Howdy. So this is a companion piece to 'To Be Happy'. I would suggest you read that first, although it's not essential. This time we have Cloud talking to Yuffie. For some reason I just see Yuffie as the only one who'd bother bugging Cloud about his feelings. Or perhaps the only one who annoyed him enough to get an answer.
This is for Kikyo-Hime, my lovely first reviewer and Blue Mandy-Lion, my lovely second reviewer. Because they both asked for a Cloud based fic. He's hard to write though...
Thanks also to my lovely third reviewer Niktastic.
Finally, I'd like to apologise for my frequently terrible speech punctuation in 'To Be Happy'. Hopefully I've done better in this.
Disclaimer: I only own the somewhat minimal plot and the words that I've shoved in the mouths of characters owned by SquareEnix.
Cloud sat at the bar in 7th Heaven, nursing a whisky. He kept a careful watch on the beautiful brunette serving the patrons out of the corner of his eye.
"You're hopeless." Yuffie's sudden appearance caused Cloud to jump violently. He frowned at the liquid now decorating the surface in front of him.
"Tifa's not going to be impressed." Yuffie gestured toward the spilt whisky. Wisely, Cloud chose to ignore this comment. He raised the glass to his lips and took a generous mouthful.
"So, you gonna tell Tifa how you feel?" Cloud nearly choked. Manfully he managed to hold it in, although tears streamed down his face with the effort. Last time he'd choked round Yuffie, she'd 'helped' with more enthusiasm than anything else and his back had been sore for a week.
"What are you talking about?" He managed finally.
"Well duh! I'm talking about you and Tifa. Everybody knows." Yuffie's voice was full of conviction.
"Everybody knows what?" Cloud asked evasively.
"Don't play dumb! Here you two are, acting like everything's hunky dory just the way it is, and yet the whole time you both take sneaky peeks when you think the other isn't looking!" She waved her hand for emphasis, though Cloud wasn't quite sure what she was emphasising.
"You've lost me." He looked down at the glass in his hand and wondered whether it was safe to try drinking what remained of his drink.
Yuffie stared at him for a moment and then, using a voice one might use towards a small and particularly stupid child, stated "Cloud… loves… Tifa. Tifa… loves… Cloud…"
"I don't know what you're getting at." Cloud chose not to drink. Perhaps Yuffie would go away eventually.
Her jaw dropped. "For crying out loud Cloud! Talking to you is worse than talking to Vincent. At least he just ignores me. You're plain dumb!"
Cloud glance towards Tifa. Perhaps she'd come and save him?
Yuffie suddenly grabbed his arm, forcing him to look at her. "What I want to know is when are you going to tell her that you love her?"
He could only wonder what made Yuffie think he'd tell her about his feelings. The ninja shook her head at him.
"You two are as bad as each other." Cloud frowned.
"Have you been talking to Tifa?" Yuffie drew her fingers across her lips like a zip.
He sighed. "Look Yuffie… right now Tifa's happy…"
"Not you as well!" Yuffie groaned. Cloud ignored her and carried on.
"Seeing Tifa happy makes me happy. That's all that matters." He began to draw patterns in the spilt whisky.
"I don't understand you two. Why settle for just being happy?" Yuffie was genuinely curious.
"Don't underrate happiness Yuffie. Tifa and I haven't experienced it very much in our lives. I think we both deserve to take some time out and just try 'being happy'." His doodles in the whisky had begun to suspiciously resemble a love heart. "Love… making our feelings public… that'd only make things complicated."
"It seems pretty complicated as it is. When I fall in love, I'm going to tell the world." Yuffie was full of confidence.
"Really…?" Cloud wore a knowing look and Yuffie flushed uncomfortably.
"Yes, really!" She said, leaping off of her barstool. "Just you wait and see!"
Cloud smiled as the ninja dashed out of the bar, before returning to his drink.
"What was that about?" Tifa began wiping the whisky spill complete with doodles that had somehow morphed into a shape somewhat similar to a heart.
Cloud shook his head, still smiling. "Just Yuffie making promises she won't keep."
"We all do that…" Tifa's smile faded and her gaze grew serious. "Don't underestimate her though, Cloud. Maybe someday she'll surprise you."
"Maybe…" She walked away to serve a customer and so failed to hear Cloud's murmured "Maybe someday I'll surprise myself."
Author's notes: Ack, stalemate! Where do we go from here? Both of them content to be happy. hmmm...
Sometimes I think that you need to sit back and just be happy and that's what I'm trying to get across here. When you think about how much both Cloud and Tifa have been through, they deserve a break from excitement and stress. Relationships can be tough, especially when they're formed from friendship cos the whole dynamic changes.
Of course, what Cloud means at the end is that maybe he might surprise himself in the same way that Yuffie might surprise him, by telling a certain someone that he loves her.