A.N.: Just a few quick unimportant things. I'm the first person to complain that people are ruining my fun when they say that Vincent's claw is just a prosthetic. The claw is so damn cool. BUT, it's hard not to appreciate the idea of Vincent having two full functional hands XD So basically, in Wild Ride, the claw's just a claw. In this one, not so. Just to do something different than what I normally do. Enjoy.
XXXXXXXXXHe awoke to a soft hand touching his shoulder.
"Hey," he heard Tifa say gently. "I'm going to go start breakfast. Why don't you go take a shower?"
Her suggesting a shower only reminded him of the dream he'd been having. He groaned and stretched, and only then did he notice her appearance. She had obviously just come out of the shower herself, wet hair clinging to her shoulders.
"Get in there now or you're gonna miss breakfast," she warned. When he still made no effort to move and pulled the covers over his head, she prodded him playfully in the back. "You like it hot, don't you?"
"…What?" He lifted the sheets up a bit so he could get a look at her face.
"Your breakfast. It'll get cold if you take too long. I'm not waiting for you," she threatened with an obvious teasing note in her voice before turning on her heel and exiting the room.
Tossing the sheets aside and grabbing his clothes on his way out the door, Vincent made his way to the bathroom.
He sighed as he showered, succumbing to taunting déjà vu. The last time he'd been thinking of taking a shower, he'd been picturing that she was there with him. He sighed again, turning off the water and resting his forehead against the tile wall, letting his eyes fall closed. Willing away fantasy would be difficult, but—for the moment, at least—entirely necessary.
He dressed quickly, wishing he'd brought clean clothes. Then again, he'd come to the bar last night with every intention of turning her down and returning to his solitude. He didn't even really remember changing his mind. But he certainly wasn't going to go back now. Security be damned, he was glad he was staying here.
He had initially planned to skip breakfast so he could set out early and retrieve his things, but the delicious smell coming from downstairs convinced him that maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea to stick around. He hadn't ever been disappointed by Tifa's cooking.
He stood at the bottom of the stairs for a moment, just watching her before she would realize he was there. She was cooking and seemed to be having a good time of it, smiling and humming faintly to herself. She had dried her hair since he'd last seen her, and he admired the way it swayed from side to side as she moved about. He really enjoyed watching her like this, completely at peace in her natural element.
Suddenly he heard small footsteps descending the stairs and Marlene appeared before him. "Hi Vincent!" she said, causing Tifa to finally notice his presence and acknowledge him with a smile. "Are you gonna live with us now?" Marlene asked curiously.
He looked at the girl fondly. "Yes, I am."
She beamed at him, stepping forward and taking hold of his cloak, giving it a few tugs. "So can I hide under here when Denzel's mean to me?"
Vincent frowned. "…Does that happen often?"
Her grin disappeared just as quickly as it had formed. "He gets mad a lot now. I think it's 'cause Cloud's gone."
Vincent wondered if Tifa had told her that, or the girl was just extremely intuitive. He was jarred from his thoughts as more footsteps sounded.
Marlene let out an exaggerated gasp. "Here he comes!" she exclaimed, darting to Vincent's side and letting his cloak partially obscure her from view.
Denzel arrived downstairs and Marlene stared at him defiantly, as if nothing he could say or do would hurt her as long as she was in her hiding place.
She received an exasperated look in response. "That's stupid, Marlene," he said moodily before stalking off and sitting at the table.
Vincent looked down at Marlene, afraid that her feelings had been hurt. He was impressed to see that she was fine, more understanding and sympathetic of Denzel than hurt by his actions.
She seemed to forget about it rather quickly anyway. "Hey Tifa!" she said, speedily leaving her safe refuge to rush to Tifa's side. "Are you making pancakes?"
Tifa laughed slightly and nodded. "You betcha."
"Can I help?" the little girl asked eagerly.
"Well," Tifa said, stacking pancakes on a platter. "I'm all done with the pancakes, but you can help me set the table," she suggested.
"Uhmmm…" Marlene said, hesitating and making a face. She clearly wasn't keen on doing that chore.
"I will do it," Vincent offered, and was altogether far too happy with the pleased look he got from Tifa.
"Thank you Vincent," she said smiling.
He rounded the table with plates and silverware. Denzel only spared him a few passing glances, and they were anything but friendly. Vincent knew he was being resented for filling the gap left by the absence of Denzel's so-called father figure. If he was going to be living with them, Vincent would like to have a better relationship with the boy, but at the same time he found the child's anger at him somewhat justified. Vincent knew that as a child he probably would have reacted the same way.
It was rather silent when everyone was seated at the food was finally served. Vincent wanted to make conversation, but somehow found it awkward to do so with the children around. Their normal conversations were usually late at night, long after the kids had gone to bed. The atmosphere was entirely different. He supposed he'd have to get used to being around during the daylight hours. To his surprise, he was rather looking forward to it.
Tifa cleared her throat. "Denzel…? Denzel… aren't you going to have any?"
Vincent suddenly realized that he'd been looking at Tifa the entire time. He turned and noticed that Denzel had only been picking listlessly at his food, not even tasting it.
"No," the boy answered, "I don't want any."
Tifa frowned. She tried to convince him again. "…Honey, you have eat something," she said with a hint of desperation in her voice.
"I'm not hungry," he said stubbornly.
Tifa stared at him for a moment and seemed to decide that her efforts were futile. She sighed almost inaudibly, letting her eyes drop to her own plate. She nearly jumped a foot in the air when a loud honk sounded outside.
"Oh!" she said, leaping up. "We're running late kids. Come on, get your stuff or you're going to miss the bus."
Vincent watched the three of them frantically scramble to collect books and backpacks. Tifa stopped Denzel on his way out the door. She fussed with his hair affectionately, trying to smile. "Have a good day, okay?"
"'Kay," he mumbled halfheartedly and went out the door, Marlene following close behind.
"Marlene?"
"Yeah?"
Tifa bent down to her level. "Try to make sure he eats something at lunch?"
Marlene nodded. "I'll try."
"Thank you sweetie. Have a good day. I'll see you after school."
"Okay. Bye Tifa," she said, walking outside. "Bye Vincent!"
The door slammed shut and Tifa sighed. She turned to Vincent, shaking her head slightly. "Denzel hasn't really been eating since Cloud left," she started to clear the table, and he immediately volunteered to help her. "At first I was a really worried about him, but—oh, don't throw that out," she said, referring to Denzel's plate. She took it and put some plastic wrap on it and stuck in the fridge. "But then Marlene told me that he comes down here in the middle of the night to get something to eat… so I make sure there's something here for him," She looked thoughtful for a moment. "I guess he just… doesn't want to eat with the family."
Vincent wondered why she felt she had to be apologetic for the way Denzel was dealing with his sadness.
"So…" she said, suddenly putting on a smile. "What do you want to do today?"
He immediately regretted that he already had plans for the day. He'd have liked nothing more than to stay there with her… alone… but there were things to be done. He looked apologetic. "I'm afraid I have to go back for my belongings and take care of a few other matters."
She smiled. "That's okay. I've got some things to do around here, and some shopping I think. Maybe see about getting another bed."
He sincerely hoped that she wouldn't. "All right then," he said, nodding and heading towards the door. "I may be back late."
"Oh!" She stopped him by seizing his arm. "That reminds me," She reached into her pocket and fished out a key, firmly placing it in his hand. "You'll probably be needing that."
He smiled faintly. "Thank you. I will see you tonight, perhaps tomorrow morning."
To his surprise she looked crestfallen. "You might not be back until tomorrow?"
He faltered. "Only… only if something urgent should come up," he assured her.
Her smile suddenly returned. "Okay. I'll see you later then."
How he hated to leave her all by herself in that bar, and to go back to his sad excuse for a home, no less. He took a deep breath as he stepped outside, pocketing his key and preparing for the journey to collect his effects.
When he had everything packed and squared away, he took a moment to observe the empty cave. This was no home for a man, even one that shared his body with demons. He happily bid that pitiful existence a long overdue farewell, and began the second leg of his trip.
He felt such a strange need to say goodbye to the Sleeping Forest and the Forgotten Capital, and he wasn't entirely sure why. He had spent so much time there when he'd been wandering, caught somewhere between submitting completely to the past and seeking company and absolution. He'd chosen the latter, and he wanted to make it known by ending the reclusive side of him for good. He left a flower for Aeris and then abandoned his isolation to pursue a sense of friendship and belonging.
Part of him was also hoping he would run into Cloud, so he could let it slip that he was moving in with the beautiful woman that that fool had left behind.
The last thing he had to deal with was the most laborious and the most important. He stood, indecisive, near the entrance to Lucrecia's cave. He had already taken a step inside when he abruptly stopped himself. He didn't want go in there. He didn't want to go in there ever again. Returning to her to say goodbye would not be the kind of closure he needed. It would only cause him to fall into old and painful habits.
Several hours later, his work was done. It had taken a few transformations and explosions to do it, but he was finally satisfied. With boulders effectively blocking the entrance to the cave, Vincent was at last assured. He would not be going in, and no memories would be getting out.
He sat on his luggage to rest for a moment before pulling out his phone and calling a pilot he hadn't spoken to in a while. Cid made it rather clear that he was begrudging doing him a favor.
Vincent kept mostly quiet on the airship, for lack of anything to say.
Cid eyed him with exaggerated annoyance. "You just call me so I can be your fuckin chauffer in the middle of the goddamn night? Do you know what fuckin time it is?"
"You were still awake."
Cid was about to counter with something that was no doubt excessively vulgar, but he stopped. He was notorious for being unable to keep things to himself, but Vincent had always seemed to be the one person who could glare him into keeping his mouth shut.
Cid grunted. "Where the fuck're you goin anyway?" he said with slight suspicion, not quite daring to look the other man in the eye.
Vincent wasn't sure how he should answer. "Edge."
"What, did you finally get an actual house instead of livin' in a goddamn cave?"
"No."
"Well then what're you carryin' around all that shit for?"
Vincent narrowed his eyes a bit. Cid was being bolder with him than he usually was. The airship was slowing and lowering to the ground, and Vincent rose to his feet with his things in hand. "Thank you for the ride Cid," he said, swiftly making an exit.
He by no means was embarrassed about moving in with Tifa, but he didn't want other people in his business. He was also fairly certain that she didn't want the others involved just yet. He would allow her to inform other people when she was sure she wanted to. He couldn't deny that he was shamelessly curious about how Cloud would react to the news.
The key felt strange in his hand, and when he put it in the lock, he was convinced for a moment that the lock wouldn't open and that would be fate's little way of telling him that this wasn't supposed to be there.
But it opened, and he stepped into a dark and silent house. He glanced at the clock and frowned—it was much later than he'd thought. He set his things down near the door, deciding that he would make far too much noise trying to drag them upstairs.
He was careful to make as little sound as possible while opening the bedroom door.
"Vincent?"
He was startled to hear her voice. "Yes. I'm sorry for waking you."
He heard a faint chuckle. "No, that's all right. I was awake anyway."
Something in the back of his mind told him that she'd been waiting up for his return. In the darkness of the room, he shed his clothing, like the night before, down to his underwear, and crawled under the sheets. He heard her sigh, settling in.
He shifted to the edge of the mattress, listening to her breathing beside him. He felt her roll over towards him.
"…Vincent?"
"Yes?"
There was a pause and he knew she was once again debating whether or not to say what she had in mind.
"You… you don't have to sleep all the way over there."
He looked over his shoulder, trying to make her out in the darkness. He knew at once that there was more to her suggestion than concern for his comfort. He turned over and moved towards her, and she immediately met him halfway.
They lay together, face to face, and he was faintly surprised when she rested her head on his chest, letting the rest of her body cuddle against him. "…I still get cold sometimes," she admitted. Her hand came to rest on his waist. "Oh," she said, suddenly noticing his lack of dress. "Weren't you going to bring something to sleep in?"
Right… he had said that, and somehow he still ended up half naked with her in a very compromising position. Was he that eager to tear his clothes off and jump in bed with her? And why hadn't he even considered sleeping on the couch when she wasn't around to talk him out of it? "…I'm sorry," he said, too distracted by the feel of her body against his to come up with some sort of explanation.
She giggled slightly, and as his eyes adjusted to the dim light of the room, he could just distinguish her shy, mischievous smile. "I wasn't complaining."
He very badly wanted to kiss her, but he knew that his better judgment had already taken a desperately needed vacation. He cursed himself for not being able to give into his primal impulses as her hand trailed down his arm.
She reached the metal claw and stopped. "…You sleep with this thing on?"
"Yes."
"Is that even comfortable?"
"…No." He hadn't taken it off since he'd gotten it. For a while it had been useful to have, but now he was just so used to it that—
"Then take it off," she urged, already undoing the clasps and sliding it off, pushing it to the floor with a thud.
His hand felt strange without it. He hadn't quite realized just how stifling that damn thing was until he felt how cool the air was. It was a relief, when he thought about it. He flexed his fingers experimentally before Tifa grabbed his bare hand.
"Doesn't that feel better?" she asked, relinquishing his hand too soon for his taste and letting it return to his waist.
"Yes," he said, giving into one of his less risky whims and allowing his hand to rest upon her waist as well. It wasn't there for long before he was trailing it up her arm, loving the feel of her skin and enjoying that she was the first thing he was feeling with that hand after all those years.
She exhaled slowly. "I'm glad," When his hand had finally settled on her waist again, she leaned closer into his embrace. "Goodnight Vincent," When she spoke, he could feel her breath on his skin. He decided that this was much better than sleeping on the edge of the mattress, at serious risk of falling off.
Drifting off to sleep, Vincent realized that Tifa made no mention of another bed. Perhaps she had forgotten. But if she wasn't going to bring it up, then he certainly wasn't.
One bed seemed to suit them just fine.
XXXXXXXXXA.N: That's all folks. Big thanks to lady winde for betaing. Next chap may take a while, as I haven't quite mapped out where to go from here XD But I shall get there. Please leave lots of reviews in the meantime. …Still need one more for chapter 7 on Wild Ride. Just thought I'd put that out there.
(God I'm shameless.)
