Chapter Four: Time For a Change
It was well after midnight when Vincent finally decided to turn in for the night. The innkeeper was asleep behind the counter, and so he made his was silently up the stairs and found the door matching the number on his room key. It was a larger inn than most he'd stayed at; there were fifty rooms altogether. His was on the third and top floor. It was large, with a kitchenette, a fireplace – which, oddly enough, already had a fire burning in it – and two beds.
As he shut the door, something stirred. Vincent did a double take when he spotted her there. On the bed furthest from him, Yuffie lay curled into a ball on top of the blankets. There must be a mistake. We rented separate rooms, didn't we? Yuffie opened one eye, then jumped to her knees on the bed, startled. "Vincent?" "Yuffie?" "What are you doing here?" He held up his room key, the numbered tag dangling. She grabbed her key from the nightstand and gasped. "That guy behind the counter must be a complete MORON!" she shouted. Vincent shook his head. "Never mind, Yuffie. I'll go wake him and explain." "No, forget it. You can crash here. We'll deal with it in the morning." "Are you sure?" "We all used to share a room back in the days when we were altogether. What's the diff?" She hoped it wasn't too obvious that she wanted him to stay. "Very well. Thank you, Yuffie." "No problem."
Vincent unbuckled his holster and hung it on a rack on the wall, then moved to the empty bed. At least there's a privacy screen, he thought, pulling the collapsible screen out between the two beds. He let out a sigh as he unclasped the collar of his cloak and hung it over the screen.
The bed was firm, much to his approval. He lay back, arms folded across his stomach, and closed his eyes. He could hear the springs of Yuffie's mattress squeaking and rolled his eyes at the irritating noise. Then the squeaking stopped, and there was a gentle thud as Yuffie slid out of bed.
She peeked around the privacy screen at him. He knew she couldn't really see him, but her eyes were searching the blackness in his direction. "What is it, Yuffie?" "Where are you?" "Here," he said, stretching his arm out so she could find him. She grasped the claw and moved closer, sitting down beside him. "What are you doing?" he asked. "Can't you sleep?" "I've been asleep for hours already. Are you too tired to talk?" Vincent flipped his bedside lamp on then. "Is something on your mind?" "Maybe. I don't know." "What is it, Yuffie?" "Vincent, do you like me? I mean, we're friends, aren't we?" "What's this about?" "It's just that, when I come to see you, you don't seem to have a very good time. I try to plan these big adventures for us, but you don't really have fun, do you?" Vincent thought about this for a moment. Fun hadn't exactly been on the top of his to-do list, but he had to admit, Yuffie's excursions were at least as enjoyable as anything else he could think of doing. It was nice to fight alongside someone again.
Before he could answer, Yuffie said, "It's okay. Nobody in Avalanche likes me very much. I've always known that. It didn't matter at first. I was after material, and that was all that mattered. Once I got to know all of you, though, I realized you were a nice group of people. I wanted you all to like me. Of course, I screwed that up by stealing all the material that day. Everyone acts nice, but I don't think any of them really like having me around." After a long silence, Vincent said, "I enjoy your company, Yuffie." "Do you really mean that?" "I wouldn't have said it otherwise. It's true, when we were after Sephiroth, you did cause a lot of trouble. But you were very young. I cannot speak for the others, but I do not hold it against you." "That means a lot to me, Vincent."
He looked down to find Yuffie was still holding his claw in her hand. He moved the thumb of it to brush over her fingers affectionately. She smiled and stood up. "I guess I should get back to bed. We've got things to do tomorrow." "Oh?" "Yup. And since I know you'll be up long before me, why don't we just plan to meet at the Seventh Heaven around ten?" "I'll be there," he agreed. "Good." She hesitated a moment, then quickly bent forward and planted a brief kiss on his cheek before scurrying back to her own bed. "Goodnight," she mumbled through the screen. "Goodnight, Yuffie."
Vincent found he couldn't sleep. Not wanting to disturb Yuffie, he slipped out the window of their room and pulled himself gracefully onto the roof. It was a warm night, and quiet. Normally he would have found peace in this, but something was missing. Having Yuffie around made him realize he'd missed her and he had to admit he was looking forward to spending the day with her tomorrow.
Why did she kiss me? he wondered in his silence. She'd never shown that kind of affection for him before. He didn't know what to make of it, nor how he felt about it. If it was only a friendly sign of affection, it would be for the best. Yet, somehow, that thought left him disappointed. He'd never considered Yuffie anything but a friend and partner – in fact, until recently, he'd never considered her anything but a necessary annoyance. So where were these new feelings coming from? Of all people, why this young girl? Even disregarding the decades he spent sleeping, she was much too young for him. Then again, what did age matter, considering his modifications? In the end, she would grow old and die long before he. He'd considered that before, with regard to all his Avalanche friends. Some day he would be the only one left. Then again, was that even true? Had Hojo really eliminated the natural aging process in him? Perhaps the long sleep had spared him from it until now. Perhaps he would now age accordingly, along with all his comrades… along with Yuffie.
His thoughts moved in circles until well after dawn. The street below was coming to life with business owners and morning workers. He moved gracefully to the edge of the roof and fell silently to the street below. The shops would be opening soon, and he had a bit of shopping to do before meeting Yuffie.
She was already seated at a table when he entered the bar. Vincent stopped a moment, realizing she wasn't alone. Cloud, Tifa, Marlene, Denzel and Barrett were seated at a large table with her. Cloud glanced right at him without recognition. He wasn't sure if that was a good sign, or a bad one. Either way, he'd made up his mind to do this, and so he strode forward in his usual nonchalant manner.
"Is this seat taken?" he asked placing his hand on the back of the empty chair.
"Vincent?" several voices said at once. Not knowing what to say, he simply took his seat between Barrett and Denzel. The little boy gazed curiously up at him. "I remember you," he said quietly. "Did you buy a phone yet?" Vincent nodded and pulled the object in question from his pocket, handing it to the child. He was awkwardly aware of the others trying not to stare. Only Barrett lacked the manners which might have otherwise kept him quiet.
"Yo, Vince, what's with the get-up?" he said, half laughing. "I think he looks very nice," Tifa interjected, though her eyes were as full of bafflement as anyone else's.
"Perhaps they're not quite my style," he said, gazing down at his new outfit. The shirt was a black button up with white pencil stripes; the pants were just denim. He'd pulled his hair back and tied it with the red sash he normally wore wrapped around his forehead. His demonic eyes were hidden by dark glasses. Only the claw, once his left hand, remained unchanged and unhidden. What else could he do? No glove would fit over it and there was no removing it without surgery which would leave him truly handicapped.
The conversations that had ceased abruptly upon his arrival slowly picked back up around him. Only Yuffie remained silent. She seemed to be examining him. "What's the matter?" he said, noticing her frown. She shook her head and smiled unnaturally. "Nothing! It's just… What made you decide to do that?" Vincent shrugged. "I thought it was about time I hung up the super villain costume." She opened her mouth as if about to say something else, but was interrupted by Tifa asking her how long she'd be staying in Edge.
It was an awkward reunion for Vincent. Already he was regretting the change in wardrobe. Fortunately, it wasn't long before Tifa's patrons began pouring in and she and Cloud excused themselves from the table. Denzel slid Vincent his phone. "I added my number," he said, smiling. "Just in case you need me for anything." Vincent smiled a little. "Thanks." "No prob," the boy said, sliding down from his chair. "Marlene, wanna go play?" Marlene shook her head. "I want to spend some more time with Papa. Maybe later." The little boy shrugged and jogged away. It was just the four of them now. Barrett and Marlene were busy catching up, so naturally Yuffie's attention was centered on Vincent. He found it difficult to meet her gaze, though she didn't appear to be having the same problem. After a few moments of awkward silence, she leaned across the table. "C'mon, Vincent. Let's get some fresh air."
After bidding farewell to the others, he followed Yuffie out into the street. She was unusually quiet, and they walked in silence for some time before she finally spun around to face him. "Okay, seriously. What's the deal?" "What do you mean?" "Hello?" She gestured at him dramatically. "Are you having a mid-life crisis or something?" "Was that a jab about my age?" "Don't try to distract me, Vincent. I wasn't so worried about you before, but maybe I should be." Vincent pulled off the sunglasses and slid them into the breast pocket of his shirt before looking down at Yuffie.
"I just thought it was time for a change." "This isn't… because of what I said before, is it?" Vincent shrugged. "That's a yes, isn't it? Oh, Vince." "Yuffie?" She took his hands then and rose up on tip-toe in an attempt to stand at eye-level with him. "Listen to me," she said. "The most important thing in life is to be true to yourself. Don't go out of your way to please other people. You'll only end up losing yourself in the process." Vincent considered this a moment. Meanwhile, Yuffie released his hands and began walking again, expecting him to follow. "What if I've already lost myself?" he said quietly. Yuffie turned slowly. "Yuffie, I… I've settled my past, as you said, but still… I can't seem to face my demons. Hojo stole my entire identity. Do you know who I was before I was this?" He held up his claw hand menacingly. "I was a normal young man, with a promising future. I might've been hunting Avalanche alongside Reno and Rude if it hadn't been for…" "I'm glad you weren't," Yuffie whispered. She moved toward him slowly. "Otherwise, we'd probably all be dead." She smiled softly then. "Vincent, I don't know who or what you were before. I only know what you are now. I like that guy, and I don't want him to go anywhere." She touched his face then and gazed up at him with her large brown eyes.
She wanted him to kiss her, he realized. More shocking than that was the fact that he very much wanted to kiss her, too. He still hadn't decided whether or not this was the right thing, but at the moment, that seemed unimportant. He slid his arm around her shoulders and leaned toward her, closing his eyes tightly.