When he entered the bar, the music didn't stop dramatically, nobody gasped his name, and not a single person fled for the exit in fear, but all eyes were on Vincent Valentine. He strode up to a barstool, his tattered red cape flowing behind him, and took a seat. After the other customers were assured that this menacing figure wasn't here to cause trouble, they turned their attention back to their drinks or the big game on television. Vincent massaged his temples with his real hand.

The bartender, behind the counter in a classic cleaning-the-glass-with-a-rag pose, asked, "Can I get you anything, sir?"

Without looking up, Vincent replied, "Something stiff."

With a nod of sympathy, the gray-haired, balding bartender turned to the shelves behind him and grabbed a green glass bottle. He poured a small glass of the stuff, which Vincent grabbed without a word.

After a minute or two of silence, the server asked, "What's got you down, pal? Lose a girlfriend or something?"

Vincent didn't even look up.

"Ah, don't worry about it, bud; she'll come crawling back. Women love the dangerous types like you."

"She's dead."

The bartender's eyes widened.

"I'm sorry sir…I didn't know…"

He shuffled away to help another customer.

Vincent sipped the alcohol. It wasn't making him any happier. Omega had been defeated, he no longer had to worry about Chaos…and yet, he felt empty. His life should be joyful and complete, yet with some of his other sufferings lifted, the daunting hole in his life was even more apparent.

He remembered his younger days as a Turk, when he would visit Lucrecia and flirt with her, not knowing that she would never be with him. The day he found that his love had worked with his father, Grimoire, turned his life around.

But it wasn't the past that bothered him; it was what he was missing right now. Before Omega was gone and Chaos still resided within him, the only emotions he could understand were sadness, anger, and loss. However, his mind had been opened to a completely new range of feelings; happiness, laughter, relief…yet, he did not feel love as he had when Lucrecia was alive.

He took another drink. Maybe if he could drink enough, this pain would finally leave. But no, he couldn't ; he was already dead.

He often wondered, why him? Why had he been chosen to play host to Chaos, to have the love of his life taken from him? Would he ever find answers to these questions that bothered him so?

Rain began to fall outside. The sky was dark with gray clouds, and the shoddy lights in the bar bathed the whole place with an artificial yellow glow. The wooden bar, while clean, had innumerable scratches and notches in it, though from what Vincent didn't know. Maybe some rowdy drunks had gotten into fights before and damaged it. It didn't really matter, anyway.

Over the next hour, he dwelled on his memories of Lucrecia, and his loss became heavier and heavier a burden on his shoulders.

Why him?

Why did every unfortunate event seem to take joy in settling itself upon him?

For the first time in over thirty years, Vincent shed a tear.

"Vincent Valentine?" said a girl's voice from behind him.

Vincent looked over his shoulder and saw Shelke Rui standing behind him. She had officially abandoned her Deepground uniform and now wore a red plaid skirt with knee-high white socks and a yellow jacket.

He turned away, ashamed. What was he doing here? Why was he drowning his problems in alcohol? Why wasn't he with his friends, the people who could give him happiness? He heard tentative footsteps behind him and a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"Vincent…we all miss you. Yuffie's been a wreck. She's so worried about you. You're her best friend. Come back to us so we don't have to worry about you anymore."

Vincent bowed his head a little lower as the result of a mix of humility and shame.

"Are you…crying?" whispered Shelke.

He didn't say anything.

Her hand slid around his right shoulder and she rested her head on his left. Her other hand was on his chest. Vincent found the hug strange, but not unwelcome.

"Come to the 7th Heaven with me. Everyone's there."

He stayed silent.

"Vincent…come back home."

Home.

Vincent hadn't had a home since he was a child, and now Shelke was telling him that there was one waiting for him right in Sector 7. Maybe he could find love again, too.

He stood up and dropped a few gil on the counter.

"Let's go."

Shelke smiled. She put her arm around his waist and her head on his cheast. Vincent put an arm around her shoulder and the two of them walked out, heading for home.

And Vincent smiled.