Yuffie kissed him back, her eyes widening but slowly closing as the shock wore away, though her beating heart refused to slow. She felt her legs grow weak from underneath her and leaned against him to keep herself up straight, and he wrapped his arms more tightly around her, deepening the kiss.

One hundred thoughts were flying through her mind. Since when had Squall liked her and had feelings for her? Did he really care for her, or was he just lusting after her, or wanting to play with her emotions? Most importantly… could she trust him? A voice in her head scolded her. Of course, it said. You've known Squall for quite awhile now. You can trust him. Idiot.

Gasping for breath, she pulled away, her cheeks flushed and her face hot. Squall stared at her, his lips bruised from kissing her. She smiled shyly, suddenly overcome with self consciousness. What was she doing?

"Maybe I shouldn't…" she said, sitting down on the bed. He sighed and sat next to her.

"Do… is it… that you don't have feelings for me?" he asked, his face slightly pale. She shook her head rapidly.

"No… I care for you… it's just… I'm scared," she said, clasping her hands together.

He didn't seem to relax. She continued quickly, "I do like you. I've never been… I've never… I've never really been in a relationship, nothing that actually went past hugging anyway," she rambled. He studied her face.

"I'm willing to take it slow."

She smiled weakly. That was what she wanted, wasn't it? Of course… hadn't she subconsciously, maybe even consciously fantasized about kissing him before?

"Yes, I think I like that," she said, and leaned against him.

The trip home was as tiring and uneventful as the previous one had. The excitement and giddiness of skiing and going on vacation had sorely worn out during the last of their stay, and soon they were wishing for home, where no more snow and milder weather lay.

Yuffie fell asleep against the car door, her head drooping and popping back up, her eyelids fluttering, each time Cloud hit a road bump. Considering he was the worst driver any of them knew, it was quite often, and the sudden lethargy that had overtaken her kept trying to suck her back in each time.

It seemed much faster than normal that they actually arrived home. Yuffie had switched into a more comfortable position by then and was in a light sleep, sprawled across the backseat, which was empty except for Cloud and Squall.

The silence between the two men was almost unbearable for both of them. Finally, Cloud said, "So, how are you planning on spending that money?"

Squall gave what sounded like a small grunt. "We split it, half and half. I don't know what Yuffie will do with hers, and frankly, neither do I."

Cloud seemed to consider this. "So… is… Yuffie staying with you? Permanently?"

He seemed taken aback, his eyes torn from the blurred scenery and focusing on Cloud instead. The day was slowly turning into a dusky night, the sky purplish, casting shadows on Cloud's face and lengthening his features.

"I… don't know. Something happened between me and Yuffie in the hotel room on Christmas. She freaked out, but she wants a relationship. I don't know if moving in, or staying where she is, would be considered taking it slow, but… since we've been like this for awhile…" Squall trailed off.

He looked thoughtful. "Do you love her?"

Squall looked away, and there was a pause for a few seconds. "I've not acted like it, but I've gotten to know Yuffie during this bet… I… do love her."

Cloud looked stunned for a split second, but it flickered too quickly for Squall to catch it. He grinned. "It's about time. I was starting to wonder if you were into dudes."

The deep feely conversation immediately switched to light hearted, and the corners of his lips twitched ever so slightly. "Don't ever let me hear you say that in the light of day, Strife," he said, but there was no force in his voice.

Conversation drifted, and the young woman in the back was laying with her head supported on her hands, her eyes closed, a peaceful, unknowing expression crossed over her face.

"You sure about this?" he asked, his eyes flickering with covered emotion.

"Perfectly," she said with a grin, standing on tip-toe and kissing his nose, in which he replied with an eye roll, but they both knew that he loved it. "This will make us like a real couple. Um… yeah."

He brushed the hair out of her eyes, wrapping his arms around her waist and drew her closer to him. The bags that she was holding motionlessly in her arms were squashed against his pelvis, her arms paralyzed against him. He kissed her hard on the lips, pulled away, and grinned. She rolled her eyes, and as before, they both knew that she loved it. It was their secret exchange of affections, though they continued to pretend as though they were annoyed with it.

Kairi beeped the horn, a smile on her face. Sora pressed his face against the glass of the backseat window, smearing drool over the clear glass and making grotesque faces, mashing his face against it, making his nose go off to one side. Yuffie waved her hand at them.

"I'll miss not sleeping with you," she said finally, a blush rising over her cheeks. He started to shrug, caught himself, then stared at her.

"I'll miss your stuffed animals."

"You won't!" she squealed with delight, about to reach into her bags and pull out her favorite for further teasing, but Squall put a hand on her arm. "Don't."

She pouted. "Fine. Have it your way. So, are you coming over to watch movies tomorrow?"

"You bet," he said calmly. She smiled.

"Well, I better get going."

"Yeah…"

"See you tomorrow… babe," she added as an afterthought.

He waved as she skipped towards the car, shoving her bags onto Sora's lap after slipping into the passenger seat and slamming the door behind her before it sped off down the street. Squall turned around and looked back at his brick house, so similar to everyone else's on his street, and stepped inside. It wasn't the house it had been before. It had been nurtured under a different touch.

He walked into his bedroom and sat on the bed, about to grab his laptop, when he felt a lump under the covers. Curious, he stood back up and pulled the covers down, and picked up what had been under his legs.

He held it carefully in his hands. Yuffie's stuffed puppy. She must have forgotten it, he thought to himself. He made to throw it on the ground, but instead put it on the pillow. He liked it better that way.

Ahh! I know this is a bean. It's way too short. But I wanted it to end here. Hopefully this has tied up any loose ends. If I've forgotten something, please tell me! This is the last chapter of Sparrow. I'm going to be making an epilogue of the future. I hope you like it! Please review!