Pedestals and Sour Times

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts or any of the characters.

AN: Hello everybody. It's been a while since I was last on FanFiction and let me tell you, it feels good to be back. Cleon has been on my mind since time began and something in me clicked to get this fiction posted. I originally wrote this about eight years ago and came across it just over a week ago. After tuning up the prologue, it took me a further week to finish the chapter after this one and I do hope everyone enjoys it.

Prologue:

Paranoid

Leon wasn't paranoid.

The girls thought he was paranoid because no matter where he was or what he was doing he would always check that his Gunblade was with him at all times. Cid believed him to be paranoid because whenever he saw the long-legged brunette, he was usually checking over his shoulder or looking for any signs of danger. Even Donald's nephews jumped on the 'paranoid' bandwagon when it came down to Leon as he was in their shop at least five days a week stocking up on potions and supplies in case of emergencies.

But Leon didn't consider himself to be paranoid. Paranoia was people who knew that they had done wrong and about to be caught at any moment. Was it paranoia to always carry protection for if the worst was about to happen? Was it paranoia to want to look in the shadows to see if danger was approaching or if someone needed help? Was it paranoia to want to maintain a healthy stock of potions and accessories if the event that someone was injured dramatically? No. It was being alert aware and, above all else, safe. Because at the end of the day that was all he wanted. He needed to know that Aerith and Yuffie were safe, that the people of Traverse Town were safe.

Tonight, he decided to work later than usual, fighting off stronger heartless that lingered in the darkest of corners of the second and third districts. Yuffie and Aerith had the night off to relax and enjoy themselves, much to the green-eyed brunette's dismay. He assured her that he could look after himself and if need be, he knew how to heal himself effectively too. Once all were eliminated and the sky had changed from murky brown to cloudy black, Leon's body decided that it was time for him to call it a night. Keeping his most loyal companion strapped to his back for easy access, the ex-SeeD member trudged through the dark alleyways of Traverse Town, dutifully ignoring the shop owners and townsfolk who tried to get his attention or were staring at him. This wasn't uncommon for him to go through stuff like this; they would watch him leave silently in the day, well prepared for battle and restoration, then return at night battered, bruised and bleeding but with hidden pride that for at least one more night this world was saved. He'd be damned if he let this Traverse Town fall to the darkness like Radiant and Balamb Gardens.

It wasn't until he started walking through his dismal garden that the attentiveness started kicking in and making him more aware of things. Living in the same house for nine years enabled Leon to memorise everything about it and for some reason something seemed wrong. The problem was pinpointing exactly what that was. The bushes and flowers were in the same place as always, the door was locked firmly, just as he had left it. Everything, as far as he could see, was the same. Nothing seemed to repudiate the fact that there was something extremely off about his house and the feeling he had about it.

Being the stubborn man that he was, Leon decided not to shrug it off and regard it as paranoia, but to treat it as a serious issue and trust his instincts. Just as he would normally do, he retrieved his keys from the back pocket of his leather trousers and opened the door with a bit more caution than usual. Forcing the steeliness of his eyes to adjust to the darkness of his house, Leon tried looking for things which seemed different. Everyone's coats were where they left them; shoes were in the right places. Even Yuffie's dirty plate from this morning (which Leon asked her four times to clean up) was still on the side.

If Leon wasn't such a perceptive person he would have probably, albeit stubbornly, told himself that he was paranoid. However, though there was nothing physically out of place in the house, that oh so faint smell of gas, maybe petrol of some sort, filled up his nostrils as though he jumped in a flood and confirmed that either someone had broken in or was still in the house. His munny was on the latter.

To the quietest extent, he closed the door and kept his decision to keep the lights off in the house. Using his other senses as guidance, he tried as quietly as possible to follow the smell. Heading for the staircase, he trod each one as carefully as the last, making sure not to make the slightest creak as he went along. The whole of Traverse Town knew that this was where he had made his home. They knew who lived here with him and they knew that all their jobs were to protect and rebuild this town back. It didn't make sense as to why someone would want to suddenly break in, but the brunette was certain that he would be able to hold his own against his attacker. All he had to do was always be alert. Keeping one boot clad foot at the top of the staircase and the other on the one just below it, Leon's eyes scanned the dark landing further.

The first thing he noticed was that his door was slightly ajar. Leon never left his door open, not even slightly. Raising the other leg so that he was completely at the top of the staircase, he trod oh so lightly to his door. Both hands were at his side but his right one was ready to pull forth the Gunblade if need be. Leon reached his door and tried peeking through the open gap, but unfortunately all he could see was a strip of moonlight highlighting his bed like a standstill search light. There was neither sound coming from his room nor any visible movement. The moment of admitting that there was a chance that he was maybe a tiny bit paranoid should have come at that moment, but one soft inhale of gas prevented that revelation.

As an honoured (ex) member of SeeD, it was engraved in his system to consider all possible options before executing a sufficient and fool proof plan. However, in a situation like this, there were only two ways of dealing with it: charging in or approaching cautiously. Once again, the latter seemed like the most appropriate. Especially as he concluded the intruder was most likely human and not a Monster or Heartless as their stench seemed to be more foul and… earthy (for lack of better word). Exhaling in an imperceptive manner, he used his gloved hand to push the door open slowly, trying not to alert the intruder too much. It would be too much of a risk right now to even blink, so using his eyes to focus ahead and his other senses for the focus around him, Leon carefully entered his own room.

Not once did he inhale the tempting fumes of fear and nerves. He made sure that his steps were so prudently treaded that he avoided the massive bear trap of anxiety. All that surrounded him was attention, confidence and expectancy.

The light, he decided, could remain off along with the rest of the house. There wasn't anything out of the ordinary: the bed was made as always with the pillows tucked under the blanket: the floor was spotless given his other pair of boots: his clothes, he hoped, were still folded and shut away in his drawers. It would make sense now to drop the whole thing – to finally drop his tense shoulders, relax his arms and admit that maybe he was a bit paranoid.

If the opportunity was given, he probably would have done just that. If time allowed just one more second, then he would have admitted that the girls were right in the sense that he did need them in the house just to keep peace of mind.

Those opportunities were knocked out of him in the form of a silent and powerful kick to the ribs, sending him slamming into the wall behind him.

First to hit the wall with such force was his back, shortly followed by his head leaving him concussed. The suddenness of these events caught him too quickly that as soon as he was able to open his eyes properly, they closed tightly in pain at the searing agony shooting through his stomach and spine. Releasing a throaty and long groan, Leon could feel the power of consciousness slipping away from him. With droopy eyes barely able to open without taking long blinks, Leon managed to focus on the rusty, bandaged, metal cutting straight through his stomach and even piercing the wall behind him. It was a blade, massive in size and wounded by war.

He knew this blade…

The Curaga spells he muttered were doing little to soothe his pain, but at least they were keeping him alive if only for a little longer. The searing pain started to subdue to a cold numbness that he had felt on the brink of death one too many times. Through the darkness he could see his own blood dripping and pooling around his feet like a dark portal and briefly wondered how long it would be until he sunk in to it.

"Cl…Cloud?" he wheezed with uncertainty, using the little of his strength he had to lift his head and try to identify the attacker.

His vision was more than blurred and he didn't know how much longer he could hold on. If only he could get to his supplies cabinet just one foot away and start healing the wound. The first thing he could make out was a pair of gloved hands gripping tightly to the handle of the Buster Sword. Below the blond moonlit highlighted spikes was the face of the man he did in fact know as Cloud. All sense of staying coherent and alive were falling out of his system the same way his blood was. The rolling of his grey eyes became uncontrollable and as he opened his mouth to try and allow more oxygen in, more blood started leaking between his lips like an overfilled bowl. His last remains of coherency told him that throughout his blurred vision, not once could he see the blue he was so familiar with. Those intense eyes of Mako-induced orbs were instead replaced with what he could only describe as planet earth with more green land than ocean and a large black slit at the centre.

"Stay out of my head." Leon was warned. The voice was spoken in a smooth and dark manner which made the shaking male feel like he was bathing in dirty tainted water, with the way he was suddenly becoming deaf.

That was all that triggered Leon to consume all his strength in saying, "it's me Cloud… S-Squ-Squall," before succumbing to the numbing pleasures of relief and exhaling his last bloody breath.