Kalli's Journal

Staff Information!
Hit Banners & Awards!

Contact Info

Cloud leaned back in his seat and, for the eighty-seventh time, told himself that he was going to be fine. It was just that the motion of the ship was starting to get to him.

The craft itself was on autopilot, following less than a minute behind Cid's vessel. But Cid had the heartless to worry about at the moment, and Cloud and Leon didn't. So with autopilot engaged, Cloud had nothing to do but peer back occasionally at Leon.

Leon had barely been awake when they'd left and had mentioned something about how gently the ship was rocking before he fell back to sleep.

With a bored sigh, Cloud flicked a button that caused the radio to scan through frequencies. They were still a bit too far out to pick up the Coliseum's medium-strength broadcast, and Sora hadn't radioed for more than an hour from his position at the lead of the small caravan.

After fighting off another wave of nausea and watching the radio reset four times, Cloud heard a noise behind him.

"Nnnn. Cloud?"

Cloud turned in his seat so he could see Leon stretch and stand.

"Nice nap?"

Leon glared a moment. "You're the one who kept me up most of the night."

"Yet I'm up here flying this horrid thing," Cloud replied, watching as Leon meticulously looked over his weapon, which was sitting on top of the supply crate. It hadn't moved so much as an inch during the time Leon was asleep, but still, Cloud had seem him clean the weapon past perfection on more than one occasion.

"It can't be that hard. You aren't even touching the controls," Leon noted, stretching again and walking up to lean on the back of Cloud's seat.

"Autopilot," Cloud replied, pointing at a couple of read-outs and buttons. "We should be there in about half an hour."

"Nothing to do until then?"

"Not really," Cloud answered, wondering just what frame of mind Leon had woken up in.

"You open to suggestions?" Leon asked as he slid into the space between Cloud's chair and the control panel. Leaning over Cloud, he tilted Cloud's head with one hand so they could kiss.

The kiss grew from a simple meeting of mouths into an intoxicating battle of tongues while Leon tried to slip a hand into Cloud's pants. Cloud was wearing his old uniform, which fit enticingly snug over some parts of his body.

They didn't stop kissing as Leon's hand achieved its goal. Cloud moaned into the kiss as he was coaxed to full arousal.

Both were gasping for breath when their lips finally parted, but before Cloud could question what Leon was planning, Leon slipped down to his knees between Cloud's legs.

Cloud could only gasp Leon's name as icy blue eyes flicked from Cloud's face downward. With a torturously slow movement, Leon took Cloud's arousal into his mouth. Cloud grabbed at the armrests as Leon let his tongue travel over every inch he could reach.

When Leon glanced upwards a moment later to see why Cloud was being so quiet, his eyes met glowing blue. One hand was wrapped firmly around Cloud's arousal and his mouth was still around the tip as he silently questioned if he was doing anything wrong.

"Don't stop," Cloud whispered, stroking Leon's hair softly. "You're amazing to watch."

Leon smirked as best he could for having an erection in his mouth and continued where he'd left off. He felt a little self-conscious knowing he was being so closely watched, but remembering the times he'd been captivated by Cloud performing the same act on him, he understood.

A few minutes later, Cloud closed his eyes and moaned, waves of pleasure coursing through his body as Leon moved his tongue faster and bobbed his head quicker.

Cloud cried out as he came, his entire body shaking with the force of the orgasm. Leon quickly drank down his mouthful of hot fluid before returning to carefully clean all traces away from Cloud's body.

Cloud pulled him up into a quick kiss, causing Leon to almost lose his balance and crash awkwardly into the control panel. However once righted, his lips were quickly claimed.

"I want you," Cloud whispered as Leon pulled away.

"Hey guys, I just confirmed landing instructions. We're about five minutes out."

Both men stared at the radio with irritation, trying to convince themselves Sora hadn't somehow known what was going on and planned that interruption.

His hand shaking a bit from the intensity of his release, Cloud reached to the radio and opened the channel.

"Understood. See you soon," he replied, his voice cracking midway.

Leon was glaring at the radio when Cloud looked over to him. Quickly fixing his clothing, Cloud stood and walked over to Leon, who'd moved to lean against the sidewall of the cockpit.

"Later," Cloud said as he ran a hand down Leon's chest and over Leon's straining erection. "As soon as the tournament is over, in the showers..."

Leon nodded, trying not to frown as the autopilot squawked out a disengagement message Cloud couldn't ignore.

A couple of weird and colorful demons holding flares guided the three ships onto the dock at the Coliseum.

Everyone formed a sort of loose huddle as they stretched and paced, waking their bodies up after the hours in space. Cloud was leaning on his weapon, watching everyone.

After a minute, Aerith wandered over and smiled.

"Motion sick?" she asked.

"A little," Cloud replied. It was a lie, but perfectly explained his condition. He hadn't even noticed the motion of the ship once Leon had started on him.

"Poor thing." She walked behind him and wrapped her arms around him, earning a flicker of a glare from Leon, who was standing nearby. "You better be okay to fight, because Yuffie and I are ready."

"C'mon guys, we have to sign up," Sora yelled from near the gate.

With few words, the entire group passed through the gates and into the open courtyard of the Coliseum.

"Oh! Look at these!" Aerith exclaimed, letting go of Cloud and crouching down to point at a few loose pebbles.

"So?" Leon asked.

"They'll be perfect for the fish tank," Aerith replied, gathering as many as she could and handing some to Yuffie when the ninja joined her.

Cloud stopped. "You don't have a fish tank."

"But Gepetto does," Aerith said. "You met him, right?"

With a nod, Cloud looked to Leon. They knew about Gepetto. They'd had a wonderfully naughty time making a vacant building into something livable for the old man and his son.

Ten minutes later, Sora had finally rounded up the entire group and ushered them into the room where Phil was waiting to check in any willing or not-so-wiling fighters.

"Cloud?" Phil pushed past everyone's knees. "I need to talk to you about what you've missed."

"I didn't think you were friends," Sora said, looking oddly at the pair.

"Keep your enemies closer, kid," Phil responded before reaching up to pull Cloud down to his level.

"Later, Phil. Send everyone in first," Cloud replied. Whatever it was, he didn't like Phil's tone of voice.

"Fine," Phil said as he turned to walk back to where a small table covered with scrolls was set up. "But two words... Trouble."

Cloud just shook his head when Leon looked to him for an explanation.

"The politics here vary by day," Cloud said, walking over to Aerith and guiding her to the front of the line.

"Hey, I'm on Aerith's team too," Yuffie announced, marching over to stand beside the her.

"Team?" Cloud questioned. It did make more sense for the women to work together. After all, Sora had Donald and Goofy to help him out.

"Enter us together, okay? My name is Yuffie." Yuffie said to Phil, leaning over the table to look at the rough seeding for the event.

Phil looked up at the women. "You do know how this works, right? I don't want you pretty things getting hurt."

Yuffie stuck out her tongue. "Sora and Cloud explained it all. We know it's just for fun and if we both get knocked out, that's it. But we'll be fine afterward."

Aerith smiled as she looked at Yuffie.

"Okay, I'll start you two off about twentieth seed. How's that?"

Yuffie shrugged, and looked to Cloud for advice.

"Fine," Cloud replied. "Leon?"

Leon raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"Want to fight... together?"

"Alone," Leon said, stepping up behind the women.

Phil eyed Leon a moment before marking down something on the scroll. "Fifteenth seed."

Cloud stayed behind as everyone else headed towards the main arena. They still had almost an hour until the tournament started, and until then, Sora wanted to drag everyone around and show them things. Even Leon was quickly whisked away by his enthusiasm.

"Okay, now why am I going to be watching my back, Phil?" Cloud asked, bending down to get in the face of the pudgy satyr.

"Today's top seed is a killer. Don't fight her," Phil replied, shaking his head. "She's Hades' wife, and the last thing you need is trouble with him."

"Fine," Cloud replied. "Though he's not going to like what I have to tell him anyway."

"What now?" Phil asked. "Going to ask to skip out on another contract? Not going to happen."

"The contract's fine," Cloud said, reaching back and adjusting his sword so he could crouch without it banging the floor. "We're just going to have a new resident until I can leave here for good."

"Oh no you don't," Phil countered, putting his hands out in a blocking motion. "Don't tell me you have someone."

"Phil?" Cloud was surprised. He didn't think it was going to be much of a problem. If anything, it'd be one extra fighter around, and that seemed like a good thing.

"Here's what you've missed, Cloud. Two days after you left, Riku came back."

Cloud winced. He honestly never thought he'd see Riku again and hadn't even considered something like this. It's not that he necessarily felt anything beyond lust for Riku, it was just that with Leon here, and Sora. Oh no, Sora... After what Sora said had happened in the whale, now was not the time for a confrontation. Especially when Riku didn’t know half of what had been going on.

"Riku's... here. Is he fighting today?" Cloud put a hand to his head. This was not going to be good.

"He was led off by one of Hades' freaky pals earlier this morning, or he would be. I'm amazed that other guy isn't fighting though." Phil said, grabbing his things from the table.

"Other guy?"

"Yeah, a real freak. Strong though. You'll see him around. And Cloud, I have three words for you." Phil started down the hallway to the arena, not looking back. "Try monogamy."

The little satyr was less than amused to be knocked over by a very large buster sword when Cloud 'accidentally' smacked him with it a moment later.

The sun was shining on the main arena, but the day itself wasn't overly warm. Bradey had sprawled out on one of the bleachers, attempting to sunbathe though she kept one arm over her eyes. The sudden light was such a change from Traverse Town that the prolonged exposure to it was starting to effect them all. Even Cid seemed to have a smile on his face as he attempted to convince Vincent that surely those wings were capable of flight. Sora and Yuffie quickly joined in the persuasion effort while Aerith emptied her pockets of the pebbles she'd picked up earlier.

Leon was leaning against a column and looking around at the surroundings as if he'd never been so bored in his life. Actually, it had been little while since he had been this bored. The last few weeks had been a treat, despite their awkwardness, because everything had been unpredictable and new. If there was one thing Leon didn't like, it was monotony. At times it was a comforting break, but Traverse Town really was dull without at least one traveler livening things up.

And Cloud, Cloud took away the feelings of rejection that had held him back from seeking out a relationship before. Still, he was worried. After listening to a long explanation from Cloud about a lover who had died... Or, not died, from what he'd understood. The whole thing seemed very complicated and it seemed to be a very real possibility that Cloud would follow up on the situation.

He didn't want to be rejected again, but he was already preparing himself for when it happened. It hurt, but life hurt. It was reality.

It wasn't that he regretted coming to the Coliseum, because he didn't. It was just that he had a very strange feeling about the entire scenario.

Watching Cloud go through a warm-up in the middle of the arena, Leon couldn't help being absolutely captivated by his movements. It was almost like the place brought out something within that Leon couldn't quite put his finger on.

Or maybe it was just the sunshine. He'd never seen any of his companions in the sunlight before. He'd almost forgotten what daylight was like. He wondered if even he looked different.

"Okay, get ready to die," Phil deadpanned as he walked by the group on his way across the arena.

"What?" Aerith asked, panicking a bit. "I thought you said..."

"It's a joke, remind me not to make another," Phil replied, cutting her off and continuing on his way.

Aerith clapped and cheered as Sora cut easily through another shadow heartless. He was currently fighting the twenty-seventh seed team and doing fairly well, himself. Goofy threw Donald another potion and made an offhand comment about how he wasn't really stocked for this.

"Are you nervous?" Yuffie asked as she sat down beside Aerith. She had been up a couple of bleachers, looking at the scenery, during the last couple rounds.

"About fighting Sora? No way! Cloud and Squall, er, Leon taught us well!" Yuffie exclaimed, rocking back once before settling down and grabbing Aerith's hand. She squeezed it gently and smiled. "It's fighting Leon, and Cloud, that could be tricky."

As for the two men in question, they were sitting a few feet apart at the other end of the bleachers. Every few minutes a hesitant and questioning look passed between them yet neither spoke. Each was squinting a bit, making their expressions nearly unreadable.

"Remember Leon, the showers, right after this is over," Cloud finally whispered, licking the edge of Leon's ear after he spoke. Leon shivered at the contact and then nodded.

It would definitely be a different experience. The shower he had in Traverse Town really couldn't fit two people for a normal shower, let alone something more athletic.

In his mind, Leon had the blonde pressed up against a tile wall as hot water sprayed over them both. He watched the fantasy play out in his mind as Cloud nipped at his neck. He'd seen how Cloud's hair lay when wet and it was damned sexy. But it wasn't just the hair, it was his entire tanned naked body he was pressing himself against and pushing into. And it was amazing.

He let out a low involuntary moan, snapping back to reality only because Sora crashed into the invisible barrier just in front of him.

"Sora!" But before Leon could jump to his feet, Sora picked himself up and grinned before rushing back into the melee.

"Don't worry," Cloud said, reaching an arm around Leon's shoulders. "None of the damage he's taking is real - he'll be fine when he steps out of the arena."

"Us too?"

"Yeah. Or else I wouldn't have let Aerith come," the blonde replied as he glanced over at her. "But this is safe and it'll build her confidence."

Leon just nodded and watched as a new pack of heartless was unleashed on Sora and his companions.

Cloud kept his fingers crossed that everything would work itself out before any damage was done. If Riku felt the same for Sora as Sora felt for Riku, all was well.

But if not...

"Sorry!" Aerith yelled as she smacked Donald across the chest with her staff. She closed her eyes a moment before peering at the him. He was out cold. Aerith winced. "Sorry..."

"Aerith!" Yuffie's yell brought the woman out of her momentary shock. Turning, she saw both Sora and Goofy running for the already-wounded ninja.

"Over here!" Aerith yelled back, motioning for Yuffie to run to her.

A quick healing spell and a couple of well places blow from the pair of them had Goofy out cold and Sora backing away slowly, trying to find a potion.

Conformer quickly took care of him though, and Yuffie grinned as she caught her weapon.

Smiling to each other, the two women watched as their three challengers slowly picked themselves up and staggered out of the arena. All three were smiling.

And on the bleachers, even Vincent was cheering.

The next round was a group of heartless though, and Aerith was visibly shaken by their appearance. She wasn't hitting as hard as she could and wasn't watching what was around her. In less than a minute, she'd backed herself into a corner and had three monkey-shaped heartless closing in on her.

"Dammit!" Cloud was on his feet, trying to get a better view. He knew Aerith wouldn't actually get physically hurt, but he didn't want her to be afraid either. "Aerith!"

Suddenly, one of the monkey heartless went flying, then another. The third was quickly pulverized and seconds later Aerith was grinning widely and waving to Cloud and Leon.

"I think she'll be fine," Leon said as Cloud sat down again.

"Yeah," Cloud replied with a slight grin. Still, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Aerith bring a hand to her chest and pause before chasing another enemy.

About five minutes later, Leon stepped into the arena. Yuffie looked to Aerith and nodded, passing a silent bit of confidence to her partner. Still, the second the battle officially began, it was clear who was going to come out on top.

Cloud winced with every blow Leon landed on either woman and he couldn't quite figure out his strategy. He'd thought Leon would be gentle on them, but each movement of his gunblade was deliberately harsh.

At the rate he was going, he'd have both women knocked out in ten seconds.

"Cloud?" Bradey had appeared beside him, unnoticed as he watched the battle. He mentally cursed himself for ignoring his surroundings before glancing up at her.

"It's okay, I know what he's doing," Cloud replied. It had dawned on him just a moment before he'd had his thoughts interrupted. Still, he winced as Aerith went down.

"I don't get it," Bradey said. "He's so..."

"He's getting it over with quickly. Pain in there isn't quite the same, but you do know you're getting hurt." Cloud explained. "They didn't stand a chance, so he made it quick."

Bradey shook her head for a moment until she understood. "What about you?"

Cloud was silent a moment as Yuffie was slammed against a wall and then fell to the arena floor. Leon had won.

"I'm not going to tell you the ending."

Leon and Cloud stood just a few feet apart, weapons drawn. Everyone was on their feet with their faces pressed against the invisible barrier. Even Donald and Goofy were watching the pair with apparent interest.

The first move was made by Leon and quickly evaded by Cloud. Again, they stood motionless, looking for any unguarded spots or deviances from form.

And then, in a couple of almost poorly timed moves, Cloud went down, hard.

"That didn't just happen."

Everyone turned to look at Vincent. He'd barely said a handful of words all day except when he'd been cheering for Aerith. But his observation seemed to mirror everyone else's thoughts. Even Leon seemed surprised as he was declared the victor.

"Cloud?" he asked, bending down to assist the rapidly recovering blonde.

"I'm fine. Good job," Cloud replied as he struggled to his feet.

"You didn't just..."

"Win," Cloud cut him off. "For me. I'll see you in the showers."

And before Leon could reply, Cloud had left the ring and the next wave of heartless was quickly approaching.

Sora was the first to run up to Cloud, his eyes asking the obvious question his mouth couldn't even form.

"I need to go have a chat with Hades," Cloud said coolly. "You're welcome to tag along, as I'll eventually need to talk to you, too."

"About what?" Sora asked, pouting at not getting the information right away.

"Just come with me."

The two vanished down a dark hallway before any of the others thought to follow. They were all still watching Leon.

Some time between the sixth and fifth seed matches, a small black-haired woman wandered out from a dark doorway and took a seat on the far end of the bleachers. She watched Leon intently for a few moments before settling her gaze on the rest of the spectators.

No one paid any attention to her until she shed her long robes to display a red bodysuit underneath.

Leon stood panting in the center of the arena after finishing off the second seed horde of heartless, oblivious to the woman until she stepped effortlessly though the invisible barrier.

"You're an excellent fighter," she said, pulling a golden sword from thin air. "My name is Persephone."

"Leon," Leon replied, trying to size up the fighter. Something about her just wasn't right.

Was this why Cloud let himself lose? Did he not want to fight this woman? Or, was he ordered not to?

"Leon." Persephone seemed to mull over his name a moment. "You've impressed me, Leon."

"Just fight me," Leon threw back. He was going to win this. And then he was going to go find Cloud and live out all the fantasies that had sustained him through the dull afternoon.

"Good luck, Leon," Persephone replied before taking a perfect fighting stance.

She made the first move.