I don't know a thing about his past," Sora muttered. "Aerith, Yuffie, Tifa, Cid and the rest all came from his world. Leon was a friend he met only in Radiant Garden. Aerith and the rest know the most about Cloud, what happened to him and everything. Maybe Leon knows. But I don't know a thing. I think that's why Cloud's just a teensy bit more responsive with me. I mean, he actually replied with words. I've seen him with Aerith – he just nods like a zombie. And with Leon, he just gives him the 'look'."
"Unsociable guy, eh?"
"You have no idea."
"I think we should just wait and see what his final decision is."
"Yeah, I guess. That's the only thing we can do, anyway."
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Cloud sat in the quiet silence of the Coliseum. It was peaceful, since the brazen hero of the place had returned to his quarters with his red-haired girlfriend and that stumpy pig that couldn't do math.
He let the slightly sandy air blow into his face. It was a cool night, and very relaxing, even with his black clothes designed for the chill of Radiant Garden.
He frowned, leaning back against the bold, strong pillar behind him. He watched the silvery moonlight pour down onto the brown earth.
"Have you found your light?"
Yes, I have.
Only it's been taken away from me again.
Cloud knew Leon had no story, no self-defence evidence to provide. All the evidence was against him. Cloud had seen it all with his own eyes. Just how did Leon plan to justify himself?
All the more reason not to return to Radiant Garden.
Absently, his mind wondered to the thought that 'Hollow Bastion' was a more fitting name for the place.
-End of Chapter 1-
Tsuzukeru yo…
(1) Vincent Valentine – Character from FFVII. I figured Cid would be lonely without somebody, so just added him. No reason in particular.
Okay, not much to say. That's just the first chapter. I know it's vague and all, but post your reviews and your comments, okay? I love 'em!
But like my other fic, Call – I'm not expecting much reviews. I know I'm not a fantastic writer and all, but I really like writing fics, they help me get my mind off things. Very useful.
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