Tainted
1/20/02
By: NOIR

Solace found within the darkness is simply shattered by the entrance of light. The creaking of long-forgotton hinges alerted the crimson eyed being of the woman's entrance, her bulky shoes betrayed her steps. Turning those startling, Mako brightened eyes upon her achingly familiar form, his night vision slowly receeds in the of this silouette haloed by the light streaming in behind her.

Illusion faded with the utterance of her words, a voice much higher than the angel he had envisioned standing before him. Mind brought firmly back to reality, he impassively listened to her pleas that he come out from his self-imposed confinement, that he please come out and talk.

Turning away, he dissmissed the woman from his mind. Ears much more acute than any human's picked up the slight rustling of her clothes, her very breaths as she approache dhim, stopping to stand befor ehim, hands upon those shapely hips as she looked down upon him with worry in her eyes. Huddled in the corner as he was, the Death Penalty within reach, he wondered at her private thougths of him. What a sight be must seem to her, his hair unkempt, and clothes rumpled. But then, who on this earthly plane would care for a demon such as himself? The only such soul was lost...

"Vincent?" words prodding at him. "Vince? Are you alright?" Meaningless sounds composed and aimed for him. "You've been in here for a while...." obligatory concerns. "Vincent.... I'm worried about you." Needless words.

Empathy with a creature such as himself was impossible, and he knew it. Darkness and solitude summoned him like a moth drawn to open flame. Charmingly seductive as a siren's song echoing through his mind. Folding her legs neatly beneathe her, sitting before him, the woman placed a hand upon his cheek, brushing raven's wing strands from dead seeming eyes. He refused to react. The cool pads of her fingers ran over his pale skin, tracing the lines of his face... along his cheekbones, down the bidge of his nose and jumping the gap to ligthly apply their gentle pressure upon his lips.

"Come out of your shell Vinnie.... c'mon...." a plea. He met her eyes, his bright crimson glowing in the faintly corrupted darkness, her's shinning with the pure strength and vitality of her youthful will.

"Leave me." his deep voice was quiet, almost silent beyond her hearing, yet the girl... young woman? was able to pick them out. Determination added to the light with her response.

"Never." a simple word. A damning word, sealing herself to him. Had to get away... had to free her from any such commitment.. before it was too late... before the demon destroyed her.

"Get away from me."

"No."

Silence. They stared eachother down, neither willing to give an inch lest they loose their footing entirely. Time dragged, the minutes seemed hours to their minds. How to escape? How to back out?

None.

"Why?"

"Because you're you."

Puzzlement.

"Because I'm me...?"

"Yeah... because you're the big scarey guy with the glowing eyes. Because you're the depressed guy. Because you're so damned -beautiful-."

A pause. Beautiful? Him? A mirthful laugh.

"Beautiful? Only if your taste runs to demons."

"You're not a demon."

"How are you so sure?"

More silence, punctuated by a sudden sob as the girl threw herself at him, flinging her arms around his slender shoulders. "DAMN YOU!" she cried. Shocked, he held utterly still as she burried her face in his shoulder, her tears wetting his sleeve.

A miraculous transformation. Hard eyes softened, the lids lowering fractionally as he looked upon her quivvering form. Why...? Why had this young pixie coosen to tie herself to a demon?

Why did Yuffie Kisaragi love Vincent Valentine?

Tainted. A tainted devil held an angel in his arms.

And a single tear fell from expressionless eyes.



AUTHOR'S NOTE:

I've never written ANYTHING that's VincentxYuffie. Now I have. It was kinda fun. I wonder how this little scene came to be, though. It just... popped into my mind.. it was ALMOST a lemon.... but I hate pointless lemons, so it isn't. ^.^;