Author's Notes: I actually started to write this the day after I uploaded 9, but I stopped midway through and did not get back to it until now. Well, this is actually a decent sized chapter and it's quite the transition. And also: this is officially the longest time I've spent on one story. And for the first time in my history off I actually reached the double digit numbers!

And for anyone who noticed, I had a minor copy-and-paste issue in chapter two. Here's to recap for you: Leon had the key; Leon goes to Cid's Shop; Cloud walks in; Leon and Cloud fight; Cloud leaves; Cloud finds key. Ta-da.

Anyway,my heart belongs to: Lain of the Weird, Queen of Happy, Schu, hikari-enzeru, yllom21, boredperson, Hobbastank3003, Major Misprint, Salki, Yersi Fanel, Kuroi Neko-kun, Tolea and Kyle Begay.

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"A golden key will open every lock."

Yiddish Proverb

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Five days of spar after spar. They met up everyday at the same time in the gym, fighting so often that they had begun to master each other's technique. Their battles became faster paced and exciting, leaving them more room to do special moves in attempt to add a bit of flavor to their training. Their spars had even grown increasingly longer and fairly soon they were there for three hours heaving, sweating and aching.

Cloud stood in the second district to wait for Leon. This had been routine for the past three days: they would meet on the main street by a bench near the Gizmo Shop, walk together to the gym and begin their spar. After the spar was finished, they would walk back and go to Cloud's apartment for refreshments and minor conversation. Leon would soon leave and Cloud would not see him again until the next day.

Cloud was definitely making progress. He and the brunet were friends for the most part, though they tended to remain silent when they were together. But still, Cloud was positive that they were friends which meant that he was achieving his goal.

His glowing gaze swept around for Leon as he waited patiently. He could almost set his watch by when the other would show up. Ten seconds, nine seconds, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one…there he was! Cloud shook the thought out of his head, giving the man a short wave in greeting.

"We're not going to the gym," Leon told Cloud, ignoring the look on the blond's face. "Come with me."

He blinked in wonder but followed along nonetheless as Leon led him in the opposite direction. He felt the urge to ask, but he as fairly sure that the question would only annoy the brunet. Silently, he found himself in step with Leon as they headed towards the first district. A sharp turn confused the blond further than he was, a door that he had never noticed before in full view.

Leon turned to Cloud and gave him a half nod before opening the door and disappearing behind it. When Cloud was beside him again he noticed the blond looking around as though he had entered an art gallery full of abstract paintings. He supposed he should tell Cloud their location, "We're in the back alley of the first district."

"Oh," was the intelligent answer he received. Leon just sighed and stepped into the water a step below. "What are you doing?"

The brunet only gestured for him to follow before heading through the dark tunnel which the water streamed from. He saw Cloud give the water a reluctant stare before jumping in after him. The sounds of water being pushed let Leon now that the blond was indeed following him.

Walking onto the landing, he ignored the water that clung to his leather, both boots and pants, and waited for the other.

"We can spar here," Leon explained and pulled out his gunblade.

"Why?"

"No crowd," was the simple answer.

That was true. There would no longer be a crowd in amazement or the risk of hitting a bystander, but why this place? Deciding that there had to be a specific reason for being in the waterway, Cloud left it alone.

The spar began shortly thereafter. Their weapons spun, shining with pride as the dim light hit the metal. They pushed themselves, recovering after heavy blows, blocking hits and attempting to fake the other out. The dance of death was more powerful today; a passion was there that had not been between them previously.

Cloud had a feeling that his being in the waterway was a privilege and that not everyone got to come down here. He was unsure of how he knew it, but he felt it.

A heavy strike at Leon's weapon sent him back. Before he was able to regain himself, Cloud struck again, ramming his shoulder into the brunet's chest to cause him to collapse. Then, with the tiniest of smirks, the blond managed to get Lionheart out of Leon's grip and put the flat side of his Buster Sword against the man's throat.

This spar had lasted an hour. It was not the first time Cloud came out victorious, for they had been switching the winners repeatedly. Together they made a great team, it seemed.

Withdrawing his sword, Cloud picked up Lionheart and went to hand it back to Leon. "It's a nice weapon," the blond commented when Leon took it from him. "I've never seen anything like it before."

"Not a lot of people use gunblades," he explained with a half-hearted shrug.

"Any specific reason?" was the counter question.

"They're hard to use."

"That makes sense, then." Cloud let his eyes scan the waterway, taking in the little details such as the stairwell directly behind the brunet. Where did those lead?

Leon nodded a bit, sheathing the weapon. He mentally scolded himself for losing so easily, running through the fight in his mind to find what through him off. The smaller man seemed to have found strength out of thin air and he had used that adrenaline rush to push him back. Leon frowned, he should have recovered quicker.

"We're going to my place today," he stated simply, walking towards the stairs. (1)

"Okay," Cloud obediently followed behind him.

It was not long at all before they were sitting on Leon's couch with glasses of icy water, quenching their dreadful thirst. They were doing nothing more than relaxing, sitting in a companionable silence. There was nothing to be said presently as their minds replayed the past few days.

A knock at the door killed the silence as Leon reluctantly stood up. The moment he answered it, he turned to look at Cloud, his brows furrowed in obvious annoyance. "Hold on," he told the blond before he exited his house.

Cloud frowned, tilting his head to one side as he wondered what was going on. It must have been important if the brunet was willing to leave Cloud alone in his house. So he had gained his trust? A small smile graced the blond's pink lips as he stood up, placing his cup on the end table.

Absently, his eyes grazed the room he was in order to take in every detail there was. He had never been in Leon's home previously and he doubted if he would ever come back. This made him decide to wander around; he hoped to gain more information on the other warrior by checking out his items.

There were bland lamps sitting on his tables and a creamy, off-white carpet sitting on the hardwood floor. Absolutely no pictures framed the room or sat along the white shelves, giving Cloud no look into his past. There was nothing too eye catching; no bold colors, sparkling antiques or anything of the like. It was…boring.

"Come on, Leon. You can't be serious?" he breathed out, painfully rolling his eyes at the plainness of his house. But something caught his eye, causing him to slowly walk up to it. It was a brown box with gold leafed around the edges. An intricate design of a heart was carved into the top, thorny vines swirling down the sides. It looked so out of place sitting on the windowsill beside the off-white curtains, but what was even more attention grabbing was the heavy golden lock sealing it shut. Something important was in there.

Cloud was not usually one to snoop but his curiosity was at a high. If Leon had gone out of his way to lock it, then there must have been something important within. Now he just needed the key to it and he could see what was inside. There was only one problem: he did not have a clue as to where the key would be. Naturally, the first place his gaze met was a rack by the entrance but he did not find any signs of a key.

He frowned; Leon must have had the key with him. Frustrated, he sat back down on the couch, putting his head in the palm of his hand. "Damn it. Why can't you be stupid?" he asked the air, though Leon would surely not respond.

As soon as he let the home fall back into silence, his hand lowered into his pocket. It grabbed something metal and pulled it out, holding it in front of Cloud's face. It was the key he had found about a week ago. The metallic golden color shined in the light, causing the blond's eyes to narrow.

Curiously, he stepped back over to the box and placed the key in the lock. To his surprise, the key fit perfectly. With a single turn and a click, the lock was off of the box. Like a wave of the ocean tide, Cloud felt as though he was going to die from anticipation as he opened the box…

…To find nothing inside.

"What?" he hissed, the glowing blues of his eyes sparking with angry electricity, "No way!" Leon was a wonder that was for sure. "Who puts a lock on an empty box?"

Cloud felt like the biggest moron to ever live and this did nothing but frustrate him more. He then threw the lock into the box and heard an awkward thud. He looked back at the box in puzzlement, finding that the velvety bottom had lifted on one side. His pale hand reached in and touched it, causing it to fall back into a flat position. Realization drew onto his features as he lifted the bottom from the box to find a secret compartment.

The blond let out a laugh, finding that he was acting like a child. He should not have been dwelling on a box in the first place, let alone digging through Leon's personal belongings. Still, though, he had to look into it now that it was opened and revealed.

Pictures littered the bottom of the box, a necklace sitting in the corner. Quirking a brow, Cloud picked up the photos and filed through them. He saw a slightly younger version of Leon standing in a group of people whom he did not recognize. A pretty brunette had her arm wrapped around Leon's neck, a large smile on her face as she looked to be waving to the camera. Another picture was of a couple consisting of a man in a cowboy hat and a short girl with flipped hair. After that was a few more pictures of people he did not know, but what he found himself staring at was one of Leon beside a tall looking blond with a scar similar to the brunet's, except the blond's was mirror opposite. Cloud dropped the other pictures back into the box and flipped it over, reading the faded cursive in blue ink. Two names curled around the white: Squall and Seifer.

Squall—that was what Yuffie had called Leon before. That must have been his name. Logically, then the blond man in the picture was Seifer. Cloud found himself wondering what that man was to Leon. In the picture, 'Squall' was trying to pry himself away from the large blond's grasp around his shoulders. Seifer seemed to be amused by the situation while Squall only looked playfully annoyed.

Cloud shook his head and put the photo down, looking to the silver choker curled in the corner. He lifted it up seeing that it was a heavy, linked chain. There was a name carved into it, one that he recognized as the blond from the picture. 'Seifer Almasy' was inscribed in the silver; Cloud nearly dropped it in surprise. He then picked the photo back up and inspected it, seeing that, sure enough, the blond was wearing that same choker.

If Leon had Seifer's choker, then what had happened to the blond man? Cloud barely had any time to contemplate it when he heard the door open behind him. He was caught and he knew he was, especially when there was a deafening silence screeching through the room. It was unnerving, but it was no where near as striking as the tone Leon used when he finally spoke.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?"

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1) I didn't have them take the stairs in the first place because the water is more fun.

Author's Notes: Sorry if this was a little rough around the edges but it's very hard to concentrate when people are talking to you, the television set is on and you're trying not to scream, even though you failed about ten times.