Part 5: "Secret Wish"
Yuffie was unaware of how much time had passed. A minute? An hour? However long it was, the moment between her nearly fainting and then finally regaining control of her breathing seemed like an eternity. She was still fairly light-headed, still winding down from the aftershock of her body's sudden, unexpected reaction, but at least her heartbeat had slowed back to normal, and the uncomfortable feeling of her blood being on fire had been replaced by a faint tingling sensation running across her skin.
She remained in the same curled-up position on her chair, eyes closed, focusing on her breathing. The silence of the hospital ward felt more unbearable than ever, with the only discernible sounds in the dead calm of the night being those of the cardiac monitor's periodic beeping and the ceiling fan lazily spinning overhead.
The surge of adrenaline had rendered her senses hyper-aware to any subtle changes in her surroundings, and presently she could have sworn that she had heard a tick on the heartbeat monitor that was a fraction off-tempo. She raised her head, looking up at Cloud to assure herself that it wasn't simply her mind playing tricks on her. She couldn't tell for sure whether it was just her imagination, but it appeared to her as though he had stirred in his sleep, showing just the barest hint of motion.
"Cloud?"
She got up from her seat, lightly brushing her hand against his arm.
"Cloudy? You in there?"
Still no response.
Yuffie sighed. "I hope so, because otherwise I'm gonna end up feeling really stupid saying all this."
She took a moment to compose herself before continuing. "You have to get up," she said, speaking in a more firm tone of voice. "You can't give up now. You have to come back to us... to me."
She grimaced, gathering up her courage before speaking the next words.
"Because I..."
She paused again, tears slowly welling up in her eyes.
"I..."
Unable to bring herself to say it out loud, she instead threw her arms around her unconscious friend, whispering three simple words in his ear.
She waited a short while to see if there was any answer, hugging him even harder before finally letting go.
"There, I said it."
Yuffie stood up straight again, her hands balling into fists as her mind was flooded with complex emotions that she could no longer rein in. "And... I don't care if you don't feel the same way about me," she continued, burning hot tears streaking down her face as she spoke, "'cause it's not gonna change the way I feel about you."
Paradoxically, something about her confession made her angry. Sincerity like this was damn near anathema to the young ninja. She hated the way it made her feel altogether too vulnerable, too exposed, which in turn pissed her off. "So... so you just have to deal with it. Okay?" she added, stamping her foot on the floor.
Her words were met with nothing but silence. She almost had to laugh at herself for expecting anything different. For the way she was getting upset at her comatose friend for not reciprocating her advances. For thinking that her belligerent outpouring might somehow provoke a reaction from him.
"Please, Cloud..." she whispered, letting her tears fall without bothering to wipe them away. "You have to wake up now. Please..."
She hung her head, grimly aware of the futility of her situation.
"It's not like you can hear me anyway... is it?"
Yuffie shivered in her seat, wrapping the thin blanket more tightly around herself. The torrential rain that battered the hospital had come completely without warning, and with it a sharp drop in temperature. It was shocking just how quickly the night had gone from hot and humid to freezing cold, forcing the young ninja to grab the nearest available cover before huddling for warmth in her chair.
She'd received a text from Barret a little earlier, notifying her that he and the rest of the group wouldn't be back until morning. With Cloud still entirely unresponsive, there wasn't much else for it except to try to get some rest herself. She switched off all the lights save for the small lamp on the nightstand, providing the tiniest sliver of illumination, before settling down for the night.
The preceding week had already exacted its toll on her, but it was only now that she noticed just how tired she was, as though her exhaustion and combat fatigue were finally beginning to catch up to her after she had unknowingly staved them off all night. She wasn't merely sleepy. She was worn down. Depleted. Bone-tired. And yet, no matter how weary she felt, sleep would not come.
She shifted around, trying to make herself comfortable on the small plastic chair, while occasionally glancing up at Cloud, still nursing some faint hope that he might show any sign of recovery.
"Didn't think the weather would turn out this crummy... huh, Cloud?"
A pause, as her words were greeted with the usual silence. Frowning, she lowered her head. It was getting cold and dark, and she shivered again, rubbing her arms. She felt lonelier and more isolated than ever, as if she were slowly receding into herself.
"...Yeah, me neither."
A flash of lightning painted the hospital room in cold, desaturated hues of blue and grey as the rain continued to beat against the windows. Another sharp thunderclap roared in the distance, rousing Yuffie from her state of half-sleep. Abandoning the idea of napping on her chair, she rose from her seat, keeping the blanket wrapped around herself like a cloak.
"C'mon, Cloud," she said. "Where are you?"
She hovered over her fallen friend, gazing wistfully at him for a long while before giving in to temptation. Leaning over Cloud, Yuffie brushed her soft lips against his cheek, before pulling away again.
"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I know I shouldn't have..."
For a moment, it seemed to her as though some subtle change had come over him in reaction to her kiss, as if he might at last be about to stir from his deathlike slumber. Whether she had imagined it or not, it took every bit of self-control she could muster for her to stop herself, lest she end up trying to make out with a coma patient.
No.
She wanted more. She wanted him to kiss her back, and of his own volition. But there was nothing for it. Nothing to do but wait and hope against all odds.
And wait she did. But still, he showed no signs of waking up.
Yuffie's thoughts ran to tomorrow. How it would all turn out after tonight. Cloud's condition, it appeared, was bound to remain unchanged, no matter what. The others would return some time in the morning, with Tifa back to safeguarding her childhood friend, while she herself rejoined the rest of the group in its seemingly endless quest to chase down rare materia in order to keep it out of Shinra's hands, all the while pretending that she wasn't smitten with her friend here. It might very well be the last time that she'd get a chance to be alone with him like this. The thought of being separated from him now pained her more than she cared to admit, even though he was still mentally absent. And so, true to her ideals of seizing the moment, she made up her mind, the consequences be damned.
"... Screw it."
Giving in to her impulses once more, Yuffie grabbed her chair and dragged it across the room, securing it against the door before climbing into the spacious hospital bed next to Cloud, draping her blanket over the two of them. She wrapped her arms around him, pulling him into a tight hug while taking care not to disturb any of the medical equipment still hooked up to him.
Already, she felt warmer snuggling up to Cloud. She traced her thumb across his cheek as she studied his features more closely. He was so near to her, and yet so far away. Would he ever come back, she wondered.
"I know it can't really work," she said, speaking softly to him. "You... me... So, let me just have this one moment..."
The only sounds that could be heard were those of the ceiling fan slowly spinning away and the rain still tapping against the window, interrupted by the occasional rumble of thunder.
"Still giving me the silent treatment, huh?" she joked, regarding Cloud with a pensive half-smile. "Well... two can play at that game."
She raised herself slightly to press a quick kiss against his temple before curling up against him, resting her head on his shoulder.
"Good night, Cloud."
With that, she slowly drifted off to sleep to the soft susurration of rain and the warmth of his body pressed against hers.