Negotiations
Chapter 10
Vincent wasn't too keen on other people having a lover's quarrel in his house, but he had to remain. If only to ensure no one destroyed his home. He stood at the top of the stairs where Yuffie sat, pillow clutched to her queasy stomach.
"You promise?" Yuffie leaned into his legs and Vincent sighed.
"I already said that I would not tell him. This is between you two now. I just hope that you will make wise decisions that is best for your health and safety."
"What about happiness?"
"You have always had the ability to choose your happiness. The way I see it, you ran away from happiness when you were not honest." Vincent had become chatty over the years. It was as if angst was a bottle stopper to conversation. Now that he had nothing over which to bemoan, he could talk. Yuffie was cursed that he chose her life to dissect. Mad doctors, the lot of them, and they rubbed off on the gunman. She refused to be his study subject any longer. Somehow she was going to get free.
The front doors opened and Yuffie took a bracing breath. Flanked by his dark suited Turks, Rufus stood out in the shadows in his customary light colored clothes. They stopped at the food of the stairs and their eyes met. They had not seen each other for three months, but there was an additional two weeks since they last looked into each other's eyes. Since they slept together.
Yuffie willed herself not to break first, but she tore her eyes away as Rufus said the dreaded words.
"Yuffie, I'm so sorry."
She hid the bottom half of her face in her pillow, allowing only her eyes to peek out. Rufus recalled seeing that image before. It had soon been accompanied by laughter and kisses in his memories. It was unlikely to unfold in that manner again.
"Can we talk?" Rufus's voice was raspy, as if he hadn't used it in a long time. The words felt scripted; as they were. He had written everything down. It had filled several pages as he described how he felt about her and how he had handled things wrongly.
"I'm not stopping you now, am I?" Yuffie scrutinized her husband. He had lost weight. The suit didn't fit properly and neither did his skin. She could tell that he was forced to improve his physique, doctors orders most likely. His eyes were the one thing she wouldn't look at, couldn't look at again.
"I'm sorry, Yuffie. I said something awful to you and I hurt you. I never meant for that to happen." He continued in a whisper, but she still caught it. "I never want to hurt you."
"Well, you did." So much for her silent treatment plan. Vincent hoped that her mouth would do the talking, not her brain. It had truly picked a most unfortunate event to take control of Yuffie quick fire personality. Clarity was what they needed. Hot tempers might do the trick. As long as his house didn't get damaged.
"And I apologize. I hurt too, from my words." Rufus swallowed and took a breath, trying to stabilize himself. "If I could take them back, I would."
"Tell me, exactly, which words you want back." Venom dripped from Yuffie's lips as she tore at his wound. She wanted to see his pain.
"I don't care. I don't want to see you. You can go by Kisaragi again." His eyes shone with pain as he spoke the words. Rufus's hand reached up for his neck as he winced.
That was when she saw it. The bandage.
"Phantom pains?" She asked, eyebrow raised. Sitting up straight, she almost looked like the royalty she was at the top of the stairs. "They're back?"
"You left!" Rufus snapped at the floor, unable to yell directly at her. "You promised. But you left anyway."
A pain stabbed at her. She had promised. She broke that promise.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell." His voice was soft, like a child who knew better. "I'm just… frustrated that I can't figure out how to express myself."
Yuffie was silent, she didn't care about that. There was something else on her mind. Something much more pressing.
"What else do you want to take back? Any decisions? Actions?" Yuffie asked, haughtily, thinking of the night she gave him everything. A foot tapped her side and she growled at Vincent for his silent reminder to remain civil.
"I would want to redo the morning after we—"
"Announce it to the world, why doncha?"
"—after we had our night of intimacy." Rufus pressed. They had not 'made love,' nor did they 'just fuck.' It was too romanticized, too crude for what they did.
Reno looked floored at the statement. His mouth moved, 'they had sex and I didn't know about it' formed and the red head hit his partner like it was Rude's fault for not saying anything.
"Stop that, Reno." Rufus snapped over his shoulder even though he could not possibly see the other man. He addressed Yuffie again. "I should have told you what it meant to me. I should have told you many things. One in particular."
There was a pause and Yuffie felt it. Her sixth sense kicked in and she shot up as he started to speak.
"Yuffie, I lo-"
"No!" She threw the pillow at him, hitting him full face. "I don't accept this. I'm a liar, sure, I left. But you're a bastard and I hate you."
Liar, liar, pants on fire. Devils sang in Yuffie's head as she mentally retreated. She was running away. And she shut eyes tight.
"Boss!" Reno and Rude grabbed Rufus as he nearly collapsed. The president shoot them off. He needed to do this. A little phantom pain wasn't going to stop him.
"I understand, Yuffie. I'm a bastard. I'm an awful human without a heart and without a soul. I have no reason to be so arrogant to believe that I will ever be able to earn your love, let alone anything else. You may say that you hate me, but that doesn't change that I love you. The reason why I don't have a heart is because it was yours from a long time ago." He was climbing the stairs.
Yuffie tried to back away, but Vincent shook his head. It was one thing to break a promise to Rufus; that had come easily. Breaking one with Vincent was impossible. She couldn't run. She had to confront the problem or, at the very least, wait it out.
"I've always loved you. And I hope that someday you will see the truth of my words and let me prove it to you." Rufus reached the top. He hovered on the last step before the landing. He wanted to look into her eyes.
"You'll be cold in your grave before that happens." Yuffie turned away, staring down the hall instead of looking at him.
"At least, when you kill me, you'll bury me properly; unlike that father, right?" His words were quiet, but they triggered lightning fast in Yuffie's mind. She shoved him. Hard.
He fell back. The Turks yelled and rushed forward. Vincent reached out too. It was like it was in slow motion. Yuffie saw the look of acceptance in his pure untainted eyes.
And then Yuffie's hand was in his. Trying to pull him back, trying to offer help, but it was too late. They fell together. Rufus managed to wrap himself around her on the fourth rotation. They slid to a stop at the bottom of the stairs, the four Turks surrounded them.
Vincent dashed down and yelled, "Yuffie!"
Confused at the ex-Turk's worry, Rufus unwrapped his arms around his wife. Pain was evident on her face as tears streamed down her face, silent cries tearing at her throat. Her arms left Rufus to clutch her midsection.
"She needs a hospital, now." Vincent picked Yuffie up out of Rufus's arms and flew for the door, ignoring the clueless man on the floor. Reno and Rude ran after Vincent as Tseng and Elena picked Rufus off the ground.
Looking down, Rufus finally saw the blood.
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The helicopter barely touched down when Vincent jumped down with Yuffie and Rude followed. Reno left to pick up the President and the other Turks. Vincent had been very persuasive in getting Reno to leave the others behind. As in, the golden gauntlet was not just for looks.
When the Turk landed the second time on top of the hospital, Rude was there and lead the group down to the emergency waiting room. When Rufus looked up, he knew things were bad. The Strifes were already there. Vincent was trying to calm Tifa while Cloud pacified the children.
He stopped by the double doors where the red light glared furiously at him.
"You-" Tifa's fist flew into Rufus's jaw. Vincent grabbed her from behind as Elena drew her gun.
"Elena." Rufus rubbed his quickly forming bruise. "Tifa, I'm sure that we don't need to resort to violence."
"It's Mrs. Strife to you, you worthless—"
"Tifa." Cloud put himself between his wife and the Shinra. "The kids can hear you."
"Momma?" Rosa called out from her seat. "Why are we at the hospital?"
"Is someone sick?" Wolfe asked.
"Not sick, sweetie." Vincent released the woman so she could kneel in front of her children. "Auntie Yuffie is hurt."
"Hurt? She can have my bandaid." Rosa pulled something from her pocket. It was a bandage with cartoon cactuars on it.
"That's sweet, Rosa. But it's more serious than just one bandaid." Tifa smoothed a hand over the blonde hair.
"She can have mine too!" Wolfe pulled out a moogle adorned package and held it out.
"You can give it to Auntie Yuffie when we can see her." Cloud sat beside his son, trying to completely ignore the other blonde man. The ex-SOLDIER could never quite get over his hate for Shin-Ra.
"Valentine." Rufus turned to the only person he had a chance at getting an answer. "What happened? How did you know?"
The gauntlet gleamed as Vincent lifted his hand and slowly formed a fist. It was a silent threat, but Rufus had to know.
"Hit me if you must. But you have to tell me." Rufus squared himself in front of Vincent.
"Yuffie is pregnant."
A strangled wail echoed from behind the doors.
"Give it back!"
Rufus hit the floor hard. His knees gave out, hitting the floor first before the other joints gave way to gravity. His eyes glassed over as anguish wiped his mind clear of any and all thought.
"Yuffie was pregnant." Vincent's whisper was like an executioner's axe.
Tifa started crying and set off the children. Cloud had his arms full of his family and looked just as the miserable as the crying mess he held. Elena choked a little and had to take a step back to compose herself.
On the floor, Rufus couldn't do anything, couldn't think about anything. Looking up at Vincent, the near-immortal man seemed like a dark angel. Wise, knowing, compassionate.
"What do I do?"
"Are you prepared?" Vincent was sad. The pain and torturous path Rufus was about to step on was akin to that of Vincent's. It was a burden, never lifting, eternal. The weight of love and all its companions.
"For Yuffie? Anything." Rufus stood and met the unwavering look of an experienced man.
They talked in hushed tones. They were in a hospital after all. Tifa calmed down and consoled her children, telling them about how to act when they saw Yuffie.
Over an hour passed before the red light turned off and doctors appeared before the group. The lead doctor sought out Vincent, the man who brought in their patient, thinking that he was her next of kin. The stoic man dragged Rufus from the chair to talk with the doctor.
"Her husband." Vincent introduced to the man.
"Mr. Shinra." The doctor was surprised. He had not paid attention to the specifics of who his patient really was; giving her medical attention was infinitely more important. "Your wife's condition has stabilized. She is under some heavy medication and is sleeping. The procedure was a great strain on her, so we would like to keep her under supervision until we can better assess her condition."
"And the baby?" Rufus managed to get out. His nerves were coming back and his years of being a heartless businessman were kicking in. More like, kicking out the pathetic, emotional side of himself that was completely malfunctioning in his mind.
"I'm sorry, sir. There was no way it would have survived. It was too early in the stages and we had to save your wife." The doctor was sympathetic, but he was right. A baby only in the first few months would have been impossible to save.
"Thank you, doctor, for saving my wife. When can we see her?" Rufus's voice was evening out.
"I'll let you see her tonight, Mr. Shinra, but I must insist that the others wait until she wakes and we are able to check her again." The doctor gave Vincent a look, undecipherable.
"As we discussed." Vincent told Rufus before going to tell the Strife's they would not be seeing Yuffie that night.
Rufus followed a nurse to Yuffie's recovery room. It was small, for one patient only.
"I'll give you ten minutes, Mr. Shinra." The nurse closed the door to give them privacy.
Yuffie was pale under her sun kissed skin. A result from the blood loss. The beeps of the heart monitor were strong and even, a testimony to her health. Wires protruded from her blankets, and Rufus prayed that the ones giving her fluids would not bruise her tender skin.
Sweat matted her dark locks to her forehead. The sink had a small washcloth, so Rufus wet it and lay cooling strokes across her brow to clean her. Putting the towel aside, he brushed his fingers over her hair, making sure it wouldn't fall into her eyes.
The strands were very long, having not been cut for the three months they were apart. Yuffie's shoulders were no longer a description word for her hair. As he ran his fingers lightly over her soft features, he spoke to her in a whisper.
"I was told not to apologize any more. Instead, I want to say 'thank you.' Thank you for being you. For surviving, for giving me the chance to see you again. Giving me time to speak to you. To explain something I wish I could take back.
"I know things cannot be undone. If I could I would. I am many things. 'Cold, heartless bastard' being the forerunner. But I am also 'just Rufus' and 'your husband' and 'hopeless'… 'hopelessly in love' with you.
"So, my pledge to you, Yuffie Shinra, is to never hide. Not to run away or accept failure. But to accept help when it is offered.
"You were the one who taught me that."
Rufus caressed Yuffie's cheek, feeling the warmth. He knew it would be a long time until he would be close to her again.
"I love you. I always have, always will. And some day, I hope you will let me prove it to you."
With soft, almost hesitant, lips, Rufus pressed a kiss to her temple. Smoothing her hair one last time, he straightened the blankets so she would be warm, and walked out the door.
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"I hate you."
Rufus was glad that she finally stopped throwing things at him. The two weeks stay at the hospital kept her 'safe from him' as she put it. But eventually, she went home with him.
Unhappily, Cloud had become the middleman between Yuffie and Rufus during her stay at the hospital.
"No, she doesn't want to see you."
Those words were uttered several times throughout the weeks as Rufus went to visit her every day. Cloud was good enough to take the single white rose Rufus brought and pass it along to Yuffie. Once, Cloud walked with the President to the hospital exit and talked with him.
"Where are you getting roses in the middle of winter?"
"A business colleague. He has a greenhouse. It takes a lot of energy to regulate, so we've been working together. He has been kind enough to send these to me." Rufus indicated to the rose Cloud now held in his hand. "It's nothing that I have been able to do for Yuffie myself, but…"
"It's hard on you, isn't it?" Cloud knew. He had spent more than a little emotional investment in people over the years.
"Yes. But I hope…" Rufus sighed, a moment of weakness, before shoring up his strength again. "Thank you, Strife. For you and your family. It means a lot to me that you protect Yuffie. Even if it's from me."
"Hey, I'm just following my wife's orders." Cloud shrugged. "Hang in there."
Even though Rufus tried, it was tiring, having a wife that was so vocal about her hatred. It would have been impossible for Rufus, but Tifa sent Marlene to take care of Yuffie. The ninja had nearly bedridden herself, staring off into space for days after her hospital release. The only time she came out of it was when Rufus came in the morning with her breakfast.
She would throw things, yell, hit. But after some time, she fell into a routine: glare at him, say 'I hate you,' and walk away. Her health had even returned to the point where she could go to work. Though Reeve was very careful to send a car for her every day, rather than risk her doing something stupid on her way to the office.
Things did not help that Rufus was swamped with work. He was learning the true task of juggling loving someone and having a high level job.
Since Yuffie didn't let him sleep in their bed, Rufus was always surrounded by work. When he lost himself in this work, he did not feel like he was drowning in despair.
Yuffie noticed.
It wasn't like she couldn't see that he loved her, that he was working hard for her. It was just that she was hiding.
She didn't blame him. Not for pushing her away, or getting her pregnant, or even the miscarriage. Those were her burden as well. What she didn't want was for him to blame himself. She saw what the burden did to her friends. Not just Vincent and Cloud, but subtly in Tifa, Barret, even Cid and Nanaki.
Every day, she saw Rufus come into their room and set up breakfast for one at the table by the window. He would place the bud vase with the single white rose beside it, turn, smile at her and say, "Good morning, Yuffie. I love you."
"I hate you." She would reply each time. At first, it was harsh, then the hard edge melted away, then it was just the words. Then the slight pause, the falter, the bite of pain as she saw it cut into him.
Then one day, Rufus said, "I love you."
And Yuffie replied, "I know."