Secrets
(A Yuffie + Vincent fan fic)
by Yuu Mizuyuki

Author's note: I have already set my standard disclaimers and thus it will be effective throughout the whole story. ^_______^ ... onto the story ~desu!

Chapter 7: Real Beginning

Tifa jumped off the ledge of the stairs, obviously excited to see Yuffie, and ran towards the door. Cloud stood stunned at Tifa's feat while Vincent slowly walked down the stairs, trying to look calm. A few knocks were heard from the main door. Tifa grinned as she opened the door to meet Yuffie, in her usual green turtleneck and short, brown shorts.

"Yuffie!" Tifa cried out as she hugged Yuffie. Yuffie grinned and hugged her best friend back. Once they let go, Yuffie was admitted inside to be able to greet the others. Cloud nodded and ruffled Yuffie's hair playfully while Vincent smiled, one of his rare smiles. Yuffie felt her heart leap and her stomach feel queasy.

Vincent ...

She grinned at Vincent and suddenly ran towards him to give him one of her bear hugs. Vincent winced at the impact but smiled nonetheless. He looked down to see Yuffie still trying to squeeze the life out of him. Seeing this, he chuckled. "No use trying that, Yuffie ... I believe you're just wasting your time." He grinned. "So, you missed me?" Yuffie looked up at Vincent. Vincent shook his head and smiled playfully. Yuffie stuck out her tongue. "Mean."

Tifa walked towards the two. "So, Yuffie, where are you staying, my house or here?" Yuffie looked at Tifa. "Hmm ... I don't know."

Cloud stood beside Tifa and looked at her, confused. "I thought it was already decided that she'll stay with us?" Tifa smiled. "I know but I think she'd like it here better and Vincent wouldn't mind, right?" She smiled sweetly.

Vincent glared at Tifa but smiled after. He then glanced down at Yuffie. "Yuffie, it's your decision ... I don't mind at all, Yuffie, but I believe that you should decide on this."

"Gawd, I don't know ... ummm ... Tifa, you don't mind if I stay here, right?"

Tifa shook her head. "Not at all, besides, you stayed with us last time." She grinned, "and Vincent did say to us that he missed you ..." Quickly, she peered at Vincent to see him blushing.

Cloud nodded. "Yuff, we'd better go. We'll see you guys tomorrow." Tifa waved at the two. "Yuffie, I'll call you later, we have lots of things to talk about." Tifa giggled. "Bye, you two." With that, the two left.

Yuffie smiled and looked around. "Gawd, You guys fixed up all of this?" Vincent nodded and smiled sheepishly. "Is it that hard to believe?" Yuffie giggled then grinned. "How much did you pay Tifa and Cloud to do this?" Vincent smiled. "Not that much ... just my mastered Bahamut materia and a couple of mastered All materia." Yuffie pouted. "Unfair!"

Vincent hated to admit it but Yuffie was really what brought him out of his cold countenance. He fondly looked at Yuffie who was still pouting. She never really changed from before but there was something there that's new between them. Something that people called Love that others didn't truly have. Vincent surprised Yuffie and himself by embracing her. "You know what ..." He whispered to her ear. "Cloud and Tifa were right ... I did miss you ... so much." Yuffie smiled as she looked up at Vincent, their lips an inch away from each other. But that didn't stay as such for long as Vincent brushed his lips gently on Yuffie's.

Yuffie felt quite uneasy as she sat up. She looked outside the window and noticed it was still dark. She shrugged, what was making her feel uneasy ... and in the middle of the night. She went out of her room, silently walking across the hall but stopped as she reached Vincent's door. The door was left ajar.

Yuffie shook her head. I just can't look in his room ... but he left it open and this is what Yuffie does best ... sneak into rooms ... Gawd, why do I feel so uneasy. She peeped in and opened the door a bit more to let her small figure in.

She looked around and spotted Vincent, sleeping soundly on his bed. The moonlight from the window illuminated his naked torso to give it a more heavenly look. The blanket covered the lower part of his body and his ebony hair cascaded down his back, revealing his handsome face. Yuffie stood there, fixiated with what she saw. She smiled. Gawd, Vincent's so cute while he's sleeping. She turned around and slowly tiptoed towards the door and began to walk out of the room when she heard the swish of cloth from behind. She froze and glanced back to see Vincent sitting on his bed, surprised.

Yuffie froze. Gawd, I knew I shouldn't have went in ... dammit ... now what ... She stood there, tense as Vincent rose from his bed. "Yuffie?"

Yuffie bit her lower lip. "I'm sorry ... I didn't mean to sneak in ... I was just ... well I-"

Nice work Yuffie, so much for a good excuse ... She shut her eyes tight. She really didn't mean anything bad about this but she just couldn't help it. Just a peak ... It seemed like hours and the silence wasn't helping her to relax. Finally she gave up and opened her eyes to meet Vincent's crimson once a feet away from her. Vincent smiled. "I understand." He laughed. "I'll just leave this incident as a past memory. You look so cute when you're nervous." Yuffie frowned. "Gawd, you scared me! I thought you were mad at me and ... " Vincent chuckled. "How can I be mad at you, Yuffie?"

Her puzzled, hazel eyes met his dark, crimson orbs. "I ... I really didn't mean to-"

Vincent placed a finger on her lips. "Don't worry ..." He moved closer and gave her a light kiss on the forehead. "Yuffie ... I can never be angry at you because ... I love you."

Author's note: Tada! I'm back ... okay, so that chapter was all mushy and WAFFy ... @_@ ... gah. I can't believe I wrote that. Please R & R. I want to know if the WAFF-iness should be continued. Arigatou!