My longest chapter yet! -dances- No long prologue because if I talked, I'd ruin in. lol.

I woke up feeling like I had a hangover. I really didn't, because I don't like to drink alone. But, after I'd "visited" Squall I went for a long run. A really long run. And now I was exhausted and – as I just realized – someone was pounding on my door. With a groan, I pulled myself out of bed and dragged open the door with a disinterested, "What?"

"Cloud we need to- OH MY GOSH!" And then stupid Kairi began to scream uncontrollably.

"Shut up you stupid girl! What's wrong with you?" And then I realized… I was naked. Um…oops? And at that very moment Squall decided to come and see why Kairi was screaming. When he saw me he looked a bit taken aback but then it seemed as though he were, well, admiring me. That was a nice change. Though, I would have given anything to see him look at me like he had in the alleyway.

But then he regained his composure enough to glare at me and say, "And you were trying to make fun of me. Go put some clothes on before you blind Kai- the two of us." He thought he had caught his mistake but I noticed anyway and it made me gleefully happy inside.

But instead of immediately gushing at Squall's slip up which I'm sure he would not have appreciated, I sighed melodramatically and retreated into my room. But not before catching Squall's eye. He looked angry, but that wasn't the only thing there. I dug through my stuff for a few moments before finding my clothing which I quickly donned. Finished with that, I opened the door and only Kairi was there. Disappointed, I asked, "Where'd he go?"

Kairi glared at me and replied coldly, "To breakfast."

"Well I may as well-"

"No you won't!" She was practically screaming at me, again, and I'd barely said anything. At least I had clothes on now. Sheesh. "You can't just waltz in here and take the man I love!" Now she was hysterical, tears streaming down her face. As if she really loved him. The moment I had shown up she had abandoned him for me. Or, had at least tried to. Put a quick stop to that.

"Awww, you're breaking my heart, really. But he obviously doesn't want you. So just leave well enough alone." Stupid, annoying, little slut of a girl. Pick one freaking man.

"That is not true!" She was still screaming and I think my ears were starting to bleed. "He was never so distant until you came. He was, he was…perfect." Kairi swooned and got a dreamy look in her eyes before hissing, "You stay away from him." She glared angrily at me before running off down the hall. Had people emanated visible auras, hers would have been some kind of angry color. Maybe a dark red with acidic green lightning in it. Or maybe some other color. But she was definitely angry. Or crazed.

Squall wasn't at breakfast anymore when I got there. If he had even gone to breakfast at all. But Cid was there, still eating what I guessed was his third helping. Sitting across from him, he said between mouthfuls, "How's it going with Leon?"

I shrugged and grinned. "Well enough."

"You know he was asking me a lot of question about you the other day. Where you come from, why and how we know each other. It was a surprisingly long story. He also asked about you being gay."

"Did he now?" I hadn't really expected Squall to go and try to find out so much information about me. I wasn't sure whether I should be touched or worried. "Did you tell him anything else?"

"No, nothing about that. Don't worry." I hadn't expected Cid to tell him. But affirming that he hadn't made me feel better about it. "Kairi was screaming a lot this morning. Why?" He looked at me accusatorially as if I had actually done anything on purpose to her. Although, introducing her head to my sword might be fun…

"She's mad at me because she thinks I'm taking Squall from her. And she wasn't happy when I explained that he was never hers to begin with. Needless to say, she wasn't happy with me at all. Squall wasn't here to tell you this at breakfast? Cid shook his head. "Hell, I think I'll go and find him then."

Squall was obviously very good at hiding when he wanted to be. I had been unable to find him for some time and was beginning to get more than a little frustrated. As I wandered through the streets, shouting caught my attention. And since I still had not been able to find Squall, I figured I would go and investigate this happening. Maybe it would take my mind off of Squall. Hah…as if that were even possible.

The two shouting were Sora and Riku. Sora was flailing his arms about as though he were trying to take flight. He was also doing most of the yelling. Riku stood there, hands on his hips, with an aura of quiet fury swimming around him. Fun. More angry auras.

Riku snarled something at Sora which seemed to cause an instant change in the younger boy's demeanor. He was suddenly quieted and saddened. Riku turned away from Sora and skulked away in my general direction. When he noticed me standing there, having watched their little exchange, he paused mid-step but didn't alter his direction. I allowed him to pass me for a few moments before turning and falling into step beside him. Riku refused to look at me or even acknowledge that I was there. But did that discourage me? Of course not. If I let that discourage me than where would I be with Squall? Absolutely nowhere. So instead of backing off I said, "What was that all about?"

"It's none of you business!" Riku snarled at me and looked as though he were about to leap onto me and rip out my throat. I'd like to see him try. He turned on his heel as though he was going to walk away from me again but then turned around again. "That child over there," and he pointed a shaking finger at Sora, "is afraid of what everyone else will think about us being together. And he just doesn't want to listen to me because his big head is filled with nothing!" Riku seemed to be yelling at Sora more than me. Which is kind of what I had expected. "And now, he wants to break up with me because he thinks I don't understand his feelings!" Riku threw his hands up into the air and then turned and walked away.

Once Riku had screamed at Sora through me – why was everyone screaming today? – I went to go and talk to Sora. The brunette was standing there dejectedly, and looked up at me with a pleading expression. "Tell him I didn't mean it. Tell him that…that I really do love him. I didn't want to break up with him. I'm just afraid, and I didn't know what to do and I didn't know how to talk to him and-"

"Shut up." Sora complied though he looked like a wounded dog more than ever now, but he stopped talking and looked pitifully at me. "Instead of telling all this to me, you should tell it to him. That would make more sense wouldn't it?" He hesitated, opening and closing his mouth a couple of times like fish as though he wanted to say something. He didn't say anything though, and closed his mouth and nodded. "Good. So that's what you'll do now. And don't worry about what other people might say or think. Love is love. You can't change that, and neither can they." Sora seemed heartened by what I said, and with a quick "Thanks!" ran off in the direction Riku had gone. Well, now that my job is done here, I can go and continue in search of Squall. Wherever he might be.

I picked a street at random and walked down it, twisting my head here and there to look into shops and down streets for any trace of Squall. But there was no sign of him. As I turned down another street, I saw him walking out of a district of town that he had not shown me, and therefore I had not ventured into. It was the whole, "getting lost deal," again. But that was where he had been hiding for, what, the whole morning? He didn't seem to notice me so I followed him. Maybe he was going to another of his hiding places. Squall turned down a side street and in an effort not to lose him – again – I ran to catch up. But when I got to the side street, he wasn't there anymore. "Damn it," I muttered. Where the hell had he gone? Wandering farther into the side street, I looked up and down the walls, but there didn't seem to be anywhere the he could have conceivably gone into.

Suddenly there was a light "thud" behind me. Calloused hands covered by eyes and a soft voice said, "Guess who?" For a moment I was desperately confused. I had been looking for Squall, right? But now, I was absolutely sure that the man behind me was him, as though he had been the cat in this game of cat and mouse all along. I could feel that his face was right next to me ear, could feel his breath as he breathed in and out steadily. I was so dumbstruck at this sudden change in roles that I completely forgot to answer his question. Apparently impatient with me, he leaned my head back on his shoulder, his hands still over my eyes, and kissed me. I'm not quite sure how he managed it, since my eyes were kind of covered, but he managed somehow. I sighed and relaxed back into him, but then he pulled away once I had relaxed. "Does that help any?"

I smiled and nodded, "Yes. Though, I knew it was you to begin with. I was just surprised…" I paused as Squall released his hold of my eyes and allowed me to turn around. I stared intently into his eyes, and asked, "Why the sudden change?"

Squall shrugged, and I thought I saw a smile – a small one mind you – on his face, but the shadows made it difficult to tell. No, perhaps it was just a trick of the light. "Because," he began. "Because, I realized, I think, we are made for one another." The new revelation was even more surprising than the kiss. He had kissed me before in the alleyway, and that had just been to placate me I guess. But actually saying it, that meant something. He leaned down and kissed me again, wrapping his arms around my waist and drawing me into him. I let him pull me in, because what else was there to do? Run? Hell no. As his tongue slipped into my mouth I sighed, letting him take control. I had been doing the chasing for so long that it was nice just sit back for once.

As his tongue touched mine, it was like a burst of fireworks inside my mouth. He tasted good, and I wanted more. Sliding my hands up his sides, I touched his face and then reached behind his neck, pulling him down closer to me as our tongues danced in our mouths. I moved to push Squall against the wall, but he had control over my waist, and thus, my legs, and instead I wound up being against the wall. His hot hands slid up my shirt again and I shivered, enjoying the feel of his touch on my bare flesh. I wanted to take him back to my room where we could do so much more than outside in this alleyway. I mean, hell, I could go now but, I doubt he would want to. Though, he had already surprised me more than once today.

I could feel his hands traveling up my stomach towards my chest, feeling every muscle and sinew beneath my skin. I longed to touch him in the same way but the position that he had me in against the wall with my hands around his neck prevented me from bringing my arms down. I broke the kiss and said softly, "Squall…" And then I heard someone gasp. Oh shit. We both looked over to see who it was.

Kairi. Damn it!

"Leon, what are you doing!" Kairi had her hands on her hips, a look of pure hatred thrown at me before she looked sadly at Squall.

Squall sighed, and growled, "Go away Kairi." But she would not go.

"No, Leon. You should leave him. He doesn't love you like I do." In my mind, I silently pleaded with her to stop, pleaded with her to just leave us alone. But the damage was already done. Squall's hands slid out from under my shirt and he ducked out of my grasp. He stalked over to Kairi, and he towered over her, making her seem small and insignificant. She seemed to feel her insignificance too, because she looked at the ground and shuffled her feet.

"Kairi, you do not govern my life, you are not even a part of my life. You are annoying. Leave me alone." And then he left. Kairi stood there taken aback before running off. Hopefully that would be the last of her. But now Squall was gone. Wonderful. I snarled at Kairi's retreating back, and turned towards the opposite end of the alleyway with a sigh. Checking to make sure no one was around, I Changed and then bounded out of the alleyway. Time to run off all of life's problems.

POV

I didn't know how long I had been sitting in my room, with my elbows on my knees and head in my hands, staring down at the wooden floor. I had counted the lines in that one spot of floor around fifty times already and I hadn't gotten any farther in my thoughts. For some reason, I just couldn't get past those few moments in the side street with Cloud, those few precious, glorious moments, before Kairi had come. As usual, she managed to ruin everything. A common thread with Kairi, but that wasn't new now was it? I guess I should have guessed she would have found me. And then drawn Cloud into somewhere more private…

Hindsight is always perfect. Unfortunately, you only have it after something has happened.

My hands still felt warm from the heat in his skin, and I could still feel the smooth muscles shift beneath my fingers as he breathed. As I closed my eyes, I could relive the moments as if I was actually there again. His hands on my face and in my hair; rough and gentle at the same time. His tongue on mine, and mine on his as they danced between our mouths. It was strange, the way it felt with another man. I'd kissed other women before and they all had this particular way about kissing. Sure they all had individual and unique ways of kissing and some were more…unique than others. But Cloud's kiss was a hundred times better. It was as if every one of my senses went into over drive and nothing could go wrong.

Unless of course, Kairi randomly appeared. Damn it, how had she found me? She was such a nuisance. Someone really needed to find her a boyfriend. Or maybe even a girlfriend…

Someone was knocking on my door. I was recounting the lines in the wood for I think the 67th time now. Why should I stop now just to answer the door? I scratched the bridge of my nose and continued counting as the knocking paused. And then, "Squall, I know you're in there." Cloud hadn't even finished by the time I had leaped up and opened the door. "Hah, I knew you were home." He was grinning lopsidedly and I just wanted to kiss him again, but I held back.

"Yes, I'm home. I came back after I left. I…I didn't mean to walk away. I was just, frustrated and…" I didn't know how else to continue and sighed, closing my eyes for a moment before opening them to look at Cloud again.

"It's okay," he said softly. "I understand." He leaned forward and kissed me softly on the lips, lingering for a few moments before pulling back and crossing his arms over his chest. "So, does this mean that you're giving in?" My mind flashed back to when we had been sparring, when he had straddled my midsection and held the sword to my throat. He had asked me then to give in and I had refused. I shivered indiscernibly at the thought of how I might have lost him that day. I had refused him, and yet he had continued chasing me.

"No, not giving in. Just changing course." And to my surprise, a smile tugged at my lips. A smile. The very thought of smiling seemed appalling to me, and yet here I was with a smile, granted a very small one. The blonde man before me seemed just as surprised as I was that I had smiled. But then he grinned back at me.

"Come with me Squall." For a moment I hesitated. He was going to take this a step farther; I could tell by the way he looked, the new undertone to his voice. Did I want to take this farther than I already was? Sure I had been kissing him and everything. But, this was different. Very different. Cloud looked at me, his blue eyes encouraging, pleading. How could I refuse him? Refuse myself? Closing the door behind me, he gave me a satisfied nod before heading down the hallway with me in tow. My mind was racing and I felt as though he could hear my heart beating, it was so loud in my ears. What was I nervous about? He might just be inviting me over for something to eat or drink or…some other innocent reason.

Haha, sure. That's why he looked at me with that iniquitous glint in his eyes when he said, "Come with me Squall." Yes, I could just hear him adding, "I have some great food at my place and I want to share it with you." I could so hear that.

After what seemed like an eternity, he pushed open the door to his room and I hesitated a moment before following. It had really only taken two minutes to get to his apartment, since it was just down the hall from mine. The door closed with an ominous sense of finality behind me. This was the point of no return; I'd committed myself to this, to him, to us… It wasn't just a matter of love now; it was a matter of…

"You're thinking too much." My thoughts crumbled around me as his voice enveloped me, and brought my eyes to him bathed in the moonlight. "The more you think, the more you're going to confuse or scare yourself." He stepped forward to stand before me and looked up into my eyes. "Just open your heart and your mind." He touched his lips to mine as he placed his hands on my shoulders and began to drag them down my arms, bringing my jacket down with his hands. Cloud sighed into my mouth as my hand went up to his shoulders in an attempt to remove his black cape thing. Damn I sucked at this whole undressing thing. And he seemed to realize that.

Because, while still kissing me and still pulling my jacket off, he managed to pull off the cape thing with his other hand. Damn he was good. Now that I didn't have to deal with buttons or clasps or anything, I grabbed the hem of his black shirt and pulled it over his head. Score one for me; that was easy enough. As he pulled my shirt over my head, he paused, leaning his head against my shoulder and breathed deeply. As I wrapped my arms around his waist, he laughed softly. "You're still thinking too much. I can feel it in the stiffness of your shoulders and back." He nipped at my chest and I jumped, surprised, but I still kept my arms around his waist. "Relax, have some fun." He grinned up at me, running a thumb over the small bruise on my right pectoral. Relax? Have fun? Words that were usually so foreign and unheard of to me suddenly seemed to have renewed meaning. Leaning my chin on his head, I breathed deeply, letting his smell saturate my senses. He smelled like leather and crushed pine needles. Interesting. And then to my surprise, I felt myself relax. Cloud smiled against my chest and pulled out from under me. "Good."

I pressed my lips to his, with renewed passion, running my tongue over his closed lips before he let me in. I could feel his fingers working on my pants and felt like smirking because now he was having difficulty. Tracing my fingers over his shoulders and then down his back, I slid the over his sides and to his abdominals, causing him to shiver and moan into my mouth. Ooo, that was nice. Just as I started to work on his pants he had finished with mine and pushed them down over my hips, revealing my lion covered boxers. Eheh. He didn't notice though, he was a bit preoccupied with my face and figuring out a way to push my pants down without leaving it. Freaking leather, why does it cling so much?

I finished with his pants and they fell down much more easily than mine did, revealing his wolf covered boxers. Fine, so I peeked. What was I supposed to do? Stay blind of my lover's body? Not that I wouldn't find out what his body looked like later anyway, but, that's not the point! I'm sure he looked too. But, my pants were still on anyway so… Thinking too much again.

Instead of waiting for Cloud to finish with my pants I pushed him backwards onto his bed, kicked my own freaking pants off – damn leather – and crawled on top of him. The heat emanating from his body and his scent was like a drug. So powerful that all other thoughts were banished from my mind and a pervading sense of security and love blanketed my mind. All that there was, ever had been, ever would be, was Cloud. He looked up at me, waiting for me to…waiting for me to do…what? I dunno, he would be better off initiating…something, but apparently he was handing everything over to me. Straddling his hips, I leaned down to kiss him.

And together, we fell into the night.

So, after I spent hours scouring FanFic to figure out what constituted as a lemon, I just went with what I felt was best. lol. I like the way it came out. All well, off to work on Chapter five.