A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter; I apologize to those of you who I didn't get a chance to reply to, but I love you all! You are very much appreciated.

As always, thanks to my betas: Bubble Master Califa (who is solely responsible for Rikku and Tifa's involvement in this story as well as quite a few other things) and Riku-stalker (grammar and spelling extraordinaire). Thanks a million you two!

Track Season

Running in Circles

Leon was still walking around the track and watching Cloud. The blonde had lapped him three times by now, igniting a competitive spark that Leon refused to satisfy. He wasn't some stupid high school kid who made everything into a competition. The brunette knew about Cloud's knee injury of course, hell, half the country did. It had been big news a few years ago, especially because Cloud was a runner with a huge amount of potential for the rest of his career. Leon couldn't remember the details, but he knew that the blonde's knee had been slashed with a knife, cutting into his hamstring or something like that. From what he had remembered, the attack had been unprovoked, and Cloud had never revealed the name of his attacker.

Unlike Cloud, Leon knew that his injury had been provoked. He had been a bit haughty and overconfident at the time, excited by his potential. And that man had just exploded—more out of jealousy than anything—giving him sharp comments about how he would never make it in the sports world. Leon knew he shouldn't have responded to that by slamming his fist into the guy's face, but he had always been the one to act first, think later in a situation like that. In retrospect, that time would have been a prime opportunity to back off…before the man had shattered the bones in his knee with one blow. Leon winced at the memory. And now…that man was the coach of Hollow Bastion's track team. Sephiroth. As far as Leon's thoughts went, that man should be in jail…but his injury wasn't caused by an unprovoked attack. So jail was out of the question at the moment. Still, Leon wouldn't stop trying, and he certainly could dream.

Cloud's presence beside him broke Leon's chain of thoughts and caused him to look over at the other man, who was walking next to him, their pace one-and-the-same.

"Hey," Leon offered, a bit confused. Cloud nodded in response and turned to look at Leon.

"How'd your knee get hurt?" The blonde asked, out of the blue. The slightly older man had to struggle to keep the surprise off his face; where had that come from? Leon paused, not sure if he should answer, but Cloud's piercing gaze finally drilled a hole in him and he opened his mouth.

"A fight. Happened a few years ago, just before you got hurt I think. I was being egoistical, I'll admit it, and picked a fight with the wrong guy I guess."

"Where is he now?"

"The guy? He's back in Hollow Bastion. He was someone I ran against when I was younger," Leon answered nonchalantly, trying to pretend that he was completely over the accident. The brunette saw Cloud nod slowly out of the corner of his eye.

"Why do you think he did it? Injured you, I mean," Cloud asked. Leon sighed.

"You sure ask a lot of questions," He commented. The blonde shrugged.

"I guess I want a lot of answers."

"What about you then?" Leon asked, his curiosity finally over-coming him. Cloud looked at the older man for a moment, before letting his gaze fall back to the black track at his feet. Forgetting his previously-asked question, Cloud began talking.

"You probably know most of it. I guess it was covered pretty well by sports reporters; I never read any of the articles though. Anyway, there isn't much to tell. I had gotten in a fight with this…one guy, and because he was a really good friend of mine, I went back later that night to apologize." Cloud paused right there, as if trying to collect his thoughts. Leon stole a glance at him and noticed the slightly pained expression on his face. "I don't know if he was drunk, or if he just didn't want to accept my apology, but he punched me…and when I woke up there was blood all over the floor and then I was in the hospital with nurses surrounding my bed. It wouldn't have been so bad if my hamstring wasn't permanently damaged." Leon was silent, taking in all this information.

"You can still jog though," He stated. Cloud nodded.

"Just to stretch my leg out. Nothing too fast, and not for too long; can't be too much over walking pace," Cloud answered quietly. The two men walked two hundred meters in silence, each lost in memories of the past. As they came around to the bleachers, Cloud stopped and turned to Leon. "Hey, thanks for talking with me today, I appreciate it." Leon shrugged, letting a smile slide onto his face.

"No problem." There was a split second of silence before Leon took a small breath and leaned into Cloud, grasping the younger man's shoulders and pressing their lips together. The blonde hesitated there, and Leon could feel him start to respond before Cloud suddenly reeled back, tears sparking in his eyes and his breaths coming short and quick. Leon took a step toward him, immediately worried that kissing Cloud was the wrong thing to do. "Cloud, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to do that—" It was true. It just…happened. Cloud shook his head.

"No, I'm fine. It's just…Leon, you're a great guy, but last night…it can't happen again. I was drunk…not thinking…I'm sorry, I'm really, really sorry. I just…can't do that anymore," Cloud breathed, before turning his back and walking quickly away from the brunette, wiping the tears from his cheeks.

Leon had never been the sentimental type, but something in him made him want to run after Cloud and hold him close, whispering comforting words in his ear. But this was real life…not some romance movie. So Leon stayed stock-still, staring after Cloud with confused eyes. Cloud didn't want to do what anymore? Another puzzle piece fell into the pile.

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Rikku and Tifa stood at the train station, waving to Kairi and Selphie who were headed home to clean up. Rikku glanced down at her own ruffled clothes and rolled her eyes.

"I really need to change…" She said slowly, glancing down the street in the direction of her home.

"Sure, we can just stop by your house…unless you don't want to go there," Tifa added when she saw the sad look on Rikku's face. Her new friend nodded.

"I just don't want to ruin a perfectly good day by going home right now," Rikku replied, suddenly looking up with a spark in her eye. "How's this? We stop by the bank, I get some money, you get some money…" She trailed off with a smile.

"Shopping spree!" Both girls squealed, taking off in the direction of the bank and ignoring the stares of Destiny Island inhabitants and tourists.

Fifteen minutes later the girls stood outside the bank.

"Where to first, Rikku?" Tifa asked, looking down the street.

"There is this awesome clothing store that you just have to see. They have all these crazy clothes that come from some weird little company somewhere else in the world, and they're prices are amazing! I practically live there," Rikku exclaimed in one breath, grabbing hold of Tifa's hand and dragging her off. The owner of the shop Rikku had gushed about greeting the blonde girl as if she was an old friend, laughing as Rikku launched into a tale of the party last night.

"Go pick something out and get changed, girl, you smell like shit," The owner said with a laugh, pushing Rikku further into the store. Tifa followed her, grabbing things off hangers and shelves that caught her eye.

An hour later the two girls emerged onto the street again, Rikku dressed in a pair of army-green cargo pants and an orange tank top, and Tifa holding a large bag of clothes.

"Ever had sea salt icecream?" Rikku asked with a smile. Tifa shook her head. "Well, that'll be our next stop then!"

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Roxas was sitting on the couch, browsing through channels on the TV when Cloud came bursting through the door, tears streaking down his face. The television was immediately shut off, and Roxas turned to face his older brother.

It was rare that Cloud ever showed much emotion at all. He was a happy guy for the most part, but while he always had a smile for Roxas and Sora, there were few other people who had seen it. So now, to see Cloud in tears and looking thoroughly distraught, the man's younger brother was immediately on edge.

"Cloud, what happened? Are you okay?" Roxas asked quietly, making to stand up and go over to his brother. The older blonde shook his head, wiping his cheeks with his hands and ridding them of all tears.

"I'm fine, Roxas. Just…I'll be upstairs." With that, Cloud walked up the stairs and moments later Roxas heard the door to his bedroom slam shut.

The younger Strife fell backwards onto the couch, sighing. Normally Cloud was the one who took care of him, and now that it seemed Cloud needed someone Roxas didn't know what to do. Cloud had always been so mature about everything, always making sure that Roxas was doing alright. Suddenly, Roxas began wondering if everything was okay with Cloud. The blonde sighed again and buried his hands in his unruly mop of hair, slouching into the pillows. Sora would know what to do…because Sora always knew how to handle tears. That was one really great thing about Sora; it was like he could read emotions. The young brunette had always been sympathetic and caring to someone who was upset enough to cry over it. Roxas was the one who would smile a bit at the upset person, and pat their back awkwardly while staying silent. He didn't like situations like that. But Sora was sick today, and asleep, and Roxas couldn't bring himself to wake his best friend up when he clearly needed the rest. So instead of calling Sora, Roxas stood up and stepped quietly up the stairs, walking to the door of his brother's room. His hand paused for a second before knocking lightly on the door and calling Cloud's name. Silence greeted his ears, so Roxas pushed the door open a bit and peered into the room to see his brother lying face-down on the bed.

"Hey Cloud? Are you okay?" No reply. "Can I come in then?"

"Roxas, go away. I'm fine, and I can take care of myself." With a small smile at his brother's stubborn attitude, Roxas walked into the room and sat down on Cloud's bed. He knew that if it had been him that had been upset, he would have been screaming at Cloud to leave him alone, and to get out of his room, as well as a whole bunch of profanity. Looks like that's one difference between me and Cloud, Roxas thought. Gingerly, as if Cloud would react violently, Roxas laid a hand on his brother's shoulder. Cloud tried to shrug it off, unsuccessfully, and finally rolled over to glare at Roxas. "What do you want, Roxas?" He asked in a tired voice. Roxas looked down at his lap for a moment.

"To know what happened, I guess."

"Nothing happened." Roxas rolled his eyes and looked pointedly at Cloud, letting his older brother know he wasn't buying it. "It's over anyway. I dealt with it, and I'm fine."

"You've said that three times since you got home and look! You're still crying," Roxas pointed out, curling his legs underneath him on Cloud's bed. He heard Cloud sigh.

"Roxas—"

"Dude, just tell me what's up! I'm not stupid, I can tell something's wrong, and that you're not fine," Roxas stated, looking sternly at his brother. "Don't treat me like a four-year-old." Cloud rolled back over into the pillow, although he turned his head sideways so he could still talk.

"I'm not treating you like you're four, Rox. I just…don't think you need to know about this. It's my deal."

"Come on, Cloud. You can tell me," Roxas persuaded. Cloud was silent for a moment before sighing.

"Fine, but don't interrupt." Roxas settled back, a small smile on his face. "You know of Sephiroth right? The guy who injured me?" Roxas nodded, his eyes narrowing with suspicion. "Well, what I never told anyone, was that Sephiroth and I…well, we dated for a while. More than a while, I guess. We were in college together, and I sort of knew him when we were younger in Hollow Bastion. We dated for two years…and then we had this fight. I was stressed out with a million finals I had to take; I needed to study, and he wanted to go clubbing. So I told him that I couldn't go with him, and he started ranting about how I never did anything with him and all that. I walked out on him and came back later to apologize. Roxas, I really liked Sephiroth. I mean, really liked him. I guess I could say that I loved him. He was…perfect for me, it seemed. But when I went back that night—maybe he was drunk, I don't know—he punched me in the face and I blacked out. Woke up later in the hospital, my leg slashed through.

"I don't know what I'm going to do when he comes to the next track meet. I can't tell if I hate him, or if I'm still in love with him. And I don't know why he injured me so badly. Of all the things he could have done…" Cloud trailed off, more tears flowing from his eyes, which were squeezed shut. Roxas was silent, overcome by sympathy for his broken-hearted brother, and with anger towards Sephiroth, the man who had injured Cloud in more than one way.

"So what happened today?" Roxas whispered.

"Saw Leon at the track. He kissed me, and I freaked out. I don't know why, I mean we were kissing last night. But I was drunk. And today…I had been thinking about Seph and everything, and when Leon kissed me…I guess it was too much. He probably thinks I'm completely stupid now," Cloud moaned. Roxas couldn't hold his laugh in.

"Cloud, you're acting like a high school girl. Maybe you should give Leon a chance," Roxas commented. Cloud shook his head.

"I don't know what I feel about Sephiroth yet, and I want to wait before I'm over it completely."

"Cloud, it's been two fucking years!" Roxas said loudly. "Just go out with Leon! Sephiroth doesn't matter anymore."

"If he doesn't matter so much, Rox, then why do I still cry over him? Then why did I freak out when Leon kissed me?" Cloud yelled, sitting upright and scowling at his brother. Roxas shrugged, ignoring his brother's outburst.

"Go out with Leon; at least give the guy a chance. You never know," Roxas said.

"I'm not using Leon to get over Seph," Cloud stated firmly.

"Technically, it's not 'using him'. Leave your morals at the door, and go fuck Leon. Seriously, what guy can say 'no' to sex?" Roxas asked with a smirk. Cloud looked shocked.

"Roxas! You're a sophomore in high school! Do not recommend sex to me! Please, please tell me you're a virgin!" Cloud pleaded. Roxas smirked.

"Maybe."

"Dammit Roxas, I'm being serious. Have you had sex?" Cloud asked, his face reflecting the serious tone in his voice. Roxas rolled his eyes.

"You're my older brother, there's no way I'm telling you if I'm a virgin or not."

"Roxas…" Cloud warned, looking straight at his brother. Suddenly Roxas burst out laughing.

"No! Are you happy? I'm still a virgin," The younger blonde said with a chuckle, although his eyes grew dark for a moment. Cloud punched his shoulder with a playful glare.

"What would dad have said if I'd let you have sex with some mysterious kid," Roxas's older brother said. Roxas laughed.

"Dad's not here enough to care, so it really doesn't matter." Cloud smiled at him.

"Thanks Rox, for listening to me." Suddenly, Cloud found himself with an armful of Roxas, who was clinging to his muscled shoulders. With a kind face, Cloud wrapped his arm around Roxas's smaller form.

"You should have told me sooner Cloud. I'm gonna beat the shit outta Sephiroth," Roxas said in a joking tone. Cloud couldn't help but laugh.

"You do that, Rox, you do that."

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Rikku grabbed her friend's hand once more, pulling her along to their last stop. Both were carrying quite a few more bags, loaded to the brim with all sorts of items, from platform shoes to rollerblades. The automatic doors to the pharmacy slid open, admitting both of them side-by-side. As Rikku wandered to the other end of the store to see if her favorite type of foundation was in supply, Tifa caught sight of a familiar silver-haired boy.

"Riku! What you doing here?" She asked, flinging her arms around him in a big hug. He shrugged out of her grip, holding up a purple bottle.

"First I'm getting that shampoo that's, like, always on a special order. But I…convinced the woman at the counter to let me take it with me," He said with a smirk. Tifa shook her head, holding up a hand.

"I don't wanna know. But why come here for…shampoo?" She asked. They had shampoo in Twilight Town…didn't they? Riku laughed, seeming to read her thoughts.

"I'm visiting Sora, and then I'll head over to my mom's," He answered, a gleam in his eye. Tifa just rolled her eyes and laughed, tempted to tease him, but deciding that it would probably be better to make sure that Rikku wasn't tearing some employee apart because her make-up hadn't been re-ordered. She told her excuse to Riku, who looked a little confused, and continued to the back of the store. Rikku was indeed not tearing anyone apart; she was calmly looking at other options, because her foundation still hadn't come in yet, she was told by a 'Bart'.

"Hey," Rikku greeted, looking up at her friend. "Who'd you run into?"

"Riku; that silver-haired kid from my team," Tifa answered.

"Oh yeah, Roxas and Axel ended up in his room…" She announced with a laugh. Tifa made a disgusted face.

"New topic. Now," She said, laughing as well.

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Sephiroth was perfectly happy to spend his Sunday at the track, watching his team run endless laps until half of them were more stumbling along than running. His team captain came up to him, sweat pouring into his eyes and his bangs plastered to his forehead.

"Coach, we need to stop before someone hurts themselves," He gasped, his hands on his knees as he struggled to get enough oxygen.

"Get on your feet and keep going. You will stop when I tell you to," Sephiroth snapped, crossing his arms and glancing at his watch. He saw his captain's eyes flash in anger, but the boy backed down and made his way back onto the track, taking a slow jog. "Pick it up!" Sephiroth yelled, "There is a reason for this training, girl scouts! You're abysmal performance yesterday was unacceptable!" He finished. Pathetic. Dismal. Waste of my goddamn time, he thought, answering his cell phone as it cut off his thoughts. "Yes?" He spat.

"Sir, this Tracy from the Destiny Island Pharmacy, your special order--" A timid woman's phone said.

"Is this about the Sleek and Shiny? My Sleek…did you lose it?" He said, his voice rising with frustration.

"Sir, the woman at the counter today sold the last bottle—your reservation. I'm very sorry; we have three more bottles on express order. We'll have them up there with you in four days," She said, hanging up before the man could explode. His gaze went back to his team, narrowing in on one boy who was collapsed on the ground. "Xigbar, Xaldin, get that useless, piece-of-shit boy on the stands and get running again," Sephiroth screamed, throwing his cell phone at the boy on the ground in anger and storming over to the stands, grabbing his clipboard and writing furiously.

Here's a link to a spin-off story that Bubble Master Califa is writing. For all you lemon-heads out there, this is one for you. Please take note that not everything written in Cool Off actually happened in Track Season; and it doesn't necessarily follow the same time-frame as TS. I'd recomend it though...especially if you're wanting a see a bit more...uh...'action' between our couples. ;) If the link below doesn't work (copy and paste, take all spaces out), then do a search for Track Season: Cool Off, by Bubble Master Califa.

http :// www . fanfiction . net / s / 3677480 / 1 / TrackSeasonCoolOff

I'd love it if you would leave a review for this TS chapter, or the whole story, or whatever you are compelled to do. Each and every word you guys write to me is my inspiration for many things in this story. Thanks.

Wykkyd