Pedestals and Sour Times

Chapter Four

AN: Hi all! Chapter Four is finally here and I can't apologize enough for the delay. I think we can all agree that this past year has been quite hectic but rest assured that this fiction has been on my mind constantly. I've just never had the time to upload it until now but some of the other chapters have already been written and completed. I shall be posting the next one within a week or so.

Thank you to everyone who has read this and is enjoying the fiction so far and I hope that you enjoy!

Dog and Lion

There weren't many things in his life that Leon could say that he well and truly hated.

Darkness? No – all the worlds were made of both darkness and light. Sure, he didn't like whoever was lurking in the dark or their intentions, but he wouldn't say that he hated the dark. Heartless, Monsters, Fiends were all something that just existed and tried to continue to exist, just the same as he was. Did he have to slay them? Of course; he was a survivor. Did he hate them? Absolutely not.

There were times in his life where he hated Seifer and the things that he did, but he would never say that that was all he felt for the older male. Grudgingly love was there between the two, never to be admitted out loud, and respect also. Even Cloud, despite everything that they've gone though as of now, Leon couldn't bring himself to hate him. He just didn't have it in him. No, there wasn't anything Leon could say that we existed in his life which he well and truly hated.

Except lightning.

Hyne he could not put into words how much he hated lightning. And getting struck by it several times in one sitting, no less.

He woke up in a bed which wasn't his own and just like always recently, he couldn't tell how long he had been unconscious for. His eyes rolled with every blink that he took as he tried to focus his sight on something tangible, but everything was a blur. Blinking too hard was always a bad idea after being shocked by lightning – blinking too hard, moving even breathing deeper than usual were all bad things to do after you've been shocked by lightning, Leon knew. The aftershock of these actions was almost as bad as being hit by lightning itself. Almost.

Once his eyes adjusted accordingly, Leon's suspicions were confirmed at the realization that he was now in Aerith and Yuffie's shared room. He didn't know how she managed to do it, but the room always smelt fragrant of flowers and fresh laundry and as he breathed in this unique scent, he breathed out relief with every other exhale. Okay, so he wasn't dead, this was obviously a good sign. It had only been twice in the past few weeks that Cloud had tried to kill him too and what may shock everyone else was that this was actually also good sign too. Back in Hollow Bastion it used to be more.

A lot more.

Seifer, as expected, was in the room with him seated on the floor by the door. Leon could tell that the blond knew he was awake but on no occasion did he try and make eye contact with Leon. It had been a while since he'd been around it, but Seifer was clearly in one of those rare moods which was near enough impossible to break him out of. Unless you were Raijin or Rin- it was impossible to get him out of his mood and Leon didn't even know if he wanted to try. At least the silence would give him time to think.

Dreaming wasn't often a luxury rewarded after passing out but this time he did and he really wished he hadn't. All he dreamt of were those haunting snake-like eyes staring back at him blankly as though he were nothing more than the skin on the front of Cloud's nose. But…but he had said his name last night – his real name and though hope was something Leon decided not to believe in anymore, Squall couldn't help but hang on to it because it meant that whoever this version of Cloud was remembered him in some way. It was a long shot for sure, but it was uplifting none the less. With everything Leon had in him, he would find out what happened to the blond and fix this.

There was no need to touch the bandages covering his abdomen this time, Leon knew that someone, most likely Aerith, would have had to put him back together again like an old worn teddy which they refused to let go of. At least someone had the foresight this time to leave him with a bottle of water within easy reach at the bedside table whilst he was still lying down. The vibrating shock to his head was surprising at first when he touched the bottle and he nearly dropped the damn thing but this was something he was used to. He hated it with every fiber of his being, but he knew the aftershocks would eventually die down at some point.

Finally taking his first sip of the day, he glanced out of the window to try and determine what the time was. Futile. Traverse Town's sky never changed and he didn't even know what day it was so trying to tell the time was as pointless as trying to get Seifer to speak to him. Leon tried to listen and concentrate to see if he could tell if anyone else was in the house but he couldn't tell. Hyne he just wanted to get out of the bed and find out if the others were alright. He dreaded the thought of Yuffie knowing anything about what had happened last night…morning…a few hours ago? However, unlike what Aerith would prefer, he refused to keep this away from her. If she asked, he would tell.

Hypocrisy wasn't something he admitted to freely, but he did expect them to tell him anything relevant which he needed to know and in turn, he would do the same. No one in the house needed to know his and Cloud's prior acquaintances with each other as it wasn't pertinent, he tried to justify to himself. Besides, whoever it was who inadvertently attacked him with the thunder earlier was not the Cloud he knew.

Another small vibration of his being shocked his body as he set the bottle back on the table stand next to him. With a sigh, he looked over to Seifer who still remained seated on the floor with both knees drawn up close and his head resting atop. Leon didn't want to venture too much as to what was going through the blonde's head, but he had another blond in the house (hopefully) who he was concerned about too. The only way he would get some answers as to what really happened after he passed out though wouldn't be provided by Seifer. If the theory is true, then once Aerith managed to get Leon into her bed, Seifer would have been stuck in this room with him also. At least she couldn't see or hear Seifer which right now was another good thing.

But Seifer's bad mood was currently the only thing holding him back from getting out of the room and finding the brunette flower girl.

"Stop it." Leon commanded without even thinking fully about what he was going to say to the other scarred male.

Seifer raised his head from his knees, ready to glare at Leon, but only raised it a little bit before resting it back to its previous position. Clearly conversation and getting Leon out of Aerith's bed weren't at the top of Seifer's agenda for the time being.

So the two scarred men remained like this for a further twenty minutes before the door slowly opened and went straight through Seifer. Aerith walked through the door clad in a different pink dress – one of many – and closed the door gently behind her. The relief in her smile was genuine and Leon even managed to reflect a much smaller one back at her. The brunette pulled up a chair, the same one from his own room, and sat down opposite Leon, keeping her eyes on him the whole time.

"Are you okay?" He asked at the same time she declared "I'm so happy you're awake."

They both smiled at each other as Aerith took the initiative to hold one of his hands into her own. Leon mentally prepared himself for the assault of aftershock at the contact, but it never came forward. "I put some Ether in your water," she admitted. "An Ancient trick I picked up in Planet. You'll still feel the vibrations, but it won't be as many and they should stop altogether within the next fifteen or so minutes."

If Leon could move properly, he would have probably kissed the brunette for this. He wouldn't, of course, it wasn't in his nature but the thought was still there nonetheless. At least Aerith looked better than she did before. Her hair was braided and in her signature high ponytail, the dried blood from before had been completely washed away, no signs of tears and it was evident that she must have slept a whole lot better last night than she had done in recent days. The fact that there was nothing false about her smile or her tone let Leon know that Cloud must still be in the house. Most likely unconscious, but at least he hadn't disappeared in the middle of the night.

"Are you okay?" He asked again, ending the last syllable with a painful cough accompanied by vibrating shock to the body and searing pain from his wound. Aerith promptly let go of his hand so that he could instinctively hold onto the bandages.

With a groan of annoyance, Leon recovered and stared back at Aerith, waiting for her response. He liked to think that it was just concern in her eyes that reflected at him, not pity, but he couldn't be sure. "I-I'm okay," she responded and looked downwards guiltily at his wound. "Leon-"

He held up one hand to stop her which she did without even thinking about it. "It wasn't your fault," he said sternly. Aerith looked as though she was going to contradict him so he continued without giving her the chance. "You tried to warn me and get me to move, but I didn't listen." He offered sincerely and on his own accord, gave her his hand which she took almost immediately.

With a sigh, she slowly looked up and met Leon's expectant stare only this time there was no smile on her face. Leon shifted slightly in the bed and waited for her to say what she came into her own room to state. "It wasn't Cloud's fault either." She said in a small voice after a short period of silence. "What do you remember of last night?" Aerith asked.

"Everything." He answered immediately. How could he not remember last night? The look and the color of Cloud's eyes haunted him constantly whilst he was unconscious and the afterbirth of being hit with lightning after lightning was his physical reminder.

The tension was thickening in the room and though he wouldn't say vocally, Leon knew that Seifer could feel it as well. "Cloud is conscious, thanks to you Leon. He's resting in your room." She said with a bit of uncertainty in her voice, but Leon chose not to pull on that thread just yet. "He's been asking about you, wondering if you've awoken just yet."

Leon didn't want to ask why Cloud didn't just check up on him himself; he wasn't sure if he wanted to know the answer. He was still confident that the Cloud in his room wasn't the Cloud he knew way back when so hope for that was out of the window. "What has he said?" Leon couldn't help but ask instead.

"Nothing else. I've asked him what's happened and if he remembers anything about last night but he won't open up to me." She answered sadly. "I think he's waiting to talk to you. To thank you and apologize-"

"-He doesn't need to." Leon interjected.

"Leon," she sighed. "I know Cloud and I know what he's like. Everything that's happened isn't him and I fear for what's going to happen if I don't help him. I want you to know that I love you very much. I really do and I wouldn't even know how to begin thanking you for all that you've done for me and everyone else. You've been so kind and you even saved his life last night after all you've been through."

"But…?" He questioned, knowing that she was going to say something unpleasant.

"But, if you kick Cloud out, I'm going to go with him." She stated defiantly. "Please don't think that I'm not grateful. You've given us all shelter when we had none, food, friendship. I wouldn't blame you if you didn't want him to stay here, especially because of the rumors and what happened to the boy in the infirmary. I just…I can't lose him again. I can't let him go down this path of self-destruction." Aerith looked away, no longer able to maintain eye contact with the gunmetal grey staring back at her. "This is your home and I would never force you to do something that you're uncomfortable with, but if you let Cloud leave then I have to go with him. It's important that he's with people who love him. It's not that he's more important or needs my help more than you do, it's…it's…"

"It's insulting." Leon cut in again and applied gentle pressure to her hand to get her to look at him again. When she did, Aerith was clearly surprised by the small smile on his face. "It's insulting that after three years you still don't think of this as your home too."

"Leon?" She questioned.

"This is your home Aerith. You've been asking nearly every day about Cloud since the moment I met you; I know how important he is to all of you. I don't know who he is," he lied, "I do know that I trust you. If you say that this isn't his fault, I believe you. If you want him to stay, he'll stay."

Aerith managed a great job at not allowing the tears which aligned her eyes to fall at Leon's words. Thank Shiva. He already had a sullen Seifer in the room with him, he wouldn't be able to handle an emotional Aerith at the same time. "Oh Leon!" She declared and almost went in for an awkward embrace but knowing the shocks that would rack both his and her bodies prevented her from doing so. "I've been so scared to tell you this." Aerith admitted with the faintest of blushes covering her cheeks.

Leon shook his head carefully and refrained from rolling his eyes. Aerith had been through just as much as he had these past few weeks, so she needed cheering up. "I just don't want Yuffie making my delicious liquid meals for the foreseeable future." He attempted to joke with a grave face and hoped that the brunette would detect the sarcasm.

With a giggle which felt like forever since he had heard, she removed her hand from his and brushed a few stray hairs away from his face. "It's only until you're fully healed. But if you scare me like that again, you'll be swallowing them for years." She warned with a smile. Leon held up both hands in surrender before reaching for his bottle of Ether infused water again. "I've asked Yuffie to come back in an hour and Cid too. We're all going to sit downstairs, with Cloud, and figure out what is going on. I wanted to wait for Merlin but there's still no sign of him returning."

Leon sighed deeply in response. He wasn't even certain if Merlin could help him but his wound showed no real sign of improving and his leg was as dead as his dreams of ever being a ballet dancer. But something was telling him that the old wizard might be able to offer some insight as to why this was happening to him. Getting this information from Cloud would be like drawing frost from a Blazing Shard so that was no good either. Seifer knew just as much as he did, and the others had more pressing concerns than what was wrong with his leg and his wound too. Leon didn't like the idea of waiting any longer, but it would appear that he had no choice.

After swallowing a few more gulps, Leon managed to question, "why did you bring me in here?"

"Oh," she said with a small gasp. "I didn't bring you in here, Cloud did."

Quickly, Leon looked over to Seifer who hadn't budged an inch but still sensed the questioning stare and nodded twice for confirmation. Averting his eyes back to Aerith he asked, "Cloud brought me in here? Why?"

"He didn't say. I think he wanted to be alone in your room so that he could try and remember what happened the night he…"

Trailing off was never a good sign and Leon didn't understand why she struggled to say it. "Stabbed me." Leon finished for her and didn't miss the way those grassy green eyes filled with guilt. Another thing he didn't understand about Aerith. Before she could even attempt an apology, he moved on from the conversation with a sigh. "Did you manage to get me crutches?"

"Yes," Aerith replied with a sad nod and took her hand away from Leon's. "I've just come back from the infirmary. They didn't want to help me so I had to get Yuffie to steal them. I hope you're not mad-"

With the one hand he held up feebly, Aerith stopped speaking respectfully. The anger he felt was forcibly suppressed down as he didn't want to risk a repeat of what happened that night that Seifer turned up. The townsfolk here in Traverse Town were a friendly bunch who were just trying to adjust to life in this world. Leon couldn't count on both hands the amount of times Aerith had helped them, aided them or just comforted them with the motherly nurture that only she could provide. The fact that no one was willing to help her suddenly was beyond irritating and disrespectful to the woman who had been nothing but generous to them. Leon knew though that if he didn't keep his anger in check, only further issues could arise from their current predicament.

"I understand, I'm not mad and I'm not surprised that Yuffie was able to get them either." He attempted a smile which the brunette knew immediately was fake. "The boy?" He questioned and dropped the smile.

Aerith nodded. "He's still the same. They wouldn't let me see him but there hasn't been any progress. He's still talking about bats and wings," she blushed in embarrassment which only deepened once Leon closed his eyes and used middle finger and thumb to pinch the bridge of his nose. His pointer finger stroked the scar between his eyes which Aerith quickly picked up that Leon only did when he was troubled by something. "We're going to figure this out Leon, I promise. When Cid and Yuffie get here, we'll talk and find out what's happening." Aerith tried to reassure but even her tone suggested that she wasn't entirely convinced.

"Can you bring me the crutches? I need another shower and to use the bathroom."

"Y-Yes," Aerith responded uncertainly. At the hesitation is her voice, Leon stopped his ministrations and opened his eyes to look at the flower girl. They both knew that he didn't need to question with his voice what he was thinking. "Leon, how did you do it yesterday? When I came home with Cloud, you were already downstairs using the broom handle as a cane. But… I noticed that you used the bathroom already, made it down the stairs and get to the meal which I had prepared for you in the fridge."

Luckily, Leon had already thought about the questions Aerith wanted to ask him. "I slid." He responded with a serious face and he promptly ignored the snort Seifer made on the floor by the door. Leon didn't say he thought about it fully and lying was never one of his natural gifts, but it was the only thing he could think of.

There was no room in his voice for questioning. If he said he slid, then Aerith would just have to believe it as he wasn't going to explain any further. Knowing full well that Leon was lying, she rose from her position on the chair and neatened out the bottom of her dress. "Drink up and I'll bring you the crutches. When Cid comes back from the Accessory Shop, I'll get him to help you downstairs."

"What will you be doing until then?"

"I was going to stay here and prepare us all a meal. I would go back to the infirmary but…"

Another trail off, another bad sign. "Go back to the infirmary and tell them that you've taken the crutches. If they have any issues about it, then direct them here and I'll talk to them. If someone needs it desperately, then we'll return them. Force them to give you some information or access to the boy too Aerith. He doesn't have to speak about whatever happened to him. For now, I just want to know his name and where he's staying. We'll sort out the rest as soon as he's recovered fully."

Sometimes Leon wondered why Aerith smiled at him like that when he asked her to do something. The brunette female rarely ever challenged him or refused to do anything that he had requested. As always, she just gave him that smile and left the room with a nod, no verbal confirmation needed to be exchanged to confirm that she would do exactly as he had asked.

Leon watched helplessly as Aerith walked through Seifer to get to the door before exiting the room completely. With another sigh, Leon's eyes didn't tear away from the distressed blond on the floor. Seifer wasn't a man of mystery as he always knew how to express himself and had no qualms about letting everyone know exactly what he was thinking. However, when he acted like this even Raijin didn't know how to break him out of it, let alone Leon.

Aerith returned minutes later with both crutches as promised. She tried to stay and watch how he was going to do this on his own but he politely shoed the woman out of his room claiming that he needed some privacy. As soon as she left, Seifer wordlessly came to his side and helped Leon into a comfortable seated position so that he could use the crutches. Not once did they make eye contact and the fact that he was clearly avoiding Leon as much as possible was starting to irk the brunette.

It was painful, so very painful to try and stand up on his own with both crutches. With his leg being as dormant as it could be and the wound shooting bolts of vibration and pain throughout his entire body, Leon felt like he would have passed out if not for the reassuring hand on his shoulder. With a nod and still no eye contact, Leon made his way to the door as slowly as possible. Seifer tried to open the door for him but it was to no avail, it would appear as though his touching tangible items stint had run out for the time being. Saving his curse words for later, Seifer allowed Leon to open the door with one hand and try and balance himself with the other.

The routine was the same as last night. Seifer allowed Leon to use him as leverage whilst he relieved himself with the toilet, then he bathed the brunette the same way he did before. Aerith's washcloth was used for the second time as the blond managed to keep as much water as possible away from his wound.

Seifer was too busy focusing on the job at hand whereas Leon was lost in his own thoughts. He tried to control his heartbeat as he was sure Seifer could hear it but he couldn't help it every time he thought about Cloud being just a few doors down from him. Last night was complete madness when he thought about it properly. Leon shivered a little of how similar it was to when he had first ever met Cloud in the abandoned forest of Hollow Bastion. Only that time, it wasn't black wisps of smoke that was preventing the blond from waking up…

Leon sighed as Seifer dressed him back into the same sweatpants that he slept in. Hyne he just wanted to be able to dress himself, clean himself and even go to the bathroom all by himself already. Though he appreciated the help, it was starting to feel degrading. Seifer could sense the frustration emitting from the brunette but still he chose not to say anything about it. Just what was wrong with him? What could have possibly happened to Seifer since last night that made him react this way?

Sure, it could have been a lot of things such as no one being able to see or hear him other than Leon. Or maybe it was because he was feeling emptier than he did before? Leon hoped that this wasn't the case because he needed Seifer more than he was willing to admit. If the blond was just becoming a shell of himself then…No. Leon didn't want to think of that. Seifer was just in a bad mood and it was one that he was going to have to break himself out of.

Exiting the bathroom wasn't as bad as he thought it would be. It would seem that the shower helped the brunette relax his muscles slightly and the pain on his abdomen wasn't as intense as it was when he first started using the crutches. Seifer trudged somewhere behind him and as soon as he reached the top of the stairs, he looked over his shoulder at the blond who just shook his head once and looked away. Leon gripped the crutches in annoyance and looked down at this difficult journey ahead of him. There was no way that he would be able to make it down the stairs unscathed and if it were just his dead leg that was the problem, then he would have risked it. However, his freshly patched up wound was the issue and he couldn't run the risk of the stitches coming undone. Again.

"Just help me get down the stairs." He growled through gritted teeth.

"Sure."

Leon tensed at the sound but quickly remembered himself and forced himself to relax, knowing that the blond would pick up on such action.

Chancing another look over his shoulder, Leon stared at Cloud who was unknowingly standing next to Seifer. "Thanks." He muttered and tried to keep his surprise down to a minimum. He didn't even hear Cloud leave his room or close his door. Maybe his senses were failing him. Turning so that he faced the stairs again, Leon felt Cloud stand next to him and raised his arm to hook over the blond's shoulder. Again, the beating increased at the contact and the sound was deafening that he was sure both Cloud and Seifer heard it.

Cloud took both crutches from Leon and held them at angle under his free arm. With a lot more geniality and a lot less fear than Seifer did the night before, Cloud got them both down the stairs seamlessly, without dropping Leon once. As soon as they were both steadied on the floor at the bottom of the stairs, Cloud handed Leon both crutches one by one and didn't wait to see if the brunette could manage to walk and stand by himself. No, he walked straight into the kitchen without a second thought or a moments eye contact.

With a shake of his head, Leon looked over his shoulder to the top of the stairs and found Seifer seated on the floor with both legs crossed, head in his hands and face angled in the other direction.

More often than not, the silent treatment was welcomed with open arms from Leon, but with both blonds purposefully ignoring him, he couldn't help but notice and get slightly irritated by it at the same time. Shouting at Seifer was pointless, especially as Cloud would only see it as him arguing with himself, so he turned away and started to make his way to the living room instead of the kitchen where he knew that Cloud was waiting for him. Aerith was no longer in the house as Leon was confident that she had set off to do what he had asked. Yuffie and Cid hadn't come back just yet but the hour was nearly up, so they would return shortly.

Leon didn't really know what to do with himself at this moment in time. It felt like two lifetimes had passed him since he had some one on one time with Cloud and though he had wanted nothing more since the last time he saw the blonde, he knew that the Cloud in the kitchen wasn't the Cloud from Hollow Bastion.

Chancing one more look over his shoulder at Seifer, Leon refused to roll his eyes at the man who was acting like a toddler and began to make his way into the kitchen, forcing his heartbeat to go back to normal with every shaky step he took with the crutches.

Cloud was seated with his back towards Leon in the same seat that Seifer was in last night. Leon hobbled his way over to the kitchen and retrieved another bottle of water from the fridge, promptly ignoring the 'meal' that Aerith had prepared for him and took his seat opposite Cloud. Seifer entered the room the moment Leon made his first step to the fridge. The eldest male took residence on the floor, as usual, and ignored the other the two in the room.

Leon didn't allow Seifer's mood to affect him any further and when he thought about it, it was actually a blessing that the blond was in the mood that he was in and decided to stay on the floor; at least this way he couldn't touch or lift anything that would reveal that he was in the room with them.

Cloud remained stationary in his seat with his gaze averted purposefully away from Leon's as the brunette had anticipated. One arm clutched at his right bicep and Leon remembered how Cloud had done this action the night they first spoke after Leon had woken after the incident. He couldn't recall a time in Hollow Bastion when the blond had done this but it didn't seem like the most appropriate thing to bring up right now as a conversation starter either.

Under normal circumstances the silence would be nothing more that welcoming, but he needed Cloud to speak with him before the others came back. "You not hungry?" Leon couldn't help but ask.

Cloud merely shook his head once, still averting all eye contact as possible. This wasn't uncommon to the brunette though. The first time he met Cloud, the guy didn't speak to him for a week so there was normalcy in his aversions.

However, this was going to be a lot more troubling than Leon had thought. With a deep sigh, he started the conversation up again before another silence could ensue. "I don't know what to say to you Cloud," he admitted honestly. "What I do know is that the others will be coming back at any moment. You don't want to talk to me? That's fine," Leon answered for himself. "But everyone has been doing what they can to help you. The least you could do is reciprocate." Leon finished warningly and sternly.

Luckily, his words had the effect he was hoping for and Cloud finally turned to look at him with a questioning glare. Leon couldn't help but stare into the mako induced blue and hoped that he couldn't see any green, but his efforts were futile. Only small flecks appeared in the iris, but the brunette noticed and felt a little disappointed. He didn't let it show though and with a challenging raised russet brow, he grimaced blankly at the glower in front of him.

His fingers itched with the desire to drink his water but he was too lost in the surreal feeling of having a stare off with Cloud, just like old times. So he waited for the blond to speak but he knew that no words would come forth. Until, the blond did actually decide to speak, that is. "Who are you?" Cloud whispered.

The simple question affected Leon more than it should have. How many times did he ask the same thing that night when he and Cloud spoke in his room? But to hear Cloud ask him this forced Leon to bottle down the emotions to a place where he couldn't reach them just yet. "No one." Leon answered.

The glare lessened and transformed into a skeptical expression. "You don't fear me even after I've tried to kill you. Twice. You even survived the stabbing somehow whereas anyone else would have died. You let me heal your wound-"

"-Because you drugged me."

"You don't want to hear my apologies, you're allowing me to stay here," Leon almost forgot about Cloud's heightened senses, including hearing, but he didn't allow his shock at the blond knowing his and Aerith's conversation show either. "You talk to yourself-"

"-As do you." Leon defended quickly. Though, he'd rather that they all thought he was talking to himself as opposed to know that he was conversating with Seifer. However, Leon didn't forget Cloud saying 'you don't have to say it, I know I'm a coward' when he thought that Leon was still unconscious that night. Another thing to bring up at a different time when they had privacy again.

Cloud seemed surprised by Leon's second interruption but continued nonetheless. "The others respect you a lot. Yuffie won't even go near me since the incident so I know that they love you a great deal too. Actually, it would appear that this whole town has been affected since you were wounded." He added as an afterthought. "And your name is Leon." Cloud didn't realize that throughout all of his statements, he had leaned in closer to Leon but once he had finished, he relaxed back in his chair with both arms folded across his chest.

Still with a raised chocolate brow Leon asked, "Your point is?"

"That's everything I know about you. Clearly, you're not no one."

The retort to tell Cloud that he was someone to him was effectively held down with restrained effort. Instead, he averted his eyes away from Cloud's momentarily to quickly look at Seifer who seemed a little bit amused by their conversation. Not wanting to let on that he and Cloud weren't the only ones in the room, he looked back at Cloud whose smirk didn't look like it was going to go anywhere for a while. Leon didn't know why they were acting slightly hostile to one another but he couldn't deny that he did enjoy the way they bounced off each other.

Deciding it was best to not antagonize Cloud any further though, Leon chose to gulp at his water before narrowing his eyes when Cloud looked back at the wall beside them. The conversation for the moment seemed to have disappeared but Cloud surprised him again by speaking once more. "For what it's worth, I am sorry for what I've put you through." He declared as a murmur.

Leon didn't offer his acknowledgement or thanks, not that he had the chance to as the front door swung open ungracefully and Cid's gruff voice flitted in the air. "I'm gonna go down there and-"

"No Cid, please." Aerith's voice came through in a forceful manner. "It's not a concern at the moment. We need to help Leon and Cloud first and then we can sort out the issue with the town. Can you please ask Cloud to come into the kitchen and Leon will need help getting downstairs too." Without a word on the matter, all three occupants listened as Cid trudged his way upstairs whereas Aerith entered into the kitchen. Due to their angles, Leon looked Aerith straight in the eyes whereas Cloud kept his back to her and didn't make any move to acknowledge her presence. "Oh!" She exclaimed, genuinely surprised, not noticing that she was literally halted through Seifer.

Not thinking about his wound or his leg, Leon made a move to help her with the two bags on each of her arms but the rare angered look he received in response kept him grounded on his seat. Aerith rushed to put the bags on the kitchen side before hastily making her way over to kneel next to Leon. He knew she would ask him how he was feeling so he spoke before she could have the chance to. "I'm fine. What's going on with the town people?" He answered and asked sternly.

She shook her head defiantly in response. "Later." Then to show that she was not entertaining this conversation at all, she smiled sincerely and looked over at Cloud. "I'm happy to see that you're both here." Looking back at Leon, her green eyes glistened with real relief and joy at her statement. "Is Yuffie here?"

"Nope." Cid answered instead as he now entered into the kitchen. The eldest blond walked further into the room – straight through Seifer – and went straight to the back door in the kitchen and opened it but not before patting Leon and Cloud on their shoulder to greet them. Knowing that he was about to light up a cigarette, Leon made a face before focusing back to Aerith.

Trying to keep the concern from her expression every time she looked at Cloud, who still hadn't stopped staring at the wall, Aerith offered one more smile before leaving the two men at the small table and going back to the bags of food on the counter. "Cid managed to get us food from the new LOD restaurant. I hope Yuffie likes it when she gets here."

"That picky ninja better like it!" Cid declared, breathing smoke into the house. "She ain't never eaten anything that I cook for her."

"Because everything you cook comes in three modes: undercooked, burnt or with ketchup." Aerith joked as she busied herself with taking the containers out of the bag and getting all the plates ready.

Leon didn't need to ask Cloud if he felt the same; he knew that he did. They both knew that the efforts that both Aerith and Cid were both going through to make this whole situation seem as normal as possible, but the fact was that it wasn't. Last night, both he and Cloud were on the verge of death, Aerith was injured whilst trying to help Cloud and Cid appeared to be none the wiser. Though Leon knew that Aerith would have told Cid what happened last night, they were both still acting as though everything was as it should be when it wasn't.

Cloud didn't feel like entertaining the charade, neither did Leon, but neither male attempted to stop it either.

"Now Leon, they made you this soup and it smells delicious. Unfortunately, you won't be able to have it while it's hot as it will disrupt the healing process."

"Ha!" Seifer laughed from the floor and Leon honestly did forget that the blond was there for a while. It was amazing to hear him in all honesty. It was the first genuine thing that anyone had said for the past ten minutes. Seifer continued to murmur more things under his breath but Leon couldn't hear them, thankfully.

As she prepared the food, Aerith and Cid continued to force their conversation whilst Cloud and Leon persisted with ignoring one another. Seifer stayed moodily on the floor and Leon once again tried to keep the helplessness out of his system.

It wasn't until Yuffie's undeniable voice filled the silence that Leon perked up in his seat and leaned over to get a view of the front door which was still shut. "And Cid got trapped in The 100 Acre Woods for two whole days while you were away doing Hyne knows what and…" Everyone froze in the room aside from Cloud who also perked up once he heard Yuffie and started to scan the room. Cid threw his second cigarette out the door and even walked outside to see if he could get a better view of the ninja.

Grey clouds of smoke with hues of blue and purple engulfed the kitchen without notice and before any of them knew it, Yuffie stood next to Aerith by the counter along with Merlin who was clad in his usual pale blue robe. "And your house stinks! And… woah." Once the smoke had cleared fully, Yuffie grabbed onto the counter side as the effects of being transported fully hit her.

Merlin examined everyone in the room as Cid had walked back inside with a smile on his face. "Yes yes, thank you Yuffie but it's best I come and see everyone for myself." Merlin declared then accepted the embrace Aerith immediately bestowed upon him.

"Bout time you showed up around here," Cid announced happily and closed the door behind him. "Damn wizard." He murmured as an afterthought loud enough for everyone to hear with clear mirth in his voice too.

Leon sighed in relief and even allowed himself to smile too at the sight of the old man and Yuffie also. However, his smile did drop when he noticed Cloud watching him but once the blond was caught, he averted his eyes elsewhere. Seifer didn't seem interested at all in the commotion and remained with his head resting atop his drawn up knees.

"Cid my boy, it's good to see you too." Merlin said. "Oh my, it would appear as though there are some new faces here. Cloud I presume?" The wizard asked as he approached the table and extended his hand for the blond to shake. Cloud was taken by surprise by the pleasantry and stared at the hand extended to him for a long while. The air rapidly became awkward as everyone watched the scene and Cid was about to clear his throat to break the tension, but Cloud picked up on it and shook Merlin's hand gratefully.

"Very good," Merlin retreated and scanned the room again. "Well, it looks like I made it in time for dinner. But this two seater table won't do. Just a mo." Conjured out of thin air appeared the wand Merlin used for his magic and within a blink of everyone's eye appeared a square table and five extra seats.

No one could ever work out the mechanics of Merlin's magic but the fact that Leon's tiny table even fit into the kitchen was a wonder, let alone how Merlin got this even bigger one in the small room with chairs and still made everything seem exactly the same. There was no doubt that Cloud was shocked by the whole spectacle, but the blond did manage to hide it will.

With the new table arrangements, they both still remained opposite each other but now they had two chairs next to one another. Aerith walked over first, sat next to Cloud and placed both their plates in front of them on the table. Next was Yuffie who excitedly seated herself next to Leon and placed his soup in front of him on the table and her own meal in front of herself. Next to Aerith was Merlin and next to Yuffie was Cid.

"You've been away too long old man." Yuffie started at Merlin who was midway into taking his first bite. "There's only six of us here. Why have you conjured seven seats?"

Everyone was too engrossed in the food to really notice the extra chair at the foot of the table. Merlin dropped his fork on his plate at the question though and scanned the small room again. "Oh…Oh!" He elongated after a brief pause. "It must have been the hookah the caterpillar gave me from Wonderland." He then chuckled to himself and started eating. "Wonderful stuff I must say. I suppose its toxins may still be in my system and I'm seeing things." Thank Odin Merlin said something batshit crazy which totally managed to make sense to all of them excluding Cloud.

"I'm just happy Leon's out of bed!" Yuffie cheered and used one arm to wrap around Leon's stiff form. "And…and you Cloud." Now no one could avoid the awkwardness in the air at Yuffie's words. Cloud hadn't touched his food, but he hadn't looked away from it either. That is, until Yuffie addressed him directly. Nothing but guilt filled his intense blue-green eyes but the sincere warmth in Yuffie's brown softened the blond somehow. "It's been years since we ate together. I always knew that we would be a family again and I'm sorry for the way I've treated you." Yuffie carefully placed her hand over the table and waited for Cloud to take it. "Forgive me?" She questioned sincerely but her cheeky smile was a tell-tale sign that she didn't have to ask.

No one would ever dare to not do as this girl said whenever she smiled like that.

Not allowing it to take as long as it did for him to shake Merlin's hand, Cloud accepted the gesture gingerly and gave her a tight squeeze. Near enough everyone in the room exhaled the deep breath that they didn't know they were holding. Leon watched. "That's my line." The sincerity was there in his words but the smile which should have followed never showed. His eyes then hardened with determination to let Yuffie know that he was well and truly sorry for everything he's put her through too.

Cloud didn't need to smile though, unsurprisingly, Yuffie's was enough for the both of them.

Cid grunted his pleasure once and carried on eating his food. Aerith's grin couldn't have been wider if you pulled the corners of her lips. Cloud took his hand back and toyed his food with his fork. Yuffie's blush was slowly diminishing and all of what she wanted to catch Cloud up on was on the tip of her tongue, eager to pour out, but so was the food which fell disgustingly back on her plate. And Merlin…Merlin watched Leon the whole time whilst the brunette was chancing any quick glance that he could at Cloud.

"So Leon my boy, what have I missed?"