A/N: Heyo! It's been a while since I've posted anything, huh? Well, I haven't technically posted ANYTHING on this account. My last account, ExileScenery, was being hit by a hacker or something, my stories and documents were being deleted one by one until I had nothing in there! So changed to this account and the other is now empty and dormant (because you can't completely delete them). Anyways, that's old news. I'm just hoping it doesn't happen again, because I tend to forget to save them on my computer too, only in the document manager here. Onto the story!

(PS: I know theres a lot of talking, but I tried to put in more description as well. Sorry if they're not evened out.)

[DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the Final Fantasy VIIs. If I did, there would be some more Yuffentine in there.]

"Heyo! Who started the party without me?" A loud voice boomed across the bar making all of the group's head turn to the door.

A familiar young ninja stood there, her shuriken slung over her shoulder where her hair was still cut to, a wide smile spread across her face. Her gray eyes shone with happiness as the two older kids poked their heads up from the back of the bar to see who the voice belonged to, and grinning at the sight of their long-awaited reunion with their 'aunt' Yuffie. The, now, 23 year old didn't come around a lot to Seventh Heaven because of her duties in Wutai, but she did come at least twice a year. Since Godo had stepped down and Yuffie was put in as the Lady of Wutai, she had seen the rest of AVALANCHE less and less. Before, she would show up on everyone's doorstep, and sometimes in their living room, almost every few weeks. But her days of constant travel were over, replaced with serious country ruling business. The rest of the group of course visited her in her country, but Yuffie was always so busy, she worked extra hard in the summers to make sure she would have time to get off in the winter to come home for Christmas in Midgar for a week and a half while her father watched over Wutai temporarily. It was a mystery to most people how she had kept her innocent glow and happy personality when she was constantly surrounded by political issues and the aftermath of Sephiroth and Deepground. It couldn't have been in any way enjoyable.

She hadn't ever missed Christmas get togethers, so when she wasn't here at lunch four nights before Christmas as usual, Tifa, Cloud and the rest of AVALANCHE had gotten a little worried. The kids really looked up to Yuffie, the youngest and only woman to ever rule Wutai AND help save the world three times. She was also very good with kids and was Tifa and Shera's savior at times, taming a screaming baby with some of the strangest techniques, that worked every time. For example, with she soothed Tifa's new baby, Zack, with the sound of the loud oven fan or a hairdryer sitting on the bar counter while rocking him in her arms. Inconvenient for late night tantrums, but she could also get him to fall asleep while she danced across the cleared bar floor to low volume pop and country music. It baffled Tifa, but she could manage the hairdryer technique, but the dancing was a talent only Yuffie possessed. Tifa suspected it had something to do with her ninja training to make her movement swift and not jostling, so the baby just falls asleep in the trance of soft music and movement. She called it and 'unfair advantage' since Yuffie had been in ninja training her entire life. She had always been like that, no one knew where it came from. Her mother, she told them, died when she was too young to really remember anything, she didn't have any other immediate family, and it certainly didn't come from her materia seeking father.

"Aunt Yuffie!" All the younger inhabitants of the bar cried in glee. And not half a second after, the ninja heard the loud and soft footsteps of children and cubs running to her spot by the front door. She quickly tossed her weapon to a place where neither her or the kids would be hurt if they fell. And she was right in assuming that. Two small red fire cats bounding and leaping in her direction. She opened her arms in time for one, Zera, to land in her arm and the other, Teilo, to jump on top of her head and rest in her hair. She smiled and readied herself for and big squeeze of two almost teenagers smashing against her. It came and she did not quite expect the power of the two minors against her thin body. They all fell backwards onto the wood floor, Nanaki's cubs letting out surprised yelps. The sound of the three bodies hitting the floor echoed through the bar and then a cry from Yuffie, making all the kids get off of her to see what's wrong. She held her hand against her lower abdomen where Zera had gotten squished between her and the wreckage, her flaming tail hit Yuffie's bare stomach, seeing as she was wearing her purple and orange travel clothes. There was only a small, minor burn but Zera's small golden eyes were wide with surprise and guilt.

"Sorry aunt Yuffie." Her small voice came out. Like her father and mother, she and her brother gained the ability to actually speak. It surprised Yuffie a bit, because the last time she saw the cubs, them could barely say her name alone. She smiled and stood up with the cub in her arms again.

"It's alright, kiddo! I'm glad you didn't get hurt when you got squished between us." Yuffie smiled and put the cub onto her shoulders, where she curled up and carefully flicked her tail away from Yuffie's face. The ninja turned to the two much taller kids standing and grinning at her. Denzel had almost gotten as tall as her, but was still a few inches shorter. His brown hair curled into tight curls and hung around his face, framing his dark blue eyes. You could have sworn the two kids were somehow related by how much they looked alike (But Yuffie, of course, still bets they grow up and get married, looks aside). Marlene was about two inches shorter than Denzel, and her hair was loose from the braid tied with a pink ribbon, said ribbon tied on her wrist, and it flowed straight down her back to a few inches above where your rib cage ends. Her light-colored brown eyes contrasted from Denzel's, but the hair color was almost identical. And their childish personalities were on the same level as well. They know evil is out there, but they're young enough to be able to ignore it.

She wished she could do that.

"Well, are you just going to stand there, or are you going to give me a hug that wont knock me to the floor?" She grinned at the two kids. Their eyes visibly brightened and Marlene squealed. They both darted back towards her and wrapped the only 5 foot tall ninja in a chocking hug. Her absence had been long this year, The first time she hadn't made it home for a week in spring to travel to everyone's houses. It seemed like Wutai was having some trade issues that she needed to directly take care of and couldn't make it. Vincent was called by almost all of AVALANCHE to see if he'd seen her in Nibelheim, the most common place she would be other that Wutai. Yuffie smiled and patted both the kids' hair as they let go of her. Marlene was the first one to start rambling.

"Aunt Yuffie, it's so good to see you , I thought you might not make it this year when you didn't come yesterday! And I got really scared when I hit 7 P.M. and you still didn't get here! But you are here! What time is it? 11 o'clock! Are you alright, what took so long?" She spoke very quickly, similar to how Yuffie talked on her own, but it was still a bit hard to understand the 12 year old, but she got the main idea. She was worried Yuffie wouldn't make it home for Christmas.

"Of course I made it, you wacko! Have I ever missed Christmas before? Nope, just a little mix up in Wutai kept me back for another day. No big deal." Yuffie reassurd her as she pulled both the kids further into the bar. "It's 11 o'clock? Shouldn't you two be in bed already?"

Denzel shook his head. "Tifa let us stay up to wait for you. I bet she'll send us up in a few minutes, though."

Marlene tugged on her arm. "Do you want to play, aunt Yuffie?"

"I'm a little tired from the trip, Marley. Can we play tomorrow? I'll teach you how to do a cartwheel if you want." Yuffie bribed the two kids, that both smiled and nodded in agreement. They both bid goodbye to their aunt and went back to the back of the bar where the television sat. The ninja smiled and walked to where Tifa was serving drinks to the few people in the bar tonight. The barmaid smiled wide when the short ninja came through the small gate the lead behind the bar.

"Yuffie, I'm glad you made it. I don't know what would have happened if we didn't have our hyperactive ninja home for Christmas!" She said playfully, giving the girl a short hug before refilling a man's whiskey glass.

"You mean, what you would do without the baby whisperer to help you through the nights?" Yuffie giggled, pulling a glass down for herself and filling it with a bunch of strange colored liquids behind the bar, mixing it together with a lemon wedge. The barmaid raised an eyebrow at her drink.

"Long island day in Wutai?" She questioned, as the younger girl took a sip of the drink and sighed.

"No, a much stronger day in Wutai. I just don't think it's good for me to get drunk off my ass ten minutes after I walked through the door." She spun the tall glass in her hand, mixing the liquids together more. She handed it to Tifa. "This right?"

Tifa eyed the drink for a moment before making eye contact with the girl. C'mon Yuffie..

The ninja's eyes widened and she grinned, almost dropping her drink. "Oh my god! You're-" She was cut off by Tifa putting a hand over her mouth. The barmaid herself was half grinning herself.

"Cloud doesn't know yet." She told her in a low voice.

"How long?

"2 months." Tifa smiled even more. "I feel like it's a girl. The first time I thought it was a boy this early and I was right. So maybe we'll have our little Aerith, after all."

Yuffie sighed. "Wow. We're all so grown up. Even Cid's got a kid." She motioned her head to the smoking pilot playing poker at one of the tables with Cloud and Barret. Shera sat beside him, cradling the one year old in her arms. Cid's eyes glanced over at his child every so often and a little smile appeared on his face. Tifa caught the small look of guilt cross the girl's face as she took another drink.

"Yuffie, you know it's alright. Stop feeling guilty!" Tifa ran her hand through Yuffie's short hair and saw the girl frown.

"Tifa, Vincent visits more than I do! I just feel like, I'm missing everything..." Yuffie trailed off looking down at her glass.

"Vincent doesn't have a country to rule day and night. You do. I admit, it would be nice to see you more than I get to, but It doesn't matter, as long as I still get to see your smiling face at least once every year." Tifa retorted defiantly, staring at the girl she considered her younger sister. Yuffie stood silently for a minute as the barmaid watched her, then nodded.

"I guess you're right." She sighed, pushing a short stray hair behind her ear.

"You know I'm right." Tifa smiled wide again, Putting her arm around the ninja's shoulders and squeezing her.

"Yo, could I get another beer over here?" A male voice called to the women, making Yuffie glare at its owner.

"Can't you see we're having a moment over here, Turkey?" She snapped at the red-head. Reno raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, that's the fun part. I get a beer and annoy someone at the same time. It's a win-win, yo." He grinned, tilting his head to the side a bit and looking at her up and down. "My, my. You're not a shrimpy kid anymore are you. You've grown quite a bit." His blue eyes rested on her upper half and Yuffie glared, putting her hands on her hips.

"And for that, you don't get a beer!" She yelled walking over and raising her fist at him. He put his hands up covering his head for her awaited hit. Yuffie's attack stopped short when a leather-covered hand caught her arm. Her rage turned to the where the hand came from before fading away momentarily. Dark red eyes stared back at her, a perfectly shaped, dark eyebrow raised at her, questioning her in every possible way.

Vincent's grip on her arm didn't loosen when he saw her anger fade, knowing that in a few seconds it would be completely directed at him. He wasn't new to the effects of Yuffie's anger, and it was best to have a hold on her before it was too late. While waiting for the anger to fill her gray eyes, he inspected how much she had changed in a full year. He was a little surprised when she hadn't appeared in his home one morning making tea as always in the spring, but he knew that with Wutai still torn apart by Deepground, even 3 years later, things would be pretty hectic for her. Yuffie wouldn't accept many of Reeve's offers to help, no matter how much her country needed it, saying that ' there are other places that don't have an amazing ninja as their leader that need help'.

Her appearance had changed more than he expected it to in a year. Her hair, though not changed in length, had changed from the dark brown to a pure black. Her silver eyes held more of purple tint than before, but it disappeared into the steel depths when she was angry. The rest of her had changed in shape as well, giving her a more... womanly figure. She was not the 19 year old hyperactive ninja that saved him more times than he can count in the course of 4 years, but a 23 year old leader of Wutai. She had done a lot of growing up the past 3 years, yet still didn't seem to ave changed at all, personality wise. Which baffled him, as she was surrounded by politics and Deepground mess everyday, yet the cheerful look in her eyes hadn't changed from when he last saw her.

As the shock of seeing her former comrade again wore off, Yuffie took in what had become of Vincent. She noticed in amazement that he had ditched the rag he called a cape, leaving his face completely open for view. His untamable hair was tied at the nape of his neck with the bandanna that used to cover his forehead, only a few strands loose to frame his face. His eyes were still as red as she remembered, but without all the hair in his face, you could definitely tell he was of Wutai decent. His eyes were a tight, almond shape with a thin outer edge, and his jaw line was sharp and pointed, two common traits of a person from Wutai. Also his voice when she first met him was a dead giveaway, the low and smooth way he talked had an accented edge on it that couldn't be anything else. His gauntlet that usually covered his left arm was long forgotten, replaced with another leather glove that was currently holding tightly to her upper arm keeping her from any further attack she had planned. But Reno had been forgotten for the moment.

"Wow, Vincent, all your trademarks are gone. The cape, the claw, the bandanna? Be careful, people may mistake you as a normal person." She whispered the last part as if it was a true warning. A twitch of his lips indicated what a Vincent smile looked like. She lowered her arm to a normal position

"I left one just to make sure no mistakes occur." He stated, his lip still twitching a bit. Yuffie's face fell.

"Don't tell me you're still wearing those hideous boots." She pleaded, making a real smile spread across his face as he reached down under the bar and pulled Cerberus out into open view. She let out a sight of relief and leaned against the bar.

"Whew. You had me worried for a second. Hey, wanna let go of my arm so i can continue drinking?"

"You will not punch anyone?"

"Nope. All water under the bridge." Vincent eyed her warily and after a few seconds of watching her, his grip loosened until it was no longer there. His hand returned to his own glass of red liquid. He saw her looking at his drink and her lips curving into a smile and looking up at him with her own raised eyebrow. He caught on and gave her a blank look.

"It is wine." He assured her, only making her smile grown.

"Mhm. That's what all the vampires say these days." She replied, reaching for her own drink and taking a sip of it.

"There are many?"

"Yes, yes there are. I could explain it to you, but I don't want to be near you when you go crazy and start sucking people's blood." She said quickly, finishing her drink and dumping the glass in the sink and running off yelling a quick goodnight to everyone.

Vincent chuckled lightly and took a drink of his wine. Same old Yuffie.

A/N: Hey again! Tell me if you liked this chapter in a review! Constructive criticism is welcome, flaming is not. Keep it in mind. Anyways, more chapters soon. I don't think other chapters will be as long as this one was, because this one marks up to more than 3,000 words without me knowing it. So maybe they will, but probably not. See ya next chapter!