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 Seven
Surprise Encounter

They walked home in silence, Cloud leading the way a few feet ahead. The blonde's fingers twisted the loose threads in his pockets as his thoughts sped forward beyond him. They were too numerous and came too quickly for him to grasp. His face burned despite the harsh winter wind and his lips tingled where he had been kissed...where he had kissed back. His heart hammered against his chest with running leaps as if it were desperately trying to escape.

In seemingly no time they'd reached the house. Leon moved passed him to unlock the door. Cloud stared at the undeniably handsome man before him. Leon's long brown hair moved slightly with the wind and Cloud felt his heartbeat adjust to match it. Leon's eyebrow furrowed slightly and Cloud felt his following. 'What is this...?' he thought, moving a pale hand to clutch at his chest on the off chance he'd be able to drag it out and examine it.

He followed the other into the house, closing and locking the door behind him. They removed their jackets simultaneously and without a word. Cloud felt Leon's eyes on him and he lifted his own to meet them, a light phrase and smile prepared to lighten to mood, but the intensity reflected back at him in those deep blue eyes stopped whatever he had been preparing in his throat.

"Cloud..." Leon said, his voice husky and thick with urgency. Something needed to be discussed and Leon wanted it discussed now. Cloud felt an inexplicable panic come over him, his tremulous feelings overwhelming him. He couldn't talk to Leon, not with his head like this.

"I'm really tired. Gotta work early tomorrow, Night Leon," he said with a mock yawn, the words spilling out of his mouth without contemplation. He practically flew passed Leon and up the stairs so that the door to his room was slamming before Leon could even blink.

Several moments passed before he was able to fully process what had happened, and when he did he wished he hadn't. Leon narrowed his eyes, before moving on to straighten the already straight books on the coffee table and to wash the few dishes in the sink. He busied himself with the tasks of the house to avoid that nagging question slowly peeling away the layers of his sanity.

He slammed the last cup down next to the sink, glaring at his reflection in the window.

'Was I just...rejected?'


"Thank you for choosing Destati Videos, please come again," Leon mumbled, his voice flat and monotone.

The customer took their video, raising an eyebrow at the deflated employee before hurrying out the store. Yuffie and Sora sat on the counters on either side of Leon, studying him carefully. There was no color in his face, and he had bags under his eyes as if he hadn't slept at all the previous night. Although he was usually quiet today he was barely even there.

"Leon, do you think our lack of customers today is because you look like some sort of employee ghost, back from the dead to eternally haunt his workplace?" Riku asked as he entered, dropping a box of returns onto the counter and pushing it towards Yuffie. "Seriously, what's wrong with you?"

"Whoa, Cloudy keep you up all night, eh?" Yuffie said, elbowing Leon in his ribs.

Leon turned his head slowly toward the girl, and the look in his eyes was so much like that of a lamenting spirit that Riku's eyes widened as Sora moved to hide behind him.

Yuffie laughed nervously, inching backwards away from him. "I take it that's a no?"

"A big no," Sora said from his place safe behind his boyfriend.

Leon sighed wistfully, grabbing the boxes of returns and heading onto the floor.

"What happened?" Riku asked as they all followed the brunette around the store.

'Mind your business you nosy bunch of knats,' Leon thought, but his mouth betrayed him. "I kissed him."

Yuffie squealed in excitement, hands clasped together. "Yay, finally!"

Riku raised an eyebrow, "Then the problem is?"

'The fact that you keep annoying me.' "I don't know," Leon said, running a hand through his hair. "He kissed me back...I think. Then everything seemed...different. I haven't talked to him since."

Sora cringed, "Ouch."

Riku glared at him, elbowing in him in his side.

"Well DUH!" Yuffie exclaimed, grabbing a DVD Leon had stocked incorrectly and putting it in its correct place.

"Duh, what?" Sora asked

"Duh he's shy that's what! I can see it now, cheeks flushed, lips parted, heart beat skipping. Kyaa, how cute!" she exclaimed, wrapping her arms around Leon's neck.

He wrinkled his nose, pushing her away. "You're an idiot."

"No...No. Wait. I think Yuffie may be on to something," Riku said, tapping his palm with his fist. "I mean, who knows, you might be the first person to take an interest in him. Maybe he doesn't know what to do? You're kind of intense, Leon; maybe he's a bit intimidated."

Leon grunted, moving to a different aisle as a customer entered and distracted his coworkers. He suppressed a smile as he felt his confidence returning. Cloud had been human for not even a year, how could he know how human relationships worked? He had kissed back, Leon was sure of it. 'I'll pick him up from work and we'll discuss it from there,' he thought. He himself wasn't too sure about what was happening. Kissing Cloud was an impulse, but once it happened it felt so natural, so right. It was like nothing he'd ever experienced before. He'd felt it from his toes to the roots of his hair and it seemed like he'd been put on this earth to experience moments like that.

He wasn't experienced in dealing with emotions and other people but he was sure they could deal with it together.

"You what!?" Larxene exclaimed as Kairi burst into a fit of giggles. The two girls laughed together, banging the tables and holding their stomachs as if Cloud had just told a hilarious joke.

Cloud glared at them, slamming the books into their respective places. "It really isn't funny guys! I don't know what to do!"

The girls calmed down enough to regulate their breathing, with only the minor giggle escaping sporadically.

"Well you see," Larxene began, folding her hands into her lap. "When two people love each other, they get a private room and take their clothes off. Then-"

Kairi smacked the other girl with one hand and covered her mouth with the other. "Stop. Just stop," she said, before turning her gaze to Cloud. "What's there to do? Do you like him?"

Cloud sighed, sitting on one of the empty tables. "I don't know. What does it mean to like somebody?"

"Well," Kairi began, moving her hands from restraining Larxene to tap at her chin thoughtfully, "I guess it's different for everyone. For one thing, you like being around them. You think about them a lot, and notice when they're gone. Eventually you find you've made them their own special place in your life that's so significant if they ever disappear it would be like a whole chunk of who you are has been stolen."

Larxene laughed, lightly shoving Kairi to the side, "Oh please, enough with the chick flick crap; they're men! Leon seems like the type to take my advice anyway."

Cloud looked at the girl incredulously, tilting his head to the side in confusion.

Larxene nodded, "Let me elaborate. Do you find yourself picturing him naked? Getting dirty thoughts? Wanting him to pin you against the-"

"Don't let her poison your mind Cloud!" Kairi exclaimed, covering his ears with her hand.

"Oh please, he's an adult," Larxene exclaimed, moving to pull Kairi's hands off of his ears.

"Uhm...I don't think Leon's like that Larxene," Cloud said.

Kairi rolled her eyes, "Let's say it's a mixture of those things ok? Does he make you happy?"

"Hmm..." Cloud thought to himself, contemplating the question. He tried to picture his life on earth as human without Leon. He was happy, very happy and he couldn't possibly see that happening without the help of Leon. He smiled, leaning against the bookshelf.

"You definitely like him," The girls said in unison.

"Maybe I -"

"Cloud."

The three looked towards the stairs, where a mousy college student was standing nervously.

"Yes?" Cloud asked, startled by the sudden intrusion.

"Uhm, someone's here to see you and Quistis said your shift is almost up so you can just go home."

"Oooo!" both girls exclaimed, moving to tickle the blonde.

"Go ahead Lover boy!" Larxene exclaimed, pushing Cloud towards the stairs.

Cloud blushed, glaring at the girls before turning to the stairs.

Leon had left work early, clocking out without a word and simply escaping. He doubted the others would mind, it was an uncharacteristically slow day anyway and they thoroughly supported what Yuffie had dubbed 'Cleon.' In his haste he had forgotten to button up his coat and dropped his scarf so that it hung haphazardly back on the video stores door knob.

It was freezing but he didn't notice. His mind was too clouded with thoughts and plans and feelings. How long had it been since he actually contemplated his feelings? Since he had admitted to himself that he had feelings. A thousand scenarios ran through his mind and blended together. So many things could go wrong, in fact, he was sure there was more that could go wrong than right. Despite that fact, he couldn't bring himself to stop and turn around, back to how everything was before broken windows and chances taken.

His heart began to beat rapidly as he neared the library, pumping the adrenaline through his body. He shoved his hands into his pockets and turned the corner, the way he'd initiate the conversation already being planned out in his head.

And then he saw them.

They were standing in front of the Library, Cloud and a woman he'd never seen before, hugging as if they were reunited after a long absence and afraid of being separated again. She was beautiful with perfect milky skin and sparkling green eyes. Her brown hair moved perfectly with the wind and her smiles pulled out Clouds. Leon was dazzled.

He had seen Cloud smile before, all the time, every day. He'd grown to love that smile. But the smile he'd seen was nothing compared to this. This was so unlike the quick shy smiles Cloud graced him with before attempting to pull his face back into seriousness. There was pure, unadulterated happiness in his smile that seemed to reach every part of his body from his eyes to his toes. His lips curled up and apart and stayed that way as the girl began to talk animatedly, his hands resting lightly on her waist. Cloud laughed and hugged her again before pulling back and resuming their conversation.

Leon felt his hands involuntarily curl into fists in his pockets. He had never seen Cloud like that. He had never made Cloud that happy. He didn't know Cloud at all. Cloud hadn't let Leon get to know anything about him but pried and prodded into Leon's life until he knew every single secret.

He felt his chest tighten with something akin to jealousy as he saw the girl wrap herself around Clouds arm, leading him away. He turned away, heading back up the block all adrenaline gone.

He was hurt.

The Cloud he'd just seen was relaxed, calm, and real. He was someone that thought and felt and had a story. The Cloud he'd fallen for was one dimensional. He'd seen one side to Cloud's personality and hadn't until just this moment wondered if there was more.

Cloud was lost. He didn't know what to do. He'd been pleasantly surprised when his visitor turned out not to be Leon, but an old friend from before he was human, but the reunion soon turned somber as he received the news she'd come to pass along. He understood completely where the people who checked in on him from time to time were coming from, but he couldn't help but think they were wrong.

His uneasiness only increased as the hours slowly passed. He'd rushed home, hoping to be able to talk with Leon. The other man was always so calm and collected. He was smart too and even if he wasn't saying anything his very presence was enough to calm Cloud down. Surely together they both could figure it out. But Leon had not been there when he got home at six. And at seven and eight and nine o'clock the house was still empty.

He set to work making dinner, settling on a simple meal of spaghetti and by the time he'd set two places at the table it was nearly 11 and Leon was still not home. Worry clenched at his chest as he recalled all the horrible possibilities he learned on the news. He checked the messages but Leon hadn't called. He called Yuffie to ask, but she said he'd left early to meet him, and his worry doubled.

His heart fell to the pit of his stomach as he hung up the phone. He had a very bad feeling.

It wasn't till half past midnight that Cloud finally heard the door opening. He rushed to the door, tripping over his own feet in his haste. He grabbed Leon's hands, his shoulders, his waist, turning him this way and that to check for any sign of a injury.

"What are you doing?" Leon said, his cold grey blue eyes boring holes into his head.

"Where were you? It's really late Leon! Are you ok?" Cloud asked, suddenly hurt by the look Leon was giving him. He'd been so worried and Leon was so nonchalant, so distant. He felt as if Leon was treating him like a stranger.

"It's none of your business where I was," Leon mumbled, kicking off his shoes and hanging up his coat.

Cloud stepped back, hurt. "I was worried. You're usually here when I get home, and I made dinner. It's cold but I could heat it back up if you wa-"

"Don't bother," Leon mumbled, pushing passed the blonde to head towards the stairs.

Cloud grabbed his arm to stop him, opening his mouth to ask what was wrong.

Leon stopped and turned to him, mustering up the coldest glare he could. It took all his willpower to keep his gaze from softening as he saw the hurt and confusion in Clouds face. He pulled his arm roughly away from the other and stormed up the stairs before he could lose his resolve.

Cloud flinched as he heard the door slam shut with enough force to rattle the pictures on the walls.

'What is going on?'

a|n: edited May 26, 2009