The glorious return of graceful gliding. If she turned her face outward toward the passing buildings and focused, the world fell away and it felt as if she were gliding through it like a phantom, ignored by all yet observant to everything. The ambience of colors, sights, and smells made the woman feel lightheaded, and, feeling slightly unnerved, she would lay her head back on the comfort of Yuffie's shoulder. The girl was like a rope flung down from the heavens into the storm of life. When Tifa had her fill of being thrashed about by the winds, she'd reach out to the rope and ascend to a space in-between, just below heaven and right above the torrent beneath her. Here, existence was calm, warm, and gifted with a slight breeze scented with vanilla. Tifa sighed, closing her eyes. Arms tightening around Yuffie, she turned her face into the girl's exposed neck. She hoped they didn't stop soon. ---------- The wind died down, the sound of traffic softened, and the rumble of the motorbike lessened. Tifa, a little sleepy-eyed, looked up drowsily. "We're stopping?" Yuffie didn't answer as she pulled the bike up in front of a building. Stopping near the curb, the girl shut off the engine and patted Tifa's lap. "C'mon, Rusty. I'm hungrier than Palmer at a holiday feast." Tifa blinked, her blurry vision looking into the large lighted windows of the building, and then her mind finally recognized it for what it was. A diner. The sign atop the building glowed neon pink, the 'e' in the word "Diner" blinking every so often. Sliding off the bike, the woman stretched. "What time is it?" she asked through a yawn. Yuffie was already walking toward the doors. "I dunno, but they've got a clock inside." The girl stopped and turned to her friend, who walked slowly toward her. Exasperated, the ninja grabbed Tifa by the hand. "C'mon, Tifa! I mean it, I'm hungry!" Half-dragged, Tifa followed Yuffie into the restaurant, blinking at the cheap overhead lights that seemed to wash out the colors inside to a pallid shade. The woman at the register glanced up at their coming. At first, she seemed bored, finding them of no interest. Then she laid eyes on Yuffie, and her eyes brightened in recognition. "Hey! It's the smart aleck!" Turning she called behind her, "Oi! Mal, it's the kid!" A man in the kitchen shouted back with a gruff and aggravated voice, "What kid? Vera, yer makin' me burn the goddamn eggs!" Vera scowled in annoyance. "Mal, it's THE kid!" A pause. Tifa turned to look at Yuffie with a raised eyebrow, and the girl could only shrug at her with a sheepish grin. A second later, a thick set man with a square, unshaved jaw and intense, deep-set eyes emerged from the door behind the woman at the register. On his greasy, swept back hair he wore a white cook's cap and an apron stained with mustard and rusty-red stains. "Yuffster?" the man said, fixing Yuffie with what Tifa interpreted as a murderous stare. In his large, hairy hand he clutched a metal spatula. Leaning slightly towards the girl, the woman asked quietly from the corner of her mouth, "Uh, Yuffie? Just who is-" She was interrupted when 'Mal' threw his arms into the air, spatula flying and nearly hitting one customer in the face. "Yuffie!" Practically vaulting over the counter, much to the consternation of the woman, 'Vera', Mal came charging toward the girl. Tifa slid her right foot back and brought her fists up in one quick and fluid motion, ready to take the man out with a snap to the throat and another to the nose if she needed to, but she froze when she saw Yuffie move forward as well, not in hostility, but in welcome. The two crashed into each other, hugging tightly before they pulled away, Mal holding Yuffie's head between his large, thick hands. "Kid, it's been ages!" Yuffie smiled arrogantly, her eyes twinkling. "Sure has, Mal. Been having any more chugging contests while I've been gone?" Mal, in one swift move brought Yuffie down into a headlock and ruffled her hair. "Course not, kiddo!" Grinning, Yuffie twisted out of Mal's grip and fixed her hair. Turning to Tifa she indicated toward the cook, who looked at the fighter as if seeing her for the first time. The woman stared, slightly bewildered. "This, Mal," Yuffie said, looking at Tifa with a smile, "Is my best pal, Tifa Lockhart." Mal nodded, smiling crookedly. "No need to tell me that, Kid!" he cried. Wiping his hand quickly on his apron, the man thrust it out for Tifa to shake. "Mal Kruvic. Nice to meet ya!" Tifa, smiling meekly, took the man's hand. "Pleased to meet you, Mr. Kruvic." The woman at the register cleared her throat and Mal faltered slightly. Stepping aside reluctantly, the man indicated toward the woman with a roll of his eyes. "And this here's Vera...she's my wife." He said this with a sort of grim resignation, and Vera glared at him for it. Yuffie snickered whilst Tifa bit down on her lip to keep from grinning. Coming out from behind the counter, the woman approached Tifa with her hand held out. "Nice to meet ya dear." She said sweetly. Tifa took her hand, marveling at how thin the woman was. She had dark bags under her eyes, the result of exhaustion, but Tifa could also see, from the way hundreds of little wrinkles appeared at the corners of the woman's eyes, that this woman smiled quite often. Hair swept back into a messy bun, the woman wore a simple blue dress and a small white apron with white work shoes. Tifa smiled at her, deciding these people, as hackneyed and virulent as they appeared, would be people she liked. "Pleasure meeting you, Mrs. Kruvic." Vera smiled at her, her large front teeth appearing beneath her thin lip. "You're just such a doll, aren't ya...ain't she a doll, Mal?" Mal nodded, winking at Tifa. "She sure is!" Vera nodded with a smile before realization finally crossed her face. Swinging around, the woman swatted at him. "Get outta here with that you spineless pig!" she snapped. Mal glared at her as he trudged back into the kitchen. Vera squawked at his retreating back like an angry duck. "Filthy! Always so damn filthy! Can't do a damn thing with ya, I swear!" Turning back to the two women, the woman briefly smoothed out her clothes before smiling sweetly again. "So...what'll you girls be havin'?" ---------- Tifa stared across the table with wide eyes, her fork held loosely in her right hand as she took in the spectacle before her. Yuffie was shoveling spoonfuls of mashed potatoes and corn into her mouth, alternating between the two with a steady and rapid pace. The fighter was afraid the girl would choke, and so she watched and waited for the inevitable moment when Yuffie would look up, her face blue and mashed potatoes, turned runny from saliva, came oozing from her mouth like foam. Tifa closed her eyes and fought back the sudden wave of nausea at the mental image. Yuffie, finally stopping, glanced up at her friend, her cheeks bulging from food. Seeing the look on the woman's face, the girl swallowed quickly what she had in her mouth. Wiping at her lips with a napkin, the girl muttered apologetically. "I told you I was hungry..." Tifa only shook her head and pushed her plate away. "I think...I'm finished." Yuffie leaned forward, now looking guilty. "Aw, c'mon, Tif. Try and eat a bit more. We haven't eaten anything since we had Barret's omelets this morning, and those were wicked bad." The girl shuddered at the memory of her purple spotted omelet. "He put prunes in mine...I know it!" she muttered. Tifa shrugged. "Don't worry Yuffie, as grotesque as your eating habits are, I really am full. This plate was gigantic!" And it was. The serving proportion was double what a normal restaurant would give. Yuffie grinned. "The benefits of knowing the cook. Not only do you get bigger helpings, but you're guaranteed your food hasn't been spat in." Tifa blinked, wrinkling her nose. "Um...what?" Yuffie shook her head with a smile. "Nothing, nothing...never mind." There was a pause. "Hey, uh...Tifa?" "Yes, Yuffie?" Yuffie smiled sheepishly. "...You uh...gonna finish those ribs?" Tifa stared at her for a moment before smiling and shaking her head. Pushing the plate toward the younger girl, the woman said with a slight laugh, "You can have it." Yuffie, with an ecstatic grin, pulled the plate eagerly toward her. Tifa shook her head, turning her head to gaze out the window. The pavement outside was washed in pink light, the color blinking every so often due to the faulty letter in the neon glowing sign. Tifa felt tired and looked forward to going to sleep. Distantly, questions began to stir again regarding her feelings with Yuffie and the motives her friend truly had in regards to their trip and their friendship, but Tifa shoved them down viciously, refusing to face them. Instead, she raised her head and asked, "So how did you meet the Kruvic's?" Yuffie, chewing a large bite of meat with sauce smeared across her cheek, raised a finger to signal that she needed a moment. Wiping quickly at her face with a napkin, the girl managed to swallow down her food. "Well..." she began gazing contemplatively at the glossy finish of the tabletop, "It was nothing special or life altering really...I just waltzed in here, probably hungrier than I was just now, and demanded some grub. I can't remember how old I was...I left home at the ripe ol' age of fourteen...so I must have first come in here between the two years from when I left Wutai to when I met you guys." Two men stood from their booth a few tables down from Tifa and Yuffie, and they waltzed by, sleepy, satisfied looks on their faces. Nodding to Vera on the way out, they left, and the woman at the register sighed with their departure. "Last ones of the day..." she said with a sigh. Yuffie scratched her head and turned slightly, calling over her shoulder, "Hey Vera!" The woman looked over as she turned the sign at the entrance from 'Open' to 'Closed'. "Yeah, sweet pea?" Yuffie scrunched her nose, "Do you remember when we first met?" The woman frowned as she walked over, her legs swinging remotely forward as if something were stuck in between them, preventing the woman from swishing her hips. "It was during a weekend. A busy one." The woman said shortly, her eyes fixed on the ceiling as she fought to recall the memory. "You were a scruffy lil' thing with a big mouth. I sat you at the last booth available. It was in the back, and it was the one where the table had all the gum stuck on the bottom of it and the seats were torn and were spoutin' out stuffin'." Yuffie grimaced. "Yeah...I remember. The seats were flat and I think I got gum on the bottom of my shoe..." Vera nodded with a grin, her eyes coming back to focus as she turned her gaze on Yuffie. "That's right! And you started wailin' real bad. So bad, in fact, that Mal came out from the kitchen and told you to quit yer belly achin' before he gutted you with a fork." Yuffie smirked. "And then I called him a suffocating wax monkey." Tifa blinked. "A what?" The ninja shrugged. "Hey, it was the first thing that popped into my head!" Vera laughed. "Sure worked, though! Mal got so mad. If I didn't shout at him to get back to work, he would have decked you right there, teenage girl or not! But then..." "My burger..." Yuffie muttered with a grin and a roll of her eyes. Tifa tilted her head to one side. "What happened?" Vera snorted, as if she still couldn't believe it. "He spat in it." "Really?" Tifa grimaced, turning to look at her plate. Yuffie shook her head dismissively. "Relax, Rusty. It was just that one time. But boy...that day, I got SO mad! I shouted for Mal to come out and fight me." "And I would've fought ya too, if Vera didn't intervene again." Mal came up behind Yuffie, pulling off his apron and cap and tossing them into an empty booth as he passed. Stopping next to his wife, he slung a lazy arm over the woman's thin shoulders. "A chugging contest. I always did them for fun with some of the regulars, but I never did it to settle a disagreement." Vera smiled up at him. "Managed to convince you that time, though, didn't I? You brute." Mal smiled back at her and kissed the top of her head. Yuffie pushed the plate in front of her aside so that she could lean forward on her elbows. Eyes twinkling she looked across at Tifa and said with a smirk, "So we had the chugging contest, and who do you think won? Who do you think?" "You did." Tifa said complacently with a grin. Yuffie slammed her palm into the table. "I whooped him! The self-proclaimed King of Chug lost to none other than," and here she flourished her hands, "The Great Ninja Yuffie!" Mal ruffled her hair. "Yeah, yeah, kid. Ya beat me, fair n' square..." he looked at Tifa. "Never had a chugging contest with anyone else after that. Only this kid. Still trying to get back my title." "Still." Yuffie emphasized with a grin. "But tonight's the night, Yuffster!" Mal jumped back suddenly, flexing his arms and flashing a mean face. "Come on, kid! I, the King of Chug, challenge you to a chugging contest!" Tifa looked to Yuffie, expecting her to leap up with a shout and strike some ridiculous pose she had seen from television. ...But the girl only shook her head, an apologetic look on her face. "Sorry, Mal. I don't think I can manage a chugging contest right now. My stomach...I'm just too full." Like a deflated bag, Mal's expression sagged. "Oh..." Straightening, he shrugged. "No prob, kid." But the disappointment on his face and voice was apparent. Vera rubbed his shoulder. "It's late anyhow, Mal. We've gotta finish closin' up shop." Yuffie chewed her lip and gazed over at Tifa. Tifa, feeling sorry Mal, didn't notice the girl's gaze. The ninja's eyes lit up. "Hey Mal!" The man, who had began to trudge back toward the kitchen, turned and looked back. "Yeah, kid?" Yuffie smirked and thumbed toward Tifa. "Why not compete against, Tifa?" Tifa blinked rapidly. "Wait, me?" Mal looked skeptical too. "She ain't no chugger, Yuffie." "Yeah," Tifa said, sinking a little in her seat. "Besides, I'm full too." Yuffie snorted. "Nonsense! You were a bartender once, you've gotta know a thing or two about chugging drinks!" "There's no art or glamour behind chugging alcohol, Yuffie." Tifa muttered, looking off to the side. "Who's saying you'll chug anything alcoholic?" Tifa looked up to see Mal stepping toward her, a sharpness in his gaze that made the woman squirm. "We'll chug some milk. Nothing alcoholic 'bout that." Yuffie looked at Tifa eagerly. "Come on, Rusty! It's just a chugging match!" Tifa stared between the young girl and Mal, an exasperated look on her face. Looking up at Vera for guidance, the older woman could only shrug her shoulders. "Don't look at me." Tifa sighed. "Oh, fine! ...Just stop staring at me like that, both of you!" ---------- "Okay...rules are pretty straightforward. Whoever finishes these three glasses of milk first, wins. It doesn't matter if you slosh some of it so long as you drink 99 of the glass." Yuffie and Vera were standing behind the counter. Sitting side by side, Tifa and Mal gazed at their glasses fixedly, arms folded neatly before them as per the rules. Inwardly, the fighter balked at the size of the glasses, their height nearly reaching her chin. Stopwatch in hand, Vera gazed at them both. "You two ready?" at their silence, she began to count down. "Three...two...one...go!" At the last word, the two competitors quickly reached for their first glasses, moving careful so as not to knock the glass over. Tifa snatching the first glass with lightning speed, grimacing briefly as she felt milk slosh over her hand, but she didn't mourn over this as she brought the lip of the glass to her open mouth, tilting her head back and trying hard not to choke as a steady and unrelenting stream of milk cascaded down her throat. The drink was extremely cold so that Tifa's fingers stung from gripping the glass, and her mouth and teeth screamed at the frigid assault. But the first glass was done. The first glass was finished. Not sparing time to wipe her mouth, the woman snatched up the next glass. Vera's eyes flickered between her husband, Tifa, and the stopwatch. She mentally noted that at this rate, they would beat Yuffie's last record. Yuffie herself watched, enthralled as Tifa downed the second glass mind-numbingly quick, Mal not too far behind her as he slammed down his second glass. Tifa could feel her gut about to explode as her throat swallowed the constant flow of milk, the muscles beginning to hurt. But she refused to allow her head to tilt back forward, refused to set the glass down unfinished. She actually wanted to win this. If she was going to suffer for this later, she was going to have a victory to show for her pains. She could feel milk trickling down the sides of her chin, down her throat, and stream down into the valley between her breasts. Vera, glancing up once again from her stopwatch, raised an eyebrow at this sight, while Mal, who was looking out of the corner of his eye to see the woman's progress, choked on his drink. Yuffie, who followed the stream of milk the moment it began to trail down Tifa's throat, froze up, a light tinge of pink coloring her cheeks as she stared. Tifa, finished with her glass, slammed it down, letting out a loud, satisfied, "Aaah!" as she did so. Heaving slightly, she finally noticed the silence that came over the group. Chagrined, the woman wiped at her mouth. "What...What are you all staring at?" Vera clicked the stop watch smartly. "Honey, I know the lumps on our chests give milk to us, but we don't normally give milk to our lumps. Get me?" Tifa stared at her, mortified. ---------- "Well that was fun." Yuffie stated cheerfully as they checked in at the motel next to the diner. Tifa grimaced, "Vera looked at me as if I were some kinda whore." "Naw...she doesn't think you're a whore." The ninja said as she took the key from the attendant behind the counter. Sparing a quick 'thanks' and 'good night', the two left the motel main office, bags and things in tow as they searched for their room, A9. "So you got a bit of milk down your front. That just meant you really wanted to win." Yuffie said as she twirled the key around her finger. Fifteen minutes ago they had left the diner, leaving the Kruvic's to finish closing up the restaurant. Tifa was still terribly embarrassed, wondering why in all the gods' names she had to make such a fool of herself before two people she had just met, Yuffie's close friends no less. She dragged behind Yuffie, who led the way down the line of motel rooms with a hum and a smile. Stopping at their door, Yuffie took the key and pushed it into the lock, pushing the door open as she turned it. As she pulled the key out, the girl glanced at the other woman as she entered the room. She still looked miserably dejected. Sighing, Yuffie shut the door. "Tifa, relax. Believe it or not, they aren't so judgmental. I don't know why you're so embarrassed. A bit of milk down your shirt?" Yuffie snorted as she dropped her duffel bag to the floor. "Big deal!" Tifa glared at her as she sat at the bed closest to the bathroom. Setting down her own bag, the woman muttered, "Well if it wasn't such a big deal, then why was everyone staring at me?" Yuffie shrugged as she sat at the edge of the other bed, her back facing Tifa. "Have you ever thought that we were just surprised you won?" Tifa grit her teeth. "That doesn't account for Mal staring at my chest!" "You've got big boobs, Rusty!" the girl exclaimed with exasperation, brandishing a sneaker she managed to pull off. "Guys tend to stare at girls with big-" "All right. Geez! Why do you always have to make a remark about my chest?" Yuffie smiled and twisted around to gaze at the flustered woman behind her. "I think it's kinda funny..." she said, a thoughtful look coming over her face. "You get so embarrassed when it comes to your body. Why is that when you handle men with such confidence?" Tifa, whose cheeks were glaring red now, tried busying herself with sifting through her backpack. What she was looking for, she hadn't decided yet. "That's completely unfair, y'know." She mumbled, "Anyone can get embarrassed when specific parts of their anatomy are discussed." Yuffie flopped backwards onto the bed, tilting her head back so that she gazed at Tifa with that odd sort of gaze that the fighter found herself being faced with more and more as their journey went on. It was a contemplative, look, the sort of face someone wore when thinking out a puzzle. Tifa tried to ignore Yuffie's blatant stare, but found it extremely hard. A slow, lazy grin spread across Yuffie's face as she watched Tifa sifting through her backpack, searching for nothing and finding nothing. "...Their modest, but you couldn't cup them completely with one hand." The ninja said suddenly, eyes unblinking. Tifa froze and her eyes slowly drifted toward Yuffie, who was looking at Tifa with a new gaze now. A penetrating, predatory one. "Their soft, like any others, I guess...and you wanna know what color the nipples are? My nipples?" The fighter could feel the heat creeping up her neck and into her cheeks, her throat constricting tightly. "Yuffie-" "-Salmon pink. I even checked. Some would argue that my nipples are a nice rosy pink instead, but-" "-Stop! What makes you think I wanna hear what color your nipples are?" Yuffie rolled over, a victorious look on her face. "So it even bothers you when other people discuss their body parts?" "It would anyone!" Tifa snapped hotly, standing to her feet and storming into the bathroom. Again, she didn't know what she was planning on doing there, but she just knew she didn't want to be dissected by Yuffie's prying inquiries anymore. It was too much. Flicking on the light, Tifa stared into the eyes of her reflection. Again, the question from earlier that day rose in her mind and she suppressed it, slamming her palm into the rim of the sink and ignoring the sting the action brought. Looking up, she saw Yuffie there behind her, leaning her temple against the door frame. "Tifa..." she said slowly. "Have you ever slept with anyone before?" Tifa turned slowly to look at her. After a long pause, she looked down at the floor and leaned against the bathroom counter. "That's...none of your business." Yuffie nodded and turned her gaze to the floor as well. "...It's good that you haven't." she said. Tifa looked up at her briefly but didn't say anything. "Sometimes," the girl continued, frowning slightly. "...Sometimes I wish I waited too." At this, Tifa jerked her head up. Yuffie was still looking at the floor, her eyes signaling that she was elsewhere now, reliving a memory; a memory of some past lover, of some past romantic entanglement that Tifa had no part in. The woman found herself wishing Yuffie would come out of it. "He wasn't anyone spectacular," the ninja said, shrugging her left shoulder. "He was just a guy; an apprentice for the local blacksmith, none too bright, but not bad-looking at all. ...Our relationship was as quick as the fires he used to forge the swords he made." Before Tifa could stop herself, she heard herself ask, "When did...you get involved with him?" Yuffie tilted her head to one side as she thought. "Umm...maybe a month or two after we stopped Sephiroth?" Tifa stared at her. Feeling the older woman's gaze, the girl came out of her nostalgic reverie. She gave the woman an almost apologetic smile. "I've never been one to think things through, y'know." Tifa didn't say anything. Her cheeks were burning. ...Partially out of embarrassment and partially out of... ...She wasn't even sure what. "There wasn't anything romantic about it." Yuffie said after a moment. Tifa looked up again and saw there was now a sneer across the girl's face. "It was primal and sweaty and...quick. No offense to old lover-boy, but he didn't have much stamina." She scratched her head, and then looked at Tifa with a puzzled gaze. "Now that I think about it...what is so romantic about sex? There doesn't seem to be much else to it but momentary pleasure and practical use-of course, I mean makin' babies. But what happens when the sensations begin to numb and the pleasure ebbs away? What happens when you're too old to make any more kids, or can't because your infertile? What's the point then?" "...Connection." Yuffie, who had fallen silent from her own thoughts, looked up at Tifa with surprise. The fighter was looking at her with a fixed stare, her arms crossed over her chest and her hair falling about her eyes. "When done with someone you care about deeply and who cares deeply for you, then it's an affirmation of love and union." She tilted her head back and closed her eyes, continuing as if reciting from a book. But these were her thoughts, her ideas, which over the years she came to believe with all her heart. "It's...spiritual. You feel it deep inside you. The connection is so acute it's almost too much to bear, but you adore it...you live for it." She opened her eyes again, staring up at the ceiling. "It's powerful because you're threading your lives together. When done quickly or sloppily that thread can easily come loose or worse...break. But if you mean it. If you sincerely mean every kiss and every caress, than the ties are strong. It doesn't mean a perfect bond, because nothing in excess is good for you and that goes for perfection as well...no, it doesn't guarantee a perfect bond with that other person...just...a happy one...a strong one." Yuffie stared at Tifa. "...Gawd, Tifa...and I thought I think too much." The woman came out of her trance, eyes snapping back onto her friend with a flutter. She shifted awkwardly. "The romantic thoughts of a virgin, that's all..." she muttered. Yuffie gazed at her, her eyes soft. Reaching for Tifa's hand, she smiled. "Romantic or not...they're brilliant."
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