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Chapter XV – Brothers In Arms
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Steam wisped and swirled in a graceful dance from her mug, and Marlene enjoyed watching it disperse then gather once more as she gently blew on it. The warmth of the liquid radiated through the red ceramic, and she relished the feeling of heat seeping into her fingers; a welcomed change from the biting cold she had previously been subjected to. The thought caused her to hold the mug closer as she shivered lightly, it was hard to believe that a few moments ago she had fallen out of a condor's nest. A light weight fell upon her shoulders and she looked up in surprise to find Tifa covering her with a wonderfully soft blanket.
"How's your drink? Is it warm enough?" the fighter asked while carefully rearranging the material to cover Marlene more securely. The girl nodded with zest, taking another sip of her hot chocolate while lightly swinging her legs under the table.
"Mmm hm! It's really good, too!" Tifa smiled in response, crouching down beside the girl so that she could look at her better. She watched her drink for a moment, before gently placing her hand on the child's knee, holding her gaze with her own.
"... I'm so glad you're alright, Marlene," Tifa breathed out, as if a weight had finally been lifted from her chest. The small girl shuffled on her wooden stool, looking into her mug as if looking for an answer.
"I'm sorry I caused so much trouble." The fighter blinked at her mumbling, reaching up behind the girl's left ear to readjust the golden feather that was laced through her hair.
"Don't be silly, you did nothing wrong."
"But I did!" Marlene shook her head quickly, almost causing the feather to fall out. Tifa paused for a moment, her brows furrowing at the girl before she once more reached up to secure the glittering plumage. "I... I didn't listen to Vincent..." This caught the fighter's full attention.
"Vincent?" Tifa thought back to Barret's earlier outburst, when she found him facing off against the gunslinger. At the time, she was more focused on helping Marlene than paying any attention to their bickering. Thinking back however, she now understood Barret's directed anger.
'Was it true that Vincent really saw her leave?' Marlene interrupted her thoughts, unknowingly answering her internal question.
"He told me not to, errm... 'stray far.'" Tifa watched the girl fiddle with the handle of her mug, staring adamantly at anything that wasn't the fighter's eyes. The whole situation struck Tifa as odd, she was certain that she was missing something.
"Tha' may be true," a voice piped up, "but ye were only just ootside the fort." Marlene and Tifa looked up in surprise to find Cait Sith hopping up to take the seat across from them. "Vinnie was gonna follow yer, but I told 'im I'd go instead."
"I hope he's not mad at me... Denzel told me not to make Vincent mad." Marlene's shoulders sank, causing the blanket to dip from her shoulders. Tifa was inwardly alarmed by the girl's words, a look of shock passing briefly over her features.
'What exactly has Denzel been telling Marlene? Does he know about...?!' The thought caused the fighter to pale slightly, before she tried to rationalise with herself. 'If Denzel really did know about Vincent's 'episode,' and indeed Marlene, they're handling it very well. … I'll have to ask Barret later.'
"Of course he's not mad," Tifa said as she reached out and raised the cover back to its original position, smoothing out creases in the fabric, "he even commented on your new feather, and I have to agree with him. It definitely suits you." Marlene remained quiet, taking another sip from her mug before nodding and gracing the woman with a small smile.
"Ye alright, bonnie lass? Yer lookin' rather pasty thair." Tifa blinked at the little booted cat's concern, about to reply when her mind latched onto Cait Sith's term for her. She raised an eyebrow at him from across the table.
"'Bonnie lass'?" The puppet slapped his gloved hands over his mouth, shaking his head while Tifa watched him with barely contained amusement. While working as a bar hostess in the slums of Midgar, those few years back that felt like a century ago, she had been called all kinds of things. Some complimentary, some degrading, and some down right vulgar. (Those who called her the last two normally ended up with a boot between their legs.) It was such an oddity to hear old words coming from the crowned cat. Tifa opened her mouth to respond when the shop attendant walked over to the table.
"How are you doing- oh!" The woman blinked at the flustered puppet. "I hope I haven't interrupted anything...?"
"Of coorse not!" The relief in Cait Sith's voice made it difficult for Tifa to hide her grin. "Quite the contrary, actually. Hope those sandwiches are fer us!" It was only then that the fighter noticed the plate of food held in the attendant's hand.
"They sure are. I hope you like strawberry jam, because your friend here asked for them." Marlene hid behind her mug as both Cait Sith and Tifa looked at the small girl in surprise, knowing her to be normally shy around strangers. The woman gave a kind smile as she placed the food on the table, close to the lantern situated in the middle. She then turned to Marlene, having noticed the feather in her hair. "It's amazing that you got to see a condor up so close, let alone get one of its feathers! You're certainly lucky!" The little girl blushed at this, turning a shade of red that almost matched her mug, clearly unused to the attention.
Cait Sith gave the attendant a feline grin as he curled his whiskers. "Thank ye fer tha' drink and tha' food. Marlene really likes the hot chocolate!" The girl gave a hum and a shy nod in agreement.
"Yes, thank you for everything you've done," Tifa said as she smiled gratefully at the woman. "I'm also sorry about my friend, well..." She searched for a more sensitive way of putting her next words, but came up short. "... Blowing up your shack."
"Oh, don't worry about it!" The attendant waved it off, much to Tifa's surprise. "I'm just glad everyone's alright. Besides, there's been talk about rebuilding, so you've done half the work for us." The kindly attendant laughed once more while Tifa couldn't help but shake her head in slight disbelief, chuckling alongside the woman.
"Say, Marlene, how aboot we play a game?" Marlene blinked at the cat from across the table, caught in the middle of taking a bite from one of the sandwiches. "Just befoor bed, what do ye say tae a game of snap?" The girl seemed to think about this, chewing thoughtfully on her neatly cut, triangular sliced bread, before swallowing and smiling at the feline.
"Actually... I'd like to play battleships."
"Battleships?" This caught the shop attendant's attention. "You know, in between Shinra attacks, the resistance fighters used to play battleships to pass the time. They said it helped them to strategize and keep their minds active. I'm sure we have the boards around here somewhere... I'll go find them for you." The woman smiled and briskly walked off to begin her search.
Tifa watched the shop attendant come tour guide leave as Cait Sith began to tease Marlene for 'being too old fer snap.' She was about to turn away when she spotted a flash of crimson from the corner of her eye. Quickly turning to her right, she just managed to catch a glimpse of Vincent's cape disappearing behind a wooden frame. Tifa raised an eyebrow in curiosity, knowing that past the framework was the rope ladder that lead to the item shop. She paused in thought before rising from her crouched position next to Marlene, the girl looking up to her in question.
"I need to go take care of something, will you be okay here with Cait Sith?" Marlene smiled and nodded in response, which Tifa mirrored with her own smile.
"Of coorse she'll be fine! Until av'e beaten her at battleships!" Cait Sith gave Tifa a thumbs up, which Marlene retorted with the ever mature, 'No you won't, and you smell.' This caused the two to erupt in playful bickering and Tifa went completely unnoticed as she reached over and, on second thought, grabbed one of the larger sandwich slices. Moving to the six wooden steps that lead up to the raised level, she took them three at a time before walking towards the item shop. She paused with uncertainty on reaching the doorway, finding the black area beyond it seemingly empty.
"... Vincent?" She stepped hesitantly around the wooden frame while peering further into the darkness. Red eyes suddenly blinked back at her and she jumped, just stopping before she walked into her friend. "Ah, you scared me!" As her eyes began to adjust, she could just make him out leaning against the wall next to the rope ladder, dim light spilling down from the shop above. She could also make out her close proximity, her nose only an inch or so from his chest. She quickly stepped back while the gunslinger crossed his arms, carefully observing her.
"... How is Marlene?" Vincent finally asked. She nodded, staring carefully at his face. Despite the dim lighting, she could see that he looked rather pale.
'Just like that time on the rooftops in Kalm, and next to the Lifestream...' she thought.
"She's fine, thanks to you," Tifa motioned to him with a nod of her head. Vincent, however, didn't really seem to notice. She could see that he looked tired, despite the poor lighting. "I should be asking how you are. That was quite a big fall you took, and with Barret earlier..." Tifa rubbed at her right arm, looking up towards the top of the ladder. All of the ladders in the fort were brightly illuminated by lamps situated above, but it seemed that the lamp here suffered from a dying bulb. The resulting dimness frustrated the fighter, especially since she was trying to check if Vincent was indeed well.
"Do not concern yourself with me." Tifa frowned in response to his words, placing a hand on her hip as she gave him an admonishing stare.
"I'll 'concern' myself with you as much as I want, despite you telling me not to. You should know that." She took his silence as acknowledgement to this. "Why are you hiding in here anyway?" She finally gained a response from him via an elegantly raised eyebrow.
"That was not my intention. I simply did not wish to disturb you." Vincent looked past her shoulder, and Tifa followed his gaze. She could see Marlene and Cait Sith setting up their newly acquired battleship boards, carefully placing their plastic ships amidst the glow of the lantern. Tifa smiled as she watched both girl and cat talk animatedly to each other over a small mountain of sandwiches.
"Are you going to finish that?" Vincent's voice broke through her observation and she turned back to him, realising that he spoke of the sandwich that she had forgotten she held.
"No," she shook her head, which caused the gunslinger to furrow his brows slightly. "You are." She held out the generous slice towards him, causing Vincent to blink in return. The fingers of his gauntlet began to twitch and Tifa looked at them curiously. They moved in a way that seemed unnatural to the fighter, and she was taken aback when Vincent quickly uncrossed his arms and moved the golden appendage behind the folds of his cloak.
"I'm afraid I must decline your offer."
"Oh come on, it won't hurt you-"
"I do not wish-"
"Please, Vincent." Vincent fell silent. Tifa's plea surprised the gunslinger, though he gave no outward indication. Her russet eyes sought out his own crimson ones, imploring. "You don't look very well, and you barely eat-"
"I could say the same thing about you, Tifa Lockhart." It was Tifa's turn to be surprised, mainly at the oddity of being addressed by her full name, and by Vincent no less. She narrowed her eyes at him, searching his own blood red ones carefully. As much as she'd like to tell him otherwise, she couldn't actually remember the last thing she had eaten.
"... Okay," she nodded, before tearing the sandwich down the middle. "How about I have this bit, if you promise to have the other."
Vincent narrowed his eyes, before closing them and softly exhaling through his nose, making a quiet 'hmph.' He slowly reached out with his right hand to take the offered piece of bread, and Tifa felt amused at the near apprehensiveness of the act. The laconic gunslinger carefully turned the divided slice over between his fingers, an odd expression settling over his features. Tifa, now satisfied, took a bite from her own piece. She hummed out her contentment as she chewed.
"It's really good, trust me," she said with a smile before finishing off her last bite. Dusting the crumbs from her gloved fingers, she tilted her head slightly when she noticed that Vincent continued to stare at his own piece. "I've finished mine. Come on, you promised." The cloaked man looked up briefly, before returning his gaze to the food in his hand.
What Tifa didn't know was that Vincent's lack of appetite was due to the tetrad of demons that dwelled within him. Often he went for days, even weeks, without eating. It was almost unnecessary, when his demons provided him nourishment through their own feeding. The notion of hunger was almost foreign to him now, though he wasn't completely unaffected by it. When he managed to suppress his demons for a long period of time, (which was becoming increasingly difficult,) it also meant that they weren't able to feed. So when hunger finally did raise its head, it almost crippled him in its severity.
So was the price of control.
Vincent had learnt from this, and though he made a conscious effort to eat more so that his body could sustain itself, he would still forget at times. He was brought from his thoughts when Tifa's exact words only now occurred to him.
"Promise? I did not promise anything." As he looked back up at the woman, he was met with a true smile that reached her eyes.
"No, but your actions were enough." With that, Tifa turned around and began to make her way back towards the main area, leaving Vincent to contemplate her words. As he looked down at the torn sandwich in his hand, he couldn't hide the small smile that tugged at his lips. He resisted the urge to shake his head as he pulled his cowl down with a single gold talon, before taking a small bite from the torn slice.
He chewed thoughtfully for a moment, before swallowing with just as much contemplation. He pulled his cowl down briefly once more, taking an extra bite and chewing even more carefully than the last. He finally swallowed and appraised the remaining piece in his hand.
Tifa was right. Whatever it was, it was good.
He looked up and was slightly surprised to find that the fighter had only moved as far as the doorway. On second thought, Vincent decided that he should have known better. Of course Tifa would wait to see that he finished his food; he did 'promise' after all. She leaned against the wooden frame with her arms crossed, her back facing him as she watched Marlene and Cait Sith play their battleship game which was now fully underway. The gunslinger doubted she even noticed he'd eaten some of his slice. She looked enthralled.
"Tifa." The woman jumped for the second time that night, quickly turning to look over her shoulder. A look of surprise passed over her face when her eyes rested on the half-eaten sandwich in his hand. "What does this contain?"
Tifa blinked at the question before answering, "Strawberry jam."
"Hm." Vincent's vague reply caused Tifa to blink once more before a brilliant grin appeared on her face. Despite his nonchalant response, the slight expression on his face spoke a thousand words. Deciding to leave him be, knowing he would no doubt refuse to eat anything while she was watching, she decided it was time she sought out Barret. Pushing herself up from the wooden frame, she moved away from the doorway and left Vincent to finish his remaining share. However, the grin never left her face as she crossed the room.
'So, Vincent is taken with strawberry jam sandwiches! Who knew?' Her thoughts were interrupted by Cait Sith's shouting.
"Ye sunk mah battleship!" The cat danced on his wooden stool as he placed the last red pin into one of his ships. Tifa glanced over and had to stifle her laugh at the way the puppet had arranged his plastic fleet. Shaking her head, she left the two to continue their game as she made her way towards the party's sleeping quarters. A gruff voice met her ears as she drew closer, one that she instantly recognised as her old friend's.
"Sure, Reeve... They're both fine, ain't no problem." Barret pushed the PHS further against his ear as he spoke, his left arm outstretched to hold up Marlene's red Materia. The man turned the bauble around in his hand, watching as it glittered even in the dim light. His eyes moved from the sparkling orb to Tifa as she approached and he gave her a small nod in acknowledgement. "So, how's tha' bar?"
Tifa smiled gratefully to him, knowing that Barret was asking Reeve on her behalf. The bulky man leaned further back into the wall as he listened to the WRO leader, the hole leading to the sleeping quarters not too far from his feet. Tifa slowly moved over as he spoke to carefully peer down the ladder. She could make out the warm glow of Nanaki's tail, and she wondered if Denzel was doing any better.
"Tha's good to hear. I'll tell 'er. … A'ight, I'll check in with you next time. Later." Barret snapped the PHS shut then stuffed the phone into the side pocket of his green cargo pants. He gave a hefty sigh, running his steely metal fingers over his cornrow styled hair before turning to Tifa. "Bar's good, Reeve's lookin' after it."
"That's good to know," Tifa nodded towards the Materia. "I hope you give that back to Marlene." Barret threw the marble into the air before catching it and pocketing it to rest alongside his phone.
"'Course I will. I jes' wanted to check it fer myself." Tifa nodded, her expression resting into a thoughtful one. A few moments of silence passed comfortably between them; the sign of true friends. Tifa was the first to break it.
"... Barret, I was speaking to Marlene earlier and she mentioned that Denzel told her, 'not make Vincent mad.' Do you know anything about that?"
"… Aww shit." Barret's brow furrowed as he pushed himself up from the fort wall. "Yeah. Back when we were travellin' ta Kalm. I told 'im not to piss off Vincent." He could almost feel the glare that Tifa shot his way, and he quickly raised a hand up in defence. "Hey, I didn't exactly say it that way. I jes' told 'im not to annoy 'im or summit."
"I can understand why you said it, but I think it's best the kids don't know anything about it, even if you did just hint-" Barret hastily cut Tifa off, his temper rising as he thundered towards her.
"Dammit, Tif', I didn't exactly tell 'em! I think it's good that they know at least this much, tha man's got one helluva problem!"
"From what I can see, you're the one with the problem!" Barret blinked, only now noticing how close his face was to Tifa's. Tifa stood her ground, her fists balled tightly as she stared up at him, unmoving. Barret stepped back, anger still evident on his face even as he shot the fighter a questioning look.
"Whaddya mean, I'm the one!?" he hissed through grit teeth. "The man's been actin' all weird, I told him ta stay away from Marlene cause I don't trust 'im!"
"Wait, hold on," Tifa's face lit up with realisation. "You told Vincent that? Then why were you shouting at him earlier for not following her?"
"Because he should'ave-! I mean..." Barret paused as he put two and two together, instead huffing angrily and turning away. A light weight rested on his arm, and he looked down to find Tifa's hand. The fighter leaned around, trying to catch his eyes with her own.
"Barret... we both know Vincent saved Marlene. If he didn't catch her..." Barret shrugged off her hand while shrugging into his white vest before turning to meet her gaze.
"Yeah, I know, I know... Still, it don't make things betta' when I know Vincent's lyin' ta me. Mind explainin' that?" Tifa's look of confusion only served to fuel the bulky man's anger but he took a deep breath through the nose before giving Tifa a very serious look. This immediately caught the fighter's attention as it was a look only seen when Barret was all business, and usually reserved only for AVALANCHE meetings years ago.
"Tif', about your lil' accident." Barret nodded to her right shoulder, and Tifa couldn't help but move her left hand over it self-consciously. "Vincent didn't explain how you fractured yer shoulder. You got chased by a gang, an' you got hurt gettin' yerself back to tha' bar. I heard all that, but I ain't buyin' it. It's clear he left summit out, I ain't no blind man. And I want ya to be straight with me... cause if he did that to ya..."
"What-no!" Tifa's eyes widened. Reeve's voice suddenly rang out in her head from days past. 'Vincent explained what had happened after you were healed. I feel he left out details though, I think summary is a better way of putting it than 'explained.'' She thought over the words along with Barret's before realisation dawned on her features.
"So he didn't tell you about..." Tifa paused while Barret crossed his arms, a somewhat pleased expression on his face from no doubt knowing he was right.
'How sweet of him,' Tifa thought, appreciative to Vincent's prudence of the situation, before sighing. She knew she had to clear up the affair. "Vincent didn't tell you about the brute."
This most certainly caught Barret's attention. "Brute? Whaddya mean?"
"... Another man gave me this. Not Vincent, if that's what you're thinking." Tifa almost had to spit out her words and Barret slowly uncrossed his arms, seeing she was struggling. "He caught me off-guard, and I..." she swallowed bitterly. "I didn't have my gloves with me. So... yeah. That's when Vincent stepped in." Barret hesitated before nodding, walking over to the fighter and pulling her into his burly arms.
"Come 'ere." Tifa didn't resist. They stood for a moment in silence, sharing the comfortable embrace. Barret rested his chin on top her head, lost in his own thoughts. He secretly regretted pushing the matter. He never liked upsetting Tifa, and her explanation made him reconsider his thoughts about their more aloof comrade.
"... Still, I would have knocked him out though." The point-blank statement from Tifa caused Barret to blink before bursting into laughter, his body shaking as his mighty bellow echoed off the walls.
"Yeah, I bet ya would'ave too." Tifa could feel Barret's grin from the top of her head. She pulled away, giving a brief smile to her old friend before prodding a finger into his chest.
"Okay, now it's your turn to explain." Tifa's serious expression caught his full attention. "Cait Sith told me that Marlene says you don't listen to her." Barret opened his mouth, but the fighter beat him to it. "And before you say, 'I do listen,' it's only when she's trying to tell you things she's learned. What's that all about?" Barret fell silent. A few moments passed and Tifa looked at her old friend in concern.
"... Now that Cait Sith mentioned it, I've noticed it too. Marlene's been quite upset about it, she's more than clever enough to notice things like that. Aren't you proud that she's smart for her age?"
"It ain't that, Tif'." Barret quickly shook his head. "It's jus'... she's growin' up too fast." Tifa's concerned look caused the man to sigh, and he turned to look in the direction where his little girl played.
"I wasn't there for her because we had ta go save the Planet three years back. I was doin' it mainly fer her. Now I feel like she's growin' up too soon, she's no longer the lil' girl I rememba." He felt Tifa's hand on his arm once more, but did not turn to meet her eyes.
"Barret, she'll always be your little girl. No matter how old she gets. But you have to stop treating her like she's one." Barret finally turned to look at Tifa, and after a moment, nodded slowly.
"Yeah... I guess you're right." Tifa nodded back, inwardly surprised at Barret's confession, but pleased that he had told her all the same. She walked over to the ladder and began to climb down to the sleeping quarters to check on Denzel. She felt that Barret needed to be alone. The man watched her leave, and sighed roughly through his nose.
'Marlene may be my lil' girl... but you'll always be mah big girl, Tif'.' With that thought, and mind made up, Barret stomped his way towards the room where the voices of Marlene and Cait Sith seemed to have reached a fever pitch. He found the cat puppet jumping up and down on his stool, exclaiming how could he have lost to a little girl, with what appeared to be a half-eaten mound of sandwiches placed between them. Marlene grinned in triumph, placing the final pin into her board and completing what appeared to be the image of a smiley face. Barret had to blink at the sight, and shook his head at the way Cait Sith had arranged his game pieces.
Looking ahead, Barret was surprised to find Vincent leaning against the far wall, no doubt watching the two's antics and with what appeared to be a shadow of a smile no less. As Barret drew closer, the smile promptly vanished and it made the gun-armed man wonder if he'd really seen it at all. Vincent uncrossed his arms and straightened up to his full height, sensing the man's intention to speak with him and secretly steeling himself for a rebuke. Barret studied Vincent carefully before speaking.
"I need ta clear sumthin' up with you." Vincent tucked his chin further into his cowl, waiting for the gun-armed man to continue. However, Barret seemed to hesitate and the uncharacteristic action did not go unnoticed by the gunslinger. "... I had ya down wrong." Vincent's eyes narrowed slightly as he gave Barret an inquisitive look, as if he hasn't quite heard the man right. Barret sighed, reaching up to scratch the back of his neck with giant steel fingers, before he held out his left hand.
Vincent blinked at the gesture, inwardly stunned. A moment passed before Vincent moved to grasp the hand with his own, but became perplexed when he raised his golden appendage. He hesitated slightly before lowering his talon-adorned hand and raising his right instead. Barret raised his own, but paused himself at the sight of his steel prosthetic held out towards the crimson caped man.
Barret couldn't help but chuckle deeply, "Guess you an' me ain't so different after all."
He grinned at the gunslinger before instead choosing to give him a rough clap on the shoulder. "Look, back there wit' Marlene... I mean, when you- ya know..." Barret paused, clearly struggling for words, before he gave up with a shrug of his shoulders and a wave of his hand. "Nevermind, forget it. I'll tell ya later." As Barret turned around and began to head back towards Marlene, Vincent's voice quietly intoned at his back.
"... You are welcome."
Barret paused and turned his head slightly to the side, before continuing over towards his little girl.
After all, he never did get to learn more about those fruit bats.
