For some reason, this chapter had disappeared, so sorry to those of you who may have missed it!!

Review as always!!!

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The winter swept in over Junon, coating it overnight in several inches of crisp white snow. The winds battered the streets relentlessly, and few dared to venture out into the streets to brave the bitter cold. One of the brave few, however, was Dr Harding, who came to visit once a week. Vincent's treatment was going well, and after six weeks the doctor was happy to discontinue it, with promise that he would never need to return to the hospital for the same reason again.

"So how different is it, then?" Tifa asked once the doctor had departed into the blustery November evening, setting a mug of coffee down before him.

"Well, at first, it was… exquisite. After living with a metal arm for so long, it was as if I had never had a hand at all, like experiencing everything for the first time. And even now… it's better." He placed his hand over hers as she seated herself next to him. Blushing a little, Tifa intertwined her fingers with his.

"So no regrets then?"

"A foolish question, forgive me. The first time it was available to me… I put it to good use." He pressed his lips to her temple, smiling a little at her shiver. "I feel as if I have left my old skin behind. As if I am a new person."

"That person was always there, Vincent. You'd just neglected him a little bit. I think we did a good job together, of coaxing him out."

"I have you to thank for that."

"No, don't embarrass me!" She giggled, wrapping her arms around him. "You found the courage to come here. I guess that must have been hard for you."

"Actually, Tifa…" He sighed, and leant forwards to face her better, his expression suddenly solemn. "I have a… confession to make."

"What?" Her smile wavered.

"I came here six months ago now, to ask for your help." He gazed hard at the floor, his fingers interlocked before him. The knuckles were white. "I never expected to fall in love with you, the way I did. Perhaps if I hadn't this wouldn't be so difficult to admit."

"Vincent, you're starting to worry me. What is it?" She frowned, sitting stiffly upright. Vincent sighed.

"Even though my reason for coming here was legitimate, I can promise you, there was also another reason." His throat constricted. God, this was hard.

"Vincent," She gripped his arm tightly. "Please…"

"Cloud asked me to check on you."

She released his arm slowly, her eyes wide and unblinking, rising slowly to her feet. "Why? Why didn't you tell me?" Her tone was deadly.

"He asked me not to."

"And if he asked you to jump of a bridge, would you?" Slightly hysterical now.

"Tifa please… He had been keeping an eye on you as best he could, but then he came to find me, in Midgar. He… wanted me to check on how you were doing."

"Did you tell him he could just pick up the fucking phone and-"

Vincent raised his hands. "Tifa, I already had this argument with him. It took him weeks to convince me. He was the one who suggested I could maybe get surgery, in Junon."

"So you're trying to say, you came here for your own reasons, not to check how I was doing, because you didn't actually care, or-"

"Tifa, I more than care. I love you. You should know that. I was torn up with guilt about it. But he… He is not there anymore Tifa. He hates himself for what he has become, but he can't change things. He can't let go."

"But why didn't you tell me?" Her eyes filled with tears, wrenching a hole inside of him. He stood, tried to reach for her, but she backed away. Her disappointment crushed him.

"I… I wanted to. I had planned to. But when I saw how much you still hurt, how much you still loved him… I thought it would be for the best. And more recently, I became terrified that if you found out, you would… choose him."

"You think I am that shallow?"

"I wasn't being rational, Tifa I-"

"Please just go."

"Tifa don't do this, I am sorry."

"Go."

He stared into her face, her beautiful, anguished face, wishing more than anything to erase what he had said. Knowing better than that, knowing full well that no amount of wishing could undo the past, he moved with heavy limbs towards the door. A backward glance told him she was still standing in the same place, her back turned to him. His coffee still sat steaming on the table.

"I love you. I'll call you tomorrow. Though I understand if… you never want to see me again."

He waited in silence, sighing heavily when he realised she was not going to respond, before passing out into the night. The wind was bringing with it ice cold rain, burning against his heated skin. Only a few minutes ago was her hand in his, only weeks ago, the lips he had wanted so much to kiss had been pressed against his. Now it had all gone; been taken away from him like everything else. Growling with frustration, he stuffed his hands into his pockets and bowed his head against the cold, marching down the streets towards his apartment. He hadn't been home for a week or so at least; Tifa had insisted he not leave her.

But not tonight.

Shit. Goddamn you, Cloud. With his haunted expression and eyes so blue it was sometimes hard to believe. He had sought him out; one dingy apartment amongst millions of others, but he had found him. Begged him to visit her in Junon, practically on his knees. At first, Vincent had gotten angry on Tifa's behalf; shouldn't he be the one to go? Wasn't he the reason she was suffering in the first place? Why should he be the one to go and stick his nose into business that was not his? His place was somewhere out of the way, not trying to pick up someone else's pieces.

But he had given in; wouldn't you have begged someone else to do the same for Lucrecia? He'd almost punched Cloud for that one. How dare he? He didn't love Tifa. And if he did, not near enough as she deserved. So he'd told him he'd think about it.

Staring hard at himself in the mirror that night, shirtless, capeless, his ivory skin golden in the light from a dusty candle, he scowled. Could he hate himself any more? He knew the answer was yes, for doing what he was about to do. If he was honest, he was curious; he hadn't seen Tifa in over a year, and he sometimes found her in his thoughts, if not for a brief moment, he would wonder about her well being. She had always seemed to understand him a little better than the others, even if she never went out of her way to invade his solitude. But yes, he was going to hate himself for lying to her: For doing Cloud's emotional dirty work.

Though part of Vincent pitied the man. He had watched the woman he loved fall into danger, helpless to stop it, just as Vincent had done, years before. They were both misunderstood by many; both never seemed to fit in, wherever they happened to be. But Tifa had shown him, he could fit in. He fit wherever she was, he thought, bitterness filling his mouth with a sour taste.

What would she do now? Would she try to find Cloud? Would she chose Cloud over him, because he'd been there first, been Tifa's only love for many years? Oh god, he didn't want to think about it. First Hojo, now Cloud. Shit, shit, shit--

He reached his apartment in record time, becoming aware as he slid his key into the lock of the shrill sound of his phone ringing. He shoved the door open, kicking it shut before hurrying to answer it.

"Hello?"

"Vincent." A soft, male voice.

"Cloud."

"It's been a long time. You haven't called."

"I can't do this, Cloud. You can't ask me to. If you're so goddamned worried, come and find her for yourself. She knows you sent me. She won't talk to me."

"I know."

"How?" Vincent's chest heaved, his mind working to process the information.

"She phoned. With your PHS."

He patted his pockets. Shit. "I must have left it there. What did she say?"

"I'm not so sure I should tell you."

"Right. I've had it. Cloud, you are fucking pathetic." If he could have somehow crawled through the phone to wrap his hands around Cloud's throat, he would have. "Its so easy for you to sit back, and wait for everything to fall into place. You knew Tifa loved you, all those years, and you never said a goddamn word."

"There was never a right moment," Cloud's words only served to infuriate him more.

"The right moment? Right moment? Years, Cloud. Years. And I turn up, asking for her help, and I find a woman who can barely live a day without regret. She's never truly gotten over it, but recently I thought maybe she… She and I--"

"No one is asking you to- wait! You mean you and Tifa are-"

"Are..? What the hell is it to you what we are? You sent me to see if she was ok, and she's more than ok, actually. Until I told her the truth, and she's back to the same mess I found her in."

"She never mentioned you two were… together."

"Why would she? It's nothing to do with you. But then, of course, it's everything to do with you isn't it?"

"She told me to stay away from her. She told me she was happy now, with someone else. It hadn't occurred to me that it was… you."

"She- She said that?"

"And other things besides. Look- I'm sorry. I didn't know. But maybe it worked out for the best. You took care of her, and for that I will always be grateful to you."

"Yes, well, thank you," He said stiffly. "Did she say anything else? Only I am trying to work out what I am supposed to do."

"She said… She was more in love than she thought was possible. And every day got brighter for her since you came. Vince, I know this is rich coming from me but… don't let her get away. Take care of her. Don't throw it away. I chose Aeris, and I live with that choice everyday. I wish I could have given Tifa what she wanted, but I think we all know it wouldn't have been the right thing for her. I asked you to go to Junon because I knew she trusted you. I thought…" His voice broke momentarily. "I never thought… I'm happy for you, Vincent. I really am."

"Cloud…"

"Go back. Don't let her shut you out. Don't give up."

Then the phone went dead.

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