A/N: So here it is! Chapter 5! I'm really tired right now, as I've typed three chapters to different stories today. So, if this seems only half-intelligible, let me know. I do think that the end scene is pretty adorable. I promise I won't spoil it!
I plan to have Zack appear sometime soon, so keep your eyes open!
I was going to write another chapter to Break In right now, but I think I need a little break. I'll do it tomorrow if I have time. I still have homework and stuff that I have to do. Ugh. The end of Spring Break is nowhere near as fun as the beginning of it. Plus, I have another month until we get our next break which is only a freaking 3-day weekend -sobs-
-hands out cookies-
Happy reading!
Chapter 5: Happy
Cloud's POV
Leon sits across from me, drinking his coffee. Neither one of us say anything, we just sit in silence and drink. Normally, it'd be awkward, but for some reason, silence works for us. I wrap my fingers around the mug, warming the lengthy digits.
I examine Leon's stoic face. He doesn't seem to really display any emotion, but as his thoughts travel, I can see minor changes in his face. I sip my coffee, and sigh, letting the coffee warm my entire body. The heat creeps across my body until it fades once more.
I hear someone's feet shuffling into the kitchen and turn around and look. I see Sora, clutching a blanket around his shoulders, and sniffling as if he were crying as he enters the kitchen. My heart twists at the sight of him. I can see the tears traveling down his face, and I just want go over and take care of him. Leon beats me to it. He swoops over to Sora, and kneels down, propping Sora up on his knee.
"Sora? What's wrong?" Leon, the man with no emotions, asks his face contorted into an expression of worry. Dang. He must be really worried. Leon grasps Sora's shoulders, and looks him in the eyes.
"Le-Le, I miss Zack." Sora says, his tears intensifying. Leon hugs Sora tightly.
"I know, Sora, I know. So do I. Don't worry though, we'll find him and then kick his butt for leaving. Then we can make up. Okay?" Leon promises Sora, and Sora giggles immaturely at the word 'butt.' Sora's tears stop, but he is still sniffling. Leon holds him, and they stay like that for several moments.
"As long as I get to kick his butt!" Sora says, his vigor returning. Leon nods, and I can't help but marvel at how great of an older brother he is. I'm glad I don't have younger brothers. I'd be a mess right now if I were Leon. I laugh a bit at Sora's comment, and the small boy turns and smiles at me, and then squirms out of Leon's arms, running back into the living room.
I look at Leon in admiration. He's brave. I don't know if I would have been able to deal with the loss of my brother, and a lack of parents. I'm sure Leon needs someone to comfort him too. He can't take everyone's pain all the time.
"You'll find him, Leon. I know it." I tell Leon. Leon looks at me, and his lips form a small smile. He stands back up, and brushes the dirt off of his leg.
"I know. Hey, you said you wanted to know what he looked like, right?" Leon asked. I nod, and he grins a little more. "C'mon then, Spiky, we're going to go find a picture of him." Leon says, and starts up the stairs. I take one last sip of coffee before running after him.
We go into a part of the house I've never been in before. I follow Leon into a room that is covered in a light layer of dust. Leon pulls out a photo album, and flips to a page.
"This is the most recent picture I have of him. It was taken a week before he left." Leon explains before showing me the book.
I examine the picture for a second, and realization dawns on me. Now I know why the stranger seemed to know Sora. The stranger was Zack. I feel my jaw drop, and Leon looks at me in confusion.
"Leon. Zack, you're sure that's him? What a dumb question, of course it's him!" I hit my forehead with my palm. "Zack, he's the man that swooped in and saved Sora when we were out at lunch!" I explain, hardly maintaining my calm.
"Wha- but that's not possible! I've checked all over town and haven't seen him once!" Leon cries in frustration. He closes the photo album and tosses it onto a chair in the room. I wonder if this is Zack's room. "Are you sure?" Leon asks, his helpless gaze meeting mine.
"Positive. Leon, maybe he didn't want to be found? What if that is why you can't ever find him?" I ask Leon, and he looks to the floor. I walk two feet towards Leon, until I am directly in front of him. I lift his chin up slightly so that our gazes meet again. "Leon, now that we know he is here, we can find him again." I tell him. Leon's face drops. Maybe Leon is the one that doesn't want to find Zack.
"I just… what if he's changed? What if he's not the Zack that I knew? I'm scared Cloud. He's been gone for what feels like forever. What if he's changed into someone else? What if he's not the same Zack?" Leon asks, and I can feel the panic radiating off of him. I'm sure that somewhere deep down inside of Leon, he came to terms with not finding his brother again. Now that he had the chance to, it was like tearing down the foundation of all Leon was.
Leon closes the few inches between us, and pulls me into a hug. I hug him back. He needs someone to be there for him. He needs someone to be his anchor, his safe harbor. I lead Leon over to the bed, and we both just sit down on it.
Leon lies down on his side, dragging me with him. I know he doesn't want to break us apart, and it touches me. I press my lips to Leon's. I was going to find a way to comfort him, no matter what it was. I will track down Zack if I have to. Just to make Leon happy.
Leon isn't quite crying, but I can feel that he wants to. Our lips move against one another's. It is the most pleasant, sweetest kiss I ever had. Leon and I separate, and we just look into one another's eyes.
"It'll be alright, Leon. He's still your brother." I whisper to Leon. He gives me a faint smile. I run my fingers through Leon's hair, and watch him shudder in delight. Leon's eyes close, and I continue running my hands through his hair.
After a few minutes, Leon is asleep, and I walk downstairs. I wish I could have stayed with Leon, but there are four children in this house, currently unsupervised. Roxas and Sora are awake and watching TV on the couch. Axel and Riku are still sleeping. I smile at the sight of them. Those kids are going to grow up to be the best of friends.
I walk into the kitchen and start washing out both my and Leon's mugs. I rinse them before tossing them into the dishwasher. I look out the window of the house. It is nearly twilight now, which seems to last for hours on end here in Twilight Town. A dark figure moves through the trees, immediately catching my attention.
I look out the window, and catch a glimpse of bright blue eyes, and dark black hair, and then as soon as I saw it, it was gone. I can't help the feeling of thinking that was Zack, but no normal human could move that fast.
I swallow past the lump in my throat. What if Leon was right in that Zack wasn't the same Zack anymore? What if Zack wasn't even human? I quickly dry my hands off. I must have just imagined that. It couldn't have been Zack.
I'm broken out of my thoughts by the doorbell. I hurry to the door, but remember Leon's warning. It could just be paparazzi. I check the peephole, to see a teenager with the same fiery red hair as Axel.
He bangs at the door after a few seconds. I figure he must have some relation to Axel, so I open the door just a crack.
"Can I help you?" I ask, from behind the door. The boy shifts his weight impatiently.
"Yeah. Can you tell Axel that it's time to come home? Mom's gonna be pissed if he stays another night here. She thinks we're mooching off of you." I nod, and open the door. I let the red-head enter the house. He walks into the living room like it's his own, and stands next to Axel's couch. "Heya Sora, heya Roxas." He gives each of the boys a casual wave, and then turns to Axel. He grabs Axel's arm, and then pulls him off of the couch.
Axel wakes up after falling on the floor with a start. He glares at his brother for a moment, to which Roxas simply shook his head.
"Reno! I'm going to tell mom!" Axel yells to his brother. Reno sticks his tongue out.
"Oh. Good." Reno tells his brother sarcastically. Roxas keeps shaking his head, and it draws Axel's attention. Axel seems to understand, and stops looking so angry immediately. Reno grabs Axel's hand, and starts to drag him out of the room.
"Bye Roxas! Bye Sora!" Axel calls, as he is dragged out of the door. Cloud briefly recalls something about Riku half living here, which Sora may or may not have mentioned to him. So, Riku may be here for a while longer. Cloud waves the two brothers off, as they walk out the door. Reno says goodbye for the both of them, as Axel is pulled down the street. I hold in the urge to laugh.
I shut the door and turn around, to see Leon at the top of the stairs, looking very groggy. He walks down the stairs (read: stumbles), and comes over to me. "Reno?" He asks. I nod. Leon gives me an apologetic look. I briefly wonder why Reno didn't question my presence, but whatever. He's only a teen.
I walk into the kitchen, and Leon comes too. I open the fridge and grab a soda. Leon smiles, glad that I'm welcoming myself to things.
"Want to just order pizza for dinner or something?" Leon asks me, half mumbling his words. No wonder he needs coffee so much. He is hardly functioning. I nod. "Okay. I'll order it." Leon adds, yawning at the end of his sentence. His eyes are half-closed in sleep, and I nearly laugh.
Leon stands up and grabbing his phone, dials the number for pizza. He orders two large plain pizzas. I sit on the counter, and lean my head back. I think about just how exhausted I am. It's been a long day. Leon re-enters the kitchen and looks at me curiously. He shoves his phone in his pocket before approaching me further.
I have no idea what he is planning to do, but he pulls me off of the counter, and in one swift motion, captures my lips. Before my eyes flutter shut, I see the lust hidden in Leon's eyes. I moan into the kiss, and Leon takes advantage of the opening, his tongue exploring my mouth. I wrap my fingers in his hair as he continues to kiss me.
I feel as if a thousand planets just exploded inside of me, as Leon sucks on my lower lip. I can't help but let out a really loud moan, but Leon's eyes meet mine, and I know I have to be quieter. I'm thrilled by what we are doing, but we can't alert his brothers to it.
Leon breaks apart from me, and leaves a trail of kisses down to the base of my neck, and back up. At the top of my jawline, he finds my sensitive spot, and I let out a soft mewling noise. Leon focuses on that one spot and I offer up more of my neck to him. He nips and sucks on that one spot, and I can feel my angered flesh there.
Leon's lips capture mine again, and I can't help but roll my hips against his. This time, Leon lets out his own relatively loud moan, and we snap to our senses. We can't do this here. Not when the twins are in the room next to us.
Leon and I separate our faces, but we still hold one another. We're really going to have to talk after this kiss, but not right now. For now, we can blame it on sexual tension or whatever you want to.
I curl my head into Leon's neck, in a desperate hug. I'm so confused by myself and him, and I just don't want him to let me go. Leon seems to want the same, as he presses me closer to him, and leans his head into mine. I can feel him shiver as my breath tickles the back of his neck. I smirk at his weakness and expose it, blowing air all over his neck. He seems to have caught onto my little game though, as I feel him squirm and try to get away. I let him get away for the moment, but entirely plan to exploit that little area there in the future.
The doorbell rings, and Leon goes to answer it. He takes out his money to pay the pizza man on the way there. Sora, Roxas, and the newly woken Riku all go to the door. They all seem fairly tired, and grab their pizza with no spastic energy. I'm both concerned and relieved at the same moment. I don't really want to deal with the freak-outs of Sora at the moment.
I grab a slice of pizza, and so does Leon. I take a bite of my pizza, and burn my mouth a little. I make stupid noises as it burns me, like any other human being does when their food is hot. I prance around the kitchen, my tongue burning from the hot cheese.
After it cools down, and I swallow it, I look up at a smirking Leon. I consider hitting him, but decide against it. He bought us pizza. The least I could do is spare him from a punch.
I finish my pizza fairly quickly, and wash my hands and my plate. Leon and I both decide to put all three boys to bed now, considering how tired they seem. I carry Roxas upstairs, because the poor boy is already half asleep, and Riku and Sora stumble up the stairs, both very sleepy. Leon guides the boys to the room they stay in, and they each go to their respective beds. I drop Roxas off in the only bed that isn't taken yet, and he curls himself into a ball under the covers. I smile at the boy's actions and head down to the living room. I sit on the couch, and wait for Leon to emerge from saying goodnight to the boys.
Leon comes down the stairs a few minutes later, and sits on the couch next to me. I mute the television, and turn to him. He gives me a questioning look for a moment, and waits for me to talk.
"Are we… what are we to one another, exactly?" I ask him, my voice wavering. I can feel my nerves all bunched up, and Leon gives me an even stranger look.
"What do you mean?" Leon asks me. Of course he wouldn't understand what I was asking. Life could never be that simple for me.
"Well, I mean, with all the kissing and stuff. What exactly are we?" I ask Leon, hoping my clarification helped. I don't really know how much more I could clarify it. I mean, what would I ask him? I really want to get in your pants, but I don't know if you want the same? Does this make us boyfriends? I laugh inwardly at the thought.
"Oh. Well, I'd like to think that we're in some sort of a relationship, but it's fine if you don't want that." Leon says, reaching out to me. I'm not really sure when this 'relationship' started, but I guess this could be the official start of it.
"I'd like to think that too." I feel the blood rush to my face under Leon's intense gaze. He leans over to me, and kisses me chastely, separating after a quick moment. I guess the kiss sealed the deal. We are together now.
Just about the strangest way to enter a relationship, but a relationship none the less.
"So, boyfriend, want to watch a movie?" Leon asks me. I blush and nod. Leon gets up quickly and pops a movie into the TV. I don't really care what the movie is, just that I get to spend time with my new boyfriend.
Leon, clicking play on the remote, pulls me on top of him. My back is pressed against his chest, and he wraps his arms around me. We lay like that for the entire movie, and I feel like I'm in heaven.
I fall asleep on the couch that night, our embrace shifting only slightly so that I am on the inside of the couch, and Leon is cuddling me. I fall asleep, and for the first time in a long time, feel truly happy.