Author's Note: Yes...I know I said I hoped I would have this chapter out by Sunday, but a lot of things have been going on. And, since this is the second half of the semester, I have a lot of stuff going on in my classes. So, I'm going to say this: I'll update whenever possible. It may be more than once a week, it may be only once every other week, or it could even possibly go to once a month. (Heaven forbid) This is the longest I've ever gone without updating a story. On a side note, I think I have wrung my muse dry. I started this chapter on March 24...I wonder when I'll get it finished. My old muse went AWOL and I have a new muse that I'm breaking in now. (Go ahead and laugh, VL...since we both know who I'm talking about ^_~)
College life sucks. What with all the professors thinking that I have the time and energy to read two 300 page novels and write a paper in one week. Yeah...I'm tired of college right now.
Oh yeah, before I forget. The kitten that Squall gave Yuffie in the last chapter is based upon a cat that I had when I was younger. Anything the kitty does in any future chapters will be based upon what my cat did, even if it sounds really strange.
Note to kairi_sora16: The manager at Squall and Yuffie's apartment only allows cats and dogs that weigh less than 30 pounds. The dog that showed up was about a hundred pound dog, so it wasn't allowed. But, I could see Squall breaking the rules for Yuffie. ^_^ And, yeah...I love animals...I have 4 dogs and 4 cats.
[Disclaimer: If I owned Kingdom Hearts, I would have kept Squall. And you guys know it. So, therefore, I do not own Kingdom Hearts. And, if Zephyr is in the chapter, which I'm not sure if she is yet or not, I don't own her either. She is a creation of Vulpes Lapis. I only exploit her. (Sorry VL....just had to say it. Don't shoot me, you know I was joking) But, I do own the cute little kitty in the story.]
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Chapter Four: The Baby
Walking down the cat aisle at the pet store, Yuffie was throwing everything kitten-related into the shopping cart Squall was pushing. "Yuf, I hate to tell you this, but she's probably too young to play with all of this stuff," Squall told her as she came back with another armful of cat toys.
"Well, she'll grow into 'em," she said as she dumped the pile of toys into the basket and went back to get some more.
Squall furrowed his brows and pinched the bridge of his nose. "All I have to say is that I'm glad you get a discount for working here. This is going to cost a small fortune as it is."
As they continued down the aisle, Yuffie noticed the engraving machine that engraved your pet's name onto a tag. She covered her mouth and gasped. "Squall, we haven't named her yet!"
"So? Lots of people take awhile to name their pets." Yuffie turned to glare at him, placing her hands on her hips. "Okay, okay. You win," he conceded. "What do you want to name her?"
"You're not going to help me pick one?" she pouted.
Squall sighed. "She is your cat, after all. I got her for you, ya know."
"But, Squallie--"
Grimacing at his new name, Squall interrupted her and begged, "Yuffie, please don't call me 'Squallie.' I can feel my IQ dropping as we speak."
Yuffie smiled impishly at her new found way of torturing Squall. "Hmm, if you don't help me pick a name out for the kitty, then that's your new name."
Squall jerked his head up and his eyes went wide. "You wouldn't dare....would you?" The look on her face answered his question. "You would." Thinking quickly, he picked a name out of nowhere. "How about Baby?"
"Nah...too cliche."
"Sugar?"
"Too sweet."
"Spice?"
"Too...spicy, for lack of a better word."
"Domino? Since she's black and white."
"Too...I don't know, too something."
"You could help, you know. Instead of just saying no to everything I pick," he finally told her.
Yuffie rolled her eyes. "I'm trying to think of something good before I suggest it." She tapped her chin while she thought. "She does have a dot on her chin. How about Dottie?"
Giving her an incredulous look, Squall stopped in the middle of the aisle, blocking it with the shopping cart. "You can't give a cat a person's name."
"Why not?"
"I don't know. You just can't."
Rolling her eyes again, Yuffie said, "Unless you can come up with a plausible reason, we're naming her Dottie."
"Well...uh....um....what happens if you happen to meet someone named Dottie?" he finally managed to come up with.
"I'll tell them that it's a wonderful coincidence because I have a cat named Dottie." Yuffie pulled the shopping cart away from Squall and started heading for the cashier. "Are you going to try again?" she asked as he trudged along behind her.
He shook his head. "Nope. You're bound and determined to name the cat Dottie. And I know how stubborn you can be."
Turning around, she gave him a big smile. "Good. I knew you'd see it my way." Once they reached the cashier, Yuffie began placing the cartload of kitten stuff on the counter to checkout. "Michelle, this is Squall," Yuffie told her co-worker who checked them out.
Michelle glanced at all the stuff they were buying. "Yuffie, didn't you just take home a snake the other day?"
Yuffie grinned and held back the laughter. "Yeah...that lasted for about twelve hours. Squall here is terrified of snakes."
"I'm not scared of snakes. I just don't like them," he growled, trying to save face.
As she scanned the items, Michelle watched the two lovers bickering back and forth. She chuckled silently when Yuffie whispered something in Squall's ear before giving him a quick kiss. "Yuffie, it's a good thing you get an employee discount."
Yuffie turned back around to Michelle. "Why?"
"Well, before your discount, it comes to $238.55. After the twenty percent discount," Michelle pushed a button on the computer, "$190.84."
Yuffie's eyes widened in shock for a moment, but she pulled out her wallet and quickly wrote out a check. "Good thing I'm not paying the rent," she mumbled.
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Stumbling into the apartment with their arms full of the many things Yuffie decided that Dottie just had to have, Squall tripped over the tiny kitten as she made a mad dash for her human companions. As the kitten let out a shrill cry, Yuffie dropped all the stuff in her arms and scooped Dottie up, ignoring Squall as he fell flat on his face on the floor. "Oh, you poor little baby! Did Squall try and step on you?" Yuffie coed as she examined the kitten for broken bones.
"I could use a little help down here," Squall groaned as he rolled over and sat up.
"Hold on," she said as she stepped across him and carried Dottie to the couch, setting her down gently. Going back to where Squall was still sitting on the floor, she reached out a hand and helped to haul him to his feet. "You need to watch where you're going, Squall. You could have hurt her."
"Yuffie, I didn't even step on her," he protested.
She glared at him. "She cried! You terrified her." Stooping, she picked up the dropped bags and carried them to the couch where Dottie had fallen asleep, curled up into a tiny ball of black and white fur. "Aww! That's so kawaii!" Yuffie exclaimed as she sat down on the couch, careful not to wake Dottie.
Squall gave her a confused look as he sat on the other side of her. "Kawaii? What's kawaii?"
"It means cute, Squall." Standing up, she pulled Squall with her. "Come on. Let's go set up the stuff while the baby's sleeping."
"I thought you didn't like the name Baby?" he asked as he reluctantly followed her down the hall to the spare room which she planned to make into a playroom for the kitten.
"I don't."
"Then why did you call her Baby?"
Opening the spare room door, Yuffie turned to him. "I didn't. I said 'the baby,' not Baby."
Squall winced and rubbed his face with his hands. "This is worse than I thought," he murmured under his breath.
"Did you say something, Squall?" Yuffie asked from inside the room.
He quickly shook his head. "Nope. I didn't say a thing," he lied as he walked into the soon to be "kitty heaven." Thinking for a moment, Squall decided to ask her something. "Yuf, you didn't have pets growing up, did you?"
She laughed. "Is it that obvious?" His look told her yes. "Squall, do you really think my parents would allow 'filthy animals' in the house? I know you've never met them, but you know what they're like." Her eyes darkened as she thought about them. "I remember this one time I brought a tiny kitten home. My parents freaked out, screaming about rabies and other diseases. My father took it away. I still don't know what he did with it. But, knowing how they felt about animals, he probably drowned it." Moisture filled her eyes at the memory.
She suddenly felt Squall's arms go around her as he approached her from behind. Turning around she buried her face in his shirt, just holding on to something as she pushed the memory back into the deep recesses of her mind. "It's okay, Yuf," he murmured in her hair. "Dottie's here to stay. She's yours for now and always."
Yuffie nodded and smiled when she felt Squall kiss the top of her head. Pulling away, she wiped away the few stray tears that had fallen. "Well, let's get this show on the road," she said, referring to the making of "kitty heaven."
A few hours and a few curses later, everything was assembled and ready for Dottie in the spare room. In one corner stood a scratching post tower with platforms that was as tall as Squall. Scattered over the floor were the many toys Yuffie had bought. "There. I think she'll like it," Yuffie finally said as she placed a tunnel in the middle of the floor.
"Yuffie, she's too small for most of this. Besides, she'll go crazy with this many toys. It'll be a sensory overload for her," Squall told her matter-of-factly, knowing he was not going to win.
Ignoring his remarks, Yuffie went to the living room to find Dottie, who had moved from the couch to the recliner where she had fallen asleep again. Yuffie picked her up gently and carried her into the spare room. "There you go, Dottie. Go play," she urged as she placed her on the floor in front of some toys.
Dottie sat there for a moment, before yawning and deciding that Squall's lap looked like a comfortable bed. She hobbled over to the man, who was still sitting on the floor, and crawled across his leg. Curling up contentedly, she began to purr softly. Squall looked up at Yuffie with an 'I told you so' look. "See? She's too young for all the toys."
"She's just sleepy, that's all. As soon as she wakes up, she's gonna have a ball," Yuffie said assuredly, hoping she was right. Squall started to move the kitten so he could get up. "What do you think you're doing?" she demanded.
"Getting up," he answered, confused.
Yuffie shook her head. "You can't do that. It'll wake her up."
Squall gave her an incredulous look. "Do you expect me to sit here until she wakes up?" Yuffie nodded. "Yuf, that could be hours. Look, I'll get up carefully and put her on the bed, okay?"
"Alright, but you better not wake her up," she muttered as she walked out of the room.
As soon as Yuffie left the room, Squall let out a breath. "Sheesh, you'd think this was a real baby I was holding," he muttered as he carefully placed the still sleeping kitten on the bed.
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Stepping out of the shower that night, a boxer-clad Squall found Yuffie already in bed with Dottie sitting on her shoulder as she read in her book. "Yuffie, she can't sleep in here," he told her, determined not to lose his resolve.
"But she'll get lonely." Yuffie turned her head and nuzzled the kitten's fur. "She's just a baby, Squall. She can't sleep by herself."
Walking over to where Yuffie lay, he carefully picked Dottie up. "We fixed her a bed, remember? The bed you insisted on buying for her." He averted his eyes from Yuffie's, which were starting to get wide and watery, knowing that as long as he didn't see the 'puppy eyes,' he'd be fine.
"Okay, if you insist," she conceded, realizing that Squall did have a point.
Squall carried the kitten out of the room and into the spare room where a small cat bed was set up. Placing her on the soft pillow, he turned around to leave, only to hear a soft mew coming from behind him. He turned around to find Dottie crawling out of the bed and following him. "Nope, sorry girl." He picked her up again and put her back in the bed, leaving quickly this time.
Back in their bedroom, Yuffie had put her book aside and lay on her side, facing the door. "Did she go to sleep?" she asked as soon as he stepped through the doorway.
"Yes," he lied, shutting the door and praying Dottie wasn't following him. He walked across the room and slid into bed behind Yuffie, pulling her against him. Lowering his mouth to her neck, he began to kiss and suck gently, causing her to gasp while his hand found its way beneath her camisole and softly tickled her stomach.
That was when the crying and scratching at the door started. Yuffie pulled away from Squall and gave him a reproachful glance. "I thought you said she went to sleep?" she muttered as she got out of bed and went to open the door. She picked Dottie up and carried her over to the bed.
"Yuffie, you can't always let her sleep in here with us. You'll spoil her," Squall groaned as he realized that the kitten would not be returning to her own bed.
Ignoring him, Yuffie sat on the bed, holding the kitten in front of Squall's face. "How can you say no to a face like that?"
"Easy, like this...NO." Yuffie pulled the kitten back to her and pouted her lips ever so slightly and gave him the 'puppy eyes.' Sighing, Squall relented. "Fine. But only for tonight. Starting tomorrow, she does not sleep in here, okay?"
"Of course. Tomorrow, she'll sleep by herself," Yuffie consented as she pulled the covers back and slid her back up against Squall's chest with Dottie placed in front of her.
Squall brought his mouth back down to Yuffie's neck, pushing the shoulder strap of her camisole away with one hand and moving his mouth down to her shoulder while his other hand made its way up and across her stomach under her shirt. "SQUALL! Not with the baby in the room!" she hissed.
Pulling away, Squall groaned. "Yuf, she's a cat. She'll figure it out eventually."
"Can you at least wait until she goes to sleep?" she asked, stroking the kitten's back as she tried to find a comfortable place to curl up.
"Yuffie, do you really think she could sleep through that?" Squall whispered in her ear.
Reaching over and turning out the lamp, Yuffie replied, "You're right, Squall." She cuddled up against Squall again and yawned. "We'll just have to continue this later."
Squall winced at her words before giving up and closing his eyes. He opened them a few moments later when he felt something warm and fuzzy climbing up his body and settling down on his neck. Sighing, he was about to move Dottie when he heard her start purring. "Okay, kitten, you can sleep there tonight," he muttered as he closed his eyes once again.
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Yuffie's eyes fluttered open as the sunlight filtered through the thin window curtains in their bedroom. Yawning and stretching her arms over her head, she rolled over and laughed when she saw Squall. He was lying on his back with Dottie stretched out over his neck, her fur waving with each breath he took. She reached over and carefully picked the kitten up, who let out a soft cry. "Come on, Dottie. Let's let Squall sleep," she whispered as she slid out of bed, careful not to awaken her lover.
Placing the kitten on her shoulder, Yuffie walked out of the room and out the front door to bring the paper in. She carried it to the counter where she began to scan through it, looking for the comics. "You know, Dottie, you're lucky Squall saw you at the pound yesterday. I never knew how softhearted he really is until he brought you home." She turned her head and was nuzzling the kitten's fluffy fur with her nose when she felt two strong arms wrap around her waist and warm lips caress her neck.
Yuffie gasped in surprise. "I didn't know you were up," she murmured as he continued to assault her neck and shoulder. "You didn't hear what I just said, did you?"
"Every word." He gently picked the kitten up from her shoulder and placed her on the counter top, turning Yuffie around as he did so. "Every single word," he softly said as he crushed his lips to hers and pulled her even closer, if that was possible. He started to pull her back down the hall as he walked backwards, keeping her against him.
Breaking away, Yuffie gasped out, "What about Dottie? Do you think she'll be okay on the counter?" Squall ignored her protests and lowered his mouth to her throat, leaving a wet trail down to her now exposed shoulder. "Forget the cat," she muttered as she began pushing him down the hall and towards the bedroom.
In the bedroom, she continued to back Squall up until they reached the bed, at which point she pushed him down onto the rumpled blankets. He pulled her down with him, his lips moving to hers where the kiss became frantic.
Then the doorbell rang. Yuffie groaned and began to disentangle herself from Squall. "Just ignore it," he whispered as he pulled her back down. She nodded and dipped her head back down to meet his lips with her own. Squall's hands worked their way up her sides underneath the camisole she still wore.
The doorbell rang again, causing Squall to mutter a few curses and drop his hands from her sides. Yuffie let out a soft whimper as she sat up and pulled her shirt back down. "Squall, we have to answer it." After climbing off of him and out of the bed, she grabbed the pants he had thrown over the chair the night before and tossed them to him. "Here, put these on and answer the door," she told him as she rifled through the closet looking for some clothes for herself.
Sighing disgustedly, Squall slipped the pants on and left Yuffie alone in the room to dress. Still muttering curses, he walked down the hall to the front door and threw it open as a particularly nasty curse left his mouth.
Cloud looked at him with wide eyes. "HOLY COW! When they say 'swear like a sailor,' they MEAN IT!" Aerith, on the other hand, was covering her mouth and gasping at Squall's choice of words.
"I was in the marines, dumbass, not the navy," Squall grumbled with a very annoyed look in his eye.
Taking note of this look and realizing that there was only one thing that could put that look in a man's eyes, Cloud began to back away. "Aerith, honey, I don't think they were expecting us. Maybe we should come back some other time."
"Don't be silly!"Aerith said, grabbing her new husband's arm and pulling him into the apartment past the still annoyed-looking Squall, who had reluctantly stepped aside to allow them entrance.
"Squall, who's at the door?" Yuffie called as she came out of the bedroom still buttoning her blouse. Before he could answer, she saw Aerith. "Aerith! You're finally back! I mean, it's only been six weeks. How was Annapolis?" she gushed as she ran to the living room and hugged her newly-wed friend tightly. While her mouth was close to her ear, Yuffie whispered, "Aerith, I'm going to get you back for this interruption if it's the last thing I do."
Letting Aerith go and not waiting for an answer to her question, Yuffie ran over and hugged Cloud, who was still standing by the door in fear that Squall would throw them out. "Geez, Yuffie. I didn't know you cared," he joked as she nearly choked off his air supply.
Yuffie grinned sheepishly as she released him and ushered both Aerith and Cloud over to the couch. "Don't just stand there. Come in and sit down."
Squall closed the door and followed them to the living room. "Yes, come in. It's not like we were busy or anything," he sarcastically mumbled low enough that only Yuffie heard him, causing her to blush ever so slightly and narrow her eyes at him.
"Anyways, Aerith, how was Annapolis?" Yuffie asked as she successfully fought the blush down.
Aerith sighed. "It was so beautiful, Yuf. Especially the harbor at sunrise with the sun's rays meeting the water..." She trailed off and smiled, remembering the thrill of seeing it with her husband. "And, we have some great news to tell you," she said as she came out of her reverie.
"So do we." Yuffie stood up and looked around before asking, "Squall, where's the baby?"
The room went silent and a faint blush spread across Aerith's cheeks. "Yuffie, what baby? You and Squall don't have a baby...do you?" she asked confusedly as Yuffie left the room in search of 'the baby.'
Squall turned a bright red. "She means the cat," he said, embarrassed.
Cloud chuckled softly and reached out to take one of Aerith's hands, which were fidgeting in her lap. A few minutes later, Yuffie came back in the living room with Dottie sitting on her shoulders. "Aww! She's so cute!" the green-eyed woman exclaimed as the kitten was placed her in her lap.
"So, Aerith, what's your news?" Yuffie inquired as she watched the Dottie chase her tail on her friend's lap.
Taking a deep breath and looking at Cloud, she announced, "We're pregnant!"
Yuffie jumped up from the couch in surprise. "Really?! That's so great, Aerith!" She leaned over and hugged both Aerith and Cloud again. "Isn't that great, Squall?"
Squall snorted. "You know, unless Cloud is pregnant too, you shouldn't say 'we're pregnant.' But, yeah, it's great news. Cloud as a father. This I have got to see."
Swatting him playfully, Yuffie told him, "Be nice!" Turning back to Aerith, Yuffie let out a squeal. "We've got to go shopping for the baby!" She pulled her up, grabbed her purse, and dragged her out the door, leaving the two men alone in the apartment.
"Yuffie does realize that the baby's not going to be here for another seven months, right?" Cloud asked Squall worriedly.
He rolled his eyes. "She doesn't care. But, man, you're going to have a lot of toys by the time the baby arrives. You should have seen her at the pet store yesterday when we went shopping for the cat."
"Great," the blonde mumbled.
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After spending the whole day shopping with her now pregnant friend, Yuffie returned to the apartment to find Squall spread out on the couch, watching the World Poker Tournament on ESPN while Dottie lay curled up on his chest, her large paws covering her face. Looking at her and then his watch, he joked, "I was beginning to think you forgot where we lived."
Yuffie smiled. "Nope. Aerith and I just went to a lot of stores today." She picked Dottie up off of Squall's chest and put her on her shoulder after rubbing noses with her.
"You know, I think you give that kitten more attention than you do me," Squall said as he watched the her affection for the kitten play across her features.
Smiling slyly, Yuffie asked, "Jealous?"
"Hell, yeah!" he exclaimed sitting up.
She walked down the hall, giving him a lingering look. "Well, let's see if we can...remedy matters, then, shall we?" Squall observed her going into the spare room with the kitten, but come out without her. "Are you coming, Squall?" she asked seductively as she continued down the hall and to their bedroom.
Jumping off the couch, he flipped the TV off and followed her to the bedroom, shutting the door behind him.
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Author's Note: Well, that chapter only took me four and a half days to write. I think I'm slipping. I used to be able to spit a chapter out in a couple of hours. Oh well. I hope this chapter lived up to everyone's expectations. I'm not even going to make a guess as to how soon I can get another chapter out. Just expect it when you see it. Sorry, but school has to come first. =( Anyways, Read and Review, as usual.