On the Flipside

Summary: Leon loved Cloud with all his heart. Sure they had their issues, but all couples did. Five drabbles based on single word prompts.

Disclaimer: I wished I owned Kingdom Hearts, can you imagine the profit margin? But, sadly, I don't. (Which is probably a good thing in many ways)

Dedication: To Tabby, who puts up with all of this, even though she doesn't really like shonen-ai.

Note: This is a follow up to Flying but for the most part this can be read as a stand-alone piece, except for one line.

Leon loved Cloud with all his heart. It was an undisputed fact that the two were happy together, and in a relationship. Granted, it wasn't the most orthodox of relationships. After all, the actual courtship began with a drunken Leon, ended with Cloud dutifully tucking him in his bed and then started up again with a hangover from hell. Cloud, of course, was only too happy to play nurse for his lion. The little bits in between… well Cloud never filled him in on that, stoutly refusing to elaborate any further than the occasional mutterings of, "Damn cape wearing cartoon" and "pointy-eared freak." But Leon loved Cloud, and as all things must progress, so did their relationship. Thus came the fateful day when Leon and Cloud moved in together, into Leon's apartment obviously, since Cloud spent all his free time out of Traverse Town either in Crystal Fissure or in the Dark Depths. Now, although Leon was well prepared for the occasional "disagreement" to crop up, living with the blond swordsman was just downright impossible sometimes.

Unromantic: Let it be said, that on most days, Cloud Strife didn't appear to have a single romantic bone in his body. It wasn't his fault, what with Hojo, Nibelheim, the mako, being stabbed multiple times et al, it was expected that he'd be at least slightly emotionally stunted. But Cloud seemed to avoid all conventional romantic gestures like the plague. Would it honestly have been too stressful for Cloud to pick up a bouquet of roses on Valentine's Day, chocolates on White Day, a bottle of champagne, a card, even a fricking pebble?

Although, on the flipside, he wouldn't trade the morning kisses that felt like swallowed sunshine, for the world. And Cloud always did the dishes (Leon did NOT do dishes; the dishwashing soap didn't like him). He still remembered their first week together, when Cloud dutifully polished off all Leon's charred cookies, in lieu of Aerith's warm, freshly baked pie. He was sick for a week, but he never complained once. He had to admit, his heart melted when Cloud returned from his deliveries, each time with a neatly wrapped package, usually books or postcards all for Leon. He could feel himself turn into a puddle of goo, and his inner self squealed like Yuffie faced with free materia, when he glimpsed the faint dusting of pink on Cloud's cheeks as he tried to maintain his charade of nonchalance. But Leon knew now how eagerly he waited for at least the faintest murmur of approval. And as he threw his arms around Cloud, he knew he'd be a damned fool not to give it to him. So maybe Cloud didn't proclaim his love from the rooftops with a quartet and a marching band (there's a disturbing thought). His stunted, slightly repressed way was special enough for Leon.

Cell phone: *BEEP* "Hey there! Welcome to the Chocobo Lonely Hearts Association! Are you single, rich and tired of spending your nights alone? Well for the simple fee of 100 gil paid in three monthly instal…" "Damn it Yuffie, give me back the phone! I'm going to kill you!" "Aw, you're no fun! Squally, Cloudster's being mean!" *BEEP* "We're sorry, due to technical difficulties, your call is being diverted to a backup server. Please hold, your call is important to us, thank you, and visit ShinRa corporations soon!" *BEEP*

"Thanks a lot Rufus, that's the last time I do half-priced deliveries for you. Right, if you've actually had the patience to wait this long, this is Cloud Strife, er…no… Strife Delivery services, er crap… Strife-Lockhart Enterprises, oh, you get the basic idea. Pretty damn obviously, I can't take your call. Leave your name and number, and I should get back to you eventually….Don't get your hopes up. *BEEP*

Leon twitched. He entertained thoughts of strangling the blond or, even better telling Yuffie who had eaten her secret stash of pocky. But, Cloud wasn't here, and he hadn't been for over a week. There had been complications of some sort on his last delivery and he had been out for over a week now. Fear gnawed at his heart, icy tendrils seemingly sucking out the warmth and colour that had crept in with Cloud, not that he'd ever admit it out loud.

Was it too much to ask for? He just wanted to hear his lover's voice again, know that he was safe, alive and coming back home. He tried again, at exactly the same moment when the door creaked open and a disheveled Cloud trudged in. Even as he collapsed in Cloud's arms out of relief, when the first few notes of, "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" drifted through the air, Leon wondered if he shouldn't be a little more honoured that he had his own personal ringtone.

Messy: "Damn it to Hades Strife! You insufferable pig, I just mopped!" Honestly, had the man no sense of cleanliness? Filthy, muddy footprints all over the once clean, spotless floor, with those boots of his.

So, maybe he was overreacting just a little bit, and in all honesty, he wasn't exactly at his most intimidating. The light blue and white checkered apron with the motif of a lion and a speech bubble that said, "Rawr", didn't exactly portray manliness. And the feather duster in his hand was a poor substitute for his Gunblade.(1) But, heaven hath no fury like a lion scorned. Cloud was all too aware of the very real threat of spending yet another night on the cold sofa, alone.

And besides, he'd never pass up an opportunity to witness the cute pout that twisted his love's face. Not to mention the fact that Cloud had a very nice derrière, which looked especially tempting when he was swaying from side to side, mopping up the mud on the floor. If he ignored the muttered curses and swear words, this substituted very well for the TV until Cid fixed it up.

Fenrir: Yes, it was an absolutely amazing bike.(2)It oozed sex appeal and ignited sparks of want and jealousy in all men who had eyes. It was incredibly functional and durable. And they had had some good times on that bike, some very good times. But as he watched the normally stoic blond bustle around Fenrir, occasionally cooing at her, he couldn't help but wonder if this wasn't going just a little too far….

"I can't believe that flame throwing bastard did this to you, you poor girl. Don't worry though, he'll pay for this, hang on Fen, Cloud'll have you fixed up soon." Leon swore that if Cloud wasn't so reserved, he would have thrown his head back and cackled.

He rolled his inner eyes, watching as Cloud finished fixing up a dent in his beloved bike and went to retrieve a can of paint. Said pyromaniac was nursing quite a few bruises in Aerith's house, and he would definitely think twice before trying out any untested materia in the vicinity of Fenrir again. Sometimes, Leon got a little worried about Cloud's attachment to the bike. Then Cloud would turn, his brilliant blue eyes full of wonder, adoration and above all, innocence. The smart retort would wither away on his lips and he'd quietly hand Cloud a wrench and resume his job of petting Fenrir's head.

Er…handlebars.

Alcohol: Leon could not handle his alcohol. His tolerance was virtually non-existent. A shot of beer could pleasantly tipsy, which pretty much eliminated any chances of social drinking or even drowning his sorrows in booze. As Aerith had cautioned, he was probably much more likely to drown. Cloud on the other hand had no such problems. For one thing, the mako that flowed through his veins had more than increased his tolerance. And for another, the Zack's dismay, he didn't like the taste of alcohol, he preferred orange juice.

On the flipside though, this worked out very well, and the two fit together like a jigsaw puzzle. Leon would get conned into having a "night out with the fellas", and Cloud would eventually haul his sorry ass back home, thus avoiding further embarrassing incidents. Who could forget the time Leon, Irvine, Zell and Zack had very nearly succeeded in rendering them all blind, with a 'dramatic' interpretation of what they called, "Full Moon".

And now as Cloud yanked him back home with an amused simple on his lips, and he sang, "All Ye Merry Moogles Of Mine" at the top of his lungs, the small, sober part of him couldn't help but be thankful for the warm strong arms that he'd soon be nestled in and the patient care and loving kisses he was assured of tomorrow.

Because at the end of the day, every fool out there knew that it was those little, seemingly insignificant things that left the biggest impression on the heart.

Author's Notes : 1) This was created thanks to a picture of Leon (Dissidia style), with an apron, feeding breakfast to Bartz. The idea of Mother Leon stuck.

2) *shrugs* Fenrir is an awesome bike, I somehow just couldn't picture Cloud without it.