Something simply did not sit well. Of all the thoughts passing through his mind at any given moment, this simple revelation troubled him more than he cared to admit.
Vincent sat facing the dressing rooms, where Tifa had disappeared some time earlier with very few items in tow. By the looks of it, she was finding little that suited her tastes in this particular store. He sank into the plush cushions, letting his mind drift. The store was warm, leading him to roll his sleeves to the crook of each elbow.
As if keen to his worrisome thoughts, the cellular phone in his pocket began to vibrate erratically. Unless Tifa had somehow gotten stuck in the dressing room, he really couldn't imagine who else would be calling him. She was the only person who called him on any sort of regular basis. The phone displayed a number he did not recognize, but he knew the city code. This was a call from Edge. The very fact made him numb.
"Hello?"
"Vincent?"
The voice on the other line belonged to precisely the person he'd suspected. "Cloud."
"Have you seen Tifa, lately?" The question came across nonchalantly, but he could hear the worry edging in the undertones of Cloud's voice.
As he was contemplating the reply best suited, the stall door of the dressing room inched open and Tifa stepped cautiously into view, the hem of a feminine black dress trailing mid-calf. The vintage feel of cut took his mind away from any reasonable responses. How he'd love to see her like that more often, shoulders exposed in a flirtatious manner, the ends of her hair sweeping across her back. The way she nibbled her lip as she examined herself in the mirror brought a tinge of heat to his neck. Then she glanced at him, eyes sparkling in the light and a smile dancing upon her lips contagiously. He couldn't help but smile like a fool.
"Vincent?"
Ah, yes. "She looks fine…"
"What?" Cloud sounded rather startled, if he wasn't mistaken.
"She's fine, Cloud."
"So," he began, but stalled nervously.
"Yes, she's here." There was no point in lying. That would only land him on dangerous ground with Tifa, if she ever heard about this call.
"I… would you tell her to call me?"
Cloud certainly didn't sound pleased, perhaps a tad perturbed by the idea of Tifa being in Kalm, with him. Of course, that could be in part because of his little mishap with words. "I'll tell her."
"Thanks… the kids have been missing her."
"I'm sure." But weren't they with Barret?
"Barret was supposed to pick them up, but he had to put it off. Something with the fields being hot…"
Oil. The man was chasing wealth, rather than spending time with his daughter. "Are you having trouble handling things?" …shouldn't have said that.
"What? No… I was worried."
Cloud was offended by the question, though he would use no words to betray the fact, his voice said quite enough. "I'll tell her you called."
With that, he flipped the phone closed and wrapped it in his palm. The conversation was quickly tucked into a pocket of his mind. He had Tifa here, with him. For the time being, things were certainly in his favor.
Tifa exited the dressing room once again, and he felt slightly disappointed that she was back in the outfit he'd loaned her. There were several articles of clothing strewn lazily over her arm, and she still wore a smile. Maybe shopping really had helped. She set out for the cash register and the cashier went busily to work, finishing the transaction quickly enough.
Vincent was already to his feet by the time Tifa approached him, and already he could see the wheels turning in her mind. Although he was glad to have seen her in the dress, he knew that the price would be a game of twenty questions. Perhaps that could work in his advantage.
He snuck his hand around her back, cupping the curve of her waist as they walked side by side to the door. If she minded the gesture, her posture did not offer any proof. The little things certainly would play a larger part in this dance. "So you found a few things to your liking?"
"I did. I was a little worried at first, but I managed."
Vincent felt like asking her if she'd purchased the dress, but simply kept the question to himself as he opened the door for her. The rain had ceased again, sporadic as ever. He kept pace with her, thinking how much he enjoyed being by her side.
"Where to now?" he asked.
"Hm… can we figure that out at your place?" She looked to him with a mock cringe.
"Sure."
"It'd be nice to change," she added.
"I'd imagine."
"Not that your pajamas aren't comfy."
"Never." He heard her laugh lightly as they found the car. He opened her door while she climbed in, setting the shopping bags behind the passenger seat.
The leather was nearly cold enough to qualify for freezing when he finally settled into the driver's seat, and he could see her bundle up in attempt to keep warm. The engine started with a purr, and he let the temperature gauge work its way up a line or two before turning on the heater. The conversation had gone strangely since leaving the store. He could practically taste her curiosity on the chilled air.
"It seems colder than it did earlier…" she mused.
"The heat should warm the car in a minute," he replied.
Once he eased the car out of the lot and onto the road, he settled his arm lazily over the center console. The surface was cold enough to prompt spots of gooseflesh over his forearm, noticeable enough that Tifa snickered in the seat beside him. He was about to protest her amusement when she touched his arm, drawing her fingers up and down his skin until the base of his neck came alive with a tingling sensation. The warmth seeped from her finger tips, spreading wide through his stomach until his eyes involuntarily slid closed for a brief moment. He decided it was much, much warmer than it had been a second before.
It seemed that several minutes had passed in a cocoon of silence, before her voice rang through. "You should really roll your sleeves back down! You've got goose bumps."
He fought the urge to tell her that was not all he would have if she decided to continue the sweet touch and concern. He swallowed. "I can't very well do that while driving."
"You've honestly never used your knee?" she asked in surprise.
"Not really, no."
"Wow. Here—" she began to roll the sleeves of his shirt down from the crook of his right elbow, her nails inadvertently trailing over his skin. The gooseflesh did not subside. "Concentrate on that driving."
"I don't know if that's possible…" he muttered aloud, before thinking. She was clearly getting to him.
"What…?" she asked, looking almost astonished as her fingers froze mid-way down his arm.
The swirl of his stomach began. "Nothing."
She took to rolling his sleeve down again, but he could see her glare from the corner of his eye. "Nothing, hm?"
He glanced over and their eyes met for a brief moment. A faint blush pushed over Tifa's cheeks, and he knew she knew precisely what he was getting at. It was then that she finished the first sleeve, unfastened her seat belt and leaned precariously over him. Her hair brushed gently against his arm, sending chills down his spine as she brushed the sleeve down his left arm. Did she know what she was doing to him? He wondered for a moment if it wasn't some sort of game. Perhaps she had a secret of her own.
"There," she said, finishing the job.
"Thanks," he managed as he bit his lip, keeping his eyes glued to the road.
An awkward silence filled the car for the remainder of the drive, and he was surprised by this. He wondered what was running through Tifa's mind, but avoided asking the question. Things were really beginning to look a certain way, and they were looking to be in his favor.
---
Tifa glanced at Vincent from the passenger seat, catching him in her peripheral vision. Something about the way he'd confessed to the inability to focus on the road had gotten to her, prompting the escapade of leaning over him to roll down his left sleeve. She felt ridiculous the minute she'd done it, but she'd done it on impulse. She also knew it had affected him, and for some reason she rather liked that. Though she felt her roots in Edge with Cloud and the children, her heart was being inexplicably drawn toward Vincent. She was all but befuddled about the recent development of the rare feelings. They hadn't ever been so fleshed out. She had a vague idea that the strings had been tied when he became worried about her after her rescue in Mideel. He had always been supportive of her, and in his way, furiously protective. On top of these, he was stunning. This much she assessed from her seat beside him.
When they arrived in the garage of his building, however, she found herself more enraptured with the mysterious phone call than with her companion. She'd resisted the urge to question him from the minute they left the store, until the minute they arrived up in his apartment. She set her bags out of the way in the living room and watched as he sat down on the corner of the bed. She was vaguely aware that she was again studying his eyes.
"What's the matter?" he asked.
"What? Oh, nothing... nothing." She shook her head, as if to back up this fact.
"Tifa."
That voice. Why does he always have to use that voice of concern? "Really, it's nothing at all," she said as cheerfully as possible. The silence ensued for a moment or two. He didn't believe her, that much was written on his features.
She wandered over and sat beside him, legs propped so she could face him. "Okay, okay. I've been wondering… who was on the phone." The confession came out hesitant and as a secret revealed. She hadn't meant to sound so nosy, but it was unavoidable if she wanted to get to the bottom of things.
"Why?"
"I uh… well, I had a feeling it might be Cloud."
"It was."
Ugh. He's so vague! "Am I going to have to pry it out of you?"
"You just might."
"Okay… why did he call?"
"To check on you."
"And… what did he say?" she felt like a child, questioning him with bright, round eyes.
"He asked if you were here."
"And you told him?"
"Why not?"
"I don't know… what else?"
"That was it, Tifa."
"That can't seriously be it."
"Okay, it wasn't." He smirked wryly.
"Vincent!" She took the opportunity to apply a quick jab to his upper arm.
"He wants you to call him." The look that crossed Vincent's face made her nervous, if anything. She quickly set to fidgeting with her fingers.
"What do you think he wants?"
"I don't know. He probably wants to know you're okay."
"Well… I'm with you…"
"Precisely."
And it dawned on her. Cloud might have drawn some sort of conclusion about them. She had been spending a lot of time talking with Vincent, and where did she run when things got messy? Straight to Vincent. It certainly looked incriminating.
"Hm… where's your phone?"
"Over there," he said, gesturing toward the kitchen counter where a phone sat atop a stack of paper.
"Good, keep me away from it. I just can't do this right now…" she said, biting her lip. She felt the sudden urge to cry.
"I don't mean to be intrusive, but why are you avoiding him like this?"
It was a fair question. She had never been like this before. It was usually Cloud doing the avoiding, while she waited with dark circles beneath her eyes, wearing a frown. "I… I really don't know," she cast her eyes to the floor. "I just need a little more time to think. Do you mind if I stay another night?"
"Whatever you need," he replied.
"Thanks…" She picked at her nails, begging the sinking feeling to flee.
"Are you sure you're okay?"
"I will be," she glanced up at him, watching his crimson eyes dance beneath the dim light. "I'm so confused, Vincent."
He didn't say anything, but his eyes urged her to continue.
"I don't know what I want anymore. I thought that Cloud was the answer to my dreams. I thought that we'd have a little family, and I'd be happy." She paused, frowning deeply. "It's not what I thought it would be, you know? Somehow… something's missing. I spent so much time wanting this, and now that I have it… it's not right. He's distant, Vincent. He disappears on a whim. I see what it does to the children, and I begin to wonder why I would want to raise children around someone like that."
"You're beginning to see that his unreliability hurts more than just your relationship."
"That, and his devotion to Aerith."
"He cannot let the past be where it belongs."
The way he said it made her believe it even more, there was something in the wisdom he possessed that put her at ease, as if he could see the truth where she failed to notice. She felt that she could trust him without a doubt, and suddenly the room seemed to shift. The truth of the matter was that she'd been feeling quite tired of Cloud's antics. One could only deal with such things for so long. She was tired of being left alone, she was fed up with feeling as though she was second best, she was tired of the distanced demeanor, and she was tired of seeing Marlene cry when the girl thought no one was looking. She felt the tears well up and threaten to spill, and she blinked them back.
"I can't do it anymore… Vincent."
She let her chin fall slightly, before she felt his arms pull her into a soft embrace. She melted into him, nestling her head into his neck. The scent that greeted her made her stomach knot for a moment, and she felt the warmth of his breath against her shoulder, and then she felt the urge to kiss him. Where did that come from?
She slipped her arms over his thighs, letting him hold her and reveling in the way it felt to be in his embrace. Something about the way he held her was undoubtedly alluring. The truth might have more accurately been that she was falling out of love with Cloud, and in love with Vincent. She couldn't admit that before tonight, but now she felt powerless to stop it.
---
The rose and amber teased his nose as he held her close. She was clearly at her end with this Cloud business. It was more obvious now than it had ever been. The fact that she was here while Cloud sat in Edge worried showed her feelings well enough. She had had it with him.
"You deserve much better than this, Tifa. I'm sorry, but it needed to be said."
He felt her stiffen, and then pull slowly away. A strand of hair caught on his chin and stretched between them for a moment, before pulling away and falling to her shoulder. She looked at him with liquid eyes. "Why would you apologize for saying that?" her voice sounded slight.
"I don't want to hurt you…" It was utterly true. He wanted to protect her from anything that would harm her.
"You… Vincent, you're so good to me."
Helpless to move, he sat frozen for a moment while her lips brushed his cheek. The tender kiss left him feeling dizzy, but she quickly helped him recover with an infectious smile.
"Distract me," she said excitedly. Again, he thought of distracting her with a kiss.
"Again?"
"Yeah," she nodded. "How about we grab a bite to eat? The sun's going down, it's got to be late."
Her resilience surprised him. He figured she was simply trying to put the issues to rest and get her mind off them until she felt in a better place to think about what to do. "Where would you like to go?"
"How about that place on Main?"
"The little Wutainese restaurant?"
"Sure, why not?"
"That sounds good."
He watched her smile again and stand to find her bags. He hoped that she might put on the dress, if she'd bought it. The restaurant was rather nice, and would require some kind of dress attire.
"I hope you bought something appropriate."
Let that settle in.
Soo, I must apologize for the delay once again! I hardly meant to keep anyone waiting. Life got fairly busy, and I couldn't keep up for a while. However, I am back! So the next update should not be nearly so long in the process.
Also, this chapter was a tad short. I had originally ended it further along, but decided then that it would be far too long. So, I had to separate the chapters where this ended. How did I do on my return? Thoughts, suggestions, con crit and all that would be amazing.
I have to thank Motchi for all of her help on the dialogue with Cloud and Vincent. I have a hard time with Cloud, so that was such a blessing! Thanks for all the advice, you're the best.
The little black dress was for Tiramisu of Impending Doom ;)
-- Randi --