Theft
The Distraction
"You going to pick me a dandelion?" Yuffie teases him. Her tone indicates she expects him to, but would like to draw attention to it in order to embarrass him. Vincent glances at her tiredly.
"Pick your own damn flower," snaps Cid irritably, his footsteps crunching in front of them. He remains blissfully unaware that her inquiry was in no way directed at him.
Yuffie narrows her eyes at Vincent. They threaten things. He's learned to read her well enough, but predictability when it comes to Yuffie Kisaragi is an impossibility. If he doesn't pick her a dandelion, she will do something—like sit on his lap and expose their recent relationship to one of the biggest male blabbermouths on the planet. Or, perhaps, she won't sit on his lap. He doesn't know which is worse. He knows that if he does accede to her request, Cid will become suspicious anyway—but it won't necessarily mean he would deduce the whole story. Cid would merely presume that Yuffie, the little thief, had gotten her hands on blackmail-worthy material, which, all told, wasn't too far from the truth.
So, at the price of his pride, he bends down, delicately snaps off a flower from the path and hands it to her. Her smile becomes deviously feral. Why, he deplores himself again, is he attracted to this insufferable larcenist?
"Thanks, Vinnie," she coos, pretending to sock him playfully. Her fingers trail coyly down the leathery buckles on his human arm. The sensation sends shivers down his spine in a way he hasn't been familiar with in decades.
Cid throws a grimace over his shoulder. "Hot damn! You did it for the brat? Don't be a pushover, Vincent!"
Vincent can only drop his eyes.
Yuffie grins smugly at Cid. "He's just being his silly, old vampire self!" she insists jauntily. The muscles around Vincent's eyes tightens. He feels like he's being put through torture.
"You're too good to this kid, Vincent," Cid coughs gruffly. It sends a pang of guilt through him.
Yuffie snorts inelegantly and then mouths to him behind Cid's back: "Next time, I'll ask for roses."
He doesn't know how he will last.
A/N: Sorry for the wait. I just loved toying with the idea of Yuffie being a tease, in her own adorably sinister way. Thank you for reading! Comments and critique welcomed. Have a splendid day!