Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, its characters or storyline. This collection is mine, as are Duke and Jake Alms. Enjoy!

..:-X-:..

191 – Rock, Paper, Scissors

For justagirl8225

Tifa opened the door to the storage garage, blinked, looked around, looked inside again, and then turned to Leon.

"What did you do to my jeep?"

Beside her, Leon looked from her to the jeep. "What?"

Tifa stepped into the garage and surveyed the gutted body of the vehicle. Rusted innards had been pushed into a pile, and auto organ transplants were stacked against the wall. He had been at this for a while, she noted.

"It doesn't run yet, still." He went on.

She peered into the hollow engine cavity. "Clearly." She straightened, "When do you find time to do this?"

He shrugged and walked around the back, where the hatch door had been removed. She followed and looked inside at the threadbare and aged upholstery, which was fraying and peeling from the floor.

"You've been too busy and—" He shrugged again. "—you weren't supposed to see it yet—Anyway, the chemical I put on the inside should loosen the glue and make it easier to tear the old carpet out."

Tifa grinned, "You were going to surprise me?"

"No." He grunted, busying himself with a few tools.

"You were!" She laughed. "I'm touched."

"It's just a car." Leon mumbled, looking a little pink at her reaction.

"But it was a piece of junk and now—"

"It's still a piece of junk, just in pieces."

"Buh-buh-buh!" She cut him off. "It's a Frankenstein…a caterpillar in the cocoon…Aerith before her morning coffee…"

He quirked an eyebrow at her. "You want a moment alone with it?"

She shoved his shoulder. "No, but I do want in on it. It's my jeep. I can't let you have all the fun."

"Fun? Fine, you can tear the old carpet out while I align the steering."

Tifa took one look at the gritty, mangled upholstery and then looked to Leon. "Or…You could do that and I'll align the steering."

He gave her a flat look, which she returned and a beat passed.

Without a word, they both lifted a fist. They both shook their fist up and down twice and then threw. Tifa made scissors with her fingers. Leon made a rock.

"Damn." She sighed as he smirked and mock crushed her scissors with his fist. "Two out of three?"

He just handed her the tools to tear out the carpet. "Enjoy."

She took them and faced the carpet, her nemesis. She had just climbed in and set up to start the task when Leon leaned in, twisted the pliers around one of the awkward knobs on the console, and smacked the top of the dashboard. In response to the abuse, the old radio chugged to life, gurgling at first but then clearing in a few seconds.

The last time she had seen the jeep, it had been a rusted beast held together by duct tape. Now it was a skeleton, well on the way to reconstructive surgery.

"Hey, Leon?...Thanks."

"Yeah, yeah."

..:-X-:..

192 – Boxers or Briefs

For justagirl8225

Jake Alms was officially annoying.

"Don't you have a job? Other friends to annoy? Grass to watch grow?" Tifa grumbled, looking under cars in the parking lot and around the boxes in the alley.

"Right now I have a dog to help find because SOMEONE lost her." He teased, looking around the parking lot as well.

"I did not lose Duke." Tifa snapped. "She roams around Radiant Garden off leash all the time. She's too in love with Leon to run away."

"Then why are we looking?"

"Because it's been three hours and Leon has enough trouble keeping his recruits in line without adding a missing dog."

Jake straightened. "Is Tabaeus seeing anyone?"

Tifa groaned. "If you're not going to help me look, then spare me the torture of your presence and go home."

"I'm just curious."

"Don't even think about it."

"Why not?"

"Leon would kill you."

He huffed and whistled a few times. When no golden retriever popped into view, he just meandered after Tifa, who moved into the alley behind the ice cream shop.

"Let's play a game."

"Quiet mouse." She prompted.

"Haha…Morning person or night owl?"

She gave him a flat look, still walking. "Night owl."

"Coffee or tea?"

"Coffee."

"Dogs or cats?"

"Dogs, obviously." She said, at least this was better than his usual endless double entendre about everything.

"Boxers or briefs?"

"What?"

"If you were a dude, boxers or briefs?"

Tifa looked at him. "If you were a man, which would you choose?"

He mock laughed at her and she shook her hand. Not seeing Duke anywhere and really starting to get worried now, she stepped out onto the cobblestone.

"You check the pound, since you work there right?"

"Girls love a man with a puppy."

"—and I'll see if she went back to the apartment or Merlin's."

"You didn't answer my question."

"What? Oh…" She rubbed her palm against her forehead.

If this would get rid of him faster…

"I'd wear the same kind of underwear as I am right now." She looked at him. "None."

The man nearly fell over. "You go…commando?"

"Well after the pillow fight with Aerith and the jello fight with Yuffie—I guess I just forgot." She shrugged lightly. "Now go check the pound."

As the poor bastard staggered away Tifa saw Cid shaking his head at her.

"Don't do that to him…He'll nosebleed all over the place."

..:-X-:..

193 – In the Doghouse

For justagirl8225

Duke was lying there, calm as you please, curled up on the concrete floor of the pound, locked in her own fenced in area, like a prisoner in a cell.

"Her tag must have fallen off. We didn't know whose she was until Jake Alms recognized her." The worker was saying.

"And what was Alms doing here?" Leon said, following the man back to her.

"He works here." The worker said, unlocking the fence door.

Duke climbed to her feet, tongue lolling as she trotted out of the cell. She looked up at Leon and licked her nose at him, tail wagging.

"Don't play innocent with me." He remarked under his breath as the worker turned back toward the front. "You're lucky I'm bailing you out."

The man half turned back. "Sorry?"

"Nothing." Leon said, the dog following him back to the front of the pound. "Where was she found?"

"In the alley behind the pawn shop. She'd apparently gotten caught on some fencing and a passerby happened to follow her barking." The worker looked mildly disapproving. "You really should keep your dog on a leash if you can't control her."

Leon was getting impatient, but his expression stayed flat. "Well, I'm here now, so I can just take her home?"

The man at the counter looked uncomfortable. "Policy dictates now that before we release found animals, we scan for chips."

"Chips? She's a dog, not a robot." He mumbled.

"Some owners opt to have a chip implanted under a pet's skin, so they can locate them in case they get lost." The man said, fidgeting. "Because tags can be torn off."

Leon ignored the jab and handed over a pouch of munny to pay for reclaiming her. "I'm not worried about her running away or getting lost. So don't try to sell me on this."

"I wasn't trying to, sir." The man said placidly.

The side door opened and Jake Alms poked his head in. "Hey, some lady turned in another golden retriever, found her tottering around in some parking lot—Hey, Leon." He waved.

Leon grunted in reply, looking flatly to the worker. "I'm taking her home now."

Duke leaned around his legs, eying the other dog that Jake was leading toward the back. She keened at it and the other canine turned, ears lifted in interest.

"You can make friends later." Leon said, ready to get out of this place.

"Sorry about this." Jake apologized, looking genuinely upset for some reason. "I tried to tell them to call back and tell her it was a mistake, but policy and all that—"

"I was just getting to that." The other worker remarked.

Leon frowned, "Call who?"

Jake paused, "You didn't—" He swatted the other worker's arm. "Will you stop pussyfooting around and just call them back? We can remove the chip and just—"

"Your dog has a chip." The worker talked over Jake, looking to Leon.

Leon paused, looking from the worker, to Jake, and back to the other man. "No she doesn't."

"We scanned three times to be sure." The worker said, "She has a chip."

"But I never had a—" Oh this was ridiculous. "Maybe Tifa did it."

The worker poked at a few keys on his computer. "The chip was registered under a Mr. Tom Riley, complete with all contact information in case his dog was lost."

Heat began to spread at the base of Leon's neck. "You scanned the wrong dog."

Jake sighed, "They called Riley before I recognized her. I'm sorry, man."

Sorry? Leon deadpanned, for what? It wasn't like—

"We couldn't get a hold of Riley, but his wife said she could come by this afternoon."

"To…what?" Leon forced himself to ask.

"This dog is registered in Riley's name. That family is her rightful owner."

"She's a stray."

"Apparently not." The worker said quietly.

..:-X-:..

A/N 193: There will be a second part to this, so…bwahaha, cliffhanger!