Light

"Come on, Vinnie! Don't be such a spoil sport!" She bounced ahead, the ends of her forehead protector fluttering behind her as she danced down the hall. They were staying at the Gold Saucer; Yuffie wanted to see the sights and Vincent had somehow gotten roped in, as he was the only one who could stand the ninja for any length of time.

"Remind me again why you wish to visit this noisome place," he intoned.

She turned, glaring at him. "What the Hell does 'noisome' mean?"

Vincent raised an eyebrow at her. "Nauseating. Fetid."

"Ew." Yuffie continued to flounce down the hallway, towards the bright lights and the smells of fast food and grease. He cringed and followed after.

He found that since she'd come to him, asking what it felt like to be in love, she'd grown quieter around him. Her presence was slightly comforting, and he'd begun to notice the small quirks about her that the others hadn't bothered to try to see. The way she spoke to herself in flawless Wutain, how she bit her lip endearingly when she was trying not to blurt something out, the slight sadness in her smile. How, no matter how carefree she acted, there was always a shadow behind her eyes.

"Vince! Hurry! I wanna see the gondolas!" She'd circled around to grab hold of his gauntlet, tugging him along. But the bright smile seemed a little desperate. Actually, a lot desperate. He looked around as she pulled him, searching for the cause of her discomfort. All he could see in the square was an announcer, a couple who seemed to be from Costa de Sol, and a group of Wutains, a few teenagers and their parents.

"Yuffie, what-"

"Shhh!" She yanked him along, breathing a sigh of relief as they stepped up to the gondola ticket booth. Yuffie asked for two, payed up, and dragged Vincent onto the little cable car thing. Sitting down opposite him, she leaned her head back against the wall, closing her eyes.

"What was that, Yuffie?" he asked. Ruby irises watched her cringe, then as a slight shudder wracked her body. Suddenly she was crying, violently. He panicked.

He could kill monsters. He would happily hike through the Niebleheim mountains. But he couldn't deal with a crying girl. Lo, the irony.

"I-I can't let them see me! One of them might have-have recognized m-me! I can't go back there, I can't let them see me...n-not now..." She didn't know why she did it, but she flung herself into Vincent's arms, her tears soaking into his cloak. He paused, then wrapped his arms around her. He could hold her as she cried, at least.

Her tiny frame shivered as sob after sob issued from her mouth. His arms tightened around her, muttering nonsense words into her hair, cradling her until the profuse tears slowed. She simply sat on his lap, letting her forehead rest on his shoulder.

Finally, he spoke.

"I won't ask what that was about."

She turned her tear-stained face up to his and the look in her eyes unnerved him. Yuffie was staring at him as though he alone was her light in the world, while felt exactly that way about her.

"Don't leave me behind, Vinnie. Please."