Title: Vanilla Soufflé 7

Author: Sorceress Fantasia

Pairings: L/C

Word count: 3825

Rating: PG13

Warnings: AU, romance, fluff

Disclaimer: As much as I would love to lay claim to Cloud, I'm kinda scared of Leon's gunblade. So well, I don't own Kingdom Hearts and its character, and neither do I own the various Final Fantasies and their characters.

Note: This is a series of spin-off drabbles and ficlets meant to explain some events in my other fic Vanilla. Also talks about the minor characters in Vanilla.

Note 2: This chapter was done on request of someone on LJ, who wanted to see a piece on how Leon felt when Cloud "asked" him out. Erm, I didn't actually manage to cover that part, but I think you'll still like this chapter. :)

Summary: Leon wasn't the type to daydream. Or at least he didn't seem so. But when it comes to a certain blond, it seems that daydreams are the closest he'd ever get to him. So what's up with Cloud's sudden confession in class? That didn't happen… did it?


The day was much too warm for this.

The fan was barely working, and he had already drained at least 2 glasses of ice water, including the melted ice. And condensation had caused a ring of water to appear on his desk, which he was much too lazy to get a tissue or something to clean up because it just expended too much energy. The day was just too warm for him to justify such a waste of energy.

When were the repairmen going to arrive, anyway? It was already late evening, and if his air-conditioner wasn't going to get fixed within the next 2 hours, Leon was not going to get any sleep tonight. And to think he still had an assignment to complete. Not to mention a chemistry quiz the next day. Oh joy.

Leon glared at the sheet of assignment on his table, inwardly hoping that it would just curl up and die. Geography was put in this world to kill someone's brain cells. Nothing more. It was probably thought out of a mad scientist's head and he was going to use it for his world domination plans: kill everyone's brain cells with geography, and no one would object to a crazed man declaring himself king. Math was the icing on the cake, so to speak.

He drummed his finger, sighing. It wasn't that he couldn't complete his assignment. No, that wasn't it at all. Leon had little problems with school, even if it /was/ geography. The thing that really irked him was, in fact, how the subject held little interest for him. It was just such a mundane topic.

But Cloud was horrible at geography, wasn't he? Yuffie had once told him that Cloud had a sift for brains when it came to the subject: nothing stayed inside, basically. And the girl had been horribly blatant in her hints that maybe someone should give Cloud some one-on-one, intense tutoring. Special high intensity tutoring, she'd called it, or S.H.I.T. for short.

Yuffie had always been a prankster more than a cupid, and she never made any changes to rectify that. But Leon supposed that was what made her such an endearing annoyance, and part of the reason why he wished she was still alive.

And still, despite that horribly mutilated name, Leon never stopped thinking about the possibilities if it ever happened for real.

Where would they study together? Maybe Cloud would invite Leon over to his house, and their tutoring would, as the days went by, move from the living room all the way to Cloud's bedroom. Or maybe Cloud would meekly suggest that they study at Leon's house. Well, Leon would make sure that they skipped the living room phase altogether and went straight to his bedroom.

…Not that he was planning on doing anything apart from studying, really. Well, a person's bedroom was supposed to be a manifestation of their personality, wasn't it? If so, then surely, the bedroom would be the perfect place to build up bonds between two people?

And for every correct answer, Leon would reward the blond with a short, sweet kiss. Nothing too heated. Just a sweet, little touch of their lips, so he wouldn't scare Cloud away. From what he knew, Cloud was highly jittery. So just something really sweet and tender, after which Cloud would smile shyly at him from under his jagged bangs.

He and Cloud would… date, be boyfriends, and he'd finally have Cloud in his arms.

… …As if that would ever happen.

He sighed deeper.

Daydreams aside, the sheet of assignment was still staring back at him, empty and waiting to be filled. Nope, still not about to spontaneously combust, it seemed.

He huffed, rolling his eyes. It was still too warm to think properly. After stretching his body to get rid of the kinks and knots, (he sighed blissfully when a pair of soft hands started to knead his stiff shoulders and someone leaned forward to breathe into his ear, "Feeling any better, Lee?") he slumped back into his chair like a puddle of goo. Perhaps another glass of ice water would help. But it would mean getting up from his chair.

What to do, what to do?

The decision was made for him when his phone rang shrilly, reminding Leon of someone's fingernails scratching across a chalkboard. It was definitely just as irritating.

He sat still for a moment, inwardly hoping that the calls would cease if he just ignored it. It did after a moment, and blessed silence, for which Leon could continue to debate if he wanted to get up for a cold drink, returned. Then, just when he had decided that he'd much prefer to lay slumped on his chair some more and conserve his energy, the phone rang again. Leon was tempted to pout, until he reminded himself that he didn't pout. So with twitch of his lips, he picked up the phone.

("Hey Squall! Glad you're there! For a moment, I thought you weren't at home!" his father said cheerfully. "Anyway, I just wanted to tell you that I'll be home soon. Tell your sister to cook my share for dinner tonight, alright?")

Leon's brow twitched almost violently after a few moments of silence while he listened to the other person on the phone. "Yes, I'm in the house. Why do you mean that no one's answering the door? No one's rang the doorbell the whole day! Are you sure you got the right address? …No! I said 8, not 28! I'm on street 8! You just sent your repairmen halfway across the town! …Yes, I'll still be the house, waiting for your guys to get here so they can fix my air-conditioner. Speed it up," he ordered before slamming the phone back onto its cradle, feeling more than a little irritated. Where were all the competent people when you needed them?

Now it really wasn't a good idea to stay in his room much longer, seeing how the repairmen probably weren't going to make it here until at least another hour. The possibility of being baked alive was starting to sound really plausible now, especially when coupled with some people's seemingly innate idiocy.

So grabbing his books and stationery, Leon made to move downstairs to the dining room, where he knew he count on the giant fan there to be working. That, and it was close enough to the kitchen that grabbing a glass of iced water wouldn't be too troublesome too. Leon only hoped that his elder sister wouldn't expect him to help out with dinner. Really, she was only cooking for the two of them since their father was still out of town, so what help did she need, right?

Right.

As he was packing up his stuff and tidying up his desk at the same time, his actions stilled for a moment when his eyes settled upon a sheet of paper. Careless doodles dotted the edges, as did faint impressions of pencil lines already erased, and right smack in the middle of the faint yellow paper, was a sketch of Leon's favourite earring: Fenrir.

Sometimes, he'd imagine Cloud's reaction at seeing the amount of effort Leon had put in for him. Maybe he'd take a look at Fenrir and declare it the best-looking earring he'd ever seen. Or maybe he'd decide that he wanted to pierce his ears immediately just so he could wear it at once. Leon felt a tug on his lips just imagining the look of amazement on Cloud's face.

(A smile blossomed across Cloud's lips and his eyes positively lit up. "Thanks Lee." And then there was a kiss on his cheeks.)

Leon smiled ruefully. As much as he wanted that to happen, he had no idea how to. Sad as it was, Leon couldn't really remember the last time he and Cloud had spoken to each other for more than five minutes. Three minutes. One minute.

Hell, had it even ever happened before? Come to think of it…

No, Leon didn't think so. Cloud had always been a reclusive and shy person who kept to himself and Yuffie. And now that Yuffie was no longer around, Cloud just took his loner act even more seriously. It wasn't that he was aloof or cold or had a holier-than-thou attitude. Oh no, not that. Cloud was always polite. He just didn't talk much or strike up conversations, like he was trying desperately to blend into his surroundings.

How was he ever going to get closer to Cloud? In his dreams, probably.

Leon sighed. Keeping the sketch of Fenrir in a drawer, he grabbed his stuff and headed downstairs. He could dream of his crush later. The damn assignment was due tomorrow.

…Damn assignment.

…And why wasn't Cloud asking for his help in geography? Damn geography.


It seemed that school was always going to be a dreary affair, and this morning was especially so. Leon thought it was rather challenging to describe his morning otherwise, not when he had barely completed his three assignments due today and had gotten ambushed by two first-years who had gotten instantly dreamy eyed and touchy-feely when they saw him walk by. And as though all that weren't quite enough, Leon had left his chemistry textbook at home when he had a quiz scheduled some time after lunch.

The day had barely started, and Leon could already tell: it wasn't going to be a good day.

He shuffled over to his locker amidst the throng of students, and with a practiced hand, unlocked the combination padlock. Vaguely, he reminded himself to take his literature textbook out, but that was forgotten when the door to his locker swung open and Leon's eyes widened.

(Sitting within and propped up nicely by his stack of textbooks, was a letter addressed to him, and there, across the plain white envelope, was Cloud's handwriting in elegant script. To my dearest Leon, it read.)

"Not another one," he grumbled, reaching inside his locker to take out a fistful of trash. Who was the genius who had decided that it was okay to stuff pamphlets advertising school activities into lockers? As interesting as it was to have a flea market in school and even better to have a chance to rent a bit of space to peddle his wares, Leon did not appreciate having to clean up his locker every morning. And it took up space in his locker, space for which Cloud could have slotted a love letter for him!

Bah. The chances of that happening were probably lower than getting hit by a meteorite while walking around in school, but he could still hope.

Slamming his locker shut with a resounding crash, he adjusted the books in his hands. Carefully, he declined a girl's offer to help him with one of his extra thick books. He was never going to accept help from anybody who had stood nearby for the past what, five minutes and pouncing immediately at a chance to help him. Too dangerous. Besides, if he remembered, that girl was one of his more obsessive fans, part of those self-proclaimed 'Leonites'. Really, what was Zell thinking when he named the fan club members that?

…Probably nothing, which was the problem.

Suddenly, as Leon looked up, he noticed a flash of yellow in the corridor in front of him and he perked up. Cloud, (who upon noticed Leon's presence, smiled and gave him a shy but warm wave) he realized. Leon blushed at the mental image and quickly followed him to class.


Something was bothering Cloud. Either that, or Cloud was feeling unwell. There were no other reasons why the blond would sit so still at his desk with his head buried in his hands like he was in pain. And he was even groaning, for heaven's sake!

Leon had been debating with himself for the past five minutes if he should just throw caution to the wind and go up to Cloud and offer his help. Maybe Cloud needed to go to the infirmary and sleep for a bit, and Leon wanted to help him there. Or if Cloud was having a problem with something –anything!- Leon wanted to be the one to help him.

Problem was, as much as Leon wanted to help, he had no excuse to go over. After all, Cloud didn't know him very well (though Leon couldn't say so the other way around), and Leon had never been known to be the caring one in the class. It just wasn't his style. Still!

Just as when he was about to say 'screw it!' and get up from his seat, a gentle hand settled upon his shoulder. Leon looked up. It was Aeris, who had left her seat. She shook her head kindly.

"You'll probably scare him. I'll go."

And there was nothing Leon could do but nod. In his daydreams, Cloud would walk up to him and throw himself onto his lap if he got a headache. Wrapping his arms loosely around Leon's neck, Cloud would sigh and bury his face deeper into Leon's shirt. In his lesser daydreams, Leon would muster up the courage and walk up to the blond.

(He walked over, and with a concerned smile, said, "Hey Cloud, are you alright? I can help you with anything, you know? Anything.")

But daydreams were just daydreams. Aeris was the one over there talking to his crush.

Jealousy was such an ugly thing, Leon decided. In the few minutes that Aeris had spent talking to Cloud, he found himself severely tempted to head over, pull his friend back to her seat, and talk to Cloud himself. It wasn't that he didn't appreciate Aeris' help. He did, really. The thing was, seeing how she could hold a normal conversation with Cloud for so long, Leon wondered why he couldn't.

("Hi Leon, can we talk? It's just that we've been classmates for so long, but we've never had a real, nice conversation, so I thought I'd come over and you know, talk with you?")

And then Aeris was back, with a faint smile and a soft message: Cloud was alright. Apparently he had a bad morning, but he was still mostly alright. Leon was about to grill the girl for details when all of a sudden, Cloud got up from his desk, the sound of his chairs scrapping across the floor like nails on chalkboard. Leon's eyes were immediately glued onto him.

His breath caught in his throat at the sight of the blond ambling in his direction, weaving through the multitude of desks and chairs cautiously. Leon could only swallow nervously, inwardly hoping against hope that Cloud was looking for /him/. Him. Not Aeris. Not Riku. Not anyone else. His heart felt a hundred times lighter when Cloud called for him, and Leon thought his name had never sounded so good.

" Leon?"

Cloud's voice was sweet, but there was also a barely veiled anxiety. What for, Leon wondered. Didn't Cloud know that Leon hung on his every word? Didn't he know what Leon would do just to get a chance to really talk to him? He found himself unable to look away, unable to think of anything else but /Cloud/. Inwardly, he hoped that he wasn't going to scare his crush away.

And what was Cloud going to say? That he needed Leon's help in his geography homework? That he wanted to borrow something? Leon tried to concentrate, but it was a little difficult to do so when all he could see was Cloud's pink lips. And his imagination couldn't help but run wild again.

(Cloud bent down to lean against Leon's desk, and with only a short moment of hesitation, quickly pressed his lips to Leon's cheek…)

Leon prayed that he wasn't blushing. Clearing his head of every impossible scenario, he reminded himself that Cloud was right in front of him, and it wasn't such a good idea to zone out when his crush was voluntarily talking to him for the first time. He forced himself to listen, and he was relieved when he realized that Cloud seemed to be mustering the courage to talk, so he didn't think he'd missed anything at all.

"Actually…Actually I…" Cloud bit on his bottom lip, eyes blinking rapidly. So cute.

Vaguely, Leon wondered what were the chances of Cloud confessing a long hidden crush on himself. Probably close to zero, but one could always hope, right? As quickly as that thought had come, they were suppressed and buried into the depths of Leon's imaginative mind. He growled inwardly. Stop thinking of such things when Cloud is talking to you, Leonhart! You don't want to scare Cloud away! Stop it!

And he forced himself to meet Cloud's eyes again. He half-wished that Cloud would just quickly say his piece and leave Leon alone; it was such a torture to have his imagination running so wild yet he could do nothing to act upon those temptations or risk scaring Cloud away. Yet at the same time, Leon treasured such moments when Cloud actually talked to him, and this time, Cloud had even approached him of his own accord.

The blond closed his eyes for a moment, as though steeling himself for something, and when he opened those clear blues again, there was a glimmer of determination within them. Leon swallowed, almost nervous as to hearing what Cloud wanted to tell him.

And then Cloud finally spoke.

("Actually I've liked you since last year! Will you please be my boyfriend?")

Leon felt his eyes widen and his mouth dry. His world had all but muted, and he could hear nothing but Cloud's voice. Boyfriend? Cloud liked him? Cloud /liked/ him? Cloud liked /him/?

Impossible!

Surely, he was dreaming? Because what had just happened couldn't have happened. It just wasn't possible. Surely, it had just been a figment of his over active imagination that had been driven to overdrive this morning by the idea of spending the next two hours of his life in Mr. Highwind's class.

But when he opened his eyes – when had he closed them, anyway? - Cloud was still standing there, looking at him expectantly and his blue eyes tinged with a good measure of apprehension and embarrassment.

At that sight, a loud 'yes' was waiting to roll off Leon's lips, but he stopped himself. His imagination was getting too wild.

He was about to ask Cloud to repeat whatever he had said –because surely, he couldn't have just confessed a year-long crush on Leon!- but he was forced to swallow his words when the door was flung open and Mr. Highwind stomped in, chewing on a straw and slamming his books on the table.

Cloud gasped, and with one final glance at Leon, scrambled back to his seat. Leon's attempt to call him back died at Mr. Highwind's sharp glare, and he feebly retracted his hand. Still, his eyes remained on Cloud.


As Mr. Highwind droned on about class –whatever it was, Leon had no idea- Leon found his eyes darting over to Cloud, who was hunched over his desk and scribbling quickly on his notebook. The world could be ending, in fire or in ice, and Leon couldn't care any less. All he could see was Cloud.

What had Cloud said to him earlier, anyway? Wild imagination aside, what had the blond really said?

("Actually I've liked you since last year! Will you please be my boyfriend?")

Leon's mouth dried and his heart skipped a beat, but he forcefully pulled his head back onto the ground. No, that couldn't have been what Cloud said, no matter how much Leon wanted it to be true. Absently, he sighed. His imagination was such a cruel mistress.

Suddenly, something hit him and bounced onto his desk. Leon blinked. Eyes darting sideways to see Riku goading him to read his note –good, Mr. Highwind was concentrating on writing something on the whiteboard – he quickly unfolded the little slip of paper.

"You must be drowning in ecstasy inside, buddy! So what are you going to tell him during lunch time? Declare your everlasting love for him?"

Before he could pen a reply and chuck it at his snickering friend to demand that he explain what the hell did he meant by that note and for god's sake stop being so cruel, another slip of paper hopped onto his desk. This time, it was Tidus' turn to hide his chuckle behind his hand with a sharp nod towards his note. Leon gave him a suspicious look before unfolding the note.

"Forget about class! Just grab Cloud and hightail it out of here!"

Stop it! Stop it! Leon wanted to yell.

Ever since his best friends had found out about his crush on Cloud, they'd taken turns to relentlessly tease him and Leon couldn't really blame them. Before Tidus and Selphie had gotten together, he had found much delight in joining forces with Riku to goad the boy into confessing his feelings to Selphie, and ever since Riku had fallen head over heels for Sora, he shifted gears and began teasing the silver-haired boy in his own quiet way.

But now was neither the time nor day to tease him, to hang the possibility of himself dating Cloud over his head like a baiting carrot and quickly jerking it away before he could get a bite.

And then Aeris' note found its way to his desk.

"Now we know what was bothering Cloud this morning! Can you believe Cloud just confessed his crush on you in front of the entire class?"

Leon's eyes widened, his hands trembled, and his breathing stopped. Aeris disliked lies, hated lying. She wasn't heartless enough to jibe. It wasn't in her character.

So… It wasn't his cruel imagination? Cloud had came up to him, blushed, and told him he had a crush on him for over a year? That was real? It had really happened?

His eyes shot over to Cloud again. The blond had chanced a quick glance behind, and when their eyes met, he gasped and quickly turned back to his work. That fleeting moment was so short it barely existed, but it was forever ingrained into Leon's mind. He would never forget the way Cloud's blue eyes had gazed at him.

At that moment, Leon knew.

He didn't have to imagine a life with Cloud anymore.

He would have the real Cloud in his arms, and they would kiss over geography, hug each other when one of them got a headache, and they would talk.

Cloud would walk up to him, offer him a smile so stunning it would take his breath away, and say, "Hi Leon, can we talk?"

And he would cup Cloud's cheek in his hand, tuck that beautifully golden, errant lock of hair behind his ear, and reply, "Always."

-tbc-

Teaser for next chapter: Axel had not wanted a job. Roxas had. They ran into each other in the street corner that connected Twilight Street and Dusk Road. Roxas got his job. So did Axel.

A/N: Ha ha, I did say I'd write something more lighthearted after that last chapter, so here we have ditzy Leon and posessed Cloud finally getting together. If it wasn't clear in the fic, all those parts in parenthesis and italics are just Leon's imagination and did not happen. Well, except that last bit, which we all know. XD

More of this fic series to come really soon! So please don't forget to comment and review if you enjoyed this chapter! Thanx for your support! It's going to be another year soon, and I hope that you'll continue to support my fics in the new year! Thanx very much!