Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story, they belong to Square Enix.

Thanks for the reviews from the last chapter SilentStarSong and Leon and Cloud's Kitty

And another special thank you to my editor SilentStarSong once know as AcerbusLuna

Sorry for the wait. I hope you enjoy! ;)

Break Me From This Bond/Stay With Me

Chapter 4: Remembrance

Leon's black wings had disappeared only moments before he had awaked. Cloud had so many questions racing through his mind but he decided to focus on the one that bothered him the most.

"So let me get this straight…" Cloud started, after Leon had recovered enough to sit at the kitchen table.

"You stole some guy's cloths, his car, and hogtied him. Then you planned on leaving him tied up in his underwear in the car, which probably would have (if it didn't already), cost him his job. And in the mean time you made up lies about me, making my life a living hell from the questions my remaining friends will ask me…and you say you're an angel? How?"

Leon sat at the table, one elbow rested on it and his head in his palm, looking up to Cloud bored…or more so exhausted. Then after a moment turned his head away towards the table, shrugging,

"Through no right of my own… I should be in Hell for what I've done…"

Cloud snorted in response, "No surprise there."

Leon continued you stare at the table, seeming to be lost in thought.

Cloud, feeling a little guilty over what he had said, moved to sit across from Leon and said with a sigh, "I'm sorry."

Leon looked up to him, appearing to be lost, "What?"

Cloud blinked, Did what I say not even faze him?
"I said I was sorry…for being rude."

"Oh…" Then he turned, looking off in a different direction.

Cloud fumed at the way Leon simply dismissed his apology.

What a Jerk!

"Cloud?"

Cloud looked back to Leon, surprised to be called by his name; he hadn't done so since the first moment they met, earlier that day.

"Uh…Oh, um, yeah?"

"I'm a bit hungry…"

"Oh, would you like me to ma –wait. Why should I make you anything!? You're already causing me a ton of trouble! Would you just, go away! You're annoying and I'll be fine on my own…" Cloud quieted toward the end, but why he did so is what he couldn't understand.

Did he really not believe he would be fine…?

Leon sighed and it brought Cloud back from his thoughts.

"Look…I'm not going anywhere, so you might as well give up on that…and try and starve me all you want…I'll just go out and get some food on my own…"

Leon's speech was weak and he had long drawn out pauses. He seemed to be very fatigued as he ran his hand slowly threw his hair, seeming to try and gather his thoughts.

"No… No, I'll just make you something…" Cloud said softly getting up from the table, moving over toward the cabinets.

Cloud didn't see it as Leon looked up to him, eyes widening in surprise.

Leon moved to get up, but as he did so, he had to grab hold of his pants quickly, as they fell from his hips, heading for the floor. Leon sighed out of annoyance as he gripped his pants tightly at the waistline.

"Cloud… I need some different clothes… These aren't going to work."

Cloud turned from the counter, where he had already set out some food to cook, and looked to Leon to see the odd stance he had put himself in to keep his pants from falling down. He was also noticing the way the rest of his attire hung unnaturally loose to him.

Cloud stifled a laugh and replied, "Yeah, those really wont."

Leon looked up and saw the amused look on Cloud's face and flushed slightly, embarrassed, and then turned away from him asking, "Well, do you have anything I could borrow?"

Cloud moved and leaned against the counter, placing a hand to his chin and thought for a moment before replying.

"Well… You could go see if any of my cloths will fit you." Cloud looked Leon up and down and added, "Might me a close call though… I think you might be bigger than me…"

"Well I think I'll try them out anyways. So…" Leon turned back to Cloud, "Where would these clothes be?"

Cloud moved from the counter and motioned Leon to follow him.

Cloud led Leon down the short hallway to the bedroom. A bedroom which had begun feeling like a very lonely place to Cloud since he started sleeping there alone… The worst part was seeing him everywhere… no… The worst part was waking up without him…

"Here…" Cloud said detachedly, pulling open the first drawer of his dresser.

"Try on what you like… I'll be in the kitchen…" Cloud said without looking up once. Then he simply moved from the dresser and left the room.

Leon didn't question it. He had a feeling of what was wrong with the melancholy blonde. So he simply moved to the dresser and looked through the clothes.

Leon raised an eyebrow a bit take aback at witch drawer the blonde had left open for him to look through first. The first drawer was full of nothing but sox and boxers.

He must really be out of it…

Leon thought absently as he pulled a pair of boxers out to test the waistband expandability. Shrugging, he tossed the boxers to the nearby bed and shut the drawer, moving on to the next.

Shirts, mostly all Ts, some sweaters, zip-up sweaters vests, tanks…

Leon lifted out a tank top and placed it against himself. It was a little smaller than he thought would be his fit. Unsure, he set the shirt on top of the dresser, and shut the drawer opening the final one, which was filled with pants.

Wow…someone's organized…

Leon pulled out a pair and placed them against himself.

No good…

The length was perfect, but the waist… It was too small.

This won't work…

Leon tossed the pants back into the open drawer carelessly, as he scanned the room for anything that might catch his eye that would hold more clothes to go through.

He noticed a closet with a sliding door. Leon moved to investigate.

He opened the door to inspect what it held inside. Nothing much was hung on the railing of the closet, besides a few coats. The majority of the closet was bear and empty and this filled Leon with the worry that he would be stuck in the fat man's clothing for much longer than he would like. That is, until he noticed a box in the far corner of the closet, in front of a black acoustic guitar. Leon moved to his knees to retrieve to box and pull it into the light. The box was decently large being about roughly 3ft tall and wide, and 5 ft long. It was tapped shut and the only indication of what the box held was a name written in black sharpie: Zack.

Leon was curious of who this 'Zack' was, but brushed his curiosity aside as he lifted the box and carried it over to the bed.

Setting down the box, Leon easily ripped away the duck tape, that had securely held the box shut only a moment ago. Opening the box, Leon found what appeared to be male clothing. He pulled out a black T-shirt and found it to be at least a size bigger than Cloud's, with his estimation, for he cared too little at the moment to look at the clothing tags. Tossing the shirt to the bed, Leon moved back to the box and pulled out the rest of the shirts. He found what he was hoping for: pants. He pulled out a pair and held them against him. Relief flooded through Squall,

Perfect…

The waistline looked as though they would fit him perfectly, if not, only be slightly larger than he needed but he had also found a belt in the box so he wasn't concerned, and besides the length being a little longer than he needed, the pants looked as though they would be a good fit.

Leon quickly changed into his new outfit; enjoying that fact that he would soon be out of the fat man's clothing, and into some nice fitting ones. Which, from the looks of it, haven't been worn in some time and would most likely be clean, or at least cleaner than his previous attire.

After he finished changing, he moved to see himself in the full length mirror on the back of the door he had entered through, which he had previously neglected to close before changing.

The outfit he had on was a pain black T-shirt with the words ShinRa Electric Power Company written across the front in white, his pants where simple deep royal blue cargo pants, the belt was black and studded, he had also put on a pair of Cloud's sox, for his feet were a bit cold. Overall the outfit wasn't bad, and Leon was pleased… or at least content, but either way he was too tired to care anymore how he looked. He might have just dropped to the very bed in this room and sleep the rest of the day away... If it wasn't for the fact that he was so famished that he wasn't sure if it would be safe to do so. This body hasn't had food in Shiva knows how long, and he wasn't going to chance harming his body. He needed it to help Cloud and to save himself. He had a second chance, thanks to her, and he wasn't going to mess up again, no matter what…

-oOo-

Cloud nonchalantly placed the alfredo he had made for Leon and himself into two separate dishes on the counter. He had no thoughts accompanying him while doing so; no feelings, nothing… nothing but this numb feeling, forever filling him.

Thoughts of Zack made him like this.

"Hey Love, what are you doing?"

"Oh Cloud, don't give me that face!"

"You know…I'll always love you…"

A single tear slipped from the barrier of his eyelids, making a thin trail of water down his face. Cloud felt nothing…

The sound of a chair being pulled back from the table drew Cloud back from his thoughts. Quickly, he wiped the thin trail of water away, and he turned to find Leon moving to take his seat at the table… But something caught Cloud's eye that prevented Leon from doing so.

Cloud's eye's widened from shock as he spoke barely above a whisper, "Where…"

Leon looked to Cloud questionly as he rested his hand on then back of the chair he had been moving.

"That shirt… those pants!" Cloud's eyes flashed to Leon's in a deep glare that spoke volumes in a range of emotions: anger, hatred, pain, sorrow, and confusion.

Leon raised an eyebrow and replied, "In the box I found in your closet."

"Why didn't you…?"

"Your clothes were too small." Leon replied simply, "So I looked to see if you might have had anything else in your closet. I found a box, looked inside, found clothes, tried them on, and, besides the length, they fit. So I wore them."

Leon noticed the way Cloud continued to stare at him as if he were purposely leaving something out…which he was so he sighed and added, "And I did notice the name written on the box…" Leon looked to meet Cloud's eyes, "Zack…he was your friend, was he not?"

Cloud flinched, "…Friend… my friend? …He was my Life, Leon! He was my everything…everything I wasn't, everything I am…everything I ever wished to be, ever could wish for –everything!"

Cloud's eyes flashed to Leon's in a heated glare. The little green in his eyes seeming to spread to the blue.

"You had to have known! Or at least realized… I left that box in the furthered point in that closet. As far away from me a possible, as far away from the world! Why…? Why did you touch it? Open it? Put on his cloths!?"

Cloud moved straight to Leon, closing the distance between them in a few short strides. When he reached Leon he gripped the front of the shirt he was wearing and began to tug it upward angrily as he stared into Leon's eyes furiously.

"Take it off!" Cloud yelled at him

"Cloud I-"

"Now!" Another sharp tug.

"Cloud!" Leon took Cloud's wrists into his hands and held him back enough too look at him and meet his eyes, but Cloud was looking away. Leon moved both of Cloud's wrists into one hand and used his free hand to grip Cloud's chin and get him to face him.

"Look…I realize it must be difficult to lose your friend and then your lover as well-"

"What the hell do you mean by then?"

Leon blinked at Cloud, a little lost, "Today, the girl who was put into the ground..."

Cloud tried to turn away but Leon's grip was too firm, so he only responded, "She wasn't my lover…"

Leon looked confused, "She wasn't?"

"No, she was my best friend…" Cloud said with downcast eyes.

"Then…this Zack…"

"He…was my best friend…and he was also…my lover…not Aerith…" Cloud kept his eyes down.

Leon sat there for a moment dumbfounded by the response.

He was my lover…not Aerith…

Leon's eyes widened with reconciliation:

This Zack was his lover.

Aerith was his friend.

He had lost his friend today; his lover was already long gone.

Zack lived here with him because they were lovers. That's why his clothes were here. Cloud boxed them up but never got ride of them.

He was wearing his dead lovers clothing…

"…I see…" was all Leon could think to reply at the moment. "I-"

"I don't want your sympathy, Leon; I have more than enough of that to last me a lifetime...and maybe then some… All I want is for you to please...please take off the clothes and put them back where you found them…I don't want to talk about this anymore…"

"I would like to do that…but I can't, I'm sorry."

Cloud looked back to him astonished, "And why the hell not?!" he demanded angrily.

Leon sighed, "Because I have nothing else to wear -that actually, decently, fits me."

Cloud's face became angry again as he roughly grabbed Leon by the arm and turned replying, "Well, we're just going to have to fix that now, aren't we?"

Leon blinked as Cloud started to pull him towards the door.

"Where are you taking me?" Leon found himself asking more so than demanding.

"To get you some clothes, so I can get you out of those as soon as possible."

Leon knew what the blonde had meant but it didn't prevent him from blushing slightly from how the words had sounded initially.

Coming to his senses though, he stopped and pulled away from Cloud. Cloud turned, looking irritated, "What now?" Cloud asked with annoyance.

"Can we at least eat first? You've already finished making the food, I 'm starving, and who knows when the last time you've eaten was."

Cloud glowered at Leon, "Are you trying to say something?"

"Look, all I want is to eat. Personally I'd rather not go running around town today shopping, because I'm exhausted and would rather sleep, but if you insist on towing me around for clothes first…whatever…but right now, I'm eating…" Leon turned from Cloud and moved to the counter where the two dishes of alfredo were set and took one. Making his way to the table with his dish he sat and ate quietly without looking up to Cloud once.

Cloud watched Leon dumbfounded, he couldn't believe how little the brunette cared what Cloud wanted -demanded of him. Considering the fact the brunette was supposed to be helping him feel better, which he wasn't. Plus, he was living under the blonde's roof and acting as though it didn't matter. That, as though, allowing the brunette into the house wouldn't cause the blonde any disturbances, any trouble at all -but it was just the opposite. That's all the brunette was: trouble and that was all he caused: a disturbance.

Nonetheless, there he sat. At the blonde's kitchen table, eating, acting as though this was his house, and this was where he belonged…

But the part that was actually disturbing Cloud was the fact that Leon actually did look as though he belonged here. He fit so perfectly into the apartment. He moved within it as though he had always done so. He looked as though he was meant to live here, and, even worse, it seemed they were meant to be together. Cloud couldn't see Leon living anywhere else in his mind, but at the same time, he could see the brunette living here alone, without him.

He didn't like it, not one bit. This man disturbed him immensely, and he wanted him gone but-

"Cloud, are you going to eat? Or just stand there and continue making faces at me all day?"

Cloud blinked for a moment and then blushed, Was I making faces at him?

Thoroughly embarrassed, Cloud moved from his spot to the counter to grab his bowl, and he made him way to the table, sitting across from Leon. Keeping his eyes down, he finished his earlier thought:

It didn't matter how much he hated this man, or how much he wanted him gone, because Leon wasn't going to go away. No matter what he did, no matter who he called, he didn't believe the man would disappeared, and for that, he hated the man even more.

How was it? Did you enjoy?

Next Chapter: Cloud doesn't care how tired Leon is, he's going to get him out of those clothes as soon as possible... After eating the tired and extremely exhausted Leon is taken shopping! ...Not a big thrill for him... And later Cloud breaks down after drinking more than necessary to drown out his pain and memories...

Thank you all for reading! Please review and tell me what you thought about this chapter and the story so far, I appreciate it :)