AN: Okay, here we go people! This story's getting' pret-tee big, but I never coulda done it with out all my faithful readers! I love you guys! Leon plushies for all!
Disclaimer: I own nothing but my few OCs. Scarred belongs to MTV2.
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Leon Gets…A Job!
Leon sat in an office located in the back of the local fast-food restaurant. A few days ago, he had realized he was running short on cash. Aerith ha suggested he get a part-time job. Leon would have refused, but he wasn't about to let his wallet stay empty. It was a guy pride thing.
So there he was, waiting as a man-his nametag read Richard-read over his records. The blond man looked up.
"So, you haven't had any previous jobs?" Richard asked in confusion. Leon shook his head slightly.
"Well, no. Not really." he admitted. They sat in silence for a minute.
"Let me guess: I should leave with my dignity?" Leon questioned. Richard laughed slightly.
"Well, actually…that isn't my choice, Mr. Leonhart." he said. It was Leon's turn to be confused.
"Wait. You aren't the manager?" the brunet asked. Richard shook his head.
"No, I'm the Assistant Manager. The manager, Mr. Hyde, should be here any minute." he explained. As if on cue, the door opened, revealing a kid about 13 with one of the restaurant's soda cups in his hand. The boy sipped his drink before looking at Richard.
"Hey, Richard, this soda's comin' out of your pay check." he informed coolly with a smirk. Leon looked at Richard, who looked slightly disappointed at that statement, but nodded nonetheless.
"Yes, Mr. Hyde." the man said, trying to hide his sadness. Leon's eyes widened, before looking back at the black-haired kid.
"Hold on. He's Mr. Hyde?!" the scarred man said in disbelief. The kid scowled.
"That's right. The one and only Dustin Hyde. Son of Nathaniel Hyde, the guy who runs this joint." he replied, before looking towards Richard.
"Richard, who is this chump and what's he doin' in my office?" Dustin asked, motioning towards Leon. Leon growled a little, but kept his cool.
"Um, sir, this is Leon and he's applying for a job." Richard said nervously.
And now I immediately regret ever making that choice., Leon thought angrily. Dustin glanced at him and seemed to be thinking about something. Then, he started nodding.
"Well, Bill did just quit, so we could use some help around here. It would be kind of hard to handle the lunch rush with no one at the grill. Alright, he's hired." the kid said. Leon was shocked slightly.
"…You're serious?" he asked after a moment. Dustin rolled his eyes.
"No duh, moron." he muttered. Leon resisted hitting the kid.
"So, when do I start?" he asked. Dustin grabbed an apron out of the closet.
"Right now." he replied, taking another sip of his drink. Leon caught the cloth, but looked at his new boss in confusion.
"Right now?" the brunet asked.
"No, five minutes from now! Yes, right now!" Dustin shouted angrily. Leon grit his teeth. This kid was reminding him way too much of Cloud, except smaller and not blond.
"Could I at least call home real quick? You know, to tell them I got the job?" Leon asked. Dustin nodded in understanding.
"Alright, sure. I understand. Don't want them to worry about where you are and you need to tell them when you'll be home. No problem." he said. Leon lightened up a little. Maybe this kid wasn't so bad after all…
"Ya got two minutes." Dustin finished.
"What?!" Leon asked in disbelief. Dustin stared at his watch.
"1:58, 1:57, 1:56..." he counted lazily. Leon pulled out his cell phone and dialed the number. Yuffie picked up.
"Hellooo?" she asked, drawing out the word the way she always did when she answered the phone.
"Yeah, Yuffie? It's Leon. Listen, I got the job." Leon said.
"Hey, cool! So when do ya start?!" Yuffie asked excitedly.
"1:34!" Dustin interrupted impatiently. Leon resisted rolling his eyes.
"Right now, okay? I'll be back around 5:00." he said.
"Alrighty, then! Bye, Squall!" Yuffie chirped happily from the other end before hanging up. Leon growled at Yuffie's mistake before hanging up. Dustin was waiting, arms crossed and a scowl on his face.
"Congratulations. You managed to waste 43 precious seconds of my life." the 13 year old stated angrily. Leon opened his mouth to speak, but Dustin interrupted.
"No, don't care about your excuses. Now, come on! I'm not gonna pay you for doing nothing!" he said. Leon scowled.
I stand corrected. This kid is worse than Cloud., he thought bitterly.
--
Speaking of Cloud, the blond man was flipping through channels lazily when Yuffie left to answer the phone. He had finally decided on watching Scarred when Yuffie came back in. She stared at the screen in disgust.
"Oh, no way are we watching this, Spike!" the young ninja shouted. Cloud nodded lazily.
"Uh, yes way." he replied. Yuffie pouted.
"But it's so disgusting! I mean, the way they tear up their faces like that! An-and the way they show all the blood pouring out all over the cement! That's freaky!" she protested. Cloud smirked.
"No, that's good TV." he stated. His smirk turned into a grin as one of the bikers on the TV bailed on a grind and ripped his face open. Yuffie cringed as the camera got a close-up of the blood he was coughing up.
"So, who was on the phone?" Cloud asked, not the least bit affected by the gory sight. Yuffie shook her head at the blood.
"Leon. He got a job at that fast-food restaurant down the street." she mumbled, covering her eyes as the doctor sewed up the man's face with a surgical needle. Cloud grinned.
"Leon…got a job?" the blond asked mischievously. Yuffie nodded, her eyes still covered. Cloud set down the remote and pulled out his cell phone.
"Well…time to get 'im fired." he said casually. Yuffie looked at him in shock and confusion.
"What do you mean you're gonna get him fired?! Why?!" she asked. Cloud glanced at her as he dialed the number of Leon's cell phone.
"I can't torment him if he's not here! Duh!" the spiky-haired man said as if it were obvious. Yuffie was about to stop him, but Cloud leapt up from his seat as the other end started ringing. The ninja tried to snatch the phone from him, but he kept it out of her reach.
--
"She said, "While you were sleeping,
I was listenin' to the radio,
Wonderin' what you were dreamin',
When it came to mind that I didn't ca-" Leon cut off his ringtone as he as answered his cell.
"Yeah?" he answered lazily as the burgers on the grill in front of him sizzled. It wasn't the best job in the world, but it paid.
"So, Leonhart. How's hell so far?" Cloud's voice came in from the other end of the call. Leon scowled.
"I'm hanging up now, Strife." he stated before doing so. Dustin walked over angrily.
"What was that?!" the kid asked loudly. Leon looked at him.
"What?" he asked.
"I don't pay you to waste my precious time talking with your buddies back home! Now, if I see in again, you can consider yourself outta here!" Dustin shouted. Leon closed his eyes.
It's for the money, it's for the money, it's for the money…, he repeated over and over in his head. He stiffly nodded.
--
Cloud stared at the phone in disbelief. Yuffie stopped trying to swipe it out of his hands and studied his expression. Finally, she frowned and grabbed the phone, snapping Cloud out of his trance.
"What happened?" she asked. Cloud's disbelief became anger.
"That bastard hung up on me!" he shouted angrily. Yuffie giggled a little.
"Wow, Spike. 7 seconds. A whole new record." the young girl said. Cloud scowled and crossed his arms childishly.
"Oh, like you could do any better." he growled. Yuffie looked at him in confusion.
"What?" she asked.
"You heard me. It's not like you could hold a conversation with him any longer than I did." Cloud said. Yuffie shook her head rapidly.
"No way! Nuh-uh! I'm not helping you get Squall fired! He needs this money!" she said. Cloud smirked.
"So, you're admitting defeat." he stated. Yuffie bit her lip nervously. She didn't want Leon to get in trouble at his new job because of her, but she was 'The Great Ninja Yuffie!'. And 'The Great Ninja Yuffie!' didn't admit defeat! Finally, she sighed.
"Gimme the phone." Yuffie commanded. Cloud's smirk widened and he tossed her the phone.
--
"She said, "While you were sleeping,
I was listenin' to the ra-" Leon groaned slightly as he answered his phone. Making sure his boss wasn't watching, he quickly brought it up to his ear.
"What now, Strife?!" he whispered angrily.
"Oh, don't worry, Leon! Cloud won't bother you anymore!" Yuffie said happily.
"Oh. What do you want, Yuffie?" Leon asked, still watching for Dustin.
"Uh, well…just to tell you that, I guess." Yuffie replied.
"Well, I got to-" Leon stopped when he felt his cell phone being taken out of his hand. Looking down, he saw Dustin hanging up the phone with a glare.
"What part of 'Time is money' don't you get?!" the black-haired kid shouted. Leon closed his eyes.
"I get it. I'm fired." he said.
"Whoa, whoa! I never said that!" Dustin shouted. Leon looked at his boss in confusion.
"Yeah, you did. You said if you caught me on the phone one more time, I was out of here." the brunet said. Dustin shook his head.
"I meant out of the kitchen! You've been demoted!" he shouted. Leon's brow furrowed.
"'Demoted'? To what?" he asked.
--
Cloud glanced at the stopwatch he was holding as Yuffie hung up. She turned to the blond man, who was scowling. She took that as a good sign and grinned.
"So, how'd I do?" Yuffie asked eagerly. Cloud threw the stopwatch onto the couch.
"18 seconds." he muttered in defeat.
"Whoo-hoo!" Yuffie shouted in victory as Cloud just collapsed back into his chair, angrily watching a skater break his arm in 3 three places.
--
"…You're kidding me." Leon said dully. He was being demoted to mascot?! Dustin gave him a glare.
"Does it look like I'm kidding?!" he asked angrily. Leon sighed.
"No…" he muttered.
"Then put on the suit!" Dustin shouted angrily. Leon glanced between his boss and the Chocobo get-up. Finally, he sighed.
"No."
Dustin stared at the man in shock, who was now glaring down at him.
"What do you mean, no?!" the boy shouted in disbelief. Leon angrily ripped his apron off and threw it on the ground.
"No. I'm not doing it. This isn't worth having to be bossed around by some snot-nosed brat! I quit!" he shouted and walked out. Dustin chased after him.
"Hey, you can't quit! You're already fired!" the boy shouted angrily. Leon ignored him and walked back home with only one thought in his mind.
That kid is way worse than Strife.
--
AN: That chapter was partially inspired by Rico from Hannah Montana. Yeah, I know the show sucks, but it worked for this chapter! And honorable mention to whoever can guess Leon's ringtone! (Hint: It's sung by his favorite band.)
Next Chapter: Leon gets cursed.
After a weird dog bites Leon, he winds up with dog ears and a tail! Now, he got to find some way to reverse the curse before the effects become permanent.
R&R!!!