Red roses mean love
By Kimetara
Multi-part
Disclaimer: *singing* I'm walking away, from the troubles in my life, I'm walking away, Oh, to find a better day, I'm- oh, hey! ^^;; Sorry about that...erm...anyway, I don't own Vincent, or Tifa, or Cloud, or Nibelheim, or the Shinra mansion, or...well, anything from FFVII! I'm just borrowing them all to play and amuse myself with, thank you very much! Let's all cheer for Squaresoft, shall we?
And I've changed my tune. ^_^ I now appreciate FFVII's open-ended ending, as it leaves so much to play with in fanfics!
Chapter Two
Tifa stood, picking up her tray. "Since you cooked, I'll go wash these, okay?" Vincent nodded, standing as well.
As Tifa headed into the kitchen, Vincent strolled over to the small library to find a good book to read, when he thought he heard a slight sound from the kitchen.
The running water soon masked the noise, but Vincent curiosity was aroused, and he swiftly turned and searched for what had created the sound.
Standing in the doorway of the kitchen, he saw Tifa, tears trailing down her cheeks as she scrubbed hard at a stubborn bit of batter on the pan.
Vincent felt a flare of anger at the missing blond. How dare he just run away, leaving Tifa like this? How dare Cloud leave her broken, with only himself to pick up the pieces?
Vincent groaned. He ought to take her to Nanaki, or Cid, or somebody... There was no way he'd be able to provide the support Tifa needed.
Tifa stiffened, having caught Vincent's groan. "...Vincent?" She turned the water off, but kept her face averted from the man. Hurriedly, she rubbed her eyes. "Do you need anything?"
"No." *But you do.* "...would you like to visit Nanaki?"
Tifa finally turned to face Vincent. "...do you want me to go, Vincent?" she asked quietly. "I'll understand if you do; you don't strike me as the sort that enjoys baby-sitting depressed broken hearts." She smiled to take any sting out of her words.
Vincent paused, contemplating whether he should explain that he'd meant both of them to visit, but decided against it, feeling doing so would lead to an awkward conversation. "...do you want to go?" he replied instead.
"...not really..." Tifa admitted, tucking a strand of hair back behind her ear.
"Then you may stay."
Tifa smiled once more. "I'd like to stay here, Vincent."
Vincent shrugged. "Very well."
Vincent paused from the research journal he'd been reading. The basement library was, strangely enough, one of his favorite places within the mansion, and from it he'd discovered quite a bit about both Cloud's and Sephiroth's pasts.
It wasn't often anybody other than he entered its dim corridors, but Vincent was sure he'd heard something, and stood gracefully to investigate.
Carefully looking out the door to the laboratory, he caught sight of Tifa. Something deep within Vincent twisted when he saw her, tired and hurt and lost, wandering the basement's hallways.
She paused before the door that held the coffin Hojo had placed him in – some sort of sick joke, knowing Hojo. Freezing him in time, and pretending he was dead... No, Vincent wasn't immortal. The coffin had stilled time, but now that he had been released from his sleep, time resumed its normal flow for Vincent Valentine.
Seeing Tifa entering the room, Vincent stealthily crept after her, curious as to what she was doing.
The brunette walked straight up to the coffin, her long hair swaying gently behind her. The skeletons had been cleaned out, for which she was thankful.
Tifa gently stroked the plush inside of the coffin, wondering what it must have felt like, sleeping in there, for years and years and yet not for a moment... She had come down to look for Vincent. It was lonely, and Tifa needed the presence of another person. She felt silly though, seeking out Vincent...it was quite obvious he preferred being alone.
*Maybe I really ought to leave...* Tifa shook her head. Although lonely, she preferred Vincent's quiet comfort over the fake cheerfulness her other friends would have created.
Thoughtfully, she stepped into the coffin. Maybe she'd just lie down for a second, just to satisfy her curiosity...then again, maybe she'd sleep too, and she'd end up forgotten, never awoken...at the moment, it didn't seem like such a bad idea.
"What are you doing?"
Tifa started and whirled, causing her to catch her foot on the rim of the coffin – it wasn't the most spacious piece of furniture – and fall forward. She closed her eyes, waiting for the impact on the hard stone floor.
Instead, she fell against something soft, and warm. Peeking her eyelids open, Tifa was confronted with a black shirt. Vincent's right arm was supporting her gingerly.
"Do you mind standing?" he requested, his tone impassive as always.
She flushed. "Sorry," Tifa apologized quickly. She knew how uncomfortable Vincent was with contact, physical or emotional, and was touched he'd go through the trouble of catching her. Tifa hurriedly regained her balance and stepped out of the coffin.
Vincent ignored her apology. "What were you doing?"
"Well, I was..." Her voice faltered. *What? I was looking for you? I was thinking about how comfortable your coffin looks? I wanted to try sleeping in it, for years and years, long enough to dull this pain Cloud's left me with?* "...nothing. Nevermind. Why are you down here?"
Vincent raised an eyebrow, but didn't press the issue. "I enjoy reading in the basement library."
"Oh... I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt." Tifa bowed her head and turned to leave.
At the top of the stairs, she looked back, half-hoping she'd see a swirl of red cloth coming after her...but the stairway was empty.
*Just like I knew it would be,* she thought ruefully, before heading toward the small conservatory.
A few moments later, Vincent stood, restless. Once Tifa had left, he'd tried to return to his book, but he simply could not regain his interest. Giving into the inevitability, he left to search Tifa out.
~~~~~
A raven-haired man leaned on the doorway, observing the scene before him.
Tifa seemed to be engrossed in the different sorts of plants the conservatory held, reading the nametags and short summaries, carefully looking at the leaves and, on a few, the flowers.
One of the plant's nametag had fallen into its thick thorn-covered branches, and Tifa was cautiously trying to get it out. She kept scratching herself instead.
"That's called a rose," Vincent offered from his perch in the doorway.
Once more, Tifa started, this time caused her to prick her finger. "Ow! Vincent!" Tifa turned on the man, annoyed. "Stop scaring me like that!"
"My apologies." Vincent entered the room and sat quietly while Tifa rinsed off her finger.
"No no, that's alright. Sorry for snapping." Tifa smiled apologetically. "So that's called a rose?"
"Mmm-hmm. Unless a new name has been thought of while I slept."
Tifa looked slightly startled, then sad. "Vincent...that plant doesn't exist anymore. I've never seen it before in my life. As a matter of fact, I've never seen most of these." She turned and lightly brushed the rose's soft red petals. "It's a shame...they're so beautiful..."
Vincent blinked. Roses didn't exist anymore? Then...
Abruptly, he stood and walked over to the thorny bush, ignoring the puzzled glance Tifa gave him. After a moment of careful study, he picked the best bloom and deftly broke it off. Swiftly breaking the thorns, a trick he'd learned in his younger days, Vincent turned and offered the rose to Tifa, who smiled delightedly as she accepted the flower.
"Oh, thank you Vincent! It's lovely."
Vincent only nodded and returned to his seat as Tifa continued to look at the plants, twirling the rose between her fingers. He watched her, feeling slightly surprised at his own fairly daring move. He'd taken a chance, that since Tifa had never heard of roses, she wouldn't know...
Red roses meant love.
AN: *gleefully crunching on raw ramen* Hehe, sorry, don't mind me. ^_^ I'm really happy right now; I just got over a two-week long writer's block! Yayyyy!
Okay, roses no longer exist because I had them as one of the plants that disappeared from overuse of Mako. The plants in the mansion are, after all, at least 40 years old, since they were there while Vincent was placed inside the basement.
Also, I realize I'm not making Vincent as angsty as many other fics (and my prologue) do. This is because he seems to loosen up a bit throughout the game. OOCness? Mmm...well, if you think I'm making him terribly OOC, then drop me an e-mail, okay?
Oh, yes, and please review! *shocked at how many people enjoy Vincent/Tifa* And sorry for the long AN!