Disclaimer:I don't own Final Fantasy VII or any of its characters.
Vincent Valentine slept on his living room couch in peace and quiet. He loved the days when nothing was planned to happen. There weren't any celebrations for his friends, nothing Reeve was pestering him to do and no major tragedy threatening his new home. His new location was only a couple blocks from Tifa's bar, Seventh Heaven. This gave him the chance to see almost any of his friends when he caught word of their appearance at the bar. A smile flickered on his face. Who would have ever guessed he would make friends with such an odd group of people? Lucrecia would be proud of him for opening up his heart. Her smile danced in his thoughts and he opened his eyes slowly.
Enough time and events danced through his life allowing him to finally let her image go most days. Yes, he still held sadness in his heart over her death and he still wished he could change the past. It was one of those things he needed to accept because without some moments certain things would never occur.
He would have always worked alongside her and their relationship never would have grown. He knew this but it was a dream he could have kept alive without the sadness in his life. Never would he have met Cloud Strife and all the other companions he met in those years battling alongside them. And now their battles were done and peace danced through the world. Well, more peace than he thought possible.
Steps sounded on the stairs leading into the living room from upstairs. He opened his eyes fully as Yuffie stepped into view.
"Did you sleep alright?" he asked as she looked down to his laying body.
"Yes," she said with half a smile. "Are you hungry? I'll go make us some eggs and bacon."
"Thanks," he said and sat up to watch her work through the large opening showing the kitchen. The only disturbance in his peace was when Yuffie appeared at his front door crying her eyes out. He didn't ask questions and only welcomed her in. She didn't explain or touch him or look him in the eyes. All he knew was she had been upset and needed some place to stay. Hopefully, she found a good night of sleep and answers to whatever problem was troubling her. He only hoped the problem didn't come knocking at his door. His phone rang and he read Tifa's name on the caller ID. He felt answers to his questions were about to be delivered.
"Hello," he greeted and caught Yuffie glance to the sound of his voice.
"Please, tell me you've seen Yuffie," Tifa said in a quick rush.
"She spent the night at my house last night," Vincent said. "Is everything okay, Tifa?"
Yuffie's body froze and he knew he was about to learn what brought Yuffie crying to his place last night.
"Remember Yuffie's boyfriend? It seems he is a real dickhead and has been abusing her regularly. She ran away leaving only a note for her father saying for him to contact you immediately. He didn't have your number and called me to find her. Please, tell me she's alright."
Vincent glared at the wall across from him to try and get out his anger before he spoke again. "She spent the night at my house and didn't talk. Since she showed up crying I didn't want to bother her with the whole story until she was ready. Has the man been arrested?"
"Thank goodness you have her. Yes, he is waiting a trial led by Godo himself. There is no chance of him getting out of this one. It seems there were video recordings of some graphic nature. I don't know all the fine details, but he's in a load of trouble. Keep Yuffie with you, please," Tifa begged.
"She's not leaving my sight," he said and ended the call. He got to his feet and walked into the kitchen where Yuffie was frying some bacon. He reached for her chin and turned her face to look to him. There were no markings on her face and only a small bruise on the left side of her neck. It could be pushed aside as an injury from battle practice. What kind of abuse where they talking. "Yuffie, why didn't you come to me sooner?"
Yuffie's face grew sad and she bit at her bottom lip to find the right words. "When the first hit was made he was able to pass it by me as an accident. You know, heated and in the moment. I trusted him. Then he would get in the mood late at night, we would start our fun and then it got very heated. He never hit my face or any place he knew people would question. This bruise here," she touched the marking on her neck. "Just a battle injury, right?"
Vincent's face read out his guilt for passing the marking off. "How bad was it."
"When we weren't in bed, it wasn't bad at all. He would only do the playful hits couples often do when flirting. This was a sign for me to know more would come at night. We would be in the middle of sex and a hard hit would come. Not sure why, but it really got him excited. I was wrapped up so deep there was no way for me to find a way out," Yuffie said. She raised her comfortable shirt to show off her stomach. Nasty, dark bruising was visible above her belly button. "Whips were his favorite."
"Disgusting," Vincent said and turned his head away. He couldn't look at the pain on his dear friend. "Why did you hide this from me?"
"I didn't want you to look down on me," she said and went back to cooking the eggs and bacon. "I care a lot about you, Vinnie."
"And I care about you," he said softly. He wanted to touch her but he wasn't sure where the pressure of physical contact would hurt or help.
"Which is why I came to you," she said and turned off the burners. "Let's go eat breakfast and we can talk about all of this."
There was no proper way to begin the conversation and Vincent knew Yuffie would wait until he brought up the topic. He sipped some of his warm coffee and took the dive.
"Yuffie, how long have you hid this from me?" he asked the most important question on his mind. He knew she was hiding the event from everyone of them, but he felt as if they were closer together than any of them.
"The abuse didn't start until I was convinced I loved the man. After uttering those three words a couple times, I think he figured he was safe to take advantage of me. I started with painful sex and I grew used to it. I thought it was only cause I was a virgin," she said. She chose to ignore Vincent's shocked expression. She was only a teen when she joined the Avalanche crew and sex wasn't important to her in any way. "He realized he wasn't causing me pain and the fists began to come at me. The first couple were noticed by my father and he called me out on weakness in training. Chris caught the hint and aimed for hidden areas. He even learned how to read me to know when to back off the violence and when he could pick it back up with me remaining silent. I thought I loved him!"
Vincent held his mouth tight as Yuffie hit the top of his table with extreme force. He watched her thoughts turn and she slouched back in the chair.
"I don't trust myself anymore," she said with sadness in her eyes.
"You came to me," Vincent said and stood to take their plates to the sink. "I believe that was a trustworthy move."
"I should have gone straight to an officer," Yuffie said. "Placed a charge against him and gone back home."
Vincent knew she was right but he was happy she chose him. "I'm glad you came here. You're going to need help restoring your faith in men."
"You and the other guys have always been kind," she said and moved to stand. "I know not all are rotten. Can I go shower?"
"Man, now you're asking things and not just telling me?" Vincent gave her a small smile. "What did I do to receive this honor?"
"You are Vinnie. You have a special spot," she said and tapped her chest over her heart.
"It's upstairs across from the bedroom you stayed in last night. That room is mine and you are free to use one of my shirts if you want some clean clothing for the day," Vincent said and turned on the sink to quickly rinse off the food from the dirty dishes. He glanced over his shoulder and watched Yuffie walk away. Peace was not as close as he previous thought.
Yuffie slid into her baggy sweats and Vincent's gray shirt she claimed as hers for the day. It ate up her body and she appeared to be a child borrowing her father's shirt for bed. She glared at the thought and pulled the shirt so she could tie it at her side. It wasn't the cutest appearance, but it would work for the day. A deep breath completed her morning ritual and she walked downstairs to see Vincent once again on his comfy couch. She plopped down next to him and caught a quick smirk on his face.
"Cute," he said bobbing his head at her new shirt.
"Don't let anyone else hear you say that. They may think you've gone insane," she said. "Now what?"
"Well, I think you should pick what we do. We need to get you back into your old self. This new you is kind of gloomy. I don't like it," Vincent said moving to his feet and holding out his hand.
Yuffie took the offered hand and was pulled to her feet. "Pot calling the kettle black?"
"Touché," he said with a shrug. He stepped away and Yuffie kept his hand held in her own. He didn't twist away and she smiled with a blush.
"Better not show anyone else that face," he said over his shoulder. "They might get the wrong idea."
"What's the wrong idea?" she asked.
"The idea you might have a crush on me," he teased. He let go of her hand and turned so he could lock the door.
"Why would that be such a bad idea?" Yuffie asked and led the way to his garage.
"We're not exactly the same age," Vincent pointed out. "Where are we going?"
"We technically aren't the same age, but you look damn fine for someone so much older than me," Yuffie said and gave a playful wink. "Let's go for a ride on your bike."
Yuffie was given a nice smile as Vincent got onto the bike and started the engine. He gave her a friendly wave to get on and she did as he asked. As she took her seat she worked their bodies to be as close as possible without making them uncomfortable. It dropped a couple of romantic hints, but nothing completely clear.