She hugged her legs to her body, a secure position brought on by pensive thought. Her dark eyes, wide and intent, peeped over slim arms to the opposite wall. The crimson light of the setting sun turned the room a warm shade. The inexorable color, which painted everything around her, made her heartbeat slow to a more relaxed pace. Next to her on the bed, she could feel the warmth of another, and this eased the anxiety that would have otherwise overtaken her in such a setting. "Come to think of it..." Yuffie thought as she straightened her back and leaned into the pillow pressed against the headboard, "I don't think...I've ever felt this peaceful." But at this thought, the girl paused to pout her lip and frown up at the ceiling. "...No, hold on. Wait," She shook her head with a quick roll of her eyes, and the wisps of her dark hair brushed along the sides of her cheeks. "That isn't right. I've felt peace before. I was practically drowning in the stuff when I was little. ...But then it got taken away." Yuffie leaned her head back and felt the top of her head touch the wood of the headboard. "Yeah, it got taken away...and then I felt empty. People become restless when they feel empty. They go searching for what they feel is missing in their lives. The anger and determination they feel are like hunger pains. That's how I was when I left Wutai. I was no different from any other sucker wandering the world then." The ninja held her hands up before her face, and her eyes traced the lines of her palms slowly. "Bam. Loud as thunder. Quick as lightning. These babies did plenty of damage against any loser who stood against them, and plucked gil from hundreds of merchants like they were new-born infants." Yuffie frowned and flexed her fingers, and at the knuckles she felt a small ache. Her fight from earlier that day would not fade to memory so easily with only a bath and a potion to rid it. She would need to take it easy and rest. "Rest..." the word elicited a sigh from Yuffie's lips and spread a smile across her face. Quietly, she contemplated how it had fit into her life. "...Back then I couldn't rest. Couldn't stop. I was always moving and always fighting and always stealing. At that pace...I wouldn't have lasted long." Her smile widened. "Tifa probably hasn't thought about this, but my running into her and Avalanche probably saved my life!" She let her hands fall to her sides and bit her lip. "And now look at me. I'm sitting in this hotel room and I'm...peaceful. I could spend eternity here and I wouldn't give a hoot." Yuffie turned her head and looked down to her side. Tifa lay partially curled next to her, her hands held up to her chin and her lips slightly parted. She breathed deeply and quietly, the rhythm of one taken by sleep. The ninja leaned over the fighter carefully and whispered, "Hey, Rusty. ...Yer a lifesaver." When the fighter didn't stir, Yuffie stifled a giggle and brushed back a stray strand of hair from Tifa's face. Her fingers fell to lightly trace the line of the woman's jaw, and slowly the humor that lifted the corners of her lips dissipated, replaced instead by an earnest admiration. Tifa, in sleep, seemed delicate and precious somehow. Often, Yuffie was told of how childlike she seemed when she was asleep. This annoyed her to no end, for no part of her wished to be called something as na‹ve and inefficient as a child. ...But Tifa was different. When immersed in sleep, the fighter took on a sort of graceful calm that traced the lines of her long vibrant hair and shapely body. Her hands did not clench, but lay open as if in acceptance. Her legs did not curl in all the way, but lay partially bent, with the feet always pointing downward. Her neck lay exposed, for she did not hunch her shoulders, nor curled her head down toward the chest. But the best part of her...her face... Before she could help herself, Yuffie had leaned forward and pressed her lips gently to Tifa's cheek. Her hair spilled forward from the sudden movement, and teased the fighter's skin. Tifa inhaled deeply at the touch, and her arm stretched forward languidly, her hand lightly touching Yuffie's side as the girl in question hastily pulled away. Panic had set in her heart at the fear that she may have woken the woman, and she stared with held breath to see if the fighter would open her eyes. ...But Tifa only gave a small sigh and nestled her head more securely on her pillow. Yuffie heaved a breath of relief. "Angel..." Tifa whispered faintly, an unconscious utterance. Yuffie smiled softly at her, her eyes bright and misty. "You took the word right out of my mouth, Rusty..." ---------- Time slipped away, quiet and willing into the dark of night. Exhaustion wore at the mind and the body, but its withering stare could not dampen the spirit of contentment that kept the two women warm until the twilight. They slept better than any night they could recall, for both had somehow stumbled into a space of promise so sincere, that while the answers of 'when' and 'how' still eluded them, they just knew... ...That it would all work out in the end. Tifa's eyes opened slowly. Caught in the limbo that was dreaming and waking, the woman was not sure if the images in her mind were real. She remembered confessions of love and desire. It all seemed so beautiful, but the woman was too afraid to see if her thoughts were a reality. The rumpled fabric of her pillow created valleys and hills, which dipped and rolled and twisted like a chaotic landscape. With a small bit of effort, Tifa focused her sleep-blurred vision and looked further ahead, to the bed next to hers. Was Yuffie there? ...No. The bed was empty. But a sound, like a small moan, made Tifa's ears prick up, and she lifted her head with a start, her eyes turned downward toward the source. Yuffie lay curled next to her, her head tucked low and her shoulders hunched about her ears. With her arms pressed close to her chest, she seemed to be holding something precious to her heart. A lump grew in Tifa's throat, and she touched a hand to the girl's head. Yuffie's eyes opened to groggy slits as she woke. She blinked sleepily at the woman and smiled. "Wassamatter...?" she mumbled. She took hold of Tifa's hand and squeezed it. Tifa returned her smile shakily. "Nothing's the matter...Go back to sleep, Yuffie. It's..." the woman sighed and laid her head back down onto her pillow. "...Still early." ---------- "...Do we really have to get up?" "You're telling me you want to stay longer? It's almost one o' clock for heavens sake!" "Well, I dunno. I don't see the rush. It's not like we have to do anything, y'know." "But I wanna let Roland know I'm okay... I mean sure, if I had just had a little foresight that morning, I would've thought to ask for his phone number before leaving, but as it stands-" "So is he cute?" "...Now what sort of question is that?" "I dunno. I was just wondering. You said he owns a clothing store in the upper part of town, right? I'd imagine he'd be a hunk." "I never really gave that much thought..." "So come on, is he cute or what?" "He's handsome, sure." "Just handsome?" "...Are you suggesting there's something better than handsome?" "Hmmm...well, there's always spanktastic!" "...Please. Say that again." "Say what again? Spanktas-OW! Ow, ow, ow- ALL RIGHT!! All right, all right all ready, I'm getting up! Geez!" Yuffie quickly rolled off the bed in a panic as her rear-end narrowly missed Tifa's swiping hand. Tifa glared up at her playfully, the corners of her lips turned upwards. "Now hurry up and get ready! I'm not suffering any more goofy words from you!" Yuffie stuck her tongue out at her as she went to the bathroom. "Meanie." She muttered as she rubbed her rear. Tifa gazed after her with an amused grin. Their plan for the day was simple, but incomplete. They would head to Roland's clothing store and thank him. Tifa was certain the man would be there, as his store was an independent establishment that had little help. From there, she wasn't entirely sure what else there was to do. Shyly, she wondered if there was any possibility for a double date of some sort. She could pay for Roland and Mason's meal as a way to show her gratitude...but she was certain that Roland wouldn't allow her to do that. She also wasn't sure if Yuffie had any ideas either, so the woman sat on her bed dubiously, her hair tussled and her clothes wrinkled. Tifa leaned back onto her hands and stared forward as her mind began to wander. She thought of her and Yuffie's next destination, Junon, and the people she knew there. "Priscilla must've gotten bigger since I've last seen her...she was...what? Six back then? She should be nine years old now." The woman smiled faintly at the memory of the young child, "She was such an energetic little girl. Her and Yuffie had a lot in common...though I doubt Yuffie would admit that." Tifa scooted to the edge of her bed and placed her feet on the floor. Just then, the sound of the shower starting reached her ears and caused her to smile in relief. "She's taking a shower...that means she'll actually get ready." Tifa thought with a roll of her eyes. Her brows pushed together, however, as her thoughts trailed deeper. "I don't know what's gotten into Yuffie all of a sudden. She never stays in bed! I wonder if she's feeling well?" The woman tapped her feet on the floor as her inward musings fell to idle silence. Meanwhile, in the shower, Yuffie worked shampoo into her hair with thorough hands, her head tilted back and her eyes closed. "Augh...maybe I pushed the whole 'sleeping in' thing too far. My limbs feel really lethargic now. ...But being there with Tifa like that...that was nice. I guess I just wanted to draw that out." Yuffie giggled quietly to herself, "If I'm not careful, Tifa'll turn me into a hermit too!" The girl took a step back and rinsed the shampoo out of her hair beneath the stream of the shower head. Her grin faded away. "But Tifa's right, I should meet this 'Roland' guy. He's done both her and me a favor by taking her in that night. ...It just makes me feel lousy. I kinda don't want to think about how bad a state she was in, to have ended up in the home of some man she barely knew. It...makes me feel terrible." The girl's hands fell to her sides and she glared down at the floor of the tub. "In a way, I sorta don't want to meet Roland. He sounds too good to be true. But how could I tell her that? How could I tell Tifa that I wished it were me who had saved her that night instead of some guy walking by? Tch, if I had just taken my head out of the ground I might've-" With a vigorous shake, the thoughts fell away, like dead leaves blown away by the wind. Yuffie grit her teeth as she tried to gather herself. "Woah! Enough of that! I can't be in a bad mood today! Knowing me, if I keep thinking like that, I may start to resent Roland for no reason." The girl shook her head. "I can't do that. I've got no right to. So I've just gotta stop being a baby and suck in my pride." The ninja shut off the shower head and pulled back the shower curtain. She froze as something occurred to her. "Oh crap. I forgot to grab my clothes for the day..." Yuffie scratched her head with one eye squinted. "Okay, well," She stretched forward carefully for her towel and began to dry herself off. "It's not like I haven't gone out with just a towel before...but we're sorta under different circumstances now. I mean, I don't care if she sees me in just a towel, but knowing how Tifa is, I'll bet she'll get embarrassed." Yuffie gave a helpless shrug as she stepped out of the tub. "Ah well. Here goes!" Slowly, cautiously, the girl opened the bathroom door, her dark eyes carefully taking in the room. Yuffie smiled in relief to see that Tifa had gone out to the balcony. Her hair lifted with the early afternoon breeze as the sunlight showered down on her head. The girl paused a moment to admire the woman before she scuttled out to her duffel bag. Quickly, she chose her outfit for the day and retreated back into the bathroom. Tifa, oblivious, leaned forward onto the balcony railing, her eyes bright and soft. The city was a beautiful sight, no matter what time of day it was. From her place on the balcony, she could hear the activity of Costa del Sol caress her ears like the voice of a well known friend. There were so many people out there... "But I wonder where he is..." Tifa's smile faded as she thought of a certain construction worker, his arrogant smile drifting into her mind like black oil. She hated the man, truthfully...but she still couldn't help but feel bad about what had happened. "If I told Yuffie this," the fighter thought shamefully, "She'd flip. But...I feel like I need to apologize to him. If it hadn't been for me, he wouldn't have...well...been beaten up." Tifa rubbed her face with both hands. She pulled her hair back at the hairline and stared down at the rooftops below. "I think...I think too much." The woman muttered. "What was that?" Tifa turned and saw Yuffie behind her. She was dressed, but barefoot, with her socks in one hand as the other supported her on the doorframe. "You say you think too much?" the girl asked, with a raised eyebrow. The woman nodded, her smile faint. "Yeah. Once I get on a thought train I sort of...can't stop. It makes for a bad situation sometimes, when I keep thinking about things I shouldn't." Yuffie shrugged casually as she stepped aside to allow Tifa room to slip by. "Well I guess that makes two of us." With a flop, she sat on Tifa's bed as the fighter went to grab her bag. "What were ya thinking about?" the girl asked lightly. She bent over and began to pull on one sock. Tifa shrugged as she swung her bag onto her shoulder, "I was just wondering about people we'd met...and if we'd see them again." Yuffie nodded and paused to look at her. "Like who?" she asked. Tifa shrugged, "I dunno...Priscilla, Vincent, Johnny..." "Oh." "Yeah..." the woman turned and began to walk to the bathroom. "So..." Yuffie began as she bent over to pull on her other sock. "Is uh...what's-his-name...Max? Is he gonna be there? Or is he gonna be working?" Tifa stopped just before the bathroom door. She looked back at Yuffie in confusion. "Max?" Then her eyes lit up. "Oh! You mean Mason!" "Yeah. Him." The woman frowned up at the ceiling. "Wow...y'know, I don't know what he does. When I was at his and Roland's house, he didn't mention anything about his profession, and of course, I didn't think to ask him." The woman gave a deep chuckle. "But y'know, if I had to take a guess as to what he did for a living, I'd say that Mason were a bartender. Like I was." Yuffie, her socks now pulled on, looked around the room with an annoyed scowl. At Tifa's statement, however, she gave a curious look. "A bartender? What makes you say that?" Tifa shrugged. "He had a t-shirt from a martini festival that's held here in Costa del Sol...plus, he gives really good advice...for someone so tactless." The woman muttered the last statement under her breath. Yuffie tilted her head back and gave a long, "Ooh!" Tifa turned to go into the bathroom but a call from Yuffie halted her again. "Oh, wait, Tifa!" The fighter looked back with a raised eyebrow. The ninja planted her hands high on her hips and gave Tifa a critical look, not so much out of accusation but frustration. Strands of her hair fell about her flushed face haphazardly as she whined in a low voice, "Have you seen my shoes? I can't find them." Tifa rolled her eyes with a grin. She turned and went into the bathroom. "They're under my bed," she called before she shut the door. Yuffie ran her hand through her hair and grit her teeth. "But they can't be underneath the bed again." She glanced around her helplessly, hoping in vain that some new clue to her shoes location would pop out at her. When no such clue presented itself, Yuffie threw her hands into the air, "Oh fine! ...But if they're there again, I swear-" the girl walked over to the bed and dropped to her knees. "This is stupid..." she muttered sourly. With a vicious pull of the covers, Yuffie dipped down to take a look. "My shoes wouldn't just end up...uh..." She sat up again like a rocket, her face fixed in a horrified expression as she brandished an orange sneaker in each hand. "What in the hell is going?? Is there a shoe stealing gremlin following me around!?" ---------- Tifa's heart hammered in her chest loudly. She was nervous, though she wasn't sure why. "This'll be fine. Quit being so antsy, or Yuffie'll notice!" the woman berated herself in her head. Yuffie tilted her head to one side, her eyebrow raised high as she regarded the carved wooden sign of the store. "En...Enra..." the girl scratched her head. "Hey Tifa, what the heck does that say?" Tifa gave her an amused grin. "Enrauge Mystique." "En...rauge?" Yuffie gave Tifa a confused look. "What does that mean?" The fighter resisted the urge to giggle. "It's Roland's last name, Yuffie." The ninja made an 'oh!' with her lips as her eyebrows rose high in understanding. Tifa shook her head and took the girl's hand. "Come on, let's see if he's in." The store was just as it was before: the smell of roses, the soft lavender drapings, and the spongy rouge carpet. Tifa gave a contented sigh. Yuffie gazed around, her expression intrigued. "Hey," she whispered into Tifa's ear, "This place is pretty neat looking!" "I know." Tifa whispered back. "Ms. Lockhart?" The woman's head snapped forward as a familiar voice reached her ears. "Roland?" The man stood behind the cashier's desk, a leather bound accounting ledger held in his hands. His strawberry blonde hair was combed into a messy fohawk for the day, as some strands at the front fell forward and brushed along his forehead. He also wore a silk button up white and lime green checkered shirt and beige plaid pants, slimly cut and with a chain dangling at the side. Roland's green eyes lit up brightly as he hurriedly set down his journal and rushed out from his place behind the desk. He spread his arms wide as he approached Tifa. "Tifa!" he cried, the joy and relief in his voice apparent. Tifa, laughter spilling from her lips, accepted his hug eagerly. Yuffie blinked as she took a step back to allow the two room enough to embrace. Roland pulled away from Tifa and held her at arm's length. The fighter beamed back at him, her eyes shiny and her anxiety now non-existent. "You look radiating." Roland gushed, his eyes squinted happily. He touched a hand to her cheek and nodded. "And everything worked out." He said in a low, gentle voice. "I knew it would!" Tifa took his hand and squeezed it. "I wanted to come and thank you," She turned to Yuffie, who gazed carefully at the man. "And I wanted Yuffie to meet you." She took a step back "Yuffie, this is Roland." Yuffie took a step forward, her eyes sharp as they regarded Roland up and down once. Tifa blinked, surprised at this action, nevertheless she remained silent. Roland remained quiet as well, his demeanor calm under the girl's quiet scrutiny. After a brief moment, the ninja held out her hand, the grin that suddenly spread across her face broad and friendly. "Nice to meet you!" she chirped. Roland, with a warm look, took her hand with both of his and squeezed gently. There was amusement, as well as admiration in his eyes. "...It's an honor to finally meet you, Ms. Kisaragi." ---------- "Are you two free? It'd be wonderful if we could all have lunch together." "Well...as far as I know, we aren't doing anything. Do you have any objection, Yuffie?" "What? Me? No way! I'm starving!" "Well of course you are! You were too lazy to get out of bed and have breakfast!" "Pfft, you wanted me there, babe...Ow! GEEZ, do you have to pinch so hard!?" "Don't get cheeky, you!" "Ha! It's okay, Tifa, you needn't get embarrassed. I'm just going to go call Mason, okay?" The man pulled a cell phone out of his pocket and began to walk outside. "I'll be right back, ladies." He said with a brief smile. Yuffie rubbed her rear end sorely. She and Tifa were in Roland's office, located at the back of his store. The office, unlike the store, was spacious and practical. The desk was made of dark wood, and was clear and organized, with all the objects one would expect to find on an office desk there on its surface. Behind it sat Roland's large leather arm chair, the cushions already creased severely from use. The walls were decorated with paintings and photographs, the latter mostly of Roland and Mason together. At the back wall, a white board was littered with hand written notes of dates to remember and tasks to be done. Yuffie glared at Tifa, her hand still rubbing her rear end. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you had a thing against my butt. This is the second time you've attacked it today!" Tifa grinned slyly and clasped her hands behind her back. She gazed up at the ceiling as she said, with no small amount of amusement, "Oh no. I don't hate your butt...I've just had a thing for it ever since I saw you wear that black bikini." Yuffie blinked at this comment. Then smiled, pleased, her cheeks tinted a light shade of pink. "So you liked that, huh?" she said, her hand finding a place at the back of her neck. Tifa, her cheeks also turned somewhat rosy from her audacity, looked at her and laughed, "Look at you!" she exclaimed, "You're preening!" Yuffie's eyes widened. "Where!?" She looked down at herself in a panic. The fighter's face turned a brighter shade of red as she tried to hold in her laughter. The strength of her humor proved too much, however, and the sound burst from her lips in a great rush of air. Yuffie froze in her search for the offending 'preen' as she lifted her eyes to gaze at the woman across from her in confusion. Her lips turned upwards sheepishly as she realized what she had done. "I said something stupid, didn't I?" she giggled. Tifa, with one hand over mouth and giggles ripping up her throat, nodded emphatically. Yuffie watched as the woman leaned back against Roland's desk, her eyes squeezed shut and her breath reduced to quick gasps. The ninja burned with embarrassment to know that she had said something so blatantly ignorant...but another part glowed at the fact that she had made Tifa laugh. Soon, Yuffie's shoulders shook with laughter as well, the humor that took Tifa over proving infectious. The girl leaned back against the wall behind her, her face a deep jovial shade as her arms hugged her sides. A moment later, the door opened and Roland stepped through, his hand in his pocket. "Hello, ladies, Mason said-oh?" The man shut the door, his lips pulled back in a grin. "Did I just miss a joke?" he asked as he looked at them both. Yuffie shook her head quickly, her laughter dying away. She didn't mind being the fool for Tifa, but she didn't care to be that way for anyone else. "Nah, it's nothing." The girl said lightly with a dismissive wave. Roland looked to Tifa who only shook her head with a smile full of mirth. The man shrugged, his expression that of exaggerated disappointment. "Oh well," he sighed. "What did Mason say?" Tifa asked as she straightened. Roland patted his cell phone in his pocket. "He says he'll be able to get off work for lunch in a little bit. Now, he insisted on some Northern-styled restaurant on the Eastern part of town...do either of you mind?" Tifa and Yuffie shook their heads simultaneously. "I haven't had stewed rabbit meat in a while..." Tifa thought, her eyes turned hazy from the memory. Yuffie placed her hands behind her head and shifted her weight to one foot. "I don't care what we eat," she admitted with a light shrug, "So long as it's good." Roland nodded with an extravagant smile. "Then I think you'll like where I'll take you two..." ---------- "I always find this restaurant's steak to sit well in the stomach. It makes thinking easier." A ravenous bite. Mason stared steadily over his plate at Yuffie as he chewed his food. Yuffie stared back at him, her expression dubious. "Uh..." her eyes shifted uncertainly to Tifa, who blinked back at her. The restaurant they had gone to was a large building, the exterior made of white and gray stone. The interior was made to look as a den, with stuffed animal trophies hung up on the wooden planked walls and golden plaques from different local sports teams glinting in the warm interior lighting. The chairs, though comfortable, were made to look as if they had been roughly cut from the trunk of a tree, and the tables were such thick monstrous things that they may as well have crushed customer's legs should the central stand be kicked out from underneath them. Upon first seeing the restaurant, both Yuffie and Tifa wondered how it managed to fare so well in a city situated right on the ocean coast. But nevertheless, the service looked good, and Mason insisted it, so they went in. Yuffie wasn't even sure how to pronounce the restaurant's name. The title was from some severe sounding language from the North. It was an homage to the virtually extinct culture that once resided on the snowy continent, when a group of peoples had once roamed the icy plains. The restaurant name called for a sound from deep in the throat, and demanded the letters be pronounced with a sharp click of the tongue. When Yuffie tried to say the name, she managed to sound like she were choking. ...A man actually stopped to ask if she were all right. Needless to say, the girl made no more attempts at saying the restaurant's name. And with Tifa to her right, Roland to her left, and Mason across from her at the table, the girl all together felt a little boxed in. Yuffie sat back in her seat, her fork and knife held loosely in her hands as she rested the edge of her wrists on the table. "That's interesting," she said as she looked up at Mason carefully. "I'd think a full stomach would make thought harder." Mason shook his head with a deep scowl. Roland, distracted by his food, spared a glance up from his plate as his lover spoke. "Depends on what you're eating, how much you're eating, and when. Gluttony would turn anyone stupid. You've just got to take measured proportions," the man explained. Yuffie's eyebrow rose. "Measured...proportions?" Mason nodded. "Measured proportions." Another bite. Yuffie couldn't help but twitch as he bit his food. "He can get really single-minded at lunchtime." Roland explained with a small smile. "Don't let him get to you." "He isn't bothering me." Yuffie returned. Her voice was somewhat strained. Tifa, aware of the girl's unease, reached under the table and gripped her knee. "Well, Mason is definitely more focused! I guess he isn't kidding about the steak making thinking easier." The woman chirped. If this fell apart, she thought nervously, there would be little hope for peace in the future. "He likes good food," Roland said. "He watches cooking shows all the time and uses me as a guinea pig for his creations. Since I'm a masochist, I can admit, its fun." Mason glared at him and Tifa. "Why are you talking about me as if I'm not here?" Roland rubbed his shoulder. "Don't worry about that, hon. Just eat your steak." Tifa leaned over towards Mason, her eyes bright. "So you like to cook, huh? Who's your favorite chef?" Mason looked down at his plate and began to cut at his steak. "Edmund Wilchester." The fighter's lips pulled back into a smile. "He specializes in Northern cuisine. I should've guessed it." "And you?" He looked up at the woman with a quirked eyebrow. "Who's your favorite chef?" Tifa shrugged. "I don't have one, really. I like Aiko Morisato and Chester Haswell all right. Both are really pushing forward with what they do." "Grillers at heart, the both of them. I take it that's your favorite way of cooking." "I worked with a grill for almost five years. If it weren't my favorite way of cooking, it would be my least favorite instead." "Just curious...but what do you use to marinate your steaks?" "Oh, well it depends on my mood. Sometimes I find a bit of olive oil, minced garlic, and steak seasoning to work just fine-" Yuffie stared blankly as the two carried on. Though she would not say it, it disturbed her to see Tifa connect so easily with a man like Mason. He was imposing and brusque, his attitude as stiff and as cold as a brick wall. Plus, the man didn't seem to like her, for his gaze was penetrating and unmerciful. "You haven't touched your food." The girl jerked with alarm as she turned to stare straight into Roland's eyes. The man had leaned over, one hand raised to block Tifa and Mason's view of his lips. "Are you all right?" he asked, his brows pressed together. Yuffie nodded emphatically. "Of course I'm all right!" She meant to say something further, to prove her statement, when she realized she couldn't come up with a single suitable excuse. Without this excuse, Roland saw through her claim. "Are you nervous?" he asked. "I'm not nervous!" Yuffie hissed back. Her cheeks tinged red and she slouched in her seat. Roland raised an eyebrow at her. Then, without warning, he grabbed her arm and stood, forcing her to stand with him. "If you'll excuse me, I want to show Ms. Kisaragi something," he said loudly to the others. Yuffie sputtered as her knees knocked the table, "H-Hey!" Tifa looked up with surprise and her hands gripped her arm rests. "Is something the matter?" she asked quickly as her eyes darted between the two. Roland shook his head as he began to steer Yuffie away. "Nothing's the matter! There's some artwork back at the main lobby I just want to show her." The ninja, though flustered and a little angry at being manhandled, reasoned it best to stay quiet and not make a scene...at least, not in front of Tifa. But they did not stop at the main lobby, as Roland said. Instead, they went outside to the front of the restaurant. Yuffie wrested herself from Roland's grasp, the small bit of ease she had gathered from their first meeting fading away in an instant. "What's the big idea, pal!?" she snapped, her irate gaze turned onto the man's emerald green eyes. Roland, with an apologetic look, bowed slightly. "I'm sorry Ms. Kisaragi; I just figured getting away from Mason would help you relax. Out here, we can talk without him and Tifa overhearing." Yuffie gazed at him suspiciously. "What do you want to talk about that they can't hear?" Roland shrugged, his hands clasped behind his back. "Well, for starters, I know that Mason is making you uncomfortable. You can't understand where he's coming from, and his behavior towards you must seem incredibly hostile." "Ya mean it isn't?" Yuffie asked sarcastically. Roland chuckled and shook his head. "He's just nervous. Mason has a soft spot for Western culture, and now he's sitting eating lunch with one of Wutai's most famous heroes. He's even more anxious then when he first met Ms. Lockhart. I'm sure she's told you of how...intense he seemed at our home." The ninja blinked at him. "So...he admires me??" "Yes," the man said with a gracious nod, "He admires you." Yuffie gave him a weird look. "Well that's a funny way of showing admiration, isn't it? I mean, geez-louise, I feel like I'm being murdered with those eyes of his!" "I understand he comes on a bit strong, it's just that he's..." "Tactless?" Yuffie deadpanned. Roland sighed with a long-suffering smile. "Yes. Tactless is the word." The man reached up a hand and delicately smoothed out an eyebrow. "Back at our home, he kept bothering Tifa about a favorite shirt he lent her for the night, telling her to be careful with it and such. But he's refused to wear it ever since she put that silly thing on. Why? Because she wore it! Now it's something too precious for him to wear! Within the next two days I'm certain he'll either have framed the shirt or packed it safely in a special box somewhere in the house." Roland lowered his chin to his chest and suppressed a laugh. Yuffie stared at him as his shoulders shook quietly. The man lifted his head again, his eyes bright as stars. "You see, he keeps talking about steaks and Northern food, but he isn't really interested in the steaks. Understand? You feel uncomfortable, so he feels uncomfortable, so it turns into a vicious cycle. He'll keep fumbling on and on about the food in a vain attempt to find something comfortable to talk about. Thus, normally I have to step in as mediator to get a good dialogue going." Yuffie leaned back and placed her hands behind her head as her gaze traveled down her nose at the man across from her. "So why didn't you?" she asked slowly. "You took me out here, but from what you're telling me you could have handled things well enough inside." Roland gazed at Yuffie somberly. "Because Mason's forthrightness was a good excuse to get you out here alone. That's why." "...And what did you really want to talk to me about, then?" "What else? Tifa." Yuffie's hands lowered and she gazed at Roland with quiet, searing eyes. Without her speaking the words, the man knew he would have to speak carefully. No matter how much he and Tifa had connected within their short time together, no matter how much kindness he bestowed upon them both, the one fact he could not transcend was this... He was still a stranger. Roland ran a hand through his hair and turned to face the street, where the sun now shone downwards at an angle. He savored the warmth for a moment before he spoke. "How was Tifa, when you saw her again after that ordeal with Chauncey?" he asked slowly. Yuffie frowned, uncertain of where the man was going. "She was...a mess." She said hesitantly. "She had been crying, and she looked tired." Roland nodded and looked down at the ground. "Do you know what happened to her after she left that club?" Yuffie blinked. "She said she went out into the city...alone. Then you found her and took her back to your place." "Key word there is 'found.'" The girl winced at this. She turned her eyes away. Roland looked at her, his eyes sharp as nettles. "She had a breakdown. It disturbed me to see a woman like that, a legend like her, fall to pieces so suddenly. The situation at the club was not a simple case of romantic melodrama. Something was seriously wrong." Yuffie made a sharp sound with her tongue, her eyes rolling to the awning overhead. "Look, that's in the past, all right? What happened that night stays there. We've got our future. We can work through the future." Roland shook his head, his face sad. "I'm not trying to ruin the happiness you two have found...but I need you to realize this. Ms. Lockhart...Tifa has a serious emotional attachment to you. In the short time I've spent with her, I could see that. I don't know if her solitude in Tiesmire or her insecurities about the issues left unresolved since Avalanche have anything to do with it, but she has come to depend on you like a child does her mother. You may not want to see it that way, but sooner or later you're going to have to confront her codependency." "So what're you saying, huh?" Yuffie, jaw clenched, advanced on Roland, her eyes turned dark with anger. "Are you saying she doesn't love me? That she's just using me to get by?" Roland, unperturbed by Yuffie's sudden advance, stayed his ground and gazed down into the girl's eyes softly. "Remind her that she can stand on her own." He said quietly. "That is all I'm saying. Her love for you is genuine. Any fool can see that. But even true love can be crippled by faults. What if you're hurt, or worse, killed? What if you have to leave for a long trip, alone? Or even simpler, what are you going to do when you two have your next big fight? It'll come eventually... The night you two refuse to sleep in the same room, the day you cannot get out a sentence without the other screaming at you. The serious relationship you two seem keen on starting will involve setbacks and disagreements. Her need to have you there always will not survive that, and she will collapse under the strain." The fire in Yuffie's eyes flickered and died out as the truth and sincerity of his words sunk in. ...But to hear it from so unfamiliar a source bothered her. She took a step back and stared at the man steadily. Roland nodded his head once. "You know what I'm talking about. You've seen it haven't you? That insecurity in her eyes. The belief that if you left her, she would fade away into nothing..." the man turned his head and looked back out toward the street. "Tifa has come a long way from Tiesmire, but she has to regain her strength. All of it." Yuffie swallowed and looked down at her shoes. All together she felt hot, the aggression that heated her head slipping down her body and pooling in the pit of her stomach. "I...don't understand you," she finally said, her eyes lifting to search Roland's face. "You're like a stranger to me, barely an acquaintance to Tifa, and yet here you are, giving out advice and sticking out your neck to help us out. Only mako-suckin' idiots speak to me like you are right now. Straightforward and with a tone like you've got me all figured out. But...you aren't a dummy. So why this?" The girl placed her hands on her hips and stared, squinty-eyed, at Roland. "I've met tons of people in my life, pal. More'n half of 'em just wanted something from me. I gave 'em a bad hand and they cleared the poker table faster than I could say, 'Fold.' But then there were the crazy ones. The ones who gave me extra chips so that I could keep going. Are you one of the crazy ones?" Roland blinked at her, nonplussed. "But I don't gamble." He said with an uncertain look. Yuffie stared at him. Then her face broke into a smile and she snickered loudly. She reached a hand up to clap him heartily on the shoulder. "Yer a real card!" she giggled. "But seriously, what game are you playing at?" The man gazed at her in bewilderment. "But I just said I didn't gamble!" Yuffie raised an eyebrow at him. "That's the way it's gonna be, huh?" She took hold of her chin and scowled at him. Roland blinked at her again. Without warning, the girl jammed a finger in his face, "Quick! What's your favorite color!?" she shouted. Roland jerked back as surprise took hold of his expression for the first time. "Uh-wah-PINK!" Yuffie's arm sagged and she gave the man a weird look. "My gawd, you really are gay!" The man's cheeks turned red and he slapped a hand to his forehead. "No, no, no!" he exclaimed. He tugged at his shirt, "My favorite color is green! Not pink! GREEN!" The ninja crossed her arms and tapped her foot curtly. "But you just said, pink!" she snapped. Roland huffed and shifted his weight to one foot. His right hand planted itself on his jutted hip as the other made a sharp wave in the air. "Well you startled me!" he said hotly. "But the point is to get you to answer honestly!" Yuffie cried, her right hand slamming into the other hand in emphasis. "If the first word out of your mouth is pink then-" "Anyone can spout out nonsense when someone startles them! That isn't fair! At any rate, what self-respecting homosexual would be caught dead in pink!?" Yuffie rolled her eyes, "Oh, fine. I'll just ask you straight out. ...But you can't take longer'n 30 seconds to answer!" Roland sucked at his teeth. "Fine." He returned dryly. "Okay...What's your favorite breakfast food?" "Waffles." Yuffie gazed at him, her eyebrows furrowing over her eyes. Roland frowned. "Did I answer incorrectly?" he asked sarcastically. The ninja shook her head and waved his question away, "Next question, next question," she said. She tapped her chin as she thought for a moment. "What's your favorite...uh...element." "Ice." Yuffie glared at him suspiciously as she asked her next question. "What's your favorite non-martial sport?" "Non...martial? Oh, um. Snowboarding." "...Hey, are you screwing with me?" Roland gazed at her, exasperated. "Why would I be?" The girl tongued her cheek, but continued nevertheless. "Okay, last question, and this one determines it all...Who's your favorite singer??" "Oh, that's easy. It's Guilly." Yuffie bowed her head with a loud sigh. "Oh to hell with you..." Roland, flabbergasted, watched as the ninja raised her head again and grinned. "Congratulations, you've made me into a total ass," the girl chortled as her hand reached up to rub at her eye in embarrassment. The man scratched the side of his head. "Um...I'm afraid I don't follow, sweetheart." Yuffie shrugged. "I just figured out that Tifa was right. You're just a nice guy with no ulterior motives. I mean I know I was grinnin' and friendly before, but I couldn't get over my suspicions, y'know? So I'm...sorry for the third degree. All I ended up proving was how much of a jerk I am...and how eerily similar you are to me." Roland grinned bemusedly. "Is that a good thing?" Yuffie nodded. "Sure. I mean heck, anyone who's like me can't be all so bad." She held out her hand. "Right. So like I said, I'm...y'know. Sorry." The man shook his head. With a quick move, Roland caught Yuffie in a tight hug. The girl sputtered into his shoulder, her eyes turned wide. "Don't bother apologizing. I can understand your wariness," he said as he pulled away with one arm still over her shoulder. Steadily the two walked back toward the restaurant. "Well, you don't know how relieved I am to hear you don't suspect me of anything anymore, Yuffie...I can call you Yuffie, right?" "Huh? Oh, sure. I don't know why you bothered being so formal anyway. It was totally stuffy." "I was stuffy? ...Really?" "Just a little bit." "Oh...ah, Yuffie dear? Can I ask you something?" "Shoot." "Were those questions of yours some sort of psychological test? Because I've read dozens of psych books and I don't think I've ever heard of that method before." "Method? Pfft! I pulled those questions out of my ass, Roland! I was just going with gut instinct the whole time!" "...Oh." "Hey, what do you think Tifa and Mason are talking about now?" "Well, let's see...they started out talking about marinades...chances are, they'll be hitting on to politics next."
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