Title: Drained
Fandom: Kingdom Hearts
Pairing: Leon/Cloud
Rating: PG
Length: 477 words
Content Notes: Set during Kingdom Hearts II. Mentions of blood.
Summary: It's become a habit, Cloud showing up hurt and silent.


Leon doesn’t say anything when Cloud stumbles into his room, clutching his side and clearly favouring his left leg. He’s given up on trying to actually talk to Cloud about this, and Leon’s never been a man of many words anyway.

He’s still angry though, enough that he heads straight for the bathroom, not stopping to help Cloud limp across the room. He got himself home, he can manage those few extra feet. Instead Leon seethes quietly as he adjusts the water temperature for the shower, hearing the rustle of fabric behind him as Cloud starts stripping down, and he can hear how clumsy Cloud’s movements are, how slow and awkward.

Whatever wounds he’s carrying, they’re clearly pretty bad, and that’s enough to have the anger seeping out of Leon like sand through his fingers, even though he wants to hold on to the rage. It’s easier to be angry, instead of suffering through this dull, throbbing frustration, like a weight across the back of his eyes. But Cloud’s hurt and Leon’s too tired to start yet another argument full of pointed silences and tense glares.

He holds out a hand to steady Cloud when he steps into the bath. Turns the spray towards Cloud’s chest, grime sluicing away to swirl down the drain.

“What happened?” he asks, fishing a potion out from under the sink.

Cloud doesn’t meet his eyes as he takes the bottle. “Heartless,” he says quietly. “Ambush.”

There’s blood in Cloud’s hair, and Leon’s pretty sure it isn’t his.

Heartless don’t bleed.

He reaches forward, gets a firm hand on Cloud’s shoulder when the potion kicking in is enough to make him wobble. Steps into the bath as well, never mind his clothes are getting soaked, and guides Cloud down until they’re sitting, Cloud between the sprawl of Leon’s legs. It’s easy enough then to reach for the shampoo, to lather up Cloud’s hair, watching the suds turn reddish-pink.

Sometimes Leon thinks he’s jealous of Cloud. Jealous that Cloud can just walk away whenever he wants, so caught up in his crusade for vengeance that he can’t see anything else. Leaving Leon behind to try and protect everyone, to try to build something like a home for them all, his sense of duty like a noose around his neck.

Leon’s stuck in Hollow Bastion, when he should be out there travelling the different worlds, saving them, taking the fight to the very darkness itself. Instead he’s stuck bracing himself for whatever the void might throw at him next, leaving a kid like Sora to shoulder too much alone.

Sometimes he just plain misses Cloud, and he leans forward, presses his forehead to the back of Cloud’s neck, smelling soap and blood and skin.

Cloud’s fingers wrap around his wrist, squeezing tight. It’s the closest thing to an apology that Leon’s going to get.