It was pounding, pounding, pounding rain. It was as if Hell had pissed itself out and now the clouds were pouring down its load, the rain would never seem to stop until the world was drowned utterly and completely. At Tifa's apartment, there was a sharp, hard knock, as a mud-soaked man in what had once been a crimson cape staggered against the wall and he sank slowly, inevitably to the floor. He was injured... and it looked as though from a monster bite.
Tifa was sitting by the windowsill, watching the rain drop from the sky listening to the pitter-patter of the raindrops falling from the heavens. She jumped ever so slightly as she heard a booming knock coming from behind the door. Her eyes narrowed slightly and she pushed herself up. She placed her hand on the knob and turned it slowly.
She looked to the hallway, seeing no one. She, then, looked to the floor and kneeled beside Vincent. "..Vincent?" Her eyes scanned over him.
"Poison," he panted, slowly raising his bloodshot, ruby-crimson eyes into hers, reaching to grasp her shoulders with his cold fingers. "Antidote!" And he rolled his head forward into her lap, the rainwater dripping from his clothes and onto the apartment corridor.
Her eyes widened with surprise and she pulled him up, placing her hands across his shoulders. Her heart was racing as she pulled him into the apartment and set him down upon the bed. She rushed to give him the antidote as quickly as she possibly could. Her eyes teared, watching him for a moment. Wake up, she thought. She hoped she had given it to him in time. She hoped with all of her heart.
Tifa pulled the wet crimson cloak from around him and wrapped him in a warm blanket. He was soaking. What had happened? She looked over him and moved some of the dark hair from his pale face, waiting to see his red-orbed eyes open to stare into hers.
Vincent waited for the antidote to work. It was almost instantaneous, but he still felt he should be restful, because of that fight. The bite was bloodless, but it was swelling horribly on the inside of his thigh where the creature had taken a chunk of his cloth away before getting at his skin. He slowly, taking his time, sat up. His guns were all in order, he still had them... and he looked at Tifa. "..I didn't know where else to go..."
She smiled to him softly. "You are always welcome here." She inched towards him, her fingers quivering over his wounds. She pushed herself up to grab some cleansing gauges and bandages. She looked to him, sitting before him. "..What happened, Vincent?"
"I went to Lucrecia's cave. I know I promised never to return... but I thought I might have left something behind. A monster, I found, instead. It attacked me... and it took me three bullets to realize I hadn't brought any antidote with me after it had bitten me..."
She nodded slightly, tearing away at his clothes a little more to clean the wound. "If you need more, I will give you some." She said, her eyes focusing on his thigh. It hadn't bled, and she was surprised. She cleansed it and placed a bandage over it with a sigh. "..There." She looked up into his eyes.
She pulled her knees up, resting her arms on her knees. She lowered her head just a bit, letting her dark hair fall into her face. "What did you think you left, Vincent?" She was curious as to why he had broken his promise.. It wasn't very often he did such a thing.
Vincent was actually not blushing at this point. But at this point, he also realized he was going to get her bed soaked by simply laying on it. He stood up slowly, and began unbuckling and unbinding certain things so that he could take off the wet clothes and lay them aside. His pants were the wettest, but he just kept them on for her sake. His shirt was still dry, and he kept that on as well, and he finally slipped back onto the bed, exhaustion taking over... she would have seen him like this before. "It's not important now. The irony of it is, I had it with me..." He laid back down, closing his eyes... shivering slightly. He wasn't too willing to partake in a discussion about his thoughts with her..but..
She gave an unshared chuckle. "..I see." She pulled herself back up and grabbed his soaking clothes. "..I'll take care of these for you, Vincent." She smiled to him and gave him a few more blankets. "I'm not sure if they'll fit you.. But, I have some extra clothes. They are Clouds." She looked to him lying on the bed for a moment and then walked into the back room.
She placed his soaking clothes to the side and grabbed up a pile of clothes. He pulled out a pair of black pants. She frowned slightly.. Would these fit him? She didn't want him to have to wear wet clothes. She sighed heavily and walked back out, placing the pants beside the bed. "Here they are if you want to try them..." She whispered, walking over and sitting on the windowsill where she had been before.
Vincent knew he would probably need his clothes to get dry-cleaned now. They were saturated with water and mud.. and he was fully prepared to pull coin from his own earnings to have Tifa get them washed. He sat up the next morning, feeling better for the beating he had suffered, and walked downstairs with a blanket around his shoulders, head down, hair falling in tangled straggles over his face. He slumped into a couch and relaxed into a sort of zone. "Tifa?" He thought he could smell coffee..
Tifa looked up from the sink and dried off her hands. She walked back into the living room and smiled, seeing Vincent wrapped up in a blanket on the couch. "Would you like anything Vincent? Tea?..." She paused, crossing her arms over her chest. "Coffee?" She looked over him. He looked better from the night before, but he was still a mess.
"Tea..actually...I shouldn't drink coffee." He tilted his head toward her. He was deep in thought... and desperately, suddenly, very lonely. He looked away quickly. "..."
Tifa nodded slowly, watching him. "...Okay." She said, walking back into the kitchen and placing the water on the stove. She stood for a moment, her eyes fading off into oblivion. She sighed heavily. Only a few minutes later, the water started to whistle loudly. She grabbed a teabag and placed it in the mug, letting the water fall into it as the steam rose up into her face.
She walked back over to Vincent, handing it to him. She had a cup of her own as she sat on the couch across from him. She took a sip of it and looked to him with worried eyes. "Are you sure you're alright, Vincent?"
His hands appeared from somewhere inside the blanket, taking the cup of tea, cradling it in both of his (human) hands. His eyes seemed far away, very distant, and alone. "Lonely is how I feel. But I am fine. It's folly to try avoiding human life for as long as I have."
Tifa looked down to the mug in her hands, the liquid transferring its warmth to her hands. She set it down in front of her and looked over to him. No matter how much she wished to wrap her arms around him, to embrace him.. She didn't move. She was kept frozen in place. She let out a small sigh. "..Vincent. You don't have to be alone. All of us--All of us, are here.." She cast her eyes downward.
For a while, she was thinking the same way.. It was almost a miracle that Vincent had came in when he did the night before. Staring out that window, in a darkened apartment reminded her of something.. She was alone.. And she would be for a while.
Vincent gave a little shake of his head. "We, all of us...especially you and I. We must promise not to leave ourselves alone. I mean... we should at least keep each other company. This is a nice place to stay. But I always feel as if I am invading another man's home... shouldn't you be with Cloud?"
She sighed heavily, a feeling creeping up the back of her neck as a scream threatened to escape her lips. But, she bit it back.. Keeping silent for a moment. "..Cloud." She whispered, her eyes again fading into oblivion.
Vincent looked up... he sipped his tea, frowned, then put it down and stood up to move to her side, sitting next to her. "...forgive me. I spoke too boldly." And he gently took hold of her arm to pull her into his clumsy, one-armed embrace...
She closed her eyes and lowered her head as he pulled her into the embrace. She let out a small breath as her hair fell into her face. This warmth, it had felt so familiar. She wanted that again.. No, she needed that again. She leaned into Vincent silently and laid her head on his chest.
Vincent cleared his throat, rubbing her shoulder comfortingly, he hoped. "Don't ... feel terribly. It's not my place to say so... but perhaps if thinking about being alone causes you pain, then do not think about it... one day you may catch yourself regretting it..when that day comes, just come and see some old friends. I guess it is luck that we are here together."
She looked up into his eyes, hers trembling from the thoughts running over and over again in her head. "I guess. Could..." She paused. "Could it be fate?" Her voice was almost in a whisper as she closed her eyes softly, slowly.
"No. I don't believe in Fate." Vincent says, flatly. He slowly released her and slid away, reaching for his tea and sipping it meditatively...
She looked back down to her shaking hands and clenched her fists and wrapped her arms around herself and sighed. She took a small sip from her tea and placed it back down, staying quiet. She had been thinking about a lot of things for the passed few days. She was confused, but.. This just confused her even more.
Vincent went upstairs, to fetch his guns, and clean them.. surely they must be filthy. He laid them out, sitting on the edge fo teh couch, and went to work with his box of cleaning tools... not ignoring Tifa, but merely giving her her space. As he worked, he thought about why she was acting so vulnerable... she was vulnerable.
She grabbed the tea and another blanket, wrapping it around herself and sitting at the windowsill. Strangely enough, it had still been raining. Not nearly as much as the day before, but.. Tears still dripped from the sky. She had wanted to cry, but.. They'd never come so she just stayed still, quiet and distant.
Yes, she had loved Cloud. Very much, indeed. But certain things had convinced her that he did not feel the same way. She placed the cold tea beside her and leaned her head against the cold glass of the window, resting her eyes for just a moment. She didn't want Vincent to leave.. But, she knew he must. He wasn't the kind of person to stay and get all lovey-dovey. She smiled slightly, just seeing the image in her head..