Journeys is a series of 100-word drabbles (or mini-moments, if you will), completely random and unrelated except for every tenth one (the last of each chapter). A couple of these contain mature themes, mentions of sex, violence, etc., but nothing explicit.
Disclaimer: dood, fanfiction. Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, and the characters and universes therein are the property of Disney and Square Enix. I receive no remuneration for this work; it is a parody and as such utilizes the Fair Use clause of the Copyright Act.
Part 2
Weeks
It took six weeks for Leon to heal after an unfortunate incident involving his arm, a wall, and the turning radius of a twelve-foot steel I-beam. And Yuffie. One way or another, misfortunes that befell Leon always seemed to involve his stealthy little ninja shadow. He couldn't get rid of her afterwards, either, because she continued to stalk him, full of apologies and well-meaning offers to help with projects he couldn't manage on his own. His only solace came when Cloud happened by and bodily removed the girl from his presence, requiring her "help" with one complicated task or another.
Grow
Cloud found Leon crouched over a small sapling that he was trying to plant, one of a handful that Aerith had previously been tending to and had asked him to find homes for once they grew big enough. He observed quietly for a moment, then asked with all honesty if Leon really thought they would survive the harsh landscape. With a shrug, the brunet finished patting down the crumbling blue soil around the delicate, knotted roots, then murmured a carefully focused Water spell, turning the soil into softer clay and mud. There was really only one way to find out.
Lovers
Even in the darkness he could see the tension in Cloud's shoulders, feel the muscles working beneath the smooth planes of his back, feel the steel and heat of Cloud moving inside him, feel the warm breaths in his ear, and he couldn't help but be in awe. Everything about the man was beautiful, and not just physically—it was the passion in those intense blue eyes, the quiet way he moved, the effortless way he fought, the soft way he spoke, what he did and didn't say... Absolutely everything about him, inside and out, was completely captivating to Leon.
Evade
Leon didn't realize at first that Tifa's constant search for Cloud was only fruitless because the blond knew about it and evaded her on purpose. He didn't understand why, exactly, Cloud was avoiding her, but wasn't really sure it was his place to ask. He had to hand it to the woman, though—she was determined. Not only did she examine Ansem's study quite thoroughly according to Sora, she'd also taken to peering under rugs and behind bookshelves and inside the teapot on the table in the center of Headquarters, making for a bewildered Cid and a much befuddled Merlin.
Whatever
He's up first, dressed and out the door before his new lover has begun to stir. Even as the chilly morning air hits him, he feels inexplicably warm inside, and it stays with him throughout the day.
When he finds Cloud waiting in the bailey at dusk, he can't just cast a sidelong glance as he passes by—not this time. Right out in the open, with only fading light and crumbling stone to hide them from view, he pins the blond against the wall and kisses him deeply.
"Hmm," Cloud murmurs slowly, wryly against his lips. "Miss me?"
"...Whatever."
Sickness
He'd never really outgrown his motion sickness, much to his chagrin. It was no small comfort, having someone there to soothe him when he was feeling like he'd rather be stabbed repeatedly (again) by his arch-nemesis or be given to Cerberus as a play toy or any number of unpleasant things that would have been such an improvement on the way he was feeling right now. He didn't know what made Leon put up with him, especially through all this, but the brunet took it all in stride, supporting him and rubbing softly at his back until the nausea subsided.
Anger
The next moment, Leon has him pinned up against the wall, lightning flashing in his eyes, and he forces Cloud's head back with a hand on his cheek and thumb under his chin, exposing his throat in a dominating gesture. Cloud glares right back with his lip curled in a snarl, and he grips Leon's throat in retaliation, high under his jaw—not enough to choke, but still a very clear warning. It's been like this a lot recently, and it's hurting them both, this struggle, this tension—but neither will back down. Neither can. They just don't know how.
Dirt
There was dirt on the knees of his pants, dirt on his hands, dirt all over his bare chest and in hand-shaped smears on his neck from his lover's rough, eager touch, dirt on his lover's cheek from where Leon had rested it against his sweaty back after they'd both climaxed, quick and violent and so deliciously perfect—there was dirt everywhere, in his boots and his hair and he couldn't even make himself give a damn.
There was something to be said, Cloud decided, for instigating hand-to-hand combat in isolated places on hot summer days. Something very, very good.
Book
Leon was stunned when Sora brought him the book. He didn't know how it had even made it to this world, but there it was in his hands, exactly the same as he remembered. It even had the same faded spots and the same crinkly back corner from when he'd dropped it into a puddle as a kid. He stared at the cover, completely stuck for something to say, but Sora saved him from having to try by grinning and patting him on the arm and telling him to take good care of it—he had friends in there, too.
Circle
"I'll bet it's for Tifa, huh? She likes you, you know," Cloud said secretively.
"No," Squall murmured, shaking his head and scraping his knife carefully along the inside of the small, circular object he'd been whittling down over the past week.
"Aw, c'mon, you can tell me." Cloud leaned in close enough to elbow him in the side, and crinkled his nose and huffed when the only response the older boy gave was to flush a little and continue his work. "Aerith, then? I think she...you know...likes you likes you."
Squall sighed softly. "No, Cloud. Not Aerith, either."