Third chapter's finally done! Thanks for the reviews they're always encouraging. All previous warnings apply. Yeah not much goes on in this chap, just to warn ya. Sorry if there are some grammar mistakes I missed, even with spell check. I have no beta. Anyway enjoy!
"Talking"
'Thoughts'
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Leon groaned in frustration as he made his way out of the school building. Shaking off his musings on the earlier incident he began to sprint down the street, in the direction of Sora's preschool. He slowed to a walk when he finally approached the twin glass doors of the small establishment. Entering quickly, Leon was almost knocked over when two small boys threw themselves at him.
"Leon!" they shouted excitedly wrapping their arms around him. Leon let out a laugh, ruffling their hair.
"Hey twerps" he greeted, the affection in his tone only making the boys grin and squeeze tighter.
After easily prying the kids off of him Leon turned to face the older of the two.
"Zexion said you could sleep over at our house, right Riku?"
The silver haired boy smiled and nodded.
"Yup" he affirmed happily "brother (1) said he'd send Demyx come pick me up on Monday."
Leon nodded but frowned slightly, unable to shake the feeling that the slate haired man was using him as a free babysitting service.
"Well I guess we should get going then" Leon stated starting to walk out the door, Sora and Riku obediently trailing behind him.
Leon couldn't hide a small smile as he watched the two children laugh and run circles around him, as they walked down the street. The teen gave an internal sigh as he watched Sora trip once again. Leon leaned down prepared to pick the smaller brunette up, only to have the other child beat him to it. Grabbing his friend's hand Riku helped Sora stand and dusted him off, asking if he was alright. The younger child nodded slowly, a smile sliding onto his features as he grabbed Riku's hand and pulled him to run ahead of their temporary caretaker.
When the trio arrived at their destination Leon approached the door carrying a softly snoring Sora with one arm. The boy yawned as his elder brother set him down so he could unlock the door, Riku keeping a close eye on his companion as to make sure the other preschooler didn't injure himself in his drowsy state. As soon as the door was open and they were inside, Sora perked up slightly.
"Stay here Ri; I want to show you how big Cupcake's (2) gotten!" Sora exclaimed, rushing up the stairs to his room.
Riku sighed and jumped onto the sofa, waiting for Sora's return. A few minutes later the bouncy preschooler came bounding back down the stairs, hauling an albino Burmese python with him. Riku grinned as his friend set the 7ft. reptilian on the shining hard wood floor.
"He just turned five a few weeks ago" Sora gushed, petting the animal lightly.
Riku laughed loudly at Sora's statement.
"You're old Cake" the silver haired boy teased, making the other boy giggle.
The teen smiled fondly as he watched the two converse, Sora flailing around to make a point. Slowly Leon eased his way into the kitchen. It was approaching 5 o' clock and he figured the kids needed to be fed.
"Do you guys want food?" the scarred boy called.
He got his answer as loud "yes" rang through house. Hearing that Leon began to rummage through the cabinet, looking for something the boys could eat. The edible things his search yielded were a bag of chips, and a bottle of ketchup. The leather clad teen smacked his forehead, frustrated by his own stupidity.
"I knew I should have gone to the store earlier this week" he muttered to himself. 'What to do, what to do?' he thought, pacing across the black and white tiled floor. He couldn't leave the boys alone, or they might end up hurting themselves. Leon shuddered to think what of Zexion or Sephiroth would do to him should he let their younger brother come to any harm (3). But he couldn't take them with him, lest he return home with six more bags of food than he had planned to get.
"I need someone to watch them while I'm gone then" the teen said to no one in particular. Leon chuckled cynically.
"One problem down, one to go" he murmured.
Now all he had to figure out was who he could rope into watching the brats
"I could get Demyx to do it" Leon said to himself, tapping the marble counter absently. He let out a low snort a moment later, once he realized the absurdity of that option.
'If Demyx wasn't occupied at the moment than Riku might not even be here' he reasoned with himself.
Leon's expression brightened as he remembered his younger cousin Yuffie. The high school student rolled his eyes as he imagined how that situation would play out. Sure Yuffie adored the innocent little brunette, but that was probably because she was just like him. The self proclaimed ninja was too much of a child herself to provide proper supervision. The teen sighed heavily, moving to lean against the counter as he tried to think of a short-term sitter.
"Axel might do it" Leon figured.
The boy twitched momentarily as his mind conjured up an image of his house covered in ash, and crumbling to the ground.
"No just….no" he muttered readily discarding that idea.
Leon's head dropped to the counter top dejection quickly taking over, before yet another idea hit him. Aerith and Tifa. The two slightly older women were known to be kind and responsible. It was only a bonus that the better endowed of the two females had a mean right hook that could easily take care of any home invaders. Not to mention they just happened some of his closest friends, so they'd be happy to help. Plucking the kitchen phone off its receiver Leon hastily dialed Aerith's cell phone. After a few seconds of ringing, a kindly voice with an electronic lilt responded.
"Hello you've reached Aerith Gainsborough. I cannot be reached at the moment, but if you'll be nice enough to leave your name and number then I'll be happy to reply (4)."
Leon felt the urge to scream rising. Slamming down the phone, the brunette teen began to furiously rack his brain for another option.
"Is no one free?!" he growled.
Leon's frantic thoughts abruptly came to a halt. He knew that if he was really that desperate…there was always one person that would make time for him. The man could be trusted for the most part and was generally friendly, Leon reluctantly admitted. Finally the boy heaved a defeated sigh, and picked up the phone again. Punching in a few numbers on the key pad, Leon waited for the person of the other line to pick up. A minute or so later he was met with a husky voice growling at him through the receiver.
"This better be good Leonhart" the voice snarled.
The scarred boy couldn't hold back a smirk. "Oh was I interrupting something?" he asked, feigning surprise. Before the other had a chance to respond, Leon had begun to speak again.
"Anyway I need you to give me Strife's number."
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(1)(3) – In this story I made Zexion and Sephiroth Riku's elder brothers. This will come into play a bit in later chapters too.
(2) – My good buddy Brainless Boy came up with the name for Sora's pet snake. I do not encourage small children to handle large reptilians in real life.
(4) - I really tried to make Aerith's message as sickeningly polite as possible.