KH2 Fic: Partners
While Something Series V refuses to get written, this would-be other arc grew on me. I have plans for it - obviously, as this piece is left quite open - but I'm trying to work with it very loosely. I had too much expectations toward Something Series and I guess that's what's been throwing me off in the end.
So, welcome to Cops and Heart-Robbers, a police-show style AU.
Partners
Cloud/Leon, Aerith, Cid, others infered.
Kingdom Hearts II Alternate Universe: Cops and Heart-Robbers
Rated R for mentioned sex, some gore, and illicit drug abuse references.
Written for the otp_100 challenge, under theme #08 - Cops
~1370 words.
Homicides requires some getting used to, but they're past this stage already.
------
"What made you join the force?" Leon's voice mingles seamlessly with the smoke wafting from Cloud's cigarette. His hand - still a little sticky, but whatever - reaches for the whiskey on the bedside table. Good thing that he drinks cowboy style, or the booze would have watered down by the time they finished. Cloud is one hell of a partner in all activities they share.
"I had some unfinished business to deal with," Cloud takes a long drag, staring at him from the corner of faintly glowing, ex-mako junkie eyes. A dare hangs from each golden eyelash, but Leon just grunts validity to that answer and drinks a bit more. The department employs him, so he must be clean enough. Leon knows some things aren't meant for himself to know - it doesn't matter, and he doesn't care. Cloud does his job as he's supposed to. "And you?"
That's when Leon remembers why he doesn't do pillow talk - he damn well sucks at picking topics for conversation. He grins wryly into his glass, and wonders whether Cloud would be offended if he'd just turned aside and slept. By all the interest Cloud shows to anything in the bedroom besides his slowly burning cigarette, Leon doubts it. He still talks every single time, though. "I have a thing for guns."
The chuckles are two amused and pleasant sounds, which die alongside conversation as Cloud stretches over his partner to grab the ashtray. His body is hot in every possible meaning of the word, all lean muscle just a twitch away from Leon's skin - the brunet considers going for a second round, but it's been a long day. The fucker they're after is a smart one, he'll give him that.
The cell phone rings when Leon touches the glass to his lips for a final swig, shattering the hazy peace they'd built for the night almost as effectively as a police siren - which, no doubt, will be the sound they'll be hearing all too soon. His eyes meet Cloud's, and the blond just rolls his eyes before leaving the bed and rescuing Leon's mobile from long discarded pants. "Detective Strife speaking."
Leon takes that last drink, just enjoying the view as Cloud pads slowly in front of the bed. He might as well have fun while he can, since it'll last just as long as the duration of the call. "Yeah, Strife... I crashed over his place. Yeah. ...Huh? ...look Gainsborough, what did you call for anyway?" Then faint annoyance becomes something else as his stance hardens, shoulders righted and eyes reduced to slits, and he nods to no-one in particular as though taking orders. "Right. We'll be there in fifteen minutes."
"This had better be big," Leon growls, on his feet and digging for clean slacks. His own, if possible. There's so much of Cloud's stuff in his flat already that he may show up at the station wearing a turtleneck one of these days.
Only the whisper of holster straps being fitted - over one of Leon's plain white t-shirts, at that - can be listened for a second, then Cloud grunts. "It's big, alright. Aerith says our newest victim was over seven feet tall, and he had the muscles to fill it up."
"Fuck," and Leon likes how the curse sounds thicker, richer from the alcohol weighting on it. His breath surely reeks of whiskey from miles away, but Cid won't bother him about it, not with so much else to mind. The sergeant knows he's been working overtime on this case for weeks, too.
Leon makes it for the keys and Cloud bats his fingers away. Naturally. "You're good enough to work, but you're riding bitch."
An eye-roll and a muttered "Whatever," is everything that Cloud earns himself for that. He's not fighting lost battles over things that aren't helping them to solve this mess any sooner. The door closes behind them while Leon triple-checks weapons, ammo, memos and badges, teeth pressed tight. This should be their night out, case or no fucking case. As nice as it is to have Cloud for a partner, he wants this psycho arrested for life already.
This killer owes him way too many nights. Leon sighs as he climbs behind Cloud on the other's chopper, resting his forehead on a firm shoulder. He smells of tobacco and sex beneath the clean clothes - it makes Leon drowsy, too comfortable in his partner's presence, but he stays wide awake all the way down to Radiant Garden Police Station.
He's closing this case, whatever it takes.
*
It took Leon awhile to get used to Cloud. His previous partner had been sweet, funny, optimistic without a fault, and something of a talented rookie. She'd also been shagging Almasy - some jerk from Narcotics with a big attitude issue - therefore no sex had ever happened despite the loads of tension mounted between them.
"Fuck," Cloud says quietly, taking a pair of rubber gloves from the box offered by a hard-eyed Aerith - he steps up to the industrial-sized trashcan, perfectly collected as he inspects the body abandoned among rotting leftovers of a Dragonite restaurant. Rinoa would have been about to throw up or weep. She'd say it was out of fury, but Leon suspects even now that she just couldn't take it. He's glad she's just dealing with paperwork, now.
Cloud is always up to the job. "A roman-numbered tattoo right beside the gaping whole of his heart. Cut off while he was alive, drugged, signs of struggle. Fits the pattern alright," he states, and Leon steps up to take a closer look. The guy truly is huge - as are his eyes, brown irises shining mako-fluorescent on a shock-stricken face. This 'V' could only be taken down while high, that's for damn sure, judging from his frame. Either that, or this robber of hearts is just about the size of a yeti. However...
"All of our victims were mako regulars. They wouldn't shine like this just from one dose," Leon says while signing without seeing the papers to allow the removal of the corpse. 'XII' had eyes that shone like green traffic lights. She'd been a pretty girl; the only female victim so far. "Either our killer is targeting junkies for easier kills, or we're seeing a whole gang being erased."
"Probably the latter - the tattoos are all old - though we can't rule out another connection until the background checking is properly done," Cloud sighs, lifting the victim's hand and inspecting it closely. "Another one with erased fingerprints."
A scoff erupts from Leon, and there's an exhausted sense of comfort when Cloud just nods quietly at that. All of these conclusions are no news whatsoever, and no clues seem about to come up - no possible witnesses, no evidence, no information about none of the three victims until now; he doubts the fourth will be any different. They're nobodies, for everything that the police can gather about them.
"We'll have to raid mako-holes more closely," Leon sighs, and no hesitation, fear or reserve shows through Cloud's stance at that prospect. Of course. "Wanna hit some bars?"
"We're not in proper disguises," the rubber gloves snap noisily away from his skin; Cloud ditches them in the open police wagon, then rubs his eyes. They both know that, tonight, Leon would end up hitting the drinks and Cloud would be no much farther behind. Being counterproductive now won't do. "Let's go tomorrow."
They nod to each other, and make it to leave the crime scene. Cid just slaps Cloud in one shoulder on the way out of the back alley.
"Call us when it turns up we know nothing about the guy. Missing Persons can hate us all they want," Leon shouts over to Aerith. The forensics technician smiles wryly and bids them goodbye and goodnight - but it becomes a cross between smirk and grin when Leon climbs the motorbike behind Cloud again, arms wrapped tight around his waist.
Whatever. He just wants his partner beside him; there's nothing to it. No tension or expectation; that's just how they grew to work together.
He's so very used to Cloud, now.
-------
I REALLY NEED A BETA-READER WHO'D BE WILLING TO WORK WITH ME THROUGH E-MAIL. PLEASE, GUYS?
X-Posted to otp_100 and leonxcloud.
So, welcome to Cops and Heart-Robbers, a police-show style AU.
Partners
Cloud/Leon, Aerith, Cid, others infered.
Kingdom Hearts II Alternate Universe: Cops and Heart-Robbers
Rated R for mentioned sex, some gore, and illicit drug abuse references.
Written for the otp_100 challenge, under theme #08 - Cops
~1370 words.
Homicides requires some getting used to, but they're past this stage already.
------
"What made you join the force?" Leon's voice mingles seamlessly with the smoke wafting from Cloud's cigarette. His hand - still a little sticky, but whatever - reaches for the whiskey on the bedside table. Good thing that he drinks cowboy style, or the booze would have watered down by the time they finished. Cloud is one hell of a partner in all activities they share.
"I had some unfinished business to deal with," Cloud takes a long drag, staring at him from the corner of faintly glowing, ex-mako junkie eyes. A dare hangs from each golden eyelash, but Leon just grunts validity to that answer and drinks a bit more. The department employs him, so he must be clean enough. Leon knows some things aren't meant for himself to know - it doesn't matter, and he doesn't care. Cloud does his job as he's supposed to. "And you?"
That's when Leon remembers why he doesn't do pillow talk - he damn well sucks at picking topics for conversation. He grins wryly into his glass, and wonders whether Cloud would be offended if he'd just turned aside and slept. By all the interest Cloud shows to anything in the bedroom besides his slowly burning cigarette, Leon doubts it. He still talks every single time, though. "I have a thing for guns."
The chuckles are two amused and pleasant sounds, which die alongside conversation as Cloud stretches over his partner to grab the ashtray. His body is hot in every possible meaning of the word, all lean muscle just a twitch away from Leon's skin - the brunet considers going for a second round, but it's been a long day. The fucker they're after is a smart one, he'll give him that.
The cell phone rings when Leon touches the glass to his lips for a final swig, shattering the hazy peace they'd built for the night almost as effectively as a police siren - which, no doubt, will be the sound they'll be hearing all too soon. His eyes meet Cloud's, and the blond just rolls his eyes before leaving the bed and rescuing Leon's mobile from long discarded pants. "Detective Strife speaking."
Leon takes that last drink, just enjoying the view as Cloud pads slowly in front of the bed. He might as well have fun while he can, since it'll last just as long as the duration of the call. "Yeah, Strife... I crashed over his place. Yeah. ...Huh? ...look Gainsborough, what did you call for anyway?" Then faint annoyance becomes something else as his stance hardens, shoulders righted and eyes reduced to slits, and he nods to no-one in particular as though taking orders. "Right. We'll be there in fifteen minutes."
"This had better be big," Leon growls, on his feet and digging for clean slacks. His own, if possible. There's so much of Cloud's stuff in his flat already that he may show up at the station wearing a turtleneck one of these days.
Only the whisper of holster straps being fitted - over one of Leon's plain white t-shirts, at that - can be listened for a second, then Cloud grunts. "It's big, alright. Aerith says our newest victim was over seven feet tall, and he had the muscles to fill it up."
"Fuck," and Leon likes how the curse sounds thicker, richer from the alcohol weighting on it. His breath surely reeks of whiskey from miles away, but Cid won't bother him about it, not with so much else to mind. The sergeant knows he's been working overtime on this case for weeks, too.
Leon makes it for the keys and Cloud bats his fingers away. Naturally. "You're good enough to work, but you're riding bitch."
An eye-roll and a muttered "Whatever," is everything that Cloud earns himself for that. He's not fighting lost battles over things that aren't helping them to solve this mess any sooner. The door closes behind them while Leon triple-checks weapons, ammo, memos and badges, teeth pressed tight. This should be their night out, case or no fucking case. As nice as it is to have Cloud for a partner, he wants this psycho arrested for life already.
This killer owes him way too many nights. Leon sighs as he climbs behind Cloud on the other's chopper, resting his forehead on a firm shoulder. He smells of tobacco and sex beneath the clean clothes - it makes Leon drowsy, too comfortable in his partner's presence, but he stays wide awake all the way down to Radiant Garden Police Station.
He's closing this case, whatever it takes.
*
It took Leon awhile to get used to Cloud. His previous partner had been sweet, funny, optimistic without a fault, and something of a talented rookie. She'd also been shagging Almasy - some jerk from Narcotics with a big attitude issue - therefore no sex had ever happened despite the loads of tension mounted between them.
"Fuck," Cloud says quietly, taking a pair of rubber gloves from the box offered by a hard-eyed Aerith - he steps up to the industrial-sized trashcan, perfectly collected as he inspects the body abandoned among rotting leftovers of a Dragonite restaurant. Rinoa would have been about to throw up or weep. She'd say it was out of fury, but Leon suspects even now that she just couldn't take it. He's glad she's just dealing with paperwork, now.
Cloud is always up to the job. "A roman-numbered tattoo right beside the gaping whole of his heart. Cut off while he was alive, drugged, signs of struggle. Fits the pattern alright," he states, and Leon steps up to take a closer look. The guy truly is huge - as are his eyes, brown irises shining mako-fluorescent on a shock-stricken face. This 'V' could only be taken down while high, that's for damn sure, judging from his frame. Either that, or this robber of hearts is just about the size of a yeti. However...
"All of our victims were mako regulars. They wouldn't shine like this just from one dose," Leon says while signing without seeing the papers to allow the removal of the corpse. 'XII' had eyes that shone like green traffic lights. She'd been a pretty girl; the only female victim so far. "Either our killer is targeting junkies for easier kills, or we're seeing a whole gang being erased."
"Probably the latter - the tattoos are all old - though we can't rule out another connection until the background checking is properly done," Cloud sighs, lifting the victim's hand and inspecting it closely. "Another one with erased fingerprints."
A scoff erupts from Leon, and there's an exhausted sense of comfort when Cloud just nods quietly at that. All of these conclusions are no news whatsoever, and no clues seem about to come up - no possible witnesses, no evidence, no information about none of the three victims until now; he doubts the fourth will be any different. They're nobodies, for everything that the police can gather about them.
"We'll have to raid mako-holes more closely," Leon sighs, and no hesitation, fear or reserve shows through Cloud's stance at that prospect. Of course. "Wanna hit some bars?"
"We're not in proper disguises," the rubber gloves snap noisily away from his skin; Cloud ditches them in the open police wagon, then rubs his eyes. They both know that, tonight, Leon would end up hitting the drinks and Cloud would be no much farther behind. Being counterproductive now won't do. "Let's go tomorrow."
They nod to each other, and make it to leave the crime scene. Cid just slaps Cloud in one shoulder on the way out of the back alley.
"Call us when it turns up we know nothing about the guy. Missing Persons can hate us all they want," Leon shouts over to Aerith. The forensics technician smiles wryly and bids them goodbye and goodnight - but it becomes a cross between smirk and grin when Leon climbs the motorbike behind Cloud again, arms wrapped tight around his waist.
Whatever. He just wants his partner beside him; there's nothing to it. No tension or expectation; that's just how they grew to work together.
He's so very used to Cloud, now.
-------
I REALLY NEED A BETA-READER WHO'D BE WILLING TO WORK WITH ME THROUGH E-MAIL. PLEASE, GUYS?
X-Posted to otp_100 and leonxcloud.