Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Fragments ❯ Chapter Twelve ( Chapter 12 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

//Once again, thank you all for your reviews and your interest in my story. I'm so happy it's lasted this long... *sobs* Juuuust kidding, folks. Oh yeah, just a warning to you all: this chapter may disappoint some of you. I'm sorry, but I wrote this story to express myself, not to please you. So... flame me if you want, but this is how it's going to be.

...Here goes nothing.//

Chapter 12



A blur of white and gold, Rufus stumbled blindly down the stairs into the living room, where the others were waiting, breathless with anticipation. Tifa stepped forward cautiously, placing a gloved hand on the boy's thin shoulder. "What happened?" she asked, as casual as she could manage.

She was in the dark until she noticed the tears on Rufus's cheeks.

"Oh, honey, what's wrong?" she asked, letting her arm slide off his shoulder to grip his hand tightly. "Rufus, tell me what happened, please!"

He ran a shaking hand through his untidy blonde locks and sniffed. Shaking his head, he gave a low, shuddering sigh. "At least I know Yuffie's happy," he whispered, brushing past the young woman.

Her burgundy eyes followed the slight figure as it made its way toward the front door. "Rufus, wait!" she cried, beginning to panic. Who knew what the boy might do in his condition? "Where are you going, sweetie?"

"Out," was the simple response as Rufus threw the door open carelessly.

Tifa clenched her fists in frustration. "Rufus, you get back here!" When he ignored her, she caught up to him and wrapped her arms around him tightly, refusing to release him. "I'm not letting you go until you tell me where you're going, and you'd better tell the truth!"

"I hadn't really thought about it," the boy replied, letting his head fall against her shoulder. "Maybe I'll borrow one of Cloud's chocobos and ride to the beach."

"Then take Cloud or Reno with you," she insisted, resting her hand on the back of his head. "Please, Rufus. I don't want you to do anything that... that might..." she stopped, swallowing a lump in her throat.

He pulled away from her, giving her a smile that nearly broke her heart. "Don't worry, Teef," he said softly, squeezing her hand for reassurance. "I won't do anything stupid. I just... want to be alone for a while. Okay?"

Tifa nodded, sniffing loudly. "Okay."



Yuffie lay curled up on Rufus's bed, her knees drawn up to her chest. Crimson eyes followed her as she rocked back and forth, the mattress springs creaking slightly. "Yuffie, darling?" asked Vincent quietly. "Are you all right?"

"No, no, no, no!" she cried, burying her face into her hands. "This can't be happening! I'm the worst person on the Planet!"

The gunman sat beside her, rubbing her back lightly. "I do wish you wouldn't say things like that," he said, shaking his head. "None of this is your fault. If anything, I am the one to blame for kissing you." He lifted her chin with a gentle finger. "You are completely faultless. Do you understand?"

She closed her eyes and nodded. "But I still feel horrible," she muttered. "The last thing I would ever let *anyone* do is hurt Rufus, and now I've gone and done it myself." She took a deep breath. "What should I do, Vinnie?"

He opened his mouth to answer, but at that moment Cloud burst into the room, followed by Barret and Cid. The airship pilot's blue-grey eyes widened as he puffed on his cigarette. "Vince, where the #%$^ have you been? Thought you could just walk out on AVALANCHE, just like that? No such luck, Vampire Boy!"

Vincent merely glared at him in response. Yuffie looked at Cid, then Barret, then Cid again. "What are you guys doing here? And oh yeah, hi."

"We was worried 'bout you, kid," said Barret, ruffling her hair with his massive hand. "You okay?"

The ninja smiled, moved that they had actually wanted to see her. "Yeah, thanks, guys."

Cloud nudged Cid with his elbow. "Uhh, think I could talk to Vincent and Yuffie alone for a minute?"

Barret nodded and left the room. Cid grinned and tapped Yuffie lightly on the nose. "Don't scare us like that again, okay, brat?"

She crossed her arms over her chest and stifled a laugh as her eyes followed the blonde out of the room. *He sure has a twisted way of showing his affections,* she thought.

"Look, guys," said Cloud, sitting down in a chair beside the bed. "I'm not sure what happened, but..." His Mako blue eyes met Vincent's glowing red ones. "Whatever it was, it got Rufus really upset."

Yuffie bit her lip and waited for him to continue.

"I'm not going to force it out of you, I'm just--"

"I kissed Yuffie," said Vincent immediately, causing the girl to let out a little gasp.

Cloud blinked. "Well, so that wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. Umm..." Scratching the back of his neck, he turned to Yuffie. "You know how Rufus feels about you, Yuff," he said softly. "...Do you know how you feel about him?"

She looked down at her feet, wishing she could make herself invisible. The entire time Vincent had been kissing her, all she had thought of was Rufus, and how much it would hurt him if he had seen. And now that he had, she wanted to hold him and tell him she had never wanted it. She wanted him, but she had been too blind to see it.

But Vincent... Vincent loved her. How could she break his heart? His life was filled with enough pain and torment already. The first woman he had ever loved had been killed, and he blamed himself. Leviathan knew how he would react if Yuffie told him...

If Yuffie told him she loved Rufus.

Well, that answered Cloud's question.

"Yuffie," came Vincent's tender voice, and she looked up at him as he rested his claw on her shoulder. "Go to him."

Her stormy grey eyes widened. "Vincent, what--"

"I know you love him," he continued in a hushed whisper. "You have done a very poor job of hiding it." He smiled sadly. "It would be wrong of me to keep you from being happy."

Yuffie stared into the bottomless red depths of his eyes, unable to think of any response that might express her gratitude. Finally she leaned forward and wrapped her arms around his neck. She felt his hands rest on her back, and she squeezed her eyes shut, weaving her fingers into his soft black hair. He had given up everything; risked his own life to return to her, only to lose her, *willingly*, to someone else. If she had ever met a more gracious man, she could not remember for the life of her.

Her mouth close to his ear, she whispered, "Thank you, Vinnie."

He gave her a gentle pat on the back and pulled away. "Now run along," he said, fighting the urge to pull her against him and refuse to let her leave. "Go find Rufus."

She nodded and turned to Cloud. "Do you know where he is?"

"He mentioned something about taking one of the chocobos to the beach," he replied, feeling like a very unwanted presence during this emotional moment.

Yuffie sprinted past him out the door, then with a quick thought, turned around and sprinted back into the room. She bent down in front of Vincent, placing a hand on his pale cheek and giving him a soft kiss that bore no promise of passion with it, only friendship and immense gratefulness. Vincent knew this, and it showed in his eyes as she pulled away from him.

As he watched her dash out of the room once more, he let out a faint sigh. "I did it again, Cloud," he said softly, resting his chin upon his hand. "I let another one slip through my fingers."



Yuffie hopped easily onto her chocobo Hibiscus and kicked her sides lightly, sending the bird off toward Midgar Beach at breakneck speed. She squinted her eyes, looking for some glimpse of golden hair on the distant horizon. Finally she could make out a small figure standing barefoot on the sand, seawater lapping at his ankles. If Rufus had noticed her presence, he had not acknowledged it.

The young ninja dismounted her chocobo, tying its reins to a large piece of driftwood. She stood for a while, just taking in the sight of that poor, sweet boy. The ocean breeze whipped through Rufus's flaxen hair, causing his bangs to brush against his forehead. His eyes were an even more intense shade of blue than the sea that they were fixed on. His light beige slacks were rolled up to the middle of his calves, and his loose, billowy shirt was so white it almost appeared to glow. Yuffie found herself swallowing a lump in her throat. He looked so breakable.

She bit her lip and walked slowly toward him, her sneakers crunching in the wet sand. Suddenly her mind went blank, and she could no longer recall the speech that she had prepared for this moment. Finally she simply said, "Hey."

Rufus turned to her, gazing at her with his arresting blue eyes. "Hey," he replied in a soft, fragile voice. As an afterthought, he added, "I'm glad you're feeling better."

Yuffie smiled slightly. "Thanks, Rufie." She paused, wishing she could just come out and say what she had been practicing so hard to say. Suddenly she shook her head, embarrassed at her own hesitation. "Oh, Rufus, I'm so sorry!"

"It's okay, Yuff," he said, giving her a sad smile. "You don't need to spare my feelings. I'm just... glad you're happy with Vincent."

"No, you don't understand!" she cried, clenching her fists. "I'm *not* happy with Vinnie! I'm happy with *you*!"

Rufus's mouth opened slightly, but he quickly shut it.

"I was so stupid, Rufus! The entire time I was moaning and bellyaching about Vincent leaving, you were right there with me. I never knew how much you cared, until it was too late! But Vincent..." She shook her head, her eyes filling with tears. "When he kissed me, the only thing I thought about was how it would make you feel! I should have known. I... I should have known..."

She suddenly felt slim arms around her, pulling her against a fragile chest clothed in perfect white. "Yuffie," Rufus murmured, nuzzling his nose on her forehead. "I don't blame you, or anyone. All I need to know is... how do you feel?"

Yuffie raised her eyes to meet his. She heard her heart pounding relentlessly in her ears, but she could not refuse the look of inquiry in those abyssal blue depths. "I..." she began, her voice quivering, "I love you."

She could feel his heart slamming against his ribcage as his chest rose and fell against her. He looked as though he was about to say something, but he shook his head, abandoning that thought. Letting his fingers graze her cheek, he tilted his head slightly and pressed his lips to hers. The entire Planet fell away from them as they shared their first kiss, oblivious to the wind and surf around them. All that mattered was each other. Yuffie had never known she could feel so utterly whole, and the feeling was almost as intoxicating as the sensation of Rufus's soft lips roaming over hers. She lifted her arm and caressed the delicate hairs on the back of his neck, then lowered it to rest on his back, fearing that he might shatter like glass in her embrace.

Finally they broke away, and Rufus buried his face in Yuffie's neck, breathing deeply. "Ah, Yuffie, my pet," he said in an undertone, his lips moving against her collar bone, "You and I, we weell make zuch beauteeful muzeec togezer."

Yuffie laughed, bending down to kiss his forehead.



//Ahhhhhhhh. Did you like it? Hate it? Probably the latter. *dodges rotten fruit thrown by all the Vincent/Yuffie fans* Hey, didn't I warn you? Fine, okay, you've beaten it out of me. There's going to be an epilogue. So, technically, it's not over yet. Leave a review, please; I don't care how nasty it is. I just like to think I make a difference.//