I've been dead for quiet some time so I thought Id come back with something a little different. Be kind with it and please review because I love them and I know you all are so helpful at heart. Enjoy

Warning: Does contain yaoi aka: boyonboy action so if its not your thing I suggest you turn away before your little eyes are burnt beyond repair. CloudReno with some LeonCloud on the side.

Skin Deep

By: Cloudy-chan

Crimson red and inky black; two things that seemed to blend so fluidly in one moment. They both sifted through Cloud's hands with ease as tears bit at the back of his stinging eyes. He cradled Reno's body as tightly as the swirling maelstrom would allow. The Turks green eyes were still alert and through everything there was still a trace of a smile on his bloody lips.

"Reno…" Cloud near shouted, the roar of their world's destruction swallowing his voice as well.

There was no answer, not that he was really expecting one.

He squeezed the red-head tighter, earning a small yelp from the broken boy, regretting the selfish act as he saw more blood spurt from the wound on his chest.

This couldn't be happening! Everything was just settling down and now all the things that kept him stable was being ripped away again.

His happiness, his love, his life was dying in his arms and he was helpless to do anything. Cloud Strife would always be a failure no matter what he did there was always something that plagued the ex-mercenaries mind; the thought that at any moment the peace that had finally settled in his life would shatter. And indeed it had been, gutted and taken away selfishly. When would fate lend him some mercy and take his life instead of making him watch as it took everyone he loved.

Black rushed around the couple, licking and stinging the blonde's face.

"Strife," Reno choked out, blood running down that beautiful pale skin. "Don't give up on me." The words were sharp and echoy in his ears and he cringed tears rolling down his face.

"I love you."

The fiery haired boy's arms looped around Cloud's trembling frame pushing himself up to the blonde's lips, pressing a light kiss to them.

"I love you too, Cloud Strife." The whisper was harsh and those slimy black tendrils overtook the Turk's bloody lanky form, erasing him completely from the ex-soldiers arms before swallowing him completely as well.

Traces of the kiss were still on Cloud's lips as Reno faded away into the waiting oblivion.

"When a strong hearted person gets turned into a heartless, the empty shell left behind becomes a Nobody."

Mako blue orbs snapped open hurriedly, cold sweat pouring off the blonde's clammy skin. His body was cold and shivering, almost numb like the black tendrils were taking him again, spilling Reno's blood all over him a second time.

His surroundings finally started to sink in after a few moments of pained and panicked breathing. The lights were low but not off, leaving a faint orange tint to the room's creamy white walls. The blonde's eyes blurred, almost wanting to go back to the nightmare, at least there he wasn't alone.

He held his throbbing head in his hands, tugging at the roots of his golden spikes. At times he just wanted to forget that his world was gone, destroyed by then nameless shadows he now recognized as heartless. Forget his time in the darkness alone and cold where hate and anger fueled his actions. Back then he would've done anything to keep hope alive in his fading heart but now he wasn't really alone anymore but on night like this he couldn't feel a difference.

Cloud shuffled underneath the sheets, swallowing hard to wet his dry throat. He didn't know what to do with himself at the moment so he jumped slightly when an unexpected knock came at the door.

"Come in." He muttered softly, not really knowing or caring if the person on the other side heard or not.

The door creaked open and belts jingled though the other side. He should've known Leon would come check on him.

The brunette's eyes seemed glazed and tired but the stormy depths were still laced with concern.

"Are you alright? I heard you having another nightmare."

Cloud bit back a glare and the urge to snap at the younger man. He wasn't alright, hadn't been for two years but he wasn't going to let anyone know that, Leon had problems of his own and who was he to burden him with his. But it wasn't like he asked for the stoic boy's affections.

"I'm sorry I woke you." He scooted around what Leon had to say. He glanced at the clock instead of meeting his eyes. 2:45… just great.

"You didn't wake me. And you didn't answer me question." Leon moved thoughtfully over to the bed and Cloud's lids fluttered shut, anticipating what was going to happen next.

There was a shift on the mattress and warm hands laced their fingers in his.

"So what was it about this time?" Leon brushed a lock of hair out of Cloud's face, hoping to get an honest answer from the frustrated youth.

Cloud was beginning to think that Leon just loved to pry into him. Ironic because Cloud could almost never do the same without a snide remark or a roll of the eyes.

"Reno again?" It made the blonde cringe to hear the ex-SeeD say the deceased Turk's name. No matter how long he'd known Leon there was a hurt that just wouldn't leave.

He shook his head solemnly, his glowing eyes meeting with Leon's for a moment. There was so much swirling there just below the surface and his eyes really weren't as icy as everyone thought, or maybe it was just him making things up again. He couldn't even tell what the brunette felt for him most of the time.

There was a certain amount of bitterness mixed into what Cloud felt; sometimes he didn't want Leon's love, he didn't want someone to get close to again but there was something about the stoic brunette that couldn't be ignored. He'd taken Cloud in and cared for him no matter how obstinate he'd been and they'd grown closer, eventually bonding here in Hollow Bastion, a world he was now forced to call home. All his memories weren't bad though, after all he had met back up with Cid, Yuffie, and Aries and they helped lift the burden on his soul a little bit.

Calloused fingers traced his jaw line, pushing his angry thoughts back for a moment. It was then he felt his body shaking harder, so wrapped up in memories again and wishing he could let parts of his past go.

But there were always going to be certain feelings and memories he could never erase or forget. And he didn't want to, either. Why forget a time when you were happy.

Leon placed a short chaste kiss on his lips, soft and special just like they always were, and Cloud cringed at the pang of guilt that surged within him.

Sure he had strong feelings for the brunette, but his old love had never died in his heart and part of him was still lusting after the possibility of Reno's survival. And if he was alive? Well, how would he own up to what he'd been doing all this time, with another man?

Yet at the same time, how was that fair to Leon? Pushing him away because of an old but still burning flame even when he knew that they both needed each other? He couldn't explain it though. Getting close to someone else felt dangerous, and it probably was, but he didn't want to be alone and needed the comfort Leon offered.

He didn't want to believe he was using the younger boy because there really were feelings there.

He'd just never been good when it came to dealing with them.

Cloud blinked up into Leon's icy pools of warmth and smiled. A bandage in the form of a kiss was all he needed to remind him he wasn't isolated. Part of him wanted Leon to crack a small joke, a wisecrack he could roll his eyes at – he even waited for it.

"You gonna be able to get back to sleep?" The brunette asked tenderly, hand cupping his face. Cloud sighed, shoulders slumping, concern was just a flattering.

The blonde nodded, yes, but opened his mouth anyway.

"Maybe you should stay with me."

There was a small silence and Cloud could see a small smile form on Leon's lips.

"You want me too?" Leon arched a thin eyebrow. Usually Cloud wanted his time to himself after having an episode. But maybe things were looking up after all.

"Yeah…I do."

The stoic boy felt like he was pushing his luck by asking the blonde but Leon had realized that Cloud needed help when it came to asking for it. He'd been the same way.

Since when had he become the warmer one?

Cloud's golden head hit the pillow and the brunette followed, wrapping his arms around the shorter boy's chilly frame. Throwing the blanket over top of them Leon lightly kissed his lover neck, hopefully calming his still shaky nerves.

The ex-mercenary twisted around in Leon's arm, brushing noses and letting his eager tongue lap at his lower lip. A needy kiss followed, messy and lust-filled.

"I'm sorry." Cloud breathed out, puffing the strands of deep brown out of Leon's face.

"For what?" Leon moved back in with his soft lips and placing a kiss on Cloud's slightly damp cheek.

"For causing problems and being needy." That was something he could've never seen himself saying.

But then again everything stopped when his world shattered. Leon was the only semblance of normalcy he's had.

Was it really normal though? Cuddling with another man when he was almost certain that his old love had died. He guessed that was his problem; he was never certain that Reno had died, after all, he'd been swallowed by the darkness and he wasn't dead.

"You're not a problem." Cloud wanted to smile at the warm concern he could feel slipping though the nonchalance in Leon's voice. But he still felt empty and he was eagerly inclined to fill that hole with lust. Lips met lips again and Cloud fed what he felt was a selfish urge.

Leon pulled away slowly and Cloud buried his head in the brunette's soft shirt, bare skin still a little clammy from his nightmare.

"You're still a little rattled from that dream, aren't you?" Fingers racked though his soft spikes, trying to sooth away all the blonde's ailments.

"They always rattle me, I can't help it." Cloud gurgled, wanting to just pacify Leon so he could escape.

"I'm not asking you to stop thinking about him if that's what you're thinking."

"I'm tired of all this, Squall!" There was only so much prodding that the ex-soldier could take. Why was the ex-SeeD being so pushy about this? The brunette drew back his arms, giving the blonde a sudden cold look, not pushing him away but chilling him none the less.

He never knew why Leon wanted to completely erase his past. Squall Leonhart was his rightful identity no matter how much he wanted to deny it. The mako-eyed boy was sure there was something in Squall's past that he wanted to remember but far be it from him to push the issue. Maybe that's why he was getting frustrated? Because he never pushed Leon to tell him things, he never tried to push and pry him open and he thought that Leon of all people would understand that. Or maybe he did know and he really was just trying to help.

Who knew – after all, the stoic brunette was good at covering his motives when he wanted to.

"Why do you push me away?" Leon's voice was hesitant like he's never asked anyone that question before.

"You have no room to talk." He pushed back shortly.

Was this what it was like to be put in a corner? It was ironic how all the roles had been switched. He had always tried to make Reno open up, share the little bit of warmth he had with him. It was odd, Leon had taken his role and mysteriously he'd taken Reno's. Life back home was mocking him even when it didn't exist anymore.

"If you're going to keep this up then I can't help you Cloud." Leon almost threw the blankets across the room in his short burst of anger. He was fed up and the blonde knew this but still did nothing to stop the angered boy from leaving.

"Come find me when you're not so wound up." The door shut firmly behind the stoic boy leaving Cloud alone again.

The mako-eyed youth gripped the sheets tightly in his fists. He didn't know weather to be sad or angry. Pushing Leon away wasn't right and he knew that but it wasn't right to give the boy his heart when it was still split in two either.

"Reno…"Cloud whispered harshly through clenched teeth.

The ex-soldier moved quickly from the bed, throwing on a loose pair of pants and a plain tee-shirt. Lacing up his boots lazily he headed toward the door. It may have been the middle of the night but he needed to think. It was time he stop using Leon as just a replacement for Reno and actually sort out his feelings.

Thoughts of the angry brunette coursed through his mind as he walked silently in the castle corridors of Hollow Bastion. He had become familiar with them, mostly thanks to Leon. These dark halls actually gave him some solace; one of the only things that did.

He wanted his mind to be empty for once, be free of the horrible memories that plagued him. At the moment he was sure he would be willing to even give up his good memories to start over with a clean slate.

He knew he was talking crazy, and at times it felt like he was. After the night he and Leon had shared a kiss for the first time, he sat in his room the rest of the night just willing the darkness to go away.

Cloud felt truly pathetic. The former savior of his world now couldn't save anyone to save his own life. Thinking was too hard and he just needed an escape, whether it be lustful sex with Leon or his old way of escaping…his motorcycle.

When he had first gotten to Hollow Bastion, Cid and some Moogles had teamed up to build him a new bike, just like Fenrir…only problem was that it wasn't his precious bike.

But he was thankful for it in times he needed to get away, like now.

The roar of the engine starting almost sounded the way he remembered, and he took off, pillowing dust behind him and hoping Leon would be able to forgive him.

Wind rushed past him, thunder to his ears as it stung his face. He already had the area memorized enough to ride idly, not really watching where he went but knowing where to go.

And he knew his surroundings well, which was why the sudden retreating shadow caught his attention. On instinct he skidded his wheels to turn and chase after the dark figure.

He raced after it, agile and swift as 'it' was, coming close enough to identify it as a cloaked figure, probably male. Rearing the bike back, he sped up, past the figure cutting him off.

The black hooded cloak skidded to a halt and stood there, even as Cloud stepped off his bike and stared into the hood shrouded in black, unable to make out features—or even a face.

"Who are you?" Cloud pressed quickly, already suspicious, an unidentifiable feeling in his gut.

"You're being pretty rude, don't you think?" The voice came, striking Cloud cold. That voice…maybe he was going crazy in missing his lover and maybe his mind was playing tricks on him but…he knew that voice.

But was it even possible?

He'd seen the blood, Reno's blood on his hands, felt the warmth of it and the chill of his skin, enveloped in darkness until…

Cloud shook his head and took a step forward; the cloak stepped back but didn't attempt to run. He would not run – Cloud could feel it.

"Hey maybe you can help me out," the voice proposed when the blonde remained silent. "I'm looking for someone. On the short side, Blonde hair, spiky, blue eyes. Somewhat of a thinker," the cloak pointed to his head.

Cloud blinked. He fit that description. A faint hope told him that Reno was searching for him and maybe…

Silently, Cloud stepped forward and took hold of the hood veiling this mystery. Gently he started to push it back but the figure stopped him.

"I haven't even gotten an answer out of you and you want me to show off the goods?"

Cloud's heart thumped – he knew how to deal with this kind of attitude, and it gave him hope and despair in one full swing.

"Let me see your face and then I'll answer," the blonde offered, hands still clutched to the hood. Silence followed and Cloud took the invite.

"Please," he muttered, though he wasn't sure to whom or why and gently once again pushed the material back.

Red – beautiful red – flashed before him, then a brilliant blue-green. His hands shook as they drooped to his sides.

Marks under the eyes, flaming locks, eyes bright but not glowing. Cloud had to laugh at himself.

Because it wasn't Reno.

And why would it be? Irony was too cruel, but in a sense he only had himself to blame. The stranger shared his curious stare, but the blonde shrugged it off.

He clenched his fists as an angry disappointed reflex. He could feel the darkness bubbling up in his chest. He didn't know how many more let downs he could take.

"You happy now?" The stranger questioned voice still familiar and snide, like not everyone had the privilege to see him un-hooded within moments of meeting.

Cloud ignored the new red-head's questions, pushing past him heading back towards the new Fenrir. He heard a short "Tch" from behind him and in the blink of an eye, black whips were coiling in front of him and the stranger materialized.

His blue orbs stung when he recognized the stranger was using as the same darkness that created the heartless. Did that mean the stranger was part of that same darkness?

"I showed you my face. So now the least you can do is answer my damn question."

Cloud remembered just how aggravated he could become with this sort of attitude. His tolerance for it had faded over the years.

"I thought you were someone one I knew. Sorry." The blonde said more then a little tersely, putting a leg over his bike.

"You looking for somebody too, blondie?"

"Don't call me that!" Cloud hissed sharply.

"Ouch," The stranger mocked "Did I touch a nerve?" The black rain drop shaped marks rose slightly as he smirked and it made Cloud's stomach lurch.

The ex-soldier pursed his lips into a grim line, fingers now itching for the sword he'd left behind.

"I don't need this right now." His mako eyes sharpened while starting up the engine of his bike, hoping that it would intimidate the cloaked smartass.

"You're not going anywhere." A clammy cold hand wrapped itself around his wrist and his body was plunged into blackness.

"What the hell is going on?" Cloud couldn't help the outburst. His mind was jumbled and his skin was cold, freezing like death itself.

So he'd made a mistake. This man wasn't Reno, although the attributes were eerily similar. He wasn't about to go out snooping though. Look where a simple question had gotten him. Right in the middle of nothingness like he'd been when his world got destroyed. A chord suddenly struck in the blondes head. If this happened to be the same place that lost souls went when traveling between words then maybe this man would know exactly what happened to the people who weren't so 'lucky' to make it out alive.

"I'm looking for someone, and by the looks of it you are too." Cloud's expression turned sourer after the comment. "So why not help me out? I'm sure you know what it feels like to miss someone." The stranger kept prodding, running a hand through his overly spiky hair.

"You don't know me!" The blonde pushed back.

"Calm down there…" The confused organization member blurted out. "I didn't do a damn thing to you."

"Just let me out of here. I can't tell you what you want to know. I'm the only one that matches your description on this world."

"See that's all you would've had to say kid, and I would've left it alone." Another smirk and another twist of the ex-mercenaries gut.

"What's your name?" The cloaked ones voice was suddenly demanding, sharp in the way it struck Cloud's ears.

Instead of answering, Cloud just stood there and swallowed the lump in his throat.

He felt he would've collapsed into the overwhelming ebony if it wasn't for the fingers coiled securely around his wrist. Obediently he followed after the leading organization member, though he wondered how this mockery of his lover knew where he was going.

When he had finally settled with the darkness, growing braver with every step, he yanked his hand free and met this man with a ready glare when he turned around. Those sea-green orbs flared sharply at him in a familiar way that made Cloud's stomach wrench. Weather or not there was a connection or this stubborn stranger knew anything…the similarities were too intense to ignore.

Clenching his fists at his sides, he readied himself.

"Reno…" It came out airy and strained, catching the redhead's attention. The cloaked stranger gave a look… the name struck something but at the same time rang no bells.

"Excuse me?" He asked, features animated in his inquiry.

Cloud met the eyes of green and tried again.

"Reno…you're just like him."

"Huh?" he was getting frustrated. The blonde was leaving too many blanks for him to fully understand.

"Red…red like Reno." the blonde muttered, voice growing gradually in volume. "You have his eyes…and you're cheeks, they—"

"So I guess it's safe to assume that you ARE looking for someone," the taller boy commented. "Reno, huh?"

He placed a thoughtful finger to his perfect chin and pondered, tasting the name and staring into those blue depths. Rapidly he blinked a throbbing taking place in his head.

"Dammit--! Were you trying to kill me?"

"Shut up and sit still already." Spiky blonde hair and blue eyes look at him sternly. "Either this cut, or that fucker would have cut your throat."

"Yeah, yeah. That sword of yours is a real kicker…"

Soft hands touched a newborn scar upon his shoulder, and he hissed.

The stranger reflexively took a hold of his left shoulder, wondering if he was just imagining the small sting.

"Give me a name," he pleaded in a tone that radiated authority, though for the most part was a bluff to get what he wanted.

"…Cloud. I'm looking for someone named Reno, and—"

"Sorry kid, I don't know any Reno."

Cloud bit his lip, frustration starting to boil again.

"What's your name then?" Cloud asked, trying to stifle the shake in his voice.

"Axel…" the red-head shook his head.

"How do I get out of here?" Cloud rushed the phrase; if Axel couldn't help him then he'd just have to find out himself.

"Your not going anywhere." The rebel organization member's head throbbed from the odd flash of pictures. The empty place in his chest surged with pain for one moment and was gone the next. How strange…

"What more could you possibly want to know?"

"You make me feel strange, you know that?" Axel confessed, trying to let the feelings sink in to identify them but it wasn't possible.

"I don't know what your talking about so just let me leave." Cloud hated to sound even marginally pathetic but it was almost as if he couldn't help it.

"Now that you mention it, you do look a lot like Roxas." Axel smirked at Cloud's confused expression.

"I'll tell you what," he continued voice getting a little more mischievous. "You tell me if you ever find anyone named Roxas wandering around on this world and I'll tell you if I ever come across this Reno of yours." Axel thought himself clever for the proposition he'd just made to the blonde. Too bad Cloud didn't see it the same way.

"No." It was short and simple and somehow the odd tone of the blonde's soft voice sent shivers though Axel's hollow body.

"What do you mean no?" The redhead had been caught off guard. How could that plan have sounded bad to the brooding warrior?

"Exactly what it sounds like," Cloud crossed his arms in a familiar stern stance. He wasn't being tricked again, especially not by someone he'd just met.

"Are you hardheaded or just stupid!" Axel's already short fuse was getting shorter by the second. He gave Cloud a pitiful look, one brow lifted in an expression the blonde knew well.

Annoyed by the attitude he was receiving, as well as confused by it, Axel took a hold of Cloud's arm. He wanted to find his friend, right?

"Worlds are colliding, even now. If you're looking for someone, then you're going to need all the help you can get."

The troubled blonde yanked his arm free. So this Axel had a point. Even so, he'd never seen any 'Roxas' running around, or anyone that supposedly looked like him.

"Why are you looking for him?" Cloud questioned suspiciously, not really caring if he was annoying this mockery of his lover. This memory teaser.

Axel rolled his false mako pools and threw his hands into the air before clapping them heavily against his sides. He wasn't expecting 20 questions.

"Depends," the fiery-haired boy said carefully, not willing to push all his chips in the pile only to be gambling on nothing. "If I tell you, will you change your mind?"

Cloud gave it honest thought. He didn't know why he was being so stubborn. Stranger or no, this guy was offering help to find someone he wanted so badly to see again. And though this willowy cloaked figure seemed crafty, he couldn't see anything that could backfire and slap him in the face. In short, help one another look for a missing person.

No catch, right?

His decision was made as soon as he saw the redhead smirk.

Axel was nearly taken back when Cloud responded.

"Maybe."

The taller man raised his posture. It was better then a 'no'.

"The guy thinks he can run off without being noticed. I'm just looking to drag him back."

For a moment Cloud wondered if maybe the kid ran away to get away from Axel. But he decided it was best to keep his mouth shut, probably for the better.

"What about you? You're in the same boat, aren't you?" the redhead pressed.

Cloud blinked. Axel was looking for a runaway, he was looking for a lost loved one. It wasn't the same.

"I don't need a reason to want to find someone. You don't understand."

"Ah, the mellow-dramatic type." Axel groaned. Cloud would have hit him if the phrase wasn't so Reno-like. In fact if it wasn't for the similarities he wouldn't have been here at all. "Let's skip this little side-show. Do we have a deal or no, 'coz if not, then you're wasting my time."

Axel held out a hand, hoping the blonde would take it and that he didn't just blow his chance for extra help. To both his surprise and relief, their hands were clasped in a sturdy handshake.

"Deal," Cloud confirmed, holding the man's hand tighter as he added; "Don't double-cross me."

Frankly – Axel inwardly scoffed – he had no reason to.