Here is another Vince/Yuffie for you guys. I always write their relationship all cute and fluffy, but in this fic that isn't the case. This is an angsty and painful take on them hiding from everybody and thinking that there is no love between them when there really is. I hope everyone enjoys!

Warnings: Language and some mentions of sex…

Disclaimer: Don't own FFVII or any of the characters used in this piece of fanfiction. They belong to Square Enix and I am making no money off of them.

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Damaged

……………………………

She was tired of counting the specks decorating the ceiling. She had been doing so for days. Okay, that was a lie; she had been counting for a few hours to keep her mind off of the fact that Vincent was gone. He had… he had just walked out on her and he hadn't even said goodbye. Okay, that was another lie. She had thrown him out after the fight they had just had and he had walked out to honor her wishes.

Out of all the damned times, he had to honor her wishes now? Yuffie hadn't allowed herself to cry. She was too damned stubborn for that. Ninja school had literally beaten the tears of pain out of her. The last time she remembered crying had been at Tifa and Cloud's wedding, and those had been tears of joy. She had been paired up with Vincent for the night and she had been ecstatic, even though he had looked slightly irritated at the fact that they had been put together for the wedding. The best part of that day—aside from her best friends getting married—had been the look on Vincent's face when he had seen her in her dress. Tifa had gone all out on her wedding and she had picked stylish gowns for her and the flower girls.

That night, Vincent had been more relaxed from the amount of alcohol he had consumed, but he had not allowed himself to get drunk like the other men. Yuffie had seen him watching her as she slow danced with Reeve, how his red eyes trailed over her face and down her body. Now, normally she would've been annoyed at a man ogling her so openly, but this had been Vincent, and Vincent while sober would've never done anything like that. After her dance with Reeve, Yuffie had walked off to get some fresh air. After a few minutes of being alone, she had heard his soft footsteps as he came up behind her. He had been standing so close that she had felt the warmth of his body on hers and she had subconsciously shivered at his proximity.

She had turned to look at him and they'd had a moment of understanding before he bent slightly and kissed her with all the pent up passion in his body. Yuffie blushed to herself as she remembered what came after. Though it was still embarrassing that she had given in easily to a slightly drunk Vincent in the dark and against the wall of the place where Tifa and Cloud had just married, she could admit that it hadn't really bothered her. After all, after that one night, he had kept coming back to her, no matter how guilty he felt about using her for release. Yuffie hadn't seen things that way, since she had been using him to relieve her stress too, but Vincent had always been a stubborn man.

They hadn't talked about what they were to each other, though Yuffie had hoped that they would become something other than friends and lovers. They had kept their involvement a secret from their friends, since they hadn't wanted any questions asked. She had questions of her own, but had never had the courage to voice them. Then he had let slip that he had been visiting Lucrecia's cave still, even while he kept visiting Yuffie earlier that day.

That was the reason why they had argued, why she had thrown him out, and why he had left. It had felt like a betrayal on his part to still be seeing Lucrecia while he was sleeping with her and she had been so angry. She had almost physically assaulted him. But she was also tired of hiding from their friends too. At first she had agreed with their strictly physical relationship, but then again, she had been in love with Vincent since she had been a teenager and in her heart, she had always wanted something more from Vincent. So everything she had kept bottled up inside had come bursting out and she had yelled all that she had felt for him, the good and the bad. She replayed the scene in her head once more and this time felt something prickle behind her eyes but she just couldn't let the tears come.

She got up from her bed and walked to the bathroom to take a shower and then change into some clean clothes. She was currently living in a small apartment near Tifa's bar, and though no one had known, Vincent had spent days at a time with her there. Yuffie let out a deep breath and walked about three blocks to Seventh Heaven, spotting the Turks and Rufus walking into the bar just before she entered.

Reno placed an arm around her shoulders and gave her a squeeze. "How's my favorite ninja doing?" he asked with a grin.

"Fine," she muttered as Cloud and Tifa walked out of the kitchen to greet them. Tifa raised an eyebrow at the sight of Reno touching Yuffie.

"Yuffie, can you help me in the kitchen with something?" Tifa asked as Rufus moved off to speak with Cloud. The ninja nodded and followed her friend to the kitchen.

"What's going on Tifa?" Yuffie asked with a smooth smile.

"I need to ask you something. Did you happen to get into a fight with Vincent or something?" Tifa asked the younger woman.

Yuffie's eyes widened slightly. "What are you talking about Teef?" she asked nervously.

Tifa gave her an intense stare. "He came over today and asked me if he could room here for a few days. He looked disgruntled about something and the only time I've ever seen him look that way is when you do something to him."

He better be more than disgruntled, Yuffie thought darkly but shook her head. "I haven't even seen him in a couple of days," she lied. "If he's upset about something, I have nothing to do about it," she nearly spat.

Tifa didn't look convinced. "We're best friends, right?"

Yuffie gave her a serious look. "You know we are," she replied.

"You would tell me if something was going on between the two of you? Remember Yuffie, you were the first to know about me and Cloud, I'd like to be the first to know if something is going on between you and Vincent," she said quietly.

The ninja sighed heavily. "There's nothing to tell, Teef. Vince and I… we don't have a relationship for me to tell you about," she said, voice cracking slightly. Then the argument and everything else came back to her and she let out a shaky breath. She grabbed Tifa by the hand and pulled her into the pantry.

"Yuffie, what's going on?" Tifa asked in worry.

"Vincent and I… we have been involved for some time now," Yuffie admitted.

"Then why did you say that there was nothing going on?" asked Tifa in a loud voice.

Yuffie shushed her. "Because there isn't. We don't have a relationship Teef, Vincent and I have been…" she blushed a bright red. "We've been sleeping together. Nothing more, nothing less. We had a fight today about him visiting Lucrecia's cave. I said some things, he said some things back, and I threw him out of my place," she said with a heavy sigh.

"What type of things?" asked Tifa, trying to get to the root of the problem.

"I yelled at him that even though I wasn't his girlfriend, it wasn't right for him to see another woman while he and I were together. He told me that we weren't really together, so what was the problem. I told him that she was dead, that that was the problem. He said nothing and I kept talking and started muttering about why he even cares about her when she never really loved him anyway. He made a comment about my age and how I would never understand because I'm still immature. Then I said…" she trailed off and looked angry and guilty at the same time.

Tifa almost throttled her. "You said what?"

"I told him that if I wasn't old enough to understand then I wasn't old enough for him to fuck either. I threw him out," said Yuffie quietly.

Tifa stared at her with wide eyes. "You really said all of that to him? No wonder I was able to tell that he was feeling something," she said quietly. "But Yuffie, it's obvious that he feels more for you than attraction, he's probably just scared of telling you. Just remember what happened the last time he fell in love. He ended up betrayed and murdered before getting saddled with four demons."

"There's no love between us, Teef," said Yuffie with a frown. "At least not on his part."

"What about yours?" asked Tifa.

"Doesn't matter," Yuffie muttered. "We're over and I'm not going to take him back. I'll just have to show him that I don't care that he's out of my life."

The bartender frowned. "And how are you planning on doing that?"

"Reno's here, isn't he? I'll ask him to help me by pretending to be my boyfriend. Reno doesn't like me that way, but I've helped him before when he wanted to get a girl off his back. It's time for him to return the favor," she said with a grin.

Tifa was about to retort when there was a knock at the door and someone spoke. "Hey, whatever you're doing in there, can I join?" Reno asked. Yuffie opened the door and pulled him into the pantry with them. "Alright!" he cheered. "So, where do you want me?"

Tifa rolled her eyes at the man and both she and Yuffie slapped him on the back of the head before she went for the door. "Count me out of this one, Yuffie. I just hope you know what you're doing," she said before she left and closed the door.

Reno waggled his eyebrows at her and Yuffie shook her head with a smile. "So what's going on?" he asked.

Yuffie sighed. "I'm calling in one of my favors," she said.

"For what?" asked Reno curiously. They each owed each other favors, but currently he had almost used up all of his while Yuffie had three times as many than he did.

"I need you to act like you're totally in love with me. Especially when Vincent is around. He and I had a little spat and I want to see if he really does feel something for me other than attraction," said Yuffie.

Reno looked thoughtful. "I can do that. Hey, how about we go to the movies tonight? Night of the Living Zombies 3 just came out," he said, rubbing his hands together evilly at the thought of scaring Yuffie every time it got really dark in the theatre.

Yuffie scrunched up her nose but nodded. "You pay for the popcorn, and all the other candy and junk though!"

He nodded and rolled his eyes. "Fine. But what if we don't see Valentine?"

"He's staying here for a few days, so he's bound to be around here," said Yuffie as she walked towards the door and walked out with him. And as fate would have it, just as they were leaving the pantry together, Vincent walked into the kitchen and saw them.

"So babe, we're on for tonight?" Reno asked her with a charming smile.

Yuffie nodded and clung to his arm. "Of course, Reno. I need some fun in my life. Everything has been so dull the last few days," she said, eyes on Vincent as they walked out of the kitchen together. She patted Reno on the arm and gave him a thumbs up.

"Miss Kisaragi," said Rufus as the two walked back into the bar. "So good of you to join us. I was telling Cloud that I need your group's help to find and destroy a pair of monsters roaming the Midgar ruins. My Turks have been searching as well, but the longer we take, the more damage the monsters can do when they get too close to Edge."

"Why hasn't Reeve done anything to help?" Yuffie asked.

"He's sent his best men in, and they were nearly eaten. I'm calling on all of you for help," he said smoothly. "You all took on Sephiroth and Omega and won. The Turks have managed to wound the monsters, but they seem to disappear into thin air before there is time to destroy them completely."

"When do you want us to head out?" Cloud asked.

"Tomorrow, if possible. Use tonight to prepare your weapons and whatever else you will need to use and head over to the Midgar ruins at sundown tomorrow," said Rufus.

Cloud looked at Tifa and Yuffie and the women nodded in agreement. "I'll have to ask Cid, Barret, and Vincent if they can join us tomorrow. Otherwise it's just us three. But we'll help any way we can," he said.

"Good, good," said Rufus as he stood from the table they had been sitting at and motioned for his Turks to follow.

"Tonight at eight," said Reno with a wink at Yuffie.

She nodded and smirked before he was gone. She turned to Cloud and Tifa and finally noticed that Vincent was standing far behind her. "Just let me know what time I need to be here tomorrow. I have a date tonight," Yuffie said with a grin towards Tifa, who only shook her head.

"Take care of yourself, Yuffie," said Tifa before she was out the door.

Yuffie just waved a hand dismissively and decided to ignore the hole Vincent was burning into the back of her skull as he watched her go.

……………

The ninja grinned to herself as she entered her apartment and pulled off her boots. She left them on the ground in the middle of the living room, remembering how much Vincent hated it when she left her boots lying around the house. He'd almost fallen on his face more than once because of her and she had laughed at him every single time.

Though they had nothing more than a physical relationship, there had been moments when she had felt as if they had shared something more. Though he had rarely shared anything of his past with her, he had always stayed to hold her after they had just been intimate. He had cooked for her, and had bought her her favorite chocolates, and though he didn't talk much, he listened to her ramblings about anything. Why was it so hard for him to be in a relationship with her if he already did all those things for her?

Though she wasn't interested in Reno the way most would've thought and vice versa, they had fun together. The movie they had watched hadn't been exactly scary to them, since both she and the Turk had seen things far scarier, but they had taken to scaring other people who were almost shaking in fright in their seats. Reno had been throwing pieces of candy when a particular scary scene was coming up. They had pigged out on chocolates and popcorn, and had even had personal pizzas and hot dogs. If there was anyone who ate as much as her, it was Reno. All in all, she had had a lot of fun with the red-head. He was like the annoying brother she had never had but had really needed in her childhood.

As she entered her bedroom, she stifled a shriek when a hand grabbed her arm and she was pulled against a familiar chest. She could see his eyes glowing in the dim light shining from the light posts outside her window. She tried to twist out of his grip, but she could admit that Vincent still had an inhuman type of strength and he wouldn't let her go.

"I thought I had kicked you out," she spat, squirming against him.

"You didn't even wait an entire date for me to be gone before you start to date Reno?" he growled, maneuvering her so that he could press her against the back of the door.

"Vincent, let go of me or I will kick the Galian Beast out of you," Yuffie hissed as he used his body to immobilize hers. She wasn't afraid of him or of what he could do to her, but she was afraid of how easily she would give in if he made a move on her.

"You took a while to get back," he growled before pressing a bruising kiss to her lips. "Did he stop you on the way back so that he could screw you in an alley?"

Yuffie felt her blood boil in fury. He had never spoken to her that way and she was not about to let him get away with it. She managed to free one of her arms and used it to drive her elbow into his ribs. She knew she didn't have enough strength to hurt him greatly, but she did knock the wind out of him and he moved back, allowing her the chance to escape to the other side of the room.

Vincent took a breath and turned to look at her, using his golden gauntlet to deflect the ninja stars that had been sailing with deadly accuracy towards his face. He looked at her and noticed that there were tears in her eyes as she turned on the lamp by the bed.

"Do you enjoy hurting me? Am I not good enough to deserve your respect?" she asked him softly.

He looked at her guiltily and made for the door, intent on leaving and never bothering her again. He had been a fool to break into her home to wait and see what time she would arrive, but something inside of him had been boiling in fury at the thought of Yuffie being out with another man. He had paced in her bedroom, glancing at the clock every few minutes and had felt his anger rise little by little as time passed and she didn't return. He had no right to react that way. They weren't even a couple and she had every right to hate him.

"Running away again? Is that all that you're good at?!" she screamed at him as he paused at the door. "Look at me Vincent! I know that you're a little broken and more than damaged, but I don't care and I want to be there for you but you won't let me! Why won't you let me?" she trailed off into a small sob and hated herself for succumbing to her tears. She didn't want him to pity her and she hated crying if it wasn't for something happy.

Vincent walked over to her and pressed a kiss to her lips, using his thumbs to clean away her tears. "I don't want to hurt you, Yuffie. But as you said, I am too damaged to make you happy. That is why I did not want our friends to know about us. We must… end this soon, and I do not want things to be any harder for you."

"Nothing is harder than feeling unloved," she muttered, wrapping her arms around his waist and hugging him for all he was worth. "You should know that better than anyone."

Her words struck something in his heart, but he didn't tell her that. Instead, he kissed her again, with as much passion as he could muster, and Yuffie returned to the kiss fervently. He had no problem admitting that he desired her and that the release he had found with her was always mind-blowing, but Yuffie wanted more from him, and he was a broken man, he couldn't give her what she wanted.

She was right though, Lucrecia had broken him. He felt that he couldn't make anyone happy, yet Yuffie was asking him to let her in. She wanted him to love her, and in some deep part of him, he realized he already did. He just couldn't bring himself to let go of all that he held inside. It was too late for him to ever be happy. He would… allow himself this for the moment. He had always truly enjoyed feeling Yuffie in his arms because she fit so well against him.

She gasped against his shoulder as he broke the kiss and slowly pulled off her clothes, his fingers running over her smooth skin and memorizing the curves as well as he could. The rest was all a blur as they pressed against her bed and their kisses become more and more desperate. Yuffie clutched his shoulders and he couldn't help but whisper her name into her shoulder as they moved as one. He pressed her hands into the sheets and she wrapped her toned legs around his waist, their breathing quick and loud in the darkness of the room.

Then it all ended at the same moment, and Vincent felt as if he'd stopped breathing for a whole minute, but then she sighed against him and pushed against his shoulder so that he could get off of her. She sat up in bed and Vincent stared at her slim back, small scars that were still fading were in random places on the otherwise smooth skin. The blemishes didn't retract from her beauty, but they explained all that she had gone through and showed that she had come out on top. She was an amazing person, and he knew that she was a little damaged and broken too just like him. Her father forced her to steal for her country at the age of sixteen, and though Yuffie loved her father very much, Vincent knew that there was a feeling of resentment in her heart towards him. She had seen a war ravage her country when she had been a child, and had lost her mother the same year. The things she had been through couldn't compare to the ones he had, but she knew about pain and suffering.

That was why she hadn't returned to Wutai to rule. She refused to take over a country and give up her freedom. Yuffie sighed to herself and tried to get her breathing back to normal. She looked back at Vincent when she noticed his stare. "I… Vincent, I want you to leave," she said, turning away again.

Vincent sat up and felt dread fill his gut. She was ending things with him. Well, hadn't that been what he had wanted from the beginning? For her to forget about him because he wasn't good enough for her? He couldn't blame her for it. It was his fault either way. He couldn't help his next question as it slipped out. "You will see Reno from now on? Yuffie, you deserve better than me or him," he said quietly.

"That's not for you to decide," she said, pulling one of the bed sheets around her and feeling on the verge of tears again. She felt the bed shift as he stood and heard the rustle of fabric as he pulled on his clothes again. "I wanted you to be the one to share my life with, but you will never see yourself the way I see you. You're more than what you think you are. You're a friggin' hero and you can't even see it. You're a great man, but I'm afraid that when you realize that yourself, it'll be too late for us," she said softly.

Vincent felt something squeeze in his chest, and if he hadn't been so stuck on his sins, he would've realized that it was his heart, telling him to reconsider. "Yuffie…" he started.

"Just go. I truly hope that you're happy, one way or another. Even if that means spending the rest of your days in that cave with Lucrecia," she said before standing and walking into her bathroom to shower.

"I'm sorry Yuffie," he whispered to himself as he left the room that had been his safe haven during the months he had spent with her. He would miss her, that was for sure, but he didn't want to damage her or hurt her anymore. That was why he would walk out of her life and watch her be happy from a distance, no matter how much his heart was aching at the moment.

……………

The next day at sundown, the old Avalanche gang was standing on the outskirts of the Midgar ruins, along with the Turks and a few other WRO soldiers. Yuffie was standing with Tifa, her shuriken strapped to her back and checking on her materia as Cloud made preparations and began to explain how they would move. To Yuffie's annoyance, Cloud was a step away from pairing her with Vincent when she stopped him.

"Ah, Cloud, Tifa and I want to get paired on this thing if it isn't too much of a problem. Have fun with Vincent," Yuffie said as she pulled the bewildered bartender along before anyone could object. The Turks and the rest of their friends had already started their search for the monsters, and Yuffie pulled Tifa along quickly. Vincent watched them go and ignored the questioning look Cloud was throwing his way.

"What's going on?" hissed Tifa, once they were a distance away.

"I don't want to be paired with Vincent. It's over, Teef. It's so over," Yuffie said sadly. "I just wouldn't be able to stand working in close proximity with him just yet. Sorry if I freaked you out a bit."

Tifa shook her head and gave her a small squeeze before they began their search. "Don't worry about it, Yuf. And I'm sorry that things didn't work out. Maybe it's for the best, though. You'll find someone to smile with you and who will actually talk back."

Yuffie felt her eyes water. "But I wanted that creepy old vampire to be the one to share all that with. He would do sweet things for me that made me think that there was something more between us, but then he had to mention that idiot science woman and everything went to hell," she said angrily.

"Don't speak ill of the dead," said Tifa wisely. "No matter what she did, she's gone and there's no use hating someone who is no longer with us."

"What about your strange triangle with Cloud and Aerith?" Yuffie asked with a sniffle.

Tifa looked away and shook her head. "It's over. He loves me, Yuffie, and I had to let go of all those crazy thoughts in order to be happy. Otherwise he and I would've never married and I would've spent the rest of my days wondering if he loved her more than me. He smiles now, Yuffie, and it makes my heart swell in pride when I see that the kids and I are the ones to put that smile there. I just… I had to give him time. Maybe that's all Vincent needs from you. Some time."

Yuffie sighed and both of them froze when a huge shadow fell over them from behind. They looked up and saw the huge dragon-like monster right behind them. "If the other one is around here too, we're totally dead meat," said Yuffie as both of them jumped back when the monster used its huge foot to try to squash them.

The ninja let her weapon fly while Tifa darted towards the head to attack. Alone, they weren't doing much damage, even with the use of mastered materia. Tifa grunted as they both landed on the ground. "We need to get the guys over here. This thing is tougher than it looks," she said as she pulled out her phone and dialed Cloud as she dodged an attack from the thing's tail.

"Tifa, watch out!" Yuffie screamed as the monster let loose a fire ball from its mouth. They both jumped back just as a black blur slashed at the monster, making the fire ball hit a huge pile of shrapnel and twisted metal. But Cloud miscalculated the trajectory of the fire ball and he watched in horror as it raced towards his wife. The ninja only had a second to make her decision as the metal began to fall over and she shoved Tifa back, out of harms way.

"Yuffie!" Vincent yelled as he ran towards her, his voice a mixture of fear and despair as he tried to get to her before the metal fell completely on top of her. He managed to cover half of her as he transformed into the Galian Beast to protect her better, but still the metal hit her and him both, but in his altered state, he was better able to protect himself.

He looked down to Yuffie through the demon's eyes and saw that she was out cold, and… bits of metal were embedded in her body. There was blood on her face and by her shoulder, and something akin to a howl started in his throat as he raised himself under the metal and picked up Yuffie as gently as he could.

He held her with one claw as the other tore through the metal and debris until they were outside. He placed her on the ground as Tifa let out a cry and fell at her side. He growled out once more and Tifa looked at him, tears in her eyes. "I'll stay with her and call for help," she said in reassurance.

The Galian Beast snarled before taking off towards the monsters that had now been cornered and were being overwhelmed. Tifa looked down at her friend and dialed Reeve, who had sent a medical truck to aid them if anything should happen. Yuffie had saved her life, but she would never be able to forgive herself if her friend didn't make it.

……………

Yuffie opened her eyes and cursed at the brightness coming from the open curtains. Next to her bed, the table was filled with get well cards, flowers, and balloons from various people. She was alone in the room and there were bandages wrapped around her head—which now that she noticed, hurt like hell—and a few around her left arm, all the way to her elbow. She pushed down the sheets and looked at her stomach, which had a few more bandages and the skin around the wounds was bruised.

Damn, she remembered clearly why she looked and felt like hell. They had been fighting the damned monsters when he had let out a fireball that had hit some building ruins and metal right above her and Tifa. They hadn't moved fast enough and Yuffie had managed to shove Tifa out of the way but she had gotten caught by some shrapnel. After that, she knew no more. She just hoped that her friend was okay and had gotten out of the attack safely. She also remembered the sound of a howl but vaguely, but didn't know what to make of it. Had it been one of the monsters?

"Oh, good, you're awake!" said the nurse cheerfully as she walked into the room and checked her vitals. "Lucky for you, you were still out when we cleaned your wounds and the doctor has been able to heal them little by little with a Cure materia."

"Why didn't you just heal everything with the materia?" asked Yuffie as the nurse helped her sit up a little.

"We needed to fix the damage caused by the shrapnel first. If you notice, there is a scar running across your collarbone from where a large piece was embedded. You had other minor injuries on your abdomen, but the one that worried the doctors and your friends the most was the concussion you received. Your brain was literally bleeding."

Yuffie started in shock. "And now it's not?"

"No. The doctor will come in to explain it all to you again and in more detail, but luckily your brain stopped bleeding on its own, which doesn't always happen and the patient needs to have brain surgery," said the woman cheerily.

Yuffie scowled to herself and took the water that the nurse was handing over to her. Now that she saw the water, she felt thirsty as hell. "What about my friends? Are they here?"

"All of them have taken turns looking after you. Right now, the gentleman in red is sitting outside, having a coffee after your other friends convinced him to leave your room for a moment. He's been adamant about watching over you. You're a lucky woman to have such a devoted man like him in your life. I'm a little jealous," she said kindly.

Yuffie leaned back against the pillows and closed her eyes. "Will you ask them to come in please?"

"Of course. Just don't get overexerted, it may do you harm," said the nurse before she walked out of her room. Yuffie heard her talking quietly to the people outside and stifled a smirk at the evil idea that popped into her head.

She opened her eyes and watched as Vincent, without his cape, nearly ran to her side, kneeling before her. The rest of the gang followed him, even against the nurse's wishes. Yuffie squinted at each and every one of them, as if trying to recognize who they were.

"Yuffie?" asked Vincent softly, taking her hand in his.

"Is that who I am?" she asked quietly, eyes large and round.

Vincent felt his heart plummet. "You… don't remember who we are?" he asked softly.

Yuffie stared at him and then at the others, her eyes landing on Cid. "Nope. I don't remember any balding blond man, or a chocobo look alike," she said with a shake of her head. Then she looked at Vincent and frowned. "Are you supposed to be Dracula or something?"

Tifa walked over to her other side and gave her a suspicious look. "You know who Dracula is?"

"Kinda," said Yuffie. Everyone stared at her before she broke into giggles. "Ohmygod! You should see the look on all your faces!"

There was a chorus of, "Yuffie!" and, "You foolish brat!" and, "I'm gonna kick da shit out of you when you're well enough!"

"Yeah? We'll see who kicks whose ass, old man!" Yuffie yelled at Cid as Vincent stood from his kneeling position.

"I'm glad you are well," he said before he turned and walked out of the room.

"Vince, wait!" she called, not knowing why he was leaving with that look on his face. Geez, it wasn't as if she had killed his puppy or something. "What the hell is wrong with him?"

Tifa gave the men a look. "Will you guys give Yuffie and me a few minutes alone?" she asked them.

"Come on, guys, it was just a joke!" she whined as Barret, Cid, and Cloud were not amused, but they patted her foot in an effort of comfort and relief that she was alive and well before they left the room. The ninja turned to Tifa and saw that she had a serious look on her face. "Come on, Teef, you're telling me it's not even a little funny?"

The brunette shook her head and sat on the edge of the bed, taking her friend's hand. "Yuffie… you've been out for an entire week," she said softly. Yuffie's eyes went wide again. "Vincent has been watching over you every single night, and we've had to almost force him to leave for a shower and for food. The doctor said that there was a big chance that you could stay in a coma because of the head injury. Yuffie… we were all able to tell that he was worried about you."

The ninja leaned back against her pillows and rubbed her aching head. "What happened after the building fell on me?" she asked.

Tifa smiled slightly. "Thank you for saving me," she said abruptly. "And once you pushed me out of the way, Vincent transformed into the Galian Beast and managed to protect you from most of the debris, but still he couldn't fall over you completely on time. That's why there was shrapnel on your side and shoulder. He got you out and I watched over you as he went off to attack the monsters."

"Did they succeed with killing the things?" Yuffie asked as her side began to ache as well.

Tifa nodded. "Vincent went berserk on them both and with the help of the others, they brought both creatures down. Everything is safe now in the Midgar ruins, and Rufus has started a project to clear the land from all the destroyed buildings and metal so that no more monsters can take refuge there. He has sent his best wishes to you with Reno, who has been by almost everyday to see how you're doing."

Yuffie smiled at the thought of her friend, but then her thoughts inevitably took her to Vincent. "If you see Vincent, tell him that I want to speak to him please. I have to thank him for making my injuries less severe." And for watching over me, she thought to herself.

There was a knock at the door and the doctor walked in with a smile on his face. "How are you feeling Miss Kisaragi?" he asked.

"Fine," she said quietly, though she really wasn't. There were so many questions running through her mind at the moment and Vincent had just left her there. Well, he wasn't going to get away from her that easily.

……………

"Aaaahhhh!"

"The Great Ninja Yuffie strikes again," said Yuffie with an evil chuckle. She retracted her spiffy walking cane from where she had "accidentally" placed it in front of Cid and gave everyone an innocent look. "You really should watch where you're going, old man," she said to the pilot, who was currently on the floor.

Reno high-fived her and they both continued to walk out of the bar together after waving at Tifa, who had given them both a stern look. The Turk had offered to buy her lunch at a nearby pizza place and Yuffie had accepted, since she hadn't seen Vincent in more than a week. She had been released from the hospital a few days before, but the doctors had told her that she would be walking with a limp for a few weeks while some damaged nerves mended from an injury caused by the shrapnel that had fallen on her. She had been staying with Tifa and Cloud, at the bartender's insistence, but Vincent hadn't come around since she had been there.

"So," said Reno casually. "Where's the vamp?"

Yuffie shrugged. "Haven't seen him since the day that I woke up in the hospital. Tifa says I hurt his feelings by playing a joke on him and the others, but I think he's just being a jerk. Nothing new there, so why should I be surprised, right?" she asked with a bitter laugh.

"I don't like to hear you using that tone, kiddo," he said to her with a frown. "You're too happy for it, and I just don't like it. But I guess I can make your day by telling you where he might be," said Reno slyly.

"If you're gonna tell me that he's at the friggin' cave with that woman, I don't want to hear it," she said darkly.

Reno smirked. "No sweetheart, he's not there. Matter-of-fact, I think he's nearby," he said.

"What are you talking about?" Yuffie snapped, brandishing her cane as if she had a sword in her hand. She raised it and was about to whack the man in the head when he pushed her chin towards her left and pointed to Vincent, who was currently gazing at the newly rebuilt monument in the center of the city.

"Go talk to him, babe," he said with a small smile.

"What am I gonna say to him?" asked Yuffie with a heavy sigh.

"You can start out by thanking him for saving your hide from becoming a permanent vegetable. Also for the nights he spent watching over you and waiting for you to wake up," said Reno wisely.

Wisely? Yuffie thought to herself in bewilderment. "Since when did you grow a brain?" she asked her friend.

"I've always had a brain," he said smoothly. "Except that I don't use it very often, but once I do, I get these mega-smart ideas," he said with a grin.

Yuffie hugged him with one arm and nodded. "Wish me luck," she said before limping her way down the crosswalk and towards the huge monument that allowed for people to sit around it. Reno smiled to himself and walked away to see if Rude would want to have pizza with him. He was dead hungry.

Yuffie walked slowly towards the gunman and tried to come up with a conversation starter. His hair and cape were blowing in the light breeze and he looked deep in thought. She stood behind him for a moment and contemplated bashing him on the head with her cane for not visiting her for days and days. "Pretty weather we're having today," she said sarcastically.

Vincent stiffened slightly and turned to look at her. His eyes ran over her face before sliding lower and lower to where her hand was gripping the cane and leaning against it. He said nothing.

"It's good to know you care," she continued when he stayed silent. "But all these days I haven't thought of you at all. I haven't wondered why you didn't care to speak to me, or why you didn't even bother to come see me when I was released from the hospital. I just… I wanted to thank you for saving me from being in a permanent coma, and for watching over me. I guess that's it," she said before she turned to go, limping off quietly.

A hand on her arm stopped her. "I was there the day you were released, but I did not approach you. After what happened that last time in your apartment… I figured you wanted me to keep my distance from you," he said softly.

"I lost you as a lover, I didn't want to lose you as a friend," she said, voice cracking slightly. "But I guess you don't want to be my friend either, so that's fine," she said, pulling away from him and walking as fast as she could.

Vincent felt his heart die a little at the dejected note in her voice. He didn't want to hurt her, and while he had watched over her those nights at the hospital, he hadn't gotten any sleep in case she stopped breathing, or finally opened her eyes. He had realized that though he may have been broken and damaged, Yuffie had mended some of the pieces back together with her gentle touch and her easy smile. In a different part of him, he realized that he loved her and even the demons cared about her more than he was willing to admit. The Galian Beast was very protective of her and he had sensed her being in danger before it had even happened. He supposed that many different parts of him loved her.

When he came back to himself, he realized that she was almost halfway down the street and he ran to her, gripping her arm and turning her and embracing her tightly. "I never wanted to hurt you," he said, pressing his face into her hair as she sniffled slightly. "I did not want you to get attached to me in fear that I would never return your feelings. You deserved better than me."

"And now I don't?" she asked with a small smile, turning her shining brown eyes to look into his crimson ones.

"I still don't believe that you should be stuck with a damaged man like me, but I… do believe that you deserve to have the choice. You may think that I didn't care about your health, but you can ask the doctor and nurses who took care of you at the hospital. I was there every single day. I watched over you when you were sedated and then I would leave before you would wake up," he said, sounding slightly sheepish.

"That's very stalker-like, I'm flattered," she said with a small laugh. "You'll be with me then? Out in the open so that our friends will know about us?" Yuffie asked hopefully.

He didn't have the heart or the desire to break that hope he saw so openly in her sweet eyes. He nodded once and smirked when she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him soundly. There was a series of angry honks from the traffic, since they had been standing in the middle of the street, and Yuffie giggled when Vincent wrapped his arms around her waist and carried her the rest of the way back to her apartment. Vincent didn't even bother to acknowledge the strange looks he was receiving from the people around them.

Once they arrived, he laid her down on her bed and moved into the soft sheets with her. Their touch was gentle and innocent as they lay fully clothed and in each others arms for a long time. She only sat up once to remove his gauntlet and his cape before she snuggled into his arms again and took in the masculine scent she had missed so much.

"I'm sorry about all the things I said to you," she whispered as she listened to his steady heartbeat.

"You were right to say them even though they hurt. I said many things I did not mean either, and I take them back," he said, stroking her soft hair.

Yuffie smiled to herself and moved up to press a gentle kiss against his lips. Vincent watched her with a calm expression and managed a smirk when she tried to use her pointer fingers to force him to smile. "So childish," he said in that deep voice of his as he suddenly flipped them so that he was above her and their touch was more intimate.

She giggled against his lips but was silenced by his expert tongue and instead wrapped her arms around his neck. Make-up sex between she and Vincent had always been great, but she didn't think that this moment could be qualified as that. His touch was gentler, and his kisses set her skin on fire slowly. "You'll stay with me forever? I promise to put you back together again," she breathed against his lips.

Vincent smirked and kissed her. He knew she was talking about the pieces that Lucrecia had broken with her betrayal. If the tiny ninja in his arms had managed to make him feel whole whenever she was around, then he would stay with her forever. "Yes," he murmured in response.

"Good," said Yuffie before all but one thought ceased in her head. She wanted to make Vincent happy and he was giving her that chance. It was true that they were both damaged, but with time and love--because she did love him-- everything would be all right.

The End

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How was that for another oneshot? I just couldn't help myself and the idea of Yuffie and Vincent having a fight popped into my head. I know that's it's highly unlikely that Vincent would sleep with Yuffie the first time that way, but humor me. Also, there was no talk of love, marriage, or kids because they're just getting started in the relationship, and I do believe this is the first fic where I don't include at least two of the three topics.

I know that I've put up the poll and all and that Reeve/Yuffie are the next pic, but I'm starting a new Cloud/Tifa before I actually write RY, I'm still thinking about where to go with them, but the CT fic has been prodding at my brain so that I write it soon. Dunno when it'll be out, but I'm hoping soon. Anyway, I'm gonna clear the poll again because the order of fics will be: 1)Cloud/Tifa, and 2)Reeve/Yuffie. So go vote again for the next couple! Thanks for your time!

Byebye

Joey

P.S. Disregard the typos and grammar errors for now!