Candles
By: Brown Sage
Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts and all its characters belong to Square and Disney, and I have no ownership over them at all. This story was merely for entertainment, and I am making no profit off it whatsoever.
Warnings: Yaoi (boy/boy pairings) in later chapters. Don't like? Don't read!
Pairings: Leon/Cloud, Riku/Sora?
"Squall! Wait up!"
Squall Leonhart paused, seemingly suspended in time for a brief moment. The command came from behind him, but there was no need to turn around to see who had given voice to it.
"Jeez… where's the fire?"
Cloud Strife stood beside him, slightly out of breath from the effort of pushing his way through the crowds that made up a normal high school. The teen's blond hair was ruffled and in a state of blatant disarray, though Cloud's hair always looked… unique, so it was hardly noticeable.
"Study Hall is starting." Squall told him. "And it's Leon."
"Fine, whatever…" Cloud sighed. "Though why exactly changing your name makes you better equipped to graduate, I can't possibly fathom, but-"
"Strife?" Leon turned to the blond.
"Huh?"
"Shut up."
With that Leon strode into the classroom, leaving Cloud behind. Cloud blinked in surprise at the other boy's frankness, and then shook his head. He followed Leon into the classroom, flopping down in his usual seat.
The teacher looked up at the class with an uncaring eye, taking down attendance as the final latecomers trickled in. The bell rang, signaling the start of class, and the teacher motioned for a student to shut the door.
"All right, people. Let's try to act like civilized human beings today. Sit down, shut up, or I will personally throw you all in ISS."
Then, heaving a world-weary sigh, the teacher sank back into near invisibility behind his desk. Cloud bent down to rummage through his bookbag, and Leon pulled out his math homework and set to work.
If there was one thing Leon liked, it was math. Simple, logical, and clear cut. With math you could never get more than one answer that was right, which was a definite cloister from a confusing world. In math, the answer could always be found as long as you knew the right equations.
But in life, the equations were always changing places, putting on a charade as the solution to a problem but really being the total opposite. What helped one problem hurt another, and the answers were never really that trustworthy anyway.
Yes, life should revolve around math.
"Ugh." Cloud sighed, rubbing the eraser of his pencil on his temple absentmindedly. "Stupid problems…"
Leon rolled his eyes. Teachers were always telling Cloud he was some kind of intellectual prodigy, but one look at his math grade shut them up. If it wasn't for Leon, Cloud would have failed long ago. But a few late-night homework sessions kept Cloud's grade to a C, however unsteady the estimate might be.
"Shhh." Leon ordered, and Cloud went back to grimacing at the paper wordlessly.
Squall could remember quite vividly the day he had first met Cloud. It was an English project back when he was a freshman, and he had been partnered with the blond. It had actually been kind of fun, for where Cloud slipped in math, he more than made up for in all his other classes.
The blond could take one look at a poem, and not only memorize most of it, but tell you the author's theme and hidden meanings, as well as point out any literary device that was used to convey the point. In History, Cloud was like a walking encyclopedia. The blond could sit and listen to lectures with out scribbling down but the vaguest of notes, be tested on the material three months later, and ace the test. Science posed a bit of a problem, seeing as it went hand in hand with math most of the time, but Cloud was good at long-winded explanations of things that often made him sound more informed than the teacher.
It was pretty obvious that the blond had decided to follow Leon's lead and work on his math homework. Strife had the pained look of someone being tortured, blue eyes filled with an amusing mix of horror and utter confusion.
Leon looked back down to his own work, his mind taking him back to his other prominent memory of Cloud.
It was their first week as sophomores, and Leon was surprised to find that he and Cloud shared nearly all of the same classes. In a way, Leon almost felt happy when Strife fell right back into that easy companionship they had shared as freshmen.
All of that had nearly been shattered when Cloud asked innocently one day,
"What do you think about me?"
"Huh?"
"Ummm… would you ever… you know…"
"Make sense, Strife."
"What would you say if I asked you out on… if… would you ever consider dating me?"
About ten thousand thoughts ran through Leon's head. Cloud couldn't be allowed to get that close! No one should ever be able to come closer than friendly cordiality, and Cloud had already passed that.
"Well… I was going to ask… I was thinking about dating someone else."
At that moment, things were still okay. It was a lie, true, but Cloud would understand and accept the fact as just… the way things were.
But Leon laughed. "Good one, though. You had me going."
Cloud had just about frozen right there. For the next two days, he said scarcely more than two or three words to Leon, and the brunette was seriously beginning to wonder just exactly how bad Cloud had taken it.
But then, Cloud walked over to his lunch table, plopped down, and started chattering away like always. Things should have been settled, or so Leon thought. Maybe the notion had passed from Cloud's mind, but Leon couldn't help but wonder what would have happened if he had said 'yes' two years ago.
What would it be like to know that Cloud was his? What would it be like to kiss him? To be able to pull Cloud into his arms and smell the faint cologne that he used? What would it be like to…?
Leon cut the thought off there, bending hastily back over his work. What had happened happened. It wasn't time for regrets, especially not on his part. He'd broken Cloud's heart in about the cruelest way possible, and he didn't want to dig up those old scars.
The bell rang, and Cloud let out a sigh of relief. Outside, the hallways suddenly exploded with the sounds of a general exodus, students gleefully rejoicing the end of another school day. Leon closed his notebook and textbook, placing them both neatly back in his bookbag. Cloud made a general swipe, gathering everything up and stuffing it back in his bag.
Leon rolled his eyes. Cloud could hide virtually anything in there and no one would find it for lifetimes. He'd seen Cloud, on more than one occasion, dig out mysterious papers and unidentifiable objects that had probably been in there since Cloud had first bought the backpack. One day Leon swore he would get Cloud to clean the thing out, but… at least it was fairly entertaining to watch the blond bury himself while attempting to locate a book.
"You're coming over today to help me study, right?" Cloud asked, slinging his bookbag over his shoulder casually.
"Fine." Leon answered. The math test was scheduled for tomorrow, he remembered. Well, it wasn't like he didn't like going over to Cloud's house after school on occasion.
His mom was nice, but she worked two jobs and was seldom home. Mr. Strife had left Cloud and his mom when Cloud was just a kid, so mother and son shared a very close relationship.
Leon's own parents were so wrapped up in themselves he didn't think they realized that they had a son at all. He never really minded. In his opinion, his parent's absence only gave Leon more of the peace and quiet he loved, and the afternoons he went over to Cloud's chased away whatever loneliness he may have felt.
"Squall?" Cloud was studying Leon thoughtfully, and the brunette realized with a start of embarrassment that he had spaced out on whatever Cloud had been asking him.
"What?"
"I asked you if you drove your car today. Are you feeling all right?" Cloud looked up at Leon curiously, but Leon turned away.
"I'm fine. And yes, I drove today."
"Great!" Cloud smiled, forgetting his worry over the other boy. "Wait for me by the front, will you? I have to go get a couple of things from my locker."
"Sure, you can ride with me." Leon responded sarcastically.
Cloud smirked. "It's not like you can turn me down."
Leon rolled his eyes, and then watched as Cloud disappeared into the mob of students pressing for the exit. The stormy-eyed boy turned, making his way towards the front doors Cloud had asked him to wait by, when someone ran into him, almost knocking Leon to the ground.
"Oh, sorry, Squall!"
A pair of bright blue eyes met Leon's, and Leon found himself looking straight into the friendly face of Sora. Sora's friend, Riku, stood behind the younger boy, shaking his head and holding back a smirk.
"That's Leon." The senior reminded him.
"Oh, yeah!" Sora grinned, and Leon realized why everyone found it so difficult to stay mad at the boy. "Well, uh, me and Riku were just gonna…"
"Head out. We're already late…"
"For Riku's dentist appointment!"
Leon blinked, surprised at the way the boys continued each other's sentences. Some kind of strange telepathic link, he mused. After all, the two had been best friends since they were very small.
"Well, we have to go." Riku said, pulling Sora along with him.
"See ya, Squall!" Sora called.
"Leon, remember?" Riku chided.
"Oh, wait!" Sora cried. "You know Cloud, right?"
"Cloud?" Leon looked at Sora in surprise. What would a freshman want with Cloud?
"Cloud Strife. I thought you two hung out." Riku supplied, stepping up behind Sora once more.
"Yeah, I know him." Leon answered, studying the two.
"Well, you see I have this friend…" Sora began.
"Kairi asked us to get this to Cloud." Riku cut in. Sora handed Leon a pink envelope with Cloud's name written in bubbly script across the front. Leon blinked in surprise, then took the envelope, willing his face to remain expressionless.
"Well, um…"
"You'll make sure he gets it, right?"
"'Cause if you don't, Kairi'll have our hides. Heh, heh…"
"Well, we gotta be going…"
"See ya!"
The two rushed away, leaving Leon once more in amazement for their ability to juggle sentences. The brunette shook his head, and made his way to the doors once more. Feeling slightly embarrassed, he jammed the envelope into his pocket and leaned against the door, awaiting Cloud's arrival.
As it turned out, the wait was short. Cloud came into view, walking towards Leon while talking into his cellphone. A small smile graced the blond's features, and Leon wondered who Cloud could be talking to.
"Yeah, uh-huh. He's right here. No, no… I'm sure he will. Hang on."
Cloud handed his phone to Leon, his grinning widening devilishly. "It's Riona. She's awfully upset because someone accidentally blocked her number from calling your phone. I told her you would do your best to fix the problem."
Leon shot him a glare, reluctantly taking the phone. He'd met Riona back in elementary school, when they were forced to do a pageant for Parent's Night. He had thought that maybe it wouldn't be so bad, because he had been selected to be the knight. But then, the director informed him that he would have to rescue the princess from the dragon, and then bestow her with a "kiss of true love". And who got chosen to be the princess?
"Hey, Squall! Did Cloud tell you about that totally weird thing with your phone? Isn't it the strangest thing? I mean, why would it keep me from calling you?"
"Riona…"
"So I was like, 'Leon must have let someone mess with it, or Cloud's pulling another prank on him or something.' You know, he really needs to get a girlfriend. That way he wouldn't be so jealous of us all the time. What about that Aerith chick that hangs out with him? I mean…"
Leon sighed. "Riona…"
"…They're always acting like they're going out, but I know they're not because I asked her the other day. You should say something, because I bet we could totally pull strings and hook them up. Then he would hang out with her, and you could spend more time with me, and not always have to go over there and help him study and stuff. I mean, gosh, he should at least let you have a life, you know?"
"Riona!" Leon cried, trying to get her attention.
"Huh?" The girl stopped her flow of chatter, and Leon sighed in relief.
"What do you want?"
"Oh! Well, you know there's that big thing that the school throws tonight for all the seniors and I figured, you know, I'd ask you if you wanted to go. But then your phone was being all weird so I had to call Cloud to get him to find you, and he said there was a math test tomorrow, but I thought, well, it's not like you have spend your whole life helping him, so I figured you'd love an excuse to escape, you know? So, I was like, 'Well, Squall'll probably take me out tonight, because, well, we are like, practically steady now' and he said that was okay. He also said something weird about knights and princesses but I just kinda ignored him, because I know that he can say really weird stuff sometimes, you know?"
"Riona…" Leon sighed. He couldn't stand talking to her on the phone, partially because she could talk just about anything to death, and Leon could never get a word in edgewise. Riona could talk for hours without stopping.
"So, what time are you gonna come pick me up?"
Leon glanced over at Cloud, who was kneeling on the ground digging through his notebook for something. One on hand, he didn't really feel like listening to Riona whine like she would if he said no, but then again… would Cloud abandon him?
"Riona, I don't think…"
"SQUALL! C'mon! You spend all your time with him, and I haven't seen you in days! Cloud can take care of himself for one test! You have to learn to stand up for yourself and tell him no once in awhile! What are you gonna do, follow him to college!"
"Riona! I…"
"Listen, Squall…"
"Leon!"
Cloud glanced up at the angry note in Leon's voice, but then shook his head and went back to flipping through his notebook. Experience had taught Cloud that Leon solves Leon's problems, and that the fastest way to get Leon ticked off was to interfere in his business.
"Leon, then!" Riona conceded. "All I know is that you need to spend some time with me! I mean, it's nice that you want to spend time with Cloud, make him feel accepted and stuff, but c'mon! This is a little extreme, don't you think!"
"All right!" Leon shouted, causing Cloud to glance up at him once more. "What time do you want me to pick you up?"
Cloud's shoulders jerked slightly, giving the appearance that he had just been struck. Leon felt a twinge of remorse, but it wasn't like Riona would let him cancel now…
"Squall, er… Leon!"
"Yeah… huh?"
Leon ripped his gaze away from Cloud's figure, and turned his attention back on Riona's babble.
"What time are you gonna pick me up?" Riona repeated cheerily.
"Uh… 8:00?" Leon guessed, his mind not really paying much attention. That slight twitch… he knew that would be the only emotion Cloud displayed about the matter. It had happened before, and Cloud would take only seconds before he recovered from shock, teasing Leon about his "princess" once more.
"Nah, let's go get something to eat first! I have so much stuff to tell you! What about six or so?"
"Okay… yeah." Leon agreed flatly. "See ya then."
"Bye, honey!"
Leon groaned at the nickname, snapping the cellphone shut irritably. "You could have told her I was busy!" He accused Cloud.
"I tried, but she was already talking my ear off. So, the knight courts his fair princess once more, eh?"
Leon shot him a glare that could make hell freeze over, but it only sent Cloud into a fit of laughter.
"I'd hit you, Strife, but I don't want you to fail math because I knocked out all your brain cells." Leon threatened, tossing Cloud his cellphone.
"Awww… what a sweet sentiment, Squall! I'm touched, really!"
Leon sighed dramatically. What in the world possessed him to hang out with Strife, he wasn't quite sure.
"C'mon. We better cram 'til I have to go get Riona."
"Mmmm… and you seriously expect it to do any good?"
Cloud followed Leon to the car, slipping into the passenger seat, and propping his feet up on the dashboard. Leon slid in behind the steering wheel, giving Cloud and sharp glance as the blond began fiddling with the dials on the radio the second the car started.
"You are not turning it to one of your stupid oldies stations." Leon informed him, but Cloud only cast him a wicked smirk, and proceeded to otherwise ignore him.
"Love is good, love can be strong!"
"All we are is dust in the wind…"
"Pay nineteen ninety-nine for this incredible deal and-"
"Ha, ha… you will never imagine-"
"Cloud!" Leon finally exploded. Strife huffed and settled back into the seat, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Spoilsport." He muttered. "I don't see how Riona keeps from dying of boredom around you."
"Wish she would." Leon murmured under his breath. "Look… about studying…"
Cloud waved him off, a smile playing with his lips. "Nah… I wouldn't expect the knight to deny his princess, now would I?"
"If I hear one more thing about that stupid play…"
The envelope pressed into Leon's side as he leaned over to cut the radio off, and he fished the pink atrocity out of his pocket, flicking it casually at Cloud.
"Leon! A love note? Really, I'm touched." Cloud snickered, and Leon shot him one of those "shut-up-or-face-my-wrath" glares that he was famous for.
"It's from Kairi."
"Kairi?" Cloud's eyebrows furrowed in thought, sky blue eyes studying the rather girly envelope. "Freshman, right? Used to hang out with Riku and Sora, until… heh, heh…"
"That's her. Does she know you?"
"I don't know her, if that's what you're getting at." Cloud responded. "Dunno what she'd write me a letter for…"
"You could always open it." Leon suggested dryly.
Cloud grinned, ripping the envelope open neatly. "Curiosity getting to you, Leon?"
"Hn."
Cloud pulled out a pale pink sheet of paper from the envelope, unfolded it, and began to read. Leon couldn't help but wonder what Kairi wanted with Cloud, but his pride kept his from asking about it.
Cloud's eyes filled with amusement, and a smile tugged at his lips. Then the blond got a serious case of the giggles, his hand running through his disheveled hair in a mixture of horror and hilarity that Leon couldn't help but try to sneak a look at the paper.
"Hey, hey!" Cloud exclaimed. "Gosh, Leon! If you want me to read it, just ask! Scare me to death, breathing in my ear like that!"
Leon turned sharply away, eyes snapping back to the road once more. "I wasn't trying to read it."
"Mmmm… sure. So I'm guessing you don't want to hear it?"
"Well…" Leon shrugged, trying his best to appear nonchalant. "I guess… just to see who would be sending you a letter."
Cloud snorted. "Jeez, don't be so polite, Leon…"
Leon glanced over at Cloud, who was looking at the letter once more. Why can't I just let him read it? Why do I have to be cold? Why can't I let anyone close...?
"I'm… sorry." Leon muttered, but his eyes flickered over to Cloud. "I was…"
"Yeah, yeah. Don't have to explain, Leon." Cloud smiled softly at the brunette. "But thanks, anyway."
"Hn."
"Well… lemme see." Cloud cleared his throat.
Dear Cloud,
My name's Kairi. I'm a freshman, and I know we haven't met, but… I love you.
Leon cast an incredulous look at the paper, as if daring it to have actually contained those words. A tight feeling rose up in his chest, and he was torn between the decision to tear the paper from Cloud's hands and rip it to tiny shreds or laugh at the sheer absurdity of the fact that an unknown girl was pledging love to Cloud before they had even met once.
Your eyes are like shrines to the sky. A pure blue that I want to dive in, wash myself clean of all the people I had looked at before. I want to gaze into your eyes forever…or at least until I have to blink or something.
Cloud snickered at that. Leon shook his head and let a smile sneak onto his lips, but felt his fingers take a death grip on the steering wheel. 'What? I'm acting like some jealous little girl… get a hold of yourself, Leon!'
Cloud, my darling, your butt is like heaven. Your face is sculpted by the gods, a tribute to heavenly beauty that no mortal has ever possessed. Your skin looks so soft, and I want to run my fingers across it. I want to dance in the rain with you, I want to chase down the end of rainbows with you, and I want to be able to kiss you, to hold you close on a cold winter's night.
"Gosh, even I didn't realize I was that good!" Cloud exclaimed. "She's really serious, huh, Leon?"
'I am not jealous. Not jealous. I have Riona. I don't like Cloud. Only as a friend. An annoying, spiky haired, beautiful friend. NO! Not beautiful! Notjealousnotjealous!'
I know you are probably concerned with the matter of the difference in our ages, but I tell you I would overcome anything for you! The same way a princess longs for her knight, the same way the moon begs the sun to spill its heavenly light across its bondage in darkness, so I love you! I may have thought I loved Riku, then Sora, then Tidus, then Wakka, then Zidane, and there was even that one time where I thought I was madly in love with that hot substitute teacher Ansem, but… I love you more then them. And, I know that you have been secretly pining after me! Dump Aerith! I want to share a papou with you, Cloud!
Cloud was gasping for breath, laughter threatening to overtake his halting words.
'Riona I like. Cloud I do not. Stupid freshman! Argh! Not jealous!'
Well, um, I guess I'll see you around. My cell phone is 743-8723, so you should totally give me a call, because your voice is really sexy. Oh, and if Riku answers my phone, don't get all jealous, okay? He borrows it all the time because he's too lazy to pay for his own. I would never cheat on you, my love!
Your truest of true loves,
Kairi
There was a brief silence in the car. Leon's fingernails were almost embedded in the leather steering wheel, and Cloud was gaping stupidly at the pale pink paper as though it had transformed right before his very eyes into some hideous beast.
Cloud burst out laughing, jerking his feet off the dashboard and thumping his head weakly against the window. Leon looked at him, feeling secretly relieved (while denying the fact that he was relieved staunchly) and refraining from joining Cloud in laughter.
"She… wants to… share… the papou!" Cloud gasped, eyes filling up with hysterical tears. "I've never… seen her!
"Desperate stalker." Leon mumbled.
"Aww… don't be jealous. I'm sure-"
"I AM NOT JEALOUS!" Leon roared, accidentally slamming his foot down on the gas as he did so.
"Whoa! Leon, LOOK OUT!" Cloud cried, eyes filled with panic as Leon blazed towards the intersection.
The brunette realized his mistake and slammed on the brakes just as a huge eighteen-wheeler raced across the road in front of them. Leon's grip on the steering wheel was enough to make dents in the leather, he was sure. One of Cloud's hands had grabbed onto Leon's shoulder, and Leon thought he could feel the other boy's pulse flickering wildly, even through the leather jacket.
They sat there, breathing erratic and hearts pounding until a car horn behind them alerted Leon to two things. One, the light was green. Two, they had almost died.
"Holy…" Cloud breathed, his hand not releasing its on Leon's shoulder.
Leon leaned back against the seat, feeling his heart still racing wildly. The driver behind them blared his horn insistently once more, and Leon woodenly pushed the gas pedal and moved forward.
"I… Sorry." Leon said softly, trying to calm himself down.
Cloud let out a long breath. "Didn't know you'd get that worked up."
"Neither did I." Leon admitted, creasing his brow in thought. Since when did he care that much? Life was too confusing…
They made the rest of the drive in silence, Cloud either too stunned or frightened to let go of Leon's shoulder. Leon, much to his dismay, found that he didn't mind the contact at all.
'What's happening to me?' He wondered, stormy eyes flickering briefly over to Cloud. 'I…I can't…I am in deep trouble.'
Wow! I'm really proud of this, and I hope this is a fair attempt for my first piece of fanfiction! Compliments? Criticism? You know where the review button is!
Ah, and don't worry, there is a plot. Hang in there, faithful reader, and I promise to deliver!
One more thing, I know Cloud was kind of OOC in this first chapter, but that's because his character will be developing later on. Plus, if we had two Leons, the relationship would get nowhere, you see?