Don't Change

By Ezri-Candy

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or the song "Don't change" as sung by Musiq Soulchild. Kingdom hearts and that wonderful song are just the two things that gave me the inspiration to write this fic.

Squall held out his hand to the woman he loved as the string intro began to play over the speakers in the great ballroom in Radiant Garden. As he felt the warmth of Yuffie's smaller hand join his own, he couldn't help but to remember how it was that their anniversary had come to fall on this very date…

-December 11th 2005-

"Squall come on! You gotta help me choose a date." Yuffie groused with her hands on her hips, but she couldn't hold back the small smile that played across her lips as she turned her dusky violet gaze on him.

"Yu, I don't mind when the wedding will be. Only thing that matters to me is that you accepted." He replied, looking up from the now razor sharp blade his beloved gunblade as he wiped away the debris caused by sharpening it.

"Well I don't know what to choose. I want you to be a part of this too and we need to know so Aerith, Kairi, and Tifa will know how long they have to plan…and what season to plan it for."

His gunblade was placed on a nearby table as he reached out for her, pulling her back to sit in his lap. He couldn't help but to chuckle when she mumbled something about him distracting her by being all 'lovey-dovey' with her. "You know I'm not good at this kind of thing." He said softly as he kissed her exposed shoulder and looked at the year-at-glance calendar next to her dartboard.

"I know Squallie. I don't care when we get married either, but we do have to set a date. Invitations have to go out and arrangements have to be made…Aerith was MADE for these kinds of things, I gotta give her some sort of timeline to work with."

Squall sighed and looked at the twelve months on the wall across from him. The only thing that he was against was having the wedding in the middle of summer (thought he wouldn't voice his opinion on that.) It was bad enough that he would have to wear a tuxedo, he wasn't about to suffer a heat stroke from having to do it in the hottest part of the year.

"Tell ya what," Yuffie picked up a dart and twisted it through her fingers. "how bout this? We both take three darts and we have three shots. Whatever date one of the darts lands on will be the date that we set our wedding for. We leave it to fate."

Squall nodded slowly. "What if it lands on a line between dates?"

The ninja shook her head. "Won't count. Rules will be:

One: No aiming, two: No do-overs. You can only re-throw if it does not stick.

Three: If there is more than one date that the dart lands on, we go with the one date that comes first. Four: If it lands on the white area around the actual calendar, it still counts as a throw. If we both miss all three shots and it doesn't land on a date, we go again.

Got it?" The ninja asked. "We'll fill the holes later."

"Got it. Should we take turns, or each do our three shots at the same time?"

"You mean like you do your three first and I do my three second, or just do a dart-throwin' free-for-all?"

"Former." Squall mumbled against her shoulder, his hand coming to rest on her toned stomach. He knew that his Yu was happy when he could be affectionate like this with her. He was still somewhat shy about it around their friends, but the love he held for her was making it easy to override any embarrassment or shyness he felt.

"Okay! So do you want to go first, or should I?" Yuffie asked as she stood and grabbed five darts. Three were given to her fiancée as the other two joined the one she already possessed. She moved to stand in front of the calendar.

"I'm gonna do it with my eyes closed or I'll feel like I'm aiming." She said and closed her eyes. He watched as she did a few test motions with her wrist before letting the first dart go, quickly followed by the second and then the third.

The first landed on the white area next to the month of April. The second caused Squall to wince as it pierced the date of August 18th…in the dead heat of summer. The third dart caused his eyebrow to arch, impressed by the fact that she had managed to hit dead center between the dates of the 7tth & 8th and the 14th&15th of June with her eyes closed, even if it didn't count.

Dusty lilac eyes opened and she looked at the one date that she did manage to hit. "Okay so August 18th so far. Your turn, Squall.'' She said and pulled him to his feet and took a seat in the chair he had vacated.

Squall threw the three darts rapidly, not thinking about where he was throwing in order to be fair, but his eyes remained open. It was then that the usually unflappable Squall "Leon" Leonhart went pale as a squeak was heard behind him.

"Squall!"

"Those were practice throws." He said and went forward to remove the darts, but was stopped by a grinning ninja.

"No, no, no! You can't do that, Squallie-boy! It's against the rules." The ninja said and looked at the Calendar.

"You managed to hit two dates and the wall! Now you just wait right there buddy…" She walked over the calendar and pointed to the date latest in the year. "You hit here on November 4the for your first shot. You hit the wall with the second. My shot hit on August 18th. If we stop there, we would be married on that day but your last shot…" She pointed to the dart that was very close to the line, but still within the white area on the date in question.

"You can only blame yourself, my sexy gunblade master. According to the rules, we're getting married on that date because it comes first!" She giggled and grabbed a sharpie, pulling the cap off the red pen to circle the date.

Squall frowned and allowed a sigh to escape his lips as she placed the tip of the marker on the white surface. "Yuffie…"

"Nope! You had a chance to suggest a date and help me choose, but you didn't." She said. "It's too late now."

Stormy blue eyes watched as the ninja circled the date and sighed before pulling her back against his chest, his chin resting on the top of her head. "Fine…We'll set the date for February 14th. Tell Aerith NO pink, NO hearts and NO cupids."

"You got it!" Yuffie said and turned, wrapping her arms around his waist. His own came to wrap around her, his thumb rubbing at a small patch of exposed skin on her lower back before she leaned up and placed a kiss on his lips. She pulled back and gazed up to her fiancée. "I don't look good in pink anyway and those little cupid things are creepy!"

Squall moved back to the chair he had been sitting in and sat, pulling her into his lap. "Any other dire decisions that need to be made before you call Aerith?" He asked as she placed a few soft kisses along his jaw bone. The happiness radiating off his lover was infectious, causing him to smile.

"Mmhmm. Just one thing for now, the colors. Any suggestions or preferences? We need two to make the theme." She asked, wondering if he was willing to leave something like this to another game of chance, seeing as to what it got him last time.

Squall thought about it for a moment and nodded. "Hmm…Taking into consideration the day that we're getting married, I am willing to make a concession on one of the colors."

"What color do you want, Squall?"

"I'd be content with a dark red."

"Ooh…dark red…that would look really good with ivory." She said and looked up to him. "How does that sound?"

"Its fine with me. I know that you'll look beautiful in any color." He admitted.

"Aww, you're so sweet!" She laughed and kissed his lips once more. "Well, I better give Aerith a call. She's gonna kill me anyway when she finds out she'll only have two months and 3 days to plan a wedding." She pulled her cell phone out of a small pocket in her shorts.

Squall listened to the conversation that his ninja had soon heard the scream on the other end of the line. He shook his head and knew that he was going to be in for a long two months…

-End Flashback-

Valentine's day. One year ago today, he had made the little ninja he loved his wife and today was the day that they would celebrate along side their friends and family. It was decided that their party would be for everyone to celebrate the 'holiday' as well as the day they exchanged their vows. Like their wedding, everything was decked out in crimson and white. There were a few hearts, but absolutely no cupids or pink. Everyone in attendance wore white, various shades of darker reds and black from the suits and slacks worn by most of the men.

"Mr. And Mrs. Leonhart, congratulations on your first year of marriage. May you have an lifetime of joyous days to come." The MC's voice came over the speakers as Squall and Yuffie stood in the center of the dance floor.

Squall wrapped his arm around his beautiful wife, taking her hand in his. "You look beautiful tonight." He said and smiled a bit when she blushed and thanked him, flashing him a bright smile. "Listen carefully to the words, Yu…"

Lately you've been questioning

If I still see you the same way

Cause through these trying years

We gonna both physically change

Now don't you know you you'll always be

The most beautiful woman I know

So let me reassure you darlin that

My feelings are truly unconditional

See, I'll love you when your hair turns gray

I'll still want you if you gain a little weight

The way I feel for you will always be the same

Just as long as your love don't change, No

I was meant for you and you were meant for me yeah

And I'll make sure that I'll be everything you need

Girl the way we are is how its gonna be

Just as long as your love don't change

Yuffie looked up into the blue-gray eyes of her husband and saw the love that made her simply fall in love with him all over again. She did exactly as he asked and listened to the rest of the words to the song as they glided over the dance floor.

-o-

The warm voice began pouring through the speakers as Squall and Yuffie begin to move across the floor. Their friends watched with smiles as they danced across the floor, not failing to notice how Squall pulled her closer as the song continued. They had always known that it was only a matter of time before Squall and Yuffie took their relationship to the next level. It was something that everyone hoped for because it was obvious that they needed one another.

-o-

Cause, I'm not impressed more or less

By them girls in the T.V and magazines

Cause honestly I believe that your beauty

Is way more than skin deep

Cause everything about you makes me feel

I have the greatest gift in the world

And even when you get on my last nerve

I couldn't see myself being with another girl

Yuffie couldn't help but to laugh at the last couple lines of the verse. "I knew you loved it when I drove you crazy!"

Squall chuckled and nodded. "You certainly don't make our life together dull by any means and I wouldn't have it any other way. I've loved you for a long time Yu, and like the song says, I can't see myself being with another girl either. You're the one that I want to spend the rest of my days with…"

"Squall…" She started, her voice wavering with emotion.

"It's true. You know Aerith, she is the Queen of things like this but she made me choose a song that we would dance to. I had no clue as to what to choose. I finally broke down when Sora, Riku and Kairi came to visit last month. They actually were the ones who suggested this song and when I listened to the words, I knew that it would say what I felt about you and our marriage.

"You asked me something a few months ago when had our first major argument…"

"You mean when I asked you if you regretted marrying me?" She asked quietly.

"Yeah…I never regretted it. I never will. No matter how bad things get, I will never willingly give you up." He reached up and wiped away the tear that fell from her eye.

"Gods, how is it that you can make me fall for you over and over again?" She laughed as the song's bridge began to play.

So, Don't waste your time worrying about

Small things that ain't relevant to me

Cause to my understanding

your all I want and need

See, what I'm trying to say

is that I'm here to stay

And as long as your love doesn't change anyway

Baby, baby darling I swear that I,

I swear I ain't going nowhere, no.

Yuffie listened to the words of the bridge and felt her heart skip. She couldn't believe how deep the lyrics were and the fact that her love had chosen this to express how he truly felt about her. As the song drew to a close, she wrapped her hands behind his neck as he came down and kissed her deeply. They didn't notice the hoots and cheers of their friends and all those who came to celebrate their anniversary and the holiday that was meant for love.

The kiss broke but their eyes locked once they drifted open. Smiles traced their lips as Yuffie brought her hand to his cheek.

"Happy Anniversary Yu…my beautiful wife…"

"Happy Anniversary Squall…my drop dead gorgeous and sexy hubby…" Squall laughed and pressed his lips to his wife's once more as couples joined them on the dance floor for the next dance.

The end…but not really

-o-o-Author's notes-o-o-

This is as far as I'm going on fanfictionnet . There is a bit of lemon-ish, lime action for what happens after the party, but that can read in my livejournal. I've decided to post some of my drabbles and oneshots there so check there! -grins- You can get to my livejournal from my profile page here on fanfiction net