A/N: I've decided that this story is now completed, and that it doesn't require the extra chapter. I was writing it and just thought to myself, ya know what? It doesn't add anything. We already know what happens to Cloud and Leon because of the first chapter, so why write it again? So there we have it. Still, I have ideas for a sequel if anyone is interested?

As usual, naughty version is over on Ao3 and Dreamwidth. Feedback is appreciated, so don't be afraid to tell me what you think. I shall be completing a final edit of this story soon. It will pull all the loose ends together and make the story feel a bit more like it was supposed to be written as a multi chapter, rather than me just adding in bits and pieces as they've come to me.

Love to everyone that has reviewed, followed, added and just enjoyed this fic. You guys are awesome!

No Light, No Light.

'You are the hole in my head,

You are the space in my bed

You are the silence in between

What I thought and what I said

You are the night time fear,

You are the morning when it's clear

Where it's over you're the start,

You're my head and you're my heart.

No light, no light in your bright blue eyes

I never knew day light could be so violent.

A revelation in the light of day,

You can't choose what stays and what fades away.

And I'd do anything to make you stay.

No light, no light,

Tell me what you want me to say.'

No light not light – Florence and the Machine

The trip back to Hollow Bastion had been quiet to say the least, and downright awkward to say the most. Something unspoken and strong had passed between the two men that weekend and neither knew how to navigate the strange and tidal feelings that were beginning to emerge.

To Leon, it seemed that maybe a boundary had been crossed. The exact parameters of their relationship had somehow been skewed and tampered with and he had no idea how to reset them.

To Cloud, it appeared as confusing and scary as navigating stormy waters in the dead of night. This wasn't supposed to happen – whatever this was. He was supposed to fuck, get paid and then go home. So why did the idea of being paid to have sex with Leon fill him with self-loathing and uncertainty? Why did it make him feel bad? He was a whore. He was supposed to be a professional. Why the hell was this happening to him? Why now, why Leon? What made this man different – special?

The ambiguous feelings that filled Cloud coupled with the strong, undeniably familiar feelings of self-hate caused his head to spin and his mood to darken, and there was only one thing he was certain of as they touched down on the runway of HB Terminal one. He had to stop seeing Leon. It wasn't right that his feelings should feel so muddied by a client. It wasn't right that he should feel anything with a client, good or bad, and there was one thing that was unequivocal when it came to the enigmatic older man. He made Cloud feel things.

The drive back to Cloud's apartment was filled with a tense and ominous silence. Leon would have been a fool not to notice his companion's troubled frown and dark disposition. A knot had formed in his throat at their impending farewell.

Leon pulled up in front of the rundown, desolate apartment building and turned timorously to Cloud, who was sat eyes fixed and hard ahead. The blonde's jaw had set into a firm line, his lips rigid and down turned.

"I had a great time this weekend." Leon ventured; his voice as casual as he could possibly make it, although some of his trepidation shone through.

Cloud nodded stiffly "Me too" his voice cold and aching with his troubled emotions.

"I'd like to see you again, maybe Friday…" Leon trailed off as Cloud blew a frustrated sigh through his nose and turned his head away to look through his window. "What? Cloud, what is it?" Leon asked, not wanting to hear what he knew was coming next.

Cloud had begun to fidget; his fingers tapping and bouncing on his jittery knee.

"I don't… I don't think that's such a good idea, do you, Leon?" he stammered slightly, his voice beginning to quiver. He had no idea why the thought of not seeing Leon anymore should bring a lump to his throat, but this was exactly the reason he needed to stop seeing him!

"What do you mean?" Leon asked, knowing the answer anyway.

Cloud turned to him, his eyes imploring Leon, begging him not to make this too hard.

"You know why." He replied, voice quiet and anguished. Something more passed between the two again, their unspoken language relaying what they both could not.

And Leon couldn't argue – not really. Not unless he wanted to be the one that gave words to whatever this was between them. So he just nodded his head, turning to look out of his own window, fighting with the restricting feeling in the back of his throat and the hammering of his heart against his rib cage. "Sure" he whispered, breathing out heavily, once, to steady himself. It didn't work. He still felt like he was falling.

"I'm sorry Leon." Cloud tried; but even he had to admit the sentiment felt hollow and silly in the dense atmosphere.

Leon turned back to him, his face soft and his eyes full of uncomfortable emotions that made Cloud feel strange and unnameable things. The older man smiled a small, sad smile and reached across to place a tender kiss to Cloud's impassive lips. He felt the brunette linger just a fraction too long, his thumb just an inch too delicate against his jaw line and the brush of his nose against Cloud's just a touch too personal.

"Don't be."

And Cloud felt a pain unlike any other erupt in the centre of his chest. He felt it bleed outwards and fill his whole body, making his limbs heavy and his breathing hard. He climbed out of the car slowly, like it took him all of his strength and will power. Without looking back he walked into his apartment building and shut the door, not wanting to see Leon drive off, or alternatively still be there when he turned around. Either option felt unbearable to him. Cloud had never felt this emptiness inside of him before. Well… not this kind anyway.

It was well over three weeks before Cloud turned up on Leon's doorstep again. In that time Leon felt like the world had somehow become a little darker. Everything was tainted with a slight shadow and nothing seemed as bright as it once had. Even on sunny days. He kicked himself for his ridiculous schoolgirl notions and malign thoughts. It wasn't supposed to be this way. He hadn't planned on going out that night and finding himself a hooker to fall in love with, but fucking hell, it had damned well happened anyway. And he had no doubt that Cloud had no idea what the hell was going on. The look in his eyes as they had fucked that last night in Esther City told him the young man was scared and confused. And Cloud had done the only thing anyone would have done in his situation. He had run.

The night Cloud came back was warm and sticky; the humidity close and oppressive. Leon had thrown open all of his windows and skylights, letting in as much of the dusky sunset and moist summer heat as he could. There were the beginnings of a storm on the air and it tasted electric and tangy. Leon loved these times. He sat at his desk, bottle of beer in hand and watched the dying amber sun over the tops of the roofs, its ochre rays breaking through the violet storm clouds and bleeding the evening fiery red.

At the first rumblings of thunder, there was a knock at the door. Leon put his bottle on the desk, standing up and sighing heavily, his shoulders weighed down with weeks of morbid depression.

He dragged his bare feet to the door and swung it open, his heart suddenly thudding back into life after weeks of hibernation at the sight of the young blond stood coyly on the other side.

Cloud had his hands in his pockets, head bent low to hide a bruise on his cheek. His eyes were full of apprehension and trepidation as he stood, waiting to see. He wanted to know if Leon would be glad to see him.

When Cloud didn't see any hostility on the older man's face, he took his chance and threw himself across the threshold, wrapping his arms around the older man and kissed him hard. All of his relief and pain evident in sagging shoulders as he felt Leon wrap his own arms around him.

Leon dragged him into the apartment and closed the door with his foot, never breaking contact with the younger man, their kiss heated and fiery. He backed the blond up, his butt hitting the edge of the desk just to the right of the door and the sound of Leon's bottle of beer crashing to the floor broke them apart. They looked down at the spillage, uncomprehending for a moment as the frothy mess spread out on the hard wood floor.

"Shit, sorry Leon." Cloud said, turning to find something to clean it up with.

"Forget about it. What happened to your face? Why are you here?" Leon asked; turning the blond back to him and cupping his cheek, examining the bruise under the younger man's left eye.

"Oh, hazards of the job. You know." Cloud tried to laugh it off, an obvious attempt to remain blasé but he failed miserably. Cloud was clearly shaken.

"What happened?" Leon's tone was serious and threatening, although Cloud never once felt like it was aimed at him.

"Nothing, just some dick who stepped over the line. It happens from time to time. Like I said: occupational hazard." Cloud was collecting himself now; his hands that were also bruised across the knuckles began to wring themselves in front of him. At Leon's murderous stare he tried harder to appear impassive. "Honestly Leon, I dealt with him. I'm fine, I promise."

Leon didn't look convinced, so Cloud kissed him again. As a distraction, it worked incredibly well. After a good few moments of fierce kisses that turned deep and heated, Cloud pulled away, his hands tightening slightly around the back of Leon's neck.

"What are you doing here?" Leon repeated his earlier question, only half bothered about the answer, just as long as Cloud was there with him. There was a long pause as Cloud thought about his answer, his eyes shifting from guilty to defiant to coy and then finally back to uncertain.

"I just… I just wanted to see you. I thought maybe… we could… If you still wanted to…" Cloud trailed off, unsure about the older man and his stony silence. Had he made a terrible mistake?

Leon regarded the man in his arms - the man that he had literally ached for weeks for. He thought of the look in the younger man's eyes the last night in Esther City and then right before he had gotten out of his car. He remembered the confusion he had found there. Cloud had no idea what was happening between them, despite how obvious it was to Leon. And he looked into Cloud's eyes now and saw that same vulnerability. He also saw a chance; a chance to return to zero – to reset the parameters of their relationship back to what they had been when they had first met. Enough time had passed between Esther and now for it to be possible. If they could forget what had happened that weekend then it was possible that they could return to their easy agreement.

Leon knew he was kidding himself, but he jumped headlong into it anyway. He answered Cloud's hesitant question with a brutal kiss. He had starved himself of this man for weeks and now he was back in his arms, silent affirmation once again between them. It was simply and altogether as much as he could possibly hope for. He'd take it. He'd take it with both arms and his whole fractured heart.

Cloud was back, but only under the old rules. In the morning, he would pay him – handing over the cash like some sinister, dirty old man, and Cloud would leave.

But Leon reasoned that if it was the only way then he would take all the feelings of depravity in the world if it meant he got to lie there with Cloud in his arms. He didn't care how pathetic that made him.

And Cloud played his part well. Returning to the stoic professional, denying and pushing down whatever confusing feelings had been plaguing him and pretended like it didn't matter.

Five more weeks had passed. Five more weeks of meetings filled with intense confusing sex, covert looks of longing and denied feelings.

It was a Saturday when Leon got the call that made his guts freeze and drop away.

"Leon?"

"Cloud!... what's wrong?" he had asked, knowing instantly the sound of his voice was off, distant and scared.

"I… I'm in trouble. I need your help."

Leon turned from his office floor to ceiling window, his skin prickling with dread, his face growing pale. He clutched the phone to his ear a little tighter, his two business associates sat across his desk completely forgotten about.

"Where are you?"

"That doesn't matter, just… I need you to…" the line went dead for a few seconds and Leon's heart skipped several beats.

"Cloud!" he called down the phone, eyes wide with panic. Muffled noises could be heard from the other end and after a few seconds a male voice began to talk. It wasn't Cloud.

"Your little whore has been a very, very naught boy."

Tbc -