A/N: For and update on what da fuq happened and where I've been, please visit my Tumblr. It's post /22245067253/
Don't care? Sweet! Then read on.
Chapter 51
Leon felt like he was standing in a vacuum tube looking out through a pane of glass and was only able to see Cloud and an excess of blood. He couldn't hear anything, didn't notice anyone else, and it felt like there were fifty tons of weight on his shoulders. He should've been reassured that Dr. Kadowaki and her team of nurses were quick to respond to Zell's call, but he wasn't. If he were rational, he could see that the situation wasn't his fault. Even if he wasn't ignoring Cloud at the moment, the blonde was supposed to be asleep at that time of night and Leon would've been in his dorm anyway. But in his panic, he didn't see it that way. He had ignored Cloud and bad things happened to him. He hadn't been there to protect him like he was supposed to, and therefore it was his fault. The amount of guilt he had piling up was immense, and there was no foreseeable way out of it.
When Cloud was removed from his arms and carted away on a gurney in a rush of activity, the Carrier was left standing there staring at the group as they hurried farther away from him. He couldn't move, he couldn't speak, couldn't think, and he couldn't tell if he was breathing or not. Zell was still with him, though, and tried to talk to him. Leon was vaguely aware that his friend was there, but he didn't respond to anything he said and just stared past him.
"Leon. Hey! Come on!" Zell said, snapping his fingers in front of the brunette's face. After a few more minutes of prodding, the Carrier startled a little and looked at him. The blonde frowned. "Are we going to follow them or just stand here?"
"Right. Sorry," Leon deadpanned, taking one last look around before following the gurney towards the lift into the garage.
There was a cacophony of noise in the Infirmary as Dr. Kadowaki barked out orders to her nurses as they scattered around pushing carts and gathering supplies. Leon and Zell made it to the clinic just as the doors to the largest exam room were closed and the activity therein was concealed. There were no windows on the doors, and when Leon tried to pull them open to see inside, they were locked. He pressed his ear up against the cold metal and listened as the good doctor ordered her nurses to start a transfusion and prep everything to get Cloud cleaned up.
"What's going on?" Reno sleepily asked from Rude's doorway. Leon and Zell looked to him.
"Cloud was hurt," the brunette said flatly. Reno furrowed his brows.
"Just now? I didn't hear anything."
"He was taken out of here and then hurt," Leon explained, pulling away from the door. He sullenly made his way to a chair and sat heavily. "And I wasn't here to stop it."
"Again, I didn't hear anything. I mean, I was asleep, but I'm not that heavy of a sleeper," Reno said. Running a hand through his tousled hair, he went to take a seat next to the other Carrier. "How bad is it?"
"Bad."
"Maybe Quistis can help," Zell said.
"Maybe," the brunette agreed.
"I'll be back. I'm going to go get her," the blonde volunteered before leaving quickly. Reno watched him leave with a raised brow before looking to Leon who was staring down at his hands. They were stained a light rust color from dried blood. Similarly, his pant legs were spattered with red in various places. He sighed and folded his arms on his knees and rested his forehead on them.
"I'm having a hard time doing things correctly," the brunette mumbled.
"You can't blame yourself for this. It was my idea for you to stay away, anyway. I'm sorry," Reno said, rubbing Leon's back between his shoulder blades.
"I need to think for myself more often."
"Possibly."
"The only problem with that is, I have no idea how to handle him. He doesn't like me and resists just about everything. He's childish, but with good reason, so it's not like I can really get angry at him for it," Leon sighed, sitting up again. He rubbed an eye with the back of his hand. "I can't think at the moment. Too much is happening and I don't know enough to comprehend it all."
"Squall?" came concerned voice from the Infirmary entrance. Both Carriers looked to the doors just as Rinoa made her way in, dressed in her pajamas. "I heard what happened," she said, strolling over to stand next to the brunette.
"How? We just got here five minutes ago," Leon said, with obvious skepticism in his voice. Go away. You're the last person I want to see right now, he thought.
"Seifer told me."
Leon was on his feet in an instant, glaring down at the girl with all of the world's hatred burning through his eyes. "You saw him? Where?" he barked. She put up her hands defensively.
"Relax. He's gone."
"Where?"
"He left?"
"Where did he go?"
"I have no idea. After he talked to me, he just left. I didn't keep him around to interrogate him. I could hardly believe what he was telling me," she said innocently. Stepping forward, she slid her arms around his torso and pressed herself up against his chest. Immediately, the Carrier took her shoulder and nudged her back. His skin suddenly felt like it was going to peel from his body and crawl away. She pouted and looked up at him.
"Don't touch me," he said flatly. Rinoa randomly showing up seemed too precisely timed for his tastes. That, coupled with the fact that she had spoken to Seifer, someone she supposedly hated, Didn't help her case. Something wasn't right, and it radiated out of her faux innocence like a thick musk.
"I just wanted to try and comfort you. You're upset," Rinoa said.
"No. Really? I'm upset?" Leon mocked with a snort of disbelief.
"Don't be like that. I don't see anyone else trying to do it."
"Well! I guess I'm just invisible, aren't I?" Reno interjected from his seat, his arms crossed over his chest. The girl raised a brow at him before looking to Leon again.
"Comfort from a man and comfort from a woman are two different kinds of comforts. Women are just better at it. End of story," she said haughtily. "Don't you agree?"
"Nope," Leon said flatly.
"Well I noticed Zell heading in the other direction when I was on my way here. Just because you have one male friend that sticks around for you, doesn't mean all of them will. Just let me help you," she insisted, moving in for another hug. The Carrier put his hands on her shoulders and turned her around and nudged her towards the door.
"Uh uh, I see where this is going. Not happening. You can leave now," he said, keeping his anger and annoyance in check. What he really wanted to do was pick her up and hurl her out into the hallway, but he figured there were more civil ways he should probably try first.
"No, I'm not leaving. You need me," she said, trying to turn around again.
"Nope," Leon said, pushing her towards the door. She resisted, of course, but she couldn't match his strength. When they were close enough, the Carrier opened the doors and shoved her through them. She let out a yelp and staggered forward, but regained her footing just in time to turn around and see the doors close behind her. Leon held them closed as she tried to push them back open and eventually ended up sitting on the floor with his back against them; acting as a doorstop.
Reno giggled. "You're so popular. Between me and Rude, Zell, and her, you have an entire friend square to keep up with. How are you ever going to make time for everyone?"
"Shut up. She isn't my friend," Leon said, sending the redhead a glare.
"Okay fine. Friend triangle. Still not a circle, but I'll take it."
Leon heaved a heavy sigh and pulled his legs to his chest and rested his face on his knees. "I'm too exhausted for this. I just…"
"Come on," Reno said, standing and going to offer his hand to the brunette. Leon allowed himself to be pulled to his feet and followed his friend into Rude's bedroom where the Charge was sitting up looking half-asleep but considerably better than the last time Leon saw him. They exchanged halfhearted waves of acknowledgement as Reno headed for the bathroom with the brunette in tow. "Get cleaned up. I'll be right back," he said, heading out into the room again to retrieve a pair of loose fitting pants and a clean t-shirt. Tossing them in the bathroom with Leon, he closed the door and went to sit on his bed.
"What happened?" Rude asked tiredly.
"Cloud was hurt somehow. Did you hear anything?"
"Not like that. I heard someone fucking somewhere, though," the Charge said, rubbing an eye. Reno raised a brow.
"Really? Where the hell was I?"
"Asleep. It wasn't very loud. I just happened to wake up for a bit. It was one of the nurses, I think."
"Well I should hope so. I'd be thoroughly grossed out if it was the doctor lady. I'd seriously reconsider staying here if that's her idea of proper clinic conduct. Eugh," the redhead said with a shiver.
"Middle aged women are allowed to have sex, too," Rude said with a bit of a rasp before descending into a coughing fit. Reno frowned.
"Yeah. They are, but not in the middle of a medical facility. I can blame the nurse's age for her stupidity easily enough, but not the doctor's."
In the bathroom, Leon was having a bit of a crisis. Once the change of clothes had landed at his feet and he was alone, the gravity of the situation smacked into him full force. His Charge was dying, and there was nothing he could do to stop it. To make things worse, it was his fault. There was a light tremor that wiggled its way through all of his muscles until his entire body was trembling with overwhelming fear. He held onto the rim of the sink to keep his balance as the shaking threatened to make him fall. After a moment, he slowly lowered himself to the floor. As soon as his knees met the tile, he covered his face in his hands as a quiet sob shuddered from him.
His breakdown didn't last very long, and after several minutes of nearly silent hysterics, he was able to stand and get cleaned up properly. The trembling hadn't stopped and it made the simple tasks somewhat difficult, but he was eventually able to get changed and step back into Rude's bedroom. Reno was on his bed and gave the brunette a worried once-over. Leon looked much more beleaguered than he had fifteen minutes ago. His friend didn't say much and made his way to the side of the redhead's bed. Leon lifted the covers and yanked them out from under Reno, forcing the redhead to roll away. The brunette flopped onto the mattress and reached out. He hooked and arm around Reno's waist and pulled him across the bed again, imposing himself on his friend and moving them around so he could lay between Reno's legs and use his stomach as a pillow. His arms wove around the other's midsection as he hung onto the redhead's warmth as if his life depended on it.
"You could've just asked, you know. You didn't need to manhandle me," Reno said with a bit of strain, shifting himself around enough to get comfortable. He settled back against the pillows with a huff. It took him a moment, but he was ultimately able to feel Leon's light shaking and immediately understood the abrupt cuddle. He glanced at Rude who looked understandably confused. Reno gave him a soft reassuring smile before returning his attention back to Leon. He ran his fingers through the brunette's hair. Leon didn't say anything. He was afraid to speak since he was sure he would simply break apart if he tried. The rhythmic petting was enough to lull his foggy mind some and he eventually calmed enough to close his eyes.
Not too long after Leon started to calm down, Zell returned with Quistis in tow. The instructor immediately made her way to the exam room door and was invited inside by Dr. Kadowaki. There was nothing for anyone else to do, so Zell went to find his Carrier friend. It was unsettling to find Leon getting somewhat motherly comfort from Reno, mostly because he never thought the brunette was much of a cuddler. Zell didn't say anything as he entered and made his way to sit on the edge of the bed. Reno gave him a lopsided half-smile but didn't make a move to do much else. Leon was turned away from the door and Zell invited himself to sit and place a hand on the brunette's back to rub him comfortingly. The Carrier heaved a heavy sigh but didn't make an effort to stop either of them.
After a while, Leon was able to drift off into a light snooze. Zell moved off the bed to an armchair to do the same. Reno was left holding the proverbial bags as he uncomfortably sat under Leon's weight and couldn't do anything. He didn't have the heart to shove the brunette off of him so he supposed it was his own fault. However, his attention was pulled away from how he couldn't feel his legs when Quistis peeked into the room looking for Leon.
"Should I come back?" she asked quietly. Reno shook his head and started prodding at Leon's face until he started to wake up. The brunette smacked his hand away.
"Stop molesting me," he said with a grumble.
"You need to get up and pay attention. There are important things happening. And also, I'd like to confirm that my legs are still alive, please," Reno said, stuffing his hands under Leon's armpits and lifting. Unimpressed, the brunette let himself become dead weight in Reno's hands, all while giving the redhead a glare. Reno snorted back a laugh. "I'm sorry to say your 'I'm going to stab you in the balls' face is actually pretty cute. It doesn't really help you."
"Shut up," Leon spat, pulling away from his friend. Once sitting up, he gave the grinning redhead a shove back into the pillows.
Quistis cleared her throat. "Squall," she said. Leon's attention snapped to the door and he threw himself out of the bed to go to her.
"How is he?" he asked anxiously.
"Come with me."
The first thing Leon noticed when they stepped into Cloud's room was the overwhelming smell of blood. It made his stomach churn and allowed some of the panic to creep back in to his muscles. His Charge was laying face down on a bed that made it feel like there was a gaping hole in the middle of the Carrier's chest. It was an autopsy table. However, it was a little different. Cloud's back was covered by a white cube-like tent that stood on the edges of the table and hung a couple inches above his skin with a zipper down the middle of it. Only his head, forearms, and calves could be seen hanging out from under the fabric. He also had a pillow under his face, which helped Leon cope with the idea that his Charge wasn't on the table because he was dead. Dead people don't care about pillows. It took him several brief moments to realize there was a breathing tube in place and the blonde had been hooked up to a series of monitors, which was also morbidly reassuring.
"Did he wake up at all?" Leon asked, looking to Quistis. She shrugged.
"I honestly don't know. He was already on the table and somewhat cleaned up by the time I got here. I wasn't able to do much for him, I'm afraid. I can show you," she said. Leon nodded, though he wasn't sure he really wanted to see the damage. The woman made her way to the side of the table and gently pulled the tent's zipper down and opened the flaps of fabric. Cloud had been cleaned up to a certain degree, but his back was still covered in heinous wounds that looked like Dr. Kadowaki hadn't even attempted to close. The skin between them was mostly clean and the smaller cuts had been healed, but Cloud was still bleeding and was obviously still in a bad way. Panic was replaced by anger as the Carrier took it all in.
"What the fuck is wrong with you people? Why isn't he closed up? You're just going to let him lie there and bleed out?" the brunette barked. Quistis put her hands up defensively.
"Calm down. This is actually a good thing."
"How can I calm down? He's dying! It may be good for you and whatever agenda you have, but for me, this is sort of bad," Leon said, running his fingers through his hair as he looked around. His mind was racing through a checklist of things he needed to find before he could start closing his Charge up himself. Quistis put her hands on his shoulders.
"Listen to me. It's okay. We have it under control. Come here," she insisted, pulling the Carrier by his shirt sleeve to take a closer look.
"I don't want to," Leon said meekly. Despite the protests, he followed the woman and leaned over with her. The threat of tears was looming just behind his shoulder as she pointed along the edge of one of Cloud's wounds. The skin was singed and blackened.
"That is what is stopping me from healing him completely, but it's okay. It's actually better this way," Quistis explained.
"I don't understand."
"This black stuff is caused by Mako burns. Zell explained to me what happened, and whatever Seifer used to cut him was probably covered in Mako. When it's mixed with blood, it actually causes friction against our blood cells and generates heat. When it comes in contact with the open air, it only makes things worse. Generally, when people use Mako, they feel very warm; it's the same idea, only lessened because it's self-contained and inside the body versus exposed to air," she explained further. She stood straight and crossed her arms over her chest.
"But you can't heal it?"
"No, because it's creating a barrier that's keeping the skin from coming together and healing closed. To Eden, it's the same as any internal damage he may have suffered from Mako abuse. But, like I said, it's okay. This is actually a good opportunity for us to help him."
"I still don't understand," Leon said with a sigh. He went to the far side of the room and pulled a chair across the floor. Sitting at the head of the table, he looked his Charge's face over with obvious broken heartedness.
"There's a lot of stuff happening inside him at the moment, the most prevalent of which are the toxins floating around in his bloodstream. Detoxing from Mako essentially means that we let his body naturally filter out and remove whatever isn't right, yeah? Well, we have an alternative here. There is an opportunity to essentially negate that entire process, but it requires a bit of time and a lot of resources. We need to bleed him out and replace his fluids. It would take him weeks to do this by himself, and that's only if his kidneys and liver haven't been too damaged and can keep up. The probability of that happening completely without some sort of replacement of internal organs is very slim, I'll be honest with you. However, in order to get everything out of him, we would have to do a complete transfusion, and a lot of the times that either requires an injury or something where we have to replace what is lost very quickly, or we slowly remove some and slowly put new blood in. The latter generally takes just as long as a normal detox so it's sort of a waste in the long run. Since we're keeping his wounds open, we have the option of doing the first process."
"This is still too dangerous for my tastes. We shouldn't even be in here right now; he's going to get infected with something. It's not sterile," Leon said.
"Infections we can deal with, don't worry about that," Quistis said, walking around to the opposite side of the table. She picked up a dark silicone tube, one end of which disappeared under the cube-like tent near Cloud's hips. "This is his bloodline. He's on blood thinners at the moment to hopefully keep him bleeding and to get the viscosity of his fluids to drop some so we can get this done quickly," she said, letting the line hang again. "It won't fix him, but it'll help his recovery substantially. We need your help, though. We only have so much blood available to us, and your charts say you're a universal donor. If you want to see this process through to the end, we need you to help."
"Yes. Of course. Reno and Rude are the same type as I am. So is Cloud, actually," Leon said, reaching up to gently push a piece of blonde hair off his Charge's brow.
"That's… oddly convenient," Quistis said with a suspicious look.
"It's purposeful. Don't worry about it," the brunette said. All Charges and Carriers share the same blood type specifically for emergencies. Some people theorize that the shortage of universal blood donors and receivers on other planes is caused by the Technicians and Carriers pulling those specific citizens out of society to take them home for their projects.
"Okay… well, I just wanted to let you know where we were with this. We don't need you just yet, but we probably will soon. This process only moves as quickly as he bleeds. He's hooked up to a monitor that regulates the blood flow going in depending on what his blood pressure is so he isn't overloaded or losing too much. An excess of blood could do some serious damage to his heart, which doesn't sound all that great to begin with," Quistis said.
"I know," the Carrier agreed. He was beginning to wonder how many of Cloud's organs would need to be replaced when they finally returned home together. Like Zach's liver, any replacements would be made of artificial materials, but would last ten times longer than organic ones. Perhaps it was for the best in the long run. However, he wouldn't be able to figure out how everything was until they got home. He could only hope that Cloud lasted that long.
"That's all I have for you. Get some sleep. I'll let you know when we need you," Quistis said, stepping to the Carrier's side and rubbing his back reassuringly.
"What's going to happen to Seifer?" Leon asked as he stood. He couldn't help but stare at Cloud's open wounds and the trickles of blood that dripped down his sides and into the open drains of the autopsy table. The setting suddenly made much more sense now that he understood what was happening. Quistis moved to close the zipper on the tent again.
"I don't know. I haven't spoken to Headmaster Cid yet. Seifer's father is a very well decorated General and is really the only reason Seifer is still here. In reality, he should've been expelled a over year ago. Seifer's never been a model student, but his behavior has been out of control the last few months. I'm not sure what's going on with him, but his sadistic methods of… whatever he was hoping to accomplish is really not something we condone. Because we're technically responsible for him, we're going to do all we can to make it up to you, but I can't say he's going to go anywhere. I wish I knew more. I'm sorry," she said, turning to the brunette with apologetic eyes.
"It's not your fault."
"I still feel like I should apologize. You've been through so much. I don't think I've ever seen you smile. Have you ever had a good day since you've come to live here? It makes me wonder if it's even worth having you stay with us. Maybe going home to Esthar would be better."
"I haven't decided if I should stay or leave. It depends on how Cloud is doing at this point. If he gets better enough to where I can move him without causing more problems, then I'll probably leave. Until that point, I'll earn my keep," Leon said with a shrug. "And… I think I've had a couple of decent days. Don't worry too much."
"You're sure?" the woman asked with blatant skepticism in her voice.
"Yeah. I'll be fine. Thank you for doing what you can. I'm going to go back to my room or something, now."
"Okay. Goodnight Squall."
"Goodnight."
Numbness was all Leon could feel as he left Cloud's room. Part of him wanted to stay behind and glue himself to his Charge's side, but he needed to get away from the smell of blood and burnt skin. The good that was coming out of the situation was heavily overshadowed by the bad, and when he tried to think about the details, his brain turned to mush. All he could do was attempt to trust Quistis. He had a problem with trust, and putting Cloud's livelihood in someone else's hands was very difficult for him. He decided to just not think about it. Letting the numbness overtake his thoughts and emotions, he wandered back into Reno's room, bid his farewells with minimal explanation, picked up his clothes, and went back to his dorm. The brunette's clipped departure didn't sit well with the redhead, but he didn't say anything and left Leon alone. When Zell got up and tried to follow after him, Reno called him back and told him to do the same.
For two days Leon sat in his room attempting to recollect his broken mentality. The pieces were scattered at his feet and his deadened fingertips couldn't seem to put them back together very well. Reno, Zell, and Quistis tried to visit him and comfort him, but he politely turned them away. He only left his room to eat, but even then, the effort was slight. He spent most of his time watching pieces of Cloud's childhood again, attempting to erase the last couple years of his Charge's life from his memory and replace it with a picture that made him smile a little more. Fat roly-poly baby Cloud was still his favorite, though young adolescent Cloud was slowly catching up simply because he was stupidly sweet.
Eventually, he was forced to think when Quistis came to get him for a blood donation. He followed her listlessly, looking at nothing in particular. They hardly talked as she hooked him up to a bag and gave him a little ball to squeeze to keep the blood moving. Once he was finished, he opted to stay in the room with Cloud. Quistis went to retrieve Reno to ask for a donation as well. Rude was still too sick to give anything, though he was willing to.
"You look… not very awake," Reno said as he came into the room and looked Leon over.
"I don't feel very awake," the brunette admitted.
"Are you going to become a hermit again after this?"
"I wasn't trying to be. I just needed everything to stop for a couple days. I'm sorry I neglected you, dear," Leon said flatly. Reno laughed.
"Do you feel better?"
"Somewhat."
"Good," the redhead said as he took his seat. His donation was over quickly and Quistis left them alone shortly after she put the blood bags in storage. Once she was gone, Reno sat up and gave his friend a serious face. "You're sure you're doing better?"
"For now, yes," Leon said as he kept his eyes on Cloud's face.
"For now?"
"I can't afford to let myself think that everything is okay. What Quistis said makes sense. His blood is contaminated, it's causing other problems, so we flush out the bad blood and give him new blood. That's all well and good, but what does that leave behind? What other damage will pop up when it's over with? I'm not confident that they have the resources here to fix everything. Things are better than they were a couple days ago, but it's still not good enough," Leon said with a sigh. "When he's healed and able to walk on his own and be normal again, that's when I'll stop worrying."
"That's going to be a while, yet."
"I know. I'm not looking forward to it."
"Well, for now, I'd like you to try and focus on the positives. Constantly worrying may be the natural thing to do but you're killing yourself slowly by letting it get to you so much. It's not a hopeless situation, Leon. In fact, there are more things that can go right now that he's here and getting better," Reno said as he stood and went to the side of Cloud's makeshift bed. Leon didn't have a response and wasn't willing to openly admit that the redhead was right. With a curious face, Reno carefully unzipped the cloth of the cube-like tent that hovered over Cloud's skin. He raised a brow and scrunched up his face disdainfully.
"What?" Leon asked.
"I haven't looked at it before now. God, that's a lot of damage."
"Thank you. I know," the brunette grumbled, slouching in his seat.
"Are they purposefully keeping him open?"
"Yeah. He isn't healing very fast, but they're keeping him from clotting and the wounds from closing. He'll have to heal on his own eventually. They can't do it for him like they normally would."
"That's going to be some badass scarring," Reno said.
"I doubt he'll notice, honestly. It's behind him, unlike mine," Leon said, pulling up the hem of his shirt and glancing at the marred skin on his stomach.
"The one on your face healed up okay, though. I don't notice it anymore."
"I do."
"Well you can rest assured you're still cute as a button. No worries," Reno said with a wide smile. Leon scowled at him and smoothed his shirt down again. Reno leaned over Cloud's back with a scrutinizing face as he looked over the damage. He scanned the skin carefully, but stopped at the blonde's lower back and furrowed his brows as he tilted his head to the side and looked past the perimeter of the cloth opening. "Holy shit," he said.
"What is it?" Leon asked, standing quickly. His fingers began to twitch with anxious worry; he was thinking Reno found something else that was wrong.
"Have you looked at his ass? Seriously," Reno asked, standing straight again. He went to the end of the table and took the excess fabric off Cloud's legs and lifted so he could see under it. "Damn," he said.
"What?" Leon asked again, thoroughly confused. He went to Reno's side and glanced under the fabric. Cloud's ass looked like an ass. Nothing special. "What's wrong with it?"
"What's wrong here is that I never noticed how nice it is. He never really wore any pants that showed it off. That's a crime against humanity," Reno said. Leon smacked the fabric out of his hands and shoved him away.
"Fucking hell, Reno. Go creep on your own Charge," he sputtered. Reno grinned.
"But your Charge is the one with the shapely lady butt. Rude has a nice ass, but it's a man ass. It doesn't jiggle very much, but I bet Cloud's does. When we get home, you need to get that boy some nice pants that fit him right. Everyone will be gay for him. They'll all be jealous of you."
Leon ran a hand over his face. "Oh my god, Reno. Go away."
"You can't tell me you never noticed. I've never seen him naked so at least I have an excuse."
"No. I never noticed. But now I can't unsee it."
"Hah! Good. This is good," Reno said, rubbing his hands together.
"No it isn't! Go away!"
"To be honest, I don't like him, but I'd fuck him. I'll be damned if I let him come at me with that support beam of a dick, but if it's the other way around, I'd totally be all over that."
"I'm going to kill you," Leon said, taking a few steps towards his friend. Reno laughed and took a few steps back.
"You know who else has a fat ass? Zell. The backs of their heads look very similar, too. It'd be really easy to do either one of them and fantasize about the other."
"Why the fuck do you think about this shit?"
"Why don't you? That's a better question. I'm perfectly okay with my sexual self. You, on the other hand, I wouldn't be surprised if you jerked off and you suddenly flooded your bedroom with all the reserves you have built up. You're such a prude," Reno said simply with a dismissive wave of his hand.
Leon had had enough and lunged at his friend with his arms outstretched, reaching for his throat. Reno laughed and jumped back and strafed to the side. The brunette was quick to react, though, and tackled into the redhead shoulder first. Reno let out a loud grunt as the wind was knocked from his lungs and they both toppled to the floor, knocking over a supply cart in the process. Leon pushed himself up on all fours, hovering above the redhead with a vicious sneer marring his face. He laid a hand over Reno's throat and squeezed just enough to get his point across. The redhead looked up at him with wide eyes and gasped a little through a pinched windpipe.
"I'm tired of your shit. Shut the fuck up, or I will cut you into steaks and eat you. Understand?" the brunette spat. Reno nodded some and Leon let him go.
"I was trying to ruffle your feathers, not force you off the deep end. Jeeze," the redhead said, sitting up. He rubbed his neck lightly with a frown. Leon sat next to him with his head in his hands.
"I know," he said tiredly.
"Then why'd you flip out? You could've seriously hurt me, asshole."
"Because…" the brunette trailed with a sigh. He took a second to collect his thoughts before trying to speak again. He mashed the heels of his hands in his eyes ad rubbed. "Because Zell has been trying to get me to sleep with him and I'm not necessarily against it, but I can't get that comfortable yet. You just made it a hundred times worse now that I know about shit I didn't even think about before."
"Oh," Reno deadpanned. "Well damn, you could've said something. I knew you guys were buds and whatever but I didn't know it was that involved. Actually, I had a feeling he watched you a little too closely but I didn't get any of that from you so I thought it was one-sided and you didn't notice. I'm sorry. Had I known, I would've picked something else to pester you about."
"Why do you have to pester me at all?"
"Honestly? Because it's easy. It also distracts you from the rain cloud that seems to follow you around all the time."
"I don't like it. Stop it."
"Grow a bit of a skin and get over it. So long as you keep it easy, I'm going to keep it up. I can't figure out another way to get you to stop hyper focusing on all the bad shit so this is what you get."
"I don't do it on purpose."
"I know. But you also do nothing to help yourself. So, as your friend, I have to make you uncomfortable with talk of penises and lady asses," Reno said with a wide smile. Leon punched him in the shoulder causing the redhead to jump a little and suck in a breath. He pouted some and rubbed his abused limb. "I was serious about everything I said, though. They both have crazy similarities from behind."
"I know. You can be quiet now, Reno."
