Chapter 35

I don't know what to say to him.

Needless to say, Leon hadn't been expecting any visitors, let alone Cloud. There was very little he could think about other than his complete and utter lack of things to say. Out of the corner of his eye he saw movement and glanced at the slot in his door. A tiny camera bug scooted its way through the space and skittered up the wall to take roost in one of the upper corners. Leon was just as confused with it as he was with his Charge but after a minute of thinking (as foggy as it was), he could sort of understand what was happening.

Reno. If this turns out well… I'll… I'll have to bend over for him or something. This is way too surreal.

"Are you going to say anything or do you not understand me?" Cloud asked impatiently. Leon blinked a few times.

"Uh… yeah. I understand," he said stupidly.

"Good. Tell me what you know and I can leave."

"…What am I supposed to know?" Leon asked. The blonde raised a brow.

"You don't know anything?"

"I know a lot about a lot of things but I don't have some covert military secrets that I'm not supposed to talk about. I'm a student. I'm not sure what I'm supposed to tell you," he said. Cloud flexed his jaw a few times, thinking. He turned to the door and tapped the rod on it. The lock clicked again and the door opened just enough for Cloud to stick his face out into the hall.

"Why the fuck am I here?" he asked grumpily.

"Rufus says he knows something; I have no idea otherwise," someone else said. The voice was deep and rumbling. Leon didn't know who it was. Cloud glanced at the Carrier again.

"He looks like a fucking woman; do you really think a priss like this knows anything useful?" the blonde asked.

"Hey, I'm sitting right here," Leon said with a frown.

"I'm just following orders," the other in the hall said. Cloud sighed and closed the door again and went back to leaning against the wall.

"Tell me something so I can get back to doing something less stupid."

"Uh, well…" Leon trailed, thinking. The most of what he knew were things pertaining to his home plane and Cloud. He didn't want the blonde to leave, lose interest, and then not come back so he needed something to keep his attention. There was only one thing he could really come up with. "Aerith," he said hesitantly.

"What?" Cloud asked confusedly. His expression went from annoyance, to mild shock, and then back to annoyance. "You knew her?"

"Not exactly. But I know you carry a picture of her around with you," Leon said. Cloud stood a little straighter and his eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"How—"

"That's not really important right now. Don't worry about the 'how' since I really want you to consider the 'why.'"

"So then tell me. Why did you ask for me? Why are you here? Why do you concern yourself with Aerith?"

"I don't concern myself with her."

"Then why did you bring her up?"

"To get your attention."

"You've had it since I came in," the blonde said flatly. Leon shrugged.

"Prolonged interest, then."

"Fine. I'm interested. Tell me something to keep it that way."

The Carrier took a few minutes to consider how much he should really say. He still didn't have a plan of action, and the suddenness of the situation wasn't ideal. He was scared of saying too much and scaring Cloud off, but he was also afraid of not saying enough to keep him around. There were tons of things to say to shock him, but Leon was hesitant. Too much shock could make the situation go anywhere and hardly any of it sounded good. But he had to try something. It just wasn't good that he was a terrible liar.

"I can fill in the gaps in your life," he said, choosing honesty. Cloud furrowed his brows.

"Gaps?"

"Yes. You don't have things you wish you knew?"

"Knew about what exactly?"

"Anything. Things about yourself, things about the people around you, maybe even learning things you never had a chance to learn?"

"I'm not sure I understand what you're telling me. Are you offering to teach me things? Or are you telling me you know a lot about me?"

"Both."

"What the hell could you possibly tell me about myself that I don't already know? You've known me all of six minutes."

"Six minutes to you is years to me. I know you well enough to know that you have a birthmark on your left testicle," Leon blurted and immediately regretted it. Cloud just stared at him. Silent. Unfeeling.

"Excuse me?" he asked blandly. Leon shrugged nonchalantly, refusing to let the other realize how rattled he was. He was waiting for the blonde to get angry and retaliate, but the lack of expression was perhaps even scarier.

"It's true. You know it is," he said. His palms started to sweat.

"Yeah. It is. I'm… disturbed."

"But you're listening now, which was the point."

"Yeah. I am. I'm also debating on how hard to beat your face in."

"But I'm supposed to tell you things. How can I tell you if my face is smashed?" Leon asked, gripping his pant leg to keep his fingers from shaking. Cloud wasn't amused and glared at him, running his thumb over a treaded ring near the base of his metal rod. It was a switch and the prongs at the end crackled with frightening electricity. Leon hadn't anticipated it, and his mind flew into a panic quickly. "Wait," he said, holding up his hands defensively.

"I don't see why I should. Freaks like you shouldn't exist. You've obviously been stalking me or something; watching me shower or whatever it is that gets you off. Why the fuck should I give a damn about you?"

"You don't have to, but let me explain. It was never my intention to—"

"Fuck your intentions! What intentions could you possibly have for getting that close to me? How the hell did you even do it? Can you slip between floorboards like fog? Are you some sort of mutant that can see through walls? I'm really fucking curious because I've never seen you in my life! You could've had the intention of giving me a bag of money and it still wouldn't make me feel good about this."

"You're totally right—" Leon said as Cloud lifted his arm in preparation to bring the rod down on him. "Wait! Wait! Hang on!" the Carrier amended, slouching lower against his bed. The blonde's patience had run out and he swung at the brunette. Leon flattened himself against his bed and the rod clanked against the wall. He quickly reached up and grabbed Cloud's forearm. "I said 'wait' damnit!"

"Let go," Cloud spat and tried to pull his arm back. Leon didn't let go and held him in place. The blonde pulled back harder and ended up yanking the Carrier out of the bed with him. Leon kept his footing and brought his free hand up to grab the blonde's wrist.

"Just fucking listen to me for a second!"

"I've heard enough," Cloud growled. Leon was bent awkwardly under the blonde's arm and couldn't move anywhere without losing his balance. Cloud pulled his arm to the side and tugged Leon with it. The Carrier lurched forward with him and was able to stand straight again. He lifted a foot and pressed his shoe into the blonde's gut and shoved him back. He was hoping only the end of the rod was electrified and not the rest of it. Clouds hold on it faltered and Leon was able to pull the weapon out of his hand by grabbing the middle of it. He was extremely happy he wasn't shocked and shoved the rod through the slot in his door and let it clatter into the hallway.

His distraction allowed Cloud enough time to retaliate and when he turned to the blonde again, he found the other practically standing on top of him. The Charge grabbed his jaw in one hand and shoved him against the door, smacking his head against it and making Leon see stars. The Carrier immediately tried to pull the hand off his face but couldn't get his Charge to budge. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt the blonde. He was frantically trying to think of ways to get away without causing any damage, but couldn't think fast enough.

Cloud was breathing way too fast to be normal. His palm was covering the Carrier's mouth while his fingers and thumb held him in place, but even through his own panicked panting, Leon could tell something wasn't okay. Either the blonde didn't notice, or didn't care, because he stuck his free hand in his pocket and brought his knife into Leon's line of sight. The Carrier's eyes went wide he tried to wrench away with no avail. The blonde clicked the blade up and pressed the tip into Leon's forehead and dragged it across his face between his eyes. Leon's scream was caught in his throat as the slash burned across his face. Blood poured down his face and over Cloud's hand just enough to coat his fingers before the blonde tossed him aside.

Leon held his face in his hands as a hoarse wail stopped right before his vocal cords as he forced himself not to scream. The pain was immense and the blood loss was a serious cause for worry, but Cloud became his main focus when the blonde's legs buckled underneath himself and he had to drop the knife to hold himself upright. A bright streak of blood slid down the door as he slowly lowered himself to his knees, his breath coming in great heaves as his heartbeat started spiraling out of control. Leon's vision was starting to blur and his hands were shaking but he scooted closer to the blonde and reached a hand in front of him to press his fingers into Cloud's pulse to get an understanding. The blonde immediately shoved him away.

"Don't f-fucking touch m-me," he stammered and pushed himself backwards, holding his chest. The Carrier's heart broke a little but he understood the animosity. They weren't off to the greatest start. Cloud was pale, sweating, and his eyes were losing focus. Leon wasn't doing well either, but at least he knew he could breath for the moment. He banged on his door a bit, hoping to get someone's attention. When he didn't get someone immediately, he turned his attention back to Cloud. The blonde was fading quickly. Leon dizzily scooted towards him again and felt his pulse again. It was weak and Cloud wasn't awake enough to slap him away again. The Carrier tapped his face.

"Cloud. Hey," he said weakly. He shook him a little and pushed his face around, hoping for a response. He vaguely noticed the droplets of blood landing on the Charge's arm, but couldn't process that they were coming from his face. He was more concerned about waking the blonde up but he was so tired all of a sudden and could hardly keep his eyes open. There was a bang on the door that he sort of registered, but was unconscious by the time a pair of hands pulled him backwards.

The first order of business for Reno was to make sure Leon was going to be okay. He had been watching while the entire confrontation unfolded and hurried down to his friend's cell as quickly as he could when it became violent. The guilt he felt was suffocating. He blamed himself for everything so far, but tried to push it aside and take care of Leon as much as he could. He was limited on what he could bring with him down into the cell as he needed to keep it all hidden. If anyone noticed him helping, he could be in heaps of trouble. All he could do was clean up and bandage Leon as best he could. Rude carried Cloud away to get treatment.

After laying Leon down in his bed again, Reno tried to wipe up as much blood as he could before he hurried away and made his way up to the infirmary where Cloud was. The redhead was thankful for his Charge's help and was even happier that he didn't ask any questions. The doctors that worked in the prison were some of the best Midgar had to offer even if the standard of medical care wasn't the highest in Reno's opinion. Rufus Shinra needed his own medical team around him constantly so he kept them close. Whoever was in the prison that would receive treatment was in good hands.

"Mako overdose," a nurse explained when Reno asked how Cloud was. "He couldn't remember when he last took some so the dose we gave him was half of what was normal for him, but it was still more than he needed. His heart couldn't take it, but the damage was minimal. He'll be alright in a few days. We'll keep him off it for a week and let him readjust."

"Thanks," Reno said and bid his farewells. Though he blamed himself, he was furious at Cloud. He didn't want to stick around and offer the blonde his assistance any more than he felt he had to. He was doing it for Leon, though so far, his help was more detrimental than it was good.

"Well?" Rude asked when Reno returned to their living area. They had what was equal to a tiny apartment together down the hall from Rufus' living quarters. Tseng and their other partner, Elena, had one on the opposite end.

"I hope Squall will be okay. I know Cloud will be," the redhead muttered, pulling the bloodied rag out of his jacket pocket and tossing it in his laundry bin with a heavy sigh. He sat on the tiny sofa in the main room and rubbed his forehead.

"That's good then," Rude said, sitting next to him. Reno felt awful and wanted nothing more than to smash his face in his Charge's shoulder and cry his eyes out. But his pride and common sense got in the way, leaving him in his place while he stewed in his guilt.

"This was a mistake."

"I don't understand what's going on so I can't agree or disagree."

"I wish I could explain it to you."

"I wish you could too," Rude sighed. Reno got up and headed into their little kitchenette to wash his hands. He scrubbed and scrubbed but a tiny line of red wouldn't get out from under his fingernails. Frustrated, he washed for so long, his skin turned raw. It eventually started to hurt and he had to force himself to stop. Rude leaned against the cabinet next to him and watched the scene with a frown. Reno glanced at him briefly.

"What?" he asked, reaching for a towel. He dried his hands gently and looked them over with a scowl.

"I want you to try."

"Try?"

"Try and explain."

"I can't."

"Can't? Or won't?"

"Can't."

"Do you not trust me?" Rude asked.

"No, I do. I just…" the redhead trailed, thinking it over. It was obvious that Plane 087 was dying. Reno wasn't completely confident he could convince Rude to follow him over to his home plane just yet but even if he blew the whistle on why he and Leon were there in the first place, it wouldn't matter. Even if Midgar or Balamb tried to emulate what the people were doing back home, it wouldn't make a difference in the ultimate eventuality. Only if the war stopped would things begin to heal. If that doesn't happen, then whatever Reno and Leon did wasn't enough to help or hurt.

"I'm sorry I asked, then. You don't need to trust me," Rude said when Reno hesitated too long. The redhead shook his head a bit.

"Stop it. I trust you. But I'm nervous. I want to tell you, but I've already done enough damage to our friendship. I don't want to give you any more reasons to dislike me."

"I don't dislike you. Why would I do that? Because you're gay?"

"Gay for you," Reno muttered. Rude shifted his weight uncomfortably.

"Whatever. You know what I mean. I don't dislike you for it."

"I just don't want to take that chance."

"It hurts more when you hide things from me. If that's what you're worried about," the Charge said. The Carrier sighed and pushed his brows together sadly.

"Don't tell me that," he whined. Rude shrugged and left him standing in the kitchenette. They had separate bedrooms in their living quarters and his Charge ducked into his own and closed the door quietly behind himself. Reno's chest hurt and he could feel his heart crinkle up into a little ball. He gave in quickly and went to knock on Rude's door.

"What?" his Charge asked. Reno winced at his tone.

"Okay. I'll tell you as much as I can," he murmured. Rude raised a brow, but stepped aside and let the redhead into his room.

"I'm listening."

"Well first off, Squall's name isn't 'Squall' it's 'Leon.' And he and I aren't from here."

"From Midgar?"

"No, from this… world. At all," Reno said hesitantly. Rude furrowed his brows together but the redhead kept going before he could protest. "We have something very important that we need to do back home and we came here looking for people to help us with it. Leon picked Cloud and I… picked you. Obviously we're having an easier time getting along than they are, but we both need you two just as much. There's a whole lot more to it than what I'm saying, but the basic idea is all I can think to get across without confusing you."

"I'm already confused."

"I know. I'm sorry. Leon and I can't stay here forever, and the plan was to make a connection with the people we picked so that you'd be willing to follow us and help us. I've known you for years and you had no idea. I knew who you were before you did and when I say I've had feelings for you for a long time… I really mean a long time. You are the most important person in my life whether you know it or not and… I blew it because I couldn't keep my stupid mouth shut," Reno explained, crossing his arms over his chest and hunching his shoulders. He kept his eyes to the floor. "Even if you don't want to leave with me, I want to try my hardest to help Leon so that the last twenty years weren't a complete waste."

"Twenty years? How old are you again?"

"I told you I'm twenty-five. Well… I was when I got here. In reality, I'm in my forties," Reno said. Rude stared at him in shock. "But before you freak out on me, I really should say that age doesn't matter where I come from. So long as I take care of myself, I'll live longer than dirt so… I may have been around for that long, but my body isn't going to age even if I make it to eight hundred."

"…I don't believe you."

"I don't expect you to. We're not nearly to the point where I would've liked us to be for all of this."

"So… what? Were you trying to get us to… date or something before you explained?" Rude asked uneasily. Reno's cheeks turned pink and it stared at the floor.

"That was wishful thinking on my part, but so long as you came with me, then I would've been satisfied. I'd worry about what I was going to do with myself later. My purpose comes first and so long as you're happy following me, then there isn't much more I can ask. I never had the intention of forcing you to do something you didn't want to do. Like I said before, I'd understand if you wanted to hang around someone else. I couldn't imagine being in your shoes."

"…You're serious."

"Yes," the redhead said. Rude went to sit on the corner of his bed and ran a hand over his head. "Even if you decide to stay here, I need to make sure Leon is okay. If it gets to be too much, then I'm pulling both of us out of here. Our purpose back home is bigger than anything you can imagine."

"So you'd just… leave? You wouldn't come back for me eventually?"

"I only get one shot at this. So no. I couldn't come back. It would hurt and I'd… probably never get over it, but this whole thing is way more important than my happiness; as twisted as that sounds, it's true. I can't afford to be delusional and think otherwise."

"Would I be able to come back?"

"No. That's why I was hoping we'd be much closer before we left so you felt like you could depend on me if you needed something. I'm not here to ruin your life or make it more difficult. The goal was to take you with me, away from the war, and give you the opportunity to do something with your life that would benefit an entire world in the end. Yours isn't going to last very long," Reno said. Rude rubbed his face tiredly.

"I can't even wrap my head around this. I'm still stuck on your age."

"I'm sorry. I'd understand if you—"

"Stop saying that. You've done nothing to hurt me so quit talking like you have. You've just done a really good job of confusing me. I need some time to think about all of this. I'll decide what I should do once I get my thoughts in order," the Charge said. Reno nodded and shuffled towards the door. "Reno."

"Hm?"

"You're not making this up, right? I really don't want to believe you'd lie to me."

"The only thing I've lied to you about is my age. Everything else is genuine. I promise."

"Okay. Let me think. I'll talk to you tomorrow."

"Okay," the redhead said, ducking out of the room quietly. His heart felt like it was going to burst from his chest with anxiety and he made his way into his own bedroom and locked himself in. He threw himself on his bed and buried his face in his pillow, willing the nervousness to go away. He didn't feel like Rude was going to ever believe him or follow him. He knew he had ruined his chance. It was way too soon to say so much and whatever future he had hoped for was gone. He was done. His only choice now was to help Leon as much as he could so at least one of them could make some progress.

Cloud felt like absolute garbage. The lights in his room in the infirmary were way too bright and his head hurt way too much. He immediately closed them again and tried to roll over. He found he hardly had the strength to lift his arm. His mind instantly asked for more Mako so he could function somewhat normally. The desire only made his headache worse. He tried opening his eyes again and moving some, but only succeeded in alerting his nurse and she came to his side.

"Congratulations. You're alive," she said blandly with a small smirk. She blurred in an out of focus. "You've been out for a few hours. You tried to wake up a few times already but it didn't work out very well, so we kept you sedated. Can you move?"

"Tired," Cloud breathed. She gave him a very sarcastic sympathetic smile.

"I bet."

She left him there. The lack of bedside manner was normal, but didn't help him very much. He had wanted her to stay so he could ask her what the hell happened to him. Judging by how much everything hurt, he felt he had been run over by a train. The last thing he could remember clearly was arriving in Galbadia and unpacking his things. The rest of it up until that point was a hazy fog that drifted out of his ears. He hated not remembering things. He couldn't even remember what day it was. Having to be reminded of so many simple things every other hour was embarrassing as much as it was discouraging.

He drifted for a while. For how long, he couldn't say. His nurse was nice enough to give him some water and move his bed so he could sit up, but she was fairly useless otherwise. She refused to give him any Mako, and had he had the strength, he would've smacked her for it. The sun went up and the sun went down and even after doing that a few times, she still refused. As time ticked by, he could eventually move enough to sit up on his own, even if the action left him breathless and made him want to vomit.

"Mr. Shinra says for you to go back downstairs when you can move on your own," the nurse explained.

"Downstairs?" Cloud asked.

"To your prisoner?"

"Pris—Oh, right. I forgot about him," the blonde said, rubbing his forehead. He had apparently went to see the man who had called him there. He didn't doubt it, but he couldn't remember it. The only thing he could remember was his instructions and blood. The blood was nothing new, so he pushed it aside and figured it was his brain rattling around and recalling things from months ago. He focused on his instructions and hobbled his way out of the infirmary towards the elevator. He could sort of remember what cell it was. The guard that led him down the hall did, though, so he decided to forget about it.

By the time he got to the cell, he felt like he had run a marathon. Withdrawal was the worst possible feeling. Having to go interrogate someone even though he was in no condition to do so only reminded him how much he hated his life. He didn't see a way out of it though. He had accepted his situation and was just going with the motions until he died. He sort of wished whatever had happened to him that made him go to the infirmary had killed him. At least then the pain would stop and he could sleep for a while.

His prisoner looked to be in just about the same condition. Leon hardly reacted when Cloud came in again and remained in place on his stomach, on his bed. The Carrier was pale, sweaty, thin, and his face hurt to move. He was overly warm and didn't doubt that he had a fever; most likely from an infection stewing in his new facial feature. He really needed new bandages. Despite the negativity so far, Leon couldn't bring himself to get angry at his Charge. In fact, he was relieved the blonde was okay, even if he looked like shit.

"Oh good," he mumbled against his pillow. Cloud raised a brow.

"Good?"

"You're not dead."

"…Yay? The fuck happened to your face?" the blonde asked. He leaned against the wall and used it as a brace so he could sit on the floor. Leon didn't show any outward reaction to the question, but was relieved Cloud couldn't remember.

"Nothing important. I tried to make a break for it and the guards caught me and… yeah. Whatever. It doesn't matter."

"Well that was stupid. Why did you think you could get away?"

"I didn't. I just needed something to break up the monotony. Silly me," Leon said flatly. Cloud shook his head a bit.

"Whatever you say. Just tell me something so I can go back to bed."

"They woke you up so you could come back down here?"

"They told me to come down here as soon as I could move by myself."

"That sucks. Sorry. I don't have much to talk about other than what I know about you," the Carrier said. The blonde was trying his hardest to remember what happened the last time they saw one another. Aside from remembering that Leon existed, there wasn't much to go by. But he didn't want the brunette to realize his lapses.

"So go ahead. Amaze me," he said, rubbing an eye.

"Have you ever been curious about your parents?" Leon asked. Another camera bug scooted into the room and resumed its place by the ceiling. Reno was paying close attention again.

"Not really," Cloud deadpanned. Leon ignored the attempt to end the conversation and folded his arms under his head.

"They were good people."

"Wonderful."

"Your father especially."

"Was he a soldier?"

"Yes, actually."

"Was he married to my mother?"

"…No."

"Then I don't give a damn."

"I'm not sure I understand. Why would that matter?"

"Because I don't want to know if my mother was some random whore he took advantage of. If they were married, it would imply they actually gave a shit about one another and may have been somewhat normal."

"You don't have to get married to be dedicated."

"You do where I come from," Cloud said. So far, he didn't believe Leon at all. He was hoping to weed through the arbitrary things until the Carrier decided to talk about the important ones. Leon frowned and shakily pushed himself up to a sitting position. The entire front of his bandage was a deep red and Cloud raised a brow at it but didn't say anything.

"I don't know what else to say," the Carrier admitted. He decided to steer clear of any Aerith discussions. He was quickly running out of ammunition otherwise. Cloud wasn't pushing for much and looked like he was about to fall asleep.

"Why did you ask for me?" he asked sleepily.

"Because I need you."

"For what?"

"Well… I'm not sure how much I should tell you yet. You obviously have no interest in me other than whatever your superiors are telling you to have. I have lots to say and talk to you about, but I don't have much that will help you get them off your back. Sorry. But I need you to stick with me for a bit until I can get you to understand."

"I'm not allowed to leave here until you tell me something they can use."

"Then I guess we're roommates."

"Not funny," Cloud faded. His eyes drooped closed for a second before he forced them open again. He felt like a puddle of jelly. Leon scooted off his bed to the floor and sat across from him.

"If you can get yourself up, you can have my bed."

"Fuck off."

"Yeah, I don't blame you for the hostility. But if I was waiting for you to fall asleep so I could kill you or something, I wouldn't give you my bed first. I'd just wait. It's a lot less effort on my part," Leon said, slouching against the bed and folding his hands over his stomach. He was extremely tired himself, but he had been sleeping so much already that he couldn't make himself do it anymore. He was slowly getting sick from his infection and lack of sufficient food. He was hoping to make a connection of some sort before he died, but he wasn't holding his breath. But he refused to give Cloud a reason for getting angry at him again. If he was to die there, he wanted to not be hated.

First impressions were a myth. All Leon had to do was wait for Cloud to forget the first time and then he could try again and get a more positive result. So far, though not perfect, he was much happier with this meeting than he was with the first one. It almost felt like his Charge was compensating for his complete lack of social skills without knowing it. It was a thought that made the Carrier smile a bit on the inside. He ran out of things to talk about, though. They sat together quietly while Cloud tried with every ounce of energy to stay awake. But after twenty minutes of silence, his body gave in and he was asleep.

Leon waited for a bit to make sure the blonde was truly out. He knew he didn't have the strength to lift him and plop him in the bed, but he at least wanted to lay him down so he could be somewhat comfortable. He was about to reach for his pillow when there was a light knock on the door. It opened a bit and Reno peeked inside. The brunette let out a sigh.

"What are you doing here?" he whispered. Reno frowned but came into the cell and closed the door behind himself.

"Attempting to help," he said quietly. He had an armful of fabric and set it on the bed before he pulled out a rag, some more bandages, and a bottle of disinfectant from his jacket pocket. "You smell, by the way."

"Good. I would hope so. I haven't been able to shower in… weeks," Leon muttered. Reno stooped and scooped Cloud up and set him on the bed.

"It's pretty ripe, I must say," the redhead said, taking a seat in front of his friend. Leon shrugged.

"How did you set all this up?" he asked.

"Pulled some strings. I feel awful about what's happened though. I really didn't think he would go off the deep end so quickly."

"I wouldn't have expected you to know. I think I'm one of the few people who actually understands him to a certain degree."

"I'm really really sorry th—"

"Don't be. You've done me an enormous favor. I can't even begin to pay you back," Leon said. Reno frowned and took up the rag and disinfectant.

"I disagree, but I can't argue with you. I need to clean you up," he said. The brunette started feeling around his bandages for a way to unravel them. Reno ended up helping him and doing most of the work. After a bit of pained hissing and a few tugs, the cloth came free of the weak scabbing and Reno nearly broke apart with the guilt when he saw the damage.

"Is it really that bad?" Leon asked weakly. The redhead forced himself to look away and focus on the cleanup.

"It's not pretty," he said in monotone. He doused the rag in the disinfectant and started dabbing at the wound as gently as he could. Leon had to bite a finger to keep himself quiet so he didn't wake Cloud up. He wanted to scream, he wanted to cry, and he wanted to crawl under a rock and never come out. He started pulling away in reflex and Reno had to hold his face in place to get everything clean.

"How're things with you and Rude?" the brunette asked when the brunt of the pain was finished. Reno sighed.

"I'd rather not talk about it. He's right outside. I will say that he knows, though. About us."

"You told him?"

"…Yeah."

"I'm not sure how I feel about that."

"It's okay. It has nothing to do with you, really. I just… I don't think we'll get much farther than we already have. I… I blew it."

"Cloud and I aren't exactly having babies together, either, and even I'm not that negative. What happened to you? You used to be the positive one in this friendship," Leon asked. Reno started rewrapping the brunette's wound with a scowl.

"I got a reality check," he said. "Now I'm just trying to figure out a way to get us out of here alive."

"What do you mean?"

"Once they figure out you're not as informed as I made you out to be, they'll most likely try to kill you off, even if they do it by starving you. They'll probably try to come after me too since I lied to them. If that happens, regardless of what stage we're at with Rude and Cloud, I'm pulling us out. I refuse to let us go down like that."

"I'm not leaving without Cloud."

"Leon, I understand that feeling, but you have to be realistic."

"No, you have to readjust your attitude. I don't blame you for what's happening to me, but you've done me a serious favor and I intend to take full advantage of it. If you pull me out of here before I've had a chance to make any progress, then it will be your fault and I will blame you. I don't want to do that. If I die here, then I die here. The Technicians have my DNA. They can clone me if they're that concerned about it. What's another twenty years of waiting when your Totem has no family riding on your existence? I can understand if you have to leave because you have people back home that you need to get back to, but I don't have that luxury. Cloud is all I have. I can't leave him here."

"Leon…"

"Thank you for helping me. I can take it from here. You should leave before you're caught," the brunette said. "I'll see you again soon, hopefully."