Yuffie walked into Vincent's apartment when he unlocked the door. It wasn't a small place to call home at all and would be a comfy place for about three people to live. The rooms weren't dressed in dark shades as she pictured and was shocked to see the kitchen dressed in a warm brown and light blue. It was anything but the image she pictured for Vincent's home. The living room held a dark brown recliner and a gray love seat. Not a very color coordinated set up, but it worked for him. The center table was black and matched the case holding his small television. Yuffie was stunned with the small size of the restroom and could only imagine the trouble he faced when getting ready in the mornings. There were two guest bedrooms, but they appeared to have only sheets tossed on them to look somewhat appealing. It was obvious he didn't have many visitors stay the night. But it did warm her heart to see he kept the idea of having people over slightly in his mind.

The last place Yuffie ventured to was his bedroom. This was the room where his need for black exploded. The black sheets matched his comforter spot on. His curtains were checkered black and gray with silver hooks holding them in place. If someone ever wanted to sulk all they needed to do was find Vincent's bedroom. She rolled her eyes and left the dungeon alone.

"I'm surprised you don't have a girlfriend with all this stepping up going on," Yuffie teased and sat down on the love seat.

"Who says I don't have one?" he said and sat in the recliner.

"Please, no girl would let you stay days with another girl just because we were once friends," she said and smiled. He knew better than to think girls were that simple.

"Once friends? Are we no longer friends then?" he asked and leaned back in his chair without looking away from her face. There was something he was digging for and it made her curious. She would play along for now.

"We are no longer the same as we used to be. You still dress in the all black getup, but you lost your red cape. You don't wear the red wrap around your head, but you still have eyes like lava. Smiles creep onto your face more often and you talk a lot more," Yuffie looked up to the ceiling and drummed her fingers on her leg. "I don't know if we know one another like we used to."

"Oh I see. It's a bit like how you don't go on endless rants jumping from topic to topic but you still make those smart comments on occasion? How you don't feel entirely uncomfortable wearing a dress but you like the attention you get by throwing a fit about it? How you still smile at me but don't have the strength behind the look as you once did?" Vincent continued to look at her as her face turned a touch of pink. "And I'll deny I ever said this, but the use of the annoying nickname has vanished and I miss it a little."

Yuffie took her eyes off the ceiling and looked over at Vincent. She gave him a childish smile and fiddled with the bottom of her skirt. "It's been a long time since I've seen you. Pulling the nickname out again would almost be embarrassing."

"Ah, I'm sure there are more embarrassing things to experience," he said and scratched his nose. It was time to get out before they got too wrapped up in their conversations. "Let's go see Tifa and see what we can learn about Cloud finding Rio."

xXxXxXxXx

Tifa rushed Yuffie with a huge hug as if she hadn't seen her in years. Even though it was true, it was still a bit much. She made Yuffie take a seat and poured her some of the bar's best tea. Smiles were on both girls' faces and Vincent felt good seeing them happy.

"Have you heard anything from Cloud?" Yuffie asked.

"Nothing more than them being right on his tale. Word has been sent to some of Cid's friends in the air and they are keeping eyes out as well. It's only a matter of time at this point," Tifa took a seat on her bar stole behind the counter and smiled at her old friend. "Were you surprised when you saw Vincent was the one to save you?"

Yuffie blushed slightly. "I was more embarrassed. When I first woke up I was hurting and basically took off my hospital gown. I'm not certain how much of a peep show Vincent got with that one."

Vincent smiled at her and shook his head. "When you started moving the gown I closed my eyes and waited until you finished your investigation. But the doctors did a good job clearing out the bugs and patching up the holes."

"You still saw more than you should have," Yuffie said and stuck her tongue out.

"Probably," he agreed and she didn't know what to say in response.

"Vincent, you said Yuffie was in a pink gel while in the tube. Do you know what the gel was?" Tifa asked and worry filled her face.

"I can't tell you with a hundred percent answer. If you look at our eyes you can see we have the same shine in the color. The only difference is mine turned red during the experiment and Yuffie's remained the same. I also needed to have my arm replaced when the Mako was injected. Almost like Yuffie's new metal parts. I think the Mako was a bit more calm in her and really only intended to eat away the internal damage. But when Godo crashed her out of the gel the air started slowly tearing at her skin and the chemicals went crazy," Vincent smiled at Yuffie and Tifa. "I did a lot of talking with the doctors while she was out of it."

"I see," Yuffie said and nibbled on her bottom lip slightly. Vincent caught the motion and his body did an internal kick. She would kill him before he would ever think straight around her again.

"Does this mean she is like you now?" Tifa asked.

The idea was deep in Vincent's mind. If she was like him he would have at least a friend to spend his time with. There was no clue or sign to show how long he would live and the same could be said about Yuffie. It had to be more complicated than that. Nothing ever worked out for him like this.

"All of this is killing my head. Vincent, can I crash at your place tonight?" she asked suddenly and gave him a simple smile. The smile was simple to the point of making him worry. She was a complicated girl and there had to be more in her head than just going to bed.

"Sure," he said and gave in to her wishes. What was the worst that could happen? She probably was beat and wanted some time alone. What better place to seek being alone than the place he called home?

xXxXxXxXx

"Good night, Yuffie," Vincent said as he walked away from the bedroom he straightened up for her. They had gotten lost in the movie and some snacks on the couch before they called it time for bed.

"Good night," she whispered and sat back in the bed. She let her mind wonder and all she could think about were the times they were thrown into battle and Vincent lost control of Chaos. It was always so scary to her, but he always seemed to win over the beast in the end. Would she be able to win over the beast that was possibly inside her? Did she even need to worry about the creature coming out since the battles were unlikely to happen ever again? Times were happier now and they didn't need to worry about fighting enemies.

If she did have a Chaos of her own, would Vincent be willing to be with her as support and live the rest of their lives together? She wasn't looking for anything serious, but a friend would be fine for now. If something grew she would take it, but it was still too odd to think about.

Yuffie drifted to sleep and was thrown back to the battles she fought alongside Chaos. The happiest part was reliving the truth how the beast never attacked Vincent's friends. The most terrifying part was not knowing if she carried the strength to fight her demon away like Vincent always did.