Spectrum

An artist does not have merely one or two favorite colors to work with; they have a whole spectrum.


Orange

"So, you get seasick, huh?"

"Shuddup." Yuffie moaned, clutching her stomach, one hand gripping the side of the ship. She was sure there was some kind of technical name for it - there was a technical name for damn near everything these days - but she didn't particularly care; and even if she had, chances were she would have vomited up the information like she was on the verge of vomiting up her lunch.

Through the haze blotting out her vision, she managed to aim a glare at the floating boy, who was openly laughing at her. His legs were crossed in midair, his green hat perched lopsidedly on his ginger hair, grinning boyishly. She waved her hand at him, attempting to give him the finger but not quite managing it as she felt her stomach lurch, and she doubled over the side of the ship in an attempt to fight it off.

Peter was finding the sight relatively amusing. She didn't look to be much older than him - though she would be one day (those silly people and their aging). But she was traveling with a bunch of adults, which meant she was in much too much of a hurry to grow up. He barely interacted with the adults, but the whole time the strange group of people had been on the pirate ship he'd been tailing the younger girl, mildly curious in why anyone would want to travel with such an uptight group of grown-ups. It turned out that the girl was horribly seasick, and it was not without his boyish amusement that he watched her, waiting for the time she'd lose her most recent meal.

The ship rocked again, and the girl moaned - Peter hadn't caught her name, but he didn't particularly care at the present time - as she clutched the railing for dear life. He chuckled, flying over in front of her, examining the green look on her face.

"Geez, girl, haven't ya ever been on a ship before?"

"Yes," she groaned. "Maybe. I dunno. It just kinda" - she swallowed thickly - "sucks."

Once again, she wondered why she had volunteered for this mission. Squall - Leon, Aerith, and herself were currently on their way from Traverse Town to Hollow Bastion to help Sora seal the final keyhole; that had sounded fun, she supposed, or at least awesomely fantastic. (Let it be said that Yuffie never missed action if she could help it.) She hadn't, however, counted on a pit stop in Neverland, where the crazy captain guy's ship was the only real place they could land. Squall - oops, Leon - was probably tired from piloting the whole time - he wouldn't let any of the girls drive 'cause he was so manly - and they failed epically at finding any warp holes to make their way to Hollow Bastion much easier and quicker.

Which had sucked for Yuffie. Motion sickness was a bitch.

It was like Leon was trying to make her uncomfortable. They had to make a pit stop and they chose Neverland, which was very close to the final world that they probably could've made it, and it was also composed of a giant ship. She supposed there was a mainland somewhere, but noooo, Leon chose the freaking ship. Of course he would.

The orange rays of dawn were slowly beginning to filter across the sky. Neverland had been in nighttime for so long, Peter had to admit it was nice to see the sun again. He turned his face to the direction of the sunlight, enjoying as the warmth spread over him, even as the chilly sea air threatened to blow his hat away. He didn't understand how everyone stood it, keeping their feet solidly on the ground, never enjoying the freedom of flight… Couldn't they think of at least one happy thought? He supposed it might be because of their lack of pixie dust; but maybe it was because adults tended to be uptight, grumpy, strict, and all-around unhappy.

He chanced a glance to the seasick girl. She definitely looked unhappy; while it could simply be the seasickness, he had no doubt the grown-ups taking over the ship were part of the problem. He had thought he'd seen the last of crazy adults when he and Sora finished Hook off, but nope, there were more outsiders taking over his home. All in all, it had made him very surly, but he was still able to enjoy a couple of moments with the only young member of their group they had brought along.

She didn't seem to be enjoying herself, though… Well. He wasn't about to let her lose her sense of fun. Maybe it was time to leave the world of grown-ups.

Yuffie scowled as Peter alighted on the railing, sitting cross-legged and grinning mischievously. The ship wasn't rocking as much now, and she was enjoying the reprieve as much as she could; she wasn't about to let a kid get in the way of that. (Okay, to be fair, she was barely older than he was by the looks of it - two years at most if physical appearances meant anything - but she did have a bit of a superiority complex.) She stuck her tongue out as he aimed his grin her way before grumbling, "Whaddaya want?"

"I wanna have fun!" The honest pronouncement was a bit too honest as he spread his arms wide, his eyes sparkling. As he lowered his arms his face turned reproving. "You should be havin' fun too, girl."

"Listen, kid, I'm kinda seasick. Which means of course I'm not havin' fun!"

He leaned forward towards her. "So what, you're seasick! Are ya airsick?"

"… airsick? We're on a boat." His question was an odd one. There weren't any air-type vehicles around at the moment; surely that made no sense in present company. Yuffie frowned at him, flattering herself that her gaze was akin to x-ray vision and the boy was feeling very sorry for himself indeed as she scrutinized him - but then realized he was very amused, and huffed with irritation, folding her arms and pouting.

"I dunno what ya mean," she reiterated snidely, when he merely continued to smirk at her. "There aren't any…" - she hesitated, not wishing to say Gummi ships in order to protect the "world order" or whatever it is Squall harped on about all the time (and for some reason, the term "airships" popped into her head) - "…flyin' machines around here, are there?"

Peter rolled his eyes, not believing someone could be so dense. "I don't need a flying machine to fly."

"…" The boy could see she was still trying to puzzle out what he meant; he waited impatiently for her to grasp the concept, purposely floating into the air, his legs still crossed.

When her mouth popped into a comical 'o,' he laughed aloud.

"Gee, are all girls this slow?" he asked gleefully, fully enjoying her dramatic reaction. The girls he knew came to his mind briefly, but only for a moment; so long as they weren't in his presence or vicinity, they weren't worth his time. This girl, on the other hand, had all of his attention; he had a feeling her nature would be a lot like his if she weren't addled with seasickness… or surrounded by grown-ups all the time.

She took a moment to recover from her lapse of her 'dignity,' and made up for it by looking haughty and annoyed. "I don't have magical fireflies or whatever the hell they are dropping magical sparkly powder on me all the time, unlike some people, so it really doesn't matter whether or not I get airsick." She ended the statement with a glare in his direction, to which he only smiled. "And also unlike some people, I get sick and angry on ships, so… urp…" She swallowed down a roll of nausea as the ship tilted again, clutching the side for support. After a moment, she finished lamely, "… leave me alone."

He was silent for a moment, and she slumped her shoulders in relief as she realized he had probably left - like most hyperactive kids, he no doubt had a short attention span (she knew she did) - and blew out a sigh. Her stomach cramped up again in irritation, and she leaned over the railing, moaning.

So Yuffie was intensely surprised when she felt a young - yet calloused - hand tug sharply on her own while she was leaning over the boat, thus pulling her off with their combined momentums. The world stood still for a second as she tumbled off the ship, a piercing scream ready to burst forth from her lips -

- until she found herself cradled in the arms of that idiotic boy.

And he was laughing.

"That was NOT FUNNY!" she squealed, and felt a surge of satisfaction as the boy winced from her high-pitched yelp. She did not like the way she was clinging to his green clothes - what the hell was he wearing, anyway, tights and a leotard? - and staring with anxiety and fear at the dark, churning seawater below her.

At least he wasn't bobbing like a cork in the air… or jolting from side to side… or slowly tipping in a torturous motion…

"Relax, girl," Peter said lazily, contradicting his own words when he dumped her out of his arms - only to grab her firmly by the hand.

"Maybe I could relax if you'd stop giving me goddamn heart attacks!" She emphasized her point by placing her free palm over her chest, feeling her heart thumping erratically, jumping around like a train jumps off the tracks, readying itself to ram into things with alarming speed.

"Maybe when you're done having a heart attack," he said impatiently, "you'll realize that you're flying."

Yuffie froze.

She stared at the water, not all that far below her.

She stared at the ship, which was suddenly away from her.

She stared at his hand, gripping hers in a firm embrace.

And finally, she stared up into his mischievous young face, and all the feelings of seasickness vanished from her body as she realized she wasn't bobbing or tipping or sliding or being pushed around with a wide array of unpleasant motions.

She couldn't even find her voice, so she simply mouthed the words: "I'm flying."

Peter openly laughed at her again, clutching his stomach with one hand as if to stifle his peals. "Geez, girl! You shoulda seen the look on your face!" He wiped away a slight tear, grinning like a madman.

"Yuffie!" the girl piped up indignantly, giving a withering look reminiscent Tink - which was slightly ruined, because of how tightly she was clutching his hand. "My name is Yuffie, not girl!"

The boy arched an eyebrow, and then laughed once more, in too high of spirits to be offended by her constant contradictions. "Nice ta meetcha, Yuff, I'm Peter Pan!" With that said, he winked, before grabbing her hand with both of his own and unceremoniously tossing her over his back. Needless to say, she shrieked before quickly latching on, both her arms wrapping tightly around his torso. He could feel her trembling as he stretched his arms wide. Really, she was quite light - probably because she was so small. Even being older than him by a couple of years, she was a good deal shorter.

"That was a wonderful introduction," he heard her grumble behind him, still shivering in what he assumed to be terror. "Throw around the girl you just really met, how wonderful."

He ignored her, merely piping up cheerfully, "You'd better hang onto my back, gi- …Yuff, 'cause if ya fall off ya won't be able to fly anymore, not unless I catch ya."

"Wait, why would I fall - AIIIYEEEEEEEK!"

He had suddenly zoomed off across the water - though how he managed amazed him, as he felt like his ribs were cracking under her grip (then again, he always amazed himself, he was just that good) - going at his usual flying pace, enjoying the spray of the salty sea and the chill of the air whipping around the pair of them. He could still feel her heart beating faster than what was probably healthy, but he was seriously enjoying himself, carrying the small girl along.

Yuffie had shut her eyes and screamed as he unexpectedly took off, and waited for the motion sickness to kick in … but it didn't come. She cracked open an eye warily, and realized she liked the cool air dancing across her face, the speed at which they were going; it was a lot like running, but with no ground. And Yuffie loved to run. "Gods," she breathed, realizing she was actually enjoying herself; after all, it wasn't like she was on the rocking deck of a ship of any kind, and this was kind of exhilarating, kind of thrilling, kind of… fun.

Before she knew it, she had let out a whoop of joy, Peter following in an ecstatic laugh. Her grip relaxed slightly, and she managed to pick her head up off of his back to squint her eyes at the oncoming sunrise in defiance. A grin was breaking across her face, and she laughed as well, jubilant for the first time since they had landed on this accursed world; the motion sickness gone momentarily, she was just like her old self again.

The calls from the ship behind them brought Peter to an upright stop in midair, and Yuffie had to cling tightly to his back again, her legs dangling helplessly while he floated with precision. He glared in the direction of the ship, huffing like she had only minutes ago when he'd been annoying her. He crossed his arms, and she placed her chin on his shoulder to giggle at the childish pout on his face, realizing it probably mimicked her own face just a little bit ago.

He snapped his fingers in his irritation. "Darn those grown-ups, always tryin' ta ruin the fun," he sulked.

She nodded, glancing at the ship, sticking her tongue out in its general direction. "Makes ya never want to grow up," she observed with slight disgust.

Their eyes met after her remark, and they both started to laugh - playful, childish laughter, the kind that makes anyone wish they'd never grown up. It grew more and more boisterous, and they simply couldn't stop, overcome in the happiness of the moment that two similar beings often share when they first realize how alike they really are.

They were still laughing as the orange rays of dawn finally extended its fingertips across the sky, the sun at last breaking the horizon, illuminating the two in a rosy, fiery glow to match their own souls; it was like the sky was laughing as well.


A/N: Well, that was cute. (: Once again, it turned out much differently - and much longer - than I expected it to be; nonetheless, I'm pretty happy with this result. It was less of a "romance" and more of a "friendship," but if you squint, you can find some romance.

The "orange" in this chapter was not only the light of dawn, but the similarity in both Peter's and Yuffie's personalities. They were just too alike to not pair up. I just had to find the right setting for them to meet, so I chose the first Kingdom Hearts. I just wish Yuffie'd been a little more spunky in this; well, it's not her fault she gets overcome with motion sickness, now is it? :P Once again, I hope they were in character.

However, the next chapter - which, if one knows the pattern of the rainbow, one will realize it's more of a "happy" color - is planned to be a very dark chapter indeed, a step away from the cuteness we've seen here. Just like the visible spectrum captures many different colors, I want to capture more emotions than just "cute" or "fluffy" or even "sexy" (omgAxel).

Also, I lied. I'm probably not going to update weekly; I'm going to try to, so that means I'm probably going to update a week after my deadline. Just... don't expect a recurring time when I update, 'kay?

I'm kinda sad this got only one review, but I'll just keep trying (: Review if you want those bonus chapters!

And finally, for the disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Squeenix, whatever. Not mine. I don't own rainbows either. So please don't sue me.