Vincent could feel his heart pounding in his chest, and in truth he wanted nothing more than to punch something at the moment, but he refused to let any of that show. Yuffie was bordering on complete hysteria, and he needed to calm her down before she did something irrational – she was prone to that, after all. Calling on his old Turk training, he immediately began to formulate a plan while he worked on soothing the sobbing ninja.

"Yuffie, it's going to be alright. Calm down…" he murmured as he pulled her against him and held her tightly, stroking her hair and resting his chin on her head while she pulled herself together. After a few minutes, she pulled away from his chest, still sniffling but much more in control. "That's better. Now, why is it you're so upset?" Yuffie jerked away from him and gave him an incredulous stare.

"Why am I upset? Why am I upset?! Did you not just hear me say my dad's ordered me to come back to Wutai for good, as in until the end of time?" Vincent just nodded, completely unfazed.

"Of course I heard you. I just don't see the problem."

"You don't see the – The problem is that we just got together in November, and now I'm losing you already! And the thought of that doesn't bother you at all?!"

"Who said anything about losing me? If you're going back to Wutai, I'll just have to go with you." He said it so calmly, so matter-of-factly, that Yuffie was once again at a loss for words. It seemed every time she thought she knew everything about Vincent, he would do something else to throw her for a loop. "That is, of course, if I can't persuade him to let you stay here."

"Vincent… You'd do that for me?" Vincent just blinked at her.

"Of course I would. Why would you think otherwise?" Her answer was to leap at him and hug him tightly, this time actually managing to knock him flat on his back and not feeling even slightly remorseful about it. "Yuffie?" he asked shakily as her arms tightened around his neck.

"Yeah, Vinnie?"

"I'm… going to need oxygen again sometime soon…" Yuffie got off of Vincent immediately, and he sat up with a quiet cough. "Alright, well, first things first; if we're going to get to Wutai quickly, we need to call Cid and ask him to take us on the Shera. While I'm calling him, Yuffie, you are welcome to look through my apartment and pack anything you think we'll need. I'm not sure how long this will take, but I should have enough spare toiletries and nightclothes for both of us, so you shouldn't need to make a trip to Seventh Heaven for anything."

"Yes, sir! I'm on it!" the Wutaian shouted with a mock salute, running off to Vincent's bedroom to find her backpack. Yuffie had been living with Tifa and Cloud at Seventh Heaven ever since she and Vincent had become a couple, working as a waitress and bartender as well as babysitting the children when Cloud wasn't around. Vincent had found an apartment close to Edge for exactly that reason, and she stayed with him often enough that he had finally just bought everything she would need to care for herself rather than constantly having her forgetting things when she left. He heard the sound of breaking glass in the bedroom, and he smiled to himself when she shouted "I'm okay!" before he could move a muscle to go check on her.

"I'm sure you are, Yuffie, but what did you break?" he asked in amusement as he scrolled through his contacts and hit SEND, waiting for Cid to pick up the phone.

"Nooothhiiiing… Uh, Vincent, do you have a mop somewhere around here?"

"…Why…?"

"Oh, just a little spill…" Vincent sniffed the air, suddenly realizing what she had broken as the scent of her honeysuckle perfume wafted out to him from the bedroom. He sighed; that scent was very expensive, but he always kept a bottle here because she liked it so much. Well, at least the house smelled like Yuffie now.

"Check the bathroom closet."

"Thanks, Vinnie!"

"Mm-hmm." Finally, he heard the phone click as it was picked up, and Cid's voice sounded over the line.

"Hey, Vincent," he said, much more quietly than usual; the gunman was instantly on edge. "Listen, I gotta make this quick, alright? So whatcha need?"

"Yuffie and I are dealing with a bit of a… situation involving her father, and we were hoping you could get us to Wutai as soon as possible." He could hear Cid sigh on the other end of the line, and something told him he wasn't going to like whatever the pilot said next.

"Damn, Vincent, you know I'd help ya if I could, but I'm kinda busy with –" Vincent winced as a shrill scream interrupted Cid; if it was loud enough to hurt his ears, he had no idea what Cid must be feeling.

"What was that?" he asked when he heard Cid sigh again.

"Yeah, well, uh, ya remember how in December I said that Shera was expectin'?" Vincent gulped, knowing where this was going.

"Yes…"

"Well, we're kinda at the hospital right now, and she's not in a very good mood 'cause –"

"YOU TRY DOING THIS AND SEE WHAT KIND OF MOOD YOU'RE IN, CIDNEY HIGHWIND!" Shera screamed, causing Cid to drop the phone for a moment. "Now get off the #& #^$# phone and get your lazy %&# over here before I #&$%&# rip off your –"

"Yes, Dear, I'm coming!" Cid answered in a very meek voice. "Sorry, Vincent, I really wish I could help ya, but I just can't this time. Duty calls. OWOWOWOW, Honey that's my ear!"

"YEAH? WELL IF YOUR EAR HURTS THAT MUCH JUST THINK HOW MY –" Vincent hung up quickly, feeling a great deal of sympathy for Cid and not wishing to hear any more of this conversation. He had never heard Shera raise her voice above a murmur, and he was more than a little frightened. Well, having Cid fly them was definitely out; it looked like it was back to the drawing board.

"What now?" he asked himself quietly.

"Easy. We fly," Chaos answered. Vincent could feel a tingle creeping up his neck at the eagerness he felt emanating from the demon.

"Were you not listening to the conversation I just had with Cid? Flying's out."

"I wasn't talking about an airship."

"No. Absolutely not."

"And why not?"

"I am not letting you take over my body and carry Yuffie at an impossible height while you fly through the clouds to the gods know where. That's much too dangerous."

"You flew with her before, in Kalm."

"I was still the one in control before. And that was across town; this is across the continent."

"The principle is still the same. And besides, she doesn't get airsick when we carry her, right? It's much less dignified to show up with a puking princess, don't you think? She would probably appreciate this greatly." Vincent winced at the imagery, but Chaos did have a point; their options were very limited.

"Why are you being so helpful all of a sudden, Chaos?"

"Yuffie is your mate, which means she is by extension a mate of mine, too. I may be a demon, but I still know a thing or two about females."

"Very well," Vincent relented with a sigh. "I'll let you take over completely just before we leave. But be sure you aren't seen when we get to Wutai. The last thing we want is to draw too much attention."

"Me? Draw attention? Never." Vincent rolled his eyes, but a smile crept onto his lips as Yuffie stumbled out of his bedroom, laden down with a few suitcases stuffed with who-knew-what. He strode over to her and took all but one of them from her, laying them across his own shoulders instead.

"Did you pack everything we need?" he asked, knowing she had probably gone above and beyond what was necessary.

"Yup!" she answered cheerfully, giggling as he fumbled to catch one of the bags before it slid off of his shoulder. "So when's Cid getting here?"

"Er, well, about that…"

"He's not coming? So how are we getting to Wutai? If we have to take a boat I'll probably die before we make it there."

"We're not taking a boat, don't worry," Vincent said, his voice lowering as a growl began to echo behind it. Yuffie tilted her head, confused, and then knelt beside him worriedly as he dropped to his knees, panting in pain. Voluntary or not, these transformations always hurt.

"Vincent, are you o –" She never finished that sentence, for at that moment she found herself looking not into the red eyes of the gunman, but the amber-colored orbs that belonged to Chaos. She stared at him for a moment, and he stood and carefully gathered up their bags, strapping them to himself and unfurling his wings when he had finished. Finally, he turned around to look at her again, flashing her a teasing grin full of very sharp fangs.

"Well, then, Princess," he growled, flapping his wings as he uttered the nickname. "Are you ready to fly?"