Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Mideel Chocolate Chocobos ❯ Chapter 1

Yuffie'd spent the best part of the afternoon debating with herself whether she really wanted to go through with this or not. It wasn't really her, she argued. She wasn't at all ready to just go straight out and confess her feelings ever yet, and acting uncharacteristically sappy like that could be a dead give-away.

But then again, she liked to think of herself as pretty damn unpredictable, so anything could be in character for her, right? It probably was just her paranoia getting the best of her anyway.

Her palms were all clammy now, and she shifted the little box from her right hand to her left, and then back again because the right one felt cold without it.

Bless her ninja skills and utter sneakyness, or someone would've noticed her hanging around doing nothing hours ago. Wouldn't that be embarrassing; Cloud and Vincent discussing her latest weird antics over a cuppa coffee. "Stupid brat moping around staring through the window every fifteen minutes and still doing nothing; she's gotta be up to something again, hide the materia!" Or worse, they could even guess the real reason, ugh, nah, can't have that.

She surreptitiously made another sweep over the area. Nobody nearby, and the Sense materia said the same. Still, that Vincent was pretty damn sneaky too - especially for being yaknow, half made of metal and all - and she wouldn't be all that surprised to find out he'd been hiding behind a chimney all the time. She could picture that now; stupid guy covering his mouth behind that weird cape fastener of his, chuckling at the way she thought she was unseen and safe.

She blinked.

Vincent chuckling? Oh man, gotta store that mental image for a rainy day.

Anyway, that thought might've been just what she needed to get her brain out of that dead end, because now her feet had started moving towards the door on their own accord and she thought that well, it's now or never.

A glance towards the dusty window again and she saw something moving. It was nearly enough to send her screeching back to her hideout behind those crates again, but dammit she was better than this.

Her lower lip was already bit to shreds, so trying to moisten her lips brought a smarting pain - and almost tears into her eyes.

Now or never, yeah. She took a deep breath and opened the door; too late to hesitate now darling.

Tifa was busy scrubbing the tables, a not too unsual sight this time of the day - but she usually wasn't quite this rough. Her mouth was moving slightly as if she were silently praying.

Hah, cursing more likely, and Yuffie could bet a mastered Leviathan she knew what or rather who had upset Tifa again. (her heart sank, but too late to leave now she'd been spotted, ignore that damn Cloud now)

"Yuffie?" Tifa started, looking up from her work but not pausing.

"Yeah, well... " Yuffie murmured and then the words stuck on her parched tongue; her voice was too rough with something she daren't put a name to and it was safer to be silent.

They stared at each other for a while, and then Yuffie flushed and threw the little box ("Mideel chocolate chocobos", 80% cacoa, red silk bowties around their necks, sappysappyembarrassing) on the table Tifa was cleaning before turning tail and fleeing from the bar, the "Happy Valentine's Day" left unsaid.