THE DISCLAIMER THAT I FORGOT IN CHAPTER 1: i don't own yuffie, vincent, cid, shera, rocket town or anything else that squaresoft put in final fantasy seven. i'm just borrowing them. i do own cid and shera's kids, and some other characters that will pop up later in the story. if you'd like to use them, ask!
Vincent opened his eyes when Yuffie stopped the car, and looked at Rocket Town's inn with some surprise. "Why not stay with Cid and Shera?"

"With all those little girls running around everywhere?" She made a face that proved that, no matter how mature she'd gotten, this was still Yuffie. "Ugh. No way."

" 'All those little girls'?" This was news to him. "I was only aware of one."

"Well, you've missed some stuff in the last six years. They have four now. And it's past their bedtime." She gave him a smirk. "You can risk the wrath of Shera if you want to, but I'm not gonna."

The ninja had a valid point, Vincent decided. Shera, angry because their visit would wake the girls, would not be a pleasant experience.

"Perhaps the inn is the better part of valor," he told her.

"Yup," she agreed, looking out the windshield. "Gods, we're gonna get soaked going back out there! Even if we run."

He found himself smiling faintly as he suggested, "We could always sleep in the car."

"No way! Even four little girls is better than that!" She jumped out of the car and raced for the inn.

Vincent chuckled as he watched her. She'd always been easy to get a rise out of.

He was, however, quick to follow her example, lest she leave him alone in the rain to fend for himself. Quickly, he made for the door of the inn, stopping just behind Yuffie in the entryway.

She seemed as shocked by the throng of people inside as he was. He was definitely just going to hole up in his room for the night, rather than be subjected to the huge crowd filling the inn.

"Sorry it's so packed," Yuffie apologized. "It's not usually like this."

"Its all right. I will simply stay in my room." He hoped he didn't look as vulnerable as he felt, unarmed and uncloaked. He was actually torn between getting to see more of Yuffie and retreating to the car to escape the crowd.

"Right. Then let's go get some rooms." He followed her closely as they walked to the desk, hoping to deflect some of the looks he was getting.

"Good evening, Lady Kisaragi," the clerk said. Obviously, she was here a lot if the clerk knew her on sight like that. "What can we do for you?"

Yuffie was rummaging in her pockets as she replied, "Two rooms please. Singles are fine."

"I'm sorry, Lady Kisaragi," the clerk apologized. "All I have left is one sing room for the night."

"Huh?" Yuffie looked at the clerk like she wasn't sure she'd heard right. "Only one room left?"

"Yes, ma'am. The Highwind is grounded due to the storm, so we're booked up."

"The single room will do," Vincent said. After all, it was that, the car or Shera. And he didn't want to go back out in the rain.

"Are you sure, Vince?" Yuffie sounded unsure of the idea.

"It is that, or back into the rain to the car or Cid and Shera's. I do not wish to be nearly drowned out there again." His eyes met hers, and she looked away before he could read what was in them.

Am I a monster to her after all?

"Sure. Okay." Yuffie took the key from the clerk and paid for the room. "Thanks."

The clerk smiled and nodded. "Have a nice stay, Lady Kisaragi. Sir."

He followed the ninja upstairs to their room, wondering what she was thinking.

The room was Spartan, and much as he remembered from their days in AVALANCHE. It held a functional desk, dresser and bed, all in a light brown wood. An uncomfortable looking plastic chair sat in front of the desk. A single lamp on the desk provided all the room's illumination.

The room's air conditioning was on for some reason, despite the cooler temperatures brought with the storm. He noticed Yuffie shivering, and laid his hand on her shoulder.

"Are you cold?"

"A little." She rubbed her hands over her arms in an attempt to warm them. "Its just because I'm all wet."

"Then you should change out of those clothes and warm up in the bed."

He raised an eyebrow as she blushed. "My spare clothes are in the car. I forgot to bring them in."

Oh, Yuffie. I can't believe you sometimes. He just looked at her.

"What?" she asked, squirming a little.

"You will get ill if you do not get warm."

"Vincent, I…" she trailed off, looking at him. He wasn't sure what she was thinking, but clearly she wasn't entirely comfortable with the situation he was putting her in.

"Don't worry. I won't watch." Vincent took his hand from her shoulder and walked to the window, where he stared out at the storm.

What am I doing? Am I subconsciously trying to take what I feel I'm owed? Or am I really just trying to take care of the woman I've come to love?

Am I just tempting fate?

He'd felt something between them before, when he'd gone with her to Wutai after Sephiroth's defeat. Probably even before that. He'd lived there for six months when he realized that he was in love with her.

Now, he wondered if he was trying to reclaim what they'd had before, or if something else was on his mind.

"Okay, I'm done," Yuffie's voice rang out from behind him.

Vincent turned to see her blanket bundled form picking up her clothes from the floor.

"Yuffie." She looked up at him. "Sit down. I will lay them out for you."

"Huh? No, its okay—"

"Sit." He pulled the clothes from her hand and stared into her eyes until she replied.

"Okay."

Vincent took her clothes over to the dresser, where he pulled out a drawer and laid them out over it carefully. Then he walked over to the thermostat and turned off the air conditioning.

He could feel Yuffie's eyes following his every move across the floor.

"Hey, Vince?" He turned to look at her. "You're dripping everywhere."

"True. But we only have one blanket." He gave her a faint smile, trying not to let her know how uncomfortable the cool air and wet clothes were making him. "I'll be fine."

"You're not impervious, Vincent. You can get just as sick as me." Yuffie hesitated a moment before adding, "I don't mind sharing the blanket.

"Yuffie…" She can't be offering what I think she is. She wouldn't, would she? And can I take advantage of her like that?

"Vincent, please. If I wanted you to die of pneumonia, I would have left you out there by the side of the road. You're too important to me for that."

Important to her, huh? Well, its not love, but it will do for now. "All right."

He pulled his shirt off quickly, before he could change his mind., wincing as his cold wet hair fell down across his back and shoulders. She sucked in a quick breath, but he pretended he didn't hear her as he moved his hands to the fly of his pants.

As he unfastened the line of buttons, he realized that his boots were still on, and he sat down in the desk chair to take them off. Carefully, he set his boots down by the desk, then stood back up to remove his pants.

He heard Yuffie's breath catch in her throat, and looked at her with a question on his face. I hope she's not reconsidering this. "Is there a problem?"

"No, not really." He could tell she was fighting hard to keep her voice steady.

He smirked slightly as he bent to pick his clothes up. "Good. You did promise to share the blanket, after all."

He knew he was teasing her, but he couldn't help it. She was everything he'd wanted for so long. Everything he still wanted. He couldn't help but hope that, for a little while, he could actually have her.