Loved Unconditionally

Gabreilla Moushigo

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Vincent and Tifa walked back home. The air was getting colder, fall had already begun it seemed. She didn't look forward to the cold days, but maybe it would be ok with Vincent was there to keep her warm.

Tifa had this feeling that he was going to try it tonight. She would have to calm herself down from the day's events and just go on with it if she wanted to keep this all up. He would never know and they would get to be together forever.

Vincent kissed her cheek before going into the kitchen to turn off the light. "I'm going to take a shower." He said in the near darkness, walking upstairs.

Just calm down… she fidgeted. She had already taken a shower before she left, so she just crossed over to the downstairs bathroom to brush her teeth before heading up to his room. She pulled off her skirt and left the tank top on that she wore underneath her sweater before crawling into bed.

Vincent came into the bedroom from the adjoining bathroom. He was rubbing his hair vigorously. When he pulled the towel off his head – his hair was mussed and shot off into all different directions. His loose strands looked particularly wild and almost sharp. He noticed her immediately. She realized this was the first time she had seen him naked in the light. After openly gaping at him she turned her eyes away shyly.

Vincent made a half hearted attempt at a smile, he knew that she was embarrassed. Instead of wrapping the towel around himself he just walked over to the bed and laid down next to her, naked and unashamed. She wished she could say the same thing about herself. He said nothing, pulling her over to lie on her back and he kissed her sweetly. He took her into his arms gently, mindful of her bruises. He began running his fingers through her hair and she almost smiled.

"I remember when you did this the first time." Tifa said softly, letting him calm her. "I always loved how you played with my hair."

He nodded, remembering as well.

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Cloud had gotten them lost again. Cid was pissed, Barret was grumbling and everyone else was miserable with their bickering. The decided to camp out for the night and unfortunately for them, Yuffie forgot to bring the tents. Praying for a clear night, they all laid down in their bed rolls.

Vincent, ever watchful, wanted to see if a phenomenon would repeat itself again. He watched as Tifa went through her nightly ritual. She washed her face, brushed her hair and unrolled her sleeping bag. She ducked between the bedroll and snuggled in for the evening. Every night she would do something in particular that always got his attention. She would hug herself, and pat her head, running her fingers through her hair. It looked a little deranged to him, but he half wondered why she did such a thing. She was perfectly sane, so he knew she wasn't crazy.

He usually slept with his back to a tree, not requiring the silly comforts that the others needed. He decided to get a better look tonight and sat at a tree that was closest to her. He closed his eyes, waiting for her to lie down. Maybe he would get to observe whatever it is she was doing. Maybe if he could get a good look at her face…

She mumbled a bit, something about a tangle. He heard her flopping around in her makeshift bed trying desperately to get comfortable. His eyes were mere slits as he gave a small peak. His was thankful that his hair was framing his face. Hopefully she would not see him spying on her. Tifa was kind to him, but she probably wouldn't appreciate him openly gaping at her like he wanted to. He couldn't just ask her what she was doing either, in case he embarrassed her.

She snuggled with one arm around her shoulder, and then began petting her hair again. She closed her eyes; he could see her pupils moving back and forth as if she were thinking. Maybe she was imagining someone patting her head? Very strange.

"My mother used to run her fingers through my hair before I went to sleep at night." Vincent thought he heard her say softly, his eyes opened a little, wondering if he just imagined it. He was a bit startled to have been found out, but he did not flinch. It would be very un-Turk-like. "I saw you watching, you were probably wondering."

He just nodded, so she had spoken to him.

She closed her eyes again and continued. "Sometimes I couldn't get to sleep, and she would run her hands through my hair like this." She brushed her hair behind her ear, and flattened her hair against her head. "After mom died, dad sort of took over I guess. He stopped doing it when I was twelve and I really missed it a lot." She looked over at Vincent then. "I miss the feeling I guess."

Of being loved unconditionally? But he said nothing, he couldn't. He nodded his understanding.

"Sometimes I just want to go back there, and this is the only way how."

He knew he was going to regret this later, especially if she reacted badly to what he was about to do, but he got up from his place at the tree and sat next to her. He pulled his glove off with his teeth, placing it aside for now. He pushed her hand aside and imitated her earlier movements with his own fingers.

She seemed surprised at first, her eyes shot open even. He paused for a moment, until her expression changed. "I don't mind." She closed her eyes.

Vincent smiled a smile she would never see as he ran his fingers through her silky hair. He smoothed her hair behind her ear. When it was level against her head – he flicked it forward so it would be mussed again and would instantly straiten it again. This gave him an excuse to continue anyway. She tittered a bit. "Mom used to do that a lot too." Then she explained. "She used to mess up my hair so she could keep petting my head… in case I wasn't asleep yet." Her words trailed off at the end.

He took that as a positive sign and kept it up until he was sure she fell asleep. For the first time since he met her – she was smiling in her sleep. It made him feel something close to happiness.

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"You were always so gentle with me…" She turned into him then, putting her lips next to his ear. "I don't even know why you love me."

He found that an odd statement to make, but he once believed the same thing of her so he let it go with an, "Of course I love you." How could he not? He definitely wouldn't be making a fool out of himself for anyone else, that's for certain. She closed her eyes as he continued to weave her hair through his hand. "Tifa," He was going to make this request. "Let me look at you." When she did not offer any words of protest, but also did not undress herself, he took on that liberty. It didn't take long, but she was finally naked before him. Yes, he had seen her in the dark, and his night vision was superb, but it was nice seeing her in natural light. "You're beautiful." He couldn't help himself and kissed her.

She looked away, trying to cover herself. "How can I be beautiful?" He was going to take it the wrong way than she meant it to, but that was a good thing as far as she was concerned.

As she guessed, he thought she meant her bruises. To Vincent, he wondered why she might be embarrassed about a silly thing like that. What with all the scars, scrapes that adorned his flesh. Let's not forget to mention the surgical markings and the artificial arm that marred him. He didn't think he was wholly unattractive, but still.

Of course that train of thought brought him back to when she had first seen him take off his cloak and shirt. He had been trying to take a quick soak in an open air spring in Wutai. He hadn't realized it was coed until she appeared behind him. It was very dark out and he knew she couldn't see well. However, she could make out the dark lines that covered his nearly translucent flesh. Since his hair was unwrapped he let it fall forward to hide his glowing cheeks.

Back then he had been very embarrassed about his body, the memories still fresh from having nearly flawless skin… to this. She waved it off, obviously trying to make him feel better. She just said it added 'character' to him. She then pushed him into the spring playfully and jumped in herself, careful to keep her towel on until she was submerged. She even showed him her scar, the one Sephiroth gave her between her cleavage. Of course he was more interested in the two mounds of flesh rather than the almost invisible mark that marked her skin. His thoughts were still on Lucrecia at the time, but he was still a man after all. They talked a while after that before leaving to go to their separate rooms. The manager was mad that they hadn't washed off before jumping into the spring.

"You are beautiful." He said with finality, laying his head down on her chest this time, he gave a small contented sigh.

She felt the need to tease him. "You seem to like laying down there."

"You're soft." He said simply, it was the truth.

Tifa wanted to breathe a sigh of relief; he probably wouldn't try anything tonight. She wasn't getting the vibe from him that he wanted anything. So maybe the sooner she went to sleep the better… before he got any ideas.

Too late. "You seem nervous." Vincent could already tell by her stiffening body and heart rate. "Think I'm going to try something?" He was about to do just that. She stiffened a little more. "Don't worry… I'll be gentle." When I need to be gentle anyway.

She tried not shrinking away from him before he realized something was amiss. He would be suspicious if she didn't let him. She remembered wanting to give herself to him last night, but she had been too shy. She silently wished that she had now. "Ok."

"Let me help you forget." He said and she seemed a little shocked at his words. He didn't know how true they were. Maybe if she let him…

As always Vincent took control of her, pulling her this way and that, teasing her and caressing her in that confident way of his. She could almost get lost in what he was doing to her now. His eyes were such a deep red with flecks of gold decorating them prettily. She wondered if she would embarrass him if she said as much. She only meant to close her eyes for a moment while he touched her, but behind her lids she saw blue green eyes that both looked at her with anger, disappointment and passion. Her eyes snapped open and she began to tremble, afraid. If Vincent had been paying attention to her face, he might have noticed the change, but he wasn't looking at her right now. He took her shivering for excitement. He tested her with his mouth, knowing she was ready for him. "Tifa," His voice brooked no argument. "Open your legs."

Tifa shakily obeyed him, trying to calm herself down long enough to get this over with. This was terrible, it was her first time. She had been waiting for this moment when they could join together like this. She hated herself for letting Cloud ruin it. She tried to get her body to relax, but it wouldn't. She wanted to curse as she felt tears peak through her lids. There was no where to hide in the light, he would see her shame. She felt him grab her legs and pry them apart when she hadn't moved them fast enough. He was moving above her, trying to make her comfortable and then she made a strangled noise.

Vincent felt her body tighten against him. He believed at first she might just be nervous, but when he saw her face he was concerned.

There were tears flowing freely down her cheeks. Her hands were clutched and draw up to her body. She looked absolutely petrified. "Tifa?" He questioned, unsure of what he might have done. "Are you alright?"

"No." She said shaking her head, not able to say much else.

Maybe he shouldn't have done this yet, maybe she was still stressed. It was stupid for him to even try. "I'm sorry." He said simply. She still wasn't looking at him and it hurt in a small way. She was ridged, like she didn't want him anywhere near her. Still, he wanted to make sure she knew he loved her and wasn't disappointed, so he moved off of her and pulled her with him. His long arm reached over to the table lamp and shut it off.

She still didn't say anything. "I love you." He kissed the top of her head.

Tifa was quiet for a moment before answering back, just laying there miserably for ruining everything. "I love you too."

"Sweet dreams Tifa." But there would be no sweet dreams.

"Sweet dreams Vincent." None for him either.

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Author's Notes:

Not much to say about this chapter really, it's one of those flashback chapters that I have been promising. I've got a few more ideas for their past together that aren't up yet.

Since these next few chapters have a lot of intensity (in light of what happened) I won't be able to talk too much about it lest I give the while thing away. So my author notes should be short and sweet – except for my responses to your reviews of course!

To the Reviews:

Ann: She'll definitely try to hide it. We'll see if he finds out though – hehe.

Vinny the Vampire: Glad you liked the drunken scene, which was fun to write. I liked watching the Turk Vincent a lot – while he didn't seem all happiness and sunshine during that time either – he was definitely a lot more open. It could have been the experiments and whatnot, and the sleeping for thirty years… but I think that Lucrecia definitely dented his confidence.

How cool that your boyfriend is a musician! It's good to have a sensitive guy who can deal with mush hehe. If he'll look at it – it would be great.

I can't say too much else – or I'll give the plot away. (hehe)

Jen: Thanks for the compliment! (smiles) I hope I can continue to keep him into character.

Jen: Ah, thanks for catching that. I'll make sure I update it as soon as I can.

Jen: Yes, Vincent has plenty of time to make up for in that department. I wanted him to have a different relationship with Tifa though, I wanted him to be able to be himself rather than a toned down version. She gets to see the real him and I think he appreciates it.

I love Vincent's voice – I believe it's the same person who does Spike off of Cowboy Bebop. Or at least, he sounds like him. I think that men's voices that sort of have a grumbling vibrating quality are great. Very sexy!

Jen: Oh, believe me – I considered it. I didn't want to kill Cloud off though. I don't dislike him that much. Plus, I can think of better ways to get back at him than a quick death hehe.

Parrots love to preen their masters – since their masters need to preen them all the time. My friends have said they'll pluck hairs… and even take a stab at a zit if it catches their eye. I thought it would be funny if the Chocobos took on those flock preening qualities.

Jen: Again, I loved writing about a drunken Vincent. I was trying to figure out which one I wanted to make him, a silly, mad or sad drunk… I picked out the sad one since it seemed to fit him pretty well.

Leo Barten: Yeah, Cloud is utterly undeserving of Tifa – I'll agree to that. I liked his personality a bit more in Advent Children then in VII; he seemed to be getting more of a clue at the end at least.

I don't think anyone deserves to be abandoned like that though. Tifa was wearing a ring from what I saw, which must mean he proposed to her. Just a guess though. Which makes the way he is acting even worse… especially with the kids.

Vincent seems to be just as dedicated as Tifa is, so I thought they would be a good match together.

I usually take my time writing – but this one has come to me very quickly. I hope I can keep up this pace – it'll be finished in no time if I do. I'm glad you like it so much – I'll try to keep updating at a quick pace.