. . .Chorophobia. . .

First Stanza: Yuffie Kisaragi

"You do not know how much they mean to me, my friends,
And how, how rare and strange it is, to find
In a life composed so much, so much of odds and ends,

For indeed I do not love it ... you knew? you are not blind!
How keen you are!
To find a friend who has these qualities,
Who has, and gives
Those qualities upon which friendship lives"

T. S. Eliot Portrait of a Lady

"Ouch!" she screeched, as another of her toes was painfully stepped on. That made for a swollen left foot, and a half swollen right one; not exactly the best situation for grace. Although, she could clearly say that she was never one for grace anyways. That was Tifa's domain, in her opinion. She was contented to stay the awkward clumsy girl.

As for her dance partner...

She always thought that he would be graceful. He was a friggin sword fighter for Leviathan's sake. Watching him swing that obnoxiously large thing around gave her an impression of a dance; one-sided, harmful, but strikingly beautiful. She didn't have many chances to catch a glimpse of him while he fought, but the few times she did had left her slightly awe-struck.

But Cloud was a terrible dancer. Hell, Barret did a better job than he did, as she could see from the corner of her eye. And he had an even smaller dance partner; little Marlene in a pink dress.

This wasn't any fancy event or anything. She didn't have to dress up as much as she ended up, with the ends of her hair flipped out and petite frame clad in that one green dress that fell just above her knees. Cid had specifically asked that everyone avoid "fancy pantsy shit" and wear whatever they felt was appropriate. It was Shera who later called everyone and told them to dress for the outdoors, as the whole ceremony and party would be held under the open sky.

But it was a nice day, and she didn't wear dresses that often. Maybe she was indulging herself a little. Besides, she looked damn good in it. Green was such a nice color.

Even Shera was wearing green, as she glanced at her while sidestepping Cloud's foot again. A pale shade of green that was almost deceptively white. Tifa had told her that Shera didn't want "virginal white" since it didn't fit her. Also, she and Cid already had a son. There was no pretending certain things hadn't happened; a fact that made Shera blush hotly whilst Yuffie teased her.

She still marveled at how patient that woman was. Over six years after Meteor, and they were making it official. Cid was such a procrastinator. Sure, they'd been informally married for quite some time now; in the legal sense and all. But there had never been a wedding.

Which brought her back to the present. Dancing. Right. More like combat.

She feigned a misstep and kicked Cloud in the shins, eliciting a combination startled cry and grunt from his throat. She flashed him a concerned look when his eyes questioned her, and he soon turned his attention back to where his feet were going.

She decided to get another good look at him while he was out of his usual clothing. He didn't wear a suit; Cid's call for casual attire had freed him from that restraint. But he did go to a little effort, with a button down blue shirt and black pants. It suited him, even if it was closer to the attire she'd expect from Vincent.

And she'd been staring for too long, as his gaze penetrated her questioningly.

"Mind if I cut in?" a deceptively smooth voice broke into the awkward bubble Cloud and her had created.

She looked up to see an arrogant smirk above an equally arrogant posture. He had it down to an art now; the entrances were straight out of movies and magazines. And it appeared he had brushed his hair. Not bad.

"Hey Reno," she said with a bored tone, hoping to deflate the smile into the real one. He half obliged, as always. His smirk lost some of its original luster, but still remained firmly planted on his face.

Cloud stopped moving, and glared over at the other man. He didn't know that Reno wasn't invited; he'd been away from New Midgar for some time now. But Yuffie knew that Cid would blow a fuse or two if he knew the troublesome redhead had crashed the party. But she also knew Reno wouldn't leave without either some free alcohol or a dance.

She seriously considered letting him make off with some booze, and leave her be.

"C'mon Yuff, I haven't seen ya in awhile," he leaned over as he spoke, silently taunting her height. In doing so, he challenged her. The way he set his smirk and the odd way he could still slouch while leaning further confirmed that thought.

Yuffie Kisaragi never backed down from a challenge.

"Fine, one dance," she said, as Cloud gaped for a moment. Then he shrugged his shoulders and stepped aside. She expected more of a fight from him, for some odd reason. Maybe she was getting too attached to certain ideas. Like Cloud.

Reno was at arms length. It gave her a false sense of security, that volume of air between her and the red wolf. For she knew that's what he was, for all the smiles and flirtations he threw around. She'd seen him fight, from the unfriendly side.

If Reeve could see them dancing, he would have been happy, she knew that. He'd been in contact with the Turks and AVALANCHE for quite some time. A phone call here, a quick visit there... it was kind of amazing how well he'd kept in touch. And he was trying to form some sort society, too, while he was at it.

But she had to focus. If his dancing was anything like Cloud's she'd be in for more swelling in her already swollen feet. Then again, she did forget one fundamental fact: Reno was not Cloud.

He was a damned good dancer. Good way to pick up women, she supposed.

"When did you learn to dance?" she whispered at him, finally letting her eyes settle on her partner. He grinned and shrugged.

"Somewhere," he replied, locking with her gaze for a moment, "I did have a life before we met, ya know." She scowled.

She just focused on the music now; it was a light and cheery tune, suitable for the occasion. She didn't want to think that in a few moments, Reno would be gone, for how long... she didn't know.

They were friends, after all. At the very least. She could turn her overactive mind off for a moment and just give him a dance, she owed him that. Probably a lot more too.

"Why did ya come, Reno?" she muttered before her mind could talk her out of it. He smiled.

"Just for a dance, Yuff," he replied, as the music ended, with the last strained cry of a bow across a string.

And as sudden and as dramatic as he came; he left. Not before he gave her a kiss on the hand and a wink, turning whatever frowns and bad thoughts she had to a last effort smile.

And she stood, left in his wake, waiting for someone to tell her to start breathing again.

Cloud didn't tell her to breathe, as he purposefully walked back over, his blond hair bobbing slightly as he moved. He watched where her gaze was, a slight crinkle in his brow. He just stood with her, waiting for her to speak.

"What are you looking at?" Yuffie broke the silence, giving him a harmless glare. He shrugged.

They were both of the same company again. She didn't now why she was relieved that the conflict of place and position had gone, but that had lingered on her mind. She was with the good people. Cloud was a good person...

"What did he want with you?" he replied, never one to answer questions. Especially from Yuffie.

"Just a dance," she whispered gazing back in the direction he left. Cloud didn't seem to notice.

"Care for another dance?"

"Ya, sure."