Chapter II
Disclaimer- Nope! Again: none of the characters, except Harper, are mine.
Note- Thanks for the reviews people! Do it again!
The day went by smoothly. Most of the others spent it resting; Barret began telling me about his trip to Cosmo Canyon. Red played with Marlene, who had woken up about 10:30 that morning. Somehow Vincent slipped into his room without my noticing. Most of my day was spent taking stock of the items Tifa and the boys had brought home.
Cid called once to fuss at Barret for having gone to Cosmo Canyon and not taking the time to go just a little bit north to see him in Rocket Town. (How Cid got wind of his trip, I'm not sure.) Their argument became very loud and both used insane insults on the other. It ended with the conclusion that Cid would have to fly here to see every one and meet me.
Finally, everything calmed down almost to a stop. The items were identified and sorted, and every one was in a comfortable mood. Except Vincent—no one knew how he was. He hadn't come out of his room all day.
That night I went to bed before anyone else, but for some reason I couldn't sleep well. After I was sure everyone was asleep, I pulled my jeans on and laced my belt through the belt loops. I didn't bother to put on an over shirt since everyone was asleep.
I quietly padded down the hall and into the kitchen. The refrigerator door opened almost soundlessly. I grabbed a cup and the pitcher of filtered water and poured a glass. I went stand in front of the window hanging over the kitchen sink to drink.
After standing there a while, thinking about what the girls had told me about the old pilot, Cid, I heard soft footsteps coming down the hall. I didn't move, thinking it was only Yuffie sleep walking, but as the footsteps hit the tile floor I knew they didn't belong to Yuffie: they were much too quiet. I spun around when I heard the fridge door open, and there stood my mystery man: Vincent Valentine. He was barefoot, wearing his usual black pants, but no shirt, standing in the pail light from the fridge. Apparently he hadn't noticed me. "Vincent?"
He swiveled to semi-face me as if I'd surprised him, but I knew better than to think that. "Oh, Harper. I'm sorry." He said and shut the door as he turned to leave.
I wouldn't let him seclude himself again. "Hey! Wait, where are you going?" I set my glass down and took a small step towards him.
He hesitated a moment and turned around, "I thought you didn't like people seeing you in you current attire." He swept a quick glance over me.
"Oh, that? It's Tifa's rule that I wear a shirt over tanks. I don't know why, it's not like I don't have clothes on. Maybe she forgot what she used to wear."
He cocked his head to show that he agreed. Vincent went back to the fridge and went through the proceedings to drink a glass of water also.
I turned back to the window, thinking he was going to leave again, but, to my surprise, he joined me. "Have you ever been outside Midgar?" Vincent asked.
I swallowed the last mouthful of water in my glass, "No, but from what Cloud and Tifa have told me, it's a beautiful place…dangerous as it can be."
"Yes, dangerous and beautiful often go together," he mused.
"Yeah. So, why're you awake?"
"I don't sleep much. What about you?"
"Mmm, I couldn't sleep. I motioned for him to follow me as I headed toward the living room couch. I slouched against an arm and stretched my legs out. Moment later Vincent joined me, sitting at an awkward angle in the couch and arms corner.
"Can I ask you a question?"
"Sure." I pulled a blanket off the arm behind me and shielded myself from the cold room. "If I can ask you one later."
He nodded. "What do you do here? I mean, I know you watch Marlene for Barret and Tifa, but there has to be something else: you never leave."
I laughed, "I thought you were going to ask something…I don't know. But yeah I pretty much live here." I paused to look at my toes which poked out from the edge of the blanket. "I master stuff, like…materia and test out weapons to make sure they're well made or have no weird spells on 'em, and I keep shop while Tifa's away."
"Hmm, you test weapons…Do you fight? I've never seen you leave on a mission with anyone other than to go grocery shopping."
"Lemme tell you, THAT is a mission. Yes, I fight. When I was a teenager, the Shinra sent me to Wutai, and I studied in SOLDIER for a few years. Shinra's always had some sort of interest in me, although I don't know why."
"What do you fight with?" He shrugged off the mention of the despised incorporation.
"A sword. Not one like Cloud's, well, maybe like his Murasame. And I'm a good gunman."
He smiled weakly, "Always nice to meet a fellow gunner. Why haven't you been on any missions?"
"Well, I've never been invited. But now you've asked me four questions. Is it my turn?"
"I suppose it wouldn't hurt. Ask away."
Maybe I've overstepped my bounds, he's not gonna be that open with me. He barely knows me. I looked away from him, then at my feet. "Why… why are you so quiet all the time? And then when you guys are in battle, you shout out orders…make sure the battle is won?" I asked in my rapid-fire way.
He looked at me.
I knew it. "Cloud told me that's what it's like anyway," I explained. I let my head roll to rest on the arm of the couch, but in a moment I was roused from whatever I was thinking.
"I'm atoning," Vincent said plainly.
I sighed, "Everyone knows that. What else is there?" There has to be something more than that. Just tell me.
He blinked and ran his real hand through his hair.
Hmm, his hair's down…wow, it's really long."
"I'm atoning…the battles: we have to win them so I can live to atone more. It's…Lucrecia…I," He stopped, seemingly unable to go on.
"Vincent?"
What ever he was feeling he pushed aside and began to tell me the tale of his great sin, as he called it.
In the middle of his story, I laid down to get comfortable.
Vincent talked on for a while, but eventually I stopped hearing him as darkness introduced sleep… I woke as the clock chimed five. Oh, I stretched my arms, thinking I was in my bed. When my hand hit hard flesh I knew I wasn't in bed and bolted upright. I remembered where I was. "Vincent!" I said in a hushed voice.
His head rested uncomfortably in his metal hand. His eyelids fluttered and opened. "Mmm?" He yawned and licked his lips to wet them. Then his eyes fell on me; he almost screamed, but regained control yet again. "My leg's asleep."
"Sorry, it must've been my pillow," I ran a hand through my hair, leaving it slightly messy. He tried to de-tangle his hair but only ended up tangling it more. "Here, let me," I offered. He stopped and pulled his hand out. I scooted to sit almost flush against his hip and began fussing with his confusing black locks.
His gentle gaze studied my face and came to rest on my eyes, "You're an interesting person. You're not like Tifa or Yuffie."
"You think so?" I half questioned as I turned my head to look at him.
…Our faces hovered mere inches away from the others.
"I know so," he stated simply. His expression changed suddenly, happiness fading to a mild confusion. "I'm feeling something new…No; I'm feeling something I haven't felt for a very long time."
I made a small noise to urge him onward. This was quite possibly the only time he was ever going to be as open as he was.
He was looking past me, absorbed in his thoughts and probably his memories.
Thinking I'd get no answer, I began to draw away.
His gaze snapped back to mine, stopping me only centimeters from where I had been. His expression softened a bit. He blinked again once or twice calmly.
"Vi-"
"May I?"
"..n…huh?" May I? What kind of question is that?
He looked unsure of himself now, but he finished, "May I…may I kiss you?"
Ooh, that kind. Why'd you wanna do that? "…" I searched his maroon eyes which were locked on my odd blue ones. You're serious huh? Tifa's gonna kill us both if ever she finds out. "Yeah, sure"
He gave another weak smile, also revealing some measure of relief, and closed the distance between us.
In the first few moments of this odd, and rather unexpected, kiss, I almost thought it would be like a rough welcoming kiss I'd seen Barret give Marlene, but then I realized that this kiss was much softer, able to be compared to a new mother kissing a child.
How can I be analyzing this? I asked myself. My attention snapped back to Vincent.
Slowly the kiss slid to a stop and we drew away from each other. I looked up at Vincent who gave me a warm, wide smile with one corner of his mouth. A, in my opinion, cheesy smile stole my expression as I laughed for no reason. Vincent gave me the most open smile as the other side of his mouth joined in the smile.
I stopped my laughter and looked to the clock, remembering the time. "Cloud and Yuffie'll be up soon."
Vincent stood slowly and helped me stand too. His smile fell, though happiness still danced in his eyes and the smile darted in and out between his words, "No offense, but I'd rather that the others didn't know about that."
"Yeah, and I'd like it if Tifa and Yuffie didn't kill or shun me for the rest of my life."
"Which they would…" his eyes swept to Cloud's door.
A soft "beepbeepbeepbeep" from Cloud's alarm-clock could be heard. "Aw man!"
"Ack! TV, TV, TV, TV!" I turned and frantically dug through the cushions on the couch for the remote control while wracking my brain for some excuse to be up right now.
Vincent caught on and crossed the room to sit in a window seat. He braced one foot against the wall in front of him and leaned back against the one behind him. "Cloud will be elated that I'm dressed like he is in the morning."
At the last moment I discovered the control, re-placed the cushions, flopped on the couch and turned on the TV.
Cloud dragged his feet on the floor as he walked. "Man Vince. We're home: you can sleep. Harper? What are you doing up?"
"I'm not used to sleeping in. It's gonna take me a while to sleep past 5:30 even. Why are YOU awake? You said yourself that you can sleep now that you're back," I pointed out.
"Cid's coming, 'member? He does things early."
A sudden gust of wind whistled through the few trees by the shop/house, but above that I could hear a voice yelling something like " 'Not so close' I told 'ya! You're gonna wake the whole -------- city up!"
"Ah," Cloud yawned. "That would be him now," He said as he headed toward the door.
Note- Hey hope you like this chapter. I know I said it before but I'm going to say it again. Read and Review please! It would make me very happy! The zombies are almost vanquished!