DISCLAIMED: (10/08/10)
Characters: Cloud/Yuffie, Godo, OCs galore for plot purposes, eventually all of AVALANCHE
Rating: M – for mature stuff, like violence, sensuality, and language.
Warning: Since I've decided to put a lovely little recap in here, it's not entirely necessary to read Part I first, but really, why wouldn't you? This part will still be here when you're done and it'll make more sense;)
Summary: Cloud has accepted the ancient Wutainese quest to win Yuffie's heart and finds some surprises along the way. Will a curse none of them saw coming shake his resolve? Or will Yuffie end up making the choice for him. All games & movies compliant.
A/N: This is a bit romance heavy - sorry if it isn't your cup of tea. You will see a bit more of what the trailer hinted at in this one though - finally. Thanks so much to everyone who's taken an interest in this - you rock.
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- Chapter 二
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The war had come. It came a few days after the crows. Papa told them it was the 'evil foreign devils' and to never trust them. All they cared about was money and holdings. Papa said they wanted their home. He said they weren't going to get it.
Ryuu trusted his father. He knew he was a powerful warrior and would fight hard for their homeland. He wanted to fight too. Taking his wooden staff, he snuck away from his nanny one night to do just that.
The barricade created to keep the invaders out was strong, like his papa. However, Ryuu was small and thanks to exploring the new compound with his sister, he knew how to sneak around. A crack in the wall, no bigger than to let a small dog through, was big enough to let him shimmy through.
He broke free of the compound and slipped through the shadows, watching for the 'white devils'. Still he never saw it coming, even as it crept up behind him – the beginning of the events that were to change his life forever.
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Day 13
Traveling the tunnel was an experience. It was long and winding, leading off into several different directions, all dead ends. It was also infested with every dark-seeking being in existence. This wouldn't have been half as bad if it hadn't been pitch black. Luckily, Cloud had a supply of glowstick flares, but it was limited and they had no idea how long the winding tunnel was.
Thankfully, Red had the forethought to outfit them with survival packs before they left Cosmo Canyon and they had plenty of food and water and blankets.
Yuffie jumped then for the fiftieth time since they started their trek the previous evening. A bat flew out of the shadows and took off down the tunnel. They'd been doing that all day, and all night. It did not make for a very pleasant night of sleep. But Cloud did his best anyway to comfort her in the oppressive dark.
It didn't help that he felt strange. Ever since that last infusion, his skin felt…thick. And uncomfortable. These periods were lightened with ever so delightful moments of light-headedness and a searing fever.
One of these moments came upon him in the middle of the night as he held Yuffie. She shifted against him and he was worried he'd woken her as sweat broke out on his brow. She merely snuggled closer to his warmth as it was drafty in the tunnel.
As he walked in front of her now, the sweat dripped off him. This spell was the longest yet. It made him irritable and Yuffie's jumpiness – though understandable – just made it worse. He knew he should comfort her or say something, but it was cool in the tunnel and he didn't want her worrying about why he was sweating buckets. So when she reached out and touched his arm a while later, he snapped.
"C-Cloud?"
Jerking around, he said, "What?"
She looked at him wide-eyed. But before either of them could say anything more, a menacing growl came from a nearby offshoot. Yuffie turned wary eyes behind her and the glossy eyes that peered out of the dark had her backing up into Cloud. He gripped her arm, handing her the light-stick. Slowly, he pulled his sword as the undead crept out of the side tunnel.
Yuffie groaned. "Not another zombie." She stomped her foot like a small child. "They're always retardedly hard to kill."
"Just get out your weapon and stay behind me." Cloud's voice was impatient as he pushed her behind him. Yuffie was too annoyed by another appearance of the damned zombies to take offense and complied, grumbling under her breath. She gripped her Conformer and then froze as she heard another presence behind her. Turning, she watched several more undead limp out of the shadows.
"Uh…Cloud."
"What?" His pulse was racing and it wasn't the natural adrenaline from expecting battle, making his tone sharp.
"Look."
Impatiently, he turned. His eyes widened. He counted at least ten sets of eyes gleaming dully in the dark and they seemed to keep coming.
One lunged forward then and Yuffie shrieked as she slashed at it. Cloud gripped her around the waist, but something behind him grabbed on and yanked. He lost his grip on her right as one grabbed her ankle and pulled her away. "Cloud!" She shrieked and kicked as another undead and then another grabbed hold of her, pulling her away from him. The one who'd grabbed him had friends join in as well and he was caught in their iron undead strength. He shouted her name and her answering call was cut off by her shrieks of pain.
His pulse raced, his heartbeat sounding loud in his chest, he felt red hot rage sear through him. With a roar, he exploded from the inside out in bright golden light. It lit up the tunnel, engulfing everything in warm unending rays.
Just as suddenly, it was sucked back into his form and he fell to his knees with the force of it. The undead were gone, evaporated. As he shook on the ground, his skin felt strangely alive. Like it was renewed somehow.
"C-Cloud?" Her voice came to him and he could've sworn it was the most beautiful sound he'd ever heard. Turning his head towards her, he opened his eyes. She audibly gasped. "Your eyes."
He blinked them rapidly, and then noted he could no longer see quite as clearly in the dark. Yuffie lit a light stick and walked closer. She slowly knelt next to him. "Cloud?"
He gulped heavily as he sat back. His voice was hoarse when he spoke. "Are you alright?"
She blinked as if surprised, before nodding. "Yeah. Are you? Your eyes were glowing—I mean, your eyes are always glowing, but this time they were like, yellow."
He shook his head. "I don't know."
He must've looked as lost as he felt, since she shifted and changed the subject. "Alright, so…you okay to walk?" He sighed and nodded. She let out a breath of relief. "Good. This place gives me the creeps."
She helped him up and keeping hold of his hand, she took the lead, lifting the light stick to light their way.
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Day 14
It was late the next day when they finally exited the tunnel and found themselves near the Gold Saucer. Cloud checked his PHS as he could now receive signal and found a voice message from Tifa and a text from Rufus. It was by habit, rather malice or resentment that he ignored Tifa's message and he checked the text, showing it to Yuffie.
Mt. Corel
See Wallace
Koi wa moumoku
Yuujou
When they finally made it to Mt. Corel it was full dark. Barret was up anyway. Renovations for the wrecked town had really come along over the years and no longer were there merely tents set up, but nice looking houses. Barret's was the largest and he had plenty of room for them. Barret noted them both going into the same room, and frowned a bit, looking uncomfortable. He didn't say anything however.
Yuffie was exhausted and Cloud didn't look much better, so she was glad she didn't have to fight him about it. She collapsed on the comfy bed face down as Cloud shut the door, not bothering with her boots. Her only thought was that Barret's wife, Elmyra, must've chosen the queen-sized bed and decorated the guest room since she was sure she'd be sleeping on a cot and Cloud on the floor otherwise. She was grateful that was not the case as she didn't have the energy to make it to the Ghost Hotel in the Gold Saucer. They might have to rethink their situation tomorrow.
At the moment, she really didn't want to go back on the road. She knew they had a time-crunch issue but really, after spending her formative years out in the wilderness, she'd had enough. And dealing with an irritable Cloud the past few days had not helped. He thought she hadn't noticed, but she had. She simply avoided the issue, wanting to get the hell out of that tunnel. He was always better at night and solicitous in holding her close, which did help.
Cloud crossed the room more slowly than she did. She felt the bed dip as he leaned over it and took her weapon from her back before he moved away and set it somewhere with his own. After he removed his bracer he removed his boots, and then hers, he headed into the guest bath and she heard the shower turn on.
She sighed as she rolled to her back. It was thoughtfulness like that, that made it easy to forgive Cloud anything. He had to be more tired than her, what with his little… 'episode', but he was still mindful about her well-being.
It didn't matter back when she met him that he was super cold and uncaring – he let her tag along when he really had no reason to. It didn't matter that he was pissed as hell when she stole his materia and the rest of Avalanche's back during Meteor – he saved her from that creep Corneo anyway. It didn't matter that he seemed to care more for Tifa and Aerith back then – Yuffie was the one he responded to when they were gone and his world was falling apart. And even before that, he humored her and their little Gold Saucer 'date' to the best of his ability at the time.
And if that wasn't enough to forgive him, there was one choice he'd made to forgive anything: he was on this quest for her. And she hated that she was still scared. Scared of not living up to what that meant. It was one thing to be forced to marry. It was quite another to choose to do so.
Yanking off her headband, she let it drop to the floor. She sighed. Her thoughts of him turned to him in the shower and she realized there was another reason she could forgive him almost anything. She snorted at her pervy thoughts and pushed them away. Cloud being in the shower was also making her feel filthy in comparison and she forced herself up as the she heard the shower turn off.
Going to the door, she knocked. "Hey, is there anymore hot water?"
"Come in."
She opened the door and stopped short. Cloud turned from the sink, his head bowed as he rubbed his hair with a small towel. He was wearing nothing but a marginally larger towel around his hips. Her jaw dropped. As her cheeks flushed, and not from the steamy room, she turned away. "Wellll, I'll just wait 'til you're done—"
He caught the door, causing her to freeze and look up. His eyes were intent on hers and he looked faintly amused. She gulped slightly as he stepped towards her and her eyes couldn't help but drop to the small trail of pale blond hair along his tight stomach and down. He neared and hovered, causing her head to lift. She was vaguely aware that she was staring up at him rather dumbly, but then her brain wouldn't work properly at the moment.
He bent his head slightly to hers then, pausing with his lips near her ear, and she was sure she'd explode right there. She could still remember their night in Cosmo Canyon and how his comforting yet exciting weight felt pressed over her, his lips and hands smoothing everywhere. It didn't matter that she was dead on her feet, whenever he looked at her like that, she felt alive.
She shuddered as his breath fanned the sensitive shell of her ear. "There should be plenty." She supposed she should be wondering, plenty of what? But all she could do was shudder at his soft husky tone and sway towards him. He looked ready to kiss her as his eyes dropped to her mouth. She caught her breath and her lips parted as his gaze flicked back up to hers.
His blue-green eyes were languid from the shower and their long day, his lips curved ever so slightly. In her peripheral, she saw him pick up his clothes from the sink in one hand, his eyes never leaving hers. He moved even closer then and her grip tightened on the door as she was pressed back into the door frame. Breathless in anticipation, Yuffie forgot her tiredness in favor of his next move. He slowly smirked however.
"Can I get by?" She blinked. His smirk grew slightly as his brows raised. "Unless you'd like me to join you in your shower?"
Yes, please.
She mentally shook herself then. Her trance broken, she released her iron grip on the doorknob and turned to the side, not looking at him. His chest rumbled with suppressed laughter as he moved past her. Taking pity, he paused to press a quick kiss to her mouth, lightly touching her chin with his fingertips before striding to the bed.
Cheeks still burning, Yuffie moved backwards into the bathroom as Cloud tossed his clothes on the bed. She shut the door right as he let his towel drop carelessly to the floor. Turning, she leaned back against the door as she mouthed to herself, oh my gawd!
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Day 15
Cloud had been asleep by the time she exited the shower. She hadn't been able to think of anything but his firm toned body all through her shower and she wanted to kick him really hard for leaving her so hot and bothered. However, she doubted she'd be able to pull that and her cod-impersonation off at the same time. She was annoyed at how retarded she'd acted. Like one of Reno's fangirls – or more like fanhoes as she liked to call them.
As soon as she slid into bed with him, she'd worked up enough annoyance to curl up away from him on her side of the bed. He'd rolled towards her automatically however and she found herself being spooned whether she wanted it or not. She told herself she was too tired to fight it, even if she wanted to, and relaxed against him.
His warmth reminded her of their time in the cave though. She knew men usually ran warmer somehow than chicks, but he'd been unreasonably hot at times. She'd been freezing at the time, so she hadn't questioned it, but simply enjoyed it. But that coupled with his strange glowing eyes and that amazing light-show made her worry. Other than the obvious death and dying scenarios inherent in picturing a quest like this while growing up and hearing the stories, they were never told of any strange side effects.
It had been odd how…demonic he'd appeared. Even his harsh breathing had been deeper than usual and when she lit the light stick, his skin had been sickly pale and she could've sworn she could see his veins before it all faded away. It had been frightening and not because she was scared of him or anything. But because he'd looked so shaken and lost. She wanted to wrap her arms around him and curl up in his lap until he stopped trembling. But getting out of that horrid tunnel would've helped him more so she was glad they pressed on.
A wave of sleepiness had come over her then and she yawned widely. Deciding she'd give her pops a call in the morning, she drifted off.
In the morning, after breakfast while Cloud spoke to Barret, she called home. The conversation had been like most of her conversations with her father in the past – frustrating and completely useless. He told her she shouldn't even be with Cloud while he was completing the quest and that he needed to figure out things on his own.
When she went out to find Cloud and Barret working on a truck, she was still frowning. Cloud wiped grease from his hands as he walked towards her. "You okay?"
She shook her head. "Just talked to my pops. Pain in the ass as always." She relaxed her face and nodded behind him. "How's it going?"
He tossed the grease cloth behind him onto the hood of the truck. "Engine wouldn't turnover. Should be good now." He tilted his head at her. "How you feel?"
She tilted her head side to side as she thought about it. "I dunno. Good, I guess."
"Well, I was thinking we should take the day to recharge and stuff. Think we have the time?"
Yuffie thought about it, calculating how long it would take to get to Nibelheim from where they were. She frowned. "We'd need to borrow a ride. Or a green chocobo and then we could just go straight over the mountains."
Cloud nodded and they turned to Barret, whom was watching them surreptitiously as he cleaned up his tools. His frown told them he was still unsure of their…new relationship. "You got a special chocobo we could borrow? We need to hurry on to Mt. Nibel but we need a little R&R first."
Barret shook his head. "Naw, just the truck. Dio probably does though. You could ask him. Don't he owe you a favor or some shit?"
Cloud frowned. "How'd you know about that?"
Yuffie frowned glancing between the two. "What?"
Barret guffawed. "Ah, hell. She found ou' anyway when the wench showed up here with his babe. She took him for a killing in child support and his ex took nearly the rest in alimony."
Yuffie crossed her arms, annoyed. She tapped her foot. "Someone wanna tell me what's goin' on here?"
Cloud looked at her with a sigh. "Dio got married a while back, right after the war ended. Then he got a girlfriend. Anyway, he called me one day to have me escort his girlfriend out quietly from the park as his wife had arrived from their summer villa in Costa Del Sol early. I got her out fine, but," He rubbed the back of his neck then, looking uncomfortable. "She was rather…clingy. "
Yuffie's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean…'clingy'?"
Cloud grimaced. "Let's just say she wasn't entirely loyal to Dio."
"She came on to you?" Yuffie's jaw dropped. "Why didn't you tell me?"
Cloud looked pained. "It happened right after one of our lunches and I guess I blocked it out. Nothing happened anyway."
Yuffie's narrow look returned. "Are there any other past paramours I should know about?"
Cloud gave her an exasperated look. "Did you hear what I just said?"
"That doesn't answer my question."
"No." He stared dully down at her. "I haven't been seeing anyone but you all these years. Happy?"
Her cheeks heated, but she lost her severe look. "Thrilled." Her voice was still deadpan.
Cloud rolled his eyes. "It's not like you're all that forthcoming," he muttered before turning to Barret. "I think we'll go see Dio. Maybe stay at his hotel tonight just to sweeten the deal."
The big black man had watched their little tiff with mixed amusement and confusion. He saw Yuffie was smarting after Cloud's last comment and nodded slowly, not taking offense that they wouldn't be staying at his house for a second night. "Sure. Elmyra said to ask you if you wanted to have dinner in the park with us tonight? She actually wanted to cook for you but she cooks all day at the shelter so I told her we'd go out instead."
Cloud nodded. "Sounds good. We'll meet you in the lobby at 7?"
Barret nodded as Cloud turned away. He headed for the tram with Yuffie following.
"Just what did that mean?" her tone was incensed. "I always told you about the suitors Godo threw at me—"
He stopped short to face her, his eyes hard. "It means yes, I've heard about every tool you've ever had to date – and in detail – over the years, but not once, even now, have I ever heard what you felt about me." His gaze softened slightly to show how much it bugged him. Yuffie was speechless. Cloud just shook his head and continued on.
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Talking to Dio was fun. The muscled, excessively-hairy, ridiculously mustached man was slightly less jovial this time around but happy to help. He recognized Yuffie as royalty this time and lamented he could not attend her coronation ceremony. He made sure they were set up in the largest suite he had and their dinner and activities were on the house to make up for his absence. He also graciously offered his own gold chocobo, Bert to them to get back to Wutai.
They declined having lunch with the scantily-clad man and settled into their room instead. Yuffie curled up on the couch in the living room and turned on the tv. She could only stare blankly at it though, as her attention was on where Cloud was and what he was doing. He seemed to have found a paper and chose to read it in a chair in the farthest corner facing away from her.
There was nothing entirely clear about his upset towards her, but she felt the tension nonetheless. After a while, she grew sick of it. Her stomach did too as it growled at her. Standing, she walked over to his chair. Standing behind his chair, she rested her hands on his shoulders before slipping her arms around his neck and leaning into him from behind. He looked up and tensed, but he didn't pull away.
"I'm sorry, Cloud." Her voice was quiet and she rested her head on her arm tilting it to look at his profile. "I only mentioned all those guys to try and make you jealous." She snorted before saying, "I'd always get so mad when you didn't do anything." She tilted her head forward then, pressing her forehead to the side of his. "That's why I would go into detail. And to be honest, I embellished a lot."
He shifted under her and she lifted her head to see he was listening. "Like what?"
"Oh, well, when I'd say they couldn't stop staring at me or they never glanced at another chick while I was in the room – that was a lie. Or when I said they kept telling me I was beautiful, that so didn't happen."
Cloud gave a grunt of disbelief.
"It's true! The closest I got was 'you look nice tonight, Lady Yuffie.' Lady…" she snorted as if it was the most ridiculous thing she'd ever heard.
Her attention was abruptly caught by his hand on her arm as he tugged her forward and into his lap while setting his newspaper aside. He was looking at her half-amused and half-serious. "For one thing, I don't believe for a minute they didn't all think you were beautiful." He pulled her down for a kiss. Heat suffused her in a slow burn as he kissed her long and slow. "And another," he opened his eyes to meet hers. "I find it nearly impossible not to look at you when you're in the room."
A warmth settled in her chest as she bit back a sappy smile. She pressed her lips to his instead, enjoying when his teeth nibbled on her bottom lip. Molten heat rolled through her as they continued to kiss, Cloud deepening it with the gentlest slide of his tongue along hers. His hands gripped her hips to press her firmly to him as she responded eagerly. She could feel his response to their activities and though it felt amazing, she suddenly felt uncharacteristically shy.
Breaking the kiss, she pressed her forehead to his to stall any further kisses. He looked at her in askance as he tried to slow his breathing. "You, uh, alright?"
She nodded. "Yeah, I just…you want to go check out the races? I'm hungry."
He blinked in confusion before slowly nodded. "Uh, sure. Just give me a minute."
Yuffie lifted off him and moved to the balcony while he 'calmed down.' They headed down to the park after that and spent the afternoon alternately watching the Chocobo Races and the Battle Arena. Yuffie coaxed him into making their own wagers on the races and then he frustrated her by only choosing Teioh to win. She was determined there was someone out there to beat him though. And though he didn't show it, it amused him to no end.
He told her if he could bet on Reynar, his golden chocobo, he would. Otherwise, he knew who to bet his money on. She maintained that she hated 'that little prick Teioh' and refused to ever bet on him being something other than annoying. She was still grumbling about how he should've retired by now as they returned to their room to get ready for dinner.
Cloud listened amused as he washed up. A knock at the door had him answering it as she was busy cleaning and muttering to her weapon. A ghostly bellboy presented him with a large rectangular box.
"Compliments of Senor Dio, sir."
Cloud took the box and nodded to the man before closing the door. Yuffie took interest then as he put it on the bed.
"What's that?"
Cloud shrugged as he picked up the note and read it before handing it to Yuffie. She read it out loud as he lifted the lid from the box.
" 'Please accept this for your night out. Regards, Dio.' " Yuffie lifted her head in time to see Cloud lift a strapless dark emerald green dress from the tissue paper. She pursed her lips against a smile. "Uh, I'm not sure that's your color, Cloud."
He gave her a chagrined look. "Very funny. Actually, I think this is for you."
She dropped the note and crawled on the bed towards him. "No way." She stopped right before him as he held the dress up to her form. She took it and draped it against herself as she looked down. She lifted her eyebrows and bobbed her head slightly. "Not bad, I guess." She lifted her head to frown at him. "What about you?"
Cloud tore his eyes from her and glanced back down into the box. Under the tissue was something else. Pulling it out, he held up a silk button-up white shirt. Yuffie brow lifted with interest. "Now that might look pretty damn good. On me of course," she added with a smirk.
Cloud returned the smirk as he laid the shirt out on the bed. "Yeah, that with nothing else on." His eyes were slightly heated then as she blinked at the obvious innuendo. Her cheeks heating, she rolled off the bed and away from him.
Striding to the bathroom, she recovered by sticking her tongue out over her shoulder at him. "I'll wear yours if you wear mine."
He retorted as she shut the door. "Been there, done that." He could hear her laughter through the door.
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The night was perfect. Much different than his last experience here. Yuffie looked absolutely amazing in her dress, the skirt flaring slightly, making it swish with every step she took. She'd pinned her hair back on the sides somehow and the style made her look more feminine. And her eyes absolutely sparkled with energy as she took in the night lights and fireworks.
He held her hand as she led him around the park, resolved and happy to be much more amiable to her whims this time around. Their dinner with Elmyra and Barret had been pleasant, Elmyra leading the conversation with questions about their quest so far and telling them about her work with the orphans and homeless in Mt. Corel.
Afterward, they lamented the need to get back home as their sitter would need to be getting home herself. That left Cloud and Yuffie to themselves. They saw a show, and thankfully this time they did not have to participate – apparently, Yuffie was more self-conscious then he thought about wearing her dress and didn't feel like showcasing it. He didn't understand it since he was struck dumb by the sight of her in it, but he was grateful for her shyness.
When the show ended, Yuffie decided they needed dessert and they got ice cream cones. Cloud never really cared for the stuff so he got one of the two flavors she'd had trouble deciding on and told her to get the other. The park was busy at that time, but they found a small booth to pause and share their frozen treats together. After much giggling and slurping as the stuff half-melted all over their hands while Yuffie sampled his own cone, they cleaned up and were simply wandering from booth to booth.
As he finished shooting his hundredth basket in a row and gave her the resulting materia prize, a new set of fireworks started up, catching his attention. Turning to look at Yuffie, he watched her look at him expectantly. "Come on." He took her hand and her lips quirked at his strange behavior as he led them out of the Arcade.
When they arrived at a familiar lift ride, she bit back a smile. Cloud nodded to the ticket lady as she let them past. They took a seat one side this time as they were closed in. The lift started and they watched as the park came into view.
Not able to sit still, Yuffie stood and moved to the window facing outward. Cloud watched her a moment, letting his gaze linger over her. The strength of his feelings for her now made him wonder how he hadn't always known. Hindsight of course was twenty-twenty though, and when he thought about it, even then it was hard to see through all the things he'd had to deal with in his past.
What he knew now was he didn't want to live without her and at the moment, he wasn't sure he could. After all the death and loss and missed opportunities and failures in his life, he didn't know if he could handle losing her too. Just the thought of something happening to her made his chest ache and Vincent's 'idea' to curl up in a coffin for thirty years rather appealing.
It also had him standing and moving over to stand behind her. She lifted her arms over his as he slid them around her waist from behind. Pressing his face into her neck, his voice rumbled low in her ear.
"Did I mention you look great tonight?"
She tilted her head against his as his breath tickled her neck. She snorted softly. "You mean you haven't been staring at me all night just to see if I'm carrying a concealed weapon?"
His lips curved slightly. "The thought did cross my mind."
It was her turn to be amused. She lifted her head to the sky then. "Remember the last time we were on here?"
He nodded. "How could I forget?" He lowered his head and pressed a soft kiss to the hollow of her shoulder. "It was the first time you kissed me."
She nodded with a slight shiver, before turning her head to give him a disapproving look. "And you didn't say or do anything. Real great for my precious ego."
He rolled his eyes. "I doubt anyone was worried about that ego of yours deflating back then. And I did too say something."
It was her turn to roll her eyes. "Ok… 'something' is not an acceptable response in any case."
Cloud sighed, straightening. "What did I know about girls? I couldn't even figure myself out."
"And now?" She turned her head to look up at him.
Cloud frowned down at her slightly, as if puzzled. "Now, I'm still tryin' to figure you out." His voice was soft and it made her guilt return. She turned away, but he wasn't having it. "Hey." He turned her around to face him. His face was open and soft. "I don't mean it in a bad way." He cupped her face lightly, lowering his head to hers. His kiss was soft and warmth spread from the smooth contact of his lips on hers before he lifted his head and stared down at her. "You're not like anyone I've ever known. I like to think I can read you, but then you throw something completely unexpected at me… I just mean that I want to be around for those surprises. Can you handle that?"
His locks tickled her forehead and his nose brushed hers he was so close. It made it rather hard to think, especially with the unbuttoned v of his silk shirt in her eye-line. He really did look good in the dress-shirt, its snug-fit looking tailor-made for him. The shade of white even made him look somewhat tan, or at least healthy. She wanted to slip her hands into the opening of the shirt and slide her hands up to his warm shoulders. Hell, she wanted to rip the damn shirt off of him and have her leisurely way with him. Was that too much to ask? Didn't Cloud just ask her something? What was it? Oh, right. He wanted to be around her. Possibly forever. Could she handle that? Duh…YES, I THINK SHE CAN.
Breathless and quite wanting, she nodded. Lifting up on her toes, she pulled him back down into a heated kiss. He gripped her tight, deepening the kiss as she wrapped her arms around his neck. Sliding his hand up her back, he tilted her head to the side to kiss down her neck. She gave soft little gasps as he sucked and nibbled along her skin, pleasure dots shooting through her veins and sending heat down deep in her core.
Curling into him, she tightened her arms around his shoulders. "Cloud, I-I think we should—" She was cut off quickly as the ride halted abruptly. Lifting her head, she realized they'd returned to the start and the small gate shutting them in was opening. She lowered her arms as Cloud looked around, coming to the same realization as her.
Catching her embarrassed gaze, he spoke quietly. "You want to head back to the room?"
Biting her lip, she nodded. Cloud took her hand then and led her off the ride.
Back in their room, Yuffie was nervous and moved to the balcony. She watched the fireworks and thought of home. She realized the next time she would see such a display was at her coronation. With Cloud at her side. Cheeks heating, she started as he came up behind her, his arms around her waist pulling her back to him.
"You okay?"
She turned her head to the side and nodded. "G-great."
A pause. "What's wrong?"
She sighed and pulled away, walking around him to the cushy lounge where she sat, bent over her knees. Briefly, the words of her nanny entered her head: a lady reveals nothing. She'd found it ridiculous at the time but it did help her remember to keep her knees closed when in a skirt.
Cloud followed her to the lounge and squatted before her. His bare hand went to cup her calf and the intimate gesture caused her skin to tingle. "Yuffie?" It was hard to think with his thumb caressing her skin that way.
Shaking her head, she lifted her eyes to meet his. He looked stoic at first glance but holding his gaze, she saw there was a myriad of other emotions rocketing through him at the moment. She really hated seeing him like this as she was almost one-hundred percent sure she was cause of his turmoil.
"Cloud, I…" She bit her lip. "I want…I don't…I'm not sure…." She slumped with a groan. Looking up at him through her fringe, she gave him a dejected look. "I don't know how to do this. I'm not good with words. I would love to tell you…all the things you want to hear. But I'm scared."
Cloud nodded understandingly. "Of what?"
She shrugged and sighed, looking around as if to find the answer externally. "I don't know. I just…my parents had a really great marriage. Until she died. And then Godo was never the same." She shook her head. "I don't want to be him." She met his direct gaze then, her expression flat despite the feeling in her words. "I don't want to lose you."
Cloud's eyes widened slightly before he looked down. She noted his breathing seemed to be coming faster as his shoulders moved up and down. When he lifted his head though, he was back in control. "You are not your father. Just saying you don't want to be like him means you're different. And I'm scared too." He pursed his lips, staring unseeing at her shoulder. "I don't know for sure that things'll work out, no matter how much I want it to." His gaze flicked back to hers then. "I just know I want to try."
When she was silent, he slowly rose from his crouched position before her, pushing her legs to the side as he leaned over her. She slowly reclined back as his hands trapped her on either side. "Do you?"
"Cloud, I—"
He shook his head. "That's all I want to know. I won't press you for anything else. Not until you want to tell me." He lowered his head to her neck, his lips close to her jaw as he watched her. "Do you want to try?"
Yuffie nodded. If he wanted to put everything on the line, then she could too. She was no coward. Plus, she was pretty sure he wouldn't have kissed her if she said 'no'. As it was, she accepted his lips on hers greedily, pulling him down over her completely. Heat blossomed through her as he practically inhaled her, his hand moving to her hip and squeezing. He shifted over her, his knee separating hers and she gasped as he pressed upward. Kisses rained down her jaw and neck as she writhed under him.
Senses on fire, she threaded her fingers through his hair, tugging on it sharply. She better understood the ache between her legs now and after talking to Tifa on the phone during their trip south to Cosmo Canyon, she realized what she needed most to ease it. And lucky for her, it was pressing hard against her thigh. And she knew from previous study just how large he was. According to Tifa, that was supposed to be a good thing.
Cloud sucked hard on her neck then, soothing it with his tongue as she cried out. A wave of heat swarmed through her as she hooked her leg around his waist. He made a sound as he was pressed more firmly to her core. Shifting her leg aside, he settled between them as he continued to press hot kisses to her neck and throat.
Shaking, her hands went to his shirt. Pausing briefly he lifted up to allow her to undo the buttons before helping her remove it. As soon as his arms were free, he dove back down for her mouth. She met his mouth furiously as her hands went everywhere over his torso. She moved her hands from his tight abs and over his chest before digging her nails into his lean back, shuddering as his lips moved south and his hands tugged the top of her dress down.
His lips and tongue found her nipple and she bit her lip as she watched him tease the sensitive flesh. Her hips pressed up against his as she held back a groan, writhing beneath him. Cloud released her with a groan as he bowed his head, his hips thrusting once. She whimpered when he stopped. "Cloud, I need—"
He lifted his head and pressed up on his hands planted on either side of her head, the sudden movement caused her to cut off and simply watch breathlessly. Pressing his lips to hers, he thumbed her nipple as he ground his hips into hers. Her soft little moans turned to pants as he continued to stimulate her to mind-numbing levels. Tightening her knees around him, she slid her nails up his back. "Cloud, please…"
His hand moved down to the hem of her dress then, sliding it up her thigh to her center. With all the other stimuli, she was so close, and when his fingers touched her, she rocked into them as her world exploded. Crying out into his mouth, she saw stars.
Cloud planted kisses along her neck and jaw as she came back down, his hand moving to the front of his pants. Then the phone rang.
Cloud froze above her. She blinked and looked around before realizing they were outside and she was exposed. As she pulled her top back up, Cloud groaned as he rolled off her. Yuffie sat up, pushing her skirt back down as Cloud disappeared inside. Though she found release, she still wanted him. And she knew he hadn't finished and she couldn't imagine the agony he was in at the moment. Whomever was calling better have a damn good reason.
When Cloud came back out a moment later, he was grimacing and refused to look at her. "We, uh, have a problem."
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Cloud was not in the mood for this. The whole day had been foreplay of sorts and after the hell that was the tunnel, he had just wanted to relax with Yuffie for a day. He'd wanted the night to be special for her. For both of them. And now, thanks to some thugs out for his blood, it was ruined. And he was frustrated as hell.
Since they were heading to the prison, he and Yuffie changed back into familiar attire. The thought of them leering at her in her refinery didn't help his darkening mood, but she made no arguments about changing. He guessed even now as they strode off the elevator and into the desert area that she could sense he was on the edge as she didn't speak.
Dio's assistant let them into his office and as they entered, a trio of bound and gagged men in hoods and all black started speaking incoherently at Yuffie. She frowned at them as she narrowed her eyes.
Dio's gesture was resigned. "Ah, there you are. Well, this is them." He nodded to Yuffie. "They're intent on speaking to you, saying they're yours, so I thought I'd see what you wanted to do with them."
Yuffie quirked her brow in confusion at him before looking at the men. Dio made another gesture and his men removed the thugs' gags. They all started talking at once, causing Yuffie's face to scrunch in annoyance. Cloud saw this and pulled his sword from his back, holding it aloft.
The men quieted immediately. Yuffie glanced to the side at Cloud and saw he was ready to snap. Stepping forward, she took charge.
"What are your names?" She narrowed her eyes on the one of the ones in the middle.
He gulped before answering. "Haato, my lady. This is Nentaku, Makoto, and Jun." He nodded in turn to the other men.
Yuffie crossed her arms. "You are Saosin."
Haato shook his head. "No, my lady."
Her brow shot up. "You would lie?" She snorted. "Wow, Zurui's pickin' them dumber and dumber every day."
Haato shook his head again. "What I mean to say is we owe no allegiance to Zurui. We wish to serve you, my lady."
Yuffie frowned. "What?"
Haato glanced at his men before continuing. "We were forced into working for the Saosin by our fathers. But we are loyal to the Kisaragi line. Please, we just want to go home."
Yuffie stared at them for a long moment before shaking her head in confusion. "So let me get this straight. You were sent after him," she gestured to Cloud, "to take him out of the running, and then you get caught before you can try and now you want me to believe your get-my-ass-out-of-trouble story?"
Haato shook his head vehemently. "It's not a story, my lady. We know of your upcoming coronation and have been hoping to meet you. When they started sending men after you two, we jumped at the chance to come." His eyes turned pleading then. "Please. Master Zurui is not a kind man. Any failure is punishable by death. We can't return without promise of retribution. Onegaishimasu, I promised my wife I would come back safe."
Yuffie continued to give him a hard look, but she wasn't sure. She'd heard enough stories about the Saosin back home. The mafia-like group was just that. You did something they didn't like or disobeyed them and you were fed to the fishes. It was whether these men really wished to defect that was the problem. Looking at Cloud, she gestured for him to follow her to the corner.
"What do you think?"
Cloud frowned slightly. "It could be a trick."
"But if it's true, we send them back to their deaths."
"Then give them a task. Something to prove their loyalty."
"And if we're wrong, they stab us in the back."
"I can take care of them. And so can you, for that matter."
Yuffie's cheeks tinged slightly at his confidence in her, before she stood straight and cocked her head confidently. "Well, yeah."
His face relaxed for the first time since they were interrupted in their room. "So do it." Her answering quirk of her lips was enough to make him want to kiss her, but she turned away.
Standing at her shoulder, he kept a hand at the back of her waist as she addressed the men. "Alright, so since your boss is a piece of crap, I'm gonna need a little more than sad puppy dog eyes to convince me you guys are for real. So I'm gonna need you to head to Cosmo Canyon. I have a good friend there who will tell me if you don't turn up and don't get any cute ideas about handling him or some crap like that. Cause seriously, he could hand all of you your asses and he doesn't even have opposable thumbs."
"Now if your story's true, he can offer you protection from Zurui until I can get home and take care of him. If it's not, you better wish we don't find you. 'Cause we'll make Zurui seem like a kitten when I'm done with you." The men nodded hurriedly. Yuffie turned to Dio. "You think you can take them out to the edge of the desert for us?"
Dio nodded, looking impressed. "Of course. You sure you want to let them go?"
"They have done nothing wrong. Yet." She gave the men a severe look then. "Stupidity isn't against the law, though I'm thinking of making an amendment when I get home."
Dio laughed heartily. "You will make a fine Empress. Don't worry about these goons. We'll handle everything else."
Yuffie nodded and turned away. Cloud sheathed his sword and nodded to Dio as well. "We'll be leaving early. Thank you for the stay."
Dio shook his head. "My pleasure. Keep her close, my man. She's a helluva woman."
Cloud nodded as he turned away. "I know."
ЄөЦŕҐїŊģЭфΘμÐ
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A lone figure wandered amidst the boiling hot desert sun. It was off course
but he needed something. The only way he was going to complete the quest
is with a golden chocobo and to get that he needed the Desert Rose.
Hearing a loud roaring wail behind him, he turned his head with a smile. His
eyes glowed red.
Time to play.
ЄөЦŕҐїŊģЭфΘμÐ
::
A/N: 7,993 words. Yes, I've noticed this site likes to add hundreds of words to their count that aren't there. Lol, anyway I think I got action/adventure, a bit of mystery and romance in there. Let me know what you think;)
