A/N: Hey you guys, I know it's been a while, sorry, but I've been at my grandma's ALL week without my Word documents *dies a little*

From now on, I'll try to do an update each week...but those of you who know me know I'm SUCH a procrastinator and I'm super busy lately. Anyway, I know you aren't really listening to this and want to just read the story, so here is the latest Yuffie installment. Remember, her story moves backwards, so at this point, she's still in Healin. And you get a lot of insight as to why the marriage failed...from her point of view, at least. Enjoy, and thank you so so so so much for reading!!

xoxo, Meyx

See, I'm Smiling (Yuffie)

See, we're laughing
I think we're gonna be okay
I mean, we'll have to try a little harder
And bend things to and fro
To make this love as special
As it was five years ago

The only thought that ran through my head when I saw him walking towards me was a shocked, "He really showed up!"

5 years ago, I would have run to him, jumped into his arms, and kissed him as if I hadn't seen him in years. But I wasn't a 22-year-old newlywed anymore; I was a 27-year-old woman with a failing marriage. So I just smiled and waved hopefully at him.

He smiled lightly at me, but even from a distance I could see the strain on his face as he locked his car door and walked towards me. As he got closer, I could see that his clothes were rumpled, as if he'd worn them recently and hadn't washed them yet. He looked tired, and when he finally hugged me, I stiffened.

He smelled like perfume. Another woman's perfume.

"Vincent?" I asked, pulling back.

"Huh? Oh!" He shrugged out of his jacket and gave me a half-hearted laugh. "Lucrecia's been going over business with me all morning in her office. You know how much perfume she wears. Sorry about that, Yuff."

Once his jacket was in his car, I hugged him again. The smell was much fainter now, and I almost believed him. But he'd been spending too much time with Lucrecia in the past two years for me to be able to trust that there was nothing going on with her.

But if there is something going on with her…maybe it's a little bit of my fault. If I wasn't so bitter all the time…

Vincent had been so successful in his writing from almost the moment he started. Meanwhile, I had been trying to get taken seriously in the musical theater since I was 17, ten years now. And while he had parties thrown in honor of his newest review, I was stuck in Healin, playing the supporting roles in plays that no one showed up to.

Sure, I was resentful of his success. But I hadn't meant to be so mean to him.

Maybe I brought this on myself…

Then I shook my head. I didn't even know if he was cheating. I had nothing to worry about. Vincent wouldn't do that to me…right?

OoOoOoO

I showed him around the theater, and watched his eyes sparkle with suppressed laughter when he saw the pitiful cardboard attempt at a background.

"What play?" He asked, clearly confused.

"Loveless." I said, smiling when he laughed out loud.

"And who are you playing?" He asked playfully. "Let me guess…The Woman?"

None of the characters in Loveless had any names. They were referred to as "The Hero", "The Traveler", "The Prisoner", "The Woman", etc. etc.

I shook my head, laughing.

"No, Shalua got that role. I'm the Traveler." I said, smiling. "My hair's too short to be the Woman."

He nodded, touching the background and smiling.

"You know, my parents never let me see this play. They said it was sacrilegious, because Loveless is the holy book of Minerva worshippers."

I smiled absently, unsure of how to respond to that. With horrible timing, Reeve walked by, nodding at Vincent and smiling at me.

"Yuffie, curtain call's in an hour." He reminded me, and I nodded back.

As if anyone would really show up for this show, but I'd start getting ready to humor him and the rest of our "cast."

I led Vincent backstage to my closet of a dressing room that I shared with Shalua and her pet snake. My coworker wasn't there yet, so Vincent sat in her chair and watched me get dressed into my costume, a shapeless and ugly button down shirt, dark brown pants, and a light brown menswear vest.

We joked a little bit about my costume, which I told him made me look manlier than him. He laughed at that one, really laughed, and I smiled. It'd been so long since I'd been able to make him laugh like that. Head thrown back, shoulders heaving, and tears popping up in the corner of his eyes…he was so handsome when he laughed like that. I mentally cursed myself for all the moments I'd lost, touring every summer for the past 3 years, and raising hell when I was home.

Then again, he wasn't exactly the perfect spouse, either, always going to parties in his honor, flirting with every woman that threw themselves at him, all of that.

No. I promised myself I wouldn't be bitter. He drove all the way here from Edge just to see me in this play, because he knew how happy I was to get a semi-leading role. I'm not a sulky child, I'm his wife. I'm turning a new leaf here. I'll make this work. No…we'll make this work.

OoOoOoO

After more slightly strained banter about the play and introducing him to the other members of our cast…all four of them…it was almost curtain call. Vincent and I had found a quiet corner to be able to talk for a minute before I was onstage for the next three hours.

"I really think you'll like this show." I said, noting the careful distance we kept between us but forcing myself not to think about it.

"I'm sure I will." He said, looking around.

"I'm about 95% sure it doesn't suck, so…" I said, smiling.

Vincent chuckled softly and graced me with a smile. Half the time, I didn't know what he was thinking or feeling, especially towards me, but right then, looking at that smile, I felt this huge wave of hope. I just knew it was going to work.

"So, I was thinking that we could go out to breakfast tomorrow…I know this really good café down the road. It comes with the territory of being here all summer." I said, keeping my voice light.

I knew it was a mistake when he wouldn't look at me.

"Yuffie…I can't stay for the weekend. I need to leave tonight."

I stared at him, shocked, and waited for an explanation.

"There's a book launch party in Kalm they need me at tomorrow," he started.

At that point, I wasn't even listening anymore.

Unbelievable. Even when it's my moment, he makes it about himself.

"I can't listen to this right now." I said, jumping up. "Please, Vincent, just find a seat. We'll talk after the play."

Then I ran back to my dressing room, thanking Leviathan that Shalua was too busy feeding her snake to notice my tears.

OoOoOoO

The play went smoothly, even though Shalua forgot half her lines, and Genesis, the lead actor who played "the Prisoner" was clearly overacting. But his passion for the play shone through, and Sephiroth, our "Hero," made the girls swoon with his dashing good looks and dramatic reading. We weren't the best cast by any means, but after so many summers together, we'd become friends, and we worked as well as we could together.

After the curtain fell, Genesis gave me a quick hug, told me I did well and smiled at me. He, like Vincent's parents, was a devout Minerva worshipper, but he didn't see the play as sacrilegious; quite the opposite.

When I started to head back out to meet my husband, Genesis stopped me.

"Remember, Yuff," he told me, his voice lilting. "'There is no hate, only joy. For you are beloved by the goddess.' Whether you see that as Minerva or Shiva or even as a god, such as Leviathan, remember that you are beloved. No one can take that away from you."

"Damn it, Genesis, you're going to make me cry!" I said, hugging him and fighting tears. "Thank you."

He smiled. "What are friends for?"

He left before either one of us could answer, so I headed out to meet Vincent. When I got outside the theater, still wearing the button down shirt that was part of my costume, paired with a pair of my own cutoff short shorts and some flip flops, I ran up to Vincent, who was waiting by his car.

"You're really leaving tonight?" I said.

He nodded, and I sighed.

"Yuffie, I don't want to leave, but I have to go –" He started.

"No, Vincent, you don't have to go, you're choosing to go. It's always like this! You could be here with me, or be in Kalm with them. As usual, guess who you're picking!"

"Yuffie–"

"You could stay here, just this once, Vincent! You haven't come to any of my plays this summer, and the one time I ask you to stay for a weekend, you leave early!"

"What's your point, Yuffie?" He asked, and something inside me finally snapped.

"The point is that you can't go a single day that isn't about you! Everyone has to be bowing down to you and your prowess, look at him, Vincent Valentine, just 28 and already he's the savior of writing!" I shouted at him, my whole body shaking. "Everything in our marriage has always been about you! You're bursting through everything, spreading your wings and Vincent, I'm happy for you, really, I am, but you're leaving me behind! You're en route to the sky and the heavens, and I'm…I'm…"

I broke down crying then. And to my shock, he didn't do anything. He just stood there, watching me. His hair was covering his eyes, so I couldn't tell what he was thinking, but after about two seconds, my face was buried in my hands and I didn't care what he thought anymore.

Have we really hit that point where I'm so unlovable he won't even comfort me?

A few minutes later, I straightened up and wiped my face with the heel of my palm.

"I swear to Leviathan, I'll never understand how you can see me crying and not do anything about it." I whispered.

"Yuffie…" he murmured.

"Just go to your stupid party, Vincent. I'll see you when I get back to Edge in a few weeks."

Sighing, he got into his car and left, and I stood there, alone except for the setting sun, and stared at the sky.

"Happy birthday, Yuffie," I murmured to myself sadly.

Then I walked back in to the theater, trying to think of a good explanation to tell my fellow actors and my director why my husband wouldn't be joining us for my birthday dinner…and trying to think of a good reason to tell myself why he hadn't remembered I turned 27 that day.