Gloomy Days to Lightsome Frays
- A Hell of a Time Hungover -
Yuffie had been enjoying the best rest she'd had in months. She dreamt of wrapping her small hands around a certain redhaired, blue-suited man's neck, bringing him close, and... strangling the life out of him. But she was, quite possibly, the unluckiest ninja in existence.
At the sound of a bloodcurdling scream, she was rudely awakened. At this shock, she, too, began shrieking her head off just for the sake of shrieking; this only frightened her roommate into raising his volume.
Yuffie scurried, still screaming, to the edge of the bed when she felt it jolt, only to find a distraught Reno. He was curled into the fetal position, leaning against her bedside and shuddering. Frightened out of his wits, he had scuttled backwards, and, in his haste, bumped into her futon.
At the realization of who the yelling maniac was, the girl immediately cut off her cry and tapped Reno's shoulder. He looked up at her, also ceasing his shouting, and pointed to something across the room. Yuffie raised a brow at him suspiciously, then took a look.
Within the confines of a small aquarium, there floated a shimmering goldfish, staring right back at her. Bobbing up and down slightly, large eyes focused on the two humans across the room, it slowly opened and closed its mouth as if to ask, "What's his problem?"
Yuffie lowered her eyelids and sat in silence for an entire minute, though she could feel her bed shaking slightly, as Reno was still leaning against it while trembling in fear. She wasn't sure whether to laugh or kill him for his stupidity.
She soon chose the latter.
Grabbing a pillow in the process, Yuffie reached over the side of the bed and began to fiercely beat Reno's head with it. "I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU WOKE ME UP FOR THAT," she screeched, all while pummeling his head in spite of his protests; she even managed to penetrate his defenses, as he'd raised his arms to cover his aching head.
"But it was...!"
"'But it was' WHAT, JACKASS!? IT WAS A GODDAMN FISH!" Angrily, she continued to batter him with her pillow until he swatted back in retaliation. Once Yuffie halted her assault, Reno finally had time to examine the so-called 'monster'.
Gingerly, he crawled over to the fish tank for a closer inspection. Nope, the little bugger still had four eyes-- but at least it wasn't nearly as intimidating as it had been minutes before. He blinked, and his vision was almost immediately cleared. He stared at the creature, watching its unnatural eye count merge to just two. As no surprise, it gazed right back as though trying to win a staring contest.
Reno turned around to look back at Yuffie, and could see that she was undoubtedly irritated. Sheepishly, he scratched the back of his head and grinned. "Heh, heh... Guess it really was a fish, huh?"
"Duh!" The girl hurled her pillow at his head, off of which it bounced. "It's my pal Kana, and I think she deserves a little more respect than that!"
Reno glanced back at the goggle-eyed critter, and chuckled nervously, lowering his gaze to the floor.
It was then that he realized something was out of place.
Reno's head jerked upwards and he pointed directly at Yuffie. "Wh-... what the hell are you doin' here!?" From her perch on her bed, she rolled her eyes at him and sighed in exasperation.
"Reno, I live here."
"O-... Oh... Well, then, what the hell am I doing here?!" Lowering his hand, he turned his head curiously to observe his surroundings.
Yuffie glowered down at him for a while before finally telling him of the previous night's occurrences. "... So, I ended up having to drag your sorry ass to my house," she finished in a bitter tone.
He'd been nice and quiet throughout the length of her explanation, and continued to be just that when she'd already ceased to speak as he lightly tapped a forefinger against his forehead in thought. Finally, he spoke, lips curved into a wry grin as he gazed up at her with innocent eyes. "... But, if we were in the same room all night, why aren't you down here with me, naked...?"
"Reno, you ratbastard....." Yuffie snarled, rising from her bed with eyes shimmering murderously.
"Kidding, kidding!" He ducked his head for cover, arms sheltering him from whatever blows were to come. But, surprisingly enough, there was no attack. He peeked up from his defensive stance to see Yuffie still sitting on her bed with arms crossed, looking angry. He lowered his arms and exhaled a sigh of relief, then pushed himself off the ground with his hands. He stood, not noticing the mischievous blanket that had entwined itself around his legs during his fitful antics.
"Look, thanks for everything and all, but I'll be-- OOF!" All he did was take one step-- or try to, at least-- and he keeled over and onto his rear. "OW! Damn, that hurt..." He attempted to appease the pain the same way he had the night before, but as soon as his hand came in contact, he immediately jerked it away. "... What the hell!?"
Across the room, Yuffie was snickering loudly. "... Oh, and I forgot to tell you that you took a bitch of a fall while you were plastered. Probably got a pretty bad bruise!"
Reno scowled at her, and harshly tore the blanket from his feet. He sneered at the little chocobos that appeared to dance around on it. So fucking childish... Again, he stood and successfully strode out of Yuffie's bedroom. Walking down the hallway, he could hear her whiny voice making a fuss from within. Soon enough, the padding of feet could be heard, growing louder and louder.
"Hey! Reno! Wait--!" She grabbed a hold of his rumpled coat, refusing to release. "You are not gonna leave just like that, not after I made the effort to save your ass!" Angrily, he turned to face her.
"Look, kid, just 'cause you dragged my pathetic self outta a bar and threw me onto the floor for the night, don't be expectin' some sort of parade. You did it all on your own-- I sure as hell didn't ask for your help!" He glared at her, eyes shining with a hint of anger. Expecting Yuffie to be returning his stare with a defiant gaze and immature words, he was alarmed at the fact that instead, her head was drooping and her face was invisible to him under her curtain of hair. Is she gonna cry? Oh, shit, she's gonna cry...
The female ninja's shoulders began to rise and fall, and she emitted small noises. Reno interpreted them as whimpers. "Uh... Hey, Yuffie, I--"
Suddenly, in one quick movement, she was looking up at him; however, his eyes did not meet with the tearstained countenance he'd expected. Instead, she was grinning broadly, and that grin soon became a fit of hysterical giggling.
"HAH! Reno, you.. you... You look like HELL!" She covered her mouth with one hand, trying to suppress her tittering, and wiped away the tears of laughter that brimmed at the corners of her eyes with the other. Uncovering her mouth, she pointed at his hair, which was surprisingly much more disheveled than usual; bloodshot, baggy eyes; and his dirty, crumpled suit.
The Turk, being laughed at in such a manner, could do nothing but stand and stare in shock. He blinked multiple times, and finally noting Yuffie's moogle-spotted pajamas, her short hair protruding every which way, and just the way she laughed so childishly at him, he, too, began to chuckle.
"Well.... Can't say you look much better, kid," he retorted, self consciously attempting to smooth his hair down in vain. His lips curled into a sneer and he gestured to her clothes. ".. What are you, some kind of walking advertisement for the Gold Saucer?"
Flushing pink, Yuffie's laughter died down to a nervous chuckling as she looked down to take note of her attire. After thinking up a highly intelligent response, she spoke. "Um... It's, uh... It's cute! Yeah!"
"... Cute like my a-"
"But, grossness! You're one to talk, with your greasy hair an' torn up jacket... You look like the average Midgar bum-- .. Or worse, even!" She groaned and stuck her tongue out in a show of disgust.
Pursing his lips slightly, Reno narrowed his eyes at his instigator for a short while. After growing irked in the silence, he spoke. "Well... Since you find me so revolting," he retorted, heading to the house's exit, "... I guess I'll be taking my leave and gettin' outta your hair!" He was reaching for the doorknob when his arm was abruptly jerked back.
"Nuh-uh, Turk, don't you dare try to leave this house-- not till you've given a proper thanks!" Reno rolled his eyes and soundlessly mouthed the girl's high-pitched complaints in raillery. He looked behind to see Yuffie gripping onto him yet again.
"Well, then, kid, thanks for your excessive hospitality--"
"That's not what I meant!" Severely agitated, Yuffie stomped her foot as if to strengthen her point. She thrust her free hand out to point to the floor. "See that!? That's all your fault, you stubborn jackass!"
Rolling his eyes yet again in annoyance, he lowered his gaze to behold disgusting masses of mud splattered around the floor, horribly contrasting with the powdery blue carpeting. Raising a brow apathetically, he looked back up at Yuffie. "And just how the hell is that my fault? It looks like shit hit the fan, and I was most definitely not throwing shit around in my little coma."
Yuffie stared back at him, mouth agape and incredulous from his stupidity. Releasing his arm, she then buried her face in her hands, feeling as though she was going to cry at any moment from this man's asinine wit. "Reno," she groaned, voice muffled. "I dragged you here in the rain, you retard..." She pulled her hands away from her face, and enormous bags of weariness had developed beneath her eyes. "... I don't know why the hell I did it, but I did."
"... Oh." He reached behind the back of his head to scratch his neck. "Heh, heh... Must've had a hell of a time..."
"Thank you for your input, Mr. Obvious," she snapped. "But, don't move a muscle." She hustled off to another room as Reno stood in confused wonder. All he could hear was the running of water and slamming of cabinets.
He didn't have much time to wonder, though, as Yuffie soon returned with a bucket of water in one hand, and a pile of rags in the other.
"What's all that for?" Reno inquired, peeking into the cylindric container.
Instead of replying, Yuffie set the bucket down and absently rubbed sore knuckles, as if to ward off a cramp. "Hold out your hands," she ordered. Unaware of what was to come, he did as told. The ninja then dropped the rags into his arms.
Taking one glance at the torn pile he held, Reno blinked and questioned, "... And just what are you trying to tell me here?"
Yuffie spun to head in the direction of her bedroom, but turned her head back to her befuddled guest and flashed a sweet smile. Still grinning, she replied. "I'm trying to tell you, Reno, that if you don't get your butt in gear and start scrubbin' those stains out, you're gonna get your ass kicked twice over. And, as a bonus, my old man'll make sure you never, ever come back to Wutai!" With a final, cheerful wave, she strode back into her room to catch up on lost hours of sleep.
Reno stood still for a moment, glowering at Yuffie's retreating form. Finally, in defeat, he lowered himself to his knees, dipped a rag into the bucket, and half-heartedly began to scrub at the filthy ground. Teeth gritted, he heatedly thought to himself while slumped over the multiple stains that wracked the floor. I swear, I'll turn that brat-of-a-ninja's life into a living hell...
Author's Note: ... Yay. Well, hopefully, this wasn't as boring as the first two chapters. I tried to keep Reno and Yuffie in character... Not sure if I succeeded, though. o.O; Review, please, and inform me of your thoughts on this fic!