The unrest in the city grew. Anyone connected to the government and the Shinra company were especially on the edge for now it had been almost a month since their first actual direct link to the AVALANCHE group disappear.
The blatant failure and incompetence of the government to capture one injured and blinded man was embarrassing to say the least and the trust of the citizens grew weaker by the day. The government members, especially its high officials, were worried about which attack would be next when in fact they should have been worried about someone much closer to them, someone who had invested a lot of money into this government, someone who had a lot more to lose with this failure to produce results.
He leaned back in his chair as he calmly looked over each member fidgeting anxiously under his eerily serene gaze. He was a sharply dressed man, from head to toe there were zero signs of wrinkles in his finely pressed black suit and his silver hair was pulled straight back into a neat pony tail. Not even a hair was out of place. Everything about him shouted that he did not accept anything less than perfection.
And they were far from perfection.
A hard fist slammed onto the table, a fist that did not belong to the impeccably dressed man.
"It's been a month since he escaped, Kadaj! Either by now you should have found him or at least his fucking corpse!"
The impeccably dressed man, now known as Kadaj, didn't respond. He sat patiently in his seat until the strained silence began to eat at the man who dared to make the outburst.
The man swallowed hard as sweat lined his forehead. "We...We're like sitting ducks! AVALANCHE is probably planning their next attack on us and you are doing NOTHING! This was not what we were promised!"
Kadaj now stood and walked in slow strides around the long conference table. No one dared to move or even breathe slightly aloud and let the room echo with the clacking of sleek black shoes.
"It is interesting," Kadaj started with a gentle yet curious tone, "that you bring that up, Mr. Lee. For you see, I was about to say the exact same thing."
He paused to direct his eyes out the glass windows that stretched all around them, providing them with a clear view over the city. The sun was setting now as the sky burned a deep molten
He stopped midway in his stroll to gaze out the glass pane that overlooked the city as the sky glowed a deep molten hue, tricking the viewer an illusion of the city on fire. Oh, if only.
"Let's take a step back shall we?" Kadaj suggested in a suspiciously cheery tone as he turned back around to them with wide open arms. "It seems, we need a little REFRESHER!"
The air stilled dangerously at the subtle strain in his voice.
"Oh don't look so tense! I'm more than happy to do so seeing as you are all a bit stupid...well...MORE stupid than we had originally speculated," Kadaj exclaimed, his smile now taut like a tightly wound rubber band. "When we made this alliance, we were promised and expected….competency. We have our own resources to handle AVALANCHE but if we did everything underground after this alliance, we are no better than your average mob for hire. No, when we made this alliance, we wanted the complete compliance of the government to make sure AVALANCHE would be handled in the right way."
He made his way again around the table, and it suddenly felt like a murderous version of duck duck goose as the officials were petrified in their seats. They weren't sure where he'd direct the anger that was clearly raging on inside him, but each of them all desperately hoped his anger would be directed to the fat pig who dared challenge Kadaj. Better him than them.
"We had hoped they would be portrayed as a terrorist group that is inconveniencing and terrorizing not only the government but the people as well. That, they would be vilified as terrorists who stand against order. And then, in the right moment shone with the right light, people would see their true nature as villains and would want them to be captured and tried for justice. And how heroic would that be, that their government, though suffering a great loss, kept its shit together and captured the man tied to AVALANCHE and put him on trial."
Kadaj turned back to the window again in one fluid, graceful motion. His expression terrified those who caught it in the reflection of the glass. "Isn't that a good plan? I thought it was an excellent plan. It gives the government some credit, it dispels the rumor that Shinra is taking care of things discreetly for the government and that we are a legitimate and sound company, and it taints the clean name of AVALANCHE with a ledger so red they can paint the entire city with it. Overall, I thought it would go great. A GREAT PR moment if you will."
"Now," Kadaj spun around to face the man who made the outburst. Never has such beautiful blue eyes came across so maliciously. "I can't exactly say where it all went wrong. We had knowledge of when they would attack, we had the bomb placed, the sacrificial lambs fully bloody and ready to die or well...not ready to die but we all gotta die some time right? Everything was perfect. And for sure, I had thought everything was going well. I mean, the man was pulverized by the explosion AND he was blinded. You can't really ask for a better victim!"
A sort of maniacal laughter chilled the air and everyone was on the edge of their seats. Literally. They were ready to run should things turn sour though they weren't sure if they would even make it out of this place alive should Kadaj go into one of his tantrums again.
"And YET Mr. Lee. It was YOUR policemen who could not even capture this decrepit bastard. I even lent you some of my men after you lost him on that car chase," he turned to the other members as a very disturbing cackle escaped his twisted lips. "This idiot didn't even bother to bring his fucking SCENT DOGS! He brings them after a rainshower!"
Kadaj clutched his stomach as he boisterously laughed out loud to a joke that everyone seemed to have missed.
Soon, the hysterical laughter simmered down to a bemused chuckle. "And we had given you all...soo much money." He shook his head in disbelief. Clearly, they were missing what was so amusing about this entire situation. "And all we had asked...in exchange...was just some competency."
His rage exploded like a bomb. It was all too fast to recur. The seat was kicked out from underneath him, and before he could scramble up from the floor, Kadaj landed a hard kick into his fat gut and pressed his pointed black shoes down against his face roughly.
"I hope I managed to refresh your mind about who was not doing their fucking job. But I suppose I should have known better. Fool me once shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me."
Blood spurted out from underneath his shoes with a sickening crack. Kadaj rubbed his shoes against the man's clothes to wipe the blood from underneath. Mr. Lee now wailed and cried as he clutched at his shattered, bloody nose.
"Perhaps, giving you all money has made you and your dogs lazy, you feel too safe. Maybe what we need to do is provide you with a sense of URGENCY."
"W...What are you going to do?" someone asked in a hushed whisper.
"With 50 pigs gone from that explosion, one more won't hurt, will it? He took out a carefully sheathed knife from his inner pocket and revealed the blade, the sharp steel reflecting blindly against the sun. "An example must be made if we are going to show you what we exactly expect of you and what will happen when you don't reach our expectations."
Mr. Lee cried out at the sight of the sharp knife and crawled towards the door in a panic, helplessly trying to escape. A horrifying scream solidified the tension in the room.
Kadaj sighed as he used the man's pocket square to clean his knife. "And this is an important public service announcement to our good friends in the government: you are all replaceable. The moment you took our money, you became our live stock. You want to stay alive in this animal farm, you better stay fucking useful."
"City official and retired chief of police Cyrus Lee has been reported missing for a week now as the government is scrambling to contain the mess that was the terrorist bombing earlier this month and the wreckage and chaos that had ensued the city. Cyrus was in charge of the search party in locating the criminal Vincent Valentine of AVALANCHE when to the dismay of many people, the search had came up completely empty. Interim city official Hojo has taken over until Cyrus Lee is found, and he has issued his first public statement:
"The city is hurting right now and you have every right to feel this way. We had let you down in the worst way possible but I guarantee you that will all change. We will stay strong in the midst of this villainous effort to break us apart and continue to protect our people. Shinra Electric Company has graciously donated to build a monument for those whose life were lost in the line of duty as well as donated to increase our efforts in finding the culprit responsible. We will not rest until AVALANCHE and its affiliates are found and we will bring them to justice for their heinous crime."
"Any word on where city official Cyrus Lee may be at?" A reported asked.
"We have speculation at the moment but due to security reasons we cannot disclose them to the public at this time."
"There are rumors sir saying that he may have been assassinated or caught by the terrorist group Avalanche. Do we have any reason to believe that is true?"
The man named Hojo looked grieved. "I cannot confirm nor deny at the moment. Right now our main focus is locating the man Vincent Valentine as he stands as the true danger to the public, and Mr. Lee would also agree with our decision as being a chief of police himself: the well being of the citizens is vastly more important than one life. While we will continue to look for Cyrus, most of our efforts will be put in finding Vincent Valentine and strengthening our security. Until the man is caught, there will be stricter enforcement of the city's boundaries so we can monitor who is coming and going. We apologize for the minor inconvenience to our citizens but we greatly appreciate your patience in working with us in providing a safer environment for all of us to live in. Our city's greatest asset is our people, and we strongly encourage everyone to report any suspicious activity. That will be all for today, and we will update you with progress along the way."
Vincent gripped the cup in his hands tightly.
Hojo…
The man should have been dead but like the cockroach he managed to survive each time. He had been his target that night, the man behind everything. The mad man had cleverly disguised himself as a humble public servant when in fact he was the leech of Shinra Electric Power Company. Using their technology and irresponsible funding, he had exploited innocents for his twisted experiments.
"I wondered what happened to Mr. Lee?" Yuffie sat down next to him with a tray of hot tea, having overheard a part of the news in the kitchen.
"He's dead."
Her head whipped towards him, "Dead?!" she repeated in shock. "...So AVALANCHE really did-."
"It wasn't us."
The curt reply instinctively made her purse her lips tight like a child who got scolded for saying a bad word. "Then who?"
"Him."
Yuffie turned back to see a tall lanky man who seemed more fit to be in a lab than on a podium addressing the public about police matters.
"He must be a really bad person for you to have such a scary face like that," she whispered quietly as she observed the news bulletin.
"He seems like an asshole," she joked, awkwardly trying to lift the mood. "I mean just look at him, his face screams I have childhood trauma and I use that as an excuse to make others life miserable. That and he probably killed animals for fun as a kid. A serial killer in the making."
"You're not far off."
Yuffie's eyes widened even wider now. "Wow. And they let a guy like that in the government?"
"Hopefully, there won't be a day when you'll see him in person."
"Is he one of your targets?" Yuffie asked. She turned to him now, wanting to observe his facial expression when he answered.
"Yes."
"Will there be a day when you'll see him in person?"
"If all goes to plan."
There was a gravity behind his words that scared her, that strangely symbolized an end, an end that was permanent. The eerie sense of danger with this man and his words paralleled the type of terror she had felt when her friend had died in that hospital room.
"If that moment comes, I hope you'll come back safely," she said, this time meeting his eyes, almost searching in his expression and those blank eyes for a confirmation. Say it, say you'll come back.
He didn't answer and instead diverted to a different topic. "What time will you be leaving for work?"
That seemed to do the trick as she propped her head back up to check the time on the clock. "Oh I should start getting ready, I need to leave in 30 minutes. I'll be there until 7 today so I left some food in the fridge. You memorized the number to the clinic, right?"
"Yes," he answered.
"Good." There was a smile in her voice and he had done his job. Someone like her did not need to worry about demons like Hojo. And she certainly did not need to worry about people like himself. That was for monsters like himself; after all, only a beast can kill another beast.
He closed his eyes as he listened to her getting ready. She had a habit where she always lost something before she had to leave, whether it be her keys, her jacket, purse, or even a pair of socks.
Vincent was used to her going to work now after a month of living with her. Her schedule was erratic as there was not a set hours of operation for the clinic. Due to the sparse population out here, she usually left for the clinic when someone ringed in or if the doctor from the next town over called Heagen, had phoned in ahead to let her know of his plans for the week. He was a good man according to Yuffie. The town of Heagen was about a 40 mile drive from their little shanty town, but he drove over those long distances to provide his services for a minimal fee here which barely covered the cost to make the trip.
He oddly thought it was a shame that Yuffie was not aware of her own good deeds. Yuffie was considerate as he had witnessed from day one. On days when she would be gone till late into the night, she premade his dinner and left it in the fridge. She even had led him around the small kitchen, guiding his hands to let him feel where everything was located.
Little by little he had gotten to know her though as it applied to both of them, there were still some secrets between them. Very rarely would she talk about the time when she worked at the hospital in the city; if she ever did mention it, it would be very brief and vague. Tifa seemed to be her closest friend though it appeared she was friends with most of the people who worked at the ever famous Tifa's bar he kept hearing about.
"Before I go let me change your bandage!" She rushed out of her room with the first aid kit in hand.
When she unwrapped the bandage, she saw the gruesome injury had been mostly healed and all that was left was some newly formed flesh that was destined to be an ugly scar. "Just a little bit more cleaning and you should be good to go. We don't even have to have it bandaged anymore, it's basically healed."
She got the cleaner and dabbed gently around the area but never directly on the scar. She looked on apologetically, "I'm sorry I can't do anything about the scar."
"It's not important."
"Still," Yuffie commented as she finished up. "You are one lucky guy. To have it this healed without any infection and without a tetanus shot? You are seriously lucky."
There was the softest puff of air from his nostrils and she grinned. He was chuckling on the inside. With a hidden smile, Yuffie put away the first aid kit and hurried out the door. "I'll see you at 7, Vincent!"
A few moments passed before he heard the door flung open, "I"m sorry, I think I forgot my-."
Before she could finish, a set of keys launched through the air and she caught it with ease with an embarrassed laugh. "I always do this, sorry! See you at 7, and I'm leaving for real this time!" He heard her voice drift off and heard the jangling of the keys before the locks set in place. Now he knew she was gone.
Vincent used this time to move around a bit freely. He slid the coffee table over to one side so he had enough space to stretch out his long body. He began with easy, yet long and detailed stretches to make sure each muscle was loosened up before working them out. He needed to build back some of his endurance and strength if he wanted to be in good condition whenever Cloud decided to show up.
He began with his legs, before moving onto his arms and core. As he pushed himself, his thoughts were consumed with her. She was an interesting person, needless to say. After all, this was his first time in a long time to ever really be this close with a stranger let alone a civilian.
Throughout the month, he had felt himself changing. He was reluctant at first to this change; it was mostly due to fear that the change would make him weak. But, he rationalized that change was something that happened naturally and not necessarily something weak. It was something that happened naturally when you spend time with someone who was very different than yourself.
No one, in the long time he had worked in this industry, had ever told him about the good or the bad in anything or anyone. After all, they were all mostly focused on defeating the enemy so you did not necessarily conversed about what was socially acceptable or not. He had never gotten a lecture about the way he responded to people or how he made other people feel due to his rather stoicness. No one cared about that in his industry. He hadn't cared about it either, until now. All you had to do in this line of work was follow orders and kill. IF you could do that, they didn't care if you had the personality of a douchebag.
But here he was: an assassin living with a civilian. And as much as he would like to NOT care, he ended up caring very, very much to his dismay. It concerned him when there was a slight negative change in her tone, her mood, and even her body language and especially if that slight change was due to his old habits when it came to social contact.
So in response, Vincent found himself trying to accommodate to her. He supposed it was him feeling sorry since she was the one helping him out. After all, he'd pretty much be dead if it wasn't for her. He could trust his abilities and skills all he wanted, however there were some things he just knew he couldn't do. And, he knew very well the limitations of his capabilities.
Like she had stated, he had been very lucky. Vincent Valentine had been lucky to have met someone who did not turn him in. He had been lucky to have met someone who had been a nurse in a medical hospital where she knew how to treat severe injuries. It had been a strange turn of luck he had never experienced. Up until now he had never experienced a thing called "luck."
His comrades would say they were lucky to have survived that night, or they were lucky to have missed that bullet.
He didn't know what that meant.
Luck was never a factor into his missions. The bullet missed him because he saw or felt it coming. It missed because of the years of training and experience out on the field. The bullet didn't miss him because he was lucky. It missed him because he knew how to avoid it. If he screwed up, he was dead. It was as simple as that. There was no luck about surviving to Vincent. If you knew what you were doing, you lived.
That was all he could depend on. That and Cloud, the rare comrade who he would call friend had he not been so uncomfortable with the notion of the term friend (though it was not the same for Cloud who readily referred to him as his friend).
But he did, didn't he. Vincent referred to him as his friend in front of Yuffie, and so easily too.
He had certainly changed, for better or for worse.
It had been a long day. There were many people who had a cold or who were in the beginning stages of the flu. Luckily, Tifa had gotten enough medicine for Yuffie to distribute at the set price Tifa advised her to sell. She silently thanked Tifa for also retrieving a handy supply of gloves and masks. Yuffie needed it, especially if she did not want to bring the cold back to Virus.
Dr. Grey came out of his office with his coat and scarf. "Good work tonight, Yuffie."
"Same to you, Dr. Grey. Thanks for coming out tonight."
He shook his head with a weary smile. "I'm only doing my job. I took an oath for a reason."
"I wish some doctors would remember that."
He patted her shoulder with a knowing smile. "Could you thank Tifa for me for getting everything I requested. I'm only able to do what I can here thanks to you and your friend."
"We do what we can since you do so much for us here, Dr. Grey," Yuffie smiled.
"You sure I can't help you close up?"
She stood up and rushed him out, "No, no. This is the little stuff and I can take care of this. You have a long drive ahead of you, don't worry about here. I don't mind finishing up anyway! Go go, your family misses you, I'm sure."
"I appreciate it, Yuffie. I'll see you in a couple of days. Let me know if there's an emergency though, all right?"
"Yes, yes, Dr. Grey. Now hurry on out, I can't close properly with you here," Yuffie gave him a soft pat on the back as she lead him out the door.
"All right, all right. Good night, Yuffie."
The doctor finally headed out and she finally sighed in content. Yuffie liked it that way, after all, he had a long drive ahead of him. The man was a sweetheart but she knew he was always trying to do too much. As much as she appreciated his efforts, sometimes you had to know when to say No. She snorted. She should take her own advice, honestly.
She got busy with organizing the office and sanitizing every surface and throwing out the trash appropriately before finally locking up.
The weather was wonderful tonight. The stars were brightly lit for once and it wasn't too cold out unlike the previous nights when she felt like her toes were going to fall off. The ocean's waves were lazy and dull and she knew this type of weather did not come often during the winter.
She often liked to come out by herself on nights like this to walk as it was a rare thing to do in the city. When day became night, she had always tried to get inside her apartment as soon as possible. The only times she would be out at night was when she was out with her now ex-boyfriend. Other than that, she never went out alone in the city.
But here, she felt oddly safe. They had always made this town to be the more dangerous than the city and now she knew it to be a lie. The town was much quieter and peaceful. She began to enjoy taking walks at night to clear her thoughts and enjoy what was around her: the sand beneath her feet, the salty ocean air, the quiet and dark sky.
With her little house by the ocean in view, she wondered if Vincent would be up for a walk. Since he had shown up, she had stopped her walks and she desperately need a way to wind down.
When she walked in she saw that Vincent was sitting on the couch, freshly showered with his hair nice and dry.
"Did you eat?"
"Yes."
"Good, good," Yuffie replied as she rummaged through the fridge after setting her bag down.
After a small pause, Vincent spoke up, "How was the clinic?"
"It wasn't bad. Just a few people with the cold but nothing too serious. Tifa had gotten enough medicine to go around so we were well prepped," Yuffie explained happily before biting hungrily into a sandwich she had made earlier.
When she finally finished the sandwich, she walked over to Vincent. "Hey, so I was wondering...did you want to go out for a walk? No one is out right now and I have a hat you can wear. I figured it be kind of stuffy for you since you were inside the house all day."
"Yes, that would be nice." he answered.
Yuffie hummed in reply, "Okay let me get the hat and the muffler!"
When she returned, Yuffie asked him to sit down on the floor in front of her as she sat behind him on the couch. Vincent sat there confused yet nevertheless stayed still for the girl. Carefully, Yuffie gently brushed his hair back while silently marveling the softness of his long black tresses. She was pretty sure they used the same shampoo now and her hair never turned out this nice. It must have been genetics. She frowned.
Yuffie tied the hair at a midway height and took the ponytail and twisted it loosely before lifting it upwards to the top of his head. Once that was done, she hastily pulled the baseball cap over so that his long hair was tucked inside the hat without any large bumps. It was an old trick she had used back in the city with her own hair when it was longer. Sometimes it was just easier to walk back home from work at night when assholes thought you were just another dude.
With his hair fixed into the cap, she helped him slip into his black coat that Tifa had gotten him. Yuffie made sure to wrap the muffler around him so that most of his face was hidden.
The evening air had dropped slightly yet she ventured out anyway. Luckily for her, the stars were still out and the moon was in full force, shining above the dark ocean and piercing through the darkness with its luminous light.
Vincent walked by her side with her hand in the crook of his elbow to guide him through the sand. It was a bit trickier than he had anticipated to walk through the sand for half of it was frozen and stiff and the other half was still loose thanks to the slightly warmer weather earlier today.
The gentle waves slurring against the wet sand was a pleasant backdrop music as it filled the silence between them before Yuffie spoke up.
"Are you cold?" Yuffie asked, sniffling slightly.
"You seem to be."
"No, no. My nose always gets a little runny with the cold air. This is nice though, isn't it?" she mentioned as she gazed around the beach. They were secluded in the darkness of the night with the bright moon their only source of light, like they were in another world.
"Did you used to do this often?" he asked.
"Yeah, when the weather permitted it. I did it a lot during the summer since it was always cooler in the evenings."
"Isn't it a little dangerous to be walking outside alone at night?" he asked.
Yuffie looked up in surprise. He was...concerned? Her rosy cheeks became even rosier. "Well...it's safer here at night than in the city to be honest. There's no one here to harass me."
Without his tone ever changing, Vincent continued, "you should still be careful. You never know what's lurking in the shadows."
"You sound just like Tifa."
"Tifa is smart then."
Yuffie stuck out her tongue at him and then turned her head away when he glanced towards her.
"You did something just now."
"I don't know what you're talking about," she said in a sing song voice.
The darkness helped conceal the smile on his face, unbeknownst to Yuffie.
"Do you get worried your friend might not show up?" Yuffie asked suddenly as she gazed out the ocean.
"No."
"Why?"
"Because he pulls through."
"That's a lot of trust," she mused thoughtfully. Even he has a friend like that, she thought. She smiled gently into the night in response. "I'm glad you have someone to trust like that."
"Oh?"
Yuffie nodded. "I assume being in your area of work, trust doesn't come easily even from people who are working on the same side since there could be spies. And people are people, from my experience. Even the best of people get swayed and they end up betraying others. So, it's nice to know that even though you're in an environment where you need to look out for yourself, you have that one person you can count on. That person who you know will come through for you especially when you need them the most…"
"I am guessing Tifa is that person for you," Vincent stated quietly.
Yuffie nodded against his shoulder, unknowingly leaning into the arm she was holding. "I honestly don't know where I'd be right now if it wasn't for her."
They had stopped walking for a while now. From a far, someone would have mistaken them for a couple enjoying a nice moonlit walk in the winter. They both gazed off into the dark horizon with the bright moon in their sights."Even my own boyfriend ….er ex-boyfriend now, wasn't there for me back then, and he was someone I trusted too you know?"
He knew immediately of "when" she was talking about. He didn't know much about her time during then either, but he recognized the tone when she spoke of it, the traumatizing incident that had triggered her panic attack on their second day together.
"Honestly…." she started nervously. Yuffie closed her eyes tightly, swallowing hard as she prepared for the next words. She wanted to say it with conviction because it was something she needed to acknowledge for a long time and oddly enough with Vincent's presence she felt strong enough to do so. "Honestly, I'd probably be dead right now. I really didn't want to live during that time."
She didn't turn to meet his eyes, nor did he. They both fixed their eyes on the darkness before them.
A moment of silence passed until he finally spoke up. "There...are many people I am sure who are glad that you are still alive."
Yuffie felt a small grin coming on and looked down at her feet. "I mean, sure. After all, who else would help around here?"
"I do not mean it in terms of your medical skills although I do not doubt that they value your skills. There are many people I believe in your life who are glad for your existence."
Tears began to well up in her eyes and they soon gathered in large droplets that her vision became a little hazy. She tried to laugh it off. This was no time to cry. "I didn't think I'd ever hear something like that from you!"
Yuffie sniffled for a bit as she clumsily tried to wipe her eyes to get rid of any evidence that she cried though it was a bit too late for that.
"Do you believe that for yourself?" Yuffie asked curiously, sniffling slightly.
"No. There are many people who would be glad if I were dead. I do not live because there is a purpose or because I want to live. I live because ...I feel that I could be of use for others who have good intentions for this world."
Yuffie was not sure how to respond. His words carried him away even though he was right there next to her. She felt like he was drifting away and that she was finally realizing just how far their places were in this world. Why did he speak like he's not a part of this world? Like he wasn't meant to belong in it?
Before she knew it, she had reached for his hand and held it tightly, like he'd disappear in an instant if she let go of him. "I hope...that one day, Vincent," she spoke into the darkness, "you find yourself living because you want to see the sunrise the next day. And that you live because you want to live, and not for anyone else except yourself."
They held each other, gazing into each other's eyes. His eyes though were shadowed by the cap and she could barely read his facial expression which was usually hard to read even when his face was in full view. She wasn't sure if the words reached him though she desperately wished they had. To suddenly hear him speak of mortality the way he did, it frightened her to her core.
She wondered why his words terrified her so much. Maybe it was because whatever he said, it was the truth, a statement of the inevitable future.
When she realized she was holding onto his hand, she retreated her hand back quickly. "My goodness your hand is warm," she joked, and now her eyes and hands felt foreign and lost when he reached out and grasped it. With their hands clasped together, he tucked his hands into the pocket of his jacket.
"Wh..I," Yuffie stuttered when Vincent interrupted her.
"Your hands are cold," he said simply as if that was reason enough. "Come," he said in his ever stoic voice, "you need to warm up. The great nurse Yuffie Kisaragi can not afford to get sick when there are patients to treat."
Yuffie broke into laughter and playfully punched his shoulder. His voice was so monotonous that made it so funny since she knew this was his strange awkward way of joking. It was so emotionless the joke sounded so serious and genuine.
As they walked hand in hand, Yuffie's brown eyes followed her arm to where she was joined with Vincent in his warm pocket. It was certainly warm in there. She bet it was warmer in his jacket too.
Flushing vividly, she shook her head aggressively to clear that thought. Vincent as usual ignored her. He knew she was back into her thoughts again.
Her heart was beating loudly in her chest as her mind unconsciously focused on how his long fingers were entwined with hers so intimately and she felt the roughness of his palms against her own. It was so intimate she felt like her heart was going to explode. What was wrong with her?
Notes:
Thanks for waiting for the update! Like I said before, best way to know when I update is to set me on an alert because my personal life is a little hectic so I unfortunately can't update as regularly as I want.
I do want to thank you all for liking and leaving me comments, those always ALWAYS motivate me to write especially when I'm having a writers block.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I think the most difficult thing about this story is pacing and making sure they're not moving too fast or too slow, but I always have to remind myself sometimes ppl who live together for 24/7, things move a little different for them in terms of relationship and bonding. And like i've said about Vincent before (who may be confused to my interpretation of him), he's has never been a cold person to me. I always viewed him as someone who just doesn't really know what to do in social situations and that he cares on the inside, he's just not very outwardly expressible on the outside (though he does have his serious and cold vibe if need be)
Anyways, thanks for reading and leave me a comment or kudos if you enjoyed it! I will also answer any questions you have.
