Disclaimer: Same as always
AN: Thanks so much for all of you who continue to read and/or review (as well as sit, wait, and wish that I would update...) It means a lot to me to have your support. Thanks a ton. I know it's been a while, but I'm sure that's become old hat by now! On to the show!
Yuffie walked in the door with a smile still on her face. Reeve had made sure that she was cleaned up and straightened out before she entered the mansion in order to avoid arousing suspicion. Vincent smiled at her as she entered and asked her how her visit had been.
"Nothin' special. Just taking care of some business is all. How's things been at the mansion? Bet it's been so lonely and quiet without me! What do you do all day in such a big place? Hey, maybe you should get a pet to keep you company when I'm not around!"
A blank expression flitted across the young prince's face at the outpouring of babble, but he managed to hide the glazed expression well.
"A pet?"
"You know, like a cat, or a dog, or a turtle or something. Maybe you could adopt a Behemoth and train it to guard the house! That would be pretty cool. I've always had a soft spot for turtles, you know. Back in Wutai we have a place called the Happy Turtle. I've always wondered what that was about but..."
Realizing that she was beginning to rant she stopped mid-sentence and settled for a smile. Vincent was quite confident that she was happy -- or at the very least, content -- she wasn't usually this talkative when she was feeling down.
"Well. To be honest, I've never considered having a pet before. Perhaps it's something to think about."
"Why not today?"
"Excuse me?"
"I think you need a break from being cooped up in this stuffy ol' mansion all the time. All work and no play makes Vinnie a dull guy. Let's go out to the pet store!"
"Yuffie, I..."
"Come on. It's a great idea! Don'tcha think so too, Reeve?"
Reeve tried to stifle an unmanly giggle at the puppy-eyed pout his charge gave him.
"It sounds like an excellent idea, princess. Why don't you two go and look at pets? I'll wait for your return."
Yuffie beamed in appreciation for his support. The crown prince looked a bit off-put by her impulsive desire to go pet shopping, but conceded to taking her to the largest pet store in Nibelheim.
--
Vincent hated the pet store for only one reason; the name. Hojo's Pet Supply was the largest pet store in Nibelheim, and quite possibly in the world. Of course, Vincent could not verify this claim because he had never visited any pet stores outside of Nibelheim. You could find just about any animal you could even imagine wanting at Hojo's. (No relation to his favorite scientist, of course.) They offered tiny wolf puppies to baby sea worms (indigenous to Costa Del Sol) and everything in-between. Yuffie was soon poking her face into a pen full of fluffy young Chocolings petting them and cooing at their soft downy feathers. She plucked a baby blue one out of the group and cuddled it close to her chin.
"Howabout a Chocoling? Lookit how cute this one is!"
Vincent crossed his arms and stood behind her, keeping his head down in an attempt to maintain a low profile. No one had YET noticed that the crown prince was in the store.
"I have plenty of Chocobos. They are all kept at a Chocobo-specific facility near the marshes."
"Oh. Sorry, cutie. Maybe next time." With a remorseful glance she placed the peeping Chocoling back in the pen with its siblings.
"Ooo!" Bouncing across the store she plucked up a tiny purple...puppy?
"What is that?"
"This is a Behemoth puppy! It's adorable!"
Vincent cringed at the thought of owning a pet that would someday turn into an animal rivaling the size of his house.
"Um. How about something a little more manageable? I'm not always there to take care of affairs at the estate. I also don't believe it would be fair to unload such a...burden on the house staff."
"Soooo...does that mean we're doing more than looking?"
"What?"
"You said to choose something more manageable! That means you'll get one, right?"
"I didn't say that."
"But you didn't say otherwise either."
Narrowing his eyes at the tricky ninja in front of him, he deemed it better to stay silent than further lose his case.
The young girl did nothing more but smile winningly at him and move to the next interesting animal.
"How about this one?"
Yuffie reached into a tank and bought out a small hatchling that looked a lot like a fat cobra.
"Yuffie, I really don't think that a Zolom would be any better than a Behemoth."
"Pooper."
Vincent, in an effort to quell her constant plucking up and inquisition of various (and quite random) animals started to look around as well. He happened across a curious little group of lizard-like creatures swimming around happily in an aquarium. The name loomed curiously on a white-board, piquing his interest.
"Ax...Axolotl. Hm."
"Heeeeey, those are cute!" Yuffie reached into the tank and was promptly nipped by a spunky little white fizzard. "Yeek!"
Vincent snorted at the flailing mass of limbs. He was a bit alarmed when she fell to the floor, landing firmly on her rear, when she suddenly jumped up and scrambled on hands and knees to a lower shelf.
"Yeeee!! Omygosh look! it's a tuuuurrrrtle!! Look at how small and cute it is!!"
Sure enough, when Vincent bent down, there was a tiny tan turtle lazily crawling along a rock. It stopped to look at the gushing wad of flesh that had pressed its face up to the tank in an effort to get closer to it.
Vincent plucked the turtle from its tank and took it to the nearest sales associate.
"We'll take this one."
The young girl wasn't paying very good attention as she started to rattle off the things that he would need to take care of a turtle.
"Well, you're also going to need a tank. And some food. And also...OH HOLY CRAP IT'S V--!!"
A firm hand clamped over her mouth and a shifty little ninja put the girl in a headlock.
"Lookihere Miss. We're trying to keep a low profile, so if you wouldn't mind, couldja please not start hollering about things here?"
The woman nodded as best she could in the surprisingly strong grip of the little girl. Brushing herself off and straightening her clothes and hair she managed to offer the due respect to the royal highness of Nibelheim.
"I'm SO sorry, sir. It's an honor to meet you! I can't tell you how much I admire you! You're an amazing leader, sir. If it wouldn't be too much to ask, could I please get your autograph when you're done shopping? My name is Susannah, by the way. Please, please let me know if there is anything I can get for you!"
"I would greatly appreciate it if you could just sell me this turtle and whatever other things I might need in order to keep it alive and well."
"Sure thing! You bet! Yessir!"
The flustered girl bounded around the store gathering a tank, food, pebbles, decorations, and other miscellaneous items she thought the crown prince might want for his new pet. Yuffie and Vincent ducked into a corner, doing their best to look inconspicuous until the girl's violent fit of excitement and panic settled into a heap upon the counter in front of the cash register.
"Will that be all?"
"It appears so. Your total comes out to...6,254 gil." Yuffie's eyes almost fell out of her head as the bulged out upon hearing the total. Sure, she was royalty too, but she couldn't imagine spending that much in one fell swoop. On a pet. On a whim.
Thinking nothing of it, he plopped down a 10,000 gil bill and took out a card from his wallet. In beautiful script he wrote out "Susannah, thank you for all your help. Take care. - Crown Prince Vincent Valentine."
Susannah tried to hand his change back to him, which he gently pressed back to her, offering a small smile.
"Keep it. Here's your autograph, as promised. Thank you."
Picking up the tank full of necessities and accessories, he left Yuffie to carry only the turtle.
--
When they returned to the mansion Yuffie had inundated the turtle, and consequently Vincent, with her coos and squeals of affection. Although the squeak of her overjoyed voice was so unfamiliar to his ears that sometimes he got slightly rattled at the sound, he was quite pleased to be so sure that she was happy. Walking into the main foyer, they were surprised to see a pacing Reeve, looking slightly disturbed.
"A...woman, has come to see you. We told her you were out but she insisted on waiting for you...Crown Prince Valentine."
The mysterious female had heard their entrance and rushed to the foyer to meet Vincent.
"Oh, Vincent! It's been...so, so long..."
The prince's eyes widened and his breath caught. He took a step back and grabbed on to Yuffie's shoulder to keep his balance. The princess was also surprised and nearly dropped her tiny turtle to the ground, deftly catching it inches from the height she dropped it. It curled up into its shell, barely peeping out as Yuffie breathed a name no one thought she knew, and that Vincent dared not speak himself.
"Daughter of the leader of the Crescent Tribe from Wutai...infamous Wutain Restoration Foundation supporters...Lucrecia...Crescent..."