All females spend a lot of time in the bathroom. It's only natural.
She stared into the mirror- and smiled. She practiced her smile every day; but for reasons unlike Elena, Tifa and Scarlet. She smiled to make sure she still could, and to make sure it was still the same carefree, kleptomaniacal, ninja grin. Because it couldn't change. That would mean that she had changed as well. And that just couldn't be.
Cid opens the door and rolls his eyes. Tells her to stop making faces in the damn mirror and get her ass downstairs. She laughs loudly and nicks his gil on the way out.
She gazes into her reflection and goes through the familiar motions of applying her makeup. But she skipped over any mascara, lipstick or blush; sticking to her concealer. She winced as she applied to much pressure while covering the dark bruises on her face and arms. A reminder of the night before- when a boy a little too old for her and a little stronger then he looked got a little too insistent that she join him in bed.
Marlene walks in and her eyes get wide. Yuffie laughs- you know how clumsy Auntie Yuffie is! And swoops the little girl into whirlwind stories of imagination and fairy-tales.
She sat on the tiled floor and grumbled quietly amidst a tangled mess of clean and bloodied white wraps. Her legs are easy enough to wrap, but doing an arm one-handed is always tricky. A kunai and a few shuriken littered the tile beside her; stained with her own crimson life. Training too hard and too long- even takes a toll on a seasoned ninja. Her own self-punishment.
Vinnie's standing in the doorway; hard crimson eyes staring into wide stormy grey ones. He is silent- knows she creeps out before dawn; training for hours- exhausting herself continuously. Recognizes the atonement in her form (-not fast enough, strong enough, smart enough!-) and says nothing. He kneels next to her small form and bandages her arms. He feels her relax and their eyes meet.
Her body shuddered and she spat once more into the water. Memories and words flashed before her mind's eye and her stomach heaved again. Resting her head against porcelain, she choked down a sob and wrapped her thin arms around herself. She could barely stand to breathe- all she smelled is smoke.
Tifa's suddenly beside her, cradling the ninja to her body. She presses a damp washcloth to the young girl's forehead and whispers soothing words. She says she's read the letter- found it- and knows about the attack, Wutai burning and the Lord Godo slowly dying. Yuffie crumples; shaking and whispering prayers in Wutaianese to Leviathan.
She stood in the shower and stared at the wall. Had been doing so for over an hour. She couldn't feel the scalding water burning her skin raw, couldn't see the steam fogging up the entire room. All she can see is her home, Wutai- in ashes. She dimly registered Barret pounding on the door, but gave no sign of acknowledgment; she didn't care. They'd returned from Wutai and she had fled to the bathroom- seeing only the village still smoldering, the bodies of murdered women and children, and the sickly old body of her father. She had sat with him in his room: embers softly glowing and incense filling the room with autumn and festivals and stories of long times past. She hadn't moved until the breath slipped from his lips and his eyes dimmed- and not once did she cry. That's not who she was. That's not what she did.
This is where Cloud finds her: curled up and sobbing in the bottom of the shower- water ice cold. He turns off the taps and wraps her in a warm fluffy towel, paying no mind to her nudity and gently lifts her into his arms. He takes her to her room and dresses her in one of his old shirts, the fabric dwarfing her. She stops crying and with a noisy wet hiccup, asks him why he's doing this. He answers, because he can. She stares at him in wonder and a faint hint of her old self tugs at her lips. He kisses her lightly and she pulls him down on the bed beside her. He goes easily and wraps strong arms around her. She sleeps easily for the first time in months and he smiles softly in his sleep.
A/N: Just a little random drabble I came up with in two nights.
Don't mind if the quality kinda goes ok-crap-good-iffy. Wrote one part one night, the rest the next night, and changed a lot while writing it out on the computer. And don't mind the crappy title either; couldn't think of anything better. Reviews are nice, tell me what you think! First story, lots more to come!
Disclaimer: If I did own, Final Fantasy VII, there'd be threesomes and yaoi couples galore. And some of that nice sex.