A/N: Okay! After much debate with myself over when I would feel like getting this poor chapter finished and posted I decided, I had to do it! And I had to do it now! So here it is.

Thank you's:

Mathias: Yay! I have NOOOO idea what ukeish is just I'm a break away so! Revolution! And thank you for showing me how to do the accent! I got it to work and I'm an extremely happy person. I hope you like this next chapter! It has progress!

Following Padfoot's Pawprints: Thank you for the encouragement.

Silver Angel Wings: It wasn't encouraging, but it made me feel good that I hadn't let you down.

Venks: Hahaha…Venksie-poo! My most famous reviewer, my reviewer since my third chapter (Which doesn't sound impressive, but it's 3 out 5 so it's great!) Hi. Don't kill me. As you can obviously tell I haven't ended it so, don't kill me. I'm glad you liked my last chapter. I thought it was crap, but as long as you liked it…I liked it too.

GhostInTheDark: NOOOOO! Never threaten me with the demented bunnies! You know how I fear them so! (Cries) Okay I'm over it… but I'm still insanely jealous that you got to go to freaking London! It's my dream city! (pouts) I hope you like this chapter as well.

4th Floor Panda: Kudos to your awwwwesommmmmme name! And thank you for such and awesome review. And I understand what you mean about the distinct lack of Leon/Sora fictions out there. I want more…so I write more! Lol, here's you're next chapter.

Toshi: I honestly couldn't tell whether or not you wanted me to update in your review. I was so confused by your message. I'm glad you liked the story so much to tell me that much that you wanted me to continue. It means a lot that you will take for freaking ever out of you time to review me. Thanks.

The Mrs. Black: I usually would agree with you on the entire disposition of Leon, but I think Leon is cool and collected, not cruel. And if he knew someone was in pain, and that if he liked them, intimately or not, he would do anything to help them, even if it meant loosing his cold mask. And as to the whole YuffiexCid thing, I watched Advent Children and their entire argument on the gummi reminded me so much of a married couple. I do like Vincent though, and I may do something with him later….hmmm? Thank you for trying to change my fic. It was really wonderful and I missed it.

So that was like eight more reviews! I'm getting happier each time I write a chapter! YAY!

I hope you enjoy this. I actually liked it!

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Sora woke only to the sounds of the telephone ringing, a loud incessant noise ringing in his head. He jerked his head back quickly, suddenly wide awake and taking immediate notice to the fact that the phone was right next to his head. It rang again, the evil screech filling every corner of his room. He moaned and covered his ears. When it stopped he grabbed the phone quickly, before the evil thing could squeal again.

"'Lo?" He croaked, clearing his throat immediately.

"Sora?" A female voice asked on the other end of the line.

Sora shrugged on his big fluffy robe. "Yeah. Who's this?"

He went downstairs, the other line silent for a while, but he could hear the woman he had been talking to yelling, very, very loudly to someone on her end. He looked around for Leon, but his stoic boyfriend was nowhere in sight.

"Sora?"

"Yeah, still here."

"Hey sweety, this is Tifa. You remember?" He had seen her around a few more times since that first outing with Leon. She was always at the restaurant or doing something for the restaurant. Rarely was she just around just to be around. But he did remember her/

He nodded while at the same time answering "Yeah."

"Good. Is Leon around?"

He looked about the place, finally noticing the note on the television set. "Hold on." He said as he snatched the paper off the TV.

Sora,

I went to town to get a few things. I'm stopping by Aerith's for a while after that. Don't expect me back too soon.

Leon.

"No. No, he's away for the day." Sora said, devoid of any emotion, folding the paper and putting it in his pocket.

"Dammit!" Tifa hissed.

"Why? What do you need?" He asked, meandering into the kitchen to find some fruit.

"I fired too many people! I need him to come man the fort while I go through applications." She stopped, taking the phone away from her mouth so she could yell at some more people.

Sora thought in that brief second in time. He didn't want to go back to work honestly, but he needed to, for Leon, and for Roxas. When she came back onto the phone with a great sigh, he asked, "Can I help?"

There was a pregnant pause, in which Sora could practically see her chewing her bottom lip. "Are you sure? I don't want to inconvenience you." She said, worriedly.

Sora shook his head, only seconds after realizing that she couldn't hear his head rattle. "Don't worry about it." He said lightly. "When do you need me?" He asked.

"ASAP!" She yelled as they both heard a loud crash, then she hung up, and Sora had a feeling another one bit the dust.

Sora stood in the middle of the living room for a couple of minutes, just letting everything wash over him. He was going into work; he was going to work…with some money maybe. Perhaps this would be a starting point. Maybe he could get an actual job soon, with actual pay, and actual benefits… all of that.

'Sounds good.' He thought, bounding back upstairs to get dressed. He didn't want Tifa to murder anyone, because he didn't get there quick enough.

When he had finished and was downstairs again he grabbed an apple and some peanut better that Leon had bought for him a few days ago. He was almost out the door when he wheeled around quick as lightning.

Leon,

I went to help Tifa out at the restaurant. I don't know when I'll be home.

Sora.

Sora pinned it to the refrigerator, because that was the first place Leon went, so he could find what was for dinner. Then he was out, walking to the restaurant and hoping it wasn't to bad when he got there.

&$&$&$&

"SORA!"

With several being shoved out of her way, Tifa came striding angrily through the throng of people.

"I have never seen this many people here." He said. Looking around at all the snooty people.

Tifa huffed angrily. "Neither have I. I didn't know this many people even lived in Hollow Bastion. Not to mention this many snobs."

"Why are they here?" He asked shifting uncomfortably as one woman glared at him. Tifa glared right back at her however. Then she leaned forward to him.

"In a few weeks, the king himself is coming here to review my food." She said nervously wringing her hands. "He heard somehow that I was the best chef in three counties, and now wants to examine my food for his six daughter's weddings." She hissed hysterically. "I really need someone's help." She whined as she pulled him into the back and gave him a uniform.

He changed in the back and went back to Tifa's side as quickly as he could so she wouldn't burn her building down. "Okay." He said, ready to learn to get some knowledge.

She sighed. "I'm going to give you crash course." She said, shooting off threw the building. "I have an old fashion restaurant so the cash register is easy press the buttons, pull the lever and you have the receipts.

"On seating, be gentlemanly. Give the ladies their menu first, and ask for their order first as well. Make sure the men's glass is always full; they hold the money in high society (A/N: Remember this is somewhat a kingdom, and as ashamed as I am to admit it, men usually get the wavers in society, lol. You know I love ya, guys.)." She said walking and waving, generally at the dining section.

"When taking orders look all of them in the eyes. Oh, and try to memorize as many orders if you can when you're standing and write it down later. It looks tacky if you hold a notepad." Handing Sora some menus and the then she stopped by a counter. She pulled out a notepad, which he identified by the title, "Daily Specialties". "When asking for desserts, suggest the specialty of the day; it's the special for a reason.

"Other than that, ask Paine if you have questions." She said pointing to a silver haired waitress with ruby eyes. "She can be a bit of a bitch, just wave her off and keep going. You'll be working over section 2." She waved her hands over the suddenly expansive section. It didn't seem this big when Leon and him were here. He suddenly didn't think he could do this. "Don't fret. You'll make it."

Tifa then left him, standing in the middle of the restaurant lost and totally confused. He looked around him, at the several snooty people who were glaring at him, and then at the very full section 2. Paine walked by.

"Where do I start?" He asked her.

She glared for a moment, looked around, and said, "Pick a table!" in a very tart voice.

'Yeah, she's a bitch.'

He walked over to the first booth, fidgeting just a little.

"Hello sir, ma'am." He tipped his head towards the both of them. "How is you morning, today?"

&$&$&$&

It took Sora forever to learn how to do his job. Tifa couldn't help him; she was in the back yelling, cooking, and throwing things at anyone who got in her way. Paine was…a pain. She didn't do anything. She said, 'Figure it out.' And then walked off.

The customers looked down their nose at him. They ordered the most complicated things to memorize. 'Was everything this complicated when Leon and I were here?' He recognized the orders but…yikes! He was told to, 'Straiten up.' 'Look me in the eye.' 'Smile.' 'Don't look patronizing' 'Speak clearer.' 'Speak up.' 'Pick up your feet when your walk.' 'Don't spill anything on us!', do anything under the sun.

He broke four dishes, spilled an entire pot of soup, managing to get out of the way before he got it all over him, and ripped a ladies dress on her way out. The register for all its simplicity was the most complicated thing to work and he kept messing up and there was no 'back' button, he kept having Paine work with it. He couldn't memorize all of his orders properly and had the chef's change one order a million times before he got it right. And everyone was so damn rude, today.

And, god he felt drained!

Tifa asked him to stay after for a while after they shut down the restaurant, and Sora had a feeling he was going to be asked to pay for all the damage he caused right out of his pocket.

He held his breath in his lungs for long periods of time, scratching his arms nervously. He rocked back and forth nervously, his heart thumping wildly. He didn't understand why he was so upset about this.

He supposed it could be because he had come to regard Tifa as his friend and he didn't want to let her down. Or perhaps it was because this was a clear sign that he wasn't ready for work, and that once again he would be hurting his brother.

Or maybe, maybe he was just tired. He hadn't had to work this hard since ever. Anything he ever did was leisurely, done at his own pace. Riku had always made sure he never felt pressured to work; he wanted Sora to get a degree. Now it wasn't for fun. It was for real, for a reason. And it made him uncomfortable.

He missed Riku in these moments.

He put his head in his hands; trying to get rid of the invisible shakes he was experiencing.

"Sora? Hun, you okay?"

Sora looked up into Tifa's worried eyes. He smiled a little, "I'm fine." He lied. "Just tired."

She sat down at the table he was at, and smiled at him. "You did good." She said with a smile. "In fact, you did fabulously under the extreme pressure I put you in. A few mishaps here and there, but that's to be expected on your first day." She smiled again. Sora just sat there and waited, bracing himself for the worst. "I hired several people today, and hopefully they won't be a bust," Get ready for it! "But…" Get ready for the checkbook! "I want you stay. I want to hire you, as well."

And blank!

"Wh-What?" He asked, completely dumbfounded.

"I want to hire you. I talked to Leon earlier and he said you had been looking for a job, and you did such a good job tonight. I want to hire you."

Sora shook his head, trying to come back down to earth. "Are you sure?"

Tifa laughed, heartily. "Yes, Sora, I'm sure. Come in tomorrow and I'll get you everything you need. Be here at 7 o'clock in the morning. Can you handle that?" She asked.

He smiled. "Yeah. I can."

She nodded. "Good. Now, go home and rest."

Sora was about to stand and leave when Yuffie ran into the door…literally. She went ninety miles per hour, straight into the door, and then straight to the ground. One of the clean up crew took pity on the poor thing and opened door for her, watching as she crawled, still on her hands and knees into the store and over to Tifa and Sora's table.

"Hi, there." She said crawling into her seat. "How're ya?"

"Fine," They both muttered, eying her over strangely. "How are you?" Tifa asked.

There was a pause in which Yuffie grinned manically. "I escaped." She giggled.

Sora and Tifa didn't find it as funny. "Escaped?" Tifa asked, watching her younger counterpart worriedly.

"Yeah. Cid fell asleep and I snuck out."

"And you came here." Tifa asked.

"You know I worship you and the ground you walk on. Of course I came here! I had to tell you my news!" Yuffie said excitedly. Shaking Tifa's hand in her own. "I'm going to Atlantica!" She yelled.

"What? With Cid?" Tifa asked, surprise etching on her face.

Yuffie's smile fell. "Why does everyone ask me that?" She grimaced. "No. Not with Cid, with a few girlfriends of mine. We're going for a week in a half as soon as we can get the tickets."

They were silent for a few moments, in which time Yuffie stared down her hands, and Tifa looked at her worriedly, but then Tifa smiled and said, "That's great!"

The two continued to talk for a while, but Sora didn't stay for all of it. He decided it was time for him to go home.

&$&$&$&

Leon opened the door whenever he finished walking home from the restaurant, and the only thing Sora could think to do was fall into his arms. Or throw himself at Leon, more like it. And Leon tensed for a moment before catching Sora easily in his arms and dragging him inside and shutting the door.

"How was your day?" He purred into Sora's ear.

Sora moaned, tiredly. "Confusing, exhausting. Physically, emotionally…spiritually."

Leon snorted, hoisting Sora to his feet and leading him into the kitchen where he spooned some fried vegetables onto his plate. "Tell me about it." He ordered.

Sora sighed. Recalling everything that had happened to him that day, from the customers to the dishes. He told Leon about Paine, and the ladies dress, and about the cash register from hell. And Leon sat with him until he finished his meal, then they moved to the sink, and began washing dishes, as was becoming their custom at night.

"Yuffie's going to Atlantica." Sora said, finally getting to the end of his day, he had left out anything to do with Riku, not thinking it wouldn't go over well with Leon. "She said so after her confrontation with the door."

Leon nodded, picking up the washcloth from the scalding water, but he didn't flinch. "She's been saying that for a while." Leon said. "Usually it's after her and Cid have a huge fight, which I imagine they did. Yuffie's been a bit too free lately, and Cid hates that."

Sora nodded taking the plate from his boyfriend's hot hands. "I want her to go through with it." He said without really thinking. "I think it would do her good if she got away for a while."

Leon nodded. "It would do her good to get away from Cid."

"I know!" Sora exclaimed. "And she's completely oblivious to it!"

Leon nodded. "Upsetting isn't it?"

"Yeah."

They changed the topic quickly, silently agreeing that it would do no good to stew over something they had no control over.

"Roxas called today." Leon said.

Sora cussed mentally, upset that he had missed his brother's call. "How was he?"

Leon nodded his head around. "He's fine, he says. He just wanted someone to talk to. Said that he didn't want to go around your friends."

"Why?"

"They were mad at each other."

Sora went through all the possible reasons that they might be mad at each other, but he could only really think of one reason they would fight, and he didn't think Kairi would be so rash as to ruin her life like that. He quickly dismissed it and put it in the back of his mind. "Did he say anything else?" He asked.

"He asked where you were, how you were doing. The usual stuff, you know. He interrogated me a little. And then he decided I wasn't as much fun to talk to and we got off the phone."

Sora chuckled. "Don't take it personally." He said. "He's like that with everyone but me." I wonder why! Sneered a nasty voice in the back of his mind, and he suddenly felt guilty again, knowing the pain he had put his little brother through. He became quiet, suddenly, playing with his ring whenever Leon was washing a dish.

Leon sensed his discomfort and quieted as well, throwing a hand full of silverware into the sink.

"Where'd you get that ring anyway?" He said after watching the smaller brunette fidget with the small gold band on his right ring finger for three spoons.

"Riku gave it to me." Sora said feeling himself being pulled into his own mind.

Fork. Wipe. Rack.

"For what?"

Spoon. Wipe. Rack.

"Our second anniversary. We didn't think we would make it that long. It was a toast to proving ourselves wrong." Sora smirked, his eyes clouding over as he remembered what Riku said that night.

Butter knife. Wipe. Rack.

"We may not make it to the end of forever." He said, silver hair falling into his eyes. "We may not be a great love story." He reached up to stroke Sora's cheek, lovingly. " We may never be like Romeo and Juliet, but we made it here. And I wouldn't trade what I have with you now for any fantasy in the world."

Serrated knife. Wipe…wipe…

Sora didn't put the knife down. He only kept wiping it, to dry it, to wear a hole in it.

"Sora? You won't be too upset if I never wake up right?" Riku asked, after lying in the park for hours.

"No."

He had dropped the rag and now the he just stood with the hands poised in the air, knife falling closer and closer to his wrist. He didn't notice. He was lost.

"Sora, I can't do it. Just go without me, please. I can't do this tonight."

"Please, Riku. I don't want to go by myself."

Riku rested his head on the back of the seat. "You owe me, big time."

Leon watched in horrid fascination, but didn't interrupt. He wouldn't intervene unless it was absolutely necessary.

"Riku?" Sora turned over in the bed. "Riku, are you okay?" he felt the skin on Riku's forehead, cold as ice. "Riku? Riku!" He turned Riku's body towards him fully, pressing his hand to his chest. "Riku!"

There wasn't a heartbeat.

The blade was almost to his wrist.

"If ever I did die before you, don't follow me. I love you, but you'll be fine without me. Don't follow me." He said. "I won't be the end of your world. You'll find someone who makes you just as happy." He smirked. "Maybe one day, if they try really hard, they'll make you even happier."

He dropped the blade from his shaking fingers, listening to it clatter in the sink. His breath was ragged and uneven. He had forgotten that conversation eons ago. It had been back before they had even gotten together. Back when they were just friends, and only just realizing homosexuality.

He felt a warm hand message his neck, guiding him towards a warm chest and a tight embrace. "You did good. You'll be okay."

"I thought I was getting better."

"You are."

"I thought I was okay." Sora whimpered.

"Just give it time." He said. "You'll be okay…"

you'll be okay.

&$&$&$&

Leon had gone to bed before him for once, leaving Sora alone, which he found comforting that he trusted him, and odd that he trusted him. But now he was tired, and nowhere near getting his mind straightened out. He was still ungodly confused, with no way to fix it. So, he decided on going to bed. Hoping that in the morning he would be able to think clearer and find an answer.

He was almost to his room when he noticed Leon's bedroom door was still open. Leon never left his door open. He paused at his door, looking into the pitch-black room that looked so inviting.

'What if he gets mad?' asked a voice in his head.

He looked into his cold bedroom, weighing warm arms against a cold bed.

'What if he doesn't?'

Sora closed the door to his bedroom and walked slowly to Leon's dark room, stumbling and feeling around dumbly as he entered, and finally, falling into a bed. He groped, smoothly until he found a chest, shoulder, arms. He crawled in under the covers, scooting as close to Leon as he could, and stealing all the body heat he could.

And he fell asleep instantly, fully noticing that Leon was still awake and had wrapped his arms around the small form pressed against him.

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A/N: I'm happy with this. I jam pack with all sorts of action. However, staying true and contradicting myself, I also think others might think this moves super fast, and it did and that he shifted moods a lot, which he did.

I wanted to show how easily it someone could be okay and then not be okay at all. I wanted to show how confusing it can all be and how jumbled thoughts can be. I wanted to show how uncomfortable depression can be concerning work and relationships and emotions and… well everything.

Anyway, I figured out exactly how many chapters there will be and hopefully I will have them up before Christmas. There will be eleven chapters plus an epilogue. So…no you know, and Venks hopefully won't kill me.

Review! Review! I know that the gnomes are getting fat!

Oh, hey! I'm posting a multi-drabble Leon/Sora called Leon doesn't. CHECK. IT. OUT.

Loves to all ya'll

InnocentGuilt