A/N: Okay, here is the next chapter! Hooray!!!! :O Oh, no! I'm almost done with this story! Waaaaah! Well, enough of my blabber! I hope you like this chapter! It's longer then most just like everyone likes it! Oh, and lots of Vin/Tifa action in this chapter! Don't go away!
Oh, and Vincent/Tifafan13's plan comes into play a small amount in this chapter! I hope you like what I did with it Vincent/Tifafan13! This chapter and the next one are for you!!!! Enjoi!
I woke the next morning to find Yuffie already gone, so I took my time getting out of bed. Once up, I quickly ran the brush through my hair before grabbing a fresh set of clothes and taking a quick shower. Afterwards, I put my hair in a towel, got dressed and climbed down the ladder.
Yuffie was sitting at the table, conversing with Red, holding a cup of coffee in her hands. She looked back at me and smiled warmly.
"Hey, Teef! Sleep good?"
"Yes, actually," I said, sitting down next to her. I pointed to the steamy mug in her hand. "Where'd you get that?"
She pointed behind her and I found that there was a mug already made. I rose from the table and grabbed it by the handle before sitting back down. I gently blew over the top of the liquid before taking a small sip. I set the mug down and looked at Red.
"So, when do I need to start dressing the cubs up?"
"Oh, not until much later," Red said, looking at a small clock hanging on the wall. It read 12:O5. "Seta and I will assist you once it's almost time for the ceremony."
"Okay," I said, nodding my head. I turned to Yuffie. "Once my hair dries you wanna go get something to eat?"
"Yeah, sure," she said, stretching her arms above her head.
I got up from the table and flipped my head upside down. I removed the towel from my hair and gently worked my fingers through the long chocolate strands. I straightened up and began running my fingers through my hair once again in an attempt to help it dry faster.
"Tifa, you seriously have too mush hair," Yuffie said, rising from the table. "Why don't you cut it?"
"I can't do that," I said, still running my fingers through my hair.
"Why not?"
"It would feel weird. I've lived practically all my life with long hair. Maybe I'll get a few inches taken off, I don't know," I said, turning around and climbing back up the ladder.
I grabbed the blow dryer that Yuffie had brought with her and began the very long and tedious task of drying my hair. As I stood there waiting for the hot air to dry my hair, a few thoughts popped into my head.
Why don't I cut my hair? It'll only get harder to take care of as I get older. Maybe next time I go to get my hair trimmed I'll get it cut a few inches shorter.
I turned off the blow dryer, unplugged it from the wall and set it on the bed. I grabbed my brush and ran all the tangles out then went back down stairs. Yuffie and I walked out of the Observatory and as we were heading towards the Starlet Pub, something occurred to me. I turned and looked at Yuffie.
"Do you know where Vincent went?"
Yuffie stopped and looked at the ground, tapping her foot thoughtfully. A moment later she looked at me and shrugged her shoulders.
"I was downstairs when he left. I asked him where he was going but all he said was that there were a few things he needed to take care of. Do you know what he meant by that?"
"If you don't know, I don't know. Come on," I said, patting her on the back. "Let's go get something to eat."
We walked into the Starlet Pub and sat down at the bar. The bartender, a young man looking only to be nineteen or twenty years old, stopped in front of us.
"What can I get for you lovely ladies?" He asked, smiling at Yuffie and I.
Yuffie leaned forward and put her right hand palm down on the bar. "How about two of those breakfast burritos you guys are always bragging about?"
The young bartender nodded his head and walked into the kitchen. I turned to Yuffie and gave her the critical eye.
"Yuffie are you sure you don't know where Vincent went?"
Yuffie nodded her head. "Absolutely," she said, confidently. A second later, she rose her right hand in the air. "I swear to you on my love for materia."
"Okay, you better not be screwing around with me, Yuf," I said, as the bartender brought Yuffie and I our burritos.
"Enjoy!" He said, before walking away.
Yuffie and I quickly ate our burritos, left some gil on the counter for the bartender then left. I stopped in front of the Cosmo Candle and I lifted my left wrist up to look at my watch. It was only 1:30. I wouldn't need to start getting the cubs ready for about another hour or two. I sighed as I shoved my hands into my pockets.
"Hey, why don't we go check on Seraph and Jinx?" Yuffie suggested, putting her hands behind her head.
I nodded. "Okay, let's go."
Yuffie and I left the canyon and walked over to the chocobo stables. I walked into Seraph's stall and giggled when I saw her curled up on a little mound of straw in the back. I leaned down and gently stroked the golden feathers on the top of her head. Seraph opened her eyes and warked happily when she set her dazzling blue eyes on me.
She flapped her small wings and got up. She bent down and sniffed my hands for greens then she set her head on my shoulder. I laughed as I picked up her head in my hands and scratched her chin.
I grabbed a handful of greens from a nearby bucket and held them out for her. She chirped and flapped her wings before taking the greens from my hand. I pet her a little while longer before leaving her stall.
Yuffie was already waiting outside Jinx's stall for me. I stopped next to her and looked at my watch. It was a little after two o'clock.
"Why don't we go back to the Observatory? I'm gonna ask Red and Seta if I can start dressing the cubs up."
"Okay," Yuffie said, shoving her hands in her pockets.
We walked into the Observatory and I smiled when I saw Vincent sitting on the floor trying to play with Kayo who was lying on his back, batting Vincent's hands. Vincent looked up at me then rose from the floor, dusting his pants off. I walked towards him and wrapped my arms around his neck, hugging him tightly.
"Where were you?" I asked, looking into his deep red eyes.
Vincent looked from my eyes to Yuffie, who was standing behind me. And if I would have turned around I would have seen Yuffie take her thumb and index finger and slide them across her mouth, pretending to pull a zipper shut.
"I just had a few things to take care of. Come, Red and Seta wish to see you," he said, taking my hand and leading me into the Observatory room.
Red and Seta were sitting side by side watching the cubs roll around on the floor when we walked in. The cubs saw me and all of them dashed over and tackled me to the floor. I sat up and gave each cub a hug and scratch on the chin before standing and walking towards Red.
"Wonderful timing, Tifa," Red said, ruffling his mane. "Why don't we get started?"
I nodded my head. "Okay."
"Come this way, please," Red said, getting up and padding over to a table that held all five headdresses. He told me which ones were which and how to clip them into the cub's manes. "Oh, and don't forget to put beads in Nariko and Naava's mane."
I nodded and began to gather all the clips and beads for Nariko's headdress. I turned and sat in a chair then called for Nariko. She padded over and sat in front of me then I began clipping all the different parts of the headdress into her mane. Once I was done with that, I began sliding the beads through small strands of her fire red hair.
I repeated the pattern on Naava then again on Seto, Nova and Kayo sans the beads, that is, unless they wanted them. And all three of them wanted beads. Once I finished with all the cubs there was only about forty-five minutes left until the ceremony.
I sighed as I walked out of the Observatory room with the cubs and watched as Red and Seta inspected my work. Seta looked up at me with a grand smile on her animal features.
"Wonderful job, Tifa!" She said, padding towards me. I leaned down and gave her a warm hug. "You did such a wonderful job with the cubs!"
"Oh, you're welcome!" I said, hugging her again. "I enjoyed doing it."
Red came over and sat next to Seta. "Now what I want you to do is wait with Seto and Nariko inside the Starlet Pub until I call for you. Then I want you to walk out with them and stand by Seta and I. We'll take it from there."
"Doesn't sound that hard," I said, kneeling down next to Seto and Nariko, patting them on the back.
"We'll leave in a few moments," Red said, getting up to go talk to the other three cubs.
I turned around and gave Vincent a quick smile before going upstairs to put on some nicer clothes.
I went over to my back and pulled out a nice light pink halter-top and a pair of nice denim pants with a pink sash belt. I dressed then ran my brush through my hair. Vincent called up to me from downstairs.
"Are you decent?"
"Yeah, come on up," I said, grabbing my favorite teardrop earrings and putting them in. I grabbed my makeup bag and walked in the bathroom just as Vincent stepped off the ladder. He stopped in the doorway and watched me.
After a few moments of silence he cleared his throat and walked up behind me. I closed my mascara bottle and set it back in my bag. I grabbed my eyeliner but stopped when Vincent's right hand gently gripped my side. I didn't stop because his touch surprised me; I stopped because his hand was shaking. I grabbed his hand and slowly turned around, staring into his dark crimson eyes.
"Vincent, what's wrong?" I asked, gently placing my hand on his cheek. He looked into my eyes then looked back down to the floor. He took a deep breath then took both of my hands into his. From that moment I knew what was wrong. He looked up into my eyes then he did something I wasn't expecting.
He wrapped his arms tightly around my waist and placed his lips on mine in a passionate kiss. I knew what he was trying to tell me and it broke my heart. As if on instinct, I wrapped my arms around his neck and deepened the kiss.
He backed away from me and opened his mouth to speak but I put my hand over his mouth to stop him.
"I know what you're going to say," I said, slowly removing my hand from his mouth. "You need to know if I love you or not."
Vincent lowered his head and after a few moments nodded it feebly. I continued with a shaky voice.
"I swear to you that I'll tell you tonight. I know it's taken me a long time I don't want to rush this."
"Tifa, I love you. Isn't that enough?" He asked, his eyes starting to get misty.
"Of course it is!" I said, putting both my hands on his face. "It's more then enough. It's just that I've been hurt too many times in the past. I don't want this to turn out the same way."
"Tifa, I told you I'd never hurt you," he said, his voice beginning to break.
"I know, I know," I said, staring into his eyes hard. "I swear I'll tell you tonight. After the cub's ceremony. I promise."
He lowered his eyes and nodded then kissed me once last time before leaning against the door jam to wait for me to get ready. I looked down at my watch as I picked up my eyeliner. It was only 4:30. I still had enough time.
I finished putting my makeup on then left the Observatory with Vincent. He joined the small crowd that was gathering in front of the Cosmo Candle while I went into the Starlet Pub. Seta and Red were there with all five cubs.
"Oh, good," Red said, rising up on all fours. "You're here. Are you ready?"
"Ready," I said, smiling.
"We'll start a little early then," he said, turning back to his mate.
Seto, Nariko and I backed off to the side as Red, Seta and the other three cubs walked out. The door shut behind them and I figured that when Red called us he'd have someone open the door. I stooped down in between the cubs and scratched their ears.
"Is there a certain order that we're supposed to walk out in?" I asked, looking at both of them.
Seto nodded. "You're supposed to walk out in front of us while Nariko and I walk side by side behind you. Then you're supposed to stop next to mom and dad while we sit in front of them."
I nodded. "Okay, I can do that," I said, rising.
A few minutes later the door opened and I walked out of the pub with the two cubs following behind me. I stopped next to Seta and watched as they came around and sat in front of me. Red looked at me before continuing.
"This young woman has faithfully guarded my children these past nine months and for that Seta and I are eternally grateful. The cubs think of her as a part of the family and so do Seta and I. Tifa assisted me in the time of Sephiroth and Meteor and now she is more important to my family and I then she was those years ago. We hope that she will help us more in the future as Seta and I have more cubs. Thank you all for coming. Enjoy your evening."
I followed Red, Seta and all five cubs back behind the Cosmo Candle. People began walking up and petting the cubs. I carried on conversations with many of the townspeople and by the time that everyone had left the sun had already set and the sky had already begun to darken. I was getting ready to return to the Observatory when Vincent came up to me.
"Would you like to take a walk?" He asked, offering his arm.
"Sure," I said, linking my arm through his.
He led me out of the canyon and past the chocobo stables until we had almost reached the grasslands. We sat down on a small patch of dead grass. A chill wind began to pick up and in my absence of shirt, I couldn't stop myself from beginning to shiver. Vincent got up and sat behind me, wrapping his muscular arms around my waist. I put my hands on top of his and snuggled into his embrace.
He put his mouth next to my ear. "Did I tell you how much I missed you?"
"Tell me," I said, leaning into him a little more.
He began telling me and as he spoke I began thinking. This man really did love me. I've heard him say it time and time again but his words never really had such an impact on me until now. It was like someone had pulled the wool away from my eyes.
I turned around and gently placed my fingers over his lips to silence him. His eyebrows knitted together and his deep crimson eyes held puzzlement. I took my fingers away from his mouth and gently leaned towards him. I brushed my lips against his and put my hand on his cheek. He began to kiss me back, slowly and carefully at first but then faster and more passionately.
He broke away from me and looked at me with the same kind of bafflement and confusion that was in his eyes mere minutes ago.
"What was the purpose of that?" He asked, confusion in his voice as well.
"I love you, Vincent. I'm sorry I didn't say it sooner," I said, wrapping my arms around his waist and burying my face into the black fabric of his shirt.
He chuckled a small amount. "I thought you'd never say that," he said, quietly.
I looked up at him and smiled as he kissed me again. I turned back around and snuggled back into him. I stared up at the stars for a while before falling asleep. When I woke up again Vincent was carrying me back to Cosmo Canyon. I looked around, confused, before laying my head back on his shoulder and going back to sleep.
What seemed like only a few minutes later someone was shaking my shoulder, telling me to wake up.
I blinked my eyes and looked around. I was lying on the couch in the Observatory with Yuffie looking down at me.
"Tifa?" She asked, a worried look on her face. "What did you do to Vincent?"
I frowned. What did she mean by that? "What do you mean?" I asked, sitting up.
"When he brought you back he put you on the couch then dashed out of here again with the most un-Vincent like expression on his face. Where were you guys?"
"We went for a walk," I said, stifling a yawn.
"Did you tell him?" Yuffie asked, anticipation dripping from her voice.
I smiled and nodded my head. Yuffie squealed in delight. "Oh, Tifa! Vincent must have been so happy!"
"He was. He couldn't stop smiling, at least from what I could see," I said, stretching, then rising from the couch. "What time is it?"
"Almost midnight. You should get some sleep. We gotta go back to Wutai tomorrow."
I climbed the ladder up to the second floor and dressed into my bedclothes.
"Are you gonna come to bed?" I asked Yuffie as I slipped beneath the covers.
"Yeah, in a little bit. I'm gonna wait for Vincent. He said he was gonna be back soon. See you in the morning, Teef," she said, descending the ladder.
I went to sleep and not once did I suspect foul play. A few hours later, unbeknownst to me for I was in L:aLa Land, Vincent and Yuffie were talking downstairs.
"Calm down, Vinnie," Yuffie said, "Tifa doesn't know about any of this."
"Are you confident?" Vincent asked for possibly the hundredth time that night.
"One hundred percent. Now come on! Operation: Rose Petal is about to begin!"