Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ A Fate Worse Than Death ❯ So, Who are you interested in? ( Chapter 2 )

Thanks everyone for all your great reviews! They are so inspiring!

 

Disclaimer: I do not own these people, sadly enough…

 

Warnings for uncomfortable… situations…

 

Chapter 2: So, who are you interested in?

 

Vincent walked away from the door and sank back into his chair, taking in a deep, calming breath. Letting it out slowly, he appeared to think hard, as if he were choosing his words carefully.

 

“It all started when she asked me to help her with `something'. She was rather vague about the `something' at the time and I suppose I should have realized the situation wasn't sitting right. But what was I to think? I mean, it seemed logical at the time…”

 

“Vin-” cut in Cid impatiently, “Yer stalling.”

 

Vincent looked up startled. “Yes, I suppose I am.”

 

“Get on with the damn story then!”

 

“O... okay,” sighed Vincent. He closed his eyes, recalling the events of not so long ago, before opening his mouth to continue his tale.

 

“Yuffie asked me to help her retrieve a box of decorations for Tifa and the party out of the cargo room. She claimed that she wasn't tall enough to reach them. I assented and went with her to the cargo bay. But when we got there, it was pretty obvious that she had alternate intentions. She pointed out some sad looking box on the top shelf of a rickety set of metal shelves. When I reached up for it, Yuffie tackled me. Caught unawares, I had a delayed reaction. If that wasn't enough, she tried to…to…” He trailed off then as if unable to continue.

 

Fighting to contain his grin because Cid knew where this was heading, he gestured that Vincent continue. “Well, what did she `try' to do?”

 

“She… tried to kiss me!” exclaimed Vincent aghast. He got to his feet and started pacing the floor clearly agitated. “It was the most frightening thing in the world.”

 

That did it. Cid could not contain his humor anymore. He burst into heavy gales of laughter, slapping his knee with the sheer ridiculousness of it all.

 

Vincent drew up short, glaring at him, crimson eyes flaring. “It is not funny Highwind,” he muttered.

 

Cid had to wipe tears of laughter from his eyes, struggling to catch a breath. “You act as if you've never kissed a girl before,” he gasped through his loud laughter.

 

“I have so!” Vincent argued defensively. “I just don't want to kiss her!”

 

Cid tried to stop laughing, trying to give him a serious look. “Do you even like women?”

 

Vincent sidestepped the question, countering with one of his own, “Would you kiss her?”

 

“Hell no! That little brat! Be like kissing my annoying younger cousin/sister or sumthin'!”

 

“I rest my case.” Vincent frowned, stopped his pacing and crossed his arms over his chest, glaring at Cid.

 

“You still didn't answer my question.”

 

Vincent ignored him and moved over to the door. He peered out the peephole, confirming that Yuffie was nowhere in sight. “It is safe to leave now. I think I will go lock myself in my room.”

 

Cid growled. “Well, who are you interested in if not Yuffie?” He was getting irritated with Vincent avoiding answering any of his direct questions.

 

Vincent opened the door, pretending as if he hadn't heard Cid, barely sticking his head out enough to look up and down the hallway. No Yuffie. Heaving a sigh of relief, Vincent pulled the door open and prepared to leave, standing in the doorway, body angled slightly away from Cid.

 

“Don't you leave without answering my question Valentine,” insisted Cid.

 

“Don't worry Highwind, you will find out soon enough,” answered Vincent, his face almost blank. He cast a look back at Cid before striding out the door, closing the door gently behind him.

 

Cid could only stare at the closed door, his mouth open in astonishment. He was rooted to his seat, surprised by the almost teasing look that he had caught in the ex-Turk's crimson eyes.

- - - -

Vincent walked swiftly to his room, biting his lip to suppress the urge to laugh. For a moment, he was not sure if he could find his way back. He had run so randomly that he did not know exactly which way to turn. However, following the age old trick of keeping to the right wall, he managed to find the main hallway.

 

He slowly made his way to his room, occasionally stopping to listen for sounds of Yuffie anywhere. He shuddered to think what would happen if she got her hands on him again. Not that he thought the little ninja was disgusting, he actually admired her steadfast tenacity in battle, but he just wasn't attracted to her in that way. Not to mention she was still young (though legal now that a few years had passed since she was sixteen), and he, well technically, he was pushing sixty though he looked no older than twenty-five. He knew that at her age in Wutai she would be looking for a suitable husband. Oh god, that scared him even more than the kiss. Be tied down for the girl for the rest of his miserable life? No thank you! He certainly had no desires for her whatsoever.

 

Now a surly pilot having just stepped out of a shower and still slightly damp, that was a different story. Vincent gave a little half-smile at the thought.

 

Rounding one last corner, Vincent finally found himself on the hall that housed the guest rooms. Fishing into his pockets for the small silver key to his door, he walked quickly to his room. He unlocked the door, depositing the key back in his pockets.

 

Inside his room was dark, just the way he liked it. He really did not need lights anyways, thanks to damn Hojo. He turned around and relocked the door, making sure to slide the deadbolt. He wanted to sleep peacefully tonight, without having to worry about getting molested whilst he dreamed. There was a predatory gleam in Yuffie's eyes that he just did not trust.

 

Moving easily through the room, avoiding the furniture with practiced ease, he made his way to the chair in his room, located on the opposite side of the room. He sat down and started to remove his boots, dropping them unceremoniously to the floor. He sighed when he thought back to the events of today. He couldn't run forever. Eventually he would have to set the little ninja straight. But talking to her before she jumped him and tried to kiss him again, he shuddered at the thought, would be a challenge in itself.

 

He got up from the chair and began making his way to the bed. Vincent started working at the clasps of the cloak around his shoulders, body already beginning to feel the exertion of today. He was tired.

 

He sat down on the edge of the bed, mind in another world as he absentmindedly worked to finish the last of the clasps. He reached up to move it off his shoulders, when a pair of arms appeared out of nowhere grabbing him from behind. His eyes widened in surprise even as his arms were pinned to his sides.

 

He heard a distinctly feminine chuckle. “I knew you would come back eventually Vinnie.” Yuffie's voice purred in his ear as he felt her body press against him.

 

He began to struggle violently, anything to get away from her. The sheer strength in her arms surprised him. She was stronger than any of them had given her credit for.

 

“Let me go Yuffie,” he said firmly.

 

“Oh come on,” she pleaded, harrumphing softly. “Just one little kiss?” Her breath was on his ear, unnaturally close to him. He jumped at the feeling and leaned all his weight backwards on top of her, succeeding in breaking her hold.

 

“No!” he shouted, rising off the bed. He could feel her moving behind him even as he ran forwards. She blindly grabbed for him, managing to catch only the edges of his cloaks. This stopped his forward motion. Frantically, he reached up and unbuttoned the cloak.

 

With a set of twin oomphs! Vincent fell slightly forwards and Yuffie backwards onto the bed, still clutching the cloak tightly. He gave it up as a lost cause and scrambled to his feet, running for the door.

 

“Ah Vinnie, come back. Don't you like me?” she whined. He heard the bed creak and knew that she trying to get off of it. She was still slightly entangled in the cloak and it hampered her movements. He had precious few seconds to flee for his life.

 

“Leave me alone,” he exclaimed, exasperated. He hoped that she didn't try to tackle him or anything. He really did not want to hurt her and didn't want to be forced to either. What in the world had gotten into her?

 

He hurried unbolted the door and unlocked the handle. He dared a look over his shoulder as he twisted the knob violently. His eyes widened in horror when he saw that Yuffie had managed to free herself from the cloak and was starting to approach him, the look of a lion stalking prey in her eyes. He pulled the door open and dashed out, slamming it shut behind him hoping to stall her even further.

 

Vincent frantically searched for an escape. He just barely acknowledged that Cloud's room was diagonal to his across the hall. Knowing the time, he figured Cloud would still be up. The poor kid was a perpetual insomniac.

 

Vincent sprinted over to the door, pounding on it, shooting occasional glances over his shoulder. He briefly wondered why Yuffie hadn't caught up to him yet, when a distant recollection surfaced.

 

She had been naked!!!

 

He could remember her skin feeling so bare now and how she felt pressed against him. Shuddering in disbelief and abject horror, he pounded on Cloud's door again.

 

“What the hell?” growled Cloud as he yanked the door open. His eyes widened in shock when he saw a harried Vincent push past him, coming into the room. Vincent moved Cloud away from the door with one hand as he shut the door with the other and threw the lock.

 

“Vincent! What the hell is going on?” demanded Cloud, crossing his arms in anger.

 

Vincent opened his mouth to speak but it was then that Yuffie chose to make her presence known. There was a continuous pounding on the door accompanied by a voice.

 

“Come on Vinnie! There is no need to hide. I know you are in there,” she called to him through the door.

 

Cloud moved towards the door as if to open it but Vincent grabbed him by the arm.

 

“Are you insane?” Vincent demanded hoarsely.

 

Cloud shook his head, giving Vincent a confused look. Which wasn't hard, he usually looked confused. “You have some explaining to do.”

 

Vincent shook his head, looking at the door again. The pounding did not cease.

 

“Cloud! If you don't open this door I am just going to open it for you!” called Yuffie through the door.

 

Damn! What the hell had gotten into her? This was so unnatural that it was even scarier than Vincent had originally thought. Every bone and muscle in his body strained for him to run. He looked for another exit in the room, Cloud trailing his steps, asking him what was going on. He ignored the spiky headed blonde when his eyes settled on the half open window.

 

He could do it. The Highwind was more or less parked right now. If he fell there would not be too much damage. There was a small ledge about one foot wide that ran around the outside of the windows. He had enough balance and certainly enough stealth. If he made it to another window and another room, he could run and hide until Yuffie came to her senses.

 

The pounding on the door abruptly ceased and a small scratching could be heard. Vincent recognized the sounds for what they were, someone picking at the lock. He had no other choice. He ran for the window, hopping up onto the sill before stepping out onto the ledge.

 

The gunman moved as quickly as he could, back against the side of the Highwind. The wind threatened to tear him away but he used his claw to grip tight. He moved to the left, hoping that by choosing that way, he would be saved.

 

He heard the door to Cloud's room burst open and Yuffie's cheerful voice, still managing to sound not deranged. “Okay, where is he?”

 

“Where is who?” asked Cloud. Vincent guessed that he probably scratched his head in confusion. Sad thing was, most of it wasn't an act.

 

Shaking his head in disgust, Vincent put up speed, not sure which was worse, getting caught by Yuffie in her crazed state, or slipping and falling to a fate that was sure to cause him intense discomfort for a while.

 

Thinking of the feel of her body pressed up against his, Vincent knew his answer.

 

He would take his chances with the fall.

 

He vaguely listened as he heard Yuffie storm around Cloud's room, peering into every hiding place. Finally, he made it to the next window. He uttered a small prayer to whatever it was one prayed to when he found that is open albeit only a little. He bent down as far as he could without falling off and used his claw to push it open all of the way.

 

Vincent climbed inside and felt more than happy to have his feet on solid ground. He briefly heard Yuffie declare that Cloud wasn't hiding anything and storm out of his room. He heaved a sigh of relief as he quietly returned the window pane to its original position. He turned around and looked at his surroundings.

 

He was in a bathroom and a nice one at that. There was something about this bathroom that seemed familiar. That was impossible though. He had to walk a long ways to get back to his room from earlier. There was no way that this was…

 

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK! He recognized the sound of that now familiar pounding on the door. Not of the bathroom he was in, but of the bedroom adjoined to it. He froze listening intently. No one knew he was in the bathroom and judging from the lack of light from the outer room the occupant was asleep. He moved swiftly to stand behind the door just in case.

 

He heard gruff cursing as a bed creaked. Then the sound of feet padding across the floor. A light was turned on, flooding the outer room with light. A section of light shone into the bathroom, illuminating some of the tiles and the sink. Vincent swallowed down his nerves. In fact, this looked exactly like…

 

“Why the hell did you wake me up brat?” demanded the occupant of the room. Vincent recognized the gruff voice that could only belong to Cid. So he was in Cid's room. Now he was even more confused.

 

“Have you seen Vincent?” she questioned nonplussed by his rudeness.

 

“No for the final time! Now get the hell out of my doorway so I can go back to sleep!” Vincent heard Cid start to close the door, evident by the creaking of the hinges. Yuffie protested as she was pushed outside.

 

The door to the outside slammed shut and Vincent heard several muttered curses as the sound of several locks being thrown could be heard.

 

“Damn child just won't let things be…” Cid muttered. Vincent could hear him shuffle away from the door then the lights went out. The bed creaked and Vincent could only assume that Cid had climbed back into it.

 

He heaved a small sigh of relief. Now, all he had to do was wait until Cid fell back asleep and… oh no.

 

The bed squeaked again as he heard a loud disgruntled sigh. The sound of feet walking across the floor could be heard again.

 

“Every time… every damn time. I just get comfortable and I have to take a piss!” cursed the unhappy pilot.

 

Damn! What was Cid going to say when he found Vincent in his room again?

 

And what was it the gunman had said when he left last time?

 

- - - -

Okay, I know you are wondering how come Cid and Vincent's rooms ended up being so close together.

I don't know if I will ever get around to explaining it, but the way I designed the Highwind in my head, it is possible. Vincent was just too wrapped up in his own woes years before to even notice the silly little door at the end of his hallway that led to the Captain's Hall. Oh, well...

Anyways, thanks for reading! I love to hear any comments you might like to make!