Title: With a Twist

Rating: R

Warning: Sex, language

Prompt: Crossover Final Fantasy VII and Kingdom Hearts Yuffie/Vincent Yuffie/Sephiroth- once upon a time, in another world she wanted a dark and noble man, once upon a time in this world she had to make do with a dark and dangerous one

Summary: He wasn't charming or even noble, but he gave her a fairytale after she lost her true prince and it was enough for her.

A/N: This prompt was written for Spring Kink, and it gave me a bit of trouble. I didn't want it to be entirely PWP (not that there's anything wrong with that), so I scratched half of what I had and rewrote it. There's a story in there… somewhere… also, this takes place post KHII and it's mostly SephYuffie. Anyway, enjoy!

…………

Yuffie had always hated fairytales, in which the princess was saved by a charming prince, and they would live happily ever after once evil had been vanquished. Their world had no such thing as happy endings, and neither had the world she had left behind. Still, she could consider her own story a really sordid fairytale. If asked, she would start her story something like this: once upon a time, in another world she wanted a dark and noble man. Once upon a time in this world she had to make do with a dark and dangerous one.

Not so boring of and introduction, right? Right?! Never mind that, what really mattered about her story would be her princes, right? And yes, she did have more than one. Two to be exact. One had been the love of her life, and the other, the other was something she didn't entirely know how to describe.

Her dark and noble prince had been everything that she had shied away from. Quiet, brooding, and with no sense of humor. He hadn't laughed, and he had barely smiled, but each of his smiles had been usually directed at her. Despite those other things, she had been attracted to him like a moth to a flame. At first he had tolerated her for the sake of not hurting her feelings, but then he had been the only one who had been able to see through her fake smiles and her loud, obnoxious laughs.

He had watched her cry, watched her fight, watched her bleed, and he hadn't walked away. He had been a gentleman of old, always respectful and politely turning down her advances, but she had grown a special place in his heart reserved only for her. He had seen the woman she had always hid behind the pranks.

He had unbent from his feelings of unworthiness and incompetence—which only he ever saw in himself—and had held her the night her father had died. That night had been her first kiss, and she would've cherished it like something precious if it hadn't felt like something done out of pity. She had never called him out on it though, and it really had been far better than she could've imagined.

The feel of his warm—human—hands had been burned into her memory, never mind the fact that she wasn't supposed to have the memories of a Yuffie from a different world. She knew that Tifa, Cloud, Aerith, and Leon all had memories of fighting things that hadn't happened there in Radiant Garden. Of loving other people—well, except both Cloud and Tifa, who had been skirting around the fact that they had been living together and had been more than just friends in that world. But at least Yuffie knew that she wasn't the only one mourning a love who hadn't been reborn into this world.

Though Aerith had Leon now, and vice versa, the both of them often got that far off look in their eyes when they remembered the people they had left behind. Leon—or Squall, as he so despised being called—had left Rinoa, and though Aerith had had someone too, she kept that secret closely guarded to her heart, and had only ever talked about him to Tifa. The both of them knew pain, but they also knew of second chances, and second loves. Why couldn't she have that too?

All Yuffie had managed to do was get into a mountain of trouble, sneaking, and trying to keep her friends from finding out what she was doing, and where she disappeared to a few times a week. They wouldn't understand her motives, even when she herself didn't understand them herself. Waving cheerfully at Leon as she passed by Merlin's house, Yuffie put on her most normal grin and tried not to tense. He was standing around, looking all tall and broody, with his perfect hair, and cool eyes, but she knew that he was probably cataloguing her every move, trying to gauge if she was running head first into trouble.

It really wasn't a surprise whyAerith was drooling over him when he looked so delicious without his jacket, but thoughts like that had no business taking residence in her head. A few years ago she would've wretched at those thoughts running through her head, especially after growing up with him, but Yuffie had honestly learned to appreciate the male anatomy.

The double memories she had—from growing up in that world, with Aerith, Leon, and Merlin, and the ones from that other world that had disappeared; her prince with it—were enough to give her nightmares. Nightmares of a dying world, dying people, and so much despair to last them a lifetime. Sometimes all she wanted to do was forget them, but she couldn't bring herself to forget Vincent and all the feelings she had felt for him. He had been the first and only love of her life, and that wasn't something that she would willingly try to erase.

"Where are you going?"

Yuffie stopped in her tracks and turned to look at the tiny glares she was receiving from three fairies. "Uh… I'm going to check out something strange I saw," she replied.

"Did you forget that you promised to take us treasure hunting?" asked the blonde.

Yuffie sighed. "I promise that tomorrow we'll raid Cid's place, okay?" Yuffie asked, looking a little mischievous.

"Does he have treasure? Because we don't want it to be like last time, when you told us that there was treasure in Cloud's underwear drawer, but there really wasn't," said Yuna, making a face.

"Yeah, then Tifa was really mad," Rikku added.

"I know of a great stash of treasure, but I can't treasure hunt with you today, okay?" Yuffie asked, trying not to sound impatient. The fairies put their heads together and began to whisper to each other.

Rikku raced to buzz around her head and nodded. "Fine. But if you don't keep up your promise, we'll play the biggest prank we know of on you!" she said with a cheerful grin.

Yuffie mirrored it and nodded. "Deal." She watched the trio zip away and looked around for a few seconds, in case maybe Sora or Aerith jumped out at her suddenly, the way they were sometimes prone to do, before Yuffie took off towards the Crystal Fissure. She knew she was walking into dangerous grounds, but she wouldn't have been able to stop herself even if she'd wanted to.

The promise of danger and darkness was too alluring to her, and she could remember—from her past life—that it had been her too curious nature that had taken them to find her prince charming in the catacombs of an old mansion. She smiled fondly as she recalled that he had been sleeping in a coffin, attempting to repay a silly debt to a woman who had never cherished him or even cared in the first place. Still, he had been asleep, like Sleeping Beauty, but instead of a kiss awakening him, it had been her piercing shriek that had done the job beautifully. Despite being the hottest corpse ever, he had scared the living daylights out of her when his eyes had popped open.

Blinking away memories that shouldn't have been her own, Yuffie darted through the shadows, avoiding the heartless and any fights. She would've generally beaten them to a dust, but she didn't want to call attention to herself and to the place she was closing in on. The last thing she wanted was a lecture from Leon and a disappointed look from Aerith. Oh, and now she had to add Cloud's disapproving glare and Tifa's curious/worried looks to the list.

By the time she arrived at her destination, the sun was high in the sky, but she was completely alone. No sign of him… and she honestly didn't know why it was that she was willing to wait for him. All she was doing by coming to him again was digging a hole deeper for herself, but at the same time, doing something she wasn't supposed to only made her want her do it more.

Glaring forlornly at the expanse of the empty cliff, she walked over to the edge to take a seat and look out into the ruins of the castles, wondering if she would have to wait long and then just give up and go back home. Sighing to herself, Yuffie folded her arms behind her head and lay back against the hard stone, closing her eyes and calling forth more memories of Vincent.

She had been nineteen when she had realized how very much in love with him he was. He had saved her from pure darkness, and had even gone as far as to carry her when she had been unable to walk on her own. In his arms she had felt so safe, like nothing could've touched her. But it had been over too soon and he had raced into battle to protect the planet from a different madman this time.

When it had all been said and done, and the world had once again lapsed into a tremulous peace, Vincent had come back to them, some—though not all—of his burdens lifted from his shoulders. Yuffie didn't think she had ever seen him smile, and it had warmed her heart to see it, even if she hadn't been on the receiving end of it too often.

The warmth of the sun and of her thoughts soon lulled her into a peaceful sleep. The last image in her mind was that of Vincent and those penetrating red eyes she had fallen hopelessly in love with.

…

He smelled her before he saw her, sitting there, in his spot and just… lounging. The scent of something sweet and powdery reached his nose, and he took the steps that put him towering above her spared a moment to just take her in. The feathers of his wings ruffled a little in irritation of the fact that she was invading his space, though he shouldn't have been surprised to see her. He had known she would eventually return.

Though he hadn't much interest in pursuing the female variety living there in Radiant Garden, he had been surprised to have this one stumbling into his territory clumsily one day. He had recognized her as part of Strife's group, and though he had begun his journey with the sole purpose of making the blond swordsman's life a living hell, he hadn't counted on this creature stumbling into his life.

"This time you walked right into my den willingly, little one," he murmured, letting his eyes smooth over youthful, toned skin. She may have been bordering on being half his size, but she certainly had many… attributes.

The feathers of his left wing swept over her exposed skin in a caress, causing a shiver from the sleeping young woman. The sensation began to rouse her, and the ninja started when she felt the touch of feathers over her exposed midriff. She surged to her feet and put distance between them, rubbing at her sore neck and back. "It's not polite to sneak up on people!" she exclaimed.

Sephiroth offered her an amused look and raised an eyebrow. "You are intruding in my territory. Did you wish to see me for something?" he asked, his tone suggestive.

Yuffie tried to look nonchalant. "I wasn't looking for you," she said, shrugging.

"It's not polite to lie," the silver haired man challenged, taunting her now.

Her back gave her a small spasm and Yuffie grimaced. It had been a really bad idea to fall asleep on the rocky surface of the area Sephiroth called his territory.

"Would you like to tell me now or should we keep dancing around the reason why you are truly here?" he asked, closing the distance between them, using his height to his advantage and to intimidate her.

Yuffie's lips thinned into a line as she forced herself to not step back. There was still a sliver of fear in her, though she didn't know if it had to do with her memories of the alternate Sephiroth, or the Sephiroth standing before her. Yuffie knew that Tifa felt that fear too, but her memories were more vague than Yuffie's, and the ninja hadn't figured out why. He had hurt Tifa, back in the other world, had destroyed her life and nearly killed her, but this wasn't the same man, was it? Nor was she the same Yuffie that had had a fixation on glowing, colorful orbs.

"I came because… I wanted to the find the answer to a question I had," Yuffie said vaguely. "I just can't remember what the question was," she said, sheepish, rubbing at her back again.

"Are you sure that you didn't return for a repeat of—"

"No! I mean, no," she said, lowering her volume. "As interesting as it's been, I don't think it'll be a good idea if it happens again."

"Why not?" Sephiroth asked, curious.

Yuffie's cheeks colored as she floundered around for a reply. What could she say to him? That she hadn't meant to give him a chance to get into her pants? Because she hadn't. She had just been sticking her nose where it had had no business going, and she had stumbled across Sephiroth as he had sharpened his blade—probably in preparation for his next battle against Cloud—and she had taunted him about losing again. She didn't know why she had gone and baited him, but then she had found herself flat on her back on the ground, and with a recently sharpened blade against her neck. He'd told her to leave and never return.

Of course, she hadn't been deterred by his threat and had begun to return and pester him every other day. She had been reminded of how she had pursued Vincent, not allowed him a moment of peace in fear that he would lock himself away again. It had felt like déjà vu with Sephiroth and she hadn't been able to stay away.

Then one day he had hurt one of his wings. He had refused to tell her where he had been when he had injured it and she hadn't pressed. The could still remember the sympathy she had felt for the damaged appendage, and how afterward, when it had been clean and fixed she had made a brazen move and had caressed the black feathers gently. Sephiroth had turned to her with a dark look on his face, but he hadn't threatened her into leaving him alone again. Yuffie had realized then that it had been the first time that someone had touched him so gently and with care.

Before she could've even uttered a word, his lips had sealed against hers, unhurried and without any force. What had come after had been something she had been in denial about for many weeks to come. She hadn't seen him again until he had ventured into town, and she had blushed to her toes at the amused look he had thrown her, literally undressing her with his eyes. She had gone back to his cliff that afternoon… and it had happened again. The next time, it hadn't been as hard as the first.

She still couldn't explain what it was that she was doing with him, but she had been confused for so long, with memories from another time, love for a man she had never seen except in her mind's eye, that being with Sephiroth had placated some of her feelings whenever she was with him. He still creeped her out from time to time, and the fact that he despised Cloud with a passion was a bit of a downer, but he had offered her a bizarre sort of fairytale.

Twice already he had savedher from heartless, even when her knee-jerk reaction had been to yell at him that she didn't need saving, but she had let it go—if only Tifa and Aerith could see that she hadgrown up. She didn't love him, she knew that much, and she didn't even know if Sephiroth was capable of feeling more than hate or passion, but he cared enough to save her from potential danger…

Yuffie had to halt those thoughts before she deceived herself into thinking that maybe he would ever feel something serious for her. He wasn't Vincent. With that echoing thought in her mind, she shook her head. "I should go," she said, beginning to move towards the crystal fissure that led back to town. Her eyes widened when she felt smooth, cool leather encircle her waist.

"You seem restless," Sephiroth commented. "Come."

If she hadn't been so distracted by her thoughts, she would've flushed at the way he seemed to purr the last word. Instead, she followed without a question and watched him as he sat with his legs dangling over the side of the cliff and then pulled her towards him. For one crazy second she imagined him throwing her over the void as some sick joke before he swooped down to save her, or watched her splatter. But Sephiroth only tugged her to sit between his splayed legs, with her back pressed to his chest. "What are you doing?" she asked.

"Your back aches, doesn't it?" he asked, tugging on her vest and pulling it off and then going for her shirt.

"H-hey!" Yuffie exclaimed, keeping a firm grip on her shirt. "I don't think that's a good idea!"

"I have a balm that will work with that ache. It won't work if your shirt is on," he said in annoyance.

Yuffie sighed to herself and really hoped that luck didn't turn on her one of these days and one of her friends walked in on her and Sephiroth without any clothes on. That would cause some problems, she thought sardonically. With another expelled breath, she tugged her shirt over her head and used it to cover her chest as Sephiroth's long fingers tugged on the clasps of her bra until they fell away. The scent of balm quickly filled her senses in a sort of soothing way and her eyes slipped shut when she felt skin instead of leather against her lower back.

A noise left her when he touched the achy part and she arched her back in discomfort. Soon enough, her muscles began to loosen with his firm touch and she began to sag forward a little, her body relaxed. It disturbed her that he could manipulate her body like putty and get her to a delirious point where he could do anything he wanted to her and make her enjoy it times ten. A man shouldn't have been allowed to have that much control over a woman, she thought darkly.

His hands were beginning to wander, sending tingling sensations over her skin and tightening parts of her body that always seemed to respond when he was in close proximity. Cupping her breast—and here Yuffie realized that her shirt had fallen onto her lap—he began to knead slowly, making the tips tighten and become sensitive to his attention when it finally got there. Her breath left her in a short moan and her head slammed back into his chest.

"I didn't come down her for this," she muttered, eyes half-lidded.

"Of course not," Sephiroth whispered, skimming her neck with lips and teeth. "You say it every time you show up here. The questions is why then? Why do you seek my touch? Why do you deny it? Is it fear for what your friends will think?"

"I-I don't know," Yuffie breathed when one of his hands wandered away from her chest and down, squeezing between her thighs.

"I think you do," Sephiroth said, gliding to his feet and taking her with him. He spun her in the circle of his arms and bent to kiss her, making Yuffie rise to the tips of her toes the rest of the way. He was incredibly tall, especially compared to her diminutive stature, but somehow they had made it work. His touch would sometimes border on rough, but he knew her limits, even when he skimmed the very edge of them.

His hands and lips ignited her senses and felt nothing like Vincent's hesitant touch. She would never dare to compare the both of them, but there had always been something about Sephiroth that had reminded her of Vincent. Maybe that was part of her attraction—because obsession wasn't really a word she liked using—to someone like him, and though she hadn't wanted to think of it, a part of her was probably replacing her noble prince she only saw in her memories.

The rest of her clothes as well as Sephiroth's coat disappeared, but she found that they had been pilled together on the rocky ground when he lowered her to the floor. His hands moved with quick efficiency, and she vaguely wondered if that as an trait all swordsmen had, but his mouth was quickly tracing over her body, marking her and tasting her, and her brain decided to short-circuit and stop working.

She hadn't wanted this in the beginning, but she had found that everyone around her had been moving on, starting new lives, rebuilding, and where had she been? Standing in the same place, mourning over a man she hadn't supposed to remember. But Vincent had stayed in her heart, even in a different world and it had to mean something. His memory wasn't supposed to be forgotten.

But Yuffie couldn't imagine that she was meant to just stop herself from moving on. Granted, Sephiroth wasn't the best person to move on with, but he was here now, with her, and he had managed to make her feel like a woman when everyone else treated her like a child still. She enjoyed being wrapped up in pale skin, silver hair, and feathers.

Green eyes stared down at her from behind the long curtain of his hair, and Yuffie felt her breath leave her in a quick rush when he slid tightly into her body. One of his hands settled on her jaw and caressed, while the other shifted her hips to better accommodate him. His face tightened with the sensation of her welcoming warmth before he began to move. Yuffie's nails dug into the skin of his forearms as he began hitting the most sensitive part of her, the way he always did. Within minutes she was arching and muffling loud cries of pleasure lest they echo all the way into town and to Leon or Cloud.

"Is thatwhy you return to me?" Sephiroth asked smugly, never stopping his movements, even with her pleasurable ripples.

"Shut up," Yuffie panted, satiated, but not tired. Feathers traced the curve of her cheek and her half-lidded eyes opened further. He didn't usually caress her face that way; so gentle and with a hint of care. He always had his wings do it instead of his hands.

His chuckle sent a shiver running up her body, beginning from the spot where they were still connected. A new set of spasms started and Sephiroth began to move in earnest, satisfied that she had enjoyed her release and now intent on taking his own. Leaning back on his haunches, he pulled her hips to him and thrust, urging Yuffie towards another orgasm with deft fingers.

He had never thought that having someone like Yuffie in this position could've been so gratifying. There really was no better revenge against Strife than fucking one of his closest friends, but Sephiroth knew it was more than that. He didn't think that he understood the concept of love, or even affection, but he cared for the young woman as much as he was capable of. He knew that it irked her to be saved, but he had done it twice just to rile her up. Seeing her become irritate was amazing, but seeing her force herself to keep from exploding was even more amusing. He had fragments of memories of her from the mad monster he had been in the world he, Yuffie, Strife, and the other women shared, but there was a marked difference. He had no plans of destruction or domination. He was quite content with making Strife miserable, and it was an added bonus that he had the ninja to satisfy whenever she needed it. He still wondered at her motives, but he would stop questioning her about them. She would keep returning, and he would enjoy every minute of it.

By that point Yuffie was near delirious in her pleasure, but in her mind, images of Vincent were taking advantage, bringing him to the forefront. His eyes, his slight, half-smile, his scowl, his frown, his amusement. Her heart ached for him and she had a feeling that it always would. Shutting her eyes tightly to the sting of tears, Yuffie clutched at Sephiroth and reminded herself that he wasn't Vincent and never would be.

He was the opposite of what Vincent had been. He was cold and calculating at times, but neither of those things had managed to scare her away. Setting aside those things, he was a man who was offering her comfort in the best and only way he could. She had asked herself so many times how she had been capable of giving her body to a man who could so easily snap her neck, or drive a sword through her, but instead he was driving his body into her and he hadn't hurt her once since she had come to him. That counted for something to her.

She could see that there was more to him than swords and taunts towards Cloud, and if she was given the chance she wanted to find out what that was. It would take some time, but she knew that she would be able to worm her way in, the same way she had done with Vincent.

Her body clenched once more and Yuffie released a strangled cry that sounded like his name just as he stiffened against her and low groan passed his lips as his body shuddered to completion. Bowing his head, Sephiroth smirked when his hair fell into Yuffie's face and nearly suffocated her.

"Thanks," she muttered, pushing strands out of her mouth.

"You are certainly welcome," he said, amused, the glint in his eyes mischievous.

Yuffie sighed and realized that if she didn't return to town soon, either Tifa or Leon would come looking for her. "I really need to go," she muttered.

Sephiroth didn't move from above or inside her. "If… you ever decide to break the news to them, would you mind if I was the one who told Strife?"

The ninja made a face and shoved at his chest. "In this time that we have been involved, you've never made a joke. Let me tell you that it's not funny!" she said in annoyance.

Sephiroth just made a noise of amusement and allowed Yuffie to wiggle away from him and gather her discarded clothing in a huff. Putting himself to rights, he watched her dress and try to look as normal as she possibly could. Still, her hair was in some disarray, and her hips had red marks on them where he had held her too tightly. But what he basked in the most, was that she was covered in his scent. Though the others wouldn't be able to tell the difference, he could, and it made his male pride escalate a little higher.

Once she was fully dressed, and hopeful that her actions hadn't been stamped right on her forehead, Yuffie turned away from Sephiroth as he stood in all his leather glory, relaxed and cool. She could ignore her question of whether she was substituting Vincent now, because she wasn't. She was just trying to move on, though a part of her would always refuse to do so. Yuffie began to walk away without another word.

"Will you tell me now why you keep returning to me?"

Yuffie paused at the opening of the fissure and looked at him out of the corner of her eye. "You remind me of someone I used to know," she finally admitted, turning to look at him. She wondered if it would insult him, but to her surprise, he merely inclined his head.

"Which is why you will keep coming back," Sephiroth murmured silkily, his wings ruffling in the wind, as if waving goodbye.

Yuffie sighed and turned to look ahead of her. "Probably," she replied with a shrug. And she found that the idea wasn't as disturbing as she had originally thought. For a dark prince, Sephiroth really wasn't so bad. He wasn't Vincent, but he certainly knew that she needed him and he was willing to give her her twisted fairy tale.

…

A/N 2: You know, I'm really anti-Lucrecia, and I've never supported the idea that Seph was Vincent's son, but… I think I actually implied it here. Someone kick me, please?