Looking

by Reaching for Stars

I think there's swearing and innuendo. That's why it's T . Yuffentine.

Disclaimer: I own nothing. That is, besides the storyline. Anyways, this will have game characters, but the games won't really matter in the fic. It might not always be correct.
Aerith will be spelled however I type it, assuming I use it, which is Aerith. Don't bug me about it. Vincent's eyes are orange-red. Don't kill me. Okay? Also, I use Canadian spelling. AKA, "Colour" versus "Color".
If you've got a problem, I think you're too picky.
Flames will be used to roast marshmallows. Yum.
I'm plannign to edit this thing; I just have no idea where to start. It kind of started out as a group fic about christmas and love and then just turned into the typical Yuffentine. So, I just figured I'd post it for now and edit it probably several years later.

Tifa was stressed. Seriously stressed.
Not oh-lord-dinner's-burning-and-my-boss-is-visiting-in-5-minutes kind of stressed. More like oh-holy-God-the-dinner's-burning-and-my-boss-is-coming-to-visit-in-sixty-seconds, plus-my-cat-is-eating-my-mistletoe-which-is-poisonous, oh-sweet-Jesus-the-house-is-now-on-fire kind of stressed.
And it was all Cloud's fault.
She'd sent him out on his motorcycle for groceries five hours ago, and her friends were coming to visit in one hour. They were, of course, expecting dinner to be ready and hot when they arrived.
Turkey a la Tifa take two hours to cook. Do the math.
Added to that, Marlene has just tripped down the stairs and twisted her ankle. The spacious bar's good acoustics were now severly nerve-wracking, as she was bawling at the top of her lungs.
Added to that, Denzel had somehow broken all the balls on the christmas tree, and the advent candles had fallen over and the piano was on fire and, oh God, all her elementary school classmates were here and she was singing opera, and where were her CLOTHES-

Tifa woke up from the horrendous dream, panting. "Oh, thank God. Just a nightmare." She breathed, and beside her a certain spiky-haired swordsman stirred.
She glanced over, expression softening into one of pure affection. She hoped that she hadn't woken Cloud, snuggling back under the covers, closer to him.
She had woken him up. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her even closer. "What's wrong?" He mumbled sleepily, straight into her ear. It tickled.
"I had a dream that you were late getting the groceries." She started, and he laughed quietly.
"Aren't we dramatic? It's just groceries." He replied, giving her a gentle squeeze.
"Well, yes, but Marlene also twisted her ankle and Denzel broke the glass ornaments. Then the candles fell over and set the paino on fire, and all our friends were coming. And at the end I was opera singing naked in front of all our elementary school friends..."
He laughed, genuinely amused, then smirked. "I wouldn't have minded seeing the naked opera singing."
Tifa giggled, turning and play-slapping his strong shoulder. "Shush. Do you have any idea what time it is?"
"Two o'clock in the morning. Two fifteen, actually." He told her, squinting at the alarm clock.
"We should go back to sleep."
"Yeah... big day tomorrow."
They went to sleep.

Meanwhile, in Wutai, a certain Greatest Ninja Ever was also awake. Although, because of time zones, it was six fifteen am. She was meditating in her pagoda. Sort of.
Okay, actually, she was leaning over precariously, trying to reach the back of Lord Ghia's robes, a wriggling koi in one hand.
Heh. Heh.
Heheh.
"AAAAAAAAAAH!"
Her sneaky efforts were rewarded by a totally unpeaceful scream of horror from the lord, as the fish flopped wildly against the man's back. A wet slapping sound was coming from the robes, making Yuffie nearly collapse into giggles.
"Merry Christmas, jerkface." She hissed, grinning wildly as she took off into the dawn.

_------------------------------------------------------------------------_

One hour and forty-five minutes later, (eight o'clock in Wutai, four AM in Midgar, and one AM at mt. Nibel), Vincent was still sleeping. He'd set his alarm for one o'clock that afternoon. He had to be at Tifa's at three o'clock (Six PM in Midgar, ten PM in Wutai), so that meant he had half an hour to make himself some belated breakfast, shower, and pull on some slacks and a shirt before flying over on a hoverboard.
However, this is Vincent. The poor bastard had fallen in love with (of all people) a work-obsessed biatch with a psychotic nerd for a husband; gotten shot, mauled, and experimented on by said huband; had demons implanted into his head by said obsessive biatch; been rescued by a hyperactive sugar-high ninja and a chain-smoking spear-wielding ignoramus who thought he could fly planes led by a swordsman who didn't have enough common sense to realize that he used way too much hair gel, only to get dragged into a messy adventure involving the crazy, bitchy son of the crazy and bitchy scientists as well as a maniacally evil alien.
Let's just say that he didn't have the best of luck when it came to things going as he'd planned them.
"VIN-EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! WAKE UP WAKE UP WAKE UP WAKE UP WAKE UP!"
He stirred, opening one bleary fire-coloured eye. The sight that awaited him would normally be pleasant- not that he'd ever admit he very much enjoyed the company of the aforementioned hyperactive, sugar-high ninja-, but at the moment he was enjoying his sleep-in saturday, thank you VERY much.
"Vinny!" She poked him in the abs, then withdrew her hand. "Ouch! Fuck, man, you work out too much! I nearly broke my FINGER. Jerk," She muttered, as though it was his fault that she was an irrational drama queen.
"Drama queen." He mumbled, shutting his eye.
"Hey!" She exclaimed, indignant.
"Mmh." He grunted.
"Vinny!" She cried, rather loudly. He twitched. He did sometimes think of her screaming his name. Not that he'd admit that to anyone.
"Vince?" She asked, incredulously. "What was that, some kind of full-body spasm?"
He grunted again, rolling over to face the wall.
"HEY. Look, Twitchy, you are getting out of bed...or-... or..."
He grinned, rolling onto his back playfully. His eyebrow raised slightly, as if to inquire exactly what she was going to do.
"Or I'll- I'll... I'll COME IN THERE SO HELP ME!" She yelled, stomping her foot several times. His smile grew wider.
"That's supposed to be a threat?" He asked, knowing full well he was straying into dangerous, slightly-too-friendly-if-you-know-what-I-mean territory with that question.
"Yes! Yes it is!" Yuffie exclaimed. She was a very exclamatory person, he'd noticed.
"Ah. I see. So, what will you do when you come into my bed?"
Yuffie gulped. Now, see, the way he said it, it sounded different. Like, dirtier.
"Ahhhh...Umm... I'd...drag you out of bed?"
"I'd like to see you try," Vincent challenged, feeling adventurous. Come to think of it, he'd been a lot more fun around her lately. She frowned. Yuffie Kisaragi could never turn down a dare.
She jumped on top of him, shaking him by the shoulders.
"Get up!" She ordered, but he just laughed.
"I can't if you're on top of me." He replied, being a smart-aleck just for shits and giggles.
She grumbled, rolling off of him.
"Didn't know you had such a dominant side." Vincent remarked, just loud enough for her to hear. She stared.
"Wh- what?"
"Nothing." Vincent replied, smirking. "Nothing at all."

He's going for the innuendo, is he? Yuffie slowly smirked back, eyes glittering with the prospect of naughty, naughty fun. Well, I'll just have to beat him at his own game.
Licking her lips, she winked.
"Oh, well, if you're sure. You're the genius, right?" She said innocently, slipping swiftly under the heavy covers.
He eyed her suspiciously.
"Yeah, you're really smart, Vince. You've got a huge-...brain." She smiled, edging closer. His eyes were slightly wider, she noticed (unlike the others, she was quickly becoming an expert at reading Vincent's microexpressions). Then he smiled.
"Thank you, Yuffie. I'm glad you noticed. Maybe someday I'll show you exactly what it does."
"Oh, that would be nice. But I already know what it does," She replied. "I just don't know if it's any good."
"Oh, it is," Vincent told her, a devilish smirk still spread across his face. "Would you like a...demonstration of some sort?"
"I can think of a few tests, " Yuffie agreed. Turning over onto her side, she moved ever closer, then slid on top of the gunslinger. Wrapping her arms around his neck and shoulders, she moved her face closer to his, until their noses were almost touching.
He stared at her, the smirk fading until he was completely expressionless. "Yuffie."
"Vincent." She said, looking him in the eyes.
"You can't do this." He said, with the voice of a man who has just realized he's gone a tad too far.
"I can." She argued. "Damnit, Vincent. What's the problem now?"
"You're a future empress. I'm a-"
"If you say monster," Yuffie growled fiercely, "I'm going to punch you."
"Yuffie, I'm not even human." He told her, exasperated.
"You ARE! Look at you! You look like a human! You feel like a human! Vincent, you laugh and cry just like the rest of us!" She cried, half pushing herself up into something similar to the Cobra position. He looked away.
"I will never be the person that your people will accept as an emperor."
"So? They're never been particularly accepting of me either!"
"Yes, but you're Wutain, young, human. You've never been a turk. You have no demons in your head."
"Vincent-" He cut her off, a look of desperation on his face.
"Yuffie, I am a monster. Your father and your people will never accept a beast on a throne as their ruler."
"Well, maybe even monsters are entitled to some kind of happiness, Vincent!" She screamed, pushing away. With a thump, she landed on the floor, taking his blanket with her. He sat up.
"Yuffie, are you-"
"Oh, why do you care?" She cried, sniffing. She pulled the covers off, tossing them lamely onto the bed and fleeing, running into another dawn- although this one was considerably darker.
Vincent stared after her, feeling his heart rip exponentially every time she took another step away.

_---------------------------------------------------------_

It was six o'clock in Midgar.
None of the nightmare's contents had realized themselves so far. Tifa had prepared everything meticulously; the tree sparkled and glittered in a corner, filling the room with the scent of pine; the room was warm from the fireplace; the tabletops and walls were decorated with cloths and tinsel and candles; mistletoe trailed down from sparkling, slightly dimmed lights. The aroma of turkey, potatoes, and other delicious foodstuffs wafted from the kitchen, strong enough to make Vincent's mouth water even from the doorstep. He was exactly on time- "punctual as always", Nanaki said quietly, a friendly smile on the feline's face. Vincent returned a half-hearted grimace.
"Are you alright?" Nanaki asked, concerned.
"Physically, yes." Vincent muttered, averting his eyes.
"You seem a little down." Nanaki replied, trying to make eye contact. Vincent had guessed he would.
"Very observant. As always." Vincent remarked.
"Vincent." Vincent flinched absentmindedly, reminded suddenly of the earlier conversation.
"I-" The man wasn interrupted, however, by a beaming, well-dressed (a deep red dress of mostly modest cut, actually) Tifa Lockheart, who had noticed the two companions on her doorstep at last.
"I'm sorry for making you two wait! Dinner is ready, but I think it'd be nice to wait a bit for the others before eating." She told them, stepping aside so they could enter. Once they did, she stooped to hug Red.
"I missed you! You both need to visit more." She scolded them, moving to hug Vincent as well. He accepted the hug unenthusiastically, one arm slowly moving to return the friendly gesture.
"I'll try harder." Vincent assured her quietly. She pulled back, looking into his eyes. A small frown flitted across her face for a brief moment, then she smiled.
"Well, I'm glad you're here now. Do you know if Yuffie will be here soon?"
Vincent glanced at her warily, eyebrows raised.
"No idea," He replied, truthfully.
"Alright. I was just wondering." She said innocently. She was lying.
At that precise moment, a drop-dead-gorgeous ninja bounced into the room.
Unlike Tifa, Yuffie was not clad in a mostly-modest fashion. No; her dress stopped just three quarters up her thigh. In fact, the only part of her that was completely covered was her midriff; her back was very exposed, not to mention the fact that at least one quarter of her cleavage was bare. Her dress was a peach colour that made her look paler; the strands of obsidian-coloured hair that brushed against her collarbone seemed blacker than ever- she'd grown her hair out, Vincent noticed, belatedly. Her eyes were lined with slightly smudged kohl, creating a smoky allure. She smelled like cherry blossoms and white chocolate. How had she known that was his favourite?
"Yuffie!" Tifa cried, voice rising to a joyful squeak. "Look at you," She added, raising a playful eyebrow and hugging the long-legged girl. "All grown up."
Vincent remained silent, watching the two. He knew she'd done this on purpose. Probably a mix of let's-get-back-at-him and I-need-to-feel-better.
Yuffie beamed. "Hey guys. How are you?"
"Fine, you?" Nanaki replied politely, although he was looking at Vincent.
Just then, Reno arrived.
"Hey, mofos, what's up?" He cried, laughing. He'd seemed happier lately; no one knew why.
"Reno! No swearing," Tifa warned, although she was smiling.
"Aw, come on, Marly and Denz don't even know what mofo means." He said, grinning. Rude appeared at his ride. He looked different, but none of the room's occupants could say exactly why.
"Yeah, but their teacher will know if they say it," Yuffie shot back, then paused. "Hey, Rude, where'd your sunglasses go?"
"It's winter." He informed her, and she grinned.
"Didn't stop ya last year, turkey."
"He got contact lenses." Vincent guessed.
Reno stared at him, obviously taken by surprise. "How'd ya know?"
"The only logical reason he would wear sunglasses in winter would be eyesight problems. Wearing perscription sunglasses would take care of his vision while keeping his weakness secret." Vincent explained.
"Huh. Always knew you were a smart fu-"
"Reno!" Tifa exclaimed.
"Funny guy. I was gonna say funny guy." Reno retorted, lamely.
"I'm sure you were," Cloud said, entering from a side door.
"Okay. Someone explain," Yuffie said suddenyly, "Why me and Tifa are all dressed up, and you males just come wearing whatever the hell you usually wear?"
"Except me." Vincent reminded her. She glanced at him, then shrugged.
"You know what I look like already." Cloud stated.
"Genius!" Yuffie exclaimed, rolling her eyes.
"No, I mean why try to impress?" He added.
"You know what I look like," Tifa told him, crossing her arms.
"Very much so," Cloud agreed, eyes twinkling slightly.
"Oh, ew." Yuffie muttered, looking sour.

The banter and conversation continued as the other guests arrived, still nothing officially declared about Vincent's emotional condition or Yuffie's spontaneous decision to dress like a prostitute. Eventually, everyone was there, so the guests sat down to a lovingly prepared meal.
"Mm, god, Tifa," Yuffie exclaimed, through a mouthful of mashed potatoes.
"Don't go imitating Spike," Cid joked, guffawing.
"Ew! Cid!" Yuffie spat out her food, flicking a pea at the pilot. "Perv much?"
"Look who's talking," Cloud reminded her, smiling slightly.
Vincent smirked.
"Oh, like you're pure as snowflakes, Chocoboy," Yuffie retorted. "And what are you smirking at?"
Vincent shook his head, eyes closed in an expression of silent amusement.
"I love how you're always so precise," Yuffie muttered.
"Maybe I have tact," Vincent suggested.
"Tact is for people who aren't brave enough to tell the truth and take risks." Yuffie shot back.
"Sometimes you can't take risks." Vincent replied, eyes moving up to look into hers.
"You can always take a risk. That is, if you think the person is worth it." Yuffie said, clearly angry.
"Sometimes they're woth it, yes, but it's not what's best for them." Vincent told her, trying to keep his cool.
"Maybe they don't want what's best for them," Yuffie said lowly, voice turning dangerous.
"Maybe that doesn't matter because the other person knows better." Vincent informed her, wondering vaguely if what he was saying even made sense anymore. The other guests stared, mutely wondering what the hell was going on.
"Fuck, Vincent, maybe you don't know better? How do you know, anyways? Maybe this isn't best for me! Maybe I want you more that I want to follow the rules! Life- Life isn't meant to be endured, it's supposed to be enjoyed! But you know what? If you don't realize that every day I spend without you is torture, pointless, empty- and if you don't feel the same way- then maybe I should just stop seeing you. I'm leaving.
Tifa," She turned to the hostess, expression surprisingly apologetic (but still tinged with fury), "I'm sorry to cause a scene and leave early. The party would've been amazing," She continued, "If I had been able to enjoy it. Goodbye." With that, she rose, face blank, chin in the air, and walked out of the room. She looked composed, elegant even, as she walked out. But she wasn't Yuffie.
Vincent paused for a moment, then rose.
"Just a moment," He promised, and ran after her.
The room stood still for a moment, the others staring at each other blankly. Then Reno spoke up.
"Well," He asked, "Anyone want dessert?"

I hate him, Yuffie thought. I hate him. I really hate him. Then she sighed, giving up. I can't even convince myself.
She walked to the edge of the rooftop, then sat down.
I need to talk to Godo. I can't live with anyone else. I just can't marry a prince or a baron. I would...I would die.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Dad."
"Yuffie, I'm pleased to hear you."
Some people thought that Godo's unnecessarily polite vocabulary during his conversations with Yuffie meant the two weren't very close, but that was false. It was simply that english was his second language, and he had never had a reason to learn the slang.
"I need to talk to you about marriage."
"What is it? We've already agreed that you can wait a few years."
"No, Dad, it's not about that. Dad... I'm in love."
A deep breath came from the other line. "With whom?"
"Vincent Valentine."
There was silence, then a chuckle. "Yuffie Valentine doesn't have a very good ring to it."
She smiled. "Nah, but Vincent Kisaragi doesn't sound half bad."
He sighed. "I always knew we'd have this talk. Ever since you starting growing up."
"Because I'm like mom?"
"Yes, that too. But I'll have you know... your mother wasn't born royal."
Yuffie's eyes widened. "What? You married-"
"A commoner, yes."
Yuffie blinked. "How?"
"I gave her a title. Then I married her."
Yuffie grinned. "I knew you wouldn't directly break a rule."
Godo laughed. "I prefer to keep everyone happy by cheating a little."
"Any idea how I could do that?"
"Actually...yes. I could award AVALANCHE with titles, since they have saved the planet..."
"But Vincent's not Wutain."
"No, but the people will have to agree that skipping one generation of inbreeding would probably do our line good."
"But wouldn't the people have to decide, in the end, whether they'll accept him?"
"Yes. But you can try to convince them."
"I'm really surprised you didn't have any objection to this, you know."
"Why would I refuse my daughter happiness? A happy ruler serves their people well. A miserable ruler becomes a disinterested tyrant. Moving on, dear one, I regret that I must go."
"Okay, Dad. I love you."
"Same to you, dear one."

Yuffie stared up at the sky, a clear, dark, star-filled sky. She was cold, shivering even, but she didn't mind enough to want to go inside. Behind her, she could hear quiet footsteps.
"Yuffie?" Vincent asked, almost inaudibly.
"That's my name. Don't wear it out." She replied, not taking her eyes off of the stars.
"... I'm sorry." He apologized, before sitting down behind her.
"You'd better be." She mumbled. He leaned forward, running a hand through her silky hair. Pausing, he removed is coat, gently throwing it over her. She lay down, moving over slightly.
"Come lie next to me." She said, and he obeyed. "Look at the stars. Really look."
"I'm looking," He told her.
"Those stars could be there, or they could have died ages ago and we're just getting the light now."
"Yes, I knew that."
"But it doesn't matter, because they're beautiful, and we can appreciate that light while it's here."
"Right."
"Even if the light goes away right this second, we enjoyed it while it lasted, right?"
"Yes."
"And...by looking at it, we can set ourselves up for stuff. We can be happy that the light is there, or maybe, while we're watching, that star will fade away. And maybe we'll remember seeing that, the death of a star, for the rest of our lives. But maybe, the star won't die. Maybe we'll keep looking and looking and looking, and we'll remember a night of beautiful stars, and nothing bad will happen... do you want to keep looking, Vincent? Or ar you afraid the stars will die?"
He looked at her, really looked at her. He appreciated that look. And by looking, he set himself up for bad things, but he also set himself up for a memory filled with beauty.
"I want to keep looking," he said, and that night they watched each other.