Costa Del Sol had a subtle sense of history that managed to weave it's transparent fingers together with the modern shenanigans of the youth of present day. Its buildings stood like silent sentinels as young men and women giggled past their aged facades. Not to say that the elderly and mature could not be found, but like a swarm, from left to right, were the bright and handsome faces of the young, their energized gazes almost inescapable in the heat of the afternoon sun.
It was this atmosphere that the two girls found themselves coming into, the carefree attitude seeming like an inexorable gas that filled each of their lungs and made them sigh in warm satisfaction. They were finally free of the barren roads where only the spare truck kept them company.
The air breezed past them as they rode along, smiles and grins making themselves present wherever they went. But time began to drag on, and Yuffie began to grow impatient. Tifa could feel the ninja's muscles bunch at the eleventh 'no vacancy' sign they found.
"This is SO lame!" The girl huffed over the growling of her motorbike. "Isn't there any place we can stay?" From Tifa's place behind Yuffie, the woman could see the girl's eyes narrow and her nose scrunch up slightly as she allowed a snarl to cross her features. The wind whipped in her eyes as she sped the motorbike up, and Tifa had to grab onto the ninja tighter to keep from being thrown back.
"Yuffie!" the fighter exclaimed in alarm, her long hair whipping behind her.
It was as they were coming up a steep hill, on the north side of Costa Del Sol, that they found their salvation.
The Oceanside Inn was a small, quaint little establishment, gifted with a sweeping view of the ocean. The manila-colored building was a three-story, with stucco siding and tall crenelations that imposed an idea of seniority over all the other buildings on the street. The small courtyard in front of the building was lush and green, beautiful rose bushes growing beneath the wide, arched windows.
At the sight of the 'vacancy' sign, Yuffie turned sharply, causing Tifa to cry out in alarm. Pulling alongside the curb, the girl quickly took off her helmet. "Come on, Tifa!" she cried, an excited look in her eyes.
Tifa stared at her. "What kind of driving was that?" the woman cried, scandalized. But Yuffie didn't pay her much attention. She was already walking toward the inn.
"Come on, Rusty! In case ya hadn't noticed, Costa Del Sol is packed right now. So if we don't hurry and check in now, someone's gonna cheat us out of a sweet view of the beach!" the girl cried impatiently over her shoulder.
Tifa took her helmet off slowly. "She can get so demanding." She grumbled sorely.
Inside, Yuffie stopped briefly, impressed by the elegant decor of the main lobby. The walls were dressed in rich red wallpaper, a small gold chandelier hanging from the ceiling. On the wall to Yuffie's left hung a large portrait of a woman standing on the edge of a rocky cliff. Her black hair blew wildly in the wind as she faced out toward the ocean, a pale hand over her heart. Yuffie found herself staring at the painting for a moment, her eyes lingering on the woman's face.
"Can I help you?"
Yuffie turned her head sharply at the new voice. In front of her was the main desk, a middle aged man standing behind the counter. He was gazing at her curiously, his gray eyes searching her face. "Something the matter, Miss?" the man asked politely.
Yuffie shook her head vehemently just as Tifa came in behind her. "What's wrong?" The fighter asked immediately, seeing her friend's movement.
The ninja turned to look at her, somewhat flustered, "It's nothing!" She looked back at the hotel attendant, who was still gazing at her in concern. "Really!" She stuck her thumb at the painting, her cheeks tinging slightly. "I was just wondering what this piece was...uh...y'know, called."
The man smiled at this and gestured toward the painting, "This piece is called 'To The End.' We bought it from a gallery in Midgar called 'Edge'...it's nice, isn't it?"
Yuffie nodded, looking back at the piece. "Yeah..."
There was a pause. Tifa gazed at Yuffie with mild confusion. After another moment went by, the fighter cleared her throat and looked back at the attendant. "Um...We saw your sign outside-"
"Ah yes!" the man nodded, jumping to life. "Yes, we've got at least two rooms open." the man chuckled as he reached beneath the desk, pulling up a large book. "I'm so very sorry, I should've assumed that was what you were both here for!"
Tifa walked forward, shaking her head. "No, no...that's all right." she looked back at Yuffie, who was still looking at the picture. She was now two inches from it, her eyes narrowing on the face of the woman. Tifa blinked. "Er..." she turned back toward the hotel attendant. "One room will be fine for the two of us, if that's okay."
The man nodded, opening the leather book before him. "Oh, that's fine." he flipped the yellowed pages until he came to the last page of signatures. Taking a pen from a nearby mug, the man handed it to Tifa. "The rate is four hundred gil a night. Is that okay?"
"Yes, that's fine."
"Then if you'd both just sign here, please."
Tifa nodded and signed her name, inwardly marveling at the fact that some hotels still used log books. Finished, the woman straightened and looked back at Yuffie. The girl was still gazing at the painting. "Yuffie," Tifa called loudly, bewildered by the girl's odd behavior. The girl looked at her, blinking. "Huh?" she said.
Tifa raised the pen and arched an eyebrow. "Are you going to sign or not?"
"Oh," the girl said. She walked forward. "Yeah, sure."
Grabbing the pen, Yuffie leaned toward the book as the fighter stepped aside, scribbling a messy signature beneath the older woman's neat and elaborate one. As she stepped back, Tifa gave her a sidelong look, thinking with mild annoyance, "Wasn't she the one hurrying me up earlier?"
The man smiled and shut the book, replacing it beneath the counter. Then, turning, he plucked a key marked "06" from the key rack on the wall behind him, and began to walk toward the stairs. "Just follow me, and I'll show you two your room." the man said.
Tifa followed him up the carpeted stairs, Yuffie sparing a glance back in the direction of the painting before following.
"This hotel's been around since Costa del Sol was first built." the man began to say as they crossed the second floor hall. "The original owner, Mark Exelburg, died forty years ago. This place is now under the management of his nephew, Terek Exelburg."
"And who are you?" Yuffie asked, hands shoved into her back pockets.
The man looked back with a smile. "My name's Otis. I'm a friend of the owner."
They entered the third floor and Otis stopped at the last door to the right. Taking the key, he opened into the room.
"Wow..." Tifa breathed at the sight that greeted her.
The cherry wood furniture was elegant and polished, the dark emerald carpet bringing out the color of the crimson colored walls. The sheets of the two large canopy beds were fluffy and soft. Tifa's hand lingered on them for a moment before her attention fell on the beds headboard's, which were decorated with an intricate carving of a rose.
As the woman leaned in, she couldn't help but think the hotel's mix of styles strange, though she considered it far from unpleasant. On the outside, the hotel came across perfectly as something straight from South-Eastern culture, the practical design of the building something the last generations of Cetra partook in. But then on the inside, the rooms were rich with color and decoration, something reminiscent of the styles from the North.
Yuffie gave a low whistle as she leaned forward to inspect the headboard of the bed nearest to the door. "Spiffy!" the girl exclaimed, her eyes shining.
Tifa's eyes lit up toward the back of the room, where sunlight poured in through the sliding glass door leading out onto the balcony. Walking forward slowly, the woman slid the door open and stepped out into the air. She gave an excited laugh. "Yuffie, come look at this!" the woman cried, rushing to the railing and leaning out as far as she could.
Yuffie hurried toward the balcony, Otis smiling as he watched the women marvel at the view.
Yuffie gave a loud exclamation of disbelief as she came to stand next to Tifa.
Before them, nearly all of Costa Del Sol could be seen, from the harbor, to the beach, to the residential district, to the open market, and to the main square. Neither girl could find the words to describe their amazement. The only thing they could do was look at one another and smile.
"You can get an even better view on the roof," Otis said behind them as he joined them out onto the balcony. "There's lawn chairs for sun bathing and some tables if you'd like to eat there. The roof access is open until eleven at night." he pointed behind him, "If you two ladies need me for anything, just call me on the phone next to the bed by pushing the 'hotel service' button." Otis handed Yuffie the hotel key. "There's your key," the man smiled as he gave a slight bow. "Hope you two have a nice afternoon. Remember, call me if you need anything."
Yuffie nodded, a wide smile on her face as Otis turned to leave. "Thanks, Otis!"
Tifa waved as the men left, then turned to look at her friend. "I can't believe we found such a nice hotel!"
Yuffie, who turned her attention back to the view, shrugged one shoulder. "For such a small, out-of-the-way hotel, four hundred gil a night seems expensive. But people don't know how nice the rooms are, and they probably don't even realize what a nice view you can get up here."
The fighter nodded, leaning against the railing. "Yeah, you're probably right..."
The two stood, together, marveling at the sight of the ocean and the way the water sparkled in the sun like broken glass. Tifa's eyes lowered at the feel of the ocean breeze sweeping against her skin, the light scent of salt and delicious food filling her senses. In the streets below, the bubbly laughter of children carried itself up to Tifa's ears. At the sound, the woman turned her attention to her friend.
Yuffie was blank faced, an oddly distant look in her eyes. Her hands gripped the iron railing with a tight grip, so that her knuckles showed through her skin. Frowning, Tifa tentatively touched the girl's hand.
"...Yuffie? Hey, are you okay?"
The ninja blinked and looked at Tifa. In her eyes, the fighter recognized the light tinge of sadness she saw the first night Yuffie stayed at her home. Tifa took a step toward her, confused and unnerved at the sudden change in the girl's mood. "Yuffie, what's wrong?" she asked quietly.
Then without warning, the look was gone. A simple blink and, like that, a smile was back on Yuffie's face, as if she had come out of a trance. "What're you talking about, Rusty?" the girl asked smoothly, her hands finding their places at her hips.
Tifa blinked a few times, then placed a hand on Yuffie's forehead. The girl was burning hot...but then again, so was Tifa. The sun was pretty intense, after all. "Are you sure you're feeling okay?" the woman asked worryingly.
Yuffie took Tifa's hand off her head, returning the older woman's look of concern with a look of mild annoyance. "I'm fine, Tif. What's with that look yer giving me?" Yuffie took a large step back from the woman and raised a challenging eyebrow.
Tifa stared at her for a moment before sighing and allowing herself to shrug. "All right...you don't need to tell me what's wrong if you don't want to." She began to walk back into the room. "But I'm really hungry right now, so hurry up and do whatever you need to before we head to Serino's."
Yuffie gazed after her, her cheeks tinted pink and a small scowl on her face. "I'm telling you there's nothing wrong with me!" This is one of my favorite fan-fics on Final Fantasy VII, thought I'd share it.
Mon Apr 08, 2013 3:15 pm by 
