- 4 -

"Disenchanted, disgusted, I regret that I trusted."

"Sephiroth..!"

The room swirled before his eyes. In dazed confusion Cloud reached out, trying to find something on which to balance himself.

"…Are you alright?"

That voice…whose voice..? Cloud touched something warm and regained his grip on reality; a chocolate-haired man was looking into his eyes.

"Who are you?"

" I…I brought you home remember?"

Cloud nodded slowly, staring into a cup of tea that had been placed in his hands.

"…Yeah…"

"I let myself in; your keys were in your pocket. I didn't want to intrude but you looked like you needed help."

Cloud nodded again.

"It's alright…..How long was I out?"

"About an hour or so. Does this happen to you often?"

It's none of your business…

"No," he lied. "But really, I'll be fine." He looked around, realizing he'd been placed on his bed, and was a bit ashamed at his living conditions. After all, his bed was in the living room.

"Um…" Cloud shifted uncomfortably and took a sip of the tea.

Leon took this as a cue for him to leave and backed away.

"I guess I should leave now."

The blond looked at the tiled floor with a bit of regret in his eyes. He brought you all the way home and then made sure you woke up…are you going to be ungrateful?

"We, we um, never really introduced ourselves…I'm Cloud…Cloud Strife."

"Leon Leonhart." The latter nodded, "it's a pleasure," he said, and smirked.

Cloud couldn't help but show a small smile. "I don't normally meet people this way…" Actually Cloud, your social life died long ago.

"Well, I don't want to be ungrateful or anything, but it is getting kind of late. If you want, you can meet me next Monday at the café. I work night shifts."

"..Oh..." No wonder I hadn't seen him around, Leon thought.

"I might take you up on the offer." The brunet turned towards the front door and took a last look at Cloud. "Take care," he said, with a faint glimmer of some unknown emotion clouding his eyes.

"Yeah…"

- - -

Cloud had remained awake for a few minutes afterwards, trying to keep his thoughts from drifting towards Sephiroth. This new person was interesting enough. Would I have been as kind? Cloud shook his head in frustration. His mind would be the end of him.

Monday came and went, but Leon never showed up. Cloud wondered what had happened to him but then reprimanded himself for being so hopeful. After all, you're just some freak he picked up at night…

- - -

Back in his small 'home,' Cloud entered the bedroom he'd converted into a study of sorts. The walls were completely covered in papers; police reports, newspaper clippings, articles and photographs were lined back-to-back. The name 'Sephiroth' had been underlined in red ink whenever it appeared which eventually made a curious pattern across the left wall. The blond looked to a small table and portable chair placed in the center of the space and sighed in frustration. Sephiroth had disappeared without a trace. Not even a single clue. Ever since the older man had taken advantage of him, Cloud had run away, and Sephiroth had obstinately followed. In fact, Cloud had moved six times in the past year and had been on the move ever since. He'd had a few close encounters with the silver-haired devil, but had always managed to escape. Now he had disappeared and Cloud didn't know what he would do if he decided to show up one night. He was pretty far away the last time I heard.

"Ugh…what the hell happened to him anyway!" Cloud closed his fist against concrete and recoiled. Damn him. I should have never given him my trust.

- - -

Some miles away Leon reclined into his leather office chair and placed his palms over his weary eyes; he'd been working non-stop. Leon was a writer, though not very emotional on the exterior, he could actually achieve high levels of sensitivity inside. A sudden urge to hit his head against the large, wooden desk in front of him surfaced; he almost gave into it. His deadline was tomorrow and if he didn't hand in a finished story he might as well kiss his career goodbye. His editor had warned him, had even offered him a few extra days, but no, he was too stubborn.

"…Should have accepted…"

He just couldn't figure out how to wrap up the darn thing. He stared again at his word processor and tried a line out: Maybe I'm a lion. He looked at the screen again. Maybe I'm a lion…sounds familiar. He shrugged and saved the document. It was fitting enough he supposed. With a tired sigh he printed the manuscript and went to bed. It was 4 am.

That night he had an odd dream. In it, he was being chased by a stranger who intended to kill him. The peculiar thing however, was that just as his chaser was about to catch up to him, he saw Cloud, with the same glowing eyes from nights ago, looking at him with a pleading expression. He reached out a hand, desperation crossing his eyes, and when the darkness that was covering the blond slightly lifted, Leon could spot glints of silver behind him. The same man chasing Leon was about to end Cloud's life.

The brunet awoke with a knot in his throat. Coughing a bit, he collapsed on linen sheets. When was the last time? When was the last time someone caused me this much emotion? For the sake of peace of mind, he needed to see Cloud again, prove he was alright and maybe have a small talk. He figured social interaction would do his stories some good. Of course this was only an excuse; Leon desperately wanted to feel again.

- - -

He walked into the café and looked at the counter; there was no one there. Maybe I shouldn't have come. Maybe I should've forgotten him. A raven-haired woman appeared at the serving counter and looked at the brunet curiously.

"Um, one coffee please, regular."

The woman nodded.

Leon wondered where Cloud was and sat in one of the stools at the counter, remembering the first time he'd heard the blonde's name. He was in the back room that time. That guy was yelling at him…why do I even care?

"Um, sir, that'll be a dollar fifty."

Leon blinked, "oh, yeah," he handed the woman the money and took a sip of the hot drink. His gaze roamed as he began to think again. He's so different, with that look in his eyes. I wonder if they really glowed. Maybe its just my over-worked brain. With a sigh, he placed his elbow on the wooden counter, his palm supporting his left cheek, and looked at the cozy space. There weren't many people around since it was nearing eleven and the dark streets were filled with snow. Does this happen to you often? No…but really I'll be fine. …He was lying, I could tell. Leon raised his head. The woman in charge was still there, counting bills at the cash register.

"Excuse me," he turned to look at her.

"Do you know a blond man who works here, his name's Cloud?"

The woman smiled.

"Yeah, he's always alone. Actually he's taking inventory in one of the backrooms right now."

"I see…"

"So you know him?" responded the woman.

Leon nodded and stopped himself.

"A bit."

The woman shrugged and went back to counting bills.

Always alone… Leon took another sip of his coffee and waited. Eventually Cloud would have to appear.

- - -

"So you came, didn't think you would."

The blond had led Leon to one of the far seating areas. Leon shrugged.

"…So, how…have you been?" Leon mentally hit himself, how have you been? Really…

The younger man stared at the table.

"Fine….."

Leon crossed his arms, this was getting awkward and strained. After a few moments of silence Cloud said, "You didn't show up on Monday." The brunet nodded.

"I had some writing to finish."

"Writing?" The blonde's brow furrowed slightly.

"Yes. I write fiction novels."

"…Oh..." Cloud was impressed.

After a few moments of staring into the distance, Leon returned his gaze towards Cloud and sighed.

"You lied," he softly stated.

"I…lied? What are you talking about?"

Leon frowned and shook his head, "never mind."

Cloud placed his hands on the table and stood. He looked at the floor as if contemplating something.

"You shouldn't have seen that."

With a moment's hesitation he made his way towards the exit. Leon looked after him, wondering what he had stumbled onto. In a swift move he caught up to Cloud and grabbed his wrist. "Wait…I," he looked into Cloud's eyes, remembering how they had glowed that night. The blond recoiled at Leon's grip, refusing to look at Leon.

"Let go."

The other man tightened his grip, suddenly angry.

"Why is it…?"

With force, Cloud removed his wrist from Leon's grasp. This time he looked directly into Leon's steely eyes and said: "You don't know me. You shouldn't have come anyway." He turned towards the exit once more, leaving the brunet surprised and grounded to the spot. …Why those eyes Cloud?

- - -

That night Cloud couldn't sleep, he kept recalling Leon's face, twisted with anger and distant emotions. Who the hell does he think he is anyway? Coming into my house and making me think about him, what's his problem! He frowned deeply and turned in bed. Stupid guy, stupid Leon.

- - -

Leon rubbed his forehead; he was beginning to get a headache. Why did it get to me? Out of all people, why is he so different? And why am I thinking about him anyway? What does he matter…

Leon sighed and shook his head. A few minutes later he was in bed. His thoughts drifted into the past.