Author's note: Sorry for the delay, guys. Gaia online had consumed my mind the last few days I was still in Canada. (Speaking of Gaia, I wonder if I should write fanfics for that too. It will base around my webcomic, so it will be filled with humour and nonsense. Sound fun or do you all prefer my serious writing?)
I'm updating with a laptop right now. I'm already in the Philippines, so updates will be pretty slow, if not non-existent, until August 18th, which is when I return to Canada. I'm trying to write as much as I can before I sleep whenever I can. I'm sorry if this chapter seems scatterbrained because of that.
Hmm…maybe I could draw scenes for this. Would anyone wish to see me try to draw anything? Perhaps Vincent's outfits, at least.
Characters within the story belong to Square Enix unless otherwise noted.
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The next morning, Tifa woke up, bewildered with herself. She held her head then looked towards the other bed in the room. Empty, neat, and prim. No signs of recent slumber upon it. She looked down on the floor. Vincent's tattered cape and leather attire were folded tidily there as if he hadn't touched them the other night. Only his claw was missing.
Was I…dreaming? If I was then…where is he?
In truth, the bed was there for anyone of her friends incase they needed a place to stay. She only said it was Cloud's due to her feelings, but now…
Sitting up, she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes before she pulled the covers away. She heard Marlene and Denzel's voices outside. Going over to the window, she saw them playing with other children. Yuffie called out to them as she held Cait Sith in her arms. She threw his toy body towards Denzel then he threw him to Marlene. As more children joined in on the toss, the artificial feline could be heard letting our several yelps and gasps.
"Oooh-WHOA! Laddies and lassies! Please…! I want…off…this ride…now-OW!"
Tifa placed a hand over her mouth to suppress her urge to laugh. She continued to watch until she noticed someone standing by a small stairway. The long, jet black hair gave him away in an instant. It was Vincent, yet he was wearing clothing even she didn't provide for him. Curious, she scrambled to change her clothes then proceeded downstairs to go outside.
Vincent wore a black leather trench coat, a white dress shirt with three of its top buttons undone, black denim pants, a belt with a silver buckle, and normal black shoes. Cerberus hung on the belt in its holster. In his right hand, he fiddled with thin rimmed shades while he grazed a wall idly with the claws in his left. His eyes watched Cait Sith carefully just in case the children decided to become rougher on him.
Tifa walked over to him and started at his clothes. She was surprised, but found it cute on him, nevertheless. He looked at her in return then placed the shades on.
"It looked like you needed to rest. Since you were still sleeping," Vincent explained, "I took the kids out to eat. After that…Reeve and Yuffie noticed these clothes then thought they would look good on me. Before I could protest, I was shoved into the change room then they bought it."
He outstretched his arms to give her a better look.
"Quite honestly, I feel silly."
"Hey, I heard that!" Yuffie called out as she was juggling materia in front of a few children. "You like it. Don't lie! You'd look better without your gun and claw!"
Vincent rolled his eyes.
"I rather I not go outside without them."
"Whatever!"
Cait Sith was still going through his little horror in the background with the children. Up. Down. Up. Down. Left. Right. Left.
Tifa laughed softly then stopped as she remembered last night. She grabbed hold of Vincent's shoulders to pull him down to whisper level to make sure that no one heard.
"Vincent…in the laundry room…did we…?"
He looked as her for a second then took off the shades, slipping them into a coat pocket. He gently brushed her hands from his shoulders to stand straight. To answer her, he stroked her cheek the same way he did the night before then smirked.
"Were you that tired that you thought your mind was playing tricks on you?"
"…but…why…?"
Vincent didn't answer her. Instead, he walked towards the children to grab Cait Sith while he was in the air. The robotic cat's head bobbed from side to side until he held his head, giving a soft groan. She frowned upon this then turned to go back inside. Before she could move, he placed a hand upon her shoulder while holding Cait Sith in the other.
"Meet me in Aeris' chapel as soon as you can. We can talk there."
She looked at him curiously then nodded before he released her. She gave a soft smile then went back inside to have something to eat.
"Ah, now you're taking the risk, hm?" Cait Sith purred.
Vincent gave him a long, silent stare as if to say "whatever." Before the feline could speak more, he threw him to Marlene to let the children continue their little game, commencing the stream of faint whimpers and gasps from the robotic cat. He watched the children play a moment longer then began to walk down the streets of Edge.
Doubt flowed through his mind. What was he doing? Was he actually listening to Reeve! Listening to a man who hides behind a cat…a toy.
Augh…I won't back out now until I am sure of this…
He saw children by the lifestream in the chapel where the flowers once lay. The 'water' sparkled and glistened to the light beating down from above. He sat down upon a center pew and watched. They seemed to be siblings. Two older children were aiding their small child into the shining liquid. Vincent assumed that the child was not allowed outside due to illness, which prevented him from being cured until now. The child was coughing and stained bandages were folded to the side upon the broken wood of the floor. Once the others poured water over his body, signs of recovery were almost instantaneous. All siblings cheered and splashed.
If only it were so simple…for my problems, Vincent thought to himself, his lips curving just faintly into an almost absent frown.
The children splashed a moment longer then got out of the water, running out of the chapel with giggles, the one who was cured not too far behind. Once they had left, he rose to his feet then walked over to the lifestream. He looked down at the sparkled water; it was still rippling from the children's actions. Kneeling down, he dipped his exposed hand into the liquid then exhaled vacantly to himself.
"Care to share your thoughts with me?"
Vincent froze in surprise then slowly rose to his feet.
"Heh…I didn't expect you to come so soon, Tifa."
He turned to look at her then sat down on a front pew, tapping a single claw next to him as if gesturing her to sit down. She obeyed, looking up at him as if waiting for him to explain himself. He quirked his brows to this then placed his right hand on top of her head.
"You made the first move," he answered coyly. "Explain to me how you feel."
"I'm not sure if I can…" Tifa's frowned, taking his hand away, placing it on her lap. "It just happened."
"What about Cloud? Don't you care for him?"
"Of course I do!" Tifa exclaimed, making Vincent's expression narrow. She sighed, continuing softly, "…but…that doesn't mean that I'm chained to him alone. We've known each other since childhood, but does he really care for me the way I want him to? Cloud is Cloud and I adore him, but he's always so busy, so I give him his space so he can-"
"Are you saying that I'm just a replacement?" Vincent interrupted her motor-mouthed behavior, his expression twisting coldly.
"What? No!" she shook here head quickly. "Something…something about you just snapped in my mind. You're always so distant, yet you're so caring at the same time."
Vincent looked away slowly. He wasn't sure whether to believe her or not. This reminds me so much of Lucrecia…He silently sat there in a stubborn manner. He didn't know what to make of this.
Tifa was distressed to see the ex-Turk this way. Without thinking of the risks, she grabbed him in a hasty hug. He was stiff at first then slowly complied, hugging in return.
"Please don't think harshly of what I say…" she whispered.
Vincent scowled to himself stubbornly, petting her back gently with his exposed hand. He thought carefully before he spoke. It was as if his mind and heart were jabbing at each other within him. Tifa…don't make me regret this.
"This weekend…would you like to go out?"
Tifa pulled away slightly to look at him in surprise.
"Get someone to work in the bar while you're gone," he continued. "Tell them that you simply need a break to take some time off for yourself. Don't speak of your true intentions. I don't want this to become a big deal. Prove to me that I truly have a place in your heart. Prove to me that I am not just something to fill Cloud's gap."
Tifa looked downward then leaned in to kiss his cheek softly.
"Vincent, where will we go?"
"Well, where do you want to go?"
"…Costa de Sol. I haven't been there in so long."
Just by the entrance, Cloud was about to enter. He stopped to see the two. Thinking it was nothing at first, he was about to go over to talk with them until he noticed how close they were together. He quirked his brows; the two were too focused on each other to notice him.
"Very well. Costa de Sol it is then. Just you and me."
Hearing these words from Vincent's lips struck through the spiky blond's head as if they were bullets. Before he could be spotted, he drew himself outside quickly, giving himself no time to think otherwise of what was just said.
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Disregarding the "canon" relationship between Cloud and Tifa is so hard. Oh…so…hard…Tifa would so not say that about Cloud. Would she? I have no idea since she's so fixated with him most of the time. It's like an obsessed drugging her mind.
Hmm…a place outside of Edge. This will certainly be a free-for-all. No Advent Children reference. Just my mind alone since who knows how Costa de Sol is after FF7.
