Tar Balls and Scars
Squall was sitting, calm and relaxed, within the depths of Hollow Bastion. His eyes were focused on waterfalls, enjoying the way the water bounced off of various rocks and made a gentle spray. His face was stoic, as per usual. His hand traveled to his side, resting lightly upon the wrapped up sandwich Aerith had given to him that morning. He opened the package and pulled out the sandwich, which was loaded with various different vegetables and meats. He began eating when a little girl came and sat next to him.
He knew this girl, Yuffie, her large grey eyes and dark hair, all exotic angles and shapes. Her form was slender and lithe and all kinds of lissome. He glanced at her from the corner of his eyes after a period of silence, observing her and her lopsided grin.
It was cool at the waterfalls, as it usually was, but Yuffie ignored the chill. She enjoyed it. All cool and damp, the water misting her face and limbs. It reminded her of Wutai's cool mornings. She ignored the fact that Squall was looking at her. She often did. He thought her oblivious, fluff, nothing but emptiness and joy. The little ninja was much more observant than most would give her credit for.
He noticed her feet were bare, her faintly tanned flesh fading into a pale hue as it reached her feet. His eyes landed on her toes, all round and perfect and painted in a pearly coral color. Yuffie's grin grew, teeth finally flashing, although Squall was too occupied with the fact that her feet were bare.
Who in their right mind would have bare feet out here? he wondered, pondering the fact that his arms were faintly chilled. Yuffie always wore tummy-hip baring outfits. Was she cold? That was when he focused on the feminine color of her toenails. Since when did Yuffie like pink?
Rinoa would have liked the color. She always liked pink; she was so terribly feminine. Rinoa, however, never would have gone without shoes. Her long hair, delicate make-up and clothing, all of it had been incredibly female and wonderful. Yuffie was nothing like that, she was all free-spirit and wildness, she was always one of the boys.
His thoughts continued, reflecting the differences between Yuffie and Rinoa as he stared at her toes. Yuffie wiggled them, making the little digits bob up and down like a crowd doing the wave. Such acknowledgement of his staring caused Squall to glance up at her face. Her lips were curved into a large grin, grey eyes crackling with lightning. Yuffie's nostrils were flared lightly and her cheeks vaguely rose as she restrained the urge to laugh.
Squall frowned, not sure why Yuffie would be laughing. He grunted in greeting to her, and she said nothing in return. She just continued to stare forward, knowing that this was how it always had to be. He would treat her like one of the guys and she would not bother trying to change his opinion of her.
He stared once more at her feet, not so obviously this time. The soft color of her toenail polish caught him off guard. He realized he had never seen her without shoes on. She wore shoes, and yet her feet were not flawless. There were tiny scars, revealing that she must have gone without shoes more than once in her life – in fact the tiny rough spots and shiny scars appeared quite recent. How could he have not seen her without shoes on before if she went without shoes frequently?
He saw her everyday.
Had he never looked? Squall wondered, had he ever really looked at Yuffie? Sure, he acknowledged her. But she was just someone in the background, someone like Cloud of Aerith, yet different. She was just the child to tag along, she was just a little girl. But she wasn't, now was she?
She's grown up.
Squall had to repress the urge to suddenly turn and look at her, to examine the changes in her features. From cherubim child to woman, from tomboy to lady. He turned suddenly to her, and she turned to him, a confused expression alighting there. The furrow of her eyebrows and the faint downward curve of one corner of her mouth – delicately curved brows and plump lips. He stared, fascinated. How had he never noticed?
He turned back to his sandwich, staring at it as he contemplated her. She snorted faintly and stood up, moving towards the water and jumping into an ankle-deep pool. Her watched, her graceful movements bringing a sudden sense of calm to him. She just went with the flow, she never stopped. Not once had she complained that he did not look at her. Rhythm was nothing to her, she broke the daily regimen of every as much as possible.
She went with the flow of things in Hollow Bastion, as she had in Traverse and he assumed Wutai as well. She just floated along in the giant ocean of life, drifting as she pleased but never resisting the tug of the current. The image of jellyfish entered his head for a moment, graceful and smooth.
He had never seen anyone else move the way she did. Yet she did, she does, and she'd do it again. She turned around and he looked up, their eyes meeting in silent greeting. It struck him, it was so common that he had never noticed. He breath was suddenly stuck in his lungs and there was nothing that he could say. The little girl that Yuffie had been, all grace and limbs, had become a beautiful woman. That beauty followed her everywhere, yet no one knew it.
He looked away and she stepped out of the water, walking back to him and standing beside him as water dripped off of her ankles and feet onto the cool stones. Her skin was flushed as her body tried to heat up her flesh, and she looked down. He did not look up, as she expected, and she continued to smile.
"You know what, Squall?"
"Hn?" he grunted, voice cold as ever.
"If you would only listen, you might just realize what you're missing," she replied, that faint laugh adding bubbly music to her words. His head whipped up and he stared at her, eyes wide and vaguely disturbed. Yuffie stretched lazily, not bothering to answer the question in his eyes. She rubbed a hand through her hair, ruffling the choppy black locks.
"… Yuffie?" his deep voice questioned, just a hint of emotion creeping into his voice. He was confused.
Yuffie turned and walked away, laughing quietly to herself. Squall stood up quickly, turning to reach for her, but she had slipped out of the way, and he couldn't catch her. He couldn't move the way she did.
She glanced over her shoulder, offering him a rather innocent expression.
"You're missing me."
With that, she disappeared behind a rock and into Hollow Bastion. Squall stared at where she was, at his hand that was still extended. He shook his head, for he belonged with Rinoa. Rinoa was the love of his life, he loved her. And yet …
Squall took off after Yuffie.
Kina says: This was written because of Jack Johnson's "Bubbly Toes." I took tons of liberties and I think they're really out-of-character. Let me know what you think. :)