Title: Broken Telephone

Authoress: The Scientist Wrangler

Series: FF7 (Advent Children in Specific)

Pairing: Vincent/Yuffie

Chapters: 2/3

Rating: OT for Swearing, etc, etc, etc.

Warnings: If you haven't seen the Advent Children DVD then you may not get the context of this fic. On the dvd there is a special feature that is a recap of the entire FF7 game. In between certain parts are insert scenes of Cloud on his bike getting voicemails and phone calls. One of which is a phone call from Vincent, at the end of said call, the gunslinger requests that Cloud tell Yuffie that she has no right to call his cell phone. This fic is spawned from that little bit of dialogue.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything involving FF7… other then that advent children double disc DVD. Kay… Enjoy!

Authors Notes: I want to thank everyone that reviewed so far. You have no idea how surprised I was to discover that I had gotten reviews so quickly! It really made my day. So again, I want to thank you all!

~Part Two~

Vincent Valentine had been minding his own business, engrossed in a book he'd found in the old library within the dilapidated Shinra manor. It was his biggest past time as of present, trying to get through as many of the books that inhabited the falling apart library. He'd tried to save as many of the items as possible, far too many were water-damaged beyond repair, and others had succumbed to sheer age. Dying a slow death from a simple lack of use, it was always painful to have to bear witness to.

So he did the one thing he had within his abilities… he'd found the least damaged chair and created his own little study. Spending hours buried deep within the random tomes, absorbing information on history, sciences, physics, astronomy, materia, legends and myths. Some of which he'd been present is discovering that those myths were entirely based on fact.

When he wasn't busy with his books, Vincent would take up random jobs from Reeve or Cloud. So he could keep himself occupied physically as well as mentally. It was the only reason he even owned one of the infernal cell phones that his companions had demanded he'd get. How Yuffie had ever gotten his number was the biggest mystery he had yet to solve. He'd made certain to avoid giving the loud-mouth girl it himself. Not wanting to be 'spammed' as it was called in modern slang, by the ninja.

Mind you, it wasn't that he didn't enjoy her company, in brief intervals. It was simply that he knew that she would be one large distraction. On top of that… he hadn't gotten unlimited minutes, let alone even purchasing any sort of… texting…plan. He had only purchased the bare minimum that would get him through the month. Even so, the girl had gotten his number… and within that month alone… he'd been over by twenty minutes…

Of course, after he had avoided her calls, she began to drown him in texts. Not that he could respond even if he wanted to… he hadn't the faintest idea how to even begin to type a message on the stupid keypad. Her texts weren't even important in the slightest. Just asinine things like 'hey what's up?' or 'why the hell won't you pick up your phone dumb-butt!' A long sigh of exasperation escaped him; Vincent never knew how to handle the infuriating young woman.

Young woman she had most certainly become. He recalled the last time he'd seen her, during his battle against Chaos and Omega. Her outfit somehow succeeded in becoming even skimpier than it had ever been before… at least in his opinion. That girl could be completely oblivious to the way the soldiers stared at her when she walked past. It always pissed him off, made him want to take his cloak and wrap it around her so the lechers would leave the girl well enough alone.

His attention slipped from the paragraph about genetic cloning, Yuffie might be one hell of a fighter…but she wasn't capable to handle things such as Weiss or his insane younger brother. He leaned back in his seat, eyes closed in exhaustion, how long had it been since he had gotten a good nights sleep? Days? Weeks? As of late, he'd found no reprieve in rest. Nightmares terrorized his mind any time he tried to close his eyes. What if's seemed to have no pity upon him.

What if he'd been too late? What if he hadn't been able to stop Omega? What if he had lost to Weiss? What if the hole in his chest hadn't closed after Rosso had torn the proto materia from his body, like a child would the wrapping of their Christmas present? What if he'd been unable to save Yuffie from the darkness before it had swallowed her whole? Someone as warm as her should never have had to endure something like that. Her very being was accustomed to the light, and so she could easily be manipulated or even torn to shreds by a being of darkness.

His memories of that incident bothered him, watching as the mass of blues, blacks, and purples engulfed her petite yet agile body. Swallowing her whole, dragging her into a place where, stronger willed individuals had quickly succumbed to insanity. All too quickly his instincts had responded, and he'd leapt in after her. Once he'd successfully managed to find her and get her out of there, Yuffie's entire body was trembling, and her skin was deathly pale.

Vincent had honestly believed she was going to faint on him, and if she had he wouldn't have looked down on her for it. It was miracle that she had even emerged with her sanity still intact; he remembered the way her suddenly tiny and extremely fragile body shivered in his arms. Her blue eyes were wide and staring into empty space, as though still trying to compute what the hell had happened to her. If he hadn't been in such a hurry, so that he could stop Underground before their plans succeeded, then he would have stayed with terrified girl.

Except life wasn't that simple nor was it that easy. There were many different obstacles and variables to take into account. That was the biggest reason behind his avoiding the youthful ninja. He'd always known that the girl had a childish crush on him; it was something he wasn't prepared for. When the realization had first dawned upon him, he'd been uncertain how to handle the situation in a way that would be delicate enough as to not hurt her feelings.

He'd never been able to handle crying women. So, in the end, he decided not to bother confronting Yuffie about her interest in him. Instead, he hoped and prayed that it would simply fizzle out the more distance he would put between the two of them. That was why he never returned her calls or texts, even though he listened and read every single last one of her messages.

Vincent rubbed at his throbbing temple, why was it that every time that girl came up in his thoughts… he'd end up with one hell of a headache? He let his head fall back to rest against the top of the chair, keeping his eyes shut, trying to will his pain away. He wouldn't deny the fact that he did enjoy the girls' presence. She was always happy and smiling gleefully. Be it with mischief or from simply being around those she cares for. Yuffie Kisaragi was quite the enigma to him, always shifting and changing once he thought he'd figured her out. Her constant optimism was as contagious as Geostigma.

Just as his migraine was beginning to fade, there was a loud crash from the general direction of the front entrance. Instantly his eyes snapped open, and his self-preservation instincts kicked into hyper-drive. Was it leftovers from Underground out for revenge? Was it someone else who had a bone to pick with him? Was it-

"VINCENT FUCKING VALENTINE! YOU HAD BETTER SHOW YER SORRY FACE! CAUSE I'M GONNA BEAT YER PRETTY BOY LOOKS INTO AN UGLY MEATY PULP!"…Yuffie's voice echoed through out all of the halls and corridors within the decrepit structure. His muscles relaxed, and a sigh escaped him, as soon as it had left him he regretted it.

There were more crashing noises that started to head in his direction like a heat seeking missile. Leaping out of his chair, he fled as quickly, and quietly, as possible further into the building. Using the darkness to his advantage, he found a good spot to hide in at the dead end of a hallway. It was pitch black; thankfully he'd left his red cloak back in his makeshift quarters, which meant that he was able to blend in perfectly with the engulfing shadows.

He closed his eyes and focused all of his senses upon his hearing. She wasn't exactly trying to be quiet or subtle in the slightest. Once the girl had reached where he had been earlier, she let out a loud string of expletives. Insulting both him and his heritage, and comparing his mother to a sexually explicit canine. All of which were rather uncalled for.

"I SWEAR TO SHIVA THAT WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON YER EMO LITTLE NECK I'M GONNA CASTRATE YOU BEFORE SHOVING A PORCUPINE UP YER ASS!" He couldn't help but wince at such a notion. What in gods name had he done to evoke such a rage within the typically happy go-lucky girl? Vincent dug through his memories, trying to figure out what had triggered her fury. What sounded like a bunch of blunt items being chucked about viciously overtook any of his thoughts.

Oh how he prayed that those weren't his books. Many of which were priceless simply due to their age, a few were even out of print entirely. The cacophony of noise ceased momentarily, and during that pause he had to contemplate whether or not he had left anything of material value lying around. He wouldn't put it past Yuffie to take all of his materia or, hell even Cerberus and sell it VIA black market just to make certain that he'd never find them again.

She could be spiteful as all hell when she wanted to be. Vincent guessed that that was just how merry people like her were. Willing to be your buddy so long as you reciprocated the way they wanted you to, otherwise… there'd be hell to pay. There was the distinct sound of his cell phone being thrown as hard as she possibly could against the nearest wall, and in that instant he was glad he had gotten insurance.

Then she had continued in his direction, Vincent Valentine was cool individual, but any man having to face a rampaging woman's wrath would know to tuck-tail and flee so that as much physical damage could be avoided. When she bellowed again, it was only a corridor down.

"I KNOW YER HERE YOU STUPID FUCKING VAMPIRE WANNABE! HOW DARE YOU HAVE THE BALLS TO HAVE CHOCOBO-HEAD TELL ME NOT TO CALL YOU!" If he wasn't desperately trying to remain silent the gunslinger probably would have let out a small 'ah hah'. So that was what it was. Again, it was simple… he hadn't wanted to waste his minutes with generally frivolous phone calls from her. At least he'd passed on her message right?

That should have earned a few metaphorical brownie points. A crash could be heard as she chucked something else against a wall again, the item in question sounded as though made from a glass like substance. This meant that he'd have to watch his step when the girl left and he was finally able to move again. Hell hath no fury like a Yuffie scorned, he silently mused to himself.

Everyone muscle in his body tensed as he sensed her finally coming around the corner. The girl froze; her eyes stared intently into where he was hidden. Vincent was certain that she couldn't see him from where she stood. For a long drawn out moment he was certain that she was simply going to turn and head out to search in a different section of the mansion.

Instead the blue orbs narrowed to lethal slits in his direction, Yuffie seemed unable to anywhere remotely close to where the shadows had swallowed him in what he'd thought was an odd type of camouflage. She gave him a look of genuine anger and hurt, but within that was fear.

This time, when she spoke it wasn't in a high pitched scream, instead all she could do was mutter a quiet,

"Low blow Vince… Fine…. Fuck you… You don't want to man up and take your punishment… so be it… See if I fucking care…" hesitantly she eyed the darkness before turning on her heels and fleeing. Crimson orbs widened in disbelief, had the ninja seriously just back down? What in Bahamut's name had just happened? All too swiftly realization kicked him harder then his migraine had just moments prior.

The dark… she was still afraid… after all that had happened… They'd all just assumed that she'd been mature and moved on. Yuffie was barely even twenty-one yet, of course she would be terrified of that which nearly erased her existence from ever having been. For the second time in decades… Vincent Valentine felt like a complete and utter moron. Now it seemed he'd be the one going after her, instead of the other way around.

TBC

Yeah I know… not quite as funny as the last one, but this one is from Vince's side so of course it'd be a wee bit more serious. I apologize if he seemed out of character at all. I can connect with Yuffie personality wise but not so much so with our emo gunslinger. Please forgive me. The next and final part will be the ending and the beginning for our two oblivious love-birds… I guess you'll just have to wait to see what happens. Ain't I such a little stinker some times?