Disclaimer: It's not mine.

Note: Thanks to my wonderful reviewers, as usual! I'm glad you all liked the last chapter. I wasn't sure whether to let them kiss yet or not, but I guess it wasn't a bad thing to do!

Chapter 9: Explaining the Plan

He knew it. Now, he had to tell her about Chaos's plan. She deserved to know, especially after last night…especially now that they both knew how they felt about each other.

Vincent waited patiently for Tifa to wake up. Finally, the bedroom door opened slightly and she walked out, her wine-colored eyes half-closed with the fatigue that comes with the early morning.

"Good morning, Tifa," the ex-Turk said softly. He'd attempted to make a real breakfast, but he was too nervous and this caused him to burn all of his attempts. So, instead, he'd re-heated the soup they had for dinner last night.

"Hi, Vincent," the woman responded, brushing a few loose strands of hair out of her face.

"Er…I forgot to make breakfast so it's leftovers of last night, if you're hungry," Vincent muttered awkwardly.

Tifa shrugged and just stood there, not really wanting to sit. "It's ok. I'm not hungry right now."

"Look, um…Tifa…there's something I have to…tell you…"

The wine-eyed girl frowned. He was using his cautious, I-really-don't-want-to-be-the-one-to-tell-you-this tone of voice. "It's not something I want to hear, is it…?" she asked.

Vincent would have bit his lip if he could. "Most likely not…but I believe that you deserve to know. Sit down," he said softly, motioning his metal arm towards the couch.

Tifa paced over to the old piece of furniture and stood in front of it. "I'm only sitting if you sit as well," she said.

The red-eyed man stepped over the small coffee table in front of the couch and sat. Tifa, keeping her word (though it really wouldn't break anyone's heart if she continued standing), sat next to him.

There was a long, awkward silence and the brunette woman noticed that there was a slight warm pressure on her hand. She glanced at it and was very shocked, though happy, to see Vincent's natural hand on hers. She turned her hand so that their palms were touching and laced their fingers together. Their eyes met.

"So what did you want to say?" Tifa whispered. She really didn't want to break the moment, but she promised herself that she'd get the moment back when Vincent was done saying what he had to say.

"…Chaos," he started.

"What about him?"

"First of all, did I ever tell you how exactly that blood got on the wall in the bedroom?" he asked.

Tifa shook her head. She'd even forgotten about it for a time, but now, knowing that it was still there and that she'd slept in that bloodstained room for two nights in a row, it sent shivers down her spine.

"It was Chaos. Not too long ago, after I met you but before I…er…kidnapped you, I was in this house. It is, you know, my house…" There was another awkward silence until Tifa nudged him on.

"And?" she asked quietly.

"Oh, right. Anyway. At that time, Chaos wanted to tell me something but I was ignoring his voice. He is one of the many demons who despise being ignored by someone weaker than them. So, he parted himself from me…it's really not a pleasant thing to describe…but when Chaos, or any of the other demons, part from me, they push themselves out of me and that causes very unpleasant blood splatter, and a scar. That's one of the things I wanted to tell you," he said quickly, not wanting to dwell on that part of the subject for any longer than necessary. Their eyes met again and he was surprised to see that she looked concerned.

"Vincent…" Tifa's voice trailed off. She hoped his scars didn't still hurt him.

"That's not all," he reminded her.

"Oh…right…"

"The second thing I wanted to tell you is that…" He sighed and shook his head, aggravated. How was he supposed to tell her that her death was going to be his fault?

"Go ahead," the wine-eyed girl encouraged him.

"Chaos…well…" He took a deep breath and said quickly: "Chaos wants to kill you."

Vincent glanced at Tifa and regret filled him. Her face had paled immensely and her eyes had widened. He strengthened his hold on her now shaking hand.

"Why…?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Because…he wants me to suffer. When Cloud and the others come to rescue you, Chaos will…but I won't let him…" Vincent mentally narrowed his eyes at the aforementioned purple demon.

"What are you going to do?" Tifa whispered.

"I don't know yet…but I just refuse to let him kill you. I…"

The dark-haired woman smiled slightly. Whether she wanted to or not, she couldn't help but trust Vincent. She didn't know how in the world she could: He kidnapped her, and soon, he was going to kill her. But, she loved him (again, though she didn't exactly want to), and people tended to trust the ones they loved.

"If that stupid demon does anything to hurt you, I promise I won't leave your side, even if Cloud and the others want to leave you behind," Tifa said in a determined tone.

The mere ghost of a smile flashed across the man's face. "I don't suppose I could get you to change your mind and run for your life?"

"Never," she announced, crossing her arms in mock stubbornness.

Vincent would have chuckled, but he had lost the ability to laugh in any form long ago. However, he hadn't lost the ability to kiss, as he had learned last night.

He leaned closer to her and Tifa smiled, sliding her arm around his neck.

"We really shouldn't be doing this," she murmured.

"In all honesty, we shouldn't have met each other, either…but here we are," he replied softly.

The woman nodded. "You're right…"

Vincent covered the woman's mouth with his lips and held her very gently. There were no surprises until the man nudged Tifa's jaw open. Then, the kiss took on a whole new level and they both wished that it was ok to stay like this with each other forever, though they knew it was impossible.

"So, Cloud," Red said casually, sauntering into the room.

"Yeah, Red?" the spiky-haired leader asked, yawning.

"Erm…this is a weird thing to ask but…can I borrow some of your hair gel?"

There was a long pause before Cloud tossed the bottle at Red. Red, not having opposable thumbs, stared at it, vaguely surprised he hadn't laughed.

"Er…need help getting that stuff in?" the leader asked.

"That might be helpful," the red beast admitted gruffly.

After the hair gel was applied in massive amounts and dried, Cloud finally burst out laughing.

"Yeah, yeah, I know, hilarious…" Red sighed, but had to admit, it probably was very funny.

That's when Yuffie came in. Red and Cloud glanced at each other, because the ninja had a comb in her hand.

"What…?" she squeaked when Red's mane wouldn't budge. "NOOO!" she cried, banging her fist into her head once.

Red and Cloud grinned at each other.

That's when the spiky-haired leader's melancholy mood grew back on him. "I hope Tifa's ok," he sighed. "Vincent better not have touched her…"

"I'm sure he wouldn't dream of it," Red said consolingly.

Yumesuta: So, yeah, that's chapter 9. Please review!