Categories > Games > Final Fantasy 7 > Sable and ivory
Chapter 2
Cloaks and eyes
Cloud could see clearer than the sun that Yuffie was up to something.
He was sure it was nothing good.
As he made himself comfortable on Barret's couch, he noticed her coming his way or, if he was to phrase that more accurately, practically running his way with a dangerously evil gleam in her eyes.
'When will she ever grow up?'
The girl sat with a puff on the couch next to him, perhaps even a little closer than anyone would expect. That earned her a well-measured glare from Tifa. She moved away a little and asked him for the eighth time that afternoon:
"So, what did ol' Vinnie tell you exactly? Leave nothing out. I wanna know the words he used from his ancient vocabulary to the pauses he made, everything!"
Cloud resisted the self-shattering need to sigh like an old woman whose TV remote control had just broken while her when her favorite show was about to begin. He made an attempt at humor instead. "Why, Yuffie, are you so interested all of a sudden? The message he gave me was 'tell her she has no right to call my phone' not 'tell her I want to see her in her underwear, preferably red to match my outfit'!"
Somewhere in the back a shattering noise was heard, then a loud "Damn it!" Tifa emerged from the corner of the kitchen looking apologetic and startled, if not a bit wide-eyed. She stared at Cloud curiously, who simply grinned, and then at Yuffie. The ninja's face was a bright shade of the aforementioned color.
Yuffie tried in vain to control the color that rushed to her cheeks, making her look like a tomato matured well beyond normal. 'Vincent would never say that! Don't picture him saying that, don't, don't... With that mysterious voice, no, DON'T! I simply care for him as one would for a friend who keeps mourning and punishing himself by refusing to live again! Whoa, that was very deep, Princess of Bouncing...'
Before she looked completely normal again, a soft knock was heard from the door.
Tifa rushed to open it, only to reveal none other than -Yuffie gasped; did he actually SHOW UP this time?- Vincent Valentine.
He walked in the house and acknowledged them with a short nod.
"Good evening," he said simply and headed for the chair on the darkest side of the room. Once he was sitting, Tifa approached him.
"Nice to see you, Vincent! This quite the pleasant surprise! Do you want me to bring you anything? I'd ask for the cloak but..."
Vincent looked at the woman and shook his head slightly. "No, Tifa, thank you."
"Um, okay then! We're all very glad you came this time..." Every member of AVALANCHE in the room nodded in agreement. "I have to go back to the kitchen now, if you guys want to eat something today. Yuffie, will you come with me?"
Tifa stared at the girl pointedly. Yuffie stood up and, still a bit red, crossed the distance to the small kitchen with Tifa on tow. She desperately tried to keep her thoughts about him out of her head on her way but she could feel his eyes, intense on her red face.
Vincent was mildly interested as to why the loud ninja bowed her head and avoided his gaze. He couldn't possibly know the reason but he did in fact notice that when she looked accidentally on his crimson cloak, she almost flew to reach the door.
Cloud, however, knew exactly why she did so but no matter how much he wanted to do so, he was sure that snickering was not proper for someone like him.
'Hell, who cares?' he thought and let a grin form in his lips.
He rose approached the dark man, deciding to ask him a few questions.
"So, Vincent, what brings you here? Did you miss AVALANCHE?"
Vincent relaxed on the chair, stretching his long legs before him. He looked indifferently around.
"I wanted to get away for a while." He glanced at Barret growling to Cid for cheating at cards.
"Get away from what?"
Vincent's eyes narrowed a little but he didn't say anything else. Cloud mentally rolled his eyes at the dark gunman's heavy attitude.
In the meanwhile, Yuffie was having a hard time with Tifa, in the kitchen.
"No, Tifa, I'm not in love with Mister Darkness, out there!"
"Then what did Cloud say about underwear and why did you blush, huh?"
"That is... entirely... irrelevant! I just think he needs to let go and I have a plan to make him do so!"
Tifa made a sound that was suspiciously close to a snort.
"You like him."
"NO, I don't! Here's what I'm gonna do: Since I don't want to go back to Wutai yet, cause you know what a pain in the ass Godo would be, you don't have any spare rooms and I'd rather die than stay with Cid or Barret, I'll try to convince him into letting me stay in his place, the new one in the center! And I'm gonna bring light back to his sorry excuse of whimpering life! Like, literally, by opening the window and pulling off the curtain!"
Tifa stared at her, expressionless. When two minutes passed and she was still in the same position, Yuffie moved her hand in front of her face. "What do you think of my plan?" she asked with a huge smile.
"I think you're crazy! He'll never agree!" Tifa tried to knock some sense into the younger girl. She personally dreaded to think about staying with someone as mysterious as Vincent for one single day, not moving in!
"Oh, I think he will. I'm going to succeed in mission 'taking Vinnie out to the real world'!" Yuffie stated with confidence.
'I only hope I won't start blushing every time I see his eyes or cloak...' she thought, distressed by the idea.
"In that case..." Tifa grinned impishly, "...your plan begins NOW!" And she pushed a very surprised Yuffie out of the door. The girl tried to regain her balance but she only managed to fall next to Vincent and not on top of him.
She grumpily picked herself off the floor.
'I'm not gonna blush, no blushing, no blushing, why is he looking at me like he's amused? No blushing, no damn blushing, is that a raised eyebrow?!? ...Fucking blushing!"
Fortunately, she composed herself before it became too obvious.
'I really need to work on this if I'm going to... gasp... stay with him. I wonder if he sleeps with that cloak or- leave that thought were it is Yuffie Kisaragi! He's not smirking, is he? He can't do mind-reading, can he? Well, Vincent, if you CAN, I meant none of the things I mentioned before and I didn't imagine you sleeping nak- anyway, I didn't.'
Only his upper face was visible -damn that cloak!- but he looked amused.
When, he spoke, though, her jaw nearly dropped to the wooden floor. Next to him, Cloud looked like he was trying not to choke.
"May I suggest that you go back to Wutai. I have no need for a 'real life' and your father wouldn't be very glad if you stayed with me and, anyway." He looked deeply into the frozen ninja's eyes. "Neither would I, if I were him," he muttered.
Yuffie opened and closed her mouth several times like a goldfish out of water, as various curses for herself and Tifa crossed her mind.
"I- yeah, um, sorry for that but I don't think I can go back yet. Uh, he wants me married to a guy I don't even know, ok? No going back, nope. So, could I please stay with you for a while till I turn eighteen? It's just some months away from now, really! And I'll do the cooking and the laundry and stuff!" She gave him one of her bright, pleading smiles.
Vincent pulled his face even lower in his cloak, effectively keeping his expression from showing. His eyebrows knit together for a while, dark flocks of hair surrounding his face in a messy way.
"Perhaps..." he started.
Yuffie's hope was renewed.
"But I have to ask you something first," he finished, darkly.
She looked at him expectantly.
"Will you keep blushing every time you look at my cloak?"
Cloud burst out laughing. 'Did Vincent just make a joke? I knew I shouldn't have told him that! Looks like some interesting things are going to happen in that house,' he thought as he watched Yuffie blush in response.
'Someone's little plan backfired...'
- -----------------------------------
Cloaks and eyes
Cloud could see clearer than the sun that Yuffie was up to something.
He was sure it was nothing good.
As he made himself comfortable on Barret's couch, he noticed her coming his way or, if he was to phrase that more accurately, practically running his way with a dangerously evil gleam in her eyes.
'When will she ever grow up?'
The girl sat with a puff on the couch next to him, perhaps even a little closer than anyone would expect. That earned her a well-measured glare from Tifa. She moved away a little and asked him for the eighth time that afternoon:
"So, what did ol' Vinnie tell you exactly? Leave nothing out. I wanna know the words he used from his ancient vocabulary to the pauses he made, everything!"
Cloud resisted the self-shattering need to sigh like an old woman whose TV remote control had just broken while her when her favorite show was about to begin. He made an attempt at humor instead. "Why, Yuffie, are you so interested all of a sudden? The message he gave me was 'tell her she has no right to call my phone' not 'tell her I want to see her in her underwear, preferably red to match my outfit'!"
Somewhere in the back a shattering noise was heard, then a loud "Damn it!" Tifa emerged from the corner of the kitchen looking apologetic and startled, if not a bit wide-eyed. She stared at Cloud curiously, who simply grinned, and then at Yuffie. The ninja's face was a bright shade of the aforementioned color.
Yuffie tried in vain to control the color that rushed to her cheeks, making her look like a tomato matured well beyond normal. 'Vincent would never say that! Don't picture him saying that, don't, don't... With that mysterious voice, no, DON'T! I simply care for him as one would for a friend who keeps mourning and punishing himself by refusing to live again! Whoa, that was very deep, Princess of Bouncing...'
Before she looked completely normal again, a soft knock was heard from the door.
Tifa rushed to open it, only to reveal none other than -Yuffie gasped; did he actually SHOW UP this time?- Vincent Valentine.
He walked in the house and acknowledged them with a short nod.
"Good evening," he said simply and headed for the chair on the darkest side of the room. Once he was sitting, Tifa approached him.
"Nice to see you, Vincent! This quite the pleasant surprise! Do you want me to bring you anything? I'd ask for the cloak but..."
Vincent looked at the woman and shook his head slightly. "No, Tifa, thank you."
"Um, okay then! We're all very glad you came this time..." Every member of AVALANCHE in the room nodded in agreement. "I have to go back to the kitchen now, if you guys want to eat something today. Yuffie, will you come with me?"
Tifa stared at the girl pointedly. Yuffie stood up and, still a bit red, crossed the distance to the small kitchen with Tifa on tow. She desperately tried to keep her thoughts about him out of her head on her way but she could feel his eyes, intense on her red face.
Vincent was mildly interested as to why the loud ninja bowed her head and avoided his gaze. He couldn't possibly know the reason but he did in fact notice that when she looked accidentally on his crimson cloak, she almost flew to reach the door.
Cloud, however, knew exactly why she did so but no matter how much he wanted to do so, he was sure that snickering was not proper for someone like him.
'Hell, who cares?' he thought and let a grin form in his lips.
He rose approached the dark man, deciding to ask him a few questions.
"So, Vincent, what brings you here? Did you miss AVALANCHE?"
Vincent relaxed on the chair, stretching his long legs before him. He looked indifferently around.
"I wanted to get away for a while." He glanced at Barret growling to Cid for cheating at cards.
"Get away from what?"
Vincent's eyes narrowed a little but he didn't say anything else. Cloud mentally rolled his eyes at the dark gunman's heavy attitude.
In the meanwhile, Yuffie was having a hard time with Tifa, in the kitchen.
"No, Tifa, I'm not in love with Mister Darkness, out there!"
"Then what did Cloud say about underwear and why did you blush, huh?"
"That is... entirely... irrelevant! I just think he needs to let go and I have a plan to make him do so!"
Tifa made a sound that was suspiciously close to a snort.
"You like him."
"NO, I don't! Here's what I'm gonna do: Since I don't want to go back to Wutai yet, cause you know what a pain in the ass Godo would be, you don't have any spare rooms and I'd rather die than stay with Cid or Barret, I'll try to convince him into letting me stay in his place, the new one in the center! And I'm gonna bring light back to his sorry excuse of whimpering life! Like, literally, by opening the window and pulling off the curtain!"
Tifa stared at her, expressionless. When two minutes passed and she was still in the same position, Yuffie moved her hand in front of her face. "What do you think of my plan?" she asked with a huge smile.
"I think you're crazy! He'll never agree!" Tifa tried to knock some sense into the younger girl. She personally dreaded to think about staying with someone as mysterious as Vincent for one single day, not moving in!
"Oh, I think he will. I'm going to succeed in mission 'taking Vinnie out to the real world'!" Yuffie stated with confidence.
'I only hope I won't start blushing every time I see his eyes or cloak...' she thought, distressed by the idea.
"In that case..." Tifa grinned impishly, "...your plan begins NOW!" And she pushed a very surprised Yuffie out of the door. The girl tried to regain her balance but she only managed to fall next to Vincent and not on top of him.
She grumpily picked herself off the floor.
'I'm not gonna blush, no blushing, no blushing, why is he looking at me like he's amused? No blushing, no damn blushing, is that a raised eyebrow?!? ...Fucking blushing!"
Fortunately, she composed herself before it became too obvious.
'I really need to work on this if I'm going to... gasp... stay with him. I wonder if he sleeps with that cloak or- leave that thought were it is Yuffie Kisaragi! He's not smirking, is he? He can't do mind-reading, can he? Well, Vincent, if you CAN, I meant none of the things I mentioned before and I didn't imagine you sleeping nak- anyway, I didn't.'
Only his upper face was visible -damn that cloak!- but he looked amused.
When, he spoke, though, her jaw nearly dropped to the wooden floor. Next to him, Cloud looked like he was trying not to choke.
"May I suggest that you go back to Wutai. I have no need for a 'real life' and your father wouldn't be very glad if you stayed with me and, anyway." He looked deeply into the frozen ninja's eyes. "Neither would I, if I were him," he muttered.
Yuffie opened and closed her mouth several times like a goldfish out of water, as various curses for herself and Tifa crossed her mind.
"I- yeah, um, sorry for that but I don't think I can go back yet. Uh, he wants me married to a guy I don't even know, ok? No going back, nope. So, could I please stay with you for a while till I turn eighteen? It's just some months away from now, really! And I'll do the cooking and the laundry and stuff!" She gave him one of her bright, pleading smiles.
Vincent pulled his face even lower in his cloak, effectively keeping his expression from showing. His eyebrows knit together for a while, dark flocks of hair surrounding his face in a messy way.
"Perhaps..." he started.
Yuffie's hope was renewed.
"But I have to ask you something first," he finished, darkly.
She looked at him expectantly.
"Will you keep blushing every time you look at my cloak?"
Cloud burst out laughing. 'Did Vincent just make a joke? I knew I shouldn't have told him that! Looks like some interesting things are going to happen in that house,' he thought as he watched Yuffie blush in response.
'Someone's little plan backfired...'
- -----------------------------------
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