A/N: I wasn't ever planning to write anything like this. But then a plot jumped out and bit me. I had to write it, because it was gnawing on my brain O.o
The song that influenced this story is 500 Miles. It's fairly old, yet I love it so. Enjoy the chapter. There's probably going to be lots more. And please review.
Notes: Mildly AU.
--Chapter one: Hitchhikers--
'Trudged' is a very good word. It is used often for describing the way people walk when they are despondent or depressed, or just tired.
'Trudging' could describe very well the way Vincent and Yuffie were moving along the dirt road.
Cloud had called them the night before and told them that He, Tifa, Red and Cid had left because they had heard Sephiroth was nearby.
Vincent and Yuffie were trying to catch up, but they weren't doing to well. It had rained all yesterday, and they were now practically wading down the road.
One of Yuffie's shoes had been lost to the squelching mud, and Vincent swore he could hear his steel capped boots rusting.
Earlier that morning Yuffie had started sneezing, and the sneezing had then developed into a full-blown cold.
Cloud had failed to give them good tents, and their flimsy canvas shelters had been rendered useless in the storm last night, forcing them to continue walking through the howling gale.
All in all, they both felt miserable.
Suddenly Vincent was stopped by a small hand tugging on his cloak. "Vinnie! Hey, Vinnie!" He sighed and looked round wearily. "What is it Yuffie?"
She must have a good reason for stopping him, he knew she felt the same way as he did about this walk; head down and keep going until we reach an inn.
"I thought, cars come past here every now and then, right?"
Vincent nodded. She didn't need to ask. Every time they came past they sprayed muddy water onto the two companions and roared on up the road, leaving behind it an even moredepressed Vincent and an even morefurious Yuffie.This was the only real break from the heavy silence they got,along withYuffie's shrieks of outrage and bursts of obscenities and the cars.
"Well, we're gonna hitchhike to the next inn!" She declared, hopefully.
Vincent stared at her. "Yuffie, that wouldn't work."
A small frown of annoyance passed over her face. "How do you know? Have you tried? Why are you always so negative? And you know what? I'm…"
On cue, the sound of an engine reached their ears. Vincent held his arm out, thumb out in classic hitchhiker style. He watched as the driver's eyes widened at the sight of his golden metal claw and sped up a little bit.
Yuffie scowled at him. "That's cheating! You didn't have to use that hand!"
"Nevertheless, no one in their right mind would pick up one such as me."
"Vinnie! You're so depressing! Come on, let me try next time a car comes past!"
Vincent shrugged. "As you wish."
A few hundred meters down the road, they stopped again. "I hear a car." Vincent told Yuffie.
"Right! Action stations! Prepare to commence with plan B!"
"Yuffie…"
"Yeah?"
"What is plan B?"
She deflated a little. "I dunno. I was gonna make it up later."
"The car is coming now, Yuffie."
"Ok, ok! I'm thinking, I'm thinking!" She screwed her face up into a mock-expression of concentration. "Ok, I've got it! Vinnie, go disappear in the trees for a few seconds!" She pushed Vincent towards the trees then ran back to the side of the road.
As the car turned round a bend in the road, she jumped up and down and waved.
Vincent watched from the bush as the car slowed down and pulled up just a bit in front of the grinning teenager. The window rolled down, revealing a plump man with a huge gray beard. "Hey little miss, you lost?"
Yuffie nodded. "Yeah! Could you please give my friend and me a lift to wherever? I can pay you."
"Sure, hop in. Where's you friend?"
"Oh, she's over in the bush, it was raining a few seconds ago, see. Vinnie, you can come out!" She turned and waved, to meet Vincent's scowl. She grinned impishly.
He sighed and stepped out into view of the driver and waved with his clawed hand. The driver's eyes widened at the sight of him, just as the previous one's had.
Yuffie turned back to say something, but she was greeted with the sight of a car pulling away and tearing down the road. "Bastard!" she screamed after it. Vincent wasn't sure if she was yelling at the driver for leaving or at him for waving.
"She?" Vincent asked.
A heavy silence fell over the two.
Yuffie eventually said, "…Sorry. People are happier to pick up girls than guys. And you do kinda look like a very tall, creepy girl… Admit it."
The heavy silence didn't disappear.
"Sorry."
Vincent said nothing and continued down the road, not bothering to make sure that Yuffie was following.
"Come on Vinnie! I said I was sorry! I'll think of something else!" She hurried after him, running to keep up with his long strides.
"Yuffie, give up."
"Aww, Vinnie! You're not going to sulk for ages at me are you?"
"…"
"Aww…"
"Yuffie, neither your idea or mine worked. Face it, we're going to have to walk to the next village."
"You give up too easily Vinnie."
Vincent stopped, and Yuffie continued walking, pretending not to notice.
Eventually Vincent started walking again.
Over the next hour, two cars went passed, but Yuffie didn't try to get them to stop. She trudged on trough the mud, and was strangely silent. Vincent began to wonder if he had upset her, which would be rather unfair of her, since he was the one she insulted.
Just before he caved and asked what was wrong, she said, "Vinnie, I bet that if you took that awful cape off, you wouldn't look so scary."
"No."
"Why not?"
"..."
"Vinnie?"
"Don't call me that."
Grinning evilly, Yuffie slowed down to walk beside him. "I'll tell you what, I'll stop calling you Vinnie if you take that cape off. I dunno about you, but I think that if you looked less scary, someone would pick us up, and then we could get to the inn. Think about it, Vinnie, proper food! Warmth! No rain!"
Food, he could do without. The cold? Didn't bother him. But the incessant rain. Driving, pounding rain. It was driving him mad.
He sighed and started unbuckling his heavy cloak. "Yuffie, even without my cloak, there is still my arm to think about."
"Don't you have a giant glove or something? I would have thought of that ages ago!"
"A glove…?"
"Yeah. That could fit over your arm."
"…"
"Fine, just wrap your cloak around your arm. We can pretend you hurt yourself."
"Fine."
Now that Vincent wasn't wearing the heavy red cloak anymore, he looked only mildly less creepy.
Yuffie scowled at him. "You suck."
"What?"
Her eyes narrowed.
Vincent got a foreboding feeling.
Suddenly Yuffie looked a whole lot more scary than she had before. "Vinnie, your hair needs some serious work! How do you manage it! Even Tifa spends ages getting her hair looking good, but you don't even own a brush! Not to mention it looks exactly like you just spent thirty years in a coffin!"
"Yuffie, what are you gonna do?"
She was advancing on him with a kunai.
"Yuffie?"
He backed away, putting his hands up.
"Time for a hair cut, Vinnie!" The young ninja shouted…
oOo
A/N: Gods, I have no idea what happened here. It was supposed to be a miserable piece in which Vincent isdepressed and Yuffie is annoying... It got out of hand though, and now Vinnie's in for a haircut. I apologize, I really do. Sorry. Please forgive my randomness. Oh yeah, and please review : )