"Thank you very much for letting us spend the night here." Cloud bowed his head, showing that he was indeed grateful that AVALANCHE would not have to spend the night camping in their traditional broken tent. He would reconsider if they were at the outskirts of Costa Del Sol, but this was Gaea's cliff. Even with constant battles, no one managed to obtain the heat they needed, especially Tifa.

He watched the brunette beside him. She shivered uncontrollably while hugging the oversized red cape draped around her form. Her face was pale and her usual sparkling burgundy eyes were dull and lifeless. Vincent had been kind enough to offer her his cape seeing that she needed it alot more than him. Cloud spotted him standing by himself against a nearby decaying tree. He was isolated from the group as usual with his penetrating crimson eyes roaming the surroundings.

Shrugging, Cloud turned back to the man at the door and thanked him once more for letting the group use his cabin.

"Call me Mr. Holzoff and it is my pleasure. I don't see much travelers here anymore," he commented as he opened the door and flickered on the lights. He stood by the side and gestured his guests in.

Cloud placed a gentle hand on Tifa's shoulder, urging her to step in first. She made no objection and obediently made her way into the cabin while flashing Mr. Holzoff a small smile of gratitude. A surge of warmth instantly made contact with her skin. She found the source at the crackling fire place grounded next to a soft white bear rug. Desperation was almost evident in her eyes as she stared at the rug. She could almost feel the heat absorbing into her body even though she was roughly seven feet away.

Mr. Holzoff laughed. "Go on honey. Make yourselves at home. There are some food around too if you need a nice meal. I will be upstairs if you guys need anything." He closed the door behind him with a loud grunt. The harsh wind was really picking up. He gave AVALANCHE a friendly grin before making his way up the stairs.

"Well aren't we lucky?" Yuffie chirped. She threw her sack of materia and weapon on the ground and made her way towards the fridge.

Cid and Barret rolled their eyes and accompanied her to the back. They wanted to be modest, but at the same time they could not deny their peaking hunger. It had been hours since they last had a meal and it had been hours since...

Well, no one wanted to talk about that.

Tifa made her way to the fireplace with Red XIII silently following behind her. She kneeled on the rug and patted the seat next to her. Red XIII nodded and lied down with his head on her lap. He sensed the woman's loneliness as she gazed at the burning wood with empty eyes. He wanted to start a conversation but realized that no one was in much of a mood to talk. The atmosphere around him was depressing. All he heard were munchingd from Cid, Barret, and Yuffie and the wood crackling in front of him.

Cait had already fallen asleep on his mechanical mog in the corner by the window. Red XIII wondered if it was even possible for a robot to be physically worn out. On second thought, he decided that it was none of his business. He would never figure out how ShinRa operated the doll and he was no fan of ShinRa's technological advances either. Right now, he just wanted to enjoy Tifa's relaxing strokes and maybe gain some sleep before sunrise.

That left Cloud and Vincent standing in the middle of the cabin. Both of them were unsure of what to do and neither felt hungry nor exhausted. After a few brief moments, Cloud started to feel a bit awkward standing beside Vincent. He had nothing against the man. In fact, he was a very useful ally and a good comrade. Perhaps it was the fact that he remained cold to everyone that he started to feel uneasy.

With a sigh, Cloud dragged his heavy weapon to a small wooden table beside the window. He lazily tossed the weapon on the floor and blankly stared out the glass into the endless vast land of snow. The journey to pass the cliff was going to be a difficult one but what other choice did they have if they wanted to find Sephiroth?

He saw Tifa behind him from the reflection of the glass. He was a bit concerned with her. She didn't say much after they left the Ancient City but he didn't blame her. No one said much after they lost Aeris. His fingers curled into a tight fist as he resisted the urge to ram it through the window. He couldn't bear to look at the glass anymore. All it portrayed was a self image of himself--an image of a failure. Aeris would have still been with the team if he had been strong enough to fight off Sephiroth's control.

"I know how you feel."

Cloud turned around with surprise. This was one of the few times that Vincent had ever spoken to him. "Do you really?"

"I do."

Cloud was unsure of what to say. What exactly can you add to a terse statement like that? Another brief moment of awkwardness followed. The feeling of uneasiness started to return. He didn't want to admit it but he even felt slightly intimidated by standing next to the gunman. He towered well above him and his body was well toned and rippled with muscles beneath his black shirt. Cloud had always thought he was a lanky man but this goes to show how much a cape can really hide. He let his eyes wander to the empty table and took a seat. Vincent sat down opposite of him and held out two glasses and a bottle of fresh red wine. He set them on the table top and offered a glass to Cloud.

"It looks like you can use some of this."

Cloud accepted the cup and waited until Vincent uncorked the bottle. He filled the glass for his leader before doing the same for himself.

"Thank you. Maybe I do need some."

"You do look rather tense. I am very sorry that we lost Aeris..."

"How do you know how I feel?" Cloud suddenly asked. He wanted to change the subject but he also wanted to know what was in the enigmatic man's mind.

"Lucrecia. I lost her to Hojo and I wasn't able to stop her from putting her life at risk. She...died...and I will never stop blaming myself. It's my sin."

Cloud frowned. Vincent had mentioned Lucrcecia before but he didn't know the man felt so responsible for her death. He wanted to learn more about his past but decided that asking further questions would just be rude, especially when his friend did not seem willing to go into details.

"But you are different. You should not blame yourself. It was not your fault," Vincent continued.

"How so?" Cloud challenged.

"Aeris's death was out of your grasp. You did not know she was going to die and you did not know Sephiroth was going to manipulate you. However, I knew that Hojo was going to use and hurt Lucrecia and I did nothing. That is why I can never forgive myself."

"But I do blame myself for Aeris's death. I could have done SOMETHING."

"I don't think so."

He thought about what Vincent said and the more he thought about it, the more he wondered if he really could have done something to prevent the flower girl's death. Everything was out of his grasp but he still felt so responsible. Why? Maybe he agreed to be her bodyguard and had a duty to protect her?

"Cloud. Tell me something. When you look at this wine, what does it remind you of? What does it make you feel?"

Vincent's question caught him off guard. He gave him a confused look as he picked up his glass with one hand and stared at the burgundy content swirling in a deep vortex. The liquid sparkled with each wave and looked as if it was about to burst over the rim, but it never quite did meet its escape from the holder. The sweet scent of the wine filled his nostrils. It made him feel intoxicated but it was also soothing to the senses. He felt his tension easing as he inhaled deeply, letting the scent course through his system.

Cloud never had much alcohol. The days he spent working for ShinRa as a SOLDIER were rough and he was lucky if he even got decent milk and bread for meals. All the delicacies that ShinRa spared went to the leaders, not the lankies.

ShinRa

For some odd reason, he started to feel nostalgic. He stared at the alcohol and felt as if he was being pulled into the depths of the liquid. His lungs burned as the intoxicating aroma surrounded him. He saw his father and mother laughing as their glasses of wine met across a table of delicious plates. He saw flames erupting at Nibelheim and her eyes when he saved her in the reactor. He saw the Seventh Heaven bar and the lines of drinks piled up behind the counter. He saw her smile and her eyes as she made a drink for him after every mission. He saw her fear and her eyes when the Sector 7th pillar collapsed. He saw her beside him every fight and her eyes that gleamed with victory. He saw her determined eyes when she told him "It'll be all right" when things looked bleak. He saw her sadness and her tear stained eyes as she caressed Aeris's face. He saw her shivering in the cold outside the cabin with her dull lifeless eyes.

He saw her.

He saw her eyes.

He saw hope.

Cloud gave a rare smile behind the rim of the glass. "I see hope." No matter how many times he wanted to give up, Tifa kept him going. She was everywhere. She was a constant reminder that he could pull through anything as long as he had hope.

Vincent nodded. "You have to a duty to her too you know."

"Thank you Vincent. I see it now."

Vincent watched as Cloud got up from his seat and walked to the white rug where Tifa still appeared to be in daze. He offered her his share of wine and she gratefully accepted. Vincent felt his heart prick with a fleeting pain as he watched his red cape sliding off Tifa's slender shoulders only to be replaced by Cloud's arms. He looked down at his own glass of wine. He saw blood and despair and grinned. Tifa didn't need that. She needed Cloud's glass of hope.

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Author's Notes: I was looking at my own glass of wine when I came up with this idea. You can see this as a Cloud/Tifa, Cloud/Vincent, or Vincent/Tifa. Hope you all liked it and please leave a review. Thank you for reading!