Author's Note: Wow!! I'm really surprised at all the reviews just for that one chapter! I mean, 21!! That's the most reviews for one chapter that I have ever received. In fact, that's as nearly many reviews a couple of my stories totaled. So, to reward you guys for reviewing, I'm going to go ahead and write the next chapter and post it. Keep up the good work guys.
Note to DBH: Actually, the shadows in Yuffie's nightmares have no significance whatsoever. It was just my way of getting her into Squall's bed. ^_~ But, I did use the KH shadows just to tie it back to KH.
Note to Cookie: If you really want to write, I say go for it. That's how I got started. I had read like every Squffie in existence and decided I wanted to write my own. So, get to writing.
A NOTE FROM VULPES LAPIS TO ALL HER FANS: VL has asked me to leave a note in here telling everyone that she has limited access to the computer and it may be weeks or even months before she can update her stories again.
[Disclaimer: I do not own the characters portrayed below. Disney and Square do. Of course, the one original character in this chapter, Zephyr, does not belong to me either. She belongs to the wonderful Vulpes Lapis. And, if you've read ANY of my previous stories, you would know which one character I would own if I could. Let's say it together guys! SQUALL!!! Yeah, anyways, I don't own anything, okay?]
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Chapter Two: Surprises
"Squall, let's go see a movie tonight," Yuffie begged from her supine position on the couch. It was Saturday afternoon, her day off from her job at Wet Pets 'n' Critters. She propped herself up on her elbows to look at him sitting at the kitchen table going over some papers.
"Yuffie, as much as I would love to be in a darkened room with you, I do have a paper to write for class." Pinching the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger, he grimaced. He had spent the last three nights working on this paper and was getting no where fast.
She sighed and lay back down. "Well, why did you sign up for summer classes anyways? It's just wrong to go to school in the summer."
"Because, I would like to graduate eventually. And if I take summer classes, that gets me a little closer to graduation," he explained for what seemed like the hundredth time that week. "Look, why don't you call your friends and go have a girls' night out or something. I'm going to be working on this paper all evening."
Yuffie sat up and smiled. "You sure you won't be lonely?" she asked.
"Yuf, I'm going to have plenty of company." She gave him a confused look before he clarified his statement. "It's going to be me, the computer, and a thesaurus until I get it done. Besides, I'll be able to get this done faster without you distracting me."
Stifling the laugh bubbling in her throat, she walked seductively across the room to where he was sitting. She ended up behind him, stooping so she could rest her head on his shoulder and run her hands down his chest. "Distract you like this, you mean," she whispered huskily in his ear.
"Yeah....that would be it." Squall took a deep breath and tried to concentrate on the papers in front of him, but with Yuffie's warm breath on his ear, it wasn't possible. "Yuffie..." he trailed off.
Laughing, she pulled away from him reluctantly after giving him a quick peck on the cheek. "Okay, I'll go call Aerith and Kairi, leaving you in peace so you can finish this paper. But," she smiled impishly, "as soon as that paper's finished...you know what I want."
She picked up the cordless phone lying on the coffee table to call Aerith. Quickly dialing the number, she waited for the green-eyed woman to answer. After the fourth ring, the answering machine came on. Rolling her eyes, Yuffie hung up after leaving a short message telling Aerith to call once she returned. "I bet she's with Cloud," she muttered. "Hey, Squall?"
"What?"
"Do you have Cloud's phone number?"
Squall furrowed his brows. "Yeah...why do you want Blondie's number?" As he said this, he pointed to an address book lying next to the phone's stand.
"Aerith's not home, and I'm assuming she's with Cloud. You know as well as I do that they can't be away from each other for more than a few hours," Yuffie explained as she flipped through the little book to the 'S' section. "Honestly, I don't see why Aerith doesn't just move in with him," she continued as she dialed Cloud's number.
Intrigued, Squall asked, "Well, why doesn't she?"
Yuffie smiled. "She says she has standards. And living together without being married happens to be a big one." While talking to Squall, Yuffie had been listening to the phone ring in her ear. On the eighth ring, she hung up, deciding they must not be there. "Well, I guess they're not there either."
"They probably ran off and eloped," Squall joked.
Yuffie just rolled her eyes and walked down the hall to what was her room a couple of days ago. Of course, since she had crawled into bed with Squall the other night, she no longer slept in there. Both of them had gotten over their fear of pressuring the other and that was the end of sleeping in separate beds. But, most of her stuff was still in there, including Kairi's new phone number, so it was to the spare room she went to retrieve it, carrying the phone with her. Digging through the mess piled on her desk, she found the small slip of paper with the number written on it and dialed.
As the fourth ring sounded, Yuffie was beginning to wonder if anyone was there when the she heard a sleepy voice pick up. "Kairi, is that you?" Yuffie asked in bewilderment.
"Yeah, what's it to you?" Kairi replied grumpily.
Yuffie laughed, remembering how grouchy the red-head could be when awakened. "What are you doing sleeping still? It's two o'clock."
There was a pause before she answered. "Well, Sora and I didn't get much sleep last night, if you get my drift," Kairi said hesitantly.
"More information than I needed to know, Kai. But, anyways, I was calling to find out if you wanted to go see a movie with me tonight."
"Did you and Squall have a fight?"
Shocked, Yuffie cried, "What?! What makes you think that?"
Kairi sighed on the other end of the line. "Well, since you moved in with him, you haven't even called me or anything."
"Oh, sorry about that. I guess I've been kinda busy lately, what with my job and unpacking," Yuffie told her, feeling guilty. "But, back to my question, do you want to see a movie tonight? You know, a girls' night out?"
"Sure. Your car or mine?"
Remembering Kairi's habit of hitting stationary objects when driving, Yuffie quickly replied, "Mine."
"Hey, Yuf, do you mind if I invite Zephyr, too?" the red-head asked before hanging up.
Smiling when she remembered how she had met Zephyr, Yuffie said, "No, go ahead. I haven't seen her in awhile anyways."
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After picking up both Kairi and Zephyr from their respective apartments, Yuffie drove towards the Rose Theater. "So, girls, what movie are we going to see?"
"I don't care. But can we get some food first, I'm starving," Zephyr said from the backseat of the small car.
Kairi turned to look at the gray-eyed woman. "Zephyr, you're always hungry."
"And you're point is?" she retorted.
Yuffie glanced Zephyr through the rearview mirror. "Okay...we'll go eat first. The food court at the mall alright with everyone?" Both girls nodded, giving Yuffie the go ahead. "The mall it is then."
At the mall, the three girls were sitting around a small table, sharing nachos and being careful not to drip the cheese on themselves. A couple of guys walked past, causing Zephyr to say quietly, "Two and five."
Yuffie looked at her strangely. "What?"
"Oh, come on. Like you never rate the guys that walk past," Zephyr said exasperated.
"I can't say that I have," Yuffie told her hesitantly. "How does it work?"
Kairi slapped her forehead in disgust. "Yuf, you just judge them on a scale of one to ten...it's not that hard of a concept."
"Sorry, but I've never done it before. Sheltered life, remember?" Just then, another man walked past. "Seven?" Yuffie timidly asked.
"Eh, give or take," Kairi admitted. "I would have given him a six, but that's my opinion." She gave Yuffie a wicked grin. "So, tell me Yuf, what's it like living with Squall? Are you still in separate rooms?"
Zephyr turned to give Yuffie a confused look. "Wait a minute! You moved in with him, but you're staying in a different room?"
Yuffie blushed. "Well, we were in separate rooms. But I kept having nightmares, so he let me sleep with him."
Grinning triumphantly, Kairi said, "See, I told you it would only be two days before you were sharing the same bed."
"Hey!! It took three days, for your information."
"So, you two do more than sleep in that bed, right?" Zephyr asked.
Yuffie smirked. "That's for me to know and you to find out."
"Well, okay. If you insist. I'll just have to start spying on you then," Zephyr stated matter-of-factly.
"Okay, fine. Yes we do more than sleep in the bed," Yuffie finally admitted, knowing she couldn't win between these two prying friends. "But, I'm not going to share any details. Alright?"
"Oh, but you will eventually. We'll find a way to drag it out of you," Kairi declared.
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After the movie, Yuffie dropped her two friends off at their apartments and went home to find Squall still at work on the computer. He didn't even look up when she walked in, but continued to type. Walking up behind him, she began running her fingers through his tangled mane of russet hair. "So, are you nearly done?" she asked.
"Almost. I just have to write one more paragraph." He tilted his head up to look at her standing over him. "Did you have fun tonight?"
Yuffie smiled and nodded. "Yeah, I did. It's been a long time since I had a girls' night out." Looking at the computer screen, she asked, "So, how about you?"
"Oh, yeah...tons of fun," he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "About as much fun as pulling teeth."
"Well, you finish that paper and I'll be waiting for you in the bedroom. That way I won't distract you, to use your words." She kissed him gently, then went down the hall to their bedroom, glancing at the spare room on her way and silently laughing at the idea of them sleeping in separate rooms.
Changing into a tank top and pajama bottoms, she crawled into bed with the book she had bought at the mall earlier. She turned on the bedside lamp and began to read, quickly becoming engrossed in the lives of the characters. However, she had only been reading about fifteen minutes when Squall came into the room. She smiled innocently. "I thought you still had another paragraph to write?"
"I decided it can wait until morning." He began stripping off his shirt, carelessly throwing it across the room.
Yuffie marked her place in her book and placed it on the bedside table. "But, Squall, I wasn't distracting you, now was I? I was just lying in here, innocently reading my book."
"Yuf, just the thought of you is distracting enough." Pulling back the covers, he slid beneath them and pulled her into his arms. "And adding a bed into the equation, well..." he trailed off as he began to kiss her, his lips soon leaving hers and traveling down her jaw and neck to her collarbone.
"Squall, I love you," she said quietly yet firmly, no hint of hesitation in her voice.
He lifted his head, locking his azure eyes with her darker ones for a few moments before answering. "I love you, too, Yuffie."
"I know...I just wanted to make sure you knew, too." Smiling coyly, she asked, "Now, where were we?" as she pulled his lips back down to hers.
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The next day, Yuffie awoke to find herself draped across Squall and his arms still wrapped around her. Looking at the clock, she winced. She tried to slip out of bed without waking him, but found that every time she pulled away, his arms tightened. "Squall?" she whispered.
"Hm?" he mumbled, still half asleep.
"I have to get ready for work." She tried pulling away again, but failed.
He opened his eyes to look at her. "I thought you didn't need to be at work until two?" he muttered.
"I don't."
"Then why are you getting up?"
Yuffie smiled. "Because it's noon already."
"Oh." He reluctantly released her from his grip and went back to sleep.
After taking her shower, she emerged from the bathroom and found Squall still sleeping. She debated for a moment whether she should wake him up or let him sleep, but the latter finally won out when she remembered how little sleep they had actually gotten last night. Walking outside to bring the paper in, she read the date in shock. "Mother's Day. Great. And I haven't even given her my new number yet," Yuffie mumbled.
Once back in the apartment, she picked up the phone and dialed. Her mother picked up on the first ring. "Happy Mother's Day!" Yuffie exclaimed, awaiting the yelling that was sure to follow.
"Well, my daughter has finally decided to give me a call," Mrs. Kisaragi said on the other end. "For I knew, she was lying somewhere dead since she hasn't given me her new number yet. No, I just try to call her dorm and the operator says the lines been disconnected."
"Mom, I can explain. Things have been a little hectic around here. What with finals and work--"
Her mother cut her off. "Yuffie, you don't have to work. Just move back home and your father and I will find a husband for you."
Yuffie sighed disgustedly. "Mom, we are not going over that again. You know my sentiments."
Just then, Squall walked past, asking, "Who are you talking to?"
There was a pause on the line. "Yuffie, who is that? That sounded like a man."
"Mom, don't be mad. It's Squall...my roommate," Yuffie said quietly.
"MAD? I'M NOT MAD! I'M LIVID! YUFFIE HANA KISARAGI, GET HOME RIGHT NOW! YOU'VE BEEN CORRUPTED!"
Yuffie held the phone away from her ear, wincing as her mother continued to yell through the phone. Squall looked at her. "Yuffie Hana?" he asked.
She shrugged. "It has yellability." Realizing that the yelling had stopped, she brought the phone back to her ear. "Mom, I'm an adult now and I can do what I want. I'm not a child anymore. Here's my new phone number if you need to reach me." Quickly giving her the new number, she ignored the guilt trip her mother was trying to lay on her. "Mom, I have to go. I have to get ready for work."
Before Yuffie had a chance to hang up, she heard her mother yell, "Yes, and I can imagine what kind of work that is. You've been corrupted, Yuffie. And I--"
Gritting her teeth, she slammed the phone down on the receiver. The phone immediately rang. Picking it up, Yuffie yelled, "WHAT DO YOU WANT?" thinking it was her mother.
"Yuffie?" a timid voice asked.
Grimacing, Yuffie began to apologize. "Aerith, I'm so sorry. I thought you were someone else and--"
Aerith interrupted her. "Yuf, I just wanted to call and tell you that I won't be home for awhile."
"Why? Did something happen? Are you okay?" Yuffie asked worriedly.
"Yes, I'm fine. Yuf, are you sitting down?"
"Aerith ,tell me!"
"I'm in Annapolis, Yuffie," Aerith said quietly.
"Annapolis? What are you doing in Annapolis?" Confused, Yuffie rubbed her forehead.
There was a pause. "I'm on my honeymoon."
"Your WHAT? Are you trying to say you got married?" Yuffie yelled into the phone.
"Cloud and I eloped, Yuf."
Yuffie's eyes went wide. "Wait a minute! You eloped and didn't even invite me?"
Squall, who had been listening in on Yuffie's side of the conversation, spoke up. "That's the point of eloping, Yuf."
"But...but....but..." Yuffie stammered.
"Listen, Yuf, I've got to go. I'll call you later, okay?" Aerith said quickly.
Yuffie nodded dazedly, not realizing that Aerith couldn't see the nod. Hanging up the phone gently, she sat on the couch in shock. "Cloud and Aerith eloped and didn't invite us."
"You just wanted to catch the bouquet," Squall told her.
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Yuffie straggled in the door after work at 11:30 that night, and stumbled down the hall to the bedroom where Squall was reading. She smiled tiredly at him and walked into the bathroom to take her shower. After her shower, she slipped into her pajamas and opened the door to let the steam out of the bathroom. As she reached for the bottle of Advil, she felt Squall wrap his arms around her from behind and kiss the back of her neck.
"What's the painkiller for?" he asked concernedly.
She leaned back against him as she took two pills. "I think I held my arms above my head too much. My upper back is killing me." She chased the pills with a glass of water.
Squall turned her around to face him. "Yuffie, you don't have to work, you know. I have enough money saved in the bank to support us both while we go to school."
Yuffie rubbed her eyes. "I know. But I'm not going to be like my mother. I don't want to be completely dependent on anyone like she is." She looked up at him suddenly. "Hey, where did you get all that money, anyways?"
"When my parents died a few years ago, they left me everything. All the life insurance, everything." He closed his eyes at the painful memory of his parents' death.
Hugging him, Yuffie tried to comfort him. "I'm so sorry, Squall."
He smiled sadly. "It's okay...it was awhile back." Following Yuffie out of the bathroom, he watched as she eased herself down on the bed, groaning as her back began to ache. She rolled over onto her stomach and sighed.
Squall climbed onto the bed and straddled her upper legs, careful to keep most of his weight on his knees. She tried to roll over and look at him. "What do you think you're doing, Squall?" she asked, pretending to be angry.
"Just roll over and relax." She continued to stare at him. "Trust me," he told her, to which she finally listened. He began to massage the tense muscles in her upper back, listening to her moan as he rubbed a knot out of her back. Continuing down her spine, he managed to rub most of the pain out of her muscles.
"Squall, you have magic hands," she mumbled sleepily after a few minutes.
"You should see what else they can do," he replied suggestively as he allowed the massage to become more sensual. She didn't answer him. "Yuffie?" he called quietly. That was when he noticed that her breathing had slowed and had become more rhythmic. Sighing, he got off of her and lay down next to her. "Yuf, I love you, but you have a lousy sense of timing," he whispered as he pulled his book back out and began reading again.
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Author's Note: I have spent two days on this chapter. I hope everyone likes it. Please Read and Review. I think I'll be updating twice a week at the very most, so don't expect the next chapter until after the weekend maybe.