CHAPTER 29: Never.

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters or world of FFVII. These are just the rambling tangents of my own imagination.
Author's Note:
We meet again, readers :)

-V-

"Vinny!"

Vincent jerked his head in the direction of her voice. He was standing in a familiar dark corridor, lit only by scarce flickering light bulbs.

'How did I get here?'

"I'm over here!" she called again.

He ran down the seemingly endless hallway and peered into a room on his left. A cluster of dilapidated coffins were spread across the room. The one center-most to the room, and closest to him, was already open. He knew the looks of this coffin well. It was the same one in which he had spent the last 30 years.

Slender arms wound around his waist from behind, and he turned in their embrace. Yuffie smiled up at him longingly.

"I've been waiting for you," she said quietly. "I've always been waiting for you."

Vincent's hand delved into Yuffie's hair and grasped the back of her head. He pulled gently, tilting her head back and kissed her with all the repressed fervor from the last couple of months. His tongue forced its way into her mouth and tangled with hers. Yuffie met his passion with her own, fingers anxiously working to remove his clothes.

She pushed the heavy layers of fabric over his robust shoulders and let it fall to the floor. Her palms glided over his sculpted chest. Exploring. Reveling. Vincent closed his eyes and let his head fall back as he memorized her touch.

She stopped suddenly and pulled away. He frowned, but did not protest as she seductively stepped into the open coffin. She gave him a wicked smile and then laid down, beckoning him to follow.

"This way we will always be together," she whispered, extending her hand to him. "Come with me, Vincent..."

Heavy lids strained to open only to be met by blinding fluorescent light. His limbs felt like dead weight, and his chest throbbed beneath itchy cloth. He tried to speak, but his voice rasped just above a whisper. He blinked several times to fend off the disorienting lights glaring down at him, and then mustered every ounce of strength to push himself up into a sitting position.

He squinted, surveying his surroundings. He was in a medical room. 'The airship?' He had to find out. He needed to know how long he'd been asleep.

He needed to find her.

He weakly rolled out of the bed, but a sudden jolt of pain lancing through his chest brought him to his knees.

"Vincent!"

He looked up to find a panicked Shera dashing to his side. "Gods, what are you thinking? You need to lay down and rest!"

"Where is she?"

"What? Who? Yuffie? She's still in Wutai. Cid and I brought you back to Rocket Town so I could keep an eye on you. Honestly, I didn't know if you'd ever wake up."

"Take me back." He made to stand, but the agony in his chest brought him back down.

Shera frowned at him incredulously. "No. Look at you. You can't even stand. You need to lie back down."

A surge of rage seized him and he stood without aid, crimson eyes aflame as they stared down the petite brunette beside him. Shera blinked, dumbfounded.

"Get that damned pilot, and take me back to Wutai."

-Y-

3 Months Later…

A warm breeze blew across the deserted shores of Wutai, billowing the black flags that had been posted in mourning of the late emperor. For Yuffie, they embodied a much different loss. As she gazed out across the eerily quiet shoreline, she wished to be anywhere else. Even the Northern Crater sounded like a much better option compared to her current predicament. The garish light of day was fading on the horizon, and that meant the beginning of the end was fast approaching. Come sundown, she would no longer be Yuffie Kisaragi, the Single White Rose of Wutai. Come sundown, she would be deemed Lady Yuffisca, Empress of Wutai, wife to a complete and total stranger. There would no longer be freedom, and she felt that there certainly would never be joy.

"He's stable, Yuffie, but... he's comatose. I don't quite know what that means for a Jenova-modified human-being, but we could be dealing with two opposite extremes of the spectrum here. I want you to be prepared -" Shera sighed heavily and softened her tone, "You need to understand... he may never wake up."

It had been months since Yuffie last heard from Shera on the status of Vincent's condition. When they had departed for Rocket Town, Yuffie wished she had gone too, but with her country in complete disarray, she had no choice but to stay and fulfill her duty.

The nobleman Aeka Jurai had been with her father the night he died, and had also perished at Mara's hand along with several guards. This, of course, had left a vacant position for Wutai's successor. Since a woman, alone, could not rule Wutai, Yuffie was still bound by law to take a husband. Unfortunately, there had been ample candidates. It did not take more than a few weeks for her royal advisors to find another suitable for the role.

Fate was awfully cruel.

According to Wutainian customs, a woman was not to see her betrothed before the wedding, either. And for royalty, it was worse; she wasn't even permitted to know his name, since he would be assuming a new one upon becoming Emperor. She was marrying a ghost.

Yuffie leaned her back against the balcony railing and looked down at her gilded hands. Golden ceremonial gauntlets, gifted to her by her future husband. 'They look just like...' The thought made her stomach twist. She looked away and stepped down into her room, approaching a full-length mirror for a last assessment. The glare of her imperial circlet caught her eye as she drew near, and she frowned at the daunting head-piece. It sat there on its pedestal beside the mirror, glinting, waiting for her to embrace her future.

The terror was crippling, but the heartache was unbearable.

"...he may never wake up."

'Never… wake up.' Never would she see those brooding crimson eyes. Never would she hear that velvety baritone speak her name.

"I love you, Yuffie…"

The agony seized her so suddenly that she dropped to her knees, clutching at her chest. She could hardly breathe.

"Please!" she gasped. "Please wake up! I don't… I can't – "

A loud knock sounded at the door.

"Lady Yuffisca?" Her newest handmaiden, Akiko, creaked the door open. And then in alarm, she asked, "Are you all right, m'Lady?" She hurried over to Yuffie and helped her to her feet.

Yuffie struggled to take a deep breath, but succeeded. She cleared her throat. "Yes, I'm fine."

"Shall I loosen your obi?" Akiko motioned to the thick gold sash wrapped around the waist of Yuffie's white kimono.

"No, it's alright, Akiko."

"Yes, m'Lady." Akiko retrieved the circlet from its pedestal and placed it neatly around Yuffie's forehead. "It is almost time. Are you ready, my'Lady?"

Yuffie nodded reluctantly.

Akiko led Yuffie out of the room and down the hall, stopping just before a set of descending stairs. She turned to the princess nervously, straightening creases in Yuffie's robes and tucking away stray locks of hair. "The lutes will be your queue, m'Lady." And with a quick smile, that was no more reassuring than her words, she bowed and turned away.

Yuffie wanted to throw up. This was so overwhelming. Her blood felt like ice, and yet it pounded through her body with such voracity that she thought her heart might implode.

The strings of a lute lulled from the floor below, and her feet began to move of their own volition. She could only think of one thing, and it was strangling her from within. The panic was rising, threatening to consume her, even faltering her steps, but she quickly reined it back in and strengthened her resolve. 'No. I can do this.'

She continued her descent and as she neared the bottom, she could see that the large room was adorned in luxurious royal fashion. Small red and gold lanterns hung from draping wire across the vast ceiling; large glass vases, filled with water and floating candles, decorated each corner of the room; a fancily dressed mass of people knelt on either side of a wide golden runner. Her eyes traveled its length from the base of the staircase all the way to the other side of the room where a priest stood before two white cushions.

"...never..."

Yuffie reached the last step of the staircase and froze.

The lutes' notes wavered at her sudden pause, but continued to play their song, encouraging her onward.

She couldn't move. Her eyes were transfixed on her future husband, her mouth parted slightly in disbelief. He stood at the other end of the golden runner, beside the priest, dressed in a dark red ceremonial kimono. His long black hair was pulled back into a low braid, and a thick gold circlet wrapped around his forehead. He even wore a pair of golden gauntlets to match her own. But if it weren't for those unmistakable crimson eyes, she would not have recognized him. There was no tattered cloak to conceal him, and she was able to shamelessly stare in awe at his strikingly handsome face. And… when had she ever seen him smile like that?

'Never.'

Yuffie's vision blurred as a tumult of tears rushed from her eyes. 'Is this real? Is he real?'

"I'm surprised you haven't bolted towards him, yet." The familiar accent caught her off guard. She hadn't even realized Cid was standing beside her, his hand extended to her in offering. She hardly recognized him in a nice suit and neatly-combed hair. In fact, she hadn't recognized any of them until just then. The entire Avalanche crew stood in a formal line as honorary guests of the groom behind Cid.

Yuffie let out a shaky laugh and grasped his offered hand. Cid escorted her across the room and placed her hand in Vincent's. Those piercing crimson eyes disarmed her, but his gentle smile warmed her within, and she could see nothing else. So many questions were flashing across her mind, but for now, she quieted them; they could wait.

The lutes ceased and the priest began the ceremony that would make them husband and wife.

For all of you who have waited 3 years for this update: THANK YOU. I am glad it is finished, and I am sorry it took so long. From beginning to end, your reads and comments have been immense encouragement.

Coquettish Siren