Disclaimer: The usual^^ Kingdom Hearts, any Final Fantasy and their characters belong to Square Enix and Disney.

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x-x-x-x-x- chapter 5 – good old times x-x-x-x-x-x

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Cloud and Sephiroth watched the rest of them leaving. Yuffie had almost been dragged out of the ballroom by Aerith. Silence filled the building. The setting sun bathed the Balamb Garden in red and orange light.

"Did you see it too?"

Sephiroth asked his reluctant companion. Cloud nodded.

"Yuffie is going to get scolded again. I don't know who'll be worse; Aerith or Leon for touching his things. Why are you still here?"

Suspiciously Cloud eyed the silver-haired man, not changing his position near the door.

Sephiroth stared back, pondering on how much information he should hand out.

"We still have to argue our situation out."

"There's nothing to talk about. You are you and I am me. There's no 'we'."

Sephiroth raised an eyebrow. Cloud narrowed his eyes stubbornly.

"You can already feel it, now that our meetings aren't occupied with fighting. Why are you denying it? We know each other too long."

Cloud didn't dare to look into his eyes. The ex-general was right he knew something was off though he couldn't grab it. A peace seeking silver haired maniac didn't fit his descriptions. But in the last days he hadn't done anything vicious – not even slightly dark. Point for Sephiroth: he had found Leon and brought him back in one piece.

Point for the gang: He hadn't explained himself before Leon woke up and his reasons were still a bit diffuse.

"Why should I believe you?"

"I'm hoping you will eventually, otherwise we will scare away our light with our discrepancy. Don't look at me like this. We're a part of each other of course your light will be mine too."

Sephiroth met the death glare of the other with calm eyes.

"That's why you're here? Seeking out the light and claim him to defeat me?"

"Do you really think our light, whoever it may be, would be able to push one of his other parts away? None of us will be able to keep the light without the other."

"Why would you know? You don't know who it is either!"

Cloud snorted.

"You're right. I don't know certainly but I think we both are hoping for the same person."

Sephiroth grinned when the other flinched nearly not visibly. Storm blue eyes flashed through Cloud's mind.

"You've already admitted that you set your eyes on a male, because you said 'claim him'. And if you look closer, it's very obvious who. I don't think any male would cause you to stop fighting me, yet you did when I brought back Leon."

Cloud grinded his teeth.

"Don't worry it wasn't that obvious to outsiders. We're connected, remember?"

Sephiroth walked slowly over to Cloud.

"Who knows maybe our light is the last summoner. The esper Diablos mentioned that he was following a strong light."

"Leon a summoner? He would have said something. You've already asked him indirectly."

"Would you admit to be a summoner when someone is out to kill them, perhaps he doesn't know or … what if he isn't our light?"

Sephiroth smirked and closed the distance between them. He leant forward. Cloud's eyes went wide as he felt breath against his left ear.

"But whoever our light might be, we can only catch him together."

He whispered into Cloud's ear and was satisfied when the smaller male shivered. He pushed himself away and walked to the exit.

"Think about it, Cloud."

Cloud scowled at this and followed him, not willing to let the other man roam around without observation.

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Leon just stepped out of the maintenance entrance when the other men entered the lobby. Cloud watched skeptically.

"That's not the best way to move between the floors."

Leon shrugged and closed the side-gate.

"Only as long the elevator doesn't work. Tomorrow I'll take a look at the generator."

He led them trough the Garden back outside. Leon didn't like to leave his old home unclosed but it couldn't be changed till the electronics were working again.

"Go ahead, I'll come later. I have still to check on some things after the trembling today."

Leon turned around and walked in the direction of the lab.

Well he tried.

After a short meeting of eyes between the former enemies two very different arms shot out to grab the lion.

"No, you won't…"

Leon blinked at the synchronic reply in two voices.

"I believe you just woke up this morning after being injured and got stressed emotionally through the whole happenings today…"

Sephiroth started and hooked his arm under Leon's armpit.

"Hn, you can work tomorrow after a good meal and more rest."

Cloud took over Leon's other side and together they dragged Leon along. The feet of the former SEED barley touched the ground.

Too surprised to do anything Leon let himself being dragged around for a few meters until he started to struggle.

"I get it, no working. Now let me down, I can walk myself."

"No!"

Leon's eyebrow twitched at the tandem answer.

"For two former enemies you both seem to get along quite well…"

Leon grumbled. They let him go… at the front door of Merlin's house, his eyebrow still twitching in annoyance.

Sure, he could have resisted more. But Shiva had warned him that he could summon the elements unconsciously, if he lost control. Firstly ice because he was longer connected to the ice esper.

Annoyed with the world and himself, he gathered his left pride and walked up to his room. He wanted to shower at least before Aerith called for dinner.

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"PICTURE-TIME!"

Yuffie squealed. Immediately she got the attention of everyone – minus Leon. They had waited for the dinner to get ready. Sephiroth and Cloud had just entered the living room when the ninja-girl put a big photo album onto the table.

"Yuffie, you better didn't steal it."

Aerith scolded at once, but her words hold no edge. She was curious herself.

"I wasn't stealing. I'm just borrowing it."

She opened the album.

"Hey Squally, Happy Birthday from your Orphan Gang. We collected a huge mass of pictures and videos and put it together for you. Of course not without our input. Have fun!"

A happy and energetic voice came out of the album. Obviously it wasn't a simple photo album but rather a digital device.

"Hey lookie what we have found! An old picture of us."

A picture appeared on the former black background. It showed a gentle looking woman with seven children. Six of them seemed similar in age, only one girl was older.

"Never thought you would see us in front of our orphanage again, didn't you?"

Another female voice interjected.

"There're Zell, Irvine and Selphie on Mother's left side. Me, Seifer, Ellione and of course you on her right side. It's a shame that we don't remember much of our childhood due to the junction system."

"Oi! Quistis, don't make him sad. Hey buddy, look instead the next pictures. We found one of your parents"

A male voice commented. And the picture changed into a happy couple.

"Laguna Loire and Raine Leonhart, what would have happen if President Laguna had known earlier that he has a son?"

Another male asked.

"Hmpf, I can't see Leonhart as a little prince."

"Hey Seifer, I thought you didn't want to take part of this little present?"

"Selphie, it's still recording."

"what? Oh no!"

The audience chuckled at this.

The five different voices led them through the photos and recordings. The gang - as they had called themselves - were displayed in some of them, but mostly of Squall. A Squall without his scar. Class pictures, trainings pictures and a few more.

"Aw it's a pity that your famous fight with your childhood rival Seifer here had never been recorded. I wanted to see it soo badly. But Fu had a hidden skill she made a wonderful painting."

The painting showed a younger looking Leon and the teen called Seifer with their gunblades both in the middle of an attack.

"You two have never told us how you became best friends after all this rivalry."

"That's none of your business."

The following pictures showed simply the friends in different outfits. In their SEED-uniform, the gala-uniform, their favorite casual clothes. A recording followed.

"Isn't that a nice view? Our leader on his graduation ball. Unfortunately with that bitch Rinoa…" "Selphie! She hasn't always been that bad."

"Well you two are ruining the recording. But let's head over to the Second Sorceress War. With this it all had begun, at least for us. "

The next recording showed the SEEDs attacking a sorceress. Next to the video a few newspaper articles were shown.

In shock the Radiant Garden Restoration Committee watched as a giant ice lance hit the younger Squall in the middle of his chest, throwing him off the platform.

"Now I know where his scars come from…"

Sephiroth whispered, not willing to disturb the display. The next ones weren't any better. In one the gang was seen without Squall in jail. Another recording came apparently from a surveillance camera, Squall being tortured wasn't a nice view. Tifa and Aerith sighed in relief when he was freed by little creatures like the plush animal Yuffie had found in the Garden.

More pictures and recordings showed not only the War but also the time after. Squall as commander. The old friends fighting and laughing. Squall in headlock from his father. His collection of gunblades were displayed and labeled. The lion of Balamb surrounded by small red creatures which Zell declared as Moomba, gracing Laguna with a death glare. Another picture showed a happy couple, Squall and Rinoa but always when the girl was seen in a picture someone of the commentators hadn't left a nice word about her.

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The seven of them were so absorbed into the display and comments that they hadn't noticed Leon returning to the living room.

The voices and pictures tore open old wounds. His old friends had often annoyed him. He missed them badly.

Leon leant against the wall and crossed his arms. Closing his eyes, he tried to pull himself together. After he had taken a few deep breaths, he went over to the table. He closed the device and took it, wordlessly. His face was devoid any emotions and his eyes hidden behind his bangs.

Yuffie bit her lips, expecting hell.

But Leon didn't say anything. He just took the album and went back upstairs.

Silence followed their leader.

"That was worse than scolding."

Yuffie broke the silence after a while, feeling bad.

Aerith sighed and glanced at the stairs.

"Dinner is ready…"

"I'll go and look after him. He can't throw me out of the room, for the time being it's mine too."

Sephiroth said calmly and climbed the steps. The others walked into the kitchen. For once Cloud didn't disagree. That device had certainly revoked some memories and judging by the state of the Garden not all of them were good ones. It didn't take a genius to figure it out. Leon had once lost everything he had and here he dared to mope around sometimes while their lion had better reasons to do so. Cloud hadn't lost many friends. His best were all alive and here with him. Leon on the other hand was alone but instead of falling into melancholy he threw himself into work in order to protect everyone around him.

"Aerith? Do you think Leon will stay here with us?"

Yuffie asked quietly as she sat down at the table.

"The Garden outside was his home once. I'm sure he has still rooms there. Probably he will move back."

"I wouldn't blame him. He said he wanted to look after the generator tomorrow.

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Sephiroth had knocked lightly at the door before he entered the room. Leon hadn't turned on any lights. There was no need. The moon illuminated the room enough to see the ex-commander sitting on the window sill. One foot was on the sill, the other on the ground. Leaning back against the window frame, he looked up to the moon. His arms rested on his tucked-up knee. The photo album lay on the window sill next to his foot.

"Did they send you, because I can't lock you out?"

Leon continued looking at the moon.

"No, I came on my own, because you can't throw me out."

"Whatever."

"Do you want to talk?"

"You've just seen my whole life in an abbreviated version. I don't think I have to add more."

Sephiroth stepped closer till only a few inches separated them, enough not to invade his comfort zone but close enough to signalize that he wasn't alone anymore. The silver haired man fought against the sudden urge to touch him, to comfort the lonely warrior. He didn't know where it came from. He was the darkness and yet he had been a bit out of character lately, especially around Cloud and Leon.

"We should go downstairs for dinner or Yuffie will eat everything."

Leon snorted in reply.

"As if Aerith would let us starve, she likes to feed up everyone. You can go without me, I'm not hungry."

Sephiroth watched the other one a bit longer before going to the others.

When he entered the kitchen he got Yuffie's attention at once.

"Is he that mad at me?"

Big eyes looked up pleadingly.

"He didn't seem angry, just lost in thoughts."

He sat down at the table. Cid glanced at their former enemy.

"Oh well, are you up to other bad news?"

x-x-x-x-x chapter 5 end x-x-x-x-x