Conversations in Autumn

Summary: Yuffie looked at Reno as if analysing him from top to toe, and came to the conclusion: "Ren-Ren, you're not on your periods are you?" RenoxYuffie. Oneshot.

Disclaimer: I, unfortunately, do not own FFVII as it is already owned by Square Enix. I am also not making any profit out of this story, so don't sue, yes?

The leaves falling in ones and twos with the distinct laziness that could occur only in autumn, joined their already fallen counterparts in the large messy pile that had gathered yet again, despite being cleared just a half hour ago. Looking ahead, the grey skies and drizzle falling gently onto the red headed young man's pale blue Shin-Ra issue golf umbrella did nothing to lift his mood, rather, complemented his uncharacteristically melancholy disposition; a shadow of his cheerful, passionate self, often said to be reflected in his hair colour.

A young, dark haired woman of perhaps eighteen or nineteen leaps onto the vacant side of the bench, erupting in giggles; hopeful that she had startled him by appearing so suddenly thanks to her "totally badass" ninja skills. What she doesn't know, is that while she may have thought her movements were completely silent and seamless in transition, he heard her from about a mile away, thanks to the crispy and now somewhat soggy leaves under his and her feet.

"Heeey Turkey!" Yuffie shouted into Reno's ear quite inconsiderately. "Mind if I share the umbrella?"

Reno looked at her, incredulous that she would choose him, of all people, to share an umbrella with; an act which some might regard as requiring a level of intimacy before engaging in. He turned his head back to staring at the trees in front of him and gestured for Yuffie to move closer to him in order to share said umbrella.

"Yo, Reno?" Yuffie asked in a somewhat bemused manner. "No smut jokes about sharing an umbrella and how it will somehow ultimately end up in us two doing stuff that we'll regret in one of our apartments?"

Receiving no reply, Yuffie sighed heavily and leaned back onto the bench, closing her eyes in a manner of which almost seemed appropriate for her age.

"Man, you're turning into Vinnie," Yuffie grumbled. "I used to think you were cool, now you're just another angsty dude like the spiky haired jerk and the vampire."

Reno turned to face Yuffie, with a smirk in place of his previous frown.

"You're disappointed with the fact that I made no smut joke?" Reno began, with Yuffie realising her mistake. "And you used to think I was cool? Yuffie babe, is there something you're not telling me, like the fact that you think I'm sexy and want me to screw you?"

Yuffie jumped away from him and the umbrella, while yelling that he was such a pervert and all that jazz.

"I only said that 'cuz I thought it was kinda weird," Yuffie protested. "I mean, usually we would be in some full blown fight by now, with me kicking your ass."

Reno arched an eyebrow; his smirk still in place.

"You just wanna touch my ass, babe," Reno said, while grinning smugly at the fact that he seemingly had the upper hand in this argument.

That seemed to have given Yuffie enough invitation to start yelling at him once more for his "inappropriate behaviour to The Great Ninja Yuffie", quite interestingly, choosing to forget that she was the one who probably sparked it all off with the smut joke business.

"Y'know, I love hearing you yelling at me," Reno grinned, while lighting up one of his numerous cigarettes. "But I hope you do realise that some of us have better things to do than listen to "The Great Ninja Yuffie" lecture us on a topic that is pointless since YOU started it all off."

"WHAT!" Yuffie cried, as if hearing that Sephiroth had just being resurrected by Cloud. "You…you…NO I DIDN'T!"

"Sure," Reno shrugged, returning completely to his normal witty state, having being amused enough by the kunoichi's antics to lift him out of his misery. "You keep telling yourself that. Oh yeah, don't bother telling me you hate me and shit, 'cuz I know that you secretly want me."

Yuffie was so astounded that he should come to such a conclusion that she just grumpily sat back down onto the side of the bench that was not sheltered by Reno's umbrella, not caring that she would probably end up with a hilarious wet patch on her backside that Cid and Barret would point and laugh at for hours on end.

"Hey," Yuffie wondered, somehow forgetting her grumpiness. "Why were you all depressed when I first saw you anyway?"

Reno smiled wryly and exhaled some smoke.

"Are you worried about me, Princess?"

Seeing Yuffie's death-glare and her hand preparing to smack the back of his head, he laughed and shook his head.

"Nah, I'll be a nice guy and stop teasing ya. Why was I depressed? Well, maybe it has something to do with 'Laney and Tseng getting married in a few weeks, and Rude getting ready to propose to his girlfriend."

"Huh? What does that have to do with anything?" Yuffie scratched her head and suddenly, with a look of comprehension, smiled and started breaking out in hysterics. "Hahahaha! You were in lo-ove with Rude, Tseng and Elena, weren't ya? That's why you're depressed, 'cuz they're all getting married so now you don't have a chance with any of them anymore!"

Seeing Reno glare at her intensely and then shifting his gaze back to the trees, she almost felt bad for laughing at him. Almost.

"Aw geez. Ok, Reno, I promise to be good and not laugh at you anymore. Is that ok Ren-Ren?" Yuffie smirked at the nickname, hoping to annoy Reno with this display of familiarity.

Reno chuckled at the nickname, much to Yuffie's disappointment, and started speaking once more.

"Y'know how the Turks are a pretty close group? Well, I can't help but feel kinda left out cuz they're all gonna be married people, with me being stuck as the twenty something who still spends Friday nights eating pizza and drinking beer and watching shitty TV 'cuz I don't have that special 'someone' to spend my time with. Man, now I sound all sensitive and sissy. Alright, forget I said all that, it doesn't matter."

Yuffie looked at Reno as if analysing him from top to toe, and came to the conclusion: "Ren-Ren, you're not on your periods are you?"

Reno gave her a disbelieving look and slapped her arm with only half the force he normally uses, otherwise Yuffie would probably start shouting at him for some crap again, and accuse him of being a woman-beater.

Yuffie sighed and rubbed her arm.

"Ok, ok, I'll swear on my Ninja's honour that I won't laugh at you anymore. But seriously, yeah, I sometimes feel like that as well, what with Cloud and Tifa and the rest of the gang settling down, aside from the fact that I don't spend my Friday nights drinking beer, just the pizza and shitty TV part."

Reno looked surprised for only a second, before returning to his lazy grin. "I thought Princesses like you spend their spare time shopping and meeting eligible meterosexual bachelors who are probably gay and are only marrying you for the money to spend on their secret boyfriends and for nail manicures."

Yuffie grinned at Reno's comment, before replying: "More like fat, ugly, smelly old men who have children twice my age, that my dad want me to marry only 'cuz they're loaded, so Godo can spend the money buying limited edition dinner plates."

Reno laughed at her father's hobby, and put an arm around her, surprisingly with her not objecting.

"Well Yuffie, looks like it's just us two left, then," Reno said, while putting out his cigarette that had managed to stay lit despite the rain becoming less of a drizzle and more of a shower.

Yuffie said nothing to this, and merely laid her head on Reno's shoulder, and for a while, both of them were silent, listening to the sounds of the autumnal rain pitter-pattering onto the pale blue Shin-Ra issue golf umbrella.

Finis.