Hey! I'm back! Sorry about the wait folks... I had a lot of school/job stuff to do... and now after exams are done...(I'm done with mine... hehe!) I shall travel to the land of China... Buffet... Mmmmm numminess... maybe I'll write something if I get any ideas from there... blah... hope you like this one... it's cute... like hot cocoa and gingerbread cookies... only not... happy thanksgiving! p.s. i do not own ff7! grrrarrrrr! or china buffet... but i wish i did... it'd have better/real chinese... and maybe some korean... mmmmmmm kimchi!

CDV4

Rain pounded heavily, mixed with hail, outside of Denzel's window. The storm had been raging for several hours with no end in sight it seemed. He tossed and turned drowsily, the pillows piled high over his ears to block out the sounds of hell breaking loose in the night. A crashing wave of thunder sounded and he jumped up on the mattress, heart pounding wildly. Slowly, he calmed down, wiping a hand over his matted bangs to push them out of his eyes.

Sometime in the night, the lights had gone out. He groaned softly as he tried to make his way into the hallway. He didn't want to admit it, but he was afraid. It was just that childish fear of storms and creatures in the night that were there but not. Blindly, he stumbled past Cloud and Tifa's room. Their door was shut and he could hear Cloud's snoring clear as bells. He passed it, slowly moving on to the last door at the end of the hall. There was a small line of light creeping out from under the door. Vincent was awake, and he had some form of light on. Denzel knocked softly before entering, licking his dry lips nervously as he did so.

Vincent looked up from his work. He was cleaning his Cerberus pistol under the light of a lumpy looking pillar candle, the firelight reflecting off the polished gold like tiny, yellow diamond prisms. The sight of the fuzzy headed youth standing in the doorway made his lips twitch a little into a small smile. He placed the gun and cleaning cloth aside and turned in his chair to face the boy.

The look on Denzel's face was sleep clouded and innocent. He didn't say anything, but made his way to the man and sat down on his lap, his arms moving to wrap around his torso and he snuggled his face into his shoulder. He sighed when he felt Vincent return his hug and relaxed at his warmth.

"Storm bothering you, young one?"

Denzel didn't answer, instead he just inhaled the scent of Vincent's hair. It smelt like exotic spice, like a peppery cinnamon. It reminded him of some cookies he'd had once.

"Can I sleep with you tonight Vincent?"

"That's all little one, nothing else." Denzel sighed contentedly. He was just happy that Vincent was allowing that.

"That's all I want." He slid off the other's lap and stood sleepily. "I just want to…" He didn't get to finish his sentence, Vincent standing up and carefully ushering him to the bed.

"Sleep little one."

The feeling of Vincent's stronger, larger body behind his made him feel secure and warm, and the strength in the man's arms as he was held close to him made him fall into the depths of sleep so quickly, the thunder of the storm lost to him. 'Little one' was what Vincent called him when he was alone with him; it was his own little name. Denzel snuggled closer against his protector, wanting to feel more of him at his back and dazed into dreamland, Vincent's low voice whispering to him, his little one.

When Vincent could sense Denzel was truly asleep, he placed a gentle kiss on the back of the boy's neck before slowly drifting off to sleep himself. He hated the storms as much as the youth had and was grateful for the company as well.

End.

Awww, wasn't that a sweet little morsel of poptart goodness? It's so sweet and tender…. I wonder how long I'm going to keep writing these stories with Denzel being under 18…. Hmmmm and should I make poor Vinni slip up…. Lol…. A hot shower scene? Who knows…. If I could get some input from others on what they want… hint, hint R&R