A/N: I do not own final fantasy

Now and forever

Chapter 3: Only a matter of time

Love is everything it's cracked up to be. It really
is worth fighting for, being brave for, risking
everything for. And the trouble is, if you don't
risk anything, you risk even more.
Erica Jong

A long and exhausting ride brought them to Vincent's mismatched Mansion. As the tired and worn out Chocobo trudged up the rock infested path to get to Vincent's shed.

As Yuffie steadied the chocobo, Vincent dismounted, he held his pale hand out for Yuffie, Yuffie took his hand with thanks and dismounted the Chocobo.

The blue Chocobo blindly followed the couple into the shed, where they're were stables to for Chocobo's.

The blue Chocobo warked in excitement as he momentarily thought about the soft golden bed, as Yuffie and Vincent held the stable door for the Chocobo to go in.

The Chocobo eagerly stalked into the stable and plopped down on the soft hay.

Yuffie looked at the Chocobo and imaged herself in a soft, comfy bed, sleeping and dreaming about Vincent and when they shared that intimate kiss, which was full of love, passion, desire, and weirdly, promises.

Yuffie knew that her little 'crush' on Vincent would develop into infatuation.

Yuffie unconsciously smiled, at the images of them together, and happily married, but she had to wait before she went and got serious with Vincent, because there still was a certain mad man that was after her, and this time she knew it would just have to be her alone, battling this person and the monstrous creatures that he was creating to terrorize the world.

Yuffie still had to find out who it was, and where. In order for her to find herself and bring peace to the planet at the same time was that, she alone had to do it, which means she had to keep everyone out of it, especially Vincent.

' If Vinnie knew what I was going to do, he would insist that he should go with me, but I can't let that, so tomorrow night I will sneak out and hope that Vinnie doesn't noticed.

The saddest thing is, am I going to be able to keep him from coming even if he do find out?' Yuffie questioned herself.

With a sigh Yuffie proceeded on thinking happy thoughts instead of dwelling on what would happen in the near future.

Vincent noticed the lack of cheerfulness in Yuffie and started to worry about her, because to him, his gut was telling him that he should keep a eye on what she does for a little while. Vincent eyed her as she rested her head on the stable door, Vincent knew she was both mentally and physically exhausted, and he decided that it was about time that they retire to the mansion, because he too needed rest.

" Yuffie?" Vincent asked as he watched the dazed girl look at him with tired eyes.

" Yes Vinnie?" Yuffie replied groggily after her little day dream.

Vincent looked at her with his tired ruby eyes and answered, " Lets go inside."

Yuffie yawned and said " Ok, I actually was going to say the same thing, Gawd, I'm so tired."

Vincent Chuckled a little as he and Yuffie made they're way to his door. Vincent opened the door, and suddenly Yuffie was wide awake.

Vincent house was completely redecorated, the use to be dark, dank, and shallow wall paper that use to be on the walls was now replaced with a nice ruby red, with black leather sofa's that went well with the red walls.

The stairs were polished, I'd say compared to what Yuffie saw now it was more better then what Vincents house used to look like.

Yuffie remembered coming here a couple of years ago when Sepiroth was alive, and the house back then was invested with demons, cobwebs, and other sorts of ugly, disgusting creatures that Yuffie used to love killing.

Yuffie slipped off her yellow sneakers, and walked across the white carpet. The feeling of the carpet was like treading on clouds, so soft, and beautiful that Yuffie thought that if she walked in with her boots on she would destroy the carpet.

Vincent followed after her as he watched Yuffie marvel at the wonders that Vincent had presented to her.

" So..., I take it you love the new and improved Nibelheim mansion?" Vincent said as he raised a elegant ebony brow questioningly.

Yuffie still gazing at the room, answered Vincent while still trying to insert the images into her brain, " Yes actually, I never knew you had redecorated it, why didn't you tell me you did, I would have came and helped to with it."

Vincent just looked at her with a smirk and replied, " Well, I still have one more room to do.., if you want we could start painting it soon?" Vincents eyes told Yuffie that he was planing something.

Yuffie looked at him suspiciously and she cautiously answered him, " ...Yes..."Then she looked at him and asked"But... what room would we be painting?"

Vincent looked at her and decided that he wouldn't reply to that question, he thought that a little teasing wouldn't hurt Yuffie. Then Vincent strutted to the basement door, his cape flowing behind him as he walked.

Yuffie stood there entranced at how Vincent's cape made him look mysterious, and he also looked like a dark god.

Yuffie blushed at thinking about Vincent with no shirt on, in her mind she saw, pale flesh, all perfectly toned. Yuffie absent mindedly shook her head as to get the images of Vincent's body out of her head.

Yuffie noticed that due to her thinking Vincent had left her, so Yuffie started walking towards the basement door and started to descend the stairs.

The old rusted discolored metal seemed to yell in protest at the amount of weight that was being put on it.

Yuffie noted to her self to slow her pace down, or the stairs might break if she went any faster.

As Yuffie stepped off the last step, she sighed in relief that the stairs hadn't given way.

Yuffie momentarily stopped to look at all the new brick on the walls, she noted the fine job that Vincent had done to his house by himself.

Yuffie still could not see due to the lack of light in the basement. She clumsily walked down the dark hall, and wondered where Vincent had gotten to, because, she was sure that he had come down here.

" Vincent?" Yuffie protested as she got a little nervous, about being down in the basement by herself it seemed.

She started hearing noises of footsteps and loud clanking sounds. To Yuffie those sounds reminded her of the time when she and the whole group had visited the Mansion the first time, when they first met Vincent, back then the noises frightened her, but now these unknown noises didn't seem to unnerve her in the least bit.

Looking at the still web infested ceiling's made Yuffie's skin crawl, one thing that frightened Yuffie the most was spiders, with their long hairy legs, and they're grotesque body which really did, if you thought about it, made them hideous, plus scary.

Brown eyes scanned the darkness for any signs of Vincent, as she walked slowly down the hall to the study.

With its dark walls, and book cases filled with books. One lonesome desk was placed at the entrance where it was covered with books and papers on the project, that was Vincent, was astray on the desk.

Pictures of Vincent with his arm cut off, and Hojo injecting him with the monstrosities that Vincent loathe all his life.

Just looking at the very descriptive drawing's and pictures made Yuffie feel remorse and anger for Vincent.

Yuffie's eyes burned with hot tears as she held the pictures in her hands, looking at the dreadful things being done to Vincent.

" How could someone be that cruel and do those things to him? Also who is crazy enough to take pictures of what they are doing to a innocent person? God damn, Hojo I'm glad he killed you, because if he didn't I would do the exact same thing's that you did to him, to you, YOU BASTARD!" Yuffie thought.

In a daze the pictures dropped from her hands, tears falling from her eyes and sliding down the curves of her cheeks and dropping to the floor.

She slowly brought her hands up to her face. Her hands shielded her face as she cried into her palms, making a little puddle in them as she continued to cry.

Metal clicking sounds reverberated off the walls and reached her ears, then a sound of a cloak flapping as the unknown person made they're way towards a crying girl.

Yuffie stopped as she heard footsteps getting closer and closer. She tensed as she swung around with her fist hoping that her fist would make contact with the persons face, but with know such luck did that happen because her fist was stopped in mid-flight towards the persons face.

Yuffie who had her eyes closed the whole time hoped that the person would not pull out they're gun and shoot her right in the head.

Nothing happened as she waited there wondering about what the person was going to do.

Vincent looked at her, her tear soaked face, and squinted eyes, seemed to really make him wonder what had happened. He looked down bellow her feet where something caught his eye, there lying on the ground was the pictures of the hideous things being done to him that Hojo had taken as he watched with a crazed expression on his face.

While his human hand was holding her fist that had come flying at him a few minutes ago, he lifted his mechanical hand and cradled her chin in it.

Slowly opening her eyes, Vincents red cape and his metal hand came into view. Sighing in relief, she relaxed a little as she looked up into Vincents eyes, the strangest thing was that Vincent had a worried expression on his face.

Stroking her chin gently, so that his so called sad excuse for a hand wouldn't cut her. Her eyes seem to entrance him whenever he looked into them.

Looking at her luscious lips and yearning to feel them again, and to taste her, seemed to make him think about how bad it was for him to have kissed her in the first place, but at that point when he did kiss her it made everything alright.

Also when he did engage in kissing her he seemed to feel more stronger and more alive, that it made him want to race around the world.

For him in the past, it never felt right, maybe it was because he didn't love Lucretia like he loved Yuffie, but, it wasn't that it was just that it was completely different, different feeling, and everything.

When Lucretia had chosen Hojo over him he had cursed her and given up on life. He also tried to kill Hojo before, but he couldn't because whenever he did Lucretia would plead for Vincent not to kill him, and Vincent would always walk away, a lonesome soldier who has just lost the war and everyone else he loved.

Years went by fast as he slept, that's when he met them, the Avalanche members who had just gotten to know a certain thief.

When he first gazed at the people, the only person that stood out to him was her, Yuffie, to him when he first heard her talk he thought that she just a annoying teen who needed a few years to grow up, but when he actually got to know her she was a sadden, and lonesome girl, who just was in need of help.

Then he actually started to feel something for her, at the time he thought that what if she didn't accept him, or love him? But those questions were answered when they kissed out by the cave, he felt her love in that kiss.

His face seemed to be getting closer to hers, at first he softly brushed his lips against hers, then he kissed her lightly.

Nibbling lightly on her lower lip, pleading to enter and explore the wonderful world in her mouth.

Yuffie was a little nervous because she hadn't frenched kissed know one before, and she was a little inexperienced in that compartment.

After a few minutes, Yuffie seemed to be getting used to it ans figured out how to french kiss, and easily shocked Vincent when she tried to gain control of his mouth.

Placing his hands on her face he deepened the kiss, Yuffie's heart was fluttering madly, as he kept kissing her passionately.

By the time they broke they were both out of breath, Vincent kept his hands on her cheeks and stroked then with his thumbs.

Yuffie smiled and Vincent smiled back, and they both gave a little chuckle. Vincent forgot that the pictures were on the floor, and when he looked down Yuffie's eyes followed his.

Vincent bent down and picked them up in his oversized claw. Looking at these pictures brought back horrible memories for Vincent, and rage began to build up in him again, he could feel the wings of his evil form, Chaos, trying to break free from the iron chains that Vincent had on him.

He would not let Chaos out because Yuffie was still there, and Vincent didn't trust the demon when there was people around, because the demon would slaughter everything in it's sights.

Vincent would not let anything harm Yuffie, especially himself.

The rage built up as he flicked through every picture, seeing all the torment and pain that Hojo was conflicting on him.

He stopped at one picture where he seen a familiar figure standing next to Hojo. Long brown locks flowed down her back, an explosion of waves and ringlets could be seen.

A pen in hand she seemed to be recording the happenings, Hojo could be seen watching her do so with a evil smirk on his face.

Another thing that caught Vincents eye was the girls stomach, there was a specific roundedness to it that was vividly seen under her lab coat as she leaned over to record the process.

Vincents eyes went a even darker red as he looked at the pictures, he dropped the pictures and put his hand to his face, and clutched his face as he shook his head, as to get rid of the demon that was trying to break free of Vincents barriers.

A few moments of watching Vincent with a pained expression on his face Yuffie put a comforting and reassuring hand lightly on his shoulder where he was bent over with his hands holding his face as he calmed down the raging beast inside him.

He sighed a sigh of relief when he felt the demon sink back into its 'hibernation'. He felt Yuffie move her hand back and forth on his shoulder.

Caressing his shoulder so that his pain would go away, she noticed that Vincent's face seem to be relaxed and now he was straightening up and staring at something thoughtfully.

"Vinnie?" Yuffie asked in a pleading voice.

Vincent was abruptly brought back to his senses when he heard Yuffie call out his name. He turned around slightly to look at her, he saw still the that the tear's had left trails on her face, but to him Yuffie wasn't worried about that because he face held worry for him.

He mentally smiled as he looked at her, to him she was an angel, that was sent to him to purify his dark and tainted soul.

" Vinnie you ok?" Yuffie asked as her tiny face scrunched up and she worried about him.

" Yes, Yuffie I'm fine now." And he continued with a slight smirk on his face. " So what were you crying about?"

Yuffie began to think about what he had asked, she really had forgotten that she had been crying because she was so worried about Vincent.

Yuffie looked down at the floor and scuffed her feet on the concrete floor nervously. How would she put this?

" Well..." Yuffie stuttered. " I was.. Uh.. Just looking at those pictures and.. Uh.. I seen some things that were so horrifying and wicked, and also I seen the one wit you on the table where you were being worked on by Hojo, and I thought to myself how could a man do something like that to an innocent person? Then to have the person that, that man loved with all his heart stand there and record everything. To tell you the truth Vincent I was really crying for you." She said sheepishly still looking at the floor trying not to look up and have to face the expression on his face.

Vincent touched her chin and gently lifted it with his half gloved fingers so that she was directly looking at him.

Vincent leaned in a little and kissed Yuffie, gently at fist but then he put all his love and passion into it, and Yuffie's knees started to go weak.

When they broke from the heavenly kiss they were breathless, to them that kiss was the most wonderful thing that has happened all day, because not Yuffie knew for sure that Vincent loved her as she loved him, just because of that one kiss.

Vincent smiled at her, and Yuffie mirrored his actions. He took her into his arms, and hugged her warmly.

His claw around her waist and his real hand on her head as he held her close.

He let go of her and they both walked back up the stairs, hand in hand, to go to sleep, but with Yuffie she wasn't getting any sleep tonight, because tonight she would have to say her good bye's to her new found love.

The moon shone in on the two that were in bed both, one asleep the other awake, and contemplating on whether she should leave or stay, but her thoughts kept wondering, if she didnt then hundreds of people will die, or even more then that.

The faceless abomination kept replaying in her head, she wondered if there was more of those things out there, and if they have been hurting people.

Yuffie came to a conclusion and said he good byes on a note in which she wrote while she was still in bed, and gently laid the pen and note on the table next to the bed.

She looked at Vincent and wondered when she would see him again, a lone tear rolled down her face and onto the bed sheets.

His arm was hung over her but with Vincent, she knew he had reflexes, and in his sleep they were even more alert then when he was awake, which is saying something because Vincents reflexes when he was awake were at his best.

She slowly started to move his hand from where it was placed over her to by his side. Once that was done it was to try and get dressed without hitting anything or falling over anything.

With caution and ease she did it within ten minutes.

She looked back at where Vincent was sleeping, when the moon shone in from the window, it made his silhouette more beautiful, he was a god.

Yuffie grabbed her things and her conformer and ran down the hall, down the stairs, she put on her yellow sneakers and took off outside to get her chocobo.

Vincent awoke to the sound of a wark and someone whispering for the chocobo to be quiet, Vincent got out of bed and put on his usual attire and looked out the window in time to see Yuffie come out of the stables with her chocobo.

Vincent ran down stairs, put on his boots and ran outside in time to see Yuffie speed of into the night.

Vincent knew exactly where she was going, because the thing that attack them in the woods had angered her, and she seemed determined to find where this person was, and kill him.

If Vincent didn't act quickly he will have lost another person he loved, and he was not going to let that happen.

Vincent went inside to get his rifle, death penalty, he grabbed his materia to and put his outsider in its holster on his belt.

The gunslinger was now ready to find his love, if anyone tried to kill, or did, he would go berserk, and make sure that person payed.

Going out to the stables to get his black chocobo, Gallian, the chocobo warked as his owner came into the stables.

Vincent now had a determined look on his face, and his eyes shined once, but it wasn't the demons this time, it was his anger, and he was going to find Yuffie, then he was going to kill that person who was threatening the world with its monster, he got the chocobo out and suited it up and hopped on, Vincent had enough with all these people trying to kill everybody he loved, he was going to make them pay.

Vincent speed off into the night telling the chocobo to track down Yuffie's chocobo.

His anger built up and built up as he thought of the faceless creatures killing Yuffie and everyone in their wake.

Saint Anger 'round my neck
Saint Anger 'round my neck
He never gets respect
Saint Anger 'round my neck
(You flush it out, You flush it out)
Saint Anger 'round my neck
(You flush it out, You flush it out)
He never gets respect
(You flush it out, You flush it out)
Saint Anger 'round my neck
(You flush it out, You flush it out)
He never gets respect

Fuck it all and no regrets
I hit the lights on these dark sets
I need a voice to let myself
To let myself go free
Fuck it all and fuckin' no regrets
I hit the lights on these dark sets
Medallion noose, I hang myself
Saint Anger 'round my neck

I feel my world shake
Like an earth quake
It's hard to see clear
Is it me? Is it fear?
I'm madly in anger with you
I'm madly in anger with you
I'm madly in anger with you
I'm madly in anger with you

(repeat all)

I want my anger to be healthy
I want my anger just for me
I need my anger not to control
I want my anger to be me
I need to set my anger free
I need to set my anger free
I need to set my anger free
I need to set my anger free

Fuck it all and no regrets
I hit the lights on these dark sets
Tie a noose or hang myself
Saint Anger 'round my neck

I feel my world shake
Like an earth quake
It's hard to see clear
Is it me? Is it fear?I'm madly in anger with you
I'm madly in anger with you
I'm madly in anger with you
I'm madly in anger with you
I'm madly in anger with you
I'm madly in anger with you
I'm madly in anger with you
I'm madly in anger with you

They will all feel the wrath of Vincent Orion Valentine, and see his true being.

A/N: SOO, how did you like it, I thought the song matched his anger so I decided to show you guys by putting that song in, cause when I listen to that song I kinda get angery. Well anyways R&R and thanks for reading my first story, there will be more though but about different topics believe me. The chocobo name, I just thought of, I know it's stupid, but I couldn't think of anything else (shrugs) oh well.. lol... :D