Kingdom Hearts 1. Chapter One: Hellfire

Author's Note: *singing* "Here I go again on my own".... hehe... okay, yeah, I'm singing a song from the 80's, so shoot me. Anyways, I'm going to go ahead and start this story before Vulpes Lapis kills me with her impatience for it. Of course, the basic premise of this story was her idea to begin with. She just gave it to me to write. Anyways, let's do it!

By the way, I'm in a very "write-y" mood tonight, that's why I'm starting this already even though I just finished my other story less than an hour ago (as I start this).

Oh, yeah, we're going to pretend that the sun actually comes out in Traverse Town. Perpetual darkness can't be good for people, I mean, you need sunlight.

Um.. timeframe: Sometime in the middle of the game. You know, after Sora has already met Leon, Yuffie, and Aerith, but before he seals Kingdom Hearts.

[Disclaimer: I own nothing, got it? Nothing, I tell you. Nothing!]

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_BLIND INSTINCT_

_Chapter One: Hellfire_

Sprawled out on the cot that had been set up in the Red Room of the lone hotel in Traverse Town, a teenage ninja crinkled her eyes and threw her arm across them as the bright sun shone through the window, releasing its brutal rays across her face. As she mumbled incoherently, the ninja rolled over to face the opposite wall and escape the sunshine, only to find a pair of bright green eyes staring at her beneath chestnut bangs. The owner of these eyes let out a soft melodic laugh as her roommate threw a pillow at her in an attempt to make her go away.

"Aerith, no one in their right mind gets up this early," the still prone ninja muttered as she pulled the blankets over her head after giving the brunette a chilling glare. "And I am still in my right mind, so leave me be."

"Yuffie, Yuffie, Yuffie," Aerith scolded gently. "It's nine o'clock. That is not early. Why, Leon's been up since daybreak." The green-eyed woman tapped her chin in thought with one of her long fingernails. "And I know for a fact that you don't want people to think he's better than you. So, get your rear in gear and get up."

The rustling of the blankets and the lump moving from the head of the bed to the foot led Aerith to believe her roommate had heard her. And some disgruntled mumbling told her that this was going to be harder than she had originally thought. "What was that, Yuffie? I couldn't quite hear you," she asked laughingly as she began to pull some of the blankets off.

Gripping the blanket tightly with both hands, her fingers turning white with the effort, Yuffie rolled herself up into a ball and buried her face as deep as she could into the blankets. "I said make me," she muttered a little more coherently this time.

An uncharacteristically sadistic smile appeared on Aerith face as she assented to the ninja's request. "Okay, you asked for it," she chided as she quickly grabbed the blanket and yanked it off the bed, pulling the girl off with it with a loud thump.

Yuffie crawled out from underneath the pile of blankets and scowled at her so-called friend. "That was a dirty trick, Aerith. I never would have expected it from you. Me, maybe. But never from you." She stood up, smiled, and pretended to wipe away a tear. "I'm so proud. I'm beginning to rub off on you. I can't wait til I tell Squall and Clo--" She broke off when she saw her friend's expression at the almost mention of her lover's name. "I'm so sorry, Aerith," she began as she reached over to hug her.

Aerith waved her off and smiled wanly. "Don't worry, Yuf. I'm learning to come to grips with the situation. I can only hope and pray that Cloud's still out there somewhere, safe and warm." Shaking her head gently to remove the thoughts, she picked up the blankets from off the floor and began to make up the small bed the Yuffie slept in.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Yuffie asked quietly. "'Cause, you know, you can always talk to me about anything whenever you want. I may not give the best advice in the world, but I'll always listen."

"I know, Yuffie," Aerith whispered as she walked to the closet and pulled out a pink dress from among the other pink dresses on the hangers. "But, right now, we have to get dressed or we're going to be late."

Yuffie furrowed her brows in confusion and looked at her roommate strangely. "Um... late for what Aerith?" she questioned as she rifled through the dresser to find her green halter top and khaki shorts.

Rolling her bright green eyes, Aerith turned around from the closet and glared in a very non-Aerith way at the ninja. "Don't tell me you forgot." Yuffie cringed slightly beneath her glare and grinned sheepishly while pushing a hand through her short ebony hair. "Yuffie, it's Leon's birthday. We're supposed to meet him at the café for a birthday breakfast."

"What?! No, it can't be! Today's only..." she paused as she frantically looked around the room for the calendar she had purchased the month before, finding it buried beneath a pile of clothes next to her bed. Flipping it open, she gasped at the date. "You're right. Today's August 23."

Finally deciding upon a dress, a pink dress, Aerith carried it to the bathroom to change, hollering through the shut door, "Since you apparently forgot his birthday, you can sign the card I got for him and we'll tell him the gift is from both of us, okay?"

Sighing, Yuffie laid the clothes in her hand and searched through Aerith's half of the room for Squall's present, finally finding it in the top drawer of the dresser. She picked it up and fingered the ribbon on it, which was, thankfully, blue and not pink. "Hey, Aerith, what'd you get him?" she hollered across the room.

The bathroom door creaked open as the pink clad woman came out, brushing her long hair as she walked across the room to Yuffie. "A book about magic. He's been saying that he wants to work on his magic, so I thought this might help." She reached back into the dresser and pulled out a card, handing it to the ninja. "Here, sign it."

"Yes, mother," Yuffie muttered sarcastically as she grabbed a pen and signed it, not even reading the card. "Are you through in the bathroom, now? 'Cause I really want to take a shower."

Making a waving motion with her hands, Aerith signaled for Yuffie to go ahead. "Just, don't be too long. We're going to be late as it is."

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For the fourth time that morning, Leon looked down at his watch as he impatiently drummed his fingers across the oaken table top in the café. "10:30," he grumbled under his breath. "They were supposed to be here at 9:30." Just as he was getting ready to leave, he saw the two familiar figures walk into the room, waving madly at him as they came towards him.

"Sorry we're late, Leon," Aerith immediately apologized as she sat down across from him, placing the bag she carried next to her. "But, Yuffie," she jerked a thumb in the ninja's direction, "decided to take a long shower."

"Hey, you don't want me to stink, now do you?" the teenager retorted as she made Aerith scoot across the booth seat so she could sit down next to her. "Besides, we aren't _that_ late."

Leon raised an eyebrow and gave her one of the penetrating icy blue stares he became famous for. Or infamous, depending on your perspective. "You're an hour late. I was about to leave," he growled as he signaled the waiter over to take their orders.

"Aw, Squall, you didn't think we forgot about your birthday, now did ya?" Yuffie teased as the waiter made his way across the crowded room to their table.

"It's Leon. And what do you mean my birthday? Today's not my birthday, is it?" Running a hand through his long russet hair, he tried to remember today's date while Yuffie gave the waiter her order, causing Leon to grimace when she ordered her usual pancakes. How anyone could possibly eat something with that much sugar this early in the morning was beyond him.

Aerith shook her head in disbelief at Leon as he ordered his breakfast. "Leon, how can you possibly forget your own birthday?" she questioned before asking the waiter for an omelette. "I mean, you only get one once a year."

The waiter left the trio alone after taking their orders, leaving them to discuss the date. "Just tell me what day it is, Aerith," the stoic man finally demanded.

Yuffie rolled her eyes, answering before the flower girl had a chance. "Duh! It's August 23, Squa-, er Leon." She reached across Aerith's lap and grabbed the present from out of the bag and placed it in front of him. "Here, we got this for you. I picked it out myself," she lied, giving the woman next to her a covert glance as she did so.

Taking the gift in his hands, Leon carefully untied the bow and started to gently take the paper off, much to the Yuffie's dislike. "C'mon Squall, just rip it open like normal people do!" she cried as he continued to take his time with it, just to annoy her further.

"Leon," he responded automatically to the name she called him. His eyes widened as he saw the title of the book. "You picked this out for me, Yuffie?" Raising his eyes to hers, he gave her a stern glare.

She began to shift in her seat uncomfortably while Aerith stifled a small giggle. "Um... yeah. Why?"

"Are you calling me a dummy, then?" he asked, strangely calm as a fire burned in his icy blue eyes.

Yuffie's indigo eyes flew open in shock as she quickly shook her head. "No, of course not. What are you talking about?" She reached across and grabbed the book away from him, reading the title aloud. "Magic for Dummies." She swivelled in her seat and glared at her roommate. "Aerith?" she growled.

"I thought you said you picked it out, Yuffie," Leon smirked as he caught her in her own lie. Allowing a small smile to grace his lips at the ninja's anger, he lifted the envelope and pulled out his card. "Did you pick the card out as well, Yuffie?"

"Um... uh... that depends on what it says. Yeah, that's it," she faltered as he opened the card to read it to himself. "So, uh... what's it say?"

Leon closed the card and looked at her with mirth showing in his eyes. "You should have read it before you signed it." Before Yuffie could retort, the waiter arrived with their food, much to her delight as her stomach had been demanding to be fed since she arisen that morning.

"So, Leon, is the book to your liking?" Aerith asked as she picked at her omelette with her fork. "I know you said you wanted to work on your magic and I thought that book might help." She daintily slipped a bite of her breakfast into her mouth as she awaited his answer.

Swallowing the bite of bacon in his mouth, Leon nodded. "Yes, this book will offer a great deal of help. It looks as though it'll take it in a step by step manner so I shouldn't have any trouble figuring the stuff out." He frowned as he happened to look across at the girl across from him, seeing her drown her pancakes in a pool of syrup. "How can you eat that, Yuffie?"

"Hm? Oh, this. Easy, like this." She demonstrated by cutting a large bite off and shoving it into her mouth, managing to spill a little syrup on her shirt in her hurry. "Oops," she muttered as she quickly grabbed a napkin and began to dab at it while Aerith and Leon gave her annoyed stares. "What? I was hungry."

Leon tiredly rubbed his eyes and went back to eating his bacon and eggs, trying to ignore the teenager across from him. "Thank you, Aerith, for the gift and for the card."

"Hey, what about me? I gave it to you, too." Yuffie gave him an indignant look while Aerith rolled her eyes and shook her head.

Before Leon could answer, a scream came from behind the Third District doors, causing him to jump up and grab his Gunblade, which had been leaning against the wall behind them. "Yuffie, do you have any shuriken?" he demanded as he started out of the café.

"Yes, of course I do," she called as she lurched to her feet, taking one last bite of the pancakes before following him, leaving Aerith alone at the table. Yuffie ran across the First District, trying to catch up with Leon, who was already passing through the doors of the Third District, ignoring her pleas for him to wait for her.

Upon reaching the doors herself, Yuffie took a deep breath and pushed through them, sizing up the scene in front of her. To the left, a few shadow heartless prowled in their slightly bouncy way as they searched for prey. On her right, a handful of Blue Rhapsodies floated in the air, blasting the few townspeople remaining in the district with their blizzard spells. And, in the center of the district, a couple of Red Nocturnes flew around Leon's head as he attempted to slice them with his Gunblade.

Deciding the heartless present were relatively harmless, Yuffie rubbed her hands together greedily at the thought of the munny she and Leon would be collecting as soon as they defeated the creatures. She turned to the shadow heartless first, whispering, "You're mine," as she drew her shuriken out of her pouch.

Delicately flicking her wrist, the shuriken in hand flew through the air and through the shadow heartless that had been quickly approaching her, causing it to dissolve into an oozy black cloud. Its brother heartless looked at it in confusion for a moment before deciding to attack Yuffie full force.

Her grin widened as she saw them coming for her, back flipping out of their reach and shooting her shuriken at them as she did so. As each one caught one of her ninja stars in their body, they, like their brother, became nothing more than a black cloud, disappearing as soon as it formed.

"That was so easy," Yuffie crowed as she turned to where the Blue Rhapsodies were still congregated, sparing a quick glance at Leon to see that he was still trying in vain to slice the Red Nocturnes which simply flew out of his Gunblade's reach. Summoning her magic, Yuffie cast Fira upon the Blue Rhapsodies, making them convulse before falling to the ground and vanishing.

"Hey, Squall, need some help?" she called as she calmly gathered the fallen munny gems and items the heartless had dropped. Looking over her shoulder, she saw that he had vanquished all but one Red Nocturne, which continued to fly just out of his reach.

Leon momentarily dropped his guard as he turned to scowl at her. "It's Leon, and yes, some help would be nice since you seem to have done the easy part."

"Easy part, huh? I took out twice as many Heartless as you did, buddy," she muttered as she trotted over to middle of the district, where he still swiped at the Nocturne. "This is how it's done." With that, she calmly called upon her magic again and cast Blizzard, but not before the creature released another fire blast that, thankfully, hit the concrete and not them.

But as the concrete exploded in front of them, Yuffie heard Leon cry out in pain, something she hadn't heard since the Heartless first attacked Hollow Bastion nine years ago. "Squall? What's wrong? Where are you?" she called through the dust flying around them.

"I can't see. Some of the concrete chips flew into my eyes or something," she heard him call from her left. Sticking her arms out in front of her, she blindly walked towards his voice, dragging her feet as to not trip over him.

Her leg bumping into something, she lowered herself and felt it. "That you, Squall?" she questioned hesitantly.

"Leon, and yes it's me." His voice sounded strained, as though he was trying to not let her realize how much pain he was truly in. He felt her drop down beside him and place her hands on his shoulders as they waited for the dust to clear.

Finally able to see in front of her, Yuffie looked at the man sitting on the ground, his hands held over his eyes. "Squa-, er Leon, let me see your eyes," she prodded as she gently took his hands in her own and pulled them away.

Clenching his blue eyes tightly closed, Leon turned away from her. "No, they'll be alright in a minute. I just need to give them time to clear the debris out." He felt her place her hands on his cheeks, forcing him to face her.

"Leon, open your eyes," she commanded, her tone of voice leaving no room for disobedience.

He tried to open them, only to snap them back shut when the pain hit him. "I can't," he hissed in pain. "It hurts to open them."

Panic began to take over the young ninja. "Leon, open them and tell me if you can see anything. Please," she added as an afterthought.

Slowly opening his eyes again, he struggled to see something, anything around him, but only saw black. "I can't see anything, Yuffie. I can't see anything," he admitted in defeat.

Biting her lip, Yuffie took his arm and pulled him to his feet. "Come on, let's go find Aerith and see if she can heal them." Sighing resignedly, Leon allowed the girl to lead him back into the First District after he insisted on her stopping to let him grab his Gunblade.

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Author's Note: Okay, whacha think? Let me know in a review. By the way, this story is really the Vulpes Lapis's. She just gave it to me to write because she has a lot on her plate right now. So, voila! I'll be writing it for her with a lot of her input into the making of it. Hope everyone enjoys it.

By the way, I suck at battle scenes, but I hope that the one I did up there was better than some of the earlier ones I've done. That's mainly the reason why I avoid battle scenes like the plague.


	2. Chapter Two: Darkness

_Author's Note: I'm going to go ahead and start this chapter before I forget what I want to say in it. By the way, I'm in the middle of writing three chapters for three different stories. I have completely lost my mind. If you find it, will you please send it back to me?_

_And something's wrong with the Document Manager and it isn't putting up my normal scene breaks, so I'm putting [Scene Break] instead. _

_Note to Annjirika: Personally, I love pancakes. But, because of all the sugar in them, they make me sick if I eat them in the morning. So, the thing between Squall and Yuffie about pancakes is actually the two sides of my brain fighting. _

_Note to xXRiku's SweetheartXx: A Squall plushie???!!! lets out high pitched squeal Oh, thank you so much. squeezes Squall plushie until eyes pop out_

_[Disclaimer: See the disclaimer in the previous chapter]_

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_Chapter Two: Darkness_

"Leon, please, you're going to have to lay down so I can look at your eyes," Aerith instructed as she led the man through the door of his room, the Green Room, and gently pushed him down onto the bed. "Now, you're going to have to open your eyes so I can clean them." 

Leon clenched his eyes closed even tighter, causing them to water even more as he adamantly shook his head. "Can't you just cure them with magic?" he asked hopefully.

"If I were to cast cure on them without cleaning out the debris first, then it would just heal over it, causing the foreign material to become embedded within your eye. Which, in turn, would cause you to be permanently blind," the flower girl calmly explained as she pushed him back onto the bed as he tried to sit up. 

While Aerith was trying to convince Leon to submit to her ministrations, Yuffie was digging through the first-aid kit, trying to find the bottle of eyewash. "Aerith, are you sure it's in here?" she called as she dumped the contents of the kit onto the table in the hope that she would have an easier time finding it that way.

Reluctantly leaving Leon's side, Aerith hurried across to the mess Yuffie had made on the table, quickly sorting through the items until her green eyes finally spotted the little squirt bottle. "Got it!" she exclaimed as she hurriedly crossed the room to wash Leon's eyes. "Leon, open your eyes."

"I can't," he muttered as he tried to force them open, only to find they reflexively slammed themselves shut at the pain. "I can't keep them open."

"Yuffie, get over here and pry his eyes open for me." The note of command in the flower girl's voice surprised the ninja. Normally, Aerith was all sweetness, but when it came to her friends' health, she turned into a dictator.

Leon felt small gloved hands lifting his right eyelid, which twitched as it tried to close itself. He hissed in pain as some of the debris scratched across his eye under the eyelid. "Ow, be more careful, couldn't you, Yuffie?" he complained.

"Yuffie, I can't reach his eyes if you're right there. You're going to have to move," Aerith's dulcet voice commanded the ninja, who resignedly released the Gunblade wielder's eyelid to find another spot to stand.

Seeing no other choice, the ninja carefully climbed onto the bed and over Leon to sit at the other side of his head. Once again, she gently opened his eye so Aerith could squirt the cleansing liquid into it. She felt her own eyes begin to water as she watched the various pieces of dust and debris flood out of the reddened eye with the liquid. "Ugh... I can't watch," she muttered as she turned her head.

As the eyewash solution was rinsing his eye, Leon squirmed on the bed, causing Aerith to miss his eye and spill the liquid on his pillow. "Leon," she hissed, "you're going to have to stay still."

"I'm trying," he said through clenched teeth, "but you have no idea how uncomfortable it is having, first off, this junk in my eyes, and secondly, having something squirted into them." Something unspoken must have gone on between the two girls, because the next thing he knew, he felt a someone straddling his chest. "What's going on?"

He heard a loud sigh. "We have to keep you still, Leon," Aerith murmured as she began to clean his other eye that Yuffie was now holding open. "So, I had Yuffie sit on you."

"But don't be getting any ideas, Squall. This is just a one time deal even though I know how tempting it must be to have such an irresistibly beautiful woman like me sitting on you," the ninja replied laughingly, trying to lighten the somber mood that had overtaken the room as she felt him trying to squirm beneath her.

A low growl made its way up Leon's throat as he felt the teenager shifting to a more comfortable position on him. "It's Leon and you're going to be--" He was cut off by the sudden rush of liquid in his eye, causing him to wince in discomfort.

"Okay, all the trash is out of them," Aerith said, mostly to herself before she began the familiar chant for Curaga. A green glow spread out across Leon, encasing him in its warmth as it healed the various cuts and scrapes he had accumulated during the battle. "There, you should be able to see now," the flower girl announced as the green magical glow dissipated.

Sighing in relief, Yuffie slid off his chest, allowing him to sit up. As he did so, he gingerly opened his icy blue eyes, only to close them once again. "Come on, Squall. Open your eyes," the ninja prodded from her position beside him on the bed.

"Why?" he questioned as he turned his head towards her voice. "I still can't see anything." Hanging his head in defeat, Leon ran his hands through his tangled mess of russet hair. "And my name is Leon." He felt two small hands grab his arm and haul him to his feet.

"Let's go, Leon. We're taking you to the infirmary. Maybe the doctor there can help," Aerith said soothingly as she led him out the door, Yuffie jumping off the bed and hurriedly following them out the door.

_[Scene Break]_

"Mr. Leonheart, can you please open your eyes?" the elderly doctor commanded gently as he stood in front of his patient, holding a penlight in one hand. Leon complied with the doctor's request, allowing the doctor to shine the light into his eyes. The doctor sighed when he saw that Leon's pupils did not dilate with the light. "Okay, you may close them."

In the back of the exam room, Aerith and Yuffie were sitting in the chairs provided; Aerith nervously wringing her hands and Yuffie biting her lip as she watched the doctor make a few notes on his patients chart. "So, Doc, what's wrong with Leon?" the ninja finally asked, curiosity and worry getting the best of her.

"I'm not sure yet. Miss Gainesborough, could you please tell me again what happened?" The doctor lay the clipboard with the chart on the counter and gave Aerith his full attention.

"Aerith wasn't even there when it happened," Yuffie interrupted, rolling her eyes. "And I told ya and Leon told ya that a Red Nocturne blew a hole in the concrete and some of the chips or something flew into his eyes."

Leon sat in silence on the exam table, just listening to the conversation going on around him as Aerith began to explain about her attempts at healing him. The whole time the only thoughts running through his head were what would happen if he was permanently blinded for life. Everything he did was based upon seeing what was going on around him. How could he use his Gunblade if he couldn't even see the creatures he was fighting?

"Mr. Leonheart?" the doctor called, receiving no response. "Mr. Leonheart?" he called again, this time a little louder and getting his patient's attention.

"What?" Leon shook his head to clear his mind. The last thing he needed was to start drifting off into his own little world. He felt the doctor take his arm and walk him to the door. "Where are we going?" he asked in confusion.

"I'm taking you down the hall to the optometrist's office. He can do a more thorough examination than me." The doctor calmly led Leon through the winding halls of the infirmary with Aerith and Yuffie following close behind, finally coming to a stop in a room filled with machines and an owlish-looking doctor reading over the various charts on his desk.

While the two doctors conversed, Leon was gently pushed into a chair in front of one of the machines and instructed to open his eyes. There was a soft whirring noise and a flash of light that went unseen by Leon as the machine examined his eyes. As the optometrist read over the results of the test, he let out a resigned sigh. "I'm sorry, Mr. Leonheart. But, it appears you have managed to cut your cornea," the specialist finally said.

"And what does that mean, exactly?" Leon asked through clenched teeth, fearing the worst. "In layman terms, please doctor."

The doctor turned away from Leon and looked at the two girls who were still standing in the doorway. "It means that for the next month or so, you will have to wear bandages over your eyes and have eye drops put in daily." As he said this, the doctor picked up a small bottle of eye drops, tilt Leon's head back, and place a few drops in each eye. "Ladies, please pay attention to what I'm doing as you will have to do it for the next month," he called, beckoning Aerith and Yuffie over while he pulled some gauze out of a drawer. Placing cotton over Leon's closed eyes, he began to wrap the gauze around his head.

Leon allowed himself to be guided out of the room by who he assumed was Yuffie. It was hard to tell, though. He had spent so much of his life relying upon his vision, that now that he had to make do without it, he found himself almost completely helpless. The sudden quick chatter to his side revealed that it was indeed Yuffie leading him out of the building.

"So, Squa-, er Leon, I guess you get to take a vacation from fighting, huh? You lucky duck," the ninja joked, trying to cheer her somber partner up. She hated the sight of him being so downhearted. Even though he was never exactly the upbeat type of person, he was even more depressing than usual.

Turning his head toward the sound of her voice, he tried to glare at her, but the effect was lost due to the bandages on his face. "Lucky? How can you say that I'm lucky, Yuffie? I can't see a damn thing and you call that lucky?" His voice came out in a strained hiss as his anger began to get the better of him.

Small hands were gently placed on his other arm as Aerith walked up to him. "Leon, maybe you should look on the bright side of things. The matter can't be helped, so why make it worse?" 

"If I could see, then I would 'look' on the bright side. But, I can't see, so I can't 'look' on the bright side of things." Sarcasm dripped from his voice as threw off the flower girl's comments. "Just let go, I don't need any help," he commanded as he tried to shrug the two girls off his arms.

"Leon..." Aerith began, but was quickly silenced by the Gunblade wielder.

"I have to learn to get by without any help. I refuse to be helpless." He jerked his arms out of their grasp and started walking a little faster. Bumping into what he thought was a person, he apologized, "Oh, excuse me, ma'am," only to hear laughter from behind him. "What?" he asked angrily as he turned to face the noise of their laughter.

Yuffie, who was laughing so hard she was crying, clutched her stomach and doubled over. "Leon, th-that was a p-pole you walked into," she gasped in between her giggles. Her frame being wracked by her laughter, Aerith leaned against a building until she caught her breath.

Carefully reaching out, Leon felt what he bumped into, only to discover that Yuffie hadn't been lying. He ran one gloved hand through his hair, pushing the bangs out of his face and shook his head. "Fine, you guys can help me," he conceded as he could see no other choice in the matter.

The two girls approached him again, each taking an arm. "Well," Aerith began, "since I'm needed at the infirmary most of the time, Yuffie will have to be the one to help you."

"WHAT?!" both the ninja and the Gunblade wielder exclaimed at the same time.

"I don't want to spend all day being his 'seeing eye dog,'" Yuffie protested, releasing Leon's arm and backing away. "I have more important things to do."

"And I don't need a brat getting me into trouble all the time," Leon added.

"Hey, I'm not a brat, you--" 

Aerith released Leon's arm and massaged her temples. "Look, there's no other choice in the matter. Yuffie, you have to help him. Not only because I'm at the infirmary most of the time, but also because if he runs into trouble, you'll have to fight off the Heartless. You know for a fact that I'm nearly helpless against them." Walking around to the other side of Leon, she grabbed his arm and pushed it into Yuffie's hands. 

"But..." Yuffie began.

"No buts. Now, if you excuse me, I'm going to go pick up some dinner for us from the café. I want you two to return to the hotel and wait for me. Okay?" the pink clad lady said sternly.

Sighing in resignation, Leon and Yuffie muttered, "Okay," before beginning to trudge to the hotel in relative silence, with only the occasional "watch your step" from Yuffie and a "be more careful" from Leon.

_[Scene Break]_

After an uneventful dinner, Aerith left the ninja and Gunblade wielder alone in the Green Room while she went into the room she shared with Yuffie, saying she had to get something from in there. Bored, Yuffie picked up the trash from their dinner and carried it to the trash can, watching Leon stumble around the room out of the corner of her eye. "Need some help?" she finally asked after watching him bump into something three times.

"No, I'm fine," he insisted stubbornly. "I have to learn how to get around in here by myself."

Moments later, Aerith came back into the room, pushing Yuffie's cot with the ninja's stuff resting on top of it. Eyes widening, Yuffie began to widely shake her head. "Nuh- uh, Aerith. You can't do this to me," she protested angrily.

Confused, Leon sat on the edge of the bed he had finally found in his blind wanderings. "What's happening?" He knew something was going on, and, from the sound of it, it was going to be something he wouldn't enjoy.

Ignoring the temporarily blind man, Aerith argued with Yuffie. "Yuffie, we can't have him in here by himself all night. What if he needs something?"

"Aerith, I--" Leon began, only to be interrupted.

"There is no way in hell I'm sharing a room with him, Aerith," the ninja proclaimed, trying to push the cot back into the Red Room.

Leon decided to try again. "I really don't think--"

"Yuffie, you're staying in here. Besides, it won't be that bad. At least you have your own bed," Aerith said consolingly.

"Sure, you can say that. But you're not the one who is forced to share a room with the man," Yuffie retorted.

Leon stood up. "Can I say something?" he bellowed, causing both girls to stop their arguing and stare at him. Taking their silence as consent, he continued. "I'm a grown man. I don't need a babysitter. Especially not one who's still a baby herself."

Yuffie puffed up at the statement directed at her. "I'm not a baby," she pouted indignantly.

"Leon, she's staying in here. That's final." The flower girl pushed the cot over against the wall farthest from his bed. "Now, look you two. I don't want any fights or anything. And no more bickering. It's gets annoying." She wagged her finger at the two before turning to leave. "Goodnight." The door to the Red Room swung closed as she left them alone in the Green Room.

Tiredly rubbing her eyes, Yuffie looked up to see Leon still standing in front of his bed. "You need me to find you your pajamas?" she asked quietly, deciding it would be best to make the best of things.

"No, I..." he trailed off as he held his arms out in front of him and tried to find the dresser. Unsuccessful, he dropped his arms and head in defeat. "Yes, please?" he muttered.

The ninja crossed the room and pulled open the dresser drawer. "Okay, Leon, what do you wear to bed? Shorts or pajama pants?" she inquired softly as she dug around in his clothes.

"Shorts."

Grabbing the first pair she found, she placed them in his hands and led him to the bathroom. "There ya go. Now, don't come out until I tell you because I'm going to change while you're in there."

"Yuffie, I can't see anything, remember? I'm blind," he reminded her as he shut the bathroom door.

"Oh yeah. But, still.... it's the idea."

"Whatever," he mumbled through the closed door.

_Author's Note: Okay, there ya go. Now that you've read it, maybe you should go and review it. That would be awfully nice of you to do. Anyways, I hope you're enjoying the story so far. And, once again, I'm gonna remind everyone that the basic idea of the story belongs to Vulpes Lapis. I'm just her slave labor. She's making me write it. Just kidding. I love writing it._


	3. Chapter Three: Adjustments

_Author's Note: _ _Okay, I'm writing. I know you've waited long enough for this chapter, but I've been busy working on a handful of other things that I've posted over the past few days. My writing is really starting to take over my life. It's like I'm possessed or something. _

_[Disclaimer: Oh, how I wish I owned Squall. Then I could do so many... um... things with him. But, alas, he is owned by Square, as are the other characters within this story. And the location of this story is owned by Disney and Square. So, I shall retreat to my hole in the ground and pine away for Squall.]_

* * *

_Chapter Three: Adjustments_

At his customary hour of rising, six o' clock to be exact, Leon awoke, raising his hands to tiredly rub his eyes, only to find a rough barrier between his eyes and his hands. Using both hands, he gingerly traced the scratchy material to find that its wide band encircled his head. "What the hell?" he muttered as he quickly sat up. He threw off the light covers and swung his legs off the side of the bed, standing up and then falling back onto the bed when he remembered the events from the day before.

In his mind's eye, he could see the brilliant reddish-orange glow of the Red Nocturne's fire blast and then the sudden rising cloud of smokey dust, only to have a darkness then come down, veiling him from the world around him. Yes, now he remembered how that seemingly simple blast from the fiery Heartless had plunged him into a world of darkness. And he hated the uncertainty that came with this handicap.

Rising to his feet, he took a tentative step towards where he thought the bathroom was located, determined not to let this blindness daunt him in the least. He would learn to live with this temporary sightlessness and show his companions that he did not need their help. The proud Squall Leonheart helped others who were in need, not the other way around. The thought of anyone seeing him submit to such a weakness caused a small shudder to race through him.

With each step he took across the room, his confidence returned, allowing him to walk a little faster and take longer strides. He realized his mistake when he stumbled into an object a little over knee-high, and he crashed on top of it, relinquishing a yelp of surprise as the object fell to the floor beneath his weight.

He heard a small grunt of pain beneath his body and realized that it was Yuffie's cot he had carelessly fallen onto, crushing her as he did so. "Leon, I think you need to ease up on the sweets," his companion uttered as she none to gently pushed him off of her. "I swear, I think you broke one of my ribs or something."

Leon pushed himself up off the floor, and carefully stood up. "Why is your cot in the middle of the room, Yuffie?" he demanded angrily, remembering that it was supposed to be pushed up against the wall to prevent something like this from happening. "And I'm not fat!"

"Well," the ninja began, twirling a lock of her short ebon hair around her finger, "I couldn't sleep with it right up against that wall. The neighbors in the Blue Room were making too much noise. So, I pushed it out here so I could sleep." Giving him a skeptical look, she place her hands upon her slim waist. "And why are you walking across the room, anyways? It's too early to get up. It's not even seven yet."

"I always get up early, Yuf," he replied in exasperation as he began his trek across the room once again, albeit more slowly and cautiously this time. "Besides, I had to use the bathroom." Reaching out, he felt the wall and with his fingers upon the surface, he followed it until he touched a doorframe. He grasped the knob, about to open the door when two small hands grabbed his arm, successfully stopping him.

Yuffie giggled and pulled him away from the door, leading him to the bathroom door. "I don't think Aerith would appreciate you barging into her room and pissing on her," she snickered as she opened the bathroom door and shoved him in.

"I knew that was her room," the Gunblade wielder yelled through the closed door, trying to reclaim his dignity. "I was just going to... uh... ask her something."

"Sure, you were." The ninja bit her lip as she turned from the closed door and looked disdainfully upon her now broken bed. Sighing, she dropped down beside it and tried to prop the legs back up, only to have it come crashing down once again. Frustrated, she kicked the remains of the crushed cot to the wall and sat upon Leon's bed, elbows propped on knees with her face in her hands as she contemplated the matter.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the opening of the connecting door between the Red and Green Rooms as Aerith entered the room, clad in her crimson robe with her chestnut hair falling down her back, freed from its regular braid. "I heard yelling," she explained at Yuffie's questioning glance. "Is everything alright?"

Throwing herself backwards onto the bed, Yuffie lay there, staring at the ceiling with her legs still hanging off the edge. "Yeah, except Mr. I-Don't-Need-Any-Help decided to take a stroll around the room and broke my bed." With a flick of the wrist, she gestured over to where her cot lay in a broken heap. "Where am I supposed to sleep now, Aerith?"

As the brunette was about to answer her disgruntled friend, a muffled curse came from the bathroom, immediately followed by a thud as something crashed to the floor. Yuffie jumped off the bed and ran to the door, ear pressed against the door. "Leon, what happened? Are you okay?" she asked concernedly.

"I'm fine. A little bruised, but I'm fine," he grumbled, letting out another curse. There was a long pause before he answered her other question. "I tripped and fell into the bathtub."

"Do you need any help?" Aerith called through the door as she held a had over her mouth to stifle a giggle. Yuffie was doing the same, albeit less successfully as one managed to escape.

"No, I don't need any help." The two girls were leaving the door when they heard another thud from the bathroom. "Okay, maybe I do," they heard him admit.

Yuffie went back to the door, hand on doorknob, ready to burst into the bathroom when she remembered something. "Hey, Leon, are you decent? I mean, we wouldn't want you to corrupt us innocent females with your naked butt," she snorted as laughter threatened to overtake her again.

There was a loud groan and drawn out sigh from the other side of the door. "Yes, Yuffie, I'm decent," Leon muttered. "Just hurry up and get in here and pull me out of this tub before my ego shatters anymore than it already has."

Pushing the door open, Yuffie and Aerith walked into the bathroom and erupted into a fit of stomach-clutching giggles at the sight before them. In the bathtub lay Leon, his head against the wall and his feet overhanging the edge with his middle scrunched up in between. "How did you manage to do that?" Aerith finally demanded when her laughter subsided.

"Don't ask. Just get me out of here," the Gunblade wielder commanded in a curt tone, a faint pink tinge climbing across his cheeks. Not hearing them approaching, he decided to try again, this time more politely. "Please, help me out of here." The pleading tone that had crept into his voice made him cringe in self-loathing.

The two girls looked at each other, the oldest smiling and the youngest biting her lip to keep a cutting remark from escaping, before approaching the subdued Leon and grasping his hands. "On the count of three, Yuf," the flower girl announced. "One... two... three!" Both of them grunted as they hauled the man to his feet, the ninja falling backwards onto the floor as he came to his feet.

"Ouchiewawa," Yuffie muttered as she rubbed her now bruised hip. "You're trying to kill me, aren't ya Leon? I mean, first you fall on me this morning and now you knock me down

"Ouchiewawa?" Leon inquired, his voice full of confusion and a slight hint of what might be humor as he ignored her accusation. "What kind of word is 'ouchiewawa'?"

The ninja jumped up off the ground and glared at him, momentarily forgetting that her glare would be lost on him since he was blinded. Her anger was quickly replaced by delight that he actually almost laughed at her word. "My word. I made it up. Cool, huh?"

"Whatever." He shook his long mane of russet hair out before running a hand through it, pushing the bangs back from the bandage covering his eyes. "Now, if you ladies would excuse me, I would like to get dressed in privacy." Turning his head towards where he last had heard Yuffie's voice come from, he gave her a glare... or, it would have been a glare if his eyes weren't covered. "That means you, too, Yuffie."

Rolling her eyes, Yuffie trudged out of the bathroom, but stopped and started laughing at her new roommate. "How ya gonna get dressed if you don't have any clothes in here, Leon? Hm?" she demanded in a playful tone.

Before Leon could reply, Aerith, who had left the bathroom as Leon and Yuffie were discussing the origins of the word 'ouchiewawa,' shuffled inside and shoved some clothes into Leon's hands. "Here, put these on," she said quietly as she pulled the young ninja out of the bathroom and shut the door behind them.

"Aw, Aerith, you ruin all my fun," Yuffie pouted. "I was going to tease him for awhile before getting his clothes for him." Walking over to the dresser, she pulled out her normal green halter top and khaki shorts from the bottom drawer where she had placed them the night before.

Aerith place a gentle hand upon the ninja's shoulder, raising her eyebrows and making the younger girl face her. "Yuffie, please don't torment him. You know it's enough torture for him to actually ask us for help. Don't make it worse," she said quietly, not wanting her voice to carry through to the bathroom.

Yuffie sighed in defeat, her shoulder slumping slightly and bright smile wavering. "Fine, you win. I'll be nice and not get him into trouble," she conceded, watching a reassured smile come across the flower girl's face.

"Good." She looked across the room at the clock, noticing that it was only 6:30 in the morning. "Well, I guess we better go ahead and get some breakfast since we're up. I'll meet you at the café." With that, Aerith walked through the connecting door and into her room.

"At least not too much trouble," Yuffie muttered under her breath as an evil smile came across her face. The sound of the bathroom door opening caught her attention, and she turned around and laughed when she saw Leon, who had managed to put his shirt on backwards. "I think you need some help there, Leon."

The Gunblade wielder turned towards the sound of her voice. "Why? What's wrong?" He took a small step towards the bed, but stopped when he felt Yuffie grab him and yank his shirt over his head. "What are you doing?" he demanded angrily as he tried to push her away.

Yuffie rolled her eyes, then sighed when she realized he was unable to see her disdainful expression. "You're shirt was on backwards, silly. So, I'm fixing it," she explained as she stood on tip-toe and pulled the white t-shirt back over his head. "There," she said as she watched him put his arms back through the short sleeves. "That's better."

"This is going to take some getting used to," Leon grumbled softly as he felt the girl brush past him and into the bathroom, hearing the door shut behind him.

* * *

After successfully leading her blind companion to the café for breakfast, Yuffie groaned when she saw the dark storm clouds beginning to block out the sun. "Great. Just what I needed today," she muttered as she pushed Leon into the café and guided him to the table in the back where Aerith was reading a menu, patiently awaiting them.

"A storm's building up, isn't it?" Leon asked as he felt Yuffie push him into the booth before sitting down next to him.

"Yeah," the ninja answered absent-mindedly as she skimmed through the menu, but jerked her head up suddenly and stared at him with wide eyes, her brows furrowed with confusion. "Wait a minute! How did you know?"

Leon curled his lip in a small smile as he kept his head facing forward, towards Aerith. "I can feel the charge in the air, Yuf. I don't have to have my eyes to see everything," he replied arrogantly.

"Well, Mr. Know-It-All, since you don't need your eyes, maybe you don't need me to lead you around either," Yuffie huffed as she threw her arms across her chest and glared at him.

Across from them, Aerith closed her eyes and gently massaged her temples with fingers. "Yuffie, you will help him. Leon, you will let her. And you both will get along, understood?" Her bright green eyes slowly opened and glared at them. Seeing both of them nod meekly, the usually sweet flower girl returned to her normal self and smiled. "Okay, then. So, are you ready to order."

"Sheesh, someone's gripey today," the ninja mumbled under her breath as she rested her head in her hands, elbows propped up on the table. Her indigo eyes slowly drooped shut as Leon and Aerith made small talk, mostly concerning the safety of the townspeople since Heartless attacks were becoming more frequent. Yuffie jerked awake when her head hit the table with a loud thud, causing Aerith to chuckle and Leon to turn his head in her direction. "I'm fine," she grumbled, laying her head down on the table this time to await their food.

Their breakfast having arrived, Aerith asked Leon to awaken Yuffie, to which he complied by elbowing her in the side. "Come on. Wake up. You sleep more than any other person I know," the man complained as he nudged her awake.

"Yeah, well, I don't like being woke up at six in the morning by someone falling on top of me." Smiling as the scent of her breakfast, French toast, wafted up to her nose, she grabbed her fork and quickly shoved a bite in her mouth. "Speaking of which," she continued as she ate, "where am I going to sleep tonight? You broke my cot."

Leon blindly fumbled with his silverware, finally finding his fork and sticking it into something on his plate, not knowing what until he placed it into his mouth. The taste of scrambled eggs filled his mouth as he chewed. "It's not my fault you pushed it out into the middle of nowhere."

Taking a sip of her orange juice to wash down her bagel, Aerith calmly spoke up. "I'll talk to he hotel manager and see if he has another cot you can use, Yuf. And if he doesn't, I'll see if I can get you one from the infirmary." She paused as she spread more strawberry cream cheese across her bagel. "I'm sure we can find something for you, Yuf."

"Good, 'cause I'm not sleeping on the floor." Just as the ninja brought another bite of her French toast to her mouth, a loud crack of thunder echoed through the room and a flash of lightning was seen through the window, causing her to jump and drop her fork, which clattered as it hit her plate. Silently cursing, she tried to block out the storm and concentrate of eating, wishing she could be like her friends, unafraid of the storm.

Aerith slid out of the booth, holding her bagel in a napkin and taking another drink of her juice. "I'm going to go ahead and go to the infirmary before the rain hits. I really don't want to get there soaking wet," she informed them as she quickly ran out of the café, eating her bagel as she ran.

"Hurry up and eat, Squall. I don't want to get caught in the rain either," Yuffie insisted, beginning to shovel her food into her mouth.

"It's Leon," he reminded her as he kept eating his food at his normal steady pace. "And I'm not going to rush myself. A little rain never hurt anyone."

Ignoring his comment, Yuffie finished her meal and sat at the booth glaring at Leon, as if mentally willing him to increase his pace. Finally, unable to take it any longer as the sky became even darker and the lightning and thunder came more frequently, she began to plead. "Please, Leon. You know how much I hate storms."

At her tone, Leon raised his head from his plate, cocking it ever so slightly to the side as he listened to her. For the first time since he had known her, he could tell that she was terrified. Just by listening to her voice, he could hear emotions within her that had always gone unspoken. And he knew that if he could see, he would find that she still kept her normal half-smirk expression on her face to hide her fear. "Okay, let's go," he conceded as he took a final drink of his coffee, allowing her to pull him from the table.

Yuffie threw some munny down on the table as she dragged the stumbling Leon out the door and into storm that was rapidly forming, the wind whipping his long hair into his face as she tried to force him to run. "If we hurry, we can get to the hotel before it gets any worse," she called as she pulled him behind her.

"Yuffie, slow down. I'm going to fall." As if tempting fate by saying that, Leon's boot caught on a loose cobblestone and he fell face forward onto the ground, taking Yuffie down with him. It was at this point that the rain began to fall in heavy torrents, drenching them both.

"Perfect," the young ninja muttered as she rose to her feet and grasped her blind companion's hand, pulling him up as well. "I told you we'd get caught in the rain."

Leon tentatively rubbed his face, finding an abrasion where his cheek had hit the ground. "If you hadn't been running, I wouldn't have tripped," he accused as he allowed her to take his arm and lead him, this time more slowly.

"Yeah, yeah. Blame it all on me." Yuffie pushed open the double doors to the Second District, unable to hold back a shudder as another streak of lightning lit up the darkened skies. She jerked his arm, signaling him to hurry up. "Just, come on."

They reached the hotel doors without any other mishaps and pushed through them, shaking the water out of their hair as soon as they were inside, much to the manager's dismay. Taking his arm once again, Yuffie led Leon down the hall and into the Green Room, where she found him a towel and some dry clothes and pushed him into the bathroom.

Yuffie changed into her own dry clothes while Leon was in the bathroom, comforting herself with the fact that even if he did emerge while she was in her underwear, he wouldn't see anything. However, she managed to finish before he came out. Deciding there was nothing else to do as long as the storm raged outside, Yuffie pushed Leon onto the bed and lay herself down at the foot, flipping on the TV with the remote and mindlessly channel surfing.

* * *

Having spent the day watching sitcoms and old movies, not to mention having to explain to Leon what was happening on the screen, Yuffie was glad to see Aerith walk through the door. Sure it was fun to tease Leon sometimes, but having to spend the whole day with only him and not even being able to play cards because he couldn't see, well, that was a different story. "Aerith, I'm..." she trailed off when she saw her friend's apologetic stare. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Aerith said quickly, giving her a weak smile. "Leon, I need to change your bandages and put some of the eye drops in." She walked over to where he was sitting on the bed and gently pressed down onto his back. As she began to unwind the gauze, she kept giving the ninja apologetic glances.

"Aerith, why do you keep looking at me like that? And where's that cot you..." Yuffie stopped when she realized why her friend kept giving her that look. "You couldn't find me one, could you?"

"I tried, Yuffie. I really tried." The flower girl opened one of Leon's eyes and quickly let a drop of the medicine fall in before he had a chance to react. "Yuffie, hand me the roll of gauze," she commanded as she medicated his other eye.

Sitting up, Leon allowed Aerith to wrap the bandages around his head again. "Yuffie can go back to sharing a room with you," he said as she finished with his bandages. "I don't need someone in here at night." He turned his head when he heard Yuffie snorting.

"Yeah, we saw what happened this morning when you woke up," she laughed, remembering that he was about to use the Red Room as the bathroom. "I forgot to tell you, Aerith, but he thought your room was the bathroom. Now that would have been a sight."

"See, Leon? You do need someone in here with you." Aerith arose from her seated position on the bed and walked across to her room. "I'm going to go ahead and go to bed. It's been a long day for me. Goodnight," she called as she shut the door.

Yawning, Yuffie silently agreed and grabbed her own pajamas from the dresser and changing in the bathroom. "I think I'm gonna go to bed, too," she announced as she looked around for a place to sleep, her eyes falling on the bed.

"And, where, pray tell, are you going to sleep?" Leon prodded as she shoved some clothes into his hands and helped him to the bathroom. Her silence gave him all the answer he needed, realizing she meant to share the bed with him. "No, Yuffie. I'm not sharing the bed."

"Aw, come on, Leon. It'll be just like a slumber party," she whined through the closed bathroom door. "I'll even put up a pillow barrier between us so you won't touch me." The ninja leaned against the wall next to the door and waited for him to finish in there so she could lead him to the bed.

"No."

A wicked smile crossed the teenager's face, one that would have scared the Gunblade wielder if he could have seen it. "You can't stop me, Squall. I mean, you can't even see. So how are you going to throw me outta the bed?"

The door burst open, revealing a very unhappy blind man. "It's Leon. And, fine, you can sleep on the bed. But you better not cross the pillow barrier you're putting up," he snarled as he allowed himself to be guided to the bed.

"Don't worry, I won't." She grabbed the extra pillows from where her broken cot lay and carried them to the bed, placing them on the left side of Leon as she would be sleeping against the wall. "There, now you don't have to worry about cooties or anything." She crawled under the sheets and rolled over, pulling them along with her. "Goodnight Squall."

"Leon."

* * *

_Author's Note: Wanna know something funny? I didn't put in any of the stuff I had planned to put into this chapter. I was going to, but then the chapter just kept going and going and going and I had to stop it somewhere. So, VL, I know you're disappointed that the stuff we talked about aren't in here, but I promise that they will be in the next chapter. You know me. I tend to draw things out and take them slow. Anyways, now that y'all've read the chapter, why don't you review it for me? Please? With a cherry on top?_


	4. Chapter Four: Midnight Rendezvous

_Author's Note: Next chapter is up and running if you're reading this. Anyways, I'm glad everyone likes the story so far._

_[Disclaimer: So far, everything in the story is owned by Disney and Square, not me. Not even my precious Squall. But, if he were real, then I would probably have to fight Yuffie for him and I would lose because she is a ninja, after all.]_

* * *

_Chapter Four: Midnight Rendezvous_

Rolling over, Leon pulled the blankets for what seemed like the hundredth time during the hours he lay awake, unable to sleep while the ninja on the other side of the bed slumbered in peaceful bliss. Yuffie let out a soft groan, rolling over into the wall and pulling the covers back to her in her sleep, leaving her companion without them once again. Completely disgusted, Leon tightly gripped the edge of the blanket and yanked it back over to him, taking the girl with them.

Yuffie felt herself fly across the bed and land on something hard, growling deep in her throat at Leon for throwing her on what she believed to be the floor. Placing a hand on the surface, she pushed herself up, ready to berate Leon when she realized that she wasn't on the floor, but lying across Leon. She glanced at her hand and saw it lying on his stomach. _My God! I thought I was touching the floor! He's got a stomach like a rock!_

Leon was momentarily stunned as he felt her small body lie across his, her head falling just below his and the scent of her orange blossom shampoo wafted to his nostrils, where he inhaled the sweet and delicate fragrance. Shaking his head, he came back to his senses and decided to remedy the situation. "Yuffie, get off!" he snarled as he shoved her off of his chest and back over to her side of the bed, across the pillow barrier she had erected earlier in the night.

"Hey, you're the one who yanked me over there in the first place, Squall," she retorted, purposively dragging out the name he hated so much. Grabbing the blanket, she pulled back, only to fell resistance as Leon held tightly onto his side. "Give me back the blanket."

"Yuffie! You're a cover hog!" Leon growled as he refused to let her have the blanket.

"You snore!" the ninja retorted as she tugged impatiently on the blanket again.

"How would you know? I haven't gotten any sleep because of all your flailing around!" the Gunblade wielder said, his voice dangerously low.

Determined to have the last word, a triumphant smirk came across Yuffie's face. "Oh, yeah? Well, I can't sleep while listening to you moan and groan during your wet dreams." She pulled again on the blanket, finding that it slipped easily out of his grip while he lay there in stunned silence.

"I... wha... you..." Leon stammered, desperately trying to think of something, anything to say to her unjust and untrue accusation. Finding his tongue and brain refused to cooperate, he sat up and blindly groped for the pants that were lying in a heap upon the floor, pulling them on over his shorts. "I'm going for a walk."

At his announcement, Yuffie sat up and laughed as she watched him stumble towards the door and hit his shin upon the bedside table. "Oh really?" she asked sarcastically, raising her eyebrows. Laying back down, she decided it would be best to ignore him as she assumed he would be unable to find the door in his blindness. However, the sound of the door opening proved her wrong. "Damn it, Leon," she whisper-screamed as she jumped out of the bed and pulled him back into the room.

"Yuffie, let me go," the Gunblade wielder hissed as he felt her roughly haul him back into the Green Room. "I need to go for a walk." He insistently shrugged her hands off his shoulders, only to have her grab his arm instead.

"Fine," the ninja conceded disgustedly. "But at least put your shirt on and some shoes. We don't need you stepping on a nail or something and getting tetanus." She pushed him onto the bed and handed him his boots. "And let me get dressed first. I don't want half of Traverse Town seeing me in my pajamas."

Leon cocked his head towards her voice, a sneer playing across his lips at her statement. "I don't need you to go with me. I'll be fine on my own." Grimacing as he shoved a foot into his boot, he took the boot back off and shook it to see if something were inside it.

Rolling her eyes, Yuffie grabbed the boot from him and knelt down to place it upon his foot. "Don't need my help, huh?" she muttered. "You were trying to put your left boot on your right foot, you idiot." She quickly laced the boot up and did the same with the other. "Now wait for me to get dressed and I'll go with you."

Having no other choice in the matter, Leon buried his face in his hands as he sat on the bed, awaiting his guide who was hurriedly throwing on a t-shirt and a pair of blue jeans. "The whole point of the walk was so I could have some time to think... _alone_," he muttered as he felt her place a hand on his shoulder to steady herself as she put her shoes on.

"Don't worry, Squallie. I'll be quiet," Yuffie said cheerily as she pat the top of his head, mussing his already tangled hair and leaping away from him as he lunged for her.

"Don't _ever_ call me that again." Leon's voice came out in a low menacing growl as he arose from the bed and allowed Yuffie to lead him out the door. "My name is Leon."

Ignoring his comment, the ninja slipped her arm through his and dragged him down the hall and out the door into the Second District. "Ya know, I don't think I've ever been on a walk in the middle of the night before." She placed a finger to her lower lip in thought as she tried to remember. "Well, unless you count the battles with the Heartless at night," she conceded after a minute.

"I thought you were going to be quiet," her partner grumbled as he jerked his arm, and her, to the right and stalked off into the night, dragging Yuffie behind him.

Aggravated, Yuffie dug her heels into the ground in an effort to stop Leon, only to have him yank on her arm harder and pull her forward, nearly causing her to trip in the process. "Hey! Slow down, you don't even know where you're going?" she complained as she trotted alongside him to keep up with his fast pace.

Leon snapped his head towards her and she could just picture what his eyes would have looked like if they weren't covered with the bandages. Yes, she could imagine the icy blue flames that would be present in his eyes at that moment. "I know exactly where I'm going," he hissed as he pulled his arm away from her.

"Oh really?" Yuffie smirked as she stopped walking and stared after him. "And where might that be? Hm?" She tapped her foot on the cobblestones impatiently and crossed her arms over her chest as she awaited his answer.

Pausing mid-stride, Leon ran a hand across his face and turned around towards her voice. "I'm..." he trailed off, realizing he didn't know where he was going after all as he had simply left the hotel in an attempt to escape the ninja. Seeing as that didn't work, he quickly came up with a destination to shut her up. "I'm going to the Gizmo Shop."

Yuffie covered her mouth and let out a loud snort as she bent over laughing. "The Gizmo Shop?" she asked in disbelief as more laughter erupted from her small frame.

"Yes, the Gizmo Shop. What's wrong with that?" The temporarily blind man reached out an arm behind him and found a wall, which he immediately leaned against.

The ninja caught her breath and shook her head gently, smiling widely the whole time. "Leon, Leon, Leon. Just which direction exactly do you think the Gizmo Shop is?" By now, she had walked over to him and was propped up against the wall beside him.

Letting out a low growl, he stalked away from the wall and in the direction he was heading previously, away from the Gizmo Shop. "Don't patronize me, Yuffie. I don't need your help and I wouldn't even be out here if you hadn't said what you said."

"Leon, it was a joke! You know, when someone says something funny and you're supposed to laugh?" Yuffie sighed in exasperation as she pushed off the wall and followed him, making sure he didn't trip or walk into anything. When he didn't reply, she stepped in front of him, raising her hands to his shoulders and forcing him to stop. "Look, I'm sorry for my lewd comment. It was the only retort I could think of at the time."

He turned his head away from her voice, biting the inside of his cheek as he considered her apology. "Fine, you can come with me," he muttered as he offered her his arm. Sensing she was about to say something, he continued, "if you be quiet. I want to think."

Yuffie nodded, then realized that he wouldn't be able to see it. "Okay, I promise," she whispered as she took the offered arm and allowed him to walk in whatever direction he wanted, only pulling him to the side occasionally to avoid a puddle from the earlier rainstorm.

Leon meandered around the Second District with Yuffie in tow, eventually stumbling upon the door to the Third District. At least, he assumed it was the Third District as he couldn't actually read the sign, but Yuffie confirmed this as she announced that it was indeed the Third District door he had crashed into. Grumbling in response to her snide comment, he pushed through the door, entering the quiet and empty District.

Covering her mouth as she yawned, Yuffie leaned her head slightly on Leon's shoulder, quickly removing it when she felt him tense up. "Don't ya think we should be heading back now? It's getting kinda late, Squall," she mumbled tiredly as she stifled another yawn.

"Why must you insist on calling me Squall?" he demanded angrily, blindly following Yuffie as she dragged him through the First District doors and into the alley behind the Accessory Shop that she planned on taking as a short cut. She decided it would be faster to go through that alley to reach the alley behind the hotel instead of walking across the First and Second Districts to reach the hotel front doors.

Groaning in disgust, the ninja rolled her indigo eyes and vehemently shook her head. "Because it is your name. Your name is Squall Leonheart. Not Leon Leonheart!" she said angrily as she stopped walking, forcing him to stop as well.

"Squall died when Hollow Bastion fell. And he's not coming back!" Leon jerked his arm away from her and began to stalk off, shaking her off when he felt her tug his arm back to the side where she stood. "Let go, Yuffie!"

"But, Squall, there's a--"

Hearing her use that name even after he just explained _again_ why he didn't use it, caused something to snap inside him. Shaking her off his arm, he growled, "For the last time, dammit, my name is Le--" He didn't finish the sentence as he felt himself falling down into something deep and slightly damp feeling.

"Leon, there was an open manhole," Yuffie called as she walked over and gazed down at him in the bottom, sprawled in a heap and groaning.

"I realize that _now_, Yuffie," he muttered as he climbed to his feet, reaching his hands out and realizing how small the hole really was as he was able to touch the walls surrounding him without moving. "Just find a way for me to get out."

"Sure thing. But, don't go anywhere while I'm gone." She bounded away from the hole without listening to the string of curses that followed her from the man below. "Rope. I need some rope," she muttered under her breath as she ran down the alley and to Cid's Accessory Shop. She quickly jimmied the lock and slipped inside, flipping the switch to bathe the store with the florescent lights. Looking around, she found a bundle of rope stashed away behind his counter, which she quickly grabbed and left the shop, locking the door behind her. When she finally reached the manhole, she tied one end to the nearest lamppost and dropped the other end into the hole. "There ya go," she called down happily.

"I can't see, Yuffie. What did you do?" Leon asked in exasperation.

Yuffie bite her lip and stared down at him. "I dropped some rope in there. Reach around for it." She watched as he complied with her wishes, or tried to as he kept missing it. "A little to the left... No, YOUR left," she hollered as she tried to help him.

His annoyance with the situation growing, Leon threw his hands up in the air. "I can't find the damn thing, Yuffie. You're going to have to get something else." He ran a hand through his hair as he tried to think. "Go get a pole or something."

"No. Look, just back up against the wall and don't move," the ninja ordered, watching him to see if he obeyed.

Leon pressed his back to the wall, confused as to what his young companion had planned to do. "What are--" he began, but was interrupted when he felt a rush of air and heard the sound of something landing in front of him.

Letting out the breath she had held as she jumped into the manhole, Yuffie arose from her crouched position in front of him, realizing how very small the hole was when she felt how close her body was to his. Any smaller, and their whole bodies would have been pressed together completely. She grabbed the rope that hung in front of her face and placed it in his hand. "There. Now climb out of here and wait for me."

The Gunblade wielder gently tugged upon the rope within his hands, testing its strength before using it to hoist himself up. "Yuffie, what did you tie it to?" he questioned suddenly, afraid she may have tied it to something not strong enough to support his weight.

The ninja rolled her eyes and placed her hands on her hips, knowing the effect was lost since he couldn't see her. "I'm not stupid. It's tied to a lamppost." Giving him a gentle shove, she urged him to climb. "Hurry up and get out of here. I don't like cramped spaces."

Sighing and silently praying that the knot she had made around the post would hold, he began the steady ascent to the surface, pulling himself hand over hand to get out. Finally, he felt the fresh air from above caress his face in a gentle breeze as he pulled himself out, releasing the rope as he stood. "Okay, I'm out," he called down to Yuffie.

"Duh, I can see that," she answered in annoyance as she began the climb out of the deep hole. Climbing more slowly and with more effort than Leon, she inwardly cursed both his stupidness and stubbornness for getting them in this mess in the first place. She reached the top just as her arms began to give way to the tiredness within the limbs. "Leon, lower your hand so I can grab it," she yelled.

"I can't see you to grab you," he countered from his position a few feet away from the manhole.

"I know that. Just walk forward a step or so and lower your hand. You don't have to see me for me to grab it." Sighing, Leon listened as she muttered "a little closer" and "to the right" as he walked back to the edge of the hole. "That's good. Now your hand, if you don't mind."

Reaching out, he felt the girl firmly take his hand and he pulled, taking a step backwards as he did so. In fact, he pulled a little bit too hard as he found himself being falling on his back to the ground with the ninja landing on top of him, her elbow hitting right below his rib cage and causing him to release a gasp of air.

Yuffie slowly raised her head from his chest and looked at him, noticing their lips were less than an inch apart. Trying to remove herself from him, she found their legs had become tangled as they fell and her arms felt too heavy to use. Before she could say anything, the man beneath her tried to sit up, not realizing how close his face was to hers. His lips met hers in an impromptu kiss and he instantly pulled back.

Gaining control of her limbs, the ninja jumped off of him, gently touching her lips with two fingers as she tried to think of something to say. "Uh... I... you know, I think we should get back to the hotel and go to bed. It's really late and I'm really tired." She loudly faked a yawn to emphasize her point.

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea," he muttered as he climbed to his feet and dusting himself off, trying to push the accidental kiss out of his mind but having difficulty doing so. The memory of the feel of her soft lips pressed against his kept forcing itself to the front of his thoughts, making it hard for him to think of anything else.

The ninja shook her head vigorously to try to remove the sensations running through her body when she thought of what had happened only moments before. _It was only a kiss and he didn't mean it anyways,_ she stubbornly told her mind as she took Leon's arm, skirting around the manhole so they wouldn't repeat the earlier events.

Upon reaching the Green Room, both Leon and Yuffie collapsed onto their respective sides of the bed fully clothed, with the exception of their shoes, and tried to fall asleep. As the clock chimed the hour, three AM, Yuffie finally drifted off into a dreamed-filled sleep as Leon snored on the bed beside her.

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_Author's Note: Well, as we all can see, we have the beginnings of squffieness now. I love the squffieness. Anyways, make an author happy, and review._


	5. Chapter Five: The Naked Truth

_Author's Note: I know. I should be writing a chapter for TNB before I start this one, but I really want to get this chapter out._

_Um... this chapter starts out a little racier than anything I've written before. But, don't worry. It's NOT a lemon and it's not enough to up the rating. Just thought I would warn you._

_[Disclaimer: If I owned them, I wouldn't be writing this, now would I?]_

* * *

_Chapter Five: The Naked Truth_

Staring at the ceiling of the Green Room, Yuffie began to count chocobos in the hopes that she could make herself fall asleep with the sheer boredom of her self-appointed task. As her eyes slowly started to glaze over and the chocobos leaping over the wooden fence began to blur, she felt an arm drape itself across her stomach, slightly pushing the plain white t-shirt she wore up to reveal her bare stomach. She quickly turned her head to see a wolfish grin playing across Leon's mouth as his hand curled around her side and pulled her closer. Not having a chance to react, she was helpless as he raised himself up on one arm and leaned over to kiss her, forcing her head deep into the pillow.

Indigo eyes wide, Yuffie found herself gasping for breath through slightly parted lips as he raised his mouth from hers and gave her one of his rare lazy smiles. As he lowered his head once more, the ninja held him off with her hands on his chest and found her voice. "What are you doing?" she hissed as she stared at him bewilderedly.

"Finishing what we started at the manhole," he whispered, pushing her hands away and dropping his head to kiss the corners of her mouth. In a trail of kisses, he worked his way down her jaw line and to the place right below her ear, causing her to squirm in pleasure.

With his warm mouth slowly wreaking havoc upon her senses with its languid caresses, Yuffie struggled to keep her mind from spiraling into a state of euphoria. "It wasn't a kiss," she insisted as his lips came maddeningly slowly back up her jaw line. "It was an accident!" Before the words had even finished leaving her mouth, his mouth came crashing back upon hers, sending all rational thoughts out of her mind as her lips began to respond to his.

"You can't tell me you didn't like it, that you don't want more," he murmured as he left her lips to place small, soft kisses down her throat, his warm breath upon her skin causing her to begin to quiver in anticipation. "I can tell. You can't hide anything from me. Just because I can't see you doesn't mean I can't tell what you feel."

A calloused hand lightly trailed up her side, leaving goose bumps in its wake and causing her to shy to the side. "Leon," she moaned as her hands found themselves running up his bare back, her nails lightly scratching his skin as they continued their journey to his hair, where they became lost in the tangle of long russet locks.

"Call me Squall," he breathed against her skin as his lips pushed aside the collar of her shirt to leave their marks upon her now bare shoulder and collarbone. At her whimper caused by the sweet torture, Yuffie felt him the soft fluttering as his lips upturned into a smile against her skin.

"I gotta be dreaming," she gasped as his fingers barely touched her skin and traced light circles on her stomach, centering around her navel. "You want me to call you _Squall_?" At her incredulous tone, he lifted his head and stared at her through the bandages, a smirk coming across his features.

"Yes. It's my given name. I'd like more for you to scream it..." he replied as his hands found the hem of her shirt and quickly pulled it up and over her head before his mouth came back down upon hers in an almost frantic kiss. His hands came back to her stomach and slid their way down to the zipper of the blue jeans she still wore from their midnight stroll around Traverse Town.

Just as she raised her hips for him to remove her pants, someone grabbed her shoulder and started to shake her, softly calling her name. Shocked that someone else was in the room, she quickly turned her head to see... Leon, still shaking her shoulder and calling her name. _What the hell?_ she silently wondered as she stared at him laying beside her and not hovering above her.

"Yuffie, wake up," Leon sleepily called again from his side of the bed, still on the other side of the pillow barrier.

The ninja sat up quickly, rubbing her face and running a hand through her short raven hair as she spared a glance at the clock. Seven-thirty. "What, Leon?" she asked rather testily as she thought about the dream, ashamed of herself for even _thinking _that about the man. Lord knows he could barely stand to be around her and she him.

Rolling over, the Gunblade wielder started to drift off to sleep once more, after muttering, "You were having a nightmare or something. You were wriggling around all over the bed and moaning like someone was killing you."

A sudden flush spread over Yuffie's face at the revelation of someone overhearing her dream. Even if they did misinterpret her actions, it didn't lessen the embarrassment she was now suffering through. "Shower," she mumbled, "I gotta take a shower." She jumped out of the bed, grabbed some clothes, and locked herself in the bathroom before her roommate could question her motives. As she leaned against the door, she quietly pondered, "and I accused _him_ of having a wet dream."

She reached over into the shower and turned the hot water on all the way, giving it time to warm up before she stepped in as it always took awhile for the water to warm up in this hotel. Seeing the steam rising from the stall, she adjusted the temperature to as hot as she could bear and stepped in, allowing the searing needle-like pricks to relentlessly beat her back as she began to relax.

Throwing her head back, she let the water flow over and through her short hair before massaging her shampoo into the locks, musing about her dream and the man asleep in the bedroom as she did so. _It was a dream, Yuf. Just a product of your overactive imagination. Besides, you know he hates you. It's just a... mutual tolerance. Yes, that's what your relationship with him is. A mutual tolerance._

As the scent of her flowery shampoo filled the bathroom, she began to rinse it out and continue her silent conversation with herself. _But why did I dream it? Why would my imagination even _think_ of something like that if it's just a mutual tolerance? _The memory of his hands on her in the dream came back with a sudden rush, causing her to flush crimson once more.

Furiously grabbing the rough sea sponge, she hastily squeezed a glob of soap onto it and scrubbed her body, feeling filthy for even thinking about Leon that way. But, the more she thought of it, the more she realized that maybe he was more than what she thought. Maybe he wasn't such a heartless bastard after all. He did lose family and friends when Hollow Bastion fell, just like the rest of them. But, instead of facing the past, he hid behind the mask of Leon. Yes, Leon was the heartless one, not Squall. And she would have to pull Squall out of the shell Leon had erected around him.

A loud banging on the door brought her out of her thoughts and she quickly shut the shower off. "What?" she called angrily through the door as she grabbed her towel and began to quickly dry herself.

"Hurry up, would you? You've probably used all the hot water by now," Leon yelled as he beat on the door again, causing the door to shake and creak with the force he used.

"Alright, already." Yuffie quickly pulled her underwear on, but the beating on the door never ceased, giving her the beginnings of a headache. _Well, he can't see anything, _she reminded herself as she decided to exit the bathroom dressed only in her underwear and finish pulling her clothes on _away_ from the racket he was causing. Picking up her clothes, she pulled the door open and stared at Leon, clad only in his pants and holding his fist in the air as he was about to beat upon the door again. "How did you find the bathroom, anyways?" she questioned as she blocked the doorway.

"I followed the sounds of running water," he explained as he pushed past her, brushing against her slightly and feeling more skin than normal. "Yuffie, what are you wearing?" he asked hesitantly.

Raising her eyebrow, the ninja gave him a half-smile, knowing he couldn't see anything through his bandages. "My underwear."

"What?!" the Gunblade wielder shouted, turning around quickly to face her and glare at her through his bandages.

"Well, you were making such a racket with beating on the door that I was getting a headache. Besides," she said innocently, "it's not like you can _see_ anything."

_No, I can't see anything. But I can feel somethings and can tell that you're not a little girl anymore, _his mind screamed at her. "I don't care! Put some clothes on!" he shouted as he slammed the door in her face, pushing a hand through his hair and muttering, "It's way too early for this." Finding that Yuffie had, indeed, used all the hot water, he silently surmised that maybe it was for the better as he needed a cold shower now, anyway.

Outside the bathroom door, Yuffie chuckled softly at Leon's reaction to her current state of dress as she pulled her normal khaki shorts and green halter top on. "Men," she whispered under her breath as she shook her head. A soft knock on the door prompted her to adjust her halter top as she walked over to answer the door, finding Aerith there with a box of donuts and three styrofoam cups of coffee in her hands. "Aerith, I love," the ninja exclaimed as she snatched the breakfast from her friends and quickly pulled out a chocolate covered eclair.

"Gee, I didn't know you cared," the flower girl laughed as she watched Yuffie close her eyes after each bite of the donut. "But, I thought I might make easier for you today and bring breakfast to you and Leon so you wouldn't have to drag him through the streets." She looked around the room, brows furrowed as she said this. "Speaking of Leon, where is he?"

Mouth full, Yuffie jerked a thumb in the direction of the bathroom as she swallowed her bite. "He's taking a shower. So, what are we doing today? Any plans? Anything? Because I'm kinda going crazy here." She grabbed one of the cups and took a large drink, grimacing as the hot bitter liquid scorched her throat.

"No, I don't have any plans, Yuf. Sorry. I guess you'll just have to keep Leon entertained again today," Aerith admitted, staring at her friend and noticing the dark crescents under her bright eyes. "You look tired."

Rolling her eyes, Yuffie took another donut, taking a bite before answering her friend. "Yeah, I didn't sleep well last night." She took a seat at the small table in the room, Aerith sitting down across from her.

"Aren't you a bit old to be having nightmares, Yuffie?" the older woman teased.

The ninja shook her head in exasperation as she gave Aerith an annoyed look. "I had a really good dream last night for your information!"

A smile came across the flower girl's face and she leaned forward, her elbows on the table and her chin resting in her hands. "Really? What about?"

Yuffie's eyes widened as she tried to think of something to tell Aerith as she couldn't tell her what her dream was really about. "Um... if I tell you, than it won't come true," she finally lied.

"Fine, you don't have to tell me," Aerith pouted, turning around when she heard the bathroom door open and Leon emerged. "Good morning, Leon. I brought breakfast." She arose from the table and led Leon over to it, giving him a donut and some coffee as she did so. "Well," she began, looking at the clock on the wall, "I've got to go. You two have fun."

Still sitting at the table, Yuffie watched Leon eat his breakfast in silence, biting her lip and blushing whenever she thought about her dream. "So, Leon, what ya wanna do today?" she asked after a few minutes, unable to take the silence any longer.

"There's not really that much I can do, now is there?" he said sarcastically as he blindly reached for another donut, feeling Yuffie's hand as she pressed one into his hands.

"You don't have to bite my head off. I'm sorry for even asking," the ninja muttered in annoyance as she left the table and began to stretch her stiff muscles, doing a few back flips in the room while she was at it.

Leon let out a deep sigh as he listened to the soft grunts she made as she landed a flip. "Look, I know I'm hard to get along with and I know I'm not the happiest person in the world," he declared. "And I'm sorry that I treat you so horribly sometimes. You don't deserve it."

At his apology, Yuffie stopped mid-flip, falling to the ground in an ungraceful heap. "Um... did you just say you're sorry?" she said softly as she jumped up from the ground and approached him. "No, wait, don't tell me. I'll just pretend that you said it even if you didn't."

"Yes, Yuffie, I apologized for acting like an asshole," he admitted.

"Wow! Well, I'm... uh... sorry for acting like a brat. I know that I'm annoying and everybody hates me," she paused as she muttered "especially you" under her breath, "and I'll try to act my age more, okay?"

"I don't hate you, Yuf," Leon whispered, more to himself than to her. "And I'll try to treat you more like an adult and less like a kid."

Yuffie stared in space for a moment in a state of elation that Leon had actually apologized to her _and_ said that he would start to treat her like an adult. "Well, now that we have that out of our systems, hurry up and eat. I'm taking you shopping today."

Leon choked on his coffee at her plans. "Shopping?"

"Yes, shopping. We're going to find you a walking stick so you won't fall down anymore manholes," she explained, grinning at the look of fear that had come over his face at the word 'shopping.'

He let the breath that he had been holding out with a whoosh, relieved that Yuffie wasn't turning into another Aerith, who gave new meaning to the term 'shopaholic.' "You scared me there for a minute, Yuf."

"Aw, you don't like to shop, Leon?" she chided playfully.

"No."

* * *

"Here, Leon. Try this one," Yuffie commanded as she placed another cane into his hands, looking through the pile he had already discarded, claiming they were either too short or too long. He took a few steps with the black cane, tapping it around to feel for objects. "Well?" she asked impatiently.

He nodded, picking the cane up and running his fingers down it to feel the texture of the grain within the wood. He had to admit that since he was unable to use his eyes, his other senses were beginning to take up the slack and work overtime. "Yeah, this one will work," he finally told her.

Yuffie grabbed the walking stick from him and pulled him to the front of the shop where the cashier calmly rang up their purchase. Grumbling about what she thought was an unfair price, the ninja begrudgingly pulled out the munny gems required from her pocket and placed them on the counter. "There, ya extortionist. You ought to be ashamed of yourself, taking advantage of someone's handicap like that," she called over her shoulder as she led Leon out of the Second District shop.

Leon fumbled around in his pockets, finally finding his munny. "Here," he said as he pulled out the same amount she had paid to the shop owner. "This should cover it."

"I refuse to take your money, Squa-, er Leon," she insisted, pushing his hand back towards him. "Consider it a late birthday present since I didn't really get you anything."

"Thank you, Yuffie." Using his cane, Leon felt the ground around him before they started walking again, Yuffie still holding on to his arm to keep him going in a relatively straight line. He heard her yawn, which in turn caused him to yawn as well. "Tired?" he asked quietly.

"Yeah, I didn't get much sleep last night what with the manhole incident and the dream," she muttered as she guided him through the crowds and towards the hotel.

"What dream? The nightmare I woke you up with?"

"Um... yeah. That's the one. In fact, I think I'm going to take a nap as soon as we get back to the room," she said quickly, hoping he wouldn't ask about her dream. There was no way she was going to talk to _him_ about her dream.

Nodding, Leon let the subject drop and walked with her to the hotel room. "I think I'll take a nap, too," he said as he yawned once more as they walked into the Green Room.

"Whatever floats your boat." Yuffie shut the door behind them, pulling her shoes off immediately, then walked over to the bed and pulled the covers back, screaming as she did so.

"What?!" Leon yelled worriedly as he stumbled over to her.

A low growl escaped her throat. "Housekeeping," she hissed. "They took the extra pillows and now there's no pillow barrier and that means you'll make me sleep on the floor."

Rubbing his temples, Leon tried to sort out the situation. "Yuffie, you can still sleep on the bed if you don't mind not having the pillow barrier," he finally conceded.

"Really? You don't mind?" she asked excitedly.

"No, Yuffie, I don't mind."

"Good. And don't worry, I'll stay on my side of the bed." With that, she helped Leon to the bed, then crawled across and slid under the sheets, falling into a dreamless sleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow. Unbeknownst to her, Leon lay awake on the other side wondering why he had allowed her to still sleep on the bed.

* * *

_Author's Note: Yes, I know. I wrote this chapter really quick and got it out really quick because it was stuck in my head. I hope you like it. Review and let me know._


	6. Chapter Six: Diamond Dust

_Author's Note: Yeah, I ended up putting TNB and ATC on hold so I could write this. I didn't mean to, it just happened. This story has possessed me much like SD did._

_And I'm going to apologize. See, I meant to write this chapter a couple days ago, but I ended up borrowing my nephew's playstation and you know what that means. And then, when he took it back, I ended up buying my own and I've been "testing" it to make sure it works. And, to top matters off, I've had a temporary writer's block with everything. See, I know what I want to happen, I just can't get it out._

_You know, writer's block termites can be wondrous things, but they can also be little demons, too. This bunch of termites decided it would be fun to wake me up at six in the morning to inform me they have successfully eaten down this block._

_Note to Pingpong867: Well, most of the chapter titles come from the VL. In fact, I think I've only come up with two of the titles myself. So, I'll carry on your compliment to her._

_[Disclaimer: Still don't own 'em.]_

* * *

_Chapter Six: Diamond Dust_

Hearing and feeling her teeth chattering, Yuffie tried to curl up into an even tighter ball as she wrapped her half of the blanket around her and buried her face into it. "Damn cold spell," she muttered as her shivering only slightly subsided with her new position. Looking over her shoulder, the only proof she could see that Leon was still in the bed was the rhythmic rising and falling of the lump under the covers on that side of the bed.

In her frigid agony, Yuffie gave him an acrid glare, deeming it was unfair that he should be able to sleep comfortably while she suffered with the chilled air in the room. _Of course he's not cold, _the bitter part of her mind told her. _He has an ice cube for a heart. How much colder can he possibly get than that?_ She gently shook her head, having an internal argument with that half of her brain, reminding herself of what had happened only a week ago, the day after he had fallen into the manhole.

_Sleeping in peaceful bliss during the nap she and Leon had taken that day, Yuffie found herself rudely awakened by a rough shove and a sudden drop to the hard floor below. Her head aching from the fall, she tenderly rubbed the place on it that had bounced off of the hilt of the Gunblade peeking out from under the bed where it was being stored until Leon could safely wield it once again. "If you didn't want me up there, all you had to do was ask," she growled as she continued to lay on the floor and glare at the ceiling._

_ A low voice carried across the bed and down to her position on the floor. "How would you like to wake up and find someone's feet in your face?" Leon retorted as he rolled over to face the wall, the mattress springs creaking with his movement._

_ "So you shove me off the bed?!" she exclaimed in an incredulous tone, crossing her arms over her chest. "Besides, my feet weren't in your face. And even if they were, how would you be able to tell? You're blind, remember?"_

_ "Yes, but I still have my other senses. And believe me," he paused for a moment, "your feet stink."_

_ Indigo eyes narrowed in anger, the ninja sat up and glowered at the man on the bed. "My feet do NOT stink, Squall." She reached over his body and grabbed her pillow and the blanket, pulling them both to the floor._

_ "It's Leon and what are you doing?" he grumbled as he felt the blanket slide off him and towards Yuffie._

_ "I decided that if you're just going to push me off the bed anyway, I might as well sleep on the floor," she answered indignantly as she fluffed her pillow before laying her head upon it and pulling the blanket around her._

_Leon wrapped the remaining covers around his body, muttering, "I don't know how you got over onto that side of the bed to begin with. You _were_ sleeping next to the wall."_

_ Angrily rolling over onto her side, the ninja shut her eyes in attempt to find sleep once more, even if the floor proved to make a poor bed. "Just shut up and go back to sleep," she called up to him._

_ There was a prolonged sigh from Leon and the bed groaned in protest as he rolled over once more. "Yuffie, get on the bed."_

_ "No."_

_ "Get on the bed," he tried again._

_ "Why should I?"_

_ "Yuffie, please get on the bed," he said again, the barest hint of a pleading tone coming into his voice. "I'm sorry that I pushed you off. It just," he paused as he searched for the words to say, "surprised me to find my nose buried in your feet."_

_ Shocked at his apology, she wordlessly climbed back onto the bed, spreading the blanket across both of them before settling back down to try to go back to sleep. However, sleep did not come to her right away as her mind was still processing the fact that not only did Leon apologize, but he practically begged her to stay on the bed with him._

Another shiver wracked Yuffie's small frame, pulling her out of her reverie and back into the present time and situation, a freak cold spell in September and a frigid room. Staring at the lump she assumed was Leon, she still marveled at how different he had been since the manhole incident. He was finally treating her more like an adult, like a peer, and not a child. And she was loving every minute of it.

Unable to take the cold any longer, she carefully slid out from under the blankets and climbed off the bed, wrapping her thick terry cloth robe around her for warmth as she strode to the hall door. Stepping into the hallway, she quietly closed the door behind her as she marched down to the front desk to demand answers for the lack of heating in the building.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

As soon as Yuffie had shut the door, Leon began tossing and turning with the nightmare that had just started to assault him. A strangled moan escaped his throat as his mind played the dream like a movie, forcing him to sit through its entirety.

_ Standing in the open area of the Third District, Leon looked up from the ground to see a Defender materialize in front of him, brandishing the large shield in front of itself. Leon immediately grasped the hilt of his Gunblade and took his defensive stance, waiting for the Heartless to begin its attack._

_ At the sound of a loud metallic clanking, the Gunblade wielder spun around to find another Defender appear behind him. It was soon followed by dozens more as they slowly began to surround and close in on him. _

_ Knowing he didn't stand a chance against this many of the incredibly strong_ _and well armored Heartless, Leon began to hack a path through them, planning on fleeing to the safe haven of the First District. As the few Defenders he attacked dissipated into black clouds, Leon sprinted towards the door, about to push them open when he heard a shrill scream of terror._

_ He whirled around at the sound, only to see Yuffie in the middle of the Heartless, mercilessly throwing her shuriken as the Defenders attacked her with their various magical attacks. As Leon stood watching, an ice attack hit the ninja, knocking her to her knees. This was immediately followed by one of the Defenders flame balls, causing the girl to collapse in a heap upon the cobblestones._

_ "Yuffie!" Leon shouted as he saw the girl fall, unable to move as his feet seemed to have become rooted to the spot in front of the doors._ _Finally regaining movement of his legs, the Gunblade wielder dived into the swarm of Heartless, intent on rescuing his partner. As he brought his blade down upon the defenseless back of the Defender, darkness fell across his eyes, leaving him blind to the world around him and rendering him incapable of saving the now unconscious Yuffie._

Leon awoke with a jolt, sensing the unevenness of the bed as he became fully conscious. He lay still for a moment, listening for the sound of Yuffie's rhythmic breathing but hearing nothing from her side of the bed. Tentatively reaching out a hand, he blindly swept it across the mattress in the hopes of touching her. Finding nothing, he whispered, "Yuffie?"

There was no answer, causing a slight panic to set into his bones as the scene of her fall from his dream replayed itself in his mind's eye. "Yuffie?" he called again, a little louder this time as he set up in the bed, rubbing his arms as the cold air touched his skin. He ordered himself to calm down and wait for a few minutes, then, if she hadn't returned, to try and get Aerith's help to look for her.

The sound of the door slowly opening sent a warm wave of relief to flow over Leon's body, allowing him to relax. "Damn hotel manager," he heard Yuffie mutter to herself as she crept across the room, believing Leon to still be asleep.

"Yuffie, where were you?" the Gunblade wielder quietly demanded, feeling the mattress press down as she crawled over to her side.

"Arguing with the manager. The hotel doesn't get heat until October. From May through September, they only have air conditioning. And I happen to be freezing," she huffed angrily as she pulled the blanket tightly around her body. "I'm sorry I woke you up, Leon."

Leon rolled over to face her, feeling the covers quivering from the violent shivers racing through Yuffie as her body tried to warm itself. Slowly scooting over, he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her to him, her back resting against his chest. Sensing that she was about to protest to his actions, he silenced her with his explanation. "I'm cold, too, Yuf. And this works better than blankets," he whispered to her, feeling her body begin to relax against him.

"If you say so," she murmured as her shivering finally stopped. Closing her eyes, sleep began to overtake her, allowing her to slip into the peaceful bliss she believed Leon to have been in before she left the room.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

With Leon's arm still draped across her, Yuffie awoke as the sun came shining through the windows, washing the darkened room with its bright light. She stared down at the arm in amazement before gently pulling away and climbing out of the bed, leaving Leon asleep under the covers. Shaking her head in confusion at his actions, she picked up her clothes and headed to the bathroom for a shower in the hopes the steam would help clear her mind.

Emerging from the bathroom after her shower, she found Leon already dressed and sitting at the small table, drumming his fingers upon the surface. "You managed to find your clothes?" the ninja asked as stared at him with wide eyes. This was the first time since his injury that he had been able to find his own clothes and put them on _correctly_. He had put a few shirts on backwards, but he apparently had figured out how to find the front of them.

Leon ignored her comment, stilling his drumming fingers as he continued to sit there. "Yuffie, I want to try and fight while I'm blind. I hate being helpless and defenseless against the Heartless," he finally said softly, remembering his dream from the night before. "And you can help me."

"How can I help you?" the ninja asked confusedly, a million reasons as to why he _shouldn't _be out there fighting coming into her mind. She sat down across from him at the table, still towel drying her wet hair as she stared at him.

"You're a ninja, Yuf. Weren't you trained to fight in the darkness?"

A small chuckle escaped her throat. "Oh, yeah... I forgot. But, Leon..." she bit her lip, trying to find an excuse to keep him from fighting. Too many things could go wrong without him being able to see. "Leon, Aerith would never allow it. You know how she is."

"Aerith's not here, now is she, Yuf?" Leon inquired sarcastically, his stubborn determination setting in as he prepared to argue with the girl. "And what she doesn't know, won't hurt her."

Rolling her eyes, Yuffie let out a prolonged sigh. "I'm not going to win, am I? And no matter how many reasons I give you for not fighting, you'll come up with a dozen more for fighting, won't you?" Not waiting for an answer, she rose to her feet, throwing the towel onto the pile of dirty laundry and pulling Leon out of his chair. "Well, if we're going to do this, let's at least get something to eat first."

"No, training comes first. You know that, Yuffie," Leon reminded as she handed him his walking stick. He heard her grunt as she pulled the heavy Gunblade out from under the bed, pushing the hilt into his hand where he easily picked it up and swung it over his shoulder.

"Ah, but I'm the one leading you around, remember? Therefore," she paused as a wicked glint came into her indigo eyes, "if I want to eat first, we eat first."

Using his cane, Leon headed for the door, stepping out into the hallway. "Have you forgotten about the mental map I've made of Traverse Town this week? I can find my way around without your help just fine." To prove his point, he started down the hall and out the door, immediately jumping down to the lower level and towards the alley entrance.

"Damn it, Squall," Yuffie muttered as she reluctantly followed him, seeing that he was heading for his favorite training place: the secret waterway. Why he insisted upon training there would always remain a mystery for the ninja. There were so many better places to train, like the top floor of Merlin's house. Sure, the magician helped them with magic attacks there, but it worked well with physical attacks, too.

Looking up, she realized that she and Leon had already reached the waterway while she had been silently contemplating the matter. She grimaced as she looked at the water, seeing that it had become even greener and grosser than the last time they were there. Sensing that she was falling behind, Leon called over his shoulder, "Is something wrong?"

"Be glad you can't see," she replied as she closed her eyes and jumped in, not wanting to see the slime now covering her legs. "Grossness." Wanting to get out of the sludge, she hurriedly ran to the rocky shore where Leon was already standing, repeatedly swinging his Gunblade. "This isn't going to work, ya know."

Mentally rolling his eyes, Leon mumbled, "thank you for your optimism, Yuffie," before dropping the point of his blade into the ground and leaning on the hilt. "Just get over here and help me."

"You need something to fight, Squall. I can't just throw my stars at you, you wouldn't stand a chance," she stated pragmatically. "And once we find something for you to fight, how are you going to hit it? You can't see anything."

"First of all, my name is Leon. Secondly, go chase some Shadow Heartless in here. They're relatively harmless. And, finally, I'll be able to hear them. My hearing has gotten better since the accident." This was all said in his steady, calm monotone, the tone he used to let people know he meant business.

Shaking her head at his determination, Yuffie mumbled a few curses before returning to the water to catch some Shadows for him, hoping she wouldn't have far to go to find them. Luck was with her, she discovered, as she found a trio of Shadows hiding behind the crates at the end of the alley. Running behind them, she carefully herded them into the water and through the cavern's entrance, throwing her shuriken just to the side of them to keep them going in the right direction. "Squall, you owe me so big," she grumbled as she came into the cavern, watching as the Heartless approached him, her throwing stars at the ready in case he needed help.

She watched as he quirked his head to the side, listening to the scratchy noises the creatures as they crossed the stones and came towards him. Just as she saw one launch itself at the swordsman, Leon brought his Gunblade around in an arc and sliced through the Shadow, leaving a black cloud as it disappeared. Leon quickly dispatched the other creatures in the same manner as Yuffie looked on with eyes wide with surprise. Speechless, she slowly began to walk up to him.

Not hearing any other Heartless, Leon lowered the point of the Gunblade to the ground, his back to Yuffie. A sudden noise to his right caused him to quickly bring the blade back up and swing it around, eliciting a shrill squeal from the ninja as she barely managed to duck in time to miss the blade. "Yuffie?" Leon asked suddenly, dropping his blade to the ground.

"You tried to kill me!" the ninja shrieked as she sat in a heap upon the ground, staring at him with eyes brimming with unshed tears. "I knew you didn't like me, but I didn't realize you hated me this much," she continued, not waiting for his explanation. "And I thought we were getting along so much better now."

Dropping to his knees, the Gunblade wielder buried his face in his hands. "You startled me, Yuf," he explained. "I didn't know you were right there. I thought you were a Heartless."

"Sure, you say that now that I'm still alive," she muttered, not believing him as she scooted backwards. "You hate me!"

"Yuffie, I don't hate you." He briefly wondered if he should tell her the real reason he wished to fight the Heartless blindly, to protect her as he was unable to in his dream from the night before.

"Prove it!"

"I would if I could find your lips," he muttered softly, raising his head from his hands.

Yuffie stopped moving backwards and stared at him. "Did you just say what I think you just said?" she asked in disbelief.

"Yes. If I could see, I would kiss you. But, as I'm unable to--" He didn't get to finish his sentence as he felt her arms wrap around his neck and her warm lips press against his. Wrapping his arms around her, he held her close, deepening the kiss as she had shown him where her mouth was located.

* * *

_Author's Note: Okay... my muse has gone bye-bye. I don't know when she'll be back. I wrote this chapter museless and I don't think it's very good. But, if my muse comes back and gives me a better idea for the chapter, I'll rewrite it. I don't know when I'll update this again. It all depends on my muse. Sorry for the inconvenience. Anyways, do me a favor and review and tell me how "sucky" the chapter is._


	7. Chapter Seven: Discretion

_Author's Note: I'm sorry it has taken so long to update this story. But, well, with writer's block, another story taking me hostage, a 62 hours power outage, summer classes, and my dad's heart attack (he's better now), I haven't had much inspiration (or time) for this story. And, in fact, I'm just going to try and wing this chapter because I want to finish this story soon, like in the next few weeks or so. And I want to finish another story that I'm working on in about the same amount of time. All so I can rewrite my very first story during the last part of the summer. Yes, I'm insane. _

_Anyways, you don't want to read these author notes. You want to read the story. So, on with the show._

_[Disclaimer: I do not own anything. Not even my precious Squall. SquareEnix owns him and they have refused to give him to me.]_

* * *

_Chapter Seven: Discretion_

Leaning against the cold rock wall of the secret waterway where they trained, Yuffie looked down at the hand Leon had entwined with her own, his thumb gently massaging the top of her hand as he sat beside her. Yuffie sighed in contentment as she rested her head upon his strong shoulder, reveling in her realization that Leon did not hate her. Quite the opposite, in all actuality as his kiss had proved moments before. "So, uh... Leon, where do we go from here?" she asked nervously.

"What do you mean?" Leon questioned confusedly as he turned his head towards hers, finding his nose buried within her hair. Not that it bothered him, as he had quickly become accustomed to the scent of her orange blossom shampoo. In fact, it was a scent that he had learned to associate with the ninja, and only with her, during the past week. His enhanced senses picked up the aroma as soon as she walked in the room.

"I mean, up until a few minutes ago, I never even considered us having more than a mutual tolerance. And then, you have to turn my world upside down with that kiss." She lifted her head from his shoulder and let it loll against the stone wall behind her as she stared at the sun mural in the farthest reaches of the darkened cavern.

A low chuckle came from the blinded man as he remembered the circumstances of the kiss she was talking about. "If I remember correctly, Yuf, you kissed me," he whispered softly, moving his head so his lips were, he hoped, near her ear. "Besides, nothing's wrong with an upside down world."

Amazed that, though blinded, he could still find her ear to whisper in, Yuffie shuddered as his warm breath tickled her ear. "Well... you brought it up. I wouldn't have done it if you hadn't brought it up, so there." She stuck her tongue out at him from force of habit, forgetting that he couldn't see it.

"Yeah, but you liked it." Leon turned so his body was facing her and brought a hand up slowly, reaching out to touch her face. His hand, having found her, gently caressed a cheek as she leaned into his hand.

"How do you know that I liked it? Hm?" she inquired playfully as he continued to run his fingers along her face, as if trying to see her just from touch.

"I still have ears, Yuf. And believe me, you liked it," he answered, the sounds of her soft groan as their mouths met and the low whimper that escaped her when he pulled away still resounding in his mind. He leaned his head forward, meeting her forehead with his own. "Believe me, you liked it," he repeated, giving her one of his rare, genuine smiles that he saved for special occasions.

The sight of his face in front of her too tempting to resist, the ninja lifted her face slightly and brushed her lips chastely against his. "Okay, you win. I liked it," she murmured as their breath mingled between them. "But, you _still_ haven't answered my question. Where do we go from here?"

Pulling away from her, Leon leaned against the cavern wall once more and bit his lip, his hand still holding onto hers tightly. "I don't know," he admitted, releasing a long drawn out sigh while thinking about the possible repercussions of his actions. After all, she was still only sixteen and he had just turned twenty-five. That fact alone was enough to elicit scorn from their acquaintances. Even the normally gentle Aerith might become apprehensive considering Yuffie's age and relative inexperience with such matters. "For now, we don't tell anyone. We don't let anyone know. Not even Aerith. Understand?" Leon said firmly.

"Okay... but... um... why?" Yuffie questioned as a frown planted itself upon her usually cheerful and upbeat countenance. The once happy idea of her newly budding relationship suddenly became a burden that seemed too heavy to carry. How could she be expected to keep something like this quiet when she felt like screaming it to the whole world?

"Yuffie, I might not still see you as sixteen years old, but the rest of the world does. And I don't think they would look too kindly upon me if they knew." He raised her hand to his mouth, giving her knuckles a gentle and caressing kiss. "Not even Aerith."

Before the ninja could respond to his just argument, Leon dropped her hand and jumped to his feet, putting a finger to his mouth to signal her to be quiet. Cupping her ear, Yuffie heard the sound of soft footsteps coming from the passageway to Merlin's house. Leon dropped his head and gave Yuffie a half-smile as he recognized the footsteps to be their pink-clad friend. "Speak of the devil," he whispered.

Aerith stepped out of the passageway and into the spacious cavern, a look of confusion marring her features as she noticed Yuffie sitting against the wall and Squall standing there. Her confusion soon became worried anger as she saw the Gunblade lying on the ground and Yuffie's pouch of shuriken attached to the ninja's waist. "What have you two been doing?" she asked tiredly as she pinched the bridge of her nose.

Yuffie nearly bursted out laughing as the most immediate answer to come to mind was 'kissing,' but she quickly stifled the laughter and put on a straight face. "Leon wanted to learn to fight while blind. So, here we are." She gestured grandly around the cavern with her hands, hoping the Flower Girl wouldn't kill her for putting Leon in possible danger.

"It's okay, Aerith. We're fine and I didn't get hurt," the Gunblade wielder added to Yuffie's short explanation. "I was just tired to feeling so helpless all the time." The image of Yuffie falling helplessly to the onslaught of the Heartless from his dream of the night before came back to his mind. "I want to fight."

"I'm not going to be able to talk you out of it, am I?" Aerith asked after a moment's hesitation spent staring at the two fighters. At Yuffie's wide grin and Leon's curt 'no,' the Flower Girl shook her head in surrender and rolled her eyes. "Fine, but I can only heal so much with my magic. You both know that I can't heal broken bones. And, I apparently can't do anything for eye wounds either."

"We'll be fine, Aerith," Yuffie reassured, jumping up from her seat upon the cold, stone floor and grabbing the older girl's hand. "Now, you run along and let me and Squall train, okay?" The ninja gave her friend what she hoped was an innocent look, not immediately realizing that the name 'Squall,' instead of 'Leon,' had slipped out.

Aerith waited patiently for a moment before replying, expecting Leon's usual reprimand for the use of his given name. When it didn't come, she narrowed her bright green eyes suspiciously and eyed both of her friends. "Um... okay. I'll be leaving now," she mumbled as she walked to the water's edge, hiking her pink dress up to avoid ruining it with the green slime.

Yuffie waited a few minutes after Aerith had left her sight before she approached Leon, taking his hand in hers and turning it palm side up, tracing the lines with her finger. "Do you think we pulled it off?" she whispered in a conspiratorial tone, looking up into his face and squinting her eyes as if trying to see past the bandages that covered his icy blue pools.

"She suspects something." The tone of Aerith's voice and the brief pause she employed before answering her friend was enough for Leon to justify his statement.

Leon's simple statement caused the ninja to smile as she dropped his hand and shook her head in exasperation. "Of course she suspects something. And it's your fault," she said as she poked a finger in his chest.

"How is it my fault, pray tell?" Leon inquired as he grabbed the offending finger that still poked his chest.

"I called you Squall and you didn't correct me. You _always_ correct me." Before he could answer, Yuffie grabbed his arm, wrapping both hands around it and pulled him towards the cavern entrance. "Anyways, it's kinda cold in here. Let's go for a walk or something. Anything. _Please?"_

"Alright, alright. Just hand me the Gunblade first," he told her, feeling her release his arm and place the hilt of his weapon within his outstretched hand. "We'll go on a walk, okay?" Instead of answering, the ninja latched onto his arm again. The sudden noise of the growling of her stomach reminded Leon of their skipped breakfast, prompting him to ask, "or lunch? How about some lunch?"

Giggling, Yuffie clutched her stomach with one hand as they began to walk through the green water. "You read my mind, er.. stomach. Hm... your hearing really has improved."

"Yuffie, your stomach was growling loud enough for deaf man to hear."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

"It's not funny, Yuffie," Leon growled good-naturedly for what seemed, to him, to be at least the fifteenth time in the last ten minutes. As they left the café, he brushed at the glob of ketchup he felt upon his shirt with the paper napkin he had swiped on the way out.

Walking behind him, the ninja kept biting the inside of her cheek in an attempt to stop the laughter that threatened to bubble out. "But it is funny, Leon. I mean, come on!" she exclaimed, reaching for his hand to guide him safely out the doors and away from the pole he nearly hit. "You're always so meticulous when you eat. And now..." she trailed off as another laugh trickled out her throat.

Leon dropped the soiled napkin on the ground, not caring that he was littering. "Just take me back to the hotel so I can change shirts, alright?" Right at this moment, he wished dearly for the walking stick Yuffie had purchased him only a week before. However, the ninja had brought up a valid point about it's usage: if he didn't have it with him, she had a good excuse to hold his hand. After all, he was blind and no one wanted their beloved Gunblade wielder to go around falling into holes, she pointed out.

"Okay, okay. To the hotel." Yuffie pulled him to the left, forcing him to walk up the stairs in front of Cid's Accessory Shop. "Too bad Cid's not here to see this," she muttered half to herself as she remembered that the shop owner had taken his Gummi ship to Hollow Bastion, to check on Sora. That was two weeks ago, before Leon's accident with the Red Nocturne.

"I really don't think he would be able to help me, Yuf," Leon grumbled as he felt the girl pull him across the cobblestone and into the alleyway behind the pilot's shop.

"I know, but he would get a kick out of it." Remembering the once open manhole where Leon had fallen, Yuffie treaded carefully with the Gunblade wielder in tow, keeping her eyes open for any other obstacles that might hamper their return trip to the hotel.

Feeling the darkness of the alley creep over his skin and not sensing anyone else in the area, Leon guided Yuffie to the brick wall, pressing her against the rough, cool surface. "Are we alone?" he finally asked, deciding it might be best if someone who could actually see confirmed his suspicions.

Yuffie scarcely uttered the word 'yes' before Leon leaned down, kissing first her forehead then her nose on his blind quest for her lips. Helping him along, she gently tilted her face upwards to give him better access to her mouth while one of her hands wrapped itself around his neck and the other rested on his chest, covering the offensive ketchup stain.

A sudden crash to Yuffie's left caused the two to break away, apprehension written on both their faces. The ninja slowly drew her arm from around Leon's neck as he backed away, both of them looking towards the crate which had tumbled from atop the stack. "Hello?" Yuffie called quietly as she walked to the fallen wooden crate, one hand holding onto Leon's as he walked behind her.

As they neared the crate, Leon's ears picked up the sound of a low growl and he quickly pulled Yuffie back to him. "Didn't you hear that?" he whispered she stumbled backwards and fell against his chest.

"Hear what?" she asked softly in confusion as she lifted her head to gaze at him.

"Something growled." Feeling her trying to pull away in order to check the disturbance, Leon wrapped an arm around her waist, effectively holding her in place. "Where do you think you're going? It could be dangerous!"

"Squall, I have to see what it was," the ninja explained in exasperation as she pried his arm from around her. "And I have shuriken, so don't worry." Not giving him a chance to object, Yuffie quickly and quietly started for the crate again, this time with her hand at the ready to grab shuriken if the situation called for it.

Leon slowly took a few steps forward, dragging his feet to watch out for obstacles and reaching his arm out blindly in front of him to grab the ninja. "Yuffie, wait," he rasped as he shuffled a few more steps in the dark alley.

Yuffie, having reached the crate, rolled her eyes and laughed when she saw what it was they were so afraid of. Behind the large wooden box sat a black cat, his eyes glowing bright yellow in the darkened alley. And on the ground in front of him, between his paws, to be exact, lay a wounded dove helplessly flapping its wings in an attempt to escape its captor. "Squall, it's a cat and a bird," she loudly called as she shooed the feline away from the wounded bird.

"We were scared of a damn cat and bird?" the Gunblade wielder mumbled in disbelief as he stopped trying to reach Yuffie. "You've got to be kidding me."

"No, it's a cat and bird. Well, it was a cat and bird. Now it's just a bird." Yuffie bent over and carefully picked the snowy dove up in her hands, cradling it to her chest as she walked back towards Leon. Examining it, she noticed that its tail feathers were missing, probably lying on the ground near where the cat had been. "And it's hurt, Squall."

"It's Leon," he said as he heard her near him.

"Sure, you correct me now, but you couldn't when Aerith was around," Yuffie grumbled as she tried to adjust her hold on the bird so she could both carry it and take Leon's hand to guide him back to the hotel. Finding that task to be impossible, she came up with another idea. "Leon, put your hand on my shoulder or something."

"Why?" Leon questioned as he reached out and found the ninja's shoulder as she walked beneath his hand. Firmly grasping it, he followed her as she slowly made her way down the alley and towards what he hoped was the hotel.

"Because, I have the dove in my arms," she replied matter of factly, as though it were the obvious answer and that Leon, though blinded, should know exactly why she couldn't hold his hand.

Inwardly groaning, Leon threw his head back. "Yuffie, the hotel has a 'no pets' policy, remember?"

Yuffie abruptly stopped walking, causing the man behind her to bump into her back and nearly knock her down. She turned around to face him, the dove cooing in her arms and trying to get away. "I know that. But, he's hurt and we can't just leave him to die out here."

"Yuffie, it's the circle of life. The survival of the fittest. The weak fall to the stronger. It's nature."

Grinding her teeth together in annoyance, the ninja rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Yes, I know all that. But, sometimes the stronger help the weaker. And sometimes the 'fittest' become the not so 'fittest.' I mean, when you were blinded, I didn't just leave you there, saying, 'it's the circle of life, survival of the fittest,' now did I?"

Leon lowered his head and sighed in defeat, realizing how true the girl's words were. "Okay, you win. But, we'll have to hide the dove from the hotel manager. You know how much he likes to stick to the rules."

Grinning because she actually won an argument against Leon, Yuffie stood on tip-toe to give him a peck on the cheek before starting back for the hotel after instructing her partner to place his hand upon her shoulder again. "Don't worry, Leon. Yoshi won't make a peep," she told him in reassurance.

"Yoshi?"

"Yeah, that's the dove's name."

* * *

_Author's Note: Well, there ya have it. Actually, I didn't plan on the dove thing. It just kinda happened. Anyways, review the chapter for me and I'll try to have another out in a few days. _


	8. Chapter Eight: Are They?

_Author's Note: Okay, here I go, writing this chapter with no clear idea of what's going to happen in it._

_A quick advertisement: Pingpong867 has started a Squffie community at __www.livejournal.com__ So far, there are few members and conversation mainly consists of me acting like a rambling idiot. And there is going to be a scene writing competition starting July 1st. So, if you're interested, just go to livejournal.com and then search for 'squffie' as a community. _

_Note to ObsidianSorrows: Yeah, when I named the dove Yoshi, I immediately thought about Mario Bros. I liked the movie version best. It was awesome... Okay... I'm a geek._

_[Disclaimer: Do you really need this? I don't own 'em. I own Yoshi. I think that is all the I own. However, in my dreams, Squall belongs to me, and only to me.]_

* * *

_Chapter Eight: Are They...?_

"Aerith?" Yuffie called sweetly through the connecting door between the Red and Green Rooms, gently rapping her knuckles against the hard surface as she did so. The dove she had named Yoshi rested in Squall's hands, who, in turn, rested upon the bed with his back reclining against the headboard. At the sound of soft shuffling footsteps on the other side of the door, Yuffie backed away, a wide grin on her face as Aerith opened the door.

"What is it, Yuffie?" the Flower Girl asked hesitantly, recognizing the grin upon the ninja's face as the same one she used when she wanted a favor. Usually a favor that no one else wanted to do. Before Yuffie had a chance to answer, Aerith's eyes trailed across the room to the bed, falling upon the wounded bird that was quivering in fear as the Gunblade wielder kept a gentle, yet firm grip upon it. Aerith immediately crossed the room to the bed, her eyes narrowing slightly as she neared and looked over the dove. "Okay, Yuf, where did you find it?"

Yuffie bounded across the room and plopped down upon the mattress next to Squall, taking Yoshi carefully out of his hands and holding him out to Aerith. "He was in the alley and a cat was attacking him. Do you think you can heal him?"

At the hopeful expression on the young ninja's face, Aerith bit her lip as she realized that the main injury the bird had suffered was the loss of it's tail feathers, something magic could not heal. "I don't know," she admitted quietly. "Here, let me see him."

Squall rested his head against the headboard, listening silently to the conversation between the two young women. The lilting rise and fall of the ninja's voice spread a tranquil blanket across him, oddly giving his mind a peace that it hadn't felt in years. It was amazing how the one person in his acquaintance that he normally associated the least with peace was able to do this to him. At the sound of his name, Squall jerked his head up and came out of the reverie he had fallen into. "Hm?"

"I asked if you knew where you put the box your boots came in," Yuffie repeated in fond exasperation as she rolled her eyes, the dove she had taken back from Aerith beginning to struggle in her hands. "Well?"

As Squall tried to recall where he had stored the large box, he felt the eyes of both young women upon him. "Didn't you insist that I put it in the closet, Yuf?" he asked, the closet being the only place he could think of to keep something in this small room.

"Maybe I did," Yuffie said thoughtfully as she looked over at the closed closet with narrowed eyes. "Here, hold Yoshi." She thrust the bird into Squall's hands before crossing the room and pulling open the closet door, immediately beginning to rummage through the things they had accumulated, most of it being his as she had only moved into the room about a week ago.

While Yuffie was busy with the closet, Aerith began to unwrap Squall's bandages from his head, intent on medicating his eyes while she was there. "So, can you see anything yet? Anything at all?" she questioned when the last bandage fell away from his eyes.

"I can only see the difference between light and dark and that's it," Squall muttered as his icy blue eyes darted around the room in an attempt to recognize some shape. "And a few blurry shapes," he added as he noticed the movement of what he assumed to be the flower girl as she moved to put herself in a position to place the eye drops.

Aerith let out a soft sigh as she firmly held Squall's eye open and dropped the medicine into it. "Well, that's an improvement," she finally said as she turned her attention to the other eye, glad that the Gunblade wielder had quickly learned to control his squirming when she tended to his eyes.

Across the room, a very annoyed ninja picked her way through the junk, as she called it, Squall had packed away in the closet. Seeing no other way to find an empty box within the clutter, she began pulling out everything from the closet, including the boxes of books and photo albums in the dark recesses of the small closet. "Squall, how did you ever get this much junk?" she called from her kneeling position on the floor.

"It's Leon and it's not junk," he called back, remembering this time to correct her as he always did when she called him Squall. As Aerith finished wrapping the bandage around his eyes, he rose from the bed and carefully walked across the room, dragging his feet slightly to feel for obstacles.

Aerith calmly packed up the extra bandages and small bottle of eye drops, looking over at her two friends and smiling slightly. It was nice to see them actually getting along and not bickering over something trivial as they were wont to do. In fact, it seemed to her they were getting along a little too well as she had detected some fondness in the way Squall had corrected her name mistake. The flower girl eyed them suspiciously as she watched Yuffie tease Squall about being a packrat, to which he actually smiled. "Okay, you two. What's going on?" Aerith demanded as she stood with her hands on her hips and glared at them.

"What do you mean?" Yuffie asked, slight confusion crossing her face as she stared back at the pink clad woman. The ninja suspected she knew what her friend was talking about, but she didn't want to give anything away in case she was wrong.

"What do you mean 'what do I mean'?" the flower girl retorted. "You two are getting along way too well. Something is up and I demand that you tell me what's going on." At the end of her speech, she let out a little huff of anger at the fact that her friends were hiding something from her.

"Aerith," Squall began, shifting the struggling bird in his hands as he arose turned to face her. "Nothing is going on. Just because we're not fighting doesn't mean that something is wrong. We've just finally reached a compromise, haven't we, Yuffie?"

Yuffie jumped to her feet, taking the dove away from Squall before the man dropped it. "Yeah, a compromise. That's it. I decided to grow up and _Leon_ decided to loosen up a bit since you _are_ forcing us to share a room."

"And a bed," Squall muttered under his breath.

Green eyes widening at an alarming rate, Aerith gasped and covered her gaping mouth with one hand. "You're _what?!_" she hissed as she continued to gape at the two in front of her.

Yuffie narrowed her eyes momentarily, perplexed with the flower girl's reaction until she realized the implications Squall's statement had made. "Oh gawd!" she exclaimed, covering her eyes with one hand and blushing slightly. "Not like _that_, Aerith!"

Squall sighed and rubbed a hand down his face before attempting to elaborate the situation to the flower girl. "She doesn't have a cot, Aerith. It was either share the bed or listen to her complain about sleeping on the floor. Which would _you_ have picked?" The bandages across his eyes prevented him from seeing the icy indignant glare his roommate cast his way at the implied insult.

A squawk from Yoshi let Yuffie know she had squeezed him a little too hard in her anxiety at Aerith's implication and indignation at Squall's hidden insult. Taking a deep breath, the ninja calmed herself, loosening her grip on the dove and stroking his head as she planned how she would deal with the Gunblade wielder later.

"Okay, I see your point, Leon," Aerith admitted after thinking it over for a few minutes, shaking her head and laughing at the thought of Leon and Yuffie ever getting over their differences enough to actually become more than friends. "It was just... strange, for lack of a better word, seeing the two of you getting along so well and then Leon had to say that..." She tiredly rubbed her forehead as she looked at the clock. "But, anyways, my lunch break is almost over and they need me back at the infirmary."

As soon as the brunette left the room, Squall heard the sound of Yuffie hurriedly walking across the room to his side. About to turn to her, he felt a small fist punch him in the shoulder, causing him to let out a sharp hiss of pain. "Damn it, Yuffie! What was that for?!" he exclaimed as he rubbed the quickly forming bruise, wondering when she had become so strong.

Having set Yoshi down on the small table, the ninja massaged her aching knuckles, wincing at the pain. "Well, let's see. You told her you had to share the bed or listen to me complain, didn't you? If I remember correctly, I offered to sleep on the floor. But, noooo, you insisted that I sleep on the bed. Remember?" She waved her finger in his face as she continued to rant about his stubbornness in the sharing of the bed.

Squall, having felt her finger brush against his nose, reached up and grabbed her wrist, pulling it down away from his face. "Yuffie, will you shut up for a minute and listen to me?" he demanded as he realized she wasn't going to get quiet any time soon.

"What?" She tried to wrench her hand away from him only to find his grip tighten upon it, tighten almost bruisingly, in fact. A soft whimper left her lips at the pain as his fingers dug into her flesh.

Hearing her pained tone, he loosened the his grip and began to soothingly massage her flesh to make up for the pain he had given her. "I was trying to throw her off track. Remember? We don't want her to find out until we're ready to tell her."

"Okay, okay... you win. I forgive you," Yuffie conceded, raising herself on tiptoe to softly kiss his lips, her free hand snaking around his neck and burying itself within his thick mane. Leaning back, she smiled at him before grabbing a handful of his hair and yanking on it, causing him to wince. "But, if you ever insult me again, you will be sorry. Got it?"

"Yes, ma'am," Squall muttered, face relaxing as she released her hold upon his hair. As she began to pull away, he started to drop her wrist, but stopped when he felt her fingers entwined with his own, leading him across the room and toward the bed. "Yuffie, what are you doing?"

"Taking you to the bed," she stated matter of factly, flashing him a devious grin that she wished he could see. But, the look on his face at her answer was priceless. His expression sported a mixture of shock and confusion, a look that made her silently laugh as she rolled her eyes.

Squall stopped walking, resisting her insistent tugging on his arm as she tried to continue to pull him to the bed. "Yuffie, _why_ are you taking me to the bed?"

"You'll see," she murmured softly, giving his arm a quick yank to make him start moving once again. As he neared the bed, she got behind him and pushed him onto the bed, where he landed with an 'oohf' on his stomach. He quickly rolled over and sat up, leaning back against the headboard. "Now, wait right there and you'll get a big surprise," she said as she walked away from him.

Once again, Squall wished for his vision, just so he could see what the ninja had up her sleeve. Usually, one could tell exactly what was going through Yuffie's mind just by seeing the expression on her face, making it almost impossible for the girl to keep a secret a secret for long. Running through her words again, he carefully analyzed the inflection she had used with each statement, beginning to sense a hint of seductiveness in her last words. Surely she couldn't be thinking...

His train of thought was interrupted by the ninja herself, who had managed to sneak up on him unawares as he had been engrossed in his thoughts. She trailed a finger down his cheek, stopping it at his lips momentarily before moving it to his shoulder to steady herself as she leaned down to whisper in his ear. "Ready for your surprise?"

"Um... Yuffie..." Squall gulped, "I don't think this is such a good idea..."

"Sure it is, Squall. I want this, and I'm sure you will, too, once you get it."

"Really, Yuffie..." He stopped protesting when he felt a small, warm, feathered body placed onto his lap, his hands automatically going to it to keep the bird from hopping away.

Yuffie burst out in laughter, scaring even more the already frightened Yoshi. "You are so much fun to toy with Squall. You know that, don't you?" She sat on the edge of the bed, subconsciously placing her hand upon his knee as she tried to keep her giggles in check. "You should have seen the expression on your face. It was priceless."

"Why am I holding the bird anyways?" he asked, ignoring her comments and concentrating on the bird in his hand.

"Because, I couldn't find an empty box and I need you to keep him out of trouble while I run down to the Item Shop and get one from the ducklings. They _always_ have boxes stored around there." Standing up, she playfully ruffled his hair before quickly crossing the room to the balcony. "So, have fun," she called cheerfully as she jumped off the balcony and to the alley below.

Taking a deep breath and slowly letting it out, Squall threw his head back against the wall, wincing at the dull pain it caused on the back of his skull. "Yoshi, I honestly believe the girl is insane," he muttered, stroking the smooth feathers of the dove, which seemed to have begun to accept its situation and become considerably calmer than it had been earlier. "But, she wouldn't be the Yuffie we know and love without it, would she?"

As if seconding the Gunblade wielder's assessment, Yoshi let out a soft coo before ruffling his feathers.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

The bell above the door jingled as the young ninja walked into the Item Shop, jumping off the platform and onto the floor below. "Hey, Huey? Dewey? Louie?" she called as she approached the counter, eyes searching the room for any sign of the three ducklings. "Hello?" Not seeing anyone and being in a rush, Yuffie looked impatiently around the room, her eyes falling on an empty box in the corner. Smiling to herself, she strode over to it and grabbed it, heading for the exit so she could relieve Squall of his bird-sitting duties.

"Hold it right there, Yuffie," a voice called from behind the counter. She turned around to find three pairs of eyes boring into her as the ducklings jumped up onto the counter and glared at her. "We knew we'd catch you stealing again, didn't we boys?"

The other two ducklings quickly seconded the first while Yuffie rolled her eyes. "Huey, I'm just taking an empty box. I don't think that counts as stealing, now does it?"

"Does it belong to you?" the first duckling asked angrily, shaking his fist at the ninja. "And I'm not Huey! I'm Louie!"

Yuffie sat the box upon the floor and leaned against the wall, massaging her temples with the tips of her fingers. She couldn't really care less which duckling it was as she had never taken the time to tell the triplets apart. "Look, guys, I need this box, okay? Squa-er, Leon and I found a wounded bird this morning and we need _something_ to keep it in until it gets well." She stared at the three boys, trying to make her eyes large and watery like Aerith did when she wanted something. "So, can I have the box? Please?"

"No," the duckling dressed in blue said firmly, stalking over to her and taking the box away. "We need this box to ship some items."

"But, we do have something else you can _buy_ from us," the red-clad duckling stated, greedily rubbing his wings together in the anticipation of finally selling the stupid thing. "We have a birdcage over there."

The ninja followed his pointing wing with her eyes, seeing a large, rusty cage sitting haphazardly upon a stack of boxes. "That thing?" she muttered, grimacing at the sight of all the rust and bent wires. The boys nodded. "How much?" she finally asked, deciding that she had to have something to keep Yoshi in and a birdcage would work a lot better than a cardboard box.

The three boys huddled up, whispering to each other as they discussed the price. The one dressed in green kept peeking over his shoulder, sneaking glances at the ninja before going back to the furious whispering of his brothers. "One hundred munny," they finally announced, all three of them crossing their arms over their chests in a no-nonsense manner. "And that's final."

"A hundred? For that old thing?" Yuffie repeated incredulously, her hands on her hips as she silently debated the matter. "Fine, I'll take it." She hastily reached into her pockets and pulled out the required munny, throwing it onto the counter as she stalked over to the cage. "It better not break, or I'll be back for my refund." Picking up the cage, she quickly left the shop, leaving the ducklings to laugh about how easy it had been to sell her that piece of junk.

Yuffie walked through the First and Second Districts on her way back to the hotel, assuming it would be near impossible to jump up onto the balcony with that monstrosity of a birdcage with her. Reaching the hotel door, she pushed through with her back and quickly marched down the hall to the Green Room, setting the cage upon the floor as she opened the door. She walked through, leaving the door open behind her since her hands were full with the cage she had picked up again.

A smile came across her face as she looked at the scene in front of her. On the bed, Squall still sat as she had left him, leaning against the headboard. However, his head was tilted to the side and his lips were parted slightly as he softly snored. And, still in his lap, Yoshi had his head tucked beneath one of his snowy wings.

She placed the cage beneath the window and grabbed the morning's paper to line the bottom of it. That finished, she quietly tiptoed over to the sleeping Squall and carefully took the bird out of his hands to place in the cage. "There ya go, Yoshi," she whispered as she shut the cage door and went back to the bed where she straddled Squall's lap. "Squall, Squall, Squall, how can you be asleep?" she murmured softly, pushing the hair out of his face before lowering herself to lean against his chest, her head resting on his shoulder and her head turned towards the balcony window.

"Who says I'm asleep?" he inquired softly as he wrapped his arms around her, his hands resting on her lower back, right above the waistband of her shorts.

"Well, you _were_ asleep. I heard you snoring." Yuffie raised her arms and wrapped them around his neck, still lying against his chest.

"I don't snore."

"How would you know if you were asleep, hm?" When he didn't answer, the ninja laughed softly, shaking her head and tossing her hair out of her eyes. She snuggled deeper into his arms, letting out a content sigh as she did do. "This is nice," she murmured sleepily, her eyes slowly closing.

A loud gasp caused the ninja to open her eyes and quickly jump up, turning around to find the door still open and a very shocked Aerith to be standing in the doorway, her purse on the floor beside her feet with its contents spilling out onto the carpeting.

* * *

_Author's Note: hehe... Bad Deplora! ::slaps wrist:: Bad Deplora for leaving it right there! Well, I have no idea where most of this chapter came from. It just kinda appeared. And I know that really it's a pointless chapter, but it was the only thing I could come up with. So, I apologize for the utter pointlessness of it. But, please, I'm in desperate need of reviews. You see, I have an addiction. An addiction to reviews. So, please, by all means, feed this addiction. And I'll try to get started on the next chapter right away, but no promises for when it'll come out. _


	9. Chapter Nine: As a Woman

_Author's Note: Thanks to the VL, I actually know what I'm going to do in this chapter BEFORE I write it. _

_Note to Ezri-Candy: You do realize, don't you, that with Squall over here, I'll be getting less writing done? I mean, I'll be busy with... other things... as long as he's here. ::wink, wink:: But, thank you VERY much for sending him over here. I'll just have to control myself and write this chapter before I pay him too much attention. _

_[Disclaimer: I do not own them. Although, I do wish that I could keep Squall for my very own. At least Ezri-Candy has told me that I can keep him until this story is finished. Therefore, this story may never be finished. That way, I can keep him forever and ever and ever ::cough, cough:: hehe... sorry about that. Oh, and I'm borrowing a quick little idea from the movie My Girl. If you've seen it, you'll recognize it. If you haven't seen it, don't worry about it.]_

* * *

_Chapter Nine: As A Woman..._

Aerith continued to stand in the doorway, her mouth agape and her eyes wide as she stared at the scene in front of her, a scene she had not even dreamt was possible. Yuffie still sat on Leon's lap, albeit she wasn't lying against his chest anymore. No, she had jumped up from there when she had heard Aerith's shocked gasp. But, Leon's hands still rested on the small of the ninja's back. Actually, right below the small of her back, as if they were creeping slowly downwards, Aerith immediately noted, a scowl coming across her face.

"Aerith, what are you doing here?" Yuffie asked confusedly and guiltily as she scrambled off of the Gunblade wielder and jumped onto the floor, a crimson blush coming across her cheeks. The ninja bit her lip and tried to stare innocently into the flower girl's eyes, only to find herself unable to meet her gaze and turned her eyes instead to the carpeted floor.

"I could ask you the same thing, Yuffie Kisaragi," Aerith uttered in a low growl, scaring both Leon and Yuffie with her tone of voice. Over the years, they had discovered that it was only with great difficulty you could anger the gentle flower girl, but when you did, she was more dangerous than a pregnant Wyvern. "And, you, Squall Leonhart, what do you think you're doing? Hm?"

Yuffie's indigo eyes filled with indignation as she snapped them back up from the floor to meet her friend's brilliant green orbs which nearly glowed with barely suppressed anger. "Aerith, you have no right to come barging in here like that. Haven't you ever heard of knocking?"

"Yuffie does have a point, Aerith," Squall added as he sat up on the bed, swinging his legs over the edge and resting his hands on his knees. Even without his vision, he could tell that the normally compassionate Aerith had disappeared, only to leave a woman seething with waves of anger that he could almost physically feel in the air.

"I would have knocked, _if the door had been shut_!" Aerith's voice seemed to have reached an octave higher than ever before as the shrill scream pierced Yuffie's and Squall's ears. "But it's a good thing I didn't, because then who knows what would have been going on in here." She marched across the room to the table where she leaned against the oaken surface and glared at the two roommates.

Faltering under the green gaze, the ninja plopped onto the edge of the bed next to Squall with her head in her hands and her elbows resting on her knees. "Geez Aerith, you're acting like we've committed a crime or something," Yuffie muttered, raising her eyes to meet the slightly older woman's.

Deciding it might be best if he tried to remedy matters, Squall began to speak in low and, hopefully, soothing tones to the flower girl. "Aerith, you're obviously surprised. And I can understand that. But, the fact of the matter remains that there is a relationship between Yuffie and I now." As he was speaking, his right hand had made its way over to Yuffie's knee, which it gently squeezed before coming to rest atop it.

By now, Aerith was fairly vibrating with a suppressed rage she herself didn't even know she had. Deep down, she knew she should be happy that her friends had found someone to make them happy, even if it were each other. But, the more rational side of her deemed a relationship with a nine year age gap as too much, especially considering the fact that one of them was still considered a child. "Yuffie, go to my room," she commanded, pointing in the direction of the Red Room. "And stay in there until I have a chance to talk with you."

"What? Am I grounded now?" the teenager whined as she arose from her seat, leaning over to give Squall a kiss on the cheek before she left. A kiss which only caused the poor flower girl more grief as a fresh surge of emotions shot through her. Yuffie started for the doorway, hurrying when she saw Aerith's eyes narrow in anger.

Green eyes followed Yuffie out of the room before turning on the blinded man on the bed in a wrathful stare when the connecting door closed. "Squall Leonhart, you have some explaining to do," she seethed in a deadly hiss.

With a calloused hand, Squall pushed his hair back from his face as frown lines set themselves in his forehead. "About what, Aerith?" he finally asked. "About Yuffie and I?"

"Yes, about Yuffie and you. What in the blazing hell do you think you're doing?" she nearly screamed as she quickly approached him, stopping only inches from him. She lowered herself down to what would be his eye level if his eyes weren't covered by the white gauze. "Damn it, Leon! She's only sixteen years old!"

The curse word Aerith let slip from her tongue caused the Gunblade wielder to visibly flinch. When Aerith began cursing, the next thing you would expect to see would be demons on ice and pigs flying by your window. "You don't think I know that?!"

"Then why are you doing this?! I thought you had more sense than this, Leon. But, apparently I was wrong." Aerith backed away from the man and began to pace the room, her long chestnut braid swishing angrily each time she spun on her heel to turn. The lingering silence from Leon caused her agitation with the situation to grow even larger, if that were possible. "Answer me!"

Leon released a prolonged sigh as he rubbed a hand down his face, trying to think of a way to make Aerith understand the situation. "I know that she's sixteen physically, Aerith. But, since I'm deprived of my vision, I can't see her. I have to rely on my other senses. And if you just listen to her, you can discover that mentally, she's closer to our age than to her real age. She just hides it behind her facade."

Aerith stopped her relentless pacing and gingerly massaged her aching temples, trying to stave off the migraine that threatened to overtake her. "This morning, in the waterway, what exactly were you two doing?" she questioned suddenly, remembering how she had found them both down there, the seemingly innocent expression Yuffie had thrown on... perhaps, too innocent.

"We told you. I wanted to fight so Yuffie was helping me." He tiredly threw himself back on the bed, letting his legs hang off the edge and rested his arm across his stomach. "Come on, Aerith. It could be worse, you know. It could be her and Sora," he tossed out, hoping his lighthearted statement would calm the pink obsessed girl.

"At least he's closer to her age," the woman snapped, her head quickly turning to glare at the man lying nonchalantly on the bed. "Now, if you excuse me, I'm going to go have a talk with Yuffie." She hastily picked up her skirt and marched across the room to the connecting doorway, quickly stepping through and closing it with a crashing slam.

After the resounding echo of the slamming door receded, Squall got up off the bed and blindly walked towards the window, his foot softly kicking an obstacle he hadn't known was under the window. He bent down and ran his fingers along it, feeling the rusted wires of the bird cage Yuffie had brought in earlier. A soft pecking at his fingers and a gentle 'coo' let him know that Yoshi was, indeed, inside the cage.

"Well, Yoshi," Squall muttered as he placed his hands on the windowsill and leaned his head out the window, "that went better than expected. At least we're still in one piece." A few muffled cries and frustrated screams from the Red Room caused him to turn his head and attach an amendment to his statement. "For now, anyways."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

In the Red Room, Aerith found Yuffie busily cleaning her shuriken with the hem of a pink shirt, a pink shirt Yuffie had pulled out of the flower girl's closet. The ninja looked up when she heard the door slam, a nervous laugh escaping her lips as she noticed Aerith staring at the shirt in her hands. Yuffie quickly hid it behind her back. "Aerith, I didn't think you'd be in here so soon," she mumbled guiltily.

Aerith rolled her eyes before tiredly rubbing them. "Yuffie, what are you doing?" she asked quietly as walked over to the teenager and wrenched the shirt from her hands, eyeing the black stains caused by the Heartless blood with disgust before throwing it into the hamper.

"Uh... polishing my stars?" Yuffie said confusedly, wondering if maybe Aerith was going blind or something if she couldn't tell by looking.

"I know that. I'm talking about what are you doing with Leon?" the flower girl repeated, making it more clear what it was she was asking this time. She crossed the room and sat on the edge of her bed, patting the mattress beside her.

Yuffie slowly and cautiously seated herself next to Aerith, afraid she might turn on her at any moment. "Oh... Squall and me... well, shouldn't it be obvious?" She watched as Aerith stood back up from her seat on the bed and began nervously pacing in front of her.

"You do realize that there is a nine year age gap, don't you?" her pink clad friend questioned suddenly, turning her head to look at the teenager with worried eyes.

"No, Aerith. The whole nine years difference just slipped my mind," Yuffie retorted sarcastically, rolling her eyes as she threw her head back in frustration. "Of course I know that. I'm not stupid. But, if I don't care and he doesn't care, why should you?"

"Because I'm worried about you, damn it!" Aerith snapped suddenly as she stopped her pacing and glared at the girl in front of her, the girl she had practically raised while she was still a child herself. "Yuffie, believe it or not, I want you both to be happy. I'm just... distressed about this whole thing because he's so much older."

Yuffie sighed loudly before grabbing a pillow from the bed and covering her mouth with it to muffle the high-pitched scream of frustration she let out. "Aerith, I'll be fine. He'll be fine. Just chill the maternal instincts, okay? Good grief! You'd think I was your child or something."

"Fine. Since I can't talk either of you out of it, you're going to have to sit through 'the talk.' I think it's about time you had it." As she said this, Aerith dragged the lone wooden chair in the over to the side of the bed, where she could sit directly in front of the protesting Yuffie.

Groaning, the ninja shook her head before falling backwards onto the mattress. "Aerith, I had this talk four years ago, remember?" she protested as she herself remembered the embarrassing circumstances of the talk.

_Coming out of the small bathroom in the Red Room, a twelve year old Yuffie leaned against the wall as she slid down to the floor, wrapping her arms around her shaking knees. She lowered her head onto her knees and let the few tears in her eyes fall upon the constantly scabbed over skin. A knock on the door caused her to jolt before calling out weakly to the visitor. "Come in."_

_ A twenty-one year old Leon entered the room, his brows furrowed as he looked around the room and was unable to see anyone. Finally looking over at the corner, he noticed the young ninja on the ground, her eyes red rimmed as she glanced up at him. "Yuffie," he said gently, "what's wrong? Where's Aerith?"_

_ Yuffie chewed on her lower lip, looking down at the ground and avoiding his eyes. "I don't know where Aerith is," she finally admitted, not noticing that he was standing right above her. As she lifted her eyes, a deluge of tears spilled their dams and she broke down into a heaving mass of sobs._

_ Confused by her tears, as the child normally never shed tears in front of others, the Gunblade wielder kneeled in front of her and pulled her into a gentle hug. "Hey, what's wrong, Yuf? Come on, you can tell me," he coaxed in his most gentle_ _voice._

_ "I'm dying," she wailed, wrapping her arms around his neck in a vise-like grip. "And Aerith isn't here to heal me." More sobs wracked her tiny frame as Leon soothingly rubbed her back in an attempt to calm her down._

_ "Why do you think you're dying?" he asked softly, trying to make sense of the situation and find a way to calm the girl's fears._

_ Yuffie sniffled loudly as she pulled away from him and wiped her nose with the back of her hand._ _"I think I'm bleeding internally or have cancer or something."_

_ "Why do you think that Yuffie?"_

_ "Because there was blood in the toilet."_

_ A bright red blush came across Leon's face and he tried to stifle the deep laughter that threatened to rumble up from his chest. "Yuffie, you aren't dying," he finally told her after he managed to control his laughter. "Um... you just wait here and I'll go find Aerith for you. I think there are some things she needs to talk to you about." _

_ As he stood up to leave, Yuffie grabbed his hand before he could go anywhere. "Are you sure I'm not dying?" she asked apprehensively, her eyes wide with both hope and fear._

_ "I'm positive," he reaffirmed, playfully ruffling her mop of short, unruly black hair. "Just wait here until I find Aerith for you."_

_ "Okay, Squall."_

_ "It's Leon."_

The sound of Aerith's voice broke through Yuffie's embarrassing recollection of her sudden introduction to womanhood. "Yuffie, I know you had that talk four years ago. But, I just glossed over some things."

Pushing the heel of her hands against her eyes, the ninja groaned loudly before jumping up from the bed and stomping over to the window. "Aerith, I do not need this talk," she yelled before jumping out the window and into the alley below.

"Well, that went well," Aerith muttered as she arose from her chair and looked out the window to see the retreating figure of Yuffie running towards the Dalmatian's house.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

In the pale light of the full moon, Yuffie soundlessly jumped onto the Green Room balcony and climbed through the open window. Her sneaking into the hotel room was going well until she belatedly remembered that she had placed Yoshi's cage beneath the windowsill. As she tried to avoid the cage in her entrance, her leg crashed into it and caused both her and the bird to cry out in pain and fear. "Damn it!" she hissed under her breath as she climbed to her feet.

"Yuffie?" Squall called from the bed, his silhouette in the moonlight showing him to be in a sitting position on the bed. "Yuffie, are you okay?" He struggled to untangle himself from the sheets that entangled his legs as he climbed out of the bed.

"I'm fine, Squall. I just tripped on my way in." She watched as he sat back down onto the edge of the bed and ran a hand through his hair. Smiling, she quickly walked over and sat next to him, taking his arm and running her hand along the hard muscles. "You weren't worried about me, now were you?" she chided.

Reaching over with his free arm, he grabbed her hand, stopping it in mid-stroke. "Yes, I was worried. Where were you?" he asked, his voice coming out more gruffly than he had planned.

"I had to get out, okay? Aerith was driving me insane. She tried to give me 'the talk' again." Biting her lip, Yuffie looked up at the small clock above the door, her eyes widening when she saw it was near three in the morning. "Geez, I didn't know it was so late," she muttered as she yawned loudly and leaned her head momentarily against Squall's shoulder before getting up to get changed.

"Where are you going?" he questioned suddenly as he felt the warmth of her body leave him. The sound of the dresser drawer rasping open and the rustling of clothes gave him his answer before Yuffie did, as her yawns became more frequent and prevented her from making a coherent answer.

By the time Yuffie had come out of the bathroom, Squall was once again lying on his side beneath the covers on the bed. Walking to the end of the bed, she crawled up to the head, careful not to disrupt her roommate's sleep as she did so. As she climbed under the blankets, a soft sigh and yet another yawn escaped her lips. She lay her head on the pillow, eyes already closed in anticipation of the much needed sleep when she felt a heavy arm drape across her waist and pull her over to the owner of said arm.

"Don't go off like that anymore, okay?" Squall whispered as she relaxed against his chest, quickly and easily slipping into slumber before she even had a chance to answer him. Noticing that she was already asleep, he kissed her cheek before allowing himself to fall asleep as well.

* * *

_Author's Note: Okay, okay... I know. Aerith might seem out of character. But, y'know, she has to get angry sometime. And I think if she was angry, it would have to be because something happened to her friends. So, why not because of a relationship between Squall and Yuffie when Yuffie's still 16. Okay, I ramble. And, if you didn't know, the flashback scene with 12 year old Yuffie is the quick little idea I stole from My Girl. I loved that scene in the movie. Anyways, review for me. Please?_


	10. Chapter Ten: Happy Trails

_Author's Note: Well, I'm actually pulling myself away from the PS2 and my new copy of FFVII to write this chapter. So, be proud of me. Anyways, I want to take this time to give a big thank you to all of my reviewers for giving me an unbelievable amount of support. Thank you guys!!_

_There's a lame joke about halfway through this chapter that I just HAD to put in. I couldn't help myself. Really, I tried not to put it in, but I had to. I apologize for the utter lameness of the joke in advance._

_[Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts. I do not own them, Sam I Am. Although I dream of owning Squall someday and keeping him locked up in my room with no escape. But, until that day comes, I'll allow Yuffie to keep him.]_

* * *

_Chapter Ten: Happy Trails_

"Hey Squall, Aerith isn't around here, is she?" the young ninja breathlessly asked as she ran into the waterway, the two styrofoam cups of coffee perched precariously upon the box of takeout breakfast from the café. Not waiting for an answer, she waded into the green water and held the box high above her head to prevent the sludge from contaminating their food.

At the far end of the cavern, near the steps to Merlin's house, Squall swung his Gunblade, swiping at invisible enemies only he could see. "No, Yuffie. Aerith's not here. I think she slept in this morning," he told her in between the broad slashes of his weapon of choice. He lowered his weapon to the ground as he heard the girl loudly splashing towards rocky shore, all the while loudly grumbling about the 'grossness' of the water.

"Good, 'cause I don't really want to see her right now. I'm afraid she might force me to listen to 'the talk' all over again." She curled her lip in disgust at the thought of her flower obsessed friend trying to 'educate' her about the facts of life. "Anyways, here's breakfast," Yuffie said as she placed one of the coffees in his left hand and opened the box to reveal their breakfast.

The aroma of bacon, eggs, and biscuits drifted towards Squall's nose as he took a sip of the bitter liquid, scorching his throat in the process. "That's hot," he sputtered as quickly brought the cup away from his mouth.

Yuffie stared incredulously at him for a moment before rolling her eyes and shaking her head. "Of course it's hot, Squall. It's coffee. Did you expect it to be cold?" she replied sarcastically as she picked up one of the bacon and egg stuffed biscuits, quickly opening it and scraping out the egg as she had found at an early age that she could not stomach them.

"Must you be so incorrigible, Yuf?" Squall muttered as he took another sip of his coffee, this time more cautiously than earlier.

"Wow! A big word for Mr. Big-and-Bad-Gunblade-Wielder," Yuffie teased as she took a bite of her egg-free biscuit. "I mean," she paused to count on her fingers, "five syllables. It must be a nice change from your normal 'whatever' response."

"At least I know the meaning of the word unlike you," Squall retorted as he leaned against the back wall of the cavern and slowly slid down to the ground.

Yuffie arched a lone eyebrow and glared at him, noticing how the white bandages over his eyes seemed to almost glow in the dimly lit room. "Y'know, I was going to give you one of these biscuits, but now that you insulted me, I think I'll just eat them both myself."

Squall lurched to his feet and stepped towards her, listening to the soft sounds of her breathing to pinpoint her location. "Is that so?" he questioned cryptically as he took another few steps towards her as he heard her take a few steps back.

"Yes and you can't do anything about it 'cause you can't see me and you can't st--" She was suddenly cut off as she tripped over a rock and landed with a splash in the murky water behind her. Sputtering, she broke the surface and glared daggers at the man who was now standing at the water's edge laughing like a maniac. _Squall? Laughing like a maniac? Never thought I would see that,_ she mused as she pulled herself out of the water.

The thought of what was supposed to be a graceful ninja falling unintentionally into a pool of water ran through Squall's mind, causing his guffaws to become louder instead of fading away. The only thing he wished he could change about the situation would be his blindness. Yuffie falling into the water was a sight he dearly wished he had been able to see. "So, are you going to give me my breakfast now?" he asked as his laughter finally died down.

Yuffie looked down at the now soggy biscuit in her hand and grinned devilishly. "Sure. Here you go, Squall."

Holding his hand out, he felt a wet, soggy something shoved into his hands, the excess water dripping between his fingers and falling to the rocks below. "Yuffie, what is this?" he asked suspiciously as his fingers curled around it, gently squeezing it.

"It _was_ a bacon and egg biscuit. Now, it's a waterlogged mess. Have fun eating it," she finished, looking up at his face and smiling brightly, knowing, or at least believing she knew he wouldn't eat it since it fell with her into the pool.

Squall stood stock-still for a few moments, the ruined breakfast still in the palm of his hand and still dripping water. With one swift motion, he brought the biscuit to his mouth and took a bite, his teeth ploughing through the mush as he chewed, all the while listening to Yuffie make sickened choking noises in the background. Forcing himself not to grimace at the taste, he swallowed the bite and shrugged. "I've had better."

"Gawd, Squall!! I can't believe you ate that! I mean, it _fell into that green water_!" She covered her eyes and gagged at the thought of him actually eating it. And not only eating it, but swallowing it as well. _Without even making a face!_ "See if I ever let you kiss me again," she muttered as she choked down on another gagging fit.

"Really?" he questioned, an eyebrow arching over his bandages as the teasing look came over his face. "We'll just see about that." He reached out, finding her arm which he then traced to her body and wrapped his arm around her waist, quickly and roughly pulling her lithe body against his firm, muscular one. He lowered his face to hers, his mouth so close to hers that she could feel the heat radiating from his lips. And his hot breath softly puffing on her skin wasn't helping matters.

Yuffie raised a gloved hand and placed in on the back of his neck, using it to both pull his face lower and herself higher. She felt the hand on her waist move to her lower back, pushing her even harder against his chest, if that were possible, and his other hand moved to cup her cheek. Unable to take the close proximity of their lips any longer, she upturned her face and kissed him with what started as a soft meeting of lips but soon turned to something much deeper and more fiery than any of their previous kisses.

Stopping for breath, the ninja lay her head against Squall's chest and sighed while he rested his chin in the mess that was her wet hair. "I thought you weren't going to let me kiss you?" he asked, letting out a low chuckle as he felt her pull away, leaving his t-shirt wet as the water from her clothing seeped into his.

"Yeah, but you cheated!" Wildly shaking her head, a spray of water droplets flew from her hair, most of them landing on Squall's already damp shirt. "Just come on. We need to get cleaned up 'cause I don't know about you, but I _do not _like having this green water all over me." She grabbed his hand and dragged him through the murky water, out the grate, up onto the balcony, and into their hotel room without giving him a chance to stop her.

"In a hurry, were you?" Squall inquired, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest as he listened to her rummage around in the various drawers of the dresser. A drawer was slammed shut and something was thrown across the room, landing on his face. Upon examination, it turned out to be a clean shirt.

Yuffie looked down at her filthy shorts and halter-top, grimacing when she noticed her stomach even had a slight green tinge to it. "Yes, I'm in a hurry. The stupid sewer water is slowing turning me turtle. In a few more minutes I'll be a ninja turtle."

"A ninja turtle?"

"Yes, a ninja turtle."

"A teenage ninja turtle?"

Turning to look in the mirror across the room, Yuffie realized that the green actually looked like it was spreading to completely cover her skin. "A teenage mutant ninja turtle," she muttered as she left him alone in the room and headed for the bathroom to take her shower. As soon as the water was warm enough, she jumped in and hurriedly scrubbed at the green spots. Although she liked the color green, the thought of it being her permanent skin color caused her to shudder in disgust. Especially given the fact that the green came from the nauseating water of the cavern. It was bad enough having to wade through it daily, but completely submerging oneself in it was another matter entirely.

Opening the shower curtain to grab a towel, Yuffie realized that she had forgotten to bring her clothing into the room with her. She had left if lying on the top of the dresser while examining the green in the mirror. Mentally slapping herself, she wrapped the towel around her body and opened the door a crack, finding that Squall was now sitting at the small table and polishing his Gunblade with a white cloth. She bit her lip before finally deciding that since he couldn't see anything anyways, it would be alright to just get dressed in the room.

No sooner had see put her underwear on then the connecting door to the Red Room opened, revealing a once yawning, but now shocked Aerith standing in the doorway. "Yuffie, what do you think you're doing?!" she demanded as she watched the ninja quickly pull her shorts and halter top on.

"Getting dressed. And, Aerith, you really need to start knocking. This is getting to be a bad habit of yours," Yuffie said as she rolled her eyes and ignored the flower girl as she towel dried her hair.

At the table, Squall dropped his head in his hands and groaned as he sensed another minor battle with Aerith coming on. "Aerith, if it means anything, I had no idea she was getting dressed in here," he stated calmly as he went back to methodically running the cloth over the smooth blade of his weapon.

"Besides, Pinky, he can't see anything, so what does it matter?" Yuffie demanded, calling her friend the name she most abhorred. "And, what goes on in this room is really none of your business." She quickly strode across the room to the bathroom and began combing her hair, proud of herself for taking this so calmly.

While Yuffie was silently congratulating herself, Aerith tiredly massaged her temples with her fingers. "Squall, can you leave Yuffie and me alone for a minute?" she finally asked, her voice vibrating with anger.

As Squall stood up to leave, Yuffie ran across the room and stopped him by placing her hand on his arm and gently pushing him back down to his seat. "No, don't leave, Squall. Anything she wants to say to me, she can say in front of you. Or," she paused as she looked out the window, "she can try and find me to tell me." Without another word, the ninja leapt out the window with cat-like grace and disappeared before Aerith could catch sight of her.

"She's getting really good at that," Aerith mumbled as she walked over and sat down across from Squall.

"Maybe she wouldn't be getting so good at it if you would just leave her alone," Squall answered back, his mind off with his ninja, wondering where she was off hiding this time and how long she would be gone.

Ignoring his comment, Aerith stood up. "Well, while I'm here, I might as well do your eyes."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

After Aerith left, Squall stepped out onto the balcony and leaned against the railing as he faced the Green Room door. "She's gone. You can come down now, Yuffie," he called softly, hearing her scuttling across the tiled roof of the hotel.

"How did you know I was up here?" Yuffie asked as she sat on the edge of the roof, her legs dangling and swinging.

"I heard you moving around up here while Aerith changed my bandages," he stated nonchalantly as he heard the ninja jump down from the roof and land gracefully on her feet. Well, at least he assumed it was gracefully since he didn't here her fall.

As soon as she was on the balcony, Yuffie immediately ran into the room and began rummaging through the closet in search of something. Finding what she was looking for, a large suitcase, she began throwing clothing into it, both hers and his. "Squall, we're going on a trip," she announced as she continued to throw things into the suitcase.

"We are?" he questioned as he came into the room and listened to her open and close dresser drawers. "Where are we going and why?"

"I don't know _where_ yet, but I have to get away from Aerith. She's driving me insane. And I assumed you would want to go, too." Seeing that the suitcase was now full, Yuffie closed it and tried to zip it up, having to sit on it in the process.

Squall nodded his assent and leaned against the wall, going over in his mind the many worlds they knew of and which would be the best to visit. "Let's go to the Coliseum. At least there I can continue to practice with a relatively low chance of being hurt." _Besides,_ he added to himself, _Sora has just been itching to fight me again._

Yuffie thought about it for a moment, realizing that the Coliseum was probably the safest place to go as the other worlds were being invaded by stronger and stronger Heartless every day. "Okay, the Coliseum it is." She picked up the suitcase and started for the door, but stopped when she noticed that Squall wasn't coming. "Well, come on."

"Aren't you going to leave Aerith a note?" He knew that Aerith would be mad enough at them for just up and leaving, but that would be nothing compared to her fury over them leaving without leaving a note for her.

"Yeah, I guess." Yuffie looked around the room in search of pen and paper, only to find a pen, but no paper. "Or, at least I would if I could find some paper," she muttered as she continued her search.

"We could always just write it on your underwear," Squall suggested from his position against the wall. Although he meant the suggestion as a joke, it came out, as all things do with him, in a serious tone.

Snorting, the ninja rolled her eyes and shook her head in amusement. "Yeah, I'm sure that would work just fine. She already hates the fact that we're together and that would just make her think more is going on than what really is." Still searching the room, Yuffie finally found a pad of paper in the bottom drawer of the dresser, letting out a loud "ah-HAH" when she discovered it.

She quickly scribbled out a note telling Aerith that she and Squall had needed to get some time away from Traverse Town and not to worry about them. A soft 'coo' from across the room reminded the ninja about their dove Yoshi, and she quickly added a line asking Aerith to take care of him while they were gone. She made sure to not mention where they were going as she was positive the flower girl would get in her own Gummi ship and drag them back home, scolding them the whole way.

Finished with the note, Yuffie found a roll of tape and hastily tore a piece off to tape the note to Aerith's side of the connecting door. That done, she grabbed Squall's arm and pulled. "Come on, let's go."

"Impatient, aren't we?" Squall teased as they walked down the hotel hallway and out into the Second District, where she broke out into a near run with the suitcase in one hand and his arm in the other.

"Yeah, we've got to get out of here before Aerith finds us 'cause she'll sure as hell try to stop us," Yuffie explained as she pushed through the First District doors, stopping to look around before continuing on. They quickly dashed in front of the café towards the World Exit doors, only to find that Aerith was sitting in the café drinking her coffee. Luckily for the two of them, she was also reading a paper and didn't notice when they ran past and out the doors to the Gummi Garage.

* * *

_Author's Note: Okay, my muse left me about halfway through this chapter. You can probably tell where. Hopefully, she'll come back someday and let me write again. And, actually, I didn't get as far as I wanted to with this chapter. I was planning on having the actual trip in this chapter, but it didn't happen. So, that'll be in the next chapter. Whenever I write it. Anyways, give me a review, please._


	11. Chapter Eleven: Sail Away

_Author's Note: Okay, not much to say up here this time. But, I hope everyone's enjoying the story. And it's starting to seem to me that this story may never end. _

_Oh, about Gummi ships. I never could figure out how to work the Gummi garage, so if I have some facts about the various ships wrong, bear with me._

_[Disclaimer: If I owned Kingdom Hearts, there would have been some Squffie goodness going on in the game. And I also would've have kept Squall as my very own. However, I don't own them and SquareEnix and Disney did not consult me when they made the game.]_

* * *

_Chapter Eleven: Sail Away_

Bounding enthusiastically through the large double doors, Yuffie halted suddenly to stare at all the Gummi ships kept in the enormous garage. Unfortunately, she had momentarily forgotten that the man behind her was unable to see and he crashed into her, nearly knocking them both to the floor before she caught herself and managed to keep them both upright. "Gawd, Squall, watch where you're..." she began, then stopped when she saw the bandages. "Never mind."

"Nice, Yuffie..." Squall muttered as he stepped back from her, his hands falling from her shoulders where he had grabbed her as he collided with her. An awkward silence fell between them, neither of them knowing what to say. After a few moments that seemed to drag on for eternity, Squall broke the silence. "Maybe we should get going."

"Yeah, that would be a good idea," Yuffie agreed, glad that the silence had finally been broken as she had never been one who was able to stand silence. Taking his hand, she led him down the rows of Gummi ships, stopping between her yellow and pink ship and his blue and green ship. She looked back and forth between the two of them, slowly chewing a whole through her bottom lip as she tried to decide which ship to take.

As she was contemplating which ship to take, Squall slowly grew more impatient. "What's the hold up, Yuf?" he finally asked when he could no longer stand the wait.

The ninja pulled her eyes away from the two ships to look at him, her brows drawn together in thought. "I can't decide which ship to take. I mean, mine's so much cooler than yours. But, then again, yours is faster," she admitted.

"Let's just take mine, then." The memory of the last time he stepped foot into her ship flew to mind. The floor had been littered with empty take-out bags and crumbs rested upon the control panel. Not to mention the clothing she had strewn about the bedroom quarters of the ship. He was fairly certain some of those clothes had been there long enough to evolve into higher life forms, living off the crumbs and leftover meals in the cabin, and were hell bent on the destruction of the world.

"Nah, I've decided we're going to take mine," Yuffie announced, having forgotten the mess she had left her ship in the last time she had taken it out.

"Then why did you even bother asking me?" demanded Squall as he felt the teenager drag him up the ramp and into the ship, glad for once that he _was_ blind and couldn't see the mess.

"I don't know, I just did." The young ninja began to push buttons and flip the switches near the door to turn on the lights inside the ship. As the light flooded the cabin and she got a good look at the litter strewn floor, she quickly turned the lights back off and began to back out of the ship, taking Squall along with her. "On second thought, maybe we should take yours."

Chuckling, Squall allowed himself to be taken to his ship, digging in his pockets for the silver lion head key chain with the single key to his ship's door. Unlike her ship, which had a code-locked door, his relied upon both a code and a key. He didn't like to take chances with his ship as he had seen too many of the townspeople's ships stolen in the last year they had been in Traverse Town. "What's wrong, Yuf? Your ship too messy?" he chided as he handed her the key.

Yuffie turned around and glared at the man, hands on her hips with the key in one hand. "No," she lied, "I just decided that your ship is faster and we'll get there sooner." Turning back around, she fumbled with the lock and quickly input the code Squall gave her, allowing the door to open with a loud 'swoosh.' Yuffie tugged on his arm and dragged him through the door, gasping in shock when she turned the interior lights on. "Damn, Squall. Your ship is immaculate. What do you do? Come in and clean it everyday?"

"No, I just don't throw things around it like you do." He felt Yuffie drop his arm and heard her disappearing footsteps as she walked down the corridor to the single bedroom in the ship. Knowing his way around the ship like the back of his hand, he stepped into the first doorway to his left, the control room and confidently sat in one of the two pilot seats.

Down the hall, Yuffie was standing in the doorway of the bedroom and staring at the bed, realizing how very small the bed was. It was only a twin size bed, which meant that one of them would have to sleep elsewhere or they would have to sleep _very_ close to each other. She, herself, had no qualms about the latter but was afraid Squall might. Although they had started a relationship based on more than friendship, she was still unsure as to how he would react to her sleeping that close to him during the one night they would be flying to the Coliseum.

Sighing, she threw the suitcase down upon the bed and retreated back to the control room where she assumed Squall was waiting for her. As she entered the room, she stopped to watch how Squall almost lovingly ran his hands over the various buttons and switches, as though he were trying to figure out how to fly the thing while still being unable to see. "Squall, you aren't flying, you know," the ninja announced as she finally walked into the room and took her seat next to him.

Squall released a drawn-out sigh, his hands dropping from the control panel to rest atop his knees. "I know. Just... don't wreck it, please?" he begged, lowering his head and trying not to picture his ship going up in flames as Yuffie crashed it into some uncharted planet.

Rolling her eyes, the young ninja fastened herself into the pilot's seat and began flipping switches to start the Gummi's engine. She looked out of the corner of her eye and noticed that instead of buckling himself into the seat, Squall was up and walking towards the back of the ship, feeling along the wall with his fingers to judge where he was. "Uh, Squall, we're about to leave. You might want to sit down somewhere," she suggested, sparing occasional glances at him while she watched the various gauges on the panel.

"I'll be fine, Yuf. Just get going already." He listened to her grumbled reply and continued to walk down the corridor, not sure exactly where he was going but just wanting to go somewhere. However, he soon wished he had listened to her advice when the ship began to pitch and he found himself having trouble keeping his balance. Eventually, he fell against the wall and allowed himself to slide to the floor to wait for the motion to even out.

In the control room, Yuffie felt her stomach lurch as the ship left the atmosphere of Traverse Town and entered the multi-colored space surrounding it. Placing a hand over her stomach and trying to hold down everything she had ever eaten, she quickly set the course for the Coliseum and put the ship on auto pilot before she left her seat. As she walked down the corridor, groaning the whole time, she passed Squall still sitting on the floor. Stepping over his stretched out legs, she felt him grab her calf, nearly causing her to fall in the process. "What?" she managed to choke out, quickly covering her mouth with her hand as another wave of nausea came over her.

"Where are you going?" he asked from his position below her, his hand still on her leg and gently squeezing it.

Closing her eyes in an attempt to stave off the air sickness. "I'm going to lie down," she said softly, still fighting the rising waves of nausea. "I forgot how sick I get and I didn't bring any tranquilizers."

"What about the ship?"

"It's on auto pilot. We should get to the Coliseum tomorrow morning around... ugh... excuse me." Breaking free of his grasp, she dashed down the hall and into the small bathroom, kneeling over the toilet.

Hearing the retching noises coming from the bathroom, Squall rose to his feet and followed the sound, his hands trailing the wall to feel for the doorway he knew was there. After finally finding it, he entered the bathroom and stood behind her, reaching out with his hand and rubbing her back as she continued to cough and gag. "Are you going to be okay?" he questioned softly as he heard the toilet flush.

The ninja leaned weakly against the sink, her knees having become shaky like they always do when she gets sick. "I might. I dunno," she said, her words unknowingly becoming slurred and weak sounding, as though she were drunk. "I jus wanna lie down."

Squall put his arm around her shoulders and lead her out of the small bathroom, letting her lean against him as he used his free hand to follow the curve of the wall around to the bedroom. "Come on, Yuf," he murmured, rubbing his hand up and down her upper arm as they walked.

"Do you even know where we're going?" Yuffie muttered as she felt her stomach lurch sickeningly once again in her small frame. She feebly raised a hand to her brow, finding it had become sweaty as she became increasingly sicker.

"Yeah, I know where everything is in this ship. I don't need eyes to see it," he replied as they continued their slow trek down the corridor, occasionally bumping against the side of the wall as the ship swerved to avoid an object.

"Good 'cause I'm too sick to worry about it." Groaning again, she leaned more of her weight against Squall and clutched her stomach. "I remember why I never go anywhere anymore. I'm either too sick from air sickness or too doped up on tranquilizers to enjoy it."

Reaching the bedroom, Squall helped her across to where he hoped the bed was, mainly relying on her to let him know when they reached it. He felt Yuffie slip from his arms to lie upon the small bed as he sat on the edge next to her. Running his fingers down her arm, he eventually found her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Do you need anything, Yuffie?" he whispered, beginning to stroke the top of her hand with his thumb.

"Just kill me and put me out of my misery... please," she mumbled through the nausea, too sick to even acknowledge how gentle and kind Squall was being towards her. Closing her eyes, she settled down into the mattress and grimaced, resting her hands gentle upon her stomach. She felt the mattress shift as Squall rose from it and she opened one eye to watch him begin to leave the room. "Where are you going?" she called out faintly.

Squall stopped and turned to her, placing his hand upon the steel doorframe of the room. "I'll be right back." With that, he left the room, leaving Yuffie alone with her nausea. Turning on her side, she looked out the single window in the room and watched as their ship passed by the various objects floating around space.

With her back still facing the door and still lost in the pains of her nausea, Yuffie didn't notice when Squall came back into the room until she felt him leaning over her, a damp cloth in his hand. Smiling slightly, she reached up to take it from his hand and placed it across her forehead. "Thank you, Squall. But, how did you find it?"

"I told you earlier, I know where everything is in this ship." He sat once again on the edge of the bed, feeling her roll into him slightly as the mattress settled. Sighing, he brought his legs up upon the bed as well and leaned against the wall behind the bed, his hand burying itself within the ninja's short hair while he gently massaged her scalp to help alleviate her motion sickness.

If it hadn't been for her stomach ache, Yuffie would have been almost purring in contentment as his calloused fingers worked wonders on her scalp. As it was, however, she was just concentrating on keeping the little bit of food left in her stomach down and _not_ throwing up on the man. She was sure he would not be very appreciative of that. She groaned again and pushed her back up against his side, his warmth seeping through their clothes and giving her a little comfort. "I dun feel so good," she whimpered as the ship sharply turned, causing her stomach to lurch again.

"Just concentrate on something else, Yuf," Squall suggested softly, trying to think of something that would help the ill teenager. A thought came to his mind. "Yuf, tell me what you see out the window."

"There's nothing out there, Squall. Just a bunch of rocks and stars and that's it."

"Tell me everything you see since I can't."

Sighing, Yuffie slowly opened her eyes to look out the window, beginning to describe the different asteroids floating around, the various colors of the space around them, the twinkling of the thousands of stars they passed by. As requested, Yuffie told him everything, detailing everything in an attempt to paint the picture for him. And as she described everything, she began to forget about the nausea as it slowly faded away.

As he listened to her vivid descriptions of what most would consider fodder for sleep-inducing boredom, he began to actually see in his mind all that she described. Through her, he was able to lift the blindness that had clouded his vision and see everything that she saw. Smiling, he slouched down the wall until he was lying prone on the bed behind her. He slowly rolled over so her back was pressed against his chest instead of his side and he lightly draped an arm across her waist, hoping the pressure of it would not cause her nausea to flare up again.

A few minutes later, Yuffie's voice grew softer and her words started coming slower and slower until they finally stopped coming at all. Squall bit down a soft chuckle as he realized she had fallen asleep. Nuzzling her short hair with his nose, he took in the scent that he had grown to love, orange blossom, as he placed a soft kiss on the back of her head. "Goodnight, sweet ninja," he whispered softly before falling asleep himself.

Yuffie awoke sometime in the middle of the night, shivering slightly despite the warmth of Squall's arms around her, remembering how cold the Gummi ships tended to become as they traveled. Slipping out of his grasp, she managed to pull the sheets and blankets down from beneath his body, noticing he still had his boots on when she reached the foot of the bed. She quickly undid the laces and pulled them off carefully lest she awaken him. Satisfied that he would be more comfortable now, she climbed back into the bed and curled into him, her face resting against his chest and a small smile playing across her face as she fell back to sleep.

The next time she awoke was to the loud alarm sounding throughout the ship announcing their nearing of their destination. Yawning and stretching, she reluctantly crawled out of the bed to land the ship, leaving Squall to continue sleeping. As she adjusted the many levers and switches associated with landing the ship, she looked out the window to see quite a few Gummis approaching the Coliseum as well. "At least there'll be plenty of competition," she mumbled sleepily, rubbing her eyes with her free hand as she steered the ship into the docking bay of the planet.

After landing the ship safely, Yuffie looked at the clock above the control panel only to find that it was still too early in the morning for her taste. So, making sure the ship was docked correctly and wasn't going anywhere, she sleepily stumbled back down the hall to the bedroom and once again climbed into the bed, curling into Squall's side under the crook of his arm. And there they would sleep until it was required of them to awaken.

* * *

_Author's Note: Okay, they've finally reached the Coliseum... but what awaits them there?? Will Sora beat Squall? Or will Squall beat Sora? Or will Yuffie beat them both? Who knows? I don't even know yet. So, please kindly give me a review and I'll be a happy author._


	12. Chapter Twelve: Pick Your Battles

_Author's Note: Okay, this idea just popped into my head outta nowhere and I had to go ahead and get started on this chapter. And.... 206 reviews!! ::squeals with joy:: I LOVE YOU GUYS!!!! THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH FOR TAKING THE TIME TO READ AND REVIEW!!! And, now, I shall throw a BYOB (Bring Your Own Bishie) party. However, I claim Squall and I know that VL will claim Riku, so you guys will have to fight over the rest. ::showers reviewers with various plushies:: Just grab as many of them as you want._

_By the by, I keep switching back and forth from calling him Leon and Squall. It just depends on who's thinking at the time._

_Oh, and I'm changing the times in which some things happen in the game. Such as the tournaments. So, bear with me._

_Note to ObsidianSorrows: I had just finished Final Fantasy VII the day I started writing that chapter. I couldn't help but make her nauseous after playing the game. _

_[Disclaimer: Still don't own them. Never did own them. Never will own them. And, if wishes were Squalls, I'd have a whole room full of them._

* * *

_Chapter Twelve: Pick Your Battles_

Bringing his ship into the docking bay of the Coliseum, Sora deftly steered between the rows of various Gummis before finding an empty slot for his own ship. As he landed, he noticed the glares from the frequent competitors of the games. Last time he was here, Donald had tried to wrench the steering column away from the young Keyblade Master as he was landing, causing him to broadside many of the ships and cause considerable damage to more than a few. This time, however, the duck and dog had remained in Hollow Bastion while he went to train. Through the window, Sora smiled nervously and waved at the crowds in apology. He had been hoping that they would've forgotten by now, but judging by their faces, they apparently remembered.

The ship touched down and Sora powered down the engine before jumping out of his seat and walking towards the door, grabbing his backpack and Keyblade before he left. As the ramp lowered, he turned the interior lights off in order to conserve the little fuel he had left and then shut the door, activating the encoded lock with the push of a button. He proceeded down he ramp and towards the Coliseum entrance, but stopped when he recognized the Gummi ship to the left of the doors. "That looks like Leon's ship," he muttered under his breath as he wove through the crowds to reach the Gummi.

Upon reaching the blue and green ship, Sora slowly walked around it, looking for signs that it was indeed the Gunblade wielder's ship. He found his proof on the right side beneath the windshield where a lion's head was engraved into the Gummi block's surface, something he was sure only Leon would have. Glancing around, the teenager lowered the ramp and then quickly climbed up it and slipped inside the ship, flipping switches as he went. He had only been inside the ship once and he couldn't quite remember where the switches that activated the lights were.

"Leon?" he called softly as he walked down the dimly lit corridor, his footsteps echoing off of the steel walls. "Are you here, Leon?" As he passed by the control room, he noticed it was empty so he continued down the hall, briefly wondering if perhaps the man wasn't in the ship and if he wasn't, how badly would he hurt Sora for coming into his ship unaccompanied.

Coming to the end of the corridor, Sora found a closed door leading to what he presumed to be the bedroom on the ship and put his hand upon the cool brass doorknob. He gave it a quick wrench to the right and pushed the door open, his jaw dropping at the scene in front of him. On the small bed, a blindfolded Leon lay on his back, his jaw slack and a thin line of drool beginning at the corner of his mouth and sliding down to his pillow. Curled tight into his side was Yuffie, her head resting on the crook of Leon's shoulder and her hand on his chest with his arm wrapping around her back and gripping her side, holding her tightly against him as he slept.

Sora's jaw closed with a snap as he tried to sort out the situation in front of him. Judging from what he had previously seen of the two fighters on his first visit to Traverse Town, he had always thought they just put up with each other because they had to. Now, after seeing this, he wasn't so sure. "Um... Leon? Yuffie?" he called hesitantly, never once realizing it might be in his best interest to leave the two alone.

Sora watched as the self-proclaimed 'Great Ninja Yuffie' scrunched her face up, snuggling deeper into the covers and Leon's embrace. "Just five more minutes," she muttered incoherently in her disturbed slumber.

"Okay, then. I guess I'll be leaving," the Keyblade master said uncertainly as he slowly backed out of the room, still confused as to what was going on and _why_ Leon would have a blindfold on. And a blindfold made of gauze, at that. Just as he was turning to leave, a shrill shriek caused him to look back at the bed and see Yuffie staring at him with indigo eyes wide in shock.

"Sora, what are you doing here?!" she demanded loudly, sitting up and breaking free of Squall's tight embrace to glare at the spikey-haired teenager.

Sora smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head with one hand, his eyes looking anywhere but at her. "Uh... I came to compete at the games," he stuttered, finally meeting the ninja's eyes with his own. "What are _you_ doing here?" He gestured towards the bed and the somehow still sleeping Gunblade wielder beside her.

"Squall wanted to come," she said indignantly, digging her elbow into his side in an attempt to wake him up. She still couldn't believe that he had managed to sleep through both her shriek and her loud conversation with Sora. Squall just grumbled in his sleep and rolled over, his hand moving to pillow his cheek. "Squall, wake UP!" A loud, rumbling snore showed her that he was still sleeping soundly, so she did the only thing she could think of. She pushed him off the bed and watched him hit the floor with a loud 'thud.'

Yuffie watched with amusement as a hand came up from the floor and gripped the edge of the bed, soon followed by a head of long mahogany hair. "What was that for, Yuf?" Squall grumbled as he pulled himself into a sitting position and rubbed his face, wiping away the little bit of drool clinging to his cheek.

"We have company, Squall," she muttered sarcastically, rolling her eyes and looking in the direction of the Keyblade master still standing in the doorway.

Leaning his head against the doorframe, Sora patiently awaited for Leon to correct Yuffie before he said anything. After a few seconds of waiting, however, he realized that it wasn't going to happen. "Uh... good morning, Leon," he finally said, watching as the man climbed to his feet. "What's up with the blindfold?"

"Sora, what are you doing _here? _In _my_ ship?" Squall growled menacingly, momentarily ignoring the young teenager's inquiry about the bandages. "Didn't I tell you the last time that I didn't want you in here alone?"

Sora shuffled his feet, much like a child who has been caught with his hand in the proverbial cookie jar, before looking up at the two in front of him. "I saw your ship and was wondering why you were here. Besides, it's not my fault the thing crashed into a wall. Goofy tripped over his feet and knocked me onto the lever."

Squall reached out and touched the wall, using his hands to guide himself to the door as he walked. Seeing Sora's questioning glance, Yuffie decided to shed some light on the matter for the confused brunette. "It's not a blindfold, you dummy. It's bandages. He had an accident involving a very irate Red Nocturne," she explained, getting up and following Squall as he left the room.

"I didn't think he was into that anyway." Sora muttered the suggestive statement under his breath as he followed the other two down the corridor. Well, he had thought it was under his breath, but with the angry scowl he was getting from Yuffie, he suddenly realized it wasn't.

"You sick little nasty--" She was cut off as Squall brought his hand over her mouth, preventing the foul words from escaping her mouth.

"Just because Aerith isn't here doesn't mean you can say that," Squall whispered, keeping his hand on her mouth until she had a chance to cool down. After all, Yuffie had spent a large part of her life around Cid and his foul mouth and he was _sure_ the younger Sora didn't need to hear the litany of insults that could come streaming out of her mouth when she was riled up.

Taking a deep breath to calm herself, the ninja reached up and pulled Squall's hand away, yet still keeping her hand upon it as it fell to his side. "You had just better watch your back, Sora," she muttered, turning away from him and letting Squall pull her down the hall. Putting a big smile back on her face, she grabbed Squall's arm and ignored the boy behind her. "Squall, don't you think we should go register for the games?"

Sora shook his head and watched the ninja lean against the supposed lion as they walked. "You aren't going to fight like _that_, are you Leon? I mean, it'll be an unfair fight seeing as how you're blind and stuff."

Yuffie bit her lip to keep from busting out laughing, glad that Sora was unable to see her face, as she remembered how quickly Squall had cut down the Heartless even though he was blind. "Yeah, Sora, it'll be _such_ an easy fight for you. You should be glad to have the opportunity to beat him down, don't you think?" she called over her shoulder, deciding it would be fun to lull the Keyblade master into a false sense of security.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Signing herself and Squall up for the Pegasus Cup proved to be harder than Yuffie had originally thought it would be. First off, that pompous satyr named Phil had insisted that she and Squall prove themselves to be worthy of competing in the games by forcing them into a timed trial of destroying barrels. And since Squall was blind and the barrels were silent, it was up to the ninja to obliterate the wooden drums. "What– did those– barrels– ever do to– Phil?" she panted as she finished off the last of them and leaned over, her hands resting on her knees.

No sooner than they had finished that timed trial, then Phil announced that there was a second they had to go through. However, he quickly relented when he saw Yuffie brandish her conformer and growl a quick threat to him. "Unless you want this," she waved the weapon, "shoved up your ass, you'll cut the 'timed trial' crap." While she was handling the situation, Squall leaned against the wall with his arms crossed across his chest and let a small smile come across his face as he listened to the fearful stuttering of the Olympic hero trainer.

"Okay, okay. No need to get violent," the trainer stammered, backing away on his two small hooves and holding his hands up defensively. "Go right on through." He unhooked the rope across the entrance and gestured for the two to walk in.

Smiling surprisingly sweetly at the satyr, Yuffie skipped over to Squall and grabbed his hand to pull him into the actual grounds where the competition would take place. "I knew you would see it my way, Phil," she chortled as she waved at him.

"Sheesh, kids today," Phil muttered as he put the rope back across the entrance. "They're almost as bad as the keyblade guy."

Inside the arena, Squall heard the clash of steel on steel and the roar of the crowd as two fighters in the center battled. Those noises always brought back memories of the times he had sparred at their home world of Hollow Bastion over nine years ago. And his opponent most of the time was Cloud Strife, someone who had become just a vague memory to the warrior. Squall could only just barely remember the spikey blonde hair and the monstrously large sword the then fourteen year old boy had wielded.

An insistent tug on his arm pulled him out of his memories and brought him back to the here and now, where he would once again be battling. This time, however, the battle would prove to be much more difficult. Not only was the proud Squall Leonhart blinded, but the competition was also considerably tougher. "Are you ready, Yuffie?" he asked when he felt the ninja unconsciously squeeze his arm tighter in her small hands.

"Who? Me? Of course I am," she boasted nervously, trying to hide her anxiety behind the false bravado she always put up before a battle. "After all, I _am_ the Great Ninja Yuffie. No Keyblade wielding little twerp is gonna beat me. Nuh-uh. Not in a million years."

Squall smiled slowly as he saw right through the facade Yuffie put up and placed a gloved hand upon her shoulder to give her a reassuring squeeze. "I'm a little nervous, too, you know," he admitted quietly, not wanting the whole arena to hear that the mighty wielder of the Gunblade actually got nervous before a battle.

Shocked, Yuffie pulled away from him and placed a hand on his forehead, testing for a fever. "Are you sure you're Squall? You're not a pod person, are you?" she teased, trying to sound serious and failing miserably.

Before Squall could reply to her comment, he heard the triumphant cry of the battle's victor and the sudden cheering and booing coming from the stands as each sides hero either fell or claimed victory. An announcement then came from across the arena where Phil was standing with a megaphone. "Next up, Squall Leonhart and Yuffie Kisaragi versus Magic Alert."

"Magic Alert? What are we fighting, Yuffie?" Squall asked as they stepped into the fighting grounds and took their stances.

Seeing the types of Heartless materialize in front of them, Yuffie slapped her forehead and groaned in disgust. "You're not gonna believe it, Squall," she muttered, already putting her shuriken away and preparing to use the few magic spells she knew for this battle.

"Just tell me already," he hissed as he turned his heads towards her, his mouth in a tight line and his Gunblade drawn in front of him.

"It's five Red Nocturnes and five Yellow Operas." She watched in slight amusement as she saw the well-known look of revenge come across his face as he pushed his long bangs out of his face with one hand.

The bell rang, signaling the fight was to begin and Squall stood stock still, listening to the distinct whirring noises the flying heartless made as they were powering up. Hearing one directly to his right, he prepared to swing his sword around, but paused to locate Yuffie by her shrill yells of 'Blizzara' as she attacked some of the creatures. The Gunblade arced through the air and he felt it solidly connect with something, something he dearly hoped was brethren to the Red Nocturne that had taken his vision.

He continued slashing the air as the sounds of the heartless let him easily locate them in the arena, and, within mere minutes of starting the battle, he and Yuffie had decimated the opposition. The crowd went wild, cheering madly as he slashed an 'x' in the air with his Gunblade and Yuffie, undoubtedly, did her little victory dance of jumping around like mad.

"Sora versus Squall and Yuffie," Phil announced briefly, looking down at the small tablet he held in his hands. He shook his horned head as he tried to figure out exactly how a blind man and an annoying ninja could take down the last competitors. But, then again, he had never dreamed that some of the heroes he had trained had actually made it.

Sora confidently strutted into the arena, smiling cheesily at the crowds as they clapped and cheered, urging him on. Even Yuffie and Squall, the past victors, were no match in the crowds eyes for the Keyblade master, no matter how young he was. "You still want to do this, Leon?" he asked quietly, not wanting the crowd to hear.

As answer, Squall took his stance and lowered his head, already listening for the tell-tale signs that would alert him to the boy's location even before the battle began. Yuffie drew a few shuriken from the pouch at her side and positioned them expertly between her fingers, ready to throw them as soon as the battle began. She stood up suddenly and looked around the arena. "Hey, where's Donald and Goofy?"

"They had other business in Hollow Bastion and couldn't make it," Sora replied as he brought his Keyblade out in front of him and brought his game face on. He would never admit it, but the thought of fighting both Squall and Yuffie at the same time, by himself, made him just the least bit nervous.

The bell rang and Sora, disregarding Squall as he thought he wouldn't have to worry about the blinded man, immediately charged Yuffie, who began to back flip away from him and shoot the small stars at him with a quick flick of her wrist. Concentrating all his effort on the ninja, Sora quickly blocked her into a corner and began slashing at her with his blade. He never noticed the sound of the quickly approaching footsteps as the Gunblade wielder came up from behind him and attacked his unprotected back. Spinning around, he caught Squall with his blade only to have Yuffie bring her conformer out and begin ruthlessly attacking him.

The battle raged on, neither side winning or losing until Yuffie reached into her pouch to find that she was out of shuriken and her conformer just wasn't cutting it anymore as Sora had learned to dodge it. Sensing that the ninja was at her weakest now, the Keyblade master once again concentrated his attacks on her, soon bringing his blade down with the finishing blow and leaving her unconscious.

Without Yuffie's constant stream of ninja stars flying at him, Sora found that dealing with Leon became much easier and the mighty Gunblade wielder soon followed his ninja companion in unconsciousness. Glad to see that he had won, yet saddened by having to fight his friends, Sora quickly cast a cure spell on them. He knew it wouldn't help with the muscle aches and pains, but it would stop the bleeding and heal most of the wounds they had acquired.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

"I can't believe we lost," Squall mumbled as he felt Yuffie's small, delicate hands soothingly spread a cooling salve upon an open cut on his abdomen before wrapping bandages around it. He ran a hand through his hair, wincing as he moved his shoulder wrong and felt the overextended muscle protest.

"But we have a good excuse, Squall," Yuffie replied, still checking over his body for anymore wounds that needed attention. She had already taken care of the major ones on her own body and, seeing as how Squall couldn't see, she decided he would need help taking care of his. Of course, she didn't mind having to see him shirtless. That was just one of the perks. "I mean, come on, you were blind. And I think we put up a pretty good fight even though you were blind, don't you?"

Sitting on the hard bleachers of the battle arena, he once again heard clashing as another battle begin as Yuffie's fingers ran across his chest to another small cut. "Yeah, I guess we did," he agreed quietly, realizing that it was true. They _had_ put up a good fight and they would've won if they had been able to just keep at if for a little longer. "Although, I really wanted to beat that punk down."

Yuffie smiled as she finished with his wounds and handed him his shirt, sighing sadly as the sight of his chiseled chest and abs disappeared from her view. "Don't worry, Squall. Next time we'll get him," she whispered as she leaned and kissed him lightly on the lips. Feeling his arms wrap around her waist, she would have gladly given him another kiss if it hadn't been for the loud clap of thunder and flash of lightning in the sky. Terrified, she jumped in his lap and hid her head in his shirt.

Mildly surprised when she jumped in his lap, Squall quickly got over it and stood up, picking her up as he did. "Maybe we should get inside?" he suggested as he took a hesitant step forward, waiting for her directions to the building entrance.

"Y-yeah," she stuttered as the thunder pounded again, causing her to nearly jump out of his arms and run screaming. Steeling her nerves, she quickly directed him to the door, hoping they could both reach it before the rain fell down.

As they entered, they heard a quick announcement from Phil claiming it was impossible for Gummi travel until the storm passed and he quickly directed everyone to the nearest hotel as the storm would probably last for a few days, if not longer. Sighing in disgust, but realizing there was no other way, Yuffie consented to having to stay at the Coliseum. At least this way, she wouldn't have to worry about Aerith.

* * *

_Author's Note: Yay... I got this chapter out just two days after the last one. I must be on a roll. Anyways, I know, the action scenes were horrible. I'm not good at them. And the ending of this chapter wasn't the best in the world, but I'm setting it up for something in the next chapter or so. Anyways, please review for me._


	13. Chapter Thirteen: Chasing Rainbows

_Author's Note: I think my muses have actually returned. I'm starting to write like I used to with only a few days in between chapters. We can only hope that it'll last. And, as of this chapter, I believe this is my longest story ever. Even word-wise. _

_Note to Ellyrianna: I thought of you when I wrote the ending of that last chapter. I know how much you like to see Squall hurt and I just _had_ to do it. And about the "chiseled chest," I had to write that after I got this picture of Yuffie wrapping bandages around him. We need a shirtless Squall in KH2. That's what we need._

_[Disclaimer: If I owned Kingdom Hearts, I would've put Squall in the game shirtless, have Yuffie be a playable character, and have the action options be "Kiss," "Glomp," "Touch," and various others that I can't put here in a PG-13 fic when you were Yuffie and near Squall. But, as we all know, I _don't_ own Kingdom Hearts. Therefore, those things I just described will probably never happen.]_

* * *

_Chapter Thirteen: Chasing Rainbows_

Leaning her forehead against the cool glass of the hotel room window, Yuffie briefly wondered why a world that seemed to pride itself on the traditions of the Olympians would have such a modern hotel in the small city. A quick flash of lightning and a loud crack of thunder caused her to jump backwards from the window and watch as the clouds became even darker, threatening the rain that had yet to fall. She calmed considerably when a warm arm wrapped around her waist, resting upon the bare skin between her shirt and shorts, and pulled her against the firm chest of the owner of said arm. "How did you know where I was, Squall?" she whispered softly as she lifted her head up to stare at the man holding her.

"I can hear you. Even when you're not talking, I can still hear all the tiny little noises you never knew you made," he murmured as he lowered his lips to her head of short ebony hair. "I can hear each breath you take, the rustling of your clothes, and this time, the little gasp you made when the thunder hit."

"So, you're kinda like Superman now?" Yuffie laughed, reaching one arm behind her to place her hand on the back of his neck and play with his long mahogany locks with her delicate fingers. She leaned her head back against him and rolled it to the side so she could gaze at his face, wishing she could pull the bandages off and stare into the stormy depths of his deep blue eyes.

Squall shook his head slowly, his mouth forming a thin line. "No, Superman wouldn't have lost--" he began, only to be cut off when Yuffie spun around in his arms and placed two fingers over his lips.

"Don't say that! Even Superman has to lose occasionally," she said insistently, moving both hands to his shoulders. "Besides, you can be _my _Superman. My Gunblade wielding Superman." Standing on tiptoe, she slowly leaned forward to kiss him when a loud clap of thunder caused her to jump, pressing her whole body into his.

Laughing against her lips, Squall pulled her tighter to him and lifted her up slightly as the kiss deepened. "I think I'm going to start looking forward to storms if you jump in my arms every time it thunders," he whispered in amusement as their lips parted, giving her another quick kiss before he released her from his arms. "But, as much as I love that fact, we're going to have to leave now or else we'll be stuck here for a week or more."

Yuffie furrowed her brows and gave him a confused look, pulling back from him slightly and placing her palms on his chest. "But Phil said..." she trailed off and looked out the window, seeing that it still hadn't started to rain yet.

"Yuffie, do you _really_ want to stay here that long with _Phil_ of all peo-er things?" Squall asked, trying not to think what the trainer would force them to do if he had the chance. Sora had told him once that the satyr had tried to force him to move a heavy stone once, a feat which proved impossible for the trio of Keyblade master, duck, and dog.

Letting his words sink in for a moment, Yuffie finally realized that he had a point. There was no way in hell she was going to stay here to become slave labor for that _thing_, even if it meant returning to Traverse Town to face a fuming Aerith. "Anchors away, Squallie boy," she announced, grabbing his arm and hurriedly pulling him out the door. She was glad they hadn't moved their suitcase out of the Gummi ship yet as it was one less thing for them to move now.

"Yuffie, if you call me 'Squallie boy' once more, I'll turn you over my knee and smack you," Squall threatened as the ninja pulled him down the hallway and into the elevator.

Grinning mischievously, Yuffie pushed the button for the lobby before turning back to Squall. "Really?" she asked softly, placing both hands on his forearm.

"No."

"Darn it," Yuffie muttered under her breath.

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

The elevator finally reached the bottom floor and the two fighters quickly stepped out, heading in the direction of the hotel exit only to be stopped by the one they were trying to avoid. "And just where do you think you two are going?" Phil demanded angrily, placing his hands upon his hips and glaring at them.

"We're going home," Squall explained, following Yuffie as she led him around a pillar and towards the door.

The satyr quickly jogged to the entrance and stood in front of it, his pudgy arms crossed over his chest and continued to glare at them. "I told you guys earlier, no one is leaving until the storms pass over. No exceptions!"

An idea of how to make the goat relent popped into her head, and giving Squall an almost evil grin that he couldn't see, she leaned down to whisper into the satyr's ear. "You see that guy right there?" She turned to point at Squall, making sure she had Phil's attention. "He has a goat fetish," she whispered ever so softly in his ear, hoping her partner didn't hear. But, apparently he did as no sooner had she said that than Squall licked his lips. Yuffie quickly put a hand over her mouth to keep from laughing.

Phil looked worriedly at the Gunblade wielder before moving out of the doorway, deciding it might be better to let the two leave. He quickly shuffled to the side of the exit and let the two pass, keeping a wary eye upon Squall as he walked past. "Weirdos," he muttered under his breath.

Just as Yuffie and Squall left the hotel, the clouds burst and rain began pouring down, instantly soaking both of them as they dashed across the open area to the World Exit. Yuffie kept a firm grip upon Squall's arm to make sure he didn't get lost from her and she couldn't help but dig her nails into his skin every time the thunder boomed. They finally reached the Gummi dock doors and dived inside, immediately shaking themselves to get rid of the excess water. "Great improvisation back there, Squall," Yuffie congratulated as she walked them over to his ship.

"What are you talking about?" the Gunblade wielder questioned, genuinely confused as to what she was referring to. "I didn't improvise anything."

"You licked your lips back there!"

"Yeah, so? I had dry lips." Squall thought about what she said for a moment, before slapping his forehead in disgust. "Yuffie, what did you tell him?" he asked in a low growl, grabbing her arm to keep her from running away.

Twisting in his grasp, Yuffie attempted to pry her arm out of the steel grip of his hand only to find that she was unable to do so. "Uh... nothing," she stuttered, desperately trying to come up with a feasible lie to tell him. Not finding one, she did the only thing she could think of to get his mind off of it. She kissed him, hard, hard enough to leave them both breathless when she finally released his lips.

Squall leaned his forehead against hers, catching his breath which was coming in short puffs and mingling with hers. "For that, I'll let it slide," he murmured softly, leaning down to kiss her again only to find that she had slipped from his grip and was already pulling him into the Gummi ship.

She quickly dragged him down the hall and rummaged through the suitcase she had brought, digging through it until she found some dry clothes for both of them. Handing him a pair of blue jeans and one of his standard white t-shirts, she left him alone in the bedroom while she went down the hall to the bathroom to changed into the oversized green shirt and shorts she had found for herself. That done, she waited for him in the control room, knowing he could find his way back into there by himself since he seemed to know exactly where everything was in the ship.

Going through the same routine of flipping switches and pushing buttons, Yuffie sat in the pilot's seat and forced Squall into the co-pilot's seat, making sure he was fastened in this time before she took off. As they rose above the world, she looked out the side window to see the dark thunder clouds from above. A bright colorful circle caught her eyes, causing her momentary confusion. "Hey, Squall? Are rainbows supposed to be round?"

"What do you mean?" Feeling the ship was now flying steady, he unbuckled himself and stood up, leaning over her and placing a hand upon her shoulder.

"I mean, I can see a rainbow over Olympus, but it's a full circle, not a semicircle," she explained, turning her head to place a soft kiss on his hand before putting her own hand over it. "Why is that?" While she was waiting for his answer, she set the auto pilot for Traverse Town, setting it at a higher speed than they had previously used in the hopes that they would beat the storm that seemed to be heading there as well. She noted that the estimated arrival time was set for that evening, near ten o'clock.

"Rainbows _are_ circles, Yuf. It's just that you can only see the semicircle when you're on the ground." He heard a soft disappointed sigh escape her lips when he finished his explanation. "What's wrong?" he asked softly, lowering himself onto his knees behind her so he could rest his head on his shoulder.

As Squall's breath blew on her ear, the ninja felt pleasurable shivers race up and down her spine, causing her to catch her own breath for a minute. "Well, that means there's no end to the rainbow. You know, no treasures waiting for you after you reach it. And that also means there's no Rainbow Bridge."

"Rainbow Bridge?" the Gunblade wielder wondered aloud, turning his head to kiss the spot right below her ear and laughing gently as she softly gasped at the sensation. "What's the Rainbow Bridge?"

Shaking her head to clear it from the sensations Squall's ministrations, Yuffie tried to concentrate on remembering the story about the Rainbow Bridge. "It's where all pets go to wait. And they wait there until that special person they loved comes to get them. And then they go into the afterlife with their person," she told him, feeling a little silly for still believing in such childish things. "At least, that's what my mother told me after my cat Trixie died. I mean, I know I had a lot of cats, but she was my favorite. She was different. She had long back longs and she hopped and she didn't have a tail."

"Yuffie, that was a mutation," he chuckled, remembering seeing a cat that fit her description on a documentary sometime before. "I think they're called 'cabbits.'"

"Yeah, so. She was still my favorite," she said indignantly, a few tears coming to her eyes as she remembered the strange black and white cat that was so different than all the others she had ever seen.

With his cheek pressed against hers, Squall felt the warm tears flow over onto his and heard a small sniffle. "Hey, I'm sorry, Yuf," he apologized, wiping away the tears with the back of his hand and placing a small kiss on her cheek. "I'm sure she was a special cat."

Yuffie rubbed her cheek against his, loving the feel of the short, rough stubble of his normally shaven beard against her own smooth skin. "You need to shave," she whispered, rubbing the other side of his face with her hand.

"I don't have a razor with me. You were in such a rush to get out of Traverse Town that you forgot to pack my electric one." The electric razor was a new thing to him as he would normally have used a plain, single blade razor. However, since he was unable to see, that would have resulted in a bloody disaster so he had resorted to buying an electric one.

She laughed as she rubbed his cheek once more, closing her eyes to savor the sensation. "That's okay. I love the feel of stubble. It's just so... I don't know..." Finding herself at a lost for words, she struggled to search her mind for the word she was looking for. "Sexy, maybe?"

"Sexy, huh? I'll keep that in mind, then." With Yuffie's soft hand still on his one cheek, he raised his hand to cover hers with his and move it so he could kiss her palm.

Sitting there, Yuffie was surprised to find her nausea hadn't returned yet, but she knew it was only a matter of time. She _always_ got sick when flying, no matter what. The ship lurched suddenly and her stomach went with it, making her smile sardonically as she clutched her stomach and groan. "I knew I forgot to buy something back there," she muttered, leaning back against Squall who was still kneeling behind her.

"You want to go lie down?" he murmured in her ear, placing his arms gently around her waist as to not cause her nausea to become worse. A short, soft 'mm hmm' was his only answer as he helped her to her feet and then picked her up to carry her down the corridor, careful to not jar her too much. He realized it paid to know every nook and cranny in his ship as it allowed him to do this without bumping into anything.

Even with her stomach churning each time the ship made a sudden turn, Yuffie found the strength to giggle at his chivalrous actions, burying her face in his shirt. "I think I can walk, you know," she muttered, her voice muffled by his chest.

Squall started to lower her to the ground, preparing to set her on her feet. "Well, if that's what you really want..."

Yuffie wrapped her arms around his neck and held on tighter. "Nope, I was just telling you." Her stomach churned again and she dropped one of her arms from his neck to rest upon it. "But, if we don't hurry, I might puke on you." She noted that Squall increased his pace considerably, only stopping at the bathroom for her to grab a damp cloth in case she needed it.

Finally reaching the bedroom, he sat her on the bed and sat down beside her, rubbing her back with one hand while she placed her head between her knees and groaned in discomfort. Scooting back and propping himself up against the wall, he gently pulled Yuffie in front of him where he continued to soothingly rub her back. "Feeling better?" he asked as he felt her sit up slightly and push her back against his hands.

"Much," she whispered, not even having to lie. Just having Squall's hands upon her seemed to relieve her nausea. Whether it was psychosomatic or a weird healing effect of his hands, she didn't know. And she didn't really care. All she knew was that she felt like purring, and would do so if she could. The removal of his hands from her back caused her to jerk her head around and glare at him. "What'd you stop for?"

"You said you were feeling better." Not waiting for her answer, he started to rub her back again, this time in a more caressing manner.

Feeling as though she were in heaven, the ninja slowly shut her eyes to better enjoy his hands on her, snapping them open when a thought ran through her head. "Hold on a minute," she muttered, leaning forward slightly to pull the back of her shirt over her head so that it was resting on her arms and just covering her front. "There."

Putting his hands upon her back once again, Squall felt her bare skin beneath his fingers and slowed his rubbing even more, if that were possible. Curious, he asked, "Where's your shirt, Yuf?"

"Don't worry, Squall. The essentials are still covered." With his calloused, rough hands on her, her nausea was completely forgotten. She decided that this worked even better than describing the stars and such to him like she did last time, not to mention more fun.

Squall's fingers worked their up and down her back, going from the low waist of her shorts up to the nape of her neck and crossing over her bra strap in the process. And each time they crossed it, they lingered there longer than the time before as if searching for something. "Okay, where's the clasp?" he finally inquired, puzzled by the seemingly claspless article.

She let out a soft snort, having been wondering why his hands always slowed there. "It's in the front." She started to laugh even harder when she heard the mumbled "dammit" come from behind her as he continued his ministrations upon her back. "You know, this really isn't that fair," she playfully complained. And when her companion didn't answer, she continued. "I mean, you still have _your_ shirt on and mine is off, for the most part."

His hands left her back and she turned her head to watch him, smiling when she saw him grab the hem of his shirt and pull it over his head. "Better?" he murmured softly, pulling her against his chest so that the bare skin of her back was pressed against his.

Wiggling a little to better situate herself against him, she felt his arms slide from her back and come around her waist under her shirt. "Much, much better," she answered, closing her eyes and letting the sleep that always accompanied her air sickness to take over.

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_Author's Note: Wow... three updates in a week, I think. Anyways, here you go. I hope you like it. I've got some plans going on for this story. So, review away. _


	14. Chapter Fourteen: Forbidden Fruit

_Author's Note: Well, here we go. Chapter Fourteen. I actually feel like I'm getting something accomplished. By the by, I'm currently in the process of starting a new story called "Honor Amongst Thieves." The first chapter should be up in the next week or so._

_By the way, someone asked about a lemon. I'm sorry to say that there won't be a lemon in this story. :::dodges fruit from lemon-loving readers::: But, I've only written one lemon (or lime or whatever type of citrus it was) and it will probably be the only one I ever write. I just don't feel comfortable writing them._

_[Disclaimer: I'm running out of interesting things to say up here. So, I shall just say that I don't own them. There, will that suffice?]_

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_Chapter Fourteen: Forbidden Fruit_

"One one-thousand.... two one-thousand..." Yuffie counted as she looked out the window of the Gummi ship, her arms folded on the narrow windowsill and her chin resting upon them. Below her, the dark clouds that had covered Olympus were moving by an unseen force towards Traverse Town, much to her disgust. "Three one-thousand..." A loud rumbling thunder clap interrupted her counting and she waited for the next flash of lightning to start counting again.

"Yuffie, will you please stop that? You've been doing it for the past two hours," Squall complained tiredly from his prone position on the bed, his hand resting on Yuffie's lower back as she was sitting in front of him and leaning forward to look out the window. "I can't sleep while you do that."

Sighing, the ninja turned to gaze at him and smile before going back to watching the clouds as the ship passed over them. "I wish you could see this, Squall. It looks like the clouds are blinking," she whispered in fascination as she saw yet another flash of light come from them, and she immediately began her counting again, this time silently. "Just don't sleep too deeply. We're almost back in Traverse."

A muffled 'mm hmm' came from behind her and the hand on her back slowly dropped to the bed as the Gunblade wielder drifted off into sleep. Yuffie leaned back gently and rested her head against his stomach, her face turned to the side so she could watch his while he slept. It never ceased to amaze her how angelic and vulnerable he could appear while he was sleeping. The way his face would completely relax and his lips would part slightly as his breath came out in small puffs, blowing away the hair that had fallen into his face. As her head rose and fell with each breath he took, she was slowly lulled to sleep by the rhythm, her eyes just beginning to droop close.

The shrill shrieking of the Gummi's alarm sent the ninja bolting upright, soon followed by the man who had been serving as her pillow. "That's not the auto pilot alarm," she muttered worriedly as she quickly ran down the hall and into the control room. There, she various red alarm lights flashing and warning screens coming up on the monitors, causing her to look around in terror. "Squall!"

Hearing his name, the Gunblade wielder, who had already been following her, increased his pace and ran to her. "What's wrong, Yuf?" he asked hurriedly, trying not to curse too loudly as he stubbed his toe against the doorframe in his haste to help her.

"We're entering the storm, Squall! _I can't fly this thing in a storm!!_" she screamed in a panic as she plopped down into the pilot's seat, beginning to chew on her nails nervously. Looking out the front window, she could see the heavy, dark clouds the ship was flying into as it came into the atmosphere of the world.

Using both her panicked voice and his knowledge of the ship's layout, Squall approached her and placed his hands on her shoulders in an attempt to calm her. "Yuffie, you _have_ to. No one else can." He spun the seat she was sitting in around and put both hands on her cheeks. "You _can_ do this. I know you can," he whispered urgently, giving her a quick kiss on her forehead. "Just imagine the storm isn't there."

Clenching her fists, the ninja turned back to the control panel and began looking over various displays, adjusting the levers as needed. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Squall walk around and take his seat in the co-pilot's chair before reaching over to rest his hand on her leg, giving it a reassuring squeeze. "Okay, Squall, you're gonna have to talk me through this."

Listening to his calm and steady voice and closely following his instructions, Yuffie let herself fall into the motions of flying the ship through the storm. The hand on her leg slowly began to massage the flesh above her knee, soothing her anytime her nervousness returned. Soon, she was below the clouds and was able to see the docking bay, at which point she turned to Squall and threw herself in his arms. "I did it, Squall! I flew through the storm!" she screamed joyously in his ear, causing him to flinch.

"Uh... Yuffie, if your arms are around my neck, then who's flying the ship?" A small gasp came from the girl in his arms as he felt her jump away to, presumably, land the ship on the world. A sudden lurch and then a long scraping sound coming from the starboard side filled his ears. "What happened?"

Yuffie bit her lip and winced, not really knowing how to explain to him that she had allowed his ship to become scratched. She knew how much time and effort he put into keeping it both clean and in good working order. "I... uh... I kinda bumped into the wall..." she mumbled, her eyes downcast as she felt the ship touch the ground. "I didn't mean to, it was an accident. I'm so sorry, Squall..."

Realizing that her gushing apology could go on for hours, the Gunblade wielder pulled the girl against him, brushing his lips against her ear. "Yuffie, it's okay. It's just a ship. And it's just a scratch. Don't worry about it," he murmured between kisses as his mouth trailed down her neck in an attempt to soothe her.

"Are you sure?" she whispered, trying not to lose her train of thought. But with Squall's lips on the sensitive skin of her throat and neck, she was finding it hard to even remember how to breath, not to mention concentrate. She took his continued caresses as his answer, not sure if he had even heard her question and not really caring anyway.

Tantalizingly slowly, Squall kissed his way back up her neck and to her mouth, where he claimed her lips with his own. His hands roaming her back, he pulled her even tighter to him, breaking the kiss to gently kiss her forehead. "I'm sure, Yuf. I'm just glad we're alive," he said softly as his lips moved up and lingered in her hair.

Faking disdain, Yuffie pulled out of his grasp and playfully swatted at him with her right hand. "Are you saying that you doubted my flying abilities?" she said in mock anger, trying to hold back the laughter as the giddy rush of actually flying the Gummi through a storm hit her full force. It didn't work and she soon was giggling like a maniac, her hands clutching her stomach while she was doubled over with the laughter.

Squall reached out and placed a hand upon her shoulder, realizing that she was nearly in convulsions with her laughter. "Calm down, Yuf. Just calm down," he commanded gently, putting his other hand on her opposite shoulder. It didn't work. She was still trembling with laughter. "Yuffie, you didn't happen to sneak into the liqueur cabinet, did you?"

Yuffie looked up at him with tears in her eyes from all the laughter. "No, of course not, Squallie! You'd know if I kissed you!" she replied, finally managing to get her giddiness under control and stop laughing.

"Well maybe I wasn't paying attention to that," he said slowly, a smile creeping across his face. He was amazed at how much he had actually been smiling lately. Only a few weeks before, smiles rarely graced his face, but it seemed the closer he got to the young ninja, the more he smiled.

"Oh, okay." With that, she launched herself at him and latched her lips onto his, taking him obviously by surprise since it took nearly a full minute for his arms to encircle her. "Well?" she asked expectantly as she broke away, now straddling his lap.

"Well what?" Squall questioned in a daze.

Rolling her eyes and sighing, she playfully hit his chest. "Did you taste any alcohol?" He slowly shook his head 'no' as his hands slide from her back down to her waist. "See? I told you I didn't get into the liqueur cabinet." A flickering light in the docking bay outside the front window caught her eye and she watched it for a moment, half afraid that it would go out.

With his hands still resting on her hips, Squall felt her start to climb off his lap. "Hey, where are you going?" he demanded, grabbing her more tightly to keep her there.

"We really do need to get back to the hotel. The storm is getting worse and the lights are starting to flicker. If we don't hurry, they might go out before we get there," she explained, managing to slip out of his grasp. Once on her feet, she grabbed his hand with her two smaller hands and hauled him up to his feet. "Well, come on!"

Holding onto her hand, they left the Gummi ship after a detour by the bedroom to grab the suitcase they had brought. Once they had left the Gummi garage and had started walking across the First District, the rain began to fall, starting in a slow drizzle. "We always seem to get stuck in the rain," the Gunblade wielder mumbled with disgust as they trudged through it.

"Yeah, we must be lucky or something," Yuffie replied sarcastically, moving her gripe from his hand to his arm as the lightning flashed and the thunder rolled, not caring that his arm was now pulled to her chest and resting between her breasts. About halfway across the district, a particularly loud clap of thunder sounded and Yuffie jumped, not realizing that she was now on Squall's back with his hair in her hands.

Wincing, Squall tilted his head backwards as she yanked on his hair while her legs subconsciously wrapped around his waist. "Yuffie, if don't stop pulling my hair, I'll end up with a bald spot and you'll have hairy palms," he hissed in pain, letting out a relieved sigh as her hands dropped his hair to gripe his shoulders.

"Sorry, Squall," she muttered, hiding her face in the crook of his neck so she couldn't see the lightning any longer. She lifted her head when she felt him stop walking. "Why'd ya stop?"

"You're going to make me carry you the whole way, aren't you?" In answer, he felt her legs tighten and her ankles crossed at his waist. Sighing, he started walking again, the suitcase in one hand and the other hand under one of her legs to help support while he listened to her as she told him where to walk and what to miss.

As they pushed through the Second District doors, the rain began falling harder and the streetlights began flickering. The lights continued to blink until Squall opened the hotel door, at which point everything went black, causing the lightweight ninja on his back to squeal in his ear. "Get down," he whispered, taking his hand out from under her leg.

"Squall, I can't see anything! How are we going to get to the room?" She blinked her eyes repeatedly, hoping her eyes would adjust to the darkness only to realize that they refused to cooperate. Something brushing against her upper thigh caused her to jump and squeal again, only to have a warm hand clamped down over her mouth.

"Yuffie, calm down. I can get us to the room but unless you want to wake up everyone else, you had better be quiet. Got it?" he rasped, slowly taking his hand off her mouth when he felt her nod. "Okay, take my hand."

The ninja blindly reached out and ending up grabbing one of the four belts he wore instead. "I can't find your hand. I can't see," she hissed as she followed in his footsteps down the hall. She could only hope he knew where he was going.

"I can't see either, you know. You just have to rely on your other senses." He trailed one hand along the wall to keep himself going in a relatively straight line and to help judge where they were by how many doorways they had passed. A swift jerk on his belt and a muffled 'ow' let him know that Yuffie had tripped over something and fallen. He stopped and waited patiently for her to get back up. "You alright?"

"Yeah, I'm just tripping over my own to feet," she muttered sardonically, being more careful where she put her feet this time around. She didn't realize when her guide stopped walking until she bumped into him, nearly making him fall in the process. He put a steadying hand against the doorframe and kept them both from crashing into the floor.

Shaking his head, Squall released a drawn out sigh. "Are you _trying_ to wake Aerith up?" he questioned as he put his hand on the doorknob, forgetting it was locked. "And where is the key?"

Yuffie let his belt go as she fumbled around in her pockets, finally finding the key and handed it to him once she actually found his hand in the pitch black hallway. The moon didn't even give off any light as the dark storm clouds had blocked it. "No, I don't want to wake Aerith up," she hissed vehemently. "She'll just start yelling at me again."

Somehow, Squall managed to insert the key into the lock and wrench the doorknob to the right, wincing when the door creaked loudly in the silent hall as he pushed it open. "She's only looking out for your best interests, Yuf," he whispered as they stumbled into the room. Well, rather, Yuffie stumbled into the room as Squall was used to not being able to see his surroundings.

"She's treating me like a baby," the ninja whined quietly, still holding onto Squall since she didn't know where anything else was in the room. "I mean, I'm sixteen years old, almost seventeen, and she's acting like I'm twelve or something." A rustling noise from across the room caused her to jump and grab her comrade's arm tightly, as though she were holding on for dear life. "What was that?!"

Squall bit his lip to keep his laughter from erupting from his chest as he realized what had scared her. "Yuffie, it was just Yoshi. You do remember Yoshi, don't you?" An answering 'coo' came from below the window and Squall could feel the girl's grasp on his arm loosening. "Don't tell me you're scared of the dark, too? I mean, thunder storms _and_ the dark?"

"I'm not scared of the dark," Yuffie said indignantly, releasing his arm and trying to walk to the window overlooking the balcony. Well, at least she hoped that was where she was going since she had completely lost her sense of direction in the dark. "I'm just scared of what's in the dark." At that moment, she felt something grab her, causing her to let out a shrill shriek of terror before something was clamped over her mouth.

"Relax, Yuf. It's just me," Squall murmured, pulling his hand off her mouth and letting the arm he had grabbed drop to her side. "You are so skittish tonight." He could hear her gasping for breath as she began to calm down, and this time _he_ jumped when something hit his chest.

"I wouldn't be so skittish if you wouldn't keep sneaking up on me," she retorted as she continued to softly hit his chest, only stopping when his hands came up to grab hers. Still lost and blind in the dark room, she was taken by surprise when his lips came down on hers. She pulled back and glared at him. "Yeah, just like a guy. You think a kiss can make everything better, don't you?"

"I seem to remember you doing the same thing when you refused to tell me what you told Phil at the Coliseum," he reminded her, beginning to ponder the strange situation at the arena and _why _Phil _had_ let them go. "What exactly did you tell him, Yuf?"

Yuffie laughed nervously, determined not to tell him since she knew he would probably become angry with her. "Do you really think that I'm gonna tell you?" she retorted, pulling her hands out of his grasp.

Growling playfully, Squall grabbed her and carefully threw her down on the bed, landing beside her where he began to relentlessly tickle her sides with one hand while keeping her mouth covered with the other. "Oh, you'll tell me alright. Even if it takes me hours to get it out of you." Thinking about it, he was glad that their bed was on the wall opposite Aerith's as even with her mouth covered, Yuffie's laughter was growing louder.

She squirmed under his fingers, trying to escape from their sweet torture and, yet, still trying to keep what she had told Phil a secret. But it was becoming harder to do so as he continued to tickle her. Rolling onto her side and into him, she noticed that he had stopped tickling her and she used the opportunity to catch her breath. "Giving up?" she chided.

"Yuffie, move your hand."

"What?" she asked confusedly, before she realized _where_ her hand had landed between them when she had rolled into him. She felt the hot blush rising into her cheeks and she was sure it even covering her neck and shoulders. She quickly jerked her hand away and began babbling incoherently, the only recognizable words coming out of her mouth being 'I'm sorry' and 'it was an accident.'

Squall shut her up with another kiss, this one more intense than the previous ones they had shared. He rolled over until he was hovering above her, his lips still locked on hers while his hands began to roam her small form, her own hands doing the same to his much larger body.

Feeling his hands reach a particularly sensitive spot on her flesh, Yuffie began to groan against his mouth. His lips left hers to kiss down her jaw line and down her neck, once again finding her sensitive spots. "How do you DO that?" she murmured as his lips went even further down her neck and reached her shoulders.

"I know where you keep everything," Squall muttered against her skin, his hands beginning to slide up the front of her shirt.

Rolling her eyes, Yuffie sat up and lightly pushed him off of her. "You're such a... such a... such a GUY!" she finally said, finding herself at a loss for insults in her current state.

Squall raised himself up as well and leaned into her, his chin resting on her shoulder and his mouth next to her ear. Yuffie mocked his position and wrapped her arms around him. "Tell me what you want, Yuffie. We can stop this now or we can go on. It's up to you," he breathed into her ear, moving his mouth to kiss the spot below her earlobe.

"I want..." she trailed off, trying to make the right decision. She knew if she let this continue, that Aerith would most likely try to kill Squall for 'corrupting' her. But she also knew that she couldn't let the flower girl stand in the way of what she wanted. Aerith _was not_ her mother and _would never_ be her mother. "I want everything. I want you. I want all of you," she finally whispered, letting out the nervous breath she had been holding.

"You sure?"

"I've never been more sure about anything before, Squall."

"Okay, then." He lay her down on the mattress and moved down to her feet, trying to pull her shoes off only to find out she had worn boots and had the laces double-knotted. Knowing that she would be unable to untie them in the dark, not to mention find something sharp to cut them with, Squall did the next best thing. He began to cut through the laces with his teeth.

Wondering what in the seven blazes of hell her soon to be lover was doing to her, Yuffie sat up slightly and tried to pull her feet back towards her, only to find that Squall grabbed her leg and held it still. "What are you doing?" she hissed.

"I'm liberating your feet, hold still."

"How?"

"I'm chewing through the laces," he muttered as he finally cut through one of the knots and pulled that shoe off, immediately going for the next foot.

"You animal," she teased, shaking her head at his actions.

"You've no idea," he murmured as he finished with the other shoe, pulling it off and beginning to crawl up to her on the bed. "You've no idea."

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_Author's Note: And the author fades out at this point and leaves it up to the reader's imagination as to what happens next. For all we know, they could go play a game of goldfish. Highly unlikely, given the current circumstances and their current state, but you never know. Anyways, please review for me. I love to hear from my reviewers. You guys always make my day so much better. Plus, it motivates me to write._


	15. Chapter Fifteen: Interrupted Bliss

_Author's Note: Thanks to all the reviewers. I love you guys and I don't say it enough. I usually wait until the last chapter to do that, but I'm going to go ahead and say it. I love each and every one of you! You guys make my day so much better!_

_By the way, I meant "Go Fish" instead of "Gold fish" in my author's note last chapter._

_[Disclaimer: Okay, if you haven't figured it out by now, I don't own anything recognizable in the story. However, I'm willing to make a bid on Squallie if he ever goes up for sale.]_

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_Chapter Fifteen: Interrupted Bliss_

Feeling the slight warmth of the sunlight fall across her face, Yuffie crinkled her nose and rolled over, shivering slightly as the covers slipped and revealed her bare shoulder to the cool air of the room. In response, she scooted over into the man lying next to her and snuggled against him, laying her cheek flat upon his bare chest. Her eyes opened slowly and a content smile came across her face as she moved her lips to gently kiss the bare chest beneath her face. The memories of the previous night's passion cascaded through her mind, filling her with a sense of amazement. She had never dared to hope that she would find someone who would actually want _her_, of all people. But, Squall had proved that thought wrong last night.

She spared a quick glance at the clock, seeing that it was still before seven in the morning and way too early to get up. So, closing her eyes, she allowed slumber to take her once more as she tenderly traced her fingers over his chest and abdomen, her fingers only stopping their movements when sleep had reclaimed her.

A few hours later, the young ninja awoke with a soft sigh and found herself lying atop her lover's chest, rising and falling with each slow breath he took. She pulled herself up his body so that her head rested just below his chin and began placing a few feather-soft kisses on his collarbone. Yuffie watched as a small frown was etched on his face and he incoherently mumbled a name she did not recognize, soon followed by a short 'I'm sorry.'

Shaking her head, she pushed the thoughts that had begun to form in her mind away, telling herself that he was only dreaming. "Squall?" she whispered softly, crossing her arms and resting her chin atop them so she could gaze upon his face while he awoke. "Squall?" She leaned forward to place a soft kiss upon his chin while she traced a lone finger down his jaw line.

Squall shuddered awake at the gentle touch of her hand upon his face and sleepily brought his arms up to rest atop her back. "Yuffie?" he murmured quietly, one hand lazily stroking her back while the other traced circles on her lower back.

"Hm?" she managed to get out, making it sound almost like a purr as his roaming hands sent pleasurable chills racing down her spine. She felt like she could stay there in his arms forever, never needing to leave for anything just as long as he was always there.

"Was last night for real or was it a dream?" Squall questioned slowly, his hands stilling their motions atop her back and simply resting on the lower portion.

Yuffie lowered her head slightly and bit her lip, trying to keep the giggle that was building up inside her from bubbling out. "If it was, then we're both having some really intense dreams." Raising her eyes, she pushed away the ebony bangs that had fallen into her line of sight and stared at the man beneath her. "Besides, I'm lying on you... naked... and you still want to know if it was a dream?!" she asked incredulously.

His arms tightening slightly around her, Squall gave her a languid smile. "Well, for all I know, this could be a dream, too." He sat himself up slightly, to where he was leaning against the headboard behind him and pulled Yuffie up with him, burying his lips in her hair.

"A good dream or a bad dream?" the ninja inquired softly, slipping her arms beneath his and wrapping them behind his back. Sighing, she pressed her head even further against his chest and tightened her grip around him.

Squall bent his head over her and gently began kissing down the side of her neck and across her shoulders. "A good dream," he murmured in between kisses, his voice slightly muffled against her skin. "A _very_ good dream." His hands began trailing up her sides, just lightly brushing her skin and making her squirm as he unintentionally tickled her.

Yuffie pulled her arms out from around him and pressed her palms flat against his chest, leaning back as she did so that she was now sitting up straight and straddling his lap. "I'm glad to hear it, considering I thought it was an _amazing_ dream," she said quietly, blushing slightly as she admitted it to him.

Grabbing her firmly by the waist, Squall quickly flipped her over, causing her to squeal in surprise. He lay on his side, facing her and lazily traced a hand from her navel up to her collarbone. "You're beautiful, you know," he murmured, leaning over and brushing his lips against her cheek.

"You're just saying that. You don't really mean it," Yuffie countered, turning her head away from him and looking out the window. "You can't see me and I know I'm _not_ beautiful. No where near it, in fact," she mumbled, her voice taking on a resigned tone.

Squall cupped her chin and forced her to turn back to him, almost as if his eyes were boring holes through the bandages just to look at her. "Yuffie, I do not need eyes to see that you are beautiful. And I'm not just talking about appearances when I say you're beautiful. And," he paused dramatically, lowering his head to hers slightly, "I do remember what you looked like before I was blinded and what I remember was beautiful."

The ninja took him by surprise when she flung her arms tightly around him and buried her face in the crook of his neck, hot tears streaming down her face and falling onto his skin. Not knowing what else to do, Squall pulled her closer to him and gently stroked her back, trying to calm her. "I meant it, Yuffie. I meant every word," he whispered in reassurance, afraid she was crying because she didn't believe him.

Sniffling, Yuffie raised her head and hastily wiped away her tears with the back of one hand before resting her head against his chest once again. "I know you did. That's why I was crying," she murmured faintly, a few more tears coming to her eyes. "No one has ever told me that before. And... then, I got to thinking about how you might not ever be able to see again..."

"Yuffie, I _will_ see again. I promise you that." He clumsily brushed a thumb across her cheek to wipe away her tears before laying her back down onto the mattress. Feeling Yuffie's arms pulling him down, he gladly gave in and brought his lips down hard upon hers while his hands began roaming her small frame.

His mouth soon left hers and traveled down her neck and across her shoulders, his lips steadily going lower. She knew what he wanted. "Squall," she hissed, "Aerith's room is right there. What if she hears?" Squall ignored her and continued his ministrations. "This is insane, you know." Her feeble protests went unheeded, and when his mouth reached an area of particular sensitivity, she gave in. "Insanity is a good thing."

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Laying tangled in the blankets and sheets, Yuffie sighed and rolled over to stare at the bathroom door, listening to the water run as Squall took his shower. He had offered to take one with her, but she had declined, knowing that if she were to join him, one thing would lead to another. So, closing her eyes, she decided to try and catch a few more minutes of sleep before it was her turn in the shower.

The sound of a doorknob turning caused her to open her eyes, expecting Squall to emerge from the bathroom to grab something that he had forgotten. However, it was not the bathroom door that opened, but the connecting door to the Red Room. Yuffie grimaced as she realized who was opening that door and tried to hide her head beneath the sheets.

But, it was too late. The flower girl had already seen her. The ninja listened as she heard Aerith angrily stomp across the floor, grab the edge of the blanket, and try to rip it off of her. But Yuffie held on tight, her knuckles turning white with the effort. "Yuffie, get out from under there," Aerith almost growled, pulling the covers harder.

"If you pull any harder, I could get arrested for indecent exposure," Yuffie retorted, watching as her friend's brilliant green eyes widened for a moment and then narrowed. Yuffie used Aerith's momentary shock to pull the blankets out of her grasp and get a better grip on them herself.

"What the hell is going on in here, Yuffie?!" Aerith demanded, glowering at the girl hiding beneath the sheets. Although she had a fairly good idea of what had happened, she had to ask. She had to be sure before she jumped to conclusions. One part of her mind said it could be something completely innocent, but the larger portion loudly denied that. And deep down, she knew it was the larger portion of her mind that was right.

Biting her lip, Yuffie struggled to come up with a feasible lie when she knew Aerith wouldn't buy anything. Everyone already knew how to tell when she was lying. So, knowing she was damned if she did and damned if she didn't, Yuffie said the first thing that came to her mind. "Afterglow."

The flower girl backed up slowly, bumping the backs of her legs into the high backed chair at the table before sitting down hard in it. "Afterglow from _what_, Yuffie?" Yes, she knew what had happened, she was just still in shock that her young friend had been so candid with her response.

"Well, Aerith, what do you think? I mean, come on. You're a nurse. You have medical books," Yuffie said sarcastically as she sat up in the bed, placing a hand over her chest to keep the covers from slipping down and revealing herself to Aerith.

Raising her hands to her head, Aerith massaged her temples and closed her eyes, silently counting to ten before she said anything she might regret. Her temper finally under control, she opened her eyes and glowered at the ninja. "Yuffie, you are only sixteen. You are just a child. You have no idea what you are doing," she hissed as calmly as she was able.

"That's right, Aerith. I _am_ sixteen, but not a child. And if Squall can see that, why can't you?!" Yuffie angrily gathered the blankets to her, forming a nest around herself as she crossed her legs and sat indian style.

"Yuffie, this is not something that should be taken lightly!" She paused to find her words, knowing by the ninja's past reactions to her well-meaning lectures what might happen. Although, Yuffie _was_ at the disadvantage this time. Even with her outgoing nature, she wouldn't jump out the window to escape while completely nude. "Yuffie, sex is something that should be shared between a man and woman that love each other," she slowly explained, letting her words sink in.

Rolling her eyes, the ninja let the words slid right past her. "Aerith, even if I admitted that I did love Squall, you would _still_ be on my case. Simply because I'm sixteen. So, lay off!" Even in her anger, Yuffie managed to keep her voice under control, only letting her words out in a low, dangerous tone.

The sound of the bathroom door opening drew both of the girls eyes to the doorway where Squall stood with a towel wrapped around his waist, holding it closed in the front. "Squall, don't drop that towel! We have company..." Yuffie called drily from across the room, turning her face away from him to give Aerith an angry glare.

Squall, who had taken the bandages off his eyes so he could shower, clenched them shut and tightened his grip on the towel. "Aerith, what are you doing here?" he asked through gritted teeth as he slowly crossed the room and sat on the edge of the bed, making sure he kept himself decently covered and didn't flash the flower girl.

"If I seem to remember correctly, Leon, Yuffie left me a note asking me to take care of Yoshi while you guys were gone since you two just seemed to have skipped town!" With each word, Aerith's voice had risen until she was screaming at the two of them while she stood up and waved her arms around. "I just came in to feed the stupid bird this morning, and, lo and behold, there's Yuffie... in bed... completely naked!"

Yuffie rose from the bed, pulling the blanket with her and keeping it wrapped around herself as she walked across the room to her dresser. "Look, Aerith. I am going to take a shower and get dressed since it seems to be causing you a lot of problems." Digging around in her dresser drawer, she found her clothes and then slammed the drawer closed, making sure it made as loud of a noise as she could. "And, Aerith," she said in mock sweetness, "you might want to leave the room so Squall can get dressed. We wouldn't want you to have a conniption about that, now do we?" With that, she stalked to the bathroom door and slammed it shut.

The almost careless sound of running water in the bathroom nearly drove the flower girl even more mad than she already was. "I'll be back in five minutes. You better be dressed," she growled to Squall as she stomped out of the room and into her own room, slamming her door as well.

"Well, that went better than expected," Squall muttered as he stumbled towards his closet, nearly tripping over the clothing that had been strewn about the room the previous night. He briefly opened his un-bandaged eyes only to close them tightly once again as the little bit of sunlight in the room seemed to scorch them. Reaching into the closet, the Gunblade wielder pulled out his clothes and quickly dressed, knowing their pink clad friend would keep her word and would, indeed, return when she said.

A knock on the door let him know that she had returned and he was mildly surprised that she had _finally_ seemed to learn how to knock before entering a room. "Come in," he called out gruffly, pulling his t-shirt over his head and pushing a hand through his hair.

"Squall, get on the bed," Aerith commanded, her tone cold and leaving no room for arguments. The flower girl watched him cross the room and do as he was told out of the corner of her eye as she fished around in her medical bag for his eye drops. Even though she was furious with both of her friends, she couldn't let his injury go unattended. She could only hope that Yuffie had thought to take care of his eyes while they were away.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, Squall chanced to open his eyes once again to see if he could make out what Aerith was doing. All he saw aside from glaring white light were a few blurry areas, so he gave up and closed them. "Aerith, what are you doing?" he ventured as he heard her approach him.

"I'm going to bandage your eyes. Now hold still." Wrenching his eyelid open, she hastily put the drops in and repeated the process with the other eye. Then, grabbing the roll of gauze, she quickly wrapped it around his head, tightening it and ignoring his grimaces as she pulled it even tighter. "Now, tell me, Leon. Why did you have the sudden urge to sleep with Yuffie? Hm?" she asked with barely suppressed anger.

Squall sighed loudly and ran a hand through his hair, not knowing how to answer the woman's question. "Look, Aerith. You might think she's still a child, but she's not. She's been forced to grow up before her time--" He was cut off by the force of a hand slapping him.

"Squall Leonhart, I don't care about how old she may be mentally! The point of the matter is that she is still just sixteen goddamn years old!" The flower girl ignored the shocked expression his face from both being slapped and hearing her curse. Speaking of slapping him, Aerith noticed that her hand was throbbing slightly from the force of the blow.

Vibrating with suppressed rage, the Gunblade wielder clenched his fists and withheld the urge to hit something, anything. "Aerith," he seethed in a deadly hiss, "I don't care what you say. You can't change the fact that I love her." He was slightly taken aback when those words left his lips, never realizing until now that he did indeed love the lithe ninja. Taking a breath, he continued. "And I will kill myself before I hurt her."

"If you love her, Leon, then you can wait until she's older," Aerith retorted angrily, hearing the water from the bathroom shut off as Yuffie finished her shower. Striding across the room, the flower girl pulled out the dresser drawers and grabbed handfuls of Yuffie's clothing.

"Aerith, what are you doing?" Squall asked quietly as he heard her rummaging around in the dresser and could hear her dress swishing as she crossed the room to the connecting door.

"I'm moving Yuffie's stuff back into the Red Room. Apparently, it was a mistake letting her room with you," she replied rather calmly as she gathered more of the ninja's clothing in her arms and carried it across.

A few minutes later, the bathroom door opened, revealing a fully dressed and obviously enraged ninja as she saw her dresser drawers upturned with the flower girl carrying her wardrobe off. "Aerith, what the hell are you doing?" she yelled, quickly walking across the room to grab her clothing out of the woman's arms.

"You're moving back into the Red Room, Yuffie. End of story." Aerith carried another armload of clothing into the other room. "And I will be sleeping on a cot in here in case Leon needs anything during the night."

Yuffie stared at her so-called friend wryly, rolling her eyes as she did so. "Ironic that it was because you couldn't find a spare cot that Squall and I started sleeping together, no?" she spit out, crossing the room to on the edge of the bed next to her lover while she watched Aerith carry all of her belongings into the other room.

"Yes, it appears that was a grave mistake on my part. A mistake that will not be repeated," Aerith growled, turning to glare at the two lovers as Yuffie leaned into Squall, who in turn was kissing her neck.

Squall lifted his head from Yuffie's neck long enough to ask the flower girl a quick question. "Aren't you needed at the infirmary?"

"No, _we_ are needed at the infirmary." With that, Aerith grabbed Yuffie's arm and dragged her towards the hall door. "Since I can't trust you two alone, she'll just have to go with me to work everyday."

Giving Squall a pleading look she knew he couldn't see, Yuffie reluctantly let herself be dragged out of the room, knowing it was useless to fight the flower girl any longer. The woman had a stubborn streak that, although rarely invoked, could rival any mule's so called stubbornness. So, with a last look into the Green Room, the ninja turned and followed her captor to the infirmary.

* * *

_Author's Note: You know, it's really fun to make Aerith out to be the villain in this story. Anyways, here's the chapter. I hope you liked it. And, yes, I know. Aerith is out of character, but considering we never see her mad in either KH or FFVII, how do we really know how she acts when she's mad? I mean, come on. She has to get mad sometimes. Okay, I'm rambling. Just review for me, please?_


	16. Chapter Sixteen: Separation Anxiety

_Author's Note: Well, I'm finally getting around to writing another chapter for this story. Please excuse me if it's not quite up to par. I think I'm going to force my muse in the beginning to see if I can jumpstart her. It works sometimes. _

_[Disclaimer: If I owned the characters portrayed below, Squall would be sitting in a chair behind me and massaging my shoulders. He would become my own personal masseuse_._]_

* * *

_Chapter Sixteen: Separation Anxiety_

Lying on her side in the Red Room bed, Yuffie yawned and slowly stretched while she thought about the past month. She still couldn't believe that it was only a month ago that Squall had been blinded, only three weeks since their seemingly whirlwind relationship had started, and only a week since Aerith had separated them. Of course, even Aerith couldn't completely prevent the two lovers from seeing each other. They did manage to find a few minutes here and a few minutes there just for themselves, only enough time to share a few kisses before the flower girl would find them. And the three of them also shared most of their meals together. Squall and Yuffie simply learned to ignore the pointed glares and aggravated sighs from their pink clad friend when they would do anything in front of her.

Yuffie rolled over and glanced at the clock, seeing that it was only just after seven and Aerith wouldn't be coming to make sure she was awake until around nine. Yes, the ninja was still forced to go to the infirmary everyday with Aerith, much to her disgust. She had never done well around sick people; they had always depressed her and she was always too upbeat and hyper for them. However, at the flower girl's insistence, Yuffie would try her best to calm herself down and cheer up the patients. Not an easy task, given that the patients she was assigned to cheer up had terminal diseases and didn't want to be cheered up.

She sighed, wishing she could come up with an excuse for not going today. But, she had learned from past experience that she was a poor liar and anyone who had known her for more than a few months could tell when she was lying. So, she slowly arose from bed, clad in her nightgown of choice, a long t-shirt that fell to her knees, and approached the Green Room. Maybe if she was quiet enough, she could sneak in there and have a few minutes with Squall before Aerith awoke. She knew from experience that Aerith was a pretty heavy sleeper.

Slowly opening the connecting door, the ninja winced when she heard the relatively loud creak it made in the otherwise silent rooms. But, peaking through the crack in the door, she saw Aerith was still sleeping soundly and snoring rather loudly on the cot beside the door. Yuffie carefully slipped through the door, tiptoed across the room, and crawled into bed next to Squall, curling into his side for both comfort and warmth as the air became chillier and chillier. It was, after all, late September and it would only grow colder as the year wore on.

As she snuggled deeper into his side and rested her head upon the crook of his arm, she felt his arm curl around her back and his other arm come across to rest on her waist. "What are you doing here?" he whispered softly, turning his head and burying his lips in her hair.

"You're awake?" Yuffie whispered back, trying to be just as quiet as him so as not to awaken her ever watchful chaperone. Looking up at him, she saw him give a slight nod as he yawned, removing his hand from her waist to cover his mouth.

Squall gestured towards the cot where Aerith was snoring. "How can I sleep through that?" he hissed in annoyance, but the annoyance soon left him as his ninja brought her small hand up to his face and rested it upon his cheek. With her warm body pressed against his, soothing his sleep deprived nerves, he almost told her how much he loved her, but stopped in fear that she would become frightened and begin to shy away from him. So, leaning into her hand, he simply turned his face and kissed her palm.

The ticklish feel of his lips on her palm caused Yuffie to giggle softly. "You get used to it after awhile. I mean, I had to room with her for almost nine years and I got used to it eventually." She pushed herself up slightly and laid her upper body across his chest so that she was at face level with him and gave him a light kiss.

"But I don't _want_ to get used to it, Yuf. I want to go back to the ways things were," he murmured, his arms wrapping around her back and pulling her back down for another kiss. However, this wasn't just a light kiss like what she had bestowed upon him a moment ago. No, this was a demanding kiss, a kiss that wanted more than what she could give with Aerith in the same room with them.

So, reluctantly, Yuffie broke the kiss before it went too far and she slowly pulled away from him, giving the sleeping Aerith a worried glance before she lay back down beside him. "I know, Squall. But, until we can do something about Pinky, we'll just have to make do. Okay?"

Squall released a drawn out sigh and pulled the ninja closer to his side, lazily running his hand up and down her side. "Alright," he conceded softly, yawning yet again. "But, how about we try to get a little more sleep before she wakes up, okay?"

Watching him yawn caused Yuffie to yawn as well and she silently cursed whoever decided to make that action contagious. "Yeah, I'm a little tired, too. And, hopefully, you can get a little sleep. You're looking a little worn around the edges." As she closed her eyes, an idea popped into her head and she sat up very suddenly and grinned at him. "I've got an idea," she whispered quietly.

"What?"

She leaned down so her face was just inches from his. "Since she's such a heavy sleeper, why don't you sneak into the Red Room tonight. She'll never know you're gone. And then you can sneak back in early in the morning before she wakes up," she said in a conspiratorial voice, watching as the slow smile came across his face.

"Yuffie, you are a genius," he told her as she lay back down and curled into his side once more.

"Nah, I'm just desperate," she muttered as sleep began to slowly reclaim her.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Much to Yuffie's surprise, when Aerith awoke and found the two of them asleep in Squall's bed, she simply shook the ninja awake and told her to get ready for work. Yuffie had at least been expecting another lecture, but she didn't want to ruin it by questioning the flower girl's actions. So, mutely shaking her head, she returned to the Red Room for her morning shower.

Aerith, herself, was a bit surprised by her own actions. At first, she was furious that they had snuck behind her back and ended up sleeping together. And she had originally planned on letting them know how upset she was. However, when she saw how peaceful and content they both appeared, along with the fact that they were both still decently clad, she relented. Honestly, she was glad that both of them had found someone to make them happy. She just wished that Yuffie had been a little older. And it was the flower girl's motherly instincts towards the ninja that made her keep an ever watchful eye over her.

Now that she thought about it, she had almost grown accustomed to watching them sneak kisses and hold hands when they thought she wasn't looking. The only part of their relationship that really irked her was the fact that it became so serious so fast. And it worried her. Everyday, thousands of thoughts ran through her head telling her what might happen to Yuffie if the ninja's and swordsman's relationship continued to escalate. Most of the thoughts centering on Yuffie becoming a mother at a very young age and being unable to mentally handle the stress.

Sighing, she began to wish she had handled the situation better when she first discovered they had feelings for each other. Maybe if she had been more supportive, things would've turned out differently. But it was too late for that now. She couldn't live her life wondering about what might have been, but that thought made her mentally scoff. She had spent the last nine years living on what might have been between her and Cloud had not the darkness taken their home world. And every night since then, she couldn't help but wonder if he was still alive and where he was. And every night, it tore her apart.

Maybe that's why she became upset with Leon and Yuffie so easily. Because they both loved each other and she had no one. Both Leon and Yuffie had admitted to her separately that they loved the other and they seemed to be proving that by going against their friend's wishes. Much like she and Cloud had done. Sure, they had both only been about fourteen years old at the time, but she and Cloud knew that they were made for each other. Even when their friends and families told them they were too young to know what love was, they simply ignored them. But then the Heartless came and she hadn't seen him since. And she had kept her love only for him. Perhaps it was time to let him go and move on.

As all these thoughts simultaneously ran through her head, a lone tear fell down her cheek, only to be hastily wiped away by the back of her hand. "No," she whispered to herself. "He's still out there. I can feel him. If he were dead, I would know it." So, drying her eyes, she left the Green Room, where Leon was still asleep, and went into the Red Room to see if Yuffie was ready for work yet.

She found Yuffie perched on the edge of her bed, busily tying the shoelaces of her characteristic orange sneakers. Aerith noted that the ninja's wardrobe had changed slightly due to the cold weather. Her young friend now wore a forest green turtle neck with a pair of slightly flared blue jeans to help stave off the chill in the air. "So, are you ready to go?" Aerith asked quietly.

Giving her a wary look, Yuffie raised her eyebrows and stared at her suspiciously. "Yeah... just as soon as I go tell Squall goodbye," she ventured, wondering if the flower girl would follow her into the room just to make sure no funny business went on.

Aerith simply nodded, then turned and walked towards the door. "Just don't take too long. We're due at the infirmary in twenty minutes and you know that it's at least a ten minute walk on a good day." With that, she left the ninja alone in the room.

Still suspicious, Yuffie opened the door her friend had just walked out of and watched as she made her way down the hall and exited the hotel. "Wow... I don't know whether this is just the old Aerith coming back or if this is a pod person or if maybe mean Aerith was just a pod person and this is the real Aerith," she rambled to herself as she shut the door and went into the Green Room.

Sitting on the edge of his bed, Yuffie ran her fingers through Squall's long mahogany locks, marveling at how soft they felt beneath her fingers. She giggled as his hand came up and clasped her wrist. "What are you doing?" he asked sleepily.

"Playing with your hair," she answered while bending over to kiss his cheek. "You know, I think Aerith is sick today or something." She leaned back against his stomach while the hand on her wrist began to softly massage the flesh.

"And why do you think that?" he finally inquired, releasing her wrist after he softly kissed it.

"Because, first of all, she didn't lecture me when she found me in bed with you this morning and then, she left for work and just told me not to be late. Now, does that sound like the Aerith we've known for the past couple of weeks?" Yuffie explained as she rolled over on his stomach to face him, careful not to elbow him in any sensitive areas as she did so.

Squall sat up slightly and leaned against the headboard, running his fingers lightly through the ninja's hair. "You're right... that _doesn't_ sound like that Aerith," he agreed, pondering the matter in his head. "But, you aren't complaining, are you?"

Yuffie sat up quickly, nearly hitting his chin with her head in the process. "Hell, no, I'm not complaining! I was just wondering what was going on." She looked up at the clock, noticing that if she didn't leave now, she would be late and she really didn't want to do anything that would anger this more understanding Aerith. "Anyways, I gotta go. I'll see you tonight at dinner. And don't forget about slipping out of here tonight. Or I will have your head on a stick. Got it?"

"Yes, ma'am," Squall replied as she leaned down to give him a quick kiss, pulling away as she felt his arms begin to try and pull her back down to him.

"Save it for later. I've got to go." With that, she rushed out of the room and ran down the hall, determined not to be late as much as she hated the current job Aerith had forced on her in the hopes that she could find a way to bring the old understanding Aerith back and get rid of the overly protective Aerith.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Knowing that Squall was going to sneak into her room that night sent shivers of excitement down Yuffie's spine every time she thought about it. Of course, that made it kind of hard for her to keep still while they were eating dinner that night at the café. And it didn't help that Squall's hand had found it's way to her knee underneath the table and out of Aerith's prying eyes. However, the flower girl still seemed more mellow about everything that was going on in front of her than normal. In fact, she completely ignored them when Yuffie turned her face up to Squall and gave him a kiss. When Yuffie had done that just last night, Aerith had sent her an angry glare. Tonight, she simply acted as though it never happened.

Yuffie happily pushed any and all thoughts of her pink clad friend out of her mind and tried to concentrate on suppressing her excitement. She didn't need Aerith to suspect anything. Yuffie was still afraid that the Aerith they had come to know these past few weeks might rear her head. So, taking a deep breath, the ninja managed to finally calm down and eat her dinner.

After dinner, the trio slowly made their way back to the Green Room, stopping by the Item Shop to pick up a few things Aerith needed for the infirmary. Of course, the three ducklings who ran the shop kept a close eye on Yuffie as they feared she would steal something from them. No matter how many times she apologized for the one time she _did_ take something without paying for it, they still didn't trust her.

The rest of the walk to the hotel was uneventful. Yuffie simply leaned into Squall's side while he kept his right arm wrapped around her and Aerith walked slightly ahead of them. The ninja decided that this was something she could get used to. She hated the fact that it seemed like she was always at war with the flower girl lately. After all, for so many years, Aerith had been like an older sister to her and a friend. And it hurt to constantly be bickering with her.

Finally reaching the Green Room, Yuffie and Squall piled up on the bed to watch a movie on the small television set provided by the hotel while Aerith took a shower. When she emerged from the bathroom and found the two lovers cuddling on the bed, she bit her lip and walked to her cot, picking up a book on her way so she could read while they continued to watch the movie they had settled on. Of course, only Yuffie was really watching it. And she had to explain most of the actions to Squall, but they both seemed so happy while they were together.

A few hours later, Aerith yawned loudly to catch the ninja and swordsman attention. "Don't you guys think we should go to bed?" They didn't answer her, so she looked up from her book only to find that they were both asleep in each other's arms on the bed. "I guess you already have," she whispered softly, getting up from her cot and silently approaching them.

Looking down at them, she smiled softly and picked up the blanket that had been balled at the end of the bed. She spread it out over them, then walked over to her cot, only to stare disgustedly at it and leave it as she went into the Red Room to sleep, leaving the connecting door open just in case. Although, they did seem to be sleeping rather soundly and didn't look like they would be waking up anytime soon. So, with the door propped open, Aerith lay down upon the Red Room bed and slept, leaving her two friends to themselves for once.

* * *

_Author's Note: You know, ironically, that chapter just came out of nowhere. I had almost none of that planned. Especially the whole "Aerith reverts to normal" thing. It just kinda appeared. Anyways, this story is not over yet. I still have about six chapters kinda planned out and a pivotal plot point coming up in the next chapter that will affect the rest of the story. Mwahahah... now you're wondering what it is, aren't you? Well, I guess you'll have to wait for that, won't you?_


	17. Chapter Seventeen:Shadows of the Past

_Author's Note: I am on a writing rampage right now. Don't know why. Anyways, enjoy it while you can._

_Note to pingpong: Well, I apologize for the run-on sentence. But, if you must know, it's because I never proofread my work. I type it and as soon as I reach the end of the chapter, I go post it. So, typos and mistakes and such happen. Eventually, I'll go back and proofread everything and make minor changes, but right now, I don't have the time for it._

_[Disclaimer: Don't own them. End of story.]_

* * *

_Chapter Seventeen: Shadows of the Past_

Yuffie found it strange to wake up in Squall's bed once again without Aerith breathing down their necks about it. For the past three days, the flower girl had allowed them to share the same bed without her presence in the room. Of course, she had left the connecting room door open and she would occasionally poke her head in the room to make sure nothing was going on, but, still, after the way she had been overreacting before, it was a major change for the ninja. A change for the better, for once.

Letting out an aggravated sigh, the ninja glared at the clock over the door. It was before seven in the morning and she was completely awake with no chance of falling back to sleep. Even snuggling up to her lover proved in vain because the blood rushing through her veins told her she needed to get up and move. She sat up slowly, carefully pulling out of Squall's arms as she did so, and looked around the room, hoping to find something to quietly occupy herself with until the others awoke. A glance at the half open door of the closet gave her that something.

Squall had never been one for organization. Add that to the fact that Yuffie had been rooming with him off and on for the past month, and it became a disaster. The ninja was even worse than him about keeping the place clean. So, finding nothing else to do, she decided she would take it upon herself to clean out his closet. An amazing feat if accomplished considering all the boxes overflowing with clothing, papers, pictures, and bottles of polish for his Gunblade.

She carefully slipped off the bed, turning to make sure she hadn't awakened Squall, who simply mumbled something in his sleep and rolled over, and crossed the room in stockinged feet and her long nightshirt that she had slept in. As she opened the sliding closet door the rest of the way, she winced as it made a loud creaking noise. But, a loud snore from the bed told her that it hadn't bothered the swordsman.

Kneeling in front of the door, she pulled out the first box, rather large yet light in weight. A peak over the top showed her that it was full of various papers. She reached in and pulled out a handful, glancing over them before returning them to the box as they were mostly receipts from work he had done on both his Gunblade and his Gummi ship. Folding the cardboard flaps down, she shut that box and pushed it to the side.

She repeated this process with about half a dozen boxes, except dumping out the boxes with clothing in them and re-folding it so it would fit into it better. With all the bigger boxes out of the closest, she found a small shoe box taped securely shut with duct tape sitting in the back corner. She pulled it out and looked at it questioningly, wondering if she should open it or not. After all, she knew that Squall didn't like to have his private life made public and if he went through all the trouble to tape this box so securely, he obviously didn't want anyone to peek into it. But, with a glance over her shoulder to see that he was still sleeping soundly, she began to carefully unwrap the tape from around the box.

Lifting off the lid, her eyes widened at the sight of so many pictures in one box. She leaned back against the wall and took a handful of the pictures out, sifting through them and examining each one. Vaguely familiar faces from her past stared back at her, and the background for all of the pictures seem to be from various vantages of Hollow Bastion. A short laugh left her throat when she found a picture of her six year old self, peeking out from behind a thirteen year old Aerith's skirts.

The picture behind that one caused her breath to catch in her throat. In it, a fifteen year old Squall was standing behind a young woman of about the same age with long flowing black hair with brown streaks throughout. Squall's chin rested atop the girl's shoulder and his unscarred face was leaning against hers, with his arms wrapped around her waist. But, what caused her the most pain, was the look of complete and utter happiness in his face. She had never seen that warm look in his eye. Ever. In all the years she had known him, his eyes had remained an icy blue.

Taking a deep breath, she put that picture into the pile of other pictures that she had already looked at, telling herself that it was a long time ago and he was a different person back then. The next few pictures were all of that same girl, the warm Hollow Bastion sun shining down on her and her chocolate brown eyes full of warmth and love. She appeared to be so beautiful, so perfect, so mature in every aspect. She couldn't of been any older than what Yuffie was now, yet she was already more than anything the ninja could ever dream of being.

Yuffie curiously flipped the picture over, checking to see if there was a name on the back. There was. "With love always, Rinoa." Yuffie choked as she read that name for it was the same name that Squall had mumbled in his sleep over a week ago, after they had made love for the first time. And it hurt her deeply to know that it had been a past love that he had been dreaming about after sharing that experience with her.

The ninja turned the picture over again to stare at the young woman known as Rinoa, a few tears coming to her eyes. Yuffie knew she could never measure up to her, she was far too childish looking and she would most likely keep her pixie like features far into adulthood. And once Squall regained his vision and could see her child-like looks again, he would turn away from her because she would never be the woman Rinoa would have been. The saltine tears cascaded over their dams and streamed down her face unheeded as Yuffie began to put the pictures away. She had seen enough. There was nothing left for her in that box.

The creaking of the mattress caused her to look up from her task, only to see Squall rolling over on the bed. Squall. The name that once sent shivers of excitement down her spine now only caused her pain, knowing that the one he truly loved was not her. No, all that was left of his love was a faded photograph lying in a shoebox, and Yuffie, well she was only second best. Maybe even less if Squall still had his vision.

"Yuffie?" the man of the hour called softly from the bed, reaching his arm across to the empty space where she normally slept.

The ninja quickly put the lid back on the box and foregoing the tape around it as she shoved it back into the closet. Rising from the floor, she hastily wiped away any remaining tears on her face, not wanting Squall to know that she had been crying. "What?" she whispered, her voice raspy from her tears.

Hearing the harsh quality of her voice, Squall sat up quickly, worry written on his features. "Yuffie, are you okay?" His ears picked up the soft sounds of her feet crossing the room and then the bathroom door shutting, the water running immediately afterwards. He rose to his feet and followed in her footsteps, nearly tripping over the boxes she had strewn about the room. Reaching the bathroom door, he knocked gently. "Yuffie, what's wrong?"

Inside the bathroom, Yuffie wiped the damp washrag across her face, washing away all traces of her tears as she didn't want Squall to know she had been crying. But, now that she thought about it, he couldn't see anyways, so there was no point in what she was doing. She was just acting on instinct. So, putting the wash cloth down, she slowly opened the door to find Squall still standing there, repeating his inquiry. "N-nothing," she stammered out, cursing herself for sounding so weak.

"Yuffie, don't lie to me. I know you were crying," he whispered, bringing his hand up to her cheek and stroking the smooth skin with his thumb. He felt her briefly lean into his touch but then quickly jerk away as if she had been burnt.

"I wasn't crying. I just had a coughing fit and it left me with frog in my throat," she lied, trying her hardest not to give into the touch of his hand upon her face. But, gods, it was hard when just his touch made her want to melt. The only thing that enabled her to pull away was the memory of the picture in the shoe box.

Squall reluctantly pulled his hand away from her face, sensing that something was definitely wrong with his ninja. "Okay, I'll let that stand for now. But," he paused, lifting her hand with his own and entwining their fingers, "when you're ready to tell me what's really bothering you, I'll be willing to listen."

Yuffie gently pulled her hand out of his grasp and squeezed between him and the doorframe of the bathroom. "I'm telling you, nothing is wrong. I was just cleaning out the closet and all the dust made me start coughing," she insisted, beginning to push the boxes back into their rightful place.

"Why were you cleaning out the closet?" Squall asked confusedly, carefully making his way across the room and picking up the clothes he had left lying on the table the night before.

"I woke up and couldn't go back to sleep," she told him truthfully, finally shoving the last box into the closet and shutting the sliding doors. A small smile flitted across her face as she watched him make his way across the room without stumbling once. He had really come along way since that first day of his handicap, when he had tripped over her cot and broke it. But, her smile soon left her face and was replaced by a frown as she remembered how he had treated her back then. According to him, she never could do anything right. Yes, that was how he truly felt about her. And he would return to treating her like that again once his vision returned, she thought blackly.

"What time is it anyways?" the swordsman questioned as he pulled out a chair and sat down at the table, putting his head in his hands. He knew something was wrong with Yuffie, but he couldn't figure it out. And he knew she wouldn't tell him unless she wanted him to know, which she apparently didn't. So, he would have to bide his time and try to solve the riddle himself.

"Uh... nearly ten," the ninja told him, her eyes widening when she realized how late it was and how little time she had left to get ready for her day at the infirmary. "And I'm running late. So, if you'll excuse me." She hastily grabbed some clothes and ran into the bathroom to get dressed, foregoing the shower this morning as she didn't have the time for it. She was surprised that Aerith hadn't come to make sure she was awake. But, then again, the flower girl had probably heard her messing around in the room through the propped open connecting door and had thought the ninja was preparing for work already.

Squall listened as he heard her madly rushing around the room, trying to get ready for work. But, instead of kissing him goodbye as she normally did, she left the room with a hurried 'goodbye' and a 'see ya later.' Yes, something was definitely wrong with the girl. And he would have to find a way of figuring out exactly what he had done wrong to make her act like this.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

The whole day at the infirmary, Yuffie kept a false smile plastered on her face to keep both Aerith and the patients she had been assigned from asking questions. She just couldn't deal with it right now. That picture of Squall so obviously happy and in love kept swimming through her mind and eating away at her heart. How she wished she was still blissfully unaware of Rinoa. Then she would be able to happily live in the lie Squall was apparently feeding her.

Of course, she thought, it wasn't actually a lie. He hadn't told Yuffie that he loved her. So, maybe she was just a fling. Maybe she was just a plaything for him. Tears clouded her vision as these dark thoughts came to her mind, but she forced them back. She refused to cry in front of other people. And she refused to cry another tear for the man whom she believed to be toying with her heart.

But, gods, it was hard when she loved him so much. How could she keep from crying when the only man she had ever loved held his love for another? Over and over again she kept replaying when he had mumbled Rinoa's name in his sleep. She stifled the sob that threatened to erupt from her throat and earned a worried glance from her current patient. She simply waved them off and made up some lie about choking on her drink.

At least she hadn't told him that she loved him. At least he would be unable to hold that over her head. In a sick way, it made her proud that she had kept that thought to herself. It gave her an advantage over the situation, however little it may be.

At lunch, Aerith kept giving her worried glances. "Are you okay, Yuf?" she finally asked as she watched the ninja push around the food on her plate without actually taking a bite. Very strange for the teenager as she normally inhaled her meals and then went for seconds and sometimes even thirds.

"I'm fine, Aerith. Really I am," Yuffie lied, praying that the flower girl wouldn't see past the mask she had put on. It was the same cheery mask that she had used anytime Squall would insult her. He had never seen past it, but she wasn't so sure about the woman in front of her. If she had seen past it before, then she hadn't mentioned it to the ninja.

"Are you sure? Because you really don't look like yourself. Did you and Leon have a fight?"

Yuffie squeezed her eyes shut, dropped her fork, and tiredly massaged her temples. "No, Aerith. We didn't have a fight. I'm just tired, that's all. I woke up too early this morning and couldn't get back to sleep." She smiled at the fact that she managed to answer Aerith with the somewhat truth. She wasn't lying when she said they didn't have a fight, even though she was upset with Squall.

"Well, I have some news that will cheer you up, Yuf?" Aerith sang happily, her green eyes bright and a large smile on her face.

Sighing, the ninja put on her cheeriest face. "What, Aerith?"

"Leon goes back to the doctor tomorrow and, since he's been able make out the difference between shadows and lights, I think that he'll have his bandages permanently removed tomorrow. Isn't that great?! He'll be able to see again!" the flower girl said excitedly, her voice growing more enthused with each word.

"That's fantastic!" Yuffie exclaimed, playing along with the charade she had fallen into. But, inside, she felt like her heart was shattering. Tomorrow was the day Squall would be able to see again. Tomorrow would be the day he would see that she was just a child. Tomorrow would be the day he decided he couldn't be with her any longer. And Yuffie was not going to sit around and let that happen. She didn't know what she would do yet, but she knew she would have to do something.

The rest of the day passed by in a blur for Yuffie, so busy was she in throwing herself into her work in the hopes to take her mind of her current problem. So, she was surprised when Aerith came by to tell her that it was already time to meet Leon at the café for dinner. But, not knowing if she could handle being so near him without breaking into tears, she quickly spun a lie. "Aerith, I am just _so_ sleepy right now, that I'm just going to go back to the hotel and go to bed. Can you explain to Squall for me? Please? I'm sure he'll understand," Yuffie gushed out, not giving the flower girl a chance to object before she took off towards the hotel.

But, instead of finding the solace she so desperately wanted in the Green Room, she found Squall still there, just preparing to leave. "I thought we were going to meet at the café?" he asked confusedly as he recognized Yuffie's steps in the room.

"Um.. well, you and Aerith are going to. I am just _so_ exhausted that I'm going to go ahead and go to bed, okay?" she said softly, hoping that sounded plausible to him. She turned her back to him and walked over to the window, leaning on the sill and hoping that the fresh air would help soothe her nerves. At the feel of Squall's arms coming around her, she jumped. "Don't do that," she hissed.

"Yuffie, you know that I know that something is wrong," he whispered in her ear as he rested his chin atop her shoulder.

Recognizing their current position as the position Squall and Rinoa had been in in the picture she had found that morning, Yuffie bit her lip to hold back the tears. "I keep telling you, nothing is wrong." Unable to form a coherent thought with his arms around her and his breath blowing in her ear, she shrugged him off. "Now go to the café so Aerith won't be alone. I'll be fine here. I'm going to go to bed in a few minutes."

Squall mutely nodded and left her alone in the room, still wondering what he had done to hurt her so much. "Goodnight, Yuffie," he called softly as he shut the door behind him.

By the time the door had closed, Yuffie had made up her mind. By this time tomorrow, by the time Squall had his vision back, she, Yuffie Kisaragi, would be gone from Traverse Town. She would leave before he had the chance to hurt her by rejecting her once he could see how she would never compare to Rinoa. So, her mind made up, she quickly took her shower and climbed into the bed, hoping that she would have the courage the next day to go through with her plans.

* * *

_Author's Note: Okay, there it is. Tell me what you think. Personally, I liked some parts of the chapter, but not others. BUT, I couldn't get things to work out any other way. Anyways, review for me please. _


	18. Chapter Eighteen: Flitting Dreams

_Author's Note: I am just so incredibly happy right now. I have just passed the 300 review mark!!! I want to hug each and every one of you guys!! C'mon guys, group hug! :::hugs reviewers::: Anyways, I've been on a roll with my writing lately and I really want to get this story finished soon, so I'm going to go ahead and start this next chapter._

_Note to Jupiter Green: Thanks for the Hastega on the muse. Now she refuses to sleep._

_Note to pingpong: I'm evil? Hmmm.... I didn't know that. I guess I'll have to embrace my new found evilness and become even more evil._

_[Disclaimer: If only if only if only I could own Squall. But, alas, I don't. Everything is copyrighted to Square and Disney.]_

* * *

_Chapter Eighteen: Flitting_ _Dreams_

"No, really guys, I'll be fine," Yuffie reassured, laying on her back on the bed with a damp cloth placed over her eyes. "This headache will go away soon enough." The lie came to her so easily, she was actually surprised. Most times she had to search her mind for something that even sounded reasonable. And then, most people would know she was lying. Luckily, since the ninja had her eyes covered, Aerith was unable to see the telltale signs of a lying Yuffie.

Aerith sat on the edge of the bed and placed her hand on the ninja's forehead, checking for a fever. "You don't feel warm," she mused, her eyebrows furrowed in worry as she rose from the bed. "Are you sure you'll be alright?" Her bright green eyes were wide with concern as she stared down at Yuffie.

Under the damp cloth, Yuffie rolled her eyes in aggravation. "Yes, Aerith. I'll be fine. It's just a headache and it'll probably get a lot better once you two leave and the room is nice and quiet. Now, get going. You don't want Squall to be late for his appointment." With that said, the ninja rolled over onto her side and curled into a ball, hoping to give off the impression that she really didn't feel well.

Sighing, Leon slowly walked across the room and leaned over his lover, running a hand down her bare arm. "We'll be back in a few hours, Yuf," he whispered, moving his hand to caress her cheek and then lowered his head to give her a quick kiss, only to feel her shy away from his touch. She had been like that all day yesterday and even through the night, pulling away from him while they slept and sleeping on the far side of the bed. It unnerved him to have her like this, afraid he had done something wrong. But, hopefully when his sight returned fully, he would better be able to get to the bottom of things. "I hope you get to feeling better." His hand lingered on her shoulder before he pulled it away and left the room.

Yuffie peeked out from under the cloth when she heard the door close to make sure they were really gone before she got busy with her plans. She waited a few more minutes, just to be sure they hadn't forgotten anything, then jumped out of the bed. Sprinting into the Red Room where her duffel bag was kept, she grabbed it and then shoved it full of the clothing she still had in that room. Since Aerith had been moving her back and forth between the rooms, her clothes were split between them. So, the clothes she needed from that room in her bag, she returned to the Green Room and dumped her dresser drawers into her bag as well.

Her packing done, she quickly found a writing tablet and began to write a note to let them know what she was doing. Of course, she would be vague about her whereabouts. She didn't want them to come drag her back to Traverse Town. No, she couldn't let that happen. But, once her heart had time to heal, she might return of her own accord. Only time could tell.

As she wrote, a few crystalline tears fell down her cheeks and landed on the paper, slightly smearing the purple ink. Her note finished, she meticulously folded it into thirds and placed it in an envelope, simply writing 'Squall' on the front before she sealed it and lay it on his pillow. She picked up her duffel bag and walked to the balcony door, deciding to sneak out through the alleyways so no one would see her go.

She turned and gave one last look at the room, her eyes lingering on all the little things that were so distinctly Squall about the place. Finally, her vision fell on the dove Yoshi she had found. By now, his tail feathers were almost fully replaced and soon he would have to be released. She could only hope that Squall and Aerith would continue to care for him until he was free again. And once he was free, he would forget about the kindness these humans had bestowed upon him, much like how Squall would forget about the inner Yuffie and only see the childish outer Yuffie once his vision returned.

So, slowly tearing her eyes away from the room, the ninja jumped off the balcony and down in to the alley below, stealthily running to the shortcut to the First District. Once she reached that district, she peeked around the corner to make sure her friends weren't there and dashed across to the World Exit and the Gummi garage.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

At the infirmary, Aerith led Leon down the twisting halls to the optometrist's office that they had been to just a month ago. Yet, it seemed like such a long time to Leon for so much had happened in that one month. Only a month ago, he considered his partner to be an annoying little brat and now... well, now, he loved her more than anything. And he was determined to find out what was wrong with her and try to fix it. Whatever it took, he was willing to do it, just to have her not shy away from him like she had been doing.

"We're here," Aerith announced, pushing open the glass door and guiding Leon through it. Since he was unfamiliar with the layout of the office, he had to rely upon Aerith to guide him to the seats in the waiting room while she told the receptionist they were there.

With his hands resting on his knees, Leon leaned his head back over the back of the chair, letting out a long sigh as he did so. When he heard Aerith return and sit next to him, he decided to broach the issue of his ninja. "So, Aerith... do you have _any_ idea of what's wrong with Yuffie?" he questioned quietly, not wanting the rest of the waiting room to hear their conversation.

"None whatsoever. I was going to ask you the same thing," she admitted sadly, biting the inside of her cheek.

"Perfect," the swordsman muttered sarcastically, running a hand through his hair and slouching in his chair. "By the way, Aerith, why the sudden change?"

Frowning in confusion, she turned and looked at Leon. "What are you talking about?" she asked, fingering the tip of her long chestnut braid as she awaited his explanation.

"Well, let's see. You went from being completely against mine and Yuffie's relationship to being almost indifferent to it over night. That ringing any bells?" he prodded gently, not wanting to accidentally enrage the flower girl again.

Aerith took a deep breath, trying to find a way to explain her sudden change of heart. "I guess I just saw how much you two really loved each other. Even I can't keep two people who love each apart, now can I?" she inquired softly, her thoughts flying to the one she loved so much but was afraid she would never see again. A scoff from the man beside her quickly brought her attention back to him. "What?"

Shaking his head, the swordsman buried his face in his hands with his elbows resting on his knees. "Nothing... It's just... I know that I love Yuffie, but I don't think she feels the same," he admitted in defeat, his voice taking on a hopeless quality that tore the flower girl's heart.

She reached over and gently laid a hand on his back, rubbing it softly in comfort as she leaned over to whisper. "If you love her, then tell her. Don't keep something like that bottled up inside. And, Leon, she does love you. She accidentally told me so when you and her... well... when I walked in after you two had... you know..." she trailed off, her face flushing crimson at the memory.

"Mr. Leonhart?" a middle-aged greying nurse called from the hallway, reading the name off the clipboard. "Mr. Squall Leonhart?" Aerith and Leon rose to their feet and followed the nurse as she lead them down the hall and into the same exam room he had been in before, complete with the same equipment. "The doctor will be with you shortly," she said as she left them, shutting the door quietly behind her.

Sitting in silence, Leon turned over what Aerith had said in his mind, trying to decide what to do with the advice she gave him. If he told Yuffie that he loved her, how would she react? Especially considering how distant she had been acting towards him for the last twenty-four hours. But, thinking about it, he finally decided that the benefits would far out weigh the consequences.

His thoughts were interrupted when the doctor entered the exam room, shuffling Leon's medical files from his previous visit. "Well, Mr. Leonhart, I assume you want to skip the chit chat and get right down to business, don't you?" the doctor said as he laid the clipboard on the counter and set up one of the machines to take a picture of Leon's eyes. He helped Leon from his seat and sat him in front of the machine, unwrapping the bandages from his eyes and instructing him where to put his eyes.

Aerith sat composedly in the back, watching as the optometrist turned the machine on and the lights inside flashed, much like when they first came in here a month ago. However, this time, Leon _did_ flinch when the bright lights flashed, showing that his vision was returning. Finished with the machine, the doctor turned it off and awaited the results.

"Well, Mr. Leonhart," the doctor began, looking at the computer screen that showed a picture of Leon's eye, "it appears that cut on your cornea has healed. So, tell me, how well can you see right now?"

Leon explained that mostly all he could was a blur, but he could vaguely make out shapes in the room and recognize them. But, when the optometrist shined his flashlight into his still light tender eyes, he squeezed them shut, letting the doctor know in no uncertain terms that being kept in bandages for a month had made his eyes sensitive to bright lights. To remedy that fact, the optometrist gave the swordsman a pair of dark sunglasses with the instructions to wear them outside until his eyes could handle the sunlight. So, donning his new sunglasses, Leon and Aerith left the infirmary to return to the hotel where they believed Yuffie to still be.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

After firing up her Gummi ship and heading out into space, Yuffie quickly swallowed the tranquilizer she remembered to bring with her before her nausea set in. It was a relief to know that she wouldn't have to deal with it this time. Although, the last few times the nausea had besieged her, Squall had... No. She refused to let her mind dwell on him. So, turning back to the computer screens and displays in front of her, the ninja tried to decide where she would go.

At first, Wonderland popped into her mind. Simply because all the strange goings on there would keep her mind off of things. But, the more she thought about it, the more she remembered how Sora had told her about the Cheshire Cat and all his strange riddles. She mentally crossed that world off her list and sat down to think some more.

Going through the list of all the worlds she knew existed, Yuffie finally settled upon the one world that would work for her. The one world where she would never have to grow up and face the fact that she would never be as beautiful as Rinoa. A place where she would never have to face the fact that she would never be a mature looking as Rinoa. A place where she would never be disappointed with her adult looks. Neverland. Yes, she would go to Neverland and always stay as she is now.

So, quickly setting the autopilot for Neverland, she got up from the pilot's seat and made her way through the mess that was her Gummi ship to the small bedroom in the back, where she lay herself down upon the bed and curled into a fetal position. Her thoughts fell to Squall, as much as she tried for them not to. By now, he had probably returned from the infirmary and was reading her note.

Yuffie firmly shook her head, trying to chase all thoughts of Squall away. She needed something to do. Yes, something to take her mind off of him until she could occupy herself with the company of others once she reached Neverland. Sitting up, she looked around the room, noticing all the trash, clothing, and various other things strewn around the floor. It would take her hours to clear that all out, thus giving her something to do.

Climbing off the bed, she searched the ship for a waste basket or bag or something she could use as a trash can, finally finding a large box in the engine room. She decided that it would suffice and she began the dauntless task of cleaning the control room, the room that was by far the most filthy. All the while, she couldn't help but see the irony in the situation. It was cleaning out Squall's closet that put her in her current state to begin with, and, now, here she was, cleaning again. She could only hope it wouldn't end as the other had.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Arriving at the hotel, Aerith and Leon made their way down the hallway and entered the Green Room, expecting to find Yuffie still lying upon the bed, hopefully asleep and headache free by now. However, upon opening the door, the flower girl found the room to be completely empty. In fact, even Leon, whose eyes were still trying to adjust to the sudden change in light, could sense the emptiness of the room.

"I guess she got to feeling better," Aerith mumbled as she left Leon in the doorway and went to check her own room, just in case the ninja was in there. But, that room proved to be just as empty as the other, so she returned, a small frown upon her face. "She probably got hungry and went to the café. You know how she is about her stomach. She can't go longer than ten minutes without eating something."

Leon mumbled a reply, slowly pulling the sunglasses off his head and placing them on top of the dresser. In his blurry vision, he noticed that the top drawer, Yuffie's drawer, was partially open and he absentmindedly pushed it closed, only to hear the hollow echo it made as it shut. He quickly pulled it back open and ran his hands through it. "Aerith, didn't Yuffie move her clothes back in here?" he asked hesitantly as he pulled open her other drawer, only to find it empty as well.

"She moved most of them back. Why?" Aerith questioned worriedly, hurrying across the room and examining the drawers herself. "This doesn't look good." She mumbled the last part and ran back into her room, searching both the closet and dresser in there for Yuffie's clothes. "Leon, all her clothes are gone."

Running a hand through his hair, the swordsman walked across the room and tore open the closet door to see if any of her clothes were in there. Even with his sight not up to par, he could tell that only his clothes hung in the closet. "Where did she go?" he hissed, angry with himself for not being able to stop her.

As she looked around the room, Aerith's eyes fell upon a small white envelope lying on the pillow of the bed. She hesitantly picked it up and read the name 'Squall' across the front, recognizing Yuffie's bubbly handwriting immediately. "Uh.. Leon.." she began quietly, half afraid of what the note would say, "she left a note." She handed it to him, only to have him push it back into her hands.

"I can't read it, Aerith. My eyes are still blurry," he whispered softly, his eyes closed in fear of what Yuffie had written.

Nodding, Aerith carefully opened the envelope and pulled out the letter, already seeing the tear stains upon the paper. She cleared her throat and began to read it aloud.

_"Dear Squall,_

_ I guess if you've found this note then I'm gone. I don't know where I'm going and I don't know when I'll get back. I just need to get away from everything, including you, shocking as it may sound. But, you see, yesterday I made a mistake. A mistake that will forever haunt me. And I found something that hurt me deeply. More deeply than I've ever been hurt before._

_ While I was cleaning out your closet, I came across a small box in the back full of pictures. And, well, you know how nosy I can be. I took a peek into it and, at first, I was just reminiscing about all the people we used to know on Hollow Bastion and how it looked before it fell. But then I found a couple other pictures. Pictures of you and Rinoa. And I could see in your eyes in those pictures how much you loved her. I have never seen a look of such complete happiness on your face. Ever. _

_ And I remembered how after we made love for the first time, you had mumbled her name in your sleep. At first I didn't know why. In fact, I wasn't even sure if it was a name you had said. But, after finding those pictures and reading her name on the back, well, I can put two and two together. _

_ I want you to know that I love you and probably always will. But I can't be with you. I will never measure up to Rinoa. I can see that even now. And I know that now that you can see again, you would be able to see that as well. I just couldn't stand around here and wait for you to reject me after you could see how truly childish I am. I am nothing compared to Rinoa. She was perfect and I am not. I never will be._

_I love you more than I can say, but Aerith was right after all. I am a baby. And I know that you would be able to see that now and never be able to accept as I am. Not after having someone as mature, beautiful, and perfect as Rinoa. _

_ Love always,_

_ Yuffie"_

About halfway through the letter, tears sprang into Aerith's eyes, causing her own vision to blur and making it hard for her to read the letter. And when she came to the part about herself, it was almost more than she could take, knowing that she had had a hand in making the ninja feel so badly about herself.

Finishing the letter, she folded it back up and chanced a glance at Leon. Although his eyes were glistening with tears, he refused to let them fall. Without a word, he marched towards the door, his fists clenched at his sides. The flower girl ran up to him and grabbed his shoulder. "Leon, where are you going?"

"Where do you think?" he retorted, shaking her off and grabbing the door knob. "I'm going to go find her. She doesn't understand about the pictures." Aerith grabbed him again, this time pushing herself in between him and the door. "Aerith, get out of the way," he said in a low growl.

"No, you can't fly a Gummi ship. You can hardly see. You have to at least wait until your eyes get clear enough for you to see the displays on the control panel," she insisted, pushing him back into the room. "Crashing your ship while trying to find her isn't going to do any good."

Disgustedly realizing she had a point, Leon stepped away from the door. "Okay. But as soon as my eyes clear, I am gone and I'm not coming back until I find her."

* * *

_Author's Note: Blah... that chapter came out nothing like I wanted. But, I don't think I can do any better. Anyways, review away. And, yes, I know. I've been writing like crazy lately. Blame it on the summer doldrums. _


	19. Chapter Nineteen:Flight of the Butterfly

_Author's Note: I just can't stay away from this story. I guess because the end is nearing and I always get like this when I'm trying to tie up all the loose ends in a story. Anyways, on with the show._

_Note to Annjikika: YOU'RE BACK!!!! :::hugs until annjiriika turns blue_::: _hehe... sorry, I just missed you. And thank you for reviewing my other story, too._

_[Disclaimer: I'm asking Santa to put Squall under my tree this year with a big red bow on him. That seems to be the only way I'll get him because Square still owns him, along with all the other characters in this story. Well, Disney might own a few of them. I don't really know.]_

* * *

_Chapter Nineteen: Flight of the Butterfly_

Two days. It had been two days since his world was turned upside down and thrown into the blender. It had been two days since the ninja left, leaving him alone in that bleak hotel room with no one but Aerith to keep him company. And for those two days, he could do nothing but think about her and devise a plan to find her, if only the flower girl would let him go. But, she had insisted that he wait until he could easily read the displays in his Gummi ship. So, he spent two painfully long days pacing the room and waiting for his eyesight to return to normal. 

It did. In the middle of his second night of being unable to sleep in his empty bed, Squall noticed that his vision had cleared considerably. And as soon as it did, he jumped out of his bed, grabbed the duffel bag he had packed the day she left, and was gone without so much as a goodbye or a note to Aerith informing her where he had gone. She would know.

The Traverse Town night was darker than normal as the large, bright moon wasn't visible in the night sky. Squall had to rely upon the dimly lit street lamps to find his way. Of course, he still had a mental map of the town in his mind, the same one he had used while he was blind. If he had to, he could find his way around the town in pitch black darkness without hardly stumbling. But he wasn't thinking about that right now. The only thought on his mind was Yuffie and where she might have gone.

Arriving at the Gummi garage, he immediately went to his ship, just sparing a quick glance at the empty spot beside it where the ninja's ship normally resided before he lowered the ramp and entered the main corridor. He threw his the black duffel bag against the wall and went about the task of preparing his ship for the launch. But, sitting in the pilot's seat, the lingering scent of orange blossoms floated to his nose and his breath caught in his throat. Yes, he still recognized that scent. It was the scent he had begun to associate with and only with his ninja.

That thought made him even more determined to find her and he quickly began the take-off procedure, flying out of the garage and into the void of space. Now was the hard part. Trying to decide where she would go and where he should search first. He finally came to the conclusion that probably the best thing to do would be to systematically search each world, asking the inhabitants if they had seen her there. And he would have to do it quickly since she did have a two day head start on him. But, luckily, whereas her ship was not equipped with a warp drive, his was. Therefore, it would take him about half the time it took her to reach a planet and, hopefully, he would be able to catch up with her.

Looking at the display of worlds on the monitor, he noticed that the one he was closest to was the Coliseum. If Lady Luck were on his side, he would find her there, taking out her pain on anyone foolish enough to fight her in the tournaments. He knew first hand how violent the ninja became when she was hurt or angry as he had been victim to her attacks many times in the past. Setting the course for the Olympic world, he put the ship into warp drive and patiently awaited his arrival there.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

The obnoxious beating on her door at the ungodly hour of six in the morning awoke the still sleeping flower girl, who uncharacteristically muttered a few curses under her breath as she walked across the room, pulling her red robe around her before opening the door. She glared at the middle-aged blonde man in front of her. "Cid, couldn't this wait until later?" she snapped angrily, causing the man to jump backwards in surprise.

"God dammit, woman! You're cranky in the morning!" he exclaimed, chewing on the small wooden toothpick that was perpetually kept in his mouth. After he had quit smoking five years ago, at Aerith and Yuffie's insistence, he found that he had to have something in his mouth at all times to stave off his nicotine cravings.

Aerith held the door open and moved out of the way to let the man into her room, her green eyes still glowering at the man. "What do you need, Cid? And when did you get back from Hollow Bastion, anyways?" she asked confusedly, remembering that he had left over a month ago to check on the young Keyblade Master, before Leon's fiasco with the Red Nocturne.

"I just got back not even twenty minutes ago," the Gummi dealer answered, walking into the room and standing in front of the dresser. "But, that's not the reason I'm here. The reason I'm here is because I'm wondering where Leon and Yuffie went."

The flower girl tiredly shook her head and ran her fingers through her long chestnut hair that she had released from it's braid the night before. "It's a long story. But, Yuffie left two days ago. And Leon's still here..." she muttered, her brows furrowing as she stared at the connecting door to the Green Room. "At least he was here..."

"Well, if he is, then someone stole his damn ship 'cause it ain't in the garage and Yuffie's ain't either." Cid pulled the half-chewed toothpick out of his mouth and flipped it into the small waste basket in the corner of the room and immediately placed another in his mouth. "Now what's this long story you're talking about?"

Ignoring him, Aerith rose from the bed and crossed the room, throwing open the door to the Green Room and looking around inside before letting out a resigned sigh. "Leon," she muttered under her breath, "you better have been able to see well enough before you left." She didn't realize until he spoke that Cid was standing right behind her.

"See well enough? What are you talking about, Aerith?" the pilot demanded, walking into the empty Green Room and taking his seat at the small table in there.

She pulled out the chair opposite him and sat down, pursing her lips as she tried to think up a way to explain the current situation to him, finally deciding that it would be best to start from the beginning. "Not long after you left, there was an accident..." she began, her brow creased as she tried to remember the details. She told him of Leon's battle with the Red Nocturne, his resulting blindness, and of how she had forced Yuffie to room with him so he wouldn't be alone while he was adjusting.

As her tale continued, she came to the part of the quickly forming romance between the swordsman and the ninja, at which point Cid stopped her. "Wait a damn minute!" he exclaimed, pushing his chair back and quickly getting to his feet. "Are you trying to tell me that Leon and the brat not only got along, but actually fell in love?!"

"Yes, they did. Even though I tried to keep them apart at first," the flower girl whispered softly, remembering all the times she had told Yuffie she was too young. After reading the ninja's note the other day, she realized that she was partly to blame for Yuffie's sudden loss of confidence and her quick departure. "I just didn't understand how much they loved each other."

Cid paced the room in shock, trying to absorb the fact that the two fighters had actually stopped fighting each other and fell for each other. "Okay, but that doesn't explain why they're gone."

The flower girl then explained about the pictures Yuffie had found and the note she had left for Leon, mentioning the part where the ninja considered herself a baby. "And it's my fault, Cid. I'm the one who kept trying to tell her she was too young," Aerith said quietly, a few tears coming to her eyes. She took a deep breath and continued. "When Leon and I got back from the infirmary, after he had his sight back, and he discovered that she was gone, he tried to leave right then, but I wouldn't let him because his vision was still blurry. Apparently, he left in the middle of the night last night."

Taking this all in, the Gummi dealer sat back down in the chair at the table, resting his elbows upon it and holding his head in his hands. "Aerith, remind me to never be gone for six weeks at a time again. Too much shit happens while I'm gone."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

It had taken nearly two full days to get there, but Yuffie finally caught sight of the Neverland world in the front window of her ship. And it had been a boring two days. Of course, she had spent the better part of the first day picking up all the garbage in her ship, but the second day left her with nothing to do but dwell upon what might have been had she not found that box of photographs. The phrase 'curiosity killed the cat' came to her mind for not the first time in the past couple of days. "But they were wrong," she whispered to herself, remembering the rest of the saying. "Satisfaction doesn't bring it back."

She slowed her ship down and began to approach the world, scanning the area for a docking bay of some sort where she could leave her ship. However, unlike Traverse Town and the Coliseum, which were used to having traveler's from other worlds, Neverland did not have an official landing area and she had to simply land her ship on the small strip of beach between the ocean and the forest.

Cutting off the engine of her ship, she looked out the windows and stared at the view. On her right, the vast expanse of blue ocean beckoned to her with its gently rolling waves. On the left, the calm, peaceful greenery of the heavily wooded forest seemed to call her name. She lowered the ramp and slowly exited the ship, looking from side to side. Mentally, she admitted to herself that when she had originally decided to come here, she had made no plans for _what_ she would do once she got here. It had simply been a rash decision on her part, like most of her decisions.

She turned to watch the waves in the ocean, the soft whispers of the water rushing to the shore calming her frazzled nerves. Sighing, she lowered herself to the sand and leaned backwards, using her arms as props. With the breeze lightly blowing her hair and the salty smell of the sea wafting to her nostrils, it almost felt like paradise. Only one thing was missing in this quasi-paradise. Squall. A small sob erupted from her throat, but she quickly choked it down. She came here to forget him and forget him she would try her hardest to do.

A rustling in the underbrush of the woods behind her caused her to jerk her head around, her eyes darting around as she looked for danger. She couldn't see anyone, but her ninja senses told her that she was being watched. Calmly rising to her feet, she casually walked to the edge of the forest, acting like nothing was wrong, yet she kept one hand positioned near her shuriken pouch just in case.

Nearing a rather large shrub at the edge of the forest, she saw its branches moving ever so slightly. She very stealthily snuck up on the bush, then lunged for it and grabbed the person inside there. "Gotcha!" she exclaimed as she pulled herself and the person she caught out of the underbrush.

"Hey, no fair!" the boy she had found complained, pulling out of her grasp and floating lightly in the air with his arms crossed haughtily across his chest. He was clad completely in a bright green that blended perfectly with the forest around him and only the slightest bit of red hair peeked out from beneath his cap. "You weren't playing fair!"

"Yeah, well you shouldn't have been spying on me!" Yuffie retorted, her hand still near the small pouch at her side. She still didn't know whether she should be worried about this boy of not. But, he didn't look dangerous, so she took her chances. "So, what's your name anyways?"

Smiling broadly, he uncrossed his arms and thrust one out at her, waiting for her to shake his hand. "I'm Peter Pan. And who are you?" he asked in a boyishly happy voice, his face brightening with the broad smile on it.

The ninja hesitantly took his hand and shook it. "I'm the Great Ninja Yuffie," she announced, her pride in her skills clearly showing through her voice. She watched him curiously as he floated through the air and she followed behind him. "How do you do that?"

"What?" he questioned confusedly, turning around mid-flight to stare at her.

"Fly."

Another grin came across his face. "Oh, anyone can fly. All you need is pixie dust and happy thoughts," he explained, flying in slow loops through the air as he showed off his abilities to her. "You want to try?"

It was Yuffie's turn to smile, the first genuine one she had on her face since the day she found those pictures. "Sure." She decided that maybe flying would be just what she needed to get her mind off Squall. Surely soaring through the air would be enough.

"Okay, I just gotta find Tink first," he said, quickly flying off into the forest and leaving Yuffie behind on the beach.

Not wanting to be left alone, the ninja took off in a sprint after him, dodging the low hanging branches and jumping over the large, knotty tree roots as she ran. "Hey, wait- for me," she called, panting slightly as she ran. The humid air of the forest was making her breathing heavier than normal as she was used to the much drier air of Traverse Town.

Peter stopped suddenly in the middle of the path and Yuffie nearly collided with him, but managed to swerve to the right and narrowly avoid the impending collision. "Where is she?" the red-head mumbled to himself, looking back and forth down the two paths of the wood. A flash of yellow light from a low bush caught his attention. "There you are, Tink."

"Who's Tink?" Yuffie inquired once she got her wind back. She made a mental note to herself to not run through the forest again until she was more acclimated to the humidity. It didn't pay to have to gasp for breath forever after she was done with her run.

Reaching into the bush, Peter pulled out a small green fairy with a yellow glow. As he held her by the wings, she angrily crossed her arms in front of her and stomped her feet, a faint tinkling noise coming from her as she did so. "Tink, this is Yuffie. She wants to fly." The pixie in his hands vigorously shook her head 'no.' "Come on, Tink. Just a little pixie dust." Again, the fairy said no. "Fine, then. We'll have to do it the hard way." Flying above Yuffie, he began to shake Tink over Yuffie's head and small sparkles fell over her ebony hair.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Yuffie yelled, running her fingers through her hair in an attempt to get whatever it was he was sprinkling over her out of her hair. "What do you think you're doing?"

"It's pixie dust," he explained, releasing the small fairy from his grasp, who gave him an indignant look before flying away. "Now, all you need are happy thoughts and you can fly."

The first thought that came to her mind was the memory of hers and Squall's first kiss, in the secret waterway of Traverse Town the day he had started to train himself to fight blindly. As the scene replayed itself in her mind, she felt herself begin to float into the air. "I don't believe it! I'm flying!" she screamed excitedly, flying higher and higher until she was over the canopy of the forest and looking down at the treetops.

"See? Easy as pie," Peter told her cheerily as he followed her into the sky. "But what's really fun is doing all kinds of tricks in the air. Like this." As he was talking, he began flying straight up into the sky until she could just barely make out the smallest dot of green above her. Then, right before he disappeared from sight, he started into a headfirst dive towards her. And just as she thought he would crash into the forest top, he quickly leveled himself.

Laughing, Yuffie rose a few feet higher and then flew out towards the ocean. As she was flying over the sandy beach, she momentarily forgot why she had left Traverse Town, too caught up in the thrill of actually flying. But, as she passed over her Gummi ship and began flying over the ocean, she suddenly remembered her reasons for leaving. Rinoa's picture and Squall's apparent long-lasting love for the woman.

As soon as that thought entered the ninja's head, she felt herself begin to fall. Opening her mouth to scream, she quickly found it fill with salt water as she was dropped into the cold ocean. She wearily kicked her feet and rose to the surface, immediately hacking up the water she had swallowed as she made her way back to shore. Peter Pan lazily flew right above her head as she swam. "What happened?" he asked cheerily, earning a hardened glare from Yuffie.

"I ran out of happy thoughts," she sputtered as a wave washed over her. While swimming, the ninja soon learned how hard it was to kick your feet in the water when they were clad in waterlogged sneakers and she made a mental note to take off her shoes the next time she went flying.

"Gee... that's too bad," the red head boy said with no remorse in his voice. Yuffie began to wonder if perhaps the boy was physically unable to act anything other than cheerily. And, if so, how much that would get on her nerves.

Finally reaching the beach, she climbed out of the water and shivered slightly as the cool ocean breeze brushed past her. She looked around, taking in all the sand, trees, and water and made a decision. Neverland wasn't the place for her. Even if she would never grow up here, she couldn't stand the thought of being in such a cheery place while she herself was so depressed. "You know, Peter, I really like Neverland and flying was fun... until I took an impromptu swim," she muttered the last part under her breath, but still earned a laugh from the boy. "But, I really gotta get going. You see, I'm... uh... allergic, yeah, allergic to that flower right there." As she said this, she pointed to a bright red flower at the edge of the forest and went into a fake sneezing fit. "So, I think I'll be going now."

She ran to the Gummi ramp, desperate to get away from this place, but Peter followed her. "Yuffie, maybe someday you'll come back and you'll like it better. Maybe someday when you aren't sad," he told her, flying up the ramp and floating in front of the door where she stood.

"Is it that obvious?" she whispered, turning her face away from him and looking inside at her ship.

"Yeah, it is. Especially since you fell into the ocean. Only sad thoughts make you fall when you're flying."

Yuffie gave him a small smile, nodding her head slightly. "Maybe I will come back someday. But, right now, I have to sort things out in my head."

"Okay, then. I'll see you next time you come. And, next time," he paused, a grin coming back across his boyish face, "bring lots of happy thoughts so you don't fall into the water again."

Saying her goodbyes, the ninja climbed into the ship, sitting in the pilot's seat for a moment while she tried to think of where to go to next. She still wasn't ready to face Squall again, knowing that he loved Rinoa. So, running over the list of world's she knew of, and quickly dismissing them one by one, she finally came to the conclusion that there was only one world where she would be able to find a way to forget about him. Hollow Bastion. A place where she would be so lost in other memories, that the more recent memories would be pushed to the far recesses of her mind.

* * *

_Author's Note: Still enjoying the ride? I hope so. Okay, I apologize if Cid or Peter Pan appeared to be out of character. But, the truth of the matter is, I don't really like Cid all that much, but I needed him and I never watched Peter Pan that often while I was growing up. I didn't like that movie. Anyways, review a way._


	20. Chapter Twenty: Follow Your Instincts

_Author's Note: I'm writing again. But, this time, I'm not sure when I'll get the chapter done. My muse is a little tired. I can't imagine why... _

_And has made me mad... they did away with the paragraph indentations. I like having my paragraphs indented!!_

_Note to Annjirika: When you ask about my family, I assume you mean my dad because of his heart attack, right? Anyways, he's doing much better. Better than he's done in _years_ actually. They put him on four kinds of medications AND he's actually in the process of trying to quit smoking, which he's been doing since he was 14 years old (that's 46 years of smoking for him). So, yeah, everything's going great now. It was just scary for that first week, when he was still in the hospital and they had to put a stint (sp?) in his heart since one of his main arteries was blocked. But, thank you for asking. I'm really glad to know that the people I've "met" through fanfiction care about me and my family. _

_[Disclaimer: I do not own the characters portrayed in the story. They belong to their respective owners. However, if Squall happens to stumble upon my doorstep, I'll be on him like white on rice and they will never get a hold of him again.]_

* * *

_Chapter Twenty: Follow Your Instincts_

__In front of his ship, slowly rotating on its axis, was the world of the Olympic Coliseum, the place where heroes trained. The place where he and Yuffie had gone not too terribly long ago. He could only hope he would find her there. Or, if not find her, then find someone there who had seen her in the past two days and knew where she was going next.

Bringing his ship out of the warp drive, Squall slowly brought it in for a landing, cruising through the docking bay and looking for an empty slot. The whole time, his eyes flew over the other ships in the bay, searching for the familiar pink and yellow blocks of Yuffie's Gummi ship. When he realized it wasn't there, he almost turned around to leave, but stopped when he remembered that someone there might know something about her whereabouts.

He landed his Gummi in the only empty slot in the whole docking bay. But, as luck would have it, this one empty slot was right next to a ship that he was very familiar with. It was Sora's. He fervently hoped the boy's flying skills had improved since the time he had crashed a ship as he did not want his ship to be damaged upon Sora's departure from the world. But, then again, Squall realized that he himself would probably be leaving the world before the young Keyblade Master.

Squall strode out of the docking bay and into the unusually busy open area of the Coliseum. It seemed like hundreds of people were milling about, talking amongst themselves and pointing to the large banners that displayed the various tournaments being hosted. The Gunblade wielder turned around to see for himself what the big commotion was about, only to see the short satyr Phil hanging an exceptionally large banner from the wall. Thinking about it, Squall came to the conclusion that if anybody on this planet knew if Yuffie were here or not, it would be the trainer of heroes, as he didn't let anyone into the arena without his express permission.

Approaching the ladder the half-goat man was standing on, Squall raised his stormy blue gaze to watch as the banner began to slip from Phil's hands, only to have the satyr catch it quickly before it fell to the ground. As he leaned over to grab the edge of the banner, Phil saw the swordsman looking up at him and cringed. "What do you want? Can't you see I'm busy here," he said gruffly, remembering the secret the young ninja girl had told him when she and her partner were there not too long ago.

"Have you seen Yuffie?" Squall asked, deciding it would be easiest to get straight to the point so he could not waste any time. Every second that he stood there chit-chatting was another second that his ninja was on the run.

The satyr's eyebrows furrowed in confusion at the name. He had never been good about remembering the names of the many people who came to the Coliseum to fight. "Yuffie? Who's Yuffie?"

Squall tiredly pinched the bridge of his nose with his forefinger and thumb before looking back up at Phil. "The girl I was here with last time. The ninja. About this tall," he held his hand out at about her height as he waited for the trainer to answer him.

"Not since you two were here together. Now, if you don't mind, how about if you amscray and let me get back to work, weirdo." Phil muttered the last part under his breath, hoping that the man below him would be unable to hear it. However, what he didn't realize was that Squall's hearing was still sensitive from his recent blindness.

At the word 'weirdo,' Squall jerked his head back up to the satyr on the ladder and gave him an icy glare. "I don't believe this. A man that is half-goat is calling _me_ a weirdo?" he questioned in disbelief before shaking his head and walking away, running a hand through his long hair. He stopped in his tracks when he heard what Phil said next.

"Well, at least I'm not the one with a goat fetish," the satyr called down from his position atop the ladder, his back turned away from the swordsman so that he was neither able to see him stop walking nor see the crowd around them hush and turn to stare at them.

Squall turned around slowly, a dark scowl covering his face as he glowered at the trainer of heroes, who still had his back turned. "What did you say?" he growled as he strode to the ladder, trying to ignore the soft snickers and hushed whispers coming from the crowd around them.

The banner finally hung to his satisfaction, Phil began to climb down the ladder, his hoofed feet making a light clicking noise as they touched the wooden rungs. "You heard me. I know about your goat fetish," the satyr declared as he reached the ground and began to weave his way through the throngs of people to reach the arena entrance.

"What goat fetish?" Squall demanded as he marched in front of the half-goat man and blocked his path. He decided that until he got the full story out of this little _thing_, that he wasn't going to allow him to get on with his work. Before Phil had a chance to answer, realization his the swordsman, causing him to take a step back and grimace. "Yuffie told you that, didn't she?"

Pushing past him, the trainer continued on his way to the arena, only sparing a passing glance to Squall as he did so. "Yeah, she did. So, now, if you'll excuse me, I'm getting out of here before you get an urge to do something," he called over his shoulder, increasing his slow pace ever so slightly.

Ready to grab the satyr by the horns and through him across the arena, Squall felt a restraining hand on his shoulder. He turned to find a vaguely familiar blonde man with bright blue eyes staring at him while the red cape he wore covered the lower part of his face. "It won't do you any good to make him mad, Leonhart," the blonde said in a low voice, taking his hand off the Gunblade wielder's shoulder which Squall could now see was in fact a golden claw.

"How do you know my name?" Squall demanded angrily, glaring at the blonde man as he watched Phil leave from the corner of his eye. "And who the hell do you think you are stopping me from doing as I damn well please?!"

The blonde man simply turned and walked towards an uncrowded area at the nearest wall, leaning against it with his arms crossed over his chest as he waited for the Gunblade wielder to follow him. "Has it really been that long, Squall? Long enough that you don't recognize your old friends?" he asked quietly, his blue gaze scanning crowds in front of them.

Squall took another look at the man, his eyes narrowing as a vague memory plagued his mind, the details of which were slowly coming into focus. Yes, he remembered the man before him, though it had been nine years since they had last seen each other and he had long been thought dead by all except the ever hopeful Aerith. "Cloud?" he muttered in confusion, taking another glance at the claw that now replaced one of his childhood friend's hands.

"Took you long enough, Squall," Cloud accused, a blonde eyebrow raised as his eyes left the crowds and glanced back at Squall, who had decided to lean against the wall beside him. He couldn't help but notice the slightly perplexed look on his face. "You're wondering why I'm not dead?"

Although the question came out more like a statement, Squall imperceptibly nodded his head in answer. "That would be nice to know considering I saw you fall to the Heartless nine years ago," he replied, the memory of seeing the young blonde warrior's heart being ripped from his body by the shadows haunting his mind.

"Death is only the beginning, Leonhart. It's just the beginning," the blonde muttered cryptically, his bright blue eyes becoming a shade darker. He turned his gaze back to the crowd in front of them, watching his friend out of the corner of his eye.

Knowing that he should be leaving to search for Yuffie, Squall couldn't help but stay rooted to the spot and await an explanation from Cloud. After a few moments of waiting patiently for the blonde swordsman to continue, he decided a little prodding was in order. "Are you going to explain or am I going to have to beat it out of you like I used to?"

A short laugh escaped Cloud's throat before he turned his attention back to the Gunblade wielder. "I did die," he said casually, as though it were an everyday experience. "But, I was offered a chance to live again if I signed a contract. I was so desperate to live again, that I signed without reading it first. So, here I am, waiting to fulfill my contract."

"Aerith's still alive, you know," Squall told him, realizing that it was one of his fellow swordsman's unspoken questions. "And she's still waiting for you." There was a long pause before he continued. "I never had the heart to tell her what happened in the chapel... when you died. She's lived these nine years believing you to still be alive."

"And I will be alive again once I fulfill my contract. And then I will search for my light." Dismissing the subject with a wave of his hand, Cloud's gaze traveled back to the crowds in front of them. "I overheard your conversation with Phil," he finally said after a few moments of silence. "You're looking for Yuffie. And I don't think it's because of the goat fetish lie, either."

Squall stared at the man, raising his eyebrows slightly as he wondered when the once clueless Cloud had become so good at reading people. "No, it's not," he admitted quietly, pushing himself off from the wall and beginning to walk away. "I have to find her. Soon." With that said, he started to walk away, only to be pulled back by Cloud once more.

"She's your light, isn't she?" the blonde asked softly, his gaze piercing his comrade's. He waited for the slight nod from Squall before he continued. "Follow your instincts to search for her. And once you find her, don't let her go." Releasing his friend, he began to walk away into the crowd, calling over his shoulder one last thing. "And don't tell Aerith you saw me here. I don't know how long it will take until I complete the contract and I don't want her to get her hopes up."

Squall watched as the crowd flowed around the blonde swordsman, effectively hiding him from sight as he approached the arena. Turning on his heel, Squall strode towards the World Exit, silently musing over his friend's words and advice. As he approached his ship, he began thinking of the next world he should search, quickly crossing most of them off the list as he believed she would never go there for various reasons. Such as Wonderland. He vividly remembered her response to Sora's retelling of some of the riddles the Cheshire Cat had told him. Yuffie had always hated riddles. Therefore, she would never go there.

He finally came to the conclusion that the most likely place she would go would have to be Hollow Bastion. There, he concluded, she could change the pain and resentment she felt towards him into something positive by slowly restoring the world. She had talked about it enough during their years in Traverse Town, always hoping for the day when they could return to their home world. So, sitting in the pilot's seat, which still smelled faintly of orange blossom, he set his course for Hollow Bastion, groaning in disgust when he realized it would take a full day to reach the world even with his warp drive.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Flying into the Hollow Bastion atmosphere, Yuffie began to wonder where she would land her Gummi ship before she vaguely remembered the two docking bays, one in the upper portions of the castle and the other below the castle, the Bastion fortress had before it fell. She could only hope that at least one of them was still there. Opting for the upper bay, she slowly approached the Bastion and searched for the opening to fly her ship into. On the fifth pass around the castle, just as she was about to give up and land in the lower bay, she found it and flew her ship into it, landing at the slot nearest the castle doors. The fact that the only light in the area was from a large window in the roof went completely unnoticed by her.

As she climbed out of her ship, duffel bag strap over her shoulders and the box of food she had found inside her ship in her hands, she began to walk towards the doors, shivering violently as the Bastion winters came early and always hit hard. She silently cursed herself for forgetting that when she had packed her bag. Of course, when she had packed, she hadn't planned on coming here. She would have to hope that she could find some more suitable clothing somewhere in the castle.

She shook her head to rid herself of those thoughts and tried to remember which part of the castle those doors led to exactly. The memory of running through the chapel and out a secret passageway to where the Gummis awaited nine years ago haunted her mind. Finally reaching the doors, she pushed through them, proving her memory to be correct when she found herself in a dark, narrow stone tunnel.

"Great," she muttered to herself as she stumbled along the dark passageway, trying not to trip over who knows what down on the ground beneath. Images of skeletons reaching up to grab her ran through her mind, causing her to greatly increase her pace. A thought struck her as she made her way through the tunnel. If there were no working lights in this tunnel, then there would be no working lights in the rest of the castle either.

"Yuffie," she told herself, ignoring the nagging voice in the back of her mind that told her she had to be insane for talking to herself, "no lights mean no electricity. No electricity means no heat. You are going to freeze to death!" She briefly wondered if perhaps she should turn around and head to another world, but the sound of the doors behind her slamming shut seemed to be what she needed to urge herself forward.

"I will not freeze!" she said vehemently, determined to stay on this world until she felt she was over Squall. Of course, that annoying voice in the back of her mind reared its head again and told her that she would be here forever if that were the case. "And I will get over him eventually... I hope." The last part of her statement came out as a raspy whisper as a few tears threatened to fall from her eyes.

After walking for what seemed like forever to the ninja, she eventually reached the other end of the tunnel and pushed through the secret door to find herself in the chapel. Luckily, the stained glass roof and windows illuminated the room enough for her to navigate and she found a box of candles in the far corner of the room. Setting her box down and duffel bag down, she quickly lit a candle before shoving the rest into her food box. She re-shouldered her bag and picked up her box once more, juggling with both it and the lit candle before she found her balance and could continue on her way.

"Okay, Yuf. Just find a room for tonight and deal with the rest tomorrow while the sun's still out," she muttered to herself as she noticed through the windows that the sun was quickly setting and leaving her in the dark save for her single candle. Finding a lift stop, she touched the crystal and descended to a lower level where she seemed to remember a couple of bedrooms. Even though it had been nine years since she had last been here, she discovered that she could still clearly remember some things. Such as where the bedrooms and a few various other rooms were located.

The lift she was on slowed to a stop and she stepped off of it and into the dark hall, the flame of her candle casting strange shadows on the walls. She involuntarily shuddered as she remembered the shadows that had chased her through these very halls nine years ago. But, she pushed that memory back in lieu of the fact that she had yet to see a Heartless here today. Of course, they could be waiting to ambush her, she thought until she remembered that most were incapable to thinking like that. So, brushing her fears aside, she continued down the hall until she came to the first bedroom.

She pushed open the ornate oaken door and sighed with relief when she found it completely free of Heartless, feeling that she would be unable to deal with them in her current state. Thankfully setting the heavy box down, dropping the bag from her shoulder, and placing the candle on the mantel, she rubbed her arms in an attempt to warm them. A glimpse at the fireplace showed her that logs still remained, so she uttered a quick Fira to set them aflame and warm the room.

The almost instant warmth caused her to sigh in contentment as she looked around the room and saw that the bed was covered in heavy blankets. "It must've been winter when we left," she mused, unable to remember that small detail of the fall of the Bastion. She pulled the blanket off the bed, wrapping it around herself as she settled in front on the fire place. Until the whole room warmed up, which could be awhile, she would have to be content with sleeping on the floor near the fire.

The ninja curled into a ball, closing her eyes and hoping for sleep to come quickly before her thoughts drifted to her first, only, and last lover. But, slumber betrayed her and refused to come until after she had shed her share of tears at the memory of how Squall's arms would wrap around her while they slept, effectively keeping her warm in the chilly nights of Traverse Town. Hours later, she finally fell asleep, only to find herself dreaming of him and the love she had believed they shared.

* * *

_Author's Note: There. I finally got that chapter out. I hate these linking chapters. I really do. I have so much trouble writing them. But, thankfully, I have the next chapter almost completely written out word for word in my head... so, I'm hoping it won't take me too long to get it finished. And, the end it near. Only one or two more chapters, and maybe an epilogue. If I do two more chapters, then there won't be an epilogue. Anyways, go review for me please._


	21. Chapter TwentyOne: Midnight Encounter

_Author's Note: Okay, I have no idea when I'll finish this chapter or how far into the story I will get either. So, just bear with me. I have an idea of where I want to get with it, so I may have to just keep writing until I get to that point. Anyways, enjoy!_

_Y'know, I keep thinking about the last chapter's title, "Follow Your Instincts," and for some reason I want to say "Follow your nose, where ever it goes," instead. You know... like Toucan Sam from the Fruit Loops commercials? And I have no clue why I shared that with you. It must be this strange mood I'm in..._

_Forgive me if I get the layout of Hollow Bastion messed up. I always get lost there when I'm playing. And I'm taking poetic license with some aspects of the world._

_[Disclaimer: I haven't owned them for the past twenty chapters, so why would I own them now?]_

* * *

_Chapter Twenty-One: Midnight Encounter_

The bright Bastion sun shining through the large window of her chosen bedroom awoke Yuffie, who was momentarily confused as to where she was and wondered why Squall wasn't lying next to her on the bed. That is, until she became fully awake and remembered her secret departure from Traverse Town and that she had just arrived at the Hollow Bastion fortress the night before as the sun was setting. Shivering, she noticed that she could see her breath in the air and a glance at the fire place showed that the logs she had lit the night before were no more than ashes now. She made a mental note to search for more firewood in the castle bedrooms today, for if this bedroom had a fireplace ready to light, the others should as well. It was just a matter of gathering it.

She wrapped the blanket more tightly around her and arose from the hard, stone floor, her back groaning in protest at having slept there for the night. Looking around the room, she noticed a door off to the side that she could only hope was a closet. And, if luck was with her, she would find it full of winter clothing. She quickly crossed the room and yanked the door open, desperate for warmer clothing since the blanket was unable to keep the chill of the air off her.

As the door opened, something jumped out at her, causing the ninja to jump backwards and screech in both surprise and terror before she realized what it was. On the floor, scurrying along the baseboards of the room, ran a small gray mouse. "Perfect," Yuffie muttered in disgust with herself. "The so-called 'Great Ninja Yuffie' is scared of a harmless little mouse."

She adjusted the blanket better around herself and reached an arm out of her makeshift robe to reached into the dark closet to see if she could find anything, only to find that the closet was almost completely empty save for a box of clothes at the bottom. For a brief moment, she was elated to find some warmer clothes, but her spirits quickly dampened when she found said box to not only be full of clothes, but also baby mice.

"Grossness," she said under her breath as she closed the box and hastily shoved it back into the closet. "There is no way in hell I'm going to wear something that baby rats have been peeing on." Disappointed and disgusted, she slammed the closet door shut and left the room, having decided that she would have to systematically search each room for not only firewood, as previously planned, but also warm clothing.

She entered the room next to hers, finding it decorated in light blues and greens. Slowly looking around the room, she noticed that this closet was already open and had quite a few things hanging in it. As she walked to the closet, the ninja fervently prayed that there would be no mice this time and it seemed her wish was granted as nothing jumped out at her.

Pulling out the first item in the closet, she quickly dropped it and let a small gasp escape her throat. Yes, she had found warmer clothing, but apparently this room had been Squall's when they still lived at Hollow Bastion. She stared at the jacket she had dropped, tears filling her eyes as she noticed the familiar red wings embroidered on the back. But, unlike his current jacket, this one had long sleeves and would prove to be much warmer than the one he wore in Traverse Town.

Yuffie slowly backed out of the room, shaking her head and wiping away the tears that had spilt their dam. "No. I'm here to get over him," she insisted as she turned her back on the room and shut the door behind her, deciding that no matter how cold she was, she would not wear that jacket. It brought back too many images of her and Squall in Traverse Town, something she just couldn't deal with right now.

Reentering her own room, she walked to the middle and simply stood there, taking big heaving breaths as she tried to calm herself. But, with Squall's old room, full of his belongings, right there next to her own, she found it hard to keep the tears in check. "Okay, Yuffie. Calm down and think this out," she commanded herself, her voice raspy from her unshed tears.

She sat on the edge of the bed, her eyes closed as she pushed all thoughts of Squall out of her mind. "Okay, this is the West wing of the Bastion. And, if I remember correctly, there were rooms in the East wing as well. So, it's simple, Yuffie. Just move to the East wing and then you'll be away from all his stuff," she decided, realizing somewhere in the back of her mind that she was quickly getting in the habit of talking to herself.

Dropping the blanket from around her shoulders, she shivered but quickly became adjusted to the cool air as she crossed the room to pick up both the box and her duffel bag that she had carried in the night before. She strode out of the room and down the hall, hoping she was heading in the right direction. After all, it had been nine years since she had been here last and time had a way of making one forget some things.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Having been unable to find the entrance to the Gummi docking bay in the upper levels of the Bastion, Squall assumed it had been destroyed and slowly brought his ship down in the waterway docking bay. It had taken him longer than anticipated to reach the Hollow Bastion world due to unforeseen attacks on his ship by the Heartless, making it a three day trip instead of the one he had planned for. That, in turn, had made it about a week since his ninja had run away from him. And it was a week spent in hell for him.

As he flew through the waterway docking bay, his disappointment grew as he was unable to find Yuffie's familiar Gummi ship. And he would have left the world as soon as he had arrived if it hadn't been for that nagging feeling tugging at the back of his mind. So, remembering Cloud's advice of following his instincts, Squall decided he could at least take a look around the palace and see if maybe she had been here in the past few days.

He stepped out of his ship and stopped to look around the familiar area. Yes, it was darker and danker than it had been nine years ago, but that was to be expected since no one had been here to take care of things. Squall strode across the waterway, glancing around and looking for the lift stop that he knew was nearby. But, unable to find it, he simply walked out of the waterway and spotted a transport crystal near the ice walls of Rising Falls, unconsciously rubbing his arms in the chill air.

Just as he reached out to touch the glowing blue crystal, he heard an oh-so familiar sound behind him and he spun around to find a small group of Darkballs preparing to assault him. Drawing his Gunblade, he lowered himself into a fighting stance and waited for the onslaught. It didn't take long for their attack to begin as one lone heartless decided to break away and charge towards the swordsman.

Squall swung his blade around in an arc, feeling it connect and slide through the creature as it disappeared in a cloud of purple and black smoke. The other two Darkballs immediately attacked, only to find themselves meeting the same fate as their brother.

Seeing that no other heartless had appeared to take these three's place, the Gunblade wielder lowered his weapon and touched the crystal. He shook his head as he was transported from the lower regions of Hollow Bastion and to the entrance gates. It was something he could never get used to, no matter how much he had done it as a child. And the transportation process always left him with a slight heady feeling along with the tingling sensation in his limbs.

He walked across the narrow walkway to the entrance gates, hoping they would be unlocked as he really didn't want to have to go back down to the waterway and unlock them. He silently cursed himself for not thinking of that while he was down there. But, luck was with him for once in his search for Yuffie, and the gates opened easily for him, allowing him access to the entrance hall.

It was just as he remembered it. The fountain in the center of the room still flowed with a soft gurgling noise, the gargoyle statues still stared out at intruders with their eerie eyes, and the candles along the walls were lit. That part threw him, for it had been nine years since someone had been here and the candles should have gone out long ago. Well, Sora and his companions had been here recently, but Sora had mentioned that they were finished with this world when they had met at the Coliseum. So, the lit candles could only mean that the Bastion had had a more recent visitor than Sora, and Squall fervently hoped that the visitor had been one Yuffie Kisaragi and that she was still here.

He slowly made his way up the staircase, refraining from calling her name as he was afraid she would take flight once she heard him. At the top of the staircase, he stopped, trying to decide whether he would explore the library first or delve deeper into the Bastion hallways. He finally decided on the library without even knowing why exactly he chose it. But, choose it he did and he would follow through with his choice.

His footfalls echoed across the entrance hall as he purposely made his way to the library doors, pausing before opening them. The last time he had been through the Hollow Bastion library, he was being chased by the strange shadows he had later learned were the Heartless. Shaking his head to clear his mind of the painful memories, he pushed through the doors and entered the library.

The hinges of the doors groaned in protest as they opened, causing Squall to wince. "Well, if she's in here, then she's knows I'm coming," he muttered softly under his breath as he strode through the maze-like layout of bookshelves. He finally reached the stairs and ascended them to upper floor, where a small green couch sat in front of an equally small table. _Odd,_ he thought, _I don't remember that from before._ But he shook the thought off and instead stared at the open book lying on the table.

He sat on the edge of the couch, noting the blanket that was piled up at the end, and picked up the book. "_Honor Amongst Thieves," _he murmured, reading the title aloud. "Sounds interesting." Before he even read the first page, the scent of orange blossom drifted to his nostrils and he instinctually turned his head toward the aroma, his eyes falling once more on the blanket. He picked it up and sniffed it, glad that he was alone in the library as he knew how moronic he appeared as he did so. But, all thoughts were pushed out of his head when he realized that the blanket was literally steeped in the familiar scent which meant that either Yuffie had been here or someone else had acquired the same flowery scent as the ninja.

Squall dropped the blanket and book onto the couch as he arose from his seat and continued in his search for the ninja that he was fairly certain was here, even if he hadn't found her Gummi in the docking bay below. He could only surmise that she had managed to find the upper one that he, himself, had been unable to find.

He quickly left the little alcove he had found, descended the stairs, and returned to the entrance hall, having made up his mind to search the rest of the Bastion. Hopefully, he would find the ninja soon and make her understand how much he loved her and explain to her about the pictures. So, pushing through the middle door in the back of the entrance hall, Squall began his search of the castle, starting with the West wing.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Yuffie threaded her way through the twisting halls of the Bastion, wearing the new winter wardrobe she had procured from various rooms. With the baggy blue jeans and two sweatshirts, not to mention the t-shirt she wore beneath them, the ninja could barely feel the cold air of the Hollow Bastion winter. And, by keeping fires going in the rooms she used the most, she was able to stand still without shivering.

But, right now, she just wanted to get back to her book. Even though it was getting late and the sun had set hours ago, she hoped to finish the book tonight. She was still slightly miffed that there wasn't a fireplace in the library that she could light, but she did keep a blanket down there to wrap herself in while she read. So, everything worked out fine. Of course, she still didn't know why she insisted on reading down there and not just bringing the book up to her chosen bedroom. She finally surmised that it was just one of the many quirks in herself and she would have to deal with it.

A movement out of the corner of her eye caught her attention and she quickly spun around, candle in one hand and shuriken in the other. She laughed quietly when she realized there was nothing there and quickly put away her ninja star. The past three days she had spent on this world had proved to be rather uneventful. It was only occasionally that she would meet any Heartless at all, and, then, it was something relatively easy to defeat, such as a Shadow or a Darkball.

So, having been bored on her second day here, she had wandered into the library and picked out a book to read, to take her mind off things she didn't want it dwelling on. Namely, Squall. It seemed that the more she tried _not_ to think about him, the more she did. And it killed her inside every time. At one point, she had nearly decided to return to Traverse Town and just forget about the picture and the name he had muttered while he slept. But before she had even made it to out the door of the her bedroom, she talked herself out of it and forced herself to stay.

Arriving in the library, she trotted up the stairs and started to plop down on the couch when she noticed that her book wasn't lying on the table where she had left it earlier. Instead, it was laying on the end of the couch and partially covered by her blanket. "Okay, I _know_ for a _fact_ that I left that book on the table," she muttered to herself as she stared at it.

She nervously looked around the room, wishing her candle produced more light than it did so she could peer into the shadowed areas. "Is someone here?" she called out, deciding that she would have to search every inch of the library to satisfy herself. After descending the stairs, she began to weave through the bookshelves, checking behind each one for whoever had moved her book. However, she was unable to find anyone in the room with her and she left the library to search other regions of the castle.

Stealthily creeping through the halls, she kept both her eyes and ears open for the tell-tale signs of whoever the intruder was, not to mention any rogue Heartless that thought it might be a good idea to attack her. Hours later, her search still proved to be fruitless and she was ready to give up. She stifled a yawn as her body told her that it was way past the time for her to be in bed and she readily agreed with it until she noticed a faint light coming from beneath the dining room door.

"Ah-HAH!" she whispered-yelled quietly, trying to keep her voice down and have the element of surprise with the intruder. She quickly pulled out four shuriken, placing them in between the fingers of her right hand, prepared to attack whoever was behind the door, and set the candle down upon the small shelf near the door. Slowly twisting the doorknob to the right, she pushed through and let out a slight gasp at what she saw.

Across the room, with his back to her, stood Squall, staring out the darkened window and into the night. The flickering candles in the room cast strange shadows, making it hard to see anything. But, even in the little bit of light in the room, she was able to make out the red wings upon his jacket and the way his mahogany hair fell across the nape of his neck.

Trembling, she began to quietly back out of the room in an attempt to make her escape, only to find she was too late. He had already turned to face her, his stormy blue eyes locked onto her own indigo ones.

* * *

_Author's Note: Okay, that chapter didn't turn out the way I wanted it to. Not at all. Anyways, there will be at least one more chapter, possibly two. And I have no clue when I'll get them written. I really need to focus some on "Honor Amongst Thieves." I haven't updated it in nearly two weeks. Oh well... I'll get to it when I get to it. Anyways, leave me a review and I'll be a happy author._


	22. Chapter TwentyTwo: Finding Your Light

_Author's Note: Okay. Here we go. I'm not sure if this is the last chapter yet or not. So, I guess we'll have to wait and see at the end of this chapter._

_Note of Jupiter Green: I'm writing, I'm writing! You don't have to shoot me. I'm hoping it won't take me as long with this chapter as it did with the other. _

_On another note, I think I'm going to put off updating "Honor Amongst Thieves" until this story is complete, which won't be much longer._

_[Disclaimer: Oh, how I wished I owned Squall. But, I don't. Square does, along with every other character in this story. Well, Disney might own a few. I don't really know nor do I care.]_

* * *

_Chapter Twenty-Two: Finding Your Light_

Staring into Squall's stormy eyes, Yuffie felt her knees begin to weaken and she almost ran to him, wishing things had been the way they were before... before she had found that picture of him and Rinoa. But, she quickly squashed that thought, knowing that she couldn't go back. "What are you doing here?" she hissed when she finally found her voice, putting away the shuriken she had drawn and keeping her eyes trained anywhere but on him.

For fear of making her run, Squall refrained from approaching her and instead leaned against wall, keeping his eyes on her at all times. It had been so long since he had seen her, and, then, it had been before he realized that he loved her. He couldn't help but notice the way she avoided his gaze. "Looking for you," he answered quietly, pushing the hair that had fallen into his eyes out of the way.

"Please don't look at me like that, my heart can't take this," she muttered softly under her breath, turning her head away from him and beginning to leave the dining room. She had to get away before she broke down. And she refused to let him see that. His voice stopped her in her tracks even though she tried to continue on her way.

"Yuffie, please... don't go," the swordsman pleaded, taking a tentative step towards her and reaching out a hand. "At least talk to me first. There are some things that need to be cleared up." He watched her pause in the doorway and slowly turn back to face him, her indigo eyes full of pain and unshed tears.

Closing her eyes, the ninja took a deep breath, willed her tears back, and steadied her nerves, hating herself for being so weak. "Why should I?" she demanded, sounding more harsh than she had originally intended, but it was the only way to keep her tears from flooding out.

Squall involuntarily winced when he heard her tone and slowly walked over to the end of the table, pulling out a chair and taking a seat. "Just talk to me... please?" he begged, trying to keep the desperation out of his voice but found it impossible to do so. She gave him a skeptical look. "After we're finished talking, if you want... you can leave and I won't follow you this time." It killed him to say that, but he knew it was the only way to convince her to at least listen to him.

"You promise?" she asked, pinching the bridge of her nose with her forefinger and thumb. At his nod, she slowly crossed the room and took a seat at the far end of the table, the farthest she could get away from him. She wearily propped her elbows up on the table and rested her head on her hands. "Okay, talk."

Squall buried his face in his hands, trying to think of where to even begin. Sorting through his thoughts, he finally decided that maybe starting on a more humorous note would help to light the somber mood. "I went to the Coliseum, looking for you, and I found Phil," he began, seeing the ninja's eyes widen slightly as she bit her lip. "You told him I had a goat fetish?!"

Sighing, Yuffie nervously ran a hand through her ebony hair and closed her eyes. "I knew you'd be mad," she whispered softly, letting out a short laugh before quickly cutting it off.

"No, I'm _not_ mad that you told him that. If you hadn't, we would never have left the Coliseum. And then we wouldn't have gotten back to Traverse Town. And then we wouldn't have..." he trailed off, remembering all too well what had happened between them when they had finally gotten back to their room that night. His piercing blue gaze, full of unanswered questions, met hers. "What happened, Yuffie? We were so happy. Why did you leave?"

Yuffie bit back the sob that started to form in her throat at his words, harshly reminding herself that it was _Rinoa's_ name he had said in his sleep. "I... I... told you the reason in the note I left," she stammered, her voice betraying the emotions within that she tried to keep hidden from him. "Didn't you read it?"

"Aerith read it to me," he answered calmly, remembering how the flower girl's voice had try to relay the news that Yuffie was gone in the kindest way possible. He was oblivious to the shocked and angered expression on the ninja's face at the moment.

"That note was meant for your eyes only, Squall!" she whispered-screamed at him, her eyes glaring at him as she thought of Aerith reading her heart's outpourings that she had left only for Squall. "If I had wanted her to read it, I would've left it in her room or put _her_ name on the front!"

The swordsman tiredly rubbed his eyes, raising his eyebrows as he did so. "Yuffie, my eyes were blurry and I couldn't read anything. I could barely see to get around for three days. Why do you think it took me so long to find you?"

"I just figured you would be glad to have me gone. I mean you couldn't see me for the past month so of _course_ you wouldn't care who you were with." She paused, squeezing her eyes tightly shut to keep the tears in check. "It doesn't matter when you can't see. It doesn't matter that I'm not your beautiful _Rinoa_." She spit the name out as though it left a bitter taste in her mouth.

"Yuffie, you don't understand," Squall began, running his hands distractedly through his wild mane of hair. The distress in Yuffie's eyes was enough to tear him apart. "It's not because I couldn't see--" But he never got to finish his sentence as the ninja rose from her chair and glared at him angrily.

"You told her that you _loved_ her but you never told me. Why is that, Squall?" she screamed, louder than she intended and her voice rising with each word. By now, tears were streaming freely down her face and she was hastily wiping them away, cursing herself at the same time for breaking down in front of him. "Why is that?" This time, her voice had taken on a raspy quality and could barely be heard. She turned to leave the room.

Seeing that she was about to escape, Squall lurched to his feet and quickly crossed the room, grabbing her by her shoulder and spinning her around to face him. And, Yuffie, just needing something to hold onto at that moment, latched onto his jacket and buried her face into his shirt, her tears quickly soaking through the white material and wetting his chest. The swordsman hesitantly brought his arms up around the sobbing ninja and held her, trying to comfort her the best he could with their current misunderstanding.

"Yuffie," he murmured, feeling her tense up beneath his hands as he spoke, "I never told you that I loved you because you never told me." She gripped his jacket even tighter, her small frame trembling even more than it previously was. "Do you?"

She immediately pulled out of his arms, backing up from him until she was up against the dining room table. "I... I... love?..." Her mind and heart were awash with confusion. Somewhere deep down she knew that she loved him and always would, but she didn't want to admit it. "No," she said firmly, adamantly shaking her head at the same time. "I can't love you!"

Squall reached into his back pocket and pulled out the note she had written him, folded into quarters. He slowly unfolded it and stared at a few lines. "Then why did you tell me that you did in this?" he asked quietly, handing the note to her.

"Because... because..." she struggled to come up with a lie, but discovered she was unable to while under his scrutinizing gaze and she soon found herself lowering her head and spilling out the truth. "Because I do love you as much as I try not to."

Her voice was so soft that he barely heard it escape her lips and float across the room to him. "Yuffie, would it help if I told you that I never told Rinoa that I loved her? That I didn't love her?" he whispered after clearing his throat to remove the lump that was beginning to form there.

Yuffie jerked her head up and stared at him with wide eyes glistening with tears. "What are you talking about? I read the back of the picture, Squall. It said, and I quote, 'With love always, Rinoa,'" the ninja replied confusedly, remembering very well almost every detail of the picture in question.

"Yes, Yuffie. it said 'With love always, Rinoa.' It didn't say 'With love always, Squall.' It said Rinoa," he explained slowly, trying to make her understand that he didn't love the woman from his past.

Blinking her eyes a few times and staring at him, the ninja tried to grasp the situation. "But... that look on your face..." she began, her brows furrowed in confusion as she thought back to the picture. "You looked so happy... so in love..."

Squall took a deep breath and let it out slowly, closing his eyes for a moment before training them back onto Yuffie. "Yuffie, that picture was from ten years ago. It was a different and a different place, before the Heartless attacked... before anything bad had really happened to any of us. I _was_ in love then, but not with Rinoa. I was in love with life back then. I wasn't so cynical about everything ten years ago," he explained slowly, his stormy blue eyes intent on her face.

Yuffie wildly shook her head, trying to grasp onto what he was saying. "But... but... I've _never_ seen that look on your face..." she trailed off and looked back up to him, her eyes pleading with him. "You were never _that_ happy with me."

"Yuffie, did it ever occur to you that I was blind and had a blindfold over my eyes?" he asked quietly, beginning to slowly walk towards her, each step painfully small as he didn't want her to run away yet again. "That you couldn't see my eyes?" He was standing right in front of her by the time he said that, looking down at her.

With Squall standing so close to her and his slight warmth emanating from his body to her in the cold room, Yuffie found it hard to even breath. But she did hear his words and almost gave in to him before she remembered one other thing that pointed in the direction of him loving Rinoa. "Then tell me, Squall, if you didn't love Rinoa, then why did you say _her _name in your sleep after we slept together?" she demanded, jumping up on the table top behind her and scooting back a little, just to put some more room between the two of them.

Closing his eyes, Squall tiredly ran a hand down his face, leaving it over his mouth for a few moments before he answered her. "What exactly did I say, Yuf? Word for word, what did I say?"

"You said, 'Rinoa... I'm sorry,'" the ninja replied, adding a melodramatic flair that wasn't present when he had mumbled the words in his sleep.

"Yuffie..."

"NO! I don't want to hear anymore lies! Do you know how much it hurts when I think about it?! Do you know how much it hurts when I realize that you were just lying to me when you told me that I was beautiful?!" Her eyes were aflame with barely suppressed anger as she glared at the man before her. "Do you have any idea how much it hurts knowing that I still love you even though you're obviously still in love with Rinoa?!"

Before she could say anymore, Squall cut her off with a kiss, reaching his arms around her and pulling her to him. At first, she tensed up and struggled to pull away from him, but as he deepened the kiss, she slowly began to melt into his embrace, helpless to the emotions cresting within her. He finally released her and rested his forehead against hers, his stormy blue gaze staring deep into her own indigo one.

Once she caught her breath, Yuffie's eyes widened, then narrowed in rage as she pulled out of his grasp. And before he could stop her, she had reared back and slapped him as hard as she was able, leaving a bright red hand print across his left cheek. "How dare you?!" she seethed in a deadly hiss, trying to scoot across the table and escape from him, but she quickly discovered that he had somehow grabbed her by the elbows and wasn't going to let her go.

With his hands busy holding onto the ninja in front of him, Squall was unable to rub his stinging cheek and instead twisted his head and rubbed it with his shoulder. "Yuffie, you don't understand about Rinoa," he insisted, finding it hard to keep a grip on her while she twisted around as she tried to escape.

"LET. ME. GO," Yuffie snarled, sounding almost like a wild animal caught in a trap, desperate to free itself. She fought like one, too, as she tried to rake her nails across the arms that held her tight and bring her legs around to kick him. Squall simply held onto her even more tightly and drew her closer to him, despite her protests and attacks.

"Yuffie! Just calm down and listen to me," he commanded, wincing as her nails bit into the flesh of his right arm and left four red streaks in their wake. Not knowing what else to do, he twisted her around and quickly brought his arms around her waist, keeping her arms pinned to her sides and her back against his chest.

Finding herself effectively trapped once more, Yuffie began sobbing, tears running down her cheeks unheeded since her hands were trapped to her sides. "Please, just let me go," she rasped softly, lowering her head in defeat. "Please..."

Taking a deep breath, Squall looked down at his right forearm where she had scratched it just moments before. The blood from the wound was slowly running down his arm and falling onto the white sweatshirt she wore, giving it a bright red stain. He painfully closed his eyes, hoping she would believe him this time as he lowered his head to her shoulder, ignoring the glare she gave him out of the corner of her eye. "Yuffie, I never did love Rinoa. I already told you that. But that didn't mean she wasn't still my friend after we broke up. Yuffie... when the Bastion fell, I had to watch so many people die because I was too weak to save them. Rinoa was among them," he whispered softly into her ear, the images of the past jumping into his mind.

Noticing that she had calmed slightly, he continued with his story, loosening his grip ever so slightly to make sure he wasn't hurting her. He told her about how he and Cloud had run through the castle halls, trying to help fight back the Heartless and only have the palace guards shove them off towards the Gummi ships, telling them that women _and_ children should leave. "I was sixteen years old, Yuffie, and I could fight, or so I believed, and they still wouldn't let either Cloud or me fight. So, we went behind their backs and into the halls they had forgotten. And that's when it happened." He involuntarily shuddered as the memory came back full force, each gory detail remembered in perfect detail.

Curious and much calmer than she had been, now that she was able to focus on his story rather than her own pain, Yuffie turned her head slightly to get a better look at him. She couldn't miss the pain written across his features or the slight tremble in his body. "When what happened?"

"Rinoa... she was backed against a wall, surrounded by the Heartless, yet she was still fighting, tossing out different spells like crazy. And it was working, too. After a few rounds of Thundaga, most of the shadows were gone. And the few that were left soon met their end with the blade of mine and Cloud's swords. But, that was before we realized how the shadows could move... before we knew that they could melt into the walls and floors and come up behind you," Squall stopped his story, reliving that moment from the past once more as he tried to continue with his story. "Just when we thought we had won, just when I saw what I thought was the last shadow die, one slid across the wall and appeared behind Rinoa. And I just stood there in dumbfounded horror as it viciously reached inside her chest and pulled her heart out."

His grip on Yuffie having loosened considerably while he was talking, the ninja found that she could twist around and her arms were now free, which she threw around him. One hand soothingly rubbed his back and the other stroked the nape of his neck while he buried his face into her shoulder. "Shh... it wasn't your fault, Squall..." she murmured soothingly, feeling the shuddery breaths he took as he held back his tears.

Arms tightening around the ninja's back, Squall slowly raised his head from her shoulder and looked down at her. "I still have nightmares about what happened that day, Yuf. I see her die again most nights and I'm still unable to save her," he whispered softly, looking into her eyes to see if he could find acceptance in their depths. "Now do you believe me, Yuf? Now will you believe me when I say that I love you?"

"How can you love me, Squall? How can you love _me _after having someone as perfect and mature as Rinoa?" Yuffie wondered aloud, still halfway disbelieving his words and lowering her eyes from his. She instead chose to stare at the wall across the room, where a lone painting of a field of lilies hung on the wall.

"Because Rinoa was _too _perfect. It was almost like she wasn't real sometimes. She was too perfect to last, Yuf," he murmured, removing one hand from her back to cup her chin and force her to look at him. "But you are real, Yuffie, because you aren't perfect. And I love that about you."

At his words, Yuffie looked up into his eyes and gasped softly when she saw _that_ look she had seen in his eyes in the photograph, only this time it was better because he was looking at her, and only her, like that. "You really do mean that, don't you, Squall?" she questioned quietly, a soft smile coming across her face at his nod. She wrapped her arm more tightly around his neck and pulled herself up slightly, meeting his lips with her own in a chaste, innocent kiss. But it wasn't enough.

No sooner had her lips left his, then Squall brought his lips crashing back down on hers, arms pulling her tightly to him as the kiss deepened. Now that she had accepted the fact that he did, indeed, love her, he wasn't about to let her go. His hands roamed her back, sliding to the hem of her sweatshirt and then underneath it, only to discover that instead of flesh, it had been another layer of clothing he had found. He groaned softly and broke the kiss to bring the sweatshirt up over her head, tossing it across the room. She had another sweatshirt on beneath it. "What are you wearing?" he muttered against her skin as he kissed the corner of her mouth and worked his way down her neck.

"Clothes," she whispered, leaning her head to the side to give him better access to the tender flesh of her throat. He raised his head and gave her a quizzical look, his eyes going back and forth between her clothes and her face. "I was cold!"

"You won't be cold now," he murmured as he lowered his mouth back to her neck and shoulder, pulling the collar of her sweatshirt to the side to gain better access to her skin. He stopped briefly and looked around the room, shaking his head as he did so. "Not here." He picked her up off the table, his hands beneath her upper thighs and carried her out of the room.

When he had picked her up, Yuffie had instinctually wrapped her legs around his waist and snaked her arms around his neck. "Where are we going?" she asked, planting feather-light kisses along his jaw line and the side of his neck. She giggled a little when the memory of him carrying her through Traverse Town the night they had returned from the Coliseum popped into her mind. Although, then, she had been on his back, not clinging to the front of him.

"The library," he grunted, remembering the couch and blanket present there as he stopped to push her up against the wall and briefly ravage her neck and throat. But the collar of her sweatshirt kept getting in his way, so he leaned back slightly and pulled that one over her head as well, dropping it unheeded to the floor. The presence of a long-sleeved shirt beneath that sweatshirt caused his eyes to widen. "Yuffie, is there any skin beneath all this?" he asked in exasperation.

"Keep looking, it's there somewhere," she whispered in his ear as he tugged the tucked-in shirt out of the top of her pants. She laughed softly when she noticed that he wasn't wasting any time in getting that shirt off as it was quickly thrown across the hallway, nearly landing on one of the still lit candles. Just as she was about to reprimand him about being more careful, she felt his hands sneak under her fourth and last layer of clothing and run across her flesh, eliciting a shrill squeal from her.

"Eureka!" Squall playfully exclaimed, laughing at the noises she was making as his hands slithered up her t-shirt and pulled it over her head, allowing it to join the others.

"You struck gold?" Yuffie inquired with raised eyebrows, shivering slightly as the cold air in the room touched her now bare flesh.

Seeing the goose bumps appearing on her skin, Squall pulled away from the wall and started on his trek for the library once more. "Better... naked ninja," he murmured into her ear, kissing the sensitive flesh right below it.

After a few more stops along the way, Yuffie and Squall finally reached the library and pushed through the doors, glad that the ninja had left a few candles burning in there to provide light so they wouldn't trip and fall. And as Squall slowly lowered her to the couch in the upper portions, he once again whispered 'I love you' in her ear before lowering himself to join her on the sofa.

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_Author's Note: Okay, one more chapter to go. I promise. Don't know when I'll get it out though, considering the site is going to be in 'read only' mode on the 17th and 18th. So, if it's not out by Monday night, you'll have to wait until Thursday for it._

_Anyways, I like, for the most part, how this chapter came out. And I owe a MAJOR thank you to VL for helping me with the confrontation part of this chapter. She did a lot of the dialogue for that part. So, everybody go thank her, too. So, now that you've read the chapter, why don't you leave a review?_


	23. Chapter TwentyThree: Ever After

_Author's Note: Last chapter... more notes at the end of the chapter._

_[Disclaimer: I haven't owned them for twenty-two chapters and I still don't own them.]_

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_Chapter Twenty-Three: Ever After_

"Cid, are you sure it's going to be that cold on Hollow Bastion?" Aerith asked from the small bedroom of his Gummi ship as she pulled on the heavy coat that he insisted that she wear. It had been two days ago when they had received word from Sora that he would soon seal Kingdom Hearts and that the world borders would be restored. Therefore, Cid thought it would be in their best interest to be at Hollow Bastion when that happened, and they could only hope that Leon and Yuffie would be there as well.

The Gummi pilot turn to glare at the back of the ship, biting down hard on the toothpick in his mouth. "God dammit, woman. I was just there a little over a week ago and I nearly froze. I think it'd be a hell of a lot colder now than it was then," he shouted as the world of Hollow Bastion appeared in front of the ship. He slowed down and carefully flew the ship into the atmosphere of their home world, trying to ease the jolt they would surely feel.

Walking to the front of the ship, Aerith stumbled and fell against the wall as the ship lurched to the right. "Can't you fly this thing any smoother, Cid?" she cried disgustedly as she attempted to get her balance back. She continued to stumble her way into the control room and gratefully sat down in the empty co-pilot's seat.

"If you think you can do a better job landing this thing, be my guest," Cid growled to the flower girl as the ship hit another bump in the air. They finally got through the atmosphere and began flying over the Rising Falls, the Bastion fortress looming in the distance.

Aerith crossed her arms over her chest, rolled her eyes, and blew the chestnut hair that had fallen into her eyes out of the way. She winced and tensed up when she noticed they appeared to be flying straight for a floating ice platform and Cid didn't seem to be trying to avoid it. "Cid! Watch out! You're gonna hit that--"

She was cut off when the pilot veered suddenly to the right and narrowly missed the ice platform in question. "Aerith, I've been driving this ship for nine years. And before that, I was flying ships like this throughout Hollow Bastion for twenty-five years. How long have you been driving a ship?" he asked in annoyance as he zigzagged his way through Rising Falls and began his approach on the castle.

"Just because you've been flying for that long doesn't automatically make you a better driver than me," the flower girl retorted angrily, watching out the front window as he quickly brought the ship into the lower portions of the Bastion and flew into the docking bay located down there. Aerith grimaced as he nearly hit the wall. "Cid--"

"Aerith, if you don't shut the hell up..." Cid warned, trailing off as he couldn't find a suitable threat for the young woman next to him. Instead, he shook his fist at her as he landed the ship next to Leon's.

Aerith tiredly rolled her eyes at the blonde man and then sighed as she saw the familiar blue and green Gummi ship next to them. "Well, I guess Leon's here. But..." she trailed off and looked around the rest of the empty docking bay, "where's Yuffie's ship?"

Cid turned and gave her a wry look, pulling the toothpick out of his mouth. "How the hell should I know?" He hated being so short-tempered with her, but when in small places, such as a Gummi ship, Aerith could quickly become annoying with all her pointless questions and trying to tell him how to drive.

Taking a deep breath and counting to ten, the flower girl calmed herself down before rising from her seat. "Okay, okay. I get the point," she muttered as she walked past him and let herself out of the Gummi and into the Hollow Bastion waterway. Cid soon followed her, stepping out and looking around as he pulled on a blue jean jacket. "So, where to now?" In the silent corridor, her question echoed, bouncing off the stone walls to return to her again and again.

"This way," the pilot grumbled, hefting one of his bags to his shoulder. He figured they could come back for the others later, but he might as well take one while he was going to save a trip down here. "We can take the lift from the dungeon and arrive in the castle halls."

Confused, Aerith simply followed him, not wanting to get lost in the twisting waterway as she had done many times as a child. "The dungeon? Why don't we just go outside and use the transportation crystal to get to the entrance gates?" she questioned, grimacing when they finally did reach the dungeon and she saw all the dust and grime that had accumulated over the years.

Cid looked over his shoulder at the flower girl, setting his bag down upon the lift. "Because, you feel how damn cold it is in here? Imagine it ten times worse outside. This way we can at least keep a little warmth," he explained hastily as he waited for her to step up on the platform with him before activating the crystal.

"Okay, okay. You win," Aerith muttered as the lift began to rise, taking them up through the lower levels of the Bastion and finally stopping at lowest level of the upper portion. Noticing how dark the halls were, she grabbed a candle from the small shelf on the wall and murmured a soft fire spell to light it.

Sighing and pushing a hand through his hair, Cid took a look around as they walked, as though he were sizing the repairs that needed doing up. "I'll take a look at the electricity later today and see what can be done about it. It shouldn't be that hard to get it up and running," he muttered more to himself than the flower girl as they continued down the hall.

They pushed through the double doors of what served as the dining room and noticed a pool of hardened wax upon the sideboard that indicated a candle had been left lit long enough to completely melt down. Aerith reached out and touched it, finding it was still slightly soft and warm to the touch. "Someone was in here recently," she murmured, looking around the room to see if anyone was still in there, the shafts of sunlight shining through the large windows being enough for her to blow out her candle. She noticed Cid picking something up across the room. "What did you find?"

"Just an old sweatshirt," he muttered, dropping it back down to the floor before walking to the door opposite the one they came in. He pushed through it and stepped out into the hallway, momentarily squinting and covering his eyes at the bright sunlight pouring through the glass at the end of the hall, effectively lighting the whole area. Able to see once more, he looked down and found another sweatshirt lying in a pile upon the stone floor. "Found another shirt, Aerith."

Aerith walked out into the hallway herself, furrowing her brows as she looked at the sweatshirt in the pilot's hands. "Wonder what's going--" She stopped when she saw another shirt further down the hall, this one close to where a candle had once stood, but was now a puddle of melted wax. "Here's another one..." she paused as she looked down the hall and saw yet another shirt, this one a t-shirt, "and there's another one."

They continued down the hallway, leaving the shirts they had found behind as they wondered where Leon might have been. Since they did see his Gummi in the waterway, he had to have been here, but they had yet to find him yet, only the traces he had left with the candles. Finally reaching the entrance hall after going through the winding halls, Cid stopped in his tracks and stared at the chandelier in the room, causing Aerith, who wasn't paying attention to where she was walking, to bump into his back. "Watch where you're going, woman," the pilot hissed, his eyes still on the chandelier.

"If you hadn't of stopped, I wouldn't have crashed into you," she whisper-screamed back, wondering why they were talking so quietly when it was only them and Leon. They hadn't even run into any Heartless while they were there, leading them to believe that Sora had finally defeated Ansem. "What did you stop for, anyway?" She slowly followed his line of vision and looked up to see what he was staring at, a small gasp escaping her mouth. "Is that what I think it is?"

"No, it's a dead ferret... a suicidal one that hung himself when everyone left Hollow Bastion nine years ago," Cid told her, his voice dripping with sarcasm as he turned to stare at her. "I guess this means that he found her. But, what I want to know is," he lifted his eyes back up to the chandelier and stared at the small pair of underwear hanging from it, "is why she has glittery stars on her underwear?"

Aerith sighed and tiredly rubbed her temples, giving the underwear upon the chandelier another glance as she did so. "I don't know. So Squall can find it in the dark, maybe? But what I want to know is what were they _doing_?"

Turning around, the Gummi pilot stared at her, raising one blonde eyebrow. "I can give you three guesses, but the first two don't count," he muttered sarcastically, beginning to walk towards the library doors. "But, they're probably done. I don't hear any screaming."

Rolling her eyes, the flower girl reached up and hit Cid on the back of the head her the flat of her hand. "Don't be such a dirty old man," she warned, reaching for the library doors when she noticed something hanging off the candelabra next to the door. She tiredly closed her eyes when she realized it was Yuffie's bra. "I'm not so sure I want to know what's behind this door."

Cid ignored her and pushed through the library doors, waiting to see if Aerith followed him, which she did despite her protests. Soft snoring drifted down to them from the upper floor and the blonde pilot immediately began winding his way through the shelves to reach the stairs. "Are you coming, Aerith?" he whispered back to her, pausing in his steps.

The flower girl sighed and then started behind him, knowing what they would find at the top of the stairs. "Maybe we should rethink this, Cid. I mean, they aren't expecting us and considering what we found in the rest of the castle..." she trailed off as she saw Leon's clothing littered about the floor. "And in this room, I don't think they're going to be decent."

"Aerith, it's either let them know we're here now, when they probably have a blanket covering them since it's so damn cold in the place or wait and let them wander around naked while they gather their clothes. Which would you rather do?" Not waiting for her answer, Cid started up the stairs and stopped at the top, coughing slightly. Aerith was soon beside him, doing the same.

Hearing something, Yuffie stirred slightly, then rolled over and burrowed back into the blanket and into the man lying next to her. It was too early to be getting up, especially considering how late it had been before they finally went to sleep. The noise sounded again, and the ninja could have sworn it sounded like someone clearing their throat, but she quickly dismissed that idea since it was just her and Squall at Hollow Bastion. The only other thing alive within the castle walls were the various rodents and Heartless that roamed the halls.

When the noise came a third time, followed shortly by an oh-so familiar voice saying her name, Yuffie's indigo eyes flew open and saw both Aerith _and _Cid staring down at her and Squall. She quickly pulled the blanket up even further around herself, suddenly self-conscious, and gently shook her lover awake. "Uh... Squall... we have company," she hissed, not taking her eyes of the two intruders.

"Just go back to sleep, Yuf," Squall mumbled, his words a little slurred as he rolled over and very nearly flashed Cid and Aerith as Yuffie had gathered most of the blanket to her. Luckily, she quickly pulled the blanket back over him and shook him again. "What, Yuf?" He slowly opened his eyes, which soon grew wide as he noticed they were being watched.

"Good morning, sunshine. Sleep well?" Cid asked, smirking as he stared at the obviously embarrassed duo on the floor. "Or barely sleep?"

Squall tried to sit up only to have Yuffie squeal when he began to pull the blanket off her while he did so. He settled instead for propping himself against the couch, pulling Yuffie to his lap, and keeping the blanket wrapped securely around them both. "What are you two doing here?" he asked quietly, suppressing the urge to yawn. A glance at the clock on the wall told him it was well after ten in the morning, which he would normally consider late if under different circumstances.

Tactfully averting her eyes, Aerith stared at the library doors while Cid explained to both Leon and Yuffie about the current situation. About Sora finally defeating Ansem and sealing Kingdom Hearts. It was as the old pilot was explaining that the flower girl noticed the shadows playing beneath the edge of the door. "There's no one else here, is there?" she interrupted quickly, turning her head to stare at everyone.

"No. As far as we know, we're the only ones here," Yuffie said, adjusting the blanket as it began sliding down her shoulders once more. "Of course, I thought Squall and I were the only ones here until a few minutes ago, so, really, anyone could be here without us knowing." She gave both Aerith and Cid a pointed stare as she said that last statement.

The flower girl turned back to look at the door and noticed that the door knob was slowing being twisted from the other side. "Well, apparently, somebody else is here," she muttered, pointing to the door. Just as she was about to say more, the door pushed open and a strangled gasp escaped her throat, her hand flying to clutch her chest.

"I heard voices..." the intruder began, trailing off when he saw the woman in pink standing before him. His brilliant blue eyes locked onto her bright green ones, noticing the few tears that had formed there. "Aerith," he murmured, taking a tentative step forward, wondering if she would recognize him. It had been nine years, after all, and a lot can change in nine years. Yet, she still looked exactly as he had remembered her, albeit a little more mature and a little more worn around the edges. But that was to be expected when one took into consideration what she had gone through. What they all had gone through.

Everyone else in the room disappeared as Aerith looked at the man before her. The golden blonde hair that she remembered so well still stood in gravity defying spikes and his eyes were still the same brilliant blue that she loved so much. Blinking back the tears, she walked towards him, her hands behind her back, and leaned forward ever so slightly to look up into his face. "Cloud?" she whispered, a soft, gentle smile coming across her face as she brought her hands around to cup his face.

Cloud quickly closed the distance between himself and Aerith, wrapping his arms around her waist as her hands slipped from his face and entwined themselves around her neck. Slowly leaning towards each other, their lips were only a breath apart when Yuffie interrupted the tender moment.

"Oh my gawd! Cloud! You're alive!" she exclaimed, almost jumping up when she felt Squall's arms stop her and she suddenly remembered her current state of undress. "I'd get up and hug you but we only have one blanket, so one of us would be guilty of indecent exposure."

"I vote it's Yuffie..." Squall said quickly, grinning at the ninja who lifted her head to glare at him. In retaliation, the ninja reached around and pinched his butt, giving him a smirk as she did so when he jumped and yelped. He leaned his head down and whispered in her ear. "My turn. Flip over."

Yuffie turned to glare at him before breaking out into a bright smile and pushing herself up to give him a quick kiss. She then turned to the rest of the people in the library. "Can we please have some peace? We've lost most of our clothing and we _don't _want people looking," she begged, staring each of them in the eye. "Besides, we were here first."

A small smile tugged at the blonde swordsman's mouth as he watched the ninja and Gunblade wielder tease each other. "I see that you found her, Leonhart," Cloud said quietly, still holding onto Aerith who had latched herself onto him with her head resting beneath his chin. He noticed that his flower girl lifted her gaze to stare at him confusedly. Leaning down, he placed his mouth against her ear. "Come on. Let's give them their privacy and we need to talk." He slowly led her out the door he had come in, leaving just Cid and the two lovers.

The Gummi pilot stood in front of Squall and Yuffie, staring down at them. They simply stared back until Cid gave in and sighed. "Okay, you've got my curiosity peaked. Why are you two on the floor when there's a couch right there?" he asked, pointing to the sofa with his eyebrows raised.

Biting her lip to keep the giggles down, Yuffie grinned. "Well, ya see, we _started _ on the couch, but after round two, it got a little difficult to stay balanced so we ditched it."

Throwing his head back, Cid wandered off towards the stairs, throwing his hands up in the air. "I didn't need to hear that," he muttered as he descended the stairs.

"YOU SHOULD TALK MISTER PLAYBOY MAGAZINE FOLDOUTS!" the ninja shouted loudly as she saw him leave the library, slamming the door behind him. Smiling now that they were alone, she twisted around to where she was facing Squall and straddling his lap. "So, we're alone now."

Squall simply yawned and leaned his head back against the sofa behind him. "Mm hmm," he muttered, briefly closing his eyes, then opening them again to stare at her.

"So you know what that means, right?" she whispered.

"Yeah, we can go back to sleep," Squall mumbled as he slid back to the floor, pulling the ninja down with him.

"Damn right, we can," she said, smiling as she snuggled up against him and closed her eyes. The feel of his arms wrapping around her made her snuggle even closer to him and lay her cheek against his chest. "I love you, Squall."

Squall bent his head down and placed a small kiss on the top of her head. "I love you, too, Yuffie."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

About a week after arriving on Hollow Bastion, Cid finally got the electricity in the castle working again, allowing them be able to use the refrigerator in the kitchen once more. And, on this dark night at midnight, on Cid Highwind was found rummaging around said refrigerator looking for something to eat.

Thinking to himself, he began to wonder if perhaps he would have been better off staying on in Traverse Town. He was hardly needed here. In fact, he hardly saw anyone as the young lovers tended to stay to themselves. And when he did see them, they always came in pairs and were unable to keep their hands to themselves.

"Buncha damn lovebirds, that's what they are," he muttered as he reached behind a jar of pickles to grab the lunch meat. Sandwiches always made the best midnight snacks in his opinion. Hearing the sound of footsteps in the background, he growled softly to himself. He really didn't want to deal with any of them right now. But the voice that spoke didn't belong to any of the lovers he was thinking of.

"Captain?" a voice called softly, footsteps increasing as the owner of the voice quickened their pace.

At the word 'captain,' Cid jumped, effectively bumping his head on the freezer door. He began to rub it, muttering curses under his breath as he turned around. "Damn it, Shera. How many times have I--" He broke off when he realized that is _was _Shera. "Shera?!"

Smiling, Shera quickly stepped over to him, taking his head in her hands and pulling it down so she could get a better look at the already forming knot. She gingerly ran her fingers over it, noticing him wince as she did so and still cursing under his breath. "Still the same old Cid, I see," she murmured softly as she stood on tiptoe to kiss the knot.

"Shera, how do you still care about an old man like me?" he whispered, still in shock at seeing her there. It had been nine years since he had seen her, his mechanic. And it was still a wonder that she was alive. Of course, he'd been in the same shock when he found out that Cloud was still alive.

Shera sighed, shaking her head gently and smiling. "Because... I love you." She stepped away from him, turning to grab the tea kettle. "Why don't you sit down and I'll make some tea, okay?" she asked, already busy looking in the cabinets for the tea bags.

Cid did as he was told, his eyebrows furrowed. "Shera?" She turned to look at him, giving him a questioning glance. "I love you, too, Shera."

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_Author's Note: Okay, I said at the beginning of the chapter that this was the last chapter. And, well, it kinda is. BUT, I'm gonna do an epilogue, too. And that should be up by tomorrow night, Friday night at the latest. Anyways, here's the chapter. Review a way 'cause I love you guys so much._

_Oh, and this site has me fed up. I mean, they SAID they were going into 'read only' mode and then they never did it. But, when they don't warn us, they do go into 'read only' mode. I have come to the conclusion that they like to mess with our heads. That can be the only explanation._


	24. Epilogue

_Author's Note: Okay, this time it really is the last chapter. Extensive notes and thank you's at the end._

_Disclaimer: I've said this for twenty-three chapters and I'll say it just one more time. I do not own them. Square and Disney own them. _

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_Epilogue_

It was only a few days until Christmas in the Bastion and the residents had made sure that everything was going to be perfect this year. Well, at least the three female residents. The men would only watch and occasionally roll their eyes as the women rushed around, making sure that mistletoe was hung throughout the winding halls, that holly wreaths were resting above each hearth, and that the large fir tree they had sent the men out to find was decorated to perfection. The smell of cinnamon and peppermint permeated the castle as the two oldest women baked cookies and the youngest tried to learn, but ended up eating more dough than was put in the oven. She was finally ushered out of the kitchen and told to go twiddle her thumbs until they needed her help.

So, huffing angrily at Aerith and Shera, the now seventeen year old Yuffie stalked to the staircase and quickly ran up it. She stopped mid-step when she saw Squall staring down at her from the top of the stairs, a reprimanding look on his face. "What?" she asked in annoyance as she started to slowly walk up the stairs to him.

"I don't think you should be running up the stairs in your condition," he started, going down a few steps to meet her. He draped an arm over her shoulder, drawing her to his side, and crossed his other arm over himself to grasp her elbow. They then continued walking up the stair with the ninja rolling her eyes and trying to pull away.

"You know, Squall, you are getting way too overprotective. Exercise is good for me right now," she explained, leaning her head slightly on his shoulder. While Squall was driving her crazy with his cautiousness, it was also sweet seeing how much he cared for her and what lengths he would go to protect her.

Sighing, the swordsman looked down at the petite woman at his side and kissed the top of her head, his lips lingering in her ebony hair. "What if you tripped and fell? Hm?" he insisted, tugging gently on a lock of her hair. He laughed softly when she upturned her face to give him the patented 'ninjas don't trip and fall down stairs' glare, tempting him to tug on her hair again. "It's getting longer, it's just past your shoulders now. Aren't you going to cut it?"

Yuffie quirked her mouth to the side, biting the inside of her cheek gently as she thought about it. "No, I don't think I will. I mean, I won't let it get _too_ long like Aerith's, but I'm not going to keep it short anymore either. What do _you _think?" Whether he knew it or not, his opinion mattered a lot to her. If he said he liked it better short, then she would go chop it off as soon as she got the chance. But what he did say made her smile and her eyes fill with tears.

"Yuffie, it doesn't matter if it's long, short, gray, black, purple, or if you're bald because you'll still be the most beautiful woman in the world to me," he murmured, bending his neck to chastely kiss her lips. Noticing the tears that were now spilling down her cheeks, he brought a hand up to cup her cheek, using his thumb to wipe away the tears. "What's wrong now?"

She smiled again, leaning into his hand and gently shaking her head. "Nothing. Just me and my stupid hormones," she sighed, turning her head to kiss the palm of his hand. "Gawd, I've never been so emotional before in my life." She started to say more, but was stopped when her stomach lurched and she felt bile rising in her throat. She made a dash for the nearest bathroom. Luckily, there was one right down the hall.

Squall quickly followed after her, sitting on the edge of the tub and reaching out to hold her hair away from her face as she kneeled in front of the toilet and retched. "You know," he began, knowing that talking to her helped to get her mind off the nausea, "used to be that the sound of vomit hitting the toilet would make _me_ sick, but I think I'm getting used to it."

Yuffie turned her head slightly to glare at him before another wave hit her and she was facing the toilet once more. The feel of Squall's hand beginning to soothingly rub small circles on her back helped to ease the nausea and she soon felt it pass. "Can you hand me a..." she trailed off when she realized that he already had a damp washcloth in his hand for her and she smiled gratefully. "Getting psychic, Squall?"

"Nope, you're just getting predictable," he quipped, helping her to her feet and waiting for her to brush her teeth, like she always did after this happened, before guiding her down the corridor to their room, which was conveniently located _very_ close to the bathroom. Of course, Squall had insisted they move to a room nearer to a bathroom when Yuffie had started becoming nauseous every morning.

"Well, excuse me. I didn't get into this alone, you know," she said playfully as she crossed the room and stood looking around. Sighing, she walked over and picked up a chair, intent on carrying it across the room when Squall took it away from her. "What now?"

"You shouldn't be carrying anything heavy," he explained, waiting for her to direct him as to where he should put the chair.

Groaning, the ninja threw her head back and rubbed her forehead. "Squall, it is wicker. It weighs, what? Ten pounds, if that much?" She waved her hand to show him where to set it. "I don't know how I'm going to get through the next seven months if you're going to act like this the whole time." She turned to stare at the full length mirror hanging on the back of the door and raised her sweatshirt so she could look at her still flat stomach. Strong arms wrapped around her and she willingly leaned back against the owner of the arms.

"You'll get through the next seven months just fine, Yuf," Squall murmured in her ear before leaving a soft trail of kisses down the side of her neck. He raised his eyes to lock eyes with her through the reflection in the mirror as his hands splayed across her stomach. "It's still hard to believe, isn't it? It's so hard to believe that we took a little bit of me and a little bit of you and made something, isn't it?" He resumed his kissing of her neck, twisting her around so he could better access her throat.

A soft whimper left the ninja's throat as she felt her lover's lips leave her skin, but that was quickly remedied when he pulled her over to the bed. The hands that had once rested upon her stomach and the newly growing baby within were now sliding up her back and pulling her closer to he man in front of her as he lowered them down to the bed. "You know," she murmured, running her hands through his hair, "this is what got me pregnant to begin with."

Squall raised his head from her neck and shoulders, where they had quickly returned to a moment ago, to look at her, raising his eyebrows. "Your point?" he questioned, reaching down to pull her sweatshirt up over her head.

"No point. Just stating a fact." She leaned forward to kiss him, her hand on the back of his neck and pulling him closer to her. "And I don't regret any of it," she whispered just as their lips met. "Not any of it."

* * *

_Author's Note: Okay. That was a nice, fluffy, sappy epilogue, no? :::grins::: I love fluff and sap. But, I guess you guys already knew that, didn't you? Anyways, before I say anything else, I'm going to run through my list of thank you's. It might take awhile. There's a bunch of you guys. And they're in no certain order. I just went through all my reviews and wrote these down. So, I apologize for any spelling errors or if your name was missed. It wasn't on purpose._

_Ezri-Candy_

_Yuffie Kisaragi2 (about the dead ferret, I was talking to someone online and that just popped up in our conversation and made it's way into the fic)_

_tonkeli (Shera is from Final Fantasy VII and is Cid's mechanic)_

_Rednight-rider_

_BlueEyedDemon1_

_Sycogerl64_

_Cmdr. Defiance Nighthawk_

_xXRiku's SweetheartXx_

_Lorok (Um... let's just say that Shera spent a few days roaming the halls and outer areas of the Bastion before she found Cid)_

_SetsuntaMew_

_OctoberBreeze_

_boredperson_

_baka-chibi-puffs_

_Bella_

_Cold-Blade_

_Crazy Insanity_

_Sqully_

_kittylover16_

_apie77_

_atashi-wa-yume_

_Nsane Selphie_

_Hotaru170_

_Jupiter Green_

_Impitaa_

_Butuin_

_QwickSilver_

_Taryn_

_Classengurl_

_Mr-Dude_

_Emrelle Elendal_

_Natsu-Aoki_

_Mystic Angel_

_fanficlvr_

_JJMP_

_RockmanSP_

_Tallis_

_Fae_

_spaceddemon_

_dragonmaster_

_Britty_

_Elvi-Rose_

_Queen Kat_

_Brutal2003_

_Z.A.G_

_Axa_

_Vivi_

_Peter the Muggle_

_Fragmented Beki_

_Royal mousewisker_

_Annjirika_

_HamstaMasta_

_Chippi_

_SunMoon, EarthSky_

_pingpong867_

_Regno Cuore_

_Wormmon ABC_

_Anonymous_

_Zarrel's Darkside_

_Riku-Lover18_

_Smiley-Chan_

_ObsidianSorrows_

_Angeli Amori_

_Angel-Shellz_

_LadyKisaragi_

_ria-aeon-hunter_

_Kuro Chocobo_

_Tifas-love90_

_Ellyrianna_

_NaruNaru. O.k._

_Anime Goofball_

_SoraLover1_

_Doomboy2000_

_Danzing in Doutz_

_darkness2light_

_TiFaClOuD4EvEr_

_Yuff_

_himaco_

_sora-doragon_

_baro no konrei_

_CrescentStrata_

_Snowri_

_And a very special thank you to the Vulpes Lapis, who gave me the story idea to begin with, helped me a LOT with dialogue, and 'encouraged' me to hurry up with chapters. And when I say 'encourage,' I mean that she threatened to throttle me. But, it's all good. Because if she hadn't, I might still be way back on chapter 10 or so._

_Thank you to everyone who read the story, whether you reviewed or not. I'm just glad that you took the time to read this. And I never would've believed, not even in my wildest dreams (that really revolve around Squall) that I would get this many reviews. It just puts me on Cloud-9 every time I think about these reviews. I love you guys. Each and every one of you. And, if I could, I would hug all of you guys. But, I can't, so we'll have to settle for a :::hug::: instead. _

_Onto other things, I'm tempted to follow this up eventually with a sequel. But, I'm not sure if I ever will have the time to do it. I'll have to talk to my 'associate' about it and see what she thinks. You hear that, VL? I have some things to discuss with you! hehe... _

_Anyways, I hope that everyone has enjoyed the ride. It has taken me three and a half months to write this fic. Of course, this fic is also 23 chapters plus an epilogue long. And about 75,000 words. So, my longest fic yet. But, "Honor Amongst Thieves" will also be a long fic and I have high hopes for it. _

_Okay, I'm going to shut up now and go post this as I'm sure most you would like that better than to have me rambling along. And soon I'll end up crying because I'm so happy that this story was so well received and yet I'm so sad because it's over. Writing this story has been one of the most uplifting things for me. And it hurt when I had writer's block and was unable to write. This fic is the first one that I've actually been proud of. :::sniffle::: And that's why I don't want it to end. But, everything must come to an end or else it would just get monotonous... Okay, I'm really shutting up this time._

_And if you made it through that big list of names up there and through my babbling, then you get the plushie of your choice. :::rummages through bag::: Let's see... I have a few Squalls I can part with, Yuffies, Aeriths, Clouds, Cids, Soras, Kairis, Rikus, and I have a few others in here as well from other Final Fantasy games. You name it, I probably got it._

_Thank you so much, everyone._


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