Disclaimers on the characters of Final Fantasy VII, who rightfully belong to SquareEnix, because I really don't have the money as a college student to get sued.

Happy One Year Anniversary to this story. Yuffentine forever! And Happy New Year to all.

Evening,

By Winterwing3000

The events blurred together for them as the evening passed.

After they both bought their attires, Vincent scheduled an appointment with the local officiator for their wedding ceremony. The officiator was a middle aged woman who looked knowingly between the two and told them that they could come any time before midnight.

With a bounce in her step, Yuffie skipped ahead of him and peered curiously into the windows of the shopping street. The gunslinger watched the woman as she suddenly turned on her sole and grinned widely at him.

She waited as he came to her side before she pointed at the window. "I think we forgot something, Vince!"

He barely had the chance to read the gold letters painted on the storefront plaque before he was dragged in the store. It was a jewelry store.

An elderly man sat behind the counter made of bulletproof glass. He readjusted his glasses on the bridge of his nose before waddling off the high stool he was on. "Welcome to my store, what can I do for you both this evening?"

Before the bride-to-be could say anything, Vincent spoke up first. "We will be married soon and we are looking for rings."

The owner smiled and came over to the other end of the counter, while waving them to follow him. "I believe the rings you are looking for will be down here. If you are looking for something customized, it will take at least two days to complete. But if you see anything you like, any readjustments can be done within two or so hours."

"We'll stick with something simple, because we only have about a few hours before our appointment at the town hall," Yuffie told the owner. She stared intently at the variously fashioned rings before her.

"Hmm." The shopkeeper looked first at Vincent before at Yuffie. "Is there a price point that you would like to stick to then?"

"Two thousand gil for both rings, if possible," the dark-haired man replied as he discretely eyed the gold and silver rings on display. Wedding rings were customary to those of the Continent, and not to Wutai. He was not surprised that Yuffie was enamored with the idea of exchanging wedding bands since he explained to her the significance of a ring.

"Of course. This one is one of the simpler designs with a hint of elegance. Also, it comes in a pair, made in mind for couples. Or maybe you would like this one with a few decorative crystals set into the bridge of the rings. The crystals can be easily changed to your preferred stone if the one isn't to your liking," the grandfatherly man told them as he pulled two trays of rings on top of the counter.

Yuffie picked up one of each recommended rings and faced Vincent with them. "Which one do you like better?"

Vincent smiled lightly from behind his high collar. "Whichever you choose is fine with me, so long as you are happy with it."

The shinobi rolled her eyes and sighed. "Vincent, you realize that I want you to be happy with it too. So pick."

The gunslinger nodded and carefully examined the metal bands presented to him. It didn't take long for him to select one. He plucked it from the cushioned tray and held it up for closer inspection. It was a solid gold ring with two thinner silver bands running at the edges.

The store owner hummed at his choice. "That is a classic ring, but it is harder to set diamonds or gems because of how it is designed."

"It is fine the way it is," Vincent said as he handed the ring over to the other man. Two small boxes were pulled out from under the counter. His ring was set into one of them. Meanwhile Yuffie browsed through her assortment.

"I like this one," she stated. In her fingers, she held a gold ring that had a several small diamonds embedded across the bridge. It was much thinner in comparison to Vincent's ring, but it was sleekly fashioned. "And I don't think it'll need any more gems on it."

"Very nice choice, miss," the jeweler said politely as he placed her ring into the other box. "Would you like anything else? Otherwise, I would like to take some measurements to size the rings properly."

His fiancée looked up at him in question. Vincent shook his head so Yuffie smiled brightly at the owner. "I guess we're good."

"Of course," the elderly said as he returned the trays of rings back into the display case. He reached behind him and took out his measurement sample rings and first had Yuffie slide on several rings to determine her ring size. When it came to his turn, Vincent noticed Yuffie eyeing the owner cautiously as if waiting for any visible sign of surprise. Instead, the shopkeeper merely rubbed his chin in thought before grabbing measuring tape. From there, he took several numbers from Vincent's claw.

"Alright, I should be able to have it to you within two hours. I'll make sure that your ring will fit you perfectly, sir," the shopkeeper told them as he rang up the register. "That will be one thousand and sixty three gil for the two rings and two hundred and twenty five gil for readjustments and customization fee. So your total is one thousand eight hundred fifty-five gil."

Before he could pull out his money, Yuffie nudged him aside and paid for the rings. When he looked at her in surprise, she only winked at him and led him out the store with a quick thank you and wave to the owner.

Once outside, Vincent did not hold back his protest. "Yuffie, you did not have to pay for it."

They walked together down the quiet street. She merely brushed off his words. "Vincent, you paid for my wedding dress and your tuxedo, even though we promised that we'd pay for each other's clothing. So to stop you from spoiling me, I pay for the rings and we can call it even. Now, let's go eat! I'm starving!"

The tall man could only shake his head at her logic. While it was true that he might have accidentally paid for her dress when she was changing, he most definitely did not expect her to think of it as 'spoiling her'. But he knew that she had her pride and it was also her way of laying down the rule that they were equals and every burden should be shared.

Vincent stared at the image before him, reflected from the tall standing mirror of the small changing room. There were only a few moments before the ceremony and he and Yuffie were directed to different rooms in order to change into their respective attires.

Upon Yuffie's insistence, he had tried on two different tuxedos—a black one and a white one. In the end, he chose the white one for two reasons. Firstly, the black suit looked too similar to his suit during his days as a Turk. The other reason was that he felt it paid tribute to Yuffie's honorific title of being "The Single White Rose of Wutai".

It had only been a week since he was dressed formally and at that time he did not feel particularly as strange. Rather than strange, he believed that a better word for the turmoil within right now was nervous. Yet, he could not fully label it as nervousness either as he had witnessed what true nervousness was like through Cloud before his wedding ceremony. Perhaps the best word to describe it was mystified.

Did he envision himself to ever walk down the path of marriage after the tragedy that befell Lucrecia? No, he did not honestly consider starting a romantic relationship with anyone else after failing to protect his first love. He failed at the mission of protecting that woman, and he swore that he would forever repent for that sin. He believed himself doomed and was never meant to love another. That was until Yuffie hopped upon his coffin and blatantly called him a vampire.

He did not love her then and he did not see her having any feelings for him then either. They were acquaintances, then comrades, then friends, and then more. Their relationship progressed in the most unusual way because he did not think that he could ever make peace with Lucrecia yet Yuffie was there and persisted to nourish that budding light within him that slowly erased the painfulness of his past. He was not blind to her feelings during their battle with DeepGround and he tried to delicately avoid the issue until the fight was over. He knew better the second time around that all matters must be settled first before any progress or conversation about her feelings should be made.

After his reconciliation with Lucrecia, he welcomed the lightness in his heart and the clarity of his mind. He adjusted to his new life slowly—one without demons and one surrounded by friends that he never had before. Yuffie and her feelings ebbed and seeped and full out bled into the days that he passed at Seventh Heaven in Edge. She lavished him with her affections and never really asked for anything in return. But he only realized it at the end that without asking, she already stole his being and filled it with her quirks and smiles to the brim.

"Hey Vincent? Are you finished changing?" Vincent looked over his shoulder to the door and went to open it. He could not prevent his eyes from widening in amazement at the figure they fell on.

Yuffie wore a nervous smile as he examined her silently and her hands fidgeted behind her back. A pearl white strapless dress hugged her upper body before flaring out with an asymmetrical skirt at her waistline. The front of her dress ended just above her knees and the back trailed with a small train. She donned a birdcage veil accented with several white rose blossoms and freshwater pearls, paying homage to her title with the flowers. She managed to gather her hair into a simple knot behind her left ear, just underneath the roses.

Vincent felt his lips twitch when he looked down at her feet. Her shoes were reminiscent of her lace-up converse sneakers only that they were white in color and ended about mid-calf. Also, they had a slightly taller heel than he remembered because it gave her an additional two or so inches, give or take.

Yuffie huffed in embarrassment when he lifted his eyes from her feet and a telltale smirk appeared on his face. She stuck her tongue out as she crossed her arms defensively across her chest. Her left arm almost crushed the small bouquet of red roses in her right hand. "I liked them okay? And they match my dress."

His smirk softened to a sincere smile. "You look beautiful, Yuffie."

An endearing blush streaked across the bridge of her nose and she sniffed haughtily in an attempt to disguise her elation at his words. "But of course! I am the Single White Rose of Wutai. And you look quite handsome, for a vampire that is."

Shaking his head once at his comment, he stepped out of the dressing room and closed the door behind him. Then he offered her his arm. "Shall we go?"

The Empress held her breath and looked from the crook of his arm up to his unwavering red gaze. Her tension melted and a smile that he hoped to see for many years later shone brightly on her face.

With the grace and proud air worthy of a country's ruler, Yuffie set her hand upon his inner elbow and lifted her chin. Vincent glanced once more at her, soaking in the very details of her person, and then he looked forward.

Now that both their eyes were set before them, they took measured steps to the future that they longed for together.

AN: This was a bit different from the other chapters, so I hope you forgive me for writing two scenes when it is usually just one. From my schedule, it seems that I won't be able to work on this as often the next six months. But I promise to work on it every free minute I might have and I hope I'll be able to return to update this story soon. So please wait eagerly for the next chapter: Sunset.

Thank you for reading and reviewing! Your support is most wonderful and appreciated.