Lean On Me (FF7)

26

"No..." I open a box. "Actually, yeah!"

I look through all the cans, shaking them by my ear to see which ones are full and which ones are empty. Blue, red, shimmery purple, textured black that feels like rocks when you spray it, yellow... Got it! Metallic green. I shake it and it sounds full, so I scramble back over and find Yuffie observing the staff.

"It's a lot lighter than it looks," she hands it to me, taking the paint. I nearly drop the pole.

"Just kidding," she smirks, looking around for something. "I need a... there we go!" she takes the sheet that was on the cabinet earlier and flops it over my face. I cough, accidentally inhaling the dust.

"Baby," I hear her mutter playfully.

"What are you doing?"

"If you get this junk on your clothes, Tifa with have a fit," she says, moving the thick material to cover most of my arms and body. Only my hands stick out, holding the staff in front of me long ways.

"Ready?"

"Yeah," I bite my lip and will it to work right.

"Ooo, fast dry!" she says.

"Just spray it!"

"Okay, okay, geeze!"

The gross smell of chemicals fills the room as she sprays the staff, getting some green paint in my hands. I tug my shirt over my nose with my teeth. I'd rather smell sweat than fresh spray paint. Finally, Yuffie announces that she's done and tugs the sheet off carefully.

"It's still wet," she warns me as I look at the now green staff. "Did you want to add anything?"

"Like what?" I smile at the object in my hands, giddy to begin practicing with it.

"There's these grip things," she motions me over to where she is, holding up a dark blue hand grip. "I guess you just use this snazzy glue to stick it on and wait." She reads the back label of the glue tube.

"Sounds good I guess," I shrug.

"Here, the pole part is dry. Hold it like you would if you were fighting."

I bite my lip and struggle to find a way to hold it. Yuffie laughs and holds up a finger.

"I'll be back." She goes behind one of the practice targets and comes back holding a thing book in her hands. "Our adventure book," she says in a cheesy voice. I catch a few glimpses of pictures as she flips through the pages. One of Tifa leaning one elbow on Barret's shoulder, the other hand on her hip. One of Vincent crouching on the edge of a cliff in Cosmo Canyon, holding his collar out with one armored finger. And one of Cloud, his head thrown back as he laughs. Aeris stands beside him, mud all over the front of her body, and arms crossed. Yuffie pauses on that picture running her fingers over it for a moment before shaking her head and flipping faster this time.

"Here it is!" She shows me the photo of the whole new Avalanche team, ready for battle, all holding their weapons up as if they were about to strike. It would be a pretty serious looking photo if Yuffie wasn't grinning as hugely as she could and hold up her fingers to say 'peace'. I look at Aeris's stance and everything.

"Wow, she looks serious," I raise my eyebrows.

"Aeris? Serious? Ha! She was always up in the clouds," Yuffie says tensely. I get a feeling those two didn't get along too well.

"So... like this?" I hold it at an angle and Yuffie nods.

"Yup. Now move your hands."

I move my hands back to the opposite ends, carefully avoiding the spikes, and watching as Yuffie squeezes the thin glue all over the back of the soft grip. Then she wraps it all the way around pole and makes sure he ends meet before having me set it back in the display case.

"Maybe you can practice with it tomorrow," Yuffie closes the doors and turns the key back in the lock. I take a mental snap shot of where Yuffie hides the keys. Then she grabs my hand and pulls me up the stairs.

"Hey Cid!" she yells.

"What do ya want?"

"Got any food? We're hungry."

"I don't know, check the kitchen."

I follow her to one of the doors and she pushes it open and flicks the light on.

"What happened in here?" she asks in disgust as we step over the chunks of glass on the floor. A piece crunches under my feet.

"Me, sorry," we hear a deep voice in the doorway. Vincent stands in the doorway holding a broom.

"And you had to throw a tantrum in here?" Yuffie motions to the floor.

"I was having a bad day, okay?" he sighs, sweeping the glass shards into a pile.

"Oh joy, all we have in this fridge are apples," Yuffie groans sarcastically.

"I hate apples," I grimace.

"Which is why you're not eating," she smirks, taking a bite out of the Granny Smith apple she pulled out and kicks the door shut. "I only said we because Cid would give me crap about eating all his food."

"His selection sucks," Vincent huffs, dumping he remains of the vase in the trash can.

"I agree. I'm doing the grocery shopping next," she announces.

"I thought you hated shopping?" Vincent frowns.

"I do, but not if I can buy food!"

"Okay." He looks bored and stands the broom up against the wall. I notice something odd about his shoulder.

"Hey, why are you wearing a sling?" I speak up.

"Sephiroth got him through the shoulder," Yuffie shrugs. "Which reminds me, I need to check on that," Vincent only nods in response.

"Wait, his name is Sephiroth?" I ask, feeling stupid.

"Yeah, what did you think it was?" Vincent raises an eyebrow.

"Sushiroth..." I mumble under my breath.

"Sushiroth!?" Yuffie repeats before laughing along with Vincent. "You are some kid, Denzel."

"When are they coming back from the meeting?" I groan, unamused by their laughing.

"Do you miss your daddy?" Yuffie teases and pinches my cheek.

"He's not my daddy," I retort.

"What do you call taking you in, raising you, and saving you multiple times?" Vincent raises his eyebrow.

"What do you call saving a homeless kid, giving them fake hope, and then leaving them for years?" I shoot back, irritated by him.

"I call it depression. It could've been worst, trust me," Vincent says without missing a beat. "Sleeping in a coffin for years is not fun."

"Then why did you do it?" I frown.

"None of your business," he shakes his head. This is what I hate about him. He won't tell you anything about himself until he knows you for awhile, but then he expects you to tell him your whole life story and lineage. If you don't, he can read you like a book.

"Okay. Whatever" I roll my eyes. He glares at me before leaving the room.

"Okay then," Yuffie frowns, but doesn't ask any questions. "Let's just go back downstairs."

"Why?" I follow her.

"I've got the perfect thing to teach you to want his respect," she says confidently.

IS IT JUST ME, OR DO Y'ALL WONDER WHERE THESE PEOPLE FIND THEIR ODD CLOTHING?

V

O

T

E

⭐♥⭐♥⭐♥⭐♥⭐♥⭐♥⭐♥⭐♥