Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ What's Left of Me ❯ Encounters ( Chapter 14 )

A/N: Hi! Sorry it's been so long. I know this chapter's been posted once before, but I was doing some editing and I got an idea and I just had to tack it onto the end of this chapter cuz it was so perfect. I hope everyone likes surprises!

 

Disclaimer: FFVII is property of Square Enix, and I'm just borrowing them, but I promise I'll put them back when I'm finished.

 

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Tifa groaned softly as she curled closer to Vincent, his body warm against hers as the early morning chill settled over them. She felt his arm tighten around her waist as he placed a soft kiss on her temple. Her eyelids were heavy, and she was totally exhausted, but it was a good feeling. She tilted her head slightly to look up at him, watching as he blinked slowly, smiling a little at her.

 

“I love you,” he whispered, brushing her hair from her face.

 

Tifa leaned into his touch, closing her eyes. “I love you too,” she whispered. She looked up at him when he sat up on his elbow and gazed down at her. His crimson gaze twinkled in the faint moonlight, and Tifa could see that his brow was furrowed slightly, as if he was thinking about something. “What is it?” she asked, watching as his gaze shifted away briefly before back to her.

 

He turned slightly and stretched out beside her on his stomach, his eyes trained on her. There were times when he liked that she could tell when he had something on his mind, but then there were times when he cursed his luck. Why did she have to be so perceptive? He sighed shortly, pulling her against him. “I've been thinking,” he said softly. He felt her let her hand rest against his chest in what he recognized as a worried gesture, and she tensed. “We are going to have to tell the others eventually.”

 

Tifa looked up at him, biting her lip. Her hazel eyes were concerned and her brow was furrowed. “Yes, but it doesn't have to be soon, does it?” she asked, clearly worried.

 

Vincent held her gaze for a moment. He understood why she was worried. Telling the others about them would mean a lot of hassle from some, and a lot of heartache for others. He wasn't worried about how Cid or Barret would take things, but he knew for a fact that at one time Yuffie had been interested in him. And he shuddered to think of how Cloud would react to the news.

 

After a moment, Tifa looked away. She knew exactly what he was thinking. “What should we do about Cloud?” she whispered, a fearful edge to her voice. “I don't know what he'll do when we tell him.” She looked back up at Vincent. “Sometimes I worry about his mental stability. He's not as stable as he'd like for us to believe, and I don't know how he'll react.”

 

Vincent nodded, pulling her against him tighter, trying to reassure her. “I know,” he said, stroking her hair. He sighed heavily. He worried about the same thing sometimes. He didn't feel like he knew Cloud any more. When he looked into his comrade's mako blue eyes, he didn't see the man Cloud had been before Aerith's death. He saw something caught in the middle; not quite a man, and not quite an empty shell. He sometimes wondered if that was how he looked after Lucrecia's betrayal. He knew that he felt that way sometimes, even now. The pain was lessened considerably when he had Tifa in his arms, but it was still there. He could tell that Tifa was helping to heal the emptiness, though. He didn't feel like he was an empty shell anymore, and he didn't relish the loss of that feeling. In fact, he would go through all that hurt and agony again if it meant finding love like Tifa's again. He would relive all those years and be thankful for every tear he'd ever shed, because, in the end, they had put him right in her arms, and he'd never even realized that's where they'd been leading. His crimson gaze shifted to her. He would do whatever it took to be with her, as long as that was her wish. He felt his heart twist in his chest suddenly, and he was filled with longing. He watched as her hazel eyes met his in surprise when he pushed her over onto her back, easily finding her lips. “Ready to go again?” he whispered between kisses. She didn't respond, but he took her soft moan as a yes as a smirk slid across his face.

 

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The night air was cold as Cloud settled on a pew in the back of the church. He let his eyes stray over the flowers that had bloomed and grown up all around the floor. He sighed softly as he gazed at them. He didn't know why he kept coming back here. Maybe he was just a sucker for punishment, because it seemed like no matter what he did, all he got was pain. He leaned back in the pew, his mind and heart still reeling from Tifa's rejection. He just didn't understand. Throughout the time that they had spent traveling together, all she did was send him a signal that she was interested. Or, at least that's what the others said.

 

He sighed softly again. It seemed that they were wrong. She said that she loved him as a friend. He leaned forward in the pew, trying to piece things together. She'd seemed very happy lately, and he'd heard her up late at night talking on the phone when she thought he was asleep. Just who was she talking to all the time? He felt jealousy flare inside him. Things suddenly started to take a suspicious form. She had a boyfriend. That was the only logical explanation. But who? was the question. He wracked his brain for any possible candidate. He hadn't seen her with anyone lately. He was really confused. Who could she be seeing that he didn't know about? He decided that it was time he found out. He rose to his feet, turning slowly. Either he would find out himself, or she would tell him, because not knowing was killing him. No one was worthy of his Tifa other than him, and he would pound the bastard that she was dating to scare him off. He would have her, or no one would.

 

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Lucrecia could feel her nails digging into the palms of her hands. She knew what was going on up there. She just knew. They weren't being loud or anything, but neither one of them had emerged all night, and it was almost dawn. She felt sick as she stared up the stairway. Her head was spinning. Was that man really him? Was it really Vincent?

 

She swallowed thickly.

 

He was so dark and scary now. She wasn't sure that he was the same man she had fallen for all those years ago, and she could feel doubt in her heart. What if he didn't feel the same way about her? He just had to. It wasn't possible that he felt anything other than lust for Tifa. Sure, she was cute and she was interested in him, but he was an ex-Turk, and he needed a real woman.

 

She smirked to herself. She would remind him of how much woman she was. How much more than Tifa, especially since she knew how to fill his Turk-bred desires. She knew Tifa was very innocent still. She was young, and that didn't surprise her. She wasn't surprised at all that it was she Vincent had decided to chase. No, what had nearly stolen her breath away, when she finally realized it was him, was when she remembered the look on his face when he'd first asked to see her. She couldn't get the image out of her head, and not just because his crimson, mako-filled eyes had imprinted themselves on her brain. No, it had been the intensity and longing she had seen.

 

Lucrecia swallowed hard, driving her nails harder into her palm. She knew that look. He'd looked at her like that once. He….felt something for her. She felt her heart constrict at the thought alone. He shouldn't feel anything for anyone but her. From what Weiss had told her, he was still pining over her. How was she to win him back if he didn't love her any more?

 

She felt tears in her eyes. This was bad. Weiss would be angry, not to mention her heart was aching. She knew she didn't love Vincent, but she could learn. She could learn, dammit! And she would make him remember how much he loved her, too!

 

She glanced back at the stairs, drawing a ragged breath.

 

Just as soon as she figured out how to get him out of Tifa's bed. She stared up at the second floor for a long time, and she jumped when a noise brought her from her thoughts. She spun quickly to figure out what the noise was, and gasped, nearly fainting when she saw a man standing in the doorway. It took her a moment to slow her heart as her mind caught up to what she was seeing.

 

“Cloud,” she said softly, forcing a smile. “You scared me.” She watched as he walked slowly toward where she stood at the bar, his mako eyes stormy and intense.

 

“Is Tifa asleep already?” he asked, pausing a step from the bar. A slight frown came to his face. Tifa never turned in early, or at least, she didn't normally leave Lucrecia to close the bar.

 

Lucrecia wasn't exactly sure how to answer him, and she pretended to be busy wiping down the counter in front of her, despite the way it shone brightly, while she decided how she would answer his question. “She…..wasn't feeling well,” she said slowly, hearing the slight disgust in her own voice.

 

Cloud arched a brow, his deep blue eyes focusing on her for a moment. “Was she sick?” he asked.

 

Lucrecia bit her lip, unable to look at him as she thought about what was going on up there. “Sure,” she said noncommittally. She glanced up sharply when Cloud stepped forward and placed his hands on the bar, leaning in toward her.

 

“What's really going on?” he asked, his mako gaze narrowed in a dangerous way.

 

Lucrecia stepped back slightly, biting her lip and looking away. “It's not mine to tell,” she said quietly. She glanced up, unsure, when Cloud sighed softly, watching as he straightened, his eyes worried as he looked up the stairs. He was frozen for a moment, before, without a word, he turned and headed up to Tifa's room. Lucrecia watched him go, a wicked smirk coming to her face as she turned back to wiping down the counter. Cloud was so predictable, and he'd played right into her hands. Vincent was practically hers already.

 

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Cloud didn't know why, but he felt anxious as he walked slowly up the stairs. It was probably the silence that was grating on his nerves so much, or Lucrecia's weird answers, and he knew that once he talked to Tifa, he would feel better. Just hearing her voice would make him feel better, and suddenly he was walking toward her room just a little faster, anxious to at least check on her. Lucrecia's behavior had put him on edge slightly, and he could only hope that she wasn't dreadfully sick or something. It wasn't like her to let others run the bar for her, so something had to be really off. He sighed as he neared her door, thinking he'd just peak in and check on her. He reached slowly for the door knob, resting his fingers on it, when suddenly a giggle sounded from the other side. He froze, unsure of what he had heard.

 

He was very still as he listened for any other sounds, and he gasped when he heard muffled whispers coming from inside her room. One of the voices sounded like hers and the other sounded distinctly male. Cloud gripped the door knob tightly, clenching his teeth as jealously flooded him, along with white hot anger. Finally, he'd get to meet the bastard who'd stolen his Tifa face to face. Without much thought, he twisted the knob and threw the door open. As soon as his eyes registered the sight before him, he felt a wave of nausea wash over him, and he back-pedaled out of the room as quickly as he could cursing loudly. He thought he heard Tifa's worried voice, but it was hard to tell over his raging thoughts. For a moment, he was shocked, before he remembered why he had opened the door in the first place. Drawing a deep breath, he stepped back into the door way, feeling fury replace his disgust.

 

“What the hell is this?” he demanded, watching as Tifa pulled the sheet up around her. He ground his teeth together as his gaze shifted to Vincent, who was watching him calmly.

 

“Cloud, I can explain,” Tifa said, her hazel eyes distressed and her voice startled.

 

“Damn it, Tifa, Vincent?” he asked incredulously. He motioned to the gunman as he sat up. “You picked Vincent over me?!”

 

Tifa's hazel eyes had begun to fill with tears. “You weren't supposed to find out this way,” she whispered.

 

“I wasn't?” he demanded. “What then? Were you ever going to tell me?” He was livid now, and all he wanted was to wring both their necks, but he was frozen to the floor. He felt sick again as silence fell over them, and he watched Tifa and Vincent exchange a glance, seeing the words that passed between them unsaid. It struck him suddenly that without him even realizing it, Tifa had grown away from him. Eventually he sighed, feeling defeated and betrayed. “Just forget it.” He turned to leave.

 

“Cloud wait,” Tifa said quickly, reaching for him in a desperate motion. Her eyes shifted to Vincent when he caught her hand.

 

“Let him go,” he said softly, his crimson gaze apologetic. He glanced to the retreating form of his comrade. “There's nothing you can say right now.” He listened to Tifa sniffle softly, and he turned to look at her, seeing a tear streak down her cheek. For once, he didn't quite know what to say.