Rock Star Chapter 2, a final fantasy vii fanfic

Rock Star

Cuz we all just wanna be big rockstars
And live in hilltop houses, drivin' 15 cars
The girls come easy and the drugs come cheap
We'll all stay skinny, cuz we just won't eat
And we'll hang out in the coolest bars
In the VIP with the movie stars
Every good gold digger's gonna wind up there
Every Playboy bunny with her bleach blonde hair
And well, hey, hey, I wanna be a rock star
- Nickelback, "Rockstar"

Standard disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, Final Fantasy VII: Dirge of Cerberus, Vincent, Yuffie, Tifa, or any of those people. I do, however, own Chad, Ken, Mike, and Hannah. Or at least, I'd like to think so. Also, the song "Savin' Me" was written and performed entirely by Nickelback, and not me.

Yuffie opened her eyes. She felt fine; obviously, the rest of the house didn't, judging by the groans that filled the house. The most audible was Cid, who was swearing loudly from his and Shera's room. Shelke was making small moaning noises from her room next to Yuffie's.
Yuffie felt fine. After her tequila sunrise, she hadn't drunk anything alcoholic. She hopped out of bed, and in stocking feet and her nightgown, consisting of short shorts and a camisol, did her morning exercises. She did them every morning, without fail. A ninja had to be in peak physical condition!
She stretched and pulled, going through her entire yoga repetoir before pulling into calesthenics like push ups, crunches, and jumping jacks. Her socks softened the noises on the thick wooden floors of the hotel room.
An hour later, she was done. She pulled fresh clothing and underwear from her bag and, grabbing a towel from the stack on the dresser, headed for the bathroom, which was shared by the occupant of the room opposite Shelke's.
Unfortunately, the bathroom was occupied. Vincent looked as if he'd just pulled on his pants; his hair was still wet. He was towelling it off when Yuffie walked in.
"Eep! Vincent!" She screetched. She slammed the door shut. "Lock the door next time, weirdo!"
Grumbling sounds alerted Yuffie to the fact that Vincent was not, in fact, a morning person. She heard some moving around noises and then a door opening and closing. She sighed in relief and reentered, securely locking both her door and the one that opened into, apparently, Vincent's room.
Fumbling, she turned on the CD player that Tifa kept in the bathrooms of her hotel - Tifa liked to listen to music when she bathed, and Yuffie found it soothing. She turned on the faucet and quickly shed her clothing, stepping under the much-needed stream of hot water with a happy sigh. Vincent might not be a morning person, but she loved it. It was when no one was quite awake and she was essentially alone that she loved life the most.
This morning particularly - because she could now sing along with the music without fearing ostracision.

Prison gates won't open up for me
On these hands and knees I'm crawlin'
Oh, I reach for you
Well I'm terrified of these four walls
These iron bars can't hold my soul in
All I need is you
(Come please I'm callin')
And oh I scream for you
(Hurry I'm fallin')
I'm fallin'

Show me what it's like
To be the last one standing
And teach me wrong from right
And I'll show you what I can be
And say it for me
Say it to me
And I'll leave this life behind me
Say it if it's worth saving me

Despite how depressing this song was, Yuffie couldn't bring herself to be depressed. She wondered vaguely what it was like to need someone else that badly, but it wasn't something she craved. She was an independant person; if love happened, it happened. She wasn't going to obsess over it like Mr. Tall-Dark and Depressing in the next room.

Heaven's gates won't open up for me
With these broken wings I'm fallin'
And all I see is you
These city walls ain't got no love for me
I'm on the ledge of the eighteenth story
And oh, I scream for you
(Come please I'm callin')
And all I need from you
(Hurry I'm fallin')
I'm fallin'

Yuffie hummed along with the song while she soaped down and washed clean after her exercise. She shut off the shower as the song resumed, and continued singing.

And all I need is you
(Come please, I'm callin')
And oh, I scream for you
Hurry, I'm fallin'
I'm fallin'

And say it for me
Say it to me
And I'll leave this life behind me
Say it if it's worth saving me

By the time the song was over, Yuffie was dried and dressed, and brushing her teeth. Absently, she walked to her door and unlocked it, and then over to Vincent's side and unlocked that, before going back to the sink and spitting, then rinsing. She glanced over and noted that Vincent had left his head band thing in the bathroom - no wonder he'd looked so strange to her. She wasn't used to seeing him without his vampire gear on! She wiped her mouth and snagged it up, opening the door to his room and walking in.
"Hey, Vincent, you left your..." She faded out as she saw him sitting on his bed, head in hands. He wasn't crying, but he looked like he was close. "Oh, jeez, I'm sorry." She dropped what she was holding and dashed back into the room.
What could make Vincent Valentine cry?

She pointedly ignored Vincent for the rest of the morning, which wasn't hard because he stayed up in his room until almost noon.
She was describing a monster she'd fought in Wutai with hugely animated gestures to a very bored Cid when he finally came downstairs. He didn't say anything to anyone, and he was dressed, thank Leviathan, in his normal getup, including his head band.
"Does anyone wanna go back to karaoke tonight?" Yuffie asked, brightly. Cid groaned and put his hand to his head. He hadn't quite kicked his hangover. Eventually it was obvious that no one wanted to go tonight, lest there be a repeat of last night - not Yuffie's successes at singing, which were a private triumph anyway, but the overindulgance in alcohol.
"Come on, guys, I can't go alone!" She said. She looked at Cid with fake tears. "Puhhhlease?"
"Oh, get off it, kid." Cid said, gruffly. "The only ones who get 'way with that puppy-dog eye shit are Shera and Melissa." Melissa being, of course, his one-year-old, who was safely esconsed with her nanny in Rocket Town.
Yuffie pouted. "Nanaki?"
"No, thank you." Nanaki said, politely. "I need to get back to Cosmo Canyon." He looked at Cid, who nodded.
"We better head out, actually." Cid said, standing up and grimacing. "Got some kinda meeting tonight at home." He looked at Shera, who shrugged.
"Alright, anyone who wants a ride home better come with me." Cid announced, heading toward the door. "Vince, you comin'?"
Vincent coughed, and then shook his head. "No, thank you. I have some business to attend to in Kalm. I will find my own way home."
"Whatever, man, you know I'm just a PHS call away." Cid shrugged and walked out the door, followed by a trail of people. Shelke looked back over her shoulder for one last glimpse of Vincent Valentine before shrugging and following Cid.
"Man!" Yuffie said, stomping her foot on the floor, impatiently. "You guys all suck." She stuck her tongue at the door; who said getting older meant you had to be mature?
"C'mon, Tifa, Cloud, I know you guys wanna go get your singin' on." She said, smiling at them. Cloud shook his head and Tifa blushed.
"No, not tonight, Yuffie." Tifa said. Cloud stood next to her in an almost possessive manner, and it was like a lightbulb switched on.
"Oh my gawd you two finally hooked up last night!" Yuffie squealed. Then she paled. "Oh, no, that means you were DOING IT, on my BIRTHDAY."
"Well, it wasn't technically on your birthday..." Tifa said. She then turned an even deeper crimson. "Yuffie, please."
"Oh my God FINALLY!" Yuffie was doing a congratulatory dance around the bar. "Cloud finally got his head out of his arse and got it on with Tifa!" She danced some more.
"Yuffie, knock it off!" Tifa exclaimed. She buried her face into a bar towel.
"Come on, Tifa, don't tell me you wouldn't be doing this if you were all alone." Yuffie said, grinning. Tifa looked at her sternly for a few seconds before breaking into a small grin, which she hid from Cloud by turning to clean glasses.
"Are you three hungry?" Tifa asked, taking in the three leftovers in her bar - Cloud, Vincent, and Yuffie - in her quick glance.
"Ohhh, yeah." Yuffie said, sitting down next to Vincent. "How about some of your awesome, heavenly spaghetti?"
"Yuffie, it's lunch time!" Tifa exclaimed. "I'm not making a whole pot of spaghetti for one person!"
"I'll eat spaghetti." Cloud said, smiling. Almost shyly, he slid his arm around her waist, earning a squeal and a "HOW CUTE!" from Yuffie.
"I will also eat spaghetti." Vincent deadpanned. Yuffie laughed outright; she couldn't help it. The word "Spaghetti" sounded funny coming out of him. He frowned at her.
"Fine, spaghetti it is." Tifa said, resigned to her fate. "But no peeking, Yuffie! This is a secret family recipe, and that means SECRET! So go upstairs!"
"Fine." Yuffie rolled her eyes at Vincent and headed up the stairs, trying to peek at what Tifa was retrieving from the cabinet over the stove before getting scolded and dashing up the stairs for real.
Yuffie did a little jig in the hallway. Despite the fact that she didn't have someone to go to karaoke with - the only person she hadn't asked was Vincent, and she had a feeling that someone had threatened him with death last night to get him to come - the day was shaping up well. She was going to get to eat Tifa's world-famous spaghetti, she'd had a generally good morning, and she'd found out that Tifa and Cloud had gotten together, finally. The only damper was the whole thing with Vincent this morning, and, well, she didn't really want to think about it. It was a bummer.
So her steps to her room went something like this: step one step forward, two steps back, dance a little, more forward, more back...and so on. She hummed to herself and actually broke into song at one point.
"I am alive and amplified...Hmmm hmmmm hmmm!" Yuffie sang cheerily. "Today is gonna rock."
"So you're psychic, too?" A deep voice said. Yuffie whirled around, embarassed to be caught in her childish mechanations. Vincent stood there, warily eying her.
"Hey, warn a person!" Yuffie said, indignantly. She got the feeling that Vincent wanted to say something about that morning and she just didn't want to hear it. She was in a good mood, damnit!
He looked at her again and looked down. "Thanks." He muttered, before entering his room. Yuffie's jaw dropped as the door shut behind him.
A thought popped into her head that had nothing to do with what had just happened. Yuffie wondered if Vincent Valentine could sing.

"Ohhh, man. It's been too long since I've had that." Yuffie said. She burped a little and sat back in her chair.
"I suspect Yuffie has been hanging around Cid too much." Vincent said. Tifa giggled.
"Vincent, you made a joke!" She exclaimed. She stood up to get everyone's dishes.
"I've got it." Cloud said, standing and gathering plates and cups. Yuffie feigned a heart attack.
"Oh my gawd, Cloud's cleaning!" She said, leaning back and faking convulsions. Tifa laughed and helped Cloud clear the table.
Today was a Friday so Tifa rounded on Yuffie and Vincent to get out of the bar while she got ready for the evening rush. With a sigh of long suffering, Yuffie stood up and left - followed by Vincent.
"Man, what a bummer. No place to hang out and I'm stuck in Kalm, with Vincent." She sighed.
"...If my company doesn't suit you, feel free to find someone else to be around." Vincent said. He almost sounded hurt. He turned and started walking away from her.
"I didn't mean it that way, Vince!" She said, stunned. Actually, she had, but she hadn't meant to hurt his feelings.
"You won't have youthful ignorance to blame on your mistakes for much longer, Yuffie." Vincent said. He turned around. "You're 21 years old. You've helped save the world three times. I would think that by now you would know how to handle the people that surround you."
Yuffie blinked at him. "Did you just tell me to grow up? Puh-leeze, Vincent, I didn't lock myself up in a coffin for thirty years over some girl who dumped me. I may be immature, but at least I'm not emo."
Vincent stopped, and then did something that completely stunned Yuffie. He smiled.
"You have got me there." He said. Then he turned and started walking away again.
"Hey, Vincent." He stopped.
"What?"
"...You should TOTALLY come to karaoke with me tonight!" Yuffie ran and jumped in front of him. "Come onnnnn, I don't wanna go by myself!"
"...Out of the question." Stern Vincent was back. He was, of course, much too dignified for willful participation in something like karaoke.
"Come on, Vinnie! It'll be fun! I won't make you sing or anything!" Using her old annoying nickname for him didn't change anything; in fact, his expression said something like "Yeah, you think you could make me do anything? Dream on."
"Pleeeeease?" She said. She screwed up her face into her best pouty expression; for someone with Vincent's willpower, she'd need it all. The quivering lower lip, the tearful eyes, the sad face, the squinched up nose.
She doubted it'd work, but it was worth a try!
Amazingly enough, she saw a wavering in Stern Vincent's expression. Aha! A weakness! She didn't stop to ponder the weirdness of it. She just went with what worked.
"Pleeeeease?" She clutched her hands in front of her. That did it.
He sighed, and looked away. "Fine."
"Yay! It's a date!" She said, jumping up and pumping her fist in the air. Vincent rolled his eyes and started back to where he'd been going in the first place. Wherever that was, Yuffie didn't know; she'd run back inside to go get ready for karaoke.

Author's Note: I think I'm doing alright keeping everyone within decent confines of OOC-ness. I think I'm accounting well for Yuffie's aging and Vincent's reactions to the events in Dirge of Cerberus. Just give me a little while to get back into the swing of things, okay?