.

۵۵۵۵۵
-Chapter Eight-
Into the Fire
۵۵۵۵۵

The four companions waited until the last shopkeeper had locked his doors, and everyone was safely escorted out of Second. Then they hung a closed sign on the district door and headed for home.

Leon went straight to the bathroom to clean up his leg and change into a fresh pair of pants; Aerith went to the kitchen to fix some sandwiches for lunch while Yuffie bounced around the room – supposedly helping, but mostly just getting in the way; and Cloud went to the bedroom to put away his supplies. Feeling guilty for encroaching even further on the man's space, he placed his purchases in the dresser drawer that Leon had cleared out for him earlier.

He knew it was time to get his own place, but he wasn't all that eager to move out. He felt comfortable here and would have been perfectly content to stay and sleep on the couch, but he knew that wasn't fair to Leon or the girls. He decided to speak to Leon about it the first chance he got, and until he could find a place, he could at least get out of Leon's room. Now that his wound was fully healed, there was no reason for him to continue sleeping in Leon's bed.

As soon as the two men finished their lunch, they once again took off for Merlin's, and Cloud decided to broach the subject on the way over. Unfortunately, the Heartless had other ideas, and before he could even bring it up, both men were forced to turn their attention to the fight in front of them. It was a fight that didn't last long. The Heartless were severely outclassed by the two strong warriors and were wiped out within minutes, leaving Cloud with a pocketful of munny and a hunger for more Heartless.

It felt good to swing his sword again after being idle for so long, and the thought of finally matching metal with Leon had him itching with anticipation. Though he hadn't seen that much of the man in actual battle, Cloud recognized superior skill with a blade when he saw it, and Leon had it in spades. He was eager to find out what the gunblader was capable of with that unusual weapon of his, and his excitement grew with every step closer to Merlin's, his intent to discuss living arrangements completely forgotten. He only hoped that it wouldn't take long for Leon and Merlin to discuss their business, and that Merlin didn't insist they stay for tea again.

As they made their way towards the wizard's house, Leon was thinking thoughts of a similar nature. He hadn't faced an opponent equal to him in skill since Seifer, and he was looking forward to testing himself against Cloud. He had only caught a brief glimpse of the man in action this morning, and just now as they fought off the Heartless in Third, but that glimpse had been more than enough to whet his appetite for more. There was nothing that Leon enjoyed more than a strenuous spar with an accomplished adversary, and if Cloud was even half as good as his friends claimed he was, then Leon was in for quite the challenge.

Anxious to hear how the morning had gone, Merlin met them at the door and listened attentively as Leon recounted the nearly disastrous events. The news of the Heartless' attack didn't surprise him in the least, but the news of Aerith's fortuitous discovery did, leaving the wizard just as baffled as they and more impatient than ever for Sora's return. Since it was obviously still too dangerous to reopen the district, he decided to try one last time to talk some sense into the mayor and asked Cloud and Leon to go with him as eyewitnesses.

By the time they reached the mayor's office, the mayor had already heard about the trouble, though he wasn't troubled by it in the least. In fact, he was delighted and dismissed their concerns entirely. To his way of thinking, the day simply couldn't have been more successful; they had discovered a way to defeat the Blue Flames, and nobody had even gotten killed!

Refusing to listen to any further arguments, he declared that the district would remain open as planned and then promptly returned to the bulletin he had been working on when they so rudely barged into his office – that anyone going shopping in Second should carry a couple of potions in case of attack.

After reading it over one last time to make sure he hadn't forgotten to cross any t's or dot any i's, he rummaged around in his desk until he found the red magic marker he was seeking and wrote "VERY IMPORTANT NOTICE" across the top in large, lopsided letters. Obviously pleased with his commanding display of mayoral authority, as well as his awesome poster-making skills, he shoved the notice at Cloud, who just happened to be standing the closest, and ordered him to post it on the Second District door. Then he turned to Leon and ordered him to have the item shop order in an extra supply of potions.

Leon indignantly told him to do it himself, and Merlin added that perhaps the mayor should procure a couple of potions for himself and cram them up his ass. Cloud thought that Cid couldn't have put it any better and decided he liked the crotchety old wizard.

Of course, in the end, Leon did exactly as the mayor had asked him to do, as the mayor had very well known he would. He had planned on stopping by the item shop anyway to stock up on potions for the members of his own household, and as long as he was already there, he figured he might as well ask the clerk to order more. After all, it wasn't the townspeople's fault that the mayor was such a moron, but it was the townspeople who would pay. Leon could at least make certain there would be enough potions to go around.

As Leon paid the little duck, Cloud grabbed the bag of potions off the counter, and they headed for the entrance to Second District to handle the mayor's first directive. Watching as Leon tacked the ridiculous notice on the heavy wooden door, Cloud unwittingly asked the million munny question; the question that all residents of Traverse Town asked sooner or later.

"Why doesn't the town just elect a new mayor?"

Which Leon answered with the same entreaty that all those who asked the question received in reply. "Would you be willing to take the job?"

To which Cloud responded with the same response that everyone gave in reply to the reply to their question. "Well, no, not me, but there must be someone."

"Well, there isn't," Leon stated. "Nobody wants it. We tried to have an election once and the only name on the ballot was the mayor's."

Cloud started to ask why Leon didn't take the job himself since everybody seemed to turn to him or Merlin for everything of importance anyway, but then the vision of Leon stuck behind the mayor's desk, tangled up in red tape and scowling at stacks of paperwork made him reconsider the idea. Then he imagined Leon dealing diplomatically with people's petty problems by glaring at them until they just shut up and went away, or strolling around the square at election time patting little children on the head with his gunblade, and he decided that it might be better to just leave well enough alone.

No, he concluded, Leon and Merlin were exactly where they needed to be – free to deal with the real problems that faced the town. And if the mayor himself created some of those problems, well, it simply couldn't be helped.

"Let me just drop these off at the house," Leon said, attempting to take the bag of potions from Cloud, "and then we can go to the waterway."

But Cloud held on tight to the bag and graciously declined the offer. In spite of the fact that Leon had been trying hard not to show it, Cloud had noticed him favoring his leg. "To tell you the truth," he said, "I think I've had enough for one day."

Though he wasn't about to admit it out loud, inwardly, Leon was relieved. He had had enough too: he was tired; he had a terrible headache, and his leg was killing him. Magical healing was a wonderful thing, but it didn't always entirely take away the pain, often leaving behind a residual ache that could only be cured by time. And without the aid of a Guardian Force or Materia, the use of magic was very draining, not only for the person casting it, but for the one receiving it as well, for it accelerated the body's own healing process by focusing its energy. In other words, it took a lot out of you.

Leon suspected that Cloud was well aware of this fact and was only making excuses for his sake, but if the man was going to be gracious enough to offer him a face-saving way out of going to the waterway, then Leon would be gracious enough to accept it. "Well, if you're sure ... I did promise–"

"I'm sure," Cloud insisted. "And besides, it's getting late. The waterway can wait until tomorrow when we'll have more time. Hopefully," he added under his breath, and then added again as an afterthought, "Not that it would take me very long to take you out."

"Take me out?" Leon scoffed. "You couldn't even touch me."

"Who said anything about touching?" Cloud smirked. "I was talking about wiping the waterway floor with your ass." Though he could definitely think of better things to do with that ass...

"Oh, that's rich. Talk's cheap, Strife, but can you even hit the broad side of a barn with that monstrous slab of metal, or do you just carry it around for show?"

"Tsk, tsk, Leonhart." Cloud shook his head and snickered suggestively. "Sounds like weapon envy to me. You're just jealous of my monstrous slab because it's so manly, unlike that girly little gunblade you carry."

"You consider something so old and decrepit that it has to be held together with bandages manly?"

"Well-seasoned," Cloud retorted, "unlike your little kiddie toy that can't even make up its mind what it wants to be when it grows up."

"I'll have you know that my little 'kiddie toy' and I were already fighting battles while you were still playing with dolls." Leon snorted. "It takes many years and a lot of skill to perfect gunblade technique."

"Technique, schmechnique," Cloud mocked. "Sounds like some sissy-ass cover-up to me. Who needs technique when you've got brute strength?" He whipped out his buster sword and struck a powerful pose.

"You may have brute strength," Leon allowed, "but my gunblade has added bang – you just have to know when to pull the trigger."

"Well, you can keep your tiny little trigger. Mine's still bigger," Cloud boasted, a little less confidently, and put away his blade.

"Maybe so," Leon conceded, "but when I reach the critical point, mine triples in size." Then he leaned in for the kill and said very softly, "and it turns blue."

"Blue?" Cloud swallowed.

"Uh-huh." Leon taunted triumphantly. "Blue."

۵۵۵۵۵

That evening after dinner, Cloud insisted that it was his turn to clean up the kitchen while Leon relaxed in a nice hot bath, and the girls got comfy in the living room to watch TV. It was Tuesday night, and their favorite weekly show was on.

Traverse Town only had one small broadcasting station that didn't actually produce anything of its own other than a brief nightly news show, but it received signals via satellite from several of the neighboring planets that were inhabited by people who, conveniently, spoke the same language. As a matter of fact, it was amazing how many of the worlds shared similar backgrounds.

The videos they imported from other planets were eerily reminiscent of the movies that Yuffie had watched back in Wutai, and the books which lined the shelves of Traverse Town's small but, thanks to Leon, well-stocked library might just as easily have been written by someone from Balamb. Aerith believed it was simply more evidence that all of the worlds were connected, that they had all been born from the same Lifestream and had therefore evolved from the same shared pool of experience. Turns out, it was a small universe after all.

By the time Cloud had washed, dried and put away the last pot, wiped down the kitchen counter and joined the girls in the living room, Leon was just climbing out of the tub. He put on a pair of pajama pants and a cotton t-shirt, ran a comb through his freshly washed hair and then went to his room. He got his sketchbook from the drawer and examined the cover, then put it back in the drawer and picked up one of his library books. He thumbed through the pages, then set it back down and picked up another one of his library books. And then he just stood there.

He usually retired to his room in the evenings to read or draw while the girls watched TV, but tonight, he didn't really feel like doing either. Tonight he felt restless.

He sat down in the chair by the bed anyway and opened his book. Then he closed the book and looked at the bed. It would feel good to stretch out on the bed and rest his leg – though the bath and some aspirin had helped considerably, it still ached – but the bed probably smelled like Cloud. He got up and walked to the living room instead. Aerith was sitting in his chair.

In Aerith's defense, it's only fair to point out that it had never been specifically stated that it was Leon's chair, but that was only because it had never been necessary; everyone knew it was Leon's chair. Everyone knew it was Leon's chair because whenever Leon actually sat in the living room rather than leaning against the living room wall, that was the chair he sat in. But it was currently occupied by Aerith. Who never sat in his chair. Who always sat on the sofa.

Leon frowned, then looked around, lost. Yuffie was sprawled out on the floor, Cloud was sitting on one end of the sofa, and Aerith, as previously pointed out, was sitting in his chair. Which only left the other end of the sofa. The sofa where Cloud was sitting.

Why wasn't Aerith sitting on the sofa with Cloud?

It was almost as if she had sat in Leon's chair on purpose. Like she wanted Leon to sit on the sofa. The sofa where Cloud was sitting.

Leon glared at her, but she was ignoring him.

He knew that she knew he was glaring at her, shooting icy little daggers of intent in her direction, willing her to get out of his chair, but Aerith was blocking them with a shield of See-No-Evil. He should just go back to his room. He sat down on the sofa instead and glared at Aerith some more.

Cloud noticed the book in Leon's hand, which indicated that Leon wasn't planning on actually watching TV, and asked him if he wouldn't be more comfortable lying down in his room so he could rest his leg.

Right. On the bed that smelled like Cloud – anything but that, Leon thought – and he replied that he wanted to let his dinner settle first. Especially since Aerith had cooked it, he added to himself, though he was too polite to actually say it out loud. Though he should have since she was so rudely sitting in his chair.

He attempted to glare at her again, but it took too much effort and came out looking more like perplexity. She was still ignoring him anyway.

Realizing that he wasn't going to win this battle of wills, Leon gave up the fight and hung his head, cradling his forehead in the palm of his hand. His head was still pounding, and his leg was throbbing. He should just go lie down on the bed. What a coward.

"Oh, dear. Do you have a headache, Leon?" Aerith asked sweetly. Innocently. As if she had just noticed that he was there. As if she wasn't sitting in his chair.

Leon jerked his head up and made one last effort at glaring, but it only made his headache worse and didn't faze Aerith in the least. She just continued to study him anxiously with her big concerned eyes, her halo polished and firmly in place.

"You really should get Cloud to give you a massage," Yuffie said. "Magic fingers, remember?" And once again, she wiggled her fingers in the air to emphasize her point.

"Oh, that's true," Aerith agreed. "He's really very good. He could probably help you with your headaches a lot."

Geez, was there anybody Cloud hadn't massaged?

The image of Cloud's hands on other people crept uninvited into Leon's mind, bringing with it that irrational little stab of jealousy, which annoyed him even more than Aerith sitting in his chair. He merely grunted in reply and opened his book, effectively ending the conversation. It wasn't long before he closed it again, followed shortly by his eyes, and soon he was snoring softly.

"Awww, isn't that sweet," Yuffie said, noticing Leon conked out on the couch when she got up to get herself and Aerith a snack. "Poor little Squally's all tuckered out."

"Squally?" Cloud asked.

"Leon's real name is Squall," Aerith explained, "but don't call him that. Yuffie just does it to make him mad."

Yuffie nodded vigorously. "Because making Leon mad is so much fun," she cackled, heading for the kitchen. "You want a soda?" she called back over her shoulder to Cloud.

"No thanks," he replied, wondering why Leon didn't like to be called by his given name, but relieved to find out that his real name wasn't Leon Leonhart. How dumb was that?

Names like that had always bugged him – names like Albert Albertson or Robert McRoberts. How would you like to have to go through life as Whit Whitman, or Johnny Johnson? Or how about Walter Walters? Cloud snorted, remembering the nerdy little kid he'd gone to school with. I mean, really... his parents couldn't have come up with something better than that? Or were they trying to be cruel? Yeah, Cloud and Squall might be unusual names – okay, maybe even a little weirdbut at least their parents had had some imagination.

And of course, he couldn't help but smile at the obvious connection: Cloud and Squall. Squall and Cloud. It made him happy.

Silently, he mouthed the word. Squall. Skwaaawl. Quite the mouthful, but somehow befitting, and he wondered if the storm had been brewing in Leon's eyes even at birth. Had his mother taken one look at her newborn baby and immediately pronounced him Squall?

Cloud leaned over the lightly snoring man slumped in the corner of the couch and gently shook his shoulder. "Leon," he called softly, and then said it again, liking the way it rolled off his tongue. "Leon, go lie down on the bed."

"S'fine," Leon mumbled, burrowing farther down into the sofa.

"Well, at least stretch out or you're gonna get a crick in your neck," Cloud insisted, tugging lightly on the older man's arm. When he received no response, he slipped one arm under Leon's legs and the other one under his neck and gently eased his body down on the couch. Once he had Leon in a more comfortable position, he went to the bedroom to get Leon's blankets, returning a moment later with an armful of bedding and running straight into Yuffie as she stepped from the kitchen with a tray full of snacks.

Yuffie managed to catch one of the sodas, and Cloud made a spectacular save on the bowl of chips as the tray tumbled from her hands, but the other soft drink landed on the floor along with Leon's pillow – casualties of the collision. Leon stirred at the commotion, and Aerith jumped up and ran to the kitchen for a towel to clean up the soda, but Leon's pillow had already done a fine job of soaking most of it up.

After setting the bowl of chips on the table, Cloud unfolded Leon's blanket and tucked it around the dozing brunet, then returned to the bedroom to get his own pillow to replace Leon's wet one. Fingers sliding into silky, milk-chocolate locks, he gently lifted Leon's head and placed the pillow underneath it.

With one last whimper of protest, Leon rolled over and buried his face in the subtle, seductive scent of Cloud's pillow, giving himself up to the apparently inevitable. Despite his best efforts to avoid it, fate seemed determined to rub his nose in it.

Fate. She was such a meddlesome bitch. And her mischievous eye was fixed firmly on Leon.

۵۵۵۵۵

Startled from his sleep by Cloud and Yuffie's crash, Leon could not recapture the state of drowsiness which had so readily overtaken him earlier. Still he continued to lie on the couch with his eyes closed, pretending to be asleep as the others prepared for bed. There was a certain comfort in the familiar, routine sounds of the household settling down for the night: the running of water and bellowing of pipes as teeth were brushed and toilets flushed, the clicking off of lights and the hushed good-nights, the creaking of bedsprings, the rustling of covers, and then everything went quiet, leaving Leon alone with his thoughts. They turned once again, as they had so often of late, to the subject which had been weighing heavily on his mind.

Cloud's nightmares disturbed him more than he cared to admit, nor could he justify the overpowering desire he felt to help the other man. It wasn't like Leon to get involved in other people's personal problems, even when they asked him to, and Cloud certainly hadn't asked. He had told him to stay away. Still, here he was, trying to figure out a way help his friend. And when had he started thinking of Cloud as his friend?

Even as he was turning these things over in his head, the distressing sounds of torment reached his ears, abruptly bringing his debate to a halt and driving him to the other man's side. But once he was there, his resolve faltered. The last thing he wanted was for Cloud to wake up and find him hovering again. Had he not already embarrassed himself enough?

Shaking his head in irritation, Leon turned to go back to the couch and just cover his ears, but before he had even made it past the bedroom door, a particularly heart-wrenching whimper dragged him bedside again. Thoroughly annoyed with himself, Leon stood there and watched but did nothing, paralyzed by indecision.

He was supposed to be a commander of men, known for his determination and strength of mind, and he couldn't even command himself. Pathetic.

A sharp intake of breath and a violent jerk finally cut through Leon's deliberations and impelled him on a course of action, be it foolish or not. Perhaps he could alleviate Cloud's anguish without waking him up. Gently taking Cloud's hands in his own, he folded them over the trembling man's chest and leaned in closer, whispering to him that everything was all right; that he was there and wouldn't let anyone hurt him.

"Zack..." It was broken and pleading, but there was no mistaking the name this time.

And there was no mistaking the way it made Leon feel. He didn't like it, and the implications of that would have been impossible to ignore, had he not refused to examine it too closely. He focused on calming Cloud instead, and continued to do so until the blond's breathing evened out, and the tension left his body. Then very slowly, he released his hold on Cloud's hands and began to straighten up. At the loss of Leon's comforting closeness, Cloud rolled to one side, instinctively following Leon's warmth, and draped an arm around his neck. "Don't go," he mumbled.

Leon looked at Cloud's face, relaxed now with sleep, and he didn't want to go, but he knew he wasn't the one Cloud was asking to stay. He was obviously dreaming of Zack.

Leon couldn't help but be curious about the man – who he was, and what, exactly, he was to Cloud. Just a friend, most likely, he figured; a friend who sometimes comforted Cloud when he had his nightmares, just like Leon was doing now. He certainly had no reason to think that he might be anything ... well, that Cloud was – that he liked ...

No, Leon shook his head; there was nothing to indicate such a thing. All of the evidence pointed to the opposite.

He'd been living with Tifa, for heaven's sake. And there was obviously something between him and Aerith. Leon couldn't help but notice the way Cloud looked at her sometimes – with longing perhaps, or sorrow ... possibly regret. Regret for feelings he could never allow himself to express?

Or maybe it was guilt – the guilt of betraying Tifa with his forbidden desire for another?

Yuffie had even alluded on more than one occasion to there having been something between Cloud and Aerith, and there was her recent comment to Cid, which Leon had accidentally overheard, that it looked like Aerith was finally going to get her chance with Cloud now that Tifa was out of the picture. Cid had just chuckled and said that Cloud wasn't interested in Aerith.

So ... that meant that Cloud was truly in love with Tifa? Surely, Cid wasn't trying to imply that Cloud was interested in Yuffie?

Oh how the hell would Leon know! And more to the point, why did he even care? It didn't have anything to do with him.

Leon realized that his head was drifting downward under the weight of Cloud's arm and jerked it back up, but the abrupt movement caused Cloud to grunt in displeasure and stir in his sleep. Alarmed by the very real prospect of getting caught, Leon froze as Cloud rolled over onto his back again, wrapping his other arm around Leon's neck in the process. He settled back down with a sigh of contentment, and Leon slowly released his breath.

Well, wasn't this just dandy! Now he had two arms to deal with.

Leon gazed down at Cloud's face, which was far too close to his own, and forced himself to relax. He had to figure out a way to get out of Cloud's hold without waking him up, and panicking wouldn't help anything. He wondered if Zack had ever found himself in this predicament, and if so, how he had managed to get out of it.

No, Zack was probably comfortable in his relationship with Cloud and didn't feel the need to deny– to hide his feelings for the other man. That was normal, right? For friends to care about each other and take care of each other?

Yeah, Leon concluded, Zack was probably just a good friend and nothing more than that – a good friend who comforted Cloud when he had his nightmares, just like Leon was doing now, and there was nothing wrong with that. The fact that they were both guys didn't matter; it didn't mean anything. They were just friends–

There it was again, this thinking of Cloud as his friend. That just wasn't right; it couldn't be right. He had only met Cloud what – three days ago? Four? Yeah, four days since Cloud had woken up, less than a week since Leon had found him. There was no way in hell the man could have broken through his defenses in only four days.

It felt more like forever.

And why in the hell was he still thinking about this when what he really needed to be thinking about was getting out Cloud's hold.

Besides, Leon didn't want any friends. He didn't need any friends.

So what was he doing here in the middle of the night, locked in an embarrassing embrace with a man who wasn't even his friend and obviously thought he was somebody else – somebody who really was his friend. It was stupid. No, it was crazy.

All he had to do was just remove Cloud's arms and walk away, just slip out of his hold and leave, yet here he was, still stuck in this stupid position for fear of disturbing the other man's sleep, still stuck in this stupid situation, and all because he had made the stupid mistake of trying to help. He had broken his own damn rule and gotten involved.

What was it about Cloud that made him feel this way? Why did he have this ridiculous urge to comfort the man and make it all better? Leon – protective? Caring? Comforting?

Leon?

That was just the craziest, most fucked up thing he'd ever thought. Sure, he tried to protect people, but that was just because it was his duty, not because he cared. And Cloud certainly didn't need Leon to protect him. He was a Soldier. A SOLDIER – First Class. A Warrior. A Hero.

It was just that he looked so ... so sweet ... when he was sleeping like that, so childlike, and vulnerable. Fragile even. Like an angel.

Right. A sweet, fragile angel who could kick Leon's ass all the way to next week, and probably would if he knew the crazy things Leon was thinking.

The only other person who had ever made Leon feel this protective was Rinoa. Yes, Rinoa – he just needed to get back to the couch and think about Rinoa. He tried once more to gently extricate himself from Cloud's arms, but as soon as he moved, Cloud let out a soft, endearing little sigh and tightened his hold on Leon's neck.

Leon let out a sigh of his own, though his was born of frustration and not so endearing. He had to get out of this mess he had so unwittingly gotten himself into, but he couldn't quite figure out how. His head was pounding hard now; it was heavy and thick, and his thinking was all muddled up. He couldn't figure anything out – nothing made sense any more, not since that blond had shown up. He felt his head drifting downward again and quickly pulled it up, reeling and dizzy.

Shit, this was crazy. He felt intoxicated, drugged, and he was trapped in Cloud's arms, the weight of them pulling him down into the warmth of Cloud's body as all of his senses filled up with Cloud, overpowering his ability to reason and melting away his resolve. He braced his hands against the bed on either side of Cloud's shoulders in an attempt to hold himself up – away from the danger, away from the heat – but it was just too hard, and he soon found himself drifting downward again.

His forehead came to rest on Cloud's collarbone, and there he left it, too distracted by the dangerous feelings coursing through his veins to move, feverish and burning, skin to skin, the smell of him so close now that Leon could taste it on his tongue, sweet and seductive. Cloud's breath gently ruffled his hair, sending shivers down his spine, and he couldn't think clearly with Cloud so close. He had to get up, to get out of Cloud's arms, to lift up his head and clear his mind, to get back to the sofa where it was safe and lie down.

Using all of what little was left of his rapidly withering willpower, Leon attempted one last time to to free himself from the deepening desire to just give in, and one last time he failed, lured to his doom by the sweet siren song weaving its dangerous spell of seduction, enthralling him with its ancient melody; its primordial rhythm, his undoing. With a deep, weary sigh, he succumbed to its call.

He supposed it wouldn't hurt to stay a little longer, just a little longer.

Never mind that Leon wasn't the one Cloud wanted; it didn't matter. And never mind that he wasn't very good at giving comfort; he could try.

Never mind that Cloud wasn't really even his friend; Leon would be there for him anyway. If Cloud needed someone to hold on to for a while – someone to stand in for Zack – then Leon would do it.

Just for a little while.

Just until Cloud was sleeping so deeply that he could slip from his arms without waking him up. Just until he could recover his will to fight this overwhelming desire not to fight. He just needed to lie down for a moment and rest his head.

Just for a moment.

Leon crawled across Cloud's body and rolled onto the bed, into the warmth and the scent and the softness, and Cloud rolled right along with him. By the time he felt Cloud settle against him, Leon's eyes were already closed, and his breathing was already steady and deep by the time he felt Cloud's arms go slack. By the time he heard Cloud whisper his name, he was sure he was already dreaming...

۵۵۵۵۵

The next thing he knew, it was morning, a glorious morning, in fact. Leon woke slowly, leisurely cracking open an eye to find golden rays of sunlight streaming across the room.

His sluggish brain, still groggy with sleep, finally pointed out what should have been the obvious: 'But there aren't any golden rays of sunlight in a Traverse Town morning.' Trying to make sense of the image being received from his eye, Leon cracked open his other eye, and with binocular vision enabled, things fell into their proper place.

Make that improper place.

Blond spikes of hair were lying across Leon's lashes, and the owner of those spikes was curled up in his arms, his face nestled snugly into the fold of Leon's neck and his warm breath caressing Leon's collarbone. An arm, a leg and a wing were draped carelessly across Leon's body as if they had always belonged there.

Leon instantly became aware of every single spot where Cloud's body was touching his, but the thrill of excitement quickly turned to panic as a return to full awareness brought with it the realization that he had slept with Cloud. All night. He had been so terrified of sleeping in the bed that smelled like Cloud that, instead, he had slept in the bed that smelled like Cloud with Cloud.

Brilliant.

With the stealth of a shadow, Leon slipped out from under the blond and out of the bed and made a mad dash for the couch. Diving beneath the covers, he buried his head like the silly little ostrich that he was, safe at last – for the moment at least – in his crumbling little world of sand.

When he finally gathered the courage to sneak a peek from under the covers, he was relieved to find that world still intact, along with his reputation, his dignity, and his masculinity; all of which could have easily been crushed beneath the weight of being caught cuddling with Cloud. But, thankfully, the girls were still asleep, and hopefully, Cloud was too. Hopefully, he had slept through the entire, embarrassing ordeal, and if not ... well, he would probably be too humiliated to admit to anything either.

Putting on his bravest face, which looked exactly like the rest of Leon's faces, Leon got up and went to the kitchen to put on a pot of coffee. It was just a regular morning, like any other. By the time he had finished getting dressed and brushing his teeth, the coffee was ready, and Leon was feeling a little more confident. He poured himself a cup and headed for his usual spot on the stairs.

The familiarity of his routine was comforting, as was the coffee, and with every sip, his anxiety subsided a little bit further, and his thoughts began to wander a little bit farther. He wondered if Cloud was awake yet and whether he would be joining him on the steps again this morning. He glanced at the door.

There was no sign of activity yet, which was good. That meant that Cloud was probably still sleeping and had no idea what had happened during the night. Leon took another sip of coffee and glanced at the door.

But what if Cloud wasn't still sleeping? What if he was already awake, but just hadn't come out? Maybe that meant he did know what had happened. Maybe that meant he was mad. Maybe that meant that he didn't want to have anything to do with Leon anymore. Leon glanced at the door.

Or what if Cloud didn't know what had happened, but hadn't come out anyway? Maybe he just didn't want to drink his coffee with Leon anymore. Maybe he preferred to drink his coffee in the kitchen with Aerith.

Maybe he should just get up and go check.

Leon picked up his cup to go inside, glancing one last time at the door just as Cloud came out, his own cup of coffee in hand. Smiling, Leon scooted over to make room for his friend.