I give myself to you

The twenty-one year old Wutain sat on the window sill, the side of her head pressed against the cold window. She listened to to the harsh pitter patter of the pelting rain against the glass. Her soft tired eyes were focused on the clouds of grey looming over all of the city. She sat in a room dimly lit by one lamp at the bedside table. The room was consisted of one bed, two bedside tables, a table off at the other end of the room, one chair at the table, the other beside the bed. Also included was a wardrobe beside two doors, one leading to the hall way, the other to the room's bathroom. 7th Heaven had expanded and allowed Yuffie and her companion on the bed to stay until they could return home.

Yuffie's companion tucked into the bed stirred from their sleep, sitting up to cough violently. Yuffie hurriedly left her post from the windowsill and rushed to the other's side, rubbing their back once the violent coughing fit had ended. Her ill friend tossed the white kleenex into a trash bin at the other side of the bed. The bin was almost full and it had only been half a day since it was emptied. Once the young woman was assured that her dear friend had recovered from such a horrible wake in their sleep, she sat on the chair, scooting closer to the bed. Yuffie took the cold hand in both of hers, desperately trying to bring warmth to it.

"Vincent, you're freezing." The much older man laying back down on the bed only looked at her from the corner of his eyes. The crimson eyes lacked luster, they were dull, as if they were fading and losing it's life. His voice was rough and deep, "I don't feel cold." With a sigh, Yuffie let go of the gunman's human hand and exited the room, coming back moments after with a tray in her hands. Placing it on the lamp stand, she took the tea kettle and poured a cup, then handed it over to a sick Vincent, after helping him sit up, of course. She held her hands over Vincent's one hand that was holding the cup, making sure he wouldn't spill it. She sat back down in her chair, silently watching as he sipped the hot beverage.

Shortly after, she stood up from the chair and went back to her favorite seat on the window sill, her eyes looking back out to the clouds. Vincent had gone back to sleep. The eerie silence was Yuffie's only company now-a-days. It wasn't always like this. After the whole ordeal with the WRO, Yuffie had convinced Vincent to let her live with him in that wretched mansion. In all honestly, Yuffie was relieved he let her. If he hadn't have taken her in, no one would have. She refused to go back to Wutai and everyone else was far too busy.

Vincent Valentine wouldn't admit it to anyone, but he often let Yuffie have her way. They would watch silly movies together, go on walks together, he would even help her bake things in the kitchen, which always resulted in huge fits of laughter from the ninja and flour all over him. Yuffie, for some reason, started to believe that her feelings would be returned one day.

However, Vincent started to fall ill. What thought to had been a small cold lasted longer than a week and when Vincent told her that he would take her to see Tifa and Cloud on her Birthday, she refused. Vincent turned out to be as stubborn as she was, if not more, and he had convinced her otherwise. So they made the journey to 7th Heaven, but Vincent's condition worsened. Their stay that was only supposed to last four days, turned into a month.

Her eyes glanced at the clock. It was an hour until Vincent would have to take his medication again. Yuffie decided to fetch the bottle from the bathroom cabinet before hand only to realize the bottle was empty. Stepping out of the bathroom, she bundled up, preparing herself to step out into the heavy rain outside. With her hand on the doorknob, Yuffie turned to look at Vincent in his bed. "I'll be back. We ran out of medicine." A small smile made it to her lips upon seeing a small nod before she turned the knob to exit the room.

In half an hour, she was back, soaked to the bone. She didn't mind, however. She was able to purchase the appropriate medication. She peeled off her coat and hung it above the bathtub in the bathroom. She sat at the table, sure that Vincent was sleeping. Somewhere on her way to the store, Yuffie decided she would write a letter to Vincent. She took out a pen and paper, and started writing her thoughts in feminine, slanted, and looping hand writing:

Hi.

I'm not sure where I'm going with this, but I thought I would just... write.

You know, sometimes, I think people see me as that sixteen year old brat that stole everyone's materia, even after five years. Five years, Vincent. Five years since METEOR, three since Sephiroth's return and the geostigma scare. Two since we met Shelke. One since you allowed me to stay with you. Thank you for that. Looking back, I'm sure you knew my feelings for you when were back trying to save the planet from Sephiroth the first time. I was a teen ager, a loud one, heck. I'm still loud. And I'm sure my feelings are just as noticeable. I don't even try to hide them anymore. For some reason, I thought maybe you felt the same, or at least were starting to.

But then I began to think, "Why would he?" About the time you caught the cold, I started to think I was just annoying you, and you only did those things so I could stop bothering you with other things. And in some twisted kind of way, I was thankful that you put up with me, not annoyed or mad. When you became sick, I decided I would help get you better, a way of showing how thankful I was. But it's been almost two months. My assumptions were right, by the way. I was such a fool to think you would begin to share my feelings. I'm sure you know that I've been by your side every time you sleep, just in case you wake up in coughing fit again and need help. But when you are actually sleeping, I do hear you whisper her name.

I want you to know, at first I was outraged. Why in the world does she have such a hold on you even after all these years. Ever since before I was born, even. I couldn't comprehend why a woman, who was dead, still had your heart. Why her? Why was it her name and not mine? I've been here by your side, never leaving it for anyone, while she turned on you, experimented on you.

After awhile, though, I understood. I put myself in your shoes. When you love a person, you become blind to all their faults, and in the rare cases you spot something wrong with the person, you deny it. You refuse to believe that they are bad for you. Everything that they are, you are not, so much so it could be considered dangerous. In some odd ways, I could relate.

Halfway through your illness, I came to the conclusion that your happiness was far more important than mine. Halfway through, I stopped myself from crying. Halfway through, I decided that I'd be strong for the both of us while you lay in bed, sick. So now, here I am. I'm not going to give up. You're going to get better, I'm sure of it.

Pa tzo ai, yi dane roh tzochi an tzu.
Yuffie Kisaragi.

"Well, that turned out longer than expected." Yuffie spoke in the first time in days. Her voice sounded as hoarse and Vincent's. Sniffling, she wiped her nose with the back of her sleeve and stood up, leaving the letter and medicine on the table. Washing her hands and letting the water run, Yuffie stared at her reflection in the mirror. Her appearance was the same, well, other than her hair that had grown to reach just below her chest. Turning off the running water, she grabbed a pair of scissors and began to cut her hair, the same length it had been when she first met everyone, including Vincent. No one saw her as any different anyhow. The brown locks of hair fell to the floor, and after she was sure she had the same look, she swept up and gathered her hair in the trash.

Back in Vincent's room, she prepared a glass of water and brought the medication to Vincent's lamp stand, disregarding the letter. He would wake in ten minutes to take his medication, he always did. So Yuffie left him in the room for her own sake, trudging herself down the stairs to sit herself at the bar where Tifa was currently polishing the table.

"How's he doing, kid?" Tifa placed the rag to the side and joined Yuffie on the other side of the bar. "About the same." A frown appeared on the older woman's lips, but it was soon replaced with an expression of shock as Yuffie's body fell to the side. She had fainted. "Cloud get your ass in here!"

Vincent's eyes slowly opened, it had been an hour since he had gone back to sleep and it was now time for his medication. He sat up, scanned the room, and was a little more than surprised to find that Yuffie was not by the window sill. He turned to his side, taking his medication followed by the glass of water to help wash away the horrible taste.

He continued to sit up, wondering where his little ninja companion had gone. She was always there with him. If not sitting in the uncomfortable looking chair beside the bed, over at the even more uncomfortable looking window sill, just staring out at the city. It was then he felt the sudden urge to go use the restroom. He would have to help himself up this time, and he was finally able to do so.

After his trip to the bathroom, he sat at the table, the Wutain still on his mind. He had seen a jacket of his drenched hanging above the tub. No doubt, Yuffie had used it when she came back with the medicine. He was starting to worry. Not only about where she was, but about her health. He wasn't awake as much now, but when he was, he did pay attention. Her eyes seemed tired and dull at the time, heavy bags under them as well. Her hair had grown quite a bit, but it made her look even smaller than she already did. It made her seem like she was losing a lot of weight. She also got a lot quieter too, but he reasoned it was because she didn't want to wake him up.

A smile crept onto his lips, reminiscing upon the last year with Yuffie. It had been fun, in complete truth. He, for some unknown reason even to himself, opened himself up. He engaged in activities with Yuffie that he found himself enjoying. He quite enjoyed her company. When her birthday came around, Vincent suggested a trip to see their favorite hero and his wife. He would make it happen, even if he was sick. He was sure that Yuffie would start to get bored; afterall, her only companion was a fifty something year old man.

Vincent Valentine may be missing his human arm, but he still had his eyes. He wasn't blind and he could see the young girl's feelings towards him. At first, he brushed them off, a silly puppy love. He had a few of those back in the day. He figured she would be over it soon, but he was wrong. Her feelings never faltered, in fact they only grew stronger, and in this year, he began to feel similarly towards her. An odd feeling, one he hadn't felt since his days with Lucrecia.

Recently, he had been having odd dreams about Lucrecia. It was always the same. It was the two of them, sitting down and having coffee. And the subject of their conversation was always Yuffie. Lucrecia would always accuse Yuffie, Vincent himself would always defend her. The last dream he had, was slightly different. It ended with Lucrecia smiling, and placing a hand over his. The odd thing was that he had both human arms to begin with, but the hand under Lucrecia's cold one turned back into the metal claw. Her final words before he woke were, "She isn't going to ruin you. Don't let her give up."

Vincent snapped out of his daze, looking down to read a letter in Yuffie's hand writing. The words on the paper stung. Is that what she believed? That she was a burden? And was that why she was taking care of him? Because she felt like she had to, like she owed him? Lucrecia was a person he had buried with his work a year ago. It took him more than twenty years, but he was able to accept that there would be nothing he could do to get Lucrecia back. Vincent understood fully well how an unrequited love felt, he had spent years upon years dwelling in it. It wasn't the kind of thing he'd want Yuffie to go through.

His eyes looked down at the words above Yuffie's signature. Pa tzo ai, yi dane roh tzochi an tzu. It was Wutain, he knew that much. It took him a couple minutes to brush up on his Wutai language, it had been forever since his days working as a turk. Slowly, he found his voice, speaking the translation out loud, "For my love, I give myself to you."

He found more energy now, screaming out into the building. "Tifa!" Seconds later, the owner of the establishment came bursting in the door, her head snapping from the bed to his spot at the table. "Wha- What is it? Are you okay? How'd you get over there?"

Vincent stood up, leaning his weight on the table. Tifa came to his side, helping him stand straight. "I walked. I needed to use the restroom." Tifa rolled her eyes, so literal with this man. "Let's get you back in bed, Vincent." His hand gripped at her shoulder. "No. Where's Yuffie?"

Vincent had learned that Yuffie had gone off in the rain to fetch his medicine and hadn't showered after. Not only that, but she was barely eating, a meal once a day with begging from both her, Cloud, and Denzel. She also wasn't sleeping, which would explain the bags under her eyes. And if she was asleep, she was half conscious.

In his head, the man made a mental note to never catch illness again. Tifa led him to her room where Yuffie lay on the bed. Tifa assisted him to sit on a chair beside the bed and left the two to privacy.

The tables had turned, it was Yuffie in the bed, Vincent bedside. He didn't like the idea, nor the feeling of having the woman he loved in bed, sick. Yes, loved. Love. He could admit it to himself. This must have been the way Yuffie felt watching him all those nights. His hand reached out for hers, soon finding that it was freezing. The Wutain's small hand easily fit in his larger hand. He gave it a gentle squeeze, to which she awoke. "Yuffie. You're freezing." The girl tilted her head over to look at him, a small smile on her lips. "I feel cold." A frown was put on his lips as Vincent moved to sit down on the edge of the bed beside her. "Yuffie. I thought you were supposed to be the strong one. Her eyes suddenly perked, the smile on her lips growing wider. "So you read it?" Vincent nodded.

He let go of her hand and went over to the other side of the bed, sitting up beside her on top of the blankets. "You're not a bother. You are not annoying. I genuinely enjoy spending my time with you, no matter what we're doing; however, I do prefer we weren't sick. So please get better." His crimson looked over to meet her brown. The light in Yuffie's eyes had returned. "I like your hair long, by the way. I just think that you should actually eat, too."

It was then that Vincent slipped under the covers after taking his boots off. His arms looped around Yuffie's fragile form and brought her to his body. "Pa tzo ai, yi dane roh tzochi an tzu," He heard her whisper. His arms tightened around her, resting his cheek on top of her head. Breathing in, he closed his eyes and exhaled softly, shaking his head, 'no', gently. "Don't give yourself up to me yet, Yuffie. I haven't bought the ring."

I own nothing.

I apologize for my mistakes. I apologize if it seemed rushed. I made that whole Pa tzo ai, yi dane roh tzochi an tzu thing up.

Please review.
LeLaine.