Kalli's Journal

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"Ready to eat, Aerith?" Cloud asked, rubbing his hands on his pants for the third time, as if that small motion would rid them of the grime even Cid's industrial soap didn't want to touch.

Aerith looked over at him from where she lay on Cid's shop's sofa and nodded, shuffling the papers she'd been reading before setting them down as she stood.

"Have you read those? They seem to be rather fragmented information on the heartless. Early studies, I'd assume," Aerith explained, gesturing to the papers.

Cloud shook his head. "I'm not much for that sort of thing."

"But you're a..." She paused, not finishing the sentence. "You're directly involved."

"How about lunch?" Not that he was exactly looking forward to listening to the women chatter at him. Not with everything he had on his mind. Then again, it could be a bit of a reprieve as well.

He'd already remembered... Too much. Things were coming back to him that he didn't really want to deal with. Not all at once, at least. Cid had tried to talk to him a bit while they worked together to move a giant stack of rather filthy gaudy blocks to the other side of the shop.

The only thing Cid had said that had even managed to register in his mind involved something about working on his ship.

Yuffie was already sitting at the cafe when Cloud and Aerith arrived. The two women just stared at each other for a moment before both looking to Cloud as if they were seeking some sort of assistance.

"Ya'll need menus?"

Aerith brought a hand to her chest. The black-haired waitress had appeared behind her and startled her without meaning to.

"Menus would be nice," Yuffie said quickly before looking back over at Cloud. "Oh, and Leon'll be here in a moment too."

Cloud let a small smile crack his face. Perhaps this wouldn't be quite as hellish as he'd previously thought.

A moment later he was hiding behind the menu he had been handed, trying to avoid the occasional stare downs between the women.

He knew there was a reason he wasn't really into the opposite sex. They made even less sense than other men.

"Any specials?" a voice asked from behind him a moment before Leon leaned over his shoulder to peer at the menu.

Cloud smirked and leaned his head back so their lips were almost touching. "You... me... after lunch? Cid's supposed to be out running errands all afternoon," he whispered.

Leon only gave him an odd look in return before straightening up and walking around the table to sit in the only empty chair.

Midway through their meal, Yuffie looked up from her meal to catch Cloud's eyes.

"What are you two going to do when you have to go back?" she asked, looking quickly between Cloud and Leon.

"I... It hasn't come up yet," Cloud replied, squeezing his eyes shut for a moment after finishing his sentence. When he opened them again, Leon was staring at him, but silent.

"I'm sure you two can figure something out," Aerith said quickly. "After all, I remember Sora telling me one night that this Coliseum place isn't very far away at all."

"Can we drop it for now?"

Everyone looked over at Leon. He'd barely said a word since sitting down. "Just, drop it."

"Aw, Squall," Yuffie said with a pout. "I know Cloud. He's not going to leave you like she did."

If looks could kill, Yuffie would have been dead in her chair the second Leon's icy blue eyes glared her way. Without another word, he stood up, pulled a handful of gil out of his pocket, and threw it on the table before stalking off.

"He didn't tell you about that, did he?" Yuffie asked, not quite meeting Cloud's eyes as she turned to him. "Sorry."

Cloud just looked at Yuffie a moment before standing and following after Leon. When Yuffie herself went to stand, Aerith reached an arm out.

"They have enough to discuss without you there," Aerith said. "And besides, I want to talk to you. Alone."

Yuffie swallowed hard and pushed her plate away.

Cloud caught up with Leon right before he disappeared into Second District.

"Leon." Cloud reached out a hand to catch Leon's shoulder, but it was quickly brushed away when Leon turned.

"Just... I don't know," Leon said, looking down.

"Cid's going to be gone for the afternoon. You're welcome to watch me work," Cloud said, reaching up again to touch Leon. He ran his hand down Leon's cheek, watching as those icy eyes fluttered shut.

"Maybe."

Cloud just nodded, pulling his hand away and turning to go. Whatever had just happened, he knew well enough not to push Leon into anything he wasn't ready for.

Cloud crumpled up the note Cid had left for him and threw it as far as he could across the shop. He was apparently supposed to re-sort all of the blocks that he'd just moved into piles, by type.

"I get the odd feeling this is busy-work," Cloud muttered as he hung his cloak on a hook and stretched out his already-getting-sore muscles before walking over to the mountainous pile.

Before he had more than a dozen blocks moved, there was a light knock at the frame of the doorway that separated the back and front of the shop.

Cloud poked his head up from behind the mass pile of blocks he was quite tempted to start maiming. It was exactly whom he had expected. Leon.

"Don't just stand there. Come help. I mean, if I spend one more minute alone with these things, I'm either going to start destroying them or building a fort," Cloud yelled as he motioned for Leon to come closer.

"A fort?" Leon asked as he picked a few choice blocks and sat down on them.

"Like a snow fort, but different," Cloud replied, climbing over the accidental barrier he'd constructed to sit beside Leon. "You did build snow forts when you were a kid, didn't you?"

"I don't remember," Leon said, looking at the floor of the shop as though it were the most fascinating thing he'd ever seen.

Cloud smiled a moment. "I've been remembering all sorts of things these last couple days. I guess building a snow fort was in there somewhere."

"I remember too much already. I... I guess I've had a few things come back to me as well."

Finally realizing Leon wasn't going to stop staring at the small grease mark on the floor without some outside effort, Cloud stood up and stepped over to stand directly in front of Leon. He cupped Leon's chin with his claws and forced the other man to look at him.

"Anything you'd like to talk about?" Cloud asked, an eyebrow raised at Leon's sudden shocked expression. He was rather glad he'd slipped the claw-tipped glove back on after lunch. Despite Cid's constant yelling, it really did make grabbing the odd-shaped blocks much easier.

The pile of blocks Leon had chose to sit on were arranged in a semi-pyramid, meaning that Cloud could easily slide up onto them, his knees resting on either side of Leon's hips. Now he had Leon pinned.

But all they did, for the moment, was kiss.

When Cloud pulled back enough to look into Leon's eyes, Leon did his best to look away.

"So..."

"Yes?" Cloud asked, sliding back off of the blocks and settling down cross-legged on the floor. That way, perhaps he'd stay in Leon's line of vision.

"Well, what is going to happen when you have to go back? I mean, with me and you and..." Leon paused, obviously struggling to find the words to express himself. Or just struggling to sort out his emotions to begin with.

"It's only a couple hour trip, really. And I only have a few months left on my contract," Cloud said. "If you want to try to..."

Leon looked up as Cloud trailed off. "Do you?"

"I asked you first," Cloud said as he idly traced the edge of the block his arm was resting against.

"... Whatever," Leon replied as he started to stand. Cloud was in front of him in an instant.

"That's your way out of everything, isn't it," Cloud said, grabbing the front of Leon's jacked as he spoke. "How hard is it to just say yes or no?"

Cloud sighed and let go, not waiting for a response as he climbed back over to where he'd been working.

"We've all gotten hurt before. It's not fun. But you can't let the past run the present," he continued from the other side of the block pile.

"You have no idea what I've been through," Leon shot back. He was fighting the urge to just storm out. But he did feel something for Cloud. Something strong enough to keep him there, silent for a moment before climbing to the other side of the blocks.

"I'm willing to listen," Cloud said a moment later as the two men stood face to face in the small space between walls of blocks.

Vincent was more than willing to let Bradey show him Sora's ship and listen to the technical details about the entire thing as well.

"Are you from the world that created these ships?" he asked after she paused for breath.

Bradey's mouth fell open at the question. That would certainly explain how she knew enough to end up in the complex conversation that had landed her a job with Cid. But she hadn't even thought about it before.

"I don't know. I guess I must be. I don't remember," she stammered before closing her eyes and shaking her head. "I feel like I'm missing a chunk of time. Do you remember everything?"

Vincent just nodded.

"How? Are you sure? Everyone else I've talked to seemed to have a bit of time missing," Bradey explained. "I think even Sora was a little disoriented at first, though maybe he only lost a few hours."

"I'd rather not remember," Vincent said after a moment.

"Was it scary then?" Bradey asked as she sat down on the ground beside the ship.

"Scary?"

"When the heartless destroyed your world."

"It wasn't quite like that," Vincent said softly. "Perhaps I will explain on our way back to where everybody else is."

"Why not now?" Bradey asked, pouting.

"Because," Vincent began, pointing at four figures approaching the ship, "I'll assume that your friend Sora is amongst that party."

Bradey looked over her shoulder at the group.

"Shit."

"Fine," Leon said. "I just don't..."

"Start with what upset you so much at lunch," Cloud interjected before Leon could avoid the topic again. He'd quickly thrown a couple of the more resilient blocks out of the small space to make enough room for at least one of them to sit down.

"I was married once. It didn't work out," Leon said. He still wouldn't meet Cloud's eyes and Cloud had grown weary of trying to dance around to catch Leon's gaze. "We were together for only three years. And... It was really good in the beginning but we both seemed to want to experience... more."

"Okay," Cloud said, nodding. He was doing his best not to click his claws together, but had failed twice already.

"And I had these..." Leon paused while he hunted for the words. "I had these feelings for one of my friends. Before long I was spending more time with him than with Rinoa, my wife."

"Were you..." Cloud found himself quickly hushed by a dark glove in his face.

"I'm going to talk. Stop interrupting," Leon said, pacing a bit. "It wasn't anything sexual at first. I was scared, mainly. I never thought I'd want to... After Rinoa gave up on me and left, he and I spent a weekend together."

Cloud just watched as Leon brought his hand to his head, not saying anything for more than a minute. Whatever he was going to say next, it wasn't going to be pretty.

"And afterwards, I was in heaven. I didn't want anything else in my life besides waking up every morning next to him," Leon said, his voice starting to crack just a bit.

"Leon?" Cloud couldn't help the comforting hand he reached out to Leon.

"And he looked me in the face after breakfast and said he felt nothing. Nothing at all."

Leon just shook his head and paced the other way.

"I just left. I wanted nothing to do with anyone. A couple years passed and then something happened. I'm not sure if it was the heartless or something else, but I ended up here," Leon finished. He turned after a moment and looked at Cloud.

Cloud fought for something to say, but nothing he could think of sounded either comforting or not stupid. So he gave up and walked over to Leon, kissing him quickly on the lips before smiling. It's not like he didn't have a handful of ideas.

"Want to give me a hand moving these blocks?"

"What?"

"I have to sort them and re-stack them all. It'll go quicker if you help," Cloud said, pointing as he explained.

"But I just..." Leon began.

"I know," Cloud cut in. "And I don't have anything to say that doesn't sound stupid. So I thought it might work if you helped me clear enough space of the floor to throw you down and have my way with you."

"Sorry I asked," Leon said before picking up a red-colored block. "So where does this go?"

"Over there," Cloud said, pointing towards a pile of similarly shaped red blocks.

"Were you serious about that?" Leon asked when he returned from the red block pile.

"About what?"

"About clearing the floor."

"I thought it might be a useful way to express what would sound stupid in words," Cloud explained, feeling both stupid and ridiculous as he picked up a small mountain of triangular blocks and slowly edged towards a similar stack.

Leon managed a slight smirk as he grabbed another red block.

They worked in near silence for more than an hour, clearing the entire floor almost effortlessly. Still, neither really looked at the other when they'd finished. Each was overheated and sweaty, and in near unison they both flopped down on the ground to enjoy the cool of the concrete floor.

"Want a drink? Hopefully Cid'll have something non-toxic around," Cloud asked as he stood up and brushed himself off.

"Sure," Leon replied, closing his eyes. Suddenly, he had a thought that shot through his body and caused him to sit almost bolt upright.

"Cloud?" he yelled, his voice echoing through the shop.

"Hhmm?" Cloud replied, coming up behind him with two glasses of icy lemonade. "And don't worry, it's non-tainted."

"Where's your ship?" Leon asked coolly as he stood. And then he got a decent look at Cloud, who was standing there rather innocently holding a glass of lemonade in each hand. He'd discarded his shirt sometime while he was gone, and sweat traced lines down his chest.

"It's parked outside, with one of Sora's old ones and a couple of others that are only good for parts," Cloud replied, offering one of the glasses to Leon.

"Oh," Leon said as he took one of the already-condensing glasses. "Right."

Cloud smiled when he noticed Leon still watching him.

"There's plenty of floor space. And you're wearing too much clothing."

"You want to..." Leon set his lemonade down, nervously.

"Show you how I feel," Cloud said softly as he walked over to Leon and hooked his thumbs inside the heavy jacket, lifting to push it off. He knew quite well he may just be ruining everything, but he'd come to the conclusion, somewhere between the square blue blocks and the triangular green blocks, that if he didn't take the chance, neither of them would.

And if he messed up, he had another week or so to fix it. And if he didn't... well, he only had a few months left on his contract. And...

Cloud paused as soon as he slid Leon's jacket off. Did he really feel that strongly? He knocked that thought back to the place that was currently containing the memories of his past lovers, deeming it something to deal with later. He had more important things to think about. Such as Leon's belts.

He kissed Leon and captured Leon's lower lips between his, sucking lightly before letting go and pushing his tongue between Leon's teeth. Leon's mouth was still a little cool from the lemonade, which was an interesting change. He pulled their bodies together, his hands sneaking up the back of Leon's shirt as they kissed, pulling the fabric up while their tongues met.

Breathless, Leon pulled away enough that Cloud could pull his shirt free and throw it in the general direction of one of the workbenches.

"Here?"

"Yeah."

Cloud was trying to pull at both of their collection of belts at the same time when Leon put a hand over his.

"What about Cid?"

"He's supposed to be gone for the day. And if not, he gets a free show," Cloud said, grinning wickedly.

Leon glared a moment before removing his hand.

"Okay."

Cloud's only response was to push aside some of Leon's dark hair and nip at his neck, trailing a line of kisses and small bites upward. After that, Cloud lost himself in the delicious soft moans coming from Leon's mouth as he toyed with Leon's earlobe and the small piercing there, alternately licking and nipping.

"Is this all you want me for?"

Leon's question cut through the heavy air of the shop. Cloud froze where he was and lifted his head to meet Leon's eyes.

Right answer. Right answer... Surely there was one.

Cloud said the first thing that came to mind. The truth.

"No. I don't know just what I want yet, but I want..."

And then he decided it'd be safest just to shut up as Leon pulled him down to the floor.

Though the concrete bit into Cloud's wing, Cloud was more than happy to let Leon lay on top of him as their lips met again. A couple of kisses later, Leon slid his body down a bit, sure to let Cloud know just how aroused he was.

Cloud just let out a slightly strangled moan as Leon lapped at his nipples, sure to keep skilled fingers on whichever one wasn't between his teeth.

Slowly, Leon worked his way down Cloud's body, kissing over the muscles of Cloud's stomach and lower as he undid Cloud's pants.

"Leon," Cloud gasped as he reached a hand down to stop Leon, whose lips were just touching the head of Cloud's arousal.

"What? I thought you..." But Leon was cut off with a kiss as Cloud guided them both upright to undress.

"Some time when there's less concrete," Cloud said. "And when we're not on a time frame."

His hands danced over Leon's now nude form, tracing lines down Leon's back and over his buttocks. Their erections met and they both bit back a moan, instead kissing and pulling one another back down to the floor.

Leon just sort of winced when Cloud reached over to snag something from his discarded pants.

"Don't tell me you...," he began, only to find himself looking into glittering blue eyes.

"I stopped on the way back, at the little shop owned by those duck kids. Weird lot, especially the one who winked as he rang this up," Cloud said as he contemplated the least awkward position for them while toying a bit with the little container of lube he held.

Sora was doing the best he could to sound stern and upset as he lectured Bradey. He wasn't doing a very good job, if the snickers coming from the front of the ship were any indication. Bradey just sat in silence on the floor beside the supply crate and listened. It's not like she had any other options.

At first, Sora had been quite a bit more upset, mainly because he didn't want anyone getting harmed by the heartless. But after being introduced to Vincent, his anger subsided a bit. After all, it may not have been one of his friends, but it was someone worth taking back to Traverse Town.

For the time being, Vincent was sitting on top of the crate, his wings folded about him almost like a cape. He kept idly flexing his claw fingers, most likely relieved to have them all working again.

A mechanic is always a good thing to have along, especially when the unexpected happens. Of course, by now, the adventurers should have been expecting just about anything.

But a whale in space?

Cloud pulled his slick fingers from Leon's body despite Leon's protests. Leon was on his arms and knees, head resting down on his crossed hands. Leon could feel Cloud positioning himself and pushed back a bit. Enough to let Cloud know he was more than ready.

Cloud closed his eyes as he slowly thrust forward, pausing when Leon hissed and then continuing from fear that holding back, at all, would be just as likely as not to cause this to be a rather quick encounter.

He fell into a quick rhythm, losing himself in the motion and the warmth of Leon's body beneath him. It felt downright wonderful and the moment Leon asked Cloud to touch him, and Cloud knew he was making the right decision.

As much as Leon brought old memories back, he chased them away too.

Not more than a few minutes later, Leon found his release and cried out, the feel and motion of his body sending Cloud above him into the throes of orgasm as well.

They both ended up laying there, on the cool concrete, for longer than they should have. Cloud was only semi-conscious with Leon laying half on top of him when they both heard Aerith's voice, loudly asking Cid where he'd been and to take a look at the papers she'd been reading.

Their eyes met before both began a mad scramble for their clothing. Thankfully both managed to have a workable amount of clothing on by the time Cid walked into the back of the shop, Aerith in tow.

"What the fuck are you two doing?" Cid asked, looking at the still-shirtless pair, both of whom were leaning against the nearby workbench.

"Just having a glass of lemonade," Cloud replied, holding his up. "Leon stopped by to give me a hand and we finished just a couple minutes ago."

Aerith burst out laughing and Leon quickly looked from her to Cloud. But Cloud wasn't about to explain that for the entire time they'd been there, Aerith was most likely out in the front of the shop, reading over whatever she'd left on the sofa before lunch.

"Aren't they lucky I'm here?" Bradey asked, brandishing a screwdriver as she spoke. While Sora and his companions had wandered off to explore the rather odd interior of their captor, she and Vincent had decided to stay with, and fix, the ship. It hadn't gotten too damaged, but anything that didn't get repaired now would just be harder to fix later.

"Perhaps if you and I weren't along, they wouldn't have run into this monstrosity," Vincent replied. "It could very well be our fault."

Bradey frowned before wiping a bit of engine grease on her shirt.

"Do you fix these ships often?" a voice asked suddenly. Bradey turned to see an older man standing a few feet away, looking both at the ship and her. "I haven't been able to fix mine, and it's my son and I's only way out of this whale."

"Let me at it!" Bradey said excitedly. "I could use the challenge."

"Shouldn't we be more worried about Sora?" Vincent asked cautiously.

"I think he'll be busy for awhile," the old man replied. "Someone he knows... named Riku, I believe, and my son are both somewhere in this beast with him."

And so, with a slightly reluctant Vincent to assist her, Brady followed the old man to his ship.

Less than a week later, two ships docked in Traverse Town. While Donald and Goofy took Gepetto and Pinocchio to get a nice hot meal at the cafe, Sora went off to tell Leon and Cloud the latest details he'd heard about the upcoming tournament.

And Bradey, rather nervously, crept through Cid's shop, looking for its owner. It was early evening, she guessed, since no one was around.

"Where the fuck have you been?"

Bradey jumped at least a foot, wheeling around quickly to find herself getting a death glare from Cid.

"Um, well, I was out. I mean... Well, it was good because Sora's ship was swallowed by a whale and I had to fix it and another ship and..." She couldn't find any more words to explain what had happened.

"Don't fucking do it again," Cid replied, fumbling for a cigarette. "Just... don't."

And then he turned and walked off, shaking his head but silent.

Bradey was wide-eyed with surprise. She figured she'd be fired, at the very least. Something must have happened in the past that had saved her just now.

"Wait!" she cried. "I brought you a souvenir. Kinda."