How Long is "Always"?
A Final Fantasy 7 Fanfic from Oddzilla Productions.
Part 1.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Vincent wondered how she was going to welcome him home. When it came to things like this, she could be utterly, utterly unpredictable.
Would she hit him? Would she kiss him? Would she do one of those, then followed by the other? If not for the fact that it was difficult to do both at once, he'd have to weigh in the possibility of her doing precisely that. Maybe she'd kiss him while she kneed him in the....
No, she wouldn't do that to him. Probably not. He hoped.
Actually, Yuffie probably would, if he provoked her sufficiently. And while she had knowingly let him go, however reluctantly, almost ten months ago now, she had this way of nursing annoyance which ensured it would come back to haunt him later. And almost-ten-months was a considerable amount of time for something like that--especially for her.
This brought him back to the present: staring at the sliding door in front of him, beyond which he knew was his wife, Lady Wutai.
Well. Time to take this like a man inhabited by a few demons. He hooked the latch with his burnished metal claw and opened the door, and cleared his throat in the way that meant, "Honey, I'm home."
She never sat with her back to a door, something that she learned from her father at a very young age. This let him see the slight crease that marred her brow as she stared down at a stack of papers on her desk. Her hair had grown out a little, too; long enough to be in a braid that snaked down around her neck and rested on her collarbone. He saw her eyes flicker up to him, back down to the paper, widen slightly, and then rise up again, slowly.
"Vinnie?"
"Hello, Yuffie."
He was then forced to duck the paperweight that was pitched exactly at head height but succeeded only in making a crack in the wall behind him. This, however, left him completely vulnerable to the leaping tackle that sent him slamming into the ground in the hallway. Funny; he didn't think of her throwing something at him. Especially something other than one of her shuriken. Conformer would have really hurt.
"YOU GREAT BIG JERK! You could stand to do a little more than just send a short letter once a month, you know! And something like TELLING YOUR WIFE that you're coming back HOME would be appreciated too!"
"...I'm sorry, Yuffie, but mmmmmmmmmmmm. Mmm."
He decided to succumb quietly and just kiss her back for the time being. There would be time for words later, and this was a lot nicer than words.
"Leviathan, I missed you," she murmured against his chest after they finally broke apart for air. "And the twins...at least you made it back in time for their birthday."
"The reason I wanted to make it back tonight. Late as it was."
She drew herself up and punched him in the shoulder, hard. "How'd you get in without anyone knowing?"
"I was a Turk once. And I am married to the greatest lady ninja Wutai has ever known."
"Flattery isn't going to get you anywhere, buddy." Nevertheless, she seemed to accept the answer and sighed. "So. You know what happens now."
"Yes, I know. I owe you an explanation."
"No."
"No?"
There was a ripping sound.
"Yuffie, this was one of my better shirts."
More ripping, followed by a pop.
"The maids won't be happy about having to replace the button on my pants, Yuffie...."
A few more seams came apart.
"...but I suppose you've just decided...in your own words, 'screw 'em'."
"No, Vinnie, that's what I'm going to do to you right now, if you haven't already figured it out yet. Gawd, it's been TEN MONTHS."
He didn't argue much after that.
------------------------------------------------
Eventually, they found themselves in their bed. The bed that Vincent hadn't slept in for a long while. And judging by the glare that she was giving him, now that she'd recovered from the afterglow, he wouldn't be sleeping in it for a little while longer.
But she was still beautiful.
"Explanation now?"
"Explanation now. Where the hell did you go for ten months?"
He sighed. Were he any other man, he'd probably try to beg it off until morning. But it was already morning, if one counted 3am as the morning, and he knew that she wouldn't be put off. It had taken him a hell of a time convincing her to let him leave without explaining his intent, beyond a promise to keep in regular contact and return within a year no matter what--whether this quest succeeded or not.
"I've been...in New Midgar. And Nibelheim."
"Yes, I know that," she said, a bit acidly. "You had the grace to say as much in the letters. Now what were you doing there?"
He opened his mouth, frowned, and reconsidered. She said nothing at this point, but showed the patience she had learned as the ruler of a nation, something that hadn't come to her easily but had to come nevertheless. "I was...Yuffie, do you know how old I am?"
She didn't miss a beat, despite the apparent change in subject. "Seventy-two now, isn't it?"
"Yes. Twenty-seven when I was put in that coffin. Thirty years when you found me. And fifteen years since."
"Mmm. Ten of 'em married to me. If that hasn't aged you, then nothing will. Not that I'm arguing...not only do you not look a day over twenty-seven, honey," she said, a wicked grin rising to her face, as she reached down beneath the covers and did something that made him grunt quietly. "You don't act a day over it, either."
He coughed. Yes, utterly unpredictable. Something that made life that much more interesting. "I'm about four decades older than you, Yuffie. But...."
"But?" The grin had already disappeared from her face, and she looked at him somberly.
"You're physically older than me, now. By a couple of years."
She was silent, frowning again as she considered this.
When she frowned, it wasn't so much that a wrinkle in her brow appeared, so much as a very slight one which was there deepened visibly. And when she stopped smiling, the lines around her mouth didn't disappear, they just faded mostly. Mostly. And that's what he'd noticed nearly a year ago.
He didn't smile much, didn't frown much. He was Vincent Kisaragi, nee Valentine, and Vincent Valentine had never smiled or frowned much. But even if he did, he didn't wouldn't have such lines on his face.
"I'm aging but you're not."
"I lost someone a long time ago, Yuffie, and had to live with it. I don't want to have to do that again."
"Hojo's labs. His data. That's why you were in New Midgar, meeting up with Reeve, and in Nibelheim."
"Yes."
She looked uncertain, something that was unusual for her. As if she couldn't decide whether to embrace him or turn her back to him. He didn't care much for the latter, not so soon after coming back, so he leaned forward and made the decision for her and drew her close. "I'm sorry, Yuffie. I just couldn't tell you back then."
"Why not?" she asked, softly.
"Several reasons."
"Try me, Vinnie."
He sighed. "I didn't want to worry you. You would have wanted to come, but you needed to stay here. Wutai needs you, the twins need you. They could do without me for a year."
"There's no child that can do without a parent, even if it's just one year, Vinnie," she retorted, genuine anger rising in her voice. He winced, as she continued, "Trust me on that one. I know."
"What else could I have done, then?" he asked, quietly. "Wutai does need its Lady. And the children needed to stay." Unsaid was: And I needed to do this.
There was a brief silence. "Kenji is doing very well in school; the tutors are scrambling to draw up new lessons for him. Though Ayumi is better so far in martial arts."
"I know. Your letters tended to be longer than mine."
She thumped him again. "You noticed. I hoped you'd take the hint too."
"There wasn't much worth saying without giving away what it was I was looking for."
"So...what exactly were you looking for?"
He took a deep breath. "Well, there were two possibilities. One was to find the process that Hojo used to...change me. The other was a reversal of the process."
Yuffie nodded, bit her lip in thought. "You said a year, but you're back early. Which did you find?"
"I found both."
Another silence, longer this time.
"All right, Vinnie. We're going to get some sleep now, because while I promised Kenji he could sleep in tomorrow, it being his birthday and all, Ayumi is going to be up at the crack of dawn to harass me to teach her more techniques. And when she discovers you in here too, she's going to start harassing you for horsie rides. And then Kenji will be upset that he slept in the morning that his father suddenly reappeared. And then Gorki, Shake, Chekov, and Staniv are going to bellow at you in turns cuz it's 'not done' for the Lord Consort of Wutai to sneak back home unannounced. Godo too, whenever he finally climbs out of bed. And then we're having the birthday party. And then, after that, once we've put the twins to bed, we're going to talk some more."
"Yes, Yuffie."
"Vincent?"
"What is it?"
"I love you, even when you're being a dork and disappear for ten months without telling me why first."
"I love you too, Yuffie. Good night."
End Part 1.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Worried that I've bitten off a little more than I can chew. Not only is it my first dabbling with FF7 fic, it's been a long time since I've played the game too; hoping my characterizations are believable. Sure, it's fifteen years after the game, and these two have been married for a decade, but there's got to be a grounding in their characters as they appeared way back then. I'm a bit uneasy about this; please tell me if y'all who know them better and have written about them find anything off.
And if you find the plot in need of adjustment/unsatisfactory/plain stupid, tell me that as well. Plots are not my strong point. And heck, this ain't going to be all that much of a plot anyway.
I was also intending originally for this to be a single part, with the whole thing discussed and decided, but something as momentous as this isn't going to be taken care of in a single night. Of course, this means I'm going to have to show their two kids and a slice more of their married life (and life as rulers of Wutai), at which point I'm getting more worried. But we'll just have to see how it goes, eh?
A Final Fantasy 7 Fanfic from Oddzilla Productions.
Part 1.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Vincent wondered how she was going to welcome him home. When it came to things like this, she could be utterly, utterly unpredictable.
Would she hit him? Would she kiss him? Would she do one of those, then followed by the other? If not for the fact that it was difficult to do both at once, he'd have to weigh in the possibility of her doing precisely that. Maybe she'd kiss him while she kneed him in the....
No, she wouldn't do that to him. Probably not. He hoped.
Actually, Yuffie probably would, if he provoked her sufficiently. And while she had knowingly let him go, however reluctantly, almost ten months ago now, she had this way of nursing annoyance which ensured it would come back to haunt him later. And almost-ten-months was a considerable amount of time for something like that--especially for her.
This brought him back to the present: staring at the sliding door in front of him, beyond which he knew was his wife, Lady Wutai.
Well. Time to take this like a man inhabited by a few demons. He hooked the latch with his burnished metal claw and opened the door, and cleared his throat in the way that meant, "Honey, I'm home."
She never sat with her back to a door, something that she learned from her father at a very young age. This let him see the slight crease that marred her brow as she stared down at a stack of papers on her desk. Her hair had grown out a little, too; long enough to be in a braid that snaked down around her neck and rested on her collarbone. He saw her eyes flicker up to him, back down to the paper, widen slightly, and then rise up again, slowly.
"Vinnie?"
"Hello, Yuffie."
He was then forced to duck the paperweight that was pitched exactly at head height but succeeded only in making a crack in the wall behind him. This, however, left him completely vulnerable to the leaping tackle that sent him slamming into the ground in the hallway. Funny; he didn't think of her throwing something at him. Especially something other than one of her shuriken. Conformer would have really hurt.
"YOU GREAT BIG JERK! You could stand to do a little more than just send a short letter once a month, you know! And something like TELLING YOUR WIFE that you're coming back HOME would be appreciated too!"
"...I'm sorry, Yuffie, but mmmmmmmmmmmm. Mmm."
He decided to succumb quietly and just kiss her back for the time being. There would be time for words later, and this was a lot nicer than words.
"Leviathan, I missed you," she murmured against his chest after they finally broke apart for air. "And the twins...at least you made it back in time for their birthday."
"The reason I wanted to make it back tonight. Late as it was."
She drew herself up and punched him in the shoulder, hard. "How'd you get in without anyone knowing?"
"I was a Turk once. And I am married to the greatest lady ninja Wutai has ever known."
"Flattery isn't going to get you anywhere, buddy." Nevertheless, she seemed to accept the answer and sighed. "So. You know what happens now."
"Yes, I know. I owe you an explanation."
"No."
"No?"
There was a ripping sound.
"Yuffie, this was one of my better shirts."
More ripping, followed by a pop.
"The maids won't be happy about having to replace the button on my pants, Yuffie...."
A few more seams came apart.
"...but I suppose you've just decided...in your own words, 'screw 'em'."
"No, Vinnie, that's what I'm going to do to you right now, if you haven't already figured it out yet. Gawd, it's been TEN MONTHS."
He didn't argue much after that.
------------------------------------------------
Eventually, they found themselves in their bed. The bed that Vincent hadn't slept in for a long while. And judging by the glare that she was giving him, now that she'd recovered from the afterglow, he wouldn't be sleeping in it for a little while longer.
But she was still beautiful.
"Explanation now?"
"Explanation now. Where the hell did you go for ten months?"
He sighed. Were he any other man, he'd probably try to beg it off until morning. But it was already morning, if one counted 3am as the morning, and he knew that she wouldn't be put off. It had taken him a hell of a time convincing her to let him leave without explaining his intent, beyond a promise to keep in regular contact and return within a year no matter what--whether this quest succeeded or not.
"I've been...in New Midgar. And Nibelheim."
"Yes, I know that," she said, a bit acidly. "You had the grace to say as much in the letters. Now what were you doing there?"
He opened his mouth, frowned, and reconsidered. She said nothing at this point, but showed the patience she had learned as the ruler of a nation, something that hadn't come to her easily but had to come nevertheless. "I was...Yuffie, do you know how old I am?"
She didn't miss a beat, despite the apparent change in subject. "Seventy-two now, isn't it?"
"Yes. Twenty-seven when I was put in that coffin. Thirty years when you found me. And fifteen years since."
"Mmm. Ten of 'em married to me. If that hasn't aged you, then nothing will. Not that I'm arguing...not only do you not look a day over twenty-seven, honey," she said, a wicked grin rising to her face, as she reached down beneath the covers and did something that made him grunt quietly. "You don't act a day over it, either."
He coughed. Yes, utterly unpredictable. Something that made life that much more interesting. "I'm about four decades older than you, Yuffie. But...."
"But?" The grin had already disappeared from her face, and she looked at him somberly.
"You're physically older than me, now. By a couple of years."
She was silent, frowning again as she considered this.
When she frowned, it wasn't so much that a wrinkle in her brow appeared, so much as a very slight one which was there deepened visibly. And when she stopped smiling, the lines around her mouth didn't disappear, they just faded mostly. Mostly. And that's what he'd noticed nearly a year ago.
He didn't smile much, didn't frown much. He was Vincent Kisaragi, nee Valentine, and Vincent Valentine had never smiled or frowned much. But even if he did, he didn't wouldn't have such lines on his face.
"I'm aging but you're not."
"I lost someone a long time ago, Yuffie, and had to live with it. I don't want to have to do that again."
"Hojo's labs. His data. That's why you were in New Midgar, meeting up with Reeve, and in Nibelheim."
"Yes."
She looked uncertain, something that was unusual for her. As if she couldn't decide whether to embrace him or turn her back to him. He didn't care much for the latter, not so soon after coming back, so he leaned forward and made the decision for her and drew her close. "I'm sorry, Yuffie. I just couldn't tell you back then."
"Why not?" she asked, softly.
"Several reasons."
"Try me, Vinnie."
He sighed. "I didn't want to worry you. You would have wanted to come, but you needed to stay here. Wutai needs you, the twins need you. They could do without me for a year."
"There's no child that can do without a parent, even if it's just one year, Vinnie," she retorted, genuine anger rising in her voice. He winced, as she continued, "Trust me on that one. I know."
"What else could I have done, then?" he asked, quietly. "Wutai does need its Lady. And the children needed to stay." Unsaid was: And I needed to do this.
There was a brief silence. "Kenji is doing very well in school; the tutors are scrambling to draw up new lessons for him. Though Ayumi is better so far in martial arts."
"I know. Your letters tended to be longer than mine."
She thumped him again. "You noticed. I hoped you'd take the hint too."
"There wasn't much worth saying without giving away what it was I was looking for."
"So...what exactly were you looking for?"
He took a deep breath. "Well, there were two possibilities. One was to find the process that Hojo used to...change me. The other was a reversal of the process."
Yuffie nodded, bit her lip in thought. "You said a year, but you're back early. Which did you find?"
"I found both."
Another silence, longer this time.
"All right, Vinnie. We're going to get some sleep now, because while I promised Kenji he could sleep in tomorrow, it being his birthday and all, Ayumi is going to be up at the crack of dawn to harass me to teach her more techniques. And when she discovers you in here too, she's going to start harassing you for horsie rides. And then Kenji will be upset that he slept in the morning that his father suddenly reappeared. And then Gorki, Shake, Chekov, and Staniv are going to bellow at you in turns cuz it's 'not done' for the Lord Consort of Wutai to sneak back home unannounced. Godo too, whenever he finally climbs out of bed. And then we're having the birthday party. And then, after that, once we've put the twins to bed, we're going to talk some more."
"Yes, Yuffie."
"Vincent?"
"What is it?"
"I love you, even when you're being a dork and disappear for ten months without telling me why first."
"I love you too, Yuffie. Good night."
End Part 1.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Worried that I've bitten off a little more than I can chew. Not only is it my first dabbling with FF7 fic, it's been a long time since I've played the game too; hoping my characterizations are believable. Sure, it's fifteen years after the game, and these two have been married for a decade, but there's got to be a grounding in their characters as they appeared way back then. I'm a bit uneasy about this; please tell me if y'all who know them better and have written about them find anything off.
And if you find the plot in need of adjustment/unsatisfactory/plain stupid, tell me that as well. Plots are not my strong point. And heck, this ain't going to be all that much of a plot anyway.
I was also intending originally for this to be a single part, with the whole thing discussed and decided, but something as momentous as this isn't going to be taken care of in a single night. Of course, this means I'm going to have to show their two kids and a slice more of their married life (and life as rulers of Wutai), at which point I'm getting more worried. But we'll just have to see how it goes, eh?