"Damn it!"

"What's the matter?"

"My Materia...it's gone!" Cloud frantically checked his pouch. The rest of the party searched themselves, and found their own Materia gone as well.

"Fuck!" Cid cursed, stamping his foot. "What is up with that brat?"

The Highwind, the Shinra airship the party had stolen not long ago, had landed on the south side of the Wutai continent to refuel and to allow the party to explore the little-known area. Yuffie had immediately exclaimed that she knew the area well and that it could be dangerous. However, when the party were unexpectedly ambushed by enemies, Yuffie had swiped the entire party's Materia and run off north.

Cloud shook his head in disbelief. "The Highwind isn't finished refuelling yet, and there's every chance she could be hiding in a cave somewhere...we'll have to cross on foot."

"You crazy?" Barret growled. "Who knows what the hell is out there? And with no Materia to boot? Damn, Cloud, you're puttin' us all in danger."

"...Cloud is right though." It was Vincent who had spoken. Because of his closeness with Yuffie, he had imagined she might have spared his Materia. A moment later he remembered that they were to keep their relationship a secret, and to leave his Materia might have been treated as suspicious by the party. Nevertheless, he was a little pissed off. "I also know this area, albeit from a long time ago, but the fauna around Wutai never changes. The monsters should be no problem as long as we band together and support each other quickly." He scratched his head, not used to speaking so much at once to someone who wasn't Yuffie. "If I know Yuffie, she will have headed straight for the town. It is a shame we must travel on foot, but it can't be helped."

"Hmmm..." Nanaki, who had been cleaning his face, looked up at Vincent. "How long will it take to traverse these mountains?"

"The bridges serve as pathways that shorten the length of time taken to get there...at an estimate, if we move at a decent pace throughout, we should reach Wutai a few hours before sundown."

"It's barely fucking dawn, Vincent!" ranted Cid. "You're telling us it's gonna take twelve hours to get there?"

Vincent regarded the pilot with a cold stare. "Yes."

"In that case, we might as well wait for the Highwind to refuel, and land on the other side!"

Tifa shook her head. "Like Cloud said, she might be hiding in a cave. We won't find her using the airship at that rate. And besides...I suppose we could do with the extra training."

"The lass is right," Cait Sith spoke up. "Yuffie knows the area better than any of us. She could hide for hours and we might not know. So, all the better to take a good look around!"

Cid just stared at the robotic cat. Then he sighed heavily. "Takin' advice from a freaking cat robot...alright, let's just get goin'."

True to his word and directions, Vincent led the party to Wutai in around twelve hours. There was no time to stop and admire the quaint beauty of the town, as Yuffie had to be found quickly. Vincent went to one side of the town with Cloud and Tifa, while Cid took Cait Sith, Nanaki and Barret to the other side.

Vincent watched the way Cloud almost seemed to cling to Tifa, not physically, but emotionally, as they walked together. It had not been long since Aeris' death, and the gunman was unsure if he disapproved or not. Who am I to speak of tarnishing memories...but is it right to flit from one woman to another? Strictly speaking, there was no relationship involved, but the love was there, I'm sure.

"You alright, Vincent?" Tifa called; she and Cloud were a good few feet ahead. Vincent did not respond, deep in thought, so Tifa drew back, telling Cloud to search ahead. Under the pretence of checking an alleyway, Tifa asked Vincent, "Is something on your mind?"

"How do you mean, Tifa?"

"Well, I know you and Yuffie are quite friendly. I imagine you're a little worried about her."

"Worried, and annoyed, and a whole host of other things."

Tifa laughed. "Poor you. Mind, she gets on our cases a lot too."

The two were silent for a few minutes, continuing their search for the elusive ninja. After finding her once in the item shop (and she ran off immediately afterwards), Tifa turned back to Vincent. "This might seem a bit of a weird question, but...how do you feel about Yuffie?"

"Right now, or in general?"

"The latter."

"Well..." Vincent was unsure of how much to reveal to Tifa, the resident agony aunt of the group. Cloud was giving them questioning looks, so Vincent just shrugged. "I am closer to her than anyone else here, and so I suppose I care for her quite a lot."

"Do you love her?"

Vincent's eyes widened a little. "I-I'm sorry?"

"I've...well, I've seen you kiss her once before." Tifa shifted from one foot to another. "Yesterday, in fact. I asked Cid to show me the engine room, and we caught a glimpse of you two down one of the corridors." Vincent's face drained of the little colour it had, and Tifa quickly added, "But Cid won't tell, and neither will I!"

The gunman breathed a sigh of relief. "Well, that's good. I'd rather the others not know, because what Yuffie and I have is not exactly a relationship, it is more...bouts of intimate education, you might say."

"So you sleep together?"

"No! No, of course not. She just...shows me how to kiss, and hold, and...things like that." Vincent could feel his face reddening, and he pulled the collar of his cloak up over his mouth self-consciously.

Tifa giggled. "Oh, stop being so embarrassed! I think it's very sweet. But...have you considered the fact that you may both fall for each other?"

This made Vincent stop dead in his tracks. He had never quite thought about it that way before. But he shook his head. "I do not think that would happen. Yuffie is too young and...immature to know what love is. And I myself am probably unable to experience it ever again."

Tifa rolled her red-brown eyes. "You're too hard on yourself. Come on, let's look for her. Cloud is going to kick our asses if we don't help him look."

Some time later, Cloud received a call on the PHS. Answering it and turning loudspeaker on, it turned out to be Barret. "Have you found her?" he asked.

"That and more!" Barret replied. "We found the Turks in the bar-"

"What?"

"Nah, it's fine, they're off duty, so they let us go. But Yuffie locked us in a damn cage, and Cait had to let us out. Then we saw Yuffie nabbed by some shady guys!"

"Nabbed?" Tifa cut in. "Someone took her?"

"Yeah, some goons and this fat blonde guy in a red coat!"

Tifa and Cloud both swore simultaneously. "Must be Corneo," Cloud sighed. "Where did they go?"

"Up the mountains- Da-Chao or something-, the ones with the faces on them. They had Elena with them too. We're at the bottom of the trail, we'll wait for you there. Nanaki's gone ahead to scout."

"We won't be long." Cloud put the PHS away and groaned. "Great."

"Corneo?" Vincent asked curiously, as they all set off at a sprint.

"Shinra spy!" Cloud told him, panting slightly. "We had to deal with him in Sector 6. Suppose he's on the run from Shinra now for telling us their plans, why else would he be here?"

"Colossal pervert," Tifa added. "No wonder he ran off with the two youngest girls he found here."

A pang of worry hit Vincent like a bullet to the chest. I do hope she hasn't been harmed...and if we must fight, we will have to rely on our weapons alone...oh, Yuffie, why do you always make things difficult for us?

Luckily, Corneo and the girls proved quite easy to find. The pervert had tied them up, hanging precariously close to falling to their deaths, but Reno and Rude, the other two Turks, turned up just in time to help out. Yuffie wasn't helping with the amount of insults she was throwing at Corneo, but Vincent quickly untied her while Cloud and the party battled a flying monster the Don set on them. "Vince..." she breathed, throwing herself into his arms. He held her tight, pressing his face into her hair, but then he pushed her back and scowled at her. "Don't ever do that again," he scolded. "It was very irresponsible of you. You might have gotten us all killed."

"I'm sorry..." she whispered.

Vincent sighed. "Let's talk about it later." He looked sideways, where Rude was busy helping out Elena. "And let's move away from this lot. The less we are involved with the Turks the better."

"But you were a Turk..."

"Our duties were different then. Come." He took Yuffie's hand and guided her back down the path. The flying monster, Rapps, sank down in a flurry of wings and teeth, dead; Cid had landed the killing blow. Corneo was then taken care of, with Reno sending him tumbling off the edge. "Right, now..." he said, flicking his ponytail over his shoulder. Cloud readied his sword, but Reno shook his head. "Nah, we're still off duty. Next time we see you, probably." He signalled to Rude and Elena, who looked a little shaken up but was unharmed. "Come on guys."

The Turks departed. The minute they were out of sight, the party rounded on Yuffie, who clutched Vincent's arm, suddenly terrified. "What on earth were you thinking?" Cloud demanded. "You pulled a very dangerous stunt, Yuffie! And running off on your own too!"

"I'm sorry," she mumbled.

"Sorry ain't fucking good enough!" Cid raged. "You stole what was ours!"

"Everyone," Vincent said quietly, "please, I'm sure she has a reason. Let her explain herself."

Cloud raised an eyebrow. "Fine. Yuffie?"

Still nestled against Vincent for protection, Yuffie said in a shaky voice, "I just wanted Wutai to be like it was before...after the war, there was no Materia here. I grew up with stories of Materia, and magic, and I always said when I grew up I would find Materia and restore Wutai to its former glory. I...I'm so sorry, guys..." She burst into tears. "I t-tricked you all...I'm just g-going to...to go back home, and...you guys can g-go f-fight Sephiroth without me..."

Cloud's hard expression wavered somewhat, and he bit his lip. "Yuffie, don't cry. Just...just give us back the Materia, and we'll try and forget about this."

Sniffling, Yuffie nodded. "It's in my house...I'll take you there."

True to her word, it was. Yuffie dutifully gave the party back their Materia, then pointed out an inn to them before disappearing into her bedroom, locking the door. Vincent hesitated, unsure of whether or not he should coax her back out. Tifa hung back, noticing this. "I'll tell everyone you went to comfort her or something," she smiled. "Come to the inn when you're ready."

"Thank you for being so understanding," Vincent replied, with a hint of a smile.

"No problem. See you later." Tifa ran off after the rest of the party.

Only then did Vincent knock gently on Yuffie's door. "Let me in, Yuffie," he called out. "There's nobody else here." She did not reply, but he heard her unlock the door, and he slid it aside to behold a red-eyed Yuffie sitting down on a futon dejectedly. "I'm not here to tell you off," the gunman reassured her. "The rest of the party may be annoyed but I can never stay angry at you for long."

"R-Really?" she asked, eyes widening a little. Vincent made a soft noise of assent and knelt in front of her, taking her hands. "I really am sorry, Vince," she sighed. "Nobody would understand..."

"I do," he told her. "I was in Wutai for a while during the war. I saw much of the goings-on. That is why I had a slight inkling why you were so interested in our Materia. I just never mentioned it for fear you would be frightened and run away like you did today."

Vince...I'm sorry..."

"Stop apologising. Come here..." He pulled the shivering ninja onto his lap, his arms encircling her tiny body. She rested her head on his shoulder, dampening it with her tears, but Vincent paid them no mind and just held her tighter.

"Vince?"

"Yes?"

"I think...I think I'm falling for you." Yuffie felt Vincent stiffen a little, as she knew he would, and had grown used to seeing. "I thought I might be able to just have fun with you, but now I can hardly stand to be away from you...and when we kiss, I feel more than just excitement, like I used to. I just want more and more."

Vincent thought for a moment, letting her words sink in. It was surprising, considering the conversation he had had with Tifa earlier, how he thought Yuffie incapable of loving him. But the way she was looking at him now...he felt like slapping himself for being so blind. "So...you think you love me?" he asked quietly.

"Yes," she replied, dropping her head and twirling a lock of Vincent's hair round her finger.

Vincent slid a hand under her chin, making her look back up at him. "Do you want a relationship with me?"

"Do you want a relationship with me?"

"...There would likely be complications. The gap between our ages, the fight against Sephiroth, the reaction of the party...but if this is something you still desire...?"

"We can't carry on as we are," Yuffie said. "We're too close to even think about breaking off the deal. Really, either we start properly seeing each other, or I remain here in Wutai. I've done too much."

"That is something for the party to decide. I am sure they will accept you back. And besides..." Vincent drew Yuffie into a gentle kiss, "I will not leave without you."

The ninja gasped. "You mean-?"

"Yes." Vincent smiled, a true smile that only Yuffie ever saw. "But I still want those lessons of yours!"

She laughed, and kissed the gunman on the cheek. "Don't worry, I'm not letting you off so easily!" Getting off his lap, she crossed the room to retrieve her pack, and rummaged inside till she found a notepad. "Hmmm..." she flipped through it for a moment. "Ah, here we go, the list."

Vincent stared at her in disbelief. "You...have been keeping a list of all this?"

"Yep, so I know whereabouts we are, what you learnt, and the next stage."

"...You are much stranger than I thought, Yuffie."

She grinned. "Thank you very much. Now..." She consulted the pad with a slight furrow of her brow. "Kissing, check. Passionate kissing, check. Getting a boner-"

"What?"

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding! I wrote 'arousal' instead." Yuffie giggled at the look on Vincent's face, and checked the pad again. "So, the next two are 'Hickeys' and 'Fingers, lips and tongue.'"

Vincent just gaped at her. "Give me that," he said flatly, holding out his hand. Yuffie handed it to him, laughing and blushing. He scanned Yuffie's twirly handwriting, and sweat beaded his forehead at some of the 'lessons' Yuffie had scrawled down. "You mean for us to do all this?"

"Well, not all of it," she said. "They're just ideas. But they go in order of, well...sexuality, I suppose."

"I don't even know what a hickey is," Vincent moaned. Rolling her eyes, Yuffie took the pad from him and tossed it over her shoulder, then plonked herself back on his lap, straddling him this time. "Here," she indicated, running a slim finger down the side of her neck. "It's just another term for a lovebite."

Comprehension dawned on the gunman's face, and he brought his head down to nibble lightly at the base of her neck, starting off slowly. Now they had decided to officially be a couple, he no longer cared if the party saw the marks. Yuffie's hand pushed down on the back of his head, urging him to bite harder, and he did, drawing a shaky inhale of breath from the young ninja. His own breathing speeding up significantly with excitement, Vincent clamped down and sucked the soft flesh, running his tongue over it as he did so. Yuffie cried out loudly, hand clenching in Vincent's long hair. "Mmm...yes, there..." she panted.

Vincent groaned against her skin, feeling himself becoming desperately aroused. Yuffie had teased him so much recently that he could barely take it. He lay her on her back on the futon, and smiled at the mark he had left on her neck. "They will know you as mine now," he whispered.

"Good," she smiled.

"Now, what was the next lesson?"

She smirked at the gunman, pulling him down for a deep kiss. "You know what it is," she whispered suggestively. Vincent groaned again, watching as she removed her top, throwing it aside. Her hands fell to her shorts, but Vincent got there first, sliding them off himself. Like the other times he had seen her in her underwear, he just stared for a while, admiring her slim form. His eyes lingered on her bruised neck, her flat stomach, her shapely legs. "Has anyone ever told you how beautiful you are, Yuffie?"

She giggled, face turning red. "Only you," she replied, watching Vincent unbuckle his cloak.

"I find that hard to believe." The cloak was tossed aside, and the gunman started on his shirt. "What with all you have been teaching me, you must have some sexual experience."

"I've had one boyfriend," Yuffie replied, watching hungrily as more and more of Vincent's muscled chest and stomach was exposed, "but it was just a series of fumbles, really, nothing romantic."

Vincent nodded, putting his shirt aside. He made to lie atop Yuffie, but she shook her head. "Hm?" he frowned. She pointed to his leather trousers, an expectant look on her face. He sighed. "Really?"

"Yeah. You've seen me in my underwear, now let me see you in yours!" She sat up before he could respond, her hands swiftly undoing buttons and pulling down the zip. She couldn't get them off, however; they were too tight. "Damn it!" she growled, tugging at the waistband. Rolling his eyes, Vincent removed them himself.

Yuffie gasped, then gave a little splutter of shock. He...doesn't wear underwear! At all! He's...Vincent Valentine is naked in my room! "I, um..." she stammered. "I see why you didn't want to remove them...um..."

"I can put them back on if you wish," Vincent said. He seemed to have no qualms about his body, as she had seen his scars before.

"N-No no no! You stay like that! Remember the lesson? It applies to both of us!" She winked. "Lie back, Vince..."

Vincent gasped as he realised what she was going to do. She shifted aside, and patted the futon. "You're sure? Truly?"

"Yes. Now lie down and bloody well enjoy yourself!" Looking a little nervous (very unlike Vincent), he lay down, while Yuffie crossed the room to bolt the door shut again, knowing Vincent's eyes were most definitely focused on her backside. When she turned around, his right hand quickly blurred back to his side. She laughed. "You were touching it, weren't you?"

"Maybe..." he muttered, not meeting her gaze. She bounded back over and knelt beside him. He tensed up, but then her small hand had wrapped round him and he uttered a soft groan. "Relax," she whispered, starting to stroke the warm, firm flesh. Vincent's breath caught in his throat, and he bit his lip, hips jerking up a little. It did feel good, very good...Yuffie's hand worked its way delicately up and down, trailing the tips of her fingers over the head, ghosting down the length and all the way down to lightly brush the sac before travelling back up again to wrap firmly round the length. Vincent found himself panting with pleasure, hand gripping Yuffie's thigh, but she didn't seem to mind; in fact, she did something else altogether. Moving round, she shifted Vincent's legs apart, settled between them, and gave a teasing lick to his length.

Vincent watched her, wide-eyed and feeling lucky beyond belief. One moment she's kissing me, and the next, she has me in her mouth! How far will this go, I wonder?

Yuffie would have danced for joy if not for the position she was in, knelt between Vincent's legs with a straining, leaking rod in her mouth. The gunman tried to watch her, but after a few seconds he had to drop his head back, moaning softly through the hand clamped over his mouth. Pleased with this, Yuffie sucked a little harder, wanting to reward Vincent with satisfaction. It's not a lesson learnt if it doesn't go exactly the way it should! she thought. And that means he has to come. Sounds like he might do soon, actually...

She was right. As he had never experienced such pleasure before, it didn't take long for Vincent to indicate that he was close to orgasm. The hand that had wandered into the ninja's hair tightened its grip, and his pale hips bucked harder and more frequently. "Yuffie..." he panted, "Yuffie, I'm going to come...d-don't stop..."

Yuffie braced herself for the explosion. Vincent cried out, and the warm white liquid hit her tongue in irregular spurts, but she kept her head bobbing back and forth, stretching out Vincent's climax till he shuddered and spasmed beneath her. Only then did she pull back and swallow, pleased to find there was no hint of an unpleasant taste. She poked Vincent playfully; the gunman seemed incapable of moving, so powerful had his first orgasm with a partner been. "Hey, wakey wakey!"

He opened his eyes and smiled. "Impressive," he murmured. "I was very pleasantly surprised."

"Good." Yuffie snuggled up to his side, resting her head on a bent elbow, waiting for Vincent to recover. He raised a hand to run along the contours of her body, uttering soft noises of appreciation and desire. Yuffie closed her eyes in response to the unnaturally gentle touch, feeling the slightly shaking fingers caress her side, moving downwards to her thighs and round to give her backside a cheeky grope. "Hey!" she laughed. Vincent smirked at her, and rolled over so he was lying on top of the ninja.

"I take it I am allowed to move these now?" he asked, tugging at a bra strap. Yuffie nodded, and he slid the straps down, impressing himself with his lack of nerves. Mind, having just received a mind-numbing blowjob, he was too excited to care about anything else now. Kissing along Yuffie's shoulder, Vincent slid a hand round her back, fumbling with the bane of a man's life that was the clasp. The ninja giggled at Vincent's displeased growl, and reached behind to do it herself. Heaving a sigh of relief, Vincent rid his lover of the offending item of clothing. Fingers, lips and tongue, he thought to himself. Well, here goes.

The fingers went first, brushing lightly over Yuffie's exposed chest, exploring the expanse of soft skin. The ninja closed her eyes and gasped, gripping Vincent's free arm. Next, the lips, sending fluttering kisses up her flat stomach, between her breasts, and a kiss on each hardening nipple. "Oh my god..." Yuffie whispered. She already felt dizzy from breathing quickly, but when Vincent began to use his tongue, she almost fainted. The wet muscle dragged slowly across one nipple, then the other, alternating between slow circles and frantic lapping at the buds of flesh. Yuffie writhed beneath the gunman, crying out in shuddering ecstasy.

How on earth is one supposed to focus on this task without succumbing to other base desires? Vincent thought, in the process of giving Yuffie's left breast a lovebite while sliding a hand down her body, to meet with radiating warmth between her legs. I'm doing this, and my God, I'm enjoying it, but I have no idea how long I can carry on without taking her right here and now... He leaned up and kissed Yuffie passionately, thrusting his tongue into her mouth. She is so beautiful...

Gasping for air, Yuffie pulled away. "H-Here," she panted, directing Vincent's hand to her more sensitive area. He rubbed tentatively, and the ninja cried out softly. "Yes, just there...oh my god..."

Vincent pushed aside her underwear, and felt around gently for her opening. Locating it quickly, he pushed a finger inside, then another, hoping it would not pain the young ninja. Thankfully, she took it well, only wincing a little. "Does that feel fine?" Vincent asked, sounding a little worried.

Yuffie nodded and smiled. "You're learning fast."

"What now?" The gunman tried an experimental curl of the fingers, and Yuffie bit her lip, hissing uncomfortably. "Damn...sorry."

"Oooh...ouch. It's okay, I'm fine." Yuffie giggled. "You can do that, but push in further before you do it. Just...keep moving them in and out. The real test is if you can do it while using your mouth as well."

"My mouth? Where?" She pointed, and Vincent's eyes widened. "I see. In that case..." He withdrew his fingers so as to completely remove the last article of clothing from his young lover. Leaning down, he pulled Yuffie into his lap so he could kiss her, letting his aching arousal press against her, telling her how much he felt like he was being teased. She seemed to get the message, and rocked her hips to further inflame his passion. With a growl, Vincent tipped Yuffie straight onto her back again and spread her legs apart. He loved how wet she felt as he slipped two fingers back into her, how she softly moaned his name.

Lips and tongue, he thought, settling down into a comfortable position. Yuffie pulled her legs up a little to allow Vincent better access, uttering a cry when her lover gave her a teasing lick, tasting her. Hmmm...this I like. This I want more of.

And with that, Vincent launched an all-out assault. Yuffie screamed with pleasure at the frantically pounding fingers, the dancing tongue. Vincent was indeed a fast learner, and he was loving every second of it. He pushed a third finger in, and turned his head to the side, biting Yuffie's thigh several times before returning to licking.

Yuffie shuddered, arching her back and fisting her hands in Vincent's hair. Gasping out his name, she hurtled over the edge, pleasure exploding from Vincent's ministrations and making her writhe in the throes of her orgasm.

Slowly, Vincent straightened up, removing his fingers, gazing down at the panting ninja beneath him. She looked up at him with satisfied grey eyes, a tired smile curving her lips. "Hello there," Vincent chuckled, raising his wet fingers to his mouth.

"Gross." Yuffie rolled her eyes as Vincent licked the fingers clean. He just chuckled again, and motioned for her to get inside the futon she lay on. Obeying, she took Vincent's hand, tugging him in with her. "I enjoyed that," she murmured, letting Vincent hold her to his chest. She stroked it tenderly, tracing the scars that marked him.

"I did too." Vincent stroked Yuffie's hair.

"You did well."

"As did you."

Yuffie giggled softly, now a little sleepy. "Mmm...I'll tick those off in the morning..."

"So, what is next?"

The ninja winked. "What do you think, Vince?"