Yost 5

Chapter Two

"NO!"

"Yuffie, would you please calm down?" Aerith half-asked, half-demanded. Yuffie, however, didn't seem to care what Aerith wanted, she was much more content pounding her fists on the table and scowling darkly at both of them.

"Don't tell me what to do! I'm sixteen and you're not my mother or my sister and you can go to hell for all I care! I refuse to sleep in that stuffy room, with...him." She eyed him loathingly. Squall merely grunted and closed his eyes. Obviously, he was none to happy with the arrangements either.

"Oh Yuffie, you're being ridiculous. Yes, you're sixteen...and it's about time you started acting it. Instead of throwing temper tantrums like a two year old." Aerith told her firmly. Yuffie retaliated by sticking out her tongue.

"Knock it off, brat." Squall chimed in. Yuffie responded by kicking him in the shin underneath the table. He let out a strangled yell, and then lunged for the small ninja across the table.

"Leon!" Aerith reprimanded, throwing herself in the way and blocking him from Yuffie. "Control yourself!"

"Whatever!" Squall seethed, pushing out of his seat. "Do whatever you want Aerith, I'm not gonna sit here and listen to her whine anymore. I'm not a goddamned babysitter."

"Yeah, you're more of a baby." Yuffie yelled. Squall whirled back, fire in his eyes. She bared her teeth at him, just begging to be slapped, but he restrained himself. With another snarl, he turned and stalked off.

"Oh Yuffie..." Aerith was looking at her, green eyes wide and shoulders shaking. "Why do you have to do that? I hate when you rile him up like that. He's absolutely awful when he's mad."

"He's worse drunk." Yuffie muttered under her breath. Aerith heard, but chose not to comment. Both of them knew that Leon was a mean drunk. He'd never hit them (Cid would have killed him), but he'd yell and swear and make meaningless threats that he didn't really mean and they knew he didn't mean, because the next minute he'd start bawling about how much he loved them and it was so ridiculously sappy that Yuffie nearly gagged and reminded herself once again how badly she needed to hide the rum.

"The point is...He cares about you. And so do I. And that's why we've decided that you're going to have to stay with him. You've been...uhh..."

"I've been what?" Yuffie instigated, but Aerith couldn't bring herself to say it. "Strange?"

"No!" Aerith shook her head. "Actually..." She eyed the ground nervously as delicate hands toyed with her dress. "Its me."

"Y...You?" Yuffie narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

"Yes. Me." Aerith nodded, smiling sadly. "You see...Lately I just...I've been feeling suffocated. I mean, you're a great roommate and all Yuffie, but...its been almost close to ten years that I've had to share a bed with you and... I'd just like a break is all. Its not like you even have to stay with him permanently- just until I can catch my breath. I feel like I haven't had a night to myself in forever. You can understand that, right?" Liar. Aerith cringed inwardly. She hadn't lied to Yuffie in years.

Yuffie studied her. Though her story sounded reasonable, there was something in Aerith's eyes that bugged her. Some emotion, some hidden thoughts. Pity? Guilt?

Yuffie sighed.

Aerith was her friend; practically a sister...and Yuffie had been like a leech for the past years. Maybe Aerith really did need a break.

Maybe Yuffie did too.

"All right." She threw her hands up in defeat. "You win. I'll stay with ol' Scarhead in his smelly room. I'll sleep on the cot and freeze to death under too thin blankets, but at least you'll get some peace, right?"

Aerith beamed as she leapt across the table to wrap Yuffie in a bear hug.

"Oh! This is so great, Yuffie! Now you'll be safe and - " She stopped herself and laughed nervously. "Err...I mean. Well, fine - you will be safe, but I'll finally get some time to myself and maybe you two will learn to cooperate." The more she talked about the new arrangements the happier she became. Yuffie would be safe and she'd get some peace and maybe Squall would learn how to deal with the teenager better.

"I doubt that." Yuffie said, shifting in Aerith's arms, trying to gently remove herself from the flower girl's death grip. "But whatever floats your boat."

"Oh Yuffie." Aerith giggled. "This will all work out great. Trust me."

Yuffie sighed inwardly.

"Sure."

---

"It...smells." Yuffie backed up a few inches and pinched her nose; he did not look amused.

"Yeah...it smells fine. In any case, get used to it. This is your new home for the time being. You might as well accept it now." He turned from her and moved towards a large chest of drawers. After rifling around for a little while, he pulled out a thick, gray blanket and a rather lumpy looking pillow. Yuffie sighed and threw herself onto his bed. His eyes narrowed. "Not on your life, brat."

"Come on, Leon. I'm used to sleeping in big, comfy beds. You're all fighter-ish. It would be less painful for you to sleep on that smelly thing. PLEEEASE?" She pouted her lips and widened her eyes to a painful puppy-dog size. He looked at her skeptically.

"You've got to be kidding. Did you really think that demented hamster-face would work on me - or anyone else for that matter?" He asked with a mocking laugh. She growled and flung a pillow at him grumpily.

"You're such a jerk, Squall." She huffed. His eyes grew serious.

"Leon."

"I know. I know." She stood up from the bed and grabbed the blanket and pillow from his hands.

"If you know. Then why do you still insist on calling me... that?"

"I dunno." She said, as she moved about the small cot, placing her hands and pushing down, testing to see if it could hold her. "Just like to is all."

"Because you like making an ass out of me. That's why." He growled. She turned to him and grinned.

"Maybe a little. But can you blame me?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

She ran a hand through her hair and spun on her heel.

"You're always such a jerk to me. I guess its kind of like payback." She moved around the room, studying the walls, the pictures, the wooden floors...Anything that wasn't him. Leave it be, she told him in her head as her cheeks flushed red, accept it. Don't push for more...

He watched her silently. She had a finger near her lips and she refused to glance his way. Was she hiding something?

He shook his head. This was Yuffie. Yuffie the ninja-brat. She didn't keep secrets; she climbed the gizmo tower and screamed them to the world.

"I'm only a jerk, because you can't grow up." He said harshly. She whirled back to him, face red, but with anger instead of...of...

THERE IS NOTHING MORE, she yelled at herself.

"I hate you so much you big fat...ASS. You - you... ARGH! Squall Leonhart!" She screamed at him. He scowled, but let it go. Rising to her taunts always proved to be foolish on his part.

"Whatever." He monotoned. He slipped into his bed and turned to face the wall, completely ignoring Yuffie's death glare.

"ARGH!" Yuffie roared as she pounded a fist against the table, which resulted in a painfully throbbing ninja-fist. Yuffie whimpered and held her hand, mentally beating herself up for acting so...so bratty.

She whimpered a little as she crawled into her cot. It groaned under her weight, but she didn't fall through and that was enough. She bit her lip to hold back tears. She refused to cry in front of Squall. She'd cried herself to sleep with Aerith before, but that was different. Aerith understood the sadness and the misery and that Yuffie just needed to be left alone to cry it out. But Squall.

Yuffie glared at his back. Why did he have to be so mean? Why did he have to act like some emotionless, unfeeling alien? He must have had some sadness too, right? Why else would he be such an unattached jerk?

At that moment Yuffie resolved to find out what Squall was hiding. She'd known him since she was very small, but her memories of the days before Traverse Town were fuzzy. She could remember bits and pieces of those times, but not enough to figure out Squall's darkness.

Darkness.

It was nearing midnight. Yuffie shivered.

'Yuffie...'

"Go away...go away..." She mumbled under her breath. But the voice was there, same as always. She hated staying up this late. He always came around midnight, when Traverse Town was its darkest and the Heartless were their strongest and she had nothing but paper thin walls and a man who hated her to save her scrawny ninja-ass.

'Yuffie...'

She whimpered as she pulled her pillow over her head.

Maybe before she went looking for Squall's darkness.

'Yuf...fie...'

She should learn to face her own.

---

A/N: Whew...'nother chapter down. Looks like something's up with ol' Yuf. Guess you'll have to wait and see though. Hee.