Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy VII or any of the characters or locations. It all belongs to Square-Enix.

Theme(s): #21 - Touching the illusion

Title: Precious Illusion

Rating: K+

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Her head is resting against his shoulder and he's stroking her soft, blonde hair. She gazes up at him with love written across her pretty features. He returns her smile, but his eyes don't share the same warmth as hers. She doesn't seem to notice, or simply chooses not to. He can't tell which and would rather not. He wants to let her hang onto the illusion that this is okay for just a little while longer.

He's already seen beyond the illusion. Turks shouldn't love. Cold, bloodstained hands aren't meant to be held and a heart hard enough to kill without flinching can't possibly be broken.

Damn it, she should know it just as well as he does. It would make this a lot easier, but she could be so naive. That type of innocence isn't often seen in this profession, and he wishes she could keep it, but there was no denying that she would have to become as jaded as the rest of them. He wonders why she'd decided to dirty her smooth little hands in this line of work as he takes one of them and locks his fingers with hers.

She starts to smile, but her smile soon fades into a look of worry when she examines his face.

"Tseng? What's wrong?"

He wants to tell her, but he just can't bring himself to do it. Not tonight. He's going to pretend it's all right for what he desperately hopes to be the last time. He starts to force a smile, but it becomes genuine after looking directly into her eyes, even though it shouldn't. Sometimes, he despises the way she makes him feel.

"Nothing." And he brings his lips to hers so she can't question him further and risk shattering her precious illusion.

-Fin-

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Hah, Tseng finally gets more focus in this one. :)

Thanks for reading--I hope you liked it, and as always, your thoughts either way are loved and appreciated.