Tricks and Treats

Part 1
'Good Impressions'

"Uh, Tifa, do you think this is okay?"

Yuffie regarded herself nervously in the mirror, swaying this way and that as she surveyed her Halloween outfit.

"I'm telling you, Yuffie, you look great," Tifa replied, joining her in front of the mirror. "Cloud isn't going to know what hit him."

Yuffie glanced up at her companion, looking less than convinced. At her friend's insistence, the kunoichi princess had gone with an angel costume for Halloween, complete with tiny wings and a fake halo suspended above her head by a thin piece of wire. There was a good reason for her new get-up. Well, a reason, anyway. Given the growing number of children residing in and around the Seventh Heaven, holidays like Halloween were becoming Serious Business, and Tifa had made it clear, albeit implicitly, that participation was not optional. Yuffie was no stranger to adopting disguises, of course, but it struck her as just a little too childish. Tifa had given her word, however, that she would enforce the same law for everyone, including Cid and Barret, which was something Yuffie was looking forward to seeing for herself. Seeing as how there was no getting out of it, she had decided that she might as well have fun.

She had also gone along with Tifa's recommendation of exposing more rather than less, a decision the wisdom of which she was now beginning to question. She hadn't worn a dress in years, and on those occasions it had usually been under protest. As for mini-skirts, she couldn't remember ever trying one on, yet her friend seemed determined to pick out the most miniature one of them all for her. Not on purpose, of course... or so she insisted. Yuffie wasn't sure that Tifa was, in fact, an evil genius, but so far she had seen little evidence to the contrary.

"It just seems a little... skimpy," Yuffie said, tugging on the hem of her tiny skirt, in an attempt to bring it down below the middle of her thighs.

Tifa gave the young kunoichi an odd look. "You wear skimpy clothes all the time."

"Yeah, but... this is different. It's.."

Before she could adequately articulate her protest, however, Tifa cut her off. "It's perfect. No need to overthink things. Trust me."

Yuffie looked up from her own apparel to see that her friend had chosen a rather conservative nun outfit, a far cry from her usual style. She pointed out as much.

"You should see what I'm wearing underneath," Tifa replied with a wink.

Um.."

Yuffie looked away, doing her best to fend off the oncoming blush. She had always felt more than a little outclassed in the presence of her friend.

"Besides, you're supposed to be the one stealing the show tonight, right?" Tifa said, nudging Yuffie's shoulder. "Getting the attention of a certain someone?"

"Why is it always 'a certain someone'?" Yuffie idly thought as Tifa ushered her out of the changing room and in the direction of the shop counter.

Her friend was right, however. She did have an ulterior motive for the sudden wardrobe change; her intent to catch the eye of someone she'd been enamored with for a long time, but whom she had never had the courage to approach in that way. She had taken the plunge the day before, however, by doing the next best thing and opening up to his closest friend, instead. It wasn't the easiest thing to confess to Tifa, knowing of their past ties. She had worried that her friend might take it the wrong way, that she was somehow trespassing on her territory. But Tifa pledged her support enthusiastically, and, if anything, seemed thrilled at the prospect of getting to play the matchmaker for the two of them.

So, she had come up with the following idea: She'd help Yuffie pick out a Halloween outfit that would make it all but impossible for Cloud not to notice her. When Yuffie dismissed said plan of getting dolled up just to get the attention of a guy that she liked as 'way too girly', Tifa had reasoned that it wasn't just about changing her look. "It's about getting him to see you in a new light. Right now, he sees you as being 'just a friend'. Show him you want to be something more."

She had a point. And so, it was settled.

"I... guess," she replied. "Think he's really gonna notice?"

"He'd have to be blind not to," Tifa assured her.

Yuffie scoffed. "Easy for you to say. You're all set in that department."

"What do you mean?" Tifa asked.

"I mean, you've got such big.." Yuffie trailed off, gesturing awkwardly at Tifa's figure.

"Eyes?" Tifa replied.

Yuffie wasn't sure if her friend was just teasing her by feigning innocence, or whether she was genuinely oblivious to her natural gifts. "Yes... that's exactly what I was going to say."

Tifa gave a friendly laugh. "Look, I know what you mean. Truth be told, it's always gotten me a lot of attention. And that's not always a good thing."

"Really?"

"Yeah, really," Tifa replied, wincing slightly at the thought of all the unwanted attention that her natural good looks had garnered her over the years. She turned back to Yuffie, giving her a bright smile as she nudged her shoulder. "Besides, you look amazing, with or without my help. Got curves in all the right places."

Again, Yuffie fought a losing battle with an oncoming blush.

"Of course, I'd say it's more noticeable with it," Tifa added with a wink. "Now, let's make sure you-know-who notices, as well."

"Right."

"Besides, it's not just about looks," Tifa continued. "If you don't hit it off on a personal level, this thing isn't going anywhere, you know?"

"Yeah..." Yuffie replied, scratching the back of her head. "that's a whole 'nother stable of chocobos."

"Well, too late to back out now," Tifa said, turning to the clerk to pay for their items.

"Great.."

"You know, Teef, maybe this wasn't such a good idea," Yuffie said as they stepped out into the bustling streets of Midgar.

"You getting cold feet now?"

"I mean, we've known each other for three years," Yuffie said. "Cloud hasn't exactly shown a lot of interest in all that time, you know?"

"More like you've hung around each other for three years," Tifa pointed out. "But how well do you really know each other?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, I could say the same about you," Tifa replied. "You haven't exactly been forthcoming, either."

"It's just.." Yuffie continued, wringing her hands nervously. "He's always looked at me like this annoying kid, y'know?"

Tifa couldn't help but laugh. "I hate to break it to you, Yuffie, but you were kind of an annoying kid when you two first met."

Yuffie's expression soured.

"Then again, you also thought he was a... how did you put it? A 'spikey-headed jerk'," Tifa continued.

Yuffie chuckled, thinking back on that less-than-auspicious encounter. "Yeah."

"You weren't completely wrong," Tifa said. "He was being a real jerk back then. Some of the time, anyway. But first impressions aren't everything. And people change."

"I guess."

"Anyway, I doubt that he's going to be the one to make the first move," Tifa said. "But one of you has got to let the other know that you think that way about them. Otherwise.."

"..This thing isn't going anywhere?" Yuffie guessed.

"Yup," Tifa smiled. "You're getting the hang of it."

Yuffie nodded. "Well... here goes nothing."