Author's Notes: I realize that I've neglected this fic, and to those of you who care, I deeply apologize. No, that's a lie. Actually, I was planning on letting this rot, but dear Meredith insisted that I update this for her sake. So, as an early Valentine's Day gift, here you are, my balentime. Hope you enjoy.

Also, the editing box completely destroyed some pieces of my story, and it made me look like a grammatical moron. I'm sorry about that.

Disclaimer: Whoops. I forgot this in the first chapter. So, I'll skip the formalities and get right to the point. The character's aren't mine, so sue me and get nothing but a consolation prize, which will either be a crumpled up piece of paper or a stick figure drawn by yours truly. Thank you.

Warnings: Mild swearing, shounen-ai (boy x boy love), and a chance of mild angst in the future. Don't like it, don't read it.

The Burning Puzzle
"Playing With Fire"
By: Locked

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Maybe redemption has stories to tell
Maybe forgiveness is right where you fell
Where can you run to escape from yourself
Where you gonna go
Where you gonna go
Salvation is here

Switchfoot

"Dare You To Move"

-

Heavy footfalls echoed down the cobblestone street, a lonely figure taking his strides at a slow pace. Black-gloved hands were shoved deep within the confines of his pockets, fingering a small golden key. The importance of the key was known to him for he had it for so long.

He had found nothing of interest outside. There had been no heartless, no abnormal activities, and nothing suspicious at all. Was it possible that the town was finally relaxing? For some reason, he severely doubted it.

A bone chilling breeze blew passed him, carrying a red balloon along with it. He frowned and held his leather jacket closer to himself, ignoring the wisps of hair that tickled his face. His hair could wait until he got inside of the shop to be fixed; there was no emergency.

Pushing passed the wooden doors, he was immediately welcomed by a thick voice of an obvious smoker, "Ya' see anythin' excitin' out there, Leon?"

The brunet met the eyes of the pilot which were scanning him with a great intensity, as though waiting for him to lie. But no lie came from the young man. In fact, not much of a response came at all. A simple shrug of the shoulders was all the movement the stoic individual gave, proving both his lack of interest and unwillingness to speak.

"I see. Well, ain't that great then? No heartless?" The pilot known as Cid relaxed his elbows on the countertop beside his register, a cigarette handing from between his clenched jaw. The cancer stick was unlit, hanging lifelessly where it was. A smear of oil stood out on his chest, the white shirt looking nothing short of dull with the sleek black liquid coating him. With a bored look to the younger man, he waited for an answer.

"No." The voice that rose from Leon's throat was rich, soothing, and yet lacking energy. He sounded drained, as though the life had been completely sucked out of him. Metaphorically speaking, it had. Whatever energy he had once possessed was gone, faded out into a past life that he would much rather forget about. But how far could he run from something so closely connected to himself? Where ever he would go, his past was sure to follow. He could change his name, paint himself a slightly altered image, give himself a new perspective on life, but he could never get rid of what happened.

The truth can be hard to avoid because inevitably, it haunts you.

A creak echoed through the silence of the shop, lingering in the air as though taunting the two occupants-another had arrived. There had been no one else expected, though customers were always welcomed in Cid's shop, so long as they did not break anything and bought something expensive. But this new arrival had no intentions of buying anything from the middle aged blond.

The timing was perfect, as he had intended. Stalking was not what he had wanted to do with his life, but he knew that he feared the worst from his boss. If he failed to comply with his orders, there would be no happy place.

A dumbstruck look creased onto Cid's face, mouth parting enough to let the cigarette fall haphazardly from his lips. It was obvious disbelief etched within his features, though not necessarily a negative disbelief. A single word rose from his vocals, sounding both curious and distressed, "Cloud?"

When his name caught his ears, a small smile curled upwards. It was good to be remembered. In his normal soft voice, he answered, "Nice to see you, Cid." His footsteps echoed on the tiled floors as he allowed himself entrance, his Mako induced gaze taking in every detail of the shop. The brick fireplace, the ladder in the back, the odd coloring of the walls and floors, the small objects that were up for sale, a sign which spoke of what was up the ladder, as well as the two in the room were duly noted. The smell of oil and hard labor was also taken into account as he surveyed the area. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"

"Like hell it has! Boy, you had us worried sick! You see the girls yet?" Cid pushed himself off of the countertop to approach his friend, eyes alight with relief. Everyone had believed the mercenary to be dead, and to see him back alive and well was all the more than satisfying at that point. "Thank God you're alive."

Cloud nodded his head politely, motioning for the man to stop. He had lowered his head and closed his eyes in a shameful manner, and when the sounds of boots hitting the floor ceased, he raised his head once again. "I'm sorry, Cid. I didn't mean to worry anyone. I've just been," his voice trailed off as his gaze faltered on the other blond, stealing a glance at Leon who remained where he was with crossed arms. Cloud puffed a sigh and looked back to Cid, shrugging off what he had been saying, "Forget it."

"Whatever, Spiky." Cid shook his head exasperatedly, knowing to expect no less from the young man. The blond never had been one to actually enjoying leaking information, though he would do it with the right persuasion. Right now, Cid really did not feel like fighting for him to continue, knowing that all would be said in time. He had only just arrived, so there had to be plenty of time.

Leon felt completely out of place while the other two exchanged words welcome and gratitude, so he had remained silent in hopes of finding a good time to leave. The blond he did not recognize was blocking the door, so escaping was not an option. He prayed that they would notice him and let him go, though being noticed would most likely mean an unwanted introduction. Quite frankly, he did not care who the man was; all he wanted to do was go home. He had reported and now he was dismissed, and he felt that he deserved some peace. But when he heard his name, he knew that leaving was going to be harder than it should have been. "What?"

"Are you deaf, boy? I just introduced ya' to Cloud!"

The brunet had to bite back a retort, just offering Cid an indifferent look and a shrug. Needless to say, Cid had not taken his disrespectful behavior lightly. Luckily, Cloud was not in the mood to hear the older man explode over something trivial, so he had taken the liberty of cutting him off, "Nice to meet you, Leon."

With a dark eyebrow arched heavenwards, the brunet offered Cloud a slow nod in return to the greeting. A hand was then extended from the blond, and all Leon could do was stare at it. In one cold motion, he ignored the hand and he walked passed the man, but a wing fanned out and blocked his exit. "Rude, aren't we?"

"Whatever," came the reply, an icy glare piercing right into Cloud. The blond winced a bit and shifted his gaze elsewhere, though he did not move. "I don't have time for this. Don't be an idiot, just let me go."

Something struck a chord, because Cloud was now returning the icy glare with a much more fiery one, stepping right in front of Leon to completely block his view. "Excuse me?"

The look on Leon's face was enough to freeze the sun, a flicker of irritation rising in the back of his stony stare. His temper was not easy to raise because of the simple fact that he refused to let emotions leak through so easily, but something about this blond was frustrating him, and it had been even before he spoke. His presence had just caused him to want to leave, even though he knew nothing about him besides his name. Perhaps it was the way he carried himself, a cocky aura just hanging around him. He felt that the blond thought he was something special, even if he had yet to do anything to prove this theory. Leon was just one to prejudge, something which could not be helped.

Cloud, on the other hand, had quite the temper. It was rather easy to make him upset and hurt his feeling's, even if he would never openly admit to that. What Leon had said had hurt him; being called names had always bothered him. As childish as he felt for taking so much offense to it, he was unable to make himself relax and let it slide. It felt to him that Leon was challenging him, and he never backed down from a challenge. His jaw set, glowing eyes narrowed effectively, and back arched in an attempt to seem intimidating, he kept his eyes level with the other in an unblinking gaze.

Sky blue and deep blue flickered with electric anger as the heated glares never faltered. Time seemed to be standing still, holding them in place until they would bore holes into the other. The tension seemed to have a distinct scent, a salty smell that was vaguely like blood.

No sarcastic words were shared, no deeming taunts sprouted, and the sounds of swords locked in battle never came. The two stubborn warriors remained as they were, waiting for the other to make the first move as they plotted the other's downfall.

It was then that something was remembered, and sky blue eyes blinked and looked away, breaking the intense gaze. "Cid, it's been nice seeing you again. I hope to be able to speak with you more at some point. I have an apartment here, so I'll swing by later, all right? See ya'." Cloud did not stand by to see the reactions, leaving before anything else was said or done.

A scarlet cape billowed as the younger blond left the shop in obvious anger, his fists pumping in tight balls. Hades wanted that son of a bitch to be persuaded to their cause? He was not about to continue with it. If the god wanted that man so badly, then he could do it on his own. There was no way in Hell that he would attempt to speak rationally with the cold man again, because it would be a waste of valuable time. Hades could speak with him himself, and that was the end of that.

In his haste, he spotted something gleaming. It had been on the streets without a lock companion, luring him in with a bright golden gleam successfully. Indefinitely, it was something of some value, because the shape was eloquently designed as though handcrafted for one specific lock. A key.Sadly, he had not a clue as to whom it belonged to and to what it opened.

A frustrated sigh escaped pale lips as he thought of why he could possibly care about such an insignificant little item. Its purpose was not useful to him, for surely he did not have the object in which it would open. It was too small to open any door, which led him to believe that it was made for a diary. But what kind of careless idiot left the key to their diary sitting on the street? The young man could not fathom it, that was for sure.

What did he care? It was none of his business, and should someone confront him about the key, he would easily give it back without thought of whether or not it was truly theirs. For all he knew it could open Pandora's Box and let all hell break loose, but he was willing to take that risk.

Deciding that he no longer cared, he sighed and pondered where to go from here.Then, with his mind made up, Cloud headed back to his home, pulsing with rage. What had happened back there would not be taken lightly, and he would remember it for a long time to come.

Author's Notes: Thank you to my previous reviewers. I really appreciate it. I write my stories to be read, and to know they're actually being read gives me a satisfied feeling. I love you dearly, and I mean it.

Please drop off your comments. I really would like to hear from you.

Happy Valentine's Day!