Chapter 64: How Could I Not?

"Talking"

'Thought/internal dialogue'

"Chaos Speaking"

The fridge was kicked closed with a bare foot as Tifa removed the marinated pork ribs from within, placing them on the countertop. She looked over into the pot that Vincent was stirring as Yuffie grabbed a clean spoon, dipping it into the murky, red-brown liquid.

"What's that?" She asked and inhaled deeply. The scent of spices made Tifa's mouth begin to water. "Is that barbeque sauce?"

"Mmm…" Yuffie pulled the spoon from her mouth. "Yep, homemade! You should try it Tifa!"

The fighter turned to the gunman. "Do you mind, Vincent? It smells amazing!"

"No. Feel free." He said, taking the proffered clean spoon from his ninja, dipping it into the thick sauce and handing the spoon to the fighter.

The zangan fighter blue when hot concoction before tasting it. A sound of bliss escaped her as her eyes closed. "Vincent, that's amazing!"

"Thank you." He said with a slight upturn of his lips and a nod of his head.

Yuffie turned back to the blond swordsman as he let out a curse. She watched as a peeled potato was tossed into a bowl. "Better, but you still are cutting off more potato than skin. Don't worry, we'll teach you how to do things in the kitchen other than burn a pot of water."

Cloud glared at the ninja. "Shut it, Yu. That only happened once!" He griped as he picked up another potato, peeling it slower this time, successfully leaving more potato behind.

Tifa laughed, coming over to leave a kiss on her boyfriend's cheek. "Since there's only a few left, Yuffie can finish and you can chop up the potatoes while I boil the eggs."

Both ninja and swordsman scrunched their noses up. "What's so bad about the boiled eggs?" she asked the pair.

"Boiled eggs are evil!" Yuffie said and Cloud voiced his agreement, watching the brunette place them in a pot of water. They all heard the former Turk chuckle.

"How 'bout I make a small bowl without egg for the two of you?" She asked as a compromise.

"Okay…but those boiled things are still evil." The youngest Avalanche fighter stated.

As he turned his attention to the meat that Tifa had pulled out, the sound of Yuffie instructing Cloud faded away as he thought about how much his life had changed in the last twenty-four hours. He remembered how warm he felt, acknowledging and calling Yuffie his girlfriend…but she was much more now. She was his fiancée, his future bride and wife. That feeling was truly exhilarating and at the same time, frightening.

"Calm down, Vinnie." Chaos rumbled in his head. "It truly is a joyous thing to be with your al'ril."

"Al'ril?" He questioned.

"It's the shortened term for one's intended."

In merely 102 days, they would be husband and wife. A frown traced his lips. What if she became unhappy after they exchanged their vows? He couldn't…he wouldn't want to cause his little ninja any pain, but what if she became discontent?

"Vincent, shut up." Chaos commanded. "You're being an idiot. Look at her."

Crimson eyes slipped over to his little female. He took in her beautiful eyes, her bright smile and felt the warmth she exuded as she chopped up the potatoes, while Cloud took a butcher knife to his own potato with gusto. The method, while crude, was quite effective. Seemingly feeling his eyes on her, she turned to him, gracing him with a smile so beautiful, his heart stuttered in his chest. He returned his smile before returning to the food.

"Now you tell me; does that look like a woman that is anything but content at your side? Do you really think that she would go halfway on anything? Are you assuming she would have said yes to your proposal if she though that either of you would be unhappy?"

The former Turk shook his head. "That's what I thought." Chaos said. "My favorite little ninja wouldn't allow herself to be unhappy, so stop being a stupid human!"

Vincent let out and indignant huff and heard his demon chuckle, fading from his mind and their internal conversation.

"Vincent, is the sauce ready?"

Moving back to the pot, he gave it another stir and nodded, handing her another clean spoon to sample his sauce once more. When she let out a sound of approval, he took the marinated meat out to the grill. Placing the meat on the hot metal, he looked back to the open kitchen when heard Yuffie cheer.

"Congrats Cloud!" She took a bite of their egg free potato salad. "You've made your first edible dish! It's pretty good too!"

Claret eyes watched as she bounded out to him. "Do you have anything you want us to do?"

"Do you remember how to make the baked beans?" He asked and got a cheerful 'yup'. Closing the lid on the grill, he reentered the kitchen once more, leaning against the cabinet. He watched his fiancée at work.

"Okay Cloudy, hope you're ready for another lesson." She tossed him a can opener. "Get to work, Blondie." The ninja moved to grab the brown sugar and onion, moving to a nearby cutting board.

.:-o-:.

The water was turned on and Yuffie placed her hands under the warm flow. Adding soap and lathering her hands, she paused as the light off her newest gift from Vincent. Heart skipping in her chest, she rinsed the soap from her hands and shut the water off, her mind tuning out the sounds of laughter from her fellow Avalanche members as they ate.

Taking a seat on the edge of the bathtub, her eyes one the emerald and diamond ring. Something she had been dreading since her seventeenth birthday had turned into something absolutely wonderful when her gunman dropped to one knee and asked her to become his wife. It was like she was in a dream and soon she would wake up to find herself back in Nibelheim, going on another date to find a potential husband.

A frown traced her lips at the memory of those dates from hell. 'I can only imagine the families I would have gained if I had to settle with one of them. Well, that's not fair.' She thought. 'Some of them probably wouldn't have been so bad, but…' Her mind moved to her date with Niko, the mama's boy and a shudder traced to her when she pictured that woman as her mother-in-law.

It was then that she realized that if Vincent hadn't asked her, there was a chance that she would have broken through those gender bias stereotypical roles and asked him to marry her. Honestly, she couldn't see herself with someone else.

A soft knock wash heard, turning her gaze from the ring on her right hand. "Who is it?" She asked.

"It's me."

She heard Vincent's voice and smiled. "Come in."

Gray eyes watched the door push open, allowing the tall, raven-haired man to slip inside. He closed the door behind and leaned against the thick terrycloth robes that hung there. Seeing him pressed against that pure white background, his dark hair slipping past his shoulders, his striking eyes against that slight, almost non-existent tan that he gained while there…he wasn't only handsome, he was beautiful.

"…uffie? Yuffie are you all right?" His voice pulled her from her thoughts and a light blush that lit her cheeks caused him to smile. "What were you thinking about that made you blush so?"

She stood and moved to him and he automatically opened his arms to her. A happy sigh escaped her when he held her in his embrace. With her ear placed to his chest, she listened to the steady beat of his heart. "I was thinking that I'm damn lucky…that you're not just smart and handsome…you're beautiful."

The ninja pulled back and looked at his slightly reddened face and smiled. "I'm glad you think so." He leaned down and placed a kiss on her forehead. "Your opinion is the only one that matters to me."

The gunman moved to the tub, reclaiming the spot she had occupied, pulling her into his lap. "Everyone has finished eating and Tifa says that it's the perfect time to let them know." He picked up her right hand, straightening the ring she wore there. That morning, when he saw her ring on her right hand instead of the left, she told him that they were less likely to notice it on her right. She was right. No one seemed to notice outside of the people that already knew. "Do you still want to inform everyone today?"

"There is no way that we're NOT going to announce it today. I want everyone to know that I want to spend my life with you. Actually, I don't care what anyone thinks because I love you," She said honestly. "but I do hope they'll be happy for us.

"When I said yes, I meant it, Vince. I belong to you and you're mine." A wicked smile traced her lips. "I dare some skank to try and touch my Vinnie." An evil chuckle escaped her.

Chaos laughed at this. "See? I told you so, Vincent."

The ebon haired man took the ring off her right hand and placed it on the proper finger. She grasped the front of his shirt and pulled in in for a kiss. It was gentle, perfect and neither wanted to break apart when it ended.

"Shall we do this, love?" He asked, his lips brushing against hers with each word.

"Yes…" She said softly, her eyes a little dazed. The ninja placed a series of light kisses along his jaw, ending at the warm skin of his neck where the collar of his shirt hid more of his pale skin. Inhaling deeply, she let herself enjoy the scent that was him and what she thought to be his aftershave, since she never had seen him with any cologne.

Finally, she pulled back and smiled up at him. "Let's do this."

The gunman felt his little ninja squeeze his hand as they stepped outside. Darkness had overtaken the sky and oil torches along with a small fire pit bathed the area in a warm, inviting glow. To the left Barret, Cid and cloud were drinking bottles of beer with Reno and Reeve. Near the open gate leading to the beach, Tseng and Elmyra were talking in hushed tones, small smiles tracing their lips. Laughter drew crimson eyes to the hot tub, where Yoshi and Elena were listening to Marlene talk about her upcoming school start date with, oddly enough, Rude. Finally, sitting around the fire pit on the comfortable patio furniture Tifa sat, running her fingers through Nanaki's fur as they talked to Shera. Music played softly in the background, mixing with the sound of the ocean.

As they closed the door with a soft click, Tifa's gaze moved to them and she excused herself, coming to stand before the pair. A bubbly smile greeted them. "Are you guys ready?"

Yuffie nodded, returning her smile. She glanced up to her gunman and the corner of his mouth upturned as he leaned down. "Do you mind if I inform them?" He asked, nodding when she shook her head no, squeezing his hand once more.

"Are you sure? You don't have to if it makes you uncomfortable. There's a lot of people here." She asked.

"I am sure." He said simply.

"All right." The ninja said, wondering what her stoic love would say, being a man of few words.

Tifa slipped away from the couple and turned off the music. Vincent cleared his throat as Yuffie called for everyone's attention. Once the area grew quiet, he began.

"Thank you for coming tonight. There is a reason that we asked you here," Crimson eyes moved to the gray of his ninja. "Two days ago, I asked Yuffie to marry me and become my wife." Yuffie laughed at the exclamations and the choking gasp coming from Barret and the women present. The only people who reacted with knowing smiles were Tifa, Cloud and Tseng. "And she accepted." The former Turk lifted her left hand, displaying the engagement ring that rest on her finger.

Yuffie grinned. "I love him; how could I NOT say yes?!"

Vincent had the strong desire to kiss her but remembered their audience. Instead, he brought her hand to his lips, placing a kiss on the soft, tanned skin. He stepped back just in time to avoid the rush of happy women that went for Yuffie. He soon found himself on the receiving end of various congratulations and well wishes from the men.

"If you hurt her-"
"If you hurt her-"

Cid and Barret started in unison only to pause and exchange a glance. Much was said without words between the pilot and the gun armed man before they turned to the former Turk.

"Don't you ever hurt that girl, Vince." Cid said.

"Unless you want to be missin' three very important parts of tha male body." Barret continued.

"Never. I would never hurt her on purpose. I'd rather die." He said firmly, because life without Yuffie was not worth living. 'I love Yuffie. I will make mistakes, but I'd never willingly hurt her.' He thought as Cid and Barret nodded and reached out, shaking the hand of their stoic brother in arms…who would soon be marrying the ninja they both thought of as family.

.:-Author's Note-:.

It's official before everyone! They're engaged! I had to get some threats in from Barrett and Cid, because it just fits them, you know? Despite everything and knowing that their little ninja is strong, they still have to put their threats in. I think it's actually pretty normal for a family to threaten harm in a situation like this. They want their loved one to be happy and healthy in their future and if that means letting the person who will be their spouse know the consequences of hurting them, so be it. Hell, I've done it!

I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter update of my fic. I just got done plotting through chapter 73 and moving on to chapter 74's outline. So, I think it'll work out like this: plot 74, type out hand written chapter 71 into the massive 202 page monstrosity that is technically part VI of this story. (The word file was getting too huge, so I had to go through and break up the entire word file into 6 parts because I was getting all sorts of weird errors. This story has been a long time in the making, as you all are very well aware of, and has progressed through MS word versions dating back to word 98 to the current version, Word 2019, along with some open office usage between them all.) After typing 71, write/flesh out chapter 72 outline.

Confusing? Maybe just a little bit. Things still are a little crazy with my family and all the surgeries that recently took place, but I think my mom will be free from post-surgical rehab soon after her spinal surgery, so I'll be taking care of her until she gets a bit more mobile on her own.

I feel like there might be a time jump coming up here soon in my outlining, but we'll see. I will say though, that there will be a few lime-ish scenes coming up, with one of them…well, I'm don't think I'll be posting on this site because of the rating…but I will be posting it elsewhere, and I'll let you know where you can find the unedited chapters.

I'd appreciate a review, but I'm happy just to be continuing this, to be honest.

Thanks to Kyphrin, CupofTeaforAliceandHatter, tintinabar7, EmoPrincess21, and "guest" (whomever this lovely anon person is) for taking time to leave a review! I really appreciate your words!

Much love peoples,

Ezzie Valentine