Allo! New chapter! Enjoy!

I don't own FF VII or any of her characters.

Reeve went in search of the woman that had served them tea earlier. He found her walking down a short hall, tea tray in hand. She seemed surprised to see him wandering around the house. He relieved her of the tray before she could ask any questions.

"I'll take this to Yuffie, if you would kindly direct me to her. You can get a room ready for me while she and I chat. Isn't that a wonderful idea? Hmm?" He made sure to smile gently at the woman.

"O-of course. Third room on the right. Thank you, sir. She has been acting so odd lately, I've been worried. She likes you a great deal, maybe you can bring Lady Yuffie back to us."

"I'll do what I can. Go on now."

"Yes, sir."

Reeve made his way to the third door on the right, and balanced the tray in one hand as he slid the door open. Yuffie was inside, her back to the door. She was staring at a garden through open doors that lead to a porch. The sunlight had turned golden, lending the garden an otherworldly beauty. Reeve was more concerned with looking at Yuffie than at the outside world.

Her posture was the same as it always had been, straight and proud. He could not bring himself to say she was straight and tall, seeing as she barely made it up to his shoulder. He did notice that she was standing with both legs together, instead of the weight on one leg. It was a stance only women could do. Men tried and failed at it miserably. Rufus came close to being able to do it, but he still looked ridiculous when trying.

"Thank you, Kisa. Just leave the tray here." Yuffie said, turning to face who she thought was her servant. Her eyes widened comically at seeing him holding her tea tray instead. They quickly narrowed into a glare. "I thought I told you to leave."

"You should know I'm not nearly as accommodating as Cloud and Cid."

"What do you want?" Yuffie had crossed her arms over her chest. That meant she was not entirely displeased he was there. That was a good sign.

"I decided to take a vacation."

"Costa del Sol is a place for vacations."

"I decided to take a vacation and spend some time with you."

"What? Now I know you're joking."

"Not at all." Reeve found a low table nearby and set the tray down with a quiet 'clink'. He made his way to the porch, looking out much as she had been doing when he entered. "I've missed you. My kitchen missed you too, but I couldn't bring that along with me." He heard Yuffie snort, then move over to stand next to him. She looked completely different, yet so similar to what he had always known. It bothered him more than he cared to admit to anyone.

"Figures you'd miss my cooking. You aren't eating take out everyday, are you?"

"Would it make you happy to hear 'no' as my answer?"

"Yes, but only if it was true."

"Then, yes, I do. I have no talent in the kitchen. You've seen the evidence of that in my one attempt to make breakfast for you. My toaster still hasn't forgiven me for that incident. I usually end up with a charred mass of what was once bread. I'm still alive, so a diet rich in carbon seems to agree with me a bit."

"You should take better care of yourself. A grown man like you should at least be able to make cardboard mac'n'cheese without incident." He smiled, turning to look at her. He found Yuffie frowning at him, worry creasing her brow.

"I think I'll leave cooking to you, little ninja." She smiled at the name he used, but she turned back to the garden before he could say anything. She stepped out in front of him slightly, a hand resting on one of the support poles.

"Like my garden, Reeve?"

"Yes."

"Me too." Reeve stayed silent. Yuffie could not stand silence, so she would soon fill it with words. It was one way of getting some information out of her. She let things slip that way. "What are you thinking?"

"That I'd like to prance about in a pink cape with a clown wig on." He could almost hear her eyes roll at his words.

"I'm being serious. And if you say you're being serious, I'll toss you out on the street."

"I'm thinking, about why you couldn't tell me what was bothering you two months ago. What's still bothering you." He took a step forward so that he was behind Yuffie directly. "I've kept all the secrets you've told me, no matter how tempting it is to tell Tifa that she drools over moogles with spiky hair in her dreams."

"I...don't know that I want you to know, Reeve."

"Very well. But beware, I don't intend to leave until I find out."

"Won't your work die without you?"

"Seriously maimed is more like it."

"You're really not leaving?"

"No. You're stuck with my company, for better or worse."

"Til death do we part?"

"At least minor discomfort." Yuffie turned around then, blinking at him without expression for a moment. She looked down at his arm for some reason, then linked her own arm through it, leading him back inside and to the front door. "Throwing me out already, Yuffie?"

"No, I need to go shopping for more needles and crimson thread."

"I'm invited along? How wonderful. I was going to go shopping myself later on. Seems I didn't pack enough for a long stay. We can go clothes shopping together."

"You always try to get me to wear fetish costumes."

"You look so fetching in them." Yuffie was waiting for him to finish with his shoes. She was wearing sandals so it took a minimum of time to put them on. "Besides, I'd like you to call me 'Master Reeve' wearing a maid's outfit."

"You are one sick puppy, you know that?"

"Yes. Shall we go? I'd like to get you fitted for that maid outfit at least. What do you think of heels to go with it? Or is that too over the top?"

"Too over the top."

Ya, these are shorter chapters. It's refreshing to write something like this.

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