A/N: Even shorter than the last one. A slight parody, sort of.
In which Hanae does not understand the blatant discrimination against Cloud, and the apparent hero-worship of Leon who is... well, who is just so boringly NORMAL. And dorky.Oh, Suck It
Words: 548
Genre: Angst/Humour
Pairing(s): Cloud x Leon
Notes: Canon. They have a little argument regarding each other's angst.
Rated: PG
He remembered that day so clearly.
He remembered the violent red of the sky, the vast expanse of darkness dotted with the wide yellows of beady eyes. He remembered the way the earth shook, the buildings all around groaned and trembled. He remembered how he stared out through metallic bars, body frozen with terror, gaze completely hollow as blood soaked his clothes and smeared across his face. He was so filled with fear that he couldn't move, not even when those sharp claws swiped and batted for him.
He remembered those voices.
Remembered how they had called for his name.
'Squall'.
He would never forget how weak he was, how inadequate he was. The stain in his memories would be carried with him wherever he went, and even as the years passed by and he grew older, stronger, he was still haunted. There wasn't a day when he allowed himself forget.
He would never forget.
"Oh, shut up with your internal monologue of perpetual angst already," Cloud snapped derisively, head raised and eyes narrowed dangerously at Leon. He was reclining on a sofa, attempting to rest peacefully; or at least, had been. The brunet had been the target of a cushion – his now messy hair would attest to that – and he simply averted his gaze dumbly to the other man, visibly taken aback.
Cloud was merely even more so irritated at the lack of response.
"I'm trying to nap and I can't do it with all that god damned racket," he bit. "Be a man and grow some balls already."
"I beg your pardon," Leon retorted hotly, finally regaining his ability to speak. "But I think this would be the pot calling the kettle black."
"Oh, sure. Because I go around snapping at people for calling me the name I had been bestowed with upon birth," Cloud rolled his eyes. "Stop acting like a skirt."
"You're one to talk!" Leon countered, flushing slightly. "You understand nothing, you don't have the right to say that to me. At least, I don't go around obsessively chasing some guy with a fucking complex and drowning the world with my dark sorrow. You try living with my memories, bastard."
"Oh, oh right, sure," Cloud responded almost immediately, tone dripping with sarcasm. "Because it's that much worse having to live with Cid and Yuffie and Aerith for the past decade. I'm so sorry, I wasn't aware how rough you'd had it. After all, all I've had to go through was 9 years of Hades and the Underworld, brainwash, murder, buying and selling my soul, going without sleep for 8 years, forgoing food for 10, resisting assassinations for the last 5, and getting screwed over multiple times by my animated embodiment of darkness. Aren't you glad I never talk about it? It would be unbelievably embarrassing if it were to be compared to what you've been through. My bad!"
A pregnant silence reigned over them as Leon stared at the unimpressed look on Cloud's face.
"I've… I've never heard you speak about your past before."
"Not much to talk about, is there?"
"Actually…"
He received a hard look from the blond man.
Leon rephrased quickly.
"What did you want again?"
"For you to shut up, lock the door, and take off your pants."