Leon glanced around the cluttered and disarrayed room before kicking lightly at one of many various broken items on the floor. His eyes were then drawn to those of the room's only other occupant.

A string of a few curses came from the computer room, where Cid was working away at trying to fix a minor bug in the system.

There was no need. Not for Cid, for Leon, or for Cloud. Not here. Not anymore.

"He's no doubt fighting Xemnas at this very moment," Leon's voice was slightly disconnected.

Cloud nodded, leaning against a wall of Ansem's study. "We can focus on our own missions now."

"We may never see each other again."

His voice wasn't sad, wasn't remorseful, wasn't anything. It just held blank words, sown together by his throat with his tongue.

"That's very true," Cloud was quick to respond. Almost too quick, but only out of fear of the silence that ensues. The silence that always ensues when in the presence of Leon.

And Leon just wanted it to be over with already, so he could just move on. There was never any use in lingering around places of no meaning.

So Leon turned his back on it, and opened the door to the corridors. The door was about to obscure all sight of him from Cloud, for who knows how long.

"Squall."

Leon hated that name, but when it came out of his mouth, it didn't sound as bad. And he couldn't help but turn and face the speaker.

"Don't you ever dare to forget me," Cloud's tone was stern, but his face was kind.

And Leon nodded, silently ordering the other to do the same. And as he finished closing that door, started striding down the labyrinth of corridors, he knew they would hold true to the promise, whether they ever saw each other again or not.