Beware of the fluff and of the fact that this fic really doesn't have a point. It's mostly Yuffie-centric, while it remains a VinceYuffie fic.

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy VII or any of the characters used in this piece of fiction. I am making no money off of them.

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Ninja's Introspect

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"What's going on?"

Soft brown eyes, flecked with touches of wine red darted towards the doorway of her bar. Tifa uncrossed her arms from over her chest and sighed, prompting for the blond to walk over to her and rub her arms for comfort. "She's been sitting up there for a while and I don't know whether I should go up there and ask."

Cloud's eyes immediately darkened. "You're not climbing anywhere remotely that high," he said quietly, brushing gentle fingers over the small bulge of Tifa's stomach.

Her smile was bright as her own fingers sought out his and she shook her head. "Yuffie crawled out of the window. I was thinking about talking to her from there." She looked up again. "It's like she's waiting for someone, or thinking really hard, but Vincent has been around, and they talked this morning. If they'd argued, I get the feeling that Yuffie would be distraught, not thoughtful," she said softly.

Cloud looked up at the ninja sitting on the very edge of their roof, her legs dangling over the side. She did look thoughtful—and that was saying something. Yuffie was an impulsive person by nature and she rarely stopped to think many things through before she acted. This was the first time Cloud had seen her sitting in peace, lost in thought. "She'll be okay. We'll just ask Vincent if he knows what's going on," he said, guiding Tifa back into the bar, touching her as if she were made of glass.

As if summoned by his name, Vincent appeared next to them. "Hello, Tifa. Cloud."

"Hey Vincent," Cloud said with a nod.

Tifa turned to look at him, her hands on her hips. "What did you do to her?"

"Pardon?" Vincent asked, bewildered.

"To Yuffie. What did you do to her?" Tifa asked again, eyes narrowed.

"I—said nothing that upset her," he said, still confused. "Why? Did something happen?"

"She's on the roof. Thinking," Tifa said worriedly. Both Cloud and Vincent gave her looks. "She isn't usually this pensive," she said darkly.

Vincent didn't seem fazed. "I'm sure she has a lot on her mind. Tifa, I can assure you that Yuffie and I have not had anything to argue about," he said in reassurance.

Tifa bit her lip, feeling sheepish at having jumped to such quick conclusions. "Well, good," she said faintly, biting her lip.

The gunman just gave her a small smile and stepped out of the bar to glimpse at the ninja. As Tifa had mentioned, she was sitting on the roof and staring out at the city pensively. He wondered briefly if he should call to her and ask her to come down. He knew he had asked something important of her, but it was very unlike Yuffie to sit down and consider things. Somehow, he had imagined her just accepting without a second thought. Had he finally managed to scare her into silence? Was she contemplating the best way to let him down?

So many doubts and uncertainties had begun to gnaw at him, but Vincent knew that Yuffie was unlike any woman he had ever met. There was no use for him to panic now when she was displaying how mature and adult she really could be. And besides, Vincent trusted her. It was a big difference from any other relationship he had ever been in. Allowing Yuffie the space she needed, he stepped back into the bar and made himself busy by helping Tifa organize the heavy boxes in the cellar.

Meanwhile, Tifa had begun to make a list of the things she needed brought out to her from the basement, where Vincent had silently retreated to. She was still worried about Yuffie, but things needed to be done around the house, and Tifa was sure that the ninja would come to her if she needed someone to talk to.

"I got something for you both," Cloud said out of the blue, eyeing her stomach pointedly.

Tifa smiled. It seemed like every time Cloud went out on a delivery, he returned with either a purchase for their baby, or a gift from some of his usual customers who had already heard of the news. Though hormonal, it did make her heart skip a beat to see him so excited over their baby, and she hadn't reason to be jealous of the attention their unborn child was receiving.

Cloud still thought to bring her pastries from Kalm—her favorite— or a bouquet of white roses from Wutai—specifically from Yuffie's garden, as the ninja had said it was okay. He'd also cut back on deliveries to go with her to her appointments, and this was what she cherished above everything else. Cloud was being a part of this new and scary process of brining their baby into the world.

Telling Marlene and Denzel about the pregnancy had taken some doing, but Tifa knew that they were too old for the whole, "a bird is going to deliver a baby to us in nine months," story. Barret hadn't been too pleased about her G-rated explanation about adults and baby-making, but he'd let Tifa have her way, since he was rarely around when Marlene needed him. Still, the children were just as happy as Cloud was, and they were all eagerly awaiting the newest addition to their family within four months.

Cloud brought out a package wrapped in brown paper and handed it to her, his eyes shining expectantly. Tifa took it and tore the paper off quickly, her eyes watering after she had opened the white box inside. There, resting just under white tissue paper was a hand-made baby blanket. The embroidery and colors were a design that looked like it had come out of Nibelheim, if it had still been standing and with its original inhabitants. Her mother had known how to stitch that way, and the soft cloth was beautiful. "Tifa, don't cry," Cloud said, brushing her tears away in worry.

Her arms wrapped around his neck and she was mindful of their baby between them as she pressed herself tightly against Cloud. "Thank you," she whispered.

Cloud felt his heart warm at her words. If there was one thing he lived for, it was making Tifa happy. He just hadn't realized that he would make her cry in the process. "I found a lady in Kalm who said that she had grown up in Nibelheim. She left before… before…" he said vaguely. "I recognized the design on a window as I passed by."

Tifa nodded but didn't release him, her eyes tightly closed as her heart beat painfully in her chest at the reminder of their hometown. Even years later, Nibelheim left a painful ache in her chest whenever she thought about it. Her home, her house, her father, her childhood…

"Hey, what's going on?" asked Yuffie in worry, entering the bar while the other two hadn't been paying attention.

Tifa sniffled and showed the blanket with stitches of giraffes and elephants in yellows, pinks, and blues to Yuffie. "Cloud just gave us this," she said in a watery voice.

Yuffie beamed and punched Cloud's arm in a manly-affectionate way. "Geez, spike, and you had to make her cry?"

"I didn't know she would react this way," he said in a slightly distressed tone.

Tifa shook her head. "They were tears of happiness," she assured the both of them. But then her face transformed into a frown again. "I was worried about you, Yuffie. Why were you sitting up on the roof all alone?"

Yuffie looked uncomfortable at the question. "I was just thinking about something Vincent said to me in the morning."

"Oh, and what did he say?" Tifa asked eagerly.

The ninja's face betrayed nothing, and she gave Tifa a scolding look—Cloud was amused that their roles seemed to have been reversed—and shook her head. "I can't talk about it now, but you'll know soon enough."

"Yuffie have you any idea how bored I am? Cloud won't let me out to the market, he barely lets me keep the bar open, and it's a miracle he even lets me go up and down the stairs! I need something fun in my life before I go crazy!" Tifa said in an exasperated tone, ignoring the scowl on her dear husband's face.

"Hmm, paranoid much?" Yuffie asked Cloud.

"She's having a baby. The doctor said that she needed to take things slow and rest as much as possible. She shouldn't carry heavy things or stress out with the bar!" he argued, eyes narrowed.

"Spikey's got a point," Yuffie replied, instantly regretting it when Tifa's eyes darkened in anger. "Hehe… maybe I should make myself scarce," she said, edging towards the door. "Good luck Cloud!" she called before racing out of the bar, letting out a deep breath when she was no longer in the immediate line of fire. Geez, she couldn't imagine what it would be like when she would have her own kids if someone as kind hearted as Tifa was transformed into a hormonal crazy woman.

Yuffie's cheeks colored at the thought and she smiled to herself as she set off towards the center of the city. The sun was peeking through the usually dank and dreary sky of Edge, and it felt like it would be a good day.

She passed the shops that were barely opening, setting out tables and chairs, and their boards with the specials or sales for the day. The bakery store had some delicious smells wafting from the open door and she was drawn over by the scents. The old man with the kind smile behind glasses greeted her cheerfully. "How can I help you today, Miss Yuffie?"

"Well, let me have that banana bread thing," Yuffie pointed towards the fresh bread behind the glass. "And those little pastry things with the custard inside. Tifa's been craving those, and she usually has to fight the kids for them," she said with a grin.

"How is everything at the Strife household?" he asked as he packed her order into paper bags.

"Cloud makes Tifa cry, and the kids are running around wild," she said, winking.

The old man chuckled. "Same as always, then?"

Yuffie nodded. "Same as always," she said cheerfully.

"What about you?" asked the old man, slipping in a Danish with the raspberry center into one of the bags—he knew it was the young woman's favorite. "Everything all right with that gentleman I've seen you walking around with?"

Yuffie blushed and nodded. "Everything is fine," she said evasively.

The man just chuckled in amusement and inwardly murmured to himself about young love. "Well, hopefully one of these days I'll see you pulling along your own little bundle of joy."

"Oh, but for that I need to get married first," Yuffie said absently, her cheeks coloring even more at her words. She paid for her purchase and bid the old man goodbye as she pulled her bags to her and walked out of the bakery. She walked slowly in a circle that would inevitably bring her back to Seventh Heaven. She passed by a baby store and spotted a little ensemble she would return to purchase for Tifa and Cloud's baby soon, and passed by a pet store. She stopped and made funny faces at the puppies on display. There was a cute little black one that undoubtedly reminded her of Vincent's hair.

Yuffie giggled to herself and stepped away from the window when the puppies flocked towards the customers inside of the store. She did love any variety of puppies, she really was the type to take in the strays, or the three-legged dog she'd had as a child—though she was more of a cat person nowadays.

Continuing on her trip around the city, Yuffie slowed her bouncing steps, drawn in by the bright colors and the scent of flowers. She stopped and admired the red roses, the color of blood, of the deepest wine, the color of Vincent's eyes. She had never been a big fan of the color red until he had come along, and now she found that she just couldn't get enough of it. The color now had found its way to her pajamas, to some of the sheets, and even to some of her underwear—and well, those were Vincent's favorites, she thought with a grin.

Yuffie moved on to sniff delicately at the daffodils, orchids, sweat peas, and a few flowers she really didn't know the name of. Just the fact that there was a variety of flowers, and even a florist shop itself made Yuffie happy. The planet was healing, and though they had suffered in exchange for returning life to Gaia, it was nice to know that their world wasn't doomed to death.

The scent wafting at her from a star shaped lily with white and purple petals appealed to her the same way the white roses did. Her mother had taught her the cherish the beauty of nature, and the care that went into flowers. Lilies also always reminded her of Aerith, and thinking of their friend always made a bittersweet feeling invade her chest. The little boy sitting outside and watching the flowers—for his parents, Yuffie assumed—got up and smiled shyly at her as he proceeded to pluck the flower she had been sniffing and handed it over to her.

"I'll pay for it!" Yuffie said with a wide grin, taking another sniff.

He shook his head, sending red curls into his eyes. "It's a pretty flower for a pretty girl. Now run!" he said quickly, eyeing inside of the flower shop.

"Thanks!" Yuffie said, pressing a kiss to his cheek before darting off with a wave. It was a boost to her ego to be so liked by the people in the community. It was a welcome change from being so disliked, more like distrusted, after the whole stolen materia fiasco when she had been sixteen. She was happy to see that there had been a change from the immature girl she had been then to the young woman she was now.

One of those big changes also had to do with the silent gunman. Well, he wasn't as silent as many people assumed he was; Vincent had plenty to say whenever he wished to. Yuffie had been pleasantly surprised to see him talk and carry on conversations during the Deepground fight. After that, well, he had stayed around and he hadn't gone back to the coffin the way Yuffie had assumed. Instead, he had stayed to assist Reeve in cleaning out and burning down what was left of Deepground, and had even helped out in missions for the WRO afterwards.

Yuffie really had no idea if he had kept in touch with the cave Lucrecia was housed in, but she couldn't even bring herself to hate the woman all that much anymore. After all, she had been the one who had saved him in the end—well, her thoughts manifesting through Shelke—but Vincent was alive because of her, and that had been all that mattered to Yuffie.

A year and a half after Omega, after getting to know the real Vincent and what his thoughts on his life were now, Yuffie found that she wouldn't be able to live without him in her life anymore. The glances, the touches, they had all started a few months ago. After many late night conversations over wine—now that she was twenty-one and legal to drink without having to guilt trip Tifa into giving her what she wanted—and early morning walks, and even stealth training and hand to hand combat to keep her skills sharp, everything had rolled together to create a new feeling in her chest.

She'd had a crush on him before, but love had been an unexpected and all too pleasant feeling. She had been convinced that it was unreciprocated until Cloud and Tifa's wedding. Thanks to Tifa trying to play matchmaker, Yuffie had been paired with Vincent and they had walked down the isle, danced together, and had even taken the toast together. Afterwards, during the traditional bouquet toss, the clump of white and red roses had sailed right towards her face when she hadn't been looking, and Vincent had swatted the flowers away from her before Yuffie could've potentially ended up with poked eye.

Yuffie smiled to herself at the memory, at the confused look on Vincent's face when Tifa had implied that even though he hadn't caught it, he had touched it, so the bouquet was his. Both she and Tifa had broken into giggles as they imagined him the next person to get married, dressed in white.

Looking up, Yuffie realized that she had made it to Seventh Heaven without even realizing it, the flower still stuck close to her nose as she twirled the stem a little. Her eyes brightened when she noticed leather and red leaning near the door of the bar, arms crossed and his eyes closed. She stopped and stared at him with a fond smile, recalling how all that midnight silky hair felt around her deft, ninja fingers, how those pink lips, the lower one fuller than the upper a little, felt against her own. She couldn't believe that someone like Vincent had come along into her life to become the person she lived for.

Vincent's eyes opened and he slowly turned to look at her, raising an inquisitive eyebrow when he saw her standing there. She was shyly twirling the flower with her fingers, and holding a bag of bread in her other arm. The look in his eyes, something still so new, but not something she was afraid of seeing, always managed to strip away her shields against him—not that she tried to stop him. With Vincent, she had learned that it was either everything or nothing. He never did things half-way and he expected the same from her. Still, from the beginning she hadn't wanted to be the one who loved more in their relationship.

"Will you come in for lunch or will you stand there and wait for the birds that fly overhead, risking a very unpleasant gift over your head?" he asked her calmly.

Yuffie looked up and could hear the distant cawing of birds that usually enjoyed standing on the beams of the city, pooping on unsuspecting heads if one happened to be passing by. She raced towards the shelter of the newly built porch of the bar and stood next to Vincent with a smile. "Have you been waiting long?" she asked, handing him the flower.

Vincent gave her that look again. "I've been waiting for someone like you for years."

She blushed, despite having seen his romantic side before and darted up to move his cloak down and press a kiss to his lips. "Don't let Cid or Barret hear you saying that. You'll never live it down."

The gunman shrugged. "They know how I feel about you. It's not my fault that they know nothing on how to properly speak to a woman."

Yuffie broke out into laughter, imagining Cid attempting to read Shera poetry from under her window. It also pleased her immensely to hear Vincent call her a woman. "Come on, I bet Tifa and the baby are having cravings for those custard pastry things right about now," she said, taking his hand and pulling him into the bar.

"Yuffie, where did you get this flower?" Vincent asked as she walked into the kitchen and set the bread on the table.

"It was a gift. Why?" Yuffie asked absently.

"From who?" Vincent asked, suddenly very close behind her. "I can smell someone else's scent on it."

Yuffie turned in surprise at his words and found Vincent towering over her, nearly making her lean back against the table. Her wide-eyed look morphed into one of sly pleasure, though she let a pout come over her lips. "Are you jealous?"

"Don't be silly."

Her eyes flamed in challenge. If there was one thing she hated, it was being called silly. "I stopped by the flower shop and he complimented me. Saying that a pretty girl deserved a pretty flower."

Vincent closed the space between them even more, thankful that Tifa and Cloud were not around to see him doing so, and brushed his lips briefly over Yuffie's; he smiled inwardly when hers parted subconsciously. He had known desire before Lucrecia, but after her, it had been nothing but never-ending pain and doubts. Yuffie had ended that cycle and it was something exhilarating to feel once more. Her touches, her looks, her words, her reactions… They were all for him. Still… he needed to know something first.

"Have you thought about what I asked you this morning?" he asked her in a silky voice.

Yuffie's gaze flickered to his lips as she nibbled on her own. "I still—I need more time, Vince," she said in a soft tone.

Vincent leaned even further against her and when her tongue darted out to lick her lips, she also swiped over his accidentally. His hands slid up her hips and waist, but before he had the chance to kiss her, he pulled abruptly away and stepped back to lean against the counter. Seconds later, Tifa stepped into the kitchen, curious about the blush on Yuffie's face, and the faint amused look on Vincent's.

"Ready for lunch?" Tifa asked, walking towards the refrigerator to bring out the necessary items for her delicious sandwiches.

"Yeah," Yuffie said with her usual grin. She pranced over to Tifa and leaned down to rub her belly, as if rubbing a crystal ball. "Hey, kiddo? I brought you your favorite snacks!" she sing-songed.

Tifa smiled when she felt gentle movements from within. "I think she's happy."

"You mean he," Vincent put in from his spot.

Yuffie glared at him. "The baby is a girl. Stop trying to say otherwise!"

"Care to make a wager?"

His eyes were daring and Yuffie had never really been one to back down from a challenge. "Oh? And what do you want to bet?"

"If you say yes to my earlier question, we will visit your father as soon as we are able to travel," Vincent said slowly.

"Vincent," Yuffie said in a weak voice. She cleared her throat when Tifa's eyes darted from her to Vincent as she came to her own conclusions. "Okay," she said quickly, hoping to divert Tifa's attention. "And if I'm right, you'll ditch the cloak and give it to me."

"Fine."

"Fine." Yuffie turned to Tifa. "When will you know what the baby is going to be?"

"My next ultrasound is on Friday," Tifa said, shaking her head and smiling.

"Would you object to knowing the sex of the baby before he is born?" Vincent asked her gently.

The long haired brunette shook her head. "Cloud and I have our own little bet going. If it's a girl, I'll name her. If we're having a boy, he gets to name him," she said with a smile. "Either way we will know our winners on Friday if the kid doesn't object and decide not to show us."

Yuffie began to rub Tifa's stomach again and grinned evilly. "I know you're a girl, kiddo, if only so that we can make uncle Vincent's life a living hell together."

Vincent rolled his eyes and ignored Tifa's amused look. "I will return shortly," he said before turning and walking towards the stairs.

When Tifa was sure he was gone, she gripped Yuffie's hands excitedly. "Did he ask you what I think he did?"

Yuffie tried not to break into giggles at the look on Tifa's face. She slipped one hand out of the bartender's hold and pulled something out of her pocket. Opening her palm, she showed Tifa a silver and shiny object.

"Oh my God!" Tifa shrieked.

There was the sound of running before Cloud broke into the kitchen, face pale and worried. "What's wrong?" he asked, eyes wild.

Tifa gave him an apologetic look and hugged him. "I'm sorry, Cloud!" she said quickly. "Yuffie just said something that really surprised me," she said, rubbing his shoulders to assure him that she was okay.

"Tifa," Cloud said, exasperated.

"I know. I promise I won't freak you out anymore," Tifa said, pulling back to kiss his cheek and nose. "What were you doing?"

"Organizing some papers," he muttered, glaring at the ninja.

She just shrugged and watched him solemnly as Cloud reluctantly released Tifa and walked away when she promised to have lunch ready in a few minutes. Yuffie looked down at the ring and smiled when the sunlight streaming in from the window hit the jade stone and the two diamonds sitting on either side, sending the sparkles from the reflection across her face.

Tifa backed off and began to prepare the sandwiches, smiling wistfully. "Why didn't you say yes at the moment he asked?"

Yuffie stared at the long fall of Tifa's hair and shrugged to herself. "I felt that this was something I needed to think about, really think about," she said in a small voice. "Did I do wrong?"

"Of course not," Tifa said gently. "I'm just surprised that Vincent didn't see this as a rejection."

Yuffie smiled and moved to stand next to Tifa, offering to spread the ingredients on the bread before passing it to Tifa for the slices of ham, cheese, and lettuce. "I asked him to give me some time to really think about this. It shocked him, I think, the fact that I wanted to think something through," Yuffie said with a giggle.

"And have you been thinking or was it just a ploy because you're scared?"

"Scared shitless, yeah, but I'm not doing it to string him along," Yuffie said with a small grin. "I mean, I won't even go home because I'm freaked out that Godo will make me stay and be head of Wutai. Getting married is just as important as ruling a country." She paused and looked at Tifa. "I love him."

Tifa smiled. "Then shouldn't that be answer enough for your doubts? Yuffie, he's asking you to marry him. Vincent Valentine asked you to marry him. If that isn't life changing, I don't know what is."

"This is," Yuffie said, poking Tifa's stomach gently. "But I know that I'll have an answer for him soon."

"Whatever you decide, just make sure it's from the heart," Tifa said, leaning forward to kiss Yuffie's hair.

The ninja smiled and nodded. "Thanks Teef. You're like the sister I always wanted." The other woman just gave her a warm smile and they continued to prepare lunch.

……

When night came, after the bar had closed, made good money even with Tifa's condition—the regulars still loved her, and enjoyed seeing Tifa as a mother—Cloud, Vincent, and Yuffie had cleaned everything up in an hour. Despite feeling dead on her feet, Yuffie found that she couldn't fall into the pleasant sleep that came as a relief after attending the bar and sharing a quickie with Vincent.

She'd been asleep for all but an hour before she had started awake and hadn't been able to rest again. She had laid in bed, next to Vincent's warm, sleeping body and had absently twirled the ring in her pointer finger, the sliver of light coming through the curtains making the stones shimmer. A smile curled her lips when Vincent's fingers tightened around her waist; she was relieved that it wasn't a nightmare that had made him twitch. They had been less recent, but they hadn't left him all together. Whenever he had them, Yuffie felt as if a piece of her heart cracked a little more for him, though she never asked him to share the nightmares with her the morning after. All she could do was kiss the lingering memories in his head away as best she could.

He had been through so much, experienced so many painful things; it was a miracle that he was still functioning. That he—that he had managed to move on enough to love her. Gently, Yuffie slipped out of his grasp stealthily, letting out a low breath when he stayed in place. She grabbed his shirt from the floor and pulled it on along with a pair of boxers.

Slipping out the door with the grace of the ninja that she truly was, Yuffie walked down to the bar, grabbing a glass of Wutain alcohol that Tifa had reserved only for special occasions because of how expensive it was. Crawling onto the cushy booth section of the bar, Yuffie's legs pulled up against her chest and she tried to not let the cool air bother her. After all, she had been trained to endure the unpredictability of the weather from an early age, a few frozen toes weren't supposed to bother her.

She figured she had a little more to think about, and that that was why she was so restless. The alcohol had stopped burning down her throat and was beginning to warm her stomach, making her eyes droop a little as she stared at the frames of the many pictures Tifa had hung around the bar. On her ring finger, the engagement band was coolly resting, its weight comforting on her ring finger. Wearing it wasn't as painful or as suffocating as she had imagined, and that brought a smile to her lips. She had thought that she would feel caged, locked down, no longer free if she were to start wearing it, but it felt nothing like those things. The man she loved, loved her back; he loved her enough to want to spend the rest of his life with her. He had given her the ring in the most anticlimactic way, but it was true to Vincent, and Yuffie hadn't felt robbed of anything.

"Yuffie?"

"Hmm…?"

"There is something that I wish to ask you."

"…ngh. Sleep…"

"You can sleep later."

She vaguely felt the stroke of something cool sliding over a finger of her left hand. "What…"

"I wish to ask you to be my wife."

"…that's nice…" she trailed back into sleep.

She came to with a loud gasp, her heart pounding in her chest, and with a hand clutching at the shirt she usually wore to bed. "What? Vincent!"

The bathroom door opened and he stepped out, freshly showered and already dressed. How long had she been asleep?! "Yuffie?" he asked, frowning at the look on her face.

"Was it—what—a dream?" she asked, losing coherent speech for a moment. That dream had felt real! She stared down at her finger and nearly toppled over the side of the bed in astonishment.

"Not a dream," Vincent assured her.

She looked at him, distraught, and shook her head. "You seriously asked me to marry you while I had horrible bed hair and morning breath?!" she nearly shrieked, racing off of the bed and into the bathroom. She came out minutes later, her hair a little more under control and with minty breath.

Vincent was sitting on the edge of their bed, toweling his damp hair and looking at her in gentle amusement. "I… could not work up the courage to do it at any other time. Sorry."

His words broke through the tirade she had felt building in her chest, and Yuffie deflated suddenly. "Vince—marriage, it's a big step."

"I am aware of that."

"I—"

"Did I ask too soon?"

"No, of course not. I just—will you just give me some time to think this through?"

He showed no sing of surprise except for the slight widening of his eyes. Vincent stood and reached over to press a kiss to her forehead. "You waited for me this far, I will give you all the time you need," he said, his maroon eyes dancing in his face as her lips curved into a smile reserved just for him.

"I love you, Vince," she said easily, not in the least bothered that he didn't usually say it back. There were many ways to show someone you loved them, and Vincent seemed to know them all. Yuffie watched him walk away and nearly jumped headfirst into the situation. Luckily, she did have some control over her mouth. She would think, and she would be honest with herself and Vincent. He deserved that much.

Yuffie blinked into the darkness and realized that her vision was blurry. The tears weren't of sadness, but of joy. Vincent had actually asked her to marry him. He had taken a leap across a void he hadn't attempted crossing before, and—and she had left him suspended there in midair, without a reply, and without knowing if he would make it to the other side.

Did she love him? Yes. Did she expect to see herself with him, ten years from now? Yes. Was she scared of telling her father? Yes, but Godo had long since realized that she wasn't a little girl anymore. Was she ready for marriage?

"Yuffie?"

Her head snapped over to see Vincent's dark silhouette at the base of the stairs. He approached her silently, warily, and she could tell that he was frowning when he caught the smell of alcohol and her tears. Even with Chaos gone, his senses had remained above normal, and he had been trying to train himself into not scenting everything. But now he was thankful that he had caught her tears, and worried over what they truly meant. His finger brushed the dampness from her cheeks and he felt Yuffie's shaky breath wash over his hand.

"I was just thinking," she said, patting the spot next to her.

"About?"

"About your question this morning."

"And this… brought you to tears?" he asked in worry. When she shook her head quickly, Vincent took a seat to her side, facing her. "If my questions brings you to this type of distress, maybe I should take it back."

"No!" Yuffie nearly yelled, but slapped her hands over her mouth, hoping that she hadn't woken anyone up. "No," she said in a quieter voice. "I don't want you to take it back. I would never. I was just thinking about you taking such a big risk, a big step."

"And this is good?" Vincent asked, confused.

Yuffie smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck. "It's very good," she said with a nod. "I just needed to get my thoughts in order. You kinda blindsided me a little there," she said, pressing her face to his neck.

"You know you can tell me if this is too soon for you. We can spend more time together without being engaged," Vincent assured her, rubbing her back gently as she crawled onto his lap.

"I'm done thinking Vince. I've thought about this plenty and it's a good thing. That means that I've grown, and that I'm not so impulsive anymore."

He let out a small chuckle and nodded, his chin brushing against her silky hair. "I appreciate the fact that you have matured too."

Yuffie smirked. "Because you were just dying to get your hands on me and I was jailbait?"

"Because I wanted to do things right with you. I wanted to make sure that we both wanted the same thing," said Vincent gently.

"And we do," Yuffie said, showing him the ring on her left hand.

Vincent's long, gentle fingers reached out to cup hers, his thumb rubbing over the jewel. "I will do all in my power to make you happy," he said quietly.

Yuffie nodded. "I don't doubt that. The same way I don't doubt your feelings."

"We're getting married then?"

"Yeah," Yuffie said with an excited giggle. "We're getting married."

She jumped to her feet and pulled him with her, hugging him for all she was worth. It brought tears to her eyes to hear his heart pounding in his chest. "We will talk to your father?"

"Yes," Yuffie said without hesitation. "You think I can get away with screaming our news at the top of my lungs on the roof?"

"Cloud will call the police on you, or maybe some of Reeve's WRO soldiers. They will bring tranq guns," he said flatly.

Yuffie nearly broke into loud snorts of laughter. "You won't let me out on the roof even if I beg?"

He looked mildly interested at the thought of her begging.

Her nose scrunched up. "Get your dirty little mind out of the gutter. I just remembered that Yuffie Kisaragi, White Rose of Wutai, does not beg. Have you learned nothing about me in this time that we have been together?"

"Aside from the fact that you kick me in your sleep and that you're insanely afraid of bees?"

"I am not!" Yuffie hissed as they quietly walked up the steps and entered the room they had shared for a few weeks now.

"Should I demonstrate the hand flapping, shrieking, and darting you do whenever a bee is within range?"

Yuffie smirked. "Please do. Just let me get my camera phone ready and all our friends will receive the message within seconds," she challenged. "Don't roll your eyes at me, Valentine. Have you forgotten that I can see in the dark too?" She really couldn't, but Vincent had easily picked up some of her more annoying quirks.

"We should sleep," Vincent said, easing into bed.

The ninja stared at the window for a moment. "Are you sure I can't go to the roof to scream out that we're getting married?"

"Tomorrow." Vincent patted the bed next to him.

"Well—okay. Will you at least go out there and scream it with me? I bet we can say it loud enough for Godo to hear us and choke on his tea," Yuffie said with a grin, crawling into the bed and into Vincent's waiting arms. She could also tell that he was glaring. "Fine, I was only kidding. As soon as we know what the sex of Tifa's baby is, we'll go talk to my pops."

Vincent relaxed further against her and nodded, turning onto his side as she did the same. He cupped Yuffie's face in his hand and stroked her cheek gently, aware that she enjoyed the motion right before falling asleep. Soon enough, her eyes began to blink slowly, a little smile on her face. "Where would I be without you?" he murmured.

The sleepy smile widened. "You'd be the most beautiful mummy in history," she said faintly. Vincent let out a quiet snort that sounded suspiciously like a laugh. "Vince?"

"Yes?"

"You wanted to know where the flower came from?" There was silence, and Yuffie went on, still on the brink of sleep. "This really cute florist gave it to me as I passed by."

"Hmm."

"I think he was about nine," Yuffie giggled.

Vincent chuckled quietly, and the deep, sexy sound made Yuffie shiver lightly as she closed her eyes. She didn't have to worry about being the one who loved the most in their relationship. Not when Vincent had taken thirty years to finally open up his heart to someone else, and Yuffie just knew that he wasn't the type to love lightly. He would love her just as much as she loved him. After all, he wasn't the type of man to do things half-way.

She'd eventually find a way to get him up on the roof so that they could yell out their news together. The man needed to loosen up a little if he was going to marry Yuffie Kisaragi.

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I was in a serious VinceYuffie craving, and there are so few new ones recently on ffnet, that I decided to write this piece for myself and for everyone else. I honestly have nothing against yaoi, but it seems like all that's on the main page is guy/guy stories. Where are all the VinceYuffie writers? Come on peeps, get busy and bring us more fics! Even CloudTifa stories are beating the VinceYuffie ones. Anyway, enough semi-ranting, since I don't want to scare anyone.

I really do hope this wasn't too bad, since I pretty much liked it. It really had no point but to be fun and fluffy, so I hope that's enough. Thank you very much for reading and I'll try to get to "Love Game," soon. I just needed a small break and to get this little idea out of my head. Expect an update in a few days. Also, my apologies for any errors… I really should stop writing when it's past midnight. Have a nice Sunday!

Joey