Chapter 29
The flight back to Midgar was subdued. Even Cid was quiet, sensing the sorrow hanging over the reunited couple. He too, was disappointed that Chaos was gone.
"I cannot believe that he just left like that," Vincent told Cid as they stood on the deck of the airship, waiting for Yuffie so they could disembark.
"I can't either," the pilot replied. "I know he had some shit to work out, but I thought he'd be smarter about it than this."
The clicking of the Galian Beast's claws on the metal warned the men that Yuffie was coming on deck. The creature had been inseparable from the sorrowful ninja since Chaos left. He was an unintentional reminder of what had been lost, but he actually provided some small comfort to the girl.
"Are you ready to go?" Vincent asked, extending his hand to her.
She took it, squeezing it briefly. "Yeah, I'm ready."
Cid nodded and threw the ladder over the side of the ship. The pilot went down first, and the Galian Beast ran back inside to the chocobo hold where Cid would let him out from the ground.
"Vincent?" Yuffie asked after the pilot was out of earshot.
"Yes?" the gunman gave her a worried look.
She smiled briefly. "Don't look at me like that. It isn't bad.
"Its just that my father's gonna make me marry some loser from Wutai when I go home. Unless I'm already married, that is."
"Yuffie?"
"And I don't want anybody but you." And Chaos. "So, I guess what I want to know is, do you wanna get married?"
As far as proposals went, Yuffie was pretty sure it was bad, but girls didn't usually do the proposing anyway. She just hoped that Vincent's long silence didn't mean that he thought she was asking because she felt abandoned.
Finally, the gunman spoke. "Yuffie, before I can give you an answer, I have to know if this is about Chaos. I know he hurt you."
"Yeah, he hurt me. But he also taught me that I can't just sit on things the way I usually do. This is about you and me, not him. I love you and I want to be with you forever. Longer, if you let me."
Vincent wasn't sure that everything she was saying was true; she had been far too broken up over Chaos' departure to want only him. Strangely, though, he wasn't jealous of the demon.
It surprised him to realize that he missed Chaos almost as much as she did.
Yuffie sighed and pulled away from Vincent as he thought, mistaking his silence for refusal. She didn't say anything, just started down the ladder.
"Yuffie, wait!"
When the ninja stopped, Vincent knelt down on the deck in front of her.
"I love you, Yuffie, and I would be happy to have you forever. But I won't accept that I'm the only one you want. We both know its not true, and I won't go into a permanent relationship with you while we're lying to ourselves about Chaos.
"And if he comes home, we'll make it work."
"Vincent, do you really mean it?" Yuffie looked up at him with hopeful, tear-filled eyes.
"Yes."
Almost before the words left his lips, Vincent found himself being passionately kissed by the ninja. When he pulled away, he asked, "Does this mean you accept my terms?"
"Leviathan, yes! It was more than I was hoping for. I was afraid that—"
Vincent placed a finger over her lips. "I know."
She kissed him again, this time with less desperate passion and more true affection, relieved that he wanted the demon to come home, too. And that he wanted them all together.
"Will you two get of the damn ship and get a fucking room!"
the couple looked down at Cid who was waiting on the ground with Tifa and—of all people—Reno for them to disembark. Yuffie grinned and waved to them.
"Let's go," Vincent said, "Before Cid decides that we're going to defile his precious ship."
Yuffie giggled, and Vincent smiled, glad that he had managed to break through at least a little of her depression.
