Soz I haven't updated in a while, but the next chapter is here now! I have decided Vinnie is going to go through a little...erm, what's the word im looking for...phase! That's it. And Yuffie's going to help him out of course! I tried to make it so Yuffie has like, 90% of the dialogue here, to keep her more in character 'cos I think she's a bit OOC in this. Does that make sense? I dunno, maybe it's just me. A friend helped me write this, and I think you can spot which parts are mine and which are hers. I guess that's a bit inconsistent. Oh well, we might as well be twins, we're so similar. They say great minds think alike! Anyway, on with the story!
I don't own Final Fantasy VII. Or any other Final Fantasy actually. Damn.
No.4-One Sided Conversation
Yuffie's POV
"Vinnie! Hey! Are you listening? Come on, talk to me! Im asking you a question, you have to answer!"
I was stood next to him, and he was sat on the ground. We were outside the Seventh Heaven, and it was around nine PM. Vinnie just got back after a sixteen hour trip to an unknown location and no one knew where the hell he'd disappeared to and I was totally freaking out and now he won't tell me where he was. I was so worried about him! Not as worried as when he disappears for days sometimes. But lately Vince has been more angsty than usual. And I don't know why. So when I got up at six o'clock in the morning and Vinnie wasn't up, I was a little worried. Vinnie usually gets up earlier than everyone 'cos apparently he only needs like, five hours sleep or something. I went to check if he was in his room (I knocked!), but he wasn't there. I called him like, fifteen times or something, and left seven voice mails. I asked Tifa and Cloud and Denzel and Marlene and even Shelke if they knew where he was. Did I mention Shelke's physically all grown up now? Well she is. She looks a lot like her sister actually. So yeah, I went all the way to her little apartment over in Kalm to ask if she knew where Vinnie was, and guess what? She said, and I quote!
"I don't think I should say. Although he told me where he was going, he asked me not to tell you. He obviously knew you were going to come looking for him."
Wtf?! What kind of answer is that?! She knew where he was, but wouldn't tell me! I tried everything, but she wouldn't talk. Damn her! Vinnie always told her everything! I resorted to looking everywhere for him myself, but with no luck. And then he just waltzes in the bar after me searching for him for a good sixteen hours. Honestly, I almost hugged him! Then I realised I should be mad at him for just taking off to god knows where without telling me! And instead telling Shelke! Not that im jealous or anything. Nope. Not me...
Okay, maybe I am. Just a tiny bit. Ahem. Why would you be jealous Yuffie? I hear you ask (maybe a little sarcastically). Well, the only explanation I can think of is...
No! Stop thinking! Stop! I don't like Vince! Not in that way! No!I looked down at him. He hadn't moved from that spot since he got back. Gawd, what was wrong with him?
"Vince?"
He didn't even look at me. Vincent wouldn't talk to me. That much was clear. Oh, and did I mention how even more amazing Vinnie looks in the moonlight? All luminous and cool. Honestly, the guy's a God. With a capital 'G'.
I squeezed my eyes shut for a second. I needed to learn how to stop those thoughts. They only distracted me.
"Okay, I'll ask again. Where did you go today? I mean im used to you disappearing for a while, but usually you tell someone where your running off to, so then no one worries. But why did you tell Shelke and then tell her not to tell anyone?! Especially me!"
"..."
Nothing. He's not talking. Why? Sure, he doesn't talk a lot anyway, but he was talking a few days ago.
"Vinnie," I said, sitting down next to him, "what's wrong?"
He looked sideways at me. Oh finally, a look! Ah, those eyes are gorgeous. Wait, what?! Shut up Yuffie!
"..."
"Damn it man! Speak!"
He looked away, back at the ground. Fine, two can play at that game. I looked away from him.
"Okay then. I'll just sit here silently until you talk. You're going to have to put up with my company until you tell me where you went, and what's the matter. 'Cos I know something's up Vinnie Valentine!"
He didn't speak. He didn't move. He didn't do anything.
Hmm...wanna hear my theory? Im thinking he went to her cave. Yes, Lucrecia's. It's actually been a long time since he went there. I know he's being trying to get over her. Honestly trying. But I don't think he can. Poor guy. I sighed. He didn't like talking about Lucrecia. He didn't like reminders. But it would have to be done...oh yeah; I wasn't supposed to be talking. Hmm, oh well.
"Is it about Lucrecia?" I asked him. He just closed his eyes.
"Your gonna have to give me a better sign than that Vinnie, 'cos I can't tell if that's a yes or a no."
He looked at me.
Great. Yeah, it would help if you actually talked to me. Gawd he was so...cryptic!
"Can't you just say yes or no? It's a simple answer to a simple question really."
"..."
I threw my hands up in frustration. "Vince! Talk to me!"
He looked away again.
Oh bloody hell! This is getting us nowhere!
"Did you make, like, an unspoken pact with yourself not to speak at all today?"
No reaction. Gawd...
I sighed in frustration and looked up at the stars. It was a clear night for a change, and the moon was a small, luminescent crescent shape in the sky. I love that shape. A crescent. It's one of my favourites. I looked back at Vinnie-who showed no signs of moving a muscle-and decided against asking him what his favourite shape was. Sigh. He was beginning to distract me again. He looked so...captivating. Pfft! Since when do I use words like 'captivating'? This is his influence! My vocabulary is expanding! I must have picked it up from him. Gawd, who was I kidding? I love Vincent Valentine. Omg. I am actuallyin love for the first time ever and the guy I am actually in love with can't love me back. So I can't even tell him, it would be pointless. And it would only hurt when he rejected me. Wonderful. I blame Lucrecia. Wait, no, that's not entirely fair. I blame Hojo too. That's why he's being like this! He did go to her cave and probably sat staring at her while he thought of all the bad memories. And beating himself up over his 'sins'. But...I don't know that for sure. Hmm...how do I get him to talk? Oh I know! Guilt! Muhahaha...
"Well, you could have told me you were okay! I was really worried about you Vinnie! Honestly I was totally freaking out!"
It worked, successfully guilting him into a reaction. He bowed his head slightly, as though he was ashamed.
"Yeah you'd better be ashamed of yourself! All the exaggerated 'what if' things kept running through my head! What if some freaky super powerful monster had got you?! What if your demons, like, took over you and you totally went over to the dark side?!" Okay calm down Yuffie, you may be going overboard with this. Then again, if it gets him to talk to me..."What if Sephiroth had come back and tried to destroy the planet and you were nowhere to be found 'cos none of us could find you 'cos we were too late and Sephiroth had already killed you and then Avalanche wasn't nearly as strong without you and we failed to stop him so then it was the end of the world and so then we were all completely and utterly screwed-"
Vinnie silenced me my putting a finger to my lips. Ahh, he was touching me! My heart's beating too fast to be healthy! Breathe. Breathe!
He lowered his hand. I swallowed convulsively and waited for him to speak. We sat in silence for a while. Nope, he wasn't going to talk.
"Vinnie?"
He looked at me for about a second before he looked back to the ground. There is no other explanation, for some reason he's especially hung over Lucrecia now. Ugh, she's dead! Get over it! Get over it and love me! She had a screw loose anyway. Who'd choose Hojo over Vinnie? And by making that choice she not only ruined her own life but Vincent's as well. I hate her! Yep, I officially hate a dead person. How can she not be breathing, be encased in mako crystal, and still have this effect on Vincent?
I sighed. And realised just how depressed I was. This is getting ridiculous. I jumped up.
"Vincent Valentine," I said, layering my voice with annoyance, "get off your ass right now. We're going somewhere."
He glanced up at me as if to say 'Whatever, crazy ninja, can't you tell im not in the mood?'
"Don't give me that look! Come on, get up!" I reached down, grabbing his arm, and tugged. He barely moved an inch. I tugged harder, planting my feet and trying to pull him upright, but he wouldn't let me. Suddenly his foot shot out and took my legs from under me, landing me on my butt. I shot a glare at him. He was totally unfazed, and went back to staring at the ground.
"Ugh! So you're just going to sit there all night?!"
No response.
I huffed in aspiration. "Of course you are..." I mumbled, letting myself fall back onto the soft grass. I watched the stars sparkling for a little while. They were so pretty! And so bright! And so many of them...hey! The way the stars were aligned, it sort of looked like a shuriken!
"Hey Vinnie! I swear I just found a new constellation! It looks like my shuriken, seriously!"
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him look up curiously. His eyes searched the sky's, trying to see what I saw. But after a moment he seemed to give up, and his eyes strayed to the ground again.
"Can't you see it? I can." I stretched my arm up, tracing the shape in the air, but he didn't look up again. I sighed and let my arm drop back to my side. He couldn't see what I could, probably because we have different perspectives. He probably saw...in fact, I won't even begin to imagine what he could possibly see. Something sinister anyway. Or depressing.
Oh look! There's a red star in my constellation! Don't stars turn red when they're dying? Oh, that poor star is dying out! It still looks beautiful though. And look at that super bright star just next to it! They make each other look even better. And they stand out from all the other stars that make up my constellation. But that red star keeps flickering weakly. Maybe if that super bright star lent some of its light to it, they could both shine as bright as each other...
Whoa, earth to Yuffie! Come back from your dreamy star talk! I looked at Vince, who had his eyes closed.
"The stars are pretty tonight." I commented thoughtfully. He didn't say anything.
You know, this conversation with Vinnie is very one sided. A lot like my feelings for him...sigh, anyone else get the irony here? Ow, it's painful. I sat up abruptly.
"For God's sake..." I mumbled to myself. Vinnie looked at me questioningly.
"Tell me what I have to do!" I said desperately.
"..?"
"Tell me what I have to do to stop you acting like this!" I said, answering his unspoken request for an explanation.
He gazed at me evenly for a moment, before taking a deep breath, and letting it out in a gust.
...What was that supposed to mean?!
I stood up within a split second. Vinnie actually looked surprised at how quickly I moved.
"Stop it Vincent! Why do you have to do this? Can't you just..." What? What did I want him to do? "Jus-just stop! Im sick and tired of trying to make you feel better, and you just throwing it back in my face! Can you honestly say you enjoy wallowing in all those painful memories? Doesn't it hurt? Do you actually like causing yourself pain? 'Cos if you don't move on it's just going to keep lashing out at you! And if you're hurt then im hurt because I care about you! Too much, because you keep hurting, and, it-it hurts!" Oops, that wasn't supposed to come out. I may have said too much. I took a shaky breath, and realised I was on the verge of tears. Oh no. I can't cry! Gawd no!
Before I could turn and run, Vincent was in front of me. He took my waist and pulled me into his arms. Woah, wait. Slow down, what's happening?
"Shhh." He soothed, squeezing me gently. No way. Vincent is trying to comfort me. No, not possible. Too good to be true.
Sobs shook my frame, but I refused to let the tears spill over. I mustn't cry. Yuffie Kisaragi does not cry.
"I, I..." I didn't know what to say, "I try so hard..." Stupid Yuffie! Wrong thing to say!
"I know," said Vincent quietly, "Im sorry."
I was about to tell him there was no reason to apologise, but he spoke first.
"You're right. Of course you're right, you know me so well. Too well, perhaps."
I gazed up at him steadily, my sobs now subsiding. His arms were still around me.
"Though believe it or not, I know you quite well too." He continued, "I know what you were thinking, and your theory was correct. Today I was-"
"At Lucrecia's cave." I finished his sentence for him. He nodded.
"...The reason, I was there..." he said slowly, "I was asking...for," he seemed to be searching for the right word, "permission I suppose. Approval. Advice."
"You went to ask Lucrecia for, permission, approval and advice?" I asked, confused, "For what?"
He paused, seemingly hesitant about something. I waited patiently.
Then he leaned down and kissed me.
Oh, my, Gawd. The world has just stopped.
That's honestly what seemed to happen. Time just stood still. Amazing. Once I'd recovered from everything (except us) suddenly stopping dead, I kissed him back eagerly. Yay! I was kissing Vinnie! This is a dream come true! His lips were really soft against mine, and warm. Wow.
After a few seconds, he pulled away. Aww, no! Don't pull away damn it! I hope the disappointment didn't show on my face.
I cleared my throat. "Since when did you need permission?"
He didn't say anything, but his lips pulled up a little at the corners. I smiled back at him. I understood. He'd always love Lucrecia, his first love. He'd never forget her. She'd always be a part of him, and that was okay...
As long as I got all the other parts. Yeah, I can definitely live with this. And since he wasn't going to speak, he might as well put his lips to better use...
I reached up onto my tip toes and kissed him again.
Phew. Finished! Yay!
Okay, maybe there's something...off, about Yuffie? I tried I got across how I thought she'd handle her feelings towards Vincent. What did you think? Or maybe there's something about Vincent? I dunno, there's just something...but my friend doesn't see anything wrong, so maybe im just paranoid. This was quite long actually...and pretty much plotless. Oh dear.
Erm, happy late christmas! Tee hee.
Thank you to the wonderful reviewers! And thank you for reading of course. :) *Gives late christmas present.* You know what you could give me as my late christmas present? A review. It would be the best christmas present ever. Even if you just say 'Hi.' I'll say hi back!
xoxo