Windflowers

"You don't get it!!"

The petite ninja stomped her feet in a mock tantrum, as a stoic gunman watched, feeling more than a little exasperated. The slow autumn breeze swept her hair back as she stopped her stomping and bent down in what could be mistaken as a deep bow. Just as swiftly, she was upright again, in her hand, a fluffy weed-like flower she had plucked from the ground.

She turned and stood, looking him in the eye. She had to look up of course because he was taller than she was, which made her glare quite ineffective in its purpose. Reaching up, she held the cottony blossom in his face.

Talking loudly and slowly, as if she was speaking to a very young (and deaf) child, she said,

"See? Now blow!!"

"..Why?"

"JUST DO IT."

And not wanting to enforce the wrath of the young Kisaragi upon himself, he complied. The tiny white, feathery seeds took off into the gentle wind, traveling across a distance before floating gentle back into the grass.

The ninja whooped, grinned and clapped, dropping the now bare stem to the ground. Her soft laugh echoed the empty valley. Triumphantly, she announced, "Now that's why they're called windflowers!"

"Yuffie, that was a dandelion."

She shook a finger at him, "Nuh-uh, Vinnie, windflower." She looked back across the field, hand shielding her eyes from a non-existent sun. "Or weedflower, if you like. Those things grow too fast for they're own good; and then someone picks 'em up and sets their little seeds free and they're gone before you know it."

Unbeknownst to her, Vincent's eyes had left the valley grass and had instead trained themselves on 19-year-old before him. She stood still, as if lost in the moment, eyes unfocused and expression dazed. To Vincent, she'd never seemed more fragile, so much more breakable than her usual hyperactive self, an unstoppable force stilled.

He leaned down to break another "windflower" from it's stem. Stepping closer to her, he watched her whirl around as his heavy footfalls neared her.

"Vinnie, what-?"

Her jaw hung open, though no sound came as she gaped at the blossom a gloved hand held up to her mouth.

"Your turn."

Her momentary look of surprise disappeared as lips quirked into a mischievous smile. Blowing the seeds in the direction of his face, she pouted as the wind swept the seeds away from them both, dancing in the grey September sky. Then she was smiling again, in that content, lop-sided way of hers.

"..indeed.. gone before you know it." He echoed her last words in his deep baritone.

Her eyes flicked from the peaceful scene to meet his own crimson ones. Her small hand reached out to cradle his, her fair skin contrasting sharply with the harsh black of his glove. Her gaze lingered on their fingers intertwined, then darted back up to him, before she grinned.

"Come now, Vinnie McVampire, I'm not going anywhere."