Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, its characters or storyline. This collection is mine, as is McCallister. Enjoy!
..:-X-:..
164 – Bubble Bath Therapy
For Atramentous Love
When Tifa came staggering and bumbling down the hall toward the locker room at the back of the headquarter building, Leon's first thought was that she was injured. By the time he had stood up to make sure she didn't fall down, he'd seen no blood or weird angles to suggest broken bones…So maybe she was drunk.
But it was 9:30 am and she was also soaking wet. It wasn't with water though, but he couldn't place what it smelled like at first. Either way, she looked too desperate to jump in the shower and get it off for it to be just water. She was so wrapped up in it that she didn't even acknowledge him as she stumbled into the locker room and proceeded to slide into the shower fully dressed.
He trailed after her just to the door and then stopped, turning his back to the scene and staring at the wall. Something was wrong, but she was too panic-stricken to form words. She almost looked scared, but the stuff she was soaked with hadn't been burning her or doing anything to her as far as he could tell.
The familiarity of the liquid's smell hit him then.
Gasoline.
Every nerve in his skin flared up. Why was Tifa soaked in gasoline? She was constantly around fire elemental Heartless and other breeds that could ignite that. That was probably why she was freaking out so badly: too many close calls on the way out of dodge.
She was moving around haphazardly and making distressed sounds, from what he could hear. One stray spark was all it would have taken to—He cleared his throat and folded his arms, looking up the hallway toward the break room. As far as he knew, they were the only ones in the building right now.
A strangled yelp reached him and he instinctively turned around. Tifa had nearly wiped out on the shower curtain in her haste to get the gasoline off. Her eyes were wide and she was doubled over, one hand holding her knee, which had apparently just knocked hard against the rim of the tub, and her other hand was on the wall, steadying her.
She had managed to tear off most of her clothes, leaving her standing under the head of the shower in just her underwear, and her skin was quickly turning red from the scalding water. At least, he assumed it was scalding, by the way the steam was already rising out of it.
"Shit, Tifa." He hissed, crossing the locker room hurriedly and turning off the water. She was going to boil her skin off at this rate.
She trembled and started to straighten, but nearly slipped again. "Fuel tank—"
"Okay," He grabbed her arms to keep her from falling over again. "It's okay, take a breath—" He waited for her to draw a deep breath, "—now let it out."
She deflated and slowly sank to sit on the edge of the tub. He kept a hand against her back to keep her steady. He could feel her trembling, and her skin looked painfully red…All of her skin…
Now that the adrenaline was passing, his brain started to process that she was practically naked. Swallowing compulsively, he forcefully averted his eyes and reached over, pushing the toggle on the faucet of the shower. He turned on the water again, and this time the warm water gushed out of the tub faucet. Leaving Tifa's side briefly, he set the plug on the drain and dumped in a good portion of that bubbly stuff that Aerith kept around for 'stress relief'.
If there was ever a reason for stress relief, it was having your entire body soaked in gasoline. As the water and bubbles began to fill the tub, he shifted back to where Tifa was. She had gotten her breathing under control and was now holding her arms about herself, as though realizing her…situation.
"I'm sorry." She mumbled under her breath, staring at the frothy bubbles.
He rubbed the back of his neck, "It's okay, just…Take a bath…It'll help you relax."
She smiled weakly. "Thanks."
Sure that she was steady now, he stood to leave and give her privacy. He had taken two steps before she stopped him.
"Stay?" When he looked back, she had already sunk into the tub, which was already halfway full of water and bubbles, effectively rendering only her shoulders and the tops of her knees visible. "I mean—you don't have to leave."
The gasoline mustn't have been too traumatizing, because now she looked almost playful…Wow…Aerith was right, those bubbles really had something to them.
"Er—Do you want me to stay?" He shifted awkwardly.
She looked thoughtful for a moment, and then smiled, "Maybe…Yes."
He paused and then returned to the side of the tub, sinking down to sit on the floor. Either out of affection or appreciation, she reached over and set a dollop of bubbles on his head. Yeah, she was all right…And if she was all right, then he was all right.
..:-X-:..
165 – Friendly Fire
For Atramentous Love
6:09 PM…What was that…twenty minutes? Longest twenty minutes of Leon's life.
Twenty minutes ago, they had rushed Aerith to the ER, since she had been hit by Allied friendly fire in the Bailey. He hadn't been on the scene, but he had seen them rush her in on a stretcher when he and Yuffie got back from the Great Maw…It hadn't been good.
Now it had been twenty minutes, Yuffie had been pacing a ring in the floor, Cid was smoking like a chimney outside, and Tifa was talking Cloud off the proverbial ledge. Leon couldn't take sitting around in that tense lobby, so he had gone for a walk inside the hospital. That was…less than uplifting, but now he had ended up here and it…wasn't so bad. It was quiet at least.
There were nearly a dozen newborns lined up in little carts on the other side of the glass of the nursery. Tiny squirming bundles wrapped in either blue or pink blankets, some crying, some sleeping, some just looking around with wide eyes. Seeing the world for the first time.
It was strangely therapeutic to see life in a hospital, he concluded. After ten years of war and Heartless, he had long come to associate hospitals with death, the hurt and the dying. He had forgotten that most people survived hospitals…some even entered the world in them.
"Which one is yours?"
Leon started slightly, turning to see a petite woman with curly red hair, dressed in standard hospital patient garb, looking at him from a few feet away. He paused and looked down the opposite hallway. Had she just asked—
"What?" He blurted, realizing she had been talking to HIM. "Oh, no—I'm not—"
This could go two ways, he realized. He could either tell the truth and be known as the creepy guy who loitered around the maternity ward. OR he could lie and be just a random guy that this new mother ran into. Option two seemed to end a lot better.
"—Not yet." He recovered, "I was just…"
"Playing the waiting game." The woman beamed. "I thought you looked anxious."
Um…okay, sure, he'd go with that.
"Er—yeah," Why had he come here? This wasn't better. "I guess you're—"
"The little Jones boy." She gestured, looking about to burst if he hadn't asked sooner. "Isn't he beautiful?"
He grunted something in the affirmative, looking for an escape route. All he had wanted was to get away from the crazy, worried people, and he had ended up in…crazy baby people land. He frowned and pulled out his phone, checking for any new texts from Cid or Tifa about the situation.
"Do you have any other kids?" The mother asked.
"No." He responded quickly…too quickly. "I mean—"
Dammit, this was why he didn't bother lying to people…he sucked at it.
"This is my fourth." She rattled on.
Fourth…good lord…He checked his mental filter. "Oh?"
"So this will be you and your wife's first child?" She was too wrapped up in her own happy-new-mom bubble to pick up on his awkward vibe.
"Er—"
"I'm sorry," She giggled, brushing her hair from her face, "It's just…babies are just so beautiful…I like to spread the joy."
Leon deadpanned at that. She was one of those. He couldn't carry a conversation with this woman. She was on a baby high and maybe still pain killers…Where was her husband anyway? He didn't want to talk about babies and parenthood.
He had never spared a thought for having kids…he barely spared thought toward getting married. There wasn't time for that. Every molecule of brain power he had was focused at all times on holding Radiant Garden together…Did he want kids?
Before he could A) figure out why THAT question popped up and B) answer it, his phone buzzed in his hand.
He jerked and swiftly answered it. Thank God. "What?"
"She's awake." Tifa's voice answered. "Where are you?"
"I'm on my way." He hung up and turned, then glanced back. "I have to—"
"Get going," The woman said, "And congratulations!"
Leon awkwardly backed away and then headed back toward the ER. Weirdest conversation of his life. He made a mental note to go for a walk somewhere else next time.
..:-X-:..
166 – Russian Roulette
For Atramentous Love
Cid peered through the crosshairs of the long range rifle. The scope honed in on the situation in the law firm across the street. He had set up in the third floor window in the hotel across the street from the firm. If Leon's little plan didn't end this hostage situation without bloodshed, then Cid was ready to plug the psycho perpetrator from here.
Hopefully that wouldn't be necessary, but if the crazy woman waving the gun around inside was any indication, things weren't going according to plan.
Half an hour ago, that psycho had walked in, pulled out a gun, and taken all 14 employees of the firm hostage. For what or why, Cid didn't know nor care at the moment. He only cared that there were 14 hostages, a psycho with a gun, and Leon in there.
"I should have gone in there." Tifa was pacing behind him.
Cid sighed and straightened, "That lady in there is unstable as it is. Leon going in was dangerous enough, but you—"
In the line of the scope, the woman lifted her gun at one of the hostages and pulled the trigger. Nothing happened. No gunshot, no blood, no dropping bodies.
"Shit." He exhaled. "That's the third time she's done that."
"Done what? What's she doing?" Tifa crossed over to stand behind him.
"She's…She keeps aiming at the hostages and pulling the trigger, but nothing happens."
"Maybe she's—I don't know—psycho?" Tifa gestured.
Cid rolled his eyes, "She's toying with them. Russian Roulette, by the looks of it." He frowned, "And she's running out of empty chambers, if she's really packing at all."
"I don't care." Tifa snapped, "She's crazy, she has a gun, and she keeps pointing it at people. I don't like it. Just take her out."
"I can't." Cid argued, squinting down the scope and seeing only Leon's back, blocking his shot at the psycho with the gun. "I don't think Leon would appreciate that."
"Then let me go in there."
"She's running out of empty chambers," Cid tried to explain, "That means every empty shot gets her closer to the live round."
"I know how Russian Roulette works," She snapped, "How do—"
The psycho turned the gun on Leon this time, and something cold and heavy knotted through Cid's gut. He had a bad feeling about this—
"She's about to drop Leon." Cid brought his shoulder up to the rifle, gripping the trigger mechanism and waiting for the open shot, preparing to drop the psycho before she dropped Leon.
"What?" Tifa practically shrieked. "No way," He heard her stomp across, "That bitch better not even touch—"
The rest of her words were drowned out as she slammed the door after herself. If she was going in there, she had to go down four floors and across the street. That gave him at least two minutes to do something. Cid didn't remove his eyes from the crosshairs, trying to line the shot up without punching a hole through Leon's shoulder.
"Come on, bud, move it." He said under his breath.
Leon didn't move, and the woman with the gun took a step closer as he took a step back, like he was egging her on. Don't egg on the person with the gun and the psychotic break, he mentally berated him. Unless this was part of the plan…but what kind of plan involved…
Legs dropped from the ventilation in the ceiling.
"What the Hell—" The cigarette dropped out of his mouth.
Before he could register what he was seeing, the woman with the gun took that last step forward, coaxed by Leon, who had taken another step back. The legs dropped with the rest of the body, landing squarely on the woman's shoulders.
The woman staggered and the gun wavered, firing. The report of gunfire echoed across the street as the bullet went wide, shattering the glass window. The soldier who had dropped on top of her was holding onto the overhead railing of the ceiling. Private McCallister?
She jerked sideways, twisting her thighs around the woman's head violently. The woman's neck twisted sideways with what was surely an audible crack, and then she went abruptly slack, dropping to the floor out of sight.
McCallister dropped to the floor, landing on her boots and looking over to Leon. They exchanged brief words and promptly started herding the hostages out of the building.
THAT had been Leon's plan? Play mediator until his intern sneaks in and drops her like a hot coal? Cid relaxed his hand from the trigger and blinked. Tifa was running across the street.
"What is that boy TEACHING these soldiers?" He breathed, unsure whether to be impressed or shocked. "Damn…"
..:-X-:..
A/N 164: I took a little creative license with the prompt here, but I think it worked all right.
A/N 165: Because Leon around babies is oddly amusing. He's such an awkward turtle.
Thanks for all the lovely prompts, guys. I will be finishing them over the next few weeks, but the prompt submission booth has now closed!