A/N: First-timer here. Please be gentle. Originally published 10/22/08. Revised 4/7/09. Last revision 10/1/09 (I got rid of most of the 'thats.')
"Sis" is what Leon, Cid, Cloud, and Yuffie call Aerith. Reno and Barrett call her this in Final Fantasy 7. This makes it gospel, in my fanfiction AU, just like Cid's Goddamn tea.
Fandom: Kingdom Hearts
Summary: Hey! Have ya heard this one? A lion meets a chocobo in a Coliseum…
Pairings: Cloud/Leon (Squall)
Warnings: Yaoi, OOC, AU, not too graphic body-splitting, beast killing, Cid-influenced swearing, Well-meaning Yuffie, oral sex, things get broken, non-consent
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this fan fiction.
Chapter 1 - First Meetings
***
Leon, once known as Squall Leonhart, was a SEED at seventeen, made Commander at seventeen-and-a-half, and had saved his world from an evil sorceress by the time he was eighteen.
Leon's World would soon be lost after that, along with his friends, family, and his name. All eaten away by The Darkness.
More important though, for a warrior and born leader, Squall, now Leon, had lost the Guardian Forces which bolstered his attacks and powered his magic. At first, he thought the intense headache he felt, waking up in Traverse Town, was from his abrupt traveling through the dark portal from his planet to this in-between place. He soon learned, in a subsequent attack and speedy defeat of Shadows, the migraine had come from Shiva, his primary Guardian Force, being ripped from his skull, presumably when his home world was taken by the Darkness.
To the point, Leon was now an ordinary warrior with a sword.
For the Lion of Balamb Garden, this situation was completely unacceptable.
***
Thankfully, for Leon, he soon met his new "family", Aerith, Cid and Yuffie.
Big Sis Aerith, with her intuitive ways and gentle touch, behaved like a mother figure to all, even though both were about the same age.
Cid, while seeming to be surly and cross, took Leon in without a thought. He promptly taught him more swear words than Leon could ever use, and plied him with more tea, than he would ever want.
Yuffie, the Great Ninja didn't behave like his real sister, Ellone; but she looked and acted so young, Leon's natural protective instincts came forward.
Through them, Leon met Merlin, who after hearing what happened to the poor boy, taught him the proper magic spells for the Worlds he now lived in.
Leon, being a quick study, soon mastered most of them.
With magic skills now up to snuff, Leon decided he still needed more physical training, not only for his own peace of mind, but to also help protect his new family.
The Darkness encroached on Traverse Town more and more.
Leon swore to himself he would never lose to it again.
***
With Leon's decision to extend his training even more, an announcement came, from a breathless Yuffie. The tournaments had finally opened up at the Coliseum, and that sign-ups had been posted in Cid's store.
Yuffie stated, "I'm going to the Coliseum on my own, kick ass, and come back with enough money to fix everything!"
Cid proclaimed her a dumbshit, ranting she'd be killed in the first round.
Aerith became worried, since Yuffie was so young. She argued, in her soft way, against the idea.
Leon, needing more training anyway, and wanting to gauge what the competition was like from the other Worlds, spoke above the arguing. He declared he would go with Yuffie and keep her out of trouble.
This, of course, appeased everybody.
Yuffie still kicked Cid in the shin, though.
***
When he and Yuffie arrived at the Coliseum, Leon knew he had made the right decision.
Leon scanned the competition, in the sparring and warm-up circles, with a trained mercenary's eye. He quickly deduced his fighting skills, at their current level, to be sub-par, to where he wanted to be in the tournament.
Leon surmised early on, to be ranked in the top rounds, he would have to pair himself up with someone complementary to his fighting skills. He essentially needed a level-headed, berserk-style slasher, with relative immunity to Thundaga.
Phil subsequently introduced him to the one warrior, in the Coliseum, who was immune to Thundaga, since the goat-man didn't know why someone would want a 'berserk slasher.' "Leon, meet Cloud Strife."
Leon held his hand out to be shaken, just like Matron taught him in the orphanage growing up.
Cloud looked down at the hand and slowly looked up into Leon's eyes.
Leon noticed Cloud's eyes glowed.
"It's normally polite to shake your new partner's hand." Leon stated calmly.
Cloud tilted his head to the left, like he was actually considering this foreign concept, "Well, when you prove yourself good enough to be my partner, I'll shake your hand."
With the dismissive statement still wafting along the breeze, Cloud turned, and walked away, leaving one embarrassed goat-man and an even more enraged Leonhart in his wake.
***
Through the ongoing days of training and tournament battles, Cloud never spoke one word to Leon.
In fact, if it wasn't for Cloud's battle cries during the tournament, and curt dismissal when the pair first met, Leon would have sworn Cloud was a deaf-mute.
Cloud would appear, when the round would commence, only to disappear, when the round ended.
The sole reason Leon knew anything about Cloud came through Yuffie.
Yuffie had become more spastic, than usual, on first seeing Cloud. She had run to him, with arms opened wide.
Cloud disappeared so quick, it was like a hole opened up beneath him.
Yuffie was left lying, face-down in the dirt, where she had fallen.
Having had to do this more than once, Leon sauntered over to a wailing Yuffie. After helping his adoptive little sister dust herself off, he asked how in Hades she knew Cloud.
Yuffie, being Yuffie, spilled the beans, acting out everything like a stage show.
Leon tried to ignore the other warriors around them, focusing on what the former Wutaian princess had to say.
Through Yuffie, Leon learned of Cloud's past as a supposed-SOLDIER. He learned of a place called Nibelheim, and the reason why Cloud's eyes glowed in the dark. Through her, he first heard the names Hojo and Sephiroth, and why Aerith was always treated by the others like she would disappear, if everyone wasn't careful.
Leon started to feel more compassionate toward the stoic blond.
***
One day, in the training room, Leon asked the questions which had been bothering him, ever since Yuffie first told him Cloud's tale. "Why doesn't Cloud talk to you, Yuffie? Why doesn't he go visit Aerith and Cid in Traverse Town?"
Yuffie, for once in her life, stopped bouncing and became real quiet. Her face screwed up, like she would to cry. But being the brave Ninja Yuffie, she balled her hands into fists, looking Leon straight in the eye, before speaking again. "Cloud appeared in Traverse Town, with everyone else, when our planet disappeared. At first, he was depressed about our planet. But when Aerith showed up, he became happy. We were one big family again."
Yuffie twirled in a circle, and stopped, facing away from Leon.
Leon waited for her to continue, but she just looked down at her feet.
Yuffie's legs started to shake.
Sitting down on the nearby bench, Yuffie started to rock back and forth. Tears streaming down her face.
Descending, to his knees, Leon held her tight. "It's okay, Yuffie. I don't need to know the rest."
Sobbing, Yuffie shook her head against his chest, "You need to know what you're dealing with. I should have told you sooner, but just remembering-"
Leon tried to shush Yuffie and calm her down. "It's not important. I can deal with anything Cloud dishes out."
Hearing that, Yuffie pushed Leon away, with a wail of desperation, "That's the thing! You don't KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DEALING WITH!"
Pushed sprawling, onto his butt, Leon rested his elbows on his knees. "Well then. Let's hear it."
***
"Like I said," Yuffie continued, after getting her sobbing, under control, "Cloud was really happy with Aerith in Traverse Town. He would make deliveries for Cid and help me patrol."
"Kind of like what I was doing, before we came here," Leon added.
"Yeeeeah," Yuffie stared off into space, before shaking her head, and continuing her story. "It was all good, but the Shadows began to invade more and more. It became hard for even Cloud to handle sometimes."
"Come on, Yuffie." Leon scoffed, with a wave of a gloved hand, "Cloud's one guy. You couldn't expect him to fight off wave after wave of Shadows, by himself, day after day."
Releasing a big sigh, Yuffie pushed Leon so hard he fell sideways. "No! You listen, Squall Leonhart! The fighting you see Cloud do in this tournament is NOTHING to what he can really do!
"First of all, the name's Leon!" Leon snarled, once he righted himself, "Second of all, why isn't he fighting to his full potential?"
"If you just let me finish my story-!" Looking down at her fingers, Yuffie started to pick at her cuticles. "Everything seemed hunky-dory, until one day, the shadows came on really strong. The shadows ignored the rest of us, and kept swarming towards Cloud. It was like he called to them. He looked like he would be overrun, when it happened."
Yuffie stopped with a sick look on her face.
"When what happened?" Leon prompted her, with a nudge to the knees, and a look of encouragement.
Yuffie's next words came out in a jumble, of hysterical words, and tears. "There was this huge explosion! When we could see again, the shadows were gone, and Cloud was splitting apart! The black wings came out first! Then his body just tore in half! He was in such pain-his screams-I wanted to run so baaad - bbbbuuttt I couldn't move!"
Yuffie started to stutter. She was held and rocked, by Leon, until she could continue. "When his screams stopped, I uncovered my eyes, and saw two people there."
"Two?' Leon interrupted, "How the hell could that happen?"
"Stop interrupting me and let me finish!" Yuffie yelled, leaping up, and stamping her foot.
"Sorry, Yuf." Leon hung his head.
"There were two men lying there," In a huff, Yuffie sat back down, "One was Cloud."
Leon looked up, nodding in suspense.
"The other man was Sephiroth."
***
Standing up, Leon sat down, next to Yuffie, in a sort of dazed shock. "Waaaait a minute. I thought you said your group killed Sephiroth, before your planet was destroyed."
With a watery sniff, Yuffie nodded, in agreement. "Yep, we did."
"Then how did Sephiroth come out of Cloud, if he was dead and gone?" Leon asked, even though he didn't think he wanted to know.
"Ya know, when I said Cloud got experimented on by that creep Hojo?' Yuffie queried. "Well, we found out later Cloud got injected with the same Jenova cells Sephiroth did."
Leon felt confused once again. "What does this have to do with Sephiroth tearing himself out of Cloud's body?"
Yuffie shook her head, rolling reddened eyes, "Sephiroth can regenerate his whole body, from any living Jenova cells ANYWHERE, while there's Darkness to feed them. With our home planet destroyed, the only person, who still has Jenova cells in their body, is Cloud."
Leon thought about this, for a minute. "So if Cloud had never used the powers of Darkness…"
Yuffie nodded. "Sephiroth would have stayed dead."
Taking another deep breath, Yuffie rattled on. "We could tell for awhile, Cloud had been drawing on the powers of the Darkness, more and more."
"How?" Leon asked.
"How whuh?" Yuffie parried, feeling frustrated, about being stopped again.
"How could you tell Cloud was using more of the power of Darkness, if he didn't tell you?" Leon lobbed back.
Yuffie scrunched her forehead in thought. "The Darkness sorta makes you darker?"
Leon stared back at her.
Scratching her head, Yuffie tried to think up a better example. She then held her finger up, in a Eureka! moment. "It's like having a ghost behind you other people can see! With the more Darkness you use, the better you can see the ghost!"
Leon thought back to his dealings with Cloud. "I did sense something dark around him sometimes, especially when the fighting would get worse, but I thought it was just me."
Excited, Yuffie clapped her hands together. "That's Cloud using the Darkness!"
Leon tilted his head, in bewilderment. "If using the Darkness brought Sephiroth back and drove Cloud away from all of you…Why the hell would he keep on using it?"
A sad Yuffie looked down. "Before Cloud split in two, Aerith tried to talk him out of using the Darkness a couple of times, but he would keep saying just a little bit more wouldn't hurt, and he could protect us better."
Leon could see the logic, in getting stronger, to protect the ones you loved. For Hyne's sake, it was the reason he came to the Coliseum to begin with. But to continue using the Power of Darkness, especially after what happened…
Yuffie continued. "After Cloud split in two, from using the Darkness too much, Sephiroth disappeared, and Cloud ran away. He didn't even tell Aerith goodbye. I didn't know he was still alive, until we came here. He won't talk to me. It's like he's a stranger."
Yuffie started to sniffle again, so Leon let her rest her head, against his shoulder.
"So you think Cloud came here to find and defeat Sephiroth?" Leon asked the top of Yuffie's head.
Yuffie shrugged weary shoulders, sniffing louder. "I think so. I just don't know what to tell Aerith, when we get back to Traverse Town."
"Leeet's not tell Aerith just yet," Leon spoke, in a determined drawl.
Yuffie's head jerked up, almost knocking Leon on the chin, "We HAAAVE to tell Aer!"
Leon shook his head, while gripping Yuffie's shoulders. "We don't have all the facts yet. One should always get all the facts, before reporting back to the home office. Got it?"
Glumly, Yuffie nodded, sniffing so hard, she snorted.
Leon smiled a rare little smile. Releasing Yuffie's shoulders, he stood up.
"Where are you going?" Yuffie asked concerned.
"I'm going to get the rest of the facts from Cloud Strife, himself." Leon stated, "If he won't talk, I'll fight him, until he DOES talk."
Anxious, Yuffie jumped up, waving her arms, in front of Leon. "You can't do that, Squ-uh-Leon!"
"What makes the Great Ninja Yuffie so sure Cloud will beat me?" Leon retorted, with a raise of the right eyebrow.
Yuffie began to hyperventilate. "Through all this, haven't you heard what I've been trying to tell you?"
A stern Leon folded his arms, across his chest. "Cloud's a super SOLDIER figure, who's so mighty he split in two, because he couldn't control his own powers?"
"Duh!," Yuffie responded, "Hojo gave Cloud enhancements, which made him equivalent to a 1st Class SOLDIER. This means Cloud has super-speed and super strength. All of his senses have been heightened, and he can use hardcore magic quicker than you can blink."
"Yuffie, I know this already!" Leon yelled, turning to walk towards the entrance.
"WAAAAIT!"
Leon stopped, gritting his teeth. "What?"
"Hojo enhanced Cloud to be a 1st Class SOLDIER, but he made other changes no one else knows about," Yuffie stated, "We helped to beat Sephiroth down. But in the end, Cloud really beat Sephiroth by himself."
Leon looked to the ground, balling hands into fists. "I thought you said Sephiroth had powers almost on par with a god, before he was killed."
"Yeah." Yuffie agreed, calming down from the previous panic attack.
"Then why did Cloud even NEED the power of Darkness, when everyone arrived in Traverse Town?" Leon questioned, more to himself, than to Yuffie.
"I…. don't…. know…." A confused Yuffie responded.
"That's what I'm going to find out." Leon shot back, turning toward Yuffie once more.
"But Leon…," Yuffie held small hands in front of her, like in prayer, knowing she tread on thin ice. "Don't ya get it?"
"No, Yuffie!" Leon rolled his eyes, "All your hints flew completely over my head."
Yuffie, again, spoke very softly, "Compared to Cloud, you're still just a regular warrior, with some spell training, and a sword. Even if Cloud doesn't use the powers of Darkness against you, he'd still beat you in a second. You're my big brother now, Leon. I don't want to lose anymore of my family."
Leon had become angrier, with Yuffie's reminder of self-noted inadequacies. However, the anger drained away, when he heard her reasoning.
Walking back, Leon hugged and shushed Yuffie, when she began to cry again. "Don't worry, Yuf. We won't lose anymore of our family to the Darkness. I'll make sure of it."
***
Leon knew he would never find Cloud, until it was time for the next tournament battle. This suited him fine.
Unlike his old sparring partner, in Balamb Garden, Seifer, who charged headlong into battle, without any layout or true preparation. Leon, when his name had been Squall, planned things out. This explained, in the end, why he had become SEED Commander, while Seifer ended up broken and beaten, fishing on a dock.
Although he had put Yuffie into a panic attack, earlier in the training room, Leon wouldn't attack Cloud, with an all-out Challenge. This was never Squall's style before, and it wasn't Leon's now. He had been a highly trained SEED mercenary, for Hyne's sake.
Any new SEED, fresh out of the Garden, knew an operative completed his mission easier, by sneaking in through the back door, rather than charging through the front. A lot less hassle too, in Leon's opinion.
With Yuffie's help, Leon had a better sketch of whom he was dealing with. Faint and incomplete, but he had accomplished more missions with less information in the past.
Leon had closely watched Cloud's moves throughout the tournament. Even with Yuffie's flair for exaggeration, he acknowledged she hadn't kidded about how hardcore a fighter Cloud could be, especially when cornered by a perceived enemy.
From the beginning, Cloud wouldn't talk to Leon.
All this time, Leon believed the reason stemmed from Cloud believing him to be an inferior fighter, and not worth talking to.
With new information, supplied from Yuffie, Leon learned Cloud didn't like to talk to ANYONE.
When fighting and killing needed to be done, Cloud would accomplish these tasks.
Communication was unnecessary in Cloud's world.
With the gathered facts, Leon decided to reverse the hasty decision of snubbing Cloud. Instead, he would initiate conversations in a subtle, non-threatening way. He concluded, by using this tactic, Cloud would open up, or beat him to death. Either way, he would finally get a reaction from the blond.
"Cloud will usually be found, somewhere, leaning against a wall and brooding," Yuffie reported, before Leon left the training room, "If you can back him into a corner, start jawing away, you should get three possible responses from the Cloudster. "
"He'll open up to you, like he does with Sis. Push you back, and walk away, like he always did with Cid and the rest of the guys. Or he'll pick you up and throw you out of the room."
"How did he respond to you?," Leon inquired, already knowing how he would react to Yuffie cornering him, in such a manner.
Yuffie shrugged, with her trademark twirl, "What can I say? Luckily, Great ninjas always bounce back."
***
Leon always arrived to the entrance, of the main fighting arena, with about ten minutes to spare. This gave him time to get in the proper mindset, and also warm-up his body, for the physical rigors ahead.
Phil never told the combatants what or whom the warriors would be fighting. The little satyr gave Leon the excuse the suspense kept the fighters on their toes for whatever came their way.
Leon felt convinced Phil plain forgot the lineup, or made up the list, right before the fighters entered the fighting arena.
Cloud always appeared right before it was time to enter the arena.
This time proved different.
When Leon walked into the atrium, Cloud had already arrived. He leaned against the far wall, brooding, just the way Yuffie described.
With Leon's arrival, and subsequent stoppage due to shock, Cloud looked up. Miracle of miracles, he began the conversation. "I heard from Yuffie you wanted to talk to me, SQUALL."
With the use of his old name, Leon sensed his upper lip curl back, in a snarl.
After Leon first arrived in Traverse Town, depressed and alone (like most of his life), Cid had welcomed him, by getting him soused to the gills, to help "fucking ease the fucking pain."
Never finding the need to imbibe so much before, a drunken Leon had spilled his whole life story, along with the reasons he never wanted to be called Squall again.
While the others had respected Leon's decision, calling him Leon forthwith, Yuffie, in her own deranged mind, believed the name change was a load of crap. She decided to fight it the only way she knew how, by calling him Squall every chance she could get away with, and telling every newcomer the pair came across his real name.
Great. While Leon could never find Cloud, Yuffie could track the man down, with no effort whatsoever.
Having no idea what Yuffie could've yapped, Leon decided to cover his back, letting Cloud lead the discussion, until he could be sure of his bearings. "The name's LEON. Yeah, Yuffie and I have to go back to Traverse Town soon. Before I left, I thought we could clear the air."
"Really?"
Leon nodded, hoping Cloud would take the opening, and run with it.
Stone-faced, Cloud tilted his head, with a small lean forward, from the waist. To Leon, his eyes seemed to glow brighter. "Yuffie said you needed more training, and wanted my help, but you were too afraid to ask me."
Mentally, Leon cursed Yuffie, using every single curse word learned from Cid. He could feel the blush, staining his hot cheeks, but remembered his SEED training.
Opening hands, unconsciously fisted, Leon relaxed his body, letting out a calm breath. He would not lose face to this man, in spite of the workings of the Great Ninja!
"Sure, I could always use extra training." Leon folded his arms across his chest.
Leon knew it was a 'safe' comeback, but he was working against the well-meaning, big-hearted powers of the Great Ninja Yuffie, which always seemed to bite him in the end.
"Sorry; not going to happen." Cloud announced flat-out to the room.
Leon actually felt the words echo through the atrium.
"What! But why?" Leon barked. Forgetting the effort, to try to keep cool, his left arm slashed to the side.
Smiling, Cloud leaned back against the wall.
When Cloud smiled, either loved ones had been saved, or something would be killed.
Since Leon believed Cloud didn't think enough of him to even dislike him, he hoped he wouldn't be killed.
"Relax," Laughter filtered through Cloud's low voice, "I'm not belittling your fighting skills. You just don't have the enhancements I do. I can't train you for things your physical body can't possibly accomplish."
"Big talk for such a little man!" Leon knew the retort was a low-blow, but the Lion talked now, not the former SEED Commander.
Cloud stopped smiling.
Mako-powered blue eyes glowed even brighter, hypnotizing Leon with their brilliance.
Leon felt the air around him grow colder.
Wary blue-grey eyes spied a distinct black aura appearing around Cloud.
In the back of his consciousness, Leon identified the tolling bell, signaling their round was about to start, but he couldn't move.
Cloud went from a relaxed stance, against the wall, to pressing his lithe body against Leon's.
Before he could blink, Leon felt Cloud's forceful lips press against his, until he tasted blood. He opened his mouth to yell.
Taking the opportunity, Cloud stuck his tongue down Leon's throat.
Leon's mind noticed Cloud's enhanced hands had grabbed tight hold of his ass. In addition, he registered the fact something hard pressed against his thigh.
This all happened, between the time it took for the tolling bell to stop sounding, and the last-chance warning whistle to blow.
Cloud pulled away.
A line of reddened saliva still connected the warriors' lips.
Cloud held Leon by the shoulders, until Leon could look into his eyes. "In this next round, don't fight."
Releasing Leon's shoulders, Cloud walked towards the entrance to the fighting arena.
"What am I supposed to do then?" Leon yelled, from where he had fallen, on his knees.
The blond looked over his shoulder, with a smirk, "Stand there, and look pretty; like you always do, Squall."
Cloud then walked out of the atrium into the golden sunlight.
***
Having regained his bearings, Leon leapt to his feet, and sprinted to the fighting arena. Taking his place next to Cloud, he settled into his ingrained fighting stance, with Lionheart at the ready.
The team faced the gate, where the beasts would soon charge out.
Effortlessly, Cloud held First Tsurugi in place. Cape furling in the wind, black wing tensed, ready to give his form speed.
"Remember, Squall," Leon heard Cloud's husky whisper, "The fight's mine."
"The name's Leon," Leon hissed back, "What makes you think I'll do what you say, after getting molested?"
"The Great Ninja chirped you wanted to see my full-out super-duper moves."
If Leon wasn't honor bound to his Tournament contract, he would have left the fight, then and there, hunted Yuffie down, and spanked her with the flat side of Lionheart.
"Just think of this as my way of courting you."
Leon, in the middle of whacking his little sister's butt, in his imagination, almost didn't catch that. "We're about to battle some fearsome beast, sent from the deepest depths of the Darkness, possibly about to die, and you're hitting on me?"
"If I hit on you, it would mean you had the option of telling me no." Cloud grinned, cool as a cucumber, "Not going to happen."
Leon may have still been in ready stance, but his battle concentration was now shot.
"How do you know I'm even gay?" Leon stage-whispered, in the direction, of his battle partner.
If possible, Cloud's grin, became even more wicked, "Gay; not gay. Doesn't matter. You'll still be mine."
"For Shiva's sake, Strife, quit playing around!"
"You're right, My Light. We'll play later."
Leon, in utter frustration, began to swing Lionheart in Cloud's direction, when the announcement came, and their opponent lumbered out.
"Ladies and Gentlemen! I give you the Seven-Headed HYYYYDRAAA!"
***
Cloud and Leon had proven, in previous matches, the two were not a couple of light rookies. In fact, the team had worked so well together. Their matches had gotten shorter and shorter.
This type of performance did not fare well with the Coliseum crowd, who liked long, drawn-out, bloody battles, with lots of limbs hacked off. The ferocity propelling the appendages into the screaming throng.
The masses were not used, to the finesse and speed, which came from true battle-trained warriors.
Cloud and Leon were Phil's best fighters. But their battles being so short, the team drew the lowest audience.
In Phil's mind, if it wasn't for the steady stream of fan-girls, the team's rounds wouldn't have much of an audience at all. He thought the kids were great. It wasn't their fault the masses didn't enjoy great art.
Phil had received more and more flack for the 'lameness' of the tournament. His patron talked of pulling the plug on the whole thing.
Not wanting this to take place, Phil started to introduce more beasts, powered by the Darkness, into each round. He hated to do it, but he felt responsible for his guys. He didn't want them to go home, empty-handed, after fighting so hard.
While Leon spoke to Yuffie in the training room, Phil had contacted Cloud, through Hades, informing him of the situation.
Already contracted to Hades, Cloud didn't have anyone relying on him for munny. The situation wasn't really a problem for him.
Leon and Yuffie, on the other hand, relied on their earnings to return to Traverse Town, and help support the family. If Phil's patron pulled out of the tournament, the pair would have nothing to show, for all their hard work.
Unbeknownst to Leon, Cloud had been 'protecting' him all this time. He had stalked the Gunblader, by day, and used all his enhancements to guard the Lion's troubled slumber at night.
The former SEED Commander had dreamed on. Never the wiser.
To Cloud's jaded vision, Leon's form glowed brighter than the Sun in the sky.
When the pair first met, the Darkness-fed Beast, which clawed constantly at Cloud's soul, had roared in ferocious joy. The Mate had finally been found.
Cloud's Salvation. His Light.
Leon?
No. Never Leon.
Squall Leonhart.
During his daily brooding, Cloud tried to think up various ways to woo his Light. Unfortunately, the expressing of emotions had become as foreign to Cloud, as physical touch without pain.
Cloud had finally found the One he had been searching eons for; yet he had no idea how to win him. This conundrum agonized Cloud to no end. He could easily overpower the Lion, with force, but he would never truly have all of his Light that way.
Phil's predicament had given Cloud the perfect opportunity. Of course, Yuffie blabbing her mouth soon after helped a lot too. "When our round comes, Phil, give us the biggest, meanest, most difficult beast you have."
"Ya sure, kid?" Phil scratched the back of one of his horns, "You're both good, but the thing I got's even tougher than Cerberus."
Phil looked up at Cloud, and took two slow steps back.
Cloud had leaned against the wall with a serene smile. The Darkness overshadowing his face. Eyes glowing bright. He looked like a cherub of Death.
Closing his eyes, Cloud shuddered, with the thought of finally having all of his Light. Body, Heart, and Soul.
"Leave it all to me, Phil. I'll give the crowd a show they'll never forget."
***
Phil delivered on his end of the deal.
The dreaded Seven-Headed Hydra. The beast filled the vast arena. Heads in constant motion, always on the lookout for something to kill and devour. The animal would summon down constant lightning bolts to hinder any attacks. If an attacker was even able to get through, wounding it, he would have to be careful of the blood flying from the creature itself. The creature's blood consisting of a green, acidic poison, which would eat through anything it landed on.
"Dodge the heads, lightening, and blood; but no fighting." With nary a gesture, Cloud disappeared.
The roars, from the Hydra's seven mouths, sounded too close to comfort for Leon. Looking far, far up, he saw all seven heads focused on him. "Just dodge, he says. Fuck you, Strife."
Leon raised Lionheart in attack position, when Cloud took action.
Leon heard Cloud's signature line to the beginning of his final move, Omnislash, "Farewell."
All Leon saw was a fire and lightening encased blur, seemingly coming at the Hydra, from all sides of the fighting arena.
For every slash Cloud made, one of the heads of the Hydra roared, and more blood flew.
Cloud knew he could have finished the Hydra off quick, seven heads notwithstanding. However, he remembered the tips Phil had mentioned, for the round to be considered a success. It had to be drawn out, flashy, and gory enough so the audience wouldn't ask for their munny back. Of course, he also had to impress his Light.
The Coliseum audience, filled to capacity, with the advertisement of today's fight, stood up, shrieking with joy, at the spectacle before them.
Phil was also pleased. With today's box office receipts, he'd be able to pay the full amount, for all the contract bound contestants. The men could all return home to their loved ones, left to fight the ongoing battle with the Darkness, by themselves.
With a barely hidden pout, Leon nimbly followed Cloud's orders, by dodging the Hydra's flailing heads, lightening bolts, and flying blood.
Watching Cloud takedown the Hydra, single-handedly, Leon admitted what Yuffie told him was right. Cloud would have creamed him, in a one-on-one fight.
The battle raged on for some time. The audience remained on their feet, cheering for more.
However, Leon was getting tired of dodging. Even though Cloud accomplished his true objective, thoroughly impressing the Lion, he was a warrior not a dodger, and he wanted to do a little fighting too.
To his delight, one of the Hydra's heads noticed Leon again, leaning down swiftly to bite him.
"Now you've got my attention!," Leon yelled, aching to cut something, "Power!"
Leon's Gunblade, Lionheart, increased three times in size, and burned white hot.
Leon readied himself, to charge at the Hydra.
Out of nowhere, Cloud appeared, administering a mighty slap to Leon's ass, almost knocking him flat on his face.
The slap echoed through the fighting arena.
The Hydra's heads even stopped flailing at the harsh sound.
"Don't test me, Kitten." Cloud growled, standing resolute, completely wrapped in fire and lightening.
"Then quit playing around and kill the damn thing!" Leon snarled back. He caught himself, before he rubbed an aching butt, in front of the crowd.
"Fine," Cloud's countenance darkened even further. "Killing time."
"Whatever." Leon looked away from Cloud, with a toss of the head, and a sniff of dismissal.
Before Leon knew it, the bandages around First Tsurugi, had been removed, and wrapped around him, ending in a tight bow.
Leon didn't care if the team was in public anymore. This was the last straw. He glanced, to where Cloud had been standing before, to scream at him, when he saw Cloud shoot up into the air.
Gravity's laws seemed not to apply to Cloud, who hovered in mid-air, in front of the Hydra. Waving First Tsurugi in a wide circle, over his head, the sword came fully apart in an instant. The five swords encased in the main sword, flew up from the first blade, surrounding the Hydra in a circle.
Throwing the main blade even higher, so it floated above the Hydra's heads, Cloud flew forward. Taking one of the smaller swords, he cut off one of the heads.
After repeating this five times, with five heads laying on the ground, Cloud grabbed the final sword, floating above the two remaining heads.
Descending so quickly, the surrounding air whistled, Cloud severed the second-to-last head from behind.
Landing in a crouch, in front of the still-bound Leon, Cloud gave him a tiny smile and a wink, before launching himself back up to cut off the final head.
While the dead beast's body fell to the arena floor, Cloud executed a back-flip through the air, ending the battle standing nose-to-nose in front of an awe-struck Leon.
The remaining auxiliary swords rained around the couple, enclosing the pair in a perfect circle.
Having never kissed a man, Leon, who still felt pretty sure he wasn't gay, lunged forward. Using all his strength, he kissed Cloud with everything he had.
***
When Leon pulled back, to get some much-needed air, the roaring cheers of the crowd reminded him the couple was still standing in public.
Stormy eyes widening, Leon hid a rapidly blushing face against Cloud's shoulder. "For the love of Shiva, get me out of here."
Feeling the vibrations of Cloud's low chuckling, Leon nudged his head against Cloud's, in chastisement.
Cloud took about twenty seconds to untie Leon, reassemble First Tsurugi, and retie all the bandages around the great sword.
When the tasks had been accomplished, the team took their expected places in front of the patronage's box.
After performing the customary bow, to the escalating cheers of the masses, Cloud picked Leon up, like a bride, and ran.
When Leon reopened his eyes, an emotionless Cloud faced the door to his room, at the Coliseum Inn. "How did you know which room was mine? Did Yuffie tell you?"
Cloud shook his head. "I've been watching you."
"Oh, really," Leon squinted his eyes. "You mean you were stalking me."
With that, Cloud put Leon down, backing away a few steps, "Sorry."
"I've been looking for you for a long time." Cloud looked down to his feet. "I guess I could have gone about it in a better way."
Without looking up, Cloud made a demonstrative one-handed wave, between himself and Leon. "I just don't have much experience with this."
"Well, I'm not going to have this discussion in the hallway." Leon opened his door. Walking in, he motioned Cloud to follow him.
Hesitating at the threshold, Cloud took a deep breath. Walking through the door, he closed it behind him.
***
The room was small, consisting of a small single bed, an old wooden chair, and an older wooden table.
Leon sat down on the bed.
After resting First Tsurugi, next to the door, Cloud took the chair across from him.
Neither one were great communicators, but someone had to start talking, or both of them would just be staring at each other all night.
Leon decided to take the plunge, since Cloud seemed to be content just looking at him."I'm not going to try to bluff here."
Leaning towards Cloud, Leon rested his elbows on his knees, "Yuffie told me all about you using the Darkness, splitting in two, and running away from Traverse Town. What I don't understand is, why you're here fighting under contract with Hades, instead of helping your friends. Why do you continue to use the powers of Darkness? And why you're stalking me?"
At the beginning of Leon's diatribe, Cloud had been sitting straight up.
While Leon talked on, Cloud hunched more and more inward, until his sitting body bended, like a C.
When Leon finished, Cloud took a deep breath. Straightening back up, he leaned back against the chair, crossing his arms against his chest. He closed his eyelids against Leon's searching glare.
Thinking Cloud may have fallen asleep, Leon jumped, when he spoke."I'm only going to say this once, because I'm not used to talking to people, especially about all my fuck-ups, past and present."
Eyelids now raised, Cloud's glowing eyes made sure to catch Leon's. "But you, My Light, you need to know everything; if you agree to be with me."
"This is what I'm talking about!" Leon directed an up-and-down gesture towards Cloud. "Why do you keep calling me your 'Light!"
Cloud's mouth quirked a little, to the right, in a twitch of a smile. "It's all tied together, I guess."
Cloud exhaled. "Like I said, I'm going to say this once, so wait for me to finish, and don't interrupt me."
Slightly insulted, Leon glared at him. "Well, start talking sense then."
***
"Growing up in Nibelhiem, I was the smallest, scrawniest kid. I was bullied, picked on, and blamed for things I didn't do. I felt I couldn't protect any of my loved ones, if they got hurt. I swore, when I grew up, I would become so big and strong none of my loved ones would ever be hurt, because I would be there to protect them." Cloud emphasized the statement, by hitting his fist, against one knee.
"To be the strongest and the best, on my planet, a person had to be in SOLDIER, so when I got old enough that's what I would be. First Class, all the way! Stronger than even Sephiroth." Cloud halted his speech. Eyes misting over. Inhaling a shuddering breath, he rapidly blinked, before he continued. "Yuffie already told you how that little adventure panned out."
Leon nodded his head, waiting to hear more.
"I went from being a lowly cadet, to a super SOLDIER, in five years I don't remember. From what I've been told, I don't want to remember. I killed my childhood hero to save the world, and fulfilled my dream, becoming the most powerful man on our planet." Cloud sighed. "Yet with all this power, my loved ones still became hurt and got killed. I had all this power and my planet was still swallowed by the Darkness."
"When most of us appeared in Traverse Town, including Aerith, the one thought in my mind was I had been defeated by the Darkness. Therefore, the Darkness was more powerful. If I could harness this power, and use it to protect my family, then everything would be alright." Cloud's voice was so rife with broken hope. The sound broke Leon's heart.
"I should have let things be. Even if we were having problems with the Shadows, more warriors showed up every day to help. It's just I had always tried to do things on my own, and I wanted to prove to Aerith I could protect her this time." Cloud's voice started to break. "Instead, I fucked things up again, and Sis is in even more danger than before."
"What kills me the most is she doesn't blame me." Cloud looked away in shame. "She's never blamed me, even when I ran away, and left her alone."
Moving forward, Cloud sat down, next to Leon on the bed.
Pulling Cloud close, Leon allowed Cloud to hide his face in the curve of his neck.
Leon didn't know when he got so touchy-feely. He always hated people invading his personal space. He also didn't like to be touched. For some reason, being with Cloud seemed different.
Ever since the pair sat down, all Leon could think about was holding Cloud close.
Deciding to reserve this thinking for later, Leon concentrated on how good it felt to embrace Cloud. He encouraged Cloud to talk, by petting up-and-down tense, muscular arms.
"After I split in two, with Sephiroth back from the dead, I didn't know what to do, so I ran. I knew I couldn't control the Darkness, and I felt if I stayed in Traverse Town, I would just draw more of the Shadows to it."
Leon settled his back against the wall, pulling Cloud with him, into a more comfortable position.
Cloud continued to hide his face against Leon. "Merlin caught up with me, when I arrived at the Coliseum. He told me what I needed to do, to help control the Beast of Darkness, now housed within me."
Cloud began to lightly rub one gloved hand against Leon's abdomen. "Merlin said I had to find My Light. A person who had enough love and Light inside, to help me combat the Darkness, whenever it threatens to overwhelm me. He stated, without this person, I had no chance of beating Sephiroth, who's whole being consists of pure Darkness."
Straightening up, Cloud gazed at Leon, laying an unsure hand against a blushing cheek. "You're the one, Squall. You're my Light. The sole being who can save me from the Darkness."
Unused to having so much naked emotion directed towards him, Leon looked down, shrinking away. "I thought Aerith would qualify to be your Light."
Leaning forward, Cloud nuzzled his nose against Leon's bangs. "I asked Merlin about that. He replied it couldn't be Aerith, because I wasn't physically attracted to her."
If Leon could've sunk through the wall, he would have. "You're sexually attracted to me?"
Releasing a shaky laugh, Cloud hugged a cowering Lion tight to his body. "Oh, Squall. I've loved, and wanted you, from the moment you prompted me to shake your hand."
With the reminder of Cloud's earlier rudeness, Leon started to wiggle, in a small show of irritation. "For someone who says he loves me, and wants me so bad; you're sure mean to me."
Leaning them both back against the wall, Cloud laid his head on Leon's shoulder. "Like I said, I'm not used to this, Squall."
"Why do you keep calling me Squall.?" Leon pouted. "My name's Leon; not Squall, especially not Kitten. Leon."
Getting down on his knees, a beautifully smiling Cloud took Leon's hands in his. "My Light's name is Squall Leonhart; not Leon. I only call you Kitten, when you disobey me."
Looking away, from the pretty, Leon pouted even more. "I'm not a girl."
Twining his arms around a slim waist, Cloud laid his head on Leon's lap. "No, Squall. You're definitely not a girl."
Leon carded his hand through Cloud's spiky Chocobo hair. "You can call me Squall, when we're alone, but please call me Leon, when we're with other people. It's really important to me."
Cloud relaxed even more in Leon's lap. "Whatever you say, Squall."
***
"I've never been with a man before."
Cloud's head shot up. Mako blue eyes beginning to shine brighter. "Does this mean you agree? You'll stay with me and be my Light?"
Leon removed his gloves.
Placing bare hands, on each side of Cloud's face, for the second time in his life, Leon initiated a kiss with a man. "Yes, Cloud Strife. I will be your Light."
Leon moved in to kiss Cloud again.
Cloud beat him to it, by meeting Leon's lips. Using the weight of his enhanced skeleton, he laid them both flat on the bed, with Leon below.
Leon hadn't lied about never being with a man. He hadn't done much with women either. He had been too busy training and saving the world. Sure, he masturbated, but this just proved he was a living human male.
Of course, whorehouses were located in every city, but Leon had romantic notions fostered by Matron's novels he had read, growing up in the orphanage.
Leon wished his first time to be with someone he truly loved. He just didn't think his first time would be with a guy.
***
The couple's lovemaking had started out slow, discovering each other's bodies by touch and kiss.
Clothes disappeared, in the desperate fumbling, to get to each other's bodies.
Cloud seemed fascinated, by Leon's smell, sniffing him like a dog.
About to push Cloud away, asking what the hell, Leon suddenly remembered what Yuffie said.
Cloud's senses were severely heightened, due to his enhancements.
Leon realized Cloud was imprinting his personal smell, into his mind, so he would be able to find his Light across a World, if need be.
Leon gave Cloud a light smack, on the side of the head, "Silly Chocobo. I pledged I would stay with you."
Cloud cowered at being caught. But when Leon licked the side of his neck, his mind went on hiatus, quickly returning to the task at hand.
Cloud's searching mouth ventured lower, covering Leon's body, with lingering licks and deep kisses, until he arrived at the prize between Leon's legs.
Leon slowly came out of his sex-induced haze to spy Cloud staring down at his crotch.
Eyes glowing in the twilight.
Nostrils flaring.
Leon wasn't sure he was ready for this. He tried to turn his hips away, while pulling Cloud back up by the hair.
Cloud would have none of it.
With one firm hand, Cloud stopped Leon's hips from twisting. With the other, he grabbed hold of the hand, which gripped his hair. He stared hard, into nervous blue-grey eyes, until Leon let go.
Moving back down, to Leon's erect member, Cloud started to lick up-and-down the shaft.
Beginning to moan, Leon covered his eyes.
Cloud interspersed the licks up-and-down the shaft, with soft sucking around the head.
Leon's moans gained volume.
Cloud knew he didn't have enough experience to deep throat, so he sucked as much of the erection he could, into his mouth. Circling his hand, around the rest of the shaft, he sucked, with a small amount of pressure, since he wanted this first time to last for Leon.
The hand, not around Leon's penis, Cloud placed flat on the lower abdomen.
When Cloud felt Leon's lower abs tighten, and hips beginning to move faster off the bed, he knew his Lion was close to coming.
Cloud began to suck hard. Taking his hand off Leon's lower abdomen, he used his fingers to massage Leon's balls.
Leon's moans became wails. Hands flew, from covering his eyes, to beat Cloud on his shoulders. "Cloud, I'm coming! Stop! Move away!"
Instead of moving away, a determined furrow appeared between Cloud's eyebrows.
Cloud began to suck harder.
Leon's hands went from beating Cloud's shoulders, to grasping them in a white-knuckled grip.
With a scream, Leon came, toes curling, and hips jerking to get all the semen out.
Cloud's head moved, with Leon's hips, continuing to suckle him for every last drop.
Even when Leon's hips stopped writhing, and his body lay lax on the bed, Cloud kept on sucking.
Gazing down, Leon petted Cloud's hair. "Cloud, it was lovely. But please stop, it's beginning to hurt."
Seeming to come out of his daze, Cloud sat up. Licking his lips, for any leftover drops, he took a deep breath.
When Leon moved his legs, he felt some liquid dripping over his calves. Apparently Cloud released when he did.
Cloud stared at the far wall some more, lightly caressing Leon's thigh.
"Cloud, what's wrong?"
Cloud finally looked over to Leon.
Since the couple had sex, Leon noticed the glow of Cloud's eyes had dramatically decreased. He figured Cloud's eyes glowed brighter the more angrier or hornier he got.
The SEED, in Leon, filed this information away, for later review.
"Squall. Before we go any further, there's stuff we need to talk about."
Leon didn't like the sound of that.
***
Before the pair discussed anything, Cloud cleaned off Leon's calves, covering them with kisses, while wiping the semen away.
The couple then laid down, curled up together, under the thin bedspread.
Leon's head laying against Cloud's chest.
"Yuffie told you about all the enhancements Hojo inflicted me with, right?" Cloud ran his hand through Leon's long hair.
"Yes" Leon nuzzled his nose against Cloud's collarbone.
"There's a reason I haven't had sex in a while."
"Well, from what I hear, you seemed kind of busy." Leon attempted to add some levity, to the growing somberness, resonating from Cloud.
"When I finally made it to Shinra, and the potential SOLDIER program, I was informed, if I proved successful in becoming a SOLDIER, and wished to have relationships of a sexual nature, there would be a list of details I had to know and sign off for."
"You had to sign off papers just to get to have sex? That's weird right off the bat."
"I thought so too, until I found out why." Cloud stopped running his hand through Leon's hair, and hugged him closer. "The Mako SOLDIERS get injected with changes the body physically and mentally."
"There was only one whorehouse SOLDIERS were allowed to go to in Midgar. It was called the Honey Bee Inn. The reason being, when SOLDIERS were first injected with MAKO, gaining the super-strength which came with it, the men didn't know how to handle it." Cloud began to let go of Leon.
Leon wrapped his arm around Cloud's torso, keeping him near. "Go on, Cloud. Like you said, if we're going to go farther than we already have, I need to know this."
"The regular human body is fragile and easy to break. There were a lot of horror stories of the mistakes SOLDIERS made, when they lost control of their strength. The Mako changed the mind too. It gave the SOLDIER a sort of tunnel-vision. Once a SOLDIER set out to do something, he finished it, even if his partner wasn't exactly willing, or decided not to go through with the act."
Leon's gaze descended, from where it had been resting on Cloud's face. "Rape?"
Cloud moved his shoulders in discomfort. "Yeah."
Leon thought back, to when he was beating his fists against Cloud's shoulders, telling him to stop. He had done it so Cloud would move back, but Cloud's focus seemed solely on what he was doing.
Leon shuddered.
For awhile, Cloud stared off into space for awhile. "When I woke up in Midgar, after five years, with all the enhancements, and my mind so screwed up, I was terrified of hurting someone, so I never tried to have sex with anybody. When I became horny, I would go off, and kill something, or masturbate until the feeling went away. I was never attracted to girls, so that wasn't a problem, and I hadn't met any guys I wanted to have sex with."
Leon sat up, so he could look Cloud in the eye. "You're telling me you were willing to live your whole life this way? Cloud, are you a masochist?"
Cloud's stare veered away from Leon's. "I just didn't want to hurt anyone that didn't deserve it."
Leon waited, until Cloud would look at him again. "I guess I screwed up your life celibacy plan, huh, Cloud?"
Cloud ran his hands up and down Leon's arms. "Yeah, Squall, you sure did."
Leon rested his head back down on Cloud's chest .
Cloud gently embraced his Light. "When I met you, I knew I had to learn to control my strength, if we were going to have the relationship I needed to survive."
Leon began to get a funny feeling in his stomach. "What did you do Cloud?"
The dead silence, permeating the air, filled Leon with more and more dread.
Cloud finally broke the stillness. "I frequented the whorehouse, at the Coliseum, until I learned to control my strength."
***
Leon shot out of the bed, feeling his back hit the door. He didn't even realize, his body had moved. It was purely a gut reaction.
Cloud was left, half-sitting up in bed. Arms open around the empty area Leon rested a few seconds ago. "Squall?"
Fully sitting up, Cloud started to swing his legs over the bed. "Baby?"
"Stay the fuck over there!" Leon shrieked, pointing to the bed. Nude body beginning to shake, with either rage or shock. He wasn't sure.
Instead of doing what Leon ordered, Cloud slowly rose up. The bed sheet fell away
Once again, Leon was reminded of Cloud's perfected beauty.
Furious, Leon shook his head.
If Cloud was such perfection, why did Leon feel so dirty? Oh yeah. The prostitutes. Cloud had sex with him, just like he did with all the other whores, in the Coliseum.
"I said stay the fuck away!" Leon raised shaking fists, ready to punch Cloud, if he came any closer.
"I'm sorry, My Light." Cloud murmured. "I can never stay away from you now."
Before Leon could take a breath, Cloud rushed him.
Grabbing his yelling, biting Lion, in a bear hug, Cloud threw him back on the bed. Laying flat, he covered Leon's wiggling frame thoroughly.
Weighed down, by an enhanced skeleton, Leon could only squirm, and scream with frustration. "You fucking fucker! How dare you call me your Light! I was just another whore to you! Get off me! Get off!"
Cloud let Leon wriggle, and scream, until he was tired. "You all screamed out? Will you listen to me now?"
Leon tried to wiggle some more, but knew it was no use against Cloud. With a thunderous look on his face, he gave a quick nod. "Well, aren't you going to get off me now?"
Cloud didn't move an inch. "I would, but I don't feel like being punched in the face."
Leon gave a big sigh. "I swear on Griever's might. I won't hit you and I won't leave."
With hesitation, Cloud moved away from Leon's stiff body. Sitting at the end of the bed, he stared at Leon for a long moment.
Leon kept his eyes trained to the ceiling. "What?"
"I'm thinking of the best way to tell you the rest, without you trying to kill me."
"No luck?"
Cloud looked chagrined. "No."
"I'm pissed off already, so tell me the rest. Then I'll decide, for myself, if I want to kill you."
Cloud looked down, with a small laugh. "Gee, thanks."
Leon knew Cloud wouldn't begin again, until he gave some sign he would listen.
Taking deep breaths, until his body relaxed, Leon sat up. Pulling his knees, against his chest, he gazed into Cloud's guilt-ridden eyes. "I'm listening."
Leaning his back against the wall, Cloud set his gaze on the chair. "I didn't go to the whorehouse because I wanted to. I told you before. I went there, to gain some control over my strength, so I wouldn't hurt you."
"How badly?"
Confused, Cloud looked over to Leon. "What do you mean?"
"How badly did you hurt them? I know things probably didn't go well the first couple of times. So how badly did you hurt them? I need to know what level of strength I'm dealing with."
Mimicking Leon's position, Cloud pulled his knees to his chest, and rested his chin against his knees. "The first one wasn't too bad. I just broke his shoulder. Broken arm. A few broken legs. One broken hip. After that, I stayed away, for a little while."
Leon held his knees, tighter and tighter, wanting to disappear. What the hell had he gotten into? "What was the worst?"
"Squall…"
"Quit babying me!" Leon didn't want to hear anymore, but he knew he had to keep listening, to better understand this man he had fallen in love with.
Cloud lifted his chin off his knees, laying his forehead on them instead. He took a deep breath in and let it out. "He was the closest one I could find who looked like you. His hair was shorter. His eyes were brown, but the build was about the same, and his voice was close to yours."
"That's not what I asked…"
Cloud held up his hand. Forehead still resting on his knees. "Let me finish."
Leon quieted down and waited.
"We agreed on doing certain things. Everything seemed to go well, but then he started to get really sore. He said he wanted to stop."
Leon held his breath, feeling the nausea build, when he realized what Cloud was going to say.
Standing up, Cloud sat on the chair. "It was like I was on automatic. I couldn't stop, even when he began to bleed. He begged for me to stop, saying I could have my munny back. Just to please stop hurting him. I made him come, every time. But I could tell, in a way, it actually made what I did worse."
"I woke up to the Madam screaming at me, railing I had damaged her property, and to never set foot in the establishment again. I came back once, to give the guy, all the money I had earned in the tournament. I wanted to tell him how sorry I was, but one of the other workers said he left the day after the incident. He was too afraid of me to stay."
Cloud looked in Leon's eyes, to gauge the reaction. He viewed the one thing he never wanted to see.
Fear.
***
Cloud knew a lost cause when he saw one. Getting up, he started putting his clothes on.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Leon growled out.
"I think I'm getting dressed, so I can leave." Cloud replied, zipping up his pants, and looking for his shirt.
"You go through all this shit, call me your 'Light', make me fall in love with you, and then you leave me?"
Cloud froze. In disbelief, he swung around, to gaze into Leon's stormy eyes. "After all I've told you? The broken bones? How I hurt that man? How I could probably hurt you, even more, if I'm pushed too far? You can still love me?"
"Cloud, if this relationship is going to last, I'm going to have to make one thing clear to you, and don't forget it."
Leon rose up, naked. Wrapping his arms around Cloud, he gave him a kiss, which rocked Cloud to his very soul. "Cloud Strife, I NEVER GIVE UP, and I will never give up on you. No matter what happens. So quit acting like a mopey, whiny bitch, and get these pants off, so we can get to bed. Your Light is tired, and needs some fucking sleep, because he has to kill a Great Ninja in the morning."
Shaking himself, from the ecstasy his new mate put him in, Cloud allowed himself a small smile.
Taking off his pants, Cloud followed his Lion to bed. "Squall?"
"What now?"
"I think you've spent too much time around Cid."
"Tell me about it."