Silencing the Chaos

A FF7 Yuffentine Fanfic

8/29/2012

Chapter 1

Yuffie hated it when there was nothing to do. That wasn't particularly true, she hated it when there was nothing but paperwork to do. It was a shame that she had to do so much of it. She dubbed it, "her curse." No matter where she went, it hovered, in the back of her mind, reminding her of her duties as a top level WRO member.

Originally, Yuffie thought she managed to get away from all the boring paper pushing tasks her father had her doing; when she ran off to the WRO. But then, Reeve, who she thought was better than Godo, turned out to be no different, just younger. And accompanied by a very obnoxious robot cat. If it had been the gigantic moogle, Yuffie might now have minded, but the cat was downright wrong.

Secretly, Yuffie believed the head of the WRO was a pervert. If he created a robot that would openly say, "nice legs, sugarcakes," he was bound to have those same tendencies. It was highly possible that, since it would be bad form for Reeve Tuesti to say things like that, he programmed Cait to do it for him.

The jingle of her phone broke her random thoughts. She knew that ring.

"Hey, Vinnie, calling to save me from paperwork?" Yuffie tossed the pen she was using to sign papers into the holder on her desk.

"Reeve wants us. Briefing at 09:00," his low voice rumbled over the phone.

Sometimes, Yuffie thought Reeve told Vincent about the missions first, just to force the gunman into having to make a phone call.

Yuffie closed her phone and looked at the glowing numbers: 08:15.

Forty-five minutes. She could go through half her stack of reports in that time. She weighed the options: do it now and not have to do them when she returns, or put it off and hope for a long mission where someone else would do them.

She groaned as her conscious kicked in and she pulled the first folder towards her.

"Yuffie."

Her head shot up; there was only one person who could sneak up on her.

Vincent's cape ruffled as he passed her office on his way to Reeve's conference room. A quick glance to the clock said it was three minutes until 9. Pulling on her socks, Yuffie grabbed up her shoes and ran after Vincent. She caught up easily and jumped onto his back, latching her legs around his waist and throwing her arms over his shoulders.

She really hated getting her socks dirty.

"Hiya, Vince."

"Hello, Yuffie," Vincent opened the door to the still empty conference room. "Paperwork?"

Over the months working for the WRO, Yuffie had picked up some habits. One of which was shedding her footwear if she was stuck at her desk for any period of time. More like, if she had to sit down, it was to take off her shoes, more than to do paperwork.

It was fine; her habit. Unless it made her late to meetings. Reeve did not take tardiness lightly. He put Yuffie on desk duty for three weeks because she was late to a meeting. Yuffie nearly died of frustration during that time. Especially since it was the biggest mission of the season and she wasn't able to partake.

Since then, Vincent always brought her to their shared mission briefings. If she didn't make it to her own meetings, it had no affect on him. Once, she had jokingly said that he reminded her because he wanted to be partnered up with her. His response was unkind, "I will not endanger someone not skilled enough for the mission."

Yuffie didn't let it bother her too much. After all, it was the closest to a compliment she had gotten from him in a long time during the duration they worked together.

"Yeah, how come you never do paperwork?" Yuffie answered and asked as she launched herself off of Vincent to land on a chair. It rolled slightly and Yuffie crouched to keep her balance. "Thanks for the lift, Vincent."

"You are welcome," he pointedly ignored her first question and chose to inspect his claw instead.

"You threatened him?" Yuffie exclaimed, throwing her head back with laughter as he gave her his quiet, 'I have no idea what you are talking about' look.

Reeve walked in to see Yuffie gasping for breath and Vincent sitting silently beside her.

"Good morning, you two," Reeve greeted them and let his assistant follow him in. "Yuffie, collect yourself."

"Yes, sir," Yuffie grinned wickedly at him, like a cat that cornered a mouse.

"Let's get started," Reeve nodded to the assistant to hand out files and turn on the projector. "There was an excavation team sent down to retrieve the Gelnika. They haven't returned after the ship was retrieved.

"What we want," Reeve continued as he went up to the screen of the projector, "is for you two to lead the investigation. Dio from Gold Saucer has also given us some information that will be useful."

"How is the owner of a theme park giving info that'll help us?" Yuffie had finally finished pulling her boots on and looked over the folder in front of her.

"There has been some gang activities. No, not gang. Underworld. With a gang, it would be possible to investigate with a proper team. But, this," Reeve paused, a wrinkle of worry between his eyes now, "requires much more dedication. I can only send the best."

"That's us!" Yuffie chirped. She saw the tension in Reeve; knew he didn't like what he had to do, but that was all the more reason for her to cheer him up.

"Listen before you jump headlong into this. Both of you have to be more than certain that you can overcome everything."

It was rare to see the WRO leader so serious. There was always an air of calmness, kindness, beneath his words. At that moment, it was gone.

"What are you getting at, Reeve?" Vincent's voice betrayed nothing.

"I should not even be considering using the Wutaian princess," Reeve muttered, causing Yuffie to frown. They had been over that title before. She gave up her right to the throne in order to work with Reeve at the WRO. But as much as she tried, the Wutaians still called her "their princess" even if she were to never rule.

Whatever the job was, it was dangerous. That much, she knew.

"Tell us," Yuffie was all business. "If we need to be more than one-hundred percent sure, you need to tell us everything."

"You're right, Yuffie," Reeve said as he sat to face the two agents.

00000000000

"You're sure?" Yuffie asked for the fifth time.

"Yes. I thought you had good hearing," Vincent stated, not looking at Yuffie.

Reeve left them after the briefing to let them discuss their decision without his interference.

"I just don't wanna push you into doing something that's gonna make you all mopey again," Yuffie tried to crane her neck to see Vincent's face. He was doing an outstanding job at retreating into his turtle shell.

Frustrated, Yuffie pushed the folders aside and climbed onto the table to be right in front of him. He turned the chair. With a growl of frustration, Yuffie clambered onto his lap, clenching her thighs around his and grabbing his face in her hands.

"Get it out now or we'll run into trouble during the mission," her voice was low, but her tone was soft. She knew he was hiding something, she just needed him to come out and say it.

"I am still thinking things through. That is all," Vincent met her gaze squarely, but she could read very little in their crimson depths.

"What do your friends say?" Yuffie tapped his temple, referring to his, literal, inner demons.

"Danger."

"That should make them happy, right?" Yuffie knew of their bloodlust tendencies.

"For you."

"Huh?" Yuffie's hands dropped at his words and his gaze shifted.

"They are all saying that this mission is dangerous to you."

"So, that just means we'll both have to be careful," Yuffie grabbed his shoulders and gave them a shake. "We've gone through dangerous times. Usually, it's not together. This should be safe."

"Should?" Vincent glared at her, stopping the flow of her words. "Safe?"

"Y-yeah," Yuffie's fingers went lax, but didn't move.

"We will be infiltrating an unknown underground ring that is trying to grow an empire. How can it be safe?" His eyes pierced hers and she found that breathing was becoming difficult.

"I have you?"

She yelped as Vincent grabbed her hips, stood up and slammed her down onto the table like a drunk man finished with a shot.

"You think I can protect you from everything?"

"I don't need to be protected from everything, Vincent!" Yuffie dropped her limbs from Vincent, allowing him to wander to the window and peer out. "Are you saying we should let someone else do this mission?"

"No."

"Then we shouldn't do it at all?"

"No."

"Well, this requires a partnership and we're the best Reeve's got."

"I know."

Yuffie paused. Looking at Vincent, she saw the morning light illuminate his features. He really was handsome. As handsome as the day she met him. That was over four years ago, now. Yet he still looked twenty-seven. It was weird how Yuffie was getting closer to his age. He was a rock in the flow of time.

"This is about Lucrecia, isn't it?" Yuffie's voice was quiet as she lay down on the table. Thinking of Vincent's true love was very trying for the ninja. She tried to not let it bother her. But there was only so much she could take.

"What do you mean," he did not make it sound like a question. At least it was not his usual hostilely-protective tone any more. He no longer carried his 'sin,' but that did not mean he let go of his love for the beautiful doctor.

"Going undercover. As a couple. You don't want to betray Dr. Crescent. I'm right, aren't I?" Yuffie lolled her head to see Vincent retreat into his cloak again. "I'm sure we can arrange our relationship differently to give you peace of mind."

His eyes shifted briefly, repeating his previous, "What do you mean?"

"You could… be my boss, or master, like in a household. I would be able to say that everything I do is your order. People won't suspect if I'm your property."

"Excuse me?" He could still get flustered. Yuffie gave him a grin.

"Ownership. The old underworld in Wutai used to be like that. It's nothing like a pet or mistress. I just work for you. See? All okay. Guilt free. No betrayal to Dr. Crescent."

"No. Not okay," Vincent left the window to stare down at Yuffie as she rolled into a seated position.

"Why not? It fits our requirements! I go where you go," Yuffie grabbed his arm as he started to turn away again. "Look, it's either we're in a mutual relationship, I'm your whore or you own me. I can't take point on this mission."

Reeve had reports saying that the women had no power in the organization, but did things where men weren't allowed. It had to be a team of a man and a woman to cover all the bases, but they had to be able to be seen together without drawing attention.

With delicacy, Vincent winced at the term "whore." As Yuffie expected, Vincent was too much of a gentleman to approve of the term, let alone the option.

"Do not say things like—"

"Whore?" Yuffie cocked her eyebrow at him. Over the years, she had tried to get him riled up and, thus far, been unsuccessful. "I can play the part; it is about money after all. But my cover will be blown if someone tried to pay me for my services and I refused. After all, if they're paying, I should perform; if I'm a wh—"

"I said, stop saying that," Vincent bit out. "That is not an option and Lucrecia is not the problem."

"I never said she was," Yuffie blinked up at him. "I said 'about,' but I'm talking about you."

The gunman was silent.

"You still love her. Doing this role is a sully on your feelings towards her. I'm not stupid, you know," Yuffie crossed her arms and glared at him.

"I know."

"Damn right, you do," Yuffie got off the table. Reeve would kill her if he knew she was rolling around on it. "So, you'll be my master, I, your servant. I do what you tell me, we figure this out and we crush them. Mission accomplished."

And with that, Vincent had no room for complaints. They prepared for their hardest mission ever.