"You didn't know it was going to rain?!"

Leon and Aerith had gone back to First District. They wanted answers from Cid and Yuffie. They had them cornered.

"It was all Yuffie's idea!" Cid said loudly, pushing Leon aside to make his way out. "Not mine."

Leon and Aerith turned their attention to Yuffie. Leon moved closer, towering over her. Yuffie grew small.

"Do you have any idea what could have happened?!" Leon shouted viciously. Yuffie whimpered, looking over at Aerith for help. She just shook her head at her. Yuffie's eyes shot back to Leon.

"I… I just thought you two would want some time together to talk," she squeaked. That didn't seem to ease things up.

"Aerith could've died in there!" Leon roared.

"Hey!" Yuffie cried, straightening up. "I didn't know she was sick!"

"Does that give you the right to trap us in a house in the middle of a storm?!"

"I did you a favour! You two aren't fighting anymore! Be happy about it, will you?!"

Death was marked in Leon's eyes. He slowly took a step towards Yuffie.

"Um…" Aerith said, nervously glancing between the two. "Could we calm down just a little here?"

"Why didn't you tell me you were sick?!" Yuffie yelled at her. "I wouldn't have done it if you told me!" Leon rolled his eyes.

"Sure you wouldn't," he scoffed. The two glared daggers at each other.

"Okay, guys," Aerith said. She took Leon by the arm and pulled him away from Yuffie. "That's enough. Let's go, Leon."

Leon looked at her. She smiled. He sighed, shot one last venomous glance at Yuffie, and went along with Aerith.

"Don't be so hard on her," Aerith said once they were outside. She smiled at him. "She was only trying to help." Leon sighed.

"I guess you're right," he said, turning to her. Aerith tilted her head to one side and smiled sweetly at him. She took his hands.

"Besides…" she started. She looked down at his hands, then back at him. "Her plan worked, didn't it?" Leon smiled.

"Yeah," he nodded. "It did." Aerith beamed.

She spotted something over his shoulder and she ran over to it. Leon turned around. It was a balance beam.

It was about 3 feet off the ground. Aerith examined it for a moment, then climbed onto it. She stood up slowly and extended her arms out to help her keep her balance. Leon walked over, looking up at her.

"Aerith, what are you doing?" he asked.

She started taking a few steps. "It's been a long time since I did something like this." She began to shake. "Whoa!" Leon extended his hand, and she grabbed it just in time. She smiled at him.

"So," she said, resuming. "Where do we go from here?" Leon stopped walking. He looked up at Aerith.

"You do want to be with me, right?" Leon asked. Aerith smiled softly at him. She put out her other hand, in which he took.

"Of course I do," she told him. Leon looked down to hide his smile. It was what he had wanted to hear for a long time.

"Hey," Aerith said, crouching down to him, not letting go of his hands. "We're going to make this work." She smirked, and gave him a wink. She stood back up.

"Yeah," Leon said, nodding. He let go of one hand and started walking. "But let's keep it low for now."

Aerith chuckled, and looked at him. She knew too well how his mind worked.

"Yuffie," she said. "You want to torture her, don't you?"

He didn't need to answer. Aerith laughed again. They came to the end of the beam.

Leon let go of her hand and took a step back. Aerith slowly positioned her feet to face him.

"You'll catch me, right?" she asked, waving her arms around to keep her balance.

Leon smiled. "I promised I wouldn't let anything happen to you." He extended his arms. Aerith took a deep breath and squeezed shut her eyes. She let out a squeal as she leaped into the air, landing safely in Leon's arms. They shared a laugh. Aerith opened her eyes and smiled warmly at him. She slowly raised her hand and cupped his cheek. She looked deep into his blue eyes. They were so much like Cloud's. Aerith felt a little sad for a moment, but she quickly hid it with a smile.

"Are you going to let me down now, Prince Charming?" she asked, wrapping her arms around his neck. Leon smirked and put her down. They walked hand in hand until they reached a few feet of the Accessory Shop, in which Cid and Yuffie were. Aerith stopped and turned to face Leon. She was smiling broadly at him. She put a finger on her lips and winked.

"Remember the plan," she mouthed, and she backed into the shop. Leon just chuckled and shook his head. He followed her in.

Yuffie had subsided to the corner. Her arms were crossed the way they were whenever she was sulking. Aerith had sat down quietly with a book. Leon went over to Cid at the counter. He was having a serious conversation on the phone.

"Okay…I'll send someone up there, don't worry…" Cid hung up. He looked up at Leon.

"We've got a situation in Third District," he said. "You and Aerith go to the Dalmatian House and investigate."

"What's the problem?" Leon asked.

"Neighbours have been complaining of strange behavior in Pongo and Perdita," Cid replied. "They've been barking and howling all night." Leon nodded.

He glanced over at Aerith. She had put her book down and was watching them. She nodded at him, stood up and walked outside. Leon followed.

"Hey!" Yuffie yelled. Cid looked at her. "What am I, furniture?"

"You've caused enough trouble for one day," Cid said sternly. Yuffie just flashed him a glare and went back to her corner.

"What do you think is going on?" Aerith asked when they reached Third District.

"I think I might know," Leon said. "But we have to be sure." They stopped at the Dalmatian House. There was loud barking coming from inside. Leon reached for the doorknob. He glanced at Aerith.

"You first," he said, opening the door for her. Aerith smiled and went inside. Perdita immediately came running out. She barked desperately to Aerith and tugged on her dress.

"What's wrong?" Aerith said, bending down to her. She looked around the room. Aerith frowned at the unusual emptiness.

"Leon…" she said as she heard his footsteps behind her. She stood up. "The puppies…" Leon looked around.

"They're…" he said. "They're all gone?" he went over to the next room.

Nothing.

"They're gone," he said again. "All 99 puppies."

"Who would do such a thing?" Aerith said, shaking her head. She spotted something in the far corner. She went over and picked it up. It was a dog collar. She examined the nametag. Lucky.

Aerith sighed sadly and held the collar close to her chest. She turned to Leon.

"Someone took them," she said quietly.

Leon shook his head. "Not just someone, Heartless did this." Pongo started barking. He dragged Leon over to a small pile of black dust and barked at it. Leon frowned and bent down to examine it. Aerith walked over.

"Heartless ashes?" she asked. Leon nodded. He took out a small vile and put some of the dust into it. He stood up and put the vile in his pocket. He looked back down at the dogs.

"Don't worry," he told them. "We'll find out who did this." He signaled Aerith, and walked out. Perdita let out a soft whine and went over to the basket where the puppies used to sleep in. she climbed in and laid down. She started to whine softly. It was heartbreaking to watch. Aerith sighed and went outside. Leon was waiting for her.

"Hey," he said. "You alright?" Aerith's eyes were cast on the ground.

"To lose a child," she said, not looking up. "It would break any mother's heart. But to lose all her children…" Aerith hugged herself and shook her head. Leon moved closer and lifted her chin up so she would look at him. His usually cold expression softened. For her.

"We'll find the puppies," he said gently, cupping her cheek in his hand.

Aerith gave him a small smile and nodded. Leon kissed her forehead tenderly and smiled at her. He stroked her cheek.

"Let's go home," he said, wrapping an arm around Aerith's shoulders. Aerith rested her head on his chest and smiled. She felt so safe.

"Yeah," she said softly. "Let's go."

For the next few days, Leon spent hours on Cid's computer. He had analyzed the Heartless dust, now searching for what it was capable of. Yuffie took slight interest in this too, and it was good to see that they were speaking to each other again.

However, working like this left Leon exhausted. Aerith came up one night to find him asleep, his head resting on the keyboard. She sighed and smiled at him. He'd always push himself so hard. She took out a blanket and laid it over Leon's back. Aerith kissed him on the cheek and stroked his hair. She placed the cup of coffee she brought up on the table for him, and quietly left.

It went on for a week, until late one night when Chip and Dale were called over. They came in without a word, heading straight for the computer room. Although Chip and Dale were known as good citizens in Traverse Town and the Disney Kingdom, Aerith found this suspicious and decided to follow them.

"Okay, you two," Leon said when they arrived. He took a piece of paper from the printer and folded it into an envelope. He carefully gave it to Chip and Dale.

"Take this to the king," he continued. "It's about the puppies." Chip and Dale saluted him.

"Right away, Mr Leonhart!" they both said in a squeak. They turned around to the door. Aerith was leaning on the door frame, watching them.

"See ya, Miss Gainsborough!" Chip said, waving to her. Aerith smiled at them and they left. She looked back at Leon. He let out a long sigh and stretched.

"It's done," he said. "Now all we have to do is wait." Aerith smiled and walked up to him.

"I'm so proud of you," she said. She touched his face, examining every feature.

"You must be so tired," she said when she came across his weary eyes. She took his hand and led him to his room.

Leon took off his jacket as Aerith sat down on the bed. He lied down beside her. Aerith smiled down at him and stroked his hair as he closed his eyes.

"Stay with me tonight," Leon said, taking her hand. He opened his eyes. Aerith chuckled.

"Aren't you afraid we'll get caught?" she said cheekily. Leon shifted over as he pulled her down so she was on top of him. Aerith smirked and kissed him. He wrapped his arms around her and turned to his side, setting Aerith back on the bed. He stared deeply into her eyes.

"I don't really care anymore," Leon said. He took out the blanket and wrapped it around both of them. Aerith smiled and closed her eyes.

"Why don't we do something special tomorrow night?" she whispered after a while.

"What did you have in mind?" Leon asked.

Aerith looked at him, her eyes sparkling. "Dancing."

"Dancing?"

"Yeah," Aerith said, smiling. She moved closer. "You up for it?"

Leon just smiled and kissed her.

"Whatever you want," he whispered through her lips. He shifted a little more and closed his eyes. Aerith touched his face softly and smiled. She rested her head on his chest and closed her eyes. She let out one last sigh and fell asleep. Leon watched for a moment. He brushed a hair out of her face. He smiled and closed his eyes again, still holding her close.