Dislaimer: I don't own Vincent or Yuffie or Wutai or anything else in this. Well, I might own the nameless village, but I'll never be able to say so, because it has no name or any real features whatsoever. Laziness is a wonderful thing.

A/N: Vincent finds that it is only when unable to speak that you find things to say. In other news... poor Yuffie. TT

Aftermath of Materia Snatching

There's a light... when my baby's in my arms
There's a light... when the window shades are drawn
Hesitate... when I feel I may do harm to her
Wash it off... 'cause this feeling we can share
And I know she's reached my heart... in thin air...


-- "Thin Air", Pearl Jam

Vincent's eyes were narrowed in silent contemplation. It was something he did a lot, when he thought about it, but it had never occurred to him to change it. It was who he was, after all, and if others found it intimidating, well, that was their problem and theirs alone. He stood like a sentinel at the window of the small inn, staring blankly down at the long shadows of early evening, and yet seeing nothing. They had just come from Wutai, not three hours ago, and the thoughts and memories of his experiences there flowed through his mind. A raging torrent of words, visions and suppressed emotions...

The anger had been terrible, then. He pressed his lips together in a thin line to cover the snarl-like grimace that wanted to appear there. The anger had been fierce and unforgiving, blotting out his rational mind and refusing to be swiped away. In a way, he had almost been glad. When the anger was that fierce, he had only to concentrate on controlling the demons. He didn't have to feel the betrayal or the hurt that way. In a way, he was still glad. The demons were only too happy to feed from the strength that his rage lent them. It was only too bad that hurt and betrayal sustained them just as well, that they encouraged those feelings as they did the murderous hate and the anger and seething jealousy...

Just as well, then, that for now he was alone.

The girl had been as silent as a mouse for the trip to here. (Wherever here was. He was sure he had never heard of this village.) He hoped she was ashamed for her actions, as ashamed as he was hurt and angry. He had thought himself past such pettiness, but that had all gone to Hell when he had crawled out of the tent and found her, and all of his materia, gone. Vanished. It had worried him, and then he had found her simple note. Brash and unrepentant. It had made him furious.

Dear Sucker, Your materia has been snatched by Yuffie Kisaragi. Sorry for the inconvenience, and have a nice day.

And beneath that in her youthful bubble printing,

Hey Vinnie, really sorry about this. A job's a job, I'm sure you know what I mean. Maybe I'll drop by and kick your coffin once in a while. See ya!

And a heart. Of all the things to place beside her name, a heart. He had shredded the damned note rather than look at it. That heart mocked him, and he knew it. He had no doubts that she knew it. It had not taken long to catch up to Cloud and the rest of AVALANCHE as each of their smaller groups converged on Wutai. And it had not taken long for them to find Yuffie, and it had been an even shorter time before they were duped into accepting her sincerity. Again. He had all but broken the bars of the cage while Cloud fumbled with the levers of Yuffie's mechanical monstrosity. He remembered the worried looks and the way that the other members of AVALANCHE had shuffled to the other end of the cage. They had seen him when his limits had been reached, and they did not want to be close to him should it happen again.

Yuffie had been the only one who hadn't really cared. And at that time, she had not been in the vicinity. And, if he were to be truly honest, it would not have calmed him in the least if she had.

He wanted to think that what had befallen her next was justified, but somehow his mind did not twist in that direction. He had been just as affronted that someone had dared to take someone he cared about as he was that someone he cared about had stolen his materia.

Affront. That was laughable, even he knew that. Knew it and knew that he had already accepted it despite himself. Fear was closer to the mark, if not panic. His heart had all but stopped when he had seen her dangling helplessly from one of the many faces of Da Chao. Suspended perilously above a height so great it may as well have been endless. And of all of them, Cloud had chosen him to get Yuffie down, knowing that he had had the greatest agility and strength combined.

Gods, if he had dropped her...

Even now, he shuddered to think about it, ice running down his spine and making him hollow with fear. The thought of the girl plummeting to strike the upturned stone faces of Da Chao made him sweat. He knew he would see it in his nightmares, her fingers slipping from his, the frayed ropes snapping with a careless touch of his claw... a thousand days, and a thousand different ways he would dream it. He knew.

Slipping from the shadows, the girl came, wending her way through the dark street. She took a lovely, dancing step, then drew back to the shadows again as Cloud and Tifa walked past, apparently deep in conversation. When they were well away, she stepped out of the shadows and moved swiftly to the door of the inn, out of his sight.

He heard her footsteps behind him, though she tried her very hardest to muffle them. Her soft intake of breath when she saw his ominous shadow silhouetted in the lesser darkness of the outside world. He grit his teeth lightly against the resurging betrayal and firmly ignored the footsteps that came carefully closer. Fearful, though of his demons or what words might spill from him he did not know.

"Vinnie?"

Though she usually spoke so loudly and brashly, now her voice was quiet and hesitant. The sheer difference of it made it impossible to ignore. He gave her a cursory glance over his shoulder, and then turned back to the window, holding firm to the thought that she deserved nothing from him. There was a pregnant pause before she spoke again.

"...are you really, really mad at me?"

He thought that his infuriated silence and his refusal to turn to face her should speak for themselves on that matter. Yuffie seemed to realise this on her own, as she sighed heavily and retreated. He heard the springs in her mattress sag as she climbed into one of the three beds. He had no doubts that she would not have chosen the middle one, giving both of them the opportunity to stay as far away from each other as possible.

Even from the window, he could hear her uneven breathing and knew that it meant she was trying not to cry. He was surprised. The only time he had ever seen the girl cry was when Aeris had died. He almost turned around, but his human hand clenched on the window sill. He would not give her the satisfaction. She deserved whatever sadness she might carry.

"I-it wasn't all a lie."

Her voice was not broken yet, and he could hear the strength that she drew on to keep it that way. Chaos shifted at the pain in that voice, in that soul, and in that shifting Vincent's ears were pricked to her words.

"I was telling the truth, about stealing for Wutai. All I wanted was to save my home town... And I was telling the truth about being sorry. Okay? I'm really, really sorry."

His jaw clenched and he whirled, cloak flying dramatically out behind him as he turned to face her bedside. His eyes glowed like coals in the pale planes of his face.

"Your reasons are pathetic, and 'sorry' will never be enough for me to forgive your betrayal."

Shocked silence, and then a single sob. For a moment he regretted his harsh words, but only for a moment. It was only a moment before the guilt that made his stomach clench was lost to him, lost in the greater guilt of the plethora of other sins that were his...

"I... I understand."

Very quiet, and strangled with tears. Unbearable sadness filled those words. Vincent wondered if he did, perhaps, forgive her after all, if he only thought that he should not. He wondered if he was only angry because he wanted himself to be, if he should do something about the heartbroken girl curled in the sheets, crying as silently as she knew how.

He could not remember a home. Perhaps that was why he could not understand why she would do this thing. He couldn't remember what it might have meant, to love the place you were born. He wondered absently if it were at all like loving a person. If it was... yes, he could certainly understand her actions. But a town could not love you back.

He stood with his back to the window now, watching the sheets that covered Yuffie's slight frame. A slight frown covered his face. Perhaps he ought to speak to her, calm her down. It would certainly help them on their journey tomorrow if she wasn't tired. His eyes narrowed at his own selfish thoughts.

She is your friend, Valentine, even if she has betrayed you. Stop thinking like you're me.

Chaos' thoughts were as his name, but he had been a part of the gunslinger for long enough that Vincent understood the flood of images and emotions as though they were speech. He blinked at the demon's words. What should it care?

Anger and pain may feed me, but they do not allow me rest. She has been through much in her life. The real monster is the man who stole her away.

Vincent's teeth clenched stubbornly. Shut up. "I have nothing more to say to you."

She was silent for a long time, taking deep breaths to calm herself down. Vincent's human hand was beginning to ache from the force with which he was holding the windowsill, but he still hung onto it grimly. Yuffie's reply was barely perceptible, even to his ears. She probably had not meant for him to hear it. "Good night, Vincent."

Chaos snarled a discontented rumble in Vincent's head. Fool! I have nothing more to say to you, Valentine.

The silence between them stretched on and on. Every time Yuffie looked at him she felt sick with guilt and grief. He hated her now. He refused to help her over obstacles, as he would have done once. He went about in his burning crimson cloak, the heat of anger rippling out from him like a Barrier spell. So it didn't change their conversation patterns much when he was silenced just north of Bone Village.

Yuffie knew that their materia was useless. Even if she hadn't, she wouldn't have been able to bring herself to mention it. Just looking at the orbs made her want to stomp them into dust. Stupid materia. Stupid Godo. Stupid her, for ever stealing from her friends. Stupid, stupid, stupid! She berated herself over and over again as they tromped through the shallow snow.

Vincent stubbornly ignored the way that she was fading, fading away into herself. He ignored the way that all three of his inner monstrosities were ganging up against him – Chaos had not made its thoughts known to him since they had left the nameless town. He had the distinct impression that it was not at all pleased with him, but what cared he for the opinion of a demon? Not at all, unless he counted the severely painful headache that Chaos was making in a corner of his head.

Yuffie stumbled behind him, exhausted by their trek from the coast. He scowled and lengthened his stride. They would make good time or die trying. To her credit, the ninja did not complain. Perhaps she felt, as he did, that she deserved this punishment. He doubted it. Despite her apologies earlier, her flippant note and her willingness to lie not once but twice to him had left him with significant doubts as to his judgement of her character. It was entirely possible that her entire disposition over the last few days was all part of an act, and she was merely waiting for him to let down his guard again.

Possible, but not likely. The anger suddenly broke away and vanished, and Vincent realised that there had been nothing there to support it in the first place. His anger had been furious and lasting, but not for this long. That had been sheer stubbornness on his part. He looked back at Yuffie. Her eyes were cast downward, looking at the impressions his booted feet had made in the snow. She was staggering slightly and trying to hide it, not wanting to complain. She didn't realise that he had forgiven her yet. He slowed his pace and began to look for a place that they could stop for the night.

It came in the form of a huge hollow tree. He watched Yuffie as she drew slowly closer, following the footprints with a slight frown of puzzlement on her face. Surely Vincent was not retiring this early in the evening? He had kept up a relentless pace since they had left Wutai. She entered the tree without meeting his eyes and took her place in the farthest nook of the trunk. He wouldn't want any more contact than he had to have with her.

Vincent wasted nearly an hour wondering how to explain that he forgave her without speech. He spent an hour watching her furtively out of the corner of his eye, her arms wrapped about herself disconsolately, her face turned away from him. His eyes softened and bit by bit he felt his reservations (and his Chaos headache) melt away.

He lifted his arm and rested his hand gently on her shoulder, not at all surprised when she flinched. She turned to him, eyes wide and pleading, hoping... he smiled at her.

Yuffie took a couple of deep breaths before she flung herself at him and sobbed helplessly into his shoulder, clutching at his cloak with desperate hands. Sometimes she tried to speak, but he placed one of the digits of his claw over his own lips to tell her that it wasn't necessary. Eventually, she cried herself to sleep. Vincent looked down at the precious bundle he cradled in one arm, at her relieved smile even in sleep, and felt very much at peace. He closed his eyes and waited patiently for sleep to come.

A/N: "Thin Air" is a great song. :) I recommend it to everyone. Also "Light Years" and "Rival". Please review and let me know what you thought. Next up is... uh... Mini, I think.