Author's Note: Well, I'm finally getting around to writing another chapter for this story. Please excuse me if it's not quite up to par. I think I'm going to force my muse in the beginning to see if I can jumpstart her. It works sometimes.

[Disclaimer: If I owned the characters portrayed below, Squall would be sitting in a chair behind me and massaging my shoulders. He would become my own personal masseuse.]

Chapter Sixteen: Separation Anxiety

Lying on her side in the Red Room bed, Yuffie yawned and slowly stretched while she thought about the past month. She still couldn't believe that it was only a month ago that Squall had been blinded, only three weeks since their seemingly whirlwind relationship had started, and only a week since Aerith had separated them. Of course, even Aerith couldn't completely prevent the two lovers from seeing each other. They did manage to find a few minutes here and a few minutes there just for themselves, only enough time to share a few kisses before the flower girl would find them. And the three of them also shared most of their meals together. Squall and Yuffie simply learned to ignore the pointed glares and aggravated sighs from their pink clad friend when they would do anything in front of her.

Yuffie rolled over and glanced at the clock, seeing that it was only just after seven and Aerith wouldn't be coming to make sure she was awake until around nine. Yes, the ninja was still forced to go to the infirmary everyday with Aerith, much to her disgust. She had never done well around sick people; they had always depressed her and she was always too upbeat and hyper for them. However, at the flower girl's insistence, Yuffie would try her best to calm herself down and cheer up the patients. Not an easy task, given that the patients she was assigned to cheer up had terminal diseases and didn't want to be cheered up.

She sighed, wishing she could come up with an excuse for not going today. But, she had learned from past experience that she was a poor liar and anyone who had known her for more than a few months could tell when she was lying. So, she slowly arose from bed, clad in her nightgown of choice, a long t-shirt that fell to her knees, and approached the Green Room. Maybe if she was quiet enough, she could sneak in there and have a few minutes with Squall before Aerith awoke. She knew from experience that Aerith was a pretty heavy sleeper.

Slowly opening the connecting door, the ninja winced when she heard the relatively loud creak it made in the otherwise silent rooms. But, peaking through the crack in the door, she saw Aerith was still sleeping soundly and snoring rather loudly on the cot beside the door. Yuffie carefully slipped through the door, tiptoed across the room, and crawled into bed next to Squall, curling into his side for both comfort and warmth as the air became chillier and chillier. It was, after all, late September and it would only grow colder as the year wore on.

As she snuggled deeper into his side and rested her head upon the crook of his arm, she felt his arm curl around her back and his other arm come across to rest on her waist. "What are you doing here?" he whispered softly, turning his head and burying his lips in her hair.

"You're awake?" Yuffie whispered back, trying to be just as quiet as him so as not to awaken her ever watchful chaperone. Looking up at him, she saw him give a slight nod as he yawned, removing his hand from her waist to cover his mouth.

Squall gestured towards the cot where Aerith was snoring. "How can I sleep through that?" he hissed in annoyance, but the annoyance soon left him as his ninja brought her small hand up to his face and rested it upon his cheek. With her warm body pressed against his, soothing his sleep deprived nerves, he almost told her how much he loved her, but stopped in fear that she would become frightened and begin to shy away from him. So, leaning into her hand, he simply turned his face and kissed her palm.

The ticklish feel of his lips on her palm caused Yuffie to giggle softly. "You get used to it after awhile. I mean, I had to room with her for almost nine years and I got used to it eventually." She pushed herself up slightly and laid her upper body across his chest so that she was at face level with him and gave him a light kiss.

"But I don't want to get used to it, Yuf. I want to go back to the ways things were," he murmured, his arms wrapping around her back and pulling her back down for another kiss. However, this wasn't just a light kiss like what she had bestowed upon him a moment ago. No, this was a demanding kiss, a kiss that wanted more than what she could give with Aerith in the same room with them.

So, reluctantly, Yuffie broke the kiss before it went too far and she slowly pulled away from him, giving the sleeping Aerith a worried glance before she lay back down beside him. "I know, Squall. But, until we can do something about Pinky, we'll just have to make do. Okay?"

Squall released a drawn out sigh and pulled the ninja closer to his side, lazily running his hand up and down her side. "Alright," he conceded softly, yawning yet again. "But, how about we try to get a little more sleep before she wakes up, okay?"

Watching him yawn caused Yuffie to yawn as well and she silently cursed whoever decided to make that action contagious. "Yeah, I'm a little tired, too. And, hopefully, you can get a little sleep. You're looking a little worn around the edges." As she closed her eyes, an idea popped into her head and she sat up very suddenly and grinned at him. "I've got an idea," she whispered quietly.

"What?"

She leaned down so her face was just inches from his. "Since she's such a heavy sleeper, why don't you sneak into the Red Room tonight. She'll never know you're gone. And then you can sneak back in early in the morning before she wakes up," she said in a conspiratorial voice, watching as the slow smile came across his face.

"Yuffie, you are a genius," he told her as she lay back down and curled into his side once more.

"Nah, I'm just desperate," she muttered as sleep began to slowly reclaim her.

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Much to Yuffie's surprise, when Aerith awoke and found the two of them asleep in Squall's bed, she simply shook the ninja awake and told her to get ready for work. Yuffie had at least been expecting another lecture, but she didn't want to ruin it by questioning the flower girl's actions. So, mutely shaking her head, she returned to the Red Room for her morning shower.

Aerith, herself, was a bit surprised by her own actions. At first, she was furious that they had snuck behind her back and ended up sleeping together. And she had originally planned on letting them know how upset she was. However, when she saw how peaceful and content they both appeared, along with the fact that they were both still decently clad, she relented. Honestly, she was glad that both of them had found someone to make them happy. She just wished that Yuffie had been a little older. And it was the flower girl's motherly instincts towards the ninja that made her keep an ever watchful eye over her.

Now that she thought about it, she had almost grown accustomed to watching them sneak kisses and hold hands when they thought she wasn't looking. The only part of their relationship that really irked her was the fact that it became so serious so fast. And it worried her. Everyday, thousands of thoughts ran through her head telling her what might happen to Yuffie if the ninja's and swordsman's relationship continued to escalate. Most of the thoughts centering on Yuffie becoming a mother at a very young age and being unable to mentally handle the stress.

Sighing, she began to wish she had handled the situation better when she first discovered they had feelings for each other. Maybe if she had been more supportive, things would've turned out differently. But it was too late for that now. She couldn't live her life wondering about what might have been, but that thought made her mentally scoff. She had spent the last nine years living on what might have been between her and Cloud had not the darkness taken their home world. And every night since then, she couldn't help but wonder if he was still alive and where he was. And every night, it tore her apart.

Maybe that's why she became upset with Leon and Yuffie so easily. Because they both loved each other and she had no one. Both Leon and Yuffie had admitted to her separately that they loved the other and they seemed to be proving that by going against their friend's wishes. Much like she and Cloud had done. Sure, they had both only been about fourteen years old at the time, but she and Cloud knew that they were made for each other. Even when their friends and families told them they were too young to know what love was, they simply ignored them. But then the Heartless came and she hadn't seen him since. And she had kept her love only for him. Perhaps it was time to let him go and move on.

As all these thoughts simultaneously ran through her head, a lone tear fell down her cheek, only to be hastily wiped away by the back of her hand. "No," she whispered to herself. "He's still out there. I can feel him. If he were dead, I would know it." So, drying her eyes, she left the Green Room, where Leon was still asleep, and went into the Red Room to see if Yuffie was ready for work yet.

She found Yuffie perched on the edge of her bed, busily tying the shoelaces of her characteristic orange sneakers. Aerith noted that the ninja's wardrobe had changed slightly due to the cold weather. Her young friend now wore a forest green turtle neck with a pair of slightly flared blue jeans to help stave off the chill in the air. "So, are you ready to go?" Aerith asked quietly.

Giving her a wary look, Yuffie raised her eyebrows and stared at her suspiciously. "Yeah... just as soon as I go tell Squall goodbye," she ventured, wondering if the flower girl would follow her into the room just to make sure no funny business went on.

Aerith simply nodded, then turned and walked towards the door. "Just don't take too long. We're due at the infirmary in twenty minutes and you know that it's at least a ten minute walk on a good day." With that, she left the ninja alone in the room.

Still suspicious, Yuffie opened the door her friend had just walked out of and watched as she made her way down the hall and exited the hotel. "Wow... I don't know whether this is just the old Aerith coming back or if this is a pod person or if maybe mean Aerith was just a pod person and this is the real Aerith," she rambled to herself as she shut the door and went into the Green Room.

Sitting on the edge of his bed, Yuffie ran her fingers through Squall's long mahogany locks, marveling at how soft they felt beneath her fingers. She giggled as his hand came up and clasped her wrist. "What are you doing?" he asked sleepily.

"Playing with your hair," she answered while bending over to kiss his cheek. "You know, I think Aerith is sick today or something." She leaned back against his stomach while the hand on her wrist began to softly massage the flesh.

"And why do you think that?" he finally inquired, releasing her wrist after he softly kissed it.

"Because, first of all, she didn't lecture me when she found me in bed with you this morning and then, she left for work and just told me not to be late. Now, does that sound like the Aerith we've known for the past couple of weeks?" Yuffie explained as she rolled over on his stomach to face him, careful not to elbow him in any sensitive areas as she did so.

Squall sat up slightly and leaned against the headboard, running his fingers lightly through the ninja's hair. "You're right... that doesn't sound like that Aerith," he agreed, pondering the matter in his head. "But, you aren't complaining, are you?"

Yuffie sat up quickly, nearly hitting his chin with her head in the process. "Hell, no, I'm not complaining! I was just wondering what was going on." She looked up at the clock, noticing that if she didn't leave now, she would be late and she really didn't want to do anything that would anger this more understanding Aerith. "Anyways, I gotta go. I'll see you tonight at dinner. And don't forget about slipping out of here tonight. Or I will have your head on a stick. Got it?"

"Yes, ma'am," Squall replied as she leaned down to give him a quick kiss, pulling away as she felt his arms begin to try and pull her back down to him.

"Save it for later. I've got to go." With that, she rushed out of the room and ran down the hall, determined not to be late as much as she hated the current job Aerith had forced on her in the hopes that she could find a way to bring the old understanding Aerith back and get rid of the overly protective Aerith.

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Knowing that Squall was going to sneak into her room that night sent shivers of excitement down Yuffie's spine every time she thought about it. Of course, that made it kind of hard for her to keep still while they were eating dinner that night at the café. And it didn't help that Squall's hand had found it's way to her knee underneath the table and out of Aerith's prying eyes. However, the flower girl still seemed more mellow about everything that was going on in front of her than normal. In fact, she completely ignored them when Yuffie turned her face up to Squall and gave him a kiss. When Yuffie had done that just last night, Aerith had sent her an angry glare. Tonight, she simply acted as though it never happened.

Yuffie happily pushed any and all thoughts of her pink clad friend out of her mind and tried to concentrate on suppressing her excitement. She didn't need Aerith to suspect anything. Yuffie was still afraid that the Aerith they had come to know these past few weeks might rear her head. So, taking a deep breath, the ninja managed to finally calm down and eat her dinner.

After dinner, the trio slowly made their way back to the Green Room, stopping by the Item Shop to pick up a few things Aerith needed for the infirmary. Of course, the three ducklings who ran the shop kept a close eye on Yuffie as they feared she would steal something from them. No matter how many times she apologized for the one time she did take something without paying for it, they still didn't trust her.

The rest of the walk to the hotel was uneventful. Yuffie simply leaned into Squall's side while he kept his right arm wrapped around her and Aerith walked slightly ahead of them. The ninja decided that this was something she could get used to. She hated the fact that it seemed like she was always at war with the flower girl lately. After all, for so many years, Aerith had been like an older sister to her and a friend. And it hurt to constantly be bickering with her.

Finally reaching the Green Room, Yuffie and Squall piled up on the bed to watch a movie on the small television set provided by the hotel while Aerith took a shower. When she emerged from the bathroom and found the two lovers cuddling on the bed, she bit her lip and walked to her cot, picking up a book on her way so she could read while they continued to watch the movie they had settled on. Of course, only Yuffie was really watching it. And she had to explain most of the actions to Squall, but they both seemed so happy while they were together.

A few hours later, Aerith yawned loudly to catch the ninja and swordsman attention. "Don't you guys think we should go to bed?" They didn't answer her, so she looked up from her book only to find that they were both asleep in each other's arms on the bed. "I guess you already have," she whispered softly, getting up from her cot and silently approaching them.

Looking down at them, she smiled softly and picked up the blanket that had been balled at the end of the bed. She spread it out over them, then walked over to her cot, only to stare disgustedly at it and leave it as she went into the Red Room to sleep, leaving the connecting door open just in case. Although, they did seem to be sleeping rather soundly and didn't look like they would be waking up anytime soon. So, with the door propped open, Aerith lay down upon the Red Room bed and slept, leaving her two friends to themselves for once.

Author's Note: You know, ironically, that chapter just came out of nowhere. I had almost none of that planned. Especially the whole "Aerith reverts to normal" thing. It just kinda appeared. Anyways, this story is not over yet. I still have about six chapters kinda planned out and a pivotal plot point coming up in the next chapter that will affect the rest of the story. Mwahahah... now you're wondering what it is, aren't you? Well, I guess you'll have to wait for that, won't you?