AN: Hello there people, especially those lovely individuals from ACF. This is my first fanfic; the first of many hopefully. I know it's short but there's more to come...

Disclaimer: I own nothing in this story, except for most of the plot and the crazy things I get these wonderful characters to say!

Chapter 1: Midnight Melodies

What is that?, she thought whilst lying in her bed. It wasn't the first time she had heard the faint sound of music playing in the middle of the night. It wasn't the first time she had awoken in the middle of the night because of a bad dream either. In fact, Tifa had been having bad dreams a lot recently, ever since Cloud had said that Avalanche would be entering the Northern Crater soon, in pursuit of the Great Sephiroth. The thought of this monster brought a shiver down Tifa's spine and back to reality, which allowed the melody to become clearer to her.

Where is that tune coming from? With that thought, Tifa climbed out of bed, slipped into a robe and crept down the corridor of the Rocket Town Inn. It wasn't very often that the group stayed in inns, they all normally stayed aboard the Highwind, but this time around, Cid had warned everyone to 'stay the hell out of his ship' as he had some major repairs to do before setting of up north.

Without further delay, Tifa found herself standing before a large oak door. It was the door to the main lounge area, and also to the haunting melody that had captured her conscious mind. With a slight knock at the door and minor hesitation, Tifa entered the warm, glowing room.

"Hello", she called as she walked into the fire-lit room.

"I wondered how long it would take you to enter."

As Tifa turned around to find the source of this beautifully smooth voice, she found herself staring at the grand piano, as well as its pianist.

"Oh Vincent, it's only you," sighed Tifa.

"Who else were you expecting?" replied Vincent, "Shouldn't you be sleeping Miss Lockheart?" He had stopped playing by now and sat staring at Tifa instead. Blood red eyes surveying her burgundy ones.

"I guess I could say the same thing to you," she replied giving a small smile.

"I suppose you could." Tifa was sure she could see a smile aimed back at her, but wasn't sure as the collar of his red cape covered the bottom half of his pale white face.

Then there was silence. Only the crackling of the coal on the fire could be heard. Tifa could feel the air in the room getting heavier.

"I, umm, didn't know you played the piano." The room suddenly felt slightly lighter now.

"I don't. Well, not as much as I used to." With that, Vincent held up his left arm, all of which remained of it anyway. Instead of skin and bone, there was a shiny bronze appendage. "I didn't wake you did I?"

Tifa could feel his red eyes borrowing their way into her soul as her eyes lingered upon Vincent's metal arm. With a shake of her head she replied, "No, no, I… well, I couldn't sleep. Listen, you don't mind if I stay with you for a while do you? It's just, well, I can't seem to settle with all of this going on, you know."

"You can rest where you like, Miss Lockheart," replied Vincent, as he watched Tifa lure herself out of the doorway and into the leather sofa in front of the fireplace.

She placed herself into the sofa carefully, trying not to disturb Vincent anymore than she already had. "You can keep playing if you'd like, don't let me stop you," she said as she quickly glanced over to Vincent, who had remained sitting at the piano the whole time.

Vincent kept his eyes upon Tifa. "I no longer feel the need to play," he said as he stood up and walked over to the leather chair. Once he reached it, he quietly sat down.

Then there was silence once again. Both Tifa and Vincent stared at the lit fireplace; both of them were captured by the flickering lights and the gentle heat that radiated from it.

Tifa didn't like these type of long silences, they just felt do uncomfortable to her. She couldn't help but fidget a bit in her seat and ask the first question that popped into her mind. "How come you're awake as well? Couldn't you sleep either?" A thought then occurred to her that Vincent may never sleep, but at that moment she remembered him sleeping just the once. It was a few nights ago actually, when the group had returned from Midgar. They had just defeated Hojo and Vincent stated that he wanted some time alone. Tifa, being curious by nature, went to check that he was ok and caught him sleeping like a baby in his room aboard the Highwind. She could remember how peaceful he looked, and innocent. This brought another smile to Tifa's face.

He wondered for a brief moment why Tifa was smiling at him like a little school girl, but dismissed it as lack of sleep. "I too, have been restless lately Miss Lockheart," replied Vincent.

Taken aback by this, Tifa responded, "Really?" She was slowly getting used to Vincent, and his rather strange, yet silent ways. They had often spoken on board the Highwind between destinations, and just when she thought she had him summed up, he goes and says something completely unexpected. She wondered to herself briefly if Vincent was in a talkative mood since he too was restless. To find out she recovered her last response with, "You want to talk about it?" He kept staring at her. "Are you still thinking about what happened in Midgar, with Hojo I mean?" As soon as the name Hojo was mentioned, Vincent quickly broke eye contact and looked at the fireplace, his face lit with the reflection of dancing flames. Dammit Tifa, just stick your nose in and hit a nerve why don't you, she thought to herself. "I'm sorry; I usually put my foot in it."

"You have no need to apologise," muttered Vincent, as his gaze travelled up from the fire and back down again to his hand.

Silence, once again. Tifa watched as Vincent curled and uncurled his metal fingers, and waited for the question that he was pondering over to ask. At the second that this particular thought passed Tifa's mind, Vincent looked up and directly into Tifa's eyes, "Perhaps I could ask you a question, if I may?"

Ha, I knew it, she thought, and smiled at her mental joke. "Umm, ok, sure."

"What is the exact reason for why this mission is unsettling for you, Miss Lockheart?" he curiously asked.

The question took Tifa by surprise. She instantly lowered her gaze to her lap and muttered "Sephiroth…" Once again she looked up into Vincent's eyes and continued, "I keep seeing him in my dreams. We fail to stop him and meteor…"

"We will not fail our mission," he said this sternly and with a look of determination on his face.

"I hope you're right." The couple continued to stare at one another, trying to read what the other was thinking. Either that or they were both on the verge of dosing off! Tifa smiled and Vincent couldn't help but do the same. The smile was only small, and Tifa couldn't see it, but it was there.

Feeling slightly awkward in this cosy situation, Vincent decided to leave the scene. "I do feel a bit tired now actually, I think I'll try to get some sleep. Perhaps you should do the same" he said as he lifted himself out of his chair. He then hastily walked out of the room, but before leaving the doorway, he turned back to face Tifa and said, "Goodnight Miss Lockheart, sweet dreams."

"Please, call me Tifa. There's no need for formalities," smiled Tifa. "Goodnight Vincent."

Vincent nodded in compliance and then left the room. The smile that had remained on his face grew slightly wider as he walked down the corridor towards his bedroom.

The smile also remained on Tifa's face, just before she lay her head down on the sofa and drifted off to sleep.