Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, its characters or storyline. This collection is mine. This was a very difficult prompt to write, let me just say. Incorporating Goofy's mannerisms into Tifa's character is borderline impossible. I gave it my best shot and had some fun with it. Enjoy.

..:-X-:..

027 – Wilhelm Scream

(For The Sacred and Profane; Prompt: 'Tifa finds herself becoming good friends with Goofy and Squall soon finds that she's adopting a few of his traits, to his horror and amusement.')

Leon stepped out of the Gummi Ship after it docked in the Royal Hangar of Disney Castle, and his eyes were immediately assaulted by the bright colors of the courtyard. Tifa had been locked in some tempestuous meetings with the intergalactic council in Disney Castle's Royal Courts for the past three days. She had sounded strung out and exhausted when she called him early that morning, having forgotten to bring a stack of reports that the council was demanding that they go over thoroughly.

What they could possibly need from space travel traffic violations between Agrabah and Atlantica, Leon couldn't fathom, but he'd brought the two boxes of paperwork anyway. The meeting chamber of the Royal Courts was empty when he finally found it—he was going to demand to see some of the blueprints of this place. A check of his watch told him that they had probably recessed for lunch.

When he finally found Tifa, she was sprawled out on the grounds in the courtyard, napping of all things. Perplexed, he paused at the edge of the walkway. He wasn't enthused about the idea of stepping off the path and onto the landscaping. It was really elaborate landscaping, and it had clearly taken someone a lot of effort and time to arrange it the way it was. Stepping on it—and for that matter, napping on it—seemed highly disrespectful.

"Tifa." He greeted flatly, remaining where he was on the walking path.

Tifa didn't move, arms and legs spread eagle on the flowers, like she had just fallen asleep in the middle of making an angel in the grass.

"Tifa." He said more loudly, setting the boxes on the concrete beside him.

She twitched, opening one eye and peering over at him. He wordlessly pointed with his boot at the boxes of paperwork beside him. With a dramatic groan, she dragged herself up into a sitting position.

"Stupid paperwork." She got to her feet, dusting herself off.

"Hello to you too." He folded his arms.

Tifa still looked strung out and exhausted, but she also had that over-caffeinated glint in her eyes that heralded a hazardous crash later.

"You look terrible." He said flatly.

She looked at him, deadpan, "And you look like a bouquet of roses this early in the morning?" She smarted.

He offered a lopsided smirk at that, and as she rifled through the papers in the boxes, he glanced around the court yard. "Were you seriously sleeping out here?"

"It's peaceful."

"The colors are going to make my eyes bleed."

"Well, the meeting hall is completely white, and we've been stuck in there for three days. A little too much color is a blessing." Tifa explained. "Help me move these to the chamber?"

He shrugged and took up half of the boxes, while Tifa picked up the other half. He wouldn't be quick to admit it, but three days without Tifa was about as much as he could handle. Sure, they were often on separate missions for a week or so at a time, but at least there was warning for that. He could brace himself for her untouched side of the bed and the absence of the smell of her shampoo in the morning. But this was supposed to be a one-afternoon session, and it had turned into three days with no warning. As he walked beside her down the hall now, he realized that it had been stressing him out.

The meeting chamber was still empty when they arrived, and it was blindingly white.

"Holy damn." He grimaced, squinting as he set the boxes on the table.

"Right?" She chortled.

Chortled? He had never heard her make that noise before. Was that a laugh or a hiccup?

"When are you guys resuming the meeting?" He asked.

Tifa checked her watch as they stepped back out of the room. "In about half an hour." She stifled a yawn.

The yawn was so powerful that she closed her eyes entirely as it warped her mouth. She tried to cover her mouth, but it was an amusing expression on her face. That was, until she tripped on an uneven section of the walkway. She started to take a header but regained her balance.

"Ahyuk." She grunted, staggering slightly.

Leon blinked. "What?"

"What?" She said, making sure no one else had seen her trip.

…because the enchanted broomsticks carrying water buckets might judge her…

"What was that noise?"

"What noise?"

"That…hiccupping sound…Are you drunk?" That would explain some things…

"No!" Tifa snorted. "I guess I'm just sleep deprived."

"Between not having enough sleep and having too much interaction with the Royal Court, I don't blame you." He remarked.

"What's wrong with the Royal Court?" She pressed.

"Nothing. They're great. They're just…colorful."

Tifa glanced up and down his black and white outfit. "Say it ain't so."

They rounded the corner and found Donald and Goofy talking in the hallway. Well, Goofy was talking. Donald was…making noise. The two looked over at Leon and Tifa's entrance.

"Hiya, there, Leon." Goofy lifted his hat a few inches from the top of his head and dropped it back down.

"What are you doing here?" Donald asked, looking suspicious.

Leon nodded to Goofy and looked flatly to Donald. "Tifa forgot the traffic reports, so I brought them for her."

"Golly, that was awful nice of ya." Goofy said. "Tifa here has been a lot of help during the meetings. She sure speaks highly of you."

"Really." Leon slid a sideways look at Tifa, who suddenly appeared very interested in the concrete wall of the corridor. "So you've been talking about me."

She folded her arms. "Well…y'know…you did fly halfway across the Alliance to bring me those reports. Thanks."

Donald checked his watch, "I'm going back to the meeting room. Don't be late." He warned both Goofy and Tifa before waddling off in a huff.

"I get the feeling he doesn't like me." Leon remarked.

"Ahyuk." Goofy chortled.

Leon looked at him evenly, and then slowly looked to Tifa.

Tifa, for her part, was unfazed. "Hopefully we'll get that mess sorted soon."

"I'm sure now that we have all the reports, that the Royal Court will smooth everything out real fast." Goofy said optimistically.

"You're right." Tifa bobbed her head, "I'm just tired; that's why I'm being a Debbie Downer."

Debbie Downer? Leon lifted an eyebrow.

Goofy, however, laughed at what Leon presumed to be an inside joke born out of being stuck in a meeting room for three days.

Then things got weird.

"We'll put that in the 'campfire pile'." Goofy remarked…another inside joke.

Tifa laughed so hard she snorted. She raised a hand. "Nice."

Goofy gave her a high five, but immediately after the high five with one hand, they high fived with their other hand, then they both turned and did a little hip knock together. They both chuckled at that, leaving Leon standing there, staring at them, one eye narrowed.

Tifa looked at him. "It's been a long three days. Donald, Goofy, and the King are the only ones on the Royal Court that I know personally. Donald has a bit of a temper; I got on his nerves on day one, and the King is always busy talking to the others. Goofy here has been keeping me sane." She said affectionately.

"Gawrsh." Goofy blushed, wringing his gloves sheepishly.

"Okay." Leon replied slowly, still bewildered at Tifa's bizarre behavior.

One of the members of the Royal Court poked his head out of the meeting room. "We'll be resuming the meeting shortly."

"Welp, we don't wanna be late." Goofy remarked.

Tifa bobbed her head, " 'Kay. I'll be along in a minute."

Goofy saluted her comically and headed back into the meeting chamber.

She looked back to Leon, who was looking at her strangely. "What?"

"What was that?" He pointed his thumb back toward the chamber.

Tifa lifted her shoulders, "I told you, Goofy has kept me sane."

"Did you just hear yourself?" Leon smirked.

She smacked his arm lightly. "For your information, Goofy is by far the most pleasurable company to keep on Disney Castle."

"No, no, I believe you. I just didn't see you two as being very close."

"Well, that shows what you know." Tifa folded her arms.

Leon snickered at her expense. He agreed with her: of the group from Disney Castle, Goofy was the friendliest and easiest to talk to. The king and queen were great, but they seemed to have conversations in their own little world sometimes. He doubted that Tifa had ever had a full conversation with any of the Royal Court. To see that she had suddenly bonded with Goofy and become good friends with him over the past three days…was strange to say the least.

"So, are you any closer to getting this mess wrapped up?" Leon asked, changing the subject.

Tifa ran a hand through her hair in exasperation, "Not likely." She cast him a sideways glance. "Why?" A smirk stretched her lips. "You miss me or something?"

"No." Leon glanced toward the colorful courtyard. "I'm just tired of babysitting your department while you've been off-world."

"You miss me." She poked his arm.

Leon huffed and looked at her. She offered a cheeky grin.

"Well, here I am." She spread her hands, "No sad faces here, ya got that?"

He shook his head, "Now you're starting to sound like Goofy."

She canted her head, "I take that as a compliment. He's actually quite a gentleman."

Leon rolled his eyes. "Whatever, get back to your meeting."

Tifa shoved her hands into her pockets. "Now, don't be like that."

"I'm not being like anything." He grunted.

"I'm not insinuating that you're NOT a gentleman, you know."

"Whatever."

"…though that doesn't make you one."

Tifa seemed to have perked up since he found her snoozing in the courtyard. She still had circles under her eyes like a caffeine zombie, but the glint in her eyes was still there. If Goofy was the person who had kept her spirits up during these grueling three day meetings, then Leon felt only gratitude toward him for that.

"Seriously," He noted. "when will this get wrapped up?"

"Patience is a virtue." Tifa smirked, but then shrugged. "Hopefully this afternoon. If not, then day four." She said with mock enthusiasm.

Leon grimaced. She was going to be an overworked mess by the time this was over. She caught the expression on his face and grinned.

"You totally missed me." She teased.

He frowned and gestured toward the room. "Just go back to your meeting."

She looked slightly disappointed that he didn't confess that he'd missed her. He paused. He wasn't saying it because he didn't want her to feel guilty or be distracted during these meetings. Besides, she should know that he missed her.

"Okay, well, I'll…see you later then." She remarked. "Thanks for bringing those reports." She started to aim her feet toward the board room.

Dammit all…

"Tifa." He stopped her.

"I missed you, y'know." Tifa looked back at him grumpily. "And it's not like—"

He cut her off with a kiss. It was abrupt and off center, since he'd half-spun her around in his hurry, so he ended up catching most of her upper lip instead of the romantic kiss that he'd been aiming for. But he didn't hear her complaining.

As it ended, Tifa blinked, "…Gawrsh."

Leon just snorted at that.

From the doors to the meeting room, Goofy, Donald, Mickey, Minnie, and Chip and Dale called. "Ooooooooooooh!"

Leon and Tifa both glanced over, Leon with a frown and Tifa with a laugh. She waved them away and Goofy herded the group back into the room. Alone again, Tifa looked back to Leon pensively, like she was waiting…

He rolled his eyes, "Okay…fine…Maybe I missed you."

"Maybe?" She lifted an eyebrow with a smirk.

"Well…you weren't there…and I noticed." He shrugged. At her flat look, he lifted his shoulders, "I don't know what you want me to say. I missed you. There. It's hard to sleep when you're not on the other side of the bed. You asking me to fly out here was the highlight of my week. But now you're talking like Goofy—"

This time she cut him off with a kiss.

"Shut up, ya big palooka."

..:-X-:..

A/N: It got a little fluffy there at the end...ah well.

The Wilhelm Scream is a common sound effect used in movies and television when a character is plummeting from a large height or a similar situation. Another name for it is the 'Goofy Holler' as it frequently accompanied him in cartoons when he fell or endured explosions or other big stunts.