Title: 100 Steps To Somewhere

Fandom: Kingdom Hearts

Claim: Cloud/Riku

Theme: 030. Good

Word Count: 2,197

Rating: M

Summary: Despite flaring tempers, a lot of good was happening in Hollow Bastion. Families were getting homes, orphaned children were going to get a chance at a family, and Leon gives Cloud the opportunity to learn how to use a hammer.

Disclaimer: Not my toys. I borrow, but it's okay, I can share, too.

Author's Note: I've had this Leon, Cloud, and the hammer scene in my head for several days now. I'm so happy it's written so that now I can share it will all of you. Much like how I'll feel when I finally get to write the end.

Step Thirty: Defense

The bonfire raged late into the night. Tifa talked for hours about life in Midgar, Marlene and Denzel, and the progress of her relationship with Vincent Valentine. She didn't back down until Cloud promised to visit sometime soon despite his many efforts to remind Tifa that he didn't like Midgar, it brought back a lot of horrible memories, and it made him think about Sephiroth.

Other than the promise Cloud wished he wasn't pressured into making, it was a good time. Though nothing would ever be like it once was—back in times when they were all still children and doing bad things meant sneaking sweets from the orphanage kitchen—Cloud realized they never lost the ties between them. It was nostalgic to sit by the roaring fire, and Cloud could almost hear children's laughter and voices in song above the crackling fire.

Conversation about Vincent Valentine turned to Riku, though, when Tifa turned to Cloud and asked, "So now that I've talked about my boyfriend, has there been any news with yours?"

Aerith and Yuffie fell silent and turned their eyes to Cloud. Cid scratched the back of his neck and stared at the ground. Leon dropped his skewer in the fire, jumped up, and tried to fish it out.

"There go your marshmallows," said Cloud.

"Did I say something wrong?" said Tifa.

"I haven't heard anything."

"Nothing?"

"Nope."

Tifa frowned and cast her eyes to Leon, who sat down next to Cloud again. When he noticed Tifa looking at him, he averted his eyes.

"Did I miss something?"

"Leon saved his marshmallows."

"Look, I know Leon said the Heartless got your boyfriend and you don't know whether he's alive or dead, but . . . I've been meaning to ask . . . how long has it been?"

Cloud shrugged and looked at the ground.

"Don't know. I've lost count."

"About a month, maybe?" said Leon. Cloud lifted his head.

"A month? Really?"

"Well, it was about a week between when it happened and the Hades Cup. Another week between the Hades Cup and when you fought Sephiroth. Then we came back to Hollow Bastion, and we've been working on the town for about two weeks. That's a month, right?"

Cloud stared into the fire.

"It feels so much longer, but . . ."

"It's like you just talked to him," said Leon. Cloud nodded.

"A month is a really long time to not hear from someone," said Tifa. "Especially someone fighting the Heartless. Maybe . . . maybe it's time to move on, Cloud."

Cloud clenched his jaw and hunched over, allowing his forearms to rest on his thighs. Leon passed him the skewer.

"Marshmallow?"

"Cloud . . ." said Tifa.

"I don't think Cloud really wants to talk about this right now," said Leon.

"Don't you think a month is a little long? He can't beat himself up over it."

"Listen, you don't know this guy he's dating. This kid is strong, and stubborn, and a real pain in the ass from what I gather. He's not going to back down without a fight. If it takes him two months to regain control of himself, I still wouldn't tell Cloud to give up."

"I didn't say that he should give up. I said he should move on."

"It's the same thing. You want him to give up the hope that his boyfriend is going to come back . . ."

"His boyfriend. This guy. This kid. Who is this mysterious boyfriend, anyway, and why doesn't anyone want to give him a name?"

"Because we promised him we wouldn't!"

"We?" said Aerith. "You've talked to him?"

"And you said I'm an atrocious secret-keeper," said Cloud.

Leon sighed. Cloud took the skewer and popped a marshmallow into his mouth.

"Yeah, I've talked to him. He's a good guy. He and Cloud have a lot in common, and considering Cloud's been away for months at a time fighting Sephiroth, I'm not worried about . . . you know . . . his boyfriend . . . being gone for a month. We haven't seen Sora in two weeks, but no one's worried about that."

"Two weeks is a lot less than a month," said Tifa. "And Cloud isn't away for a month fighting Sephiroth. He's away for months looking for Sephiroth."

"Cloud is still here, guys," said Cloud. "He can hear you."

"I just wouldn't keep my hopes up anymore. Your boyfriend is probably gone for good, and it's not going to help you to sit around and feel bad about it. You need to move on."

"Don't speak like that to him just because you're pissed off at me," said Leon. "His boyfriend could be anywhere and unable to call because he doesn't have his fucking phone."

"Let's all calm down," said Aerith. "Tifa, we understand and appreciate your views. I know you're just worried about Cloud, and there's nothing wrong with that. No one wants Cloud to keep his hope longer than he should. Leon, it's obvious you know more about the situation his boyfriend is in than the rest of us do. I know you don't think Cloud should give up because you don't think it's been long enough yet. Without more information, no one can pass any judgments on who is wrong and who is right. Only time will tell that. Cloud, we know you're still here."

Cloud cracked a smile.

"Ever the peacemaker," he said.

Leon stood, grunted, and walked past the fire to their tent. Cloud followed.

"I'm sorry," said Tifa, as Cloud passed. He smiled.

"It's okay."

Cloud pulled the flap aside and walked into the tent. Leon sat on the left side on his sleeping bag. On the other side of the tent, a second sleeping bag lay out, and Cloud sat upon it. Between the two 'beds' was a kerosene lamp.

"Where was that back-up when she was badgering me into visiting Midgar?" said Cloud.

Leon shrugged.

"You should visit Midgar, if only for the kids' sakes."

"Yeah, I know . . . uh . . . thanks . . . for that . . ."

"Tifa pisses me off."

"Did you really mean all that, or . . . I don't know. Do you think I should just move on? That maybe he's never really coming back?"

Leon sighed.

"I don't know, Cloud, but I know it isn't Tifa's place to tell you when you should. She's hardly been around, and she knows absolutely nothing about what happened. Even Aerith, Yuffie, Cid . . . Hell, we don't even really know what happened. The only person who does is Riku, but we know as far as Sora's told us, and that's a hell of a lot more than Tifa. She had no place to judge."

"I think you're more riled up about it than I am."

Leon shrugged.

"I don't know if Riku's alive. I don't know if you should keep waiting for him. I do know that we haven't seen Sora, either, and that's a good sign. Nothing's going to take out Sora without us knowing—he's the Keyblade master. If Sora came back and said he thought Riku was gone, then I'd tell you to give up hope. Until then . . . I guess anything is possible."

"But if Sora did destroy Ansem, and the worlds were restored, won't the walls between the worlds go back up? And if that already happened . . ."

"As long as the Heartless exist, there will be a way to pass between the worlds. There will just be different routes. Different coordinates. Gummi ships will have to go different ways, and the paths won't be as easy to find. Riku's a smart boy. He'd figure it out."

"I thought you told Sora that you may never see each other again.'

"I did. I didn't say we wouldn't."

Cloud smiled as Leon turned down the kerosene lamp between them.

"Thanks."

"Go to sleep, Cloud."

----------0----------

With the bonfire cleaned up, the power fixed, and the final plans finished for where the rest of the homes would be built, Tifa, Aerith, and Cid went to work on plans to rebuild the orphanage. The plans—and promise of an eventual reality—for the orphanage's resurrection settled in Cloud's heart with warmth. It didn't go without a little pain, but the idea of giving children a home like he once had where they could make friends, find families, or the chance to form families of their own was a good thing—a hopeful thing.

"You're working in the marketplace today," said Leon, pointing to one of the men.

Leon worked on dividing yesterday's volunteers and some more that Aerith and Yuffie recruited during lunch-break the day before. All the homes in town were finished, but there was still interior work that needed done regarding electric, water, paint, and furnishings. Once he gave everyone jobs to do within the marketplace, borough, and beyond, he turned to Cloud.

"Today, I'm going to teach you how to use a hammer."

Cloud swallowed.

Leon grabbed two toolboxes and handed one to Cloud. He walked in the direction of the town's outskirts, and looked back.

"Don't just stand there. Come on."

They walked past the marketplace, through the field, and past the houses that were finished yesterday. People were already there to work on gardening, painting, wiring, plumbing, and the finishing touches. Tifa stood beside him with two families, discussing moving arrangements, and Aerith took notes on furniture needs.

"The roofing on these houses still need finished," said Leon. He grabbed a ladder lying in the grass and propped it up against the building. "After you."

Cloud pulled his hammer and a box of roofing nails from the toolbox and climbed up the ladder. Cid and two other men from the town started the roofs, but it was Cloud and Leon's job to finish them. Unfortunately, Cloud mutilated his fingers, and now Leon was going to teach him how to use a hammer. Cloud hung his head and refused to meet Leon's eyes. If this wasn't the most embarrassed he ever felt before Leon, the last incident was so horrible Cloud must have erased it from his memory.

"Now watch and do as I do," said Leon.

He placed the nail at one of the markings, held it in place, and gave the head a few short taps before widening the distance, moving his fingers away, and driving the nail into the roof. He repeated the process a second and third time. His fingers were still in tact.

"Your turn."

Cloud sighed. He pulled a nail from the box, placed it at the marking, and grabbed his hammer. After taking a deep breath, he tapped the nail like he'd seen Leon do, and then widened the distance. The hammer missed his fingers, but slammed into the roof. The nail, which fell when Cloud released it, rolled off the roof and into the grass. He looked at Leon.

"Try it again. Hit a little harder in the beginning and don't let it go so soon."

Cloud grabbed another nail from the box and held it to the same marking. He tapped harder at first, widened the distance, and let the nail go. It stayed stuck into the roof. Cloud took a deep breath and went to hit the nail again. It popped out and rolled off into the grass. Leon laughed.

"Try it again. That was better. Don't let it go so soon, though. Give it a few more hits next time."

Cloud placed the third nail at the marking and repeated the process. He widened the distance between the nail, brought the hammer down, and slammed it onto his thumb. Cloud released a string of curse words, forming a threat that wasn't anatomically possible. Leon stared.

"Maybe you should help Cid instead."

"Oh, sure, send me to work with electricity, next. That's all I need."

"You could plant trees. Or are you as bad with a shovel as you are with a hammer?"

"This is why I was handing Cid his tools in the first place!"

"You could paint. Would you like that?"

"Girls plant trees and paint. I'm a man. I have brute strength."

"Which would be great if it was the nail and not your fingers feeling your wrath."

"Fuck off."

"There's plumbing."

"Plumbing requires tools."

"Hate to break this to you, Cloud, but all the 'man jobs' require tools."

Cloud frowned. He grabbed another nail, held it to the marking, and succeeded in hitting his fingers twice and the roof seven times before it sank the entire way in. Leon patted his back.

"Which 'girl job' do you want?"

"Can't I shovel gravel again?"

"That's all taken care of."

"Not past the borough. We have to work on the bailey and out to the castle and . . ."

"Our first priority is the homes and the orphanage. There will be plenty of time to shovel gravel later."

"Can't I just hand Cid his tools again?"

"Cloud . . ."

Cloud sighed and handed Leon the hammer.

"Where's my paintbrush?"

"Good boy."

Here's the double post I promised. Read on, my dears . . .