Flirting with Death, Chapter 14:
To Keep Out the Cold
By Darknightdestiny
"So, you gonna take my advice?" Yuffie questioned Tifa as they walked towards the bar.
"I think I'll find somewhere to go where I can think, yes."
"Really, I think that would be the best thing, Tif. I mean, you need time to think, be alone. Figure out what you want in life."
"Wow, Yuffie. I'm surprised, really I am. You've grown up so much…" Tifa smiled at her friend.
"Thanks. So…what're you gonna do about Vinnie? Where's he gonna go?"
Tifa looked back at her, taken back by the question. She hadn't really thought about that, just assumed…
"I was going to take him with me…"
Yuffie stopped dead in her tracks and looked at Tifa like she'd suddenly grown a second head. "You what…? Tifa, didn't you hear anything I said to you?"
"Yuffie…I can't give up on him."
"Oh, boy." She seemed stuck in her own opinion, but she started walking again. "You do realize you're asking for a load of trouble!"
"Yes, I realize the risks."
"Vinnie doesn't open up to people, Tif…"
"I know."
"…You think you can make him?"
"I don't want to make him do anything he doesn't want to. I just…want to see him happy for once. And if I can help him get that, then maybe I'll know that I still have a purpose."
"Tifa, that may be your gift, but can't you ever be happy just because?"
Tifa's eyes met her feet. "I don't know…maybe."
Yuffie grabbed her arm. "You can, I know you can!"
Tifa smiled back at the young girl. "Thanks, Yuffie."
"No problem. So…what's it like traveling with him?"
"What do you mean?"
"I'd think it'd drive you crazy. It'd drive me crazy."
"It's…a new experience."
"What does that mean?"
"Well, believe it or not, he's been more talkative around me lately, but when we're traveling out in the open, he's just as silent as he always was. It's like he has these on and off periods."
"Did you guys run into any monsters?"
"There were a few, but nothing big. I keep doing these stupid things, though."
"Huh. I never thought of you as the type to do anything stupid."
"I don't know, just…things that embarrass me. Whenever I'm working with Vincent towards something, I always feel so inadequate."
"Well," Yuffie smiled, "that's because he's some super-human vampire!" Yuffie had always said things like that about Vincent. It didn't really matter to her; she thought it was cool. "You can't expect to compete with abilities like that! I was kinda envious of his skills at one point too, you know. But ah…why do you care what Vinnie thinks? I'd think he'd be used to people not keeping up with him."
"Uh…"
"We're here!"
'Thank goodness,' thought Tifa.
Tifa was pulled into the bar by Yuffie, who threw the door open wildly in all her new excitement. Some patrons stopped to stare; others made faces at each other. Yuffie stuck her hands on her hips and looked around the bar. "Now where did Vinnie go? I don't see him anywhere…"
Tifa's eyes scanned all the darkest places in the room, for she knew that if Vincent was there, then that's where he would be found. But he was not in any of the dark corners of the bar, nor was he anywhere else inside. Of course, he could just be hiding from Yuffie. "He's not here."
"Isn't this where he said he'd be?"
"Yes…"
"Hmmm. That guy…always wanders off without giving any warning!" Yuffie stormed out of the bar, while Tifa followed quietly behind her. Tifa had just crossed the threshold of the building when a warm hand closed itself around her wrist and held her where she stood.
Looking up, Tifa found herself staring into Vincent's eyes. Her face wore an expression of mild shock and one side of her mouth twitched upwards. "Are you trying to scare me again?"
"…I had started to wonder if you were going to come back at all." His face showed no expression, so she wasn't sure if he was upset or not. He wasn't upset at all, actually. In fact, he was a bit amused at her reaction. Vincent had always been a master of entrances and exits; they always went the way he planned whether they were pronounced or not.
Tifa looked up ahead, where Yuffie was still walking away; the ninja still hadn't noticed her absence. "Yuffie! He's back here!" she called.
"…Must you call her over to us?" he asked, half-joking. Unfortunately, the lack of expression in his voice made him sound quite serious. Tifa recognized his tone though, as plain as it may have seemed to any other, and she smiled widely in her own amusement.
Yuffie turned around and spotted the two beneath the awning. "Heya, Vinnie! Where were you? I haven't gotten to visit with you yet!"
"…I took the liberty of stalking your people, and found myself a good meal."
"Really?!" Yuffie's eyes widened. "I knew it!"
Vincent rolled his eyes (Yuffie didn't notice that) and crossed his arms as he leaned himself against the wall. It's not that he was mean to Yuffie…he usually had just ignored her in the past, because she had done strange things like hang all over him and play with his hair…and pout and attach herself to his legs, like a child does when they don't want a parent to leave…and tinker with his arm. And now he knew why. He thought that maybe, just maybe, if he stood out there long enough, she would get uncomfortable on her feet and decide to finally see them off. Vincent ignored the roughness of the wall on his soft back and tried to get comfortable.
"So!" started Yuffie, "Where are you guys off to now?"
Tifa looked at Vincent, who was already glancing in her direction, waiting for her to make the reply. After all, this was her trip, wasn't it? But then again, she hadn't known what she was looking for or where she was going when she set out, so she was at a loss for direction.
She'd already followed the journey up to the point where the group had been ready to go to the Temple of the Ancients. But there was nothing there, and even though they could go to pay their respects, she feared that Cloud might be there. This was one of the reasons she had paid her respects to Aeris before leaving; she was going to steer clear of anything that had to do with the Ancients, just to make sure that she didn't intrude on Cloud's own search.
The group had gone to the Gold Saucer before that…and that would be a good place to just relax and forget everything for a while, but somehow, she doubted that Vincent would want to go there. But Yuffie was right; she did need a break…from her break. Then, she got an idea.
"Icicle Inn," she stated.
The other two turned their heads toward her in unison. Tifa looked at Vincent, ready to offer an explanation. "I know that what I've been looking for is an adventure, but Yuffie has made me realize that I need to take a break from that for a bit, and just take time out to relax, and think things through."
"That's right!" said Yuffie. "Ask yourself what you really want. Then maybe, that's what you're missing, right?"
"…Maybe. Thanks for all your help, Yuffie."
"Anytime. Don't hesitate to call me up or drop by. You guys have fun on your trip now. I'm going to go find Chekov now and tear her up!"
Tifa winced, then smiled. "Poor Chekov."
Vincent was already headed out of the city. Tifa turned back around to where he had been only to see his retreating form. She rushed to catch up with him, calling her goodbyes out to Yuffie, and they made their way back to the Bronco.
"…There should be enough fuel to get us to the inn without any trouble, and a little left to spare. We will need to find someone there who can sell us some more though, before we try to head anywhere else."
Tifa nodded and strapped herself in. Vincent had taken a step towards the passenger side once they had gotten to the plane, but Tifa had stopped him and made him drive. He thought she should learn how to handle the plane, and that it wouldn't take much time before she was good with it; she had already decided that she didn't want to try anytime soon.
The plane rolled forward and picked up speed, and soon they were heading north towards the Icicle Village. Tifa looked over at Vincent, who was now silent, his eyes fixed on the horizon. No matter what kind of a task he was doing, even the most mundane of things, he always looked deep in thought- even when he was caring for his firearms, which had always seemed to her to be a second nature of his.
Tifa took this opportunity to get a really good look at Vincent. She studied his profile, and tried to remember the way that he had looked in the book she'd come across the previous day in Cid's house. She followed the outline of his head- from what she could make out through his hair- to his nose, and then down to where his chin would be, and she tried to imagine what his face would look like without the cloak covering it. She marveled at his pale skin and hair dark as night itself; it seemed so unnatural, and yet so wondrous at the same time.
When her eyes trailed back up to where his hair overlay his bandana, she noticed his red eyes staring back at her. She wasn't quite sure what to say or do; he'd caught her checking him out without a good reason…but then again, as far as she knew, he hadn't known about the book she'd found, and wouldn't understand her sudden curiosity. 'Must think I'm a real nutcase,' she thought to herself.
Her eyes stood still, watching his swim with what appeared to be red liquid, though they didn't seem to be excessively wet at all. The awkwardness grew as they continued their staring contest, neither one budging an inch; Tifa because of shock, and Vincent because he didn't feel the need to, and perhaps he was still searching for something in her face to tell him why. It wasn't much longer before Tifa broke away and turned her eyes briefly to the blue expanse beneath them. Only seconds later, she returned her eyes to where they had been, and Vincent's gaze was back out on the horizon, where they had been before she had caught herself staring at him.
Her face flushed a deep pink, and she hoped he hadn't noticed. She almost wished she hadn't found that book; it'd definitely changed the way she looked at him. Suddenly Vincent was an even bigger mystery than he had been before. She wanted to know what had upset him so badly, and what had made him stay so youthful…she wanted to know about the woman in the cave, and she had wanted to know why Hojo had hated him so much.
Tifa really had no idea what the depths of Vincent's pain had been. Being around her had almost forced him to act in a way that was not natural, but he had kept himself around for her sake, letting her lead him across the world even though he already knew that whatever she was going to find, it was already there. She just had to look inside herself…
The landing was smooth as ever, and the white snow blanketed the entire mountain. This was the only place on the entire continent that still had a heavy snowfall, even though the winter season was just ending. And it would continue to have a heavy snowfall all year long; it was some child's fantasy come true, a real winter wonderland.
Tifa's breath fogged up the glass as she watched the snow falling on the trees outside. They were just outside Icicle Village, and hadn't far to walk. Tifa watched all the flakes fall and tried to imagine the millions of patterns, no two alike.
Vincent's voice came from beside her, and she turned around in her seat. "…We…will have to find you something warmer to wear…"
She nodded, a bit self-consciously, remembering the time Cid had leant her his jacket on the way up to the Northern Crater. She didn't want Vincent to have to worry about her freezing to death because she preferred clothes that were most comfortable on her, rather than opt for a more modest design. Not that she could assume he would worry about her. She silently told herself she was thinking way too much about the situation at hand and that she should just let it drop.
Vincent watched her as she stared off into space, apparently lost in thought. Her quiet wonderings at him were not surprising, given the way he skulked around and hid himself away, plus the fact that she'd found a book with his old picture in it. Maybe she had figured out some of his past on her own? The story of his death to the world wasn't the worst part; it wasn't as if he had shot himself. He was still ashamed that he hadn't been able to do anything about it, but the part that still nagged at his consciousness the most was the effects that it had on him now.
Somehow, whenever she wasn't talking to him, his thoughts kept going back to their previous patterns, like before.
Her eyes darted back to him, and she managed a smile, which he caught sometime between his thoughts on the picture, and his thoughts of how much he wished he hadn't been dwelling on it. "You ready to go in?" she asked.
He looked at her for a minute, and she started to become uncomfortable again. Had she said something to upset him? She didn't think so. She'd only said one thing to him since they had gotten there…
Vincent was contemplating his next actions. If it hadn't been for the image he'd built up over time in AVALANCHE, he'd have simply thought it no big deal. But as things were, he'd be exposing himself in more ways than one. But she already knew anyways, and he couldn't let her just go out there like she was, no matter how short the trek would be…
He decided he just didn't care anymore.
He reached up and unfastened the clasp on his cloak, and handed the material over to Tifa before opening his door and sliding out onto the ground. "You will want this." He turned away and began to mess with the top of his shirt, as if he was trying to make sure it wasn't open at any point, which it wasn't. Then he left the vehicle, Tifa staring after him in shock.
(A/N): Hmmm….I know exactly where all of this is going now. I've got it all planned out…which makes me want to forget all of my coursework and just write on this until it's finished, but alas, I cannot. Like always, I'll try to get these chapters up here as often as possible. Reviews are much appreciated! Oh, and from now on, if you sign anonymously, please leave your e-mail address, because I'd like to start thanking everyone personally for all of the nice things you've said about my fic…
