Author's Note: Quick advertisement for myself. I wrote an extremely strange one-shot this morning and posted it. Like I said, really weird. But, if you want to read it, it's called "To Sleep, Perchance to Dream."

Note to l.a.: You wanted to know some other good authors, right? Do you mean Squffie authors? 'Cause those are the ones I mainly know. Anyways, anything by Vulpes Lapis, Pingpong867, ObsidianSorrows, October Breeze, Jupiter Green, Araclyzm, Annjirika, Ellyrianna, Ezri-Candy, QwickSilver, Snowri, Yuffie Kisaragi.... You know what, it might be better if you just go to my profile and check out my favorites page... yeah, that might be better. (And for those of you who I listed.... they're in no particular order... I just wrote them as I remembered names... no preferences whatsoever... and if I didn't list you, your name probably just slipped my mind... I tend to be forgetful.)

Note to Lorok: Yes, there is a size zero... not that I'll ever be able to wear it, but it does exist.

[Disclaimer: I own probably next to nothing in this chapter.]

Chapter Eight: Rough Seas

Leon stood in the open doorway of the spare room, the room that Yuffie now occupied. He sighed, pushing his long mahogany hair out of his eyes as he looked at the door in slight confusion, wondering why she had insisted upon leaving the door open night after night. Shaking his head, he turned his eyes to the bed, where Yuffie slept with her back to him. He couldn't help but notice that the blankets were slipping lower down her back while her nightshirt was riding up, revealing both the bare skin of her back and most of the green panties she wore.

It took a moment before Leon realized that he was staring, and when he did, he tiredly rubbed his eyes and moved his vision to her feet, where both cats were curled up. "Yuffie?" he called from the doorway, knocking slightly on the doorframe as he did so and waited for a response. "Yuffie?" he tried again, this time a little louder and still receiving no response from the sleeping girl on the bed.

Seeing no other option, Leon stepped into her room, carefully averting his eyes from her bare back, and walked around the bed so he was in front of her. "Yuffie, c'mon. It's eight o'clock," he told her, reaching out to gently shake her shoulder in an attempt to awaken her.

She shrugged his hand off, rolling over and mumbling something he was unable to decipher, but he was fairly certain it had sounded like "I don't wanna get up." It was either that or "the dogs are winning the cup." Leon decided it was the former, unless she was having some strange dreams.

"Yuffie, it's time to get up," he said, his voice loud, clear, and firm, leaving, he hoped, no room for argument. It was the same voice he used when he was getting onto the cats and it seemed to work with them.

"No it's not," she mumbled, burrowing into the covers and curling up into a ball so that all that was visible was the very top of her head, which was just an ebony spot on the burgundy sheets and comforter.

"Yes. It is," Leon retorted, trying to pull the blankets off her head. "We need to go to the restaurant so I can check and see if things are still going smoothly."

Yuffie pulled the blankets down far enough to glare at him over the top of them. "Then go and I'll just stay here and sleep until you get back," she muttered, wondering why in the world he needed her to go with him to his restaurant.

Leon sighed and rubbed a hand down his face, raising his eyebrows and watching her as she hid once more beneath the blankets. "Yuffie, I'm going to be training you as a waitress this morning as well so you can work the afternoon shift today," he explained slowly, knowing that in her sleepy headed state, it would take a moment for things to sink in.

A loud groan came from the blankets and before Leon could stop it, a pillow came around and walloped him in the face. He stood there shocked for a moment before his eyes landed upon the form completely covered in blankets on the bed, just the arm she had used to hit him with the pillow sticking out. A soft chuckle rumbled through his chest, surprising both himself and Yuffie, who was now carefully peeking out of the blankets. "You aren't mad at me?" she whispered quietly, preparing to duck in case he tried to retaliate.

"No, I'm not mad," Leon replied, walking towards the bedroom door, her bedroom door. He briefly wondered when he had stopped considering this room the spare room and started calling it hers, but he decided not to ponder the issue too long. Instead, he looked back at her over his shoulder, seeing that she was settling into the blankets once more. "Yuffie, you have five minutes or you don't get any breakfast."

At the mention of food, Yuffie leaped out of the bed and began scrambling around the room, not even thinking about the fact that she was half undressed and Leon was still in the room. She turned long enough to see him leaving, shutting the door as he did so and causing her unexplainable fear to set in. "Don't shut the--" she started, then stopped when she noticed that he had just partially shut it for her.

Five minutes later, Yuffie found herself sitting on the kitchen counter and staring glumly at the bowl of wheat bran cereal in her hands. "This isn't breakfast," she muttered, picking some up on her spoon and letting it fall back into the milk. "Hell, this isn't even food. I wouldn't feed this to my worst enemy."

Across the kitchen and sitting on a stool pulled up to the bar, Leon sat calmly eating the same wheat bran cereal and reading the morning paper. "It's that or nothing," he told her, not taking his eyes off the article he was reading.

"When you said 'breakfast,' I naturally assumed bacon, eggs, pancakes, waffles, French toast, or something like you've been cooking this last week," Yuffie complained, taking a bite of her cereal and grimacing. She quickly grabbed her glass of orange juice to wash the horrid taste out of her mouth. "Not this... this... shit."

"Watch your mouth," Leon automatically called to her, raising his eyes from the paper just long enough to glance at her. Since she had been there, he'd been trying to get her to watch her language as cursing didn't much appeal to him. "And I don't cook a big breakfast on the days I have to work."

Yuffie rolled her eyes and managed to choke down a few more bites of the cereal before her stomach began to retaliate. Pouring it down the garbage disposal, she rinsed out her bowl before grabbing a granola bar out of the cabinet, having decided that it would taste much better than that stuff Leon called cereal. "If I'm gonna have to eat cereal every morning, we're gonna have to buy something with the word 'sugar' or 'frosted' in the name," she grumbled, biting into the granola bar.

A few minutes later, the two of them were walking to the covered garage the apartment building provided for its tenants and Yuffie found herself wondering what type of car Leon drove. Even after being there for a week, she still hadn't seen it and when she had come in here with Aerith the day before, the florist hadn't mentioned which car was Leon's. Yuffie's jaw dropped when she saw which car the man was climbing into. "You drive a Jaguar?!" she asked incredulously, her eyes widening as she circled the black car and stared at the white leather seats.

"Yes, I do. Now get in the car," Leon demanded, having to roll down his window to yell at her. He watched as she very tentatively climbed into the passenger seat, checking the bottoms of her shoes before she pulled them into the car. "What are you doing?"

"I don't want to get this thing dirty or anything. I mean, it's a Jaguar!" Yuffie very carefully closed the door, almost afraid to touch anything in the car for fear of breaking something. But then her eyes fell upon the radio which was still turned off. And before Leon could stop her, she had already changed it from his station of classical music to one of those stations that played everything from country music to rock.

Groaning, Leon slowly drove out of the parking garage and turned onto the road, concentrating on his driving so he didn't have to listen to her choice of music. He continued driving, keeping his eyes on the road until he felt his passenger staring at him. "What?" he asked, turning to her as he stopped at a red light.

"You have a Jaguar and you drive like an old woman," Yuffie complained, drumming her fingers on the dashboard in time to the music. "I really expected more from you, Squall."

Ignoring her first comment and deciding that he would not divulge his past to this teenager, Leon focused on her second instead. "It's Leon," he said coldly, his eyes already back on the road and waiting for the light to turn green.

"Sorry, it just slipped," Yuffie muttered apologetically, staring out the passenger side window at the people milling on the streets. A glimpse of a homeless man wandering around reminded her that if it hadn't been for Leon, she would still be out there. Feeling a sense of gratitude, she decided she would try and be more gracious towards him and less like the annoyance she knew she was. "So, have you owned the restaurant long?"

There was a long silence and Yuffie soon believed that Leon either hadn't heard her question or chose to ignore it. And in case it were the latter, she decided not to repeat it for fear of making him mad. But his baritone voice interrupted her thoughts, causing her to turn to look at him as he spoke.

"I've had it for about seven years now," he finally answered, turning into the parking lot of his restaurant, The Rustic Oven. "My parents... I inherited it from them when they died. But I had always known that I would take over eventually. It just came as a shock that it would be while I was so young." He paused, killing the engine of his car and just sat there in the parking lot with Yuffie, hunched over the steering wheel with his head resting atop it. "I was only nineteen and a freshmen at the university and then BAM! Here I am, the owner of a restaurant. I wasn't ready for it and it took a lot out of me to handle both this and finish school."

His young passenger twisted around so she was facing him and tentatively reached a hand out, placing it on his shoulders to comfort him. But, feeling him tense up immediately at her touch, she drew her hand back and looked down at the floorboard. "I'm sorry, Leon. It must've been really hard on you," she whispered quietly, have afraid he would yell at her. "But look how far you've come. I mean, twenty-six years old and you own a Jaguar! That's gotta be something considering that most people who own jags are ancient."

Nodding, Leon raised his head from the steering wheel and stared blankly out the front windshield. He let out a deep sigh, pushing his emotions back behind his wall once more before he stepped out into the brisk October morning air. He waited for Yuffie to follow him before locking and setting the alarm on his car with the remote. "Come on," he called, cocking his head to the side, "the employee entrance is back here."

Yuffie followed him through the door and found herself in a huge kitchen, the walls permeated with the scents of the many dinners cooked there. She breathed in deeply, closing her eyes to better savor the smells, surprised that the place could smell so good when nothing was even cooking. "Leon, I already love this place," she muttered, taking another deep breath of various scents. "It smells like your kitchen at the apartment."

Silently laughing at her, he stood off to the side, smelling the air himself. "It smells like home," he said, elaborating when she gave him a curious look. "My mother used to be the main chef here and she would cook the same meals at home. Not that I was a mama's boy or anything..." he said in his defense. Leon brushed past her and beckoned him to follow her into the small office located off the kitchen. He gestured towards the seat in front of his desk and handed her a form and a pen. "I need you to fill that out so you can work here." At her questioning glance, he elaborated. "I need it for filing information and government stuff and such."

"Okay, whatever you say boss," Yuffie replied, grinning as she stared down at the form. While Leon was going over various receipts and placing supply orders, Yuffie happily filled out the paper, but frowned when she came to the next box. "Uh... Leon... I don't have a social security card."

"Just put your number in for now and we'll get you a copy of your card later," he muttered, not even raising his eyes from the papers he was going over.

"That's the problem... I don't know my social security number." She glanced up at him and watched as he lowered the paper he was holding to his desk and wearily rubbed his eyes. "I'm sorry," she whimpered softly.

Shaking his head, he rested it upon his hands with his elbows propped on the desktop. "Just fill out the rest and I'll have to pay you under the table for now," he finally said, rubbing the back of his neck. "And we'll go about getting your social security card tomorrow."

Yuffie's eyes widened in shock at the mention of pay. "I'm getting paid to work here?" she asked disbelievingly, staring at him intently as though waiting for him to tell her it had only been a joke. But, instead he distractedly nodded. "I thought I was just working here for room and board?"

"No, Yuffie. You'll be making the same amount as the other waiters and waitresses. Room and board doesn't cost that much, so don't worry about it." He stood up, walking to the office door and calling over his shoulder, "I've got some things to check on. I'll be right back."

A few hours later, Yuffie was introduced to three of Leon's younger employees: a red-headed sixteen year old waitress named Kairi, the spikey-haired and also sixteen year old brunet dishwasher Sora, and a silver-haired seventeen year old host Riku. Kairi later divulged that Sora used to be a waiter, but he kept spilling things on people's laps and was demoted to busboy. And then, as a busboy, he kept breaking the dishes and Leon had to further demote him to dishwasher, deeming both the customers and the dishes to be much safer if Sora was working behind the scenes.

Leon had explained to Kairi that Yuffie was to be the new waitress and had the red-head find a uniform for her and begin her training since he, himself, would be busy in the kitchen and office today. All smiles, Kairi impatiently and excitedly tugged on Yuffie's arm, dragging her to where they kept the spare uniforms.

Pulling the smallest pair of black pants and the smallest white blouse she could find off the hangers, Kairi held them out towards Yuffie. "Here, these might work," she told her, trying to judge if they would be small enough. "And if they're too big, Leon will order some new ones for you."

Yuffie took the clothes out of the girl's hands, careful not to wrinkle them as she entered the bathroom. "These should work fine, Kairi," she reassured through the bathroom door as she pulled the pants on and found out they were, indeed, too big for her. "At least, they would work if I had a belt."

"I have an idea," Kairi called through the door as she walked past it and towards the kitchen. "I'll be right back."

"Okay," Yuffie sighed as she pulled on the white blouse, finding it to be too big as well. But, at least she was able to keep it on her shoulders. Her pants, on the other hand, kept slipping over her hips and trying to fall to her ankles. She stepped out of the bathroom just as Kairi returned to the room, a roll of butcher's twine and a pair of scissors in her hands.

"We'll make a belt for you for today. Tomorrow you can bring one from home," the red-head explained, cutting off a length of string and pulling it through Yuffie's belt loops. She tightened the string and tied a quick knot, tugging on it to reassure herself that it would keep her pants up. "There."

Yuffie looked down at her improvised belt and experimentally tugged on her pants to see if they would stay up, which they did. "Yep... it works... now I'll just have to figure out how to untie that knot you made to go to the bathroom..." she trailed off, staring at the messy and tangled knot Kairi had made.

The red-head giggled, putting her hands behind her back. "I guess you'll have to take a pair of scissors with you," she said, turning and reaching into a cabinet to pull out a long red apron. "And don't forget this." As she handed it to her, she tied her own around her waist.

Raising her eyebrows, Yuffie stared at the apron in her hand for a moment before putting it on. "Colorful," she muttered, looking down at the splash of red that contrasted with her black pants and white shirt. She noticed Kairi rolling up her sleeves, so she did the same. "So... what now?"

"Now, I show you where all the tables are and what their numbers are before the customers start filing in."

At the dinner rush, Yuffie found herself seemingly pulled in five directions at once as she rushed around trying to take orders and serve food at the same time. Of course, Kairi did come to relieve her occasionally, or take on another table when Riku had seated yet another party in her area. And, after Yuffie spilled a whole pitcher of iced tea down a woman's cleavage, Kairi had taken over that table as well.

Finally taking her break, she retreated to the kitchen where Sora was diligently washing the dishes under the scalding hot spray of water. And at that moment, she was envious of the demoted teenager and would have given her right arm to trade places with him. "Sora, how did you manage to get here again?" she asked hopefully, hoping that she could follow in his footsteps.

"You don't want this job, Yuffie," he told her, still slaving over the hot water and trying not to burn his hands at the same time. "It's too hot in here and you don't get any tips."

"I'm not gonna be getting any tips tonight, anyways," she muttered under her breath as she walked past him and deeper into the kitchen. Once there, she found the other waiters and the cooks brushing past her, giving her glares when she got in the way. She quickly backed out of the there and leaned against the wall, trying to keep herself calm.

"Yuffie! Order up for table seven!" someone called to her as they placed the food on the counter for her to pick up.

It was the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back as she found herself suddenly unable to cope with all the noise and all that needed to be done. She sank to the floor with her back to the wall, drew her knees up, and started sobbing into them. "I can't do this. I can't do this," she murmured, keeping her face between her knees.

A hand fell upon her shoulder and she looked up to see Leon kneeling next to her. "Come on," he whispered, grasping her firmly by the arms and helping her to her feet. He turned to look over his shoulder and saw Kairi hurrying around the kitchen, grabbing plates. "Kairi, you and Nikki take over Yuffie's tables for the rest of the night." The red-head nodded, grabbing the plates for Yuffie's tables on her way out.

Leon led Yuffie to the office they were in that morning and sat her down in the chair, handing her a cup of water. She took a sip, sputtering as her sobs threatened to choke her. "I... I'm... sorry," she stammered, looking down at the floor. "I... it's just.... there's so many people and so much to do."

"It's okay. Kairi and Nikki will take care of your tables and everything will be okay," he soothed, fighting the urge to brush her tears away. Where did that come from? he wondered to himself as he started to leave the room. "You just stay back here until we close, okay?" He looked over his shoulder to see her nod, then went back into the kitchen.

But, as he tried to cook and oversee what his other chefs were doing, he kept finding Yuffie's tear-stained face blocking his vision. He finally laid the knife he was holding down on the counter and turned to his assistant manager. "Julian, I need you to take over in here and close up for the night," he told the shorter blonde man as he left to go back to Yuffie.

In the office, he found her curled into a ball in the chair and her eyes closed. At first, he thought she was asleep, but when he shut the door behind him, her head jerked up and she stared at him. "I can't go back out there..." she muttered, afraid he was going to make her serve the customers once more.

"I know... I'm taking you home," Leon replied, grabbing the jacket he had discarded earlier. "Go get your stuff and we'll leave." He watched as she scurried to her feet and went to retrieve the clothes she wore earlier.

Yuffie came back a few minutes later, still slightly confused by the actions Leon was taking. "Uh... I'm ready to go," she muttered as she saw him leaning against the wall in the office, apparently deep in thought. She, herself, was deep in thought as well, thinking about how this man was more than she first thought he was. There was much more to him than she could see or understand right now. As they walked out to his car, she continued to ponder this, falling asleep on the ride to his apartment.

Author's Note: there it is. going to go post right now. Please review.