Disclaimer: I don't own FF7, never have, never will. AN: This chapter takes
place about a month after the last events in the last chapters.
'She's still gone?' the ex soldier thought to himself as he went into the living room. He was looking for Yuffie, but she wasn't in the house. Although it was late he wasn't really worried, she did this all the time lately. At first when she had left and didn't come back when it started to get late he was a little nervous and went out looking for her. But he soon discovered that she was on Dao-chao. She went there whenever she needed to "think" or "clear her mind." He didn't know exactly what that meant, but that was always the answer he got whenever he asked.
Actually ever since about a month ago things were different between the two. It was as if they had somehow grew apart or put up a wall between them. They use to talk and joke around and go out places almost everyday, but now that pace had slowed down greatly. Whenever they were both at home at the same time Yuffie would either be in her room sleeping or working on something business related, and Cloud would be out back training or just lying around lazily in his room.
They had stopped spending nights together watching television or movies, instead now Yuffie was either at Dao-chao or Cloud was locked up in his room.
It was weird how their relationship had changed so drastically over such a short period of time. But it had. And Cloud didn't like it, not at all.
He sat down on the couch thinking about this when he heard the door open. Yuffie entered and kicked off her shoes like always before entering the living room.
"You're still up?" She said quietly while trying to focus her eyes on her friend in the dark.
"Yeah," he replied while standing up. The shinobi walked passed him and into the kitchen where she poured herself a glass of water. Cloud walked over and leaned on the counter as he watched her drink. She looked at him from the corner of her eye and lowered her glass.
"What?" she asked curiously.
The blonde shook his head "Nothing," he said as he looked into her eyes.
Yuffie sighed and put her glass in the sink. "Okay, well goodnight," she said as she walked out of the kitchen and to her room.
Cloud sat down at the kitchen table "goodnight," he mumbled quietly to himself. 'What is this?' he thought to himself. He hated not having her talk to him as much as before. He used to just enter the room and she would become all smiles and start chatting away. Now it was like he had to try to get her to have a conversation with him, and even then it really didn't work. It wasn't the same, not at all. 'What the hell did I do?' he thought to himself as he rubbed his temples. He missed not being able to have the same relationship with Yuffie as they had before. He obviously did something to mess it up, but he just didn't know what.
The shinobi rolled over in her bed and slowly opened her eyes. She felt like hell but it really wasn't unusual, she always felt like this now in the morning, it felt as if she never really slept. She sat up and stretched a bit before lazily getting out of bed and exiting her room.
She was surprised to hear voices. One she recognized as Cloud's but the others she wasn't too sure of. It was a man's voice but she couldn't exactly match a face too it, however it did sound kind of familiar.
She walked closer to the voices and came down the stairs into the living room where she saw Cloud and Reeve sitting.
"Reeve?" she asked still a little sleepy and dazed.
He gave a big smile before walking over to the girl, "Yuffie it's been awhile." She smiled and gave him a hug.
"What are you doing here?" she asked as she broke the embrace.
"Cloud and I are just discussing some things, you know about this whole anonymous threat," he explained while walking back over to his seat. Yuffie followed and sat on the arm of the couch next to Cloud who was reading some papers in front of him, which looked like they were letters.
"I still don't get it really?" Cloud asked with a puzzled look on his face.
"Get what?" Yuffie asked while trying to take a glance at the letters in front of Cloud.
"These words on here. It just looks like gibberish, I mean what is it some kind of code?" he replied while flipping the letters over.
Yuffie took one of the letters from out of Cloud's hand and glanced over it. The person who was threatening Reeve she guessed wrote them. She narrowed her eyes at the paper trying to figure out what Cloud was talking about.
She began shaking her head once she realized what the words on the bottom meant, "No this isn't code its Wutainese, it means Good Luck."
Reeve looked straight at Yuffie, "Wutainese?" he asked hesitantly.
Cloud turned to Reeve, "So the person were dealing with is Wutainese? Their from Wutai!?"
Yuffie looked at the two of them for a minute before Reeve spoke up.
"Well it would make sense, many people from Wutai don't like Shinra, so it's only logical that the person would be Wutainese."
Cloud shook his head, "Still we don't know about this person and the fact that they're Wutainese and were in Wutai...they could be here, and we wouldn't have a clue as too who it would be. And good luck? What does that mean, good luck as in finding out who this person is?"
The room went silent for a minute as everyone went into their own thoughts.
"Yuffie," Reeve began, "I'm beginning to think maybe Wutai isn't the safest place for you, not right now. I wanted Cloud to come here to watch you because I thought this person may try to get to my friends to get to me, but now I'm thinking maybe this person is trying to throw me off altogether here...maybe I'm not even the target after all."
Yuffie's eyes grew wide, "You mean," she spoke hesitantly "that someone may be after me?"
Cloud looked at Yuffie. He could see her pale and he saw her eyes were filled with fright, even though he knew she was trying to hide it.
"Maybe so, even if not I don't know if we should take that chance. I think it would be best if you and Cloud relocated...just for a while."
The Shinobi shook her head while she rubbed one arm with her hand. " Reeve I can't leave Wutai. It's one thing that Shinra is already involved with protecting me, but if I allow them to move me...they're not going to like that. I can't...I have to stay here, I can't leave."
Reeve sighed. Even though she was the leader she still had other people who were above her that she listened too.
"I understand...then I guess we will just have to increase the security here a little more," he said as he stood up. "Cloud, I'll be getting back to you on this, but for the time being, don't leave her side."
Cloud nodded, "Of course not."
Reeve smiled at Yuffie before he went over to her, "Please don't be bothered by this, I'm sure it's nothing, but I'm just taking precaution."
Yuffie smiled, "Me worried? Please!" she said with a laugh. Reeve gave her another smile before Cloud walked him to the door, they said a few things quietly so that Yuffie wouldn't hear. She tried to listen but it didn't work.
After Reeve left, Cloud re-entered the living room to see a wide-eyed Yuffie staring directly at him. She blinked a few times and returned her focus back to the letters in front of her.
Cloud took a seat next to her as he looked at the letters also.
"Well," she began "I guess it's safe to say Reeve's officially off the hook. It's me this person is after," she said quietly while shuffling through the papers.
Cloud shook his head, "You don't know that for sure."
Yuffie scoffed and rolled her eyes, "Please Cloud this person put a message in Wutainese. They did that as a sign to warn me, they knew Reeve wasn't going to understand it."
The blonde sighed and ran a hand through his spiky hair, "Well then maybe we should take Reeve's advice and leave Wutai for a little bit. I know the Wutai officials aren't going to like that, but this is your safety were talking about, I'm sure they'll understand."
Yuffie paused for a moment and then shook her head, "No, no I can't, I won't! This person is not going to run me out of my own home! I have a job to do here!" She shouted as she slammed the letters down on the table in front of her.
"Why are you being so damn stubborn!?" The blonde raised his voice, "nobody is going to think less of you for leaving, stop trying to be this big powerful person and just listen for a second! I'm sure the rest of them can manage for a little while without "Lady Kisiragi!"
Yuffie jumped to her feet and clenched her hands into fist. "You know what Cloud, you don't know a damn thing about Wutai or me and about how things are run here! So don't try to come in with all of your "Shinra ethics" and tell me what the hell I'm suppose to do! You were supposed to come here to watch me, not order me around!"
"I'm not trying to order you around, I'm here to do exactly what you just said, to watch out for you! But it's a little hard to do with you acting like this!" Cloud shot back.
Yuffie shook her head and began walking away from the couch, "I don't need this! I never asked for a fucking babysitter! I've never asked anyone for help! I've been doing just fine for all these year by myself! I don't need anyone to watch out for me, I'll watch out for my damn self!"
Cloud shook his head and frustration, "No Yuffie!"
"Yes!" She countered back while turning back around to face him from the opposite end of the room. "I don't need you here, you can leave! Believe it or not Cloud I'm not some damsel in distress! I don't need some Prince on a white horse too come and rescue me!"
The blonde sighed and shook his head, "I'm not leaving Yuffie," he said this time more calmly.
The shinobi let out a sarcastic laugh as she mumbled a few words to herself.
"I'm serious, you can get as mad as you want but I'm not leaving," he continued in the same calm voice.
The ninja laughed, "Yeah because you can never screw up an assignment. How would it look on your record there at Shinra?" she asked mockingly.
The blonde's eyes widened. Is that what she thought? Did she honestly think that was the only reason why he was there? He sighed and looked at the ground.
Yuffie froze and her eyes began to soften. She was expecting him to come back at her with some remark. She thought he would just get fed up and walk away. But he just got quiet and stared at the ground.
He looked back up to meet her gaze. She looked totally confused at this point. Her heart ached when she saw the hurt look in his eye.
"No Yuffie," he began quietly, "that's not the reason why I don't want to leave. It has nothing to do about Shinra and my status there, don't you get that?"
Yuffie looked around shyly. She couldn't believe she had insulted him by accusing him of such a thing. She knew he was there because he was her friend and he wanted to make sure she was okay.
The blonde sighed, "I was sent here by Shinra but...that hardly matters. Even If I hadn't been and I found out you were in trouble... I still would stay. I would never forgive myself if I left and something happened to you."
The Shinobi eyes began to water. Here he was still being so nice to her even when she had flipped out on him earlier when he had suggested they leave. Why did she get so upset? He was only trying to protect her.
A few tears slipped down her face as she quickly wiped them away.
Cloud gave a small smile as he walked over to her, "Yuffie," he started once he was in front of her. "You've been through a lot. I understand you have a lot going through your mind, and I understand it can be frustrating and nerve racking. You're trying to carry too much by yourself here. Your just making yourself stressed."
Yuffie nodded. He was right, she had been stressing out a lot lately for reasons that were obvious. But she didn't want to get so stressed to where she would blow up at Cloud.
"I'm sorry," she said in a barely audible voice. "I didn't mean too..." she began in a whisper before Cloud cut her off while shaking his head.
"Shh" the blonde started while he placed his hands on her shoulders, "It's all right don't worry about the apologies okay?" he asked while trying to look into her eyes. But she avoided his gaze by staring at the ground. He tilted her head up with his finger and looked her in the eye. "All right?" he asked again. This time getting a response by a short nod of her head.
But he still knew that she was upset about the whole thing and wasn't going to forgive herself easily. He put his hands on the side of her face and leaned his forehead against hers. "Come on don't look so sad," he said with a smile.
Yuffie's heart was racing. 'Gawd why are you torturing me Cloud Strife!' She thought as she placed her hands on his shoulders. She gave a small weak smile that made Cloud frown.
"You can do better than that," the blonde said with a laugh.
His warm breath on her skin made her crazy, and just the simple touch of his hand on her face was enough to make her faint.
She laughed and gave her trademark grin that caused Cloud to laugh and smile too.
"There we go," he said as he kissed her on the forehead.
Yuffie's head was spinning. Being this close to him was like a dream. The last time she was this close to him was that night at the Gold Saucer...and even then, they weren't this close. Come to think of it, he never kissed her before. He would usually kiss Tifa on the forehead or cheek in that friendly way...but he never really did that with her. And there was something about this kiss, it was like it meant something more. It wasn't just a peck he held it for a moment. Yuffie sighed, 'Maybe I'm making this so much more than what it really is. I just want it to mean something more,' she thought.
"Were in this together remember that," Cloud said quietly, breaking her thoughts. She nodded and looked straight into his eyes. She saw something there, something that she hadn't seen before. She couldn't quite put her finger on it but it was something.
The blonde stared back into the pools of stormy gray. 'Gawd she's beautiful,' he thought as he continued to stare into her eyes. He had thought that ever since he came back and saw her for the first time that day a few months ago. He had already admitted to himself that he felt something for this girl. If it hadn't been for his conflicting emotions with Tifa he was sure something would have already happened between them.
Yuffie was screaming inside. She wanted to kiss him, but what would he do? Would he freak out and run away? Or simply just say, "I think you misunderstood me." Yuffie cringed, 'Ouch' she thought that would probably be the worst of them all. 'Maybe I should just take that chance,' she thought as she let out a breath.
But as she was considering this Cloud leaned forward as she slowly closed her eyes, waiting for the kiss she had waited so long for. Their lips touched for just a second before the phone began to ring.
They both pulled back startled by the sudden ringing. Yuffie laughed nervously, "Uh I should get that," she said as she ran towards the kitchen to answer the phone.
Cloud sighed and walked back to the couch and lazily fell onto it while covering his face with his hands. He felt disappointed...and also a little relieved.
Yuffie hung up the phone and sighed. It was Shera calling to tell about Imara's birthday party. 'Damn Shera you have crappy timing,' the ninja thought to herself as she leaned against the counter. 'Really crappy timing.'
'She's still gone?' the ex soldier thought to himself as he went into the living room. He was looking for Yuffie, but she wasn't in the house. Although it was late he wasn't really worried, she did this all the time lately. At first when she had left and didn't come back when it started to get late he was a little nervous and went out looking for her. But he soon discovered that she was on Dao-chao. She went there whenever she needed to "think" or "clear her mind." He didn't know exactly what that meant, but that was always the answer he got whenever he asked.
Actually ever since about a month ago things were different between the two. It was as if they had somehow grew apart or put up a wall between them. They use to talk and joke around and go out places almost everyday, but now that pace had slowed down greatly. Whenever they were both at home at the same time Yuffie would either be in her room sleeping or working on something business related, and Cloud would be out back training or just lying around lazily in his room.
They had stopped spending nights together watching television or movies, instead now Yuffie was either at Dao-chao or Cloud was locked up in his room.
It was weird how their relationship had changed so drastically over such a short period of time. But it had. And Cloud didn't like it, not at all.
He sat down on the couch thinking about this when he heard the door open. Yuffie entered and kicked off her shoes like always before entering the living room.
"You're still up?" She said quietly while trying to focus her eyes on her friend in the dark.
"Yeah," he replied while standing up. The shinobi walked passed him and into the kitchen where she poured herself a glass of water. Cloud walked over and leaned on the counter as he watched her drink. She looked at him from the corner of her eye and lowered her glass.
"What?" she asked curiously.
The blonde shook his head "Nothing," he said as he looked into her eyes.
Yuffie sighed and put her glass in the sink. "Okay, well goodnight," she said as she walked out of the kitchen and to her room.
Cloud sat down at the kitchen table "goodnight," he mumbled quietly to himself. 'What is this?' he thought to himself. He hated not having her talk to him as much as before. He used to just enter the room and she would become all smiles and start chatting away. Now it was like he had to try to get her to have a conversation with him, and even then it really didn't work. It wasn't the same, not at all. 'What the hell did I do?' he thought to himself as he rubbed his temples. He missed not being able to have the same relationship with Yuffie as they had before. He obviously did something to mess it up, but he just didn't know what.
The shinobi rolled over in her bed and slowly opened her eyes. She felt like hell but it really wasn't unusual, she always felt like this now in the morning, it felt as if she never really slept. She sat up and stretched a bit before lazily getting out of bed and exiting her room.
She was surprised to hear voices. One she recognized as Cloud's but the others she wasn't too sure of. It was a man's voice but she couldn't exactly match a face too it, however it did sound kind of familiar.
She walked closer to the voices and came down the stairs into the living room where she saw Cloud and Reeve sitting.
"Reeve?" she asked still a little sleepy and dazed.
He gave a big smile before walking over to the girl, "Yuffie it's been awhile." She smiled and gave him a hug.
"What are you doing here?" she asked as she broke the embrace.
"Cloud and I are just discussing some things, you know about this whole anonymous threat," he explained while walking back over to his seat. Yuffie followed and sat on the arm of the couch next to Cloud who was reading some papers in front of him, which looked like they were letters.
"I still don't get it really?" Cloud asked with a puzzled look on his face.
"Get what?" Yuffie asked while trying to take a glance at the letters in front of Cloud.
"These words on here. It just looks like gibberish, I mean what is it some kind of code?" he replied while flipping the letters over.
Yuffie took one of the letters from out of Cloud's hand and glanced over it. The person who was threatening Reeve she guessed wrote them. She narrowed her eyes at the paper trying to figure out what Cloud was talking about.
She began shaking her head once she realized what the words on the bottom meant, "No this isn't code its Wutainese, it means Good Luck."
Reeve looked straight at Yuffie, "Wutainese?" he asked hesitantly.
Cloud turned to Reeve, "So the person were dealing with is Wutainese? Their from Wutai!?"
Yuffie looked at the two of them for a minute before Reeve spoke up.
"Well it would make sense, many people from Wutai don't like Shinra, so it's only logical that the person would be Wutainese."
Cloud shook his head, "Still we don't know about this person and the fact that they're Wutainese and were in Wutai...they could be here, and we wouldn't have a clue as too who it would be. And good luck? What does that mean, good luck as in finding out who this person is?"
The room went silent for a minute as everyone went into their own thoughts.
"Yuffie," Reeve began, "I'm beginning to think maybe Wutai isn't the safest place for you, not right now. I wanted Cloud to come here to watch you because I thought this person may try to get to my friends to get to me, but now I'm thinking maybe this person is trying to throw me off altogether here...maybe I'm not even the target after all."
Yuffie's eyes grew wide, "You mean," she spoke hesitantly "that someone may be after me?"
Cloud looked at Yuffie. He could see her pale and he saw her eyes were filled with fright, even though he knew she was trying to hide it.
"Maybe so, even if not I don't know if we should take that chance. I think it would be best if you and Cloud relocated...just for a while."
The Shinobi shook her head while she rubbed one arm with her hand. " Reeve I can't leave Wutai. It's one thing that Shinra is already involved with protecting me, but if I allow them to move me...they're not going to like that. I can't...I have to stay here, I can't leave."
Reeve sighed. Even though she was the leader she still had other people who were above her that she listened too.
"I understand...then I guess we will just have to increase the security here a little more," he said as he stood up. "Cloud, I'll be getting back to you on this, but for the time being, don't leave her side."
Cloud nodded, "Of course not."
Reeve smiled at Yuffie before he went over to her, "Please don't be bothered by this, I'm sure it's nothing, but I'm just taking precaution."
Yuffie smiled, "Me worried? Please!" she said with a laugh. Reeve gave her another smile before Cloud walked him to the door, they said a few things quietly so that Yuffie wouldn't hear. She tried to listen but it didn't work.
After Reeve left, Cloud re-entered the living room to see a wide-eyed Yuffie staring directly at him. She blinked a few times and returned her focus back to the letters in front of her.
Cloud took a seat next to her as he looked at the letters also.
"Well," she began "I guess it's safe to say Reeve's officially off the hook. It's me this person is after," she said quietly while shuffling through the papers.
Cloud shook his head, "You don't know that for sure."
Yuffie scoffed and rolled her eyes, "Please Cloud this person put a message in Wutainese. They did that as a sign to warn me, they knew Reeve wasn't going to understand it."
The blonde sighed and ran a hand through his spiky hair, "Well then maybe we should take Reeve's advice and leave Wutai for a little bit. I know the Wutai officials aren't going to like that, but this is your safety were talking about, I'm sure they'll understand."
Yuffie paused for a moment and then shook her head, "No, no I can't, I won't! This person is not going to run me out of my own home! I have a job to do here!" She shouted as she slammed the letters down on the table in front of her.
"Why are you being so damn stubborn!?" The blonde raised his voice, "nobody is going to think less of you for leaving, stop trying to be this big powerful person and just listen for a second! I'm sure the rest of them can manage for a little while without "Lady Kisiragi!"
Yuffie jumped to her feet and clenched her hands into fist. "You know what Cloud, you don't know a damn thing about Wutai or me and about how things are run here! So don't try to come in with all of your "Shinra ethics" and tell me what the hell I'm suppose to do! You were supposed to come here to watch me, not order me around!"
"I'm not trying to order you around, I'm here to do exactly what you just said, to watch out for you! But it's a little hard to do with you acting like this!" Cloud shot back.
Yuffie shook her head and began walking away from the couch, "I don't need this! I never asked for a fucking babysitter! I've never asked anyone for help! I've been doing just fine for all these year by myself! I don't need anyone to watch out for me, I'll watch out for my damn self!"
Cloud shook his head and frustration, "No Yuffie!"
"Yes!" She countered back while turning back around to face him from the opposite end of the room. "I don't need you here, you can leave! Believe it or not Cloud I'm not some damsel in distress! I don't need some Prince on a white horse too come and rescue me!"
The blonde sighed and shook his head, "I'm not leaving Yuffie," he said this time more calmly.
The shinobi let out a sarcastic laugh as she mumbled a few words to herself.
"I'm serious, you can get as mad as you want but I'm not leaving," he continued in the same calm voice.
The ninja laughed, "Yeah because you can never screw up an assignment. How would it look on your record there at Shinra?" she asked mockingly.
The blonde's eyes widened. Is that what she thought? Did she honestly think that was the only reason why he was there? He sighed and looked at the ground.
Yuffie froze and her eyes began to soften. She was expecting him to come back at her with some remark. She thought he would just get fed up and walk away. But he just got quiet and stared at the ground.
He looked back up to meet her gaze. She looked totally confused at this point. Her heart ached when she saw the hurt look in his eye.
"No Yuffie," he began quietly, "that's not the reason why I don't want to leave. It has nothing to do about Shinra and my status there, don't you get that?"
Yuffie looked around shyly. She couldn't believe she had insulted him by accusing him of such a thing. She knew he was there because he was her friend and he wanted to make sure she was okay.
The blonde sighed, "I was sent here by Shinra but...that hardly matters. Even If I hadn't been and I found out you were in trouble... I still would stay. I would never forgive myself if I left and something happened to you."
The Shinobi eyes began to water. Here he was still being so nice to her even when she had flipped out on him earlier when he had suggested they leave. Why did she get so upset? He was only trying to protect her.
A few tears slipped down her face as she quickly wiped them away.
Cloud gave a small smile as he walked over to her, "Yuffie," he started once he was in front of her. "You've been through a lot. I understand you have a lot going through your mind, and I understand it can be frustrating and nerve racking. You're trying to carry too much by yourself here. Your just making yourself stressed."
Yuffie nodded. He was right, she had been stressing out a lot lately for reasons that were obvious. But she didn't want to get so stressed to where she would blow up at Cloud.
"I'm sorry," she said in a barely audible voice. "I didn't mean too..." she began in a whisper before Cloud cut her off while shaking his head.
"Shh" the blonde started while he placed his hands on her shoulders, "It's all right don't worry about the apologies okay?" he asked while trying to look into her eyes. But she avoided his gaze by staring at the ground. He tilted her head up with his finger and looked her in the eye. "All right?" he asked again. This time getting a response by a short nod of her head.
But he still knew that she was upset about the whole thing and wasn't going to forgive herself easily. He put his hands on the side of her face and leaned his forehead against hers. "Come on don't look so sad," he said with a smile.
Yuffie's heart was racing. 'Gawd why are you torturing me Cloud Strife!' She thought as she placed her hands on his shoulders. She gave a small weak smile that made Cloud frown.
"You can do better than that," the blonde said with a laugh.
His warm breath on her skin made her crazy, and just the simple touch of his hand on her face was enough to make her faint.
She laughed and gave her trademark grin that caused Cloud to laugh and smile too.
"There we go," he said as he kissed her on the forehead.
Yuffie's head was spinning. Being this close to him was like a dream. The last time she was this close to him was that night at the Gold Saucer...and even then, they weren't this close. Come to think of it, he never kissed her before. He would usually kiss Tifa on the forehead or cheek in that friendly way...but he never really did that with her. And there was something about this kiss, it was like it meant something more. It wasn't just a peck he held it for a moment. Yuffie sighed, 'Maybe I'm making this so much more than what it really is. I just want it to mean something more,' she thought.
"Were in this together remember that," Cloud said quietly, breaking her thoughts. She nodded and looked straight into his eyes. She saw something there, something that she hadn't seen before. She couldn't quite put her finger on it but it was something.
The blonde stared back into the pools of stormy gray. 'Gawd she's beautiful,' he thought as he continued to stare into her eyes. He had thought that ever since he came back and saw her for the first time that day a few months ago. He had already admitted to himself that he felt something for this girl. If it hadn't been for his conflicting emotions with Tifa he was sure something would have already happened between them.
Yuffie was screaming inside. She wanted to kiss him, but what would he do? Would he freak out and run away? Or simply just say, "I think you misunderstood me." Yuffie cringed, 'Ouch' she thought that would probably be the worst of them all. 'Maybe I should just take that chance,' she thought as she let out a breath.
But as she was considering this Cloud leaned forward as she slowly closed her eyes, waiting for the kiss she had waited so long for. Their lips touched for just a second before the phone began to ring.
They both pulled back startled by the sudden ringing. Yuffie laughed nervously, "Uh I should get that," she said as she ran towards the kitchen to answer the phone.
Cloud sighed and walked back to the couch and lazily fell onto it while covering his face with his hands. He felt disappointed...and also a little relieved.
Yuffie hung up the phone and sighed. It was Shera calling to tell about Imara's birthday party. 'Damn Shera you have crappy timing,' the ninja thought to herself as she leaned against the counter. 'Really crappy timing.'