I've gotta admit that they feel a little OOC in this one, but I hope I'm wrong. I'll try to fix it in the next chapter which is Vincent's side of the story, so hopefully that'll explain things a little more.

Also: there might be some adult themes coming up soon, so I'll warn you here. I might change my mind, though, depending on how I feel about it/if they're relevent, and so on.

Remember to review, please! Thank you, and enjoy!

Men really are ridiculous creatures, don't you think? Well…most of them, anyway. I always thought that Valentine was supposed to be the smart one from AVALANCHE…? If that's so, then I'm worried about the rest of them.

Getting to the door, he'd stopped, and was just staring blankly at it with some clueless look on his face. I mean, honestly!

I decided that the only way we were going to get inside was to take things into my own hands. Well, if I didn't do something, he as sure as hell wasn't about to!

It hurt, but I made myself move while he stood there gawping at the door like that. If I were a man, where would I keep my keys? I thought, pondering for a second. Well, he didn't look like he had any pockets on that weird outfit of his…what about under the cape? It was worth a shot. Ah-HA! Success!

With keys in hand, I decided to scold him…just a little. "Men!" I sighed, continuing on a little louder: "It's 'cause your outfit is as inconvenient as it is extravagant!" Well, it was true! His outfit was pretty ridiculous…not practical at all!

Anyway, I shoved the key in the door and opened it, completely ignoring the wide-eyed look on his face. What was up with him lately…? No, maybe it's better not to ask. Ah…I'd kind of forgotten about the state the hitman and I had left Valentine's room in. Whoops… Luckily, he didn't seem to care too much, but he looked quite shocked. Lately, that was starting to become more and more common!

After he'd put me down on the bed, he went back to the door. Feeling my eyes narrow, my gaze remained fixed on him. Yeah, I was still annoyed, alright? I'm a Turk. I should be treated with more respect! Well, apparently he sensed me looking at him or something, because he tried to speak to me.

"Elena, I…"

"Don't bother. I don't want to hear it." Sure, it was cold…but that never stopped him. Now it was my turn to make him feel bad. Petty? I don't care.

"As you wish."

I couldn't do much else but watch him walk around and begin opening cupboards, looking for something. Then he went into the bathroom, leaving me sitting there in pretty much total confusion. A thought hit me then…what if he was looking for a towel and shirt again as some kind of revenge for how I had acted towards him…? I wasn't wearing any more of his clothes in front of him!

"If you're expecting me to wear one of your shirts again, you can forget it!"

That was a warning. If he came out of there now holding a shirt, I was out of there. I didn't care if I would have to crawl out. I refused to have him gawping at me again. Thankfully however, making me change my clothes wasn't what he had in mind. Instead, he came out of the bathroom holding a small white box. Sitting down beside me with the box (that I soon recognized as a first-aid kit) on his lap, he responded to my warning, reassuring me that he wouldn't make me wear something else of his.

"No. You needn't worry about that…"

Thank the gods for that! I thought, as my gaze moved to the first-aid kit. Seeing that small white box, I couldn't help but recall the image of Valentine after the fight in the alley. Pale, covered in blood, but still determined to remain strong. Taking the first-aid kit from him, I decided to take action again. I knew he wouldn't treat his wound himself. He wasn't the kind of guy to put himself first, so I'd have to tend to it for him if it was going to be done at all.

"Let me see it." I soon found myself asking, looking up at him and forgetting my anger with him for only a few moments.

"What?"

What did he mean 'what'? What else could I possibly have been referring to?! Actually…don't answer that.

"Your wound. Let me see it." I repeated, hoping that now he would understand.

"Why? Yours are more-…"

"Valentine!" All of this modest, noble, gentlemanly crap was really starting to get on my nerves right now. It didn't help that he had already pissed me off beforehand. Sure, I admire the whole 'ladies first', polite attitude in a man…hell, it's one of the things I look for in a guy, but now was really not the time for it. His wound was serious, and he knew it. Whether he knew that he knew it, I have no idea.

Finally, he co-operated. And man…was I surprised! Off came the cape…and off came the shirt…and wow…. just…wow.

…I'd never thought of him in this way before, but he was pretty damned…well…. um…sexy, I guess was the word. Even the wound was kind of hot…

All of my anger seemed to just melt away in that moment as I sat there in silence, staring at his chest: soft, firm, pale skin…not too much muscle, but not too little, either…strong arms connected to broad shoulders, over which flowed his dark hair… My gaze traveled to the wound in the center of his chest. The sword must have gouged pretty deep to create such an injury. Blood flowed from it, and trickled slowly down his otherwise flawless, perfect body… for a second there, I wanted nothing more than to wipe that blood away…to touch him in so many places…to…kiss his chest…his lips…that blood… and make it better…to make his hurting go away and make him forget all about pain. Maybe I'd make him feel some kind of bliss…What?! No way! What was I thinking?! This was Valentine I was talking about! Valentine wasn't the one I wanted! I wanted Tseng, not Valentine! Maybe I was thinking these thoughts because I missed Tseng…yeah, that was it! It had to be! I was supposed to be pissed off at Valentine…not…lusting after him! But…I felt kind of…like I…almost…

"Is something wrong?"

His rough voice interrupted my thoughts, and I snapped out of my sick fantasies. I didn't understand…I didn't like him before, but suddenly I wanted him? This made no sense. Best just to ignore it. My mind was playing tricks on me. I. Love. Tseng. That's the way things would stay!

"N…n-…n-no! No…um…nothing! I…I'm sorry." Why was I stuttering?

"Well. Now that you've had your fill…"

'Had my fill'? What did he mean by that? My thoughts were distracted yet again when I noticed him reaching for his top and cloak. Did he really believe I was gonna let him keep that wound? Yes. That's why I stopped him, ok? I was worried about his wound…

"Don't be stupid."

"What?"

I couldn't help but notice how he kept asking me that. 'What?' 'What?' he says…well, how was I meant to answer 'What?' without sounding totally patronizing? I didn't know, so I didn't speak. I just acted. I put some antiseptic on a piece of material from the first-aid kit, and began cleaning up his wound. I felt his body tense beneath my touch, but there wasn't really anything I could do about that. He stayed completely still and silent, but when I glanced up at his face, I couldn't help but notice that his eyes were shut. Was it hurting that badly?

I'd taken my hand away a little more reluctantly than I'd hoped to…well…it wasn't my fault! He had really…. soft skin, ok? Turning back towards the small first-aid kit for a moment, I finally found some bandages in there. I couldn't help but ask myself: Why the heck are the bandages at the very bottom of the box? Surely they should be at the top? In any case, I'd found them now.

"Almost done." Now was the easy part. All I had to do was wrap the bandages around him, and fasten them securely. Easy! "There. Done it." I told him, feeling a smile on my lips as I looked up at him again.

"Thank you…" He was silent for a minute or two, staring at me. Thankfully, he continued. "Thank you, Elena. But…now it's your turn."

Okay, I didn't like the sound of that. 'My turn'? My turn to do what, exactly? Now I was the one to say it: "What?"

Silent for a few minutes again, he just leant forward and gently slid my jacket off of my shoulders, moving on to begin unbuttoning my shirt. I hadn't been expecting that! Especially not from him! What on Earth did he think he was doing?! I sat there frozen in shock, my eyes wide and staring. Why couldn't I pull myself together? I wasn't seriously going to let him do this, was I?! This was my punishment for thinking those thoughts about him, wasn't it? Oh gods, help!

"W-w…what…what the hell are you doing?!"

"I will do nothing indecent…I know your injuries are serious. I just want to take a look, alright…?"

"Not alright!!" How was it in any way 'alright'?! You don't just start taking a girl's shirt off! It's not right!

"There's a lot of blood on your shirt, and on mine, too. It's worried me… I'm treating those wounds, Elena...You insisted that you tend to mine, and you did so. I'm returning the favor." Nice excuse, Valentine...I honestly thought he was a gentlemen, but he's just proved me wrong, hasn't he?

I told you that I wouldn't let him win again, right? That was a lie. He just won again. I don't properly recall what happened, but the next thing I knew: my shirt was off, lying behind me, discarded on the bed.

"I-…I…" What could I say? What was there to say at a time like this?!

"Don't be frightened…just trust me. Please."