This Quiet Serves Only to Conceal | Traverse Town . Second District . Hotel [ Complete ]

[grumpy_lion]

It still felt a little unreal, even after so many years. In his mind, Sephiroth was still the General, after all, and to have stood here exchanging words with him... Well, it had been interesting. The awe had worn off long ago, obviously, but it would still take some getting used to

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[ehrgeiz_king]

His walk from the car was unnecessarily, though it helped that he didn't quite know where the hell he was (not that he would ever admit that). He dragged his feet along the cold stone, feeling oddly tired. It seemed like he had just woken up only hours ago, and yet here he was, wandering the after-hours with a bottle of bourbon in hand. He couldn't quite place how he knew it was even night at all, what with Traverse Town's eternal darkness, but he supposed it didn't matter.

As soon as he entered an area that wasn't shielded from the elements it became pretty obvious that it was snowing. Fucking hell. That was just ten levels of lame. He really hated the cold, and the fact that he constantly worse a t-shirt and shorts didn't exactly help his predicament. His pace was immediately quickened, and he ducked back into the narrow ally passageway in an attempt to evade the snow, if only partially

[grumpy_lion]

He hadn't meant to doze off, but it just went to show what five shots of whiskey could do to a man. Even Leon, who was quite seasoned when it came to the art of liquor comsumption, was susceptible, and that, combined with an annoyingly eventful day, was enough to make him prone to sleep.

It seemed his day was about to get even more eventful.

He jerked awake the very moment contact was made, but whatever had settled its weight on him was off before he could properly put up a struggle. In the pitch darkness, the rude awakening caused his adrenaline surge. Was it a Heartless? Only a Heartless could be that fast, right? And if so, how did the bloody fucker get in here

[ehrgeiz_king]

The stance was immediately dropped in favor of shield, his eyes. Getting so used to dimly lit places, it really burned. Then he remembered that the action would leave him wide open for an attack, so the arm was quickly torn aside.

He blinked a few good times, vision not quite focused. He could make out a blurred outline of what appeared to be a man, but then again, there were some strange Heartless out there, so his guard was kept. It wasn't until the gray dissolved completely that he let his arms hang at his sides.

The man sitting on the bed had long chocolate hair, and he wore leather and lots of belts, but not much else could be made out because his face was in his hands. He look really familiar though, and Zell couldn't get rid of the nagging sensation that he knew the man.

Something clicked in his mind.

He threw his hands up and his head back in surprise. "Squall? Is that you, man?"

[grumpy_lion]

Of course. He should have known it would've been asking for too much.

Squall. Hyne, but hearing that name made him wince. He dropped his hands away from his face, though he kept his head lowered for the moment. Even with its feathered ends, his hair was much longer than it had been when he was a SeeD. It concealed his face easily, and he used that temporary concealment to smooth his features back into that stoic mask.

He could have just walked out of there, but that only meant putting it off. As far as Leon knew, they were going to be "housemates" of sorts for an indefinite amount of time. There would be a confrontation sooner or later, so why not get it over with now?

"I don't go by that name anymore," he finally answered, rising to his feet. He took a few steps away from the bed, reaching up to comb gloved fingers through his hair, which was still a little damp from the snow. There was another pause, shorter this time, before he turned to face the blond, his former SeeD comrade. "Zell."

[ehrgeiz_king]

It was really a little amazing that Zell had managed to recognize. After all, it had been what, thirteen years? They had both matured a lot; the years were easy to see. But the moment he saw the impassive gaze, there was no doubt about it in his. That was Squall.

His expression quickly corrected itself to that trademark Zell grin. "Oh man, I haven't seen you in forever!" It took a moment for the brunette's comment to sink in, upon which his expression faltered. "Huh? Why not

[grumpy_lion]

Thirteen years weren't forever, but it was a long time. Without meaning to, Leon found himself watching the blond fighter intently. If not n manner, he'd definitely changed physically. Zell had always been shorter than most guys, he still was, but Leon had the impression that he'd grown into himself, somehow. He traced the intricate mark that adorned his left cheek with his. Thirteen years ago, Leon had thought that tattoo somehow clashed with Zell's features. He'd been so boyish then. Those features had lost some of that boyishness since. It was far more fitting.

Or it would have been if it wasn't for that idiotic grin of his.

Leon blinked at the blond's exclamation. How could he forget? He'd practically grown up with Zell, even if he'd never really spoken to the guy until they were assigned their first mission together. Squall had always made a point of avoiding people, just as Leon did now. Even if he hadn't thought much of him during their childhood, his memories of those last few months in Hollow Bastion were the most vivid.

[ehrgeiz_king]

Somehow, the time that had passed was almost a little scary. Here they both were, in completely different places in life. It wasn't like on Hollow Bastion. He was certain that they'd both had their share of new places, new people, new experiences in general. They weren't boys anymore. Thirteen years could do a lot to a person. He knew that first hand. If it was for the better of for the worst was yet to be seen

[grumpy_lion]

What have I been doing?

Leon glanced over at Zell, lips thinning slightly. It appeared Zell was in the mood to catch up, something Leon wasn't sure he found too appealing at the moment. He'd done nothing in the past four years that he was particularly proud off, and avoiding this war was on the top of his list. He let his arms drop back to his sides as he went to the nearest wall. The bed was off-limits for the time being as far as he knew, since it was he who'd let himself into Zell's room in the first place. Leaning against the wall, he considered the blond's question.

He figured he'd go for the honest truth. "I've been staying here in Traverse," he replied, shrugging.

By sheer chance, his gaze wandered toward the doorway, and itw as there that he spotted the bottle of bourbon. It looked pretty new and celarly unopened. He arched a brow slightly at that. "Where'd you get that?" he asked. It hadn't been there when he first came in, that was for sure. Did Zell drink now?

Hell, that was a terrifying thought.