A/N: Look at me! Updating two stories in one day! Sorry this chapter is a bit short. I still think you'll like it though! I have some amazingly awesome chapters planned ahead. OOOHHH AND MORE CLEON-Y GOODNESS! EEP!
I love the part in here when Leon has to carry Axel. In my mind it just look freakin hilarious.
Okay, so I'll let ya get to reading!
-hands out cookies-
3...
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GO!
(As a side note: All four boys are preteens. Sora and Roxas are 8, Axel is 10, and Riku is 9)
Chapter 4: Worst Lunch Ever.
Cloud's POV
"Lunch! Lunch! Lunch! Lunch!" Sora screeches in the back seat of Leon's car. Roxas smacks Sora's arm lightly.
"Shut up already. You're giving me a headache." Roxas complains. Sora immediately begins pouting, and Riku pats his back.
"It was getting a little annoying, Sora." Leon admits. I can't blame him. After ten minutes of Sora yelling "Lunch!" I was kind of sick of it. Even though they're not my brothers, I probably would've yelled at Sora if I had to endure thirty seconds more of that.
I feel a wave of relief wash over me as I see the sign for Kupo's in the distance. It couldn't be more than a minute until we got there. I look in the rear-view mirror to see that Sora knows we're close. How can I tell? The kid is practically jumping up and down in his seat.
Leon turns on the blinker, and he makes the turn into the parking lot. Sora's already unbuckled, and he is pushing past Riku to get to the door. Axel and Roxas are sitting in the back, and are cracking up at Sora's behavior.
"Control your brother, Roxas!" Leon yells from the front seat. I crack a smile at this. Maybe I should give it a shot.
"Sora if you don't calm down and sit in your seat you could cause Leon to crash the car. Then you'd never get to go to Kupo's."I tell Sora. Even though Leon is parking the car, it seems to register with Sora, and he stops tackling Riku and sits in his seat. Leon looks at me and mouths 'thank you,' and it makes me smile a bit more. I'm glad I could help.
"Okay. Everybody out. No running around in the parking lot either." Leon yells, as Sora opens the door and darts out. That boy loves food too much. Riku quickly rushes after Sora into the parking lot. Axel and Roxas both get out of the car in a calm manner, no ripping the doors open. Leon and I get out of the car last, and as Leon locks the car, I try to keep up with the boys.
Almost as if in slow-motion, a car pulls into the parking lot. There's nothing special about that, except for the fact that it is pulling in quickly, and Sora won't be able to get out of the way. My light jog to catch up to the boys quickly turns into a full-out sprint – a race against time. I don't know what I yell, but I yell something that catches Sora's attention and he turns to look at me. Damn it. Not the reaction I wanted.
The car is nearly on top of Sora as it honks its horn, and catches Sora's attention. I know that the car is coming in too fast to stop before it'll hit Sora, and at the speed it is going, it could kill Sora.
I don't stop running, but I know I won't be able to catch Sora. The other three boys have run to the side and seem to be screaming for help.
As if out of nowhere, a man swoops in, grabs Sora, and pulls him to the side as the car passes. I sigh a breath of relief, until I realize that I'm in the way of the car now. I dive to the side and roll, the tire of the car barely skimming my jacket. I can still feel the adrenaline pumping in my system as I stand up.
The car turns around and pulls out back onto the road. What a coward. Won't even check and see if the child and adult he almost hit were injured or not. People like that need to be taught a lesson. If only I could track him down.
I briefly wonder where Leon is, as I brush myself off and run over to Sora. I kneel down and check Sora for any injuries. He seems to be fine, just a little scared. I look up at the man who saved Sora. He has bright blue eyes, and spiked back black hair. He has two small crossing scars on his left jawline, and one stray strand of his spiked hair is falling into his face. He's wearing something that vaguely resembles armor. He has two shoulder plates, about three belts over really baggy pants, and a purple turtleneck.
"Thank you." I murmur. None of the boys pay any attention to the stranger. Sora and Roxas both look like they are in shock, and Riku and Axel are both working on calming them down.
"Be careful with that one. He's a handful. Oh, you're welcome by the way." With that, the strange man turns and leaves. I don't have time to think about his strange actions; instead I turn back to Sora.
"Sora, are you okay. You didn't get hit anywhere, did you?" I ask, praying that he is fine. Leon would most likely kill me if something happened to his brothers while they were on my watch.
"I'm f-fine." As soon as Sora mutters that, he bursts back into tears, and Riku hugs him closer. I can hardly hear what Riku is saying, but I hear him say, "It's okay. It's fine. You're safe." I smile, knowing that Sora has such great friends.
"How about you, Roxas? I know that must've been a big scare, huh?" I ask, sympathizing with the boys. I felt just as scared when I heard my parents were in the hospital.
"I'm fine." Roxas says, managing to keep his cool. Axel though, sees right through it, and hugs the small boy. They both don't say anything, but I know how calming companionship is.
As if on cue, Leon rounds the corner to find us all.
"Holy shit! What happened? Why is Sora crying?" Leon asks, his eyes directing entirely to me. After all, I'm the only one who knows exactly what happened.
"Sora was running in the parking lot, and a car pulled in much faster than it should have. I'm glad that we're in the city, because some man who was walking by noticed and darted in, getting Sora out of the way." I explain. I can feel my legs shake as the adrenaline wears off.
"Jesus. My life can never be easy, can it?" Leon asks. "Did you get his name, or anything to contact him by? I'd really like to thank him." Leon adds, and suddenly I feel really bad. I should've gotten something to thank this man by. After all, he just saved Sora's life.
"No, but he went down the street a few minutes ago. You might still be able to catch him." I say, hoping not to entirely let Leon down.
"I don't know. If he darted out that quickly, maybe he didn't want all the attention." Leon says, thinking. "Let's just get inside. I need a few minutes to calm down."
We all head inside, and sit at a relatively large table. A waitress comes by and takes our orders, using 'Kupo' after every sentence. I sit next to Leon, and we eat in silence, practically drowning in our own thoughts.
I can't help but think of what the stranger said. 'Be careful with that one. He's a handful.' He talked about Sora like he knew him. But, if he knew Sora, why wouldn't he have stuck around longer? Wouldn't he have known Leon if he knew Sora? Why wouldn't he question why I was there instead of Leon, if he knew Sora? And then lastly, how was that man that fast? I hadn't noticed anyone around before that, so where did this man come from?
I let my thoughts and theories consume me, while I consume my food. Sora was right in being excited. This food is great.
?'s POV
I'm just on a basic mission today. Lazard told me that I had to infiltrate a small building, take down their leader, and get out. Again, simple.
I figure it won't take me long at all. Twenty minutes tops. That means I get the rest of the day off. Well, not officially, because I'm supposed to report back and get another mission, but I'd rather hang around Twilight Town. It's a nice place. At least, much nicer than Midgar, where I'm stationed.
I stroll downtown. Maybe I'd stop by Kupo's and get something to eat. As if on cue, my stomach growls.
"Shush up. You'll blow our cover." I chide my stomach. I'm on top of the building I'm supposed to infiltrate, and am about to go in when I hear cries for help.
It's a snap decision, but I know that whoever needs help needs me. I kick in, using some of that wonderfully helpful Mako energy to speed up. Becoming a SOLDIER not only enhanced my physical capabilities, but I can hear farther away. I know that the cries for help came from several blocks away, and I run in that direction.
As I come upon Kupo's I see a car speeding into the parking lot, right about to hit a small boy. About ten feet away, there is man, yelling and trying to get him out of the way. I know that now is my last chance, so I dart in, grab the boy, and dart out.
Just as I realize that the other man was also in the way, he dives and rolls. I look down at the boy that I had just saved and realize something. That's Sora.
I resist the urge to bend down and comfort him. So far, none of the other boys noticed me being there. I wonder who this other man is, and I decide to assume he's a babysitter or something. He brushes himself off, as the car pulls a U-turn in the parking lot and speeds back out onto the road. What an ass. He runs over to me and the boys, kneeling down and checking Sora to make sure he's okay. I appreciate the gesture, knowing that he cares about Sora's well-being.
He looks up to me. He seems to study me for a moment. I can see his pupils are dilated from adrenaline and fear. As a SOLDIER, we never have that problem. Thank you, once again Mako energy.
"Thank you." The man says, his voice wavering. I know that I can't hang around much longer. Soon he'll ask me my name, or for some sort of contact information or something. Knowing Leon, he'd want to meet me and give me like, two bajillion dollars or something.
"Be careful with that one. He's a handful. Oh, you're welcome by the way." I reply to this man. I wish I could ask his name, so that I could do a background check on him, but as soon as I do that, he'll ask mine. I turn and walk back towards my target, hoping that he doesn't tell me to stop. I'm grateful that he doesn't, and I keep going, as I hear him check on Sora once again.
If I were allowed to show emotion when on a job, then I probably would've smiled and cried at the same time. That was too close for comfort.
I run back down the street, hoping to get out of the way before the man can come after me or something.
Cloud's POV
The drive back to Leon's house is silent. I squirm from the tension building in the car. The boys in the back of the car are all sleeping. I can't blame them. That event must've taken a huge toll out of them.
I can't help but wonder who that man was. He looked like some sort of assassin/soldier thing. Maybe he is a SOLDIER. They're hardly ever seen – the training they endure makes them that way. If they don't want to be seen, they're not. That's why SOLDIERs seem like myths.
It's kind of like how I always hear about Leon's younger brother Zack, yet never have seen him. I hear how great he is, yet I never even get to see a picture of him. I wonder why he had run off in the first place. Leon's family seems nice enough. Maybe he didn't like the fame. Leon seems to hate it, and Sora and Roxas seem oblivious to it. Maybe it got to his brother too, so he ran off.
"Hey, Leon." I start. I really want to know more about his brother. Why he ran off, what he looked like, how he acted. Maybe I could help Leon find him.
"Hm?" Leon asks, half diverting his attention from the road to me. I know that this is going to be a difficult topic, and I don't want to seem too blunt.
"Uhm, if you don't mind me asking, could you tell me about your brother?" I ask, hoping that I don't seem too forward.
"Sure. Well, Zack, like I told you, was fifteen when he ran off. That was a year ago. He had always dreamed of being a hero, and having people look up to him, saying he was brave. He used to always volunteer at the day-care, and help take care of the little kids. He always used to come home so happy that the kids wanted to be like him when they grew up. Every day he told me, 'I want to be a hero. I want to be the best role model ever!' and then he'd fall asleep after a long day of work. He never really liked our parents. They're hardly ever around. The maids used to drive us around until one taught me to drive. I drove Zack everywhere. A few months before he left, he started getting in with the wrong crowd. The day before he left, I confronted him about it, and he said he knew. He said that he was going to change. He promised that he' be a hero. When I woke him the next morning he was gone. He hasn't communicated with me since. His running away pissed our parents off, so now they take on whatever movie roles they can, so they don't have to come back here." Leon finishes, and I suddenly feel really bad for ever thinking he had a perfect life.
"I'm sorry. Maybe you can show me a picture of him sometime, huh? Then I'd be able to keep an eye out for him." I reply, trying to cheer Leon up.
"Sure. Although, I'm sure that if he were still around here, I would've found him by now." Leon says, and I wish that I could comfort him.
We pull into Leon's driveway, and he opens the gate. We drive up the extremely long driveway to the garage, which he opens and parks his car in. I carry Sora and Riku to the couch in the living room, so that they can continue napping. Leon does the same with Roxas and Axel, although he is barely able to carry Axel.
Axel is extremely tall for a pre-teen. It seems as if he's already hit a growth spurt. He's ten years old and nearly five feet tall. It's comical watching Leon carry Axel, and I do everything I can to not drop to the floor and laugh.
Leon goes into the kitchen, probably to go make some more coffee. He seems to be addicted to the stuff. I grab some of the blankets off of the edge of the couch, and place them over the boys. Sora, half-conscious, grabs onto his and snuggles into the couch. He makes a few little mewling noises, and then goes back to sleep.
I can't help but notice how adorable he is. If it weren't for that man, I wouldn't ever see Sora like this. Sora could've been gone, just like my parents.
This resonates deep inside me, and seems to trigger something. It's one thing for parents to be lost. They already got to live most of their lives, but a child is something different. I would've been helpless, unable to save Sora. Sora would've been gone. Dead. There would be no more Sora.
I decide that I can let the guilt consume me, as I walk into the kitchen. I'm not really paying attention to where I'm going, and as I walk through the archway, I trip over my own feet, falling straight into Leon.
Of course, my arms reach out for whatever they can grab first, which just so happens to be Leon's arms. Leon, unexpectedly and fortunately, didn't have coffee in his hands, and grabbed me before I could slip any further. His hands were on my sides, and my skin couldn't help but tingle with excitement where his hands pressed into me.
"Easy there, Cloud." Leon whispers to me. I look into his brown-grey eyes, and see some strange emotion swirling behind them. I smile at Leon, and he smiles back. I don't expect him to display any emotion, and it momentarily catches me off guard. He's always seemed so closed-off, even when he seemed open.
"Sorry." I whisper back, face flushing as Leon makes no move to let me go. His eyes bore into mine, and my face continues to heat up. I briefly consider letting go of Leon, but then decide that I won't give up until he does.
"Thank you, by the way, for trying to save Sora." Leon adds, before he presses his forehead against mine. He may be only an inch taller, but that inch makes a world of difference as he presses his lips down on mine.
Leon takes control of the kiss, not deepening it, but not keeping it light either. It is a mix of both really. It shows his gratitude, but it shows me something more too. I know that whatever friendship we had before has just become slightly more complicated.
As Leon pulls away from me, I am left dazed, lips tingling. Leon observes me with an amused look. My face flushes even further when I notice he is still watching me, mere inches apart. I think of how easy it would be to close that gap once more. I'm still left confused though. Before whatever the hell just happened there, he hasn't seemed interested in me at all. Sure, he trusted me with his brothers, and sure, I tried and failed to save his brother, but what was that all about?
"Want some coffee?" Leon offers, and I laugh. Of course.
"Why the hell not?" I ask, and we walk into the kitchen.
Whatever just happened can be resolved later. For now, we just enjoy the fact that we are both alive and well, and drinking coffee, of course.
A/N: OOOOOOHHHH
Who do you think the stranger was? Muahahaha!
It's a secret duh!
Although slightly obvious... :3
So, I hope you weren't entirely disappointed...
Isn't Sora sleeping on the couch the cutest thing?
Although, what's going on with Leon? And what about Cloud?
Let me know what you think!
COOKIES FOR EVERYONE!
-le hands out cookies-
~Sea Salt Princess