50And so the journey ends.
Working these into exactly 100 words has been a fun challenge. I hope you've enjoyed these drabbles and the mini storyline strung through the end of each chapter. "Dance" is based off of a scene I'd cut from the end of Masquerade, and "Underworld" will be part of a future standalone piece.
Part six of six.
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.
Part 6
Coliseum
He is not Cloud's equal. That much is clear, and the gap is widening with each aggressive strike that Cloud lands. He's so worked up that Leon doubts he even knows who he's fighting anymore. For all his effort, Leon is defenseless against Cloud's blind wrath.
He's tried every tactic he can think of to break Cloud out of the darkness, and he's fading fast; they've been at it a long time. He doesn't know how much more abuse he'll be able to take.
Eyes hard, jaw set, he falls back into a guarding stance and braces for the impact.
Desire
Leon can't disguise the jump in his heart rate when he catches sight of Cloud. It's instinct by now, his body's way of saying yes, this is what I want. You, you are what I want. He has yet to be able to deny himself this particular desire, and though the swordsman does not move an inch towards him, Leon sees the tension building in him too as he closes in. It's not just a fight Leon wants tonight. No, this time he needs something more, and Cloud's eyes burning into him reveal that he wants the exact same thing.
Without
Aerith's subtle flowery scent approached him on the wind moments before she herself did. He didn't move when she came up to stand beside him on the edge of the desolate Maw, not even when she touched the bare part of his arm with a warm hand, easing away the chill hours of standing out here had set through his flesh.
"He'll come back," she reassured in that soft tone of hers. He felt her eyes on his face, quietly measuring, never judging. "He has so much waiting for him here." A smile, a gentle squeeze. "He has you now."
Dance
"Thought we went over this."
Leon shrugged, but didn't back down. He wasn't ready to give up.
"I... I don't..." Cloud pressed his lips together. "Here? Now?"
"Anywhere," Leon offered quietly. "Always."
Cloud studied him, then sighed and looked away, fingers curling into his pockets. It wasn't meant as an affront, but the rejection still stung. Leon began to lower his hand.
Before it could fall back completely to his side, he was surprised by warm fingers wrapping around his own and tucking into his palm.
"You're going to make me follow, aren't you?"
"Only until you're ready to lead."
Real
"Tell me this is real," Cloud requested. "Tell me that you're not just going to disappear someday too. That I'm not going to drive you off like I..." His voice faded to nothing, and he looked away.
"They're all still here, you know. Even if it's not physically..." Leon placed his palm meaningfully over the slow, deep beat of Cloud's heart.
Cloud sighed, soft and jaded. "Are you saying that you really believe that?"
"I have to try," Leon admitted. "Besides you, that's the only thing that keeps me going sometimes. It's the only thing that makes it all worthwhile."
First
It started with one slight misstep, one neither of them will ever admit to. They ended up face to face closer than ever before, breathless with exertion and off balance from unexpected proximity, swords sparking together, trapped between two racing hearts.
And neither of them will admit to being the one who closed the final distance for that first hard, hungry kiss, but they both recall not being the one who ended it.
When it was over, the world felt off its axis. Glances became heated looks, and it was harder to pretend there was nothing but camaraderie between them.
Underworld
"Cloud?"
He's still exactly where the god left him, on his knees with his bloodied hands on his thighs, staring at the red, wet ground before him. He'd recognize that voice anywhere, but he can't muster up the courage to reply. He doesn't deserve the person who spoke–doesn't deserve anything at all.
He grips his thigh, uses it to push himself into a crouch, then to stand. He winces as a foreign weight stretches away from his shoulder, arching and aching and dark.
What have you done? Leon's unspoken words hang heavy in the air.
What have I done?
Consume
He comes to Leon after dark, when the town is sleeping and even Leon has called it a day. The night is cool and quiet, the room dark and still, but Leon has yet to close his eyes.
He catches the sound of boots just outside, and he rises and lights a single candle. It's only symbolic; they both know their way around the darkness.
His door shuts as silently as it had opened, and then two strong arms slide around his body from behind. Leon turns to look into firelit eyes, and together they let the night consume them.
Steadfast
Most of the time, it was what Leon did rather than the few words he said that meant more to Cloud. Doubt crept into his fractured psyche because that's just who he was. He knew he didn't deserve this affection. He would certainly fail him, just like he failed everyone else. He knew all that and far worse, and he still couldn't help it.
But he was gradually convinced, after nightfall when he'd steal into the black of Leon's room, of the scarred warrior's convictions, and his darkness was eased, just a little, by the steadfast light in Leon's heart.
Smile
There was a faint shine of peace in Cloud's solemn eyes, and acceptance in the way he tangled their hands together—skin to skin, no leather to keep them apart, nothing to hide the wooden ring that was too small for anything but Cloud's little finger. It was too much for Leon to pass up, and he leaned in and pressed his lips to the subtle curve of Cloud's.
After twenty years, his patience and dedication had paid off.
Somewhere in the middle of their next kiss—a real kiss—Cloud found the breath to whisper, "Thank you…for waiting."