He'd never been a fan of the ocean. He'd grown up as a city boy, in the middle of a throbbing metropolis and far away from nature. He had not learned how to swim until he had been well past his twenties. That was how he found himself alive and not sinking to the bottom of the ocean.

Swimming was also how he had worked his body into something to be envied, especially at his age. Reeve coughed as the waves suddenly rose over his head and nearly dragged him under, regardless of the fact that he knew how to swim. He forced himself to stay afloat, even when his arms began to feel heavy.

How had it all happened? He had fractured memories of flying in a helicopter, training Yuffie and trying to get her to forget her airsickness, when they had flown right into a storm over the ocean as they traveled towards Wutai. They had been about thirty minutes away when the storm—close to a hurricane, Reeve mused—had sent them barreling right into the sea. Speaking of…

"Yuffie?!" he called, trying to get his eyes to find the wreckage of the helicopter. Good Gods! What if she had gone down with the helicopter? "Yuffie!" he called again, looking around. His heart nearly dropped to the floor of the raging waters he was floating in when he saw her a distance away, laying across a piece of helicopter, staying afloat.

He began to swim towards her, forcing his arms and legs to propel him forward. When he reached her, he realized that she was unconscious. He cupped her cheek and called to her to wake up, but it was no use. He let out a grunt when her body began to sink further into the water and he slipped and arm around her to keep her from drowning. "Don't do this, Yuffie. You are not meant to die at age twenty-one by drowning."

Keeping her afloat, Reeve managed to swallow a few liters of ocean water as the waves threw them about. He grunted and hoped that the helicopters beacon had been activated as soon as it had gone down. Now it was only a matter of surviving the waves and the storm.

Unfortunately, the storm seemed to get worse and in panic, Reeve and an unconscious Yuffie were pulled underwater. He tried to force them back up frantically but the currents were dragging them even further down. Reeve realized that if they died, it would be his fault for wearing his fancy overcoat. It was what had been weighing him down from the beginning. But he didn't release Yuffie, even with the force of the waves.

Just as he was beginning to feel his oxygen running out, he and Yuffie broke the surface and Reeve's ears popped when all he heard was silence, except for the sound of the waves hitting the rocks of the underwater cave they had risen into. He stared around wildly, taking in their surroundings and making sure that there were no other imminent dangers before he swam towards the rocks that had formed some very primitive stairs. He tried his best to carry Yuffie in his arms, but even with her light weight, he could feel the exhaustion creeping in and it made her feel heavier than she was.

Setting her down on the floor of the dark cave, clear of water, Reeve took a look at Yuffie and with a start realized that she wasn't breathing. Though there was no actual light, the water was casting a light reflection inside of the cave and he had failed to see Yuffie's chest rise and fall. "Don't you dare drown on me, Yuffie!" he yelled, promptly blowing air into her mouth before pumping her chest.

He did so two more times before she coughed up a geyser of water and hacked out ragged breaths as he turned her onto her side. "Yuffie?" he asked, relief and worry tainting his tone. "Can you hear me?"

"Remind me… to never… fly with you… again," she said between coughs. "Head hurts," she muttered after a moment.

Reeve couldn't contain his happiness at hearing her voice and knowing that she was okay; he had to refrain from pulling her into his arms in a hug. What would he have done if she had died on him? How would he had faced her father… Vincent… Tifa? He checked her head and found a wound on the left side of her crown. He prodded the lesion gently and heard her whine in pain and flinch away from him.

"I have to take care of that, Yuffie!" he said quickly.

"With what? Your magical healing powers?" Yuffie asked snidely. "I'm happy you saved my life and all, but it still hurts like hell!"

Reeve let out a sigh and reached for one of the hidden pockets in his blue coat. he produced a shiny green orb and smiled when Yuffie's eyes lit up, even though she still looked dazed and in pain. "You may have a concussion, but the heal materia should take care of that. You'll sleep for a while afterward."

Yuffie nodded and winced again. "Wait," she exclaimed as he began to raise the materia over her head. "Where are we?"

Reeve shook his head grimly. "I don't know. We were a few miles away from Wutai when we were hit by the storm. It dragged us under and into this cave. I have no idea where," he admitted.

"I… I think I may know where we are, but I can't think about it right now," she murmured, frowning.

"Later," Reeve assured her. "I want you to get healed first. We'll figure out what to do later."

Yuffie nodded and smiled despite their situation. "We'll be okay, Reeve. Thanks for saving my life." Even as she finished speaking, Reeve used the heal materia to fix up her wound and then watched in silence as her eyes slipped shut slowly. He was glad that he'd carried some materia orbs with him instead of keeping them in his briefcase. The inside of his coat was the only place Yuffie hadn't gone into. It was a miracle that she actually had some boundaries.

Reeve smiled gently and smoothed a hand over her youthful face, wondering about the feeling in his chest that blossomed every time he laid eyes on her. It made him ashamed that he felt that way for someone so much younger than himself, but the heart never did what the brain dictated it to do. He stood, stooping a little so that he didn't hit his head on the low ceiling of the cave. He searched the small cave and found pieces of very old wood towards the back of the cave that made Reeve wonder who had been stranded there and how long ago.

Setting the wood near Yuffie, he pulled a red orb from his coat and lit the wood for a fire. They would more than likely have to wait about a day for someone to get a search party to find them, depending on the storm. Once the water stopped sloshing so wildly inside of the cave, he would venture out and see if there was anyone searching for them nearby.

Setting out his coat to dry first, Reeve debated on what to do next. They had no food, no dry clothing, and no way of communicating with the outside world… his cell phone unfortunately had not been water proof. Hmm… there was an a idea for a new invention. Build a waterproof cell phone… Reeve shook his head. Now was not the best time to be thinking about inventions.

Moving towards Yuffie, he pulled off her boots and stockings, setting them to dry by the fire. He continued to think about his next course of action. They had no blankets, and removing clothing from Yuffie's body could prove detrimental to his health, but if he didn't, she would die of hypothermia. He would just have to… warm her up with his own body and try to act like a gentleman. Sighing, he just sat there for a long moment, his fingers clenching and unclenching right above her shorts.

Closing his eyes, he removed her clothing until she was down to her underwear. It was a good thing that she was wearing nothing too revealing, but it still made him a little batty, especially when it came time to remove his own clothing. He set it all near the fire, spread out so that it could dry and then moved towards Yuffie, who had a peaceful, serene expression on her face, even though her skin was cold and she had begun to shiver.

Reeve stretched out behind her and grimaced as the hard rocky floor dug into his side and arm. Pulling Yuffie against him, he managed to keep her and his own important body parts at a distance. Instead, he focused on unsexy thoughts like… Cid in a leotard and high heels. Ugh… now that was certainly a very disturbing image, Reeve realized as he rubbed Yuffie's arms to get some warmth back into her limbs.

Then there was Cloud dressed like a woman… he chuckled darkly at the thought. According to both Yuffie and Tifa, that had been a true occurrence. Reeve wondered what the swordsman would have to say about that. Reeve smiled to himself as he closed his eyes and unconsciously kept up his rubbing.

Unwillingly, his brain provided him a very pretty image of Yuffie on the evening of her twenty-first birthday. She had worn a Kimono that had been passed down to her from her mother. The white silk with silver embroidery had made her look like the princess that Godo Kisaragi wanted her to be. He was starting to shiver himself, but he could feel Yuffie beginning to warm. It was a good thing that the cave was managing to hold the heat around them coming from the fire.

With the image of Yuffie's smile on his mind, Reeve fell into an exhausted sleep, a smile on his own face.

……

Yuffie couldn't remember ever sleeping so good, but feeling so sore at the same time. She felt warm and cuddled, but there was something that felt like stone digging into her bare back. Grumbling about being a cheap-ass father and not getting her a proper mattress to sleep in, she attempted to roll over but was hampered by a warm arm wrapped around her waist.

Her eyes opened in alarm and she nearly shrieked when she realized that she was nearly naked. She let out a very loud curse that echoed around the cave as she sat up and noticed that Reeve was the one next to her and that he was very much in the same state as she was. "Reeve!" she yelled, slapping a hand over his chest, not caring if she caused him pain.

Reeve grunted and muttered something that sounded suspiciously like "dirty martini and Cait Sith." His eyes then settled on Yuffie and he sat up, noticing the way she was glaring at him. "…Yuffie?"

"Why am I naked Reeve? Eww… did you take advantage of me last night?" she asked quickly, her cheeks burning with a blush. The thought wasn't disgusting at all, but she wasn't about to tell him that. He'd get the wrong idea and then her reputation of the White Rose would be tarnished!

Reeve was distracted by her blush and the fact that she was still in her underwear and bra. Yuffie followed his line of sight and there was a resounding smack when her hand connected with his face.

"You dirty old man!" she yelled, scrambling to pull on the closest article of clothing she could find, which happened to be his long, blue coat. "Why am I naked, Reeve?" Yuffie asked him angrily.

"Yuffie, first off, you're not naked," Reeve hissed, rubbing his cheek gingerly.

"Fine… why am I in my underwear?" Yuffie asked quickly, forcing the question out. She was mostly embarrassed with the fact that she had been openly ogling Reeve's chest herself. She hadn't even been aware that he was built. Who knew with the layers of clothing he was always wearing.

Reeve moved to gather his pants and shirt and was oblivious to the fact that he was giving Yuffie a nice view of his back side. He pulled on his wrinkled clothing and sat back down to start the fire again, adding another piece of the old wood in. Sighing he shook his head. "I didn't want you to die of hypothermia, Yuffie. That is why I removed your clothing… so that it could dry out by the fire. I left our undergarments on for modesty sake," he replied calmly.

Yuffie watched him suspiciously from where she was curled up by rocky wall, wrapped up completely in his coat. "Did you look?"

"W-what?" Reeve asked in bewilderment.

"Did you look?" she asked him, repeating her question with an annoyed look on her face.

"Of course not," Reeve mumbled, letting out an angry breath.

Yuffie bit her lip when she realized that he was mad. If his posture hadn't been an indication—his shoulders stiff—then the way he was throwing small pieces of wood into the fire was more obvious. A feeling of guilt invaded her chest and she stared down at the oversized sleeves of Reeve's coat. He had saved her life, dragged her out of the ocean and into… Yuffie finally took the moment to look around the cave they were in and observe it with more detail.

Though it wasn't large and she realized that if Reeve stood he would more than likely smack his head on the rocky ceiling. The cave extended a little deeper, but she could see the where it ended. There really wasn't anywhere to go. To the other side of the cave was the opening that lead back towards the ocean. Yuffie gave a quick prayer to Leviathan so that the storm would break soon, since they had been stuck inside the cave for hours now and her stomach was grumbling noisily.

"How long do you think we've been in here?" she finally asked, breaking the tense silence.

Reeve shook his head. "I think we slept for about six to eight hours, add to that the hour it took for us to get in here and then remove our sodden clothing. I can't be too sure. My phone and watch stopped working because of the water damage," he said, frowning. It would've taken them about three hours by helicopter to get from Edge to Wutai, add to that the estimate of nine hours, the sun would be rising in about two hours. He finally turned to Yuffie when he realized that she had been staring at him. "We'll get out of here, don't worry."

Yuffie finally managed a smiled and nodded. "I know we will," she murmured. "Reeve?" she asked softly.

"Yes?"

"Thank you for saving my life. I didn't mean to sound ungrateful. I was just… a little freaked, but you know how I overreact about everything," she said with a nervous laugh.

Reeve let some tension ease from his shoulders and nodded. "Of course. I'd give my life for any of my friends," he said with a small grin. "I just hope that the storm breaks before we starve to death."

Yuffie sighed and nodded, hearing her stomach grumble once more. Taking pity on her, he motioned towards his coat. "There should be some type of cereal bar in one of the many inside pockets," he said to Yuffie.

She blinked at him for a few seconds and then began to pat down the coat, her eyes widening when she finally figured out how many pockets the coat actually had on the inside. "Geez, Reeve, I'm surprised that you don't have a pocket for your laptop or for Cait!" Yuffie exclaimed.

"Not for lack of trying. They just weighed me down too much," Reeve said offhandedly. "I'll just have to find a way to make miniature versions of both."

Yuffie began to laugh and finally found a cereal bar. She opened it and realized that there was no way to ration it to leave some for later, but she did break it in half and handed it over to Reeve. "Take it!" she snapped when he began to protest.

Reeve glared at her and then took the half of the cereal bar she had been holding. He bit into it and ate it slowly, trying to prolong the food for as long as he could. He was praying to anyone who listened that they get out of there quickly. He didn't care much for himself, but he didn't want Yuffie to get hurt. It had been his damned fault for not bothering to take a boat or having one of Cid's ships take them to Wutai. Instead he had badgered Yuffie into confronting her fear of flying little by little.

Yuffie was still watching his expressions as he grimaced to himself and then scowled angrily. She wondered what he was thinking, but for once she kept the questions to herself. It wasn't her damned business and besides, she didn't want to fight with him when they were stuck with nowhere to go. She hesitated before asking him the question that had been plaguing her mind for many days now. "How was your date with Elena?" she asked softly, not looking at him.

Reeve looked up at her in surprise and found that she wouldn't meet his gaze. "I didn't know that you were aware of that," he said quietly.

"Please… Reeve do you know that the secretaries of every floor have some sort of system in which they all know what's going on and when?" Yuffie asked with a smirk.

"How do you happen to know then?" asked Reeve curiously, moving over to sit next to her, his back pressed against the rock wall.

"All the secretaries love me and they give me the juicy details for free, oh, and because I let them have all that really sweet candy my old man always sends me. I stopped liking that candy since I was about five and I ate it for three straight days," she said with a grin when Reeve looked at her in surprise.

"Dad was so mad when I got sick. As punishment he keeps sending it to me so that I can never forget that moment in my life. Trust me, throwing up pink globs for an entire day is not pleasant," she said with a snicker.

Reeve made a face but he couldn't help the way his eyes trailed over her features like an invisible caress. There was something about the slant of her eyes that had always appealed to him. Yuffie had very expressive and pretty eyes and he had always been attracted to a woman's eyes. Yuffie began to fidget and Reeve realized that he had been staring at her unabashedly. "What about you and Vincent?" he countered, clearing his throat and looking away from her quickly.

Yuffie let out a rather loud snort that echoed in the small space. "Vince and I would never get passed anything physical," she said with a shrug.

He didn't know how to react to her statement, but he couldn't deny that there had been a twinge of annoyance and disappointment in his chest. Had they already been… intimate? "And have you?" he asked dryly.

Yuffie didn't know how to interpret his tone but she shook her head. "Nothing past heavy kissing and petting. But you know, sometimes opposites don't attract. We're just really good friends now." Her eyes narrowed when she realized that he had managed to deflect her question and she had spilled her own beans. "Reeve," she said slowly.

He shrugged. "Elena and I have been skirting around the attraction, but I could see that she is still in love with Tseng no matter what she claims," Reeve said, laying his head back against the stone wall. "Must be a curse that I have to set my eyes on impossibles," he muttered.

Yuffie was curious to ask him what he meant, but she shook her head instead. She didn't know when her attraction towards him had started, but she knew that it had something to do with mild-mannered Reeve giving her orders. A bit kinky, yes, but it couldn't be helped. Still, it was too much to dream of and she knew that Reeve was on the look out for someone who was mature and was firmly grounded on Gaia. She was like a bird, or a spirit. She had no true home because she preferred to roam around. That was what had appealed to her about working as a spy for the WRO. It meant constant traveling and a sense of total freedom. She enjoyed being constantly in motion. It was why her father had given her free reign to do what she wanted with her life. He couldn't hold her down, and he hadn't really tried.

She shifted and crawled over to lay down by the fire, making sure that her legs were covered and that she wasn't flashing anything indecently. "Reeve?" she asked softly.

He looked over at her, his gaze curious. "Yes, Yuffie?"

"Will you tell me about your childhood?"

Reeve's face broke into a fond smile and he nodded, moving over to lay down on the opposite side of the fire. "What would you like to know?"

"Everything," she said with a smile, turning her head to look at him.

The smile that he sent her way made her stomach flip-flop and she let out a small, shaky breath. She hoped that they left soon because she didn't know how long she'd be able to hide how she felt for him.

……

She hadn't even been aware that she had fallen asleep, but she had listened for a long time to Reeve talk about his childhood and how much he had loved his mother's homemade oatmeal cookies, how many science fairs he had won, and how he would sleep under the tree waiting for the jolly red man to bring him some presents every December. She'd been happy that he had at least had a happy childhood, even though he had lost so much once he had started working for ShinRa.

She nearly jumped out of her skin when she felt a gentle finger smooth over her cheek. Her eyes slowly opened and blinked wide when she realized just how close Reeve was leaning over her. "What are you doing?" she whispered, her eyes darting to his lips.

Reeve didn't know what he was doing. He had been in the middle of telling her about his high school years when he had realized that she had fallen asleep. He had wanted to feel offended that he had bored her to sleep, but at the almost angelic look on her face his words had frozen completely in his throat. Staring at her now, he didn't know what to say, though he hadn't missed the way her eyes had moved to his lips.

"I was… trying to figure out if you were truly asleep," he said uncomfortably, moving away and back towards the spot he had been occupying before she had taken her nap.

Yuffie sat up and rubbed the crick in her neck, frowning at the ache she felt there. "Sorry. I didn't mean to doze off, but you've got a very peaceful tone," she muttered.

Reeve nodded and stood, making sure to stoop a little so that he wouldn't smack his head painfully on the low ceiling. "I think that the storm has passed, judging by the waves in here," he said, pointing towards the water.

Yuffie looked over and noticed that he was right. If there was one thing she truly knew about, it was the ocean and its waves. Not to mention storms. She'd read so many books on Leviathan and how he affected the weather, that it was a basic requirement for everyone born in Wutai. She felt that a part of the blame for the accident was on her because she had seen the storm forming in the distance as they flew. She'd kept it to herself and had trusted that they would arrive before the storm hit them. Boy, had she been wrong.

"I should go out to see if the storm has truly broken," Reeve interrupted her thoughts.

Yuffie stood and tried to ignore the fact that she was very safe from hurting her head on the ceiling. It paid to be short sometimes. "Are you sure you'll be able to hold your breath?"

Reeve nodded. "I did do it the last time," he murmured, looking down at the water and debating on whether to keep his clothes on. He shrugged to himself. Might as well, he'd have to wear them anyway once it was time to leave. "Don't worry about me, Yuffie. I'll be back as soon as I can. If I'm not, that means that the current carried me away," he said, trying to joke.

Yuffie tried to smile, but the thought of never seeing Reeve again didn't sit well in her stomach. "Don't say that," she said quietly.

He turned to look at her and noticed the frown on her face. He felt his heart begin to beat a little faster at the look of worry on her face. "Why not?"

Her eyes narrowed slightly and she shrugged, a smug smirk on her lips. "Because then I'd have to jump in after you to save your ass," she said cheekily.

Reeve chuckled and nodded. "Give me ten minutes. I promise I will return to tell you what I find."

Yuffie nodded and walked up to him as he prepared to move towards the water. Before he could react, Yuffie pressed a kiss to his cheek. "For luck," she said quietly.

He stared after her in a daze and smiled, touching his cheek where her lips had touched as she stood with her back to him. There was something very satisfying about seeing her wearing his coat, but it seemed foolish, since nothing was happening between himself and Yuffie. Sighing to himself, Reeve pulled off his shoes and socks before walking into the water and then diving under so that he could swim out through the opening.

Yuffie watched him go in silence and took the moment to reluctantly pull off Reeve's coat so that she could redress in her own rumpled clothing. Once she was done, she sat back and smoothed her hands over Reeve's coat. It was a shame it didn't smell like Reeve anymore, and all that was left was the salty smell of the sea. She smiled to herself when she remembered the feel of his stubbly cheek against her lips.

She couldn't think of what had prompted her to actually take a step of that magnitude. A part of her wanted for Reeve to notice her as a woman—because she was a woman, despite what Cid and Barret liked to yell whenever she mentioned dating—but at the same time, she was terrified of what Reeve to see. She could picture it now… "I'm sorry Yuffie, despite the fact that you are the best ninja I know, I see you like a daughter."

"Eek!" Yuffie slapped a hand over her eyes. She'd do some serious nerd ass-kicking if that ever happened. Reeve saying he looked at her like a daughter would cause her brain to spontaneously combust. She was a woman, dammit! Yuffie pounded her fist into her open hand unconsciously and then shook her head. She was getting worked up over nothing. With a sigh, she sat back and waited for Reeve to return. She couldn't wait to get out of the cave and onto solid land.

…

Reeve broke the surface of the ocean outside and gasped for breath for a few moments. Then he looked up and realized that even though the storm had receded, it looked like another one was on the way. In the distance though, he could see that Wutai wasn't so far away from them. Still, they couldn't risk swimming all the way just to get caught in another storm. He wouldn't risk Yuffie's life again.

Turning to look towards the expanse of the sea in the direction they had been traveling from, a smile slid onto his face when he noticed that there was a ship in the distance, coming towards them, and it looked very much like The Shera. He knew that they could count on their friends to jump into action as soon as humanly possible. Taking a deep breath, he dived back into the water and began to swim downwards, towards where he remembered the cave being.

He hadn't even had time to look at the surroundings, since they'd been fighting for their lives, but now that he took a good look, he realized that they were surrounded by various sized reefs. It was a miracle that neither he nor Yuffie had gotten caught in any of them. He broke the surface inside of the cave and cleared his eyes as Yuffie jumped to her feet and raced towards the edge of the water.

"What's going on?" she asked quickly.

"The Shera is out there, but we must move now. I think that another storm is coming and we have to be out there for them to find us," Reeve said, gathering his coat and quickly pulling it on.

Yuffie nodded and sat down to put on her boots, thankful that they weren't the lace-ons she had taken to wearing back when she had been eighteen. She stood and walked towards the water where Reeve was standing. He put out the fire with some water and without a backwards glance he moved back towards Yuffie. She was looking at him thoughtfully and Reeve gave her a questioning look.

"It's been a really… weird experience," Yuffie said with a grin.

Reeve chuckled and nodded. "I must say that I agree with you."

"You better not tell anyone that you saw me in my underwear."

They both blushed at her words, but Reeve nodded once more. "As long as you return the materia that I was carrying with me."

Yuffie smirked. "Shouldn't have left them within my reach, my dear Reeve."

His heart did a funny skip at the words 'my dear' paired with his name. He realized that they had been stuck together for hours and he hadn't even gotten a chance to tell her how he felt about her. He didn't love her yet, but Yuffie was the type of woman who just inspired a feeling that closely resembled it. He looked at her and took her hand, giving it a squeeze. "Despite our circumstances… I… enjoyed this time we spent together," he admitted, full of hesitancy.

Yuffie looked up and stared into his eyes. There was such a look of honesty in them, she was rendered speechless for once. "Even though you did all the talking?" she asked with a smile.

"I think that's a first," he said with a wry grin.

She let out a giggle and nodded. "I think I must be wearing off on you."

Reeve chuckled and nodded, releasing her fingers reluctantly. "We should go. The last thing we need is for them to go. The next storm is on the way."

Yuffie nodded and sunk into the cool water, turning to look at Reeve one last time before she was completely submerged. Reeve followed her and began to swim, working his arms and legs as quickly as he could. Yuffie swam quickly and just as her lungs began to burn, she broke the surface, gasping for breath and kicking to stay afloat. She looked around wildly and found that The Shera was a few hundred feet away.

"Hey!" she yelled, trying to wave her arms and only sinking further into the water. She tried again and then let out a whoop when she saw the ship stop and hover over one spot, indicating that they had seen her. "We're getting out of here Reeve!" she crowed happily. When she received no response, Yuffie turned in a circle and realized that Reeve hadn't broken the surface with her.

Taking a deep breath after waiting for a moment and feeling the panic begin to set in, she plunged back into the water and swam as quickly as she could, keeping her eyes open. She nearly screamed and released the little bit of oxygen she had left when she saw that he was slowly sinking towards the bottom of the ocean. She was thankful that it wasn't too deep to save him, but she swam as quickly as she could. She swam towards him and pulled, shaking him a little. His eyes were a little unfocused and he was running out of oxygen.

Without really thinking, she slammed her mouth against his and gave him the little oxygen she had left too. She didn't even stop to think how his eyes became a little more lucid, but she pulled with all her might and kicked to get them both to the surface. It felt like eternity when they finally rose, and her lungs were burning painfully. They both hit the surface and gasped loudly for breath, coughing and gagging.

"What the hell happened?!" Yuffie screamed at him when she had finally regained a little breath.

"I thought I had seen…" he coughed. "…something moving in the water. I tried to move back and hit my head on the opening of the cave," Reeve gasped out, moving his hand to the touch the back of his skull.

Yuffie's heart dropped to her feet when it came back with watery red. "Dear Leviathan, are you alright?" she asked worriedly, planting her hands on his face and staring into his eyes to check if he didn't have a concussion.

Reeve stared right at her lucidly and smiled. "I'm much more awake now, since you gave me mouth to mouth and all," he said.

Yuffie blinked at him, her hair matted to her face, eyes big on her face. She made such an alluring picture, Reeve couldn't help but stare right into her eyes. Their staring was interrupted when The Shera stopped right above them and the propellers began to disturb the water around them even more.

A rope ladder was thrown down and with it came Cloud, Tifa waiting to help from above. The blond climbed down quickly and smiled briefly in greeting. "We thought you were dead!" he called over the noise.

"Nope, still kicking!" Yuffie called back.

Cloud reached for her, but she shook her head. "Take Reeve. He hit his head on some rocks and I think he has brain damage!" she said with a grin.

Reeve glared at her mildly, but didn't argue. His head was hurting quite a lot at the moment. Still, he worried about Yuffie. "Yuffie!" he called.

"I'm right behind you!" she replied as she took a hold of the ladder and began to climb after them. She had never been so relieved to be on board Cid's ship and she didn't bother to whine when Tifa pulled her into a bear hug.

"You gave us a scare, you idiot brat!" yelled Cid.

"I wasn't the one driving the chopper, old man!" she yelled right back.

Cid couldn't hide the relief he felt now that he knew that both she and Tuesti were fine. Tifa helped her to sit down and smiled in relief. "We got the signal last night, but the storm was raging and there wasn't anything we could do. We're just so glad that we found you both in one piece!"

"Me too. Thanks for coming you guys," she said happily, hugging Red when he approached her.

"Barret stayed at home with the kids, but he wanted to come," Cloud said as he noticed her searching for their friend.

"And Vincent was searching by boat, though he took a different direction," Tifa said with a smile.

Yuffie nodded and let out a long breath. She was so relieved that she didn't even care to express her normal feelings of flying, even when her stomach was grumbling in protest. "I'm glad we're here with you now. How's Reeve?" she asked Cloud.

"Getting checked on by a WRO medic. He should be fine," he said.

Yuffie stood with Tifa and smiled when she let go. "Don't worry about me. I'm going to check on the bossman," she said, stumbling towards the doors. She turned back to them and smiled. "Thanks for being great friends," she said with a grin. Tifa just smiled back, while Cloud just smirked, and Cid grunted. Red just inclined his head once.

Stepping into the room Reeve had been placed in, Yuffie smiled when he turned to look at her lucidly. "I should be fine," he assured her.

Yuffie nodded and walked over to sit on the edge of his bed. "It's good to know. Though I have to confess that I lost your heal materia when I dove back to get you," she said with a sad look.

He shook his head against his pillow. "Don't even worry about that. We're fine now, and that's all that matters." His expression turned grim and he sighed. "Remind me to never put your life in danger like that again."

Yuffie bit her lip and reached out to touch his cheek. "The storm happening wasn't your fault."

"But we could've taken a faster, alternate form of transportation," Reeve argued.

"It doesn't matter anymore," she exasperated.

Reeve sighed heavily and nodded. "I don't know what I would've done if something had happened to you," he admitted softly.

Yuffie stared into his eyes. "Same here," she said just as quietly.

His hand reached up to touch her cheek with his knuckles, but it fell away too quickly.

She began to gather her courage to do something that would either break their friendship, or manage to jumpstart something completely new and life altering. Pushing her damp hair out of her eyes, she leaned forward and brushed her lips against his in a light caress. When she drew back, he was staring at her with a look she had seen in his eyes before.

"What was that one for?" Reeve asked with a shaky smile, unable to believe what she had just done. Yuffie… felt the same way he did?

Her eyes were narrowing slightly, even as she smiled. "An exchange for you taking me to dinner once you're on your feet," Yuffie replied, her cheeks going pink.

Reeve let out a long breath and nodded. "We should get stuck in places more often, Yuffie."

Yuffie winked and nodded. "That we should."

Reeve's hand touched hers. "You're sure you want to start something new and completely extraordinary?"

"Never been more sure in my life," Yuffie said, her eyes bright in her beautiful face.

He loved her eyes even more now. "Okay."

"Okay," Yuffie repeated before she was gone.

Reeve leaned back against the pillow and smiled to himself. He never knew he'd be thankful for being cramped inside a small place with Yuffie. It had earned him two kisses and one that he didn't count as a kiss because it had saved his life. His day was shaping up to be a good one, despite the near death experiences. But with Yuffie in his life, he knew that there would more of those to come.

Reeve didn't mind though. He was more than ready for them.

…

…

…

Not so bad, I think. Though it was light on the romance, I liked it myself. I hope everyone did too!

Joey