Of Leather and Lip Gloss

By: Miroir du Symphonie

Fandom: Kingdom Hearts

Rating: PG

Warnings: None

A/N: The third installment - finally. Those of you who keep up with my frequently updated livejournal would have already read the first scene and know that I promised to post today. According to my clock I am cutting it extremely close - by less than ten minutes, actually.

So - down to business. Some reviewers wanted to see more of the twins, and I am happy to report that there is a very healthy dose of them in this chapter. Laguna also makes another appearance. Mainly humor and WAFF - and a little bit of Leon's backstory.

As usual, this chapter is dedicated to my beta - and girlfriend, a quite new development - Oblea. :3

I'm quite sorry about the delay on this one, there was a lot going on with me. I'm going to be writing a lot in the coming week, being that I am off from school, so expect to see a few drabbles popping up and hopefully the fourth chapter.

Enjoy, everyone, and let's look forward to future installments. Please review when you're done reading (please), and drop me a line on my LJ when you get a chance.

Glasses and Braces III

Of Leather and Lip Gloss

Sora was in quite good spirits, if he could say so himself. It was the first of April, with the birds singing sweetly and the sun doing that cool shiny thing it did on occasion. He'd been forced into finishing his weekend homework the night before—admittedly to a chorus of curses and grumbling—but now he had a beautiful Saturday of tomfoolery with his beloved twin to execute with glorious results. The brunette sighed in idyllic contentment, azure eyes drifting shut over his emptied bowl of cornflakes. His soul felt lightened and youthfully free, and the world felt like a paradise of joy and joyness.

So, as a result of such a buoyant and overly exuberant mood, the brunette decided to make a foray upstairs from a wonderful breakfast to check on his beloved older brother. (Not to say that he wouldn't do so otherwise, thank you very much.) With a dull clunk, his bowl hit the sink's stained steel and he stared at it dispassionately, debating whether or not to wash it.

I'll do it later, he thought.

And happily, he went on his way.

Cloud's door was cracked open, rays of sunlight streaming out of the small fissure to highlight the hall. He could hear the creaking of the teen's footprints as they pressured the well-worn wood, a soft muttering filling the lazy air in hastily spoken meter. "Cloud?" Sora asked, pushing the opened partition wider. What he saw was enough to shock him out of his bliss.

"Oh, no."

A knitted orange sweater in a nasty shade between upchucked carrots and bacterial Cheetos. Layered over a shirt in a shade so piss yellow it looked like some puppy with bladder problems had inherited it and was continuing genetic tradition. Completing the gruesome ensemble were neon green slacks that were cut mommy-style and could serve as colorblind shock therapy and a pair of faded Lord of the Rings sneakers.

"Well? Are they acceptable pieces of attire?"

Sora did the only thing he was capable of doing at that moment. He threw back his head and screamed.

"ROXAS!"

A muffled "what" came from the general direction of the kitchen.

"Get up here! Something's wrong with Cloud!" The brunette yelled frantically, ignoring the alarmed expression on his older brother's face.

"Again?" Roxas trumped up the stairs in a series of clumps and creaks, displaced headphones blasting music to his shapely shoulders. Sora stepped aside for the younger blonde to enter, and the pair stared at their elder sibling for long, horrible moments.

"...dude."

And the duo attacked.

Rubber gloves peeled smoothly off pinkened hands, a deft flick of the wrist sending them in a perfect arc for a neat landing in the trash. A casual shrug brought his labcoat down to his elbows, the movement almost sensual in its practiced nonchalance as he slid it down his arms and into his grip. It took little time to fold it, less time to tuck it safely away, and with that Leon turned out the lights and closed the door to his lab.

Or designated area of personal scientific study, as he preferred to call it. Lab sounded like a small child mixing grape juice and soda.

He toed off his lab sneakers outside the closed door and made his way upstairs, the feel of cool marble beneath his bare feet soothing after hours around Bunsen burners. He'd woken sinfully early that morning with the urge to tinker with something—his day-long date with Cloud didn't start until ten, but nerves had been setting in since before he'd lain down to rest. It was eight-thirty now and he felt much calmer, anticipation to see the blonde replacing the clenching fear that had paralyzed his mind.

The house seemed eerily quiet, he noted as he made his way across it to the large staircase. His father was home as usual, but was not in his office, as the gaping open door and empty space within told him. The kitchen was dark, the home theater silent, the game room deserted, the indoor pool bare. A feeling of foreboding encroached on him as he climbed the stairs, the framed pictures in the hallway seeming to stare with empty eyes.

He was relieved when he arrived at his room, turning the doorknob with a guilty haste. A sigh of relief escaped him when he entered the space and hit the lights—which promptly turned into an undignified shriek.

"Hiya, son!"

Leon felt ten years of his life slip down the drain.

Large green eyes blinked at him in childish wonder, a suspiciously young face breaking into a goofy smile. Only the crows' feet hinted at the man's true age—an age that did absolutely nothing to stop him moving as if he was constantly sniffing sugar.

Though it would make sense if Laguna was nasally imbibing, he pondered vaguely. The sugar would hit faster than injection. Blood-brain barrier thing.

"Am I capable of assisting you, father?"

The younger brunette's voice was dull as he stripped off his shirt without a second thought. Laguna's smile dimmed a little, but returned in full force as he watched Leon walk around the room. The teen felt his skin crawl at the scrutiny and knew he wasn't going to like what came next. "Well, it's Saturday, son," the older man began, bouncing a little from his spot on the bed. Leon winced as he saw his perfect corners loosening with every quake. "And since you've probably finished all your work last night like the genius you are..."

The compliment was accentuated by a flamboyant wink that served only to further unnerve its recipient. He was guilty on that count—having nothing better to do upon his arrival, he'd completed everything for the weekend and gone to bed early. That fact did absolutely nothing to stop the onset of dread. "I was wondering if you'd like to go bowling. Spend some time with your old dad."

This was not the first time that he'd gotten this proposition: almost every weekend Laguna found some way to trap him and ask him to go places. Usually he managed to find some sort of excuse—needing to buy new books, a volatile experiment requiring full attention, a test to study for—but as irritating as the older man was, Leon still felt an uncomfortable guilt. He doesn't deserve anything from me after what he did, he'd think furiously, but that did nothing to alleviate the discomfort. Today, however, he didn't have to lie.

He had plans.

A sudden rush of affection for Cloud warmed him as he pulled out his pre-prepared outfit: neatly pressed black slacks, a clean button down shirt, a gray vest. He hadn't been able to find a nicer tie, so his school one would tie off ensemble in a tidy Windsor knot. He didn't think the blonde would mind. As he got dressed, however, he could see the hurt realization forming in those viridian depths and he turned his head away, unwilling to watch.

"I...I am unable to, father," he began quietly. "I'm...going out."

"Oh." Laguna looked crestfallen, but still managed a smile. "Any particular place?"

At that moment, Leon didn't know that he would regret his next statement. He didn't know that the perfectly enunciated sentence that left his mouth in an eager burst of air would bring him nothing but pain.

"To the planetarium, in a friend's company."

Silence.

"...really?"

The brunette had been looking in the mirror as he tied his tie, so he didn't notice the expression on Laguna's face—as if someone had just told him he was being given a million dollars and flown out for a vacation on Whore Island. He did notice the man get up and leave hurriedly, and with the hasty exit Leon breathed a sigh of relief. Wallet and keys were found and pocketed, and he went to his closet to retrieve the day's...extra items.

He had spent some time last night on the computer, browsing the dating websites he'd bookmarked at the cost of his dignity. Yes, he was looking forward to going to the planetarium with Cloud—but if he was completely honest with himself, he wanted some time alone with the blonde. They'd only spent time together in public, eating lunch in each other's company at school and hanging out at the bookstore. He hadn't been to Cloud's home or met any of his family, and as luxurious as Laguna's high-profile job had made their home there was no way in hell Leon was subjecting his boyfriend to the man.

But how did one go about getting one's significant other alone?

Motels were tasteless and unromantic. Leon's cheeks burned at the endless number of implications. The bookstore was special to them, but he wanted to surprise the blonde with something new. Both their houses were currently out of the question, and any other place he could think of held too much potential for interruption. He'd almost given up the notion when he remembered a certain incident from his early pre-teen years.

Bad memories. Very bad memories, but if his recall was correct, they would give him the perfect spot.

Reaching for the shelf of the closet, he removed the prepared items and turned around—only to drop them in surprise. Laguna was standing in the open doorway.

Holding a pair of very questionable-looking pants.

Leon did not like the expression on his father's face.

"Son, I've been thinking." There was a clear glint of mischief in the man's jade eyes as he sauntered into the room. "You're getting older now, and it's around the right time for you to start experiencing certain...things."

The brunette unconsciously backed away. "Such as what, father?"

"Relationships. Dating. Those sort of things."

"Father, I..." he cast about for a response, suddenly very nervous. Yes, he'd resolved not to inform the man about Cloud, but if his father was taking matters into his own hands then this could go in a number of unpleasant directions. "I have already told you that I am being accompanied by a friend. A friend, father."

"But friends make the best lovers, son!" That mischievous gleam had turned downright manic as Laguna came even closer. Leon felt his knees hit the back of the bed and he went sprawling onto it, scuttling towards the farthest corner like a frightened crab. The man followed him in his hurried journey across the sheets until they were face to face. "And how are you going to make that transition without a little effort?"

With that said, Laguna put his hands on his squirming son's hips, hooking the waistline of the buttoned slacks and the boxers underneath between his deft fingers.

And pulled.

Leon screamed.

The next few minutes were a flurry of flailing limbs, determined tugging and choked off cries for help and mercy. When the dust settled and Laguna leaned back, the younger brunette felt all circulation in his legs screech to an abrupt halt.

Dark.

Smooth.

Tight.

Leather.

"See, son?" Laguna said soothingly as he tugged his son over the mussed duvet and towards the open doorway. "Your friend won't be able to stop staring at you in that. Come, I have a whole outfit to go with it..."

Leon's body was too numb and his mind too broken to even consider resistance.

Cloud was decidedly uncomfortable as the twins bustled about, tossing various clothing items around and calling out suggestions. His room was in total disarray—there was stuff everywhere. On the bed, on the dresser, gloves and jewelry and bottles of suspicious-looking things he tried his best not to look at. Longingly, he gazed at his discarded, comfortable outfit and then down with disgust at what he was currently wearing: a tight black shirt whose sleeves stopped just under his elbows and an equally tight pair of black jeans.

And apparently he wasn't finished.

"Found it!" Sora cried out triumphantly, pulling a white object from underneath one of the piles. "Put this on, Cloud."

The blonde looked in confusion at what appeared to be a girl's pleated miniskirt. He was already wearing pants, wasn't he? And why would his brother...

"Sora...that article of clothing is not in your immediate possession, is that correct?"

"Huh?" The brunette's nose scrunched up cutely as he translated Cloud's sentence to English. "Oh, no, it's Kairi's...mom's."

Roxas stuck his head out of the closet, looking as baffled as his brother felt. "Why would you even have—"

"Well, would you look at the time—lots left to do," the youngest said hastily, a cerise flush blooming on his face. "Just put it on over the pants. It's a fashion thing."

Gingerly, the blonde bent down to slip the skirt up his clothed legs, feeling the pressure at his waist increase dramatically. His air was even further constricted when Roxas came up behind him and fastened a choker around his neck. A pair of white fingerless was dropped into his lap. "Put those gloves on, Cloud," the younger blonde said absentmindedly as he began to sift through the bottles on the dresser.

"Roxas, he doesn't need all that," Sora muttered, joining his twin. "I don't want use up all our drag stuff, that powder cost a fortune—"

"Just this, then?" Roxas replied in an equally low voice, glancing over his shoulder. Cloud seemed too absorbed in disgustedly feeling himself up to pay them any attention. A small, transparent tube was held up for Sora's viewing, and the brunette smiled.

"Yeah, just that."

Cloud looked up from his horrified observations to see his siblings approaching him, both wearing large and innately disturbing grins. Roxas grabbed his shoulders and gently eased him to sit on the bed while Sora bent over to meet his eye level. "Just one more thing, brother dear..."

The bed depressed as the younger blonde got on it, and Cloud gasped, startled as a fistful of his hair was suddenly clutched in a death grip from behind. Something in Sora's hands was making a muted squishing sound, and the brunette was looking down at it with an unusually loving gaze.

"Close your eyes, Cloud."

Obediently, he shut them. And something cool and wet spread evenly over his lips, just as the doorbell rang.

Cloud's hand was shyly entwined in his as they entered the establishment, in good moods after a comfortably quiet drive. Having been in the process of getting over his parentally induced trauma, he'd had the amount of clarity to note that Cloud looked stunningly gorgeous—but not enough to say anything. As he paid for their tickets and looked over at the blonde, however, he felt appreciation well up inside him.

"Your appearance is resplendent, Cloud."

Pale cheeks gained a rosy tint, but there was pleasant surprise in those cerulean depths. "My siblings accosted me. I had minimal input on my choice of attire." The blonde's eyes flickered downward, surreptitiously, but Leon noticed and felt his face burn. "Were you victim to a similar fate, or..."

"I was," he said hastily, not wanting Cloud to entertain the other option. He would set his scientific study area on fire before he put on these clothes willingly. "My father was rather... insistent."

The blonde smiled warmly and reached up to finger the fur on Laguna's leather jacket, left open to show the tight t-shirt underneath. The man had also insisted that Leon expose his pendant, which he usually tucked safely against his skin. It hung in full view, and Cloud's fingers brushed it gently before retreating.

"I am of the persuasion that his results are very desirable," the teen commented quietly, lips curled in a smile sultrier than anything Leon had seen on his boyfriend's face. "I did not possess the prior knowledge that your trochanter was so...defined."

Once more, the brunette's cheeks heated, but he was drawn to the sight of Cloud laughing. Metal caught the light, drawing Leon's attention to the blonde's lips.

They looked...different today, somehow. Fuller. Pinker.

More kissable.

I want to get you alone...

With a shake of the head, he banished those thoughts and took his boyfriend's hand, guiding them towards the escalator. If he didn't stop daydreaming something was bound to go wrong.

The planetarium was a large, open building, with several floors and a massive spherical theater that was attached to the ceiling and was only accessible on the top floor. This was their first destination, to see a show about their world's stellar origins. The ceiling of the dome was made of some transparent material, the brunette noted as they entered, and they sat together in the back row.

The seats were arranged arena-style, but none of them were raised. And there was no stage in sight.

"There is no designated presentation area," Cloud whispered, sounding as excited as Leon felt. "Unless they intend to utilize the diminutive area in the center, in which case I am unaware of how they plan to execute such a complex presentation in—"

The blonde stopped speaking as the lights dimmed, and as one the audience gasped as the ceiling lit up. The brunette understood—half of the dome was for seating, but the other 180 was the show.

And it was beautiful.

As much as he was enjoying the informative spectacle, Leon's eyes couldn't help but stray over to his companion. Cloud was on the edge of his seat, face set in joyful awe, the lights from above reflecting in his eyes and making them shine. Somehow, somehow, his lips were shining too—they looked so soft, so moist and in the dim illumination...alluring.

And suddenly, everything changed—the lights went up, Cloud was looking at him from a much closer distance and his world had blurred. The blonde didn't look like he had moved, however, and embarrassment welled up in the brunette as he discerned his close proximity.

He'd been leaning in without realizing.

"Silly." Cloud's tone was teasing and Leon's ears tingled at the sound of the unfamiliar word. He'd never heard his boyfriend use such...puerile language. He liked it. "Your optical aids fell. It would be prudent to keep them more securely in place. For future reference."

Feeling like an idiot, he retrieved his glasses and put them on, though his mood improved when the blonde kissed his cheek.

Gently, he took the teen's hand. He would not let one incident ruin his day.

"I will certainly remember. Come, there are other exhibits I would like us to visit."

Cloud stood in front of the bathroom mirror, smoothing out his clothing. He and Leon had passed several happy hours browsing the planetarium, laughing at each other's exorbitant weights on the planet mass scales and taking two more trips to the theater. They were getting ready to go somewhere else, though Cloud didn't know where—a surprise, the brunette had said.

But first, he had something to do.

"Put this on every few hours, okay?"

Looking around surreptitiously, he pulled the skirt up and grabbed the small tube from his pants pocket. With careful hands, he ran the small wand across his lips, feeling the familiar cool and wet sensation as the viscous fluid settled in. The blonde wasn't particularly fond of it—it felt strange and a little too thick. But Sora and Roxas knew more about this thing than he did, and he supposed he should trust them.

And there was the fact that Leon had been staring a lot more than usual. Though if he was honest with himself, he was guilty of that as well—he'd never taken note of the fact that the brunette had nice legs. In the loose blue plaid of their school uniforms, it wasn't visible, but in spray-painted leather the sight was burned into his brain. Leon had very, very nice legs, toned and leading up to a curved, round, supple...

Cloud's fingers twitched inward.

With a slight flush on his nose and under his collar, he left the bathroom and headed out for their meeting spot. After a five-minute walk out to the parking lot, he spotted Leon next to his car—carrying a heavy-looking bag in his hand.

What's in that?

"Are you prepared to depart, Cloud?"

He smiled back, suspense slowly building as he got into the car. "Yes. Won't you please relay to me what our destination is?"

Leon took a minute to put his cargo in the backseat before joining Cloud in the front. "I informed you that it is meant to be a surprise."

"But I am desirous to assimilate that information at this moment!" The blonde pouted for the first time in his life, inwardly noting that the brunette's hand had stilled on the ignition as they held eye contact. He'd never seen his boyfriend's eyes this stormy—as if the smoke from some hidden red fire was undulating in each iris.

"Then you will simply have to adapt to the situation's reality. You will take pleasure in this, I promise."

"Very well, then."

The brunette smiled at him and started the engine, fixing his hands in perfect ten and two position. Leaning back on the seat, he closed his eyes and contentedly let Leon drive.

Cloud was woken by soft shaking.

Sitting up, he blinked sleepily, realizing that he had nodded off in the car. It was around five in the afternoon if the white numbers on the dashboard were right, and he was starving. Unfortunately, he didn't see any restaurants around. He didn't see anything around.

"Leon, where are we?" he asked sleepily, blinking rapidly to wake up faster. The brunette only smiled, completely unconcerned with that fact that they were in the middle of nowhere.

"There is something I would like to show you, but first...for how lengthy a time period are you permitted to be outside your home?"

Cloud smiled at the question—his mother had squealed in joy when he'd asked her permission to go out and told him he could stay out as late as three AM. Why she'd given him such an exorbitant amount of time was still a mystery, though he had a sickening suspicion the twins had something to do with it.

"Very late. Staying in this area for a while will not present an issue."

The brunette looked relieved. "Come."

As Cloud stepped out of the car, the first thing he noticed was how quiet it was. There was no civilization for as far as he could see, except the winding road. Wild grass came up to his knees, tickling his skin through his jeans and making him feel prickly. The sun was beginning to set, as well—its cosmic burn turning the sky orange and purple near the horizon line.

He was so immersed in watching his surroundings that he didn't notice Leon come up beside him, the mystery bag from earlier in one hand and a cylindrical tube under his arm. "There's a small cliff near here. Obviously we will not be going near its edge, but..." The brunette coughed, looking more and more nervous by the minute. "When the sun sets, you are capable of...viewing stars. That you cannot see in the city. I had the notion...that you would enjoy it, considering where we just were."

He motioned to the tube. "I...brought my telescope. So you can see them better. And food, since we didn't purchase anything."

Excitement welled up within him, battling another potent but slower emotion. It was the tortoise that won—a wave of affection crashed over him in a torrent that left him gasping. "I..."

He couldn't find words.

Instead, he slid his arms around Leon's middle and squeezed tightly.

The brunette seemed to understand.

The sun had finally set in a blaze of color, leaving the cool blanket of night to unroll itself above them. Stars dotted its expanse, more than he could count—though Cloud was making a valiant effort with the recently erected telescope. Already familiar with the beautiful view through the lens, he was content to lay back and watch the blonde.

Dinner had gone well. The grass grew scarcer the closer they got to the cliff, and they were able to settle where it was ankle-deep. Inwardly the brunette thanked the curious saleslady who he'd bought the food from—when notified that he was setting up picnic she'd directed him to a mattress store and all but demanded he buy a blanket.

Surreptitiously, he patted himself on the back. The day couldn't have gone more perfect.

"Leon?" Cloud was looking at him curiously. "I wanted to inquire of you...how exactly did you originally locate this place?"

He grimaced automatically, even as the blonde sat beside him. "My father attempted to take me on a camping excursion when I was around the age of twelve. Unfortunately, he had wound down the car window completely and the directions to the camping ground flew out."

Cloud tried to restrain his mirth, body quivering with the repressed force of the sound. "What events occurred after?"

"He was too frightened to transport us any farther, and we had lost the directions near the spot that I parked. We instead made a very disastrous attempt at the activity here and opted to go home the next day."

Leon scowled, eyes narrowing as the blonde gave up and let his laughter ring across the plains. "I'm surprised that you recalled the location for such an extensive period of time," Cloud commented, trying to get himself under control.

Softening somewhat, he managed a small smile. "It is a positive thing that I did."

A crisp wind seared the field, tousling Leon's bangs. His jacket was thick enough that it didn't bother him, but Cloud was not so lucky and had begun to shiver. Without thinking, he blurted the first thing that came to mind.

"In Antarctica, penguins move more physically close together to preserve warmth."

Once more embarrassed at the awkward cross between odd fact and proposition, he was surprised when Cloud's only reactions were quivering, outstretched arms and a smile. "I don't believe I'm an aquatic bird, but I am willing to adopt a few mannerisms."

Feeling sheepish but strangely elated, he gingerly pulled the blonde closer. They had certainly hugged before, but it had always been brief—nothing like this extended embrace. His boyfriend's body fit perfectly against his chest, flaxen hair pleasantly brushing Leon's nape. Like in the theater, the starlight flecked Cloud's eyes, intimately entwined with the blue of each iris.

And his lips...they still shined with an iridescent sheen.

He wanted to capture them.

"I found our day together a very enjoyable excursion, Leon," the blonde whispered quietly. There was no one around to hear them and yet the brunette shared the sentiment: it was as if speaking loudly would shatter the gravity of their moment. "I appreciate it. Thank you."

"It was pleasurable for myself as well, Cloud." Timidly, he traced his digits along the blonde's spine, feeling its contours with a tenderness that bordered reverence. "I relished our time together during our hours of study, but I...coveted a few moments where we were not engulfed by others."

The blonde's fingers curled on his shoulder, toying with the longer strands of his hair that brushed it. "I wanted that as well."

Cloud looked up at him then, their breath mingling, and unconsciously Leon's tongue came out to wet his lips. Blue eyes flickered downwards to behold the sight for only a mere second—but the brunette caught their movement and his heart began to race. "The pacing of this...is rather rapid."

His voice had a husky quality when it touched the space between them, and Cloud's voice also came out addled. "I was aware of that, Leon. But..." the blonde's chin tilted upwards. Minutely. A centimeter's fraction.

It was enough for Leon.

"...I'm not concerned."

He leaned down slowly, almost shyly, not wanting to rush this or force it or ruin it in any way. But Cloud's hold on his shoulders had loosened into a gentle caress, his body relaxed in the brunette's hold. Open, ready.

Waiting.

Fin