A/N: Two updates in two days. If you have not read Chapter 3, please do so now.
Okay, now that that's over with, here it is, the penultimate chapter of my Reefie epic. Or story. Whatever you want to call it. I warn you, you may need tissues; I made myself cry. Thanks once again go to the fine people at the Viva La Reefie forum. Here's my challenge entry, guys! Thanks also go to my muses, as they cooperated this time.
Disclaimer: I do not own FFVII. Square Enix does.
Yuffie lay snuggled up to Reeve on the couch, a photo album open on his lap and the remains of the cheesecake on the coffee table. The photo on Reeve's desk of the two of them after their first date spurred her to want to look at more old pictures.
"Oh, look at this one!" she said. "Remember this? The copier had just exploded." The photo was of her and Reeve, both multicolored and bedraggled.
Reeve rolled his eyes. "How could I forget? I was covered in blue ink for days."
Yuffie giggled. "That was funny. I kind of liked you blue, though."
Reeve leered at his wife. "And you looked absolutely lovely that nice shade of pink, Yuffie my dear. No one could see you blush."
Yuffie smacked him, and blushed. "You, you, you pest! That was embarrassing!"
Reeve laughed and pulled her closer. "Oh, come on, Yuffie, you know you love me."
"That's beside the point, of course I love you. But I did not love you taking advantage of my pinkness!"
Reeve only laughed harder. Yuffie tried to glare at him, but only ended up laughing along with him, as she recalled that when Reeve had been blue, the cameras hadn't distinguished him from the blue-screens, and he therefore hadn't shown up on any of the video they'd had to shoot that week. That had been funny.
"Okay! Moving on!" Yuffie said, finally calming down and flipping the page.
"Ah, this one," Reeve said, his voice taking on a tone of nostalgia. It was a picture of the two of them at Tifa and Cloud's wedding. They were dancing, and Marlene had decided to take a picture of them for Yuffie's birthday. The photo had summarily been copied and resided not only in the album, but also on Yuffie's desk at the WRO.
"Oh, yeah, I love that one. Look at us! We were so oblivious to everything else in the room." Yuffie's face took on a thoughtful air. "Though, now that I think about it, that's kind of pathetic."
"It's not half as bad as Cid and Shera were at our wedding," Reeve said, turning the page himself.
"Yeah, you're right. They were totally absorbed in each other," Yuffie said, looking down at the photos on the current page. "And speaking of our wedding," she added, a goofy smile blossoming on her face as she stared at the album. Reeve's face mirrored hers as he recognized that all the photos on the page were of their wedding ceremony, and Yuffie's head dropped down on his shoulder.
--
"AAAAAAHHHHHHHH! Cait! What on the planet are you doing in here? Get out! Get out!" Yuffie shrieked at the hapless robot, holding her dress up to cover herself as the cat poked his head out of the heating vent in the floor.
Cait crawled the rest of the way out of the vent, eyes closed, and held his hands above his head. "Wait, lass, ye have to help me! Please, he's driving us all insane!"
Tifa paused with her hand on the nape of Cait's neck and looked at Yuffie, eyebrows up, silently inquiring what was to be done. Reno was barking at Cait.
Yuffie took advantage of Cait's closed eyes and dropped the dress, grabbing the robe Shera held out for her. She motioned to Elena to drop the gun she had automatically trained on Cait when she had screamed, and for Reno to be quiet.
Nodding at Tifa, Yuffie spoke to Cait. "What do you mean, I have to help you? And you can open your eyes now. What is it with you and air vents?"
Cait opened his eyes and looked at Yuffie, his expression taking on as much of a pleading cast as he could manage. "The vents are convenient. And it's ye're husband, lass. Or well, ye're husband-to-be. He's driving all of us insane!"
"You said that already, Cait," Tifa said, looking down at him, eyebrows still raised and her arms now crossed.
He turned his gaze to her and then every other female in the room as he spoke. "He's panicking! Reeve thinks that ye're going to pull out of the wedding, lass! He's paranoid and frantic and Cid says he's insecure, well, that's the edited version - " Shera groaned - "and he's driving us all crazy. Tseng had to keep Rufus from shooting him. Ye have to do something!"
Yuffie stood there, blinking at Cait, for a good thirty seconds before bursting into laughter. "This is some kind of joke, right, Cait? Reeve thinks I'm going to back out of the wedding? The wedding we've planned for months, during which I've freaked out, but he's remained completely cool? Reeve, calm, collected, totally self-confident Reeve thinks I'm going to leave him at the altar? Funny joke, Cait, but I'm not buying it. Girls?" Yuffie said, looking around at her companions for their opinions. They all shook their heads at Cait, save for Marlene, who scrunched up her face.
"What does 'leave at the altar' mean?" she asked Tifa, pulling on the skirt of the older woman's dress.
"It means that Yuffie would call off the wedding at the last minute and not marry Reeve, honey."
"Oh," Marlene's face took on an indignant cast. "Mr. Cait, Auntie Yuffie would never do that!"
The catbot sighed. "I know that lass, but Reeve doesn't. I thought you wouldn't believe me, so when Cloud and Vincent told me to go and talk to ye about this, lassie, I started to videotape him. Elena, do ye have your computer with ye?"
"Yes," Elena nodded, turning around to reach for the laptop resting on a sideboard.
"Wait wait wait," Yuffie broke in, one hand covering her face and one stretched out in Cait's general direction. "You have proof? Video proof? Sweet Leviathan, you're serious, aren't you?" she said, peeking at Cait from the spaces between her fingers.
Cait only looked at her and nodded.
Yuffie groaned. "Plug him in, Elena. What is Reeve's problem?" she asked the room at large, bending down to pick up Reno.
"Pre-wedding jitters, most likely," Shera said, sitting Yuffie down and sticking her hands in her hair, beginning to weave the strands between her fingers. Yuffie had fallen in love with a braided twist for her wedding hairstyle, and had been forced to grow her hair out a few inches for Shera to make a copy of the look.
Elena finished plugging Cait into her computer, and clicked a button to start the playback from his internal memory. With a soft whir, the video started on the screen, and all the women made sure they could see what Cait had captured.
"You'll see," he said. "Just wait." He was summarily hushed.
"Well? What are you waiting for? Go and get Yuffie!" Cloud's voice came over the audio.
"Wait a moment, laddie. I'm going to videotape some of this." That was Cait.
"Why? He's driving us nuts now! Did you miss Rufus trying to shoot him?" Cloud whispered.
"This is Reeve," Cait whispered back. "I have to have proof that he's lost it." The picture blurred for a moment, refocusing on a man pacing up and down the length of the room.
"He's right, Cloud." Vincent. "Yuffie will never believe that Reeve thinks she's not going to marry him. Now be quiet, and let him tape this."
Cait moved closer to Reeve, and what the man was muttering became clearer.
"-too old. She's young and beautiful and she wouldn't want me! I'm too old and too guilty and too obsessed and she's a princess! What do I have to offer her?"
"Reeve, wait a moment," Tseng said, stepping from behind Cait into Reeve's path and grabbing the man by the shoulders. Reeve's face was panicked. Tseng gave him a little shake. "Think about this, Reeve. This is Yuffie. She loves you. We all know that. She told you not three hours ago. She had made up her mind and she does not change her decisions easily. You know that."
"But-"
Reno cut him off. "For the love of holy, yo! You're driving us all nuts here! Yuffie loves ya and she's not going to stand you up, okay?" He shook his head, fingers twitching towards his EMR.
"But-"
"Man, Reeve, if I hear the word 'but' come out of your # mouth one more time, you don't &#& want to know what I'm gonna do to you. Think about this. If Shera, mild-mannered, sweet Shera, could marry me, then why wouldn't Yuffie marry you?" Cid asked, leaning against the wall. As Reeve contemplated that statement, Rude held out Shera's swear jar. Cid cursed again, glared at Rude, and dropped in three gil.
"B- Well, Yuffie's a princess! I used to work for Shinra!" Reeve pulled away from Tseng and started pacing again, his hands flying about in the air.
"Thank you, Reeve," Rufus' dry voice interjected.
"And I'm eighteen years older than she is!"
Cait's camera shuddered and Vincent's whisper came over the speakers. "I think that's enough, Cait. Go show this to Yuffie and tell her to come and fix this."
The camera nodded, and then cut off.
"You see?" Cait asked the women staring at the screen.
"Oh! He is so stupid!" Yuffie exclaimed, standing up suddenly, dislodging Shera's still hands from her hair. "I'm going to go give him a piece of my mind," she said, putting Reno down and picking up Cait. Elena barely had time to disconnect him before Yuffie was heading out the door.
The sight that greeted Yuffie when she forcefully opened the door to the room the men were using was much the same as the video Cait had shown her. The Turks and Rufus were leaning against the wall, with the exception of Tseng, who was trying to calm down a pacing Reeve. Cid was occupying Tseng's spot on the wall. Barret and Cloud were sitting on the couch, their heads in their hands. Vincent was pinching the bridge of his nose. And Denzel was the first to react.
"Oh, thank Holy!"
"Reeve Tuesti!" Yuffie said, marching over to her fiance and holding Cait under his nose. "Do you know what Cait Sith just showed me? He showed me you, Reeve, you being the most stupid, idiotic moron I have ever seen! What do you mean, I won't marry you?" Reeve just stared at her. Yuffie was not finished. "Does it look like I care that you worked for Shinra? I hate my father! I think that pretty much sums up your feelings towards the company? And so what if you're eighteen years older than me? Does it look like that matters to me? Or else I wouldn't be standing here, yelling your ears off, ready to go and put on a wedding dress! To marry you. Did you understand all of that?"
No one said anything. Reeve opened his mouth, and Cait took the opportunity to escape Yuffie's grasp.
"B- Well, Yuffie-" Reeve began.
Yuffie let out a scream of frustration before grabbing Reeve by the lapels of his jacket and tugging him down to her level, kissing him thoroughly. Reeve stood there in shock for a moment, before wrapping his arms around her and returning the kiss. They only broke it when Reno's catcalls, and then screams of pain, registered in their minds.
Yuffie rested her head on Reeve's chest, her breathing a little heavy. "Convinced now?"
Reeve nodded. "Thank you," he said, his arms still firmly around her.
"Yes, thank you, Yuffie!" Cloud and Rufus chorused. They immediately glanced at each other.
Reno suddenly tore through the open door and danced around Yuffie's feet, a piece of what looked to be napkin in his mouth. She disengaged herself from Reeve's arms and scooped up the little dog, crooning "Good Reno, good Reno, bringing me things," while shooting the Turk of the same name a particularly evil smirk.
"Why me, yo, why me?"
"Let's see," Yuffie said, balancing Reno on one hip and unfolding the piece of paper. "'Yuffie, since we don't hear anything any more, we're assuming you have chastised Reeve as much as you're going to and that you're done making up. Now get back here so we can finish getting you ready!' Okay, then! Gotta go! Bye, guys!" Yuffie reached up, pecked Reeve on the cheek, and ran out the door, closing it behind her to a chorus of "goodbyes" and "thank yous."
This time, it was the door to her own dressing room she slammed open. "Okay, girls, all done! He is safe and secure and will not be panicking any more! He is the Reeve we all know and love once again! What?" she said, looking warily at the four women in the room staring at her.
"That's good, Yuffie. Now, come here! We have less than an hour!" Elena said, grabbing Yuffie and shoving her in the seat she had occupied before leaving to straighten Reeve's head.
Shera immediately stuck her hands in Yuffie's hair again. Tifa applied a makeup brush to her face, and Marlene grabbed her hand and started painting her nails. Yuffie realized that if toy dolls could feel, they felt like she did at the moment. The only one not pulling and painting her was Elena, who was occupied with last minute detail checks and making sure all the stitches on Yuffie's dress were tight. Yuffie tried to roll her eyes and received a slap on the wrist from Tifa, who was trying to put on Yuffie's mascara.
Forty-five minutes later, though, it was all worth it, as Yuffie stood in front of the floor-length mirror and looked at herself. Her hair was twisted back in braids, her nails were painted a light, subtle shade of green, and she looked like she wasn't wearing any makeup at all. She turned slightly to see the back of the dress, smiling at the sight of the thin green ribbons, the same shade as her nails, cascading from her hair down the white lace of the scoop-necked, slim-fitting dress she had had made to be a fusion of both Continental and Wutaian styles. Yuffie sighed, and then giggled in pure happiness. She spun around to face her friends, tossing her arms wide.
"Guess what, guys? I'm getting married!"
Everyone laughed, and Reno started yipping, feeding off his mistress' excitement. Elena declared that she was going to cry.
A knock sounded at the door, and everyone, including Yuffie, instantly became solemn and serious.
"Well, Yuffs, this is it. Ready?" Tifa asked.
Yuffie smiled and nodded, before walking over to the door.
Cid was on the other side. "Well, well, princess. Don't you look pretty," he said, smiling at her and motioning for her to spin around. "Just like a perfect little bride. Ready to go?"
Yuffie nodded again, smiling up at Cid and taking the pilot's arm, allowing him to lead her out into the hall.
Cid led Yuffie off to the side as the women walked past to their partners. "Nervous, kiddo?"
"No," Yuffie said, her voice sounding choked up. "Oh, I promised myself I wouldn't cry. I will not cry. I cried at Tifa's wedding and I cried at Shera's, and I will not cry here."
Cid chuckled quietly. "You go on and cry if you want to, princess. I cried at my own wedding. Now Barret, he's promised he won't cry."
Yuffie gave a watery laugh and took the handkerchief Cid held out to her. "He cried at Tifa's," she said, dabbing at her eyes.
"Which is why he said he won't cry at this one. Ten gil says he does?" Cid said, smiling down at her.
Yuffie smiled back. "You're on."
"Great, princess. Now, you just turn yourself around and face that door. It's our turn now."
Cid gently angled her towards the entrance to the main hall. Yuffie squared her shoulders and held her head high, concentrating on putting one foot in front of the other and keeping hold of her bouquet. As Cid led her down the aisle, all she could see was Reeve.
When they reached the altar, Cid relinquished her to Reeve, she gave her bouquet to Tifa, and the justice began to speak.
"We have gathered here on this fine afternoon to witness the marriage of Reeve Tuesti and Yuffie Kisaragi. These two fine people have chosen to be wed in the sight of the planet, their families, and their friends. In lieu of a traditional ceremony, the bride and groom have written their own vows. Reeve, would you begin?"
Reeve took Yuffie's hands in his and stared down at her, smiling all the while. "Yuffie, my dear, I love you with all of my heart, and I am both thankful and honored that you would choose me to be your mate for all of eternity. You have given me another purpose in life and kindled my love of life and the planet to even higher levels. I love you with my life and I will give anything to see you remain happy and safe. It is my privilege to become your husband."
Yuffie smiled up at Reeve, blinking back tears, even though she had promised herself that she wouldn't cry. "Reeve, I love you to pieces, and you know it, too. I will remind you again and again if I have to." She raised their clasped hands, kissing them and holding them a few inches from her lips. "I will never leave you or stop loving you, and I will always be there for you in every way possible. You have also given me purpose, and you have given me a new determination. I am blessed to have you by my side, and I thank Leviathan every day for the chance of our lives converging. It is my privilege, honor, and joy to become your wife."
As Cait held up the pillow with the rings, Elena burst out crying, and Barret surreptitiously wiped his eyes. Reeve and Yuffie simultaneously slipped the rings on each others' fingers, and as the justice pronounced them husband and wife, their lips met in their first kiss as a married couple.
--
Yuffie shook herself and pulled away from Reeve's side, smiling up at him through a thin mist of unshed tears. Reeve reached one hand up to rest on her cheek, drawing her close and leaning his forehead to hers.
"I love you, Yuffie Tuesti," was the last thing said before she kissed him, and there were no more words that needed to be said.
END