Happy belated birthday, Toothpaste Addict!

Disclaimer: dood, fanfiction. Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, and the characters and universes therein are the property of Disney and Square Enix. I receive no remuneration for this work; it is a parody and as such utilizes the Fair Use clause of the Copyright Act.

He never thought he'd find himself in this kind of situation. After all the devastating losses he's suffered and the long, difficult years spent on his own in Hell—literally—he figured he would never find someone he could connect with on such a level as he has with Leon. It's not something someone like him deserves.

Connected though they are, the older warrior is still a mystery he can't quite comprehend. He's been drawn in so absolutely by every single facet of the man that trying to figure him out has almost become an addiction, and the fact that he's willing to brave the fiercest winds and biting rain just to be in his presence is proof enough of his obsession.

By now, the steps they take in this game they play, this dance they move to—echoes of a completely different kind of battle—they're almost instinct. One approaches, the other retreats; one gives chase, the other defends, and then the clash really begins. Then all that's left to them is the inevitable shared victory, because it never seems to matter who starts things, who chases who, or who ultimately wins out in the end—only that they reach it together.

Leon demands everything from him, absolutely everything, in his own silent way...but he's strong and he's honorable and he gives it all back tenfold, without question. Please him, and you will know what it truly means to receive pleasure, from an unselfish and wholly generous man; cross him, and revenge will be meticulously meted out on the bitter-sharp edge of Lionheart's glowing blue blade. Cloud has been on the receiving end of both more times than he can remember.

He keeps him on edge, keeps him coming back time and time again and even now as he's standing eye to scrutinizing silver-blue eye with static crackling in the wet air all around them, he still doesn't understand why Leon trusts in him so implicitly, or why it's him he trusts, knowing what he must by now about Cloud's shrouded past and all the dark things he's done.

But trust him he does, regardless of what he knows, and in the joining of two left hands, calloused grip tight and unyielding between their chests, and the joining of two pairs of lips, kiss deep and full of resolve and raw, burning passion, Cloud can only hope that Leon never finds a reason to stop.