Disclaimer: No matter what we do, still we don't own the boys. Neither do we own the song - it's one you probably recognise upon hearing - Pippin's song, featured in Steward of Gondor, from movie Lord of the Rings - Return of the King. (Anae: I saw the first movie recently, and I was shocked how awesome it was. Love 'em all. 3)
Beta: Azrax (We simply love you. Thank you, once again.)
A/N (Anae): It's been a while since the last update, but please understand, our beta had a little hard time and was busy.
Anyway. This chapter is the most important this far, revealing where the name of our fic really comes from. It's a little hard to understand though, but you will get it when reading through. Remind you though - this is not the last chapter there is. There will be more.
Again, sorry for the long wait and hope to see you still with us!
A/N (QttQ): I never thought it would come to this. Ten chapters; boy, oh boy! This little project got out of hand somewhere along the way, but it did so in a good manner. I hope.
This could be the end, you know. "And they lived happily ever after." But no, we're not stopping here, as cruel as that is. So keep reading, because there's more. :

Note: We thank all of our favers and readers, but we want to dedicate this chapter to raistlynn (in LJ). She has been with us from the get go, and commented every single chapter.
Dear readers, you have no idea how much it means to us to have one word or two from you.
Thank you all so much, especially you, raistlynn.
Enjoy.

Chapter X: Through shadow

The world ahead
And there are many paths to tread
Through shadow
To the edge of night
Until the stars are all aligth

Leon's thoughts wandered. His relationship with Cloud was somewhat "normal" now but the blonde's words from some days before still bothered him. In Leon's opinion, everyone had some light in them.

And, after being a few days alone with his own traitorous thoughts, Leon realised it wasn't doing too good to his psyche. He just had to wonder how Cloud's psyche was still as whole as it was - he was getting a headache already.

The gunblader made a mental note to talk to the blonde about light and some other priorities in life after giving a little more thought what he actually wanted to say. But this plan of his - just like every other before - decided not to work like he would've liked.

Leon was making his way to check out tomorrow's ring fights schedule just to make sure who he'd be up against but as he passed the ring he didn't realise to check out the current fighters.

The other warrior in the ring did notice him, though.

As Leon was heading back to his room, the fight came to an end. Smaller fighter came out of the ring and as he bypassed Leon, their shoulders brushed. Leon noticed the younger, spiky-haired man who acknowledged him by nodding.

"Shit" was the only word echoing Leon's head. Now that he saw Cloud like this, it was just too good a chance to throw away.

That didn't make it any easier to reach out and rest a heavy hand on Cloud's shoulder. He felt the blond tense up beneath his touch, as if expecting a lecture of some sort. When Leon merely nodded back in a small greeting, Cloud relaxed somewhat, but still remained as alert as a fighter of his rank should.

"Did you have something to say?"

Leon cursed mentally. He was out of words, already. Cloud's question hadn't been hostile - their relationship had remained friendly after their previous discussion - but it still required an answer. Moreover, Leon couldn't leave his thoughts unvoiced, not at this point.

"When was the last time you went somewhere?" Leon slapped himself for the clumsiness of his words, inhaled and tried again. "I mean out of here. Away. How long has it been since you spent time away?"

That was a question Cloud hadn't expected. Younger fighter's silence and somewhat surprised stare told Leon that much. "Long", he answered, apparently not wanting the gunblader to know the real length of time. As older fighter pulled his hand away, it was Cloud's turn to ask a question. "Why?"

Leon's expression was unreadable. He didn't want to be too blunt about this - about the fact that Cloud's sanity couldn't be doing very well after such a long time of seeing nothing but the Coliseum walls and the areas close to the building - but he had to make his point clear enough. The Coliseum was a dark place and living as a prisoner within its stone chambers was probably feeding Cloud's beliefs of darkness lurking inside of him. Leon wanted to get the blonde out and about, and make him realise the truth about himself.

"It might-" Improve your sanity. "-Do you some good."

To not insult Cloud, Leon hurried to continue. He had heard of Cloud's friends multiple times, and even caught a glimpse of them when they had been having a conversation with Yuffie. Leon wasn't too familiar with the lot, but he did know one thing; they wouldn't have minded a visit from Cloud.

"When have you last seen Tifa?" Leon folded his arms over his chest as he gave the fighter a long look. "It wouldn't hurt, you know. Seeing someone outside of these walls and greeting the sun every once in a while."

The mention of Tifa pulled up some feelings, as Leon had expected. He didn't personally know Tifa that well - they had met a few times and talked, but from what he had heard, Tifa was probably closest to Cloud, being his childhood-friend and all. Leon caught a glimpse of guilt from the younger warrior. So he had been right - it had been a very, very long time since he'd last seen Tifa.

"I already told you", the blonde answered, dodging the first question. "I don't have a light."

Leon found himself face to face with a brick wall. This was the exact claim Cloud had made when they'd last discussed the subject. The brunette couldn't see the logic in Cloud's reasoning, not in this matter. One couldn't survive without an inner light in this world, especially after such torment which Cloud had experienced. He couldn't be a creature of complete darkness; it was simply impossible.

"Come on." Leon grunted out, shifting to lean against the wall while he eyed the blonde with a rather grim expression. "How can you still think like that? Why wouldn't you have a light of your own, just like everyone else?"

The gunblader was a stubborn individual but so was the swordsman. But this time, unlike some days before, Cloud wasn't going to explain it. Both men knew that he had already told Leon what there was to tell - and this was a discussion the blonde would rather skip. "Not everyone has a light, Leonhart", Cloud simply answered, and there was a finality in those words as younger warrior turned to leave.

The comment made Leon groan out loud. He'd pushed it too far - now Cloud was running away from the confrontation. It was easy to step in front of him, however, and block the blonde's way out. Cloud halted as Leon refused to move, arms still resting on his chest, his eyes fixed on the slightly shorter fighter.

It took a moment for Leon to form the right words. Even then, the thought felt utterly stupid when he finally vocalized his thoughts, but it was better than standing quietly, after all.

"I still can't agree with you on that." Leon murmured, earning himself a frown from his partner. "But if you really feel like you can't go into the light, then at least let me give you a hand." The brunette showed his palms to Cloud in order to stop him from talking, already knowing what the man was going to say - that Leon couldn't become his light just like that. Leon doubted he could've pulled it off even if it would've been possible; that had never been his plan.

"I could always stand between you and the sun, you know." Leon wasn't sure if this was working, He glanced at Cloud, insecure but determined. Dropping his hands, Leon gave a small shrug, but his eyes gave away how much he really cared.

"I could be your shadow, instead."

Cloud's jaw literally hit the floor as those words left Leon's mouth. All he could do was to stare the older man in shock. It took more than one moment for Cloud to mouth the only one phrase echoing in his head. "What?"

Leon didn't exactly know whether the reaction was good or bad. Perhaps Cloud was surprised simply because his suggestion had been utterly ridiculous. Leon combed his fingers through his hair and sighed, giving the blonde a pondering look. He'd already begun - the damage had already been done.

"I'm not so good at these things", the fighter admitted. "But a shadow does give you shelter from the light, doesn't it? If you feel like you can't face the light, then maybe I could-" Leon cleared his throat, quieting down for a moment. He wasn't even sure what he was suggesting. He just wanted to get Cloud out of the dark, cold building that couldn't be doing the man much good.

"I could be your shadow." Leon simply repeated, not knowing how to explain himself further. "If I can't be your light, I can be your shadow."

Leon shifted from leg to another as he anxiously waited for Cloud's answer. He felt so utterly stupid, thanks to his stammering explanation. He had to wonder if Cloud even got his point - point that even he himself wasn't completely aware of. To be a shadow to hide someone from sunrays - like a tree shadows the flowers beneath it, maybe.

Those moments were probably longest in Leon's life so far. Cloud was simply looking at him and when the brunette seemed to be about to say something, the warrior just turned away. Cloud inhaled deeply, resting his head to his palm, desperately trying to reorganise his thoughts. Leon gave him the time he needed, as long as that seemed to be. When Cloud turned back to face Leon, he had only one question.

"Why?" It wasn't often that Leon had seen Cloud like this - the blonde's entire being was unguarded. Cloud was moved by his kind offer but insecurity still lingered in the warrior, now that shock had lowered. "Why would you go that far?"

Why, indeed. The question should've been simple, but Leon found himself at a loss of words. He'd come to care about Cloud's well-being during the past weeks. Had Cloud been of no importance to him, he wouldn't have tried to mend their friendship in the first place. And neither would he have stood here, offering to shelter Cloud from the thing no man should've feared.

So, lacking the perfect answer, Leon did the only thing he was comfortable with; he answered with a question of his own.

"Why not?" Leon tilted his head and shot Cloud a look that told him not to argue - he'd already made up his mind. "It's not going to cost me anything and it'll help you. So why wouldn't I give you a hand?"

If Leon didn't have the perfect answer, neither had Cloud. The blond was still trying to understand Leon's reasoning, which made no sense to him. "I…" That was all he could manage. He had no objections Leon would approve - his darkness was the main reason, but Leon wouldn't take it and he certainly wouldn't back down. "It will", he almost whispered. "In time, it will cost you a lot." Without really realising it, Cloud wrapped one hand around his body protectively. It had cost so much to everyone who had ever helped him - his hometown had been burnt to ashes, Sephiroth had killed Aeris and Zack had been shot to death.

These fates, the fates of Cloud's friends - they were something Leon still didn't fully understand, but didn't dare to ask about, either. What he did know, however, was the hunch of how Cloud preferred to keep everyone away from himself to avoid having to face another loss. Now, Leon didn't know how tough Cloud's friends had been, but he did know that it would take a lot more than one try to wipe him out.

"It'll cost me nothing." Leon repeated, reaching out slowly. His fingers ended up resting on Cloud's arm in a soothing, warm manner. He wanted to embrace the fighter in front of him, who seemed to be crawling into his shell once more, but he lacked the confidence to do so. Cloud was hard to read and Leon didn't want to end up getting too physical when the blonde wasn't up to it. The last thing he needed was an upset Cloud.

"And if it does, then I'll worry about it when that time comes." It was all Leon had to offer. His thumb brushed softly over the dirt-covered skin of Cloud's arm in a short caress, as if ending his statement. This was what he was offering, now Cloud had to either take it or leave it.

Now Cloud didn't have a single argument left. He had done nearly everything to push Leon away to safety - with no success. Of course he could now walk away, like he tended to, but…

Seeing Cloud's internal struggle and his decision, a tiny smile rose on Leon's lips. Step by step, he was beginning to understand the younger fighter. This time he had gotten what he wanted without an argument. And if it didn't feel good.

Taking silence as yes, Leon slowly wrapped his fingers around Cloud's. Calm blue-grey eyes met the still slightly unsure mako blue. Without words, Leon started to walk, not letting go of blonde's hand, just to ensure he wasn't left behind. Cloud didn't struggle, not even once, as he let himself to be guided out of the gate, to the outside world.

He might've not had a light, but now he had a shadow to shelter him from the sun.