A/N: All right. Sadly, I honestly have no excuse. I had to rewrite this chapter after it was somehow deleted 4 or so months ago. Plus I've been working on other stories due to an overactive muse. Oh, and the stupid linebreaks in Quick Edit aren't working for some reason, so I apologize.

DISCLAIMER: Wow, haven't done one of these in a bit. Look, I don't own any of the Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts, or freaking Disney characters and/or plots. Let's face it. I never have, so it's only right to assume that I never will.

Life or Something Like It

Chapter 15: Reaction

"For every action there is an equal, and opposite, reaction. Elaborate."

Yuffie stared boredly at her blank sheet of loose leaf paper while tapping her pen impatiently against her text book. She was supposed to be answering the questions on her chemistry worksheet over the weekend, but this silence was driving her up the wall. She and Squall hadn't talked to each other since the "incident", and the defeaning quiet made her want to scream, yell, or something. But pride kept her from confronting Squall about those folders. She didn't want to seem hurt by the fact that he didn't care for her company. She didn't want anymore of his pity. It just irked her that their relationship was strictly professional, yet he made it seem as if they were actually friends. And...

Frustrated, she stopped tapping her pen and threw it across the room. Unfortunately for Squall (or what Yuffie thought to be fortunate), he chose then to poke his head into her room. "Oww!" he cried out, raising his hand to his forehead as the pen bounced off of it. "What was that for?"

Trying to hide her smile, Yuffie replied stonily, "Well, I didn't know you were going to walk in. If I had known, I probably would've thrown it harder."

Ignoring her remark, Squall went on. "I just wanted to tell you that we're going to Aerith and Cloud's for dinner today."

She sat up a little straighter at his response. "The police finished searching the house?"

Squall nodded. "They didn't find anything though. Whoever it was didn't leave any clues."

Yuffie noticed that he hadn't mentioned anything about her moving back in with Cloud and Aerith. For some reason, she felt strangely relieved. "So, what's the occasion for dinner?"

"They're throwing having some party for Cloud's police team. And Cloud's supposedly going to pop the question tonight."

"Wasn't he supposed to do that last week?" Yuffie wondered aloud.

"Hell, he was supposed to ask her last year."

"Fine," Yuffie answered, suddenly seeming to lose all interest in their conversation.

He paused for a moment, considering his words. All day it was like he was tiptoeing around land mines whenever he was around Yuffie. One tiny slip could set her off. "Are you okay? You've been rather quiet lately."

"Why would you care?"

Maybe now wasn't the time to get into another argument. "Just wondering," he answered dismissively to avoid confrontation. "Be ready by six-thirty."

"Fine."

As the door closed shut, Yuffie sighed. She supposed that watching Cloud make an ass of himself would be more amusing than trying to communicate with a man who--clearly--didn't appreciate her company. This time, she picked up her chemistry book and tossed it away. Somehow, the thud of the text on the floor was much more satisfying than throwing the pen. Of course, it would've been funnier if the book had hit Squall's head instead of the pen, too.

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Riku stared out the window of Cid's pick up truck. They were on their way to some dinner party at one of Cid's friend's house. When Cid had told them about the party, Riku and Sora quickly agreed. Anything had to taste better than the crap Cid concocted. Cid was the only person on earth capable of burning a TV dinner. Suddenly, Sora sat up a little straighter in the backseat. "Hey, Kairi lives in this neighborhood!"

Riku glanced at Sora. "How would you know?" he asked.

"Uh...Me and Yuffie helped her find her way home when she got lost in Brooklyn," Sora replied quickly. "The neighborhood just looks familiar, that's all."

"Uh huh." Riku decided not to push the issue any further. Sooner or later Sora would find out that he had tailed him a few nights ago anyway. The only question was a matter of when he would find out. Sora wasn't exactly the brightest crayon in the box. Riku's gaze returned to the window. They were zipping along a residential street lined with huge two story houses that put their three room apartment above the shop to shame. "Your friends seem well-off," Riku commented to Cid, admiring the mansion-like buildings.

"Well-off? I think the word you're looking for is 'loaded'," Cid replied.

"What do they do, anyway?"

"Cloud's in the police force and Aerith's a nurse. Coupla pussy jobs if you ask me. Here I am doing a real man's work, and I get paid crap."

"You? Work? More like break the child labor laws by making Sora and me work all the time."

"It's good life experience."

Riku stared at his newly adopted guardian. Unlike many other people, Riku got the privilege of choosing his family. Why then, out of the thirty million people in New York, had he chosen this as his parent? What was he thinking? Better question: why hadn't he been thinking properly?

"Don't look at me like that. Let's face it: I'm not getting any younger. I need a coupla punks like you around," said Cid as they pulled up by the house, seeming to read Riku's thoughts. "All right, listen up. Two rules. One: Stay away from the punch and all alcoholic beverages. Two: Call up a cab after the party, I'll be too hungover to drive."

"Sounds good to me," Sora said cheerfully as he dismounted the car.

Riku shook his head and laughed. This was his family: dysfunctional, crude, and mentally disturbed--but he loved it.

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Yuffie forced another smile as two more guests knocked at the door. Because she had refused to set the table and was a complete klutz in the kitchen, she'd been assigned to answering the door. Her smile turned into a look combined with horror and surprise as she saw Tifa walk in. "What are you doing here?" she asked incredulously, forgetting her manners.

"I was invited. What are you doing here?"

"Uh, I kind-of-not-really live here. Long story."

The metaphoric light bulb seemed to turn on for Tifa. "So you're the kid that Cloud's been telling me about."

"Yeah, yeah I am. Um, would you mind...uh..."

"Cloud'll never know it was you who blew up the lab," Tifa answered with a smile, reading her expression. "If it makes you feel any better, I burnt a hole the size of Texas in the tile during my first chemistry lab."

"Thanks." Suddenly remembering her manners, Yuffie said, "Oh, let me take your coat." As she took the jacket, Yuffie noticed that Tifa had a companion. He was a tall, dark haired man with dark, deep eyes and a slightly pale complexion. Oh, and good looking. Veeeeery good looking, Yuffie noted. Her cheeks hurt like hell from grinning like an idiot all night long, but she decided that his hotness was far greater than the pain of smiling.

What about Squall? a nagging voice whispered in the back of her mind.

Squall? Squall who?

Her conscience gave up after realizing that it was no use. Yuffie had gone into hormonal teenage girl mode. "Hi. I'm Yuffie, your hostess for tonight. Can I take your coat?"

The man didn't reply at first. Then he lowered his head to meet Yuffie's eyes and answered, "No, I'm fine." At the sound of his voice, Yuffie swore that her hormones were leaking out of her ears by now. And with that, he stalked away.

"Well, if you need anything else, just ask!" she called after him. Taking a moment to recover, Yuffie muttered, "What got stuck up his ass?"

Tifa laughed. "That's Vincent for you. He doesn't talk much, except when necessary."

Yuffie sighed wistfully. "What a waste of good looks." She made sure to keep a mental radar on Mr. Tall, Dark, and Mysterious.

The doorbell rang again, and Yuffie groaned. This was beginning to get on her nerves. She opened the door with another fake smile that quickly faded when she saw the newcomer. It was Sephiroth, Cloud's boss. "Um. Hello."

Sephiroth merely nodded. "Glad to see you're still in one piece."

"Uh...thanks?" She really didn't know whether to appreciate his concern or wonder why he was expecting to find her dead...or worse.

"Where's Strife?" he asked curtly.

Yuffie suppressed the urge to sigh. Obviously not one for small talk. She could already tell that a boring evening lay ahead. Well, at least the food is good. "Somewhere around here...do you want me to go get him?"

Sephiroth hesitated, which set off a tiny alarm in Yuffie's head. Sephiroth doesn't seem like the type to hesitate. Maybe something's wrong...? "No, that won't be necessary. Just tell him that I stopped by, and I expect him in the morning."

"Um, okay, no problem. Drive safely. But I guess you already know that since you're a cop and all," Yuffie said uncertainly as she groped for a response.

He raised an eyebrow at her rambling, answered with a brief, "Good evening", and left just as suddenly as he'd come. Whatever reason he came here, it probably wasn't important enough to talk about now. As soon as she shut the door, the doorbell rang AGAIN. Not even bothering to smile this time (despite Aerith's wishes), she wrenched open the door and said flatly, "Hello. Please, let me take your coat. And if you need anything, please hesitate to ask."

"Some hostess you are," a familiar voice snorted.

"Riku? Sora?" She noticed a man in his mid fourties standing behind them. "Um...old guy?" she added.

"Old guy!" the "old guy" in question exclaimed indignantly. "Don't you recognize a family friend when you see one?"

"Uh...no." Leaning closer to Riku, she whispered, "Who is this nutjob?"

"Nutjob? I was your parents' best friend. Hell, I even changed your diapers once."

"More like made me change them instead," Aerith said, walking up to the front door as she heard the commotion. "Nice to see you, Cid."

"Uh, sorry about the nutjob comment," Yuffie apologized. "I don't remember much of my childhood."

"Nutjob..." Cid muttered as he moved inside towards--what else?--the liquor table. Yuffie turned to Riku and Sora. "He's your guardian?"

"Hey, you don't see us making fun of your family," Sora protested.

Yuffie's heart sank a little at his words. They were two separate families now. Things had changed, and still Yuffie was trying to decide if it was for the best. "Come in. Thank God you guys are here. All these old people are starting to scare me."

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"Come on, just tell me what's in there!" Sora persisted to the man who sat on his right.

"Apple juice," the stoic man known as Auron replied patiently.

"Really." Sora looked up at the man. One of his eyes was scarred and had a patch over it. He wore sunglasses, although it was night time, and carried a jug of...well, that was exactly what Sora was trying to find out. The man just screamed mysterious. And the unknown contents of the jug just added to the mystery. "Come on, I'm not stupid. What the hell's in there?"

Riku rolled his eyes. He was surprised that the man hadn't smacked Sora upside the head by now, or murdered him. And judging by Auron's looks, the man was more than capable of doing so. Riku turned to face Yuffie, who sat rather silently across from him. "Yuffie? You okay?"

The uncharacteristically quiet teen looked up from her plate of hardly touched food. "Yeah, just thinking." More like trying not to think about Squall, which ended up in her thinking about him and how mad she was at him, then back to why she was thinking about him when she'd vowed not to, and the chain started all over again. The man to her left hadn't said more than a handful of words to her for three days (and she also vaguely wondered why she was keeping count). And he had the nerve to ask her to pass the rolls. She'd ignored him, like any red-blooded teenager of the female kind would. Squall had frowned slightly at her reaction, then returned to his conversation with Cloud.

"That's a lie if I ever heard one," Riku remarked. "You never think."

Yuffie smiled briefly before letting the smile drop. "Not really hungry."

Riku frowned. It was almost as if they had traded places overnight. Now he was playing the role of the overtalkative friend, and Yuffie the distant friend. Whatever had happened between the last time they saw each other and now couldn't have been good. When he saw Squall ask for the rolls and Yuffie ignore him, Riku put two and two together. Were the two were in some sort of fight? His questions were confirmed when Yuffie quietly excused herself from the table. Squall looked up questioningly at her sudden leave, but didn't say anything. Pushing back his chair, Riku muttered, "Be right back," to Sora, who was still trying to figure out what was in Auron's jug.

He followed the sound of the door slamming to the front yard, where he found Yuffie running down the driveway to sit on the curb. "Hey," he said softly, stopping about seven feet behind her.

"Hey."

"What'd you run out for?"

"I was completely bored out of my mind," she replied half-heartedly.

He nodded and accepted the answer, although he could tell that she wasn't being completely honest. "Oh, I forgot to thank you."

"Thank me?"

"The day you were arrested, the police came and stormed the orphanage. We got out using that escape plan you made when we were kids."

"You mean that old plan I came up with after my first week at the orphanage? I can't believe you still remembered it. I almost forgot about it. Never thought we'd even get the chance to get out of there."

"Yeah. It saved our lives. Thanks."

Yuffie laughed. "I remember when I thought of it. It was after we dropped that water balloon on Ansem." Ansem. She couldn't suppress the shiver that ran down her spine. She hadn't forgotten that Ansem could be plotting to bust out of jail and hunt her down. Oh no, her dreams made sure of that. Instead of dreaming of the yellow Heartless eyes, she dreamt about the evil glint in Ansem's golden eyes as he advanced on her stealthily...

"You look tired," Riku observed.

"Gee, thanks."

"No, I mean it. Haven't you been sleeping for the past week?"

Yuffie shifted uncomfortably. "Yeah. I've been having dreams, that's all."

"It's...a really long story."

"I've got time," Riku replied, sitting beside her on the curb. "This party isn't showing any signs of stopping anytime soon."

"It's kind of stupid..."

"You and that Seymour--"

"Squall." She really didn't mean to correct him; it was a reflex.

"--dude in a fight or something?"

"How'd you--?"

"Anyone with eyes can see that."

Yuffie glanced at Riku. "Well, I guess."

"How do you 'guess' that you're in a fight?"

"It's complicated, okay?"

"You like him."

That caught her off-guard. Did she like him? He was undeniably attractive, yes. He seemed to understand her in a way no one else--even her two best friends--could. But...like him? After how he'd been treating her for the past few days? "W-what?" she stuttered, trying to piece her fragmented thoughts together.

Riku shook his head and smirked. "I'm not Sora, remember? I catch onto things more quickly." Yuffie stuck out her tongue at him in response. "And I don't hear you denying anything," he pointed out.

"Because I think we both know the answer to that."

"So you do."

"No, I don't," she denied.

"Suuure."

Yuffie fell silent again.

"Hey, don't go quiet on me now," Riku protested.

"I'd rather not talk about it anymore," Yuffie said finally after a pause.

"Hey guys!" Sora yelled from the front door. "Come back inside. Someone's gonna pop the question and we're supposed to be there."

Yuffie grinned. "Cloud finally grew some balls!" Inwardly, she thanked Sora and his horrible timing. She really didn't want to talk about Squall anymore. Taking Riku by the hand, she led her friend back into the house.

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A murderer holding hostages in a bank? Easy.

Trying to detonate a bomb before it goes ka-boom? Piece of cake.

Leaping into the middle of a gang fight and coming out alive? All in a day's work.

Proposing to the girl you've loved for ten years? ...I'll have to get back to you on that one.

Cloud sighed. There was no getting around it. It was impossible. Cloud wasn't a very...eloquent man. He was a pretty much all action, hands on kinda guy. He'd wanted to propose for so long, but every time he tried, his tongue just wouldn't form the words he needed to say.

"Jesus Christ, Strife, you're not going to the electric chair."

Cloud looked up at Auron. "I know, I know."

"So what the hell's your problem?" Vincent spoke up.

Cloud was a little shocked. Vincent had never said so many words to him in one sentence before. "That's just it, I don't know."

"Well, you better find out fast," Squall said dryly, leaning against the wall. "Here she comes."

"I can't do this."

"Fine," Cid slurred drunkenly, making his way over to the group. "Pretend I'm Aerith."

Cloud stared. "What are you on?" He noticed the beer bottle clutched in Cid's left hand. "Nevermind."

Cid stumbled over to Cloud and sat on his lap. To Cloud's horror and disgust, Cid wiggled around, trying to make himself comfortable. "Now pruhh-pooose to me."

"Get the hell off me!" Cloud looked frantically to the others for help. Squall (as usual) was smirking in amusement, Vincent seemed to be off in his own world and distinterested, and Auron...well, he could never tell what Auron was thinking. His dark sunglasses hid his expression.

"Make looooove to me, Cloudy."

Aerith walked up to them with a smile. "Hi guys." She froze and stared...and blinked...and stared. "...oh...my."

"This isn't what it looks like!" Cloud protested feebly. He made a mental note to remind the mechanic to go on a diet as he struggled to shove the man off his lap.

"So that isn't a drunken Cid you have on your lap?" Vincent quipped.

Cloud glared at him. He knew there was a reason why Vincent was better off being a mute. "Well, it is but...but..."

And once again, his tongue failed to form the words he needed to say.

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"So? Where's the bride and groom-to-be?" Yuffie asked Tifa eagerly.

"Well, we have a slight probelm."

"What?" Riku asked.

"Your guardian."

"Cid? What'd he do?"

As soon as the words came out of Riku's mouth, Sora came bounding over. "Riku, you've gotta help me! Cid drank too much and he's giving Cloud a lap dance!"

Riku blinked, then shuddered at the mental image. "I guess that means that the party's over," he announced, standing up. "Looks like we'd better call that cab."

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Cloud wasn't sad to see Cid go. Not at all, he realized as he sat, head hung, on a chair in a forlorn corner of the living room. He couldn't remember feeling like such an idiot. Well of course, there was that time with the dress and the makeup...but that was beside the point. Not only was he embarrassed beyond all reason and scarred for life, he'd lost the engagement ring he'd been working overtime to purchase. He sighed heavily. Aerith was probably expecting him to propose tonight. Hell, he was sure she'd been expecting it for months now. Finally, he'd gotten enough cash to pay for a ring, and he went and lost the damned thing.

He turned when he felt a hand pat his shoulder. "Hey, don't beat yourself up."

Cloud sighed again. "Squall, she's been waiting for this for months. So have I."

"She's patient. She'll understand."

"So what do I do?" Cloud prompted. "Propose to her without a ring?"

"I really don't think she cares about the ring." Squall looked over his shoulder and saw Aerith ushering the guests outside. "Just go talk to her. She'll understand," he repeated. "Go. Now. I'll see you and Aerith tomorrow, and hopefully with engagement rings."

"Fine."

"By the way, have you seen Yuffie?"

Cloud frowned. "Actually, no. Haven't seen her since dinner."

Squall nodded and strode away to clear out the remaining guests. Moments later, almost like clockwork, Aerith approached him, toying with a small box in her hands. "Are you okay?"

"I've been better. Thank God it's not everyday Cid thinks he's a stripper."

Aerith stifled the chuckle that threatened to escape. She didn't want to agitate him anymore. "Cloud, there's something I need to ask you," she said seriously.

A panicked look crossed his face. "Look, I swear I was going to propo--" He stopped short when he saw Aerith crouch down in front of him on one knee. What the...?

She was obviously amused at his expression. She could barely keep a straight face long enough to ask, "Cloud, will you marry me?"

Several emotions went through his mind. Happiness, confusion, surprise, pain from a badly-injured-male-ego, followed by more overwhelming happiness and shock. God, he felt like such a woman. No wonder why they all burst into tears after being proposed to. A sudden surge of emotion brought upon them at the least expected moment...he was beginning to get a little teary eyed himself. Although he'd never admit it, of course. "..."

"Please answer," Aerith urged awkwardly. "No wonder why the men usually do the asking. I don't know what woman can stand the pressure."

"Yes, God yes." Cloud pulled the Flower Girl--officially his Flower Girl--into his arms and kissed her.

Squall threw a glance over his shoulder at the couple in the corner. "Well, it's obvious who wears the pants in this relationship," he commented. He mock-saluted Cloud and slipped out the front door. Cloud decided to let that one slide...for now.

A retching sound could be heard outside, followed by the nauseating sound of vomit splashing onto the ground. "Um, somebody lose an engagement ring?" Sora asked meekly as Cid purged all over the lawn.

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TBC

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A/N: Whoooooops. That soooo wasn't meant to happen. I just couldn't help but add in the Clorith fluff. I bet you all are asking the million dollar question: Where's the Squffie? Poor Yuffie and Squall aren't getting any action here, I apologize. Next chapter is all them. And I also apologize for the Yuffie/Vincent moment, it was pretty pointless. I've become recently addicted to the pairing.