AN: I wrote this to tell the story of a picture I found on deviantArt - you can get to it through my dA page (link in my profile). Seriously, go and look at it, it's amazing. Prompt 21 - "Vacation".
There wasn't even a cloud in the bright blue sky. The sun shone down over the island, causing the temperature to be almost tropical. Absolutely perfect for a lazy holiday. For once, they'd managed to find an island that was completely free of fiends - they'd spent yesterday making sure of that. Now, the only thing on their minds was total, complete, relaxation. They'd earned a break, after the whole "saving the world from destruction" thing.
Upon reaching the beach, Cloud Strife promptly collapsed under a palm tree. "Anybody who disturbs me," he looked pointedly at one particular member of the group, "will face Omnislash, as soon as I can be bothered to do it." Without waiting for a response, he closed his mako blue eyes and leaned back against the tree trunk.
"Why," complained Yuffie Kisaragi, vivacious ninja from Wutai, "does he always pick on me?"
"Because you're usually the one who annoys him." Tifa Lockhart smiled knowingly. "I still haven't forgotten how we met, Yuffie."
"How long is that going to affect his attitude? I've apologised I don't know how many times, I gave his materia back, I helped you lot..." She stopped, realising somebody was sniggering in the background. "Don't know what you're laughing about, since you switched allegiances completely, Reno Tarshil."
"Maybe I did," laughed Reno, slinging one arm around Tifa's waist. "But the gorgeous Tifa here decided to forgive me, once she realised what she was missing out on by fighting me. Besides, what do they say about fighting being a form of foreplay?"
"Is that all you can think about, Reno?" Tifa was amused, despite her attempts to sound indignant.
"Not... entirely. I can think about other things..."
"You just don't," chorused Tifa, Yuffie and Cid in perfect unison.
"I'm not that predictable, am I?" Reno sounded distressed.
"Sometimes you are." Tifa tugged at his ponytail playfully, and he swatted her on the behind. "Hey, stop that."
"It sounds as though you two need to grow up." Cid sat down in the sand, sliding a pair of sunglasses over his eyes. Reno sat down next to him, and watched as Tifa kicked off her sandals, pulled her T-shirt over her head and slid her shorts down to reveal a black bikini under her clothes. Reno's mouth fell open and his eyes widened. Tifa, noticing his expresion, leaned down and gently closed his jaw. "You've seen it all before, Reno."
"Doesn't mean I can't enjoy the view, does it?" He didn't take his eyes off her, and her swaying hips, until she'd walked out into the ocean and started swimming. Even the water was a perfect, clear blue-green.
Yuffie, tired of listening to the banter, started wandering around. Not looking where she was going properly, she stepped into a rock pool by accident. "Cold!" She leaped into the air, more out of surprise than because it was actually cold. Vincent Valentine, normally cold and aloof, watched with amusement.
"Think it's funny, do you?" She sat on a rock, fully prepared to berate him for mocking the Great Ninja Yuffie, then realised it was the first time she'd seen him smile. "You should be cheerful more often. It suits you."
"I've never really had much cause to be happy." A wistful look came into his eyes, and he held up the hand he normally kept hidden under his cloak. She'd seen the claw before, of course, but not often.
"It doesn't matter to anyone who knows you, Vincent." Slowly, she stretched out a hand to touch it, not certain if he'd let her.
"Don't say things that obviously aren't true, just because you think it's what I want to hear." He'd turned defensive, which wasn't quite what she'd been aiming for. Before she could pull her hand back, a small creature emerged out of the grass, sniffed it, then licked her fingers. Quickly, Yuffie picked up the animal and placed it on Vincent's lap. When another appeared, she held that one, stroking its soft fur. Gradually, Vincent started to relax, started to talk to her again.
A series of thuds in the sand next to him made Cloud open his eyes - a number of coconuts had fallen out of the tree, landing on the ground. Unconcerned, he shrugged.
"Hey, Cloud, pass two of those over here."
Cloud opened his mouth to say that Reno would be on the receiving end of Omnislash, but realised he had, in fact, opened his eyes before Reno spoke. Deciding it wasn't worth getting into an argument, he threw two of the coconuts over to the redhead, who placed them very carefully in the sand, before closing his eyes again.
Coconuts in place, Reno sat back on his heels and studied the picture he'd created in the sand. Two arms, two long legs? Check. Slender body, flowing hair? Check. Wide, dark eyes and stunning smile? Check. Tits that looked too big for such a delicate frame? Check. It was undeniably a portrait, albeit a crudely drawn one, of his beloved Tifa Lockhart. Cid, sitting next to Reno, pushed his sunglasses up onto the top of his head, and studied the picture.
"Well, I like it, but you're going to be in so much trouble when Tifa sees it."
Reno shrugged. "We're about to find out what she thinks. " Tifa was indeed walking back onto the beach, dark hair shining from the water, and clinging to her body. She stopped in her tracks when she saw the grin on Reno's face, and followed his line of vision down to the sand in front of him. Coconuts, shells, pebbles and lines drawn in the sand... It didn't take long to realise it was supposed to be her.
"I'm going to get you for this, Reno." The tone was light, but still somehow threatening.
"Bring it on, baby." For all his bravado, Reno started running as doon as Tifa approached. She chased him down the beach and out of sight. Cid laughed. It wasn't smart to annoy Tifa, not if you valued your life and your pride. Under the palm tree, Cloud snorted. He just hoped they'd finished shagging each other before they came back, since he'd had enough of hearing them.
AN: You know you want to click the review button. Go on, click it.