The Comfort of Your Heart (Zemyx One Shots)

The Comfort of Your Home

I hadn't moved in hours and I could feel my joints going stiff. The armchair had moulded to fit my body, and my eyes were just skimming over the words of my book. Who knows when I stopped actively reading, maybe a few pages back sometime. I was about to give up, to go to bed. He wasn't about to turn up at almost midnight on a Saturday night. It wasn't going to happen.
As I closed my book and yawned, the door to my room slammed open, making me jerk up. Sora was standing in the doorway, out of breath with his brown hair dishevelled and blue eyes wide. I opened my mouth to tell him to clear off back to bed when, barely a whisper, he said, "Cloud's back."
My heart stopped for a moment. He did come come back at almost midnight on a Saturday. He did.
No longer tired, I was on my feet and following Sora out of the door in four seconds flat, pulling my leather jacket on as we went. We ran down from my room and of my house, into the Borough outside.
It was dark, the only light coming from the moon and the street lamp in the corner. There were a group of my friends already out there; Yuffie, Tifa, Cid, Merlin, Donald, Goofy, Aerith and... Cloud. Of course. Cloud Strife, looking as beautiful as when he left with his blonde hair a mess and his Buster Sword strapped to his back. He was looking at the ground, refusing to answer anyone's questions.
As I came outside, Aerith looked up and smiled one of her small, sad smiles, reserved only for me. She walked over to me, her pink wedged heels clicking on the pavement, placing a delicate hand on my shoulder. She squeezed it lightly, and gave a small push in the direction of where Cloud was standing.
I took a step forward, boot crunching in the day old snow. Another step. Another step. Another. Another. Until I was right in front of him. I could feel the stares of the others, bearing into the back of my head.
Cloud was still looking at his snow covered boots, blue eyes unfocused. I gently placed a hand on the side of Cloud's face, making him raise his eyes to meet mine. He leant his head into my touch, his eyes sliding close.
"Where were you?" I asked, my voice quieter than a whisper so the others wouldn't hear.
"Sephiroth." Cloud answered, voice hoarse.
"You need to stop this." I murmured, hand falling from his cheek to his shoulder.
"... I can't...." He said, opening his eyes again. They were swimming with tears that he refused to shed.
"Ah, screw this!" Cid stomped his foot from somewhere behind me, "It's good to see you back, Strife, but I need to sleep." I heard the crunching of footprints until they disappeared into Merlin's house.
"I, also, will retire." Merlin echoed, "Goodnight, everyone." I could almost hear his smile as he walked away.
"Come on, Aer, Yuf, let's go and leave these two alone." Tifa snapped bitterly, storming back across the street.
"Tif!" Yuffie called after her, following.
"She tried to hit on Cloud again." Aerith informed me before walking away after the other girls with a roll of her eyes.
This left Sora, Donald, Goofy, Cloud and me.
"Sora." I started, looking at the boy from over my shoulder, "Do you mind going in to bed now? I'll wake you up in the morning."
"Okay, Leon, see you tomorrow. Goodnight, Cloud." Sora replied, turning on his heel and walking back into my house with his two friends in tow.
This left me and Cloud. Cloud and me. Us. I sighed.
"What's the matter, Squall?" Cloud asked, raising his hand to intertwine with my own.
"I was so worried about you." I admitted, "I've been staying up all night, every night, hoping you'd come home. I missed you."
"I missed you too. I'm sorry." Cloud whispered, "I should have come home earlier."
A winter wind blew through the Borough, making him shiver.
"Come on, let's get you inside." I ordered, using our linked hands to guide him towards my house. He was so tired, he didn't even try to fight it.
Once through the door, I kicked my boots off, Cloud doing the same, before closing the door and unclipping the catch on his Sword. I lifted it off his shoulders, placing it by the door.
"You know where my room is." I told him, "Go and sleep. There are pyjamas in the top drawer."
He nodded and started climbing the stairs.
I walked around downstairs a bit, turning off lights and locking doors in case the Heartless decided to turn up in the night.
I walked upstairs, coming to a stop outside the spare room. I pushed open the door slightly, seeing Sora, Donald and Goofy lying down, supposedly asleep. As I went to leave, Sora rolled over.
"Goodnight, Leon." He whispered, trying not to wake his friends.
"Goodnight, Sora." I returned, closing the door.
I padded across the hall into my own room, seeing Cloud pull a pyjama shirt over his head. His clothes were folded up the armchair I was sitting in not too long ago.
I walked up behind him, slipping my arms around his waist and hugging him.
"I am sorry, Squall. For almost being late." He said, turning round to face me.
"Late for what?" I asked with a frown.
"Merry Christmas, Squall." He whispered, pressing his cold lips to mine.
Merry Christmas, indeed.
I'm so sorry for my inactivity. For Christmas, I have this for you. And another in stock. Once the Holiday is over, I should get back to updating normally.
Happy holidays, Scientists.
Stay flamboyant!
Teddy