[058.] Reconciliation
Title: Reconciliation
Fandom: Kingdom Hearts
Claim: Cloud/Riku
Theme: [058.] Boredom
Word Count: 6,020
Rating: R
Summary: Cloud doesn’t know what to do. Leon comes to the rescue.
Disclaimer: Square Enix, Disney, and a bunch of other cool people own Kingdom Hearts. I’m sure that one day I will become affiliated with one of these companies, but as I am still a measly little peasant, I own no rights to the franchise. Let’s face it: I don’t even really own this plot. I just like to pretend things happened in canon that there’s no proof of, because I’m deluded like that.
Author’s Note: I never intended to put an Advent Children crossover in this story, but then I started looking ahead (sometimes planning is a good thing) and went, “Oh, hell. Where is Cloud during the first two Hollow Bastion visits? That’s no good.” (You would not believe how many times I watch cutscenes that will only be visited in ten to twenty chapters and start my thinking process with “Oh hell . . .”) So I planned on sending him back to Midgar and then he runs off, so that’s why Tifa’s chasing after him when Sora meets her. Then I realized he has the AC sleeve and outfit, went, “Fine, then, I’ll tie in Advent Children, give the boy the stigma, and then he and Riku can both be in bad effing places. So there.” Then I decided while playing FFVII that I really liked this Zack guy no matter what fanfic authors had done to him, and I wanted to write him. Took a shower, and as I was thinking about what to write with Zack cackled evilly to myself and mentally plotted Chapter 56. Poor Cloud. I do hope I keep the AC crossover in good taste. I’ve noticed a significant fear/disappointment/worry/whatever you want to call it over this tie-in. I promise I’m doing my very best.
Cloud didn’t cry. He brooded. He beat himself up with degrading words so often it was a wonder he could still look in a mirror. He worried about things happening that he couldn’t control, change, or fix, and that really scared him despite how often these things seemed to happen (Riku, Zack, Leon, Denzel, Sephiroth, and Geostigma to start). Cloud hardly smiled, and when he did it was a rare sight to see. Since Riku that had been brought out a lot more, but the fact remained that Cloud was frequently miserable. That didn’t mean that he cried.
Too many big things had just happened, he supposed-things so big that Cloud didn’t know how else to get out the conflicting emotions. A person could only take so much, even if they brooded about it. These things weren’t even just big. Colossal was probably a better and more accurate word. Monumental. Life-altering. There were probably more words, but Cloud wasn’t in a position to be listing synonyms for how very epic everything was in his life right now.
Let’s really put things into perspective. His current boyfriend spent the first few months of their relationship under the bidding of the chief villainess in the Kingdom Hearts charade, thus pitting him against his once-best friend, the legendary Keyblade master. Ironically, his current boyfriend was also a Keyblade master, hence why he was tapped by the bad guys in the first place. Said current boyfriend destroyed his home world, estranged the people closest to him, and fell into the realm of darkness after being possessed by the real villain no one knew was there, except maybe the aforementioned chief villainess, but rumor was that she was dead these days. The legendary Keyblade master took care of that.
So after his current boyfriend fell in the realm of darkness, Cloud was left with nothing but hope that he would come back. When he did, everything was very normal, but then current boyfriend had to go off and help that estranged best friend. Now he looked like the bad guy, was walking in the darkness again to help the legendary Keyblade Master, and did not want to talk about this at all. Current boyfriend was very insecure these days.
Meanwhile, Cloud reformed his friendship with his own estranged once-best friend. Everything was going very well until he accused said best friend of trying to steal current boyfriend. Best friend was insulted as best friend and current boyfriend are just friends, and Cloud was the one who initially insisted to them both that they’d get along famously. When they did, Cloud discovered he felt threatened by best friend. Best friend was very mood these days.
While all of that was going on, the Lifestream on Gaea was chucking out dead persons. Of course out of all the people it was chucking out, his ex-boyfriend had to be one of them. Cloud’s ex-boyfriend that it took him until current boyfriend to get over. The one current boyfriend felt threatened by despite his death. The same ex-boyfriend that was once part of a tight-knit group that also included Cloud and his formerly estranged best friend. It also happened that ex-boyfriend was not over Cloud as he’d been dead, did not remember being dead, and was under the impression that Cloud and he should still be together. Ex-boyfriend was very behind on current events these days.
Cloud may not have been the most intelligent person, the quickest person, or even all that sensible, but he wasn’t a complete idiot. Riku was going to convulse when he heard the news. Zack was hurt that he’d been replaced. Cloud thought his own feelings were being ignored, but then he thought that it was awfully selfish of him to be thinking about himself. Zack was probably really worried when he couldn’t find Cloud, having no idea he was the one dead-dead for a few years now. Zack was still in love with him, had no time to move on, and Cloud couldn’t imagine ever having to know the person who was supposed to love you forever had picked up and really gotten over it. Riku was working so hard to set things right in his life, and that started with Sora, which was where the looking like Ansem thing came in. Cloud was supposed to be Riku’s stability, and now with the way he was freaking out over Zack, Riku was sure to get the wrong idea. He’d feel threatened. Zack wasn’t supposed to be an issue as he was dead, but now he was not dead, and it wasn’t Riku’s fault that Zack had mastered the previously impossible act of resurrection. Therefore, he shouldn’t have to become even more insecure because of it. Riku shouldn’t have to worry about the future of his relationship with Cloud, but Zack felt cheated, and . . . It was just no wonder that Cloud broke.
It was this in far less words and a less poetic, coherent quality (but still the basic concept) that Cloud managed to wail through the phone before he ever let estranged best friend Leon get a word in edgewise.
“I don’t know what to do . . . I don’t know . . . Tell me what to do.”
The tears were still there, but the sobs subsided. Cloud coughed a little and rubbed at his eyes and cheeks. He was not crying no matter what the tears implied. He had to pull it together. Cloud just didn’t do this. He didn’t freak out. He didn’t plead for direction. He bottled things up and suffered inside. This was not how Cloud worked.
On the other end, Leon cleared his throat.
“Could you repeat that?”
“What? You’ve got to be kidding me!”
“I’m sorry. You lost me back when you started speaking about Zack in the present tense. Zack is dead.”
“Yeah, that’s what you think. The Lifestream chucked him out, and now he’s alive again. He said he was going to try and take me back. He can’t take me back. Someone’s already taken me.”
“Okay. Why don’t you start over from the beginning, because now I’m more lost than I was before? This time slower. And in English.” Cloud huffed. Leon sighed. “I can’t help if I don’t understand, and all I understand right now is that you’re really upset about something involving Zack, Sephiroth, and Denzel’s dying.”
“The Lifestream killed all the Heartless on its own. It started chucking out dead people, one of which is Zack so he’s alive again. It just happened two months ago. He’s living with Tifa. The people of Gaea are infected with a fatal disease called Geostigma that comes from the immune system fighting off Jenova cells, which probably also has to do with the pissed off Lifestream. Denzel has it. Ah, yeah, and Zack is alive again. Did I mention that part?”
“Yes, you mentioned that part. Cloud . . . I don’t know, okay? That’s . . . that’s really messed up.”
“You’re damn right it’s messed up! He doesn’t remember being dead! He wants to date me again, because he doesn’t remember us not being together! He’s hurt about Riku, Riku’s going to flip out, and I don’t know what to do!”
Cloud’s voice hitched at the end of his outburst. His voice went high and panicked again, the former composure he found lost once again. Leon sighed.
“I don’t know what to tell you. Zack . . . You just need to follow your heart.”
“Riku! I want Riku!”
“Okay, okay. Calm down.”
“Do you know how long it took me to move on from Zack?”
“Yes, Cloud.”
“I can’t go back to that! How many times have I said Riku is better than Zack ever was?”
“I know.”
“But Riku’s going to freak out! And Zack’s feelings are hurt because he’s back where I was when he died! I don’t want to do that to him! I don’t . . . I can’t do this. I just can’t. I’m freaking out over here.”
“I can tell.”
“Leon, what am I supposed to do?”
Leon sighed.
“Deal with it? Make things clear with Zack. It can’t be easy on him coming back from the dead to find that you’re with someone else now.”
“I know that! Do you think I don’t know that? Of course I know that! I just don’t know what I’m supposed to do about it! He looks so hurt, and I just feel . . .”
“It doesn’t matter. You can’t please everyone all of the time. You can’t just make everything okay for everyone. Zack died. You moved on. Now he’s back, and he’ll move on eventually. He just has to go through all that pain you already experienced.”
“I said I’d love him forever.”
“And you will, but that doesn’t mean you have to be together. Even if you were seriously committed, that’s where the whole ‘Until death do we part’ clause comes in. Zack died. You had every right to move on. You moved on to Riku, and now he’s the great love of your life. Good for you. Zack will get over this, too.”
“But Riku . . .”
“As long as you’re honest and upfront with him, Riku will be fine. He might be insecure at first, but I think it’s his turn after what you pulled at Christmas.”
Cloud grunted.
“I didn’t pull anything.”
“Don’t give me that crap. If Riku thinks he has reasonable cause to be threatened by your first love, I can’t blame him. Just give him time. He’ll come around when he sees there’s nothing to be worried about. Have you talked to him yet?”
“No.”
“I’d start there.”
“The timing has to be perfect.”
“The sooner you tell him the better. Timing isn’t what everyone makes it out to be.”
“Timing is everything. Timing is the difference between Riku getting insecure off and Riku walking out on me forever.”
“Then time it however you want, just don’t wait forever. There is no perfect time for things like this. There’s just good common sense not to tell him when he’s already down or had a particularly bad day.”
“He took my sword.”
“What?”
“Zack. He took back the Buster sword ‘cause it was his first. I have no sword.”
“You are just a very large child, aren’t you?”
“It’s not fair! He just comes back from the dead, and I hate being here in the first place . . . I’m here because of Sephiroth! I have to fight Sephiroth! Remember what happened the last time I had to fight Sephiroth distracted? I lost. I mean, I won, but . . . oh, you know what I mean.”
“Yes, I remember.”
“What am I supposed to do? Tell me what to do.”
Leon huffed.
“You know what you should do? Where are you?”
“In Edge . . .”
“What the hell is Edge?”
“It’s a new town right outside of Midgar. That’s where Tifa lives. In Edge. Because Midgar is diseased.”
“More than before?”
“Believe it or not . . .”
“All right. Listen to me, okay? I want you to go back to your Gummi ship and stay there. Don’t go anywhere. Just calm down. Take a nap or something. I’m sure you’re tired. I’ll call you when I’m done here with Cid and we’ll talk about this once I’ve sorted everything in my head out.”
“You’re seriously not going to tell me to just be a man and deal with it?”
“Ordinarily I would, but we’re talking about Zack, Gaea, and Sephiroth all at once.”
“There’s this trio of guys-Kadaj and his gang-that are causing a lot of problems around Gaea, talking about their mother. Zack and Tifa think they have something to do with Sephiroth, the Jenova experiment, and a Jenova Reunion. They reckon that’s why Rufus Shinra wanted Reno to contact me. Take care of this mess for Shinra.”
“And Zack’s back from the dead on top of just that.”
“Yes.”
“And you have no weapon.”
“Right.”
“That settles things even more. Go back to your Gummi. I’ll be in contact when I’m done here at Merlin’s.”
“But . . .”
“You wanted me to tell you what to do. I’m telling you. You have to get yourself together before you see Zack again or it’s just going to get worse.”
“. . . Okay. Thanks. This is really . . . good . . . of you. I appreciate it.”
“Whatever. Just do what I say.”
“Okay.”
“I’ll talk to you later.”
“Okay.”
The connection broke off. The tears stopped by now, and Cloud was left sitting in an alleyway somewhere near Tifa’s. Leon said to go back to his Gummi, and Cloud was going to do just that, but not until he managed something else first. Something entirely different that was owed to him after everything Tifa and Zack just put him through. If he couldn’t have the Buster sword, the least he could do was obtain Fenrir. Tifa did say it was fixed up and waiting for him, anyway. What did it matter if he just snuck off with it instead of letting her know first?
Cloud knew full well that Tifa was going to ream him out when she saw him again. He just barged out of the house angry without giving any indication of his destination. He just discovered Zack was back from the dead, was unarmed, and she reckoned Sephiroth was out there somewhere. She was bound to panic when she noticed Fenrir was missing, imagining Cloud riding around in the unreasonable state he was in.
Served her right, though. The panic. He was being kind, really, by not doing something really stupid. He was just going back to his Gummi for some long-needed rest. Sephiroth or Kadaj’s gang wasn’t about to saunter into Cloud’s Gummi while he was sleeping and unarmed just to kill him. Products of the Jenova experiment were far too theatrical for such an anticlimactic ending.
He almost burst into a fresh batch of tears when he snuck into Tifa’s garage and laid eyes upon Fenrir. No one seemed to notice the garage door open. As quietly as possible, he mounted the bike. No key. Cloud glanced around the garage interior, and there it was on a simple key ring hanging on a nail by a door that led back into the bar. He snatched it from the hook, walked back to his bike, and climbed on. Cloud turned the key, revved the engine, and tore into the streets of Edge.
One of those rare smiles crossed his face when he heard Zack shout something that sounded like, “Cloud’s making off with the bike!” behind him.
~*~
Cloud was suffering. It was one of those instances where he was desperately tired-exhausted mentally and physically-but it’s been too long. He stayed up past that point, and instead of napping, he suffered from insomnia. Cloud would call Leon back, but he knew his best friend better than to attempt that. If he was at Merlin’s with Cid, something had gone horribly wrong with the restoration again. Cloud wasn’t about to get in the middle of that.
He settled for staring restlessly at the ceiling of the Gummi as he tried to stretch out on the tiny, pull-out bed. Cid really needed to reconsider the sleeping accommodations in the Highwind model. This bed was hardly big enough for his body to fit, and from the way Cloud heard it, he was short.
Cloud was usually happy to sleep and at great length whether Leon liked it or not. Insomnia was not something he handled very well. He really could use a nap. His brain felt fried, overexerted by the Zack Chucked from the Lifestream Incident. It got worse when he imagined every scenario possible for when Riku found out. This was horrible. He needed to sleep.
Riku was a bit of an insomniac. Cloud sighed.
He really missed Riku. The old Riku. He wanted to hear his voice, see his face . . . that smile that just made everything okay even if it was just for a second. Riku used to give him hope, and now Riku was hopeful for Sora, but when it came to himself Riku saw no light at the end of the tunnel. Nothing was sacred anymore. Even Zack’s memory . . .
Cloud almost laughed. Zack had desecrated his own memory. What a ridiculous thought. Well, if anyone could manage to ruin their own memory it would be Zack. He was just absolutely fucking perfect like that. Good at everything he did, and now every good feeling Cloud had about what happened back when Zack died was just obliterated. His peace of mind that he worked so hard to obtain these past years felt pointless and wasted.
Cloud took a deep breath. Leon said to calm down and take a nap. He was just restless, bored, and trying to entertain himself until he passed out from sleep-deprivation. That was probably all this crappy attitude was about. He was cranky. He was like a tired, cranky little kid that missed their naptime and now he was taking it out on everyone. He wasn’t even mad at Zack, and Cloud thought that maybe he was happy that Zack was back, but he felt guilty for moving on. Doubtless it would’ve gone better back at the house if he’d been in a better mood. He didn’t need the Buster sword. There were plenty of weapon shops around here, and one of them was bound to have a better weapon.
Riku would get over it. Leon had to be right about that. All Cloud had to do was be careful until it was a good time and then he’d tell him everything. Riku might freak out at first, but he would calm down, and once no threat presented itself, everything would be back to almost normal. Nothing save the Ansem look-a-like fiasco would be in their way.
Except for Sephiroth, but Cloud could do that. He just had to find his light. He had to do it for Riku.
As his mind calmed, his body caved to its needs. Cloud practically passed out, not even aware that sleep was coming until it claimed him.
~*~
Cloud’s much deserved and well-needed rest was interrupted four and a half hours later by his ringing cell phone. It was Riku.
Cloud skirted the issue. He knew it was definitely the wrong time to tell him from the way Riku went off about Reno calling him, and Reno was just some insignificant person from the past that Cloud often forgot he once dated. Lucky for him Riku simply assumed that he’d called Leon (since Cloud had initially assumed the call being the promised one from Leon) because that’s what best friends do and didn’t question it. Cloud would’ve have hated explaining that yes, he had to call Leon before his brain exploded, cried like a little girl, and didn’t know what to do about these guilty feelings for getting over Zack. He got an ass-reaming anyway, though, for coming back to Gaea during a Jenova debacle, which Cloud thought was kind of ridiculous. He had to finish Sephiroth, didn’t he?
It was okay, though, because apparently Riku was just freaking out on everyone these days. Cloud found himself calming more as Riku detailed the disaster of a phone conversation he had with Leon the night before. He knew this ordeal wasn’t just hard on him, but hearing Riku in such distress (even if it wasn’t Riku’s voice) broke his heart. Riku was weird like that, sparring Cloud to rise to the occasion when his usual response was to recoil for fear of making this worse.
Cloud vowed to himself that he’d talk to Leon about that phone conversation when they spoke again. Riku was upset, Leon was upset, Cloud had pitted them against each other in a way, and he needed to fix this. He could help there at least. Maybe he could help, because Leon was a stubborn son of a bitch, and if it didn’t help, at least he could try. It was such a comforting thought that he might be able to do something for Riku that he didn’t even dwell on the Ansem thing as he fell back asleep.
It would figure that the most disturbing thing would come the following morning, and it had nothing to do with Riku or Zack. Cloud was more sleep deprived than he thought. After the call with Riku he slept straight through the night. As far as he knew, his phone didn’t go off. Cloud would’ve been irked that Leon brushed him off, but the lack of phone communication probably had something to do with the man shaking his docile form as if trying to wake the dead.
“Cloud, get your ass up!”
Cloud blinked several times before he realized that the long, sable hair and steely grey eyes weren’t just his imagination.
“Leon?”
“Yes?”
“What the hell are you doing here?”
“Picking your ass up. You look like hell.”
“No . . . but . . . you said . . . What if Sora wakes up, and you remember him, and . . .”
“Are you happy to see me or not?”
“I’m confused as to why I’m seeing you.”
“You sounded like you needed a friend.”
Cloud blinked, trying to clear the haze from his post-comatose state.
“Oh. I . . . What about the restoration?”
“I talked to Cid. He’s got it under control.”
“How did you . . . you’ve never been here. How the hell did you find me?”
“Yuffie told me how to get here. Midgar isn’t hard to miss from afar, so I just flew around until I saw your ship.”
“Where did you get a Gummi?”
“Cid.”
“Ah. Right. So . . . What happens if Sora wakes up and you’re not there?”
“I go back, but not until I’ve got you straightened out.”
“You just like playing the hero, don’t you?”
“Whatever. Get your ass up. We have things to do, and I don’t know my way around here.”
“Neither do I. Edge is a new development.”
“Then we’ll figure it out together. Just get up. I brought food.”
“Food?”
“And coffee.”
Cloud brightened.
“Coffee?”
“Aerith sent me with sustenance.”
“I love her.”
“There’s a lot to love.”
“What time is it?”
Leon pulled his phone from a pocket in his leather jacket and checked the display.
“Almost eleven.”
“Wow. I slept a long time.”
“Yes, you did. Did you go to bed when I told you to?”
“Kind of. I went to bed after I stole Fenrir.”
“After . . . what?”
“Yeah. I stole Fenrir. Well, okay, I didn’t really steal, because she is mine, but I hijacked her from Tifa’s first. Oh, and I woke up for a bit when Riku called. Why didn’t you tell me you talked to him?”
“Not a conversation to start at this moment,” said Leon. He pulled a large paper bag Cloud hadn’t seen until now toward them and dug around inside. “What the hell is Fenrir?”
“My bike.”
Leon snorted as he handed a large thermos, an apple, and an opaque container with a plastic fork to Cloud.
“Don’t you look kind of ridiculous riding around this place on a bicycle?”
“Fenrir isn’t a bicycle. Fenrir is a motorcycle.”
Leon was practically in tears in from the laughter Cloud’s pout paired with the word motorcycle threw him into.
“I had no idea. I thought I was the leather daddy around here.”
“Excuse me?”
“That’s just the funniest image I’ve ever seen. Does Riku know about this motorcycle-loving part of you?”
“Don’t laugh at Fenrir. I love that bike.”
“I’m sure you do.”
“It isn’t funny!”
“Yes, it is.”
“Oh to hell with you. What do you know, anyway? You are a leather daddy.”
“You should get Riku’s name tattooed across your chest or something next. Maybe a rose on your left arm. I’ll get you a nice leather vest and we can call you Butch.”
“You have issues. It’s not like that.”
“Give it ten years. You can get yourself a nice beer gut and make up for your balding spot with excessive body hair.”
“Just because I love my bike? You need counseling.”
Leon snorted, a new round of laughter roused.
“You just don’t strike me as the motorcycle type. Bikers are supposed to be tough shit. You’re hopeless.”
“I am not hopeless. I can kill shit. I used to have a sword bigger than my leg.”
“Yeah, until your ex-boyfriend stole it back, silly homo.”
“Now that’s just not right. You can’t use my sexual preferences against me. Homosexuals can ride motorcycles, too. I can be tough.”
“But can you use a hammer?”
“You know what, Leon? I don’t want you here. Go back to Hollow Bastion. I can get on just fine on my own.”
“Oh yeah? What are you going to do? Drive around Edge on your precious Fenrir, crying to yourself about your formerly dead ex-boyfriend while stressing about how pretty boy Riku’s going to take it? Ah, yeah, and you’re going to do it unarmed. Right.”
“Fuck you.”
“Oh come on, Cloud. Laugh. It’s funny.”
“I am not funny.”
“Got that right.”
Cloud glared at Leon for several seconds, but his laughter was intoxicating. A muscle in the corner of Cloud’s mouth twitched.
“I hate you sometimes.”
“I know you missed me. It’s okay. I came all the way here from Hollow Bastion just to help you get your head straightened on. I obviously missed you, too. Now let me laugh at your expense a little.”
“A little? You’re going to give yourself a hernia if you keep it up.”
Leon’s chuckles started to subside. He wiped at his eyes.
“Okay, okay. I’m sorry.” Leon patted Cloud’s shoulder. “You know I love you.”
Cloud quirked an eyebrow.
“Have you lost it?”
“Maybe. Why?”
“You just professed some kind of genuine affection for me. Out loud. Twice. Without a sarcastic punch line.”
“You should be more surprised that I came all the way here to help you out.”
“I am.”
Now that Leon was sobered up, Cloud’s brain got a chance to play catch up. He looked at Leon, staring openly, trying to sort out what was going on. It was nice of him to come all this way just because he didn’t know what to do and turned to Leon for help. Cloud knew he’d been hard on Leon lately between being no help with the restoration and all the Riku drama. Now he put the Zack drama on him as well, and Leon was insane, coming to Gaea like this when Cloud was bound just to put him through more hell.
Leon was still sore that Cloud left Hollow Bastion all those years ago. He was clearly sore that Cloud had left again. They were both such private, closed-off people that it was a wonder they spoke to each other at all. Yes, Leon could be stoic and detached, afraid to let anyone get close, and sure, they did develop a friendship again, but it had taken ages to get this point, and Cloud thought he shattered the fragile bond they forged again when he started flinging around words about the way Leon looked at Riku. Having Leon here after all that . . .
“I’m glad you’re here,” said Cloud. “I know I’m a pain in your ass . . .”
“Don’t go on about that again, okay? Only one breakdown at a time. We’re cool.”
Cloud suspected Leon just didn’t want to talk about it, but he nodded anyway.
“Good. So tell me about what happened on the phone with Riku. He was vague, and I was half-asleep so I couldn’t even read into it very well.”
“Later. Finish your breakfast. We have work to do.”
“What do you mean by that? What’s with you? Is there work everywhere to do? This isn’t Hollow Bastion.”
Leon snorted.
“No, but we do have to get you a sword. I’m not loaning you the Gunblade no matter how much I love you.”
“A sword?”
“How the hell do you expect to finish Sephiroth without a weapon?”
“I . . . I don’t. Of course I don’t. I know I need a new sword, but . . . you came all this way just to make sure I got a new sword? You really must think I’m completely hopeless.”
“I didn’t come all this way just to make sure you got a new sword. I came here to mediate.”
“Mediate?”
“Yeah. Help you get your head together, continue to remind you what’s important, and step between you and Zack if someone goes for the throat. I’m not leaving until I trust you not to murder each other.”
It was then that Cloud realized Leon and Zack hadn’t seen each other in nine years. Not since the Turks first came to Hollow Bastion. Hell, Zack was still calling Leon Squall, and probably pictured him eleven years old. Leon had enough issues with Zack leaving in the first place, because while Cloud was his best friend, Zack was the one who looked out for them. Zack was the one who picked Leon up as a kid. Zack was the one who taught Leon how to fight. Leon had to be a mess inside over this, too, especially after a fight with Riku.
Cloud didn’t know how he and Leon both got caught in the same hell so often. They both suffered in their own ways from Zack’s return. Things were hard for them both with Riku right now. How the hell did Cloud get Leon into so much trouble with his boyfriends? When it got really bad, he either turned on Leon or looked to him for support. He couldn’t use a hammer . . .
Why would Leon come to Gaea for the first time over this? The typical Leon response would have been to stay as far away as possible and hope that his and Zack’s paths never crossed. He avoided Gaea before. Kind of like how he was avoiding talking about his direct communication with Riku, and probably the first time he and Riku actually had an argument.
Right now Cloud truly appreciated Leon’s presence in his life.
“Thanks,” said Cloud. “You know . . . for coming. You didn’t have to.”
“I wanted to. You can’t take care of yourself, and I’m not going to let you mess up your life some more over a wasteful feeling like guilt.”
“I love you, too, you know? You’re my best friend. . .”
“Please don’t get emotional on me. We need to obtain a sword.”
“Okay. I’m just sorry. For being such a pain.”
“You aren’t a pain. You’re predictable. Darkness, boyfriends, and anything related to this world. It’s all the same issues with you. You bore me, Cloud. I’m only here because it’s everything at one time.”
Cloud smiled. He’d let Leon slide this one time. He probably earned the reprieve anyway, but next time Cloud wouldn’t hesitate to call him out on his shit. That conversation about his disagreement with Riku seemed like the perfect time, too. Leon was really in for it. After all, considering Aerith and Tifa pried into his life so much, Cloud figured that’s what friends were for.
~*~
Moogles were the greatest thing ever. Leon glared at him, emptying his pockets of munny (universal currency, it seemed) for the supplies needed to make his new weapon, but First Tsurugi was totally worth it. Buster sword be damned; Zack could have it.
It was a collection of six swords that could be assembled into one, and when done so was just perfect because Cloud had dreaded getting used to fighting with a new weapon. He practically didn’t have to when First Tsurugi was completely assembled; it was almost the same size, shape, and weight as the Buster. He even got a harness to carry around all six swords at one time.
After the visit to the Moogles, Leon complained loudly again at having to ride around with Cloud on Fenrir. Since Cloud didn’t know anywhere to go in Edge and the Gummi just didn’t have enough room to train with all six blades, Cloud directed Fenrir into what was left of the Midgar slums. It appeared people still lived there, and Cloud pointed out places of interest to Leon as they rode until they got to the church in Sector Six.
Cloud loved coming to this church. It reminded him of Aerith, bringing him a sense of peace and beauty in this chaotic world, and he hoped to bring her here one day. Leon raised an eyebrow when Cloud told him this, but said nothing as they dismounted. Now Leon leaned against a wall, watching with disinterest as Cloud worked out where to store all six pieces of First Tsurugi in compartments on Fenrir.
“I want you to know you look happier than you did on Christmas,” said Leon.
“You know what they say about boys and their toys,” said Cloud.
“Don’t you think six swords are excessive? Are you trying to overcompensate?”
“No. I like all six swords.”
“Six is a lot.”
“But they’re all different.”
“No they aren’t. There are four different types of swords. You have two sets of twins.”
“I’ve named them, too.”
“You’re sick.”
“This one’s Vigilante,” said Cloud, holding up the main blade. “It’s double-sided, and formidable, and I love it. This one’s Vendetta . . .”
Cloud grabbed another part of the First Tsurugi. Leon rolled his eyes.
“Let me guess,” said Leon. “It’s bent into a ‘V,’ covers Vigilante when assembled, it’s formidable, and you love it.”
“How did you know?”
“I was blessed with the sense of sight, and I know you too well.”
“Oh. Okay, well this set of twins is Merciless and Avenger . . .”
“Cloud, if you keep telling me the parts of your new sword, I’m going to hack your head off with it.”
“Don’t you want to know? You did buy it . . .”
“You owe me 5000 munny.”
“I know.”
“Don’t think I’m going to let it go.”
“Okay.”
“Cloud, don’t play games with me.”
“Did I tell you Merciless and Avenger have serrated blades, are formidable, and I love them?”
“I’m going to kill you.”
“But I love my sword. It’s the best present I’ve ever gotten.”
“Well I’m glad you like it considering how much I had to pay for all those materials.”
“Did I tell you that these are Ascalon and Sidewinder?”
“Do you have a death wish?”
“Not particularly, but you aren’t offering any conversation. We could talk about what happened when you called Riku.”
Leon glared.
“At least you’re in better spirits. I think I can head back to Hollow Bastion now.”
“No, you can’t. I’m still distressed about the Zack Chucked from the Lifestream Incident. What if we kill each other and Riku comes to you, distressed? Do you want that on your conscience? What would you tell him, Leon? I want you to think about that.”
“I think I did do my job. You’re almost giddy.”
“I really like this sword, and I have Fenrir. Doesn’t mean that I won’t lose my fucking mind once I see Zack again. I still don’t know what to do.”
“You have more emotions right now that any person should.”
“Yeah, Spiky can get like that.”
With the interruption of a new voice into the groove of their regularly scheduled program of banter, Cloud and Leon fell silent. Leon turned to face the church entrance as Cloud’s attention, too, shot in that direction. Leon frowned. Zack leaned against what was left of the doorframe and raised an eyebrow.
“I thought I might find you here.”
( Prompt Table) for previous installments. 058/100 Complete.
Fandom: Kingdom Hearts
Claim: Cloud/Riku
Theme: [058.] Boredom
Word Count: 6,020
Rating: R
Summary: Cloud doesn’t know what to do. Leon comes to the rescue.
Disclaimer: Square Enix, Disney, and a bunch of other cool people own Kingdom Hearts. I’m sure that one day I will become affiliated with one of these companies, but as I am still a measly little peasant, I own no rights to the franchise. Let’s face it: I don’t even really own this plot. I just like to pretend things happened in canon that there’s no proof of, because I’m deluded like that.
Author’s Note: I never intended to put an Advent Children crossover in this story, but then I started looking ahead (sometimes planning is a good thing) and went, “Oh, hell. Where is Cloud during the first two Hollow Bastion visits? That’s no good.” (You would not believe how many times I watch cutscenes that will only be visited in ten to twenty chapters and start my thinking process with “Oh hell . . .”) So I planned on sending him back to Midgar and then he runs off, so that’s why Tifa’s chasing after him when Sora meets her. Then I realized he has the AC sleeve and outfit, went, “Fine, then, I’ll tie in Advent Children, give the boy the stigma, and then he and Riku can both be in bad effing places. So there.” Then I decided while playing FFVII that I really liked this Zack guy no matter what fanfic authors had done to him, and I wanted to write him. Took a shower, and as I was thinking about what to write with Zack cackled evilly to myself and mentally plotted Chapter 56. Poor Cloud. I do hope I keep the AC crossover in good taste. I’ve noticed a significant fear/disappointment/worry/whatever you want to call it over this tie-in. I promise I’m doing my very best.
Cloud didn’t cry. He brooded. He beat himself up with degrading words so often it was a wonder he could still look in a mirror. He worried about things happening that he couldn’t control, change, or fix, and that really scared him despite how often these things seemed to happen (Riku, Zack, Leon, Denzel, Sephiroth, and Geostigma to start). Cloud hardly smiled, and when he did it was a rare sight to see. Since Riku that had been brought out a lot more, but the fact remained that Cloud was frequently miserable. That didn’t mean that he cried.
Too many big things had just happened, he supposed-things so big that Cloud didn’t know how else to get out the conflicting emotions. A person could only take so much, even if they brooded about it. These things weren’t even just big. Colossal was probably a better and more accurate word. Monumental. Life-altering. There were probably more words, but Cloud wasn’t in a position to be listing synonyms for how very epic everything was in his life right now.
Let’s really put things into perspective. His current boyfriend spent the first few months of their relationship under the bidding of the chief villainess in the Kingdom Hearts charade, thus pitting him against his once-best friend, the legendary Keyblade master. Ironically, his current boyfriend was also a Keyblade master, hence why he was tapped by the bad guys in the first place. Said current boyfriend destroyed his home world, estranged the people closest to him, and fell into the realm of darkness after being possessed by the real villain no one knew was there, except maybe the aforementioned chief villainess, but rumor was that she was dead these days. The legendary Keyblade master took care of that.
So after his current boyfriend fell in the realm of darkness, Cloud was left with nothing but hope that he would come back. When he did, everything was very normal, but then current boyfriend had to go off and help that estranged best friend. Now he looked like the bad guy, was walking in the darkness again to help the legendary Keyblade Master, and did not want to talk about this at all. Current boyfriend was very insecure these days.
Meanwhile, Cloud reformed his friendship with his own estranged once-best friend. Everything was going very well until he accused said best friend of trying to steal current boyfriend. Best friend was insulted as best friend and current boyfriend are just friends, and Cloud was the one who initially insisted to them both that they’d get along famously. When they did, Cloud discovered he felt threatened by best friend. Best friend was very mood these days.
While all of that was going on, the Lifestream on Gaea was chucking out dead persons. Of course out of all the people it was chucking out, his ex-boyfriend had to be one of them. Cloud’s ex-boyfriend that it took him until current boyfriend to get over. The one current boyfriend felt threatened by despite his death. The same ex-boyfriend that was once part of a tight-knit group that also included Cloud and his formerly estranged best friend. It also happened that ex-boyfriend was not over Cloud as he’d been dead, did not remember being dead, and was under the impression that Cloud and he should still be together. Ex-boyfriend was very behind on current events these days.
Cloud may not have been the most intelligent person, the quickest person, or even all that sensible, but he wasn’t a complete idiot. Riku was going to convulse when he heard the news. Zack was hurt that he’d been replaced. Cloud thought his own feelings were being ignored, but then he thought that it was awfully selfish of him to be thinking about himself. Zack was probably really worried when he couldn’t find Cloud, having no idea he was the one dead-dead for a few years now. Zack was still in love with him, had no time to move on, and Cloud couldn’t imagine ever having to know the person who was supposed to love you forever had picked up and really gotten over it. Riku was working so hard to set things right in his life, and that started with Sora, which was where the looking like Ansem thing came in. Cloud was supposed to be Riku’s stability, and now with the way he was freaking out over Zack, Riku was sure to get the wrong idea. He’d feel threatened. Zack wasn’t supposed to be an issue as he was dead, but now he was not dead, and it wasn’t Riku’s fault that Zack had mastered the previously impossible act of resurrection. Therefore, he shouldn’t have to become even more insecure because of it. Riku shouldn’t have to worry about the future of his relationship with Cloud, but Zack felt cheated, and . . . It was just no wonder that Cloud broke.
It was this in far less words and a less poetic, coherent quality (but still the basic concept) that Cloud managed to wail through the phone before he ever let estranged best friend Leon get a word in edgewise.
“I don’t know what to do . . . I don’t know . . . Tell me what to do.”
The tears were still there, but the sobs subsided. Cloud coughed a little and rubbed at his eyes and cheeks. He was not crying no matter what the tears implied. He had to pull it together. Cloud just didn’t do this. He didn’t freak out. He didn’t plead for direction. He bottled things up and suffered inside. This was not how Cloud worked.
On the other end, Leon cleared his throat.
“Could you repeat that?”
“What? You’ve got to be kidding me!”
“I’m sorry. You lost me back when you started speaking about Zack in the present tense. Zack is dead.”
“Yeah, that’s what you think. The Lifestream chucked him out, and now he’s alive again. He said he was going to try and take me back. He can’t take me back. Someone’s already taken me.”
“Okay. Why don’t you start over from the beginning, because now I’m more lost than I was before? This time slower. And in English.” Cloud huffed. Leon sighed. “I can’t help if I don’t understand, and all I understand right now is that you’re really upset about something involving Zack, Sephiroth, and Denzel’s dying.”
“The Lifestream killed all the Heartless on its own. It started chucking out dead people, one of which is Zack so he’s alive again. It just happened two months ago. He’s living with Tifa. The people of Gaea are infected with a fatal disease called Geostigma that comes from the immune system fighting off Jenova cells, which probably also has to do with the pissed off Lifestream. Denzel has it. Ah, yeah, and Zack is alive again. Did I mention that part?”
“Yes, you mentioned that part. Cloud . . . I don’t know, okay? That’s . . . that’s really messed up.”
“You’re damn right it’s messed up! He doesn’t remember being dead! He wants to date me again, because he doesn’t remember us not being together! He’s hurt about Riku, Riku’s going to flip out, and I don’t know what to do!”
Cloud’s voice hitched at the end of his outburst. His voice went high and panicked again, the former composure he found lost once again. Leon sighed.
“I don’t know what to tell you. Zack . . . You just need to follow your heart.”
“Riku! I want Riku!”
“Okay, okay. Calm down.”
“Do you know how long it took me to move on from Zack?”
“Yes, Cloud.”
“I can’t go back to that! How many times have I said Riku is better than Zack ever was?”
“I know.”
“But Riku’s going to freak out! And Zack’s feelings are hurt because he’s back where I was when he died! I don’t want to do that to him! I don’t . . . I can’t do this. I just can’t. I’m freaking out over here.”
“I can tell.”
“Leon, what am I supposed to do?”
Leon sighed.
“Deal with it? Make things clear with Zack. It can’t be easy on him coming back from the dead to find that you’re with someone else now.”
“I know that! Do you think I don’t know that? Of course I know that! I just don’t know what I’m supposed to do about it! He looks so hurt, and I just feel . . .”
“It doesn’t matter. You can’t please everyone all of the time. You can’t just make everything okay for everyone. Zack died. You moved on. Now he’s back, and he’ll move on eventually. He just has to go through all that pain you already experienced.”
“I said I’d love him forever.”
“And you will, but that doesn’t mean you have to be together. Even if you were seriously committed, that’s where the whole ‘Until death do we part’ clause comes in. Zack died. You had every right to move on. You moved on to Riku, and now he’s the great love of your life. Good for you. Zack will get over this, too.”
“But Riku . . .”
“As long as you’re honest and upfront with him, Riku will be fine. He might be insecure at first, but I think it’s his turn after what you pulled at Christmas.”
Cloud grunted.
“I didn’t pull anything.”
“Don’t give me that crap. If Riku thinks he has reasonable cause to be threatened by your first love, I can’t blame him. Just give him time. He’ll come around when he sees there’s nothing to be worried about. Have you talked to him yet?”
“No.”
“I’d start there.”
“The timing has to be perfect.”
“The sooner you tell him the better. Timing isn’t what everyone makes it out to be.”
“Timing is everything. Timing is the difference between Riku getting insecure off and Riku walking out on me forever.”
“Then time it however you want, just don’t wait forever. There is no perfect time for things like this. There’s just good common sense not to tell him when he’s already down or had a particularly bad day.”
“He took my sword.”
“What?”
“Zack. He took back the Buster sword ‘cause it was his first. I have no sword.”
“You are just a very large child, aren’t you?”
“It’s not fair! He just comes back from the dead, and I hate being here in the first place . . . I’m here because of Sephiroth! I have to fight Sephiroth! Remember what happened the last time I had to fight Sephiroth distracted? I lost. I mean, I won, but . . . oh, you know what I mean.”
“Yes, I remember.”
“What am I supposed to do? Tell me what to do.”
Leon huffed.
“You know what you should do? Where are you?”
“In Edge . . .”
“What the hell is Edge?”
“It’s a new town right outside of Midgar. That’s where Tifa lives. In Edge. Because Midgar is diseased.”
“More than before?”
“Believe it or not . . .”
“All right. Listen to me, okay? I want you to go back to your Gummi ship and stay there. Don’t go anywhere. Just calm down. Take a nap or something. I’m sure you’re tired. I’ll call you when I’m done here with Cid and we’ll talk about this once I’ve sorted everything in my head out.”
“You’re seriously not going to tell me to just be a man and deal with it?”
“Ordinarily I would, but we’re talking about Zack, Gaea, and Sephiroth all at once.”
“There’s this trio of guys-Kadaj and his gang-that are causing a lot of problems around Gaea, talking about their mother. Zack and Tifa think they have something to do with Sephiroth, the Jenova experiment, and a Jenova Reunion. They reckon that’s why Rufus Shinra wanted Reno to contact me. Take care of this mess for Shinra.”
“And Zack’s back from the dead on top of just that.”
“Yes.”
“And you have no weapon.”
“Right.”
“That settles things even more. Go back to your Gummi. I’ll be in contact when I’m done here at Merlin’s.”
“But . . .”
“You wanted me to tell you what to do. I’m telling you. You have to get yourself together before you see Zack again or it’s just going to get worse.”
“. . . Okay. Thanks. This is really . . . good . . . of you. I appreciate it.”
“Whatever. Just do what I say.”
“Okay.”
“I’ll talk to you later.”
“Okay.”
The connection broke off. The tears stopped by now, and Cloud was left sitting in an alleyway somewhere near Tifa’s. Leon said to go back to his Gummi, and Cloud was going to do just that, but not until he managed something else first. Something entirely different that was owed to him after everything Tifa and Zack just put him through. If he couldn’t have the Buster sword, the least he could do was obtain Fenrir. Tifa did say it was fixed up and waiting for him, anyway. What did it matter if he just snuck off with it instead of letting her know first?
Cloud knew full well that Tifa was going to ream him out when she saw him again. He just barged out of the house angry without giving any indication of his destination. He just discovered Zack was back from the dead, was unarmed, and she reckoned Sephiroth was out there somewhere. She was bound to panic when she noticed Fenrir was missing, imagining Cloud riding around in the unreasonable state he was in.
Served her right, though. The panic. He was being kind, really, by not doing something really stupid. He was just going back to his Gummi for some long-needed rest. Sephiroth or Kadaj’s gang wasn’t about to saunter into Cloud’s Gummi while he was sleeping and unarmed just to kill him. Products of the Jenova experiment were far too theatrical for such an anticlimactic ending.
He almost burst into a fresh batch of tears when he snuck into Tifa’s garage and laid eyes upon Fenrir. No one seemed to notice the garage door open. As quietly as possible, he mounted the bike. No key. Cloud glanced around the garage interior, and there it was on a simple key ring hanging on a nail by a door that led back into the bar. He snatched it from the hook, walked back to his bike, and climbed on. Cloud turned the key, revved the engine, and tore into the streets of Edge.
One of those rare smiles crossed his face when he heard Zack shout something that sounded like, “Cloud’s making off with the bike!” behind him.
~*~
Cloud was suffering. It was one of those instances where he was desperately tired-exhausted mentally and physically-but it’s been too long. He stayed up past that point, and instead of napping, he suffered from insomnia. Cloud would call Leon back, but he knew his best friend better than to attempt that. If he was at Merlin’s with Cid, something had gone horribly wrong with the restoration again. Cloud wasn’t about to get in the middle of that.
He settled for staring restlessly at the ceiling of the Gummi as he tried to stretch out on the tiny, pull-out bed. Cid really needed to reconsider the sleeping accommodations in the Highwind model. This bed was hardly big enough for his body to fit, and from the way Cloud heard it, he was short.
Cloud was usually happy to sleep and at great length whether Leon liked it or not. Insomnia was not something he handled very well. He really could use a nap. His brain felt fried, overexerted by the Zack Chucked from the Lifestream Incident. It got worse when he imagined every scenario possible for when Riku found out. This was horrible. He needed to sleep.
Riku was a bit of an insomniac. Cloud sighed.
He really missed Riku. The old Riku. He wanted to hear his voice, see his face . . . that smile that just made everything okay even if it was just for a second. Riku used to give him hope, and now Riku was hopeful for Sora, but when it came to himself Riku saw no light at the end of the tunnel. Nothing was sacred anymore. Even Zack’s memory . . .
Cloud almost laughed. Zack had desecrated his own memory. What a ridiculous thought. Well, if anyone could manage to ruin their own memory it would be Zack. He was just absolutely fucking perfect like that. Good at everything he did, and now every good feeling Cloud had about what happened back when Zack died was just obliterated. His peace of mind that he worked so hard to obtain these past years felt pointless and wasted.
Cloud took a deep breath. Leon said to calm down and take a nap. He was just restless, bored, and trying to entertain himself until he passed out from sleep-deprivation. That was probably all this crappy attitude was about. He was cranky. He was like a tired, cranky little kid that missed their naptime and now he was taking it out on everyone. He wasn’t even mad at Zack, and Cloud thought that maybe he was happy that Zack was back, but he felt guilty for moving on. Doubtless it would’ve gone better back at the house if he’d been in a better mood. He didn’t need the Buster sword. There were plenty of weapon shops around here, and one of them was bound to have a better weapon.
Riku would get over it. Leon had to be right about that. All Cloud had to do was be careful until it was a good time and then he’d tell him everything. Riku might freak out at first, but he would calm down, and once no threat presented itself, everything would be back to almost normal. Nothing save the Ansem look-a-like fiasco would be in their way.
Except for Sephiroth, but Cloud could do that. He just had to find his light. He had to do it for Riku.
As his mind calmed, his body caved to its needs. Cloud practically passed out, not even aware that sleep was coming until it claimed him.
~*~
Cloud’s much deserved and well-needed rest was interrupted four and a half hours later by his ringing cell phone. It was Riku.
Cloud skirted the issue. He knew it was definitely the wrong time to tell him from the way Riku went off about Reno calling him, and Reno was just some insignificant person from the past that Cloud often forgot he once dated. Lucky for him Riku simply assumed that he’d called Leon (since Cloud had initially assumed the call being the promised one from Leon) because that’s what best friends do and didn’t question it. Cloud would’ve have hated explaining that yes, he had to call Leon before his brain exploded, cried like a little girl, and didn’t know what to do about these guilty feelings for getting over Zack. He got an ass-reaming anyway, though, for coming back to Gaea during a Jenova debacle, which Cloud thought was kind of ridiculous. He had to finish Sephiroth, didn’t he?
It was okay, though, because apparently Riku was just freaking out on everyone these days. Cloud found himself calming more as Riku detailed the disaster of a phone conversation he had with Leon the night before. He knew this ordeal wasn’t just hard on him, but hearing Riku in such distress (even if it wasn’t Riku’s voice) broke his heart. Riku was weird like that, sparring Cloud to rise to the occasion when his usual response was to recoil for fear of making this worse.
Cloud vowed to himself that he’d talk to Leon about that phone conversation when they spoke again. Riku was upset, Leon was upset, Cloud had pitted them against each other in a way, and he needed to fix this. He could help there at least. Maybe he could help, because Leon was a stubborn son of a bitch, and if it didn’t help, at least he could try. It was such a comforting thought that he might be able to do something for Riku that he didn’t even dwell on the Ansem thing as he fell back asleep.
It would figure that the most disturbing thing would come the following morning, and it had nothing to do with Riku or Zack. Cloud was more sleep deprived than he thought. After the call with Riku he slept straight through the night. As far as he knew, his phone didn’t go off. Cloud would’ve been irked that Leon brushed him off, but the lack of phone communication probably had something to do with the man shaking his docile form as if trying to wake the dead.
“Cloud, get your ass up!”
Cloud blinked several times before he realized that the long, sable hair and steely grey eyes weren’t just his imagination.
“Leon?”
“Yes?”
“What the hell are you doing here?”
“Picking your ass up. You look like hell.”
“No . . . but . . . you said . . . What if Sora wakes up, and you remember him, and . . .”
“Are you happy to see me or not?”
“I’m confused as to why I’m seeing you.”
“You sounded like you needed a friend.”
Cloud blinked, trying to clear the haze from his post-comatose state.
“Oh. I . . . What about the restoration?”
“I talked to Cid. He’s got it under control.”
“How did you . . . you’ve never been here. How the hell did you find me?”
“Yuffie told me how to get here. Midgar isn’t hard to miss from afar, so I just flew around until I saw your ship.”
“Where did you get a Gummi?”
“Cid.”
“Ah. Right. So . . . What happens if Sora wakes up and you’re not there?”
“I go back, but not until I’ve got you straightened out.”
“You just like playing the hero, don’t you?”
“Whatever. Get your ass up. We have things to do, and I don’t know my way around here.”
“Neither do I. Edge is a new development.”
“Then we’ll figure it out together. Just get up. I brought food.”
“Food?”
“And coffee.”
Cloud brightened.
“Coffee?”
“Aerith sent me with sustenance.”
“I love her.”
“There’s a lot to love.”
“What time is it?”
Leon pulled his phone from a pocket in his leather jacket and checked the display.
“Almost eleven.”
“Wow. I slept a long time.”
“Yes, you did. Did you go to bed when I told you to?”
“Kind of. I went to bed after I stole Fenrir.”
“After . . . what?”
“Yeah. I stole Fenrir. Well, okay, I didn’t really steal, because she is mine, but I hijacked her from Tifa’s first. Oh, and I woke up for a bit when Riku called. Why didn’t you tell me you talked to him?”
“Not a conversation to start at this moment,” said Leon. He pulled a large paper bag Cloud hadn’t seen until now toward them and dug around inside. “What the hell is Fenrir?”
“My bike.”
Leon snorted as he handed a large thermos, an apple, and an opaque container with a plastic fork to Cloud.
“Don’t you look kind of ridiculous riding around this place on a bicycle?”
“Fenrir isn’t a bicycle. Fenrir is a motorcycle.”
Leon was practically in tears in from the laughter Cloud’s pout paired with the word motorcycle threw him into.
“I had no idea. I thought I was the leather daddy around here.”
“Excuse me?”
“That’s just the funniest image I’ve ever seen. Does Riku know about this motorcycle-loving part of you?”
“Don’t laugh at Fenrir. I love that bike.”
“I’m sure you do.”
“It isn’t funny!”
“Yes, it is.”
“Oh to hell with you. What do you know, anyway? You are a leather daddy.”
“You should get Riku’s name tattooed across your chest or something next. Maybe a rose on your left arm. I’ll get you a nice leather vest and we can call you Butch.”
“You have issues. It’s not like that.”
“Give it ten years. You can get yourself a nice beer gut and make up for your balding spot with excessive body hair.”
“Just because I love my bike? You need counseling.”
Leon snorted, a new round of laughter roused.
“You just don’t strike me as the motorcycle type. Bikers are supposed to be tough shit. You’re hopeless.”
“I am not hopeless. I can kill shit. I used to have a sword bigger than my leg.”
“Yeah, until your ex-boyfriend stole it back, silly homo.”
“Now that’s just not right. You can’t use my sexual preferences against me. Homosexuals can ride motorcycles, too. I can be tough.”
“But can you use a hammer?”
“You know what, Leon? I don’t want you here. Go back to Hollow Bastion. I can get on just fine on my own.”
“Oh yeah? What are you going to do? Drive around Edge on your precious Fenrir, crying to yourself about your formerly dead ex-boyfriend while stressing about how pretty boy Riku’s going to take it? Ah, yeah, and you’re going to do it unarmed. Right.”
“Fuck you.”
“Oh come on, Cloud. Laugh. It’s funny.”
“I am not funny.”
“Got that right.”
Cloud glared at Leon for several seconds, but his laughter was intoxicating. A muscle in the corner of Cloud’s mouth twitched.
“I hate you sometimes.”
“I know you missed me. It’s okay. I came all the way here from Hollow Bastion just to help you get your head straightened on. I obviously missed you, too. Now let me laugh at your expense a little.”
“A little? You’re going to give yourself a hernia if you keep it up.”
Leon’s chuckles started to subside. He wiped at his eyes.
“Okay, okay. I’m sorry.” Leon patted Cloud’s shoulder. “You know I love you.”
Cloud quirked an eyebrow.
“Have you lost it?”
“Maybe. Why?”
“You just professed some kind of genuine affection for me. Out loud. Twice. Without a sarcastic punch line.”
“You should be more surprised that I came all the way here to help you out.”
“I am.”
Now that Leon was sobered up, Cloud’s brain got a chance to play catch up. He looked at Leon, staring openly, trying to sort out what was going on. It was nice of him to come all this way just because he didn’t know what to do and turned to Leon for help. Cloud knew he’d been hard on Leon lately between being no help with the restoration and all the Riku drama. Now he put the Zack drama on him as well, and Leon was insane, coming to Gaea like this when Cloud was bound just to put him through more hell.
Leon was still sore that Cloud left Hollow Bastion all those years ago. He was clearly sore that Cloud had left again. They were both such private, closed-off people that it was a wonder they spoke to each other at all. Yes, Leon could be stoic and detached, afraid to let anyone get close, and sure, they did develop a friendship again, but it had taken ages to get this point, and Cloud thought he shattered the fragile bond they forged again when he started flinging around words about the way Leon looked at Riku. Having Leon here after all that . . .
“I’m glad you’re here,” said Cloud. “I know I’m a pain in your ass . . .”
“Don’t go on about that again, okay? Only one breakdown at a time. We’re cool.”
Cloud suspected Leon just didn’t want to talk about it, but he nodded anyway.
“Good. So tell me about what happened on the phone with Riku. He was vague, and I was half-asleep so I couldn’t even read into it very well.”
“Later. Finish your breakfast. We have work to do.”
“What do you mean by that? What’s with you? Is there work everywhere to do? This isn’t Hollow Bastion.”
Leon snorted.
“No, but we do have to get you a sword. I’m not loaning you the Gunblade no matter how much I love you.”
“A sword?”
“How the hell do you expect to finish Sephiroth without a weapon?”
“I . . . I don’t. Of course I don’t. I know I need a new sword, but . . . you came all this way just to make sure I got a new sword? You really must think I’m completely hopeless.”
“I didn’t come all this way just to make sure you got a new sword. I came here to mediate.”
“Mediate?”
“Yeah. Help you get your head together, continue to remind you what’s important, and step between you and Zack if someone goes for the throat. I’m not leaving until I trust you not to murder each other.”
It was then that Cloud realized Leon and Zack hadn’t seen each other in nine years. Not since the Turks first came to Hollow Bastion. Hell, Zack was still calling Leon Squall, and probably pictured him eleven years old. Leon had enough issues with Zack leaving in the first place, because while Cloud was his best friend, Zack was the one who looked out for them. Zack was the one who picked Leon up as a kid. Zack was the one who taught Leon how to fight. Leon had to be a mess inside over this, too, especially after a fight with Riku.
Cloud didn’t know how he and Leon both got caught in the same hell so often. They both suffered in their own ways from Zack’s return. Things were hard for them both with Riku right now. How the hell did Cloud get Leon into so much trouble with his boyfriends? When it got really bad, he either turned on Leon or looked to him for support. He couldn’t use a hammer . . .
Why would Leon come to Gaea for the first time over this? The typical Leon response would have been to stay as far away as possible and hope that his and Zack’s paths never crossed. He avoided Gaea before. Kind of like how he was avoiding talking about his direct communication with Riku, and probably the first time he and Riku actually had an argument.
Right now Cloud truly appreciated Leon’s presence in his life.
“Thanks,” said Cloud. “You know . . . for coming. You didn’t have to.”
“I wanted to. You can’t take care of yourself, and I’m not going to let you mess up your life some more over a wasteful feeling like guilt.”
“I love you, too, you know? You’re my best friend. . .”
“Please don’t get emotional on me. We need to obtain a sword.”
“Okay. I’m just sorry. For being such a pain.”
“You aren’t a pain. You’re predictable. Darkness, boyfriends, and anything related to this world. It’s all the same issues with you. You bore me, Cloud. I’m only here because it’s everything at one time.”
Cloud smiled. He’d let Leon slide this one time. He probably earned the reprieve anyway, but next time Cloud wouldn’t hesitate to call him out on his shit. That conversation about his disagreement with Riku seemed like the perfect time, too. Leon was really in for it. After all, considering Aerith and Tifa pried into his life so much, Cloud figured that’s what friends were for.
~*~
Moogles were the greatest thing ever. Leon glared at him, emptying his pockets of munny (universal currency, it seemed) for the supplies needed to make his new weapon, but First Tsurugi was totally worth it. Buster sword be damned; Zack could have it.
It was a collection of six swords that could be assembled into one, and when done so was just perfect because Cloud had dreaded getting used to fighting with a new weapon. He practically didn’t have to when First Tsurugi was completely assembled; it was almost the same size, shape, and weight as the Buster. He even got a harness to carry around all six swords at one time.
After the visit to the Moogles, Leon complained loudly again at having to ride around with Cloud on Fenrir. Since Cloud didn’t know anywhere to go in Edge and the Gummi just didn’t have enough room to train with all six blades, Cloud directed Fenrir into what was left of the Midgar slums. It appeared people still lived there, and Cloud pointed out places of interest to Leon as they rode until they got to the church in Sector Six.
Cloud loved coming to this church. It reminded him of Aerith, bringing him a sense of peace and beauty in this chaotic world, and he hoped to bring her here one day. Leon raised an eyebrow when Cloud told him this, but said nothing as they dismounted. Now Leon leaned against a wall, watching with disinterest as Cloud worked out where to store all six pieces of First Tsurugi in compartments on Fenrir.
“I want you to know you look happier than you did on Christmas,” said Leon.
“You know what they say about boys and their toys,” said Cloud.
“Don’t you think six swords are excessive? Are you trying to overcompensate?”
“No. I like all six swords.”
“Six is a lot.”
“But they’re all different.”
“No they aren’t. There are four different types of swords. You have two sets of twins.”
“I’ve named them, too.”
“You’re sick.”
“This one’s Vigilante,” said Cloud, holding up the main blade. “It’s double-sided, and formidable, and I love it. This one’s Vendetta . . .”
Cloud grabbed another part of the First Tsurugi. Leon rolled his eyes.
“Let me guess,” said Leon. “It’s bent into a ‘V,’ covers Vigilante when assembled, it’s formidable, and you love it.”
“How did you know?”
“I was blessed with the sense of sight, and I know you too well.”
“Oh. Okay, well this set of twins is Merciless and Avenger . . .”
“Cloud, if you keep telling me the parts of your new sword, I’m going to hack your head off with it.”
“Don’t you want to know? You did buy it . . .”
“You owe me 5000 munny.”
“I know.”
“Don’t think I’m going to let it go.”
“Okay.”
“Cloud, don’t play games with me.”
“Did I tell you Merciless and Avenger have serrated blades, are formidable, and I love them?”
“I’m going to kill you.”
“But I love my sword. It’s the best present I’ve ever gotten.”
“Well I’m glad you like it considering how much I had to pay for all those materials.”
“Did I tell you that these are Ascalon and Sidewinder?”
“Do you have a death wish?”
“Not particularly, but you aren’t offering any conversation. We could talk about what happened when you called Riku.”
Leon glared.
“At least you’re in better spirits. I think I can head back to Hollow Bastion now.”
“No, you can’t. I’m still distressed about the Zack Chucked from the Lifestream Incident. What if we kill each other and Riku comes to you, distressed? Do you want that on your conscience? What would you tell him, Leon? I want you to think about that.”
“I think I did do my job. You’re almost giddy.”
“I really like this sword, and I have Fenrir. Doesn’t mean that I won’t lose my fucking mind once I see Zack again. I still don’t know what to do.”
“You have more emotions right now that any person should.”
“Yeah, Spiky can get like that.”
With the interruption of a new voice into the groove of their regularly scheduled program of banter, Cloud and Leon fell silent. Leon turned to face the church entrance as Cloud’s attention, too, shot in that direction. Leon frowned. Zack leaned against what was left of the doorframe and raised an eyebrow.
“I thought I might find you here.”
( Prompt Table) for previous installments. 058/100 Complete.