Mimizmr – oh you'll be surprised! There might actually be something wrong with Vincent… possibly. Anyways yeah the summary sucked so its gonna be hard to tell what this story is about until I get a few more chapters posted. I can say that nobody's seriously ill, and there most likely won't be any character death. (most likely)
The Business
(Chapter Four)
Yuffie the Counselor
Yuffie cringed as she slowly slid down into the passenger seat of Vincent's car. His scent nearly suffocated her as she closed the door. Vincent slammed his door shut and rammed the keys in the ignition. What was wrong with Lucrecia!? He was afraid of how she would react if he confronted her. Never once had he ever tried to argue with her. Her words were his laws and he'd live by them. He'd do anything as long as she remained beside him.
Yuffie obviously noticed he was pissed off about having to give her a ride home. He hadn't even asked where she lived yet as he started the car. Their mansion was ten miles down a curvy, hilly, country road in the mountains outside of Midgar. "Look, it's not like I ask to come out here. Thank your lovely wife for that one, buddy."
"Shut up." He snapped quickly.
"Don't tell me to shut up." Yuffie turned towards him ready to punch him in the face. Vincent revved his car sending her back in her seat. "Just cause I got you in trouble with your wife… Well, you know what you deserve it. I hope she makes you sleep in a doghouse outside." Yuffie laughed to herself. Vincent sighed loudly choosing to ignore her.
"Where you do live, Miss Kisaragi?" He asked with false politeness.
"In East Midgar. 2300 Wildflower Drive." She answered, twirling a piece of her hair "Its three blocks away from the Wutainese restaurant my dad bought out." Of course it had to be raining, and as soon as Vincent turned down the road towards Midgar he flipped on his windshield wipers.
Hearing music that was so low you could barely hear it irked Yuffie. She couldn't help but reach other and turn up the music. His radio was set on a soft rock station. Yuffie smirked to herself surprised she didn't find him listening to some devil music. Vincent turned and looked at her like she'd lost her mind. Then, he reached down and turned the stereo off completely.
"You're an asshole."
Yuffie said crossing her arms and looking out the window. What a dickhead! And he has the nerve to ignore me! "Did you hear me? I said you were an asshole!" Yuffie said a bit louder leaning towards him.
"Did you not hear me? I said to keep quiet. Or I'll dump you off here." Vincent didn't raise his voice, but spoke in a calm cool monotone. Yuffie wondered how an emotionless dead man and a careless busy body managed to make a marriage work. Yuffie's mind then traveled into other places…
Vincent glanced at her out of the corner of his eye wondering why she hadn't responded violently to his comment like he'd expected.
"Do you ever get laid?" Yuffie asked turning to him with a naughty grin on her face. Vincent swore he must have heard her wrong, but still chose to ignore her. Yuffie took his silence as a no.
"Oooh so that's why." Yuffie laughed to herself when Vincent didn't respond she continued. "Look, dude, just cause your wife's not riding your meat pole, doesn't mean you gotta take it out on everyone else. For the Gods of Gaia's sake, hire a prostitute. Obviously you have enough money to..."
"Shut up!!" He roared loudly. The silence that followed his outburst made Yuffie extremely uncomfortable. She swore to herself she wouldn't let him push her around by fear, but right now she was a little afraid. Maybe it was the way he whipped around the sharp curves on wet payment at 80 miles per hour…
Once they entered the east area of Midgar Vincent cleared his throat first to break the silence. "Where did you say it was?"
"Left." Yuffie replied quickly. "Right." She said after he'd made the first turn. "Down this road it's the brown apartment buildings on the corner." Vincent noticed her tone seemed a bit shaky. He knew he must have scared her, but if she only knew the open wound she was throwing salt on…
"Thanks." Yuffie muttered getting out of his car and slamming the door before he even had a chance to respond. He hadn't planned on it anyway, as soon as the door shut he sped off. Yuffie looked up and saw Zack standing on the balcony smoking a cigarette. "Yuffie?" He squinted as he looked down at her from the second floor. "Get up here!" he said in a mock demanding tone waving her up. She smiled and hurried to the apartment.
"Whose snazzy whip was that?" He asked putting his cigarette out in the ash tray. Yuffie shrugged she wasn't about to admit that she had just accepted a ride home from her jackass boss. "Hey now, you can't be gettin into strange vehicles like that. Especially those rich folk."
Yuffie pulled a cigarette from his pack sitting on top of his dresser.
"Outside." Zack said immediately pointing to the balcony. "Aerith doesn't want anyone smoking in the house anymore since the baby might be living here for a while. You shouldn't be smoking anyways you're not eighteen yet."
Yuffie rolled her eyes. She wasn't really a smoker. She'd only started to fit in with a crowd at school. She told herself she wouldn't get hooked and she wasn't really. Just every now and then she felt the urge to smoke one. She stood out on the balcony smoking the cigarette as slowly as possible making it last so she wouldn't want to do it again for a while. Vincent's voice was still ringing in her ears. She began to wonder if she had really upset him, really she had no idea what was going on in their marriage. Were they having problems? Was he on a non sex punishment? Had they ever had sex? Did Lucrecia have…male parts? Yuffie smirked to herself maybe he had female parts… She shook away all these thoughts and figured she'd just ask her new 'bff' Lucrecia.
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The next day was the first weekday that Yuffie didn't have school first before going to work so she spent the whole first half of the day sleeping. Zack was coming in as she was about to leave for work. "Have a great day at work!"
"Tssyeah." Yuffie rolled her eyes as she walked passed him. She picked up Marlene from her house so she didn't have to walk and they were on their way to work. Since she had more of a variety of clothes to wear, today she wore two different color layered green tank tops and very short light jean shorts. She had her hair pulled up into funky pony tail. Marlene, who was always conservative even in such hot weather, wore a thin long sleeved white blouse and a tan colored skirt that came no higher than her knees. Her long brown hair hung loose down her back.
"I didn't get to say thanks yet for saving my brother's job." Marlene said as she and Yuffie got out of the car. Yuffie shrugged.
"Trust me it was nothing. He's not as big and bad as he seems." Yuffie smiled warmly at her. When Yuffie got to her desk and logged into her phone system she noticed there was an email message from V. Valentine. Yuffie gave the computer screen a weird look wondering what the hell he had to say to her. She pulled open the short message and read it.
Lucrecia wishes to meet you in the lobby at the end of your shift. You have permission to leave thirty minutes early. Do not make her wait.
Yuffie sighed. Of course. She knew Lucrecia would want her to try on the dresses again now that she'd been working on them. This time Yuffie'd make sure she drove her own car. Yuffie tossed around all her packets of information on the desk and began taking phone calls. Since this new call center had been open more than a month now, most of the problems with the delayed shippings were taking care off. Most of the customers calling now were quite pleasant and Yuffie had fun helping them shop for clothes in the catalogue. Eight thirty came pretty quickly and if it weren't for the respect Yuffie had for Lucrecia she would have made her wait just in spite of Vincent.
"Hi!" Lucrecia greeted her excitedly. "Oh I think the kimonos are going to look so amazing on you now!" Yuffie grinned and pretended to be equally excited. Yuffie followed Lucrecia in her own car to their mansion and found herself standing on that stool again while Lucrecia dressed her.
"Oh it's perfect! Next month is going to be great." She said clapping loudly. Yuffie looked over her shoulder at herself in the mirror. She never really noticed how shapely she was becoming until she saw herself in that skin tight turquoise and fuchsia kimono. Lucrecia noticed the way she was looking at herself. She remembered that moment. Most girls have them. Once you enter high school life is passing by you so fast that you fail to notice just how much you are growing and changing. "Honey is that you!?!" Lucrecia yelled suddenly. Yuffie hadn't even heard a sound, but surely enough Vincent walked into the room.
"Ye…" he caught sight of Yuffie in his wife's designed kimono. She glanced at him over her shoulder with her back to him. The dress came down very low stopping just millimeters away from showing the crack of her rear. Vincent's eyes traveled down her back stopping at the two dimples. He'd always thought they were the most erotic part of the female body. "…ss, dear."
"Doesn't she look just gorgeous?" Lucrecia grabbed Yuffie's shoulders and spun her around so the front of her was facing Vincent. Yuffie damned herself as the blush crept upon her cheeks. Vincent swallowed hard thinking of what would be appropriate to say. He didn't want to make his wife mad by saying something rude to Yuffie, but he didn't want Yuffie to think he was complimenting her either.
"Mm." Only Lucrecia would know that his 'hms' or 'mms' actually stood for a normal person's 'ya' or 'yeah'. She grinned happily. "Ok, now let's put on the last one." She started to untie the bow when Yuffie gasped.
"Oh! Vincent…" Lucrecia shooed him with her hands. He was out of the room in a second. As soon as he left Lucrecia laughed. "I think my husband wanted to see you naked." And why would that be funny to you? Yuffie thought with a horrified expression on her face.
"Why would he want to look at this when he can see something like you every day?" Yuffie smiled as she realized where she could take this conversation.
Lucrecia's smiled faded. "Well…"
"You mean you guys don't…" Yuffie felt Lucrecia's hands leave the kimono she still hadn't finished untying. Yuffie looked her in the eye.
"You know, Yuffie. I…really don't have anyone to talk to about this. Can I trust you?"Lucrecia asked her staring up at her almost desperately. Yuffie nodded quickly. Lucrecia stood up and walked to the door locking it securely.
"Vincent and I don't have sex anymore." She said with a sigh as she continued. "..because we can't have children. After trying so hard to have kids, it's like I've lost the passion to even have sex, you know? I went to the doctor thinking it was me who was incapable of having children, but turns out when Vincent was working for Shinra they did a lot of experiments on their employees to make them physically more powerful. Whatever those people did to him caused him to become sterile." Yuffie instantly felt very bad about what she'd said to Vincent in the car. Her eyes even watered slightly.
"I'm sorry…" Yuffie said almost instinctively. Though she knew it wasn't Lucrecia she needed apologize to.
Lucrecia just waved it off. "That's why he does so much for me. He knows, my one true wish was to have children of my own. To raise a family. He couldn't give me that so he vowed he'd give me the world. I don't ask for all of this, but if it makes him feel like more of a man to do all of this for me, then so be it." Yuffie sat down on the stool beside Lucrecia who was kneeling on the floor.
"You could always adopt."
"It wouldn't be the same…" Lucrecia said shaking her head. "I love Vincent so much, I really do and I could never leave him, but I feel guilty for all that he does…"
You feel guilty… Yuffie was busy thinking about how she was going to apologize.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to throw that on you. You're still too young to understand." Lucrecia said smiling at her softly. Yuffie smiled back. "It's ok, I don't mind, but I should get going."
"Right, right. Let me help you out of this thing." They both stood and Lucrecia finished taking the kimono off of Yuffie. Lucrecia led Yuffie out of the house. They passed by Vincent in the living room where he sat reading a book. Yuffie stared at him wearily, but his eyes never left the book. Lucrecia stood outside on the porch with Yuffie for a while longer before Yuffie got into her car and went home.
Aerith was there when Yuffie got home around eleven thirty. "Hey." Yuffie plopped down on the couch next to her. "Where's Zack?"
She sighed. "He's out with the guys." She looked down at her chipped pink fingernails. She had a habit of picking it off whenever she was worrying herself over something. "He's been doing this almost four nights a week."
"Maybe he's just trying to get it all out of his system." Yuffie assured her, placing her hand on top of Aerith's. Aerith leaned her head on Yuffie's shoulder.
"I hope your right…"
There was silence between the girls for a while before Yuffie said. "You won't believe what I found out today."
"What?" Aerith asked lifting her head off Yuffie's shoulder.
"You know how I've been totally bashing my boss, right? Well I made some pretty rude comments about him not getting any from his wife and tonight I found out that his wife really doesn't have sex with him because he's…you know he's… unable to have kids."
Aerith gasped and covered her mouth. "Oh Yuffie's that's terrible! Does he know you know?!"
Yuffie shook her head no. "Tomorrow at work I'll probably try to apologize to him."
Aerith then made a weird face. "That doesn't mean they can't…"
"She just feels weird doing it knowing that they will never produce a child. I guess in other words to avoid even thinking about it they just avoid having sex. His wife really isn't all that bright and I don't think she realized how it's affecting him." Yuffie said. Aerith looked down at her friend with wide eyes.
"Yuffie, you've really matured a lot."
"Thanks." Yuffie smiled at her.
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Yuffie could barely concentrate on work the next day. Several times during her shift she contemplated on marching right up there and just getting it over with, but she waited it out until after nine. Yuffie hung out in the hall by the elevators for a little while trying to think of the right words to say. Apologies were never easy for her and they usually came out all wrong and she wanted to make absolute sure this one would come out right because for once she actually, truly felt bad for her words.
Finally she forced herself into the elevator and watched as it quickly rose to the tenth floor. The doors parted and Yuffie swallowed hard. It was dark in the office, though. Yuffie said a silent prayer that maybe he wasn't here and she wouldn't have to do it now.
"What do you want?" she heard a gruff voice come from behind the huge computer screen. Vincent hadn't realized it was Yuffie, he'd yet to even send a glance at the person who stepped into his office.
"I…uh…" Yuffie tucked her hair behind her ear a couple of times as she approached his desk slowly. She walked around it so she was standing behind it, just a foot away from him. Vincent turned and looked up at her.
"What?" he snapped. His long hair covered his left eye completely making him look very dark, and Yuffie would say evil.
"I'm…I'm sorry about what I said…in your car the other night." Yuffie said looking him in the one eye she could see. Vincent said nothing but continued to stare at her. The image of her in the kimono flashed through his mind involuntarily.
"Lucrecia told me about…what happened to you and that you can't…"
Vincent stood up fast and was in her face in an instant. "Why would she tell you about that?" he growled taking a few steps towards Yuffie forcing her to take a few steps back. Yuffie took in a sharp breath and shook her head no. "I don't know."
"Because that's none of your business." He hissed through gritted teeth. Yuffie surprised herself when a tear ran down her cheek. Vincent's face instantly softened.
"I'm really sorry. I felt so bad when she said that, but you're right it's none of my business. I'll leave now, I just wanted to apologize." Yuffie said with a sniff, wiping her eyes. A cold hand clasped around her wrist pulling her back.
"What else did she say?"
Yuffie shook her head. "Nothing else."
Vincent narrowed his eyes at her and tightened the grip on her wrist. "Tell me."
"You won't run back to her and repeat what I said?" Yuffie asked looking up at him. It was a long way up, but Yuffie managed to lock eyes with him. They sat down on the black leather couch at the back of his office and Yuffie told him everything Lucrecia had told her. She felt a bit like a traitor, but right now she felt she owed more to Vincent than she did Lucrecia.
Vincent only nodded at each thing she had to say. "..and that was all." Yuffie finished. She squeezed her fingers in her hand as she talked; another nervous habit of hers. Hearing Yuffie tell him that Lucrecia hadn't had anyone to talk to about this made him feel a little less angry. He had an old friend named Cid who he very rarely went out drinking with and would lay a load of emotions on. Lucrecia didn't have those kinds of friends.
Vincent shifted slightly, but didn't move or say anything. He didn't look at Yuffie. Every time he did he saw the flash of her in that dress looking so… he didn't want to say it. He felt guilty even thinking it. All this talk of sex was making him a little…uncomfortable anyway.
Yuffie turned and looked at him noticing he seemed to be uncomfortable and shifted again. She could barely see him in the dark office. Vincent felt her eyes on him and turned to meet hers. "I'm worthless to her…"
"Don't say that." Yuffie was beginning to feel like a counselor. She had had a few talks with Marlene, then Lucrecia, then Aerith, now Vincent. Who else wanted to dump their feelings on her?
Vincent sighed loudly and held his head. He kept this position only for a few seconds before shifting again and crossing his legs. Yuffie, being quite experienced now understood what was going on. She swallowed hard thinking of what she should do. Could I really do this? She didn't want to hurt Lucrecia, but she could see how bad Vincent was suffering. She could help him, even if it was only once. No one would have to know. She then wondered if he'd even have her. How foolish would she look if she offered it and he shut her down rudely and kicked her out of his office? He could fire me! Then tell Lucrecia about my proposition that way she wouldn't stick up for me! And even if he did accept her and she did start this it would be another loveless, empty affair that she would only regret later after she'd get attached and have her heart broken.
Vincent's mind was in turmoil as well. How can I be thinking this way? I work so hard for Lucrecia, how could I do this to her? He then began to wonder. Was she truly being fair to him? He was a man, she knew that. She couldn't have been that naïve. I need to get out of this office. I'll go home and… No, he couldn't possibly ask Lucrecia to sleep with him. It would end in her crying and him buying something expensive. He needed this. But she's just a girl, not even of legal age... I don't even know this girl. He thought. What if she was a virgin, he'd steal her innocence away and leave her feeling cold and empty. Would she even have him? As far as he knew she despised him. What would he do…? The throbbing between his legs answered the question. He let out a deep sigh and turned to Yuffie.
At the same time she turned to him.
"Vin.."
"Miss Kisa…"
They stared at each other for the longest time, both now able to read what was on the other's mind.
A/N: That might have come as a bit of a shock! But that's why this fic is rated M! (and why it's called 'the business') hehe
