Chapter 28: Payback and Interruptions
o-o-February 20-o-o
It had been three months since her surprise party and three months since they had begun staying with Tifa and Cloud. As promised, Xander had come to check up on the little ninja a month ago. At the report of no migraines, dizziness or temporary blindness and after doing a few tests, gave her a clean bill of health and left her some medications, just incase she'd experience more of the torturous headaches.
The Mansion was almost complete, but there was a lot more damage than they originally believed. Despite that, the repairs were moving along quite well considering the number of them that had to be completed.
Every wall and door had been repaired and painted, the roof, plumbing and electrical wiring had completely been replaced, and the stain glass windows in the ballroom had been restored. All of the furniture Yuffie and Tifa had chosen, was being held at a warehouse in Cosmo canyon to prevent it from being damaged during the construction. They estimated that the Mansion would be completed within the next three weeks.
.::-o-::.
Yuffie crouched in the bathroom, looking through the slightly ajar door and snickered as she heard the stone wall of the hidden passage open followed by fast, heavy footsteps.
"Yuffie…I know you are out here." Vincent said with a slight growl and Chaos howling with laughter in his mind.
When the gunman emerged from the room and into the hallway, she couldn't hold back her laughter and fell to the bathroom floor howling with laughter.
Vincent followed the sounds of Yuffie's laughter and slowly opened the door and saw her rolling on the floor, her face, beet red. She was silent for a moment, but that was before she glanced up at the gunman and lost control again.
Vincent Valentine stood at the bathroom door, covered from head to toe in paint…hot pink paint to be exact. He pushed his now pink hair from his face and felt a slight smile tug at his lips when Yuffie rolled into the side of the bathtub.
"I take it you find this amusing." He said offering her a hand up.
She took it gratefully with a wide grin still on her face. "I told you I'd get you back for scaring me on the Highwind, Vinnie my boy!"
He gave her an evil smirk. "Oh but Yuffs…" He wrapped his claw around her waist and pulled her small form to his paint covered body gently pressing her face against his chest as she let out a yelp. "I told you I was sorry." He said as he made trail of pink across her unpainted cheek with his finger.
Yuffie blushed bright red with half her face covered in hot pink paint. "I'd say we're even now." She whispered, still in his embrace her face against her chest. 'That's the first time he's called me that…'
Neither made a move to leave the position they were standing in while the thick globs of paint that covered Vincent continued to drip. 'This is not the right time.' Vincent thought to himself, but couldn't stop his actions. The gunman gently lifted her chin as her gray eyes instinctively closed, lowered his lips and…
"Hello?! Yuffie? Vincent? Where are you?" They heard Tifa's cheery voice down in the foyer, breaking their trance.
Yuffie let out a sigh and reluctantly backed out of his embrace giving him an apologetic smile. She grabbed his hand and dragged him to upper landing of the staircase and watched as Cloud and Tifa's mouths dropped at the sight of a completely pink Vincent.
Tifa burst out with laugher. "My gods! What happened to you guys?"
"Yuffie has exacted her revenge." He said plainly which caused Tifa to laugh harder, Yuffie grinning in triumph and Cloud still staring at the gunman in confusion.
"Vinnie, I think we need to get you outside to hose off…the paint might stain the tub at Teef's." Yuffie said from behind him.
Vincent nodded and made his way down the stairs and out the back door leading to the garden with a snickering ninja hot on his heels.
Tifa looked at the trail of pink puddles and smiled as she looked to the blond swordsman. "Good thing the floors haven't been replaced yet." She said, following the pink pair.
Cloud nodded in agreement and followed the trio outside.
.::-o-::.
Vincent grabbed the garden hose in his claw as Yuffie turned the rusted knob of the water pipe sprouting from the ground. The gunman washed the paint away from his face before handing the hose to Yuffie, who washed the paint off the side of her face before turning the hose to Vincent's clothing.
As she helped rinse the gunman off, she couldn't help still feeling disappointed at Tifa and Cloud's horrible timing. She could have sworn that he was going to kiss her but couldn't be sure since her eyes were closed and her senses were muddled. It just felt so good to be in his arms like that, breathing in his very faint cologne that she loved. She had never seen the bottle or actually seen him put any on, maybe it was his soap, but its pleasant masculine scent was there nonetheless. Her mind continued to wander, that is until she heard her name being called repeatedly.
"Yuffs? Anyone home?" Cloud asked.
Giving herself a mental shake, she turned to the couple looking sheepish while Vincent attempted to get a majority of the paint out of his raven locks. "Sorry, what did you say?"
Cloud continued to watch Vincent ring out his shirt with amusement as he repeated himself. "I said I thought we did a pretty good job on the paintwork and asked when the carpenters were coming."
Vincent gave his shirt one last squeeze before rubbing the stains on his pants. "They should arrive tomorrow to begin. The informed me that it will take approximately a week and a half to complete their work and that time span includes the rebuilding of the staircase in the foyer as well as leading to the basement."
"The furniture should be delivered when the floors are complete and the painters will be comin' to do the outside next week." Yuffie finished for him.
"Well since there's nothing else that can be done here right now, do you want to go shopping Yuffs?" Tifa asked with bright eyes, not noticing Cloud backing away at the 's' word.
Yuffie gave Vincent's boots one last squirt with the hose before shutting of the flow. "Sure Teef."
Tifa turned to her love and smiled sweetly. "Cloud would you like to come with?"
Cloud's eyes bugged out of his head. "Uh…um…" he stammered, "no thanks, I'm sure I can find something to keep myself busy…um like…the reactor!! Yeah, that's it! Reeve wanted it checked out the area to make sure that beasts numbers were decreasing."
Yuffie looked to Vincent and followed Tifa's lead. "How bout you Vinnie? Would you like to come shopping with us?"
Vincent looked to the swordsman impassively. "I will assist Cloud."
Tifa shrugged her shoulders. "Suit yourselves…" She said walking with Yuffie through the iron gates leaving the men standing in the garden.
When the two women neared Tifa's home, they both began chuckling. Yuffie looked back and saw the guys slowly making their way to the house. "I wonder what happened to traumatize Cloud towards anything about shopping. Its kinda unhealthy." Yuffie joked.
Tifa laughed, coming to a stop in the living room. "I know. When we were little, our moms both took us shopping for school clothes. I was trying something on in the dressing room next to his. I was coming out when I heard his mom say 'don't make me come in there and get you!' Oh you should have heard him whine Yuffs, but anyway, he said he wasn't coming out so his mom went in and dragged him out…in the new toy soldier print underwear that she had bought for him…and nothing else. There were a few other shopping…mishaps, but that is the one that traumatized him the most."
Yuffie was trying to hold in her laughter, but when Cloud and Vincent entered she lost it again. "So Cloudy, Teef got to see ya in your man panties…" she teased.
Cloud turned pale as he looked to Tifa. "You didn't…"
"But I did…you shouldn't have flushed the toilet while I was in the shower." She said smugly.
Vincent let a small chuckle escape his lips as everyone turned to him. He quickly excused himself to his room, but not before letting out another laugh at the swordsman's expense.
Yuffie looked to Tifa and started for the stairs. "I'm gonna get a quick shower too, I'll be back in a few."
.::-o-::.
Yuffie knocked on the door to the room she shared with Vincent. She didn't want to catch him…indecent, although she really wouldn't have minded if she had. "Vince? Is it safe to come in?"
"Yes." He stated from behind the door.
Yuffie entered and felt her heart stop in her chest. Vincent stood facing the dresser; his shirt had already been tossed to the side. Gray eyes traveled his back, mapping every muscle with her eyes and watching them move beneath his skin as he searched the drawers, his hair was pulled over his shoulder and a towel hung around his neck. Yuffie noticed a pink paint splotch on his back and unconsciously walked to him and wiped it away with her hand and felt his muscles shift beneath her hand as goosebumps appeared.
Vincent shuddered at her touch and looked over his shoulder at the ninja curiously. "Yuffie?" He asked tentatively.
"Uh, you had a little paint on your back…" She stated, showing him her now pink hand.
He turned with clean clothing hanging over his arm looked down at her blushing face. Vincent fought the urge to pull her into his arms and hold her close, never to let her go. He shook his head slightly and gave her a slight shy smile. "Thank you."
She blushed an even deeper shade of red at his handsome smile. "No problem Vince." She walked over to her drawers. "We'll see ya when we get back from shopping."
He nodded and left for the bathroom and the young ninja let out a deep sigh, plopping on the bed when she heard the shower start. With each passing day it was becoming more and more difficult to corral her feelings for the gunman. She wanted to tell him, but just didn't know how. The young ninja had never been in love before until she had met this wonderful man. Each time she looked at Tifa and Cloud, she witnessed what pure fated love was like…she wanted to have the type of love that Tifa and Cloud had with the gunman.
Yuffie let out another deep sigh, grabbed a change of clothes and her shower kit, and headed downstairs to the bathroom.
.::-o-::.
Yuffie sat on the bench in one of the small boutiques waiting for Tifa to emerge. Boredom was beginning to set in and after three hours of lugging around bags and trying on clothing, she was also tired. 'I wonder what Vince and Cloudy are doing now…' She thought, stifling a yawn. Obviously it was more exciting that what she was doing right now.
"Okay Yuffie, What do you think?"
Tifa emerged wearing a simple burgundy dress that fit her like a glove. It had spaghetti straps and stopped just before her knees. The color suited her quite well and nearly matched her eyes. She looked beautiful. "Wow Teef! Oh my gawd, you look so nice! Cloud is going to love that dress on you!"
Tifa beamed. "You think so? I like it but I don't think I should get it."
Yuffie tilted her head slightly in confusion. "Why not?"
"Where am I gonna wear it?" Tifa questioned.
"Teef, buy the dress…you never know when Spike will go all romantic on ya."
Tifa laughed. "Okay, lets make a deal. I'll buy this dress if you by the sundress I picked out for you."
Yuffie gave a pout. "Why? Nibelheim isn't the best place to wear sundresses at this time of year, plus, I really don't like dresses too much…too girly."
"You still have your gift from Cid and Shera. You can wear it in Costa and Yuffs, incase you forgot, you are a girl." She said as she went back into the dressing room.
Yuffie thought about it as she walked over to the door. She wasn't quite sure when she would be taking the trip to Costa, but if this what it would take for Tifa to buy that dress… "Okay, okay…I'll buy the dress! Can we go now, I'm hungry!" she mumbled.
"Fine, fine! I'll be out in a few minutes." Tifa's voice floated through the closed door.
Yuffie turned to return to her seat when she ran into something solid and stumbled. Someone grabbed her arm before she tumbled to the ground. "Sorry." She said embarrassed and avoiding the person's eyes.
"It's okay." A male voice said. "Hey, you look kinda familiar but I've never around here before, you new?"
The ninja hesitated for a moment before looking up into the face of a man in his early twenties. She knew that he had probably seen her with in the news interviews with Avalanche, but was glad that he couldn't quite place her face. He was no Vincent Valentine, but he was…alright. He had green eyes, short jet-black hair and a rich olive complexion. She stammered somewhat as she backed away from him. "Uh…um…no, I've been here for a few months staying with some friends."
He smiled sweetly at her. "Well, I hope you enjoy your stay." Tifa came out of her dressing room and stared at the pair. He nodded to her kindly and turned back to Yuffie. "Maybe I'll see you both you two beautiful ladies again soon." He winked at the ninja and walked away.
Tifa looked at her friend with amusement clearly evident in her eyes. "Making new friends, Yuffs?" She said suggestively.
The ninja huffed and rolled her eyes at the fighter. "Not interested Teef."
"Well he seemed pretty interested in you." Yuffie opened her mouth to protest but Tifa held up her hands. "Alright, I'll stop. Lets go grab some takeout and head home."
.::-o-::.
Vincent sat on the couch in the living room as Cloud took his shower after being covered in beast blood after one of them exploded. Their trek into the mountains did unearth a few beasts but they were easily taken care of. Vincent sat ruminating on the events of earlier that day and shuddered at the memory of Yuffie's touch. The feel of her warm hand against the cool skin of his back made his mind swirl.
He too was none too pleased with Cloud and Tifa's timing back at the Mansion. At that moment, nothing mattered and everything was perfect. Jenova could have burst through the front door of the mansion, and he would not have been bothered because he had the one he cared for in his arms. Even though their kiss did not happen at that moment, he still could have died truly happy.
The front door opened and Tifa and Yuffie struggled to get all of their bags and the food into the house. Vincent rushed forward and took some of the bags from the women and closed the door behind them, he didn't realize that they could purchase that much in such a short period of time.
Tifa blew the hair that had fallen in her face and looked to the gunman. "Thanks Vince. We got dinner while we were out." She said as she took the food into the kitchen.
He turned around to the unusually quiet ninja behind him and looked at her with concern. "Yuffie, is there something wrong?"
She shook her head and quickly walked to him and wrapped her arms around him. He stiffened for a moment from surprise before relaxing and pulling her close.
.::-o-::.
Tifa came from the kitchen and froze at the scene before her. 'Aww…that's so sweet!' she thought as she quietly backed into the kitchen.
.::-o-::.
Cloud started down the stairs, fresh from the shower and stopped when he looked to the bottom of the stairs. Yuffie was standing over to the side of the stairs…in Vincent's arms. 'Wow…' Cloud thought with smile and crept back up the stairs, careful not to hit any creaky floorboards.
.::-o-::.
Yuffie pulled back and grasped his hands in hers. "I'm sorry…I had to." She stated with a bright red blush rising in her face. She truly didn't know what had come over her, but she had to experience being in his arms again.
Vincent pulled her forward once more and kissed her gently on her forehead. "No apologies Yuffie." He said releasing her.
At that moment, Cloud thought it was safe enough to come down the stairs. "Hey guys. Where's Teef?" He asked with a relaxed grin.
"The kitchen." Vincent said simply, gesturing to the doorway.
Cloud walked into the kitchen as Yuffie sat heavily on the couch closing her eyes. Her knees felt weak from that one innocent kiss. She opened her stormy eyes when she felt the couch sink as someone sat next to her. Vincent sat silently next to her and let out a content sigh when she rested her head against her arm.
Tifa peeked out of the kitchen. "You guys can come eat." Then quickly ducked back inside.
Vincent stood with a sight and pulled the ninja to her feet and steered her in the direction of the door.
o-o-Author's Notes-o-o
(for the 8th time this chapter)
I hate my computer…I hate it with a passion…
I am not in the best of moods right now…I'm going off 2 hours of bad sleep, my computer is being a pms-ing bitch, and I have to be at work in an hour.
I just wanna thank everyone who reviewed the last chapter…I would name you all but the way my computer is behaving this morning, I know it won't allow me to do that.
I want to give a special thanks to Angel (Shadowbeaw), Skie (Destiny Daae) and Kidbuux…You guys have been listening to me bitch for the past couple days and I really thank you for allowing me to vent to you….tear I love you guys!!!
Emri…there are some conflicts that you expressed about the summons that Nanaki spoke of in an earlier chapter…
Typhoon's attack carries a Fire/Ice/Lightning/Earth elemental damage against all enemies or kills the enemies off instantly. Kajata's attack is different because this attack carries a tetra-elemental (lightning + fire + earth) damage against all enemies. Though Independent materia LOOKS purple, it is in fact pink.
The strategy guides and sources I've found on the Internet say "Independent Materia are represented graphically with pink-colored orbs. Some of them are generally obtained via finding or questing."
I didn't take your review as a flame and I am glad that you think my story is good. I admit that there are a few grammatical errors that need to be corrected, but no one is perfect
I got my first real flame…and there ARE some things that I would like to clarify, however I will not stoop down to the level of cursing said flamer about their opinion…I will just comment on it.
This is from the Silent Stalker…
eh...?? I think this is a bit rushed. At one point I was thinking 'Does she love him back...?' This is focused too much on Vincent feelings. Also, I have some things to note about Yuffie's seizure thingy.
1) You know that pill? Well, there is such thing. You press it into the persons cheek and let it disolve. I can't remember what it's called, but.. people with epolepsy use it after they've had a major seizure. It knocks them out for a little while and acts like advil and calms the nerves.
2) She wouldn't remember anything. To her, it would be like the blink of an eye. She would have thought that she was still on the Highwind.
all in all, I think you should try making a timeline, try to plot out the events in a dignified way. Make sure it flows correctly into each other.
-
First off, I do not think this story is moving very fast at all concerning Yuffie and Vincent's relationship. Pretty early on in the story she does say that she has feelings for him and then when Tifa is questioning her on the Highwind, she admits that she 'Likes' Vincent a lot. It has taken 20 some odd chapters to get where it is now, and even in this chapter, it jumps ahead a few months.
Second, while there is a pill like that for epilepsy, the pill the dissolved was for the migraine NOT the epilepsy. There is a medication for migraines that dissolves under your tongue, its called Maxalt (It's a bitch cause it makes your neck hurt really bad when you take it…I know from personal experience) and while its not one of the stronger ones, there are others that do the same. Since the seizure had been over when they brought her in, there was nothing the could have given her to stop a seizure that was already over with.
Third, Yuffie DIDN'T remember what happened. All she said is that she remembered feeling pain before and then nothing. She didn't know what was wrong with her, and she didn't know why she was at the clinic in Cosmo canyon. I really don't think that she would have though she was on the Highwind once she opened her eyes and saw that she was no longer on the ship. She would have known that something had happened but wasn't sure what.
I think my plot is fine the way it is so I won't be changing it at all. After having 16,000+ hits, 200+ positive reviews and the one flame from you, I will not let your opinion bother me. I have the continued support of people like Angel, Deplora, Skie, Kidbuux, and all my other wonderful readers, I really am not concerned about what you think about my story. It is your opinion that my story isn't dignified and I respect that, but if you're gonna leave a flame, try and make sure you spell your terms right.
Have a nice day
Ezri
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I'm sorry all my lovely readers, but I had to get that out. I really do thank all of you for being so great.
By the way, for those of you reading "My Light," I am working on the update, I've just been so busy with other things, I haven't had a chance to write it. I'm re-writing "Emerge" so I can post it back her on too…
Lots of Love!!!
Ezzy
Ps. Rude will be over to see you later Skie!
And Angel, Pyro loved the Vince/Amaya….
Edited 1/14/07