Disclaimer: I don't own any characters from Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy. They are solely Square Enix possessions and er… and Disney in regards to KH. Too bad they don't like to share huh? … But beggars can't be choosers; so therefore, we can be satisfied with just burrowing them, without intent of making any profit out of this of course.

This is Shounen-Ai, YaoiBoy Love… er… SlashM/M

If you don't like such thing, then here is where the Back button becomes useful. Go ahead, click away. And I couldn't find a Beta, but I try not to make too many mistakes, but if you see one hiding around, you could just let me know.

Thanks to all who reviewed the first chapter! I have to admit that it made me really happy. And a thank you to garnetwind, who I couldn't get back to, just know that your review was much appreciated! HUGS!

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Storm Clouds

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Chapter 2

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Leon helped the old woman get up from the ground, her grocery bags were spilled around her, and Cid took care of collecting them all. The grey haired elder straightened out her long skirt and fixed her glasses, while looking around her with a small scowl on her face.

"Those witted rascals will be the death of me," she complained. Cid and Leon were both glad that it was merely an accident between a grandmother and her few grandchildren… and their dog. From a distance, they could hear their laughter as they ran for cover. Cid approached them with his hands full of vegetables.

"Well gramps, looks like they need a lesson in manners," he said. The elderly woman looked hard at Cid, offended by the nickname.

"You watch your mouth lad," she half shouted, "I'm not your grandmother first of all, and you're not too far off from my age. Secondly, mind your own children. Let's see how your grandkids will treat you once you have them."

Cid merely raised an eyebrow. He doubted he would ever have biological grandchildren of his own one day, and he was quite positive that the difference in age between the two of them was very large. Leon smirked, offering his arm to the old lady.

"We would accompany you to your place ma'am, and drop off your groceries if you would allow us," he told her amicably.

Cid snorted, not knowing why Leon was so understanding with just about everyone who managed to get on his good side.

"The ever utilitarian leader…. Bah!" he grumbled, half amused.

Leon chose to ignore the comment, preferring to listen to the lady talk about her adventures when she was younger. He definitely didn't buy the part of her being a super woman as she claimed to have been. But for the sake of respect, he nodded and murmured a 'wow', just to make her feel better.

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Cloud sat between Aerith and Tifa in the brown sofa, while Yuffie sat on the recliner, tapping her fingers on the arms of the comfortable chair. Still in darkness, the presence of one another made it less frightening. There was something about having companions in the dark, it was an assurance that nothing will come out of it and drag none of them under. The sound of Cloud's friends' breathing was comforting, but he sensed the anxiety in them all as they waited for their two friends to make it back home.

"It had to happen while the movie was at its best," Yuffie whined, breaking the silence and sighing heavily. "Once we head back upstairs, the movie might be over, thanks to whoever or whatever managed to interrupt the peaceful mood."

The others didn't respond to her chattering, their attention on the outside world.

"What's taking them so long?" she asked.

When no one gave her an answer, she repeated herself until Aerith saw fit to answer in order to make her be quiet.

"They must've found something Yuffie," Aerith told her, trying to reassure the young girl.

But it wasn't enough, for Yuffie was already worried. "If they did, wouldn't they have called for us? I mean, we're here to help, aren't we?"

Tifa grumbled something under her breath, not liking the questions being thrown at them.

"Yuffie, if they haven't called for help, that means they have everything under control," she said angrily. "Why don't you head upstairs and finish the movie, what do you say?"

Yuffie seemed to think it over for a bit. But she suddenly straightened out and gasped.

"But what if they are wounded, and that's why they can't send words to us?!" she cried.

That did it for Cloud. He was suddenly out of the sofa, walking blindly to where he was sure his sword was leaning against the wall. Aerith sensed the worry from Cloud, though she knew it was unnecessary, for she was positive that her friends were well.

"Relax Cloud, the others are fine… come back and sit with us," The soft and sweet voice was meant to comfort him. But the nagging feeling of seeing it for himself that they were fine was too strong.

"In a moment Aerith, I will be back in a moment," He said, half to himself.

"Cloud…" Aerith pleaded, but stopped when they heard the door open and close shut.

Tifa sighed in annoyance. "Way to go Yuffie… can't you think things over before you speak for once?"

Yuffie giggled nervously, feeling dreadful that her comments managed to put worry into her elders.

"Oops."

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Leon took a bite out of the red apple that was given to him by the nice old lady, while Cid walked beside him, angry that he didn't receive anything in return.

"If you wouldn't have made that comment about her kittens, maybe she would have liked you Cid," Leon chastised.

"Damn animals, they look like beasts! Did you take a look at their size? What is she feeding them, Mega Potions?!" yelled Cid, the memory of the experience still fresh on his mind.

The thought made Leon wonder. It was true that they were quite big, and their eyes had a strange gleam in them that made the hair at the back of his neck stand on end, but maybe the odd feeling he got from them was because they were all black.

"But was telling her that her house smelled like cats really necessary Cid?" asked Leon.

"Hell Leon, how can she even stand the smell of it?" Cid asked. Smelling his shirt just in case there was some sort of an after smell caused why the reek of the old lady's house. Leon smiled inwardly, in a way agreeing with the older man.

After finishing with his apple a while later, and ignoring the rules of the no littering, Leon threw the remaining of the fruit in a corner of the street, where Cid made sure to reprimand him for his messiness.

"Whatever," Leon replied.

He was aware that as the leader, he was to set examples… good examples, but he couldn't bring himself to care at that moment. He was hungry and tired, and simply wanted to get home.

Both man suddenly stopped as they saw Cloud walking towards them, sword in hand, looking relieved and a bit annoyed. But more annoyed was Leon when Cloud stood before them. The brunet crossed his arms in front of his chest and glowered at the blond, waiting for an explanation.

"The girls were worried," stated Cloud. Leon sighed, and Cid puffed out his chest, with a cheeky smile on his face, somehow glad that there were people in the world that worried about him. Leon then walked passed them both, to continue on his way, only stopping seconds later to look back at Cloud, who was still standing next to Cid.

"Let this be the last time you go against my orders Strife," he said brusquely.

Cloud pouted cutely, before turning away from the heated gaze that was aimed at him from one angry brunet.

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There were cheers from the girls as Cid provided lighting after fixing the circuit break. He went inside quickly to enjoy the attention, since it wasn't everyday that he received cheers of that kind, though Shera, the next door neighbor did her best to provide another kind of cheer.

Once he had enough of that, he kicked everyone out of the living room so he could watch the remanding minutes of the Blitzball game. Yuffie sat down on the sofa to watch the game as well, as Aerith and Tifa began to prepare a late meal. With nothing else to do but wait till supper, Leon went to take a shower, but not before dragging Cloud by the elbow to their bedroom, and forcing him to lie down. Cloud fought half way there, but gave in as Leon grabbed him by the ear like a little child.

The others just smiled in amusement, though the girls shared a knowing look, which they then thought to add giggles just for the dramatics.

After the shower, Leon changed in front of the mirror into a white sleeveless shirt, and grey sweat pants. Then, untangling his hair with his fingers while pushing them back, he walked out of the bathroom and down the narrow hallway and then stepped into his room.

Careful not to make too much noise just in case Cloud was asleep, he tiptoed toward his bed and sat down on it to put on some clean socks. He looked behind him to take a look at his friend who was laid on his stomach, and was startled to find the intense glowing blue orbs staring back at him, albeit half lidded. Leon gave him a small smile before turning his body to the other side of the bed, to face the blond.

"I thought you were asleep," said Leon, softly.

Cloud chuckled, running a hand over his eyes in an attempt to stop sleep from taking over his senses. "I can't sleep."

Leon doubted that, and the look he gave Cloud was enough to convince the blond that the other didn't believe him.

"You would be able to if you would stop fighting it… but I'm curious, just how did you manage to fall from a ladder?" Leon asked.

Cloud groaned, not liking the direction the conversation had taken. It was downright embarrassing to even think about what happened.

"Do you really need to know?" inquired Cloud, clearly not wanting to talk about the accident.

"It would satisfy my curiosity, Cloud," Leon answered, with a hint of amusement.

Sighing, the blond slowly got to a seated position, crossing his legs and staring at Leon with sleepy eyes. "Too much curiosity will kill you one day," he said.

"I'm willing to take my chances."

A minute of silence followed, then knowing how futile it was to avoid talking to Leon, Cloud began talking about the day's event… with the least words possible.

"I was in charge of painting the upper layer of the library when suddenly the ladder decided to betray me," The snort from Leon was ignored. "So yeah… that pretty much sums it up," Cloud finished in a rush.

"The ladder betrayed you and made you fall? That's a first… if you were at the Beast's castle, seeing as Sora had told us about the weird happenings over there; maybe I would have believed you, but…"

"Ok!" Cloud interrupted a bit too loud. "I was showing off with my abilities with the brush, but missed the upper step of the ladder, my foot slipped and I tumbled down after I tried to regain my balance…" he said, with a blush quickly forming on his cheeks.

The brunet bit down on his lower lip to keep a smile from forming.

"So I fell," Cloud sighed. "And it was more humiliating than painful; since Yuffie made sure I didn't forget about it," he chuckled nervously, shyly looking up at Leon.

Unconsciously, the blond raised his hand to the back of his head, feeling the bump there, he was glad that there was no breaking of the skin. Looking at an enemy's blood was different than looking at his own blood, he thought. It always got him a bit queasy. His musings were interrupted when he noticed Leon standing from his bed, and walking quickly to his side, and sat down beside him, eyeing him anxiously.

"Does it still hurt?" asked Leon, who looked as if he wanted to take the pain from Cloud and bear it himself.

"Feels a bit numb now, but I think I'll stay away from ladders for a while," Cloud joked. The pain was not as bad as before, but there was an odd numbness that he was glad for.

"Maybe you should just stop showing off," Leon stated, and he ruffled Cloud's spiky hair to show that he wasn't serious.

"Shut up."

"Turn around, let me see how it looks," The brunet commanded.

Cloud looked annoyed and was ready to move away from Leon, but the brunet quickly stopped him by moving behind Cloud and pushing his head downward for a better look. The pressure from Leon's hand on his injury made the blond grimace in pain.

"That's a big one there. I think I see Mount Nibel here," said Leon, softly chuckling to himself as he imagined the pout that Cloud must've been sporting after that statement.

The amusement in Leon's voice was obvious, which made Cloud pout and wonder if Leon was happy that it had happened to him.

"It would be gone in a few days I'm sure," Leon diagnosed, unconsciously gently running his hand through the blond spikes.

"Aerith said that," Cloud whispered, his eyes closing on their own accord by the feel of his hair being run through with soft caresses.

After a minute of silence, Leon moved and sat again next to the blond, not moving his hand from where it rested on the back of Cloud's head. Unconsciously, the blond leaned sideways against Leon, with his blond head on the brunet's shoulder, and sighed with content.

Leon smiled, enjoying Cloud's closeness. He would stay just as he was, only because of the possibility of Cloud falling asleep comfortably. With his free hand, he took one of Cloud's hands and held it tight, and the squeeze he received in return was enough to widen his smile.

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The next morning, breakfast was a lively affair. Cid's pancakes were the best, and it showed as they all consumed many, while Cid gleamed at their appreciation of them.

"…And so, Merlin lost his temper, and doing one of his little tricks, and waving his wand, made those ducklings regret ever calling him 'old fart'!" Yuffie said, she then started laughing, recalling the earlier day's event, before stuffing her mouth with a large piece of pancake.

"Those bags of plumes would never learn to respect their elders," Grumbled Cid. "What is it with children these days? They're not getting enough beatings, is what I think," he said.

Aerith smiled thinly. Cid had always been like a father to them all, and never had he laid a hand on them before. Cid could say all he wanted, but they all knew that he couldn't bring himself to do such deeds.

"You should've done that with Yuffie, look how she came out to be," Tifa offered, receiving a glare from Yuffie in return.

"Maybe I should've done that to all of you scamps. Now that I think about it, it might have helped a lot," assumed Cid.

Leon pretended to not be amused, but deep inside he was laughing at the sour look Cid had on his face. Maybe Cid was thinking about the 'what ifs' that he couldn't help now, the brunet thought. Taking a sip out of his glass of milk, Leon wiped at his lips to clean the milk mustache that he could never stop from getting. His eyes then landed on Cloud, who had a wistful smile on his face as he slowly chewed his breakfast, while looking at Cid with barely concealed affection.

"Merlin said he was beaten when he was younger," Yuffie managed to say in between mouthfuls.

They all stopped eating to stare at her, the young girl was nodding her head while stuffing more pancake into her mouth. Aerith laughed softly.

"It's hard to imagine a wizard being young…" Aerith said thoughtfully.

Cid looked appalled. "Where you think they'd come from then Aerith, trees?" he half yelled, not being able to control his emotions.

Leon snorted, and covered his mouth to stop anything from flying back out.

"Spare us the details Cid, if you would," Leon commented after swallowing.

"I'll spare nothing!" cried Cid. "Let me tell you all bunch of ninnies a fact…"

There were groans from all the others, knowing that Cid was on the verge of getting into a five mile, one way conversation.

"Everything that is alive right now was once very small…" he brought his index finger and thumb together for emphasis.

There was a moment where all Cid was able to hear were the cries and laughter from the youngsters.

"What about the heartless?" Yuffie asked. "And robots?"

Cid slammed his hands on the table, spattering about. "Heartless are just that, heartless! They are not really alive, the same goes for robots!" Cid exclaimed, surprised by the questions.

Yuffie tapped a finger on her chin, thinking hard.

"But Cid," she said. "If heartless aren't alive, then how come they move and fight?"

Before anyone could answer Yuffie, she gasped and brought her hands to cover her mouth in shock.

"My goodness!" She cried. "They're zombies!"

Cloud shook his head in exasperation, Aerith giggled while Leon groaned. Tifa and Cid stared at the youngest member, not knowing what to say. After a long silence, Cid shook his head, wiping his mouth with a napkin.

"Well," he said. "Now I'm pretty sure things would have turned out differently."

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Leon stopped driving the small bulldozer to wipe the sweat off his brow. The day had turned out to be quite hot, and he detested hot temperatures. There was only so much he could take off in the stifling climate. He certainly wouldn't want to walk around naked; it would be too degrading as far as he was concerned.

Far off to his right, he saw Cid talking with Merlin and pointing to the ground, then widening his arms as he explained something to the old man, but Leon was too far away to hear them. Behind Cid and Merlin stood Yuffie, using Aero magic to move away light scraps of garbage and cement.

The benefits of magic, Leon thought. Yuffie was being lazy and taking the easy way out. Aerith stepped out from the castle with a few cold drinks, and Leon's spirits rose automatically. Something cold would be welcoming at the moment. He jumped out of the bulldozer and jogged toward the rest of the company as the two older men and Yuffie started on their drinks.

"Thank you Aerith," He said, taking a glass if his own and drowning it in a few gulps. He then reached for another one, but his hand was lightly slapped away.

"Those are for Tifa and Cloud," Aerith chastised.

He looked around him, but didn't see either of them in the area.

"Where are they?" he asked.

Merlin crossed his hands across his chest, and a very unfamiliar frown showed on his face.

"I don't know about Cloud, but Tifa is on the north section… taking care of her 'own businesses' as she had nicely put it… that dratted girl will listen to no one!" Merlin exclaimed. He was not easy to anger, but it was best not to push his buttons.

Leon fought the anger that wanted to quickly rise within him. Sighing annoyingly, he nodded toward them and began to walk toward the north section of the castle, where he was going to have a long one on one with Tifa.

Going around the castle, he was surprised to see Cloud sitting on a shaded corner, with his head resting against his knees. Leon walked up to the blond, and gently nudged him with his foot with a smug look on his face.

"This is not your break time Cloud," reprimanded Leon, a bit gently of course.

Cloud slowly looked over him, and met grey eyes. Leon's face fell as he took in the distressed look on Cloud's face and the misty eyes. The brunet quickly got down to his knees in front of the blond.

"Cloud, what's the matter?" he asked, trying to think of an answer on his own.

The blond shook his head as he forced a small smile. "Nothing is wrong Leon," Cloud whispered. "What are you doing here?" asked the confused blond.

They became aware of a cracking sound coming from around the bend, leaving the matter of Cloud aside for the time being; he got his mind back to the more pressing situation.

"Tifa is at the north wall," Leon whispered irritably

Cloud looked confused for a moment, before blinking away the haziness that had taken over his eyes. He made to stand, making Leon move aside. When they were both on their feet, they quickly made their way toward Tifa, who was watching a piece of the destroyed wall crumble to the ground from a save distance.

"Tifa!" Leon shouted, trying to control his anger, lest it took the best of him.

Tifa turned around and watched as Leon and Cloud made their way towards her, though the look of utter anger from the brunet made her take a step back. Once both man reached her, she smiled sweetly at them, but that didn't placate Leon, who seemed on the verge of hitting the woman, but it seemed that Tifa didn't care.

"What are you doing? You think this is a joke? I wouldn't have told you all to stay away from here if it was safe!" he exclaimed.

Tifa shrugged, throwing Leon a challenging stare. "I didn't touch anything Leon … it crumbled on its own," She said, her innocent smile not fooling anyone.

The brunet didn't believe her, and she knew it. He took a deep breath, pointing behind him, silently telling Tifa to get a move on to where the others were waiting.

As he watched her go without a fight, he held back the impulse of throwing a piece of rock at her while she still had her back to him… that would make him feel very good, he decided. Once she was out of sight, he indulged himself, taking a piece of stone and throwing it at no one in particular, in the direction she had gone.

"Can't she act her age? She's like the sister I never wanted to have," Leon said quietly, but loud enough that Cloud could hear.

Cloud chuckled softly, making Leon turn around to face him.

"I'm sure she thinks of you as the older brother she never wanted to have too," Cloud told him.

Leon seemed worried after that statement, and stepping closer to Cloud, if only to make sure that no one was listening, he lowered his voice to keep the conversation between the two of them private.

"Am I that bad?" Leon whispered.

Cloud pretended to think real hard, but tenderly placed his arm over Leon's shoulders as he nudged Leon forward, and both started walking.

"You're the older brother I always wanted to have Leon … is that good enough?" Cloud asked, staring up at Leon.

Leon gave a sweet smile in return, but almost stumbled as he felt Cloud lean his body against him suddenly. Reflectively, his arm wrapped itself around Cloud's waist. The brunet felt another arm snaked up his arm until the blond had both arms wrapped around Leon's shoulders, head resting against Leon's chest.

Feeling his heartbeat increasing, Leon didn't know what to make of it, until he realized that something was wrong when unexpectedly, Cloud cried out in pain. Leon had to wrap his other arm around the blonde's waist when his legs gave out from under him.

"Cloud?!" Leon exclaimed, gently lowering the blond to the ground. "Cloud, what's wrong?" the worry in his voice made Cloud loosen his hold he had on the brunet, as he moved away a little, shaking his head.

"So--sorry Leon...it's nothing," Cloud replied, but made it obvious that it was the opposite of that when he grimaced and grabbed the back of his head, crying out again.

Leon just held him, not knowing what to do. After a second's thought, he did the only thing that came to his mind.

"Aerith!" he shouted, hoping that it was loud enough for her to hear.

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TBC.