It was the best birthday any thirteen year old could ask for. Everything the young child had asked for, Vincent received. It brought joy to the Valentines' heart to see their son display a genuine smile. The bullies at school have dimmed the boy's light, but every now and then, he would show a smile so bright that it could light up a room.
"Can we have some cake now, please?"
The red-eyed boy clapped his hands non-stop as Grimoire pacified him by telling him to calm down, chuckling in between his son's antics. Liberty had gotten up from the floor and made her way to the kitchen to get the birthday cake.
"What kind is it? Ooh I hope it's vanilla! No, chocolate! No, vanilla but with ice cream as well!"
"Whoa there buddy." Grimoire chuckled. "Slow down. Just how much sugar have you had?"
"Not much." The sly look in Vincent's eyes said otherwise.
The older raven-haired man chuckled some more at his son. "You get a small piece then it's off to bed."
"Oh come on dad." The boy pleaded. "It's my birthday! Besides, you bought me a new video game. Can't I at least play it for an hour?"
"Where did you learn how to beg like that?" Grimoire playfully questioned. "I tell you what, you can play for an hour then it's off to bed. I know it's your birthday, but your mother and I don't your sleeping schedule completely screwed up."
Vincent leaped for joy as he ran to the entertainment center and began to set up the television. Grimoire shook his head at his son playfully. The boy had already forgotten about the cake. Grimoire stood up from the floor and walked into the kitchen.
"Our son is such a lively boy." Grimoire said in between chuckles.
Liberty peered her head from the refrigerator with distraught in her eyes. Grimoire's smile fell when his noticed the tears in his wife's eyes. The refrigerator door slammed harshly and revealed a figure dressed in all black pointing a gun in the back of Liberty's head. The man pushed Liberty forward, causing a small yelp to escape from her lips. Grimoire instinctively raised both of his hands in the air to pose no threat to the intruder.
"Take whatever you want, but please, don't hurt my wife."
The intruder laughed murderously. "You think begging will spare your wife?"
"Hey dad, I was wondering if we could play the racing game together?" Vincent froze when he saw his parents.
"Vincent, go to your room." Liberty pleaded ad tears rolled down her face. "Everything will be fine."
"Mom," Vincent choked out. "what's going on?"
"Did you not hear your mother, brat?"
"There's no need to be harsh." Grimoire chimed in. He was scared to death. "Please, take anything you want. Leave my family alone. We won't tell a soul."
The intruder snorted. "I know you won't tell a soul."
Grimoire's eyes and he lunged forward for the intruder. Liberty's scream shot painfully in Vincent's ear as he blood was splashed everywhere in the kitchen, including Vincent's face. Liberty's body fell to the floor with a loud thud, and Grimoire grabbed the gun and began tussling on the floor with the gunman.
"Vincent, leave now and get help!"
Vincent dropped the game in his hands and ran upstairs. There was no one he could personally call. His parents didn't have family that he knew of. His father would often invite colleagues from time to time, but the young boy never paid any attention to their faces or names. He ran into this parents bedroom and reached for the cordless phone that was on the cradle. He dialed 911 and pleaded with the operator to send someone over.
The boy flinched when he heard a gunshot. Tears rolled down his face as he began to frantically look for a hiding spot. Vincent cried out loud when he heard another gunshot followed by his father's scream in agony. Another shot was heard and another shot after that. For a few seconds, Vincent didn't hear anything. He stood still until he heard that awful, yet familiar cackle, come from the kitchen. The laugh was getting closer and closer as the gunman ascended the stairs.
"I'm usually against killing kids, but you've seen my face, kid."
The gunman opened a door that led to the bathroom. Knowing Vincent wouldn't hid there, he turned on his heel and kicked Vincent's bedroom door open with his foot. The gunman rummaged through the room while Vincent opened his parents' closet and closed the door softly with shaking hands. He silently sob as he crouched in the corner. His hip hit his father's beloved rifle, Death Penalty. Vincent grabbed the deadly weapon and aimed it at the entrance.
The raven-haired boy bit hard on his bottom lip as the gunman continued to search the house for him. A yelp almost escaped his small body when the gunman entered his parents' bedroom. If he could just hold off until the cops came, he had a chance to survive.
"You got nowhere to run, kid!"
The gunman looked under the bed then behind the dresser. When he turned, his eyes fixated on the closet. Smiling, the gunman approached the closet and took aim and fired, causing Vincent to yell from shock. The gunman laughed as he shot another shot. This time Vincent was able to keep from screaming. He clutched his father's beloved firearm and waited for the gunman's face. The gunman knew he didn't hit Vincent, and knew that Vincent called the police so he had to kill the kid quickly. The murderous man opened the closet door forcibly and caught a frightened Vincent in the corner clutching a gun. Before the gunman could raise his weapon, Vincent opened fire, shooting the gunman in the chest. The assailant's gun hit the floor and shot another shot into the ceiling.
Vincent's ears began to painfully ring as he dropped the weapon and slowly crawled out of the closet. He looked over at the man who's blood was now staining the light brown carpet. Fresh tears fell from Vincent's face as he glared at the figure. He slowly knelled and pick up Death Penalty in case the man got up. The aggressor was gasping as blood painfully shot out of his mouth, his hands were clutched to his chest in a feeble attempt to stop the bleeding. Vincent quickly ran downstairs and reached the kitchen.
He dropped the rifle and fell to his knees as he saw his mother and father. They were lifeless. Their blood everywhere. Vincent painfully sobbed as he heard sirens approach the once happy home. Vincent crawled to his parents and went into a fetal position, not caring that he was lying in the blood of his parents. Police burst through the front door and immediately followed Vincent's sob. They quickly withdrew their weapon when they saw the boy curled up, achingly sobbing at his parents' murder.
Tifa didn't know what to say. How could someone console a person after hearing that story? Doing the only thing that she could think of, she gingerly rubbed Vincent's arm. She felt his entire body shudder. Reliving that painful memory was hard for him.
"I was checked into a mental hospital." Vincent clenched his hands. "They ran tests on me. Pricked and probed at my body…." He rolled up his sleeves to show the several needle marks on his arms.
Tifa traced the marks with her hands as she swallowed away a lump forming in her throat. "Because I kept reliving the nightmares, they kept me sedated."
Tifa was silent for a moment. She quickly pulled Vincent into a hug. Though the motion was sudden, Vincent didn't cringe way from the sudden embrace. He snaked his arms around Tifa's now convulsing body. She sobbed into Vincent's shoulders as she hugged him tighter.
"There's no need to weep for me, Tifa." Vincent murmured. "I'm still standing."
She pulled her head away from him, her eyes were now blood-shot red from the crying. "Someone needs to cry for you. Hell for all of you! You've all lived horrible lives and not one person didn't think to embrace either of you!"
Vincent couldn't believe how phenomenal Tifa was. Filled with so much understanding and trust. Maybe a little too much trust, but Vincent appreciated it, nonetheless.
"I didn't stay sedated for too long since the war began." Vincent pointed out. "The war caused a lot of government organizations close down, hence how I was able to leave. No paper trail or file was left behind."
Tifa shook her head. "You were tossed into the world like common trash."
"I shortly met Yuffie, and we were stuck like glue since then." Vincent wanted to bring some sort of comfort to Tifa. He was surprise that she was so emotional about his past.
"Wutai is such a horrible place." Tifa spat harshly. "I understand war changes the ways of life, but when a government simply neglects its citizens….it's so twisted!"
Vincent remained silent as the brunette processed her thoughts. Like the rest of his group, he never went into details about the murder, and completely neglected to tell them about being locked away in a mental asylum for several months before the war shut down the institution. Like his red-haired partner in crime, he kept the story short and sweet when it came to his past.
He felt Tifa's body relax against his. She pulled her body away his completely and looked into his sorrowful red iris. "I need to lay down. Can you show me where the bathroom is and the room I'll be sleeping in for the evening?"
Vincent nodded and got up from the sectional. He went to the front door and grabbed Tifa's bag. He began walking up the stairs, with a sniffling Tifa behind him. He first pointed out the bathroom that was a few steps away from the stairs. He walked a little further down the hall and noticed the immediate bedroom that was closer to the bathroom was closed. Yuffie and Vincent always left doors opened unless the room in question was occupied. He safely assumed Sephiroth was in that room and continued to walk a little further down the hall.
He walked into another spare room that had zero personality in it. Neither Yuffie nor Vincent took time out in decorating the spare rooms. It had a simple touch to it; a bed, nightstand, closet, and two windows.
"I'm sorry the room is a bit bare." Vincent placed Tifa's bags onto the bed.
"It's fine. Thanks for everything."
"I should be the one thanking you." Vincent fell silent for a split second. He felt extremely vulnerable, and yet despite his painful story and inhumane ways, Tifa still stood by him and friends. He couldn't come up with a logical reason as to why.
"There's no need to thank me." She turned her entire body to face the raven haired man. Her tear-stained cheeks shined brightly under the small moonlight that peered through the blinds. "If someone would have taken a little time to care for you all, maybe things would be different. You wouldn't have to carry that darkness inside of your heart."
Vincent swallowed in response and tore his glance away from her. Tifa embraced Vincent in another hug, and he returned the gesture without any hesitations.
"Thank you and goodnight, Tifa." He placed a tender kiss on her forehead and excused himself from the room.
He went down the hall and into his bedroom. The bed creaked as Vincent threw his weight onto it. He intertwined his arms behind his head and tucked them securely under his pillow, recounting the events that have just transpired in his home in just a few short moments ago. Every was so open and honest, Tifa didn't bat one eye. Was she really this caring? Surely she couldn't be sane herself. A part of Vincent truly believed that Tifa could have turned out like himself and his friends if it wasn't for the nurturing nature inside of her.
Like everyone that lives on the Planet, pain is a part of life. Sometimes that pain comes from a bicycle accident, other times it comes in forms of being a victim of a heinous crime. If people had the opportunity to come face to face with the person or group that was responsible for said agony, most people couldn't act out on that revenge. Revenge is a dangerous passion that most people posses. Anger and revenge complemented each other like life and death. One cannot exist without the other. It's manifested and exists because the other exists.
As Vincent turned his body to lay on his left side, his back towards the door, his thoughts overwhelmed him. He tried shutting his eyes to ease his mind, in hopes of sleep, but atlas, sleep never came. He wasn't sure how much time has passed, but he heard a soft creak from the hallway.
"Vincent?" Tifa spoke softly and a soft knock came afterwards.
"Come in." His voice was quiet but it was just enough for Tifa to hear.
She quietly opened and closed the door and tip toed to the slender man that was lying in the bed. Vincent turned his body on his back as Tifa laid beside him on her back. She stared at the ceiling, not knowing what to say. Though it was awkward at first, the two of them fell into a comfortable silence. Their minds danced with so much curiosity with one another while starring at the ceiling. Tifa reached for Vincent's hand and when she found it, she squeezed it lightly.
"Why aren't you running out of this house in fear?" The question burned an invisible hole in Vincent's brain.
"Because…." The brunette as she chose her words carefully. Vincent patiently waited for her answer. Deciding that honesty was the best way to answer, she replied, "I wish I could be like you all."
Vincent laid still for a few seconds. Did he hear her correctly? He slowly turned his head to face her. He was a little surprised that she was starring back at him. Though there were no lights on, he has a clear view of her face from the moonlight. So beautiful and angelic. She rolled onto his chest and gingerly rubbed his face. He wrapped his arm around her waist in a secure embrace, never taking his eyes away from her almond eyes.
"How can a woman like you exist in this world?" Vincent murmured into her hand as it gently rubbed along his collarbone.
She smiled sweetly at him and pressed her forehead against his. "I just do."
They remained that way for what felt like minutes. Vincent's grasp on Tifa's waist tightened a little as he intertwined his hand with her hand. They laid there, drinking each other's aura as the night went on. They pressed their lips against one another, as if they read each other's mind. Vincent couldn't allow Tifa to slip away from him. She was the beacon of light he needed that he wasn't aware that he needed until now. He held onto her curvy frame for dear life, his grip loosening slightly when he finally succumbed to sleep.
"I'm tired of avoiding this conversation with you." Reno sat down on the bed with a fresh glass full of brandy in his hands.
"So am I." Yuffie stared at the moon from the window. "So, start talking."
As Yuffie expected, the red-head was silent. They've been dancing around the subject long enough. The what ifs and what could happen if they were to pursue their affection for one another. Reno hinted at it plenty of time but never done anything about it. Her sarcastic ways and dark sense of humor always sparked a fire inside of him that he could never explain. Reno was a bit of a playboy in the past, even with his growing affection towards Yuffie, which, at the time, he denied during his early playboy days. As the months rolled by him, he admitted to himself that he did care for her more than he had let on, but he knew he was no good for her. After the hell she had been through, he refused to bring more disaster into her. He was so broken during his college days, that he turned to sex as an outlet. His friends had outlets as well; Vincent with his wine drinking and reading, Sephiroth with his writing, and Yuffie with her constant party hopping. Each one of them picked up on their habits, but no one ever pointed at their habitual behavior. They silently knew the cause.
"I've done a lot of growing up since college." Reno began as he got up from the bed. "I always carried a torch for you, longer than I want to admit. That broken kid you met in college….he wasn't good enough for you."
Yuffie huffed as she diverted her attention from the beautiful night sky. "And who are you to make that decision for me?"
"The man that the boy from your college days grew up to be."
Reno's words shocked the short-haired raven woman. She opened her mouth, but swiftly shut it when no words left her mouth.
"The boy in me wanted to date you." Reno continued when Yuffie's shock went away. "He wanted to be your outlet, you're everything, but didn't have the means to do so. He was just as broken as you were. All he could give you was sweet nothings and dick."
Reno felt years of pinned up emotions leave his body as he outstretched his arms to Yuffie. "Now that boy is a man, and this wants to give you everything you not only desire but want as well. There is no other woman I desire in my life."
Yuffie grabbed Reno's hands when they were within her reach. She pulled his body into a warm embrace; her hands quickly wrapped around his neck. Slim fingers made the back of his hair stand up.
"With your permission, I want to court you until my time is up."
She gave the red-haired man a soft kiss on his lips, which he quickly and happily accepted. Her eyes were drenched in emotions when the two pulled away
"I'm done fighting against my love for you, Yuffie."
A tear of joy slowly fell from her right eye. "Shut up and claim me, Reno."
"She embraced them with nurturing arms, as I expected."
Sephiroth stared at the ceiling while thinking about his friends. He was more than certain that friends and reached their emotional walls. Tonight was a difficult night, but in the end, tonight's events needed happen. None of them could not longer keep that wall up.
"Sounds like a wonderful night. The icing on top would have been my presence."
Sephiroth heard the sadness in her voice. "I know. Have you managed to come up with a good excuse to leave the hotel?"
The woman on the other end sighed. "No, and I think he's beginning to pick up on my odd behavior."
"No more keeping you at bay. After we come up with a plan to take down Genesis, I will call you and discuss bringing you here."
The sigh of relief lightened his heart. "I'm super excited to see you after so many months."
"You know the first thing I'm going to do to you when I get you all to myself?"
Sephiroth's smile widened when he heard the purr ring into his left ear. He slowly reached for the elastic from his waistband on his sweats.
"No. How about you tell me?"
As the inhabitants finished off their night, unbeknownst (somewhat) to each other, they all share a common goal: a fresh start.