Story: Valiant Hearts II (chapter 17)

Authors: Fairytale

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Chapter 17

Title: Advancing Hearts - Surprise Surprise

[Author's notes: Author note: I initially planned to release this togehter with it's counterpart XVII - II, but this week is gonna be very busy, and the next three as well, as I am moving to another place. So, without further ado, enjoy. I will welcome any reviews at all, but I really'd like to know how the mix of romance and action is working out.]

Valiant Hearts II

Chapter XVII - I

Advancing Hearts -

Surprise Surprise

Three weeks had passed since Kairi and Olette had their last fight. There was no need to avoid each other, as they were more than just busy with the new crazy schedules that Leon, Tifa, and Aerith had pulled out of their sleeves. The Committee was less needed than before, and even though Leon remained head of affairs, Tifa and Aerith were looking forward to working in their pub. With picking up work, though, it would become more or less impossible to train the girls, so they tried to get done in time as much as possible.

It was hard, to say the least. In the evenings of their first few days of their new training schedule, all of the girls were so tired that they did nothing but shower, eat, and go to sleep. It was a life in hell, a hell they were required to go through. After those three weeks, they would be on their own. They had to train each other—Naminè in magic, Olette in physical combat. Kairi would still get lessons from Leon, but she was responsible for relaying her knowledge to the other two.

Regardless of their personal affairs, Leon insisted on them working together.

There were no free days, no breaks. Even Tifa and Aerith felt that they were going to their limits, and for once, they had their doubts if they were overdoing it. But thinking back a few weeks, when Kairi and the girls had returned alive only thanks to the king, their doubts vanished.

The Organization was too powerful. Beyond their expectations, far beyond the capabilities of the girls back then. It was hard, but they had little other choice. Kairi knew it, and so did the other two.

Olette was still staying at Yuffie's place and didn't talk to Kairi anymore. It was like she hoped to forget all about it if she ignored it long enough. Kairi and Naminè, despite wanting to develop their relationship further, had to postpone it. They had barely the energy to talk, much less to do something else after the ridiculous exercise they were put through each day.

The last day of training finally came. Naminè was now quite a reliable magician, able to use basic elementals instantaneously along with powerful recitation magic. Olette was way beyond Kairi in terms of raw power. She also had mastered a unique style of fighting, one only she was capable of.

Kairi showed less advancement than the other two. While she was more balanced in her abilities than the others, she was held back by her constant doubts and worries about Olette. She wanted to get away from it, far away.

Half a week passed since the pub opened. Yuffie, true to her word, started working as a waitress for Tifa. Training was put on hold. They were exhausted and tired beyond their imagination. They didn't know where the Organization would show up next, and going randomly to worlds would only cause problems. All they could do was wait.

---Valiant Hearts---

“I feel dead.”

Olette was lying face-down on the bed, in just shorts and a long shirt—clothes she had bought with the money Yuffie had given her. It was against her nature to spend money on unnecessary things, but a few sets of clothes really helped out.

“I'm pretty sure Tifa worked you to the bone. Your muscles are as tense as Tifa's relationship with Leon,” Yuffie replied.

“Might as well die, then.”

“It's been three days already and you're still worn out.” Yuffie was knelt over Olette, massaging her back in an attempt to get her to relax a bit.

“It's not really over. I'm supposed to train with the others.”

Olette avoided saying Kairi's name on purpose. Things were going well between her and Yuffie and she didn't want to ruin the atmosphere right now. Also, she didn't really want to think about Kairi.

“Do you ever get a break? Poor thing.” Yuffie rolled her eyes.

“Am I your toy now or something?” Olette moaned when Yuffie got some of the tension in her back to go away.

“No, of course not,” Yuffie said in a subtle, sinister tone. “You've always been,” she added.

“Yeah, yeah, sure, Yuffie. At least you've stopped groping me like I'm a doll.”

“I'd never grope a doll.” Yuffie replied. “They're flat.”

Olette smelled a opportunity for some payback. “Like you are.”

The following second Olette yelped in pain when Yuffie pressed a wrong joint.

“I didn't mean it, I didn't mean it!” she moaned.

“Good.” Yuffie had a really evil grin on her face.

They continued to chit chat over small things, such as Olette's training, Yuffie's work as a waitress in Tifa's pub, and what they should do for the weekend. They couldn't come to an agreement and decided to put it on hold until it actually was the weekend. It would be their first weekend without responsibility. Yuffie's shifts were being covered by Lilly, a girl who was relatively new in Hollow Bastion. And Olette was free anyway.

“You're so stubborn, it's almost at Leon's level…” Olette complained at dinner.

“You're unreasonable.”

“Fine, then you decide. I don't care anymore.” Olette started sulking and stood up.

They were eating on the roof, Yuffie's idea. Taking their plates with them away from the usual chaos they lived in, eating on the roof while watching the sunset was really something. When the stars came out, they moved closer together. For Olette ,it was like a scene out of a romance novel.

Yuffie waited until Olette was gone and started to laugh to herself. She had planned this all in secret, in detail, over the past week, and now her plan was finally taking form. Her evil scheme would soon pay off. Slightly spacing out by her thoughts, Yuffie started to drool a bit and some sauce fell on her top.

Olette had grown accustomed to the daily routine of going to bed—that is, avoiding Yuffie's futile gropes and seductive attempts, and sleeping. Olette was pretty sure she was going out with Yuffie, as they kissed pretty often and her resistance to Yuffie's attempts grew thin sometimes.

“Come down already, Yuffie. I want to go to bed. If I have to go alone, you can cook your own food for the next week,” Olette called up.

It was amazing that Yuffie could live solely from the instant food she got herself in the market in the business district. Olette was sick of instant food after a week and had somehow gotten herself the burden of cooking from then on. She was terrible at the beginning, but she improved fast.

“I'm coming. You can already undress,” Yuffie called back.

“You wish!” Olette said, but she had to grin.

She missed Naminè, but living with Yuffie was pretty nice. She was a real tease, but deep down she was really cute, and attractive too. It amazed Olette that no one had ever tried to hit on Yuffie. If they got past the continuous teasing, she was really nice.

Olette wore just a long shirt to bed. Yuffie had adapted and did the same, even though she had slept naked for some time before Olette started staying at her place. The other day they had spent a lot of time just looking at each other, teasing each other, holding hands while lying in bed. Whenever she thought about it, Olette blushed slightly.

“Are you feeling better after the massage?” Yuffie had just joined Olette in bed.

“Yeah. Thanks a lot.”

Yuffie moved closer, trying to kiss Olette, but the brunette held a finger to her lips, stopping her halfway.

“I bet thousand Munny you didn't brush your teeth,” Olette said with a knowing smile.

“Tch…” Yuffie got up again and walked to the bathroom in just her shirt.

Olette did it every day, and Yuffie forgot it every day. Olette thought it was sort of gross to kiss someone who didn't brush their teeth on a regular basis.

The ninja didn't know and Olette had no intention of letting her know, since she would definitely switch shirts if she knew. Yuffie had a nice body, even though she was a bit on the poor side with her breasts. Of all the nights Yuffie had made her advances, Olette sometimes played along and had gotten to know Yuffie's body pretty well.

A few minutes later, Yuffie came back to bed with a slightly annoyed expression. She rolled her eyes and moved in closer to Olette. “Can I have my kiss now?”

“Yeah,” Olette said, and leaned a bit towards the black-haired girl.

She kissed Yuffie every so often, but it was still weird. She really liked it a lot and it felt good, but sometimes it made her remember the scene on the roof that had caused her to drift away from the others. But she had rarely thought about it during the last week, and Olette hoped that she would be over it soon.

Yuffie wasn't really sure how she felt about Olette. Did she just like her, or was there more? The past three weeks had been hard on her too. Yuffie felt lonely without Olette around. She thought she knew how it felt to love someone, but was this it? Yuffie was reluctant about falling in love with anyone. The last time didn't go so well for her, and it had left its mark. And what did Olette feel?

Did she still long for Kairi? Love her? If not, or even if she did, what were her feelings towards her? Yuffie planned to find out soon.

“So what are we gonna do tomorrow?” Olette was lying sideways, her head resting on her hand.

“A secret. I'll tell you tomorrow.” Yuffie smiled and caressed Olette's cheek with her left index finger.

“You're so nice today…you're plotting something, aren't you?” Olette could smell one of Yuffie's schemes two miles against the wind.

“Even if I were, I wouldn't tell you.”

“Fine, have it your way.”

Olette turned around and pretended to be asleep. Soon after, two tender arms placed themselves around her waist. Yuffie loved to sleep that way and Olette didn't mind. That way, she at least knew where the hands of the thief were. Even though she occasionally slipped up and Yuffie groped her, she really liked this position as well.

The night came and went without any incident. Olette slept exceptionally well that night. She only woke up when she heard the noise of a train. Yuffie must've left the windows open.

“Yuffie…close the window. I can hear the trains, it's annoying…”

It took a moment for Olette to realize that it was her place that was close to the train station, not Yuffie's. Then where was the noise coming from?

Opening her eyes, Olette's mind sort of stopped working. Across from her sat Yuffie, in jean shorts and a black shirt with a white camellia flower on it. The outfit really suited her. It was accompanied by knee-high black boots. She was looking to the side, and this view really made Olette feel weird. Next to Yuffie was a bag.

Olette tried to comprehend for a second. A bag. Train noise. Yuffie in not-so-casual clothes.

Looking right, her brain finally started working. There was a window, and the landscape was moving past her fast. She was inside a train! But when and how and why…?

She looked down at herself. She was wearing a pair of tight blue jeans and a short yellow top, baring her midriff. It wasn't too unusual, but she wasn't too happy about the belly-exposing top. But why in the world was she barefoot?

“Yuffie. Explanation. You have ten seconds before I snap.”

“Good morning, Olette.” Yuffie only now noticed Olette and looked at her, smiling.

“Eight.”

“A trip to the beach. I said it's a secret, didn't I?” Yuffie continued to smile.

“How the hell did you get me here without me waking up?” Olette looked out the window. The sun was high, it must be around noon. The cabin was mostly empty; as far as she could see, they were alone.

“I carried you. You were so relaxed sleeping in my arms, I didn't want to wake you up,” Yuffie replied, completely calm.

“I have a thousand questions! Dammit, Yuffie! Where are we headed? What is in this bag? Where did you get the money for the tickets? How long are we going to be gone anyway? And why the hell am I barefoot?”

“Milos Rista, swimsuits, saving up, three days 'n two nights, couldn't find your shoes.” Yuffie responded with minimal effort.

Olette was about to explode and it was clearly visible.

“Now calm down, Olette. We're going to Milos Rista, a beach resort. We're a bit early for the season but it's warm this year. I put some clothes and our swimsuits in the bag. We're staying at a little house that was for daily rent directly on the beach. And I really couldn't find your shoes, I swear. I couldn't find mine either, so I had to go with boots to the beach!”

“They look nice. You should wear them more often.” Olette couldn't tell Yuffie that she had a bit of a boots fetish.

“And why the hell didn't you tell me…wait, did you say our swimsuits? I don't remember bringing one from home and I never bought one!”

Yuffie's expression went from a smile to a devilish smirk to an outright evil grin. So evil, Olette was a bit repelled by it. To make it worse, Yuffie started groping air and stared at Olette. It was really unpleasant, and Olette blushed deeply.

“I bought one for you,” Yuffie then said.

“But you don't know my size! What am I gonna do if it won't fit?” Olette wasn't too happy with the thought of being at the beach without being able to go swimming.

“It will. It will.” Yuffie put such emphasis on the second one that Olette got curious.

“Why are you so…oh dear God…the groping. You groped me to measure my bust size!” Olette pointed at Yuffie.

“I wanted it to be a surprise, really. And you have such nice boobs, I couldn't resist anyway.”

Olette went silent for a moment, but then sighed. That was Yuffie, all right. No doubt about it. What kind of swimsuit would she have bought? To begin with, Olette had never gone to the beach before. She could swim, she regularly went to the pool in Twilight Town, but the beach…

“Just enjoy the trip, Olette. I wanted you to get away from Hollow Bastion for a while. To relax and…I wanted to spend some time alone with you,” Yuffie said, and for the first time, Olette saw the ninja blush.

Only Yuffie could say such things so bluntly like that, and it made Olette feel special. She forgave Yuffie for the wannabe kidnapping and for the lack of shoes. But she still wasn't sure how she felt about Yuffie groping her all the time and buying a swimsuit for her.

“How long did you say we're going to stay there?” Olette leaned on the seat and looked closer at Yuffie. She looked really, really nice in that getup. What kind of swimsuit would Yuffie wear? A bikini? No, she lacked the bust for that…a sports two-piece? It would conceal her bust size somewhat, and Yuffie in trunks was pretty believable…a one-piece was too lame a choice to be realistic.

“Are you all right? Your nose is bleeding.” Yuffie pointed at Olette, who was spacing out.

“What, really? Oh, dammit!” Olette grabbed her nose but there was nothing.

“I bet you were imaging something perverted!” Yuffie was teasing her again.

“And I have every reason to,” Olette replied, and now it was Yuffie who was caught by surprise but smiled afterwards.

They went silent again, both staring out the window for several minutes. After a while, Yuffie was lost in her thoughts. She would clear a few things up while on this trip, and if all went well, she and Olette…

Olette had changed places. Instead of sitting across from Yuffie, she was now sitting right next to her, laying one hand on Yuffie's exposed legs, the other on her cheek, kissing her all of a sudden. Caught by surprise, Yuffie opened her eyes wide and looked at Olette, stunned for a second.

“What was that for?” Yuffie asked.

Olette rested her head on Yuffie's shoulder, entangled her fingers with Yuffie's, and and closed her eyes. Really happy to have her next to her, Olette moved as close to Yuffie as she could.

“You're nice, doing all this for me. Your methods are really crazy sometimes, but…I really like you. I like you a lot.”

It wasn't a confession, right? Olette was sure it didn't count as one. She didn't know if she really felt like that about Yuffie yet. But the black-haired girl was blushing worse than before, searching for a response that would relieve some of the tension in the air. Something to tease her, anything! But nothing came. In the end, Yuffie decided to go with whatever came to mind.

“I tend to do such things for the girl I have set my eyes on.”

Silence. Then, mental self-destruction. Yuffie wanted to jump out the window. A more cheesy and stupid line couldn't have come to mind!

“That's really cheesy, but I like that answer.” Olette smiled and stayed like she was, resting her head on Yuffie's shoulder and holding her hand.

“Did you tell anyone where we are?”

Yuffie looked slightly surprised, went all thoughtful for a second, and then she answered with a wide smile, “Nope, didn't!” without feeling any guilt.

“Why am I not surprised? Well, I don't think they're gonna need us around.” Olette took a deep breath and pinched Yuffie a little. “You could have told me, at least!”

Yuffie twitched upon being pinched and looked as if she were about to start sulking. “If I had, it wouldn't have been a surprise.”

“But I would have shoes.”

“You don't need them on the beach!” Yuffie argued.

“Right. And what if we're gonna eat somewhere or if I want to go out? I can't turn up everywhere barefoot!” Olette replied, slightly upset.

“I'm sorry, okay? Now stop being upset about this, I didn't do it on purpose!” Yuffie was starting to get annoyed.

“Have some of your own medicine.” Olette grinned and poked her tongue out at Yuffie.

“I'm not gonna talk to you anymore.”

“Suit yourself.”Olette's grin grew more huge by the second.

They continue to tease and annoy each other for a while until Olette fell back asleep on Yuffie's shoulder, but not without warning Yuffie that she would hit her if Yuffie tried anything funny. The ninja now had a glaring red hand mark on her cheek and was looking out the window, thinking about how lucky she was. A few days all alone with Olette on the beach…

“Wake up, Olette, wake up wake up wake up!” Yuffie was yelling.

Olette opened her eyes halfway, unable to comprehend what was happening. Yuffie dragged her along through the cabin, carrying their bags. The train was still and there was no sound. The engine must be off. That was odd.

“Are we finally there?” Olette asked, still half asleep.

“Eh, yeah, sort of.”

That woke Olette up. Sort of? What kind of answer was that? Either they were there or they weren't. What…

“Don't tell me you…” Olette gave Yuffie an ominous glare.

“I'm sorry!” Yuffie begged, and pulled Olette out of the train.

“So where exactly are we?!”

“Let me check…this is…oh…” Yuffie started to feel a bit sick.

Olette put her hand over her face. This just couldn't be true. How careless could someone be? This was topping everything Yuffie had ever done.

About three hours later, two girls, boiling in the heat, were walking down the sidewalk of a rarely used street, alongside a big field. The sun was shining mercilessly down on them. Yuffie had fallen asleep and they had missed their stop. They had no money for tickets, so they had to walk. And it was several hours' walk to Milos Rista from the outskirts of Larftis. Olette hadn't spoken to Yuffie ever since they started walking, and Yuffie had stopped trying after a hour without response.

“Will you be mad for the entire trip now?” Yuffie was seriously angry at herself for screwing up this badly. Also, she hated walking long distances.

Olette didn't respond. She was upset that Yuffie had first kidnapped her onto this trip and then screwed up on getting the right station on top of it. It was punishment for Yuffie that she didn't talk to her. But it was time to break the silence. Ahead of them, right next to the street, was a big tree that was spreading cooling shadow like a godsend.

Olette finally broke her silence. “Let's take a break.”

Without further ado they sat down on the tree's huge trunk, Yuffie placing their bags next to her, taking a break. She had welts from the bag she was carrying and it was so hot that they would get sunburned if they had to walk much further.

“I'm sorry for screwing up.” Yuffie was sitting a bit apart from Olette, slightly depressed over the continuous silence.

Olette ignored Yuffie and savored the change in temperature. It was like heaven. It was quiet, too, only a little bit of wind through the leaves in the tree's crown and the sound of the cicadas in the air. It was very relaxing, so much so that Olette closed her eyes and leaned back, just enjoying it.

Until something was in front of her, moving around. Something big. Opening one eye halfway, she spotted Yuffie, who was looking at her, smiling.

“Something on my face?” Olette sounded much angrier than she had intended. Yuffie pulled back, unsure if she could just go on and tease Olette a bit, or if she was still upset.

“No, I just enjoyed looking at your peaceful face,” Yuffie answered truthfully.

Olette took a deep breath as if to start a argument or a fight, and then flicked Yuffie's forehead. It left a tiny red mark.

“Now we're even.” Olette looked back up to the tree above them.

“That hurt!” Yuffie rubbed her forehead and sat down, her back directed to Olette.

“It should. You deserved it.”

They went quiet again, both listening to the sounds of summer. In Hollow Bastion, they barely noticed what time of the year it was. In summer it was barely hotter than in spring or fall, and winter was barely colder, let alone cold enough for snow.

Yuffie was startled when she was suddenly pulled from behind by Olette. When she hit the ground, she noticed that Olette had not simply pulled her to the ground but rather to herself. It was a nice position where her head was resting on Olette's lap, and she could look upwards directly in the brunette's face.

Olette played around with some strands of Yuffie's hair until she grew bored of it and started to tease Yuffie a little with letting her index finger move over her cheek repeatedly until Yuffie moved her head away, smiling but slightly annoyed at it.

Yuffie laid her hands under her head, looking up into the boughs of the tree. It was very relaxing to lie like that, and it had been a while since Yuffie, who was usually quite hyper, felt that calm. Olette picked up playing with her hair again, but it didn't bother her anymore.

Time passed and both girls fell asleep after a while. It was just too nice to get up and walk through the boiling heat again. Yuffie especially wasn't eager to get back in the sun.

They woke up when something that sounded like a buzzer disturbed the calmness of their resting place. Olette opened one eye and was startled to see that the bright sun had turned a deep red. It was already eveningr13;at least past seven or eight. On the road, a few meters away from them, was a very old pickup truck, and a guy with a tattooed face and blond spiky hair was waving to them.

“Hey, you need a ride?”

Olette needed a moment to sort out her thoughts. They seemed to be driving in the direction of Milos Rista, and it would help get back the lost time. The guy seemed to be relatively harmless, too. Even though he had his face tattooed, he seemed nice.

A blond woman with glasses leaned over and looked outside the window. Two thick strands of hair framed her face, one on the left and one on the right. The rest of it in a ponytail. She seemed decent too, since she was smiling and waving at them.

“He's harmless, don't worry. We're going to Milos Rista. Need a ride?”

“I did just ask them, Quistis,” the guy blurted out, but got himself a 'be quiet' glare.

Olette decided that it was okay to hitch-hike and tried to wake up Yuffie. The ninja didn't quite want to wake up and turned around when Olette pushed her quite violently from her lap onto the ground. It took only so much to wake Yuffie up.

“Hey, that hurt! Whoa, what time is it?” Yuffie looked around and spotted the pickup, then looked to Olette.

“We got lucky and someone's offering to give us a ride. Get our stuff, I'll tell them.” Olette stood up. Her legs were a bit sore but she managed. “We're just gonna get our stuff, but we'll come with you!” she shouted.

As Olette walked over to the car, the guy was apparently being scolded by the woman. “Thanks for the ride. We missed our stop on the train and had to walk all the way from Larftis.”

“Whoa, that's no joke. It's like, a thousand miles till Milos from there. It's amazing you two got here. It's still hot as hell.” He was definitely of the annoying sort, loud and hyper. The exact opposite of the only other blond spiky head Olette knew.

“Yeah, well. Couldn't be helped.”

“So what are two girls doing going to Milos?” The woman asked.

“Taking a trip. Tired from…work. Needing a break. Yuffie, the black-haired girl over there, promised me to teach me how to surf.” It was all a big fat lie, but Olette couldn't tell them why they really were going there.

“What happened to your shoes? It must've been hell to walk barefoot in the heat.” The woman didn't question Olette's explanation of the trip.

“Forgot them on the train. We got off in a hurry and I forgot them. But I'm used to harsh stuff like that, I'm a runner. Thanks again for the ride. We were really in a mess right there.”

“No problem. I'm Quistis. This is Zell. We're driving from place to place, looking for our old friends. Do you happen to know them? Their names are Squall, Irvine, Selphie, and Rinoa.”

“I'm Olette. No, I'm sorry, never heard of them.” Olette didn't knew any of these names, but Squall did sound like something she had heard in the past. But she couldn't remember where.

“Phew, thanks for the ride. I was seriously worrying we were gonna sleep under the open sky tonight.” Yuffie had caught up and was feeling a bit dizzy from the sudden movement.

“I'm Quistis, this is Zell. Get in the back, we can talk through the window since it's missing. This car can't go very fast, so there isn't much wind,” Quistis said.

Yuffie got an odd vibe. It was like a command. That woman must've been an instructor somewhere sometime. She followed anyway. Olette managed to jump up just fine and Yuffie threw their stuff up there.

“So you are going to teach her surfing, huh? I wouldn't expect that, one girl to another. You're sure you don't want a nice surf teacher?” Quistis was laughing a bit and Olette blushed.

Yuffie gave her a questioning look but Olette only responded with a 'it couldn't be helped!' look and talked back.

The conversation went nowhere, interesting enough to keep going, and they eventually went silent. Olette kept her distance from Yuffie to avoid any suspicion from the friendly people in the front. It was pretty annoying to Yuffie, but she could somewhat understand that Olette wasn't too eager for other people to find out her preferences.

After roughly an hour by car, they could see the ocean. It was shimmering a dark red from the sun and it was an amazing view. Olette had never seen the ocean before, and it was captivating.

“Never seen the ocean before, have ya?” Zell asked.

“No. It's my first time,” Olette answered, lost in the beautiful view of the ocean.

“I bet ya make a nice figure in a bikir13;ahhhh!” Zell yelled out at the end. Quistis had pinched him in the leg.

“Don't mind him, he's a bit…too honest,” Quistis said.

A good half hour later, the car finally stopped and the girls jumped from the back, tired from the long way. It was time they got to their house. The first thing Olette would do in the morning was go and get herself some shoes. Her feet hurt like they had been pricked all over by needles.

“We'll be around for a few days, looking for our friends. Maybe we'll meet you two out at the beach,” Quistis said, and waved the two girls goodbye.

“Stop imagining her in a bikini, Yuffie. You'll sleep on the floor if you keep at it,” Olette said, and walked away from Yuffie in the direction of the beach.

“I wasn't doing that! Okay, maybe a little, but you gotta admit, she had a nice body.” Yuffie followed Olette, pointing in a certain direction. “Our place is that way.”

Olette adjusted her course and gave Yuffie a dangerous glare. “So all you see when you look at me is my body? That's nice to know.” Olette seemed pretty angry.

“Yes, I totally do. Hot, delicious Olette body,” Yuffie said and pretended to drool.

Olette stopped dead in her movements and looked at Yuffie, surprised and shocked. Was she being serious? If so…

No, she wasn't. Yuffie immediately started laughing at Olette's surprised face. She was back to being a tease, but Olette couldn't really be angry about that. It was just who Yuffie was.

“Over there. That's our place.” Yuffie pointed at a small house with lower floor veranda on front, not even a hundred feet away from the beach. There were windows in the upper floor. The view from there of the ocean must be just as amazing as earlier when they drove past the coast.

“Like it?” Yuffie stood there, satisfied with her choice.

“No, I hate it. It disgusts me,” Olette replied.

“If you're going to try and imitate me, you still have a lot to learn. Sparkling eyes aren't signs of disgust, Olette.” Yuffie giggled and walked past her, toward the house. She had gotten the keys already, way back when she had rented it for the time.

The inside wasn't luxurious, but it was decent. A living room with a fireplace and in front a big old couch that gave off a nice smell. The kitchen was right in the living room, and even though there wasn't too much in the fridge, it would suffice for just them. The upper floor was just two empty rooms and the bedroom, which consisted of two beds which they immediately pushed together to combine them into one big bed. Olette had gotten used to sleeping together with Yuffie, and she didn't want to sleep alone now.

“Want to take a dip?” Yuffie placed their bag on the bed and sat down on it.

“Now? Isn't the water cold by now?” Olette was rather tired from this quite eventful day and she wasn't sure about going to swim now. The sun was almost completely down. Only a red shimmer remained.

“The water never cools completely down in the summer. Even at night it's at a decent temperature. Also, if I have to wait any longer to see you in the swimsuit I chose, I'm going to go crazy,” Yuffie said, giving Olette a truly lecherous look.

“Pervert. But okay, I really want to go swimming in the ocean. Now get out!” Olette grabbed Yuffie's wrist and pushed her out of the room, slamming the door behind her.

A few seconds later Yuffie hear Olette gasp, mumble some words. Then there were steps, the door opened, Olette threw some clothes at Yuffie with a red face, and slammed the door again. “I'm going to kill you if you peek,” Olette said in a warning voice, and proceed to undress.

Yuffie smiled and just undressed down in the living room, throwing her clothes on the couch. Olette took her time and Yuffie grew bored and started building up some wood for a fire in the chimney.

Finally, after good ten minutes, Yuffie heard steps from the wooden stairs. Olette finally came down, wrapped in a towel.

With a annoyed “tch” Yuffie snapped her fingers. “Now don't be a prude!” she complained, and crossed her arms, leaning on the couch.

“You said it would fit, but it's totally tight around the chest!” Olette complained, still quite red in the face.

“It's supposed to be like that,” Yuffie replied, and showed again her lecherous look.

“I should've known,” Olette said and sighed. Finally looking at Yuffie, she almost dropped her towel. The tight jean shorts were barely over her hips, and to Olette's surprise, Yuffie was wearing a bikini top. A green bikini top with a neck holder. The pants were half open and below it showed a green-black striped bikini bottom piece. The jean shorts gave her a rebellious look, though. Olette grabbed her nose in reflex, anticipating a nosebleed, but nothing happened.

Yuffie was surprisingly well-built, not even close to Tifa or Aerith, but Olette didn't have a much bigger chest at all. It made her wonder why Yuffie was so concerned about her bust size.

“Why are you always complaining about your bust size? It looks fine!” Olette blurted out, confused and curious.

Yuffie looked surprised and averted her eyes. For all the time she had been with Cloud's group, all the attention, even at Costa de Sol, had gone to Tifa and Aerith. “Some reasons. You think it's fine? Really?”

It was so cute to see Yuffie insecure and embarrassed. Olette moved closer, just for a second revealing herself, then wrapped the big towel around both of them. Leaning her own forehead on Yuffie's, Olette smiled.

“Yeah, it looks fine. I don't think yours is any smaller than mine, really.”

Olette immediately regretted that choice of words. Yuffie would grab her boobs in a mere seconds, she was sure. It was like an invitation to do so. Ready to get angry and worked up, Olette waited for a moment, but nothing happened.

Yuffie didn't even say anything, she only looked at Olette, embarrassed and somewhat happy. She wanted to see below the towel, but she had waited so long, she could wait another few minutes and not destroy this nice situation by acting like a teenager that was craving for sex.

“So, you like your swimsuit?” Yuffie asked rather cautiously.

“I'm a bit mad that it's a bit too tight, but aside from that, it's nice. I like the color, really,” Olette answered. Now it was her turn to be embarrassed.

“It stretches, don't worry. I just wanted to tease you a bit.”

It felt weird. Yuffie never explained her jokes, her teasing actions. But there was some special atmosphere between them, some sparks. Olette could feel the warmth of Yuffie's body right in front of her, just inches away. Her heart was beating faster with every second until she finally took the towel off and wrapped it around herself, turning around. With a bright red face, Olette walked to the door, opening it and then looking back, over her shoulder.

“Aren't you coming? I'm gonna leave you behind.” Olette left straight after saying that and only stopped when she had almost reached the water. It was a nice place to drop the towel, but it was still a bit embarrassing. But why? She had shown herself in bikinis in the Twilight Town pool all the time, and this wasn't even a bikini. Was it because of Yuffie? Was she embarrassed to have Yuffie see her in a swimsuit? That was ridiculous. But…

“Suits you.” Yuffie standing a few feet behind her, grinning dirtily and amused by the sudden change in Olette. So she wasn't just a tough girl, she had a soft side too. Walking up to the brunette, Yuffie blew a bit of air on her neck, surprising Olette, and ran towards the water, jumping in.

Standing still in front of the ocean, Olette looked at the night sky. Stars had come out, and now that she had come this far, a few things were becoming more clear. She did want to be with Yuffie.

“Follow your heart.”

Olette turned around. Someone had whispered in her ear. But no one was there, and Yuffie was plowing through the low waves, having fun while diligently watching Olette. Who had said that?

“Aren't you going to swim?” Yuffie was shouting.

Looking once again behind her, to the sand that showed no sign of anyone else around, Olette dropped her towel and finally let the sea embrace her. It wasn't cold, it was pleasant. Yuffie was swimming like a fish, but Olette had expected as much. After all, she was the one responsible for recon and intelligence from other worlds in the group.

Olette made a few powerful strokes and vanished under the water. The water was crystal clear, she could see the ground even though it was dark. Clams and rocks filled the sand and not much further ahead was a little island with a palm tree. It reminded her of that place. Exhausted from the long day, Olette let herself float on the water.

Floating on her back and watching the stars, Olette didn't notice that Yuffie had followed her and was now right beside her. “You really love the stars, don't you?” she asked.

“I don't know. I feel calm when I look at them. Always did. Maybe it's because I'm a Keyblader, but I'd like to think that because they're beautiful.” Looking next to her, Olette saw that Yuffie had joined her. Floating on her back, her gaze toward the stars, Yuffie seemed like a different person.

“Beautiful, huh…” Yuffie sighed and closed her eyes. “I wish I were just half as beautiful as a star.” Yuffie complained, took a deep breath and vanished underwater, showing up seconds later in front of Olette.

“I never thought of myself as beautiful,” Yuffie said, swimming a few feet ahead. “With Tifa and Aerith around, I never really stood a chance.” Turning around, the black-haired girl looked at Olette, who had gone back to a swimming position, slowly coming closer.

“To me you are beautiful.” Olette embraced her from behind, slowly laying her arms around her shoulders, resting her head on Yuffie's back.

Yuffie felt different about Olette compared to before. It wasn't like she was just playing around. Olette was serious, and so was she.

The moon was shining down on the two girls, warming each other in a tight embrace, silent and calmly enjoying the moment. Ever so slowly, Yuffie turned around, thoughtful not to break their embrace, till she looked right into the eyes of her partner. The words were on her tongue, but she didn't dare say them. Yuffie just continued looking in those deep green eyes she liked. Seconds stretched to minutes and minutes to an eternity as Olette reached for her cheek, coming closer, just bit for bit, until only a mere instant lay between them.

Olette didn't dare say it either. It didn't feel like the place, the time to say it. Was she hesitating? No. But what else was keeping her from it? Was Yuffie waiting for it? She had been staring forever in her eyes, but had said nothing. Did she mean to say it? Want to say it? If so, why didn't she? Because Yuffie knew she could not respond, not answer to those three magic words? She didn't want this moment to end. Slowly laying a hand on Yuffie's cheek, she moved in closer and closer until she could feel the dampness of her hair, see the tiniest water drops on her face.

“I'm freezing,” Olette whispered in Yuffie's ear. The water was taking its toll. Now it was dark, and the last rays of the warming sun had vanished past the horizon.

“We both are. I'll warm you up.” Yuffie grinned and moved in the last bit, so that their bodies finally closed in together, sharing their warmth, trying to keep out the cold from the sea.

“Why does that make me worry…” Olette whispered, but didn't move away.

Yuffie was surprised. Usually, Olette would flinch at the first given opportunity. “You're right. Let's get out of the water.” Yuffie said, kissing Olette for a second, then breaking away and swimming to the shore.

“Still the same old tease,” Olette said, rolling her eyes, and she started to follow her partner. The fresh night air that awaited them when they left the water made them eager to get inside and warm up. Their towels didn't help much since they were still wearing the soaked swimsuits. Yuffie waited at the door, holding it open for Olette.

“Hurry up, you slow thing. I'm turning into an ice block here.” Yuffie waved with her hand.

“Don't be so cocky. You had a head start, you cheat.” Both were out of breath and freezing cold. Thank God they had ignited a fire before they left for a swim. Yuffie looked through a few drawers for blankets and couldn't find anything but a thin white coverlet.

“Here we go.” Yuffie threw the blanket over Olette, who had moved the couch a bit closer to the chimney and was now sitting on it. Wrapping it around herself, Olette noticed that Yuffie had no second blanket. On top of that, the ninja started to undress in the middle of the room.

“What are you doing?!” Olette blushed and averted her eyes.

Yuffie laughed and moved to the couch, kneeling before her. “Do you want to undress me?”

It made Olette blush even more. Yuffie already knew the answer and was moving back to finish undressing. It was fun to make the brunette embarrassed, so much that even now, Yuffie could hardly keep herself in check.

“You really have no shame, Yuffie.” Olette sighed and covered herself in the blanket. The wet swimsuit was icy and it was giving her goosebumps. She needed to get it off herself and fast. But undressing in front of Yuffie? She'd die of embarrassment before she finished. At least the blanket provided some protection against Yuffie's stare.

“Let me down there,” Yuffie demanded, and Olette looked instantly worried and alarmed. Yuffie was standing right in front of her, naked. She didn't want to admit it, but she liked what she saw. The black-haired girl had some nice curves. “Come on, it's cold. Don't be stingy, now!”

Saying that, Yuffie forced her way under the blanket, seconds later laying her arms around Olette. She immediately noticed the ice cold swimsuit.

“You're still wearing that?! You're gonna catch a cold.” And with a diabolical expression, Yuffie added, “Let me take that off for you,” as she started to pull on Olette's top.

“Thanks, but no thanks. I'll do it myself. And don't you dare look! I'll kill you on the spot!” Olette responded, angry, embarrassed, blushing furiously.

“Tch, stingy.” But Yuffie followed the order and closed her eyes. She soon noticed the blanket was left on her, and that Olette had stood up. Slowly opening one eye, Yuffie instantly looked into two angry green eyes.

“I said no peeking!” Olette hit Yuffie on the head as punishment, but not hard enough to hurt her. Waiting for Yuffie to finally follow her order, she pulled off the wet top, shivered, and hung it on a hook near the chimney. Next was…the bottom.

Looking around and giving Yuffie a closer look, Olette took it off, standing in the middle of the room, the fire showing her naked silhouette on the wall.

Crawling back under the blanket, Yuffie opened her eyes as soon as she noticed the presence of her girlfriend. Olette was still as red as a ripe tomato.

“You're so cute when you're embarrassed.” Yuffie moved closer, sitting so close to the brunette that they could feel the warmth of each other's bodies. Olette took a deep breath. She was now more nervous than embarrassed, but being with Yuffie had always been kind of reassuring for her, despite her constant teasing.

“You don't mind, right?” Yuffie smiled and proceed to snuggle with Olette. She didn't feel like stopping her, didn't feel like ruining this mood.

“I do.”

The short response threw Yuffie completely off track. “You do?…”

Olette sighed, followed by a smile. She did mind, but it was Yuffie after all. “I do, but did you ever let that stop you before?” Ever so subtly, Olette was showing Yuffie she didn't really mind.

The air was warm, and now that the cold clothes were gone, she was slowly warming up. Not to mention that Yuffie was right next to her under the blanket. “We can put the blanket away if you want, I'll warm you with my body.” Yuffie was showing her usual evil smirk.

“I'll hold onto it, thanks.” Olette put her off and moved a bit closer to the front, to the warming fire. Yuffie took that chance to get behind her, laying her arms around her waist, pushing her chest on Olette's back. She waited for the angry reaction, for Olette to put her off. But nothing came, much to Yuffie's surprise.

Her finger slowly wandered over Olette's stomach up to her chest. She had done this many times before, but she was never as excited as now. Her breathing was going faster with each centimeter she went up, and when Olette didn't react when she reached her chest, Yuffie dared to lay her hands on her breasts, fondling them a bit. Still no reaction.

“You aren't asleep, are you?” Yuffie whispered in the brunette's ear.

First, no response. Then, giggling.

“You really know how to kill the mood, don't you?” Olette said, looking over her shoulder.

“I…just…hum…” Olette had caught her on cold feet. Out of lack of a snappy remark, Yuffie just stuck her tongue at Olette and breathed hot air on her neck. The ninja could feel the following goosebumps as well as Olette could.

A couple of kisses followed the hot air, much to the pleasure of the brunette who was finally giving in to the advances of her partner. Breaking away from Yuffie, who thought she had gone too far, Olette only stood up to turn around, to sit on Yuffie's lap. The blanket still covered them, and they could feel the warmth of their skin under it.

“I'll hit you if you aren't gentle,” Olette said, furiously blushing a deep red. Yuffie was taken aback a bit by the bold statement, but was already back on her feet.

“Don't worry, I'll do my best.” Yuffie's answer was accompanied by rolling eyes to the other side.

“That's exactly what I'm afraid of.”

Without further ado, Yuffie laid her hands yet again on Olette's neck, pulling her closer, exchanging kisses which soon merged into a play of hot tongues. The blanket was long forgotten when it hit the ground, and the only sound was the sizzling of the wood burning and the moans of two shadows, painted on the wall by the warm fire.

---Valiant Hearts---

Rays of sunlight forced Olette to wake up. Her head was a mess, and looking down, she was naked. Not only that, but right next to her was Yuffie. They weren't in their bed, but on the couch.

The last night came slowly back to her and Olette slightly blushed when looking at Yuffie. With a moan, Yuffie moved, and the thin blanket that covered her fell down.

Averting her eyes, Olette took the blanket up and wrapped it around herself, looked left and right, then made a dash to their room to put on some clothes. As she took some of Yuffie's clothes back down, Olette finally thought about the last night.

She had slept with Yuffie. Memories made her blush again, but it had been really nice. But something gave her a weird feeling. It was like she had stepped over an invisible line…but she had no regrets other than not being able to remember much of her first time.

“You're no fun, running as soon as you get up. I wanted to cuddle some more.” Yuffie looked over the back of the couch and smiled widely. “Aw, last night was awesome. Or rather, you were. Where did you learn to do that with your tongr13;”

Olette threw the clothes at Yuffie who was thrown off. “Get dressed, jeez.”

With things as they were, Yuffie tried to make breakfast but almost set the kitchen on fire, resulting in Olette making some scrambled eggs and bread. “You should learn to cook. It's a pain to always do it.” Olette complained while sitting on the table and taking a big bite of the fresh bread.

“I'm just not suited to that kind of work. But I don't know what I would do without you. I can't imagine going back to eating fast food every day now. I'd starve to death, so you better never leave me alone for too long.” Yuffie was partially talking with full mouth and Olette rolled her eyes watching her.

“You have absolutely no manners, do you know that?”

“I do. Didn't know you were picky about that sort of stuff.” Yuffie gulped down a glass of juice, leaned back and burped, much to the displeasure of Olette.

“It wouldn't kill you to show some manners. At least when you eat with me. Or you can eat alone in the future. And cook your own meals.” Olette had found a weak spot and she would exploit that one freely as long as she could.

“That's blackmailing! But if you want, I can try. Don't expect too much, though.” Yuffie sulked in her chair and looked towards the window. “It's nice out there. Let's go for a stroll.” She had to change the topic somehow.

“Nice dodge. But okay. You wash the…I take that back, I'll wash the dishes. I don't want them to break. I want to see the area. I like swimming, but we just ate and I don't wanna get a cramp and drown.” Olette took Yuffie's plate and with a sigh, put them into the kitchen sink and starting cleaning them.

“We can go see the market. It's the weekend, therefore there'll be one hell of a crowd. You'll have to look out for thieves.” Yuffie leaned back in her chair and watched her girlfriend wash the dishes. Unlike Olette, she had the previous night well-burned into her memory and started to grin while looking at her back. She hadn't been that happy in a long time. Maybe she could get Olette to try some exotic clothes at the market.

---Valiant Hearts---

“I'm not gonna wear this. It's basically see-through.” Olette complained and put a piece of cloth that was supposed to be a dress back onto the stall. Completely ignoring Yuffie, she walked away and looked at another stall that sold necklaces and rings. One particular ring got her attention and she tried it on. It fit perfectly, like it was made for her. A black ring with two white dolphins on it. Reading the price tag, Olette smiled. Fifty Munny wasn't that much.

“You like that one?” Yuffie caught up and was looking at the ring. Yuffie took another one, one of the same kind but with a different animal on it and put it on. A crow. “Now that fits.” Giggling and deciding to keep her ring, she paid the old man that owned the stall the fifty Munny and turned around. Yuffie grabbed her wrist and held her back for a moment.

“Can you lend me fifty Gil?” Yuffie asked and looked a bit embarrassed. She had blown all her money on the trip, so she was pretty much broke.

“Fifty what?” Olette knew that Yuffie was asking for fifty Munny, but what in the world were Gil?

“Gil is just what we used to call Munny. I don't remember why we stopped calling it Gil, though.” Yuffie shrugged and looked with an asking gaze at Olette.

“Fine. You paid for all of this, after all.” Handing over the money, Yuffie paid the stall owner who showed a wide smile.

The afternoon was one big shopping event. Olette purchased a big straw hat and wanted to get a few other things, but they ran out of money after eating some ice cream and having a traveling painter paint a portrait of them together. When they finally got back to their house, it was already dusk and the moon was visible, floating far above them.

Yuffie stopped on the little balcony that was right on ground level and held Olette back, pulling her towards the big wooden swing that was right next to the wall. Yuffie's intent was very clear and Olette pulled away. The weird feeling from that morning was still there. It wasn't a bad feeling, it just didn't want to go away. It wasn't like she didn't want to sleep with Yuffie at all…it was more a feeling that she didn't want to do it right now.

“Did I do something wrong?” Yuffie couldn't think of any other way to ask in the spur of the moment.

“No. I just have this weird feeling…I don't want to…” Olette blushed a bit and turned around, still shy about it, “… sleep with you when I don't know what it is. I just can't get in the mood, I'm sorry.”

Olette sighed and knew how hard that must sound. But she didn't want to lie to Yuffie about this. That would only make it worse if she found out somehow.

Olette didn't hear an answer for some time and was afraid of turning around, in case Yuffie was really angry now. But when the black-haired girl laid both arms around her waist, she knew that wasn't the case. “I'm not forcing you to. But you still have to sleep in the same bed I do. No buts.”

Yuffie was smiling, but Olette couldn't see it. It hurt a bit that Olette was pulling away like this. But at least she was being honest with her. Yuffie couldn't tell if she would've done the same. Probably not, in fear of losing Olette.

“No groping,” Olette said, happy that Yuffie wasn't angry. Happiness turned into anger after the hands of the ninja moved up quite a bit, doing exactly what Olette had just prohibited Yuffie from doing.

“I'll let it pass. Only this one time. If you do it again, I'm going to kick you out of bed,” Olette said, looking over her shoulder into the black eyes of her girlfriend and kissing her softly. Yuffie took her hands back and sighed. They hadn't gone swimming all day and it didn't look like they were going now, either. They would leave tomorrow evening, so she had to get Olette to go swimming the next morning.

“Can we eat dinner before we go to sleep? I'm starving. We have so much leftover food in the fridge, we won't be able to eat all that till tomorrow evening. What a waste,” Yuffie complained, and let go of Olette, leaning on the house wall, looking to the dark ocean.

“I ruined the mood. I'll make something special as an apology. Don't expect too much, and don't dare expect me to make it often. It's a lot of work!” Olette said, and gave Yuffie a warning glare. If she didn't appreciate this, Olette would punish her.

“I'm already looking forward to it. You've gotten a lot better of the past month, really. I like your food a lot,” Yuffie said and smiled. “I'll wait outside. It's nice and warm and I don't want to spoil myself for what you're cooking.”

With a shrug, Olette went inside and started preparing immediately. It wasn't all that special, really, but it really was a lot of work. She had once asked Fun to teach her how to do it and she had practiced a lot until she was finally able to make it taste good. You took several ingredients and cut them into pieces, then some meat that was cooked simply. No steak or thick meat. All of that went into a big pot. There was luckily one of these in the house, but it was probably usually used for something else.

The cutting and slicing took some time, and when Olette was about to put everything in the pot, she caught Yuffie looking through the window. When she sent a grim glare towards the window, Yuffie vanished instantly.

“Not spoiling herself, my ass. She can't even wait an hour.” Olette sighed and continued on.

The hotpot, as it was called, was almost done when Yuffie burst in with growling stomach. “Isn't it done yet? I'm going to starve to death at this rate!”

“We can eat outside. You eat this stuff right out of the pot, and we need to cook it over a fire, too. The oven here is too small, so we're gonna have to make a fire. You go and make one, I'll get us some forks… unless you want to eat with your fingers. I'd dare you to do that, though.” Olette carried the heavy pot over to the table and put it down.

Minutes later, after Yuffie had probably broken every record for making a fire, they put the pot on top of a ring of rocks with the fire below. It was usually mainly vegetables in a hotpot, but neither of them was a big fan of those, so Olette had put in mainly meat.

“Where did you learn to make this?” Yuffie pressed out between chewing big slices of meat. “Who taught you? This stuff is really good. And it's nice to eat like this too.” Yuffie smiled and looked towards the sky. The moon was shining down on them and if not for her poor manners, it would've been a really romantic atmosphere.

“If you weren't such a barbarian, this would be really romantic,” Olette complained, sighing.

“I'm sorry for just being myself.” Yuffie started to pout and stuck her tongue at Olette.

“You two really make an odd couple. How did the surfing go?” The blond woman named Quistis was approaching them from Yuffie's side. A bit behind her was the guy that had driven the car, Zell.

“Not too bad. We lost a lot of time, though. We're going back tomorrow evening.” Olette said, and moved closer to Yuffie, making space for the two guests. She didn't mind since they had helped them a lot. And there was enough food anyway.

“How did your search go?” Olette asked. Yuffie looked a bit curious. She must've missed that the first time they had met.

“Nothing. We're not even sure they are in this world. They could be anywhere. Even…well…” Quistis' face became a little bit depressed. Olette knew what she meant. They could be dead. But Olette didn't hope so. They were nice people and she hoped for them to find their friends soon.

“I'm sure they're alive and kicking. Can't imagine them dead. Not him. He was already dead once and he came back,” Zell said, and sat down across from Yuffie.

Quistis sat down next to him and gave him a slap on the back of his head. “Don't bother them with those stories.”

Olette giggled and Yuffie looked a bit confused, but decided to not ask questions. If Olette didn't want them to know that they were lovers on a trip, then she wouldn't talk unnecessarily and blow their cover.

“Where are you going next?” Olette asked, and started questioning herself how they would even get to other worlds without a Keyblade.

“Mountain region to the south, Flutzorn Mountains. From there on…I don't know, but probably the forests of D'uhnas,” Quistis explained, and pointed each time in the respective direction.

“That's a long way. I hope you find them soon. If you want, you can eat with us. We have too much to eat all of it alone.”

Zell immediately jumped up and shouted “Yeah!” only to get hit by Quistis.

“Well, if you have enough, I think we can eat with you, just a little bit.” Quistis apparently was a very polite person who didn't want to be a burden to someone else.

“We'll go to bed. I want to get up early tomorrow. Yuffie, come on, stop stuffing yourself. You're gonna get fat,” Olette said, stood up and left. Zell and Quistis were left behind.

“They're nice girls, lettin' us eat this stuff, right, Quisty?” Zell proceeded to continue where Yuffie left off and munched away.

Quistis smiled and looked at the ground. The way they had looked at each other had been suspicious from the start. Not to mention the fact that they didn't wear surfer clothes or have any surfboards with them. Quistis smiled again. Those two were a couple, no mistaking it. Helping herself to some of the food, she kept quiet. It wouldn't help to tell Zell.

---Valiant Hearts---

The next day wasn't anything special. They had breakfast as usual, and they went for a swim afterwards. The evening came much too quickly, most likely due to the fact that they had slept until noon. The train was already waiting when they arrived at the station.

“If we miss our stop this time I'm going tor13;” Olette couldn't finish. The train made a loud noise and the announcement that it would leave any second was made. Yuffie pulled the bag and Olette with her and made it barely in time. The door closed right behind them.

“We made it. Phew.” Yuffie took a deep breath and started to look for their places. They had to go through four cabins until they found them. Sitting down, they watched the sunset from the window.

“Thanks,” Olette said after some time. They had spent their time looking out of the window, enjoying the scenery.

“What for? And what brought this on?” Yuffie was confused.

“You took me in. Helped me out. Were there for me. You took me with you on this trip…and…well…I'm really happy things are working out this nicely between us.” Olette smiled, unable to look in Yuffie's face.

“You're really an idiot, aren't you? You were there for me as well, and I'm happy that we're going out too,” Yuffie said, embarrassed. “But…you're welcome. Look, the sun is setting…”

Yuffie was no good with these things and wanted to change the topic. It was really obvious that she was tired, and this time Yuffie leaned onto Olette, resting her head on her shoulder.

It was a beautiful view. The sun was slowly descending into the shadows beneath the horizon, setting the sky ablaze with red light. It was a marvelous sight, like an eternal fire was consuming the world.

They would soon encounter a fire that was much different from the sunset.

End of Chapter XVII - I

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