Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, its characters, or storyline. These ditties are mine, as are Duke and McCallister. Enjoy!
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094 – Birthday
Leon walked into the apartment to find Tifa sitting on the floor where the horrid couch of hers usually was, working at the coffee table. She looked up as Duke went to attack him in greeting.
He quirked an eyebrow in question at the lack of couch, fending off the imminent face licking that Duke was trying to lay on him.
Tifa set her pen down and looked at him. "Did some rearranging."
He looked around, daring to hope. "Where's the abomination?"
"You mean my couch?" She said, stretching her arms. "Happy Birthday."
He blinked, "What?"
"I know how much you hated that couch, so I got rid of it for your birthday." She said, shrugging.
Suspicious, he glanced into either bedroom, but the couch wasn't hiding in there. "Really?"
"No." She chirped. "It's getting re-upholstered. Here." She tossed a small box at him.
Catching it, he popped open the lid to find a can of sword polish, the rare brand he liked. It had become increasingly hard to find lately. Best he could have asked for his birthday: which HE'd forgotten.
"Thanks." He said genuinely.
"Couch should be back next week." She chirped.
"Thanks." He replied sarcastically.
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095 – Sting
"Ow." Tifa cringed, twitching.
"Hold still." Leon sounded annoyed.
"It hurts."
"It would stop hurting if you would stop moving."
"Well I'm sorry." Tifa said tersely. "Let's throw a bee-hive at you and see how YOU like it!"
"If I recall right, you kicked it…and thus had this coming." He said.
Tifa squinted her eyes closed, pushing her face into the couch cushion, and felt him dotting ointment on the multiple stings that were covering her back. Well, they covered her arms, legs, and back, but she couldn't reach these. It would have been embarrassing, but it was just Leon, so she couldn't bring herself to care too much.
"I didn't see it and if the Heartless hadn't moved…" She said, voice muffled by the cushion.
"Excuses." She heard him smirking and felt her face heat up.
She involuntarily flinched when he prodded at a particularly deep sting on her back. His hand stilled and she blew out a lungful of air, making her bangs flutter.
"Sorry." He'd dropped the teasing tone and when he resumed treating the stings, it was with a lighter touch than she would have thought possible from someone like him. It almost tickled.
When it felt like her entire back was covered with the medication, she felt his hand linger near the base of her ribs, one of the few places that wasn't completely covered in the angry little raised bumps. The back of his fingers felt cool, but were quickly retracted.
"There." He said, and she heard him stand up and step away from the couch.
She turned her face out of the cushion and looked at him. "Thanks."
Leon didn't look directly at her, tossing the tube back into the first aid box. The spot at the base of her ribs tingled and she looked away, feeling like she should say more but not seeing what that would be.
"Just…" Leon started, glancing at her and then away just as quickly. "Stop kicking things that buzz, huh?"
Tifa grinned and flashed him an 'okay' sign.
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096 – Replacement
Tifa was heavier than she looked. She was also drunk, and they were both aware of that.
"M'sorry." She mumbled as they walked, leaning against Leon, eyes clouded and words slightly slurred.
Leon kept a hold of her, one of her arms over his shoulders, as he led her away from the table. The glass bottles were guiltily empty. Tifa had been a little…off…all day, but she normally didn't turn to the liquid relaxation unless she was just beyond herself.
"It's all right. Come on." He tugged her toward her room.
She mumbled something under her breath and he grunted, playing along. He walked her into her room and deposited her on the bed. She gave him a heavy-lidded look and slumped back onto the mattress. He gave a long-suffering sigh and pulled her legs up onto the bed. She was going to have a nasty hangover: it took a lot for her to get this drunk.
"Don't leave." Tifa mumbled, "Not again."
"I'm not leaving." He grunted. Again?
She stretched out on her stomach, hugging a pillow to her face. He saw that she was fading fast and turned toward the door to leave her in peace.
"Stay." She whispered.
He paused and looked back at her. Her eye was open a sliver, unfocused but aimed at him. He wasn't sure what possessed him to, but he stayed, closing the door to keep Duke from jumping on her. He glanced around, unsure why she wanted him to stay, but if…
"Cloud." She said softly, half asleep already.
And there it was.
Leon closed his eyes briefly, inhaling slowly and looking at her. Her eye was on him, but her gaze was beyond him.
"Don't leave." She lifted one hand a few inches off the bed.
Oh, she was going to be the death of him.
Leon sighed and returned to her side, though not taking her invitation to sit down. She didn't want him to leave, but Leon wasn't the 'him' she wanted to stay. But Cloud was gone, not coming back…That was probably what had spurred the drinking tonight. Well, he wasn't Cloud, but she'd just have to make do with second string.
"I'm not going anywhere." He assured her. "I promise."
She offered a drunken grin and promptly fell asleep.
He didn't leave.
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A/N: Chapter 34 will be the last chapter. I have no idea how to wrap this up, so if you have a preference for the genre: action, hurt/comfort, friendship, romance, etc...Please submit it in a review!
