Exhaustion hit every occupant in the massive mansion. Yuffie was the first one to wake up, which is quite unusual considering Vincent was always up first. She couldn't stop her hips from happily moving from side to side as she took a shower and replayed her evening with Reno over and over in her head. They put aside their fears, and became vulnerable with one another. He finally made the move that she so yearned for so many years ago. Their lovemaking was better than she thought it would be. Reno's name escaped her lips until she couldn't speak.
Smiling, Yuffie dries her body from the excessive amount of water and heads back into her bedroom where her newfound lover is sleeping rather loudly. She giggles as the red-haired man snored loudly and rolls over on his side. Shaking her head at the man, she gets dressed and makes her way towards the kitchen.
The smell of coffee greets her nose as she turns the corner and sees Tifa happily drinking a cup. Yuffie greets Tifa with a smile and makes herself a cup as well.
"Looks like everyone is sleeping in today." Yuffie comments as she pours a helping amount of sugar in her mug. Tifa couldn't help but giggle. The raven-haired woman will definitely be bouncing off of the walls all day.
"It appears so."
"We wore our men out." Yuffie smirks as she takes a huge gulp of her coffee. Tifa chokes on her coffee and the hot liquid shoots out of her nose, causing Yuffie to laugh even more.
"It's not like that, Yuffie!" Tifa manages to finally speak after her silly fight with the coffee and coughing.
"Not yet."
Tifa waves her hand and grabs some paper towels to clean her mess. Vincent walks into the kitchen moments later and greets the two women. Tifa shyly put her head down as her smile widens. Vincent went over and rubs her shoulder in a gentle way.
"Oh just kiss already!"
Tifa snorts uncontrollably while she laughed when Vincent shot his platonic sister a dirty look. He makes himself a cup of coffee as well and the three of them sits comfortably at the island in the center of the kitchen.
"I know Sephiroth and Reno isn't here, but should we go ahead and start comparing notes? My laptop and notebook is upstairs."
Vincent and Yuffie both nod. "The sooner the better." Vincent replies.
Tifa nods and makes her way upstairs with her coffee still in her hands. Vincent and Yuffie sits in a comfortable silence until Tifa returns moments later with her pink laptop and an empty mug that she places in the sink before rejoining Yuffie and Vincent.
"I hacked into Nibelheim's police system and got Genesis's file." She opens her laptop and inserts a flash drive. Her fingers glided gracefully across the keyboard swiftly as she typed and clicked away. Yuffie watches with an impressed facial expression. A woman who is an excellent hacker besides her is a deadly woman, just like her.
"I didn't have time to transfer all of my information to my laptop from my notes." Tifa comments as she double clicks on a file. "This is what I have so far." She turns the laptop towards Vincent and hands Yuffie the notepad.
Vincent silently scrolls through Tifa's notes while Yuffie scans the notepad, taking note of Tifa's impeccable penmanship. While the pair are reviewing Tifa's notes, she decides to make a quick lunch for everyone. Granted, Reno and Sephiroth are still asleep, but she is more than certain the two men would be hungry whenever they come into the kitchen. She grabs a cutting board from one of the top cabinets and looks into the fridge to see what she could cook in a short amount of time. Her eyes immediately lands on the pack of bacon then lettuce and two tomatoes. BLTs… It isn't gourmet but it'll to the trick.
Tifa turns the stove on and threw the veggies into the sink and turns on the tap. She turns her head and frowns slightly when she notices Yuffie isn't there. Vincent is too busy looking at the laptop to even care, or notice that Yuffie has left. Shrugging her shoulders, Tifa turns her attention back to the veggies. She grabs a few pieces of paper towels when she felt the lettuce and tomatoes were thoroughly washed. The sound of something being slammed onto the island made Tifa jump a little, and makes her turn to see what is the source of the noise. There is a manila folder that is now in Yuffie's hands. The short, raven-haired woman darts her eyes between the folders as she compares notes.
Smiling, Tifa grabs a few slices of bacon and neatly placed them in the now hot skillet. The satisfying noise of the bacon sizzling against the hot skillet is always a pleasant sound. Whenever Tifa was burning the midnight oil, Russell lived off of BLTs. Though he never said it, he was more than happy to have her home when Tifa decided to get a job at the community center and finish her classes online. The brunette couldn't help but laugh at the memory of how her Papa reacted when she made the first home cooked meal since she had been home. It was like he was seeing a holy grail. She makes a mental note to check in when she's done with lunch.
"I smelt that bacon all the way upstairs." Reno enters the kitchen and plants a quick kiss on Yuffie's lips. She returns the gesture, never taking her eyes off the notes. The redhead grabs a mug for a cup of coffee and notices Tifa's drying the lettuce and tomatoes. "And your cutting up lettuce and tomatoes? You're my new best friend."
Tifa smiles. "There will plenty for you to enjoy. Good afternoon by the way."
"She cooks, greets you with a smile, and have a body of a goddess. Don't let her slip away, Valentine."
Tifa's face is now flushed with a red hue. She hurriedly turns her attention back to the veggies. She cut the butt of the lettuce head and begins to cut through after cutting the head in half. Reno prepares his coffee and joins Yuffie and Vincent at the island, sitting by Yuffie.
"Have you heard anything from Sephiroth?" Yuffie asks.
Reno shakes his head as he sips slowly at the hot liquid in his hands. "Nope. He wasn't in the bathroom either. Maybe he's still asleep."
"It's bizarre for him to sleep in." Vincent comments. "However we all slept in."
"All of you needed it." Tifa calls over her shoulder. She makes a thin slice of the top and bottom area of the tomato and discards the portions in the trash. "It was a rough evening."
"Yeah." Reno agrees. "It was but things needed to be said. Again, thanks for hearing us out, especially Vincent. He's an awesome dude, despite his way."
Everyone laughs when Vincent cast a grim look at Reno. "Oh Reno. Quick picking and enjoy the rest of your coffee." Tifa says while giggling in between flipping the bacon on the raw side.
"Yes please. And make yourself useful and grab the notes from Yuffie." Vincent snaps but in a less serious tone.
Groaning, the redhead grabs the notepad and begins reading, something the red-haired man hates with every fiber in his body. The kitchen falls into a comfortable silence as Yuffie, Reno, and Vincent continues to review the notes and Tifa is finishing up the bacon. She went into the fridge and grabs a few condiments that she feel everyone would like with their sandwiches. A big bag of wavy plain chips catches her attention. A BLT isn't a true BLT without chips of some sort. She isn't sure about the rest of the group, but she love chips with her homemade sandwiches. She grabs the chips and sits them on the counter along with the other ingredients.
She folds a few pieces of paper towel on a plate and places the crispy bacon on it. Bacon is delicious but needed to be drained from as much grease as possible.
"Either this douche have a good past or he's good at covering his tracks." Reno groans. In the short time he's been reviewing the notes, his eyes are becoming criss-crossed. His attention span is the size of a gnat when it comes to reading. If it wasn't for Yuffie, Sephiroth, and Vincent, he probably wouldn't have made it through college. He hates reading that much.
"My money is on the latter." Yuffie comments as she begins to rub her eyes. She couldn't find anything useful between the file she stole from the Hall of Records a few months ago, and what's in Tifa's notes.
"I can't find anything useful either." Vincent shuts the laptop close and huffs in frustration.
"The three of you need to take a step away and eat something." Tifa suggests. "You've all been stressing about this man for far too long."
Deciding to take heed Tifa's advice, the three killers gets up from their seats and walks over to the counter and prepares their sandwiches. Vincent grabs a few soft drinks from the fridge and places them on the counter along with everything else. After everyone made their food, they all went back to the island and begin to eat silently.
Sephiroth appears into the kitchen and notices everyone's eating at the island. Tifa looks up and notices the silver-haired man looked more at peace than he did the previous night.
"Good afternoon, Sunshine!"
Everyone snorts as Sephiroth rolls his eyes at Tifa's personal nickname for him. His childhood friend never ceases to amaze him when it comes to her pet names for him. He helps himself to a soft drink and a sandwich and joins the group.
"Had any luck finding anything?" Sephiroth notices the notes and laptop in front of everyone. He casually put it aside after he sits his plate down and takes a bite of his sandwich.
"No, not really." Yuffie groans. "Nothing out of the ordinary."
"Except for his wife's murder." Reno chimes in after he swallows a piece of his food. "It's clear that it was a murder and not a suicide. The rope patterns clearly show that there was bruising from a pair of hands underneath it. How did the police miss that?"
Tifa shrugs. "Maybe they didn't want to believe that an actual murder happened in Nibelheim. It's kind of unheard of."
"Murder can happen anytime, any place, and anywhere." Vincent comments as he takes a swig of his soda. "No matter how nice an area may appear to be, life never stops."
Tifa sighs as she looks down at her half eaten sandwich. "I suppose you're right."
"….I'm sorry. I didn't mean to come across so brash." Vincent squeezes Tifa's hand lightly. She smiles back at him as her way of saying there's nothing to be sorry for.
"At this point it doesn't matter." Sephiroth says as he takes a huge bite of his sandwich. "We need to rid this man and quickly."
"We have no solid leads as to his whereabouts, especially with Elena's death." Reno grimaces. "I can't believe that bastard got to her before I did. He's quick and efficient."
"So let's dangle a carrot in his face….me." Everyone frowns at Tifa's suggestion, especially Vincent and Sephiroth. In Sephiroth's eyes, Tifa is his childhood friend, a sister almost. Their dynamic is very similar to Vincent's and Yuffie's relationship; a brother-sister bond that would never sever. In Vincent's eyes, Tifa is the woman he wants by his side when this was all over. Though he wishes they had met under different circumstances, he's glad that he was able to meet her. He needs her more than he's wiling to admit. There will never be a woman like Tifa. The Planet created her just for him, and he isn't going to give Genesis a chance to take her away from him.
"Absolutely not." Vincent isn't having any of it.
"I agree with Vincent. It's far too dangerous."
"What other choice do we have?" Tifa questions her childhood friend and Vincent.
Both men sits in silence. "She does have a point." Reno comments. Though he thinks Tifa's suggestion is reckless, he sees no other way to lure Genesis. "We have no way to lure Genesis and what better way to lure him out than to entice him with something, or someone rather."
"Tifa's not a piece of meat." Yuffie scolds and quickly sighs. "But Reno does have a point guys."
"Besides, I won't be alone. I have the four of you to protect me." Tifa reassures. "I know nothing will happen to me. Like you guys said, if Genesis is as dangerous as you guys say, then we need to take him out. The only problem is, how I'm going to get Reeve and Cloud off the case."
"If Genesis were to turn up dead, you don't think they would drop the case and write it off as whatever?" Yuffie asks.
Tifa shakes her head. "If Cloud operate the same way I remember him as, then he would be thorough. He's probably studying the case day and night. I'm surprised I haven't received a phone call from him about an update."
"I'll handle Cloud. We have a few issues that needs to be worked out." Sephiroth grits as he finishes his soft drink. Vincent recalls Tifa telling him about Cloud briefly a few weeks ago over dinner. From what he was able to gather, it seemed like it ended on bad terms, and Sephiroth's reaction at the very mention of the blond's name confirms his thoughts.
"And Reeve? His work is his life." Yuffie comments.
"Cloud can convince him to drop it, with the right person to guide him, of course." Sephiroth's response is dark.
Tifa gets up and places her empty plate in the sink and leaves the kitchen to call her Papa. She hasn't heard anything from him since last night. It's mid afternoon and she just wants to touch base with him to make sure he's okay.
"That's assuming we get caught in the first place." Reno resumes the conversation. "With all of us here, getting rid of his body should be simple."
Vincent's brows furrows as he became consumed with his thoughts. The only thing that gnaws at Vincent's guts is the fact that Genesis has a son. He was ripped away from his parents at such a young age that he could relate to Genesis's son. It isn't the boy's fault his father is a vicious murderer.
"What will happen to his son?"
"Shit….I don't think any of us considered that." Reno mumbles.
"I can only hope that Genesis's parents are still alive to take custody." Sephiroth speaks. "Despite this, it changes nothing."
Tifa returns to the kitchen with a rather confused look on her face. "Is everything okay?" Vincent asks when he sees the slight distress on Tifa's face..
"Papa isn't answering the phone. I've called several times but received no answer."
"Maybe he's still asleep." Sephiroth vocalizes. "It is a Saturday after all."
"Yeah but it's almost three in the afternoon." Tifa presses. "Usually he would call me if I'm not at home."
"I can drive you there. Besides, I'd love to meet him."
Tifa smiles at Vincent as she happily hugs him and kissed his cheeks. Reno, Sephiroth, and Yuffie couldn't help but be immature and let out a loud 'awwww' as they watch the newly budded couple.
"We have got to hurry up and kill this clown so the two of you can make things official!" Yuffie claps happily.
"Speaking of which, do you know if Genesis's parents are alive? Despite his ways, I feel guilty that this man has a son, and when we kill him, the poor boy will be an orphan." Vincent asks.
"Oh yeah I think Tyler will be fine." The reply is more directed to everyone. "Genesis sent Tyler to live with his parents, although, I'm not sure where."
"At least the boy is safe." Reno chimes in as he gets up from the island and takes his plate to the sink. "At least that's one worry off our minds."
"In the meantime, let's regroup after I take Tifa home."
Everyone nods in agreement with Vincent's statement. Reno and Yuffie retreats upstairs while Sephiroth went to the living room to text in private. Tifa figures she would be at the mansion for a few more days so a few more clean clothes is something she would definitely need to grab while she's at home. Good thing she is ahead of school work otherwise participating in this double life she is now living would be impossible. She runs upstairs and went into the room that she stayed in – well suppose to stay in – and grabs her two bags and quickly runs back downstairs.
She waves goodbye to Sephiroth and heads out of the front door with Vincent by her side. He pulls her gently by the arm and grabs the two bags from her hands. She smiles sweetly at him. Though they haven't verbalized that they are a couple, it sure feels like it. Vincent, despite his rough life, is a kind, caring man. Those types of men are the best to love. Badly damaged they may be, however, when they are invested in someone, they are all in. There are no doubts in their minds, and Tifa needs that in her life. She needs no second guessing, especially after how her relationship ended with Cloud. The blond never gave her the closure she needed until a few months ago. All this time she thought there was something wrong with her. Cloud is in her past, and Vincent is her future. She refuses to let Cloud's mistakes interfere with her relationship with Vincent.
Vincent tosses the bags in the backseat and gets into the driver's side while Tifa gets into the passenger's side. After buckling their seatbelts, Vincent turns his car on and drives away from his home, with Tifa giving instructions on how to get to her home. During the drive, Tifa hooks her arm around Vincent's right arm. The sudden action comforts Vincent. He haven't felt this comfortable with a woman since….ever. Not in this way. Yuffie is an exception since she's more like his sister, and never a lover. It amazes him how Tifa is able to touch him and make conversation with him, and he would answer without doubt and hesitation. The brunette definitely has an effect on him, whether he wants to admit it or not.
A few minutes later, they arrived at Tifa's home. The home screams childhood memories. The house is made of brick and has a massive cemented porch with a swing on the end of it. The pair got out of the car and approaches the front door.
"Don't be nervous. My father is an understanding man and he had seen you before."
Vincent frowns. "When had he seen me?"
Tifa giggles. "Don't be creeped out or offended, but Papa is very protective of me. One day when you picked me up, I saw him peering through the blinds. I pretended I didn't see him."
Vincent chuckles. "He's just a father watching over his daughter. I can't fault the man."
Tifa smiles as fumbles with her purse to look for her keys. After moments of finding her keys, she inserts it into the lock and opens the door with one swift movement.
"Papa!"
There's no answer. Tifa calls out again and there's still no answer. Tifa found it odd that he isn't answering. She tells Vincent to make himself at home while she went to look for her Papa. Vincent settles on standing at the fireplace in the living room. Several photos of Tifa, her Papa, and a woman, whom he assumes is Tifa's mother, smiled brightly in each photo. There are even some photos of Sephiroth with the family along with pictures of just him and Tifa. Vincent picks up one photo that contains Tifa and Sephiroth in basketball jerseys. Vincent snorts lightly as he looks at the two friends posing with a basketball in their hands. Vincent could tell that Sephiroth is very protective of Tifa, which is why he didn't lose control when Sephiroth was hesitant about his relationship with Tifa. The raven-haired man knew he would do the same if any man were to attempt court Yuffie. Reno is the only exception. He's well aware of Reno's feelings for his sister, hell, they are well aware of how they feel abut each other. It was only a matter of time before the two got tired and confessed their feelings.
Vincent jumps when he hears Tifa's scream. He nearly drops the photo on the floor. He quickly places it back on the fireplace and runs into the direction of Tifa's sobs. He pushes the door open and sees Tifa sobbing on her knees. His eyes quickly found the source of her anguish, his eyes fills with rage.
"How's the progress coming?" Aeris asked her blond-haired lover.
Cloud sighed as he continued to look at the crime scene photos that he was able to obtain from the evidence locker. "It's coming along. How's Amanda?"
"She's doing good, though I haven't heard from her in a few days. I think I'll go call her."
Cloud didn't respond. He continued to study the ligature marks on Genesis's wife's neck. His brows furrowed as he brought the photo closer to his face. He noticed that there were bruising underneath the ligature marks, which was odd. He shuffled through the papers in the file and found the address that was recorded at the time of the suicide.
"She isn't answering." Aeris walks back into the bedroom area of the hotel room. When Cloud doesn't respond, she rolls her eyes. Sometimes she couldn't believe how dense Cloud is at times. "Maybe I should drive by and check on her."
"Huh? Oh yeah sure. Whatever you want to do, do it."
You sure you want that because I wanna slap you right now. Aeris angrily thought as she grabs her keys to the rental and leaves the hotel room, slamming the door behind her. Cloud frowns at Aeris's odd behavior. He waves it off and put it on the back burner. He figures she's upset with him because they were still in Nibelheim after their initial agreement. Angeal gave Cloud and Aeris the okay to stay in Nibelheim and assist Reeve until the murder was solved. Barret had everything under control since Cloud's absence. What turned into a small vacation, turned into nothing but work out of Midgar, which didn't sit well with Aeris. He knows she wants some alone time with her, but he couldn't commit to that right now. When he catches a break, he'll celebrate with her. Until then, he needs to focus.
Cloud types the address in his phone, grabs his keys, and heads out the door. Since his visit in Nibelheim is now a business trip, Midgar accommodated him with two rental cars. At first, two cars were a bit unnecessary, but Aeris would go to Rocket Town and visit Amanda a lot since Cloud is too involved with his work to spend time with her. He sighs at the thought as he gets into the car. He knows he's neglecting Aeris. Before driving away from the hotel, he shoots Aeris a quick text before driving away. It isn't much, but he wants her to know that he's sorry and he does want to spend time with her.
Twenty minutes later he is at Genesis's residence. Cloud concludes that Genesis still lives in the home. The lawn and hedges appears as if they are tended to routinely. He decides to park across the street and a few feet away from the home. He doesn't want to draw too much attention to himself. His cerulean eyes widens when he notices that there is no car in the driveway. Cloud quickly picks up his pace and went to the rear of the home and to the back door. He looks around before pulling a lockpick out of his pocket and swiftly picks the lock. He closes the door behind him and locks it. He would have to move fast since he doesn't know when Genesis would return home.
According to the photos, his wife's body was found at the entrance hanging from the chandelier. At first, Cloud is a bit confused. A hanging from a chandelier is a bit of an odd choice. Doubts and confusion dissipates when he enters the entrance. The ceiling is a little lower than what it appeared to be from the outside. Cloud glances at the photos and then at the chandelier. He notices the chandelier is slightly pulled out of the ceiling. More than likely from holding dead weight for an unknown amount of time. Consistent but he still isn't convinced.
Peering through the blinds to see if Genesis is pulling into the driveway, Cloud begins to walk up the stairs. Maybe Genesis keeps a keep sake in his bedroom? A shot in the dark but it's worth a shot. His phone rang when he makes it halfway up the stairs. He answers without looking to see who it is.
"Yeah?"
"Cloud, I need you to come to 1234 Nimble Street immediately." Reeve voice is uneven. Sirens pierces the blond's ears. His heart sinks. It may have been a long time since he's been to the house but he could never erase that address from his mind.
"What's wrong?" The blond swallows hard.
"There's been a murder."