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Mystic: Okay, as many of you are already aware, I am a proud member of both the Genesis Awards and the Viva La Reefie forum boards. Well, the Reefie forum board is holding a contest. This right here is my entry and it was not easy thanks to writer's block and some personal issues going on lately. With that in mind, I'm going to apologize right now to a nameless individual. Writer's block about ate me alive and the only way to work through it was to write the following. I'm sorry, you know I mean no offense. To everyone else, please enjoy this contestant of a fic and do support the Reeve/Yuffie pairing. It needs love.
Birds in flight are calling there
Where the heart moves the stones
It's there that my heart is longing
All for the love of you ...
"The Mystic's Dream"
Loreena McKennit
Whoever once said that All Hallow's Eve was just for kids, apparently lacked several thousand points in the fun department. It wasn't just for screaming, whining brats with a severe case of sugar overload; heaven to Shiva, no. All Hallow's Eve was made for immature, fun-loving adults who happened to be kids at heart.
The Ancients brought about the celebration a good several thousand years ago, and honored the new tradition with bonfires, dances, and chants to welcome the new harvest. Sex was likely to be involved, but history had yet to confirm that suspicion as the many manuscripts had been lost throughout the ages.
Human mating was certainly part of the equation among the adults who continued the more modern take on the celebration. While children only dressed as typical monsters to obtain various sweets and candies, the immature and fun-loving adults would take the opportunity to dress up in a way they normally wouldn't. For most, that would be an excess amount of exposed skin with a hefty side of beefcake.
Yuffie had yet to determine if she would be the exception or the statistic.
While she took the time to figure that out, the kunoichi deemed it a good idea to decorate her boss' office. Reeve had been such a stick in the mud lately. Honestly, that made things quite messy when he then had to insert said stick deep up his ass. Paperwork this and meetings that; talk about a huge bore and this was supposed to be major fun time! Even Vincent, the crowned king of boredom himself, was close to setting something on fire just to liven up headquarters. And yet, Mr. moth-eaten, cloak-wearer still refused to help Yuffie decorate Reeve's spacious office.
Emo spoil-sport.
So, Yuffie was on her own, but she didn't mind it that bad. Her creative side tended to go overboard while left to her own devices, but that was exactly what Reeve needed to lighten up.
Cobwebs were the first to go up; one draped by the rectangular window, another by his closet, and a big fat one across his mahogany desk. Of course, cobwebs only served to make the office resemble the old Shinra mansion. (Interesting how Tifa nags Vincent one time about him staying there alone and now the gunman lives in Edge -- next to Seventh Heaven). A skeleton would be the perfect scare to hang in the closet and Yuffie was lucky to find one on sale. This one even had beady, glowing eyes!
"Lassie, what are ye doing?!"
"Ack!"
Crash.
Balance never was Yuffie's best friend. Cait Sith knew that good and well as he looked at the jumbled pile of ninja mixed with plastic skeletal remains. The chair she was standing on was now somewhere deep in Reeve's closet, probably never to return. "Yuffie, what are ye scheming now?" Cait asked, wary of the skeleton's piercing orbs. They seemed to be eating into his ... well, not soul. More like internal memory chip. Yes, that was more likely.
She stood and flashed a sheepish grin. It didn't do her any good, since the android clearly didn't hear any "bah's" in the room. "It's All Hallow's Eve this week," she explained. "Reeve needs to get in the spirit of things."
"This is a professional area!"
"That needs style a la Yuffie!"
No matter how much data Reeve programmed into him, Cait Sith could still only comprehend so much. He wanted to know why Yuffie always barged into his creator's office at random hours of the day, or why she snuck into his house just to prove that she could. Too many times did Reeve come home to find the White Rose rummaging through his belongings, in search for something or other. Most likely, she was using whatever she swiped to use in the office now.
Cait Sith watched in uncomfortable silence as Yuffie went back to her "duty" of lightening up Reeve. Her smile was grand with a definite mischieveious air, and she sang while she worked. Very strange; something about milkshakes and boys in a yard, he wasn't quite sure. However, one other thing caught the android as she scattered candy corn over the floor and desk. Rarely did the kunoichi ever talk to Reeve without a hint of longing in her eyes. Whether she was talking to her boss or just about him, her eyes would glaze slightly and drift off into space. Yuffie was hiding something.
She continued to sing with a happy bounce in her step. Fake spiders and paper ghosts adorned the walls now, paired with the creepy skeleton finally hanging properly and the sorceress' broom in the corner. Yes, it was all complete now.
And still, she was hiding something.
Not many people knew this interesting fact, but Mr. Tuesti was a very romantic man. To be quite frank, he was a romantic sap. He was more sappy than the maple tree in his backyard that Yuffie liked to climb. Most menfolk would cringe at the sight of his dvd collection; it didn't contain too many chick flicks, but Reeve was the type of man to prefer a nice romance along with all the swordfighting or gunslinging going on. The last time Tifa decided to host a movie night at Seventh Heaven with all of Avalanche (and a few Turks as well), the man with the goatee was quite content to watch Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, while Reno, Cid, and even Cloud wanted to claw their eyes out at the sappy romance.
Pansies. Only a true man can take the sap with pride.
Vincent just kept gazing at Tifa.
Of course, it helped that Yuffie was right beside her romantic boss, clutching onto his arm during the suspenseful scenes, and even squealing for joy at the final kiss on the screen. It didn't phase her at all to munch popcorn from the bowl in his lap or let out a girlish "awwww" while leaning her chin on his shoulder. She was comfortable around him, maybe too comfortable, and that was precisely why he'd been rather stern in the past few weeks.
Romantic sap he may be, but that didn't mean Reeve had any real experience in the romance department. Sure, there were a few high school sweethearts when he was a teenager, and more than a few run ins with sorority girls in college, but none of those relationships were serious enough to last longterm. Longterm as in, marriage.
Reeve was nearing the big 4-0 and since the Deepground incident almost two years back, his desire to take a wife and sire several children was going stronger by the minute. If things had turned out differently, Shalua might have been the serious relationship he had been searching for, but he forced himself not to dwell on that part of the past. Not when he had the WRO to run, or a beautiful ninja from Wutai working under him.
With him.
Working with him.
He sighed and dropped his face into his hands. They say a man's libido drops with age, but his had only grown louder and more difficult to ignore. It was practically screaming in his ear. "Sex!" it cried in desperation. "You need to get laid! Slide a ring on a girl then slide in her! COME ON!"
Ugh, did one of Vincent's old demons get released from the Lifestream? The WRO leader looked up from his hands and back at the weight bench he was currently sitting on. Muscle training was not helping at the moment and with All Hallow's Eve coming up (bad phrase -- not helping), the thought of his employees, half of them female, dressed in Bahamut-knows-what, would certainly be the death of him. To be surrounded by scantily clad women was not going to assist in his silent battle at all. Truthfully, he only wanted one.
He left the training room in a frustrated huff, throwing on his shirt, and quickly made the decision to head home. Never mind the paperwork still placed upon his desk, never mind the company masquerade party that needed planning for tomorrow; Reeve could care less right now.
When did he start to feel something other than friendship for the flexible little ninja? (There it was again.) It was after Deepground to be sure, but when? Why? He was too old, she was too young. He was her boss for crying out loud. Her father would likely never permit it. Leviathan forbid that Wutai's White Rose marry a man affliated with Shinra. Yet, his heart longed to whisk her away and ignore each other's pasts, to have her wake up in his bed after a night of aggressive passion.
He feared it would never happen. Not with Godo already impatient that his daughter had yet to choose a husband. That would be Reeve's luck; to watch helplessly as the woman he loved became bound to another man.
The reasoning behind Vincent's past brooding became inexplicably clearer than ever.
So, Reeve remained distant to his ninja. Save for the movie night, he purposefully threw himself into his work. Meetings, missions, or lately, the training room. To keep away from her now would serve to lessen the pain of losing her later to an arranged marriage he couldn't control. Still, even that hurt to a degree. He saw the prolonged glances she would give him, the gentle gleam in her eye when a smile was directed his way. She felt the same way he did, there was no mistaking it. The emotion was there between them.
But, why did it hurt?
"Reeve?"
With a slight jump of surprise, Reeve turned to the young woman behind him and gave her a tired smile. "Good evening, Yuffie."
Damn the lump that was in her throat. Damn it straight to Ifrit's land of fiery hell. Never before had she seen her boss slick with sweat and his shirt unbuttoned, which revealed a very tight and sculpted upper body. Sweet Leviathan; Reeve was more gorgeous than she previously thought. "I uh ... there's something I want you to see."
"It's a bit late Yuffie."
"Please."
She held the barest of pouts, a remainder of her days as a sixteen-year-old materia thief and overall immature brat. Immaturity was still a dominant force of her personality, but now as a woman over twenty, she could contain it when she wanted to.
"Come on, Reeve!" Yuffie asked again, this time with a clear whine. "Get the stick away from your ass and live a little!" Her hand grabbed his, and soon Reeve found himself being dragged back down the dark hallway toward his office.
Upon arrival, the commissioner was dumbfounded to see his spotless office, always spic and span with each paper in it's exact place, completely transformed into a room that the local haunted house attraction would be envious to have. "Yuffie," he warned, "what did you do?"
"Happy early All Hallow's Eve!"
"My office --"
"Is now totally kickass!"
He turned his gaze away from the ghostly area to stare at his top operative. Her eyes were bright with longing and he felt the strings of his heart being tugged and tightened even more than they've already been. "All this so I'd stop being an anal boss?" he asked with a small grin.
"Yay! You like it!" She jumped up and wrapped him in a big bear hug. "You were also in need of a good prank."
"Is that so?" he laughed, letting his arms tighten around her small waist.
His heart began to hurt again.
He let her down gently with much reluctance, but whispered his hands across her shoulders. "I heard through the grapevine that you might be returning to Wutai after the holidays."
Anyone within twelve hundred miles could hear the strain in his normally smooth voice. To Yuffie, it was like a train crashing into a ravine. The sight of it was disturbing enough, but the sound of a broken heart was easily much worse. "Yeah," she finally answered, never losing his gaze. "I think Pop's missing me in his old age."
"How long will you be away?"
A knowing grin appeared on her young face and she playfully hopped out of his arms and on to his desk. "Aw, are you going to miss me Reevey-kins? I'll miss you, you know."
Anymore yanking on his heart and the only thing left would be a shell of crossed-wires worse than the first prototype of Cait Sith. If he was going to reveal his feelings, now would be better than never. Taking a deep breath, Reeve walked over to Yuffie and took her small hand in his larger one. "Yuffie, do you know of a certain line between a man and a woman?"
Gray eyes glanced down at the sight of her hand nestled in the commissioner's and a sigh unwillingly escaped at the comfortable feel of it. "You mean friendship versus romance? I figured you had a wall built up by now."
"Why would you say that?"
"Come on, Reeve!" she exclaimed. "Look at how you've been acting! It's been nothing but work, work, work with you lately. Even Vincent is worried about you, for Leviathan's sake!"
He stepped back and removed his hand, surprised that even the gunman noticed the unpleasant change in his demeanor. Yuffie just continued on. Her tirade was now on the edge about to fall, and she deserved every single second of it.
"What the hellfire happened to the Reeve at Tifa's movie night? I really miss him."
"Yuffie ... "
"Don't interrupt me!" Her feet hit the ground and her finger jabbed into his chest. "Would you even be willing to escort me to the masquerade party or are going to ignore it and bury yourself in paperwork?!"
"Yuffie ... "
"No! Just stop it! You've been brooding worse than Vincent and even he isn't brooding anymore!" She paused briefly. "Well, not since he and Tifa started the mattress mambo. I walked in on them once. Do you know he used that claw to -- "
"That doesn't interest me at the moment."
"When does it interest you?"
Reeve sighed and simply guided Yuffie back into his arms. "They don't interest me, but you do."
"Then what is going on with you, Reeve?" she murmered into his chest.
"Oh, my White Rose, " he sighed into her. "Do you know what it would do to me to lose you to an arranged marriage in Wutai?"
She stared up at him in shock. "Is that what this is about? You're scared to jump over the line because of a nonexistant wedding?"
"I know Wutai law."
"Daddy tossed out that law years ago!"
"You don't know for sure, Yuffie."
"Yeah, I do," she argued back. "Besides, you should know that I wouldn't go through with anything like that. Haven't you guessed my feelings for you by now?"
Of course, he knew exactly what she felt for him. As if Tifa's movie night didn't already clinch it. "Give me a good reason, Yuffie, why we haven't crossed the line yet."
"I'm not all motherly and calm like Shera or Tifa."
"I don't have much free time like Cloud or Cid."
"I'll steal your stuff."
"You already do."
They bickered in that loving manner for an undetermined amount of time. In that time, while most individuals would sit down for a nice supper and relax afterwards with a soothing cup of coffee, Reeve and Yuffie stayed in each other's arms and attempted to come up with a plausible explanation. Neither could and eventually it was agreed that if they did have these feelings for each other, now was better than ever to start living them. The circumstances may not have been completely favorable, what with her being his top spy and him being her boss (sexy he may be), but no other obstacles were present to stop the hop toward romance. No fears, no trepidations, only an innocent and honest love.
With their romantic relationship confirmed and out in the open, Reeve could almost see the heavy weight free itself from his shoulders and the strings around his heart loosen with blessed freedom. It's rhythm beat quickly, but strictly out of excitement and not from fear.
"Reeve?"
"Yes, Yuffie?"
"Isn't this the part where you're supposed to kiss me?"
"Yes, it is."
What a beautiful kiss it was. A powerful embrace of lips and tongues, molded with chests pressed together so two hearts could beat as one. Hands sifted through hair and roamed down to caress a slim waist. Yuffie had to almost stand on tiptoe to reach him, but Reeve was more than willing to hold her close as their breaths panted for more.
Though it seemed like a pleasurable eternity, their first kiss ended in a relatively short amount of time. She flashed him a coy smile when he pulled her into his lap to sit down comfortably on his leather chair.
"Do tell me, Yuffie," he playfully teased. "What do you have in mind for this masquerade?"
Her hair ticked his neck as she pretended to think. "I was thinking something truly scandalous."
"And what would that be?"
"PIRATES!" she yelled, pumping her fist in the air.
Damn, and here Reeve was, thinking that she would suggest something more ... frilly.
Mystic: There it is. To everyone at the Viva La Reefie forums, I hope this is worthy of the contest. To all my faithful readers, thank you for support and reviews. I will be taking a temporary hiatus from writing for awhile. Not to worry, I'll be around to read and review. Love you guys!