Well, here's another chapter. Not much else to say except to thank all my
reviewers. You have no idea how much I love getting reviews!
.
Vincent turned away, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. Who would have thought that Sephiroth, the great general, would sit on a hospital bed, comforting his former enemy? Not Vincent, that was certain.
When he had entered the clearing in that accursed forest, he had been so shocked at what he found that he couldn't string two thoughts together; Sephiroth, sitting peacefully beside Tifa, seemingly the nicest person on the Planet. No, if anyone had told him yesterday that that would happen, he would have put said person in a straightjacket. But now, it all seemed normal, appropriate, in fact. It was the way it ought to be.
Over a few hours, Vincent had come to think of Sephiroth as someone to trust. Maybe it was because he was Lucrecia's son, maybe it was because Tifa trusted him, he really didn't know, but he trusted the silver haired man. Now, the only problem left was to convince the rest of Avalanche to do the same. That was certainly a mission doomed from the start. The only plus o it was that he wouldn't need to convince Cloud, as he would not be there. The only one who would be moderately easy to convince would be Cait Sith, or Reeve. But it had to be done, and he was the only one there to do it.
Sighing heavily, Vincent picked up his PHS and dialled Cid's number.
*********
Inside the hospital room, Tifa had finally stopped crying, but she hadn't let go of Sephiroth. She still held on to him, and he wasn't really in a hurry to make her let go. Sephiroth's anger at Brent had taken a back seat to his concern for Tifa, which in turn had been shoved aside by simple contentment. So instead of letting go, he held her silently, running his fingers trough her hair.
********
Cid swore loudly when his PHS rang. He had been working on the Tiny Bronco's engine, and he wasn't very pleased with the interruption. Pulling offending machine out of his pocket, he swore again, just for good measure.
"Yeah?" he answered.
".Cid, it's Vincent."
"Vince? How you been, ya &%¤% vampire?" Cid asked, puffing a bit on his ever present cigarette.
"Good. I have a request."
"Eh? Wassat?"
"I need you to round up Avalanche and come to Kalm."
"Why, is that %¤#¤ Shin-Ra messin' about again?"
"No. Come to the Redrose Hospital."
"Who got busted up this time?"
"Tifa....Cid?"
"Tifa!? Who the hell?!" The pilot exclaimed, nearly dropping his cigarette. Then he heard Vincent calling his name in the phone.
"Yeah?"
"Why are you swearing less than usual?"
"I'm not!"
"Whatever. Come to Kalm as soon as you can." Vincent said, and then he hung up.
Cid looked at the phone in his hand, his cigarette laying forgotten at his feet. Then his brain started working, and he swore as loudly as he could. He swung around on his heel and started towards the house.
"Shera!"
********
Vincent walked out of the waiting room after he talked to Cid, looking for a cafeteria or something, where he could get some food. He hadn't eaten since yesterday morning, and he was pretty hungry by now. Since Tifa was out of danger, he figured he could slip out to get something to eat. After all, she had Sephiroth to watch over her if needed. So, he set out to find the cafeteria.
Half an hour of fruitless searching later, he ran right into a rather short black haired girl, neatly knocking her over. He managed to stop himself before completely trampling her, and reached out a hand to help her up, while mumbling apologies.
"I am terribly sorry, miss, I didn't see you there."
The girl accepted his helping hand and stood up, eyeing him.
"Fancy you don't remember your friends, Vinnie." She said with a huge grin on her face.
"Yuffie?" He exclaimed, his jaw somewhere in the vicinity of his feet.
"The one and only! Wassup, Vinnie?"
"But I only called Cid half an hour ago..."
"Cid? Vinnie, what are you talking about?"
Vincent shook himself out of his daze and focused on Yuffie. She had really changed a lot during the three years that had passed since he saw her last. She had grown taller, although she still couldn't be classed as tall, her hair had grown longer, so that it reached her shoulders, and she was beautiful. Once again, he had to stop himself from gawking at her.
"I called Cid half an hour ago and told him to round up Avalanche and come here. But not even the Highwind can make it here in half an hour."
"Well, that's easy to explain, Vinnie; I didn't come with the old rust bucket."
"What are you doing here then?" He asked, still unable to wrap his mind around the idea of Yuffie as someone who didn't exclaim ´Grossness!´ and ´Gawd!` every chance she got.
Yuffie blushed a bit before answering his question.
"I'm kinda hiding from Godo. You see, he wants me to settle down with a Wutaian man and get some kids, so that he'll have some heirs to that lousy throne of his. And I don't want to. Not at all!" She explained.
Vincent could understand that. Yuffie was not the kind of person who would accept someone trying to control her life. She would definitely not marry someone just because her father told her to, in fact, she was more likely to blow up and leave, just as she undoubtly had done. He watched as she waved her arms around, trying to emphasize her point. When she had cooled down, she drew a deep breath, and turned to him.
"So, why do you want that old man here? Something's wrong?"
"Well, yes."
"´Well, yes´" she mimicked. "C'mon, Vinnie, tell me what it is already! I'm dying to know over here!"
"Tifa was shot."
"What!? Who'd shoot Tifa of all people? She's the kindest person I know! She never did anyone any harm." She looked at him, silently telling him to answer her question bloody quick, or she'd have his head on a plate.
"Her fiancé." He said quietly.
"Whaaaat? Nooo, you're not serious!" Yuffie sputtered.
"I am. Look, Yuffie, can we hold this conversation somewhere else?" His stomach rumbled loudly. "Somewhere where there is food?"
Yuffie nodded dazedly and allowed Vincent to drag her along the corridor in search of ´somewhere with food´. This time he found the cafeteria on the third try.
.
Vincent turned away, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. Who would have thought that Sephiroth, the great general, would sit on a hospital bed, comforting his former enemy? Not Vincent, that was certain.
When he had entered the clearing in that accursed forest, he had been so shocked at what he found that he couldn't string two thoughts together; Sephiroth, sitting peacefully beside Tifa, seemingly the nicest person on the Planet. No, if anyone had told him yesterday that that would happen, he would have put said person in a straightjacket. But now, it all seemed normal, appropriate, in fact. It was the way it ought to be.
Over a few hours, Vincent had come to think of Sephiroth as someone to trust. Maybe it was because he was Lucrecia's son, maybe it was because Tifa trusted him, he really didn't know, but he trusted the silver haired man. Now, the only problem left was to convince the rest of Avalanche to do the same. That was certainly a mission doomed from the start. The only plus o it was that he wouldn't need to convince Cloud, as he would not be there. The only one who would be moderately easy to convince would be Cait Sith, or Reeve. But it had to be done, and he was the only one there to do it.
Sighing heavily, Vincent picked up his PHS and dialled Cid's number.
*********
Inside the hospital room, Tifa had finally stopped crying, but she hadn't let go of Sephiroth. She still held on to him, and he wasn't really in a hurry to make her let go. Sephiroth's anger at Brent had taken a back seat to his concern for Tifa, which in turn had been shoved aside by simple contentment. So instead of letting go, he held her silently, running his fingers trough her hair.
********
Cid swore loudly when his PHS rang. He had been working on the Tiny Bronco's engine, and he wasn't very pleased with the interruption. Pulling offending machine out of his pocket, he swore again, just for good measure.
"Yeah?" he answered.
".Cid, it's Vincent."
"Vince? How you been, ya &%¤% vampire?" Cid asked, puffing a bit on his ever present cigarette.
"Good. I have a request."
"Eh? Wassat?"
"I need you to round up Avalanche and come to Kalm."
"Why, is that %¤#¤ Shin-Ra messin' about again?"
"No. Come to the Redrose Hospital."
"Who got busted up this time?"
"Tifa....Cid?"
"Tifa!? Who the hell?!" The pilot exclaimed, nearly dropping his cigarette. Then he heard Vincent calling his name in the phone.
"Yeah?"
"Why are you swearing less than usual?"
"I'm not!"
"Whatever. Come to Kalm as soon as you can." Vincent said, and then he hung up.
Cid looked at the phone in his hand, his cigarette laying forgotten at his feet. Then his brain started working, and he swore as loudly as he could. He swung around on his heel and started towards the house.
"Shera!"
********
Vincent walked out of the waiting room after he talked to Cid, looking for a cafeteria or something, where he could get some food. He hadn't eaten since yesterday morning, and he was pretty hungry by now. Since Tifa was out of danger, he figured he could slip out to get something to eat. After all, she had Sephiroth to watch over her if needed. So, he set out to find the cafeteria.
Half an hour of fruitless searching later, he ran right into a rather short black haired girl, neatly knocking her over. He managed to stop himself before completely trampling her, and reached out a hand to help her up, while mumbling apologies.
"I am terribly sorry, miss, I didn't see you there."
The girl accepted his helping hand and stood up, eyeing him.
"Fancy you don't remember your friends, Vinnie." She said with a huge grin on her face.
"Yuffie?" He exclaimed, his jaw somewhere in the vicinity of his feet.
"The one and only! Wassup, Vinnie?"
"But I only called Cid half an hour ago..."
"Cid? Vinnie, what are you talking about?"
Vincent shook himself out of his daze and focused on Yuffie. She had really changed a lot during the three years that had passed since he saw her last. She had grown taller, although she still couldn't be classed as tall, her hair had grown longer, so that it reached her shoulders, and she was beautiful. Once again, he had to stop himself from gawking at her.
"I called Cid half an hour ago and told him to round up Avalanche and come here. But not even the Highwind can make it here in half an hour."
"Well, that's easy to explain, Vinnie; I didn't come with the old rust bucket."
"What are you doing here then?" He asked, still unable to wrap his mind around the idea of Yuffie as someone who didn't exclaim ´Grossness!´ and ´Gawd!` every chance she got.
Yuffie blushed a bit before answering his question.
"I'm kinda hiding from Godo. You see, he wants me to settle down with a Wutaian man and get some kids, so that he'll have some heirs to that lousy throne of his. And I don't want to. Not at all!" She explained.
Vincent could understand that. Yuffie was not the kind of person who would accept someone trying to control her life. She would definitely not marry someone just because her father told her to, in fact, she was more likely to blow up and leave, just as she undoubtly had done. He watched as she waved her arms around, trying to emphasize her point. When she had cooled down, she drew a deep breath, and turned to him.
"So, why do you want that old man here? Something's wrong?"
"Well, yes."
"´Well, yes´" she mimicked. "C'mon, Vinnie, tell me what it is already! I'm dying to know over here!"
"Tifa was shot."
"What!? Who'd shoot Tifa of all people? She's the kindest person I know! She never did anyone any harm." She looked at him, silently telling him to answer her question bloody quick, or she'd have his head on a plate.
"Her fiancé." He said quietly.
"Whaaaat? Nooo, you're not serious!" Yuffie sputtered.
"I am. Look, Yuffie, can we hold this conversation somewhere else?" His stomach rumbled loudly. "Somewhere where there is food?"
Yuffie nodded dazedly and allowed Vincent to drag her along the corridor in search of ´somewhere with food´. This time he found the cafeteria on the third try.
