[fic] Nicht erklärt (Cloud/Leon) AA

Title: Nicht erklärt
Fandom: Kingdom Hearts
Author: lntora
Rating: AA (that's my story and I'm sticking to it.)
Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts and all characters and concepts related thereto are the property of SquareEnix and/or Disney. This is a non-profit piece of fiction.
Pairing: Cloud/Leon, sorta
Warnings/Notes: First, this is not my usual pairing to write for, so if it sucks, well, there you are. Unbeta'd, and may be a damn or a hell somewhere in there, that's all I know. Oh yes, the title is German and means undetermined, or so my dictionary tells me.
For: Cloud/Leon. Not quite partners, not quite friends, not quite lovers. for imadra_blue
Round: 1

He wasn't worried.

He hadn't been worried the first time, back when his head was still full of cotton and he made that really stupid mistake, working for Hades. Well, wouldn't be the first time he'd done something idiotic. His idiocy just happened on a grand scale compared to others. But he still wasn't worried.

This time he wasn't doing anything dumb, so there was even less to worry about. Not counting Nobodies and this whole different fight, of course. And not counting the fact that he was looking for Sephiroth, or the slight change in clothing. No, not worried. He would come through okay. They would be okay. Though how he knew, well, he couldn't explain. It wasn't anything like the bond between Sora and Riku; nothing so strong and so undeniable, even if those two seemed more than a little oblivious to it.

It wasn't that.

They hadn't grown up together, so no history really between them. And they had never worked with each other before the whole thing with Hades and the colosseum, so there wasn't a working relationship. And definitely not lovers, or not in the traditional sense.

Grabbing onto someone when you think you're alone in the world doesn't necessarily constitute 'lover'. Hanging onto them as though you'll fracture and break if you let go wasn't 'love'. Connecting with them in a way that called out to deities usually left forgotten only pointed towards a remembrance of feeling. It may or may not have been just physical, but it was badly needed all the same, just when everything else threatened to go numb.

Desperate, perhaps. Lonely, sure. Depressed, of course. But not love, and certainly not a lover.

Though perhaps, if circumstances were different...

Yeah, like he of all people could ever have a lover in his screwed up life. Not with the shadow forever lingering with him, he couldn't.

So how could he even say they would be okay?

Cloud looked down at the strap in his hand. He didn't know why he had it. Leon had left one of his arm bands lying around and Cloud had just picked it up without any thought. He'd meant to give it back, but that was two days ago and he still had the damn thing. Two days and it still stayed in his pocket, except for those moments when he took it out and just held it for a few minutes. Oddly, or maybe not, Leon hadn't asked about it, even though he had to have noticed it was missing by now. He'd gotten a replacement, but never bothered looking for the first one.

If anyone had asked, he wouldn't be able to explain it one bit. Just like he couldn't explain how he just knew, when anyone in their right mind would look at all the evidence that was pointing to the contrary. They were looking at a war between Heartless and Nobodies, and Hollow Bastion was smack in the middle of it. The chances of anyone being 'okay' were slim and none, with slim catching a ride out of town.

And yet, Cloud knew they would be okay. Well, he hadn't been in his right mind for awhile now, so he didn't need a logical reason for it, anyway.

Some might say it was its own weird bond in and of itself, but Cloud didn't think so. Or, it wasn't a typical bond. It wasn't built on any past, and there was no promise, let alone guarantee of a future. Cloud was the last person to try and make a promise, anyway.

So what was it? Cloud didn't know.

He heard Leon coming his way and quickly shoved the leather armband into his pocket. He looked up as the brunette came into view and just nodded, then fell in step next to Leon as he walked by. He didn't know where they were going or why, somehow, without any words, he knew Leon wanted him to come along.

No reason, no logic, no explanation. Some things couldn't be defined.

Some things just were.

And that was good enough for them.

~ end ~