Waking up the second time wasn't any easier. I always had trouble getting out of bed, but when you've been knocked around a bit first, it becomes almost impossible to move. But begrudgingly, I pushed myself up off of my mattress, groaning at the pain that struck my torso. I guess I had underestimated the beating I had received. Flipping my legs around and off the side of the bed, I forced myself to stand, which only made matters worse. My vision blurred and faded to black for a split second, and the stuff I could see spun around like a carousel. I tried to regain my balance, but instead flopped back onto the bed behind me. "Ow."
I heard the bedroom door open, and a little glimmer of happiness flickered inside of me – at least, until I heard that unmistakable giggle. Sigh. "Did I really just hear you fall over?" Yuffie muttered, standing in the doorway with her hands on her hips. She had just come in from working out; I could always tell, not because she got sweaty or anything, but because she always got cocky. She was incredibly proud of her flawless figure, and she loved to show it off with tight, short little outfits. But it wasn't for anyone but herself – she knew the only men in this household weren't interested in her.
"Shut up and help me, will ya?" I muttered, extending a hand for her to pull me up. It wasn't like she didn't have the strength to do it. So up I went as she tugged at my hand, lifting me as if I weighed only a few pounds.
"Nnh… thanks," I mumbled as I tried to regain my balance, the room still spinning a bit. But finally, my vision went back to normal, allowing me to focus on Yuffie's pointed glare. "You shouldn't be up you know," she said sternly, leaning towards me as if trying to intimidate me. I put one finger on her shoulder and pushed her back a bit – or tried. It was more like pushing a brick wall.
"At least promise me you won't walk around swinging your gunblade like a badass, kay? Relax. We all know you're hot stuff," she muttered sarcastically. "Or at least, Aerith does." I groaned in reply. "Yeah, yeah, alright."
Everyone knew Aerith and Cloud had dated in the past. Even Cid, who kept his nose out of everything. They dated pretty seriously, might I add, and for a good while. But it was a few months ago when they split pretty mutually, and decided to stay friends. They hadn't really talked a lot since the whole thing, but they were close.
I think they stopped talking because Aerith knew why Cloud stopped being interested in her. It wasn't anything personal, it was just that… Cloud wasn't really as interested in women as he thought. Now, it's not like he ever opened up to me or anything – but Yuffie is the queen of dirt and gossip. She loves to spy on people and bribe others for her secrets. However, an empty threat of backhanding her usually worked too, which is how I got all this info.
But the weird thing was, Aerith didn't seem to mind either, because… I think she lost interest in Cloud, too. And from what Yuffie told me, it was because she took a liking to me – and as much of an ego boost that was, I didn't really want to believe it. I was anything but interested in her. Cloud, on the other hand… well. Let's just say I wasn't too disappointed when he broke up with her.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~I didn't want to seem clingy, but I was still worried about him. He was out of bed (which he shouldn't have been), but I didn't want to go looking for him… so I did it anyway. Much to my relief, he was simply on the couch watching TV as usual, but it still bothered me. It was obvious that he was still a bit rattled from his blow, and sleeping would have helped him a lot more than watching Law & Order.
Nonchalantly, I walked past the living room and into the kitchen, rummaging around in the fridge. I heard a quiet voice behind me – "Bring me a beer, will ya?" Rolling my eyes, I grabbed two bottles of Miller and wandered back into the living room, plopping down onto the couch beside the brunette.
"Thanks," Leon muttered, gnawing the cap off with his teeth. I cringed. "Don't do that." "Why d'you care?" he mumbled over the cap in his mouth, keeping his eyes on the TV. Pausing, I stared at him, "'Cause they're twist-off."
Leon turned and stared back at me for the longest time. Stared at me, with those deep blue eyes wide with intent. And just when I thought he might have been leaning in towards me… he burst out laughing. Probably his pain meds – but then, I couldn't help myself, and I bust up laughing too. We cackled for a good three minutes before shutting up and wiping the tears from our eyes, struggling to breathe. By this point, Leon and I had both fallen over a bit, leaning on our elbows to hold ourselves up… and we just happened to be leaning towards each other.
I stared at Leon intently, and into those vivid eyes of his. Those eyes that so many words and thoughts swirled around in, those eyes that told a detailed story. But before I had time to realize that my mouth was hanging open, he reached up and gently grasped my chin, closing it for me. And then… the one thing that I thought would never happen… happened.
He kept his gentle hold on my chin and began to pull my face towards his, leaving a good centimeter between our lips for a moment. And in that moment, we simply gazed into each other's eyes, for just a split second, before our lips finally met.
It began as a soft, simple kiss, Leon gently suckling my bottom lip, his tongue barely brushing the pink flesh. But after a tiny moment… everything changed. We both sat up without ever separating, our hands beginning to explore each other's shoulders and hair. Our mouths opened just enough to let our tongues slip through, which intertwined around each other in a twirling dance. Things continued at a steady pace before our rude interruption.
Splitting the almost-silence, with the only noise in the room being the soft touching of lips and tongue, came a sharp noise from the doorway. A loud inhale of breath, followed by the clap of flesh against flesh. And as Leon and I ripped away from each other with a loud smack of our lips, we both immediately spotted her. There in the doorway stood Aerith, her hand clapped over her mouth, and her eyes wide with what seemed to be sorrow. Before either of us could say a word, she was gone, having fled from the room with a single sob.
"Shit," I muttered, having half-stood up to follow her, but changing my mind at the last minute. She was long gone, anyway. Leon stared in a sort of nonchalant disbelief, one eyebrow cocked. "I didn't think she was interested in you anymore," he murmured, glancing at me.
"She's not," I muttered in reply. "She's interested in you."