Kryptonite Chapter 6, a kingdom hearts fanfic

A/n: Hellloooooo! Another sleepless night for me. No weird ideas about centipedes missing legs to fuel my need to write, so I decided to write up this chapter. Nice and early (3:45am) in the beautiful country that I call home. Well thanks to my lack of sleep, I have this chapter up quicker than I had planned XD. So enjoy!

Disclaimer: I honestly don't own Kingdom Hearts. It would have so much more sexy fun in it!

I've made it worse, Aerith concluded in her mind. Cloud had been hiding away in his apartment as much as possible and whenever she went to make sure he was eating, all he would do was stare blankly at her. She could gain no response from him, and neither could any of their friends. Cid had called him the worst names he could think of; Yuffie had stolen his treasured blade and ran swinging it madly around his room, but nothing. Tifa had all but jumped on him and kissed him, but he didn't respond, not even to throw her off. He just sat there, unmoving with the stupid blank stare on his face.

Although she was rather upset by the blonde's behaviour, at least Aerith knew that he was alive and safe. Nobody had seen Leon since Riku and Sora had seen him storming out of the house. They had all searched everywhere, but he was no longer in Radiant Garden. The two young boys, bless them, had decided to travel around and look for him, and had left almost two weeks ago. But neither of them had brought any news since. She decided to make another trip to Cloud's, taking a few of her homemade cookies with her.

"Cloud?" she shouted as she reached his door. "Can I come in?" She took his silence as a yes and opened the door slowly. She didn't care how long it took, she was determined that before she left his house, she would have made Cloud talk to her.

When she entered she saw that he was sat, cross legged on the floor, staring into the dying embers in front of him. He did not look up at her approach, or show any indication that he had noticed when she sat down next to him. She offered her cookies to him, a pleading look on her face. Slowly, reluctantly, Cloud took one, nibbling slightly at the edge. Aerith positively beamed.

"Been doing anything today?" she asked cheerily. Cloud did not respond, just continued taking small bites of the cookie. Judging by the flushed colour of his face, Aerith could tell that he had been sat in front of the fire for a long time. Her face fell slightly.

"I guess not. How are the cookies?" She didn't get a response to this question either, just another bite of said cookie. She shifted closer to him, resting her head on his shoulder. He didn't move in the slightest. She thought about her next subject quickly, turning her head to watch his face before she spoke.

"Leon's still missing you know," she said matter-of-factly. Cloud's eyes flashed quickly at the mention of Leon, but the spark of life died down again quickly. Aerith continued on. "We're all really worried. It's been two weeks since anyone has seen him. Riku said that he was crying when he left the house." Cloud made a strangled noise, forcing his mouth to close, to stop himself from speaking the words that almost burst through. Aerith smiled slyly in triumph.

"Cloud. What happened with you?"

No reply.

"You know you can tell me anything."

Nothing.

"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked hopefully.

"...No..." Aerith gasped as she heard Cloud's raspy voice for the first time in weeks.

"Why not Cloud?" she asked, hoping for more.

"...No..." he repeated, continuing to stare at the embers. Aerith stood up slowly, watching Cloud's face intently. She knew that she would get no more from him today. But it was a start. It was more than just silence.

"I'm going to go now then. I have to make dinner for everyone. You can join us if you like."

"..."

And they were back to the silence. She sighed and headed for the door.

"I'll be back tomorrow then," she said as she softly closed the door. Her spirit was lifted slightly, Cloud did have some life in him somewhere, and it was just a question of bringing it out. She knew that she would have to take things slowly, but she also knew that she had finally made some progress, and even that was better than nothing.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee, minus two members, sat quietly around the large dining table at Merlin's. It had been like this ever since the incident that had temporarily (well hopefully temporarily) lost them the two members. They would sit and eat their food quietly and quickly, sometimes striking up a conversation, but it was half-hearted at best. Even Yuffie had been quiet for a record amount of time. Tonight the atmosphere was no different than it had been lately, and the only sounds to be heard were the scraping of knives and forks and the slight shifting of chairs.

The back door flew open suddenly, thrown with such force that it almost came off its hinges. Everybody around the table jumped and Aerith and Yuffie squealed. Sora and Riku came through the doorway swiftly, dragging a beaten and bloody body between them. Aerith screamed as she recognised who it was.

"Aerith!" Sora shouted breathily. "We found him fighting Hades in the Underworld. The curse was stopping him from causing any damage, and Hades just kept messing with him. We got there just in time to stop him from striking a fatal blow. We brought him straight back here, but he's lost a lot of blood."

The two teens pulled the broken Leon over to the closest bedroom, laying him flat on the bed. Aerith followed them hastily, rolling her sleeves up as she went. She drew magic into her hands, placing them over Leon's broken body. From the corner of her eye she could see Riku holding his friend close to him, both of them trying to fight the tears.

"How long has he been out cold Riku?" she asked, still healing the man before her.

"He's been out for about five minutes. Before that he kept swimming in and out of consciousness, but he just kept mumbling 'Cloud' over and over again," Riku answered quickly, gulping as he finished. Aerith forced more energy into her hands, increasing the power of her healing. She knew that Leon was in serious danger but didn't want the young teens to see this. She thought quickly.

"Will you please get him then? They're best friends. Cloud should be here," she said softly.

"But..." Riku began to protest.

"But nothing, Riku. Leon was asking for Cloud, and Cloud would want to be here. Please just go get him. Both of you. Drag him here if you have to, but just get him," she chided. Riku obliged, not wanting to distract her from her healing. He gave Sora another quick hug and the two of them departed, tears streaming down their faces now.

Aerith sighed, increasing her magic further, pushing her limits to the extreme, but she would not let Leon die. She could not let that happen.

"CLOUD!" Riku screamed through the door before he thrust it open. He found Cloud sitting on the floor, a batch of Aerith's cookies almost completely gone, just a few remaining next to him. The blonde turned his head slightly upon the silver haired teen's entrance, the commotion being made too loud for him to ignore.

"Cloud! Leon...he...he's..." Cloud jumped up, emotion flashing through his eyes.

"Leon?" he rasped, unused to using his voice. All his thoughts had left him as soon as Riku had spoken; the facade dropping.

"He's...Merlin's..."Riku whimpered. Cloud could instantly tell that something was wrong; the tears streaming down the teens faces confirming this. Not thinking any further, he flew out of the door, running at full speed towards Merlin's. His body felt strange, as if he was doing something alien to it, but he pushed himself harder, not letting up or even slowing despite the ache in his legs.

He ran through the open doorway, skidding to a halt in front of Aerith, who had collapsed on the floor in the living room.

"Leon?" he questioned, becoming even more worried as Aerith looked up, tears spilling down her face as they with Riku and Sora. She nodded wearily towards the first bedroom, the door of which was slightly open. He couldn't see through the slight gap, so cautiously walked towards it, pushing it open without looking. Taking a deep breath to steel himself, he entered, opening his eyes slowly. What he saw caused him to collapse to the floor, burying his head in his hands as sobs ripped through him.

He was alive. His chest was moving, rising and falling evenly. Cloud could hear the soft breaths coming from the older man, which confirmed that he was not just hallucinating. Leon was alive.

Cloud no longer spent his time alone in his apartment. He spent the days and nights at a constant vigil at the unconscious Leon's side, whispering softly to him, stopping as soon as he heard anyone approach the room. Whenever anyone entered, he didn't show an signs of doing anything other than sitting a foot away from his friend's bed, waiting.

It had been one month since Leon had been brought back, and Cloud only left the room for around fifteen minutes a day. Five minutes for a quick shower, and then five in the morning for brushing his teeth, and five in the evening for the same reason. If it wasn't for Aerith forcing him to move, he would not have left for even that small amount of time. She had been bringing his meals to him, not leaving until she had watched him eat it.

His hair had grown longer, it was starting to cover his eyes but it did not matter to him. Leon's hair had grown too, but Cloud would not allow anyone to cut it, or his own. He did not want people making Leon's decisions for him.

People often visited, and whilst they were there, Cloud's eyes retained their dead look, not giving anything away to anyone. But as soon as they left, they would regain life, emotion, and he would begin whispering once again. He would grab the other man's hand tightly with both of his own, pressing it to his face sometimes.

He told Leon that he had been an idiot. He told him that he had been scared, that he had shut himself off from the world. He told him that he had always felt something, but he didn't know what it was. He admitted that Leon was the only person that could make him feel weak, but that he liked it. He explained everything that he had ever felt towards the man, all the secrets that he had hidden from everyone.

"I don't know what it is about you Leonhart, but I can't pull away. I tried, but I just kept thinking things through in my head, growing further away from my friends. I realise now Leonhart, I need you. I always have," he began to sob silently, clutching Leon's hand close to him.

"Wake up. Come back... Please."

Where the hell am I? It hurts so much. Everything hurts so much. It's too cold, it smells too much. I can't see through the dark, it's like the thickest of blankets covering me, keeping me from where I want to be. Where do I want to be? I walk and I walk but I don't get anywhere, it's like there's nothing here. Am I going to be alone forever here in this dark prison of solitude? There has to be a way out.

Such a beautiful voice. My angel. My angel shouldn't be sad. My angel is too beautiful to be unhappy. If I could just get there, if I could just reach out. But it's too cold. I can't move, I can't see. It hurts, my angel. It hurts so badly.

"Wake up. Come back."

I want to, my angel! I want to come back. But I can't see. I can't find my way to you. I keep walking and walking, but I don't get anywhere. But I'll keep going. I will find you. I have to. No my angel, don't cry for me. I'm coming. I promise.

I can feel you my angel! I'm getting closer to you, I know it. It's not so cold anymore. It doesn't hurt as much. But I still can't see. Help me to see my angel.

"Please."

I can see it my angel! The softest of lights. Like a candle flickering somewhere in the distance. I'm coming my angel! I'm coming home to you.

As Cloud sat, sobbing silently, he felt the hand he was holding twitch slightly. He gasped loudly, looking up and watching Leon's face intently. He saw Leon's eyes tighten slightly, before they cracked open, testing the light. Slowly, they opened fully, and Cloud's own shone brightly. Leon's eyes searched the room quickly, before coming to rest on Cloud. He smiled tentatively, which soon widened when he saw Cloud do the same.

"Hey."

"Hey," Leon croaked back, cursing his lack of voice. He looked away, embarrassed to show Cloud that he was weak, and within seconds found that the warmth surrounding his hand had gone. He looked quickly to see Cloud withdrawing his own, obviously only just remembering that it had been there, thinking that to be the reason of Leon's embarrassment. They looked at each other sheepishly before Cloud began to speak.

"Leonhart, I...I was a..." he stopped suddenly when he heard Leon groan loudly. He had chosen that moment to try and sit up, and found that it was extremely painful to do so.

"Oh fuck!" Cloud cried. "You've still got injuries. AERITH! Aerith said she couldn't...AERITH! She said she couldn't heal you fully until you woke up. AERITH!!!"

"What?!" she cried, bustling into the room quickly, not really paying attention. "It's quarter past three in the morning (A/n: the time it is now as I'm writing this bit). Do you really have to wake up the whole house? If it's another spider then...LEON!"

She ran over to him, pulling him close into a hug. Leon groaned again, and Cloud couldn't help but smack his forehead. How stupid? Really?

"Oh my lord. Sorry Leon. I forgot. How are you feeling?"

"...Sore..." he replied blandly. Cloud chuckled. You can always trust Leonhart to be Leonhart, he thought.

"I guess you are," Aerith said sheepishly. She drew magic to her hands and placed them over Leon's body. He sighed in relief as the pain left him bit by bit, his minor (but rather painful) injuries slowly healing.

"Thank you Aerith. Truly," Leon said sincerely. Cloud found himself silently agreeing. He owed Aerith immensely, but he would not tell her that just yet. He wasn't sure what Leon would think of that.

"Right now. Both of you, bed! You especially Cloud. You haven't slept in too long," she chided. Cloud looked away from her, knowing that what she said was true.

"No way," Leon argued. "I've only just woken up. I've been out for...for...umm...how long exactly?"

"About a month," Cloud answered quietly, not wanting his voice to betray him.

"I've just healed you again. You need to sleep and then you will feel much better. You can talk to your hearts' content tomorrow, right now...sleep!" She looked knowingly at both men. They gave in instantly. Leon settled himself back down onto the bed, trying to get comfortable. Cloud tried to sit back down in the chair that he had occupied for a while now, but Aerith caught his arm and pulled. She was deceptively strong.

"No. You've sat there long enough. Nothing's going to happen Cloud," she hissed in his ear. Leon looked curiously at them, but shrugged slightly and went back to trying to find comfort. "Leave it until the morning. Then I'll let you talk to him as much as you want."

He nodded swiftly, extracting himself from her grip and heading towards the spare room. There was no way he was leaving the house. As he led down on the bed, he thought about everything that he had said to Leon whilst he lay unconscious. How much would he remember?

Drifting off to a much needed sleep, the last thought that registered with him was a memory of Aerith's words from just 20 minutes ago.

"Leave it until the morning. Then I'll let you talk to him as much as you want."

Yes, he thought, smirking slightly. He was definitely going to hold her to that one.

A\n: Well there's chapter 6 for you. I guess I made Leon OOC here, but who really knows exactly what he's thinking in his head? This is longer than my usual, I didn't want to stop writing it. I couldn't find a good cut off point. I thought it would be too cheesy to stop straight after Leon's thoughts. R&R please. I would love to hear your thoughts. Any ideas on what you might like to happen between the two are welcome too. I aim to please. Next chapter coming soon XD

x x x