As The Smoke Clears

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Final Fantasy characters. Dam it!

Pairings: Vincent/Tifa, possibly others

Warnings: swearing and other explicit content in later chapters, sex, drunkenness, drunken sex etc.

A/N: I finally got my copy of Advent Children! (squeeeeeee!!!!) I apologise if the characters are OOC but, well you can't have it all.

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Chapter 5.

"Vincent…what are you doing in here?"

Tifa was utterly confused, and unnerved. Vincent was in her room. Her room. Why?

Vincent just stood there like a rabbit caught in the headlights for several moments, before finally coming up with an answer. Not a very good one, but a truthful answer all the same. (he never was very good at lying, so why start now?)

"You were…sleep-talking."

Tifa's face fell slightly. Sleep-talking? Her dream rose unbidden into her mind. Oh no…

"…Sleep-talking?" She asked, her voice breaking slightly.

Vincent nodded slowly.

"I came to see if you were alright."

"…I'm fine."

"Good, then I'm not needed. Goodnight, Tifa."

"Night, Vincent."

Needless to say, Vincent was out of there faster than Tifa could blink.

He headed straight down to the kitchen, his original destination. Leaning against the closed door he let out a shaky breath.

'That was close…'

'No shit, Valentine. Where did you get your social skills? Out of a cereal box?'

'Give it a rest, Chaos.'

'Whatever you say, Valentine.'

Vincent sighed softly. Perhaps it was better when they all thought he was dead. He abandoned all thoughts of going back up to his room, he would have to pass Tifa's to get there and he wasn't exactly going to get a lot of sleep after what he had overheard. So he instead settled himself in a chair, letting his thoughts wander and waiting for the sun to rise.

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Tifa walked tiredly down the stairs. She hadn't gotten any more sleep after Vincent had gone, her mind to preoccupied on what he could have heard that he shouldn't have.

She found Cloud in the kitchen with a mug of coffee, still in his pyjamas. His hair looked, if possible, even messier than usual. Stifling a giggle, Tifa made herself some breakfast and joined him at the table.

Cloud smiled as she sat down.

"Feeling better?"

Tifa returned the smile.

"Yes, thank you."

"Good."

A comfortable silence settled over them as they finished eating, until Cloud finally broke it.

"I'll see you later, ok Tifa?"

Tifa looked up at him, confused.

"Where are you going?"

"Kalm. I've got a delivery to make, remember?"

Tifa nodded, dimly recalling him mentioning it yesterday, just before Vincent arrived.

Vincent?

"Hey, Cloud. Where's Vincent?"

Cloud's brow was drawn in thought.

"I think he said he had something he needed to attend to. And no, he didn't say when he'd be back."

Tifa closed her mouth when he answered her question before she had a chance to ask. He knew her too well.

"Errm…Tifa?"

"Yes, Cloud?"

She looked back up at him. He looked apprehensive.

"What is it?" She was concerned now.

"Umm…Never mind. I should be back in a few days, alright?"

"Ok Cloud."

She watched him leave, waiting until she heard him start Fenrir before she got up to rinse her dishes. By the time she was done, his engine was just a distant hum.

It would just be her and Vincent for the next few days.

She dropped the plate she had been holding.

"Oh, Fuck!"

And it had nothing to do with the plate she had just shattered.

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A/N: Really sorry about how short this one is, I've had some serious writers block. I think it shows, huh? Well I've finally got my hands on a copy of the game (Bless whoever came up with ebay!) and I plan to finish it before I continue, so it might be a while before the next chapter gets up, but I promise I'm not going to drop this.

I'm also working on a Zack/OC story, but I need to know a bit more about him before I post that one.

But anyway, I hoped this was enjoyed.

Cookies, no wait, chocolate-chip cookies for all who read, and something cute and fuzzy for all who review!

Please review!

Please?