Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, its characters or storyline. These ditties are mine, as are Duke and McCallister. Enjoy!

..:-X-:..

079 – Ballpit

Tifa could hardly contain her laughter as she quickly turned on her camera and turned the dial to video recording. She lifted the device just in time to catch Leon sinking knee-deep into the ballpit. Halfway across the sea of plastic balls, Duke was barking and flapping around wildly, biting at the little spheres and wriggling back forth in ballpit-induced glee.

"Duke, c'mere." Leon was trying to use his stern, I-am-your-boss-listen-to-me voice, but it was a moot effort as he trudged through multi-colored balls in a child's play pit.

Duke, for her part, just barked and continued to hop around, making it difficult for him to reach her. Tifa held her sides with one arm as she kept both man and dog in her sights on the recorder.

"Leon…Leon, look over here!" She jeered, wanting a shot of his face.

"Duke…Duke, I'm serious…" He grunted, shoving waves of spheres aside to reach the dog.

He tripped once and nearly disappeared under the sea, much to Tifa and apparently Duke's amusement. He re-surfaced right beside the dog and without further preamble scooped the grown retriever in both arms, hefting her out of the pit and trudging back toward the entrance.

Tifa was on her knees, putting every effort into keeping the camera from shaking as she howled with laughter. She could hardly breathe as she watched Leon fight through the ballpit carrying the 70 pound Duke, who was panting and licking his face like he was her hero.

"Bad dog." He grunted, setting her down outside the pit before climbing out himself.

"I got all of it." Tifa wheezed, laughing so hard she snorted.

The kids who had evacuated when Duke invaded the ballpit were fawning all over the dog on the sidewalk now, and Leon looked at his dog with a look of disdain. Duke just barked at him. He shook his head and looked to Tifa, who was still filming. Rolling his eyes, he walked away from her.

Tifa turned off the recorder and got her breathing back under control, winking at Duke. "Good dog."

..:-X-:..

080 – Wheels

"WHAT is THIS?" Leon sounded flatly surprised…a combination all his own.

Tifa jerked in surprise, the top of her head involuntarily smacking into the hood of the Jeep she had been working on. Pulling herself out from the sooty, oily engine, she looked sideways to see Leon standing a few feet off from the vehicle, arms folded, one eyebrow lifted.

"It's my new Jeep." She announced proudly, clinking her ratchet against the top of the carborator.

"A 'Jeep', maybe. 'New', Hell no." Leon gave the vehicle a scathing look. "Why?"

"Oh, please. It takes half an hour to walk to the old castle ruins, and there's not exactly a view."

"So you're lazy."

"No, I'm being time-efficient. A vehicle is a practical purchase for a woman in my job position."

"Oh dear gods, you paid actual MUNNY for this piece of sh—"

"Hey!" Tifa snapped, pointing the ratchet threateningly at him. "Once I get it up and running, you'll be sorry."

"It doesn't even RUN? Not surprised." He said dismissively.

"Fine, Mr. Pedestrian, you don't get a key for it."

He sighed, "This is going to be another ugly couch thing isn't it?"

"Don't hate on my couch." Tifa said.

"It looks like you stole it from the dumpster behind a crackhouse."

"Do you have a purpose for being out here or do you just enjoy insulting everything I own?"

He looked at the open engine. "I don't even remember. This…abomination distracted me."

"Oh, just go away with your negativity." She tutted, leaning back over the engine.

After a beat, he walked over beside her and reached forward, poking at the cables connecting the battery…well, at one point they had been cables. Now they were about 70 percent duct tape. Tifa grunted and shoved his shoulder.

"My Jeep, my business. So shoo." She got back to work.

..:-X-:..

081 – Take Cover

After the meeting she had just survived at the hands of the Council, Tifa was ready to lock herself in her office until this stupidity-induced headache went away. Grimacing, she closed her office door and staggered over to her desk.

Said headache turned instead into an almost-heart attack as she rounded her desk and nearly tripped on Leon, who was sitting on the floor behind her desk, out of sight from the door.

"Geez…What the Hell?" She recovered her balance, stepping over his out-stretched legs and whacking him across the top of the head. "What are you…are you hiding?"

"Yes." He replied shamelessly as she plopped into her chair. "Nestor is looking for me."

Tifa snorted, turning on her computer monitor. "And you're hiding…from him?"

"No." Leon didn't look up at her, thumbing through a file folder instead. "I'm not in the mood for his crap right now. And it would be frowned upon if I stabbed him in the heart in the middle of the hallway."

She nodded. "I see your point."

A canine bark sounded from Leon's office.

"Is that—" She pointed.

"In case Nestor looks for me in there." He commented.

"But…Duke is a marshmallow, not an attack dog."

"Then I hope she loves him to death." He muttered.

"You're a cruel man, forcing that adorable dog to endure that asshole."

He wordlessly reached over and held down the height adjuster lever on her chair. The seat dropped six inches and she ended up with her shoulders level to the top of her desk.

"And you wonder why you have no friends besides me." She snapped, fixing the chair.

"Hmph." He grunted, just as a knock came to Tifa's door.

Nestor didn't wait for a reply before opening it. "Brigadier General Lockhart, have you seen Major General Leonhart?"

Leon looked like a perfect eight year old by the way he ducked under her desk. Tifa shoved her boot into his ribs as revenge and he punched her calf in reciprocation.

"And why would I know where he is?" She asked lightly.

Nestor gave her an annoyed look. "Because if you're Thing One, he's Thing Two. So?"

She gave a long-suffering sigh. "Have you checked his office?"

Seeing a lost cause, Nestor rolled his eyes and left with a huff.

"What an ass." She glared at her door.

Leon leaned back, peering to make sure Nestor was indeed gone. "Thanks."

A crazy bout of barking erupted from Leon's office, along with a startled cry from Nestor and footsteps running down the hall. Tifa quirked an eyebrow.

"Nestor's afraid of dogs?"

"Well, less afraid," Leon said, not making any motion to get up. "and more allergic."

"Nice." Tifa bobbed her head, "You have gained the right to hide in here."

He rolled his eyes and opened the file folder again to resume whatever he'd been doing.