Warnings: Slash
Disclaimer: I do not own anything!
Rating: M for later chapters, swearing and blood. And Cid of course!
A/N: This was originally meant to be a one-shot, but the damned thing would not cooperate with me as one piece so I chopped it up! It takes place during the events of KH, but you are allowed to decide exactly when yourself. It will not follow the grand story all that much, seeing as it is mainly focusing on Leon and Cloud, but there will be references to it. Seeing as this was meant to be a one-shot, I have written most of it already, so I'll be fast with the updates!
I apologize about possible errors and hope that you will enyoj it!
Please keep in mind that I am not from an English speaking country, which can sometimes have me mix up words and phrases. I am sorry forehand.
Now, have fun reading my stuff! Later people!
Oh, and btw... reviews are LOVED! :Glomps you all:
Healing
Chapter One
"Wounded"
-
Leon was never going to admit it, but at that precise moment, the lion felt small.
Weak.
Smaller and weaker than a damn kitten.
He stared disbelievingly down on the ground beneath him, were a familiar figure lay. Pale and unmoving. Seemingly dead. A ridiculously large sword lay next to him, reflecting the sun to the point where it looked as if it was glowing. Golden hair billowed vaguely in the swift wind and azure eyes were trapped behind heavy eyelids.
Cloud.
His chest was bloodied, shirt torn open, revealing a deep, fleshy wound. One of his arms were bent in a strange angle, and a crimson pool was slowly forming underneath him. Blond, vibrant hair, now oddly strawberry-colored in some places remained a strong contrast to his now sickly pale skin, and those blue eyes that used to hold so much ice were shut, thick lashes resting peacefully against the smooth, white surface. He could have been sleeping, but the painful frown that had stiffened in his face crushed that impression.
Heart racing like he had been running a marathon, the dark haired warrior bent down and placed calloused fingers on the unconscious blond's neck. He held his breath and waited. Waited for a couple of long painful seconds. Then, he felt a beat. A small, forced beat, but a beat nonetheless. Letting out his breath, Leon clasped a hand over his eyes and dragged it down to his chin.
He was alive.
He was badly hurt, but he was alive. At least for now.
Carefully, he removed the black sleeve from Cloud's left shoulder and noticed how it clung to his arm. It was soaked in blood as well. The other arm, as he had noticed earlier was probably broken, and by the looks of it, it was a complicated fraction as well.
"Damn," he muttered to himself, wondering what he should do next. The blond seemed to be in such a bad shape that moving him was asking him to die. Leon bit his lip and used his free hand to pinch the bridge of his nose. He hadn't felt this worried about any of his new companions except for Sora. Then again, none of them had ever been injured this bad. He gritted his teeth. Something had to be done, or Cloud would pass away, no doubt.
He swallowed thickly.
Seeing Cloud like that, bloodstained and ripped, wounded to the brink of death, unmoving and beaten on the ground, made his insides curl painfully and an alien nausea overwhelmed him.
His head was spinning and his guts stirred like a pile of snakes was moving in there. This was not something that usually happened to him and he cursed himself for not being able to control his own reactions. There was no room for him to get all dizzy now.
Gritting his teeth once more, he forced the sickness away and concentrated on what his next move should be. Cloud needed to get medical care right away and Leon, who had just been patrolling the Bailey was carrying no potions. Curaga, he thought, would not fix this either, at least not fast enough. Cloud needed help now, or he'd be dead. He needed Aerith. Aerith would possibly be able to fix this, but how the hell could he get in touch with her?
Panic rapidly rising in his chest, the dark haired swordsman ran a hand through his hair and ended up tugging at the wild tresses.
"Fuck." He cursed loudly, his voice nearly cracking. "Fuck!"
There was nothing he could do, it seemed at the brunet swore he had never felt this helpless in his life. In a matter of seconds, he was on his feet and with a fierce growl, he lifted his gunblade, the sharp metal gleaming in the sunlight. This was probably his last hope.
Closing his eyes in vain and agony, Squall Leonheart pulled the trigger and fired.
--
"What was that?"
Aerith whirled around in Merlin's sunlit kitchen, hot, thick sauce flying from the spoon in her hand, landing only inches away from the hyperactive ninja seated by the wooden table waiting to still her hunger. Her long braid swirled in the air as she turned his head and gently landed on her bare shoulder, bright green eyes wide and delicate cheeks vaguely flushed with surprise. Lifting the hand holding the spoon to her chest, she used the other one to tuck a bundle of brown locks behind her ear, a worried expression evident in her face.
She had been cooking dinner for the Restoration Committee and Yuffe, being the lazy teenager she was, had decided to hang around in the kitchen while her friend made the meal. She had been about to taste her work once a loud gunshot had been heard from somewhere in the distance, and startled both her and the Wutaian girl.
"Yuffie, did you hear—"
"Yes!" The petite wutaian girl exclaimed, jumping out of her seat, shuriken already in hand. Her black, short hair fluttered around her cheekbones and her onyx eyes glimmered with awareness.
"That was the sound of Squallie's gunblade!" If only 'Squallie' had been there to hear that nickname.
The words hit the flower girl like a bullet. She gasped and her chest rose rapidly. "Leon!"
Without more talking, she threw the spoon away and set herself in motion, completely forgetting to turn off the stove. Luckily, this was Merlin's house, so the objects would probably make sure he was alarmed if something went wrong. This, however, did not even cross Aerith's mind as she hurried out of the kitchen, Yuffie at her side.
She pushed past the younger female and ran for the front door, the pink fabric of her dress dancing around her bare legs. The thought of what this meant sent shivers down her spine and what was why she knew there was no room for hesitating.
Leon firing his weapon could only mean one thing.
Trouble.
--
Leon did not know what to do. Once he'd fired the shot, he bent down again and lifted the blond's head, so that he was lying with his head in Leon's lap. He had no intentions of moving, not even to get help. The way he saw it, he only had two options; Wait and see if anyone had heard him fire, or leave to find someone. Either way, Cloud would probably die before he came back, due to dehydration and massive blood loss. Leon knew this, seeing as he had seen too many soldiers die that way. Besides, falling unconscious like this was not good. He had to find a way to wake the blond, and keep him sober.
Knowing it was the only way, he raised his hand and slapped the soldiers face mercilessly.
Mako eyes fluttered open and fixed themselves glossily on him.
Cloud stared at him for a moment, seemingly highly confused. Then, he opened his mouth, as if to say something, but not a word came out. He sighed and was about to shut his eyes again, when Leon slapped him once more, a bit harder this time.
"Stay awake Cloud!" It came out a hoarse whisper and Leon immediately ordered his voice to sound more stern.
Cloud did not need him to go all sappy now.
He needed to stay strong.
If nothing else, so that he could get him safely back to Aerith. The beautiful woman would be devastated if anything happened to Cloud and the last thing Leon wanted was to see her getting hurt. Cloud meant the world to her, and he knew it. There was absolutely no way he'd let the blond fall victim to his death.
Breathing harshly, he pushed a couple of golden strains away from the swordsman's face.
In terror, he noticed how those pale, fine features were covered in blood and a warm, wet substance soaked through the fabric of his clothes and Leon's breath hitched as those bright, now dulled, sapphire eyes blinked up at him.
Dark, long lashes fluttered against his cheekbones and his lips parted slowly.
The brunet shook his head. "Don't strain yourself." He murmured and cradled the blond carefully closer, his left hand covering the deep, weeping gash running across his abdomen.
Cloud gave a faint nod and his brows knitted.
He coughed and suddenly, blood was pouring from his mouth, slithering down his chin.
"Fuck!" Leon hissed and brought his hand up to wipe it away. Gritting his teeth at the sight, he watched as those wide, blue eyes followed his moves.
"Leave it." The wounded man whispered just before a new set of trembles ran through his body and more blood trailed from his mouth.
Leon felt anger flare within him.
"No." He stated firmly and continued to patch the blood away. Cloud's gaze was still piercing him, but he said no more. He probably wasn't capable of doing so.
"Now lay still." He ordered quietly and watched as the those azure eyes drifted shut at his command.
As he studied Cloud's face, he noticed for the first time that the blond actually had freckles. Small, brown spots covered his cheeks, like stars on the midnight sky. Why hadn't he noticed this before? His fingers slowly crept their way to those small spots and the gunblade wielder found himself stroking the soft skin beneath them with a tenderness he had never been aware he harbored.
--
Please, he begged mentally, and closed his eyes briefly before looking down at the blond once more, please don't let him die.
Please don't let it be Cloud, she prayed inwardly, the sentence soon becoming a mantra in her mind.
Balling her hands to fist as she ran, something inside her told the flower girl that this was indeed involving Cloud and that he had to be in deep vain.
The blond had been missing for months now, and he had not returned any of her calls. Somehow, she just knew this had got to have something to do with her precious soldier. Leon wouldn't have fired his gunblade if something was not extremely wrong, not even if he was in danger himself. The guy was simply to stubborn for that.
With this in mind, Aerith Gainsborough ran like she had never ran before, with no other goal than helping out her comrade.
"Aerith!"
Yuffie was yelling her name, but the brown haired woman just kept running, her head oddly foggy from fear and bewilderment.
She didn't even know where she was running, she just moved towards the source of the previous gunshot. Something inside of her just screamed at her to get there fast.
"Aerith, wait!" Yuffie bellowed from behind her, "you don't know where you're going to look!"
She halted abruptly.
Yuffie was right.
For the first time in a long while, the flower girl cursed loudly.
--
How the swordsman had gotten himself into this kind of situation, Leon could only guess. There were no traces of heartless, and he had no idea of how Cloud had gotten where he was now. Judging by the lack of blood on the ground area around him, Leon dismissed the thought of him crawling there. The only reasonable explanation was that Cloud had fought someone right there and that whoever it was, he or she was incredibly strong and powerful.
With a concerned frown, the brunet thought about the one person that he knew was able to beat Cloud.
Sephiroth.
He hoped from the deepest depths of his soul that the silver haired maniac was not the one responsible for this. Yet, at the same time, the thought of someone as skilled as the General on the loose made the brunet's stomach tighten.
As if one wasn't enough.
A gurgling sound from Cloud caught his attention and in horror, he watched as the blond's lips parted in a silent cry, his body spasming, eyes rolling back before they pierced him with a desperate, horrified stare.
No, he screamed inwardly. No, no , no!
"No... Cloud..."
The body in his arms went limp and a choked gasp tore it's way from the swordsman's throat.
"Aerith!"
TBC
