The infamous disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy or Microsoft or Intel or Dell or... you get the idea right?
Summary: Little misunderstanding was amplified on a large scale and now Aerith and Leon are forced to live like a married couple, of course they don't want to but Yuffie, Cid, Eiko, Sora, Mickey and people of Travers Town are not helping. Neither Leon nor Aerith could fake their feelings anymore. Their story was set for an fairy tale ending, but when Cloud returned...everything changed...
Leon x Aerith x Cloud
! And that's how it begin !
…
"Butttt…butttt Mr. Leonhart I can't do that...that's against the school's policy" he stuttered
"I don't care" Leon sneered.
Chancellor Sheppard who was two feet off the ground said in a muffled voice "I am sorry but I can't do that."
A hand was placed on Leon's shoulder and it was followed by a soft voice.
"Calm down Leon, let go of him" Aerith said hoping that her words would sink in.
Leon tosses the chancellor casually back in his chair.
Sheppard looked around and sighed in relief, 'It's good to be back on the ground'
"I am really sorry about that Chancellor Sheppard" Aerith said in an apologizing and soft tone.
Sheppard took a deep breath, 'It feels good to be able to breath freely again'
Aerith elbowed Leon.
"Ya, I am sorry too…I guess" uttered Leon not meaning a word he said.
"It's okay, I understand" said the chancellor, lying just like Leon.
Leon snapped "No you don't"
Sheppard was scared…again…
Leon's fingers curled together to form a fist once again.
Aerith saw that and quickly placed her hand on his fist.
Leon winced at the touch but decided to ignore it since he had more serious matter to take care of…and he means serious.
"Chancellor Sheppard, I understand that school has its own rules and everyone must abide by it but she is a very special child and her schooling is very important" Aerith said after few quite and (thankfully) peaceful minutes.
"But Ms. Aerith, we can't accept her without her mother's information" the chancellor replied with a straight face.
Aerith sighed once again
"I have already filled up all the paper work and you have my signature on it so why do you need the information about her mother?" Leon argued
"Mr. Leon, we don't allow single patenting and since you are not a single parent we need information about you AND your wife" he stated matter-of-factly.
"I have my own reasons for not revealing my wife's identity" Leon snapped back.
As soon as that sentence came out of Leon's mouth his mind which was already very active became very hyper active, 'That's sounds strange. 'My' and 'Wife' two very dangerous words in a same sentence! You sure you are talking about yourself Leon?'
'Shut up!' Leon just hopped that his annoying conscious would actually shut up for once.
Oh Leon just loves yelling at his annoying consciousness.
Chancellor Sheppard pushed the papers towards Leon and said "Sorry but we can't admit her in our school without her mother's information."
Leon exhaled a loud sigh and said in a low almost pleading voice "Please help me this time, please. I'll be in your eternal debt."
Aerith looked at him in a shock, 'hmm that's strange, I have never seen Leon sounding so, so…week. He always has this lion like aura around him and this soft behavior doesn't suit him at all. For once he is not acting like Leon, I don't know if I should be happy about it or not.'
Sheppard thinks for a while and then replies "I am sorry Mr. Leon, but rules are rules. I can't break them, not even for you."
Leon slammed his feast on the table as anger was evident in all of his features "Dam you…"
As soon as Sheppard saw Leon's reaction he curled up a bit in his chair and covered up his face with his hands in protecting manner.
'I hate to do this but if everything fails to convince someone, intimidation always works' Leon thought
So Leon stood up slowly from his seat.
Aerith was still holding his hand but Leon simply twitched his wrist and Aerith immediately lost her grip.
'No, no, no please don't do it Leon…' Aerith pleaded in her mind.
Leon slowly walked over to Chancellor Sheppard's chair.
'No matter what happens make sure she that gets accepted in the school…' Aerith reminded herself as the words from King Mickey's letter came afloat among the jumble of thoughts going through her head.
'King Mickey left her responsibility on us, so we can't let him down' Aerith thought determinedly.
Leon was doing his 'stuff' while Aerith started think of a way to get out of this mess, 'What else can we do now? Initially we thought that they would simple admit her in school on our request since we have done so much for this town. But that didn't work out since this school only accepts kids whose parents are citizen of Traverse Town. So to just admit her from the back door would be illegal. So we had to use our back up plan in which Leon would adopt her and everything should have worked out but thanks to their stupid rules all our hopes and plans went down in drain.'
'Arrrgggg…now I am mad. It took us one whole week to convince Leon to adopt her in worst case scenario and NOW they tell us that single parenting is now allowed! This is not fair!' she thought getting really frustrated.
'Well the good thing is that, the moment they told us the rules about adopting, we knew that would plan was flawed. But thanks to Leon's quick presence of mind he quickly covered it up by saying that he was not single but he just didn't wanted to reveal the identity of his wife for personal reasons. So now we have at least one option, not a very promising one but an option regardless' she thought further.
'We tortured poor guy for one week and then finally he was convinced to have an adopted daughter. But now we have to find him a fictional wife too! This is just great! (Being sarcastic of course)' she thought getting more and more annoyed by this situation.
'I don't know how long it would take us to convince him to have a fake wife, just for the shake of an admission! I don't think I would be able to convince him in my lifetime' she though feeling very helpless.
'We can't let King Mickey down. Think Aerith, think…' her responsibility forced herself to think deeper.
Aerith was busy thinking while Leon was staring down at cowering chancellor of this mini school.
"I hate to say this but we put our lives on the line everyday to ensure your safety, to ensure this town's safety and we expect nothing in return, this is just the one time when I need your help. I know you have rules, but you also have good enough cause to bend the rules, I am sure that the committee would understand. Don't just blindly follow the book, use your head, and be practical. Please…it's about little girl's future" Leon started with a strong and venomous voice but it was softer by the end of his sentence.
(A light bulb could almost be seen turning on, on Aerith head)
'Use your head and be practical…that's it!' a smile instantly graced her features as she had discovered the solution to their problem.
It finally clicked Aerith and she immediately grabbed the papers which where lying on the table in front of her.
"I…I…can't do that…" Sheppard stuttered scared to death.
Leon was now totally pissed; he grabbed him from the collar and lifted him up with just one hand.
Leon said in a menacing voice "Why don't you do me a favor, if a heartless attacks you next time, just remind me not to save your worthless ass."
Sheppard said in a very low muffled voice, "no no no wait, may be we can work it out somehow…"
"Now we are talking…" Leon said with a microscopic smile on his lips.
This conversation was so low that Aerith, who was just few feet away from them wasn't able to hear anything.
Aerith stood up from her seat holding all the papers in one hand.
She walked towards Leon and stood right behind him and placed her free hand on his shoulder to get his attention.
She said in her soft voice, "It okay Leon, let him go."
Leon just turned his head and looked at her.
Aerith looked into his eyes and said in a whispering manner, "Everything has been taken care of."
"What?" was the obvious question to ask in this situation,
Aerith cleared her throat and said the most unpredictable thing every, "Its okay honey" emphasizing the word 'honey'.
Both Leon and Sheppard said in unison "HONEY!"
Immediately after that Leon dropped Sheppard to the ground almost absentmindedly and put his hand on his forehead in his trademark style.
Leon's mind immediately started screaming, "Something is very wrong Leon!'
"You wanted to know who is the mother of her, right? Here…" she said handing the papers to chancellor.
"Here is everything you need to know" she said firmly.
After giving the papers Aerith walked back to her seat and Leon immediately followed her.
They both took the seat at the same time.
Chancellor Sheppard was going though all the papers but when he saw the mother's name his eyes almost popped out of its sockets.
To say that Sheppard had a surprised look on his face would be an understatement of the year.
He just looked at Aerith and then he looked back at Leon.
He repeated this non stop without even blinking once.
(Like tennis match audience)
'Why is he watching us like that? Some is very very wrong Leon' he wondered as his mind started sending more and more warning signals to him.
After about a minute or so Aerith coughed (fake) to bring Sheppard out of his trance.
He immediately returned back to his paper work.
Aerith just smiled since she knew the cause of his surprise.
But Leon was clearly frowning as he was very confused.
He quietly asked Aerith in an almost whispering manner "What did you do?"
Aerith replied in an equally low voice, "Nothing out of ordinary, just got you a wife."
Leon jumped up from his seat and yelled at top of his voice "WHAT?"
He looked at Aerith in absolute disbelief.
Chancellor Sheppard found this behavior very odd because now Leon was the one who was staring at Aerith just like he had been few moments ago.
Sheppard found Leon's conduct a bit suspicious so he decided to inquire "Anything wrong Mr. Leon?"
'Everything is wrong!' his mind screamed back.
Aerith looked at him pleadingly and shook her head slightly.
She had her hands claps together in almost praying like style.
She does that whenever she is nervous, it's as if she is asking for some extra strength from some deity.
Leon saw her expression and made a very tough decision to play along with whatever Aerith had plotted
"Water, yes water. I need some water" he said trying to cover it up.
"'Water'? I though you said 'What'" inquired Sheppard.
Aerith quickly supported Leon "No chancellor, he said water. I am sure of it"
"hmm strange, anyway… here, take it…" he said trying to ignore the obvious mishap.
Sheppard handed a one liter water bottle to Leon and he gulped it down in just one sip.
Leon slumped back into his chair and was clutching his head with his both hands.
'Well if I know Leon as good as I think I know him then I am in big trouble once we get out of this office. I won't be surprised to find my picture on the front page of tomorrow's news paper labeled as 'Our beloved Aerith will always be missed' or something like that. May be I can request him to give me some time to make my will and write a departing letter to my Cloud' Aerith thought with a bit of frown on her face.
Sheppard looked up from his paper work and announced, "Okay I have reviewed all the papers and everything seems fine."
"I still can't believe this is for real. It sound's so fictional, but hey…fairy tales can come true you know" he said with obvious excitement.
'What? Does that mean he bought it?' Aerith wondered with a smile on her face.
'Fairy tale! Oh god I hate fairy tales' Leon sighed.
'I wonder who she picked as my wife to make him think that MY so called life is like a fairy tale. What did she put? That I am married to some vampire lady? Or to a heartless? Or a zombie maybe? Who knows…' Leon thought getting depressed at the speed of light.
Leon looked at Aerith and mind came up with an obvious remark, 'Aerith you are so dead…'
"So it's official?" she asked still a bit uncertain.
"Absolutely, you can call her now" Sheppard replied firmly.
"Thank you, thank you so much!" she said with palpable excitement.
Aerith stood up from her seat and went outside to bring Leon's recently adopted daughter.
Sheppard looked at Leon and said, "Now let's complete some formalities."
Sheppard gave Leon a stack of a paper which he had to sign.
Leon started signing them absentmindedly as his mind was pre-occupied by the though of his mysterious wife.
Leon was never an anxious person but this anxiousness was killing him.
The office's door opened and Aerith stepped in with Leon's daughter.
Aerith took a seat next to Leon and offer a seat to his daughter next to her.
Leon looked at them and went back to his signing process.
Sheppard pulled out a piece of paper and placed it in front of Aerith. "Ms. Aerith I need your information and your signature here."
He pointed out the location with his finger and continued "and I need Mr. Leon's signature right below it and once you sign it, she will officially become a student of Traverse Town Academy."
Aerith signed as instructed and passed the paper to Leon who had just finished signing a stack of paper.
Leon looked and the last piece of paper and started reading it.
Student's name: Eiko Leonhart
Father's Name: Squall Leonhart
Mother's Name: Aerith Leonhart
Address:…
He ignored the rest.
Leon paused and looked back at the mother's name.
The expression on Leon's face was priceless.
Normally Leon is very good at hiding his emotions but this time it was different.
His face was like an open book.
Leon was holding the paper in his hand and he was just staring at it.
Blink… … … … … blink blink… … … … blink … … … blink blink… … blink … blink
Leon squinted his eyes and repeated the same process.
After blinking few more times in pure disbelief he finally looked as Aerith.
Aerith who was observing Leon so far, immediately looked down in a bit shame and embarrassment, when their eyes meet.
Leon didn't say anything. What could he say.
He just filled up rest of his part and handed the paper back to the chancellor.
"Excellent!" Sheppard exclaimed clasping his hands.
Sheppard stood up and offered his hand and said "You guys are now officially a part of TT Academy (Traverse Town Academy), welcome"
Leon just looked at his hand and nodded.
Almost everyone in Traverse Town knew Leon and his unique anti-social habits so his gesture for not returning the handshake was not a surprise to Sheppard.
He offered his hand to Aerith and she greeted equally, Eiko did the same as Aerith.
"Now that everything is official let me just ask you guys a couple of questions, like how long have you guys been married?" Sheppard asked getting a bit animated.
Leon said 2 years while Aerith said 3 years at the same time.
Sheppard raised his eyebrow to this.
Leon and Aerith looked at each other but both of them looked away at the same time.
"It's been 2 years and 361 days to be precise" Leon said covering up once again.
Dam, he was getting good at lying.
"Wow! It has been THAT long!" Sheppard exclaimed loudly.
'Dam you Leon, you didn't even tell be about it?' he thought looking at Leon.
"You guys are amazing at hiding things, kudos to you" if he wasn't loud enough as it is, he had crosses all the boundaries of the word 'Loud' now.
"To be honest, you guys look great together" he said honestly.
Leon simply ignored the comment while Aerith blushed.
Leon didn't wanted to hear anything thing else so he stood up from his chair and motioned towards the door.
Aerith and Eiko also followed his league.
Sheppard walked in front of his desk and then made his way towards the door.
He opened the door for them as Aerith exited with Eiko.
Sheppard quickly whispered to Aerith on her way out, "Thanks for marrying this stubborn as mule friend of mine. Take good care of him, okay."
Aerith smiled and waked out of the office and Leon was about to do the same.
Leon's one foot was outside the door while his other foot was still inside the chancellor's room.
"Aerith, wait for me outside. I have some unfinished business to take care of" his tone left no room for arguments so Aerith simply obliged with it.
Leon stepped back in and closed the door.
Sheppard said to himself "Oh-oh this can't be good."
Leon looked at the smaller man.
Sheppard was visibly scared.
Leon grabbed him with one hand and lifted him about two feet above the ground and pinned him against the wall.
"Do what you have to, but make sure not a single word about this whole admission ordeal should go out of this office, understood?" Leon said dangerously.
"Yesss...yes…Understood" Sheppard was barely able to say that.
"Good" Leon said looking into his eyes.
Leon let go of him and opened the door.
Leon's one foot was outside the door while his other foot was still inside the chancellor's room and once again he decided to turn back.
Leon looked at Sheppard and suddenly punched him with his left hand.
Sheppard would have been knocked back a few feet if Leon wasn't holding him with his other hand.
"Ouch…" he screamed in obvious pain.
Sheppard instantly placed his left hand on his swollen cheek and inquired rightfully, "What was that for?"
Leon replied calmly, "To make sure I am not dreaming."
"What? You pinch yourself to make sure you are not dreaming, not punch someone else!" he said in disbelief.
Leon smirked a bit and once again he looked at him and pulled his hand back and delivered a jaw breaking punch to Sheppard.
This time it was his right hand coming in contact with Sheppard's right cheek.
Sheppard was thrown back few feet with this impact.
He crash landed onto his table.
"This was to make sure that you are not dreaming, my friend" Leon said concluding the conversation.
Those were the last words before Leon finally walked out of the office.
Sora visits Traverse Town often but the keyhole in TT is yet to be sealed. Thanks to Sora's regular visits and Leon's constant effort TT has finally became a peaceful place to live. Heatless rarely come into the first and the second district now. So people can go back to their regular life style which they where forced to abandon under unfavorable circumstance. But now that every thing is back to normal a little school has been established. A long forgotten press has also reopened. More and more shops are opening everyday and the economy is constantly booming. More and more buildings are being build everyday and the population is also constantly increasing as people are moving from various other worlds to TT. TT has finally become a place to live and not just a place to stop by...
It took good 20 minutes for Sheppard to get back to his senses (and to get rid of all the little birdies flying around his head.)
His left cheek wasn't that bad but his right cheek was completely swollen.
He stood up and called his secretary.
Secretary entered the room and saw it in shambles.
"Oh my god! What happed in here?" the surprised secretary asked.
Sheppard turned around and secretary was completely shocked to see his face completely swollen.
"Oh my god! Are you alright, Sir?" he asked getting concerned.
"I am fine, don't worry about me. Why don't you call press, I have some ground breaking news for them. News which could change the entire atmosphere in Traverse Town" Sheppard replied scheming.
"Oh my god! Ground breaking new! What is it sir?" asked the ever so curious secretary.
"Excuse me, I thought I told you to get press people" he said getting a bit annoyed.
"Oh my god! I am so sorry, I'll go inform the press right now" secretary said hurriedly before running out of the office.
Sheppard stood and dusted himself and walked over to the window.
He was looking at the kids playing outside when his mind started wondering off, 'Leon has been protecting Traverse Town since he was a young teen. For past seven years he had put his life on the line everyday for the safety of TT. It is safe to say that without Leon there would be no Traverse Town. People read about heroes in the books, in the fictions but Leon turned out to be a real life hero. A real legend. Everyone in Traverse Town owes their life to him and naturally he is very well respected among everyone. For the up coming generation he is their icon, a real true life hero and a true Lion'
'Then there is Aerith, a perfect girl, that's all you can say for her. She does not have any fighting abilities but she is also a savior of this town. Thanks to her white magic she has saved so many lives thus far. She has served Traverse Town for last nine years. She does not only heal people but her very presence also heals the spirit of the people around her. She is a very stable headed lady and for her; happiness of the others always comes before her own happiness. After every major heartless attack we see her working nonstop for days, to heal people. She is a perfect caretaker. A perfect match for a reckless Lion'
Leon and Aerith are rightfully treated like celebrities in Travers Town. Their every action is followed by hundred's of people and they are always the center of the attraction in this town.
"They are perfect for each other. They look so good together" he said to the only person in room…himself.
Sheppard rubbed his hands in excitement and said to himself, "I have to tell this news to everyone in TT."
"I might get a back eye, a broken nose, and few concussions and maybe dozen fractures from Leon but I think it's worth the price" he concluded.
"Honestly I still can't believe that they are married" he said before closing the blinds of his window.
By the time the press people arrived the room was back to normal but same cannot be said about Sheppard's face.
Anyway Sheppard was ready to deliver his ground breaking news.
"I have called you here to give you very special news" Sheppard announced proudly.
"News that would give Traverse Town something cheery to talk about, for a change" he continued.
"Making long story short, I am proud to announce that Leon is married to… … … Aerith!" he exclaimed excitedly.
As soon as the reporters heard that all of them fell from their chair (in anime style of course)
Sheppard turned towards his secretary who was also on the floor, he smiled at him and said "Didn't I tell you that I have some earth shattering news."
"Oh my god! Sir!" was all the secretary was able to say.
Man with two swollen cheeks smiled at said to the reporters, "And now I am going to tell you the full story..."
Special Thanks to Moronic Irony for editing/beta-reading this story!
A/n:
Well the real fun is about to begin.
So what do you think about it? Like it? Love it? Hate it?Please let me know in a review, I'd be waiting.