A.N.: This is the most sexual fic I've ever written.
…XD I swore that would be the first line of my AN for this fic. Anyway.
It's morphin' time! …I mean, uhh, it's mystery pairing time. XD Guess it's not much of a mystery now! I didn't want to give it away in the summary, but I also wanted to draw in as many people as possible. So I hope that worked at least. And now I hope I don't disappoint. I'm new at this after all!
Big thankies to ladywinde for beta-ing. Go check out her latest at deviantart cause it's kickass and goes kinda well with this fic XD (I promised her a shameless plug).
Anyway, here goes nothing.
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She'd never heard of Gongaga before, so it didn't really surprise her that they'd passed it completely.
But why they had to go back now, after they'd already gone so far…
"Cloud," she pleaded, quickening her pace to keep up with him. "Do we… is it really necessary that we go to this place?"
"You never know, Tifa. I don't want to take any chances."
"But…" They were hot on Sephiroth's trail, already past the Nibel Mountains and then some. "Shouldn't we keep going where we were going? What about Sephiroth?" She realized she probably should have argued sooner, before they'd already backtracked most of the way, consuming a lot of time that could have been spent in the right direction. A few weeks had already been wasted—turning back now would mean all the trekking was in vain.
Cloud stopped and shook his head. "He could be anywhere. And we may have missed something really important," She didn't say anything. He shook his head, probably realizing that they were wasting more time. "Come on. With those directions, I think I know where we're going now. We just need the buggy to get back over the river."
Tifa stayed put as he walked away, eventually lowering her eyes. There'd be no arguing with him. He really was quite stubborn when he had his mind made up about something. The rest of the group went on ahead of her. She jumped a bit when the last of them, Vincent, brushed past her.
He walked a few paces and turned back to her. "Coming?"
"Y-yeah. I'll be right there."
He seemed satisfied with her answer and continued following everyone else.
The buggy was right where they'd left it, nearly months ago. Cloud was standing outside the car and giving her an odd look when she arrived. "Tifa? There's kind of a problem…"
"Huh?" But as she looked at the packed car, it became obvious. Before they'd reached Rocket Town, the buggy could just barely contain all of them. It seated eight, but it was a rather tight fit. But now with Cid in the party, there was definitely no way they could make room for a ninth person…
"There's not enough space," Cloud said. "You're gonna have to sit on someone's lap or something," he said as if it were no big deal casually, getting in the driver's seat.
Tifa stared into the open door. Yuffie was crammed in the way back with a chain smoker and a giant stuffed mog, making a big show of being unhappy about it. Red XIII was on the opposite side of Tifa in the middle row, with Aeris next to him. Barrett sat shotgun, so that left Tifa's only viable option right in front of her…
Cloud turned around when he noticed she was still standing outside. "C'mon Tifa," he urged her. "I think we can get there pretty quick if we get moving."
Tifa tried to fight her nervousness as she looked up. "V-Vincent?" she stammered. "Would you mind if…?" Saying it out loud seemed so embarrassing.
Luckily, he seemed to get the hint. His eyebrows rose briefly. "Not at all."
He seemed to be smirking under that cloak, but there was no way she could really tell other than trying to read it in his eyes.
Knowing she was holding up the group, she did her best to control her nerves and—she gulped—climb into his lap…
When she was finally seated and thoroughly red in the face, she heard a deep voice behind her that gave her shivers. "Comfortable?"
What a question. "Yeah… Fine."
When the voice came again, this time much closer to her ear, she was a bit startled. "Tifa?"
"Yes…?"
"The door?"
"O-oh! …Right." Great. Not only was this terribly awkward, but now she felt like an idiot.
Never had she imagined that she'd be in a position like this with Vincent. Well, maybe she had imagined it occasionally…
Not that this was any time for indulging in fantasy. Reality needed her attention. Just what exactly was proper decorum in this situation? Sure, she had actually been developing a somewhat close rapport with Vincent over the weeks since the group had found him in Nibelheim, but it wasn't exactly physical.
And she refused to admit to herself that maybe she wanted it to be.
But the fact of that matter was that it was just plain uncomfortable to be thrown into such an arrangement with someone who she'd never been close to in a remotely similar way. Feeling that leaning back against him would be a little too intimate, she opted to shift her weight forward and away from him.
It was working fine until the car stopped short. Instinctively, she grabbed his knee to prevent herself from falling over, paying no mind to where her hand was.
Cloud turned around and frowned at her. "Tifa, do you think you could sit back? You're making me nervous."
"Umm…" Did she have to? "All right…" When she sat back, she didn't realize she'd dragged her hand with her… all the way up Vincent's leg.
She paused for a moment, before quickly removing it. Should she apologize? What if he hadn't even noticed? If he hadn't, she definitely wasn't going to call his attention to it. She dared not turn around and risk meeting his eyes, so she just settled in for the rest of the trip.
When she was pressed against him, she couldn't ignore the slight crush she'd developed since she met him. He undoubtedly was a very nice person to talk to, but personality certainly wasn't the only reason she was drawn to him. She really couldn't help it. He was an intimidating man, that was for sure, but that didn't stop her from finding him incredibly good looking. She always did have a soft spot for those 'tall, dark and handsome' guys. Plus, he did have that whole mysterious thing going for him… It was hard not to be fascinated by him. And hopelessly attracted to him.
Squirming with unease, she wondered if he felt the same.
Well, if he did, there was no way she'd ever be able to tell. She was an open book when it came to things like that—the blush she wore was enough proof—but he was a walking enigma. His words were few and far between, and he was nearly impossible to read otherwise. She found it a bit frustrating. Some sick part of her just had to know if his thoughts about her were anything like her thoughts about him.
She shifted a bit and froze. Was that—? Oh god. No. No… it couldn't be. Right? He had a bunch of stuff attached to his pants, right? And two belts! So it couldn't possibly…
Before she could stop herself, she was back to wondering what he might have been thinking about her. And she was squirming again.
She mentally chastised herself for such notions. Vincent was a gentleman. Then she nearly laughed. He was still a man though…
"Tifa," His voice jarred her from he reverie. "Perhaps you could stop fidgeting? I find it very… distracting."
She bit her lip and realized what she must have been doing to him. "Sorry."
He used a somewhat indulgent-sounding 'hmm' before he spoke. "It is nothing to be sorry for." His voice sounded lower.
Tifa wanted to fidget all over again. She told herself to calm down. It would be more reasonable to assume that that was his way of telling her not to worry about it, not his way of saying, 'I really like it when you move around in my lap.'
"Would you sit forward for a moment?"
She finally found the nerve to turn and face him. There was a tense moment when their eyes locked. "Umm… Cloud said not—" She paused, totally lost in his gaze. "…Okay." It was something about his eyes, that damn voice of his. Something unexplainable about him that compelled her to do whatever he said.
She leaned forward hoping to lessen some of the tension, but she realized that, if anything, it only pushed their hips closer together. She heard rustling and clicking behind her. What was he doing? Suddenly, a flash of red filled her vision, and his cloak went flying past her to the floor. She blushed at the fact that his clothing was being removed.
She failed to prevent a surprised gasp when his hands seized her shoulders and pulled her back to him, letting out a contented sigh. By the time she had settled against his chest again, the fact that he had removed his cloak was painfully obvious to her. Where before she had felt thick fabric and buckles, she felt muscles and… body heat.
"It was warm," he explained.
"Yeah," she agreed. "It's getting pretty hot." Too late she realized the connotation of her words.
Knowing his eyes were on her, she turned to look at him, mouth slightly agape in a silent embarrassed gasp. The eye contact seemed very deliberate, as did his speech. His gaze was boring into hers, and the timbre of his voice changed to what she could only describe as seductive. "Hot indeed."
She managed to tear her eyes away, fixing them on the floor. But her gaze turned shocked when a gold claw had wrapped itself around her bare waist. It felt warm, not cold like she expected, and she could feel the slight vibration of whirring gears under the metal. She stared at it. She had always found that claw strangely alluring. The talons looked sharp. She wondered if they would cut her skin.
She wondered if they could tear her clothes…
She ceased that thought and turned to him with eyes wide, a question hidden within.
"I want you thrown on the bed."
"Wh-what?"
"I don't want you thrown from the car," he repeated. "You have no seatbelt." She clearly was letting her imagination get the better of her.
Really, it was hard to ignore the similarity between the position she was in and the ones in her daydreams. Usually at this point, the claw had wandered a little higher, and his tongue was somewhere on her skin…
But this was reality, she quickly reminded herself, and it was different. Though reality provoked a number of thoughts as well.
Despite the coffin thing, he wasn't a vampire. But if he happened to feel the urge to place a bite on her very-exposed neck then… she wouldn't complain. She watched him carefully through the corner of her eye, nearly gasping when his tongue darted out to lick his lips.
…Was he thinking of putting that mouth to better use?
Her mind was officially frolicking in the gutter, and she found herself fidgeting, totally uncaring of what effect it might have been having on him. She didn't even notice that his other hand had been on her hip until it had wandered down to her thigh.
She stared fixedly at it. His hand was not supposed to be there. That was certainly not appropriate. However, she was embarrassed to find that she didn't mind even a little. And she was completely aware that both of his hands could very easily slip into places they were not supposed to be. She briefly wondered what would result from the car going over a bump at that very moment.
She turned bright red at that thought. What kind of girl was she turning into?
She then noticed that Aeris was watching her intently. When Tifa turned, she received a very inquisitive look. She tried to send one back that said she really had no idea what was going on. Aeris shook her head and continued to watch the scenery pass by through the windows.
His hand twitched and, against her better judgment, she turned to look at him. He had a slightly amused expression, eyebrow raised, simply daring her to tell him to remove his hand. They both knew she wouldn't. Her eyes narrowed slightly in her realization.
He was doing it on purpose. He knew he was getting to her, and he was messing with her.
…Well two could play at that game, couldn't they? Maybe she could make him squirm…
And so the game began.
She slid her hand intentionally across the claw on her waist, and up to the hem of her shirt. She tugged at it, adjusting which portions of her skin were exposed. When she was satisfied, she continued by arching her back just so, in a way that gave him a very clear view.
When he noticed what she was doing, he very unabashedly took advantage of the display she was giving him. He stared for quite some time, until he had a smirk on his face. Then he turned to her with a look that clearly said 'Are you coming on to me?'
And she blushed furiously, comprehending that that was exactly what she was doing. Not only that, but her plan to make him sweat had failed fantastically.
Suddenly his lips were mere millimeters from her ear. She realized that he was speaking so that only she could hear him. "Tell me…" She got shivers again. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"
She licked her lips, carefully deciding how she should answer. "I don't know… what are you thinking?"
"Hmm…" His flesh hand had moved almost imperceptibly higher. "Are you sure you want to hear it? It may make you blush even more than you are now…"
As if on cue, her face flushed. But she refused to let him see that, determinedly keeping her eyes forward, fixed on the headrest of the driver's seat.
"Would you like a hint?" He continued through her silence.
She nodded.
"It involves you…" He lowered his voice even more, so she had to lean closer to him to hear what he was saying. "And what I want to do to you."
Her breathing had definitely deepened now, and she swallowed hard before continuing, keeping her voice as low as his. "And… what's that?" She couldn't believe she was asking.
His fingers were inching their way under her skirt. "Mmm. I want to—"
Suddenly the tires screeched and the car made a sharp right. Cloud rubbed the back of his neck. "Sorry about that guys. Almost missed the turn. But we're here now."
Tifa sat there dumbstruck as the car rolled to a stop. What had he been about to say? She couldn't just ask him…
She instinctively curled into him when Yuffie launched herself from the back row, over their heads and out the car door, complaining about motion sickness. It only took moments for the buggy to be empty.
He made no efforts to let her go. "Hmm. Just when the ride was becoming enjoyable."
"Y-yeah…" That was for sure. She found herself lost in his eyes again. Their faces were so close. She wondered if he was going to close the scant distance between them. She wondered if he was expecting her to do it. "Vincent? …I don't think I need a seatbelt anymore," Still he didn't remove his claw from her waist. If anything, his grip tightened. "The… the others will be waiting." And she certainly didn't want to be caught in a position like this.
Slowly he released his hold on her, and she wasted no time in getting out of the buggy. He immediately was behind her. Before closing the door, she leaned inside. "Here," she bent over to the floor, and she could feel his eyes on her. "Your cloak."
"Thank you," he said, taking it. Suddenly his eyes spoke volumes to her, things only she was meant to be a part of. Things one wouldn't share in mixed company.
"I…" She tried to divert the conversation by making chitchat, "I'm really glad we're here. I could use a shower," she explained, stretching her arms above her as they walked.
He was very close to her. "Hmm. A cold one perhaps?"
She nearly stopped in her tracks. This wasn't fair…
"Unless of course…" When he put his hand on her hip, she really did stop. "You'd rather join me for a hot shower instead?"
She gaped at him. He wasn't serious. He couldn't be. God, he was cruel—why did he have to do this to her?
Quickly composing herself, she chuckled a bit. "I don't think so," She started sauntering away from him. "But see how effective your cold shower is when you're thinking of me taking mine."
She didn't look back or heed to the sound of footsteps behind her.
Instead she strode into Gongaga, the first bout of their little game over, the victorious, self-proclaimed winner of round one.
XXXXXXXXXA.N.: I'm totally senile right now, so I think I forgot how I wanted to end this fic. Whoops. Hopefully it wasn't too bad.
Well that was my first crack at VinTi! My affinity for this pairing has kind of been showing through in my recent fics so… it was inevitable I spose XD
Reviews are love! Especially considering that this is new to me and I'm very unsure. Feedback will determine whether or not I continue this in some form.