Magical Mistletoe

by astrogirl23

A/n: Hello everyone! I do not own FFVII or any of the characters, by the way. So, without further ado, I give to you my belated Christmas fic…

Chapter 1: Yuffie's POV

Darn. Honestly, is this how people in Midgar spend their Christmas holidays? Working endlessly, talking minimally, with attitudes that matched the wintry weather to boot?

BOOOOOOO-RING!

Surprisingly, my previous tactics to try to make Seventh Heaven a cheerier place were complete failures (but that doesn't make me, Yuffie the Magnificent, a failure!). Sure, I had the place lively for approximately twelve seconds after my last prank, but after Cloud had put out the fire from the fireworks I had conveniently placed on the back pockets of Cid's pants, the place was as gloomy as before.

Nobody would spare ME some time, and that is not only making me feel bored, but lonely as hell too. Tifa is busy with the continuous pouring of customers in the bar, Cloud's out most of the time delivering packages, Cid's inside Sierra most of the time, tinkering away, Barrett only appears during supper, and gaaaawwd, even Marlene and Denzel were out most of the time, refusing to play with me after I had "accidentally" beheaded the snowmen they had made with my shurikens.

"If I lie on this stupid couch for another second, doing nothing but stare stupidly at the blank television screen which would only show those boring, cheesy Christmas specials if I open it, and counting snowflakes outside the window, I am absolutely going to be spending the rest of the holiday in an asylum!"

Silence. Hello, as if I'm expecting some stupid reply from the television or the window, who were just innocent inanimate objects I could vent out my frustrations on without receiving any scathing reply.

Not that I wouldn't welcome any scathing response just to rid of the dull air that seemed to filter inside Seventh Heaven.

Really. I'd even accept a one-word advice from the quiet, I'm-too-cool-to-string-two-words-together Vincent, if worse comes to worst.

"Then go out."

I fell from the couch in absolute surprise at the sudden voice, landing not too gracefully on my face. Coughing out dust and carpet hair from my mouth and nose, I rose and tried to right my position.

I was about to open my mouth in a retort about invading someone's privacy when I saw Vincent himself standing on the doorway, looking as gorgeous and forbidding as ever.

"Whaa—whaaaat?" I don't know whether I was talking to myself or to him—all I was aware of at that moment was the unnatural hotness of my cheeks and the sudden acceleration of my heartbeat.

I did not just think he was gorgeous, did I? My brain must be freezing from the cold temperature.

Vincent did not move from where he stood; instead he gave me what seemed like a questioning look.

At least that's what it seemed like from my peripheral vision. Somehow, despite knowing him for the longest time, I still can't bring myself to look at him in the eye.

And I'm not going to try now, not after thinking the ridiculous thought of him being gorgeous.

Trying to keep my voice neutral, and only succeeding in making me sound like a parrot with digestive problems, I asked, "W—what are you doing here, Vinnie?" with as much nonchalance as I could muster.

Dang it Yuffie, a week of pure boring-ness in Seventh Heaven with no one to talk to, and all your professional conversational skills disappear like Sephiroth! Is that all you can say??

"I need to talk to Cloud," was all he said, and I couldn't help but be disappointed.

Wait a minute. I'm disappointed? As if it isn't common knowledge that the man seems to find it excruciating to string more than five words together. Gawwwd, what in Jenova's head is happening to me??

My body suddenly seemed to be moving on its own accord; like a little sparrow preparing to take flight, I rose from the floor and stood up as though my butt just got singed by a branding iron.

"I—I—I have to go!" was that my voice? I sounded like a mouse that got its tail trampled. "See you around Vinnie! I gotta go somewhere…"

And I scampered out of the room like the mouse I had described myself to be.

I was never gladder to see the exit of Seventh Heaven my whole life. As I hurried out, I bumped into Tifa, who was carrying empty tankards of beer.

"Hey Yuffie, what happened to you?" she asked with concern. "Your face is all red…"

"I—I just need some fresh air! I'll be back before supper!" I said, quickly walking past her before she could say something else.

What in hell's bells is happening to me? First I talk to inanimate objects. Then I think Vinnie's gone all hot and sexy. Worst of all, I'm suddenly SHY in front of him!

I was so lost in my own thoughts that I didn't realize I was about to crash to a cartful of unusual market goods. And so I did.

Arms and merchandise flying everywhere, I wasn't able to brace myself for my hard meeting with the ground. I could've sworn I heard the cracking of my own bones in the arm as I fell, and how it shattered into pieces as the weight of my body greatened the impact to the hard, snow-free ground.

"Miss! Are you alright?" the crumpled face of an old lady peered down at me with anxious eyes.

Groaning in pain, I staggered to sit up, but a gasp of pain escaped my mouth as I felt a searing pain in my arm.

The old woman quickly assisted me in a sitting position, stating her apologies for the accident.

"No, ma'am, it's my fault, really!" I assured her with a pained smile. "I'm not usually this clumsy, but weird things keep going on inside my head and I…" I quickly halted my babble when I saw a momentary glow of mischief in the old lady's eyes.

"But it's my fault too, dearie, that you got your arm broken," the old woman crooned, taking something out of her pocket. "Here, you can have this as a token of my deepest apologies."

I stared at the object that rested on her outstretched hand in complete puzzlement.

"W—what is it?" I can't help but ask.

The old woman gave me a tooth-gapped smile.

"Why, it's a mistletoe, dearie, a special kind,"

Without warning she grabbed my good arm and dropped the mistletoe on my open palm.

"Be sure to hang it in a good place, dearie, or it will do the task itself," the old woman said, before turning to leave.

"W—wait, ma'am! Your merchandise, let me help you gather them—" I began to shout after her retreating form, but soon she disappeared into the crowd.

"Drat," I muttered to myself as I pocketed the mistletoe. "I was hoping for a materia, not some stupid plant…"

I had totally forgotten about the mistletoe when I returned to Seventh Heaven later that evening.

Well, I had good reason!

First, I had to go to a nearby hospital to get my arm fixed, but then I remembered that I didn't have any money with me. So what was a penniless ninja like me expected to do? I ran away, of course! It had been quite dumb on their part to leave me near an open window anyway.

Then, when I came back to Seventh Heaven with my arm encased in a cast and a sling, they all panicked like I had entered starknaked instead.

And finally, the cause of my jumpy behaviour was still there, sitting by the corner and watching the spectacle with his trademark indifference.

I wish I didn't notice he was there, because when I did, I could feel the cursed heat climb my cheeks again. Darn! Why now? Why only now??

Running away from him was a very bad idea. If I had known it would only cause me to trip on Cid's foot and go crashing down the floor like a slinky, I wouldn't have done it. Honestly.

"Yuffie, what in God's name is happening to you?" Tifa asked gently as she helped me get back on my feet.

I could feel everyone staring at me, and I felt like screaming, "This is all your fault! Yes, you, you, and you! You people don't pay any attention to me! YOU BORE ME TO DEATH!"

Instead I ruined everything, including my tough ninja image, when I burst into tears.

"Yuffie! What's wrong, sweetie?" I heard Tifa say as she stepped over to give me a hug. "You can tell me anything you know,"

"Did someone bully you?" Barrett growled. "Tell me the name of the bastard and I'll beat him for you!"

Cid was flexing his knuckles as he added, "Yeah, we'll beat him up good after congratulating him in being able to make you cry,"

I wasn't sure how I got tucked into bed like a child that evening, how I managed to have a hot cocoa with marshmallows on top before I went to sleep, how Barrett gave me a materia "to cheer me up", how Cid borrowed a bedtime story book from the children to read to me, and how Cloud and Tifa promised to prepare a fancy breakfast for me tomorrow, but nonetheless, I found myself staring at the peeling ceiling of my room, wondering why I had suddenly cried.

I never cried. Well, save for that one time when my elbow connected rather hard with the sharp edge of the dining table, but other than that, I swear I never cried.

"Yuffie? Are you still awake?"

Oh Gawwwwd. It's him!

Okay Yuffie, you must stay calm. CALM. Take a deep breath. Close your eyes.

I heard the knob turn, and the shuffle of feet as Vincent entered my room.

I'm sleeping, darn it, you can go now…

…or you can ravish me here and now.

"Ohmygodisodidnotjustthinkthatterriblydisgutingthoughtdidi??" I wasn't aware I had screamed all of that until I saw Vincent clamping his hands over his ears. I hastily sat up, inwardly cursing when the familiar heat began creeping up my cheeks again.

"Are you alright now, Yuffie?" his voice was husky as he asked me that question.

"Y—yeah," I stammered out, unable to look at him in the eye.

"Why did you cry?"

Okay, trust it for him to be so darn blunt.

"…"

Oh. My. God. Was I, Yuffie, Kisaragi, speechless for the first time? This is truly absurd. The next thing I know, Vincent's probably going to be the talkative parrot I usually am!

"It's alright, you don't have to tell me."

Wait, wait, wait. Did Vincent Valentine just manage to string more than five words to me? Someone call Ripley's.

"I'm sorry if I disturbed you. Goodnight."

A whopping twenty three words! Wow.

"W—wait!" I called out before I could stop myself. He half-turned to look at me with those intense amber eyes of his. Whoa. This is the first time I actually saw the color of his eyes, and I must say… oh drat, I'd rather not say.

"Uhh—goodnight, Vinnie," I managed to mumble, unable to hide the red flags that rose on my cheeks.

Jenova's head! Was it a trick of the light or did he just give me a teensy-weensy smile?

I didn't have time to decide as the door closed behind him.

Hmm…. Maybe I should cry more often.

A/n: So what do you think? The fun begins in the second chapter, where you'll see the real purpose of the "special" mistletoe, and other's POVs to boot:D Anyway, you can tell me whose POVs (or pairing) you want to see with the "special" mistletoe so I can write it! Well, TTFN!