Red roses mean love
By kimetara
Multipart
AN: *peeks out* I'm not too late for my update this time, am I? Well...I believe the end is in sight, so I hope you enjoy every bit of it. (Review! Please? =)
Chapter Sixteen
"Ahhh, I'm going to be late!" Tifa yelped as she glanced at the clock. "Sorry, gotta go Nanaki!"
"Don't worry about it. I'll go tell Shera about the plans," he replied, getting up and stretching.
"Tell her I said hi too!" And Tifa flew out the door.
"Lunch time!" a tall, redheaded girl sang out. Tifa grinned at her fellow volunteer.
"Yup. See ya in an hour!" she replied cheerfully, taking the apron off. The girl waved and turned to chat with another worker, while Tifa grabbed a sandwich and stepped outside to wander around the town. It really was a town now, not a village, with all the expansion being done...
Tifa ate her sandwich thoughtfully. She had this nagging feeling she was supposed to be doing something...oh right! She was going to visit Vincent. That's it. Finishing her food off, she jogged down the sandy path down to the old reactor. The extreme amount of noise had scared all the monsters off, which was nice.
When she came into view of the site, Tifa was reminded vaguely of an anthill. Workers were crawling over the reactor, carrying tools and beams. Odd bits of metals were being loaded onto cranes and other machines, and the shouts and roars of various tools filled the air.
*Oh boy...* How on earth could she find anybody in all of this?
"So, you did decide to come."
"Oh!" she started reflexively and whirled around. "Gosh!" Tifa exhaled before she could stop herself. "Sneaking up on me again, Vincent?"
"You make it too easy." A small smirk pulled at the corners of his mouth.
Inwardly, Tifa was surprised he'd tease her, but she took it in stride, crossing her arms and tossing her head in mock disdain. "Well, now that you've had your fun I guess I'll leave." She turned on her heel and strode purposely towards the exit of the construction site.
Five feet away, she stopped and glanced back. "You really don't want my company then?"
"...if you wish to leave..." he didn't finish his sentence, but Tifa understood perfectly. If she wanted to go, he wasn't going to stop her. She sighed, tugged between amusement and exasperation.
"I was just kidding," she explained, walking back over. He just looked down at her, that small smirk once again on his face. Tifa tilted her head to the side, a light frown cast over her features. "What?"
"...in truth, I did not believe you would depart."
"Oh?" She raised an eyebrow. "And why not, pray tell?"
"It's not your nature to leave a person behind," he replied quietly. Sincerely. Vincent was always so sincere.
Tifa blinked, then smiled, slightly embarrassed. "Thank you. Um...why did you think I wouldn't come?" she asked quickly, changing the subject.
He paused, then shrugged. "It's late."
"...oh." Of course. It was almost four in the afternoon. "Well...we couldn't take our lunch breaks while everybody else was taking theirs, since we were serving the food..."
"I understand." He had figured as much. But, he knew Tifa would be offended if he suggested that she had better ways to spend her lunch hour than with him.
"So..." she glanced around, "what do you do here?"
"Whatever needs to be done."
"Really? Anything?" Tifa asked, curious.
He hesitated, as if considering replying, but stayed silent. Tifa shrugged and let it pass.
"Hey, let's get out of here. The constant noise is giving me a headache," she suggested instead, and Vincent nodded.
"Do you have a place in mind?"
"...yeah. Over here."
Tifa led him out and across the secluded forest, the noise steadily growing fainter behind him. Finally, she stopped at the old log she had been sitting on the night before.
"How about here?"
"This is fine." Vincent stopped and leaned against a tree trunk in the cool shade.
Tifa nodded and sat down, stifling a yawn. She was a person who needed at least nine hours of sleep, opposed to the five she had gotten. "So, what's up? Anything interesting happen lately?"
"...no..." There was the slightest hint of suspicion in his tone, and Tifa caught it. She shook her head quickly.
"I'm not trying to imply anything. Just small talk, y'know?" Although he didn't give any physical sign, Tifa knew Vincent had relaxed at her reassurance. A vibe, you could say.
"Small talk is not my forte."
She grinned. "Yeah, you've got a point. Hey," Tifa suddenly had a burst of inspiration, "tell me about yourself."
Again, that wary tension filled the air. "...what do you wish to know?"
"Umm...how about your family? How'd you start working for the Turks?" she ventured. Vincent didn't answer, turning pensive. Tifa waited as the silence grew between them.
"...if you'd rather not talk about, I understand," she spoke at last. He frowned slightly.
"No...I have no family to speak of," Vincent finally replied. The words sounded strange, difficult, almost forced into the air. Words that had been long hidden from judging ears.
"...I'm sorry." Tifa cast her eyes downward, a new wave of tiredness hitting her.
"It's of no matter," was his dismissive rebuttal. She returned her questioning, hesitant gaze to his face, and he obligingly continued. "I was raised in a monastery as an abandoned child. At that time, Shinra's corruption had not yet become so obvious, and I was encouraged to join to increase my status. I was accepted for training as part of the Turks." Brief, concise, to-the-point Vincent. Tifa nodded.
"When did you meet Lucrecia?" The question came out of its own accord, as often happened when she was in a conversation. It wasn't until after it had been uttered Tifa realized the possible bomb she might have set off.
Luckily, there was no explosion. "At the monastery. She had also been abandoned."
"Oh! So you were chi-" Tifa stopped abruptly and bit her lip. Dang it, she had just scolded herself for not thinking before she thought, and here she went on again!
"Childhood friends?" he finished for her, lifting an eyebrow.
"...yeah..." Tifa admitted reluctantly.
"Yes. We were. And there's no need to use such caution. I will not become angry," he chided gently. Tifa blinked in surprise. Had she been that obvious?
Well, as long as he was giving her the green light... "It's not you getting angry that I worry about, Vincent."
"...I see."
He didn't press her on what she did worry about, but she told him anyway. Perhaps it was the new closeness they had developed over the past couple weeks, or the lack of sleep, or just her willingness to take more chances after losing hers with Cloud, but...
"I worry that you'll become more distant. That you'll shut me out."
It felt very silent after that confession. Almost tangible silence.
Tifa wondered if she had been too forward. Wouldn't that be an ironic turn, from too shy to too outgoing? But then again, she wasn't in love with Vincent, and Tifa had always been more candid with her friends than with Cloud. Still...
"...I could never shut you out." Vincent's soft response instantly reassured her, and she smiled out of gratitude and pleased embarrassment.
"I'm glad," she replied seriously. "Oh," Tifa glanced at her watch, "my lunch hour's almost up. I better get going if I want to get there in time." She stood up and brushed herself off.
"I should be leaving as well." He straightened and pushed back a lock of dark hair from his face.
"Alright then, I'll see you later. Take care!" she grinned cheerfully and walked off. Vincent watched her go for a few seconds before he turned to leave.
Yes, he could never shut her out. That he knew for certain. God knows, he had tried, so many times...but eventually he became resigned to the fact it was a hopeless cause.
Hopeless...
When Tifa returned to the food stand, the dinner crowd was just starting to trickle in. Marianna, the redhead, waved her over.
"Hey Tifa! Where've you been?" she greeted brightly. Tifa smiled.
"Oh, just talking to a friend. How's it been here?"
"Quiet. And boring. What friend?" Marianna asked, a sly expression on her face. "That man you're living with?"
"Yes," Tifa laughed. "His name's Vincent."
Marianna rolled her eyes. "Well yeah, everybody knows that! You guys are famous, c'mon!"
"True," she agreed, tying her apron strings.
"So, you guys have a relationship?" Marianna regained her sly tone.
"We're just friends," Tifa answered.
"You sure?" Hey, gossip about tall, dark, and handsome men was much more preferable than serving out food to construction workers – not that Marianna disliked the job. Construction workers were hot too.
"Very," Tifa told her firmly. Marianna grinned.
"In that case, can you introduce me to him?"
Tifa blinked. "Uh...I don't know if that's such a good idea."
"Oh, so you do have a thing for him!" the taller girl proclaimed.
"No I don't. But he's not a good person to play with," Tifa told her new friend sternly. Marianna was cheerful and kind, but she had already proved herself an incorrigible flirt. At least ten of the workers didn't come by this stand just for food.
"What! I'm hurt you'd say that," Marianna pouted. Tifa shook her head.
"Well, it's true. I mean it, if you're going to flirt with Vincent then you better be ready to go all the way." Tifa didn't notice it until the end, but there was a slightly threatening note in her tone. Even when she did notice it, she didn't mind. She'd hate to see Vincent played with. Although it might mean no harm, you never knew...
"Alright alright," Marianna grumbled. "I'll behave. But I don't think it matters anyway; I'm pretty sure I'm out of the running."
Tifa gave her friend a puzzled look while fetching a bowl of soup. "What are you talking about?"
Marianna exhaled at her friend's naïveness. "Tifa, you can't be that dense! It's as obvious as my hair is red that he's totally into you!"
Tifa shook her head. "Just because we're friends and hang out together doesn't mean one of us has to be in love with the other," she replied dryly. Marianna crossed her arms.
"No, I'm not talking about that! Can't you tell by the way he acts?" she pressed. "I mean, you must have had your fair share of guys," Marianna added as an afterthought. Tifa blushed.
"I never really paid attention..." None of the men in the Midgar slums had seemed the least bit attractive, and then after Cloud came...
Marianna just shook her head in disbelief. "Well, trust me, the signs are there."
Tifa wanted to ask what she meant, but the dinner rush was on, and there was no time for girl talk. By six o' clock, the end of her shift, she had almost forgotten the whole conversation. In fact, she didn't remember until Marianna caught her at the end and squeezed a quick promise of introduction out of her.
When she did think about it, Tifa pushed it out of her mind. She wasn't ready. It had only been two weeks since he left, she wasn't ready. Let sleeping dogs lie.