And You Love It
In battle, Cloud moves like the wind. Forward, forward, forward, no looking back, no stopping. And just like the wind, he’s nearly impossible to evade. No offense can prepare you for fighting that, and only a rock-solid defense will do you any good. Leon never fights him, just watches. He’s afraid he’ll lose.
He’s seen Yuffie go against the blond-haired hero, and her projectiles don’t even get close before Cloud swats them away with his buster. And his reaction time… even with her ninja-speed can’t get past him.
Like the wind. You don’t stand a chance.
That’s what a SOLDIER is, Leon figures. He sometimes wishes he could have seen Zack or Sephiroth fight. The way Cloud talks about them… it must have been incredible. He himself can barely imagine possessing such power as Cloud, let alone those two.
Leon’s a good fighter, but he’s not on the same kind of level as Cloud. The ex-SOLDIER only loses or takes a hit when he’s distracted, which has become increasingly often as of late. His movements are still slowed by the gash across his right shoulder, courtesy of one hyperactive ninja-princess.
Shoving his buster into the dirt, Leon watches as Cloud wipes the sweat off his forehead with one lean, muscular arm. The teen feels somewhat ashamed that he’s been watching so long.
When Cloud does his SOLDIER training exercises, he likes to think he’s alone. And he had always been alone during them, until Leon decided to start watching. He was amazed by the grace with which the older man performed flips kicks and spins. He was extremely graceful, even without his sword.
The routine always started the same way: Cloud would kick his sword into the dirt, then do two backflips, balancing himself on his hands after the second one. Using the momentum left over, he would spread his legs wide open into a sort of upside-down split, then push off with one hand so he spun several times on the heel of the other.
He would keep spinning even as he fell, landing on one hand and one foot, his boot kicking up a trail of dust as he skidded through the dirt. Then up, into a roll which turned into a swipe at some invisible enemy with an outstretched leg, then he would flow into a standing position and lean back into a hand-to-hand battle ready stance.
What would follow was a routine of well-timed punches and kicks, blows aimed to the head, legs and body of an opponent. After this, he would flip backwards, somehow landing perfectly next to his sword, and pull the weapon out of the earth. He would flow back into his battle ready stance, modified to accommodate the sword, then lunge forward and slash with amazing precision.
One more round-spin with the buster, and it would be pushed back down into the dirt, at the same time acting as a sort of springboard to push the hero into the air high enough to flip once or twice, before landing perfectly, feet shoulder-width apart.
Leon loved to watch the way his muscles flexed and shifted under the skin, and the concentration burning in green-blue eyes as he practiced for what must have been the thousandth time a routine that he knew by heart. He was never sloppy with it.
Of course, it didn’t cross the gunblade-weilder’s mind that maybe the ex-SOLDIER was observant enough to notice his poorly-concealed presence. Didn’t occur to him, that is, until Cloud decided to take action.
“Hey, Leon.” The brunet almost died of shock. He had been pretty much lost in thought when Cloud approached him from the side, and was not ready for it.
“C-c-Cloud!” He stuttered out. “Um, hi?” He said sheepishly, with the face of a child caught in the act. Cloud simply smiled gently down at him.
“So, what are you doing here?” He asked innocently, apparently not noticing the beat Leon’s heart skipped.
“Oh, ah… just thinking.” He said hastily as he gathered himself up. “Anyway, I have to go now. Bye!” He ran off hastily, leaving the hero to wonder just what was wrong with that boy.
It happened again at dinner. The fluttering feeling in Leon’s stomach when Cloud so much as turned his way that made him want to run away and throw up out of sheer nervousness. Leon didn’t do nervousness. For all he hated to admit it, he had SeeD training. SeeD members didn’t get nervous!
Leon could see that Cloud was beginning to wonder what was wrong with him. Every time he asked the younger a question, he ran for it, usually not reappearing for some hours. He was always there, “hiding” when Cloud trained, and when the blond so much as looked his way, he turned or found a sudden new interest for his shoes.
In fact, Leon was so busy hiding from Cloud that he didn’t notice when the other started noticing him. Cloud’s gaze lingered on the teen’s frame when they were together, and he made a point of training a bit closer to Leon’s hiding spot every day.
One day, his training came so close that it developed another meaning. Training of the mind, a battle of tongues and teeth instead of swords and fists. It was…different.
It was right.
“You suck at hiding, Leon.” The teen blushed as Cloud’s wet tongue darted out to trace the shell of his ear.
“You’re too brash.” He said simply, fearing that the tremor in his voice would give away just how excited he really was.
“And you love it.”
He’s seen Yuffie go against the blond-haired hero, and her projectiles don’t even get close before Cloud swats them away with his buster. And his reaction time… even with her ninja-speed can’t get past him.
Like the wind. You don’t stand a chance.
That’s what a SOLDIER is, Leon figures. He sometimes wishes he could have seen Zack or Sephiroth fight. The way Cloud talks about them… it must have been incredible. He himself can barely imagine possessing such power as Cloud, let alone those two.
Leon’s a good fighter, but he’s not on the same kind of level as Cloud. The ex-SOLDIER only loses or takes a hit when he’s distracted, which has become increasingly often as of late. His movements are still slowed by the gash across his right shoulder, courtesy of one hyperactive ninja-princess.
Shoving his buster into the dirt, Leon watches as Cloud wipes the sweat off his forehead with one lean, muscular arm. The teen feels somewhat ashamed that he’s been watching so long.
When Cloud does his SOLDIER training exercises, he likes to think he’s alone. And he had always been alone during them, until Leon decided to start watching. He was amazed by the grace with which the older man performed flips kicks and spins. He was extremely graceful, even without his sword.
The routine always started the same way: Cloud would kick his sword into the dirt, then do two backflips, balancing himself on his hands after the second one. Using the momentum left over, he would spread his legs wide open into a sort of upside-down split, then push off with one hand so he spun several times on the heel of the other.
He would keep spinning even as he fell, landing on one hand and one foot, his boot kicking up a trail of dust as he skidded through the dirt. Then up, into a roll which turned into a swipe at some invisible enemy with an outstretched leg, then he would flow into a standing position and lean back into a hand-to-hand battle ready stance.
What would follow was a routine of well-timed punches and kicks, blows aimed to the head, legs and body of an opponent. After this, he would flip backwards, somehow landing perfectly next to his sword, and pull the weapon out of the earth. He would flow back into his battle ready stance, modified to accommodate the sword, then lunge forward and slash with amazing precision.
One more round-spin with the buster, and it would be pushed back down into the dirt, at the same time acting as a sort of springboard to push the hero into the air high enough to flip once or twice, before landing perfectly, feet shoulder-width apart.
Leon loved to watch the way his muscles flexed and shifted under the skin, and the concentration burning in green-blue eyes as he practiced for what must have been the thousandth time a routine that he knew by heart. He was never sloppy with it.
Of course, it didn’t cross the gunblade-weilder’s mind that maybe the ex-SOLDIER was observant enough to notice his poorly-concealed presence. Didn’t occur to him, that is, until Cloud decided to take action.
“Hey, Leon.” The brunet almost died of shock. He had been pretty much lost in thought when Cloud approached him from the side, and was not ready for it.
“C-c-Cloud!” He stuttered out. “Um, hi?” He said sheepishly, with the face of a child caught in the act. Cloud simply smiled gently down at him.
“So, what are you doing here?” He asked innocently, apparently not noticing the beat Leon’s heart skipped.
“Oh, ah… just thinking.” He said hastily as he gathered himself up. “Anyway, I have to go now. Bye!” He ran off hastily, leaving the hero to wonder just what was wrong with that boy.
It happened again at dinner. The fluttering feeling in Leon’s stomach when Cloud so much as turned his way that made him want to run away and throw up out of sheer nervousness. Leon didn’t do nervousness. For all he hated to admit it, he had SeeD training. SeeD members didn’t get nervous!
Leon could see that Cloud was beginning to wonder what was wrong with him. Every time he asked the younger a question, he ran for it, usually not reappearing for some hours. He was always there, “hiding” when Cloud trained, and when the blond so much as looked his way, he turned or found a sudden new interest for his shoes.
In fact, Leon was so busy hiding from Cloud that he didn’t notice when the other started noticing him. Cloud’s gaze lingered on the teen’s frame when they were together, and he made a point of training a bit closer to Leon’s hiding spot every day.
One day, his training came so close that it developed another meaning. Training of the mind, a battle of tongues and teeth instead of swords and fists. It was…different.
It was right.
“You suck at hiding, Leon.” The teen blushed as Cloud’s wet tongue darted out to trace the shell of his ear.
“You’re too brash.” He said simply, fearing that the tremor in his voice would give away just how excited he really was.
“And you love it.”