Author's Note: This is a brief fic set between There Will Come a Day and the big sequel to it I've been talking about. This was the epilogue I was going to tack onto the end of TWCaD, but it just didn't fit at the time. So with that said, please enjoy this romantic, sappy Yuffentine!
November twentieth. To most people, it was just an ordinary day, another part of the cycle of wake-work-sleep that made up the monotony of their everyday lives. But to Vincent Valentine, November twentieth was one of the most important days of the year. It was the day he thanked every god who would listen for giving him a second chance at happiness and blessing him with the love of the White Rose of Wutai. Today was Yuffie's birthday, her twenty-second birthday to be exact. And today was the day he was going to make the most important decision of his life – if he could get the rest of his body to obey what his head told him to do, that is.
Currently he was standing in an alleyway just outside the apartment he and Yuffie shared, blending into the shadows in true Turk fashion as he struggled to calm his racing heart and revert back to some semblance of his usual cool, collected self. He reached into the pocket of his black uniform jacket, running his fingers over the small red velvet box for what must have been the hundredth time that day. It was still warm from being held close to his body, cradling the diamond ring inside between two pillows of silk and hiding its beautiful luster from prying eyes. His heart hammered in his chest as he went over the words in his mind once again. Coming up with them had been easy; saying them was going to be the part he could barely manage.
"You do realize that if you don't get there soon, she's going to be old and gray before you ask her?" Chaos asked from somewhere in Vincent's mind. The gunman sighed, running his fingers through his long black hair and pulling several strands out of the ponytail he had tied it into for work.
"I know, I know. I... I just need another minute."
"That's what you said thirty minutes ago. And are you going to remember how to breathe soon or do I need to get you a paper bag?"
"Shut up, Chaos. If you'll remember, I haven't had the best experiences with committed relationships. Forgive me for being a little nervous."
"Nervous would be a godsend compared to what you are right now. Do I need to possess you and ask her myself?"
"No, that won't be necessary," Vincent said with a sigh. "I just… what if she says no?"
"Stop worrying, Valentine, you'll be fine. She's head over heels for you, and there's no way she'll say no. So just take a deep breath, calm the hell down, and go get your girl."
Taking a deep breath like Chaos had instructed, Vincent rested his hand on his chest until he could feel his pulse slow to a more normal speed. Once he was sure he could manage to appear as calm as he usually was, he pulled himself up straighter and set off for Seventh Heaven. As he walked away from the apartment, he pulled out his phone and sent Tifa a quick text message:
~On my way. Should be there in ten minutes.~ A few moments later, he got her hastily-written response.
~You're gonna knock her off her feet. See you soon. ;)~
Vincent smiled slightly, slipped his phone back into his pocket and resumed making his way toward the party. He just hoped he could remember how to speak once he got there.
"Vinnie's late to the party again!" Yuffie said from her seat at the table as she swirled her martini around in its glass. "Is this gonna become some kind of tradition or something?" She turned around to face Tseng and Elena, who were seated at a nearby table with Reno and Rude. "He didn't say he was staying late tonight or anything, did he?"
"No," Tseng answered, appearing to be just as puzzled as Yuffie. "He left when the rest of us did and said he'd see us all here." Elena noticed the worried look on Yuffie's face and smiled reassuringly.
"I'm sure he'll be here, Yuffie. He really did seem excited to come – or, you know, what passes as excitement for Vincent. Just give him a little longer."
Yuffie was suddenly a little suspicious of how none of the Turks seemed to know where Vincent was. Didn't they all know where the others were at all times? Before she had a chance to ask them about it, though, the door opened and Cid and Shera entered the bar. Cid was carrying Rozalynne, who was bundled up like a miniature mummy against the November chill, and Shera was carrying a small wrapped present which she left on the table in favor of wrapping Yuffie up in a hug.
"Happy Birthday, Yuffie," Shera said affectionately, releasing the younger woman after she had returned the hug.
"Happy Birthday, Brat," Cid echoed as he sat down at the table and began freeing his daughter from her cottony prison.
"Thanks, you guys!" Yuffie said cheerfully, sitting down at the table with Cid and Shera and scooping Rozalynne up into her arms. "And there's my favorite little niece! How are you, sweetie?" Rozalynne, now six months old, giggled and smiled at Yuffie, reaching out to pull on a piece of her black hair that had fallen close enough to play with. Yuffie laughed and kissed her, bouncing her gently as she let the little blonde baby play with her oh-so-fascinating tresses.
Before long, Barret, Tifa, and Cloud joined them at the table, making small-talk and enjoying themselves while the birthday girl filled them in on everything she had been up to lately. Cloud and Tifa had already heard most of it, seeing as they owned the bar where Yuffie was employed, but they didn't mind hearing it again. Nanaki stretched out on the floor under the table, sighing in resignation when Barret decided to use him as a footrest. Cait Sith was curled up next to him, standing in for Reeve and Rufus, who had both unfortunately had business meetings that night and would be unable to attend the party.
As the group continued to chat, Tifa carefully watched the clock on the wall across the bar, waiting for ten minutes to pass. It was obvious Yuffie was worried – she was one of those people who couldn't hide an emotion even if she tried – but she still kept talking and laughing with everyone as if nothing was wrong. Tifa felt bad for knowing where Vincent was and not telling her, but if the gunman was finally trying to break out of his shell a little in an attempt to surprise her on her birthday, she wasn't going to ruin it for him. After another minute or two of hearing Yuffie talk about one of her least favorite regular customers – who Tifa also hated, incidentally – the barmaid pressed a button on the side of her phone to make it vibrate, then stood hurriedly from the table and flipped it open.
"It's our supplier," she whispered, cupping her hand over the speaker as if there was actually someone there. "I have to take this in the other room. Sorry, Yuffs, I'll just be a minute." Yuffie smiled and made a shooing gesture with her hand. Tifa smiled back and hurried into the kitchen area behind the bar, hurriedly slipping her phone back into her pocket once the door was closed behind her. After she had made sure no one was following her, she tapped three times on the window above the sink with her index finger. A few seconds later, she saw a brass-clawed finger reach up to tap three times on the other side of the window. That was the signal; time to do this.
As soon as Vincent's hand disappeared from view, Tifa opened the refrigerator and pulled out the cake she had baked at Vincent's request. It was a simple sheet cake iced with black; the design she had created was an intricate border of green made to look like the Lifestream, complete with several small round candies that looked like materia and white drops of icing standing out like stars against the black. And the two words in the middle, although they would confuse Yuffie at first, were so cute that Tifa had been unable to resist squashing Vincent in a quick hug when he had asked her to write them.
Covering the cake up and fighting to keep her face neutral, Tifa strode back out into the barroom, carrying the product of her hard work delicately in her arms. Everyone looked up when she set it in the center of the table, and all of them watched in anticipation as Tifa slowly began to lift the cover off of the cake.
"Wait!" Yuffie said, touching her hand before she could reveal her handiwork. "What about Vincent? Aren't we gonna wait for him?" Tifa smiled and shook her head.
"He just texted and gave me the go-ahead. He said he'll be here in a few minutes but he's already seen the cake." Yuffie rolled her eyes but smiled.
"Typical Vinnie. Well if there isn't any cake left when he gets here he doesn't get to complain." Tifa smiled and lifted the lid off the cake tray, finally getting a chance to show off her decorating skills. Yuffie immediately gasped in delight, but suddenly froze, confusion evident on her face.
"'Turn around?'" she asked quietly, reading the words on the cake aloud. She shrugged and did as it said, nearly falling over in shock when she saw Vincent standing just behind her, still clad in his Turks uniform with his hair pulled back into a somewhat messy ponytail.
"Hello, Yuffie…" he said softly, opening his arms and enveloping her in a gentle hug. She sighed happily and snuggled into his chest, giving him a quick kiss before pulling away to look at him again with her arms crossed.
"You're late, Mr. Valentine," she said sternly in her best Rufus ShinRa impression. Reno stifled a laugh behind his hand; she was actually pretty good at it.
"I apologize," Vincent said in that soft, rough voice she had fallen in love with so long ago. He smiled gently at her, taking her hand in his and brushing his lips against her fingers. Yuffie blushed a little, not sure what he was trying to do but liking it a lot. Then, when he slowly got down on one knee and produced a red velvet box from the pocket of his black jacket, she thought her heart was going to stop beating for a moment. Everyone else in the room fell silent immediately, too shocked to say a word.
"This… was the reason I was late, Yuffie," he said, looking up so his crimson eyes met her deep brown ones; his voice betrayed none of the fear that was causing his heart to beat so loudly he was afraid she would hear it. "I spent a long time thinking of what to say to you today… Yuffie, you are without a doubt the most wonderful woman in the world. You've given me more love and patience than I ever deserved, and I thank the gods every day that it was you who found me six years ago. You taught me how to love again when I thought I never would, and now I know I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Yuffie Kisaragi, will you marry me?"
Yuffie said absolutely nothing for a few seconds, although it seemed like an eternity to Vincent. Then, with an ear-splitting shriek of delight, she tackled Vincent in a hug, wrapping her arms and legs around his body as he stood up and held her.
"So I take it that's a yes?" Tifa asked, an amused smile on her face while she watched the two of them.
"Yes, yes, yes, a thousand times yes! Oh, Leviathan, Vinnie! I love you so much! Of course I'll marry you!" Vincent broke into a grin unlike any the others had ever seen from him before – not a smirk or an amused quirk of his lips, but a real grin of pure joy that reached to his eyes and showed off his perfectly white teeth. He hugged Yuffie tightly, pulling her close to him and shaking with emotion.
"You have no idea how happy I am to hear that."
Following Vincent's proposal, everyone was in extremely high spirits for the rest of the evening. The two of them were practically glued to each other's sides the entire time, and there was a lively shine in the gunman's eyes that no one but Yuffie had ever seen before. Cid had gotten a little teary-eyed during the proposal, although he immediately denied it. "Got some damn smoke in my eyes, that's all…" he said, to which Shera had rolled her eyes and pretended he hadn't said anything.
At some point, someone managed to snap a picture when Vincent ended up once again holding Rozalynne, who was still inexplicably almost as attached to him as she was to her own parents. The picture ended up being sent to Rufus ShinRa and Reeve, who refrained from making fun of him too much but who he was pretty sure would use it to blackmail him if he ever did something to make them angry.
By the time midnight rolled around, everyone was exhausted and most were drunk or very close to it. Vincent, having learned how he handled alcohol when he had gone out to a bar with Cid, stayed far away from everything but a single glass of wine. Before long, everyone had begun to depart, wishing Yuffie a happy birthday and congratulating both of them on their engagement. Once only Tifa and Cloud were left, Vincent decided it was probably time to head home. Taking Yuffie's hand and helping her up, he thanked Cloud and Tifa for their company and headed for the door of the bar. As they strode down the sidewalk toward the apartment – or rather Vincent walked and Yuffie stumbled and leaned heavily against him – Yuffie stepped out in front of him, pulling him into a hug and laying her head on his shoulder.
"So, you really think I'm the most wonderful woman in the world, Vince?"
"No, I know you are."
"Nice line, Valentine," Chaos added smugly. "Didn't I tell you it would work out?" Vincent ignored him, but a small smile ghosted over his lips as he held Yuffie close to him.
"Yeah?" she asked, rubbing her cheek against his like a cat might. "Well I think yooouu are the most wonderful man in existence. And you're allll miiiine." Vincent chuckled softly.
"Yes, I am," he said as they resumed walking to their home. "And I always will be, my White Rose."