Flirting With Death: The Mystery Resident Revealed
Tifa whirled around in surprise and nearly toppled over, landing herself neatly on the edge of the bed. She tried to right herself and get into a fighting stance, but the velour blankets clung to the skin of her legs, and she couldn't make her feet to reach the floor. She pushed herself from the bed with her hands and faced her offender for the first time.
"V-Vincent!" Of course. It didn't change the fact that she was surprised by him, and that it could have been someone else. She tried to make her gaping mouth work. "What are you doing here?" Stupid question. She mentally whacked herself upside the head.
"...I should be asking you." She noticed the way he leaned against the doorway; his body language said he waited expectantly for an answer, but his eyes and his smooth monotone voice said he didn't care to get one. No matter; her mind was far too preoccupied to afford him an explanation.
She walked over to the side wall to trace the decorated sconce with her fingers, a bit uncomfortable with the way he was standing in the doorway. As she moved out from under his gaze, he turned his attention to the opposite corner of the room, focusing his eyes on the spot where the floor met with the wall, to the right of the bed. "...Is this your room? You came back to the mansion after all?"
She was met with silence. She should have expected such a thing from him, especially after she'd met his question with another one. No sense in expecting Vincent Valentine to divulge personal information if she herself was unwilling to do the same. There was an unspoken ratio in his countenance; she knew she'd have to give much more to get any reaction out of him.
"Um-"
"Have a seat."
"Okay..." The interruption was certainly unexpected.
Tifa looked for a place to seat herself, but she saw no chairs in the room. After a bit of hesitation, she crept slowly to the bed, watching his face for any signs of disapproval. She saw none; his face remained as passive as ever. She settled into the spot which she had so clumsily fallen to earlier, and moved a bit to one side in order to make room for him to join her. He remained standing, but shifted to the inside wall of the room rather than remained leaning on one shoulder over the threshold. She appraised him for a bit while she tried to think of something to say, but she soon stopped as she noticed him watching her, watching him.
Vincent was never one for much conversation, and though they'd had a few exchanges before, it had been much easier on her when they'd been travelling with the group. Back then, they'd had much more to talk about; even Vincent had a word or two to be spoken from time to time. Now she found herself lacking for subject matter and fidgeting under his crimson gaze. "So...what h-have you been doing all this time?"
She hadn't meant to lose her breath in her words, but it went seemingly unnoticed as Vincent merely looked around the room, gesturing to the changes with a short nod of his head.
"Right." She looked around the room again; it certainly was nice. She got an idea. "Are you going to do this with the rest of the house?"
He raised one eyebrow suggestively. "Perhaps. Will you be so helpful in removing the floorboards?"
She blushed profusely at his dark humor. "I...it was..." She dared not look at him, fearing she would see the amusement in his eyes at her expense. "Oh, nevermind." She only stared at his black boots, which she noticed accompanied the same uniform pants she was used to seeing him wear. Then something struck her. "...How long were you watching me?" Her eyes flicked up to him, her fears long forgotten, just in time to see his red cloak trailing behind him as he left the room. "Wait! Where are you going?"
"...To the basement," his voice came from the stairway as he descended.
"But-!" She made a move to follow him; when she'd gotten into the hallway, he was already gone without a trace. She decided on following; she wouldn't stand for being ignored, even by him.
Tifa headed for the secret passageway and walked down the stairs to the basement. Those stairs brought back memories, many bad, but a few of them good; she was reminded of Yuffie and Cait's antics. Tifa had always suspected that the two of them got along so well because Reeve had wanted a daughter one day. Both Tifa and Cloud had known what serious business they were into, but Yuffie and Cait were determined to lighten the mood, as usual.
She stopped in front of the door to the basement crypt and tried the handle. It was locked. She tried knocking, hoping that he would open it for her; he couldn't just leave her out there like that, could he? He'd just run into her after all that time; though he owed her nothing, it still seemed cruel. "Vincent..." she called out. "Vincent, please open the door. I know you hear me, so don't ignore me! I just want to talk to you..." She sighed. "Vincent..."
"Yes?"
She jumped at the sound, soft as it was. She glanced over and saw him standing off to her right, a hint of amusement in his eyes. "Don't scare me like that!" she berated him. "Why are you so hard to keep track of?"
He looked pensive for a moment, as if he was contemplating her question. Instead, he countered with one of his own. "...Why were you shouting at that door?"
"Well, I guess I thought that was where you were going, when you said you were headed for the basement." Of course, it didn't make sense that he would have put a new bed in his home if he wasn't sleeping in it. Still she wondered if he ever spent time in the coffin, for whatever reason. It didn't have to be a good reason; she never thought he had a good excuse for wanting to stay there in the first place when they'd met him.
She had stopped her internal debate, when she noticed that Vincent had already turned around and was heading into the library.
Tifa stepped into the old lab and looked around. The room itself seemed to be in exactly the same shape it was in when she'd last been there, but he'd apparently moved some furniture around. The desk was on the far side of the room and facing the door, with an old chair she'd recognized from outside the basement sitting behind it. The machines that had been used to house mako test subjects were missing, and all of the scattered debris was put neatly back onto the shelves. She didn't think it the most comfortable room in the world, but it was definitely moreso without the oversized test tubes.
She walked down the book-lined aisle, letting her fingers play along the binders of the books as her eyes flitted over the shelves. There were so many volumes full of theories and fact, old reports, and some subjects she didn't even recognize. Aeris' father, Professor Gast, must have spent much of his time reading; Hojo too, though he had probably owned some material she would never dream of reading, lest she be sick. She preferred not to think of him if she could help it. Somehow, the shelves seemed a bit more crowded than before...
Tifa was still lost in thought when she reached the other end of the hallway, and her eyes wandered about the room aimlessly, drifting amongst the walls from faded color to faded color. They eventually landed on the form of Vincent; he was sitting behind the desk in the far room, directly in her path. She watched him for a moment; he seemed to be completely absorbed in the book he held out in front of him in his right hand. He leaned back in his chair, legs crossed atop the desk; overall, he appeared quite relaxed in his reclining position, and he made no move to indicate that he was aware of her presence. Yet she thought she knew better; he had known she would follow him.
He raised his eyes to meet hers, his crimson orbs burning right through her. She quickly averted her eyes and stared at a spot on the floor; she glanced up after about half a minute to see if he was still staring her down. He wasn't; he had returned to his book. She took a step forward rather awkwardly and cleared her throat. Vincent did not lift his head as he spoke.
"Is there something I can do for you?"
She had gotten another idea into her head. "Would you...give me a room for the night?" she asked with a hopeful smile.
Vincent was silent for quite a while. She was beginning to think that he hadn't been listening for her answer, or perhaps she hadn't had enough volume behind her words when she'd asked him. She was a bit nervous, after all.
"Ahm-"
"...You want to stay here?" There was a lack of any inflection in his voice. It was only a mundane detail to him as he leafed through his book.
"Yes. Yes I do." Her hopeful smile broke out into a genuine grin. Despite Vincent's lack of interest, she was much more confident at the hint that it might be a possibility.
More silence, more waiting. These long pauses were starting to get to her.
"So...can I? Please, Vincent?" He remained still for a moment longer, his lips unmoving, and his eyes still sheltered by his long, raven hair. He was still engrossed in his book.
"If that is what you wish." Soft, toneless, completely Vincent. No matter that Tifa had expected that from him in the event that she got a 'yes'; it was still strange to her.
"...Aren't you even going to ask me why?" Her hands were clasped behind her back as she eyed him skeptically.
He frowned slightly. "...None of my business."
She had taken enough of his stoicism for the day. She walked around to the side of the desk he was closest to facing, and then mounted it, eventually having perched herself cross-legged on top. "All right, Vincent. You and I have never really talked, so I thought maybe you'd enjoy a visit, since I've been travelling and all. I didn't really expect you to be here; I figured if you'd returned to this place, then it would be to your coffin." She paused. "Did you know that the entire town's been emptied?"
Vincent lowered his book and quirked one thin eyebrow upwards in her direction. As if he'd never gone outside. But then again, she'd probably expected him to be a shut-in.
"Ah...I'm sorry. Would you maybe like to..." she stopped, unsure of whether to go on. 'I seriously doubt he wants to catch up...' she thought to herself.
"I'll get a room ready for you." He shut his book and rose from his seat, walking towards the exit. Tifa watched him go, still unfinished with her questions. She could hear the sound of his footsteps change as he moved from the wooden floors of the lab to the hardened dirt that lined the hallway outside of his old crypt. He had always seemed to be sneaking around on the Highwind, and scaring her inadvertently, as well as the others. She had to admit, she found his quiet ways and fear of drawing attention to himself rather endearing.
Tifa thought about following him out before deciding against it. After all, he didn't need any help in setting up a room, and he most likely wouldn't appreciate her hovering. He was most considerate by nature, and she knew she didn't have anything to worry about. If there was a problem, she could ask him about it later; for now, she would let him have a break.
She walked around the back of the library and browsed the shelves until she saw something that might be interesting. Then she plopped down in his chair and began to read.
