Chapter One - Wandering Into The Unknown
She laid in the bed for at least two days, finally able to roll over onto her back. She knew her wounds were already perfectly healed with the barest of scars, but she would keep the bandages changed for appearences. Today, on the third day, she sighed and finally managed to sit up. She had tried to stand, but the strength went out of her quicker than she could have blinked, and she had to fall back down onto the bed. With her elbows on her knees, she rested her head in her hands, emerald eyes looking down at the floor in mild-irritation. She had never been this weak before, but then the rational part of her brain won over the irrational one. She had been asleep in bed for two days straight, so of course some of her strength wouldn't be back so soon after waking up. Just as she let out a loud sigh, Tifa walked in, holding a steaming cup of tea. "Oh! You're awake!" Walking over, the woman handed the cup to Lucy with a smile, and after hesitating for a second, Lucy took it from her. Looking into the liquid, it took her a minute to find her voice. "Is he... gone?" Glancing up, she saw a confused look flash over Tifa's face, then she smiled faintly. "He said he had something to do. But he said to call when you woke up." Tifa said the last sentece a little hurriedly, seeing something in Lucy's eyes that the woman herself had yet to feel.
Standing, Tifa watched Lucy carefull as the red-head sipped her tea. Ever since she had seen those sparks between the woman and Vincent, she had been over-taken by the sudden, rash, and stupid compulsion to ask either of the two what their shared pasts were. But then she realized that it would be foolish to do so. So for now, she would keep her mouth shut and hopefully, one day, the secrets would come out. That look that had been in Vincent eyes when he had searched Lucy's face... It had torn at Tifa deep down. She had never seen him have any deep emotion in his eyes like that. He was always such a recluse when it came to his emotions. A faint smile crossed her lips, but she covered it up with a bigger one when Lucy looked up. "Have you known him for a long time?" Seeing the sadness in the woman's eyes, Tifa carefully took the cup from Lucy, put it off to the side, then sat down beside her, placing her right hand over the woman's left. "For a few years. You know, if you say his name he won't disappear. In fact..." Tifa looked down as she tried to think of what she should say next. "I think you're afraid that if you speak his name, he'll disappear. but he won't. He is real, and saying his name won't make him disappear, it will make him that much more real."
Looking at Tifa, Lucy was silent for a long time before she spoke up. "I've thought he was dead for a long time. I've been holding out, with a very thin line of hope for these past eighteen years that he was out there somewhere... But now that I found him again, I fear that if I even blink, he'll be gone again." She dropped her gaze to the floor, her left hand tightening into a fist underneath Tifa's hand. "Are you alright?" She looked up out of the corner of her eyes to see Tifa look confused again for a second. "I forgot to thank you. How did you know?" Lucy looked back down at the floor, starting to feel her strength return to her, slowly but surely. "Just a feeling I guess. Did anyone catch the guys who did it?" Tifa shook her head and patted Lucy's hand before standing to her feet, stretching a little. "No. But that's alright." Lucy went to protest, but Tifa gave her a stern look, her hands fists on her hips. "It's alright. Really. Come on. You should get out of the bed." Lucy didn't want to get up, but the calm and gentle look on Tifa's look made her give in. A half hour later, the two finally made it downstairs. Sitting on a stood in front of the bar, her cloak draped over her shoulders to hide her bandages, Lucy watched Tifa as she picked up a phone and called him.
Tifa had told him that Lucy had woken up, and the look that had crossed her face when Vincent hung up abruptly almost made Lucy laugh. "Well... Rude, much!" Tifa shouted at the phone, and this really did make Lucy laugh. Deep down, she knew why he had been so rude to Tifa. He was just glad that she was okay. And that... made Lucy very happy. "Maybe he's just busy?" Lucy said lightly, and when she looked at Tifa, she was suprised when the woman rolled her eyes and laughed. "Please! I know why he did that. It's just a bit of a suprise, is all." Lucy could see that Tifa was very interested in the relationship between Lucy and Vincent, but Lucy just wasn't ready to talk about that at the moment. "Do you have a hammer and some nails?" Tifa looked at her in confusion. "I need to do something. I can't just sit around her while I recover." Sighing, but unwilling to argue with Lucy when the woman had that look in her eyes, she found the things needed and handed them to Lucy. Immediately, Lucy got to work patching up the holes in the wall. She was no longer in pain, but her face did contort just slightly with the stiffness in her shoulders and back. The work went on for at least three hours. Lucy had gotten a little ahead of herself, going so far as to patch the bar up in its entirety. Tifa had protested the whole time, saying that saving her life had been enough, but Lucy didn't feel that way. She had to do this, feeling as if it was her duty to help this woman, even though she was a personal stranger. She was in the back 'office' when the front door was open. With the office door closed, nothing inside that room could he heard, so she couldn't hear what was going on outside.
Out in the main part of the bar, Vincent had walked back in. Tifa was sitting an a barstool, reading a book when he came in. She lowered the book just a little, then let it fall to her lap when she saw it was him. "You're back now. That sure took a long time." The man just stood by the door, trying to look not-so-obvious when he looked around. Tifa wasn't stupid though, she knew that he was looking for Lucy. Setting her book down onto the bartop, she stretched. "Well, I'm going to go visit a friend." Walking past him, she stopped right in front of the door, her hand on the handle. "She's in the office." Walking out, she let the door shut. About two minutes later, Lucy walked out, looking down at some papers. "Tifa, what should I-" When she looked up, her eyes went straight to Vincent's, and she became acutely aware that Tifa was no longer inside. Lucy swallowed a little nervously, and used alot of her will power to look back down at the papers in her hands. The silence of the room started to press down on her, so she turned to leave. But before she could even take a step forward, her body got a shock as she felt his arms come around her, preventing her from moving. "You are real..." The tone of his voice broke her heart and she began to cry. He had changed so much over the years, and she could tell this was something that he was struggling with. His arms just tightened around her, and she just leaned against him as she cried.
Finally, the tears stopped. She felt herself turn around, and she looked up into his eyes. They had never shed a tear, but she could see something deep within those eyes. "And so are you." She searched his face for a minute, and then she leaned up without really thinking about it. She let her lips brush across his, and was going to leave it at that, but he seemed to have a different idea. He kissed her back, and so much was conveyed in it. Her eyes teared up again, then she just let herself fall into the swirl of emotion that washed over her mind. She was... happy. He was real, and nothing could change that. She would fight to keep that reality alive.
