A loud thump wakes me up, making me jump and sit up quickly. The room spins and I wince, pressing one hand to the side of my head. A soft white blanket rolls off my chest at my sudden movement and the brightness around me slowly seems to get darker as I adjust.

"We're lucky Vincent was awake long enough to help this guy," a man's voice says, higher pitched than what I wanted to hear. What?

Aw, having Vincent withdrawals?

... No.

Liar.

Jerk.

"Hmm?" I look around for anyone, but see nothing.

"Up here." Looking up, I see Cloud against the far right wall on top of a ladder and fishing around in the loft. "I hid our materia up here just in case." I nod and let my head sink back into my pillows.

"How long were we out?"

"Surprisingly, you and Yuffie were the worst off." Ugh. "We've all been awake for a day and a half waiting, and we were all out for about a day so..."

"Two or three then?"

"Closer to three," he nods. "It's been hard to tell with no sunlight because of the storm, and this guy doesn't have a clock."

"Hmm." A moment of silence ensues before he slides down the side of the wooden poles and holds up a bulging pouch.

"Found it." I give him a small smile. So young, yet almost as old as me in a way. His tilts his head in my direction in a way that reminds me of a puppy and stares into my eyes in a way that's pretty uncomfortable. "I think he was worried about you, you know."

"Huh?" I frown, furrowing my eyebrows. Since when is anyone worried about me?

"Vincent. He was pretty restless, and he wouldn't stop looking at your door."

"I remind him of my sister," I roll my eyes, sliding my legs out of the bed. "That's why he has some weird instinct to protect me or whatever."

"I don't think so," he mutters, looking down at his boots. "What's scary is he keeps saying your name when he sleeps."

"Memories probably," I chuckle. "I used to annoy the crap out of him at the mansion." The corner of Cloud's mouth twitches into a half smile and he pulls out his own materia, letting the magical orbs sink into his pale skin before handing me the bag. I shake my head, always declining the magic. I don't want anything to do with mako inside me ever again... No, never.

~33 YEARS AGO~

I insert the needle under my skin, pushing the plunger so that the bright green fluid floods through my veins, calming my jittery nerves. Then I hide the chest back under the mass of clothes in my closet. How nobody has noticed the glow in my eyes or the addiction I hide I have no idea, but I wish to keep it that way. It's been harder since David and I have started sharing a room, but he's busy with SOLDIER stuff all the time. Due to his enhanced hearing, I can't get up in the middle of the night and quench my need for the mako, so every morning I run to the bathroom as if it was a fire drill or something and push the stuff into my arm. Most people would frown upon it. I say they don't understand the feeling of power and relaxlation only mako can provide.

Just as I shut the closet door, the bedroom door swings open and David waltzes in, grinning like a fool. I raise an eyebrow at him skeptically, opening my dresser to grab some pajamas.

"You alright there?"

"Great! Lazard raised me to Second Class!"

"Really?" I gape, dropping my clothes and flinging my arms around him tightly. He laughs deeply, holding me close by the small of my back, even when I draw my head away from his shoulder and put my hands there.

"Yeah! And guess what else?"

"What?"

"I think they're going to hire a babysitter for your sister."

"... Bodyguard?"

"Same difference," he chuckles, kissing the tip of my nose. Then he crinkles his. "Were you down in the lab today?"

"Yep," I lie, knowing he can smell the mako.

"And you're not letting that Hojo guy near you, right?"

"No way! He's creepy!" Ha laughs again, kissing me before flopping back onto the bed.

"Go shower, I don't like it when you smell like his laboratory!" I shake my head at his cheerful attitude and head for the bathroom.

The next morning at six, just as David is sliding out of bed, I sprint toward the bathroom. He never says anything about it, just gets dressed an waits for me to get out. Insert needle, enjoy the feeling, feel guilty. It's always the same thing. I flush the toilet and turn on the tap for a few moments so that he doesn't get suspicious. Then I leave, give him a small smile as he raises an eyebrow.

"Is it morning sickness or something?" I choke on air and turn bright red, shaking my head.

"N-no. I'm not pregnant, David."

"You never know," he holds up his hands. Rolling my eyes, I elbow him and then watch as he closes the bathroom door behind him. I skip down the stairs after getting changed, greeting Lucrecia boredly and raising an eyebrow at some tall weirdo in a suit in front of her.

"Why did they...? Not his.." Lucrecia trails off. The Turk looks confused as she rambles on before introducing herself and hurrying away. When he turns his velvety scarlet eyes in my direction in slight question, I sigh and shake my head.

"She's... A little socially impaired. I'm Violet, her sister." He silently shakes the hand I offer before speaking.

"Vincent Valentine. I'm here to..."

"Babysit my sister, I know," I wave him off. "So do you know where to go or..?"

"I've never been here," he shakes his head slightly.

"Well the lab is..."

"Violet?!" I turn around to see David stomping around toward me, with an item that makes my heart drop. Crap. I thought I'd done so well, hiding it for eight months, perfectly. But he's David... Surely he'll forgive me, help me get off the stupid green stuff. Instead, he stops in front of me, holding up the glass syringe.

"What the #&$/^ is this!?" David cursing? Now that's a first...

"It's probably not what you think.." I start, my voice stuttering.

"Really?! Or are you lying to me again?" His eyes are clouded over, pissed because I hid this from him. And I don't really blame him..

"David.." I gently touch his arm, but he jerks back.

"Don't 'David' me! You've been lying to me for the past month about this! I thought you'd been cheating on me with that freak scientist, but it turns out you're doing drugs!"

"You thought I was cheating on you with Hojo?!"

"What else was I supposed to think when you're always 'in the lab' and smell like the guy!?"

"I don't know! Have some faith in me maybe?!"

"You freaking lie all the time! How am I supposed to believe you!?"

"Maybe I didn't have to lie if I thought you weren't going to hurt me!" Vincent awkwardly stands there, trying to make sense of our argument. Such a drama queen! David's eyes go dangerously narrow as he takes a challenging step forward.

"Hurt you? I'll show you hurt." He raises a fist and I let out some sort of terrified squeak, ducking my head. He'd hit me?! What happened after I left that room? There's suddenly a shape in front of me, a hand holding up that arm so that I'm not hurt at all. David stumbles back as if shaken up by either his or Vincent's actions, maybe both. Then he glares down at me. "I'm done with you." Then he stomps away. I sit there on the floor, a shocked mess as I blankly stare down at the touch carpet of the entryway.

"Mako addiction?" Vincent asks quietly, the needle held between his two fingertips.

"Yeah," I reply quietly. He awkwardly stands there a moment before crouching beside me.

"Why would you stay with a man that hits you?"

"He never has," I choke out. He nods and looks up at the walls in silence.

"I may be as socially awkward as your sister," he admits. "But perhaps you should talk to him after he has cooled off."

"Perhaps," I whisper, looking down at my boots and trying to piece together my broken heart. I'm already liking this Vincent Valentine.

~PRESENT~

"Violet?"

"Hmm?" I snap out of my memories.

"I was asking why you don't use materia."

"Personal reasons," I brush him off before standing. "Does there happen to be any food around?"

"Just whatever stale bread Mr. Holzoff has here."

"Anything's better than starving," I sigh following him down to the main floor.

"She's awake!" Yuffie cheers, grabbing the bag of materia away from Cloud before he can stop her. "I want the Bahamut one!"

"Where's Vincent?" I tilt my head, noticing his absence.

"He went out to feed his... Thing," Barret shudders.

"Right," I nod. He eyes me skeptically.

"Do you have to feed yours?"

"She feeds off nightmares," I shrug casually. He blinks at me before turning back to Cid, muttering like always.

"I think I can see him coming, actually," Nanaki says from beside the window. How can he see? The snow's so thick...

It's a blizzard.

Obviously.

Don't ask stupid questions if you don't want...

Don't lecture me.

I'm not.

But you aare.

The door swings open and a tall, white, red, and black figure steps in, shaking snow off like a dog. His eyes scan over the crowd of us until he sees me, to which he nods in greeting and smoothly strides to his little corner. Then Avalanche goes back to what they were doing, Cloud glaring at Yuffie as she fishes through the magic orbs. I slip out of the bunch and head toward Vincent, ruffling my hair as I go. I really need a shower.

"I see you have awoken."

"Yep. I had a rude awakening from Mr. Behead." The side of his mouth twitches into a tiny concealed smile.

See? He's happy that you're alright.

I doubt it. Again, Lucrecia?

Hmph. She's not all he thinks about.

How would you know?

I just do.

"I'm sure he did not mean to disturb you."

"Hey, you're supposed to stick up for me, not him!" I protest playfully. Getting some well needed sleep has done its work. His tiny smile grows a small bit.

"I side with the truth, Miss Crescent."

"Oh, so you're a Bible character now?" He scoffs and ducks his face a lower behind his collar. Hiding that smile, are we?

"Far from it."

"Me too, buddy," I sigh. "What time is it?"

"Late afternoon."

"Hmm. Guess my body's just really lazy."

"Or maybe you needed the rest," he suggests. "You don't sleep much after all."

"Neither do you."

"Touché."

I smile and look back over at the rest of the clown crew. Some old man has joined us, playing a card game with Barret and Tifa, Cid and Yuffie are arguing again, Cait is sitting by Nanaki silently, and Cloud is alone, staring at our map. When I look back at Vincent, I notice a twig sticking out of the side of his collar and pull it off, making Vincent raise an eyebrow at me.

"There was a stick," I defend, getting red in the face for no reason.

"Thank you," he finally mutters. No problem, Vincent.

AW! DON'T THINK YOU KNOW VIOLET ALL THE WAY YET! I STILL HAVE A FEW SURPRISES ;)