A.N.: OMG I'm back. These author's note are gonna be long, so bear with me. Or don't. Just read anf leave a review and I will love you XD

First of all, you guys have been amazing with your response to this fic! It really built my confidence, enough to make this a full-fledged multichap. Thanks for the support.

I believe my reaction to opening my inbox and seeing 12 reviews after one day was 'Hot damn!' XD I'll have to double-check with my friend who was with me at the time, but I'm pretty sure that was it.

For anyone questioning whether or not Vincent is OOC:

As far as I'm concerned, Vincent had too small of a role in FF7 to have a very concrete personality. That makes me feel like I have a lot of freedom. I also think that there is somewhat of a standard fan-created personality that people buy into which contradicts me theory. But at any rate, it's also my belief that I should be justifying this in my writing, not in outside notes. So I'm asking you to all to trust me : ) I won't do anything crazily OOC, and anything you may be questioning WILL be justified by the end.

I hope.

Anyway! Put this one on alert folks, cause I'm in for the long run. Hope ya like.

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After a nice long shower—only mildly cold, thank you very much—and a change of clothes, Tifa joined the rest of her group for dinner.

After her incident in the buggy, she'd abandoned her skirt in favor of some cotton shorts that would allow her a bit more… security. With the low-cut tank top she was wearing, it completed the outfit she'd probably go to bed in. She didn't think anyone would mind or notice that she was attending dinner in her pajamas.

The innkeeper was nice enough to give them use of his extra room for free so they could eat and determine their next plan of action. Tifa assumed it was probably intended for business conferences, but it was plain that Gongaga didn't often have many visitors at once.

She took her seat at the nearly empty table. Only she, Cloud and Nanaki had arrived, and it was fairly silent. Cloud wouldn't start whatever briefing he had in mind until everyone was there, and they couldn't eat until Aeris and Yuffie returned with the food. They had apparently volunteered while she was in the shower.

By the time the girls had arrived with dinner, almost everyone had made it to the table. Every person except one, but she was trying not to notice that he in particular was missing.

Trying and failing, but trying all the same.

As if on cue he entered the room. His eyes seemed to be focused on nothing but her. In an instant she was reminded of the afternoon. And still, she couldn't shake her curiosity—what she'd give to find out what he was thinking.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a bowl of teriyaki chicken and noodles being placed in front of her. She looked up at Aeris. "Did you get any vegetables?" Tifa valued a balanced diet, and being on the road made her worry that she might not be getting the proper nutrition. And considering what they were up against—ShinRa, Sephiroth—she wanted to be as healthy as possible.

Aeris looked apologetic and shook her head.

"Salad…? Nothing…?"

"No… Sorry," She paused for a moment in thought. "Oh wait, we have some fruit though."

"Really?"

"Yeah," she said retrieving some strawberries. "Yuffie wanted to go all out for ice cream sundaes." She gestured to the shopping bag.

"Wow," Tifa said. Yuffie had really gotten the works. Chocolate sauce, sprinkles, butterscotch, walnuts, cherries, whipped cream…

Aeris laughed slightly. "Yeah, I know. The only problem is—"

She was cut off by an anguished cry from Yuffie. "Ahhh! I can't BELIEVEit!"

Tifa raised an eyebrow and Aeris laughed harder. "She forgot to get the ice cream."

Another distressed sound came from Yuffie as she plopped down in the seat next to Tifa, hiding her face in her folded arms on the table. Tifa couldn't suppress a chuckle but patted her reassuringly. "That's okay, we'll get some ice cream next time."

"Ooh," Aeris cut in. "Guess what I did get."

"What's that?" she asked, inspecting the strawberries. She looked up as Aeris pulled a bottle of red wine out of the shopping bag. "Ooh!" Tifa repeated. "I'll take a glass of that," she grinned.

"Okay guys," Cloud seemed ready to begin his consultation. Tifa took a large sip of wine and prayed that his briefing would actually be brief this time. "I know you're not happy I dragged you all out here, but…" He stopped and shook his head uncertainly. "I don't know. I have a feeling about this place. We're gonna get up early tomorrow to see what we can find, so get a good night's sleep."

Yuffie wasted no time in filling the silence that ensued, looking back and forth from her food to Cloud hopefully. "Is that it?"

"Yeah, that's all."

Everyone except Tifa eagerly dug into their dinner. Just as she took an experimental bite of a strawberry, she found her eyes locked with those of the figure seated across the table on Cloud's left. She fought the blush that rose all too quickly. Was he planning on watching her all night?

Taking a deeper drink of wine, she wondered if she should give him something to look at. She grew embarrassed with herself as she thought it, disbelieving that her mind had jumped there already.

But still, after that car ride, how could she possibly help it?

She took another bite, this time much slower, with intentional eye contact in his direction. He made no indication that he'd noticed her doing anything out of the ordinary, just continued staring in her direction.

Was he trying to drive her crazy or something? Maybe this would be harder than she thought.

She downed the rest of her glass, already needing a refill. When she took a sip from the fresh glass, she very carefully licked her lips clean of any stray liquid, trying to convey some kind of message to him with her gaze.

She only paused to wonder exactly what it was she was hoping to accomplish. Making him nervous the way he did to her had proven to be rather impossible. But she had learned one thing—he wasn't immune to teasing. That would have to be her advantage.

If he was going to frustrate her, she was going to do the same to him.

She hurriedly ate her dinner, this time avoiding looking at him. She didn't think she could manage to make eating chicken look sexy. When everyone's dishes were empty, she was only dimly aware of the fact that everyone—even Cloud—was making mealtime chitchat except for her and Vincent. They were too preoccupied in a silent battle of will and self-control.

She took a moment to tune into the conversation happening around her.

"I don't wannashare a room with him!" Yuffie complained loudly, gesturing to Cait Sith.

"He's a fuckin' robot! He ain't gonna bother nobody!" Barret slammed his gun arm on the table, causing everyone to jump.

"But it's not fair,"she continued. "I want my own room! Why do you get your own room?" she demanded, glaring at Vincent.

"I'm afraid that is the luck of the draw."

Upon arriving at the inn and finding that it only had five rooms, they had drawn straws to see who would spend the night without a roommate. Tifa had hurried off to her shower after picking the longest straw in the bunch, so this was news to her.

At the exact right moment, Vincent looked her way. "You've got a room to yourself?" she asked, taking a few strands of hair and twirling them around her fingers—a perfectly innocent gesture with a subtext that was anything but.

"Yes," he replied, the beginnings of a smirk on his face. "I do."

"Well…" she said in the huskiest voice she could manage without sounding too obvious. "Aren't you lucky?"

"Perhaps. I am not sure."

She licked her lips just once, slowly, before continuing. "You never know. You just might be."

He seemed to notice at the same time she did that everyone was watching them, so he only replied with a brief 'hmm.' She found herself squirming as she imagined where the situation could have escalated to if they'd been alone.

Finishing her second glass, she was suddenly thankful for the slight buzz that the wine had given her. It was certainly making her feel a bit bolder. She picked up another strawberry, this time making it rather obvious that she was thinking of something other than what she was eating. One particularly sensual bite caused a drop of juice to land on the exposed skin of her chest. She made a rather big display of wiping it off.

Finding that she had nothing else to implement in her torture of Vincent, she sought other methods. She absently fiddled with her neckline, again drawing even more attention to the barely covered area. She leaned forward on the table to enhance the effect, flipping her hair to ensure that his view was unobstructed.

It would barely have been perceptible had she not been watching him so with such intensity, but she most definitely saw him fidget just slightly. She giggled silently to herself. She didn't even have to do anything. Men were so easy—they'd react to the simplest of things.

She wondered if she'd be more successful if he were seated next to her, rather than on the opposite end of the table. She was sure a well-timed brush of the leg would be more successful than anything she was trying to do from so far away.

On second thought, maybe that would be bad. If she were once again in such close proximity of him, she'd be an easy target. One touch from him under the table and she'd lose this round… probably willingly.

She indulged that fantasy just a little further, letting her mind wander. What sort of things could they get away with without anyone noticing? They'd gotten away with quite a lot before, and that was with everything in plain sight. The cover of the table could allow them an opportunity for… lots of things. Shorts wouldn't stop him, she decided. Then he'd take her upstairs to finish what they started…

She didn't notice Yuffie watching her until her voice piped up beside her. "Geez Teef, you're falling out there."

She was so close to merely replying with 'I know,' too lost in her daydream, when she realized that all eyes were on her. She immediately blushed, leaning back. For the sake of the game, she didn't want to sacrifice the advantage she had, but the fixed stares made her feel obligated to adjust her shirt.

Well, this was no good. Now she had no more artillery to use on Vincent. Not only that, but there was something about being caught in the act ruined the overall effect of what she was going for.

She wished there really was some ice cream. A spoon could surely be used to her advantage. A few too-careful licks and it would be clear to him what she was thinking. She eyed the chocolate syrup, sighing. That was an aphrodisiac—it would have been perfect, had she some way to use it. But alas, no ice cream…

But she could still save herself, she concluded. Stifling her embarrassment, she managed to look at Vincent again, finding amusement in his eyes. This time, she gave up on pretending that what she was doing was unintentional. She gave him a smile, letting him see the deliberately impish gleam in her eye.

She fought hard not to blush again when she saw the same hidden lust reflected back at her. But she quickly regained her confidence when she saw his eyebrow twitch just a bit—a sure sign that she was getting to him.

She smiled again, this time to herself. This was a pretty easy game after all. He may have temporarily gained the upper hand when she had been most serendipitously thrown into his lap, but she'd gotten it back quite easily, and she intended to keep it.

Tifa decided was thankful for being seated so far away from him after all. She was sure that were she so close to him, she'd quickly lose her nerve. If he so much as spoke a word to her with that voice of his, all would be lost. So when the room started emptying out, everyone going to their respective rooms for that good night's sleep that Cloud spoke of, she wasted no time in following suit, for fear of being left alone with him. With Cid now gone, that left no one but a sleeping Nanaki on the floor and an all-too-attractive Vincent seated across from her.

"I think I'll go to bed now," she announced as if the room were still full, giving him a very pointed look as she spoke. He rewarded her with a look that clearly said that he wanted to get back at her and he was frustrated by the fact that he couldn't. She saved her victory smile for the walk back to her room, where no one could see it.

She was waiting for the elevator when she heard a voice.

"Tifa."

Oh no… She had nowhere to run and had no choice but to come face to face with Vincent.

"You left in quite a hurry."

She could still come out the winner, she reassured herself. Just because he was unbelievably sexy and being within ten feet of him had the ability to turn her into a blushing, stammering fool didn't mean she had to lose her head.

Though if she was reduced to a pile of mush—as she was very wont to be—she supposed she could always blame it on the wine.

"Oh, well, you know…" She gave him the smile from earlier. "I'm just very… anxious to get to bed."

"Hmm… how anxious?"

Maybe not very anxious to go alone.

When he stepped closer, she backed up through the now open elevator door. She watched helplessly as the door closed behind him. Once again trapped with him in a small space. He was just so tall and mysterious and his voice and she could just feel the body heat coming off of him… Oh god, she was doomed.

"Wh-what do you mean?" She reached past him to press her floor number, in a futile attempt to distract him.

"Well, seeing as you seemed to enjoy your dinner so much…"

Why, why, why, why, why? She should've have known this little plan of hers would back fire. What did she expect from teasing a man like she was?

He wasn't close enough for them to be touching, but close enough for her to wish that he were. She could feel her breathing deepen when he spoke again, this time much slower and seductive. "I was wondering if you would be interested in a bit of dessert with me."

She was briefly released from her nervousness as mild confusion took over. "Dessert?"

Her nervousness returned ten fold when he revealed what he was holding. "I…" Whipped cream. She certainly knew what she would want with whipped cream, and the way he was eyeing her was more than enough of an indication that they were sharing the same dirty thought.

"N-no that's all right… I'm full thanks." She hurriedly made an escape as she heard a ding above her head. She brushed past him, desperately trying to ignore how good he smelled, desperately trying not to wonder how good he felt. She was already thinking of showing up at his room—after returning downstairs for the chocolate sauce, of course.

His voice sounded as she walked away. "Then I suppose I will have to find some ice cream. What a shame—I doubt that will be nearly as satisfying."

She increased her pace after turning the corner. She so badly wished he hadn't said that.

Just when she thought she had round two in the bag, he had to go snatch it away from her. Just when her plan had been working so well, he had to go ruin it by once again making her painfully aware of how attracted she was to him.

Though she couldn't deny that it was an enticing offer… The idea of being in a hotel room with nothing but Vincent and a can of whipped cream was certainly tempting. No doubt if she'd taken him up on it, the combination of wine and that sneaky little devil on her shoulder would lead her to do something unwise.

…Something she'd probably enjoy very much, but nevertheless unwise.

It took a lot of convincing, but as she took a moment to calm herself, she concluded that saying no was the right decision—maybe not the fun one, but the right one.

She took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. There would be no sleeping tonight. And if she somehow managed, her dreams would be heavily laden with fantasies. Why did one man have to send her libido into overdrive? It really put her in such a difficult position.

But, god help her, she really was enjoying it.

When she arrived at the room she and Aeris were sharing, it took her a moment to remember if she'd brought a key with her. Just as she was patting herself down, feeling for anything key-shaped, the door opened.

"There you are!" Aeris said with unexpected impatience. "It took you long enough."

Tifa was caught rather off guard. "What?" She was grabbed by the hand and pulled inside.

"I've been waiting forever to talk to you."

"Huh?" She took a seat on her bed. "About what?"

Aeris sat opposite her with a grin. "What do you think?"

Tifa frowned. How was she supposed to have any idea? It was nearly impossible to tell what Aeris was really thinking, underneath all the cheer. "I don't know…"

"Oh don't give me that!" She replied with playful exasperation. "Don't think I haven't noticed."

"Um…" She suddenly saw where this was going.

"So come on," she urged, leaning forward conspiratorially. "Tell me what's going on with you and Vincent!"

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A.N.: I had a bit of trouble with this one, probably cause actual VinTi interaction was minimal. So all I can say is that I promise it will get better!

Now keep those reviews coming. They make me a very happy and productive author. Thanks again.