Dead. Gone. Extinguished.

The unspeakable had happened.

Aeris lay in Cloud's shaking arms, her pink dress marred by a bloom of blood over her still breast. The party stood around him, numb with shock and grief. Yuffie had screamed with horror when Cloud, Vincent and Barret had returned, bearing Aeris' body, before falling to her knees, inconsolable. Tifa had attempted to comfort her, but her own tears flowed just as heavily. Around them, Nanaki's howls echoed...

Not caring at that moment what anyone thought, Vincent held Yuffie close as Aeris was laid to rest at the bottom of a crystal-clear lake. Afterwards, Cloud retreated to his tent, murmuring about time alone. Everybody else dispersed at random.

Vincent sat in his own tent, head bowed. Even he was in shock over what had happened. He had been there, watched as Sephiroth's blade slid easily through Aeris' chest as she was praying, dead before she had even tumbled to the floor. Cloud had been so grief-stricken he was barely able to fend off the monstrous form of Jenova that attacked them soon after.

Is this the end of our journey? Is Cloud strong enough to carry on? The last Cetra, gone...even I shed a tear or two, and I hardly knew the girl. Vincent pushed his hair out of his eyes and sighed heavily, thinking of how distraught Yuffie had been when she saw Aeris. She looked close to fainting, so horrified was she. But I could do nothing...we arrived too late...was it our fault she died? No, no...do not think such things. But where is Yuffie now? I worry for her.

Deciding to go find her, Vincent heaved himself out of his tent. She was not by the fire, where the rest of the party, minus Cloud, sat dejectedly, discussing the times they had shared with their departed friend. "Have you tried the lake?" Tifa said, pointing. "I don't think she's moved since..."

True to her word, Yuffie was sat by the lake, staring at the seemingly bottomless depths. She did not look up when Vincent made his appearance known by sitting beside her. Tears still rolled down her white cheeks.

Vincent gave her a few minutes before he spoke. "Yuffie..." he said softly. "Come back to the camp. You will catch a chill, sat out here."

"I don't care," she mumbled.

"You can pay your respects in the morning. Come back with me."

"Pay my respects in the morning?" Yuffie balled her hands into fists, punching the floor. "She was my friend, Vince! And that bastard took her away from me! Who the hell have you ever had ripped away from you like that, hey? Don't look at me like that!" She was shouting now. "Just because you don't give a shit about what happens to anyone, you damn emotionless vampire, doesn't mean I'm not allowed to grieve for the woman that was like a mother to me in the short space of time I knew her! So excuse me for not wanting to leave her side!"

"Yuffie-"

"Pay my respects? I will pay my damn respects to her, morning noon and night if I want to, because she was important to us, and to the Planet, and Sephiroth murdered her! I have more than respect for Aeris, and you...you will never understand that..."

She dissolved into sobs. Vincent found himself reaching out to her, and though she feebly tried to push him off, she ended up curled in his lap, crying hysterically into his shoulder. "Maybe I won't ever fully understand what it is like to love and respect somebody in the way you did," he murmured, "but I have had my share of people being ripped away from me..."

"You...you have?" Yuffie whispered. Vincent did not reply, but stood up with Yuffie in his arms, and carried her back to the camp. The party gave him curious glances as he walked past, to which he replied that Yuffie was very tired and wished for some company. He deposited her inside the tent and made her comfortable, wrapping her up in his sleeping bag. Only then did he reply to her question.

"Thirty years ago, I worked for Shinra. I was a Turk. I was assigned to assist and protect a Shinra scientist working on the Jenova Project; Lucrecia, the mother of Sephiroth. When he was a mere babe in her womb, Hojo injected him with Jenova cells, and this affected Lucrecia badly. She began to collapse in constant agony..." Vincent's face twisted as he remembered the gruesome details. Yuffie watched him rapturously. "I loved her...Lucrecia was my whole world back then," he carried on. "Yet she shunned me, for reasons I still do not know, though it began after my father, Grimoire, died. She was very close to him. She married Hojo and became further distanced from me...though I vaguely remember she was the one who saved my life when Hojo attempted to kill me..."

"Hojo tried to breed Aeris and Red together," Yuffie said quietly. "He retired and went on holiday to the Costa del Sol; we saw him there. He's sick, a madman."

"He has not changed then."

"Carry on."

Vincent shook his head. "I know nothing after that. I remember waking up, and seeing my body twisted, deformed and hideous, and being ashamed, I hid myself away, hoping nobody would ever find me."

"Wow..." Yuffie's eyes were wide. "I didn't know you could love. You're always so cold..."

"Yes, I was a human once too."

"You still are. You're just...a little different is all." Yuffie tried to smile, then sighed. "Sorry. I'm not much use to you right now."

"I did not bring you here to be of use to me. I brought you here so that we might comfort each other."

This time, Yuffie managed to smile, and she reached out to cup the gunman's cheek. "That's so sweet...thank you..."

Vincent closed his eyes, feeling the warm touch of his almost-lover's hand and the thumb that stroked his pale skin. "Stay with me tonight," he said softly. Opening his eyes, he found Yuffie frozen in surprise. "Unless you'd rather-" he stammered.

"No," she replied, cutting him off. "I'll stay. I just didn't think you'd say something like that. I think I need the company anyway." Shrugging herself out of the sleeping bag, she set about removing her boots and socks. Noticing Vincent giving her a curious look, she replied, "What? I'm sleepy." Her cheeky side showing through once more, she then knelt up so as to remove her shorts, then slowly peeled off her top, leaving her in nothing but plain black underwear. Vincent's eyes widened until they looked like they might pop out of their sockets, and he mouthed wordlessly for a few moments. Yuffie grinned at him and slipped back into the sleeping bag, then patted the space next to her.

"Yuffie, I...I am not undressing in front of you," he protested weakly.

"Come on, I just did!" The ninja stuck her tongue out. "Or did you not enjoy it?"

"No, I..."

Rolling her eyes, Yuffie sat up and crawled towards Vincent, deft hands quickly unfastening his cloak, letting it pool on the floor. She silenced his protests with a long, deep kiss as she began on his shirt, unbuttoning it swiftly while Vincent's mind was elsewhere, concentrating on her lips. However, she was surprised when he shrugged the shirt off himself, before pushing her onto her back and attacking her neck with bites and kisses, grinding himself into her all the while.

"V-Vincent..." Yuffie gasped, arching into him. The assault moved upwards, back to her lips, and she felt his hands sliding her bra straps down. "Vincent!" she cried out, shoving him off and readjusting herself. "Too far!"

The gunman looked nonplussed. "In my defence, you were the one to strip us both off. You started it, so forgive me if I got the wrong impression."

"I swear to Leviathan you were trying to have sex with me!"

"I...you are the one who proclaimed the lessons could be taken further!"

"Yes, but not while I'm grieving!" Sighing, Yuffie got into the sleeping bag. "I wanted you to relax. Now just get in here with me and sleep, alright?"

What is wrong with this girl? She wants one thing, then another...I suppose I just have to learn to live with it. Frowning at her behaviour, Vincent removed his boots, then slid in beside Yuffie. She smiled, shifting around so she had moulded her back to his chest. "Night night," she yawned.

"...Goodnight, Yuffie," murmured Vincent, draping an arm over the ninja's waist.