Disclaimer: I don't own FF7 or any of the characters, so please don't sue!
It had been a little over two weeks since the young ninja had arrived in Midgar. She was pretty satisfied with how things were going. Things were the same with her and Cloud like they had been in Wutai. They went out a lot and when they were at Cloud's they were always joking around. Yuffie loved it. She liked not having to worry about business meetings and listening to people boss her around for a change. She could be totally carefree here. And she was.
Cloud was usually gone in the afternoon at Shinra Inc. but would always come back right after to be with his friend. At first he was hesitant about leaving her by herself, but she had finally convinced him that it was okay. During the time he was gone she would usually just hang around the apartment or go out with MeiLin. She loved hanging out with MeiLin. She was such a sweet and fun person, they had clicked right upon meeting basically. She loved the way she would bring up Reeve almost every time and be completely oblivious too it. The ninja knew those two were meant for each other. But neither of them would say anything to the other. But all the smiles and touches were enough for Yuffie to know. She sighed thinking that if only she had told her blonde friend that she had feelings for him, that maybe he would be with her and not Tifa.
She shook her head. She really had to stop thinking like this. She had to just accept the reality of it all.
She was sitting on the couch flipping through the channels on the television when a knock came at the door. She walked over and looked out the peephole to see MeiLin waving. She grinned as she swung the door open.
"Hey what's up? Are you here to save me from boredom?" The ninja asked with a hint of hope in her voice.
MeiLin nodded, "Yeah I thought you may want to come with me. I have to go to Shinra Inc. but I won't be there long, afterwards I thought we could go shopping or something."
Yuffie smiled, "That sounds great!" she replied while slipping on her shoes. They made their way out of the building as they chatted along the way. Soon they were at MeiLin's car. Or the company car, she always drove it though so Yuffie basically considered it hers. A few minutes later they arrived at the building. They made their way up to Reeve's office as they said their hellos to some of the employee's there. Yuffie was completely used to it now. She wasn't as afraid of the place as she had been before, she had gotten quite use too it seeing as how she always came with MeiLin now.
"Hey Reeve!" Yuffie exclaimed as they entered his office. He was talking with some guy before he looked in Yuffie's direction.
"Whoops sorry," the young ninja said in a quieter tone. MeiLin laughed as she approached the two.
The three talked amongst themselves as Yuffie looked around the office. She pulled a book off the shelf and thumbed through it. 'Does he actually read this garbage?' She thought to herself as she placed the book back on the shelf.
"It was nice to have met you," MeiLin said to the man while shaking his hand. He walked out of the room and Yuffie walked up to her two friends.
MeiLin smiled, "See that didn't take long," she said to the shinobi.
"What do you guys have planned for today?" Reeve asked.
"A little shopping I guess," Yuffie replied while rocking back and forth on her heels.
Reeve smiled, "Should have known. I mean you are with MeiLin."
The doctor hit him on the arm playfully. "I don't shop all the time!" she shot back. The two burst into laughter while Yuffie grinned. They were so cute together.
"Well we should get going," MeiLin explained.
"Yeah, we'll see you later Reeve!" The ninja said as she walked over towards the door.
"Bye, don't get into any trouble," he replied before the two exited.
"I'm back!!" The ninja shouted as she walked into the apartment. Her and MeiLin had been out practically all day. She never really thought of herself as one too shop all day, but when she was with Mei it was possible.
She kicked off her shoes and walked through the living room with bags in her hands. She set them down on the couch before she continued walking.
"Hello?" She asked as she went into the kitchen. Cloud was sitting at the counter next to the phone.
"Hey," he said quietly as he took a quick glance at her.
"What's wrong?" She asked with concern as she walked over to him. He hit the button on the answering machine and a message started to play. Her eyes widened when she heard the voice.
"Gigio?" She said in surprise as she listened to the message. Cloud hit the button again and the message stopped playing.
"How did he get this number?" He asked her in a serious tone while looking straight at her.
Yuffie shook her head. "I don't know," she began "that's weird." She looked at Cloud to see he was still staring at her.
"What?" She asked, "You think I called him?"
Cloud shook his head, "I don't know because how the hell would he get this number unless you called him, that's the only way. Because if you did then of course he could trace it back."
"Well I didn't," Yuffie said a little defensively.
"Anybody from Wutai? Did you talk to anyone?" Cloud asked.
"No! I haven't talked to any of them since I left!" She answered in an agitated voice.
The blonde sighed as he ran his hands through his hair, "Fine," he replied still not convinced. He hit the play button again as Yuffie began to grow annoyed.
"Gawd what's with you!? Why would I lie? You think I want them to find me? You think I want to be run through with a sword again?" She said in a mocking tone as she went to get a drink from the fridge. "Call me crazy," she continued, "but my idea of fun isn't being attacked by crazy disguised ninja people."
Cloud shot her a look before he got up from the chair. "Forget it," he said as he started to walk out of the kitchen.
Yuffie frowned. 'What is with him? Does he really not believe me?' She thought to herself.
"Wait a second!" She said angrily while grabbing him by the arm and turning him around to face her. "Now I gave Reeve my word that I would sever all ties with Wutai! And I gave my complete trust to Shinra! It's not fair that you guys can ask me to trust Shinra but yet you can't trust me?"
The ex soldier's face softened when he heard his friend. She was right, it wasn't fair. But It wasn't that he didn't trust her. He trusted her completely.
He sighed, "You're right.... I'm sorry," he said quietly.
Yuffie shook her head, "No...that's not good enough."
The blonde looked at her in confusion.
"Cloud you always have things going on in here," she explained while tapping her head. "You have to let me know sometimes what it is."
He stared at her for a moment. She was right. He always had things on his mind, but he never let anyone know what it was, he never expressed his feelings. He never let anyone get that close to him, to understand him better.
"Can't you trust me?" She asked softly while placing a hand on the side of his face. He closed his eyes for a second before he turned around and walked away a few steps.
Yuffie's heart sunk. She really wanted him to be able to talk to her, she wanted him to feel comfortable around her, not to push her away.
He turned around and reached his hand out for hers. She gave him a questioning look but took his hand when he gave her a small smile. He led her to the balcony outside. She looked around in awe. She had never came out on the balcony since she had been there. The city seemed so much quieter at night. Instead of all the noises she usually heard during the day all she heard now was the quiet howl of the wind.
Cloud let go of her hand and leaned against the railing as he looked at the city beneath them.
"I do trust you Yuffie," he said quietly getting her attention. She looked at him and gave a small smile.
"Did I ever tell you about Zack?" He asked.
Yuffie shook her head, "Well no, I heard about him but I never actually heard what you had to say," she explained.
He nodded and let out a sigh, "Zack was my best friend when I was a teenager in Soldier," he began. "He was like a brother to me. I always wish I could rewind time...just to go back and do everything all over again. To be able to see him again...." He explained as he trailed off. Yuffie walked over and placed a hand on his shoulder bringing him back to reality. He shook his head, "There was nothing I could do for him. He died trying to save me...and was killed by Shinra...they shot him to death. And there was nothing I could do but watch," he said sadly. He paused a moment before continuing. "I lost my mom in the fire in Nibelheim...while I was in the Shinra Mansion she was dying. I should have been there...I could have saved her...but I was too late. Just like I was for Aerith."
Yuffie's stomach dropped. Just the mention of her name would do that.
The blonde tightened his grip on the rail, "I was right there...and I couldn't do anything but watch Sephrioth kill her in cold blood. I... I'm always never able to do anything.... I'm always.... undependable. If I had done something, maybe Zack, my mom or Aerith would still be alive."
The ninja's eyes were filling with tears. She felt so bad for her friend. He had been carrying around this guilt for years and blaming himself for everything.
Cloud loosened his grip on the rail. "I won't let that happen again...I'm not going to lose someone else who I care about," he said in a shaky voice.
Yuffie's eyes widened. She had never seen him cry before. Hell she didn't think it was possible for him to. She shook her head as she tightly put her arms around his waist. "You're not going to lose me," she said into his back, "and it's not your fault about them. Don't blame yourself it's not your fault," she said trying to comfort him. She could feel his breathing was ragged and she knew he was trying hard not to shed a tear. She let go of his waist and turned him around to face her.
"Cloud you've done so much for people. Don't ever think that you're useless or not dependable. That's not true. What happened to Zack and the others isn't your fault. I know that if you could have done something you would have. But you can't keep blaming yourself for something that was totally out of your control," she explained in a soft voice.
The blonde looked at the ground trying to avoid her gaze. "I know," he replied.
Yuffie sighed as she wrapped her arms around him pressing the side of her face into his chest. "Believe me Cloud, I feel safest here with you. And it'll be okay I mean we have each other like you said before right? Were in this together," she said in a whisper.
He placed his arms around her and stroked her hair. "I'm sorry about earlier...I was just upset. I didn't mean to take it out on you. It's just I want to make sure your okay and at this moment I really don't like the Wutai officials," he explained.
"I know," Yuffie said as she tightened her grip on him. They stayed like that for a while in each other arms. 'Gawd Yuffie now is like the perfect time for you to tell him how you feel!' She yelled inwardly, 'Tell him tell him tell him!'
"Cloud?" The ninja asked shyly.
"Yeah?" he replied in a calm tone.
"I uh.... Well there is kind of something I wanted to talk to you about," she said quietly.
The blonde pulled away a little and looked down at her. "Okay," he said anxious to know what it was.
She took a deep breath and let go of him as she ran her hands through her hair. "Okay.... I know this may come as a shock or something. And I really don't know how to say it so...." She said as she began to trail off.
"Yeah?" Cloud asked as he stepped up to her. He was eagerly waiting for whatever it was that she had to say. She looked up with nervous gray eyes as her heart began to beat faster.
"Uh," she tried again. She paused for a moment and let out a deep sigh. "Man this would be so much easier if it weren't for Tifa," she mumbled quietly to herself.
"What was that?" Cloud asked with a raised eyebrow.
Yuffie tapped her foot on the ground uneasily, "Shit...nothing forget it," she said as she waved her hands.
"No go ahead what is it?" Cloud asked urging her to tell him.
She let out a sigh and closed her eyes, "Well," she began as she cleared her throat. "It's just that...." She stopped and looked into his eyes. He looked completely confused as he took another step up to her.
"Yuffie come on it's me, just say it," the blonde said.
The ninja shook her head, "No," she began as she put her arms around his neck, "sometimes actions speak louder than words," she said softly as she stared into deep pools of blue. She stood on her tiptoes as a gust of wind came blowing her hair gently. She leaned in closer to him and stopped and laughed nervously, "I guess I'm waiting for the phone to ring," she joked uneasily.
Cloud shook his head and lowered his face closer to hers, "I'm not," he said quietly. They were only inches apart from each other but they were both hesitating. They leaned in closer and their lips barely touched. Yuffie's breath caught in her throat just from that small touch. A second later their small kiss turned into something more passionate. The shinobi felt lightheaded as her heartbeat quickened. She had waited so long for this moment, and now that it was actually happening she was completely happy. She felt Cloud tighten his grip on her waist as he pulled her closer to him. She ran her hands through his hair feeling every soft and silky strand of it.
They finally broke for air. Yuffie blinked a few times still somewhat in shock. Her arms remained around the ex soldiers neck. She smiled and laughed a little nervously. Cloud returned the smile as he kissed her on the forehead.
"I think I hear you loud and clear," he said softly as he leaned in towards her again to seal her lips in another kiss.