Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, its characters or storyline. This collection is mine, as are McCallister and Duke. I swear I haven't died! I've been uber-busy and the Internet was hating me. I'm back now though! Enjoy!

..:-X-:..

155 – Something There that Wasn't There Before

For justagirl8225

"Tropical beaches, surf-worthy waves, and gorgeous blue sky: of course I took the mission." Tifa affirmed as she and Aerith finished packing away the old glass potion bottles.

"I was just curious," Aerith shrugged, "I thought maybe you were trying to get away—"

"Away? From what?" Tifa bristled, but kept her back to the other woman.

"Well…you and Leon don't seem to be hanging out much lately."

"That's because we're not sixteen. Adults don't 'hang out'." Tifa remarked.

"You know what I mean." Aerith smiled softly. "Did you have a fight?"

"What? Why do you say that? Did he say something to you?" Tifa narrowed her eyes but realized too late how she sounded. She huffed and turned back around.

Aerith looked understanding, "He's Leon. He doesn't tell anybody anything about things like that…except to you."

Tifa's face burned and she started shuffling through more storage boxes. "I took the mission because Stitch has been a menace around Radiant Garden and he needs to go back to his own home world. And beaches…because of the beaches."

"Did you hear what I said?" Aerith prompted gently.

"Yes, I heard you, and I hear what you're getting at and no." Tifa snapped back.

"Why are you two fighting?" The other woman pressed.

Tifa swallowed a smart remark and exhaled in exasperation instead, "He's the one with the problem, not me. I'm just miffed because he's—trying to change things."

"Everything changes."

"What if I don't want it to?" Tifa finally faced Aerith. "Every time something changes, I get clobbered. Cloud shows up, I get clobbered. He fights Sephiroth, I get clobbered. He chooses—he doesn't choose me, and I get clobbered. I'm damned if I do and damned if I don't, so I'm just trying to spare myself the pain here." She inhaled sharply.

Aerith swallowed and averted her eyes briefly, "I've known Leon for a long time…I don't think you completely understand what he did…Trying to change things…that's a big—BIG—step for him, in his own way...Since Rinoa, he hasn't really—"

"I don't want to hear about Rinoa." Tifa waved her off, going after another box. "I'm comfortable where Leon and I are, and he just—"

"Tifa." Aerith was almost laughing at her, "Connect the dots, girl."

It felt like a sledge hammer landed on Tifa's chest and she looked back to Aerith. "What?"

Don't say it, don't say it, don't say it…

"He's totally falling in love with you—and you're kind of blowing it." Aerith put her hands on her hips. "Has he ever given you a reason to distrust him? You think you'll 'get clobbered' if you try?"

I trusted Cloud too, Tifa thought, but stayed quiet. Aerith's words slowly sank into her fried brain…Was it possible? She looked sharply to Aerith, who was smiling.

"You two are the only ones who don't see it." She stated.

"He—but if—and—when the—I—" Tifa sputtered like an idiot and then spun on her heel. "I have a mission to get to."

"Find him before you leave. Talk things over." Aerith walked after her.

"He's on patrol. I won't find him before I have to leave with Stitch."

"Then just be late." Aerith shrugged, "I'd say you have a reason."

Trying not to completely flip out and take off running for Leon's patrol route, Tifa stiffly walked to the door. "I can't. I'll…We'll work things out when I get back. He'll…I mean, he'll still be here, he promised." She turned to leave.

"You're falling in love with him too." It was a statement, not a question.

Tifa's hand paused on the knob. She sighed and her forehead dropped against the door. A long silence passed between the two; each second was more incriminating than the last.

"That's what I'm afraid of." Tifa exhaled, slipping out the door and heading for the hangar.

Aerith didn't call after her; she didn't have to, and Tifa mentally kicked herself all the way to the mission. The beach suddenly didn't sound so appealing.

..:-X-:..

156 – R-E-S-P-E-C-T

For raiko. EXE

"Fifteen." McCallister informed, holding the clipboard.

Leon exhaled, looking out at the group of soldiers. Fifteen new recruits, and he had to weed it down to the five that he really needed. It was evaluation week and time to select the recruits to intern in the training program. McCallister had been taking statistics on them all week, and he had looked at the results for an hour before trimming it down to fifteen.

"Permission to be blunt?" The private kept her eyes forward, at the group.

He grunted, arms folded beside her.

"The entire left half is worthless in the head." McCallister gestured toward the left side of the group of recruits. "They talk back and their conversations are…distasteful."

He pursed his lips to stop the smirk at her tone. "Well, they can't all be you."

Some color touched McCallister's cheeks at the compliment, but she huffed. "Brigadier General Lockhart finished her recruit selection before she left on mission two days ago." She handed him the clipboard, "So there."

He eyed her. "You're being sassy today."

"Sorry." She folded her arms, "These recruits just irritate me."

Leon snorted and glanced down the stats list, scanning some of the names.

"Maybe Cs." One of the recruits was mumbling to the others.

"Dude, I've seen Cs," Another replied smartly, "Those have gotta be Ds."

"Have either of you actually ever seen real breasts?" A third guffawed, "I'm telling you, hers can't be real."

Leon's eye twitched and McCallister groaned, "Absolutely worthless in the head."

A fourth chimed in with, "Real or not, can you say motorboat?"

"Is there a size E?" One of the recruits tapped his chin, "Because there's no way the Brigadier General Lockhart could—"

"You four." Leon snapped, as soon as he heard that, "You're out."

The four soldiers blinked at him, "Sir?"

"Get off my training field." He gestured for the exit.

They exchanged looks and McCallister shooed them away.

Of all the crass…disrespectful…worthless urchins that he had come into contact with…how had those lunatics managed to survive this long in the trials without getting fired? Besides…they were blowing it out of proportion. Tifa's bra size was no one's business…and he only knew because of a laundry mishap.

…It didn't matter…There was no room for that lack of professionalism in his crew.

"Good call." McCallister said under her breath as she leaned over to pick up the other books on the bench.

It only took a few pairs of wandering eyes to McCallister's…to McCallister for Leon nearly snap that clipboard in half.

"You four…you're out too." He barked. "And you two…get out."

The offending recruits looked startled at their dismissal and McCallister straightened as soon as she realized what they had been eying on her. She bundled her coat closer around her and snatched the clipboard back from him.

"Er…that's five." She said quietly.

Leon fumed and eyed the remaining five recruits…If they could control their eyes and their hormones long enough, that would make his life and his blood pressure a lot better.

"Five am." He snapped. "Meeting at the quad for training. Dismissed."

The five new interns all did their self-contained celebrations at being chosen. There, now they were a member of the elite. Leon's elite. Sure, Tifa hadn't spoken more than a rushed goodbye to him since their…fight?...before going on her mission…but he'd be damned if he let any of HIS soldiers get caught dead talking about her like that…Or McCallister for that matter.

As he marched off, disgruntled, McCallister slipped over to the five remaining interns.

"Word of advice from the wise." She snapped her fingers to get their attention. "He's hard but he's fair…But the fastest way to get a boot in the ass is to talk about the Brigadier General. So my advice: don't talk about the Brigadier General…or her assets!"

The five recruits looked at her wide eyed, nodded, and continued their celebrating.

..:-X-:..

157 – Get Lei'd

For justagirl8225

"A grass skirt for Aerith." Tifa handed over a little bag. "Exotic salted fish for Cid. This massive conch for Yuffie…and a flowered shirt for Merlin."

She handed out the souvenirs from her mission with Stitch. She had only been back for an hour or so, but she was sunburned and wearing a dozen different colored leis and in good spirits so…yeah. It was a nice dusting of the tropics in the cool climate of Radiant Garden.

That mini-vacation had been just what she needed: time to relax and time to think.

"Thanks." Aerith fluffed out the skirt.

Yuffie was making faces as she tried to hear the ocean in her shell. Merlin chuckled at his shirt and thanked her as well.

"Ooh, I'm cooking these tonight." Cid chuckled, "What kind are they?"

"I have no idea, but they're big and they're fish." Tifa beamed.

She had seen Leon's squad in the training sector when her Gummi came in to land. He was probably out there, ordering around the frantic recruits: so he was probably in a good mood. Well, she was in a good mood, and if he was in a good mood too…this whole quarrel might just get swept under the rug…But she wasn't sure if that's what she wanted.

The first opportunity she got, she snuck out of Merlin's house and to the training grounds. Leon's back was turned to her as she walked up to him, watching the soldiers squirm through drills. How to start this…I'm sorry? Forgive me? My bad?...Bah, she hated apologies, and especially with Leon, because the man was so damned hard to figure out.

Drawing a breath, she plucked one of the leis from her neck and stepped up behind him. She reached up and dropped the thing over his head from behind. Leon started slightly, looked down, and then turned around to find the person responsible.

"There." Tifa greeted, "You just got lei'd."

He regarded her for a quiet beat and then cleared his throat, "You're back."

"I'm…back." She nodded once.

Way more awkward than she'd thought this would be.

"I wanted to…talk." She abruptly stated.

"Okay." He took a few steps away from the recruiting drill and she walked with him.

Another beat passed, and then they both started talking at the same time.

"I shouldn't have jumped down your throat—"

"I'm sorry I was being weird—"

They both stopped again, unsure what to do now.

What was she doing? Leon was her best friend…But since her conversation with Aerith…Why was she finding it so hard to keep eye contact with him? This was Aerith's fault, Tifa just knew it. If the flower girl hadn't opened her big mouth and said that four lettered L word…then Tifa and Leon would be fine, without this weirdness, and awkwardness and…they'd be…where they had always been…

Tifa had never questioned if that was enough before…and now Leon had put it out there and Aerith had prodded about it…Was it enough? This was Aerith's fault. She'd hunt her down later…Leon looked a little concerned…She was being too quiet…She should do something.

"Are you sure you're—" He started.

Before she could talk herself out of it, she reached up, grabbed his collar, and pulled him to her. Their faces sort of crashed together in the boldness of the motion, but she managed to find his lips and kissed him abruptly. The tug pulled him off balance, but he only staggered once before turning his head into hers. The kiss stabilized and went long.

Any and all other coherent thought went out the window as Tifa's brain overloaded with: I'm. Kissing. Leon. This time she gave herself to it, not withdrawing before he did, but rather letting her hands find his shoulders, holding him in place as he kissed her back. The taste of his mouth nearly buckled her knees. What was happening to her?

"What was that?" He asked, just above a whisper.

She hadn't even realized they'd stopped kissing. She opened her eyes. Oh, he was so close…Terrifyingly close…Wonderfully close. She smiled like an idiot. "Not sure…We can figure it out later."

He seemed satisfied by that, and she licked her lips. "So…" She went on, "I RSVP'ed to Belle's shindig…but, er, the 'plus one' spot is still open…if you want it."

Leon eyed her steadily for a long moment, as though to figure out what she was implying or not implying. "All right." He said slowly.

Tifa exhaled, still smiling, the constriction in her chest easing. "It's a date."