Part 2. It's way more vague and a lot shorter than part 1, but I hope you like it anyway. It's basically no plot, just fluff, in a way. Cloud and Lee belong to Square Enix, I make no money from this.

Please review!

Apparently, I'm losing my mind.

It's been going on for some time now, but I only noticed it now, because I can't think of another, more plausible reason why my feet are moving into his direction, even though my mind is screaming at me that I shouldn't do this, that it's wrong, that...

… Something in me is longing for the shelter he can offer me. That at one point the permafrost had started to thaw, leaving me feeling muddy and dirty. But what can I do?

The scorching heat is too much and I'm reminded again of why I had renounced all human contact whatsoever, but I can't run away now. All is gone, all is lost. The cold, my sanity, however little I had left, it's all gone.

I look in his eyes because they're still open, keeping me rooted to the spot, hypnotizing me just like that. I wish he would finally close them, because then I might still have a chance to escape, but deep inside I know it's too late.

He knows it too, I realize. He really does. Because, when I look in his eyes, they are screaming hurt and apathy, a powerlessness that makes my soul cringe, even though his posture betrays nothing. He sincerely wants to keep me with him.

He understands.

It's that realization that makes me press closer to him, neglecting all shame and fear, so I just hide my face in his chest because -gods forbid- I don't want him to see me this weak. A pathetic reflex, because I know he knows everything. Despite all our differences and quarrels in the past, we're frighteningly much the same. That's probably the reason why I couldn't possibly stand his presence at first. He's a mirror.

I'm being crushed in a vicelike grip and I realize he has wrapped his arms around me. Strangely enough, I do feel safe, something I had never expected to happen. This warm embrace, these strong arms, this strange comfort... I feel like I don't deserve it, but sinful and twisted as I am, I want to bask in it for just once. Even if this is only once, and even if the memory will crush me later on, I feel I don't even have the strength to pull away.

Like an insect in a cobweb.

-Hold me tonight?

-It's okay.

One of the arms around me disappears, leaving the burning skin cold and vulnerable, and I want to scream no! don't let go! but then a blanket is pulled over the both of us, making the heat even more unbearable, and the arm is back. I heave a soft sigh of relief. Leon chuckles.

Leon chuckles.

It's the first time I have heard this sound, but I decide I like to hear it. It suits him, somehow.

And for the first time since the gods know when, I feel at peace. Deceptive, but still... That infamous selfish part of me...

But maybe...

No, could it be?

Impossible.

But what if...

No.

But...

He is warm, his presence is soothing. He radiates a light that...

…

I can't believe it. Maybe Yuffie is right. Maybe I'm just that dense, but how...

He radiates a light that illuminates my entire being.

The realization hits me with a force I couldn't even possibly imagine. It makes sense. Whichever way I look at it, it just makes sense. There is no other way about it.

I can't help but lean in and press a kiss to his cheek. A bond is sealed now, finally.

I can finally rest.