Healing
Chapter 6
Yuffie was invited to stay at the mansion for as long as she was in Nibelheim, which turned out to be a long time. She was, according to herself, on a well earned vacation away from her father. Rei simply interpreted that like she had run away from home.
Since Yuffie was such a social girl, she was almost always hanging around Vincent or the two of them whenever they were doing something together. Sure, she spent some time with Tifa and Cloud as well, mostly to annoy the former AVALANCHE leader it seemed, but most of the time she was hanging around Vincent.
She did however leave Rei alone most of the time. The surgeon guessed that it was because they didn't really know each other and that she was almost always working in one way or another.
Since Yuffe was with Vincent so much, Rei and he never had a chance to continue their earlier conversation. This was something Rei was grateful for. The morning after, when she had calmed herself down, she regretted even opening her mouth. She hoped that the dark gunman would forget it before Yuffie would leave.
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For Vincent, Yuffie's presence meant some soul-searching. When he first had joined AVALANCHE, he had thought Yuffie was nothing more than a spoiled brat. But during their long quest his opinion of her changed. At the end he considered her to be a dear friend. Now, three years later, she had changed even more. She was nineteen now, and not a child anymore. She was still as spunky and energetic as ever, but she seemed to be more thoughtful and, dared he say, mature.
Another thing was that he was once again around people that he considered friends. The day that Rei had showed up had truly changed his daily life. For the first time in many years he felt like he was part of something. Something that didn't involve saving the world. Something close to normal, to every day life. As much as in shocked him, he had to admit to himself that he wasn't suited for being alone. Alone he just dug himself deeper in his misery.
And now that Yuffie had come, he felt like his spirits lifted even more. She continued to accompany him, cracking jokes and teasing him. Sometimes they even just sat and talked. Often about mundane things, but sometimes their conversations went a little deeper. He was still mostly quiet, that would never change he thought, and so it was she who did most of the talking. Still, he had never thought that she would be able to share her pains and sorrows with him of all people. He knew that he probably hadn't treated her very well during the AVALANCHE days. He probably hadn't treated anyone as they deserved to be treated, always being cold and distant. But they still wanted to be with him.
//So this is what it is like to have friends.//
Yuffie had stayed in Nibelheim for two months. It was in the beginning of the autumn. The leaves were slowly turning yellow and red, and the darkness came more quickly. It was getting late. Rei was still working in her office, so Vincent and Yuffie was sitting alone in the living room. Yuffie was somewhat quiet that evening. Vincent of course noticed this, but decided that he would not press the matter. He figured that she would tell him if something was up if she wanted to. Surely enough, she soon did.
"I'll be leaving tomorrow."
Vincent looked up from the book he was reading and looked at her.
"Pop's birthday's comin' up soon. I figure that it'll be hell ta pay if I don't at least show up" she continued.
"Why did you leave Wutai?"
"I just wanted ta get away from him for a while. He's been botherin' me every day for six months before I left that I should marry. It's not like he can force me or anythin', but it just get on yer nerves ta hear the same speech about 'the duty to Wutai' and 'has to give birth to an heir', ya know?"
"I can imagine."
Yuffie sighed.
"I don't really wanna go back. It gets so damn lonely."
"How so?"
"It's just… I don't really have any friends there. Everyone just sees me as the heir of Wutai. I guess I miss the days when we were out on the road. With you guys I was simply Yuffie."
She sank down deeper in the couch she was currently slouching in.
"I miss everyone. I haven't even seen Barret or Nanaki since we parted ways after the big fight."
"Come to think of it, neither have I."
"Ne Vinnie, wouldn't it be fun if we all could get together and do something? Like a reunion?"
Vincent seemed to think about it for a second.
"Yes, I think that would be nice."
"What do you think about Christmas and New Year? We don't celebrate Christmas in Wutai."
"But New Year is a big event if I remember correctly."
"Yeah, it is… But I'm not really needed for that. Godo can take care of that himself. Besides, I'll just run away again in he gives me any trouble." She grinned at that.
Vincent glanced at a clock on the wall.
"It is not that late. We could talk with Cloud and Tifa to see if they agree."
Suddenly bursting with energy, Yuffie leaped out of the couch and dragged Vincent out of his chair.
"Ya know Vinnie, you turned out ta be a pretty nice person now that you've defrosted." She teased and gave him a hug.
He gave her a sort of mock annoyed glare before leading her out the door and down to Tifa and Cloud's house.
First of all, I'm really sorry for the long wait. I've been out of town, been working on an exhibition, and I don't have a computer any more. Other than that, I've just been lazy.
This is turning out to be much longer than I expected. First I thought it would be around five chapters, now I'm guessing at least ten. Heh, I'm just having so much fun writing this. ^_^
As usual, I'm begging for reviews. I'm out of cookies right now, so I don't know what to bribe you with this time. I guess I'm just gonna settle for begging.
