DISCLAIMERS: I do not own anything Final Fantasy, nor any of it's characters.

CHAPTER 2:

Morning came as Tifa sat quietly on the edge of her bed, staring down at her clasped hands that rested on top of her thighs. She had not slept very well, but compared to the past couple of nights, it was better; her nightmares didn't come to haunt her this time. She showered and dressed in her usual leather, front-zip crop top over a short, white tank top, then slipped on her leather shorts and her sneakers. Standing in front of the bathroom mirror, she examined her reflection closely, noticing the bags under her eyes and her once, toned, voluptuous figure was slowly fading.

Damn Cloud and his constant brooding...

She had been so blinded by her affections and desperate attempts to get his love and attention. He was her childhood friend who promised to protect her, he had told her a few years back that she was the reason why he joined SOLDIER - he wanted to impress her. The moment he spoke those words to her, made her heart flutter. Cloud used to have feelings for her, but now? He still can't get over the death of his friends, nor his love for the Cetra. As much as she, too, loved the green-eyed ancient, Tifa couldn't help but to envy her. She was prim and proper - feminine for the most part, graceful and caring about everyone and everything. As for Tifa? She was a fighter who was fueled by the desire to hunt down Sephiroth for what he had done back at her hometown - for what he had taken away from her. The martial artist still had a heart, no doubt, but it was nothing compared to Aerith's.

The cetra also had Cloud's heart - she always will.

Sighing and wiping away the tears with the back of her hands, she clenched her fists and furrowed her eyebrows as she stared intensely at the woman that stood before her. The martial artist had put in so much effort in trying to save their relationship, but to no avail. Cloud would never return her feelings, he only cares and loved her as a friend. Knowing that, she told herself she can't continue on like this - especially now that the world may be in danger and possibly needs to be saved again, she needed to bring back the old Tifa.

If Yazoo and Loz were alive, she had to prepare herself; there was no way in hell she would be able to fight them in her current condition - it would be like a lamb walking towards the lions. Tifa definitely still remembered her fight with Loz a few years ago, when Geo-stigma had become a problem. She and Marlene were waiting at Aerith's church, hoping for Cloud to return until he appeared asking where 'mother' was.

Then they fought.

The barmaid had to admit, it had been a while since she faced such a strong opponent. Unfortunately, he had won that fight and knocked her unconscious.

She unclenched her fists and sighed, "You can do this.." Tifa whispered to her reflection. If the remnants have returned, she specifically wants to hunt down Loz in hopes of a rematch. 'This time, I will kick his ass!'

"Tifa!"

She gasped as her thoughts were forced aside and her motherly instincts immediately took over. Tifa kicked her bathroom door open and dashed out of her room, running downstairs to the bar. The brunette found Denzel, crouching behind a table far across the bar with what she can obviously tell was fear and confusion written all over his face. "Denzel? What's wro-"

Suddenly, he ran up and hugged her tightly. He then, pointed his finger to the pale man sitting on the sofa. Tifa turned her attention towards Vincent; he remained quiet, staring at the boy with his crimson red eyes, a little curious.

"Why is he here..?" Denzel whispered, not taking his eyes off Vincent.

She ruffled his hair and sighed, relieved to know he wasn't hurt or in any real danger, "Vincent came by last night after I tucked you into bed, he was looking for Cloud."

The boy looked up at her, then back at the gunman.

"I offered Vincent to stay with us until Cloud gets back," Tifa spoke to him softly, "It's okay, he wont hurt us. He's our friend, remember?"

Slowly, he released his grip on Tifa.

Denzel recalled the time when AVALANCHE came together to take down Bahamut SIN and the remnants; Vincent made an appearance to help them. Cloud fought against Sephiroth after Kadaj had successfully got his hands on the remains of Jenova and transformed into none other than the fearsome, Silver General himself. Thankfully, Sephiroth was defeated by Cloud's Omnislash and was sent back into the lifestream. Again.

Taking a slow, cautious step forward, he said, "I-I'm sorry, Sir. You just.. Surprised me."

Vincent cocked his head to the side, considering the boy, then gave him a curt nod. Pushing himself up onto his feet, the gunslinger stifled a yawn and turned to face Tifa.

He noticed her hair had grown quite a bit, about two inches just past her waist. The martial artist's hair were almost the same length as when he first met her and her group of friends back at the Shinra mansion. Ah, yes; he remembered seeing her for the first time. Tifa wore a short, white crop top and the leather mini skirt - how she managed to travel and fight in such tiny clothing's, was beyond him. Tifa is a beautiful woman nonetheless, he would only be lying to himself if he said or thought otherwise. She had a strong spirit and a heart of gold; Tifa was raw, wild and optimistic - she deserved so much more than what she's currently going through.

Vincent was already fully dressed, Tifa noted. It made her wonder if he had even slept at all last night? Perhaps he got up very early?

"Denzel, why don't you take a seat while I prepare some breakfast for the three of us?"

The boy nodded and walked towards the counter, pulling down three of the stools before seating himself. Apparently, Denzel seemed curious about Vincent as he constantly stole a quick glance at the gunslinger every so often.

Tifa turned her attention back to the gunslinger, "Good morning, Vincent. How did you sleep?"

"..."

"...Vincent?"

"Hmm?"

"..Oh, Vincent.. You really haven't changed much at all!" She chuckled, shaking her head. Of course, she didn't expect him to answer her - at least, not right away. For the gunslinger to remain silent or give her a short, curt answer was something she had gotten used too. He usually kept to himself, not speaking up unless he had something important to say.

The corners of his lips twitched upward, "Is that a good or bad thing, Miss Lockhart?"

She pressed her lips into a fine line and folded her arms across her chest, "Well.. I mean.. After the whole thing with Deepground, you disappeared for a while.. Then we found you in that cave.."

Vincent kept his eyes fixed onto her large, brown-ish wine colored orbs, urging her to continue.

"Then you disappeared again - I was really worried about you, too... But, now that you're here," She gave him a warm smile, "I can tell, you have changed somehow... Yet you've also remained the same ole' Vincent Valentine - Mister tall, dark and mysterious. You just... Seem to be more at ease now.. And that makes me happy."

Thanking the Gods for his cloak which covered the lower half of his face, he was able to hide that small smile as he tore his eyes away from her to stare out the windows. She was right, he no longer blamed himself for what happened to Lucrecia - Everything that happened in the past was because of Hojo, not him.

After AVALANCHE had successfully saved the world again, Vincent learned to accept the fact that he must forgive himself and find the strength to move on, because the world is always changing and time waited for no one. He must look forward to his future, whatever it may hold.

He hoped to, one day, truly find peace and happiness in this world.

Taking in a long, steady breath, he turned to face Tifa, "... Is there something wrong?" He raised his eyebrows. She was staring so intensely at him, "Are you attempting to bore holes in my face?" The gunslinger mused.

Shaking her head again, Tifa answered, "No! Of course not. I apologize... It's just.. I've... Missed you."

"Tifa..?"

Both turned to face Denzel.

"When can we-.." His voice trailed off when his eyes met with Vincent's crimson orbs.

A long pause of awkward silence filled the bar as neither spoke, but simply stared at each other with a questioning, amused expression.

"Do I.. Frighten you?" Vincent decided to be the first to break the silence.

His eyes widened, looking very much like a deer in headlights, "No! Y-Your so, I mean..." Denzel lowered his head, "I just thought you looked.. I don't know.. Kinda..."

"I look kind of like what?"

"..Just thought you looked kinda... Well, kinda cool." He mumbled.

Vincent was silent.

He was a little surprised at Denzel's comment. Ever since he left his coffin, no one had ever told him he looked 'cool' or complimented him in any ways - unless they were sarcastic, like Cid. Then again, there was Tifa, but she knew he doesn't take compliments well. She chose her words wisely before speaking them and that made him felt slightly more at ease when he was around her; she knew what to say without making him angry or uncomfortable. Now, to be called 'cool'? He would question that - He still thinks of himself as a hideous monster, even after Chaos and the other demons had finally been purged from his body.

"You look sorta scary too.. But its a cool type of scary." The boy nodded.

Lifting a hand to cover the wide grin on her face, Tifa began to laugh whole-heartedly.

It had been such a long time since she felt like this; like she was alive. Perhaps having Vincent Valentine around wont be so bad after all. At first, she was worried he might become so irritated with her, Denzel and the atmosphere of a lively bar that he would leave without a warning.

Vincent felt a small bit of relief to finally see a genuine smile on her face, to hear her laughing. Now there, is the Tifa Lockhart he remembers and had so much admired.

"Tifa? When can we go to the Gold Saucer?" asked Denzel.

Using the Ropeway, Tifa and Vincent sat patiently inside the cable car while Denzel was too busy staring out the window. He was excited - no doubt, but she had to keep reminding the boy to sit still or not move around so much while they are still very high off the ground.

Tifa was proud she had managed to convince the gunslinger to join her and Denzel - it wasn't easy, of course. She had promised Denzel for quite some time now, that once Cloud returned home and had time to spend with them as a family, they would come and stay here for the weekend - that time never came. Sighing mentally, she decided to keep to her promise, even if Cloud couldn't join them. Denzel didn't seem to mind, though she knew he still misses the spiky-haired blonde.

Staring at Denzel, Tifa smiled faintly. She still found it adorable he thought Vincent was 'cool', the look on Vincent's face when Denzel told him that, was priceless - he was definitely surprised. 'Vincent IS pretty cool, isn't he?' She giggled inwardly. Tifa was always grateful to have Vincent around; and for him to actually accompany her at Gold Saucer, was unbelievable; It will be interesting, to say the least, to see how he reacts to all the fancy, colorful lights, the crowd of people and all the games.

"We're almost there, I can almost see it!" Denzel exclaimed.

Vincent had seated himself across from the two. His arms were folded over his chest as he thought quietly to himself, wondering why he let the barmaid win so easily in convincing him to come here - Oh, that's right, because she had begged him to come after he told her she deserved a break, and it would be a great idea for her to go and have fun with Denzel.

He mentally kicked himself.

Vincent didn't planned on coming, but Tifa would not leave until he agreed. It would be a great way for them to catch up, she said. We all needed a break, to 'loosen up', she said. He huffed before his eyes eventually found its way to Tifa's smiling face.

'She seems content,' He thought, 'What can possibly go wrong, Valentine? We will only be here for two days..'

Before the three left Edge, Tifa left a note in Cloud's office, just in case if he returned while they were gone. She couldn't stop smiling when they've locked the doors to the bar and took off. Vincent had offered to watch the bar for her, but she refused. She couldn't just leave Vincent there, it would make her feel awful to leave the gunslinger while she and Denzel went out. 'Vincent deserves to have a break, too - Heck, if Vincent Valentine can survive all the things we went through during our AVALANCHE days, then he should be able to survive two days at Gold Saucer!'

"Vincent?" Tifa turned to look at him, noticing he had been staring at her.

"Hm?"

She inhaled slowly, gathering the courage to speak and ask him a question that had long, been bugging her since this morning.

"I was wondering... When we return to Edge," she clasped her hands in front of her and furrowed her eyebrows before she continued, "Would you... Help me with my training? Will you be my sparring partner?" Tifa had thought about starting up her training again - but her mind and emotions, however, were currently not in the right places.

She needed this; a break from the bar, from Cloud and to stretch her legs - to clear her mind and focus on the possible issues that may become a threat to the world. Training with Vincent will also provide her with a new challenge, and she could learn a lot from the gunslinger.

Tifa knew, if she was to go up against the enemies this time around, she needed to get stronger.

Vincent blinked a few times, then parted his lips to speak, "I... Would be honored to help you with your training," he eyed her face, as if searching for something, "Keep in mind though, Miss Lockhart - I will not go easy on you." The corner of his lips turned upward into a smirk.

"Your on, Valentine! I'll squash you." She grinned sheepishly.

"Tifa, look! I see it!" Denzel shouted in joy, "Gold Saucer!"

"Oh, we're here already?" She tilted her head back to look out the window.

Up ahead, with all its glorious flashing lights, was Gold Saucer.

Gazing out the window behind him, Vincent frowned at the sight of the large structures, colorful buildings and flashing lights. Sighing softly, he turned to look back at the two. Denzel, was trying his best not to jump around in his seat. Tifa laughed as the boy waved his arms around animatedly, telling her his plans about what he would do first, where he would go and all the gold points and prizes he would win. Vincent was pleased to see this, perhaps, this will go better than what he originally had assumed.

'That's it, Tifa..' Vincent thought, 're-wake your fighting spirit...'