Penance
©®™ Lt. Commander Richie
Disclaimer: Don't make me break out the Stoat joke again!
Chapter 3
All was quiet as Vincent and Tifa made their way into the Seventh Heaven bar, one of the reasons being that the only patron was packing up and leaving, and it was almost closing time. Walking from Nibelheim to Edge, with the occasional Chocobo ride or hitching a ride in the back of a truck had taken them a good four hours. It had only taken Tifa and Cloud two on Fenrir, and the martial arts specialist had a feeling that it only took one for Cloud to get back. A squeal of delight was heard as soon as the door closed on the final patron, and a little black-haired blur had thrown itself forward and latched itself around Vincent's legs.
"Mr. Vins'nt, you came back!" Mira said, grinning widely with her large eyes peering up at him.
"Of course I did, little one." Vincent nodded, dislodging one foot from Mira's grasp and kneeling down in front of her. He held his claw forward, the long red ribbon still wrapped around several digits. Mira once again crowed in happiness, jumping forward and hugging Vincent around his neck. He stiffened in surprise, looking over to Tifa who was lightly giggling. More giggling came from up the stairs, as both Yuffie and Marlene peered down the staircase at the spectacle.
Finally Mira let go of Vincent's neck, carefully unwinding the long red ribbon from his golden claw. She stepped back after she had completed that task, bowing respectfully. Well, it would have been respectful if she hadn't yawned in the middle of everything.
"Thank you for returning my new ribbon, Mr. Vins-" Mira cut herself off with another yawn, as Yuffie and Marlene came down the stairs and grouped around them. Vincent stood and brushed himself off, nodding to the tiny girl.
"C'mon, little sister-like dudette, let's get you back up in bed!" Yuffie said, reaching down and scooping Mira up. Just as Tifa began to think the Kunoichi had a bit of a maternal side, Yuffie threw Mira over one shoulder like a sack of potatoes and held onto her ankles, walking back up the stairs with Mira giggling wildly. Marlene followed dutifully, but not before giving Tifa a large hug and giving a slight bow to Vincent.
Tifa hit the house lights and plunged most of the bar into darkness, turning off the ceiling fans as she headed for the bar. She jumped the counter and almost hit the switch for the bar's hanging lamps, but Vincent stopped her as he sat down.
"You need a drink?" She asked, closing the various drink-making apparatuses with barely-concealed flourishes. Vincent shook his head, but took the glass of water proffered to him anyway. Tifa poured herself the same, and sat down in a rickety chair on the other side of the bar.
"You don't have to do this, you know." Vincent deadpanned, setting the glass on the table. Tifa shrugged, taking a drink.
"Do what, help you? Like it or not, Vincent, that's what friends do." She said, crossing her arms. She took another drink of her water, staring down the red eyes of her drinking companion over the top of her glass.
"I can do it, you don't have to." He muttered, finally lifting his glass to his lips and drinking. Tifa sighed, resisting the urge to smack the man into next Tuesday.
"Dilly-dally, shilly-shally, Vincent. You spend too much time in the past. You've got friends now that will help you." Tifa said, as though she was speaking to a child. Vincent sighed, he was getting nowhere with her and she would not give up.
"I do not dilly-dally." Vincent said, and Tifa smiled a warm smile at him. She stood up and leaned on the bar, placing a caring hand on his gauntleted gold arm.
"I've told you, Vincent, you spend too much time in the past. Living in today is alright, and memories will always be with you. But if you leave them open to fester and become oblivious to the present, you'll never be able to live normally." Tifa chided, setting her drink down.
"But-" Vincent began to protest, but Tifa reached up and stuffed part of the collar of his cloak in his mouth with two fingers.
"For that, you're sleeping on the couch in Cloud's office." She said, straightening her back and picking her glass up once more. As she passed the light switches, she hit the ones for the bar's hanging lamps. The bar was thrown into pitch blackness, the only sounds besides the heater in the basement rumbling being the cars on the street. Headlamps lit the room for a moment and then passed on, showing that Tifa was already halfway to the stairs.
"Goodnight." Vincent wished, nodding just enough that some black hair fell and hid his lightly glowing red Mako eyes.
"'Night, Mr. Vins'nt." Tifa said, grinning over her shoulder and giving a light wave as she disappeared up the stairs.
"Mr. Vins'nt, Mr. Vins'nt, wake up! The house is on fire!" Mira shrieked, holding back giggles as she shoved at Vincent's uncloaked shoulder. She herself was wearing the cloak he was so known for; nearly drowning in it was more of an appropriate euphemism, actually. Tifa had once again tied the long red ribbon in the tiny girl's hair, and now only a few broken and burnt locks fell in her large blue eyes. With a jump the ribbon slipped from her scalp to her forehead, making her look like a miniaturized Valentine.
Vincent jumped up and reached for where he had hung his cloak, only to find it missing. He looked around for smoke, but there was none. Immediately, he became confused.
"Where's the fire?" He asked, looking down to see Mira furiously tugging the ribbon out of her eyes and off her forehead, making smaller bits of hair stick up at odd angles.
"Ms. Tifa said to come get you up, Mr. Vins'nt. She said a bunch of things she told'd me not to repeat when she dropped the coffee, too." Mira said, looking down at her unshod feet and tracing little circles in motes of dust on the floor with one toe. Vincent nodded and headed for the door out to the hall, which was slightly ajar, when he felt a tiny hand slide its way into his gauntleted gold claw. He started, opening the claw and pulling it away, but then Mira used both hands to hold it in place and gently curl the fingers around her own hand.
"Why..." He began, but Mira looked up at him with the utmost seriousness in her big blue Mako eyes.
"I know you're gonna to try to go back t' bed, so you're gonna come down with me an' eat." She ordered, trying to lead the way through the door but quickly found that impossible as she tripped over the cape she had borrowed. Vincent caught her, and the tiny girl latched onto his other arm with a vice-like grip uncommon for a girl her age, weight and general all-around scrawniness. She grinned and began to once again drag him. This was even harder down the stairs, since nearly every other step Mira tripped on the billowing cloak she had borrowed. So that was how the two ended up in the kitchen, Vincent slightly hunched and attempting to pull his hand away, and Mira grinning like she had just taken on the Midgar Zolom and defeated it.
"Yuffie set the stove on fire... Again!" Marlene cried, pointing to where Yuffie had miraculously been able to set fire to an empty burner with nothing on it.
"Shush, kiddo! Ah, ewww... Grossness, I think that lump under the burner just moved!" Yuffie cried out, jumping back and flailing with a very hot pan in one hand. There was a small squeak from under the burner, and the mouse scampered away. Reaching out casually, a large red paw trapped the mouse's tail to the ground and then lifted it so it was hanging in front of the red lion's nose.
"Kittycat's not gonna eat the mousy, right?" A startled Mira, pulling Vincent behind her, asked. Her voice was muffled by the collar nearly hiding her entire face, only her large blue eyes showing.
"Of course I'm not." The red lion chided, licking the mouse held by its tail clean of all spilled food. "I would need something much larger than just a mouse to sustain me." With that Mira let go of Vincent and ran for the large cat, hugging him tightly around the neck and burying her face into his fur.
"You're soft... What's your name?" Mira asked, reaching up and playing with one of the lion's many feathers. The lion dropped the now-clean mouse, which swayed for a moment before bolting for its hole.
"My name is Nanaki, but you can call me Red." The lion said, thoroughly enjoying the finger combing of his mane by the six-year-old. Mira nodded, situating herself on Nanaki's back much like Cait Sith would and snuggling into his fur.
"You're like a big Teddy Bear!" Mira declared, sat up, and began to braid Nanaki's mane. The red lion purred and settled onto the kitchen floor, content with watching people's feet. A sudden bout of swearing made the cat wince, as Mira probably heard it. A pair of brown boots traipsed through the door next to the cat and his current rider, bits of ash falling about the pilot as he made his way to a table. Suddenly the boots stopped and turned, as though Cid was taking a double-take. Mira's red ribbon had fallen onto her forehead again, but this time she hadn't bothered to push it back up.
"The fu-hell?" Cid caught himself just in time, as Nanaki winced again. All the swearing was going to rub off on the girl eventually, he was sure of it. "Vincent! When th' hell'd you have a kid?" The pilot yelled, and the bar suddenly got very quiet. Once again, only the heater was heard, but this time its rhythmic thrumming was accompanied by Mira humming what sounded like a nursery rhyme. Finally Yuffie busted out laughing, more at Vincent's uncovered and slightly-mortified look than at Cid's question. Mira looked up, perplexed, at the blond pilot.
"She isn't my child, Highwind." Vincent said, his mortified look having fled. Cid nodded, unsure. He looked back down at the happy Nanaki and the delighted Mira, who had once again returned her attention to braiding the lion's mane.
"Whatever. Cute one, though." He said, turning a chair around and seating himself at a table. Cloud, leaning against a wall with his arms crossed, nodded solemnly. A rushing sound, followed by Marlene's high-pitched wail about something going wrong, finally prompted Vincent to stand.
"Yuffie." He said, towering above the Kunoichi. The ninja nodded and handed Vincent the skillet, backing away from the mess that was the stove.
Accent reduxed. Cid fans will thank me for the continuity later.