It had been a while since Yuffie learned of Vincent's whereabouts. She finished with her bath, and slipped into a soft white t-shirt that reached her knees. She could feel herself slipping back into the empty shell she'd grown accustom to as she drew pictures with her index finger on the hardwood floor. She sat on the floor in the middle of the room, her knees pressed up to her chest, the side of her face pressed against them. Both of her arms lay dead by her sides, other than the soft movements made as she continued drawing absentmindedly.

"Welcome back…" Tifa's voice echoed through the vent quietly.

"Damn far trip! And so many fucking obstacles for the Highwind, I've never had such a hard time flying; 'course I did an excellent job though." Cid's voice, as well as the snort Barret gave in response echoed Tifa's even louder.

Her fingers stopped, as she touched the crack in the wood, staring at it as if she thought if she stared long enough she could see through. Right beneath her, separated by mere wood, was Vincent.

"Where's the brat?" Barret's voice snapped her out of her trace in an instant, a familiar feeling of irritation began to bubble past her shell in response to her too common nickname.

"She's in her room…" Yuffie focused her attention more, trying to make out what Tifa said, "Vincent…why don't you go see her? I'm sure it would make her happy." Tifa's voice got a bit louder, making her words very clear and very unnerving to Yuffie.

'What? No! Don't send him up here!' Yuffie suddenly became very agitated and nervous as she stood up abruptly, running to her dresser. She searched through her drawers for her normal attire before realizing it was still in the wash—or most likely sitting in the basket, waiting to be picked up--.

'Guess there's no escaping through the window without my things…' She laughed a little at her overreaction, actually planning to jump out the window and run away from her problems; very unlike her.

A soft knock ruptured through her mind, unnerving her so much, one would forget she was a ninja. She looked at the door, her eyes shifting down to the two shadows of his feet cast underneath.

"….." She opened her mouth, trying to form words but failed miserably.

Another soft knock, "Yuffie…?" His low voice passed through the door, making her stomach turn.

'He's really…back…safe…' Unconsciously deciding to simply wait for him to figure she was sleeping, she waited for the two casted shadows to walk away. But of course, Yuffie didn't have much luck.

The doorknob began to turn, the soft click it made caused Yuffie to jump, and without thinking she ran to her bed, lying on top of the covers, curled up on her side, she closed her eyes softly.

She could feel the door open, exposing the man behind it. So much, she wanted to open her eyes and see him, but something made her stay in her fake sleep.

"…Yuffie I saw you run to the bed." He spoke bluntly, showing no signs of confusion.

Still, she kept up the act. Her heart was pounding hard in her chest as minutes passed, and he stayed put in the doorway. She could feel his crimson eyes on her, making it even harder to open her eyes.

"Yuffie" his voice came, much closer. Yuffie jumped slightly, suddenly realizing he was only feet away from her.

Finally, she opened her eyes, locking contact with his. He looked exactly the same, half of his face hidden as he looked down at her.

Faking a yawn, "oh, Vincent," she kept up her act; sitting "tiredly" up in bed, she looked at him with an equally blank expression.

"Yuffie, what are you doing? It's hardly time for you to sleep; don't you usually stay up with the others until you pass out downstairs?" His voice was level as he kept his eyes locked on hers.

"I guess things change," she replied coldly, and obviously insisting something.

"It hasn't been that…" Vincent stopped, wisely. "Are you going to come downstairs, or do I have to return to the others alone?"

Yuffie's face finally betrayed her emotion, caught off guard at his request.

"I'm not…dressed…" she mumbled, tugging at the sides of her long t-shirt, "Barret and Cid'll make fun of me."

Vincent chuckled softly without a smile, something Yuffie had gotten used to, "I'll wait outside the door." And with that, he made his way to the hall way, closing the door without a sound.

Yuffie watched him, trying not to smile before she shook her head.

'I'm still mad at him!' she thought stubbornly as she slipped on a pair of black jean shorts, and a form fitting blue shirt, that with Yuffie's constant movement, always made its way to hug up around the mid part of her stomach. But she didn't mind; considering it was the style she usually preferred.

"Okay…" she said, a bit too quiet, as she opened the door to see Vincent leaning against the wall across from her. He nodded, gesturing for her to go first.

"Um…Vincent…?" she didn't move from her spot, leaned against her door with her arms folded behind her back. "I…why didn't you contact us…why were you go-" she stopped looking down as a blush spread across her face.

'Stupid mouth, I shouldn't have said that!' She lectured herself, as the silence grew even more unbearable.

"Yuffie…" he came closer, stopping in front of her as she refused to look up. He sighed, placing his hand on her shoulder softly before turning to face the staircase. Yuffie suddenly realized how loud it was downstairs, AVALANCHE's voices echoing happily through the bar. She looked up, locking her eyes on Vincent's claw.

'Just do it…' she pushed off the wall, making her way to Vincent's side.

"Come on, Vinnie! If we stay up here too long, they'll start thinking weird things." Yuffie said shamelessly as she smiled through her sorrow at him, taking his gauntlet into her hand; the feeling of leather and metal against her palm was more comforting than she'd ever imagine.

His eyes seemed to widen just slightly at the gesture, unable to respond as Yuffie pulled him with him down the stairs.

Halfway down the stairs, Yuffie caught sight of Shelke who was sitting alone in the corner of the bar. Just as their eyes met, Yuffie dropped Vincent's hand without thinking. Her sorrow began to tug at the brim of her false happiness as she remembered who it was who went to get Vincent.

'Does that mean she's more important to him than me? Is this something someone on the side like Cloud even knows?' Lost in thought, Yuffie missed the last step, falling forward. She closed her eyes, waiting for impact.

None.

Turning her head from her awkward position of levitating over the floor, Yuffie saw Vincent's bare hand holding onto her arm. He pulled her up, helping her get her footing back on the floor.

"Thanks…" she mumbled, walking over to Tifa.

/ / /

Vincent watched quietly as Yuffie went to talk to Tifa. She was different from when she had been such a short time ago; not in a way that she really has changed like she insisted, but in a way that worried him.

Had he really worried her this much? Certainly someone like Yuffie wouldn't act this way just because they were a bit concerned.

"What's wrong, Vincent Valentine?" Shelke's voice sounded like an echo as his focus was unwillingly brought away from Yuffie.

"Nothing" he answered simply, glancing at her quickly before shifting his gaze to the light that beamed softly through the windows.

Shelke tilted her head, before looking over at Yuffie who now stood with Barret and Cid, arguing over something she didn't care to know about.

"I see" she said, knowing more than even Vincent at the time, "well, when you realize what it is, I may be of some help if you'll let me." She said, smiling softly at him before walking over to the table that was now joined with Red XIII.

Vincent kept his gaze on the window's light, hiding his confusion about what Shelke had said.

"Vinnie! Tell them nothing gross happened!" Yuffie shouted from where she stood, trying to dismiss the teasing she was receiving from Cid and Barret.

Slightly unsure about what she had labeled 'gross' Vincent joined the three, confirming that nothing 'gross' had happened.

/ / /

Everything seemed at ease in the 7th Heaven bar; Shelke and Red XIII conversed quietly, Tifa, Cloud, and Reeve talked about upcoming missions, Cid and Barret argued—mostly about Cid's cigarette smoke 'suffocating Barret to death', and Yuffie and Vincent both stood next to each other, enjoying the shared silence to certain extents, with Yuffie chiming in every few minutes.

Vincent was back, and he was with her. So what if Shelke was more suited for him, or the one he will care for most, he was with Yuffie right now. And she couldn't ask for anything more at the moment that would make her happier.

"Hey, Vinnie?" she chirped, leaning forward to look him in the eye.

"Yes, Yuffie?" He asked, gazing back at her.

She giggled, "nothin'" she said in a sing song voice, ignoring his quirked eyebrow.

And on another plus side, he sure did say her name unnecessarily a lot, and he made it sound about 10 times prettier. Yuffie still felt that small empty feeling, but at the moment, her happiness was true.

"Hey, Yuffie?" Vincent called, turning his head to look at her.

"Yeah, Vinnie?" She asked curiously, a bit self-conscious—another first for Yuffie.

He looked at her for a few more moments, "nothing" he replied in a mono-tone.

Yuffie felt like she had been caught in the act of something, which was ridiculous! He didn't know what she was thinking…

"Hey, Vinnie…" she whined, "are you making fun of me?" poking him in the chest she forced a stern look.

Again, he chuckled without smiling, "of course not Yuffie."

Yuffie pouted, crossing her arms against her chest.

Leaning against the wall, she turned her head away from him to hide the bright smile that was tugging at the sides of her mouth.

She finally felt herself returning; finally she was smiling freely without having to force it.

Finally, she was happy again, with Vincent by her side.

A/N: I liked how this chapter turned out. (:

Warning though, if Cid and Barret are out of character, I am very sorry, I'm not too good with their personalities. .

Reviews please! Sorry this took so long.

I'll try to get the next one out sooner!

~Mayune