Skywalkers

16: A Picture and a Thousand Words

Three tubes the size of glue sticks sat side by side on the kitchen table, their metal casings glistening slightly in the rays of sun that had entered through the window. From one of the chairs, a set of blue eyes stared at them as if they contained all the answers to the universe and would give them up if only you could find the key. All around the room, seven pairs of eyes of differing colors and shapes watched the owner of the first pair, as if waiting patiently for the information that those little tubes held.

"Come on, Cloud," Leon urged gently after several moments of complete silence. He massaged his lover's shoulders a bit in encouragement. "You have to make a decision."

"I know I do," Cloud replied with a hint of a whine. He dropped his chin even further into his folded hands until only his searching, pleading eyes were visible.

"Look, Cloud," Zack said, leaning forward in his chair to smile at his friend, "I know you don't want to kill anyone, but if you don't use them, it's going to be much harder on us. And while Seph may not actually kill me, Reno, or Riku, you'd better believe he won't hesitate to skewer Leon and Sora."

Cloud winced. His hands abandoned their task of hiding his face to rise up and cover Leon's protectively. "You're right," he sighed. "And if I'm going to trust someone with their lives, I could do much worse than Zexion." He chewed on his lip a moment more before announcing, "Fine. We'll use them. But I want Zack, Reno, and Riku to have them." His eyes lifted to each of them in turn as he instructed, "After you use them, I want you to monitor their progress until you're absolutely sure they aren't going to react the way Riku did."

"So basically," Reno said with a scowl, "you want us, in the middle of a battle for our lives, to stop fighting and play nurse."

"That's right," Cloud replied evenly. "Or we don't use them at all."

"Shit, why don't I slit my throat now and get it over with?"

"No," Zack interrupted, "I think it will be fine. After all, we'll have double coverage on Sephiroth and Kadaj, the more dangerous ones. Once either Loz or Yazoo go down, we should have no problem."

"It's settled then," Riku said. He reached out, took a tube, and stored it in a pocket. As Zack and Reno did the same, he continued, "I'll take Loz, Sora will help Zack with Kadaj -"

"And I get Yazoo," Reno finished with an evil grin, tossing the tube up and catching it before putting it away.

Zack rolled his eyes at him. "Yes, Reno, we all know how much you hate poor Yaz. Although you have to admit, you're acting rather childish."

"I am not acting childish!" the other replied hotly. "This is revenge."

"You know, not every woman in the entire universe is going to pick you."

"She fucking would have if pretty boy hadn't stolen her away."

"That would be the 'not going to pick you' part."

As Zack and Reno continued to bicker about some girl and the way she had insulted the red-head by not agreeing to sleep with him, Riku turned to Cloud and continued the important conversation. "So now all that's left is to watch the path and wait, right?"

"Pretty much," Cloud answered. The empty tone of his voice surprised Leon. He squeezed his fingers gently on Cloud's shoulders but did not receive a gesture in return.

"I'll take the first watch if you want," Riku was offering. He had taken out his PHS and waved it slightly to indicate his meaning.

Cloud, however, shook his head and stood up from the table, shaking off Leon's hands in the process. "No, I'll do it," he told Riku and pulled out his own PHS. Flipping it on, he added, "I'll be in the living room," and walked away, his head down and his face hidden. Leon watched him go, concerned. Cloud had been so happy that morning, smiling and laughing and filling everyone with his warmth. But then Zack had demanded a strategy meeting, and Cloud's joy had just died. Leon wanted to stop him as he passed by, talk to him, comfort him and bring that smile back to life, but with the others there, he felt that such actions would only embarrass them both. So he let Cloud go.

No one else seemed to have noticed that anything was wrong. As Riku put his PHS away, Sora slung an arm around his shoulders and suggested, "Hey Riku, let's go out back and practice."

"Sure," Riku replied with a smile. Turning away from the table, he advised, "Give it up, Reno. Beating up Yazoo isn't going to change the fact that Jess picked him over you."

"Yeah," Reno answered, "but it sure will feel good." He crossed his arms over his chest and muttered to himself, "See how she likes him after I smash that pretty little nose in." Zack threw his hands up in the air in mock-defeat while Riku just laughed and followed Sora out of the kitchen, Kairi tailing after them.

Leon sighed and started toward the sink to do some dishes when a small voice stopped him. "Excuse me, Leon?" He looked over to find Naminé smiling at him shyly. The little blonde had been so quiet during the strategy session that he had forgotten she was even present. When she saw she had his attention, she asked, "Do you have some blank paper I could use? And maybe some colored pencils? I like to sketch," she explained, "and I haven't had the opportunity to in a while."

Leon returned her smile. He realized as he looked at her that he had barely spoken to her since she had arrived. He had been so busy with taking care of everyone, and Zack and Reno tended to direct all the attention in a room to themselves. But even though he had spent almost no time with her, Leon knew that he liked Naminé. There was something gentle and sweet and yet still strong about her. He could easily see how Riku, even while brainwashed, could have fallen for her so completely.

"I don't think I have any colored pencils," he replied to her question, "but you're welcome to my paper and my regular pencils and pens for now." He turned towards the living room and motioned for her to follow him.

"Thank you."

Cloud looked up briefly from the couch as they entered but quickly went back to watching his PHS screen. Leon had caught his expression though, and that small glimpse instantly tied his stomach into uneasy knots. His lover's face had been so blank and empty. Much like it had been all those weeks ago when Cloud had first arrived. Before they had shared their pain with each other and fallen in love. Leon didn't think he'd ever have to see that expression again, and yet here it was. Haunting them both once more.

Pulling himself from his worry, Leon returned to his current task. He fetched some computer paper from his printer and then pulled out a drawer in the desk to get a decent lead pencil and an almost-new pink eraser. Once he had found all the supplies he could offer, he deposited them into Naminé's small hands.

"Thank you," she said again.

"It's not a problem," he assured her. "I'm just sorry I don't have anything better. Next time I go out, I'll pick up a set of colored pencils and an actual sketchpad for you."

At his suggestion, Naminé's smile turned sad, and she clutched the paper to her chest. "Everyone here is so kind," she whispered with downcast eyes. "I … I can't believe it's real."

Her words and expression hit Leon hard, and he exhaled slowly through his nose to dispel the feeling. First Cloud, then Riku, and now Naminé. They had all been victimized and abused. Why did it seem like the majority of the Skywalkers were monsters? Did people lose all sense of morality and compassion when they received the transformation? Was it the traditional corrupting influence of power or something far more sinister?

Almost as if she had read his mind - and considering her powers, perhaps she had - Naminé shrugged slightly and commented, "Marluxia was never cruel to me, but I don't think he saw me as an actual person. He was always very careful to make sure I wasn't in too much physical pain, but as for emotional pain …" She didn't finish her sentence, but Leon saw the end of it in her sorrowful eyes. After a moment, she gestured with the papers in her hands and added, "That's why I started sketching. I needed a way to deal with the feelings inside me." Her eyes lifted to his, and she smiled. "Actually, Leon, may I sketch you?"

"Me?" he echoed, surprised.

"Yes. If you don't mind."

Her clear eyes radiated uncertainty, so he quickly assured her, "I don't mind. Did you want to do it right now?"

"Yes, please."

"All right." After a moment of thought, he offered her his desk chair and then quickly ducked into the kitchen for a chair for himself. Once they were both settled and Naminé had begun sketching, Leon did his best to keep his body as still as possible. He had never been drawn before, but he knew enough to do that. His eyes, however, wandered. Not surprisingly, they quickly found and remained on Cloud. The blond had barely moved, that terrible expression still on his face.

"Leon."

Leon blinked and looked over at Naminé. Her eyes were on the sheet of paper, her fingers guiding the pencil along its surface. He had thought he had heard her speak his name, but it seemed that he had imagined it. Shrugging to himself, he began to move his gaze away when she lifted her eyes and looked directly at him.

"Leon."

He jumped and pressed backwards in his chair in spite of himself. There was no way he had imagined that one. She had spoken his name, but her lips had not moved. And her voice had sounded a bit muted and distorted, as if she was sending her voice -

"- directly into your mind, yes." She smiled a little at his stunned expression.

What? But I thought telepaths could read thoughts, not send them.

"There's not much difference between the two in the way of mechanics," she replied, continuing to sketch as if nothing out of the ordinary was happening. "And it's very handy when you want to talk secretly with someone."

Leon took a slow breath and let it out. Honestly, so many strange things had been happening to him lately, what was one more? So, you wanted to talk to me in secret?

"Yes. About Cloud."

His eyes strayed once again to his blond lover, and his stomach tied a few more knots. What about him?

Naminé mentally sighed - quite possibly the strangest sound he had ever heard. "I never really got the chance to talk to Cloud before I came here, but I saw him several times in passing. His thoughts were always chaotic, full of pain and fear and misery. Even with my own daily sorrows, I always felt sorry for him and prayed that someone would end his suffering. When I woke up here in his arms, he was a different person. If not for my eyes, I wouldn't have believed it was him. His mind is so clear now, so calm and content. And that, Leon, is entirely thanks to you."

Leon felt his cheeks begin to redden at her praise, but he knew he was not the only one who deserved it. Cloud did his own share of putting an end to suffering. When he arrived here, I was still grieving my wife even though it had been five years.

"Is she the pretty black-haired woman in your thoughts?"

Yes.

"She's in Cloud's thoughts sometimes, too, although always two-dimensional and stationary, like he knows her through pictures only. I see. And you were still upset from her death when Cloud got here?"

Yes. He helped me to be happy for the first time in years.

"So you saved each other. How sweet!" She giggled a little out loud, causing her pencil to slip. As she put it down and reached for the eraser, she continued, "I'm very happy for both of you. I'm sure you know this, but Cloud loves you deeply. And I know you feel the same way."

Leon smiled a little and teased, Oh, yeah? And how do you know that?

Naminé laughed lightly inside their heads. "Oh, I have a sort of sixth sense about these things." She lifted her eyes to him and winked, making Leon chuckle to himself. But then her expression sobered, and she told him, "He's very upset right now, Leon. I felt your worry for him in the kitchen, so I wanted to let you know. His thoughts … well, they're nowhere near what they were before, but they're very muddled at the moment. Full of fear and worry and regret."

Regret? Leon felt his heart clench. What was Cloud regretting? Surely not the fact that he had come here and fallen in love with Leon. Right?

"You understand, don't you, Leon? That when you love someone, you'd do anything to keep him safe. Even to the point of wishing you'd never met him."

Leon swallowed with difficulty. And that's what Cloud is thinking right now? That it would be better if he hadn't come here?

Naminé sighed and paused in her sketching to stretch her fingers a bit. "It's one of the things that is haunting him," she replied. "This upcoming battle, even with six of you and the three programs from Roxas, it's worrying him greatly, and the pessimism is consuming him. He keeps envisioning you dead in front of him as Sephiroth drags him away. He's trying his best not to think of it, but … well, you know what he's like."

Yes, I do. Leon's gaze shifted to Cloud once more. Blue eyes stared intently at the PHS screen, flicking back and forth a bit as they read the data. Thin eyebrows had pulled down, creating small creases in an otherwise smooth forehead. The lips that Leon had kissed just that morning were set in a hard line. Someone else might have taken all this in and seen only intense concentration on the task at hand, but thanks to Naminé, Leon knew what lay behind that closed face. He knew, and it hurt.

"You should comfort him," she advised. "Talk to him and make him feel better."

But what do I say to him? I can't promise that everything will be all right. Or at least, if I do, he won't believe me. Even with six of us and the programs, there are no guarantees.

Naminé thought a moment before replying, "Tell him that you love him. I know he knows it, but sometimes we still need to hear things we already know."

I don't think a simple "I love you, Cloud" is going to solve everything.

"No, but it will be a start. As for the rest, just be with him. Ease his worries with your presence. That's what I would do if it were me."

Leon sighed and leaned back a little. All right, I'll try. Just as soon as you're done with your picture.

"I'm done."

The actual sound of her voice made Leon jump. She was smiling at him and holding out the sheet of paper. Still disconcerted from the lingering effects of having a conversation in his head, Leon reached out and took it from her.

He was surprised to find that she drew like a child. Usually artists her age strove for some sort of realism, but Naminé had not even tried. Her lines were sloppy, her faces little more than eyes and mouths, and yet something brought a kind of life to the drawing. Leon wasn't sure if it was her use of shading or the details that were in fact there if he looked for them, but something was giving her simple pencil drawing an aura of pulse and breath that he had never seen, even in the works of masters.

More surprising, however, was what she had chosen to depict. Leon had expected a simple portrait, but Naminé had done far more than that. She had dressed Leon in some kind of fur-lined jacket and given him a necklace that looked like a type of lion. The Gunblade was there next to him, and on his other side was Cloud. Even considering her simplistic artistic style and the lack of colors, Leon could tell who it was. Naminé had dressed him differently as well, an outfit similar to the one in which he had arrived, and given him an earring. First Tsurugi stood, hilt-up, at his side. The two men stood back to back, flanked on either side by their blades, and there, on the ground between and in front of them, sat a smiling black-haired woman. Leon and Cloud each had a hand on her shoulder, and she covered them with hers, her head tilted slightly toward Cloud's side. Her smile was the sweetest thing that Leon had ever seen.

He just stared.

"You like it?" Naminé asked after several minutes of silence.

Her voice jolted Leon out of his daze. Blinking, he raised his eyes to her and answered, "Yes. Very much."

"Then you should keep it." She meticulously began lining up the papers she had left in preparation to move them. "I think I'll go sketch Sora and Riku next, if they're still sparring. And I should definitely get one of Zack and Reno before they leave." She lifted everything into her arms and, rising to her feet, gave him a final smile. "Thank you again, Leon."

"You're welcome," he murmured as she turned away. Before she could leave, however, he stopped her. "Naminé?"

"Yes?" she asked, turning around.

"Thank you." For the picture. For your advice. For everything … for caring.

She smiled. "You're welcome." "I don't know why, but I've always felt very close to Cloud. Like our sufferings made us connected. I want him to be happy."

He will be. I'll make sure of it. And so will you. We'll make it happen. Sora, Kairi, and I. He paused before adding, And Riku.

A delicate flush spread across her cheeks, and she turned away without answering. Leon watched her go with a smile. Perhaps the young man had a chance after all. And then the six of them could settle down together somewhere and have houses with white picket fences and buckets of kids and dogs and all that American dream stuff. He grinned at himself. Somehow he didn't think the American dream involved a gay couple, a dimension-hopper, and a telepath. Sora would be the normal one in that scenario. Now that was scary.

Carefully, he placed Naminé's drawing on his desk - he would have to get it framed at some point - and then walked over to the couch. Cloud ignored him as he sat down and threw an arm around the blond's shoulders. Those blue eyes continued to stare at the screen in front of him while his fingers occasionally pressed buttons to change the view. Leon watched in silence for a few moments, his head tilted towards Cloud's so that he could see better.

"You know," he finally remarked, "if you taught me how to use that, I could take a turn too."

Cloud shook his head and finally spoke. "Riku, Zack, Reno, and I will be enough."

Leon watched him a little while longer, watched the empty eyes and the closed expression. Finally, he ordered, "Cloud, look at me."

The other man shook his head again. "Can't," he replied shortly. "Too busy."

Sighing, Leon leaned a bit closer. "It takes twenty minutes for someone to get from here to here, right?" he asked, using two fingers to denote spots on the screen. "Right now, there's no one there. You can spare me twenty seconds to look at me."

Cloud's shoulders slumped slightly in defeat. His eyes lowered from the screen but did not rise to meet Leon's. Leon waited for ten seconds before reaching out and turning that stubborn gaze to him by grabbing onto Cloud's chin and pulling. When their eyes finally met, he was surprised to see defensiveness in those blue depths. A bit of angry fear.

Leon inhaled slowly and let it back out before saying, "I love you, Cloud."

"I know that," Cloud snapped at him.

"No you don't," he replied calmly. "Listen to me. Hear me. I love you. And that means I wouldn't give you up for anything. Not anything, Cloud." Blue eyes began to lower, but Leon shook the chin he still held a little to bring them back up. "No, look at me. I don't regret our time together, and neither should you. If being with you means I've shortened my life, that's fine. I would rather have had this time with you than live another fifty years alone with my grief." His tone softened as he saw the beginnings of tears in the eyes across from him. Smiling, he said again, "I love you, Cloud."

"Leon …"

Suddenly, Cloud slapped Leon's hand away from his face, but instead of pulling away, he threw himself into Leon's arms and buried his face in Leon's neck. Recovering quickly, Leon circled his arms around his lover and rested his cheek against soft blond hair. Cloud's arms gripped him like a lifeline, but he didn't seem to be crying. Leon shifted his grip so that he could hold the other more tightly and then, very softly, pressed a few kisses to the top of his head.

"How did you know?" Cloud asked against his neck a few moments later. "How did you know exactly what I needed to hear? It's like you read my -" He trailed off for a heartbeat and then began to laugh quietly. "Nami," he whispered.

"Nami," Leon confirmed. "But that doesn't mean I didn't mean it. I do. Every word."

"I know you do," Cloud told him. He lifted his head and pulled back a bit, wiping away the single tear that had managed to escape his eyes. Leon took hold of his hand as it fell away from his face and brought it to his lips. He kissed the wetness off of Cloud's fingertips, tasting a hint of salt as he did so.

They sat together for a while in comfortable quiet, Cloud occasionally glancing at the PHS he still held. Leon looked at it every so often as well, but he was more interested in running his fingers through Cloud's hair and enjoying the warmth of his lover's body against his chest. Eventually, however, his mind began to wander, and as it touched on various subjects, most involving Cloud in some way, he thought of something else he could do to distract the blond from the coming battle. Something they could do with their clothes still on.

"Come here a minute," he ordered abruptly, standing up and bringing the other man with him. Cloud blinked in surprise but obeyed, following Leon over to his desk and the computer that sat on it. "Sit," Leon said, indicating the desk chair. While Cloud did as told, Leon booted up his machine and clicked around to open a particular document.

"What is it?" Cloud finally asked. His confusion showed plainly on his face.

"My new project," Leon answered with a smile. "I'd like you to read it. Just don't tell Sora." He stepped back and gave Cloud a clear view of the monitor.

"Really?" Cloud asked, looking up at him in surprise. "I thought you said you didn't want anyone to see it until it was finished."

Leon grinned at him. "Like I said, don't tell Sora." He pointed eagerly at the screen. "Now read."

Smiling, Cloud obeyed. As his eyes roamed over the lines of text, Leon watched his face carefully. It took everything he had not to laugh out loud when, a few minutes later, the blond's eyes widened in realization and shock.

"Leon," Cloud said slowly and carefully. "This is me."

"That's right."

"You made me a girl."

Leon shrugged, the smile on his face so wide that it nearly hurt. "Well, it was that or take out our love story, and I didn't want to do that. Besides, strong female leads are very marketable."

Cloud sat there for several seconds, just staring. Then, he burst into laughter. "I don't believe you! You're writing a book about us?"

"Well, mostly about you," Leon replied. He leaned over Cloud's shoulder and used the mouse to scroll down farther in the document. Highlighting bits of text as he went, he explained, "I'm taking out the abuse, of course, and you get to keep the other wing. That way the two of us can jump around to various dimensions and have lots of adventures, all while trying to escape the evil villain chasing you. Then, at the end, we'll have a big blowout battle and live happily ever after." He paused a moment to think before adding, "I may have to break it up into several books to get in all the great stuff you told me about other dimensions."

Cloud was watching him with sparkling eyes and that smile that Leon adored. "You're something else," he informed him.

"Thank you. Must be why you love me."

"Must be," Cloud murmured in reply. He lifted a hand and captured Leon's face with it. "Because I do," he continued, bringing their lips closer together. "I love you so much." His kiss was soft and gentle, and Leon could feel his heart reaching out to Cloud's as their tongues intertwined. But it lasted only a minute or so, for Cloud pulled away and gave Leon a small shove. "Enough of that," he announced brightly. "I want to finish reading."

"Damn tease," Leon scolded. He cracked Cloud lightly upside the head before stepping back again. The blond just laughed at him and repositioned the document to be where he had stopped reading. After a few minutes of just watching, Leon began to feel bored and picked up the discarded PHS as a means of distraction. It took him several seconds to register what he was seeing.

"Cloud?"

"Yeah?"

"Did you leave this thing focused on our fold?"

"Yeah, I did."

"Then you need to look at this." He held out the PHS, a dark weight settling heavily in his stomach.

Cloud took the machine with a raised eyebrow, but a single glance brought comprehension crashing into his face. A flashing dot hovered over the one that designated their fold. "How … ?" His eyes shot to the clock on the wall, then back again to the screen. "Where did he come from?"

"I don't know," Leon answered as if Cloud had actually directed his question at him. "But there's only one. And he's just sitting there."

"He's checking for prints," Cloud said dully. "That must be it. And by now the sheer number of them on this spot will look very suspicious." He lifted suddenly tired eyes to Leon and remarked, "Guess this is it."

"Guess so." He lowered his gaze to the screen again. The dot had vanished. "Wait! Where did he go?"

Cloud looked down, jumped slightly, and began pushing buttons. The screen shifted, and the flashing dot appeared at a neighboring fold. As they watched, it flickered out of existence and reappeared half a second later at another fold down the path.

"That's … that's not possible!"

Leon refrained from saying that everything that had happened to him over the past month or so would normally be deemed impossible. Instead, he commented, "Well, now we know how he showed up without our seeing him first."

"I guess," Cloud conceded. "It must be one of the brothers and one of Seph's homemade programs."

Gently, Leon pried the PHS out of Cloud's fingers. Once he had succeeded, he lifted the blond's chin and kissed him deeply. Cloud returned it, clutching onto Leon's shirt with anxiety. When they had pulled apart again, Leon said, "Come on. We need to tell everyone else."

Cloud nodded and rose from the chair. He linked his hand with Leon's, shared a long, determined gaze with him, and then began walking to the kitchen and the door that led to the backyard. Leon walked alongside him, holding onto the hand of the man he loved, and cleared out his mind of all thought.

The fight for Cloud's freedom had finally arrived.