She felt somewhat disoriented, as if somehow the camera that fed information to her brain had been knocked askew and was now seeing things from a different angle. Coming back to Barret's house and knocking on his front door, she felt like someone who had just found them selves floating down the spiritual river, reborn as someone new and fresh and glowing, rejuvenated with a newfound belief and filled to the brim with conviction and resolve for something better. It hummed from her chest and flowed throughout her limbs, brightening her face and managing to replace her usual morning grogginess. Barret seemed a little taken aback by her glowing demeanor, and remarked offhandedly, "Had yo' self some fun now, didn'cha?" Tifa could only grin. Yuffie, her alacrity something that had won her a large amount of infamy, greeted the man with a similar warmth, clapping him on the back and giving him a wink. "Didn't wreck Deevo, did you?" she remarked. Barret frowned at her as she stepped into the house after Tifa. Shutting the front door, he said in confusion, "Deevo? What the hell's a 'dee-vo'?" Tifa rolled her eyes. "It's the name of her motorbike." Barret's eyes widened as comprehension finally came. "Oh! The bike!" he waved her off. "Please, kid. Ya think I'd go near something like that? That thing's prob'ly worth more than my house." Yuffie smiled as she sat down at the couch, dropping her duffel bag at her feet as she did so. "I wouldn't go so far as to say that...it's more like it's worth half the house." Thunder sounded through the house and in the next instant, Marlene came running down the stairs, hair bouncing as she descended. "Tifa! Yuffie! You're back!" But as she came down the last steps, her feet tripped, and eyes widening, the young girl fell forward with a gasp. Barret started, moving to catch her, but Tifa was quicker. Foreseeing the girl's fall, the fighter had moved forward and at the sight of Marlene falling, she dropped her backpack to the floor and rushed forward. Tifa caught the girl, wrapping her arms securely around the child as she lifted her up from the stairs and back securely on the floor. Sighing in relief, the woman placed a hand on the girl's head. "That was so close!" Barret knelt down, a concerned look on his face. "You okay? You didn' twist yer ankle, right?" Marlene nodded slowly, eyes still wide. "No papa. I'm okay." At this affirmation, Barret's face grew stern. "How many times have I told ya not ta run down them stairs? You know your old man's nearly broke his own damn neck jes' walkin' slowly down those things!" "Well...one could attribute that to your lousy footwork..." Yuffie muttered under her breath. Tifa shushed her. Shooting a glare at the ninja, Barret stood to his feet. "Some people jes' don' know when to keep their big yaps shut..." the man muttered sorely as he trudged towards the kitchen. Yuffie stuck her tongue out at his retreating back. "Ya'll care for some breakfast?" Barret cried, "I'm no cook like Tifa but I've gotten pretty good at omelets lately." "That'd be nice!" Tifa cried back. "So how'd your trip go?" Marlene asked excitedly, clutching at the sides of her blue nightgown. Tifa kneeled down, smiling warmly. "It was fun. We played video games, rode roller coasters, went to a haunted house... We even participated in a tournament!" "And lost." Yuffie muttered sourly. "Did you win any cool things?" Marlene asked, biting her lip and swinging her arms from side to side shyly. Yuffie stiffened at this. Tifa blinked. "Um...well, no..." Marlene smiled softly, but it wasn't a smile of relief or joy. It was the tolerant, merciful smile people show when disappointed. "Oh..." Looking to her feet, she said with a shrug and a quiet voice, "Too bad. Maybe next time you guys'll get something." And with that she shuffled toward the kitchen. Tifa stared after her in confusion. What was wrong? And then she remembered the promise Yuffie made to Marlene before they left. "I'll make sure to bring you back a BIG stuffed animal, okay Marlene?" She turned to see if Yuffie remembered too, and at the look of discomfort on the girl's face, she could tell she did. "God damn it..." Yuffie hissed under her breath. Tifa stood and shook her head. "It's okay, Yuffie," she said quietly, "She'll get over it." Yuffie slid down the couch so that her head came just above the armrest. "No, kids hate it when grown-ups do stuff like this. Man, I feel like such a grade a jerk..." Tifa shrugged, "We can get her something later." Yuffie shook her head, "That doesn't change the fact that I forgot!" "Hey! You two!" Barret shouted from the kitchen, "Tell me what you want in your omelet's! If you don't, I'll just put whatever I find in the fridge!" Marlene peeked from the kitchen, "Tell him what you want, quick! We have leftover meatloaf in the back of the fridge, and he isn't afraid to use it!" Tifa laughed a little, "All right, just give us a moment." Marlene nodded grimly. "Okay...but you better hurry. Papa's hungry and he doesn't have much patience for cooking." The girl disappeared into the kitchen again. Tifa looked down at Yuffie, who was still looking upset. "Yuffie, we'll talk about this later. Right now I think we need to tell Barret what we want or else he'll feed us some terrible creation of his. ...And please try to refrain from any wisecracks. I know you two like to take jabs at each other, but one or both of you usually end up genuinely hurt or angry. Sometimes it's like watching two porcupines try to play with each other. One of them always gets a needle in its eye in the end." Yuffie blinked, looking up at Tifa slowly. "...Tifa, you come up with some of the weirdest analogies sometimes." ---------- Tifa wasn't sure she wanted to take a bite out of it. Sitting on her plate was a rather unappealing omelet, speckled green and brown with odd lumpy things swimming in the white. It didn't smell of eggs...it smelled of- "I told you he wasn't afraid to use the meat loaf..." Marlene said sorrowfully. Tifa lifted her head, looking at the girl across from her with a forlorn expression. "Does he actually mean for me to eat this?" she whispered, desperation flecking her voice. Marlene nodded somberly. "What in Leviathan's name did he stick in MY omelet?" Yuffie asked not even bothering to keep her voice down. She was sitting stiffly on the end of the table opposite the kitchen, giving the omelet on her plate a look of disgust. Lifting the suspicious looking meal with her fork, she scrunched her nose and pointed at the purple lumps riddled across the egg. "Are these prunes?" "Relax, there ain't nothin' wrong with it." Barret sat down at the other end of the table, setting down a large plate as he did so. His omelet looked perfectly normal, flecked with golden melted cheese and ham. Licking his lips, he cut off a large piece of the omelet with his fork. "Barret are you frickin' trying to kill me?" Yuffie exclaimed, glaring at the man across from her. Tifa clenched her jaw and hissed, "I thought I asked you to be civil!" Yuffie leaned forward and hissed back, "This isn't exactly courteous of him, Tif!" Barret, swallowing down some of his omelet, shrugged. "If ya don' like it, don' eat it, brat." Yuffie scowled. "Can't you at least tell me what you put in this thing?" she indicated toward her omelet. "'Cuz, y'know...what if I'm allergic or something?" The man gave her a sarcastic look. "Yuffie, what in the hell could ya possibly be allergic to?" Yuffie shrugged, crossing her arms. "Plenty of things. I could be allergic to onions, to apricots, to tomatoes...hell, I could even be allergic to you!" turning her head, she muttered aside, "It'd explain why I always feel nauseous while being near you." Tifa, eyes widening, quickly reacted. Purposefully raising her voice, the woman said, "SO! Marlene how was your day yesterday?" But Barret, with his keen hearing, narrowed his eyes. Leaning forward some with his fork clenched in one large fist, the man asked in a low voice. "What was that, brat?" Yuffie, ignoring his question, instead asked, "Why does Tifa's omelet have green and brown stuff and my omelet have this weird purple crap?" She feigned a whiny voice. "What if I wanted green and brown stuff in my omelet?" Marlene, following Tifa's lead, responded loudly, "It was fine, Tifa!" "I asked ya a question, you ungrateful lil' witch!" Barret boomed. "What did you do Marlene!" Tifa cried, giving an insidious side-glance at Yuffie as she said this. Yuffie, smiling condescendingly, said in a raised voice. "OH! I'm sorry, Barret! I didn't realize you asked me a question! I didn't pick it out from all your bad grammar!" Barret pointed a quaking finger at her, "You ain't nothin' but TROUBLE! You always gotta start somethin', now, don'cha? You spoiled BRAT!" "I played at the park!" Marlene shouted, trying to cover her dad's voice. Yuffie, leaning forward, shouted with a large grin, "Well if certain individuals, BARRET, would stop acting like such royal pains in the ASS, MAYBE this little brat wouldn't act like such a JERK!" "That's great, Marlene! Did you make any new FRIENDS while you were there?" "And if certain individuals, YUFFIE, would quit actin' so goddamn INFURIATIN', than MAYBE this lil' pain in the ass wouldn't treat 'em so damn SHITTY!" "Yes, Tifa! I met a boy named Timmy and we played tag for a really, really long time!" "Let's just face it, Barret! You hate the fact that I hate your cooking because you hate facing the reality that you have NO business being in a KITCHEN!" "Oh, REALLY? How old is Timmy, MARLENE?" "YOUR REALLY AIMIN' FOR ME TO SHOOT YO' ASS, AIN'T YA? YA POMPY-ASS PRINCESS! TOO DAMN UNGRATEFUL TOO-" "HE'S EIGHT YEARS OLD! BUT HE LOOKS LIKE-" "YOU COULDN'T SHOOT ME IF I WERE STANDING TWO FEET AWAY FROM YOU WITH A TARGET PAINTED ONTO MY-" "SOMETIMES BOYS LOOK OLDER THAN THEY REALLY DO, BUT THAT'S JUST-" "ENOUGH!" Barret was standing, his face turned dark from shouting and his fists clenched at either side of his rigid body. Yuffie, her cheeks tinged pink, leaned back and smiled. "Could you pass the salt please, Barret?" ---------- "Your lucky he didn't kill you." "He's lucky I didn't throw his stupid omelet in his face. In Wutai, no host treats their guests that way!" "We're not in Wutai. Impatience is just part of Barret's personality, you should be used to that by now." "Well insubordination is part of mine, so he should be used to it too." Tifa rolled her eyes skyward as she and Yuffie walked toward the park. Ahead of them, Barret and Marlene lead the way, the large man holding his daughter's hand. The day was proving to be a decent one, with the sky partially cloudy so that the morning sun spilled over the wispy bodies in a flow of light. The park they were going to was near Barret's street, and it was large and expansive, with beautiful green trees that whispered to one another every time the wind so much as picked up to a breeze. The grass was plush and healthy, surrounding the jungle gym in a sweep of color. Tifa marveled at how the bright colors of the jungle gym accented the green grass and the aqua lit sky. Eyes growing spacey, she focused for a moment on what her senses picked up on...everything seemed clearer, crisper, as if the color level on a monitor had been raised. Breathing in deeply, she closed her eyes for a moment and smiled as she let out a laugh. Yuffie glanced at her, curious. "What's up?" Tifa opened her eyes and looked slowly over to her friend. She held her breath as she looked into Yuffie's large, hazelnut eyes, awe taking over her at how vibrant and alive they seemed as the sunlight lit them. Even Yuffie's skin seemed to glow, youthful and unblemished, radiating in the morning sun. ...And then Tifa's eyes fell to Yuffie's lips. They were a vibrant shade of pink, bow shaped, though slightly dry. Yuffie had the habit of sweeping her tongue over her lips... Tifa's mouth watered. "Tifa?" And like that the trance was gone, and the fighter was brought out of her deep reverie. She realized with serious discomfort that Yuffie was giving her a strange look; the girl's cheeks turned a vibrant pink. "What're you staring at?" she asked, looking embarrassed and thoroughly confused herself. Tifa, her eyes widening, shook her head and turned away. The woman stiffly answered, "Nothing." Yuffie slowed a bit, staring at her friend with a calculating gaze. After a moment, the girl sped up so that she was walking next to Tifa again, one hand on her hip and the other hand rubbing the back of her neck. Marlene was already swinging on the swings by the time the two arrived, Barret behind her, pushing. Smiling at them both as they passed, the two girls sat at the benches behind the jungle gym, both sighing wearily as they leaned back against the wooden seats. Tifa, though she could feel her stomach clench uncomfortably at the memory, tried to think on the reaction she had just felt to the thoughts she had. What sort of reaction was that for a friend to have for a friend? Was there some deep underlying meaning to it, or was the answer simple? When a person saw a bit of fruit and their mouths salivated, it was because the person found the food to be desirable for consumption. ...But when a person's mouth watered for another person, the first thing one would think would be that the first person found the other to be sexually attractive. ...But, what if that other person were the same gender as the first? What then? Tifa clutched at the necklace around her neck, the butterfly pendant digging into her skin as she clenched her fist around it tightly. The fighter swallowed hard, as if somehow swallowing the spit in her mouth would also wash away the thoughts that were spinning around in her head. They tread frightening waters and the fighter wasn't quite sure she was ready to face what lurked in the inky black depths. So when Yuffie began to talk, she eagerly listened. Anything was better than the possibility of- "I wonder what it's like to have kids." Yuffie stated, leaning forward and leaning on her knees as she watched Marlene and Barret at the swings. "To have a family, I mean." Tifa blinked at her, now not certain if she were really as eager to have this conversation as she may have initially thought. "I wouldn't know." Was her bland reply. She shifted uncomfortably as Yuffie continued. "Imagine, a bunch of little rug rats scurrying around my ankles and calling me mama! ...What a laugh!" the girl leaned back again, placing her hands behind her head as she slouched down her seat. "But I can't help but wonder what it would be like...to have a kid." A pause. "I don't think we'd get along very well." She said with a sort of sad finality. Tifa frowned at her. "Why do you say that?" Yuffie shrugged. "Look at me an' my old man. We both drive each other crazy." The woman bit her lip. "Um...well, what about your mom?" Yuffie's hands came down slowly onto her lap. "What about her?" she asked stiffly, her eyes gazing fixedly toward Barret and Marlene. "What was she like? Do you...remember much about her?" Yuffie didn't say anything for a moment. Then she slowly shook her head. "No. I don't." An awkward silence fell between them. Tifa found herself regretting even bringing up Yuffie's mother. She knew it was a sensitive nerve and yet she had prodded anyway. The woman mentally kicked herself repeatedly. "He reminds me a lot of him, y'know. Maybe that's why...I kinda like fighting with him." Tifa blinked rapidly, giving the ninja next to her a puzzled look at the blurted remark. "...Um, what?" Marlene had stopped swinging. She was running toward a group of children her age, one of them carrying a soccer ball. Waving at Barret, she joined the children as they began to play, and waving back, the man walked back to where the two girls were sitting. Crashing down in between them, Barret let out a loud sigh. "So glad Marlene made some friends 'round here...was always by herself back at Midgar." Barret nodded solemnly, "It's 'bout time she found herself some kids to play wid." Then he laughed boisterously. "Makes life helluva 'lot easier on me! Don't gotta worry so much 'bout runnin' here and there all crazy as if I were still eight or somethin'." Yuffie snorted. "Lazy bum." She muttered. Barret shot her a glare but said nothing, and it was here that Tifa finally understood Yuffie's sudden remark earlier. "Barret reminds Yuffie of her father." Tifa thought, a little startled at this revelation. ...But the more she thought about it, the more it seemed to make sense. No one in the group griped about Yuffie as much as Barret. Cid may have argued with the girl from time to time, but as far as tempers went, Barret took the cake. Despising anyone that would challenge his authority, to have such a condescending young girl challenge him at every step infuriated him. But this was why the girl did it. Because she knew she could get Barret angry with her. She knew what buttons to push, when to push them...even when she had first met the man, she had always known what to do to anger him most. And she did this of her own accord, purposefully picking fights with him during missions and whilst traveling...and now Tifa finally knew why. It was because the ninja had been homesick...or perhaps, she simply missed her father, their fights and all. After another lapse of silence, Yuffie stood quickly from the bench. Rubbing her hands together, she looked down at her companions. "You two are dull. I'm gonna go play some soccer with the kids." And without another word, she jogged toward the children, who after a brief moment of introduction by Marlene integrated the older girl into their game without so much as a hitch. Tifa watched happily along with Barret as Yuffie played keep-away with the kids. Every so often, she allowed them to steal the ball back when she thought she had toyed with them enough...then, of course, she'd steal it back again. After several times of this, the children finally gave up trying to steal the ball back, instead opting to tackle the girl down and assault her with tickling. Yuffie's laughter drifted to where Barret and Tifa sat, clear as white materia, and the two friends smiled in amusement at their antics. "So you two had fun in Gold Saucer?" Barret asked conversationally, his eyes still watching the tomfoolery nearby. Tifa nodded, "Yeah. We had a lot of fun. I kinda wished we did a bit of betting at the chocobo races, though." Barret nodded as well, turning to glance briefly at the woman. He did a double take however as his eyes caught sight of her still clutching at her necklace. "What's that?" Tifa looked at him. "What's what?" then she followed his line of vision down to her hand. "Oh!" Opening her hand, Tifa lifted the pendant up with her thumb and index finger. "This? It's a necklace Yuffie bought me a few days ago." Tifa, feeling somewhat sheepish, had almost forgotten about the necklace since the trip started, even though she had never taken it off since the day of the festival back at Tiesmire. Barret raised an eyebrow as he leaned forward to see the pendant better. "Yuffie got you that?" he narrowed his eyes. "She did?" Tifa scowled at him. "Yes! She did!" she let go of the pendant, turning away from the man. "And wipe that look off your face, there was no ulterior motive there!" Barret shrugged. "Random generosity isn't really Yuffie's thang, but whateva...I guess it was nice of her to do." Tifa crossed her arms, but not even her indignation at Barret's mistrust could stave the thought that drifted into her head. "Yeah...she really isn't much for giving gifts, is she...? So why'd she do it?" ---------- "Well, big man, it was nice seein' ya again and all that. Your lucky you didn't scratch Deevo, or I would've given you a reason to buy a second mechanical hand." "Just get on outta here, brat. Your voice gives me one helluva headache." Barret's garage was a large one that made Yuffie's motorbike seem like a child's bicycle. There was nothing in it, save for a few boxes stacked in the furthest corner as well as some paint buckets sitting on a wooden table next to the door leading into the house. Barret lamented that for all his influence, he still didn't have a car of his own yet. "Never did get the hang of driving any how..." the man had muttered. Their things already strapped onto Yuffie's bike, the girls said their goodbyes, Marlene clutching sadly to Tifa's leg. Tifa patted her head, a complacent smile coming over her face as she tried to comfort the small child. "I'll see you again soon, Marlene...don't you worry." Marlene sniffed and her eyes began to water. Looking up at Tifa with a trembling lip, the girl said shakily. "But last time you said you'd come see me, you didn't come back for a really, really, really long time!" Tifa felt a pang of guilt go searing through her as she heard this. She didn't realize what her isolation had done to those she still cared about...like Marlene. Kneeling down, the woman hugged the girl hard. "I'm sorry, Marlene...I didn't mean to make you wait so long. I promise you this time...I promise that I'll come back soon!" Tifa pulled back and wiped away some of Marlene's tears, trying to keep her own emotions in check. "...Okay?" Marlene nodded, and Tifa could see the girl fight with all her might not to allow any more tears to fall. Tifa hugged her again, harder. Yuffie, who had been fiddling with something on the bike, appeared once again at Tifa's side, hiding something behind her back. When Tifa stood back up, the ninja spoke, shuffling her feet as she did so. "Marlene, I know I promised to bring you back something from Gold Saucer, and I'm really sorry I screwed that up...but..." she pulled what she was hiding out from behind her back. It was the fat chocobo plushy she had tied to her bike. "I refuse to leave without leaving you with a stuffed animal." Marlene, eyes still watery and cheeks tear-stained, suddenly smiled hugely, grabbing the chocobo plushy and hugging it hard. "It's so cute!" she squealed. Looking up at Yuffie, she ran and hugged the woman around the waist, knocking the ninja a little off balance. "Thank you, Yuffie!" Yuffie, a little startled at the strong reaction to her impromptu gift, leaned down and hugged the girl awkwardly, a sheepish grin on her face. Barret smiled at her, a softer look in his dark eyes. "Well, Barret," Tifa said, rubbing her arm, "I guess we'd better-" "C'mere, the BOTH a' ya!" Barret boomed, sweeping the two women into another one of his bear hugs. Tifa and Yuffie simultaneously shouted as they felt their spines being crushed. "Enough! ENOUGH!" "Get-off me! You-big-JERK!"
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