Strife and Lockhart- enemies or lovers?
Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy 7; it belongs to Squaresoft, Sony and other associated groups, don't sue, and even if you did, you wouldn't get anything, I'm a flat broke student, suing me would make no sense at all. I may not own Cloud and Tifa, Yuffie and Vincent, but all original ideas and characters are mine to claim. Any brand names, places, or any other similar entities do not belong to me; I use them for the sole purpose of writing this fanfic and I make no profit from them (I make my disclaimer notes so long just to prove it, I DO NOT OWN IT)
A/N: I honestly believe that y'all are wondering if I'm dead or something, if I were you guys I would think the same too, providing the fact that I haven't updated since last year ^^'Thank you to all my reviewers, you mean so much to me ^^ I love you all for reading my story and supporting me. No more waiting, here it is:
WARNING: YUFFENTINE FLUFF ALERT!
Enjoy~
Waking up to a normal day, Tifa got ready for school.
It was the same as the other days. Only that today, Kathleen was being a biotch about what happened yesterday. Tifa really didn't care.
Classes were cut short as they teachers had a staff meeting, so the students . . . basically ran the school now. The chatter was endless, deafening shrieks of laughter, gossip and the like. Prefects were having a very hard time controlling the students; especially the popular people . . .
~*~*~*~*~
"What do you mean I can't be using my cell phone? It is like mine, I am not going to listen to you "Miss Perfect Prefect." What is it with you prefects? You know, I don't really like your attitude; you're like what? Like a year ahead of me. What is so special and important about you?" Kathleen argued with Tanya, who was threatening her with demerits and detentions.
"Look, Kaitlin; Katherine – whatever your name is, I am not in the mood to be skylarking with you about this dumb Motorola; you can use it after school. I'm sure that you are quite aware of the rules, repeating eleventh grade twice should get it through that thick skull of yours" Tanya replied, it was obvious that she was aching to slap the bimbo across her face.
"What-ever," Kathleen retorted, flipping her hair (extensions) over her shoulder, as a sign of some serious attitude problems.
Tanya grit her teeth. This prissy little 'Miss Popular' was getting on her nerves. It was all she could do not to slap the makeup off her face.
She swiftly snatched the small blue demerit card that lay, seemingly abandoned, from the desk. She whipped out a pen and scribbled two conduct marks and a detention on the card. With a sarcastic smirk, Tanya handed her back the card, with cheekiness so great, Kathleen wanted to snap back at her. However, the ditzy bimbo knew a little better than to mess around an authoritarian person such as Tanya.
What Tanya said was right; two extra years in eleventh grade had certainly taught her that. Yet, Kathleen Johnson had the idiocy to complain about the two conduct marks.
"What did I do to get two conducts? I swear to God, you prefects are so . . . so, I don't even know the word to describe you," the doltish girl protested after glancing at the card.
"That's very nice Johnson. Keep up with that attitude and you get a few more. I should think that you have figured it out that I don't exactly like you; is that not so?" Tanya said icily.
Kathleen kept her mouth shut after that one.
Tanya could have laughed . . .
~*~*Friday Afternoon*~*~
"Cloud, you get anywhere with the Lockhart girl? I gotta hand it to you, she's one hot chick," a medium height Latin-American boy who went by the name of Andre asked.
"Nah, I don't understand it. I want her so bad – but anytime I see her, it's like I hate her. I just don't get it," Cloud said, running slender fingers through his spiky hair.
Andre laughed, "It was just like that with Mel . . . I used to want to rip out her guts anytime I saw her; but then we just decided we were sick of hating each other for no reason"
"So what did you do? How'd you get her to be so head-over-heels in love with you like she is now?" Cloud asked, raising one perfect blond eyebrow at him.
"It happened so fast, God – I don't even know how it happened. Yo man, I gotta run. Mel's gonna kill me if I don't meet up with her in like about let's say two minutes. Cloud, just be patient – Tifa's gonna come crawling to you soon. She likes you too, I mean, if she didn't, she wouldn't hate you so much right now. The female species of our already strange kind are actually very weird – weird in a way that drives us crazy. Yo later man, I'll see you some other time," Andre said while beginning to walk backwards.
"Yeah, later man," said Cloud, walking off as well.
Cloud nearly crashed into Vincent as he rounded the corner to the staircase.
"Yo Vince, watch where you're going man" Cloud said, almost falling down the stairs.
"Sorry man, I'm in a rush. I got a date with Yuffie tonight. See you tomorrow at cadet," Vincent said, breathing as if he had been running very fast for very long.
"Yeah, later," Cloud said, turning to leave as well.
"Sound depressed man, talk to you later. Cheer up," Vincent said; slinging his bag over his right shoulder, making a sharp left turn down the tenth grade block.
Cloud sighed.
All his friends had girlfriends now, or at least, they were dating. Well, he could too but there was a slight problem, he wanted Tifa and Tifa alone. Even though all of the girls in the school who were single wanted to go out with him – heck, even girls who were taken, still wanted to go out with him, he still wanted her and her alone.
He walked home thinking hard about Tifa. What else could he do other that think?
~*~*At Ana's House*~*~
Yuffie emerged from Ana's bathroom, clean and hair dripping wet. She carefully sat down on the salon chair in Ana's room – as though she were scared of getting some girly disease.
"Okay, Yuffie we gotta fix up your hair" Ana said, while rubbing her palms together. She was the only girly girl among the four and loved doing makeovers and the like.
"Okay, do whatever you have to do to make me look good for Vincent," Yuffie said, after taking a deep breath and squeezed her eyes shut.
~*~*four and a half hours later*~*~
Chris knocked on the front door and Serena scurried to open the door for him. He went up to Ana's room after being told that her parents weren't home. When he opened the door, all he could do was stare.
"Who's that?" Chris asked, staring at the very unfamiliar girl before him.
"Who do you think?" Yuffie said, scrunching up her face.
"YUFFIE?!" the astonished boy screeched
"No duh," she replied, rolling her brown eyes.
"Damn, y-you look great" Chris said, eyeing the brown-haired girl.
She wore an elegant green chongsam*, which was piped with gold. Three-inch heeled, green glass slippers adorned her feet. A lock of wavy chocolate hair hung seductively over her left eye. She had borrowed some of Joanne's jewelry: a delicate pair of Chinese gold earrings, which were studded with jade stones, a matching necklace with similar traits and a gold charm bracelet with jade accents. Her makeup was done lightly – her lips shimmered, her cheeks were highlighted making an almost golden appearance. Her eyes were done with Tifa's expertise precision, black mascara enhanced her eyelashes; her eyelids were dusted with the right amount of golden powder.
*chongsam – traditional Chinese dress with high collar. It is usually made of silk and very long, usually to the ankles. Often, it has florally embroidered patterns on it. It is usually worn on special occasions and certain colors signify special meaning, e.g. red and gold signify marriage; full white with no decoration and a white headband signify mourning etc.
"I take it that I actually look like a girl. That's good . . . or well, at least I think that's good," Yuffie said, glancing towards the floor.
Tifa, Joanne, Ana and Serena nodded to each other. They did a fine job of making Yuffie look exceptionally splendid for her night with Vincent. Sure, she was a tomboy and sure, she didn't do all the girly things; but she had liked Vincent ever since she was little, Now that she was going to be going on a date with him, something she had waited her entire life for.
"Okay, let's go Yuff. I guarantee – you're gonna make Vincent go wild. Who knew you could actually look like a girl? A hot one at that" Chris said, cautiously hiding behind Ana.
Yuffie often had strange mood swings and could take a compliment as an insult, so Chris was just taking precautionary cover.
"I'll let it pass for you today Christopher Ricardo Allen," Yuffie replied, shooting him a cold glance.
"Meep!" Chris squealed, hiding his face in Ana's long wavy hair.
"Let's go Allen," Yuffie said, moving towards the door.
"Hey Yuffie, wait a sec," Serena said, fumbling for a small vial of perfume. She produced it with a grin, "Here! Essence of rose and lavender. That'll definitely drive him crazy," she said, tossing it to the older girl.
"Thanks 'Rena," Yuffie said, catching the bottle of perfume that was thrown to her. Yuffie picked up a small matching purse and went towards the door.
"Have fun Yuff!"
Chris opened the door for her, and she took a deep breath.
"Later guys,"
The two went downstairs and to Chris' car – a sleek Toyota Levin.
Chris drove to Yuffie's house and bid her farewell and good luck – only to be rewarded by a sharp smack.
"That hurt Yuffie," Chris complained, feigning pain, "You better not do the same to Vincent, I only let it pass 'cause we've been friends for God knows how long"
"Thank you for dropping me home Christopher," Yuffie said, pretending she didn't hear a word of his complaint.
"Have fun Yuff," Chris said, stepping on the gas pedal and speeding the corner at an alarming rate.
Yuffie entered the front door; her parents were on a two-weeklong cruise. She had fifteen minutes until Vincent came.
She waited.
The doorbell rang
She got up quickly and opened the door.
"H-hi Vincent," she said lamely.
"Hello Yuffie. You're looking quite beautiful tonight," he said, looking her over thoroughly.
"Thank you . . . Would you like to come in for a drink or something?" Yuffie asked, blushing at his compliment.
"Sure" he said, stepping into the spacious hallway.
"So . . . what do you want to drink? Soda? Water?" Yuffie asked as she walked with him into the house.
"Water is just fine . . . Oh and umm . . . these are for you," he said, handing her a large bouquet of yellow roses, "Yellow roses signify friendship, friendship I want to deepen between the two of us,"
"Oh my, Vincent that is so sweet. Thank you – let me get a vase for those. Please sit and make yourself at home," Yuffie said, with a feminine charm no one – not even herself, knew she possessed
"You're welcome Yuffie," Vincent said taking a seat on the plush armchair beside him.
Yuffie went to the kitchen, filled a tall glass with water and ice, and brought it to Vincent who sat, scanning the new surroundings.
She retraced her route to the kitchen and chopped off the ends of the roses. She found a golden vase and put some water in it. She carefully and swiftly walked toward the living room and placed the delicate flowers into a simple, yet elegant arrangement and stood back to admire her handiwork.
No one knew it, but Yuffie grew up like a geisha, learning fancy arts as a child. Even though she was brought up in a mature fashion, it was one of Yuffie's many façades.
She delicately sniffed one of the roses; its scent was exhilarating. She placed the vase on the coffee table with care.
She smiled at Vincent.
He smiled back.
(A/N: OMG! Vincent smiling?! That's just not right)
"Well, let's go" he said, getting up from his seat.
"Okay," she replied, taking up her purse while Vincent opened the door for her.
Vincent took her arm in his and escorted her to his car – a neat, black Toyota Supra. He cruised towards the Chez Pascal – a glamorous restaurant on the other side of town. They were there in a matter of minutes and Yuffie was breathless at the beauty of the romantic atmosphere.
They were lead to a private room with a pleasant mood. Appetizers and drinks were already laid out on the table. The two sat down and spoke a little about school, and other trivial things; occasionally nibbling at the hors d'oeuvres
"What is the little lady having tonight?" he asked, readying his writing apparatus.
"I'll have the grilled shrimp in Caesar . . . on plain noodles," Yuffie replied with a smile.
Vincent smiled at her smile. Yuffie blushed.
"And you, young sir?"
"Uhh . . . lobster and shrimp pasta" Vincent replied, ordering the first thing that caught his eye.
"Okay, classic Caesar shrimp on plain noodles and a roast lobster and shrimp pasta. Any special sides, drinks or desserts?" the waiter asked, scribbling down their order.
"I'll have fruit punch," Yuffie said, smiling at Vincent.
"Piña colada and uhh . . . is strawberry cheesecake okay with you Yuffie?" Vincent asked.
"Cheesecake is just fine," came her calm reply.
The irony of it all, her speech pattern was calm and collected, her actions were smooth and refined, yet her mind was rushing as though the world was ending.
The waiter scribbled onto his notepad again and left to do their bidding with a bow.
"I'll be back in a few minutes; I need to get some fresh air," Yuffie said, getting up from her seat.
"Okay, don't be too long," Vincent replied.
~*~*five minutes later*~*~
Yuffie re-entered the private room Vincent had arranged for them. She took her seat and stared at Vincent, straight in the eye.
"So . . . what's with the sudden interest in me Mr. Valentine?" Yuffie asked.
"Yuffie . . . I've wanted to tell you this since I met you . . . but I was just too afraid that you would reject me. I was so afraid of being hurt I decided not to tell you – but to wait for the right moment, which I believe is now, to tell you that –" Vincent said, mustering up his courage to tell Yuffie his feelings, only to be interrupted by a waiter's voice.
"– Your drinks are here," the man said, completely oblivious to his ruining the start of a very important conversation.
Vincent cleared his throat, "Thank you sir,"
"Mr. Valentine, the food will arrive in ten minutes"
"Yes, now please leave," Vincent growled at the man.
'Dammit, I was so close to telling her how much I love her . . .' he cursed in his mind.
Suddenly, Vincent's cell phone rang
He rattled off as many curses as he could in his mind. He reluctantly left the room.
"What?" he growled into the white Nokia 3520.
(A/N: That's my phone! Well . . . at least I own one . . . but I don't own Nokia *sigh*)
"Oh, I'm sorry. I think I have the wrong number," a small voice replied from the other end.
Vincent growled again. This was seriously pissing him off. He ended the call abruptly and stared momentarily at the cell phone's color screen. Vincent took a deep inhalation of fresh night air; the ebon-haired boy slowly walked back to the restaurant.
He re-entered the private room and sat down, a frown on his face.
"What's the matter Vincent?" Yuffie asked, concerned for the boy.
He sighed, and muttered something about fate not being fair to him.
Yuffie stared at him with huge brown eyes. She however pretended not to hear what he had said and remained silent while an uncomfortable tension grew between them.
Five minutes later, a waiter came in the room with their orders. The two adolescents thanked him and began their meal. The two had deep conversation, learning much about each other in the time span of one short meal.
"Yuffie, you're a wonderful person to be with, not to mention beautiful," Vincent said, staring at her.
She colored and muttered a tiny 'thank you'
While the two sat and savored their blissful dessert, while a beautiful symphony resonated through the room.
After Vincent paid the bill, the two left the restaurant, arm-in-arm towards Vincent's car. After helping her into the car, Vincent smirked and turned on the car and revved the engine. After learning that Yuffie loved cars, he simply couldn't help but try to impress her with his car's capabilities.
Yuffie beamed.
Vincent drove towards a nice, spacious park – one that Yuffie had neither seen nor visited before. They stepped out and looked around their surroundings.
Roses in a myriad of colors adorned the walkways; stone carvings were placed in just the right places.
Yuffie was fighting a losing battle: not to lose her breath.
"Oh . . . my . . . God," she said, breathlessly at the beauty of the place.
Vincent merely smiled, happy to know that she approved of it.
"This, my dear is for you," Vincent said, his arms snaking around her waist. He held a small blue box tied with a silver ribbon.
She opened it and her jaw fell at the sight of the beautiful silver necklace with a tiny pink heart shaped diamond inlaid in a pure diamond pendant.
"Vincent, you shouldn't have . . . I don't know what else to say other than thank you. I'm so surprised and I don't have anything for you," she managed to say after catching her breath.
"Yuffie, I never realized how much I love you. Not until now that is. Actually, you do have something for me, your heart. I have already given you mine . . . Yuffie, I love you," Vincent said, unable to retain his feelings anymore, pulled the smaller girl into a hug.
Shock was evident in her face, which was soon replaced by happiness and hope.
"Vincent Valentine, my heart is yours . . . I love you so much . . . I thought this day would never come," Yuffie whispered, returning an affectionate hug.
Slowly, Vincent's arms found their way to Yuffie's waist, pulling her close.
He savored her warmth, seeking more of her, the two found themselves in a passionate kiss . . .
A/N: Can't believe I wrote this *shudder* WAAAY too sappy for me. I am going to skip the rest of this part, and no you perverts, there is no lemon in this fic so if you're mind is going down that road, get it out of the gutter. You want lemon? Find another fic to read; definitely not this one. That's it. I'm sorry. So busy. I don't particularly like this chapter. . . If you're not a YUFFENTINE fan, I'm sorry. I have no time anymore. And exams are around the corner so I have no idea when next I will update.