#no beta reader we die like pendejos

[tifamex]

. –Succession of Witches. [KH.]

Radiant Garden was, as many would say, a paradise on earth. A beautiful place where people could live a peaceful life, or so was it as much as Squall could remember.

No one could have expected that disaster, not the cadets, nor his parents or anyone he knew, but the destruction around them was impossible to ignore, and the beauty of his home was lost in the fire and those dark creatures that spawned out of nowhere. The air smelled as ashes, and it hurted his lungs as much as the injuries on his body, but stopping wasn’t an option when he had to keep going.

Aerith and Yuffie were safe with Cid, but his family was nowhere to be seen; Laguna wasn’t weak, he was, after all, a retired soldier, but against those creatures he wasn’t sure if his father could do anything. Ellone’s magic had a time limit too, so did his mother’s, and with that in mind, his injuries and blood couldn’t stop his desperation to find his family.

He could barely recognize where he was, the castle was on fire and the gardens were surrounded by darkness, several yellow eyes staring at him while he called his parents’ names as loud as he could, but the voice of Laguna or Raine were never heard, instead those creatures reacted to his as if he’d flipped a switch.

Blocking as many attacks as he could, the monsters didn't seem to react to his fallen comrades, slicing several of the dark creatures just to get slashed by their claws. A sharp pain suddenly made him fall, his vision blurred by something dripping from his forehead. Trying to stand up, his dizziness stopped him and kept him on the ground, cursing under his breath. The sound was muffled on his ears, but there was no more pain than what he feel. Opening his eyes slowly, he found himself inside a thick barrier which shielded him of those dark monsters.

“Ell–!” he got his words cut when, instead of his sister, a blond guy was the one casting that barrier. Squall had seen him a couple of times, he was the cadet who followed Zack around the garden along another girl. He couldn’t remember even speaking to him, which made more confusing the help he was giving.

Trying to speak once again, he just could mumble when his energy dissipated and he felt heavier than before, the last he saw was the aqua of his eyes and seeing him pronounce something lost to him.

When Squall opened his eyes, Traverse Town was his new home, and Leon was his new name.

[tifamex]

. –Apocalypse. [Dissidia Duodecim]

He couldn’t remember much of his past life, pieces and fragments of faces he didn’t recognize and names he didn’t know who belonged.

Squall hadn’t really cared about that, he expected everything would come up to his mind, but nothing had changed, he just had a shiny rock now which he didn’t know what to do with.

“You seem upset” Cloud called his attention, watching him walk to him. “Hiding?”

“Needed space” he explained, “some place to think”

“Mmhh…” he mumbled, but didn’t add more to the conversation. Taking a quick pick, he could see the green orb that was Cloud’s crystal, a not so gentle reminder that everything was gonna end soon, one way or another.

“Do you think this will work?” Squall asked, raising his crystal for Cloud to see, “those are supposed to help us against Chaos, give us an advantage, but I don’t really feel any difference”

“I haven’t feel any different either” he admitted, but shrugged it off. “Maybe it will when we face him”

“But what if we don’t?”

“Then we die”

“… as easy as that?” he didn’t understand if Cloud was being sarcastic or straight up suicidal. “I don’t want to see anyone harmed”

“So you care about us” Cloud said with a gentle smile, “Bartz and Zidane would be excited to hear you say that” he added, but luckily he didn’t seem to think about sharing.

“I also want to leave” he admitted, trusting he wouldn’t be around talking to the rest about it.

“Because of the manikin with the machine gun?” Cloud tried to remember, said manikin rarely times attacking him, “is he really a friend from your world?”

Squall stayed silent, but nodded after a while. “I don’t remember his name or who he is, but I know he is important and that Chaos did something to him”

“One of the nameless manikins’ my friend too” he couldn’t help but be surprised, even though Squall knew which one he was talking about. Rarely times Cloud evaded fighting, but that manikin was usually slayed by Firion or Cecil if he remembered correctly, Cloud kept his distance as much as possible. “I need to go back and see if she’s safe��

“Do you remember who she is?” Cloud shocked his head, “how are you not scared?”

“I am” he barely looked scared, upset was a better definition, “but I’m also tired of being afraid, and tired of this war between gods. All of us will fight and we will defeat Chaos, there’s no other way”

“… I suppose” he mumbled, his fingers tracing the scar on his face while he tried to be as calm as Cloud. He didn’t want to admit how scared he was of the end of the world, and was really good at hiding it to almost everyone, but around him he could show certain side he tried to hide, Squall trusted in Cloud keeping silence when it was needed and speak to him when he needed it.

But in a moment like that, he felt scared, and his own mind was making him worried over the unknown.

“Will you be there with me?” Squall asked, taking him by surprise with such request. But his smile was sincere, and there was some calm that washed his concerns away.

“ ‘till the end.”

[tifamex]

. –Gaming. [Modern AU.]

“Did you know…” he heard Irvine start talking, half of his attention on him, “... that Seifer and Squall used to date?”

Grumbling a bit, he had to inhale and focus on his drink instead of the bit of jealousy he felt, but Cloud's attention was already on the pool table where their friends were playing while Irvine and him were just drinking. He wasn't any good at it, and apparently nor was Irvine, but Zack loved playing pool and so did his boyfriend, how much of that was sibling rivalry between both Loires was lost to him.

“Yeah, Zack told me about it” he replied simply, trying to stop himself from staring at the blonde the other side of the table, “he was pissed because of their fight”

“Which of all their fights?” Irvine said with a smile, Cloud's unamused expression was enough for him to remember. “Oh, that one… shit happens”

“ 'm not sure if a scar in the middle of your face is only ‘shit happening’ ”

“Squall isn't a delicate flower, he gave him one too, remember?”

“Whatever” he mumbled, causing a light chuckle on the other man. Cloud knew why. “What’s the point of this?”

“Jealous?”

“Barely.”

“Good” taking a sip of his drink, he pointed at the other two, “did you also know they used to have this weird game of teasing each other? It was more like Seifer bragging he was dating someone hot and trying to make him lose by groping him, but you get my point”

“Don't think so…” he mumbled. The idea of Squall being open to those kinds of displays was weird if not impossible to imagine.

“You can ask Zell” he offered, a smug smile on his face, “we used to bet about who was gonna lose based on their teasing, Squall's really hard to distract, I’ll say”

“Sorry for cockblocking your fun then”

“Au contraire! I think this is way more interesting” Irvine said with an excited tone, he couldn’t really know if it was good or bad, “he probably doesn't show it that much, but we’ve been friends since childhood and I know he’s totally crazy for you”

“He told you that?” he asked, maybe a bit too curious for his own good. It wasn’t as if he didn't trust in Squall's feelings, but having a third party telling him how obvious it was was really flattering.

“He told me to ‘leave you the fuck alone’ one too many times, so yes, yes he did” Cloud just hoped his reddening cheeks weren’t too obvious, “but what I’m trying to say is, you could totally make him lose just by being at his side and you don't use that power. You should be sorry, you should ask God for forgiveness for not using what he gave you.”

“... who did you bet with this time?”

“Aerith. 2’000 gil”

“You guys suck” he replied, even when he was smirking as much as Irvine, “gimme half and we have a deal”

“Deal.”