Snippets of Dysfunctionalities - Nighttide

By Crystal Snowflakes


A large blanket covered the entire world in white and despite the late hours of the night, the skies were bright from the flurries of snow. The window was cold to the touch and instead of snuggling up into the warmth of her blanket, Yuffie sat on the windowsill, her body pressed against the glass pane as she hugged her knees to her chest, staring into the ivory abyss.

She knew she should be asleep, and it wasn't like she hadn't tried, but her mind was buzzing and her body was wide awake. Deep down, she suspected that the excitement from her mission earlier in the day was keeping her up because the idea that she would be able to leave this frozen hellhole in mere days was exhilarating. That, or maybe it was the lack of snoring in the air, or the lack of warmth in the blankets, or the lack of someone's presence in the room. She let out a huff of irritation as one of her hands played with the hem of her—Reno's, actually—oversized shirt. Her fingertips pulled at the loose thread absentmindedly, twirling it between her fingers until it cut off circulation at the tips, and she released the thread before starting all over again. Her other hand tapped on her phone screen every once in a while to check the time.

The chill from the outside continued to seep into her bones, and she shivered involuntarily, and still, she found herself unwilling to move. By the time three o'clock finally rolled around, she unlocked the phone—whatever patience she had earlier was completely drained. Plus, she was pretty sure it was an early work day for him. Resting her chin on her knees, she scrolled through her contact, pausing briefly before biting the bullet and dialing his number.

It didn't take long for him to pick up; he was probably out on the balcony for his first smoke of the day.

"Yo," Reno rasped out, his voice groggy and hoarse.

It took her a moment to realize that he was still sleeping. Surprised, she fumbled her words, unable to to get them out intelligibly. "Err...ah—"

The rustling of the blankets could be heard over the speakers, and she imagined him rolling over in that massive king-sized bed of his before sitting up with his back against the headboard. "Whaddya want, brat?"

Despite his seeming nonchalant attitude, there was the merest tinge of concern in his tone. Not for the first time, she wondered how he always managed to make her chest flutter even when he called her 'brat'. And while it bothered her at first, it was almost like a term of endearment at this point. "Nevermind," she mumbled into the phone. "Go back to sleep."

"You're the one who called me at the ass crack of dawn," he muttered, but there was no bite in his words.

She tried to imagine what he looked like at that moment with the light of the morning sun sifting through the curtains, setting his hair aglow. The damn man was always so good-looking even with his mussed up hair first thing in the morning. Her breath caught her throat when she realized just how much she had missed him, not that she would ever admit it. The asshole had a big enough ego already.

"Just thought you'd be up already," she responded after a few moments, her imagination having taken over her concentration.

"Stayed till late last night," he explained as a small yawn escaped. "So? Why'd you call?"

It took her a while to debate internally on whether she would say what was on her mind, but in the end, logic won out. It was one thing to call and want to talk, it was a whole other thing to admit that she missed him—she didn't even like admitting that fact to herself. "Couldn't sleep," she blurted out. "And it's just boring here, ya know? The only place to drink here is a bar that smells like stale beer and vomit and you'd think they would have better nightlife entertainment for being a tourist town." Her nose wrinkled at the thought.

A throaty chuckle came through the phone. "Ya miss me?"

She spluttered instantaneously, immediately regretting the phone call. "W-what?!" she practically screeched, voice cracking, and it was hard keeping the embarrassment out of her tone. "I do not miss you, you ass!"

If anything, his snickers grew louder. "Sure, dipshit. That's why you chose to call me, of all people."

She huffed indignantly, her cheeks puffing out. "Forget I called then. Bye, jerk!" Just as she was about to hang up—

"Hey, wait." His voice cut through the silence of the night and her thumb paused above the end call button.

"What?" she snapped back, annoyed at him for calling her out, but equally just as irritated at herself for actually missing him and not being able to keep it to herself. There was a long pause on the other end of the line, and Yuffie wondered for a moment if they had somehow disconnected. Frowning, she looked at her phone, and her eyebrows furrowed in confusion when she noticed that there was no issue with the reception. Maybe he had fallen asleep? "Reno?" she asked, her tone unsure. "You still there?"

She heard him take a deep breath. "If you want, I can take a coupla days and fly up north, yo."

Her fingers tightened around her PHS so much they started to hurt, and she was so surprised that it felt like the breath had been knocked from her lungs; she could barely breathe. Did that mean he missed her as much as she had missed him? She forced herself not to smile, though she couldn't stop the corners of her lips from lifting slightly, nor could she stop her cheeks from feeling warm. "Nah," she responded instead as she attempted to keep her own voice casual. "S'okay. I'm supposed to be back in a few days anyway."

"Sure?" When she hummed in response, he let out a small, almost relieved chuckle. "Didya wanna stay and chat then? I ain't gotta get up for…" he trailed off a bit, almost as if pulling his face from the phone to check the time. "I've got another hour or so."

This time, she couldn't stop her grin from spreading across her face. "Yeap," she said, popping the 'p'. "If you don't plan on going back to sleep."

"Admit it, dipshit. You miss me."

"The sound of your raspy old man voice just makes me miss you so much," she retorted dryly.

His bark of laughter resonated from deep within his chest before he stopped, and she could imagine the amused smirk on his face. "It's been quiet without you 'round, brat."

Her joyful chortle broke through the stillness of the room. "Does that mean you miss me too, old man?"

"Maybe."

His lack of denial did the strangest thing to the pit of her stomach and with a blush, she sat up a little straighter before waving her hand in the air even though she knew he couldn't see it. "So I ran into this ice dragon in the caves today and I totally kicked its ass…"


Author's Notes: Self-indulgent fluff because I can XD

Completed: May 25, 2021