Chapter Eight: Attentive

Vincent Valentine:

I moaned softly feeling the cool sensation against my forehead. I noticed the place I was resting on was extremely comfortable. I allowed my eyes to flutter open to see just where exactly I was. A pair of concerned emeralds was staring down at me. All of a sudden the worst migraine hit my head forcing me to squeeze my eyes shut once more.

"What happened?" the pain in my head was so severe I could barely comprehend her question much less answer it. I rolled away from her so my back was to her, hoping to hide the pain in my face. I felt a hand rest on my shoulder and her long hair tickle my arm as she leaned over me trying to look at me.

"Vincent?" she asked. Her voice sounded so far away, but I knew she was right there.

"I'm alright." I managed in a weak voice. Moments later I heard the door opening. Voices were being exchanged, but I could barely understand what they were saying. The door closed again and I felt a tapping on my shoulder.

"Take this." I heard Aubre say. I rolled back towards her to face her, but couldn't raise my eyes to hers. I felt a rather large pill being pressed against my lips. I allowed it into my mouth. "Could you sit up?" I did my best to comply and next felt the rim of a glass against my bottom lip. I opened my mouth and took as much of the cold water as I could to get the large pill down. A few moments later and I could feel myself drifting off again.

Aubre Naluri:

I left Vincent to rest for the remainder of the evening but the later it got, the more tired I felt. Being pregnant already proved to be exhausting and I wasn't even a month along yet. I slowly walked into the bedroom to get some clothes to sleep in. Vincent lay sprawled out on the bed breathing heavily. I took a long shower and returned to see him in the same position. It was already a little after midnight and I was definitely ready to turn in. I could have taken the couch, I really could have. But instead I pulled the sheets back and crawled in bed next to the Turk. He woke up almost instantly.

He groaned before opening his eyes. "What time is it?"

"Twelve twenty three." I answered looking up at him. His looks were growing on my very quickly. I couldn't doubt this was a very handsome Turk. I had always viewed the Turks as gross looking scum bags masking their dirt with sharp suits. He blinked in return but didn't say anything else. "Do you feel better?"

He nodded then looked up at the ceiling. "I guess I should leave this bed to you." He said, yet he didn't move.

"Might as well stay." I yawned, never taking my eyes off of him. He looked back at me and raised his eye brows in a way that said 'really?'. I gave him a tired smile before closing my eyes.

"My father died." He said awkwardly.

My eyes snapped back open and I stared at him sympathetically. His eyes were watery but he wasn't crying. He moved his glance from the ceiling to my eyes. "I don't have anyone anymore. There's nothing I have to live for, Aubre. I should have died and let you go. I'm so sorry."

I shook my head no and brought my hand to his face. "You aren't alone, Vincent." I hesitated to continue, but did nonetheless. "I'm here with you."

He stared at me blankly for the longest time before reaching up and brushing his fingers against my cheek. "You shouldn't be. You belong at home with your family. Worst of all, that night I remember seeing a young man at your door. He was there for you, wasn't he? I ruined your chance at love as well."

I had never been aware that emotions were really able to physically make you ill, but I guess it was true. All the guilt and the sudden shock and sadness of losing his father had really broken him down. His face was so much paler than before almost to the point of having a green tint. His way of breathing proved he was still having a hard time doing so. I felt so bad for him at this moment. I reached towards him and touched his pale cheek. He flinched as if the touch hurt him.

"Don't feel sorry for me, Aubre. I deserve everything that comes to me. Hopefully that includes death. I don't care what torturous way Hojo has in mind, I deserve it."

"No.. don't you dare let Hojo kill you. I..I need you." I said moving my hand from his cheek into his dark hair. He closed his eyes slowly with a wheezing sigh. When he opened them again tears rolled out of them. I threw my arms around his neck and pulled myself closer to him. His hands gently found their way to the small of my back as he hugged me back. "Yes you are the one who brought me into this, but now we're in it together. I want you with me until the end of this."

I felt him nod. "I'll be here for you, Aubre. Til the end."

I fell asleep wrapped up in his arms and awoke the next morning in the same position. I looked up to see him wide awake staring past me in a daze.

Vincent Valentine:

What the hell am I doing now? I wondered. Last night, feeling Aubre so close to me pulled strings in my heart. I barely know anything about the girl other than she is unnaturally forgiving. Her smile flashed in my mind and I felt the tugging at my heart again. I sighed and let myself drift off deep into my thoughts.

Moments later I felt eyes on me. I looked down to see those emeralds again. "Good morning." I said awkwardly. She pushed back a chunk of her bright red hair and smiled at me. Had I been standing, my knees would have given out. I wanted to curse out loud for these feelings I was having. I guess I'm not suffering enough, may as well attach another unattainable love interest to my list. She snuggled into my chest as if she planned on sleeping for a while longer. I cleared my throat. "Shall I call for breakfast?"

She pulled away and looked up at me. "Are you feeling yourself today?"

I nodded. Yes, I felt myself. Not that that was a good thing to be feeling. She rolled away from me before mumbling.

"Yes, and I'll have the usual."

I pushed myself up and threw my legs over the side of the bed. At least I didn't wake up with a painful arousal. On the way out of the room I grabbed my clean suit and headed to the bathroom to shower. I closed my eyes as the warm water hit my face. Her smile wouldn't leave my mind and my heart wouldn't stop pounding.

And it didn't… not for the next entire month. Things remained civil between us, but I never crossed the line any further. I did all I could as far as making her comfortable, but I did my best not to get too close to her. Lately, she seemed to be aware of my weariness towards her. Hojo hadn't inspected her for quite a while so we had indeed been spending every second with each other. I'd gotten to know a lot about her which only made me feel worse. She had a little sister back home whom she was a role model to. The man at her door, Cloud, was indeed her love interest and would be joining SOLDIER soon. I made a promise to her that after the birth of the child and upon her returning home, I'd search around Shinra Headquarters for Cloud for her. She was to graduate this year and go to school in Junon for nursing. I had ruined all that for her.

"This place is pretty, Vincent." She said smiling up at me. The warm breeze moved her hair around sending strands in and out of her face. We sat together under the shade of a thick tree, on a grass patch in between rows and rows of pink and white flowers. I forced a smile back at her. Though I did feel bad and should, I tried my best to appear a bit more cheerful around her. She giggled and opened the picnic basket we'd brought here. There was no doubt her appetite had increased over the past weeks. She was now almost two months pregnant and not showing much. The loose T-shirts she wore didn't allow her shaped to be seen easily. After she finished eating most of the food, we both laid back against the tree. She rested her head on my chest and her hand rested dangerously on my upper thigh. I swallowed hard and discretely moved her hand down. She instantly looked up at me.

I cleared my throat awkwardly as I had nothing to say.

"You know, I'm pregnant with your child." She said resting her head again.

"Mmhm." I replied.

"So…, then why are you so worried about touching me or me touching you? You know, it'd make this feel a little less wrong if you'd act like the father of my child and not just my keeper."

"I wasn't sure if that's what you wanted." I brought my arm around her shoulders and stroked her forearm in a way that I hoped was comforting. She climbed into my lap and I wrapped both of my arms around her. She did say anything more and we remained in this position for a long time. Eventually I began to feel like we were being watched. I narrowed my eyes as I glanced around the area. Then I saw her. All the way inside the mansion, I could see Lucrecia standing in the window staring down at us. From this distance I couldn't see her expression, but I knew she was watching. She still offered no explanation to why she could no longer speak to me. I assumed it had something to do with Hojo. As I've said before, there used to be no way I could hide my admiration for her and I'm sure he noticed. Being as scared of him as I knew she was, there was probably no other way for her. That saddened me, but all my attention was focused somewhere else now and I intended to keep it that way until I see to it that she's returned home safely. I hugged her tighter as that thought came to mind. I could just see Hojo ready to dispose of her after this was over.