Little names

Yuffie had always hated those little names that her friends called her. Nicknames like brat, that hurt much more than they were ment to. That's what had drove her out of the bar. And why she was freezing cold.

She rubbed her hands over her arms in a poor attempt to get warm. She stopped for a moment and shivered. "Maybe I should go back... nah."

She continued on down the road. The wind blew softly, causing goosebumps to rise over her bare arms. She pressed on into the night, finding herself on the edge of the city. The houses became farther and farther apart from each other. She was just outside of the city now.

"Yuffie?" A familiar baritone voice called.

"Vinnie? What are you doing here?" Yuffie turned to find Vincent walking up to her from behind.

"When you left, you weren't smiling. When your not smiling, usually something's wrong." He looked down at the slim woman, a question in his eyes, "Is something wrong?"

She looked away from him and continued to walk. Vincent kept a pace besides her, patient for her answer. She stared sadly ahead of herself, arms crossed in an attempt to keep heat in.

Just when Vincent thought she wasn't going to answer, she opened her mouth. "Nothing. Nothing's wrong."

He put a hand on her shoulder, warm and caring. So unlike the Vincent that Yuffie had discovered in the coffin five years before. It made a small part of her cheer that he had grown so emotionly since then.

Yuffie stopped at the feel of his hand. To the right of them was a graveyard.

"I know you better than that."

One simple sentence that completely summed up how much Vincent cared for Yuffie.

"Yuffie... Please, tell me what's wrong..." She looked him in the eyes and saw genuine concern. For her.

But the ninja ignored the implied question, turning towards the graveyard. "Isn't death beautiful, Vinnie? It's where the good memories start and the bad ones end..."

He smirked. "You took that from Pet Semetary."

The corners of her mouth turned up. "Yeah. I woulda had a hell of alot more nightmares if you weren't there." She stepped over to him and pulled over part of his cloak. She pressed up against him, letting the cloak fall around her. "Keep me warm."

He gasped quietly but held her close. The gunslinger put a hand on the side of her face and ran his thumb down her cheek. And leaning foreward, he pressed his lips to hers. She kissed back, feeling warmth spread through out her body. When they finally broke the kiss, she buried her head in his shoulder. He hugged her tight, encircling her with his arms.

"Vin?" Yuffie asked, "We should tell them. They should know we're together." She and Vincent had been together for a few months, but had kept it from the rest of AVALANCHE. Yuffie thought that Tifa would make a huge deal of it, and Cid or Barret may not approve. Tifa was still waiting for Cloud to realize she was there, and to know that Yuffie had gotten her man before Tifa had gotten hers. Cid had always been secretly concerned for the ninja's welfare, treating her like a sister or a daughter. "I'm tired of having to hide the fact I love you whenever our friends are around."

"If you believe we should, then I agree with you." He leaned his cheek against hers, loving how close she was. And then he remembered why he had followed her here.

"Please, tell me why you came out here..." 'Without your smile,' he added silently. He always knew when something troubled her. When ever she smiled, he was happier. But when she didn't smile(which was rare), he wanted to know what had taken away that beautiful curve in her lips.

Her fingers clenched the front of his shirt. "...You know how some of the others calls me brat and more names like that? Well," she sighed, "I know that they're supposed to be affectionate terms, but I hate being called that."

He slipped his hands around her waist, and kissed her cheek. "I'll be sure to fix that when we go back," he whispered in her ear. She shivered from how his breath tickled her skin.

She pressed against him, causing both a loss of balence. They fell back into the grass, Yuffie laying on top of Vincent. She rested her cheek on his chest and felt him wrap his arms around her. "I love you, Vinnie." She nuzzled her face into his chest.

"As I love you, my Wutain flower." He pulled her closer and kissed her, his tongue exploring her mouth. She wrapped her arms around his neck, letting herself be lost in the kiss. When she finally pulled away, she giggled.

"Now there's a nickname I could get used to. Not to mention that kiss afterwards." She grinned.

He gave a soft smile in return. "If there's anything you are, Yuffie, it's not a brat."

"And if there's anything that you are, Vin-Vins, it's definately not a bad kisser." The ninja giggled again, pressing another quick kiss to his lips. "We should get back."

Vincent looked up at her and ran his hands down her sides. "How about we just head home?"

"Mmm, that sounds good. As long as I get to choose what we're doing there," she purred suggestively. Her hands pulled his shirt up slightly, and rubbed a hand down his scarred chest. He pulled her closer and nibbled at her neck.

The gunslinger stood and pulled her up. "Let's get home."