Author's Note: Okay...here we go! Chapter Three is now up and running. Read and Enjoy....and most importantly, REVIEW!!! Hehe. I love my reviews.
And, I'm sorry it's taking me longer to get chapters up than it did in my previous stories. I have papers piling up for school...well, that, and my muse has become addicted to Final Fantasy X and wants to play it all day instead of write. But, I'm trying. Let's see, I started this chapter March 14.
Also, if any of you like Final Fantasy X, then I want you to go read "Meets the Eye, Meets the Heart," by Vulpes Lapis. Please? For me? And, be sure to review it. You know how much we authors love our reviews. Okay, that's my advertisement of the day.
[Disclaimer: Yes, I own all of the characters portrayed in the story. And if you believe that, I have some ocean front property in Arizona to sell you. Yeah....I know, that's a George Strait song. So sue me....no, not really. And to prevent that from happening, let me write the real disclaimer. Disney and Square own all the characters except for Zephyr (if she's in this chapter) who is the sole property of one Vulpes Lapis. Happy now? I wrote a real disclaimer.]
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Chapter Three: Pets
Sitting in the recliner, Squall was aimlessly flipping through the many channels on the TV, not finding anything decent to watch on any of them. Finally giving up, he turned it off and closed his eyes, intent on taking a short nap until Yuffie came home work at the pet store. Just as he was about to succumb to sleep, the shrill ring of the phone jolted him awake. He picked up the cordless handset on the third ring. "Hello," he mumbled groggily.
"Were you sleeping, Squall?" Yuffie asked, amusement in her light voice.
Squall smiled at the sound of her voice. "No. I wasn't asleep yet, but all these sleepless nights are starting to catch up with me."
There was a small laugh on the other end of the line. "Well, Squall, if you're complaining, we can always stop our nightly activities."
"No, I'm not complaining....just stating a fact. And you don't want to stop any more than I do," he teased. Thinking for a moment, he continued, "Why are you calling, anyway? Aren't you supposed to be working?"
"Oh, yeah. Do you think you could find room for a twenty-gallon fish tank?" Yuffie asked excitedly.
Squall looked around the living room of the apartment. "We could put it in front of the window. That's the only place I can see where it would fit."
"Perfect. I'll be home in a couple of hours. Love ya." She hung up before Squall could answer, leaving him wondering what type of fish she was planning on bringing home. He shrugged, knowing it could be anything from a pair of guppies to a tankful of piranhas with her.
Like she promised, Yuffie came waltzing through the apartment door a couple of hours later, carrying an empty fish tank. "Ya know, Squall, you could help me," she said.
He arose from the recliner where he was still sitting and took the tank from her, carrying it over to the window and placing it on a long table beneath the window. Turning around, he saw that Yuffie had already left the apartment to get the rest of the stuff from her car. She returned a few moments later carrying two boxes that said "Live Animals" on the top. Confused, Squall asked, "Yuffie, where's the fish?"
She gave him a strange look. "Who said anything about fish?"
"Then what's the fish tank for?"
"It's a surprise. I think you'll like it." Smiling, Yuffie opened one of the boxes, revealing two white mice.
Squall stared at the mice for a minute or two. "Mice? Is that the surprise?"
She laughed. "No, silly. This is." Opening the other box, she pulled out a reddish-brown snake which was around three-feet long. "The mice are just its dinner."
Squall's eyes widened. "Yuffie, what is that?"
"It's called a snake, Squall. But, more specifically, it's a Rosy Boa."
"I know it's a snake, but what is it doing in the apartment?" Squall began to back up slowly, bumping into the couch on the way.
She gave him a long look as she allowed the snake to slither over her arms and hands. "Don't tell me your afraid of a little ole snake, Squall."
"I'm–, I'm not afraid. I–, I just don't like them," he stuttered, edging around the back of the couch and backing into the kitchen.
"I don't believe it. You're afraid of snakes." Giving him an incredulous look, she put the snake back into the box so she could finish setting up its habitat.
Squall visibly calmed down once the snake was out of sight. He slowly made his way back into the living, grabbing a heavy book from the bookcase and placing it on the box lid. "Yuffie, that thing," he pointed to the box, "can't stay here."
Removing the book from the top of the box, she reached in and pulled the snake out again, holding it out to Squall, who was rapidly backing his way into the kitchen. "It's just a snake. It's not even dangerous. Watch." She brought it closer to her face, kissing the head. "See?"
By now, Squall was against the dining room table, covering his eyes with one hand. "Don't kiss it!!! You don't know where it's been!!" he yelled, grimacing.
"Squall, he completely sheds his skin once a month. He's probably cleaner than you and me." She continued to stare at Squall, who was climbing onto the tabletop. "You're really terrified of him, aren't you?"
"No, I'm not scared, I just don't--" He broke off when he saw the snake slither down the front of Yuffie's shirt, causing her to giggle. "Hey! That's my territory down there, snake!" he shouted.
She gently pulled the snake out and lowered it into the aquarium. "Squall, how long are you going to act like this?"
"Until that thing is gone," he stated matter-of-factly, climbing off of the table now the snake was safely in its habitat.
Yuffie opened her eyes real big and let them get watery, giving him the dreaded "puppy eye" look. "But, Squall, it's just a little snake. He won't get much bigger than he already is."
"Sorry, Yuf. Fear overrides the puppy eyes. The snake is not staying."
"Please?"
"No."
"PLEASE?"
"NO!"
"Okay. I'll find him a new home." Yuffie sighed as she picked up the box with the two white mice and carried them over to the aquarium.
"What are you doing?" Squall asked calmly, knowing he probably would not like the answer.
She lowered the mice into the tank. "Feeding him." Squall ran out of the room, covering his mouth with one hand and his eyes with the other. Rolling her eyes, she muttered, "He can be such a baby sometimes." She closed the tank lid and walked down the hall, finding Squall sitting at the foot of the bed, his face pale.
"The snake leaves tomorrow, Yuf. I'm sorry, but it has got to go," he told her quietly.
She nodded. "Alright. I should have asked first. If I had know you would be so afraid, I would have never brought it home. I'll give Zephyr a call in the morning. She seems to like all animals." Sitting down behind him, she wrapped her arms around him and leaned against his back.
"Uh-uh! Not until you wash the snake off of you," Squall shouted, jumping up off the bed.
It was at this moment that Yuffie started to laugh uncontrollably. Clutching her stomach, she managed to gasp out, "Fine, I'll go take a shower since you're so afraid you might get snake cooties or something." She climbed of the bed and headed toward the bathroom.
As soon as the bathroom door shut, Squall quickly shut the bedroom door, rolling up a towel and placing it at the bottom to keep the snake out in case it got loose. Finally satisfied that the room was now snake proof, he stripped down to his boxers and climbed into the bed, reading until Yuffie came out of the shower.
The bathroom door opened, pouring out the steam from Yuffie's shower and revealing her in a camisole and pajama bottoms. She started to walk toward the bed, where Squall was marking his place in his book, when she noticed something out of the corner of her eye. Turning her head, she saw the towel shoved under the door. "Squall, why is there a towel under the door?"
He raised his eyebrows. "In case it escapes."
Stifling a giggle, she continued to walk to the bed. "Squall, it's a snake. It's not that smart. It's not going to escape," she explained calmly.
"I don't care. I don't want to take any chances."
Yuffie climbed onto the bed and straddled Squall's waist. "Does Squallie need Yuffie to protect him from the big bad snake?" she teased, her hands gliding across his bare chest.
He quirked an eyebrow. "If I were you, I wouldn't make fun of a man in my position."
An impish grin spread across her face. "Which position are you referring to? Having to put up with a snake in the house? Or lying in bed with a beautiful woman sitting on you?"
"Well, when you put it that way, the latter,"he told her simply, pulling her down and crushing her lips to his. He ran his hands up her sides, causing her to squirm and press against him even more. Breaking the kiss for a second, Squall muttered, "Just make sure the snake leaves tomorrow, okay?"
Sitting up slightly, Yuffie nodded. "I'll call Zephyr first thing in the morning." She lay back down across his chest, nuzzling his neck. "But, right now, we have other matters to attend to, wouldn't you agree?" she whispered coyly.
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The next morning, across town, a phone rang, waking a young woman with long black hair. Reaching across the still sleeping body of her silver-haired boyfriend she grabbed the phone, growling, "Whoever it is, you better have a good excuse for waking me up this early."
"Zephyr?" a voice asked timidly, scared into submission by the tone of the young woman's voice.
Wincing when she realized it was Yuffie on the other end of the line, she muttered, "Yuffie, you know I sleep in on my days off."
"Who's on the phone?" Riku mumbled, still half-asleep.
Holding a hand over the receiver, Zephyr said, "Yuffie, and something's going on over there. I swear I can hear a little girl screaming in the background."
"Zephyr, I need a favor. Please?" Yuffie begged, desperation creeping into her voice.
"What is going on over there, Yuf? And why is there a child screaming?" the gray-eyed young woman asked concernedly.
There was a nervous laugh from Yuffie. "Um...that's not a kid screaming. That's Squall."
Breaking into laughter, Zephyr nearly dropped the phone. Riku looked at her strangely. "What's so funny?"
She held the phone out to him. "Here, listen for yourself. You hear that shrill screaming in the background?" He nodded. "That's Squall." Riku gave her an incredulous look, disbelief coming into his eyes, but the sound of Yuffie yelling at Squall to calm down made him a believer. He wordlessly handed the phone back to Zephyr, holding the laughter down.
"Zephyr? Are you still there?" Yuffie's voice was becoming more desperate.
"Yeah, I'm here. What's the favor you need?" she asked, fearing the worst.
There was a pause, followed by some more screaming. And Zephyr could have sworn she heard Yuffie yell, "Squall, put that knife down!!"
"Yuffie, is everything alright over there?" she questioned worriedly, beginning to wonder if she should call the police and send them over.
"No, everything's fine....hold on a minute." Zephyr heard the sound of the phone being laid down, then Yuffie shouting, "there, I have him. You can calm down now." The phone was picked up again. "Now, about that favor. Um...you do like snakes, right?"
"Yeah...why?"
Yuffie let out a small laugh. "Do you think you can take in a Rosy Boa?"
Realization hit Zephyr. "Let me guess. You brought one home last night, and Squall went crazy. Am I right?"
"Exactly. I would have waited to call you until later, but I accidentally let the snake loose this morning, and, well you heard what was going on," Yuffie explained.
"Okay. I'll take it in."
"Thank you so much, Zephyr. I'll be over in an hour. If I don't get the poor thing out of the apartment, Squall's going to kill it." Zephyr heard Yuffie hang the phone up, then hung up her own phone. Laying back down, she thought for a moment. Then started laughing hysterically, thinking about how Squall, an ex-marine, could be so terrified by a snake. And a small one at that.
A mumbled question came from the other side of the bed. "Zephyr, what kind of animal are you adopting now?"
"A snake."
"Why me?" Riku muttered under his breath.
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After safely delivering the snake to Zephyr, Yuffie returned home to the apartment, walking through the front door only seconds before the clouds released a torrent of rain. "That was close," she muttered as she shut the door behind her.
"Did you get rid of the snake?" Squall asked as he walked out of the back of the apartment.
"Yes, Squall. You will never have to set eyes on it again." Throwing her purse on the counter, she lay down on the couch, draping one arm over her eyes. "I hate rainy days," she muttered absently. She grabbed the remote and began to flip through the channels on the TV. Not finding anything decent to watch, she turned it off again.
Pushing her up slightly, Squall slid behind her and leaned her back onto him. "Rainy days aren't all that bad, Yuf," he whispered as he wrapped his arms around her waist.
"Yeah. I guess you're right," she agreed. Her legs, being clad in a pair of short shorts, soon became chilled. "I'll be right back, Squall. Don't move." Climbing off of him, she went to the spare bedroom to find a blanket. Once back in the living room, she realized that Squall was no longer on the couch, but searching through the video cabinet for a movie. "I told you not to move," she said mock angrily.
"Don't worry. I'll be right back over there as soon as I find a movie for us to watch." He continued to look through the cabinet before pulling a DVD out. "Hey, Yuf, do you like Indiana Jones?"
She furrowed her brows. "I don't think I've ever seen it," she admitted.
Squall's jaw dropped. "You've never seen Indiana Jones? You've got to be kidding me."
Shaking her head slowly, she said, "No, I've never seen it."
"Well, today's your lucky day then. Since it's raining and I don't have to be anywhere, and you don't have to be anywhere, we're going to watch it. In fact, we can even watch all three of them if you like it." After placing the first movie into the DVD player, he sat back down on the couch, leaning his back against the arm. Yuffie soon crawled back onto his lap, covering their legs with the blanket.
After spending the whole day curled up on the couch, watching movies and eating the popcorn she had made during the break between the first and second movies, Yuffie heard a scratching at the door. "Do hear that, Squall?"
"Hear what?"
She climbed out of his lap and headed for the door. "There's something scratching at the door." As soon as she opened the door, something big, wet, and hairy ran past her and into the apartment, knocking her down in the process.
"Yuffie, are you okay?" Squall asked concernedly as he tried to pull the hairy "something" back out the door.
Standing up slowly, she squinted at the beast that had come barging into their apartment. "Yeah...that thing just scared me for a moment. It is a dog, right?"
Still trying to pull it back out, Squall grunted, "Yes, Yuffie."
"Are you sure? 'Cause I think it might be a small wholly mammoth." She reached out a hand to let the dog smell her before she started to pet it.
Seeing where this might lead, Squall doubled his efforts to get the dog out of the apartment. "Don't even think about it, Yuffie."
"But, we can't throw him back out into the rain. He'll get sick." By now the dog was licking one of Yuffie's hands while the other was scratching behind his ears.
"Yuffie, he weighs more than you do," Squall told her calmly.
Kneeling in front of it, Yuffie began to use both hands to scratch both of the dog's ears at once, catapulting him into doggie heaven. "But..look at his eyes. He needs me. He loves me."
"So do I, but I don't drool that much." Looking up at Squall, Yuffie opened her eyes wide and let her bottom lip start quivering slightly. Squall placed a hand over his eyes. "Fine. But only for one night, Yuffie. If the apartment manager finds out about him, there'll be hell to pay."
Jumping up, Yuffie threw her arms around Squall's neck, kissing him lightly. "Thank you so much, Squall. I knew you wouldn't be able to throw him out."
"He's sleeping in the spare room, by the way."
Sighing, Yuffie nodded, pulling the dog with her down the hall. "Come on, boy. Let's go make our bed," she cooed.
Squall stood there a moment, before Yuffie's words hit him. "Wait a minute, Yuf. Did you say 'our' bed?"
She smiled. "Yes. I'll be sleeping in the spare room with him so he won't get lonely."
Following her down the hall, Squall asked, "But what about me? I'll get lonely, too, you know."
"Well, you can always join us in the spare room."
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The next morning found Squall lying on the spare room bed, Yuffie wrapped in his arms, and a large hairy dog stretched out on the foot of the bed. The dog, not liking the fact that he was the only one awake, crawled across the bed until his head was hanging over Squall's face, drool beginning to drip. Feeling something warm and wet on his cheek, Squall's eyes jerked open to find the monstrous dog in his face. He wiped the drool away in disgust and tried to push the beast away, only to have the dog come right back. Realizing he was fighting a losing battle, Squall decided the best thing to do would be give in and get up.
Yuffie whimpered in her sleep as she felt Squall's warm body leave her. She rolled over to face him, only to have a large wet tongue lick her whole face. Quickly opening her eyes, she found herself face to face with a hairy monster. "Squall?" she asked timidly as she tried to look over the dog's head.
Pulling, Squall was able to force the dog off the bed. "What?" he questioned once he was able to see her without a dog blocking the view.
"What are you going to do with him?"
"I'm taking him to the pound, Yuf. We can't keep him here, and there's a chance his owners will be looking for him," he told her, expecting her to protest.
She nodded. "You're right. Just....I hope he finds a home before his time is up at the pound."
Squall leaned down and kissed her forehead. "I'm sure he will." Leaving Yuffie alone in the room with the dog, Squall went to the master bedroom to get ready for his trip to the pound. He joined them a few minutes later, this time carrying a rope he had found in the closet. Tying it around the dog's neck, he managed to pull it out the door and into the car.
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Yuffie was sitting at the table, eating breakfast when Squall came back from the pound about an hour later. Looking up at him, she noticed he had an amused expression on his face. "What's so funny?" she asked.
"Nothing." As he said this, a soft "mew" came from the inside pocket of his leather jacket.
Getting up from the table, Yuffie started walking towards him, giving him a strange look. "Squall, did your jacket just mew?" By now, she was close enough to see something squirming underneath his jacket.
"No...this did." He pulled out a tiny black and white tuxedo kitten from the pocket and handed it to Yuffie. "I thought you might like her."
"She's so tiny." Yuffie lay the kitten against her shoulder, stroking her softly. "But why did you get her?"
Rubbing a hand over his face, he sighed. "Because, today was her last day. They were going to put her to sleep if she didn't find a home today. They said no one wanted her because she was deformed."
A concerned look crossed Yuffie's face. "Deformed? How?" She held the kitten out, examining it.
Squall pointed out the two front paws, which appeared abnormally large. "She has six toes on her front feet."
"But that just makes her more special." She pulled the kitten back to her shoulder, where it promptly fell asleep. Yuffie stood on tiptoe, using her free hand to pull Squall's head down. "You know, Squall, you're just a big teddy bear in black leather armor," she told him before their lips met.
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Author's Note: I know....it's been taking me longer for each chapter that I write. But, I hope to have the next chapter out by Sunday night. Mainly because it was originally gonna be part of this one, but then it would have been around 8,000 words and would have taken me a lot longer to write. Anyways, review.
And, VL, I have the chapter out, like I promised. But, I'm so tired right now that I think I can fall asleep right now. *head hits desk* KLONK *snore* ZZZZ