Once upon a time, there was a Godly valley with mountains that could touch the sky and trees that cast long shadows. The people who live in the small mountain town are hardworking and happy, so long as they never stray into the forest where the wolves lurk in the darkness. Adults brave the trees in groups to hunt the vicious pack as they have for decades, the conflict is deep with no sign of victory for either side. But wolves are not the only threat, nor the village's only secret - and the link connecting them is a simple cloak of Red ...

Every night, from the highest peak of the uninhabited mountains, a single Wolf howls to the good folk of the valley – as a warning, as a message, and as a reminder of what they did:
"Beware, beware, the Path where the Witch once stood. Beware, beware, of the Wolf in the Wood."

After trekking through the woods for an hour, moving in wide circles in the hopes that it would make Cloud's tracking easier, and finally getting snuck up on by said person, Leon was expecting more than the distressed whimper that left Cloud's lips.

"Leon! What happened?" Cloud's hands cupped his face, eyes wide on the dark bruise covering most of his cheek and right eye.

Leon kept his face as blank as possible as Cloud tended to the injury, "Nothing much. A few hunters had one too many drinks at the midsummer festival, and they cornered me while I escorted Quistis home," he stayed still as Cloud's deft fingers inspected the damage near his eye, unable to help closing them involuntarily. He tried to reassure him, "I'm fine, really. Just roughed up a bit."

Cloud growled, "A bit? You're not walking properly," his voice dropped into a deeper growl as he spotted the smaller bruises on his arms, he pushed Leon's cloak over his shoulders to bare his arms, Leon let him when he saw the blaze in the iris's. The blue fire in the blond's eyes was beyond furious as they took in the scattered welts and bruises, some dark as pebbles and others red as berries. "Where else are you hurt?"

"Just my shoulders, arms, and face," when Cloud raised an eyebrow at him he caved and reluctantly added, "One on my lower back, they snuck up on me."

It hadn't been entirely unexpected, but as he finished trading the innkeeper several leather hides for salt and saw Quistis struggling to escape the loud atmosphere he took the risk that he'd get some unwanted attention and looped his arm through his sister's to guide her away from the noise. His move was made, and it wasn't a minute before the loud, hard blow landed on his lower back and send him reeling, only managing to push Quistis further to keep her from harm as he did so.

A brave sister, she had stayed with him, and since he could only limp now, he had to fend off the hunter's aggressions until they were bored.

Cloud whimpered again, twisting his fingers into Leon's "Bastards … come on, this way," he led him through the trees on an invisible track and Leon followed willingly, unable to help squeezing Cloud's hand as they walked. So what if he was in a sorry state, he had missed Cloud and was glad he was free once again.

Cloud gave him a sad smile and eventually, after several minutes of silence, they, or just Leon, stumbled upon a pond. Cloud always seemed to know where they were and what was around them. The pool sat under a dark canopy of leaves and was shaded, it felt almost private with the thick shrubbery growing on the floor too.

The blond pulled his hand insistently "Sit down, let me see."

Leon pulled the cloak from his shoulders and hung in over a nearby branch, then he knelt and shifted until Cloud was behind him. He jumped when warm hands gently pulled his shirt up to see the bruise, the soft touches against his skin nearly tickled and Leon couldn't help but be hyper-aware of them. The air on his neck chilled when Cloud hissed angrily "Were they armed?" he gingerly touched the bruise on Leon's lower back, and Leon tried not to shiver. The bruise was very dark, and large, and Leon knew that Cloud's keen sense of smell would have betrayed the scent of blood.

"Broom," Leon admitted. He still felt the impact of the head of the broom driving into him, it had lost all its bristles and was basically a club. The bruises on his arms had been from defending his face from the handle and the occasional fist, the only one to his face had been a stray punch when his arms had been occupied hold Quistis at arm's length. It wasn't the first time he'd been the subject of a brawl outside of the tavern, they were rare, thank goodness, but he cursed the timing of it, Cloud shouldn't have to see him this way. Regardless, he was glad that Quistis hadn't been hurt during the scuffle.

She had taken him home and insisted that he stay with her for the night, she tended to his bruises as best she could while they were developing, but with all her abilities as a healer, she could only reduce the swelling and wait for the skin to discolour. Leon tried not to smile as she apologised endlessly as if it was her fault, he waved her sorrys away and enjoyed his warm spot by her hearth until the dawn.

Now that the bruises had darkened there was something that could be done, Cloud shrugged out of his shirt, dipped the fabric in the water and began to carefully massage the edges, trying to ease the blood away and encourage their eventual fade. "More than one opponent?" he probed.

Leon sighed "Four."

Cloud growled again "Bloody cowards, I'll kill them!"

With a dry smirk, Leon looked over his shoulder "Really Mr. Big Bad Wolf? Gonna tear out their throats and eat them?"

"On you word," Cloud vowed fiercely, "But I'd never be that disgusting," he added under his breath, making Leon chuckle. After several minutes of quiet and Cloud's tentative ministrations to the sore flesh, the blond asked "Why would they do this? Why do they hate you so much?"

Twisting his hands together, Leon wondered how much Cloud already knew. "Remember I told you that I'm associated with the wolves, and because I'm not normal that means that I'm a cause of trouble wherever I go?" he assumed Cloud nodded, he wasn't looking. "When things go wrong, they blame me. If I'm involved people expect bad things to happen, and no matter how long it takes for the misfortune to appear, it's still my fault. Last week I knocked a woman down, we came round the same corner without realising, I helped her up and gathered her things and a few days later she fell sick."

"What does her illness have to do with you?" was the confused reply.

Not used to someone not catching on, Leon stumbled for words for a moment "Her husband blamed me for her illness, I snapped at her before I realised it was an accident, and I'm already a bad omen for most people, he must have thought I cursed her. I definitely scared her, but I didn't mean to, I apologised and helped her, but … she only remembered being scared."

"Cowering whore," Cloud muttered.

Leon shook his head "No, just an ordinary women who listens to Father Hojo's advice. Like a good Catholic. When her husband saw me walking Quistis home, he must have jumped at the opportunity to get his own back at the village bad omen."

His arms hesitantly wrapped around his shoulders "You're not a bad omen, Red."

Leon touched Cloud's hand with a soft smile on his lips "Maybe not to my family, or you, but-"

"But nothing!" the blond interrupted "It's not your fault. It's not." He pressed his head into Leon's shoulder "It's not …"

Leon squeezed his hand and blinked fiercely to clear his blurry vision. He had never been told otherwise before.

He cleared his throat and inquired after Cloud to stop the lump forming in his chest, "So you're back in the woods again, was your punishment bad?"

Cloud shook his head, not budging from his hold on Leon "No, not bad. I was grounded for a few weeks, I wasn't allowed supper that evening, it was deer too," he sighed. "Then I wasn't permitted to do anything without supervision." He laughed slightly, "Zack got annoyed with me really fast, and technically I'm still supposed to have a minder, they don't trust me not to stay away from you."

Catching the grin on his face, Leon laughed "Then how are you here?"

Cloud snorted "I'll have you know I'm the fastest in the pack. But, I didn't run away, this time, I'll admit. I bribed Tifa into giving me at least the morning alone, she'll probably just watch from the shadows, you won't even notice her. I think she was happy to be away from the fuss too, everyone was panicking that you knowing meant the end of the world, that we'd have to run away over the mountains and find a new forest to live in."

When Leon raised an eyebrow, he snickered too "I think they were looking for any excuse to overreact."

"Were you bored?" the brunet wondered aloud.

"Sometimes," Cloud's nose pressed into his neck, and he inhaled deeply "I missed you."

Leon smiled, leaning a little to give Cloud better access, a little tense but not uncomfortable with the oddly intimate feeling of another touching his neck.

Cloud hummed thoughtfully "You … you probably shouldn't do that," he pulled away with a heavy sigh.

Leon shifted to see him without craning his neck "Why?"

Cloud's hand resumed its gentle massage on Leon's back, Leon hissed softly through his teeth before he got his answer. Cloud's expression was worried, his fingertips adjusted delicately until he was sure Leon was fine, then he explained "Bearing your neck, in a wolf's perspective, is a gesture of complete trust. It's the most vulnerable part of you and …" he snorted slightly "It's something that's only considered done with a mate, a life-partner or spouse."

Blinking, Leon intelligently responded with "Oh. Right." and Cloud looked like he was biting back laughter.

"It's fine, you didn't know."

Calming down a little, the pair watched each other, awkwardly waiting for one to start the conversation that they were nervous to speak of yet desperate to finally know.

At last, Leon asked, "Why haven't you asked me yet?"

Cloud shifted himself and pulled his damp shirt back into the water to apply to Leon's face, pausing just long enough to get permission before applying the pressure, "You take priority over that, you're hurt."

Leon snorted "It's nothing." Cloud looked like he wanted to argue, his face worried and something like righteous anger flashing in his eyes. No doubt there would have been another conversation about Leon's worth, but Leon was not prepared to hold his tongue any longer. "But while you're busy focusing … hear me out?" he asked, Cloud's thumb of his free hand examining a bruise to his elbow.

Cloud nodded, no voice to be heard and his lips were pale enough to reveal why he was so speechless. Leon hoped he'd be able to explain right, he only had one chance.

"I needed time to think, and I meant it," he began, trying to put his thoughts into words. "I thought about what you said a lot on my own, but no matter how much time I put into figuring out what it meant to me I couldn't answer back coherently. In the end, I had my sister, Quistis, help me talk it through- Oh," he looked up suddenly "She doesn't know about you, though. Not wolf, not even your name."

Cloud smiled slightly "Thanks."

Breathing again, he continued "I had her help me organise my thoughts and feelings … it was embarrassing," he put his head in his free hand, he heard Cloud laugh near silently above him, and felt better for the gentle banter. "Without thinking of you as a man, she helped me see that I do care about you, very much. Maybe I was over thinking it, I don't know. But I don't feel any different than before you told me you liked me."

Cloud's fingers stilled on his skin and his breath hitched "You mean …"

Leon silenced him with a hand held up "You told me you admired me, that you were happy with me because I accepted you, never lonely, and never made to feel different. I don't want you to leave Cloud, I realised I felt exactly the same."

The blond gasped again, eyes going wide as Leon finished his little speech.

"I think I always liked you that way, I just didn't recognise it as love because I never thought it could happen between two men. I thought I'd have to feel differently, something more, or something strange, to love another man, but I don't. When I understood that, I knew what to say to you." He cupped Cloud's jaw carefully. "You were brave to be honest with me before, I won't give you less now. I've never had another, I don't know what to do, or how this works. But I want it to, to work. If you'll have me."

"Lee," Cloud sandwiched Leon's hand against his cheek and turned to press a small kiss into it, his eyes were still wide, but they were soft, the fingertips on his arm moved once more, again lighter and worshipful compared to before.

"Is that alright?" the brunet checked, uncertainly, feeling a light dread as he'd bared his heart, the beat thumping almost uncomfortably under his collarbone.

Laughing, Cloud nodded "Yes." He broke the tension by pulled their bodies together to hold, his head once again buried in his shoulder. "I never thought … I was almost sure you'd say no. Catholics, they're … strange about the world."

Leon nodded "I know. If I'm a Catholic, I'm not a very good one." Cloud squeezed his arms gently, wordlessly expressing his joy. "They've been telling me I'm strange most of my life, I think it's time I finally listened to them," they chuckled briefly before Leon added, "Cloud, I really had no idea what I'm doing."

Cloud raised his head just enough to look him in the eye "That's life, Red, you have to just run with it. And, besides, we're our own men, right? We can figure out how to do this our way. Nothing has to change, we could just keep things as they were, same old hunts, same old games … but I wouldn't mind holding and kissing you more."

Relaxing and laughing, Leon admitted, "That sounds good."

Cloud leaned forwards a bit, so close that Leon could count the freckles on his nose and feel the extra heat the wolf-man gave off, and murmured "Does that mean I can kiss you now?"

Confident that the tips of his ears were flaming red with blush, Leon hesitated "I've not-"

"I was your first?" Cloud interrupted excitedly, raising his hands to cradle Leon's face, keeping his thumb away from the injury on his cheek and never breaking eye contact. "Can I do it again?" The insistent look in his eye and the subtle longing turning into a strong pining in Leon's mind wore down his hesitance. Leon tucked a hand against Cloud's neck and brought him closer.

"Yes."

Their first kiss was chaste, a little unsure and experimental, simply a firm touch of lips and a taste of their potential. Leon saw Cloud pull back just enough to see his reaction, still acting so very careful with him. Leon gave him a small smile before kissing him again; he was inexperienced, but he refused to be treated so delicately even by Cloud. As they grew bolder, Leon noticed little things about his partner; he kissed with confidence that only seemed to grow, Leon noted, a little intimidated and wowed with it. However, he was a fast learner too and quickly understood how to move his lips in sync and was bold enough to lick at Cloud's upper lip when he caught it with his own, elated when Cloud gave a slight shiver in direct response.

Cloud broke their kiss again, smiling with half lidded eyes "Pretty good, Red."

Leon glanced away with a small laugh, a little embarrassed but very pleased. "Was I your first?" he wondered, feeling unsure with how good Cloud was already, and by how much he already seemed to know.

"Yeah."

Leon raised an eyebrow "I don't believe that you seem to know what you're doing."

Cloud snickered "Unlike your dumb Catholic folk back in your den, we wolves aren't ashamed of kissing in front of each other and showing affections." He gently bumped heads with Leon, "It's easy to pick up just from watching, and you're not a bad kisser for just having me as your only partner." He began to tuck his nose under Leon's chin again, unable to help himself, it seemed.

"I don't know-" before he could excuse himself, Cloud had silenced him with a finger to his lips.

"Leon, you don't have to." He replaced his finger with his mouth, and Leon smiled into their next few kisses, feeling a bit better about just making it up as he went along. Correction, as they went along. A strange feeling, knowing he wasn't alone anymore … but it was a feeling he was sure he could come to love.

Cloud playfully bit at Leon's lower lip before helping them both stand up "There might be hope for you yet in learning how to take a deer down bare handed, you learn on the fly pretty darn well." He pecked Leon's uninjured cheek carefully and hummed, "Personally, I'd love to just kiss you senseless all day, but there's hunting to be done, am I right?"

Leon grinned, flexed his back with minimal pain and agreed "Biggest catch gets the next kiss."

Snickering, Cloud elbowed him "I like these odds, I don't lose."

Contest was still a contest, and neither backed down from the challenge. Throughout the day, the silent forest was witness to their determination and rivalry, they pulled out their greatest skill and tricks to trap the biggest catch. Leon played fair without his gun, it was propped up at home. Cloud noticed and let Leon have a head start, but despite that Leon was eventually forced to admit defeat when Cloud effortlessly brought down a deer. However, defeat, for once, was sweet, and soft, and lasted for five whole minutes on the forest floor.

Story is also available on Ao3 for those who prefer it there.