"Don't gawk at me like you're so surprised," she said, giving him a sly look.
"S-surprised? Nah, I was just happy to see you," he said, fidgeting nervously.
"Right..." she said, rolling her eyes.
"Travel is hell," she said, letting her shoulders droop. He eyed her concernedly.
"Well, maybe you should rest for awhile," he said, giving her shoulder a pat. She grinned.
"I think that's the first time you've expressed any concern..." she said, soaking up his immediate reaction.
"What? I show concern to all my teammates," he said, playing with a loose strand of his hair.
She just nodded...her voice too weary.
"You've been quiet for a long time," he said, glancing at her as they walked.
"I'm just..." she said, furrowing her eyebrows with the strain of concentration, "...thinking."
"Important matters?" he said playfully, flashing a smile. She just nodded.
"Well, some things I guess no one will understand..." she trailed off, leaving him with a puzzled expression.
"Did you always want to be a warrior?" she asked, fiddling lazily with the spoon in her tea. He looked up at her, pausing to choose his words.
"We all have aspirations," he said, "I guess some are more appealing."
"I suppose you're right..." she said, staring into the late afternoon, "but I can't help but think about it."
"How so?" he asked, settling into a more comfortable position in his seat.
"I guess what I'm getting at is...definition," she paused, concentrating ever more fervently, "Aspiration...our own roles...where does the person begin?"
"This sounds more like a conversation fit for Nanaki," he said, and quickly shut his mouth seeing her scowl.
"I guess you're right," she said curtly, suddenly having an all-consuming interest in her tea.
"You're such a child sometimes," she snapped at him, her face an accusation in itself. His eyebrows rose skeptically.
"Where did that come from?" he asked, the innocence is his voice nearly laughable.
"You," she said, storming out of sight.
"Welcome back," he said, scanning her face for signs of anger. He relaxed, having found none.
"I decided to forgive you," she said, standing with her arms akimbo, "because Nanaki told me to." He grinned extending his arms out.
"I guess we're all children sometimes," she said, lightly launching into a hug.
"Honor..." he said, his eyes entranced in the thought, "is something worth the hype. It's like love in that way I guess."
"Love?" she scoffed, "An equally ambiguous term. I want...the guts of the matter. I want to know how a person can manage to be...a person, even with all these ideals weighing them down."
"Hmmm..." he said, scratching his head. Then his eyes brightened.
"Like this," he said, leaning over and giving her a quick peck on the cheek. She blushed furiously.
"What did you feel?" he asked, ignoring her reddening hue. She shrugged.
"A few things," she answered, trying her best to keep cool.
"Are you still Yuffie?" he asked, searching her face, "Do you still have your own thoughts? Your own...emotions?" She nodded, a quick jerky movement.
"It's like that," he said, looking into the whispy clouds in the sky, "Quick bursts of outside influence, tickling the surface of your mind, calling to something in yourself."
"Geez," she said, her color returning to normal, "You could have just said that."
"I'm not going back to Wutai," she said, standing confidently in his doorway. He nodded.
"Good for you," he said, shifting his attention to the photographs that scattered across his desk.
"Aren't you surprised?" she said, an edge of impatience in her voice, "...Or happy?"
"Sure, Yuffie," he said, brushing her off with the slightest of hand gestures. She stomped her way down the stairs.
"I knew you were blind..." she said, a terse sound filling her words, "I mean you didn't even notice Tifa had fallen for you." He shrugged.
"She's not anymore," he said in a superior tone, "She's with Vincent. Didn't you get the letter?" She gripped her fists, avoiding the slew of colorful metaphors that were bound to ensue.
"That's not the point," she said, slinking off before he could react.
"Are you...jealous?" she asked, drinking in his expression. He didn't move or even breathe in response.
"We're only dating casually," she said, girlishly flipping back her now longer hair. He gritted his teeth.
"I'm worried about your safety," he said in quick, precise syllables, "It is Reno after all."
She giggled, only causing him to tense more.
"You're such a tease sometimes, Cloud," she said, sashaying out to meet her date.
"Out awful late..." he said, stopping his pacing sentry in front of the window. She stopped dead in her tracks.
"You're not my father, you know," she said, the annoyance filling every aspect of her persona.
"I don't want you to see him," he said abruptly. She scowled.
"I want to," she responded, rebelliously. He shook his head.
"Why?" he asked, an odd sound in his voice.
"Because you didn't," she said, making her way across the room.
"What if I did?" he asked, raising his eyes to stare at her now still form.
"Then I would be powerless to stop you," she said, skipping into his embrace.
This was amazingly hard and fun to write. I had to really pull my mind into other realms to see how this sort of relationship would start out. I hope you don't mind my little Reno cameo...I couldn't help it.