A/N: After more than six years I'm finally going to update with a brand new chapter! I'm feeling pretty anxious about it, I mean, I've had six years to worry about it lol, but I'm excited too. Please be kind and leave a review!

Vincent couldn't sleep. Even after Tifa had finally given into her exhaustion and lay in his arms boneless in slumber, he had remained awake, his thoughts roiling about in his head, unable to give him peace. So he slowly disentangled himself from Tifa's embrace, careful not to wake her, and dressed quickly.

His first stop was to check on his daughter. She was asleep curled up next to Madison. Despite their differences in ages, they were very similar in height and build, though one was fair while the other was dark-haired. Vincent wondered whether Valeria's accelerated growth had anything to do with the mako Cloud had been exposed to. It was one of a million details about her that reminded him of her parentage. Sometimes he forgot, though. When she would come running to him, crying about a scraped knee, or hurt finger, and look up at him with those big red eyes and say, "Daddy, please kiss it and make it better," or when she called him "daddy" for any reason. He didn't want to have to give that up.

But maybe he didn't deserve it. Maybe he had never deserved it and that was why his ability to have children had been taken away from him. But by some miracle after he had been experimented on and thrown in a coffin to rot for thirty years, he had been awakened. And when he awoke he had eventually been given a chance at a new life, one where he wasn't a hired mercenary, or a lackey bodyguard, but a savior of the planet. And for a while he'd had the love of a good woman, that is until her ex-lover came back into the picture and got her pregnant…that part hadn't been so miraculous. But in the middle of all the heartbreak, he had been given the chance to be a father to a beautiful little girl. He didn't want that bond to end, even though he knew it was selfish. But how could he make himself give that up? He had been ready to, earlier that evening. He saw the future written on the wall, and it didn't include him. Cloud would find out about Valeria and then he and Tifa would get back together. It would be what was best for everyone…but him. He would just drift from continent to continent aimlessly searching for what he knew could never be his. Only Tifa had stopped him. Distracted him. Maybe he hadn't been so ready to give this all up, or she wouldn't have so easily toppled his determination to leave. He had lost so much already, didn't he deserve to have some happiness in his life? The only thing that stood in his way was one man.

How very tempting it would be to eliminate him from their lives once and for all. When he had been a Turk, wasn't that what he had been ordered to do? Take out threats and get rid of the evidence? How easy would it be to find out the location of Cloud's hotel room, then sneak in while he was gone, set his trap and wait for the ex-SOLDIER to return, and then when he was sleeping, simply inject him with a deadly dose of Kiss of Death and then sneak out without anyone ever knowing?

But what satisfaction would there be in that? What he really wanted to do was make him suffer, feel the same pain and hurt he felt when he first found out about the affair—make him bleed, and tear his flesh until he confessed to all of his sins. He could do it with his bare hands…

Vincent smiled with grim satisfaction. It would be so easy, he thought, but then he would truly become a monster, and how would he ever be able to look his daughter in the face knowing that he had killed her father? What if she found out that he wasn't really her father? And deep down, he knew that it was a possibility. Too many people knew about the secret and someone could accidentally let something slip. What if she asked about the identity of her real father? How would she feel if he lied and said that Cloud had never wanted her, so he had taken his place? He would never want her to feel that her own flesh and blood had rejected her. But at the same time, how could he tell her the truth? That he had stolen what rightfully belonged to another man, and he had kept him from her, not giving him a chance to even know of her existence, or his relationship to her. What if she then hated him for it and rejected him? He couldn't take the risk. He wouldn't give her up; not if he could help it.

Full of resolve, he reluctantly gave up the idea of killing Cloud, but that didn't mean that he couldn't get rid of him another way. He didn't really like the thought of what he had to do, but there was no other way. Even as he dread it, he knew that he had better do it sooner rather than later.

He made his way down the stairs and into the kitchen where he knew there would be a scrap of paper for him to write a note on to let Tifa know that he had gone out. But leaving a note turned out to be unnecessary since Shera was already downstairs with a pot of coffee.

"Would you like one?" Shera offered, getting up to grab a coffee mug from the cabinet.

"No, thank you," Vincent declined politely.

Shera sat back down, staring at him with concerned eyes. "Did Tifa convince you to keep quiet?"

For long moments Vincent debated about how to respond. "If I asked you not to tell, would you keep the secret?" Vincent finally asked, breaking the silence.

"I see she has," Shera concluded.

"She told me that if I asked you to, you would keep quiet."

Shera scoffed. "She has some nerve expecting me not to tell Cloud the truth."

"But she is right, isn't she? Even if you won't keep this secret for her, you'd keep it for me, wouldn't you?" Vincent asked softly.

Shera prevaricated. "I…I don't know Vincent. You're asking a lot of me. I just don't understand how you can forgive Tifa so easily after everything she's done!"

"Do you think it's been easy for me? You know that it hasn't. You saw everything that I went through when I found out that she was pregnant and the child wasn't mine! And you know how broken and cut off I was when AVALANCHE first found me in that coffin. Did Cid ever tell you about Lucrecia?"

"I know that she was Sephiroth's mother and that you loved her. But Cid never told me the details. I'm not even sure he knows all the details himself."

"No, I guess I didn't tell him everything."

"Will you tell me now? Maybe if you tell me I'll be able to understand why you can forgive Tifa so easily."

"I'm afraid I might just leave you even more confused than you already are."

"Tell me anyway. Let me decide."

"If I tell you, will you promise not to tell Cloud?"

Shera hesitated. Even if Vincent hadn't decided to be so forthcoming about his past, she had already decided to agree, even though she still felt that it would be better for everyone in the end if the truth came out. Especially for Cloud, since he deserved to know. But she also knew it would hurt Vincent, and she didn't want to hurt him anymore than he had already been. "All right. I promise to keep your secret."

"Thank you." He closed his eyes and breathed a sigh of relief. "Now to tell you about Lucrecia. Her name was Lucrecia Crescent. I met her when I was assigned to be her bodyguard in Nibelheim. I was a Turk, and I was the best, and they wanted their best on their top secret experiments. She worked with Dr. Gast and of course Hojo. Mainly I was a sentinel, waiting for her while she worked in the basement of the Shinra Mansion. But I would also escort her to and from the Inn. And sometimes I would escort her on walks through the forest. It was on these walks that she would make fun of me for being just a "suit" and not having a fancy Oxbridge degree like she did. But instead of making me hate her, it made me insanely mad about her. She made me think, she made me question my life, and the desires and goals that I had, and I would have done anything to try to impress her. And of course none of it worked. It simply amused her. But I fancied myself in love with her. And for a while I thought she loved me too."

"What made you think she was in love with you?"

"My arrogance. I knew that she wanted me. She would often come to my room at the inn. She would come in the dead of the night and always left before the morning. I should have realized what she was doing sooner. But I was blinded by my own desire."

"Realized what?"

"That she was married to Hojo."

"You didn't know she was married?"

"Not at first. But when I found out, it didn't stop me."

She always came to see him on a schedule. Like clockwork, she was. Even when he begged her to be spontaneous, she refused. But she came to him unexpectedly that night. He had begun to feel that there was something bothering her, that she was pulling away from him, so he was surprised to see her.

She had breezed past him as he opened the door. No kiss, no touch, she wouldn't even look up at his face. She sat down on the edge of his bed and her gaze remained fixated on the floor. He crossed his arms and leaned back against the closed door. He stood there for a while looking at her downturned profile, waiting for her to explain her sudden appearance.

Eventually, she began. "I have something to tell you, and I have a feeling you're not going to like it."

Vincent shrugged his shoulders noncommittally. "You tell me, and I'll be the judge."

She finally looked up at him, her large green eyes a pool of sadness. "I'm married."

That caused him to stand up straight. He pushed himself away from the door to stand directly in front of her. "Married? To whom? For how long? And why the hell did you decide to wait until now to tell me?"

"I married Hojo when I was eighteen—"

"Hojo? Really. I would have thought that you had better taste."

"Hojo has a remarkable mind. We have similar interests. And one of these days he will become a successful scientist, the likes of which the world has never seen before."

"Even better than Gast?"

"Yes, even better than Dr. Gast."

"You're right. I don't like it," Vincent said frowning. He turned away from her and walked over to his desk where he picked up a decanter of Corelian brandy and poured himself a drink. "Would you like some?"

She shook her head. "I'm telling you because I think someone suspects that you and I are having an affair."

"Who?"

"It doesn't matter who. The important thing is that I have to give you up."

"Give me up? Like I'm some sort of ransom for the safe return of your happy marriage. I don't think so." Vincent shook his head. He suddenly knelt before her, grabbing her hands and pressing them to his chest. "You don't love Hojo or you wouldn't have come to me all these months. Why stay in this farce of a marriage? I love you and I want to be with you. Leave him and be with me. I'll even marry you if you want."

"You don't understand, Vincent," she pleaded. "I do love him. He's a brilliant man, much more than anyone ever gives him credit for. Even me. And I never meant to hurt him. This was a mistake." She tried to pull away from him, but he held her in a vice grip. For long moments she struggled against him until suddenly Vincent relaxed his grip.

Changing tactics, knowing that physical strength would never convince her, he gentled his voice and leaned in close to her. His eyes were like magnets, drawing her eyes to his automatically with the force of his gaze. He reached up to brush a strand of her hair away from her face and caress the smooth skin on her forehead. "If you don't want to hurt him, then why are you here, hmmm…?" his voice a low rumble. "Why are you here with me, letting me touch you like this?" he asked brushing his fingers lightly against her neck. "Or this?" This time he trailed his fingers downwards to the exposed skin at the top of her shirt. She let out a quivery breath. "Or kiss you like this?" He touched his lips lightly to hers, recognizing the surrender in her slack, and weakened limbs. She could never resist him. Not when he put his mind to it.

"We continued to see each other for weeks after she told me. Before I had been unaware, but after that I was complicit in deceiving her husband. How does that make me any different from Cloud? The cuckold-er becomes the cuckold-ee. But as much as I tried to convince her to leave Hojo, she always refused. After I finally realized that even if she didn't really love him, she would never leave him, I told myself that it didn't matter to me as long as she was happy. I asked to be transferred to another mission, and was sent to Midgar to oversee some highly sensitive information regarding the mako reactors being built there. I was doing my best to forget her and even had some success at it when I got a letter from Professor Gast telling me that Lucrecia was pregnant.

"I couldn't figure out why he would tell me such a thing, but I think now he knew somehow that she and I were having an affair and he wanted me to stop the experiments. I later found out that when he could no longer go along with President Shinra and Hojo's plans for creating super-soldiers he was banished to Icicle Inn where he later met Ifalna, got married and fathered Aeris.

"Anyway, I rushed back to Nibelhiem against my better judgment. I knew that there was only the slightest of chances that I was the father since we had always been careful, and I believed that if I really were the father Lucrecia would have told me. But really I had been looking for excuses to go back and see her and that was it. I got there just as she went into labor. When I found her…I thought she was dead…I picked her up and carried her to the hospital. I waited outside her room…heard her scream in pain…Eventually a doctor came out. He told me that she had almost died giving birth and that she was still in critical condition. So I went to Hojo to demand to know what he had done to her. He told me that he knew about the affair and that he was using her guilt to let him experiment on the baby. I couldn't understand why a man would experiment on his own child, so I asked him if the child was mine, and he said he didn't know, but that it didn't matter because 'Sephiroth,' as he called him, was going to become the most powerful human being on the Planet thanks to him. When I tried to stop him he killed me…and the rest is history."

"I think I understand you better now. When you love someone, you love them completely. And even when they betray and hurt you, all you care about is if they are happy."

"If I hadn't pursued Lucrecia even though I knew she was married, none of this would have happened. Hojo only did what he did because he was jealous. And if he hadn't done what he did, I would have been able to give Tifa the child she so desperately wanted."

"You can't possibly blame yourself for Tifa cheating on you!"

"No, I know that only Tifa is responsible for her actions. But I can't help but think 'what if'…What if I'd never been assigned to Nibelheim…What if I'd never met Lucrecia…What if I'd never been experimented on…but then if none of that had happened, I wouldn't be here today. And despite what's happened, I do love Tifa, and in my heart Valeria is my daughter."

"She is your daughter," Shera assured him taking his hand and squeezing it tight. "And she'll stay that way. You'll have no interference from me."

"Thank you, Shera. I know the lie is hard for you, and a burden you shouldn't have to bear. But it means a lot to our friendship that you would do something like that for me. And I'll never be able to repay you."

"I don't expect you to. I'm doing this because you're my friend, and I only want you to be happy. I can only imagine what it must feel like to think that everything you care about could be taken away at any moment. And I can't think of anyone who has been through as much as you, and deserves to have some happiness in his life more than you. And even as much as I think Cloud deserves to know the truth, I don't think anyone could love Valeria more than you. Not even her biological father. No matter what happens, I want you to know that you are her real father." She squeezed his hands again in emphasis. "So I'll take your secret with me to the grave."

Vincent squeezed back, unable to say anything past the lump in his throat. They remained quiet together still holding hands for a few moments until Vincent abruptly cleared his throat and pulled away. "Could you please tell Tifa that I've gone out, if she wakes up before I get back?"

"Shall I tell her where you're going?" she asked with one eyebrow raised in curiosity.

"That will not be necessary. I should be back soon."

"All right."

"Then please excuse me while I take my leave of you."

Shera grinned wryly. "You're excused."

Vincent merely nodded, then turned silently and was quickly out the door and into the early morning air.

Startled awake out of a deep slumber by a somewhat muffled, but persistent tapping on the door, Cloud groaned and glanced at the clock on the small table next to the bed. It read, in annoyingly glaring red letters: 6:47 AM.

"Who the hell could be knocking at this hour in the morning?"

"Shall I get it?" Eunice asked, looking rumpled and blinking the sleep out of her eyes.

"Whoever it is, tell them to go away."

Eunice was dragging herself out of bed and searching for her dressing gown, when more knocks came at the door. "Just a minute!" she yelled as she managed to get the belt tied around her waist and stuffed her feet into a pair of complimentary slippers that had been provided by the hotel. She ran a few fingers through her hair to try to tame the ruffled auburn locks, and then opened the door just as the hand on the other side of the door began to rap again.

"Yes, what is it?" she asked haggardly.

"I'm very sorry. Perhaps I've made a mistake. Is this Cloud Strife's room?"

As soon as Cloud heard the distinct deep tones of the voice at the door his half-closed eyes snapped open and he sat up quickly, and then jumped out of bed. Hastily putting on the pair of shorts that he had haphazardly discarded on the floor earlier, he stepped up behind Eunice to glare at his unexpected guest.

"What are you doing here, Valentine?"

Eunice gasped in shock.

"I could ask the same question of you," Vincent returned with steely calm. "In fact, that is the reason I've come here. I wish to talk with you. In private," he added, with merely a nod in Eunice's direction, not even bothering to take his eyes off Cloud.

She shook her head. "Oh, no. I don't think so. The last time you were in the same room, you gave Cloud a black eye. I'd rather not give you the opportunity to do it again."

Turning to look at her for the first time since he locked eyes on Cloud, Vincent took in her worried green eyes, and forcibly let out a long calming breath. Opening his eyes again, and with eerie politeness, he said, "Please forgive me, madam, for interrupting your sleep at such an early hour. But I have unresolved issues with Mr. Strife, and we need to talk. I promise that I will not renew my earlier efforts to rearrange his face with my fists."

At the seeming earnestness of his unexpected speech, Eunice burst into laughter. "I've never heard someone so angry use such pretty words." Glancing at Cloud, who still looked like he wanted to use his lightning materia on Vincent, she took a step back and put her hand on his shoulder. "Whaddya say, Cloud? Should we trust him to keep his word? And if he does just want to talk, will you try not to retaliate? It's apparent that you have a lot to say to one another. But I'd rather it didn't deteriorate into fisticuffs."

Without taking his eyes off Vincent, Cloud gave her hand a gentle squeeze. "I think I can control myself long enough to hear him out."

"All right," she responded glancing back at Vincent who seemed to have relaxed if only an infinitesimally small fraction. "I'll just go and get dressed, and then see what I can find for breakfast."

Eunice opened the door wider to allow Vincent to step inside and gestured for him to take a seat in one of the chairs next to the window, but he refused, instead choosing to remain standing to peer down his perfectly straight nose at Cloud. Neither man spoke as Eunice self-consciously began to pick up some of the items of clothing and random toiletries that had been scattered around the room. Then she quickly grabbed some clothes from her suitcase and went to the in-suite bathroom to change. When she emerged a few minutes later, neither man had seemed to have moved a muscle. She walked over to Cloud and kissed him on the cheek in goodbye. "You two play nice, all right?" she demanded, jokingly. And then she left.

As soon as she was out the door Cloud spoke up. "I'm listening now. What did you come here to say?"

"I came to apologize." Vincent almost choked on the words, but he knew they were necessary if he was going to get Strife to agree to what he really wanted.

"Oh?" Cloud questioned, lifting an eyebrow his only encouragement to continue.

"I should not have assaulted you in front of my daughter."

"But it would have been all right if your daughter hadn't been there? Is that what you mean?" Cloud retorted sardonically.

Vincent grimaced. "That's not what I meant. Are you going to make me say it again?"

"All right, Vincent. Let's say I believe you. Is that all?"

"No."

"I didn't think so. Have at it then."

"I also came to make a request."

"Why am I not surprised? What do you want?"

"I want you to leave town and never come back. Don't try to contact Tifa, Yuffie, Cid, or Shera in any way. And definitely stay away from my daughter.

Cloud let out a low whistle at that and nearly laughed. "You don't ask for much, do you? Why should I do that?"

"Because the last time you came back, you tried to steal my wife and almost broke up our marriage. I'd rather not give you the opportunity to do it again."

Cloud scratched the back of his head in stunned silence. Then he gasped in understanding. "You're afraid that Tifa will choose me over you." Vincent didn't respond, but he became infinitesimally stiller, like prey caught out in the open in the crosshairs of a fierce predator. And Cloud knew the truth. He shook his head furiously in denial. "But she chose you over me! I begged her to forgive me, but she didn't. She told me it was a mistake and she went home to you!"

"But only after you fucked her," Vincent replied with a deadly chill in his voice. "You fucked my wife and now you want to pretend like nothing happened."

Cloud scratched the back of his head, and opened and closed his mouth soundlessly as if he had no idea what to say to that. "Well, when you put it that way…it does sound kind of bad."

"Then you can see why I would be concerned about your sudden appearance?"

"Yeah, but that's not the reason why I came here! Honestly, I just wanted to see everyone, and introduce them to my new girlfriend."

"Why? What good would that do, Cloud? You've been gone for six years. Why would you care now, all of a sudden, to see the people you couldn't even be bothered to say goodbye to, or leave a note for, the last time you can flying through town on your bike? If you really cared about anyone, if you cared about Tifa, you would go away and never come back. Isn't that what she asked you to do?" Vincent asked pointedly.

With an audible swallow, Cloud nodded.

"Then I can only conclude that you must be here for some reason. And if it's not with the intention of stealing my wife, then you should be easily persuaded that leaving is in the best interests of everyone involved."

"But how can I be sure that's what Tifa really wants? What are you so afraid of Valentine?"

I'm afraid that you'll take my daughter, you miserable bastard, Vincent thought grimly. "I'm even willing to offer you monetary compensation."

That was completely unexpected. Cloud wasn't sure how to react to that. He never in a million years would have thought that Vincent would be so desperate to get rid of him. But he could use the money. Years on the road doing odd jobs here and there hadn't given him a lot of cash, and he didn't want to keep mooching off Eunice. "How much are we talking about?" Cloud asked mercenarily.

Vincent took the pen on the table and scribbled a figure on the accompanying notepad. Cloud whistled under his breath at the number. "You would give me all that just to get out of your hair?"

"You would of course have to sign a document saying that if you breach our agreement then all monies would be returned to me, plus interest."

"Is that even legal?"

"I could have the contract written up by tomorrow."

"And if I refuse?"

Vincent smiled grimly. "I get rid of you the hard way."

"Is that a threat?" Cloud frowned.

"It's a promise."

"I get the picture, Valentine. And I suppose if I were in your place I'd want the same thing."

"So then you'll leave?"

Cloud nodded slowly. "If that's what you want, then I guess I owe it to you. You know, I never thought about the consequences of my actions, I was just so consumed with my own desires, I never thought about what it might do to Tifa…or you…and you used to be my friend, and I shouldn't have done it. And I'm sorry about that."

Vincent was surprised at how relieved he felt when he heard those words. And he almost felt guilty for the huge lie he was perpetuating by not confessing the truth, especially since Cloud was being so honest and apologetic. Almost. But he was determined to protect his family at any cost. His soul was already tainted with the sins of his past, what was one more?

Vincent merely nodded in acceptance, and then stood up to leave. But before Vincent could open the door Cloud spoke again.

"Could you tell Tifa I'm sorry and I won't bother her or you again?"

Vincent turned to look at the blond ex-SOLDIER one last time, and noticed the dejected slump to his shoulders. Giving in to his pity for the man, he agreed. "Yes, I'll tell her."

"Thanks," Cloud replied. And then Vincent left the room, thinking that he would never have to see or think about the man ever again, and finally beginning to feel the weight that had been bearing down on him ever since Cloud had returned to their lives, slowly slip away so that he could breathe easier.