DISCLAIMERS: I do not own anything Final Fantasy, nor any of it's characters.
CHAPTER 3:
When the three had finally stepped out of the cable car, they all took in their surroundings.
The amusement park was full of colorful, fun shaped buildings and plenty of flashy lights; Denzel and Tifa grinned with excitement. Vincent on the other hand, cringed inwardly - He was outside of his comfort zone.
The gunslinger had paid for their passes at the entrance, after much protest from Tifa. She huffed but thanked him anyways as they walked down the hallway, towards the terminal floor.
"Alright, first things first; lets go check into our rooms!" Tifa said.
Vincent followed the two, walking in a leisurely manner while carrying their bags full of items in which they had packed for the weekend. He, himself, did not bring much for this trip, just a few change of clothes, his guns and his PHS. What else would he need? They were only here for two days, after all.
Once inside the Ghost Inn's lobby, Tifa headed towards the front counter to check in, leaving the boy and the pale gunman to sit tight until she returned. Denzel sat quietly beside Vincent, glancing over at the man as they both waited patiently. Noticing a pair of curious eyes fixated on him, Vincent decided to speak up.
"Can I help you?" He asked, glancing at the boy whose eyes widened then.
Denzel swiftly turned to look over his shoulder, noticing Tifa was still talking with the clerk; he smiled, pleased to see that she wasn't nearby to hear his questions. Turning back to the gunslinger, Denzel leaned towards Vincent before speaking softly, "Do you like Tifa..?" He asked.
"..."
The ex-Turk shifted slightly in his seat. The boy was serious when he asked that question, Vincent could tell by the look on his face as he waited for an answer. Closing his eyes, the man sighed inwardly before replying, "We... Are only friends."
Denzel pulled his lips into a fine line, considering the man for a brief moment before pushing forward with his questions, "So... You only like her as a friend?"
Vincent shifted around again, crossing his arms. How he wished, at this very moment he could disappear, "Do you wish for me to see her as more than a friend?" He decided to avoid answering the boy directly.
Tilting his head to the side, the boy stared at him with knitted brows. "I... Don't know... Tifa seems happy whenever she's around you.."
"We're all checked in!" The barmaid chimed, approaching the two. "Here's the key to your room, Vince. Your actually just down the hall from us." She handed him the key to his room.
Vincent nodded and took the key, then proceeded to follow the fighter and Denzel as they headed to their rooms.
Looking around, he saw the decorations inside the hotel was anything, but amusing - Though, he cant complain considering it was far better than what he had seen once they arrived at Golden Saucer. Everything about Ghost Square seemed to be based off Halloween; workers dressed up as Dracula, zombies, or some other creatures while plastic bats, tombstones, spiders and odd looking ghouls were seen throughout.
Tifa stopped and turned to face a door, which Vincent would assume must have been her room. Unlocking the door, she stepped inside, followed by Denzel and himself. While setting down their bags, he noticed two beds towards the right, a small window up ahead along with another door on the left, which he was sure was the restroom.
"Thanks for carrying our bags," she smiled at the man, "Is something wrong?" Tifa asked, noticing how he was looking around.
"It's... Been so long, since we came here.." He mumbled, "Everything is still the same."
"You're right.. It has been a while..." She nodded in agreement, also taking a good look at the room while her hands were clasped behind her back, "To think they would have changed a few things around here by now."
Denzel sat quietly on one of the beds, observing the two; he smiled to himself. The boy noticed ever since Vincent appeared, Tifa was more lively and cheerful. She had been so listless over the year because of Cloud, now that the gunslinger was here, he was happy to see Tifa smiling again. Sure, Cloud will always be his hero, but Tifa needed a hero of her own.
"Tifa? Can we go play some games?"
Tearing her brownish-wine colored eyes away from the ex-Turk, she nodded to the boy, "You bet! Wonder Square?"
Denzel grinned, "Wonder Square!"
Vincent quirked an eyebrow upon entering the game room.
More colorful, flashing lights, a crowd of people, loud obnoxious noises and laughter, the perky colors - Yep, he was definitely outside his comfort zone. Turning his attention away from the scene in front of him, Vincent observed the boy who practically squealed in delight when Tifa handed him a generous amount of Gils. Denzel hugged and thanked her before running off to the next room.
"Vincent?" Tifa looked up at him.
"Hmm.."
"Lets play a few games!" She smiled.
"Tifa... I dont-"
"Oh, come on Vincent," Tifa placed her hands on her hips and scanned the room, "At least play one or two games while we're here, you deserve to have a little fun too, you know."
He sighed softly.
The martial artist soon caught a glimpse of a few women in the room eyeing Vincent with much interest. Rolling her eyes, she chuckled softly; can she really blame them? Vincent is extremely handsome after all, she admitted - beautiful, even. How lucky she is indeed, to be here with the mysterious, Vincent Valentine.
Slowly, Tifa reached out a slender arm and grabbed his red cloak, tugging on it playfully, "Well, how about it, Mr Valentine?"
"..."
She will take his silence as a 'yes'.
An hour had passed, the three continued playing a few more games - Vincent, of course, preferred to stand and watch after playing 'Super Dunk' with Tifa only once. The crowd of people had already begun exiting the area, leaving only Tifa, Vincent and Denzel - whom, the barmaid went to go check up on and was amused to see how absorbed the boy was while playing 'Mog house' in the next room.
When she returned, Tifa was relieved to see the pale gunman was still there. For a second, she was worried he might decide to disappear, but there he was: Standing and staring at the games, probably contemplating whether he should play or not - most likely not, she thought dryly. Tifa shook her head softly and walked over to 'Super Dunk', deciding she wanted to shoot a few more hoops again while Vincent, who stood behind her, continued staring at the virtual arm-wresting game.
'I wonder what he's thinking...' She stared down at the basketball in her hands, "Vincent?"
"Hm.." He tilted his head back slightly, not moving from his spot.
"Why don't you play the game?" She asked, a playful tone in her voice.
"..."
He didn't even bother to answer her simple question, nor did he turned to look at her. Annoyed and a little hurt, Tifa opened her mouth to speak again, but then decided against it as she pressed her lips shut.
Soon, an idea popped into her mind.
Turning around, she smirked before pulling the basketball back in one hand, "Vincent.. Catch!" Gathering her energy, she threw the orange ball at the gunslinger.
Tifa knew, of course, Vincent wouldn't let himself get hit so easily, especially by a simple little ball. He had amazing reflexes, speed, strength and enhanced senses, she honestly wouldn't be surprised if he smacked the ball aside or indeed, had caught it; the barmaid was only curious to see what his reaction would be.
Her eyes widened suddenly, mouth agape at the sight.
The sound of deflating air was heard, Vincent had pierced and popped the poor ball with his claws. Like a grape to a raisin, the basketball shriveled into a barely recognizable, orange mess in his golden clawed hand.
Furrowing his brows, he let the orange thing fall from his hand. A small noise of deflating air escaped the once-round item again as it hit the cold, hard floor. Tifa reached a hand up to her mouth, trying the best she could to hold in her laughter, but failed miserably. She was laughing so hard that her eyes started to water and she doubled over, hardly able to breathe.
Staring at the sad, orange item, which now had noticable holes in it, Vincent narrowed his eyes and approached the fighter. 'So... She wishes to play, does she?'
Tifa let her laughter ceased, inhaling deeply in attempt to catch her breath and straighten herself. Her eyes caught the sight of the gunslinger walking towards her, an annoyed look was clearly visible in his piercing, ruby orbs. "I'm sorry, Vincent. I just couldn't help myself - you were just standing there!"
"You found that amusing, do you? What if I were to have pulled out my gun instead?" He asked, trying to maintain his calm, serious tone, "you could have been shot."
She frowned and panicked, "I-I didn't... I mean, I never thought of it that way! Gosh, I'm really sorry, Vincent, I-" Tifa paused as she raised her eyebrows, noticing the man had turned away from her and his broad frame was shaking ever so slightly.
"Vincent Valentine!" Tifa slapped his shoulder, "Are you... Are you laughing!? Great Gaia, I really thought you were serious and angry there for a moment.."
Vincent's lips twitched upward as he cleared his throat. Who knew how long its been since he was able to act and feel this way - being able to tease someone and letting his barrier down - just ever so slightly.
He let out a low, deep chuckle, the expression on Tifa's face was priceless. "An arm for an arm, Miss Lockhart."
Tifa pouted and ignored his last comment. 'Okay, so maybe I deserved that..' she crossed her arms. Still, the barmaid was relieved he wasn't seriously angry or upset with her - pissing off someone like Vincent Valentine would be a sure way of getting yourself shot.
Scanning the room again, she turned her attention to the virtual arm-wrestling game that the gunslinger was staring at earlier. She bit her lower lip, wondering how she'll do after a year of not being able to train. Would she still win? The maiden still remembered beating this game countless of times when AVALANCHE was here in search of Sephiroth. It was the same night when Aerith had decided to drag Cloud out of his room, convincing him to go on a date with her. Tifa was upset when she saw them leave, she was hoping to spend some time with the blonde swordsman herself. Knowing she wouldn't be able to sleep then, Tifa decided to leave the Inn and visit 'Wonder Square' to play a few games, in hopes of blowing off some steam; that was when she ran into Vincent, who was wandering around. The gunslinger knew she was in a down mood. He had spotted Cloud and the Cetra leaving the Inn together and that is most likely the reason why she was upset. He offered to accompany her - though she was stunned, Tifa still accepted.
Vincent noticed she was eyeing the machine, "Are you... Going to give it a try?" He gestured to the virtual game that sat in front of them.
"I.. Want too.." She clenched her fists and stepped forward, facing the large screen, "But..."
Standing beside her now, he fold his arms over his chest. It will be interesting to see how she will do after a year without training. Then again, this was only a silly, virtual arm-wrestling game, he mused. Tifa is a strong, skilled fighter, without a doubt, he had seen her take out high level monsters without much problems before, she was definitely not one to be underestimated - this, of course, was until the whole situation with her and Cloud came along.
"If I recall correctly, the last time we were here, you had no problem beating this game.."
"Gosh, that was so long ago.." She mumbled, "But... It can't hurt to try, right?" Tifa cracked her knuckles and grinned.
The gunslinger nodded slightly, "Who will you choose?"
Two characters were offered in the game; there was a wrestler, who was the toughest, and a sumo. The maiden decided to go with the wrestler, feeling a little daring and wanting to challenge herself. The virtual image of a large, muscular wrestler soon appeared, holding up a sizable hand.
"Alright, I can do this.." Tifa whispered to herself as she leaned foward to grip the character's hand, positioning her arm in a similar manner to her opponent's.
Vincent raised his dark brows, "..Ready?"
"You bet!"
The letters on the screen then flashed: GO!
Tifa inhaled sharply and immediately began pushing downward on the wrestler's hand. She's beaten this game plenty of times, so it shouldn't be a problem for her, right?
Vincent noticed she was struggling. The wrestler was starting to overpower her and he could tell by her expression, Tifa wasn't enjoying the current situation one bit.
"N-.. NO!" She shouted in annoyance, gritting her teeth. The barmaid grew nervous, seeing how her hand was about an inch away from touching the surface, and loosing. Putting more energy into her arm, she forced her opponents arm back, slowly but surely.
"Focus, Tifa," Vincent offered from beside her, "You must not allow your emotions to cloud your mind."
"I..." Her eyes moved to the reflection on the screen, Vincent's ruby eyes were fixed on her, watching. He was right.
After years of training with Zangan, how could she have forgotten what he had taught her? Tifa let out a sigh in frustration before taking in another deep breath, calming herself down, letting the anger and anxiety melt away as she focused her attention back on the current arm-wrestling match. Tifa felt her arm was beginning to strain, it was visibly shaking now from her desperately trying to hold up her end, not wanting to be defeated by a foolish game.
She needed to do something quick.
'Come on, Tifa.. You've done this before!' She pushed harder, 'You got this!' Clenching her teeth, she managed to gather more of her strength before forcing the large, virtual arm down, pinning it flat.
"..." Vincent blinked, a little surprised at how much strength she was able to pull forward and pin down her opponent's arm in such a swift, fluid motion at the last second. She still had it in her, the real Tifa Lockhart is still there and she was slowly beginning to surface, much like how a lotus flower is able to rise from the dark, murky waters and bloom beautifully, remaining unsoiled.
"I won!" She shouted happily, rubbing her now sore, right arm and turning to face Vincent, "thanks.."
"There is no need to thank me, Tifa.." He spoke calmly.
"Of course I have to thank you," Tifa puched his arm softly, "You reminded me... The things I've learned during all those years of training... I can't believe I forgot."
He detected the sadness in her tone, "In time, everything will become clear... You've done well so far."
"Vincent.. And I mean it when I say thank you, for everything you've done so far in order to help me." The martial artist smiled, brushing aside the stray strands of hair from her delicate face.
He parted his lips to speak, "I-"
"Tifa!" Denzel came rushing towards the two, "I beat all the games! Look at all the gold points I got."
She chuckled softly and ruffled his hair, nodding as he showed her his points, "Good job, Denzel!"
He laughed until something strange had caught his attention, "What happened to that?" He pointed at the forgotten, deflated basketball that laid on the floor.
Tifa supressed a giggle, "Well... Let's just say there was a little accident."
Denzel looked at her curiously, but decided not to question about what truly had happened to the deformed thing sitting on the cold, hard ground. Turning to Vincent, Denzel gave the pale man a small smile before asking, "Did you play any games...?"
"I..." Vincent glanced at the orange object from the corner of his eyes before focusing his attention back to the boy, "Yes."
"Can we go to 'Round Square' next?" Denzel asked, smiling brightly at the fighter as he walked along side her while carrying a large, yellow chocobo plushie on his back.
So far, things were moving along smoothly since they left 'Wonder Square' to visit the other attractions. They got to watch the chocobo race and saw a few decent battles at 'Battle Square'. After much begging and pleading, Tifa managed to convince Vincent to join them on the shooting coaster ride in 'Speed Square', which Vincent of course, scored the most points after shooting down nearly all of the targets.
After the ride, Vincent had decided to let the boy choose a prize for himself; the gunslinger had no interest in the silly points. The barmaid couldn't help but to smile, the fact that Denzel's eyes lit up with pure joy at the gunslinger's kind act, was just too adorable - she couldn't tell Vincent this, of course.
"Sure," she nodded, then turned towards the crimson-wrapped shadow behind them, which is Vincent, "How does that sound to you?"
"Gondola ride?"
"Yeah!" Denzel exclaimed excitedly, turning towards the pale man, "It'll be awesome - We'll get to see all the fireworks and everything."
Vincent gave a curt nod, "Very well. Lead the way and I will follow."
Denzel grinned before taking off, leaving Tifa and Vincent a good distance behind. The gunman seemed to be calm and content, while Tifa was fidgeting occasionally, uncomfortable at the awkward silence that stretched between them.
"Vincent?" Tifa started, "Why... Haven't you kept in contact with us after our fight against Deepground?"
After a short pause, he answered her question, "I wish not to disturb anyone."
"Oh, Vincent.. You know we're all friends! You are never a burden to us, if that's what your thinking. You do know we all care about you, right?" The barmaid frowned, "I have tried calling you a few times, but you only answered once - and it wasn't a very long conversation either. Are you truly doing well? Where have you been staying? What have you been up too for a year?"
Silence followed Tifa's question, causing her to heave a small sigh, shaking her head lightly. She knew she wasn't going to get much answers from the stoic gunslinger. Clasping her hands behind her back, she stared up at the sky and begun thinking deeply for a moment before speaking up again.
"You know.." She spoke softly, "I.. Really did missed you.. You must think i'm insane for saying that, but let me tell you something, Vincent Valentine," Tifa laughed nervously, a little embarrassed, "I'm serious."
"...Tifa.."
She stepped in front of Vincent, swiftly turning herself to face him - she managed to stop him dead in his tracks. The ex-Turk seemed to have been lost in his thoughts until his eyes caught her wine orbs, staring right back at him, "Stop it, Vincent. I know what your thinking right now... Don't put yourself down or think for even one second that i'm being nice because I pity you - You should know me better than that by now! You really are a wonderful guy, alright?" She placed a hand on her hip and gave him a small, sweet smile.
"..."
"I... The time I saw you transformed into Chaos, during our last fight to save the planet again.. " Her lips slowly curved downward into a frown.
His body suddenly tensed, "Were... You afraid?"
"I was..." Her eyes averted his gaze, staring down at the space between their feet, "But, you know.."
Vincent eyed her face curiously.
"At that time, when you transformed... I asked myself which I was more afraid of: The powerful, frightening demon or possibly loosing you..." Her eyes returned to meet his, Tifa could see through in his eyes that he was curious and surprised by her words. Her face flushed, "Yes, I was afraid of Chaos... But... I was even more afraid of loosing you, Vincent."
"I..." The gunslinger was speechless as a strange, tingling feeling instantaneously crept its way to his chilled heart, warming him from the inside-out upon hearing those words. What is this? How is he supposed to respond to her - to this odd feeling?
Tifa shook her head, "I am sorry, Vincent.. I don't know what came over me. I-I just wanted to remind you, that you're our friend and you are never a burden to us - to me.. Please try to call or visit more often. We-.. I... Worry about you."
"Hey!" Denzel shouted from up ahead, waving his arm.
Tifa turned to look over her shoulder, waving back to him, "Alright, we're coming!" She laughed.
Slowly, Vincent reached out his gloved hand towards the martial artist, "Tifa..."
"Hurry up, slow pokes!" The boy yelled out again, "Or we'll miss the ride!"
He immediately pulled his hand away, right before she turned around to face him. "Did you say something, Vincent?"
"No... Its nothing.. Shall we go now?"
Tifa stared at him with a raised brow; she could have sworn she heard him say something, but decided to let it pass since Denzel was waiting for them - impatiently. Giving him a curt nod, Tifa turned and walked towards the boy as Vincent followed in silence.
'What am I doing?' Vincent questioned himself.
Returning to the Ghost hotel, Denzel was protesting about going to bed, although it was obvious to the two adults that his constant yawning and heavy eyelids indicated he was indeed, tired. Vincent leaned against the wall and watched as Tifa tucked the boy in; he fell asleep almost instantly with a small visible smile on his face.
Turning to the gunslinger, she urged him to step outside the room with her, as to not disturb Denzel while he is sound asleep. Closing the door softly behind her, she spoke, "Vincent-"
"Tifa," He interuppted, "I wanted.. To apologize..."
"Apologize? For what?"
"...For not keeping in contact, and... Not visiting you, Tifa.. I... Did not think you would worry, let alone care about me so much.."
She smiled and fold her arms in front of her chest, mimicking him as she leaned back against the door, "I'm glad I finally got you to understand that, Mr Valentine. Is there anything else you would like to tell me?" She asked in a teasing manner, hoping for him to answer the questions she had asked previously, before they went on the Gondola ride.
"I... Have been staying back at the mansion," He turned his head to the side, "I rearranged, cleaned and did some repairs to the place - also getting rid of many things that Shinra had left behind," his lips twitched, "I sleep inside an actual bedroom now, you need not to worry about me returning to the coffin."
"...The memories.." She murmured, "Inside the mansion, does it still bother you?"
"...Sometimes." He answered honestly.
Tifa looked at him with concern in her eyes, "Vincent... You know you're always welcomed to stay at the bar... I enjoy having you around."
Hesistantly, the gunslinger extended a hand towards her again, unsure and stunned by even his own actions, "Tifa... What you said back there, about Chaos... About being afraid to loose me.."
Staring at his outstretched hand, she nodded and walked up to him, wrapping her cream-colored slender arms around his lithe body. Tifa hugged him tightly, "It's true... After I learned Rosso had literally ripped the Proto-Materia from your chest, and you started having difficulty controlling Chaos afterwards.. It really made me worried... But, your fine now, right?" She laughed softly, feeling the heat rising to her face as she rested the side of her head against his chest.
His body stiffened.
Vincent's mind was racing; questioning himself whether he should push her away, or to pull her into a much tighter hug, hoping for the warmth he felt at this very moment, to never fade. Steadily, Vincent wrapped his extended arm over her shoulders, returning the hug - somewhat.
'Do I.. Deserve any of this?'
"Vincent..?"
The gunslinger's body relaxed slightly, "Yes, I am fine now... Let us enjoy our time here at Gold Saucer, then, we will focus on your current situation back home and get you started on training."
She sighed softly, "What am I going to say to Cloud when I see him again? What if he chooses to ignore me?"
'That fool...' Vincent gripped her shoulder firmly, "Tell me, Tifa.. Do you... Still love him, even now? What do you desire most? What do you think is best for yourself?"
"N-no.. I... I think..." Her words trailed off as she loosened her hold around him, mulling over his questions.
"...Those are questions, you must seek the answers too from within.." Vincent pulled away from the barmaid, turning and walking down the hall, "Goodnight, Tifa. I shall see you in the morning." He headed towards his room.
"...Goodnight, Vincent.." She whispered, observing the pale man as he disappear behind a door.
'Do I.. Still love Cloud? What is best for me?'
Shaking her head, the martial artist returned to her room, deciding to call it a night, though, she most likely wont fall asleep any time soon. 'Why am I acting this way? I don't know how I feel about Cloud anymore.. And Vincent? I... How DO I feel about Vincent? We are only. . .'
"Friends..." Vincent huffed, shutting and locking the door behind him. The ex-Turk leaned his back against the door, heaving a heavy sigh as he slid down onto the floor, covering his pale face with his gloved hand. "Why...?"
The moment she hugged him, he felt his heart had leapped up into his throat. His sharp, enhanced senses took in her soft, feminine scent as he let himself indulge in the warmth of her slim body being so close to his. It's been a while since he felt this way, could he learn to love again? Could she ever love someone like him?
The obnoxious, ringing noise of his PHS reached his acute ears, disturbing him from his deep thoughts. Reaching into his pocket and pulling out the device, he flipped the phone opened and answered curtly, "What?" Vincent was anything, but in a good mood right now.
"...Vincent?" Came an all too familar male voice on the other line.
For some strange reason, the gunslinger had a sudden urge to crush the device in his clawed hand, wishing dearly it was the throat of -
"...Cloud."
10-27-2014
A/N: Hello again, lovely readers~ Sorry this story is kinda moving along slowly.. I didn't want to rush Vincent & Tifa into a relationship right away.. Both are struggling with their feelings, so only time will tell.. This is about as 'fluffy' as it'll get for now. In the next chapter, Vincent and Cloud will meet - Tifa will also get her chance to talk to the chocobo-head, himself & sort out her feelings! The situation with the two remaining remnants will also be revealed. Please comment/review, thank you to those who HAVE been reviewing! You guys are amazing. It really does keep me motivated and updating this story.
With the Chaos one-shot: I will start working on that asap, so it will probably be a while until I update this story (or my other stories) again - I'll keep writing as long as your reviewing & reading! I MIGHT make the one-shot a Lemon (mostly between Tifa & Vincent, of course), so please beware. Let me know what you think, hm?
I'll also like to let my readers know, that I will be pretty busy the next few months (school, moving, work, etc.), so I apologize if your impatient & I can't update sooner lol.. I wanted to get this chapter up before Halloween. Hope all of you are doing well, Thank you for reading!
~Hypnotized By Fate