I can't believe I forgot the disclaimer in the first chapter! Arrggghhh! Oh well, not gonna forget it this time. They didn't belong to me then, and they sure as hell don't belong to me now.

Trust/Betrayal 2/?

Cloud leaned back against the leather chair and stared at the ceiling. He'd been back at the office for almost a week now, and he was glad that his friends were there to support him, and that he was back.

"Hey."

Cloud looked at Tifa who was standing outside his office. "Come in."

"Ready for the cruise?"

"I guess. I haven't been on vacation for a long time now... so I suppose this is as good time as any."

Tifa nodded as she sat on the edge of the desk. "I need to talk to you about Yuffie."

Cloud sat up straighter at the Tifa's tone. "What's wrong?"

Tifa looked at Cloud, concern etched on her face. "She's been working non-stop ever since... ever since... you know. If she's not working, she's doing something else, rock-climbing, swimming, working out... I don't even know if she eats, Cloud. She's lost so much weight."

"I noticed that." Cloud replied softly, suddenly glad that he did accept Yuffie's offer to join her in the cruise.

"I'm really glad you're going with her, Cloud." Tifa confessed as she turned away from him and looked out at the window. "Take care of her, okay?"

"You don't have to ask, Tifa."

Tifa smiled as she kissed Cloud on the forehead. "Glad to see you back,"

Cloud smiled as he held Tifa's hands. "Why do I always screw up?"

"You didn't screw up, Cloud. I don't exactly know what happened between you and Aerith, but what they did to you and Yuffie..." Tifa didn't finish her words as she tightened her hold on Cloud's hands. "Just be careful okay? Watch out for Yuffie, you know how out of control she can get, make sure she doesn't drink more than one bottle of alcohol, and that she's allergic to peanuts and..."

"Yes, mother. I'll take good care of her." Cloud said dryly cutting Tifa before she gave a list of what-to-do and what-not-to-do. "We'll be fine. I left our contact details with Vincent if you need us."

"I think we can survive another week without you."

Cloud snorted as he stood up. "I bet you can. I'm going to go now, I told Yuffie I'd pick her up from her apartment. What time did she leave anyway?"

"About four, Shera went with her to buy a new camera."

"Camera? Doesn't she own one?"

Tifa nodded. "Yeah, but Yuffie's been wanting to get a digital camera. Shera offered to go along so Yuffie doesn't get ripped off. You know how gullible she can be."

"If her choice of men is anything to go by..." Cloud muttered, and Tifa chose to ignore the comment. "I'm going, take care, and make sure Vincent doesn't over work himself."

"No problem. Have fun!"

(------)

"Flight AC7-2 to Costa del Sol is about to board. Please have your boarding tickets ready."

Cloud watched as Yuffie pulled out her ticket from her backpack and a bottle of pills. "Can you hold this for me, please?" Yuffie asked as she handed him her ticket and opened the bottle before popping it in her mouth. She took a drink from her water and placed the cap back on. "Guaranteed to keep me safe from barfing."

"Nice." Cloud said dryly as he handed back her ticket. "Where will we stay when we arrive at Costa del Sol?"

"We'll be staying in a motel near the wharf. There should be a few people on this flight that would be going on the cruise as well. The travel agent arranged for a bus to take us to the motel. We have wake-up call at 5 am, so by 6, we'll be ready to board the ship."

The two friends lined up as the gates opened, unaware of the conversation taking place at the back of the line.

"They look so good together!"

"As if! She looks like she's still in high school, but he is so hot!"

"You got that right sister, look at those arms!"

The three friends squealed when Cloud took Yuffie's backpack and sighed when he placed his arms around her shoulders.

"Do you remember when we went to the Golden Saucer when you were seven?"

Yuffie blushed, horrified that Cloud remembered her parents asking Cloud to accompany their young daughter to the carnival. "Gawd! You remember that?"

"Yep, that's what I feel like now, going with you to this cruise. Just like old times."

Yuffie grinned as she and Cloud walked inside the plane. Cloud Strife has always been like an older brother to her. He was the only friend she remembered having, and the drifted apart as he grew older, and when he met Aerith... Yuffie pushed that thought away from her head. She was here to have fun, and she was going to enjoy this cruise.

The pills did not work. Yuffie spent the first hour in the motel in the toilet, still sick from flying.

"How are you feeling?" Cloud asked through the closed door.

"Like I just barfed. Uuggghhh, stupid pills... I want my money back."

Cloud just shook his head. "Do you want something to eat?"

"No... wait! Mango crush... a large one."

"One Mango crush coming right up."

Cloud made sure that he had his keys and that he locked the door before he made his way to the small bistro just outside the motel. He gave his order and sat on the bar stool, unaware that he was being watched.

"He is so hot! I wonder where his girlfriend is..."

"She was so not his girlfriend! No way!" Dione Amali whispered as she continued to watch the blonde.

Katrina rolled her eyes. Her twin sister has found a new obsession. Poor blondie doesn't stand a chance. Their friend Jasmine Dutch simply sighed. "Can you see those arms?"

Dione grinned. "Ladies, watch me."

Both Katerina and Jasmine looked at each other before turning their eyes on Dione who was walking towards her target.

"Hey."

Cloud turned around and saw a tall blond woman with green eyes smiling at him. "Hey."

The waiter arrived with his order and Cloud stood up and gave a polite smile to the woman. 'See you around."

"Are you going to the cruise?"

"Yeah, you?"

"Absolutely. Dione Amali." She offered her hand and Cloud took it and gave a gentle hand shake.

"Cloud Strife."

"Nice to meet you. Have you listed in any of the ship's activities?"

Warning bells sounded in Cloud's head as the woman smiled at him, no doubt this was an experience she was used to, an experience he'd rather not got through again. "Not yet... my girlfriend booked the cruise." Well, not a complete lie, Cloud thought to himself. Yuffie is a girl, and he was her friend, therefore, she could be his girlfriend.

"How sweet!"

Cloud tried not to groan when he saw a flash of challenge in Dione's eyes. "Yeah, she is... I have to get back to her now, she's waiting for me." With that he left, and let a huge sigh of relief when he walked out of the bistro.

He came back to find Yuffie curled up underneath the blankets, an ice pack on her head. "I take it you're not feeling any better?"

Yuffie sat up and reached out for the Styrofoam cup he gave her. "Mango Crush..."

He watched in silent amusement as Yuffie took the lid off and drank practically half of the drink in one gulp. "That... that's good."

"Are you sure you're okay?"

Yuffie looked and Cloud and smiled. "Yep, I am, especially when we're at sea. I can't wait!"

Cloud grinned as he sat on his bed and took out his sandwich, and was about to take a bite when he saw Yuffie eyeing his sandwich. He rolled his eyes and pulled out another and tossed it to the girl, who squealed in delight. "BLT! My favourite! How did you know?"

"Lucky guess." He replied dryly as Yuffie began to eat, and ate his own sandwich and looked outside the window. He wondered what Aerith was doing now, if she was with Leon, and if she was happy.

In a restaurant at Traverse Town, Squall Leonhart, who wanted to be known as Leon ate his dinner silently, as did Aerith Gainsborough. Aerith took a sip of water before looking at Leon. "I went to the doctor's today."

Concerned indigo eyes watched her as she stook another sip. "Are you okay?"

Aerith nodded and gave a smile. "Yeah, everything's normal. Tomorrow's the official fourth month."

Leon nodded, glad that she and the baby was fine. Neither suspected that she was pregnant, Aerith showed no signs of being pregnant, up until the third month when she began to feel dizzy. When she saw the doctor, it came as a big shock to find out she was pregnant, and for how long, considering that she just had her period the previous month, which the doctor explained as quite normal. When Aerith first told him, they weren't sure if he or Cloud was the father, but after finding out exactly how far along she was, they both knew the baby did not belong to Cloud Strife.

"So, how was your day?" Aerith asked as she played with her food.

"Quite ordinary. I went to the office, tried to find out who in a police unit in Hallow Bastion is actually a mole for the local mafia... helped find a serial killer, nothing new."

Aerith smiled at the dry response she was given. At 28, Leon was one of the best Profiler in the country.

"How's Selphie?"

"She's handling her cases quite well, Cid's quite proud of his protégé."

"That's good to hear." She said softly. Seplhie was young and energetic, so much like....

She sighed as she rubbed her stomach. What happened between her and Squall, it was a mistake. They both knew it from the beginning, but somehow, neither cared. She felt abandoned by Cloud, always at work, trying to be the best. His company AVALANCHE was starting to make a name for themselves as one of the best graphic design studios in the world, gaining contracts from the biggest companies to make special effects from movies, commercials, and video games. Leon, on the other hand, was feeling quite the opposite. Yuffie was around to much, and he felt suffocated by her attention. One conversation of their predicament led to more lunches, dinners, enjoying each other's quiet company, and one thing led to another... and now...

"Aerith."

"Huh?" Aerith blinked as she looked at Leon. "I'm sorry... I just spaced out for a bit."

"You're thinking of Strife."

Aerith nodded at the statement. "And Yuffie. I wonder what they're doing now."

Leon looked at Aerith. He knew how she felt. It took forever for them to find a way to reveal their secret to Cloud and Yuffie. He and Cloud got into a huge fight, with the blond man paying a visit to his apartment after Aerith told him about the baby. Quite understandable. It was Yuffie's reaction that worried him, she didn't cry, beg, she just stood there, her shoulders slumped and she looked at him with defeated eyes as he told her that they could no longer be together... and she simply walked away.

/Could it be because of the way you broke the news to her?/ a voice inside him sneered. Unlike Aerith who told Cloud a whole story, he gave the truth to Yuffie, plain and simple. /Aerith is pregnant with my child. We're keeping the baby, I'm sorry Yuffie. I can't see you anymore./

"I'm sure they're both fine." Leon said as he signalled the waiter for their bill. "I better take you home, you look tired."

Aerith just nodded. Leon didn't love her, and she certainly felt the same way towards him. They were both good friends, maybe it was lust, Leon probably has a better explanation for what happened between them, he was the one with the degree in psychology after all. But he certainly cared for her, for the baby's well-being, as much as she cared about him. And that was all it was. And that was how it should have remained.

The next day, Cloud didn't try to hide his smile as Yuffie practically bounced all the way to the wharf. He tried to avoid Dione, and luckily, he had. He wasn't in the mood for flirtation, and he wasn't interested in any flings either.

"That's going to be our home for the next week!" Yuffie cried out as she pointed to an impressive boat, and Cloud nodded. "One week of pure fun! I'm so excited!"

"I didn't notice." Cloud teased as he pushed Yuffie gently towards the line of people ready to board. "Let's go."

"Cloud! So nice to see you!"

Cloud winced as he and Yuffie turned around and saw two blond women and a redhead walk towards them. Cloud placed his arms around Yuffie's waist and pinched her discreetly as Dione grinned.

"Ready for the cruise, Cloud?"

"Yeah, Uhhh, Yuffie, this is Dione, Dione, this is my girlfriend Yuffie." He introduced and pinched her waist lightly again, hoping Yuffie would get a hint.

"Pleasure to meet you." Dione said demurely, her eyes flashing in annoyance at Yuffie.

Yuffie wanted to laugh. "Right back at you." The woman was looking at her like she was some pest, and the way she looked at Cloud made her want to roll her eyes. "Let's get going, I can't wait to check out the ship."

"Yeah, I'll see you later."

With that, he turned around, he took his arms off Yuffie and grabbed her bags. Yuffie couldn't stop snickering. "You are pathetic."

"I'm not in the mood for that kind of game, I was hoping when I told her I had a girlfriend she'd leave me alone."

Yuffie shook her head. "Nah. She'll probably try to seduce you and take you away from me." She replied in a dramatic tone. "Should've told her you were gay."

Cloud glared at Yuffie who simply smiled and walked ahead of him. "Let's go, Cloud!" Yuffie didn't wait for him as she went on ahead, too excited to wait for him, he followed her and stopped when a white bottle fell from a side pocket from Yuffie's bag. He stopped and picked it up, and looked at the bottle and his eyes narrowed as he saw the label. "Diet pills? What the hell?" He quickly stashed it in his pocket, not wanting Yuffie to know what he found. If there was one thing Yuffie didn't need, it was diet pills. If she had been working out, and pushed her body to the limit, and took those pills, then Yuffie's health would be in danger. He tightened his hold on the bag as he quickened his pace. Yuffie was a good friend to him, watched over him and tried to pull him up when he was down, and now, it was time to repay the favour. There was only on reason that he could think of why Yuffie was acting this way, one reason, one man alone. "Damn you, Leonhart. Damn you to hell."

Thanks to all that reviewed! I appreciate it! I love you all!!!!