Hello
A CloTi and One-Sided ViFa Fan Fiction
The Prologue
Has no one told you she's not breathing? - Evanescence, 'Hello'
Vincent rushed down the hospital hallway, rain dripping from his hair and cloak. He blinked; the lights were too bright for his eyes. He had just come from outside, where it was dark and stormy. His heart hammered as he searched frantically.
He didn't know what had happened to her. None of them did. All he knew was that some drunken mako addict had walked into the bar and thought that a dealer lived there.
Probably saw Cloud's God damn eyes, Vincent thought bitterly. She never knew what was coming.
When he found Tifa living there, and found no mako, he must have stabbed her in rage.
Just those words were a stab to Vincent's heart.
As he ran, cursing Cloud and his damned blue eyes, he looked into the rooms on either side of the hallway. He needed to find her. Before it was too late.
Finally, he came to the end of the corridor. He peered in, and… there she was.
Her eyes were closed, her face was deathly pale, and her shoulder-length ebony hair spilled onto the pillow. She was hooked up to at least three machines, with a tube in her nose and an IV drip in her wrist. She wore a white hospital gown and was covered by a thin bedspread, but a number of bruises and contusions on her arms and legs showed through. One, though, stood out among the rest: a large, blotchy blue mark on her throat, where it looked as though fingers had strangled. There were blood-soaked bandages on most of her torso. She was breathing shallowly, her chest rising and falling weakly.
Vincent felt a rush of emotion seeing her like that. Who had done this to her? He slid silently to her side and picked up her skeletal, ice-cold hand. He squeezed her fingers tenderly.
Her eyes snapped open at his touch. She turned her head slowly to face him. "Vincent?" she murmured hoarsely. She looked so helpless and vulnerable, lying there…
"I'm here, Tifa."
She looked at herself, then smiled feebly. "It's good to see you. I guess I'm not looking my best, am I?" she joked.
Vincent wished he could return her smile. "No, I… I guess not."
"Where's Cloud?"
Vincent's heart sank and he felt a surge of anger at the mention of him. She still cared about that unhinged, unreliable delivery boy? How could she still love him, after the pain and sorrow he had caused her and the children?
And how could he continue to treat her like that, after all she had done for him? He was probably out on a delivery now, while she lay fighting for her life… The brainless idiot had his cell phone turned off, and they couldn't reach him. "We don't know."
"I wonder where he is…" Tifa suddenly shuddered in pain and put a hand on the bandage covering her wound. "Vincent… what's… happening to me?"
Vincent fought to keep control of his emotions. It was easy for him; he shut them out, but when it concerned her…
"I don't know," he admitted, looking down.
"What if he's hurt?" she cried. She tried to sit up. "We have to find… ah!" She let out a shrill yelp of agony.
"No, Tifa! You have to rest!" Vincent took her shoulders and gently pushed her down.
"But what if he's hurt?" she protested. "Maybe he crashed Fenrir in the storm!"
How could she worry about him when she was so near death? "Tifa, I'm sure he's fine."
Tifa closed her eyes, trying to hide the pain. "Optimism isn't very becoming of you, Vincent," she whispered. It was meant as joke, but she wasn't smilling. She sighed. "I'm so glad you're here, Vincent." A thought struck her, and she swiftly opened them and smiled. "Vincent… can I trust you to keep a secret?"
Vincent cocked an eyebrow, trying to look calm and collected. "What is it?"
Tifa grinned, despite her frailty and pain. She giggled quietly and whispered, "I'm pregnant."
Vincent's jaw dropped, and he felt as though the floor beneath him had give way. This was the last thing he would have ever guessed. "W-what?" he sputtered.
She giggled again. "I know. Five weeks." She patted her stomach proudly. "Pretty amazing, huh?"
Vincent struggled to say something supportive, but all he could think of was, "And it… is it Cloud's?"
"Yes, it's Cloud's," she replied. She let out a little laugh. "Who else's? Oh, and who would have imagined it? Me, a mother…" She beamed dreamily, and her ashen skin seemed to glow with delight.
Vincent would never have admitted it, but he had imagined it often.
"And I guess I have another secret, too." Without asking him if he could keep it, she said, "I'm engaged."
Vincent managed to keep the tiny quaver out of his voice. "To Cloud?"
Tifa nodded, unable to contain her happiness. "He proposed about a month and a half ago."
If her announcement of pregnancy was jaw-dropping, then this declaration of marriage was earth-shattering, though he knew that he should have expected this. It had been four and a half years since Meteor, and Cloud and Tifa had been living together since then.
Why didn't he just tell her how he felt, that day so long ago? Maybe… maybe it would be them, engaged…
"Vincent?"
Tifa's soft voice shook him from his reverie. "What's wrong? Aren't you happy?"
Vincent looked at her, and attempted a smile. "Of course I'm happy, Tifa. You're my friend."
Tifa brushed a lock of his long black hair away from his face. "Vincent. Don't be sad."
"I'm not sad."
Tifa smiled. "You're a rotten liar." Her face fell. "Vincent? Tell me the truth… Am I going to die?"
He looked out through the glass wall of her room, and saw Barret talking to the doctor. The large man's face was stained with tears as the doctor shook his head.
Vincent laughed nervously. "Of course not, Tifa. You're going to be fine. You're going to live a long life and have nine children and be married to Cloud for the rest of your life." Those words were bitter in his mouth, but he hoped that they would bring comfort for her.
Tifa shook her head. "You're lying." She didn't say it accusingly, just... sadly.
"Tifa, you're not going to die -"
"No, Vincent," she said forcefully. "My eyes are darkening…"
He could feel his eyes tearing up. "Tifa, no…"
"Vincent… I need you to tell Barret… tell him to look after Cloud and the kids." Tifa's voice was strained and shaky, as she tried to tell him her last wishes before it was too late. "And tell Marlene and Denzel it's okay to cry, but try to be brave. Tell Cid to take care of Shera and all his assorted little Highwinds. Tell Red XIII and Yuffie and everyone else not to miss me too much. And Vincent… be strong." She squeezed his hand with the little strength she had left.
"And tell Cloud…" She swallowed hard and closed her eyes. She was getting close now. Her hand was getting colder, and her face was getting paler.
"Tell Cloud… I love him. I will always love him." She paused as her eyes bulged in agony, then she breathed, "Tell him about the baby… tell him about our little girl. I'll always be with all of you." With a final shudder, she choked out, "Cloud…" And she was still.
"Tifa, I… I love you." The words had left Vincent's mouth before he could stop them, but he knew that they had been too late. She was gone before she could hear them. Vincent gently put his fingers on her eyelids and closed them. He brushed a strand of hair away from her face, beautiful even in death, and put his lips to her forehead. "I love you," he sighed.
"Vincent!" Cloud burst into the room, his spiky shock of blond hair and dark jacket soaked from the rain. He looked at Tifa, frozen and lifeless, and Vincent could tell that the dim realization hit him.
He gazed up at the young man. His wine-red eyes were piercing. "It's too late, Cloud, she's... gone."
A look came upon Cloud's face, one so peculiar that Vincent could not place it. It was a mixture of sorrow, confusion, disbelief and anguish. He clutched the bedside table for support as he stammered, "No… no, no, she isn't…"
"Yes," Vincent murmured.
"Oh God… no… no, no, Tifa, no!" he roared. He fell to his knees, and threw himself upon Tifa's lifeless body, rocking and cradling it as if it were something precious. "No, God! Tifa! No, please don't take her from me! Tifa, come back!" he howled. "Noooo!" He cried freely, not attempting to hide his torment and sufferance. His chest shook with sobs as he laid his head on her chest and closed his eyes, still weeping. "Please, no…"
Vincent retreated silently to the corner, unnoticed, as Cloud raged inconsoleably.
Barret and the rest of AVALANCHE stumbled in, and they collectively looked from Cloud's sobbing figure, to Vincent for confirmation. "She's gone," he murmured.
Vincent could vaguely hear people screaming and crying. He saw, through blurred eyes, Barret pull an uncontrollable Cloud off of Tifa. He had the dim sensation of someone's arms around him; Yuffie's. He suddenly remembered shamefully that the two had been a couple for many months now.
He finally surrendered to the onslaught of mournful tears. "I love you," he murmured, though only he knew the woman he spoke to.