OOC: RP Log Cloud and Leon

[onlypartlysunny]

Who: Cloud and Leon
What: Yet another sleepover. :|
When: Wednesday, Jan 9th
Where: Leon's house.
Why: Cloud needed to return Leon's pants.
Also: There's a follow up log to this one going up shortly. They were supposed to be all one log, but it ran too long for one post, so we decided to split it up.



He hadn't intended to come past Leon's today. At least not when he'd left to take deliveries this morning. However, his last delivery put him much closer to Radiant Garden than his own world. He had Leon's pants and the movie packed in with his things, and had for the last couple of days, in the off chance that any of his work led him in that direction. It was much easier for him to justify, to himself, the travel to visit a man he didn't particularly like if work was somehow involved.

Cloud pulled up outside Leon's house, Fenrir purring gently as he came to a stop. He turned off the motorcycle and put the keys into his pocket, grabbed his travel bag, marched up the stairs to Leon's front door and raised his fist to knock. Maybe he should have called first, he thought for a moment, but then shrugged it off. It was too late to call now. He knocked.

Leon hadn't been expecting anyone over today, and he frowned as he got up from the couch to open the door, a book folded over his thumb. He was even more surprised to find Cloud on the other side. "...Hello."

"Hi," Cloud shifted the travel bag that was draped over his shoulder, feeling awkward. He'd obviously should have called first. "I came to return your pants."

"Oh." Leon eyed the bag for a moment before stepping aside and opening the door. "Come in, then. Or are you leaving right away?"

"I can leave if you want me to. I brought the movie..." Cloud stepped inside. This was more awkward than it should be. "Sorry I didn't call first..."

"It's fine. I wasn't doing anything." Leon sat on the couch again, where he'd actually been spending most of his free time lately--not that Cloud needed to know that. "Did you want to watch the movie?"

"You were reading," Cloud said, pointing to the book. He walked over to the couch and sat down in the same place he had the last time he'd been over. He was surprised that Leon wasn't sitting where he was now, it was closer to the kitchen and bedroom and everything. He set his bag down and unzipped it, reaching in the pull out the borrowed DVD. He set it down on the coffee table then removed his shoes before curling up into his corner of the couch. "Sure."

Leon raised his eyebrow, but didn't say anything. Instead he got up to put the movie in. "I've read it before. Is this yours, or are you borrowing it?"

"I'm borrowing it. What book are you re-reading?" Cloud shifted to try and read the cover.

"Just an old one." Leon snatched up the remote before sitting back on the couch again. "What was this called again?"

"Shanghai Knights," Cloud replied. Why wouldn't Leon tell him what the book was called? "Are you embarrassed by the book?"

"No." Leon looked at him for a moment before picking up the book, dog earring his page, and tossing it over to him. "It's just old. What were you doing way out here today?"

Cloud caught the book and read the title before flipping it over to read the back. "Sounds interesting..." He tossed the book back to Leon. "I had a delivery a little ways away from here."

"All the way out here?" Leon was vaguely surprised.

"Well, not all the way out here, but this was closer than home." Cloud turned his attention to the TV. "You going to press play?"

Leon rolled his eyes and pressed the button. "You seemed more interested in my book."

"I gave it back. I also haven't read it, so I can't have a book club discussion with you about your infatuation with classic chick lit." Cloud glanced briefly over at Leon, hoping for an amusing reaction.

Leon very carefully kept his eyes on the television as he fiddled with the volume. "Careful, Strife. Your ignorance is showing."

"I've read Austen before, just not that one." Cloud crossed his arms. He wasn't ignorant. He was just poking fun at Leon.

"Well this one is her best," Leon advised him, "and if you haven't read it, you should. It's not just for 'chicks'." Leon was poking fun at Cloud now.

"Whatever, watch the movie." Cloud waved Leon off and focused his attention completely on the movie.

Leon rolled his eyes again and settled back to watch. This movie was as stupidly addicting as the last one had been.

It was probably a good thing they weren't eating while watching this like they had been during the last one. He was pretty sure Leon wouldn't appreciate him falling asleep on his couch from a food induced coma again. Matt had been right though, it wasn't as good as the first one, but it was still ridiculously impossible to look away from.

Leon didn't think he moved for any reason other to make himself more comfortable throughout the film, and when it was over he wasn't quite sure why. "The first one was better," he told Cloud, looking over at the blond.

"I know it was. I told you days ago that it was." Cloud sighed and stretched out on the couch. He didn't want to leave quite yet, but he didn't want to overstay his welcome either, what with not exactly being invited and all.

Leon just slouched further, crossing his arms over his chest and rearranging his feet on the coffee table. "Well you were right."

"Well, Matt was right. I hadn't seen it until just now." Cloud glanced over at Leon before reaching into his bag to grab the jeans. "Here," he said, as he tossed them over. Now everything was in Leon's hands - he could kick him out at any time.

Leon caught them in the air, and raised an eyebrow at Cloud. "Did you wash them?"

"No, I brought them back dirty," Cloud deadpanned.

Leon rolled his eyes. "Just checking. You didn't stretch them, did you?" He might have been teasing now.

Cloud glared. "No, I didn't stretch them."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive."

Leon shrugged. "We'll see."

"You can try them on now, if you're so skeptical." Cloud looked towards the door, wondering how much longer it was going to be before he had to go search for an Inn to stay at for the night.

Leon gave him an unamused glance. "That's all right, I'll put them on again when I actually intend to wear them. Did you want to leave?" He'd noticed the glance at the door. He wasn't going to keep the man here if he didn't want to be.

"No, I just thought you'd want me to leave soon." Cloud shifted and began fiddling with the slipcover on the arm of the couch.

"I don't care how long you stay," Leon told him again. "You still at Matt's?"

"I was at Tifa's last night." Cloud relaxed when Leon said he could stay. It was good to know he wasn't unwelcome even though his visit was somewhat unexpected.

"Where do you live normally?" Leon wasn't sure the blond had ever told him.

"Er..." Cloud shifted. "I guess, Tifa's now?"

Leon raised an eyebrow. "And before now?"

"It doesn't matter." Cloud didn't want Leon knowing that he'd been living in a church that was barely even standing anymore.

Cloud's avoidance of the topic only made Leon more interested in it. "You had to have lived somewhere," he pressed.

"I did, and it doesn't matter where. It wasn't exactly a mansion or anything." Cloud continued to fiddle with the slipcover.

"...Are you embarrassed?" Leon was frowning as he watched him.

"No," Cloud replied quickly.

"Then why aren't you saying anything?"

"I am saying things."

Leon rolled his eyes. "Whatever. I was just curious."

Cloud sighed. "It wasn't anywhere fit for living."

"Then why did you live there?"

"Because it was somewhere I could be alone and its where Aerith died and it was special to me." It still was, but now it was in a way that made him uncomfortable. Maybe in the future he'd be able to return, but right now, it was too fresh a wound.

"...Oh." Leon was sorry he'd pressed the subject. He shifted self-consciously. "Sorry."

"It's fine, you didn't know." Cloud looked down at his travel bag and contemplated just leaving.

"So where are you staying now?" Leon asked after an uncomfortable moment. "With Tifa? Where's that?"

"There's an apartment over the bar she owns. I've got my own room there." Cloud said, wondering where Leon was going with this.

"Oh. Is it quiet there?" Leon wasn't going anywhere, really, he was just curious.

"Sometimes, but not usually."

"The bar loud?"

"Yeah." Cloud shifted again.

Leon noticed. "Embarrassed?" He couldn't really see why.

Cloud shook his head no. He lived with Tifa sometimes because of Denzel and Marlene and because he cared about her. But he no longer had a retreat he could go to whenever he needed to be alone, away from people, or at least most people.

"Then what is it?" Something about Cloud was off, and while Leon was curious, he didn't want to poke too hard.

"I like living there when I want to," Cloud replied.

Leon frowned in confusion. "And when you don't want to?"

"I lived at the other place."

"Right." Well, that made sense. Leon sighed as he shifted his weight around more comfortably. "And now you just live there all the time?"

"Yeah. Unless I'm on the road late with deliveries, then it's an Inn." Cloud was beginning to relax now that Leon had stopped asking specifics about the church.

"How late are you out?"

"It varies." Cloud shrugged. "I try to be off the road by seven. So, if I can't make it home by then..."

"And if you can't, you find an inn?" Leon frowned.

"Yeah."

"Sounds like it could get expensive."

"I don't have much choice unless I want to be on the road all night."

Leon actually turned to look at him. "You can't go home after seven?"

"No... I can. But I'm tired of driving by that point. I tend to hit the road at eight in the morning."

"Sounds like you lead a pretty tiring life," Leon remarked. He wasn't trying to make fun of the blond, just looking for something to fill in the silence.

"Only on days when I have a lot of deliveries. Though, business has been better lately and there aren't many days when I only have one or two anymore." Cloud knew he worked hard, but he enjoyed his work, he just knew when to call it a day.

"And you deliver everything?"

"Hmmm?" Cloud wasn't sure if Leon meant if he made all his deliveries or the types of things he delivers.

"Your delivery service," Leon clarified, waving his hand vaguely. "You'll deliver anything?"

"Within reason, yes." Cloud wondered if Leon had a point.

"Mmm." That was interesting. Leon didn't know what else to say after that.

Cloud raised an eyebrow, but took relief in the silence.

"What? I was just curious." Leon didn't really have a reason for all the questions other then he'd wanted to know.

"Nothing," Cloud said, shaking his head. No one had taken as much of an interest in the way he lived his life as Leon just had. Sure, there'd been question, but never this many, at least not all at once.

"So what kinds of things do you deliver most?" Leon wasn't familiar with such a laid back way of life, and it left him curious.

"I don't really keep track. As long as it's not explosives, illegal or too big, I'm willing to deliver it. But I do wind up doing a lot of deliveries from one business to another." Cloud laid down on the couch, making himself extra comfortable. It seemed like Leon wasn't going to let up on the questions any time soon.

"All on that motorcycle of yours?" Leon asked. "How do you carry it all?"

"Yes. I have routes to take and I don't usually have everything with me when I leave in the morning. A lot of the packages I pick up along the way." If Leon wanted more detail than that, he wasn't getting it, there were a lot of secrets to Fenrir that he wasn't about to reveal to anyone.

"And you go everywhere?" This job was kind of interesting.

"Only places that I know."

"You seem to know an awful lot of places, then."

"I learned a lot of them when I was searching for Sephiroth." Cloud didn't elaborate any further.

"Oh." Leon didn't want to get into that. He was trying to have a friendly conversation, not a deep one. "And you get paid decently?"

"You really need to ask that?" Cloud asked, patting the couch. He could have and would have paid for it in full if Leon had let him.

Leon frowned. "I still think that's a weird way for you to spend all your money."

"It builds up. I don't really have very many possessions." Or any place to put them, Cloud silently added.

"Well neither do I," Leon reminded him, spreading his arms to indicate the mostly empty house. Maybe that's why he'd never really bothered getting a new couch.

"You just moved in here, though, right?"

"A few months ago," Leon told him. "I've never owned a lot of things."

"Neither have I." He owned more now than he ever had, and if he wanted, he could easily take it all with him on Fenrir.

"Well now I own a couch," Leon said flatly.

"A very nice couch," Cloud replied.

"It'll be hell to move, if I ever do," Leon told him.

"I'll help if you do."

Leon glanced at him. "I probably won't."

"Whatever," Cloud said. It didn't matter to him if Leon moved or not. Sure, he'd been here twice now this year and they were only nine days in, but that was only because of a couple of mistakes. It wasn't like he'd have any reason to return here after tonight.

"Yeah," Leon agreed. He could only foresee himself moving again if he actually found Rinoa, and chances of that seemed to be slim to none. He sighed.

Cloud shifted to look at Leon when he sighed. "Hmmm?"

"Nothing." Leon didn't want to get into all that.

As curious as Cloud was, he wasn't in the mood for trying to force it out of Leon. "Okay."

Leon was relieved. He didn't even know where to begin talking about that kind of thing even if he'd wanted to.

Cloud enjoyed the comfortable silence that was left lingering between them. It gave him time to think, and just relax.

Leon enjoyed it too, and for several minutes he didn't have anything to say.

"Do you prefer living on your own," Cloud asked after a while. Not because of any discomfort, just out of curiosity.

Leon shrugged. "It's quiet."

"Mmm." Cloud pondered for a moment. He liked the quiet, in fact, it was why the church had always been his retreat when he needed to be alone. Or mostly alone. But he would get lonely and return to Tifa's to spend time with her and the kids. "What do you do when you get lonely?"

Leon looked at the blond in vague surprise. "Who says I do?"

"Oh." Cloud went suddenly quiet. He hadn't considered that.

Leon snorted softly. Cloud was so easy to mislead he forgot he was doing it sometimes. "I go work on the town," he explained without looking at him. "Yuffie and Cid are usually there."

Cloud nodded. He should have realized that Leon was joking. If he hadn't been, Cloud might have begun to think he wasn't human.

"What about you?"

"Go to Tifa's usually. or more recently, Matt's, or..." Cloud trailed off, he couldn't seek out Kadaj anymore and while he was doing much better now than he had been last week, it still hurt to think about.

"That sounds all right," Leon replied comfortably. This topic wasn't quite as awkward as he knew it could be.

"Mmm." Cloud agreed.

Leon glanced at him. "Do you have more deliveries to make early tomorrow?"

"No," Cloud replied. "I got everything I had delivered today. Why?"

"Was wondering if you needed to go back anytime soon," Leon told him. "It's getting late."

"Oh. No, I don't have to. I was already intending to stay in Radiant Garden for the night." Cloud was careful to phrase it that way, wanting to make it clear that he hadn't been intending to mooch off of Leon and crash here again.

Leon still took it that way, and he raised an eyebrow at the blond. "You could have said earlier, if you wanted to stay. I wouldn't have kicked you out."

"I..." Cloud sighed. Leon had managed to take it the wrong way. "I was planning to stay in an Inn."

"Why? You're already here."

"I don't want to put you out or make assumptions..." Cloud shifted uncomfortably.

"You stayed with me before and it was fine," Leon reminded him. "Why would now be any different?"

"I don't know." Cloud could think of one reason why, but he didn't want to make things awkward by bringing up Kadaj.

"Well whenever you're in Radiant Garden, you can stay here instead of at some inn," Leon told him, making it clear.

"Okay," Cloud said, nodding. It probably wouldn't be very often he'd have to take Leon up on that. He didn't get many deliveries out here. Today happened to be one of those rare occurrences. though, if Cid, Yuffie or Leon started having him deliver things, that would probably change. He decided not to mention that.

"Good, then it's settled. And feel free to bring more movies." Leon didn't watch them very often alone; he preferred books. But he'd probably watch them with company.

Cloud nodded again. This of course either meant borrowing from Matt, actually bothering to join some rental place, or purchasing movies he'd never seen before.

Leon settled back comfortably again. Now at least he would have company every now and then, which he wouldn't mind.

Cloud glanced over to make sure Leon wasn't watching before unsnapping the button on his jeans - they'd still be held up by his belt when he stood - but he hadn't quite lost all of the weight he'd put on from his lazy week at Matt's, and his own jeans were still a bit snug.

Leon glanced over at him when he saw movement, and lifted an eyebrow. "What are you doing?"

"Just shifting my belt," Cloud said, hoping that Leon would let him leave it at that.

Leon allowed himself a small smirk. "Is it tight?"

"No," Cloud lied, "it just rode up a little is all."

"Really." Leon's voice belied all the skepticism he felt.

"Really." Cloud might have blushed a little.

Leon caught it. "Then why are you turning pink?"

"Oh, shut up," Cloud said. He crossed his arms and looked away.

"They are tight, aren't they."

"So what if they are?"

Leon just shrugged, smirking.

Cloud snorted and continued to look away from Leon. So, he was still working on the little bit of pudge he put on from over-eating and lazing about for most of a week. He wouldn't have gained anything if he'd been as active as he normally was. So, he knew it was just a matter of a few more days before he was back to his normal weight.

Leon was actually amused, and had to bite back a small smile.

"It's not funny," Cloud said, his tone petulant.

"You gained weight," Leon mused. "How is that not funny?"

"Because it isn't."

"I think it is."

"I don't care what you think," Cloud retorted. Except for the fact that maybe he did actually care and that annoyed him more than anything.

"Suit yourself." Leon contented himself with a small chuckle.

"I'm going to bed," Cloud said with a huff. He got up and made his way to the hall closet to look for the sheets and blankets to make the couch bed with. He wasn't even tired, he just needed an excuse to storm off without looking like a complete drama queen.

When Cloud stood, though Leon noticed that his pants were undone and stared. "Did you unbutton your pants too?"

"Shut up." Cloud came back carrying what he needed to make the couch bed with. He unceremoniously tossed them on top of Leon, moved the coffee table and began to pull out the bed.

Leon dug a little hole for his head and smirked again at Cloud. "I would offer you some stretch pants if I had any. Think mine would still fit?"

Cloud practically growled before lunging towards Leon, landing on top of him and the pile of bedding, throwing a couple of frustrated punches into the comforter. "I don't need stretch pants and yours are too big for me now."

Leon didn't even notice he was grinning as he curled his legs and tried to gently kick the blond off of him, shielding his head with his arms. "Cid's a big guy, he might be able to loan you something..."

"I'm not fat! I don't need to borrow Cid's clothes." Cloud climbed off of Leon and lifted up his shirt to show his stomach. "See? Not fat."

Leon poked it. "You jiggled."

Cloud quickly shoved his shirt back down and glared. "It did not."

"It did a little," Leon lied.

Cloud knew he was over-reacting, at least on some level he did. However, finding out that it was indeed possible for him to gain weight in the form of fat rather than muscle, when he was supposed to be lithe and strong, on top of the way the new year had begun, had left him very distressed and self-conscious. "It. Did. Not." He turned away and finished pulling out the bed before reaching over and grabbing the sheets off the pile on top of Leon so that he could make the bed.

"Relax," Leon said through another chuckle. He stood to help the man. "You're young, it'll go away."

"I know it will go away!" Cloud replied. He acted as though he didn't notice that Leon was trying to help him with the bed and worked on getting the fitted sheet over the edges of the mattress.

"Oh, come on." Leon couldn't for the life of him figure out why Cloud was acting so touchy about this. "You wouldn't even be able to tell if you didn't know already. Maybe not even then, I'm not exactly working with a constant here." He helped tug the sheets over on the other side.

"Whatever." Cloud began to fan the top sheet over the bed, letting it spread out and fall onto the bed.

Leon grabbed the other side to help him. "I was only teasing, Strife."

"Well, don't."

"Why?"

"Not about that."

Leon frowned. "Why not?"

"Because I don't find it funny." Cloud sighed. He reached over and grabbed the comforter and began to spread that out on top of the sheets.

Leon turned his attention to putting pillowcases on the pillows. "I didn't mean anything by it. You still look good."

"Whatever," Cloud said. He turned away and bent down to grab his cell phone charger out of his bag. He then headed over to plug it and his phone into the wall, actually remembering to grab the phone off of his belt this time.

Leon shrugged. "Loosen up, you're taking offense where there was none."

"I'll loosen up when my pants do."

Leon snorted. "I'm sure they will with a little exercise. Just what did you do at Matt's, anyway?"

"Watched movies, ate pizza, drank soda, had cookies... and that's about it." Cloud purposely left off the bit about all the snuggling.

"Well no wonder you gained weight," Leon told him matter-of-factly. Then he shrugged. "Just get back into an exercise routine and you'll be fine. Stop making such a fuss over it."

"I know that." Cloud sighed and plopped backwards onto the bed. He'd strip down to his boxers after Leon went to bed.

"Then what's the big deal?" Leon asked, looking down at him from the side of the bed.

"I feel stupid for letting myself gain the weight in the first place."

Leon snorted in disbelief. "Hyne, is that all?"

Cloud looked up at Leon and raised an eyebrow in question.

Leon rolled his eyes. "Everyone gains weight, Strife, especially when they're going through hard times. You'll work it off again. Stop fretting over it so much."

Letting out a sigh, Cloud rolled over onto his side, facing away from Leon. "Fine. Good night."

Leon rolled his eyes again. Cloud was acting like a spoiled brat. "Whatever. I'll be in my room." He wasn't quite tired yet, so he grabbed his book and headed off there.

Once he was alone, Cloud stripped down to his boxers and climbed under the covers. He still wasn't tired but he wasn't sure what else to do. Turning on the TV would only alert Leon to the fact that he wasn't actually trying to sleep.

Leon closed his door so the light wouldn't bother Cloud and stripped down to his own underwear before climbing into bed with his book.

Cloud laid awake for half an hour, counting the bumps on the ceiling as though this was actually going to make him tired. Giving up once he was pretty sure he'd counted the same bump for the fifth time, he sighed then got up out of the bed and walked over to Leon's bedroom door. He noticed the light was still on, knocked once and waited for an answer.

Leon looked up at the door in surprise. "Yeah?"

Opening the door a crack, Cloud peeked inside. "Sorry, that fight was stupid." He hadn't even been sure what his point was in getting up, so the words that came out of his mouth surprised him as much as he expected they would surprise Leon.

They did, and Leon stared for a moment before he realized what Cloud was talking about. "You mean from earlier? That was a real fight? I thought you were asleep." He frowned.

"I wasn't actually tired," Cloud replied. His cheeks went a little pink. "A real fight wouldn't be as stupid as that was."

"I agree." Leon crossed his arms over his bare chest and tucked his book under his elbow. "Are you not tired at all?"

Cloud nodded. He noticed the book tucked under Leon's arm and tried not to stare.

"Hmm. We could watch TV or something. I'm not tired either." Leon was oblivious to Cloud's stare, because he was trying not to stare himself. He had no idea why Cloud thought he was fat.

"Sure," Cloud said and headed back out to the living room. He climbed under the blankets and shifted the pillows so that he could be covered and sit up.

Sighing, Leon took a moment before setting his book aside and following. He wasn't exactly self-conscious, but climbing into bed in his underwear with another man in his underwear was just a little weird for him, and he avoided Cloud's gaze as he got into the other side and made sure he was covered up to his stomach as well. Then he had to look at him. "Remote?"

"Um, coffee table," Cloud said pointing. Though after half a second he realized he was closest and leaned forward until he could reach it, which required stretching halfway across the bed. Once he had the remote in his hand, he quickly moved back into a sitting position and pulled the blankets up again. He turned on the TV and began flipping through the channels. "Let me know if you see anything interesting."

Leon grunted his agreement and kept his eyes on the television. He had no idea what was interesting, he didn't watch it much. "What do you think looks interesting?"

Cloud had flipped through all the channels once and hadn't found anything. "Nothing so far." He decided to try again a little bit slower in hopes that maybe something would pop out at one of them as worth watching.

Leon crossed his arms again and slouched down against the pillows. "Hey, hang on, what's that." He squinted at the screen and indicated Cloud to go back a couple channels.

Cloud flipped back until he found himself stopped on an old western. "This?"

"Yeah." Leon glanced at the blond. "Is this all right?"

"Yeah, it's fine." Cloud set the remote down on the bed between them.

"Do you know what it is?" It looked a lot different from the one they'd watched together.

"The name of the movie? No." It wasn't funny like the other movie had been, but it was interesting. There weren't any kung-fu moves, either.

"Hmm." Leon settled back to watch it. It looked interesting, at least.

The movie was interesting, however, it moved slowly and as Cloud was beginning to get tired, it was more and more difficult to stay focused on the movie.

It was the same with Leon. His head kept dipping as the movie progressed, and nothing much exciting happened.

At some point, Cloud found himself fast asleep with his head mere centimeters from Leon's shoulder.

Leon was much too far gone to notice, his own eyes drooping as he forgot to struggle to keep them open.

Cloud rolled onto his side, and forgetting who he was in bed with (due mostly to the fact that he was asleep and thus unconscious of anything but the fact that there was something warm to the left of him), draped an arm across Leon's stomach and nestled his head against his shoulder.

Leon was pretty much asleep by that time, and leaned against the warmth next to him in order to keep himself propped up. His arms loosened and eventually drooped down over Cloud's.

Cloud was fast asleep by that point and nothing was going to wake him up.

Soon after Leon was as well, and wasn't aware of anything around him save that a bit of it was warm, which he nestled closer to as he fell deeper into sleep.