Because Yuffie Says It's Okay
Title: Because Yuffie Says It's Okay
Author/artist: TamLin
Setting: post-ACC, pre-DOC
Rating: T
Summary: sequal to 'Because the Kids Say It's Okay' and in response to a prompt for 'September'.
"No, Tifa. Like this!"
Yuffie was determined and Tifa couldn't help but watch with a certain mixture of exasperation and laughter as the smaller girl dipped impossibly far to one side, impossibly far to the other and then finally backward to release a long square of brightly colored silk. Tifa, holding her own silk handkerchief, stifled a laugh.
"You look like you're drunk. Or on a ship and sea sick."
"Hey!" Yuffie spun around to scoop up her fallen handkerchief with a pout. "I'll have you know that's the way professionals do it!. It's like dancing. Only boring. And you gotta make sure your handkerchief lands in Cloud's lap. Don't let some other guy end up with it by accident."
"I am not throwing bits of cloth at Cloud tonight." Tifa's arms got crossed over her chest. As if that would somehow distract from the red on her cheeks. Yuffie snorted laughter.
"Oh, come oooon, Teef! You two are like practically engaged. I mean, you two hardly even came up for air last night at the koi pond."
Tifa's eyes went wide and if anything her cheeks only got redder. It was hard to tell if it was with embarrassment or anger though.
"You saw that?"
"Duh," Yuffie rolled her eyes dismissively and returned to her exaggerated swaying, silk popping up in the air to flutter over her shoulder. "I AM the Great Ninja Yuffie. But come on! You guys are all official and all now. Everybody knows it. So you gotta take the next step and get engaged so everyone can ooooh and aaaaah over the ring and all. And that means you've gotta give Cloud your handkerchief."
"Yuffie," Tifa was chiding now and she shook her head. "I'm glad we accidentally showed up for your festival. I really am. But throwing things at Cloud at the party tonight isn't - " she paused and exhaled and Yuffie stopped stomping absently on her own handkerchief. "I don't need to do that kind of thing with Cloud. He knows how I feel. And - I finally know how he feels. So it's okay if we take some time and just enjoy what we've got. When he's ready for whatever comes next… he'll be ready."
"Aw… that's really zen of both of you," Yuffie sighed peacefully, eyes shut. And then proceeded to wave her hands in the air, silk flaring as her eyes popped open again. "But it's too slow! I want wedding cake and I wanna let off stink bombs at the reception. I want Cid to give drunk toasts and I wanna get pictures of Barret pretending he's not crying and I want Cloud to force Vincent to wear something other than that leather and felt he lives in. What about me? What about MY needs? Have you thought about those?"
"Gee, Yuffie. I hadn't. Thanks for pointing out how selfish I've been. I'll get right on fixing that." Tifa had been around the little ninja long enough by this point that she had no hesitation in dryly answering that tirade.
Yuffie started cackling.
"You never let me get away with anything anymore, Teef." She bounced over to link her arm through Tifa's. "I'm just teasing. Geez, like I really care if you guys get it together or not." After a minute, she added thoughtfully: "Maybe if we tied a stone to your handkerchief and nailed Cloud in the forehead with it at the party he'd get the hint."
(~)
The night sky was full of man-made stars. Tifa held her own lantern as Cloud set flame to the small candle inside it, and the warm, gold glow soon spread from the paper to paint both of their faces in its warmth. Slow she lifted her hands and just as slow the tiny paper lantern filled with hot air and drifted up to join the myriad of others already drifting in the quiet night air. She knew it was probably a fire hazard but it was a Wutai tradition to celebrate the beginning of autumn and she thought they were probably used to any dangers floating paper lanterns could cause. A long silk dragon with a myriad of differently clothed pairs of legs wove in between the lantern setters, left over from the more boisterous streets and party of earlier that night, stopping in front of Tifa to shake it's huge head and wink a brightly painted tassel eyelid at her before steaming off, its tail made longer by the laughing children that were chasing after it. Tifa though it had been a long time since she'd felt so…
"Young."
Cloud's soft voice near her ear caught her attention and she turned into him as he stood next to her. In the golden night, he slipped an arm around her waist and she leaned a little into him.
"What?"
"You look young," he answered just as softly as her question. When she looked at him he was looking up at the lanterns in the sky but her move had him glancing down at her face and his lips shifted, almost shy and a little embarrassed looking. They'd come a long way together but each step forward was one they'd never taken before and there was a certain amount of care in the way they treated each other. To show him it was all right, Tifa let her head rest on his shoulder and felt it relax under her.
"I feel young. Like… like it's been forever since I remembered to enjoy the simple things without worrying about them."
"It's been a long time since it was safe to be young," he murmured, eyes going back to the floating lights in the sky. A sky empty of burning smoke or metal Plate or dying meteor. A sky full of nothing but moon and floating paper dreams. All ready some of the smaller lanterns were starting to sink and people dressed in brightly colored costumes ran between the small groups of waters, trying to catch them before they could touch the ground and taking bright leaps over the ones that already had before scooping them up as well. Tifa thought that Cloud's face looked young too. She was glad he'd asked her to come with him on his Wutai delivery this time and a part of her wondered if he'd known the country would be celebrating their Mid-Autumn Festival. Cloud had a way of giving her gifts while pretending to be unaware that he was giving them.
"The kids would have loved this," she murmured and found that, at some point, she'd turned more into him and both of his arms were around her now. She slipped her own arms around him in turn, still watching the sky through the fringe of his hair. He made a soft sound and rested his chin against the side of her head.
"Next time we'll bring them."
And it made her heart feel lighter because there would be a next time. They could plan on 'next time' now. Finally. She hugged him a little tighter and sighed out in contentment.
"Next time," she agreed.
(~)
"So it was pretty cool, huh? They don't have parties like that in Edge!"
Yuffie was still bouncing, though nicely enough she'd settled down to bouncing on the sleeping pallet on her side of the room. Tifa had agreed to spend the night with her for what Yuffie insisted was 'girl time' and Cloud had good naturedly been banished off to his own room, which happened to have been the one they'd first all slept in as a team while chasing a madman across the Planet. Now Tifa, clad in her pajamas, folded the colorful, quilted jacket Yuffie had given her to wear to the party with a smile for the other girl.
"You're right. Edge doesn't. It was a lot of fun, Yuffie. We had a lot of fun tonight."
Yuffie made a face but it was obvious she was happy as she flopped down onto her back.
"I know! That's why Wutai is the best place ever. Better than boring old Edge."
Tifa gently set the jacket aside, hiding her smile. Yuffie loved to brag and she loved her home country… but she spent an awful lot of time in Edge for a place that was 'boring'.
"Cloud and I talked about bringing the kids next. It would be nice to have the whole family get away on a trip."
"You guys really like that whole 'family' thing, huh? 'Daddy Cloud'." Yuffie broke off onto snickers and Tifa stifled her own smile. Cloud was still working on the 'dad' part - but he was trying and the kids knew it. That was what really counted. The other day he'd even called Denzel his son in front of someone else. It had made Cloud blush - but the look on Denzel's face for the rest of the week had been the most beautiful thing Tifa had seen in a long time.
"As if you didn't enjoy being 'Aunt Yuffie'," Tifa teased right back, settling down on her own pallet and starting to brush out her hair for the night. Yuffie grinned.
"Aw, Marlene and Denzel are awesome! I don't mind playing auntie to them. They're devious."
"Don't encourage them," Tifa chided mildly, getting ready to stretch out in her own bed.
"Hey, hey!" Yuffie interrupted. "You gotta get your handkerchief. You put it under your pillow so you'll dream about who you're gonna marry. Did you get it back from Cloud?"
Tifa rolled her eyes and rolled over to grab the folded jacket.
"I didn't throw it at him in the first place, Yuffie. I told you - Cloud and I don't need to - "
The handkerchief was in the wrong pocket and she pulled it out, curious to find it heavier than a square of silk should be. A little puzzled, she shook it out into her hand.
The simple ring of unadorned gold caught the light from the lantern and glowed warm.
Something in her sudden stillness must have tipped Yuffie off because the other girl was suddenly next to her shoulder, looking at what she was holding. For a long minute they both stared in utter shock. Just as Tifa's throat started to tighten with impossibly happy tears Yuffie let out a whistle.
"Oooor I guess you could skip the engagement ring all together and just go straight to the wedding band."
Author/artist: TamLin
Setting: post-ACC, pre-DOC
Rating: T
Summary: sequal to 'Because the Kids Say It's Okay' and in response to a prompt for 'September'.
"No, Tifa. Like this!"
Yuffie was determined and Tifa couldn't help but watch with a certain mixture of exasperation and laughter as the smaller girl dipped impossibly far to one side, impossibly far to the other and then finally backward to release a long square of brightly colored silk. Tifa, holding her own silk handkerchief, stifled a laugh.
"You look like you're drunk. Or on a ship and sea sick."
"Hey!" Yuffie spun around to scoop up her fallen handkerchief with a pout. "I'll have you know that's the way professionals do it!. It's like dancing. Only boring. And you gotta make sure your handkerchief lands in Cloud's lap. Don't let some other guy end up with it by accident."
"I am not throwing bits of cloth at Cloud tonight." Tifa's arms got crossed over her chest. As if that would somehow distract from the red on her cheeks. Yuffie snorted laughter.
"Oh, come oooon, Teef! You two are like practically engaged. I mean, you two hardly even came up for air last night at the koi pond."
Tifa's eyes went wide and if anything her cheeks only got redder. It was hard to tell if it was with embarrassment or anger though.
"You saw that?"
"Duh," Yuffie rolled her eyes dismissively and returned to her exaggerated swaying, silk popping up in the air to flutter over her shoulder. "I AM the Great Ninja Yuffie. But come on! You guys are all official and all now. Everybody knows it. So you gotta take the next step and get engaged so everyone can ooooh and aaaaah over the ring and all. And that means you've gotta give Cloud your handkerchief."
"Yuffie," Tifa was chiding now and she shook her head. "I'm glad we accidentally showed up for your festival. I really am. But throwing things at Cloud at the party tonight isn't - " she paused and exhaled and Yuffie stopped stomping absently on her own handkerchief. "I don't need to do that kind of thing with Cloud. He knows how I feel. And - I finally know how he feels. So it's okay if we take some time and just enjoy what we've got. When he's ready for whatever comes next… he'll be ready."
"Aw… that's really zen of both of you," Yuffie sighed peacefully, eyes shut. And then proceeded to wave her hands in the air, silk flaring as her eyes popped open again. "But it's too slow! I want wedding cake and I wanna let off stink bombs at the reception. I want Cid to give drunk toasts and I wanna get pictures of Barret pretending he's not crying and I want Cloud to force Vincent to wear something other than that leather and felt he lives in. What about me? What about MY needs? Have you thought about those?"
"Gee, Yuffie. I hadn't. Thanks for pointing out how selfish I've been. I'll get right on fixing that." Tifa had been around the little ninja long enough by this point that she had no hesitation in dryly answering that tirade.
Yuffie started cackling.
"You never let me get away with anything anymore, Teef." She bounced over to link her arm through Tifa's. "I'm just teasing. Geez, like I really care if you guys get it together or not." After a minute, she added thoughtfully: "Maybe if we tied a stone to your handkerchief and nailed Cloud in the forehead with it at the party he'd get the hint."
(~)
The night sky was full of man-made stars. Tifa held her own lantern as Cloud set flame to the small candle inside it, and the warm, gold glow soon spread from the paper to paint both of their faces in its warmth. Slow she lifted her hands and just as slow the tiny paper lantern filled with hot air and drifted up to join the myriad of others already drifting in the quiet night air. She knew it was probably a fire hazard but it was a Wutai tradition to celebrate the beginning of autumn and she thought they were probably used to any dangers floating paper lanterns could cause. A long silk dragon with a myriad of differently clothed pairs of legs wove in between the lantern setters, left over from the more boisterous streets and party of earlier that night, stopping in front of Tifa to shake it's huge head and wink a brightly painted tassel eyelid at her before steaming off, its tail made longer by the laughing children that were chasing after it. Tifa though it had been a long time since she'd felt so…
"Young."
Cloud's soft voice near her ear caught her attention and she turned into him as he stood next to her. In the golden night, he slipped an arm around her waist and she leaned a little into him.
"What?"
"You look young," he answered just as softly as her question. When she looked at him he was looking up at the lanterns in the sky but her move had him glancing down at her face and his lips shifted, almost shy and a little embarrassed looking. They'd come a long way together but each step forward was one they'd never taken before and there was a certain amount of care in the way they treated each other. To show him it was all right, Tifa let her head rest on his shoulder and felt it relax under her.
"I feel young. Like… like it's been forever since I remembered to enjoy the simple things without worrying about them."
"It's been a long time since it was safe to be young," he murmured, eyes going back to the floating lights in the sky. A sky empty of burning smoke or metal Plate or dying meteor. A sky full of nothing but moon and floating paper dreams. All ready some of the smaller lanterns were starting to sink and people dressed in brightly colored costumes ran between the small groups of waters, trying to catch them before they could touch the ground and taking bright leaps over the ones that already had before scooping them up as well. Tifa thought that Cloud's face looked young too. She was glad he'd asked her to come with him on his Wutai delivery this time and a part of her wondered if he'd known the country would be celebrating their Mid-Autumn Festival. Cloud had a way of giving her gifts while pretending to be unaware that he was giving them.
"The kids would have loved this," she murmured and found that, at some point, she'd turned more into him and both of his arms were around her now. She slipped her own arms around him in turn, still watching the sky through the fringe of his hair. He made a soft sound and rested his chin against the side of her head.
"Next time we'll bring them."
And it made her heart feel lighter because there would be a next time. They could plan on 'next time' now. Finally. She hugged him a little tighter and sighed out in contentment.
"Next time," she agreed.
(~)
"So it was pretty cool, huh? They don't have parties like that in Edge!"
Yuffie was still bouncing, though nicely enough she'd settled down to bouncing on the sleeping pallet on her side of the room. Tifa had agreed to spend the night with her for what Yuffie insisted was 'girl time' and Cloud had good naturedly been banished off to his own room, which happened to have been the one they'd first all slept in as a team while chasing a madman across the Planet. Now Tifa, clad in her pajamas, folded the colorful, quilted jacket Yuffie had given her to wear to the party with a smile for the other girl.
"You're right. Edge doesn't. It was a lot of fun, Yuffie. We had a lot of fun tonight."
Yuffie made a face but it was obvious she was happy as she flopped down onto her back.
"I know! That's why Wutai is the best place ever. Better than boring old Edge."
Tifa gently set the jacket aside, hiding her smile. Yuffie loved to brag and she loved her home country… but she spent an awful lot of time in Edge for a place that was 'boring'.
"Cloud and I talked about bringing the kids next. It would be nice to have the whole family get away on a trip."
"You guys really like that whole 'family' thing, huh? 'Daddy Cloud'." Yuffie broke off onto snickers and Tifa stifled her own smile. Cloud was still working on the 'dad' part - but he was trying and the kids knew it. That was what really counted. The other day he'd even called Denzel his son in front of someone else. It had made Cloud blush - but the look on Denzel's face for the rest of the week had been the most beautiful thing Tifa had seen in a long time.
"As if you didn't enjoy being 'Aunt Yuffie'," Tifa teased right back, settling down on her own pallet and starting to brush out her hair for the night. Yuffie grinned.
"Aw, Marlene and Denzel are awesome! I don't mind playing auntie to them. They're devious."
"Don't encourage them," Tifa chided mildly, getting ready to stretch out in her own bed.
"Hey, hey!" Yuffie interrupted. "You gotta get your handkerchief. You put it under your pillow so you'll dream about who you're gonna marry. Did you get it back from Cloud?"
Tifa rolled her eyes and rolled over to grab the folded jacket.
"I didn't throw it at him in the first place, Yuffie. I told you - Cloud and I don't need to - "
The handkerchief was in the wrong pocket and she pulled it out, curious to find it heavier than a square of silk should be. A little puzzled, she shook it out into her hand.
The simple ring of unadorned gold caught the light from the lantern and glowed warm.
Something in her sudden stillness must have tipped Yuffie off because the other girl was suddenly next to her shoulder, looking at what she was holding. For a long minute they both stared in utter shock. Just as Tifa's throat started to tighten with impossibly happy tears Yuffie let out a whistle.
"Oooor I guess you could skip the engagement ring all together and just go straight to the wedding band."