My first one-shot I've ever done, so don't make fun of me! It's based around the song Dareka no Negai ga Kanou Koro (When Someone's Wish Comes True) by Utada Hikaru. I'm hoping this story won't be too boring for you guys. I'm warning you...it's more terribly sad than anything else.
When Someone's Wish Comes True
By October Breeze
"Yuffie..." said a soft melodious voice from the front of the room.
"Uh-huh?" Yuffie asked, shifting the knee tucked under her and briefly glancing up. She had been sketching large bubble letters of her name, then drawing little funny animations all over it for the past half-hour, bored out of her mind. Squall had been busy and secretive all week, snapping at anything she said. Aerith wasn't any fun to bug. That only meant she was left to her own devices for entertainment.
"There's something I think you should know," she said softly, walking across the room to Yuffie and motioning for her to scoot over on the bed. She moved willingly enough, feeling the need to shift positions, anyway. The mattress was as hard as a rock, just how Squall liked it, and how she hated it. Of course, the mattress wouldn't have been a problem if Yuffie could only room with Aerith again in the Red Room, but Aerith wanted Cloud in there with her. To anyone else, it could mean a sign of love for one another, but all she thought of was that Pretty-in-Pink-Flower-Girl-Aerith wasn't as innocent as everyone thought she was.
"What?" Yuffie asked, unconcerned. Aerith often made a big deal about the littlest things, like her failure to make her bed in the morning, and turned it into a big argument that Yuffie tended to lose, her last remark always being, "Well I don't see Squall doing it when it's his night for the bed, either!"
Aerith wrapped a warm arm around Yuffie and looked into her dark blue eyes, penetrating them with her green ones. "Yuffie..." A strangled sound came after that. Yuffie's eyes snapped to attention. Tears welled in Aerith's eyes. She was...crying? Aerith never cried.
Since Yuffie had known Aerith when she was still a little girl in Hollow Bastion, Aerith never cried in public. Ever. She was too young then to sense that Aerith was determined to stay strong through the Heartless and be a comforting friend, but she did know that she cried into her pillow at night, distressing the young Yuffie.
"What's wrong?" Yuffie demanded, tossing her doodle paper away. "Why are you crying?"
"Yuffie, Squall's leaving," she choked, her tears pouring out of her eyes.
"What do you mean? Is he going on a trip?"
"No, no, he's leaving with Cid today on his Gummi ship. And he's not coming back."
Yuffie narrowed her eyes. Not coming back? Of course he was coming back. That was the stupidest thing she had ever heard. "Aerith, settle down, it's okay, Squall is going to be fine. Is this some strange way for you to tell me you lost your virginity last night or something?"
Aerith shook her head, the comment slipping off of her like oil and water. "Go say good-bye to him, Yuffie." She wiped up her tears, successfully stopping the flow.
She stood up uncertainly, her hands out at her sides. She didn't understand why he would be leaving. "You're lying!" she accused, shaking her head. She knew the truth. Aerith wouldn't lie like that. Tears sprang up her eyes, but Yuffie blinked them back.
She ran out of the Green Room, running from the hotel all the way to the First District where Cid's Gummi Garage was stationed. He had been saving up his money for a long, long time now, and finally got around to setting up the garage and fulfilling his "dream."
She pushed through the door. It banged against the wall from her heavy thrust against it, causing Squall's and Cid's head to snap up to her. They were bent over Cid's personal Gummi, checking over it and making sure that it was in perfect condition.
Yuffie often went into that Gummi when she was feeling down, where she knew no one else would be when she wanted to be alone. She stared at it, unable to bring her attention to Squall.
He stepped forward, covered in black grease and oil. "Yuffie—"
"How could you!" she screamed, getting her voice back. Cid bit on his toothpick and crossed his arms, leaning against the Gummi, his jumpsuit greasy and dull. "How could you just leave me here and decide to take off! Why didn't I know earlier!"
Squall shook his head, running a hand through his bangs. "For this reason."
"That's not good enough, Squall! You think you can just leave and never return, like we're just some old rag scraps that needs to be discarded! What's waiting where you go that's better than your friends now? The only friends you can trust?"
"Settle down, woman," Cid grumbled, flicking his toothpick out of his mouth and spitting on the cement of the garage.
"Squall...?" she whispered, stumbling forward toward him. He shook his head.
"Talk to me like that again, and you're going to get slapped. We're leaving soon, so you better get moving," he said coldly, his ice blue eyes daring her on.
She blinked, and the tears she couldn't hold back fell forward, staining her cheeks with pain. "Don't leave me here alone! Please don't go!"
"Stop it."
"Squall..."
"Stop."
"Squall I...!"
"Yuffie! Get a hold of yourself!" he shouted at her. She put her hands over her face in an attempt to shield her red, blotchy cheeks from him. Cid studied her with a patronizing look.
Yuffie leaned against the wall, sobbing into her hands in loud moans. Tears spilled forth, never failing to stop.
Stop crying...
Stop this...
Stupid baby...
Who's the great, iron ninja now...?
She heard the door burst open again, too caught up in her emotions to even bare to look to see who it was.
"What's going on!" Aerith yelled over Yuffie's voice. She felt warm arms wrap around her and rock her back and forth. They sunk onto the cold, hard floor, Aerith rocking and singing to her softly.
"Shh...shhh...keep crying, honey, just let it all out," she soothed.
Yuffie lowered her hands and rubbed her eyes, most of her tears dry. She could feel the puffiness of her eyes. Aerith brushed the light black bangs out of Yuffie's forehead and sighed, turning to Squall. He wasn't there.
"Yuffie, that was so wrong of him to do. He never should have acted like that to you."
She nodded briefly, casting her eyes on her wet hands and then relentlessly wiped them on her pants. Taking a shaky breath, she stood up and looked around. "I still have to say one last thing to him."
"Better hurry, Yuf...they're leaving to Hollow Bastion in a half hour."
Yuffie grabbed the knob on the door of her hotel room and opened the door slowly, knowing that Squall would be there. Cloud told her he was grabbing some last minute things to take with him on the trip.
Trip.They were all acting like this was some kind of vacation Squall was going on. But Aerith told her he's not coming back, right after she broke down. Now she was prancing around with false happiness, trying desperately to make light of losing a friend.
"I'm glad you're here Squall. I have something to say before I go," she said coolly, turning around and closing the door behind her. Squall was shuffling through the dresser drawers, picking out some clothing and stuffing them to the duffel bag. He ignored her and picked up a pair of pants.
"Not taking much, eh?" she said, eyeing the bag.
"Nope," he replied without a hint of emotion. Yuffie scowled at his back. His lack of feelings toward the situation was pissing her off.
"Aren't you going to say anything?"
"What would you like me to say?" he answered, turning around and zipping the bag shut. His eyes were in a shield, though Yuffie detected a hint of emotion, she just couldn't put her finger on it.
She shook her head, putting a hand on the table for balance. "I can't expect much from you, I don't know why I even bothered to ask."
Her anger surprised her. Usually, she was tolerant of Squall, and could keep her emotion in check. She took a deep breath. No, this wasn't anger. This was sadness. She didn't want Squall to leave, she needed him. He was her support, her sanity, her friend, her...everything...
Don't leave me...she wanted to say. Instead, she closed the distance between them and slapped him straight across the face, leaving a red print across his jaw. She watched it tighten, and his hand clench.
Her eyes widened. He was going to hit her. Squall had a temper, a bigger one than he let on, she sensed, but NEVER had she ever thought he was going to hit her. Cowering away, she fell back onto the table, her eyes locked onto his.
"Yuffie..." he said, his eyes softening. Hearing her name spoken, seeing his eyes filled with a hint of remorse just...broke her in two.
Tears rolled down her cheeks silently. She opened her mouth slowly. "I hate you," she whispered. Whirling around, she left him standing there.
Yuffie ran out of the hotel, blinking away tears and keeping light on her feet, just running where her feet took her. She didn't know where she was going, just that getting away was the first step of "getting there."
Tears blurred her vision, sadness and shock clouding her mind. She never even got to ask him why he was leaving.
She found herself in the Waterway, swimming through the water and pulling herself up on the rocks. Angrily, she grabbed he stars and whipped them at the cave wall, little sparks of fire fluttering down each time it hit. She had never been able to do that before. Any other time, she would have been bouncing around, excitedly telling Squall, but he was leaving.
When her last star was gone, she sat on the ground, the stones digging into her skin mercilessly.
Yuffie put her head onto her knees, much like a fuming child would, and squeezed her eyes shut. She wanted Squall to be happy, damnit, but she wanted to be happy with him. Always, always, always she wished for his happiness, simply because it would make her happy.
A sound echoed from the outside of the Waterway, making her head shoot up, startled. She had become lost in her thoughts. It came again; a sharp whirring noise. A Gummi ship. She jumped to her feet and tracked into the water.
She hadn't gotten to say good-bye. Her last words to him were, "I hate you..." She couldn't let him remember her like that. If he did, she would never forgive herself.
"Wait!" she shouted, waving her arms frantically. "I didn't...get to say...good-bye," she finished lamely. It was raising itself higher into the sky, giving a short chug before flying off into the sun.
Cid chuckled and gave a 'yea-haw!' before grabbing the controls and violently flinging them towards him, raising the Gummi ship high into the air, laughing like mad in the control seat. Squall sat in the passenger side, leaned back with his arms crossed, staring out the window.
He watched the clouds pass by in a blur. Yuffie's words to him repeated in his head.
I hate you.
He knew it himself that he and Yuffie weren't exactly friendly with each other. There was a barrier distancing them from each other, and he made sure it stayed there. All of his life, he had never allowed himself to get close to anyone, at least...not until IT happened.
He used to live in Hollow Bastion with Aerith, Cloud, Cid, and Yuffie. When he met her, he changed. Yuffie was too young to remember; to tiny to think anything of the subtle hints he dropped when around her, just to naïve for her own good. It was expected.
Squall felt his head drop, and his eyes blur tiredly. He stifled a loud yawn. A few seconds later, a huge jounce woke him up. He groaned and glanced at the clock above Cid's head. Two hours!
"What happened!" he yelled.
"Tone it down, would ya? Hot damn, yer loud!" Cid hissed. "Ya fell asleep a couple hours ago!"
"And you chose not to wake me up?"
Cid shrugged and chewed on a toothpick. "Yer lucky that I'm even takin' ya. Don't think that yer gonna get this type of treatment from me again. Oh no. Ungrateful, that's what ya are..."
"Old man..." he muttered under his breath.
"Heard that!" he growled angrily. "I'm not old! I think I'm young lookin'!"
"In your dreams, geezer..."
"You cut that out right now 'else I'll pull this God damned thing around! Yer lucky I ain't drunk!" he sputtered.
"My mistake...thought you were," Squall replied sarcastically. The wind coming from the air conditioning lightly lifted up his bangs and sifted through his hair.
"That's IT!" Cid grabbed the maneuvering stick and started turning it to the right.
"Wait! Don't. We've gotten too far already."
Cid let go of the directional stick angrily and shoved his thumb behind him. "Git back there, kid, and don't lemme see yer face."
"...Whatever," he said suddenly, standing up and ducking so his head didn't hit the metal hood. He went into the back, which was considerably large, seeing as this was Cid's smallest Gummi that he had. It made it more durable for the long trip.
He sat down on the old plaid covered seats that bordered all the walls, the only doors leading to the cockpit and the urinals. Disgusted, he picked up a McDonald's old burger wrapper and pushed some stale fries away from him onto the floor, where Cid apparently kept everything. Littering the seats and the ground were beer bottles, cigarette ash, spit, old food wrappers, and some gunk that covered one wall that he didn't even want to THINK about.
"Disgusting...how does he live like this?" he grumbled, leaning back in the seat, shifting uncomfortably. Something was stuck behind him. He turned around angrily and ripped it away from his back and flung it on the floor. Papers went scattering everywhere, coming from a tattered notebook.
"What's this?" He picked up the fallen papers and held them out in front of him, shaking his head. Stupid. He forgot his reading glasses at—he caught himself. He was about to say home. At the hotel, he corrected.
Squall squinted at the sentences and pushed it closer to his face, trying to read it better. He could make out Yuffie's handwriting. But Yuffie never went into the Gummi ship; the only time she had been in one would be traveling from Hollow Bastion to Traverse Town.
My words could never describe,
The pain you've caused.
You'll never know
You don't care
So don't you dare.
I can't take you anymore,
You're killing me slowly,
You were my one and only.
All those days I needed you,
All thrown away.
My sleep is black and twisted,
And my mind is leaving me.
You hurt me,
And I won't stand for it.
You cut me,
And I won't let it pass.
I'm pushing you away for good,
So DON'T expect me back.
--to Squall
Squall rubbed his eyes, suddenly feeling very tired even though he had a long nap. Did Yuffie really hate him this much, that she had poems written about him? He chose to ignore a few of the loving phrases, such as, "You were my one and only," and, "All those days I needed you."
He pushed the notebook of poems away, sighing heavily. Maybe he really had been tough on Yuffie.
"Damn it, don't get soft. This is one reason why you're leaving."
Yuffie backed away from the crowd of people who gathered because someone leaving on a Gummi was not yet common. She felt the tears in her eyes, and felt ashamed, making her cry even more.
Now she would never see Squall again, and he honestly could care less. What was wrong with him? She had known him for so long and yet all he could do was hate. Still, she couldn't believe it. He really had gone though, she had watched him go.
Yuffie walked into the hotel and grabbed her new, clean writing notebook and chewed on her pencil, forcing her tears to stop. She had to. If Aerith could control her emotions, why couldn't she?
I knew one day
You would leave.
I felt your resistance
To me.
I tried to tell you
My love.
But that just wasn't enough.
Stop trying to go.
I have done nothing
To make you sorry.
Stay here with me
I have all the love you need.
My heart is torn
'cause of you.
My soul is burned
'cause of you.
What do you have to say?
You hold nothing but anger
In your veins.
Stop trying to go.
I have done nothing
To make you sorry.
Stay here with me.
I have all the love you need.
"Yuffie!" Aerith shouted.
"Yeah!" Yuffie called at the top of her lungs, dropping her pencil and overlooking her finished work.
"Come help me make dinner!"
"Coming!" she said loudly, then said in a low whisper, "I'm coming..."
She walked slowly out of the Green Room and into Aerith's, where she had successfully set up an electrical stove and a mini-refrigerator. Cloud wasn't in the room, he was probably practicing with his huge sword somewhere. When Yuffie saw Aerith, she noticed her eyes were red and puffy.
Aerith smiled weakly at her and passed her a wooden spoon, lifting up the lid on the pot with a simmering spaghetti sauce. The smell wafted up Yuffie's nose. She took the spoon and dipped it in like old times, being her official taste tester.
"Tastes good," she said dully, handing her back the spoon. Aerith sighed and smelled it, dropping the spoon away in a bucket of dish water. "Needs more salt and garlic."
Aerith dropped in two handfuls of chopped up garlic, making Yuffie choke and grab her throat. She dropped in two pinches of salt.
"You're trying to kill me! Look at that garlic! My breath will reek!"
"No it won't, Yuf, settle down."
"Cloud will be scared of you if you eat it."
Aerith chose not to reply and went back to stirring the sauce, also dumping a packet of dry spaghetti into boiling water. Yuffie sighed and leaned against the table with all of the food and appliances set on it.
"Why did Squall leave?" Yuffie asked in a near whisper. She squeezed her eyes shut and opened them again, watching Aerith's reaction. She was not fazed. Only the slightest reaction appeared in her eyes.
"Oh Yuffie...I'm...not sure," she finished, sticking a finger in the pot and tasting it thoughtfully. "I really don't know."
For some reason, Yuffie had the idea that Aerith was lying to her. She narrowed her eyes and put a hand on her temple. "I can't believe he's really gone...I just can't believe it...he was here just yesterday! How could he just pick up and leave like we are nothing to him!" she said in anguish.
"He has problems that he needs to deal with. He just...he just...pushes away people who get remotely close to him. Like you. You're the one who has been around him the most, so you know him best. You should be telling me this." Again, she noticed deceit in Aerith's eyes.
"I don't understand," she said softly, turning away to shield her watery eyes.
"I'm sorry Yuffie, really I am. I...don't know what to say."
Yuffie didn't have time to hear it. She left the room, holding the bridge of her nose and entering her room; Squall's room, his rightful room; and collapsed on it, breathing in his lingering scent. He always smelled so good.
Why didn't I ever tell him the way I feel for him? Now he'll never know...she thought, tears slipping down her cheeks. Never. He thinks I hate him, and everything he stands for. Ooh...
She buried her head in his pillow, wetting it with her tears, praying Aerith wouldn't walk in and try to comfort her. Isolation was what she really needed at the moment. Her throat tightened with her intense emotions like it hadn't before.
Why was she making herself get so upset? Was it because she was thinking that he left because of her, or was it because...she really wanted him here with her?
But she knew she has no chance with him, with the age difference and mutual tolerance of their annoying sides, but still...even if...he couldn't love her back...
Thinking of him like that made a choked sob come from her throat. She couldn't think of him like that, no, she would just...pretend like he's still here. Why couldn't she just be happy, for once?
She wiped her eyes carefully, sighing and shutting her eyes, stopping her thoughts from going to him, stopping herself from crying. Otherwise...she wouldn't know what she would do.
Squall watched the huge castle of Hollow Bastion approach, the dull bleak stones that made it up scarily apparent against the equally bleak, gray sky. A sense of dread filled his chest. He didn't want to go back there again, not after everything he went through there...what had he been thinking?
You're doing this for her, idiot...
"HEY! We're landin' so ya better prepare yerself for turbulence!" Cid shouted from the cockpit.
He grasped an armrest and gripped it without putting any strength to it. Suddenly, the Gummi went into a steep nosedive that sent him flying across the room and hit against the wall, smashing his head.
He groaned and peeled himself off the wall. Low chuckling came from the cockpit.
"Heh heh heh heh..." Cid laughed maniacally. "Told ya so, didn't I?"
He ignored him and slowly stood up when the Gummi ship had righted itself. A loud crash sent him flying once again onto a wall, hitting the growing bump even harder than before.
"HAH HAH HAH!" Cid laughed from the cockpit. He was seriously messed up in the head.
A series of small crashes before the Gummi came to a complete stop and rolled slowly on the ground, slowing down. Cid pushed through garbage to get out the door, a grin on his face. One he rarely used.
"There ya go, right out there," Cid said, pointing to a small metal door. Squall opened it up, using both hands. It made a long screeching noise as it went by.
"Thanks, Cid..." he said quickly. It didn't matter if he actually WAS decent to the old fool for once, he would never see him again, anyway.
"No problem, kid," Cid answered and hit him on the shoulder roughly.
He shut the door behind him, Cid helping him from the other side. When it was finally closed, he backed away from the ship and watched it blast into the air, making its way back for Traverse Town. He cleared his throat, shaking off any emotions that he had, and faced Hollow Bastion.
It was absolutely huge, and as ugly as he remembered. Every sight he set his eyes on brought back new memories that he had pushed out of his mind, choosing to forget.
He strode through the doors and glanced around, keeping to the right side of the walls and clenching his jaw together. He didn't want to be here, he didn't want to see what he was dreading to see, but it was inevitable, now. No turning back. Cid left, and you promised her.
Unfolding a piece of crumpled up paper, he examined the letter he had received carefully.
"Dear Mr. Squall Leonheart,
We have been notified that you are the last known friend/family known of Rinoa Heartilly of Hollow Bastion. Miss Heartilly has come down with an incurable ailment that we have yet to identify, though positively not contagious. As depressing as it is, she has a short amount of time to live.
On your permission, she has asked that you stay with her in her time of need. Should you arrive, please escort yourself to Room #15623 on the seventh floor in the west wing where Miss Heartilly currently resides. Thank you for your time.
--Hollow Bastion Direction Coordinator"
Squall crumpled it up and glared at the ball of paper in his hand. It was stupid of him to come here. But he knew Rinoa didn't have anyone else.
He walked up the seven flights of stairs and found the room after searching for fifteen minutes and knocked on the door, waiting expectantly for a dark-haired young woman, slightly older looking, but buoyant and as outgoing as ever with a huge grin playing on her lips.
It took awhile for the person to get to the door. It opened slowly. What he saw made him take a step back.
She was there; no mistaking it, yet it was a horrible sight to look at. She was dressed in a long nightgown that touched the floor and trailed through the dust, a woolen shawl thrown over her shoulders and covering most of her arms. An opening in the shawl showed a sliver of bony skin, revealing every bone in her arm. Her figure had been whittled down to almost nothing.
Her face was frighteningly pale, her skin sunken in around her eyes and cheekbones, dark circles outlining her once-lively brown eyes. Dark hair hung limp, cropped just under her ears, even shorter than Yuffie's.
A weak smile was on her pale lips. It appalled him even more. What had happened to her? To Rinoa?"
"Squall..." she said in a breathy whisper. She reached out to touch his cheek, but he drew away. Immediately she curled her hands in, a hurt look flashing through her eyes, his disgust not going unnoticed. He felt like slapping himself. "Nice to see you again."
"Yeah," he mumbled.
"Why don't you come inside? You'll be staying for a little while, right...at least until I die," she said bluntly. Squall only stared. Rinoa was willing to speak so willingly about her own death?
Obviously, she noticed his expression and hastily added, "I accepted...accepted..." she said, and clutched her chest closing her eyes and taking deep breaths to steady herself. Finally, she said, "I accepted...my death...a long...long time ago."
Squall nodded. Rinoa slowly moved out of his way, letting him through into her small bedroom. There was a bed in one corner, next to a small window, a sitting chair in one corner, and a silver tray sitting next to the bed. A cot was just barely able to cramp into the room for him.
He sat down on the bed, silently cursing to himself. He had left his bags in the back, and even if Cid realized it, he wouldn't bother bringing it to him.
She sat down on the chair, closing her eyes and leaning her head back against the edge, clutching her shawl around her. "So...remember old times, just you and me? Before..."
He cringed, but was quick to hide it. Yeah, of course he remembered. "Just say it."
She studied him for a moment, then said slowly, "Before..." Cough. "Before you left to help everyone in Traverse Town when the Heartless came...before you said you didn't love me."
They sat in uncomfortable silence. "What happened?" she croaked.
Squall held his hands out. "Look, I don't want to talk about it. It's in the past."
He remembered. It was something he just couldn't push out of his mind. Since the age of fourteen in Hollow Bastion, he had always been aware of her, but not like how it became. He really noticed her, after a long while of giving her the cold shoulder like every other girl that mooned over Cloud and his muscles and large swords.
Cloud, he knew, was always interested in Aerith, a pretty girl who sold flowers with a young girl named Yuffie out on the streets. Somehow, Cloud picked up on his attraction to Rinoa as he had recognized his. They started going to fighting competitions, both girls cheering for them in the stands.
Aerith and Rinoa became very close friends, and everything was well and good, until the Heartless came, killing his parents. He, Cloud, and other men tried to hold them off, but eventually the place was overrun by Heartless. Gummi ships arrived to save those willing to pay. Rinoa's parents were too poor to afford the tickets, and right before it departed Rinoa told him he wasn't going. In return, he told her he didn't care for her, because he was afraid. That's when he became 'Leon.'
He regretted his cold words for the rest of his life, and was stunned when he got the letter about Rinoa.
"Please," she pleaded. "I'm going to die. I feel it. Soon. I just...I had to hold on until I got to see you again. I needed to see you first."
"I never had feelings for you Rinoa, before they died, my parents asked me to date you to make you happy. They liked you, I guess," he lied.
Tears filled her eyes and streamed down her thin cheeks. "So all of that meant nothing to you?" she asked, her voice cracking. He was unsure if it was because of her sickness or pain.
"There's nothing I can do, now."
"I know."
"I want to make you happy."
"I know."
"I'm staying here, you know. When this is over, I'm not going back to Traverse Town."
Her eyes widened. "But...Yuffie is there! Isn't she your girlfriend?"
Squall narrowed his eyes dangerously. "No. Yuffie is nine years younger than me. Why would you think she's my girlfriend?"
Rinoa looked down at her thin fingers. "A long time ago I prayed and prayed that I would be able to see you again. Maybe even...to the wrong god. I prayed to anything willing to hear that I wanted to see you again, for anything. And...in exchange to see you, I would have to give up my good health. But...it went wrong. I could only see you if I looked into a piece of blown glass, not physically. And...this is what I've become."
Squall felt his fist tighten. "Fool...why would you do something so stupid?"
She looked up at him with tears in her eyes. "I wanted to see you. But it's too late now. I just wanted to be happy." Cough. "And see you."
"I don't understand."
"I know you don't, but can't you see? My wish came true! I got to see you again."
"When someone's wish comes true, someone else is crying," Squall said coldly.
"I know. And I made my sacrifice." Her eyes went wide, and she leaned over to grip his hand. "Squall, I want you to be happy. If you love Yuffie, ignore everything else. Forgive yourself and get close to someone. Ignore the age. Let love take over."
"Stop talking like that."
"Squall...I'm going to have to say good-bye."
"You're not going anywhere."
"Yes, yes I am," she said, squeezing his hand in her clammy one and staring up at him with glistening tears in her eyes. "I'll be in a better place. I can't keep living like this. Bye, Squall."
Squall watched her rest her head on her pillow, her eyes still open. A tear rolled down the side of her nose. She gave him a small smile and her eye-lids fluttered closed.
"Yuffie?" Yuffie, are you up?" Aerith whispered.
A loud yawn came as the response in the dimly lit room. It was near dark, though it was always dark in Traverse Town, and Yuffie was tired.
"I lied to you, Yuffie."
"What do you mean?" she asked, struggling to keep her eyes open, her thoughts racing from one thing Aerith might say to the next.
"Squall left because his old girlfriend is dying," she said after a long silence, letting out a whoosh of breath.
"She...is...? His...girlfriend?" she whispered with a tremor in her voice.
"Rinoa Heartilly."
"Why didn't he tell me? Why did you lie to me!" she said, angry sobs shaking her chest.
"Yuffie, no, don't cry! It's just that...he didn't want you to know. He's very touchy on the subject. We all loved Rinoa."
"Tell me," she whispered in the dark. Aerith explained about Squall and Rinoa hesitantly, shaking her head as she was finished. "I shouldn't have told you, but it was killing me that you are so upset. Stop being upset for me, won't you?"
"No I won't stop being upset! The man that I care deeply about thinks nothing about me, and he goes to Hollow Bastion for some dying girl who he hasn't seen in years!" she sobbed through heartfelt tears. "You don't understand!"
"I understand Yuffie, Cloud left me for nine years! How do you think I felt?" she said softly, but she could sense a hard, yet tender edge to it. It was still a wound Aerith had never healed properly.
"You probably felt like shit, that's what!" she answered harshly, tears wetting her cheeks and neck. "I hate him, I hate him, I hate him! I wish I would just die!"
Aerith pulled her into her arms as Yuffie sobbed uncontrollably into her shoulder in sobbing shrieks, her shoulders moving up and down rapidly.
"Don't worry...you'll always have him in your heart," Aerith whispered, fully knowing that Yuffie was too caught in her emotions to hear a word she said.
Squall waited at the Transmission Department of Hollow Bastion, thinking to himself. It had been about a month since Rinoa had passed away, since he had waited around at Hollow Bastion and taking care of her funeral and home. Now, he could go home, to his real bed in the hotel.
"Here you are, sir, a transport pass. Just do to Rising Falls and show the pass to the officer, and he'll let direct you to the next Gummi to Traverse Town," he said in a rather jolly voice.
"Yeah, thanks," he said hastily, shaking his head and walking towards Rising Falls. As much as he loathed himself for saying it, he missed Traverse Town and Aerith and Cloud, but mostly Yuffie.
At Rising Falls, he entered a line to have his transport checked and proceeded up to the Gummi with the sign 'Traverse Town' by the door, and boarded it quickly, glaring at everyone who stared at his large Gunblade or his many belts.
A few people were in the seats, but not as many as he had thought would be. The Gummi lifted into take-off smoothly, much unlike Cid's driving. He yawned and closed his eyes, drifting off into a fitful sleep.
Yuffie walked out of the First District café, carrying a muffin in one hand and sipping on orange juice that she was holding in the other. The normal Gummi that she saw everyday landed farther away, and a handful of people came off. All the usuals, just the ones who commute from world to world.
A dark-haired man with stunning blue eyes boarded off the Gummi. He looked strangely familiar. She pushed the thought out of her mind as fresh tears gathered in her eyes, ones she hadn't felt for a couple of weeks, now. He looked like Squall.
Don't get your hopes up, Yuffie, he's gone to his little girlfriend.
Still, she approached. Now there was no mistaking it. He carried a Gunblade, like Squall always did.
Yuffie barely felt the orange juice slip out of her hand and fall to the ground along with the muffin. She took cautious steps forward, the tears slipping down her cheeks. Her heart was pumping fast in her chest, and her hands were shaking. She felt like at any moment her knees would give way. It WAS him.
"Squall..." she whispered. Then, "Squall!"
He turned his head in her direction, not seeming to register for a moment. She walked a few timid steps forward, then ran to him, flinging herself in his arms, warm tears coming out of her eyes.
"I don't hate you, Squall, I don't hate you," she sobbed into his shirt. He put his arms around her, and for the first time ever, felt he was doing something right.
Yuffie lifted her tear-stained face and stared into his eyes, still visibly shaking. Tears poured freely, but she didn't care. She didn't have to. He was here! The joy and relief that she felt couldn't be described in words. She felt giddy.
Timidly, she leaned forward and pressed her lips onto his warm ones and pulling away, crying and laughing at the same time.
Hmm...what do you think? Personally, I thought it sucked, but it is my first one-shot. Well, what do you think? I never intended it to end this way, actually, Squall was either going to die or never come back, but...here it is, ending like every other story. Whatever, I'm glad I got the idea off my chest. The poems you see in here were written by me to fit the story.
My thanks to pingpong867 and Annjirika for their extremely supportive nature to this story. Hehe...so thanks, guys! Now review and flame me! Or say something nice. -