Chapter 3: A Threat
"Vincent?" Her voice snapped me out of my reverie, sat with the empty whiskey glass clasped in pale, limp fingers. I cast my eyes round the bar, suddenly aware that it was empty, devoid even of the barmaid. It was just Tifa and I.
"You seemed lost in thought." She remarked, almost fondly, setting herself on the comfortable armchair adjacent to me, a glass of wine in her hand. She swirled the red liquid around for a while, then took a sip, savouring it before swallowing. "So, did you… um… have any reason for visiting?" She attempted flippancy, though I sensed the desperation in her voice.
The silence I allowed to settle carried away her smile, leaving behind an expression which I imagined frequented her face more often of late; hard lines forming around her mouth, a creased brow, perhaps from too many nights crying into her pillow. I could almost imagine her lip quivering, tears sliding gently down her perfectly oval face.
"Mind if I have another drink?" I asked, indicating to my empty glass, rudely ignoring her previous question. She nodded towards the bottle that stood before me on the table, and poured me a generous measure. Her hands shook ever so slightly as she did so.
I noticed the lighting had been dimmed, and that the music that had been drowned out by the chatter and laughter of the full bar could be heard now, playing softly in the background. It did little to make the silences between my responses more bearable.
"So why Kalm, after so long?" She tried again.
"How long has it been?" I asked. Though I did not try to pretend I wasn't aware how long it had been. I hid my discomfort.
"Two years. I did wonder about you-" She shifted uncomfortably in her seat, crossing her legs this way and that, before finally tucking them underneath her. A more casual position, I noted, that she didn't suit. "—you know; where you had got to after all this time… if life was treating you well."
Her voice faltered, her eyes pleading with mine, begging me to understand something I couldn't possibly know about. I licked my lips, formulating my next comment carefully. Did I really want to go down the road of dependency, where I suddenly become a rock, so unwilling it's a wonder I can even support myself? Or was my guilt so strong, I would bear her burdens for her anyway?
"I asked myself the same question." I admitted, leaning forward slightly, placing the glass on the table before me. It chinked rudely against the wood, making her wince a little.
"Life… hasn't been especially kind to me, Vincent." She whispered, absently watching the light refract from the surface of the red wine, in the glass she clutched loosely in her hand.
"Life is never kind, Tifa…" Instantly regretting how empty my remark sounded, I suppressed the urge to reach out and touch her arm. I had intended some comfort to penetrate my tone, but the damage was done.
Her expression was stripped of pretences, and I saw what she had been trying so hard to hide; Tears slid gently along the contours of her cheeks, coming to rest on her quivering lips. Their colour was beautiful; a whirlwind of amber, whiskey bottles, leaves in autumn and a desert sunset. She drew her arms around herself as though to block out a sudden chill, making herself into a small, fragile ball.
"I know that as well as you do, Vincent…" she bit her lip, before continuing. "After Midgar I… Cloud and I came to Kalm. I had hoped we could start over. But…" her voice failed her for a moment.
She left her seat and crossed to the window to look out over the sleepy, night-time Kalm. The guilt having successfully battered down my walls, I crossed to join her. Stood next to her after two years, I'd forgotten how much shorter than me she was. She usually carried herself with such dignity and pride that a much taller man would quake in her presence. Just not tonight, it seemed.
Unable to find words, I allowed reluctant fingers to rest upon her shoulder, for what little good it would do. Yet she took it as an invitation for an embrace, her damp cheek pressing against my chest as she came to rest within my unwelcoming arms. I couldn't help but think that she was just the right height. I could rest my chin upon her crown, if I wanted to. So slender too, held against me in this way. I maintained a distance between us, gritting my teeth against the contact. Overstepping the boundaries this time could be forgiven. Maybe not forgotten, but certainly…
Just this once.
"I just… I am so lonely here Vincent…" she whispered, fresh tears seeping through the fabric of my shirt.
As though she sensed my hostility, she lifts her head to break away from the embrace. In one excruciating second, everything is ruined as her lips brush my neck. It is accidental, and perhaps it could even have been brushed off. Yet I couldn't suppress the shiver it gave me, the sensation burying beneath my skin like a parasite and crawling all over my body.
We are both surprised by my reaction; her eyes widen a little as she takes in my expression, and the grip I didn't know I had on her arm tightens. We stare at each other, barriers shattered and broken around us, and for one second, everything that ever stood is gone.
Her eyes half lidded, she stands on her tip toes, and before I can realise how wrong it is, before I can acknowledge the consequences of our actions, she kisses me. Her lips are dry, I realise, as they press against mine. I can almost taste the wine on her breath, I want to taste it suddenly, to taste her and devour her whole. I don't move, and the contact ceases briefly. I wonder what that sound is; then I realise I am breathing as though I have just sprinted the length of the continent.
I tell myself it is because of the whisky that I have allowed this situation to spiral down into this.
I turn my face away abruptly, so her destructive lips touch my cheek. It takes her a few seconds to come to her senses.
"Oh… oh god Vincent I'm sorry." She gasps, bringing a hand to her mouth, steeping away too far and too fast so her back hits the wall. She stumbles, clutching the window frame with trembling fingers.
But the harm has been done; she knew I was weak too. She knew that I wouldn't stop her.
"Why did you ask me to stay? Was it for this?" I couldn't contain the anger entering my voice. I had never known anything like this, not or a long time at least. My hands were shaking, and still my chest rose and fell at hyper-speed.
"No, Vincent I'm sorry I-"
"I don't like being played for a fool Tifa. I've made allowances for you in the past. But this… why?"
"Cloud and I have been having problems, Vincent!" She was spiralling, trying to find answers she didn't know. It sounded like excuses to me. I was confused, and hurt. But mostly, I was afraid. Afraid of how one small kiss had made me feel.
I turned away from her, shaking my head slowly, my jaw clenched like a vice. Right then, I didn't care what her reasons were, nor how hurt she might have been too. I only wanted her to feel sorry for what she had done. I wanted to hurt her back, like she didn't realise she'd hurt me.
"You couldn't care less, could you?" Her tears were choking her words, though she stood her ground, her fists slightly clenched. I noted that her shoulders were trembling, betraying her anger. However, my less tolerant side chose to ignore it. I had come here out of a sort of guilt-ridden duty to Tifa, and she repaid me with this; stirring up emotions within me I didn't know had been at rest for so long. I didn't want to remain any longer than I had to.
"There's no reason for me to stay here any longer. Good night Tifa."
In that instant I had decided to leave. I had come in too deep, given away too much in a moment of alcohol-induced weakness. She slipped in front of me, her hand closing over the door handle, back pressed against the wood, still-trembling hands fumbling with the lock.
"I need you here, Vincent." Her voice became urgent.
"Please move out of my way, Tifa." I seethed, glaring at the locked door, contemplating whether to kick it down to escape this uncomfortable situation I had managed to land myself in. "I am the least qualified person you should be asking for help."
She- we- shouldn't have done what we did. I imagined that any moment now Cloud would enter the room and sense the tension, his blue eyes wide at the sight of me. He would demand to know what was going on, why I had suddenly appeared after two years and Tifa was stood before me crying. I didn't want to explain that the woman he lived with and shared his bed with had kissed me.
I didn't want to stay here, putting myself in a situation where I didn't belong. It wasn't my place to save her failing relationship. But the other half of my mind was telling me that that was the whole reason I came here in the first place- For her.
"Vincent," she pleaded. "Stop acting so stubborn for one second and listen to me! Cloud has been-"
She cut herself short, turning with a horror-struck expression to face the door that was being unlocked from the other side. I felt my shoulders sag with realisation. It was inevitable now. I had to face him.
I had landed myself in this situation; I would have to get myself out of it. I stepped into position behind the door, where I would not be noticed.
A few seconds later the door swung open and boots thudded on wood.
"Tifa." I heard Cloud's voice, calm and collected, but there was something in his tone that I recognised as the influence of alcohol. He was drunk. Now that I thought about it, I caught the faint scent of whiskey.
Be smart Tifa, especially this time. Like Lucrecia hadn't been. I shook away the notion. Now was not the time for comparisons.
"What are you still doin' up?" He asked, a faint slur evident in his voice. He hadn't yet noticed my presence. I must blend into the shadows with my dark hair and clothing. Good. I might need to step in soon.
"I was…" I felt Tifa's gaze fall on me briefly. She swallowed. "Waiting up for you."
"What's wrong Tif? You look… upset or something?" From where I was, any other person would think he was showing compassion and enfolding her in an embrace. But actually he was staring at the empty whisky glass I had left on the bar. I cursed myself silently, but didn't move.
"Tifa is there someone else here?"
"No. I just haven't finished-" She gave a small yelp of pain as the back of his hand connected with the side of her face, cutting off her comment. This was followed by the tinkle of breaking glass.
"I'm not stupid, now where is he? Don't try and lie to me you stupid cow, the bar closed an hours ago." He bore down on her, his hand raised. He didn't know I was stood behind him. Tifa looked up in horror from her place huddled on the floor with her back up against the bar. Her palms were pressed to the floor, shards of glass cutting into her vulnerable flesh.
My blood boiled in my veins.
I caught his falling wrist in my hand and twisted his arm around and up his back. My sudden intervention seemed to have caught him off balance, I noted with satisfaction. It was not often one could go against a member of Soldier in physical combat, mako poisoning or no, and come out on top.
One jerk of my grip, and his shoulder would dislocate itself.
"Touch her again Strife, and see what happens." I muttered dangerously into his ear. I wanted him to hear just how close I was to losing control. Perhaps then, he wouldn't be as inclined to push me to that point. It would not end well for anyone.
I felt his body aimlessly squirming in my grip. Yanking him around, I managed to persuade him over to the door. I pushed him outside and kicked him over onto the hard floor, unholstering Death Penalty from my side. The gunmetal glinted in the fully risen moon. Cloud's eerie cerulean eyes stared at me blankly from the other side of the barrel. I allowed him to stagger to his feet, never wavering my aim from between his eyes.
"Give me your keys." I spat. He tossed them at my feet. That done, I strode forward and gripped him by the front of his shirt, allowing the barrel of Death Penalty to come to rest at his throat. "Now get the fuck out of here. I don't want to see you bothering Tifa again. Or I swear to god, I will kill you."
I received a rigid nod. One last shove sent him stumbling off into the square, towards the entrance to town. I waited until I couldn't see his retreating figure swaying off into the distance. Then I went inside and locked the door.
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