Part Seventeen
-Are you worried about your faith?
Kneel down and obey.
You're happy you're in love,
You need someone to hate.-
-"Superman is Dead", Our Lady Peace-
------------------
The realization that the days of spooning were now long gone was greatly disappointing to the blonde, a position that Cloud personally - secretly - enjoyed sleeping in. There was just something… comforting about spending the night with Sephiroth's warmth at his back, his own arm draped over the older man's as it laid across his chest, protectively. It was romantic and intimate, though Cloud would be damned to ever admit he liked that sort of thing. Not at 22-years old… but especially not as a fighter-slash-former hero-slash-ex-hitman for the god of the dead…
But the new arrangement wasn't all that bad… they had to lay facing each other so they wouldn't crush their respective wings, though, Cloud laying on his right side and Sephiroth on his left, head lodged underneath the older man's chin. The only thing that really got to the blonde was the fact that both of their appendages were exposed to the open air, and not just Sephiroth's alone.
As if Sephiroth would ever want to keep his a secret…
"Now that you're sated," Sephiroth began quietly, twining a spike between his long fingers, "are you ready to discuss your deal?"
"Leave me alone," came the exhausted response as the blonde hiked the blanket higher onto his left shoulder, at the same time curling down into the heat of Sephiroth's bare skin. "I'm still basking in afterglow."
The older man sighed. "Maybe so, but you'll have to tell me eventually, Cloud…"
"Not now, I want sleep…"
"…already?"
Cloud looked up at the other man and stared, wearily, as Sephiroth leaned in for a kiss. "Leon's going to kill us, you know, if this is going where I think it's going…," he muttered. "…going again, I mean."
"I was planning on saying goodnight, Cloud, but if you insist…," the silver-haired one chuckled, pulling Cloud closer to himself.
The blonde spared a look over to a small digital clock resting on Leon's TV and winced. "Love to, but we shouldn't. We gotta get up sometime tomorrow…"
"According to whom?"
Cloud tilted his head to the side, giving the other man easier access to the length of his neck, but, conforming to his nature of dissenting submissiveness, protested anyway. "Seph…"
Of course, the blonde's voice completely gave away the fact that he did, in fact, want to continue, and Sephiroth had no problem obliging. After all, they had years to exorcize, and naturally that wouldn't have been solved in a measly three or four rounds.
"Come on, we can't sleep all day… we aren't teenagers, you know…"
"Nonsense, you're barely out of your teens."
Sephiroth shifted to cage Cloud within his arms, one knee pressed between the blonde's legs, and kissed him again, pushing his tongue into the other man's mouth. He couldn't help himself; Cloud was still so enticing, stirring up a myriad of feelings - love, though, was the most prominent… but there were also other moods, even the dirtiest of thoughts… all sorts of things within him, all of them provoked by the blonde.
He wondered if maybe that was why he was so possessive… his resolve was near-impenetrable when he wanted it to be, but when Cloud was around, all sense of composure flew out the window, reducing him to nothing but a hormonal mass of Cloud-necessitating goo. And if the blonde unknowingly aroused those sorts of things within himself, gods knew what Cloud inspired in others…
…especially Leon.
The ex-General honestly didn't believe Cloud's claims of Leon's 'staunch' heterosexuality. Had Leon truly been as straight as the blonde seemed to think he was, Sephiroth had no doubt in his mind that nothing like what had happened between the two younger men would have ever been even remotely close to going on.
In Sephiroth's mind, if a man willingly has any form of sex at all with another man, there was not a chance in hell that said man was 100 percent straight, and Zack wholeheartedly agreed with him. After all, he had been in a similar situation back on the Planet - one which was what caused the black-haired one to realize that he truly was, in fact, bisexual, therefore it must've been the same case for Leon…
But amazingly, for whatever reason, Cloud didn't seem to look at it that way; and quite frankly, it was pissing Sephiroth off. He knew he was right, but the blonde kept trying to convince him otherwise. Really, what other proof did Cloud need to realize that Leon liked him, yet another go at it?
…not that Sephiroth would ever allow that. It was simply an example.
Which meant they really needed to relocate, or else the silver-haired man was positive that would actually happen.
"What's the matter with you?" Sephiroth looked up at the blonde, who was currently watching him while propped up on his elbows, one eyebrow raised in concerned irritation. "You're distracted…"
The older man shook his head, giving Cloud's lower belly a light peck before moving to occupy his claimed space on the couch. All of the thinking he had done completely obliterated 'the mood', and at that point, he was sure his body had been acting purely on instinct. Though Cloud appeared somewhat disappointed, he was relieved at the same time… Sephiroth could tell that the other man really was tired, anyway…
"I believe we should get some rest… today was quite trying, so it's definitely something we both need…" And it was. Sephiroth didn't even remember the last time he got a decent night's rest, what with the insanity and dealings with Riku and all…
"…which is what I've been trying to tell you," Cloud muttered, tucking his head childishly underneath the older man's chin. Sephiroth rolled his eyes as he wrapped his arms around the blonde's shoulders in a loose embrace.
"Still this much of a grouch when you're tired? I figured you'd've grown out of it by now."
He was answered with a monosyllabic grunt.
Sephiroth placed a kiss on top of blonde spikes before settling in for a bit of much-needed sleep. "I love you, Cloud."
"Ngh."
-------
Leon threw the switch and swore none-too-quietly as he entered bathroom in a slow, half-asleep daze, eyes watering as they struggled to adjust to the blinding artificial light. He absolutely hated mornings, but those in Traverse Town were especially worse… it took forever for his eyes to get used to bright lights. Had he lived anywhere else he could have gradually been eased into the brightness by the morning sun, but since his current homeland had no such thing, well, he ended up being temporarily blinded upon waking, on a daily basis.
Not two stumbled steps into the room, Leon stubbed his toe on someone's discarded, heavy, metal armor. If the pain in his foot was any sort of indication, he guessed it belonged to Sephiroth… it must've been carelessly tossed aside in what was most likely a desperate moment between himself and Cloud, the blonde's hands and lips all over the other man's body…
…not that Sephiroth cared enough about the blonde to react in kind to that sort of thing. Instead, the brunette bet, he had Cloud do all the work as Sephiroth himself sat selfishly, unresponsive and thankless as the younger man probably blew him right in Leon's fucking shower…
…where, after a very brief inspection, silver hairs mingled with those of gold were stuck all over the place, and there was probably even some cum caught the drain, too, seeing as they were both obviously too fucking busy to have any sort of deference for his home and clean up after themselves - a fact which he based solely on the mile-fucking-high pile of leather and fucking huge chunks of metal that Leon was bound to walk into upon waking, and all those fucking useless belts and great, there were even feathers all over the floor. What was it, molting day?
Gods, Sephiroth was such an inconsiderate prick.
Yes, Leon knew that Sephiroth was not the only one to blame, but…
The brunette sighed, turning to stare at his reflection in the mirror. He looked overly tired, with dark circles prominent beneath his eyes, hair even messier than usual… Leon knew he seemed absolutely, hopelessly disgruntled, and he was.
He really, really was.
Leon didn't want to think about what had happened the night before anymore, but try as he did to forget, those thoughts just didn't go away. It was… pathetic, what he had done. Utterly, stupidly pathetic.
He didn't mean to do it… but Cloud just…
…did things to him.
And, of course, he completely needed that literally painful reminder of what had taken place between Sephiroth and Cloud not four hours earlier, thereby entirely ruining any chance at all he may have had to recreate any scenario involving the blonde that his hormone-driven mind had produced.
Leon frowned at himself and let his eyes wander down, stopping at his hands. So that meant…
…okay. No more doubts in his mind… he really did like Cloud. If the blonde had the ability to make him do that… while thinking about him… then that's what it had to mean…
…and he had to admit, he did think Cloud was damn good-looking, once he got to know him… and Leon came to find out that he was a decent kisser, too… though, Cloud wasn't quite the sparkling personality but then again, Leon himself wasn't all that great in that department, either… but the two of them got along pretty well despite that…
"…this is so stupid…"
At any rate, what the hell did it matter anymore? Even if he did realize that he liked Cloud, it wasn't as if he'd ever have a chance to be with him - or whatever it was Leon wanted from him… - since Cloud had found his Light, so what was the use fawning like a little girl? Even if he wanted to, he knew he would never be able to whisk the blonde away from the hideously gorgeous and godlike Sephiroth…
…really, was that level of beauty even humanly possible?
But with the way the older man was glaring at him the night before, Leon didn't even know if Sephiroth would let him live long enough to try. And, Sephiroth's obvious jealous and overprotective hold on Cloud aside, Leon respected a little thing called 'boundaries'.
"…unlike some people," he muttered bitterly, taking another look at the messy bathroom floor.
Growling, the brunette turned on the sink's faucet to blazing hot and proceeded to wash his hands.
The suddenness of the situation bothered him, too… he had entertained very brief, passing notions about Cloud before, but they were never, ever quite as serious… though, what happened the day before…
But… Cloud was another guy…
Leon frowned. He still couldn't shake that stupid, lingering guilty feeling… though, having any sort of attraction to women didn't make him guilty, so why was that not the case with Cloud?
He killed the water and looked up at his reflection once more, eyes focusing on the scar 'gracing' the middle of his forehead.
How many women had he been with, now? He recalled vaguely his Light… he wore the angel wings on his back day after day in remembrance of her, he knew that much. And she was with… hm.
Leon frowned, hand absently going up to the pendant on his silver necklace. Griever had a connotation with her, too, somehow… but…
…and there was another girl, too, when he was living at Hollow Bastion, but that didn't last, either.
…and Leon liked Aerith for a while, but that never went anywhere. He never told her, and she never noticed - probably wouldn't have even cared, anyway, if he had, considering she was very preoccupied with Cloud, who hadn't even been there at the time.
…and in Traverse Town he dated a bit. None of them he really cared about for more than a fleeting moment, though, so no broken hearts there. Of course, maybe he would have been able to stay with someone had it not been for him… biggest fucking mistake of Leon's life, to even consider… gods, he couldn't even regard them as friends. And Leon knew that he never, ever would've lived it down if he even gave him the slightest inkling… but still he thought about him.
He always figured that it was a fluke, one-time thing, because he was not like that. And while Leon was at least comfortable enough with himself to admit that there were some men that really were physically attractive - hell, he even went to school with several of them in Balamb - but none of them attracted him in that way, except… well…
Though now, he really… liked… Cloud… fine. No big deal.
…but it figures Cloud would be a fucking blonde, too.
What. The. Fuck.
But why was he letting himself hone up to it now, because he couldn't have Cloud? What, did he want to be a glutton for punishment, drowning himself in that sort of angst again? Was that a pattern for him, that want to keep everything inside and pulling himself down with it, moving on to find a replacement who could put some sort of distance between himself and someone that he actually wanted but was too chickenshit to fess up to out of fear of rejection and childish ridicule?
Leon's frown deepened. Was this even about Cloud anymore…?
…whatever.
Bracing himself with his palms on the lip of the sink, the brunette leaned forward, watching himself watching him. Leon scowled at what he saw as he reached up, pushing brown bangs from his eyes, to stare at the scar as it creased with every movement of his brow.
Fuck.
"Get over it," he angrily scolded himself, quiet enough to make sure the two 'lovebirds' couldn't hear, "it's been eight years, Squall, so just fucking get over it."
Would that little pep-talk help? Of course not… he still felt as if he was going to slip into a depressive coma. It never made him feel better before, either, so why would it now?
On the way out of the bathroom, Leon once again stubbed his toe, this time on the armor's opposite side.
Oh, life was dandy.
Just… dandy.
-------
Sephiroth woke with the smaller warrior still in his arms, sleeping peacefully, and couldn't help but smile lightly down at him. The younger man's face was serene, limp golden spikes brushing against his forehead, eyebrows drawn. His mouth was formed into a sleepy pout, Mako eyes moving slightly under twitching eyelids, cheek resting on Sephiroth's left shoulder. The blonde looked so innocent when he was asleep… like an angel.
Well… an angel with a demon's wing, of course, putting Cloud at a level of 'fallen angel' surpassing even Sephiroth's own.
The ex-General didn't mind the wing at all, really, seeing as it was a part of Cloud. And it really was beautiful in some ways, as he had said before… jet black and pointed, its texture leathery, but covered with a fine layer of soft fur, not coarse as one would have expected.
Sephiroth knew Cloud despised it, of course, but that didn't mean he couldn't admire the thing, did it?
He wondered if Cloud knew what the skin looked like where wing met shoulder blade, but he supposed not, or else the blonde never would've taken his shirt off ever again. The base of the appendage was a solid black - a stark contrast to Cloud's own skin - with dark veins threading out a short ways before gradually tapering off into nothing. Around the wing was slightly lighter, though, Sephiroth noted, a purple shade similar to that in the Darkness, and all around the wing, the skin looked cracked, bumpy, and rough…
Unable to resist temptation, the silver-haired man's hand crept up, and he ran his fingertips over the skin below the wing, surprised to find it smooth, veins below the surface only, not truly marring Cloud's back… but still, Sephiroth wasn't going to tell Cloud about it.
In his sleep, Cloud sighed, shivering contentedly beneath the older man's touch.
/--Hey, keep doin' that and I bet you 500 gil he's gonna start purring.--/
/…and where have you been?/
/--Oh, y'know… out…--/ Sephiroth could feel Zack gesturing in his mind. /--Figured you guys would want privacy or something…--/
/Is that so?/ Sephiroth chuckled quietly, /since when have you been so courteous?/
/--You wound me, Seph.--/
/Mm. Perhaps I would've given you control for a bit, had you stayed./
Zack scoffed. /--Are you fuckin' serious!?--/
The silver-haired man gave a brief smirk and shrugged, drawing small circles on Cloud's naked back.
/--…dammit. Last time I'll ever go and be nice…--/ The word 'nice' came out as the verbal equivalent to a Zack-style sneer - not quite wrathful, but not at all happy, either… more like an unintentionally goofy in-between where one couldn't tell if the former SOLDIER was simply kidding around, or actually being dead serious.
/Next time, Zackary, there will always be a next time…/
Zack stayed silent for a while, and Sephiroth wondered if his first friend hadn't decided to up and leave him again… however that was done. As far as he knew, Zack didn't exist in an actual place, just simply… was. Sephiroth had no clue where the black-haired one could have gone for those retreats, either… maybe in the deeper recesses of his mind, but Sephiroth didn't know if that was where Zack actually resided…
…it was all very strange. Maybe the fact that Zack was still with him wouldn't have been so bad, had Sephiroth understood how Zack 'lived' - so to speak - and where. But he didn't want Zack gone… he simply hated how he was so utterly ignorant about the entire situation…
/--…I don't get it either, Seph…,--/ Zack cut in, /--it's just something I'll have to keep trying to figure out, I guess…--/
/How long have you had that ability to 'leave'?/ Sephiroth asked, frowning. If the deceased SOLDIER was withholding vital information…
Mentally, Zack shrugged. /--No clue… just happened. And I didn't plan it or anything…,--/ he added quickly, to sate Sephiroth's curiosity. The older man could feel Zack smirk as he went on, jokingly, /--why, do you worry when I'm gone, Daddy?--/
The silver-haired man cringed. Not only was Zack's tone mildly disturbing, but the words were as well. No one ever really called him 'Daddy' before, not even in jest, and the title just sent shivers down Sephiroth's back.
…well… that was a lie. Cloud had called him 'Daddy' once, but it wasn't in the sarcastic context that Zack's had been. Though, that time it was off-putting, too… maybe even more so. But one thing was for certain: it was definitely not sexy as Sephiroth was positive Cloud had meant for it to be. After all, the blonde was only fifteen-years old at the time, and it was said under a rather inappropriate circumstance, making Sephiroth just the slightest bit uneasy about the term, since Cloud at the time was so…
…anyway, it wasn't as if Sephiroth was actually old enough to be Cloud's father - not even close to it - but the gap between their two ages wasn't exactly slight, either…
…and he just didn't want to think of Cloud calling him that. Nor anyone else, for that matter. He had a terribly low tolerance for children…
/And if I do?/ Sephiroth asked, frowning. /You don't consider me that heartless, do you?/
/--Take. A. Joke,--/ Zack muttered pointedly. The ex-General was so stiff all the time… /--Seriously Seph, even Cloud's got more of a sense of humor than you do. I'm kidding!!--/ he tagged on, feeling Sephiroth's lips draw themselves into a tight, sullen line.
/--You're both still cool with me, I swear.--/
Sephiroth heaved a sigh, rolling his eyes. /Why must you turn everything into a joke?/
/--Why do you have to make everything so serious all the time?--/ Zack retorted, wringing yet another frown from the other man. /--Really, Seph… you gotta loosen up. If you snap again…--/
/…Zackary…/
He knew Sephiroth wanted to finish with 'that will never happen', but instead the older man just trailed off, focusing his attention on Cloud.
Though he didn't believe his friend would actually do such a thing at that point - mind clear of Jenova and association with ShinRa broken, and all that other good stuff -, Zack still felt like he had to keep on doing what he could to ease Sephiroth away from those kinds of moods, and calm him if he got too worked up. Even if he probably wasn't going to flip again, Zack felt a little protective of Sephiroth… mainly because no one else ever truly was. Sure, Cloud was some kind of support for the silver-haired man, but Cloud's stability had never been too great, either; Zack had always considered himself to really be the only one of the three of them who… well, had it all together. Sephiroth would be inclined to argue that, of course, but the former SOLDIER knew his own opinion was right.
…because Zack, to put it plainly, rocked.
Sephiroth looked towards the living room door upon hearing sounds of movement and harshly shut drawers in the adjacent room. It didn't startle him at all, his instincts didn't jump to the conclusion that there was a burglar in the house or anything of that nature. Even if it was, with three sword-wielding men in the place, a robber wouldn't have a chance of escape and certainly didn't pose a threat, especially not to him.
Of course, he knew it was just Leon, anyway. Yes, thieves tended to be quite dumb, but Sephiroth didn't believe that they would be so foolish as to slam things around and clank silverware and scrape chairs across the floor, basically calling the house's inhabitants and telling them that there was something that should be looked into in the next room.
…and if they did, Sephiroth would have completely lost all faith in mankind.
Though he was comfortable just lying next to Cloud on the too-small couch, Sephiroth slipped himself out from under the younger man's hold. Careful not to wake him, the silver-haired one crawled over Cloud's body and up off the couch, the sleeping mercenary rolling over to soak up the warmth Sephiroth left behind.
After a quick search of the room, Sephiroth spotted several bags shoved into one corner, the name of some store emblazoned on the front of them in a big, tacky font and loud colors. He went over to it and peeked inside, pulling out several articles of rumpled, worn clothing - Cloud's clothes, by the size of them, but what was Cloud doing buying leather? He never remembered the blonde showing any interest in clothing that was anything but casual… unless Leon brought him shopping, considering leather was nearly all that the man wore…
…not that Sephiroth was one to talk, since his own outfit was nothing but leather, but that wasn't quite the point he was trying to make.
Though, in that room, Sephiroth had no clothes, leather or otherwise - or at least, none that would fit him comfortably, if they would indeed fit at all… not that trying on Cloud's new Leon-esque clothes was something he wanted to try in the first place.
Even though it wouldn't have bothered him personally to do so, Sephiroth had a feeling that Leon wouldn't quite appreciate him walking nude through the house to retrieve his own clothing from the floor of the bathroom - which, upon retrospection, Sephiroth regretted. Had he and Cloud not been in such a hurry for their reunion - the word brought forth an involuntary shudder -, then the silver-haired man would not have this dilemma. He would have had clothes at that moment, been fully dressed, and 'discussing' things with Leon instead of standing naked in a dark room and trying to decide whose towel from last night would be drier so he could venture out to get his clothes - or at least a pair of pants…
/--…Seph, you dwell on some weird-ass things, you know that, right…?--/
Ignoring Zack's mocking observation, Sephiroth snatched up Cloud's discarded towel from the floor. It was still uncomfortably damp and heavy, not to mention cold, but it was better than nothing - better for Leon, not for him. Naturally, Sephiroth would have rather gone completely bare, but for courtesy's sake…
Sephiroth stepped next to Cloud's side, pulling the blanket up and over the blonde's self. After placing a kiss on Cloud's shoulder, the former General crept out into the kitchen to meet their dear, friendly host.
-------
Leon's attention quickly turned away from his breakfast as he heard the door to the living room open. With more grace than humanly possible for such a simple, everyday action, Sephiroth's towel-clad form stepped through, clicking the door behind him.
The brunette blinked. Sephiroth was… much more beautiful than he first thought, and that fact was severely unnerving. In a lot of ways, the silver-haired man didn't even look real, but more like some sort of ethereal being one would only see in dreams, clad in complete white with matching wings, plucking the strings of a harp while laying on wispy white clouds.
Though, Leon didn't know how far that analogy was from the truth; after all, Sephiroth already was pale, right down to the very last long, silvery hair on his head. And he was winged, minus the fact that his wing wasn't of the pristine-feathered variety which angels ideally had… and Sephiroth did have a Cloud… not exactly the type of cloud that Leon was aiming for, but the idea still worked…
Even the man's body seemed unreal… unblemished skin, fit musculature that conformed perfectly with his tall stature, not too thick but not too thin, either; it just went. Sephiroth had the sort of physique that SeeDs would have sold their souls to achieve. And not only that, but each and every one of Sephiroth's movements were smooth and unhurried, yet Leon had a pretty good idea that the man could move faster than the eyes can see, if he wanted to.
His face… gorgeous. Just the right balance between handsome and beautiful, not too masculine but not feminine, strong nose, thin, manicured eyebrows - most likely their natural shape, too. Sephiroth, though he appeared to be rather vain, didn't exactly seem the type to hover in front of a mirror with a pair of tweezers in hand and pluck like Leon sometimes witnessed Aerith doing. Only if Sephiroth did, there were no doubts in the brunette's mind that the man wouldn't complain all the while about the sting as she had. Which sort of made Leon wonder why the hell Aerith did it anyway, if it hurt so much… - mouth set in a perpetual smirk, and slanted eyes with those damned unnerving, cat-like pupils…
…fine, yes, Cloud was obviously a lucky bastard, from what Leon could see. The unbidden thought came that the blonde must have really had some way about him to manage to land himself - not to mention keep - someone that looked like that, but Leon would be damned to tell either one of them any such thing.
But just because Sephiroth was good-looking didn't make him attractive… in the ex-SeeD's mind Sephiroth's negative personality aspects far outweighed the aesthetically pleasing outer qualities. Naturally, that caused Leon to wonder how the hell Sephiroth was able to possess so thoroughly someone as decent as Cloud…
Just as quickly as he looked up, Leon averted his gaze, frowning as he felt the silver-haired man set those unnerving, glowing aqua orbs on him.
"Not the person you were hoping for?" Sephiroth asked, smirking as he noticed the brunette's scowl, "sorry to disappoint you."
"What the hell are you talking about?"
The older man chuckled; someone certainly seemed to be in a sour mood… "You look tired," Sephiroth observed, ignoring him, voice innocent in its intent but those eyes told Leon otherwise.
"Lack of sleep does that to a person," he muttered dryly, stabbing his spoon into the bowl of oatmeal before him.
"You know what works wonders when you can't sleep?"
Leon poked at his oatmeal several times more before lifting a spoonful to his mouth, intent on ignoring Sephiroth but going by the look on the older man's face, it was dead apparent that Sephiroth wasn't going to let him - or at least, not any time soon. "Go talk to a wall."
For a moment he saw Sephiroth's calm façade falter, lapsing into partial confusion, and the former SeeD was hard pressed to keep himself from simpering victoriously.
"Not interested, then? Too bad," Sephiroth lamented in a dangerously wistful voice, "I'm sure it would definitely benefit a man like yourself… you seem to be in desperate need of something like that…"
The brunette had to force himself not to glare. It was quite obvious what Sephiroth was referring to, and the implication of the statement…
Leon clenched his jaw. He knew what Sephiroth was trying to do: he obviously wanted a fight that Leon was not going to give. It was so irritating.
Sephiroth smirked, noticing the muscles of the brunette's face tightening in agitation. "Hit a sensitive spot, did I?"
"Whatever."
The silver-haired man raised an eyebrow and sauntered over to him, resting a palm flat on the table, standing next to the other man. Leaning down, Sephiroth towered over Leon as the younger man sat rigidly in his seat, doing what he could to stay detached and uninterested in anything but his bowl of oats.
He wasn't scared, however - it took something more than a simple, purposely imposing stance to do that. Leon was more bothered by the fact that Sephiroth was so close to him in his half-naked glory than anything else…
"You can't fool me, Leon," Sephiroth stated assuredly, Mako-infused eyes watching the brunette's every action, right down to the last agitated twitch.
"And you're wasting your breath," Leon muttered, "you seriously have the wrong idea about me, so you may as well stop all this petty, jealous bullshit, alright?"
There. Straight and to the point, and hopefully Sephiroth would just drop it. It was false, but that didn't matter; as long as it appeased the other man enough to shut up about it…
Sephiroth pursed his lips and asked in an overly sweet tone, "and what idea, pray tell, do I have 'wrong'?"
"You think I'm interested in him," the ex-SeeD answered shortly, his greyish-blue eyes still fixed on the lumpy mass of goo which he called 'breakfast', "and you're wrong."
"However did you come to that assumption?" came the innocently sarcastic inquiry. Upon realizing that Leon had no intent on answering, Sephiroth went on, "because it's true, isn't it?"
"No."
"Is that so?" Sephiroth snorted, "what a lie…"
The brunette narrowed his eyes and shook his head, feeling a tension headache just dying to break into his head. "Look… I'm straight, so how could it be?"
He was hoping that Sephiroth would just let the matter drop. Even if it was yet another lie, what more did he have to say to the man to get him to realize that he wasn't going to try anything? Gods, all Sephiroth was doing was merely beating an already dead, useless point into oblivion… Sephiroth's precious Cloud wasn't going to be stolen, so why wouldn't he just shut the fuck up about it?! Did he want there to be some sort of threat? Was this some sort of sadistic quest for a fucking petty victory to prove Sephiroth's superiority?!
"Oh, stop trying to convince yourself of that." He had tried to keep his tone light and conversational during the confrontation, but when it came to the subject… "You must've been attracted enough to Cloud - another man - to allow him to fellate you, Leon," Sephiroth pointed out, bitterly.
Leon stiffened upon hearing the words, lips drawing themselves into a thin, tight line. So, Cloud did tell him… for some reason, Leon didn't truly believe that the blonde ever would have confessed the entire truth to Sephiroth out of fear that the man would leave him… though, he supposed that would explain why Sephiroth was being so vile towards him. Didn't excuse him of it, since Leon didn't give any indication of anything, but…
"Well, you've nothing to say to that?"
…if it was an apology the older man wanted, Leon wasn't going to give him one. As the saying went, it took two to 'tango', and to be fair, Cloud was just as guilty as he was - but, of course, it seemed to Leon that Sephiroth's apron strings were wound too tight around the blonde for Sephiroth to realize that very simple fact.
Besides, Cloud didn't know that Sephiroth was truly alive… Hades may have said as much, but who could honestly trust someone like that?
And if the oldest man felt betrayed that Cloud did such a thing… that was too bad for him. After all, from all the things Leon heard about the silver-haired man's antics back in Cloud's world, cheating on a dead man was far less severe and probably the most merciful thing the blonde could have done to get back at him - not that that was his intent in the first place…
"That's none of your business."
Sephiroth chuckled quietly. "But it is my business. Not only because it concerns Cloud, but also because you are insulting both he and I with your constant claims of heterosexuality, even though you've willingly been with another man…? Now, how do you believe that makes him feel?"
The brunette blinked. He hadn't even thought of it that way… that maybe he offended Cloud by…
"And judging by the apparent concern on your face," Sephiroth began, voice quiet but smug, "I can clearly tell that you feel guilty about that… meaning that I am right about you, aren't I." The tone left no room for negation, but…
"…I fucking told you: I'm not interested in Cloud… I'm not gay."
He wasn't going to admit otherwise - at least, not when he was being forced to… but especially not to Sephiroth, under these circumstances.
Sephiroth chuckled, giving a little shake of his head. "Still in denial… but that's alright."
The ex-SeeD rolled his grey-blue eyes, silently telling himself not to react. With Sephiroth hovering over him and egging him on like that, 'will not hit him, Cloud is still my friend… will not hit him, Cloud is my friend,' was the mantra coursing through Leon's brain, and the only thing keeping him at bay.
All Leon wanted to do was eat breakfast, take a shower - provided the silver-haired man pick up his shit - and go out to train, keeping as much distance between himself and Sephiroth with his pretty puppet Cloud as he could.
"I don't want him," Leon growled through gritted teeth.
…but pretty soon, he was going to fold and say that yes, he did, if only just to shut Sephiroth's mouth. The more Sephiroth went on, the more tempting it was for Leon to actually want to do what the older man was accusing him of… the silver-haired man was like a parent in that respect, pushing and pushing their child not to do something, even when it only served to make that curiosity grow into something more substantial…
Leon again wondered what it was about the blonde that was making Sephiroth act this way… a possessiveness like Sephiroth's was not normal… gods, Leon wasn't even doing anything to warrant it!
"Yes you do… it's plainly obvious - to me, that is. I've seen the way you look at him, Leon; I know that expression, I've observed it myself a million times before…"
…even so, Sephiroth was very much pushing the brunette into a place he didn't want to go, and pretty soon, Leon wasn't going to be held responsible for his actions.
Leon counted backwards from ten in his mind, fighting to find some center of calm within himself. The tone of Sephiroth's voice was like mothers typically used - more specifically, mothers who wanted to persuade their children into doing something they didn't want to do - and Leon didn't know how much more of that condescension he had the civility to take - Cloud's friendship or not, Sephiroth's attitude was intolerable.
"Because I know that you do want him, but trust me, you will never have him." Lowering his voice to a quiet, imperative level, Sephiroth began while leaning close to the younger man's ear, "therefore, my advice would be to simply let Cloud go…"
…who the fuck was Sephiroth to dictate who Leon could or could not be attracted to, anyway? So not only did the silver-haired one play 'mommy' to Cloud, he was trying to do it to him, too? What the fuck was wrong with that man?
"—that would be the best thing for you." After a pause, Sephiroth smiled lazily and murmured, "Cloud is mine, Leon, and nothing will change that."
Before Leon could snarl out an angry retort, a sleepy-looking, shirtless Cloud appeared in the doorway. Spikes all around his head were either limp or stocking up in their opposite order, more mussed than the brunette had ever seen them, and it was all due to the one man Leon was barely suppressing the need to attack.
Sephiroth sensed Cloud's presence as well, Leon guessed, and slowly straightened, wing relaxing as he did so, to turn and regard the blonde with a small, innocuous smile.
"…what's going on in here…?" the blonde asked in a tired and vulnerable voice.
Leon stood up as well, temper flaring. "Will you tell him that I don't fucking want you?!"
"…uh?"
The brunette pointed harshly at Sephiroth and spat, "this guy will not get it through his thick fucking skull that I don't. Fucking. Like. You."
Cloud blinked, taking a moment to process the too-angry sentence in his sleep-addled brain. When it finally clicked, the youngest man eyed Sephiroth warily and questioned, "Seph, how many times…" He shook his head to clear the cobwebs and went on, "gods, why won't you let this drop?"
Both of the blonde's fists were balled and pressed against his hips irately, clearly telling Sephiroth that he damn well better explain himself or else. The silver-haired man gave a little laugh.
"It's a blatant lie, Cloud, I don't see how you could possibly believe it."
"Do you really think he would be so vehement about it if it were all a lie?" Cloud responded, not even bothering to hold back a glare. "I know you're mad about—" He cut himself short and glanced over at Leon, the brunette averting his own eyes as he did so. "…about that, but… seriously, Sephiroth… it didn't mean anything… and I told you, it was all my fault. I missed you, and I just…"
The former SeeD frowned. So he was just a replacement, then? Knowing that fact… as stupid as it sounded, Cloud had… well, used him… and if Leon hadn't put a stop to it, the blonde was going to allow himself to be completely used in return, because he was lonely…?
It didn't really mean anything to him, not at the time… or so he thought, anyway, but he figured at least it would have to Cloud… he obviously liked Leon since the beginning, but if Leon was just a replacement for Sephiroth during the entire time the blonde was staying with him…
…so what, then, was Cloud even a going to be a friend anymore, now that the silver-haired man was back in his life? If Sephiroth would even allow such a thing…
Leon picked up his half-empty bowl and placed it heavily into the sink, laughing bitterly to himself. A friend? What the hell did he need friends for? He may have relied on them in his past as Squall, but now, as Leon, what was the use of them?
Besides, as soon as the final Keyhole was sealed they'd all be returned to their own respective worlds anyway, so what goddamn difference did it make?
Leon left the kitchen and went into his own room, changing from his sleeping pants and into his normal attire. With every belt buckled securely and without bothering to fix his hair, the brunette grabbed the gunblade from its rest on his wall and made his way back to Sephiroth and Cloud - a Sephiroth and Cloud caught in an argument, to be exact.
Cloud frowned, setting his eyes from his crossed-armed lover onto Leon, completely dressed and battle-ready. "Where are you going?" he asked, concerned, as the brunette walked swiftly by them.
"Out," Leon answered, yanking the front door open with his right hand but stopped before leaving. With his back facing the other two men, the ex-SeeD said, "and if you have a problem with me over this vacuous, meaningless bullshit, Sephiroth, then both of you can get the fuck out of here."
Leon paused to shake his head before continuing, letting out a disdainful snort. "Because I am not apologizing, just like I'm not going to be forced to admit something that's not even true. So why don't you stop being an asshole and start acting like a changed man, or else you really are going to lose Cloud - when he comes to his senses and sees how much of a crazy fuck you obviously still are."
Without waiting for a reply, Leon stalked out of the house, slamming the door behind him. Seriously, friends?
Fuck friends.
-------
"I'm very worried about Sora doing this alone, Cid," the flower girl stated quietly, fingers playing idly with the tail end of her long, twisted braid.
Cid turned his attention from the mangled body of an Ultima-G and onto Aerith as she shrugged slightly, legs swinging like a child's as she sat perched upon one of the pilot's cleaner workbenches. Usually the girl never visited him at work - he didn't want her to ruin her clothes from all the grease, being the nice man he was… after all, Aerith was no Shera - but that day she showed up bright and early.
He didn't mind the company at all, though. In fact, it was pretty nice to have someone to talk to when he was trying not to explode at repairs gone wrong… though, that meant he swore up a storm, which wasn't really something he liked to do around Aerith. She was Miss Goody-Two-Shoes…
…not that that was a bad thing… her virtue was a part of what saved the Planet from Sephiroth and all.
After a moment of thought, she went on, "I realize he's the master of the Keyblade and all, but…"
"Nah… I know how ya feel." Cid scratched the back of his head in half-embarrassment; it was always a little hard for him to admit his concern for others. He was a considerate guy, sometimes, but to voice his trouble out loud was a tough thing to do - that was, unless it came to his machinery.
His precious…
"Then… do you think we should do anything…?"
"Shit, I dunno, Aer…," the blonde pilot replied in a sigh, reaching up to scratch the back of his head out of habit. Honestly, he wasn't quite sure if butting into Sora's quest would really be a smart thing to do, but dammit, he was anxious about it, too… "The kid didn't leave too long ago, y'know…"
"Regardless…"
"But if yer that bad off, probably we should… y'know, talk to Leon… ask him if we should do anythin' or just leave the kid alone."
The Cetra nodded slowly in consent. "I suppose you're right… after all, he's our inadvertent leader, isn't he?"
"Yeah." Cid paused for a moment and snorted, taking a deep drag from his half-smoked cigarette. "Fuckin' strange not takin' orders from Cloud anymore, ain't it? Man…" The pilot shook his head and murmured, "I still don't fuckin' believe it… Sephiroth, for fuck's sake… who woulda fuckin' knew…"
Aerith shrugged in a noncommittal gesture.
"I mean, he… no, he never acted like he really hated the guy… and yeah, he told all of us that he idolized 'im, but love?" The older man lowered his voice and added, "don't wanna hurt your pride or anythin', but… I always thought he woulda… y'know… hooked up with…" Cid made a grunting noise as he looked up at the emerald-eyed girl. "…well, you… when he showed up here…"
Chuckling a bit at the older man's comment, the brunette murmured, "I know… Yuffie did, too."
"Guess we know why he didn't now, eh?" Cid chuckled gruffly. "I heard rumors that Cloud liked to wear women's clothes sometimes, but I always figured that was some sorta kink, not because he's… that way…"
The flower girl shook her head and said, "I don't think he's attracted strictly to men, Cid… I think he's just more comfortable with them…" Aerith let out her own small laugh and continued. "You should have seen him on our date… he was so nervous. That was definitely not something he picked up from Zack. And to be fair," she stated, "that whole dress thing was my idea; we had no other choice."
Cid's curious yet confused look wrung another laugh from the flower girl. "But, I never would've imagined that Corneo would have picked him, and when Tifa and I finally got into the room…" Aerith let herself trail off, giggling behind her hand. Honestly, she hadn't expected to see that… though, she had been more accepting of the sight than Tifa. The younger woman practically had a breakdown after realization hit…
"…do I even wanna know?" the pilot asked, still wickedly curious but partially afraid of what he may hear.
"Well…" Aerith pressed one finger against her lips and shrugged. "When we found him, Cloud was very nearly… lip-locked with Don Corneo."
At that moment, Cid had the distinct feeling that his eyes were going to pop out of his head.
"Cid…?" Aerith tapped the older blonde on the shoulder as he stared blankly, trying to process the information.
Finally, after a good long while, Cid came back to his senses and murmured whilst crushing out the little that remained of his cigarette, "okay, givin' the choice between kissing Corneo or fucking Sephiroth, I'd have to go ahead and say that Cloud's gotten a lot fuckin' smarter since then."
Aerith giggled. "That's so vulgar… but I suppose. Though, Cloud was with Sephiroth a long time ago, too, Cid. This isn't some sudden relationship they tumbled into…"
"Yeah, Sephiroth said that, too… I didn't believe 'im, though, obviously, because it seemed so fuckin' outta place. But then when Cloud bust into my office…" The pilot stopped to think, wondering just how to put it into words. Before he could, however, he blinked as realization struck. "…wait a sec…" Cid stared at her for a moment. "…just wait a fuckin' second… you mean ya knew about him… and… him…?"
"No… well, not exactly. He didn't come out and tell me, if that's what you're wondering," Aerith answered quietly. "I had an idea, but I wasn't too certain until after I died… you learn many things in the Lifestream, Cid, of both good and bad."
"Oh yeah?" The pilot lifted an eyebrow and asked, "you got any dirt on me?"
Aerith chuckled airily, shaking her head. "Nothing worse than most other people." The girl smiled as she proclaimed, "with the exception of your mouth, you're surprisingly clean, Cid."
"Hell, I always tried to live on the strait and narrow, don't gotta be so shocked."
"You seem like the type to have skeletons in their closet, that's all," Aerith clarified, disarmingly, to which Cid frowned. "…Vincent, on the other hand…"
"…I don't wanna hear nothin' bad about Vin," Cid cut in, shortly.
"…I'm sorry, I didn't mean anything…" Aerith wrung her hands together for a bit before she asked, quiet and unimposing, "you two were really close, weren't you?" The pilot nodded.
"Yeah, friends. He was a great guy, if ya took the time to get to know 'im." The pilot shrugged and turned to tinker with the Ultima-G's very many wires with his left hand, pulling out and lighting a cigarette with his right. "It'd be nice to see him again, but I got that feeling…" Cid pursed his lips and shrugged. "You know… that I won't be able to. Much as I'd hate to think of Vin as dead…"
The flower girl watched Cid intently for a moment, the older man busying himself with the Gummi weapon, and made a small noise in the back of her throat. "…I don't think he is, truthfully… so maybe you will, one of these days. Maybe once Sora seals the Keyhole…"
Cid nodded slowly. "Maybe… eh, I just miss 'im. Woulda been nice to have a drinking buddy 'round here for all those years, before y'all showed up."
Aerith raised an eyebrow. "Are you implying that Vincent was a drinker?"
"…he was a fuckin' Turk, remember? 'Course he was - when he was in the mood for it." The pilot chuckled, poking the wires with a screwdriver. "Hysterical drunk, too, once that whole Mako-enhanced tolerance shit was bypassed…"
"I see, you're getting at that silly 'every Turk is a lush' stereotype. This is all because of Reno and Rude, isn't it?" Aerith questioned, emerald eyes sparkling in amusement.
"Stereotype my ass. Vin told me once that bein' able to hold yer liquor was a prerequisite for the job."
"Oh?" the Cetra laughed, "but Tseng wasn't a drinker… or at least, I don't think he was."
Cid shrugged again. "Hey, I myself wouldn't put it past the guy. I know I woulda been an alcoholic if I had to baby-sit Rufus twenty-fuckin'-four hours a day…"
"You're terrible," Aerith giggled, sliding off of the workbench, careful not to snag her dress. She brushed herself off and grinned warmly at him before announcing, "well, I've taken up enough of your time… I should get going."
"You gonna go talk to Leon about the Sora thing?" the pilot asked, readjusting his falling flight goggles.
Aerith promptly nodded. "'Atta girl. Have 'im come by here later an' tell me what's up, alright?"
"Of course," Aerith promised.
As she made her way out of the Garage, Cid cleared his throat to get the flower girl's attention. When her sights were on him again, the pilot uttered, "was nice of you to reminisce about home with me, Aer… I been kinda missin' it through the past nine years… I appreciate it."
Aerith smiled lightly at Cid's uncharacteristically soft, honest voice and nodded. "It was my pleasure, Cid. If you ever want to talk again, just ask."
"…thanks, kid. I may just take you up on that."
-------
Disposing of the last Wizard with a final slash of the Conformer, the ninja flashed her typical 'victory' sign as the Heartless fell to the ground, its body dissipating into thin air. Dark eyes narrowing, Yuffie crept in to take a closer look at the item the Wizard left behind.
"What the hell's this…?" she quietly asked herself, one eyebrow lowered, bottom lip sticking out as the examined the yellow, bat-winged, stick-looking thing in her hand. She poked the red ball at the end and made a contemplative face, taking an experimental swing with it.
Upon hearing the typical clanking of belts and creak of leather behind her, the ninja girl turned. "Hey, Squa—Leon…," Yuffie quickly corrected herself, "what do you think this thing i—"
"It's a magician's staff," the brunette answered, interrupting her. "And you may as well leave it. It's worthless to you."
Yuffie pouted. That was the sixth time in the past hour that Leon had snapped at her, and that sort of response time after time was starting to get to her. Usually she just shrugged the attitude off, but today it was… different. Less of an agitated-at-Yuffie mood, and more of a fuck-it-all-I-don't-care-about-anyone-but-myself one, which was very rare for the brunette… no, he never was the friendliest crab in the ocean, but Leon was being above and beyond cold, even for him.
Eyeing her partner keenly, Yuffie asked, "…what's up with you today? You haven't been acting like your 'cheery' self at all…"
The older man regarded her with a near-scowl, to which the ninja blinked, contemplating the merits of just dropping the matter entirely. But that behavior wasn't normal for him, and she was concerned…
"…so, uhm… like, you wanna talk about it…?" she ventured tentatively, wincing as she waited for a response.
"How about you keep your mind on taking care of the Heartless," Leon suggested, cross. He shouldered the gunblade, free hand taking a place on his hip. "Our job won't get done on its own, Yuffie. Remember that."
"Y'know, you really need to loosen up, Leon," she muttered, "seriously. You're gonna snap one of these days if all you do is work…"
"Look, I have other things to do," the gunblade wielder cut in shortly, running a hand through his hair. Yuffie frowned, furrowing her brows. "I don't have time for this."
Sure, Leon was really cute, but he was such a prick sometimes…
"Oookay, Mister Pissy-Pants… my wish is your command, let me do whatever you wanna do…," Yuffie grumbled, turning to shuffle herself off to Third. "And hey, while I'm at it, would you like me to fetch you your fuzzy pink slippers and your corncob pipe and gold-plated scepter, too, your Highness? Gods, jerk…"
Leon narrowed his eyes slightly, just a wee bit unruffled by the girl's snide comments. While Leon didn't hate Yuffie, she really had a knack for pissing him off, whether she knew it or not - though in this case she knew, but that wasn't the point. True, she was a great fighter as well as a decent partner, but…
Of course, he supposed he somewhat deserved the teenage petulance. This time Yuffie hadn't even done anything to incite his anger. He wasn't even mad at her, anyway, even though she didn't know that. But since Yuffie was the only one around him at the time, that meant she was bound to receive the brunt of his aggravation. Of course, had it been anyone else at that time, they'd get the same treatment, too… the ninja was just the most susceptible.
"Just… go see if Aerith needs any help with new refugees or something," the ex-SeeD ordered, dropping the gunblade from his shoulder to swing it experimentally. "I'll take care of the rest of the Heartless here."
"I can't," came the childish response.
"And why not?"
"Because I'm right here," Aerith answered for her, in a typically gently voice. "You're very disagreeable today, Leon…"
Leon grunted. "That seems to be the general consensus, but thanks for pointing it out."
"Would you like to talk about it?"
"Ugh, don't even bother trying," Yuffie groaned, strapping her large shuriken onto her back. "Trust me, it'll get you nowhere, fast."
Aerith sighed. "That's too bad…"
"You know, we do have work to do," scolded Leon. "The Heartless are a lot stronger now, and also in larger numbers, there's been over ten injury reports today alone because for some reason people insist on walking around Second and Third by themselves, and we're still getting newcomers here, yet we hardly have enough room to house them all anymore. I think of everything that's gone wrong today," the older man nearly growled, "my personal problems should be the least of your concerns."
Yuffie rolled her eyes. "Ya see? I told you so…"
Turning to the younger girl, Aerith lightly reprimanded, "you aren't helping things, Yuffie…"
The Wutaian put her hands on her hips and scoffed, but stayed quiet… though she had to force herself to do so. With a sigh, she took her leave, not even bothering to say goodbye - it wasn't like they wouldn't know where she was, anyway.
"But I wanted to talk to you about something, Leon - no, not about yourself," the flower girl began, stepping up to the older man. Taking Leon's nod as approval to go on, Aerith said, "Cid and I are both worried about Sora."
"…so?"
Eyebrows drawn together in distaste, the Cetra continued. "Well, we were wondering what you think we should do about it."
Leon gave the girl a look. He wasn't exactly sure what she wanted him to do… what was he supposed to do to calm them if they were the ones who were nervous? He didn't have control of Sora or of Sora's duties, just the same as he didn't have control of their own anxiety; all they could do was wait and see what happened, hoping for the best. That was all.
"…why yes, I do have something in mind, thank you so much for asking, Leon," Aerith deadpanned, sighing as the other brunette simply went on looking. "I'd like us to go to Hollow Bastion, just to see… I know I must sound like a mother, but I… well, I don't expect you to understand…"
"Fine."
The girl's green eyes filled with confusion. That… had been much easier than she anticipated. What, with the Heartless flooding the town and all, and not to mention that if they all went to Hollow Bastion, that meant Kairi would be left all alone in Traverse Town… "…fine?"
"Whatever."
Aerith watched - now much more confused than before - as Leon left, gunblade in hand, to venture off to… "Oh!! You need to go see Cid!!"
-------
Leon stepped into the Gummi Garage, only to find the place eerily quiet - and seemingly void of everything Cid, with the exception of the scent of stale cigarette smoke and parts of Gummi blocks strewn haphazardly about the area. There wasn't even a swear to be heard, nor the sound of a maddened foot hitting the side of a wayward engine… it was very strange. And, frankly, the Garage looked abandoned.
"…Cid?"
"I'M OUT BACK!!!" blared a static-filled intercom from the side of the room, in a voice that was unmistakably Cid's.
Holding his ear as he walked by, Leon left his weapon on one of the workbenches and stepped over a variety of junk and general mess as he struggled his way through the cluttered Garage. Honestly, the place was like a mechanical pigsty…
In the back, the brunette found Cid in the doorway of the biggest interstellar ship in existence: the Gummi Highwind III.
The ship was large, and Cid's pride and joy - next to the Gummi Tiny Bronco, of course. The Highwind was very many blocks tall as well as wide, in a gleaming silver, packed with 'Heartless bastard-nuking' weaponry and more engines than one could possibly need. It was like the equivalent to a flying cruise liner, complete with sleeping quarters, a large conference room for strategic planning, storage room, kitchen - not that Cid could cook anything special - and even a glass-encased deck to enjoy the view. Leon couldn't even fathom how long the thing took to build, complete as it was.
But, the major drawback was that Cid didn't have a set crew for the thing - mainly because the pilot rarely ever used the large ship, but also because the older blonde didn't completely trust a whole lot of people enough to forfeit control of the machine… except Leon, who had ridden in it a total number of two times, and was allowed to drive it once.
…but once was enough. The thing was un-maneuverable when one had little experience driving it.
Cid climbed down the rope ladder with practiced steps and grinned proudly, appreciatively giving the Highwind a once-over. "She keeps getting more an' more beautiful the more you look at 'er, huh?"
"…do you think this ship can make it to Hollow Bastion?"
Without hiding a look with the very clear message 'you fuckin' numskull, of course it can', Cid nodded slowly, making sure Leon got the full idea. "Yeah…"
"Will you drive us there?" the brunette asked, checking out the ship again. It was really an impressive piece of work… no wonder the older man was so proud of it.
Cid chuckled a bit and spat out the remainder of his cigarette onto the Gummi dock. "Lemme guess: Aerith, right?"
"Yeah, that was her suggestion." Leon shrugged, arms crossing of their own volition. "And I agreed. Not that I'm worried about Sora so much…"
"Then why…?" Cid asked. The brunette shrugged again.
"I just do… I did stay there for a long while." Leon's expression darkened as he added, "it'd be interesting to see what sort of changes the Heartless did to the place…"
Slowly, the older man nodded. "I gotcha. Well, I let the kid take the last Navi-Gummi I had stashed out… so far as warpin' through any other holes to get there, we're fucked."
Leon made a face. "Is there any other way?"
"Of course, we can still get there on the Gummi Highwind; only thing is, we gotta take the scenic route."
"Alright, then how long do you figure that would take?"
"Well," Cid started, scratching the back of his head, "the kid opened a new path… not sure, but I guess we can probably follow that, so… I'm gonna say somewhere around… shit, a day, day an' a half at most, maybe…? But don't quote me on that," he added, pointing a finger to drive the order home.
The ex-SeeD nodded contemplatively. He hoped they wouldn't be too late, and could make it to Hollow Bastion before the Keyhole was sealed, but he couldn't be too sure… what the hell would happen if Sora sealed it when they were still on their way there…?
"How much of a head start does Sora have on us right now?"
Cid shrugged. "Kid left no more than an hour ago, so he can't be that fuckin' far ahead, figurin' his Gummi's pretty low-tech… better than most, but shit, it ain't no Highwind," the pilot beamed, patting the huge ship on the side.
Leon raked a hand through his hair and asked, "can we do it, then?"
Cid scratched the back of his head contemplatively. "I guess we can. Just that it's gonna be fuckin' hard… she's a pretty big Gummi, and with all the goddamn Heartless ships floatin' around out there… things're probably gonna plow us. They've always been aggressive little fucks but with the whole Keyhole thing…"
The pilot paused to grunt in distaste. "Shit's gonna be tough to ride through… the Highwind's already got a few Thundara-G's hooked up to it, but I got some spare lasers in stock, so I could probably add 'em to the artillery, guessin' no one else 'round here needs that kind of high-powered weaponry anyway…"
The brunette watched with one eyebrow raised as Cid did a half-turn, smoking his cigarette as he continued speaking quietly to himself, "finished repairin' that piece of shit Flare-G a bit ago… that'll help alot… guess I gotta add a couple Shield2-G's, too… shit, should probably should stack on s'more Dispel-G's… maybe a Haste-G or two… fuck, don't got enough time to upgrade the cockpit…"
"…Cid."
Leon's bark jerked the pilot from his absent planning.
"Eh?" Cid cleared his throat, somewhat embarrassed about how his mind wandered so easily, and continued talking to Leon. "Er… right… yeah… at any rate, I guess we can do it. Just gotta slap on those extra Gummis and round up a crew or somethin' that can handle the guns, an' we should be good to go."
"Well… finding a crew shouldn't be a problem," Leon started, "don't tell her I said so, but Yuffie's a pretty good shot when it comes to firing Thunder-G's… and you already know I can help with handling the large lasers…"
The pilot nodded. "Alright then, that's three of us…"
"Strife and his boyfriend may be able to take up a couple cannons, too," the ex-SeeD added, "and I suppose Aerith can control a small cannon or laser, if she wants… that should be enough, right? Five extra gunmen?"
"How the fuck should I know, I haven't been out there lately…"
Grey-blue eyes rolled at the remark.
"But how do you know Cloud and Sephiroth'll come?" Cid asked, crossing his arms. "Doesn't make sense for them to want to in the first place…"
Mulling the question around in his head for a bit, the gunblade wielder made a face and shrugged. "The only reason I'd prefer they both to go with us is because it would be easier than recruiting a couple of strangers who don't know how to fend for themselves. But if they don't want to, that's fine too. I personally don't care either way."
"Fair enough… so you really wanna do this, then?" When the brunette answered with a curt nod, Cid grinned and clapped the younger man hard on the shoulder.
"Alright then, pretty-boy, go tell everyone to get their shit together. In a couple hours, we're haulin' our nosy asses off to Hollow Bastion."
----------------------
A/N: …drama and filler, oh what a chapter… -.-; As for why there was more focus on the other characters than on Cloud and Seph… well, because I am currently in the process of punishing Sephiroth. God, I can't fucking believe how he decided to come out such an anti-Leon bitch when I ALREADY HAD THAT SITUATION SET SINCE THE BEGINNING OF THE FREAKIN' STORY WTF SEPHIROTH THANKS A LOT YOU FUCKING CRAZY ASS YOU RUINED EVERYTHING!!!!
-.-;;
Of course, that's not to say Leon's much better towards Sephiroth, either… not that I blame him -.- Bah. They're both bitchy… but in this chapter especially, WTF… O.o Though, upon re-reading reviews, it seems that alot of you were really hoping for a lil Seph/Leon catfight anyway… evil people, you… but… I think Sephiroth's being more insane than anything… er… crap… O.o;;
Oh how I hate Cloud… why does he always get both (OMFG ANGSTY) Leon AND (OMFG CRAZY) Sephiroth!? It's not fair…!! Especially because those two completely obliterate my Seph/Leon/Cloud fantasies since THEY DON'T WANNA GET ALONG FOR ME!! .!!
::pushes Rinoa to the side and whistles innocently:: And there you have it.
God, this fic is getting long… XD And I don't know if I can end it where I intended to end it, either… I think that would incite an angry mob and that… yeah…
I REALLY HATE THIS NEW FORMATTING BULLSHIT. I had to give Zack new telepathy-talky-thingies… ARG.
I usually figure Sephiroth to be 5 years older than Cloud, even though Seph's probably a few years older than that. But it doesn't really matter anyway, it's not like Square's ever gonna tell us how old he really is so whatever, I can think what I want. XP
Now, to answer a few reviews (because I rarely ever do that since I'm a bitch, apparently):
Makai: Elixirs. Lots and lots of Elixirs. XD
Kuja-46: LEON x YUFFIE CAN DIE OMFG I HATE THE PAIRING SO BADLY. So no need to worry XD
IPPAYAME: ::cackles:: You love the Leon, you know you do. (…but to be perfectly honest with you, I didn't like him all that much in FFVIII either… .; But he's so much cooler now…)
Blue Eyed Angel2: ::blush:: Thank you! That's such a major compliment… ::blush blush::
Sankyuu all for zee lovely reviews! I appreciate 'em, you guys, I really do. …I should say that more often… sorry. ;.; Keep them coming, they make me smile. Even if I think you're all insane for liking this story. XD