Green Eyed Monster
By Rhino7
Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, its characters or storyline. This thing is mine. Not sure what inspired this, but I wanted to write something with Yuffie. I tend to ignore her in my Radiant Garden stories, which makes me sad, because I love her thought pattern. So scatterbrained. I wrote this in one sitting, didn't really proof read it to see if everything made sense…but I think that kind of fits her. Enjoy!
..:-X-:..
The fact that it bothers me, bothers me.
I got stuck on dawn patrol. I always do. Stupid Cloud always manages to get out of it and Cid pins it on me! Stupid, blond…stupid head. I don't know what Aerith sees in him. He's a total jerk face. Tifa agrees with me on that one.
In case nobody's ever told you, Radiant Garden at five in the morning is boring with a capital B. It's a sketchy time of day, hence the patrol, so you'd think at least ONE Heartless would be dumb enough to try something…That would at least give me something to DO!
But nooo, nothing ever happens when I'M on patrol. Squ—Le—screw it, Squall—always gets the cool patrols. Things blow up, the security system glitches, and all that fun stuff always happens when he's on the town. Maybe the Heartless are just so terrified of my mastery of ninja skills that they throw themselves at his gunblade just to end it quickly.
Yeah, that's definitely it.
What was I talking about? Bother, right…yeah, about that…
Everybody likes to think that the Restoration Committee is this big, warm and fuzzy, organized group. Hellooo, no. We're messed up. Really. It's funny some days, other days it's just frustrating as all get out…I think that's why Cid smokes, but he won't let me…hypocrite. Ah well, those cigarettes smell bad anyway.
For the most part, we all get along. When it counts, when it's important, and when lives are on the line, I trust all of 'em with my life…even if Cloud gets a little punchy when you talk about Sephiroth…aka He Who Must Not Be Named…and when Cid and Merlin start arguing mid-battle.
Listen, Heartless, Imma let you finish, but magic is the best strategy of the year!
Or something like that.
The other twenty hours of the day, however, are like bad soap opera. Seriously. And I'm the baby of the group—I hate it, but it's true—so naturally I get a front seat to everything, even though according to everybody involved, nothing is going on.
Somehow I've ended up at the Postern now…I'm a terrible patrol person…
Aerith and Cloud. Ground Zero. Because before I can properly complain, you have to understand where I'm coming from. That being said…
Sweet Mother of Materia…Will you just propose already? Geez. Between Aerith trying to be coy and Cloud not having a clue what the Hell he's doing, it's sort of like…well, I don't know what it's like, but it's really getting old. Yes, Aerith, a picnic, very nice. No, I don't know what Cloud would think of that dress because the dude talks in grunt and probably can't hear anybody over how loud that hair is!
And Cloud doesn't know how to just up and admit things. The word 'feelings' makes him head for the hills. An odd blend compared to Aerith, who is all things soft and fluffy. When they finally stopped beating around the bush and hooked up, it was awesome. Finally, it wasn't awkward…or at least tense kind of awkward. It was all out and in the open. Why people felt compelled to hide things like that, I'll never know…
Sure, Tifa had spent the next three days drunk off her ass, and Cid plowed through two packs a day for a week just to run Aerith out of the room and stop her talking about it. Overall though, it was okay. I didn't even see Squall—Leon—bah—for three days, but I put that on Tifa. For some reason those two have become BFFs; so he was probably prying bottles out of her hands. This clashed with the fact that he was also Aerith's go-to person for news and gossip…I don't know, something about the guy makes girls wanna talk to him.
Well…maybe I do know something about that.
I mean, yeah, he's nearly six years older than me, but I'm woman enough to admit to crushing on that for a while. What was I supposed to do? When somebody who looks like that takes his shirt off…you BETTER stop for a good look!
Aaand…now I'm at the Bailey. I'm making awesome time. Go me.
Radiant Garden is starting to look like its old self. Sure, it'll take decades before it's back to its 'former glory' as Cid calls it. I don't remember much of the place before the Heartless. Too young, mentally blocked it, blah, blah, whatever. I don't remember details, just colors, smells, little moments, but I've seen pictures.
Mostly, it's all purple rock and construction zones. Demolition is still going on in the really far off parts, but the main town has moved into reconstruction and rebuilding and all that jazz. It's awesome, seeing people and business and life come back home. Leon won't admit it, but he's proud of it. He almost smiled the other day. Almost epic moment.
The biggest problems have been taken care of: Heartless, check, buildings, check, people, check, security, check…Now we just gotta make it look like a world again. Like I mentioned before, all rock and no green. The Restoration Committee has been working on planting trees and grafting other foliage onto the landscape. I guess the dirt is still too barren and war-torn to sustain grass…No matter how much Merlin enchants the ground and Cid tills the soil, the seeds won't take. It sucks.
I kicked a rock and watched it skitter across the cobblestone as I sauntered down the Bailey toward the Ravine Trail.
No one ever talks out loud about Cloud and Tifa. What they were, what they weren't, why they had that massive fight two years ago. Maybe the others do talk about it, but I'm too focused on something else to notice or care. Somewhere along the line, their friendship sort of just faded away, what was left of it, and they grew apart. They don't hate each other or anything, and I think Tifa might actually be happy for him and Aerith now, but that could be pushing it.
They sure don't talk anymore, that's for sure.
Tifa's a bit of an oddball, I must admit. She's new to the Restoration Committee, but she's been around long enough now that she's one of the guys. Cid and Leon looked for ages for anybody else who lived in Radiant Garden after the invasion and found zilch, and then one day Tifa just saunters into town after how long?
Then the whole Cloud situation…kinda makes her come off as a stalker. I get the whole concerned-friend thing, but seriously, how did the fact that Cloud and Aerith were getting together shock her? Maybe love makes us blind. If she was in love with Cloud to begin with. It's hard to tell the difference between love and crush sometimes.
Take me for instance. I can have a crush on Leon without going nuts. He's like the cute guy you bump into at the grocery store: you wink, you blush, you enjoy the view as he walks away, and then you keep buying groceries. Nothing more. It never goes anywhere and there's no real point to it. It's a way to pass the day.
Besides, he's got the Rinoa situation…which I've learned to just not ask about…I do anyway, and it earns me a good whole evening of silent treatment and angst from the guy. I dunno, he's lightening up lately…I think I know why.
The fact that it bothers me, bothers me.
I'm everybody's little sister in this group. They think they're hiding the dreadful truth from me, but they let their guards down around me more than they'd like to believe. Aerith is head over heels for Cloud. Tifa might have been head over heels for Cloud, but probably not, since she appears to be over it now. Cloud is just confused, I think. Me, Cid, and Leon just try and stay out of it.
This is easier for me and Cid, because the others don't think I'm too young to understand love, and Cid doesn't care. Aw, that's not fair. He cares, he just doesn't want to hear them blabbing about their love lives all the live long day. So he plays hard ass, but it's always play.
Leon gets the short end of the stick on all sides. Firstly, Aerith particularly likes to gush about things to him—I think she creatively interprets his I Don't Care silence as Tell Me More silence. Secondly, he's always partnered for the gritty missions with Cloud, since between the two, they could…I dunno…punch Zeus in the face or something…Cloud's not a big talker, neither is Leon…I always wanted to be a fly on the wall during one of those missions. Can you say awkward? Anyway, thirdly, he and Tifa are joined at the hip everywhere else. Theirs is a weird relationship. I'm still trying to figure it out.
My radio went off.
"Bird's nest, this is Green Leader. Over." I chanted into the radio.
"Yuffie!" If Delight was a ghost, it had possessed Aerith.
The feedback screeched.
"Ah…what?" I slowed my pace, holding the radio up.
"I have great news!"
Well, well, maybe Spike had the balls to get on one knee after all—
"Cid found grass!"
-Ha, I knew he didn't have the balls to—
"What?"
"Grass!"
"When you say grass, and you say Cid, you mean—"
"I mean the green stuff that grows out of the ground!"
"Not the kind you bake in brownies?"
"Yuffie…" She had that motherly scold in her voice now.
"I'm kidding! Where?" I asked, turning around as though this magical little meadow would just materialize right in front of me.
"You know that new little pocket that they found after the rockslide last week? It was behind that!" Aerith chirped.
Last week, a rockslide tore off a section of the Ravine Trail's face. A crew worked on it for days to clear it and found a whole secondary path leading away from the Great Maw. Last I heard, they were still following it. Now it looked like they'd found something interesting.
"I'm at the Ravine Trail now." I said, hurrying deeper into the trail to where I knew the clearing spot was.
"Hurry up! We're all here! It's beautiful, Yuffie." She regaled.
"Figures I'm the last one to find out everything!" I hooked the radio back to my belt and shimmied down the newly uncovered walkway.
Ah, Radiant Garden, something new under every nook and cranny.
Sure enough, the pathway widened out after about fifty feet into a large untouched section of…green. Not purple rock, not Heartless catacombs, and not ruins of old buildings, but real, natural, green grass! Rant forgotten, I ran the last few meters until I was at the edge of the grass. These were the first real plants to grow back on their own since the liberation of Radiant Garden. And not just a bush or two, but what looked like several acres!
How had we not found this earlier? Sheesh.
Cid was sitting on a rock just outside the mini-meadow, just looking at it. He wasn't even smoking…Moment in and of itself right there. Aerith had taken her shoes off and was dancing around in circles on it barefoot. I couldn't see Cloud, whether he was lurking around somewhere or just wasn't here, I didn't know or care. Leon was the most amusing. Spread eagle on his back on the grass, gloves off, fingers spread wide across the grass. Like he was in the middle of making a snow angel in the grass…Now there was a mental image.
I knelt down, tugging my own gloves off and running my fingers across the very tips of the grass. They tickled my palms and I smiled. This was a good sign. Home was healing. With a cry of happiness, I flung myself onto the grass face first. The cool blades poked at me and I giggled, rolling over a few times, relishing the feel of just rolling through grass.
Little victories, simple joys in life.
Mid-roll, I spotted Cloud—so he'd shown up after all—eying the grass thoughtfully like Cid. Tifa wasn't too far from his left, grinning as she squatted down, toying her fingers through the grass. Odd to see the two anywhere near each other. Maybe the Cold War really was over. That would be a big relief.
Well…I can already tell their little spat is over, but it looks like it's really behind them now. I'm glad. The whole avoid-each other thing was annoying.
The smell, the feel, the existence of the grass was ridiculously euphoric. I mean, really, who gets this excited about grass? It's a Restoration Committee thing, you wouldn't understand.
"Tifa, come on." Aerith giggled, prancing around still.
The other woman didn't look like she needed any persuading. Like a kid in a candy store, Tifa had her boots off and was traipsing across the grass. Only she wasn't prancing around with Aerith. Instead, she spun in a little circle, and smoothly swung down to her seat in the grass beside Leon. He was too inebriated by the grass to pay her much mind, even though she was totally up in his bubble.
Oh, now here's where it gets interesting.
Aerith drama was interesting. Cloud drama was angsty. Tifa drama was angry. Leon drama…you just avoided it. Just…just avoid it, okay? It's messy and grumpy. Now, add all the interesting and the angsty and the angry and you've got a rich and layered cake. Add messy and grumpy to that recipe and you've got special brownies…or a meth lab…take your pick.
Aerith loves Cloud. Cloud loves Aerith. Tifa loved Cloud in the past tense. Tifa starts talking to Leon just because she can't talk to anyone else. Leon talks back to her, about what, I have no idea, but he does. Aerith talks to Leon about…I don't know, girl stuff. So you've got Aerith and Leon being buddies, Tifa and Leon being buddies, Leon and Cloud not really getting along—too similar, too different, bah—and then you've got me and Cid just watching from the sidelines.
I hate being on the sidelines. Where's my random man drama? C'mon!
Anyway, Leon is the monkey wrench in this soap opera. Either nobody else sees what's happening here, or there's nothing happening and I'm drawing conclusions. My ninja instincts are never wrong, so I'm trusting my gut on this one. Even if Aerith thinks I'm nuts and Cloud refuses to talk about it. I think Cid agrees with me though.
I think Leon and Tifa are falling in love.
Hard proof? Boom, there it is. Totally just caught Leon in a smile. That NEVER happens. If Organization XIII surrendered, Radiant Garden was completely back to normal, and a puppy got the hiccups, Leon wouldn't so much as crack a grin. Now I had just caught him not even fighting it.
And let me tell you, a Leon Smile is an epic sandwich.
I rolled onto my stomach and propped myself up on my elbows, watching Aerith, who was oblivious to it all. Tifa had taken up about the same position, only still up in Leon's bubble. He didn't seem to mind though, and it almost bothers me. I mean, who is Tifa? She waltzed onto the scene, what, two years ago? In less time than that, Mr. Can't Climb Over My Walls is besties with her? I've been here since ever, and it took a whole bottle of hairspray and a lit match to get a grin out of him…once!
But, you can't be upset when Leon smiles, and Tifa's beaming back at him while they're talking. They're too far away from me and talking too quietly for me to hear. It's kinda funny to see. They look more like a couple than Cloud and Aerith do, which is odd, considering both Leon and Cloud are R-tards when it comes to opening up emotionally.
Then Tifa looks at Leon as he says something, and I can see the Want in her eyes. I kinda recognize that look, like how someone who has been stranded in the desert looks at a glass of water. Then again, it's above my paygrade, so I can't completely interpret what her eyes are saying…to be cheesy.
Before anything completely insane can happen, Aerith has hooked one arm around Tifa's elbow and hauled her to her feet, coaxing her into dancing around with her in the grass. Leon sits up and starts dusting the grass off himself, but I catch him look after Tifa for a split second.
Oh yeah, I totally called that.
From the just-ate-a-lemon look on Cloud's face, he saw it too. Well, what does he expect? For Tifa to sit around and pine while he and Aerith are off happy together? I don't understand that man sometimes.
Bah, enough observing that drama.
I plucked up a blade, folding it over into a straw and promptly started blowing on the end so that it made that whiny, whistle noise. Cid rolled his eyes at me, but even he was in too good of a mood to snap at me.
The happy has to wane at some point though, and after the shock and little triumph of finding grass passes, Cid steps out to take a smoke, Tifa has to go on patrol shift, and Aerith puts her shoes back on. Cloud disappears at some point, but Leon lingers, taking his time.
He likes to think he's all mysterious and misunderstood, but I can read him like a book. Little sister quality winning through there. I don't even have it in me to make fun of him. He's spent long enough moping around. He deserves a break. If Tifa makes him happy, I can't really give him crap.
About this at least.
Anyway, this all makes me feel painfully single. I need to stop being so awesomely observant. It comes with the burden of being a master ninja. My cross to bear I guess. Besides, according to everybody on the Restoration Committee, what do I know about love?
Just remember, I totally called it first.
..:-X-:..
A/N: Yeah…she kinda started just waxing poetic at the end there, but hopefully it was overall cohesive. This is my first real endeavor to writing Yuffie POV. Oddly, I find Leon easier to write than Yuffie. Any constructive feedback would be greatly appreciated!
One thing, if you review, please don't leave a massive rant about how you hate Clerith or love CloTi or think Lefa is random. I'm aware of the mixed feelings about these pairings. I'm not trying to open up a can of worms here. I'm really looking for constructive comments on Yuffie's characterization.
Thanks for reading!