Disclaimer: I only claim the plot, the ideas, and the actual writing. Everything else belongs to their respective owners.
Leon really couldn't explain why he enjoyed watching the young boy suffer--very few things brought a smile to his face, and seeing Sora struggle against something he could not control was one of them.
Perhaps it was to get back at the boy for all the embarrassment the man faced, losing to Sora in countless coliseum matches. He was a scrawny little kid beating Leon, a hardened warrior with years upon years of experience. The tall brunette thought it only fair that he get revenge.
So it was that the man would hide himself from the sight of the keybearer, and watch from the shadows with a satisfied quirk to his lips. Sora all the while would be totally unaware and oblivious to the one who would commit such a heinous act, to the one who would expose his flaw, his weakness, the trait he could not help...
... His height.
"Fucking cookies!" Sora hissed beneath his breath, hopping on the balls of his feet, arm outstretched in an attempt to reach a high shelf. Leon held back a laugh at the curse that rarely came from the "purest" heart in all of the worlds and continued to watch the futile efforts.
The keyblade master was short--incredibly short. Leon did not even come to fully realize it until just a few months ago, when the boy had stood near Riku, and the older man had fought back a laugh at the awkward appearance of the two. The silver-haired teen could use his friend as a bar stool, if he so wished. Out of curiosity Leon had also measured himself against Sora, finding that the younger boy could probably stand face to face with his nipple, on a good day.
Breaking him out of his thoughts, the door to the kitchen had opened, and the clunky sounds of heavy boots against the wood floor were heard. Leaning over from his hiding spot a bit, Leon was able to make out Cloud making his way to Sora, eyebrows furrowed in concern.
"What do you want from the shelf?"
The young boy, so absorbed in getting the jar himself, leapt up and gasped in surprise. "Cloud! I didn't see you!"
The blond stared and said nothing, gesturing to the shelf.
Sora reddened, embarrassed. "The cookies." He said, blue eyes following Cloud in a mixture of envy and admiration as the blond reached into the cabinet with ease and brought out what Sora sought after.
Leon watched, slightly disappointed that the boy's struggle was put to an end, as the other man handed the jar over to the satisfied keybearer.
"You should probably have some milk with that." Cloud said, deadpan.
Sora looked up at the blond, as though unsure if he was being genuine or insulting. "Um... thanks."
As the small brunette left the kitchen, Leon struggled greatly to control his laughter, one hand clamped over his mouth and the other placed against the wall to steady himself. The stoic man hardly ever found something worth laughing at, but the scene had struck him as such and he was helpless to it.
"I can see you, Leonhart."
Leon quickly sobered, fixing himself to stand upright to face Cloud as he stepped into the hallway adjacent to the kitchen. The blond gave him a thoughtful look, blue eyes raising to meet with the brunette's own.
"You placed them out of his reach, didn't you?" He said, the words coming out as more of a statement than a question. The other man didn't even get a chance to confirm Cloud's belief, the blond looking at him with a small smirk. "It's a bit juvenile, even for you."
"I have my reasons." Leon replied, not wanting to give the other warrior any reason to judge him. "And he's a kid--I'm just playing on his level."
Cloud's smirk broadened, showing a glimmer of white teeth. "A kid who could mop the floor with you."
"A kid who has also mopped the floor with you." The brunette smiled, looking self-satisfied, "And has beaten Sephiroth twice."
The blond warrior's smug countenance quickly fell, the corners of his mouth quirking into a frown. He didn't want to but he easily recalled many of the times Sora had outshone him--even in his "destined" battles with Sephiroth. His track record was completely ruined by some vertically-challenged, friendship-flaunting teenager with a weapon that resembled a damned key and who flew around regularly in a ship made of candy.
Cloud had the sudden urge to bash his head hard enough against the wall to end his life.
"Even together he's beaten us." Leon sounded as bitter as the other man felt, not bothering to hide the distaste in his voice. "It doesn't make any sense how powerful he's gotten in such a short span of time."
The blond nodded, unable to say anything to properly express the sudden feelings of anger and shame growing within him. He began to hate himself more, knowing that even if faced with the opportunity of getting revenge on the keybearer, he couldn't go through with it. The boy was so insufferably nice.
The brunette seemed aware of Cloud's thoughts, imagining his misbearings toward Sora being similar to the other man's--he remembered how upset he had gotten when he came to fully realize just how the small boy managed to mess with the former pecking order.
At the moment, there was Leon and Cloud, the dirt, the worms in the dirt, God, and then Sora.
Leon looked at the blond with a weary smile, attempting to lighten the mood. "Well, we at least have something on him." The brunette paused, and the other fighter looked at him expectantly, "Roughly a foot... and a few inches."
Cloud gave a small laugh, blue eyes brightening with a mischievous glint as he asked, "I'm not sure what you're talking about--down below or up above?"
The other man stepped forward, lessening the space between the two fighters, blue-grey eyes intense with something Cloud could not discern. "I was talking about your hair." Leon replied, smirking and attempting to walk past the blond.
He couldn't dodge the punch Cloud aimed at the back of his head.
A/N: I'm sorry if I disappointed some of you, though I hope those of you who stuck with this actually got a bit of a laugh out of it. xD
On what inspired the fic, I always knew Sora was short, but it's only recently come to my attention just how short. xD There's no true record of what his height is, but based on different height comparisons and ratios, some of the estimates place Sora even under five feet (152.4 cm). Just a little tid-bit to consider when you're pairing him with anyone significantly taller--it would make certain things difficult. xD
Also, I sincerely hope I didn't come off as bashing Sora--I think his size comes off as more endearing than anything else. 3 I may write a second part to this, but for now it's a small oneshot.
Please leave a review? Comments, critique, anything? It'll be most appreciated~