Vincent Valentine sat on the window seat of the bay window overlooking the field behind the new house. AVALANCHE had recently came back together after finding out that they couldn't stand to be apart, and the whole crew had moved into a new home together. It was a huge mansion, right in the middle of nowhere, and spanning just over 7500 square feet on the main floor, with eight bedrooms, three guest rooms, and about 5 bathrooms spread about its remaining two floors. There was also a large basement and an attic, but they weren't in use yet. This was the first night they had spent in the huge home. Vincent had been finding it hard to sleep, and, hoping not to disturb anyone else, had gone downstairs to look at the stars through his favourite window in the library. 'I wonder how everyone else is fairing... They're probably all sound asleep, dreaming sweet dreams... not I. Hojo made damn sure that I will never have another good rest in my unending life. Damn him to-' "Vincent?..." a sleepy woman's voice asked, pulling Vincent from his thoughts.

"Yes, Tifa?..." His deep voice rang as the martial artist made her way over to where he was sitting.

"You couldn't sleep either, huh? Any wonder... I mean, the place is kind of like the old ShinRa place... too many memories bugging ya?"

"You could say that..."

"New place, too, that always makes it harder."

"Yes..." Vincent trailed as he turned back to look up at the night sky.

"You weren't having trouble sleeping because it makes you remember her and like, Hojo and them, and your family, were ya?"

"That's basically it..."

"Will you come outside and watch the stars with me? Maybe it'll take your mind off everything..."

"Your very inquisitive tonight..."

"I know, now will you come outside with me?"

"Alright...I guess..."

"Come on, it'll be fun."

And with that, Tifa grabbed Vincent's metal clad arm and pulled him out of the library where he seated and down the hall to the door. She put on a black coat over her pajama tops and exchanged her slippers for shoes, before glancing over at Vincent, who was fully dressed in his usual black and crimson outfit and gold and black boots. "Did you even change into pajamas tonight? At all?"

she asked him, smirking as he rolled his eyes at another question.

"No... and are we going?"

"Yep!" Tifa grabbed his claw again, pulling him out in the cool night air. She shivered as it hit her skin. Looking over at Vincent, she noticed that he didn't seem cold at all. "Are you not freezing? That cloak is kinda thin now, isn't it?"

"More questions..." Vincent sighed, rubbing his head with the human hand Tifa wasn't holding. "No, and its only thin at the bottom..."

"Oh... well, its cold to me."

Soon, the party of two reached the open field outside the library's bay window. Tifa flopped down in the grass, only to spring back up again with extreme speed. Vincent cocked an eyebrow at her, and she smiled sheepishly at him, before answering his look. "It's wet."

"Ah..." Vincent stretched out on the ground, lying on his cloak, before inviting Tifa to come lay next to him on it. "Come lie down..." He patted the spot next to him on the crimson cloth, before gazing up at the skies above them. Tifa stretched out next to him, still finding it chilly.

"It's cold."

"Oh my gods. You didn't ask a question."

Tifa smirked at Vincent's slight amount of sarcasm. He never was very talkative in front of anyone else besides her. Never in a million years would Tifa have dreamed that he'd have a sense of humour behind all the dark aura, but he did. She remembered the first night she'd heard him say something out of his usual character.

"Vincent?"

"Hmm?..."

"Your still up?! It's like 2:30 in the morning!"

"If it's 2:30 in the morning, and I'm the only one up besides you by the sound of it, why are you yelling? Wouldn't that mean that the others are now awake, as well?" Vincent cocked an eyebrow at her, burying his head deeper into the collar of his cloak. Tifa could tell he was smirking. Soon a voice, namely Cid's, came from upstairs, verifying his comment. "Tifa!!! Shut the #$ up!!! Its only 2:30AM!!"

"See?" Vincent said, burying his face deeper into his cloak.

"Shut up..." Tifa muttered as she left the room, heading for the bathroom, where she had intended to go in the first place. As she left the room, a distinct chuckle could be heard. 'Vincent...'

"Tifa! Leviathan, what the hell were you thinking about? This is the fourteenth time I called you. You were zoning out..." Tifa blushed, and over into Vincent's face. Again, the eyebrow was cocked skyward, and this time, Tifa could see the smirk plastered to his pale face.

"You undid the cloak? Why don't you do that more often? I like it undone."

"What is it with you and the questions?"

"I don't know, and you didn't answer me."

"Hn. It was choking me with you on that end, so, I unclasped it. Do not expect me to do it very often..."

Tifa across the small space between them to brush the hair off Vincent's cheeks, smirking as he pulled away a little too late, and Tifa could, for the first time really ever, see his his entire face.

"Wow...pretty boy aren't we? I like it. Your more handsome without it on. I don't care what you think about your face, it's beautiful... in a manly way."

"Hn." Vincent grunted, but didn't recover his face.

There was a few minutes of silence, both Tifa and Vincent gazing at the heavens, before she got to the whole point of bringing him outside.

"Vincent? You know what happens to our loved ones when they die?" She watched as Vincent winced slightly at the bringing up of this dreaded subject, but Tifa thought it would help him in the end to overcome the hate he felt for himself about not being able to save people, and his past.

"They return to the Lifestream, Tifa. Everyone knows that... and can we drop this conversation now, please?"

"That's not all that happens. Know what else happens?"

"Tifa..." Vincent gazed at the black haired woman beside him, eyes full of pain. He hated talking about death. He'd lost so much to it, and it was one thing he didn't have the privilege of receiving himself.

"My dad always said that when people we love die, their souls turn into stars. See, look, I'll point out everyone I know up there." Tifa began to scan the night sky carefully.

"Tifa... please... can we just drop this..." Still, Vincent kept his eyes trained on where Tifa was looking.

"That's my mom, and my dad..." Tifa began to point out stars, telling Vincent who they were that she lost. There were more people than Vincent had realized she'd lost, and a pang of guilt hit his chest. 'She's surviving... and she's lost some of what I have... she's not dwelling on it,... but then again, she can give up her life, and I cannot and never will be able to do that...' "That's Aeris..." Tifa trailed off, taking her eyes from the sky. 'Her best friend...' Vincent placed his human hand gently on her shoulder, giving it a little squeeze.

"She's resting peacefully now, Tifa... It's alright..."

"I know... I just miss her... that's all..."

"I do, too..."

Tifa blinked hard, sniffing back the tears that threatened to spill from her eyes, before looking over at Vincent. "Why don't you tell me who's up there that you know? Just look for the stars that seem to stand out to you, or feel like are watching you."

"..." Vincent gazed up at the sky, deep in thought. 'I guess maybe she'll be the first one to know exactly how much I lost... maybe it'll help her understand why I lock down and don't get close to people... she won't tell the others, either... I guess... its okay...' "Okay... that's Lucrecia..." Vincent began to do the same as Tifa, pointing out everyone he knew and had lost, though he thought it was a stupid child's idea so that death and loss didn't bother them. At the end, when he looked back down at Tifa, he saw horror written across her face. He had pointed out far more than Tifa had, and even then he had left out approximately half of the people that had been taken from him.

"I didn't realize..." she whispered, moving closer to Vincent. "I didn't know... so many..."

"It's alright... I wasn't strong enough to save those I thought I could... It's my fault..."

"No, Vincent...its not your fault..."

"Then whose is it? Certainly their own. I was weak, I was naive, they died because of it..."

"No... its no one's fault. Just because you think you weren't 'strong enough', doesn't mean you really weren't. Sometimes... sometimes its impossible to save people...sometimes... they just need to be taken home...to God..."

"..." Vincent fell quiet, and Tifa snuggled up against his body, sighing shakily as his arms instinctually wrapped around her. Was it really his fault? Or was he blaming himself for something he couldn't have prevented, in hopes of making it feel better to him? 'Tifa's making sense here... in a way. Can it be possible that it's not my fault? I don't know really... perhaps I should look into this...'

"Letting go doesn't happen over night..." Tifa whispered, reading his mind as she nuzzling his side, snuggling closer to him. "It takes a long time, but I'll help you through... we can do it... together, Vincent..."

'Time? I certainly have enough of that... Would it be possible? She said she'd help...' Vincent argued with himself for a few minutes, before quietly replying. "Tifa... I... can you help me?"

"Of course, Vincent... of course..." Tifa sat up a little leaning over Vincent as she planted a kiss on his lips. He held her there, deepening the kiss as his human hand moved to the back of her head, pushing her against him. After a few minutes, Tifa felt the need to breath, and pulled back reluctantly from his warm lips. "Care to stay out here for the rest of the night?"

"Back to the questions..." Vincent muttered, nuzzling the top of her hair gently with his nose. "Not at all... Good night, Tifa..."

"Good night, Vincent..."

And, within minutes, the two were asleep in each others arms, lying on a crimson sheet of cloth.