Disclaimer: Final Fantasy VII isn't mine. No part of it is mine. I do, however, own the redheaded inn employee. Feel free to take her and toss her carelessly into anything you may be writing.

Note: Writer's block. EXTREME writer's block. Short, crappy chapter. I am SO sorry!

Chapter 18: Cloud!

Sometime during their time holding each other, Tifa had fallen asleep with a small, serene smile playing on her slightly wet lips. To any other couple, the moment would have seemed fairly ordinary, maybe even boring. Nothing sexual was really going on, unless you considered the way they were holding each other sexual. Vincent's embrace on the woman wasn't "that type" of embrace—it was more the way a father would hold his sleeping daughter, maybe even the way a mother would hold a child. It was more protective and caring than anything else.

But as Vincent disentangled himself from Tifa's arms, his gaze locked on her quietly sleeping face, it was a very special moment for him indeed.

He was smiling.

This rare facial expression (rare for this man, at least) was not destined to last long, though—not at this particular moment, not on this particular day.

No, as he walked towards the window to watch the soft rain fall and contemplate what to do next, the smile still lingering on his handsome lips, he was completely oblivious that one of the things he didn't want to happen would be happening very shortly…

Cloud's heart was beating faster than a racing chocobo's feet hit the ground when it was high on adrenaline as he entered the relatively tiny inn.

"Hello sir and welcome to the Nibelheim Inn! Will you be renting a room?" the employee at the counter—a highly freckled young woman with bright, somewhat unruly red hair that looked younger than Yuffie—asked, flashing a smile that was obviously fake, but still a good attempt.

"Yes…I mean, no. I mean…" He let out a tired sigh and approached the counter. "Have you seen this woman?" he asked, handing the redheaded employee a photo of Tifa.

"Umm…" the redhead started, her annoyingly high-pitched voice trailing off as she examined the photo. "Yeah, she came in with some man."

"What did this man look like, and did you get his name…?" Cloud was extremely anxious. "And more importantly, are they still here? It's very, very important."

"…Yeah, the dude signed in as Vincent Valentine. Cool name, huh? Long hair, red eyes, a long, torn-up red cape, 'n a huge-o metal claw for an arm. He looked like some character from a video game," she mused.

"Is he still here?" Cloud repeated.

"Yep! The pair's still here," said the redhead. "'N so why's it important?"

"The woman, Tifa, is a very good friend of mine, and the man—Vincent—kidnapped her…I need to know what room they're in. I'll even pay you if you do," Cloud persuaded.

"Mmk, 'n ya don't even have to pay me. Room three-oh-five," she said, handing Cloud the key.

"Thank you."

Heart pounding even faster, he headed slowly towards the room the freckled girl had told him…

"Vincent…?"

Her tired, quiet voice called out to him suddenly, breaking him out of his thoughts. Miraculously, the smile was still on his face.

"Yes, Tifa?" Vincent murmured, praying that his smile would still linger when he looked at her.

It did.

"What are you doing over…" The cinnamon-eyed woman's voice faded away as she examined his face. "You're…you're smiling…!"

"Yes, I am. Unfortunately it will not last long…or is it a blessing that it will not last long?" the man asked, sitting on the edge of the bed.

"You look…" Tifa paused and briefly kissed Vincent. "…Good," she finished when she pulled away.

"Thank you."

As a knock sounded on the door, Vincent's smile faded.

That sounds like Cloud's knock, Tifa thought, and in her mind, the hope that it would be Cloud battled with the hope that she'd be able to stay with Vincent.

As though reading her thoughts, the gunman frowned. "Stay here," he whispered as he stood up. Tifa obediently remained on the bed as Vincent walked towards the door.

A faint click sounded as the red-eyed man's natural hand grasped the bronze doorknob and opened the aforementioned entryway.

Blue-green eyes met red eyes in an intense glare.

"…Hello, Strife," Vincent said, spitting out Cloud's last name as though it would hurt him if he said it normally.

"Valentine," Cloud said evenly with a curt nod, quickly pressing the button he'd instructed the others to press if they found one of the two.

"I don't suppose you'd like to come in now, would you…? And close the door behind you."

Any fool could tell that Cloud did not want to take orders from this man by the expression on his face, but he did so anyway.

Yumesuta: I feel really stupid for making you wait so long. Now that I finally updated, the chapter's crappy. I am SO sorry, I promise I'll work harder on this.