Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, its characters or storyline. These ditties are mine, as are Duke and McCallister. I'd like you guys' opinion for future ditties: do you prefer shameless friendship or subtle romance between these two?

..:-X-:..

058 – Trial and Error

Leon looked from Tifa, to the plate of food she was munching on, and back to Tifa. She looked at him smugly and swallowed the bite of food.

"See? I can cook." She said, feeling awfully proud of herself for not burning it black.

He looked skeptical, eying the mess on the plate. "Is this what that smell was?"

She bobbed her head, "But the smoke alarms didn't go off, so don't sass me."

"What is it?" He asked, keeping a safe distance from the table.

Tifa looked down at the plate and back to him. "Chicken alfredo. Why?"

"I've…never seen it that color before." He folded his arms.

She frowned, "Well, it tastes just fine."

He snorted and she scoffed, pulling out a fork and jabbing it at him.

"All right, Mr. Chef McCooking-Skills, try it for yourself." She held out the fork.

"I don't think I'm brave enough for that." He half turned.

"I dare you." She pressed.

He looked at her flatly. "If you have to dare someone to try your food, that's not saying much."

She wordlessly held the fork out with a stubborn glare. He heaved a long-suffering sigh and snatched the fork.

"If it'll make you shut up about it."

She watched him closely as he took an apprehensive bite of the supposed chicken alfredo. He looked at her, chewed twice, stopped, and immediately looked for the trash can.

"Oh come on." She moaned as he spat it out in the trash can. "It can't be that bad."

Leon wiped his mouth, "Did you put any water in this at all?"

"I followed the directions." She held up the cookbook and shook it at him.

He shook his head, coughing a few times. "Not close enough."

Tifa sighed and sat back, poking at the plate herself. "I miss the good old days."

"Good old days?" He lifted an eyebrow at her.

"When a girl attempts to cook and the guy hates it, but pretends it's good to spare her feelings." She gave him a flat look.

Leon just looked back at her for a moment and then coughed again. "Yeah…we're not that close."

..:-X-:..

059 – Lahar

"Bring it a little lower." Leon called from the hold to the cockpit, where McCallister was piloting the short-range Gummi.

He had slid the door of the hold open, giving a very open view of the mudflow that was gushing through the residual canyon that had been Rising Falls. It was far from a danger to the town of Radiant Garden, but at the moment, it wasn't the town he was worried about.

Tifa stood on the mound of rock that hadn't been completely buried under the mudflow. The Gummi was still too far away for her to jump, but she looked like she was considering it anyway.

"Closer." He yelled back to the cockpit.

"It won't go closer." McCallister answered.

He looked back out to Tifa, who seemed to be gauging the distance with the entire three foot space she had to get a running start.

"You'll need to jump from there." He yelled to her. "We can't get closer."

"Yeah, I figured." Tifa yelled back over the wind and the gurgling of the rushing mud around her.

Leon assessed the situation again. "First, you need to—"

He was cut off as Tifa took two strides across the three foot rock and leapt toward the open hold of the Gummi. For a split second, Leon marveled at the distance she was able to get off such a short run up. Then she was closing the distance and almost into the Gummi.

She landed on her foot on the very edge of the hold, arms flapping to try and regain her balance. Leon grabbed her arm with one elbow and gripped the overhead bar of the Gummi's ceiling to keep them both from falling out into the rushing current.

"McCallister!" He barked.

"Sir!" McCallister called back and complied, driving the Gummi forward.

The floor tilted sideways and they both tipped backwards away from the open door, toppling to the ground in a tangle of arms and legs. Her elbow hit his throat and she landed on his knee as he hit the floor of the Gummi and she flopped on top of him.

"Ow." She said, rolling off of him and rubbing her elbow.

Leon got his wind back and checked the back of his head for blood after the collision with the floor. "How…do you get into those situations?"

Tifa pushed her hair out of her eyes. "Talent, I guess."

He shook his head at that and got back to his feet, clearing his throat after the violent meeting with her elbow. "Are you all right?"

She sighed at the bloody lip she'd managed to get. She wiped it off and looked at her hand before looking to him. "I'm awesome, but McCallister needs to learn how to fly properly."

..:-X-:..

060 - Competition

He couldn't compete.

Two years was a long time, but it wasn't long enough. The memory was still too strong. The hurt was too fresh. She wasn't to the point of moving on yet. He wasn't sure when it had happened or how, but she was taking over his thoughts. He couldn't do anything about it, and he refused to speak to her about it when the wounds were still so fresh for her.

He wasn't even sure how to label what was happening…He was…falling for her…no matter how cliché that sounded.

But he couldn't compete with a dead man.

..:-X-:..

A/N 059: 'Lahar' basically means volcanic mudflow.

A/N 060: Another exactly 100 word drabble! Please don't freak out on me for the subject. It's been hinted at several times that this would become more than platonic. It'll still be a while before any truly romantic stuff comes to light…because it can never be that easy with these two…Tee hee.