Author's Note: I know. I should be writing a chapter for TNB before I start this one, but I really want to get this chapter out.

Um... this chapter starts out a little racier than anything I've written before. But, don't worry. It's NOT a lemon and it's not enough to up the rating. Just thought I would warn you.

[Disclaimer: If I owned them, I wouldn't be writing this, now would I?]

Chapter Five: The Naked Truth

Staring at the ceiling of the Green Room, Yuffie began to count chocobos in the hopes that she could make herself fall asleep with the sheer boredom of her self-appointed task. As her eyes slowly started to glaze over and the chocobos leaping over the wooden fence began to blur, she felt an arm drape itself across her stomach, slightly pushing the plain white t-shirt she wore up to reveal her bare stomach. She quickly turned her head to see a wolfish grin playing across Leon's mouth as his hand curled around her side and pulled her closer. Not having a chance to react, she was helpless as he raised himself up on one arm and leaned over to kiss her, forcing her head deep into the pillow.

Indigo eyes wide, Yuffie found herself gasping for breath through slightly parted lips as he raised his mouth from hers and gave her one of his rare lazy smiles. As he lowered his head once more, the ninja held him off with her hands on his chest and found her voice. "What are you doing?" she hissed as she stared at him bewilderedly.

"Finishing what we started at the manhole," he whispered, pushing her hands away and dropping his head to kiss the corners of her mouth. In a trail of kisses, he worked his way down her jaw line and to the place right below her ear, causing her to squirm in pleasure.

With his warm mouth slowly wreaking havoc upon her senses with its languid caresses, Yuffie struggled to keep her mind from spiraling into a state of euphoria. "It wasn't a kiss," she insisted as his lips came maddeningly slowly back up her jaw line. "It was an accident!" Before the words had even finished leaving her mouth, his mouth came crashing back upon hers, sending all rational thoughts out of her mind as her lips began to respond to his.

"You can't tell me you didn't like it, that you don't want more," he murmured as he left her lips to place small, soft kisses down her throat, his warm breath upon her skin causing her to begin to quiver in anticipation. "I can tell. You can't hide anything from me. Just because I can't see you doesn't mean I can't tell what you feel."

A calloused hand lightly trailed up her side, leaving goose bumps in its wake and causing her to shy to the side. "Leon," she moaned as her hands found themselves running up his bare back, her nails lightly scratching his skin as they continued their journey to his hair, where they became lost in the tangle of long russet locks.

"Call me Squall," he breathed against her skin as his lips pushed aside the collar of her shirt to leave their marks upon her now bare shoulder and collarbone. At her whimper caused by the sweet torture, Yuffie felt him the soft fluttering as his lips upturned into a smile against her skin.

"I gotta be dreaming," she gasped as his fingers barely touched her skin and traced light circles on her stomach, centering around her navel. "You want me to call you Squall?" At her incredulous tone, he lifted his head and stared at her through the bandages, a smirk coming across his features.

"Yes. It's my given name. I'd like more for you to scream it..." he replied as his hands found the hem of her shirt and quickly pulled it up and over her head before his mouth came back down upon hers in an almost frantic kiss. His hands came back to her stomach and slid their way down to the zipper of the blue jeans she still wore from their midnight stroll around Traverse Town.

Just as she raised her hips for him to remove her pants, someone grabbed her shoulder and started to shake her, softly calling her name. Shocked that someone else was in the room, she quickly turned her head to see... Leon, still shaking her shoulder and calling her name. What the hell? she silently wondered as she stared at him laying beside her and not hovering above her.

"Yuffie, wake up," Leon sleepily called again from his side of the bed, still on the other side of the pillow barrier.

The ninja sat up quickly, rubbing her face and running a hand through her short raven hair as she spared a glance at the clock. Seven-thirty. "What, Leon?" she asked rather testily as she thought about the dream, ashamed of herself for even thinking that about the man. Lord knows he could barely stand to be around her and she him.

Rolling over, the Gunblade wielder started to drift off to sleep once more, after muttering, "You were having a nightmare or something. You were wriggling around all over the bed and moaning like someone was killing you."

A sudden flush spread over Yuffie's face at the revelation of someone overhearing her dream. Even if they did misinterpret her actions, it didn't lessen the embarrassment she was now suffering through. "Shower," she mumbled, "I gotta take a shower." She jumped out of the bed, grabbed some clothes, and locked herself in the bathroom before her roommate could question her motives. As she leaned against the door, she quietly pondered, "and I accused him of having a wet dream."

She reached over into the shower and turned the hot water on all the way, giving it time to warm up before she stepped in as it always took awhile for the water to warm up in this hotel. Seeing the steam rising from the stall, she adjusted the temperature to as hot as she could bear and stepped in, allowing the searing needle-like pricks to relentlessly beat her back as she began to relax.

Throwing her head back, she let the water flow over and through her short hair before massaging her shampoo into the locks, musing about her dream and the man asleep in the bedroom as she did so. It was a dream, Yuf. Just a product of your overactive imagination. Besides, you know he hates you. It's just a... mutual tolerance. Yes, that's what your relationship with him is. A mutual tolerance.

As the scent of her flowery shampoo filled the bathroom, she began to rinse it out and continue her silent conversation with herself. But why did I dream it? Why would my imagination even think of something like that if it's just a mutual tolerance? The memory of his hands on her in the dream came back with a sudden rush, causing her to flush crimson once more.

Furiously grabbing the rough sea sponge, she hastily squeezed a glob of soap onto it and scrubbed her body, feeling filthy for even thinking about Leon that way. But, the more she thought of it, the more she realized that maybe he was more than what she thought. Maybe he wasn't such a heartless bastard after all. He did lose family and friends when Hollow Bastion fell, just like the rest of them. But, instead of facing the past, he hid behind the mask of Leon. Yes, Leon was the heartless one, not Squall. And she would have to pull Squall out of the shell Leon had erected around him.

A loud banging on the door brought her out of her thoughts and she quickly shut the shower off. "What?" she called angrily through the door as she grabbed her towel and began to quickly dry herself.

"Hurry up, would you? You've probably used all the hot water by now," Leon yelled as he beat on the door again, causing the door to shake and creak with the force he used.

"Alright, already." Yuffie quickly pulled her underwear on, but the beating on the door never ceased, giving her the beginnings of a headache. Well, he can't see anything, she reminded herself as she decided to exit the bathroom dressed only in her underwear and finish pulling her clothes on away from the racket he was causing. Picking up her clothes, she pulled the door open and stared at Leon, clad only in his pants and holding his fist in the air as he was about to beat upon the door again. "How did you find the bathroom, anyways?" she questioned as she blocked the doorway.

"I followed the sounds of running water," he explained as he pushed past her, brushing against her slightly and feeling more skin than normal. "Yuffie, what are you wearing?" he asked hesitantly.

Raising her eyebrow, the ninja gave him a half-smile, knowing he couldn't see anything through his bandages. "My underwear."

"What?!" the Gunblade wielder shouted, turning around quickly to face her and glare at her through his bandages.

"Well, you were making such a racket with beating on the door that I was getting a headache. Besides," she said innocently, "it's not like you can see anything."

No, I can't see anything. But I can feel somethings and can tell that you're not a little girl anymore, his mind screamed at her. "I don't care! Put some clothes on!" he shouted as he slammed the door in her face, pushing a hand through his hair and muttering, "It's way too early for this." Finding that Yuffie had, indeed, used all the hot water, he silently surmised that maybe it was for the better as he needed a cold shower now, anyway.

Outside the bathroom door, Yuffie chuckled softly at Leon's reaction to her current state of dress as she pulled her normal khaki shorts and green halter top on. "Men," she whispered under her breath as she shook her head. A soft knock on the door prompted her to adjust her halter top as she walked over to answer the door, finding Aerith there with a box of donuts and three styrofoam cups of coffee in her hands. "Aerith, I love," the ninja exclaimed as she snatched the breakfast from her friends and quickly pulled out a chocolate covered eclair.

"Gee, I didn't know you cared," the flower girl laughed as she watched Yuffie close her eyes after each bite of the donut. "But, I thought I might make easier for you today and bring breakfast to you and Leon so you wouldn't have to drag him through the streets." She looked around the room, brows furrowed as she said this. "Speaking of Leon, where is he?"

Mouth full, Yuffie jerked a thumb in the direction of the bathroom as she swallowed her bite. "He's taking a shower. So, what are we doing today? Any plans? Anything? Because I'm kinda going crazy here." She grabbed one of the cups and took a large drink, grimacing as the hot bitter liquid scorched her throat.

"No, I don't have any plans, Yuf. Sorry. I guess you'll just have to keep Leon entertained again today," Aerith admitted, staring at her friend and noticing the dark crescents under her bright eyes. "You look tired."

Rolling her eyes, Yuffie took another donut, taking a bite before answering her friend. "Yeah, I didn't sleep well last night." She took a seat at the small table in the room, Aerith sitting down across from her.

"Aren't you a bit old to be having nightmares, Yuffie?" the older woman teased.

The ninja shook her head in exasperation as she gave Aerith an annoyed look. "I had a really good dream last night for your information!"

A smile came across the flower girl's face and she leaned forward, her elbows on the table and her chin resting in her hands. "Really? What about?"

Yuffie's eyes widened as she tried to think of something to tell Aerith as she couldn't tell her what her dream was really about. "Um... if I tell you, than it won't come true," she finally lied.

"Fine, you don't have to tell me," Aerith pouted, turning around when she heard the bathroom door open and Leon emerged. "Good morning, Leon. I brought breakfast." She arose from the table and led Leon over to it, giving him a donut and some coffee as she did so. "Well," she began, looking at the clock on the wall, "I've got to go. You two have fun."

Still sitting at the table, Yuffie watched Leon eat his breakfast in silence, biting her lip and blushing whenever she thought about her dream. "So, Leon, what ya wanna do today?" she asked after a few minutes, unable to take the silence any longer.

"There's not really that much I can do, now is there?" he said sarcastically as he blindly reached for another donut, feeling Yuffie's hand as she pressed one into his hands.

"You don't have to bite my head off. I'm sorry for even asking," the ninja muttered in annoyance as she left the table and began to stretch her stiff muscles, doing a few back flips in the room while she was at it.

Leon let out a deep sigh as he listened to the soft grunts she made as she landed a flip. "Look, I know I'm hard to get along with and I know I'm not the happiest person in the world," he declared. "And I'm sorry that I treat you so horribly sometimes. You don't deserve it."

At his apology, Yuffie stopped mid-flip, falling to the ground in an ungraceful heap. "Um... did you just say you're sorry?" she said softly as she jumped up from the ground and approached him. "No, wait, don't tell me. I'll just pretend that you said it even if you didn't."

"Yes, Yuffie, I apologized for acting like an asshole," he admitted.

"Wow! Well, I'm... uh... sorry for acting like a brat. I know that I'm annoying and everybody hates me," she paused as she muttered "especially you" under her breath, "and I'll try to act my age more, okay?"

"I don't hate you, Yuf," Leon whispered, more to himself than to her. "And I'll try to treat you more like an adult and less like a kid."

Yuffie stared in space for a moment in a state of elation that Leon had actually apologized to her and said that he would start to treat her like an adult. "Well, now that we have that out of our systems, hurry up and eat. I'm taking you shopping today."

Leon choked on his coffee at her plans. "Shopping?"

"Yes, shopping. We're going to find you a walking stick so you won't fall down anymore manholes," she explained, grinning at the look of fear that had come over his face at the word 'shopping.'

He let the breath that he had been holding out with a whoosh, relieved that Yuffie wasn't turning into another Aerith, who gave new meaning to the term 'shopaholic.' "You scared me there for a minute, Yuf."

"Aw, you don't like to shop, Leon?" she chided playfully.

"No."

"Here, Leon. Try this one," Yuffie commanded as she placed another cane into his hands, looking through the pile he had already discarded, claiming they were either too short or too long. He took a few steps with the black cane, tapping it around to feel for objects. "Well?" she asked impatiently.

He nodded, picking the cane up and running his fingers down it to feel the texture of the grain within the wood. He had to admit that since he was unable to use his eyes, his other senses were beginning to take up the slack and work overtime. "Yeah, this one will work," he finally told her.

Yuffie grabbed the walking stick from him and pulled him to the front of the shop where the cashier calmly rang up their purchase. Grumbling about what she thought was an unfair price, the ninja begrudgingly pulled out the munny gems required from her pocket and placed them on the counter. "There, ya extortionist. You ought to be ashamed of yourself, taking advantage of someone's handicap like that," she called over her shoulder as she led Leon out of the Second District shop.

Leon fumbled around in his pockets, finally finding his munny. "Here," he said as he pulled out the same amount she had paid to the shop owner. "This should cover it."

"I refuse to take your money, Squa-, er Leon," she insisted, pushing his hand back towards him. "Consider it a late birthday present since I didn't really get you anything."

"Thank you, Yuffie." Using his cane, Leon felt the ground around him before they started walking again, Yuffie still holding on to his arm to keep him going in a relatively straight line. He heard her yawn, which in turn caused him to yawn as well. "Tired?" he asked quietly.

"Yeah, I didn't get much sleep last night what with the manhole incident and the dream," she muttered as she guided him through the crowds and towards the hotel.

"What dream? The nightmare I woke you up with?"

"Um... yeah. That's the one. In fact, I think I'm going to take a nap as soon as we get back to the room," she said quickly, hoping he wouldn't ask about her dream. There was no way she was going to talk to him about her dream.

Nodding, Leon let the subject drop and walked with her to the hotel room. "I think I'll take a nap, too," he said as he yawned once more as they walked into the Green Room.

"Whatever floats your boat." Yuffie shut the door behind them, pulling her shoes off immediately, then walked over to the bed and pulled the covers back, screaming as she did so.

"What?!" Leon yelled worriedly as he stumbled over to her.

A low growl escaped her throat. "Housekeeping," she hissed. "They took the extra pillows and now there's no pillow barrier and that means you'll make me sleep on the floor."

Rubbing his temples, Leon tried to sort out the situation. "Yuffie, you can still sleep on the bed if you don't mind not having the pillow barrier," he finally conceded.

"Really? You don't mind?" she asked excitedly.

"No, Yuffie, I don't mind."

"Good. And don't worry, I'll stay on my side of the bed." With that, she helped Leon to the bed, then crawled across and slid under the sheets, falling into a dreamless sleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow. Unbeknownst to her, Leon lay awake on the other side wondering why he had allowed her to still sleep on the bed.

Author's Note: Yes, I know. I wrote this chapter really quick and got it out really quick because it was stuck in my head. I hope you like it. Review and let me know.