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Always Smiling	By : EzriCandy Category: Final Fantasy VII > Het - Male/Female Views: 1595 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VII or anything related to it, nor do I make no money from writing this story. No reposting of this story is authorized.

Chapter List
- 2
- 3
- 4
Chapter 3: Forgiveness and Living

(Same tags/disclaimer apply as in Chapter 1)

"Attention, Attention, We will be arriving at our next destination in five minutes…"

Vincent's eyes slowly opened. His usual nightmares had not plagued him during their journey to the falls. He was replaying the usual dream over in his head and trying to focus on the figure his Lucy's side.

A soft knock sounded at his door. "Hey Vinnie, are ya up?" Came Yuffie's small voice through the door.

"Yes Yuffie, come in.” He replied while closing the clasp on the high collar of his cloak.

She poked her head through the door to make sure she wasn’t interrupting anything and walked into his small quarters. "Hey, do you mind if I rode with you to the falls? I have to get off this ship for a while. When I'm asleep, my motion sickness doesn’t bother me, but when I'm awake…urk…it's starting again…" The ninja turned slightly green as the ship bucked lightly.

"No, I don’t mind. I think Cloud is going also; he wanted to look around the area surrounding the falls. He should be on his way to the Chocobo stables now." He said as he stood.

"I'm ready if you are." Yuffie said as she walked out of the door.

Indeed, Cloud was already at the stables feeding Kira a green. The beautiful gold was just one of the three that Yuffie had bred. "Yuffs, you're coming along for the ride also?" He looked at her and saw the green tint to her skin. "motion sickness getting to you again? It'll do you some good go get out for awhile then." He said taking the Chocobo by the reins.

"Yeah, the sooner we get off this flying deathtrap the better…" She mumbled before mounting Kira.

Cloud had already prepped Hiroshi and Tiko, the two male Chocobos. Both and he and Vincent hopped on as they felt the Highwind land. Yuffie gave a slight groan at the jolt and directed Kira out of the ship once the cargo door was opened with Vincent and Cloud following.

.::-o-::.

They made good time on the way to the falls. Yuffie had done an excellent job breeding these swift golden Chocobos. All three were S class and were very will mannered. They hopped off their mounts and Vincent tied their reins to a nearby tree. Though they were good mannered and would stay in the area, he would rather have been safe than sorry.

Vincent, Cloud and Yuffie followed the sand around the small lake to the area that would allow them access to the small cavern behind the waterfall that housed Vincent's beloved.

"Cloud, Yuffie, will you please wait out here for me to return?" Vincent asked in a soft tone.

"Sure thing Vinnie!! We’ll wait for ya!" The young ninja gave an encouraging grin. She was already feeling much better now that she was off of the Highwind.

Inwardly, Vincent gave a small smile and nodded at the young woman then turned and walked through the entrance behind the falls. Even though the water was pouring down behind him, the cavern was strangely quiet.

He walked over to the source of the soft blue glow that lit the cavern. There was a slight hum emanating from the formations of pure mako as he ran his gloved finger down the center crystal.

"Lucrecia, are you still here?"

"Vincent…you’ve returned."

The weak reply came from behind him. Whipping his head around, there was his beautiful Lucrecia floating inches from the ground.

"Are you alright?" He asked, worried at how weak she sounded.

"The Lifestream is calling me. I am using the last of my strength to see you one last time."

A pain looked formed on Vincent's usually expressionless face as he walked over to her slightly transparent form. "Lucy I-"

"I know Vincent, I know…" She placed a cool finger to his lips silencing him. "I love you too and I know what you had to and what you will do.

“While you did nothing wrong all those years ago, I know you will continue berating yourself about not being able to help me. You seek forgiveness from me, so I do forgive you, though you have never needed it. You have never harmed nor wronged me in any way. Because of what you and your comrades have done, I feel that I can finally rest knowing that Hojo will never harm another living being on the planet.

“Getting involved with Hojo was greatest mistake that I have ever made. I overlooked your love for the lies that Hojo told me. He said that he loved me…" A tear escaped her eye and Vincent rubbed it away with his thumb. "I know now that it was a lie. He only wanted my body. He cared nothing for my heart. I was blind and didn't see that I was truly loved by you. In mind, body and soul.

“My sin is that I allowed him to violate me like that and I…" She began weeping openly now. "Allowed him to treat me and the gift that I was given, my wonderful, beautiful baby boy; as an experiment. You were the only person there for me when I went into labor. You tried to help but Hojo prevented you from taking me to get medical attention and shot you for it. For this, I am truly sorry."

"No Lucy, I should have tried harder to protec-"

"Vincent, No. This was my doing. I should have been stronger. I should have told him no, but I allowed him to do it. The Jenova that was injected into me is what has kept me here, in limbo…not quite alive, but not dead either, to spend the rest of my days confined to this cave. The cells of Jenova began slowly dying four years ago because I did not get the complete treatment that you, the soldier, Cloud or my poor Sephiroth did. I feel now that I will finally be at peace.

“I know what must happen to my son and though it pains me, I know that I will truly meet him in the Lifestream. I will finally get to hold my son. Do not feel guilty and do not take this upon yourself as another sin. I will not allow you to."

A shuddering breath escaped her lips and her eyes were pleading with him. “Vincent, please know that this was never your fault. You only tried to help me and I was the one who caused you pain. If I had accepted your love like I should have, you, Sephiroth and myself would not be in the positions that we are currently in. Sephiroth would have been your son and would have grown up with two loving parents and all the support that a child needs.

“I know that you love me, and know this always; I love you too, but Vince, please move on. I do not want to see you spend the rest of your days alone and atoning for sins that you did not commit."

Vincent looked away towards the Mako crystals. "What woman could ever love a monster like me…"

"Vincent, you are NOT a monster! Beneath your stoic demeanor, that emotionless visage that you use, you are the most kind, caring and loving person that I have ever known. You are handsome, strong and more of a man that any male that I have ever known! There is someone who cares for you and she is closer than you think. You will know by her smile."

Vincent moved forward and enveloped Lucrecia in a hug and buried his face on her shoulder letting the tears go for the first time in more than thirty years.

"Vincent. It’s time…" She whispered and placed a small hand under his chin, lifting his gaze to hers. Lucrecia unbuttoned his cloak, letting it fall to the floor to form a blood red pool of fabric at his feet. "Despite the outward differences that the two of you will have, when that person comes along, please do not push her away. You have both suffered greatly in your lives and you both deserve to be truly happy. I know you will make each other very happy."

Gently she placed her lips to his in one final passionate kiss that left him breathless.

"Be happy Vincent and smile for her…for me."

Her appearance began to fade he watched as her lips began to move… "I love you." Though soundless, the gunman heard her words loud and clear.

Vincent picked up the cloak, draped it over his arm before walking back to where the water was pouring at the entrance to the cave. He came to a stop, and turned to the empty cave…and smiled.

"Goodbye Lucrecia. May you soon find what you have wished to possess for the past thirty years, in the Lifestream. The chance to be with your son."

.::-o-::.

Vincent walked out of the cavern and was met by sunshine. Cloud was asleep with his forearm over his eyes to block the sun and snoring on the sand fifteen yards away. Yuffie sitting closer to the entrance and was writing in Wutainese script in the slightly damp sand with a twig, not noticing Vincent's silent approach.

Glancing at the sand, he saw his name written in the beautiful Wutainese characters along with one other word stood out to him before Yuffie noticed his presence. She casually covered the words up with the surrounding sand.

Yuffie was not worried about Vincent reading what she had written in the sand. Reading Wutain characters was not an easy task and it had been a very long time since he had read Wutainese. The brief glance was not enough for him to completely decipher it.

But there was something that no one knew about Vincent Valentine…

The name, smooth pale skin, penetrating crimson eyes, and the ever so slight accent said that he was from elsewhere on their small planet. The truth was however, that Vincent Valentine was in fact Wutain and had spent the first nine years of his life playing at the foot of Da Chao. Hojo's alterations and being locked in a dark basement had drained most of the once warm golden color from his skin and change his eye color. This gave him the vampire-like appearance, sans fangs.

.::-o-::.

Yuffie glanced up at Vincent and her jaw dropped. She must be hallucinating. Vincent was smiling and he was not wearing his cloak! She closed her eyes and looked up again… 'I'm not crazy, he is smiling and still no cloak!' She thought to herself as a smile lit up her face.

Yuffie knew there was more to this dark man than there appeared to be. She knew a little about Vincent's history with the lovely brown haired woman who lived in this cave from their last visit. She also knew that he had emotions despite what some of the other members of Avalanche said or thought. She was able to interpret the emotions that Vinnie had just by looking at his eyes.

"How are ya Vinnie? You were in there for a while…" She asked quietly so she wouldn’t wake up Cloud. The stormy eyed girl was slightly afraid that asking him would cause him to shut down and retreat behind the emotionless mask that he had worn their entire journey.

He sat down next to her on the sand and sat the cloak down next to him. He was quiet but had not shut down.

"You can talk to me if you need to Vinnie, maybe it'll make you feel better." Yuffie said showing the maturity that was hidden beneath her carefree and happy frontage.

"…We said goodbye. The Jenova cells finally died and allowed her to join the Lifestream. She has forgiven me and wants me to continue living my life and no longer atone for sins that I did not commit."

Yuffie was quiet for a moment before reached over and taking his claw in her in her small hands. Vincent was shocked at her action, but did not let it show on his face. 'How could she touch this vile appendage?' He thought to himself.

.::-o-::.

Yuffie could tell that he was surprised…his eyes widened almost imperceptibly and she gave him a warm smile. He had surprised her when he spoke…she had never heard him say so much at one time.

His claw didn't bother her and she had never had a chance to touch it before. In the past, she didn’t want to upset or offend the gunman by touching him. In it's own way, it was quite captivating. Not one speck of rust or area of tarnished metal marred the deep gold prosthetic. It was a little strange to her to fell that the claw was warm to the touch, as a human hand would be. 'Probably because of the wiring in it' She mused.

'Yes it is quite captivating…just like the man attached to it.'

'Whoa! Where did that come from?!'

Mentally, she filed that away to think about later, right now, she wanted to think about the man sitting next to her.

"I'm sorry to hear that she's gone. I could tell how much she meant to you and I know what its like to lose someone you love."

He noticed sadness in her eyes. It was as though she had gone through something similar in her life. "Thank you, Yuffie." He said placing his human hand on top of hers for a moment.

"So what are ya gonna do now?"

"I am going to try to do as she suggested and live. It might take me a while but hopefully I can learn to enjoy the things I did in the past."

"Good to hear it Vinnie. Well, if ya wanna talk, you know where my spot is on the Highwind when I'm not asleep." She said with a wink and a smirk as he nodded.

"Are ya ready to go Vinnie?"

"Yes."

"Okay, I'll wake Cloud." Slowly, she crawled over to Cloud with an almost feline grace as Vincent watched, buttoning the collar of his cloak.

Yuffie bent down near Cloud's head and…

"CLOUD!!!" She shouted.

"AHHH!!" He sat up quickly and glared at her as she gave him an innocent smile.

Vincent smiled under the collar of his cloak but was cracking up with laughter on the inside. His mental laughter died slowly but a warm smile remained as he remember two of the three words the teenager had written in the sand; both were names but he didn’t know what context they were used in…the third word was missing.

The two that he saw however were his name; Vincent, and her name; Yuffie.

-o-o-Author’s Notes-o-o-
Originally, this is my very first fanfiction, but I've written a lot more since this was started. I also want to thank the people who gave me my first two reviews; SS/Destiny Daae and Cesia Illuser -passes out cake and ice cream-
Later,

Ezri-Candy

Flames will be laughed at and given to Chaos.

Chaos: AUTHOR DOES NOT OWN ME OR FINAL FANTASY 7…WE BELONG TO SQUARE-ENIX.

Ezri: My name is Ezri or Ezzy get it right Chaos! -blows raspberry at Chaos-

(edited 8/26/05)

7/18/07
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Always Smiling