Cloud's foot is pressed harshly on the gas pedal, trying to desperately reach Rocket Town. Aeris received a phone call from Amanda saying that she was recently attacked, and that didn't sit well with Cloud nor Aeris.
"Turn left Cloud!" Aeris yells as her attention quickly darts back to the PHS. Cloud jerked the car at an intersection and almost caused an accident, leaving two angry drivers behind him. A few more turns here and there and they were finally at Amanda's apartment in Rocket Town. Aeris hops out of the car and barges through the front door. She quickly scans the living area of the apartment, and notices Amanda is nowhere to be found. She quickly runs upstairs and sees her sister sitting on her bed with a blank expression that seems to come to life as soon as Aeris rushes to her side. Cloud stood silently by the door, shifting all of his body weight on the door frame.
"Tell me the full story." Aeris demands as Amanda swipes away stray strands of hair out of her face.
Amanda shakes her head. "I didn't mean to ruin your vacation."
"Amanda, you need to tell us what happened." Cloud spoke up.
Amanda sighs and begins explaining what had happened a few nights ago. Aeris and Cloud were pleased that her life was spared by two people. Amanda stresses that she's living in fear and she has been experiencing paranoia since the incident.
"Cloud, we're staying here." Aeris says firmly.
He simply nods. When it comes to Amanda, Aeris is very protective of her little sister. He knew better than to come in between her and Amanda. Amanda protests against Aeris's demand, but Aeris completely ignores her and went out of the room and begins tidying the spare to her liking. Amanda glances at Cloud, who's still standing in the same spot with the same emotionless expression he also has on his face. She sighs in defeat and hung her head low. She didn't mean for their vacation to be ruined. Aeris is so damn adamant about everything. She knew her older sister meant well, but at the same time, it bothers her that she's the reason why things get ruined at times.
"You needn't to worry about this matter." Cloud spoke in his usual tone.
"I'm sorry, but I needed someone to talk to. I promise I didn't mean to ruin your vacation!" Amanda blurts out, fighting back the fresh tears that threatened to impede out of her eyes.
Cloud walks up to her and places his hand on her shoulder. "You don't have to explain anything. I will personally take care of this myself."
Amanda nods, knowing Cloud means business. He turns to leave the room, until Amanda's voice stops him in his tracks.
"Hey Cloud, you can start by speaking with Reeve Tuesti. He's a sheriff in Nibelheim but he comes to Rocket Town frequently to help out with crimes. He's very good at what he does."
Cloud nods. "Thanks, but if he's a sheriff in Nibelheim, why does he come to Rocket Town?"
Nibelheim doesn't experience major crimes like Rocket Town does. And Cloud…." She bit her bottom lip harshly as she shuffles her feet around nervously. Cloud didn't rush her; he patiently waits for her next statement. Whatever it is, it's hard for her to speak about the subject. "I never filed a police report. I was too scared to. When I file it, can you go with me and promise me that we will personally speak to Reeve Tuesti?"
"No problem. We'll head towards Nibelheim first thing Monday morning."
Amanda nodded and smiled, feeling a wave of relief washing away. Now that Cloud and Aeris is there with her to protect her, she feel she can live life like it's supposed to be lived: free and not having a single worry on your mind.
Out of all days to rain, today had to be one of those days. Tifa is parked on the side of the road because of the harshness of the rain. She shields her eyes away from the heavy drops as much as she could with her right hand. There was a national weather advisory announcement an hour before she decided to leave the house. Unfortunately, the weatherman was a little inaccurate with predicting the weather, that, or the rain decided to come earlier than expected. She knows her Papa is worried sick about her. The only reason she left the house in the first place is to get some more supplies for dinner for the next couple of days. With the rain, the wind blows harshly against her, and that makes her shiver. Her car unfortunately stopped moving, hence the reason she's parked on the side of the road, and there is no one in sight to help her.
She hastily begins to look around. She knows the police station is the first major building she would run into but that's at least an hour walk. The supermarket is relatively far away from the town. She never understood why something essential like a grocery store is located on the other end of town. She clicks the top button on her phone and notices that she only have two percent left on her phone. She moans loudly, makes sure her car alarm is set, and begins her trek towards the police station. No point in staying outside. She's already squandered enough time as it is. She figures there would be no one at the supermarket because it was thirty minutes before closing when she went inside, so the police station is her only hope.
As she begins the long trek down the road, she begins to shiver uncontrollably. Her attempts to try to warm her hands by blowing on them are feeble. Every time the wind blew, it was harsh and the water was a direct hit in her face. She clutches her jacket tighter on her body in hopes of producing some type of warmth. She feels her phone vibrate, and pulls it out of her pocket and looks at the number: Papa. As much as she would love to answer her Papa's call, she couldn't. She's too cold to answer, not mention the rain may damage her phone. She doesn't have a lot of battery life on the device as well. She makes a mental note to call him as soon as she reaches the station.
Twenty minutes have passed by and the storm only grew worse. Her teeth clashes against one another since she couldn't stop her jaw muscles from moving. She sniffs away the snot that's forming in her nose. Her phone is now at one percent and she at least has another forty minutes to go before she reaches the police station. As her struggle continues, she see a huge building forming in her blurry vision. She winces to make out what the building is, and a smile creeps onto her face. It's the mansion that was recently bought a week or two ago. She's so used to the home being abandoned that she completely forgot that it is now being occupied. After time went one, she actually forgot about it existence. The sight makes her feel a little hopeful in her current situation. Her pace quickens and her limbs are beginning to stiffen. She has to hurry if she doesn't want to suffer more from the storm.
Ten more minutes of walking, and she's finally in front of the mansion. She notices the main gates that protects the entrance are replaced with a fancier-looking set of gates. Her clammy hands shivers as she pushes the gates out of her way with all the force she could muster. She slowly stomps her way to the front door and exhale in relief when she makes it to the door. She knocks on the door three times and ring the doorbell once in hopes the inhabitant would answer the door. She isn't even aware of what time it is. She just wants shelter and some sort of warmth. Moments later, a petite woman answers the door. It appears that she has a nasty expression on her face. Tifa couldn't blame her; the brunette is knocking on her door after all at Gaia knows what time. The young woman's disgusted expression disappears when she see the state Tifa is in. The younger woman doesn't ask any questions; she simply grabs Tifa's wrists and practically drags the woman inside the home. Tifa hits the floor hard, but she doesn't mind the impact. As long as she's in a warm, dry place, she's fine.
"Are you okay?! What the heck you're doing out there during this time?" The younger woman questions in shock as she knells next to Tifa.
"I thought the storm was gonna come a little later like the w-w-weatherman said." Tifa explains. "S-s-so, I went to the supermarket and got caught in it."
"You walked to the supermarket?!" The younger woman is still shock.
"Of course n-n-not. I drove but my car stopped working."
Tifa's chattering only worsens and she shifts her body into a fetal-like position. The younger woman quickly takes off Tifa's coat and throws it on the coat rack. She quickly runs through the main room and up the stairs to go to the linen closet that's located next to the main bathroom. On her way, she runs into a tall, slender obstacle.
"What's wrong?" The crimson-eyed man asks as he arches his eyebrow at the petite woman.
"Someone is practically dying in our main room!"
Before he could ask anything else, the woman took off running again towards her destination. The crimson-eyes man frowns and walks in the direction where the petite woman came from. He glances at the figure that's curled up in a corner near the front door. His frown only deepens as he continues walking down the stairs. He was sure the petite woman was exaggerating about someone dying in the main room, but as he got closer to the woman in question, he did notice that her condition isn't good.
"Are you okay?"
Tifa looks up to take a peek at the man who just spoke. She wants to keep as much warmth to herself as she could. She could have sworn she'd seen the man before. When she freed her vision from her peek hole she created with her arms, she's surprised who she is looking at.
"A-a-Alex?"
"Tifa?" Vincent finally realizes who Tifa is.
Yuffie comes rushing down the stairs with towels in her hands. She wraps Tifa's body with the towel, and inspects her finger tips and hisses.
"I think she's suffering from hypothermia. I got to get you out of these clothes. Come with me. Alex, could warm the kettle up for me?"
Vincent appreciates the moments when Yuffie is able to adapt to their environment, in which calling him Alex and not Vincent. Yuffie guides Tifa up the stairs. She didn't notice the looks Tifa and Vincent are exchanging. They both have questions for each other, but Tifa's health is more important than a bunch of silly questions. Vincent went to the kitchen and starts the kettle. As it begins to heat up, he hears water running from upstairs. He grabs all sorts of tea packets, the crystal container that contains the sugar, and a serving tray. He figure she would be cold so making a fire at the fireplace would be helpful for her; maybe in the long run for him and Yuffie as well. The fire is perfectly lit, and Vincent went back to the kitchen to check the kettle, which isn't hot enough to his liking. He grabs a small towel from the counter and wipes away the water marks Tifa's body left behind.
While Vincent is downstairs tending to the fireplace and kettle, Yuffie is rummaging through Vincent's room to look for a simple t-shirt and some pajama pants. She would've offered the brunette some of her clothing, but taking a simple glimpse of her body, the clothes would look skimpy on her. The brunette has a beautiful body structure with a nice bust to complement her curves. Yuffie is a little jealous. She had always wanted a natural bust like Tifa's but she couldn't have everything; she at least had some curves. Yuffie settles for a red silk pajama set. She hopes Vincent doesn't get angry with her for going through his things and taking his clothing. She runs to the bathroom where Tifa is at.
"Here, wear these." Yuffie sets the silk clothing on top of the white cabinet that's behind the toilet. "It's not much but it's dry."
"Thank you." Tifa smiles.
Yuffie returns the gesture and quickly leaves to give her some privacy. She went downstairs, and sees Vincent at the fireplace. The fire is now blazing but tamed. Yuffie is happy to see the fire. Her head snaps in the direction of kitchen when she hears the kettle make an ear-splitting noise. She jogs to the kitchen to take care of the matter. Vincent made sure the levels of the fire are suitable for the home before walking away from it. He grabs a few plush pillows from the couch and threw them to the floor. No one wanted to sit on a hard floor without some type of cushion. Yuffie returns with the serving tray and tea.
"Is this the same Tifa you met at the market place?" Yuffie questions as she carefully sat the tray on the floor.
"Yes."
Yuffie nods. "Her car stopped working on the side of the road. She said she was coming from a supermarket. You should see if you can get it running again."
Vincent heads to the front door and put on his trench coat. Moments later Tifa came down stairs, wearing Vincent's red, silk pajamas. It droops from her body slightly but not too much. She greets the duo with a bright smile.
"Hi. I'm terribly sorry for disrupting your evening. I'll go as soon as the storm clears." Tifa is really grateful that Yuffie opened the door.
"I wouldn't leave a dog out there in that hell if it showed up on my doorstep." Yuffie teases. "I'm Naomi. And you?"
"Tifa."
"Nice to meet you. I see you've already met Alex."
Yuffie points at Vincent, who's pulling up his collar on his coat. Tifa nods in his direction in acknowledgement, and Vincent did the same thing. "We met at the market place." Tifa says and smiles sweetly.
"So I've heard." Yuffie says, a smile on her face. "Anyway, why don't you come over here to the fireplace and warm up? You may get a terrible cold if you don't give your body the proper heat."
Tifa nods and sits down next to Yuffie in front of the fireplace. "Be careful out there, Alex." Yuffie calls over her shoulder.
"Where are you going?" Tifa questions.
"I'm going to get your car. Where are your keys?"
Tifa's eyes widens. It's storming like hell outside. She doesn't want this man to go out there and get her car. "That thing can stay stalled until the morning. It's hell out there."
Vincent appreciates her concern. It sounds so motherly. Maybe she is a mother. "I'll be fine. Now, I need your keys."
Tifa sighs as she got up and reaches into her coat pocket and gives Vincent the keys. She reaches inside of her pocket again, but this time hastily. She forgot all about her Papa. She clicks the top button on her phone, hoping it would come on, but it didn't.
"Do one of you have a cell phone charger that will fit this port? I have to call my father. I'm sure he's worried sick about me."
Yuffie detects the panic in Tifa's voice and gets up to find her personal charger. Vincent waits for Yuffie to come back with the charger before leaving the house. As soon as he steps out, he frowns at the sight. Tifa's right; this is hell. He walks to his car, making sure his hands and face are covered respectfully and gets inside his car. He's new to the area so he isn't sure which way to take. He decides to go west since the road looks like there isn't any businesses for miles.
"Why aren't you mourning over mother's death?" Tyler tries his best to compose himself in front of his father.
His mother is gone, and she isn't coming back, a fact the young boy is having a rough time coming to terms with. Why didn't his father mourn for her? Did he not fill a void inside his heart? Does he not cry at night because the grief over his wife's loss is too much to bare? Every night, Tyler weeps over his mother death. Why didn't his father do the same? They've been together before Tyler was born.
"Tyler, I am mourning." Genesis replies. "I'm just handling it differently than you."
"Dad, you go out more often now. Not to mention when you do decide to come home, you come in very early in the morning. I feel like we should be together and help each other." Tyler fights a losing battle with the tears in his eyes.
Genesis sighs, seeing how hurt his son is. "I didn't realize you missed her this much. Okay, how about we make a deal? For the upcoming week, all I do is go to work and come straight home and help you cope? How does that sound?"
Tears falls from Tyler's eyes finally. "Thanks you, Dad." Tyler croaks. "I'll come straight home after I finish my homework at the youth center."
Genesis nods and Tyler leaves his study, feeling better than he did before walking in. When Tyler is out of earshot, Genesis picks up his phone and dials Elena's number, who had called him five times prior to the conversation he has had with his son. It's a terrible storm outside, and the storm prevents him from making any moves against Amanda. When Elena picks up, she's about to give him attitude, but Genesis cut her off.
"Don't start with me. It's a storm outside not to mention my son is still shaken up about my wife's death."
"I thought you didn't care for your precious wife." Elena spits.
"You're right; I don't but my son does." Genesis spits back. "Just go back to Costa del Sol until I tell you to come back. I have to mend things with my son before I can do anything else."
He clicks the End icon, not giving Elena a chance to respond. He gazes out the window looking at the rain tap against the window harshly. It's going to be a long night.
Yuffie is driving up the road where Tifa had walked from with Tifa in the passenger seat of her car. Vincent had called Yuffie, and informed her that he managed to get Tifa's car to work. According to Vincent, the battery is low on energy. How typical. Tifa has her fair share of bad luck tonight it seems. Yuffie slowly parks her on the side of Vincent's car after making a U-turn. The storm is getting worse. The roads are beginning to look like a river. Tifa is thankful Yuffie loaned a pair of boots and a coat for her to wear. The last thing she wants to wear was soggy, wet belongings of hers that are at the house. She darts out of Yuffie's car and hops into the driver's seat of her car. When she is securely inside, Vincent turns on his car and revs his engine a little. A small spark shot out from the jump cables that are attached to Tifa's car. The light from the inside of her car come on, and she gives him a thumb up motion with a smile. Vincent got out of the car, grabs the cables, places them in his trunk, and gets back inside his car. Vincent signals Yuffie to start driving by flashing his lights on and off. Yuffie sees the hint and drove cautiously on the road with Tifa and Vincent behind her.
The three of them reaches the house before a harsh wind blast starts blowing away tree branches. Yuffie's teeth are chattering uncontrollably as she went to the kitchen.
"I'm making some more tea. Tifa and Alex, do you guys want some?" Yuffie calls over her shoulder.
"Yes." They both reply in unison.
Vincent took the coat and boots Tifa is wearing and allows her to go back to the fireplace. He went over to the main hallway's closet and grabs three blankets for the three of them to use. The fire from the fireplace may not be enough to keep the three of them warm. The temperature has dropped considerably in the house. Vincent checks the thermostat and notices the heat isn't on. That is very odd. Vincent doesn't recall a bill coming to the house about a payment then he realizes the storm may have caused a malfunction. He went back to the main room, where Yuffie has now joined Tifa. The two women are already enjoying their cup of tea. He sat the blankets down and made himself his tea to his liking.
"Did you get in touch with your father?" Yuffie asks in between sips.
"I tried reaching him but the phone refuses to ring." Tifa replies worriedly.
"I'm sure he's fine." Vincent reassures her. "Our thermostat has malfunctioned. The storm is probably the reason for the malfunction for the phone service around here as well."
That statement makes Tifa worry even more. She's almost positive that these people wouldn't hurt her, but she couldn't stay for the night. She needs to get in touch with her Papa. Yuffie notices how sad the brunette became. She wishes she could've done something to help ease the woman's worry.
"So, uh Tifa, what do you do?" Yuffie asks, trying to change the subject.
"I'm a therapist at the youth center in town." Talking about her work cheers Tifa up all the time. She love what she does for a living. Ever since her mother died, she always wanted to help someone who was in need. "I'm almost done with my master's degree in psychology. What about you?"
"Alex and I own businesses and stocks. We did the whole college thing as well." Tifa giggles a little when Yuffie waves her hand when she described college. "College isn't as fun as people make it out to be."
"Nor is it for everyone." Tifa quips.
The two women giggles and continues to have a conversation. Vincent gets up and looks out of the window when he hears the harshness of the wind. He groans in frustration at the sight of the front lawn looking like a swimming pool. He glances at Tifa, who's really involved with her conversation with Yuffie; she doesn't realize he is looking at her. She looks so beautiful and her bright smile complements her well. A distant, faint sound of thunder is heard and is followed by another sound, but this time it's much louder.
Complete darkness in the home. All that could be seen is the flame from the fireplace, which is now beginning to dwindle. Yuffie screams and somehow manages to find Vincent's frame. She clings onto him like glue stuck on paper. Tifa giggles when she saw Vincent's eyes roll. To her, his eyes are even more beautiful in the dark. It emits a fiery glow; glowing dim like an ember. Vincent begins walking with a now terrified Yuffie clinging onto his leg. He went over to the fireplace and shoves Yuffie harshly off of him to tend to the fire.
"That hurts you jerk." Yuffie whines.
Vincent ignores her and continues to tend to the fire.
"There's no wonder the thermostat is acting funky." Tifa spoke. "The power was getting ready to go out anyway. I guess I won't be able to go home."
"You're more than welcome to stay this evening." Vincent says as he places a small log inside the fireplace. It is the last one so he has to make it count. "It's more than likely floods everywhere so even if the power didn't go out, you still couldn't leave."
"Are you trying to hold this woman hostage?" Yuffie questions.
She laughs her head off when Vincent glares at her. If Tifa isn't scared of Vincent now, that look he gives Yuffie would have killed her dead. Tifa simply covers her mouth to mask her amusement. "Do you always pick on him, Naomi?"
Yuffie nods happily. "Oh of course. It's my job."
"Anyways," Vincent cut them off. "You're more than welcome to stay here for the evening. I don't think this fire is going to last us for the remainder of the evening. I'll go get some more blankets."
Vincent leaves to go to the second floor of the home to look for more blankets, leaving the two women to carry on with their conversation. Tifa notices Vincent's mannerisms isn't what she's used to. He is kind but also harsh at times. She could tell he was picked on a lot as a kid, especially by Yuffie. It may be their dynamic. Come to think of it, she isn't exactly sure what Vincent and Yuffie are? Siblings? Husband and wife?
"We always bicker. I'm the younger sibling. It's kind of my job." Yuffie spoke as if she is reading Tifa's mind.
Tifa responds with a small nod. Vincent returns to the front room with more blankets in his hands. The fire is getting smaller by the second. Vincent put the rest of the blazes out and sits down using his phone as light as a guide. Yuffie and Tifa took the opportunity to get comfortable. Once they were, Vincent laid in between the two women. He sat his phone a few feet away from their cold bodies, and slowly closes his eyes. Yuffie scooted her body as close as she could to Vincent's stomach. She tucks her left hand between her head and Vincent's chest. Another wave of thunder made its noisy appearance. Yuffie clutches the blanket tighter and sighs in Vincent's chest. It didn't come off as a surprise to Vincent that Yuffie is behaving this way. For some reason, she couldn't stand the thunder and lightning. Whenever a thunderstorm was outside, Yuffie would always barge into Vincent's room, jump into his bed, and lay on him for comfort. Over the years, Vincent just got used to it.
"Alex?" Tifa calls out in a low, barely audible whisper. Vincent blinks once to urge her to continue.
"Thank you for your kindness. I don't when or how, but I promise I'll pay you back."
Vincent knows she means it, and that touches him a little. He blinks again, adding a nod this time, in response. She smiles at him before closing her eyes. Vincent turns his head back towards the ceiling and stares at it before letting his eyes succumb to sleep.