-1Harsh light of day...
The hangover and memory loss was instantly forgotten as her brain registered the fact she had a naked Vincent Valentine in front of her. A yelp escaped and she spun around, having to grab the counter when she went light headed from the motion. Tifa blinked rapidly in a failed attempt to block out what she'd just seen.
She could only hope she wasn't like this last night. Oh God, last night! What must he think of her? Getting blind drunk and having a one night stand with a man she barely knew. Hands over her face muffled the moan of despair. Where was a hole of mortification when you needed one? It wouldn't have to be a big hole, any hole would do.
The worst of it? Vincent, her friend and fellow fighter, was married. Oh God. She was nothing but a horrible person who stole other women's husbands. She was going to straight to the bowels of hell and staying there.
"I am decent." If what he'd done to her last night was anything to go by, he was far from decent. She'd been so tight; he could still feel the hot squeeze around his shaft. Unconsciously, a hand skimmed his erection hidden below the sheet and he bit back the groan.
It may have been swallowed, but she still heard the soft throaty noise and it caused her eyes to fly wide open. Was he thinking about last night? "Okay, that's great!" Tifa looked to the bathroom wall for help on what to say next. "Now if you could go away while I shrivel up and die, that'd be great too." Oh, and Vincent? Please don't tell your wife.
He let her tone wash over him knowing she was probably feeling the effects much more than he was. "I have a sheet so you may remove the towel. I will leave it behind the door." With that, the gunslinger hooked the sheet on the handle and tried not to think about those luscious curves.
Judging by her reactions, Vincent gathered she remembered next to nothing about last night. If she had, then he doubted she'd be hiding from him now. Maybe it was just as well she didn't recall anything. He had a feeling if she knew what went on in that bathroom, she'd run a mile.
He slipped into sweetness from behind and let her feel what she'd done to him. The moan he forced from her throat brought his blood to boil. He gave it to her hard, hard enough to turn her little moans into choked whimpers.
"Eyes open Tifa," Vincent murmured, "Watch yourself cum."
"I will be outside," he managed and escaped before he had a chance to re-enact that particular memory.
Relief caused Tifa's shoulders to sag and she turned to face the closed door, snatching the sheet just in case he changed his mind and took it off her. The wet towel was discarded in favour of the cotton blanket, and then his scent hit her like a ton of bricks. "Oh God," she moaned and closed her eyes, allowing an image to blaze behind her lids.
She nuzzled his neck and breathed him in, relishing in the musky scent that came from him. "Mmm…" Her lips trailed up his neck, feeling him shiver at the ticklish sensation.
"Tifa…" He warned lightly and gave into the urge to grind his forming erection between her thighs. "We're not in our room yet."
The brunette was taken aback by the sudden memory and held her throbbing head. If they hadn't been in their room, then where had they been? Not that it really mattered, of course, as whatever happened, happened and couldn't be reversed.
"Just go out there and face the music." Tifa glanced at her reflection over her shoulder and suddenly she felt shame. Not for having slept with Vincent, but for thinking he'd treat her like a whore. Vincent wasn't like that at all. He was a gentleman, and that was something she perfectly remembered.
He wouldn't hurt her, physically or mentally, so why was she so afraid of going out there and speaking to him? She mentally went over the facts. She'd gotten mortally drunk, slept with a friend who was also married, couldn't remember a damn thing, and threw up in his bathroom.
Tifa squared her shoulders, took a deep breath, and opened the door, fully ready to face her fate when she suddenly stopped.
Oh holy planet!
Vincent had been asleep for years, so his wife would have been waiting for him to wake up so they could be together. That thought had her resolve to deal with the situation crumble and collapse around her. How horrible could she be?
The gunslinger had waited patiently for her to exit the bathroom so they could clear the air, and he immediately rose from the bed in greeting when the door handle turned. He froze at the sight of tears shining in her eyes and the pout on her lips. Her name had barely left his mouth when she shook her head.
"I swear I didn't know you were married Vincent," she began in a teary voice. "I am so sorry. Since there's nothing to tell, not emotionally anyway, we can keep this between us and your marriage is safe."
Him? Married? He blinked. Where would she get an idea like that? He'd been in stasis for three decades, when did she think he had time to get married? Vincent scratched his head and merely looked at her to explain.
Tifa cautiously shuffled further out of the bathroom and held the blanket tighter, her eyes completely focused on an interesting spot on the floor. "I only noticed your wedding ring this morning when I went to wake you up."
Wedding ring?
A sense of certain dread had his stomach dropping into the pits of the lifestream as he brought his left hand up for inspection. Sitting right there, on the fourth finger, was a plastic wedding ring with a picture of a smiling chocomog. His gaze travelled warily to Tifa's own left hand and suddenly his world ceased to turn.
"I could ask the same of you." How the hell he sounded calm he'd never know. Inside, he was panicking to high heaven.
Tifa's jaw dropped. "What? I'm not married." Then her face changed to dangerous suspicion. "If this is your way of looking innocent, then I've got news for you pal... Hey!" He was in front of her before she could blink and had her left hand held up where she could plainly see the sunlight glinting off a clear plastic circle.
Vincent raised an eyebrow and twirled the plastic band round until a chocomog smiled up at the brunette. He watched with some satisfaction as her pale face lost a bit more colour before what appeared to be relief flooded her beautiful eyes, and she started laughing. A sound he hadn't heard in, oh, a few hours.
"Oh my!" Tifa shook with relieved giggles and used a broad shoulder to steady herself. "So I'm not a home wrecker after all?" His head numbly went from side-to-side. "Thank Holy. I thought I'd turned into a callous drunken slut who steals husbands!" She laughed a little more at the ridiculousness before gaining control with a chuckled sigh. "All that worrying because we bought ourselves mementos of our, uh, yeah..."
"You will never be either callous, or a drunken slut." Vincent murmured and placed a comforting hand over the one resting on his naked shoulder. The innocent touch brought another blush to her cheeks and he stroked her skin reassuringly. "Come…"
"Already did." Tifa muttered and once again averted her gaze from his as her colour deepened. She just had to say that, didn't she?
"Yes, you certainly did. Many times." He willed away the arousal brought on by memories from last night. It wasn't what either of them needed at this moment in time. But, God, he couldn't help wanting more. "Sit."
His hand was warm and soothing on the small of her spine as he guided her towards the rumpled bed where he sat her down. She would need a seat when he stated that yes, he did in fact have a wife and Tifa knew her intimately. First things first, "Would you care for some tea and aspirin?" He would kill for some.
Grateful ruby eyes finally met his darkening ones and she nodded; the frown on her face almost comical despite the circumstances. "God yes." That reminded her. "Um, I don't suppose you know where my clothes are?" He appeared to know more than she did about last night, so maybe he could solve the mystery of the missing garments.
Good question, he thought with a confused scowl. "Tea and aspirin first, then we talk."
Did they have to talk? Where Tifa was concerned, there wasn't much to talk about. After all, they already knew what happened. Well, he knew what happened anyway. "Not all that much to say. We got drunk and had sex. End of story."
"Yes, we had sex." Not just sex, but incredibly wild and uninhibited sex. Right there, in his bed. "We need to talk of this Tifa. If we do not then our friendship, assuming we have one, will be ruined."
She laughed at his ways and shot him a glance, which was returned with equal stubbornness. "I think we're more than friends now, don't you think?"
"Perhaps," Vincent agreed with a slight smile, "It is still no excuse to pretend this never happened." Besides, if his instincts were on target, pretending would be impossible. "Please, let me fetch some refreshments and…" He rubbed his temple and grimaced, "Aspirin."
Tifa sighed and watched as he began to slowly make his way around the room, gathering the things he needed. Every so often, he would pause to massage the bridge of his nose or soothingly rub his abdomen. Looked like the gunslinger wasn't much better than her, and for some reason the thought gave her comfort.
Her eyes roamed his bedroom and came across a wooden frame on the floor. Curiosity got the better of her when she noticed the chocobo engravings in the frame edge. Stretching, she snatched it up off the floor and turned it over, fully expecting to see a cute picture inside. Maybe they had one taken last night.
"Sugar?"
"Just the one, please. Thank you. Hey, did we have any pictures taken last night?" Tifa asked as she held up the frame for him to see. Before he could do or say anything else, she turned it round and saw there was no photograph in it, only a piece of paper with pretty writing. She read it out loud.
"This is to certify that the authority of Gold Saucer have joined Miss Tofu Lockheart and Mister Vincent Valentone in holy matrimony on the date of…" Tifa's blood stilled in her veins as she looked at the date.
It was yesterday's date.