More than This has an ending after all…

xXx

Yuffie had never felt so…at peace. She sat on the window ledge of the suite she and the other women were sharing. She wore a simple white night gown, her hair dancing around her shoulders freely. It was as if everything had actually come full circle, there was also the unstoppable love she felt for a certain dark and mysterious gunman. She'd never felt, or even really allowed herself the opportunity to at least acknowledge the existence of those feelings she had for him. It was terrifying and yet liberating all at once.

She shifted, watching the stars above with a small smile, wishing Vincent were there to see it with her. It seemed silly, she'd gone on all this time without ever knowing they felt this way and now, now it was somehow difficult to be apart. She watched the shadows play below and all around her in the changing moonlight with mild interest.

"Don't you ever sleep?" She asked in a husky whisper, the shadows moving again, coming nearer to her as they did.

"Not lately, no." His deep voice was like a breath of fresh air, a jolt that she felt all the way to her toes. "What of you? You're still sitting here, counting the stars." His voice held the deep vibration, a lure the was now tempting her out onto the roof tops of the Golden Saucer.

"The stars need counting, how else will we know when there are new ones?" She smiled to herself now as the shadow again moved closer. "I used to ask my mother that, 'why count the stars?' she'd always tell me it was so she would know how many there were…just in case one went missing. Kinda silly I guess…" she hung her head slightly. She felt herself melt as a gentle single metal digit caught her chin and gently urged her to look up.

"It was for hope, count the stars to give you hope for tomorrow…" Vincent's red eyes burned deep into her silver orbs. Yuffie felt her body melt into his hand. He leaned in, brushing his lips against hers as if he were testing to see if she'd actually kiss him. Yuffie caught his lower lip between her teeth, nipping at it before capturing him in a deep kiss.

He caught her by the elbows, gently guiding her out onto the roof, out of her room. Yuffie could swear they were floating out there, her heart pounded away in her chest and she felt that deep burning, overwhelming desire building in the pit of her stomach. The warm wind kissed her skin, he held her gently to his chest, resting his cheek against the top of her head.

"I love you…" She whispered, caught in the moment.

"I don't know why." He replied, tightening his grip a little more.

"Because I can, Vincent, who else would you say is even worthy of one iota of the anything I feel for you?" He stared blankly at her for a moment, unable to answer. "You can't answer because you know there really isn't anyone out there who would be a better man than you." She kissed him again, her small fingers making quick work of his cloak and leather buckles of his shirt.

"…Yuffie," she stopped him with another soul searing kiss, her hands roaming the planes of his muscled chest and abdomen.

"I'll only ask one thing of you, just one…" She pulled back, her silver eyes aglow in the moonlight. He leaned in, in an attempt to recapture her soft lips. She easily dodged his attempts.

"And what would that be, Mrs. Valentine?" Yuffie felt her body shudder to the core at that, 'Mrs. Yuffie Valentine' he was hers and she was equally his.

"Make love to me…" He finally caught those sly lips of hers, taking the breath from her and leaving her nearly begging for more.

"Have I ever denied you anything that you have wanted?" He whispered against her ear, grinning at the tremble it sent through her.

"I don't believe you have…"She turned then to face him.

"I don't believe now is going to be any different than any time previous you've made that request." Vincent's claw slid up the side of her thigh until it reached her hip, he smirked at the thin straps of her underwear, straps so thin they'd probably break with nothing more than a sideways glance. One talon was all it took and he felt the fabric slide away.

Yuffie gasped in delight, he never was one to keep her wanting much of anything, even the ceremony five years ago today had been more for her than him.

He knew she'd wanted to have every Wutaian princess's dream wedding so he'd gone along with all the planning only to have her whisk him away in the dead of night and elope on the cliffs of Da Chao with her father and their friends as the only spectators.

'I don't need the whole of Wutai to watch me go through those silly traditions to know that I love you, that I will always love and honor you…I only ever needed you to know that. The ceremony tomorrow means so much to them, but to me this is the only part that matters…' She held his hand in hers and he could feel the cold metal of the ring he'd give her during the ceremony resting between their palms. She rushed into his arms and held him as though he might blow away in just the right wind.

'You don't know how much, how deeply it fills me to hear you say that…' His voice was unusually deep, resonating in a certain perfect harmony with her very essence. 'I am honored that you…' He struggled, for the first time in all the years they had known him; everyone took a collective breath as he fumbled for words. Yuffie, however, smiled brightly up at him knowing exactly what he was trying to tell her. His eyes met her and he spoke in a way not even Cloud had ever been privy to. 'I love you more than I even know how to express, I want to give you all that I am…and when you've had all that, I hope I have more to offer. You are my heart and my salvation, Yuffie Kisaragi. I am honored to be your husband.' Tears poured freely down her cheeks. He smiled at her, warmly and compassionately. With his gloved hand he gently brushed away the tears as he cupped her cheek and leaned into kiss her. 'I will always love you…' He kissed her again, kissing her forehead and whispering against her hair, 'Yuffie Valentine.'

Had she known then what she did now about the man she never would have let him get away with running off from the group. She would have eagerly followed him to the ends of Gaia and fought by his side against all the demons of his past, and future. She was devoted to him like nothing else in the entire world. Not even materia could distract her when he was near her. He was the key to the restoration of Wutai, as it turned out. His love for her brought about great and wonderful changes in Wutai, the old order was returned, the old traditions were quickly reinstated and the whole of Wutai was returned to its former glory in just under four years. The most blissful four years Godo had ever experienced since his marriage to her mother and her consequent birth.

A nip against the smooth skin of her neck brought her back to the present. Her husband…husband…the word felt strange to her. She had married the one unattainable man in the whole of Gaia. She had tamed the untamable.

"We'll see about that…" Vincent chuckled darkly at her as her eyes went wide as she realized she'd once again said what she was thinking aloud. With a growl and a nip against her neck, Yuffie felt her body be lifted and held roughly against something possibly made of stone. The cool stone was welcoming against her burning skin. She gasped aloud as Vincent nearly ripped the slip of a night gown off her body. Immediately he set to work kissing and nipping his way down to her breasts, nipping gently and kissing lightly at the exposed flesh, relishing in her every gasp and moan as he went. His tongue trailed around one hardened nub causing her to moan his name in such a way as to drive him wild. He repeated the act, earning his name another breathless moan and a gasp or two as his free hand moved up to the other side. She dug her nails into his shoulders as he toyed with her. "Tell me what you want me to do…" he commanded, his mouth hot against the skin just above her pounding heart. She whimpered as his teeth grazed none too gently across one pert nub. He felt her breath hitch again as he repeated the action yet again.

"Hn…now you're going to try and prove you have some dominance over me?" Yuffie sighed breathlessly as his metal claw leaped to her hair, tugging back roughly enough to drag a ragged moan from her unexpecting lips. He crushed her lips to his in a soul ravaging kiss, grinding his hips into her, gasping and groaning as her little hands came down quickly, making short work of the last buckles keeping her from what it was she wanted. "I want…" her breath caught as he lifted her higher, kissing her firm stomach as he moved lower, never ceasing in his nipping and kissing.

"This?" He kissed the flat of her stomach just above her core. She could only gasp and smile as he worked lower. He took his time with her, thoroughly enjoying each and every single moan and whimper, kissing his way back up to her neck, smiling as he shrugged out of his pants. She bit down onto his shoulder as he thrust roughly against her, her small body trembling with wanton lust for her dark gunman. He memorized every gasp, moan, whispered decleration of love that came from her. He kissed her closed eyes as her peak approached, whispered words of love against her, he held her to his chest as her nails dug deep into his back and his name spilled from her lips like a secret prayer. He shuddered against her, feeling her all around him more deeply than he'd felt anything before.

"I love you, Yuffie." He gasped, still holding her against him, carefully slipping her little nightgown back on.

"I love you…" She kissed him soundly, deeply, more passionately than any kiss so far that night. "…Vincent."

He led her back down to her window, giving her one last kiss before making his way back to his own room. Exhaustion creeping into her limbs as she made her way to her bed.

"Don't you ever sleep, woman?" Tifa giggled at Yuffie as she nearly tumbled to the floor, hissing as she stubbed her toe on something on the ground. "You know you two have more sex in and in more places than most newly weds even do. You have some sort of weird sex habit I should be careful to ignore?" Tifa cocked an elegant eyebrow at her friend. Yuffie burst into a fit of giggles, struggling to come up with some sort of excuse.

"He's just that gorgeous, Tifa. Those muscles, that smile, his voice…and that blasted eyebrow! He's just too good to ignore." Yuffie sighed dreamily. "Besides, Miss Hypocrite, you aren't so innocent." Tifa smiled and shrugged, not arguing the point. "You know…" Tifa slid under the sheets next to Yuffie, watching her intently. "It's like everything has finally come full circle. You, me…even the world seems happier you know?"

"It's just how Aeris had always wanted it to be. She just wanted everyone to finally be happy." Tifa rested with one arm behind her head. "It took almost my whole life for Cloud to see me…I had nearly given up." Tifa turned to Yuffie. "I did give up, then he came home…and…" Tifa's eyes misted over. "And it was like nothing had ever happened. He smiled like nothing had ever been wrong." Yuffie smiled at that. Tifa was now four months into her first pregnancy, she and Cloud had married two years after Yuffie and Vincent. Yuffie and Vincent hadn't really decided whether or not to have children yet. Yuffie was still young and Vincent wanted to enjoy as much of her as he could. He knew it was greedy and told her as much, but Yuffie always told him she felt the same way. She wasn't ready for kids. Him, yes…kids? Not so much. She smiled in the knowledge that they could one day have kids, if they wanted to. For now she'd be happy playing aunty to Tifa's little brood.

"I love you, Tifa." Yuffie broke the silence suddenly. Tifa glanced at her in the dark, smiling brightly at the younger woman.

"I love you, too, Yuf." She closed her eyes, smile still playing at the corners of her mouth. They were content; the world was at peace, finally. She thought of Aeris, how much she loved the flower girl, how hard it must have been for her to watch as they all struggled through their own trials. Tifa briefly wondered if she could have done it, prayed to save the world knowing the world had been responsible for her murderer. Could she willingly sacrifice herself for the greater good?

'You did once, didn't you?' Tifa could almost smell the lilies she always grew. 'You did for her, for your friends so that they might have the strength to fight.' She thought back to the fight with the clone and Ark. She had died, she'd seen Aeris, been to the Promised Land, and Aeris simply smiled at her and said it wasn't her time just yet. Tifa woke with a pounding headache and burns everywhere.

'I didn't even think of it that way…It just seemed like what I had to do.' Tifa thought for a moment, realizing that was exactly the point she'd been going for. It wasn't if Tifa would do it, it was when. She knew, without a doubt she'd do it again. Just as Yuffie had, Vincent, Cloud, Aeris…they'd all sacrificed something for one another.

'And now you have something beautiful to look forward to, a future worth living for…' Tifa absently ran her fingers across her growing belly.

'A perfect future, ne? Thank you…thank you so much Aeris…' With that she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep. Tomorrow was the end of their vacation, Yuffie had ruling to do and they all had lives to get back to. It was every year at the same time as Yuffie's anniversary that the crew got together again to celebrate their 'normal' lives. Tifa smiled, feeling that warmth of security and love envelop her as she drifted off to sleep, dreaming of what the future would hold for her and her child.

xXx

This is it, the end of this mini epic. Hope everyone enjoyed it, I enjoyed writing it.

Thank you to Sorceress Fujin, Valentine's Ninja, Mako Storm, Silvan Arrow, and of course Coquettish Siren. Thank you all very much :)