Part Five
So hold me when I'm here,
right me when I'm wrong.
You can hold me when I'm scared
But you won't always be there,
So love me when I'm gone.
------------------
"Well, you're obviously not trying hard enough."
"Yes, I am. It just isn't working."
"Then try harder."
"And how do you propose I 'try harder' when I'm already doing all I can?"
Riku frowned and crossed his arms, giving Sephiroth a 'stop being an ass and do it' glare. "Just try." The older one sighed, tilting his head back.
"What else can I do, hmm? Something is preventing me from conjuring a portal on my own," Sephiroth growled in frustration. The teen had been trying to teach him how to call up a portal for hours, it felt like, and the ex-General was getting increasingly agitated at the fact that he was unable to perform the task as Riku had.
…which was wholly understandable. Sephiroth had always able to do whatever he set his mind to, and now, when he couldn't do something so easy that a boy could do it…
The older man growled again, irately.
It wasn't fair.
Riku grunted and lifted his hand into the air. His eyes narrowed in concentration as he clenched his fist and twisted, literally tearing a hole out of nothing, leaving a gaping, black and purple rip in space. With a smirk, the teen placed his arm over his stomach and bowed dramatically at his success.
"There. That's how it goes. Now do it yourself."
Sephiroth sighed and mimicked Riku's actions perfectly, and, as usual… failed. /…rotten son of a…!!/
The silver-haired man uttered a silent curse and placed his hands on his hips, refusing to look over at his young companion, and his growl transformed to an irritated snarl. "You see? Nothing."
Riku clicked his tongue and flicked his wrist, closing up the portal he made. "Now try."
"We've done this five times now, Riku. I can't do it when yours is open, and I also cannot when it's closed." He placed his palm against his forehead and frowned. "Couldn't I simply use the one you summoned?"
The teen shook his head.
"Why?"
"Dammit, Seph, I already told you… if you go through the one I made and Cloud isn't where you end up, how the hell do you think you're going to get back?" The silver-haired man grit his teeth, partially embarrassed he hadn't come to that - obvious - conclusion. "See? Don't wanna use my portals now, do you?"
Sephiroth ran a hand through his hair, muttering to himself, "gods, Riku, just be quiet."
The boy rolled his eyes, tapping a foot on the floorboards, tempted to annoy the older man even more. It had been a looooong time since he was able to mock someone so 'superior' to himself, and he had to admit, it was damn amusing. "Hey, don't get mad at me because you can't do it."
"Do not taunt me, Riku," Sephiroth grumbled, his already grouchy mood souring by the second. Riku threw his hands in the air and grunted.
"I'm not taunting you on purpose, I'm just telling you like it is."
"…will you just accompany me until I find him, then?" Sephiroth asked with a sigh.
Riku sniffed and shook his head. "I can't. I still have to help Kairi."
The two silver-headed men turned towards the door where a commotion had erupted, and a Heartless' shrieked warning blazed through the communication tubes. Sephiroth thought he faintly heard Mr. Smee shout as well, a shrill little sound like fingernails on a chalkboard. Riku cringed.
"Shit… I should probably check that out," he announced, jogging towards the door. "Keep practicing, I'll be back in a sec… I hope," the teen added under his breath. Sephiroth understood completely - everyone on the ship - with the exception of themselves - was rather… feckless.
The older man nodded in a dismissive gesture and flopped down onto the hammock.
/This is ludicrous. How can I not create a meager portal when I was able to summon a damned Meteor?!/
Sephiroth scowled, halfheartedly repeating the tearing motions as he sprawled on the makeshift bed, vainly attempting to rip time and space, and with each unsuccessful turn he sighed, becoming more discouraged.
After several more bored, failed tries, the stoic, great ex-General Sephiroth crossed his arms…
…and pouted.
/How is this so hard? What could I possibly be doing wrong?/
He licked his lips and stared into blank space, silently mulling it over. There just had to be some way he could do it.
…after all, Riku could do it, and Riku wasn't half as powerful as he himself was.
Sephiroth shook his head and stood, bent over to touch his toes, and then reached skyward in an easy, comfortable stretch. /Perhaps a few katas are in order… clear my head before trying this ridiculous farce again…/
Sephiroth maneuvered his coat carefully over his wing and tossed it without care onto the hammock, then unbuckled the broad belt around his torso before placing it gently onto the leather. He took a deep breath and shivered slightly, the cool ocean air blowing in from the porthole beating on his bare upper body.
Slowly, the silver-haired man bent one leg up, placing his ankle in the crook of his opposite knee. He brought both arms up, folding one over his chest and let the other stretch out to his side, lowering himself leisurely. For nearly a minute he held the position, breathing in and out in calm breaths before switching positions.
With graceful, fluid movements, he moved his bent leg to the side, placing his foot flat on the floor. Stretching his folded arm out, the ex-General crouched down and slowly arced his arms straight over his head, repeating the breathing technique before he brought himself back into the previous stance.
After performing the katas several times each, Sephiroth decided he was - finally - calm enough to attempt that absolutely infuriating process of conjuring up himself a transportation portal.
Before starting, the silver-haired man took another deep, steadying breath and worked out a kink that eased its way into his neck by rolling his shoulders, the ruffled feathers of his wing annoyingly tickling his naked skin.
/'Firstly, imagine the air before you is tangible'. Not a problem./
Sephiroth closed his eyes for a moment to kill the growl working up from his throat. He then opened his eyes and began the process of staring out into nothing. /Even the simplest idiot can perform this task./
/'Next, reach into said tangible air.'/
He reached out his arm slowly but deliberately, imagining he could feel the space as he pushed. To his great surprise, his sense of touch - and wishful thinking, he imagined - made him feel a slight pressure, as if his arm was held in something.
/Well, that's certainly never happened before…/ To this discovery, Sephiroth arched an eyebrow.
/'Grab hold of the space.'/
The silver-haired man curled his fingers, clawing them into the air and made a tight fist. /This is so… stupid./
/'Twist.'/
His fist twisted, and Sephiroth's eyes went wide as he - thought he - felt resistance, and went on to blink several times in disbelief. /…not possible./
He gave a quick shake of his head, confirming his acceptance of defeat. /Wishful thinking, Sephiroth…,/ his mind muttered to himself as he soldiered on.
/'Tear the seams'./
Sephiroth took a deep breath, not holding back the wince which crept to his face as he pulled, the inevitable groan and dread of failure surging into his throat. With a sharp tug, he pulled backwards, fairly certain he imagined he heard a faint ripping sound.
/…nonsense./
The silver-haired angel bit his lip and securely closed his eyes, refusing to watch as he failed yet again. In one nerve-wracked move, Sephiroth suddenly yanked his arm completely back and down to his side.
/…I've failed, I know it. Why should I even bother?/ Tentatively, a glowing aquamarine eye opened.
…and, to his utter, absolute shock, saw a gaping black hole standing right in front of him, shades of black and purple swirling within the vortex before him. The ex-General smirked. /Ha. I win./
As a triumphant afterthought, Sephiroth added, /…bitch./
The man didn't know how he managed to pull it off that time, and to be quite honest, he didn't care, as long as he had the portal opened. But, eager as he was to leave, Sephiroth knew he couldn't do so while Riku was missing in action… he had to say goodbye to the teen. The ex-General frowned, knowing full well that the silver-haired teen wasn't going be happy at all for his success with the portal, nor with his departure… especially with what had happened earlier.
Sephiroth let his line of thought drift back to that not-so-simple kiss he had with Riku. He knew it was wrong, the teenager was just a child, after all, and Sephiroth himself was very nearly twice Riku's age. But, naturally, some part of Sephiroth had enjoyed it greatly and yes, he very much wanted to give into that temptation, both for his own selfish desires and Riku's blatant need for contact, mental and physical.
…tough as it was, he resisted. He couldn't do that to the boy. He couldn't just take Riku's innocence away from him, steal his virginity…
…after all, that's what happened with Cloud. That first time, Sephiroth didn't care at all for the young blonde, but he took that offer anyway without a second thought. He liked Cloud, but he didn't love him… at least, not until much later…
Again the silver-haired man sighed.
Even if he had taken Riku, it wouldn't have been because he loved the boy. Sephiroth knew he never would love him - at least not like that. But that didn't stop a piece inside of him which wanted to take the teen away from all of the fighting, away from all the anger and frustration Riku locked away within himself, and just… keep the boy, forever; not as a lover, but as a friend.
/…well,/ the ex-General mused wickedly, /quite possibly lovers./ He paused. /…if it wasn't for Cloud, anyway…/
Sephiroth hated the way Maleficent was so blatantly using Riku to do her dirty work, just like a puppet…
/Like a mere puppet that I had been, used by Jenova for her own conquests, just a vehicle to carry out petty desire…/ The man frowned and slipped to the floor, crossing his legs, an elbow placed on his knee. Sephiroth sighed and made a fist, resting it under his chin as he thought.
/And now, Riku's suffering through the same thing./
Sephiroth's frown deepened. /And other than Kairi's resuscitation, what has that witch promised you, Riku? Are you to be a god? Immortal, perhaps? Are you to be feared and known around all worlds?/ Sephiroth sighed heavily.
/You must realize that now you're nothing but a villain, just as I had been, and battling against your love. I wish you would change, Riku… it would be a terrible tragedy to die so young…/
The silver-haired man uncrossed his legs and laid down, bare chest flat against the grainy wooden floor. /Just a puppet… this power to control and manipulate will eventually mean nothing, I wish you could see that…/ He smirked dryly.
/I'm living proof./
Sephiroth saw his troubling past through his mind's eye. He hadn't been in complete control of himself at that time… he still knew, though, that he had hurt Cloud - his Cloud - completely by destroying his hometown… nearly murdering him, and Zack, and that mountain guide, Tifa… Sephiroth had succeeded in killing that girl's father, and the blonde's mother.
The silver-haired man rested his forehead in one palm as he recollected his crimes.
He even managed to raze an entire town, completely destroying it, with the exception of ShinRa Mansion… gods, he had even caused the Planet's defenders to resurface, those WEAPONs… and he killed the last Cetra, ran her through, murdering her in cold blood and smiled as he did it…
Even before Jenova he was a murderer. In the ShinRa/Wutai war, he led his troops through the Western Continent, all of them slaying both rebels and civilians, women and even little children, and all because - even then - he was a puppet. ShinRa's pretty little puppet, their Golden Boy, Top SOLDIER, the idol of every single person who supported ShinRa. Little boys barely in their teens joined the heresy that was SOLDIER, exactly as Cloud had, in hopes of being just like him, the great General Sephiroth.
He was sick of all that hero worship, the unwanted attention and awe, but he had to deal with it. He had no choice at all in the matter… that was his role. His duty.
Sephiroth scoffed. His whole life he'd done nothing but play the beautiful, untouchable marionette which blindly followed orders. He was raised to be ruthless and cold, his only purpose was to lead the flocks, a shepherd of the masses. He… had no heart, and no will of his own to speak of… and even though he was the strongest SOLDIER ever, he still had no say; he let both ShinRa - and later on, Jenova - do whatever they wished with him.
And, sadly, he had to perish twice to learn his lesson.
He did not want Riku to follow that same road.
"What're you trying to do, entice me?"
/Speak of the devil./ "No," Sephiroth chuckled, "at least, not really."
Riku smirked, crossing his arms.
"Uh huh." The boy tilted his head and smiled thinly. "So you finally managed to make the portal?"
"Hm?" Sephiroth pushed himself up and off the floor, retrieving his clothes. "Oh. Yes, I did. I believe I discovered the secret," he said, shaking his head. "Katas."
Riku raised an eyebrow. "Katas?"
"Yes." Sephiroth tilted his head, lips turning upwards into a miniscule smile. "Helps clear the mind."
Sephiroth licked his lips thoughtfully as he dressed, somewhat debating on whether or not he intended to discuss the teen's situation with the Heartless or not. Slowly he pivoted to face the silver-haired boy. Sephiroth drew his eyebrows together and frowned with realization.
"Riku… you aren't upset…"
"Why would I be upset?"
The older one narrowed his eyes questioningly. "Didn't you just deal with Sora?" Riku nodded but stayed silent, simply wearing an oddly satisfied look on his face.
"…what did you do, Riku?"
"I did nothing." The boy's voice quivered a bit, deepening just slightly. He shrugged seconds later, completely nonchalant. "Ah, but I have things to take care of." He smiled again, darkly. "Back to Hollow Bastion, then. You yourself may stay here for the ride, but I've to get there immediately."
Sephiroth's eyes turned to fine slits. "Who and what are you?" he demanded, examining the teen.
Riku grinned slyly, both silver eyebrows raised in amusement. "Don't be silly… you know me, Sephiroth, I am Riku." He turned and opened the door, not bothering to turn around as he murmured, "I shall see you there." And with that, Riku stepped through the door and left.
The man growled angrily. He'd seen behavior like the boy's before. He behaved like that before…
Sephiroth sprinted over to the door and opened it, looking up and down the hall for any sign of Riku, but - not so surprisingly - found none. His Mako-enhanced hearing couldn't pick up footsteps, either, even though the boy had left bare moments before.
He swore to himself and made a fist, slamming it against the wall, frustrated. Something was definitely not right.
The silver-hared man sighed and turned around, gazing at the open portal standing in the small cabin. Sephiroth didn't know where it went or how to use it, exactly, but he had to get to Riku. Finding Cloud could wait; the blonde knew what he was doing, and Sephiroth was certain his Light was fine, not to mention the fact that Cloud could handle keeping himself out of trouble.
…well, at least until he and Sephiroth could be reunited.
The ex-General strode to the black and purple vortex, tentatively reaching his arm through to the elbow, eyebrow arched of its own volition in curiosity. Sephiroth couldn't feel his hand anymore at all… what he did feel was a burning cold where the limb was supposed to be, felt no response when he attempted to curl his fingers or move his wrist. The cold tugged at his arm, beckoning him into the portal.
He frowned and jerked his arm backwards. To his surprise, the Darkness gave easily and his forearm slipped painlessly out of the vortex, that coldness gone, fingers responding to his will.
/…well, this should prove interesting./
Scanning the room briefly for anything he may have left behind, Sephiroth placed his right hand on the hilt of the Masamune, readying himself for danger, and stepped into the purling Darkness inside of the portal.
------------------
[This… is gonna… suck.]
Cloud grumbled quietly to himself, trailing behind Leon as he was led through Traverse Town's commerce district - or more commonly known as 'Third'. The brunette had set the pace for the entire trip thus far, taking wide strides with long - sexy - legs which Cloud was trying to keep up with… the older man didn't have much on Cloud when it came to height, only two or three inches, but Leon was walking so damn fast.
Fortunately, enemy encounters were surprisingly few and far between, only some random attacks from the little colorful magi Cloud grew to hate so badly after fighting so many of them at the Coliseum; the little buggers were quick as hell. Air Soldiers and Shadows posed no threat at all, just like the magi, and all of them were more of a nuisance to the two warriors than anything.
During the entire walk and through a lot of the battles, Cloud's eyes were fixed on both Leon and his unusual weapon, intrigued. The weapon the older man wielded was… well, quite frankly, it was weird. It looked pretty clunky - or at least to Cloud, even though his own weapon wasn't exactly the most streamlined of the bunch - and a gleaming silver, obviously well-taken care of, with a lion's head keychain swinging from its hilt which damn near matched the pendant hanging from the brunette's neck.
…and it had a trigger. And used bullets.
…but it was a sword.
And Cloud had no idea how the hell the other man could use the thing one-handed, either.
Curiosity intervened, finally too much to handle after the first few battles, when Cloud jerked his chin towards the older man's weapon and noted, "I never saw one of those before…"
"You wouldn't," Leon responded, absently looking down at the sword/pistol hybrid. "From my world. Called a 'gunblade', SeeD issue. It's rare."
"'SeeD'?" Cloud quoted, head tilted. His brain was processing on overtime, wondering about the mechanics of the gun-sword thing and how it could have possibly worked… a gun on a sword? And with the gun… Cloud wondered if Vincent would've been intrigued by the weapon as well.
Squall shrugged, tapping the gunblade on his leg as they walked. "Military thing, don't worry about it." He let his eyes travel back to the younger man's innocent-looking face, Cloud's gaze still affixed on his unusual weapon.
"What about yours?" The brunette pointed at the Buster Sword, bound with athletic tape. "Why did you do that?"
The younger man shrugged, fingers twirling a piece of the tape which worked its hold from the blade. "Just thought it fit."
Leon raised an eyebrow but said nothing.
The two men walked past random stores, bright neon signs blazing with names of the shops, some not even remotely hinting towards what they sold. Cloud was particularly confused by one name, 'Pete's Prism Palace', a store that, as the window display showed, sold only hats and belts and not… well, gems.
"We can go there," the older man said, pointing to a store across the way.
Cloud groaned when he noticed the mannequins were clothed - from head to toe - in nothing but… leather.
"I don't think I'm the leather type," he murmured, scratching his head and utterly embarrassed.
"Tell it to a wall. Come on."
The younger man blinked at the odd response. ['Tell it to a wall'? The hell…?]
Leon led Cloud into the store, nodding his head when the tall, thin man behind the counter shouted his name loudly in recognition. The blonde wasn't surprised that the clerk knew the older man, especially by name, considering leather made up 85% of Leon's outfit…
Without asking for his opinion, the gunblade wielder removed random pairs of pants from the racks, black ones with shiny silver buckles up the length of the legs, dark red ones that looked like they'd ride a little too low - and make Cloud look like a gigantic skank in the process - , and final pair, black with an abundance of chains and belts already attached.
"Try those on," the older man half-ordered, shoving the articles at a blushing Cloud. He took the pants with a grimace.
"I really don't think this is my style," he said tentatively. The brunette waved him off and walked away to the jackets.
[Oh, gods… why leather…?]
With a heaving sigh, the younger man stepped into the dressing room and very reluctantly tried on the clothing.
Shocked, Cloud found that he really liked the dark red pair. They fit nicely around his hips and weren't too tight, loose from the knee down, somewhat flared but not overly noticeable… sort-of like Leon's. And not only that, but they actually complimented his cape nicely.
He decided to get those as well as the black pair with the buckles, simply because they made him look dead sexy, and took them out of the room, off to find his rather strange, leather-loving companion.
The older man was still looking at jackets when Cloud poked him in the shoulder with a claw. "I'm getting these." Squall grunted in recognition, flipping through the clothing racks. The blonde shifted from foot to foot impatiently as the taller man continued rifling through the garments, ignoring him.
"Are you done yet?" he asked five minutes later, getting rather fed up watching Leon browse.
"No."
Cloud huffed grumpily.
"You're taking too long," the blonde growled.
"Whatever." The brunette turned from the jacket racks to a jewelry rack, sifting through gorgeous - and expensive, Cloud thought, catching one 500 munny tag - silver chains adorned with charms, gems, and other needless baubles.
"I don't need jewelry," Cloud said. Leon shrugged and kept looking, gazing at a necklace with a chunky charm of an angel's wing, weighing it in his palm. The blonde frowned when he saw the pendant, sighing inwardly as he was reminded of Sephiroth.
…but Leon had angel wings on the back of his jacket… which was sort of weird, Cloud figured, since everything else the older man had was lions and more lions.
…maybe the brunette had a thing for chimeras… maybe…
"I'm leaving, then," Cloud announced, bored with the odd path his mind wandered, and walked towards the counter.
After he paid for the goods, he walked out of the store, straining his eyes for any sign of a normal clothing store. The man needed all the other necessities a leather shop couldn't possibly provide. Cloud didn't even realize how intently his search was until a hard smack on the arm courtesy of Leon brought him back to reality.
"What?"
"What are you looking for?" the other man asked, ever-present boredom in his voice.
"I need normal clothes," Cloud responded, picking at his dirty SOLDIER-style turtleneck. He noticed Leon's unenthusiastic expression and grunted. "Just point me there and go home, if you want. I'm a big boy, I'll be fine by myself."
[…gods, he'd be a lot hotter if he wasn't such a prick.]
Squall didn't speak and just walked, to Cloud's relief, to a store where he stocked up on shirts, socks, and boxers, grimacing as he thought about how long he'd been wearing the pair he had on…
"You can't wear those under leather," the older man noted, gesturing towards the boxers.
Cloud raised an eyebrow. "…you're telling me I have to go commando in these?" Leon nodded and the blonde let out a long, dragged out sigh. [Information you should've given me sooner…,] his eyes flitted downward and smirked.
[But it's great to know your situation, Leon.]
Finished with the shopping for the day, the brunette asked, "what're you going to do now?"
Cloud sighed and scratched the back of his head, "that all depends on what time it is."
The gunblade wielder looked at his watch and shrugged. "Late. Shops are open nearly 24 hours here."
Cloud tilted his head to the side, snorting. Obviously the shops would be open for that long… one couldn't tell what time it was unless there was a clock present, days and nights were all the same. It was weird, but then again, so was Midgar…
The blonde spotted a bar down the street, overflowing with other insomniac inhabitants of Traverse Town, and promptly perked up an eyebrow. So, naturally, the blue-eyed blonde responded with the best answer he could come up with.
"I am gonna go over there," he said, pointing towards the pub, "and get fucking sloshed." He glanced at Leon with a little smirk. "Wanna come?"
The brunette looked from Cloud, to the pub, and finally back to the blonde, boredly pushing some hair out of his eyes. With his head tilted to the side, Leon asked while shrugging, "you buying?"
"I guess. You coming?"
Deciding against better judgment, Leon nodded briskly. "Yes."
The blonde grinned widely, trying to remember the last time he got piss-drunk - more specifically, the last time he got piss-drunk with such a damn good-looking dude… which led to thoughts of other things…
Once in the bar, they unanimously decided on a booth in the back corner. The place wasn't too bad, Cloud figured, sparing a look around. It was dark inside, as expected from such a place, but it was clean with polished maple tables and counters, black leather upholstering on the booths and stools, and, as a definite plus, it didn't smell like vomit. It was cozy, actually, and had a nice atmosphere, sort-of like Tifa's Seventh Heaven…
Before Cloud had the chance to get depressed over his lost childhood friend, he snickered childishly as Leon slid into the booth, eliciting a squeaking noise from leather on leather. The older man rolled his eyes.
A waitress sauntered up to them, a pretty, petite blonde with kind green eyes, and smiled genuinely at them as they ordered their drinks of choice - Leon, whiskey, straight-up, and Cloud an entire bottle of vodka… with a double shot glass. The waitress abandoned them not too long after a bit of requisite flirting, leaving the men to their own devices.
"So, what's your story?" the leather-clad man asked as leaned back into the booth.
Cloud raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?" Leon shrugged.
"Why are you in Traverse Town?"
"Why not? It is a place for refugees."
The brunette crossed his arms, the straps on his left digging into his finely muscled forearms. "If you were a refugee you'd've been here sooner, and probably either with the girls or Cid." Leon raised an eyebrow, setting his steely blue eyes on the blonde.
"Besides, Sora said he met you in the Coliseum." The man lowered his voice and leaned forward. "Deal with Hades?"
Cloud grunted as the waitress came back, setting their drinks down. He poured himself a shot and slammed it back swiftly, grimacing at the sharp bite of alcohol. "…he told you that?" The brunette nodded. "Did he tell anyone else?"
"No."
The blonde sighed, agitated Sora had told Leon his business, but grateful Aerith and the other two were still in the dark. Not that it really mattered, he guessed, since they were probably going to find out sooner or later… but then he'd have to explain why he had the contract in the first place to Cid and Yuffie, and they'd ask questions, and it would end up being one huge mess, he knew it.
"Why do you care?" Cloud muttered, fingering the lip of his glass.
"Because you come here with the Keybearer after you had a contract with the god of the Underworld," the gunblade master replied coldly, "you think that's not grounds for me to ask?"
[Bastard…] "What do you want me to do, apologize?"
Leon tilted his head and frowned, the scar on his face creasing. "An explanation would do." Cloud sighed again, taking another shot of vodka.
"You'll listen and not judge me?"
"If I didn't say 'tell it to a wall', it means I want you to talk," Leon responded, monotonously. "I did ask you, after all."
[…there's that 'wall' shit again…] "Fine," the blonde muttered, "but you better not tell anyone else."
"Whatever." Cloud rolled his eyes.
"Okay… I'm looking for my… for someone." The blonde shrugged and finished quickly, "Hades said he would help, I signed a contract, got screwed, the end."
The brunette raised an eyebrow. "That's it?"
Cloud tilted his head back and crossed his arms. "The condensed version, yeah."
"So you're not in contract anymore?" The younger man shook his head.
"I told you, I got screwed."
Leon's gaze never strayed from the diminutive warrior across from him. "What did you have to do?"
[Oh, you know… kill innocent people… ordered to kill Sora. By the way, I was supposed kill Hercules, too. You know, nothing really major.] "I don't want to talk about it."
"You think I'm letting you off that easily?"
"What do you think you can do, beat it out of me?" the younger one accosted, "it's in the past now. It doesn't matter what I had to do, only that I'm not going to do it again, so drop it."
Leon took a sip of his drink and conceded, watching Cloud knock back another shot. The blonde wiped his mouth with the back of one hand before licking his lips with a short grimace of distaste.
"That's a pretty unusual name… 'Cloud'…," Leon said after a while, quietly mocking him, one eyebrow lifted in partial amusement. "Awfully girly."
[What the hell was that for?!]
The blonde narrowed his eyes and delivered a swift kick to Leon's shin under the table. "Blow me, Squall," he sneered.
Squall growled menacingly. "It's Leon." He grunted as an afterthought, "and don't think I've never heard that line before."
The mercenary waved his clawed hand dismissively, rolling his eyes. "Tell it to a wall."
Leon banged a balled fist on the table and went on to fell silent, to which Cloud smirked in satisfaction. Raising an eyebrow, Cloud asked innocently, "what, you can't handle your own banal retort?"
The younger one chuckled despite himself and drank down another shot of vodka, grimacing, and coughed for a moment as the liquid slid down his throat, burning a trail as it traveled. "Gods, that shit's nasty."
"Then why do you drink it?" the gunblade wielder questioned, tone bored, and very much apathetic. Briefly he wondered why he was there with the blonde in the first place if Cloud wouldn't explain himself any further - and the two of them getting drunk, no less - before he remembered.
Cloud was paying.
Without finishing the drink he already had, Leon waved the pretty waitress over again, ordering himself three more rounds. She looked at him questioningly before shuffling off to fetch his rather large order.
"You look bored," Cloud commented, knocking back his seventh - eighth? - shot. Immediately afterwards he picked up the bottle and refilled his glass.
Leon lowered an eyebrow. "You look drunk."
"Well, I'm not."
The brunette tilted his head and sniffed. "And how is that possible?" he asked, watching Cloud's alcohol consumption soar. "You don't seem the 'high tolerance' type." A smirk graced his lips, adding, "you're awfully small."
Cloud rolled his eyes, sighing. "Oh, how bitingly original," he grunted, pouring another shot down his throat. "Besides, it's the Mako that keeps my tolerance so high, not my size, so shut it." With a shrug, he lowered his eyes, running a finger on the rim of his glass. "If I could make the process faster, I would, but until then…," he trailed off. "Why, you planning on taking advantage of me?" Cloud added, trying to hold back a grin.
The ex-SeeD rolled his eyes. "Not interested," he answered simply as Cloud frowned. He drank some of his whiskey and said, "you mentioned 'Mako'. What is that?"
"It's… a substance from my home," the blonde started, figuring he may as well explain it since they really had nothing else to talk about… "Raw form is this stuff, Lifestream, which… basically supports—" Cloud paused, "…supported… the entire Planet."
Cloud let out a bitter laugh and shook his head. "Ironic it's called 'Lifestream', though," he murmured, not allowing Leon to question. "You fall in it in its pure form, you get Mako poisoning… if you get too much refined Mako, you get Mako poisoning." He paused to take a drink. "If you don't get treated for the poisoning, you can die. And when you die," he said, spreading his hands, "you return to the Planet. Or, to be more exact, the Lifestream."
The mercenary shook his head and sighed. "A vicious cycle. Plus it's painful, deadly… all those wonderful things being poisoned entails."
Leon listened intently. "You've gone through it before?"
"Twice!"
"Really." The brunette pushed a lock of hair behind his ear. "But, that wasn't my question."
"I'm getting to that," Cloud muttered, waving his hand. He put his elbows on the table and leaned forward. "Anyway, I can get drunk, it just takes… a lot of booze."
[…gods you're sexy.]
"The Mako - Mako is processed Lifestream, by the way - infusions dull toxins in the bloodstream and bumps up immunity. It's actually not too bad, in battle."
Leon brought his brows together. "And… why are you infused with Mako?"
The blonde raised his hand, summoning the waitress and ordering another bottle of vodka. "It's kind of a long story."
"Are you drunk yet?"
"I'm a little buzzed." Cloud jerked his chin towards the older man and grinned. "Are you?"
"Getting there," he replied, shrugging. "So we still have time for your story."
"Why don't we talk about you," the blonde said, eyebrow raised.
[How old are you, where'd you grow up, got any hobbies, wanna fuck?]
"I don't want to talk."
Cloud narrowed his eyes, leaning forward. "Why not?"
"I don't want to," Leon growled.
"Geez, touch-Y."
"…whatever."
The mercenary shook his head, rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand. "What was I on again?"
Leon raised an eyebrow at Cloud's flushing face. "Infusions."
"Oh." He drank the last of the vodka in the first bottle and cracked open the second. "One fucking liter and I'm barely buzzed," Cloud muttered, tossing the empty off to the side. "Alright. Mako infusions hurt. A lot."
The brunette rolled his eyes. "Infusions usually do, Mako or no."
"Whatever. Well, the infusions are standard procedure for candidates that make it into this program, SOLDIER. The higher the rank, the more the Mako." Cloud lifted a finger, pulling down his lower eyelid. "You see anything weird about my eyes?"
Leon stood and leaned forward until he was inches away from the blonde.
[Oh gods oh gods so fucking hot… you know how hot you are…?!]
The older man's steely blue eyes flitted back and forth, examining Cloud's glittering sapphires. Leon's eyebrows furrowed, face deep in concentration as butterflies fluttered up in the mercenary's stomach. The blonde blushed a little deeper.
[Thankfully I can blame it on the alcohol… gods… so hot… I could kiss him right now…]
"They look like they glow," the brunette announced, startling Cloud from his thoughts. He felt a tiny twinge of disappointment when Leon actually moved away to sit back down, squeaking again.
The younger man unconsciously licked his lips. "Um… oh. Yeah." He made a face and quickly slammed back yet another drink, still unable to do so without grimacing. "…ugh. You want some?"
"No thanks," Leon answered crisply. "Why do they glow?"
"Effect of the infusion."
The gunblade master crossed his arms, leaning back into the booth. "So you were a SOLDIER?"
"No," Cloud murmured sadly, eyes staring down at the table. "I'm just the result of a five year science experiment."
Leon's face screwed up in confusion, and the blonde shook his head, effectively cutting the older one off before he could start. "Don't ask. Long story short, I was tortured, abused, starved, and pumped up with more shit than I can name." He thought a moment and placed his palm on his forehead. "I don't even know why I'm telling you this."
[Sympathy fuck?]
"Alcohol loosens the tongue," the other man replied pointedly.
[I'd like to loosen your tongue.] "Right."
Leon took one hand from his arm, flinging it back in a gesture towards the vodka bottle. "Have another shot."
"Why?" Cloud asked, curious. Leon shrugged. "Why don't you have a shot?" […so you get drunk and we can go at it like animals.]
"I don't want one."
Cloud frowned. "Why the hell not?" The brunette shrugged again.
"I'm drinking slow."
"You suck, Squall."
"Leon," the ex-SeeD shot back.
The blonde rolled his eyes. "You should get that stick from your ass, Leon." Cloud grinned despite himself, thinking naughty thoughts.
[I'm… fuckin' horny… fuckin' alcohol…] Cloud frowned. […dammit, Seph, get your ass back to me and soon…]
"Tell it to a wall." The younger man took four shots in rapid succession, and his buzz deepening.
"No, I'm telling it to a Squall," he shouted, snorting with laughter.
Leon raised his eyebrow questioningly. He sighed and shook his head, finally finishing his first whiskey before starting in on another. "I don't know whether to laugh or cry for you."
"There's something else you could do for me," Cloud murmured into his glass.
The brunette smirked. "I think I'll pass."
[Damn.]
An hour later, Cloud stumbled drunkenly out of the bar, arms wrapped securely around an equally hammered Leon's slender waist, shopping bags dragging behind him - hooked onto his ankle with a complete disregard for the consequences. The blonde rested his cheek against the older man's back, his red cheeks soaking up the coolness of the material, and sighed, nice and drunk for the night.
Carefully the two of them made their way back to Leon's small house not too far away - still in the Third District - and, somehow, managing to make it through without encountering any bothersome Heartless.
[…it's the booze-stench…]
After several fruitless tries Squall managed to unlock the door to his humble abode, the diminutive ex-SOLDIER in tow, and still latched rather tightly around his waist. The brunette absently kicked the door shut as the smaller man stumbled forward, accidentally slamming Leon's stomach into a counter as he wiggled the bags off his foot.
"Ngh… Cloud… yer gonna make m' puke…" he mumbled, weakly grabbing at the blonde's arms.
"Shu'up… comfy," Cloud responded, attempting to tighten his hold.
The drunken gunblade wielder swung his foot backwards haphazardly, managing to connect solidly with Cloud's shin, successfully forcing him to loosen his grip momentarily. Taking this to his advantage, the older man turned around to grab Cloud's shoulders and pushed, trying to release Cloud's hold.
"Lemme go," Leon half-ordered with a pout.
The blonde flashed a drunken smile at the taller man's feeble shoving, and instead of dropping his arms, pulled himself to Leon in a tight embrace, placing his face on his companion's chest.
"C'mon, le' go…"
"Nooo," came the drawled response. Cloud fell forward again, pinning the brunette to a counter, and grinned.
"Cloooooud…" Leon whined, pitifully. To this the blonde guffawed relentlessly, throwing in mocking jeers occasionally at the tone in the other man's voice. Cloud's knees buckled as he dropped backwards to the ground, dragging the brunette down on top of him.
"M' wingy!" the blonde cried during fits of giggles, shifting to get comfortable. Leon's palms rested on the floor, one on either side of Cloud's shoulders, and weakly attempted to pull away from Cloud's hold - surprisingly strong for a drunk guy - and up off the floor.
[Mmm… gods you smell good…]
The mercenary laid his head on the ground and gazed up at the - beautifully - scarred man's visage, shaggy brown mane hanging in his face, and those usually clear grey-blue eyes closed in frustration.
"…soooo pretty, Squaaaaaaall," Cloud murmured childishly, brushing Leon's chest with his fingertips.
"You're pretty," the older man responded - but meaning it as an insult.
Without warning, the blonde slid his hands up the other's back and forced him down, pressing his lips to Leon's in a sudden kiss.
The older one's eyes went wide as Cloud kissed him, the blonde sighing, tongue running along his lip. Leon was frozen and didn't respond, but… definitely felt the reaction the kiss was having on Cloud.
Cloud lightly clawed his way down Leon's back, hand finding its way onto the older man's backside. The gunblade wielder - dumbfounded - stared straight out in front of him as the Cloud writhed beneath him, letting his hand brush over the smooth leather of his pants to caress his thigh. Cloud's tongue snaked through his mouth and managed to force its way past Leon's lips, meeting nothing but the other man's clenched teeth.
Only when the blonde's hips surged up roughly did Squall manage to slip away from the other man's kiss and scramble backwards, breathing hard as he leaned against a cabinet for support, still staring.
"Wh… the hell…," Leon mumbled, covering his mouth with his hand, confusedly watching the blonde's heaving, lying form.
Cloud's hands fell to his sides, clacking his metal claws on the linoleum, eyes fixed on the ceiling as he asked, "…mm… sexy… where'd… you go…?"
"…over here," the older man mumbled, quite sure he was the 'sexy' Cloud spoke of.
"C'mere, 'm not done with you," Cloud murmured, one hand moving in a drunken 'come hither' motion.
"No."
"C'mon…," the blonde whined, attempting to writhe seductively on the ground, legs spread, "I want you so bad, Leon…"
"Nooo."
The blonde sat up, bracing himself on his elbows as his head lolled to one side, their blue eyes meeting. "Why?"
Squall reached up, rubbing his eyes with the heel of one hand. He shook his head. "No…"
A childish pout graced Cloud's lips, making him appear years younger than he already did. "You don' want me," the younger man said, more of a statement than a question.
The other man shook his head, pieces of hair swinging into his reddened, alcohol-addled eyes. "No."
Cloud huffed. "Why not?"
Leon squirmed, attempting to hoist himself up, and murmured, "don't… I don't like… boys."
The swordsman grunted. "You fuckin'… ngh… you… suck."
"Lemme alone..."
The blonde's head tilted to the side, and eagerly watched the other man get up and off the floor through heavily hooded eyes. "Yer ass… Leon… soooo fuckin'… nice… in yer… tight… fuckin' leather," he half-purred, half-giggled, and completely slurred. "…with no undies…!" Cloud added with a very uncharacteristic squeal.
Leon unsteadily turned and stalked towards his bedroom, shaking his head, one gloved hand waving dismissively and the other resting on his forehead. "Shut up… 'm goin' to bed… shot…," the older one announced.
"C'n I come with you?" the blonde asked, drunkenly hopeful.
"No."
The swordsman flopped backwards, limbs splayed, and huffed out, "well, c'n I stay here?"
"'tever…" the older man answered, firmly shutting the door to his room as Cloud snorted. Minutes later, the diminutive blonde warrior blacked out, still laying on Leon's kitchen floor, wing crushed underneath him.
Cloud awoke later when a swift kick caught him in the side. The blonde groaned, cracking his eyes open, and grimaced at the aftertaste of alcohol still lingering in his mouth. The wing on his back again was on pins and needles as he shifted, closing his eyes again.
Another kick came a minute later.
"When I said you could stay here," a tired male voice began, sounding quite hung-over, "I thought you would sleep on the couch and not the floor." The blonde squinted, peering up at a bare-chested Leon clad in nothing but loose black pajama pants and a scowl.
[…well… hello there, sunshine.]
"What do you want?" Cloud asked raggedly, taking in the other man's form, partially wishing Leon would just go away and let him rest.
"I want to get to my fridge, will you move?"
Cloud looked behind him to find himself indeed laying in front of a large, white refrigerator. The mercenary groaned once more, rubbing his eyes with a fist. "I feel like shit," he muttered, pushing himself away from the fridge with his feet to slide carelessly across the floor.
"You should," Leon grunted, throwing the fridge door open to grab two tins of yogurt. "You drank two liters of vodka."
"That's it?"
The brunette raised his eyebrow in question and placed one of the yogurts on the table, grabbing two spoons from a drawer.
"Eat."
Leon didn't sit on a chair at the table for his breakfast - if yogurt could be considered 'breakfast' - , instead opting to eat it standing up and leaning on the same counter Cloud slammed his stomach into the night before.
The gunblade wielder sighed irritably when Cloud grimaced and said, "it'll settle your stomach. Don't complain."
"Tell it to a wall," the blonde muttered.
"Shut up with that," Leon growled.
Cloud flipped him off before grumbling, "you started it." He stretched slightly, joints cracking as he did so, and yawned, making a face at his breath. "Can I shower here or something?"
The ex-SeeD smirked behind his spoon. "This may disappoint you, but my shampoo isn't watermelon." Cloud rolled his eyes and got up, wincing slightly as a stab of pain pierced his head. He stumbled blindly for a moment, and knocked into the table as Leon smirked.
"Need a little help?"
[Shower with me.] "…yes."
A shopping bag flew at his face, almost knocking him over, and Cloud frowned at the older man. "Stop that."
Leon rolled his eyes and led the blonde, yogurt in hand, down a hallway to his small bathroom, quickly pointed to a clean towel, and left.
[Dammit.]
While bathing, Cloud wondered why the other man hadn't yelled at him for the night before, stupidly kissing him like that. [He said he didn't like boys,] the blonde thought, shaking his head as he sighed, turning his face into the water. [He was awfully flirty, though.]
[Well, as flirty as a stone-faced bastard could be. Maybe he's got something for men that look like 16-year old boys.] The blonde raised an eyebrow at the concept and smirked, washing his hair. [Okay, pretty 16-year old boys… yeah, right, Cloud. Wishful thinking. But gods, is he… gorgeous.]
Cloud winced slightly, looking up towards the ceiling. [Sorry, Seph. I just… miss you.]
The mercenary frowned as he shuffled through the bag, realizing the only pants he actually bought on the shopping trip were made of… leather.
He sighed, brutally ripped the tags from the dark red ones and slipped them on, squirming a bit, and a little more than slightly uncomfortable by the lack of boxer shorts underneath. Cloud looked down his body and his eyes bulged out upon realizing how… low… the pants actually were. His hipbones poked out just above the waistband, exposing a little too much below the navel… the blonde nearly choked.
[Oh… shit. The shirts I bought aren't even long enough to cover this mistake…]
"Whatever," the blonde muttered, tilting his head to examine himself in the mirror hanging on the back of the door.
Cloud wasn't narcissistic by any means, but he knew he was at least attractive. Slight frame, not too thin and not too muscular, body fitting nicely to his boyish face. The golden-blonde hair helped, contrasting with his deep blue eyes and lightly tanned skin, thanks to hours of outdoor training…
[I do look good in these, though.]
He raised an eyebrow and turned to the side, nodding appreciatively at the curve of his lower back down to his hips. His shape wasn't girly, but wasn't too blocky, either. It just… clicked.
…and the pants weren't that bad, he supposed…
[…it makes me wonder how Leon knew what size would fit me best, though,] Cloud thought, smirking before his expression switched over to a frown.
[No… I was good looking before I had this wing,] he scoffed, considering himself utterly marred by the grotesque, intrusive limb. […I wonder if Traverse has a plastic surgeon in town that can hand—]
Suddenly Cloud jumped, thoughts killed and mind startled by several quick, sharp raps on the door. The frazzled blonde walked over and yanked it open.
"What?"
Leon blinked a few times, examining the diminutive warrior in those dark red leather pants, shirtless, intriguing wing fully exposed, and flinched when he noticed Cloud watching him.
"Um."
The younger man tilted his head and smiled sweetly. "Yes?" Squall winced, confused by the tone. He cleared his throat before speaking again.
"Um…"
Cloud turned away to smirk before bending down, retrieving a shirt from the bag. He quickly chose a sleeveless, black, ribbed turtleneck sweater which very closely resembled the one from his SOLDIER uniform. The size could've been too big or too small, he figured, due to the damned demon's wing successfully preventing his trying it on at the store, and his own inability to remember what size clothing he actually took.
"So regal of you, Leon, just standing there gawking. Spit it out, already." Cloud frowned, shuffling through the medicine cabinet for something to cut the shirt with. "Do you have any scissors?"
The brunette blinked, looking as if the other man had asked him the last digit when defining pi. "…whatever." Leon turned around and walked away.
[Maybe I shouldn't have opened the door,] Cloud mused, his brain cackling wickedly.
He gave up on the search for scissors, instead using his claw to poke a line of holes in the back of the shirt, tearing a rip long enough to fit the wing through. After slipping it on, he realized the shirt was practically skin-tight and winced, giving himself a once-over in the mirror.
[I look like a slut,] Cloud sighed, [and I don't have any shoes to match… wait, what the hell? I don't need matching shoes…] He shook his head, grabbing his dirty clothing and balling them up, placing them in the bag.
Leon came back then, armful of - leather - clothes in his arms, and shoved him out of the way. "Get out, I need a shower."
The blonde blinked. "Okay. I'm going to Aerith and Yuffie's, alright?"
The taller man waved a hand. "Yeah, great, get out."
Cloud's eyebrow shot up in confusion as he complied, hurriedly pulling on his boots and other nonsense accessories before leaving. [Weirdo.]
The blonde walked leisurely down the forever dark streets of Traverse Town, eyes keenly peeled on his surroundings, looking for any sign of either Sephiroth or Sora. The boy hadn't been gone for too long, so far, but Cloud was still anxious to ask him questions… mainly, questions concerning a certain silver-haired ex-General who may or may not have been somewhere Sora had visited.
The blonde sighed grumpily, kicking at a pebble with the tip of his boot, and wondered if Cid would possibly loan him a Gummi ship for a while.
[Not that I can pilot the thing… he'd have to give me lessons, too.] Cloud groaned at the thought. The pilot's patience when training people to even fly the Highwind II - or even people in general - was painfully low… Cid barely tolerated the mistakes of the intermediate pilots, let alone a complete rookie…
"Dang, Cloudy, you look… good," Yuffie commented as she bounded up behind him. "Who are you trying to impress," she asked, elbowing him in the ribs, "Aerith?"
The mercenary shook his head, raking a hand absently through his hair. "No one, really…" He pointed to the pants and shrugged. "Leon picked these out, and I accidentally got a shirt a little too small for me."
The ninja winked and proceeded to nudge him again. "You do look really good, though."
Cloud blushed slightly, "knock it off…"
Yuffie rolled her eyes and smiled. "Blah, blah, blah." She tilted her head to the side and blinked, clearly confused. "So… where were you last night, Spike?"
[Well, see, I passed out on Leon's floor… after I forced him to kiss me, of course.] "I stayed at Leon's. We got back late and I didn't want to wake you guys."
The Wutaian nodded, opening the door to her and Aerith's home. "Aerith! Come look at Spikey! He's so cute!" she squealed, clapping her hands. The flower girl stepped out of the kitchen, a cup of tea in hand, and smiled lightly at him.
"Very handsome," she commented, looking him over. "But I didn't think you'd be one for leather," she teased, "but I assume that was all Leon's fault?"
Cloud nodded. "The first store we went to."
"But you know," Yuffie said, giggling, "we told you Leon had good taste."
----------------------
A/N: Revised 5/10/04, added around 1500 words… fwee.
And another relatively pointless chapter on Cloud's behalf. Honestly, I STILL don't understand where that crap came from.
My apologies for the relatively short Seph half… but in all fairness, at that particular part in the game Riku's dealing with Kairi and all that… so… poor Seph gets to be all by himself and his crazy thoughts… and there's only so much a pretty man like him can think about. ::eyes dart:: Anyway.