Blind Love, Chapter 6:
'Fair Ladies and Vampires'
"Hello? Vincent talking... Is Elena there?... Oh.. Okey... I'll be there to pick her up in a while... Yes, thank you."
He hung up.
After the usual fuss from Cid and Shera, Vincent drove in his car to pick up Elena.
He climbed the stairs all the way to the sixth floor, for he decided he wasn't getting enough exercise. He arrived panting, which he interpreted as slacking on his side.
After a short moment to catch his breath, he pressed the door bell.
"~Who is it?" Asked the voice of Elena.
"Vincent." he replied.
"Do come in! I'll be with you in a sec'."
He opened the door and went in.
"Take your ti- Ugh!"
"Are you okey?" Asked Elena. Upon hearing no response, she came to check. She gave a frightened yelp.
Reno and Rude peeked from their rooms to check what happened.
Elena chuckled,
"You really are very Vampire like."
Vincent, hanging upside down from a rope around his legs, crossed his arms across his chest and grumbled angrily. His shirt fell down a bit to reveal his stark pale stomach.
Elena turned to Reno,
"I thought you told me you disarmed the security system."
"I thought I did." Answered Reno with a grin.
Rude and Reno returned to their rooms, not even considering helping Vincent down.
Elena stayed there and studied the hanging Vampire.
"Hang on there a moment, nice of you to hang around..." She laughed again. "You really do look like a vampire..."
"It's not my fault." He shrugged upside down. "Could you please... Help me down?"
"Nope." She grinned, "If you were such a great Turk, I'm sure you could get down, can't you?" she tickled his stomach. He winced, then pulled his shirt down (Or up, it depends on your point of view) and tucked it in his pants.
Again he grumbled, giving Elena a hard look. He bent up and tried to reach the rope. First try he fell back down before he could reach. Second try he was able to grab the rope in his healthy hand and then he cut it with his sharp claw.
He fell with an undignified thud and grunt.
Elena held back her chuckling and helped him up.
Reno peeked out of his room, and after a moment, so did Rude. They nodded to each other and approached Vincent, grave expressions written on their faces.
"Listen, Vinny boy," Started Reno "We don't want Elena to get hurt, okey?"
Vincent rised his brows,
"Neither do I. What's your point?"
"Our point is that we don't want you to hurt her." Rude concluded.
Reno stepped close to Vincent and stood on his tip-toes to somewhat heighten himself to Vincent's height.
"Just keep in mind that if you hurt her even this much," he held his index finger close to him thumb, "We'll make sure we'll have for dinner some Kentucky Fried Vincent!"
Vincent nonchalantly wiped Reno spit from his face and replayed with a cold expression,
"Believe me, Turks, I have no intention of hurting her. Furthermor-" Here he stopped for Elena was ready and stepped out of her room.
She looked beautiful.
Reno and Rude left their threat in the air and retired back to their rooms, sending Vincent mean looks on the way.
At the fair:
As if on a special order, the skies were blue. And unlike previous days, this Sunday was warm. The air was filled with the laughter of children, happy people talking and eager merchants shouting their commerce.
Colorful flags and banners were hung and everyone was festively dressed. Except for one couple: the woman was dressed in a pure white suit, and the man was dressed in a black, long sleeved shirt and pants. Vincent and Elena walked together, hand in hand, through the various booths and stalls of the grand fair.
Elena stopped by one of the stalls and picked up a little trinket, she happily showed it to Vincent, who frowned with a small smile.
She pressed on a button on the little figure and a small voice box inside yelled "Sephiroth!" Elena laughed and placed the Cloud action figure back on the stall.
They proceeded down the ails of attractive stalls when Elena pointed at a shooting gallery, or more precisely, at a big, fluffy, rather depressed looking teddy bear sitting with the prizes.
Vincent grinned warmly and approached the pedler. He bought one round of pellets in order to hit all 10 balloons.
"Okey, laddie, now what you have to do is rise the rifle like this..." The pedler showed Vincent how to hold the rifle. Vincent said nothing and cooperated. "Now... close one eye... Right... And aim at a balloon- Come on- Nothing to fright over... Just-"
Vincent shot nine consecutive shots with amazing rapidity. The gun hardly moving in his trained grip.
The pebler was silent a long moment when Vincent was through. Looking at all the blown balloons, he said weakly.
"Ten balloons in nine shots... I'm... I never thought I was such a good teacher."
Vincent smiled contentedly and handed him back the gun, one bullet still in the barrel.
"Do I need to give you change for the last bullet...?" The pebler asked weakly, still shocked.
Vincent shook his head.
Elena jumped and grabbed that fluffy teddy bear. Hugging it tightly, she asked Vincent,
"Ain't he ADORABLE??"
"I guess..." Vincent shrugged. Elena pretended to pout,
"You have no idea in cuteness!"
He turned his head from her,
"I... I think you're cute..." He managed to say, blushing, as if to say that he knew cute when he saw it.
Elena's smile widened. She took his hand with one arm and held tight to the teddy in the other one. They walked on.
"You know," She said after a while of silence between them, "I think this teddy bear is a lot like you."
Vincent was baffled,
"Are you suggesting that I'm furry, fat, have a pink nose and cotton filling?"
"No, silly-" She nudged his shoulder with her's, "I mean, he's sooo cute, and yet, look at his eyes; they look so sad and despelled with the world, like he's seen a lot of things in his life he didn't want, or mean to see..."
"Elena, that's a stuffed animal." He told her in a 'fact-of-matter' tone.
She sighed,
"Forget I ever mentioned the philosophy of teddy bears, okey?"
"I'll be more then glad to..." He mumbled, finding the comparison somewhat unsettling.
They both noticed a large gathering, and approached to see what was the happening.
They saw a large mass covered with a gray cloth. A respectable looking person stood beside the mass.
"Gather people! Gather!" he exclaimed "I, the mayor of Neo-Midgar, who hosts this wonderful festival of magic and wonders, am honored to present a gift to the heroes of this world. The heroes that without them we surely weren't standing here today. Behold!"
The Vail was taken down dramatically.
A large monument of AVALANCHE was revealed.
Cloud, with his famous pissed expression stood in the middle, one hand on the handle of his sword. A stance all of avalanche learned to know very well. Beside him stood Tifa, wearing her minimal tank top.
Red XIII was there as well, though the sculptors had a challenge carving the flame in his tail in stone.
Barret, with his gun arm rised by his head.
Cait Sith, shouting in his megaphone to the happy Mog.
Yuffie was sculptured smiling too innocently, to Vincent's taste;
'they should of made her with one hand inside someone's pocket,' he mussed to himself.
Cid was there as well, carved sharply, his trusty lance by his side, and biting his eternal Cigg'.
In front of them all kneeled Beautiful Aeris, her face to the heavens, her hands clasped together in prayer. Holy lay by her feet.
He himself was there too, though not in great detail. His face was concealed by the cowl and bandanna so only a pair of eyes glared menacingly. His healthy hand rised, holding 'Quick Silver' while his claw hung by his side.
He looked frightening even to himself.
"They didn't do you justice." Elena mentioned, noticing Vincent's wondering. Vincent glanced at her, "They forgot the pink nose," She giggled, pressing on his nose with her finger.
"Do I really look this... Aloof?" he asked after wriggling his nose a bit.
Elena examined the statue with her head tilted just so.
"Well... There is some resemblance... You were a real spook back then." His face saddened a bit.
"But now you look totally different!" Elena was quick to add, "You look much more lively and Hu-..." she swallowed the last word, not wanting to finish her sentence.
Vincent smiled a sad smile,
"Human?"
Elena nodded,
"But let's keep on walking, I don't want the past to spoil everything."
They started off again in a random direction. This time Vincent stopped after a few steps.
"Wasn't that Reeve?"
He looked back to the monument. Indeed, Reeve was the mayor of Midgar. He wasn't in touch with him too long, he didn't recognize him.
Vincent, accompanied with Elena, went to say hello.
"Hi, Cait!" Vincent called from the base of the impressive statue.
Reeve looked down at him, it took him a whole minute to recognize Vincent without the cape and stuff.
The red eyes gave him away.
"Vincent?! That really you?" He climbed down and held out his hand, Vincent instinctively rised his left hand (Reeve was left handed), but stopped himself before shaking Reeve's hand. Reeve apologized and held out the other arm. Vincent now could greet Reeve without accidentally cutting his wrist.
"I didn't- Couldn't recognize you! You look so..."
"Normal?" Suggested Vincent.
"Well, as a matter of fact, yes! You look better dressed in casual clothing."
"Meet Elena."
"Hi!" Elena said, also reaching out her hand, "I wouldn't of suspected you were with Avalanche, you know? It never occurred to me until someone actually told me."
Reeve smiled proudly, proud of being such a skilled double agent.
A man came to Reeve and whispered something in his ear.
"Oh.. I'll be right there..." Reeve then turned to Vincent and Elena, "I gotta run, but It's been a pleasure seeing you both again- keep in touch!" He left.
Vincent gave the statue one last glance and they started walking again, hand by hand and a teddy bear.
Elena leaned closer to Vincent at one point,
"I think that somone's following us..." She whispered.
Vincent nodded gravely,
"I have noticed them... I don't want trouble, let's try and give them the slip."
Elena pretended to laugh as if he had told her a funny joke. They changed their route a couple of times, just to be sure that the three men were indeed following them. After confirmation, they walked close the walls of the shops, mingling in the crowd. A few men passes them by, blocking the view. When they cleared, the couple was gone.
"I hope they don't come looking." Said Vincent once they were deep enough in the side ally.
They did.
And they were blocking the only exit from the ally.
Three big, angry looking thugs.
Vincent turned to them, pushing Elena behind him without thinking.
She tightened her grip around her stuffed toy.
"What do you want?" He asked in a blood chilling voice.
"That creature behind you isn't worth protecting!" Shouted on of the men,
"She's a $%&*I@ Turk!" Shouted another,
"She killed our parents!" Shouted the smallest one.
Though he was the smallest, he was Vincent's height.
Vincent glanced at Elena behind him. She smiled sheepishly.
Not that it bothered him, he had killed many people in his time, too.
"We want her dead!" the largest said, "So you can either move out of the way and save yourself some unpleasantness or..." All three stepped one step forward, fists prepared.
"Are you ready?" Vincent whispered to Elena. She knew what he meant, she nodded.
Vincent suddenly ran towards them. One step away from them, as they thought he would crash into them, he leapt and landed nimbly behind them. They turned to him, arms rised to strike, then they all fell.
Elena got up from her low-bow kick, when Vincent punched one of them in the head with his claw. Not killing him as rendering him unconscious. Perhaps dislocating his jaw.
The other two got up, pissed then before.
One turned to attack Elena and the other to attack Vincent.
"Get away from me!" Elena demanded and did a spin kick, for her hands were busy hugging the bear.
The thug span around himself and fell unconscious. She hit him a little harder then she wanted.
As for the thug the went at Vincent, he was out cold as well.
Vincent had easily kicked him under the chin, which sent him sprawling on top of his brothers.
"Are you okey?" They both asked together.
After checking that neither was wounded they looked down at the three men.
"I feel sorry for them." Said Elena, "I really did kill their parents, I think."
Vincent knew their wasn't anything he could say to help, so he just stood beside her without saying anything.
"Come on," He said eventually, "Let's get going. I don't want the past right now."
Elena nodded her consent and they went back to the fair, leaving three thugs in a pile behind them.
After a couple of hours, Vincent and Elena were about to head home, it was already late twilight.
"Hey, Vince?" Elena asked as they walked together, her head leaning on his shoulder.
"Yes?"
"I have a question."
"?"
She stopped walking, and took both of his hands in hers.
"You want us to go steady?" She asked, blushing.
Vincent starred at her.
"You mea... You wan... Me.... You..."
Elena giggled as she saw how his brain was trying to fathom the question, or rather, the concept.
"Do you, or don't you?" She asked,
He looked at his feet and nodded meekly. Then he looked up, expecting her reaction.
She smiled happily and threw her hands around his chest, closing her eyes.
He awkwardly hugged her back. And they stayed like that a long while.
"People actually still ask about 'going steady'?"
"You found the right person to ask..."
"Oh, right, sorry."