Chapter 04
Words: 6 550
Genre: Comedy/Romance (Fluff)
Pairing(s): Cloud x Leon (if you want), eventual Leon x Cloud
Notes: AU highschool!fic. Leon will hereon be referred to as Squall. :D
Disclaimer: Inspired by Gosho Aoyama's Conan, as well as Staryday's fic, Child Again.
Warnings: A little swearing, a whole lot of... cute:D;;
Rated: R
Squall was stretching his arms, straining his fingers as he balanced precariously on tiptoes.
He let out a slight groan at the tension gathering at his shoulder as he squeezed his eyes shut, stretching a little higher, holding in his breath. Frustrated, Squall gave up and decided to give a slight jump, but that didn't work. A fire of determination was blazing in his eyes and he gave the object a pointed glare before bracing himself and hopping on one foot, arm splayed up wildly above him.
His fingers successfully hooked the top of the spine of the book.
With a resounding 'thud', Squall tumbled to the floor with two relatively large hardcover books, a small cloud of dust fogging the air fleetingly before dissipating. He blinked the dust out of his eyes, coughing lightly before triumphantly picking both books up, getting to his feet. Cloud had carefully avoided these photo albums the night before, and he was curious to see what the books contained.
Squall brushed the dirt off, shaking some of it out of his hair before walking to his corner and settling down. It was sometime earlier in the morning, and the study was brightly lit, curtains pulled back and revealing a slightly cloudy day.
Squall flipped the album open, eyes immediately landing on a blushing kid with spiky blond hair clutching onto the straps of his backpack, meekly peering at the camera. Squall couldn't help but faintly smile slightly at the picture, scanning the photograph before his eyes landed on another. Cloud was clutching onto his mother's skirt, hiding behind her. They appeared to be standing in front of a school, what with the other children who were running into the building.
On the next page was Cloud and Yuffie, eating some cakes. Cloud was leaning over, wiping away the crumbs surrounding the young girl's mouth with a tissue paper. A small smile graced his lips as he did so, eyes softened and kind. Yuffie was looking at him with an expression of reverence and adoration, apparently keeping still so that the older boy could clean her mouth in peace.
That image was so familiar, Squall having experienced Cloud's affectionate smiles and gentle touches many times already in the course of the past few days. Cloud must have liked children from a young age, he concluded, flipping the page. There were a lot of photographs of this young Cloud, and from one that had the caption '7th Birthday' that contained a grinning blond boy with lots of cake and icing messily coating his lips and cheeks, he could easily guess that these were from when he lived in Wutai.
Cloud looked so happy in these photos. Squall found that the need to understand what had transpired that managed to spark such a significant change in Cloud strengthen, and he resolutely turned the pages. He accidentally let out a snort when he came across a Cloud looking reproachfully up at the camera, arms crossed and cheeks puffed childishly, lower lip jutting out in a cute pout. Squall bit down on his lip, afraid that he would start giggling at the image. It really was an adorable picture, and so help him, he had never used that word to describe anything before.
At that moment, something indescribable struck him, and he wasn't very sure if he should act on that idea playing in his mind. The simple urge to do it, however, was stronger than the adult-like cynicism he possessed and he caved in after a bout of inner conflict.
Eyeing the study, he made sure that no one else was in the room – not like anyone else would be – before he did something completely unthinkable, something so uncharacteristic he was sure the potion was messing with his brain.
He copied the pout.
Squall let out a small chortle, but quickly silenced himself, trying to perfect the expression that seemed to make those older than him obey his every beck and call. From the picture, it seemed that he had to furrow his eyebrows to let out some semblance of distaste, eyes narrowed but still round and big. It reminded him of a puppy for some odd reason, but he simply shrugged that notion away, trying out the expression for a few more minutes before he was sure he had some grasp of perfection over it.
Squall decided that he had to try to copy some of these expressions if he wanted to come off as a normal child. Looking through Cloud's younger pictures really was pretty beneficial in the long run. There was this one photograph where Cloud was wide eyed, lips forming a tiny, thoughtful pout. Squall copied it, noticing that something wasn't very similar before finding the difference between the poses. He cocked his head to the side, and in the back of his mind, he wondered if this was supposed to make him look cluelessly cute or something.
Cute. Another word he never used on a normal basis.
Realizing the would-be unfavourable additions to his vocabulary, Squall immediately slipped on his usual frown, mentally chiding himself for getting carried away. Of course it was important to do a little research and try his best to appear as normal as a 6 year old could, but this was still unbearably awkward. Running a hand through his short hair, Squall realized that not once had he spoken throughout his time in Cloud's house – not even to Cloud's mother – and he wondered if that was normal. Didn't 6 year olds usually have endless amounts of energy and mouths that would never shut?
He shuddered slightly, the image of a young Yuffie running in circles around Leon's feet plaguing his mind and causing goosebumps to break out on his skin. He wasn't quite sure if that would be anything even remotely. . .cute. . . unlike what most people claimed. If he had to have a kid to take care of, he certainly wanted a good child who was quiet and well-behaved.
. . . And now he was thinking of having a kid. Something was wrong with him. Clearly, something was.
The next page caught him completely off guard. All the photographs adorning the album had been printed out in standard size, but this one photograph took up the entire page. Squall hadn't realized that he had held his breath at this picture, the muted colours of age melding perfectly with one another.
Cloud must have been so sick.
He was small and frail, a thin blanket pulled around his scrawny figure. He was wearing a loose singlet that had slipped off his shoulder slightly, exposing a petite shoulder. His skin colour was a ghostly pale, bandages scattered across his arm with one deftly stuck to an area to the right below his mouth where it looked a little swollen, small beads of perspiration clinging to his skin. Even his spikes looked more limp than usual. He was looking up at the camera lens with hazy, half-lidded eyes, fingers curling into the edges of the blanket and keeping it wrapped around his body.
A smooth smile – and even Squall could see that it had been an uncertain smile – was on his dry, chapped lips. At first glance, the only word that could have described the image was that of beauty, but when Squall gazed deeply into Cloud's eyes did he notice the swirl of emotions there.
Happiness and sadness, apprehension and anger, apathy and exhaustion; all of them mingling together.
Wasn't this Cloud only 7 years old? He looked so mature. . . so worn down; broken. Squall tore his eyes away from the photograph, feeling the desperation grip his heart and refuse to let go, quickly turning the pages. That smile haunted him, and never left his mind as he flipped through more photographs, Cloud's smile slipping and eventually vanishing from the pictures.
There was a great expanse of blank pages after a final photograph of Cloud's mother packing some clothes into boxes, and in the middle of the album, the pictures resumed their rightful positions in the book. They were mainly of the present neighbourhood, there being a photograph of Cloud's house, and another of a younger Yuffie holding onto his hand as he lead them across a street.
He wasn't smiling.
He had nothing on his face.
And strangely, even Yuffie, who had a very weak grin on her face, looked empty.
This was the Cloud he knew. Emotionless and tired.
Squall was done.
He closed the book, eyeing the other photo album wearily before deciding that he would gather some strength to look through it perhaps later on in the evening, or even the following day. The boy picked up the heavy album, hefting it to the desk that stood quietly against a wall and slid it onto the smooth lacquered surface. Stretching, a small yawn slipping out before he smacked his lips together a few times, rubbing his eyes. He bent over to retrieve the novel he had been reading the previous day before Cloud had interrupted him.
It took some time, but he finally managed to find the page he had last stopped at, leaning against the wall and reading quietly to himself. He was completely immersed in the novel, but his thoughts often wandered to the photographs he had seen; that one of a sickly Cloud imprinted into his mind so clearly, he could count the number of wet beads that clung to his long eyelashes.
"Squall! You've got a visitor!"
Just like that, he was pulled away from his thoughts.
Curiously, Squall poked his head out of the study, the book he had been reading earmarked at a certain page with his index finger as he held it firmly in the grip of his small hand. Glancing out the window, he found that there was no car parked in the driveway, and that probably meant Cloud's mother had already left for work.
He walked lightly to the living room, Cloud in the doorway and chatting to whomever it was who had swung by before he caught a glimpse of the visitor. Squall felt his heart shrink, and was just about ready to dart out of the way and back to the study. But before he could, the newcomer had already seen him, grinning brightly from ear to ear.
"Squall! You're still so cute. . . You look so much better now!"
Oh goddammit.
He frowned at the girl, expression flat as she bounced up to him and wrapped her thin arms around his small figure, squeezing tight. She squealed as she found that the boy hadn't resisted her, like she had anticipated, and simply hugged him harder. Squall was sure that his lungs were going to get crushed soon, so he raised his gaze up at Cloud and put on that wide eyed, pouty expression of his that he had practiced earlier, jutting out his lower lip in an attempt to look imploring, pitiful, tortured, and, dare he say it, cute all at once.
It worked.
"Yuffie," Cloud began, voice a little strained as he attempted to pry her off the boy. "I think Squall needs a little breathing space." Squall did a mental cheer, but whimpered when Yuffie's bone-crushing hug did not recede, hoping that that demoralizing plea would somehow add to the effect of desperation.
Yuffie squealed a little louder, and it took a bit more pulling on Cloud's behalf and a little struggling on Squall's before she was successfully unattached from the younger brunet. Squall had taken the opportunity to hide himself behind Cloud's legs, fingers curled into denim fabric that clung to Cloud's calf as he peeked out at Yuffie, glaring at her harshly whilst frowning.
All she saw was an incredibly adorable toddler with ruffled brown hair and big grey eyes set in a glower, lips twisted into an unbearably cute pout, staring up at her, put off. She giggled at the sight, moving forward to pinch his cheeks but was halted when she bumped her head into Cloud's stomach, Squall retreating further behind the blond teenager.
"Aww, come here you little teddy bear!" She giggled again, darting around Cloud and attempting to capture the boy in another numbing hug, Squall giving a startled jump at the abrupt lunge and quickly ran up to Cloud, tugging at his jeans and raising his arms up urgently, eyebrows furrowed together.
Taking the hint, Cloud chuckled softly, quickly sweeping Squall up into his arms.
The boy hoisted himself upwards, clinging close to the blond in an attempt to keep as far away from Yuffie as possible. He felt Cloud instinctively tighten his grip around the boy, as though protectively keeping Squall out of Yuffie's reach. The girl whined slightly, crossing her arms and pouting at Cloud in hopes that he would give in to her. Squall quickly realized that this was the expression Cloud had used from the pictures in the album and immediately put it on, gazing hopefully at Cloud.
The blond alternated glances warily between the two before sighing.
"I have a class today, Squall, and I can't bring you along. Yuffie's here to keep an eye on you, since you might get sick if you go back to her cat-filled house. You be good for her, got it?" Cloud told him calmly, to which Squall had cringed. One look at Cloud's staid face told the boy that he was dead serious, so he resigned to a nod, albeit an extremely reluctant one at that.
"Good," Cloud said, satisfied. "And Yuffie, don't antagonize him, got it? If you get kicked or anything, it would entirely be your fault," he reasoned pointedly.
She pursed her lips, conceding with a nod.
"So, this is a truce," Cloud announced with a soft grin, putting Squall down. "I need to feed you before I go off. You want anything special?"
Squall had already automatically latched onto his hand as Cloud walked over to the refrigerator, pointing out the foodstuffs he was willing to cook for Squall's first meal of the day. Somehow, they had silently agreed on some sausages and eggs, and so Cloud sat the boy down in one of the chairs at the dining table as he defrosted the sausages, pouring some juice for Squall.
Yuffie took a seat across the boy, resting her chin in both palms as she took to gazing, intrigued, at Squall while Cloud cooked. The boy was quietly watching the blond teenager whisk the eggs with a fork, legs swinging as they dangled off the edge of the chair, his hands gripping the sides of the cushion he sat on as he did so.
Silently, she noticed how soft his expression was, his lips curled up very faintly and face relaxed. His visage no longer held the hard lines that a usually stern face contained, this one very tender and, strange as it may be, affectionate. His grey eyes studiously followed Cloud's every line of movement, gaze deep and never wavering.
Yuffie wondered about what had happened between the pair in the past few days to have Squall so mellow and accepting. He was one who had everything his way, disliking the control others flourished over him and preferring, instead, to take charge. In the present, though, Squall lived in some sort of reciprocated harmony with Cloud, someone he claimed he hated beyond all normal means.
A little bit of her worried that it might have been the work of the potion he had accidentally consumed. Maybe he was starting to forget everything he once possessed as a teenager and was starting to live and act like a 6 year old because he believed he was one. It was a tiny part, but the worry was great enough to continually nag at her usually optimistic disposition. However, a greater part of her was squealing in delight at a job well done as Cloud had worked his charm and had gotten Squall to warm up to him. Squall was so cute! He was like a little angel; sweet, adorable and quiet.
Squall polished off the scrambled eggs, sausages and toast that Cloud has whipped up for him, Yuffie grinning widely when he put on those adorable googly eyes of his when he asked Cloud for more sausages. Cloud just couldn't resist that expression and had caved in, though not without good reason. Squall was tiny and was recuperating from the flu; he'd need some food to keep him healthy.
Brunch was a quiet affair, Yuffie content on watching as Cloud leaned over to wipe Squall's mouth with a tissue paper, ruffling his hair affectionately once he was done with his meal. The simple fact that Squall had allowed him to, and that he had actually offered a small smile in response to those endearing actions floored her completely.
Yuffie was ecstatic.
Both of them had been shooed from the kitchen as Cloud finished some last minute chores, Yuffie and Squall resigned to waiting in the living room meanwhile. A 100 watt grin was stretched across Yuffie's face as Squall stretched on the couch, cagily glancing at the girl and immediately foreshadowing a disturbing premonition.
"What?" he asked warily.
Her grin widened.
"Well," she began, her patented tone for mischief surfacing in her voice, causing Squall to shrink in his seat slightly. "Someone was veeeeerryy clingy to Cloud today, wasn't he? My, my, it seems that someone might even like Cloud! Aww, widdle Squall has a crush, he does!"
The first thing that crossed his features was a very flat expression, followed by a quirked eyebrow and a slight, "Humph," as Squall crossed his arms, turning away.
Yuffie's jaw dropped.
A few beats of silence passed.
And then Yuffie squealed.
Lunging forwards, she crushed him in another bruising hug, squealing, "CUTE!" repeatedly, going for his cheeks and pulling until they turned red. He whined, struggling to get her off of him, trying his best to pry her deathly grip as he nudged himself away with much difficulty. He kicked and pulled, trying his best to escape her and finally managed to somehow slip out of her arms. He staggered backwards, accidentally pulling on the table runner splayed out on the coffee table as he stumbled, falling on his bottom with a yelp.
As he pulled the table runner with him, the various items that had been resting on it flew off with the momentum, crashing to the floor shortly after. Papers fanned out and sailed through the air, slowly landing around him with feathered, light motions. Pens cluttered the floors, rolling about uselessly as a few books slid down to the carpeted ground. But what had really gotten him to freeze completely, blanching, was the fact that an extremely heavy paperweight had barely nicked his nose and had fallen in between his thighs.
Yuffie covered her mouth, trying to keep laughter or frightened gasps in, he didn't know. All Squall knew was that his groin had nearly been assaulted by a sharp block of. . . something, and he was still staring at it wide-eyed.
That. Was. Too. Damn. Close.
Finally finding his voice, words that one would usually never associate with a young child so many had labelled a sweet little angel rolled off his tongue in quick succession, tone low, harsh and biting, causing Yuffie to wince at the oh-so colourful language Squall had decided to use at that moment.
She supposed it was her fault, but she decided to wait until he had cooled down a little before she apologized. It looked like Squall really still was Leon. Yuffie wasn't sure whether she should be disappointed or relieved, but it didn't really matter because, in the end, Leon was the one who everyone would miss and want to see – especially his dad – and Squall would be. . . well, he would just be a piece of the past.
Yuffie was so immersed in her reflections that she hadn't realized that Squall had stopped his cursing, instead holding up one of the books that had fallen off the coffee table during his fall and staring at its contents. The deathly silence that ensued had been the one that snapped Yuffie out of her reverie, the girl choosing to glance at Squall – surprised that he had a very distraught expression on his face. She looked at the book Squall was holding.
It was Cloud's biology textbook.
Squall couldn't believe his eyes.
As he flicked through the book, he could see that every single page – every page that had been previously ripped out from the spine – all of them had been carefully positioned before taped together in place with transparent scotch tape. Every single page.
He flipped to the very last page, noting that it had been indexed as page number 376, and found that he felt nothing at that very moment. Nothing at all. Squall was completely hollow, absolutely empty, staring at that final page and wondering why.
Why bother picking up all the torn pages scattered across that dirty corridor? Why even bother taping together every single page, aligning them perfectly with the text in the pieces of paper still attached to the comb? Why hadn't he just bought another textbook from the store? Why?
"I heard a crash, is everything okay?" Cloud's concerned voice rang through the room as he rushed to the pair, eyes raking in everything in his line of sight as they fell to Squall who was still on the ground. He immediately squatted over where he was, scanning the boy for any scratches or bruises. Squall quietly allowed Cloud to look him over, eyes carefully averted so that he didn't have to look directly at the blond. Cloud carefully gripped his arm and pulled his shorts up slightly to inspect his knees.
Nothing was particularly wrong with Squall, so Cloud eased and got to his feet, pulling the boy up with him. He glared warningly at Yuffie who had emitted a quiet, "Eeep!" and fallen off the couch before ducking her head apologetically and cleaning up the mess that had been made.
Once everything was back to normal, Cloud ran through the house rules a final time, making sure she promised to adhere to everything or risk hell on earth. It had, with much time and effort, taken a lot for Cloud to get Squall better and less closed off. Yuffie was going to cater to his self-esteem and not make him uncomfortable in any way whatsoever. She agreed with some degree of enthusiasm, but had clearly deflated when Cloud mentioned that she couldn't invite people over or finish off their food.
Squall, on the other hand, was unusually quiet, and so Cloud had squatted down again so they were at eye level. Asking Squall what was wrong didn't prompt any response from the child, and an expression of worry quickly crossed his features. Soon, however, Cloud found that the boy was clutching onto his textbook, his grey eyes trained on the ground and his lips pressed together in a firm line.
"Found my textbook?" he asked softly.
Squall didn't respond.
"Looked inside?"
Squall's gaze flickered upwards, towards the blond, nervously, but it was almost immediately downcast once again.
"You know," Cloud began, voice a little amused. "It's not your fault the book is in such bad condition. A really bad bully from my school did that. You don't worry, okay?"
Cloud retrieved the book with a grin and pressed a light kiss to Squall's forehead before waving both of them goodbye and leaving. Squall's eyes followed the line of Cloud's back before the teenager disappeared down the street. He remained quiet, motionless. The familiar silence of the house reigned for a moment, everything fading in warmth by a little now that the home lost the presence of the vital person who was always in it, making it. . . home. It was a little. . . lonely.
"Aww, widdle Squall liked Cloud giving him a smoochie!"
Oh goddammit.
It had taken a bit, but he had successfully gotten Yuffie to calm down. She had gotten all hyper and crazy again after Cloud's departure and started to chase him around the house, hands flying to his cheeks and pulling until he was sure he didn't own anymore cheeks. He had stumbled over this and that, and she had tripped over him then. Seizing the opportunity, she had taken to squeezing the life out of him until he had to beg her to let go because he was losing feeling. . . everywhere.
Of course, she hadn't listened to him and proceeded to mess up his hair, teasing him endlessly and many other things that he didn't quite remember, because the oxygen he had been lacking was making everything go fuzzy.
It had taken quite a bit, but she was finally quiet and seated some distance away from him.
Even if that annoyingly smug grin was still plastered on her face.
"Talk," he growled, glaring at the girl.
She giggled.
"Aww, Squally Wally, do you know how cute you look when you attempt to glower? You look like a little kitten who doesn't get what it wants!"
It wasn't fair.
The glare intensified.
"Oh, you're no fun," she griped, puffing up her cheeks and crossing her arms. "Aerith called and said she was doing a little research on the antidote whenever she had free time at Destiny Islands. Apparently it's paopu season there too, and she promised to send a crate over. She'll snail mail us a bunch of recipes too, so we can make smoothies, and cocktails. . ."
Squall raised a brow.
"Oh, oh right. My bad. Off-topic. Anyways, we had some of the potion's recipe written out in our notes and we gotta tell you, it's gonna take a while. We've always tested the alpha and beta versions of the potion on some fresh plants, and even then, it took a long time before we got everything right. Once we did, it took us a month to pluck some lunar flowers since they only bloom during the new moon. Brewing the potion with all the proper methods and ingredients took us approximately 2 months and 4 days."
Squall felt himself shrink.
"Yeah, I know, I'm sorry. But we had what we were looking for in the book and that took us ages. Figuring out something that would counter react the deaging potion you drank could take. . . ages. Years, even. I mean, we would. . ."
By then, nothing else went through Squall's head.
Years.
He would remain a young, pre-pubescent child for years. He wouldn't be able to mingle with his real friends, or even live with his father again. He missed his father, so help him, and now he wouldn't be able to face the man who raised him because of a stupid mistake Yuffie and Aerith had made. He wouldn't be able to go to the mature section of the town's library and pull out an old and classical book, or reference items that dealt with controversial issues.
He'd have to deal with the hellish process of growing up once again, have to sit in the sandbox and 'play' with his 'peers'. He'd have to re-sit all those tests that he had already gratefully conquered.
This was ridiculous.
Years.
". . . you're not listening to me, are you?"
Squall looked at her warily, eyebrow raised.
"You're expounding on my demise. I'm tuning out all unnecessary details. Get to the damn point, Yuffie."
She grimaced. Harsh.
"You're really blunt, you know that? And here I was, thinking you had actually changed for the better. . ."
Squall glared at her.
"Geez, I get it, okay? Look, Aerith and I are working our butts off to get this thing done right. The least you can do is be nice while we're at it. I know, I know, it's our fault in the first place, but still-"
"The point, Yuffie. The damn point."
"Well. . . we, uh, we came across something – a type of root – but Aerith has to check if it is beneficial to your health and safe for consumption. If we're lucky, we can try to ask someone like Professor Ansem to help out. The only thing is we don't want to get busted, since alchemy is illegal and all, so we're being careful. You'll have to wait 2 weeks before we can confirm anything, give or take a couple days."
Squall rubbed the bridge of his nose between his fingers, exhaling slowly.
"And you're not even sure if this will cure my current condition?"
"Erm, well, until Aerith gets back with any definitive answers and. . ." She caught the look on his face before caving in.
". . . no."
He sighed.
It wasn't fair.
It was really, really strange.
When Cloud had returned, the air hanging about the house was one of gloom and misery. Yuffie left promptly upon his arrival, her face somehow a little apologetic. She merely mentioned that they had eaten a few crackers and watched television while he was gone, and that his mother came to pick up her forgotten papers and had left about an hour back.
Squall had been lying, stomach down, on the couch, his face buried in a cushion. A little worried for the boy's flow of air, he had tentatively gone to the boy's side to pick him up and maybe tuck him into bed. Cloud was mildly surprised when Squall had turned his head to look at the teenager upon contact – proving thereby that he was wide awake – and had eyed the blond with an unreadable expression before burying his head into the cushion once again, shoving Cloud away.
Cloud surmised that Squall was just grumpy after spending a day with Yuffie.
And so, he had simply unpacked the handful of groceries he had bought on the way home. There was some homework he had to do, so he had thrown his bag onto the dining table and pulled out a bag of chips from the refrigerator.
Homework was relatively moderate in difficulty, and all the answers were in his textbook, so he didn't have too much trouble with that. He had had accounts and literature classes earlier, and since they were classes for extra credit, he had been piled with a not-so-modest amount of work.
Homework itself took up about 2 hours of his time, Cloud finally throwing the towel in when he found that he had been doodling a little moogle playing with its pom-pom on his accounting textbook instead of balancing the numbers on his worksheet.
A little bored and hungry, Cloud poked his head into the living room to find that Squall was still in that same position, face still buried in the cushion. He stalked over, gingerly lowering himself onto his knees as he let his forearms rest on the couch, by Squall's shoulder, Cloud resting his chin on his wrist as he quietly observed the little boy.
The kid was most definitely awake.
There had been a little twitch of the fingers, and a quick glint of dark grey eyes, but he was otherwise ignored. A little amused and worried, Cloud let his fingers curl gently around Squall's small shoulder and lightly shake the boy.
His hand was firmly slapped away.
'Definitely grumpy,' Cloud thought, his hand returning to Squall's shoulder and pulling him up slightly. This time, he made an annoyed sound, roughly pushing against Cloud in a manner that clearly meant he wanted to be left alone. Cloud raised his eyebrows acerbically, resolute in getting the boy up and cheery – as cheery as Squall could, anyhow – as he straightened his back and wrapped his arms around the boy's petite waist.
He was met with a faceful of pillow.
Eyes narrowing with challenge, Cloud took in the smug, angry and ruffled look Squall currently sported, dark grey eyes glaring and burning holes in his head before the kid could register what next happened.
Squall had not been hit with a cushion. Oh no, he hadn't.
Before he knew it, Squall had already launched himself towards Cloud, taking the pillow in both hands and somehow wrestling him down onto the couch. With a firm grip, he started beating Cloud's head with the pillow, earning anguished shouts from the older teenager. Mercilessly, a cheeky grin had already made its way to Squall's face, who had started aiming his hits so that they constantly whacked Cloud's nose.
With a well-aimed smack from the boy, Cloud had slipped off the couch and onto the floor, Squall still straddling him during his fall. The younger boy fumbled a little and landed face first on top of the teenager, who had taken the opportunity to grasp a pillow that had fallen with him, hitting the brunet's backside with quite a bit of packed force.
With a startled yelp, Squall took another pillow in his grip once again and scrambled to his knees, still straddling Cloud's stomach, and somehow managed to pin the blond down, whacking him repeatedly before a pillow connected with the back of his head.
Cloud rolled them over and began hitting Squall with his own cushion, discarding it soon after and attacking the boy's sides with dancing fingers.
Squall's headstrong exterior melted away almost immediately as he started laughing his lungs out, struggling to get Cloud off him but failing as more hilarity wracked his small frame. He gasped for air, eyes squeezing shut as he flailed wildly under Cloud, face red and head foggy due to the lack of oxygen. His struggles grew more brutish with each passing moment before he started going a little limp, his resistance weakening slightly.
A bright grin had broken through the hardened lines of Squall's face, his lips spread wide and his rosy cheeks more prominent with the deep blush that coloured his visage, voice cracking as his laughs receded and gave way to quieter bursts of sniggers and giggles.
Cloud was getting a huge kick out of this and grinned in turn, feeling, oddly enough, more light hearted than he had in years. He paused for a moment to give his aching fingers a little rest, but at that moment, Squall's hand had shot out and was pinching his nose, fingers squeezing it with a deathly grip and twisting.
Deep and resounding, 'Ow's filled the room as Squall pulled Cloud down by the nose, letting go abruptly before pushing Cloud onto his back. The teenager, who had immediately gotten both hands on his nose to nurse the pain that had gathered there, had choked with even more pain when Squall dive bombed onto the blond's stomach with a giggle, Cloud doing a double take at the sudden pressure on such a sensitive part of his body. Seizing the moment, Squall pulled up Cloud's shirt and started to tickle his stomach.
Cloud's deep laughter echoed through the room as he started to thrash a little, tears gathering at the corner of his eyes as his body forgot to struggle against the small boy sitting on top of him. He hiccupped slightly, voice too weak to carry anymore laughter so much so he was reduced to chortles and chuckles. With a satisfied grin, Squall finally stopped, leaning over and gazing triumphantly at Cloud.
It was really, really strange.
With an exhausted smile, Cloud raised his hand to ruffle Squall's hair, pulling him down so that the boy was lying flat on Cloud's body. The blond was still wheezing for air, face hot and breath erratic. His chest was rising and falling rapidly, the burning sensation in his lungs slowly ebbing away. Squall felt strangely comforted by the nearness and the warmth between them and allowed his head to rest against the teenager's collarbone, catching his breath at the same time.
They remained in that position for quite some time, Cloud and Squall both getting their hearts to slow down and the surge of adrenaline to recede as Cloud continued to soothingly stroke Squall's hair, fingers threaded in his soft, brown tresses.
They remained quiet, only their breathing and the sound of passing cars being all they heard as Squall found himself nuzzling against the teenager slightly, closing his eyes and allowing a smile to grace his lips. He lowered his head, resting the side by Cloud's chest so he could hear his heart beating steadily.
Everything was soothingly tranquil. It was like a calming sheen of snow had fallen and covered a vast expanse of land, ending the rusted golden season of autumn and glittering through the sky like small beads of crystal. White was coating everything, making everything seem pristine and pure. The world was at peace. Everything was wonderful and serene.
It was Cloud who broke the silence, but even then, he spoke softly, as though he refused to disturb the tranquillity of the current situation.
"No more sulking, got that?"
Squall nodded, mindlessly murmuring a soft, "Okay," as he let out a quiet and content sigh, burying his face in Cloud's chest.
For some strange reason, he could feel the smile playing across Cloud's lips. He couldn't see it, but he could clearly feel it. And it wasn't even a half-hearted curl of the lips, neither was it that fleeting ghost of a smile. It was a full-fledged smile that had widened across Cloud's face, and this time of the blond's own accord, not due to being tickled or anything of the sort.
Cloud was smiling, he really was, and he hadn't even known it. All he knew was that, for the very first time, Squall had said something to him completely voluntarily. And it wasn't even anything negative. Squall, a boy who had so adamantly hated him during their first meeting, had laughed and grinned with him. And even though Cloud had suspected that Squall was not a mute child, a little worry had been there because the boy had never uttered a word while they were together.
And he had said something. Something positive. To Cloud.
Granted, it had only been one word and wasn't even really something he 'said' because it was neither keeping a conversation alive, nor did it even initiate one. But he had already figured that Squall wouldn't warm up to anyone unless he really liked that person, much less speak to them. With Cid, all he had done was nod or shake his head. Squall hadn't even talked to Cloud's own mother yet, and it was obvious the boy was crazy for her.
It made him feel so. . . happy.
Squall didn't know why, but it became even warmer when he felt that smile growing on Cloud's face. His stomach was doing a few flutters, making it feel as though butterflies were doing successive somersaults in his tummy, and when he opened his eyes to glance up at the affectionate pair that was gazing down at him fondly, that feeling grew stronger. And this time, Squall didn't hesitate in shyly smiling back.
It was really, really strange.