Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ One More Try ❯ One More Try ( One-Shot )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

One More Try

By Carter Tachikawa

(Oh God, what is wrong with me? I came up with yet *another* Reffie one shot! I have got to stop listening to these sweet, mushy love songs from the past or something! I can't even write a Cleris or Cloti anymore! It seems every song I download makes a great idea for a Reffie. Oh well. Another Reno x Yuffie from me. Don't like, don't read it. Mushy, sweet, and OOC-ness. Takes place probably after the game. Reno wants one more chance but will Yuffie give it to him? I wrote this with a huge pain in my left thigh, probably a spasm. If it seems like my writing isn't up to par, it's because I'm in pain. I don't own FF7 or this song "One More Try" by Timmy T. Here we go!)

"blah"- person is speaking
~blah~ - part of the song
*blah*- person is thinking

* * *

It was a beautiful scenario.

The sun setting far beyond anyone's reach, illuminating the lush fields and dirty paths before it. Wind blowing cold and calm, running through leaves on the trees and blades of grass. No one out right now despite the fact it there was still daylight. All quiet, peaceful, and cool. This would an artist's dream. How could any painter resist capturing this pleasant evening?

Yuffie Kisaragi sighed, staring out at this marvelous scene but not because she was inspired to capture it on a canvas. She was lost in thought that doing something as relaxing and challenging as painting wouldn't calm her down. Maybe she was thinking too much for her own good but she couldn't help herself. An evening this quiet allowed her to go back into the past and remember. The sixteen- year old ninja, who once thought materia was the only thing to keep her happy, found herself mistaken. At such a tender age, she didn't think of love. She wasn't old enough to.

Then he came along. Saved her from that Corneo bastard, making it seem like he was only interested in saving his teammate. Actually there were two of them who saved her. There was the dark one who wore sunglasses every time she saw him. He seemed to be the more quiet and conserved of the three in the group. Then there was woman, the teammate that had also been captured along with Yuffie. She didn't know too much about her other than the fact that she worked with the two men, she was on the bad guys' side, and she was a rookie. It was the third one who captured her eye. The one who seemed rebellious and nasty from a glance. Bright red hair, cool attitude...yeah, that was him. He appeared to be bad. But when she took that one look in those midnight-blue eyes and saw something else. She knew he had more reasons to take care of Corneo. One of them had been her. She didn't need to ask. She could see it in those eyes, in that face. He may have been their enemy but there was something about him.

So she met up with him again. It turned out that he did have a thing for her. When they kissed for the first time, it was magical. He asked her to come with him and she followed. She was happier with him than with materia she had ever possessed. Nothing could separate them. Nothing.

But he ignored her later on. The more she wanted to be near him, the further he went away. Finally, she couldn't take it anymore. It was clear that he didn't love her anymore. So, with a goodbye note, she took her things and went back home. She left him. She thought it was over.

Naturally, she was wrong.

"Why?" She asked out loud. "Why, Reno?"

She wasn't going to cry. She didn't when she left him. Why would she do it now?

~It's been a long time since you left me.
I didn't mean to make you cry.~

True, Reno of the Turks had been against her. She should know better than to mess with the enemy. But love didn't know the difference between good and bad sometimes. Besides, she wasn't with Cloud and the others anymore. The battle was over now. They separated and went different ways. She was free to do whatever she wanted, go wherever she wanted, love whoever she wanted. And for a very long time, she loved Reno.

But if there was one thing she couldn't stand anymore (other than not having any materia), it was someone who she cared about ignoring her. Days would go by and Reno would stop doing the things she loved. Hugs and kisses were less frequent. Conversations led nowhere. He lied about where he had been and what he did at nights. Yuffie knew he had. She had ways of finding out. One too many lonely nights made Yuffie come to her final decision. Now she was back here.

~I didn't mean to disappoint you
I didn't mean to tell you lies.~

*I wonder what he's thinking.* Yuffie pondered. For a brief second, she worried about him. What if he never got over her leaving him? What if he turned to the worst? Then she shook her head.

*He's not crazy. He wouldn't go that far...would he?*

"He wouldn't." She said out loud. She sounded confident enough. Then again, she had been told lies before that weren't true. Most of them came from Reno himself. But she had been so much in love with him that she didn't see the truth. It took a long time and lot out of her to leave him like that. She should have been happy.

*And I'm not. I'm not happy at all.*

"It's all your fault." She muttered bitterly. "If you gave a damn about our relationship, maybe I wouldn't be like this. Maybe I wouldn't be here, arguing with myself about you and how much I loved you."

~And after all that we have been through
Won't you let me tell you why?~

*Still, if I'm that angry at him and if he's the reason I'm not happy, why am I thinking about him?*

She didn't have an answer.

- - -

Meanwhile, in his own place, the former Turk was pacing back and forth. Reno wasn't one to waste time doing silly things like that. Ever since Yuffie left his a goodbye note and ran out on him, he hadn't thought straight. Everything she said made it sound like she had grown to hate him now. Everything in that note was true.

*I can't help it, kid.* He thought. *Sometimes I get caught up with the action outside.*

But Yuffie deserved a better excuse than that. Anyone could get caught up in the world outside. Not everyone had the relationship they had. The way she kept this too herself...he would never have guessed it was bothering the hell out of her. Then again, Yuffie was always full of surprises. Cloud and his gang must have found that out the hard way. One day the girl could be stabbing her friends in the back. The next, she was just an innocent girl. An innocent girl thrown in the middle of some huge war and told to defend the planet.

Because of that adventure, the girl grew up. She matured and changed into a woman. When Reno found her again, he knew it was true. The Yuffie Kisaragi who had been captured with Elena was a different person. Still the child remained. The child who got tired and impatient of the person she loved so she gave up on him. It took him by surprise and her absence hurt. Many times he thought about trying to find her but he didn't. After all, just cause he wanted her back, didn't mean she wanted him.

"Sorry, kid." Reno said to no one. "Wish I could tell you this now."

~One more try, I didn't know how much I loved you
One more try, let me put my arms around you
Living all these lonely nights without you
Oh, baby, can we give it one more try?~

Oh, sure, he thought he could get over her. Despite the number of times he heard the wind whispering her name, despite the number of times he saw her reflection wherever he went, he thought he could forget her. He tried to keep himself happy. He tried to push her out of his head. He did everything he could. Nothing worked.

Yuffie's memory came back to him in full force whenever he wanted to forget. Her almond shaped eyes, her laughter, her whining...it was everywhere. Even the note she wrote reminded him of her.

*I can't take it anymore.* He remembered what it said. *Too many lonely nights...what happened to us? Where did it all go, Reno? You have any clue? I sure as hell don't.*

"No, kid. I don't know what happened to us." He sighed. "But I'm going to find out. One way or another, I'm going to find out and I'm going to find you. I want you back, kid. I need you back."

~It's been a long time since I've kissed you
It always used to feel so good~

Yes, the way Yuffie kissed had been nice. Better than nice, to be honest. She may be young but she kissed passionately. And there was a real goodness in it, one that Reno never felt from the other girls he kissed. Now he longed to have Yuffie again. He dated and dated but no one else sufficed. He wanted to kiss the kid. He wanted to be with the kid. He could still feel her lips on his own.

~And if you knew how much I missed you
Would you forgive me if you could?~

"It's been way too long, kid." Reno looked over the note again. "Way too long."

For once in his life, Reno was missing someone. He had been missing her from the moment she ran away to where he was now. He denied this fact until now. Day and night, Yuffie left him concerned about her. Was she eating well? Was she getting any sleep? Was she crying? Was she laughing? What the hell was she doing?

*This too much!* His brain screamed. *Get off your lazy ass and find her already! You love the woman, don't you? So tell her! Do something! Find her and stop complaining!"

"I should find her." He nodded. "Yeah, I should find her. I've gotta find her!"

Mind made up, he was no longer scared of what her reaction would be when he turned up in front of her. He'd get one of those kisses he had learned to love and hunger for. He'd tell he missed her and how he wanted one more chance with her. He just had to go....

Reno stopped right there. Where was Yuffie to begin with? Her note said she had gone to someplace where she could feel 'safe'. She went to a place, according to the note, that made her feel warm like his embrace. There were only two places in the world like that. He was one. But what was the other? He began pacing around. Yuffie wouldn't be at the bars. She may have been at a materia store but he didn't think that's what she meant by a 'safe place'. She probably didn't go too far, considering her tendency to get sick when she traveled. She had told him this a long time ago, when she recounted her adventures with Cloud and the others. She probably wasn't spending days and nights outside where she *wouldn't* be safe.

*Where would she go? Where would she feel safe?* He wondered.

The answer came immediately. *Home.*

It made sense. Her home with the beautiful sun would set before her and the air was always clean. No sounds would dare interrupt her or anyone else around her. And home would be the safest place in a village like Wutai.

"I'm coming, kid." He promised. "And I'm leaving 'til you come to me."

With that, he took off in the direction that led to Yuffie's home.

- - -

Yuffie sighed. The sunset would come again like always. The sky was turning from blue to shades of red, orange, and pink. She and Reno used to watch the setting sun together. That was a long time ago.

*Why am I not happy?* She asked herself again. *He may never change. But at the rate I'm going, I'm going to be depressed for the rest of my life. Hey, not even the newest, strongest materia could cheer up! Reno would be surprised as hell if he heard that.*

Reno...that name again. The name of the one she wanted and left behind. What she would give just to see him again! Hold him again, hear him call her by her nickname, the one she loved to hate...what was it?

"Guess who's back again, kid?"

Kid! That was the nickname! Only one person would call her that...

Yuffie whirled around in surprise. Yes, it was Reno standing behind her! Reno, with that mischievous grin plastered on that handsome face of his, stood there with his arms folded across that chest. He looked like the same man Yuffie had fallen for a long time ago. No, his face had darkened a little like he had been mourning. That grin obviously hid the way he had been feeling the past few days. Yuffie turned away. She couldn't bear to look at him.

~And now that we have found each other
Can't we give it one more try?~

"I knew I'd find you at home." He said, staying where he was. "I wouldn't have to travel far. You're young, you can't run long distances. Catching up with you is almost too easy, kid. And if you were anything like I was the past few weeks, you'd be too upset and tired to run as far as you could. Plus you told me about getting sick when you went around with Cloud and his gang. You're not the type to roam around. So I found you here. I'm glad to see you though."

~One more try, I didn't know how much I loved you
One more try, let me put my arms around you
Living all these lonely nights without you
Oh, baby, can we give it one more try?~

"Why are you here?" She asked. "I left you."

"I know that, kid." Reno rolled his eyes. "Would we be here if you hadn't?"

"No!" Yuffie snapped. "It was your fault that all this happened in the first place!"

"What?! How the hell is this my fault?"

"You need two people to have a relationship, Reno." Yuffie pointed out, still fuming. "The whole time I was with you, you pulled away from me. Anytime I wanted to spend time with you, you ran away. Being in your place, by myself with nothing to do...it wasn't fun."

"Okay, I admit I may have ignored you a little."

"A little?! You were gone every *freaking* night!"

"No, I wasn't!" Reno shot back. "You forgot about the past? You forgot how I held you and saved you from that bastard Corneo? You forgot the kisses and talks we had?"

"In the beginning, it was nice." Yuffie slowed down. Things were not looking good at the moment. "I was hoping things would stay that way."

Reno started to open his mouth but stopped. He didn't know how he could counter that in the first place. She was right and he hated it. He had stopped spending time with her when they lived together. He should have known better. Yuffie was still a kid, after all. She wouldn't understand a man running out on her every night. No wonder she wrote that horrible note and went away to live at home. Here, where the sun set after a peaceful day and the wind blew through the windows, was where she thought she belonged. Maybe that was one of the reasons she came to live with him. She wanted to get that same wonderful feeling when she spent time with him. She wanted to be in a place where she could feel safe and comfortable. Alone at his house wasn't what she had in mind.

"What have you been doing all this time, kid?" He asked. This time, it came out in a whisper. "Are you happy here?"

Yuffie paused. She would have said 'yes' and maybe he would leave. She didn't. There was a part of her that wanted to ditch the guy and another part of her that wanted to keep him as long as possible. Besides, with all the lies she had to listen to in the past, she wanted to give Reno a dose of the truth. He'd finally understand what that was.

"Not really." She murmured. "Feels like nothing changed since I walked out on you."

"Then why did you come here?"

"Cause I had nowhere else to go. Nowhere else I *wanted* to go."

"Oh." Reno wanted to say something more intelligent. That was all he could think of.

"Why? Did you think I run away from this village?" She asked, raising her head and looking at him.

"Nah. This is your home, kid. Why would you want to be anywhere else?"

"I wanted to be with you." She pointed out. "You let me down. I thought being with you would be better than home. I guess I was wrong."

"I'm sorry I disappointed you, kid. I'm sorry I didn't turn out to be what you wanted." Reno sighed.

"I'm not happy at home." Yuffie watched as the orange-red sun got ready to dip down. Already the moon had peered out of the clear blue sky. "I'm here because it's the only place I want to be right now."

"You're lying, kid. I can tell."

"Considering that you've been doing it so many times yourself?" Yuffie said sarcastically.

"Cool it, kid. I'm trying to be nice here."

There was an uncomfortable silence between them both.

"You never answered my first question." Yuffie broke the quiet feeling between them. "Why are you here?"

"Haven't you figured it out, kid?" He asked. Sure enough, Yuffie had.

~And after all that we have been through
Won't you let me tell you why?~

"One more chance." Reno murmured. "I promise that's all I'll need."

"That's what you said last time." Yuffie reminded him. Reno just smirked in response but became serious.

"I didn't know too much when I brought you with me." He confessed. "I didn't know that I cared about you that much or you cared about me. When you were gone, I thought everything was over."

"That's what I thought too." Yuffie agreed. In her head, she thought. *Are you being for real now? I still don't know. What if you end up the same again? I'll be home, alone and wanting you.*

Reno could feel the resistance in her voice. He knew she wouldn't be easy to persuade. He'd been trying for the past few minutes and couldn't tell whether he was succeeding or not. It was then that he realized words weren't going to be enough to get her to come back. He needed to take action. So he looked into her eyes. Sure enough, she hadn't been convinced by his sweet words.

"Looks like I did mess up this time." He said. He had meant to keep it to himself but it escaped anyway. Yuffie nodded, wanting to turn away but not doing so.

"I never knew if I meant anything to you." She said with a sigh. "I still can't tell."

"How about now?" He asked, kissing her on the lips. Yuffie didn't kiss him back at first but then started to do so. It felt as good as it had before. No, it was even better! Sweet and firm, the way he had been to her in the past. What did it all mean? That he was changing? That he *did* want her?

*Slow down, Kisaragi.* Her mind started to speak up again. *The kiss feels good but it doesn't mean anything. Wait a few days from now. Nothing will have changed.*

Yuffie pulled away the moment she heard that. Reno was surprised by this action but he didn't ask anything. The kiss was still pressed on her lips and she ran a hand across her mouth. It felt so strong. It felt real enough.

"You didn't like it?" Reno asked. For once, he actually sounded disappointed in himself. Yuffie shook her head in response. She may be having problems inside her but she didn't want him to think he was the reason they were there. Besides, she liked the kiss. She hadn't liked it better than the ones she received before but she liked it.

~And now that we have found each other
Can't we give it one more try?~

"It was fine." She said. "It was just fine."

"Fine?"

"You've done better."

"I know." Reno sighed. "I haven't kissed you in a long time. I didn't remember how it felt 'til now."

"How long has it been?"

"I don't know. Days, weeks, months...maybe a year has passed." Reno shrugged. "I stopped keeping track of time when I was your age, kid. It always seemed to be against me anyway."

*I never kept track of time either. Looks like we have something else in common.* Yuffie remembered. It was true. Time came and went like that. It was funny how it seemed like time was both, long and short. She didn't know the day that she left Reno either, only that it was sometime in the morning and he wasn't around.

"So that's all you're here for." Yuffie started up again. "For one more chance."

"It'll work this time. I swear. I only need to know if you want it."

"One more try?"

"One more try."

~One more try, I didn't know how much I loved you
One more try, let me put my arms around you
Living all these lonely nights without you
Oh, baby, can we give it one more try?~

Yuffie knew he wanted that one chance. It was in his voice just like the way he felt about her in the beginning. Perhaps this one chance would make everything work. No more lies, no more lonely nights...

"It's tempting." She confessed.

"More tempting than the materia they're selling down there?" Reno joked. Yuffie nodded. "I'm surprised, kid. I didn't think you'd find anything more interesting than materia."

"I found you." Yuffie blushed. "Believe me. The times we had together, it was definitely more interesting than the materia downstairs. Heck, anything's better than *that* materia those idiots are selling! I've seen and stolen much better ones!"

"I bet you have too, kid." Reno chuckled. Yuffie joined him in the laughter. It actually felt good to smile and play around with him again. He deserved the one more chance he wanted. Looking in those sapphire eyes, she saw it. She knew he wanted her back. She knew he wouldn't disappoint her anymore.

*He loves me. I guess he really loves me.*

"Well?" Yuffie realized she hadn't given Reno her answer yet.

"One more try." She agreed. "We can give it one more try. One *last* try."

"Deal." Reno pulled her close, wrapped his arms around her, and they kissed. He knew she had forgiven him and she knew he still had feelings for her. The kiss said all that they wanted to know. They had all they wanted.

*It feels like a dream.* Yuffie stopped kissing him. *Is it?*

When Reno held her close, she knew it was no dream. Everything was happening and the future looked a lot brighter with him. Yuffie found herself in reality, cradled in his arms, looking back at that beautiful evening stretched before her. Any painter would have to agree. The scene was nice the way it was...setting sun, lush grass, and gentle wind. But if they added her and Reno holding each other, it would make the picture look even more spectacular.

~Oh girl, you know I love you
I just want you to know
Our love, I'll always treasure
So please, just don't let me go~

(The first story I ever wrote without going top to bottom. OOC-ness, I know. Hopefully, you'll look past that. Ugh, if only I could be this inspired to write my humor fics, Cleris, and Cloti stuff-_-0 Anyway, you should know this is Reno x Yuffie and if you don't like the couple, don't bother leaving a review saying how much you hate Reno x Yuffie. You'll just waste your time. Other than that, say whatever you like as long as it makes sense. Back to my other stories now!)