"Hey Vinnie!" A buoyantly cheerful voice yelled, leaping over the back of the couch to land next to him. That Yuffie Kisaragi just happened to be the owner of the voice was immaterial. She grinned impishly at him. "Guess what? Tifa and Spike-Head are coming to visit tomorrow!"

It must be eight. That's when she usually comes leaping over the couch to disturb my reading. A swift glance at the clock told him he was right. He closed his book with a sigh. "Yuffie," He said, as he did everyday, "don't jump over the couch." As usual, she ignored him, chattering on about Tifa, and Cloud, and Aeris, their newborn little girl. As usual, he listened patiently.

Then, as usual, he stopped listening, and just watched her.

Two months ago she had descended on him in Nibelhiem, proclaiming that he was lonely, and she was going to make sure he wasn't. He wasn't fooled. There had been dark circles under her eyes, and even darker bruises on her arms and face. He hadn't asked her what happened, just like she never asked him about what he was doing in Nibelhiem in the first place.

The bruises were gone now. He'd watched her talking the first time she did it. She had smiled, even then, but it hadn't reached her eyes. It was then he knew that she was stronger than the others assumed. It took a great deal of mental strength to smile when you weren't happy. Now, at last, the sparkle of good humor had returned to her eyes.

That was the way it should be. Yuffie should always be happy. She should always smile. She should alway be loud and obnoxious. She should always chatter at him about things he didn't care about when he would rather be reading. She had done it all during the Sephiroth affair, and she certainly seemed inclined to keep doing it now.

"So I said to the idiot..." She continued, unaware he was watching her. She was looking at the fire, poking it with a stick. Every now and again sparks would rise up out of it and singe the hearth. Then she dropped the stick, standing up and waving her arms to demonstrate something she was saying. Half a second later she was sitting back down, cross legged this time, gesturing wildly. He smiled. She was talking with her hands again.

He was glad she was here, though he never would have admitted it to her. Before she came he had been on the verge of hiding in his coffin for another thirty years. He just couldn't seem to cope with modern society. So much had changed. But here she was, dragging him to places besides Nibelhiem at least once a week, telling him he'd never get married if he didn't meet pretty girls.

He didn't understand why she wanted him to get married. But he didn't understand why she did a lot of things. He didn't understand why she talked to him every night at eight o'clock exactly, even though he never said anything back. He didn't understand why she talked to the people who weren't people in the village. He didn't understand why she was running around the Mansion everyday with a feather duster, cleaning everything.

He didn't understand why she was so incredibly... free.

"Are you listening Vinnie?" She asked, as she did everyday at one point or another. "No, you're not, you've got that vacant look again..." She sighed, then snapped her fingers. "I know! Hey, Vinnie! Look! I've got boobs!" She pulled at her shirt so that her breasts were more noticeable. He didn't say anything, or even look at them. She sighed, looked away, and pouted. "Drat, that always works with Barret or Cid..." He smiled. She saw the expression, and smirked.

"Ha! I got Vinnie to ogle me!" She proclaimed, standing up and pointing at him triumphantly.

He shook his head. "No, you did not."

"Yeah you did!" She insisted. "What else would you be grinning about, huh?" She struck what was probably supposed to be a seductively pose. It only made her look silly. "I know I've got a nice body. It's not your fault if you like to look."

He shook his head again. "I did not ogle you, Yuffie."

She pouted and dropped the pose. "You didn't?"

"No."

"Humph!" She crossed her arms and turned away from him. "Well, fine! No girl will ever marry you at this rate, you know!" She stalked towards the door.

Just before she left he said, "Yuffie."

She paused, looking back at him. "Yeah, Vinnie?"

"The only girl I would ever marry already lives here." He told her flatly. She frowned. While she puzzled that out he picked up his book and left the room, intent on going to sleep.

Halfway to his room he hear her yell, "Wait a-!!! That's me!!!" He smiled.

Maybe tomorrow could be more than, as usual.