AN: I'm intending this to be a series of one-shots (possibly two-shots) based around a theme. The couples will vary, but they'll all have one thing in common - opposites attract. I'll put individual ratings and pairings at the top of each chapter. This one is Leon/Yuffie, rated T. It all belongs to SquareEnix, not me. Prompt number 6 from the 100 list - "Break away".
"No, Yuffie. Absolutely not."
"But father, why?"
"You are the princess of the Wutai, and your duty is to make a good marriage and continue the bloodline. Put this warrior nonsense out of your head at once. That is my final word on the matter. Tonight, you will attend the ball, appropriately dressed..." Yuffie's father paused to pass a critical eye over Yuffie's current choice of attire. "...and think about choosing a partner."
When Yuffie didn't respond, he prodded, "do you understand?"
She didn't even raise her eyes from the floor as she sullenly muttered, "yes, father, I understand."
"Then you are excused. I would recommend you take the time for a bath..." Before the sentence was even finished, Yuffie had gone. Her long-suffering father sighed and sat down heavily. "That girl of mine should have been born a boy."
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
On the other side of the building, Yuffie was carefully selecting which of her belongings she would need, and which could be left behind. The fancy clothes could stay, but the ones she'd stolen from her cousins and adapted to fit would go with her. Potions were piled into the small pack, and the shuriken that was her most prized possession tied onto it. She'd been forbidden, as a young girl, to learn martial arts - it was something that only males were taught - but she'd studied them anyway, disregarding that rule as she had so many others. The last time she'd run away, she'd had the most fantastic adventures, riding chocobos, fighting the enemy and saving the world from destruction. But her companions insisted she return home, afterwards, and she had, albeit reluctantly. This time, however, Yuffie had no intention of ever returning to Wutai. Expected to marry, indeed. She was the princess, but she'd never rule - her husband would take charge, when her father died. Females just did not have any authority in the kingdom.
She knew she had to be off the island before the ball, where her attendance was required. She'd stashed a rowing boat in a cave, so all she had to do was get there. Sounded easy, but everybody would be out looking for her at the slightest sign of anything unusual. She'd have to wait until dark, which would give her about an hour to get clear of Wutai. She planned to head for Midgar, where Cloud Strife, Tifa Lockhart and the others now lived. Meanwhile, she might as well follow her father's suggestion and take a bath. Never hurt to be clean, after all.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
Yuffie watched the sun setting from her bedroom window. She'd always loved the view, and wanted to see it one last time. As soon as the sun dipped below the horizon, she grabbed the coiled rope beside her and tossed it out of the open window. One end was knotted firmly to her bedpost. Tugging it to make sure it would hold her weight, she slung her pack over her shoulder and climbed down. The instant her feet touched solid ground, she ran. No-one could match her speed, not even her ninja-trained cousins. Skidding into the cave, a pair of yellow eyes blinked at her from the boat. She moved forwards, unconcerned, when another pair appeared, and another, and another. She screamed, realising she was surrounded. Those yellow eyes were the last thing she remembered.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
"I think she'll be fine. She's coming round now." A soft, female voice that sounded vaguely familiar. Slowly, Yuffie opened her eyes. A young woman with long brown hair was leaning over her.
"Aerith? I thought..."
"I don't understand it either. I am the last of the Cetra, though, perhaps that is part of the reason."
Looking around the room, Yuffie tried to work out where she was. It didn't look familiar, yet... There were Cloud and Tifa, standing with a dark-haired man and a girl that she didn't recognise.
"Ok, where the hell am I? And who are you?"
Tifa stepped forwards, perching on the end of the bed. "You're in a place called Traverse Town, and we don't know how any of us got here. The one thing everyone remembers is a load of small, black creatures with yellow eyes."
Yuffie nodded. "There were hundreds, thousands of them."
"Kairi can explain a bit better than I can."
The redheaded girl moved closer. "I'm Kairi, and I'm from a world called Destiny Islands. That's Leon, he's from somewhere else, and you're from the same world as Aerith, Cloud and Tifa, right?" That much was true, so Yuffie nodded. "The creatures are called shadows, and they're a type of fiend we call Heartless. When they appear, it means the world is about to be consumed by darkness. We don't know how or why, but certain people appear here, in Traverse Town."
"How do we fight these Heartless? My shuriken didn't have any effect on them."
"You can kill them with a weapon called a keyblade. Sora has one."
"Who's Sora?"
"A friend from Destiny Islands... I don't know where he is any more."
Slowly, Yuffie sat up. Tifa and Kairi moved back as she got to her feet, allowing her room to move.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
Over the next few days, Yuffie adjusted to life in Traverse Town. The six of them lived in a place they referred to as the small house, for good reason. It was only just large enough, and they had to share bedrooms. Cloud and Tifa, naturally, had one. They'd been a couple since the last time Yuffie had seen them. Aerith and Kairi had the second bedroom, leaving her and Leon to share the third. Leon, understandably, was not impressed with the situation.
"Look on the bright side, Leon. At least I don't snore." Leon merely grunted. He wasn't one for conversation, a fact that irritated the bubbly ninja. She'd thought Cloud was uncommunicative, but this guy was even worse.
Traverse Town was divided into three districts, unimaginatively named First, Second and Third. First district was the safe area, containing the usual range of shops. The Heartless, for some reason, couldn't access it, however hard they tried. The small house was in the second district, while Merlin lived in third district. Those two areas were filled with Heartless, which Cloud, Leon, Tifa and Yuffie went out to fight several times a day. Yuffie's shuriken, while less effective than Cloud's Buster sword or Leon's gunblade, did function once more, which came as a great relief. She'd have been far too frustrated if she had to stay inside like Aerith and Kairi.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
It should have been just a routine excursion to clear the area of the Heartless. No-one expected the giant monster that materialised during the battle. It took all of theircombined efforts to defeat it, and even as it died, it knocked Leon across the district to land heavily in the fountain.
"Aerith, hurry!"
Aerith dashed out and across the courtyard, not sparing a thought for whether the area was safe or not. Fortunately, the Heartless had been vanquished for a while. Cloud and Tifa hauled the unresponsive Leon out of the water, while Aerith prepared a healing spell.
"It didn't work, and that's the strongest one I know... wait a moment, he's coming round. How do you feel, Leon?"
Leon blinked once, then grunted a reply. "Like shit."
Aerith frowned at the language, but Yuffie thought the situation merited it. Not that she'd say so in front of Aerith, or she'd be on toilet-cleaning duty for a month. "Let's get him back to the house and clean those cuts properly."
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
Back in the small house, Yuffie was immediately banished from her bedroom while the injured Leon was cleaned up. That is, she was banished until Leon threw Aerith out of the room, claiming loudly that she lectured him too much.
"The man is impossible! I try to help him and this is the thanks I get."
Yuffie sneaked past the normally mild-mannered girl, into the room. Leon was propped on a pile of pillows, not wearing very much, and glowering at the door.
"If you've come to complain, you can just leave again. I'm not in the mood to listen."
"All I was going to do was finish bandaging those cuts before they get infected." Before he could reply, she deftly cleaned and bandaged a gash on his arm. When he didn't complain or tell her to leave, she took that as approval, and finished the rest. "You're going to have some scars when those heal."
"They won't be the first."
Yuffie didn't reply - looking at his scars meant paying attention to something other than the task at hand, and she was trying to concentrate. "Those will all need changing again tomorrow - I take it you don't want Aerith to do it."
"If that's ok with you."
"I don't mind."
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
That night, Yuffie lay awake, tossing and turning in her narrow bed, listening to Leon's breathing. She was more worried about him than she was prepared to admit, and she wasn't entirely sure why. She had a sneaking suspicion it was to do with seeing him lying there on the bed, wearing almost nothing. Growing up in Wutai hadn't prepared her for the sort of emotions she was experiencing - love wasn't something highly valued.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
"I never expected you to be good at this."
Yuffie grinned. "I'm used to patching people up. Generally myself, I have to admit, but the idea's the same."
It was several days later, and Leon was frustrated at still being restricted to the bed. Aerith was taking her revenge, it seemed. Unwrapping the final bandage, Yuffie could see that all of his cuts were healed, despite being a vivid purple colour. that would fade, in time.
"I don't see why you couldn't get up, now."
"About time." Leon stood up, reaching for his trousers. Blushing, Yuffie looked away. Tending the sick was one thing, but Leon was now perfectly healthy. She jumped when his arms wrapped around her waist, his lips brushing her ear as he whispered, "Thank you, Yuffie." Slowly, he turned her to face him, tilting her head up into a kiss. Soft and sweet, not at all what she'd expected from Squall (call me Leon) Leonhart. A sigh escaped her mouth, and she realised she was clinging tightly to him. He had one hand in her hair, and the other was at her waist, holding her close. Slowly, she touched her lips to his, not entirely sure whether this was real or just a dream. His fingertips sliding across her skin felt real enough, as did his mouth on hers. This was what she never would have had, in Wutai, and she rejoiced, once again, that she'd left. Her hands slid over his bare chest - he hadn't bothered to put his shirt back on, and he growled, low in his throat. Strange how his grunts and growls had bothered her before, when now they made her feel dizzy, made her want him even more. It wasn't until she noticed his hands under her shirt that she pulled back, shaking her head slightly.
"Leon..."
"Too far?"
She nodded, unable to look him in the eyes. She hadn't wanted to stop him, but she needed some time to get used to the idea before they went any further. "I'm sorry, Leon."
"No, it's my fault. I got carried away."
Relieved he wasn't angry with her, she enveloped him in a hug. "Can we just... take things a bit slower?"
"Of course."
AN: This didn't turn out at all how I intended, but I like it anyway. I can't think of an interesting way to say click the review button, so there you have it. Click the review button, please.
Who else would you like to see in this series? I have two more couples in mind, but what do you think?