Jealousy
By: Obsidian Sorrows
Summary: Yuffie tries to make Squall jealous…
Yuffie Kisaragi was bored.
She had haggled Cid for a while, which usually successfully staved off any looming feelings of listlessness. Today though he had been busy with an enormous Gummi Ship order, and with a few cuss words and the bird he sent her out the door.
Aerith was nowhere to be found—probably planting flowers somewhere. Cloud was probably in therapy. Or something. And Yuffie didn't have the guts to hang out with Tifa, the new girl in town. She punched things and Yuffie wasn't really sure if she wanted to be inadvertently caught in between her knuckles.
Then there were those little half-naked fairie triplets floating around somewhere, but throwing rocks at them could only amuse her for so long.
Nah. Squall was much more fun.
Of course there was the matter of finding him. Before, when they were all holed up in Traverse Town, finding him was relatively easy. Either he was moping around in his room or he was training in that nasty underground swamp toilet. He was utterly predictable in that town.
Not to say that he wasn't anymore, it was just that Squall now had a myriad of places to wander off to. And sure enough, that man loved to wander. If he wasn't just walking around aimlessly he was being called on to help rebuild a certain part of Hollow Bastion—pardon, Radiant Garden.
"Have you seen Squall?" she asked Mr….something. What was his name again? He was Donald's uncle and he was a persistent ice cream seller.
"No. But here, try my new ice cream flavor!"
"No, ugh. You say that to me every time I come here. I'm telling you, people just don't like vegetable pops."
"But it's asparagus…"
"Bye."
She wandered around the court and soon bumped into Cloud.
"Cloud! Have you seen Squall?"
He looked at her passively.
"Hey, where have you been?" she asked.
He paused carefully. "Looking for the meaning of life."
She laughed. "Liar. You're hiding from Tifa."
"…You haven't seen her, have you?"
"Nope."
He glanced around. "Well, you never saw me. And no, I haven't seen Leon."
"Ugh, thanks."
Squall must've been an excellent hide-and-seeker as a kid. If he ever played that, anyway. He seemed to be more of a competitive fisher sort of kid. Or bear wrestler.
"Squall, you're more trouble than you're worth," she grumbled.
Yuffie walked into the Reconstruction site, the dilapidated part of town that overlooked the old castle. Only Yuffie, Squall, and Cloud went here, as well as the occasional group of adventurous teens. It was an empty place of memories, and heartless had a tendency to pop up there too.
Sephiroth passed her on the way and she stiffened a little. She didn't know much about him, other than that Cloud hated his guts. As far as she'd noticed though, he'd caused no harm and sat on the outskirts of town waiting for Cloud. Cloud was too busy to fight him though because he was still hiding from Tifa. Maybe Sephiroth had become impatient and was going into town to find Cloud himself?
Sephiroth glanced at her. "Tell him," he said to her. He stared at Yuffie's lithe form for a moment. "He's in my spot."
"Um, OK," Yuffie said. "Bye?" He was already walking away.
Guess she'd found Squall. Oh Squall, you dummy. If he kicked Sephiroth out then….well, she didn't know what to think. Geez, men with big swords…thinking they could do whatever they wanted, regardless of the threat it posed….hmph.
"You're in his spot," she told him when she sat down next to him, dangling her feet over the cliff like he was.
Squall rolled his eyes. "Whatever."
"I'm bored. Entertain me."
"Entertain yourself."
"Hello, I tried that already."
Squall leaned back on his palms. His triceps flexed. Yuffie watched. Heh, how ironic. He was already entertaining her.
They sat in silence for a moment.
"Hey, what do you think Sora's doing right now?"
Squall sighed. "Fighting, probably."
Yuffie waved her feet to and fro. "Or maybe taking a crap."
He shook his head. "You always say the oddest things."
"He got a lot cuter…" Yuffie said absentmindedly. Squall glanced at her, but she was staring down the expanse of the cliff.
"You think?"
She giggled. "I just said that, yeah."
Squall frowned slightly. "He's still a little squirt."
What? Did Squall disapprove of her comment? He he…
"He's taller than me now," Yuffie pointed out.
"But he still acts like a little kid."
Yuffie couldn't deny that. "Kids always have a better sense of humor, though."
Squall's arms were tense. "He's never around."
Yuffie smirked. "Absence makes the heart grow fonder."
Squall had a definite frown on his face now. 'Oh ho ho, I got you now.' "Whatever."
"Nyuk nyuk, you need a better comeback."
Squall watched her; he was sizing her up. He was completely aware that she, too, had gotten older. She had almost fully grown into a woman's body, with more curves but less baby fat. He should know—he'd caught himself watching her on more than one occasion. That was one of the few things that he wouldn't tell her though, lest he wanted to be called a pedophile.
Anyway, Squall knew what she was doing, and he knew she was doing it in an attempt to cure her boredom. He wasn't going to let her pull his chain though, especially when her entertainment involved trying to get him jealous.
"You're a lot like Sora," he commented.
"What? How? He he, I do have to admit, I did get cuter…"
Squall smirked. No kidding. "No. You're still immature."
"What!"
"Aerith and Tifa, on the other hand…"
Urgh. That jerk face. So now he thought he could use two women against her one. Uh, her one guy. Well, he was in for a world of pain!
"You can't have two women at the same time."
"Maybe."
"And you're the wrong guy. You'd have to dye your hair blond and cut it. And get green contacts," she leaned past him and pointed at his sword lying on the ground. "And definitely get a bigger sword."
Squall glanced at her. "You'd have to dye your hair red. And get bigger boobs."
Yuffie flushed. "Kairi does not have bigger boobs than me! You…you…jerk!"
"You need a better comeback."
"You too—!"
"Even Kairi is—"
"You can't use her! That's gross!" She said. "Were you going to use her as an example?" she asked. She answered herself before Squall could even open his mouth. "Gah! It doesn't matter. Kairi is off limits. You dirty old man."
Yuffie's nose was scrunched up, her arms were crossed, and she had the most adorable pout on her face. He had the undeniable urge to tell her—
"Even Cloud is better company than you…"
Squall's demeanor instantly darkened. Hell. Sora was just an empty threat to him—he had even confided in him once that he was a little afraid of Yuffie—but Cloud on the other hand…
Yuffie had a crush on him as a preteen, and Squall wasn't sure if that had worn off yet. Even if she spent more time with him than Cloud…no. Cloud was definitely a possibility for Yuffie's affections.
Better keep his cool though.
Squall rolled his eyes. "As if I didn't see that one coming already."
"What?"
"You're doe-eyed for him."
"I am not—"
"And you hate it because you're nowhere in his league."
"That's not true—"
"You know it is. He's not…he's not right for you."
"I never said he was! Gawd, what's wrong with you Squall?"
He looked off to the side. It's you, he wanted to say. It's you and you're making me damn jealous.
Did he hate it when she blabbed on about other guys? Yes. He had developed such an overprotective personality with her that he'd even punch Cid in the face for looking at her wrong.
Yuffie probably didn't even know. She didn't realize back then that when she decided to attach herself at the hip to Squall that she'd be signing on for a lifetime contract.
Squall had let it slide when she'd decide to follow around Cloud for the day or would talk for hours about how strong Sora and his friends were. He drew the line at her dating other boys though, even going as far to threaten them when she wasn't looking.
And he'd definitely had to chase off many an eligible bachelor. Yuffie had grown up splendidly and it surprised him that she seemed blind to her own charms. Didn't she know that she couldn't just hop around in short shorts and a halter top now without drawing attention to her…assets?
"It's nothing," he said, feeling his emotions clam up again.
Inside, he hated himself. Damn it. He couldn't control his jealousy especially when she talked about Cloud.
Yuffie's eyes mirrored what he felt inside. "Squall, I'm sick of you. You're not as fun as I thought you were. Why do you always have to turn it into this? Every time I talk about Sora…or Cloud…or some guy…" she frowned at him. "You're such a jerk, Leon."
Yuffie stomped away from him, wishing in that moment that Sephiroth would come back and seriously ruffle Squall up for sitting in his spot. Gawd, she was so angry that she had called him Leon, and she hated that fake name.
She just didn't understand Squall. He wasn't like the teenage boys she was use to. He was too complex and his personality was too unpredictable for her to feel safe around him. The worst part though was that despite all the abuse she still kept coming back to him, expecting him to treat her like he did when they were younger. She kept forgetting that people change as they get older.
She found Cloud in the plaza. He seemed to have taken a rest from all the hiding and was eating a green popsicle. Ugh. Asparagus.
"It's all your fault," she told him, poking him in the chest. "You always get in the way!"
"What? What did I do?"
"You're such a prima-donna, spikey head. Gawd! You terrible...whore! Just keep to yourself."
"A…whore?" Great, as if Aerith and Tifa didn't give him enough headaches, now Yuffie was calling him all sorts of names. What a wonderful day he was having.
"You know," Yuffie continued, ignoring Cloud completely. "If it bothers him so much for me to have a boyfriend he should just go out and say it." She glanced at Cloud. "You know what?!"
"What?" Cloud asked warily. Yuffie was acting so strange today.
"I've never even had a boyfriend! I'm like, the only girl in this town who hasn't had a boyfriend! I even ran into that—whazzurname—Sandy or Samantha or something…you know the baker's little girl?"
"…you mean Charlotte? The nine-year-old?"
"Yeah! Even she had a boyfriend! She told me so! His name is…uh…Aiden…or something like that."
"She's nine. They're probably just playing around. And I think Aiden is her dog."
Yuffie pouted and said insistently, "but she still is one step ahead of me. I've never played games like that…"
"Maybe because you've never had a dog…"
"UGH! Aiden isn't her dog, OK? It's her boyfriend! Geez, all that hair on your head is affecting the flow of blood to your brain."
"Well I got a haircut…"
Yuffie continued to frown as Cloud finished off his ice cream.
"You know what?"
Cloud glanced at her. "I don't know. I don't know if I want to know—"
"Yes you do. Anyhoo, what's the best way to get revenge, I asked myself." Cloud opened his mouth but she stopped him. "I'll tell you the best way! It's to get a boyfriend!"
"…is that just for girls or is…that…—"
"It doesn't matter! What matters is…I'm getting a boyfriend. Right now. And there's nothing he can do to stop me."
Cloud frowned. His hands were sticky from the ice cream. "Yuff, you can't just decide to suddenly have a boyfriend. You date someone because you actually like them."
"Strife, your opinion is invalidated because you have two beautiful women after you and you haven't even kissed one of them yet."
"Hey, that's not—wait, Yuffie!"
"I'm going to tell Tifa where you are!" she said as she left.
Cloud shrank back. Damn it.
Yuffie's and Squall's fights were putting his life on the line…
He really needed to have a talk with Squall.
"Go away."
Cloud crossed his arms. "No. I'm going to die soon because Yuffie and you got into a fight again."
Squall turned his head, his eyes flashing like a viper. Urk. "I hate you, you goddamn bastard."
"Hey, back off, OK? I didn't do anything—"
Hell, everybody wanted to kill him today.
"Why did you take Yuffie to that café?" Squall asked impulsively. Cloud's eyebrows furrowed. What? Why was he asking that?
"The café? That was months ago...she was hungry and she wouldn't leave me—wait, are you jealous?"
"Just stay away from her," Squall snapped.
"Tell her that, not me—"
"You already have Tifa and Aerith—"
"Excuse me, not something I'm proud of—"
"Just stop leading her on, OK." Squall stood up and Cloud instinctively took a step back. The last thing he wanted to do was get into a scuffle with Leonhart out on a cliff. He was pushing it enough already being on Sephiroth's territory.
"Me?" Cloud asked incredulously. "It's not me, you dumb ass. It's you. She doesn't like me." He sighed. "She just uses me for food."
"She—what?"
"Yeah. Come on Leonhart, think. It's not me she hangs around all the time…it's you."
Squall turned his head away. True, she was always eager to tag along with him…much more so than Cloud…and she did always get a pink blush on her cheeks when he got close enough to smell her shampoo…
"Uh…I hate to interrupt whatever you're thinking about but—"
"What is it."
"Yuffie just told me that she's going out to get a boyfriend—"
Holy crap, did he just have a hernia? "She WHAT?"
"A boyfriend. Geez, did I stutter? She got angry with you and now she's going out to find her own boyfriend."
"I'll tear his balls out," Squall muttered darkly. He stood up and nodded to Cloud.
"Thanks, Strife….and I apologize for attacking you like that."
"Uh, it's fine…just, hey, could you possibly stop her before she finds Tifa?"
Squall chuckled. "I'll try."
Cloud gave him a very serious look. "Do more than try."
Gawd, boys were such pansies. When you didn't wantthem around, they chased you down like a lion that just spotted a steak. On the other hand, when you went out of your way to flirt with them they treated you like a plague.
"Or maybe it's just me," she muttered. Where were all those pent-up, desperate teens when you needed them? She knew there had to be some looming around…
Of course all of the easiest ones were happily sitting at home with thick-rimmed glasses and a glass of milk from their mommies.
"Ma'am, do you need help?"
Yuffie realized she'd been having a sort of epileptic seizure right in the middle of the street. Whoops. This dating thing was really getting to her.
"Uh, no. Not really." She looked the boy up and down. About seventeen, short brown hair, soft brown eyes. Good enough. "Actually…will you date me?"
"Huh? That's…forward isn't it?" Poor thing, he was blushing. Yuffie knew she looked like a praying mantis.
"Do you think I'm cute?"
"Well, yeah, I guess…I mean…" He stumbled to find the right words. Yuffie was starting to feel terrible about it. He was just like Sora.
"Hey, let's go get some…uh…ice cream?" she offered, trying to sound like she'd been joking before.
The boy made a face. "The ice cream around here is kinda—"
"Gross," they said at the same time. They stared at each other for a moment. He started to chuckle nervously and Yuffie smiled at him. He noticed.
"You…have a really nice smile…"
See? Yuffie wasn't so repulsive after all. 'Take that Squall'. "Thank you." She moved closer to him and he didn't back away. "OK, no ice cream. Do you just want to…hang out then?"
"Yeah, OK," he said, seemingly enamored by the thought of being around a scantily clad female. "That'd be—"
Suddenly he got this deer-in-the-headlights look.
"What? Are you…OK? Did you just remember something? Gah, are you having a heart attack?"
"I…gotta go," he stuttered. Then he ran away from her like his life depended on it.
Yuffie was left behind, flabbergasted.
"UGH! What the hell did I do—eep!" A strong hand had descended on her shoulder. She slowly turned around.
"Squ—ew. Hey, you're not Squall."
Wait, she hadn't been waiting for him, had she? Of course not. But then…it really would've been sweet revenge for him to see her in the act…but then he would've been the one to scare away yet another boy. She didn't know which was worse.
The one holding her shoulder was a Radiant Garden security officer.
"You're a little troublemaker, aren't you?" he asked her in a gruff voice. She cowed beneath him. He was a policeman, after all. If she did anything stupid she'd be chased her whole life.
"No? I didn't do anything wrong this time, officer."
He chuckled. "Not exactly. Remember how I told you a few years ago that if you had any other violation you'd be put in jail?"
Of course she remembered that. "But I didn't steal anything!"
"Maybe not…but you broke another violation. Who was that boy over there?"
What, was the boy a criminal? "Um, some boy. I don't even know his name…"
"His name is Sebastian and he's twelve."
"TWELVE? No, you have to be kidding—"
"And how old are you, Ms. Kisaragi?"
Yuffie frowned. Then blanched. Uh oh. "Eighteen."
The officer nodded. "Which is the age of an adult. So you see, when I saw you talking to him I thought you were going to do one of two things. You were either going to 'steal' him—"
"Excuse me, officer, but I've never kidnapped someone—"
"—or you were going to 'have fun' with him."
"A date," she corrected stiffly. "Not a rape."
The officer's grip tightened on her shoulder. "With you, I can't take my chances. Come on, you're sitting with me in the cell."
"Why would you be in the cell with me?" He was dragging her like a rag doll.
"You know what I mean."
"Gah! Help! Somebody! He's crazy!"
"I pity your daughter," Yuffie said to the officer. He'd locked her in one of the small cells in the office. He was writing down things on his desk. "Cuz you'll never let her date. Ever."
"I have a son."
Yuffie huffed. "Well, then I pity your son because he'll never get to date anyone even remotely hot. Are you going to lock him in jail too if he dates a sixteen-year-old when he's fifteen?"
The officer chuckled. "Have you called one of your friends yet?"
"No, I'm too busy badgering you."
"Do whatever you want. You're just keeping yourself in there longer."
Yuffie grudgingly picked up the old tan phone he'd put in the cell with her. She imagined calling the police station to irritate him, but that mean he might move her to a real jail cell. Then she'd have to deal with a bunch of men leering at her.
She called Aerith first.
"Hello Yuffie! What're you doing?"
"Aerith! Help me. I'm in jail."
"Oh, that's adorable."
"What? No, I'm in j-a-i-l. Hello, are you listening?"
The other line sounded a little scratchy. "I'm sorry Yuffie, I'm really busy right now, I'll see you later tonight, OK?"
"No! Aerith, I'm in JAIL!"
She had hung up.
"Stupid deaf flower girl…"
She called Cloud next and she got his voicemail—a quiet, depressing song that played only in this one certain retail store. Stupid Cloud, he had to stand in the store for two hours waiting for the song to play again so he could record it.
The only one left was Squall. Obviously she didn't have very good connections.
She waited as the phone rang. Usually, Squall was pretty reliable when it came to answering…
Meanwhile, Squall was leaning against a stone wall, too tired to move. Yuffie had completely disappeared from the streets. He couldn't find her anywhere. Then of course he'd come to the conclusion that she'd made it inside some boy's house, for which he'd been hitting his head against the wall for. He was about to lose it completely when his phone rang.
It was Yuffie.
"Hello?" he answered, sounding strained. If he'd been more emotional, he would've screamed her name.
"Yay! You picked up. You're great, Squall. Come get me."
"Are you in a boy's house?" he asked seriously.
"No, I'm in a man's cell."
Oh, he just had a heart attack.
"Hey, are you there? Don't hang up; Aerith just did that to me. Seriously, I'm in jail."
"…jail? What'd you do?"
He heard rather than saw her face contort in anger. "Nothing! I'm in jail for the predicted crime of raping slash kidnapping a twelve-year-old. Gawd, it's like Minority Report all over the place."
"What?"
"Gawd, you don't watch enough TV. Just come and get me, please?"
"Yes, I'll be there."
"So how much was the bail for? I don't have much money but—"
"Thirty munny." (Like the price of one potion).
"WHAT? That's it? You can buy like, a kiddie special at Melinda's Diner, maybe!"
Squall smirked. "You didn't do anything. You were just being suspicious. You can't really put someone in jail for that."
"Seriously?"
"Yes. You should get to know the law better…especially since you're always breaking it."
Yuffie crossed her arms and frowned. "Gawd, I sat in that cell for nothing…"
"You were only in there for twenty minutes, from what I heard."
"It's the conceptof sitting in the cell. It's degrading. "
"Whatever." He was still smirking at her.
She watched his profile as they walked. Even though they fought, he still came and got her. He got her quickly, too. He was there within five minutes of her call, and he came in out of breath. She couldn't deny that the feeling she had when she saw him run into the station was pure relief.
She wanted to know why he always bothered. Why wasn't he like Cloud, just ignoring there was something wrong with her? Or even Aerith, who pretended that Yuffie was always just making a joke even when it was serious? Squall had to be one of the most apathetic and yet he never let her down.
Squall glanced at her and softened his smirk into a small smile.
Yuffie bit her lip, smiling and unable to stop. Heh, Squall liked her. He liked her.
Squall's hands were in his pockets, and he suddenly felt a timid touch as Yuffie pulled one of them out.
"What're you—"
She slowly but deliberately wrapped her hand around his.
He stopped walking.
"Why'd you stop?" she asked, looking up at him. "It defeats the purpose."
"Why?" He asked, feeling full of an emotion that he wanted to spill onto her but he wasn't sure if it was right. He was almost ten years older than her, after all, and he wasn't getting younger. Yuffie was only eighteen; she deserved someone young to share her life with, to experience new things with. She didn't need a man who had gone through too much hardships and who was disaffected from what most of life had to offer.
"Because you're the one I can always count on."
'But not for the reason you think.' Did she think he was being chivalrous? Hardly. He was doing it for purely selfish reasons…he just didn't want to tell her it was all because he wanted her to himself.
"I'm sorry for trying to make you jealous…it's just…"
She bit her lip and looked away, close to becoming over emotional. An embarrassing tendency of hers was to cry when she tried to express her true feelings. Hence, barely anyone ever took her seriously.
"I know," he said finally, squeezing her hand. He used his free arm to pull her to his chest. "It's alright."
Yuffie sniffled against his shirt. "I really like you…" she told him shakily.
He pressed his mouth to the crown of her hair and closed his eyes. "Yeah. I really like you too." He glanced up to see Cloud hovering around a corner.
'Did she tell Tifa?' Cloud mouthed to him. Squall mouthed back a 'no'.
Cloud threw his arms up in triumph and then disappeared.
"Squall, what's so funny?"
"Nothing, baby. It's nothing."
A/N: No real plot here. It's funny how Cloud would risk going into Sephiroth's territory rather than get found out by Tifa…she is pretty scary in the game, isn't she? Why the hell did she have to punch the wall in the beginning?