Chapter 2 - Our Haunted Pasts
"Hey Tifa." The spiky-haired man entered the building and wiped off his boots. "How did the business go today?" He smiled as he approached the bar to get a drink. The sun had just set on the city and it was quiet outside.
"The same as always," Tifa said with a frown. "A few customers here and there, but not too much besides that." She came out from behind the bar and gave the man a hug. "You never came back last night. I was a bit worried." She said that with a small smile, trying to not make him feel too intimidated. After all, he had actually stayed put for a year, with the exception of a few small trips, which was the longest he had actually stayed in one place since Meteorfall, and she didn't want to scare him off now.
"I had to make a delivery to Cosmo Canyon." He sighed and grabbed the glass of water that sat in front of him. " I knew I wouldn't make it back before nightfall, so I decided to stay the night at the Inn." He was glad to be back home. It felt good to have a place he could call that.
She nodded her head with a quick smile. "Did you see Red?" Her voice trailed off as she quickly walked upstairs to see what the kids had been up to.
"Yeah, I spent some time with him today." He noticed that Tifa seemed to be concerned about something. He couldn't put his finger on what it was though. "He is actually working with Reeve now on some solutions to the Mako power problem." Tifa walked back down the stares laughing hysterically at something. "He seems to believe the canyon's old windmills are the best idea. What is so funny?"
She couldn't help but laugh at the sight she had seen. "Marlene and Denzel have pinned Yuffie and started tickling her." Tifa always got a kick out of those kids' antics.
"She is still here?" Cloud wondered why Yuffie had stayed so long. Its not that he minded, it's just that it's usually not what she does.
Tifa looked around to make sure no one was listening. "Don't you remember? I'm trying to keep her here. We are having a surprise birthday party for her on Sunday." Cloud looked at her with a bit of confusion. "She is turning 20!" Tifa was bit proud of Yuffie. She had observed her grow up from a thieving teenage girl into a beautiful and smart young woman.
"Whose turning what?" A young woman said proudly as she walked down the stairs. She smiled brightly at the two. "Welcome back Cloud!" She walked over to him and gave him a big hug.
"So you managed to escape the grasp of those two rascals?" Tifa had turned to the kitchen refrigerator to take out some left over food to heat up. She assumed Vincent might be a bit hungry when he arrived. If not Vincent, then Cid and Barret most assuredly would be.
"Of course! No one tackles the great ninja Yuffie!" Yuffie gave them a big smile and then took a seat at the bar next to Cloud. Tifa smiled at Yuffie's response. 'At least some things never change.' "Vincent not here yet?"
"No," Tifa said leaning on the counter. "He should be here soon though." Tifa couldn't help but stare at the somewhat smiling man with the glowing Mako-blue eyes. He noticed her looking at him and gave her a smile. Tifa quickly turned away and blushed a bit.
"Vincent's coming?" Cloud noticed Tifa's slight blush. He loved it when she was embarrassed. To be truthful, he loved everything about her. He just wasn't sure how to show her his feelings. He didn't know how to move on from the perpetually circling state they were in. All he knew was that he loved her.
"Yep!" Yuffie said in her usual peppy tone. "He sent Shelke a message about a half hour ago." Yuffie smirked a bit. She was a smart young woman, so she knew that they were planning something for her birthday. "How was your trip Cloud?"
"Uneventful as always," he said with a shrug. "I did get to see Red though. I was telling Tifa earlier that he had been working with Reeve and the WRO on some power solutions." Cloud took the last sip of his water, and made his way up the stairs to see Marlene and Denzel.
After Yuffie was sure that Cloud wasn't listening, she decided that it was time to tease Tifa a little. "He saw you blushing," she said, proud of her observation skills. She knew that Tifa liked Cloud, and she was almost positive Cloud liked her.
"I know," she said with a matter-of-fact tone, "and if he liked me, he would have done something about it by now." Tifa didn't like talking about the subject. She walked over to the oven and took out the heated leftovers and placed them on the stove.
"You give him too much credit," Yuffie said with a snicker. "Cloud wouldn't know what to do in a situation like this even if it came up and bit him on the butt." Yuffie had the same philosophy about all guys. "All men need a little guidance every now and then."
Tifa couldn't help but laugh at Yuffie's advice. "Well maybe I should-" Tifa was interrupted mid-sentence by an opening door. Vincent walked in to the bar. Tifa knew that there was something wrong the minute she saw him, but knew that Vincent wouldn't want to be bothered about. "Hi Vincent."
"Vinnie!" Yuffie got up out of her seat and ran towards the cloaked man. She through her arms around Vincent's thin waist to give him a big hug. She did it partly because she knew it would bug him, and partly because she was glad to see him.
Vincent just stood there with a blank expression on his face, arms floating in mid-air ready to pry Yuffie off him. For a moment, he was unable to move because of the shock, but he then moved his right arm to pat her back hesitantly with his human hand, instead of prying her off. Yuffie interpreted this action to mean 'Get off or die,' and quickly let go of Vincent.
"Its nice to see you too, Yuffie," he said as he adjusted his cloak. "Hello Tifa," he said as he approached the bar. Vincent knew that he was going to be plagued with 'How are you?'s and 'What have you been up to's which he really didn't want to deal with right now.
"Are you hungry, Vincent? I've prepared some leftovers you can eat." She smiled at him as she cot a cup and plate out of the cabinets. She knew that he most likely wouldn't want anything to eat. 'Have I actually ever seen Vincent eat?'
"No thank you," he said kindly. "I do appreciate the thoughtfulness, however." He knew that Tifa had already expected that answer so he didn't feel very badly about it. "Actually," he started in his dark tone, "would it be possible that I go to my room. I have had a long day, and there are… many things I need to contemplate."
"No problem," Tifa said with a smile. She was a bit curious, but knew that Vincent would tell someone when he was ready. "Vincent," she said, as he was about to walk away, "if you ever need to talk to someone, you have plenty of friends who are willing to listen to you."
"I know," he said with a nod of his head. "Thank you," With that, he disappeared up the stairs. As he reached the top of the stairs, he heard familiar voices coming from a room. He walked down the hallway and opened the door to the sight of Marlene pulling Cloud's spiky blonde hair.
"Vincent," Cloud said as Vincent appeared in the doorway. "Its good to see you." Cloud pulled Marlene off of him and stood up and walked towards him. Shelke, who had also been in the room, had already made her way out into the hall.
"Vincent Valentine," she said in her monotonic voice. "I am happy to see you." You wouldn't be able to tell on the outside, but on the inside she was blushing. She didn't know what the feeling was, but she knew it was a happy feeling, which made her glad.
"Hello Shelke, Cloud." Vincent really didn't feel like talking right now, but he knew he needed to tell Cloud. It was important to him that he told someone. "Cloud, may I speak with you."
"Sure Vincent," Cloud said as he made his way to see his friend. "Shelke, would you mind helping the kids get to bed?" He hated to ask her to do it, but he knew that when Vincent wanted to talk about something, it was important.
"Not at all Cloud," she said as she walked back into the room. She knew it was the least she could do after they have treated her so kindly and allowed her to stay with them. "Vincent Valentine," she said as she turned around, "I will see you later."
Vincent nodded at the redheaded girl with the glowing light blue Mako eyes. He proceeded to his room, with Cloud following right behind him. 'How am I going to explain this to Cloud?' he pondered to himself as he sat down on the chair in the corner of the room.
Cloud sat down on the bed that was across from Vincent. "What is it that you wanted to talk about, Vincent?" Cloud was ready to listen to anything Vincent needed to say. He hoped it was something good, but he knew that most likely wasn't the case.
"I went back to Shinra Manor," Vincent started. "I hoped it would have been the last time, but now I am not sure." Vincent reached behind his back, and threw Cloud the stack of papers he had removed. "I made a new discovery. Thirty-five years ago, I met Dr. Lucrecia Crescent. Over the course of two years, we developed a close relationship. One night, it was decided that.., that it was time we moved forward in our relationship." Cloud just looked at him with a blank expression on his face. "Cloud, surely you understand…"
Cloud interrupted him before he went any further. "I understand, I just… I saw a picture I really didn't need in my head." Cloud laughed a bit, trying to shake off the awkwardness.
"I see," Vincent said with a hidden smirk. "Well a few days later, Lucrecia discovered that she had conceived. I was certain it was not my child. A few hours later, Hojo confessed that last night he had gotten her drunk and had his way with her." Vincent saw another blank expression come across Cloud's face. "Another picture?"
"A worse picture," Cloud said with a shudder. Cloud started to wonder where Vincent was going with this story.
Vincent just stared at Cloud for a while before continuing with his story. "He claimed that during years of working with her, Hojo had grown with lust for her. After that, Hojo and Lucrecia used the child to finish the Jenova project and created Sephiroth." Vincent paused for a while before he continued. "He lied to us. After all these years, I have discovered that Sephiroth… Sephiroth was my son. The atrocities he committed against the Planet were my fault.
Cloud just looked at him for a few minutes before responding. "I'm sorry Vincent," Cloud said, trying to comfort him. He wasn't quite sure what to say, or what he even could say.
"It is all outlined in that report," Vincent said looking at the stack of papers. "I was hand picked by Shinra for the Job, and so was Lucrecia. Lucrecia for her brains, and myself for my body. They put us in close quarters so that we would develop a relationship, and Hojo claimed the child was his because they knew that if we knew the child was ours, Lucrecia would not allow the experiments. We were bred like beasts."
"Why would Hojo still claim that he was Sephiroth's father when we confronted him at the Mako cannon if it wasn't the truth?" Cloud was so confused. Why did everything have to be so complicated?
"I can only assume that he had gone crazy, and since he had claimed for so long that he was Sephiroth's father, he himself started to believe that it was the truth." Just then they heard a knocking at the door. "Come in," Vincent said with a little annoyance in his voice.
It was Tifa at the door. "Vincent, there is someone here to see you." Vincent raised an eyebrow curiously as he wondered who could possibly be here to see him.