A/N: This is a dedication piece for the magnificent Jay, who runs the heart-warming and feels inducing blog, Liverpepper over on Tumblr. I can't even begin to tell you how much that blog means to me and how in love I am with the entire narrative. She's truly brought Strifehart alive for the first time in years, and will always have my admiration and respect for the countless hours of work that she puts into it. Jay, honey, this is for you, as promised!

Night Patrol

"Sora, get back here," Leon called sternly, pulling up the covers to capture the wriggling form of Roxas under the sheets, yanking on a wayward foot as the young boy kicked his way into a more comfortable position, and stuffed the appendage back under the quilt, "I'm going to start counting and I'd better not get to three."

Sora giggled, forcing Leon to fight back a sort of half smile, half frown of annoyance as he tucked the blankets under Roxas' chin in a 'stay there' manner and turned to find his other son's leg's sticking out from under the mattress, feet waving chaotically in the air as he squirmed and shuffled his way further into the small dark space beneath his bed.

"Sora, I said in bed, not under it."

"But, daaaaaad," the small boy's nightly bargaining had begun, "I gotta just check… in case... in case the bogeyman is hiding… under here."

Leon stood and observed for all of five seconds before sighing dramatically and reached out to grasp a wayward ankle, tugging hard, yanking the child straight out and rucking his pyjama top up around his shoulders. He grasped the back of Sora's shirt, lifting him up full bodied off the carpet and suspended him in mid-air.

"The amount of rubbish under your bed, I'm surprised a monster could even fit under there!" Leon commented with a raised brow as he watched his son go limp and then hang, undignified and helpless as he began to slowly rotate.

"But I don't wanna go to bed, I'm not tired," Sora tried changing tack, folding his arms across his chest in an attempt at dignified resistance.

"Tough," Leon replied unsympathetically as he deposited his son and threw the covers over his head, unconcerned about which way the boy would sleep in his bed so long as he was in it.

Sora wriggled and squirmed, his head popping above the quilt a few seconds later in a flurry of messy brown bangs and a disgruntled frown.

"But what about the bogeyman?" he asked pointedly, his real and unguarded look of concern and worry almost fooling Leon for a moment.

The brunet was about to open his mouth to answer, only to be distracted by the sight of Roxas disappearing beneath his covers in a covert attempt to pop out of the bottom and escape. Leon sighed again and reached under the blanket, yanking on the boy's collar and pulled him back up.

"I told you I got him, remember? Last Halloween you were scared Pa had let him in through the window. So I went and checked everywhere and I found him under the stairs and we had that big fight." Satisfied that Roxas was staying put for now, Leon turned to regard Sora and noted the intense look of concentration on his face as he attempted to recall the heroic events. "I had to sit on him for a whole hour and everything."

Leon perched himself on the edge of Sora's bed and ruffled his son's already disarrayed hair.

"Yeah, remember, Sora, it's how dad got his scar, cos of… cos of the bogeyman's claws!" Roxas exclaimed emphatically as he sat up and raised his arms above his head, fingers bent and menacing as if to attack.

Sora spared his brother an unconvinced glance and thought about it for a moment.

"Really," he asked, raising a brow, "Did you really get him?"

"Uhuh," Leon nodded his head, "It wasn't easy, but I got him."

"Well, can you just check under the bed anyways… just because… well in case he came back?" Sora asked, his voice turning small and worried as he twisted the blankets in his little hands.

Leon couldn't help the small smile and the large swell of emotion that rose in his chest at the innocent request and as he coaxed his son to lie down he tucked the blankets up a little higher and placed a kiss to his forehead.

"Sure," and with a quick peek into the hellish mess that was the underneath of his son's bed, Leon confirmed his safety with a dramatic re-shuffle of all the junk and some convincing banging. "Nope!" he exclaimed as his head appeared over the edge of the bed, "Nothin' under here."

Sora had inched closer to the edge as well and he peered over the side, inspecting his father's work with an unscrupulous expression.

"Now do Roxas' bed. He could have a brother!" Sora reasoned, missing the slight look of terror that passed over his twin's face as Roxas contemplated the previously unthinkable possibility and thought of all those nights he'd slept in his unchecked bed, potential child eating bogeyman lurking beneath it.

Leon did as instructed, throwing in a few theatrical bangs and actually lifting one corner of the bedframe clean off the ground for good measure.

"Nope, this one's clean too. No bogeyman under here."

Sora sat back into his pillows and settled down, appearing pacified as he pulled up his covers and tucked the edge under his arms.

"You hunting for monsters again?" a voice asked from the door and all three turned to find Cloud stood with one shoulder lent up against the frame, arms folded across his chest as he watched Leon stand stiffly from his thorough inspection.

"Night patrol." Leon confirmed with a sober frown.

"Hmm, that's serious business; need a hand?" Cloud asked as he unfolded his arms and sauntered into the room, casting his eyes over his two sons as they peered at him over the tops of their blankets.

"Hn, no need. As usual you've arrived just as the job's done." Leon teased, throwing a stuffed toy he'd found under Roxas' bed at his lover's chest.

Cloud smirked at him, narrowing his eyes slightly in silent rebuke as he turned to Roxas and bent to place a kiss against his forehead.

"Night boys," he said, swapping sides and repeating his actions with Sora.

The two small children snuggled down deeper under their covers and appeared to settle instantly, making Leon's eye twitch slightly and his mouth turn down in annoyance. How was it Cloud was able to do that so effortlessly?

"Night, Pa!" they both replied in unison, "Night, dad."

Leon sighed and ran a hand through his hair, turning to follow Cloud as they both retreated while they could, pulling the door closed behind him and flicking the light switch off as he passed.

"Night, boys. Sleep tight," he replied leaving the door open just a fraction in case they woke.