Red roses mean love
By kimetara
Multipart
Chapter Seventeen
February 20th
Another day, another morning working. Tifa had woken up at a reasonable hour today – eight in the morning – and after asking Vincent if it was alright to bring a friend along during lunch, slipped off with the excuse of finding a birthday present for Cid.
Well, it was a legitimate excuse, at least. She did find a present. Or presents; Tifa was in the habit of buying many little gifts instead of one huge one. Of course, she could have gone shopping later, but...she really didn't feel like talking to Vincent yet. Maybe by lunch she'd feel better – and at least then she'd have Marianna with her, to keep things from getting awkward.
*Taking the coward's way out?* Tifa winced as the thought floated to the forefront of her mind. She just didn't want an unnecessary confrontation. It was different than what had happened at Turtle's Paradise; she didn't want to hurt his feelings, or, Tifa admitted, humiliate herself in front of him. She'd have to face Vincent sooner or later, but...oh God, this was ridiculous. All this fretting was probably for nothing. Just watch, he probably wasn't even interested in her. Beyond friends, of course-
"Tifa? Tifa? Planet to Tifa, you there?"
"Huh? Oh, what is it Marianna?" Tifa asked, still half in the clouds.
Marianna shook her head. "I've been trying to get your attention for the past three minutes! Well...just wanted to ask about Vincent..."
"You can see him on our lunch break," Tifa replied. "That is, if you don't want to stick around here like yesterday."
"Nah. Lunch it is!" Marianna told her cheerfully. Tifa smiled back, and the two went on working.
Seven hours later, Tifa and Marianna set out. The two chatted on the way, talking about various customers they'd seen and then going on one tangent after another, from ridiculous shift lengths to the cute blond with a Midgar accent. But as they grew closer and closer to the construction site, Tifa became more and more thoughtful, finally only replying to a direct question. By the time they reached the busy place, the conversation had dwindled to a few wayward comments.
He was there, sitting on the side on top of a crate. Waiting. Marianna followed Tifa as she walked up to him, and watched as he stood to meet the brunette, his oddly crimson eyes flicking over the both of them.
"Vincent, this is Marianna, the friend I was telling you about this morning," Tifa introduced.
"Yeah, it's nice to meet you," Marianna inserted, smiling warmly. Vincent merely nodded.
"Umm...why don't we go get some food?" Tifa suggested before the moment became awkward. "Back at the main village there's a nice restaurant. Oh, have you eaten yet Vincent?" she asked as an afterthought.
"No."
"Okay." Tifa glanced over at Marianna, who smiled and started for the path.
"Shouldn't we be following her?" Vincent asked quietly. Tifa hesitated.
"...are you alright with this?" she asked. "I mean, I know you don't really like to...socialize..."
"As I've already stated, it's fine." He glanced up meaningfully. Tifa nodded, and the two quickly caught up with Marianna.
It was a rather trying lunch. Marianna kept trying to start conversations with Vincent, but was always defeated by his flat, plain replies.
"So, do you have a job?"
"No."
"Oh. Well, what do you do for fun?"
"..."
"Any reason you decided to visit Gongaga?"
"..."
Very awkward. Tifa felt embarrassed at the failure of the effort, and she wasn't even the one trying. She had forgotten just how reserved Vincent could be with strangers; it had been so long since they first found him in that coffin in the basement.
"Well Tifa, why'd you come to Gongaga?" Marianna had obviously given up for the moment.
"Uhh...it's kind of stupid, really," was Tifa's discomfited reply.
"C'mon! Tell me, it can't be that bad," Marianna encouraged.
"...we're planting flowers," she answered, self-consciousness causing her to lower her voice.
"Really?!" Marianna burst, eyes wide. "You have flowers?" she asked, slightly calmer.
"Yeah. Lots of them," Tifa answered, feeling slightly more confident. Marianna grinned.
"Can I see?"
"Sure! We've got so many, it's amazing. Blue, yellow, purple..."
Vincent watched the exchange, mildly amused. In his time, flowers had been a small matter, simply things that dotted the sidewalks. Funny how loved they became when they disappeared.
"Why's he traveling with you?" Marianna's not-so-innocent question immediately caught his attention. Tifa paused.
"Oh...well...it's kind of complicated..." she trailed off, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. "I'll...tell you later."
"Okay," Marianna accepted simply. "Where've you guys been so far?"
"Just to Cosmo Canyon. We were planning to head on over to Costa del Sol, and then maybe Corel. But, since Reeve needed some help here..."
Vincent returned to his own thoughts. Chaos had told him very little, only that any risk in this relationship was limited to himself and his demon – which meant Tifa would be safe. He hadn't pressed any further.
It was strange, though. Lately Vincent had been feeling his other selves less often. As if they were fading...no, that wasn't the right word. They were still there, just less so. Difficult...how could you explain such a thing?
All he had been able to feel from the first three were various emotions. Always there, but at times they rose, struggled at his control. Rage from the Galian Beast, a sick thrill from Death Gigas, a dead emptiness emanating from Hellmasker. And the cold, shrewd cunning of Chaos. Chaos was as strong as ever, but the other three...their risings had been becoming more infrequent. It made him wary.
Before, the emotions had come in waves, sometimes gradual, sometimes shockingly abrupt, and over time he had been forced to recognize and control each of the pseudo feelings. The easiest way was simply not to feel himself. Perhaps that's why Hellmasker had always given him the most trouble in sensing. Good, that it lacked the aggressiveness of the other three...
It was evening, and Tifa and Vincent had long arrived back at the house of Mr. Farol. They were currently in the kitchen, she was sitting at a small table, and he was getting a drink.
"What'd you think of Marianna?"
Vincent had noticed she'd been hovering around slightly. So that was what she wanted to know.
"She was...talkative," he replied at last. Tifa smiled.
"Yeah, she does tend to go on. But, that's part of why she's so fun to be with," she replied cheerfully. "Anyway, you didn't dislike her?"
"...no," Vincent answered, sitting down in a chair across from her. He didn't particularly care at all, truth be told.
"That's good." Tifa laced her fingers in front of her face, elbows on the table. "...you don't mind if I invite her to Cid's birthday party, do you?"
"It does not concern me," he replied. She nodded, unsurprised.
"Do you want to watch a movie?" Tifa offered suddenly. Vincent glanced over at her, a slight lift of the eyebrow showing his question.
"We haven't gotten to just hang out like we used to very often anymore," Tifa explained, smiling. "And there is a TV and DVD player here..."
"What would you like to watch?"
She shrugged. "Ummm...how about Pirates of the Mideelan Sea?" Something that wouldn't bore either of them, hopefully.
"That's fine."
"Great! I'll go put it in." Tifa stood and left for the living room. She knew she'd seen that DVD on the racks somewhere...
Vincent watched her go for a moment, then stood and followed. They said that there was an awareness and grace of one's body that only longtime martial artists and dancers were able to achieve. They were right.
Well, longtime martial artists, dancers, and half-demons.
An hour later, Nanaki quietly padded downstairs to see what was going on. From the doorway, he saw Vincent and Tifa sitting together on the couch, completely engrossed in the flickering TV screen. She was curled up beside him with her head on his chest, and his arm was wrapped loosely around her back. Nanaki smirked, then rolled his eyes. If he could get a picture of this, there was no end to the possible blackmail. ...perhaps he had spent too much time with Yuffie.
At that precise moment, Vincent's gaze slid away from the screen and onto the furred creature in the doorway, careful not to disturb the body next to him. That quiet, cold stare immediately banished Nanaki's previous thought, and after a slightly nervous feline grin and a small wave of his flame-tipped tail, Nanaki crept back upstairs to return to his rest.
Definitely too much time with Yuffie.
AN: Ah, no, I haven't died. =) Actually, I've had a good portion of this chapter done for a week; I just couldn't get the last third in until last night – got a small case of writer's block capped with a slight bout of depression. Egh, didn't feel too productive, I'm sorry. Oh yes, and the date at the top was originally for my benefit, but I decided to leave it in, just incase anybody was confused.
Anyway, I'm back in school (not good, I was hoping to finish this over the summer *sigh*). Reviews are welcome and appreciated. *sets to work on Cid's b-day...oh gosh, presents are so hard to come up with...*