Vincent had gotten three books on demonology with Cloud's help, and Aerith was mildly busy keeping Yuffie out of trouble and helping customers. She must have done this many times before.
Cloud couldn't stop wondering about what Vincent and Yuffie might need with a couple of books on demonology. He was also curious about what their partnership really meant. It seemed like they worked together, but they also made it look like they were just travelers. For a second there, Cloud could see the two of them as minstrels carrying colorful lutes, but he realized that this was definitely not what they did. No minstrel ever need a lesson in demonology.
Now, they all sat in a few comfy chairs that were intended for reading on, conversing amongst one another about the things that had happened while the pair was away. Vincent, Cloud had noted, unbuckled the belts on the collar of his cowl when he was really comfortable. Now that he could see his whole face for the first time, he could really saw that he'd never really seen anyone that looked like Vincent. The only person who could compare, he thought, was Sephiroth, but he'd only ever seen the SOLDIER in posters and advertisements. Who knew if there had been any doctoring to those pictures? Honestly, he didn't think Sephiroth would need any doctoring done to his pictures; that man was pretty admirable to him.
But anyways, Cloud still didn't know why the pair had left Midgar, evidently coming back on the night that Cloud had bumped into Vincent, but he didn't feel like asking, or even that it was his place to. It must've had to do with their partnership, and if their intentional vagueness meant anything, it was that he wasn't meant to know much about it.
Strife convinced himself that it was better to be considerate than to be nosy, but in the same breath, he was burning to know the things about them that only a friend could know. The answer to why he might want that should be easy enough. Cloud was an adult; it happened to be perfectly natural to want to assert himself in that way with these new people in this new place. However, he knew that it could be hard and that taking chances with these shady bookstore folk could get him into trouble. Honestly, openly not wanting somebody to know what you do for a living is pretty much one of the easiest ways to give off a shady vibe.
But Cloud was willing to make these friends if it meant he wouldn't have to be alone all the time.
Aerith was a very happy woman when Zack was around, and she made that clear to Yuffie whenever she made a comment about Cloud. He supposed someone her age might have things like that constantly on the mind, but for some reason it wasn't as endearing as it was at the start. Vincent hardly spoke unless he was spoken to, but one time he denied having anything to do with a suspicious blouse found in his apartment, which he also noted that he didn't share with Yuffie.
"If you really minded me being in your apartment so much you would've kept your window locked," She claimed.
"If you really could be stopped by a window lock I would keep locking it," he replied hopelessly.
Banter like this continued until Vincent wisely resigned each time it happened, and of course it was always amusng enough to at least elicit a chuckle or two from both Cloud and Aerith. Yuffie wouldn't let up about the blouse she'd found in Vinny's room, though. Vincent kept a cold face each time she'd mention it, but eventually Strife learned something about Yuffie that he had hoped was just his bad impression of her.
Yuffie was a bit too insensitive for her own good. She wasn't intending any harm, of course, but eventually Vincent had about as much of her teasing as he could take, and his eyes changed.
It was the first time Cloud had ever seen his face so angry so openly. Though his frown had grown deeper, the most striking feature was his eyes. He didn't even say anything. His genuinely angry look was enough to tell Yuffie to drop whatever she was getting at, and Cloud had to look at what kind of people they both were. Yuffie shrunk back easily at the sudden stare, and very soon after he shot her an apologetic look, as if he couldn't help himself. He then, Cloud regrets to see, buckles his collar back up in embarrassment while Aerith tries to mend the situation, and make it feel less awkward for Cloud.
He guessed that the pair had been good at communicating with just looks for a while now. Aerith was probably to blame for that level of closeness as well.
It was a very abrupt ending to their day, when they realized that it was time for them all to return home. Vincent and Yuffie claimed they had business elsewhere, and Cloud knew better than to try and distract Aerith from Zack, so he returned back to the Triangle Building without fanfare.
He was happy to have met them, oddly anxious to see them again, but on the inside he was putting on a show about how being alone might not be so bad. It was like all the wanting he'd done before meeting them was being concealed, and Cloud didn't even have a good reason for it. He was just turning out to be that kind of person. The kind of person who was so used to being alone that they become scared and unsure of what to do as soon as it changes.
Once inside the building, he remembered that he lived in a nearly empty hallway with Vincent, a smoker, and a guy named… Actually, Cloud hadn't bothered to learn his name. The only neighbor he could really say he was concerned with was Valentine. He was interesting, and seemed to understand Cloud well.
Whenever he'd thought he made a bad impression, Vincent would just automatically show that he knew where Cloud was coming from, and it was really easy to talk to him. Now he was just sitting on the railing on the second floor porch, hoping to see the man again. It was awfully desperate of him, he acknowledged, but talking to him had really been that much of a pleasure.
He was there for 5 minutes before thinking that just being there, creepily waiting for an essential stranger to show up wasn't okay, but as soon as he hopped off the railing, none other than Yuffie Kisaragi bumped into him hard. He flew back into the railing and he wasn't scared of falling from since he'd taken greater tumbles in Nibelheim and was lithe for it, but the ninja had lightning reflexes and pulled him in anyways. He bumped into her even harder than he did the railing with all the force she put into it.
"You really oughta be careful, Spike!"
"Hey, Yuffie," was all he could really say in that moment. He wasn't surprised about her fast response, just that she was there. He liked Yuffie just as much as he did Vincent, but she wasn't on his mind as much as he was. In all honesty, she kind of scared him. She was just an extremely vibrant young girl with the skills (from what he could see) of a damned assassin, and she was very sensitive to people's reactions when she wanted to be it seemed, because Cloud thought she could probably guess what he was thinking right then.
"What'cha doin' out here all by yourself?" she asked with a sly grin.
"Waiting to see if Vincent will show up."
He was perhaps a bit too honest here. Could Yuffie keep these things to herself? He didn't want to come off as a creep or anything, but then again, he wasn't naturally a liar. She'd probably be able to see through any lie he told if he tried.
"Vinny's probably gonna to be out all night tonight, but I'll keep you company if you want."
"Ah," he said as if he were going to turn her down, because it was sort of a blow to his pride to be caught so lonely, but he liked Yuffie despite his wary feelings towards her. "Sure, thanks."
"No problem," she assured with a large smile. She led him down the hall towards his apartment, but then when they passed it he tried to stop her and tell her it was the other way. Cloud couldn't have guessed that the ninja wanted to hang out in Vincent's apartment uninvited.
"Oh, he won't mind you being here, Cloud! He seems to like you a lot."
What does that mean? She wasn't being terribly specific.
"That's all well and good, but I don't think Vincent would want a stranger in his house, regardless of how much he liked 'em."
"C'mon, it'll be fine! Like I said, Vinny's not coming back until this morning. You'll be gone before he gets here, and you won't have to be alone in that apartment of yours."
Assuming this meant that Yuffie didn't want to be in his apartment, he guessed she probably had her worries about him, too. Being that she had been in Vincent's apartment before, she'd probably be more comfortable in his house anyways. Either that, or she already knew there wasn't anything to do in there, also a very likely explanation. The thought of her being in his apartment without him knowing didn't bother him as much as maybe it should have.
So that's how he got talked into going into someone's house without permission by a 16 year old girl. She acted like it was the norm to just waltz in people's houses. It probably was for her, but Cloud supposed it was things like this that made her as unique as she was. She was very right to say her stealth was unmatched.
Yuffie probably snuck up on him 3 times while he was hanging out with her, which was no less than 15 minutes. Valentine's house was pretty barren as well, but not in a way that suggested he didn't have the money to buy any furniture, unlike Cloud, who only filled one room with all the furniture he had. It was just the bare necessities, and strangely enough, an old, fat PS2 with a bunch of good games piled next to it. There were even a few memory cards sitting there with evidence of peeled stickers on them. Maybe Yuffie brought those here?
Most of his furniture was black, but at least it all matched. And the lack of anything decorative was pretty much what he'd expected from Valentine. There wasn't much in the kitchen either, except for a few sweets here and there, and a half eaten pie. Vincent didn't look like a pie guy. Cloud was tempted to snoop around in his bedroom and see if it was the same as in the living room, but thought better of it because it's just plain creepy to do so.
But looking around wasn't all he did there. They talked about themselves a little, because that's just what you do when you've met a person. At first, Yuffie was just addressing some simple questions that she hadn't had the chance to while they were in the library/bookstore/whatever, like if he did his hair on his own, where he was from, his hobbies…
"Hey, do you play video games?"
"We didn't really have many back in Nibelheim, but I have-"
"I challenge you to a game of your choice!"
He was taken aback by the sheer confidence Yuffie displayed. She wasn't even a little concerned. There definitely wasn't any game he could pick that she'd have a disadvantage in, then. Well, deciding to just accept his defeat early, Cloud picked a title straight from the middle of the pile, a fighting game, and went on to get beaten viciously until late at night.
When Yuffie got tired or winning in that game she pulled out a racing game, and then after that a different fighting game.
He couldn't say it wasn't fun, and as soon as he'd gotten the hang of them he won a few games. Yuffie had him by about 30 matches per game, but there were no hard feelings. She was fun, he decided, despite her shady vibe. He liked her a little more after that.
After a long time, he resigned himself to the corner of the comfy couch, and he was watching Yuffie play a popular turn-based RPG by herself. Here and there he asked her about the story or the characters, because apparently she'd beaten it many times, but besides that there was nothing but a comfortable silence. Even that was more fun than being alone all night he decided, even if watching her crawl a dungeon fighting the same three enemies over and over could be a bit bland.
Cloud didn't realize how late it was when Vincent burst through the door looking like hell, but evidently Yuffie was wrong about when he was supposed to be home. Yuffie was so startled that she dropped her controller in the middle of a boss fight and swore louder than necessary, which surprised Cloud a lot more than Vincent's sudden appearance in his own house. Wasn't she supposed to be a ninja?
He was hunched over, hair all over the place in worse condition than before, and the slightest splatter of blood on his chin and cheek, some flowing freely from his nose. What the hell happened? Cloud was torn between panic and being stunned.
Yuffie was the first to respond, quickly and silently moving to his side, but when they saw each other his eyes never left Cloud's. Maybe he shouldn't have taken Yuffie's invitation. He was starting to second guess his welcome. More importantly than that, however, is the panic that swelled in his chest at seeing his new friend in that condition. Were they even friends, though? At this point, they were just acquaintances, meaning it was even worse to get caught in his house uninvited than before.
There were no words in his mouth, and he was finding it hard to summon the right phrase past the lump in his throat. What really could Cloud say to him? All he seemed capable of doing was watching from his frozen position on the couch.
The ninja guided Vincent over the couch, asking Cloud to move so he could lie down, and he did without protest. She moved around quickly, getting a cool washcloth and looking for a first aid kit. When she couldn't seem to find it she yelled from another room.
"Vinny, did you forget to grab a first aid kit again?"
"Sorry," he called out. He sounded tired. Cloud sat on his knees by the couch, looking into the room that Yuffie had gone into but trying to catch a glance of the man beside him every now and again. Vincent didn't seem to have any reservations about openly staring at Cloud though.
"It's good to see you again so soon, Cloud." Strife was reminded again just how much he liked hearing Vincent say his name. He turned his head back slowly, feeling his face contort with worry. How was it possible that somebody could be so pale.
"What happened to you?"
Vincent opened and closed his mouth, having a harder time forming sentences than Cloud had just a moment earlier. Yuffie saved him from having to speak however, coming back with the rag and scolding him for forgetting to buy the kit yet again. How many times had this happened?
"I told you that I should've come with you."
"I'm fine, Yuffie," he said as she gently swiped the cloth at his nose, "It just looks bad. I'm just tired. I wasn't able to stop it this time."
What is 'it?'
Where was this place? Cloud didn't know. He didn't want to be involved, and at the same time he wanted to know everything. This was a bad situation to get caught up in, he decided. Torn between wanting to get caught up, and knowing what's safe, Cloud got up and prepared to say goodbye. This wasn't a thing they were just going to tell him about right away, and besides, it could be just because it's better not to know, but he had no grounds to make assumptions.
What was he supposed to do, anyways? Was he going to demand answers from these people that he'd only met today? He couldn't possibly be so unreasonable. This wasn't a thing he really should be sticking his nose in anyways.
"I guess I'll catch you guys later," he said over the drone of the quiet video game battle music. "I hope you're feeling better tomorrow, Vincent."
He turned away but Yuffie's hand caught a handful of his jeans, effectively stopping him. She looked sad to see him go, like a four year old leaving school for the first time ever.
"You don't have to leave if you don't want to, isn't that right, Vinny?"
"... If he wants to leave, then you shouldn't try to muscle him into staying…" Vincent seemed to understand that Cloud didn't actually want to be involved in whatever the hell this was.
"But we had a good time hanging out today! I know you'll be fine, and I know nothing will happen to Cloud if he stays, so why not? It's not fair that you get to come in here all bloody and ruin it."
"I didn't say 'no,'" he claimed sounding guilty, though Strife thought that the feeling was unwarranted, seeing as how it was Vincent's apartment. He must value Yuffie's opinion a lot.
"...Sorry, Vinny. I didn't mean that. You should've let me come with you this time."
He didn't respond to her at first. Cloud knew that Vincent probably didn't just go out and get fucked up like he was on purpose, so there ought not to be this strange feeling of guilt he had.
"The decision is Cloud's"
Then they both looked to him. He really should go… "I'll stay if you really want me to, Yuffie."
She cheered and tried to keep track of her game, Cloud, and Vincent all at once, thanking him for keeping her company and playfully chastising Vincent or being a bad host. Strife was worried though, and he was only able to keep his nervousness down until he forgot about it by paying extra attention to Yuffie's game of Persona 4.
-)(-)(-)(-
Cloud woke up with a start. He felt a terrible panic wash over him at not recognizing his surroundings. It didn't last long, though, as he relaxed and pressed his back up against the couch from his place on the floor of Vincent's apartment. His neck ached from the awkward position. He guessed that Vince fell asleep first, then himself, and lastly Yuffie. At least she made herself comfy.
Yuffie was laying on her side next to him, halfway under the coffee table and nearly clinging to him. Her hair appeared to have yellow highlights with the way the sun touched it. Cloud swore he could see a trail of spit from her pouty lips too. She looked younger than before while she slept.
Vincent had his clawed hand hanging off the side of the couch with the elbow of his other arm shielding his eyes from any light. There was a thick dried train of blood streaming down from his nose to his ear. He must've started bleeding again while they were asleep. Cloud wanted to know why he hadn't bothered to do anything about it. Just how beat up was he? There must've been more damage under the surface that Cloud couldn't see. That, or he was more exhausted than he let anyone know. maybe that's why he let Cloud, nearly a total stranger, stay the night.
He felt bad for Valentine, then. Whatever was going on in his life… it must be quite the burden. Strife looked for the discarded rag from last night and found it on the other side of Yuffie. He leaned over, grabbed it, and realized that it smelled like mildew from having water and a bit of blood in it all night long. Grimacing at the nasty smell, the runaway got up and threw the dirty rag into the kitchen sink, searching some drawers and cabinets for what he was looking for.
Warm water ran over the hand holding the clean rag, and then he wrung it out hoping that the noise of the water hitting the bottom didn't wake up anybody. he sat back in the spot he fell asleep in and considered the fact that Vincent might not want him to touch him, but disregarded it because he really just was trying to help.
Gently, Cloud scrapped the cloth over the dried blood trail on Vincent's face, and he heard his breath hitch, even felt it on his hand, and then he saw his eyes crack open the slightest bit as Strife continued to wipe away at the stain.
A quiet moment passed by before Vincent muttered, "You remind me of her in a way," The sound of his voice was slow and soft. Obviously he wasn't all there yet, and honestly, Cloud expected him to fall back asleep any second, but he humored him calmly.
"How so?" He didn't even know who 'her' was supposed to be referring to. It was just the way Valentine had uttered that sentence that made Cloud respond back like he did. He was just talking, and whether it meant anything was irrelevant to him at the moment. Cloud felt like Vincent probably needed to say whatever he was trying to say.
"You both do this sort of thing… And when you talk, I listen…"
"Does she clean you up when you're like this?" Cloud assumed he meant Yuffie. He continued to swab gently at the blood streak on his face.
"She's not… She can't seem to be gentle like you though…" He said that like Cloud made some kind of false accusation. "I think she wanted to scar me that time. Don't you think so, too?"
"Scar you? I wasn't there." That cleared up any suspicion on Yuffie's part. That girl didn't really seem like the kind of person who would try and hurt Vincent without reason. Cloud wasn't trying to hurt him either, so he lost how he and 'her' were alike if they both did this sort of thing. There was no doubt that Vincent was referring to a time long before the two of them had met.
"Your voice is easier to hear than most, but you aren't loud… You and her…" Vincent's arm rose up from its place over his bandanna, and his hand rose up to rest instead on Cloud's wrist. "She could never be as soft, because she would never do something unless she could gain from it." The calloused finger tips rubbed his wrist as if to get a better feel of the skin there, but Cloud couldn't seem to care enough to want the paler man to let go.
The fog in his crimson eyes was slowly fading, and maybe he was waking up more. Still, Cloud couldn't find the grace to ask who 'she' was. It seemed like this sort of thing was going to turn out to be an awful recurrence for the two of them. The man in front of Strife was mysterious in such a way that he wasn't sure he wanted to deal with, and that is where the future problem lied.
But Cloud needed a friend, and it was turning out that Vincent needed someone to talk to, so until the runaway finally got affected negatively, he wanted to be there to hear the things he had to say. It felt a lot like reading the sequel to a book he never started.
"I don't know why, but I can't get her out of my head when I see you."
He still couldn't force himself to push off the paler man's hand from his wrist so that he could continue to wipe away at his face, but he supposed it might be easier to hear what he had to say if he withheld from it anyways. On the inside he was confused, but his face was probably as relaxed as Vincent's, and he realized then that it was probably unusual and surreal for the both of them now that he was a little more aware of the world around him.
"If we're so alike, does that mean that you think I might try to hurt you somehow?"
"It's funny. I don't really have a reason to, now do I?"
"Not that I've noticed."
"Then… Why do I feel like this…? She could never be... so gentle..."
"Maybe we both have trust issues," Cloud muttered, suddenly reminded of his attitude about making friends, and how his detachment and indifference about the people around him held him back from making connections and relationships time and time again. Not only that, but he thought of Tifa, and how she might not hold him in the same light that he held her her in. Thinking about that always made him a little upset, because the thought had always been on his mind no matter how he tried to pretend it wasn't there.
He thought that maybe Vincent was more in tune with the way people were feeling than he let on. Taking his other clawed hand, he laid it on top of the more human one, and lightly squeezed, and he wasn't sure if it was meant to be comforting but somehow it was received that way. Cloud thought that there was more emotion in his hands than his face, still pretty drowsy looking if not for his clear eyes, but he wasn't sure about what he was trying to say.
"Maybe you're right… but the one thing I can be certain both you and Lucrecia have in common is your ability to make me lower my guard. Please don't hurt me," he said softly.
So her name was Lucrecia. Cloud didn't know what to make of his openness. It was so sudden and unexpected, so much so that he questioned whether or not he should stick around for much longer. If he hid things from him than he felt like running, but if he revealed things he still felt the same way. This was a bad sign, but he wanted to wait for something bad to happen first.
"Let's make a deal. I promise not to hurt you, if you can promise me the same thing." Cloud was really trying not to freak out, because on the inside he was a bit frazzled at this surreal conversation. He was better at keeping himself composed than anyone had ever given him credit for. It didn't make much sense from start to finish, but apparently Vincent didn't feel the same way about it. He was strange beyond appearances, it seemed.
Yawning languidly, he replied softly, "I promise," and then that was the end of it. Drowsy eyelids drooped lower and lower until finally they closed completely. His hands slipped from Cloud's wrist, and it felt cold where they left him, but he patiently wiped the rest of the remaining blood from Valentine's face and then got up carefully, to avoid unnecessary pain in his cramped neck.
His stomach was growling now, and he didn't want to wake Yuffie up with it, so he got up from his spot again and left for his own apartment, but he couldn't get Vincent out of his head. It was much like when they'd separated the day before. As he prepared to make himself a sandwich, he thought on and on about Vincent's life, and all the things that could have happened in it.
-)(-)(-)(-
Later that day, after work, on the way back to the Triangle building, Cloud realized that Vincent and Yuffie were the only people he could think about since meeting them. It felt a bit childish to not have anything else on his mind, but he supposed if he forced himself he could forget them for a while.
And it wasn't as if he didn't have things to do that he ought to focus on, but after last night, and that strange bit of bleary morning talk, it was all he wondered about. Truthfully though, Cloud had enough money saved up for a bed now, and maybe he could get a decent phone, too. It was a little hard to decided which he needed more. A phone for communication or a bed for improved comfort and health. He wasn't sure he had enough for both.
Everyday after working in the bookstore though, (or the library since Aerith couldn't decide what she wanted with it,) he didn't feel like doing much at all, even if it was a slow day. More people went in there than anyone might expect. Still, Cloud didn't have much of a reason to feel so tired from it everyday. Whatever Vincent does leaves him so exhausted that he can't even be bothered to stop his nose from bleeding.
But there lies the problem. He was constantly on his mind since this morning. When he finally trudged up the stairs to the second floor of The Triangle Building, he half hoped that Yuffie would invite him inside Vincent's place, and half hoped that neither of them would be anywhere in sight. This indecisiveness was unlike him.
Whether it was fortunate or unfortunate, there was nobody to meet him in the hall, so he made him way inside his own house and tried to focus on sleeping. That was all he felt like doing.
He couldn't sleep though. Not when Valentine had said all those things to him. Cloud couldn't fathom a person being so open so naturally, especially a person such as Vincent. So why had he admitted those things? He could tell at first that it wasn't on purpose at first, but why, when he was actually awake, did he continue to go on about Lucrecia? Who was this woman, who had purposely tried to scar his neighbor?
And what did it mean, that Vincent couldn't stop 'it?' Where was Yuffie trying to go that would've saved Vincent the injury, and where exactly should Cloud be right now? What he thought was most important to sort out was if he should let himself be involved. It was time to start acting more like himself and decide what he wanted to do.
Did Vincent even remember this morning? Regardless, Cloud promised not to hurt him, and that meant being his friend. If he happened to get caught up in it, he couldn't go back on his word and leave him. Sometimes he had to remind himself that he needed a friend just as much as Vincent, too, and that it would probably do them both good in the long run.
It took longer than it usually would, but eventually Cloud began to drift off, and fell asleep in the chair that he was starting to hate for it's upright position. He'd probably buy a bed first. What did he need a phone for anyways? He would just have to show up for work everyday and make due without being able to call in sick. Really, a phone bill would really constrict his eating, too. Yeah, a phone could wait.
And then he finally drifted off to sleep...
...
…
His eyes shot open wide when he heard a loud sliding noise over by the window. What the fuck was that? He could see through his own hazy eyes, and once again he was awoken in a panic.
"Oi, Spike," Yuffie? "What are you doing in this lonely old apartment of yours? Didn't you want to hang out again today?"
"...What?"
"Well, you didn't bother to say goodbye this morning, and then I couldn't find you on the veranda, so I waited for you to knock or something on Vinny's door, but you didn't, and it's been like two hours since you got off work, and Vinny's not home yet. I got scared that what you saw last night scared you away or that I did something to make you not want to hang out, and I-I didn't know you were just sleeping in here, Spike, but you should use a bed. Upright position's just torture on the back!"
She was just like any other 16 year old girl, he thought, with her nervous rambling and unsure confrontation. he felt bad that he didn't say 'bye' but she was sleeping. Did she expect him to wake her up for that?
"M'sorry, Yuffie. I didn't want to wake you up, and I wasn't sure I should come over today, either."
"Well, we're friends now! Of course you should come over as much as possible! Unless you don't want to. What do you wanna do, Spike?"
The sentiment was appreciated but screamed that she was in need of attention. At least she didn't display this need in an unhealthy way. Sure, pick-pocketing wasn't exactly the best way to express these things, but Cloud had never witnessed it himself, and her breaking into his apartment wasn't quite as annoying as one might expect it to be, so he was kinda cool with it.
He leaned forward and cracked his neck, then he stood up and tried to stretch the cricks out of his spine, heaving a heavy sigh as he slowly came back online and fully woke up.
"I'll hang out if you really want me to, Yuffie." If this was how their friendship was going to go, then that was fine by Cloud. He supposed the situation made his decision easier.
Well, first thing's first: Thank you for reading! What did you think of this chapter, and what kind of questions do you have about it?
I hope I didn't write Yuffie too obnoxious in this chapter. Sometimes I read fics where her ignorance is just incredibly over the top, just too much for her to seem like a real person. What did you guys think of that morning scene? That part actually happened to be really super duper fun to write~ Did the way I include Lucrecia seem okay to you guys?
As always, please leave a review wheter you liked this or not! An honest review is more important than no review at all. I hope you liked what you read!
