A/N: I don't own anything of KH, except for this story-idea. This story takes place 7.5 years before the events of KH1. Squall is ten and a half years old, Cloud's seven and a half and Yuffie's one and a half year old. Or somewhere near that. I wrote this one, because I was really in the mood of writing something like that. Enjoy reading! :)

~ Yes. I mean, no! The 'yes' was directed toward the first question. And shut up. Stop analyzing every single thing I'm thinking. The question is... Why am I even talking to myself... in my head? This doesn't make any sense at all. It's got to be because I've been around Cloud and my dad too much. I'm starting to behave like those two. ~

Squall and Cloud were both sitting on the comfortable red sofa in the red and white colored living room of the Kisaragi's. Squall had to pick up some important documents for his father from his work and because Squall and Cloud wanted to play outside after that, the blonde boy had offered to come along with him and kept him company.

Laguna had insisted that his son did this job for him, because he was too afraid he would lose the papers if he went after it himself. Laguna was in fact quite... notorious for his clumsy nature, to say the least. Everyone thought it was pretty funny, except for Squall, who felt that his father didn't only make a notorious clown out of himself with his antics, but out of the rest of his family as well.

He found his father a very nice and funny man, don't get him wrong, but his... clumsiness could be annoying sometimes. Luckily, the Kisaragi's lived near Squall, so they wouldn't have to spend a full day on the job.

Mr. Kisaragi held the little and cute, one and a half year old Yuffie in his arms. She was busy with contently sucking her thumb, and staring curiously and inquisitively to the two children that had decided to visit them, probably realizing that they were one of her, for they weren't as tall as the man she called "Dada" all the time, by the lack of a better word.

She was dressed in a cute, white and pink dress - Squall and Cloud couldn't help but wonder if that had been a present of Aerith's - and held a small teddy bear in her free hand. Mrs. Kisaragi was not at home at the time, because she was shopping, again. Apparently, a woman couldn't shop enough.

"I've got them in my office. I'll go and get them right away, okay?" Mr. Kisaragi said.

Squall nodded briefly. "That's fine," he replied.

Mr. Yuffie Kisaragi walked out of the room with his daughter in his arms. Yuffie looked over his shoulder and waved briefly to Cloud and Squall. Cloud waved cheerfully back, - Squall didn't bother to do so, because he simply wasn't in the mood for it and just thought it was too silly - so Yuffie crowed with sheer delight.

Her father chuckled at her reaction. "Let's pretend I didn't hear that. My little Princess, aren't you a bit too young to want attention from boys?"

"Couw!" Yuffie replied, defending himself and now pointing at Cloud.

Her father started to laugh. Cloud smiled, shaking his head slightly. That was, until he noticed his best friend staring at him in a rather strange way. By the looks of it, he didn't seem too pleased. Cloud started to wonder what had gone through his head now.

"What?" he said innocently, but Squall knew his best friend too long to buy it.

"Flirting with a one year old. Seriously, what the hell? I honestly didn't think you could sink this low, Strife. Guess I was wrong again."

He was being serious, because he never called him 'Strife' in normal situations. And yes, Squall actually did joke around... sometimes. At those times, he would forget all the times that he had thought that the brunette didn't have a heart, just like every other human.

"I'm not flirting. I'm just... being polite by waving back at her, that's all," Cloud said defensively.

Squall snorted incredulously. "Last time I checked, smartass, babies didn't care for civility," he retorted.

"Like you can remember. When was the last time you've been one year old? Let's see... Oh right, nine years ago! I know babies do care for civility."

"Sure, and I'm Ansem the Wise's father," he retorted.

As soon as he had said that, they heard a short laugher that was accompanied by the steady rumbling that came from upstairs. Cloud blushed a bit, as he realized that Yuffie's father had probably heard their bickering, even from upstairs. Great. He got up to get a better look of Yuffie's baby photos that were on the walls, in dainty frames, his hands stuck in his pockets.

He saw that on each photo she posed differently, and was holding onto other attributes. Things like a pink ball, a stroller or a rocking horse. Shortly afterwards, Mr. Kisaragi came back downstairs again with little Yuffie in one arm and a stack of papers in his other hand. He decided to sit on the sofa, next to Squall.

"Okay, I'll go through each of them with you, so you know which one you should show him first, otherwise his boss will bite his head off," he said, winking.

Once again, Squall nodded briefly. "Okay."

Last time he had checked, his father's boss wasn't a cannibal, but he decided to say nothing about it. Stating out the obvious wouldn't help them get any further, anyway. Meanwhile, Yuffie let herself fall slowly and deftly out of her father's lap, who let her go gently. His attention was more on Squall and the important papers in his hands than on his beloved daughter, who, judging from that mischievous look in her dark, chocolate-colored eyes, was clearly planning something.

When she was standing on the ground on both feet, she started staring at Cloud again, who sat on his haunches to pick up a few items that had fallen out of his pockets, not paying any attention to the other people who were in the living room with him. Why should he? They didn't do it, either.

"Couw," Yuffie chirped again, sounding even more cheerful this time and with a higher voice than normal.

The joy in her voice was so overwhelming and surprising that Cloud couldn't help but glance up at her in wonder, his overly blue eyes locking with her chocolate brown ones almost instantly. Yuffie let her teddy bear fall out of her hands as she started to run toward Cloud - who hadn't gotten up yet - on her short legs, but with an amazing speed for her a girl her age.

"Uh..." he began hesitantly, getting the attention of the rest of the people that were in the house.

Mr. Kisaragi and Squall looked up from their reading, wondering why Cloud suddenly wasn't able to speak in normal sentences. They had looked up from their work just in time to see Yuffie launch forward like a small canon ball and land with a squeal in the safety of Cloud's arms.

"Whoa!" was his shaky and almost breathless response.

He had lost his balance by the sudden weight that was thrown against him all of a sudden. He fell backwards on the ground onto his back with Yuffie still in his arms, who was laughing again. She had knocked all the air out of him in one movement, but he didn't seem to mind it one bit. She put her little hand against his warm cheek.

With her other hand she touched the tip of one of the spikes on his head. She quickly pulled her hand away, as if she had just had an electric shock, her dark eyes becoming the size of saucers, while she said, "Oooh!"

Cloud gave her a funny look in return, wondering what that had to mean.

Mr. Kisaragi spontaneously burst into laughter at the sight of his daughter's antics, thinking that it was too bad that his wife wasn't here at the moment to see this. "I'm so sorry Cloud, but I think she's gotten quite fond of you and not only of your hair."

Cloud tried to sit up and barely succeeded. "Yeah, I think so, too. Well, it's either that, or she really likes to attack her visitors and protect her territory, or something. Maybe it's a family thing?" noted Cloud, scratching the back of his head rather sheepishly.

Mr. Kisaragi started to laugh heartily. "Who knows? But I do know that you're the first guy to get a hug from her."

"Really?" Cloud asked excitedly.

His grin widened instantly, but for some unknown reason, Squall suddenly looked even more irritated than usual. And that sure was kind of weird. Cloud didn't even know it was possible, but apparently, miracles still could happen.

"Yes," replied Mr. Kisaragi with a wink (the guy sure winked a lot today), "that just has to mean you're quite special for her. Hmm, come to think of it, I guess now should be the time to act like a father and stop her. I mean, bone crushing hugs at this age? What should we expect for the future then?" He shook his head at it.

"Mr. Kisaragi, thanks for the documents. We've got to go, before my dad calls the police out of anxiety," said Squall solemnly, albeit through clenched teeth.

Mr. Kisaragi nodded. The seriousness in which this boy talked, sometimes took him off guard. It was hard to say that Squall was Laguna's son, for Laguna didn't seem to know what being serious meant.

"Okay. Please, visit more often. Looks like Yuffie would really appreciate that."

As if on cue, his only daughter cried victoriously, "Ahaaah!"

"Yeah," Squall said simply, getting up from his seat to head to the front door.

He was gone and didn't look over his shoulder to see if Cloud followed suit, simply because he knew he would do that anyway... eventually.

"Bye," Cloud said quickly, while he scrambled to his feet and handed an extremely happy Yuffie to Mr. Kisaragi.

"Shouw!" Yuffie said, waving at him.

Apparently, all of her words had an "ou" sound in it. He shrugged and waved back, then turned to leave. Meanwhile, Squall slammed the door shut. He simply couldn't believe it! The little girl had just chosen Cloud over him! How was that even possible? Was it the hair? Did she prefer blond over brown hair? Why on earth did she like Cloud more? And why in Gaia's name did he even care about that fact?

Probably because you wanted to be in Cloud's place, he thought bitterly. Then he angrily shook his head. No wait, that's not true. I just don't want to lose from a person like Cloud. I mean, come on! We're talking about Cloud here! I'm sure he won't stop talking about it from now on, a poisonous voice in his head whispered mockingly.

The sudden indescribably feeling really spread like poison through the rest of his body via his veins, paralyzing the rational side he had had before. And the battle against himself inside his head had started. He may look all tough, calm and collected on the outside, but from the inside there was a storm going through his head. Or in this case, a Squall. Haha. He frowned slightly.

Are you sure? Isn't it just jealousy you're dealing with?

Yes. I mean, no! The 'yes' was directed toward the first question. And shut up. Stop analizing every single thing I'm thinking. The question is... Why am I even talking to myself... in my head? This doesn't make any sense at all. It's got to be because I've been around Cloud and my dad too much. I'm starting to behave like those two.

Oh, you know what they say. It's okay when you have voices in your head, as long as you don't lose an argument with yourself.

Which is what I just did... Or did I? Guh! This is confusing. And annoying. Not to mention strange.

Hey, you're the one who's thinking all this. You can stop me if you want. The question is: do you want me to stop nagging at you?

His frown grew deeper. Since when did his mind say such strange things?

...

His silent battling stopped the instant he heard Cloud's voice calling for him somewhere in the distant, in the real world that is, not in his head.

Saved by our beloved Cloud.

"Hey Squall! Wait up!"

Squall didn't do as he was asked. Instead, he even quickened his pace, hoping to get rid of him this way, but knowing that hope was far from reality sometimes. Like now, because unfortunately for him, Cloud caught up with him within seconds. He figured that he should've run when he still had had the chance. It was too late now.

"Squall, you-"

"Not now, Strife," he said sharply.

Well, more like snarling it, but Cloud wasn't impressed by that. "But you forgot the documents!"

Squall gave him a hammering look that could've turned all the flowers in Radiant Garden into ash if he'd wanted that. Then, he snatched the papers away from him. Cloud blinked a couple of times at his harshness, but soon forgot about it when his mind set on something else. Or rather; someone else.

"She's really cute, huh?" Cloud noted.

Squall knew immediately who he was talking about and his grip on the pieces of paper tightened, his knuckles becoming white from it. The faint rustling and crumpling of the papers sounded like a whisper getting lost in the wind.

"Hmph."

"Just like a little sweet doll, or something. Not that I like dolls, 'cause, well, I'm a guy."

Squall almost wanted to mutter a quick, 'If you say so,' but was able to control himself right in time.

"I can't believe she hugged me first out of all the guys in this world! I feel so..."

"Special?" Squall asked sarcastically.

He tried to hide his jealousy by playing it cool. It always worked... Not that he was jealous, of course. Nah.

"Yeah, that too, but I actually wanted to say 'lucky.'"

Squall snorted, giving him a sidelong glance. "No kidding."

"Huh?"

Cloud eyed his best friend somewhat suspiciously, finally noticing his pretty odd behavior. His blond eyebrows almost disappeared under his hair. Well, they would've disappeared if he'd had Squall's hair style.

"What's wrong with you?" he asked, bewildered.

"There's nothing wrong with me. You on the other side..."

Squall had muttered the second sentence, but his friend still had heard it.

"What about me?" he wanted to know.

"You sound like a lovestruck girl."

"What? Are not!" Cloud cried, looking at him as if Squall had just thrown a punch at his face.

"Are too."

"Are not!" Cloud said once again.

Squall sighed at their childish bickering. "I'm not gonna start a fight with you about that..." and as a quick afterthought he added, "Are too, though."

Cloud rolled his eyes and they continued walking, in complete silence now, both consumed by their own thoughts. They would stay like that, until they'd reach Squall's house and Laguna would open the door for them.

A/N: So, what do you think of it? Good? Horrible? Mwah? Reviews mean the world to me. ;)

I admit that this one got a little bit out of hand after Squall left the house. But I thought Squall could get away with it this time, since he's still a child. This is the product of reading too many fanfictions and not having homework for a while (not that I'm complaining, though). And this was actually based on an event that really happened (hey, that's a first). It inspired me to write this chapter... But I kept writing "Leon" instead of "Squall." It was getting annoying. Thank heavens Cloud only has one name throughout his existence in the KH worlds.

Next chapter: Sweet little Yuffie meets Squall in the park and insists on playing a game with him with her pink ball. How will Squall react, being his grumpy self and all?