This one is cute! A little OOC, yes, but isn't that was fanfics are for? Besides, can you name a chapter in this fic that doesn't have a character acting freakish?

Exactly.

Well I'll Be Damned

"I told you I didn't want anything."

"Don't care. You're getting something, and you are going to like it."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Well you'd be pretty stupid if you didn't like it…"

"Why's that?"

"You'll see."

"Cloud…"

"Shut up. We're here… don't open your eyes." Cloud scrambled to get out of the car and ran around to the other side, opening the door and pulling Vincent out. He grasped the older man's hand and gently pulled him up to the large building's front doors. Cloud grinned as they stepped inside; it was huge, and it was perfect.

It was a pet store.

Vincent immediately noticed an unfamiliar and rather unusual mixture of smells. He wrinkled his nose between the actual stench and trying to figure out what it was. Then he growled in realization.

"Cloud…"

"Hm? Oh, yeah, you can open your eyes."

Vincent very hesitantly opened his eyes and groaned at the sight in front of him; there were hundreds of animals before him, in cages, tanks, or small rooms. The place was enormous, and gods knew what kind of damn animals they kept in here.

Cloud chuckled and pulled Vincent further, going to the first aisle of animals. There were fish on the left in tanks attached to the walls, and amphibians on the right in medium sized tanks. Cloud was sure Vincent was eyeing a rather vicious looking snake, so he cleared his throat and pulled Vincent to the next aisle.

Vincent looked up and down at the mammals that surrounded him; they were everywhere. There were rabbits, guinea pigs, rats, mice… and what was terrible was that they were all babies. True, Vincent doubted the snake had been a baby one, but Cloud would have thrown a bigger fit than Tifa did when that bird flew into the bar.

Oh, birds! They must have something I'd be interested in, Vincent thought while turning to find the winged members of the indoor zoo. It wasn't too far, and Vincent was pleased at the wide range of birds that there were. Still, there was the problem that they were all so small; weak, in Vincent's point of view.

"Damn… don't they have animals that I couldn't put on my plate tonight?" Cloud rolled his eyes at Vincent's lack of enthusiasm as he leaned against a shelf, arms crossed.

"You don't have to be so sour; it's the thou –"

"The thought that counts? Cloud, to be quite honest, I'm frightened to know your thoughts half the time."

Cloud sighed and shook his head. Vincent, the stubborn man, was the only person he knew that could be so picky when it came to animals. Okay, so maybe the snake wouldn't have been that bad, but to have something that looked like it was constantly covered in mucus, had to be pet-fed rodents, and could curl up around your entire arm with a few inches left over was a little too much for Cloud to handle. Still, Vincent couldn't put a snake 'on his plate'.

Cloud's eyes snapped wide open. Of course! It was daring, it was bold, and it was unlikely, but it was a possibility, especially with Vincent. Cloud darted forward and snatched Vincent's hand, yanking him toward the other side of the store. There were rooms instead of fish tanks where the walls were, and the doors were split in half so the top half was open, making it possible for the animals to be maintained but visible.

Cloud looked from room to room until he found was he was looking for. Vincent had his eye on a full-grown Doberman when he heard Cloud call his name. Groaning childishly, he dragged himself to where Cloud stood. He could see he was holding something, but he couldn't see exactly what it was.

Well that's definitely not good, Vincent thought. If it's so small that he can hold it in his arms to where I can't see it, I probably won't want it.

Cloud grinned at Vincent as the man approached, and Vincent just sighed and took a quick glance at the room Cloud was standing in front of. It was full of at least fifteen cats, and at least seven of them were too fluffy to be normal animals. Vincent growled.

"Cloud, I don't want a damn cat." Cloud just smiled and shifted his arms, and Vincent's eyes widened when a tiny orange head popped over Cloud's arm. Vincent reached forward slowly, never taking his eyes off the small kitten. Vincent gasped and nearly dropped the poor thing when he realized just how small the kitten was.

Cloud grinned proudly. "You like her, don't you?"

Vincent blinked a couple times, overlooking the cat. Finally, he held it up right in front of his face, staring it straight in the eyes. The cat didn't do anything for a moment, but after a few seconds it gave out a loud, pathetic mew, and Vincent nearly melted.

"I never thought I'd see the day when Vincent Valentine was interested in a month-old kitten." Cloud beamed at Vincent as they walked out of the store after paying for Vincent's new pet. Cloud put an arm around Vincent's shoulders while they walked to the car, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Happy birthday, Vince."

Vincent rolled his eyes and smiled.

"Okay, so I'm glad you got me something. Thank you." Cloud smiled back. The two got into the car. As they rode down the road, Cloud shot a few quick glances at Vincent and the cat, both of which apparently had some odd ways of bonding. Somehow the cat had managed to climb to the top of Vincent's head and was now repeatedly hitting Vincent's face with her paw. Cloud laughed and looked back at the road.

"She needs a name, you know."

"Yes, I'm aware."

Vincent thought about it for a moment and looked outside at the trees they were passing; many of them had rainbows of oranges and reds among the branches. Vincent smiled and looked up at the cat.

"Aki."

A/N: "Aki" means autumn or fall in Japanese.