Another finished story (this is a darn record XD) Very, very light blink-and-you'll-miss-it Leon/Riku. Again. As always 3 And Yuffie makes an appearance (if only to keep the Squiffie fans happy XD). I actually got the idea from work not a few days ago, and the plot-bunnies hacked at my ankles until I finished it (I'm still a bit miffed about the ending; it's rather bleeeeh…too quick for my liking)

Keeps me fangirl mind at ease though (and sane I guess). Like it! You know you wanna! pokejab

---

Zephyr

---

Windy days irritated him. More to the point, they irritated the hell out of him; they seemed to make animals go nuts, and kids even worse. Unfortunately for Leon, that meant Yuffie as well. It was like she had this spare wad of energy that she reserved for days such as these in order to purposely harass him. In his mind anyway.

"Hey! Whatcha thinking?" she cried, pausing briefly to catch her breath from running around like a nut. Leon could only breath a light sigh as he bent down to pick up a white shirt; another one of his pet hates – laundry – of which he was currently stuck doing. At least the roof of his house was a decent place to hang said clothing anyway.

He stopped to look her over with a brief rise of an eyebrow. "Honestly, I don't know," he said around the two pegs between his lips, irritation slipping into his voice. He reached up to peg the shirt onto the line, the clothes already hung there flapping about in celebration of such a windy day. "Probably one of the many ways I could hurt you, considering I'm doing your laundry chores for today. Again."

Yuffie gave a snicker before bursting out laughing. "Okay, okay, so I forgot again!" she giggled. "Big deal; I know that Mummy Squall will be there to help me anyway."

Leon forced the growl to stay in his throat. "Leon. And you have a memory like a sieve." She waved her hand dismissively at him. "Minor details Squallie." She heaved a long and mournful sigh, leaning back as if to fall, but at the last moment cart-wheeling backwards in a lazy handstand.

"I love windy days…" she said almost wistfully. She suddenly let out a high-pitched giggle and shot off again. "I'm gonna go find Aerith!" she exclaimed. She turned to wave her goodbyes to Leon before stumbling headlong into a warm body, causing her to fall rather ungracefully onto the ground. "Ow, hey!" She exclaimed, rubbing her backside where she sat (for she could bend rather well, as everyone knew).

"Ow yourself…" Riku grumbled, holding his chest as he leant up against the doorframe. "Watch where you're walking Yuffie," he complained again, holding out a hand for her. Despite being whacked hard enough to damn near wind him, he couldn't stop the smile coming to his face. She breathed a long sigh before taking his hand.

Riku just envied the girl for being so carefree and happy all the time.

"Sorry Riku," she said in a lazy sing-song fashion, clearly annoyed by her graceful exit being so horribly shattered. "Oh hey!" she cried, grabbing his hands as a broad smile crossed her face. "You can help Squall!" she bounced up and down as she dragged him over to the makeshift clothesline.

"It's Leon," came the droll reply from somewhere between a few sheets (Leon had decided that while he was at it, he may as well get the rest of the house spring cleaned). He walked around the side, pausing when he saw the newcomer. "And don't think you can drag anyone else into your chores Yuffie!" he snapped at her.

Yuffie gave a short 'eep' and dropped Riku's hands. "Oh wait, look at the time!" she giggled nervously, rubbing the back of her neck. "Well guys gotta run; stuff to steal, people to harass and all…" she trailed off and Leon released a low growl, dropping the basket and storming towards her. Which left her to do little else save for shriek and bolt away like bat out of hell.

Riku snickered at her, the sound coming out more like a giggle than anything else, which earned him little more than a glare from the brunette. "What? Oh come on, it's funny!" he laughed again. Leon merely shook his head in annoyance and placed a hand on his hip.

"Yeah hilarious," he snorted, turning to glare at the spot where the petite ninja once stood. "This is the third time this week I've been stuck doing her chores." He gave a sharp sigh, blowing the hair from his eyes as he did so.

Riku waved him off dismissively. "Yeah, yeah, and you love her for it," he muttered, stooping down to pick up an item of clothing from the basket. Leon stopped and looked over at him; his anger subsiding as a note of confusion ran though his expression. "What are you doing?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

The silver haired teen gave a snort, pegging the item up on the line. "Duh, helping you? What does it look like?" he replied sarcastically, grabbing another shirt. Leon rolled his eyes and placed his other hand on his hip. "You don't have to listen to what Yuffie tells you, you know…" he mumbled, a light frown crossing his face.

Riku shrugged, walking between the sheets until he was lost from sight. "True. But I also don't think it's fair that you have to deal with all this laundry on such a windy day," came his voice from somewhere in the middle. The brunette shook his head and grabbed a pair of jeans from the basket. "Suit yourself…" he mumbled.

Riku breathed a light sigh from where he stood, completely hidden between light blue fabrics; the shirt clutched in his hands still. He placed a hand on his chest – where Yuffie had collided with him – and took in a slow breath between his teeth; that blow had really hurt. "Hey Leon…" he called out; there was a brief sound of acknowledgement. "What do you see yourself doing a few years from now?"

Leon turned around, frowning into the mass of sheets (he thought Riku was somewhere in there). "Why do you ask?" he asked, a little sceptically. He thought, if he strained his hearing, he heard Riku chuckle against the wind.

"No reason…" he replied softly, running his thumb over the material in his hands. It was practically dry; no real reason to hang it up anymore. He brought it up to his cheek, nuzzling its softness with a happy smile. "Just curious…"

If he imagined hard enough, it was as if Leon was still wearing it…

The brunette gave a light snort. "Probably doing the same thing; protecting someone or something," he said idly, pegging another item up. "It'll just be the same thing over and over again."

Riku paused, a light frown crossing his features. "Is that a bad thing?"

"It gets really old, really fast," came the explanation from somewhere in front of him; he guessed Leon had run out of room on the line back there. "People need to learn to stand up for themselves, if only just a little."

The silver haired youth smirked. "Is that the reason you don't like Yuffie?" he asked, stepping out from his hiding place and standing in front of the large sheet. Their eyes met briefly, before Leon dropped his gaze. "Not really. She's more than capable of holding her own in anything; she depends on no one but herself." Riku frowned, folding his arms across his chest and he stared off to the side.

"Just rubs you the wrong way huh?"

"What was your first guess?"

A chuckle came in response. "Not a lot…" Riku's expression melted into a lazy smile, as though he were distracted somehow. "You two bicker like you're married though," he finished with a light laugh.

Leon couldn't help but quirk an eyebrow at that statement. "You really want to do all this laundry yourself don't you?" he asked, which simply made the teen laugh harder. "Yuffie's a good friend though…" he said quietly, turning away and staring out over the rooftops. He gave a half-hearted chuckle. "She likes to think she keeps us all together."

Riku gazed over at Leon, more than a little worried. "Hey," he waited until those cerulean eyes met his. "She's not the only one…right?" he asked with a faint smile, his brow still knit above his eyes. The brunette let his arms drop, turning to face the teen fully.

"No…" he answered after a moment, a faint smile forming on his own face. Riku let his smile grow, almost to a grin, and he let another chuckle escape him. "You're smiling," he said in a teasing sing-song voice, waggling his finger at the man. "That means you're happy and you mean it!" Leon gave a short laugh – he was doing that more often these days. "If you say so, dear," he said, ruffling the teen's hair.

The silver haired teen gave another laugh; more elated this time, as he pushed the brunette's hand away playfully. That was, however, until nature decided to intervene and whirl the wind around them both; changing course so quickly that neither could escape the wrath of a heavy sheet – one that Riku had been standing so close to – and it was, with a pair of muffled cries, the two of them went sprawling to the ground wrapped firmly in light blue linen.

"Sonova…" Riku muttered. "I thought you had these things pegged!" he complained quite loudly.

Leon laughed again. "Looks like the sheet wasn't the only one," he smirked, placing his hand around the shirt still clutched firmly in Riku's hands.

All Riku could do was blink owlishly down at him and flush a faint crimson. "Oh…" he surmised, smiling weakly. "That…"

So needless to say, Riku got to keep a souvenir from the day, and Leon began to like windy days. Well…hate them a little less…

-End

Well, that did it for me. Domesticated Leon always adds a nice touch, if only to rope in the Domesticated Riku and romp around in the sheets XD Wow, that would sound perverted if they weren't stuck doing the laundry…