It had been raining on and off in Hollow Bastion lately. The sky would darken, and sheets of ice-cold rain would cover every house, every tree, and every street in a soaking wet blanket of water.
Everyone was either curled up in bed, or doing something indoors. No one went outside that much, fearing a cold, slipping on the wet streets, or being caught away from home by a sudden downpour.
Leon found himself lying on one of the couches in Merlin's, reading a novel, the house quiet and empty.
Yuffie, Aerith and Tifa claimed that the rain was getting them down, so, they decided to go off to Disney Castle to spend some time with the Queen, Cid was off testing out his new gummi-blocks, flying from world to world, Merlin said something about eighteenth-centuary Britain and disappeared in a puff of smoke, and Cloud had gone off somewhere without a word.
Leaving Leon, on his own, with an empty house.
It's been around nine days since the brunette had played that game of checkers with Cloud. The only reason he knew the exact day was because of the fact that he could barely remember anything from it, except the splitting headache he had the day after.
Running a hand through his hair thoughtlessly, Leon stretched on the couch, his button-up shirt left to gape open, exposing his tanned chest and stomach, his black jeans a little crumpled. No one was there to see him be lazy, thus, he was content to make a slob out of himself.
He couldn't work on restoring Hollow Bastion, so, what else was there to do besides read and be a slob?
There was a sharp clap of thunder and Leon ignored it, a flash of light hitting the closed windows. It was night, and yet, it seemed darker than usual. Probably because of the clouds and periodic flashes of lighting.
An orange glow was cast around the living room, Merlin's oven sitting in the corner quietly, burning some logs, the fire casting a flickering, gold-orange light around, sharp, long shadows cast along the walls and floor.
There was a sharp bang and Leon frowned. That definitely didn't sound like thunder. Rolling onto his stomach and looking in the direction of the door of Merlin's house, Leon blinked.
Standing in the doorway was Cloud; looking, for all his worth, like a drowned rat. He was soaked all the way through, water streaming off his clothing, his spikes of gold hair weighed down, his clothes sticking to his skin like another layer. Water was pouring down outside like the air was made of it, the street a little flooded behind the blonde.
Kicking the door closed behind him with a heel, the soaked blonde let out a quiet sigh before shaking his head like a dog, water flying from his hair before he straitened up again, raising a soaking hand to run it through his moist blonde locks, unsticking it from his damp cheeks and forehead.
"And the girls think you're clean-cut and cultured," Leon smirked from his place on the couch, his chin resting on the arm of the couch.
Cloud glanced over to him and gave him a weak smile. "I'm freezing, Leonheart. Have mercy," he mumbled, the brunette hearing the blonde's teeth chattering lightly.
Glancing down to see the puddle of water the blonde was standing in, Leon let out an ever-suffering groan and heaved himself off the couch and onto his feet, dropping his book onto the coffee-table, before slipping his hands into his pockets.
"Stay there," Leon sighed, walking past Cloud and into the depths of Merlin's house, knowing that the wizard wouldn't like it if he came back to find water all through his home.
Entering the bathroom, Leon grabbed a towel, a bath-robe and one of the empty baskets for dirty clothing, before walking out again and slipping into Cloud's room. Flicking one of the drawers open, the brunette snagged one of the blonde's black boxer-shorts, and walked back out.
Walking back into the living room, Leon found Cloud exactly where he'd left him, the blonde just standing there, dripping wet, his body trembling now and again. Looking up at the brunette when he entered, a smirk appeared on Cloud's tinged-blue lips at the sight of the silk shorts hanging from Leon's fingers. "You went though my underwear drawer, Leonhart?" he asked, amused.
"I kept my eyes closed the whole time," Leon replied with a smirk, throwing the towel at Cloud and hitting the blonde in the face with it.
Grabbing the towel before it hit the ground and rubbing at his damp spikes of blonde hair, Cloud let out a quiet snort of amusement. Leon dropped the small basket by the blonde's feet and straitened up, hooking the shorts and bath-robe over his arm, waiting for Cloud silently, watching him closely with stormy eyes.
Chucking the towel back at Leon, which the brunette caught and slung over his arm too, Cloud sighed, raising a hand and dragging his shirt-zip down, before slowly peeling the drenched article of clothing off his wet, smooth skin.
Swallowing, Leon flickered his eyes away before looking back at Cloud, urging away the flush fighting to appear on his cheeks.
Dropping his shirt in the basket by his feet, Cloud ran a hand over his smooth, cleansed left arm. No scab. No Geostigma. He was cured. Leaning down and picking at his laces, the blonde easily yanked off his boots and socks, dropping his soaking wet boots by the door; his socks in the basket with his shirt. Straitening up again, Cloud yanked at his belt.
His cheeks tinged a very light pink, Leon stared at a crack in one of the walls, hearing a wet slap and musical tinkle of Cloud's pants and belt falling into the the basket too.
Feeling the towel being yanked out of his grasp, the brunette looked back at Cloud automatically, his eyes falling on the blonde, who was wearing nothing but his soaking wet boxers, a film of water all over his body, making his skin sheen.
Leon bit his tongue.
Dragging the towel over his body and drying it quickly, Cloud looked back up at the brunette and raised his eyebrows. "I'm not baring by ass to you, Leonhart," he stated, holding out his hand.
Getting the hint, Leon swapped Cloud's towel for the bath-robe and looked back at the crack in the wall, hearing the rustle of material as the blonde slipped into the robe and tied it around his waist. The brunette continued to stare at the crack as Cloud peeled off his soaking we boxers, dropped them into the pile of drenched clothing, and grabbed the dry ones hanging limply from Leon's fingers.
After Cloud had put the boxers on, he picked at the knot of the belt of the bath-robe and let it fall open. Leon looked back at him; Cloud now dressed, so to speak, and the brunette leant down, picking up the basket of wet clothing and pushing into the blonde's arms.
"I'm not doing your laundry, Strife," he smirked, receiving a hurt, mocking pout in return, before he turned and walked down the hall to put the towel hanging in his arms back in the bathroom.
When he returned, the chairs from the kitchen were placed by the front door, Cloud's clothes draped over them, dripping onto the already-wet ground. The blonde in question was standing in front of Merlin's oven, still wearing just his boxers and the bath-robe, letting the fire warm his front slowly, his whole body shivering now and again.
Leon's grey-blue eyes looked away from Cloud and fell upon the cupboard with the mugs in it.
A few minutes later, a mug decided in front of Cloud's nose and the blonde rose his eyebrows, staring at it for a moment, before following the hand holding it there; over his shoulder to Leon, who rose his eyebrows patiently.
Looking back at the mug, the blonde took it in his hands after a moment, his fingers curling around it and immediately being warmed by the sugary-smelling, hot drink in it. Sniffing lightly, Cloud smiled. Hot cocoa.
Glancing to his side, the blonde saw Leon step into place there, in front of the oven too, being warmed by the lively flames, his stormy eyes staring down at them. "You didn't poison it, did you?" Cloud asked after a moment, a small smile on his face, the mug held in his hands.
"Actually, I didn't," Leon replied, looking at Cloud, a smirk melting onto his face. "I was going to leave that in the cereal." The brunette quickly rose a hand and placed it on his chest, looking mock-shocked. "Oh no," he gasped, "I spoiled the surprise! Darn!"
Cloud sniggered breathily, a bright grin taking over his face. Looking away and taking a quick sip of the soothing drink to hide his smile, Cloud felt the warm drink warm his insides gently. Dragging his tongue over his lips thoughtfully, the blonde stared down at the flames between the grill of the oven, the golden glow reflecting in his bright eyes.
The two men continued to stand there, the thunderstorm continuing outside, the occasional flash of light from the lightning jumping in through the windows, Cloud slowly finishing his cooling drink, Leon just standing there, his hands in his pockets.
Finally, Cloud stared into his empty mug, the last few dregs gathering in the corners, cold and useless in the shadow. Turning his blue eyes to his side, Cloud looked at Leon.
The brunette had turned around a few minutes ago, the oven warming his back, his front completely in shadow. The flickering gold and orange flames made his silky brown hair glint and seem almost metallic, sharp shadows engulfing the folds in his shirt and pants, hiding his face and front from view.
There was a clink as Cloud placed his empty mug on the oven-top, Leon looking up at the sound, turning his face to see Cloud.
The blonde was looking at him, the golden flames of the fire making his hair look like it was truly made of the precious metal, his skin glowing beneath the light, his eyes, an unearthly blue, glowed in the darkness.
Raising a hand slowly, Cloud took hold of Leon's collar, gently pulling at it, causing Leon to turn and face him completely so that it didn't cause him any discomfort. Letting go of the collar, the blonde's fingertips ghosted down Leon's exposed neck, chest, and down his stomach, the brunette letting in a shaky breath, Cloud's fingers coming to a stop just above his belt.
Slowly slipping his fingers under the smooth leather, Cloud gripped at the belt gently, slowly pulling it toward him. Leon took a step forward, guided by the blonde's movements, and found himself tantalisingly close to Cloud, warmth radiating from both their bodies, seemingly a lot warmer than the oven flames.
Slipping his fingers from Leon's belt, Cloud's fingers trailed up the brunette's stomach and chest, dancing over heated, tanned skin, to slip around the back of his neck, tangling in his silky brown hair.
One of Leon's hands slipped out of his pocket and cupped Cloud's cheek, stroking along his smooth jaw as the blonde moved forward and pressed his lips against the brunette's, slipping his tongue into Leon's mouth.
He tasted like chocolate.
((TBC. AND, WE HAVE GAY. HURAH. This was all going to take place in the bathroom, but, I thought, what the hell. They'll do it in the livingroom instead. The next chapter is chocker-blocked full of Gay, so, enjoy. Writing chapter nineteen right now, even though I really should be working. Read, enjoy, review.))