Never End...
DiScLaiMeR: Please, I'm beggin of you, tell me when I am rich enough to own these characters, places, etc.! 'Cause that'll be the day my best friend runs nude through G-Town High! (That's never, for those of you who are clueless, which is a safe place to stay. I'm there quite often.)
LAST TIME
"Yuffie, it's okay," she heard his voice telling her. "It's just a dream."
Her eyes snapped open and storm clouds met ice. "Sorry," she muttered groggily, realizing how close their faces were. With a simple move, she closed the gap and their lips met. 'It's a damn good thing I can't think straight right now,' she thought to herself.
CHAPTER FOUR
"Finished so soon? Must be the shortest lecture you've ever given me." -Squall Leonheart
She started to pull away, realizing that she was stupid and a bit groggy, but felt him follow her. His tongue ran across her lips, begging for entrance as he pulled her closer. Her lips parted and granted him entrance as her gauze wrapped arms wrapped around his neck. Her heart slammed against her chest, not truly believing that this was happening.
When they pulled away, she was breathing heavily. "I must be dreaming," she murmured.
"If this is a dream," he replied, "Then don't wake me up."
Yuffie had to know, though. If this was a dream, then she had to wake up. She bit the inside of her cheek and it hurt! 'It's not a dream! It's not a dream!' She felt his lips on hers again, then felt them leave, trailing down her jaw line and down her neck. She smiled to herself. It was not a dream...
The monkey decided to suddenly return, however, and this time with a vengeance. Leon felt her shudder and looked down to see tears in her eyes and her face scrunched up in pain. "Are you okay?" he asked with a concerned edge to his voice.
"My head," she squeaked uncharacteristically. The throbbing slowly turned to a searing white pain that decided to streak from her brain down the back of her neck and into the muscles of her shoulders. She cried out in agony and he looked over at the clock; Half past midnight as Aerith would say.
He kissed her gently. "Yuffie, I'm going to get those pills, okay?" She nodded and relinquished her hold on him so that he could make her feel better. He returned merely seconds later with the two little white pills and a glass of water. Leon sat the sobbing ninja up enough so that she could get the pills and water down. Once she had gotten them down, the lion set the empty glass on the floor and wrapped his arms around the young woman. "I'm sorry that your birthday has to be like this," he whispered, hugging her to his chest.
She sniffed and remembered that she was eighteen, but tried not to think about anything. She let the tears fall from her eyes as the monkey lessened the pounding on her brain and she slowly drifted to sleep.
Leon looked down at the slumbering woman. 'Yeah, that's right... Woman... When did I stop thinking of her as a girl that was annoying and start thinking of her as a woman... Surely it wasn't just now. I guess... That I've thought of her like that for a while though...' He sighed and watched her sleep before settling himself in and also losing conciousness.
"Holy fucking shit!"
That was what woke both of them up the next morning. Leon looked over and saw Cloud shutting the door and locking it, then glaring at his friend. "What the hell are you doing?" the blonde seethed.
Yuffie mumbled something incoherently and opened her grey eyes to see Leon. She had her head on his chest, one arm draped over his abdomen. He had one of his arms under her and the other on her hand that was draped over him. "Please, Cloud," she said softly. "Don't yell, my head really hurts."
The blonde took a deep breath, then glared at Leon again. "What is going on here?"
Yuffie blinked a few times then moaned, the monkey deciding that he was having too much fun playing a bass drum, her brain being the bass drum. "Ow... Please... I'm begging... Pills..."
Leon nodded and helped her lay flat while he grabbed the little green bottle off the table. "It's nothing," he growled quietly to Cloud, getting Yuffie a glass of water to wash down the pills.
"It doesn't look like nothing, Leon," Cloud hissed back.
Without another word, Leon helped Yuffie to a sitting position and she took the pills and drank the water, then clutched to his shirt that he had fallen asleep in. She held back the sobs, but only because she really did not want Cloud Strife to see her cry. Leon looked over at Cloud, who had calmed himself down at seeing their younger friend in such pain, his eyes sweeping over the ugly bruise on her forehead momentarily. "I won't mention this to Aerith, but only because she would throw a fit. Leon, I need to talk to you... Soon."
Yuffie looked up into his sapphire blue eyes. "Go ahead," she whispered, afraid to talk very loud. Cloud watched as Leon kissed the eighteen-year-old softly on her forehead, then limped outside with him.
"I can't believe you," Cloud growled softly, trying not to let Aerith hear or to make the ninja's head hurt worse. "You're nine fucking years older than her!"
Leon stared at the floor while being lectured. Realizing that Cloud was done, he looked up. "Finished so soon? Must be the shortest lecture you've ever given me."
The blonde sputtered, then clenched his fists. "Do not let Aerith find out at all costs," he seethed through gritted teeth. Leon nodded and started back into the Green Room. "I swear, Leon," he emphsized the man's adopted name, "That if you hurt her, I will smite you down with my bare hands."
Leon's icy blue eyes glared at the blonde for even thinking that he could hurt the ninja. "Believe me, Strife, I would NEVER hurt her in any way, shape, form, or idea. She's a woman, Cloud, not a little girl. She can decide for herself." With that, he opened the door and stepped back into the dark room. A look at the clock revealed that it was nine-thirty, meaning that she had gotten nine hours before she needed the pills again.
"He's pissed, isn't he?"
Leon smiled at the bruised ninja. "Yeah... Says not to let Aerith find out at all costs." The woman nodded thoughtfully. "And I also got a lecture on not to hurt you which, believe me, Yuffie, I would never hurt you."
A drowsy smile played on her smooth pink lips. "I know, Squall."
He sat on the bed next to her. "So, you're not allowed to get up for another twenty-four hours or so, right?"
"Yup."
He stretched out next to her. "Guess you're going to have to deal with my cabin fever, then."
She slowly sat up and poked his side, causing him to wince and swat her hand away. An amused look fell upon her pretty features. "Are you ticklish?" she asked in her soft, nearly hoarse voice.
"No," he lied, looking completely innocent, not a normal Leon look. She poked him again, which caused him to let out a high pitched sound that made the ninja giggle softly. "Stop."
A smirk fell upon Yuffie Kisaragi's face and she cocked her head to one side. "You lie like a tired dog under an old oak tree, Squall Leonheart." {A/N: I apologize, I had to add that saying in there!} She poked him again, but he caught her arm gently, afraid that he would hurt her injured hands. "Okay, I'll stop!" There was a knock at the door and Leon cast a look at Yuffie that meant for her to play it normal. "Gotcha, chief," she muttered softly and curled up under the comforter as Leon allowed Aerith and Cloud in.
"Happy birthday, Yuff! How are you this morning?"
The ninja cringed at the volume of the flower girl's voice. "I would be better if you weren't talking so loud," she grumbled.
Aerith smiled apologetically. "Are the pills helping?" She muttered a soft, "Curaga," and helped the bruise on Yuffie's forehead.
"Yeah, the monkey that was playing the bongos on my brain stops, but continues when the pills wear off. I'm fine as long as I'm asleep, though." Aerith looked at her curiously when she mentioned a monkey in her head. "Mostly, I get a throbbing pain, but early this morning, there was a searing white pain that went from my brain down into my shoulders."
Aerith looked worried. "Maybe I should check my medical book again.. That doesn't sound normal, Yuffie."
"Then again, no one ever said Yuffie was normal," Cloud joked, seemingly to have completely forgotten the earlier PDA that he had witnessed first-hand. He did, however, shoot Leon a nastly glare when neither of the women was looking.
"I think that I'm fine, Aerith," the teen said softly. "Just let me walk around for awhile."
The pink clad woman sighed heavily, then nodded. "Alright. As long as Leon will help you, you can walk around. If you get tired, though-"
"Yeah, yeah, I'll tell him and we'll take a break."
Aerith smiled warmly again. "Good. Now, are you hungry? You probably need to eat." As if in response, Yuffie's stomach growled. "Well, then! Let's get to the cafe!"
Leon helped Yuffie stand and helped her over to the dresser, of which she had claimed the top two drawers. "We'll meet you there," Cloud called, then left with Aerith.
Yuffie got her clothes and nearly fell, if it had not been for Leon's strong arm still being there. "Are you sure you can walk?" he whispered into her ear,
"I'm fine," she said determinedly. "Just head aches and sore muscles." She felt his lips on the back of her neck and moaned. "Stop," she hissed, trying to fight down a giggle. "I have to get dressed. Leoooon!" He grinned, but did not stop. "Squall! Stop!" She tried to pull away from him, but he had her trapped, so she gave in until he stopped. "Thank you," she said exasperatedly.
He grinned at her. "Where are you going?"
"To change," she said from the bathroom door. "Unless you were planning on helping me." She rolled her eyes, knowing the definite response to that one. Ignoring whatever response he was going to say, she shut the bathroom door and changed into the jeans and long-sleeved baggy sweat shirt. It wasn't that she was cold, but more of the fact that it looked like she had tried to commit suicide because of the bandages on her hands. She found that she had one difficulty, however. "Squall," she called. He opened the door. "I can't button or zip my pants," she said pitifully.
He chuckled and did so for her. Her arms wrapped around his neck and she looked up at him. "Got a good question for ya."
"Hm?" His arms wrapped around her waist and rested there comfortably.
"How are you supposed to help me walk when your leg is injured?"
He looked at her blankly, then laughed his deep, melodious laugh that seemed to make Yuffie's heart speed up and skip a few beats. Bringing his mouth down on hers, she realized that he was avoiding his question, but decided that she would let it wait until their kiss broke. When it did, she looked up at him expectantly. "I guess that we're going to help each other," he told her with a grin.
Rolling her eyes, she walked out of the room as if she was not weak and sat down to unwrap her hands and see how bad they looked. "How do you do that?" Leon asked from the doorway of the bathroom.
Her stormy eyes looked up. "Do what?"
"Not limp. I saw the cuts on your legs, Yuffie. You can't say that they don't hurt."
She shrugged. "I dunno... I've been able to tolerate all kinds of pain ever since Hallow Bastion when I was little. I broke my ankle once and just wrapped it until Cloud noticed that I wasn't running as much." She got one hand unwrapped and gasped at the mess. Leon limped over and saw what she had gasped at. They were completely torn up.
"Yuff..."
She shook her head to dismiss his thoughts. "I don't want pity," she told him, holding back more tears. Slowly, she got the other hand unwrapped; It was just as bad as the first. 'It looks like ground meat,' she thought blandly.
"What really happened, Yuffie?"
Her stormy eyes looked up at him, then she shook her head. "Nothing." The woman walked out and waited for Squall, sorry, Leon in the hall. He grabbed her bottle of pills and followed her out, albeit much slower. Her long sleeves covered her hands completely, he realized.
'That's how she's going to keep Aerith from seeing they're unwrapped?'
Cloud saw them walking, well, Leon limping and Yuffie, her hood up to cover the hideous bruise, shuffling along behind, over to the table that he and Aerith were at. "Took you long enough," he grumbled and felt Aerith's hand rest on his.
Leon sat down gingerly and Yuffie plopped down, her grey eyes glaring at the table.
"Did you two get into a fight again?" Aerith asked teasingly.
Yuffie grumbled something about 'Squall' and 'Jackass', two words that were commonly known to go together in Yuffie's world. Leon remained silent, only correcting Yuffie about his name.
Shaking her head, Aerith smiled. "You'll never get along." Cloud caught the faint smirk that played on the ninja's face, though it disappeared quickly. He had to admit, though, they were wonderful at acting. Then again, he used to joke about the Greatest Female Ninja becoming an actress.
'Even when she was little, she could act as if nothing was wrong, even though something was... I kind of encouraged it, I suppose,' the blonde thought to himself.
The four ate their food, Aerith chatting away merrily and Yuffie responding softly, afraid that the mad monkey might decide to start tap dancing or something. The guys remained silent, allowing the women to chatter. Leon did catch the glares he was receiving and shot a few back for good measure. This definitely was not going to work out for very long. Either they had to tell Aerith eventually... Or it had to end. Seeing as he definitely did NOT want it to end, he decided to talk to Yuffie later about telling the flower girl. He was positive that the flower girl would be pissed.
"You're nine fucking years older than her!" he heard Cloud repeat in his mind.
'But she's not a child anymore. She's a woman. A beautful, intelligent woman that can make her own decisions. Decisions that no one else should have any bearing on.'
"Are you coming, or are you just going to sit there all day?" He looked up to see Yuffie standing with an amused look in her eyes. He glanced to where Cloud and Aerith sat chatting, then nodded. "Good, because I think I'm going to see if Merlin's home."
"He's on a quest or something," Squall {A/N: Scratch that... His name's Leon! Bad YK2!} Leon muttered.
"No," she replied. "I saw him yesterday and I wanted to ask him about something." She helped Leon up the steps and out of the First District. As soon as the doors closed behind them, Leon checked to see if anyone was watching. Seeing no one, he shoved her gently against the wall, a hand planted firmly on either side of her against the wall, and brought his mouth down on hers. Her unwrapped arms wound themselves around his neck. "Just couldn't behave yourself, could you?" she asked with a grin as he pulled away.
He shrugged. "Just had to do that."
She looked up at him. "I need to get my hands re-wrapped and can't do it myself."
"Why not Aerith?"
She gave him a look that said 'Are-you-kidding-me?'. "She'll beam me in the head with her staff if she finds out that I unwrapped them." Leon nodded and wondered where he would get the gauze until she handed him two rolls. "Snatched 'em," she stated with a shrug.
Rolling his eyes, he wrapped her swollen, cut, and bruised hands gingerly. When they were finished, she looped her arm in his. "Come on, we need to get to Merlin's."
YK2: Wow! I'm not a big Clouffie fan (FF7), but I like it well enough that I wrote a one-shot and I had someone ask to post it on their site! YAY-NESS!
Dracon: They must've been blind if they wanted YOUR fic on their site.
Surka: HEY! I gave her inspiration on that one, remember!
Dracon: Hence the reason not to read it.
Surka: Grrr... --fumes--
YK2: ANYwho! It's called Unexpected Valentine. The first chappie is a Clouffie, the second is a VinTif. Read it if you get bored! I wrote it.. er.. Actually, Ithink I posted it on Valentine's Day... Bleh... Too much pink and happiness for me. Hope you liked this chappie!! Till Next Time! AUDI!!!
-The gang from Never End...