When the Light Returned, Chapter Sixteen

Disclaimer – I own nothing except the story idea, don't sue please

As Leon walked down the mountain path and breathed in the fresh air, he smiled to himself. His quest had only just begun, but he was already feeling better than he had in a long time. There was a slight twinge of sorrow in his mind as he thought of Yuffie, however; the girl hadn't even seen him off, let alone talked to him after he told her of his intentions. He was slightly sad that she didn't even want to see him go, but maybe it was for the better. Shrugging, he continued walking.

"Leeeoooooooon!"

Curiously, Leon turned at the sound of his name being called, and suddenly a small body was pressing itself into him, hugging him tightly. Looking down with a gasp, he saw it was Yuffie; she pushed her face into his chest, and he awkwardly patted her shoulder. "Y-Yuffie? What are you doing here?"

Before he had time to react, she pulled back and put her hands on her hips. Her eyes looked red, like she had been crying, and a small frown was on her face. "I had to see you, Leon. I had to catch up to you…I ran as fast as I could…"

Now her hands clenched and unclenched, and she took a deep breath before the words she had came to say began spilling out from her mouth. "I'm not going to hem and haw anymore and dodge the truth. I'm no longer going to act like my feelings aren't real. I have to tell you this…Leon, I'm in love with you. I've been in love with you for so long that I don't even know when it started. All I know is that I can't live without you in my life. I love you too much to just let you leave me without putting up a fight!" It looked like her eyes were gathering tears in them again, even as she defiantly met his stunned gaze, and he quickly put his hands on her shoulders to keep her from crying.

"I…Yuffie…I had my suspicions, but I didn't really know that you felt this way…I…um…" Leon honestly didn't know what to say to her outburst, or even how to react. As he puzzled over what words to choose, however, all the pieces suddenly fit together in his mind. That was why she was so angry with him over leaving. That was why she refused to see him off. Finally, it all made sense!

"Yuffie…" he tried again, still fighting with his mind, "I…you know that it's just too soon…you…" God, could he be mangling his words even worse? Yuffie somehow managed to understand, and she shifted her feet a little on the ground. That was when Leon noticed the tote bag that had been dropped next to her feet.

"Leon, I know!" her shout startled a small bird from its post in a tree limb above their heads, and it flew away as she got her feelings under control with difficulty. She looked down, no longer courageous enough to keep her eyes on his face. "I…I know. I know you still have some lingering feelings for Aerith. I know why you really left – as much as you love the two of them, you just had to forget…"

Leon took a step back, mouth dropping open in the slightest bit, hardly able to comprehend what she was saying. She knew and understood him so much better than he thought; even he couldn't really pinpoint his exact reason for wanting to leave. But that was it exactly – way down in the back of his mind, he still loved Aerith. He had to get away from her so he could finally start to move on. "Yuffie…"

"I know there's no chance for us," she continued, ignoring his interjection and plowing on. She couldn't stop now, now that she was so close to achieving her goal. Unwanted tears gathered, again, at her eyelids, but she roughly knuckled them away. Too many times in the past week had she cried; she didn't want to cry anymore… "I know my feelings can't be reciprocated. But…I can live with that. I can live with that, and I can be ok with it, as long as I can still be near you."

Now her voice broke, and she bit her lip for a moment, wiping at one eye. Leon, still trying to understand and comprehend everything that had just transpired, let her regain her composure without a word. Finally she brought her head up, and determination blazed in those tearful orbs of hers. "Leon, please…let me go with you. I have nothing at Hollow Bastion without you. When I'm not with you, I'm just not…myself…" After that confession, even she could not hold the tears in, and she sank to her knees in front of him, sobbing.

Staying in the same place for a moment, Leon shook his head in wonder. What a courageous girl – she knew that his feelings would not be reciprocated, yet she was brave enough to just pack up and go, to hunt him down without a second thought in order to be with him. Her love for him was so strong that she would give up her life as she knew it to remain by his side. Leon felt a tear of his own, but held it in and knelt in front of her. Then he did the only thing he could think of – he drew her into his strong, warm embrace and held her. The two stayed like that, Leon gently rocking and Yuffie's tears staining his shirt, for long minutes.

"Yuffie…" he finally whispered, his mouth close to her ear, "I may have said that it's too soon to love you, but I didn't mean that it could never happen…" Feeling her freeze against him, he spoke again, plunging into his idea before it left his mind. "I also understand why you didn't want to say goodbye to me. Just know…you won't ever have to say goodbye to me again…"

"L-L-Leon?" Yuffie raised her head a little bit, unable to stop the stammer in her voice, and saw him smile back, warmly and reassuringly. "You mean…you mean I can c-come with you?" Tenderly, Leon nodded, and he gently wiped the remaining tears from her eyes. He realized that he had subconsciously wanted Yuffie to accompany him anyway, so that neither of them would be so alone; he was glad that she had the courage to catch up to him. Before he let the happiness of having a friend accompany him rule his thoughts, however, he needed to know one thing.

"Aerith and Cloud didn't mind that you left?"

Yuffie managed a little, hiccup-y giggle. "They were g-glad to see me go. They knew what was b-best for me…"

They knew what was best for me as well… Smiling, Leon got up, dusted his pants off, and offered a hand to Yuffie. "They probably also didn't want a third wheel always getting in the way," he laughed, picking up his duffle bag as Yuffie did the same. "I have a feeling that, even though we're going to miss them, it was for the best that we separated…"

"Yeah…now they have the place all to themselves, and Cloud can take care of the both of them…" Yuffie smiled, confident now that she could walk without stumbling or crying. She didn't have to cry anymore; her dream had come true…

The two began to walk down the mountain trail, each in high spirits and absorbed in their own cheerful thoughts. Then, Yuffie glanced at Leon and her eyes lit up.

"It's just like the old days," she said, smiling. It made Leon feel so good and content to finally see a smile on his best friend's face and an absence of tears, and he too grinned as she ran ahead, spun a few times, and shouted, "Yuffie and Leon, on another daring adventure!"

"Hey, wait up!" Leon laughed, hiked his duffle bag higher onto his shoulder, and jogged after his fellow adventurer. Yes, things were just like the old days, except there was only one difference.

Now, he felt complete.

The End…or is it just the beginning?

Author's Notes: Well, it's finally over. After all the late (or completely missed) updates, the losing and gaining of readers, and years (literally!) of working on it, I've finally finished this story. It feels so strange to know that finally, this story won't always be in the back of my mind, and I don't have to worry about it any longer.

It was quite a trip, but it's over. I give a huge thanks to everyone who reviewed with support and love during the process. All of you were the ones who convinced me to finally get on the ball and finish this story, and I'm grateful to you for giving me the motivation to do so. I hope you all like the ending – it's nice and ambiguous and leaves just enough hope that there actually can be something other than a platonic relationship between the two.

Thanks again for everything, everyone. It is my sincere hope that you all enjoyed at least a portion of this story. If I brightened up even one person's day with this story, then that's good enough for me…Goodbye, everyone. PP