Snippets of Dysfunctionalities - Distraction

By Crystal Snowflakes


It took Yuffie a moment to realize what had woken her up. Reno's short, harsh breaths punctuated the darkness next to her and it took her more time than she'd liked to admit to realize that he was curled up with his knees drawn up, his back towards her. His breathing was erratic, so erratic that Yuffie wasn't quite sure if she should reach out and shake him or not.

In the end, her patience ran out and she reached out tentatively, her fingers running through his silky strands as she tried not to surprise him. His skin was cold and clammy to the touch as she rubbed the back of his neck. "You okay?" she whispered softly.

He nodded, but made no move to pull away from her touch.

"You sure?"

"Yea," he mumbled quietly, his voice unusually vulnerable as he let out an unsteady breath.

Blinking away sleep, she gave a yawn before shuffling closer to him. Laying her head against his back, she couldn't stop the corners of her lips from lifting when she felt him relax against her. Her fingers continued to play with his soft spikes, and he let out a contented sigh in response. With her ear pressed into his back, she heard his racing, panicked heartbeat—it was slowly calming down.

"Reno—"

"Just a nightmare," he interrupted, a hint of impatience in his tone. She heard the tension in his voice; he sounded so tired and worn out that for half a heartbeat, she considered leaving him alone to agonize over his nightmares—over Sector Seven. Though he had never explicitly stated that that was what he dreamed of, the look of regret and remorse that flashed across his face whenever he caught sight of Denzel—or anything that reminded him of Sector Seven—spoke volumes.

For a fraction of a second, she could envision the flames licking up the remnants of the fallen plate, could feel the heat of the fire brushing against her bare skin, could smell the acrid smoke that swirled through the night skies. And then she blinked; the vision disappeared and she was back in his bed, in his room, in his apartment—no longer in the city that was now on its last legs.

Unlucky for him, she was the type to pry. "Wanna talk about it?"

Silence greeted her before he finally turned around and leaned heavily on his elbows as he stared at her intently. "Nah."

In all honesty, Yuffie had expected this. He was always the type to keep everything bottled up inside, almost as if he had something to hide; it didn't help that she wanted to know everything. Despite how much he talked, he was never the type to share anything about himself intentionally; there were so many skeletons in his closet that she doubted she'd be able to uncover them all.

That didn't mean she wasn't going to push and try to get him to talk. It couldn't possibly be healthy to keep everything to himself, especially since the nightmares weren't getting better even after—she had to mentally calculate how many years it had been since then—eight whole years.

Sure, she also had the same dream sometimes, but they were far and few in between.

"Still. We can talk about it, if you want," she pushed. It wasn't the first time they'd had this conversation, and she doubted it would be the last. At the carefully neutral look on his face, and it almost looked like he was on the verge of snapping at her, and she backed down with a little reluctance. "Or we can just not talk about it, I guess. I mean, sometimes we wanna talk about—."

"No talkin' sounds good, yo."

The scowl that crossed her face couldn't be stopped. "But—"

He leaned towards her then, brushing a kiss against her lips before he buried his face into the crook of her shoulder and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her close. He smelled of sweat, of smoke, and faintly of soap; it all made her heart skip just slightly. Their bodies pressed together like two halves of a whole; one side soft and silken while the other was hard and rigid, all lean muscle and sinew and scars. His heart beat hard and fast beneath her fingertips, and with closed eyes, she breathed in the scent of him as her lips curled.

His teeth sank into the soft skin where her neck and shoulder met as his hand dropped lower and lower until it reached between them, and with practiced ease, he slid his fingers under her panties. Her eyes fluttered open, and a sharp intake of breath escaped her lips when she felt his thumb stroke her. She arched her back slightly, her breath catching as she caught sight of the way he smirked smugly in response.

"You're not off the hook yet, Turkey," she huffed out, trying to keep her breathing even.

He chuckled, the sound vibrating through his chest, causing a shiver to run down her spine as her hips rocked forward. His mouth moved along the line of her throat, his tongue tracing small circles on her skin, and she couldn't help but tilt her head back to give him better access.

"Oh, I know," he murmured against her skin as he kissed the base of her jaw before trailing down to her collarbone. "The Great Ninja Yuffie would never let anyone off the hook so easily."

She tried desperately to stifle a snicker, to no avail, however, and a small smile tugged at the corner of her lips as she pulled him closer by the nape of his neck. "Damn right. Now shut up and kiss me, loser."

His eyes gleamed in amusement before he kissed her again, his mouth curling in a grin against hers. "Sure thing, Your Highness."

She bit his lip in retaliation.

Jackass.


Author's Notes: Short update this week! Still working on my one-shot that'll hopefully be done next week, and my longfic that will hopefully be done in a couple of months XD How's everyone doing? Not posting as often makes me feel a little strange, I'll admit.

Completed: August 15, 2021