Author's Notes: Here we are again, a month or so later, and all I'm willing to give as a peace offering is a little filler chapter. I'm sorry, but this has to come. It's more focused on the relationship Cloud and Leon currently have, which is a not-so-good one. But hey, we all start somewhere.

This chapter is dedicated to:

boredperson, PyroFirePower, Schu, Tala's grl Brooklyn's Princess, Queen of Happy, Yersi Fanel, varda101, Mahon, whatevergirl, hoobastank3003, and last but not least, Sephiroth's Killer.

Warnings: None really in this chapter, besides attitude problems.

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"Most people have a harder time letting themselves love than finding someone to love them."

Bill Russell

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Perhaps there was a reason they had been arguing earlier. They just were not meant to get along.

Cloud, though a private person by nature, spoke more than Leon did. He was also stubborn, except he could be rather dense when it came to noticing the obvious. He was uncomfortable in tense situations and tended to avoid them whenever necessary, though he would jump headlong into a battle if he was for the cause. On top of which, he was highly emotional, even when he attempted to stay reserved.

Leon was a different story. He kept to himself all of the time and seemed to have no one that he opened up to. Equally as stubborn as Cloud, he tended to find himself in plenty of high tension circumstances, none of which phased him. He only fought if he wanted to, even if someone's life was at stake. He feared relationships of any kind, afraid that once he let someone into his life entirely, they would turn around and stab him in the back.

Both of them, however, had a rather mysterious background that was more than tough to dig out of them. Just by looking at them, one would be able to spot the past that was hidden away within them, shared with few and understood by little. They both seemed hollow, missing pieces of themselves within the hours of time past. But even with this common ground, they were butting heads a lot more than one would consider healthy.

"You want to walk on your own? Be my guest." Cloud and Leon had reached the apartment building, standing outside of it in the pouring rain. They were soaked, tired and aggravated, giving them all the more reason to get on the other's nerves.

With a snort, Leon shoved the blond away from him and stood on his own two legs, that was, until his right leg gave out from the wound within it. Instantly wishing that he had not given up his crutch better known as Cloud, he swallowed his tongue and narrowed his eyes accusingly at the blond.

"Don't look at me like that," he answered the look bluntly, crossing his arms and frowning.

They both stood there for a while in a stalemate, waiting for the other to move away. But unable to stand anymore, Leon made his way over to the soaking wet wall and used it for support, keeping a neutral face as he slid his gaze to meet the blond in the rain. The other man was giving him a look, one that Leon understood to be 'I told you so.' As much as he did not want to admit it, Cloud had been right.

"Are you done sulking yet? We need to get out of the rain." As though emphasizing his statement, Cloud ran a pale hand through his hair and stared at it when held it to full length, sighing gently. The rain dripped off of it, rolling onto the stone street and mixing with the dirt.

"I'm not in the rain," Leon pointed out, a bored tone in his voice. It was true; he was under the roof, watching the rain hit Cloud without any sympathy for the man.

Narrowing his eyes, Cloud shot the brunet a look, "You know what I mean."

Leon only shrugged his shoulders, uncaring to whether or not the blond was soaked to the bone. He did not see why it was his problem; Cloud could move if he was having that much of a problem with the rain.

"What? You aren't coming in?"

"No."

Cloud shook his head, walking passed Leon to reach the door to the building. If he wanted to stay outside as wet as he was and die of pneumonia, then that was none of his business. But as he reached out to grab the handle, he withdrew and sighed. For some reason, he was unable to leave the brunet behind in such a situation.

With the rain beating on the ground and thunder rolling by as natural music, Cloud walked back to Leon and stood in front of him, perhaps a bit too close for comfort. "Let's go," he said in a low tone, his patience running thin.

"No," Leon said flatly once more, looking at the blond skeptically.

"Why the hell not?"

"I don't need to go to your apartment. I have my own."

"That's nice. Are you going to hobble there?" Cloud was not amused, and he was, quite clearly, trying to prove a point.

"What do you care?" Leon's eyes were locked on the glowing blues of Cloud's, his hands balling into fists as he resisted shoving the other away. His irritation was noticeable, however.

Cloud brought a hand up to his head, rubbing his temples in annoyance. Leon was not going to budge so soon, but as another streak of lightning struck overhead, the blond decided that it did not matter. Leon was coming whether he liked it or not.

"I'm not going to argue with you. Either go limp your way home, or get in the damned apartment."

Leon stared at Cloud, clearly not understanding where he got off telling him what to do. Since when did Cloud have any authority over him? With that thought, he remained where he was spitefully, which was obviously not appreciated by the other. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he was sure that he should not have been picking a fight in his condition.

"You're not staying out here, Leon," Cloud told him sternly, "So make your mind up." But even as he said this, he knew that Leon was not moving anywhere. So with a deep sigh, he grabbed the brunet's arm and draped it over his shoulder, walking right into the apartment despite the man's wiggling and dark threats.

"I don't see what your problem is," the blond started when they finally entered his flat, shutting the door behind him and dropping Leon off at the couch. He then busied himself with the task of finding some towels while the other man sat down and glared at him.

"Quiet," came the answer from the couch, the rich voice of the brunet sounding more than angry by this point. He was attempting to get a look around the small place, but there was a serious lack of light. He wondered if Cloud even realized that his lights were not on, which he did not doubt since Cloud did not come across as the most intelligent person. In the end, he decided that he did not want to know nor care.

Finally, Cloud came back with two towels in hand, stopping his walk right in front of the couch. Then turning to face Leon with precision, he threw one of the cloths roughly at him. "Here." He glared at the brunet before taking his own towel and drying his hair, attempting to keep his mind off of how angry he was.

Leon picked up the towel that was thrown at him and proceeded to take off his bomber jacket, checking to see how waterlogged it was. It was at that moment that he felt a gaze boring into him, and with a sigh of annoyance, he looked to Cloud. "What now?"

Blinking, the younger man turned his head and continued to dry himself, pretending as though he had no idea what Leon was asking him such a question for. But when he felt Leon still staring at him, he managed to say calmly, "Forget it."

The blond honestly had no idea why he had been staring at Leon like that, but he could take a guess. That white shirt was clinging to the man like a second skin, and it showed off quite a bit while it was wet. Needless to say, Leon was good looking, but there was not a chance in the world that he would tell him that. The man already did not like him, and Cloud could only imagine what kind of trouble a comment like that would get him into.

"..." Choosing to ignore whatever Cloud's problem was, he leaned back into the couch and closed his eyes lazily. If he was going to be stuck in the small apartment that seemed to lack electricity, he was going to be comfortable. But with an idiot like the blond around, he was unsure of how long he could remain comfortable.

"I'm going to bed," the blond proclaimed, killing the silence like a knife through the heart. "If you need anything, get it yourself." And with that, he exited the living room and into his own room, shutting the door behind him.

Glaring daggers at the bland white door that Cloud had disappeared behind, he took off his boot and lay himself down on the couch, still wet and irritated. And what seemed like three hours later, Leon drifted into a dreamless sleep.

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Author's Notes: I'll try incredibly hard not to put this story off anymore, but I get so easily preoccupied that it's pathetic. Ah, well. I got to it, all because I love you all so terribly much.

Anyway, I'm sorry that I can't respond to everyone's reviews. I'd love to, but it was about two pages of just responses. So, instead, I hope you all liked my other way to show my appreciation. I did the best I could.

Author's Notes 4/29/05: I can't believe what this has come to. I'm not playing around anymore, you guys. I need to know that people are actually reading this. I am not writing this for myself anymore. If you really want to see this go somewhere, you have to review. So, I won't update until I have at least thirty reviews. That's a whole two more. I think you can handle that.

Thank you schu and PyroFirePower, you've been the best ever, I swear.