Author's Note: I actually know more of where I'm going with this story than with any other story I have ever written. Be proud of me. Oh, and thank you guys so much for all of the reviews. I really appreciate it.
And I just realized that this probably isn't going to be as dark and I originally thought. Nope, not really. :::sigh::: I just can't seem to write dark fics. Anyways, I hope you guys still enjoy the ride.
[Disclaimer: I own Squall's two cats, Yuffie's mother, the pawn shop guy, and Yuffie's attacker and that's it. Everyone else is copyrighted to their respective owners. Now if I could just get my hands upon Squall...]
Chapter Four: Portrait of the Lion-hearted
Lying stretched out on the smaller sofa he possessed, Leon mindlessly flipped through the channels on the television set, his eyes wandering every few minutes to the sleeping girl wrapped in blankets on the other sofa in his living room. She had been there for less than ten hours and had spent about eight of those ten hours passed out on his sofa. Staring at her face, he noticed how her cheeks seemed to be slightly sunken in and her eyes had a hollow quality to them, enhanced by the dark rings around her eyes. And her skin, which he had earlier believed to be tanned, was considerably paler now that she had bathed herself.
He watched as she scrunched her face up at something and rolled back over, clutching the tattered teddy bear he had brought with her from the warehouse. The look of surprise and gratitude etched on her face when he had pulled that ragged bear from the dryer and handed it to her still haunted his mind.
A soft knock on the door brought him out of his reverie and quickly got him on his feet before the knocking awoke Yuffie. Just one look at her and he could see how much she needed her sleep. It looked as though she hadn't had a good night's sleep in years. So, quietly crossing the room, he eased the door open to reveal Aerith once again. "Yes?" he asked, raising his eyebrows and giving her a questioning look. After all, it was fairly late for her to be up considering the fact that it was after eleven and she had to be at the little florist shop she owned fairly early.
"Here. I know you wouldn't think of them, so I went down to the drugstore and picked some up," she whispered as she handed him a box of cold medicine before pushing past him and walking into the living room. She let out an annoyed sigh and placed her hand on her brow before turning to stare at him. "Leon, are you just going to keep her on the couch or are you going to let her have an actual bed?"
He ran a hand through his hair, pushing the long bangs out of his eyes as he stared at the girl on the couch. "Well, I thought that since she was already asleep she would be fine there," he muttered, unable to meet his friend's green eyes as they bored into his skull as if he were the stupidest man alive.
"She'll fall right back to sleep. Believe me, she will. I mean, look at her. At this point, nothing could keep her awake," Aerith said softly, gesturing towards the sleeping Yuffie with one hand. "Look, I'll go put some fresh sheets on your spare room bed. And I'll need you to carry her in there when I'm done, okay?" She waited for his nod before she left the room and headed down the hall.
As soon as the spare room door was opened, its prisoners, two black and white cats, bounded out and down the hall to the living room. Stopping a couple of feet away from the couch where Yuffie lay, they inquisitively sniffed the air before the larger of the two began to slowly creep up to her. Leon watched as the cat carefully raised itself up on his haunches and placed its front feet upon the couch, stretching his neck out so he could sniff the girl lying upon his bed.
"Sydney, be nice," Leon warned, prepared to pull the cat away before he had a chance to attack. But, much to his surprise, Sydney soundlessly jumped up on the couch and curled up at the end opposite her head. Leon stared at the cat in slight shock. Most of the time when the cat found someone lying on his spot, he would mercilessly attack them. Hence why Leon had to have the poor cat declawed, along with the more shy Demi.
Demi, the smaller of the two cats, was less aggressive than her feline companion and was far more submissive, shying at the sight of a strange person in the house. In fact, Leon was surprised she had even braved coming out of her hiding spot with Yuffie in the house. Demi was known to hide for days at a time when her normally calm life was disrupted.
"Okay, Leon. Bring her in," Aerith called from the doorway of the spare room.
Leon carefully picked the girl up in his arms, once again surprised at how light she really was. Somehow, she managed to stay sleeping while he carried her, breathing through her mouth as her nose was too stopped up. About halfway down the hall, she squirmed slightly and began to whimper as she turned to bury her head in his shirt. Not knowing what else to do, Leon slowly rubbed her back with hand, mumbling 'shh' as he continued to what would be her room while she was there.
Aerith stepped out of the way to let Leon past her and into the room, pulling back the blankets on the bed for him to set her down. Seeing what the girl was wearing, she let out a sigh. "Leon, go get her one of your shirts to sleep in, okay? Those clothes can't be comfortable for her," she said, using the commanding tone he had heard many times before from her. She always seemed to use it when someone was sick or needing help, making him briefly wonder if she should have been a nurse rather than a florist as he left the room.
He returned a few moments later with the same green flannel shirt she had worn earlier in the day before Aerith had brought her some clothes to wear. He handed it to the woman and then leaned against the wall. That is, until Aerith gave him a pointed stare. "What?"
"Are you just going to stand there while I change her clothes or are you going to leave the room? I'm sure she doesn't want some man she barely knows seeing her half naked," Aerith muttered as she walked over and physically pushed Leon out of the room, closing the door in his face.
Running a thumb down the ridged scar between his eyes, Leon went back into the living room to wait for his friend. Eyeing the small box of cold pills he had laid on the coffee table, he read the label, pushed out the correct dosage out of the foil, and grabbed a glass of water before going back down the hall. He quietly knocked on the door and waited for Aerith to open it.
When she finally did open it, Leon noticed that her eyes were wide with worry and she quickly ushered him into the room, taking the glass from his hand and setting it on the bedside table. "Leon, you've got to see this," she whispered as gently rolled the girl over and raised the back of her makeshift night gown up.
Leon's stormy blue eyes widened briefly, then narrowed slightly when he saw what had addled his friend so. The vertebrate in Yuffie's back jutted out of the skin, showing how truly underweight she was. "No wonder she was so light," he said softly, reaching out as if he were going to run his fingers across her bones, but then quickly pulling his hand back.
Aerith pulled the shirt back down and slowly sat Yuffie up. "Yuffie, honey," she called, gently shaking her by the shoulders.
Her eyes slowly fluttered open and she raised a hand to rub her eyes. "What mama?" she mumbled, her speech slightly slurred as she was still half asleep and not fully aware of her surroundings.
"Yuffie, you need to take your medicine. It'll help you feel better," Aerith murmured softly, pushing the two pills Leon had brought into the room into the girl's hand.
"Okay, mama." Yuffie obediently placed the two pills in her mouth and then took a drink of the water from the glass Aerith had placed at her lips.
"Good girl," the older woman whispered as she helped the girl settle back down into the blankets, sitting on the edge of the bed and gently stroking her hair until her breathing slowed and became more rhythmic. Then, Aerith arose from her seat and walked out the door, beckoning Leon to follow her as she turned off the light and shut the door behind them. "She really needs to see a doctor, Leon."
The man pinched the bridge of his nose between his forefinger and thumb, looking at Aerith through the hair that fallen across his face. "I know that. But you didn't see how panicky she got when I mentioned that to her earlier, before I brought her here," he explained, leaning against the hall wall and crossing his arms over his chest.
"Which reminds me... why did you bring her here in the first place?" Aerith asked curiously, giving him a small smile. "I mean, it's not like you to bring random people into your apartment. In fact, it's not like you to bring anyone to your apartment. So why her? Not that I'm complaining. I mean, there's no telling what might have happened to her if you hadn't brought her here."
Running a hand through his hair, he sighed. He knew she would ask this eventually. "In all honesty, I don't know why. But... she just looked so pathetic when that man tried to rape her and even I can't kick a wounded puppy. I'm not that cold hearted." He hoped that explanation would suffice, as he no other he could offer her. It still surprised him that he had brought the girl to his apartment.
"I know you aren't. It just takes a lot to get past that cold exterior." She placed a hand on his shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. "I still remember the old you, you know. Before you changed."
"Don't even start on that, Aerith. That part of my life is over," he muttered angrily, shrugging her hand off his shoulder as he turned to go back into the living room.
Taking a deep breath, the woman simply let his icy attitude slide right past her. After having to deal with it for five years, she was used to it by now. "So, anyways, Leon, you didn't tell me why you followed her to her... uh... home," Aerith prodded, going to the kitchen and grabbing a soda from the refrigerator.
Leon sat down on the couch and leaned back, letting his head fall back. "She stole my wallet a few days ago," he muttered quietly. "And she recognized me after I beat the crap out of that guy and told me that she still had it. So, she took me to the warehouse and returned it to me."
Aerith blinked rapidly a few times, as though she were trying to wake up from a dream of some kind and sat down on the couch across from him. "Let me get this straight. She stole your wallet and you still brought her here?" she asked incredulously. "Wow... I mean, geez Leon... that is not something most people would do."
"Yeah, I know."
"You do realize that if you hadn't of brought her here today, she may have died from a combination of starvation and flu?" She watched as he nodded tiredly. "You know, I think it must have been fate that you found her," she continued, smiling as she saw him roll his eyes at her.
"What is it with you and fate, Aerith? Everything that happens, you say something about fate having a hand in it," he said quietly, staring at her through half-lidded eyes.
The florist took another sip of her drink and smiled broadly. "Of course I do. How else do you explain Cloud and I, hm?" When he didn't answer, she continued, knowing that she had already told him this at least a hundred times before. "I mean, come on. He was one of my best friends growing up and then his parents moved him across the country when we were both thirteen. And my parents move me to the opposite sides of the country the next year. Yet, ten years later, I meet him again at my shop. Now, Mister Cynical, how do you explain that?"
"If I've told you once, Aerith, then I've told you a thousand times. It's all just a coincidence." He ran a hand down his face and stifled a yawn. "Speaking of Blondie, when's he going to get back from Europe?"
"The first week in November," she said excitedly. Even after a year of marriage, she still felt like a newlywed and was always giddy when her husband returned. She just wished he was able to leave the army and not have to travel abroad so much. She always missed him when he was gone. "Anyways, Leon, it's getting kind of late and I should get going."
Leon across the room at the clock hanging on the wall, noting it was already near midnight. Rising to his feet, he escorted Aerith out of his apartment, letting her give him her customary hug before she left. "Goodnight, Aerith," he mumbled tiredly, about to shut the door when she pushed it back open.
"Oh, by the way, be sure you get her to take those pills every eight hours and make sure she gets plenty of liquids. You have my shop number if you need anything, so don't hesitate to call. I can always close the shop down if you need me," she gushed, trying to think of anything else that he might not otherwise think of. "And if her fever gets over 103 degrees, you have to take her to the hospital even if she does panic. Okay?"
"Yes, Aerith." He gently pushed her out the door and shut it in her face, leaning against it and sighing loudly. "She's worse than any mother I've ever seen," he muttered as he locked the door and started towards his own room, flipping off the lights as he went. As he passed the spare room, he stopped for a moment, then slowly opened the door and stared at the small lump in the bed that was his guest for the time being.
Silently walking across the room, he stopped at the side of the bed and leaned over slightly, brushing his hand across her forehead. "Fever's gone down," he muttered to himself, absentmindedly pulling the blanket up to her chin as she had thrown it off her arms which were now covered in small goose bumps from the cooler air. Looking at her face, he noticed how young she appeared. "She can't be more than fifteen."
Just as quietly as he had come in, Leon left the room, shutting the door behind him and walking across to his own room which was located just across the hall from hers. Sighing, he made a mental note to call his restaurant in the morning and inform the assistant manager that he would be taking over for the next few days. Even though Leon owned the restaurant and had no need to actually be there, he still liked managing it himself. And when the urge hit, he could take over in the kitchen and cook the diner's meals himself. But, he would have to take the next few days off until Yuffie was better. He couldn't leave her alone in the apartment while she was sick. And, now that he thought of it, he couldn't leave her alone in the apartment period. She was a thief, after all. She could and probably would rob him blind the moment she got the chance.
He stared at himself in his bathroom mirror, glaring at the angry scar between his eyes. It would always be a reminder of his past mistakes and a reminder of why he had chosen to be alone all these years. And he had managed to keep himself isolated for five years, only letting Aerith and Cloud get close to him. Yet, somehow, that girl in the other room had managed to break down his defenses and cause him to pity someone and want to help them. That was an emotion he hadn't allowed himself to feel since before the accident.
He had built his emotional wall up around himself and kept piling the bricks higher, replacing them as they crumbled. But, this girl had somehow slipped through a crack in his wall that he hadn't known existed and now she was sleeping in his spare room. "This is only until she's well," he reminded himself, closing his eyes tightly. "Besides, Aerith will kill me if I make her leave now."
So, finding no way out of the whole he had dug himself into, Leon finished preparing for bed and climbed beneath the covers of his bed. But, instead of the sleep he so desperately wanted, he could only continue to ponder what exactly had made him bring the young pickpocket into his house. And, not coming up with a satisfactory answer, he finally drifted off to a disturbed sleep, haunted by shadows of his past.
Author's Note: Well... uh... there you go. hope you like it. Actually, I'm feeling pretty good right now. I wrote two chapters today. One for this story (obviously) and one for my other active story. So, yeah. I'm feeling very proud right now. Anyways, review and let me know what you think.