Author's Notes: I wrote this story a long time ago and for some reason forgot about it on my desktop. Here it is.

Snippet

Yuffie sat in the warm water of her bath, not thinking. She had always loved bathing, ever since she was small. When she was younger, she had used to spend hours in the tub, constantly refilling it when the water got too cold. She'd add too much bubble bath to the waters and have secret underwater adventures with a choppy sea of foam around her. Older now, she still luxuriated in the feel of warm water caressing her skin, the feeling of being wonderfully, incredibly clean.

Yuffie was remaining so still that no ruffles disturbed the placid water. Her breathing was so soft and slow that it didn'tshake the water's quiet surface. Beyond the closed door of the bathroom, she could hear the muffled sounds of Reno moving about their bedroom, getting ready.

At that thought, the water in the tub jolted suddenly at Yuffie's sudden intact of breath. Little waves licked at the tub's surface and Yuffie closed her eyes stubbornly. If one were to look at her face though, they might wonder how much of the water lingering on her cheeks was from her bath and how much was from something else.

Yuffie's shuddering breaths caused a sort of confined chaos within the tub, tiny waves rocking and shuffling across the surface. Calm, calm, she had to stay calm. She had to stay. . .

She heard Reno call her name oh so softly beyond the door. She didn't answer him though. She couldn't. She wanted to make the water calm again but she just couldn't stop.

The door opened with a quiet click.

"Yuffie?"

Reno walked into the bathroom slowly, as if unsure what to do. For all the times that Reno had seen her skin, she suddenly hated him for seeing her. No, that wasn't true. She didn't hate him for seeing her in the bath. She hated him because. . .

"Yuffie?"

He was right beside her then. He looked so pale, she thought sadly. So drained and pale. She didn't want to know what she looked like but she could see it in his eyes.

"Yuffie. . ." Suddenly she was up in his arms. She threw her arms around his neck and buried her face in his shoulder, sobbing frantically. She felt him pat her slick hair softly. She tightened her grip around him, her entire body shaking in her grief. Reno clutched her closer as if he dreamed that he could absorb some of her pain into himself. He knew only to well that it never went away, not this kind.

"Yuffie," he said again, pleadingly. Please Yuffie, his body was telling her. Please don't cry. She sobbed harder and Reno let himself hold her, feeling the warm water that coated Yuffie soak into his clothes even as her soft, salty tears soaked into his skin.

He didn't know how long they stayed there, hunched in that awkward embrace until her tears finally stopped. She raised her face a little ways away from him then and he looked into her too red eyes. Still supporting her with one arm, he used his free hand to brush away a few traitorous tears. She closed her eyes and leaned in to his touch and for a while they just stayed there, Reno caressing Yuffie's cheek comfortingly. Never once did he tell her that it would be okay. He never liked lying to Yuffie.

Eventually, she opened her eyes again and looked back into his. She felt too tired to say anything but she realized that she didn't have to. It felt comforting to have his eyes on her though.

Yuffie used Reno's arm to pull herself up out of the tub. With numb hands, she reached for the towel but it was Reno who took it first. He rubbed down her skin slowly and softly and Yuffie endured the treatment with bleak eyes. He moved across her arms, down her torso, down her legs, and then up again, until he was looking into her eyes. Then, he brushed back her slick hair with the towel wringing the moisture out of it with steady hands. When he was done, he stood there a moment, looking down at her. He cupped her face in his hands and bent her head forward ever so slightly to kiss her lightly on her forehead. When he did so, a few more tears leaked out from her eyes but he wiped them away with a callused fingertip.

They stood there a moment before Yuffie drew a shuddering breath and looked up at Reno, her eyes clear.

"I'm okay." She said in a quivery voice. Reno looked at her a long time before nodding slowly.

"Okay."

He wrapped the soft linen towel around her and took her hand to lead her out of the bathroom. He could clean up the mess when they got back. For now, Yuffie had to get dressed.

They walked out of the bathroom, hand in hand, Yuffie short cropped hair bobbing above her towel and Reno's long red ponytail, oddly ordered, meandered down his back contrasting ever so sharply with the deep jet black of his suit.