Alright everyone, chapter eight is up, but before I get into that let me make a quick announcement: I bought Dirge of Cerberus. Have any of you played it? It's really not a bad game for a third person shooter. Personally, I would have preferred it if Cloud were in it, but Vincent isn't exactly ugly, so I'm actually pretty happy. I don't like all the horrible blood curdling screams that seem to sound every time he turns a corner, (the voice acting is brilliant though!) and I keep running out of ammo! T-T we (Hito Me Bore and I) are forced to use the classic karate moves to defeat a number of foes!
Secondly, I read this awesome story a while back, I beseech you all to check it out. It's so funny, and very dramatic starring Marluxia and Zexion. Honestly, it's flawless! It's positively addictive. It's called Muddled Lines ...by Hito Me Bore. Check it out, it doesn't hurt, I promise!
Thank you's:
Wends-I'm thrilled there were no typo's! Cloud in KH, was actually twenty three, but hey... As for his age in his game, I did the math and he's thirty. He's so OLD! What's with that? I'm not pleased. He'll be balding soon...
DanteMoon-Thank you for reading! I'm very pleased that you like my story so much! pelts cream buns at Thank you!
Keji-Hey! Thank you so very much for the lovely review, I'm really happy you liked it pelts curry buns at Yeah I did the math too. You're figures reasured me that I was right (thanks!)THIRTY! That means Leon is...about... twenty five from his game, but he's also twenty five in KH, so...they must have made cloud 23 because no one wants Leon to end up with an old man. Clever ploy Square, clever. This proves it. KH is a Yaoi (or at least June) game.
Wind's Nocturne-Thankyou so much for your review, I really appreciate it. I'm very happy that you like how Seifer turned out. I was a little hesitant at first to make him so...weird.
Hito me bore- always a pleasure to hear from you. I enjoyed reading your story so much I spammed. Check out the second paragraph. I mean it, truly amazing stuff. Nice job!
XxX
"It's about time you got yourselves together...been waitin' here for ever."
"I know sir, we're doing the best we can."
"Well, your best is awfully slow!"
"Please go to sleep."
"I see what this is! This is some kind of trick! You want to get me to sleep so I can't unearth the system for what it truly is! You're nothing but a government puppet bent on destroying mankind one dose of your poisonous medication at a time! I'm just the only one that knows the truth!"
"I said it was an anti-toxin."
"Lies, all lies!"
Leon rubbed his eyes. Cid, the man that had fallen off of his porch in a drunken stupor not a week earlier had somehow found himself back at the hospital with another hangover (this time he had tried ballroom dancing...with a lamp) and had stayed long enough to contract the disease.
Currently, the hangover was wearing off, but his temper had not died down at all, and it was leaving Leon with a small, but inconvenient headache.
Leon coughed. "I'm going to leave now, please get some rest." He gritted his teeth. The long hours of work were wearing down on his nerves and his pre-constructed wall of reserve. It was getting just the slightest bit difficult to remain pleasant to all of his patients. He left the room just in time to avoid a flurry of protest and yet another flying object: a pen.
Leaning against the door just outside of his latest patient's room, he rubbed his temples. Earlier that day, he was happy that the number of cases was relatively small compared to the amount of people they were housing. However, it didn't take long for all of that to change.
Within hours, several more people had either collapsed or cried out during the administration of the antibiotics—at which point Seifer promptly gave himself another dose and adorned yet another mask. There were so many people in fact, that Leon's clip board of patients was beginning to look like a poorly written attendance roster at a school.
Sometimes he had to squint to read his own hand writing.
Of course, being as short handed as they were and with the lock down blocking all entry and exit of any new doctors—most of which were probably very grateful—this left Leon bearing the brunt of the work.
As he would dart back and forth down the hallways, he would get occasional glances of sympathy from the nurses that dared to take a break in the cafeteria.
Leon coughed as he opened the door to the room, box tucked under his arm. With his not-sore-now-hurting back and almost overwhelming feeling of weariness, he didn't want sympathy.
He wanted a break.
XxX
At that moment Cloud wanted to yell.
At that moment, Cloud did yell...at Riku.
"Are you out of your mind!"
Riku shrugged, pulling out the bag of Styrofoam cups. "It sounds like a brilliant idea to me."
"It sounds like a not-going-to-happen idea to me!"
Riku pulled the pot from the gurgling machine and it hissed as the last few drops of coffee hit the hot plate.
"It's not going to hurt you."
"Yes, it most certainly will!" Cloud watched tempestuously as Riku inspected the pot before pouring some into a cup. "Why don't you do it?"
"I have to watch the stand."
"And I can't do it because..."
"You'll be delivering Leon some coffee." Riku smiled, loading the machine with the pot again.
Cloud was upset. He was more than upset, he was angry! The thought of Riku even suggesting such an idea made thoughts of clobbering Leon into the dust run through his mind.
But then...he couldn't help but be a little curious as to what his nemesis was doing currently. He hadn't seen him since he'd been swallowed up by the great maw of the people sea. Cloud glanced up at the clock.
The day had passed by so quickly, even though Riku and he weren't doing much. Already it was reaching the early morning of the next day. He couldn't believe they had spent the entire day perched up on top of the gift shop counter just watching the riots and uproars. He shifted.
The realization was slowly sinking in. How long would he have to stay here? The first day and a half was fleeting enough, but what about the second? Would he be consumed by the burden of inactivity?
Cloud hated being bored, and he especially hated being bored around a large quantity of people that were also getting bored. Would this be how he was to spend the next...however long the hospital decided?
He gritted his teeth together and muttered under his breath. He didn't at all like the amused smirk Riku was sending towards him. He glanced at the coffee, at the clock, the people in the waiting room, and then back at the coffee again.
Fine.
"I'll do it under one condition."
"What?"
"I get to drink the first cup."
XxX
Leon wobbled out of the last room on the list; the empty box hanging limply from his arm. During each visit, he had taken the liberty of stocking each room with the anti-toxin so as to rid himself of the box when he made the trip again.
That was one heavy empty box.
Thankfully, the patient he had been visiting was a calm one—something there seemed to be a shortage of—and he had to do little to keep them relaxed. They smiled when he had hooked up the IV and were even pleasant when he explained the symptoms and possible emergencies that needed to be reported. Most importantly however, they didn't ask for anything.
Leon's brow twitched. Save for Sora, Cid and the person he had just finished visiting, every one of his other twenty eight patients had asked for something. Apparently, sick meant needy and doctor meant servant, because more than a fourth of the time, he was running errands. Maybe someone was too cold, so they wanted a blanket, or perhaps they were hungry and wanted Leon to bring them a boiled egg from the cafeteria.
Maybe no one understood what immediate concern meant.
At first, he had gladly elected a few nurses to take care of the amenities, but after enough of them "Needed to go get their shots from that handsome Dr. Almasy," or "Just needed a quick break," or better still, "Simply couldn't go on," Leon had to run the errands himself.
Perhaps a break was in order.
Tempted to just crash on the floor, he coughed, then wearily he turned his head to find a place where he could secretly take a snooze. To his utmost surprise, he found something even better.
Leon had always been a fan of his office. It was the only place where he could properly rest without getting disturbed, such as the lounge. He couldn't remember how many nights he had spent in there due to particularly heavy shifts where he was unable to return home.
Apparently, he had been so busy flying up and down hallways and corridors, that he'd failed to notice how close his office had been. There, no farther than a stone's throw away, was his magnificent, well organized sleeping quarters. Later on he would have to kick himself for not noticing earlier, but for the moment, he was far too tired to complain.
Coughing heavily, he hobbled a short distance down the hallway to his office, and fished around in his pocket for he key. Without hesitation, he plunged it into the hole, and gave it a rough turn. Home at last.
XxX
Cloud frowned, as Riku fitted his hand with Leon's coffee, and gave him a coffee stirrer even though he took Leon as the type to drink his coffee black.
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Cloud asked as a last resort.
"Yes. Don't spill that." Riku replied. Then he commented, "You're really going to make this into a big deal, aren't you?"
"If it'll help me, then yes."
"Since it won't, I'm asking you to be pleasant."
Cloud rolled his eyes. "Whatever."
"I mean it." A flicker of distress crossed Riku's face, but Cloud ignored it, preparing himself for departure. Getting through all of those people would not be easy.
"Have a good time!" Riku called out as Cloud forcefully made his way through the mass. He passed by the woman and her children that had all but flattened Leon earlier, but decided against asking her to join his anti-Leon army. He also passed by Seifer, who was attempting to get past as well. Cloud was having a little more luck.
It didn't take him long to reach Leon's office after he had waded his way through the crowd. Actually, he had hoped the trip would have taken longer. He rather fancied the idea of delivering cold coffee.
He stared at the door for a moment, deciding how best to enter. Should he just open the door, or should he knock? Images of Riku yelling at him filtered through his mind, and so he took the latter choice and knocked.
There was no reply.
He frowned. Perhaps he just wasn't heard. Cloud knocked again and was met with more silence. Outrage was starting to take over. There was no way he was going to come all that way, swimming through all those people for his trip to be wasted. If Leon wasn't in his office then Cloud was just as content leaving the cup on the floor with a note attached explaining his anger in graphic detail.
Fully annoyed, he tried knocking again, this time, he put a little more force behind his fist. Cloud waited a minute before hearing a quiet, muffled, "Come in."
The words took a moment to register.
This was something he wasn't expecting. Now that he was permitted to enter, he had suddenly lost the fearless anger and arrogance that had been simply saturating his body not seconds before.
Now he was feeling a tiny bit apprehensive, as if exploring new territory for the first time. The thought occurred to him that he had never actually been this far back in the hospital, much less near Leon's office. All other times he had come into contact with the doctor, he had been on familiar territory.
This would be...interesting.
Taking a deep breath and trying to appear casual, Cloud twisted the knob.
The office was far less elaborate than Cloud had thought. He was met with immediate darkness, but the light that filtered in from outside gave him a clear enough view of the neatly stacked papers and polished black desk.
The next thing he noticed—Cloud thought the list was slightly out of order—was Leon, who was holding himself upright by the corner of his desk.
Cloud raised an eyebrow.
"What...can I do for you—oh." Leon muttered until he turned around realizing his visitor was none other than Cloud. He flashed a frown toward him and positioned himself so that he was more or less standing with the aid of a desk.
Cloud returned the frown, sizing the doctor up. Apparently he had caught him either sleeping or crying. He hadn't enough information on either for him to come to a proper conclusion.
"What do you want?" Leon asked punctuating he question with a raspy cough.
Instead of answering, Cloud stood watching Leon curiously. He was starting to droop forward, but then caught himself in a sad attempt to look composed. It reminded Cloud of a wounded puppy in an ally protecting itself from the cold, harsh rain...
...But Cloud never really much cared for animals anyway, so he simply commented tactlessly. "You look like crap."
"...And yet my question goes unanswered." Leon muttered, swaying slightly.
Cloud shrugged. "Riku asked me to bring you coffee. It wasn't my idea. Personally I think you should have come down and gotten your own."
Leon didn't say anything, prompting Cloud to continue. He walked forward, setting the cup on the desk.
"I hope you like cream and sugar because I didn't bring you any." He glanced up at Leon who's head was bobbing up and down a little.
"Hm," He watched with interest as one of Leon's hands slipped steadily off the edge of the desk. Cloud's eyebrow twitched with a startling realization.
"Hey, are you even awake?" he screeched, the outrage from earlier quickly sinking back in. Leon moaned softly, affirming Cloud's accusation.
He was hopping mad now. First Riku had forced him to come down and nicely deliver coffee to the very person that he despised above all other people he had ever met, then said person appeared to be absent from the office he should have been inside in the first place, but was actually there, and now this person had the gall to fall asleep when he was trying irritatingly hard to be pleasant!
The lot of it was simply intolerable.
Cloud stepped forward like a great bear, pointing his finger forward. (Actually, the scene wasn't as intimidating as it could have been had Cloud remembered to take off the pink striped apron.)
"Listen you, I've had just about all I can take!"
Leon's other hand was starting to slip from the desk.
"How dare you just fall asleep when I'm obviously trying to be...pleasant!"
Slowly, Leon started to sink forward.
Cloud jabbed Leon in the chest. "If it's one thing I can't stand, it's arrogant, cheeky, and down right uncivil doctors who think they can just get away with..." Cloud was cut off as Leon fell forward, crashing into Cloud's chest.
"...everything..."
XxX
That's all for chapter eight. Nine will be up soon!