Dice
Part One
Disclaimer: If you've read any of my work before, you should know I don't own FF7 or the lyrics I may use.
I started this fic February '04 as a handwritten project. By April, I had one new notebook filled and a third of another. I'm just now typing it, since I just now got my very own computer, and I have found the time. This story has elements that can probably be enjoyed by everyone, but there is a reason my work is almost exclusively R-rated. If a chapter does contain questionable content, I will be sure to put a big, bold WARNING at the start of the chapter. If you like the story but want to skip the worrisome parts, tell me and I will come up with an edited chapter for you. THERE ARE CURRENTLY NO LEMONS! If I'm asked nicely, I may write a few, if not, probably not.
Let the epic begin!
Chapter One – Trouble in Paradise
Laurel Valentine watched her husband Vincent play with their beautiful two year old daughter. Her hair was snow white, her eyes red like her father's, and Laurel loved her more than anything. The little girl's coloring was a mark of the experiments Vincent had been exposed to when he became a Turk, and Laurel's own Cetra heritage. Not only was little Morganna different in her appearance, but in the remarkable powers she had. Laurel was part Cetra, and her daughter heard the Planet's voice as Laurel once had. But Laurel had never in all her twenty-three years seen anyone who could use the power of materia without actually /using/ the materia.
At almost three years old, little Morganna was incredibly advanced for her age. Her development was so astonishing that Professor Gast, Laurel's boss, was begging them to have another child, but Vincent was adamant: he wouldn't consider another child until Morganna was more than a baby herself. And Vincent was a wonderful father. He played with "Manna" often, and was rarely too busy for her. And it was obvious why; Manna was a little angel. She was so trusting and innocent that the cold Wutainese, Tseng of the Turks, had become a regular fixture in the Valentine home. He doted on the girl, speaking Wutainese to her, answering all her wide-eyed, curious questions. At the rate she was learning Wutainese she would grow up totally bilingual, speaking both Standard and Wutainese equally well.
At this moment in time, Vincent was lying flat on his back in the middle of the living room, his pitifully short hair spread out around his head, engaged in a fierce tickle-fest with Manna. She shrieked and squealed when he found that one spot between her ribs, twisting and screaming "Mama save me!"
Laurel laughed at her beloved child and shook her head as she went to the kitchen to take her chocolate chip cookies out of the oven. As she occupied herself with the sinfully sweet cookies, Laurel let her mind wander over the last four years. She loved her husband, regardless of his position as Leader of the Turks, and she was forever thankful that the Planet had blessed her with limitless happiness. She had a husband and child that she adored, she saw her best friend Lucrecia at work each day, and there was nothing she had ever wanted that she didn't now have. Life was as good as her chocolate chip cookies.
Then, like every time before, Vincent suddenly appeared behind her, wrapped his strong arms around her waist and kissed her neck. Then kissed her again. And again. Laughing, Laurel twisted in his arms to come to face his sparkling red eyes. He kissed her soft lips, tangling his fingers in her thick red hair. The kiss deepened further, their tongues exploring each other's mouths until Laurel couldn't care less about the cookies, or little Manna watching avidly...
"Vince, Manna's watching...Vince!" Laurel pulled away reluctantly, and she laughed at the murderous look on her husband's face. She turned to look at Manna, seeing the curious expression in the child's eyes. Then, as if remembering something, Morganna began to speak in her slightly mismatched baby language.
"Mama, Unky Tseng wants to know if he should baby sit me for the night? ...Mama...Why were you and Daddy touching like that?" Manna's message was followed by the inevitable question, and Laurel felt her cheeks grow hot. Vincent saved her from having to answer.
"Manna, tell Tseng to take you to his place for tonight. Grab your dress, the red and white one, and some pajamas. See you tomorrow!" With that, Vincent swept Laurel up in his arms and carried her to their bedroom on the far side of the house. Manna ran to her Unky Tseng to report the message, then to her own room to grab her overnight bag. The little girl never saw the desolate look in Tseng's eyes as he heard Laurel's laughter from down the hall. He hoped Vincent was as discreet in his affair with Lucrecia at home as he was on the job. If Laurel ever found out, she would fall to pieces, never knowing that while Vincent didn't really love her, Tseng did.
Tseng was saved from his depressing thoughts by the return of the child he loved more than he would have loved one of his own. Manna was an angel child, a sweet little darling who liked nothing more than making her loved ones smile. And sometimes Tseng felt more like a father than an "uncle." He spent more time with her than Vincent did, and it was Unky Tseng that Manna cried for when she had a bad dream. Even though it was absolute torture being so close to the two people he loved most, being without them would be infinitely worse.
Tseng turned to the door as Manna slipped her tiny hand into his. She trusted him so completely, she believed everything he said, put her trust in him with total blind faith, that Tseng vowed to never do anything to jeopardize that trust. It felt so good to be depended on, loved with that unwavering guilelessness, the childish innocence that held his heart so tightly. After the hell that was his job, that love was so wonderful, a blessing he could never deserve, always there, waiting to tug at his soul and wash his sins away. And at any time, he could lose Manna. Vincent's affair with Lucrecia had gone past the point of casual liaison into full-blown obsession. Laurel wasn't a fool, and her naïveté would only stretch so far. When she found out, there would be hell to pay, and Lucrecia would feel no guilt over destroying her best friend's life.
Tseng waited at the car for Manna, who was busy making her way down the front steps. Reflecting on his love for Laurel, Tseng realized that the lovely red head would soon learn of Vincent's infidelity, and when that happened, the quiet Wutainese would be there to pick up the pieces, ease his way into Laurel's life, and gently steal her heart. Yes, Tseng thought, when Vincent makes his final fuck-up, Laurel and Manna would belong to him. And he didn't have to wait for Laurel to break either. He could simply come over more often, spend a bit more time with Laurel, show Manna more of the affection he felt, help around the house... Tseng would do the things that Vincent didn't, and to top it off, he would subtly make Laurel notice him, desire him.
As he helped Manna into the car, Tseng smiled gently at the girl. Soon she would be calling him "daddy" and Laurel would be calling him "honey" and Vincent could have his whore and be damned. Lucrecia was just using the sap anyway. Pulling the sleek vehicle away from the curb, he answered all Manna's questions in Wutainese, his heart filled with love and his mind full of plans.
"Manna, darling, could you get me a few more nails?" It was six months after Tseng had resolved to worm his way into Laurel's heart, and at that moment, he was standing on a ladder, nailing up new siding on the Valentine house. Little Manna was his official helper, and Laurel was weeding the flowerbeds alongside the house. Tseng smirked in satisfaction every time he felt Laurel's eyes linger on the well toned muscles under his golden skin. In honor of the hot summer day, the crafty Turk had shed his shirt earlier that morning and every ten minutes he felt Laurel's smoky grey eyes watch his muscles flex and ripple as he lifted another piece of the heavy duty siding. Vincent had been working late every night for the past two months and Laurel had started becoming suspicious and withdrawn. Manna was calling him simply "Unky" and the little girl started wondering where he was if he didn't show up for a few days.
He had made himself useful around the house, fixing things, picking Manna up from school so Laurel could have a few extra hours to herself in the afternoons. Vincent had thanked him the other day for "making sure Laurel didn't notice a difference" in Vince's schedule. Tseng had wanted to laugh in the man's face. It was because of Tseng's presence Laurel had realized Vincent couldn't be working all the time. Laurel had also come to realize that Vincent wasn't the wonderful husband and father she had thought he was. Tseng did so much that Vincent had never gotten around to doing, like mowing the lawn and fixing the siding.
Laurel had also seen how superficial Vincent's relationship with Manna was. Before, when Manna had been telling Vincent about her day at school, Vince would listen with half an ear and soon shoo her away. When the girl spoke to Tseng, he devoted his whole attention to her, asking her questions, letting her show him the new math problem she'd learned. He never belittled anything she did, either. The change in her daughter was so great that Laurel realized how much she had been neglecting the child. Laurel had also noticed how she'd been neglecting herself. Now, Laurel took a bit of care with her appearance, she looked better, and she could see that her performance at work had benefited from her new self-interest. Professor Gast had invited Laurel and Manna to his home for dinner that evening, and for the first time in years, Laurel had heard the Planet's voice.
Planet had told her how unhealthy her fixation on Vincent had been, and how it was good to love, but the best thing in life was to be loved back. The Planet had told her how Tseng had loved her even before Vincent did, and how he had finally resolved to make her care for him. Looking back, Laurel could finally see what that enigmatic light in Tseng's eyes had been: love. She saw how much he went out of his way to help Laurel, how he adored Manna.
And Laurel had faced the fact that would have horrified her mere months before: she had fallen in love with a man she couldn't have. She could never tell him how she felt, she could never run her fingers through his long black hair or taste the smile that curved his lips every time he saw her. Laurel Tiffany Valentine had acknowledged the fact that she had wasted four years of her life on a man who didn't really love her, and that she wanted a divorce, desperately. She was thinking of leaving Vincent, but would Tseng still want her if she broke her marriage vows for the possibility of happiness?
Laurel looked at Tseng from under her thick lashes. He was gorgeous; a deliciously masculine god, despite his long black hair. The twenty-four year old Laurel admitted that she like men with long hair; that had been one of Vincent's most attractive features. But, apparently his mistress didn't like long hair, for Vincent had cut it short about six months earlier. Six months... The shame Laurel felt over her blindness washed over her again. For six months she had been used, and on some level she had known about it.
Her thoughts were interrupted by the gurgle of her starving stomach. Laurel stood up and brushed off the skirt of the backless summer dress she wore. She knew she looked good, and as she walked past Tseng, she added an extra sway to her hips. Five steps past him and she heard the hammer miss the nail, followed by a string of fervent curses in Wutainese. As she entered the house, Laurel laughed. She hadn't pulled that stunt since high school. She'd have to tease Tseng more often, that felt damn good.
In the kitchen, Laurel whipped up a batch of Tseng's favorite egg salad sandwiches, grabbed a bag of chips out of the pantry and the picnic basket full of plastic cups and plates. Wrapping two fingers around the top of a gallon of soda, the pretty research assistant went back outside, her long, loose red hair having a very arousing effect on the still shirtless man sitting at the patio table. Setting the food down, Laurel leaned over to brush a dead leaf off Tseng's side of the table, knowingly giving him an excellent view of her cleavage. She almost heard the quite man's muscles tighten, and she had to smile at him. The shock in his eyes as he realized Laurel was being deliberately provocative was incredibly satisfying. Since Manna was coming toward the table, she felt she could safely lay her cards on the table, Laurel delivered her challenge in a soft voice.
"Two can play this game, Tseng."
He stared at Laurel in astonishment. He would have reached over and pulled her into his arms, but Manna chose that moment to come to lunch. The little girl had been playing with the kitten Tseng had given her for her birthday the month before. The Turk listened to Manna's chatter intensely, as long as he didn't look at Laurel, he could keep his desire under control. The kitten Tseng had given Manna was a "failed" experiment in genetic engineering. The creature now leaped up on the table. It was a cocktail of different monster genes: Cuahl, Gihlee, Pollensalta (giving it a better than human intelligence), Snow (giving it ice abilities and a blue color), Jemnezmy (theoretically giving it a vaguely humanoid form), Kalm Fang (to give it protective instincts), Bandersnatch (to make it trainable), Blood Taste (to make it feline), and finally Chocobo (to give it wings). The animal was tiny, about ten inches long, with a tail 1 ½ X its body length, and twelve inch long tentacle-whiskers. It had blue fur, the tips of its ears and tail gradated to black, dark purple eyes, a silver mane, the tentacle-whiskers were both a magenta color, and "it" was female. Built for speed and agility, the cat-creature was long legged, and the various monster genes seemed to go together well, even the proportionate black wings looked like they belonged.
Once on the table, the cat creature went directly to Manna, hopping onto her shoulder and wrapping the long blue and black tail around her neck for balance. The cat had become very dear to the girl, and she had gone so far as to set up a semi-telepathic bond with Manna. Manna had named her Megami, Wutainese for goddess. The cat sometimes used Manna to deliver messages to the adults, like "the food is stale" or "daddy is coming home early." That last was important, since it showed that Vincent wasn't sure that Laurel was being faithful. How ironic. Though Megami could speak telepathically with Manna, all of the little girl's replies were verbal. Apparently, Manna was too young for telepathy.
Now Megami turned her luminous violet eyes from Laurel to Tseng and back. The black ear tufts twitched as Megami made a comment to Manna, and then the child looked from Laurel to Tseng, just as her pet had. The white haired girl looked at the cat with a puzzled frown.
"You really think so?"
The ears twitched again and Manna's small face lit up.
"That would be nice..."
Laurel couldn't stand it anymore, so she had to ask.
"Manna, what would be nice?"
The girl blinked, her mind had been elsewhere, and then grinned.
"If you and Unky were mates. Megami says you two would make good life mates."
Hearing this, Tseng choked on his soda. That damn cat talked too much. He let his eyes meet Laurel's, seeing the pleased surprise there. He realized that Manna was watching them with joyful eyes.
"Ya know what, Megami, I think you're right. They are in love."
Tseng's eyes hadn't left Laurel's, and he saw one red eyebrow arch questioningly. Tseng's heart leaped within his chest. They were his, he knew it, and he took back his earlier thought about Megami. He was going to go to the pet shop and buy every last ounce of catnip they had.
"Well Laurel, do you love me?" Tseng just had to ask, just to be sure.
"Would you marry me if I left Vince?" Her love would only be given if he wanted her forever. Tseng couldn't hold it in, he threw his head back and laughed.
"In a Midgar minute."
"Then, yes, I love you."
Two seconds later, Tseng had his arms around Laurel, kissing her fiercely, and completely unashamed to express his love for Laurel in front of Manna. Tseng pulled back a few inches and just held Laurel in his arms tightly, feeling the warmth of her tears on his bare shoulder.
"I will love you with all that I am for as long as I live, Laurel."
End Chapter One.