Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, its characters or storyline. This story is mine, as are Jake and Beverly. Enjoy.

..:-X-:..

031 – There's Some Sweetness Goin' 'Round

As the lights in the cemetery faded and the talking, garish masks disappeared, Yuffie and Jake remained where they were, leaning out from behind a head stone.

"What?" They both gaped.

As the two talking frogs—TALKING FROGS—pledged their love to each other under the Mardi Gras lights…and the loud blond girl frantically kissed one of the frogs repeatedly…and the clock struck midnight…Yuffie and Jake watched from around the corner of the church.

"What?" They both tilted their heads.

And as the two frogs returned from the bayou as a human married couple, going to work on an old sugar mill, transforming it into a restaurant, Yuffie and Jake stood across the street, draped in beaded necklaces and befuddled expressions.

"What?"

So the darkness that the Alliance had detected hadn't been Heartless…It had been a nefarious Shadow Man who used demon hoodoo spirits…or something like that…to manipulate people and feed his greedy desires. Definitely had not been Heartless…

"So much cooler than Heartless." Yuffie punched the air as her squad loaded up the Gummi Ships where they had been parked and camouflaged in the swamp.

"How?" Jake said, still wearing the half-face, red and gold mask that he'd bought the night of the parade. "We just spent three weeks basically following in the footsteps of two frogs, an alligator with a trumpet, and a lightning bug, as they solved the mystery and beat the bad guy for us."

Yuffie shrugged, "Recon mission, remember?"

Jake looked like at her like she had sprouted an extra head. "Who are you and what have you done with Yuffie Kisaragi?"

She snickered and leaned against the hull of the Gummi. "I dunno. Maybe this place has mellowed me out." At Jake's horrified face, she swatted his arm. "I'm kidding. But what Facilier and Mama Odie said…about me being an adventurer living in someone else's shadow—" She lifted her shoulders, "Maybe part of that was true."

"You mean the creepy Shadow Man and the blind woman who lives with a snake in a tree house?" Jake lifted an eyebrow.

"You know why I wanted this mission, Jake?" She asked, watching her squad members load more of the equipment. "Just to run a mission by myself, to be put in charge of something substantial and meaningful, or to just be seen as an equal."

Jake blinked. "But you always say—"

"I know." Yuffie waved a hand. "You think me or anybody else believes that crap I'm always spewing?" She shook her head, "I'm the youngest in the Restoration Committee. There are soldiers in my department that are seriously twice my age…and they have to take orders from me. I kick ass, right? But, honestly, it doesn't take much doing from Leon or Cid or even Aerith to make me feel like the kid in the group again." She chuckled, "I guess those two were right; I've been trying to prove something."

"I think you did more than try." Jake offered, folding his arms. "Your mission was a success. No casualties. No Heartless. A love story between frogs and a happy ending with a restaurant…Not too shabby for a first run."

Yuffie took a deep breath and exhaled, "Yeah, I guess you're right." She beamed and knocked her shoulder against his. "What about you?"

"What about me?"

"I had my little gumbo-induced epiphany, so what about you?" She canted her head. "Are you going to hunt down your paper crane and catch it?" She winked.

Jake folded his hands behind his head. "Yeah, sure."

"Puh." Yuffie snorted. "Don't act cavalier with me. You've been trying to come up with the perfect pick up line since she refused you the first time."

Jake offered a grin. "Guilty."

"Well, don't." She bobbed her head.

"Huh?" He faltered.

"McCallister has seen all of your come-ons, heard you use all those pick up lines on other women, and watched so many of your walks-of-shame that there should be a Greatest Hits." Yuffie reasoned, "Besides, the first time you asked her out, she was in the middle of drills and, from what I hear, you practically threw the question at her."

"So then…no pick up line." Jake scratched his head. "I'm gonna have to step my game up a bit…She's a challenge. She knows me too well."

"But do you know her well enough?" Yuffie smirked, "Get her attention…preferably when she doesn't have a gun on her."

Jake looked at her pensively. "Why are you helping me with this? You're not really close to Tabaeus, and you think I'm a man-whore."

"True and true." Yuffie tilted her head the other way. "I dunno, I guess I just have a soft spot for the underdog."

Jake smiled, "Thanks." Paused. "Wait, does that make ME the underdog?"

..:-X-:..

032 – The Arrangement

"So …relocation."

Cid staggered, halfway through getting dressed when Beverly's voice interrupted him. He half turned to see that she was still in bed, right where he'd left her, but her eyes were open and she was watching him. He grunted and returned to getting dressed.

"Thought you were asleep." He said, tying his boots.

"I always pretend to be asleep when you leave. Sorry, I've ruined the ruse." She chuckled, running a hand through her hair. "Sometimes I pretend to do other things concerning you too." She winked seductively.

Cid gave her a flat look.

Outside her second floor flat, above the tavern that she ran, Traverse Town was starting to wake up around them. He usually made his escape from the ramshackle world before the rest of the inhabitants were up and about; it made the getaway much smoother. Never sleeping over was a habit that was quickly becoming a rule between him and Beverly.

"What time is it?" She asked, sitting up.

"Half past six." He replied, tying on his other boot and straightening. He paused, glancing back at her. "What did you say?"

Beverly was also getting dressed, and her wild-ass red hair popped out of the top of her shirt as she pulled it over her head. "Are you getting old and losing your hearing too?"

"Why do you keep bringing up…moving?" He asked, knowing that he would regret it.

"You think I shouldn't." The rest of her head popped out of the top of her shirt. It was a statement, not a question.

He grunted and grabbed his keys.

"You think I should?" One of her eyebrows lifted.

"I think," He opened the door that led downstairs. "That it's your own damn life, and you're free to do with as you fuckin' please."

"So…you think I shouldn't but you want me to should?"

Cid blinked and looked back at her. " 'want me to should'? Are you still drunk from last night?"

She snickered, "I always pretend to be drunk when you talk about feelings. That way you can deny it the next day. Sorry…another ruse ruined." She winked.

"I don't talk about feelings." He snorted, tapping out a cigarette to start the day.

"So relocation…"

"WHAT," He barked, then calmed his voice and glanced to Beverly, who looked completely impassive at his outburst. "do you keep bringing this up for?"

"It makes sense but it violates a rule." She said flatly, her expression even.

"Rule? What rule?" He said, heading downstairs.

She followed him, brushing her hair with her fingers. "We're simple people, Cid. Neither of us wants anything complicated here, from…this." She gestured between them.

She was right about that, Cid had to agree. They were both simple, and simple was refreshing after dealing with all of the melodramatic crap that the younger people on the Restoration Committee were constantly bombarding him with. Seriously, relationships weren't that difficult if you were just upfront about shit. He and Beverly were friends…who occasionally had phenomenal sex. That was it.

"Right." He muttered, lighting his cigarette as he reached the first floor.

"It would break a rule for me to pick up and move my life from here to Radiant Garden just because it'd be closer to you." She explained.

"Would save me gas money flying my ass out here every weekend." Cid grunted.

Beverly swatted the top of his head. "But it would be even more of an economical opportunity to re-energize my business."

"Then do it." He puffed on the cigarette, taking his coat from the rack by the door.

"But the rule—"

"Then don't."

"But the business—"

"Then do."

"But if we start breaking rules—"

"Woman!" Cid rounded on her.

Beverly pointed at him. "Man!" She shot him a shit-eating grin. "I'm sorry, I thought we were just shouting nouns now."

"Smart ass."

"Jerk."

Cid smirked. "Move or don't move. Your call. Doesn't concern me."

Something flashed across her eyes for the briefest of seconds, but then she was chuckling and nudging him toward the door. "Go on, before you get an audience for your Walk of Shame."

..:-X-:..

033 – Bad Day

Now this was an interesting situation.

Rinoa stood in the doorway to the back area of Merlin's house. She had thought that no one was home, so she hadn't bothered to be quiet as she went to return one of Merlin's old texts. Magical Remedies for Household Appliances…my ass, she had scoffed. She was starting to think that there would be no quick fix for learning computer stuff. So she had ventured into the back room for reasons she couldn't remember now…She must have forgotten when she walked in and found Aerith draped over the couch, mouth hanging open, hair messed, clothes crinkled.

Clearly the woman had spent the night on this old, coarse, badly upholstered couch. The question was…why? Rinoa scrunched her lips together; there was only one way to find out.

Fetching an ice cube from the mini-freezer, Rinoa leaned over the slumbering woman and discretely dropped it down the back of Aerith's shirt. Aerith stirred and grunted, and she almost fell still again…before suddenly bolting upright so fast that Rinoa staggered away from her.

"Ah, holy mother—" Aerith shot to her feet, arms flailing to get at the cold that was sliding down her back between her shirt and her skin.

Rinoa laughed and kept herself out of arms' reach as Aerith flung the ice cube out of the bottom of her jacket. The flowergirl rounded on Rinoa, looking both irritated and still half-asleep.

"What was that for?" She yelled through a yawn, stretching her arms over her head.

Rinoa just shrugged and looked at the couch. "What's with—" She gestured to it.

Aerith grimaced at her, rubbing her cheek where the couch's upholstery had left indentations on her skin. "Late night."

Rinoa lifted an eyebrow, "With what? You don't do night patrols."

"Private tutoring." Aerith offered.

Rinoa lifted her other eyebrow. "You weren't here at eleven pm when I came to borrow a text from Merlin."

Aerith paused. "I didn't want to walk home?"

"Are you asking me?" Rinoa folded her arms. "Is everything okay?"

The other woman sighed, combing her ponytail with her fingers. "Yes and no."

"Yes part first." Rinoa said.

She had never agreed with getting bad news first. She'd rather just delay the inevitable instead. On hindsight, sure, that tactic hadn't really worked in her favor, but she was going to stick to her guns.

"My research is going great." Aerith offered, sitting back down on the couch.

Rinoa sat in the chair opposite the couch, crossing one leg over the other. "That's good." she paused a beat. "And the no part?"

Aerith listed them off with her fingers. "Cloud doesn't like it, so we're not talking right now. I've been in a state of perpetual headache for the past three days. The Alliance cut funding to my department again by fifteen percent. I burnt the roof of my mouth with my coffee yesterday morning…right before I got my notice of eviction from my landlord."

As she finished, Aerith looked at Rinoa flatly. "Hence…the couch." She patted the cushion of the armrest.

Rinoa merely sat there, unsure how to proceed. It was too early in the morning to intelligently combat that drama. Aerith wasn't really looking at her as though she expected advice or sympathy, her expression was more of a 'well my life sucks, how's yours?' look.

In response, Rinoa propped her elbow on the armrest of the chair and bit the edge of her index fingernail. "I broke my fourth computer at the IT department yesterday…and short circuited the entire claymore security system for the industrial district." She lifted her shoulders, "I swear I saw a vein in Eddy's temple shaped like the Virgin Mary."

Aerith eyed her steadily for a moment and Rinoa offered a grin. It was all she could offer, really…Wait, actually—

"You could live with me." She blurted.

Aerith blinked. "Huh?"

Rinoa sat forward in her seat. "Yeah! The apartment has two bedrooms. The second one is just gathering dust right now. I was thinking of renting it anyway!"

"Thanks, but I couldn't." Aerith shook her head.

"It'd be half the rent and utilities." Rinoa bounced in her seat, growing on the idea more by the second. "It'd be great!"

"Er." Aerith rubbed at her cheek again.

Rinoa canted her head. "At least tell me you'll think about it. Living with me can't be as bad as sleeping on a couch at Merlin's." She narrowed one eye.

Aerith looked embarrassed. That hadn't been Rinoa's intention, but she couldn't apologize for it: that would make it worse.

"I'll…think about it." She finally said.

"Woot." Rinoa popped back up on her feet. "Quick question…What is the best way to apologize to a supervisor for destroying a fourth computer on the department's munny? Sincerity or humor? Because I don't want to be a smart ass, but I found this funny little card about grief and mourning the loss of a laptop…"

..:-X-:..

Preview for next week: From her spot at the table, Yuffie gave Jake a thumb up. She had done her part in getting Tabaeus to the bar, now the ball was in his court. He hopped up onto the karaoke stage and snatched up the microphone