Fanfic Title: The Highs and Lows of Squall Leonhart
Game: Kingdom Hearts
Pairing: Leon x Cloud
Author: keadeblue264
For now I'm leaving this story with a T rating since I don't think I want this to be more mature, but we'll see where it goes. I just really wanna try writing for this pairing, since the scenes during the 1000 Heartless Battle made me wonder about them. Please enjoy.
Summary: Aiding in the restoration of Radiant Garden puts enough on Leon's shoulders as it is, but dealing with Cloud may be too much for even him to handle. AR. LeonxCloud.
Disclaimer: I don't own the rights to Kingdom Hearts. I'll leave that to the people at Square Enix.
Warnings/Notes: boy-boy romance, angst, fluff, and slight AR. Set after KH2, but Cloud and Sephiroth are still in Radiant Garden, which would have happened anyway if you never beat Sephiroth.
Chapter 1: A Savior in Black
Squall Leonhart, or namely called Leon by the people he had become acquainted with, was leaning against the wooden wall at the very back of Merlin's house, arms crossed over his chest and very much silent. At the moment, there wasn't much to do, today being the newly renamed Radiant Garden Restoration Committee's day off from what they had been formed for in the first place.
Their current project was getting the Bailey back to the way it was before, the task practically promising to be a rather long and strenuous one, seeing as how the area was nearly destroyed and currently crawling with the local variety of Heartless.
"Hey, Leon. You mind runnin' down to Ansem's study and gettin' some information on this disc for me?" Cid asked from his terminal.
Leon removed himself from the wall. "Sure."
They were still trying to decipher all the data stored onto Ansem's computer, but at least it was easier to obtain now that the MCP had been taken care of. Though, for now, the only way of getting the data from Ansem's computer and back to Cid's was by using special discs.
Leon grabbed the blank disc and tucked it carefully away in the inside of his jacket. He was about to open the front door when the overly hyperactive Yuffie jumped up beside him, seemingly from out of nowhere—as she liked to do from time to time.
"Ooo, can I go with you?" Yuffie asked excitedly, practically jumping up and down with excess energy.
She hadn't really done much as of late, and it was understandable for her to want to go along with Leon—if only to stretch out her own legs in the process—but Leon really considered this a one man job so the extra person tagging along would be rather unnecessary. Besides, after all that happened when Sora tried to use Ansem's computer, Leon could only imagine what would happened if Yuffie attempted to work with it, the most likely result being the machine broken beyond human repair due to a large shuriken thrown at the screen in a fit of frustration.
They had really been through way too much just to find that computer—much less manage to get their hands on the information contained inside—for Yuffie to mess it up in a fit of annoyance because she had a problem with operating it correctly.
Leon placed his hand on the metal ring of the door, ready to open it as soon as he could get out of the current disagreement between himself and Yuffie.
"I can do this by myself. There's no need for you to come."
"Please?"
"No, Yuffie."
"Oh, come on, Squall!"
Leon turned to Yuffie, a rather annoyed expression on his face as he regarded the ninja.
"Yuffie…" Leon said in a tried tone that spoke of how many times he had to remind her of his name change and how he was getting tired of repeatedly correcting her.
"Woops. I did it again, huh?"
Yuffie had become somewhat accustomed to calling her friend Leon instead of Squall at his wishes, but she still slipped up every now and then—to the annoyance of the scarred brunette. He didn't mind his first name in the least; that was hardly the issue at hand. He just wanted to change himself from the person he was when the Heartless claimed his home world, unable to do a thing and otherwise completely helpless.
The switching of his name was just a start of his adjustment, but it was enough of a beginning for him.
"Don't worry, Yuffie," Aerith piped up. "I'm sure Leon can handle himself. Right?"
The soft-spoken girl smiled warmly at Leon, obviously believing in Leon's capabilities in the event of something happening to him while on his trek. He nodded shortly in agreement and looked back at Yuffie, who was pouting at him in return.
Yuffie sighed after a moment and turned her head away. "Fine, but I'm so coming with you next time."
"Whatever you say, Yuffie," Leon replied, opening the thick wooden door and shutting it behind him.
Yuffie had clearly not noticed Leon's departure and continued talking as if he was still standing right in next to her.
"Good. …Hey, what's that supposed to mean?"
"Yuffie…Leon's not here anymore," Aerith said.
Yuffie looked towards the closed door and put on an even bigger pout.
"Well, thanks for listening to what I had to say, Leon," Yuffie said aloud to herself and walked away from the door.
oOo
The trek to the Bailey had been an all around quiet affair, much to Leon's liking.
He wasn't much of a quiet person himself, but moments of silence were needed in his life, especially after being around Yuffie for extended periods of time. That girl could talk up a raging storm if the right mood struck her. He stepped over a protruding ledge cautiously and proceeded to walk casually down the several rows of stairs that were still very much intact.
Once at the former gate leading to the pathway towards Ansem's study, Leon heard a small rustle behind him and he turned to find a Heartless within five feet of him, rearing up in an attempt to attack him and steal his heart. Drawing out his gunblade quickly, he slew the creature with a deadly upward slash before it could carry out its assault, watching silently as the once captive heart rose to the sky above, glittering brightly in the sunlight.
Leon sighed to himself. It was discouraging to see that after all Sora had done since he became the Keyblade's chosen wielder that there was still a number of Heartless poking around in Radiant Garden and in all of the other worlds now that he was thinking of it.
Not that his efforts hadn't made some difference. On the contrary, Sora had accomplished a great deal for a currently fifteen year old—but still just as goofy—brunette kid. Leon had stood witness to the changes around him, and despite the fact that the situation could have potentially gone out of control in a heartbeat; it had all thankfully turned out for the better of humankind. But they all still had a very long way to go before they could say that everything was at peace.
Though, having to fight Heartless on his daily rounds throughout the town had become a common routine for him and his friends nowadays. He wanted it to not be so, but it wasn't as simple as just making a heartfelt wish for the creatures to just disappear from the worlds. And even if there was some off chance that it could work, it certainly would have been done long ago. Leon would fight the Heartless as long as necessary until he could no longer raise his blade, and even then, he would continue to make a stand if he could.
He had promised himself that much and Leon was never one to back down on a promise no matter what.
Facing the gate once again, Leon was about to put his gunblade away when another noise reached his ears. He quickly turned around and his blue eyes widened at the sight before him.
"No way," Leon said to himself in disbelief.
There were Heartless as far as the eye could see, enclosing him in a dangerous circle. As strong as he was, he couldn't defeat all these Heartless, not by himself anyway. But he couldn't leave to go get help either, lest the creations of the darkness damage the Bailey more than it already was.
They had hardly begun the repairs from when the Heartless had practically swarmed the once christened Hollow Bastion, laying a trail of ruin in their conquest for hearts. Rubble that needed to be cleaned up still littered the area and passageways still needed to be repaired. But even a little progress was worth saving to work on for another day.
That thought in mind, Leon raised his blade once again and charged at the Heartless situated directly in front of him.
oOo
Leon fell to one of his knees, panting heavily from severe exertion, the tip of his gunblade stabbed deeply into the ground with one of his hands still grasping the hilt. There were still a great many Heartless left to deal with and his reservoir of strength was beginning to dwindle down to almost nothing.
Even Leon of all people had his limits when it came to the strains of constant battle and there just seemed to be no end to all the Heartless surrounding him. Their numbers had dwindled down greatly of course, but he wasn't sure if he could summon the strength needed to finish off the ones remaining.
Leon tried to stand up, using his sword as a kind of crutch to support himself, but his knees gave out from under him and he slumped back to the dirt, his grip on the sword slowly slipping. His vision was going black and he was feeling extremely lightheaded. However blurry it was, Leon could vaguely make out the shape of one of the Heartless stepping forward, raising one of its bladed arms, ready to attack at any given moment. If something fortune didn't happen in the next five seconds, Leon was going to lose his heart.
In the back of his mind, he felt like he did all those years ago when the Heartless had first taken over. He thought he had become much stronger—or at least strong enough to handle Heartless in case he was encircled with no way of escape, like right now. Presently, he was seriously regretting not letting Yuffie come along with him like she had wanted. He could have laughed at himself if he had the strength to do so. It seemed like he had a lot of regrets in his life so far.
Leon was just about to lose consciousness when a flash of black appeared in front of him. He looked up to see intense blue eyes staring calmly back at him, but Leon passed out before he could even say a single word to his assumed savoir.
Author's Notes: Please Review