Disclaimer: Thank you everybody who reviewed! But I still don't know where I'm going with this story. Any suggestions would be very helpful and I'll give you credit if I use your idea. Seriously, I will! In facet, if your ideas really good I'll dedicate the whole chapter to you! Can't you tell I'm in desperate need of some help? Yeah, I thought so.

Well, anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter! It took me a while to come up with this much so I hope you like it! Until next chapter!

Vincent and I left North Corel that afternoon. We rode into Nibelheim early in the evening. I said goodnight to Vincent, put Ace away in his stable and retreated to my house. I immediately went upstairs and dug out all my sheet music. I slowly sat down on the bed and sorted through it all. I found a song that consisted of only two pages.

Smiling, I sat down on the mahogany bench and spread the white sheets out before me.

I read the bold italicized words that read: 'Song of Memory.' This was the first song that I learned to play. I closed my eyes for a few moments before opening them again and nimbly placing my fingers on the correct position on the ivory keys.

Then I began to play. I stared at the music sheet as my fingers swept over the keys in a rhythmic fashion. I closed my eyes as images from when I was young flooded into my brain.

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"No, not that key, Tifa," my mom said from her place beside me. "See that odd looking 'b' that's hovering next to that note? That means that that key is a flat. So you need to play a B flat instead."

She pressed down on the black B flat key and nodded as I continued the song.

"There you go!" My mom said, smiling at me. "Now you've got it! Play it again!"

I smiled back as I replayed the song.

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My hands fell from the keys once I finished the song. Whoever wrote this song named it correctly. Sighing, I got up from the piano bench and cleared off all the sheet music from my bed. I put on a black tank top and a black pair of cloth shorts then climbed into bed.

The next few weeks seemed to pass by like a blur. Vincent tried talking with me more but it really didn't seem to help. Then on the night of August 19th a huge thunder and lightning storm appeared. I looked out my bedroom window and watched as the rain pelted against my windowpane.

Turning around, I walked out of the warmth of my house and into the pouring rain. I slowly walked over to the old well and climbed up onto the rotting boards. I carefully swung my legs over the edge and sat down.

I looked up into the splotchy sky and closed my eyes before opening them again.

"Happy birthday . . . ." I whispered into the wind.

"To whom?" The familiar voice of Vincent Valentine asked.

I smiled as I saw him walking towards me. Apparently he couldn't sleep either. He was wearing a baggy pair of black basketball shorts and a white t-shirt. He placed his human hand on my knee and looked into my eyes solemnly.

"It's Cloud's birthday." Was all I said.

He nodded his head and lifted his arms up to me.

"You'll catch you death out here. Come."

I pushed myself off of the water tower and into his arms. He put one hand under my knees and the other around my waist and carried me into his house.

He gently placed me on his couch as he went to get some towels. He came back with two large towels in his hands. He handed one to me as he dried his hair off with the other.

I wrung my clothes out and put the towel in my hair. I was about to say good night to Vincent and walk to my house when he turned back around and disappeared upstairs.

He came back down a few minutes later with a dark blue pair of basketball shorts and a long black shirt. He handed them to me and pointed me to the bathroom.

"Are you sure?" I asked, before I stepped inside the bathroom.

He nodded as he commenced to dry off his arms and legs. I shrugged and walked into his bathroom. I got out of my wet clothes and dried off my undergarments as best as I could before donning the clothes Vincent loaned me. I wrung all the water out of my clothes then hung them over the shower curtain rod.

I walked out of the bathroom to find Vincent already in fresh clothes, sitting on the couch. I handed him my towel and ran a hand over my tangled hair.

"You may stay here for the night," he said, getting up and walking toward the staircase.

I followed him up into his room. It had a queen bed along with a large wooden hutch and a desk. I already knew what was inside the wooden hutch and it wasn't a TV.

Vincent walked over to a plastic bin and placed both towels inside it. He turned around and looked at me. He walked over to his desk and picked up a hairbrush then handed it to me.

"You sure?" I asked, looking at the black hairbrush I held in my hands.

"Of course," he said, walking over to his bed. "There is a room across the hall. You may sleep there."

"Okay," I said, before walking out of his room and into the one across the hall.

I stepped in and before I even turned the lights on, I stopped dead in my tracks, my breath caught in my throat. I took a deep breath and inhaled that oh so familiar scent of Cloud's cologne. Then it was as if all the memories came flooding back. Feeling tears start to sting my eyes, I quickly closed his door and brushed my hair in the hallway.

After I had worked out a sufficient number of tangles I went back in Vincent's room and placed his brush back on his desk then walked over to his bedside. Taking a deep breath, I pulled the covers back and jumped in beside him. He was facing away from me so when he felt me climb in bed with him, you can only imagine how fast he turned around. He wrapped his metal claw around my throat and for a second I thought he was going to choke me to death.

"Vincent!" I exclaimed. "It's me! Tifa!"

"Oh my God!" He said, before turning on a small bedside lamp.

When the lights came on I didn't expect to see a look of absolute horror etched onto his face. Immediately he enveloped me into his arms and hugged me.

"Oh my God, Tifa! I'm so sorry!" He said, running the fingers of his human hand through my hair. He leaned back and looked into my eyes, fear and concern floating through them. "What are you doing? I thought you were sleeping in the other room."

I looked down and took a deep breath.

"I don't want to sleep in Cloud's room," I said, looking back up into his eyes. "Can I sleep with you?"

He looked away from me for a few moments before looking back at me. He nodded his head.

"Of course. But first, a question."

"Fire away."

"You wishing Cloud happy birthday?"

I smiled half-heartedly and looked down once again.

"Yeah," I said, nodding. "Today's Cloud's birthday. He would be turning twenty-three."

Vincent nodded his understanding before lying on his back. Immediately I draped my arm over his chest and laid my head down on his shoulder. I felt him stiffen and that's when I felt that I had crossed the line. I looked up at him and found him looking down at my arm nervously.

"What?" I said, putting a silly smile on my face. "Do I have to hug my pillow? I can't hug you?"

"Well," he said, looking from my arm to me.

"What? You don't like this?" I said, putting on a playful smile as I drew circles with my nails on his chest.

I had to bite my tongue to keep myself from laughing. Vincent's eyes grew as wide a saucers and his draw dropped. To sort of intensify the moment I leaned closer to him and put my mouth next to his ear.

"I'm only kidding," I whispered, feeling him relax. I backed up and looked at him. "What? You think I was serious?"

"Well, it sure did sound that way," he said, smiling wryly.

"Vincent, I'm not some kind of slut," I said, looking away from him.

"Yes, I know that. But I almost took the bait."

My eyes grew wide as I looked back over at him.

"Vincent!" I said, slapping him on the chest. "That was very inappropriate!"

"Yes, but you should have seen your face."

"You're awful," I said, laying my head back down on his shoulder.

"Always a possibility," he said, before turning the lights off.

I woke up the next morning to find Vincent already up. After using his brush, I made my way down stairs. The smell of bacon sizzling got my attention. I crept into the kitchen and stopped behind him. Then he spun around, grabbed me by the waist and lifted me up above his head. I squealed in surprise as he pulled me to him and squeezed me tightly. I wrapped my legs around his waist and hugged him.

He set me back down on the floor then got back to work cooking breakfast. I stood behind him and watched him for a while before looking down at the basketball shorts and shirt that he loaned me.

"Hey, Vince, mind if I go back to my house to freshen up?" I asked, pulling on one corner of the t-shirt.

"Of course. By the time you get back breakfast will be ready."

"Okay, thanks."

I turned around and left Vincent's house then walked into mine. After changing into a pair of dark denim shorts, blank tank top and black flip-flops I fixed my hair and washed my face then walked back to Vincent's house.

When I walked in he was already sitting at the table. He saw me then pointed to a place across from him that had a plate of scrambled eggs and bacon with a glass of orange juice.

I sat down then started eating. Vincent finished first. He washed his plate in the sink before retreating up stairs to get dressed. I sat and took my time eating. This is probably the only time that I'll spend the night with Vincent, let alone in his bed then sit eating at his table. I just want to savor the moment.

Vincent walked back down stairs a few minutes later, dressed in his favorite black attire sans the red cape. He stopped beside me and looked down at me. I looked up at him just as I put the last bite of my eggs into my mouth.

"Finished?"

"Mmhm," I said, getting up from the table and washing my plate off also.

I turned around and leaned against the kitchen counter and looked at Vincent. He had both of his hands grasping the back of the chair in front of him and was looking at the table top, his jaw clenched.

"So, uh," I said, brushing back a few strands of hair. "What do you wanna do?"

Vincent stared at the table for a few more moments before turning his eyes to me.

"How about we go to the Gold Saucer?" He suggested.

I snapped my fingers. "That's a great idea! When do you want to leave?"

"How about you go pack a few things and get your chocobo ready then come talk to me."

"Sure, Vince!" I said, walking past him and back to my house.

I packed a few pairs of pants and shorts then put in a few tank tops and long sleeved shirts as well. Picking up my boots from my closet I placed them inside the duffel along with my shampoo and conditioner along with a few other toiletries. I slipped the Premium Heart over my knuckles and equipped the Fire and Ice Materia. I reached into my drawer and pulled out Bahamut ZERO and the Knights of the Round. They were Cloud's favorite. Twirling the shining red materia orbs around in my hand for a few seconds, I placed them into their slots then slung my small duffle bag over my shoulder. I looked around my room once more before walking out of it and locking my house up.

I walked around back and fed Ace a few greens before strapping his saddle onto his back and attaching my bag to it. I stood and pet him for a while before turning around and walking inside Vincent's house. I found him messing around in the kitchen, cleaning the pans and dishes. After his task was complete he put all the dishes and silverware in their respective drawers and turned to look at me.

"Ready?"

"You bet."

He waked toward me and picked up his small duffel bag that he set next to the door and went around behind his house to grab Dante.

I got on my mount and waited for him in front of the well. He emerged from behind his home and trotted over to me. He nodded then we spurred our chocobos out of Nibelheim and toward the Golden Saucer.