Chapter 5: The Lion

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Traversing up the stairs, ears perked to the sound of running water and strained pipes. Cloud had not come out of his room for a long while after hearing the other's words. The very fact of those spoken verses haunted him, and considering how badly the brunet reacted from just getting pinned, he knew the other needed to talk more than he let on.

Yeah, the blonde was still pissed at the brunet for the icing incident and he was skeptical of the man... But if the man really was bad then Tifa would have known and he himself would have gotten a sword to the throat the moment the brunet had chosen to run rather than test a finishing blow.

Crossing his arms after he reached his destination, Cloud leaned against the wall near the bathroom door. He was debating on how to handle his new and very reclusive roommate when the sound of pipes and the screech of cut off water reached his ears. Standing up he felt his mood perk as his wait came to an unexpectedly quick end; not that it would have mattered if it took longer... But, he had to admit that the other amused him in a way that was unlike most of his friends.

The door clicked and Cloud watched as a leather-bound brunet waltzed out. He could see the other turn, sensing his presence. Stormy gray locked onto bright blues, the See-D's expression one of indifference.

Squall fully turned to the other, a single hand rested on his leather cover hips, skin-tight black pants sliding down into a boot cut. The shirt he wore was currently loose, the white cotton clinging to his still moisten skin. Cloud let his eyes traverse the form before him, smirking smugly. "Skintight clothes? Didn't seem to fit your 'I want to be ignored aura?" The blonde sarcastically joked, seeing the man shift to now cross his arms.

Squall, "whatever... Least I don't look ready for a funeral." Mocked the See-D.

The lion looked defiant and ready for an altercation despite his obvious disadvantage. In a sword fight, they seemed equal. In magic the brunet was superior. But in strength and bronze? Cloud knew the other didn't stand a chance... Yet, despite this fact. The other seemed all too ready to fight him, and this alone was enough to allure Strife To make him want to know the other.

Just noticing now that his eyes were still solely focused on those outstanding storms, he tilted his head in question. The other, though originally just staring back, jolted to look away. Bashfully the brunet pushed some hair back, keeping his mouth shut as he turned to walk away. The blonde didn't even bother to stop the only a little more leaner chocolate-haired male and just stared until the slighter disappeared from sight.

Cloud, "guess I won the staring contest?" He attempted to joke, his expression not more than a barely accountable smile. It just felt awkward to leave the silence, and even worse to try and talk to the other with no real reason- (wait... Didn't you want to talk about the torture?) He asked himself, remembering the other's reaction of obvious trauma.

Sighing Cloud ruffled his spiky blonde hair, his brows furrowed with anxiety. "Great... Let's restart another one-syllable or insult only conversation." He stated dryly as he moved to climb down the stairs, but, instead of doing what he planned, he was taken by Tifa. Things didn't go as smoothly as he would have liked after that, Lockhart taking him here and there for shopping. By the time he had his own time, Leonhart was gone and no one knew where.

Letting out an agitated sigh he threw himself onto the couch near the sleeping kids. "Well, why confront when you can avoid?" He bit out, feeling sullen. Legs crossed, he decided to just watch the tv screen and ignore everything for a while when a pain shot through his left arm. Grunting, his jaw locked, Cloud tried to shake it away, his eyes locked onto the white and now falling bandages.

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