Whoo, Chapter 6! Once again, this chapter's a long one but I felt it was necessary since I'm not sure that I'll be able to get my next update up as promptly as I have been lately. School's starting again you see (the late start is due to the fact that I attend a school on the quarter system) and I'm not sure how fast I'll be able to work. You can count on the fact that I'll do my best though, and I'll try to get the next chapter out within a week! Your reviews are my strongest encouragement, so much thanks to The Hollow Fairy Wolf, DeNiSaY60, RealityInABottle, Taryn Eithne, Shinimegami7, ooXloveXoo582, Vedensolina, flammula, MoonlightWandering, oreo, Caithdean, LoneBoy7, Aindel S. Druida, Metamorcy, Bane-Dane, Inedible Sushi, A-chan, TOC, CloudedMirror89, ramen-is-my-goddess, Kikurukina Bal Des'cagel, Sorceress Fantasia, Stellar Eclipse, Velvet Chaos, , Shukakku the adorable raccoon, Arid Tundra, Starfox, and b4k4 ch4n for reviewing the last chapter! ^^

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Chapter 6

After finishing lunch, Cloud and Axel got to work searching government files and the internet for anything concerning Squall Leonhart. Who his family was, where he lived, where he had worked, where he had gone to school, everything, trying to find any sort of connection to "Zexion" and "Riku". The search was less than fruitful and as the hours ticked by, both of the detectives' frustrations were mounting.

Throwing himself back into his chair, Axel let out a groan, running his fingers through his hair and pulling out the tie that kept the red strands under control, "This is just stupid! Nothing shows that he is anything but a normal guy! Except joining SeeD, he's done nothing weird or illegal. Not even traffic tickets!"

Cloud gave a grunt in response, not caring enough to muster up the energy for a proper reply. Axel was right; it seemed that throughout his life Leonhart had kept a pretty low profile.

"Another night spent working overtime for nothing…"

Glancing over at the clock at the redhead's complaint, Cloud felt his eyes widen a little. It was almost 10pm. Shit, Roxas was going to bite his head off.

As if on cue, the door to their office was slammed open, Cloud taking a moment to wonder how the thing managed to stay on its hinges before Roxas ran in. "Hey Rox, sorry, I lost track of time. We can get going as soon as I finish this up—"

"As much as I wish I could be yelling at you to take me home, you can't go home yet. Your suspect just asked for a phone call."

Cloud blinked at his brother, "What?"

"He wants to make a phone call. That's all I know; I was told to come get you."

Looking at the clock again, Cloud tilted his head, "Why does he want to make a call now instead of when he came in?"

"Maybe he's lonely and wants to call up a friend."

Ignoring Axel's flippant comment, Cloud pushed himself to his feet, "I guess we can let him use the phone in here. Axel, while I go get him, set the phone up so that we can trace the call, and hook up a recorder to it so that we can tape the conversation."

"Aye aye, captain."

Jogging out of the room, Cloud walked the familiar route back over to the holding cell, not even bothering to knock this time before entering. Leonhart was waiting for him, watching Cloud carefully as the blond detective stepped into the cell. Glancing over at the thief, Cloud crossed his arms, "So, you want to make a call?"

"That's right."

"Why now? Why not when you first got here?"

The man shrugged nonchalantly, "Doesn't matter. I know my rights; I get one phone call."

"So you saved it for ten o'clock at night?"

"Yes."

Seeing that the brunette wasn't going to offer up any more explanations, Cloud grabbed the man's arm, "Fine. I'm taking you back to my office to use the phone there. Don't cause any trouble on the way there or you'll be making your call from prison, understand?"

Leonhart nodded and calmly allowed himself to be led out of the room, not even glancing around as they worked their way back towards Cloud's office. Most of the desks in the main room were empty, except for a few staff members that had come in for the night shift. As they walked in, it was clear that Axel had just finished setting everything up, the redhead moving over to sit at his own desk as Cloud guided Leonhart inside and sat him down at his own desk. "Alright, there's the phone." Looking around the room, Cloud realized that they were one head short and turned to Axel, "Where's Roxas?"

"His own phone rang and he decided to answer it. I told him not to since he was technically after hours but he has a conscience or something."

Leonhart stared at the Axel for a moment before looking up at Cloud, "I'm assuming the two of you are going to stay here?" Cloud nodded and Leonhart picked up the phone, examining it for a moment, "And I'm also assuming that this phone is tapped. Right?" Cloud didn't respond but his silence must have been enough of an answer for Leonhart because he gave a small huff, beginning to dial anyway. "Whatever…"

Axel and Cloud exchanged a look before Cloud walked over to the redhead's desk, the two no longer bothering to hide it as they each slipped on a wireless earpiece which allowed them to listen to the conversation happening over the phone. Leonhart looked a little disgruntled but said nothing, the three waiting in silence as he finished dialing.

A phone began to ring, and rang, and rang, and just as Cloud thought it was going to go to some voicemail, there was a soft click and a smooth voice answered, "Hello?"

Cloud's eyes darted over to where Axel was sitting, making sure that his partner was listening. Cloud had thought that Leonhart would try to contact his dependant but whoever was speaking didn't sound sick at all. As Cloud's focus flickered back to Leonhart he found the man's gray eyes staring right back at him, showing that he had no intention about giving anything of importance away on the phone, his voice almost relaxed as he spoke, "It's Squall."

"How did you get this number?"

"You've called me before, my phone saves the numbers of incoming calls."

"Ah, what can I do for you?"

Not breaking his stare with Cloud, Leonhart answered back, "I'm at the Twilight Town Police Department."

"Really?" The voice didn't sound too surprised, curious at the most.

"It seems like I was using money that had been traced to a robbery. They're keeping me here for desertion charges from the Federal government."

"I see. Interesting…"

"Is he there?"

The voice on the other end went quiet for a moment, perhaps trying to interpret Leonhart's meaning before answering back, as smoothly as before, "…Yes, he is here. Should I put him on?"

"Please."

"One moment."

There was a small bump as the man on the other end set his phone down followed by muffled voices before another man came on, "Le—Ow!" Cloud saw Leonhart crack a smile as the new voice complained at the first, "What the hell was that for? What? What do you want?...What? Fine…" The voice gave an exasperated sigh before he spoke again, "What do you want Squall?"

Leonhart's smile fell away and he lowered his voice, "It might be a while before I get out of here so I have a…favor to ask. You know I really, really hate to ask you to do this but I need someone to check up on Sora for me."

"And so you want me to do it?"

The other man's amused tone seemed to annoy Leonhart further, "You're the only person I can ask. I don't know anyone else in Traverse, I've been away for two years."

"Well, I know you must be desperate so I guess I can check in."

"Alright, he's in the hospital."

"What's wrong with him?"

Leonhart's eyes narrowed, "He's sick. Look, you don't have to stay long, just make sure he's doing alright. He saw me being arrested so try to calm him down."

"You know you'll owe me one."

"Fine, whatever. Will you do it?"

"Sure." There was a short pause before the voice picked back up, "Well, I have to go now. See you whenever."

Cloud blinked as the line disconnected; the other man must've hung up. He heard a soft bang behind him and turned, realizing that Axel had slammed his fist down onto the table, a scowl on his face. Damn, that probably meant that the call hadn't been long enough for them to trace it. Cloud had a suspicion that the people on the other side of the conversation where somehow involved in all of this. They certainly didn't sound too surprised to hear that Leonhart had been taken downtown.

Hanging up the phone, Leonhart turned back to look at them, his face shifting back into its neutral expression, "So, did you get anything?"

Cloud pulled his earpiece out, "That's confidential."

"So not too much then…Good."

Clearing his throat from his seat, Axel clapped his hands together, "Well, now that the excitement is over, guess who gets to go back to holding so that some of us can go home?"

Leonhart glanced up at Cloud as if asking if his partner was serious and Cloud just shrugged in return. This was why he didn't let Axel handle interrogations, the guy lacked people skills. Not that he really had any right to talk.

Leonhart rose to his feet with a sigh and Cloud grabbed his arm to lead him back to his cell. As they walked up to the door, Cloud swung the door open and motioned for Leonhart to go inside, "I'll have one of the boys scrounge up a blanket and a pillow for you. If you're still here tomorrow, I can see about having someone bring in a futon or something to make that cot a little more comfortable."

"I've slept on worse."

Resting his hand on his hip, Cloud watched as the brunette took a seat on the bunk. "So, are you going to tell me what that phone call was about?"

"What do you think?"

"Who did you call?"

"Why do you even bother to ask?"

Deciding to go for broke, Cloud eyed Leonhart, watching the man's expressions carefully as he carefully voiced his question, speaking slowly so that Leonhart couldn't mistake his words, "Do the names Zexion or Riku mean anything to you?"

Leonhart didn't even blink. "No."

Cloud frowned. He had been expecting that but it was still disappointing. By now it was clear that the SeeD wasn't going to give up any information. He was tired and he had to imagine that Leonhart was tiring as well despite his unchanging façade. "Well, if you need anything, just knock on the door, it'll be locked from the outside. There should always be at least five employees in the main office, no matter what time it is."

"So you're going home then too?"

"We'll see."

Cloud would've said "good night" but it seemed like it would've been teasing the man. Instead, he just nodded and stepped out of the room, closing the cell door behind him.

Roxas met him on his way back into the main offices, the blond rubbing his eyes sleepily, "Hey Cloud, can we get outta here now? It's getting close to eleven."

"I'm not sure if I'm going back just yet…"

"Seriously?" Roxas followed his older brother back into his office where Axel was packing up his things. "Just because you got here at noon doesn't mean that all of us did. I've been here since seven in the morning!"

"Hey Axel, what do you say to taking Roxas home tonight?"

Roxas spluttered as Axel immediately paused in his work, "Pardon? I think my hearing's going…Did you just ask me if I wanted to take Roxy home?"

"I meant drive him home."

"Still, what happened to psycho big brother?"

"I'm staying here for a few more hours and I figured since you were leaving you could give Roxas a ride back."

Axel's green eyes narrowed suspiciously, "I feel like I'm walking into a trap…"

"Oh, don't get me wrong," Sitting down at his desk, Cloud glanced up at the redhead, "If I find out that you did anything inappropriate with my brother, I will make your life hell."

Roxas grinned and broke Axel out of his thoughts by grabbing the detective's wrist, "Come on! Don't ask anymore questions or he'll make us both stay!"

"Alright, alright Roxy! Don't pull my arm out of its socket…" Pumping his fist up into the air in victory, Roxas ran off to grab his stuff. Watching him leave, Axel shook his head before looking back at Cloud, "So how late are you staying?"

"I don't know yet, depends what I get into."

"Well, don't stay too late or you'll make me look bad."

"Right. You know, if you want to stay, I can find something for you to do—"

"No way!" Grinning, Axel pulled on his jacket and grabbed his briefcase, throwing it over his shoulder as he gave a cheerful wave, "Call me if anything comes up! Otherwise, see you in the morning!"

Cloud smirked as the man hurried out before turning back to his work. He usually wouldn't let Axel take Rox home like that but it was getting late and the kid had put in a full day's work. Besides, he would rather Axel drive Roxas home than have Roxas walk back.

After Axel and Roxas left, the building fell quiet and, having made sure that someone had brought Leonhart a pillow and blanket, Cloud had let his focus drift back to the case. He and Axel had done a pretty good job gathering material from the police database but they still had to go through it all. Which, from the look of the three files stacked on his desk stuffed with articles, was going to take a while. Grabbing a highlighter, Cloud relaxed a bit, resting his feet up on top of the desk as he flipped the first file open. Maybe the clue they had been looking for was on one of these pages…

It was hard to tell how much time passed before Cloud was startled by the shrill ring of his office phone, the folder he was holding nearly flying from his hands as he jumped. Kicking his feet off the desk, he fumbled for the phone, glancing at the clock on the wall as he grabbed it. 12:37am? Who would be calling at this hour? "Hello?"

He straightened up as he recognized the voice on the other side of the phone. It was his supervisor. "Detective Strife?"

"Yes sir. What can I do for you?"

"I thought I might find you at the office still. About that guy Detective Flynn called about earlier today, is he still being held at the main office?"

So Axel had actually worked today; that was good news. "Yes, we have him down in holding for the night."

"Good. We just got a call in from the man's SeeD commander and he wants to speak to your suspect."

"Did he tell you what's going on?"

"He says he won't say anything until he gets to speak with your suspect."

Cloud let out a breath of air. Why were SeeD so hard to work with? "Alright. Do you know when we'll be able to be in contact with him again so I can set something up?"

"I actually have him on hold right now and he wants me to put him through immediately. That's why I'm bothering you so late."

"Right now?! Um, you'll have to give me a minute to wake Leonhart up and get him out of holding…Can you buy me a moment to set up something to record the call?"

"Sorry Strife, we don't have the jurisdiction to record their conversation."

Grimacing, Cloud rubbed his forehead. He hated when things fell out of his jurisdiction. "Fine. Give me a minute to get him in here…"

Setting the phone down, Cloud pushed himself up, a sour look on his face as he pushed open the door to his office and trudged back towards the holding cell. It felt like he had walked that route one time too many within the past 24 hours.

When he got to the holding cell, he was surprised to see that Leonhart was still just sitting on the cot, the fact that he was leaning against the wall the only indication that he had relaxed at all. Knocking once, Cloud opened the cell, "Leonhart? You've got a phone call."

Leonhart looked as surprised as he felt, "Is that allowed?"

"In this case, we can't say anything about it. It's your SeeD commander." Cloud blinked as a bit of the color seemed to fade away from Leonhart's face, the closest thing to fear that Cloud had seen all day passing through his grey eyes. "Scared?"

"No." As if to prove himself, Leonhart stood up and walked passed Cloud, the blond following the soldier back to his office. The man seemed calm but Cloud noticed that the color still hadn't returned to his face. He was also holding himself very straight, as if his commander would be able to see him through the phone line.

Sitting Leonhart down at his desk, Cloud picked up the phone, glad when he didn't hear a dial tone, "Sir?"

"I'm still here. Do you have our man?"

"He's sitting right here." Cloud's eyes lifted to find that Leonhart was watching him intently. "Should I put him on?"

"Sure, go ahead."

Squall blinked as Detective Strife leaned over the desk to pass the phone to him. He had been unable to get any sleep despite how tired he was because of all the thoughts going through his mind. Sora, being arrested, Detective Strife, and facing one of his comrades after deserting them…that, perhaps, was bothering him the most. He had tried desperately to put all thoughts of SeeD behind him and hadn't expected to have to face it so soon. When Detective Strife had asked if he was scared, he had answered truthfully. He wasn't scared per say, but his soldier's training had been embedded too far into his subconscious and the thought of being reprimanded by a superior officer still made him more than a little apprehensive.

Reaching out with both hands, due to the fact that they were still cuffed together, Squall held the phone to his ear, locking eyes with Detective Strife. "Hello?" Looking into the other man's unearthly blue eyes, Squall used the emotions flickering through them to calm himself down. He knew that the detective wasn't any ally of his but just having another human being nearby allowed him to maintain some composure. "This is Squall Leonhart speaking."

A gruff voice answered back, "Just a moment and I'll put you through. I'm legally obliged to inform you that during any point in your conversation you have the right to tell Detective Strife to leave the room." Squall couldn't help but smile a bit; the man clearly wasn't happy about that. "Afterwards, tell your commander that I need a word."

"Yes sir…"

"Alright, I'm transferring the call. Stay on the line…"

Squall fell silent as the line seemed to go dead but knew better than to hang up. A solid minute must have passed before there was a sign of life flickered back along with a storm of static. The sound was almost familiar enough to bring him back to a place he didn't want to be in.

"Leon? You there?"

Squall's eyes shot open in shock. It couldn't be… "Almasy?"

"Finally! What the hell kind of stunt did you pull?!"

Narrowing his eyes, Squall leaned over the desk. There had to have been a mistake. "They said that my commander was calling."

"That's right Leonhart, and he is."

"How the hell—"

"Watch your tone soldier." Squall fell silent, Seifer speaking back up after a pause, "About a week after you disappeared there was a raid on the barracks while we were all in the mess hall. Five guys didn't make it out, including the commander. Actually, I should be thanking you for leaving because I didn't have any competition for getting promoted."

"Is Zell—"

"Dincht is fine. He almost choked on a frickin' hot dog in the raid but the idiot's fine now. The person I'm most worried about is you. What the hell are you doing? I get a call saying you've been arrested in goddamn Twilight Town?"

"It's a long story…"

"Don't even start Leon."

"They have me on desertion. That means federal prison."

"I know what it means Leon. You did too when you left."

Squall shook his head. He didn't know if he should be happy about Seifer now being his superior or dreading it; Seifer was both a friend and a rival. More than that though, Squall knew that Seifer had a strong sense of justice, just like he did. "Yeah."

There was a long pause before Squall heard a sigh, "I'll do what I can for you, but you're going to have to change your attitude. And if I here you cause any more trouble in my hometown, I'm coming out there and beating your ass myself. Got it?"

Squall let out a breath of relief, a small chuckle escaping him as he finally let himself relax, "Yeah…Thanks."

"Don't thank me yet…I'm sure I owe you somehow, think of this as repayment."

Squall nodded. So that's how Seifer was convincing himself that this was the right thing to do. "The detective who transferred your call wants to talk to you after this."

"Alright."

"Thanks again…"

"That's 'thanks again, sir' from you, soldier. Try to stay out of trouble, this is a one-time thing."

"I don't doubt it, sir."

Pulling the phone away from his ear, Squall gazed at it for a moment before glanced up at Detective Strife. "I'm done…"

Detective Strife rose from where he had sat at his partner's desk and took the phone, listening for a moment before nodding, "It sounds like the call's been transferred. What'd he say?"

"I don't think I have to tell you."

His reply seemed to frustrate the blond as the man looked away with a huff and the small smile that hadn't left his lips spread a little. He could tell the detective was tired. Squall could sympathize. "Fine." Detective Strife rested his hands on his hips before looking back at the phone in his hands, "My supervisor should call back in a few minutes, you might as well stick around. It will just be more trouble for me to have to go get you again."

Squall found it hard to keep his head up and eyes open during the wait. As a SeeD he had been trained to be able to function for a week on only four hours of sleep, but the last 36 hours had taken a heavy toll. It had just been an emotional rollercoaster.

Just when he thought he was going to fall asleep on top of Detective Strife's desk, the phone finally rang again and the blond quickly snatched it up. Squall didn't have the energy to listen in on the conversation; the detective would tell him anything that he wanted Squall to know. However, he was startled when Detective Strife's voice raised into a shout, "What?! That's ridiculous!...Is that legal?...No…But sir, I…" Squall watched in interest as the detective's body seemed to deflate a little as he was berated through the phone lines. Squall could just hear the voice on the other side and, although he couldn't understand what was being said, he could tell the other person was rather irate. "No…Yes, sir, I understand…Alright…Bye."

The detective practically threw the phone back onto its base, the blond leaning onto his desk in front of Squall with his head bowed in thought. Squall knew that this meant good news for him. "So what's the verdict?"

Detective Strife let out a heavy sigh at his voice and straightened up as he ran a hand over his face. "Apparently…we have to let you go."

Squall raised a brow. What sort of trick was Seifer able to pull? "How's that?"

"Apparently your status has just been changed from AWOL to "on leave" and the charges of desertion were dropped." Squall let out a breath he had been holding and nodded. So he hadn't escaped SeeD but had escaped prison. This meant that eventually he would have to go back and serve the remaining five months in his contract but he could manage. That is, if he survived his current line of work. He wasn't looking forward to the expression on Seifer's face when they next met though; that smug bastard was probably going to put him through hell for this.

But for now, all that mattered was that he was no longer under arrest. Glancing down at his wrists, Squall smirked and held up his hands, "So then how about taking these cuffs off?"

Detective Strife rolled his eyes before digging a small key out of his pocket. With a sharp click, the handcuffs fell away from his wrists and landed on the ground with a clatter, neither of the two men feeling motivated to reach down and pick them back up. "Am I free to leave then?"

"That's right. What bullshit…" Motioning for Squall to follow, the detective rose to his feet and the two made their way out of the office, "But don't think you're off the hook. We both know you're guilty and it will only be a matter of time until we find some evidence or you and your group slip up and hand us some on a silver platter. Don't even think about skipping town because I would personally hunt you down."

"I would expect you to…"

They had reached the main entrance to the station, Squall's voice trailing off as he spotted the door. It was odd to think that he would be able to simply walk out again after having been escorted inside by police officers fourteen hours ago. Marching behind the main desk, Detective Strife ignored the officer stationed there on night-shift and riffled through a box set on the ground. Pulling out an envelope, he stood up and dumped its contents out onto the countertop, "Here are your things. We confiscated the stolen money as evidence but everything else should be there."

Squall didn't even bother to inspect his wallet before shoving it into his pocket, his keys receiving the same treatment. He was feeling very out of it and just wanted to get out of there. It was already late…he would probably have to walk back to the train station…Shaking his head to try and focus himself, Squall walked over to the door, glancing back at Detective Strife to see if the man was going to try and stop him. The blond however was just watching him leave, his arms crossed over his chest and a small, annoyed frown on his face.

Nodding back at him, Squall turned back towards the door and pushed it open, his mind relaxing a bit as the night air rushed over him. He was out, and now that his mind was able to unwind, his body seemed to want to do the same as a wave of exhaustion hit him. Grabbing the railing for support, Squall tried to regain some control but apparently his mind and body had had enough, the world spinning sickeningly before everything went black.

Cloud had been watching sullenly as Leonhart stepped out of the station before the man suddenly stumbled, collapsing in a dead faint. Cursing, Cloud darted forward and grabbed the soldier's wrist to feel for a pulse. Alright, he was definitely alive, the pulse count slow but nothing to be too worried about. He had been lucky he hadn't rolled down the stairs when he had fainted.

Looking up at Leonhart, Cloud brushed the man's bangs out of his face so that he could see his eyes. They were closed, the SeeD totally unresponsive to his touches. He was out like a light.

Looking up, Cloud had to wonder just who up there was messing with him and if they enjoyed making his life hell. Even though Leonhart was a criminal Cloud knew that his conscience wouldn't allow him to let Leonhart make his way home by himself in this condition. Besides, he didn't need him filing a suit for maltreatment against the Twilight Town Police Department. Cloud had two options then: he could put Leonhart up for the night in a local hotel or he could drive the man home. Either way, he would have to waste his own time and money, it would just matter which was less inconvenient.

As he mulled over his options, Cloud pulled one of Leonhart's arms over his shoulder and hoisted the man up, nearly dragging the taller, heavier man down the stairs. No matter which he chose, Cloud would have to drive him somewhere so he might as well get Leonhart to his car first. The movement seemed to bring the SeeD back a little as the man let out an unintelligible murmur, Cloud glancing over just in time to see a sliver of steel grey before Leonhart's eyes flickered closed again. Now that his face was this close, Cloud had to admit that Leonhart was attractive, the scar cutting across the other's face not even enough to ruin his good looks. Too bad he was on the wrong side of the law…

Finally reaching his car, he managed to unlock it and flip open the door to the back seat, pulling it open with his leg before practically throwing Leonhart inside. Letting out a breath, Cloud readjusted his jacket and watched as Leonhart seemed to wake up a bit from the impact. Leaning against the side of the car, Cloud gazed down at his suspect as Leonhart seemed to force his eyes open through sheer willpower, "It's your lucky day Leonhart. For whatever godforsaken reason, I have decided to drive you back to Traverse Town." Actually, he knew the reason. The gas it would cost was less than the money he would need to rent a hotel room for a night. Plus, it would just by-pass the whole awkwardness involved with dragging Leonhart's half-conscious body into a hotel lobby to request a room with only one bed. Plus, he just liked to drive sometimes. "I'll be right back with the rest of my stuff. Don't mess with my car."

Turning, Cloud hurried back into the station to gather up his things. He wasn't too worried about leaving Leonhart alone in his car. It was a converted police cruiser so it had certain perks that your average civilian car lacked. For example, it still had a police radio, the screen between the back and front seats, remote rear door locking, a PIT bumper, and a mobile data terminal that allowed him to look up information from his car. He even had lights that he could attach to the roof if he wanted to pull someone over or join a chase. Basically, in the back seat, Leonhart wasn't going anywhere.

And he wasn't disappointed. When he returned, a briefcase in his hands stuffed full of more paperwork to go over, Cloud found the thief still sitting in the back seat, although it looked like the man was trying to keep himself awake. Smirking, Cloud climbed into the driver's seat, glancing back at Leonhart through the metal mesh, "Comfy?"

"Not bad actually…"

Shaking his head, Cloud started up the car, glancing back once more before shifting into drive, "Well, you might as well rest up back there…It will be a long ride."

"Why are you doing this?"

"Because I'm a good guy I guess."

Cloud hadn't expected Leonhart to be a big conversationalist, but what caught him off guard was how comfortable he felt with Leonhart in the car. Usually when he had a criminal in the back he was very tense but it bothered him how much he was able to relax with the soldier in the car. Even though he knew now that Leonhart was very capable of causing him serious harm, the SeeD had clearly shown that he had no interest in using his martial skills against Cloud. And Cloud believed it for once.

Looking up at the rearview mirror, Cloud saw that Leonhart had passed back out, the side of his face pressed up against the back window as he slept. Smirking, Cloud adjusted his grip on the steering wheel and turned his attention back to the road. Since it was passed midnight, there were very few drivers out on the highway and as he got out of the city the sky began to take over more of the horizon, stars flickering out from the darkness. It was enough to make a man think about his role in the grand scheme of things and wonder how people like Leonhart could go wrong.

A brief hour later, Cloud found himself driving past a Traverse Town city limit sign. Glancing around, Cloud took the off ramp towards the town center before knocking against the metal mesh, "Hey sleeping beauty, time to wake up."

He heard muttering before Leonhart answered back, his voice gruff from sleep, "…Where are we?"

"Just got into Traverse, taking the town center exit. Where do you want to be dropped off?"

"Mm…" Leonhart fell silent for a moment before replying, "the hospital."

Remembering that's where Leonhart's dependant, he was pretty sure the name was "Sora", was, Cloud didn't bother to question the soldier's choice. Luckily, he didn't have to ask Leonhart for directions since signs for the hospital were posted along the road. Once he drove further into the city, it didn't take too long to find the building. Pulling up along the curb, Cloud put his car into park and got out, opening Leonhart's door for him since the backseat was locked from the inside.

Cloud cleared his throat as Leonhart stepped out, "Expect me to be in touch within a few days; I'm sure Detective Flynn and I will have a few more questions to ask you then. Maybe we'll even have an arrest warrant."

Leonhart raised a brow, looking down at Cloud condescendingly, "I'm guessing you mean one that will last longer than half a day, unlike the one you served today."

"You're going to loose that sense of humor of yours real quick in prison."

All Cloud got in response was a quiet scoff, Leonhart giving a dismissing wave before sticking his hands in his pocket and walking away from the car towards the hospital entrance. Well, at least Leonhart was grateful…Not waiting to see if the SeeD made it inside the hospital, Cloud jumped back into his car. It would be close to 5am by the time he got back to his house…maybe he would call in sick tomorrow.

Squall watched warily as Detective Strife moodily climbed back into his car and drove away. Huh, there really hadn't been a catch to that. Maybe he should've thanked the detective. Then again, he didn't feel too bad; the man had kept him imprisoned for over half a day.

He felt much better after the nap he had taken in the back of Detective Strife's squad car, not that he was one hundred percent but he was able to function now. Pushing open the double doors, Squall walked into the hospital. Luckily it seemed that the secretary who had gotten him arrested was off duty; he didn't want to deal with any glares or frightened stares. Walking over to the woman currently behind the reception desk, Squall leaned on the counter as the woman glanced up. One of the blessings of a hospital was the no one was surprised when a man wandered in at two in the morning. "Hello, I know that visiting hours are over but I came to see if I could visit my brother, Sora Leonhart? There was a, family emergency, and I want to tell him about what's going on. I'm sure he's worried."

"Yes, I know. Usually we don't do this sort of thing but we've allowed it in your case. I'm terribly sorry about what happened. Do you have more news about his grandmother?"

Squall blinked. Who did she think he was exactly? "His…grandmother? Um…what do you--?"

"Oh, you must not have been told! Your cousin came a few hours ago to try and calm Sora down. When my shift started I was told that the patient in room 106 was very distressed but no one would tell me why. Then his cousin, well, your cousin too I suppose, came in and explained the situation to me. The poor little dear; it's hard for someone his age to lose someone dear to you. Your cousin said that Sora and his grandmother were very close."

Pausing, Squall closed his eyes. Riku…"Could you tell me what my cousin looked like? I just don't know who came…"

"Yes sir. He had longer silver hair, rather tall, fairly pale skin. Forgive me for saying so, but I don't see much family resemblance."

So Riku had lied his way inside. Why was he so surprised? "Yeah, he was adopted. Is he still in?"

"I haven't seen him leave yet, so I assume so."

"Would it be possible for me to go back and see them?"

"Well, it's against hospital policy but I understand how the poor dear must feel so, go ahead." The woman gave a sly grin, "Just don't let anyone see you."

Squall smiled politely at her, "I can't thank you enough. And don't worry, I won't let anyone else know I'm here."

He had to admit that Riku knew how to charm people. This woman was clearly still reeling from the aftereffects. But it all made his job easier. Strolling towards the back, Squall glanced around the corner and, not seeing any staff members, made his way towards the patients' rooms. Since it was so late, there weren't many doctors or nurses on duty and the halls were nearly silent, the lights dimmed so as not to disturb the occupants of the surrounding rooms.

Quieting his footsteps, Squall easily made his way to Sora's room, remembering where it was from his earlier trip there. As he reached the door, he didn't hear any voices coming from inside. He knew that Sora didn't often stay up late but he had expected that the teen would still be up if Riku was still visiting.

Squall knocked gently on the door before cracking it open, slowly swinging it open the rest of the way as he saw Sora sprawled out on his bed sleeping soundly. The TV was on in the corner of the room, the volume soft; Sora had probably forgotten to turn it off before he went to sleep. Narrowing his eyes, Squall stepped inside, starting as out of the corner of his eye he spotted movement in the corner of the room.

Whipping around, Squall let out a breath of air, running a hand through his hair before closing the door to Sora's room behind him, "Gods Riku, make a noise next time will you?"

Riku grinned at him from his seat in the far corner, the young man dressed casually with one leg crossed over the other. When he spoke, Squall was surprised that he was considerate enough to keep his voice down while Sora was sleeping in the same room, "So, they let you out?"

"Good behavior." Looking around, he caught sight of empty take-out food boxes on the nightstand, "You ate in here?"

"I hadn't had dinner before you called. By the way, you owe me the money for a slice of pie. I grabbed one for the kid before I came in."

Squall was surprised; that was actually thoughtful. "Fine." Glancing back at Sora, Squall crossed his arms over his chest, "How long has he been asleep for?"

"I don't know, about an hour maybe."

Squall's head whipped back around, his eyes narrowing, "So, not that I don't appreciate it but, what are you still doing here?" It was just a little disconcerting imagining a hitman hovering over his baby brother while he was passed out.

Riku shrugged, "I figured that you might show up. Besides, I've been watching TV and the company's not half bad."

Squall's eyes narrowed further, "You better not have tried anything—"

Rolling his eyes, Riku waved towards Sora's motionless form, "Not even I'm messed up enough to take advantage of the kid when he has an IV in his arm. Wake him up yourself if you want to check." The silver haired man eyed him for a moment, speaking up again after a short silence, "He seemed really worried about you, he'd want to know that you were out."

Squall frowned but nodded. Turning back around, he took the step over to stand beside Sora. Crouching down, Squall brushed a few strands of hair out of Sora's face, the teen letting out a soft murmur at the contact. Sora was looking even healthier than the last time he had seen him. Having a day of rest really did him some good. It felt wrong to wake him but he knew that Sora would want to know what was going on.

"Hey Sora…Sor, wake up."

Sora's frowned, his nose scrunching up as a sleepy hand came up as if to brush Squall's voice away, "Mn…five more minu's…"

Sighing, Squall ran his hand down Sora's arm, giving the teen a light shake. "Sorry Sor, but you'll be madder at me if I don't wake you up."

Sora's frown twisted in confusion, "Uhngh, Squall…?" Saying his brother's name seemed to spark some sort of memory because Sora's sky blue eyes shot open, "Squall!" Lurching up despite his older brother's protests, Sora threw his arms around Squall's neck, "Squall, you're back!"

Squall ruffled Sora's hair as he shushed the boy, "You have to be quiet, we're not supposed to be in here."

Sora pulled away and nodded silently before a frown touched his face. "We?" Squall motioned with his head back to where Riku was sitting and a blush lit Sora's face, "O-oh! You stayed?"

Riku gave Sora his charming grin much to Squall's disgust, "I told you it wouldn't be too long before Squall got back."

Sora's head spun back to look at his brother before he nodded, burying his face in Squall's shoulder. Squall was barely able to understand Sora as the teen's voice was muffled by his jacket, "'m glad your back…" Pulling away, Sora narrowed his brow, "What happened? Riku, Riku told me that you were in jail."

Letting out a slow breath, Squall looked into straight into Sora's blue eyes, "He was right. Sora…I…" His voice trailed off. He didn't know who he was going to explain any of this so that Sora would understand, understand why he had done what he had did, and why he couldn't stop doing it.

His brother saved him by giving a weak smile, "I know that, you're a good person so, you, must be doing what you think is right. Just, don't say that, that you're putting yourself in trouble for me."

"Oh, no, no, no, Sora," Squall brushed his fingers across Sora's cheeks to soothe away the tears that were welling up in his brother's eyes, "No Sora, I promise nothing is your fault. I'm, doing what I have to, for the both of us. Alright?" Sora squeezed his eyes shut but nodded, and Squall gave him a sad smile, "But now that I was taken in, things might change a little. I'll try to keep things normal but, if anything happens, you'll have to trust me enough to know that I'll do what's best for us both."

Blinking his eyes opened, Sora's lips pursed into a determined line, "Okay. I said that I trusted you Squall, and that's never going to change." The teen's face softened and he poked Squall's chest, "You, you look tired though. You should get home and get some sleep."

"You too." Gently lowering Sora so that he was laying back down on the cot, Squall ruffled his hair, "But, I might just take you up on that. I'll come in to visit tomorrow as soon as visitor hours start."

"Okay. I'll be waiting." Sora finally smiled, although the expression didn't quite reach his eyes as it usually did.

Smiling back, Squall nodded before rising to his feet, motioning for Riku to follow him. Saying a soft good-night, Squall opened the door ushered Riku out before slipping back out into the hall himself, closing the door silently behind him. The two made their way back toward the lobby, both naturally checking around corners to see if anyone was coming before continuing on. It wasn't until they had actually exited the hospital entirely when Riku spoke up. "So, glad to see that you're out and all but I hope you know that Zex is pissed, and that's an understatement."

Squall looked off toward the parking lot, for some reason surprised to see that his motorcycle still standing where he had left it when he had first followed Sora to the hospital. It seemed like a long time ago. "It's not like I meant to do it. One of us was going to spend the money first, it just happened to be me."

"Yeah, well, after you hung up from your little call from the station, Zexion threw a bit of a hissy fit. I don't think he's mad at you, just the situation…although I wouldn't test that theory if I were you."

"So what's the plan then?"

"Same old thing really, except we all lost a major pay check. Zex is already planning our next job to try and make up for it but we'll see how things go. Just lay low for now, take care of your kid brother, whatever. What did the cops want to know anyway?"

Squall's face grew serious, "They're onto us, but don't have any evidence. They know your names too, yours and Zexion's."

"Hm. Well, that's going to be a problem. More good news for Zexion…I suppose I'll call him; he'd probably tear you to shreds if you called right now."

Tilting his head to the side, Squall rested a hand on his hip, "…Why are you being so, understanding?"

Riku paused and frowned, "I don't know. Odd, isn't it?" A smirk grew on the hitman's lips, "Maybe I just like having you in my debt?"

Not liking the way Riku had said that, Squall just shook his head and walked away towards his bike. Things were getting too complicated.