Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy VII

So. So...

Thank you so much to all the reviewers! I really appreicated all those reviews in my (unplanned, semi-) hiatus, and I'm unspeakably grateful that I've received all of your kind words. Thank you.

I owe all you guys an apology. I'm sorry! I just got so crazy busy I didn't even have time to check and ugh I had to re-edit everything in my Doc Manager and... bleh. But this is actually the third to last prompt! And since I'll be publishing another tomorrow, then it'll all be done by next Wednesday! This is so strange, I thought it'd take me way longer to get through all these.. anyway. I'll leave the reminiscing to the final prompt.

Enjoy!

050. Eyes

I'd never define his eyes as creepy, but they weren't totally assuring either. Especially at night. When they just glow I mean, it's kinda sexy, I'll give him that, but it's also a bit unnerving to have two dimly glowing red things looking at you. Kinda like two red fireflies. Or two monster's eyes.

They used to be really hollow, though. Like you'd look into them and something seemed missing. I mean yeah, of course I knew that he could rival Cloud for emo-ness (when he was at that stage - he's totally fine now), but I didn't expect it to be quite that deep.

I didn't even notice at first, he was just kinda Vincent (not Vinnie, yet), and I was still trying to get over just how hot he was. It blew my mind that neither Tifa not Aerith thought that too. Well, they did both have a thing for a certain Chocobo-butted, mako-eyed man, but I thought they'd at least see the brooding, moody side! Well, apparently not, and I was left alone to fawn over the vampire-gunslinger. I think it took me until they came and saved me in Wutai to notice the hollowness in his eyes.

I was just going up to the tip of the Da Chao, my favourite broody place, because well, after lying to all the friends I'd made, I didn't feel to hot. And as I rounded the corner, who would be there but my favourite vampire (and the only one I knew). He was just looking out over Wutai as the sun fell, slipping behind the rolling hill-mountains in the distance. If I'd been any good at poetry, it could've been inspiring. I bet he's good at poetry...

My footfalls must've alerted him to my presence, silent as they were. Must've been the mako enhancements; they made Cloud very twitchy too - according to Tifa with a of from Aerith. I can remember thinking that those three needed to get their dynamic sorted out. How little I anticipated what came next.

"Hey, you stole my spot!" I teased, sticking my tongue out at the corner to him, mischievously.

"There's room for the both of us." He pointed out with that smooth, baritone voice. He didn't turn to look at me, which I though was odd, but took no notice.

I sat somewhat removed from him, but close enough to maintain a peaceful chatter - my third best skill behind materia stealing and lively chattering.

"So, Vincent, what's up with you then?" I asked with a façade of cheerfulness. But what I didn't expect was the look I got in return.

Raven hair blowing slightly in the wind, pale skin reflecting the orange hue of the setting sun, he looked at me with piercing red eyes that were so flat - so hollow. It struck me deep inside, and I seem to remember choking on air slightly. I felt his pain stab through my lungs and chest, and when he spoke, it sounded underwater.

I never did find out what was bothering him that evening.

I never used to ask her what was wrong when we two sat alone, in an uncharacteristic silence, and she'd never ask me. Not after that one time on the mountain carved into that of a face in her homeland, when the tear between the past and the present got far too strong of a stranglehold around my mind.

I found her on the Da Chao, the second time, years later when Meteor and Geostigma and Deepground had long passed. She'd been looking down, according to Tifa, and she'd been locking herself away whenever she could afford it, according to Cloud. It worried me, despite what I might like. The countless thoughts of what could be wrong with her seared through my mind for days, and when I received word from Tifa that she'd gone missing, I leapt into action. But of course, being the two closest to Wutai, Red and I were the two who got dispatched there, and I was glad for it. I remembered in the years earlier how she'd told me I stole her spot, and I never forgot it. I felt repentance from the instant I did it, but I set Red off down the other end of the continent and went to check the mountain where I knew she'd be.

I was right, she was there; shiny ebony hair reflecting the orange hues of sundown, and her small frame - much more womanly than it had been last time, and softer to boot - sat cross-legged, and as still as a midsummer's day.

"Yuffie."

She hummed at my voice, and I sat next to her, the reddish earth dusting the top of the mountain felt hard beneath me.

"I heard you left Edge."

"You left us all behind and went to Nibelheim. Alone." She stated back, matter of factly with closed eyes, taking in a deep breath in the ensuing silence.

"Tifa and Cloud are worried about you."

That dented her resistance slightly, she flinched and bit her lip.

"What's so wrong with you?" I asked, trying to keep my voice calm and even.

She opened her eyes and stared at me, and the lack of light in the eyes made hem seem hollow - an echo of a past I'd left behind.

The air seemed to still, and all went quiet. I was aware of the grass between my fingers and the earth beneath that. How the air was cool with the coming of autumn and the leaves ever so gently turning golden, before ruby red, just behind her hair. That'd grown longer since the last time he'd seen her. She looked older, with glazed eyes and a slightly crease in the skin beside her lips, and a knot between her eyebrows. He suspected that she was wearing just a touch of makeup - or maybe she'd just become so much more womanly in the past few months. No, it had been years. She wasn't moving, barely breathing. His heart seemed to stop beating.

This was a woman, relegated to a girl, crushed down to a thing, no longer a human. But he could see that, and he wouldn't leave until they worked to build her back up.

"I see."

She looked down at the city before us at my words.

"You matter to all of us and..." Something inside him seemed to shift, like a joystick fitting into gear, and he put a hand on her arm. "You matter to me. I won't leave you."

For the first time in a while, Yuffie smiled. And she smiled with her heart.

I know, kinda sad. However, in these cold winter months it's important to cherish one another, look deeply into the faces of the people you love and make sure that they know you're there for them. It's something that we should all do a bit more often, I think, in this new day and age.

Anyway, please review if you've got time and follow for more. Thanks!