A/N: Ah… yet another one of those story ideas that just seem to come outta nowhere that accomplishes three goals of mine (one being far more important than the other two):

1. Writing a KH romance fic that doesn't somehow involve Sora, Riku, or Kairi (I suppose you could throw Roxas and Namine in that mix as well).

2. Writing a romance fic involving Aeris (Is it Aeris or Aerith? In FF7, I believe it was Aeris but in KH2, it was Aerith. So confusing. I like Aeris better so I'mma use that) that doesn't have her paired with Cloud. Admittedly, I used to really not like Aeris. However, after playing through FF7 again as well as KH and KH2 and watching Advent Children, I've come to have a greater appreciation for her. Despite this however, I can not bring myself to pair her with Cloud instead of Tifa. Still, she deserves to be with SOMEONE, so…

3. (VERY important… to me) Writing a romance fic involving Leon/Squall but doesn't involve a no-good, overly-sappy, and overly-unrealistic relationship with that slap-to-all-female-rpg-gamers-faces known as Rinoa Heartily. Argh I hate her. Anyone who has read any of my other works may have read some of my rants about SquallXRinoa before. It's good to know that lots of people out there agree with me.

Y'know, maybe I should write a humor piece on SquallXRinoa sometime…

I digress. Anyway, I hope this turns out alright. Please enjoy.

Quick Note/Spoiler Alert: This story takes place two weeks after the final battle in Hollow Bastion/Radiant Garden or the end of the game. Either/or works.

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True Identity

clank clank clank

Three empty cartridges fell upon the wooden desk of the scarcely lit room as the young hero of Radiant Garden went about his usual routine of weapon maintenance. The smell of burnt powder lay lightly upon the air, letting anyone who knew anything about firearms know that the spent cartridges had been fired quite very recently. Flickering candlelight shined off their smooth surfaces, the glare not so much as causing the young man to even wince. His latest patrol was done, his ninth of the day. Leaving himself little time for rest and even less for relaxation and recreation, the young man only came 'home' long enough to grab a quick bite to eat and re-supply his weapon.

"No rest for the wicked," he muttered to himself as he loaded three fresh cartridges into the cylinder of his gunblade.

knock knock

He paused only briefly before he returned to his preparations, not bothering to answer whoever was at the door.

knock knock

"Hey Leon!" yelled an all-too-familiar voice from outside the dark room.

Knowing that he could not avoid her forever, he eventually gave in to the inevitable. "Come in Yuffie."

The door creaked open and in bounced the spunky ninja, Yuffie Kisaragi.
She wasn't the sort that allowed other people see the side of her that stayed worried about her friends and those she had come to call 'family'. As such, she hid her concern for the young man with expertise as she tried to reason with him. "Shooting at nothing again?" she asked.

He lifted the heavy gunblade closer to his face. "Target practice. Gotta stay sharp." With a quick flick of his right index finger, he spun the cylinder of the gun-portion of his weapon and snapped it back into position.

She shook her head. "You dope. Don't you ever rest?"

He grunted. "If they won't rest, then neither will I."

"The Heartless?" she half asked, half stated. "C'mon Squall, lighten up. Sora and his friends took care of almost all of the Heartless in Holl-… I mean, Radiant Garden, when they defeated the MCP in Tron's world. What's left of the Heartless will eventually disappear if you just give it some time."

Another grunt. "I'm not taking any chances. I'm going to wipe them out while I have the chance." He swung his gunblade in an X-pattern. "And don't call me Squall."

"How many?"

He paused. "Hmm?"

"How many Heartless have you seen in the two weeks since the MCP was destroyed?"

"…two."

She spread her arms out. "Y'see? Nothing to worry about! There's nothing left that the common folk and sensibly paced patrols can't take of."

Irritated, he turned to his friend as he tapped the gunblade upon his shoulder. "What if they come back?"

"They won't!" she exclaimed. "Haven't you been listening? Hel-loo!"

"Isn't that what you said after Sora defeated Ansem?"

Knowing he had a point, she tried her best to steer him away from it. "T-that was different! Things are much better now!"

He closed his eyes and holstered his weapon. "I hope you're right. I really do…" He walked past her and down the hallway leading to the outer door of the house. Before stepping out, without looking at his friend, he paused long enough to say "…but if you've seen what I've seen, then you'd understand why I am the way I am."

"You think I don't!" yelled Yuffie in frustration. "Me, Cid, and Aeris' world was taken over by the Heartless too!"

He lowered his head. "I know that, but it's… different with my world."

She tilted her head, confused. "How so?"

He sighed. "Your world was 'merely' overrun by the Heartless. It can still be saved. As for my world…" He shook his head and walked out. "My world… simply doesn't exist anymore. Gone forever… completely destroyed by the Heartless."

Yuffie barely heard the sound of the door closing as she sank into a nearby chair. "Gone? Forever? Squall…"

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Hues of orange and purple were the highlight of the evening sky as the sun began to slowly sink behind the horizon. Low-lying clouds hid the ascent of the moon as well as the better part of the falling sun. The street lamps began lighting up all over the city portion of Radiant Garden, casting a dim yet relatively large shadow of Leon against the outer wall of the building he just emerged from. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath of the brisk night air. The clean air served to invigorate the young warrior but only marginally. He was tired. He had gone for a number of days without sleep, how many exactly he couldn't remember. The dark lines under his eyes were far more prominent now than they were a couple of days ago. Restlessness was finally starting to catch up with him.

His entire body shook as if it was shivering. "Whew. Snap out of it Leon. Gotta stay focused."

"Going on patrol again?" asked a friendly voice from behind him.

He turned around. "Aeris…"

Arms crossed behind her back and one booted-foot propped up against the wall, the young maiden smiled at him, her beautiful green eyes giving no effort in trying to hide her concern. "Do you really have to go again?"

He paused. "Yeah. Gotta make sure that no more Heartless are lurking about."

She sighed. "Leon, how long have you gone without sleep now? Two days?"

"…three."

She closed her eyes and shook her head. "Leon, please get some rest. I can take care of the patrols for a while."

He turned back around. "Don't be silly. I don't want you going out into the danger zones by yourself."

Still smiling and without changing her soft tone of voice, she asked, "Are you saying I can't handle myself."

Leon froze and shook his head. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that."

She giggled. "I know you didn't. That's sweet of you to worry about me like that though."

Aeris never had the chance to see it before it disappeared, but a slight tint of red stained Leon's cheeks briefly. "Regardless…" He spun around and drew his gunblade. "I'm in good enough condition to take care of the patrols." Much to his dismay, however, his spin had caused him to lose his balance and, as such, fell to the ground. His energy had completely hit rock bottom. "Damnit!" he yelled as he pounded the ground.

Wasting no time, Aeris immediately ran over to him and kneeled. "Leon? Are you okay?"

Realizing that he lost his cool, Leon did his best to calm down. "Ah… yeah, sorry. I guess I just felt a little dizzy."

"It's because you're so tired," said Aeris calmly. "Please Leon, get some rest."

He shook his head and gripped his gunblade tightly. "I'll be fine, don't worry about me." He paused. "Uh… I don't suppose you could help me up, could you?"

The concern in Aeris' features was even more prominent than before now. "Only if it's to get you to bed."

Leon gazed into her concerned eyes only briefly before turning away. "Forget it then. I've got work to do."

"Leon!" said Aeris for the first time in a heightened voice. "Why can't you just do what I ask?" He looked at her and she immediately knew what his answer was going to be. Still, she couldn't allow him to destroy himself like this. "Leon, I can't begin to understand the pain of forever losing the place you've always known as home. I know you don't want to lose everything again and that's why you're trying so hard to protect this place." She paused. "But Leon, if you keep this up, you'll only destroy yourself. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

He said nothing for a moment. "As long as this place and everyone I care about is okay in the end, that's all that matters."

"You blame yourself for what happened to your world, don't you?" asked Aeris. "You once told me that you've refused to use your real name ever since you left your world. Is that why?"

A brief silence followed. "On my world, I was looked upon as something of a hero. Most everyone there knew my name, so whenever they heard it, they thought of everything my old friends and I had done for the world. After everything that has happened in the past year or so, I hardly deserve to carry the name that was once associated with heroism."

"…Squall…"

"Don't call me that."

Another moment of silence. Aeris stood up and offered her hand down to the disheartened warrior. "Leon, I want to show you something."

Curious as to what she was talking about, Leon took the hand of the young maiden and stood up with great difficulty. Lacking the strength to truly stand on his own, he partially leaned upon his friend. "What is it?"

Aeris waved her free hand in front of both of them and slowly turned in a circle with Leon. "Look around us Leon. Remember when this known only as Hollow Bastion, the home world of Maleficent and many of the Heartless? Look how far we've come! Radiant Garden is beginning to turn into a lively city. In time, this will become a beautiful world." She stopped and looked at him with a smile. "We all helped to create it, but we have you to thank most of all."

He returned her gaze with a questioning glance. "Me? Why?"

She closed her eyes. "Your bravery inspired all of us. Any time we found a nest of Heartless, you always charged into the fray without any concern for your own safety. You always kept us worried but we knew you'd be alright in the end. Your natural leadership has not only saved Traverse Town but Radiant Garden as well, two worlds so far. Who knows what world you'll save next?"

Leon said nothing for a moment. "But I-"

"No buts Squall," said Aeris calmly. "You've more than earned the right to use your true name once again. You've done so much good for the worlds so far and you've only just begun. You may not want to use your true name but I will because I believe in you."

For the first time in over a year, he made no effort to correct the name anyone used for him. "You… believe in me?"

She nodded. "Of course I do. I mean, we all do, but… I really believe that I believe in you most of all." Feeling only slight embarrassment, she gently rested her head on Squall's chest. "You're my strength Squall. I don't want to ever lose that strength."

"Aeris…" Never one for well-thought speech, Squall didn't know what to say. Instead, he let his actions speak for him, the way he always had done. He dropped his gunblade and, with it, a great weight was seemingly lifted off his shoulders. He wrapped his other arm around Aeris and closed his eyes. "Thank you Aeris. You're… you're my strength too. Whenever you're near, I feel like I can't be defeated."

Blushing slightly, she leaned up and kissed Squall on the cheek. "I'll follow wherever you lead Squall… but until then, it's time for you to get some rest."

Leon grinned genuinely. "Heh… but who's going to take care of the patrol then?"

As if on cue, Yuffie threw the door open to the house and walked out proudly. "Leave it to me lover-boy! Miss Aeris says it's bedtime so you better well listen to her, eh?"

Squall shook his head. "Little snoop." He leaned down and picked up his gunblade. "Guess I should've known better."

Aeris giggled. "Really. How long have you known her now?"

"Bah," grunted Squall as he limped inside with Aeris' help.

Before closing the door, Aeris turned around and said, "Thank you Yuffie. Be careful out there."

Yuffie saluted mockingly. "Yes ma'am. Make sure Leon, er… heh, I mean Squall gets some rest, okay?"

Aeris nodded. "Will-do. See you later." With that, she closed the door behind her and led Squall to his room.

Yuffie took a deep breath of the fresh evening air and sighed happily. "Well now, this should be fun." Whistling a lighthearted tune and twirling her large shuriken around her hand, she made her way down what was the first alleyway of her peaceful patrol.

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And that's that. How was it? Be sure to leave feedback as I'd like to see if I'm able to write any more Kingdom Hearts fics. Thank you so much in advance!