Author's Note: I know there hasn't been a lot of actual "squiffieness" in this squiffie, but don't worry. I'm leading up to it. I mean, come on, we all know that Squall and Yuffie never get along in the beginning. So, anyways, dear readers, just keep reading the story and eventually there will be lots of fluffy squiffieness. (I know that's not a word, but it is now) And...I have some plans for Yuffie and Squall in the near future. *laughs evilly* By the way, I really wanted to get this written and posted last night, but I had a migraine...so this had to wait.

Disclaimer: Yeah, I own them all. I even have Squall chained up so he can't run away. ^_~

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Chapter Five: Of Boxers and Six-Packs

Yuffie walked to the parking lot, the light fading as day turned into night. "Now, where did I park the stupid thing?" she mumbled to herself. There it is, on the back row, she silently answered when she saw her small white Dodge Neon. She let out a silent chuckle when she remembered her new bumper sticker that read: I don't suffer from insanity. I enjoy every minute of it. Sighing, she continued across the parking lot and climbed into her car. She reached into her backpack and pulled out the slip of paper with the address on it. Why am I doing this? she asked herself for the hundredth time. As she drove out of the parking lot, she thought back to that morning.

"Hey," Aerith whispered as she tapped Yuffie on the shoulder in their bio lab before Squall had arrived. "Have you studied for our exam on Friday yet?"

Yuffie shook her head, "No, I figured I would cram like I always do on Thursday night."

The older woman rolled her bright green eyes. "Is this your first exam at the university?"

"Yeah, why?"

Aerith sighed, "Exams in college are not like they are in high school. You can't cram everything into your head the night before."

"So, what do you think I should do, then?" Yuffie asked.

Aerith smiled. "There's going to be a study group tonight and then again on Thursday night. You should come." She handed the younger woman a slip of paper with an address written on it. "Here, be there at six."

"Um, okay...do I need to bring anything?"

"No, just yourself and your notes." Aerith went back to her seat next to Cloud as Squall and the TA walked into the lab.

Yuffie turned to her partner, "Hey Squall, are you going to the study group thing tonight?"

He winced. "They invited you, huh? And, it's Leon, for the last time."

She raised one eyebrow at him. "Um, yeah...Aerith did. Why?"

He turned his icy blue glare to her. "It's at my apartment."

Pushing the recent memory aside, Yuffie pulled into the apartment complex, surprised at how nice it appeared. Most college students either lived on campus or in apartments that leave a lot to be desired. But not Squall. Apparently, he had some money saved up from somewhere. Either that, or he was a drug dealer on the side. She still remembered the way his hands had been shaking when dissecting that rat. And, she wasn't completely sure she bought his explanation.

Shaking her head at her thoughts, she parked the car and slowly stepped out, grabbing her backpack as she did so. She looked around, trying to find apartment 364. Finding a sign pointing her in the right direction, she made her way around the complex. She ascended the stairs to the third floor and walked down the corridor to his apartment. The curtains in the window were open, allowing her to see Aerith and Cloud sitting on the loveseat, a textbook open between them. As Yuffie raised her hand to knock, the door came flying open. She gasped, placing a hand on her chest. "Geez, Squall, you could've given me a heart attack."

"It's Leon. And you're late," he growled, opening the door wide enough for her to slip past him and into the impeccably clean living room. Besides the dark blue loveseat where Cloud and Aerith sat, there was a matching couch and recliner and a long glass-top coffee table. The walls were fairly sparse, only a few pictures hanging on them. One picture in particular caught Yuffie's eye. It was of a young woman with deep brown eyes and beautiful black hair.

Coming out of the trance she had fallen into as she viewed his apartment, Yuffie looked at her watch, "It's only 6:05. I'm not that late. I had trouble finding the place."

"But you're late, nonetheless." He slammed the door shut behind her and stalked over to a chair placed near the coffee table where there were notes spread across the glass top.

Aerith looked up from the textbook she was studying to smile at Yuffie. "I'm glad you came, Yuf." She pointed to the kitchen. "I brought some drinks and chips if you want to get some before you sit down."

"Thank you, Aerith. I'm glad that someone's happy I'm here," she said, glaring at Squall pointedly. She placed her backpack next to the table and headed for the kitchen, which was just as clean as the living room. Hm, he must be a neat freak. Who'd a thunk?, she thought to herself. She rummaged around in the cabinets until she found a glass and poured herself some Dr. Pepper. Grabbing a bag of potato chips, she went back to the small group in the living room.

She plopped down on the floor, sitting Indian style and tore open the bag of chips. As she crunched on a mouthful, she asked, "So, who else is coming tonight?"

Cloud looked at her with his bright blue eyes. "No one. The rest of the class is planning on cramming the night before." Yuffie averted her eyes, remembering that she had been intending to do the same. "Freshmen can be really stupid sometimes," the blonde said. He glanced at Yuffie and Squall quickly. "Present company excluded, of course," he apologized.

"I'll admit it. I was going to cram until Aerith talked me into coming along with you guys," the eighteen year old stated calmly. "Anyways, what chapters are we studying tonight?" she asked as she opened her massive biology book.

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After spending two hours asking each other questions about the chapters, Yuffie sighed loudly. "How long are we going to do this?" she whined.

Aerith looked at her watch. "I guess we could take a break...watch a little T.V. maybe." She glanced around at the group, noticing their silent nods.

Yuffie got up off the floor and went to set on the end of the couch, grabbing the remote control on her way. "Ooh, I think Emeril Live is on." She was turning it to the Food Network when Squall grabbed the remote from her hand. "Hey, give it back!"

"No. I'm not going to watch that idiot say "Bam!" every time he throws something in the bowl." Squall channel surfed for a moment before settling on A & E. He lay the controller down on the coffee table as he sat on the far end of the same couch where Yuffie sat. Glaring at Yuffie, he was almost daring her to try and take the remote back.

Over on the loveseat, Cloud had his arms wrapped around Aerith as they watched the movie. "I love this movie!" Aerith exclaimed as she leaned back against the blonde.

Yuffie looked at the screen, seeing that it was a black and white movie, but what she didn't know. "What movie is this, anyways?" Everyone turned their eyes on her, looking at her like she was insane.

It was Squall who finally answered her. "It's Casablanca. I thought everyone had seen it. But," he paused, "apparently I was wrong. I guess it's not a movie that little kids like you would watch."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "I'm not a little kid. I'm eighteen, going on nineteen." The anger from her voice could be felt throughout the room. She hated it when people called her a little kid simply because she was younger than them.

Squall muttered, "whatever," then turned back to watch the movie while Yuffie sat there, trying to keep control of her rage. Taking a few deep calming breaths, she began to watch the movie, becoming totally engrossed with the characters' lives. She spared a glance to Aerith and Cloud, then quickly averted her gaze when she noticed that seem to have forgotten everyone else around them. Cloud had the woman pressed down into the loveseat, assaulting her throat with his mouth while she tangled her hands in this spiky blonde hair. Well, Yuffie thought, I guess that means there won't be any more studying tonight.

"Wow," Yuffie mumbled when the movie ended. She couldn't believe that Squall would actually watch something like this. It was so romantic and he seemed like such a tough guy. Maybe there's more to him than meets the eye. She thought about this for a moment before pushing the thought away. No, he's still a jerk.

Squall turned the T.V. off, catching the attention of the two lovebirds on the loveseat. They quickly sat up, straightening their clothes as a crimson blush spread across Aerith's face. The ex-marine stared at them, a look of sadness coming into his eyes. But, it left as quickly as it had come. He stood up, stretching as he did so. "I guess you guys will be back on Thursday to finish studying?" he asked.

They all nodded as they picked up their various bags and books and headed for the door. Squall followed them, shutting and locking the door behind them. Glad to have his apartment back to himself, he went and lay down on the couch. Of all the movies and shows on T.V., I just had to pick Casablanca, didn't I? he silently mused. He felt the overwhelming sadness seeping into this being. The last time he had watched Casablanca had been the night before Rinoa had been killed.

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Yuffie walked into her dorm room and found Kairi alone, for once. "Where's Sora? I thought he was supposed to be here tonight?" she asked as she threw her keys onto the desk.

The red-head looked up from the book she was reading to answer her roommate. "He was, but he has an exam tomorrow, so he went back to study." Kairi eyed her curiously, "How did your study group go?"

"It was okay. I think it really helped." She sat on her bed to take her shoes off. "We're going to finish studying on Thursday since we got distracted tonight."

Kairi glanced at her strangely, "Distracted? How did you guys get distracted?"

Yuffie took a deep breath, "Well, we took what was going to be a short break, but it turned out to be a lot longer. We ended up watching a movie." Yuffie paused a moment, remembering Cloud and Aerith. "Actually, Squall and I watched a movie. Cloud and Aerith were too busy making out."

"Oh. What movie did you watch?"

"Some black and white movie called Casablanca. It was pretty good..." she trailed off when she saw her roommate clutch her stomach with laughter. "Care to share the joke?"

"Oh my gosh, Yuffie! You don't know?!" the red-head exclaimed.

Yuffie furrowed her brows in confusion. "Know what?"

"The legend!"

"What legend?"

Kairi took a few shaky breaths, trying to stop laughing. "Don't you know that you're supposed to marry whoever you watch Casablanca with?"

Yuffie's eyes went wide. "What?!"

"You heard me."

"But...but..." She stopped for a moment. "You've got to be kidding!"

"No, it's true. My parents both watched it when they were dating and now look." Kairi got a mischievous glint in her eyes. "You're going to marry Squall."

"I can't marry Squall. He hates me. Besides, Cloud and Aerith were there, too." Yuffie digested this thought for a moment. "What if I marry Cloud?! Or Aerith?!"

Kairi laughed. "You said they were making out during the movie, remember? I don't think you have to worry about those two."

Yuffie ran her hands through her short hair. "No, you have to be wrong." She started pacing. "Besides, it's only a legend. It's not like it's really going to happen or anything."

"Then why are you getting so worked up about it, Yuf?" the red-head asked. "Like you said, it's only a legend." She went back to the book she was reading.

Yuffie sat back down on her bed, going through her backpack. "Damn it!" she exclaimed.

"What?" Kairi never even looked up from her book when she asked.

Yuffie gulped. "I left my notebook at Squall's."

The red-head rolled her eyes. "Then go back and get it, silly."

"I can't go back and get it. He'll kill me."

"Why would he kill you?"

"Because he hates me. I already told you that."

Kairi shrugged her shoulders. "Okay, then don't go get your notebook. It doesn't matter to me."

Yuffie grabbed her car keys. "I'll be back in about half an hour," she shouted as she walked through the door.

Twenty minutes later, Kairi heard the door open. Without looking up, she asked, "Did you get your notebook?" Yuffie didn't answer her. Marking her place in the book, Kairi sat up and looked at her roommate, who appeared to be in a daze. "Yuffie, did you get your notebook?" she asked again.

Yuffie slowly shook her head, murmuring, "No."

"Was he even at home?" Kairi was determined to get to the bottom of this. Her roommate nodded, still with a glazed look in her face. "Well," Kairi began, "what happened?"

"He answered the door...he answered the door..." Yuffie stuttered.

"Spit it out, girl!" Kairi yelled.

"He answered the door...in his boxers..."

"Yeah, and?"

Yuffie stared at her a moment before shouting, "HE ANSWERED THE DOOR IN HIS BOXERS!"

"He have a six-pack or a beer-gut?"

A small smile crept across Yuffie's face. "Six-pack...definitely a six-pack."

"Wait a minute, Yuffie," Kairi began, "he opened the door in his boxers and you just stood there like an idiot?"

"Hell, no!" Yuffie exclaimed. "I saw him through the window before he got to the door, and I ran like hell back to my car." She walked over to her bed and lay down, sighing.

"Yuffie, you might want to get a grip on yourself. And quit drooling over him. If I didn't know any better, I'd say that you actually like this guy." Kairi smirked, she knew her roommate hated the man.

Yuffie looked across the room at her and smiled before quietly whispering, "Maybe I do...maybe I do."

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Author's Note: Here ya go. I told you the squiffieness would start soon. Although, it may be one-sided for awhile. I do have the next 5 chapters outlined, but it may take awhile to write them. There is a difference between outlining and writing. So anyways, Read and Review. Expect the next chapter by Sunday night at the latest. I'll probably start it tomorrow night. Oh, and a big thank you to the reviewers.