Disclaimer: The Final Fantasy VII compilation does not belong to me. I do not own the characters, story, places etc. They are all the property, copyright and trademark of Square-Enix. I place no ownership/claim on them by using them in this work of fan fiction.

Chapter Seventeen: A Hell of a Catch

Yuffie let out a sad sort of sigh as she stared into the mirror, the surface becoming foggy as the bathroom filled with a hazy mist of steam from the shower which was swiftly heating up. What was she going to do? She'd have to face the Turk sometime, it was inevitable. They still had almost a fortnight left in each other's company and she wasn't about to spend it with the two of them giving each other the silent treatment, or worse at each other's throats.

Then there was Rufus. Gawd, what was she going to do about that mess? She had let him do that, in his office, on his desk and had practically begun to tear his clothes off before bolting out of there when his back was turned. She didn't want to think about what he must think of her. How was she going to face him again? How was she going to explain herself?

She always did have a bad habit of running away when things got difficult. A battle was simple, if things got tough you just fought harder and when things got really tough you asked for backup. But this, this wasn't that simple. Who was she going to ask for help? It was times like this she really wished her mother was around. She wondered if things would have been different if she'd been raised by someone who understood her, who understood the position she was in. Instead she'd gotten nothing but men telling her she should just be this perfect thing, as if it was natural. Gawd she was sick of men.

With another sigh, she started to undo the buttons of her cardigan, as she made her way back through the door to her bedroom so she could dump it in the ever growing pile of dirty clothes and grab her towel which she never remembered to hang up.

She had only made it to the foot of her bed when the red head suddenly burst through the door, breathing far too erratically and with far too much emotion edging his features. Before she could open her mouth to ask what the hell he was doing there, he left, slamming the door behind him. She could only stand there, feeling utterly bewildered. Shaking her head, she undid another button, only for the door to swing open again, followed by Reno, still seeming out of breath. This time he opened his mouth to speak, before closing it and leaving the room once again.

Now she was really confused. She had just begun to consider going out to see what his deal was, when he swung the door open yet again and this time she going to take the opportunity to speak before he had the chance to disappear again. Yuffie had only just opened her mouth, with the sound barely audible in her throat when the Turk beat her to it.

"What the fuck?" The outrage in his tone was clear, as his eyes bore into her with a worrying about of animosity.

She blinked a few times in surprise, a huff of disbelief escaping her mouth, "Excuse me?"

He huffed back with the hint of an unamused smile on his lips, "So we have a fight and you just jump straight into bed with him?"

Yuffie's brow raised, once again feeling stunned with every utterance out of his mouth, "What are you talking about?"

Reno chuckled, though it sounded thoroughly unpleasant, "Don't play stupid girly. What else have you been doing with him all evening?"

If she wasn't so angry, she might have found this childish tantrum funny, but as it was she had lost all patience with him. Taking a deep breath, she put her hands of her hips and all but glared at him.

"Well firstly, he wanted to talk to me because someone saw your careless arse coming out of my changing room!"

He nodded with a smug sort of smile, as if she'd just walked into some trap, "Oh, I see, so what, he said he'd look past it if you let him fuck you?"

Yuffie's hands flew to tangle in her hair in total exasperation, "No you complete asshat! I had to lie my butt off and make up some excuse about you helping me with my dress…Luckily for us he seemed to buy it!"

He let out another huff, "So what, did you just do it out of spite then?"

She sighed as her arms dropped to her side, "Reno, I really don't know-"

The red head interrupted her, his voice raising slightly, as his tone became more and more uneven, "I told you not to play stupid with me. Coming in looking like you forgot how to dress is one thing, but did you think I wouldn't notice your fucking pants stuffed into your bag-"

Yuffie couldn't help the way her eyes widened in horror, or how her voice went up in pitch, "That's none of your business! And why the hell were you going through my bag!?"

He shook his head as a condescending sneer appeared on his face "Fuck girly, I knew you were easy but-"

A sharp crack echoed throughout the apartment as her palm connected to his cheek. She had never actually slapped someone before. It had hurt. She looked down at her palm as if she was checking it was indeed her own. Her hand had seemed to move by itself, as if it had been pulled by an instinctual urge to silence whatever cruel words were about to come out of his mouth before he could speak them. The emotion that had surged in her a moment ago began to make her reel as it pulled at her stomach and desperate, hot tears began to trickle down her face.

She hated the way her voice sounded as it caught in her throat, "I can't listen to this anymore. I must have been out of my mind to think you were anything other than-"

"Wait." Reno had taken a step towards her and she all but jerked backwards.

"No…" She shook her head as her eyes remained cast to the ground.

"Don't-" He tried to take another step, but soon stopped in his tracks as she snapped her gaze back up to him, teeth bared as her utter fury and misery became overwhelming.

"No Reno! I'm sick of this! I'm sick of feeling this way! I'm sick of having you speak to me like this! You can't treat me like I'm dirt and expect me to grovel at your feet. Is this what you do to women? Pretend you're actually not so bad, make them care for you and then push them away so you can blame them when it all goes to shit, instead of acting like a real man? Gawd I thought it was bad enough when I got treated like a prize to be won by half the nobles in Wutai but at least I had worth to them outside of just screwing-"

"Girly…"

"No!" Her voice had rung out with the clarity of a bell and he had frozen in place as she took a shaky breath, "You've made your feelings for me perfectly clear." Her fingers curled into her palms, her hands clenching into fists as she gathered what remained of ability to speak with purpose and shot her eyes up to him in a steely glare.

"Now, get the hell out of my room."

Reno paced up and down the length of the living room with rapidly increasing speed, his voice growing more and more strained as he muttered under his breath.

"Shit, fuck, shit."

Why had he done that? When did he become such a moron?

His arms were tense at his side, his hands clenching and unclenching, as the urge to hit something hard passed over him with every breath.

"Fuck, fuck, FUCK!"

The words had all but growled as they left his throat, his fist going towards the wall at full force, but no collision ever came as his hand came to a sudden stop, hovering just barely before the surface with a precarious amount of strain. His eyes glared at the wall for a moment, before his arm dropped to his side. He needed to get himself under control. He had to calm down. He couldn't keep doing this.

He had never had much control over his temper, but he had never known himself to lash out like that, especially towards a woman. And one he was meant to have feeling for. God, he had said some disgusting things. Foul-mouthed was one thing, but he had insulted her in a way she didn't deserve in the slightest.

She had looked so broken, so hurt, so defeated. He had done that. Him. Not her father, not the crushing weight of responsibility that was being thrust upon her, not the distasteful way she was being forced into a relationship she didn't even want. Just him, and his fucking mouth.

He was a jealous bastard and she was right to think he was pathetic. What did he expect her to do? He'd treated her like she was disposable, told her she was just a bit of fun and then when things got difficult, he'd told her she wasn't worth it and then had the gall to act betrayed when she had actually taken his rejection at face value. When had he gotten so far up his own arse that he'd play with another person this way? When did he become so self serving as to destroy someones self-worth just to protect himself?

He couldn't stand it.

How was he ever going to fix it? Would she even let him? Was he even capable of being a decent human being for more than three fucking seconds? God, he didn't know. But he did know he had to try, or else he would never be able to look her in the eyes again.

Giving himself a mental slap, after all he'd already had a physical one tonight, he braced himself and walked over to the bedroom door, bringing his hand up to it with a slight uncertainty, before giving it a gentle knock.

He leaned against the door and listened carefully but didn't hear anything. He hesitated once more before trying again, knocking a little louder this time. Still nothing. The brash side of him just wanted to barge in, but he knew that she was getting sick of him not respecting her boundaries as it was, so he took a deep breath and tried once more.

This time he heard a soft, almost indistinguishable noise, but he was sure it had been from her. It was good enough. Slowly opening the door, the red head slipped in and found the young woman, now showered judging by her still wet hair, and curled up on top of her bed, knees pulled to her chest as she stared at her feet.

Her cheeks were puffy and red and he knew he couldn't fuck this up again.

Yuffie's didn't dare look at him, feeling all at once too much and yet also feeling nothing much at all. She could sense him looking at her though. What did he want anyway? To shout at her again? To tell her how stupid she was? Perhaps he wanted to interrogate her again about Rufus or maybe he wanted to confirm her suspicions and tell her just how little fucks he gave about-

"You're right, I'm a fucking dick."

Her brow furrowed a little as his words registered in her ears. His voice had sounded so strange. Hesitant, anxious, vulnerable. Like he was teetering on a precipice and was trying desperately to keep his balance. She didn't turn to look at him, still unsure if this was all a trick, instead tightening her grip around her legs. She saw him take an ever so slight step forward as he spoke again.

"I was jealous. Really jealous." He paused for a moment as he sighed, his voice still fighting with itself to speak at all, "I thought I could deal with it. You and the Pres, but I was wrong. Just the thought of it…I couldn't stand it."

"Why?" She felt herself speak before she even realised she was doing it, her eyes moving only slightly but still not straying too far from her bed.

Another sigh left his throat, though this time it seemed calmer, as if he had resigned himself to some unknown fate, "I think you know why."

"Can't you just say it?" Her heart had begun to thump hard against her chest as she'd barely managed to squeak out the words, still afraid that he was lying and something devastating might leave his mouth at any moment.

A small, sad chuckle sounded from his throat as a little hint of a smirk came back into his voice, "Fucks sake girly, this isn't easy for me."

Her eyes flickered back to her feet as she felt the trepidation in her chest give a painful tug. Just as she began to feel like she might have hoped for far too much, she heard a groan sound from his lips and she couldn't help the instinct to look at him this time as he knelt down beside her bed, bringing his own gaze level with her own as his hand reached out to rest on tpo of the duvet.

He made a point of looking straight into her eyes, an oddly sincere smile playing at his lips, "I like you. More than just a hook up." The smile turned into a bitter sort of chuckle, as his gaze fell to the duvet under his hands, "I know it doesn't change anything and in a couple weeks this won't even matter but-"

"I think I like you too." Her eyes were hazy with the threat of tears as she looked at him, but she couldn't look away as his gaze remained gentle and another soft chuckle rumbled from his throat.

"Sucks right?"

She nodded back, her voice cracking a little as a lump formed in her throat, "Yeah."

They remained in silence for a few moments before Yuffie shifted slightly on the bed, her eyes darting to the space beside her as a way of invitation to the red head. He seemed to pick up on the wordless offer and lifted himself to sit next to her, one of his legs hanging casually off the side of the bed as he leaned back on his hands.

He was looking at the ceiling when he next spoke, his voice distant and heavy with something close to regret.

"Do you think you'll marry him?"

The thought flickered through her mind for a moment before she gave a little shrug, "I don't know." Her hands loosened their grasp as her own gaze followed his to the ceiling with a far-away sigh, "Maybe. Maybe not. I have the feeling the choice isn't really mine, no matter how much they try to make it out to be."

She heard him huff, though she knew the irritation wasn't directed at her. As the silence began to descend again, she started to speak, more to herself than to him.

"I don't hate him, Rufus I mean. But I don't love him either. I don't know if I'll ever even grow to love him, but he's trying to make this bearable, to give it it's best chance…" She felt another pang of guilt pull at her chest as her fingers fidgeted anxiously against the duvet, "He's not how I imagined he'd be at all…"

As her voice trailed off, Reno's body seemed to tense for a moment and his eyes clouded over, "You say you don't love him…" He turned towards her as his gaze fell to rest on the side of her face, "But do you like him?"

"Yes." She'd only had to consider the question for a moment before the answer had forced it's way from her throat. Her voice sounded quiet and strained again as her throat once again began to tighten, "I'm a shitty person, right?"

He chuckled with a self-admonishing smirk, "No more than the rest of us. Though I will say you're turning into a bit of a player."

"Hey!" She shot him a horrified glare, but he seemed to only find it amusing as he continued to laugh.

"You should try and enjoy it girly. Having two guys after you, especially one as fine as me." His smirk had turned teasing again, though there was a warmth to it that made it almost impossible to be irritated by. Almost.

Yuffie rolled her eyes with a huff, "Oh shut up, you're average at best!"

He grabbed at his chest with a mocking gasp, "How dare you! I'll have you know I'm quite the catch! You should be honoured, I don't just grovel for forgiveness for just anyone you know!"

She arched a brow incredulously, "I don't remember any grovelling…"

An almost devious smirk pulled at the corners of his mouth, "I will though, if you want me to."

She blushed in spite of herself, "No, no! I don't want to ruin your reputation!"

He inclined his head towards her in a small bow, "You're too kind."

Her brow arched again, "Yeah, I'm a friggin saint."

Something about the look on her face seemed to thoroughly amuse the red head as he started chuckling, his head dipping as he shook it as if in disbelief. As his laughter began to die down, a quiet sigh sounded from his lips.

"I hope Rufus knows what he's getting with you."

She turned to him with a scowl, "What's that suppose to mean?"

He gave a little half huff, half smile, keeping his gaze locked on the wall in front of them as he spoke, "That even without all that heir shit, if you were just a stubborn, loud mouthed, ninja thief, with a quick temper and a tight sensitive little body-"

"Reno!" She hit his arm as her blush returned with a vengeance.

Before she had fully withdrawn her hand, he grabbed hold of it and gently brought it to his mouth. In an uncharacteristic act of affection he brushed his lips against it as he looked up at her, "… you'd still be one hell of a catch Yuffie."

She couldn't tell what she felt in that moment, but it was dangerously close to making her feel like crying again. Locking whatever the emotion was somewhere deep inside her chest, she forced a huff and a smirk of her own.

"Now I know you're lying."

He looked at her for a moment more, the expression on his face remaining unperturbed at her dismissal, before a smirk formed on his lips once more, though he kept her hand in his, seemingly unwilling to release her just yet and Yuffie didn't make to pull away.

A few minutes passed in silence as the two of them sat there, lost in their own thoughts or simply recovering from the sheer emotional beating they had both taken. Eventually the young brunette turned towards him, her eyes drifting to the hand intertwined with her own.

Her voice sounded soft, almost fragile as she spoke, "If things were different-"

"If things were different we'd probably never have even met." He was looking at her with a bittersweet sort of smile, "So don't dwell on it too much, it is what it is, no point making yourself miserable over the what ifs."

She gave him a look that could only be described as reluctantly impressed, before arching her brow with a dramatic amount of wariness, "Can you go back to being stupid, this sensible Reno is weirding me out."

Reno let out a bark of a laugh, his smirk returning with that familiar hint of mockery, "Ha! Sorry girly, I'm a changed man. I'm gunna be a fountain of wisdom from now on,"

She couldn't help but roll her eyes at him, "Oh great…"

As their shared moment of mirth passed, Reno let out a heavy sigh.

"So what now?"

She shrugged, something she'd been doing far too much of lately, "I don't know."

He pulled her hand slightly closer as his thumb carefully brushed against the back of her hand, his voice steady but clearly apprehensive, "We can go back, to how things were before if you want?" His eyes drifted up to hers, as a hopeful warmth fought it's way onto his face "Or…we can carry on with this for as long as…well…we still have time, before your inauguration." His gaze softened a little as he all but breathed out the words, "What do you want to do?"