A slightly AU fic that takes places in Traverse after “Thirty Paces.” The only thing that makes it AU is the appearance of Kairi, and also, Zephyr is present.

Summary: Zephyr has been acting very strange lately, and Aerith and Yuffie want to find out why. Meanwhile, Riku, Sora, and Kairi have arrived in Traverse Town and Riku is still getting over the fact that Kairi has chosen Sora, not him. Yuffie is mad at Leon and is having troubled thoughts about him, resulting in a near emotional breakdown. Riku has attained a skittish admirer—and in the midst of all the chaos, Cloud and Aerith are trying everything to get a few minutes alone.

Features our favorite couples—Cloud/Aerith, Leon/Yuffie, and Sora/Kairi, along with a tiny little bit of Riku/OC, just so he won’t feel left out—and also humor that makes sense, and poignant thoughts that also make sense. Long fic, but definitely worth the read, if I do say so myself.

Zephyr is guilty of an MS trait, of being paired with one of the regulars (Riku) but she likes him first before he notices her, and she has a damn hard time dealing with it—just to make it even.

I don’t own Kingdom Hearts, Squaresoft does. But if you would like to give me the copyrights to it for my birthday (which is in August) then I’ll gladly except!

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“It’s been a week running that she’s been like that,” Yuffie referred to the small, slip of a girl slumping around the town and throwing stones at the pigeons. “She’s never been perky, but now it’s like her batteries are dead.” She crunched on an ice cube from her drink.

          “I know. It’s so unlike her,” Aerith, being concerned about everyone, had taken interest in Zephyr’s sudden state of depression. The girl had been extraordinarily irritable lately. Things got on her nerves that didn’t before and she spent more time hiding in the Secret Waterway, on the rooftops, in Cid’s shop, and goodness knew what other holes she had found to hide in.

          “Whatcha think it is? Think she’s sick?” She crunched on another ice cube. “Or is it somethin’ else? I’d ask her, but she prob’ly wouldn’t tell me. You know how she is—she never tells anyone anything unless it’s a matter of life and death or unless she benefits from it somehow.” She turned to Aerith. “Why don’t you go try and talk to ‘er? Yer good with people like that. Maybe she’ll talk to you,” she suggested.

          “Me?” Aerith opened her eyes wide. She watched the sullen girl climb up and sit on the roof of the building across from the café. “I guess I could—if you’ll come with me.”

          “Why?”

          “Because she likes you. I don’t know what she thinks of me, and I don’t want to take that kind of a chance.”

          “Don’t be silly. She likes you. Just shows it diff’rnt than most people do. She’s like Leon’s long lost baby sister.”

          “I heard that about me,” Zephyr looked at them. She could hear a lot of things people said from far away. It was a talent that got her into trouble quite often. Usually whenever people compared her to Leon, with whom she did not get along with, she would find whoever had done so and try to throttle them. This time, however, she stayed atop the roof.

          “Well, since you’re there and you can hear us,” Aerith began. “What’s been up with you lately? Are you feeling all right?” From here, she could see the younger girl turn and look at them.

          “What’s it to ya?” She asked.

          “We’re just worried about you is all,” Yuffie said. Zephyr glared down at them, although the effect was lost because she was so far away. Her glare got colder when she saw Cloud walking up behind Aerith, wrapping an arm around her. She nearly jumped a foot as she turned to see who it was.

          “Don’t do that!” She told him with one hand over her heart to see if it was still beating. He leaned and whispered something in her ear, and she nodded, getting up and walking with him, leaving Yuffie alone at the table watching Zephyr on the roof. The young girl wore a deadly glare, which the ninja didn’t see.

          “Hey, Zephyr! Where’re you—” she called after her, but she had already leaped onto another roof and out of sight. “—going?” Yuffie sighed heavily and went into an alley where she sat against a wall and threw a ball, catching it when it bounced off the opposite wall. Leon joined her not long after.

          “Hey, Squall.”

          “Leon.” He sat down next to her. She bounced the ball off of the wall and towards him. He caught it and bounced it back to her. They did this for a few minutes. Yuffie spoke.

          “Hey, have you noticed Zephyr acting… weird lately?”

          “You mean besides the leaping on rooftops and growling at people and using uncharacteristically long words for a fifteen-year-old?” He asked, sounding a little sarcastic.

          “Yea, I mean besides all ‘a that,” she said. “I mean, like… weird even for her.”

          Leon thought about that for a moment. Then he shrugged. “I guess she has. I dunno, I try and keep as far away from her as possible.” He paused. “But now that you mention it, it’s been five whole days since she argued with me about something.” He smirked. “Not like her to pass up any opportunity to make me look stupid.”

          “She’s missed meals, too,” Yuffie continued. “She never misses any. ‘Til recently.” She sighed. “I’m worried ‘bout her. I hope she’s not sick or anything.”

          “I doubt she is,” Leon said. “She never gets sick. She’s immune to everything.” Noticing the serious look on Yuffie’s face, he sighed. “Well, if you’re so concerned, why doncha juss go talk to her?”

          “This is Zephyr we’re talking about. You’re twin sister. Would you tell anyone if you were depressed all of a sudden?” When he didn’t answer, she leaned back against the wall, satisfied. “I rest my case.” After a while, she leaned her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. She was off in a daze until a loud hiss brought her back into reality. She looked up, in the direction that it had come from.

          Zephyr stood, leaning over one of the buildings on one side of the alleyway. She had a cold glare in her eyes. She hissed again, growled, and disappeared onto the roof. They both heard her running and she took a long leap to the other building, which was a little lower than the one she was on before. She stared murderously at the pair of them down on the ground. On instinct, Leon stood and drew the Gunblade.

          That seemed to snap Zephyr back into her normal state, and she got down on her belly and hung her arms and head over the edge, watching them. “You put that thing down or I’m gonna take it and ram it down your throat,” she said, extremely calm, but with her reputation, she would most likely find a way to come through with that threat.

          “Hey, what’s been up with you?” Yuffie asked as Leon lifted her up off the ground. This caused the younger girl to go cold again. She turned away, refusing to answer. “Zephyr?” Yuffie asked. She got a hiss for a reply.

          “Leave ‘er,” Leon said, taking her by the hand. “C’mon, let’s go home—” he meant the hotel “—and leave The Bitch to herself. She’s obviously got herself in a twist again.” He didn’t like Zephyr at all, though he had learned to admire her talent with words, but he was usually the victim of it.

          Yuffie took one last glance at the rooftop that hid Zephyr from view, and then followed Leon. Zephyr watched them leave, careful not to be seen. Tears stung her eyes, but she shook her head violently and trotted off on all fours.

          A surprise was waiting for them at the hotel—both shocking and pleasant. Sora had arrived, in the company of two others: one was a girl with short auburn hair and dark indigo eyes; the other was a slightly older boy with long silver hair and light aquamarine eyes. Also present in the hotel lobby were Cid, Aerith, and Cloud.

          “Sora!” Yuffie immediately jumped up and hugged the boy, causing him to drop the Keyblade that he held with one hand.

          “Yuffie,” he rasped. “I can’t breathe.”

          “Sorry.” She let him go and stepped back. She recognized Kairi from several months ago when she had been staying with them in Traverse Town while Sora sorted out the last of the Heartless, though how she was back was anyone’s guess. The third, the silver-haired one, was a new face, but everyone assumed that it was Riku. They didn’t have long to wait until Sora told them.

          “You guys know Kairi. This is Riku.” Riku nodded, not saying anything. Sora frowned suddenly. “Zephyr’s missing,” he said. “I thought it felt a lot safer around here.”

          “Oh, stop that!” Yuffie huffed. “You guys all act like she’s a helldemon. She’s not so bad!” Aerith nodded, but everyone else seemed edgy. Even Cid, her employer, had troubles with her, but only because she was impossible and she kept getting the best of him. “Pansies,” she muttered.

          “Who’s Zephyr?” Kairi asked. Sora looked at her, remembering that Kairi had not been there when Zephyr had shown up about a month after Kingdom Hearts.

          “Another girl. Short. Black hair. Gray eyes. Growls a lot. Whatever you do, run when you see her,” he warned them. Even Riku looked nervous now.

          “For goodness sake!” Yuffie yelled. “She’s not that bad! You exaggerate so much!” She crossed her arms and stamped, glaring at Sora. When she turned away, Sora leaned in to speak quietly to his companions.

          “An’ she’s contaminated Yuffie’s mind. I still say run when you see ‘er.”

          “Oooh, yer in so much trouble when I tell her you said that,” Yuffie said, grinning widely. Sora’s face turned into one of fear.

          “You wouldn’t,” he said.

          “Wanna bet?”

          “Leave the kid alone before he gives himself a coronary,” Cid leaned on the wall, mouth in a tight line, but his eyes showed amusement. “Zephyr’s a handful, but she’s not so bad.”

          “Said the man who has never been victimized,” Leon muttered under his breath. Yuffie swatted him.

          “G’on, you guys, this isn’t a place for large meeting,” Cloud said. He and Aerith had been in the hotel lobby for not five minutes before Cid brought Sora, Riku, and Kairi in. Both had been disgruntled, but they put up with it. Now they wanted their privacy back. “G’on, scat!” He all but shoved them out of the building. Aerith began walking out as well, but Cloud hooked one hand into the collar of her dress. “Not you.”

          Everyone had left, and Cloud leaned her on the door and slipped one arm around her waist; she circled her arms around his neck. He kissed her softly on the lips, but she pulled him back. Someone whistled—Yuffie was looking in through the other set of doors.

          “Get outta here!” He yelled, briefly forgetting how close he was to Aerith. She winced and he looked down at her. “Sorry,” he whispered apologetically. He kissed her neck, trailing up to her cheek, then her lips.

          On the outside, Zephyr had also been watching. Now she charged headfirst at the door, doing little to it, only bumping Aerith a little on the inside, but she hurt herself quite a bit in the process. She stumbled, regaining her feet after giving herself quite a bash on the head.

          “The ground keeps tilting!” She yelled, one hand on the top of her head where she had smashed it into the door. Everyone was still near enough to the hotel to have seen what she had done, and everyone who had known her before was clearly shocked. She had been known to do stupid things, but nothing so openly ridiculous.

          Yuffie went to go see if she was all right. Leon took her arm. “Leave ‘er. She’s fine.”

          She looked up at him. “You’re terrible!” She spat. She wrenched her arm away and trotted over to see if Zephyr was all right—she was relatively weak and didn’t absorb very much shock. “You all right?”

          “Yea, I’m juss fine,” she snapped back. She shook her head and brushed her hair from her eyes with her hands, then looked up at Yuffie. “Sora’s here, isn’t he? Who’s with ‘im?”

          “He found his friends,” Yuffie explained, looking down at Zephyr to see if she could spot a mark. “Ya sure yer okay?”

          “Positive.”

          Yuffie shrugged. “Why doncha go over an’ talk to Sora? Or at least introduce yerself to Kairi and Riku.”

          “Who?”

          “His friends. And no tormenting him! Any of them!” She went back to Leon. He kissed her forehead and whispered something to her. That got Zephyr again, and she scrambled up onto the roof of the hotel, making her way over to the direction that Sora had gone—back near the Dalmatian’s house—to spy.

          Everyone seemed to have attained a mate. Since their last meeting, even Sora had found one. As he walked alongside Kairi, his free hand, the one not holding the Keyblade, was twined with hers. Zephyr resisted the urge to hiss loudly and instead just watched them. But she couldn’t clearly see Riku from where she was. She had to turn a little and climb onto another part of the roof to see.

          When she finally did get a glimpse of him, she shut down completely, still gripping the drainpipe, but staring at him. She’d never seen anyone like him before. Ever. She could have stared for as long as he was there. Unfortunately, the drainpipe had other ideas. Light as she was, it couldn’t hold her up and broke. She yelped and fell, grabbing at a stone ledge ten feet over the ground. She’d drawn their attention.

          “What the—?” Sora swiped his Keyblade, holding it in both hands. He looked around for the enemy, thinking that something terrible had followed him. “I’m not scared ‘a you! Come out!”

          “Fer one thing, yer terrified of me,” Zephyr said, voice even. “And fer another—stop swingin’ that thing around or else I’ll break it into little bits and feed it to you intravenously.”

          “Inter—what?” Sora asked, lowering the Keyblade and scratching the back of his head. He looked for her, but she was well hidden in the shadows. “C’mon, at least get where I can see you.”

          “Intravenously. It means through your veins.” She moved to a lighter spot but she was still not clearly visible. “Lookie what the cat dragged in. Have fun while you were gone?”

          “No more than you did.” He glared at her.

          “What the hell is that?” Riku whispered.

          “Zephyr. Run while you still can,” he whispered in an even lower voice.

          “I heard that, kiddo,” she snapped, jumping deftly to another ledge, this one about eight feet over the ground. “Watch yer mouth or you’ll get yerself in trouble.”

          “Hey, don’t call me ‘kiddo’! At least I come up past the doorknobs!”

          A loud growl sounded, echoing off of the walls. Zephyr took one leap and landed on one knee about three yards away from them. She straightened. “You may be bigger’n I am, an’ I may not be all that strong, but everything in this town from the five-foot mark down is mine!” She hissed at him.

          “She has quite a temper, doesn’t she?” Kairi asked, starting to inch behind Sora. He kept a hand on her—almost like protecting her.

          “You dunno the half of it,” he whispered behind himself to her.

          Riku seemed curious. He walked toward her, and she took a step back. This shocked Sora to the point where his mouth dropped open. In a confrontation like this, she would normally wait until the opponent was within the reach of her jaws and snap down on them. Riku took another step forward, and she took two steps back.

          “What’s—” he began, but Zephyr took off, on top of the roofs, and out of sight and earshot. He raised his eyebrows and turned to his friend. “What was that all about?”

          “I ‘ave absolutely no idea. Yer the only person she’s ever run from.” He sighed. “Dalmatians’ house is this way. C’mon, wait’ll you see how many there are.”

          “You said ninety-nine puppies,” Kairi told him.

          “Yea. Plus their parents.”

          “A hundred and one?”

          “A hundred and one.” He pushed the doors open and was promptly climbed on by half a dozen black spotted puppies. A few more came and he fell with a thud onto the floor. “Good to see you, too,” he said sarcastically, picking dogs up off of his lap.

          “This dun look like ninety-nine,” Riku said.

          “There’s way more rooms. Go see fer yerself.” Sora stood up before puppies could claim his legs again. Riku opened the door to the dining room, finding more puppies. [A/N: I think it’s the dining room, but I dunno, because I haven’t played in a while because my bitch brother is hogging the PS2.]

          “Wow,” Kairi breathed. She looked around at all the puppies, some yipping at each other, some wresting, some sleeping, and some curiously inspecting the new visitor. “You rescued them?”

          “Yep.” He cleared a space on a sofa for her to sit. He sat next to her.

          “All of them?”

          “Uh-huh.”

          “That musta been hard to do,” she said, then grinned widely. “Most guys would only save one puppy. You got ninety-nine!” She giggled and rested her head on his shoulder. He tilted her face to look at him with one gloved hand.

          “God, Kairi… I missed you. I thought—” he swallowed. “I thought I would never find you again.”

          “But you did.” She kissed him. When she pulled away and saw the shocked look on his face, she blushed fiercely. But Sora kissed her, and they stayed there, arms around one another.

          Riku had left the door open a fraction and was looking in. He sighed heavily, but quietly, and sat back against the wall with one of the puppies in his lap. He scratched it behind the ears, eyes stinging. He refused to cry.

“I think I figured out why Zephyr is so weird lately,” Aerith told Yuffie as they sat together in the Red Room. Leon and Cloud had disappeared somewhere, leaving them to their own devices, but neither minded.

          “Oh?” Yuffie perked up. “How come? An’ how’d ya find out?” She leaned toward her friend as Aerith sat down at the table in the center of the room.

          “It was sort of obvious. It’s weird that we hadn’t noticed it before,” she said to no one in particular. “It’s a bit strange, too.” She shrugged.

          “So what is it? Come on, tell me!” Yuffie was out of her chair and leaned completely over the table in anticipation. She was truly worried about the small girl’s well-being, as she considered her to be a dear friend, despite the sometimes overwhelming evidence to the contrary.

          “Well… first off, what do we know about Zephyr? You remember anything about her when she first came? It was a while ago, so you might not,” she started.

          “Well… I remember that Cloud found her behind the café, scrounging in the garbage for food. And then… then she came to and she told us her name, but I don’t really remember any details.” She frowned. “What’s that have to do with anything?”

          “No, you don’t get it,” Aerith said, head in her hands. “When Cloud found her, she’d gotten hit pretty hard in the head. When she came to, all she remembered was her name. She took a while until she remembered how old she was, but other than that, she couldn’t remember anything.”

          “Oh, yea,” Yuffie whispered. “I remember that, now. So what’s that got to do with anything?”

          “I’m getting to it! Now, you know how she’s always mad, it seems, even at us, but only mad at us when you’re with Leon and I’m with Cloud. When I’m with you or, or it’s just Cloud, or we’re by ourselves with her, she’s just like usual.” She paused and lowered her voice. “She’s jealous of us.”

          Yuffie was taken back completely, shocked. “What? Why would she be jealous?”

          “Because… she doesn’t have anyone.”

          “She has us,” Yuffie protested. Aerith shook her head.

          “That’s not the same… she has us, and we’re her friends, but she doesn’t have anyone from her life before she came here,” she said softly. “We have memories of Hollow Bastion, and of our old lives, and we have each other, but she’s all alone. She doesn’t have anyone.” She looked out the window. Off in the distance, they could see Zephyr on her back on a roof, staring at the night sky, into the stars.

          “Never thought ‘a that,” the ninja said. “Wow. What d’you think it’s like? Not having anyone? Not even memories to revisit or someone to talk to who understands where yer coming from.”

          “I know. She must feel like she’s just—there. Like she has no reason to be here, no purpose. What must it be like to have… nothing?” The Flower Girl looked out the window, intent on the small figure on the roof. “She has no one to love. You’ve got Leon, and I’ve got Cloud, but she doesn’t have someone to love.”

          Yuffie tilted her head to the side, deep in thought about something. “That’s why she’s so much like Leon.”

          “Hm?” Aerith looked away from the window.

          “Zephyr is so much like Leon it’s almost scary. And I think it’s because, when Leon came to Hollow Bastion, all he had were his memories, so he was cold to everyone. Only Zephyr has it worse. She can’t even cry over memories cuz she hasn’t got any.”

          “The thing I think she wants the most is someone to love. She doesn’t seem like it at first, and it took me a while to see it, too, but she wants to love someone, but she’s scared, and confused, and she doesn’t know what to do.” She traced a pattern in the wood of the table with her fingertip.

          “So that’s why she’s always so—wild—when she sees us with Cloud or Leon?”

          “That would be my guess.”

          Yuffie sighed and put her chin in on hand, resting her elbow on the table. “Think we should try ‘n help ‘er?” She asked.

          “How?” Aerith asked, confused, but alert and listening.

          “Find someone for her?” She half asked, half suggested. Aerith nodded slowly.

          “Play matchmaker, then?” A grin slowly crept across her face. “Normally I would say that’s a bad idea. Even now I think it’s a bad idea. But I think she’s going to lose her mind if something doesn’t happen—and soon.” Her look changed suddenly to one of concern and a little edgy. “Oh, no.”

          “What?”

          “Sora.”

          “What about him?”

          “Didn’t you see him with Kairi?” Aerith asked her. Yuffie fitted the pieces together herself.

          “Not good,” she mumbled. “He ain’t gonna know what hit ‘im.” After a pause, she added, “Or maybe he’ll have a rough idea that it was Zephyr.” She passed her hands through her hair. She stopped midway and froze, thinking of something. “Riku.”

          “What?”

          “Riku!” Yuffie smiled widely. “We could see how she gets along with Riku. He seems like her type.”

          “You mean sturdy?” Aerith said, meaning it entirely, but still knowing that what she said was funny. “Muscular? Practically armor-plated?” She shrugged. “We could try. I don’t see how it would hurt. She might try to nip at him, but the only person she’d ever actually hurt is Leon. No offense,” she quickly reassured Yuffie.

          “None taken.” She rubbed her hands together. “So, should we get started?” She stood up, then plunked herself back down in her chair. “Exactly how do we play Cupid?”

          “First thing we have to do is track down both parties,” Aerith said.

          “Ah, well…” Yuffie paused. “Easier said than done. Riku’ll be easy to track down. All we gotta do is ask Sora where ‘e is. But Zephyr is a little bit harder to find.” She sighed. “We used to be able to find her real quick just by standing in a doorway and yelling, ‘Dinner!’ but now it isn’t so easy, since she hasn’t come for meals in a few days. She’s been living on scraps.” She frowned. “This has to be the worst case of lovesickness ever recorded—and she doesn’t even have a target!”

          “I know. We’re providing her with a target. Whether or not she wants to hit it is entirely up to her, however.” Aerith got up and opened the door to the hotel lobby. “After we find where they are, we have to figure out how to get them in the same place, alone.”

          “Another easier-said-than-done case,” Yuffie said as she entered the lobby area.

          “Tell me about it,” Aerith said under her breath, remembering how much effort she and Cloud usually had to go through to get half an hour alone together. She realized what she had said and blushed.

          Despite what they had originally thought, Zephyr was the first they found. They walked into Cid’s shop and found her sitting on the counter and leaning against the wall, mostly hidden by the cupboard on the wall near the door. She had her knees drawn up to her chest, hugging her legs around her shins and gently rocking back and forth. She had obviously been there for longer than they thought, because she appeared to be getting very sleepy.

          “H’lo,” she said through her knees. “Cid’s not around. He went to go talk to Sora ‘bout his ship. Wan’ me to tell ‘im you were here?” She offered. There were tear tracks in the dirt and dust that had caked itself onto her face over the course of the day—a hazard from working with boxes of Gummi parts and even bigger boxes full of old accessories.

          Someone came in from upstairs and walked to the trapdoor. It proved to be Riku and Leon. Leon descended the ladder first, saw who was on the counter and put his forehead to one of the rungs on the ladder.

          “I just can’t shake you, can I?” He asked her.

          Zephyr lifted her head just enough so that he mouth was uncovered. “Nope, not possible. I’m a qualified pain-in-the-ass, remember? That’s my job—to get underfoot.”

          “Pulling two jobs at yer age,” Leon muttered under his breath. Riku began going down the ladder.

          “Who’s pulling two jobs—oh, it’s you. Hello,” he jumped down to the floor and looked at Zephyr, who was getting steadily more nervous, but hiding it quite well.

          “Thanks ever so for the wisecracks, Sweetheart,” she told Leon, voice dripping sarcasm.

          He didn’t even bother to stop rifling through the cupboards looking for something to drink and a glass to put it in. “Yer welcome, Precious,” he said, voice equally dry. “Little bitch,” he said quietly, under his breath.

          “Heard that.”

          He glared at her. Riku crossed his arms. “Come on, how bad can she be? She doesn’t look that harmful to me.” He looked again at Zephyr, who avoided meeting his gaze at all costs.

          “Appearances are deceiving,” Leon told him. He found a glass, but frowned at it. “Hey, this glass is cracked.”

          Zephyr couldn’t pass this up. “So’re you, but no one’s complaining.” [A/N: Actual line of dialogue that went on in my house one night at dinner—my brother had a cracked glass, and I said exactly what I made Zephyr say. My parents didn’t even say anything about it—they were too busy laughing.] She got up off the counter and walked out of the shop.

          “You see?” Leon slammed the glass down on the counter. “I told you she was horrible!” He looked at his companions. They were laughing hysterically. “That wasn’t funny.”

          “Yes—it was—” Yuffie gasped. She collapsed on the floor in a fit of hysterics. He glared at her but said nothing.

          “She’s always like that?” Riku asked once he had recovered his wind.

          “Yep. Pretty much. She’s smart—it’s about all she’s got, besides her roof-climbing an’ her bite. She’s not real strong, can’t take a hit, and can’t walk and chew gum at the same time without landing herself in the hospital somehow. So her mind is about all she’s good for—I’ll give ‘er that, and that’s it.” He sighed. “Obnoxious fifteen-year-old.”

          “No, she can’t be any older than thirteen,” Riku said, a look of disbelief on his face.

          “Nope, she’s fifteen all right. Could be older, cuz we don’t know when her birthday is,” Yuffie had recovered herself enough to talk. At the look on his face, she said, “Yea, I know, hard to believe, ain’t? But she’s a short fifteen-year-old.”

          “Weird,” Riku said, shaking his head. He exited the shop through the front doors, and Aerith left, as well. Leon and Yuffie were alone, and Yuffie wore a vicious scowl. She gave him a good shove.

          “You’re horrible!” She told him. “I know you hate Zephyr and she hates you, but you don’t have to say things like that about her! She can’t help it that she doesn’t have much strength; so don’t say anything about it! She never rubs your weaknesses in behind your back, and she has plenty of opportunities to do it!” She crossed her arms and sat up on the counter, still glaring at him.

          “I’m—Yuffie, I’m sorry. She got on my nerves. I just—” he sighed, rubbing his temples. However much he hated Zephyr, Yuffie still liked the girl, and he couldn’t say anything about her in front of her. “I’m sorry,” he said again, going to put an arm around her. She scooted away as though his arm had turned into some less desirable object—like a snake. “Yuffie.” He sighed again when she inched even further away, and then left her there, feeling a good deal more than frustrated.

          In the Second District, Riku had found entertainment in throwing stones at pigeons. He was slumping around, his heart heavy. Sora had broken both him and King Mickey free of Kingdom Hearts, and some time after that they had stumbled upon Kairi. He had been overjoyed to have her back, but his hopes about her were smashed when he realized who she had chosen—she’d chosen Sora over him.

          At first he had been angry at Sora for taking her from him, but then he realized that he’d never really “had” her in the first place. They were friends, yes—good ones. And he knew that she loved him, but it was friendship, nothing more. Her heart belonged to Sora. After he realized that, he’d turned from angry to depressed. Melancholy. It took months for him to accept the fact that Kairi loved Sora, and not him. Even so, it left a bruise on his heart that was still tender.

          Being in Traverse wasn’t so bad, though. Kind of a nice place to his standards—dark, cool, and mysterious. Sora had said that it was never daytime there. To reasons even unknown to himself, Riku liked the dark rather than daytime.

          But part of Traverse made him feel awkward, as though he didn’t fit in. It wasn’t the fact that everyone there knew everyone else and that he was a new face. It was that everyone seemed to have found their “other half,” and he was still just… Riku. Everyone, that was, except for Zephyr. The way everyone talked about her, he suspected that no one ever wanted her. Understandably so—no one wants a girlfriend that’s going to growl and bite.

          In a sudden, random burst of anger, he hurtled a stone so hard that it actually hit a bird. It squeaked, trying to fly, but a broken wing stopped it from doing so. It waddled off to find a safe place to hide. Too late: a cat had found it. Riku turned away. There was some scuffling and high-pitched noises, and then silence. He looked back, seeing a dark patch on the ground and a few bloodstained down and contour feathers. He winced.

          Since there were no more pigeons to throw stones at, and no stones left the throw even if there were, he wandered off again, aimless. He found a door and opened it to go into the room, only to hear a woman gasp, and something fall to the ground. He backed up abruptly.

          “What—who’s in here?” He asked, not seeing anything in the pitch dark. He groped for a light switch, but there was none. A light went on overhead; Cloud and Aerith stood at the other end of the room.

          “Shouldn’t we be asking that?” Cloud snapped. He had shed his cape a while ago, and stood in front of Aerith, who was shakily and hastily trying to refasten the buttons on the front of her dress.

          “Sorry,” Riku said hurriedly, and left the room. Cloud picked up his cape and put the other arm around Aerith. She’d misbuttoned her dress and had to start over.

          “Irritating jackasses,” he growled, meaning Riku and everyone else who had haphazardly walked in on them in increasingly more intimate situations.

          “Cloud!” She looked up at him. He lowered his lips to hers, and rebuttoning her dress was forgotten as she twined her arms around his neck. Cloud dropped his cape on the floor again and used that hand to trail down her back and rest on her hip. A thought came to her mind and she pulled away.

          “What?” He asked softly, looking for any sign that he’d done something stupid. But there was a lusty look in her eyes as she spoke.

          “Shouldn’t we find somewhere to hide before we’re walked in on again?” She whispered, though she had no idea why she was whispering. Cloud gave her his answer simply by pulling her even closer with one arm and groping for the light switch with the other. Neither of them heard nor saw the door open again.

          “If yer trying to get her through the wall by process of osmosis, I’ll tell you now, it’s not gonna work. Juss use the door, it’s safer,” a familiar, sarcastic voice said behind them it its’ dry humor. It was instantly recognizable as Zephyr’s. Cloud slammed on the lights and looked at her with an equally malicious look as she was giving them.

          “Dammit, girl, what’re you doing in here?” He hissed, now refastening his own shirt as, behind him, Aerith was doing the same after pulling her dress back onto her shoulders.

          “I’d ask you the same, but it’s perfectly evidenced,” she said simply. Aerith noticed her voice waver some as she spoke. “I suggest a room with only one door, and a titanium deadbolt lock.” Heedlessly, she walked past them through the opposite door and left. Cloud made a fist, as though he was going to hit the girl, but Aerith planted both her hands on his chest and pushed hard, although she couldn’t have stopped him if he truly wanted to do it.

          “Don’t!” She whispered. He looked down at her and smiled a little, unclenching his fist and running his hand through her hair.

          “She’s an obnoxious bitch, but I’d never hurt her.” He smirked. “I could never kick that poor little puppy of a person.”

          “Heard that!” Came Zephyr’s muffled voice from the other side of the door. “And thanks… I think.”

Yuffie had lost her normal perkiness. She’d been sitting at a table at the café for some time, head in her arms, sighing and sobbing. She didn’t know why she was so emotional all of a sudden. It was probably Leon and his mixed signals—not unlike a confused traffic light.

          She thought back to everything he said and did. He tolerated people, but didn’t like many. He liked Cloud, mainly because he was another swordsman. Aerith he put up with, too, because no one could possibly hate her, or even not like her; he didn’t mind Cid, either, simply because the older man was quiet and a little like him. He even tolerated Sora, and his tolerance for the boy had gotten greater of late because his maturity level had risen significantly. Just about everyone else that he came across, though, Leon wouldn’t put up with. Especially Zephyr.

          At first, Yuffie had thought that it was only because she was so young, just as was she—and Leon had eventually tolerated her, and grown to love her. But he never got used to Zephyr. What was worse was that he was so mean to her. He was cold to everyone else. Anyone who wasn’t Cid, Aerith, Cloud, Sora, or herself fell victim to his worst of attitudes.

          She wiped her eyes on her scarf and sniffed. Part of her still hated him for being mean to her in Hollow Bastion and for being such an ass all the time. When they had fought together in the Pegasus Cup, he had muttered about doing most of the work, and that stung. She’d done the best she could, and she couldn’t help it that she was smaller than he was!

          She still hated him for being cold and distant and being so picky about his name—why didn’t he just use his real name? A name couldn’t change the past or take it away or mask it. He’d been nasty to her when they met, but somehow, she’d developed a schoolgirl crush on him within the first week. He’d been the cause of many a heartache.

          So why did she love him?

          Months and months after their first meeting—nearly a year—they had long since confessed to one another that they loved each other. He’d sometimes do anything for her, no matter how ridiculous. He handled her as though she was a kitten—with the greatest care. When he kissed her… another part of her couldn’t imagine hating him, didn’t want to hate him—couldn’t hate him.

          She began plucking the petals off of a flower from a vase on the table, whispering as she did so, “I hate him. I love him. I hate him. I love him.” She got down to the last petal. “I love him. I hate him,” she whispered as she plucked the last petal. But the last petal had had another petal under it, making it like a two-in-one. She sighed and let the stem drop. “So I love him and I hate him.” A knot formed in her throat and she began to choke again, feeling tears fall. She went back to the hotel to see if he was there, though she didn’t know what she would do if he were. Yell at him, most likely.

          Unfortunately, he wasn’t in the lobby when she walked in, and he wasn’t in their room, either. Something was on her pillow. She picked it up: a white rose with its’ thorns sheared off… and a note. She opened the note and read it.

“Yuffie,

I know you’re angry. I’m sorry I said what I did—it’s been eating away at my brain since it happened. The room is yours tonight—I’m sleeping in the Accessory Shop on a couch, but being that near Zephyr could be dangerous for me. I don’t blame you if you’re still mad.

          Squall”

          Yuffie wet her lips. He must’ve been drunk or just not thinking when he wrote it—he’d signed it “Squall” instead of “Leon.” She looked again at the rose, running her fingers along the waxy petals. If her feelings weren’t mixed up before, they certainly were now. She slowly lay down, still holding the rose. She felt tears coming and she didn’t stop them. She looked out the window and whispered, “Why do I love him?” Soon after, she fell into an uneasy sleep.

          Riku had taken the hint and left Sora and Kairi to one room. He would find another for himself… somewhere. He knew that there was an empty room over the Accessory Shop—maybe he could sleep there. If the doors were open. He tried the front doors first, finding them to be open. Inside, Leon slept on a couch, thought he didn’t fit very well. Cid was finishing packing up. He looked at the silver-haired teen.

          “Didja need somethin’?” Cid asked.

          “Um… kinda,” he said back.

          “Whatcha need?”

          “The room over your shop,” Riku said plainly. “Can I sleep there for the night? Only for tonight, though. Just until I can find another place to stay.”

          Cid looked up at the ceiling as if he was trying to look through it to the Item Synthesis Shop. “Fine by me, but you might have a little trouble with Zephyr,” he warned. “She stays up there at night an’ she’s real territorial. But if you ask and she likes you, she’ll prob’ly let ya stay.” He pulled the trapdoor open and pulled the ladder down.

          Riku climbed into the darkened room, hearing someone stir. The only light came from the window, and he could vaguely make out a silhouette of a person. Evidently a terrified person, because he or she immediately bolted out the back door at his entry.

          “Well…” he whispered to himself. “That was weird.” He hit his legs on one of the low countertops, finding it to have been cleaned off, and with a blanket and pillow on it. He balanced himself on the wooden surface and fell asleep.

          Outside, Zephyr panted from being startled so badly. She’d seen who it was and bolted for the door. She had no idea why she was so terrified of him. No, she knew. She just wished that she could deal with it better than running from it. She knew that running was no way to deal with problems. But she, like all humans, still had animal instincts—to run from what she didn’t understand and what scared her.

          She made her way to the Dalmatians’ house, where she could sleep on a couch and be surrounded by puppies. She loved the dogs, but the only reason she didn’t stay in that house instead of the Item Synthesis Shop was because it was too far away from Cid’s shop. And also because it got a little crowded. On her way, she smacked into Kairi and fell down because she was the lighter of the two.

          “Kairi! What happened?” Sora had seen his love stumble backward on the impact. He saw Zephyr straightening and brushing her clothes off. She looked at Kairi, who, in turn, stared back at her. They were a pair of ridiculous opposites—Kairi with short auburn hair and dark indigo eyes, wearing a short skirt and a midriff shirt; Zephyr with long black hair and stormcloud-gray eyes, covered head to toe in clothes that were far too big for her.

          They looked each other up and down, each clearly baffled by the other. Finally, they asked, in the perfect unison of a Greek chorus, “How’re you dressed like that?” Kairi giggled at the situation. Zephyr raised her eyebrows.

          “Come on, Kairi,” Sora circled his arm around her waist. “Lets go. ‘Fore she decides to bite.”

          “You were suckin’ his lips off,” Zephyr accused Kairi. The other girl turned around and stared at her, shocked at her wording.

          “What makes you say that?” She asked in her own defense.

          “Cuz he’s wearin’ your lipgloss. And if kissing isn’t the explanation, then he’d better have a real good one.” Without waiting for an answer, she pushed her way into the Dalmatians’ house and was bombarded by dogs. Sora was wiping his mouth. Zephyr had been telling to truth.

          “Lets go,” he said to Kairi, arms still looped around her. She put her hand over his and walked with him to the hotel where they were able to get a room.

          Aerith watched them go into their room, thinking how cute they looked together. She leaned on her shoulder on the wall near her own door and sighed, smiling. Cloud came behind her and kissed her neck. She jumped and turned, heart pounding. She hooked one arm over his shoulder and put the other hand over her own heart.

          “Don’t do that!” She whispered. “You scared me half to death!”

          Instead of saying something back, he put one arm under her legs and scooped her up into his arms. “I’ll make it up to you,” he whispered softly as he carried her into their room and kicked the door shut.

          It was very early morning, and Yuffie had slept on and off for the past several hours. Now she couldn’t grab sleep. It was just not coming. With a sigh, she rolled out of bed and slipped her shoes on. Her fingers had still been curled around the white rose. Now she put it back onto her pillow and slipped out of the hotel. She took a trip back into the heart of the Second District. She found someone sitting on a bench, watching two Dalmatian puppies play.

          “You couldn’t sleep, either, huh?” She said as she sat next to Zephyr. Without looking up, the girl shook her head.

          “Insomnia. What’s yer excuse?” She asked.

          Yuffie paused before she answered, “Thinking too much. ‘Bout Leon.” She sighed and watched the dogs play. “I hate him,” she said. Surprised, Zephyr looked up at her. Without meeting her gaze, Yuffie began to explain. “I hate him. He’s a jackass. A bastard.” She sighed and put her face in her hands.

          “Not gonna argue with ya there,” Zephyr said.

          “Your vote of confidence is overwhelming,” she said dryly.

          “It’s true. He is terrible. Mean to almost everyone but you. He’s a bandit. A pirate.”

          “Yea. And he’s always insulting you behind yer back.”

          “I know he is,” she said with a shrug.

          “You do? Then why don’t you say anything about it?” The older girl asked.

          “Cuz I don’t want to. It dun bother me at all. Like water off a duck’s back. That fact alone, though, is pretty depressing. Your Leon is an ass.”

          “I know. He’s such a jackass. Even short-tempered with me sometimes.” She swallowed the lump in her throat and sighed. “So why do I love him?” She barely whispered.

          “Does it matter?” Zephyr asked. The ninja looked up.

          “I—I don’t know. Does it?” She was confused, but the younger girl did have a point. She stared off into the sky. “But Cloud’s—”

          “Stop right there,” Zephyr told her. Yuffie looked at her. This time their gazes met.

          “What?”

          “Big mistake, sweetheart,” she said. “Comparing him to Cloud. He’s not Cloud, and he’s not Sora, just as you aren’t Aerith or Kairi. He’s Leon. And you’re Yuffie. Kairi and Sora have a nauseatingly sweet relationship. Aerith and Cloud are perfectly harmonic. You and Leon have a few bumps and potholes in your road. It doesn’t mean anything bad. It’s just… you.”

          Yuffie was impressed. “Fer someone your age, yer pretty savvy.” She still gave a heavy sigh.

          “Point is—who knows why you love yer bastard? Who fucking cares? All that matters is that you love him, he loves you, and you’re happy. Do you love him?”

          “Yes,” she whispered.

          “So what else matters?” Zephyr had tears on her own face now. She put an arm over Yuffie’s shoulders. “Look, Yuffie—I got hit so hard that even now there’s days that I wake up an’ don’t remember my own name. But I do know this—don’t throw away what you have. So you love the pirate. So what? Put your flag back up on the mast before it’s too late. Even if the ship is rotten and half-sunk. Who knows—you could be the one to turn him around, make him act a little more human.”

          Yuffie stayed silent for a long time. Zephyr wondered if she had fallen asleep. She was thinking hard about what she’d said. Despite bumps and fights and arguments, she loved Leon. And he wasn’t the person to fake emotions, so he must have truly loved her back. He was a jerk. And a pirate. But she loved him anyway. “If you weren’t another girl, I would kiss you,” she told her friend. Instead she hugged her tightly and sped off in search on Leon. She made a mental note to repay Zephyr, as she was still being depressed. She’d seen the girl start to cry as she spoke.

          She ran back into the First District and headed for Cid’s shop. There was no risk of him, or really anyone else, seeing her. Not that she cared. She went for the doors, prepared to break them down if they were locked, but she found she could pull them open. She hit the lights as she shut the door behind her.

          “Ack! Turn that light off!” Leon was sitting up on the couch. He had obviously been awake for some time, thinking, but he had been in the dark. He peered up through squinted eyes to see who had walked in. When he saw her standing there, his eyes opened all the way. “Yuffie—what’s… what are you doing here?”

          She strode over to him, face blank, eyes hard. She stopped directly in front of him and crossed her arms over her chest. He looked up at her, uncertain as to what to say. He didn’t have to worry for long. Yuffie launched herself at him and kissed him, knocking him completely off balance and falling backward. She wouldn’t get off of him. When she took her mouth from his, he sat up a little bit.

          “So you aren’t mad at me any more?” He whispered. Instead of answering, she kissed him again, holding his shirt collar in one hand and the back of his hair in the other. He had both arms around her waist, pulling her close.

          “I love you,” she whispered when she pulled away from him. “Even though you’ve done some pretty nasty things to people… it’s just the way you are.”

          He shifted so that she was sitting in his lap. “You were pretty mad at me before… didja sleep it off?”

          “Nah. Couldn’t sleep.” She kissed his cheek. “Zephyr,” was all she said.

          Leon was about to say something, but stopped himself. His mind went back to several months ago, after they were released from Cid’s shop after being trapped in it for over a day, surrounded by snipers. The snipers had been shot and had surrendered.

          “You can’t be serious about helping them!” Aerith said.

          “They were firing on us fer a day an’ a half—why don’t we juss leave ‘em out there?” He spat.

          “Because,” Zephyr made her way to the doors, carrying potions, bandages, and blankets. “That would be totally barbaric.”

          Zephyr was like him in that she never let anyone get close to her. There was a lot that she refused to tell anyone. She was cold and distant and violent with words, just as he was violent with a blade. She was a weakling and had no weapon skills. She was easily hurt and quick to anger. But she wasn’t truly a demon. She wasn’t vicious. No one was truly vicious. Some people just chose to mask themselves beneath it because it covered the most.

          “What’s the matter?” Yuffie asked him. He blinked and brought himself out of his thoughts. “You zoned out.”

          “Kinda,” he said. He kept his thoughts of Zephyr to himself as he nuzzled her neck. He had a different opinion of her now—still didn’t like her, but he didn’t hate her as he did a few minutes ago.

“Girl-child, what has been the matter with you lately?” Cid demanded of Zephyr as she worked in silence. She didn’t answer him and pretended not to have heard. “That ain’t gonna work with me, girly,” he said. “I know you kin hear me. Talk.”

          “Nothing,” she whispered. She wanted to talk as little as possible to keep the lump in her throat down. From where she sat now, she could look out the window and see Riku, but he couldn’t see her. She watched him intently, like a hawk might watch its’ prey. The lump got bigger and she clenched her teeth to keep herself from crying.

          “I know yer lyin’, but I won’ ask ya any more questions. You’ll tell me if ya want to.” He left her there to her work, and she looked away from the window. She could look at Riku, half for fear of crying, and half for fear that he might see her.

          She went back to work, struggling with one particularly stubborn bracelet that didn’t want to get clean. She was running out of steam from not eating in several days. She’d run across Kairi and Sora kissing in the Third District, and all she could manage was a low hiss before her stomach lurched. She heard the door open and she looked up—Riku had walked in. Panic took over and she shot out the door in the blink of an eye, running down the roads, skidding to a stop, taking a turn, and running on, plowing over Yuffie in the process. She hadn’t lost a hair’s worth of speed and kept going.

          “Whoa. What’s the matter with her?” Yuffie asked Aerith as she got to her feet and dusted herself off. “The only other time she ran that fast was when she found a giant spider in her room!”

          “I know. Maybe Cid knows. She came shooting out of his shop—see, the doors are still swinging.” Aerith pointed. Curious, she and Yuffie walked in to see what was up.

          “Hey, Cid,” Yuffie said as she walked in. “Oh, hi. Riku.” She noticed Riku sitting on the ground, inspecting the accessories that Zephyr had been cleaning before she decided to make a run for it. “Hey Cid, what was up with Zephyr? She came runnin’ outta here like she saw that spider again.”

          Cid shrugged, just as confused as she and Aerith were. “I ‘ave no idea. She was fine—well, as fine as she’s been for the last week—‘til he walked in.” He jerked a thumb towards Riku. “Then she took off. Only other time I saw ‘er that scared was when she found that spider upstairs. Almost broke ‘er neck when she fell down the ladder.” He smirked a little at the memory.

          Aerith smiled slowly. Then she started to giggle helplessly. Yuffie, Cid, and Riku all looked at her as she sat down.

          “Care to share with the class?” Yuffie asked.

          “It’s Riku!” Aerith said, sounding extremely happy for some reason.

          “Huh? What’d I do?” Riku stood up, looking nervous.

          “Nothing, nothing—it’s okay, you aren’t in trouble,” Aerith reassured him. “It’s—she’s run from you every time, and I know why!”

          “So spill!” Yuffie said. “Don’t leave us hangin’!”

          “She likes him!”

          Openly confused, Riku gaped. “She what?”

          “She likes you!”

          Now Yuffie could see it. Zephyr was skittish around people. She was confused with her feelings and Riku hadn’t helped. She fell for him and she had no idea what to do about it. “I get it. She’s so nervous she’d probably faint if she couldn’t run.”

          “Wait a sec—isn’t she the one everyone’s scared of?” Riku asked with a tinge of fear in his voice.

          “She’s not so bad. She’s only dangerous if she doesn’t like you,” Yuffie took him by the hand. “C’mon, we gotta go catch her.”

          “Oh, no you don’t,” Aerith said. She took Yuffie’s other hand. “He can go on his own if he wants to. But it’s best we don’t do anything that could upset her.”

          Riku stayed silent for a time. Then he turned and left the shop in search of Zephyr, though he had never gotten a clear view of her face before, so he didn’t really know what he was looking for. He didn’t have far to go, though. There was skittering of small feet on the stone ground, as someone moved quickly; then there was a loud crash of wood. He ran in that direction and ended up in an alley littered with crates. A few were broken.

          He looked around for a sign of a person, but found none. “Weird,” he said.

          “I know I am.”

          He looked up. Perched on top of a high mountain of crates sat Zephyr, looking slightly more comfortable than she had before. She was on her belly, looking over the side and down at him.

          “How’d you get up there?” He asked.

          “I climbed the wall. And jumped,” she said simply. She watched him carefully, eyes and face expressionless, but heart pounding faster and harder. Blood rushed in her ears.

          “How come you haven’t run yet?”

          “Cuz I’m safe up here. You can’t get up,” she retorted. He left her field of vision. Curious, she looked to see where he had gone. She got to the last side of the crates and was shocked to find him slowly making his way up the side. She backed up as he got onto the surface.

          “You were saying?” He asked smugly when he had gotten himself seated. She narrowed her eyes, but didn’t run. The only escape now was to jump to the ground, and that would be extremely dangerous.

          “Yer good,” she told him. After a while, she said quietly, “You dun have to be here if you don’t want to. I know why you came. Aerith ain’t too good with secrets.”

          “You heard that?” Riku asked, astonished.

          “Yup. I hear a lotta stuff. Gets me in trouble, but it’s provided me with enough blackmail to have me living comfortably for the rest ‘a my life.” She glanced sidelong at him, feeling butterflies form in her stomach.

          “So if you heard…” to her surprise, he blushed.

          “What? Yer embarrassed that you found out I like you? You’d ‘a found out eventually. Nothing stays secret fer long here.”

          He got a good look at her, now. She was small, dwarfed even more by her clothes. Black hair fell to her waist; slightly mad gray eyes watched the ground. Cute, he decided. Like a puppy. A rabid puppy… she was speaking again.

          “Kinda awkward here fer me. Everyone else ‘cept fer me found their ‘other half,’ and I’m still trying to get my own half together. A hard thing to do with the constant reminders that I’m still… alone.” She snorted and swished away tears.

          “If it helps, I sorta know how you feel,” Riku offered. He took hold of her hand. She turned scarlet.

          “Are you seeing what I’m seeing?” Yuffie whispered to Aerith as they watched Zephyr and Riku from a distance.

          “I can see it, but I don’t know if I believe it,” she said, equally shocked. Leon was walking past and saw them kneeling on the ground, peering around a corner.

          “What’re you doing?” He asked. When neither answered, he looked where they did. His mouth popped open. “That isn’t Zephyr, is it?”

          “It sure is,” Yuffie said without looking away. Their awestruck state had attracted Sora and Kairi, as well. Sora took one look at Riku and Zephyr and rubbed his eyes, not believing what he saw.

          “Izzat—? No. Can’t be. Can it?” He was confused. “Holy shit, Riku tamed the friggen shrew!” He stared, openmouthed. “This is too weird. To the point where it’s scary.” He shivered. Zephyr rubbed against Riku’s shoulder, as a cat might rub up against someone. It was completely uncharacteristic for her to show such affection—they had thought she simply couldn’t show affection.

          Leon pulled Yuffie back towards him and wrapped his arms around her from behind. She sighed and leaned into him, eyes closed. Sora and Kairi walked off together, hand in hand.

          Aerith stood in time to see Cloud coming toward them. “I’ve been looking all over for you,” he told her.

          “Why—” she began, but he didn’t let her finish. He bent her back and kissed her with no regard at all for the others standing around them. When he let her upright again, she stayed close to him, whispering, “Cloud, people are staring…”

          “Let ‘em look,” he said. “Even if we hid, someone would find us.” He pulled her back to him.

          Up in the alley, Riku glanced at Sora and Kairi walking past. He felt weird, sitting up here with Zephyr while there was still a tender spot on his heart from Kairi choosing Sora over him—especially since he really didn’t know Zephyr all that well. Then he realized that they were being watched. He nudged her. “Y’know, they’ve been watching us.”

          “Yea, I know. I dun care. They know better than to tease me about it. An’ if they did, I’d get even.” She smirked. “I’m good at that.”

                                                                                                  ~*~

Whoa. Reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeal long one-shot fic! I thought it was cute, though. Geez, twenty pages. Over ten-thousand words. Anyone guess how long it took to write? Four days.

So whatcha think? Too bad they don’t have a genre called “Poignant.” But they don’t, so I’ll make do without it. Please review. I don’t want my efforts to have been in vain! This is twenty pages! So please review and make me a happy puppy!