Leon sighed and leaned on the edge of the ship, watching the waves swish and churn.

"What be ailin' ya', mate?"

Leon looked up and sighed. He really didn't like this new world. It had Jack Sparrow in it, and Leon couldn't understand half of the things he said.

"Nothing," Leon said, but in fact, was really down today. You know that saying 'rain on your parade'? Well, it feels like a whole flash flood drowned his parade. Cloud was in bed with the flu and they couldn't leave this god-forsaken world!

"I'm not buyin'. You lookin' as though ya' could die righ' now and ya'd not even care," Jack laughed, mussing up Leon's hair, "But that fellow of yer's 'tis thinkin' otherwise. 'E keep callin' out yer name,"

Leon pushed himself off the edge and nearly ran to the under room, where they were keeping Cloud. He jumped the stairs and opened the door, going to the blonde's aide.

"Young love, ya' never can live 'wit it, and ya' never can live wit' out it," Jack laughed, waving his arms about and looking around, "Now. Where'd that chocola' head and that silver mate go?"

He looked around, shrugged, and went back to the steering wheel, going to try and figure out where they were.

---

Sora smiled and nearly leaned all the way of the bow of the ship, looking out at the dark midnight waves, trying to sight a dolphin or something.

"What you lookin' at, love?" Riku asked, slipping his arm around Sora's shoulders, leaning his head against the brunette's.

Sora pouted and looked away, sighing, "You sound like one of those pirates,"

"Yes, but I thought you liked pirates," Riku laughed, nudging the other's shoulder lightly. Riku saw that saddened look, "Come on, I know you're sad that Cloud's sick, but he'll be better soon, come on, cheer up,"

Sora looked at Riku and smiled, then sighed, "are you okay with going along with my brother and yours? I mean, Leon wanted to go with Cloud, and I wanted to go with Cloud, but that didn't mean that you had to come,"

"Hey!" Riku said with a triumphant smile, lifting his arm and flexing his muscles, "it's another chance for a new adventure! Off to the great beyond, not knowing what we'll find! And plus...I don't want to leave you,"

Sora smiled a small smile and leaned back against Riku, "You know, we're eighteen now,"

"No! Really?" Riku asked, trying to look surprised.

"I mean it," Sora said with a small laugh, looking back out at the ever darkening sky, "that means Cloud and Leon are twenty already,"

"Wow! You're a freaking genius!" Riku said, still trying to look surprised. He couldn't pull it off and started laughing. He calmed himself down and looked at Sora, "What brought all this on?"

"Well, Leon and Cloud have been seeing each other for...about two years, right?"

"Yes, so have you and I,"

"Well...their old," Sora said, hearing a snort from Riku, "I'm just worried about that. What if one falls in love with another?"

Riku stopped smiling as if he got shot. He looked at Sora and then took the boy's face in his hands, rubbing Sora's cheeks, "That will never happen,"

Sora saw that determination and certainty in Riku's gaze.

"That will never happen," Riku believed in that relationship as well, and he wanted it to go on. He loved his brother, and he wanted him to be happy.

---

Leon entered the small room, and saw that Cloud was back laying down, his eyes closed, his breathing steady. That stupid pirate lied, but Leon always loved the chance to see his little blonde. He heard Cloud give a hoarse cough and the blue orbs opened slowly, looking toward Leon.

"Hey," Cloud said with a smile, then yawned, stretching his arms and legs out, "man, so I feel better!"

Leon felt hope and joy at that statement, so he walked up to Cloud and cupped his love's cheek, "I'm glad to hear that,"

Cloud smiled in a sleep-haze and tilted his head into Leon's hand, his own going to that one.

"You ready to travel?" Leon asked in excitement, "Please?"

Cloud laughed and then turned his head away, coughing into his hand, "Yeah, I'm good,"

Leon placed his hand on Cloud's forehead and sighed, no fever, "You don't have a fever, but the minute we reach port we're checking into a hotel so that you can at least get one more night of sleep,"

Cloud sighed, then reached forward and kissed Leon lightly, "You're such a good guy,"

"What did you expect?"

---

Cloud walked in after Leon, or rather clinging to Leon, to the shop that Sora and Riku had demanded to enter. They'd seen some sort of weird weapon thing, and demanded to go look at it.

"This actually...kinda reminds me..." Leon asked, looking over at Cloud, then going back to looking at the various weapons, "How did you get all the money to buy us those things and the tree?"

"Oh," Cloud said, looking away and starting to walk away, "My college savings,"

Leon was frozen for a moment, then looked back to Cloud who was talking to the person at the counter, the guy just having noticed the buster sword strapped to Cloud's back. Leon stared after Cloud, wondering how... how Cloud...could...

"Don't look so shocked,"

Leon looked around and down to see Sora looking up at him with a smile, "Cloud told me all about it. He used his college fund that he's been saving to pay for them, since he knew that he'd never stop running around enough to actually go to college,"

"But, use that money to...he was giving away the money for his future!" Leon said, holding out his hands for emphasis, "He gave away that money that he's probably been saving for years! I don't get it!"

"Hey," Sora said, putting his hand on Leon's shoulder and looking the man in the eye, "You're nearly my brother, so I have the right to tell you this,"

Leon looked down, his full attention focused on Sora.

"You are his future, Leon,"

Leon was actually shocked by these words. He got an encouraging smile by Sora, and the younger brunette walked away. Leon looked back at Cloud's back, then closed his eyes and sighed, running over what he just heard. He smiled to himself, then looked back toward Cloud, who was still talking.

"OI, who're you?"

Leon looked around to the voice and saw a person...a really gruffy looking person. He had severe five o' clock shadow, and he had what looked like a stick poking from his mouth. He had a blank white T, a weird belt, and jeans. Normal for a person, but no this person.

"The name's Cid," the man said in a heavy accent, holding out his hand toward Leon, "Yer friend looks to be talkin' with Auron, that blade master will tell what's from what, now, you'll be needin' a weapon, now wont ya?"

Leon held up his hands and backed off, "Nope, nothing for me,"

"Just try it out, I've been wantin' to show it to somebody. You're the first I've seen that I actually WANT to have this one, so come on," Cid said, taking Leon's wrist and nearly dragging him to a far corner of the store. Leon was struggling, but this Cid guy was strong.

What Leon came face to face interested him enough to stop struggling.

"It's called..."

Leon didn't really give a shit about what it was called. It could be called 'tinker bell' and he'd still be interested in it. It looked...like a gun, that's for sure. But that gun was attached to a blade, a long blade going from the top of the gun.

"It's called the gunblade," Cid said, his voice ringing with pride.

O, how original. It IS a gun, and a blade.

Leon laughed and stared at it, admiring it's beauty, it's stealth...it's masculinity.

---

When they finally got out of the stupid store, they ALL had a weapon. Cloud didn't like Sora handling something that dangerous. Sora complained that he was ALREADY eighteen, and that if he couldn't have a car, he could have a weapon. And the one he picked out didn't look TOO dangerous. It was called a key blade, but this was a different kind of key blade. It was called Ultima or something like that. It was...different to say the least, it looked like a normal strait blade in the back, but there was a heart with three daggers coming off one side. Connected to that was a spider-web-like metal that was white fading to yellow to white, all the way cris cross down the blade. The handle looked like butterfly wings, and was a twisting and turning metal. It also had a small key chain attached to it, in the shape of a heart.

Riku, on the other hand, had a key blade as well. But this one was called the One Winged Angel. It was a simple black blade, but at the top, It twisted and turned into a complicated fire. I swear, metal made into the shape of a fire. The bottom had a small fire made into the handle, with tassels connecting to a fire key chain. They were both glad with their equipment, and Leon...on the other hand...was over ecstatic about his.

He had the gunblade, and it wasn't THAT special. But Leon thought it was all the Shiznit. (AN: Sorry, had to say that)

"Leon, what is it about that blade anyway?" Cloud asked again, while he watched Leon polish the thing for the MILLIONTH time that evening. Well, Sora and Riku were polishing their 'prized' swords too. They had to share a room, and Cloud now wished that they hadn't. If ANYONE, found watching someone rub a cloth against a piece of metal was fun, they NEEDED to get a life.

Cloud, by this time, was annoyed with the sound of that irritable squeak whenever someone hit a spot that wasn't polished exactly like the rest. He didn't like the smell of that stupid metal polish, it smelling like old feet and soap. He didn't like it that when he would ask someone a question, they would mumble something ununderstandable and then go back to polishing. Were swords THAT interesting? Cloud wasn't even this interested in his when he first got it! Heck, he couldn't even remember the last time he even cleaned his sword. It was mainly for display anyways.

"Guys," Cloud said, and no one looked up. Cloud hated this. He loved attention too much to like this. He HATED the silent treatment. Was this Karma again? Probably. He should have let that tired work man sit down on the train the other day. He should have let that man sit in his seat! Now the devil was coming back for his good luck!

Cloud sighed, "I'm going for a walk,"

He hated being alone with his thoughts. It always brought up thoughts about stuff he'd rather not think about. Like Solstice, his mother, his father, and other things that played an important part in his life. Cloud, of course, had already told Leon all about his mother and father.

His mother was killed by a huge fire in their house, because his mother tried to save Cloud, she died instead of him. Their father went in after her, safely planting the baby Sora in Cloud's arms. Cloud never saw his mother or father again, and he didn't even get to say goodbye. He didn't even get a photo. Cloud yells at himself every day, for slowly starting to forget their faces, their voices. He is slowly starting to forget his parents, but he knows he will never completely forget them...because...

He killed his mom.

He should have died instead of her. Leon keeps trying to tell him that it wasn't his fault, and that he shouldn't beat himself up over the past, but Cloud can't help it.

Guilt's a bitch, ain't it?

Cloud sighed and walked toward the sand, this world having a beach. He likes beaches, but he had one on his home. This one had a nice little separated island, looking that you could get there with a boat or something. It looked nice and...secluded. He smiled and would have liked to go there. He felt the wind brush back his hair and he could have sworn he heard someone coming down the sand. He sighed sadly and looked out at that small island. What would it be like there? He didn't know why he was so interested, but he was knocked out of his thoughts when someone covered up his eyes.

"Guess who?"

Cloud smiled warmly and turned around, gazing at the nice blue eyes he was met with. He knew it was Leon.

"Leon, I didn't know you heard me leave," Cloud said, looking away, his sad sigh still on his lips, "you didn't have to come after me, I'd of come back,"

Leon cupped Cloud's cheek and guided the blonde to his chest, embracing his love, "You're really stupid. I wouldn't have left you out here all alone, you have a tendency to become depressed when you're alone for too long,"

Cloud laughed, then leaned against Leon, taking in the heat and wrapping his arms around Leon's waist, "Thank you,"

"You want to go to that island?" Leon asked, tilting his head to the side, "you were looking at it awful close,"

Cloud looked up slowly, smiling softly, "That might be nice,"

Leon leaned down and kissed Cloud passionately, smiling against the blonde's lips.

---

Sora set down the colorful blade and stood up, stretching hard. He walked over to where he still saw Riku, still forever polishing that.

"Come on, Riku, let's go to bed," Sora said, squatting down to get eye level with the sitting boy, "We have to switch worlds tomorrow,"

Riku looked up into Sora's eyes and sighed, setting the thing down and standing, stretching his legs, "Where'd the others go?"

He was right, the band peach room was empty, spare the two. Riku looked down at Sora, a certain look in his eyes that made Sora shiver. Sora shook his head, "No!"

He slipped off his shoes and socks, taking off his shirt, and pants, leaving him in boxers. He stretched again, flexing his toned body. He yawned and made a hissing sound, "I'm tired,"

He felt arms slip around his waist from behind and a chin rest on his shoulder, "Riku?"

"Then let's go to bed," Riku said, spinning around Sora and flipping back the covers, pulling himself and Sora in. He felt Sora curl against him, and he put his arms around him as well, his face in Sora's hair, taking in the scent.

---

Okay, the plot will start in the next chapter, I swear!