game; Kingdom Hearts (II)
pairing; eventual Leon/Seifer
warnings; language, shonen-ai & perhaps yaoi, violence; it all depends on how the story evolves.
disclaimer; I do not own Kingdom Hearts or any of the characters used.

&&&

When he came to, he realized that something wet was trailing down his face.

Blood? Seifer thought, but instantly changed his mind - it was too liquid-like, not nearly as thick. He concluded it was water, and as his vision cleared, he was met with the sight of a stone-roof, shielded in an illuminating green mist. A cave.

A familiar cave. A cave in which he had fought Leonhart, again, and then.. what had happened after that? He remembered pain. A blinding kind of pain that shot throughout his entire body, and the clouded images of dust-covered dreams nestling themselves into his mind.

He shook it off, meaning to stand. He wondered how long he had been out. There was not a soul in sight, which meant Leon had left completely, the silent drip-drop of water beads falling from the cave-roof being the only sound audible.

He found that he wasn't really that dizzy anymore, and made to exit the cave, a strange, detached feeling in the pit of his stomach.

As if on a cue, a silver-lined shadow swept across the wall, the instant panic that followed making Seifer's blood rush hurriedly as he clenched his fists.

"Long time no see", a voice purred, dead-serious.

Seifer would have moved, had he not had the tip of a sword aimed directly at his gut.

And he was unarmed. Great.

"Sephiroth", he bit out nonetheless, not doing much of hiding the disgust in his voice. He refused to be threatened by the man, though - and if he was, he at least refused to show it.

"Although it would be absolutely lovely to", Sephiroth smirked lazily, "I can't stay too long. So I'll just ask you to pass on a message to my dear.. acquintance."

"Who? Cloud?" Seifer stressed.

"That is correct", the silver-haired man replied, and the glint in his eyes turned dangerous. "Tell him this; there's not much time left, and soon, he'll simply have to make up his mind. Can you do that for me?"

It wasn't really a question, so Seifer didn't answer - instead, he glared at the man with as much hatred as he could muster.

Sephiroth quirked an eyebrow, amused if his smirk was anything to go by, but sincerity failing to reach his eyes. He was gone in a flash, a coal-black wing floating to the ground.

Seifer stared at it for a very long time before moving again.

&&&

"What do you mean 'you're staying'?" Hayner cried in disbelief, halting in his tracks towards the departure-place they had picked out.

"Exactly what I said, shrimp."

All eyes were focused on the thug's calm form, eyes widened in surprise - except for Leon, who had already heard this, and Cloud, who merely peeked at him in interest from across the news paper before adverting his gaze again.

"Uh, Seifer, don't get me wrong, but.. you're the one who's been wanting to go home ever since we arrived", Sora cut in, "I mean, you didn't really seem that much into going in the first place.."

"Yeah. Something came up, though, so I'll just have to stick around a while longer."

"Well.. we were thinking of coming back after me, Kairi and Riku have visited two more worlds that are in current danger because of the Heartless. We'll have the Gummi Ship with us then, so you could tag along after that."

"All right, then", Seifer decided. "I'll just have to find a place to stay while I'm here. Shouldn't be that hard now that the Heartless are pretty much gone and we can actually be on the outside of this cellar."

"Oh, Seifer, we'll provide you with sleeping-space, of course! Me and Yuffie share a flat, and Cloud's recently became Cid's room-mate, but Leon actually has a house for himself", Aerith piped up, apparently pleased with the direction this was going. "You'll take him in, Leon, won't you?"

It was hard to resist the open encouragement in those glittering green eyes - Leon switched his gaze to Seifer's glaring face not to be lured into the foolishness. If the damn kid wanted to stay, he could, but Leon hadn't exactly volunteered for taking stubborn brats in, and-

"There's no way I'm staying with that bastard", Seifer proclaimed firmly.

"Oh, Seif! Don't be like that! Leon's nice when he's not so grumpy - besides, you'd have the entire second floor to yourself!" Yuffie chimed.

The blonde scowled in frustration, but he managed to catch Kairi's gaze over the bubbly ninja's head, and the redhead nodded, urging him on.

"Whatever", he eventually breathed, each word reeking of sour bitterness. "It'll be fine."

Leon wanted to protest, say that it definitely would not 'be fine', but realized quickly that he was the adult here, and that the presence of a thug-like teenager shouldn't bother him quite as much as it did - so he remained silent, thinking that he could easily endure this if he treated the boy for what he was; a child.

A child with strange and achingly familiar manners and personality-flips, a child that was good at bringing forth the sides of the Gunblade-wielder which he had thought were buried since long..

"Good luck, then!" Sora cheered. "To all of you! We'll see you soon. Until then, take care!"

Kairi hugged Aerith and Yuffie tightly, promising to call from the ship, and she waved, smiling at the others. Riku nodded to each and every one of them, and Hayner threw a 'see ya!' over his shoulder with a cheeky grin, before catching Seifer's gaze and then retreating into the waiting ship.

Soon, they were all inside of the very thing that had brought them here in the first place, except that this time Seifer stayed on the line of the unknown instead of travelling back to places he knew were safe and routine-infected.

He did not know why he didn't just go home, to be frank. It could be called gut feeling, but he wasn't sure he was superstitious enough to believe that.

"All right then. I'll go back and clean up the rest in the hidden base", Aerith announced, squeezing Seifer's shoulder as she passed. "You should get installed in your room."

"I'll help you clean!" Yuffie suggested, sending a wink to the beanie-wearing boy before dancing after Aerith.

"Huh, 's kinda unusual of ya to stay, kid", Cid told him, fumbling to find his packet of smokes.

"Not at all - I've got stuff to take care of", Seifer said, with a meaningful glance in Cloud's direction. The spiky-haired male pretended not to notice.

"Well, ya gotta' do watcha' gotta' do. Imma' head back to th' flat. See ya around."

As the man trudged away, Seifer raised an eyebrow at the blond - he did a good job of ignoring Leon who was standing right next to him.

"What?" Cloud inquired.

"I have a message for you", he revealed. "A greeting, you could call it, from a.. friend."

Cloud's eyes lit up for a minimal second.

"..Hn. Tell me later."

And he turned to leave, just like that. Seifer rolled his eyes.

"So. Let's go." Leon said unceremoniously, giving the single training bag thrown across the blonde's broad shoulder a once-over before walking ahead towards.. wherever his house was. The blonde didn't notice the slight twitch of his hands, though - didn't notice the mental dialogue the brunet was engaged in; obviously, Leon sensed something lurking beneath the sudden acquintance Seifer had made with Cloud, but he couldn't put his finger on it, and he couldn't very well ask, either - it was none of his business, after all. It was much too irritating.

Seifer followed the man, eyebrows furrowed, deciding not to think about the fact that he was to spend even more time beneath the same roof as Leon.

&&&

The room was nice - wooden floor and lilac walls. The bed was kind of small, but at least it looked more comfortable than the last one he'd had. Seifer threw his bag on the ground before sinking down on the bed he was to sleep on from now on, feeling as if he could actually take a nap right now..

Maybe not. He heard firm footsteps approach the room.

"You'll need these", the brunet offered, placing an armful of sheets and covers on the nearby desk before turning to leave briskly.

"Whatever, puberty-boy", Seifer drawled, the nickname coming out of reflex by now, "I don't like this any more than you do. In fact, I'd be happy if we didn't really talk at all during my stay here. I'm only doing this because I have serious matters to take care of here."

"Sure", Leon answered, voice emotionless.

"Stop that!" Seifer growled before he could help himself.

"..What?" the brunet asked in a tone that indicated he was not up for whatever the thug had to say.

"You're always so damn cold! Like you're so tough! You're not as emotionless as you force yourself to be, so stop it already! It drives me nuts and yet you keep doing it, always!"

Leon's gaze hardened.

"How would you know how I 'always' am, Almasy?"

Seifer flinched, barely visible, at the sound of his last name. How would he?

"Look, there's.. there's something strange going on", he tried instead, ignoring the throbbing feeling in his head. "Ever since I came. It just.. I have to figure it out, it's something important, I know it is. And you.. you're so.."

Leon sharply turned his head at that, frowning.

"Hey, bastard.." Seifer got up from the bed and stepped towards the man, pale eyes swimming with anger and confusion. "Why is this happening to me? Do you know anything about it?"

Leon refused to answer, but he adjusted his head again so that he could glare back at the teen.

"Hey.. puberty-boy.." Seifer suddenly muttered, eyebrows drawn low as his eyes danced about the taller man's face, "tell me about how you got that scar." Almost as if in a trance (Seifer reasoned that it was the only logical explanation for his behaviour) he raised rough fingers, inches away from tracing the tanned skin of the other's forehead..

It went too fast for him to read anything in the brunet's features at all, because next thing he knew, Leon had smacked the hand away and was out the door.

He could have sworn, though - if it was not his lately very vivid imagination playing tricks on him - that for a split second, the purest of terror was laced within that tumult of stormy grey.

&&&

"You know something, don't you?" Leon asked as soon as he stepped through the door, not even bothering with polite greetings and such.

Cloud blinked back at him, unfazed, from the couch he was seated in.

"..About?"

"That damn kid. There's something going on, am I right? Something that has to do with the two of you.."

"Not really", Cloud replied in a flat voice. "He just think he's come across something he wasn't supposed to get involved with in the first place. He doesn't know very much, though.."

"And this 'something', is it a threat to the city?"

Cloud smirked faintly at that, but there was no smugness or humor behind it.

"Definitely. A deadly threat, actually. If it chooses to be."

"And you have not told me this because..?" Leon spat, managing to sound one hundred percent terrifying despite the impossibly low monotone.

"This is my battle", the blonde replied easily.

"It's not if it's getting other people involved!"

"They aren't meant to get involved.."

"Strife, if you think that I'm going to just sit here, not knowing anything, just watching as-"

"Hold on. Look. It's hard to explain. You remember the night I first came to Hollow Bastion, right?"

"I do. Probably better than you", Leon snorted.

"Right. You were the one that found me all bloody and covered in wounds. Do you know why?"

The brunet didn't answer.

"I had just experienced the fight of my life. And it's still not over. Sometimes I think it's eternal, but I don't want to believe that - one day, I'll make it all stop."

Leon continued with just staring at the blonde in an expressionless way.

"I have a nemesis, I guess - it's my personal darkness, the memory of a demon that's lingered for so long it's become almost-reality. And I have to destroy it, just as I have to destroy the part of me that brings it back."

&&&

"..Really? That's it?" Seifer inquired, lifting an eyebrow.

Cloud nodded in response.

It had taken the crew-leader at least three hours until he had been able to seek the other out, walking aimlessly around in the middle of town, of all places - and this time, Cloud actually seemed quite willing to let him in on some actual information. Especially after Seifer delivered Sephiroth's formal-clad warning; Cloud's jaw had clenched tightly, breathing ragged - it was the closest to concrete emotion the thug had ever seen the other man display.

"Oh. So, he's here now and looking for you. And you're actually going to meet him, because..?"

"It cannot go on like this. He'll keep coming back no matter what I do. I have to put an end to him."

Seifer did think that Cloud looked pretty dangerous with that huge-ass sword and the kind of silent-but-deadly aura that clung to him, but Sephiroth? Hell, Seifer had seen him two times in his life and none of them had included any serious fighting, but he was no less sure that the man was capable of turning the blonde spiky-haired warrior into a pile of ash if he so wished.

"You're an idiot", Seifer eventually settled, ignoring the narrowing of bright blue eyes. "You could never win against him, especially not alone."

"I won't be alone, though - not as long as I keep my light with me."

"You're weird, you know. A little light isn't gonna' help you get anywhere", he snorted.

"I've told you what you wanted to know. I don't really think I owe you anything more than that, Seifer. And it would be wise if you stayed out of Sephiroth's way from now on", the blonde said, spitting the name of his enemy like it was a curse.

"Hey, he's the one coming after me, picking fights all the time!"

"Yes. So please do not behave irrationally."

Seifer wanted to ask what he meant by that, but the blonde turned his gaze towards the ground again - it was quite ironic that he had not moved an inch ever since teen had found him, back resting against a wall and arms crossed at his chest - and closed his stark blue eyes, indicating that the conversation was over.

Seifer huffed grumpily before stomping off, vowing to himself that he would find out more about Cloud's constant battle with the silver-haired warrior. And if it was only Cloud the man wanted, why did he lurk around town like a predator mapping out his territory? Why did he go through Seifer to reach the blonde man, instead of finding him personally? It certainly wouldn't be hard for him to.

For the rest of the day, he remained lost in thoughts.

&&&

When evening approached, Seifer took it upon himself to get some food into his system. He had noticed Leon's eating habits were less than normal; as far as he was concerned, the brunet had not eaten once today, while working non-stop. It definitely wasn't healthy.

..Not that Seifer cared. But if there was one thing he could not be without, it was food! Which was, admittedly, quite logical. But he never really got chicks who squealed about new diets or workaholics who forced a sandwich down at eight in the morning and then lived on coffee for the rest of the day.

Many would be surprised to find out that he was actually capable of more than just boiling water or pouring up some cereal in the kitchen. He wasn't some master cook, but he got around just fine. Living alone did that to you.

Truth be told, he didn't understand how stupid puberty-boy had survived up until now. But he supposed Aerith cooked for him every once in a while. Finally, the truth behind his skinniness.

(All right, Leon wasn't skinny at all - his body was just more lean than bulky, but very developed indeed with broad shoulders and powerful legs).

Seifer ate the noodle soup and slices of bread (the only edible things he had found in the brunet's kitchen that weren't past the expiration date) in silence, which was a nice change - after a while, he realized he may have overdone it a bit, even for himself; he usually cooked a lot, knowing that there was a part of him that was always hungry enough to fit more in. Today, though, he didn't really feel like eating.

First, he thought about throwing the remains away, but he thought it kind of dumb to waste food. Maybe he'd just eat it in the morning or something.

..But then again, leaving it on the kitchen counter or in the fridge would make it look like he made an extra portion for Leon or something, which irked him to no end.

He actually stood for five and a half minute, debating with himself, before he finally muttered, "screw it" and placed the plasticized plate on the dining table, thinking that puberty-boy was up for a surprise when he came home.

Seifer amused himself by thinking of Leon's reaction; if luck was on his side, the man would perhaps think that the blonde had poisoned the leftovers. And he'd be outraged at Seifer for cooking the last of his food. Hopefully he'd be really hungry, too, argumenting with himself whether it would be a good idea or not to eat it.

Seifer had to chuckle in slight malice at that. He retreated to his room for the night.

&&&

Leon startled awake, sweat clinging to his nude upper body. He looked around the familiar and simply decorated room, just as the crack of electricity sparked across the night-sky and momentarily lit up the room.

The brunet assumed that a storm was approaching, and that the violent thunder and the sound of splattering rain against his bedroom window were the reasons for his awakening. He felt strange, though, as if brought to reality after a very bad dream; breathing pattern uneven, his body hot and trembling, throat dry and scratchy, his hair damp with stray strands sticking to his neck.

The symptoms of a nightmare indeed, except that he couldn't remember having any.

Just as he was about to get up, head still swimming in half-awareness, an intense roar resounded.

"Squall!"

His insides froze to blistering ice for approximately a third of a second, before instincts kicked in and he rushed out of the room, grabbing his Gunblade by the bed out of pure reflex.

Obviously, he had something else to blame for serving as an most unreasonable alarm clock.

"Nn-no! Don't.. Goddamn it!"

Leon recognized the voice by now, and he swiftly ran up the stairs, footsteps light. He kicked the first door to the right open, hand tightening around the hilt of his revolver-

Only to realize that Seifer was alone, trashing about wildly in bed. The window was open and slamming against the house wall on the outside each time a violent push of the wind ensued, the splashing of rain drops almost deafening.

"Squall, Squall, Squall!"

Leon dropped the sword, terrified, back hitting the wall behind him in his attempt to bolt.

Seifer was dreaming.

Dreaming about.. it couldn't be.

Terror held him on the spot, but then, Leon changed his plans, able to think more clearly. He slowly walked up to the bed, unsure, even as the teen continued to twist and turn, sheets winding around his toned body. The look on his face was painful and very tense, mouth opened in a half-shout.

He extended a hand and took hold of the boy's shoulder to shake him firmly, once.

The reaction was not expected; Seifer instantly caught hold of the brunet's wrist, eyes darting open, wild and unfocused.

He didn't say anything; Leon wasn't even sure he noticed him standing there, since his intense pale eyes were staring right through the concrete roof it seemed. His breaths, however, were coming out in rough whiffs.

Then, something seemed to click, and he came back to his senses. Seifer flickered his gaze to the older man's.

Leon noticed he looked younger without his beanie on.

"What the hell are you doing in my room, old man?" the blonde spat, unclenching his fingers around Leon's wrist in disgust.

"You-" Leon couldn't form a word, watching the thug with hard eyes.

"What? Why are you here?" he demanded, sitting up. The blanket covering him slipped, revealing a muscled chest and a cross-necklace hanging loosely against it.

The brunet frowned.

"You were throwing a fit in your sleep."

Seifer's cheeks seemed to uncharacteristically flush at that, albeit it was hard to tell in the dark.

"So what? That gives you the right to barge into my room?"

"I misunderstood", the older of the two muttered. The questions in his head died before they even had the chance to set a route towards his tongue.

"I don't remember dreaming anything, though", Seifer mumbled, more to himself really.

Leon turned to leave.

"A storm's coming up. You should close the window", was all he offered. The door clicked shut.

The storm outside was nothing compared to the one his insides were engaging in, and Leon predicted the remaining hours of the night would be sleepless indeed.

Wow, five months, huh? It's gone by in a flash, right? Hehe.. Okay, I must apologize for the sucky update, but believe me, I really wanted to do it as quick as possible! I just didn't have any inspiration at all. I think I've found it again though, at least concerning this particular pairing - today I realized why I love them again, which I'll be sure to show in the following chapters.

And I was also abroad for two months during the summer, so I really had a whole lot of other stuff to think about. Stay tuned, though, I think I'll be able to deliver a few more chapters before the inspiration-drought comes back.

It may not seem like much now, but I have ideas, trust me! :D

Oh yeah. The other chapters I've posted up until now may have gotten a little weird. I don't know why, though. Where there's supposed to be a paragraph break, there's not, and some of the text has magically changed into cursive. I tried to fix it for like, two hours but eventually gave up 'cause I got frustrated enough to throw my computer out the window, haha. Just so you know!

I hope you enjoy this.