Archive of Our Own

The request had come in a day ago: A terrible monster had been spotted near Junon, attacking a couple of teens that had traveled out for a hike. One girl was almost dragged away before her friends managed to pull her back and chase the monster off back towards the mountains. Local authorities had ignored their concerns of a repeat attack, and so they turned to the Gardens for support.

A simple mission, and usually Squall would just dispatch some SeeDs to take care of the problem, but the request mentioned one of the girls having contacted an acquaintance for support already – one Cloud Strife – and he'd found himself hesitating.

It'd been a while since he last saw the mercenary. Last they'd talked was a month ago. Squall had taken Quistis' advice and set up a group of SeeDs specifically tasked with documenting the various issues rising as a result of the merging of the two worlds, and they'd set up bi-monthly meetings with Avalanche as a way to share knowledge and resources between the two groups. While Tifa had become a familiar face at these meetings, Cloud was usually absent, but this time he'd joined in. The meeting was business as usual, yet Cloud had stayed at the Garden for a while afterward, and Squall found himself with a rare chance to talk to the man.

Despite it being two years since the Merge, and they first met, Squall could count their conversations on two hands – and most of those were in the last six months. They'd been good conversations, though. Like himself, Cloud was a man of few words, and he appreciated the absence of meaningless chit-chat in their talks. That's not to say Cloud would hold back on speaking his mind, though – his commentary could be both sharp and entertaining, and Squall often found himself holding back a laugh at his pointed remarks at one thing or another.

He was quick-witted, but kind; unfairly pretty for a guy, but strong enough to rival a behemoth; wielded a giant sword with more grace and skill than was reasonable for someone half a head shorter than Squall himself. He was fun, and fascinating, and Squall found himself drawn to the guy in a way he hadn't been since… Well.

Anyway.

The prospect of seeing him again was in any case more exciting than anything else Squall was supposed to be doing right now. Besides, Dr. Kadowaki had been on his case lately about taking breaks more often. Going on a hunting trip with some good company sounded just like what the doctor ordered.

—

"Thank you for coming here on such short notice, I really appreciate you doing this for Priscilla."

"No problem."

It really wasn't. Not like Cloud did anything else other than driving around solving other people's minor or major issues these days. Getting to help a friend once in a while was honestly a breath of fresh air. He sipped at the tea Priscilla's grandpa had provided, mentally planning his approach for the hunt tomorrow morning, wondering which creature could have caused the damage to Priscilla's friend, and how hard it would be to track down. He was quite familiar with most of Junon's native wildlife, but ever since the Merge, new creatures had been popping up left and right all over.

Could be worth contacting Tifa, see if her friends in Balamb Garden had any data on creatures from their side of the tracks who could be roaming the area. Then again, he'd been slacking on reading the reports from their meetings and wasn't too keen on letting Tifa know he hadn't kept himself updated like he promised he would when he'd started traveling around. Reading the reports just hadn't seemed all that important when most of the new creatures he'd come across he'd been able to wipe out with a blow or two of his blade anyway.

Maybe he should join another meeting someday soon, to make it up to her. They did do important work after all, and he had to admit some of the stories he'd heard about life in the other world were fascinating.

Aerith would have loved them.

He couldn't help but think about her every time he joined in a meeting with the otherworlders. Aerith had always loved learning something new, discovering more of what the planet had to offer – and now there was a whole entire new world full of discoveries to uncover. New kinds of technology, wholly unreliant on mako; new creatures around every corner; new people to meet (and a whole school full of orphans to befriend no less).

Cloud didn't know how Tifa could stand it, being constantly reminded of her in everything she did. He knew she was thinking about her; he could see it in her eyes. The same loss, the same grief he saw in the mirror. He knew that she and Aerith had been closer than the rest of them, that she'd lost more than a friend that day. Tifa had told him, once, of the plans they'd made for after – small plans, inconsequential ones, that nonetheless brought them joy to imagine. All the little things that life is made up of, that they wanted to do together.

Had wanted to do together.

Even now, two years later, he'd seen Tifa light up when she heard something she knew Aerith would've been delighted by, only for her face to fall when she realized she'd never see her smile again. Cloud hated seeing it, hated the reminders, and so spent most of his time keeping busy with anything and anyone else.

Then again, it wasn't as if he didn't think of Aerith any time he spotted a new kind of flower on his journeys.

"I heard one of the girls made contact with a Garden, so hopefully you won't have to handle this alone," the old man said, bringing Cloud's wandering mind back to the present.

"Which one?" he asked, resigned. Depending on which, this job could turn out to be more of a drag than he'd like. Not very many SeeDs appreciated the "help" of an unaffiliated merc on their mission, nevermind that Cloud was here first and could handle it fine on his own.

"Balamb, I believe. They said their representative should be here in the morning. I told her I'd handle it for her, the logistics and all. Have you worked with them before?"

Balamb. That'd be alright, then. Good people, who put a lot of weight on teamwork and collaboration. And Cloud could appreciate a leadership that wasn't afraid to join in and do the dirty work themselves when needed. He still remembered the first meeting with what turned out to be the Commander of the Garden and his closest associates two years ago. If it hadn't been for Tifa and Zell working things out between their respective groups, he was sure that fight would have ended up much more destructive than it did.

Thinking back, if it weren't for believing the other group to be out to kill them, the fight against Squall had been almost fun. It wasn't every day he got to trade blows with a fellow swordsman, and such a skilled one at that. Thinking about it had a thrum of excitement rise in his chest. Maybe he really should join the next Garden meeting, if only to see if the Commander had time for another spar sometime.

It didn't hurt that the guy was easy to be around. A bit stoic and serious, but in a way that meant he wasn't taking his responsibilities lightly. Hadn't seen him crack a smile until over a year into their acquaintance, and not just because their meetings were sparse. Cloud would've thought he had no sense of humor at all, until he noticed the way Squall would sometimes turn his head with a light scoff, as if to hold back his laughter. The amused sparkle in his eyes betrayed him though, and Cloud felt almost proud at the number of times he'd managed to tease it out with a snappy remark or two.

Not that Squall never told jokes at all, they were just delivered so deadpan that Cloud had seen people around him wonder if it had been a joke in the first place. It was kinda hilarious, if Cloud was honest. Especially the way Squall rolled his eyes when everyone took him seriously.

"You're smiling. I take it Balamb is a good sign, then," the old man remarked at Cloud's extended silence.

"Yeah," Cloud replied, "Yeah, it is."

—

Squall would have preferred a more inconspicuous mode of transport than a whole floating Garden, but Nida had insisted and wouldn't take no for an answer. When he'd looked at Xu for backup, she'd just laughed at him and told him to let them care for him in the ways they could. She'd practically shoved him at the elevator, promising the Garden would be in good hands while he was out on his little expedition. Once again he wondered why he couldn't just name her Commander and hand the reins off to her permanently, but she insisted she was more of an organizer than a leader, and that everyone looked up to him and trusted him in the role already.

With a sigh, he moved towards the entrance. He'd debated whether to take one of the Garden's vehicles but had decided against it. A city of Junon's size would probably have some for rent more suited for the local environment than the Garden's own. If not… Well, then this would be more of a hiking excursion than a road trip one. He wasn't sure if Kadowaki would be thrilled at an extended "vacation" for him, or horrified at the lack of rest he'd get during it.

A last-minute check of his junctions and magic stock told him he could probably afford to spend some time topping up his reserves during the trip. Hopefully Cloud wouldn't mind. With a last cool breeze drifting across his mind courtesy of Shiva, he returned his attention outwards to the gate in front of him.

A small welcoming committee stood a safe distance outside the city borders. Moving closer, he could see what looked like a teen girl – most likely one of the ones who'd been attacked before – an old man with a hand on her shoulder, and behind them both, a recognizable spiky-haired silhouette.

Cloud was leaning nonchalantly against his rather impressive bike, one that Squall had seen before, though never up close. He wasn't a gearhead like Zell, but he could still appreciate a nice ride when he saw one. He wondered briefly if Cloud would let him test it out, before he finally reached the group and shifted his attention to his apparent clients.

"My name is Squall Leonhart, and I've been assigned as your Garden representative for the duration of this contract. Are you representing the other party?"

A quiet snort made him turn towards Cloud, who was looking at him, clearly amused.

"'Been assigned', huh? Don't you mean you assigned yourself, Commander?"

"Commander?" The old man interjected. "I wasn't aware the contract called for higher level personnel, I'm not sure if we can afford–"

"No," Squall stopped him with a shake of his head, "The contract only called for any qualified SeeD, and the price reflects that. It won't change just because it happened to be me who was available, I can assure you that."

"Must be nice not to have to check in with anyone before making promises like that, huh," Cloud mused.

"Yeah, well, there has to be some benefits to getting stuck with this job after all," Squall shot back, before turning again to the others. "I've read the information that was provided with the mission request, but would you mind if I talked to any of the people who were there at the time of the attack? I'd like to get a more detailed description of the creature, and if possible, a more accurate location for the attack so we can narrow down the search."

"I was there," the girl said, before glancing at Cloud, "and as for the place…"

Cloud nodded, "I can take you there."

—

After getting another description of the beast – big, furry, multiple arms, sharp claws – Cloud stopped Squall from getting a vehicle of his own by offering a ride on his bike. After a token protest, the guy was easy enough to convince, and Cloud smirked to himself at the excitement on his face as he eyed the bike. Yeah, he liked it when people appreciated his baby, so what?

With a short "Hold on tight," they were off, Cloud expertly steering Fenrir over the plains towards the mountains where they would start their investigation. Squall was honestly an exemplary passenger, easily following along the turns, and making sure his grip wasn't impeding Cloud's movements at all. He wouldn't mind offering to take him along on another occasion, he thought. Could be fun. Could be good for him, having some company around, at least for a while.

Then again, Squall would probably be too busy later. He'd honestly been surprised seeing it was the Commander himself exiting the Garden back there, surprised and excited. As professional as the Balamb SeeDs were, they didn't beat the comfort of a familiar face, one he knew to be as competent as himself, and good company to boot. The moment Cloud laid eyes on that fluffy collared leather jacket, he knew the mission had gone from 'fine' to 'genuinely enjoyable'.

Speaking of enjoyable, he felt the arms around his waist tighten for a moment as Squall leaned forward to speak. He felt the words more than heard them over the sound of the wind, the rumble of Squall's chest resonating through his back.

"Mind stopping for a bit?"

He didn't mind, and slowed down gently to a stop, wondering what had prompted the request.

Ruffling his windswept hair back into a semblance of order, Squall unmounted the bike and cast his gaze around.

"Sorry for the break, I just need to restock some magic and thought I saw some promising targets not far from here. Not sure if the noise would have scared them off if we got closer," he explained, nodding towards a flock of Formulas huddling together some hundred paces ahead.

Cloud had only seen the otherworlders' magic in action a few times, but he didn't think he'd ever get used to the way it worked. Materia? Simple, straight forward, and casting more was as simple as chugging an ether as long as the stone was equipped in some way. Having to ration out his spells individually seemed like such a hassle, though he supposed not being limited to the number of materia he'd equipped could weigh up for the drawbacks.

He made a mental note to ask Squall more about their magic later, if nothing else then to better understand how it impacted his fighting style. Though speaking of fighting style and magic, "Why don't you just take some from me, like you did back when we met? That was what you were doing, wasn't it?"

Squall blinked at him for several moments before a look of realization dawned on his face.

"Right, I forgot about that. Yeah, I drew magic from you back then – it wasn't long after the fight against Ultimecia, and she'd messed with our magic somehow during the battle, to weaken us. Lost us a lot of good magic. Luckily you guys had some good spells we could tap into."

Still didn't make any sense to Cloud, but whatever.

"So why can't you do the same now?"

Squall gave him an inquisitive look.

"Thought you hated it? You didn't seem too pleased back then, if I recall correctly."

"Yeah, well… I wasn't expecting the enemy to drain me of something other than my life-force, was I? I didn't know what you were doing, and it felt… weird."

"And that's why we don't usually do it with teammates. Also, it's a bit rude, especially since most of us depend on that magic to strengthen our abilities. Randomly pulling that from someone, deliberately weakening them when you're supposed to support each other, it's bad manners," Squall explained.

"It won't do that for me, though. As long as I have the materia, I don't lose my ability to do magic. And the strength I personally gain from it stems from the materia itself, not the spellpower," Cloud pointed out.

"Huh. I guess you're right," Squall said, looking thoughtful. "You mind?"

"Go ahead."

Cloud braced himself for the strange feeling of something pulling at his chest, a quiet gasp leaving him at the same time as a series of sparkling lights left his body and joined Squall's. When he did it again, Cloud noticed it almost felt as if it wasn't being pulled from his body as much as it was pulled through him. There was a tingling feeling near his feet, dragging up his calves and thighs, moving up his torso where it was joined by a similar spark traveling down his arms, gathering into a tight pressure his chest that suddenly left him all at once.

The sensation left him with an urge to sneeze.

"Ugh, that still feels so weird," he muttered, shaking out the residual tingle in his limbs.

"Sorry about that," Squall said with a slightly sheepish look. "I'll leave it for now; I've got enough to get me by for a mission like this."

"Then let's go." Cloud mounted his bike, waiting until Squall was once again settled against his back, arms circled around him. This time, the sparks running down his spine had nothing to do with magic.

—

They arrived at the site of the attack and quickly ascertained which way the monster had retreated. It seemed to have traveled far from its home, because it took them an hour on the bike, skirting around a giant crater by the foot of the mountain range and across another plain, before they reached the end of the trail.

Or, what would have been the end, if not for the great cave that had opened in the face of the mountain in front of them.

"Guess we'll go on foot from here," Cloud mused as he joined Squall where he was assessing the entrance. "I've got a light in my pack, should help."

Squall accepted the flashlight from Cloud and led the way down into the darkness. Neither of them had been aware of a cave in this area before – in either of their worlds – so it must have been formed somehow during the Merge.

"Well, not exactly here, anyway," Cloud clarified, "There was – or maybe is? – a cave a bit further west. Inhabited too, just not by monsters. And not this big."

"I think this was all plains or oceans back home. Hopefully plains, I would hate to have to cave dive to find this thing."

Actually, now that he thought about it… "I might have grown up not too far from here," he admitted, "Yeah, I'm pretty sure, based on the maps Selphie showed me before."

"Really?" Cloud sounded curious, but Squall didn't turn around to check, unwilling to move his eyes from their path.

"Yeah. It was a house near the water, next to a lighthouse. I wonder if it's still there."

"We could check, after this, if you wanted to. I'll take you."

Squall hadn't even thought about it until just then, but the offer made him smile even so. Maybe he should visi—

The flashlight was torn out of his hand by something fast and sharp, clattering into the distance before flickering off, darkness swallowing them immediately. Drawing his gunblade, Squall readied himself to fight, but before he could, he heard Cloud over the skittering of the creature that ambushed them.

"Stay here, I'll bait it back out! My eyes are enhanced, it won't take long."

"Wait, Cloud–"

"I'll take care of it and come back to you, just stay here!"

"–that's not… an issue."

But Cloud was already gone, creature following.

—

Drawing out the creature somewhere more convenient took longer than Cloud had expected. As much as he loved his weapon of choice, it did have certain downsides, and fighting in tight spaces – like a cave tunnel – was one of them. He finally hit a section of the cave that opened up into a larger area and turned around to prepare for battle. The creature that had attacked them was large and bony, like a giant insect, twice his own height at least.

Luckily the spindly legs were easy enough to shatter once he got swinging, and after a few minutes he finally got his opening to crush its head to bits. Watching it fade away, he wondered briefly if it would be returning to the life stream, or if it would go back to wherever creatures from the other world came from. Maybe he'd ask Squall later.

Squall.

Shit, no time to ponder the afterlife when Squall was stuck in the dark far below, and they had no idea how many of these creatures could be around. Hurrying back, he clambered down the path he came from, trying his best to listen out for what was waiting ahead. Cloud at least had his mako-enhanced eyes to help him navigate a fight; Squall was effectively blinded with the flashlight gone. If there was another one of those beasts, or something worse…!

His breath caught at the sounds of fighting ahead, and he sped up, knowing a second or two could mean the difference between life or death. He mentally tallied his available potions and ethers and phoenix downs, hoping they wouldn't be necessary but fearing they would, scurrying over boulders and cracks as fast as possible on his way to his friend.

The sound of steel hitting flesh, of rocks scattering, a pained grunt as something hit a wall.

And silence.

Cloud quickly realized the only sound he dreaded more than that of fighting, was the sound of nothing at all.

No more hits, no more footsteps, no more breathing–

He rounds the last bend at speed, searching the tunnel for something, anything to let him know that Squall–

"I'm fine, relax."

Cloud whipped his head around towards the sound, and sure enough, there he stood, seemingly unharmed if not a little scuffed up. Still, Cloud cast his eyes over his body, looking for any trace of injury, but finding none.

"I told you, I'm fine. And I think I got our creature too."

Cloud snapped his eyes to Squall's face, momentarily taken aback by the man's eyes meeting his own even in the pitch black of the cave. How…?

Not important. Cloud shook himself off, before giving in to the need to get closer despite knowing Squall was probably as fine as he'd said. Wouldn't hurt to double check. Adrenaline could hide a hell of a lot of pain, and Squall could have been hit somewhere he wouldn't be aware of, given his lack of vision.

"Hey, what are you–"

Cloud ignored Squall's protests as he took hold of his shoulder and turned him around, this way and that. Only when he was absolutely sure his friend was unharmed, did he let him go.

Turning back to his face, Cloud refused to feel any contrition at the slightly pissed off look waiting for him.

"Happy now? I told you I was fine, and I'd appreciate some trust in my own ability to assess myself. One professional mercenary to another."

Cloud scoffed. "You can't see shit down here; I wasn't about to let you bleed out because you're too stubborn to admit you could've been injured after an ambush in the dark."

Cloud is pretty sure he would've been able to see Squall's eyeroll even without enchanced eyes.

"If you hadn't been so eager to play knight in shining armor, you would have heard me tell you I am perfectly able to fight in here. No heroic rescue needed."

Now it was Cloud's turn to roll his eyes, despite knowing Squall couldn't see.

"Yeah, well, sorry for thinking I'd have your back, I guess. Anyway, you said this is the creature?"

"That's not what I– you know what, nevermind," Squall said, seemingly giving up on arguing. "Yes, that's the creature. Large, furry, sharp claws. Though I hadn't expected to see a Death Claw this far from a forest. I guess the Merge must've separated it from its natural habitat."

"Your world's Death Claws live in forests? Huh…"

"Yours don't?"

"Only seen them in deserts so far. And they weren't quite so furry, either," Cloud mused, looking down at the creature as it finally faded away. "Just as cuddly, though. Which is, not at all."

"Oh, I don't know. They seem like they'd give good hugs, don't they? What with all the arms."

Cloud huffed a small laugh. Now that the fights were settled, and his friend confirmed to be fine, he could finally let his guard down a little, and seemed like Squall had too.

"Alright, if you're sure, then let's get out of here and tell Priscilla the good news."

He didn't think before offering out a hand to Squall, only remembering the futility of the invisible gesture some seconds later. To his surprise, though, Squall reached back and after some fumbling took Cloud's hand in his own.

It took Cloud a moment to grab him back, enough for Squall to give his hand an impatient squeeze.

"What? You wanted to play knight in shining armor, didn't you? Now get us out of here."

Cloud silently squeezed back, before doing just that.

—

Squall blinked at the fading daylight as they exited the cave, grateful to finally be out of there. He didn't want to admit it to Cloud, but caves weren't something he was all that used to navigating, and having a guide had made it much more bearable.

He didn't notice he was still holding onto Cloud's hand until they reached the bike, and Cloud let go as he went to mount it. Squall quickly followed; just because they didn't have too much daylight left, of course, not because it meant Cloud wouldn't be able to see his reddening cheeks. He was two weeks from twenty; he was supposed to be too old for blushing and stuttering breaths at holding hands with a guy he– a guy that was– with someone he didn't mind being around.

It didn't matter, Squall thought as they rode away from the cave, that the guy was someone he found impressive. Someone he respected as a fighter, and as a person. Someone who, like himself and his friends, had fought a great evil for the sake of their world, expecting nothing from it, not even to survive to see the results. Someone who was almost annoyingly caring for those he considered friends, and also too pretty for his own good. It didn't matter that this little excursion had only confirmed what he knew already; that despite their earlier miscommunication, Cloud was someone he preferred the company of over almost anyone else he knew.

His heart wasn't supposed to beat faster around Cloud, Squall told himself, even as he gave into the self-indulgent urge to squeeze the man's torso a bit tighter, just for a moment. He wasn't supposed to feel this way.

Not when Cloud would bring him back to the Garden, then turn right around and leave.

So, he spent the rest of the ride carefully tucking away all the feelings he wasn't supposed to have into a tiny box that he shoved into the back of his mind. By the time they'd arrived at Junon, he'd managed to pack it all away, and if it left him feeling a little off, then so be it. Better than having to say goodbye unprepared later.

When Cloud stopped the bike at the city entrance, Squall hopped off and didn't wait for him before he went to find his clients. Cloud caught up as he was telling them the monster was taken care of, and that the likelihood of another appearing was small considering their native forest was cut off from the rest of the Junon area by the hard-to-cross river. If they did spot another, though, he encouraged them to contact Balamb Garden again. He'd make sure they'd take the mission, at no extra cost – the dispatching of the beast was his responsibility after all, and if the safety of the citizens of Junon wasn't ensured, then he hadn't done his job right.

Cloud had remained mostly silent during his speech, only coming forward when it was time to say goodbye to both Priscilla and her grandfather.

"You're sure you don't want to stay the night?" Priscilla pleaded with Cloud, but he shook his head.

"Nah, sorry. Gotta get this one back to the Garden. I'll just have to crash there tonight."

Squall almost blurted out 'You will?', but managed to stop himself in time. Cloud was planning on staying? At least for a day?

'No, only for a day. No need to get excited about it.'

He held on to that thought the rest of the way home.

—

Squall had been strangely quiet, Cloud thought, ever since they left the cave. He thought they'd been good after their little disagreement down there, but maybe not. Or it could just be adrenaline crash after the fight, or plain tiredness. Hopefully not delayed shock at the ambush, but he supposed Squall had been through much, much worse than a little one-on-one monster fight, even if it had come out of nowhere. Still, when he felt Squall hug him just a little tighter than normal during their ride, he sincerely wished he could've returned the favor.

The silence was only broken when he spoke to Priscilla and her grandpa, but he'd stayed all proper and business-like, more Commander Leonhart than just Squall. He couldn't help but smile, though, at Squall's promise to assist if another creature like the Death Claw ever threatened their safety again. He's pretty sure Squall would never have authorized such a frivolous promise from any other SeeD, but he supposed that was, as Squall had said, the benefit of getting stuck with the job he had.

'The big softie.'

After having said his own goodbyes, Cloud turned around to see a strange expression on Squall's face, one quickly replaced by a more neutral one. Hm.

Odd.

Squall had fallen silent again, though, so Cloud didn't bother pushing, only gestured for him to jump onto Fenrir before setting off after the giant Garden hovering in the distance. He'd have time for questions later.

He'd made sure of that, hadn't he, when he'd invited himself to stay the night in the Garden. He hadn't really planned it, but the thought had stuck him when Priscilla asked, and it had seemed like a good idea at the moment.

It still did, if Cloud was honest with himself. He had wanted to visit someday soon, and it didn't have to be at one of the Avalanche-Garden meetings. And he'd wanted to ask Squall more about their magic system, hadn't he? Plus, he should probably see if there were any updated reports on monster sightings, and maybe read up on some otherworldly monster lore to make sure he wouldn't be taken by surprise at finding, say, a Ho-chu out in the wild or something.

… And if he also wanted to spend some more time with Squall before he left, then that was his business.

Parking his bike in the Garden garage, Cloud followed Squall as he led the way into the Garden proper. He wasn't about to admit it anytime soon, but Cloud couldn't help but think the whole thing was so cool every time he visited. He was no stranger to fancy tech, but there was a vast difference between both the scrappy ingenuity of Midgar's slums and the sharp edged Shinra tech, and this.

Soft shapes, big spaces, water and greenery. Bright and big and still somehow cozy. He wasn't surprised at how many of the children living here loved it, despite the militaristic goal of the school itself. He wondered what Squall thought of this home of his. He had mentioned growing up somewhere else, but if he'd graduated as a SeeD at seventeen, he must've moved here at least some years before that.

More questions for later, he supposed.

"Here are the dorms. There are a couple of unoccupied rooms at the far end of this corridor, you can pick whichever one of them you'd like for tonight," Squall said, bringing him out of his thoughts. Nodding, he moved to pick out a place to crash, but before he could take more than a step, he was stopped by Squall.

"Cloud, wait."

He turned, just in time to see Squall's hand fall back to his side.

'Was he reaching out?'

"What's up?" he asked, curious.

He tried to meet Squall's eyes, but the other man looked away before he could catch them. Squall took a step back, and Cloud wondered if he had actually planned on saying anything at all, or if it'd been a slip of the tongue.

Like he didn't want to say goodbye yet either.

'Wishful thinking.'

"I… Wanted to say I appreciated your help on the mission today," Squall began, "It… Wouldn't have gone so easy without you."

"Oh. No problem. I'd have taken the job anyway, I'd already promised Priscilla," Cloud replied, "But I suppose it was easier with you there, too."

He watched as the small smile that appeared at his words was quickly hidden away and found himself wanting to bring it back immediately. "I mean, it was you who killed the thing in the end, even if you did get lucky."

And the smile was gone.

'Ah, shit.'

"… Lucky? You think I got lucky?"

Squall stepped even further away, the easy camaraderie from before now sour with the challenge in his voice.

Cloud knew he'd offended him in some way, but he wasn't sure exactly how to fix it. "Well, yeah. Dark cave, big creature, you got in a couple lucky hits before it could get to you?"

He watched as Squall pinched the bridge of his nose, sighing loudly.

"Alright, that's it. I let it pass before, but Cloud, I refuse to stand here and let you insult me by insinuating I can't win a fight unless I 'get lucky'."

"No! That's not..." Cloud started, but was silenced by a sharp look from the Commander.

"What."

Cloud scrambled to explain himself, "I'm just sayin' that it was pitch dark, and no normal human could've seen a thing down there. I'm not sayin' anyone could've done what you did, I'm just sayin' you were lucky enough it didn't go worse!"

"What makes you think I need to see to fight?"

'Excuse me?' Cloud thought.

"Excuse me?" Cloud said out loud, staring puzzled at Squall's defiant look.

"I'm saying I can fight just as well without relying on my sight. It wasn't 'luck' that let me get those hits in, it was training. I could've done it again, if I had to."

"I don't believe you." The statement slipped out, without Cloud's consent. Didn't matter if it was true; the look on Squall's face told him it had been a bad idea to say it out loud.

Squall stared at him in silence for a moment, before turning sharply and marching to the door.

"Fine," he said over his shoulder as he went. "I'll just have to show you. Tomorrow, at eleven, meet me in the front plaza. Don't be late."

And with that, he left Cloud to his regret.

—

"So, I heard you threw down a gauntlet last night? Someone besmirched your honor or something?"

Squall sighed. He should have known this would get around, and that when it did, it would reach Zell eventually. And with his luck, not far behind would be–

"Squall, did you seriously challenge Cloud Strife to a duel? What on earth possessed you to do such a thing?"

–Quistis.

"Whatever, I don't have to explain myself," Squall told them curtly, trying to go back to eat his breakfast in peace. Unfortunately, his friends were not scared off by his attitude – they wouldn't be his friends if they were.

"'None of our business', is it? I disagree, not least because I happen to have to work with both him and his very protective best friend in the future. I thought you were fine with him?"

Squall sighed, but figured he'd get to eat his breakfast faster if he gave in.

"He insulted me to my face."

"Whoa, dude, that doesn't sound like him!" Zell exclaimed, "I mean, yeah, he will insult people to their faces, but not you."

Squall hastily and violently crushed down the single butterfly that dared flap its wings in his stomach at Zell's confident statement.

"Whatever. It's what he did, and I couldn't let that stand."

Quistis sighed. "You never could run from a fight or a challenge, could you. I'd better not find the two of you with matching scars after this, too."

Zell shamelessly stole a bite of his plate, Squall noticing too late to stop him.

"What did he say anyway? You usually ignore people who talk shit, unless it's about, like, Ellone or Rinoa or someone. And I don't think he knows either of 'em, so…?"

Squall bit back another sigh. No choice but to tell them if he wanted to be left alone.

"We were on that mission yesterday. The attack near Junon?"

Quistis and Zell nodded along.

"We tracked the beast to a cave, went down, got attacked and lost our light source. He fought one beast, I fought another, we went back to Junon then the Garden. I showed him where he could stay the night, thanked him for the collaboration, he insisted I had 'gotten lucky' in the fight, and when I claimed it wasn't luck, he called me a liar."

'More or less, anyway.'

"So I told him I'd prove it and challenged him to a fight. End of story," he finished, demonstratively going back to his meal.

"He didn't believe you could fight a monster because… You were in a cave?" Zell wondered, wrinkling his nose. "That makes no sense."

"He said it would be 'too dark to see' for me, without his fancy enhanced eyes."

"Hold on, Squall," Quistis interjected, "you don't mean you're going to fight him–"

—

"–blindfolded? Yes, I am."

So Cloud hadn't misheard. Of all the stupid…

"You're going to fight me. Blindfolded. While I am not."

"Yes."

Cloud watched Squall stand there, a few paces away, pride etched into every fibre of his being. He sighed. 'Knew I should've kept my mouth shut'. Had he wanted to get a rematch with Squall? Yes, he had, very much so. Had he wanted it like this?

No.

He took a moment to close his eyes and mourn the image of a friendly spar, filled with challenging stares and maybe even an exhilarated laugh or two, matching grins of defiance and snarky banter in between. Replaced it instead with visions of the defiant look of the man in front of him, quiet concentration, and dull efficiency instead.

Oh wait, he wouldn't even get the look, because the man would be blindfolded.

"Fine. Fine. I'll fight you. But I still think this is stupid," he grumbled, moving a little further away before getting into a ready stance.

"Quistis, if you would?"

The lady stepped forward at Squall's request, blindfold in hand, and tied it expertly over his eyes. Before she moved away, she cast a spell, and a cloud of black smoke briefly surrounded Squall's face before dissipating into the air.

She walked off to the side of the plaza, before facing Cloud.

"He's blindfolded, and blinded, and will be until I cast esuna on him after the battle. There is no chance he can see a thing right now. If you want to, I can cast blind on you too, and remove it before you begin, so you can confirm its effectiveness."

Considering he was already dealing with one pissed off professional mercenary today due to insulting their capabilities, he was not looking to add to it by insulting another, and so politely declined her offer.

"Fine. Before you begin, some rules. Standard rules apply: Weapons only, no magic. No summons. No items. No limit breaks. Fight until one taps out, or I declare a winner. Do not seriously or permanently injure your opponent. Are the rules understood?"

"Yes."

"Yeah."

"Then begin."

If Cloud had ever thought the blindfold would maybe slow Squall down a little, make him a little more cautious, he was quickly dispelled of the notion. The moment Cloud moved a foot, Squall immediately honed in to the sound – Clouds only warning before the man was on him, gunblade first.

A quick parry, a counterattack– Squall met it with his own, Cloud side stepped, slashed down– Squall dodged to the side, following through with an attack of his own–

On and on they went, the sound of swords clashing ringing out through the plaza, slowly but surely attracting a crowd of curious onlookers. Cloud couldn't offer a thought to the surrounding students apart from making sure he didn't get too close; from the corner of his eye he could see who was likely Quistis herding people away, but he couldn't tell for certain when every time he turned his head Squall was there chasing him.

They both got hits in, but true to the limits of the match, none were serious enough to cause more lasting damage than a bruise or two. After catching Squall with the back of his blade, forcing him into a roll, Cloud jumped back the opposite way to create some much-needed distance, before stilling his movement and breath completely.

When Squall rolled back up on his feet, Cloud could see the way he, too, froze, before slowly moving his body around, searching… Hunting… Cloud watched his chest rise, breath heavy from the exertion, yet tightly controlled as he moved in a circle, trying to locate his opponent. Cloud had quite the lung capacity thanks to his enhancements… But eventually even he had to let go of the breath he was holding.

The way Squall's blindfolded face immediately snapped to him at the sound, confidently raising his weapon pointing straight at him, was, Cloud could honestly admit, just a little bit terrifying.

"Got you."

And off they went again.

It was only a handful of minutes later, when a sharp crack sounded in the air, freezing them both in place.

"Alright, enough. I declare a draw. Stand down, both of you."

As Quistis folded her whip back up, Cloud could hear her muttering under her breath that 'she had better things to do than watch these idiots fight all day.'

Slightly miffed at being denied more of the fight, Cloud nonetheless stood down, looking around for somewhere to sit down. Enhanced or no, Squall's relentless assault had given him quite the workout. He sat down on a nearby bench with a sigh, leaning his sword beside him.

Back in the plaza, the crowd had been dispersed – Quistis' work, no doubt, herding all the students back to their classes – leaving him with a clear view of Squall where he was walking slowly back and forth, cooling down. Cloud felt a little smug at the way he was breathing noticeably heavier than Cloud himself, until Squall turned towards him and wandered over.

The sight of Squall marching towards him, sweat glistening in the sunlight as he pulled the blindfold off and shook his hair out, steel blue eyes locking onto Cloud's own in challenge as he stood above him, one brow raised in a clear 'I told you so'…

Yeah, no thoughts left in his mind but 'Oooh, fuck.'

—

"What?" Squall asked, staring down at Cloud, whose eyes had not left his face since he walked over. "You afraid to admit you were wrong?"

The other man swallowed a couple of times before going to speak, a brief thought of 'should've remembered to bring water from the cantina' flickering through Squall's mind before refocusing on what Cloud was about to say.

"I, uh…" He swallowed again, and Squall really should've brought that water.

"You…?"

"Yeah, I was… I was wrong. Sorry," Cloud admitted, finally breaking eye contact as he wiped his hands across his face.

"Thought so," Squall told him, allowing himself a moment to feel smug at the admission. He'd say the humility looked good on Cloud, but honestly, he preferred him as he'd been before the fight: standing tall, confident and assured of his win. The one downside of this challenge was that he'd missed out on watching Cloud fight. He still couldn't wrap his head around how he managed to move that giant sword of his so elegantly. At least the size meant it had been easier to track during their spar.

He was not ashamed to admit he'd needed all the advantages he could get; while Squall was confident in his ability to hit accurately no matter his condition, it did take more out of him when he couldn't use his eyes.

Also, Cloud hit like a truck. He wasn't sure if he'd still feel his arms come dinner time.

"Anyway, how do you feel about lunch?"

"Sounds good to me," Cloud replied with a tired huff.

He held out a hand for Cloud to take, which he did, then dragged the man to his feet.

As he did, he got a closer look at his face and noticed a small cut on his right cheek bone, bleeding slowly. Without thinking, he raised his free hand to trace underneath it, leaning in for a closer look.

"I cut you. I'm sorry, I didn't notice," he murmured, carefully wiping at a drop of blood.

Cloud blinked, then moved away slightly until he could look Squall in the eyes.

"It's fine, I didn't notice either. Besides," Cloud said, "Looks like I got you too,"

He raised his hand in a mirror of Squall's own, tracing a line on Squall's own right cheek. His thumb came away red with a drop of blood. "Do you want me to heal it?"

Squall hesitated for a moment, before sighing to himself.

"… Quistis will never let me live this down, but… Whatever, I don't care. Let it scar."

Cloud hummed at his response, before taking a step back.

"Well, guess I'll leave mine too. We can match."

Cloud's pleased little smile as he spoke those words was almost enough to rip the lid off the box in the back of his mind, releasing all within it, but Squall managed to wrench it shut at the last second. He wouldn't– couldn't ruin this now.

Closing his eyes against those intense blue-green ones, he clenched his jaw and took a step back so he could breathe properly again. He carefully detangled his hand from Cloud where he'd still been holding on to it, before turning away and starting the track back into the Garden proper.

—

Cloud flexed the hand he'd just gotten back, feeling strangely bereft after Squall had let go. He didn't know what he'd done: one minute he was apologizing, the next Squall was all up in his face, his touch so feathery light Cloud was almost sure he'd imagined it. He hadn't imagined the way his heart had stuttered in his chest at the move though – in fact, he'd been painfully aware of the way it beat too loud, too fast, the entire exchange, what with his recent revelation only a few minutes before.

Honestly Cloud doesn't know how he didn't notice it earlier, that the pull he'd felt towards Squall this entire time had been something other than fascination and a burgeoning friendship.

Well, it was that too, but the way he'd been focused not only on making the guy laugh, or making sure he was safe, but also on noting every touch and glance Squall had given him? It wasn't something he'd done with anyone else before this. It felt like how Tifa had described the way Aerith had made her feel.

Well, except for the way his body had flooded with heat at the sight of him all tousled and sweaty, intense eyes focused on Cloud and Cloud alone. Even thinking back on it sent an electric tingle down his spine.

Anyway, he didn't think Squall had picked up on anything, so why was he pulling back?

He walked a little faster to catch up with him, intending to ask what was wrong, but changed his mind when he saw Squall's expression. Whatever it was he was thinking about, Cloud couldn't bring himself to push for an answer when it had him looking so damn fragile.

Instead, he decided to bring up something else he'd been meaning to ask.

"Hey, Squall?"

"Hm?"

"The room I'm in, how long will it stay free?"

Squall stopped so abruptly Cloud almost stumbled at the sudden lack of movement by his side.

Looking back, Squall's expression had gone from somber to wary.

"You're staying?"

Cloud shrugged, feeling uncharacteristically shy in the laser focus of Squall's stare. "I figured I might as well. Still need to challenge you to a proper spar at some point, all out this time. Had some questions about your magic too. And Tifa's been on my case about keeping updated on the reports, so…"

"Not just for a night, then?" Squall asked quietly.

"Gonna need more than that, I'm guessing. I'm pretty far behind. Also, I owe you a ride, don't I?"

As Cloud spoke, he could see the wariness in Squall's eyes slowly but surely be replaced by a shimmering spark of hope.

"Yeah? How come?"

"I promised we'd visit the lighthouse, didn't I? Besides, I want to see where you grew up. And… Maybe I'll take you to visit where I did, too."

And there it was, the smile Cloud had been waiting for, small and shaky, but there.

"… Fine. You can take me. But I'm telling Xu it was your idea to kidnap me and leave her in charge again."

Cloud rolled his eyes at the threat. "At least I won't take you deep into a dark cavern and leave you behind down there this time."

Though when he thought about it… "Perhaps don't tell any of your friends I did that. If they're anything like mine, they're scarily protective."

"No promises," Squall replied, and Cloud warmed at the fondness in his voice at the words. He could honestly stay here, bantering forever, and he'd die pretty damned happy, he'd think.

Speaking of dark caves, a sudden thought occurred to him.

"By the way, I was wondering about something, back in the cave," he began, "I get it now, how you killed the Death Claw, but I could swear you were staring me straight in the eyes the entire time we were down there. How the hell did you manage that?"

Squall stared at him for a moment with a puzzled look on his face, before it melted away into understanding. He walked up to Cloud again, smiling softly.

"Oh that. I was listening to the sound of your eyelashes moving when you blinked."

What.

"No way. I don't believe you," Cloud denied, because like hell he did.

Squall, now close enough to bring his hand up to Cloud's face – again – brushed a thumb along his cheekbone right underneath said lashes. His brows furrowed. "You really want to start with that again? Remember how it went last time?"

Cloud spluttered, wanting to protest, but unwilling to do or say anything that scared Squall off again.

Squall stared impassively into his eyes for a moment, before he cracked up and started laughing.

Cloud was torn between feeling insulted, confused, and so, so lucky, because Squall might be laughing at him, but it was the most wonderful laugh he'd ever heard from him, full and unguarded.

The confusing mix of emotions must have shown on his face, because Squall took one look at it and snorted. "Of course I didn't," he told Cloud, before reaching up to flick his forehead.

"Your eyes glow in the dark, dumbass."

And with that he left a stunned Cloud behind, chuckling to himself as he disappeared into the Garden.

Cloud was so in love.