"Winter." Whether it be Christmas, Kwanza, Hanukah, or the snow, there's something special about this time of year that is only exclusive to this time of the year only.
Author's Notes: For a contest on Gaia Online's Final Fantasy 7 Guild.
Wish me luck!
There are 1 or 2 swear words. PG 'cause you should be old enough to take them by then.
Can be any time during the game when Vince and Yuffs have joined the party and while they're around 7th Heaven. Thought I like to think it's Post DOC. It's more believable
Winter
Yuffie stood atop the 7th Heaven bar, staring up at the stars.
It was night time and mostly everyone had gone to sleep.
She was waiting for the snow. She always did.
It was her ritual, to stay up late and wait for the first snow of winter. She used to do it all the time in Wutai, when it was still a proud land and not a tourist town.
The snow always reminded her of rain. Leviathan's tears. Leviathan had cried when Wutai had died too. Yuffie had as well.
She sighed. It never took this long in Wutai. Why wouldn't it snow? The forecasts said it would.
"Pssh, stupid weather man never gets nothin' right," scoffed Yuffie, rubbing her hands together. She had been outside all night, she was sure it was around 1:00AM right now.
She contemplated on going inside and getting a blanket, seeing she hadn't counted on staying out long and had just gone outside in her regular garb, but going inside would mean facing Tifa, and she knew the older woman wouldn't understand her motives and force her to bed.
Suddenly, she heard a light noise behind her.
She quickly turned around in a fighting pose, forgetting her shuriken inside.
Shocked at what she saw, she laughed.
"Haha, so I see Vincent Valentine, the notorious gunslinger, has a feminine side as well! Come to look at the stars, eh Vince?" Yuffie joked, waving at the gunman who had come onto the roof.
"Yuffie," he nodded in her direction, acknowledging her. He walked over towards her, sitting himself down.
"Hey! I didn't invite you to sit next to me!" Yuffie whined, sitting down as well.
"I'm… sorry?" Vincent half-heartedly apologized, causing her to laugh a little at his confusion.
"Haha, figures you can't take a joke," Yuffie grinned, stretching her legs out and looking up into the stars. "So what brings you up to the roof Vince? Maybe my previous comment was true?"
"I can't sleep. The stars calm me," he bluntly replied. Yuffie made a face at him.
"Bah. Anyways, what time is it?" she asked, her sights still focused on the lights in the sky.
"It's around 3:00AM," Vincent responded, hiding his mouth and nose from the cold in his cloak. He had sat down and was in a similar pose to Yuffie's, except one knee was up and an arm was plopped on it, his claw arm supporting him.
"Oh shit, really? Wow… It's late…" Yuffie replied, a little shocked at how long she had been outside. It was a wonder she was as warm as she was.
Vincent nodded in agreement.
They both sat in silence, both eyes towards the sky.
"Why are you out here in the cold Yuffie?" asked Vincent out of the blue, his eyes still facing the sky.
"Huh? Oh, I'm waiting for the snow to fall!" Yuffie happily replied, causing Vincent to raise a brow at her, but still looking up, just as she was.
"It might seem stupid to you, but I used to do it all the time back in Wutai. It's cause Leviathan is crying 'cause his land has died for the winter, but it's so dead that his tears turn to snow and stuff. I thought it was appropriate for me to witness the first falling of tears," Yuffie said, not even caring if Vincent was listening.
"Heh, stupid weather man never gets anything right though. I've been waiting outside for hours," Yuffie laughed, her breath visible to her. She always loved seeing her breath on the wind. It made her feel alive.
"Hours…?" Vincent stated, causing Yuffie to turn to him.
"Yeah, that's what I said. You deaf or somethin'?" she asked, waving a hand around as if trying to check if he could see, even though it had nothing to do with being deaf.
"Aren't you cold?" he asked, causing Yuffie to laugh.
"'Course I'm cold, but I can't do nothin' 'bout that," Yuffie replied, hugging her legs to her chest, a bit tired of waiting.
"Is it because of Tifa?" he wondered, receiving a nod from Yuffie.
"She'd make me go to sleep and I'd miss the snow," Yuffie sighed, rubbing her nose on her leg.
She suddenly turned to him and grinned.
"You ain't gonna do the cliché 'here's my coat princess' thing, are you?" she laughed, fixating her eyes upon the stars again.
"…. I was going to…." He mumbled, causing Yuffie to turn to him, grinning again.
"Haha, you're so old school! Don'tcha know it's all about 'intimate contact' nowadays with the chilluns?" Yuffie explained, making hand motions when necessary.
"Intimate contact….?" Vincent muttered.
"Yeah! Like," at this, Yuffie's voice tone turned into a mocking boy tone, "'hey baby, we've gotta huddle together for warmth' thing, y'know?" Yuffie stated, not really paying attention anymore, thinking she spotted a white spot, but it turned out to be just her imagination, causing her face to fall.
"…. Chilluns…" Vincent muttered, not even catching Yuffie's attention.
"Hm? Wazzat? Anyways, I wish the snow would fall. It's cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey out here!" Yuffie grumbled, scratching an itch on the back of her head.
It became silent again after Yuffie's comment. Every now and then Yuffie's face turned hopeful and then dropped.
Yuffie didn't know, but it felt like a few hours had passed.
"Y'know, you could have left a long time ago…" Yuffie yawned; stretching her arms after a long while had passed between the last time they had spoken.
Vincent remained silent, but Yuffie knew he understood what she had meant.
"Hey look, it's the sunrise! Buwahaha! I'm totally going to complain to that stupid news show! Nyuk nyuk nyuk!" Yuffie laughed, stomping her feet on the roof while laughing. Vincent just remained silent.
"Well, I guess I should go inside and make some breakfast, it doesn't seem like it'll snow today," Yuffie stated, standing up and stretching, closing her eyes as she did so.
"Yuffie…!" Vincent mumbled, catching the ninja's attention.
"Huh, what is it Vince?" Yuffie asked, turning to him. He was staring at the pink sky and she grinned at the sight.
It had begun to snow.
"HAHAHA! GOOD JOB LEVIATHAN, YOU PANSY ASS DRAGON! I KNEW YOU HAD IT IN YOU!" Yuffie cheered, jumping around in joy while whistling and humming a fanfare which eerily sounded like the victory music.
"Yo, Vince, get yer ass over here and let's have some 'intimate contact'! We need to share body heat and all that jazz!" Yuffie laughed, being half serious. She just noticed how cold she was, seeing she hadn't moved in a long time and had ignored it till now.
She suddenly felt a presence behind her and jumped, but got caught around the waist by someone.
"Huh, wha-?! Who the hell?!" she exclaimed, turning to see Vincent.
"Huh? Y'know I was jokin', right Vince?" she stated, earning no reply from the gunman. "Eh, whatever, I'm cold, just stay there," she replied to the silence quickly so that he wouldn't move. He was pretty warm for someone she suspected to be undead.
They watched the sunset rise quietly and silently. Yuffie even stopped humming.
"Maybe Leviathan cried because the sunrise was too beautiful to be shown on his dying land?" Yuffie replied to no one, causing Vincent to raise an eye brow that she couldn't see.
"He cried when Wutai died too…." Yuffie mumbled.
There was an uncomfortable silence.
Vincent could feel something warm and wet on his arms. He didn't question what it was. He already knew the answer.
The snow always reminded her of rain. Leviathan had cried when Wutai had died.
Yuffie had cried when Wutai had died too. She cried every time she saw the snow, 'cause she knew Leviathan was crying with her.
End?
Author's Notes: Somehow turned angst and sad. It was supposed to be a little romantic. Ah well.
In this story, Vincent and Yuffie's relationship can be taken as an "I love you!" "but I don't like you like that!" kind of thing or a "big brother, little sister" thing. My brother hugs me when it's cold, so I thought 'hey, why not Vincent?'
I love portraying Yuffie all sad and stuff and hiding behind happiness. I guess I'm just wicked like that. –Laughs-
Hope you enjoyed! And review if you can!
Adios!