Cloud popped his head into Cid's office. "Taking my lunch."

Cid grunted, standing and heading out into the shop, as Xigbar wasn't working.

Cloud grabbed his keys and threw on his jacket, heading out to where Leon was waiting in his car, quickly climbing in. "Hey." He leaned over to give him a quick kiss before buckling up.

"Hey yourself." Leon chuckled, "Decide where we're going?" he asked.

"I told you to pick." Cloud laughed.

Leon sighed overdramatically and gave Cloud a look, "Alright, fine. But you're choosing next time." he said, heading down the street in the direction of Dragonfly Soy Sauce.

Cloud grinned and nodded. "That's fine. So how's Xigbar doing?"

"Whining constantly, until Kairi walks into the room." Leon rolled his eyes, "Gotta act tough in front of her, of course. Considering asking her to move in until he's out of that sling, if only to keep him occupied."

Cloud laughed. "You could always come stay in with me until he's better. If you don't mind sharing a bed with me, that is."

Leon smirked, "What makes you think I'd mind that?" he asked, turning to face Cloud as he stopped at a stoplight, "But I can't subject Seifer to that, no matter how much I'd enjoy it."

"Ah well. It was worth a try." Cloud winked. "So where are we going, anyway?"

"Dragonfly Soy Sauce." Leon said, "Chinese place. Sound okay?"

"Sure." Cloud smiled.

Leon smiled back and continued down the street.

"So, I wanted to ask you - is your last name really Leonhart?" Cloud asked.

Leon glanced over just briefly, "Yeah." he said, "Been wondering since the hospital?" he guessed.

Cloud nodded. "Yeah. So.. Leon Leonhart? I'm sorry, but that can't be your real name - it sounds ridiculous."

Leon laughed and shook his head, "It isn't." he promised, "My first name's Squall. Just haven't used it in years."

Cloud cocked his head. "Why not?"

Leon shrugged, "Just started to go by Leon when I went to live with my aunt."

"Ah." Cloud said. He was silent for a moment, before testing it out, "Squall? Squall. Huh."

Leon chuckled, "Don't strain yourself. Not even sure I respond to it anymore."

Cloud laughed. "Okay then. Leon it is."

Leon chuckled again, parking his car and leaning over to give Cloud a kiss.

Cloud sighed, leaning in to Leon and tilting his head, letting his eyes drift closed.

As Leon pulled back, he smirked, "You know, we don't have to get lunch."

Cloud raised an eyebrow. "Are you asking me to have sex with you in your car instead of getting lunch?" He chuckled.

Leon chuckled softly as well, but didn't answer.

Cloud sighed. "I'm not having sex with you for the first time in your car, Leon."

"I wasn't actually implying sex, if we want to be technical here." Leon said, "But that's fine. Lunch?" he asked with a smile.

"Lunch." Cloud nodded, getting out of the car and walking over to Leon, leaning him back against his car for one more kiss. "Now we can go in." The blonde smirked.

Leon smirked back, "Tease." he said, taking Cloud's hand and heading towards the restaurant.

Cloud grinned at him, not denying it.

XXXX

Sora chuckled at something Riku said, leaning in to give his boyfriend a kiss, just as his mother walked into the room.

She blinked, rubbing her eyes, before checking to see that Sora was actually practically on top of Riku and she wasn't dreaming it.

"I'm not home nearly as often as I should be, am I?" she muttered to herself.

Turning a little pink, Sora stammered, "Mom, uh..."

Sora's mother just shook her head, "No, no, don't let me interrupt." she said, mildly amused.

It was Sora's turn to blink.

"Really, Sora, everyone saw this coming except you." she informed him, "Is there food in the kitchen or do I need to go shopping?"

"There's food..." Sora said, still a little startled. His mother nodded, smiling at the two of them before walking into the kitchen.

Sora just blinked again.

Riku laughed. "That went better than I expected."

Sora glanced down at his boyfriend (who he was still on top of). "Did everyone really see this coming except me?"

"I think so. To be fair, I didn't see it happening, either." Riku said, leaning his forehead against Sora's.

Sora frowned and leaned in, kissing Riku, instead of answering.

"Mm, as much as I approve of this, you do have a room you could be doing this in." Sora's mother said.

Sora, who hadn't heard her walk in, glanced over. "Er, right." Pausing, he frowned, "Wait, room. Roxas is upstairs."

"Yes... is that a problem?" Sora's mother raised an eyebrow.

"Isn't Axel upstairs with him?" Sora asked Riku, ignoring his mother's questioning look.

"Yeah, I think so." Riku nodded.

Sora climbed off of Riku, grabbing his mother's wrist and dragging her towards the stairs, sandwich and all, "Be right back." he told Riku.

"Who's Axel?" Sora's mother asked, mildly amused.

Sora didn't answer, knocking on Roxas's door at the top of the stairs.

There was some scrambling and then a flushed Roxas opened the door. "Uh, hi Sora. Hi Mom. I didn't know you were home..."

"No one ever seems to." she shrugged, patting Roxas on the head, "Who's Axel?"

Sora took a step backwards before vanishing down the stairs.

"Oh. Well. He's my boyfriend. Actually, um.." He opened the door wider, revealing Axel sitting on his bed. "Mom, Axel. Axel, my mom."

Axel stood up, "Er, hi Ms. McOskey."

She glanced up at him, "Not to be blunt, but how old are you?" she raised an eyebrow.

Axel shifted awkwardly, "25, ma'am."

Glancing down at her younger son, and then at his boyfriend, she sighed, "What is it with you and older guys, Roxas, really?"

Roxas blushed. "Mom!" He protested.

His mother chuckled, "It's nice to meet you, Axel."

"You too." Axel said, shifting again.

"I'll leave you two to it. Try not to get too loud, okay?" she smirked, before walking down the stairs.

Roxas gaped at her before slamming his door shut and facing Axel, embarrassed. "Sorry about her."

Axel chuckled, "Don't worry about it. She seems pretty awesome." he admitted, crossing the room to the blonde.

A shout from downstairs made him wait and not kiss Roxas, and sure enough, a moment later, the door was thrown open again and Sora was attacking the light switch with his mother watching the ceiling, amused.

"Sora! Stop, you'll break my light!" Roxas yelled, hitting his brother's hand and making him stop, plunging the room into darkness except for the glow-in-the-dark stars.

The boys' mother grinned, "Okay, that's pretty awesome." Glancing at Axel, she nodded, "Good one."

"Er, thanks." Axel said, sheepish.

"Did you seriously leave Riku alone down there? What a horrible boyfriend you are." Roxas said to his brother, linking his hand with Axel's.

"Riku's the one that mentioned the stars in the first place." Sora protested.

Roxas just shook his head. "Okay, now that you've seen it... Um, I'll see you both later." Roxas said meaningfully.

Sora rolled his eyes, "Yeah, yeah." he said, leaving and heading back down the stairs. His mother smiled at the two of them, before leaving herself, shutting the door behind her.

Roxas sighed, turning to Axel. "I think you were just about to..."

Axel smirked, leaning down and kissing Roxas.

Roxas grinned, pressing closer to his boyfriend.

XXXX

"That test was horrific."

It was a week later, and Kairi had just finished her last final. Sora hopped up as she walked out of the classroom, having finished the final just a few minutes before her.

"It wasn't that bad." Sora rolled his eyes.

Kairi turned to stare at him, "In what realm of the universe was that 'not that bad'?"

Sora laughed, "Come on, let's go find your sister."

Kairi huffed, following Sora out of the building and towards the social sciences building.

Namine smiled when she saw then coming. "I've been waiting for a while... was the test okay?"

Kairi groaned, as Sora laughed, "It was fine."

Namine patted Kairi's shoulder. "I'm sure you both did fine. Was that your last final, Sora?"

"Yeah." Sora grinned, "Free 'til January." he said, excited.

"Us, too." Namine smiled. "Any big plans?"

Sora shrugged, "Not really. Riku's got that Box Depot Christmas party thing, and I'm going with him to that, but besides that, nope."

"Have fun!" Namine said. "Are you all set Kairi?"

"Yep." Kairi nodded, "You finding Roxas, Sora?"

"Yeah. He should be somewhere near the soccer field." Sora shrugged.

"All right, we'll see you later then!" Namine said, starting towards the parking lot with Kairi and waving.

"See you." Sora waved, and headed towards the soccer fields.

XXXX

"He shoots, he scores!" Pence yelled, laughing as Hayner shot his soccer ball into the goal.

Hayner grinned. "We're done! Finally!"

"Yeah!" Roxas laughed, spinning Olette in a circle.

Hayner collected his soccer ball from the net, jogging over to his friends just as Sora approached.

Olette laughed, plopping down onto a bench, "So, what are you guys doing for break?"

"Just relaxing." Pence grinned. "And hanging with you guys!"

"Same." Hayner punched his shoulder. "I wanna go snowboarding!"

"Yeah, I'll be spending my break with Axel. He's got some company party this Friday that I'm going to, too. Oh, hey Sora. All done with your final?" Roxas asked.

"Yep." Sora nodded, "Hey, guys." he nodded to Roxas's three friends.

"Are you going with Riku to that party Friday?" Roxas asked.

"Yeah." Sora shrugged, "You going with Axel?"

Roxas grinned. "Yeah."

Hayner pretended to gag, laughing.

"Shut up! Where's Seifer? You guys making holiday plans?" Roxas asked, smirking.

Hayner blushed, shoving Roxas lightly. "Knock it off!"

Pence laughed, "All right, all right, you guys! Enough! I've gotta get going, anyway. I have to pack up my dorm. See you later!" He waved and left.

Sora chuckled, "Ready to go?" he asked his younger brother.

"Sure. I'll talk to you guys later. Send Seifer my love!" Roxas laughed.

Hayner flipped him off and the smaller blonde grinned and returned the gesture before linking arms with his older brother, questioning how his final went.

Hayner turned to his sister. "Should we head to the car, then?"

She smiled sneakily, "Don't you wanna try and find Seifer first?" she asked.

Hayner groaned. "Not you, too. We're just friends."

"I didn't say anything." Olette stuck her tongue out, "But honestly, you usually see him on campus, right? Well, you're not going to be on campus for a month, remember."

"Fine." Hayner mumbled, pulling out his cell and texting Seifer, asking him if he was still on campus. A few minutes later, he got a reply. "I'll meet you by the car, okay?" Hayner said, waving to his sister and heading to the courtyard where Seifer was.

Olette giggled and headed towards the parking lot.

XXXX

Seifer was sitting on a bench when he noticed Hayner approaching. Standing up, he smirked, "Wanted to see me?" he teased lightly.

Hayner blushed. "So what? We're friends and with the semester over we won't see each other and I just thought I'd be nice and try to find you and... fuck." He forced himself to stop babbling.

Seifer laughed, "Take it easy." he said, "I was joking."

Hayner took a deep breath, still blushing but nodding. "So how were your finals?"

Seifer shrugged, "Not that bad. Yours?"

"Okay. I'm just glad they're over. Got any plans for the break?" Hayner asked, sitting down on the bench Seifer had been sitting on before.

"Well, actually." Seifer said, "The Box Depot has some stupid holiday party Friday, and Xemnas is literally requiring everyone to bring a guest. Dunno if Roxas mentioned it, since I know his boyfriend's gonna be there."

"Yeah, he's going with him. So's his brother, since his boyfriend also works there. Riku? You know him?" Hayner asked.

"Yeah, but he's almost never at work anyway." Seifer chuckled, "So, would you want to come with me?" he asked, "Don't really have anyone else to invite." he shrugged.

Hayner stared at him. "Are you... asking me out?"

Seifer shrugged, laughing, "Did you take it that way?"

"Yes. No. Argh, I don't know." Hayner said, blushing. "You just... have to bring someone right?"

Seifer nodded, amused.

"So... it's just a friend thing?" Hayner blew out a breath. "Okay. I'll go. What time is it, could you give me a ride?"

"It's at 8, and sure." Seifer nodded, "Thanks."

Hayner blushed. "Do I gotta dress up or something?"

Seifer laughed and shook his head, "Nah. It's just a casual thing. Xemnas just insists on it every year, and then vanishes a half hour in to fuck his secretary some more."

"Nice." Hayner grimaced. "Okay, well, my sister's waiting for me to head home. So, uh, I'll see you Friday? What time will you pick me up?" He stood.

"7:30?"

"Okay. See you then." Hayner smiled.

Seifer smiled back, "See you." he said, waving and heading towards his car, which was in a different lot than Hayner's.

XXXX

"I wasn't expecting so many people to be here." Roxas said, squeezing Axel's hand as he looked around the crowd of people.

Axel shrugged, "There actually are a lot of people that work at the Box Depot, we just don't usually do anything."

"Right." Roxas laughed, shaking his head. "Oh, there's Sora and Riku! C'mon." He tugged his boyfriend over to where his brother was.

"Hey, Axel. Roxas." Riku grinned.

Roxas smiled. "Hi guys."

Sora waved. "Hey guys."

Axel put his arm over Roxas's shoulders, attempting to relax.

"Having fun?" Roxas asked.

Riku rolled his eyes. "Sora made me come to this stupid thing."

"You skip work so often, you can't skip this too." Sora crossed his arms.

"I know, I know." Riku sighed, pulling Sora to his side and holding him close.

Roxas chuckled. "Well, I'm hungry. Axel, let's go get some food."

"Sounds good." Axel chuckled as well, "See you later."

They headed over to the buffet and Roxas made a plate, grabbing a drink. "Wanna mingle or sit?"

Axel shrugged. "Whichever you'd rather." He smiled.

"Let's sit, then." Roxas said, heading to an empty table and sitting, Axel sitting next to him.

"Roxas! Hey!" Hayner shouted, waving from across the room before turning to Seifer, saying something as they headed over.

Roxas grabbed Axel's hand, smiling at the two. "Hey, Hayner. Seifer."

"Hey." Seifer nodded at Roxas.

Axel nodded to Hayner, but said nothing else.

"Hi, Axel, Roxas. This party is a lot bigger than I expected!" Hayner said.

"Yeah, I was just saying that to Axel." Roxas said. "You guys just get here?"

"Yeah." Hayner blushed a little, glancing at Seifer out of the corners of his eyes. "Your brother here?"

Roxas nodded. "Somewhere with Riku."

"That's cool. So… what exactly do you do at these things?" Hayner asked, glancing at Axel and Seifer.

Seifer shrugged, "Usually hang around until Xemnas goes into the back with Elena and then escape and get drunk with Xigbar or Leon." Seifer shrugged.

Hayner glared at him. "Then why'd you need me to come?"

"Because this year Xemnas is being anal about the guest thing and Xigbar's busy with Kairi and the whole 'I got stabbed thing'. And something's wrong if Leon agreed to come with me." He chuckled.

"Oh. Well, okay." Hayner said.

Roxas laughed.

"What?" Hayner snapped.

Still snickering, Roxas waved a hand. "Nothing, nothing."

"Whatever. C'mon, Seif, I'm hungry." Hayner said, turning to Seifer expectantly.

Biting back a comment, Axel turned to Roxas, "Wanna try and find your brother?"

"Oh. Right. Sure!" Roxas said, standing and smiling at Seifer and Hayner. "We'll see you guys later."

Hayner rolled his eyes but smiled. "Sure." He followed Seifer away to find food.

Roxas pulled Axel to his feet, giving him a quick hug. "You okay?"

"Been better." Axel answered. "But dealing with it. Want to punch him."

"Hey, you promised. No violence. He behaved, too. Please. For me?" Roxas asked, concerned and studying Axel's face closely.

"I know. I'm not going to. Doesn't change the fact that I want to." Axel sighed.

"I know. And thank you. It means a lot to me. And to Hayner." Roxas smiled. "What'dya say we find a janitor's closet or something and go make out for the next hour or so?"

Axel smirked, "Sounds good." He said, leading Roxas away.

XXXX

Cloud nodded at Cid. "All right, I'm done for the day. That car's finished, but the bike just brought in needs an oil change before it can leave."

"You think I can't tell that?" Cid barked.

Cloud rolled his eyes. "See you tomorrow."

Cid snorted. "Sure you will. Have fun."

Cloud waved, chuckling as he left the shop, only mildly surprised to see Leon leaning against his car out front already waiting for him.

"Hey." He grinned as he walked over. "You're a little early."

Leon smiled, "Yeah, I know." he shrugged, giving him a kiss, "You ready?"

"Sure." Cloud said, kissing him again and moving in closer, wrapping his arms over the brunette's shoulders.

Leon smirked, "You know, in order to go anywhere, we need to get in the car." he murmured, even as he leaned in to kiss Cloud again.

"I know." Cloud said against his lips, returning immediately to the kissing.

"Will you two get the hell outta here already?" Cid demanded from the shop doors.

Cloud jumped before laughing. "All right, all right. We're going, Cid."

Leon chuckled, "Thanks again, Cid." he called, before kissing Cloud one more time and going around to the other side of the car to get in.

Cloud rolled his eyes. "Yeah. Thanks." Climbing into the car, he asked, "Why are we thanking Cid?"

Leon shrugged, "For the whole thing with Xigbar." he said, starting the car. "Have to thank someone for dealing with him when he's not home."

Cloud laughed. "Right, right. So, where to now? Your place or food?"

"Food." Leon answered, pulling away from the curb, "I'm surprising you on where, though."

"Oh, a surprise, huh? Gonna finally tell me what you told Zexion?" Cloud teased.

"Maybe if you manage to convince me." Leon smirked.

"And how do you suggest I do that?" Cloud murmured.

Leon stopped at a stoplight, turning to smirk at him, "Well, you'll just have to improvise." he teased.

Cloud licked his lips and grinned. "Maybe I will."

"Give me a little warning so I can pull over?" Leon chuckled, as he pulled through the green light.

"Leon, I told you; I won't have sex with you for the first time in your car." Cloud said, rolling his eyes.

"I wasn't implying sex this time either." Leon chuckled, "But if you were to try and kiss me while I was driving, I would have to pull over so we wouldn't crash through a field or something."

"You might not have been implying it, but maybe I was. And I would never endanger us by trying anything while you were driving. Where are we going, anyway?" Cloud asked, not knowing of any restaurants near where they currently were.

"I told you, it's a surprise." Leon chuckled.

Cloud sighed but didn't push it. "So, do you want to come to Zack and Aerith's with me on Christmas Eve? Are you doing anything then?"

"I don't have plans on Christmas Eve, no. My roommates and I have Christmas day plans, though." Leon answered, "So, sure. Sounds good."

"Great." Cloud smiled. "And I actually have plans with my roommates, too, on Christmas."

Leon smiled, "Okay, good." he said, pulling onto the highway.

"Uh, Leon." Cloud said, looking at him. "We're on the highway. We're leaving town."

"Very astute." he teased.

"Where are we going? Just the next town over or further away? Because I have work tomorrow, and so do you..." Cloud said.

"Don't worry." Leon chuckled.

"Can I at least get a hint?" Cloud asked.

"Nope."

"Why not? Just a little hint?" Cloud asked, lightly placing his hand on Leon's arm.

"Nope. You're welcome to guess, though, if you'd really like." Leon chuckled.

"But if I guess right, will you really admit it?" Cloud asked.

"Probably not." Leon shrugged.

"So you'll lie to me if I guess." Cloud said.

"I was planning on not saying yes or no, actually." Leon smiled.

Cloud sighed, staring out the window before glancing back at Leon. "Will you at least tell me how much longer until we get there?"

"Just a little under an hour." Leon chuckled.

The blonde frowned before nodding and leaning forward to turn on the radio.

XXXX

"A ski resort?" Cloud questioned, staring at the place as Leon parked.

"Yep." Leon nodded, shutting his car off.

"Wow. I gotta say I wasn't expecting this." Cloud grinned.

Leon chuckled, "Merry early Christmas." he smirked.

"Thank you." Cloud said, leaning over to kiss his boyfriend softly.

Leon smirked, "Come on. Let's go check in so we can get some food." he said.

"And then skiing. Will we have time for the hot tubs afterwards before we have to head home, do you think? I'm sure this place has them." Cloud contemplated as he climbed out of the car.

"Oh, we'll have plenty of time." Leon promised, getting out as well and popping the trunk open.

Cloud walked around to the trunk as well, frowning at the bags in there. "Leon... how long, exactly, are we staying here?"

Leon just chuckled, pulling the bags out and shutting the trunk.

"Leon." Cloud grabbed his arm, stopping him from heading for the resort.

Leon glanced at him, a smirk playing on his face, "Yes?"

"...This isn't just a day trip, is it?" Cloud asked.

Leon smiled at him, "No, it isn't."

"What about work?" The blonde frowned.

"And that is why I was thanking Cid." Leon chuckled.

"You seriously talked to my boss and got me off work so that we could take a mini vacation together right before Christmas?" Cloud asked, blown away.

"Pretty much." Leon nodded.

Cloud shook his head, smiling. "You are truly amazing, you know that?" He murmured, kissing Leon soundly before grabbing one of the bags from him. "I wonder how comfortable the beds are here..."

"I guess we'll have to find out." Leon chuckled, taking the other bag and Cloud's free hand.

"Yes, we will." Cloud smiled, walking with Leon into the resort and waiting patiently for him to check them in, getting their room keys. Together, they walked into the elevator, stepping out and finding their room. Cloud dropped his bag near the door, looking at the fancy room in wonder before grinning at the sight of the single queen-sized bed. Turning to face Leon, he took a step towards him.

"Funny, I don't really feel like skiing anymore. And I'm not exactly hungry, either..." He smirked.

Leon smirked back, "Well, you're welcome to persuade me to tell you what I told Zexion." he teased.

Cloud chuckled, "Oh, I think I will." Striding over to him, he kissed Leon, backing him into the closed door and pressing close.

XXXX

Cloud and Leon sexy time is so adorable, isn't it?

This is Jasmine. The ANs are getting all screwed up because Cami and I are so freaking busy it's ridiculous. Also, sorry I forgot to post on Saturday. Please don't hate me!

I was homeworking all weekend and forgot. :( Sorry!

But I'm posting now! You can thank Cami for reminding me when she was asking me questions about this universe last night mostly to test my awesome memory (which failed, resulting in us having to look up stuffs).

Cami: Leon. Backstory?

Me: Yup. In the scene on the couch with Cloud.

Cami: What chapter, when, what exactly?

Me: Ummm, before Halloween? Zack calls, I think, and then sexual innuendos happen...

Cami: *getting up and stealing my computer to look it up* Huh. You're right.

Me: I usually am.

There's an actual plot-related point to her line of questioning, but I can't tell you now as it'd spoil it later. Also, it's a wayyy in the future plot, so sorry you'll have to wait a bit!

Okay, back to homework before Cami kills me. See you (hopefully) this weekend! Reviews are lovely incentive! :D