In the Dark of the Night

By: Ruby Sparrow

Chapter XII

Where is it? Vincent thought to himself as he dug through all of his bags. His arm was in a bandage and his cape hanging on the back of the chocobo, they had left Rocket Town a few days ago and Yuffie had insisted on stopping for a short break. They had found a small steam and the ninja had sent Marlene to refill the water skins while she checked Vincent's wrappings, much to his dismay. As he went to retrieve his cape from where he left it, he noticed that Cid's goggles were not where he had left them.

Forgetting his cape he began looking through each bag carefully and as best as he could with his clawed hand, his other one being tried tightly to his chest by the bandages Yuffie had put on him. Vincent didn't remember moving them but he might have without realizing it. He hated the fact that Yuffie had his right arm bound so tight that he couldn't move it to look through the bags; he didn't even want to think about what if they were attacked again.

"Marlene! Come on back!"

Vincent looked over his shoulder to see Yuffie messing around with the fire that she made and the rabbit that she had caught. Both things she had done against his protest, not being able to hunt with only one arm. What is she talking about? He thought to himself, at least I have both legs, Yuffie admitted to her leg as much as he admitted to his arm but he could see the limp and how she favored her left leg when she walked.

He was going through the last bag when Marlene came up behind him with a plate of food. "Would you like something to eat Mr. Valentine?" The gunman stared at the plate, not knowing where the Wutai princess had kept the vegetables and other things whiled they travel, even more puzzling was where and how did Yuffie acquired the items. The girl had even gotten new clothes for Marlene and herself, as well as a new light blue shirt for him but he just put it in a bag and said he would change later.

"Mr. Valentine?"

Vincent only shook his head and went back to looking, Marlene waited a few seconds and then headed on back to Yuffie by the fire.

"WHAT!?"

He didn't need to look up to know that it was Yuffie walking to him, most likely the plate now in her hand. "And just why won't you eat?" she asked.

"Not hungry," he said not even looking up from the bag.

"Don't tell me that, I know you have got to be hungry and don't try saying that you don't need to eat." He heard her give a sigh, knowing she just rolled her eyes at his back, "Can you at least put your cloak back on, it's getting cold and I don't want you…"

"I won't get sick."

"I don't believe that, there's no way that you don't get sick."

"Well, I don't," Vincent answered, finally looking up to her.

Yuffie was standing with one hand on her hip the other holding the food, with a look at would have made Barret proud.

No longer was she wearing Vincent's way too big pants but a pair of blue jeans that she cut off at the knees in order to still wear her boots. With it she had a dark red tank top that showed her middle section a little too well.

And she doesn't want me to get sick, he thought, she barely has anything on. Her reasoning for the shirt was that it would be easier to change her wrapping without her having to keep taking the shirt off.

"Will you please eat something?"

He didn't say anything as he took a bite from the plate and put it in his mouth, turning back to the bags.

"FINE! Be that way!" Yuffie yelled heading back to the fire. Vincent turned to watch her go, she sat the plate down on a log next to the tent and picked a blanket up off the ground and wrapped it around Marlene. "At least you won't get sick on me."

"What is Mr. Valentine looking for?"

"I don't know and I don't care."

"Don't you need a blanket Yuffie?"

"No, thank you though, I'll be fine."

The ex-Turk shook his head as he moved on to Yuffie's bags with both the goggles and a new item in mind. Going from one bag to the next, his search ended up in vain. Stealing a glance at the girls he noticed that food was still where she had set it. Marlene had laid down next Yuffie, wrapped in her blanket. Yuffie was staring at the fire but he could see that she was starting to shudder even as she tried to hide it from him.

Giving up on his search, he started towards them after retrieving his cloak from the chocobo's back. "Oh, have you decided to finally grace us with your present and…"

Vincent didn't listen as he threw his cape around her shoulders.

"What are you doing?"

"Making sure you don't get sick, you can't afford that right now."

"I can't afford…why I wa…"

"Not when your body is trying to heal." He moved over to the plate, picking it up as he sat and started eating.

"What about you? Your body is still healing too you know,"

He just looked her up and down once, "At least I'm wearing clothes."

He couldn't help the small smile that passed his lips at the look she gave him.

"What are you talking about? I'm wearing clothes you just don't have a sense of fashion, I mean all you ever wear is black and red. You could at least wear that shirt I got you, that one has holes all through it." She yelled pointing at him.

Vincent finished the last bite of food and set the plate down next to him, just letting Yuffie go on with her yelling he walk over to Marlene and slowly pick the young girl up, somehow managing with just one arm. She stirred a little but quickly went right back to sleep. He didn't say anything to Yuffie as he walked off to put Marlene in the tent.

Yuffie couldn't believe it, she was yelling at him and he didn't even listen to her. He was completely ignoring her, as if she wasn't even there, how could he? She looked towards the tent flap where the ex-Turk had disappeared with the girl in his arms, or arm. She had been shocked when he had held still long enough for her to redo his bandages and check his wound but she didn't think that she had tied it that tight.

A gust of wind blew out of nowhere, causing her to pull the red fabric closer around her. The cape had a smell to it; I wonder if this is what Vincent smells like? Back in her training it was once said that everyone has a different smell and that if a ninja really worked on it and learned how to focus on that one sense, one could use those smells to track. Yuffie hadn't paid any attention to it thinking that sounded to much like being a dog but now she couldn't help but think if this was what Vincent's scent. Not what I thought it would be, she thought to herself.

Instead of the dusty, moldy smell that she had thought he would have from living in that mansion, it was an earthy smell, almost like glass after a rain storm. There was also something sweet to the smell too but she couldn't figure out what it was. Yuffie grabbed the corner, pulling it to her nose trying wanting to figure it out.

Closing her eyes hoping to focus more on it she didn't notice Vincent coming back out of the tent.

"What are you doing?"

Her eyes snapped open; he was standing in front of the tent staring at her as if she had gone crazy. Looking back and forth between the man and his cape, she opened and closed her mouth a few times not sure on what to say.

"This thing smells, do you every wash it?" She said the first thing that came to her but quickly regretted it. Lowering her head not wanting to see how he took her words.

"Hmm."

Yuffie watched as Vincent went about stirring the fire, getting the ambers going again. "That's all you've got to say?"

"You shouldn't have hid the blankets, if you don't like the smell, don't wear it. I just didn't want you getting sick," he didn't look up, the light casting an orange glow to his pale skin.

Another shudder went through the princess and she wasn't sure if it was from the cold night or from the fact that Vinny look really creepy at the moment. He poured a cup of the coffee that she had started early and handed to her.

She smiled knowing that they probably looked silly. Vincent having only one arm working and her with her limping, not that she was going to tell him that her foot hurt. She had hoped to find some healing materias at the shop in Rocket Town but they didn't have any. They just had to hope they could find some later at Red's place. She didn't even know how the ex-Turk was planning on them saving the others if they couldn't take care of these little wounds.

"I didn't hide the blankets, they're over in that bag right there," she pointed to the bag sitting just a little ways off from the camp. "If you get me one, you can have your stinky cape back, not that I really need one mind you but if it the only way to get you to stay warm…" she trailed off as he moved to the bag.

He didn't know what she was talking about, he couldn't smell anything wrong, and she's not the one with heighten senses, however if it was the only way to keep her from yelling again.

Kneeling down, he flipped the top of the bag open and pulled out a blanket, as he did something fell out and landed on his foot. Looking down, he found Cid's goggles. Vincent picked them up and turned on Yuffie, "How did these get here?"

"When you ran down to the river earlier, I asked Marlene to get me something out of one of the bags and she knocked them off of where you had them hanging. I put them there so they would be safe. Is that what you were looking for?" Yuffie had wobbled over to him, the cloak still wrapped around her.

He only nodded to her as he handed the blanket over, looking at the goggles he noticed that there was a crack running down the center of the nose rest and one of the lenses were broken.

"That must have happened when they fell off the chocobo," Yuffie stated leaning over his shoulder.

He stood heading back the fire, not saying a word to the ninja.

"Look Vinny, I'm sorry but it's just Cid's goggles, you know he most likely has another pair already."

"You should get some sleep, I'll stand watch tonight." He didn't know why he was getting so upset about this, like she said the pilot had most likely gotten a new pair by now. If he hasn't been capture like the others, he thought.

He shook his head not wanting to think like that, he had a feeling that Cid was safe and sound somewhere but he couldn't stop those kinds of thoughts from jumping into his mind every now and then. It was bad enough that whoever these people were, they had Tifa and the others. He just couldn't believe that Yuffie and he were last two out of Avalanche that hadn't been caught.

After Lucrecia passed on, he stayed to himself in the mansion most of the time and then inside of that coffin. When he had joined Cloud and the others, it had mainly been to take care of Sephiroth but then they became a team and somewhere they had became like a second family to him.

He looked back to the ninja, expecting her to argue about him standing watch, what he saw surprised even him. Yuffie had laid the blanket out next to the fire in front of the tent but close to him, she was curled up on it, already fast asleep. His cape was laying next to her on the ground, grasped in one of her hands. He gave a small smile towards the princess, she looks so young when she's asleep, he thought as Chaos started going off on having peace and quiet.

Moving off the log, he leaned over and grabbed the free edge of the cape and laid it over Yuffie. She stirred slightly mumbling something about staying warm as he brushed a lock of hair back behind her ear. "Good night Yuffie," he whispered.

He had thought about waking her in a few hours so she could take over watch but after the way she fell asleep so fast he decided against it. Tonight he would stand watch until he woke them to head on out to Canyon Cosmos in the morning.

Vincent pulled his gun from the holster and set it next to him as he leaned back against the log. Pulling a leg up to his chest, his rested his chin on it, staring into the fire and letting his senses go out into the world around their little camp.