melodiesoflife | House Terrors!

It would be a surprise that Yuffie wasn't woken by the sound of the front door opening and Sephiroth returning from his errands for the day.

With a paper bag hugged close, he made for the kitchen first with Spencer flitting around as he was wont to at around shoulder height. It had taken a great lot of getting used to, this permanent companion of his but all in all there were worse moogles to be paired with. At least he could hold somewhat intelligent conversations with his small pale pink companion.

As he set the bag down on the countertop and began to unpack the groceries he'd bought he caught it. It was quiet. The sound of Yuffie upstairs in quick-fire conversation with Mooshoo had become almost like a constant background noise ever since she had arrived. So when that wasn't there-

She could have gone out, doing who knows what else that he knew -and respected- wasn't any of his business and as Sephiroth took a quick look around the rooms downstairs this was his logical conclusion. He shouldn't be concerned at all. Just as he wasn't concerned at first when he found her kipping on the small couch. With a light 'hmph', he shook his head and turned away but then the sound of a staccato whimper earned him pause. Sephiroth half turned back to Yuffie and appraised her snoozing frame once more.

She was crying.

Almost every fiber of his being urged him to walk away, that it was extremely appropriate to stand there and watch yet Sephiroth found himself rooted to the spot with something akin to fascination. After a while, he couldn't help but start to feel sympathetic towards the young girl; it was jarring even for him to have been brought here, he could only hazard a guess how those who had many more people close to them were supposed to feel.

Maybe he'd have to ask her -gently, somehow- about it later, no; she'd never tell him. She hated him by principal and really when he thought about it -often with a frown- Sephiroth found that he couldn't blame her. It only deepened said frown to think about it like that. The War had been a shining trophy of accomplishment for him and now it was twisting in his gut, making him feel quite sick.

Yuffie felt the looming presence as she slept causing her fingers to curl into fists, grabbing at the pillow underneath her. Two more tears fell from her eyes as she mumbled incoherently at the shadow that presented itself in her dreams.

Death filled the air as darkness of her dream surrounded her. The figure of a man with black eyes appeared in front of her with an evil grin. Her feet slipped as she ran forward, her blades held tightly in her hand.

She blinked awake as she screamed, the pillow under her had been thrown towards her shadow. Yuffie blinked the tears from her eyes and looked up at Sephiroth.

"When did you get home?" She hadn't remembered falling asleep and was still a little groggy from her nap.

The pillow landed somewhere off in the direction of the small desk set up against the opposite wall. Sephiroth watched it as it had been made to fly from Yuffie's balled up hands as she woke up screaming.

While he was glad he had taken a step or so back from her immediate vicinity in the meantime, it didn't soften her scream at all and Sephiroth closed his eyes against it, canted his head away from her as if it might have helped not hear the piercing sound. He wasn't used to being in the presence of such a noise from anyone, let alone a young girl, and searched the floor at the foot of the couch with his eyes for some prompt in how he should act. He felt sympathy for sure, even if he didn't show it outwardly; Sephiroth straightened his posture noticeably before looking up to Yuffie's face. At least she wasn't crying anymore even if her cheeks were still damp, that made it easier.

"Just now. Dont worry."

Don't worry what? He immediately thought afterward.

Don't worry I've not been standing here watching you cry in your sleep. -- for very long at least! Just great! - he repressed a shake of his head, though, and stepped towards the doorway out of the lounge.

"I'm sure your bed would be more comfortable, if you're tired. Less chance of a crick in your neck."

What did he mean by don't worry? Her mind tried to think but she was still to sleepy. Was he planning to do something awful to her?

She snuffled a moment and then rubber a hand over her face once before regarding her roommate. She didn't much care for him towering over her but eventually she would realize that she is short and its going to happen. Her eyes slowly focused and spotted the pillow on the other side of the room.

"I'm not tired." Yuffie tried to argue but it was obvious that she was still waking up. Her finger pointed over towards the grounded pillow. "You shouldn't make such a mess."

At least he wasn't stood so close to the couch anymore so the towering-over her effect wouldn't be as bad as it was before the young girl had woken up. Sephiroth knew well of his proportions in comparison to others, being a trait that he was never shy to take advantage of when needed to.

"Suit yourself."

Her argument about not being tired was a lie and he could plainly see it, but Sephiroth decided against pointing that out. The slight raise to his eyebrows did that enough for him. Typical teenager to point at something else to draw his attention away from her.

"Wasn't me." He kept his gaze on Yuffie, not even awarding the discarded pillow a glance. "You threw it when you woke up."

"Oh?" Throwing a pillow certainly sounded like something she would do but she wasn't going to tell him he was right because that would indicate that she was wrong. Yuffie yawned again and walked over to the pillow to pick it up. She wasn't going to put it back on the couch so instead she carried it with her towards Sephiroth.

She didn't really appreciate his constant gaze. "You're staring." Her tone was flat as she addressed him.

It was taking time but she was getting used to living with the infamous SOLDIER. He always seemed to stick to a routine which struck her as odd. He was easily predictable and that bothered her a little.

Sephiroth was always right. Or quiet. Most of the time it was one or the other and he preferred it that way. Quite opposite to Yuffie he kept his heart as deep in his chest as he could bury it, rather than wearing it on his sleeve. Where no one could know it but him.

He hadn't realized he was staring quite so much though and at the young girls comment Sephiroth looked away again towards the fireplace in the center of the lounge. Idly he wondered how cold it might get during winter here, as it didn't seem that he'd be waking up any time soon. Bitter thoughts indeed, that they almost pulled a scowl to his face.

"My apologies. I don't mean to." He sounded honest enough and with a nod to her, like it would indicate some end to a discussion Sephiroth made out into the hallway and back into the kitchen where Spencer had already started to finish packing away the groceries they had bought.

He was very much the type of guy, that if Yuffie ever did bring up that he held a predictable routine, probably wouldn't even comment back - but then might change it up on purpose. It was obvious as well, by this point, that sharing accommodation was uncomfortable to him.

Yuffie smiled and half skipped after him towards the kitchen. "It's probably just because I'm so cute." It was her way to defuse a situation she had no idea how to handle. She hadn't had someone just stare at her without wanting something and she assumed that he wanted her gone.

Her footsteps were light as she moved, stopping at the door way of the kitchen. She leaned against the doors frame with the pillow still in her grip and her arms crossed.

"What did you get? Any snacks?" Yuffie didn't like to go out to get food so she just ate what was around. She was 75% sure that he didn't appreciate it but she was a growing girl, when she got hungry she couldn't stop eating.

It was a good job he had already stopped staring and walked off as Sephiroth wouldn't have known how to retort to a comment like that at all. As it was he simply turned off to it, just let it fade into the background. Hear it, but not react to it, using all that strict conditioning he was raised with to do the same.

He had a feeling she was going to follow him out into the kitchen anyway but nevertheless he went about unpacking, the rustling of the paper bag soon turned into Spencer offering to take the items from Sephiroth directly since the small moogle couldn't reach into the bottom of the bag - the only items left, actually.

"Just the basics. Only what is needed." He commented sharply, but without very much else in terms of tone. But then Spencer had to pipe up-

"Too many snacks are bad for you, Kupo."

Silently in agreement with Spencer; and not to mention the problems that too much sugar would cause for Yuffie, Sephiroth finished putting away the last of the small tins and then proceeded to neatly fold up the paper bag, slipping it in a nearby drawer. He then turned back to the small ninja girl who was blocking the doorway now.

He did wonder, actually how long it would be before he'd have to go shopping again. Yuffie was a veritable ganit.

"That being said-" Spencer flitted off into the air away from the two of them, towards the small kupo nuts bowl that Sephiroth kept for him, on the small dining surface. Sephiroth followed the moogle with his careful gaze before turning back to Yuffie again. "I did notice that there were a larger assortment of candies around this week, for some reason."

Yuffie tried to eye the food as the two took it out of the bag. "You sound like my dad... and Mooshoo." She didn't want to move from the door frame. Somehow this position was comfortable, even though she was in the way.

"Anyway, snacks are great! and filled with all the energy you need. I don't see how they are bad for you." When traveling Yuffie lived off of whatever she could get, so she wasn't very picky with food but since discovering snacks she wanted to eat them every chance she could.

"I think its a holiday or something. Did you get any candies?" She almost lit up at the thought of getting one of those wonderful candies into her mouth.

It was as he said, pretty basic, standard tinned food mostly that might keep for a while. Angeal occasionally left packages of food outside his front door anyway and he couldn't very well let those go to waste. It was getting a tad predictable, finding said parcels on his porch every time he returned from the morning jog but Sephiroth couldn't bring himself to tell his old friend to back off.

"I've never had any problems with energy through a lack of snack foods. That's a fact." And it was true enough, Sephiroth's diet had been strictly regulated when he was younger and such habits certainly carried over when he became more independent.

"It's for the Night of the 13 Moogles, Kupo." Spencer seemed to feed a little off Yuffie's enthusiasm. "It's traditionally for moogles to eat all the Kupo nuts they like, but as it's a celebration for everyone nowadays candies are a thing too."

Sephiroth was sternly looking at his moogle, after that. He certainly didn't need Spencer getting on Yuffie's side over this.

Yuffie enjoyed Angeal's packages and ate as much of it as she could get her hands on. That was one of the few things she like from Mr tall and grumpy. The moment Sephiroth asked him to stop would be the moment Yuffie would go to Angeal and beg him to start doing it again.

"Is it?" She looked over at him curiously and somewhat disbelieving. "If you haven't tried it you should, at least once."

Her eyes rested on the little moogle with a smile. "Hey Spence, you know where you can get me candy then? I'm sure I can through in some kupo nuts for you."

Perhaps rather oddly, Sephiroth had never raised any issue with Yuffie eating the packages that Angeal had left for him - nor any of the other food she devoured at an absurd rate, matter of fact. There was little point to, he thought, it was best to to get on and cope with it. He could always buy more food, there was always a different option available even if he did sometimes go without meals as a result.

"Snacking just isn't my thing." An honest shrug followed just before he folded his arms up over his chest and lent back against the counter to watch Yuffie and Spencer.

"There are lots of places to get candy, Kupo! You should ask Mooshoo to show you." Spencer was dutiful to his own Hero, and wouldn't stray from Sephiroth's side unless he was dismissed for a while or had other duties at the Mognet to fulfill. He bobbed his red pom-pom from one side to the other and gestured with his little arm in Sephiroth's direction. "Sephiroth always keeps a bowl of Kupo nuts out on the side for us."

There was indeed, said bowl of Kupo nuts always in the middle of the small dining area.

Her head fell slightly. "Mooshoo tells me I shouldn't eat sweets." She was pretty sure that Mooshoo was upstairs waiting for her to come back. Yuffie had no idea how long her nap was. "Mooshoo doesn't like snacks either." The more she thought about it the more her moogle resembled Sephiroth.

Yuffie looked up at Sephiroth with a pout. "You're so nice to the moogles. You should be nicer to me too." She was thinking of having a bowl of candies on the counter but every time she tried to buy snacks or sweets Mooshoo would stop her.

For a moment there it did sound as if Mooshoo had more in common with Sephiroth than Spencer had, but the smaller moogle either didn't notice the correlation or didn't see it as important. The bespectacled moogle slipped back into respectful silence, jumping up into sitting on the edge of the small countertop near to the Kupo nuts bowl as if they needed to be protected.

"The moogles work very hard, and are a keen source information with regards to Crystallis and how things work here." Sephiroth answered, as if it were very much a no-brainer. Hard work and diligence was something he had always respected, in fact something he pushes himself to do almost on a permanent basis. It was difficult for him to adjust to the new lifestyle he'd found himself in, with rather less to dedicate his time to.

"Kupo nuts are a small reward, for all the services they provide us with."

It was his way of saying; you want me to be nicer to you, give me a reason to be.

There was a tap on Yuffie's shoulder as Mooshoo appeared in the kitchen. "You done wreaking havoc?" He was still holding his book but at the sight of Sephiroth and Spencer he slipped it into his back. "Well come home, Kupo."

Yuffie rolled her eyes before looking over at Sephiroth. "I guess this means I have 'stuff' to do." She understood his meaning but didn't know what she could possibly do to help. It's not like she knew anything about this world.

She knew she was a bother to those around her and often in the way. Even when she tried to do things she thought was good she still got yelled it. In her mind there was no way to do anything right, so why try. She would do things her own way to help.

Even though Sephiroth remained leaning against the countertop he did nod a single greeting in Mooshoo's direction as the other moogle appeared. Spencer seemed to brighten a little again as well; there was another moogle here now to defend the Kupo nut pot if it came to it.

"It would beat laying around all day?" Sephiroth suggested lightly, finally dropping the folded arms and standing back up straight. "Boredom breeds lethargy, getting out will do you come good."

He was right, he knew he was and Yuffie probably hated him all the more for it.

She did hate him but she had to much pride to let him know how much his statement got to her. Her eyes focused on Sephiroth with a blank expression. "What do you suppose I do?" She crossed her arms as she posed the question and waited.

Yuffie had no intention of doing what he said but if it meant snacks then she just might.

Mooshoo just waited for his hero, knowing full well that once she decides on something she wasn't going to let it go. He had missed the first part of what was going on but he had a guess.

It did seem that all he was ever surrounded with was large egos and prides determined to test against his own. Problem being is that Sephiroth never let anything get to him that much, least of all from a 15 year old girl. She could make it as difficult as she liked, he'd spent several more years perfecting the craft than she had.

"I'm sure you can think of something, or if not go out there and find something to occupy yourself." Yea, like he was the shining example of that. Sephiroth struggled himself to find enough to do to fill the days with varied activities, generally speaking. It all fell too quickly into a routine and he detested how predictable it was making him.

"There are always chores to be done around the house, as well."

She was ready to snap back with a somewhat witty remark but his last coment made her pause. "Around the house?" Yuffie really didn't know what to do around the house, let alone being productive around the house.

She thought about getting a job, just to have something to do but nothing really struck her interest and the last time she had house work was before she ran away from home.

Yuffie was sure that he didn't want her to clean because she honestly didn't know how and would only make things worse. She was okay with making a mess if it meant proving a point.

Sephiroth had always been an early riser, and even though there wasn't much that called for his urgent attention in Crystallis as a whole except for his own personal training and the mundane tasks that needed doing day to day, nothing much had changed in that regard. He would always take care as well, when Yuffie's door was still closed, to be as quiet as possible and let her sleep.

Just as with anyone, the bathroom was always the first step in his daily routine. Though, some things naturally took longer than others. Personal hygiene was one of those things. Not that it helped Yuffie, being sat and hearing the crashing hot water inside the bathroom as Sephiroth continued to shower. She was just going to have to wait her turn.

After her last, the water turned off. A few moments later the door knob turned and the door opened inwards. Fresh from the shower Sephiroth stood towering over her in the doorway, the sheen of moisture still present on his skin right to the waist and a large white towel wrapped around his middle. The vast mane of his silver hair was twisted from being wrung out and rested forwards across a shoulder, reaching passed the towel as well.

"There isn't any need to shout."

On a normal day Yuffie woke with the sun and didn't always bother with daily routine hygiene. Today however she was woke by her bladder and Sephiroth's usual long session in the bathroom had come at a poor time. As he opened the door she rushed passed him, not taking the time to ogle at his wet state.

She pushed him out of the way and proceeded to shut the door. "I'm not finished this argument!"

At least she had her priorities in order. Despite how he could have reacted akin to a sturdy wall and not moved when pushed, it was obvious by that point that Yuffie only had one thing on her mind. She really must have been bursting!

And so he left her to her business, in a warm damp cloud of condensation that he left behind and that certainly hadn't had the time yet to disperse through the small open window.

Sephiroth proceeded the short distance to his own room, being the closest to the bathroom, and pulled the door closed behind him in the meantime. If Yuffie wanted to argue with him she'd have to do it through the door or wait until he could be dry enough to dress. For sure it would give her enough time to cool off and consider exactly what she was going to be making the fuss about.

Yuffie was quick for two reasons: one she really wanted to yell at Sephiroth, and two she really didn't want to stay in the Sephiroth scented bathroom. She burst through the bathroom down only to be stopped by his closed door.

Her fingers curled up into a tight fist so she could pound on his door. "HEY! We need to talk about your bathroom time. How do you spend over an hour in there! What are you even doing?" As she asked she realized that she might not want to know what he does being close doors.

Whatever he was doing on the other side of the closed door, of which entailed simply drying himself off in the privacy of his own room, couldn't be heard from out in the hallway. The pound of Yuffie's fist to the door was met with no response, much like her yelling if she continued to do it.

Sephiroth didn't have to answer such a question, not only as it had an obvious answer, but especially since it wasn't as if he timed how long things generally took while he was in there; who even did that! Besides, most mornings Yuffie was sound asleep and it didn't matter.

He wasn't in any rush to get dressed, either. Whether or not he was doing it on purpose to give Yuffie that precious time he thought she needed to finish venting at a closed door or not, was up for debate. She couldn't very well see or tell what he was doing, after all.

She realized what his silent meant and hit her head against his door. She stood there leaning against it as she spoke. "Fine but can I at least know your usual morning... things?" Yuffie was still to tiring to wake up and words were getting harder to form.

She was a little bit to tired for her energy levels to run on full power. She wanted to avoid being awake or here when he was getting ready for the morning because the scent he used in the bathroom made the whole floor smell like boy.

She didn't have to wait much longer and with an audible click, his door was opened just a small crack. It was up to her if she wanted to cross the threshold into his room but it seemed that the invitation was there. After all, they hadn't established any ground rules for the house at all; after that first day Sephiroth had felt it better to just give her the space she needed to settle in and then judge when would be the best time to broach the subject.

"It's probably best if we did talk a little about...things." He commented, as if the partly open door wasn't enough of an invite.

At least he was decent now though, as he walked away into the room towards the dresser. Though still bare-footed, he was now clad in leather up to his waist but not yet any other clothing. Freshly clean, the pinker patches to the outside of his shoulders were clearly visible against the paler pallor to the rest of him, especially compared to the lines that showed where he had been wearing his muscle vest most days. Sephiroth was in the process of towel-drying off his hair, the towel all bunched to one side of his head, before he would attempt to put a comb through it.

Yuffie almost fell forward when he cracked the door open. She honestly hadn't expected him to open the door or to even talk to her. She walked in slowly, her eyes addressing his current state of dress with a steady gaze. It wasn't appropriate but she really didn't care, he was the one who choose to walk around without a shirt on. "Did you get sunburn?" That or it was a tan but it looked more like sunburn to the young ninja.

She walked over to his bed and sat, looking up at him curiously. "So things?" She really didn't know what to talk about more than knowing how long he is usually in the bathroom and when. As she sits she starts picking up things nearby and turning them over in her hand.

As awkward as Yuffie made him feel, there was no reason to be as rude to her as she might feel obligated to be towards him. Though Sephiroth was forever aloof and carried himself on something of an elevated plane over others, the fact was that some situations logically called for civilized discussion.

The short grunt that was issued back at Yuffie's first question said clearly on it's own; 'don't go there' as he continued to dry his hair, working from the top and rubbing the towel between hands in firm circles as he worked down the mass of wet silver - he didn't seem at all phased whether or not walking around topless was appropriate or not; this was his own home as much as Yuffie's!

"Yes," Finally he drew the towel away from the matted, tangled mess that was left behind and turned towards the bed - spreading the towel out over the foot of the same which is where it might get dry for a while before he'd put it through the wash. There weren't a lot of things around Sephiroth's bedside, or really very much in the way of clutter in his room at all, yet he still awarded Yuffie a stern look as she turned his useless cellphone around in her hands. "Things-"

She dropped his phone almost back where she found it once it seemed like he didn't want her to touch anything. Besides she has already touched everything in his room, he just didn't know it. Yuffie crossed her legs and rested her arms on her knees as she watched Sephiroth.

Yuffie didn't mean to be rude or make him feel uncomfortable on purpose, it was just a gift.

"Can I brush your hair? I mean if you do it yourself it take forever, right?" She won't admit that part of her just wants to brush his hair. She tried to phrase it as if it would be a service to him somehow.

It's true the old adage; what he doesn't know can't harm him, because Sephiroth would seriously have to consider putting a lock on his bedroom door if he did catch wind of Yuffie's snooping around while he wasn't home.

He followed her hand with his eyes as she put the phone back down, making sure she didn't immediately pick something else up to fidget at. Short attention span, much. Then again she was obviously a teenage girl. Sephiroth had started to run fingers through the ends of his hair first to untangle the ends a little when Yuffie asked her next question. He froze and half a beat later that frown of his played at the space between his eyebrows.

"No. I'm perfectly capable thank you." Part of him wanted to take the comb from the top of the dresser right then and start combing it out -he knew he couldn't leave it to dry as it was- but figured that'd come across as him trying to prove a point to her and so refrained from doing so. At least for the time being.

"So what things do you want to know about? My morning routine is fairly obvious by now, I would think."

"Honestly, I usually sleep through your morning routine. So... I didn't know." It was one of her many ways to avoid him. Though between the two of them he was pretty neat and easy to live with. He was usually out of the house and she was the one who never cleaned up after herself.

Yuffie sighed and leveled a steady gaze at Sephiroth. She didn't understand why he put up with being here, if he was such a big bad SOLDIER but she didn't have a way to put her thoughts into words. She had always been honest but having to live with someone who she thought of as the enemy was driving her up the wall. She never did feel safe and it was affecting her sleep.

Her eyes looked up at the ceiling for a moment. "Maybe a truce?" Though she really didn't know what that meant. Maybe buying more snacks for the house?

She wasn't the only one who's sleep had been effected by having to all of a sudden have Yuffie as a housemate. Sephiroth wasn't a heavy sleeper anyway and always rose early, but he couldn't ever go to bed in the evening without being almost certain that she was already asleep. Spencer had already noticed, and well informed him of the fact that he needed to sleep more, but there was nothing to be done for it.

He wasn't scared of her, not a chance of that, but her presence made him more than a little apprehensive.

He couldn't wait any longer though, and Sephiroth stepped closer to Yuffie, but only to retrieve his comb from the bedside table before stepping back. If they were going to have this talk, they could at least do so while he was combing at his hair. If she thought it took him a long time to wash it, combing it out at intervals so that it dried exactly the way he wanted it to fall was no short task either.

"What sort of a truce?"

She watched him comb his hair and for a moment she was tempted to ask him if she could help. Yuffie never could grow her hair that long, mostly because it just became a tangled mess. Maybe he could teach her how to take care of her hair, after all, there was no one to cut her hair here either. She could try it herself but that might not end well.

"Like rules, an example would be never come into my room. You take care of food and I'll stay out of your... hair" She gave Sephiroth a goofy smile at her own pun.

He had already told her no, and hopefully Yuffie wouldn't press the issue; Sephiroth didn't have much in the way of patience when it came to the small ninja even if he did try to be considerate. He bunched all of his hair together with one hand, lifted it and started the comb out the ends first. It would take a while but gradual progression towards the roots was the best way to deal with it.

"Let me get one thing straight-" He paused as the first tangle was discovered, taking the comb back out and then coming in again to free it without having to pull. Either he ignored Yuffie's goofy grin or simply hadn't registered it.

"I am not your caretaker. Neither am I your cook, cleaner or guardian. That said, I respect that you need your own space and so far I have therefore steered out of your way where I can. However, the house is only so big.

I do not mind -until you are settled- to buy food, and the like, for the both of us. But it is certainly not going to be a permanent arrangement."

She only heard about half of what he said. Her focused was on his hair, fascinated by his process of combing it. He must have a lot of patience in order to deal with the tangles.

"Maybe a trade then?" She was thinking more along the lines of things she wouldn't do and in return he would buy food. It was just nice not to have to worry about food. After running away from home it had been a little bit of a struggle.

He got the impression that the teen had 'zoned out' pretty early on, which irked him more than a little. Sephiroth was hardly the talkative type, but when he did speak he expected others to listen. On purpose, he stopped combing at his hair and dropped his arms to his sides at her next question.

"Did you hear anything that I just said?" But really, he already knew the answer. Sephiroth turned away back towards the dresser and rolled his eyes privately when he wasn't facing her. Just how difficult could it be to live with this girl? He placed the comb on the top and opened a small pot of a white cream - deciding to tend to the fading sunburn first.

"Do I even want to hear what you'd trade with?"

"I was listening!" She didn't shout but her words were harsh. "I was just thinking!" Which always involved a lot of effort even if she didn't want to admit it.

Yuffie looked up at the ceiling thinking of his question. She really didn't know but there had to be an easier way. She brought her stare back to Sephiroth and for a moment she looked like the young child that she was. "I don't know. What do you want from me?"

Not that she would do it right or at all for that matter but she felt like it was worth asking.

She probably had seen the following stern look before, on her father and any other number of adults when she'd said something that was clearly immature. Way to turn it around on him Yuffie when you were the one who had initiated this talk. Sephiroth was more than happy to continue nearly-ignoring Yuffie for the most part, as long as she didn't make it a habit of interrupting his morning hygiene routines.

He began to apply the cooling cream sparingly to one of his arms, and then the other. It felt good and soothing where the light burns were starting to tighten up again from drying naturally. Angeal's remedy apparently also worked well as a moisturizer. At this rate, he might not lose any more layers of skin to peeling.

"You're the one who wanted to talk about this. I'm perfectly happy to continue as we are."

She didn't like that look and she instinctively glared back. Once she realized she was doing it she tried to stop, which took a lot of blinking. It was a strange reaction and it made her stop and think for a moment.

Yuffie sat up a little straighter, her eyes locked on Sephiroth. "Your really okay with it? As it is now?" That didn't make sense to her considering almost every interaction between them so far was confrontational.

There was little point having a glaring match with a teenager, Sephiroth knew much better than that so he didn't hold it for long. Not long enough to even notice Yuffie's attempt to stop herself from doing so. One pink area of skin coated, Sephiroth got another load of cream on his fingertips and began to apply it to the other side. It wasn't a smelly substance at all, even if it did smell almost too floral for his taste - still, it did the job.

Truth was, he wasn't happy at all with the tension between them but really he'd already resolved that was how it was going to be. He couldn't honestly offer an apology for the reasons she hated him and so he just didn't visit it at all. Difference being, he was much less vocal about it than Yuffie was and simply filtered it out of irritating him; he was more mature like that.

"Well no. But it's not going to change, so what's the point discussing it?"

She was trying but with an attitude like that she quickly stopped her efforts. "I guess there isn't. In the future I will sleep through your morning functions." Or leave the house, she hasn't been sleeping well here anyway.

Yuffie stood and walked over towards the door with quick strides. She stopped with one hand on the door frame and a sarcastic smile aimed at Sephiroth. "There is stuff down stairs that stops you from turning pink. If you become a lobster I'm gonna have to think of more nicknames." She was annoyed and it was evident by the sound of her voice.

Despite the toxic way Yuffie put it, Sephiroth would really prefer for her to simply not be around while he was in any position where he might be vulnerable. It was bad enough that she slept only in a room down the hall; he had no idea when her resentment toward him might turn into something other than tantrums, sarcastic remarks or nicknames. Not that he'd admit that was the reason for his less-than restful sleep.

He continued to work the cream into the sunburn on the arm closest to the door as Yuffie stopped and made her retort. He paused in the motion for a moment long enough to raise his eyes, over the top of his lean bicep, to her again.

"There's no need to be such a brat about it." His voice wasn't quite stern, but matter-of-factly. "Besides, it's not nearly as bad as it was before."

He was very good at pushing Yuffie's buttons. "At least I'm not an unapproachable jerk!" She didn't mean to yell again but his words cut deeper than he knew. She worked hard everyday towards her goal and unlike some, nothing was given to her easily.

"And put a shirt on before you poke someone's eye out." Yuffie threw her arms to her sides and stormed out of his room. She was done talking and had things she needed to do today.

House Terrors!

Late afternoon: Yuffie found asleep

Late afternoon: Yuffie found asleep

Late afternoon: Yuffie found asleep

Late afternoon: Yuffie found asleep

Late afternoon: Yuffie found asleep

Late afternoon: Yuffie found asleep

Late afternoon: Yuffie found asleep

Late afternoon: Yuffie found asleep

Late afternoon: Yuffie found asleep

Late afternoon: Yuffie found asleep

Late afternoon: Yuffie found asleep

Late afternoon: Yuffie found asleep

Late afternoon: Yuffie found asleep

Late afternoon: Yuffie found asleep

Late afternoon: Yuffie found asleep

Late afternoon: Yuffie found asleep

Late afternoon: Yuffie found asleep

Late afternoon: Yuffie found asleep

Late afternoon: Yuffie found asleep

Late afternoon: Yuffie found asleep

Early Morning: (not-so) Unexpected Bathroom Problems

Early Morning: (not-so) Unexpected Bathroom Problems

Early Morning: (not-so) Unexpected Bathroom Problems

Early Morning: (not-so) Unexpected Bathroom Problems

Early Morning: (not-so) Unexpected Bathroom Problems

Early Morning: (not-so) Unexpected Bathroom Problems

Early Morning: (not-so) Unexpected Bathroom Problems

Early Morning: (not-so) Unexpected Bathroom Problems

Early Morning: (not-so) Unexpected Bathroom Problems

Early Morning: (not-so) Unexpected Bathroom Problems

Early Morning: (not-so) Unexpected Bathroom Problems

Early Morning: (not-so) Unexpected Bathroom Problems

Early Morning: (not-so) Unexpected Bathroom Problems

Early Morning: (not-so) Unexpected Bathroom Problems

Early Morning: (not-so) Unexpected Bathroom Problems

Early Morning: (not-so) Unexpected Bathroom Problems

Early Morning: (not-so) Unexpected Bathroom Problems

Early Morning: (not-so) Unexpected Bathroom Problems

Early Morning: (not-so) Unexpected Bathroom Problems

Early Morning: (not-so) Unexpected Bathroom Problems

Early Morning: (not-so) Unexpected Bathroom Problems

Early Morning: (not-so) Unexpected Bathroom Problems

Early Morning: (not-so) Unexpected Bathroom Problems

Early Morning: (not-so) Unexpected Bathroom Problems