Come Home
Description: Inspired by the Ashika Sakura story of the same name. A single night's mistake separated them for six years. When chance throws them back together, it will take more than love to heal the wounds and bring them home. Cleon, Soriku, AkuRoku, Zemyx, and Yuffietine.
Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts belongs to Square-Enix. This should be nothing new to anyone.
A/N: ANNOUNCEMENT! I know that there are a ton of KH3 fanfics out there (hell, I wrote one myself), but all of you must go over and read the latest chapter of fuzzynaveljewelry's story "Kingdom Hearts III" and tell her how awesome she is. Why? Because Sora and Kairi, in their quest to save the worlds from darkness, have made a stop into the world of Amazing Grace! That's right! I've been fanficced! By someone other than myself! WOO HOO!!!!! Now all I need is for FFNet to make it a category, have a couple of people write some one-shots (like some Chris/Jay PWP, they're canon for heaven's sake!), and I can die happy.
Okay, getting myself under control now ... My thanks to everyone who voted in my poll. According to the results, genre isn't really a factor to most of you, so my follow-up poll is unnecessary. I will have other questions for you eventually, but none right now. Again, thank you all.
28. Cloud
It is past midnight on a Tuesday/Wednesday, and he doesn't care. His mother is going to skin him alive when he gets home, and he doesn't care about that either. His prior responsibilities are completely unimportant now, not even registering on his mental list of things to think about. At the moment, all he cares about is the food on the table, the drink in his hand, and the friends on all sides.
"A toast!" Zack cries, lifting his Coke into the air. "Here's to finally being seniors!"
He smirks at his best friend's dramatics and raises his own glass slightly. "Here's to AP Physics and Calc BC," he counters.
Zack predictably quails. "Ugh, Cloud, how could you?" he demands, smile falling into a pouting frown. His drink hits the table again with a clunk. "Way to spoil the mood, man."
"How about we drink to SAT scores and college applications?"
"Dear God, what are you trying to do? Kill me?"
His smirk only widens. Teasing Zack is always so very entertaining, but he doesn't do it much. Only on special occasions like tonight. Next to him, Tifa laughs her bright, cheerful laugh and lifts her milkshake so that it taps lightly against the side of his soda. "I'll give you a toast," she offers with a broad smile. "Here's to summer."
Across from her, Aerith lifts her water high. "To summer," she echoes with a sweet smile. Zack immediately perks back up, and, since he has kept his glass aloft this entire time, Tifa's proposed toast is quickly approved and enacted.
Once the drinks return to the table, he and Zack proceed to attack the cheese fries before them. Aerith watches thoughtfully for a moment, her head resting on her boyfriend's shoulder. She is such a calming presence for their group, so gentle and serene. Yet she can be devious in her own way, a fact of which he is reminded when she comments, "This year we need to work on getting Cloud a girlfriend."
His head snaps up in surprise and annoyance. He has no desire for anyone to assist him with his love life. However, before he can make his preferences clear, Tifa eagerly adds, "Or a boyfriend."
Aerith frowns lightly at the other's suggestion. "A girl would be better," she insists. "Cloud needs someone to take care of him. An older woman would be ideal, but since he's already a senior, we'll have to make do."
"A guy can take care of him, too," Tifa argues, leaning over the table slightly for emphasis. "Girls aren't the only ones who know how to be patient and responsible."
"Well, yes, but he would have so much less trouble with a girlfriend. You know, socially."
Groaning in a mixture of embarrassment and horror, he drops his head into his hands. He can't believe his two best girl friends are arguing over the gender of the person they're going to set him up with. "Why did I decide to share my orientation with the two of you?" he asks despairingly. "Why?"
Tifa smiles at him and pats him on the head like he's her pet. "Because we're your friends, of course," she answers. "Now just sit there like a good boy and let us plan out your future, okay?"
Across from him, Zack is trying hard not to make his sniggers too obvious. "You know," he says, "you could always just go out with Tifa and save yourself all this headache."
"No thanks," he and the girl next to him reply at the same time. Turning, he catches her eye, and they both smile. He loves Tifa, but he will never consent to being her boyfriend. It would be a first-class disaster.
Zack snorts at them. "See? That's exactly why I think you two should get together. You finish each other's sentences, you fight like you've been married for years, and sometimes I swear you share the same brain. I don't see why you keep fighting it."
While Tifa rolls her eyes and sips her milkshake, Aerith snuggles up to her boyfriend and kisses him lightly on the cheek. "Give it up, dear," she advises. "If they ever did get together, Tifa would drive Cloud insane, and she would end up strangling him. It's better for everyone's sakes that they stay just friends."
Zack looks to him to see if he is going to refute this, but he keeps on picking at the fries and doesn't even bother to make eye contact. "Well, fine," the dark-haired boy concedes. "If you say so, sweetheart." He drapes his arm around his girl and pulls her closer. As an apparent afterthought, he asks, "Since the girls are set on fixing you up this year, how about we set up Teef?"
He snorts in response. "I rather like my internal organs where they are, thank you very much."
Aerith laughs brightly while Tifa elbows him hard in the ribs. Zack chuckles and shakes his head. He just smiles.
Moments like these are what he lives for. At home, his mother is controlling and overprotective. His father is long gone, having divorced his mother when he was barely old enough to speak. At school, he has few friends. The teachers like him well enough, but he doesn't ever stand out, doesn't really catch anyone's notice. It is only in times like these, with Zack and Aerith and Tifa, that he feels like he's worth something, like he belongs.
The girls are chatting again and this time Zack is inserting his own opinions and suggestions. As he watches them, his heart begins to fill with an uncharacteristic warmth and softness. Before he fully realizes what he is doing, his hand has grasped his drink again and is lifting it into the air.
"I have a toast for you, Zack," he interrupts. When all three sets of eyes are gazing at him, he presents his glass and says, "To friendship."
Zack beams at him as he snatches his own drink and raises it. "To friendship!" he agrees.
"Friendship," Tifa echoes, adding her glass to the waiting group, her pretty face lit up with a bright smile.
"May it last forever," Aerith finishes, and her soft words sound like a prayer. He appreciates her addition, but he knows they don't need it. Their hearts are connected and always will be.
The four glasses meet in the center of the table, gently ringing out into tomorrow.
xXx
The shelter was extremely noisy what with dogs barking non-stop and the occasional meow or hiss. Cloud had expected that. He had also expected the smell, a mixture of animal stench and the cleaning products that the staff had used to keep the odors under control. What he hadn't expected and what had confused him enough to be blinking at his sons like a half-wit, was how quickly Sora and Roxas had chosen their new pet and the result of that extremely fast search.
"Are you sure?" he asked them yet again.
"We're sure!" Sora chirped. He dropped down onto his knees and wrapped his arms around the neck of a fully-grown golden retriever. At his touch, the dog turned her head and tried to lick Sora's ear. "Isn't she beautiful?" the boy asked, his eyes shining with happiness. "Her name is Destiny."
"She's four years old," Roxas explained for their father's benefit. "One of her back legs broke when she was still a puppy and it didn't heal right, so she has some trouble walking. She's also rather skittish around people although she took to Sora right away."
"That doesn't surprise me at all," Cloud commented, smiling down at his brunet son. "Still, I would have sworn that you two would pick a puppy." He ran his eyes over the dog's back legs, trying to gauge which one had been injured and how badly. "If she can't walk well, she won't be able to run around with you guys and play ball or frisbee. You're all right with that?"
Destiny was attempting to wash a laughing Sora's face with her tongue, so Roxas answered for the both of them. "Yeah, we're fine with it." His hand dropped onto the dog's head and rubbed the fur gently. "The puppies were really cute, but they'll all get picked up by someone else. Destiny, though …" His blue eyes softened and he gazed down at the dog who was now licking the hand trying to pet her. "As soon as Sora and I saw her, we knew we wanted her. We know what it feels like to be overlooked and left behind."
A quiet ache began to grow in Cloud's chest as he nodded in understanding. Yes, he knew well just how deeply his boys could relate to the pain of being unwanted and the joy of finally being chosen. "All right then," he said. "If she's the one you want, she's the one we'll take home."
"Thanks, Dad!" the twins chorused as he turned towards the lobby. Cloud paused to send them a smile, but they had already gone back to fussing over their new pet. Shaking his head fondly at them, he resumed his journey to the front desk and the paperwork that awaited him there.
Once they had all returned home, Sora and Roxas spent the rest of the day showing the dog around the house and backyard, encouraging her to sniff everything and get used to her new surroundings. They also took her on no fewer than three walks, the last of which made them late for dinner, much to Cloud's displeasure. He punished them by giving them clean-up duties while he retired to the family room to watch the news. To Sora's and Roxas's joint dismay and in spite of all their attempts to get her to stay in the kitchen, Destiny followed Cloud and flopped down onto the floor at his feet in a furry lump.
"Tired you out, did they?" Cloud asked her kindly as he flipped on the set with the remote. When the dog answered with a single thump of her tail, he smiled and encouraged, "Don't worry. You'll get used to it."
Destiny gazed at him with doubtful eyes as if to say she'd believe it when she saw it. Then, she shut her eyes and promptly fell asleep.
Perhaps twenty minutes later, Sora poked his head into the family room and announced, "Clean up is all done, Dad."
"Good," Cloud replied, not taking his eyes from the hockey scores. "Go start your homework."
"Whaaat?" Sora predictably whined. "Can't we do it tomorrow?"
"No. Tomorrow you'll want to play with the dog again. Do it now while she's sleeping."
Sora grumbled but didn't argue further, and a few minutes later, Cloud heard two pairs of sullen footsteps trudging up the stairs. He smirked a little at the thought of their scowling faces. When he had been their age, he had always wondered if parents derived some sort of sick satisfaction from knowing that their kids were being forced to do something they didn't want to do. Now that he was a parent, he knew that they most certainly did.
A quiet hour passed where Cloud watched the television and the dog slept, twitching occasionally but otherwise remaining still. As surprised as he had been at the twins' choice, he was quite glad that they had picked an older, calmer dog rather than a wiggly, hyper puppy who would have been all over him by this point. He didn't really want to admit it, but having Destiny's warmth on his feet was oddly soothing, like she was meant to be there. He certainly hadn't thought that there was something missing from his life, but now it almost felt as if a hole had been filled that Cloud hadn't even known existed.
Thankfully, the phone rang before he could get too sappy.
He grabbed at the receiver without looking and lifted it to his ear. "Hello?"
"Cloud?" a familiar deep voice greeted. "It's Leon."
A little flash of excitement shot through him like a rocket. "Oh, hey Leon," he said, successfully keeping his voice casual. "What's up?"
"Not much," Leon replied easily. "Just felt like talking to you."
"Ah, so you missed the sound of my voice, did you?"
The other man chuckled at his teasing, low vibrations that made Cloud shiver. "You found me out," Leon joked. "Can't hide anything from you."
Smiling, Cloud settled more comfortably into the couch and let himself relax. Ever since their date, he had thought often of Leon, frequently having to consciously stop himself when the timing wasn't appropriate. Sometimes it made him feel like a teenage girl with a crush, but as embarrassing as that was, he couldn't really help himself. The man had looked so good that night, being in his presence had felt so comfortable, and nothing compared to how amazing it felt to have that body against his as they kissed and touched with an abandon better suited to kids almost half their age.
"How was your week?" he asked after making sure he had his imagination firmly under control.
The question produced a low sound of pain from the man on the other end of the line. "Terrible," he answered. "Demyx got sick, the computer crashed and lost a large stack of orders that I had just inputted so I had to input them all again, one of my shipments was wrong and another one was late. It was just … if something could have gone wrong, it did. One of those weeks."
"Sounds fantastic."
"No kidding." Leon paused for a moment, and when he spoke again, there was something teasing in his voice. "In fact, it was so awful that I figured I was owed a reward for getting through it. Something along the lines of a second date with you."
Cloud smirked with satisfaction, but before he could reply, his seat was suddenly shaking and dipping under the weight of a golden retriever who had decided that the couch looked like the place to be. "No!" he said sharply, momentarily forgetting about Leon on the other end of the phone. "Get down! You are not allowed on the couch."
Destiny paused in her climb to look at him with calm brown eyes. Clearly, she did not see why he was allowed on the couch and she was not. After all, there was plenty of room, and the cushions looked comfortable.
"Down!" Cloud repeated, now using his free hand for emphasis. "Destiny, down!"
The dog gazed at him for another moment to see if he would possibly consider changing his mind; then, she slowly slid off of the couch and padded over to sit on his foot. She plopped her large head down in his lap and stared up at him with an expression designed to soften him up and make him feel guilty.
"And don't bother looking at me like that. It won't work."
Destiny quirked an eyebrow at him as if to say that it most certainly would work if given enough time, and as far as that was concerned, she was a very patient dog.
"I'm telling you you're wasting your time. You are not allowed on the couch, not now, not ever." When those brown eyes didn't waver in the slightest, he sighed and leaned back. "Fine. Stare at me. I am not going to change my mind." He had unconsciously moved the phone a bit away as he yelled at Destiny, so now he returned it to its proper place and apologized, "Sorry, Leon. I had to take a moment and discipline the dog."
Silence greeted him for about ten seconds; then Leon audibly exhaled, tacking on a small laugh at the end. "I see," he said with a smile in his tone. "I had pegged you as a strict parent, but for a moment there, I was worried that you were going a bit overboard, to make the boys sit on the floor."
Cloud cringed, very glad that Leon couldn't see his reddening face. "No, I'm not quite that crazy," he tried to joke. "I let them sit on the couch. After they've been properly sanitized of course." Leon's answering laughter soothed his nerves and brought the smile back to his face.
"So, you have a dog now?"
"Yeah. She's a late Christmas gift for the boys."
"What breed?"
"Golden retriever."
"Good breed."
"I guess." Cloud glanced down at the furry head resting in his lap. Destiny was still staring at him with those big eyes. Quickly, he looked away. "Anyway, I believe you mentioned something about a date?"
Leon chuckled again. "I did."
"The weekend's half over already. Were you thinking tomorrow night?"
"No, I'm busy tomorrow," Leon replied. "I was thinking of inviting you out to lunch sometime next week."
Cloud frowned, heart sinking a little. "Sorry, I can't. I have a deadline on Thursday, and we're really behind. I've already warned everyone that they'll have to work through lunch all next week."
"Oh." The voice on the phone had quieted but remained hopeful as it asked, "What about Friday then?"
"Well, I could but …" Cloud stopped himself and, with a grimace of resignation, shook his head. "No, I shouldn't. If we don't actually make the deadline, I'll need Friday to finish up. Making plans for lunch on that day would be a bad idea." He sighed and ran his free hand through his hair. "I'm sorry, Leon. I'd really like to, but I just can't this week."
"Hn."
Blue eyes widened at that one small sound, the sound of Leon closing himself off and shutting everyone out. Gripping the phone a little tighter, Cloud tried to stop it by suggesting, "How about next weekend or the week after? We could do lunch like you said or something else on Friday night or Saturday."
For several tense moments, Leon did not reply, but then he spoke and Cloud knew he had been too late. "No, that's all right. I'd rather not."
"Are you sure?" he insisted, sounding desperate even to himself. "I'd really like to see you."
"I'm sure. I need to go. I'll talk to you later, Cloud."
Cloud grit his teeth, fighting the urge to scream. "Yeah, all right," he somehow managed to say. "Talk to you later." The click of Leon hanging up sounded in his ear almost before he finished speaking. Terribly discouraged, Cloud settled the receiver into its cradle and rested a hand over his closed eyes.
What the hell had just happened? Had Leon really pitched a fit and given up on them just because Cloud couldn't commit to a date next week? What did the man expect? For him to be completely free all the time? For him to drop all of his responsibilities or tear apart his schedule based on Leon's whim? They were adults, dammit! Adults who worked, who had paying jobs, and Cloud at least had a family that depended on that money. What was so freaking unreasonable about asking to postpone or reschedule a date?
And yet, in a way, Cloud kind of understood what Leon was feeling. Their relationship was still very new, they had a history that was less than pleasant, and Leon still had doubts, so many that he couldn't yet commit to anything more than "dating". He had only Cloud's word as to why his proposal had been refused, and in the past, trusting Cloud had brought nothing but heartbreak. For all Leon knew, Cloud could be using work as an excuse to blow him off.
A small groan escaped him as he massaged his temples with his middle finger and thumb. "Leon," he whispered, "what is it going to take to get you to believe that I love you more than anyone else?"
Something wet and cold bumped into him mid-thigh. Cracking open an eye, he looked down to find Destiny gazing back up at him intently. Some time during his conversation with Leon, Cloud had apparently let his other hand fall onto the dog's head and had begun petting her in an unconscious attempt to comfort himself. Destiny had clearly just inquired as to why the pleasant ear-scratching had stopped. Her questioning expression was so simple and gentle that Cloud couldn't help but smile.
"Don't get any ideas," he warned her half-heartedly as he began to stroke and scratch her again. "You belong to Sora and Roxas. You are absolutely not going to become my dog."
Destiny simply settled her head back into his lap and thumped her tail a couple of times. Even without words, her response was perfectly clear and as oddly comforting to Cloud as her presence.
That's what you think.
xXx
Without a doubt, the best of Cid's three drafters was Jessie. She was smart, fast, and meticulous. She knew her way around a shop drawing and could do things in CAD that Cloud hadn't known CAD could do. She usually didn't need much direction, if any, and she wasn't shy or hesitant about asking for help when she did need it. In fact, the only downside to working with Jessie as far as Cloud was concerned was the fact that she seemed to have an extremely strong and persistent crush on him.
She was very professional about it, but Cloud wasn't blind. The way she smiled at him, the accidental or unnecessary touches, how she would ask two or three times a day if Cloud had anything he wanted her to do. He had tried to discourage her by dropping the occasional comment about his dead wife and playing the part of the still-grieving entirely-unavailable widower, but she had refused to be deterred. She was still in his office every day with a cheerful "Good morning" and the blatant hope that today he would notice her.
On Wednesday around lunchtime, she was there again, going over some marks she had made to a drawing and standing much closer than was necessary.
"Strife! You in?" Xigbar's voice barked just before the man himself poked his head into the office. "Ah, there you are," he grinned. "Come with me, kid. I'm taking you out."
"Out?" Cloud echoed, surprised. "Out where?"
His boss scoffed at him as if the answer were obvious. "Out to lunch, of course," he replied. To Jessie, he added, "You too, girl. I'm taking the whole office. So come on, get your coats, and let's go."
As Jessie happily moved to obey, Cloud jumped out of his chair to stop Xigbar before the man could disappear.
"Wait a minute!" he called. "I can't go out. My deadline is tomorrow." He gestured helplessly at the piles of drawings and notes on his desk.
At Cloud's resistance, Xigbar sighed and reentered the doorway, fully this time. He crossed his arms over his chest and regarded the younger man patiently with his good eye. "Yeah, I know," he said, "but I also know that one extra hour isn't going to kill you. You and the others have been working yourselves ragged, and you need a break. I'm giving it to you. Besides," he added when Cloud remained unconvinced, "we've never given you a proper welcome to the company. Consider this your unofficial acceptance into the family."
"Come on, Cloud," Jessie encouraged with a smile. "It's just lunch. You have to eat anyway, right?"
"Yes, but …" He trailed off and focused on his desk, letting the other two think he was still worried about the deadline. His true anxieties, however, stemmed from a more personal cause. If he was going to lose this precious hour anyway, he would have preferred to have spent it on a date with Leon. Since he had already said no to that, he really didn't feel like saying yes to this. But if it was really a lunch in his honor, a way to welcome him to the company, then he supposed that he couldn't really refuse.
"All right. I'll come."
"Good," Xigbar grinned at him. "Get your coat and meet me out front." Before Cloud could reply, he had disappeared back into the main area of the office and begun announcing the lunch break to everyone else. Jessie flashed him a brilliant smile before exiting as well, leaving Cloud alone to unhook his jacket from the back of the door and slowly put it on.
Outside of his office, the daily snipe-fest between Xigbar and Cid had begun.
"Cid, I'm taking the kids out and feeding them. You're paying."
"Like hell I am. Watts, if you give Xig the company credit card, you're fired."
"Too late. I snatched it already. Why don't you come with us? On second thought, don't. You'll just glare at everyone until they order water and cheap salads."
"Damn straight. Do you have any idea how expensive things are these days?"
"How can I forget when you remind me on a daily basis, you cheap bastard?"
Smiling to himself, Cloud turned out the lights in his office and gently closed the door. Perhaps he did need a break after all.
The restaurant Xigbar chose was a typical family-style place that had cheap sandwiches and served breakfast all day long. He had managed to get almost everyone in the office to come along, so the staff had to push together several tables to get them all to fit. In spite of the large number of people there, Jessie managed to obtain the seat directly next to Cloud, causing him to repress a resigned sigh as he opened his menu and perused the selection. It seemed the girl had no intention of giving up on him. He would have to call Tifa later and ask for advice.
Once food had been ordered and conversations had started, Cloud allowed himself to relax and have fun. He griped about the local hockey team with Biggs, answered a ton of questions about his education and his previous job from Watts, and even endured a less-than-traditional toast from Xigbar which ended with the memorable words, "Congrats on not dying yet. Keep it up." Jessie would flirt with him occasionally, but she kept it to acceptable levels and didn't try to touch him under the table or take advantage of her proximity to him in any other way. All in all, Cloud had to admit that he was enjoying himself, and he was quite glad that Xigbar had suggested this group stress reliever.
Or he was, up until Biggs cleared his throat and said, "Hey, Strife. There's a guy over there at another table who I swear has been staring at you for, like, ten minutes."
Cloud looked up at him in surprise. "Really?" he asked. "He's looking at me?"
"I think he is," Biggs answered, his gaze shifting to over Cloud's shoulder. "I mean, he could be checking Jess out, but … no, I'm pretty sure it's you he's looking at."
Cloud frowned at this, but an ingrained sense of politeness, installed by his mother, kept him from immediately turning around to see for himself. Watts, however, had no such sense of propriety and a curiosity too fierce to tame. Turning in his seat on the other side of Jessie, the amiable secretary cast his eyes about the restaurant until he had found the man Biggs had indicated.
"Oh, I know him!" Watts declared, slightly shocked. "I went to high school with him. Let's see, the name was …" He scratched at his head in an effort to remember. "Lei … no, Lee … no, no, … ah!" A smile exploded onto his face as the name finally came to him. "Leonhart! That's it! Squall Leonhart."
Cloud nearly had a heart attack on the spot. As it was, he spun around so fast that his chair scraped noisily against the floor. To his utter horror, he found himself staring at a pair of stormy gray eyes from only a few tables away, eyes that narrowed accusingly when Jessie leaned over and laid a hand on his arm.
"Cloud, are you okay?"
"I …"
Leon's angry eyes flashed once, and then the man was on his feet, digging in his wallet for a few bills which he threw onto the table. His companion, whom Cloud recognized from the Christmas party as Irvine, attempted to stop him, but Leon threw off his grasping hand and began striding forcefully towards the front door.
"Oh shit." Cloud was out of his seat in seconds, nearly knocking it over in his haste to catch up to the other man before he could leave. Some part of his brain registered the shocked and concerned voices of his co-workers, but he ignored them all. Keeping his eyes fixed on the retreating brunet's back, he weaved through the tables on instinct, walking as quickly as he could without actually running. Leon had made it to the check-out register but had not yet begun to reach for the doors when Cloud finally got close enough to take him by the shoulder.
"Leon!"
Slowly, the other man turned to him, eyes hard and expression stony. Cloud just stared back, temporarily unable to think of anything to say. He had dashed across the restaurant without thought, knowing only that he had to stop Leon before he left, but now that he had succeeded, he had no idea where to go next. He had a pretty good idea of what Leon was thinking right now, but it was hard to tell for sure when dealing with that blank face and those cold eyes.
Carefully, Cloud uncurled his fingers from Leon's shoulder and let his arm fall to his side. He straightened his back just slightly and kept his gaze level as he said, "My project manager decided to take us all out. To give us a break and to welcome me to the company."
Leon's face remained unchanged. "I see," he said flatly.
"I didn't want to come because my deadline is still tomorrow and I'm nowhere near ready, but I also didn't want to be the one to ruin it for everyone else." He paused a second for emphasis before adding, "I didn't lie to you."
That gray gaze flicked slightly towards the tables, then returned to lock with Cloud's once again. "Who's the girl?"
Cloud blinked in surprise. "You mean Jessie?" he asked. "She's just a coworker."
"Seemed like more," Leon stated, his eyes narrowing. The slightest bit of emotion had finally seeped into his face, and Cloud was shocked to see that it looked like jealousy. Leon must have seen all the little ways that Jessie had been flirting with him, noticed that the blond had not discouraged her, and drawn his own conclusion.
"She's not more," Cloud insisted. "She has a crush on me, but so far it's been manageable so I just ignore her." He noted with frustration that the jealousy in Leon's face had only increased at the word "crush". Lifting a hand, Cloud rubbed at his eyes and sighed. "What do you want me to do, Leon?" he asked tiredly. "What do I have to do before you'll believe me?"
Leon did not reply. For a minute, the two of them just stood there in silence; then, Cloud got an idea and he dropped his hand to stare steadily at the man he loved.
"Do you want me to kiss you?"
The other man blinked and took an instinctive step backwards. "What?" he asked.
"Do you want me to kiss you?" Cloud repeated, his voice and gaze steady. "Right here in public. In front of my immediate boss and all of my co-workers. Will that convince you that I love you and only you?"
The ice in Leon's expression was melting fast, leaving behind obvious confusion and a trace of anxiety. "Cloud …"
"I'll do it," Cloud cut him off. "Just say the word and I'll out myself in front of everyone here. If that's what it takes to reassure you, to prove to you that I'm not off cheating on you every time I can't rush to your side or end up spending time with someone else, then I'll do it. Right here. Right now."
He wasn't exactly sure where he was getting the balls to make this ultimatum, but at the moment, all that mattered was that he had found them somehow. Leon had to understand that he had no reason to ever be nervous or jealous. Cloud may not have been able to drop everything at Leon's slightest request, but that didn't mean that Leon wasn't extremely important to him. It didn't mean that Cloud didn't deeply and desperately love him.
Tired of waiting for Leon to say something, Cloud took a step forward, fully intending to go through with the threatened kiss. Before he could, however, Leon grabbed him by both shoulders and pushed him away to a safe distance. They both froze for a heartbeat, shocked gray staring into determined blue; then Leon lowered his gaze and hung his head.
"Don't … You can't do this. Not for me."
"You're the only one I'd even consider doing it for."
Another couple of heartbeats passed before Leon whispered, "I'm sorry."
Cloud smiled a little. "Accepted," he replied, less harshly than before. Then, he added, "Call me later. You owe me a lunch date next week."
Half a smile flickered over Leon's face. Instead of responding, he removed his hands from Cloud's shoulders and began moving back to his own table. Cloud watched him go, waiting until he had sat down next to a waiting Irvine before starting his trip back to his own table and his certainly curious co-workers. He smirked at the thought of their questions and the frustration that would be on their faces when he refused to tell them anything. They would never know just how close they had come to being witness to an unexpected and probably explosive show. Better for all of them that they stay in the dark.
Although, he thought as he pulled out his chair and resettled himself at the table, maybe I should have done it after all. At the very least, it would have gotten Jessie off of my back.
