Vignettes IV
When he returned to Yuffie's apartment the next day, he hardly recognized the place. It looked less like a living space and more like a personal gym, with all the remaining boxes gone, replaced by exercise mats and equipment. He spotted Yuffie in the corner of the room, whipping around a punching bag, which she was giving a sound thrashing with a flurry of punches and kicks. She had switched back to her usual outfit consisting of a tank top and shorts, with her collection of dresses nowhere to be seen.
"Hey," she greeted him as he entered the room.
"Hey," Cloud replied, looking around, impressed with how quickly she had finished setting the place up.
"Just wrapping up my workout," Yuffie said, still circling the punching bag, throwing jabs as she did. "Wanna join me?"
"Sure," Cloud replied.
He set his backpack down and took up a position next to her on one of the weight training benches she had set up. They exercised next to one another in relative quiet, changing positions and equipment every now and then. Neither of them mentioned his abrupt disappearance the night before, or anything else that had occured up until this point, almost like it didn't happen.
It was more like old times, he thought. He could tell that Yuffie was pushing herself even harder than usual, and did his best not to sneak too many surreptitious looks at her while she circled her target with surprising agility and grace.
Finally, she invited him to spar with her. Cloud agreed, and they both moved over to the wide mat in the center of the room. It was clear from the beginning that their fighting styles were completely different.
He preferred to plant his feet and reflect his enemies' blows before counterattacking, focusing on controlling the center of the battlefield, whereas Yuffie would zip around the room, shifting her position so quickly that there was little chance that anyone could land an attack on her. She was the unstoppable force to his immovable object.
As their sparring session was winding down, Yuffie twisted her ankle while pivoting in order to throw a punch, causing her to overextend her attack. Cloud moved to parry the blow, but her awkward stance and forward momentum caused her to bowl him over and send them both crashing to the mat. The two of them lay there in a heap for a long moment, with Yuffie laying on top of Cloud, her body pressed against his. Cloud froze up, feeling every curve of her body as she shifted her weight ever so slightly. Yuffie, likewise, was left in a daze as she caught her breath, cheeks flush as her eyes met his, dark amber gazing into an infinity of blue.
Realizing that she was staring, Yuffie broke away, clearing her throat. She pushed herself into a sitting position, still straddling Cloud's abdomen. "Looks like this round goes to me," she declared proudly, grinning and crossing her arms.
"Guess so," Cloud said, smiling up at her.
She got up and extended a hand to help her sparring partner back to his feet. "Hey, how about some chow?" she said. "I'm starving."
"Yeah... me too," Cloud replied. He glanced over at her apartment's kitchen nook, which was sparsely stocked. "You know how to cook?" he asked.
Yuffie shook her head. "You're kidding, right? I wouldn't know where to start. You?"
Cloud shrugged. "Last time I tried, people thought I was trying to poison them."
"So... take-out?" Yuffie suggested.
"Sure, sounds good."
"Cool. Go ahead and order up," Yuffie said. "I'm just gonna hit the shower, okay? I'm good with anything except chow mein."
Cloud watched as she left, then reached for his phone, before deciding to take a walk instead. He knew a good place that wasn't too far. Besides, despite how casual his relationship with Yuffie was getting, he still thought he should afford her a little privacy. With that in mind, he exited the apartment and took to the streets of Edge.
