Disclaimer: Not mine
Close Enough
Sometimes she slinks away in the dead of night like the thief she is. She never leaves a note, just a ball of greeny-blue materia as a promise to come back, at least to claim it. It gave Tifa a heart attack the first time it happened, but by now she's almost used to coming up the stairs and calling Yuffie's name to get no answer, just an empty bed.
She stays away for irregular periods of time. Sometimes it's just a day or two before she bursts in the front door, loud and obnoxious just like she never left, making Tifa feel the fool for worrying. Sometimes it's longer, a month or two instead of a day, time stretching out until the anxiety crashes over her friends and they consider sending out a search crew.
Tifa asked about it once, after she had come back from a particularly long trip away and Yuffie had gotten almost unnaturally quiet.
She skipped over to the railing of the porch of the restaurant they were at and hopped onto the bottom rung, leaning forward over it until it dug into her hips and Tifa was so so scared she'd tip over and be -poof!- gone. Then she turned with a fever bright smile and said, "Aw, Boobs! I didn't know you cared!"
Tifa slammed her glass of water down, ignoring the ice water that slopped over the sides and dampened the table cloth and wet her hand. "Dammit Yuffie! Of course I care! We all care! We've – I've been worried sick about you!"
The smile dimmed a little and Yuffie looked away. "I just . . . can't be near people all the time, okay? I'm sorry I worried you. It's just . . ." The already tiny girl (Larger than life, that's what she was. Tifa was always surprised by her real size.) seemed to shrink into herself. "So, you know, how when you guys found me I was in the jungle?"
She waited for Tifa's nod before continuing. "I'd been living there – by myself – for a long time. A few months. And before that I was town hopping, stealing what I could and running. So, not too much positive human interaction, see? I get a little over whelmed sometimes, need time to myself. And sometimes Wutai needs me – that's normally when I'm gone longest, I'm helping out under cover." She turned to Tifa, the need to be understood raw and aching in her eyes. "Wutai always comes first. It's not something I want to talk to you guys about, much as I love you. Cause, sweetie, you pry. In a very nice way, of course, but still. And Wutai doesn't need that."
"Oh," said Tifa, startled. She had thought it would be something silly, like running off with a boy, or running away from a boy. Not this. "Please, just tell me when you go? Promise I won't pry."
Yuffie smiled gratefully and slid back into her seat. "No promises, but I'll try."
"Good enough."
