When faced with never ending road while stuck on a vehicle that you're convinced was some joke sent by the heavens to torment you, you try to entertain yourself with other things. The discomfort makes it difficult, but this only doubles your efforts to find solace in idle distraction. And so, Tifa learned many things in the passing of an hour. First and foremost, watching the passing road lines was not a good way to pass the time. Especially since it made her feel as if she were going to fall right off the bike in all her dizziness. Second, fields of grass and a horizon gradually sprouting mountains only offered so much to see until the beauty of nature simply lost it's luster. Third, the road they were traveling on was a two way road, in which cars on the left zoomed by and the cars ahead remained a constant sight, complete to the point that Tifa had memorized the license plate and read every bumper sticker of the car before them. Fourth, Yuffie's shoulder was rather comfortable. When she was tired of seeing what little was around her, Tifa took to laying her head on the ninja's shoulder. The girl didn't say anything, and the hesitation the fighter felt in light of the action faded away as time went on. Looking down the length of the girl's arm, the fighter could see the folds of Yuffie's jacket, her hand sprouting at the end of the coat arm, it's pearly skin seemingly illuminated by the sunlight. Yuffie really did seem to have a hang for the bike. Tifa's discomfort rested only in that she was used to actually being IN a vehicle. The constant rush of wind and the sight of the passing road made the woman nervous, but she found, as she gazed at Yuffie's hand from the ninja's shoulder, that her fears seemed silly. Yuffie had the bike under control...she wouldn't let anything happen. This was Tifa's repeating thought as she gradually allowed her eyes to slip shut, the wind howling in her ears...it wasn't until later that she'd notice the sound softening. Opening her eyes slightly, Tifa saw the road to her side, and at this, she lifted her head up. Yuffie was pulling over. Rubbing at her eye, the fighter asked drowsily, "What's wrong?" Yuffie turned to beam at her as she un-strapped her helmet. "We're taking a quick break!" Tifa blinked at the girl as she carefully climbed off the bike. "A break? But...we've only been driving for-" the fighter looked to sky, shading her eyes as she did so. "Only a little past an hour!" Yuffie didn't seem to be listening to her as she began to search the bike's side compartments. "Where'd I put that thing...?" the girl breathed. Tifa crossed her arms as she gazed down at her companion. "Yuffie, we can make it to Corel before nightfall if we just keep going." "Are you kidding?" The girl cried, looking up at the woman. "And miss the opportunity of a lifetime?" The fighter raised her arms in exasperation. "What opportunity, Yuffie? We're in the middle of nowhere!" Yuffie shook her head as she returned her attention to her search. After a moment, the girl stood, allowing a small "Aha!" as a smirk spread across her lips. Lifting a camera the ninja pointed over Tifa's shoulder. "Not just anywhere, Rusty." Confused, the woman looked to where the girl was pointing. "'Come see the world's fattest choco-' -Oh for the love of Alexander you have got to be kidding me!" "Nope!" Yuffie said pleasantly as she brushed past the woman. Walking with a considerable bounce in her step, the ninja headed toward a rather run down building, it's metal roof and sandblasted wood a sign of its age...or negligence. Either one, Tifa didn't trust the building's stability against the breeze. Next to it was an equally decrepit motel, a large neon sign hovering over it. Rubbing at her face, Tifa followed Yuffie into the building. The scent that hit her as she walked through the door was so strong the woman actually reeled. "Oh...Ifrit!" the fighter coughed. Yuffie held a hand to her nose. "Grossness...she muttered. The room was small, and the floor littered with hay. The walls were lined with souvenirs and pamphlets. Across from the entrance was a door. Sitting at the counter was a sweaty old man with a scraggily beard. He smiled toothily at them. "'Lo thar ladies! Come to see ol' Choco, have ya?" They both forced a smile. "It's ten gil fer tha both 'a ya, then." Tifa shook her head. "Yuffie that's not-" "Here ya go." The ninja handed the man the money. After he counted the money, the man pointed to the door. "There ya are, she's right in thar!" Yuffie nodded to the man, "Thanks old timer..." Tifa followed her through the door, hissing into her ear, "Yuffie this is a total rip off!" Yuffie hissed back, "Give me a break! I didn't know the owner would be so creepy!" Moving down the pathway past the empty stables, the two stopped as they reached the last one. Tifa raised an eyebrow. "The opportunity of a lifetime...right Yuffie?" The fighter deadpanned. Yuffie, in response, simply raised her camera and took a picture. Sitting in the stable was, really quite possible, the fattest chocobo the fighter had ever seen. It almost didn't seem to fit in the stable, and it's head seemed to be swimming in it's own yellow feathers. "Wow..." the ninja breathed, turning the camera long ways as she took another shot. Tifa made a face. "Yuffie, don't waste your film! The poor thing's probably being neglected!" "Call the pictures evidence then..." the ninja breathed distractedly, snapping another shot. "Actualleh," The two girls jumped at the sound of the owner's voice. The old man was peeking his head through the door. "We clean 'er stable evreh day! She's jes so darned fat..." he shook his head as he chuckled, retreating back into the other room. Yuffie jerked her head in the man's direction. "There! Ya hear that? They take good care of ol' Choco here...right, girl?" The chocobo gurgled. Tifa took it as it's lame attempt at a 'wark'. "...Hey, Tif. Go stand next to it." Tifa stared at Yuffie as if she were insane. "...What?" Yuffie looked at her. "Stand next to it, please. I wanna take a picture." "Yuffie, I will not stand next to that thing." "Just a second ago you were playing the role of some animal rights fanatic, and now you're calling Choco a 'thing'?" "That's not grammatically incorrect or anything! And you have to admit...'She' doesn't smell, nor look very nice." "Tifa yer gonna hurt her feelings. Chocobos are really sensitive, y'know." "But-" "Come on! I wanna picture!" "But you've already taken some! Can't we just go?" "I want one with you in it!" "Yuffie I will not-" Yuffie stomped her foot, an annoyed look coming over her face. "Rusty quit yer griping and just get in front of the thing!" The figher rolled her eyes. "All right, all right! ...Fine. I'll take a picture with it..." Grimacing, the fighter sidled near the chocobo, hunching her shoulders as she did so. "And I hope you know, you just called it a 'thing' to..." The woman grumbled sullenly. There was a shifting sound behind her. Tifa stiffened at the sound, her eyes snapping to her side. Yuffie was holding up her camera now, a smug grin on her lips. "Okay...Now, Tif, you gotta smile!" "Yuffie...is...is it leaning forward?" "Yes...just don't make any sudden movements and you'll be fine." Tifa glared at the ninja, but the look was wiped clean as she felt something drip onto her shoulder. Face turning ashen, the woman slowly looked down. "Oh Shiva it's drooling on me!" she breathed in horror. "Stay still!" "Yuffie-!" "Hurry up and just smile at the camera, then you can get outta there!" "But it's-" "Damn it woman, smile!" Tifa forced the corners of her lips upwards. Yuffie lowered the camera and gave her an exasperated look. "Tifa! Give me a break, that isn't a smile at all! It looks like your grimacing!" "So maybe I am, Yuffie!" The woman hissed through her 'smile'. She leaned some to the side as she felt the chocobo's beak brush against her ear. "Oh god!" she whimpered. "Please, Tif...Try and smile." Sighing, the woman forced her lips higher. However forced the smile seemed, Yuffie appeared satisfied. Looking through the camera lens again, the ninja cried, "Say cheese!" Tifa resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "Chee-EEEEEEE!" The camera flashed just as the chocobo bit Tifa's ear. ---------- "Tifa I'm so sorry!" "Yuffie I don't wanna talk about it anymore. You've apologized to me for the last hour and a half." "But I mean it!" "I don't care. I'm still mad." "The geezer gave us our money back, okay? And look! We've got to stay here at the motel for free!" "We wouldn't have had to stay here if we'd have just kept going like I said we should've!" "But Tifa-" "Good night, Yuffie. Go to sleep already. We've gotta get up early tomorrow." "Oh FINE, you jerk!" In their motel room, the two lay on separate beds, the lights turned off. It was now nine thirty, and the sun had long since set. Tifa wasn't sure how they managed to lose so much time, but she was sure it was mostly lost fussing over the bite on her ear and the refund that the owner had been so reluctant to give. Tifa, dressed in a tank and shorts, lay in the bed closest to the door. On the other bed was Yuffie, clad in a t-shirt and striped pajama pants. Both were wide-awake, their eyes open and frowns set on their faces. "Tifa." The fighter didn't answer. Yuffie tried again, and this time the woman could hear the girl turn in her bed. "Tifa." "What is it, Yuffie?" Tifa asked with a sigh. She didn't turn around. "I don't want to start the trip this way, okay? I'm...I'm sorry. I know, I've said that for the millionth time, but like I've said before 'a million times'...I mean it." A pause. "And you know, you could've just moved out of the way." Tifa sat up and gave the girl a look, the moonlight turning her into a silhouette. "You know that's not true. If I moved, you wouldn't have quit bothering me!" Yuffie smiled sheepishly. "Your right. I wouldn't have." "You can be really stubborn sometimes..." The woman muttered, hugging her knees. Yuffie sat up as well, leaning against the headboard. "Yeah, I know...But hey!" She placed her hands behind her head and grinned. "Ya gotta admit, I'm still damn cute for a girl who's as stubborn as a rusty gear! And to think I'm going to be turning twenty this year..." "When's your birthday?" "November 20th." Tifa smirked. "A scorpio...I should've known." "You believe in that astrology stuff?" Tifa shrugged. "I dunno...but sometimes, people tend to fall into their sign's traits." "When's your birthday?" "May 3rd. I'm a Taurus." "A Taurus...aren't they kinda like Scorpio's? That's good, isn't it?" Tifa sighed. "Not particularly. In fact, Taurus and Scorpios are known to butt heads quite often." Yuffie shifted slightly. "...That astrology stuff...it's all just for fun anyhow." She muttered. "Yeah..." "Hey Tif...are you really that mad at me?" "...No." "Just annoyed right?" Tifa didn't respond. Yuffie sighed. "I'm good at that, aren't I? I'll try not to push you so much in the future...I really want to have a good time with you." Tifa bit her lip. "And...and I'll try and be a little more open. After all, what is a road trip if you aren't going to allow yourself to be adventurous and spontaneous?" "See, that's just what I don't understand, Tif. You weren't like this before. If anything, you were the opposite." The fighter smiled wryly. "Well...I dunno about that...if anything, Aeris was the epitome of all things fun and adventurous. More so than I ever was." "Weird, since she wasn't much of a fighter." "She was good at magic, though." "Yeah, she was." A pause. "Hey, Tif. How do you feel about seeing Barret again?" "A little scared actually...Cid may have a temper, but he isn't as uptight. Barret won't be happy with my not visiting for so long." "I'll throw cold water in his face if he gets too angry." "No...let him be angry. He has a right to be. He's one of my closest friends and I just disappeared on him for no reason at all..." "I'm sure you had your reasons..." "Yeah. A truck." The woman deadpanned. Yuffie giggled. "Tif, you may have changed a bunch since Avalanche, but I think I kinda like this pouty, sarcastic attitude of yours." Tifa turned to look at her, her nose scrunching up. "'Pouty'?" The girl nodded, her lips curling. "Yep. I bet you got that from Cloud and Nanaki." "Why do you say that? I haven't seen either of them for ages. Years even." "Cloud was always so uncomfortable and wishy washy. Nanaki liked to whine, but he was also really sarcastic...don't you remember?" "Well considering Cloud's situation...I think he was more confused than anything. And Nanaki isn't human, so of course he was gonna find a lot of reasons to be uncomfortable traveling with us. Costa del Sol is probably the best example." "Poor Nanaki..." "But I don't whine, Yuffie. And I'm not wishy washy!" "But you're uncomfortable." "It's only because I haven't been out of the house in a long time..." "Hopefully you'll find yourself again, while we're on the road." "Who says I've lost myself?" "Because no confident and happy person becomes a hermit willingly." Tifa reached over and grabbed her pillow, chucking it at a laughing Yuffie. "For the last time I'm not a hermit!" she cried. ---------- When morning came, it was Tifa who got up first. She rubbed at her eyes as she sat up, a yawn stretching her mouth wide. Stretching a bit, she stood to her feet and looked over to Yuffie's bed. The girl was curled up, her lips slightly parted and her bangs falling into her eyes. Hand fisted on her pillow, the girl looked peaceful. Tifa crept to the side of her bed, her breath catching in her throat as she gazed down at her companion. A funny feeling taking hold of her chest, Tifa knelt carefully to the floor, a small frown beginning to form on her face. She tentatively reached out a hand, but stopped just as her fingertips brushed against the girl's skin. Pulling her hand back as if burned, the woman decided not to wake the girl, finding that she didn't have the heart to. Standing carefully, Tifa pulled the sheets up to Yuffie's shoulders, as the girl had kicked her blankets off in the middle of the night. Biting her lip, Tifa moved carefully to the end of her own bed, where her backpack sat. Opening it, she took out her clothes for the day and went into the bathroom, where she stepped into the shower. As the water ran down her skin, the fighter thought about the days to come, and realized that while she was nervous, she was also looking forward to all that she would be doing with Yuffie. A faint smile on her lips, Tifa thought, "She may have matured over the years, but she still sleeps like a little girl." When she stepped out of the shower, she quickly dried herself off and changed into her new clothes. Going back into the motel room, the woman saw that the girl was still asleep. Shaking her head, she went back to her backpack and put her old clothes in it. Taking the hairbrush from the front pouch, the woman went back to the bathroom, but this time didn't close the door. Standing before the mirror, she began to brush her hair, wincing as she worked through the knots. The hair cascaded over her shoulder, stopping just before her knees in a long shimmer of mahogany. Tifa was beginning to find the length rather tiresome. She would cut it...if she had the heart to. No matter how much it got on her nerves, to cut her hair would feel almost as if she were cutting away a part of herself. So, resigned, the woman took to picking her hair up. Turning, she went back to get a hair tie from her pack, but at the sight of Yuffie sitting up in her bed, the woman stopped. The girl gazed at her sleepily for a moment before smiling softly. "Mornin' Tif." Tifa nodded to her, "Morning, Yuffie. Do you want to use the bathroom? I'm just about done." The girl shook her head with a yawn. Waving a hand, she managed to say through the yawn, "G-Go on. F-Finish what you w-were doing first." Smiling gratefully, Tifa retrieved the hair tie she had originally sought out to get, moving back to the bathroom to quickly finish what she had started. Picking up her hairbrush again, the woman began to brush her again, this time gathering it into her free hand to put through the tie. Yuffie appeared behind her, leaning against the doorway and eyes squinting in the light. Tifa glanced at her in the mirror, but didn't say anything. Tilting her head to one side, the ninja sighed. "Tif, you're hair is so beautiful..." Tifa smiled. "Thank you. Personally, I think it's kind of annoying. Someday I wanna muster up the courage to cut it." "Cut it?" Yuffie scrunched her nose, eyes focusing on Tifa's hair. "That'd be weird...and your hair is so incredible! Don't ever cut it. ...Or I'll kick your ass." "Like you could." Tifa muttered distractedly. "Rusty, I think I remember giving you a run fer yer money back in Tiesmire!" "And if I remember correctly, we ended in a stalemate." Yuffie snorted, crossing her arms. "I was just being merciful." Tifa rolled her eyes. "Sure, Yuffie." The fighter picked up her hair tie and began pulling the hair through. Meanwhile, the ninja watched her work, a wistful coming into her eyes. Growing self-conscious, the woman turned to look at her. "What?" she asked nervously. Yuffie smirked. "Oh nothing...you're just nice to look at." Tifa blinked rapidly, a pink tinge coming to her cheeks. The ninja, realizing the tone in her statement, straightened stiffly, her eyes going wide. "I mean-! Um. Well-" she gestured in the air, desperately trying to explain herself. "I didn't mean for that to sound-!" The girl, now red in the face, stomped her foot. "Oh hell you know what I mean!" Fists clenched at her side, the teenager stormed to her bed. There she sat roughly on the edge, leaning her elbows on her knees and her fists in her cheeks. Bewildered, Tifa stared at her. ---------- "Yuffie, are you ready?" "I will be once I find my shoe..." "Look under the bed, there isn't many places for it to have gone." "I checked there!" "Well check again!" Sighing extravagantly, Yuffie got down on her hands and knees, lifting the side of the bed cover as she glanced under the bed. "See it's not-! ...Oh. Here they are." Tifa tongued her cheek. Reaching down for her bag, the fighter gave her friend an impatient look. "NOW are you ready?" Putting on her shoes, the ninja nodded. "Yep. But before we go, I want to do something really quick." Tifa rubbed at her face. "Yuffie, you said we'd leave an hour ago!" Yuffie lifted her hands as she went to the hotel door. "I know! I know! Geez, hold on a minute, Rusty. This'll only take a second, I promise!" Grumbling the woman sat down on her bed, gritting her teeth as Yuffie left. After the awkward moment experienced earlier that morning, Tifa had finished her business in the bathroom and allowed Yuffie her time with it. But when the girl's preparations stretched on over two hours, Tifa finally lost her patience. Now it was eleven o' clock, and it didn't seem they'd ever get on the road again. The fighter was astounded at how her friend managed to waste so much time doing nothing. It wasn't as if there was much nearby to lose track of time in. In the time Tifa sat fuming over the time lost, Yuffie had finished whatever it was she had set to do, so coming back in through the door, the ninja called to the woman as she retrieved her duffel bag. "Okay, Tifa! Let's roll!" "Finally." The fighter muttered as she stood. Slipping her backpack onto her back, she followed Yuffie out to the bike. At the sight of it, however, she froze. Raising an eyebrow, she gave Yuffie a weird look. The ninja grinned sheepishly. "I'm sorry! I had to!" Tifa sighed with resignation as she strapped on her helmet. Climbing onto the bike with Yuffie, she muttered. "Hey, it's your bike. Not mine." Tied on top of the headlight was a small, stuffed replica of Choco, a bib tied around her fat little neck with the words "World's Fattest Chocobo" sewn into it. Engine rumbling, the two continued their journey.
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