Title: Only Until Dreams
Rating: M
Summary: Cloud has been in love with a dream for quite a while. What happens when he meets the real thing? LC side-RS
This is my first (yaoi)KH fic posted here, and this is also my first stab at the LC fandom. I don't know if this is good enough...hopefully it is. I've read plenty of 'dream-fics,' but most of them were RikuSora, not LeonCloud. Oh well...the story isn't quite as repetitive as it mightseem...at least, I think it isn't.
On with the fic!
VVV
Chapter One: A Midsummer's Night Dream
VVV
It was heaven.
He was in heaven; or at least, a place like it.
Cloud moaned as he felt someone entering him, tearing him apart. This person was also trailing kisses down his neck, making him feel as if his body was on fire.
"Mmm…Cloud…" a soft whisper into the blonde's ear.
Cloud moaned again.
The dark-haired man pushed himself deeper into Cloud, eliciting a loud gasp. He smiled, as if expecting that reaction. And then he caressed Cloud's face, making the blonde shiver.
He wrapped an arm around the Cloud, while the other hand was making his way the bottom part of his body. There was this strange excitement that shot up Cloud's spine as he did so. "Do you want me to stop?" he asked teasingly, pausing his hand over the blonde's erection—a casual brush, making Cloud feel all the more frustrated.
Cloud could feel it. And damn it, it was so close…how could he tease him like this? "Squall!" he whined.
He smirked, those beautiful greyish-blue eyes twinkling. Cloud could never be sure if they were blue, or grey, or this strangely impossible but absolutely alluring combination. But Cloud loved them; those eyes, the only ones like that in the world. "Fine, we'll play as you want…"
And suddenly Cloud was feeling pain like he never had before, he was screaming—his throat felt raw, his entire body was hurting, and somehow, he could hazily predict that he was going to be sore tomorrow.
"Don't stop," he pleaded softly. "Don't stop…don't let this stop, Squall…" Squall, the name kept repeating in Cloud's brain. Squall…
VVV
"Squall…it means a brief, violent windstorm, usually with snow or rain…" Aerith closed the dictionary. "Why do you ask, Cloud?"
Cloud shrugged, blushing (but only a little) at the memory of last night's dream. Well, at least his dream boy had a name now.
That beautiful dream…he was every straight girl's secret desire and any gay male's wet dream. He had the most gorgeous dark brown locks, a finely toned body, and most of all, those beautiful, deep, greyish-blue eyes. Cloud loved staring into those eyes.
He had been dreaming of him since a year ago. And he had only known his name now…Squall.
I wonder if I can ever meet him?
Sephiroth suddenly came waltzing inside the library where Aerith and Cloud worked, wearing a dreamy expression. "Hey, Aerith!" he greeted with far too much enthusiasm for eight o'clock in the morning. Aerith rolled her eyes. "Lovely morning, isn't it?"
"The morning's dazzling, Seph," she replied sarcastically. Seph must have gotten laid again…him and his insatiable sex pleasures. He was lucky he had a lover who had almost the same amount of stamina as he had, or else Seph would be very, very lacking in his sex time. Aerith knew for a fact that Seph and Zack were on the go almost five times a day. Maybe even more during the weekends.
Meanwhile, Sephiroth had noticed Cloud's absentminded look, and shook his head. "Not again."
Aerith giggled. "His dream prince strikes again. He even looks like he got more than you last night, and that's saying something."
Sephiroth sighed. "Cloud…you need a boyfriend. Badly."
Cloud shook himself awake at Sephiroth's comment. "Huh?"
"It's true, Cloud," Aerith added. "I think you're sexually repressed. And that's not healthy."
The blonde frowned. "Like you're one to lecture me on my love life."
Aerith blushed and looked away. Sephiroth, however, continued to badger his blonde friend. "Don't be silly, Cloud. You keep waiting for that dream of yours—"
"He's not a dream!" Cloud insisted angrily. "He's not! He's real…he really is…" his voice trailed off. "I'm sure of it."
Sephiroth sighed. "Well…can you at least look around? There are plenty of guys who would be happy to go out with you if given the chance…"
"No." Cloud shook his head. "My heart is for him, and for him only."
Aerith threw her hands up in frustration. "I give up. Let's just leave him to his happy fantasies."
Sephiroth shrugged. "Fine. At least I'm happy with Zack."
"And I'm happy that you're happy," Cloud retorted. "Can you please stay out of my life now?" With that, Cloud made his way to one of the shelves of the library, busying himself—or, at least, pretending to.
Cloud really loved him—that dream of his. Maybe he wasn't real, but Cloud wished with all his heart that he was. He loved everything about him.
He hoped he would meet Squall soon enough.
VVV
"Squall!" Yuffie called, bouncing over to her coworker at Laundry Mat, carrying an armload of clothes. She threw them all at the washing machine. "You almost done?"
"Almost," the dark-haired man replied curtly. He was putting soap powder in the washing machines, robotically scooping exactly two scoops for each machine. "And it's Leon, Yuffie."
Yuffie rolled her eyes. "Typical of you, Leon," she said mockingly.
Leon ignored her. Yuffie snorted. "No time for small talk, eh?"
"I have other things to do." Leon turned the machines on.
"Like what?" The short girl put her hands on her hips. "Watch the clothes go around and around at the washing machine?"
Leon gave her a glare.
Yuffie held her hands up as surrender. "Geez…meanie…" she muttered. "I'll watch over this. Go get the remaining clothes at the back."
"Got it." Leon made his way to the storage room, intent on getting his work done.
Instead, he found Sora and Riku, his fellow coworkers, sprawled all over the floor, naked and having sex.
The first time Leon walked in on them, he was nearly shocked out of his senses—and that was saying something, since there were few things that surprised the dark-haired man. But after encountering the same thing over and over again, he was practically used to the sight of his two coworkers straddling each other.
"Hey Leon…" Sora greeted distractedly. Riku winked at him as a greeting.
Leon rolled his eyes. "I'm going to get the clothes that have to be washed." He pointed at the clothes sprawled all over the floor—Riku's and Sora's—which were obviously taken off in haste. "Should I add that to the pile?"
Sora shook his head. "No thanks—" he was cut off when Riku immediately caught his lips, kissing him fiercely.
Leon shook his head as he sidestepped them, easily getting all the clothes at one go, and leaving the storage room as quickly as he entered.
Yuffie looked up as he came back. She took in the telltale twitch on Leon's mouth. "They were at it again?" he asked.
Leon nodded. "You'd think they would get tired of screwing each other every single day."
Yuffie shrugged. "Well, I don't know. It's pretty fun doing it every now and then…" she smirked at Leon. "I bet you've never gotten some." When Leon didn't answer, her smirk widened. "I'm right, aren't I? Oh, poor Leon. A virgin! At your age! What are you, thirty? Forty?" she chuckled.
"I don't need it," Leon retorted, piling the clothes into another machine.
"Yeah right, Leon. You are sex deprived, do you know that? For cryin' out loud, are you asexual? You don't dig girls; you don't dig guys. Do you do plants or something?"
At Leon's scowl, Yuffie decided she should shut up now.
VVV
"Oh, Sephy-poo!" Zack jumped into Sephiroth's arms, nuzzling him. "I missed you!"
"I missed you too, honey!" Sephiroth replied, hugging his boyfriend with so much fluffiness that Cloud didn't know whether he would puke or not.
Honestly, he loved these two guys. They had been his best friends for forever. But when they got all PDA, it just wasn't nice to look at.
Granted, Sephiroth and Zack weren't like that in public. They were the tough, manly guys, cool and collected. Only when they were alone, or with Cloud, did they act like lovesick fools.
Cloud appreciated the fact that he was a close enough friend to see such interaction between his two guy friends. But sometimes it just wasn't good for his eyes and his ears—or his stomach, either, which was planning on lurching out the lunch he had eaten earlier. He was starting to lose the appetite to eat dinner.
Plus, this sugary exchange was enough to make him feel like ants were crawling up his leg. He was starting to regret inviting them over for dinner, but he knew that the two men couldn't cook to save their lives. It had practically become a habit for them to come by Cloud's apartment for dinner during Saturday evening, anyway. And Cloud didn't have the heart to turn them away when they came to him, looking so hungry and lost and pitiable.
He also didn't have the heart—or the courage—to turn them away when they started doing indecent things in his living room. It wasn't as if they hadn't seen each other for weeks. They just had sex this morning—possibly since last night—because Cloud knew very well they couldn't keep their hands off each other, and Sephiroth had been grinning like a maniac earlier in the morning.
Then again, once a day wasn't enough, and when he had encountered a depressed Zack during the afternoon, it was quite obvious they had only gotten some once. Unfortunately for him, his two friends were unquenchable when it came to getting some.
Zack considerably brightened when Cloud invited him—out of politeness; he knew that the black-haired man would make his way to his apartment for dinner during Saturdays whether invited or not—and mentioned the fact that Sephiroth would be there.
"We haven't seen each other for hours," Zack had said mournfully, looking positively devastated at the thought. "The last time I saw him was this morning, after breakfast!" And he had started sniffling, leaving Cloud feeling extremely awkward.
Honestly, as if they didn't live together or something. One just couldn't seem to function without the other, and if ever the other was there, one would still not be able to function, since they were too busy fucking each other. Both were hopeless cases, in Cloud's mind.
Said hopeless cases were now currently done exchanging sweet nothings as greetings and getting far too intimate for any observer, friend or not a friend. Which brings Cloud back to his current dilemma. The wanting-to-eat-dinner-without-losing-his-appetite-or-his-earlier-lunch. The blonde was having a hard time thinking of a way out of this dilemma.
"Uh…guys? I thought you came over to have dinner, not to ravish one another," he commented timidly, as Sephiroth casually unbuttoned Zack's shirt.
"Oh, we did," Zack reassured him. "We're just having the appetizer."
"And we could carry this on until the main course…" Sephiroth whispered seductively into Zack's ear.
Zack giggled. "Or until dessert…"
Cloud had had enough. If he watched anymore of this, he would be losing more than his lunch or appetite. He'd be losing both, and that never was a good thing. "I'll be in the kitchen if you need me, then." With that, he left the two to themselves.
Sometimes he got a little jealous. Sure, he had his beautiful dream prince…but it was comforting to know that there was something real, something tangible, something true, right beside you…to be assured that the person next to you was there, and he was going to stay.
Aww crap. Did he overcook the chicken again?
Oh well. Those two had no right to complain, anyway.
Besides, if this carried on, Zack and Sephiroth might not eat the dinner he cooked. They might not even eat, now that he thought about it.
Sex drives away hunger for food.
VVV
"Anyway…don't you think Leon should get someone?" Yuffie asked Riku and Sora. Work was done, and the three were getting ready to lock up the store, and go home to their respective places. Leon had left already.
Sora shrugged. "We shouldn't really mess with other people's loves lives, Yuff." Riku nodded.
Yuffie rolled her eyes. "And if I didn't interfere with your relationship, do you think the two of you would be together now?" she retorted.
The two blushed and didn't reply.
"Well, fine." Yuffie sighed. "I don't need your help, anyway. I'll take care of it myself." Her eyes glinted dangerously. She clasped the padlock, and took the key. Then she turned and waved goodbye at her two coworkers before walking away, whistling as he did so.
Riku moved nearer his boyfriend. "Do you think we should at least warn Leon?"
"And have Yuffie on our cases for the next ten years?" Sora shuddered. "No, thank you. Besides, if something good actually comes out of it, maybe Leon will be less moody. And if doesn't go well…at least we can say in all honesty that we weren't involved in anyway possible. Right?"
"Right…" Riku shot him a dubious glance. "If you say so."
VVV
Cloud grumpily made his way to the nearest laundry service in his neighborhood. Stupid, stupid Zack and Seph. Damn them.
It had been bad enough that they hadn't stopped their highly inappropriate activities during dinner. But noo. They had to continue it on his couch, too.
Plus, when Cloud got down the next morning, he found out the two hadn't even left the house yet. And he also had to get his couch cleaned—if he wasn't too embarrassed to actually call professionals, that is.
Damn Zack and Sephiroth.
In addition to that, the two managed to coax Cloud into bringing their dirty and…sexed…clothes along with his trip to the laundromat. At first, Cloud had adamantly refused.
"People will think I got laid!" he protested, blushing furiously.
Sephiroth shrugged. "Tell them they aren't your clothes. It's the truth, isn't it?"
Zack nodded. "Yeah, and you're going there, anyway! It'll save time!"
"For you two, maybe!"
Somehow, those two managed to bribe him with a promise of vanilla ice cream. Damn his weakness for that cold treat. Damn him.
Eventually he managed to get to his neighborhood laundromat. He entered, and as usual, saw the perky girl with chin-length hair at the counter.
"Uh…hi…" he began awkwardly. He placed the bag with his clothes, along with Zack's and Seph's, on the counter. "I'll come back for it later."
"Huh…? Oh, sure…" the girl nodded distractedly. She waved him away.
Cloud was unsure on exactly what to do, and then he finally decided he was going to start to look like an idiot waiting for something. He didn't even know what that something was, to begin with. "I'll…uh…go now…"
The girl looked at him, a little amused. "Yeah, that's what most customers do. Unless you intend to watch us throw your clothes to the washing machine."
Cloud blushed, mumbled an apology, and was out of there as fast as lightning.
He was such an idiot.
VVV
Yuffie shook his head as the blonde customer immediately left store. She giggled. He was pretty cute, though a little dense.
Now back to that trail of thought. A good girlfriend or boyfriend for Leon…
She absentmindedly shifted through the bag the customer just left. Usual clothes. Shirts, jeans, boxers…
She suddenly felt something sticky when she touched a pair of black silk boxers. She quickly extracted her hands. "Oh my Gawd…" she checked out some other clothes. Some of them had a certain smell of sweat and sex to them.
She smirked. She couldn't believe it. Even Spiky had a sex life. She noted in her mind to make a comment about it when that customer came back.
She stuffed all the clothes back into the bag.
When Leon got here, she was making sure that he was going to take care of this particular pile. If nothing, it might at least make him aware that a lot of people had active social lives, not to mention had a working sex life.
All of the sudden, the dark-haired man entered the store.
Speak of the devil.
"Hey, Leon," she greeted cheerfully.
Leon sighed. "Hello, Yuffie." He looked at her suspiciously. "Why so cheerful?"
Yuffie blinked innocently. "Whatever do you mean? I'm always cheerful in the morning!"
"You're plotting something," Leon told her bluntly. "Don't bother hiding it."
Yuffie pouted. Damn Leon and his perceptiveness! "Here, take care of these clothes," she said, gesturing the bag of clothes the blonde customer had left.
"Whatever." Leon took the bag and headed for the machines.
The girl smirked mischievously, then returned to her earlier problem. Leon's sexual deprivation.
Maybe she should enlist Aerith's help on this one…
VVV
"Really?" Aerith rolled her eyes impatiently. "All right, Yuffie. Stop beating around the bush. Tell me what the problem is already!"
Some of the people in the library turned to glare at her. She blushed a little; she was the librarian, yet she was the one making the noise! With an apologetic look, she returned to her phone call with a resolution to be more quiet. "So?"
Yuffie's voice was clearly amused when she replied. "Aerith, where the hell are you calling from? Don't tell me it's the library."
She frowned at her cell phone. "Yes, it is. Why, is that a problem?" Aerith could almost picture Yuffie shaking her head.
"You'll probably get kicked out after I tell you what's the matter."
"Is that so?"
"Yeah, you'll probably exclaim out loud."
Aerith sighed. Yeah right… "Try me, Yuffie."
"If you say so…"
A few minutes later, there was a loud shriek. "What the hell?"
Some of the people who were reading frowned. Honestly, what sort of librarian was the woman here?
"No way! You've got to be kidding me!"
If we ignore it, she might go away… some people thought.
The noise was followed by a squeal. "Oh my gosh!"
Or they could call the authorities and have her deported.
"Yuffie!"
They decided that they had enough.
VVV
Zack was having a hard time trying not to burst out laughing in his friend's presence. "And then?"
Aerith glared at him. "What do you mean 'and then'? I nearly got fired, you idiot! Thanks to Yuffie…I am so going to kill her when I see her again!"
"Well, she did warn you…" Sephiroth mused.
"Don't tell me you're taking her side!"
"Just being reasonable, Aeri," Zack reassured her, though he was still smiling far too widely for Aerith to take comfort in him.
"Gee, thanks, Zack," Aerith said sarcastically. "I feel so much better now."
Zack missed the obvious sarcasm. "I'm always happy to help!"
Aerith was just about to start a long rant about unsupportive friends and library policies when Cloud entered her apartment. "There you are. I heard you've been suspended from work. What happened?"
The brunette folded her arms. "I refuse to talk about what happened."
Cloud shrugged. "Fine, whatever." He turned to Sephiroth and Zack, who instantly told him, all the while smirking.
Aerith wished she had chosen better friends.
"Hmm…so…who's Yuffie?" Cloud asked after he heard the entire story.
"One of Aerith's cousins," Sephiroth explained. "At least, that's what she said."
She rolled her eyes. "She's always getting me into trouble."
"Aeri, that's what cousins do," Cloud pointed out to her.
"I guess…" Aerith sighed.
"So why did she call you, anyway?" Zack asked curiously.
"Apparently, she's planning on getting one of her male friends a girlfriend or boyfriend." Aerith made a face. "I can't believe she's asked me if I'm single or not. Is she actually thinking of matchmaking me?"
"Why not?" Cloud shrugged. "You don't have a love life. Maybe this guy would be good for you."
"She mentioned that Leon happened to be the most sexually inactive person she knew. In Yuffie-speak, he's a rock." Aerith rolled her eyes. "Guy with no personality. Not for me."
"It's worth a try," Sephiroth said. "I mean, you've been wanting a boyfriend for a long time."
Aerith shot him a weary look. "Seph, all my boyfriends went gay. I dated Zack, I dated you, and I dated Cloud. I have this strange something in me that makes guys go gay. I'm not getting my hopes up."
Zack smirked. "Point taken."
"I did, however, mention that I have single male friend," Aerith added innocently. "Since she asked me if I knew some good available people."
Cloud blinked. "Huh? You have a friend who's single?"
Zack and Sephiroth exchanged amused looks.
"Yeah, he's got spiky hair and blue eyes," Aerith continued, her eyes sparkling.
Then the blonde got it. "Wait…you were talking about me?" he jumped up. "You've got to be kidding me! I'm NOT single!"
"Then what are you?" Sephiroth asked challengingly. "You're not tied down to anybody. At least, someone who's real."
Sephiroth's words hit Cloud like a ton of bricks. It was true. In all aspects, he was single.
But he didn't want to meet anyone! No, he was waiting for Squall. He was not going to check out some other male that he didn't even know!
"No. Way." He said, indicating the conversation was closed.
"Oh, c'mon, Cloud!" Aerith pleaded. "It's not like you're going to date the guy! You just have to meet him! If you don't like him, you can always tell him no!"
"I'm not doing it!" he insisted, folding his arms.
"Gee, Cloud," Zack rolled his eyes, "It's not like you'll meet your dream boy any time this century, so you might as well get it on. Who knows; you might like him better than Scar or Squawk or whoever it was."
"It's Squall!"
Sephiroth looked at his watch. "It's getting late. Hey, Cloud, did you get the clothes from the Laundromat already?"
The blonde suddenly slapped himself on the forehead. "Ah, shit! I forgot to pick them up!"
"The store will be closing soon," Aerith pointed out. "You should get going. We'll continue this conversation next time."
Cloud glared at her. "There will be no next time! I'm not meeting him!" and with that, he dashed out of Aerith's apartment, heading for the laundromat and seething inside at his friends' meddling with his love life.
VVV
Yuffie looked at her watch. Almost closing time. Gee, wasn't Spiky going to come back for his clothes?
"Can't wait to get out of here?" Leon asked dryly. He had noticed that his coworker had been repeatedly looking at her watch.
"Huh? Oh, not really…" she replied distractedly. Other than worrying about the idiotic blonde, she was also secretly pondering on the male friend Aerith had mentioned. They were yet to decide on the details on how to accidentally bring them to meet. Yuffie was also thinking about how Leon would react once he found out he was being set up. Not very well, she guessed. He could potentially kill her—or, at least, give her the cold shoulder for a month, refuse to buy her lunch and pile more work on her. Yuffie shivered. She hated to admit it, but Leon was actually being nice the way he was now. If he would get worse…
Well, Yuffie didn't want to think about it.
Somewhere from the distance, she saw spiky blonde hair running straight for the store. She smirked. "About time," she murmured.
Leon frowned. "Time for what?"
Yuffie shook her head, still smirking. "Leon, go get the bag—you know, the black one?—of clothes you took care of a while ago. The customer is coming to pick them up."
The dark-haired man rolled his eyes. "What makes this customer particularly memorable, that you actually remember him?"
"The state of some of his clothing," Yuffie replied mischievously. Leon snorted. That was typical. Yuffie was pretty obvious in her planning. Well, he wasn't stupid. He actually saw Riku and Sora in action most of time—what would washing some man's clothes irk him? Even if the said man had sex? Leon wasn't exactly a prude, after all. He just wasn't as desperate for sex as the others were. Or as insatiable, in the case of his coworkers.
"You went through the clothes first," he stated.
"It was kind of hard not to notice the semen stains on the clothing, you know…" Yuffie motioned for him to get a move on. "Hurry, he's gonna be here in any second."
Shaking his head, Leon walked away to the storage room, walking in on Sora and Riku again. The two didn't even mind him; they were already both naked and in the climax of their love-making and were completely oblivious to everything. As usual.
Leon tried to locate the black bag in the dump of clothing.
VVV
"Hi!" the girl greeted him perkily as he dashed into the store, panting. "You're lucky—we were about to close in five minutes." She wagged her eyebrows suggestively. "And I'm sure you wouldn't want to go home without your clothes. Wouldn't you?" There was something in her tone that made Cloud crimson. Oh shit…she was implying something, and Cloud didn't like it. "And I'm sure someone else would miss their clothes, too."
Cloud went a shade darker, wishing he was anywhere but here. Damn Sephiroth and Zack! Damn them. "They're not mine," he mumbled, blushing.
"In denial, aren't we?" She nodded sagely. "It's okay. You know, consider yourself lucky, some of us," she smirked, "haven't even gotten some their entire lives."
Cloud was pretty sure that he was as red as any tomato that ever existed. He was so embarrassed that he actually entertained the thought of just running away and never coming back. Screw the clothes—he was going to buy himselfhis owndamn washing machine!
"For cryin' out loud, Kisaragi, don't harass the customers," a voice behind them said.
The girl rolled her eyes. "Whatever, Leonhart." She retorted. "And I wasn't harassing him."
"Oh, really?" there was definite sarcasm there. "Then what were you doing?"
"Jerk." She turned to Cloud. "Your clothes are behind you, my good sir," she told him mockingly.
Cloud blushed andturned around, not wanting to face the smirking girl any longer.Heended up meeting with the mostintense greyish-blue eyes he had ever seen. He almost gasped. No...he had seen them before...
The same…the exact same…
"Sorry about that," he said, shooting his coworker a dark look. "She's like that most of the time. Just tune her out."
"Hey!"
He ignored the girl. "Here." He held out the bag for Cloud to take.
But Cloud didn't notice. He was still entranced. This was him; Squall, his dream boy. The same beautiful eyes, the shaggy dark brown hair—granted, it was longer in real life than in his dreams, but they were still the same. He was a bit more tanned, somewhat taller than Cloud had imagined, but it was him; it really was him. He really existed! He wasn't just a dream!
VVV
Leon frowned. The guy had completely frozen; eyes wide, surprise etched all over the blonde's features. He blinked. Was there something on his face?
Yuffie spoke up. "You forgot to close the door, idiot."
Leon turned around and saw that he, indeed, forgot to close the door to the storage room. Leaving Sora and Riku in full display, for anyone to see. Not like they cared, but it was probably a shock to anyone. He glanced at the blonde; he was still staring. Probably scarred for life.
He sighed. He didn't want to scare away customers. Sora and Riku were going to get lectured on their lack of control on their libidos after this. "I'm sorry," he said to the blonde, and he went, closed the door with a bang (just to annoy Riku and Sora) and returned to the customer. "Are you okay?"
The spiky-haired blonde looked up, obviously startled. He was really out of it. "Huh…y-yeah, I'm fine…" There was still a strange expression in those innocent blue eyes; shock most prominent. Then something like fear replaced them, and he said suddenly, "I have to go!"
And like the white rabbit, the blonde was gone. He rushed out of the laundromat, running as if for his life.
Leon frowned again. "What the hell was that?"
Yuffie sighed. "You probably scared him away."
"It was Riku and Sora who scared him," Leon reminded her, glaring. "Why would I scare him?"
She shrugged. "He was probably shocked at that, but…" her voice trailed off. "Do you know you have a hell of a mean look? It's like your face is a permanent scowl. And it's kind of scary. You always look so grumpy…I guess the guy thought you were mad or something."
Leon was about to retort, when the door opened, and Sora and Riku walked out, half-clothed. And hemeanted half-clothed in a sense that they both had the decency to slip on their pants, but hadn't even bothered buttoning them—or at least making sure they actually covered something. "What was that for?" Riku asked groggily, a bit pissed off at being interrupted.
"You just freaked out a customer, that's what," Leon snapped. "And put some clothes on, for Pete's sake." He glared at them. "If this thing happens again, I'm going to ban sex in this Laundry Mat."
"What!" both boys cried out, looking horrified.
"I will. Now go and get dressed, before I think of firing you," Leon threatened, and Riku and Sora made haste to get fully—and properly—clothed.
"Hey, it's closing time already," Yuffie spoke up. "Should we leave Riku and Sora to do it?"
"I don't trust them alone anymore…" Leon shook his head. "You get going."
Yuffie nodded. "'Kay. Bye!" She grabbed her things and left the store.
Once she was gone, Leon pondered for a bit. There was something very familiar about those blue eyes. As if he had seen them before…
Leon shook these thoughts away. It was probably nothing.
VVV
Cloud reached his apartment, panting and out of breath. He had never run that fast in his entire life.
Dropping the bag of clothes he had brought with him, he sank onto the couch, burned out.
But no matter how tired he was, Cloud could still feel his heart racing. And he remembered it; he remembered him.
It was him. No doubt about it.
I've found him… he thought, with something close to bliss. I've finally found him. He's not a dream. He's real. REAL.
But dreams will still be dreams, and reality will still be reality. What can be found in dreams can be found in reality, and what can be found in reality can be in our dreams. But that does not mean that they are the same. Naturally, what we imagine and what we encounter may seem the same, but there are certain differences.
Dreams comfort you. Reality hurts you.
And Cloud was about to learn exactly how different the two were.