Author's Note: Okay, here we go. I am already starting on another chapter of this story because I am stuck as to where I should start the chapter in my other story. :::sigh::: And I pretty much know exactly what's going to happen in this chapter of this story. Did that make any sense or am I just rambling away?
[Disclaimer: Let's see. So far, I own Amaya, the man who tried to rape Yuffums, and the pawn shop owner. Not a very good collection of characters on my part, is it? Now if only I could get a hold of Squall...]
Chapter Three: Refused Offerings
Warmth. That was the first thing Yuffie felt as she slowly began to wake up. And then the aroma of chicken soup assaulted her senses, sending her back nearly fourteen years to the time she had had the chicken pox and her mother fed her chicken noodle soup while putting socks on her daughter's hands to keep her from scratching. Smiling, Yuffie snuggled deeper into the fuzzy blanket before her other senses kicked in and she realized her mother was dead.
Bolting upright, she placed a hand across her forehead as a wave of dizziness crashed down on her from sitting up too quickly. So, closing her eyes, she tried to think about what had happened and where she was. The last thing she remembered was being in her warehouse and the man she knew as Squall Leonhart trying to take her to the hospital.
She slowly opened her eyes, squinting as the lights in the room hurt her feverish eyes and looked around. She found herself on one of those corner sofas she had seen in furniture store windows and in a rather large room decorated in different shades of blue and dark cherry wood antique furniture. On the coffee table in front of her, her eyes fell upon what appeared to be a black and white fur hat. However, as she stared at it, it slowly began to uncurl and reveal itself to be a fluffy cat, who simply stretched, stared at her, and then sauntered off.
"That wasn't a hat," she muttered under her breath as she watched the black and white cat pick up its pace and trot down the hall after giving her hateful glare. Feeling her stomach begin to twist into knots, Yuffie began to lay back down upon the couch only to find another large black and white cat sitting on its haunches with its ears pressed flat against its skull and a low growl emitting from its throat. "Uh.. nice kitty..." she whispered, beginning to edge away from the irate feline.
Just as the cat was about to leap at her, her rescuer walked into the room shirtless and grabbed the cat by the scruff of the neck. "Sydney can be a real monster sometimes," he apologized as he carried the cat down the hall and apparently shut it into a room as Yuffie heard a door close. Squall came back into the living room, this time with a shirt on that he was hastily buttoning. "So, you're awake now?"
"Yeah, I'm awake... I think..." Yuffie mumbled as she watched him finish buttoning his shirt and straightening the collar. Remembering reading his age on his driver's license, she raised her eyebrows in slight shock. For twenty-six, he looks good... he looks good for twenty-one..., she silently mused, finally averting her eyes and staring at the edge of the green blanket she was wrapped in. "So, where am I?"
Squall momentarily gave her a bemused look, running his hands through his slightly damp hair and making Yuffie believe he had just gotten out of the shower when she woke up. "My apartment," he finally answered, sitting down on the small sofa across from her.
"Okay... why am I here?" she asked, covering her mouth as a hacking coughing fit came over her. That finally passed, she looked at with him with slightly watery eyes and awaited his answer. She noticed her stomach had begun churning again in just the short time she had been awake and it was threatening to spew all its contents across his floor. So, groaning a little, she lay back down on the couch and lightly placed an arm across her stomach.
"Because you wouldn't let me take you to the doctor or to the hospital. I couldn't just leave you out there. You're sick," he explained, rising to his feet and leaving the room. Yuffie followed him with her eyes and watched him what appeared to be a kitchen. She could just barely make out the stainless steel refrigerator from her position.
Squall emerged a few moments later carrying a tray with a bowl of steaming hot something on it and a small mug of steaming hot something else. Yuffie couldn't tell what it was, as she was still lying down on the couch, but she could see the curling tendrils of steam rising in the air and the aromas emanating from them were tantalizing her senses. Turning her head to the side so she could get a better look, she watched him set the tray down upon the coffee table and walk across the room, only to come back with a wooden TV tray. "Here, you need to try and eat something," he muttered, setting the stand up and placing the bowl and mug upon it, soon followed by an ornate spoon and cloth napkin.
Sitting up slowly so her dizziness wouldn't return, Yuffie scooted to the edge of the sofa and looked down at the tray. Her eyes first fell upon the bowl of soup, so picking up the spoon, she took a few slow bites, hoping her stomach wouldn't revolt on her. After the first few bites, she paused, then hesitantly reached for the mug of what appeared to be tea and took a sip. "I didn't know canned soup could taste so good," she said after a few more bites.
While she had been busy with her own soup, her host had gone back to the kitchen and returned with his own bowl of soup that he ate as he sat across from her and watched as she finished off hers. "It isn't from a can. It's homemade," he explained, rising to take her empty bowl and mug back to the kitchen.
"You made this?" she asked incredulously, her stomach feeling better now that it had something in it and her sinuses beginning to clear from the steam that had wafted to her nostrils. She sneezed suddenly and found Squall passing a box of tissues over to her. "Thanks," she mumbled, in shock that not only someone had brought her in, but was also taking the time to feed her.
Nodding, he couldn't help but show some pride in his culinary skills and he reveled in the fact that people enjoyed his cooking. He watched as she continued to sneeze for a few minutes and then begin sniffling. "A hot bath will help clear your head, you know," he said, standing up from the couch and beginning to walk down the hall. Looking back, he noticed she was still sitting on the couch. "Come on. I'll find you some clean clothes to wear and show you were the bathroom is."
"Okay... I guess..." she muttered, slowly rising to her feet and unwrapping herself from the blanket. For the first time since she woke up, she realized that she was no longer wearing her sweatshirt, but just her thin t-shirt that she wore beneath it. "Um... where's my sweatshirt?"
"It's in the dryer. I had to wash it because... well.. you threw up on it," he explained, beckoning her into a bedroom. He walked over to the closet, opening it and beginning to rifle through the clothes until he found what he was looking for. A faded green flannel shirt and a pair of black sweat pants. "I know they're too big for you, but they'll have to do for now." He handed them to her and then ushered her to the bathroom across the hall.
Stepping into the bathroom she looked around and was taken aback by the utter lack of femininity in the place. She had surely thought that the woman in the pictures she had seen, the woman she believed to be his wife, would have make-up and other various feminine products strewn about the room. While she was busy taking all this in, she didn't realize that he was telling her where all the towels, wash clothes, and soaps were.
"...and the shampoo is sitting on the edge of the bathtub. If you need anything--" Squall was cut off when Yuffie interrupted him.
"Are you the only one that lives here?" she asked quietly, her brows furrowed in confusion as she looked at him.
Equal confusion played across his face. "Yes... why?"
"'Cause... I thought... aren't you married?"
"No, I'm not married. What gave you that idea?"
Pinching the bridge of her nose between her thumb and forefinger, Yuffie closed her eyes and shook her head. "Never mind... it was just a random thought that popped into my head." She watched him give her an odd stare and then leave her alone in the spacious bathroom, shutting the door as he left.
She turned on the hot water, letting it heat up before she slowly added the cooler water to make the bath as hot as she could stand it. Peeling off her clothes, she grabbed a wash cloth from the cabinet Squall had pointed out and then slowly lowered herself into the water. A loud, drawn-out sigh escaped her lips at the feel of the warm water caressing her flesh. She could hardly remember the last time she had had an actual bath and not just sponging herself off at some restroom in a gas station.
Leaning back, she lay her head against the back of the tub and allowed herself to relax, breathing the rising steam in as it helped to clear her head. "A few more minutes of this, and I'll be asleep," she muttered under her breath as she shook her head in an attempt to wake herself up. Sighing, she began to scrub herself, beginning with her lanky mop of hair. It had been a few weeks since she had swiped a bottle of shampoo and washed her hair in the store's restroom.
A loud banging on the door and Squall's voice calling to her pulled her out of the reverie she had fallen into. "Are you still alive in there? Or did you drown?" he called through the door.
Finding her voice, she answered him. "I'm fine. I'll be out in a minute." She hadn't realized how long she had been in the bath until he had checked on her. The once steaming water had cooled down considerably and was actually on the verge of being cold. So, quickly rinsing off the soap to reveal now clean skin, she stepped out of the tub and began to dry herself with one of the large, fluffy bath towels he had provided.
Wrapped in the towel, she looked at herself in the mirror and was shocked to find that she appeared to be an almost completely different person. Her hair, though still wet, looked considerably better than it had earlier and her once dirt stained skin was now of a lightly tanned tone. "My protective layer of crud is gone..." she mused as she continued to stare at her reflection.
She pulled on the sweat pants and then the flannel shirt, noticing a slight but distinct masculine smell coming from the shirt. Without realizing it, she took another whiff of the shirt before she shook her head and rolled her eyes at herself in the mirror. "It's just because I'm sick," she quietly reassured herself as she left the room to rejoin her host.
Walking out, she heard muffled voices in the living room. One she recognized as Squall's and the other was of a soft melodic quality, soothing in its sound. She stood hesitantly in the living room doorway and took a good look at the people in there before they could see her. Sitting on the edge of the sofa was a woman of about twenty-five years with the brightest green eyes Yuffie had ever seen. A long chestnut braid cascaded down her back, contrasting nicely with the pale pink blouse she wore over her blue jeans.
Sensing she was being stared at, the woman looked up and smiled when she saw Yuffie. "It's good to see you're up and about. When I was here earlier, you were still out like a rock," she said cheerfully, standing up and walking over to the teenager, her hand outstretched in greeting and a bright smile playing across her face. "Leon tells me your name is Yuffie. I'm Aerith."
Yuffie hesitantly shook the woman's hand, giving her a weak smile in return. "It's nice to meet you... I guess..." she said quietly, covering her mouth as another coughing fit came upon her. As she coughed, the oversized flannel shirt she was wearing slipped slightly down her shoulders. She quickly grabbed it and pulled it back straight, but not before Aerith had noticed.
"What is she doing in these clothes, Leon?" she called to the man as her and Yuffie walked back across the room. She gestured for the teenager to sit down and then took her own seat beside her on the sofa. "These are way too big for her."
The teenager watched as the man she thought of as Squall ran a hand through his hair and sighed, giving Aerith a slightly annoyed look. "Aerith, I don't normally keep women's clothing on hand, you know."
"These are okay. Really they are," Yuffie interjected, wondering why they were so concerned over what she wore. "And as soon as my other clothes are clean, I'll put them back on and be on my way. You've done too much already." She began coughing again, which was soon followed by a round of sneezes and sniffles, causing Aerith to give her a worried look.
"Nonsense. You have to at least stay until you're well. I'm sure Leon won't mind you staying, will you Leon?" Aerith asked, although her tone suggested that he had better not answer in the negative. Not waiting for his answer, she arose and started for the door. "I'll be back in a little bit with some clothes for you to borrow, Yuffie. You can't keep wearing those."
Aerith walked out the door, leaving Yuffie and Leon alone in his apartment. Finally, Yuffie spoke up. "I don't have any money to repay you," she whispered ashamedly, lowering her head and looking at her feet.
"I don't want your money," he answered simply, picking up the mug of tea from the coffee table in front of him and taking a drink.
Gulping, Yuffie raised her head. "I see..." She closed her eyes and then opened them slowly to stare into the stormy depths of his eyes. "Well, I... I've never done this before... so... please be gentle..." She trailed off, a slight blush coming across her cheeks even though she always knew it would come to this eventually. She had just been hoping it wouldn't be so soon that she would have to offer herself to someone.
"What are you talking about?" Leon asked in genuine confusion, his brows furrowed as he looked at her.
"You know... so... uh... do you want to head for the bedroom or... uh... should we just go at it here?"
Tea spewed across the room, some of it landing on her as the man in front of her began to choke, coughing a few times to get the tea out of his windpipe. "WHAT?!"
"Well, you said you didn't want my money... what other reason would you've brought me here?" She wiped the tea off her face with the sleeve of her shirt, the blush still present on her face. "I mean, myself is the only other thing I have to offer..."
Leon stood up and began pacing nervously, giving her strange looks occasionally. "I thought we already went over this. I brought you here because you are sick. I didn't bring you here so I could quote 'have my way with you.' Understand?" By now, he had stopped pacing and was staring at her with his unyielding stormy gaze.
"Yes sir," she mumbled quietly, feeling ashamed of herself for misunderstanding his obvious good intentions. "I... I... I'm sorry."
A knock on the door interrupted their stilted conversation and Leon left her to answer the door, revealing Aerith with an armload of clothes. "I found these in the closet. I think they'll fit. At least, they'll fit better than what you have on," she explained as she pushed the clothes into Yuffie's arms. "Here, go change. Wait..." She gave the teenager a worried look. "You seem to be a little more flushed than you were earlier. How are you feeling?"
"It's just the fever," Yuffie lied, sparing a glance to look at the man behind Aerith. "I'm fine... don't worry about me." She slowly arose from the sofa and walked towards the hall with the clothing, but stopped at the hall's entrance. "Thank you... for everything."
Aerith watched the girl leave the room then turned to Leon. "She cleans up good, doesn't she?" she commented happily.
"Yeah, I guess she does," Leon answered softly.
Author's Note: There you go. I have been doing a lot of brainstorming on this story and I have pages upon pages of notes for it. Consequently, I am firmly stuck on my other story "Blind Instinct." So, until my muse wants to work on that again, I'll be working on this. Simply because I have to write. I don't think I can go a day without writing. A day without writing would be like a day without sunshine... Okay, I'll stop now... ANYways, drop me a review. I'm always glad to hear from you guys.