A Shinimegami Rena Valentine Production
Christmas. The first Christmas since the Meteor incident. It had been nine months since the fighting, the destruction, the fall of Shinra. Maybe Reeve was thinking a little too optimistic, taking action a little too early. Maybe it wouldn't be quite as easy to get two opposing groups to settle down together for the holiday. Maybe Yuffie Kisaragi was on to something.
Nah.
The president of Neo Midgar and creator of clean energy for much of the planet couldn't understand what would be so difficult, so inherently bizarre about his company hosting a Christmas party with Avalanche. Sure, his two groups of friends never really got along with each other, even tried to seriously maim each other on occasion, but it had been a year. A long year. Couldn't they all at least try to get along for the holidays?
Besides, the festivities would be held at his winter cabin, a small building situated near Icicle Inn. Who could resist snow, free skiing, and enough egg nog to kill a moogle?
And so, Reeve had called Yuffie, hoping to run the idea by her. And, invariably ignore any of her negative opinions. Besides, Yuffie was perhaps, the most accepting of the group, befriending Reeve after Meteor, getting along with Rude and Elena. Sure there were some... issues between Yuffie and Reno, but who didn't have problems with him? Everything should get along fine. A Christmas party would be just the thing to patch things up between Avalanche and the Turks. So, he decided to play dumb, despite the warning bells in the back of his mind, reminding him of the truth. Despite Yuffie's silence over the phone.
"But... why do you think this won't work?"
Yuffie thought a moment, trying to choose her words with the utmost of care. Truthfully, she wanted this party to go on. It had been quite some time since she had seen her friends, the reconstruction of Wutai ate up the time left over from press conferences. And when she wasn't busy, she was training. And when she wasn't training, she was ignoring her father's constant requests and comments concerning her role in the future of Wutai – her attitude, her behavior, her lack of suitors.
It wasn't easy being female ninja royalty in Wutai.
Yuffie wanted a break, and she knew the upcoming few weeks would be perfect. Everything was halted because of the holidays, even the relentless interviews and meetings. Wutai was readying itself for the annual festival to Shiva, a holiday Yuffie had always found a little too stuffy for her liking. She wanted out of it. And if meeting with the president of Neo Midgar would help bolster foreign relations... A smile spread across Yuffies face.
"I'm not saying it won't work. But that it'll be reeeally difficult. But you should try. I'm sure everyone'll show."
Reeve was taken aback. Something was working its way through her evil little mind. He could practically hear the cogs creaking and turning. Yuffie always had that tone of voice when an epiphany hit her, when she realized how best to use something to her advantage. And in the ninja-theif's case, there were a lot of ways she could benefit from anything, including this party. Stealing Materia, practical jokes, escaping Wutai, provoking a fight... It was like inviting Discord over for the holidays. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea...
"So how'm I gonna get there?" She chirped, her voice darting through and halting his train of thought.
Reeve cracked his knuckles and leant back into his chair, a smile dancing upon his face. Maybe he couldn't get to the bottom of Yuffie's sudden change of heart, but he knew just how to get back at her, throw her into line, remind her that it wasn't so easy to pull a fast one on him, and just before she could try anything. It would be great. He could envision her look of horror and he bit back a laugh. It wasn't necessarily in Reeve's nature to be cruel, but he had to have fun sometimes...
"I'll send someone over. Just be ready noon, Christmas Eve."
They said their goodbyes.
Reeve couldn't believe it was so easy...
December 23. Yuffie stood near the helipad, her normal attire replaced by a pair of jeans and a red turtleneck. A green scarf dangled from her neck, hastily wrapped, but still reaching down to her waist. She held the handle to a large, oversized black suitcase. Yuffie was never a girly girl, but there were some things that were essential.
This included ninja stars, hair gel, and an industrial sized bottle of aspirin.
Finally, after a "gawdawfully" long cold wait, she heard it – the reassuringly loud sound of the former Shinra's large black helicopter as it landed, the force of winds pushing back her shoulder length chocolate brown hair. She smiled.
But it didn't last long.
The door opened, and there in the pilots seat sat a rather bemused redhead. He grinned wickedly as he watched her smile drop, her eyes bulge, her teeth clench.
"You gettin' in, babe, or are you just gonna sit back and stare at my sexy body?"
She growled under her breath, bit back a retort, and tossed her bag into the back seat. She had a feeling those ninja star would be a little more essential than she previously thought. If he tried anything. If he even looked at her the wrong way...
Reeve... You are sooo gonna get it...
Snow... Snow... Snow... Snow... Mountain... Snow... Forest... Snow... Cloud... Cloud... Snow...
Yuffie sighed loudly and leant forward, trying to steady her unstable stomach. It had been a mistake, a big one, to eat breakfast that morning. Somehow the helicopter wasn't quite as bad as the Highwind...
Then again, Yuffie had made sure to carry a tranquilizer this time around.
So maybe she was a little less nauseated. That left her to be... bored. Verily.
"Are we there yet?" Yuffie hadn't said much on the flight, choosing to ignore her chauffeur rather than acknowledge his existence. Reno didn't seem to mind, choosing to keep quiet for once in his life. Surprising.
"Nope. Probably another hour left... If the storm doesn't worsen."
Yuffie groaned and fell back in her seat, slouching and staring back out the window once more. This flight was entirely too long. They had just gotten clear of the ocean. Now there was snow, and lots of it. Everywhere.
"Y'know... I don't want to be here with you either... I didn't request to drag your sorry, barfy ass to Icicle Inn... I didn't even want to go to this party." A grin spread across Reno's face. "Woulda made a bigger fuss out of it, but Reeve offered to pay off my beer tab and double my Christmas bonus. 'Lena was really pissed...."
The ninja pinched the bridge of her nose and slouched further into her seat, allowing Reno's voice to fade into oblivion. Somehow listening to Reno was making her stomach flop around even more violently. She didn't need this...
"Better not puke on the leather... They'll peg that on me somehow..."
Sighing again, Yuffie leaned her head against the cool window glass and closed her eyes. It was going to be a long hour. Maybe if she could only fall asleep, she'd have to put up with less motion sickness, and less Reno.
A tapping woke her up. A relentless tapping on her shoulder. She tried to shoo it away, but it only returned, the force of the tapping shaking her, making her awaken finally. And instead of finding herself in the safe, warm confines of her room, awakened by her father or her cat, she looked into the Greenish eyes of her most loathsome acquaintance.
Reno grinned nervously, stepping back from the slowly moving Yuffie. She hopped out of the vehicle, stretched, and surveyed her surroundings.
Snow, snow snow, tree, snow, snow...
No cabin. No parked Highwind. No party.
"RENO?!"
The Turk in question gulped and took a step back.
"I've got good news... and bad news."
Grey eyes narrowed. "What... do you mean?"
"Well... the good news is... we're on land!" He rubbed his hands together, trying to momentarily warm them.
"And the bad news?"
"Well... it seems... we ran out of fuel... so..."
Yuffie growled incoherently, unable to suppress her rage. If she had materia on her... If she had her shuriken. She tried to calm herself, making sure to breathe, ignoring the urge to beat him with her bare fists.
"So... how far... is it?"
Reno kicked a small rock from the snow, suddenly preoccupied with the powdery slush underfoot. "Well... I know we're South of Reeve's cabin... Er... half an hour by helicopter..."
Yuffie growled and looked at her watch. Four o clock, when taking into account time zones, and she didn't want to be late. The ninja silently opened the helicopter door once again, grabbed her bag, and started walking.
"Follow me if you want, Turkey, but don't expect me to care if you get eaten by a bear."
It couldn't take too long to find the cabin. Could it?
Yuffie wrapped her green scarf around her neck once more. It was going to be a long walk.
Okay, so maybe this isn't as easy as I thought it would be...
Yuffie sighed and looked at her watch once again. It had been an hour and a half since they had started walking, and it wasn't looking good. Reno had decided to go along with her, wordlessly walking alongside her. She shrugged off his silence, figuring him too tired or cold to bicker. She knew she wasn't in the mood.
Okay... so maybe I came down on him a little... hard.
Yuffie blinked and shook her head. That would be the day...
It was getting colder. The wind was blowing harder. The snow was falling heavier. Everything was getting worse, while the sky was simultaneously getting darker, as was Reno's disposition. Not only was he stuck outside, in the cold, but he was stuck with a pissed off Yuffie. Sure, is had been his fault they were stuck out in the wilderness, but she didn't have to be so... bitchy.
"Didn't you bring a PHS or something?" Her voice rang out over the howling wind, almost challenging, taunting.
"Don't you think I would have used it if I'd brought it?"
"Yeesh... isn't that one of those 'don't leave home without it' kinda things?"
Reno snorted, and sped up his walking pace, "Well, I'd expect a princess like you to have one for yourself."
"Don't turn this onto me! Just because you had to screw everything up..." She rolled her eyes and continued walking, nose in the air, signaling the conversation was over with. Obviously the ninja at least thought she was in control of the situation.
Reno growled under his breath and gritted his teeth. So many different ways he could be spending his day off and he was stuck in the snow – with her. He shoved his hands into his pockets, wishing he had remembered to bring a pair of gloves... Felt his food wedge itself into...something... And fell face first into a snow embankment.
The little cabin stood on the edge of the forest.
The little cabin hadn't been visited in at least five years.
The little cabin felt its hinges creak, then give in as a girl, no more than five and a half feet tall kicked it in.
Yuffie stepped into the building, fighting the urge to leave. The place was dusty, empty, and she could have sworn she saw a mouse run across the creaky wooden floorboards. The place was dank, desolate, dusty, and downright ugly. Whoever had owned the place needed a new decorator... avocado was so out of date... But she knew she had to put up with it. The storm had worsened and it was dark out. There was no telling what creatures could be hiding out in the forest, looking for an easy meal...
Said 'easy meal' limped in behind her, pulling his half frozen form over the couch and unceremoniously dropping himself thereon. Yuffie, truthfully, knew that Reno was dangerous, knew that he could kill without a moment's notice, knew that once he started battle, there was not stopping him. She didn't know the sheer amount of damage he could inflict, though – on himself. So she had to admit, she was a little... surprised, when he managed to twist his ankle, bash his head into a tree, and nearly freeze to death, all within the same five minute period.
She tossed her bag aside and closed the door behind her, stepping over the overcoat Reno had graciously tossed at her feet. She knew she should start a fire, change out of her clothes, maybe even explore the house a little... see if they had any supplies.
Reno, on the other hand, was content to curl up against the arm of the couch, and catch up on sleep. And that's how Yuffie found him - snoring and sogging up the couch. She poked him.
"Reno..."
"...Reno..."
The ninja growled and yanked him by the ponytail. "THIS IS THE VOICE OF THE PLANET! GET YOUR ASS UP!"
The Turk growled and glared at her, sleepily. "What's yer problem now?"
"My problem is that now we're stuck in this smelly old cabin! And we don't know who owns it, and we're going to be late for the party, and you're soaking up the couch!" Yuffie huffed as she stamped her feet.
Reno snorted and stood up, leaning heavily on his good leg. "I don't know what you've got to whine about, Princess. At least we're out of the cold. Just quit your bitchin' and make a fire or something. I'm sure you brought your precious materia with you."
Yuffie bit her tongue, looked down, silently, and began digging through her bag for the green rock. Was she really that easily understood and typed? That wasn't what they all thought about her, was it? Whiny Princess who only cared about her materia. Hadn't she grown out of that yet? Or was she still the same? She walked, sullenly to the old fireplace, thankfully still stocked with wood, and lit the fire, relishing the feeling of warmth across her skin.
Reno pulled a sweatshirt on and watched the girl. Maybe he could have been a little nicer... Avalanche weren't exactly their enemies anymore, so Reeve had said. And even if he didn't like the group that much, couldn't stand some of them, in fact, Yuffie had been, perhaps, the least annoying. In a way. He couldn't quite put his finger on it.
She was just... amusing. Ever since he had aided Cloud during Meteor, saving Yuffie and Elena from the clutches of Don Corneo, he had found her fun. Especially fun to tease. It wasn't that she was naive, though she was at times. That was more Elena's thing. Yuffie could never resist a fight, always had something to say back at him. It was a game between them. A game they wouldn't admit existed. Who could top the other, better the other, outsmart the other. Who had the better, quicker, more biting retort. So maybe she wasn't nearly as bad as he liked to pretend. Maybe...
Yuffie turned around and walked to the couch, silently sitting down. She seemed preoccupied. Something was on her mind. "That's what everyone thinks of me, isn't it?"
Reno didn't know what to say. Something must have hit a nerve. He groped for words, unable to come up with a question better than what he eventually ended up spouting.
"What?"
How lame...
"I mean, I thought I'd changed... I guess everyone thinks I'm still the selfish, bratty Lady of Wutai..." She looked away, out toward the dust stained windows, and the darkness beyond them.
"Is this that materia crack? Geez, Yuff..."
"Maybe that's why I haven't seen them in forever... I like to think I'm too busy, but... Shouldn't they be trying to get in contact with me?" She sniffed, trying to force back the tears that threatened to emerge. "But... I guess this is stupid... there's no reason for me to be sayin' all this... I mean... You can't relate... Y'don't care..."
"You really like making assumptions, don'tcha?" Reno growled under his breath, immediately regretting it.
"...Sorry."
"Forget it..." Reno was silent, staring as the flames danced about the fireplace. What she said bothered him, and he wasn't quite sure why. It wasn't just what she said about him... It bothered him what she was going through. "Y'know... nobody should have to go through that..."
Yuffie looked up at him, startled. Since when did Reno take an interest in caring? She thought of asking such a question, but decided against it. "What do you mean?"
"Fuck, Yuffie. People change. You've changed... I mean... I dun really know you that well, but you seem different... and I don't just mean the way y'look. Sure, Reeve sent me as a kinda retaliation, since he suspects you're up to something... but..." Reno sighed and combed a hand through his hair. Frustration. "People... suck. Y'think you've got it hard... at least you haven't killed thousands..."
"But... wasn't that 'cuz of Shinra? That's what Reeve said..." Yuffie questioned under her breath. She had immediately figured out what he was talking about. Sector Seven.
"Yeah... yeah... it was. But that doesn't change a damned thing..."
Yuffie looked at the redhead thoughtfully. I guess there's more to Reno than I thought... Guess he knows what it's like... He's... not so bad after all... She scooted herself closer to him and cautiously threw her arms around him in a hug, thoroughly amused by the way he stiffened at the show of emotion. "Thanks, Reno."
"Whoa... You're not planning on smacking me upside the head or anything, are ya?" He smiled and reciprocated the hug, putting an arm around her, bringing her closer. It felt strangely nice, having her so close, a thought that threw him off completely. He never thought this would happen, never thought something like this could feel so good...
Yuffie snuggled up close to him, "You're very warm, Turk-boy."
"Warm blooded things tend to be that way." He stroked her back, absent mindedly. "Didn't think Turk-pillows were very comfortable..."
"They're not. You're bony." Yuffie closed her eyes, a contented look upon her face. Obviously this little fact didn't matter much.
Reno held her, silently watching the fire dance, feeling the girl's heartbeat against his chest. He couldn't quite understand it, but he hadn't felt that way ever before. It was like nothing he had ever experienced.
"Imagine if someone saw us like this?"
Yuffie opened her eyes and craned her neck, looking into his emerald eyes, a chuckle shaking her small frame. "I could just picture Tifa or Barret..."
He snorted. "That'd be great... wouldn't it?"
"Sure would." She laid her head back down. "But... I don't think I'd care what they thought."
He continued to hold her, feeling her breathing slow down, noting her way her eyelashes twitched , her lips forming the faintest of smiles.
The beep of a wristwatch.
Midnight.
He brushed back her hair from her forehead with his free hand, and lightly kissed her, then laid his head on her own, careful not to awaken her. He wasn't sure what to think, didn't know what they were going to do later that day, didn't even understand the new found feelings that coursed through his being. All he understood was the moment, and how right it felt to hold her in his arms.
And he didn't want to let go.
"Merry Christmas, Yuffie."
Reno closed his eyes and smiled. No... it didn't matter what the others thought... He wanted to make this work. He didn't want it to end.
A merry Christmas, indeed.
Outside, the snow continued to fall.
Author's Ramble: Yeah, I know it's pretty cutesy, and Reno seems a little too nice, I'm sure. Bear with me, Reno the smart-ass will return in due time. I have more chapters to work on. ^_^
Maybe this is me just practicing the craft of Reno x Yuffie. I didn't want to make another angsty Christmas fic this year, so I tried for romantic comedy. Which means it's trivial, as it's meant to be.
Awwh, what can I say? Merry Christmas! ^_^