Disclaimer: Don't own Final Fantasy VII, or Vincent, or Tifa, or any of the other Final Fantasy VII characters. Just inserting them into the machine of my imagination and watching what pops out.
Destination: Attempted Resolution
by: thelittletree
(Wow, eleven days since the first chapter. My longest hiatus between updates. Sorry, my computer died. And no matter what others say, pencil and paper just aren't the same.)
"Change, when it comes, cracks everything open." -- Dorothy Allison
* * *
"You okay?"
Tifa dropped her travel bag unceremoniously onto the plush carpet and grimaced as the baby continued to roil inside of her, happily oblivious to her discomfort. "Not really." She glanced over her shoulder and smiled tightly at him. "I thought you weren't going to ask that anymore."
"Hmh." He helped her carefully out of her coat and hung it over a nearby chair. "Thirty minutes?"
"Thirty minutes."
She kicked out of her oversized sneakers, still too tight around the ankles, and maneuvered herself onto the bed. After a moment, she curled up around her belly and sighed as the lancing pain in her back faded to a dull ache. "You going to fall asleep this time?"
"Maybe." The mattress sank as Vincent sat down. "That does seem to be one of the risks."
His boots thudded quietly to the floor and his coat made a rough swish as he puddled it by the bed. And then he was spooning up behind her, so familiar a warmth and shape that her body unconsciously relaxed into him. "Are you willing to take that risk?"
"I suppose."
She smiled at the feel of his lips on the back of her neck and sighed again as his fingers began to stroke her abdomen. She didn't know why it worked, but it always did. Maybe the position, or her own contentment. It didn't matter anymore. Only the respite from discomfort mattered lately.
"He's settling."
"Good."
The back of his hand was smooth, bones and knuckles a memorized maze. "You going to come down later?"
He didn't reply right away. Tifa bit her lip, realizing she'd assumed too much.
"Is there a reason I shouldn't?"
"No." She wormed her fingers between his. "I just thought you might..."
"Back out?"
She sighed. "I'm sorry. I take it back. I don't want to fight."
"We're not fighting."
"Okay."
They'd talked about Cloud. Again and again. Sometimes she'd brought it up; sometimes he had. Not wrong, she'd held fast, in wanting to know how Cloud was doing. In wanting some closure. In wanting to talk to him alone.
Definitely wrong, Vincent had assured her. And she'd filed that away with the damning knowledge that, left alone with another man's wife, even on duty as a Turk, Vincent had apparently felt no compunctions about committing adultery. Guilt always seemed to equal magnified suspicion of others, and she'd eventually given in to the heavy weight of his obstinacy. Though not lightly, and not happily.
The pressure of Vincent's fingers was fading. Tifa smiled to herself.
"Falling asleep?"
"Thirty minutes. Trust me."
* * *
Tifa started awake at the sound of someone knocking insistently at the door. At her back, Vincent stiffened too abruptly to have been awake. She moaned quietly at everything in general, mostly at the idea of having to get back into her shoes.
"Does anyone know we're here?"
"I'm sure if someone wanted to know badly enough, they could've found it out."
Yuffie, Tifa knew a moment before Vincent opened the door.
"Hey, here you are." She said it like she might've been looking all day. "We're going to be eating soon."
Tifa pushed herself up and struggled to reach the edge of the bed, feeling suddenly famished.
Yuffie was grinning. Still a child somewhere, Tifa realized, and probably wishing she could've seen them a moment ago. "What time is it?"
"Ah...nearly quarter to five."
Tifa couldn't help her smile as Vincent caught her glance. "More like thirty-five minutes."
Vincent checked his wrist. "Twenty-nine. Her watch is wrong."
Tifa rolled her eyes and picked up her sneakers from the floor. They felt like small elastics around her ankles; her toes felt like swelling cherries. Her smile wavered as she got to her feet, but she managed not to wince.
The effort was wasted, however. Vincent, she knew as soon as she looked at him, wasn't going to stand for her silliness any longer. He turned to Yuffie, who was already looking at him as if trying to spot the original from the copy.
"What size shoe do you wear?"
* * *
Cloud wasn't anywhere when they reached the hall. But Barret was, and Tifa licked her lips, wondering if there was a way avoid the confrontation she and her old comrade had been inevitably working toward over the phone. Vincent still didn't know, and she wasn't going to tell him.
Cloud had called Barret, and Barret had agreed to talk to her for him. Nothing serious; just trying to open up communication, he'd said.
But, always on her side before, Barret had disconcertingly jumped fences, and not at Cloud's behest. And she'd been realizing, as never before, how protective and close-minded her old friend was. It had made for a good leader of Avalanche in the beginning. Now, Tifa was starting to look for the inevitable rebellion and heartbreak he was probably going to suffer through with Marlene as she tried to cope with a father who might always want to keep her too close and safe for her own good.
Vincent had reverted to observing and she almost wished he would go off and talk to someone. Barret caught her eye and she knew it would have to be this moment. She touched his arm.
"I need to use the washroom."
He glanced at her. And it made her feel angry, and ashamed, when he hesitated. As if he might've been doubting her. In a moment, he turned away again.
"Over there, by the last table."
"Thanks."
She headed off in that direction and let Barret come to her. He was grinning and she felt herself start to relax a little. So familiar. So close, in the years she'd needed a father and a mentor.
And now, all wrong, she realized. She'd grown past her need for a father.
"Tifa, how're ya doing?"
She hugged him and couldn't help grinning back as he tried, carefully, to return the embrace.
"It's all right. I promise I won't break."
"No, guess not." He smiled crookedly and patted her stomach. "You've put on some weight, though."
She scoffed and batted at his hand, trying to recapture the old affability. "I'm very sensitive about that, thank you."
He chuckled, and then his smile softened. First, the questions about her health, she couldn't help thinking. And the thought made her feel uncomfortably bitter, as if all of the times she'd appreciated his concern should have outweighed the fact that there was a disagreement between them.
"Doing all right an' everything? How was the doctor's appointment?"
"It went fine. The baby's still good. How's Marlene?"
"She's fine. Shera's lookin' after her." He glanced away for a moment and Tifa steeled herself for what was coming. It still felt like a kind of betrayal. "Cloud's here, too, you know."
"I figured he would be."
"Wants to talk to you."
She sighed. When Barret fought, he fought with every tooth and every nail. "I can't. I already told you."
"C'mon, just for a minute. Vincent's only really known you a few years; Cloud's known you since you were kids. He's like family."
Family meant a lot to him, a man who had lost one and adopted another. She pursed her lips, wishing for a way out of this that wouldn't hurt anyone. "Barret, please understand. Vincent's my family, now." She put curled her palm over her stomach, feeling the baby start to move. "I have to think of his feelings first."
"Whatever. It's not even his goddamn kid."
She felt her features harden at the low blow. She hadn't expected him to cut quite so deep so soon. "He's accepted it as his baby. That's all that matters. Marlene's not biologically yours, either."
Barret took a breath as if to begin another argument, but then he seemed to think better of it. He'd brought out the big guns too fast, she thought he was probably realizing. After the retribution that had cost them Jesse and Biggs and Wedge, he'd always seemed a little less resolved about using stronger measures.
"Tifa, I know you love him. And you say he loves you, too..."
"Barret..."
He held up his hand, not looking her in the eye but pleading for silence. "If he loves you, he should trust you. A few minutes is all Cloud wants. Just to put some stuff behind him. All right?"
And how could she tell him she'd been trying to assure Vincent of the same thing? She shook her head. "Tell him no, Barret. I'm sorry, but no." And she walked into the bathroom.
When she came out, she looked for Vincent around the room.
Yuffie was drinking punch and talking to Reeve, who was nearly unrecognizable for a moment in casual clothing. Nanaki had arrived a day early, Yuffie had told them, and had brought along a human consort from the Canyon to keep him informed about the well-being of his home. They, however, were nowhere in sight. Neither was Barret, or Cid, or any of the others.
And neither was Vincent.
Destination: Attempted Resolution
by: thelittletree
(Wow, eleven days since the first chapter. My longest hiatus between updates. Sorry, my computer died. And no matter what others say, pencil and paper just aren't the same.)
"Change, when it comes, cracks everything open." -- Dorothy Allison
* * *
"You okay?"
Tifa dropped her travel bag unceremoniously onto the plush carpet and grimaced as the baby continued to roil inside of her, happily oblivious to her discomfort. "Not really." She glanced over her shoulder and smiled tightly at him. "I thought you weren't going to ask that anymore."
"Hmh." He helped her carefully out of her coat and hung it over a nearby chair. "Thirty minutes?"
"Thirty minutes."
She kicked out of her oversized sneakers, still too tight around the ankles, and maneuvered herself onto the bed. After a moment, she curled up around her belly and sighed as the lancing pain in her back faded to a dull ache. "You going to fall asleep this time?"
"Maybe." The mattress sank as Vincent sat down. "That does seem to be one of the risks."
His boots thudded quietly to the floor and his coat made a rough swish as he puddled it by the bed. And then he was spooning up behind her, so familiar a warmth and shape that her body unconsciously relaxed into him. "Are you willing to take that risk?"
"I suppose."
She smiled at the feel of his lips on the back of her neck and sighed again as his fingers began to stroke her abdomen. She didn't know why it worked, but it always did. Maybe the position, or her own contentment. It didn't matter anymore. Only the respite from discomfort mattered lately.
"He's settling."
"Good."
The back of his hand was smooth, bones and knuckles a memorized maze. "You going to come down later?"
He didn't reply right away. Tifa bit her lip, realizing she'd assumed too much.
"Is there a reason I shouldn't?"
"No." She wormed her fingers between his. "I just thought you might..."
"Back out?"
She sighed. "I'm sorry. I take it back. I don't want to fight."
"We're not fighting."
"Okay."
They'd talked about Cloud. Again and again. Sometimes she'd brought it up; sometimes he had. Not wrong, she'd held fast, in wanting to know how Cloud was doing. In wanting some closure. In wanting to talk to him alone.
Definitely wrong, Vincent had assured her. And she'd filed that away with the damning knowledge that, left alone with another man's wife, even on duty as a Turk, Vincent had apparently felt no compunctions about committing adultery. Guilt always seemed to equal magnified suspicion of others, and she'd eventually given in to the heavy weight of his obstinacy. Though not lightly, and not happily.
The pressure of Vincent's fingers was fading. Tifa smiled to herself.
"Falling asleep?"
"Thirty minutes. Trust me."
* * *
Tifa started awake at the sound of someone knocking insistently at the door. At her back, Vincent stiffened too abruptly to have been awake. She moaned quietly at everything in general, mostly at the idea of having to get back into her shoes.
"Does anyone know we're here?"
"I'm sure if someone wanted to know badly enough, they could've found it out."
Yuffie, Tifa knew a moment before Vincent opened the door.
"Hey, here you are." She said it like she might've been looking all day. "We're going to be eating soon."
Tifa pushed herself up and struggled to reach the edge of the bed, feeling suddenly famished.
Yuffie was grinning. Still a child somewhere, Tifa realized, and probably wishing she could've seen them a moment ago. "What time is it?"
"Ah...nearly quarter to five."
Tifa couldn't help her smile as Vincent caught her glance. "More like thirty-five minutes."
Vincent checked his wrist. "Twenty-nine. Her watch is wrong."
Tifa rolled her eyes and picked up her sneakers from the floor. They felt like small elastics around her ankles; her toes felt like swelling cherries. Her smile wavered as she got to her feet, but she managed not to wince.
The effort was wasted, however. Vincent, she knew as soon as she looked at him, wasn't going to stand for her silliness any longer. He turned to Yuffie, who was already looking at him as if trying to spot the original from the copy.
"What size shoe do you wear?"
* * *
Cloud wasn't anywhere when they reached the hall. But Barret was, and Tifa licked her lips, wondering if there was a way avoid the confrontation she and her old comrade had been inevitably working toward over the phone. Vincent still didn't know, and she wasn't going to tell him.
Cloud had called Barret, and Barret had agreed to talk to her for him. Nothing serious; just trying to open up communication, he'd said.
But, always on her side before, Barret had disconcertingly jumped fences, and not at Cloud's behest. And she'd been realizing, as never before, how protective and close-minded her old friend was. It had made for a good leader of Avalanche in the beginning. Now, Tifa was starting to look for the inevitable rebellion and heartbreak he was probably going to suffer through with Marlene as she tried to cope with a father who might always want to keep her too close and safe for her own good.
Vincent had reverted to observing and she almost wished he would go off and talk to someone. Barret caught her eye and she knew it would have to be this moment. She touched his arm.
"I need to use the washroom."
He glanced at her. And it made her feel angry, and ashamed, when he hesitated. As if he might've been doubting her. In a moment, he turned away again.
"Over there, by the last table."
"Thanks."
She headed off in that direction and let Barret come to her. He was grinning and she felt herself start to relax a little. So familiar. So close, in the years she'd needed a father and a mentor.
And now, all wrong, she realized. She'd grown past her need for a father.
"Tifa, how're ya doing?"
She hugged him and couldn't help grinning back as he tried, carefully, to return the embrace.
"It's all right. I promise I won't break."
"No, guess not." He smiled crookedly and patted her stomach. "You've put on some weight, though."
She scoffed and batted at his hand, trying to recapture the old affability. "I'm very sensitive about that, thank you."
He chuckled, and then his smile softened. First, the questions about her health, she couldn't help thinking. And the thought made her feel uncomfortably bitter, as if all of the times she'd appreciated his concern should have outweighed the fact that there was a disagreement between them.
"Doing all right an' everything? How was the doctor's appointment?"
"It went fine. The baby's still good. How's Marlene?"
"She's fine. Shera's lookin' after her." He glanced away for a moment and Tifa steeled herself for what was coming. It still felt like a kind of betrayal. "Cloud's here, too, you know."
"I figured he would be."
"Wants to talk to you."
She sighed. When Barret fought, he fought with every tooth and every nail. "I can't. I already told you."
"C'mon, just for a minute. Vincent's only really known you a few years; Cloud's known you since you were kids. He's like family."
Family meant a lot to him, a man who had lost one and adopted another. She pursed her lips, wishing for a way out of this that wouldn't hurt anyone. "Barret, please understand. Vincent's my family, now." She put curled her palm over her stomach, feeling the baby start to move. "I have to think of his feelings first."
"Whatever. It's not even his goddamn kid."
She felt her features harden at the low blow. She hadn't expected him to cut quite so deep so soon. "He's accepted it as his baby. That's all that matters. Marlene's not biologically yours, either."
Barret took a breath as if to begin another argument, but then he seemed to think better of it. He'd brought out the big guns too fast, she thought he was probably realizing. After the retribution that had cost them Jesse and Biggs and Wedge, he'd always seemed a little less resolved about using stronger measures.
"Tifa, I know you love him. And you say he loves you, too..."
"Barret..."
He held up his hand, not looking her in the eye but pleading for silence. "If he loves you, he should trust you. A few minutes is all Cloud wants. Just to put some stuff behind him. All right?"
And how could she tell him she'd been trying to assure Vincent of the same thing? She shook her head. "Tell him no, Barret. I'm sorry, but no." And she walked into the bathroom.
When she came out, she looked for Vincent around the room.
Yuffie was drinking punch and talking to Reeve, who was nearly unrecognizable for a moment in casual clothing. Nanaki had arrived a day early, Yuffie had told them, and had brought along a human consort from the Canyon to keep him informed about the well-being of his home. They, however, were nowhere in sight. Neither was Barret, or Cid, or any of the others.
And neither was Vincent.