Author's Notes: Nay, ALAS! I am NOT DEAD! I betcha you wondered where the fuck in all the Seven Layers of Hell I went, huh? Well weep for my return, my little pretties, for I am alive and quite well.

I apologize for that ridiculously long wait - but I assure you, it is WELL WORTH IT. I bring to you not ONLY a new chapter, but a special PRESENT to go WITH that chapter.

So if you want to read a Leon x Cloud lemon...well, you better get your butts on over to my LiveJournal by following the instructions at the end of this chapter!

I am, again, sorry for the long wait. There were a lot of things I wanted to say, but I can't remember much of it all.

Oh - once again, thank you all for your support! I'm really surprised at how many reviews I have. Looking back on them all, it makes me happy to know how many fans I have reading this and leaving their love each chapter. My Muse is quite impressed with your loyalty and would like to give you all Pocky for your efforts and encouragement.

Some angst here. But who doesn't love angst?

Chapter 50

"First Date's Endeavour"

Leon tapped his foot impatiently and checked his watch. It was eleven twenty-four. He shouldn't even be looking at his watch, and yet here he was, worrying about the time. What did he have to be concerned about in the first place? What was wrong with him? He shook his head and stuffed his hand in his pocket. He should have taken that damn watch off.

Now here he was, standing in front of the Balamb Garden restaurant, wearing a white tank top, comfortably-fitting leather jeans with triple belts, and his favorite black jacket with the fur-lined collar. He'd customized it to have short sleeves and sewn an emblem of a red lion's head on. It looked pretty cool, he thought. How long had it been since he'd worn an outfit like this...?

Surely, he wasn't looking to impress the other that much. Still, Leon figured he may as well dress nicely for the part. He didn't want to look like trash. This was a date, so he would treat it as such. It escaped Leon why he accepted in the first place. This was technically dating online, wasn't it? Dating someone you'd met over the Internet? Whatever. Leon didn't know how it worked...And I'm thinking too much!

He growled. Ever since he'd come here, he'd been acting so not himself. It bothered him.

Not more than a minute later, Leon saw a car drive up and watched as Cloud walked out and locked it. He couldn't help himself when he looked the blond up and down. He was wearing a washed-out blue t-shirt with a simple zig-zagging print on the hem, and a pair of blue jeans and tennis shoes. He had a denim jacket on over his shirt and sunglasses hid his eyes. Probably so the tabloids don't bother him, he thought, though Leon didn't see how sunglasses would help.

When Cloud approached him, Leon kept his hands in his pockets, except for when he pulled one out to wave. "Hey. You look pretty casual." It looks nice on you.

Cloud shrugged. "I just threw it on." He paused. "Like it?"

Leon looked over the outfit again. There was something he wanted to say in rebuttal to that, but he withheld the comment. "...It suits you," was what he replied with instead. Cloud smiled at him and removed his sunglasses, hanging them on the collar of his shirt.

"Where did you get that coat?"

"What, this?" Leon tugged at his jacket, and shrugged. "I got it a while ago in my senior year of high school. Customized it a little bit. I'm surprised it still fits."

Cloud gave Leon a quiet smile, his teeth flashing as he did. The blond turned and opened up the door, setting one foot inside. "So are we going to go get seats, or are we going to stand out here all day?"

Leon only grunted and went inside with Cloud. They went up to the counter where one of the waitresses was, and when Leon looked around, he noticed the restaurant was quite empty. At this time of day, he supposed they weren't very busy—especially with school going on for the kids. The waitress smiled at them and stacked a set of menus in her hands.

"Hi, welcome to Balamb! How many in your party?"

Cloud held up two fingers. "Two."

"Two? Smoking or non-smoking?"

Cloud paused, and looked at Leon. "Do you smoke...?"

Leon shook his head. "No."

"Non-smoking, then."

"Sure! Right this way." The waitress dropped most of the menus until only two were in her hand and turned on her heel, walking down the rows of seats and tables. The two men followed after her, until she'd set the menus down at a table against the wall with cushioned seats, right by the sunlight. Although it wasn't blinding, the sun shone on one side of the table, and when Cloud sat down, it played with the highlights and color of his hair. Leon noticed it right away.

"Our bar is open, and our house soup for today is clam chowder. Your waiter should be with you in a moment. Enjoy your lunch."

When she left, all they could do was sit and stare at each other. Cloud blinked a couple of times, and folded his hands on the table. Leon couldn't help but notice that he looked a little nervous, so when the blond hesitantly cleared his throat and looked out the window, Leon figured it would be up to him to break the ice. So he put his chin in one hand and he asked, "What's got you all jittery?"

Cloud blinked. "M...Me?" He smiled nervously. "It's just been a while since I've had a date, that's all."

"Hmmm." Leon crossed his arms on the table. "Don't think you're the only one. I haven't done this since college."

The blond tilted his head. "Never? Where did you go to college?"

Leon put his chin in his hand again and replied, "I went to Traverse University." This roused a bit of a reaction from Cloud.

"You went to TU? That's impressive! It's supposed to be really hard to get accepted there!" The brunet only shrugged. Now interested in the other's life, Cloud leaned forward a little, crossing his legs under the table. "How many times did you have to try? Lots of people send letters hundreds of times, but they never get in."

"I guess I was lucky, then," Leon said. "I got in on my first try."

Cloud was stunned. "And the only job you could get was as a social worker?" He said it in a way that implied it was amazing Leon hadn't applied for something that paid ten times better. Leon knew this. He could be anything he wanted to, with an education from a college like Traverse—but nothing else appeased to him.

"I suppose I could have been a dozen other things." He shook his head. "But my life's work is more enjoyable when I'm working at the foster care."

"You like kids?"

"Actually, I can't stand kids."

Cloud was surprised again. He stared at Leon, a little bewildered, and murmured, "Oh."

Leon sat back in his seat, and he explained, "But I feel I've accomplished something when I see the smiles on their faces. I place them in good homes because that's where I want to see them smiling. And if they're unhappy, I do my best to try and fix it." A frown crossed his features. "That's why I couldn't stand Ansem. I couldn't catch him hurting Riku no matter how hard I tried."

"But he's been found out now, right?" Cloud put his chin in his hands. "That should be worth something."

Leon's stern expression cracked, and he smirked slightly. "I suppose."

A young woman with shoulder-length black hair approached, wearing the restaurant uniform. She had her apron tied fast around her small waist, and her hair was up in a ponytail. There were sepia-brown streaks running through it all around. She tapped a pencil on her pad, smiling and looking at them.

"Welcome to Balamb Garden. My name is—"

Leon couldn't contain his mild surprise. "Rinoa?"

The young girl blinked, and then she gasped. "Oh my God! Squall?"

"Squall?" Cloud echoed, clearly confused.

"It is Squall!" Rinoa threw her arms around Leon's neck. "I'd know that grumpy face anywhere! I haven't seen you since college! How are you!"

Leon cautiously pushed her back, so that she wasn't clinging to him. When Rinoa wasn't hugging Leon anymore, Cloud took a moment to scan her up and down, and he realized that there was a thick, ugly scar across her collarbone underneath her shirt. "I'm alright," Leon said. "I'm just here on a lunch date."

"Ooh, how fun!" Rinoa smiled, looking ecstatic. "Who's your friend?"

"This is Cloud." Leon gestured to the blond, and Cloud, still confused, waved a hand and smiled.

"Hi," he said.

"A pleasure!" She giggled. "I was one of Leon's friends in our college days. He won't admit it, but he's a big softie!"

Leon groaned. "Thank you, Rinoa, for destroying the image I was preparing to convey."

"You're welcome." She snickered. "Anyway, can I get you two anything?"

Cloud blinked and opened up the menu, scanning through all the alcoholic drinks. Meanwhile, Leon told her, "I'll have a beer."

"Oookay," Rinoa penciled it off and looked at Cloud. "And you?"

"Ah...one Rum Runner, please?"

Rinoa grinned and wrote it down. "You guys want any appetizers or anything?"

Cloud and Leon exchanged glances. Leon shook his head, and Cloud shrugged in agreement. "Nah, no thanks." He said.

"Gotcha!" Rinoa tucked her pencil into her apron. "Be back in a little bit." She twirled around and left, heading for the bar to place their orders. Cloud now snatched the opportunity to stare at Leon in bewilderment and ask, " 'Squall'?"

Leon chuckled slightly. "I knew you'd ask." He told Cloud, "When I turned nineteen, I changed my name to Leon Striker. It used to be Squall Leonhart."

Cloud tilted his head. "Why did you do that?"

"To detach from the past, I guess." The brunet shrugged his shoulders. He looked away, his eyes turning towards the window. "I grew up in Deling with my father. He was a soldier in the Galbadia Army."

"Deling?" Cloud paused for a moment, and then something clicked. "That's on a whole other continent! Isn't that the capital of the Gaian Republic?"

Leon nodded, and then pointed at his eyes. "Most of the people in the Gaian Republic have a greyish eye color."

"Oh, that explains it." Cloud tilted his head and peered into Leon's eyes. "I noticed that when you first visited. I just didn't really ask...I was tired."

"Hmmm." Leon set his arms on the table again. "Anyway, another civil war broke out one time, and my father was called to service. He dropped me off at his friend Kiros' place and left."

Cloud stayed silent, expecting there would be more to the story. There wasn't. Leon didn't say another word. So Cloud cocked his head, frowning. "And...?"

"He died in the line of duty."

The blond immediately felt guilty for asking. It's no wonder. He licked his lips. "I'm sorry..." he wondered, "What about your mother?"

"I never knew her. She passed away when she gave birth to me." Leon's eyes lowered to the table. He was never comfortable talking about his past. Yet, when he spoke with Cloud, it was like he was relieving a big weight on his shoulders. "Dad always told me stories, though. He always told me how her name was Julia, and that she had a beautiful voice. She sang really well."

Cloud fell silent and stared at Leon for a while. He chewed on his bottom lip, his brow creasing as he wrung his hands on the table. He looks so sad. Was it a bad idea to ask? He thought in passing, He was orphaned on another continent...

"How did you make it to the Terran Continent?" He asked curiously.

Leon's eyes looked up again. "I saved up and completed high school in the Gaian Republic, and as soon as I graduated, I took the next flight out. I got sworn into citizenship in Alexandria, and then I finished college in Traverse. Now I'm here."

The blond scratched the back of his neck, clearing his throat. "You must've been through a lot."

Leon shrugged. "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger."

"I guess," Cloud agreed. Silence descended around them again, and the air grew a little tense. Cloud fleetingly met his eyes with Leon's a few times, but he never held the gaze for very long. Still nervous, they were quiet even when Rinoa brought them their drinks. Cloud drank his mixed drink silently, and Leon had at least three sips of beer before another subject was brought up.

"So what should we get to eat?"

"Oh!" Cloud opened up the menu. "Um...well, their salad wraps are supposed to be good...so, I might get one of those."

Leon scoped out the choices of food. Salad, soup, wraps. It looked like this was more Greek cuisine than anything else. Meh. I always did want to try that.

Rinoa came back around to ask for their orders a few minutes later (Leon had told her before they weren't ready), and Cloud got a Chicken Salad Wrap, while Leon got a Mediterranean Wrap. And still they couldn't find anything to talk about. Cloud finally sulked, sighing and putting his chin in his hands.

"We're not very talkative..."

Leon drank from his beer mug. "They say silence is golden."

Cloud snorted. "Shyeah—when you've met my ex-cameraman. My God, Marx was a pain." He sipped his Rum Runner through a straw, while Leon cocked an eyebrow.

"Marx?"

"His name is Marluxia. We call him Marx. He wears a lot of pink and does this all the time." Cloud flicked his wrist as demonstration and rolled his eyes in a girly manner. "Very dramatic. One time, someone spilled punch on him at a company party, and he flipped out. We thought he was going to file a lawsuit over getting a stain on his shirt."

"Hmph." Leon smirked slightly. "I met someone like that once. She was precocious, but tended to be a ditz. And she liked playing pranks."

"Really? What was her name?"

"Rikku." Leon smiled as he recalled her pretty face. "I can always remember her name because I remember that she always had a smile on her face." He drank some more of his beer. "Anyway, one time when I was a college Sophomore, Rikku was acting like a high-schooler and decided she would set off all the sprinklers in the cafeteria..." And from there, Leon began to describe many of the moments he had in his college and high school days. He talked about Rikku, and how she always hung out with her cousin, Yuna—whom Leon said he could recall because of her two-tone eyes—and Paine, who was considered the college Goth. Cloud would sometimes come in with stories of his own; some were funny, some were interesting.

And the conversation went from there. Cloud laughed and talked and ate, and he went through two more refills before his cheeks started to get a little red. Leon's beer lasted him the whole meal, and when Cloud tried, he managed to get the other to actually laugh a few times. Before they knew it, a couple of hours had flown past, and they'd talked about everything from high school to politics and beyond. Leon was surprised at himself. He hadn't talked this much with anyone since he was eight.

Around two o'clock, they were getting ready to pay the check when Cloud raised his hand up. "Hey...can I get another refill?"

Leon frowned, and looked at Cloud sternly. "I think you've had enough."

"Huh? No...I'm just feelin' a little tipsy..."

"Don't forget that you still have to drive home." Leon tucked the money in with the checkbook Rinoa gave him and handed it to her after signing the slip. "Thanks, Rinoa. We're good for today."

"Alrighty. Just make sure you take your time goin' back." She frowned briefly, as if remembering something, and fleetingly touched the scar on her collarbone before the smile returned and she was off. Leon nodded to himself and turned his eyes away, and his fingers brushed over the scar on his face in the same manner. Cloud cocked his head when he noticed this, and cupped his chin in his hands again, crossing his legs under the table as he leaned forward.

"Hey, how'd you get that, anyway?" He asked curiously. Leon sighed.

"I was driving back to my dorm from a senior party Rinoa and I had been invited to. I'd had a few drinks beforehand, and I couldn't see straight..."

Cloud's face turned serious suddenly. Leon continued with his story. "I ended up swerving off the road, and the car rolled down a hill. Rinoa wasn't wearing her seat belt; bumped her head hard several times, and when the car stopped rolling, we were upside-down and a sharp object had broken through her window and made a gash in her chest. Her arms were pretty cut up, too. As for me, I was stuck between the seat and the wheel, and there was broken metal and glass everywhere. A piece of it scratched my face at some point, and I went to the hospital with a few bruises, couple of broken ribs and a dislocated shoulder."

He was clearly recalling every detail of the accident. Cloud got a sad look in his eyes, and his brow creased as he frowned. Leon looked away for a while, before he finished off his beer.

"Like I said; what doesn't kill you makes you stronger."

"But you're both okay now, right?" Cloud pointed out. Leon's expression worsened.

"Rinoa's fine; apart from the fact that she had trouble with her long-term memory afterwards." He paused, scoffing. "I'm surprised she was able to remember my name and face. After the accident, when her mother came to visit her, she had to ask her who she was." Leon looked up and met his eyes with Cloud's. "But...Irvine..."

Cloud blinked. "There was a third person in the car?"

Leon nodded. "Irvine Kinneas. Him, and Rinoa, and I...we hung out a lot together." And Irvine was bisexual, too, Leon thought, fleeting images of what the three of them used to do in their dorm room passing through him. He shook his head—partially to try and shake off the resurfacing guilt he was feeling. He remembered how he always used to see Irvine and think, He's such a cowboy.

"Irvine hitched a ride with us that night. The back end of the car got completely totaled. Irvine got crushed and bled to death...internal bleeding."

The brunet had his eyes on the table as he talked, and his hands were folded on the countertop. He swallowed, falling silent after he was finished. Irvine... Irvine, as Leon recollected, had been pretty wild. He had a very playboyish nature. And the cowboy hat...always with the cocky cowboy attitude. Even during their games. College was filled with experiments for Leon—most of them with Rinoa and Irvine.

He felt something squeezing his fingers, and Leon looked at his hands, realizing there was a third one there. Cloud had reached across the table and was holding his hand tightly. Leon stared at it for a moment, and then he tentatively squeezed it back, secretly glad for the moment of comfort. Rinoa was right—he didn't admit a lot of things, but that didn't mean the feelings weren't there.

They stayed like that for a little while, until Leon finally decided they should go. "So are you ready to drive home?" He asked. Cloud had to laugh a little.

"Sure, after hearing a story like that? I'm rarin' to go!"

Leon managed a smirk as they stood up. Cloud got up on his feet, and wobbled; Leon had to grab his arm for balance. "Whoa." He frowned. "Maybe I should drive you home."

Cloud blinked at him blearily. "Wha?" He crinkled his brow. "But my car..."

Shit. That's right—they'd come in two separate cars. Cloud's would get towed...he could always pick it up, though, right? But that seemed silly...and yet at the same time, it didn't.

Cloud slapped Leon's shoulder a little roughly. "Jus' lemme get in. F'you're so worried, you can follow me home..."

Leon bit his lip. He shouldn't...he really shouldn't...

...But he did. And he fretted over it the whole way. Cloud was going the speed limit, but he ran several red lights and every so often he would swerve, and every time he swerved, Leon could feel the breath hitching in his throat. He thanked God, Buddha, Krishna, and any other God up there for their saving grace when they made it back to the blond's house in one piece.

What were we doing drinking before noon, anyway? Leon wondered. He got out of his car and followed Cloud as the blond teetered into his own house, and plopped down on the couch. The brunet shut the door behind them and sat with him, sighing. Cloud smirked at him.

"See? Not so bad."

"Scared the hell outta me," Leon grumbled. He looked at Cloud. The blond's eyes were a little glazed, and his cheeks had a reddish hue, but otherwise he seemed fine. Except for the slight teeter in his walk. Is he really that drunk? Leon thought. What a lightweight. Cloud couldn't be that bad, could he? He was probably just feeling a little dizzy. Maybe that was it.

"Here, I'll go get you some water." Leon got up to go into Cloud's kitchen for a glass. The blond reached out and grabbed him by his arm, standing quickly.

"No! I got it..."

"Cloud, sit down. I'll get it for you."

"Nooo." Cloud wobbled and leaned on Leon's arm. "You're my guest. I'll get it." Leon blinked, supporting the other and a little surprised.

"Okay...Cloud...you didn't have that much to drink. You can stop teetering now. You just said you were tipsy."

The blond blinked. "Ooh, is that what I said?"

...Alright, maybe he was a little drunk. And, admittedly, Leon liked the redness in his cheeks. Blinking, he shook his head. I can't be thinking about that right now!

"...Cloud...sit down."

"Then sit with me."

Leon sighed. He plopped back down on the couch, rather unenthusiastically, and Cloud continued to lean on him. The drone of the lamplights became deafening in the silence. Leon blinked his grey eyes, and realized some moments later that he'd wound an arm around Cloud's waist. He pressed his lips thin, brow creasing. He turned his eyes to the blond, watching him, and saw the redness still spread across his cheeks.

Cloud met Leon's gaze with his lips slightly parted. He smiled. "Thanks...for the lunch."

The brunet shook his head. "You invited me. I should be thanking you."

Cloud leaned a little closer. Leon had to draw back a bit to maintain his space. "No, really...I like the company." The blond stared dully ahead with his head on Leon's shoulder. "Kids 're gone...I dumped Seph...house gonna get sold..." he shifted and sighed. "I like the company."

Leon didn't have a response to that. The tense silence returned, and all he could think to do was sit with his arm still around Cloud's waist. He knew he should probably move it, but he didn't want to detach. He didn't mind this...and Cloud didn't seem to, either. He shifted nervously and cleared his throat. I can hear the clock ticking in the upstairs hallway, for Chrissakes...

The ex-model glanced up. "Leon?"

"Yes?" Leon turned and met Cloud's gaze, grey eyes calm and fixed. He could see the haze was starting to clear up, but he still didn't look that sober.

When Cloud didn't say anything, Leon tilted his head. "Yes, Cloud?"

In the pause that followed, Leon hadn't expected Cloud would move forward, nor did he anticipate that he would be tasting the other's lips on his own. Cloud pressed against him, wrapping one hand around the brunet's neck and deepening the kiss, thrusting his tongue past the other's pressed lips, prying them open for entry. Leon held back a groan and shut his eyes for a moment, nipping Cloud's bottom lip. Leon pulled back, his hands on the blond's shoulders. "What are you doing?" He demanded.

Cloud licked his lips, brow creasing in confusion; then, he blinked and looked away hurriedly. He thrust his hands into his lap and kept them there, except for when he bit on the knuckle of his thumb.

"I—I'm sorry." He mumbled. "I'm...really sorry." The blond scanned the room, and stood up, a little less wobbly than before. "I-I'll go get some water..."

Leon unconsciously pressed the back of his fingers against his lips in fleeting recollection, and his eyes followed Cloud as he went into the kitchen. That...that felt... The brunet blinked and stood up, grabbing Cloud by his arm.

"Wait a minute."

Cloud turned around as Leon pulled him close, and leaned in towards his face. "You're not even going to explain yourself?"

Cloud frowned. That scolding made him feel like he was six. He narrowed his eyes at Leon with a furrowed brow, golden streams of hair overshadowing his face.

He's beautiful, Leon thought. Maybe I'm drunk. He thought of a cheesy line to follow that up, but he didn't dare follow through with it, fearing for his sanity. He wrapped one arm around Cloud's shoulders in the front and leaned in until their lips were almost touching, keeping his eyes riveted to Cloud's.

"You're not going to tell me how you learned that?"

The blond swallowed, unable to move away. "No," he murmured, "But...I can show you."

Leon tilted his head and whispered, "Then lead on."

Cloud stared unyielding into Leon's eyes, seeing the start of some type of storm that clouded there. He felt the other man's grip on his arm loosen and shift to turn him so they were chest-to-chest, and he pushed his hands back along Leon's jaw to cup his face roughly in his hands as they kissed. His eyes fluttered shut, and the kiss was feverish and hard. Cloud could hear the soft smacking sounds of their lips as they parted and let their tongues play together in another. He ran his fingers back through Leon's dark hair and felt the tresses slip between them like woven silk. He heard Leon's restrained groan as they kissed a third time, and he groaned back, opening his eyes and pulling back.

He slid Leon's jacket down off his shoulders and pushed him back down on the couch, wasting no time to straddle his lap and resume where they left off. Now gaining height above the other, Cloud bent down to share more passionate kisses, one free hand practically ripping off his own denim jacket as Leon worked his hands underneath to slide his shirt upwards on his body.

There was no questioning of their motives, nor any doubt as to what they wanted. There was them, the feeling, and the now, and they listened to their primal voices like starving souls, desiring that one moment of completion they knew would arrive. Hazy-brained and lustful, Cloud allowed Leon to help him remove his shirt and arched with a moan as the brunet went immediately for his chest, kissing it and latching a nipple between his teeth to bite and suck as his hands roamed the planes of the blond's back. Cloud buried his fingers in Leon's hair and sighed pleasantly.

Yes, this was what he wanted, what he craved. Without a doubt.

Author's Notes: So, if anyone wants to see the fic...see if I can get this to show up...go to this link: "kujazlilmage. livejournal. com"

Just delete any spaces in the link and it should work just fine. The Fanfic cut is in the very top entry on the page, so if you click the LJ Cut link in it you should be taken straight away to the lemony goodness. Have fun!