-1Heya All!
Bleuwyn, this chapter is all for you babe. Thanks to everyone for all the replies and reviews, I really appreciate it.
Hugs, S xxx
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Slap. Slap. Slap.
The noise of a nightstick hitting a gloved palm was slowly beginning to grate on the nerves of both Vincent and Tifa. It was sheer willpower alone that stopped them from turning round and beating the ever holy hell out of the guard.
"Pick it up, you two." The guard's rough voice sounded in their ears. God, he loved this. Two little punks thinking they could get away with anything they wanted. Not on his shift. He got more and more irritated as he watched them sway from side-to-side as he escorted them to the park warden's office.
Just look at them, he thought. Holding hands like two love-struck puppies. Two drunk, love-struck puppies. It made him sick to his stomach.
"Yeah, yeah." Tifa muttered as she shared a look of annoyance with Vincent. She saw the twinkle in his eyes and giggled drunkenly, then hiccupped.
Slap. Slap. Slap.
"Big G is gonna have a field day with you two." The guard just couldn't help himself.
"Indeed?" Vincent tightened his grip on Tifa's hand, his fingers laced with hers and he tugged her closer. He glanced at the brunette out the corner of his eye. When he felt her squeeze his hand back, he knew she was thinking the same thing.
Slowly and step-by-step, they did as they were told, and began to pick up the pace.
"On three," Tifa hissed and struggled to withhold her giggles. "One…"
"Two…" Vincent tensed in preparation.
"Run for it!"
The guard blinked when his charges suddenly bolted. "H-Hey!" He yelled as he stumbled into a run, his shoes comically slipped and slid on the floor. "Come back here, you little punks! You're gonna pay for this when I get my hands on you!"
Tifa's boots squeaked as she came a halt long enough to look over her shoulder at the guard. She stuck her tongue out, gave him a cute wink, then took off once again, laughing wildly as she and Vincent legged it through the crowd.
People yelled and shouted as they were pushed aside and shoved out the way of the racing pair. Some even tried to give chase after they were knocked down. Unfortunately, the sight of an intoxicated couple staggering and running like the devil proved more amusing than seeking revenge.
"The travel shoot," Vincent breathlessly managed.
"Back to the hotel?" Tifa quizzed as she tried to stop more champagne from spilling out over the bottle rim. His eyes darted her way and she gulped as the ruby red irises darkened with sinful promises. "Hotel," she confirmed with a grin.
The guard, still hollering, blazed after them as fast as he could, but wasn't fast enough to prevent their great escape through a travel shoot. Damn. He hated those things. He gathered in a deep breath and dove through the one leading to the hotel. "Shiiiii….!"
He really hated these things.
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Vincent was the first out at the other end. He quickly got up and held out his hand for Tifa to take, who latched onto it like a lifeline. "We must hurry."
She was immediately on her feet, her free hand clutched the half empty champagne bottle to her chest. Her laughter was now nothing more than wheezy puffs of air that made her sides hurt. "That was fun. Can we do it again?"
The gunslinger chuckled. "Perhaps sooner than you think." He went to pull her along with him, but when she didn't move, he looked at her in confusion. A dark eyebrow rose when Tifa shook the champagne, pure wickedness shone out of her every pore. Vincent watched as she carefully poured the remaining liquid onto the ground and right in front of the shoot exit.
The minx.
"Let's go." A split second after resumed running away, a loud thud was heard from behind them. The next thing heard was more of Tifa's laughter as she saw the guard sitting in a heap on the floor, his uniform darkening where the champagne was soaking his pants.
"You little…!" The guard growled out as he shook his fist at her. He scrambled to his feet amid muttered curses, but his shoes were lacking grips, and he went straight back onto his ass. The more he failed at getting up, the more frustrated he got, and thus making an amusing sight for more than Vincent and Tifa.
"I don't think he's ready for big boy pants." She said loud enough for everyone to hear.
The guard's face was almost purple with rage, and a string of explicit curses exploded from his mouth.
Vincent looked down on the man in disgust. "Your vulgarity only serves to anger." How dare that man speak to Tifa like that? "You would do well to mind your manners." He flipped his cloak to one side and revealed his gun.
The guard dangerously narrowed his eyes in contempt. He made a show of grabbing his radio, an vengeful smirk on his angry red face. "Ted to main control. I have two drunk and disorderly kids resisting arrest. One is a man wearing a long cloak, red, with black and gold boots. Approximately six feet. The other is a woman…"
Vincent and Tifa anxiously glanced at each other as the man radioed in for back up. "Think we should go?"
"Quite." The gunslinger and brunette yet again legged it towards the hotel, leaving a very smug man sat in a puddle of champagne.
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At the speed they were going, it didn't take long for them to reach the Ghost Hotel, and they stumbled through the double doors in breathless excite. Tifa leaned against the heavy black wood and looked at Vincent, who was silently watching her.
"Okay, we need disguises," she informed so very seriously. "Did you bring any other clothes?" She hadn't. She figured since there were only gonna be at the Gold Saucer over night, she'd travel light and left her stuff on the Highwind.
He shook his head. "I did not."
Tifa frowned. This wasn't good. They couldn't go out dressed as they were. They were wanted criminals now. She gnawed on her lower lip in thought. "I'm out of ideas…Vincent, can you hear a siren?"
He pressed his ear to the wooden door. "I am afraid so. We must hide. This way." There was a room to the left of the check-in desk. She was away from the door, hand in his, and sprinting for the room. The door was shut and locked firmly after entry.
"What are we gonna about our clothes?"
Good question. What could they…
Vincent's thoughts were cut off as he spied two dummies. "I have an idea."
"Quick!" Tifa yanked him over to the mannequins as soon as she caught onto his idea. "We need to hurry. Before we're arrested and have to get bailed out by the others." God, they'd never live it down if that happened.
The dummies were stripped of the outfits, then came their own clothes. Vincent yanked off his boots, making her giggle when he attempted to balance on one foot. He hopped on the spot, which was no easy feet considering the amount of alcohol already consumed. He managed to keep his cool even as he fell to the floor in an ungraceful heap.
He was in such a hurry to change his clothes, that he didn't realise he was putting on the wedding dress until Tifa doubled over with laughter. "You look funny!" He glared when she used the common sense not drowned by vodka. She sat down, removed her boots, then unsnapped the braces and slid off her skirt.
The dress was yanked off and thrown over her head, the sight of her struggling under layers of white lace would be forever engraved in his memory. However, when a heavenly set of toned legs were left open for his viewing pleasure, he forgot all about the layers of white lace and groaned.
He still had her panties in his pocket, so she was completely naked from the waist down. "Please put these back on." Before he gave them back, he made her watch as he savoured the feel of the material. "I will not allow you to be outside of my bed without them."
The possessive tone he used had Tifa ceasing to breathe. She grew hot between her legs and something inside her clenched tightly. Whatever she was about to do or say was rudely interrupted by voices getting closer to the room. Frantically, they both dove into the stolen outfits, and dressed the dummies.
There. Perfect.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
"Security! Come out with your hands up." The anticipated arrival of the Gold Saucer Police was announced by a loud, gruff, and very heavy voice that made the brunette gasp. "Open the door, or we'll break it open."
A soft and feminine moan coming from Tifa had Vincent staring at her. What was she doing?
"Oooh Vincent! That tickles!" She gave a high-pitched giggle, then followed it up with a delighted squeal. "Well? Play along." She hissed when the gunslinger did nothing but stare at her. "Oh yesss….!"
Her acting was very poor. He'd never have worry about any feigned responses.
"You got five seconds to open this door, or me and the boys are coming in. One, two…"
"Maybe we should leave whoever is in there, in there." A different voice spoke. "It ain't fun being interrupted when your with the missus."
"You heard what Ted said," voice number one argued. "They were armed and dangerous. Missus or no, we have to take them in." It was a shame to ruin some guy's down time. It was a cruel job, but somebody had to do it.
Tifa slapped a hand across her forehead. Vincent just had to be intimidating, didn't he? Obviously the moaning and groaning wasn't working, it looked like it was time for Plan B. Sadly Plan B didn't quite exist, and when Plan B didn't exist, there was only one thing to do.
Lie through the teeth.
"Here goes nothing. C'mon." Tifa plastered a beaming smile on her face as she latched a hand around Vincent's arm. "We're newlyweds. Just got married half hour ago. We're on our way to the reception. Look happy, or imagine your life has just ended. Whichever works for you."
He nodded, a bemused expression on his face. A few paces took them to the door, which was easily unlocked and opened.
Three security guards stood outside and all were armed. One of the men, a short man with black hair, instantly dropped his gaze to Tifa's chest and he grinned stupidly. That wedding dress looked real good. The corset had her breasts almost spilling over the V-shaped neckline and the rest of it just clung to her every curve.
Vincent's blood red gaze narrowed at the man. "Excuse me," his voice was lethally calm and ice cold. "This is my wife. Do not look at her like she is yours."
Tifa couldn't stop the lustful shiver running through her body. God help her if she wasn't finding the possessive side of him attractive. All her life, she saw possessive men as overbearing Neanderthals. She was rapidly changing her tune. I wonder if Vincent is gonna pull my hair and drag me back to his cave.
Another guard, this one was the tallest of the three and sported a small patch of fuzzy brown hair. "Hey, jackass," he nudged the black haired man fiercely, "Quit it." Even he wasn't dumb enough to stare at another man's woman.
The drooling guard flushed pink and shuffled on his feet. "Sorry sir, ma'am. Ya just look real pretty, all dolled up like that."
He scowled and the man swallowed. If looks could kill. "The point is my wife is dressed up for me, not you."
Okay, the possessiveness was getting a little out of hand. Tifa clasped Vincent's arm with the hope of pacifying him and preventing him from popping a bullet in the guard's head. With public indecency and drunken behaviour over them, the last thing they needed was a murder charge.
"Officer," she said in her most innocent, most placating voice. "Is there any reason you're interrogating us?" She gave him the big wide eyes and fluttered her lashes. It got em every time.
"Yes ma'am," was the polite reply, "We received a head's up about a couple of hooligans that escaped arrest."
Hooligans? "Is that so?" Vincent answered after a finger sharply poked him in the back. "What are the descriptions? Perhaps we have seen them."
The dark haired guard looked at them suspiciously. "One was a man about your height. He was wearing a red cloak and black pants. The other was a female."
Tifa and Vincent frowned in confusion, then glanced at each other. "Well," the brunette drew the word out, "The only people we've seen wearing those items are the ones in that room."
"That is if you can call them people." The gunslinger added.
The suspicious guard narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean?"
"See for yourselves." Tifa and Vincent stepped away from the door to allow the officers into the room. They watched and waited as all three men entered, each of them staring at the dummies in bewilderment. "We were in that room for a long time and didn't see any movement. Maybe the other guard has been hallucinating?"
The brown haired man scratched his head thoughtfully. "Ted did have that phase with the smoking, but that was back in the 60's."
Vincent was cursing Tifa. Any second now, the officers were going to see she'd slipped up. They needed to make another getaway, and fast. "Excuse us. My wife and I have a reception too go to."
On that note, Tifa found herself being rapidly guided away from the room and towards the hotel entrance. Every step was faster than the last. "What's going on? I thought we were going to…"
"We have a few moments before they realise you knew there was a warrant out for our arrest. We must make haste." Vincent had the door open and her outside before she could blink. He paused for thought. "Where to?"
They would need somewhere where there would be a lot of people, where it would be dark, and where no-one would pay any attention to them. There was one perfect place. "The theatre."
Tifa grinned. A darkened theatre, a double loveseat, Vincent Valentine? That sounded just about perfect.
If only they knew that's where Cloud and Aeris had gone on their date.