Author's note: I'm back from my reunion. Anyone miss me? In truth, I'm actually rather sad to be home, but I suppose that's natural. It's hard to live in Canada while most of my family is in the Philippines. I'll be alright, though.

Right when I came home, I got myself Dirge of Cerberus the next day. I finished it in one day. Don't worry. I won't give anything away. I would never do that. It's just nice to get a better understanding of Vincent's back-story.

Characters within the story belong to Square Enix unless otherwise noted.

(This chapter will be about twice the size of the previous one. Don't fall asleep on me. You might miss something good if you do.)

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"It's been awhile since I've been here. Longer than you, Tifa…"

"I can imagine…"

Entering one of Costa de Sol's inns, Vincent looked about by the entranceway; both his and Tifa's suitcases slung over one shoulder. He insisted on carrying both despite her disputes against it. Both cases were of the same, medium size and both black, but Tifa's had a blue ribbon tied around the handle while Vincent's possessed one that was red.

"It's just for the weekend, Tifa. I could have handled this on my own. You didn't have to buy me this bag and clothes for this trip…and…you know…"

Tifa slipped her hand beneath his crimson cape then pinched his wallet between her fingers to pay for a room. She turned for the counter, giving a soft chuckle.

"Oh, I didn't buy that much. We may even need to buy more clothes for you while we're here. Who knows if you had extra clothes or underwear on you," she said calmly as she took out some gil, disregarding the potential embarrassment he possibly felt from her words. "Until recently, all I've ever seen you wear is that uniform you have on right now."

Vincent turned his head to one side and said nothing in response. He leaned against a wall then just waited for her to finish, setting the baggage next to him.

"Miss, I'm afraid that there is only one vacancy at the moment," a boy at the counter said, fiddling with a keycard for the room. He looked to be no older than twelve years old.

"That'll do. We'll be sharing the room anyway."

"Well, okay," he mumbled as he looked at the two, pushing orange strands of hair away from his face. There was doubt in his eyes, in disbelief that the two were even going about together just by looking at their opposing appearances. "There's…only one bed, though."

Tifa turned her head to look at Vincent for a reaction. He looked at her with a simple shrug of his shoulders, his arms folded against his chest and one leg bent upward so that his right foot's base pressed against the wall.

"It's your choice," he said rashly.

She smirked coyly then placed the required gil on the desk. The boy exhaled a soft sigh as he took her payment then gave her two keycards encased in a thin card envelope. The number of their room was labeled upon the envelope itself.

"The room's on the third floor. I hope you two enjoy your stay in Costa de Sol."

"Thank you," Tifa nodded then looked to the gunslinger residing against the wall. "Well, shall we?"

Vincent stood straight then picked up their luggage. He let out a soft grunt then nodded. As the two left upstairs, the boy at the counter watched as the red tatters of his cape trailed up the steps.

"He looks like a corpse. Surprised to see a person like him in a sunny place like this…especially with a woman like that."

"Jolice!" a woman hissed as she came out of the room behind the counter. At an instant, she smacked the back of his head with a spoon. "That is not nice thing to say about a customer!"

"Ow! Sorry, mom…"

Vincent watched as Tifa went up the stairs. She gingerly played with his wallet in her hands. She wore a delicate pastel blue twist top shirt, a white embroidered skirt cut just below her knees, and a pair of blue beach sandals. She looked like she was ready for this weekend while he looked the same as he usually did. His eyes trailed down softly to the floor to this realization. He probably would have worn his uniform through-out the entire weekend if she hadn't bought him clothes.

The floor where their room was located in was silent; their footsteps against the wooden floor were all that could be heard.

"Everyone must be at the beach or shopping," Tifa assumed. "We'll be out as soon as we put our belongings away too."

Tifa checked the number on the keycard envelope then stopped by a door. She opened the envelope then handed Vincent one keycard while she used the other to open the door. She gasped at the sight of the room. In general, it was large enough to accommodate them both quite nicely, but the bed was…

"A twin size bed?" Vincent said, interrupting her thoughts. His eyes wandered about as he entered with her, closing the door behind them. "The couch appears to unfold into a second bed. I'll sleep on that if this is a problem."

As he placed their luggage and Cerberus upon the bed, she curled her arms around his waist as he opened his suitcase.

"No…it's okay," Tifa replied as her grip tightened. "The bed isn't that small. It couldn't hurt to feel you by my side."

"Very well. If you change your mind, don't hesitate to tell me," Vincent said then paused to look downward to examine the clothes she provided for him.

"I can't wait to go swimming," she said as she released him to open her case.

"You didn't buy my swim trunks."

"Oh, I know."

He quirked his eyebrows then stared at Tifa questionably. She grinned then shook a hand in front of her face.

"It's not what you think. It's just that I didn't want the others to get suspicious of me. We'll go out and get you a pair here. Just get changed."

Vincent obeyed her, taking some clothes in his hands then strode his way into the bathroom. Due to all the belts and layers of clothing he wore and the restricting space of the bathroom, it took him several minutes to change. When he was shirtless, he looked towards the mirror. His skin was milk-white as if he never let the sun touch his flesh. He slung a dark blue shirt on then began to button its black buttons one by one, starting from the bottom then trailing his hands upward. Removing his leather belted pants with his underwear; he slipped on a new pair as well as a pair of cargo pants. He backed up then stared again at the mirror. He didn't mind the shirt, yet the pants felt foreign to him. The design gave off a midnight camouflage style, using navy, steel, and royal shades of blue.

Once he was finished, he folded his uniform then left the bathroom. Tifa stared at him then lifted a hand to point at his face after he placed his clothes away.

"Not so fast. You're not done."

"Hrm?"

She held out a brush in one hand then pointed at his golden gauntlet and his red bandanna. She pushed the brush gently into his hands then proceeded to remove the wrappings from his head.

"Silly," she chirped as she placed the red wrappings on one nightstand. After, she places her hands on his shoulders then forced him down to sit on the bed, taking the brush from his hands to comb his hair. "You can't swim with that hunk of metal on your arm. Take it off and just leave it here. If you're concerned, we can take some materia with us to the beach."

Vincent winced each time Tifa caught a knot in his hair, which was ridiculously frequent. He grits his teeth in slight pain and annoyance as he removed the buckles of his golden arm.

"No…that will be unnecessary."

Tifa started to braid Vincent's hair once she was done combing, leaving the brush with his head wraps. Once she had finished, she twisted a red hair tie at the base of the braid.

"There. That's better. Your hair was such a mess."

"Instead of my hair feeling unkempt, I now feel…stupid."

Tifa scowled playfully then closed their suitcases to put onto the floor. Once she had left the bed, Vincent reclined back as if to sleep.

"Why don't you go swimming on your own while I stay here?" he teased as he closed his eyes and slid his hands beneath the back of his neck.

"Vincent, you're not getting off that easy. You're the one who asked me out in the first place," she replied, suddenly getting on top of him, practically straddling his waist. "Come on. Let's get you a pair of swim trunks now."

Vincent stared up at her then down at where she was sitting, a faint hue giving colour to his porcelain pale cheeks.

"You're certainly a spunky one…"

Tifa bent forward then slipped a black visor cap on Vincent to keep his long bangs from covering his face. After, she kissed his cheek, slipped off him seductively, then winked.

"I'm just giving this a chance."

She threw his wallet onto his chest then turned for the door. She grabbed for her beach bag she had kept in her case then left the room. He was surprised, but tried to hide it as he placed his wallet into his pocket. Getting off the bed, he slipped on a pair of sandals then followed her out the room, making sure his keycard was in his wallet before leaving.

Everything about Costa de Sol looked different to Vincent. The inn itself didn't exist when he was still a Turk. Many of the stores were probably added recently within the past few years as well. His lips pursed into a pout to realize this, letting Tifa lead the way.

Once the two were outside of the inn, Tifa looked around for a shop for swimwear. It took her a moment before she started walking down one direction. He followed, almost relieved that no one was staring at him strangely compared to before. This didn't stop the whispers his demonic hearing heard from people who recognized the two, nevertheless.

"Isn't that Vincent Valentine and Tifa Lockhart?"

"Yeah, I think you're right."

"Wow. I guess even heroes need a break, but what the hell's he wearing? I didn't know it was him until I saw his eyes."

"Don't know. It looks like he's trying to look younger."

Vincent sneered in annoyance, each whisper fueling rage in his mind. Before his anger could burst, Tifa had tugged him into a swim shop then shoved him in front of her.

"Go ahead and choose or else I'll choose speedo briefs for you."

"I'm sure you'd enjoy that…"

Vincent felt like a lost child looking for office supplies for a parent in a grocery store. Everything looked different to him. The designs in the male section puzzled him. He was used to seeing only swim trunks or scuba gear and nothing more. It took him awhile before he went for a pair of black board shorts with red lining its sides. He turned to look at Tifa then placed its garter over his waist to show that its length was just above his knees.

"Oh, sir!" a girl with a brunette ponytail working in the shop exclaimed behind him. "Those pants are too baggy for your thin stature. Here! I know one that would SO look better on you!"

Before he could say a word, the girl snatched the shorts from his hands then searched through the racks. While the girl was searching, Tifa giggled, showing Vincent a pair of trunks with playing card symbols adorning the fabric.

"I am not wearing something that makes me look like a game of poker."

"I know. I was just kidding," Tifa said as she hanged it back in place.

"Ah-ha! I got it!"

The girl presented him another pair of swim trunks with the same colour scheme of black and red, yet he quirked his brows to see that it appeared to be something skin tight fitting.

"It's called a speedo jammer," she started, rechecking the size before placing it on the counter. "You look like a guy who works out a lot and you're tall and thin too. It'll look good on you. I promise!"

Vincent was ready to decline and leave the store, but Tifa bought it with her own gil before he could stop her.

"It's perfect. Thank you."

"Lockhart, you little…"

"Stop being modest, Valentine. Have a little fun."

"You two have fun now," the salesgirl waved then threw them two sets of wristbands, a logo of the shop stitched on each. "On the house for amusing me. Stay good lookin' now, babe!"

Vincent's eye twitched as he was by a changing booth, his raspy voice nearly erupting from his lips once he heard the teen's words.

"Did she just call me-"

Tifa slapped a hand over his mouth then smiled sweetly. Vincent looked down at her then rolled his eyes before disappearing into the change room. He was faster this time upon switching his clothes, but he was reluctant to leave the booth. Curiously, she poked her head past the drapes then grinned widely. He looked into her eyes, knowing where she was looking. Grumbling, he turned away while inside the room.

"I'm not leaving until you finish changing. I don't want others to stare at me if I were to wait out there while you change."

Delight filled Tifa's head as she went inside with him. She folded his clothes then placed it into her beach bag. To tease, she took out a towel she brought for him then placed it over his head before she began to remove her clothes. She took her time on purpose, wondering if he'd try to peek on her. His body doesn't even twitch in any possible attempts to look; his body was faced towards a corner the entire time. Her lips curved into a smile towards his show of respect, finally putting on her swimsuit.

"Okay," she said as she took her own towel as well as a large, thin beach towel out of the bag before putting her clothes away. "I'm done. Let's go."

Vincent turned around then took the towel from his head. He couldn't help but look at her body then turned to leave the change room.

"You always look so…how should I say this…sexy," he uttered softly before pushing the drapes open and waited for her to leave first to lead the way. He still wasn't used to flirting. Especially with Tifa.

As she left, she patted his cheek, "You're not so bad yourself. Mmm…"

He blinked a few times then followed.

As the two walked down to the beach, Vincent couldn't help but watch Tifa, hoping he didn't look like a dog following his mistress. Her suddenly open behavior towards him baffled him. Was she like this with the others? This perplexed feeling inside him slowly drew in a flood of questions into his mind.

Maybe she does have feelings for me. I…still need to make sure.

Walking down a small flight of steps, Tifa searched for an opening then placed the beach towel upon the sand. She took off her sandals then set them aside. Vincent did the same, but also placed his towel over his lap.

"You'll get used to it," Tifa assured him, but contradicted her own words of comfort by placing her hand over his crotch. "Never expected you to have a package like this. Wow."

Vincent stared down at her hand in silent shock, though made sure that it couldn't be read on his face. Even so, she could feel his surprise despite his resistance, drawing her hand away. Before saying another word, she rose to her feet then made her way to the water to swim. He watched her for a second then looked down at his pale skin, wondering if he was still capable of tanning.

"Vincent! What are you waiting for?"

Augh, he thought to himself as he stubbornly removed the braid Tifa made with his hair, putting the hair tie around one wrist. He slipped the visor off soon after then rubbed his face. I should have taken those shorts I saw.

Defeated, he rose to his feet then ran along the sand. Feeling the waves hit his toes, he dove into the water then swam over to Tifa. The water was cold against his skin, but the sun beating down from above remedied the feeling soon enough.

Tifa gave Vincent's face a single splash to try to stir up his playful side. He gave a bewildered look and sputtered until she splashed a few times more. He didn't like this. Not one bit. After several splashes later, he splashed in return reflexively to defend himself. This made her grin childishly, splashing harder. After several rounds, the two acted like children in the water. To Tifa, this was a mere game. To Vincent, this was like a battle he had no intentions of losing. He no longer cared about whether people were looking at him or not. All his focus was on Tifa and that was exactly what she wanted.

During their stay in the beach, Vincent drew up the courage to rent a surfboard. Tifa watched by their belongings as he curved through the waves. It was her turn to be surprised. Once he was comfortable, everything came smooth and naturally. He curled the toes of one foot along the nose of the board then curled the fingers of his right hand along its tail. After, he lifted his free leg and arm upward into the air. He kept this way for several seconds as the board glided along the water before moving back to proper position. He was trying to show off? A pleased grin of satisfaction on his face confirmed this as he sliced through the water and into another wave to keep his momentum.

After an hour or so, Tifa stood up then threw one hand forward as if to call for him. She had already changed out of her swimsuit while he was keeping himself busy. The sun began to set, gracing the skies with hues of yellow, orange, and magenta. The beach itself was more than half empty compared to before as well.

"Alright, you," she called. "Give it a rest. I'm hungry. Don't make me leave you here!"

Running back to her, Vincent shook the water out of his jet black hair. He held the surfboard in one arm while pointing for his towel with the other. Tifa tossed it to him to let him dry his hair a little.

"Can you return this while I go get changed?" he asked, resting the towel around his neck.

She nodded then held her arms out for the board. Once he handed it to her, she made her way to the booth quickly before it closed. Vincent spent his time trying to dry his hair before he took the beach bag to an empty change tent.

Removing the swim shorts, he sighed since he practically had to peel the skin tight garment since it was still wet. Wrapping the towel around his waist, he tried his best to wring the water from the jammer before setting it aside. When he could squeeze no more from it, he dropped it by the bag then began to pat the towel gently against his nude form to dry his skin further.

Getting ready to put on his clothes one by one when he was dry enough, he heard the familiar laugh emit behind him. His heart spiked and his shoulder jerked for a second before he let out an exasperated groan.

"I should be used to this by now, shouldn't I?" he murmured, pulling up his boxers.

"Yup," Tifa said simply, licking chocolate chip ice cream from a waffle cone. "Nice butt."

Vincent shook his head in pity, putting the rest of his clothes on quickly then pivoted on one foot to look at her; a hand was outstretched in front of him, presenting a cone with vanilla ice cream.

"I didn't know what you wanted, so I bought something simple."

"Tifa, I thought you were hungry. This will spoil your appetite."

"Relax, Vince. It's not a lot. It won't."

Putting the visor back on, Vincent took the cone offered to him then gave a small lick, slinging the beach bag over one shoulder. The two left the tent together, both nearly resorting to seeing who could finish their ice cream first, a hint of competition in their eyes. It didn't take long for both sides to suffer a shock of brain freeze pricking their heads.

"Haha…it's nice to see you playful for once," Tifa declared as she rubbed one eye before she went to nibbling on the cone.

"I can be more than just playful once I'm used to who I'm around," Vincent said with his eyes squeezed shut to recover from the small headache.

The sky began to turn into a bright shade of maroon and purple with dark blue just across the horizon.

"Where do you want to eat?" Vincent asked as he stared at the sky, chewing on the last bit of waffle cone he had left.

Tifa popped the rest of the cone into her mouth, taking a moment to think of an answer.

"Let's eat at a restaurant," she answered. "Semi-formal. Not a pub. This is the only night we have that possesses no worry for the next day."

Vincent agreed with a soft hum as they headed back for the inn.

In his heart, he felt at peace. Being with Tifa without the fear of their gang finding out let him loosen up. Let himself give love another chance. At least he knew that Tifa was doing the same as well. Lucrecia never did this for him.

Back in their room, Tifa stretched out, an accompanied by a prolonged moan.

"I'm going to take a shower to get the sand out of my hair," Tifa said as she headed towards the bathroom. "Care to join me?"

"Don't even joke," Vincent replied as he knelt by the twin-size bed, sorting their swimwear into a plastic bag. Looking up, Tifa had walked over to him, holding out a hand.

"I wasn't trying to joke."

"Tifa…aren't you going a tad fast?"

"Vincent, please…"

Studying her face, he knew that she was serious; not even a smile was seen on her lips until he reached up to hold her hand to stand.

"Alright," he sighed. "Just a shower. Nothing more."

She nodded as she looked up at him then went her way towards the bathroom and waited. He bit down on his bottom lip hard; hard enough to make himself bleed a bit. He closed his eyes tightly in almost regret for giving into her, but forced these thoughts away. In one breath, he went after her then closed the door behind him.

Tifa was turning the knobs then pushed a small pin to test the water's temperature before they began. Seeing Vincent, she went right to him to strip him out of his clothes.

"H-hey! I can strip myself…!"

"Nuh-uh. You might back out. You can strip me in return."

Letting out a huff, he moved his arms to let her remove his shirt. In return, he reached out to pull her shirt over her head. Doing this made his heart race, blushing to see hooks fastened at the front of her bra instead of in the back. Swallowing silently, he glided his hands against her sides then unclipped her bra carefully, her breasts lightly bouncing into place once they were free from restraints.

Vincent was silent as her beauty robbed him from his voice. He held her bra in his hands as she tugged the cargo pants and boxers from his waist and down his legs. Trying not to appear too enthralled by the situation, he tugged her skirt and panties down away from her body when it was his turn.

Nude.

Together.

Lust.

Vincent looked into Tifa's eyes. He wasn't the only one shy of all this. He could tell. They both were stiff in place until Vincent forced words through his lips.

"We better not waste the water."

Snapping out of it, Tifa turned then pushed the stippled glass to enter the shower with Vincent close behind to close the glass door. The shower itself was small and most likely meant for one person alone, so the two stood close. This gave them both a hard time focusing on just cleaning up.

Sucking up his fear, Vincent unwrapped a small bar of hotel soap from its paper casing. Tenderly, he decided to lather it against Tifa's soft skin, starting from her back then to her sides since she was in front of him. A soft moan of satisfaction left her lips, making it harder for him to control his mind. He took his time carefully rubbing the soap against her body, but never dared to touch her anywhere that may seem sexual to keep himself tame.

When it was her turn, she seemed to have a harder time staying on focus. Her breasts ached in anticipation. She touched the contours of the muscles on his chest with one hand while lathering the soap on his skin with this other. Her lip began to quiver until she placed the soap back into his hand, turning away to let him finish himself.

Tension.

Heat.

Desire.

Thankfully, more shampoo had been provided to them while they were at the beach; normal bottles in place instead of tiny hotel complimentary bottles. The two decided to wash their hair at the same to save some time. Vincent used the shower head to rinse his hair while Tifa used a small rinsing bucket. In one false move, she slipped back against him, his hands grasping her waist by reflex. Dropping the pail onto the shower floor, she exhaled a shivered breath of relief until she felt his hands trailing up and lips brushing against her shoulder and neck.

He was the one to crack first, suckling on her flesh cautiously to keep from it chapping into a hickey. He held his hands close around her stomach, showing that he still feared advancing further. Giving in, she leaned her back against his chest and closed her eyes. She gasped to feel his erection brush against her thighs, making her arousal grow further.

"Don't be afraid," she cooed as she held his hands, pushing them up and onto her breasts.

He cupped her bosom shyly, feeling her small hands urging him to touch more confidently. Licking her neck, he gasped to feel her rear rub against his shaft, whether it was intentional or not.

"Tifa…" Vincent forced to articulate, releasing her body slowly. "No. We have to stop."

Snapping out of it, Tifa opened her eyes, turning off the shower.

"Oh…right…right…"

Tifa grabbed a towel and left the bathroom first to let Vincent relax his body. By a mirror, she used the inn blow-dryer to help dry her hair, using one of her combs. A minute later, he dragged himself out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist. Both stared into each others' eyes then turned away, anxiety attacking them mutually.

X-X-X-X

Unfortunately, most of the restaurants in Costa de Sol were full and the two were forced to settle with a restaurant pub. Escorted to a table, the two couldn't help but feel awkward from their abruptly cut moment in the shower. A waiter looked at the two, almost getting the impression that this was a divorce dinner, but stopped to notice no rings on their fingers in the first place.

Vincent and Tifa ate silently, heartbroken since this was not in their plans at all.

"Tifa…I'm…sorry about what happened…"

"It's not your fault…I helped."

Before the two could start a conversation, a hand slammed the base of the table. Looking to their side, a familiar, fiery red head of hair was there to welcome them with another man not too far from his side.

"Fault for what, toots?" Reno said, spitting out a toothpick he had been chewing.

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If anyone decides to draw Vincent's outfits before I do, I'd be impressed and would give a bow. Maybe more if I was asked to.

Holy crap, I just kept typing and typing and typing. This is so much longer than my usual chapters of this story. I wonder if I could have broken this into more than one chapter. I'm not sure. (In truth, my older, non-fanfic stories have an average of twenty or more pages attached to each chapter. This isn't as long, possessing only a range of eleven, so I guess the chapter isn't so overbearing.)

Whatever the case, I guess this story has become M rated because of this chapter alone. I hope I didn't scar people with that last part. Eheh. I couldn't resist anymore. Don't run away from me.