Infidelity

Chapter 2 - Restaurant

By Crystal Snowflakes

She didn't see him for six months after that—she had painstakingly gone through the process of stalking him and getting his work schedule through Reeve's work email every week. On days she knew he was on the clock, she would take a quick detour to say hi to Tifa before work or invite her out for a quick lunch. She rarely visited the bar at night unless she was absolutely sure he was gone overnight on missions elsewhere. Deep down, she knew Tifa was smart enough and had some suspicion that she had been avoiding the Turk because she used to be there every night. But she was sure that Tifa didn't quite know the real reason and it was better if she didn't really know any better and she was better off that way.

Yuffie knew that if she ever caught sight of him, she wouldn't be able to look away because she hadn't been able to stop dreaming about his eyes and his lips and his fingers and him since that night on the roof and nobody she had been with since then had made her feel the way he had made her feel.

One of Godo's most promising suitors, Takahiro Sakai, had flown all the way to Edge to court her and had invited her for a dinner date at a posh restaurant. She had been tempted to tell him that she would rather have beer and pizza on a rooftop somewhere, but she could hear her father's scolding voice in her head because Lady Kisaragi must be ladylike and should not be flouncing around rooftops like a tomboy. So she had, regrettably, dressed up in a little black dress with heels that made her legs look even longer than possible and put on minimal makeup, just enough so that it looked like she had put some form of effort into her appearance.

And then after dinner, maybe she could go clubbing and get drunk and slip under someone's bed sheets so she could try to rid her mind of green eyes and red hair.

She had insisted they meet at the restaurant because the last thing she wanted was to extend the date and have him walk her home. He was a handsome Wutain man with an angular and tattoo-less face, a tall but not lanky-enough body and Yuffie found him still a little too old even though he was the youngest suitor and her traitorous mind reminded her that he was still two years younger than Reno.

She tried to enjoy herself and found that he had a good sense of humour compared to all the other suitors, though she still wished he was a little more witty and snarky. But as far as suitors got, she had to praise Godo for a job that was somewhat well done because at least he wasn't fifty and balding. While she cleared her second cup of wine, because honestly, she really needed to be drunk for these dates, she caught a glimpse of them by the door and his eyes met hers at the same time—her heart stopped.

"Yuffie!" Tifa smiled, waving, her keen eyes having caught sight of her right off the bat. She turned to ask the host something and before Yuffie knew what was going on, another table had been set up beside theirs and all she could feel was her stomach tightening. "It's so nice running into you! Hope you don't mind us intruding!" Tifa elbowed Reno in the side and gave him a firm, warning look.

"Hey," Reno merely said, a small scowl on his face as he pulled the chair out for Tifa before sitting across her.

Yuffie kept her smile on her face although all she wanted to do was flee but she knew that Tifa thought she was doing it for Yuffie's benefit because she hated going on dates with her suitors.

"Heya Teef! Turkey!" she chirped, her cheerful voice sounding fake to even herself. "This is Takahiro…" she paused slightly, tilting her head as she bit her lip, looking at the handsome dark-haired man.

"I'm courting Lady Kisaragi," Takahiro said as he sat down in his chair, having stood up when Tifa and Reno had joined their table. "It's nice meeting Lady Kisaragi's...friends."

Yuffie rolled her eyes, making sure to hide it from Takahiro's gaze and earned a small giggle from Tifa's lips, before introducing him to the couple. "This is Tifa and Reno." She couldn't help the grin from appearing on her face as she noticed Reno's outfit all the while making sure to avoid looking at his lips and eyes. "Is that a tie? Nyuk, nyuk..."

Reno sneered in response but Tifa tittered next to her as she clutched at Yuffie's arms. "Doesn't he look so handsome when he finally wears something that isn't completely wrinkled?"

She didn't dare look at the redhead to see if he was handsome or not, but she wrinkled her nose in disgust as she shot a small glare Tifa's way. "Grossness! Don't make me gag."

Tifa's laugh tinkled throughout the restaurant.

Yuffie found the date a little less boring now that Tifa had taken the reins of socializing, asking Takahiro questions about his work as Yuffie continued to down cups of wine, taking careful measures to not look his way. When they finally ordered their main entrées, Yuffie excused herself because she needed a little fresh air to clear her head from the alcohol.

Tifa looked at her, a little concerned, and Yuffie waved her worries away, making sure to throw her a reassuring smile before walking up to the upstairs balcony of the restaurant.

Within minutes, she heard his unexpected footsteps from a distance pausing a few feet off, studying her and she wondered for a few seconds if he was going to turn around and walk away. It was a bad idea for them to be near each other, especially without anyone else around. But he joined her a moment later and she was surprised, although part of her had been secretly longing for it and she cursed that part of herself.

Yuffie glanced sideways at him, noticing with relief that there was at least a respectable distance between them. She couldn't help but study the way his lanky body leaned relaxingly against the railing and the way his blood-red hair trailed down his freshly-pressed suit. Feeling that familiar lurch in her chest, she blamed the wine for the rush of emotions. "Heya Turkey." Her voice sounded weak to her own ears and she cringed inwardly.

Reno took out a cigarette from his inner pocket and twirled it around with his fingers but it didn't look like he had the intention to light it up quite yet. "Hey brat."

There was a certain peacefulness in the silence between them but she could hear the pounding of her heart through her veins, could feel the blood rushing through her and she knew that she had to leave. Taking a few deep breaths and giving him one last discreet yearning glance, she turned around to walk away only to feel his firm grip on her wrist.

"You've been avoidin' me," he said roughly, his thumb drawing patterns on her wrist, shooting shivers of pleasure up the back of her neck. "I haven't been able to stop thinkin' 'bout that night," he confessed and she could hear the resignation and shakiness in his voice.

She swallowed thickly, not daring to turn around before she whispered admittedly, a little ashamed. "Me neither."

He pulled her other wrist towards him, turning her around before tugging her close towards him and he bent down and kissed her with tenderness she didn't think he possessed. She couldn't stop her breath from shuddering and she could feel the tears begin to pool in the corner of her eyes because this was so, so wrong but it felt so, so right.

Of all the men, why did it have to be him?

"You're beautiful tonight, Yuff," he murmured huskily, and his hands brushed her hair from her face, cupping her cheeks.

Over the years, he had called her a multitude of nicknames just to provoke her and it wasn't the first time he had called her that. But something about the way he said her name tonight broke something inside her and all she wanted to do was to kiss him even though she knew she had obligations to her country and he to her. In a fleeting moment of weakness, she used her hands to pull his head down briefly and grazed her lips against his for just a moment.

That was all she would allow herself.

She took half a step back, shaking her head, her eyes moist before shooting him another lopsided smile. "We can't, Reno. Teef… Takahiro…" She wasn't sure what she wanted to say; her mind was muddled and so, so, so confused.

"Are you strong enough to pull away? 'Cause I'm not," Reno admitted, his voice hoarse, and then he took another step forward and bent his face forward to kiss her again gently and his hands moved down to hold her waist.

All she wanted to do was cry because she had finally found someone whose kisses she couldn't get enough of, but he could never be hers just as she could never be his. She pulled away, knowing that she would have to be strong enough for the both of them as she escaped to the washroom to calm down.

When she returned to the table, Reno was already back, smelling like smoke, his hand holding tightly onto Tifa's and the three of them were chatting as if nothing had happened. She could feel his green eyes on her and she looked away, giving Tifa a confident grin before smiling softly at her suitor, reminding herself that this was probably the man she was going to marry.

She could feel his eyes flicker over to hers stealthily throughout the entire evening and she steadfastly looked away, knowing that if she even took a peek, she wouldn't be able to control her own emotions. She didn't dare drink another sip of wine.

After dinner, Takahiro had offered to walk her home, but she declined because she needed some fresh air after all that drinking. He looked almost disappointed, but he had wrapped his arms around her nonetheless and kissed her—she closed her eyes and pretended they were someone else's lips and when he finally released his arms, she pulled away, almost awkwardly. Giving him a small wave as Takahiro was joined by his bodyguards, she turned around to say bye to her other two companions.

She debated if she had imagined that brief flash of jealousy in his eyes.

"He seems nice," Tifa said with a small smile before she added playfully. "Looked like he wanted to follow you home."

Yuffie could only shrug with a wicked grin. "It wouldn't be proper courting protocols, ya know?"

Tifa looked at her skeptically before muttering under her breath how Yuffie had most likely broken all the courting rules and Yuffie could only chortle response. Just as Tifa was going to walk away with Reno, who had been unusually quiet and still looking at her, Tifa looked at Yuffie, a worried frown on her face. "Where's your weapon?"

"Teef," Yuffie responded exasperatedly, "I'm kinda wearing a dress, ya know? It looks ridiculous when I'm also carrying my bigass shuriken. I've got my throwing knives and stars though, 'kay?" She pulled up her dress to flash her the tactical thigh holster where she had stored an arsenal of her weapons and she noticed with morbid satisfaction the way Reno's eyes darkened with desire. "So don't worry 'bout me."

"What if you get attacked like last month?" Tifa asked, her hands on her sides, her head tilted sideways.

Yuffie waved her hand breezily, "Great. I hope they off me this time so that I won't have to get married to Takahiro and pump out babies." While she would never take the attacks lying down, a grim part of her really hoped they killed her because she wasn't sure she was going to enjoy the next forty years of her life as Empress.

"Yuffie… You almost died," Tifa muttered unamusedly. "Reeve told me you were bleeding out and was in the hospital for two days."

The ninja snickered, "I'll be fine, mom."

Tifa frowned. "Look, this isn't ideal, cause the two of you will kill each other—"

Oh no. Absolutely not.

Yuffie glared at the older woman before grumbling, "No thank you, Teef. You couldn't pay me enough to get the turkey to guard me."

"I'm not paying you," Tifa muttered, just as stubborn as the younger woman before she turned towards her fiancé. "Would you mind, Reno? Could you walk her home?"

"I'm not a dog," Yuffie grumbled with protest.

Reno's hands were in his pockets as he leaned up against the wall and Yuffie couldn't stop her heart from jumping thunderously at the sight. His jaw was clenched when he responded, "Teef, that's a really bad idea."

"Reno, please?" Tifa asked, her hands grabbing his as she kissed his jaw sweetly and Yuffie had to look away. "I promised the new hire I would be back to check on him by nine. Just make sure you don't kill her, cause I still really need her alive for the wedding."

"Or you know, kill me and put me out of my misery," Yuffie mumbled, "But seriously, Teef, stop. I can defend myself."

"Yuffie, this isn't a debate. Reno, go. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" Tifa smiled at him, casting a glare Yuffie's way. "Stop being so stubborn."

Reno sighed, his hand running through his hair frustratingly and Yuffie noted with interest that his hands were shaking. His other hand reached inside his pocket before pulling out a set of keys. "Here, Teef. Take my car keys at least. You remember where it's parked?"

Tifa hummed in agreement before she kissed him again and gave Yuffie a hug. She walked away, turning back around after a few steps before yelling at them to not kill each other.

Yuffie wished she had taken up Takahiro's offer for a ride home.

Author's Notes: As usual, comments and suggestions are very much appreciated!

Completed: July 17, 2020
Revised: September 6, 2020