Author's note: Sorry for the delay. I actually started writing this chapter around August 28th, but I got busy with things. I still am busy, in truth. Just sacrificing sleep time right now to finish this. I don't like leaving things unfinished, so this is hurting me a ton.

I am one of the creators of an avatar site called Halcyon Tears. We've been working hard for its official opening, so I've been drawing concept art for items as well as writing storylines for the introduction as well as a storyline for the Halloween event. There's still so much to do. I miss writing my personal stories. Also, I've been sleeping when the sun rises. It's starting to get to me…but it's fun to work with others, I suppose.

Characters within the story belong to Square Enix unless otherwise noted. Like Jolice. The kid's my random character.

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"Lucrecia! Please, talk to me! Why didn't you tell me?"

Vincent followed Lucrecia all around Nibelhiem.

"What could I have said? I TOLD you, Vincent. It's none of your business in the first place."

Lucrecia didn't want him near her. Not now.

"None of my business? How can you say that? I saw what was on that computer screen. It IS my business and I want answers now."

"Oh, not this again,"

Lucrecia threw her arms up in the air then turned to leave him. In a panic, Vincent grabbed her wrist firmly, gesturing his other hand to her.

"Where are you going? Don't walk away from me! Please tell me what's going on!"

"Don't touch me! Vincent, I've had enough of you. Leave me alone!"

She pulled her wrist from him forcefully. Her face filled with developing tears, she ran to the front of Nibelhiem, almost flying into Hojo's arms. She hugged him tightly, which shot pain into Vincent's mind and heart.

"What's this? You've finally chosen me, I see."

"Yes, doctor!"

Vincent stared in horror, stiffly standing there in the distance. His face went blank and his arms went limp to his sides.

"Lucrecia…are you really happy this way? As long as you are…I don't mind…"

X-X-X-X

Vincent woke from the sound of seagulls outside. He opened his eyes gently, shifting his attention downward to look at Tifa. She was still sleeping soundly. He smiled softly then carefully released her, slipping one arm away from under her to sit up and look at the clock. It was only five in the morning.

My nightmares…they never seem to intimidate me anymore, yet they continue to haunt my slumber…

He looked back down at Tifa then leaned over to kiss her forehead. Slowly, he slipped out of bed then stretched. Looking around, the room was filled with an orange tint of light that seeped out from the thin opening from the window's drapes. The sun just barely began to rise into the sky.

Walking over to a table, he took a pamphlet from a pile then read from it, wondering what the two of them were going to do for the day. He looked over to the window, reaching over to push the drapes to look outside. Idly, he waved the thin pamphlet as if it were a fan. Despite how early it was, there were a few people already outside. A girl was jogging down the road with her dog. Not too far away, two children were running around with a map as if they were looking for something before the sun rose fully in the sky.

"Nnnrgh," Tifa groaned as she turned over in her sleep, hugging the blanket since Vincent was no longer there beside her.

He looked back at her then smirked. The room was still rather dim, so he chose to let her sleep further. He, in the other hand, was no longer fatigued. He went to the washroom to wet his face and brush his teeth. After, he quickly dressed into casual clothes so he could walk around within the inn. Before he left the room, he placed his gauntlet next to Tifa just to tell her that he went out.

Down the hall, he looked at the walls then the ceiling. The lights were strangely dim, several turned off altogether. Children must have been playing with the lights the other night, he assumed.

Treading down the stairs, Vincent heard talking in the lobby. The voices were feminine except for one, who was probably the child who gave Tifa the cardkeys to the room. Reaching the main floor, the talking stopped once he was seen. Three women were with the boy. Two were dressed in maid uniforms while the other wore a cooking apron.

"Hello again, sir," Jolice said shyly then looked up at his mother, soon slipping away from the women and off to the sit on a couch.

Vincent cocked a brow then folded his arms against his chest, looking at the women.

"Is there a problem?" He asked lowly, noticing that even the main floor was dimly lit.

"Oh, not at all," the younger maid said, politely bowing, "Just the usual chatter before we have to work."

"Are you hungry, Mr. Valentine?" the cook asked while staring at her child in the distance.

Vincent shook his head, his attention still to the lighting.

"Don't worry about the lights, sir," the older maid said, grinning bizarrely, "We usually keep most of them off at this time of day. We'll be turning them on soon."

"Is that so?" Vincent blinked a few times then shrugged to himself.

They're certainly excessively self-conscious about gil here…unless they're lying.

He looked about. In truth, he was hungry, but didn't want to eat without Tifa just yet. He stood there, looking around silently, making the inn workers uneasy. Right before they were ready to slip into another room, he hummed to himself, causing the women to freeze in place.

"Hmm…do you have a gift shop?"

The maids sighed in relief then nodded. The younger one took out a key from her pocket then walked over to him.

"Sure. I can open it up for you, if you want."

Vincent nodded then followed the girl down the hall to a small gift shop within the inn.

"Are there other people working here?" He asked as he looked down one direction.

"Plenty. Either they're in the other floors or haven't come for work yet."

The girl opened the door then turned on the light, entering first. As he went inside after her, he looked around. The usual trinkets and batteries were set to one side of the store. Drinks were in the vending machine that was turned off until the maid switched it on. Candy was placed in rows near the cash register. Tiny bath products, clothes, and towels were set on the other side. Simple things to get by when people were in a hurry.

Vincent decided to settle with the trinkets, picking up a keychain. It was a tiny bottle with a shell and gold dust inside it. He quirked his eyebrows then placed it back. Nothing in particular struck him as anything amazing in the shop. Teddy bear. Key chain. Bobble head. Teddy bear. Paper fan. Teddy bear. Teddy bear. Teddy bear.

He was about ready to settle with a drink until something caught the corner of his eye. It was a crystal figurine nearly the size of his hand. The patterns carved along the body were tiger-like, yet delicately covered with a mane of a lion down along its spine. He smirked. Its posture and expression gave the impression of compassion and ferocity at the same time. It reminded him of Tifa.

"How much for this?"

"Huh? Oh! The adamant statue?" the girl jumped as if she were dazed. "That one's 5000 gil, sir."

"That's all?"

Vincent took out his wallet then handed her the gil. He looked back down at the figure, wondering if it was real diamond as she said it was. The crystal shine itself proved to confirm it. At least, it definitely wasn't cubic zirconia.

"Would you like anything else?" The girl asked as she carefully placed the crystal into a box, handing it back to him.

"No. That's fine."

He turned to leave, brushing past a worker who came to take over for the gift shop. Glancing around, Vincent noticed that it was much brighter in the inn already. He pondered how long he had been on the main floor, taking and elevator this time to get to the third floor.

Within the elevator, he leaned against the wall. Questions rose in his head once again. What were they going to do today? There were no plans and in truth, he was rather feeling lazy. Before he could consider more sleep, the elevator stopped. From the other side, Tifa was there. She leered at him playfully as she tapped a foot, her arms crossed.

"Went shopping without me?"

"Heh. Hardly."

He handed her the box cautiously then gestured for her to open it. As she did, her eyes widened in surprise. She took it out of the box then held it with care. After, she placed it back then positioned the box on a nearby side table.

"It's so…oh, Vincent. You shouldn't have."

He shrugged to himself then turned to go back to their room. Before he could take his leave for slumber, she hugged him around his neck, nearly leaping due to his height.

"Let's go shopping for you next."

"I'm not interested in more clothes."

"Hah. Silly. Let's look for something you'd like then."

X-X-X-X

Dragged into several stores in the outskirts of Costa de Sol, Vincent felt as if he was losing his mind. His brain felt as if it would melt out of his ears. Souvenir stores everywhere. Nearly all of them sold the same trinkets and cheap merchandise. Redundant. Repetitive. All. The. Same.

Shopping during vacations like this…Vincent thought to himself with an almost twitchy eye…will not be accepted in future events…

Several stores later, he was about ready to go back to perhaps go swimming until Tifa grabbed his hand. She tugged him slight to grasp his attention. Releasing a sigh, he glanced over and noticed that she had found a crystal shop not too far from a weaponry store.

"Hmm…wonder what kind of materia they sell," he pondered.

"You bought me crystal," Tifa said, turning her head to look up at him. "Why don't I buy you one too?"

Vincent cocked a brow at the thought, wondering what he'd do with such a thing…or where he'd put it since he didn't exactly have a place of his own for that matter. Nevertheless, he looked back at Tifa then saw the determination in her eyes. She was getting tired of looked around as well and seemed to be getting desperate. One side of his lips curved into a soft smirk.

"Alright, Tifa…let's see what they have."

"Great!"

Entering the shop, there were several cut crystallites mounted on several shelves. Materia was cased under glass in the center of the store itself. Tifa stood then looked about before she went her way to the small crystal sculptures, tentatively looking at each one. Vincent tilted his head to one side for a second before he went to look about with her.

"Tifa, you don't have to do this."

"But I want to."

Vincent folded his arms against his chest then shook his head nonchalantly. He wondered if she was sure about this herself as she hummed and mumbled indecisive words as she looked about each statuette. He was almost urged to point at the closest crystal he could see to ease her mind until she delicately picked up a wolf made out of garnet. Unlike the typical pose of howling to the moon, this wolf oddly posed in a different manner. Its stance was if ready to fight; legs spread far apart upon the rock and ground carved garnet upon the marble base. Its head was low and its canines were full bore, yet the ears were flat to show fear as well as the jerked shape of the tail. One of Vincent's eyebrows subtly lift, unsure of what Tifa was trying to apply.

"A creature trying to show independence," she mused as she slowly looked at Vincent, a playful smirk on her face. "Yet behind this exterior, lays a lone wolf afraid of being, well…alone. Even the strong have fears."

Vincent turned his head to one side and said nothing in response. He closed his eyes then tucked his arms closer against his chest.

"Hehe…I was reading the back-story on its label."

"No, you weren't," he opened his eyes to look at her again. "…you're right."

"Mm? You agree with me?"

He walked closer then held his hands beneath hers to observe the crystal wolf more closely. He knew Tifa's carefree ways. He knew she meant well and her words weren't intent to harm him. Staring into the gleam of the workmanship, he exhaled dejectedly as he saw his own expression inevitably carved upon the wolf's.

"Yes. I agree…"

Other customers of the store both dissipated and grew at the same time. Collectors, tourists, and adventurers made their way towards the proper areas of the crystal shop that appeased their needs. Most couldn't care less of Vincent and Tifa's presence, yet others couldn't help but notice. Nevertheless, the two paid no attention to anyone; even if they should have.

By the counter, Vincent hawked over the end result of the price, almost ready to stop Tifa if the price overshadowed or came close to the crystal he had bought her.

"That would be 9500 gil, miss," declared the salesclerk behind the counter.

Without even a wince, Vincent grasped one hand upon Tifa's shoulder firmly then held one of her hands with the other.

"Let me pay most of the expenses."

"Vince, I'll pay. This is my gift to you."

"Tifa, no. That's far too much."

"Vincent…"

"Tifa, please."

Before they could discuss further, two hands clutched them both from behind. The hand that held Tifa rubbed then patted her shoulder. The one who held Vincent was almost rigid and nearly ready to bruise flesh. Nevertheless, his more gentle hold on Tifa never altered.

"No. I'm paying," the familiar voice said almost monotonously. The voice pierced into Vincent's ears distraughtly, yet jolted Tifa's heart just as hard. "And the whole amount as well. No questions asked."

The two slowly turned their heads to one side to see who was there. Not just one, but two were behind them. Reno grinned and released her to pat her cheek lightly, but the other continued to grasp Vincent with the look of disheartenment in his eyes. Despite their secrecy, there was no way to hide it now. Tifa pulled herself away from Vincent then shoved Reno slightly away to voice out…

"Cloud…"

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Honestly…I'm sure most of you had to see that coming or at least knew it had to come down to this. Oh man. I really hope I can update with the next chapter soon. Apparently I have to re-write parts of Halcyon's Halloween story due to an increase of staff members, so that's a stab to my heart.