Disclaimer: All characters, most places things etc. belong to Square-Enix and Disney…or whatever, I don't own anything…so…don't sue me ok?
Chapter Six
Impulse
Leon couldn't breathe.
He was drowning, suffocating, being crushed by the weight of his own stupidity. For what seemed like the millionth time since the event happened, Leon found himself running through the scene of last week, picking apart everything he had and hadn't done in his mind. 'I really am an idiot,' he thought.
"Can they be dates instead?" the blonde asked.
Leon's eyes widened in shock as the blonde steadily turned different shades of pink.
He tried to form a coherent sentence, but the thoughts running through his head were anything but comprehensible. He felt his own face heating up against his will as he struggled to answer the question.
"Uh...Leon, did I say something wrong?" Cloud asked, tilting to his head to the side and squinting his eyes, as if he were watching an interesting documentary on the discovery channel rather than having a conversation with his roommate.
"I was just wondering," he said, calmly continuing to eat as if nothing mind-numbing had happened at all. "Like...is it possible, or are there regulations on that sort of thing."
All the blood rushed straight to Leon's face in embarrassment as he realized he had not only severely overreacted, but nearly had a panic attack in response to a simple question.
"Uhm...uh...yea, I suppose it's possible," he said, attempting to regain his cool.
Cloud surveyed Leon intensely, putting his fork down and folding his hands over each other. He leaned forward, concerned.
"Are you alright Leon?" he asked. "You're really red."
Leon groaned, burying his face in the book he was reading. The pages muffled his frustrated scream.
He heard a light chuckling, and slowly lowered the book, cringing as he saw a very amused looking Cloud standing in the doorway.
The blonde smiled widely, raising his hand to wave.
"Hi."
Leon scowled, throwing the book across the coffee table. "What?" he snapped.
"Mmm… nothing. You make very interesting facial expressions." Cloud responded, handing a cup over to the other man before settling on the other couch and picking up the book Leon had been attempting to focus on.
"What're you reading?"
He opened it, chose a random part and began reading.
"Which way shall I fly, infinite wrath and infinite despair?
Which way I fly is hell; myself am hell;
And in the lowest deep a lower deep, still threat'ning to devour me,
Opens wide,
To which the hell I suffer seems
A heaven..."
There was something about the way the blondes lips moved as he read that held Leon's attention. His voice was soft and soothing, with a slight tremble, like a spider spinning it's captured prey in silk lining. Leon liked the way his eyes always had a sort of wetness to them, as if he was always about cry, even when he was smiling.
He liked that he allowed himself to smile at his widest, or frown at his largest; that he'd laugh when he was happy or cry when he was sad… that he wasn't human at all and, at the same time, more human than anyone else he'd ever met. He liked how he cooked and read and walked and worked and asked questions unashamed and without holding back with child-like curiosity, yet sage-like understanding. It was almost as if he'd knew the answers before he asked the questions, but asked anyway, just to hear what everyone else thought.
"I don't like this story," Cloud said, closing the book and wrinkling his nose at the cover. "You have weird taste, Leon."
Leon shrugged, taking a sip of his quickly cooling coffee. He honestly couldn't tell the blonde what the book was about let alone its title. He hadn't been reading it so much as releasing his frustrations out on its worn spine.
And yet, as he narrowed his eyes at the blonde, he couldn't help but agree. He snatched the book back from his roommate so that, at least, he would have something else to focus on other than the eyes that were much too blue and lips that were much too inviting.
As wave after wave of realization dawned on him, with all the salty sting of the ocean, he felt as if his heart was stopping and starting all at the same time.
'I really do have very weird taste.'
"Hmm... rabbit?"
"No, that looks more like a frog."
"Eh, I don't think so. Look at the ears right there."
Cloud sighed, rolling over to his side. "We're really bored, aren't we?"
Leon tore his eyes away from the animal shaped bumps in his ceiling to glance at Cloud.
As if to answer the blondes question for him there was the startling sound of metal against glass as his phone began to vibrate on the table, moving a few inches forward. Leon caught it just as it was about to fall off and flipped it open.
"Hello?" he asked.
"Leoooooonnn! Hiya! What's up? Doing anything special tonight?" Yuffie asked, her voice much too loud for the phone's speaker.
Leon cringed, moving it away from his ear. "Uh… No, not really... Why?"
"Well, Riku can get us tickets to the premier of 'The XIII Order'! Something about a friend of a friend or something, but whatever; bring Cloud and meet us at the theatre at seven, okay? Bye!"
And without waiting for an answer, she hung up, leaving Leon to glare at his phone in annoyance. He had to admit, it would probably be a lot more productive than trying to find shapes in the misshapen plaster covering the ceiling. He turned his gaze back to his roommate, who seemed to actually be trying to see that rabbit.
"Uhm... Do you want to see a movie with Yuffie and the others tonight?" he asked, sitting up and stretching.
Cloud smiled brightly. "YES! Something to do! Finally," he exclaimed, sitting up. "When is it?"
"Seven," Leon responded, both of them glancing at the clock at the same time.
It was only 2:30.
Cloud sighed, dropping back into his previous position.
Leon stood up abruptly, pocketing his phone and going to the wardrobe to grab both of their coats.
Cloud looked at him, one eyebrow raised in confusion.
Leon tossed a coat onto the lazing blonde.
"Put on your jacket; let's go do something."
"Visit Radiant Garden and experience Hollow Bastion's rich, romantic history," Cloud read, flipping over the printed flyer that came with the tickets, staring in awe at the beautiful stone castle depicted on the paper. His eyes darted from the paper to the real life place in front of him, mouth opening and closing as he struggled to form an understandable sentence.
Leon smirked, obviously proud with himself. "I had a feeling you'd like it."
The blonde beamed, shoving his cold hands into his pockets before they joined the rest of their tour group.
"Have you been here before?" Cloud asked, mesmerized by the cobblestone roads and the booth after booth of street venders.
"Uh huh," Leon said, glancing at his watch to affirm that he was correctly budgeting their time. "I used to come all the time with my parents when I was younger. Then we just... stopped."
Cloud looked up at the other man, some unidentifiable emotion lingering behind his bright blue eyes. He looked as if he were about to say something, but the loud, booming voice through a megaphone stole everyone's attention.
"Hello all, and welcome to Radiant Castle! I am Ansem, and I'll be your tour guide today. Now, if you'll follow me through these gates we can begin our tour of the castle."
Cloud smiled at Leon, tugging on his sleeve to bring them both into the line.
The tour guide was speaking, but the majority of the group had wandered off by their own devices, more interested in the souvenirs and tourist gimmicks the locals had set up than the "rich romantic history" of Hollow Bastion. Cloud hadn't lost his enthusiasm, however, and he had fallen into an intense conversation with Ansem, hanging onto his every word like a child.
"Now, you see, everything from the outskirts of Hollow Bastion to the edges of Radiant Castle used to be Radiant Garden. The king ruled over the land with the key blade master at his side, keeping peace. But then the darkness came."
"Darkness?" Cloud asked, eyes widening as he seemed to fall deeper into the story.
Leon rolled his eyes, he'd heard this story thousands of times and it only got more predictable and less believable each time.
"Yes, darkness. Forces called the Heartless attempted to take over, stealing everyone's hearts so they would become empty shells, blindly following the dark; but, the key blade master fought back with light. For years and years and years they fought; thousands were lost, yet thousands were saved."
Clouds eyes widened. "Who won?"
"Well, we're here aren't we? Who do you think?"
Cloud sighed in relief, smiling again.
"But, the darkness did great damage to the world. They made almost half the kingdom barren, desolate. That's the half you live in – Hollow Bastion. Some say, you know, that the darkness is still there… lurking. Waiting for just the right time and then-"
Leon realized he was feeling colder and colder as the time went by, and Ansem the tour guide was starting to get a very scary look in his eyes. "Ok, time to go," Leon exclaimed, grabbing the blonde's hand and pulling him away. "Thanks for the history lesson, but we have other engagements." "Weirdo,"he mumbled under his breath once he was sure the strange man wasn't following them.
"We have a little bit of time left; why don't we get something to eat?" Leon asked, looking at Cloud.
The blonde was in his own world, however, his eyes downcast, focusing on their still intertwined fingers.
Leon quickly pulled his hand away, shoving it into his pocket and beginning to walk faster so he was always a foot ahead of the other.
"'Cold out..."
About a half hour and a cup of hot chocolate later, the blonde had fully recovered and was now conversing a mile a minute.
"I had no idea Hollow Bastion had such a rich history! This place is really cool, Leon. Thanks for taking me here."
Leon shrugged, keeping his gaze trained out the window rather than straight ahead. "It was nothing; it's really not that great. Half that stuff is just a story to rope in tourists anyway."
Cloud frowned, pulling his mug into his hands to keep them warm. "Still, some of it has to be true."
"Light and darkness fighting it out for control of the world? Yeah, not very plausible," Leon said, rolling his eyes.
"Yet still more plausible than angels falling out of the sky," Cloud said seriously, more serious than he had ever been before. Too serious.
Leon turned to look at the blonde, to try and capture the expression he was wearing on his face and lock it away so he could pick it apart and try to make sense of it later. But it was gone as soon as it came and he was smiling again.
"I can see where some of it is... misconstrued."
Leon shrugged. "I guess so," he mumbled, leaning back in his seat as the waitress brought their dishes out.
"Hey… what's that sound?" Cloud asked, straining his neck to look out the window.
"What's what sound?" Leon replied, raising an eyebrow.
"That ringing. Are those bells?"
"Oh, those are the Paopou bells; they're famous here in Radiant Garden," the waitress said, smiling. "You're new here aren't you? You're friend probably don't notice them 'cause he lived here too long."
"You can hear them in Hollow Bastion, too, right? I've heard them before," Cloud said.
The waitress beamed, nodding. "Don't tell me you don't know the story of the Paopou bells?"
"Here we go, more stories," Leon grumbled.
Cloud shushed him, shaking his head.
"Well, legend says, if you kiss the person who means the most to you before the bells stop ringing, your destinies will become intertwined," she said, winking at the two boys before scooping up their menus and heading back into the busy diner.
Leon rolled his eyes. "Some luck you have," he said, "falling into the most superstitious place on the planet."
"THAT WAS SO COOL! He was like pow! and she was like bam! and it was like ping and then they were like RAAAAAA and I was like wooaahh!" Yuffie exclaimed, jumping up and down as she mimicked the moves of the characters.
Leon rolled his eyes, "Relax Yuffie. It was just a movie, a lame movie about guys in capes."
"Aww, don't ruin her fun, Leon; everyone's entitled to their own opinions," Riku said, arm draped loosely over the shoulders of a half-asleep Sora. "I'm gonna call us a cab; he doesn't look like he can stay awake for much longer. I'll see you guy's tomorrow." The silver haired boy then propped his boyfriend up against a wall and pulled out his cell phone.
"Did you think it was a good movie, Cloud?" Yuffie asked.
The blonde smiled, nodding his head. "It was very action-packed. I especially liked the characters in the final scene."
Yuffie gave him a blank look.
"The villains," Leon said, rolling his eyes at her idiocy.
She blinked.
Cloud cleared his throat. "Um...the guys that went RAAAAAAAA!"
"OH!" Yuffie exclaimed. "Me too!"
Leon pinched the bridge of his nose. "Good night Yuffie; we'll see you tomorrow," he said, turning to walk in the direction of the house.
Cloud waved goodbye before following his roommate down the street.
They walked in silence, save for the sound of their chattering teeth. Cloud occupied himself by breathing out heavily and examining the mist it left in the air.
"Did you have fun today?" Leon asked quietly, looking at the blonde from the corners of his eyes.
Cloud nodded. "Tons! Thanks for bringing me, Leon. I learned a lot and got closer to your friends."
Leon felt himself smiling, a genuine smile, but that smile soon slipped away as he rested his eyes on the other man's face. There were those eyes and those lips, much too inviting again. His near frozen hands clenched into fists in his pockets, strained by the extensive excursion of his self control.
"That tour guy was kind of strange though; I think he was part of some darkness cult or something. He tried to slip me a pamphlet at one point, really inconspicuously, but I pretended not to notice and, you know, the movie wasn't that good, but Yuffie was so happy so I had to-"
Clouds words were cut off as he felt a pair of cool lips pressed against his warm ones. His eyes widened for a moment, before Leon pulled back, eyes clouded with some foreign emotion.
"I...hear the bells," Leon said softly, suddenly finding it hard to breathe.
Sure enough, just as the clock had struck a new hour, the sound of the Paopou bells were heard throughout the town, reaching them even in Hollow Bastion.
Cloud's blood rushed straight to his face and his eyes darted to the ground as Leon moved forward to press their lips together again. His mind was a jumble of thoughts and theories and fragments of the lessons he had learned. He tried to process what was going on, but his mind worked much slower than his body. Taking on a mind of its own, it molded to fit with Leon's. His arms rose to wrap around Leon's neck as the others hands slid to his lower back, pushing them both together even closer as the two pairs of lips moved so naturally in sync, as if they existed only to touch.
In the distance, the soft melody of the bells continued on. They rang on the hour after the gongs of the hour, just like any old grandfather clock; yet here, on this deserted street in the midst of an early winter night, Leon found himself wanting to believe in legends.
Disclaimer 2 : The book excerpt read above is from John Miltons Paradise Lost [book iv line 73 to be exact, I take no credit for it.
a|n: edited May 26, 2009