The MagiArtist Collection

Safer (Yuffie Kisaragi x Reader)

There she was. Kneeling. Smiling. Her soft, gentle hands were clasped together. You had just stopped your leader from cleaving her in two with his Buster Sword. As you did, she opened her kind emerald eyes. The sky shined brightly... And then...

-_-_-_-

You thrust out of your bed as soon as you saw him descend. You tried not to scream this time.

14...

You counted the number of times you had this nightmare. It had been fourteen days since that tragic trip. The previous nights weren't as quiet. They weren't as self-contained. You often woke up at least someone or attract the attention of who was keeping watch while you guys slept. Though, it was usually Vincent who notices.

However, Vincent wasn't there tonight. Or most of the others.

You recalled how, right after a battle where you and the others were nearly defeated, you seized up and nearly gotten killed had it not been for Cloud saving you from a nasty blast to the face. At that point, after talking with Tifa and Barrett, Cloud decided to have you leave the party temporarily and stay at the Gold Saucer until you felt better.

Of course, you weren't alone, as you heard the sound of a blanket being shuffled off.

"[y/n]?" You could hear her voice. For a brief moment, you heard her voice. You immediately turned over.

"Aerith?" You whispered out, hoping that what you had saw was just a nightmare and that she was there. But instead, you saw a younger girl with short brown hair in green pajamas shake her head.

"No... It's me, Yuffie." You frowned as Yuffie held your hand. She was also there when she...

When she...

Then it came crashing back to you. You cringed as you remembered rest of the scene play out. You tried to shut out the image of Aerith being run through with that sword, but it kept playing over and over again. You began to shake your head as your body trembled. It wasn't until you felt Yuffie's arms wrap around you that you stopped. For a moment, time stopped as you observed the room around you.

You saw a cat lie on top of a giant stuffed mog. You can definitely tell that, despite the lazing about nature of the cat, it wasn't sleeping so much as deactivated. You remembered how Cloud also had Yuffie and Cait Sith come with you. You knew that Cait Sith would act as a babysitter for you, but you weren't sure why Yuffie was with you...

Until you began to remember what happened. She was with you and Cloud too when Aerith was killed. And you remembered quite clearly that you weren't the only one crying for her.

It was obvious that Yuffie was traumatized, like you. You held her in return and began to weep softly.

"I... I can't deal with this..." You cried.

"I know... Everyone is struggling with it. Cloud..." That's when her voice began to crack. "Cloud's just not himself since then. I mean... he has his moments where he's emotionless, yeah... but... ever since then, he's like... a robot..." As soon as she finished that sentence, she broke down into tears. In the midst of your weeping, you realized something.

-_-_-_-

"I'll go wherever Cloud goes! I feel safest when I'm next to him."

Those were the words Aerith said when Cloud formed his party to hunt down Sephiroth.

You often walked about the streets of Midgar and saw her selling flowers. Though you occasionally bought a flower from her, you often spoke to her as you and her had nice conversations. Over time, you developed a crush on her. Maybe it was her nice hair or her serene voice. You knew her carefree nature was what hooked you into her and you eventually followed her, where you ended up meeting Cloud and getting involved in the conflict between AVALANCHE and Shinra.

You reflected on those words multiple times. At first, you just felt like Aerith saw Cloud as a protector figure. And, truth be told, he felt like one to you as well. However, it was at that moment that you realized the true meaning of her words.

She loved Cloud.

"Cloud's just not himself since then."

And Cloud loved Aerith.

It was no secret that Yuffie was crushing on Cloud during one of your visits to the Gold Saucer. She even admitted to you that she kissed him on the cheek... though she also said that it was the most awkward kiss she had ever given due to how stoic he was. You knew that Cloud can get emotive. Heck, you saw him visibly upset when Tifa quipped on how he felt safer around her. So hearing of Cloud pretty much emotionally shut down was concrete evidence.

"I'll go too! I feel safest when I'm next to Aerith!"

Those were your words. Your reason for joining Cloud's party. And now? It's gone. Just like your feelings. You knew that it was always just going to be a crush on Aerith, even without her death coming into play. She was half a decade older than you, after all. In that moment, you put yourself in Yuffie's shoes. You realized that Yuffie must be going through the same thing you are. Piecing together that her crush loved someone else and having to see them suffer.

-_-_-_-

You held Yuffie and tried to stop weeping. You couldn't stop yourself from giving out a cry every so often, but you were able to get the request out.

"Yuffie... Could you... sleep with me?" You asked. Yuffie stopped crying, though she kept a frown.

"I... was going to ask if you needed me. So... yes." She nodded and got into your bed. She held you as you cried out the last few tears into her shoulders.

"Can I ask you something else?" You asked as she stroked your back.

"Relax... I'm not gonna pickpocket you." She chuckled. You shook your head.

"No... I... Can you... Can you be with me?" You held her. "If we're gonna struggle... I wanna struggle through this together..." You said. Yuffie stayed silent for a bit before she nodded.

"Of course I will." Yuffie said. You smiled as you slept into her arms.

-_-_-_-

By morning, Cait Sith activated and woke you two up, telling you that Cloud and the gang will come by the Gold Saucer. For the first time since Aerith's death, you smiled. You felt excited to travel with Cloud again. But most importantly, you were happy that you would travel with Yuffie as a close friend. Somehow, you just felt something in your heart.

You feel like you will be safer next to her.