Author's Note: 0_o I think my precious reviewers are ready to kill me because of that little cliffhanger last chapter. hehe I think I better watch my back as some of you have threatened to stalk me, kill me, maim me, etc. You have no idea how much your reviews motivate me to write, especially when my life is in on the line. Anyways, here's the next chapter for your enjoyment.
[Disclaimer: I own Amaya and Pierce. Well, technically, the most talented Vulpes Lapis owns half of Pierce because she helped me with his last name. (Maradei). Anyways, anything else that appears remotely familiar belongs to Disney and Square...and I would pay them a LOT of money to have Squall locked in my room.]
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Chapter Seven
Ignoring the gasps from the wedding guests, Squall charged down the aisle to where he saw Yuffie fall to the floor in a faint. His deep blue eyes only on Yuffie, the tall dark man standing beside her went unnoticed by Squall as he saw her laying in a white heap upon the floor, her dress billowing out around her. Just as he reached the altar, the man he presumed to be Pierce Maradei stepped in front of him, stopping him from reaching his beloved Yuffie.
"Who the hell do you think you are?" the Italian yelled as he roughly shoved Squall back away from the unconscious bride. "And what the hell are you doing?"
"Filthy son of a bitch," Squall growled deep in his chest as his fist came crashing into the Maradei's nose, blood spurting everywhere at the impact. "Weakling," the gunblade wielder muttered as he saw his adversary sink to the floor, clutching his nose in an effort to stop the blood flow.
Turning his attention from the groom, Squall fell to his knees beside the bride, who was still buried deep within the white silk-like material of her gown. "Yuffie," he murmured, a hand behind her neck to support her head. Getting no response, he gently picked her up bridal-style and turned to walk out of the church. A soft hand on his shoulder stopped him.
Aerith large green eyes peered into his own, almost accusingly until her gentle nature took over. "Take her to the Green Room," she whispered as she handed the blue-eyed child in her arms over to Cloud before turning to help Pierce with his injury. Before leaving, Squall briefly wondered when his two friends became parents.
The aisle, which was rapidly filling with people who wanted to get a closer view of the enraged and obviously in pain groom, quickly cleared a path for the man carrying the bride away. Squall ignored their stares and continued his journey, adjusting Yuffie slightly in his arms so her head was leaning against his chest.
Staring down at her while he walked out of the church, he couldn't help but notice the changes in her. Changes that could only have been brought about by the two years that had passed. She appeared more womanly and less childlike than she had the last time Squall had seen her. But I was only gone a month, he kept repeating in his head like a mantra, confused at how so much could happen and why the date didn't align with the date he believed it to be.
Yuffie began to stir in his arms, her eyelids fluttering as though she were having a dream. "Shh, it's okay," Squall quietly breathed into her ear, causing a brief smile to flit across her face as she stilled once again in his arms, still unconscious.
Carrying her into the hotel, Squall strode down the hall to the Green Room, managing to unlock the door one-handedly with the key in his pocket. He kicked the door shut behind him and gently lay her on the bed, struggling with the desire to join her on the mattress. Careful to not trip over the toys in the room, which he assumed were Cloud and Aerith's child's toys, he made his way to the bathroom and dampened a washcloth to lay on her forehead. That done, he pulled the chair across the room and sat beside her bed, never taking his eyes off her.
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Groaning, Yuffie opened her eyes only to slam them shut when the bright light of the Green Room hit them. She slowly lifted a small hand to her face to find the cold compress laying across her forehead. No sooner had she touched it, than it was removed and another laid in its place. "Aerith?" she mumbled, eyes still closed against the light. "I had that dream again. The one where Squall comes back."
A calloused hand gently stroked her cheek, causing her indigo eyes to fly open and find Squall leaning over her. "It wasn't a dream, Yuffie. I'm back," he murmured as he left his chair and sat on the edge of the bed, still stroking her cheek.
"Squall?" she croaked out as she choked back the sobs that threatened to overtake her. Struggling to sit up, she clutched her head at the headache before collapsing into Squall's arms in tears. "I...I...thought...." she managed to gasp out between sobs.
Gently rubbing her back, Squall held her tightly to his chest, afraid to let go. "Shh, it's okay. I'm here," he whispered into her hair before placing a gentle kiss on the top of her head. At that, Yuffie pulled out of his arms, fury written across her face as she reared her arm back and slapped him, leaving a bright red hand print across his face.
"How dare you?!" she seethed in a deadly hiss. "You think you can just come waltzing back in here more than two years later?!" By now, she had jumped off the bed and out of his arms, pacing madly across the floor with rage clearly written in her features.
"Yuffie, I can explain. I was--" He was cut off by the withering glare she sent him.
"I don't want your explanations. You said you were taking a walk. You said you would be back..." She paused as she tried to gain control of her emotions. "You have no idea of the hell I've been through because of you," she finished.
"I did come back, Yuf."
"You're LATE!!"
Squall averted his gaze to the floor at her lethal stare. "Yuffie, I know you won't believe me, but I only thought I was gone a month." He chanced a glance up at her, only to see her unwavering glare. "My ship crashed on some strange planet where everyone was completely carefree. I couldn't find anyone to help me fix it, so it took me a month to get it in flying condition."
"You're right, Squall. I don't believe you." She ran her hands through her ebony hair and started pacing again. "Even if you aren't lying, why did you leave in the first place? You told me you were going for a walk. A walk, Squall! And contrary to popular belief, a walk does not involve Gummi travel."
Wincing at her vindictive tone, Squall rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Damn it, Yuffie! I left to think. I was coming back to tell you when I was pulled into that goddamned blackhole!"
Yuffie stopped pacing and looked down at the man still sitting on the edge of the bed. "Tell me what?" she demanded.
Before he could answer, there was a soft knock on the door. Yuffie quickly crossed the room and jerked the door open to reveal Aerith holding a sleeping Amaya in her arms. Aerith peeked into the room, her green eyes darting back and forth between Yuffie and Squall. "Um...Amaya fell asleep and I'm needed at the infirmary to check on Pierce," she stammered.
Sighing, Yuffie reached out her arms and took the sleeping child from the flower girl. "Thank you, Aerith," she said softly before closing the door. She carried Amaya to the bed and lay her down, sitting beside her and gently brushing the child's light brown locks out of her face.
Confusion crossing his face, Squall looked at Yuffie. "When did Blondie and Aerith have a baby?" he asked quietly so as not to wake the girl up.
Yuffie closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "She's not theirs." There was a long pause as she opened her eyes to look at the man across from her. "She's mine."
Shock hit Squall as he stared into the young woman's dark eyes, searching for truth. "Yours?" he finally managed to get out. The young mother nodded slowly, refusing to meet his gaze any longer. Squall looked down at the sleeping child, trying to find a hint of her parents in her. "She doesn't look like her parents," he finally muttered.
"She acts like me, but she looks just like her father," Yuffie argued, giving Squall a brief glance before looking back down at her daughter.
"No, she doesn't like her father," Squall retorted, remembering the dark hair possessed by Pierce, the man he presumed to be the young girl's father.
The ninja took a deep breath, knowing it was the moment of truth. "Yes, Squall, she looks just like you."
There was a deafening silence as Squall gazed down at the still sleeping child, recognizing the brown hair as a lighter shade of his own, and remembering the blue eyes he had seen earlier when Aerith had handed the child to Cloud. He shook his head as though trying to remove the troubling thought. "But, she can't be mine. You said I was gone for more than two years," he rasped.
"You were gone for two years and four months. That's twenty-eight months." Yuffie paused momentarily. "Amaya is twenty-one months old. Do the math, Squall."
Squall dropped his head into his hands. "Oh God, Yuffie! I'm so sorry," he cried out from his hands.
"Don't be sorry, Squall." Yuffie moved closer to him and rubbed his back soothingly. "She's the only thing that's kept me going. Don't be sorry."
Raising his face from his hands, he looked at his daughter while she slept. "What's her name?" he whispered.
"Amaya Nariko. They mean 'dark rain' and 'thunder,'" she explained, stopping before saying the other part. "Together, they make a--"
"Squall," the newly discovered father muttered. He reached a hand out and gingerly touched his daughter's face, causing her to wrinkle her nose slightly. Drawing his hand back, he stared at her. "I'm a father," he said softly under his breath, the new title sounding strange on his lips. Looking back up at Yuffie, he saw the serene smile on her face while she gazed at her sleeping daughter. "She's beautiful, Yuffie."
"I know."
Squall steadied his nerves for the next question he had to ask. "Yuffie, do you love him?" She looked at him confusedly. "Do you love Pierce?" he asked again.
Dropping her eyes, Yuffie shook her head. "No, the only person I love now is Amaya."
Squall sat in silence while he tried to accept the fact that she no longer loved him. "Why are you marrying him, then?" he inquired.
"Because, I don't want my daughter to grow up without a father. And Pierce can give her the kind of life that I can't. She can have everything if I marry him. He has money, connections..." she trailed off, knowing her reasoning didn't sound all so reasonable now.
"Marry me," Squall said softly, tilting her head up with one hand.
"What?! You've just come back after two years with no good explanation and expect me to marry you?!" An angry fire danced in her eyes as she raised her voice. "Squall Leonheart, you are stupider than I thought! Get out!" She pointed emphatically towards the door.
Amaya's eyes opened at her mother's angry voice. "Mommy?" she called out, frightened.
Calming herself, Yuffie leaned over the child. "It's okay, baby. I'm right here," she whispered, stroking Amaya's soft brown hair.
The child's blue eyes locked onto Squall, who was walking towards the door. "Who's dat?" she asked, intrigued at the stranger's disheveled appearance.
"An old friend of Mommy's," she told her, ignoring the pained look in Squall's face. "You can call him Mr. Leonheart, Amaya."
"Yuffie, I have nowhere to stay," Squall began as he stopped with his hand on the doorknob.
Yuffie picked Amaya up and walked towards the door. "Come on, Squall. I'll get you the key for the Red Room." She left the room and went to the front desk, rummaging around until she found the key.
"When did Aerith and Cloud buy the hotel?" he asked quietly.
"About a year after you left. The owners wanted to retire and were selling cheap. I run the place for them in exchange for the Green Room and all the help they give me," she explained as she handed the key to him and went back to her own room, Amaya looking over her mother's shoulder at the man.
Squall watched the door slam behind her as he walked down the hall to the Red Room. Sitting on the bed, he tried to sort things out in his head, trying to figure out how two years had passed when he had only thought it had been a month. The connecting door between the rooms opened, revealing Yuffie, his black leather jacket in her hands. She threw it at him. "I thought you might want it back," she called over her shoulder as she retreated back to her room.
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Author's Note: Not as happy a chapter as you guys thought it would be, is it? hehe, well, you can't really blame Yuffie, now can you? I mean, she still thinks he abandoned her and stuff. Anyways, I'm going to be honest with you guys, I don't know when I can update. Finals are coming up the first week in May and I have a 7 page paper due, a 4 page paper, and a 3 page paper. So, I might be able to update before then. I'm not sure. Anyways, read and review as always.