A/N: Hurray for my first Leon/Cloud fic! I love this couple to death but for some reason never found the urge to actually write about them. Well, I supposed there's a first time for everything. Reviews are appreciated, even flames, so when you reach the end and you see that bluish/purplish button down at the bottom, you know what to do, so get on it!

Disclaimer: Standard disclaimers applied. I own nothing remotely having to do with Final Fantasy or Kingdom Heart characters found within. As much as I would love to become rich from shamelessly exploiting said characters for my own perverse sense of humor, alas, this was not to be and I profit in no way shape or form from this work of fiction, save for when my ego is stroked by good comments.

Prologue: The Calm Before the Storm

Placing school-wide bets was always well worth the trouble that never failed to come of it. In fact, one might say that starting large betting pools merely to stir up the student body was Luxord's favorite hobby.

And one would be completely right, Luxord thought to himself as he began drawing up a complex chart in preparation for his next meeting. It was finally his turn to pick something worth betting on in the crowded college campus and half the city was waiting excitedly to see what he chose.

There was nothing on the Planet more entertaining that a Luxord bet, mainly because Luxord was a bet-master that loved nothing more than encouraging those placing the bets to interfere with hopes of fixing the outcome. Yes, Luxord was a man that loved cheating in all forms, but most of when he was the one sitting back and enjoying the inevitable show.

Oh yes, yes, yes everyone on campus loved the one time every other year or so that it finally became Luxord's turn to host the bets.

There would be no need for anyone else to worry about finding a worthy cause to exploit, considering Luxord's bets were notorious for lasting long periods of time (The longest having gone on for a little less than a full school year when everyone bet that Axel couldn't drive Xemnas into insanity. Axel won.), and many, many side bets spawned from the mass cheating that never failed to accompany a Luxord bet.

Luxord stretched his arms over his head and sighed. He'd been thinking for months about what occurrence he could exploit to become his new record. Two months shy of the end of the school year, he scoffed. And he'd thought Xemnas was stronger than that. How was he to know Saїx would have told Axel's boyfriend that Xemnas was obsessed with the horrifying (to him) thought that he had no heart and no soul? He hadn't planned on Saїx of all people to be a tough, little cheater.

So now he was determined to pick a bet that would hold the school in its grasp until the very end of the school year.

He needed subjects with short tempers, he knew that much. When people became angry the stakes raised impossibly high. There was also the ever amusing possibility of physical conflicts. He was almost tempted to think up something that would drag in Sephiroth, the icy man more than making up for him normally stoic demeanor when in a blind rage, but then he reconsidered. People tended to end up dead or critically injured when Sephiroth was involved. As fun as that was sure to be, Luxord didn't want to risk becoming a target.

So new idea…

He toyed with the thought of using Zexion for some time and almost convinced himself before he remembered that Larxene was very protective of her boyfriend's best friend's boyfriend (as confusing as that was). If Zexion became too angry (a humorous occasion if there ever was one), Demxy would know in an instant, and, not being able to ever keep his fat mouth shut, he would proceed to tell Marluxia, and then there would be a very teed-off Larxene on his tail and that was something wanted even less than having Sephiroth out for his blood. Larxene liked fucking torture.

He laid his head down on his desk and took a deep breath. This was not looking too good.

He quickly ran through a list of students in his mind.

Sora: Not worth it. Not only would he not care in the slightest people were betting on him, his twin, who would normally have been out for blood (causing a few good laughs for sure) would most likely swallow his homicidal tendencies seeing as his boyfriend had been the brunt of many bets and knew better than to let the angry, little blonde to get into it.

Riku: Also not worth it. With Sora as his best friend (and most likely more than that if Luxord bothered to think about it), he wouldn't care so long as the brunette didn't care, and the brunette never cared.

Roxas: Once again, no go. Axel would know better (having been the primary focus of the previously mentioned Xemnas bet) than to let Roxas get too invested in any bet. Not to mention the fact that whatever he couldn't handle, Sora most certainly could with his god damned cheerful outlook.

Axel: Been there, done that, far too many times for it to the same perfect effect it usually did.

Tifa: She was more likely to get to the root of whatever was bothering her quickly and efficiently and there would be plenty to bother her considering odd circumstances always followed around those who were the focal point of Luxord's bets. If she discovered she was the one being bet on she would probably find a way to sabotage it purely for spite.

Rinoa: The girl was too nice, people would flock to take her side on any issue or any problem she could possibly have. Only the hardest of hearts would be able to bet against her, and there were maybe like five people on the whole campus who were morally corrupted enough to wish uncomfortable situations upon her.

Yuffie: Dear God. He wanted unpredictable not absolutely insane. Anything surrounding her was surely to be so convoluted by the end that any and all bets would have to be called off. Although she was a fun wildcard to play from time to time.

Cloud… And there he stopped dead, an evil, little thought implanting itself in the front of his mind.

He could use Cloud. If he used Cloud then that opened the doors to a veritable cast of entertaining characters. His younger twin brothers, who would back off and let Cloud handle his own problems, would still be unable to resist poking their noses into the whole affair at least one time during the whole proceedings. And one of his oldest friends was Sephiroth, though they fought more often than not recently. And to make it even it even more tempting, one of his best friends was Yuffie, meaning he was more than used to odd circumstances and pranks. Hell, he knew everyone there was to know in some way.

Another evil, evil thought.

He was roommates with Leon Leonhart…

He had been roommates with Leon Leonhart for years, ever since middle school. They were best friends… Best friends?... More than friends?

There was a thought. Could they become more than friends? Luxord asked himself. All the signs were there. Two men living alone together, neither one of them dating (or having dated in quite some time). Was there a large enough margin of success that there would be incentive for people to bet on both sides?

Although the raw potential for cheating was so great Luxord's mouth practically watered at the mere thought. I was almost too juicy to pass up.

And Cloud and Leon were both stubborn beyond belief. If Luxord set the end of the school year as the deadline, there would be no way other than the two of them getting together (something Luxord was pretty sure wasn't going to happen really) to call off the bet and declare the winners.

There were no two better targets, doubly so because neither one of them participated in the nearly school-wide betting ring. Neither of them thought betting was a worth-while activity, or maybe they just didn't care enough to know about it. That would explain why ninety per cent of their friends took place in the polls but they never had.

This newest thought settled the matter for the gambler. Bets where one or both participants knew what was going on were fun to an extent, but there truly was nothing better than watching two people who didn't have a clue as to what was going on try and figure out why their friends were suddenly so interested in them. Why everyone seemed to be so invested in everything they did.

Oh yes, there was nothing better than the unsuspecting victim. His eyes sparkled as he remembered just how many people would give up something akin to their life savings in hopes of making even more munny.

He revised his previous thought. There was almost nothing better than an unsuspecting victim.

The only thing better was watching people shell out more munny than they usually had in a vain attempt to gain something while doing nothing.

And that was something that never failed…

There was a long silence following Luxord's simple proposition while all those present, and those who were logged onto the live online feed, took a minute to appreciate Luxord's apparent genius and to decide which side they wanted to place their munny on.

"I don't know whether you're brilliant or completely insane." Riku muttered, being the first one to break the silence.

"He's brilliant!" Axel piped up from his spot on a sofa across the room.

"Insane!" Roxas responded from his customary place at his boyfriend's side. "It's never going to work out, and then we'll have Cloud and Leon out for blood."

"Cloud's scary when he's mad." Sora whimpered and his twin nodded. It went unsaid that anything Cloud could do would be nothing in comparison to Leon in a full-blown rage. Leon was vicious.

"But what if it works?" Everyone turned at the soft sound of Naminé's voice.

"They'll have no reason to be really mad in that case." Her red-headed twin Kairi pointed out helpfully.

"Doesn't mean they won't be." Sora grumbled, bringing out another nod from his twin. They would know. They'd had to live with the pair for sixteen years.

"So? The more fun for us!" Larxene seemed happy enough at the thought of bloodshed if her happy clapping was anything to go by.

The noise level in the room began to rise as those present began to discuss options amongst each other, several small arguments breaking out between couples.

"People, people." Luxord raised his hands for silence and it was given to him. "Let's let our bets settle this for us. Same rules apply, as per usual. If you cheat, don't get caught. The deadline is graduation day, as it always is, and the start date is tomorrow."

"But that's the first day of school." Demxy whined and Luxord thanked fate, and whatever other gods might have been listening, that he had decided to go against using Zexion. How was he to know Larxene was going to bring the stupid musician along? "I haven't bought my books yet!"

"Don't worry, Dem-baby!" Larxene cooed. "I'll spot you."

"Any other issues or complaints?" Luxord asked. When no one spoke up he went on. Good. The terminals are in the back, right where they've always been. You can expect a preliminary tally in two day's time. Until then… Happy betting."

Luxord chose then to take his leave, more than satisfied at the student body's reaction. This was going to be a very amusing year.

And far away two men hovered over their computer monitor, emotions ranging from amused, angry, confused, irritated, and the all the way to amused to begin the cycle anew.

"Told you you'd want to see this." The dark-haired man stated calmly with a hint of triumph.

The blonde grunted. "Are they blind? Even Yuffie knows. She's always the last to know everything."

The brunette shrugged. "They don't know apparently. Of course they could have just asked…"

"Teach them a lesson." The blonde interrupted his voice hard with anger.

"Oh look, your brothers bet against us." The brunette looked up in time to catch the brief smirk flitting across the blonde's face. "But it seems as though their boyfriends are supportive."

"Just all the more reason to teach them a lesson. They can handle it." The blonde paused in order to scan through the numbers rapidly appearing on the monitor. "Your ex doesn't like us either. Does she really have 10,000 munny to spare?"

The brunette shook his head. "I don't know. I don't make it a point to keep track of her finances."

"Can we make our own bet, or do we have to say yes or no?" The blonde asked, the hint of an idea forming at the back of his mind.

"Of course we can. Luxord thrives on betters taking over. Minimum's ten munny." The brunette held out a hand and the blonde placed a golden ball with a delicate number five engraved on it. "It begins tomorrow and ends graduation day… I guess you always were hoping to graduate with a bang."

"Just place the damn bet, Squall."