-1Title: Death's Embrace

Genre: Drama, Romance, Angst,

Couples: …Hah! You all should know me better than to think I'd actually put something here immediately. Of course, those of you who know me also know already who this'll be.

Summary: Vincent Valentine is a Medical Examiner. Sephiroth is the son of a recent body admitted to Vincent's morgue. Vincent's just doing his job, but can this bring him love or get him killed?

Warnings: Dead bodies, language, Hojo, Lucrecia's dead, LEMON, Strange Writing Style,

Disclaimer: I do not own FFVII.

Vincent: Kuro.

Kuro: Yeah?

Vincent: Sephiroth wishes that I tell you that he is ill and will not be joining us today.

Kuro: Still sore about the nymph thing, huh?

Vincent: Yes.

Kuro: Too bad! It's not going anywhere anytime soon. So, we'll have Zack take his place today!

Zack: Yo! Zack Fair from Gongaga here. I get my first appearance in this chapter!

Vincent: …You shouldn't be so glad to be brought into this place of hell.

Zack: Nah, it's cool. I don't mind hanging out and helping her out.

Kuro: Finally, some respect!

Vincent: …

…

Sephiroth

"Seph, it's not your fault, man. How could you know what was going to happen?" Zack's argument isn't making me feel any better about myself. I had planned to go to the bar, have a couple drinks, and head home, which I did. What I hadn't expected was to find the most amazingly beautiful man there and take him home with me. Yet when I woke this morning, he was gone. Damn it all…

Zack's talking drifts off as he notices that I am not paying attention. He continues driving along, silent. I begin to feel more guilt, because I know that he cherishes our friendship, shown in the uncharacteristic quiet, and it makes me feel selfish. Especially since I know how much he would enjoy hearing about my night.

"Look, Zack…" I begin, and he grins weakly.

"You don't have to say anything, Seph. I know you're bummed about your mom, and I can't blame you-"

"It's not only that." He quiets, waiting for me to continue. "Last night, I went to the bar-"

"That gay bar I introduced you to?"

"-and I met someone there." I ignore his interruption. "He was beautiful, too. Ebony hair that hung to his ears and crimson eyes, both accentuated by his pale skin and the slight drunken blush that overtook his cheeks later in the night…" I drift off, remembering another look that had made the beautiful 'demon' all the more beautiful.

"Ok, so what happened?" Zack asks after I stay silent for a bit longer than necessary. I shake my head slowly. "You didn't score?"

"We went back to my place. I 'scored,' as you so eloquently call it, but when I woke this morning, he was gone." I lay my head against the window, watching the buildings and playing children we pass by. "I didn't even ask his name…"

"Sephiroth, are you a closeted romantic?" Zack asks, and I can only detect a little bit of amusement in his tone. The rest is all seriousness. I look over at him with wide eyes. "Well, it sounds like you're in love with him. It makes me wonder."

I open my mouth to answer, only I can't make my mouth move nor my vocal cords to work. Perhaps that is my problem. I thought I was merely depressed because Mother died, and though that is definitely a large part of it, but now that Zack has brought my possible status as a romantic to light, I feel slightly better. It is possible that I am a romantic, I do like some romance novels, after all, and I've read somewhere that children who grow up in homes with little love between parents tend to either believe that love does not exist, or become romantics.

And, if I am a romantic, then it would be natural that I would wish to see if I could form a relationship with a man I spent such a passionate night with. Of course, this causes me to remember the pure passion, not lust, that filled his eyes last night.

I groan and let my head fall into the window, causing Zack to laugh while asking me if I am ok.

…

I stare around the waiting room, my nose wrinkled. The place smells like doctor's office, which I'm sure is the point, since it is technically a doctor's office. However, the people who come here are already dead, so what's the point in keeping it so damned clean?

These thoughts might come from the fact that as a SOLDIER, I hate doctors. Seeing one means a checkup, and they probe into every orifice of your body and every aspect of your life. Highly disturbing.

"Yo, Vince, your family is here!" The red-headed male nurse calls to the back as he sees Hojo walk in the door. The blond receptionist makes a fist and throws a punch at the male nurse for doing her job.

"Sephiroth." I stand, ignoring Hojo as he attempts to draw me into conversation while we walk further into the morgue. As far as I'm concerned, this is all his fault. "What, no words for your father?"

"I haven't considered you my father since I was seven years old, Hojo." I respond, glancing around as I notice that Zack is not with me. I see him chatting with someone who must be another medical examiner, because he is not wearing scrubs, like the nurses are. I roll my eyes playfully, though I say nothing. I understand that Zack would not want to go and identify my mother's body with me.

"That is a shame, considering your mother committed suicide." I whirl around, my eyes blazing, to glare death at the man who probably murdered my mother.

"That has not been determined yet." My heart stops, saving Hojo from a painful and bloody death, and me from murder charges. I know that voice…I turn, my heart still stalling its beating for the moment, to see if my ears are deceiving me or not.

I find that my ears did not deceive me. The 'demon' from the bar stands before me, his eyes downcast on the folder he holds in his delicate and beautiful hands. I am hit with the urge to grab the folder and cast it aside, forcing his eyes to meet mine. He flips a page and reads it over before looking up, and I feel good seeing the surprise that fills his crimson orbs.

His grip on the folder tightens as his mouth drops open. I glance at the nametag on his coat, feeling that I should make some attempt to learn his name since he seems incapable of making any bit of noise.

"Vincent, is something wrong?" The other medical examiner that Zack was talking to comes up, looking at my demon with worry in his eyes. Zack came up to stand beside me, a wide grin on his face, though it is starting to fade with the current happenings.

"I'm…I'm fine, Tseng." Vincent replies, his eyes still locked with my own. He blinks, his eyes sliding to Hojo and then the folder in his hands again. "Merely wondering who this other man is."

"Oh, I'm Zack Fair. I'm a friend of Seph's." Zack speaks up, running a hand through his spiky hair.

"No, not you. I can tell you aren't part of the family, since you were more than willing to stay behind during the viewing and speak with Tseng. I mean him." Vincent motions to Hojo, shuddering slightly.

"I'm the husband of the deceased." Hojo states, puffing up slightly to show off his self-believed importance.

Vincent shrugs. "Well, whoever you are, you are not permitted back here." Even Tseng looks confused at the statement, though I personally feel like gloating. "The deceased left an order that only her son, one Sephiroth Crescent and any he deems worthy, be allowed to view her body."

"Excuse me? Do you know who I am?" Hojo's voice takes on an angry tone, as it often did during my childhood when Mother did something to displease him. I am feeling quite proud of Mother, since she did manage to remove Hojo from at least her afterlife, if not from her life.

"I don't care who you are. Mrs. Crescent's wishes will be honored." Vincent gazes coldly at the fuming Hojo before turning to me. "May I see some ID?" I pull my wallet from my back pocket, flipping it open to show my ShinRa SOLDIER ID. Vincent nods, satisfied, and motions for me to follow him as he turns.

"You will not keep me from seeing my wife's body." Hojo growls out, causing Tseng to step between him and the rest of us.

"Rude, will you please remove this man from the building?" Tseng asks, and a man from the ShinRa Police Force, more commonly known as the Turks, steps forward, setting a hand on Hojo's shoulder and steering him from the room. I glance at Zack, to see if he wants to come with Vincent and I, but he's already deep in conversation with Tseng again. I shrug and follow Vincent further into the building.

"So, was that man truly her husband?" Vincent asks after a few moments of silence.

"Yeah, unfortunately. He's a complete dick." I answer, shrugging my shoulders as he asks why she would marry such a man.

"I see. Is he your father?" I scowl at this question.

"I'd prefer to not answer that. I do, however, have some questions of my own. Like why you left without waking me up." I can tell that Vincent's face is almost as crimson as his eyes, even though he's not looking at me. "Come on, you must have a reason."

"I…" Vincent pauses before a pane of glass and motions inside. I look over, and the red-headed nurse I saw earlier pulls a sheet off of my mother's head.

I wince and feel my stomach twist, seeing her in such bad shape. Her skin around her eyes is dark and I can tell that she was sick before dying. I turn to Vincent, nodding my confirmation. He motions for the red-head to put the sheet back and leads me to another room where he allows me to sit down and hands me a Styrofoam cup of water.

"Do you know what killed her?" I ask.

"Not yet. We're waiting on her tox-screen right now. At this moment, we're leaning towards overdose, though." Vincent answers softly, sitting in a chair behind the desk in this room.

I shake my head violently. "My mother would not overdose, purposely or otherwise. She was a scientist, so there's no way it would be an accident. And besides, she promised me that she would never leave me in this world alone with that bastard, Hojo."

Vincent sighs, almost inaudibly, as though he has to deal with this all the time, which I'm sure is quite true. "There is the…possibility… of poisoning. However, we won't know until we get her tests back and see exactly what was in her system. I will keep you updated, if you wish."

I nod fervently, taking a sip from the cup. Ugh, disgusting. Do they sterilize the water here too? Vincent notices my look of disgust and laughs slightly.

"Yes, it takes awhile to get used to the water here. I started to bring coffee and pop to drink."

"Listen, Vincent…" I lean forward, setting the cup on his desk. "I know this isn't exactly the right time or place, but…I really think we need to talk about what happened last night. If you'd prefer, we can meet somewhere else to discuss it, like a restaurant…" Vincent holds his hand up to forestall any more I can say.

"I'll meet with you. But only because it will be awkward working on your mother's case with this distracting us." He says, and stands, heading to the door. "Tonight, at Champs?"

"Of course." I answer."

A/N: Well, there we go!

Zack: Ah, CornCob, my coupling is just for you!

Vincent: You don't mind what she's doing to you?

Zack: Nah. It's refreshing to try new things out.

Vincent: …

Kuro: Ok, so, preview:

Vincent

Why am I dressing up for this dinner? It's not like it's a date or anything…Is it?