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Chapter title brought to you by Lipton®
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-Chapter Five-
Is It Soup Yet?
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It was almost noon by the time Leon heard the toilet flush. His blond charge was finally awake, and the awareness of that fact brought a nervous flutter to his stomach. He stirred the pot of soup on the stove and listened for footsteps.
Cloud emerged from the bathroom a few moments later, still groggy with sleep, and plodded towards the kitchen on bare feet, lured there by the smell of something cooking. Expecting to find Aerith, he was surprised to find Leon instead. He slid into a seat at the table and attempted to stifle a yawn. "Where's Aerith?"
"Laundry with Yuffie."
"Oh. And you got stuck babysitting," Cloud joked, only half in jest.
"Beats laundry," Leon bantered back.
Cloud nodded a wholehearted 'amen to that' and attempted to stifle another yawn.
"Would you like some coffee?" Leon offered.
Cloud noted the empty carafe on the counter and shook his head in reply, adding a hasty, "But thanks," lest his mother wake up and remind him of his manners. Then they both fell back into silence, having evidently already exhausted their entire repertoire of small talk. Cloud absently traced the swirls on the Formica tabletop, and Leon returned to stirring the soup.
When Cloud gave his upper body a good stretch a few minutes later, extending his arms up over his head and arching his back, Leon couldn't help but notice his wing straining beneath his shirt. Thinking that it must be uncomfortable all cramped up like that, he fished a small paring knife out of the drawer and cut a vertical slit in the back of the shirt, then carefully eased Cloud's wing through the opening.
It was really a rather small thing in his hands, all folded in on itself, and very soft and pliable, but at the warm touch of Leon's hands, it began to swell and grow firmer as Cloud expanded it fully. "Well, that was curious ... " Leon stammered, "... almost like–"
"Erectile tissue," Cloud stated, but he didn't seem to be speaking to Leon. His attention was focused inward, and his head was cocked to one side as if listening to a voice in his head, a look of intense concentration on his face.
Leon flushed and quickly dropped his hands. "Like a butterfly. I was going to say 'like a butterfly'."
"Yes. Like a butterfly ..." Cloud echoed Leon's words, but again, Leon got the feeling that Cloud wasn't speaking to him; he appeared to be having this conversation with himself. In a distracted tone of voice, as if repeating the words he could hear in his head, Cloud continued, "... but unlike a butterfly's wings, which harden and dry, my wing remains flexible because the tissue is similar to ... well, uh ..." he trailed off as he suddenly became aware of what he was saying – and that he was saying it out loud. "Somebody told me that," he mumbled, glancing up at Leon with a look of confusion and a very fetching blush on his face. Then he dropped his eyes and added, mostly to himself, "But I have no idea who."
Compelled by a curiosity that overpowered his normal restraint, Leon hesitantly ran a finger down one of the prominent ridges that formed the frame of Cloud's wing. It was sturdy, but flexible, like cartilage rather than bone. "Is it sensitive?" he asked when Cloud shivered in response.
"Yes, and no. Sort of like the sole of your foot: tough, yet tender at the same time."
Leon repeated the light stroking motion, and a tremor skittered across the surface of Cloud's wing, rippling the black satin sheen like a gentle wind on still water. Entranced by the reaction, Leon braved another, bolder stoke. "Does it tickle?"
"It isn't exactly a tickle ..." Cloud closed his eyes to concentrate fully on the feeling of Leon's fingers. "It's more like a tingle ... or a prickle," he said, searching for the right word to describe the unusual, but definitely not unpleasurable, sensation. Then the memory of Leon holding him flooded his body with heat, and he stated decisively, "Like a breath on the back of your neck."
Snapping to his senses, Leon dropped his hand again, determinedly this time, and took a step back, realizing that he really shouldn't be touching the man in such an intimate manner. He didn't even know the man; his fascination with his beguiling appendage couldn't possibly be healthy.
Dismayed by Leon's abrupt withdrawal, Cloud retracted his wing in shame. "I probably shouldn't leave it– I mean, I don't want to–"
"We've all seen your wing, Cloud. Nobody cares."
"Well, as long as you're sure you don't mind. It is more comfortable this way."
"I don't mind," Leon assured him, returning to the soup on the stove. He filled a small bowl and set it down in front of Cloud, then filled another bowl for himself and sat down on the opposite side of the table. Cloud was still just staring at his soup, and Leon had to swallow the ridiculous urge to hand him his spoon and tell him to eat. He picked up his own spoon and filled his mouth with soup instead.
No wonder the man was so thin. He hadn't eaten more than a couple of bites since he got here, and he didn't look like he'd been eating all that well for the past year, either – wherever he'd been.
As if following Leon's lead, Cloud dipped in his own spoon and took a small taste, testing it to make sure it wasn't too hot. Finding it just right, he put the whole spoonful into his mouth, and then another, and another; it was soothing and warm and – "Mmm, s'good," he said and finished the whole bowl before speaking again. He wiped his mouth and looked pointedly at Leon. "So ... you know how to cook."
"Enough to get by," Leon allowed.
"And you babysit." To which Leon replied with a skeptical look.
"And we know that you're at least familiar enough with laundry to know it's a pain in the ass." Which drew a hesitant nod from the puzzled brunet.
"Do you clean as well?" Cloud asked, which earned him an actual verbal response, complete with a roll of blue-grey eyes and a self-degrading snort.
"Compulsively," Leon answered.
"So how have you managed to remain single?"
Leon glanced theatrically around the room, then leaned forward in his seat with a conspiratorial glint in his gunmetal eyes. "I got Merlin to protect me with a 'ward against women'," he whispered.
Cloud chuckled right out loud at that and got up for another bowl of soup, wondering in the back of his mind if that also worked against men. "Yet here you are, living with two of them," he pointed out as he returned to his seat, still chuckling softly, eyes sparkling like two shimmering pools of clear, blue water – like someone had captured a couple of drops of heaven to save for a rainy day. "Perhaps Merlin needs to work on his magic a bit."
Now, conversation was never an easy thing for Leon, but he found it almost impossible with those captivating eyes so close and the breathy sound of Cloud's soft laughter casting a spell of its own. He was experiencing, first hand and up close, the charisma of Cloud Strife, and he began to understand the adoration his housemates felt for the man. He finally succeeded in formulating a response and stated triumphantly, "Yes, but they're not in my bed."
"No." Cloud smirked. "That honor seems to have been given to me."
As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he realized how suggestive they sounded and remembered why he usually kept his mouth shut. He stole at glance at Leon.
Yep. It was obvious, even to Cloud, that his words had made the other man uncomfortable. Way to go, he mentally scolded himself. Why don't you just come right out and tell him you're gay and he's gorgeous. You might as well just throw yourself at the man and be done with it!
Boy, he bet Leon never said stupid things. He bet Leon actually thought things through before opening his mouth.
'Hey now,' Zack mumbled drowsily. 'You really shouldn't be so hard on yourself, Spike. You know you haven't been this attracted to anyone since your adolescent infatuation with me.'
'Gee ... thanks, Zack. Was that supposed to be helpful?' God, Leon was probably straight too, just like Zack, and Cloud certainly remembered how well that turned out. If he wasn't more careful, he could end up making just as big an ass of himself with Leon.
'And speaking of asses, dear, I can certainly see why you're so smitten with Leon's. Love those belts.'
'Mother! I think you've been hanging out with Zack too much!'
'Well, I was still a young woman when I passed on, dear. I may be dead, but I'm not, you know ... dead. Besides, there's no harm in looking.'
'And your mom is quite the looker, Spike – kinda like an older, female version of you, and you know I always did think you were adorable.' Cloud could practically feel Zack's phantom hand ruffling his hair. 'There's something very sexy about a good-looking older woman.'
'Zack, please! She's my mother.'
'Aw come on, Spike.' Zack's laughter rang out bright and sunny in Cloud's head, just as clearly as it had in life. 'Can't you take a joke?'
'I think it's kind of sweet, Zack – my baby looking out for me like that.'
'I was trying to talk to myself here if you don't mind...' Cloud finally lost his patience. Geez, it was bad enough that they talked to him; since when had they started talking to each other?
'Fine, dear, we'll just go back to sleep.'
'That's separately, right?' Cloud squinched his eyes shut as if that could hold back the horrible vision that was trying to seep into his mind.
'Spoilsport.' Zack laughed again, then added in a more serious tone, 'But promise you'll call us if you need us, okay?'
'I promise,' Cloud agreed, if only to get them to go away. Then his mother blew him a ghostly good-bye kiss, and Zack signed off with a cheery see-you-later salute and slowly faded away like some spiky-headed Cheshire cat, leaving his cheeky grin to linger long after the rest of his image had disappeared. Cloud held his breath and mentally counted to ten, releasing it only after the seconds had passed without further comment from the peanut gallery.
Finally – a little peace and quiet! Now where was he?
Oh, right – he was beating himself up for embarrassing Leon. Great way to repay the man for his kindness.
'Yes, but he's only being nice because you're Aerith's friend', sneered the silver-haired demon on his shoulder. 'It doesn't mean he likes you. You had better be more careful, little puppet, before he kicks your sorry ass out.'
Well, at least the demon gave good advice, unlike his mother and Zack...
Leon, meanwhile, had jumped up from the table and busied himself at the sink, turning his back to the blond to hide his humiliation. What had Cloud meant by his mocking remark? Was he making fun of him for his excessive solicitude?
Was he suggesting that Leon wanted him in his bed?
Oh god. Leon groaned, scrubbing furiously at the dirty dishes. He probably thinks I'm gay. He buried his face in his hand and then realized it was covered with soap suds.
I'd better get a grip before I make a total moron of myself, he thought, grabbing the dishtowel and wiping his face – if I haven't already. Then he remembered how he had just been stroking Cloud's wing, and his stomach did a double flip.
Shit. He would have been better off doing laundry.
He probably thinks I want him in my bed, which of course, I don't, but he doesn't know that, and he probably won't even want to be frien– not that I want to be friends, but he probably gets really tired of people coming on to him all the time, as beautiful as he– not that I think he's– "Huh?"
"I said that I sometimes – I mean that, I didn't mean that – uh, sometimes I –" Cloud stumbled around, tripping over his tongue until Leon put him out of his misery.
"Whatever."
Leon took a deep breath and turned around, only to find himself face to face with the other man, who was now standing behind him, clutching his empty bowl. The poor blond looked in even worse shape than he was, and Leon was struck by an unaccustomed attack of compassion. "Besides," he said, attempting to pass the whole thing off as a joke, "I doubt it would be much of an honor."
"Oh, I think it would be quite an honor."
Leon grabbed the empty bowl from Cloud's hands and busied himself at the sink again, and Cloud was busy trying to figure out how to remove his other foot from his mouth, when they heard the sound of the front door being opened, followed shortly by the sound of Aerith's voice and then the appearance of Aerith herself, thereby saving the two men from themselves.
As soon as she saw Cloud, she went into mother mode, wanting to know how he was feeling and how he had slept and whether or not he had eaten anything, to which Cloud had answered 'fine, fine, and yes', but Aerith didn't seem convinced. Bending forward, she studied his face for signs that all was not as peachy as he professed.
Cloud attempted to distance himself from her scrutiny by leaning back against the counter, but Aerith simply followed him by leaning even further forward. Finally losing his patience, Cloud grasped her firmly by both shoulders and gently pushed her back. "Aerith, I'm fine."
Leon was surprised by the faint glimmer of annoyance in Cloud's voice – the first small flicker of impatience that he had seen from the other man – and directed at Aerith, no less, towards whom he had previously shown an amazing amount of forbearance.
Still, Leon understood only too well how trying Aerith's well-meaning concern could be and how difficult it could be to get her to stop, so when Yuffie stuck her head in the kitchen a few moments later, informing them that Cloudy's clean clothes were in Leon's room, and that she was spending the rest of the afternoon helping Cid, Leon seized the opportunity to pry Cloud out from under Aerith's overly protective thumb. "I'll go with you," he stated and then turned to Cloud. "You want to come?"
Of course, that started Aerith up again before Cloud could even answer, protesting that he had lost too much blood and was still far too weak, and that it was–
"Aerith," Leon cut her off. "I'll protect him from danger – I promise. Some fresh air will do him good."
Aerith knew it was pointless to continue arguing once Leon had spoken in that tone of voice, but she made it very clear that she wasn't happy about it. She folded her arms, mimicking Leon's obstinate pose, and pouted.
"You could come too," he suggested, but she refused to be placated by such an obvious attempt to appease her.
"I have things to do here," she insisted.
"Well, then you can enjoy the afternoon to yourself, and I'll pick something up from the diner on the way back so you don't have to cook."
Cloud was already in the bedroom getting dressed.
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Once he had finished securing the armor on his shoulder and around a slender thigh, Cloud stopped and stared at Vincent's cape. The idea of donning his missing friend's apparel went against his sense of propriety, yet the sense of unease which flooded him at the thought of not wearing it was even more unsettling. It nagged at the back of his mind until he finally just shoved his misgivings aside and threw the damn cloak over his shoulders. Then he grabbed his sword and made his escape, hiding the lower half of his face beneath the cowl of Vincent's cape as he slunk past Aerith's watchful gaze.
Leon and Yuffie were already outside, clearing the area of Heartless while they waited for Cloud, and when he stepped from the house, Leon caught himself once again staring. Gone was the fragile young man, and in his place stood a formidable warrior, huge sword strapped to his back and Vincent's red cape billowing around his belted legs. Leon watched with an admiration that bordered on awe as the man walked down the stairs to join them.
As soon as they passed through the door to First District, Yuffie took off at a gallop, leaving the two men to follow at a more dignified pace, and Leon found that walking through town with Cloud at his side was not an altogether unpleasant experience.
In spite of the fact that he was almost always the center of attention, Leon had never sought it, nor did he particularly enjoy it – difficult to believe, perhaps, based on the way he chose to dress, but it was true. Leon didn't dress to draw attention to himself; he just happened to like leather and belts. The same could be said about the quiet and unassuming young man who walked beside him, with his flaming red cape and outrageous blond spikes. But whether they sought the attention or not, you can be certain they received it in copious amounts, and to Leon's dismay, he found it almost enjoyable. When the townspeople smiled at the sight of the two strong warriors, he came dangerously close to returning them.
Without even being coerced, he gave Cloud a quick tour of First District, pointing out the best places to purchase particular items and which places to avoid like the plague (the mayor's office topping that list). When they reached Cid's accessory shop, he stepped aside to let Cloud enter first.
"Well I'll be damned," Cid bellowed, clapping Cloud on the back. "If it ain't my favorite spiky-haired peckerhead. How the hell'd ya manage to get away from Mother-May-I?"
"Bossman here busted him out," Yuffie boasted, gesturing towards Leon with a jerk of her thumb. "Seriously – you didn't think ol' Cloudy-Boy would be able to tell her no?
Cloud just rolled his eyes in response, and Leon didn't respond at all, just headed straight for the delivery area and started hauling in boxes. A shipment of supplies had come in that morning, and Cid, having recently torn a muscle in his lower back, couldn't do any heavy lifting. Cloud attempted to help, but Leon wouldn't let him, insisting that he didn't want to face Aerith's wrath should he tear any stitches. So Cloud parked himself at the counter and started browsing through Cid's gummi catalog.
Delighted to have a captive audience with whom to discuss his favorite subject, Cid quickly joined him, and Cloud listened politely as the pilot pointed out the special properties of all the different blocks, pausing occasionally to bark out an order at Yuffie as she unpacked the boxes that Leon dragged in.
"Where do you want these?" Leon interrupted, holding out a box of special-order items for Sora.
"Uh, just stick 'em in the back room next to the new parts for his ship." Cid indicated the general direction with a distracted wave of his hand as if Leon didn't know where the back room was, then immediately returned to his lecture on engine gummis, hardly missing a beat. "Like I was sayin', this here Haste might cost a good bit more, but it's worth every single munny, and if you ever run into a goddamn Diablo out there with nothin' more'n a Fira-G on your ship, you'll sure as hell know why."
"Did you ever figure out where they came from?" Cloud asked, picking up one of the blocks on the counter and rolling it around on his fingers. When the strange little objects had begun to rain from the sky back on Gaia, they had assumed it was simply fallout from Meteor, but if they were found on the other planets as well, then that obviously wasn't the case
"From the goddamn barriers between the worlds." Cid flicked the straw in his mouth with a thumb. "Who the fuck would've figured?"
Leon returned from the storeroom at that moment and answered Cloud's question with a little more detail and a lot less color. "The barriers between the worlds are made of gummi," he explained. "and when a world is invaded by Heartless, the barrier breaks apart. Some of the pieces fall to the planet, but there's even more of them still floating around out in space."
"Sora picks up a shitload of the things on his travels and then sells 'em to me," Cid added, confessing his secret desire to go into the gummi-building business full time, which was certainly no surprise, given his love of flying, and even less of a secret since everybody knew it. He was already dabbling in gummis on the side – had been since arriving in Traverse Town – and he admitted that the accessory shop was only a temporary endeavor until he could gather enough funds to set up a full-fledged shop.
"It shouldn't be much longer," he said. "I've already built up a fairly extensive inventory, and demand is boomin', 'specially from the worlds where Sora ain't sealed the keyhole yet – people want to make sure they've got a way to get away. Why, I've even gotten a few orders from as far away as Never-fuckin'-fairy-land!
"Hey – you could come work for me once I get the business up and runnin'," he suggested, but their conversation was interrupted before Cloud could respond.
"Breaktime," Yuffie yelled, vaulting over the counter and plopping her skinny little butt down squarely on Cid's stool. Ignoring his angry glare, she kicked off the counter and began spinning around, picking up speed with every pass.
"Stop spinning around on that goddamn stool, you little ninja shithead," Cid barked. "It's brand fuckin' new, and you're gonna break it just like you did the last one!"
"Oh pipe down, old man; I'm not gonna break your stupid old stool." Yuffie snorted as her face spun in and out of view. "The last one was already broken, and you know it; you were just too cheap to buy a new one, so I finished it off for you. I did you a favor, you old coot."
"Well don't do me any more," Cid snapped. "I can't afford your fuckin' favors."
Leon rubbed at his scar and glanced at the door.
"Yeah, she gives me a fuckin' headache too," Cid grumbled. "Hey, ya know, you oughta get Chocobo-head here to give you a massage for those headaches of yours. Kid works wonders with those hands of his; it's the only damn thing he's good for other than swinging that sword. Course, I call first dibs for this old back of mine; you'll have to get in line."
"Hey, that's right, Leon," Yuffie agreed as the stool slowly wound to a stop. "You totally should. Cloudykins has magical fingers." She wiggled her fingers in the air to illustrate her point.
Leon's only response was another longing look at the door, so Cid and Yuffie went back to bickering with each other, and Cloud changed the subject.
"I remember when Cid first started messing around with these things," he said, holding up a gummi between his forefinger and his thumb. "He was like a kid in a candy shop, going on and on about what an incredible substance it was, and what amazing astronautical properties it had. We just shook our heads and laughed, but when he started talking about building a spaceship out of the weird little blocks, we thought Cid's brain had turned to gummi." Cloud chuckled softly, glancing at his cantankerous old friend with obvious affection in his eyes.
"Then I'll be damned if he and Yuffie didn't show up for our reunion in Edge in Cid's new ship, and we were all forced to eat a hearty helping of crow. Seems the old coot wasn't so crazy after all." Cloud's eyes took on a faraway sadness, and he added quietly, "Guess it's a good thing he didn't listen to us."
Disturbed by Cloud's melancholy turn of mind, Leon motioned towards the door. "Why don't we head on over to the diner? They can finish putting away the rest of this stuff."
Cloud tried to decline, protesting that he wasn't comfortable with not being able to pay his own way, especially after everything that Leon had already done for him, but Leon assured him that he fully intended to recoup his investment just as soon as Cloud recovered his strength. And in order to do that, he needed to eat.
Cloud suggested eagerly that he could start earning his keep first thing in the morning, helping them fight the Heartless, but on that, Leon had to agree with Aerith.
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"So how does one go about earning a living in this town?"
Leon didn't have a chance to answer Cloud's question before the waitress arrived to take their order, and for once, he found himself practically ignored. She was far too busy flirting with Cloud, hopeful of having more luck with the handsome new stranger than she had with Leon. But Leon kept his promise to Aerith to protect Cloud from danger, and to Leon's mind, that included unwanted advances from pushy waitresses. His icy glare, combined with Cloud's obvious lack of interest, quickly dissuaded the disappointed woman, and she left the two unsociable men to themselves.
Once she was gone, Leon returned his attention to Cloud, the cold silver edge in his eyes softening to a slightly warmer hue. "Fighting the Heartless pays well enough most days; you can keep whatever they drop. If you can get to it before Yuffie, that is. But what about Cid's offer?"
"I wouldn't mind working for Cid, but I don't know when that'll be. I can't bum off of you until then. And I'll need a place to live; you can't sleep on the sofa forever."
"No," Leon agreed. "My place was a little cramped even before you showed up."
"So, how did you end up living with Aerith and Yuffie?"
"Oh, well ... about that ..." Leon sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "That was never really the plan. It was supposed to be temporary."
Cloud took a sip of water and settled back in his seat, looking forward to just listening to the sound of Leon's voice. Unfortunately, it wasn't forthcoming. Leon appeared to be done with his answer, which, in typical Leon fashion, hadn't answered anything at all. "So what happened?" Cloud prodded.
Realizing that Cloud was expecting a real answer, and feeling a disturbing desire not to disappoint him, Leon made an honest attempt at actual conversation. "Well," he began slowly, turning it over in his head. "It was a very busy time here. Worlds had been disappearing at an alarming rate, and the town was overrun with new refugees. All of the available housing had been filled, and this whole square –" He indicated the area outside the cafe with a wave of his hand. "– was filled with makeshift shelters. There wasn't an empty bed to be had.
"Except at my house," he admitted. "I ... resisted giving up my privacy for as long as I could, but things were to the point that even I could no longer justify having a two bedroom house all to myself. Your friends just happened to be the next refugees to show up."
The waitress returned with their food at that point, which was served with a complimentary pot of tea and another round of mindless chatter while Leon waited in stony silence, and Cloud examined the shaker of salt. But one look at Leon's face sent her scurrying back to the other waitresses, any further thoughts of flirting dead before they could even reach her lips. Job accomplished, Leon poured himself a cup of tea and took a couple of bites of food. When it became apparent that another prod would be necessary to get Leon talking again, Cloud asked, "So all three of them moved in with you?"
Leon nodded. "Luckily, Cid took over the accessory shop a few weeks later and set up sleeping quarters for himself in the loft. Things got a little better after that, without him and Yuffie yelling at each other all the time."
"They do have an odd way of expressing their affection," Cloud interjected. "You'd never know they're actually quite fond of each other.
"Well, I just hope I never have to live with the two of them together ever again." Leon shook his head. "Sharing a small house with Yuffie and Cid is not an experience I care to repeat. At any rate," he continued after another couple of bites, "I always planned on moving the girls into the first available housing, or finding a smaller place for myself and letting them stay there." He paused again to finish his dinner, surprising Cloud when he resumed the conversation a few minutes later all on his own without further prodding.
"The overcrowding eased up a bit after Sora showed up," he said, pushing his plate to the side and topping off his tea. "Cid built a couple of transport gummis, and as Sora sealed worlds, we were able to move some of the people to other locations. Even so, there was always someone new to fill every vacancy." He shrugged. "Time passed."
Both men suddenly became aware that all three of the waitresses were watching them from the wings and giggling. Then the one who had been serving them ambled over to the table, take-out order in hand and hips deliberately swaying. "What?" Leon snapped.
"It's just that none of us have ever seen you talk so much, Lee-on," she replied, drawing out the vowels in his name in what she must have thought was a seductive manner. Then she turned to Cloud and gave him her most provocative smile, bending down to flash a little cleavage as she set the take-out bags on the table. "Honestly," she cooed, "the man never says more than two words. Can I get you something else, hon?"
"Just the bill," Leon snapped again, digging some munny out of his pocket and slapping it down on the table as he got up to leave. Cloud jumped up right behind him, and the two men made a beeline back to the accessory shop to drop off one of the take-out orders for Cid and pick up Yuffie. Leon was sullen all the way there. The waitress's last remark had deeply disturbed him.
She might be an airheaded bimbo, but she was right; he had probably spoken more words in the last hour than he had said during his entire time in Traverse Town. Maybe during his entire life.
There was something about the man beside him that made him let down his guard, yet made him nervous at the same time, and that was a deadly combination; a combination that could easily lead to unfettered feelings and loose lips, both very dangerous things. Like unrestrained puppies, they did the most embarrassing things: They dug up your neighbor's newly planted flowerbeds and left unwanted presents on their lawn. Then you would have to go over and clean up the mess, hanging your head in shame.
Well, he would just have to tie up those puppies more tightly. It wouldn't do to go getting too familiar with the new neighbor.
And speaking of uncontrollable puppies ...
"Gawd, you think you two slow pokes could hurry it up a bit? I'm about to die here of mal-noo-trition. In other words, I'm starving; wasting away to nothing before your very eyes!" Yuffie stopped somersaulting around the square long enough to grab the bags of food from Cloud's hands, and then raced off towards the door to Third District.
"Don't you dare go in there alone, Yuffie," Leon yelled irritably. "And don't you dare drop that food."
Cloud snorted softly and shook his head. "I swear that girl never runs out of energy. And thanks for dinner, by the way," he added in a more serious tone. "You're very generous, Leon."
"Not really," Leon begged to differ. "It's just that there's no telling where any of us will end up tomorrow. This wouldn't do me any good back on my world," he said, tossing a five munny piece in the air. "What's the point in hanging on to it?"
Cloud snatched the crystal from the air with agility and grace, but he had no answer for Leon's question and walked the rest of the way home in silence, just staring at the little yellow bead in his hand as the truth of Leon's words sank in.
۵۵۵۵۵
"Those things'll eat your stomach, you know."
Leon glanced from the aspirin in his hand to the man in the doorway. "Yeah," he mumbled, "I know."
Cloud leaned back against the doorjamb and crossed his arms. "You get a lot of headaches?"
"Yeah, I guess." Leon shrugged. "Yeah."
Cloud remained in the doorway, neither fully in nor fully out of the room, and debated with himself, neither fully committed to his plan of action nor fully willing to let it go. Should he broach the subject that had been weighing on his mind since this afternoon or just leave well enough alone? Jump in with both feet or retreat?
He genuinely wanted to help the other man if he could, but he didn't want to make him uncomfortable, and judging from Leon's reaction to the idea when Cid and Yuffie had brought it up earlier, that's exactly what the mention of a massage would do.
He also wanted to give something back to the other man, even though Leon had insisted it wasn't necessary, and he didn't have a lot of options at the moment for repaying that debt. On the other hand, putting Leon in an awkward position that would make him uncomfortable would only increase that debt.
Unable to decide, Cloud was just about to give up and leave when Leon set the bottle of aspirin back in the medicine cabinet and tossed the little white pills in his mouth, thereby solidly throwing the debate in favor of helping. Cloud stood up straight and took a small step into the room. "You know," he blurted out before he could change his mind or lose his courage, "I really do know a bit about massage. I might be able to help."
"Oh ..." Leon washed the pills down with a handful of water from the bathroom faucet, "...thanks. But that really isn't necessary."
"I've been told that I'm not half bad." Cloud attempted once more to convince him. His second attempt wasn't answered with words, but the increased tension in Leon's shoulders and the nervous glance towards the door told Cloud everything he needed to know. The man felt trapped; Cloud knew the feeling well and recognized the familiar signs. "Yeah, bad idea," he mumbled, dropping his eyes to the floor and stepping away from the door, but Leon didn't bolt as expected.
"It isn't a bad idea. It's just–" He made a weak gesture towards the floor with his hand. "It doesn't have anything to do with you."
At the tired resignation in Leon's voice, Cloud looked up and fully met his gaze. "You don't like to be touched." It was stated with such sincerity and certainty that it caused Leon to examine the other man with renewed curiosity, and the understanding that he found in the younger man's eyes made him wonder if Cloud had issues of his own.
He had seemed rather uncomfortable in Aerith's embrace yesterday, but at the time, Leon had assumed it was because of his relationship with Tifa. Aerith had mentioned that the two of them lived together. Romantically, Leon presumed.
There was also Cloud's reaction when Leon had woken him from his nightmare... Yet he hadn't responded unfavorably when Leon touched his wing...
Having finally come to the conclusion that Leon wasn't going to respond, Cloud turned around to leave.
"It makes me uncomfortable, yes," Leon said to his back, fighting off the urge to simply throw out his trusty 'Whatever'. The least he could do was answer Cloud honestly.
Cloud paused in the doorway, but didn't turn around. "It's just – you've done so much for me, and I have nothing to give you in return."
"I told you to forget it. You don't owe me a thing."
"Yes, I do, Leon," Cloud insisted softly. "Yes, I do. And I told you that I won't forget it." Then he stepped across the hall to go to bed, leaving Leon alone with his insecurities and his headache.
۵۵۵۵۵
Later that night, Leon was in the bathroom again for more aspirin, when he heard the already familiar sound of Cloud's nightmares starting up across the hall. He wondered if they were a nightly occurrence, and if so, for how long Cloud had endured them.
He was torn between going to check on the man or going back to the couch and trying to ignore the whole thing. Cloud had told him he shouldn't wake him while he was dreaming, but the thought of simply letting him suffer through it went against Leon's sense of ... decency? Duty? ... Compassion?
He had experienced nightmares himself for several years after first arriving in Traverse Town, and he knew how distressing they could be. He also knew how debilitating the chronic disruption of sleep could be, and that was the last thing Cloud needed while he was trying to recover.
Leon's head insisted that he should just go back to sleep, but his heart lead him straight to the man in his bed, step by leaden step. He stood there for a moment, still uncertain as to what he should do, but when whimpers turned to tortured moans and mumbled words, all of Leon's doubts disappeared. Carefully securing Cloud's arms this time, he leaned over the blond and quietly called his name.
Cloud responded with another soft cry, but this one carried a note of hope as well as pain, and Leon caught a name among the mumbled words. It was the same name that Cloud had whispered when Leon first found him, and its effect on Leon was unsettling. He became so preoccupied with the struggle to quell his own discomfort that he temporarily forgot about Cloud's – so inwardly focused that he failed to notice when softly glowing eyes locked on his.
"Hey," Cloud whispered, watching the storm smolder in Leon's eyes.
At the sound of Cloud's voice, Leon immediately released his hold on Cloud's arms and straightened up. "You were having another nightmare," he pointed out awkwardly.
The smile on Cloud's face as he looked up at Leon was so tender and shy that it cut through every one of Leon's carefully crafted defenses and broke the gentle heart concealed within, leaving him helpless at Cloud's mercy. Luckily for Leon, Cloud's mercy ran deep, but so did the pain in his eyes, making it all too clear that mercy was something which hadn't been shown to him, and if Leon ever found out who had hurt this man so badly, there was going to be hell to pay.
