I Wait for You

Kairi couldn't help but stare as Yuffie opened the door. Actually, she just kinda kicked the door open, allowing the (huge) Irish Wolfhound to bound past her and into the house.

The door was hanging off its hinges...To say that the farmhouse was a fixer-upper would be the understatement of the year. What was even more interesting was that there were dragons everywhere.

Dragon door knocker. Dragon coat rack. Dragons painted on the walls and ceilings. Even...

"Rezner, don't eat that!"

...half-finished paintings of dragons scattered around.

"You live here...by yourself?" Kairi asked hesitantly, moving slowly into the house. Damn, but even the house had that not-quite-right feeling.

Yuffie laughed. "Nah, I live here with my brothers, Cloud and Vincent. Leon lives here too; he's an old friend of Cloud's. He was the only one crazy enough to come with us when we all piled into a truck and took off for the great wide world," she swept her hand in a wide gesture with a grin.

"Are you sure it's all right with them if I move in?"

"Hey, no one ever actually asked about Leon, either. He just kinda tagged along and no one ever got around to kicking him out."

"...What do you guys do for a living?"

Yuffie shrugged, throwing her keys on the table. The glass-topped table held up by dragons. Of course. "Well, I work for the vet, Leon works at Cid's Diner with Cloud, and Vincent works on the house." She grinned and Kairi felt her heart skip. "We got it pretty cheap, seeing as it's falling apart and it's only got two bedrooms."

Kairi twisted her hands nervously. "I hope I'm not taking up space..."

"Naaah. I share a room with Cloud, Leon shares with Vincent. You can room with me an' Cloud, or we can kick Cloud out and you can room with me."

"Your parents don't care that you're rooming with three guys?" Kairi frowned.

"We don't need no stinkin' parents!" a new voice chimed from outside. The blonde Kairi had seen talking to Yuffie earlier tumbled in the door, a cat in his arms. "Yuf, Mustaine's getting in fights again, his ear's clawed pretty bad."

Yuffie waved at him, "Put'im on the couch, Cloud, I'll have a look at him."

"Hey sis, you pickin' up stray people now?" Cloud asked, smiling warmly at Kairi. Then he looked at Yuffie again and shook his head. "Not even asking anymore."

Yuffie snorted. "And you're planning on charging Leon rent when, exactly?"

"Yeah, that's what I thought." Yuffie knelt by the couch to look at Mustaine, who promptly hissed and tried to swipe at her. Yuffie scruffed him calmly. "Cloud, this is pretty deep. I better bring him to the clinic."

Cloud actually brightened. "Is Aeris working?" Yuffie laughed.

"Yeah, Cloud, Aeris is there. I'm gonna ask her to patch up Mustaine, and yes, you can come." She glanced to Kairi. "Wanna come along? We always have job openings."

"Sure, I love animals." Kairi looked at her suitcases- all two of them, really, she didn't own much- and then back at Yuffie, who shrugged.

"Leave'em, it's always fun to confuse Vinnie and Leon."

Kairi shrugged and followed Cloud and Yuffie out the door. Rezner bounded after them and leapt into the truck bed, tail waving proudly. Yuffie tossed Cloud the keys and clambered into the truck bed with the wolfhound, injured and angry cat safely in her arms, and waved Kairi into the passenger seat.

"You guys seem...different, somehow, than anyone I've ever met," Kairi confessed to Cloud. Cloud grinned.

"We are different. We're wanderers, born and bred."