Snippets of Dysfunctionalities - Anniversary

By Crystal Snowflakes


Yuffie let out a weary sigh as hot water streamed down her sides before pooling under her feet. It felt like ages since she'd had a warm shower, and she didn't feel bad at all indulging in the luxury as she rubbed at the dirt and gunk and felt the tension in her neck and shoulders drain away. Closing her eyes, she scrubbed her hair, her fingers sliding through her scalp as she worked the suds to every last strand. The last time she had actually washed herself had been a week ago; her hair was grimy, her face filthy with dust and sweat, and her skin itched.

A quiet buzz—it was her phone vibrating on the bathroom counter—brought her out of her thoughts briefly. Her gaze flickered over to her phone quickly, and then realizing it wasn't a phone call, she gave a shrug before rinsing off the soap. If anyone absolutely needed her at that exact moment, well, too bad.

Because Princess Kisaragi was taking a much-needed shower. And then she was going to head down to the canteen and eat to her heart's content because field rations absolutely sucked, and it might as well have been hay with how dry, chewy and tasteless it was. The thought of taking another bite of whatever it was that they fed field operators made her grimace.

It was an absolute thrill to go on exciting adventures and get paid for it, and she didn't even mind the shitty sleeping bag or the lack of lodging, but a nice shower and a hot meal would be nice. Really.

Another buzz interrupted whatever that was on her mind, and she let out a frustrated huff. And then another buzz sounded.

"Gawd. Who's the impatient asshole?" she muttered to herself as she scrubbed down her skin until she felt clean. Before she could even dry herself fully with her towel, her stomach made a loud rumbling sound. With a small laugh, she hung the large damp towel up haphazardly as she finally allowed herself to think about all the food she had missed in the last week. And while she would have killed for actual food from a restaurant, the cafeteria was as good as she was going to get tonight. Tomorrow, after a good night's rest, she would brave the city and stuff herself with everything Edge had to offer. And then in the evening, she'd go to Tifa's and get a drink of her favourite cocktail.

Snatching her cell phone off the counter, she somehow managed to slip on her clothes as she checked her phone with one hand, swiping on the screen. When she saw who exactly it was who had been sending her messages, she almost dropped the phone with a yelp.

"Reno?" she whispered with slight disbelief as she clicked on the notifications, and the multitude of text messages that popped up on her screen made her blink slightly.


-Turkey-

Yo. [8:01 p.m.]
You back yet? [8:09 p.m.]
Roof. 5 mins. [8:09 p.m.]


Checking the time and noticing that she was going to be late because 'in five minutes' was two minutes ago, she scowled and rubbed her hair vigorously with her towel to get whatever moisture she could out. It wasn't her fault; he had barely given her any time to get ready. Blowing her breath upward to puff her bangs out of her eyes, she checked the mirror one last time to make sure she was somewhat presentable before slipping her phone in her shorts and bouncing out the door.

The walk took less than three minutes, but by the time she reached the top of the stairs, her legs felt heavy, her hands were shaking, and she was fricken famished.

"Heya, Turkey!" she called out, her voice echoing in the stillness of the evening hour as she pushed the rooftop door open with a bang. "Whaddya want? I'm hungry and I wanna grab some grub!"

It took her a moment to notice that he was sitting on the ledge in the farthest corner with his back turned against her, but he was studying her over his shoulder with a small familiar smirk on his face. The next second, her eyes flickered past him to the box of fried chicken and the six-pack of beer that were sitting on the ledge next to him. Letting out a whoop, she shot through the rooftop and settled herself down on the other side of the box of chicken.

Without waiting, she grabbed a piece for herself and took a few bites, glancing over at Reno who was cracking open a beer.

"No thank you, no nothin', dipshit?"

"Phanks!" she garbled, wiping the oil off the corner of her mouth with the back of her hand as she continued to chew before taking another giant bite.

Reno snickered and took a gulp of the beer before grabbing his own chicken drumstick.

The next few minutes passed in relative peace as Yuffie finished three piece of fried chicken on her own before she let out a loud burp. Taking another long, appreciative look at the setting sun in front of them, she took a sip of her beer before shooting him a bright grin. And then she allowed herself to stare at the way the glow of the sunset lit up his features, especially with the way his hair was set aglow. Her fingers itched to run through his rattail hanging over his shoulder, but it was a good thing she had a beer can in her hands instead. She could just imagine the shit he'd give her for even considering touching his hair with her greasy hands—though pissing him off for fun might be worth the yelling she'd have to endure…

"So what's the occasion?" she asked as she leaned forward and propped her chin on her fists, her legs kicking against the side of the building.

"No reason." His hand reached inside his jacket pocket—as if about to pull out his box of cigarettes—before he took one look at the impish expression on her face and thought better of it.

If anything, her grin widened. "Aww. Are you scared I'm gonna toss your lighter out again?"

Reno scoffed. "Nah."

Just as she was about to bug him about the occasion again, because Reno never showed up with food for no reason, he pulled a white box out of the paper bag that had been sitting on the other side of him. She peered eagerly at it, hoping for some answers, but was utterly baffled to see half a dozen cupcakes in the box. And these weren't just regular cupcakes, no. These were the super fancy ones that Yuffie had only seen in window displays because she was totally not paying an arm and a leg for a cupcake. She'd rather steal them instead.

"Are you dying?" she blurted out, her eyes darted to his face before going back to the cupcakes, gazing hungrily at the colourful swirls of icing.

"Shadup," he muttered under his breath as he straightened in his seat, almost seemingly embarrassed, before passing the box to her. "Laney says they're good."

"Laney says they're good," she echoed, her fingers nabbing a cupcake with pink swirls and sprinkles. "When do you ever listen to what Blondie says?" Before he could respond, she took a bite, getting mostly buttercream, but it wasn't too sweet and... "Holy shit. She is right. This is fricken amazing."

"Yeah?" He reached over, his thumb grazing the tip of her nose, and she made a funny face. And then he brought his thumb back to his mouth and licked the icing off. "Aren't you a princess or somethin'? Your manners are shit."

"Whatevs," she said, waving him off, before taking another bite and trying to think about why today.

Chicken, beer and cupcakes? It wasn't her birthday, that she was sure of. What was happening in June? Her life was pretty routine—missions, visits back home, hangouts at bar—and nothing had changed much in the last few years except…

Her mind came to a screeching halt as she realized why today, and her gaze flew up to meet his—she hadn't even remembered. Her cheeks warmed, and her stomach fluttered at the look on his face.

"Who woulda thought, huh?" she asked, and she couldn't stop the corners of her lips lifting up in a genuine smile. "One year. And apparently you can be romantic!"

"Don't expect this again."

"Oh come onnnnnnnn…! I like Romantic Reno."

"Happy anniversary, brat." His gaze softened, just the tiniest bit, and it was all the encouragement she needed to lean over. "I ain't kissin' you till you wipe that grease off your grubby little face."

"Renooooooooooooooooooooo!"


Author's Notes: First of all, I wrote this yesterday (and today), so I apologize for the very unrefined writing. BUT I recently realized that it has been a year since I started posting Reffie fics again! In the last year, I've managed to post 250k words (210k words of Reffie!), which completely baffles me because I don't recall writing that much (and this is not even counting the thousands of words I have sitting around and not posted yet!). I can't believe I posted something Reffie for 52 weeks in a row (biweekly now)...Ahhh!

Anyway, I'll be at it for a while longer until I run out of fuel. I'll be honest, it's been a little lonely, so I hope some of you join me to flood the tags soon :) I'm also hopeful that the Yuffie DLC tomorrow will make me want to write more (Reno better have a cameo!).

Thank you so much for everyone who has been so supportive by leaving kudos, dropping comments, and/or bookmarking. It means a lot to me.

And special thanks to TaurusDragon and talyag who have been with me from the very beginning! :D

Completed: June 9, 2021