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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097 – Need
Leon was an introvert, an extreme one, and Tifa usually respected that, but this was just ridiculous. She couldn't read his mind, for goodness' sake!
"Whatever it was, I'm sorry. Whatever I did, I didn't…What did I do?" She didn't understand what she could have possibly done to set him off this time.
Leon looked beside himself…well, in that deadpan way of his. "It's nothing. Forget it."
"No." Tifa side stepped in his way, not letting him run off that easily. "It had to be something."
He ran a hand over his face, "I don't want to talk about this right now."
"Too bad." He liked to play tough love, so she was going to give him a taste of it for once.
He shouldered past her. Having none of that, she grabbed his arm to stop him. Leon almost violently jerked his arm free and Tifa stepped back.
"I just…can't talk to you about this."
"To me? What does that mean 'to you'? Who else can you talk to?" Tifa walked after him. "Like it or not, you're stuck with me. You told me once that I'm all you've got and you're all I've got, but this can't work if you refuse to let me in."
"This—" He gestured between himself and her. "—is exactly what it should be."
Frustrated, she narrowed her eyes. "No, it's not. I need more than that. Friends don't shut each other out when things get shitty. And you need—"
"I don't NEED anything." Leon raised his voice half a notch. "I don't need the sharing, caring, hug-it-out crap. I don't need to talk about everything and I don't need you."
He said it quickly, like a blurted half-thought-out statement, but they both fell quiet all the same. She knew immediately that he hadn't meant it: the regret was plain as day in his eyes, but he had said it, and it had hurt. She wouldn't deny that.
Keeping a stiff upper lip, she breathed evenly. "Liar." She hissed, and left the room before the moisture behind her eyes betrayed her.
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098 – What's in a Name?
Stars. The woman was chattering about STARS for the love of…Tifa was glad her back was turned to the two, otherwise her annoyance would have been too transparent. How Leon wasn't stabbing himself in the ears just for the blessing of deafness at this point was beyond her. Tifa couldn't concentrate and finally gave up, heading for the door, for an escape.
"I have to…go." She hastily excused.
Leon and Rinoa looked at her.
"Why?" He asked.
But Tifa was already out and had closed the door, alone in the hallway. She hung her head.
"Because she calls you Squall."
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099 – Wedding Concluded
Leon waited a grand total of thirty seconds after Andrea's rejoinder to the party before standing and slipping out of the ballroom and into the hallway, which was completely vacant and devoid of any stragglers…except for Tifa.
She had kicked off her high heeled shoes against the wall and was pacing in small circles near the door, nibbling on her pinkie fingernail. Closing the door on the party room, he walked over to her.
"I take it that didn't go as planned?" He greeted with a flat expression.
She closed her eyes and kept pacing without looking at him. "Decidedly not."
Her voice shook at the end and he frowned. Had it been THAT bad?
"What happened?" He folded his arms, leaning against the wall and letting her pace.
"She…and it wasn't…I'm not…No matter what she says…He didn't…" She yammered in broken sentences, thoughts bouncing around in her good eye.
It would have been amusing if she wasn't so visibly upset.
"It can't have been that bad." He said laxly. "I don't see why you're so worked up. You can't win 'em all and not getting the obligatory holiday card from someone that full of herself shouldn't be—"
"Stop it." Tifa abruptly stopped pacing, arms stiff at her sides.
"Okay." He replied quietly, keeping a wary eye on her.
"I just…" She ran a hand over her face. "Everyone thinks they KNOW me. They judge me and she judges me and her friends judge me and I can't HANDLE it if you judge me too."
Leon straightened as Tifa's face crumpled and her voice broke. He closed the two meter gap between them and awkwardly put one arm around her. She almost imploded, dropping her face against his shoulder and surrendering to the sheer unfairness of it all.
"Hey." He said quietly, attempting the comforting thing. He patted her arm.
"I'm sorry." She croaked, voice muffled by his shoulder.
Completely out of his element, Leon kept the one arm around her, using his free hand to rub her arm. "It's…okay." He glanced around. "I'm the last person to judge you."
The hall was still empty, the sounds of laughter and clinking glasses and music coming from the closed doors to the ballroom. She let out a short snort at his words.
Leon leaned back slightly and she straightened, wiping at her eyes and only smearing her make-up worse. Tifa swallowed hard and chuckled ruefully.
"Geez, I'm…This is embarrassing." She half turned away, "The one night I wear mascara…"
He averted his eyes and let her have her moment to compose herself. He bent down and picked up her shoes for her.
"Let's get out of here, yeah?" He offered.
"Oh yes, definitely." She gave up trying to clean up her face and looked around for her shoes.
"I got them. Don't worry." He offered a small smirk.
She seemed to deflate, emotionally spent. "Thanks. I'm sorry for dragging you to this."
Leon opened the door and they escaped from the building. "Oh I still think you're a jerk."
"And you're still full of shit." Tifa ducked her head as they crossed the parking lot. "So about that Traverse Town favor…" She was trying to forget about the whole event now.
"No, no, this was it. You called it in. It's gone." Leon encouraged the banter.
"You're a terrible friend." She scoffed playfully.
"Yeah, I know."
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A/N 097: 'I'm all you've got and you're all I've got' was taken from my one-shot And This War's Not Over, also Leon and Tifa centric.
A/N 098: Another exactly 100 word drabble. This one is a teaser of a full-length Leon and Tifa story I'm planning. Tease, tease.
A/N: Chapter 34 will be the last chapter. So far everybody seems to want more romance...hm...(strokes chin)...tis a possibility...I'll try to get the last chapter up before the weekend. You guys are awesome!
