Disclaimer: For the last time I don't own Kingdom hearts or Kingdom hearts 2, Mwah ha ha.
A/N: This was going to be the last chapter but I decided to make this the second to last. There will be one more after this and I hope to have it up faster, sorry for the wait guys. Don't forget to review!
Yuffie closed her eyes and leaned back, the sun's rays on her face felt wonderful. It had been a couple weeks since Cloud had survived and things were great. For some reason they didn't announced that they were a couple yet. In fact, they hadn't even said so to themselves. Some things just didn't need to be said they were so obvious.
"Want some company?" A female voice inquired jolting Yuffie out of her fog.
Yuffie opened her eyes to see Tifa and she nodded. Tifa sat down and for a few minutes they sat in silence. "I'm leaving tomorrow for good." Tifa finally said.
"Why?" Yuffie asked, sitting up and facing her.
"There isn't anything for me here, I have to move on from Cloud… he doesn't like me the same way I like him." The pain in Tifa's eyes was evident and Yuffie felt a bit of guilt.
"Did he ever?" She asked hoping that Tifa would say no. Tifa didn't comply.
"Oh yes, when we were younger. But I can't live in the past right?" Tifa managed a weak smile and stood up. "I hope that you two are happy together… you're a great girl."
"Wha…" Yuffie said as Tifa walked away. "Are we that obvious?" She muttered to herself. A few minutes later she headed back to the house.
"Isn't it beautiful?" Aerith exclaimed the moment Yuffie walked through the door.
"Yes Aerith, I've only seen it a hundred times already." Yuffie sighed not even glancing at the ring that Aerith kept showing her.
"I didn't know that Leon had such good taste!" She said with a smile.
"He doesn't." Yuffie answered. "I do."
"What?" Aerith looked up, completely taken aback.
"Yuffie doesn't know what she's talking about." Cloud said coming out of nowhere as usual. "Do you?" He asked her with a look that insinuated that if she didn't agree with him she would be hurt later.
Yuffie gave him a dark look, faked a smile and turned to face Aerith. "I was just kidding, as if I could ever pick out something so beautiful!"
Aerith smiled and went back to her admiring and Yuffie pushed Cloud out of the room. "I should get credit for once!" She exclaimed.
"I just saved your skin, Leon would kill you if Aerith knew that he didn't get the ring."
"Then I'll never help him again!" Yuffie answered with a smirk. "For being rude you don't get any kiss today."
"Oh really?" Cloud answered as he raised his eyebrow. "What makes you think I care?"
"Oh trust me." Yuffie answered and with a sweet smile she put her arms around Cloud's neck and closed the distance between them so that she was only an inch away from kissing him. "You care." With that she let go and gave him a smirk before prancing out the door.
Cloud just stood there, disappointed. Apparently the Ninja did have a bit of a hold on him… not good.
Why didn't she let him kiss her much? Yuffie pondered the thought as she walked through Radiant Garden. A part of her still kept a bit of a wall up, though no one would suspect the cheerful girl of doing so. "What's wrong with me?" Yuffie sighed. It's because of him.
"Ha ha, not a good memory." Yuffie said shaking her head trying to push the thoughts back.
Remember? The way it felt when his hands…
"STOP!" Yuffie put her hands to her head. "I refuse to dwell on the past." A couple moments passed and she stood up, looking unphased… she didn't want to be alone with her thoughts but they kept creeping up on her.
A few hours later Yuffie returned to the house."So, when's the wedding?" She asked, her voice extremely cheerful. "Weren't you two going to decide today?"
"It's going to be in two months." Aerith answered. "We think it would be beautiful to have at the Destiny Islands, it would be easy for everyone to be there."
"Yeah… sometimes this place still depresses me." Yuffie whispered. Noticing the look that Aerith was giving her she immediately perked up. "Not that I'm ever depressed…"
"Yuffie, you don't have to always put on a happy front you know." Aerith told her gently. "We all go through our painful times."
"That's not true… I've had it easy compared to most people." Yuffie answered.
"That is a lie." Aerith answered, looking unusually angry. "You've been through more in your 18 years then most people should go through in a lifetime."
Yuffie just looked away. "This should be a happy time for you Aerith, don't be concerned about me." She stood up and walked into her room, falling unto her bed and stared at the ceiling.
Cloud came into her room and she sat up and sweetly smiled at him. "Hello Cloud, how was your day darling?" She crossed her legs and put her head in her hands to make herself look innocent.
Instead of answering Cloud sat down next to her and leaned in to kiss her.
Yuffie just turned away, trying not to smile. "Sorry sweetie, you must learn self-control now… no kiss today… maybe if you're better tomorrow!"
"Don't patronize me." Cloud answered, his voice cold.
"Do you even know what that means? Or are you just saying it because it sounds good?"
"I mean it."
"I don't think this has anything to do with a kiss… I think that you're just mad because you want to have control over me, not the other way around." Yuffie noticed that Cloud looked surprised and realized it was true. "I refuse to let you have control over me." She whispered to him. "You'll just have to accept it."
"You think you should have control over me?" Cloud asked her seriously.
"I'm not trying to have control over you Cloud, I can't help it if you want to kiss me!" Yuffie sighed and turned away from him.
"Something's troubling you, what is it?" Cloud had changed the subject and she felt him lightly put his hand on her shoulder.
"Nothing!" She answered turning to face him with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "You're just being a bonehead."
"Tell me." Cloud whispered putting his mouth next to her ear. The next thing she knew his mouth was against hers. For some reason the kiss didn't seem sweet to her at all, it was forceful and she had to push him away as the horrible feeling came over her. "STOP IT!" She cried. "It feels like him."
"Who is him?"
"Don't make me remember." Yuffie answered covering her eyes.
"You're hiding from your past, you know just as well as I do that it will catch up with you eventually… trust me Yuffie, please."
Yuffie tried to stop it but the tears started coming. "When I was young, my father had a drinking problem." She whispered. "Every night he would abuse me. The night before Hollow Bastion was destroyed he raped me. I will never forget how it felt, it was so horrible." She tried to stop her voice from shaking. "Then, I got to see him die, I have never felt so relieved and so happy before. But I always wondered, was it partly the alcohol or was it just that he truly hated me?" Yuffie had managed to get her emotions under control and just stared at the floor. "I wish I knew."
"Yuffie, I didn't know."
"Only Aerith does." Yuffie answered softly. "Others have been through much more then me though so I don't want anyone to feel sorry for me."
Cloud gently touched her face and she winced and turned away. "The way you kissed me felt forceful, the way he treated me. I never want to feel that way again."
"I'm sorry." Cloud answered. "I just… I'm scared by how much I care about you and I wanted to have complete control over you so I wouldn't get hurt. I'm sorry."
"I forgive you." Yuffie answered and gave him a kiss on the cheek with a small smile. "I'm glad that I told you this."
Cloud just gently put his arms around her and kissed her head, then let go with a whisper of "Good night."
Yuffie wanted him to leave and yet she didn't want to be alone. The memories that she had pushed back seemed to be lingering in her mind. "Are you going to leave me?" She asked him in a whisper so soft he wasn't even sure if he had heard it.
Cloud just turned and looked at her. "I'm giving you space." He answered softly before hesitating and leaving the room.
"Thanks." Yuffie muttered sarcastically. "I've had a lot of space, don't worry." With a sigh she closed her eyes to try to go to sleep. I wonder how many hard times Cloud and I will go through in this relationship… or if it's even meant to be.