"..Cloud Strife." Cloud said, as if Yuffie hadn't already introduced them both. He held out his hand. Behind him, he could hear Yuffie laugh, Aeris tsk, both of them with eyes bright in anticipation. He began to feel as if he had made a mistake.

	But the man grasped his offered hand, briefly and firmly. 

	"Leonhart." He said. The last syllable of the word was hesitant and sounded forced, as if the speaker was unsure himself of saying it.

	Yuffie wolf-whistled and Aeris smiled. Both of them applauded. For a reason he couldn't name, Cloud could feel a blush come to his cheeks.

	"That's more than anyone has ever got from Leon at the first meeting, Cloud," Aeris teased. "I think he likes you."

	Leon turned abruptly, shouldered his gunblade, and headed for the door, roughly brushing past Cloud. "There's still Heartless out there. I'm going training." He said, and then he was gone.

	Cloud didn't -quite- turn and stare after him. Instead he turned to Aeris, hiding a smile, ignoring Yuffie, who was already in paroxsyms of laughter. She knew him well enough to interpret the question in his puzzled expression, and her smile widened.

	"Oh, don't worry, Cloud." She said. "He's always like that. Kind of like you." She leaned over, and tweaked his nose.

	"I've missed you." Cloud said simply. His voice was husky with emotion.

	Her expression softened. "Me, too, bodyguard."

	They stared at each other, re-tracing the minute wrinkles of worry and change that had developed, until Yuffie decided to break the tension of the moment by glomping onto Cloud, which knocked him over onto Aeris so that they all tumbled onto a heap on the floor. Cloud had just time to yelp, once, as both girls started tickling him mercilessly, and he rolled over fending their attacks, finally ending up at the bottom of the tangled heap of bodies, both girls on top.

	"I surrender?" Cloud said, panting.

	Yuffie was sitting on top of his chest, effectively pinning him to the floor. "Not until I get as good a greeting as you gave Aeris. Say, 'I missed you too,' prettyboy."

	Cloud grinned. "Okay. You missed me to-agghaha-"

	Yuffie had run her hands along Cloud's sensitive sides, which initiated another romp, this time interrupted by the sound of the door opening. The three combatants froze, afraid that it might be Leon come back, just in time to catch them in this position-

	Instead, "Having fun?" A familiar voice boomed.

	Cloud sat up a little, so that Cid's grinning countenance was visible in the doorway. "Uh, hi Cid." He said. He wriggled the fingers of his only free hand. The girls stuck out their tongues at him.

	The dishwater blond strode over to where the three of them were, on the floor, and helped Cloud up. Yuffie and Aeris were already standing, dusting off their clothes and tidying their hair.

	"Well, you haven't changed a bit." Cid said, gruffly. "Same old birdsnest hair. Surprised they let you into the regular army instead of throwing you in with the chocobos. 'Course, them girls haven't changed much either, even if-" He leaned over and said in a stage whisper "-Yuffie hasn't got /much/ to change, if you know what I mean."

	Yuffie made a rude noise that promised future trouble, and Cid straightened up. "Anyway, why don't we go somewhere where we can sit down and have a bit of a proper talk? I know a good booze place around here which is mostly deserted, if quiet's still what floats your boat."

	Cloud shrugged. "Anything's fine."

	As the four of them left the room, Cloud hesitated.

	"What's wrong?" Aeris asked.

	"Is it.. okay, to leave the room like that?" He said, indicating the rumpled mess of they had made of the floor and rug, which had managed to pull in half the comforters and pillows on the bed.

	"It'll be alright, Cloud. This is Yuffie's room, she won't care about the mess- and Leon won't be coming back here anyway."

	"Oh." Was all Cloud said.

	Aeris smiled, but watching Cloud closely, didn't say anything.