Same Disclaimer.

Yosh! Sorry for the way long update. I was gonna post this up a few days ago when I posted up my other ficts, but I was at a hotel.

x.o.X.o.x

Emotions of the Heart

Dedicated to the Awesome Reviewers of this story.

Chapter 8- A Familiar Face

"WHAT! Living with the Strifes?" the young girl repeated. If she were a cartoon, her jaw would drop to the floor and her eyes would pop out.

"What's with the shocked face honey? It's not like I just told you that I'm a man or something…" Shera chuckled to herself then stopped when she saw the freaked out look on her niece's face.

"Well, I'd personally be okay if you were really a man, though I'm not sure if Cid would," Yuffie laughed slightly. "Anyways, I prefer if you told me that you were a man than me living with the Strifes."

Living with the Strifes meant living with Cloud and living with Cloud was a definite 'no-no' in Yuffie's books.

"You make them sound so horrible. They aren't that bad," the blonde woman said softly rubbing her hand on her niece's shoulder.

"Out of everyone why the Strifes? Why them?" Yuffie asked hastily.

"They are good people y'know," Shera replied calmly.

"How can you be so sure? We've only known them for what? A few days?"

"It's near our house. Plus you're friends with Cloud, so I figured you'd enjoy it there."

"Sure, Cloud and I get along just great,"

"That's good to hear," Shera said absentmindedly not sensing the sarcasm in Yuffie's voice.

"Why not Barret and Marlene?"

"Barret has guns in his house,"

"So? Cid carries a friggin' spear around everywhere and you're fine with that," the raven haired girl snapped. Aunt Shera's lips parted slightly, unable to say anything. Then she smiled sweetly, the type of smile that only Auntie Shera could perfect for winning over any argument.

"I don't see what's wrong with living with Cloud," Shera said.

"Well for starters, Cloud is a GUY! He might rape me!"

Shera gave a light chuckle. "I'm sure you'll use your ninja skills to fend him off."

Yuffie paused. She sure hated it when she wasn't getting her way.

"But I don't wanna live with him!" Yuffie complained. "I don't WANNA!"

"It's only temporary…"

"Temporary? It's 2 freakin' long months! How is it not long?"

x.o.X.o.x

He kept staring out through the white rimmed window.

At the house across the street.

Yes, it was a nice house. It wasn't a mansion or anything brilliant, but it was a nice family-style home. Simple yet elegant. Nicely trimmed lawn. Bright yellow tulips.

But it was something else besides the stereotypical family home that he couldn't take his eyes off.

Like something devious (and annoying, he added) was going to pop out from that house…and worst, the devil was going to enter his house, corrupting the peaceful atmosphere.

He shuddered at the thought.

He'd heard about her coming to stay at his house and it scared the living daylights out of him. What was going to happen? If Zack knew about this, Zack would endlessly laugh. But worse, what would happen to his house? Would it still be in one piece?

From his window, he looked at that house's window. The one on the second floor, furthest to the right with the green curtains that use to be broken but is now fixed.

Why was he looking at that window? Well, it belonged to that girl. The bratty yet cute Yuffie Kisaragi that he could not stop thinking about.

He looked back at that house. It seemed quiet.

Too quiet.

Cloud had some type of sixth sense when something unexpected was going to happen. He sighed and shrugged it off. He'd been thinking too much, and besides, he hadn't taken one eye off the front door of the house across the street. No one came out of the house. He was safe for now. As long as there was a road, 2 doors and a wall keeping her away. He was fine.

His strong arms relaxed as he sipped his hot chocolate, being careful not to burn himself. His blue eyes stared deep at his reflection within the chocolate drink in front of him…

And from this lovely moment that Cloud would long to have, will never occur ever again…well, anytime soon that is…

"SHIT!" he jumped up at the sudden entrance of a particular sneaky girl. His skin stung as the hot liquid spurted upon him.

The girl watching him from behind laughed like a crazy hyena, barely stopping herself from rolling on the floor laughing.

He grabbed a towel, wiping the hot chocolate off himself. Then he turned to look at the intruder and glared at her.

"Yuffie, you scared the shit out of me!" he growled. "Anyway what brings you here? Just a while ago, you were celebrating that you were away from me. I do recall you wanting to kiss the grass of your home when I dropped you off at your house," he said sipping his drink again.

"I'm going to be living here," Yuffie answered grabbing a chair to sit on. Cloud immediately spat out his drink.

How could he forget? He hated the thought of her living with him. He didn't want to believe it when his mother told him just a while ago. He tried to forget about it and just pretend that it wasn't happening. But he couldn't. His home was the only place that he could get away from her and now she was going to be staying with him!

"Glad to see you thrilled about the idea," Yuffie said sarcastically.

Then, a blonde haired woman wearing a suit entered the kitchen placing a stack of papers on the kitchen bench.

"Cloud, you should show Yuffie around to her room," his mother instructed him.

"Where exactly is her room? We have no space so she can't stay here," he snapped.

"Don't be silly Cloudy. She can stay in your room," Mrs Strife suggested.

"WHAT!" Cloud and Yuffie shouted in unison.

'You can't leave me alone with the devil!' Cloud thought in his mind. He had to see her at his school, during his classes, at the cafeteria, on the way to and from school, at his own house…and now…every time he wakes up he would have to see her face.

"Is there something wrong?" his mother asked innocently.

"YES!" Yuffie and Cloud answered in unison again.

"Yuffie and I CAN NOT sleep in the same room!" he argued.

"Unless you want to sleep on the couch," Mrs Strife suggested.

"Why can't she sleep on the couch?" Cloud complained.

"She's a guest,"

"Go sleep on the couch Cloud," Yuffie said sticking her tongue out.

"No," he snapped and folded his arms.

"Then you two are stuck together in the same room," Mrs Strife said.

"Isn't there another room?" Yuffie wondered.

"Well we would normally let you sleep in the guest room, but Leon is currently occupying it," Cloud's mother answered.

"Leon?" Yuffie asked.

"He's an old family friend. I don't think you would want to sleep in the same room as him,"

'Old? That meant he was wrinkly and saggy…I definitely don't wanna stay with him…' Yuffie thought.

"How come I haven't seen him before?"

"He's usually out. Besides, he's not much of a…conversationalist."

"You mean he's an antisocial freak?"

"Well I'm not sure about the word 'antisocial freak'. He's just not that friendly."

"Who's not friendly?" a male's voice spoke from behind Yuffie and she immediately spun around.

Yuffie's eyes widened out of astonishment and awe as they got caught in his gaze.

He looked different than before…his shoulder length bangs were trimmed slightly making him look younger…and hotter.

But he still possessed a tiny scar on his forehead and those cobalt blue eyes…

Those wintry orbs that freezes your body sending chills down your spine…yet, at the same time somehow manages to melt your heart…

Was she dreaming? Squall Leonhart (Leon), her former tutor from Twilight Town appeared in front of her! Yuffie squealed and wrapped her arms around the nicely built body of the man.

Leon raised his brow very slightly as he noticed Cloud's sudden silence and death glares. He decided not to ask. He didn't like being in people's business anyway.

"Erm…who are you?" Leon asked Yuffie..

"How could you forget? It's me, Yuffie!" she answered.

Leon groaned slightly. "Yeah…how could I forget…"

"SQUALL! I can't believe you came to visit me!" Yuffie squealed as she ended the hug to look up at him. "And I thought you didn't like me…"

"It's Leon," he corrected. "And what do you mean by visiting you? I didn't even know you were here…"

"Leon? You mean the Leon as in the guy who is going to be living here," her eyes beamed with excitement. He nodded a little afraid by her enthusiasm.

"Anyways, what are you doing here Yuffie?" he asked.

"I'm living here temporarily. You?"

"Same,"

"WOAH! This is just perfect! Squall and I living under the same roof as each other. How romantic!" Yuffie mused out loud as Cloud unknowingly clenched his fists.

"Yeah, just perfect," Leon sarcastically grunted. "…And it's Leon." Leon rolled his blue eyes and began heading up the marble staircase. Yuffie immediately turned to Mrs Strife.

"I don't mind sleeping with Leon!" Yuffie smiled. "And Cloud agrees too! Cos' he doesn't want me in his room. Right Cloud?"

Cloud didn't say anything and shrugged. He was still dazed at Yuffie's happy outburst. He liked the idea that she was not going to stay in his room but he did NOT like that she preferred to sleep with in the same room with a 21 year old man rather than him!

"Well…I guess you can, but you gotta ask Leon first…" Mrs Strife said and that said, Yuffie immediately dashed off following Leon.

x.o.X.o.x

Leon's bedroom-

The brown-haired man was about to close the door behind him, until a small hand stopped him. He instinctively spun around looking at the raven-haired girl behind him.

"What do you want?" he asked. She walked past him and sat on his bed.

"Well, I got no room to sleep in…" she paused.

"So? Not my problem,"

"I could sleep in your room,"

"No,"

"Why not?"

"No,"

"That's not a reason,"

"Why do you want to sleep in my room?" Leon asked, eyeing her suspiciously. She immediately turned red as images filled her mind. She looked away, hoping that he would not see the blush on her face. Hopefully Leon would be as blonde as Cloud.

"Because…" She began, her head facing the ground. "…I…um…haven't seen you in a long time and well, we could talk in your room just before you go to bed since you're always out."

"I'm tired when I come home. Like I am now," he sat on his bed, ushering her off.

"Well, we can talk like we use to do before,"

"We never use to talk before. I was tutoring you. It was my job."

"So then you can tutor me now!"

"No."

"Squallie, you sure like the word, 'no' don't you?"

"It's Leon," he grunted resting his head on the pillow.

"TUTOR ME! PLEASE SQUALLIE!"

"It's Leon and No,"

"PLEASE SQUALLIE!" and after Yuffie's begging for 10 minutes, Leon let out a VERY frustrated sigh and accepted her offer.

"Fine FINE! But stop calling me Squallie or Squall."

"I prefer Squallie over Leon…"

"If you don't like the conditions, then I'm not tutoring you," he said sternly.

"Fine, I'll stop calling you Squall or Squall," she pouted.

"AND you must let me have some sleep in my room…alone. And you're not allowed to enter my room without my permission

"Aww…"

"Yuffie, do you want me to tutor you or not?"

"Okay! It's a deal!" Yuffie grinned.

x.o.X.o.x

Cloud's bedroom-

She sat up on the bed, her eyes fully open in the dark. The curtains slightly waved around, a slight breeze coming from the window. She looked over to her right to see the back of a head of blonde spikes on the far side of the bed. Thank goodness his bed was a king size. It would have been so awkward if they were tightly packed together.

"What happened to you Cloud?" she spoke softly breaking the nightly silence.

"I dunno, something happened to me?" he sat up and raised a brow.

"Yes, something happened to you. You changed. Where's the real Cloud?"

"Um…in front of you," he laughed.

"Where's the Cloud Strife that I was able to annoy, and he would get pissed."

The blonde laughed to himself. "Why Yuffie? Don't like how I am beating you in your little game?"

A long silence. Obviously, she was getting no where and she was only humiliating herself even more. He smiled to himself, he finally shut her up and he was able to get some sleep.

"AERITH!" she shouted all of a sudden.

"Y'know, you didn't have to shout her name, I am only a few metres away," Cloud said. "Plus it's night time and people want to get their sleep. Gees Yuffie, so inconsiderate."

"Shut up," she snapped. "Anyways, going back to the pink girl. You never told me you went out with the pink girl. Obviously I see why you don't wanna talk about it,"

"No, you just never asked,"

"Isn't Aerith now going out with…" she paused looking over at Cloud to see his reaction. "…Zack?"

Sadly for Yuffie, Cloud's face remained still and emotionless. But she could have swore that she saw the slightest twitch in his eyes.

"Yeah, what about it?"

"You don't feel angry or annoyed, not at all?"

"None. Nothing. Zilch."

"He's your best friend and you don't care that your ex is with him."

He didn't speak this time, but even if he used no words, it was sure an effective way to convey his answer. His blue eyes caught into her eyes. Catching an innocent butterfly within it's web. Like she was trapped again in his world. But this time, she saw no emotion, just a forever stretching ocean of blue. No sun, no moon. Just complete emptiness where the nights lasted forever.

"DAMNIT! He's like a friggin' stone!" Yuffie thought in frustration. …'a very SEXY stone…'she added in her mind.

"What about you and Leon?'

"Squallie? Well I met him in Twilight Town. He's major droolage and I hope to I marry him. But he seriously needs to fix his personality! He's like Mr Serious-I-am-something-up-my-ass all the time," Yuffie blurted out and he nodded in silence.

"Cloud, you jealous honey?"

"Who says I'm jealous of him?"

"That's cos you want me but can't have me."

"What makes you think that?"

"Well, you know…I'm a girl you are a guy…we're in a bedroom…alone. I know that you want to."

"Correction. I'm a MAN, you are a girl,"

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Yuffie sat up straighter her hands on her hips.

"Sorry, but I'm not into those kinda things cos' I'm not a paedophile."

She took a while to register the insult he just gave her. And when she got it, she immediately turned flame red, her palm balled up into a fist. Apparently she wasn't bothered that his parents were just down the hall, for she lunged her fist at him. His lightning reflexes made him roll to the side, dodging her punch.

She glared at him again through the darkness, her fist clenched into a tighter grip, the anger inside her festered, fuelling her rage. The bottled anger she kept inside was now being released. She hurled her fist at him again only to have him hold it with extreme ease with his own hand. Her other hand immediately sought for his throat.

She angrily tried to choke the life out of him, as her fingers tightened around his wind pipe. With Cloud's other hand, he grabbed her hand, pulling it away from his throat and she let go of her death hold. She growled at him, her attempt at killing him failing miserably.

He smirked. "Are you sure you aren't the one who wants to get with me?" At first, she was confused by his comment until she saw the position she was in. She was no longer on her side of the bed.

Her small petite body was hovering above him, her fingers entangled with his. A shade of red spread across her face as she immediately backed away from him as she moved to her side of the bed, tucking herself in her green blanket.

He smirked triumphantly. Cloud 4, Yuffie 2.

For 5 minutes…pure and utter silence fell upon the both of them. Like a gentle mist of warmth and silence had been cast over them.

He closed his eyes, hoping that she would just go to sleep. At this point, sleeping on the couch didn't seem so bad to him. But no, He couldn't just hand him room over to her because Yuffie would win. Plus, he didn't know what she would do in there. She was not a person to trust your room with.

"Cloud?" she said softly again. This time, he didn't respond. Maybe if he pretended he was asleep, she wouldn't bother him and just fall asleep. "Do you think Sora likes Kairi?"

"…"

"Do you think Riku likes Olivia?"

"…"

"I know you're awake Cloud,"

"I'm not awak-" he cut himself short, realizing how stupid he just sounded.

"Idiot," she laughed to herself.

"Why do you hate me so much?" he asked randomly. She looked at him with confusion in her eyes.

"What…? I don't hate you Cloud. I could never hate you…""

"You hate me, just admit it. You tried to choke me to death."

"I just get annoyed easily. Doesn't mean I hate you…"

"…"

"And besides…you still owe me a cake…"

"I already ordered a cake for you. It should be arriving tomorrow."

"Cloud…really?" she asked, her eyes lit up with happiness. Was Cloud actually being nice to her!

"Yeah, I did. Now don't get all chick-flick moment on me, okay?" he said, looking away from her.

"Thanks. Goodnight Cloud," she leaned over, asking whether it was safe or not to continue. He remained still, completely unsure what she was going to do. Then, the raven-haired girl placed a soft kiss on his cheek. A pink flush was painted on their faces as they burrowed their faces under the warm blanket, sleeping on the far side of the bed.

Yuffie Kisaragi smiled to herself…

Cloud Strife had unknowingly smiled to himself…

Yuffie had given Cloud a sweet goodnight kiss…

x.o.X.o.x

Preview of the next chapter- A half naked Cloud in the bathroom with Yuffie.

A/N- I just added a tiny lil' Clouffie moment. The last Clouffie moment was in chapter 2 or something!

I know the chapter lacked creativity but I wanted to update it since it's been a month cos I didn't know what to write. So give me suggestions please! Like a conversation between characters that you want me to include or anything. Seriously, I don't mind. I greatly need suggestions.

Much Love to MissCourtney002 for beta'ing

Thanks to the nice reviewers of the last chapter. You all get showered with cookies: I would list them, but I might get in trouble.

Please REVIEW! It'll make me super happy! I need the happiness.

X Kawaii Eyez x