Surprisingly enough, it kept him sane, it kept him balanced - he would never show it. Not to her, not now, maybe not ever - she is and always will be too young. He had existed for nearly thrice her lifetime after all, and it would not be proper. Just because a demon raged war inside him, did not mean that he had to give in to every sin both he and the demon craved.
"Vinnie?" Stormy grey eyes peered at him curiously from across the campfire, searching as always for the man behind the monster. "You've been pretty quiet... well; I mean you're usually pretty quiet aren't you? However, this time it is not the usual 'I'm all dark and depressing and foreboding' type of quiet. It's more like the 'disturb my thought process and I will shoot you right between the eyes, you annoying child' type of... oops, sorry Vinnie."
His train of concentration broken by the young ninja, Vincent awoke once more to his surroundings and wondered how long he had been staring into the vast nothingness. He let the corner of his mouth twist upwards ever so slightly to let her know he was not going to shoot her, before raising himself off the uncomfortable log he had been resting on and slowly walking past her to lean against the old birch where they had made their camp.
Yuffie, severely hating it when she was left in silence for too long, reached out and yanked on his flowing, blood red cape. "Well, what have you been finding SO entertaining? More importantly, why is it more entertaining than me? Come on, look at me! I am adorable, perky, talkative and rather good looking if I do say so myself. And yet once again, you sit their like a lump-on-a-log like I'm not even here...what, do I smell or something?"
"I was watching the flames, I find them fascinating. That's all." Vincent pulled his cape gently out of the girl's hands and leaned casually against the birch, staring in the direction of the fire, once more sinking into his trace-like state.
Yes, extremely fascinating. The dancing flames trying desperately to catch the attention of the night, but as always, to no avail. Vincent's garnet eyes flickered to the young woman he had dared to befriend, against his better judgment... all he loved crumbled into oblivion because of him, and he did not want that to happen, not to her. He watched as she sighed, defeated, but not for long. She was the great ninja Yuffie Kisaragi and she refused to let him win these conversational wars. It was only a matter of time before she would be back, and like the fire, tried desperately to catch his attention.
Nearly an hour had passed before Yuffie gathered the courage to try again, and this time she was determined not to fail. Knowing that her dear friend had numbed his senses in order to regain control of his thoughts, she silently snuck up beside him. Yuffie waited, and watched Vinnie's eyes for any movement, any acknowledgment, and of course nothing. Pure nothing, nothing BUT nothing... he made her feel that way quite often these days. The girl shook her head violently to get those thoughts far from her mind, they would interfere with her mission, and that was unacceptable. She glanced back at his fiery eyes to find ... nothing. Big surprise.
Yuffie wrapped her delicate arms around his waist, buried her head into his chest, and waited for some form of reaction. She did not need to wait long, but she could have waited up against him all night.
"I've been ignoring you... I'm sorry, Yuffie." Vincent whispered, watching the way the firelight made her hair seem soft and inviting. He quickly pushed those thoughts away; he could not tolerate any such feelings for such a young girl. Unfortunately, he had never had much control over his feelings; he was merely good at hiding them for long periods. Perhaps he had hidden them long enough. Yes, it had been too long, far too long, five years in fact. With a heavy sigh, he placed his gauntlet hand on her lower back, and laid the other on her head... absent-mindedly stroking his fingers through her hair "If it comforts you at all, I'm glad you came with me. I appreciate your company." He had not confessed all in his mind, but he never did, and this would have to do for now.
The Light and the Dark are eternally different, and eternally they will go hand in hand. As much as the Dark wants to hide from the obvious, he needs the Light... desperately. He loves the radiance that makes his shadows seem infinitely unimportant. Little did the Darkness know, the Light whole-heartedly agreed, and knew that she too needed the dark to exist. The most natural thing in the world, eternally, until the end of time.