Chapter 3
Leon shut the door of the large house and looked around nervously. He'd met Mr. and Mrs. Strife yesterday, and they seemed nice enough, but... he was still a little uneasy. They'd actually seemed ecstatic to meet him, and it was a little alarming, to say the least. Well, at least he was able to see where Cloud got his kindness and integrity from.
Cloud had been a little more than confused when he met Leon's boss yesterday and nothing more. Sora had come up with the excuse that their dad was out of town on a business trip. Under his breath he'd added 'for the last few years.'
As deep in financial trouble as the Leonharts were, they refused to tell anyone. After all, they were a proud family, like the lions they were so aptly named for, and knew that if anyone found out about their monetary difficulty, they'd be on the receiving end of people's pity and charity. The Leonharts didn't take charity; they gave charity.
Leon tended to work long days during November and December to not only pay bills, but to also buy a decent turkey for thanksgiving and a ham and tree for Christmas. All in all, he took maybe two days off during Christmas break; one to shop for Sora and Roxas's gifts, a gift for his father when he returned home for a week after the new year, and another day to buy some toys for the Giving Tree. The Giving Tree day he also spent wandering around, carrying Yuffie's Christmas bags as she shopped for her own family, and he dropped fifty cents in any Salvation Army can he saw; sometimes he did it twice to one of the cans without thinking.
It was a tradition that, though mostly reclusive, Leon was known for. In fact, some teachers that were leaving the city until school started again often gave him some of their extra change. He was always happy to do the charity for them; he enjoyed making people less fortunate have a decent holiday.
And in the summers, he often spent each Sunday evening at the closest soup kitchen. Lots of homeless people showed up on Sundays; Leon's cooking was, after all, the best.
"Leon? Are you home?"
Leon jumped, clutching his satchel's strap tightly, before turning as Cloud's mother stepped through a door he could see led to the kitchen. "Uh... Yeah," he answered softly, looking down at his feet.
"Good! You're just in time to try these cookies!" she exclaimed, smiling, before leading him into the kitchen.
Leon tilted his head. He'd always been the one who had to cook; after the 'Red XIII' incident, he'd banned Sora and Roxas from using the stove. ...And the knives. And the microwave. ...Basically, they got to use plates and eating utensils for whatever food he decided to cook. Needless to say, their cat, Nanaki, was very grateful.
It might be sort of nice to be the one being cooked for.
-x-x-x-
"Cloud, what's for dinner?" Sora asked, looking up at his 'big brother.'
Cloud blinked, stunned. "Dinner?"
Roxas nodded. "Yeah. Leon makes dinner for us every day, and then after we watch Bones, he gets us some ice-cream and then we go to bed."
"...Dinner..." Cloud repeated, looking down at his lap. "Um... I'll try."
Stepping into the immaculate kitchen, he stopped, stunned once again. It was beautiful. Leon had made sure to leave it in pristine condition. And was that a cat sleeping in the napkin basket?
The cat looked up at him, startled, as if to say, "WHERE'S MY LEON!?" It then jumped to its feet, fur bristling and poofing out in agitation, and hissed.
"Uh... I don't think your cat likes me," Cloud called back to the twins, frowning.
Sora sighed. "Then that means you can't cook. Come on; let's order pizza. You can drop us by Starbucks tomorrow and we'll grab something to eat and walk the rest of the way. Leon says that if he's gone, Nanaki's in charge of the kitchen; if Nanaki doesn't like you, you don't get to cook."
Cloud sighed as well. "That's probably the best idea. I don't want to be the one to burn your house down."
As Cloud went to the phone to order pizza, Sora turned to Roxas and whispered, "He's gonna figure out about our money problem. I know he's not going to react like Yuffie did!"
Roxas sighed and rubbed his temples. "Yeah, well, can't say he doesn't deserve to know. I mean, we both know he's got a huge crush on Leon."
"True," Sora answered, smiling cheerfully. "I mean, did you see the way his eyes lit up when you told him Leon was in an apron?"
"How much you wanna bet that he'd absolutely drool if we gave him pictures of Leon in his swim trunks?"
"Leon in swim trunks?" Cloud asked, appearing between them. "I want to see Leon in swim trunks!"
"...Uh..." Roxas rubbed the back of his head. "I don't think Leon would like--"
"Give us five bucks and we'll let you keep a copy of the photo," Sora stated, smiling.
Cloud didn't even have to stop to think as he reached for his wallet. "Show me all of the pictures you have of him and give you ten."
"What, so you can pick and choose?" Sora asked, frowning. "Make it twenty! And any other pictures you want are gonna cost you extra!"
Roxas sighed sadly as he watched the money change hands, then flopped onto the couch and turned on the TV. 'Leon's not gonna be happy about this...'
-x-x-x-
"So, Leon," Mr. Strife (but please, call him Daniel) asked, waving his fork as he spoke around the potatoes in his mouth. "What do your parents do?"
"Don't talk with your mouth full, Daniel! It's rude!" Mrs. Strife (but that made her feel old, so pretty please with a cherry on top call her Christine) exclaimed, scowling at him.
Leon sighed. "It's okay. My brothers talk with their mouths full all the time. I'm used to it."
Christine fumed a little, then turned back to her husband. "Well fine, I won't use you as an excuse. Daniel, it's disgusting! If you keep talking with your mouth full, I won't let you have my cooking anymore!"
The sandy blond-haired man blinked, then swallowed, cleared his throat, and turned to Leon again. "So... What do your parents do?"
The brunet looked down at his plate and began moving his food around so it didn't touch, like he often did when he was nervous. "Well... My father travels for this company, gathering information about certain places. I think the place is some sort of travel agency or something. I don't know much about it; I just know what he does. My mother, well... She died giving birth to my brothers."
Christine gasped, tears coming to her eyes. "Oh, you poor dear! Come here!"
Leon let out a yelp as he was suddenly yanked into a strong hug. Damn, that tiny lady was stronger than she looked! But oh, that hug was so comforting and warm...
He'd never had a lot of motherly affection; when his dad had started traveling, Merlin had taken care of them. When he was old enough, he helped to take care of Sora and Roxas. The only affection he ever got was a pat on the head from Merlin, or snuggling with Sora and Roxas. Even then, the snuggling only happened when Sora and Roxas initiated it.
Wait... What was that on his cheeks? He... couldn't be crying, could he? Reaching up unconsciously he found that he was, indeed, crying. He hadn't cried since he was seven; he hadn't been able to for fear of Roxas and Sora worrying about him.
"Just cry it out, honey... It's okay..." she murmured soothingly.
Normally, he'd yank away and try to forget the event had ever happened, but Christine was just so nice... that all he wanted to do was cry.
So he did.
-x-x-x-
"Cloud! Come on!" Sora exclaimed, frowning. "You gotta come tuck us in!"
Cloud groaned, too tired to respond coherently. "Gmm fumuh..." Working in the Book Bin kitchen had not been fun. His food was barely edible and his arms ached from the stirring. No wonder Leon had such muscular arms.
"Cloooud!"
"Move, Sora," Roxas muttered, shoving his twin to the side. Grabbing the other blond's legs, he yanked. "No sleep until we're tucked in!"
Cloud yelped as he hit the ground with a thud. "Owie! Jeez, guys!" He rubbed the back of his head, wincing. "Aren't you a little old to be tucked in?"
"NEVAH!" Sora exclaimed, pointing at the ceiling, before scampering toward the bedroom.
"Yeah! Leon always tucks us in!" Roxas added, choosing to just walk. "But, if you really wanna fail your psychology assignment..."
"I'm coming, I'm coming! You monsters..." Cloud sent them a small glare, then trudged into the room after them. "Blackmailing me to freakin' tuck you in..."
Sora scowled. "Just shut up and tuck us in already."
The older boy sighed, scowling a little, then glanced at the two eighth graders snuggled up to each other. "So... Leon still tucks you guys in? Why?" When the pair simply stared at him, he sighed and rolled his eyes, tucking the sheets back under the mattress so they were snug, but not too snug. "Whatever. Goodnight."
As Cloud turned to walk away, Sora reached out and snagged the back of his shirt. "Wait! You didn't check under the bed or in the closet! And you have to close the closet door, too!"
Cloud sighed again, frowning, though he couldn't help but feel a little amused. "What am I checking for?"
"Heartless!" Roxas exclaimed, clutching his pillow protectively.
"Heartless?"
"Yeah! If you don't check, they might come out in the middle of the night and steal our hearts!" Sora exclaimed.
"What do Heartless look like? And how do they fit under your bed? It's just a mattress on the floor," Cloud murmured, sighing as he lifted the edge of the mattress.
Roxas sighed, as if explaining to a child. "They can flatten themselves into the ground and move around like that, slipping under anything."
"Yeah! And they're black and have glowing yellow eyes that you can see from anywhere! They look kind of like big, evil ants!" Sora added, nodding.
"Okay. Well, I don't see any Heartless under your bed." Cloud stood and walked over to the closet. Looking inside the closet carefully for glowing yellow eyes he knew weren't there, he nodded slowly. "Nope, not seeing them in your closet, either. Looks like you two are safe for tonight," he stated, smiling at the twins.
They both smiled at him. "Okay. Goodnight!"
And just like that, they fell to sleep.
The blond high school student smiled and crossed his arms, shaking his head as he gazed at the two younger boys. So there was a gooey warm center to the bitter dark chocolate man known as Leon. At least, he had to have one to act so uncaring around his brothers in public only to come home and check for 'Heartless' so the pair could sleep peacefully.
'I wonder...' he sighed, frowning. 'How's Leon doing without his brothers?'
-x-x-x-
Leon paced 'his' room anxiously. He didn't go to bed this early. How could Cloud handle it? Just laying in bed, waiting for sleep?
He couldn't do it. He just couldn't.
Slipping out of the room silently, he went about exploring the large house. When a board creaked under his bare feet, he winced; crap, it was an old large house. He sighed and continued walking. Maybe he'd watch TV after getting a glass of water. That way he wouldn't disturb Cloud's parents.
On his way back up to Cloud's room, glass of water in hand, something furry brushed past his leg. An uncharacteristic squeak escaped his lips. 'Nanaki!?'
But Nanaki was at home with Sora and Roxas. ...So what the hell was that!?
Creeping to the door, he flipped the light on and peeked inside. A large black and gray dog was laying at the foot of Cloud's bed, looking very melancholy. Leon sighed. 'I know just how he feels...' He missed Nanaki. The large red cat would fall asleep on his chest, or at his feet, or once, even on his head. Nanaki probably missed him too.
He stepped inside and closed the door, taking a sip of his water. "Heya, buddy. What's your name?"
The dog lifted its head, quirking it innocently, as if to say, 'You talkin' to me?'
He smiled and nodded. "Yeah, I'm talking to you." He reached out and grabbed the license tag. "Reeve, huh? Well, hey, Reeve. I'm Leon. I'm gonna be here tomorrow instead of Cloud, too. Sorry I'm replacing your friend for a few days."
He lay on the bed and sighed, flipping on the TV to some weird talk show. Reeve paused, as if thinking about something, before sighing and laying his head on the brunet's leg. He reached down and stroked Reeve's head. It was going to be a long day tomorrow. And then they still had Saturday.