~Half Forgotten Memories~
by:GoldenSilence
CH. 2-The unexpected
disclaimer:Woops, forgot this in the first chapter!FF7 and characters belong to squaresoft.
A/N=A big thanks goes out to all you reviewers..you guys made my day!Hope you review again.:)
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Tifa tried to reason with herself for her seemingly bizzare action. That ring had been her only tie to Cloud; a memento to remind her of what had happened to him. She didn't need a reminder, his dissapearance and his face stubbornly refused to be erased from her memory and her heart.
She told herself she didn't need a tie to Cloud either; a binding through a ring to someone presumed dead. DEAD. Tifa could say that word over and over again silently, but she couldn't get it past her lips without the bile rising to her throat. Still, she knew that was most likely what had happened to Cloud. She just couldn't say it out loud. Saying it out loud gave it a dreaded sense of finality..a sense of closure on something she was having trouble moving on from.
Anyway, the ring was back in the ocean now, back to the place where it had been found orginally by Shera. Maybe, thought Tifa, looking down into the impenatrable aquamarine depths, maybe it would find it's way back into the hands of its' buyer. If Cloud wasn't dead, it could be his beacon, dragging him out of whatever merciless place he was stuck in and back to reality; to her.
Tifa shook her head, disgusted with herself. Even after getting rid of the ring, she still couldn't acknowledge his death. A small glimmer of hope still persisted in believing he was alive somewhere. By throwing the ring Tifa was trying to forget the small chance of just that, erasing any hope she had left.
Forgetting, Tifa decided, was the only way she could really live... because if she accepted what had most likely happened, she would never really live again in the same way.
All because fate held the cards. Fate had decided Cloud's death or life..perhaps even keeping him in some deadly limbo between the two. Damn fate.
"Goodbye, Cloud." Tifa's small whisper drifted into the wind as she turned her back on the storm tossed ocean and slowly walked back to the funeral. A commotion from behind a group of rocks caused Selphie to turn around. Vincent was standing up from behind the barricade of sorts and brushing his suit off. Tifa felt shocked. She wouldn't have put it past any other member of the gang to spy on her like this just to make sure she wasn't going to do anything she'd regret..but Vincent?
"Vincent..were you just spying on me?"
Vincent looked sheepish as if he had heard what Tifa had just been thinking . "I just wanted to make sure.." He trailed off, a common trait of his speech, right up there with talking in the most concise sentences possible.
"Make sure what?that I didn't jump off the cliff or something?" Tifa broke in irritably. Half of the group must have been expecting it or something from the way they had trailed her nonstop ever since Cloud's assumed demise. Tifa felt silly for her comment. Of course Vincent wouldn't make sure she was alright. Why would he even care?Tifa was of the private opinion that Vincent had and would only care for two people in the world ever. Himself and Lucrecia.
But that didn't explain away why he had let her have her space, unlike the other group members..which to Tifa meant more than anything. Funny..he understood her better than Cait Sith or any of them, yet he had barely said ten paragraphs to her the whole time he had known her.
Vincent didn't respond to her question, he just stood there, staring at her with those fathomless black eyes of his and making Tifa nervous. His face, in plain view with the wind whipping back his ebony locks made her even more exceedingly nervous. The slight show of emotion shown there tranformed it into something..human? What did he want?
The silence was becoming unbearable, so Tifa spoke again, repeating her question, this time with less of the sarcastic bite to it. "Vincent?What were you trying to make sure?"
"Make sure you didn't act like I would have in your place." Tifa stared at Vincent, startled at such a personal admission and searching for the emotion that had caused it..but whatever trace of apathy had been on Vincent's face had vanished and left him with his usual mudane expression .
"And how would that be?" Tifa didn't think Vincent would answer and she wasn't surprised when he didn't. She already had a good idea of how he would act in such a situation anyway. "I'm fine" Tifa tried to reassure him.
"No, you're not at all. Anyone who says you will be ever again after something like this is lying. You'll always carry part of him with you.." Vincent's words weren't exactly comforting, but Tifa somehow managed to find comfort in them anyway. She had a feeling he was drawing on his own experiences in life when had spoken as he had.
"Is that how it was with you and Lucrecia?" As soon as the words were out of her mouth, Tifa regretted them. The forbidden "L" word was never mentioned around Vincent. She waited for him to retreat back into his of silence and was half expecting him to turn his back to her and flat walk off.
He didn't and defied all convention by actually staying in place and speaking. "Not how it was..how it is." The way he spoke spooked Tifa a bit. He acted as if Lucrecia were still a being instead of simply a ghost of the past. Tifa felt a sense of dread. Was this what she was going to be like in twenty years?Still having Cloud invade her every thought?
Vincent hurried to get the topic off himself. "Tifa?Was that object something of Cloud's?"
"What object?"
"The one you threw in the water." Vincent had gotten over his emberassment at being caught watching Tifa's actions rather fast.
"Yeah, it as Cloud's. His ring..for me." Tifa felt a wave of self pity. "You're lucky Vincent..you at least got to tell Lucrecia how you felt before she died.."
Vincent's eyes clouded over. "I wouldn't call it lucky, exactly. Better to have had a love that was mutual on both sides than one that was completely one sided." And he would say no more on the subject. Tifa had never really thought of Vincent's relationship with Lucrecia as onesided, but then maybe he was speaking in the present tense again..and in the present tense, Vincent's relationship with Lucrecia was definitely VERY one sided.
Tifa attempted an incredibly wobbly smile. "I had Cloud's friendship while he still lived and his love after he died. At least I finally got to experience both.."
Something in that tentative smile made Vincent want to comfort her and much as he tried to shake off the feeling, it persisted. Tifa looked so alone standing there. As if no one could understand what she was going through. Not entirely sure of what he was doing, Vincent closed the distance between them.
In a sudden whirlwind of his red cloak, Tifa found herself wrapped in a quick hug; a quiet source of strength.
Vincent let go of her as suddenly as he had hugged her, rubbed the back of his neck, and looked out over the green slope, where the number of people garbed in black was slowly dwindling. He started to make his way down the hill and then changed his mind.
"Tifa?Trying to put the past behind you...throwing a ring away's not going to solve that." Vincent then took off running, his cloak flapping behind him in the wind, leaving Tifa with far more than just a hug to think about.
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A/N=Sooo sleepppy...*yawn*. I decided to post this before I go on my trip to Germany because I'm not sure if I'll be able to use my laptop over there..I hope so, though!:)If not, well you'll know when I don't update for awhile.
by:GoldenSilence
CH. 2-The unexpected
disclaimer:Woops, forgot this in the first chapter!FF7 and characters belong to squaresoft.
A/N=A big thanks goes out to all you reviewers..you guys made my day!Hope you review again.:)
---------
Tifa tried to reason with herself for her seemingly bizzare action. That ring had been her only tie to Cloud; a memento to remind her of what had happened to him. She didn't need a reminder, his dissapearance and his face stubbornly refused to be erased from her memory and her heart.
She told herself she didn't need a tie to Cloud either; a binding through a ring to someone presumed dead. DEAD. Tifa could say that word over and over again silently, but she couldn't get it past her lips without the bile rising to her throat. Still, she knew that was most likely what had happened to Cloud. She just couldn't say it out loud. Saying it out loud gave it a dreaded sense of finality..a sense of closure on something she was having trouble moving on from.
Anyway, the ring was back in the ocean now, back to the place where it had been found orginally by Shera. Maybe, thought Tifa, looking down into the impenatrable aquamarine depths, maybe it would find it's way back into the hands of its' buyer. If Cloud wasn't dead, it could be his beacon, dragging him out of whatever merciless place he was stuck in and back to reality; to her.
Tifa shook her head, disgusted with herself. Even after getting rid of the ring, she still couldn't acknowledge his death. A small glimmer of hope still persisted in believing he was alive somewhere. By throwing the ring Tifa was trying to forget the small chance of just that, erasing any hope she had left.
Forgetting, Tifa decided, was the only way she could really live... because if she accepted what had most likely happened, she would never really live again in the same way.
All because fate held the cards. Fate had decided Cloud's death or life..perhaps even keeping him in some deadly limbo between the two. Damn fate.
"Goodbye, Cloud." Tifa's small whisper drifted into the wind as she turned her back on the storm tossed ocean and slowly walked back to the funeral. A commotion from behind a group of rocks caused Selphie to turn around. Vincent was standing up from behind the barricade of sorts and brushing his suit off. Tifa felt shocked. She wouldn't have put it past any other member of the gang to spy on her like this just to make sure she wasn't going to do anything she'd regret..but Vincent?
"Vincent..were you just spying on me?"
Vincent looked sheepish as if he had heard what Tifa had just been thinking . "I just wanted to make sure.." He trailed off, a common trait of his speech, right up there with talking in the most concise sentences possible.
"Make sure what?that I didn't jump off the cliff or something?" Tifa broke in irritably. Half of the group must have been expecting it or something from the way they had trailed her nonstop ever since Cloud's assumed demise. Tifa felt silly for her comment. Of course Vincent wouldn't make sure she was alright. Why would he even care?Tifa was of the private opinion that Vincent had and would only care for two people in the world ever. Himself and Lucrecia.
But that didn't explain away why he had let her have her space, unlike the other group members..which to Tifa meant more than anything. Funny..he understood her better than Cait Sith or any of them, yet he had barely said ten paragraphs to her the whole time he had known her.
Vincent didn't respond to her question, he just stood there, staring at her with those fathomless black eyes of his and making Tifa nervous. His face, in plain view with the wind whipping back his ebony locks made her even more exceedingly nervous. The slight show of emotion shown there tranformed it into something..human? What did he want?
The silence was becoming unbearable, so Tifa spoke again, repeating her question, this time with less of the sarcastic bite to it. "Vincent?What were you trying to make sure?"
"Make sure you didn't act like I would have in your place." Tifa stared at Vincent, startled at such a personal admission and searching for the emotion that had caused it..but whatever trace of apathy had been on Vincent's face had vanished and left him with his usual mudane expression .
"And how would that be?" Tifa didn't think Vincent would answer and she wasn't surprised when he didn't. She already had a good idea of how he would act in such a situation anyway. "I'm fine" Tifa tried to reassure him.
"No, you're not at all. Anyone who says you will be ever again after something like this is lying. You'll always carry part of him with you.." Vincent's words weren't exactly comforting, but Tifa somehow managed to find comfort in them anyway. She had a feeling he was drawing on his own experiences in life when had spoken as he had.
"Is that how it was with you and Lucrecia?" As soon as the words were out of her mouth, Tifa regretted them. The forbidden "L" word was never mentioned around Vincent. She waited for him to retreat back into his of silence and was half expecting him to turn his back to her and flat walk off.
He didn't and defied all convention by actually staying in place and speaking. "Not how it was..how it is." The way he spoke spooked Tifa a bit. He acted as if Lucrecia were still a being instead of simply a ghost of the past. Tifa felt a sense of dread. Was this what she was going to be like in twenty years?Still having Cloud invade her every thought?
Vincent hurried to get the topic off himself. "Tifa?Was that object something of Cloud's?"
"What object?"
"The one you threw in the water." Vincent had gotten over his emberassment at being caught watching Tifa's actions rather fast.
"Yeah, it as Cloud's. His ring..for me." Tifa felt a wave of self pity. "You're lucky Vincent..you at least got to tell Lucrecia how you felt before she died.."
Vincent's eyes clouded over. "I wouldn't call it lucky, exactly. Better to have had a love that was mutual on both sides than one that was completely one sided." And he would say no more on the subject. Tifa had never really thought of Vincent's relationship with Lucrecia as onesided, but then maybe he was speaking in the present tense again..and in the present tense, Vincent's relationship with Lucrecia was definitely VERY one sided.
Tifa attempted an incredibly wobbly smile. "I had Cloud's friendship while he still lived and his love after he died. At least I finally got to experience both.."
Something in that tentative smile made Vincent want to comfort her and much as he tried to shake off the feeling, it persisted. Tifa looked so alone standing there. As if no one could understand what she was going through. Not entirely sure of what he was doing, Vincent closed the distance between them.
In a sudden whirlwind of his red cloak, Tifa found herself wrapped in a quick hug; a quiet source of strength.
Vincent let go of her as suddenly as he had hugged her, rubbed the back of his neck, and looked out over the green slope, where the number of people garbed in black was slowly dwindling. He started to make his way down the hill and then changed his mind.
"Tifa?Trying to put the past behind you...throwing a ring away's not going to solve that." Vincent then took off running, his cloak flapping behind him in the wind, leaving Tifa with far more than just a hug to think about.
-----
A/N=Sooo sleepppy...*yawn*. I decided to post this before I go on my trip to Germany because I'm not sure if I'll be able to use my laptop over there..I hope so, though!:)If not, well you'll know when I don't update for awhile.
