Before I forget...
Lorok: No, I just made the name up. I kind of like it. Heehee.
----------------------------------------
The Sparrow Sings
Chapter Four
----------------------------------------
Warmth enveloped Yuffie's sleeping figure, curled up on the couch against a man's bare chest, her head tucked underneath his chin. Her toes curled slightly inward in pleasure and a closed mouth moan escaped her throat.
What am I doing on the couch? she wondered sleepily, snuggling deeper into the warmth and trying to fall back asleep. Before she could analyze it further, she felt a stirring behind her, then a groan. A familiar groan.
"Yuffie?" croaked a voice. Her eyes widened considerably. Suddenly she remembered what she was doing on the couch. She must have fallen asleep on Squall last night. But she hadn't meant to do that...
"Um... yeah?" she asked, slowing sitting up and rubbing her eyes quickly to get a better view of him.
"What are you doing?" he asked slowly, sounding groggy and in a half asleep state.
"Um.. nothing," she replied, adding a short laugh afterward. "I was just waking you up because I'm hungry and we're supposed to be going shopping today."
Liar. He's never going to believe you now.
"Oh," he said simply, sitting up and squinting from the morning light filtering from the windows. Yuffie's jaw dropped. He had believed her?
She sighed and slid off the couch. So she was off the hook. Somehow, she felt disappointed that he didn't realize they had been sleeping on the same couch, together. Even if Squall had been mad, maybe he would realize that she was... growing fond of him. Maybe even more than fond.
"So when are we going?" she asked tentatively, crossing her arms from the coldness of the room and walking over to the air conditioning and turning it down.
"As soon as we're ready," he said, still sounding very tired. Yuffie frowned and walked over to him, missing his warmth from before. She put a hand on his arm and stared into his eyes.
"Squall, you look really tired," she said softly, keeping a firm hand on his arm. "And pale. Are you okay?"
Squall blinked and shook his head, then pushed her off him. "I'm fine," he said, walking towards the hall and into the bathroom. She sighed and sat down on the edge of the couch, her fingers gripping the edge of the cushion.
She laid down and stared at the ceiling, listening to the soothing noise of the shower water pounding onto the porcelain tub. When had she stopped being annoyed with Squall, and started to like him? She had been here for two or three days, and she was falling for him? No. All the times she had ever found someone, they had turned out to be complete idiots or jerks, or worse. And even if she found someone, it would only end in heartbreak. There was no 'Mr. Right' or 'Prince Charming' for her.
"Are we going or not?"
The simple sentence brought her back down from the clouds and back onto Earth. Squall was standing in a plain white T-shirt and jeans, his hair slightly wet and falling into his eyes in a dangerous, sexy looking way. Yuffie laughed nervously and nodded quickly.
"Yeah, yeah let's go," she chirped, jumping up and skipping down the hall towards the garage door where the car was waiting. She looked over her shoulder to make sure Squall was following, which he was, though reluctantly.
"Just to remind you, I have a budget," he said, opening the car door and getting inside as Yuffie did the same. She ignored his comment and instead pulled down the mirror flap and checked her hair.
"I know," she said, touching at a few black strands. "But anyways...how does this look? Do you think I should put my bangs over here?"
She pushed them over to the left, then over to the right, a puzzled look on her face.
"I don't know," he said, shaking his head and pulling out of the driveway. "They're bangs; let them fall where they want."
Yuffie pushed the mirror back up, putting them back to their original place. "I can't help it; my bangs are always getting in the way."
After a few meaningless conversations flipped back and forth, Squall pulled into the store's parking lot. Yuffie bounced excitedly.
"Chips, mm...and POP! Oh GAWD pop!" she said, her hands pressed onto her seat in order to help her bounce. "C'mon Squall, find a freakin' parking spot already!"
"None of them are open," he replied simply, passing two open spots but pretending like he didn't see them.
"You just passed an open on up!" she shouted, turning around in her seat and watching sadly as they drifted away from the car. "Go back!"
"I have to find one at the front," he replied calmly, slowing down when he saw a young woman loading groceries into her car, getting ready to leave. She opened her door and started the car up, then pulled out.
"Hurry, hurry, before that dude gets the car spot!" Yuffie exclaimed, turning around in her seat and glancing at the man in the car who was facing Squall. "Hell no, he wants your spot!"
Squall pressed the ignition and turned on the turn signal, but the man had already revved forward violently and turned into the spot.
"Did you see that? Did you see that? Get out of the car and give that guy a piece of your mind!" Yuffie cried vehemently. She stared anxiously at the car door, waiting for the guy to get out so she could flip him off.
"No, the guy made it there before me, we can wait a little," he said easily, starting to back up.
"We? Well I have been half starved all week, and now it'll take another twenty minutes before we can even park. Stop the car," she ordered.
"Yuffie, that's crazy, it's just a..."
Before he could finish, Yuffie had opened the car door and was sprinting up towards the man's car.
"That idiot, how could he be so rude!" she hissed. She knew she was being a little extreme, but when it came to her stomach, anything was possible. People who cut others off when they easily could have given them the spot, like any decent person should, were just inconsiderate.
She stopped at the car, but it appeared empty. Had he already walked into the store without her seeing him? Carefully, she walked around to the driver side and stopped. There, a man with short blonde hair was getting out of the car, dressed in a tight white tank-top and pants. He saw her, his light blue eyes catching hers, a strange glint forming on the top.
"What can I do for ya, sweet cheeks?" he asked with a cocky grin, leaning against the side of his car. Yuffie momentarily forgot why she had come, but then remembered with an explosion.
"How could you cut us off like that?! We were there before you and—"
A hand covered Yuffie's mouth, which she reflexively bit and whirled around. It was Squall, but it seemed like he had forgotten to scold her for running off because his eyes were fixed onto the blue-eyed man that...oddly, as Yuffie hadn't noticed before, had a scar across his nose, too.
"You!" they shouted at the same time, eyes locked onto each other. "What are you doing here?!" Simultaneous again. "Stop that!"
"Wait, you guys know each other?" Yuffie said incredulously, thoroughly confused. She nudged Squall after he hadn't answered for a few seconds.
The blue-eyed man seemed to have recovered some. "So, Squallie-boy, what have you been doing for the past few years, eh?" he asked, that same cocky grin reappearing after it had temporarily been replaced by a frown.
Squallie-boy? Yuffie thought, a smile touching her lips.
"It's Leon," he growled, grabbing Yuffie's arm and pulling her towards him. "And it's none of your business, anyways. C'mon Yuffie, let's go."
"Yuffie? What an enchanting name. My name is Seifer," the man said, grabbing her other hand and bringing it to his lips to kiss it. Yuffie giggled, then felt Squall's hand on her tighten. This was the first time he had ever really touched her on his own will.
Seifer noticed, and pointedly looked at his arm. "Jealous, Squallie-boy?"
Disgusted, Squall let go of Yuffie's arm. "I don't think so. Yuffie is all yours."
"Hey!" she protested. "I thought we were married!"
Seifer looked taken aback, staring at the hand he had kissed. "Married?!"
Yuffie rolled her eyes. "No, not really. It's umm...well, we're...never mind. We're both single."
"Eh, Squall hasn't gotten any lately?" he chuckled. "Well, Yuffie, why don't you give me your number and we can talk about the long story later tonight. Better yet, here is my number," he said, opened the car door and pulling out a card, handing it to her with a flourish.
Seifer Almasy
(550)-884-2563
852 Loya Rd.
Let's do lunch!
Yuffie laughed while she was staring at it then pushed her hand into her backpocket, pulling up an empty gum wrapper and looking around for a pen. Seifer handed her one and she quickly scribbled down Squall's number.
"There ya go, Seifer!" she said cheerfully while Squall sulked angrily behind her. He winked at her and waved, walking up towards the store.
"I would stick around but it looks like Squall is having some technical difficulties," he said, waving once more before passing cars towards the store.
Yuffie slipped the card in her pocket and turned around to Squall, who was carefully avoiding her eyes.
"So where do you guys know each other from?" she questioned.
"Hell," he replied, walking towards the store, forcing Yuffie to do a short quick step to follow him.
"No really!" Yuffie insisted, glancing at him, "Isn't it so weird that you met him here?"
Squall stopped and grabbed Yuffie's arm. "Look Yuffie, that guy is bad news. I don't want you talking to him."
Yuffie rubbed her arm. "Gawd, Squall, you aren't my father. If I want to have a new friend I don't see why not."
"Just trust me. Don't get involved."
"That doesn't give me a reason not to! And I think you're just jealous."
"Would you shut up with that? Just because I'm warning you about him it doesn't mean that I'm jealous!" he said, entering the store entrance, oblivious to the stares he was getting from other customers.
Yuffie sighed and ran forward. "Wait for me!"
She grabbed a cart and pushed it through the door, glancing around for him, but he appeared to have disappeared out of sight. She stopped and sighed.
"This is great..." she mumbled, pushing the cart past the fruits and towards the cereal section, grabbing the most sugary boxes she could find and popping them into the cart. She wished Squall wouldn't have run off, but maybe she shouldn't have upset him that way. She shouldn't have even been talking to any guys since the bet was still on.
She picked up two bags of BBQ chips and popped them into the cart, then on to the candy section, lunch food section, and frozen food section. Still no Squall.
Worry itched at the back of her mind. What if he had left without her? Or what if he was secretly watching her now, laughing at how stupid she was? Or what if he was ignoring her so he didn't have to buy her now-full cartload of groceries?
She pretended to be looking at more frozen food while actually thinking about what she should do. Ask a clerk to search around for him? Ask a police officer?
Yuffie sighed and pushed the cart towards a clerk in the meat section, and waited a few moments in line until it was her turn to "order."
"Hey, what would ya like today?" asked a blue eyed clerk. "Heyyy, if it isn't Yuffie!"
It was Seifer, dressed in an apron with the store's name across the front (Giant Eagle) and plastic gloves covering his hands.
"You work here?" she asked, forgetting for a few seconds what she needed to ask him.
"That's why I came. It isn't the best job but it pays," he said, smirking at her. "Do you need any meat?" (A/N: That sounds so wrong.)
She shook her head. "I...I can't find Sq—Leon anywhere. He went ahead of me and now I'm afraid he might have—"
"I'm on it," he interrupted, grabbing a microphone by the counter and swinging it around to him like a game show host. "Attention, Giant Eagle shoppers, we are on the look out for a man named Squall, yes, Squallie-boy. Brown hair, blue eyes, tall, yeah. A little miss Yuffie is looking for him. Squallie-boy, if you're in the store, please proceed to the front desk to pick her up."
"Thank you so much," Yuffie said gratefully, backing up. Seifer came around
the side of the counter.
"I'll personally escort you there, babe," he said, grabbing the cart from her and pushing it forward, leading her towards the front desk. In less than a minute they saw Squall standing at the desk, looking extremely annoyed.
"You could have just come around to the magazine section," he said, his voice low. "Let's pay and get out of here."
"Nice, Squallie-boy, real nice to leave a lady like that to push her own cart," Seifer said, shaking his head, mocking him. "Yuffie deserves much better."
Seifer took a step forward, a flaunting grin on his face, as if daring him to come at him. Yuffie put a hand on Squall's arm.
"Let's just go pay..." she said weakly, tugging at his sleeve.
"Well Squallie-boy? Afraid? Afraid of the big bad—"
The sickening pounding noise of human bone connecting against human bone and then the thud of someone falling down hit Yuffie's ears. She screamed and clamped a hand over her mouth. Squall was standing over Seifer, and Seifer was lying on the ground, moaning and holding a hand to his nose which was covered with blood.
"Squall! WHAT DID YOU DO?!" she cried, dropping down on her knees and pulling Seifer's hand away. He groaned and put it back up and stood up slowly with Yuffie helping him, letting him lean against her.
"Me and you, Squall," Seifer said with a deadly tone to his voice, his eyes burning. "Me and you tomorrow. Don't call me, I'll call you."
With that, he pushed past the crowd that was forming and disappeared into the bathroom. Squall watched him go then turned to Yuffie,
"Let's pay and get out of here."
"Why would you hit him? I thought you had better control of your temper than that!" she said, staring at him angrily. "He could've really gotten hurt!"
"Didn't you hear him, Yuffie?! He's bad news, and I don't want you to be related with that!"
"You're the one who hit him, so I think you're the bad guy right now!"
"Don't."
"Just come on, let's pay."
She pushed the cart into the line and started loading them onto the layer belt. The clerk watched them both warily and rang them up. Squall handed her a few bills and grabbed the bags without waiting for change. Yuffie gave her a 'sorry' look and sprinted after him.
In the distance two police car lights were flashing as they unloaded out of the car. Yuffie hung her head. Wonderful. Someone must have called the police.
"Hurry and get to the car before they ask the witnesses who started the fight," she said, starting to run to the car. Squall didn't bother and arrived at the car a minute later and put the groceries into the trunk and walked around the car to his seat.
Yuffie sat next to him and sighed. There was a dead silence in the air, and it was getting on her nerves.
"Why don't you just talk to me about it?" she finally said as they were very near the house.
"I don't want to talk about anything with you. Just drop it all right?" he said and started coughing.
Yuffie felt hurt. The way he had said his sentence...she sighed. "I knew you looked sick this morning, and now you've over worked yourself. You're probably catching the flu."
"Good, then maybe you'll lend me some piece and quiet." He pulled into the driveway and opened the car door and slammed it shut, Yuffie following suit.
"Squall...don't!" She grabbed his arm but he shook it off without a word and proceeded to his bedroom where he closed the door. Yuffie rolled her eyes, but still felt hurt at the same time. Why couldn't they just communicate with each other?
Maybe she had gone into this bet overconfidently.
----------------------------------------------------------
I live! Okay I am SO SORRY that I didn't update sooner, I am totally to blame. Thanks to Annjirika who threatened me into writing this! Seifer made a guest appearance in this, and maybe in other stories you'll see more of it..in..other things...-cough-
Thank you to all the reviewers, I luff you! And, please review, it'll make me really, really, really, really, really happy and stuff!