Well, since I have nothing else to do right now, I think I'll get this chapter on the road! Some of it is written down on bits of paper that I did at school… most if it is still in the ol' noodle, though. Not that it matter 'cuz I lost the friggen papers! Also posted is my FFX fic, "Velveteen Dreams." Just in case you wanna know. Okay, okay, okay… I know what you want now. Shut up and write, VL…

Yes, I own Kingdom Hearts, Squaresoft, and all characters used therein. Squaresoft and Disney paid me to use them. That is why I live in this dumbass suburban neighborhood and am eating store-brand candy and have a job at Target. *rolls eyes*

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"For all it's worth, I think you would make a really cute couple," Aerith told Squall. He had come to her for advice because he couldn't get Yuffie off of his mind and it was driving him stark raving mad. Aerith, however, was having a grand time with him, and she wished that she could help the two get together, but the ninja had made her swear that she wouldn't tell anyone. She wanted her to swear it in blood, but that was asking a little too much—even for Yuffie.

          "Shut up, that is not what I came here for!" He hissed, turning and pacing the length of the room. Aerith sat quietly with her hands in her lap, following him with her eyes.

          "Well, it seems to me that if she's constantly on your mind that you perhaps have feelings for her beyond friendship."

          "There's no friendship between us, Aerith," he said quietly, as if he was afraid that Yuffie would overhear him. "There's a mutual tolerance. She drives me insane and I know she can't stand me."

          "Well, then, Doctor Bedside Manor, how do you account for her kissing you in the lobby, hm?" She had her hands on her hips. When Squall's eyes went wide, as if he was in a panic.

          "You saw that?" He hissed. Not that he hadn't liked it, but Aerith had seen it. Now she would probably start knitting little things for him and Yuffie. This was giving him a headache, and he went to sit down in one of the chairs in the middle of the room, missing it entirely and sitting on the floor.

          "Yes, I saw that," Aerith replied, managing to keep her face straight even after Squall fell on the floor. "Nothing to be ashamed of. Look, there's really nothing that I can help you with so if you want to figured all of this out, it might be best if you tried to do this yourself."

          "What, prey-tell, do I have to do?" He asked in a dangerously sweet voice.

          "Not sure of that either."

          "Well, thanks a lot!" He hollered, throwing his hands into the air in defeat and leaving the room. He peeked into his own room to find Yuffie curled up like a cat on the bed, fast asleep. She probably hadn't worn short skirts before because her legs were curled up and the back of the garment was riding up her behind. He made himself look away and close the door. He decided then and there that he needed a walk.

          It was nice out, albeit a little breezy. He was walking with the wind, so it kept blowing his hair from behind his ears right into his face. He scuffed his feet on the ground trying to decide where he wanted to go. If he wanted to be safe, he should go to the First District, where there were no Heartless. But he wanted to be alone, so he decided to stay in the Second or perhaps venture out into the Third. The only Heartless the dwelled right near the hotel were small, annoying ones, which were easily ignored, or the big, stupid ones, which were easy to get away from. A few Blue Rhapsodies flittered overhead, leaving blue sparks overhead. When not provoked, these tiny Heartless were almost like birds. They were just… there. He jogged away when one of them got a little too curious about him and slowed his pace to a walk again when he got down to the few shops that lined the road.

          Yuffie crawled back onto his mind again. Why was he thinking about her? Why was she on his mind? He'd never thought of her as anything more than his fighting partner before. But now… when had she grown up? When had she become a woman, instead of the little ninja who used to wake him up as soon as he had fallen asleep and annoy him constantly? He shook his head.

          In her room, Yuffie's thoughts shifted to Squall. She showered quickly, and dressed in her regular clothes again. She had to see Aerith. The Flower Girl was not in her room nor was she anywhere else in the hotel. She finally found her in the Café in the First District.

          "What do you need, Yuffie?" She asked gently in the older-sister type of voice.

          "Squall," she replied without thinking. She immediately clamped her hands on her mouth. "I mean—oh, the hell with it. Aerith, will he ever think of me as a possible lover? Hell, if I said out loud the things I wanna do with him I'd make your bloody ears fall off!"

          "Did you just say 'bloody'?" Aerith smirked.

          "Shut up. I need some help. I wanna get his attention, and you can sneak into heads better than I can so tell me, dammit, how do I do it?"

          "I thought you hated him."

          "I do hate him—that's part of my problem!" She groaned and sat down. "I hate him, I love him, I wanna kill him, I wanna sleep with him… you may not be the person to ask but the only other person I know is Cid and I don't wanna think of doing that."

          "Okay, okay… please try to calm down, Yuffie."

          "Okay. I'm calm."

          "Now, just try talking to him. You'd be surprised. He'll listen but you have to be mature about it. He likes you, Yuffie. He does. He just doesn't show it as blatantly as other people do." She trailed off, staring into space with a pale face. Yuffie knew she was thinking about Cloud again.

          "I suppose I could try."

          "Go on," Aerith said. "Try it. You'd be surprised. Just don't do anything… stupid."

          "Thanks," Yuffie rolled her eyes. She made her way back to the Second District to look for Squall, hoping that he'd be there somewhere. The Waterway was his hangout place. He trained there all the time, so she decided to look there first. She saw him swinging the Gunblade gracefully, moving his feet and hands with the ease of practice. She felt her heart speed up and she sighed softly, not making a sound. He was so wrapped up in what he was doing that he hadn't noticed that she was there. She admired the way he moved for a while, until…

          "Yuffie."

          She jumped. When had he walked up that close to her? He was ten yards away a few minutes ago!

          "Yuffie," this time he whispered her name, softly in her ear. He;d dropped his weapon on the ground; she heard it clatter to the floor. A hand slid up her back, wound in her hair; the other rested on her hip, and he pressed a gentle kiss to her lips. When he backed away, she squeaked.

          "Squall, what was that?"

          "You need me to do it again?" He asked, the smallest smirk appearing on his face.

          "Oh, God, yes," she whispered, collapsing into his chest and kissing him first this time. What happened next happened in a blur and the next she knew she was on the ground, half undressed—

          "Yuffie!" Squall's voice was desperate-sounding. "Yuffie! Where are you?"

          Yuffie snapped upright. She was curled up on the ground—she must have fallen asleep. It was just a dream… Squall never kissed her. Squall wouldn't ever kiss her. She stood upright and looked around, eyes wide with fear. The Heartless were gathered around the mouth of the Waterway.

          "Squall?" She squeaked, hoping that he would hear her. She could deal with Heartless, but there were probably twenty, thirty, maybe even forty monsters waiting for her to make a dumb move so they could pounce on her.

          "Yuffie, where are you?" His voice came from somewhere behind the crowd of Heartless monsters. There was then some grunting and the sound of metal on flesh as Squall chopped his way through the creatures to get to the Waterway and find her. Yuffie's brain finally began to function again and, with shaking hands, she whipped her shurikens around, slicing many monsters but every time she cleared a space, more of them just took the places. She began to back up against the back of the cave, out of ammunition. She knew she should have taken more with her but she didn't do it because she didn't want to go back into her room to get it in her anxiousness to talk to Squall.

          "Squall!" She yelled as loudly as she could. "Squall, I'm back in here. Where are you? Please!"

          A bluish glow swung in a wide arc, eliminating most of the monsters and scattering the rest. A dark, ominous figure entered the Waterway, and Yuffie was never happier to see him.

          "Yuffie!" He jogged to meet her halfway as the Gunblade returned to its' normal state. "Hey, you okay?" He asked, uncharacteristically concerned with her. "I was worried. Lucky these Heartless can't swim or they'd've gotten you."

          Yuffie nodded wordlessly. Squall lent a hand to help her up. She stared into his eyes for the longest time before his cool-hearted demeanor came back.

          "Should've been more careful though," he growled. "I won't always be here to protect you!"

          Yuffie's face creased. "Squall! Why are you like this?" She yelled, shoving him, but he only moved an inch. "I'm not helpless! I fell asleep! Okay, it was a dumb thing, but I'm not helpless! I can defend myself and I can fight just as well as you can and I hate it when you say stuff like this—" she screeched and hit his chest with her fist. Then again. And again. She pounded on his chest with her fists until he grabbed both of her hands by the wrists and held her still.

          "Stop it, Yuffie," he growled.

          "No!" She tugged her hands free and moved to hit him a second time but he grabbed both of her hands again and held them behind her back. This made him crush his body against hers, looking down at her with his hair screening his eyes. She was panting and so was he.

          "Yuffie, don't push your luck."

          "Why?"

          "Because you might force me to silence you quick… my best thinking is not when I am rushed," he said, thought there was a seductive sort of note in his voice.

          "Too damn bad—"

          He silenced her quickly with a kiss. He crushed their mouths together, pulling her closer to him and keeping a grip on her wrists.

          "Squall!" She managed to push herself away. "What are you doing?" She asked, shaking her head to clear it. He snorted and reached a hand out to her.

          "Come back to the hotel with me."

          "Please tell me you don't mean what I think you mean by that."

          "I don't. Come back with me before Aerith has a cow."

          She nodded taking his hand. He kept it until they reached the mouth of the Waterway, where he dropped her hand and forged ahead in front of her as if making sure that it was okay for her to walk the streets.

          When they were inside, Yuffie plopped down in a chair and put her head on her hands on the back of it. She watched Squall without moving her head, and he didn't look her way. Maybe he was regretting what he had done in the Waterway. Maybe he wasn't. Maybe… who knew? Tomorrow was another day, and there was no telling what it would bring.

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WOW. I finished this chapter! Here's my excuse for having it up late: I lost the handwritten version, I had writer's block, a trip to Georgia, school, and exams are in two weeks. After that, though, there's a few days off of school and I can write then. If my muse decides to work on this story. Right now it wants to work on "Not What It Appears." Ah well. Please review—reviews=chapters!!!!!!!!!!