Hello everyone, thank you for joining me in chapter 11. I apologize for the delay, I was involved in Nano-wrimo for the entire month of November and was forced to dedicate every spare minute to the completion of my novel. With that successful, I am now able to dedicate my time to Rose Tinted. Is it not interesting that this is the second to last chapter? There really isn't much left to dedicate myself to, now is there? Well, regardless, please enjoy!

Thank you's:

Andrea- Thank you so much for your thoughts, I really appreciate them! Here's the next chapter, coming at you!

Wind's Nocturne- Hello! I'm happy to hear from you again! I'm also very glad that you like Seifer's character. Comic relief is a good thing! As for Sora...maybe he'll get better? Mehheheh!

Wends- I'm glad you had those twenty seconds to review, I appreciate it! Yes, Seifer has calmed down a little, perhaps he's getting used to the fact that he's not as gorgeous as Leon and Cloud! Bwahah!

Childhood aspirations- Istill adore your name. Thank you for reviewing, and I hope that you enjoy this chapter as well.

Sorry I wasn't able to reply to all of you as intelligently as I usually like to, but, to put it flatly, I'm tired (This; however, is not to insinuate that I am not grateful!). Regardless of my flat Thank you's, please enjoy! (Bows out of dojo)

Cloud arched his back and held onto the chair arms for support. It may have seemed comfortable when he first sat down, but the line of pain running from his neck to his tail bone provided a devastating argument.

Glancing over to his right, rubbing his sore spine, and dimly noting that the stool he had propped his legs on the night before had slid out against the wall, he saw Leon's eyes staring dully at the ceiling.

So Leon had woken up.

This could be awkward.

Straitening his throat, he warily approached the bed. He wasn't really in the mood to start any unnecessary conflict. He just figured he'd say something, since he was of course a very polite individual.

"Hey," he said casually. Leon rolled his glazed eyes in Cloud's general direction, then returned them to the ceiling.

"Okay..." He sat back down in his chair. "So..."

Leon interrupted him. "Where am I?" He grimaced at the thick substance in the back of his throat that inhibited his speech.

"The hospital."

Leon seemed to roll the thought over in his mind for a while before responding. "Why?"

"...You work here."

"But...I'm in a ..."

"Bed?"

He nodded.

"You passed out."

"...Then how did I..."

"I carried you here." Cloud said simply.

"Why did you..."

"Because I'm a nice guy, and yes, you were very, very heavy."

There was a brief span of silence. So...he had been carried here? That made no sense. Cloud was definitely not the type of person to do something so... humane. He would have expected, assuming the rest of what Cloud said was true, to be lying on the floor of his office, in a pool of cold coffee, dust, and empty sugar packets. That seemed like the more Cloud-esque thing to do.

He eyed Cloud suspiciously. There was no trace of falsity on his face. In fact, he seemed rather complacent.

He grimaced. There was no real evidence that Cloud wasn't telling the truth. However, it was still hard to believe that someone so smug could possibly be so civil as to actually carry him to a hospital room, a nice one at that. It was on his tongue to tell him as much, but the motivation had left him. He didn't want to come off as ungrateful. In fact, he actually appreciated this uncharacteristically kind act.

Actually, it was alarmingly kind. It was kind enough to rewrite everything he had known about this rowdy coffee boy. It was kind enough for Leon to feel...dare he think it... a hint of gratitude towards him. Unfortunately, that meant proper due was in order.

He stared pointedly at him. Instinctively, Cloud stiffened.

"..." This would be hard. Thinking it was one thing, but forming it into words was a different matter entirely.

"...What?"

Leon fought back a scowl and muttered something barely audible, as if he were testing something on his tongue. This was not something he was used to, and it wasn't something he wanted to become used to.

"Sorry, couldn't quite catch that." Cloud yawned, positioning himself back into the chair.

This was followed by some slightly louder muttering.

"That wasn't much better, I'm afraid."

Gulping, Leon squeezed his eyes shut. "...I said...thank you."

Cloud let the words settle in. Was this what he thought it was? Suddenly, his eyebrows shot upward. "You're thanking me?"

Leon nodded slowly. Every cubic centimeter of pride drained out of his body at that moment.

"Oh...wow."

He was silent, waiting for the roaring laughter, the jibing, and the ridicule.

"Well," He chuckled, "I was expecting a glower or something in return, but, hey, this works too."

This wasn't exactly laughter, but regardless, a vein in Leon's temple throbbed.

"I mean, you know, someone as crabby as you are...I didn't think you people were capable of thank you's. I guess you proved me wrong."

It throbbed a little more.

Cloud tipped his head upward in thought. "...And not only are you crabby, but you're mean, selfish, and cold hearted. I used to think you were like...menopausal or something. I'm really impressed that you changed my mind, well...the menopausal part at least."

Sighing inwardly, Leon decided against saying some off handed remark about Cloud's stupidity, and instead settled on a reluctant nod. Cloud seemed pleased at the moment anyway, so as soon as he was healthy again, Leon would find a more creative way to destroy it.

He watched as Cloud leaned back in the chair and get his shirt caught in the long crack running down the plastic. This individual somehow looked different.

Watching Cloud curse the crack and work his shirt free, he squinted. This guy wasn't the same whiny, idiotic, underbred shop boy that never served him coffee without a wry comment.

He was the whiny, idiotic, underbred shop boy...with character.

He stared curiously. Cloud, having freed himself, settled back and began to talk. He seemed comfortable at the moment, but Leon wasn't sure why. Maybe it was the 'thank you' that had somehow cleared a space for relaxation. Maybe Cloud was trying his best to be civil.

Maybe Leon was still sleepy...

Never before had they shared a sentence that wasn't dripping with disapproval or vengeance, but here Cloud was caught up with a rant on that morning's hassles. He groaned at how he hated children coming into his shop, muttered something rude about the elderly people being too indecisive for his liking, and he said something very offensive about flowers serving no real purpose to the benefit of mankind.

This was sort of bizarre, but never the less intriguing.

He wound himself in a slightly more dramatic retelling of how he had saved Leon from certain death and destruction when he single handedly pulled him from the dark office. Leon chose to ignore the part about the flesh eating zombies, and he completely dismissed the roaring flames that encircled the only exit.

Cloud was just getting around the part about how flying broken glass had stabbed him in the leg but his perseverance kept him trudging forever forward, when Leon began to feel his body get heavier.

He didn't know how long he had been awake, but he was feeling as though it was too long. His eye lids were getting heavier by the moment. Cloud seemed to notice this, and wound things up with a very self-praising conclusion.

"That's pretty much it. Of course, if you want all the technical stuff, you'll have to bring that up with Dr. Almasy." Mentally, Cloud snickered.

Leon, however, did not find it funny at all. "Seifer? What do you mean Seifer?" He whispered.

"Eh? Oh, he was the one that hooked you up to all that equipment. He told me to lie about—"

"You're kidding me..." Leon closed his eyes and Cloud stared at him quizzically. Seifer was a brilliant doctor when he wanted to be. He could beautifully sutureany surgical incisions when he felt like it, and he could easily prepare prescriptions all by himself if he found the energy. However, those times were rare, and even if Leon was lucky enough to catch Seifer on one of his erratic bursts of motivation, he still didn't like the idea of Seifer working on him.

Suddenly feeling light headed, Leon motioned for Cloud to come closer to the bed. Cloud did so, and watched curiously.

"Look up there, at that monitor," Leon whispered, caught between exhaustion and panic.

"Yeah, I see it."

"What does it say?" He breathed hoarsely.

"...It' s got a long, green, squiggly line."

"Not that one. The one below it."

"...It says 117 over 75. Why, does that mean you're going to die?" The question dripped curiosity rather than concern.

"No, it means I can go to sleep and probably wake up."

"Oh." He watched Leon drift off, then added, "that's good."

Riku had just left Sora's roomwhen Cloud entered the hallway. They intersected right before the lobby.

"Oh, hi." Cloud greeted. Riku looked shocked. Cloud had been missing for ages and this was where he found him? Cloud was already moving on his way, and Riku caught up. Together they went back to their humble gift shop.

The area looked as though a tornado and a hurricane had tied in a duel, only for an earthquake to tear through and silence both of them. Chairs were overturned, and papers lay askew. There were nurses huddled behind the reception desk while the receptionists hid behind the nurses. The gift shop wasn't completely destroyed, though Riku was miffed that his neatly stacked cups had been knocked over.

"Huh." Cloud mused while picking through the crowd of people. "Things have settled down a bit, don't you think?"

Riku nodded in agreement. It was true. No one was trying to overturn the hospital anymore. (Apparently they had completed the job.) The guests had more or less settled down—a few were even sitting—and the riots were nonexistent.

Either hope was restored, or everyone had accepted that their demise was in the near future; Cloud wasn't quite sure on the mood yet.

Riku positioned himself on the counter, and Cloud plopped down beside him. He gave Riku a once over and noticed that his usual air of collectiveness was somehow missing. He seemed almost deflated. Cloud took the liberty of telling him as much.

"Thanks." Riku replied dryly.

"No problem."

"Ugh..."

"So, what happened that I should know about?"

"Nothing."

"Alright, then what happened that I shouldn't know about?"

"Stop that. I was just a little worried about Sora, that's all."

"Assuming that you're not now?"

"Yes."

Cloud frowned. "So why do you look like a deflated balloon?"

"I do not."

"Actually, you do."

Riku rolled his eyes. "I want to go talk to Leon. To see if Sora's recovery is going to be soon."

"I'm sure it'll be sometime before Leon's."

Riku gawked. "What do you mean?"

"He's sick too. Isn't that ironic? I twas thinking about how ironic it is for a doctor to—"

"Cloud! This is serious! Who's going to help take care of all these people? More importantly, who's going to help take care of Sora?"

"Everyone, including Sora will be fine. Were you not here when the vaccinations were given out?"

"...Oh yeah."

"And it's not like there aren't other—though few—capable people here."

Riku nodded in agreement. Perhaps Cloud was right for once.

Woot! Please review, all are appreciated!