Lost in the Sunshine

Sunshine. He was awake a moment before she was. Cloud watched as Yuffie slowly stirred and sat up in bed, stretching, her naked form haloed in a radiant silhouette by the early morning sunlight filtering through the blinds of their hotel room. She had certainly matured in recent years, in more ways than one, a fact that he was coming to appreciate anew. He quietly observed her athletic figure, taut and petite, yet verging on growing voluptuous, which had come as a surprise to him, all graceful curves... and the occasional scar, barely visible, small reminders of her less-than-peaceful upbringing.

She caught him looking and quickly covered up her bust, then giggled, half-amused, half-embarrassed. "What?"

"Nothing," he said.

"Oh, really?" she replied, tilting her head. "You were getting an awfully good look at 'nothing', mister."

"Well, it is a nice view.." Cloud said.

"Is that so?" Yuffie replied, leaning in. "Doesn't look so bad from where I'm sitting, either," she added, running a slender finger down his chest. He took her hand and pulled her in closer for a long, slow kiss, after which she cuddled up to him again and sighed contentedly. "Last night was.."

"Yeah," he replied, idly running his fingers through her jet-black locks.

They had spent the night together in a hotel in Junon, having arrived a day early, before Yuffie's scheduled flight in the morning, after a full week of traveling on the road together. Their lovemaking had started off slow and hesitant, but quickly heated up and coalesced into a torrent of unrestrained passion, the culmination of years' worth of pent-up frustration and unrequited longing, resulting in a long night of paradisaic bliss. It was unexpected, to say the least, but it had been something they both needed.

It had been Tifa's idea. The trip, not the getting together part. After the revelries that followed their second victory over Sephiroth, Yuffie had received an official summons from her father, politely demanding that she get her royal behind back to Wutai, ASAP. He had worded it more formally, of course, but that was the gist of it. That left the young ninja in something of a bind. Thanks to the havoc that had been wrought by Sephiroth and his clones, everything to do with travel and infrastructure in Edge was still smashed to bits, undergoing repairs, or backed up for weeks on end. Cid, too, was currently unavailable and, at any rate, usually grumbled over being called up 'like some goddamn taxi service', which meant that in order to get back home, she would have to travel all the way to Junon just to catch a flight.

"Hey, you're headed that way, aren't you, Cloud? Why don't you give her a ride?" Tifa suggested.

Indeed, he'd had a small but important delivery due there for a while now, but even with new roads and tunnels providing a shortcut through the mountains, it would still take at least a week to reach Junon. He pointed as much out to Tifa.

"Better get going, then," she replied, ushering them out the door before waving them off on their way. They burned on down the road, fast enough that the long strands of Yuffie's headband trailed in the wind behind them.

There was one other problem. Sleeping accommodations were few and far between on the road. The first three nights, they'd managed to secure bedrooms at tiny roadside motels, but as they moved further away from the city, they were forced to pitch tents outside in the freezing night. As they neared their destination, their cheap travel tents were left in tatters, and they'd discarded them in favor of seeking shelter in a nearby cave.

They'd managed to get a couple of hours of sleep before finding out the hard way that the cave hadn't been quite as abandoned as it had seemed at first glance. They got up just in time to grab their weapons and fend off the pack of mutated wolves that had surrounded them in their sleep. The fight itself did not last long, given their wealth of experience in dealing with such encounters. They darted from one side of the cave entrance to the other with practiced ease, quietly signaling their intended moves to one another, like old times. They quickly slew the greater share of the monsters, causing the remaining few to flee into the night.

"Yeah, take that!" Yuffie called after them, jumping up and down excitedly. She landed awkwardly on the uneven surface of the cave, however, and stumbled. Cloud rushed to her side, catching her before she fell.

"Cloudy.." Yuffie breathed, looking up at Cloud's face, now very close to hers.

"..Yuffs," he replied. "You okay?"

"Yeah, it's just wolf blood," she replied, dusting herself off.

"I think we'd better get out of this rain," Cloud said.

"Agreed."

Unfortunately, their little scrap had left one of their sleeping bags shredded, meaning they would have to share one. They were already half in a state of undress when they'd been so unexpectedly awoken, so they simply slipped back into the one remaining sleeping bag, albeit feeling a bit more wary this time around. The adrenaline rush from their fight eventually receded and they relaxed, pulling each other close to keep warm. It wasn't the first time they'd huddled together for warmth like this. Survival out in the wilderness during their travels around the planet necessitated that they keep warm by any means available, after all. It was, however, the first time they'd spent the night together all alone like this. It was a strange new kind of intimacy for both of them.

The next night, they reached Junon and Yuffie realized she would have to wait until the following morning to catch her flight. Cloud suggested that she check into a hotel room for the night, and made to leave, heading off to complete his intended delivery when she stopped him and proposed that they stay the night together. Cloud was surprised by her sudden initiative, but found himself unable to turn her down. At that moment, the last thing he wanted to do was leave her here. He sensed a raw desire building up in her, the same kind that he was feeling. It wasn't long before they were inside their hotel room on the top floor, barely in the door before they started slowly undressing one another amidst a flurry of passionate kisses.

They'd intended to make an early start of it the next morning, but found themselves too wrapped up in each other's presence. A first, brief lovemaking session gave way to a second, then a third..

Several hours later, they exited the hotel and proceeded down the crowded streets of Junon. After its demilitarization, the city had become an important trade hub and travel destination, especially after the near-collapse of Old Midgar. Every street was packed with people rushing this way and that, and they blended into the multitude as they walked towards the airport.

Cloud, finding the morning sunlight a little too bright, drew his shades back on. "So, why is the great Godo summoning his progeny back home, all of a sudden?" he asked.

"Training," Yuffie replied.

"Training?"

"Yeah. Not martial arts. The other kind. Dad thinks it's time I grew up and became more 'lady-like'."

"Good luck to him," Cloud replied. "You tell him what you think of that idea?"

"Ugh, you know what dad's like," Yuffie replied, rolling her eyes. "I must've told him a million times, but he's just gotta have everything his way. You know what he said? 'Yuffie, right now, we need statesmen more than we need warriors.' It's all bull."

"No kidding."

"Like, you never know where the next big threat is gonna come from, or when. Right?"

"Not until it's too late," Cloud said.

"Anyway, it's pointless to argue with him over the phone. I'll have to tell him to his face, at least."

"You're really going to humor his request?" Cloud asked.

"I've gotta check back in," Yuffie said. "See how Wutai's doing, y'know? For all I know, the place is falling apart without me. So... I might not be back for a while."

"Duty calls," Cloud said, trying to mask his disappointment at having to say goodbye, brushing it off with a show of casual indifference.

Yuffie sighed. "Duty sucks. Hell, next thing you know, I'm going to be living in a gilded cage."

"You could just run away again," Cloud said.

"Sure," Yuffie said, "but dad's going to be shitting bricks if I do. Well... maybe you could come and bust me out of there sometime. Plausible deniability, and all that."

Having finally reached the terminal, they realized that they were at least a good hour late.

"Looks like I made you miss your flight," Cloud said.

Yuffie turned to him, playfully peeling his sunglasses off. "S'all right," she replied. "I had better things to do."

"So, what now?"

"I'll catch a boat ride. No biggie," Yuffie shrugged. "Walk me to the docks?" she added, rubbing her arm.

Cloud nodded. She didn't have to ask twice.

They wandered through the city together in the warm summer breeze. As they walked side by side, her hand found his. She caught it and gave it a light squeeze as they drifted through the streets, unhurried, lost in a pleasant haze. Neither of them let go until they reached the docks.

Cloud sensed Yuffie's reluctance to leave. He knew she had to go, but part of him still wanted to ask her to stay a little longer, selfish as that might seem. Despite her protestations, they both understood that Wutai needed her.

"So, um.." Yuffie began. "This was nice."

Cloud couldn't agree more. He still didn't know exactly what it was that they had, but he knew it was certainly something they had both needed.

"Maybe we could... do it again sometime?" Yuffie suggested.

She tried to make it sound as casual as possible, yet she sounded slightly hesitant, as if worried that he might dismiss the night before as just a brief lapse, a fling, and nothing more. He smiled at her, brushing a stray lock of hair from her eyes.

"I'd like that."

She smiled at him, a softer smile than her usual, impish grin, before turning her gaze towards the distance, a blush growing on her cheeks.

"'till then. Bye, Spikes."

Tiptoeing, she reached up to give him a goodbye hug and a quick peck on the cheek, before bolting up the gangway leading to the ship. Once aboard, she turned back one last time, grinning, and blew him a parting kiss.

For the first time in a long time, he laughed, as he waved her goodbye.

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# Author's note #
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A brief throwaway. Apologies for not updating 'Tricks and Treats' more. Too busy right now, hence this uncooked morsel. Still not enough representation for these two.

'till next time.