Author's Notes: This story is for was written for Drakonlily, one of the nicest girls I've had the pleasure of meeting over the craziness that is the internet. She asked for a RudexYuffie story and so now here it is. Hope you enjoy it Drakon!

Conversations

There were, I used to think, a lot of places that we all could've ended up. I mean, the world almost freaking ended! That can change a lot of things.

By some random turn of fate I ended up back in Wutai and, way more surprisingly, not hating it. Oh, don't get me wrong; I love Wutai but after living in it for sixteen years I realized that I just didn't like Wutai. All those stuffy old men telling me exactly how to live my life, nuh uh, no way! If you knew the stuff they put me through… did you know that it's custom for the lady of Wutai to make a yearly pilgrimage to the mountain temple of Liang Gra and kiss the feet of the high priest before asking for a blessing for Wutai? Kiss his feet? Grossness! Can you blame me for making tracks? Oh, that and the whole 'find a prince and get married' thing. Yeah, that was wearing on my nerves too.

Anyways, my point is that when I came home to Wutai after Meteor I was surprised by my feelings for it. I was just so damn happy to be back! I figure that having the world almost end on you makes you sentimental. At least that's my excuse. Well, that and the fact that Wutai was a bloody mess after Meteor. When we'd seen Meteor hovering over Midgar, it'd never occurred to me that it might be hurting Wutai half a world away. Apparently the sheer force of having Meteor come so close to the surface of the Planet ended up creating huge disturbances in the ocean. There were tidal waves all along the coast of Wutai… over a thousand people died.

That's why I'm here. Half the city was wiped out after Meteor and we need to do some serious rebuilding. For once I don't mind being used as a symbol. Dad's put me in change of the rebuilding of the western quarter of Wutai, the one most damaged by the waves and flooding. People always seem to perk up whenever my rebuilding teams and me come walking on by.

I guess you could say that things are different now. I feel a little bit different too. I not sure when it happened… maybe it was watching the world stop and start over or reading the rites during one of our many mass burials orseeing the first sunset over the ocean after Meteor… I don't know what it is but I feel different now. More mature maybe.

Or hell, maybe not. I'm probably just over-tired anyways. Six am is too gawd damned early by anyone's standards. Ah well. Off to work.

.o.o.o.o.o.

Two years. We've been at this fucking project for two gods damned years. How the fuck can a little bit of water cause this much damage? We've had to dig up all the sewage lines, redo all the streets, reconnect all the electrical wiring, rebuild all the houses… it's just too gods damned much! Of course, yours truly had to get the idea that we'd 'not just rebuild Wutai; we'd make it better than ever!' Gods, I'm a retard sometimes. Maybe we could've finished it quicker if I hadn't been so obsessed with upgrading everything too… the utilities, plumbing, road ways… gods.

Two years is the longest time I've spent in one place… ever. Period. I think that I'm getting antsy again. I keep on getting these happy flashbacks to me getting chased down by malboros in the good old days. I have one serious case of cabin fever and it's driving me crazy! What I need is some excitement, something to shake things up a bit. I was never a nine to five kind of girl. I just something to spice things up a little, that's all.

.o.o.o.o.o.

Now no one could've seen this one coming. Just as I finish my fervent little prayer for something to happen, something does. Or at least someone. Someone has just walked into my office.

In the first early months of the rebuilding, I made it policy that all new hiring needs to go through me before new workers start on the pay role. We'd been having too many problems with workers clashing or stealing or drinking or whatever. I decided to give everyone a little bit of a last minute interview before they start working. Sometime during my traveling for two years with Cloud and co trying to save the world I picked up a talent for judging people. I'm almost as good as Vincent now, which is a little scary now that I think of it. In any case, it means that I've developed a pretty good asshole-o-meter. If I think that anything's fishy about a new recruit I kick 'em out on the street for good. It keeps things running smoothly.

I'm alternating between starring at Galen, my recruitment officer, and a person I know a little too well. I want to stand up and shake Galen and shout 'do you know who this is?' at the top of my lungs but instead I just stare for a minute. Galen's never had my kind of sixth sense though and so he has no idea that anything's amiss.

"Milady, this is our newest recruit, Mr-"

"I know, Galen."

Galen's eyes widen.

"You know?"

I nod once.

"Thank you. You may leave."

Put-off, Galen hesitates a moment before giving me a little bow and stepping back three paces before turning to leave. Yeah, even now Wutaians are sticklers for tradition.

I don't much care about Galen right now though. I'm starring at my new worker. Or my new would be worker, at least.

He hasn't changed in the least. He's as tall as I remember – I've grown two inches but it doesn't seem to matter against him – and still as unreadable as ever. It doesn't help that he still has those sunglasses either.

"Rude," I say simply.

He nods once.

Okay, identity assessed, as if there was a doubt. Now what, Princess? He's standing and I don't much feel like offering him a seat and so I stand up too. He still towards over me by a good foot though. Relax, I tell myself. We beat them. Only did we really? The last time we'd met none of us had really wanted to fight and all three of them together probably could have…

Gods, think Yuffie!

"What are you doing here?"

"Looking for a job."

His voice is deep but there's a very faint rasp in it, like he's not used to using it at all. It's a little bit pleasant though. It reminds me of a large mountain cat purring.

Hello, Yuffie? Earth to Yuffie. Stop comparing the scary man's voice to fuzzy wildlife!

"I realize," I say smoothly. Or at least I hope it sounded smooth. "Why did you choose Wutai?"

Rude shrugs his massive shoulders.

"You need people. Lots of work here."

I squint at him. The man is obviously incapable of making sentences longer than four words.

"That's it?"

He shrugs again.

"The others?"

Gods, does he like suck the articulacy out of everyone?

He simply shakes his head. Now, what the heck is that supposed to mean? I'm quiet for a moment.

"What did you apply for?"

"Brick layer."

"Do you have experience?"

He nods once.

"M'dad was a brick layer. Used to help him."

"Wutaians use a different system for setting bricks. Our materials are different. You can study under Yuan's team for a month or so. Until them, I assigning you to a labour team."

There really isn't much of a reason for me to delay his work a month. The systems aren't really that different. Maybe I'm just being spiteful. He just nods though and waits a moment, as if expecting a new order.

"Tell Galen what I told you when you leave."

He nods once again and continues to stand in my office.

"Um, you can go now."

He nods for a last time and is about to turn but then pauses. He looks back at me and dips into an awkward bow before taking three steps back and turning to leave.

I'm so shocked that I just about collapse into my chair the moment he shuts the door.

.o.o.o.o.o.

As you can expect, we have a number of Wutaians working on the project but it's a little bit too immense forWutai aloneto handle. We have lots of workers from all across the Planet. With Midgar in ruins, lots of peopleare jobless and homeless. It wasn't that hard to swell our workforce.

He doesn't stand out as much as you would think in the labour crowd, I muse from my balcony.

Okay, so maybe I'm just a little bit fascinated by the whole thing. Like I said, things were getting to be pretty damn boring before he showed up. So sue me, he's interesting. I mean, he's a fucking Turk for gods' sakes! They're dangerous, malicious, conniving, powerful, the best that Shinra could produce. So many times they came this close to finishing us off for good… Well, I suppose that's all in the past now. Still, you can't blame me for being interested, can you?

From what I can tell, he doesn't mingle with the workers that much but nobody seems to dislike him. Well, I suppose that nobody would want to pick a fight with him anyways. Ignoring the fact that he used to belong to the most feared task force on the Planet - a tidbit I'm sure no one on the island knows but me - he's still built like a tank. Attacking a man like Rude is just pure suicide.

Still, he doesn't give people reasons to dislike him. He's quiet and works hard. What's more, he's polite with the other workers and his supervisors. I've noticed that he's picked up the Wutaian habit of bowing politely when given an order. I've ever heard him trying out a few phrases in our language. The lastone was Huang ni ni kwan? 'How much do you want?' So, he's interesting.

He does seem oddly… incomplete though. I still remember the sharp way that he shook his head when I asked about the others. I could've asked him if he liked peanuts and I'm sure I would've gotten the same response. I wonder where they are. I wonder if he'd tell me if I asked him. Probably not.

.o.o.o.o.o.

Wutai's in the middle of a four-day heat wave. The view from my balcony has improved amply. Not a single male worker has kept his shirt on during the abnormal heat. I was surprised the first time I saw him with his shirt off. I'd always known he was built but damn. Okay, I might be twenty now – and it's such a dirty number, twenty – but I swear that sometimes my body still thinks it's sixteen. I wonder if he's really as solid as he looks or if it's just for show. I wonder if he'd let me check.

Down Yuffie. Cold shower time.

.o.o.o.o.o.

On the fifth day, I finally notice the scars. I think that it's something about the way the sun is hitting him or something. They're a little bit hard to see because his skin is so dark but there are so many of them I can't believe Ididn't notice them before,fine lines all across his chest, back, shoulders… I think, blushingly, about all the times I'd let my shiruken fly hoping to catch him off guard. I wonder if any of those are mine?

For the first time in a long time, I feel ashamed and I don't know why.

.o.o.o.o.o.

That night, I send a runner to get him in the workers barracks. The Lady wants to see him. He comes right when I call, a good little worker bee. He doesn't complain that it's going on ten at night and he doesn't ask why I want to see him. He just stands there, waiting for me to talk.

"Have you been following Yuan's team while they work?"

Rude nods, once. I'm starting to get used to this.

"Do you understand the technique?"

Nod. Yes.

"Alright. I'm reassigning you to Yuan's team. He said that he liked how diligent you were."

I raise an eye to see if he reacts to the compliment but he doesn't.

"You can move into the new barracks in the morning. You'll start with Yuan at nine. Will that give you enough time to move your things?"

Another nod.

"Alright then."

Oh, I had forgotten this part. He's still standing there, looking at me.

"Um, you can go Rude."

He nods again, bows a little more smoothly this time and takes three steps back. As he's about to turn I call out to him.

"Don't you find it hard to see with your sunglasses on at night?"

He looks at me and I swear that I see the very tinniest smirk of a smile.

"No."

He bows one more time before turning to leave my office.

The smile was what floored me this time.

.o.o.o.o.o.

I've lost my vantage point. I honestly can't tell you what made me transfer him. Maybe I was feeling guilty. There hadn't been any reason for him to continue in the lower paid labour position and I'm sure that he'd realized that. He'd never complained once though.

I still catch myself watching the workers though I don't particularly have a reason to anymore. Yuan's team is on the other side of the project. There's no way that I'm going to catch a glimpse of him now. I'm not sure if he's picked up any more Wutaian or if he's enjoying the work that he's doing now. I don't know why that bothers me.

I can't help but think about that little smile, so small that you could almost miss it. I feel like I want to try and make him laugh, really laugh, instead of just giving me a tiny ironic grin.

It puts me in mind of the first time I saw Vincent smile. I hadn't been the one to do it, Aeris had. That was a long time ago. To this day, I have no idea what she told him but he had smiled very slightly at her and said something to make her laugh. I can still hear her happy, tinkling laughter. I'd been so shocked. Vincent, with a sense of humour.

I wonder what kind of jokes Rude knows.

I wonder what colour his eyes are.

.o.o.o.o.o.

I feel like such a chump when I invite him back to my office two weeks later, like I'm a recovering addict looking for a hit. My life has been dull again these past two weeks. All my old conundrums just aren't as interesting as they used to be and with no new information it's just not as fun anymore. So, here he is again, standing like a big silent pillar in my office, waiting to be addressed.

I wonder how he got that scar on his left index finger.

I wonder what his favourite colour is.

I wonder where he grew up.

I wonder…

"Are you enjoying working with Juan's team?"

A nod.

"I'm glad. He says that you're a great worker. You do excellent work."

I cringe at the lame sentence but he doesn't react. I wish he didn't have his sunglasses on. Maybe he'd be a little bit easier to read then.

… Aha!

"I understand that you've been trying to adapt to Wutaian customs."

"… I've tried."

I can hear the hesitancy in his voice. He doesn't know where this is going.

"You should know then," I drawl as if it's a small matter, "that's it's considered very rude in wutaian culture to keep any part of your face covered when you're addressing a superior."

He doesn't move or do anything but I can tell that's he's more tense now. I'm not sure how I know but I do.

"Of course," I continue on, "it's not that significant unless a person of higher rank asks you to follow that point of order. Generally it's more tolerated now."

Generally, because there's no such custom anywhere! Gods, what am I saying?

"I see…"

He lets the phrase linger, still unsure if I'm asking or not. Should I? Shouldn't I? I haven't collected a secret from him in so long I'm starting to feel disconnected. This one would be amazing. At the same time though, I don't want to be so selfish. Just from the way he's standing I can tell that he doesn't want to take off his sunglasses. I don't know why that's important but it just seems to be. What would he be giving up so that I can slake my curiosity?

"I just thought that I should let you know, in case it ever came up," I add after a moment's pause. Did he see my hesitation?

"…Thank you."

Oh, that should not have made me flutter.

"You can leave now, Rude."

"Thank you," he said again, a little more clearly.

He gives me a fluid bow before stepping away and leaving my office.

Gods, I feel dirty.

.o.o.o.o.o.

I've stopped trying to find him in the street and I haven't asked him back at my office after that last misadventure. I can't believe what I almost did.

Once again, I find myself thinking about Vincent. Oh these men that love to shroud themselves in their mysteries... The night that Rude left my office, I remembered the first time that Tifa convinced Vincent to take off his cape. He'd been injured in battle; some kind of ferocious lizard had leapt onto him, trying to rip out his throat. Tifa had kicked the damn thing off of Vincent but not before it'd made a mess of him. I remember starring horrified at Vincent's face, splattered with his own blood. His breath had been rasping as he clutched his neck with his good hand.

Tifa had slid smoothly to where Vincent had fallen. Crouching on her knees, she'd spoken to him softly, gently. She'd told him that she was afraid that his injury would get infected if she didn't take care of it but that she'd have to remove his cape to do so. She'd asked his permission first. There'd been a slight tremor of panic in his eyes when she'd said that. There was something elemental about Vincent back in those days. We'd all just known that he needed his space. He was like a walking burn victim, I sometimes think. You just couldn't touch him.

That's why I had been so amazed when he'd nodded shallowly, agreeing to let Tifa inspect his injury. Normally when Tifa worked she was efficiency personified but this time she moved with a deliberate slowness. She'd carefully lifted her hands up to his cape and paused at the collar giving Vincent a significant look before undoing the clasp. She'd pulled off his cape, carefully, keeping her eyes on his the entire time. I'd been devouring every inch of his jaw line, fascinated by the new development but she'd kept her eyes on his the entire time.

When the cape had finally come off, she'd placed it reassuringly by his side, letting a small piece of it brush up against his right hand. Then, very carefully, very gently, she'd gone about cleaning his wounds with fresh water, trying to keep from touching him too much. When she'd notice his hand clench on his lap, she'd stop and lean slightly away from him to give him his space. When she'd received some kind of invisible signal from him, she'd go back to her work.

It took her almost three hours to clean, stitch, and bandage Vincent's wound. At the end of it, she'd taken care to reaffix his cloak back just as it had been. I remember she had deliberately waited for him to stand before she did so that she wouldn't have to tower over her. Vincent had murmured a quiet thank you to her before setting off into the woods, alone. When I'd asked her if it was all right for him to be off by himself she'd just smiled softly. Give him space Yuffie, she'd told me quietly.

That's why I don't look out for Rude anymore. I was wrong. For the second time, he's made me feel ashamed of myself without even trying.

.o.o.o.o.o.

I'm finding it hard to concentrate at work now. It's wonderful that all the people under me are so good at their jobs. Without them, I'm sure the project would be weeks behind now. I get distracted all the time now but I try not to dwell on anything.

I wonder when his birthday is.

I wonder when he lost his virginity.

I wonder if he wonders about me.

I need to find a place to stop all of these voices. Whenever it gets to be too much, I run off to the place that could always ground me when I was a child.

I climb Da Chao.

.o.o.o.o.o.

It's past ten thirty at night when I reach the summit. I've been up this stony path so many times that I'm sure I could do it with my eyes closed. I always go straight to the top. The view from the summit is just breathtaking and on nights like this you can see all the lights in the village bathing underneath the stars in the sky. The ocean is a long dark line on the horizon and the mountain is the only thing that feels real and substantial around you. Everything else just seems so far away.

I stare at the village for a long time before moving my eyes off to the ocean. I don't know what I'm thinking about. Traveling, maybe. Tifa, smiling up at Vincent. I wish I knew what she knew.

There's a noise behind me and I turn quietly. I'm only half surprised to see him standing there. I figured that we'd cross paths sooner or later. Did I really expect it to be here on Da Chao? No, of course not. I came up here to be alone. But… but if I have to see him somewhere, I'd rather it be here.

I sit down the lip of the mountain in what I hope looks like an inviting manner. I dangle my legs over the edge of the mountain and look over my shoulder at him. He still hasn't moved.

"Would you… um, would you like to sit down?"

I don't know if asking him is too much but I hope not. He hesitates a moment before he nods and comes to sit down beside me. Not too close, I realize. You could call it a polite distance. I suppose it's a start.

The only problem is that I don't know where to start. I want to ask him if he likes the view, if he climbs Da Chao often, if he'd come here to think like me but I stop myself from saying anything. I'm trying to remember Tifa keeping her eyes on Vincent. I'm trying to stop myself from thinking. Don't ask questions, I scold myself silently. Don't ask questions.

I swallow softly. I know he isn't going to say anything. I wonder if he finds this as uncomfortable as I do?

I remember one time that I'd intruded on a similar scene between Cloud and Aeris. They'd been sitting togethernear a campfire. I could tell that Cloud hadn't known what to say at the time and so Aeris had been happily telling him a few stories to make him feel more relaxed. After a while, Cloud had started adding in a few words here and there. I'd left them chatting together.

There's an idea. Maybe I don't need to know all my answers yet. I swallow once again. I can't believe I'm nervous. I try to remind myself that I helped fight off Sephiroth and that starting a conversation can't possibly be as difficult but the words ring hollow in my head.

"When I was younger…" I start off. Childhood seems far enough removed to be non-invasive. "When I was younger, I used to climb up here with my mother all the time."

I don't turn to look but I can feel Rude's eyes on me, even hidden behind his sunglasses.

"She used to tell me stories about all the different people carved into the face of Da Chao. They're our country's greatest heroes. To have a statue created here is the highest honour a Wutaian can receive."

"Did you want to be here?"

I almost start. A question! An inquiry! Does he actually care what I'm saying? Is he actually listening? I look over at him and I see that his face is turned to mine. I can't see his eyes of course but… but if he's looking at me then he must be looking at me, right? I smile and lean back to look up at the stars.

"I think that every Wutaian dreams about having a statue up on Da Chao. It's like… dreaming about marrying the person you love and having lots of kids and money. It's something that everyone wishes could happen to them."

I suddenly blush. Oh, you did not just mention marriage to him! Stupid stupid stupid Yuffie! But it's dark. Maybe he can't see the red in my cheeks. I keep my head up looking at the stars, hoping it'll hide my blush.

"Of course, everyone realizes along the way that you can't just be on Da Chao. You have to do something pretty incredible to earn a statue here. We haven't carved a new one in over two hundred years."

"Maybe one day you will have one up here."

I think I just turned redder. I laugh a little awkwardly.

"Oh, I doubt it. I've never done anything that great."

I swear I can feel the man quirk his eyebrow. I can almost hear him reciting my exploits in his head.

"Oh, well, for all of that I had help. I didn't really do much, really," I add all in a rush. "Hardly anything at all. Nothing special."

It takes me a moment to identify the sound. I look back to Rude, unable to contain my shock. His shoulders are shaking and he's letting out a deep, brassy laugh. I never would've imagined it for myself. It's such an incredible sound. Listening, I can't help but smile and then soon I'm laughing too. I don't even care what we're laughing about. It just feels so darn good to be sitting here, with him, laughing.

.o.o.o.o.o.

I spend almost two hours with him that night. When we finally decide to leave, he walks me down the mountain and home. I have to admit that I was tempted at one point to try a little fake fall to see if he'd catch me but I knew automatically that that was a bad idea. I didn't want to mess up the night.

He walks with me until the street splits and we have to go our own ways. I like it better this way. It saves us the awkwardness of a long, drawn out goodbye and I don't feel guilty about taking him out of his way. When he says goodnight to me, he adds a little half-bow, just a little bit more than the dip of his head. I smile. It's a less formal style used between friends. I dip my head in a similar manner and add another goodnight.

I feel like I'm floating all the way home.

.o.o.o.o.o.

I don't go seeking him out again directly after that. I can't help but remember Tifa's little half smile. Give him space, Yuffie. So I do. I don't know why I'm being so careful about this but somehow I know that I've moved beyond the simple 'interest' I've been holding onto for so long.

After all, I know that he grew up in Mideel and that he was an only child. I know that his mother's name was Ashara (and isn't that just a gorgeous name?) and that she was a laundress. He told me that he had missed the ocean until he came to Wutai but that the water's warmer in Mideel. I even know what his favourite colour is but I think I'll keep that one a secret for myself.

I wish I knew when I could see him again.

.o.o.o.o.o.

It turns out that I don't have to wait too long. I run into him when he was doing some grocery shopping in the market. He'd been talking quietly to an elderly shopkeeper who had been trying to convince him to by an extra cabbage. When I walk up to him, the woman drops into a low bow before taking the three ceremonial steps back to leave us in peace. I roll my eyes.

"I hope you didn't actually want the cabbage," I say softly to him and he laughs. Laughs! Again! And once again I can't help but join in.

.o.o.o.o.o.

We end up in a little teashop not far from where I'd run into him. Once again, I can't help but be amazed how much I just love talking to him. There's something about Rude that just makes you feel like he's really listening to what you have to say. I have to check myself a few times from running away with my stories. I don't want him to feel like I'm lecturing him. Besides, I still have that over-whelming desire to know. I'm just waiting for him to throw something in, anything.

By the end of the night, I know that he likes tangerines, doesn't really know how to dance, and that he admires wutaian gardens. This brings up the fact that I know he's been trying to learn Wutaian while he's living here. He nods to that and I've gotten used to the fact that he doesn't waste his breath saying pointless sentences like 'why yes I have' when a nod will do just as well. I timidly offer to help him out with the language if he feels like he'd be interested. He accepts.

I'm ecstatic.

.o.o.o.o.o.

When we meet again, I decide that my house would be way too personal so I schedule our first 'lesson' in one of the many public water gardens in the city. This one is one of my personal favourites. The whole garden is contained within one building where the river rushes are allowed to grow tall enough that they obscure people from view. It's the river and its plants that divide the buildings into rooms for guests, not walls. It's both private and public. The building is full with the quiet murmur of conversation though you can't see the people who are talking.

We're both sitting on the little hakrama pillows that are reserved for guests. It's one of the first words I teach him that he doesn't know. They're special silk, tasselled pillows that are used only for guests. In a Wutaian household, the pillows that a family will use are called silyama. He nods to show that he understands.

He's actually surprisingly good at speaking Wutaian considering that he's only been living here for little over a month. He shakes his head at my praise, saying that it's only because he needs to learn Wutaian to get along with the people he meets. It's just easier that way.

Have I mentioned that I like the fact that he's actually quite humble?

We talk together for a while, sometimes in Wutaian, sometimes in English, sometimes a mixture of both. I'm careful with what I say and I'm happy that he doesn't get frustrated too easily. I picture myself trying to teach Cloud Wutaian and I get shivers just thinking about it.

I can't help but laugh though when he tells me that he likes my feathers. I think he meant my dress but he definitely said feathers. I had images of Yuffie chocobos stuck in my head all night long.

Though I don't forget that he had tried to tell me that he liked my dress.

.o.o.o.o.o.

We continue on for that for a couple of weeks, meetings in almost public places. I have to remind myself to call them meetings and not 'dates' because they aren't really dates. I'm just going out to help him learn to speak Wutaian. I drink every word in that he says of course but that doesn't mean we're dating.

I don't even realize it when he walks me all the way home one night. He's just so suddenly up on my doorstep and so am I. I stand there looking up at him, not sure what to do, what to say. He's the one who moves.

His right hand comes up and for a moment I think he's going to move in and touch my face but somehow what he does next catches me more off guard. He raises his hand up to his sunglasses and, for a moment, pauses there before sliding them off him nose. I stand there, frozen. I suddenly realize why he keeps his glasses on all the time.

Mako eyes. The answer is so simple that I can't believe thatI didn't realize it before. Reno, Cloud, Vincent, all their eyes had shone with that otherworldly glow. I don't know why I'd thought that Rude would be an exception. For a man who loves slipping in with the crowd, fading into the background, those eyes would be a handicap. Everyone would see him wherever he went. Nobody would ever notice him though, only his history. His eyes.

But they are beautiful. I can tell that they must've been a dark brown once because their colour is just a touch too unnatural for his face. I can picture him with deep chestnut colour eyes but not these irises that shine a bright honey brown. They contrast very sharply with the rest of his dark skin, making them even more noticeable. No wonder he wears his sunglasses all the time.

I smile at him because I can't help but smile. It seems to me that he's relieved because there's that tiny little smile poking at the edge of his lips again. Unconsciously, I reach out to wrap a few of my fingers around his. It's just the lightest touch but front the way he looks down at our two intertwined hands I'm afraid I've breached another boundary. For a moment I'm certain he's going to snap those sunglasses back on and stalk away from me forever.

But then he looks up at me again and I'm looking into his eyes and I can see that little smile of his stretch a little bit more.

He leans in and brushes his lips against mine. It's almost like he's asking me a question, the way that he hardly even touches me. He pulls back the tinniest fraction of an inch and waits there. I move in slowly and brush his lips against mine. I feel his infectious smile tugging at my lips as well until he moves in again and I'm doing more than smiling.

.o.o.o.o.o.

I remember someone once telling me that we change for the people we love but I don't really think that that's true. I'm sure that it's more like the people we love change us. People laugh around us and say that they can't follow our conversations. Maybe it's because I took a cue from him and tried to listen between the times when I'm talking. After all, sometimes a nod is as good as a 'yes', don't you think?

I try to make him smile as much as I can because I love to see him do it. I think he knows that so he tries to smile more often. See, we're changing all the time. I think it's one of the things I love about him, really. One of many.

He gives me all these crazy ideas. Sometime soon I think I just might introduce him to my father. Or maybe not. Who knows?

Oh, and he doesn't wear his sunglasses around me anymore. He'll usually put them on when we go out but if it's just the two of us alone together… all the more reason for the two of us to be alone together, in my mind.

I never thought I'd end up back in Wutai after Meteor but look where I am now. Look who I'm with now. Yeah lots of things change. But I still won't tell you his favourite colour. That one's my secret.