For Darknightdestiny

a writer of exquisite detail, among other things

Hey, I didn't know you were going to dedicate one to me too.

Great minds. -points to head- Heh heh. xD

( Happy Valentine's Day to all. )

Book Daze
by Jess Angel

Okay, Mr. Poe.

I felt the arms in my muscles stretch and strain.

Now, if I can just – get… your brilliant, angsty-self… right into… I bit my lip in concentration.

"Gotcha." I sighed in relief. …Oh no. I tried to grip for the ladder, bookcase – anything, really, to keep me from a painful collision with the century-old marble flooring. "Eep!" …Please God, if I break anything, don't let it be the arm. (I couldn't afford that, not with final exams coming around in less than two weeks.) Oh please—"Oof."

Astonishingly, the marble flooring wasn't as hard as I imagined it would be, or as cold. Wait. …I was saved! Someone had been able to catch me - somewhat. My hands were pressed up against something solid and warm. And breathing.

Well, humiliation was a small price to pay. You did save my arm, right?

I could deal with this.

I opened one eye… then the other… and saw black. Black shirt, black shiny buttons that went up and up and—oh hello, white skin—and then finally, there was a face. A very handsome face. Oh, curses."Hi."

"Hello," the dark-haired man answered. After a pause, he asked in a nonchalant tone, "Are you all right?"

I backed away as he disengaged his arms around me. "Fine, fine," I hurried, busily brushing my knee-length skirt. "Thanks to you, anyway. Sorry about that." I finally looked up from the ground and gave him my best 'forgive-me-I'm-not-usually-a-clumsy-idiot' smile.

He nodded. "…Try not to be so careless next time."

I felt the tips of my ears burn pink. "Um, sure. No problem." I turned away as quick as humanly possible and began walking towards my desk station. Now I did feel like a clumsy idiot. I'm sure he didn't mean it to sound so… I really shouldn't take it like that. But, I was… taking it like that. I felt a growl in the back of my throat. What nerve. I whipped around again, intent on confronting then telling off my 'savior' when suddenly, scarcely three inches from my nose was that black shirt again. Needless to say, I turned back and headed to my desk.

Coward.

I ignored the tiny voice and went around the table, plopping myself onto the roller chair. It swayed me back a little, and I scooted forward to get closer to my station. It was about half an hour more before I could meet Elena for lunch. The blonde was anxious for me to meet someone there too. I drummed my fingers on my desk once before seeing a shadow loom over the surface. Well, back to work. "Welcome to the Nibelheim University Library. How can I help you…?"

How fortuitous. I was looking up at him. Those strange, haunting red eyes of his were downcast. What exactly was he looking at?

"Actually, I–" he paused. "Carnal lusts…" he trailed off.

"Excuse me?" God, was this some kind of joke? Did you have to make my savior a perverted sicko? I'm grateful you spared the arm but– He motioned towards something in front of me. A book; opened partway and face down. My eyes widened.

A picture of a bare-chested man passionately embracing a curvaceous redhead adorned the front.

Carnal Lusts.

I was going to kill Aeris.

"Friend of mine's." I embarrassedly took the book with the eyebrow-quirking cover, in one hand and attempted to pry open my desk drawer with the other. "She's on break," I laughed nervously. "Must've left it out." Stupid drawer—had to get stuck—today of—all, I jerked the compartment free with a grunt, days. "It's not mine. Really," I firmly insisted, the volume now safely "tucked" into the drawer.

"Ah," he seemed to accept. But after a moment, he delicately lifted an eyebrow. "…Really?"

I reddened at his tone. "Yes, really."

I cleared my throat. Moving away from Tifa's humiliation fest of the evening. "So can I help you?"

He seemed to remember something. "Oh…"

Right. Okay, so was that an 'oh' yes? Or an 'oh' no?

"Yes."

Ah, we have progress.

"I was searching for a book."

I could only nod slowly at his reply. This was a library.

He continued. "This book. I was wondering, by any chance, do you have it?"

Wait, what? He hadn't told me the title already had he? I was sure he didn't-

"Tell me, are you a student here?"

"What? Oh, yeah–" Well, aren't we random. "Yes. I'm a sophomore here at Nibelheim University." I shook my fist weakly. "Go Nibel Wolves." God, could I sound anymore boring? I searched his eyes. "You're…?"

"An alumni. Two years ago."

I smiled. "That's great." I laughed and gestured to my surroundings. "Doing some on campus work this year. Besides this I do a little tutoring."

He half-smiled. "Admirable."

I flushed. "Yeah. It's nothing, really." Really, Tifa. A one-word compliment and you're blushing like a junior higher. Argh. I silently groaned. If I could only shush inner voices. "You know, I'm actually really enjoying the extra work. But enough about me, what brings you back to your old Alma Mater?"

"A friend." He leaned a hand on my desk. "We meet up a few times each year." He glanced around at the shelves. "I like to stop by when…"

"You're here," I finished. A scholar. "That's nice. It's good to keep in touch with friends." Hm… "An alumni too?"

He nodded.

"Say, what's his name? Maybe, by some off chance, I know him." It wasn't likely, but conversation with him was… nice.

"His name is Tseng."

No way.

"Tseng?" I gestured, "As in dark hair and impossibly black eyes? Wutain?"

"Yes." He frowned, and I wasn't quite sure why.

"What a coincidence! I do know him."

Vincent paused. He should've known.

It seemed Tseng had beaten him, and he had used the nameless book ploy for nothing. "Well, then. You must be," he shifted, "Elena, I take it?" Of course, the pretty girl he met had to be the new girlfriend whom Tseng was extremely taken with. It was only fitting. Hojo had Lu, and now Tseng had her. But, though both cases were disappointing, there was one big difference.

Vincent actually liked Tseng.

"Oh, no. I'm Tifa." His eyebrows rose. " A friend of Elena's. We met as roommates this year."

She grinned. "I'm actually about to meet them both and a friend of–" The brunette realized something. "…You?"

"Vincent." He tilted his head slightly. "And guilty."

What a surprise; she wasn't taken after all.

Don't act too shocked, Tifa. Don't act too shocked… or thrilled.

I started. "Ohh… Oh wow, I'm glad. I mean that's nice. I mean, I'm glad, and that is nice." My words continued a little broken. "That… you are… guilty." Ugh, that came out horrible. I'm glad, and that is nice that you are guilty? Was English suddenly my second language?

She was too adorable.

"If you say so." Vincent glanced at his wrist then looked back at her, the hint of a smirk present. "You're definitely a pleasant surprise, in any case. Shall we?"

Tifa took a moment.

Shall we what? To put it mildly, I was still a little thrown and also trying to recover from my earlier babbling.

"Oh, already?" I recovered spotting the time at the bottom-right corner of my computer screen. "You know, you don't have to take me. It might be suspicious."

He actually smiled at that last word.

"Really, you don't," I insisted. Even to my own ears I sounded unconvincing. And "suspicious"? I sounded like we were sneaking around or something - which we weren't.

"But I want to. …Really." His eyes and voice lowered in seductive insistence.

How could I possibly say no to that? How could anyone? And the man had saved me. Not to mention, he was… cute? No, he was much more than cute. I don't think there was a word in any dictionary that I could've used to accurately describe him. Vincent's company was enjoyable even if I did get jittery around him. And now, I had the chance to get to really know him. What did I have to lose?

I finally let out an "exasperated" sigh then shook my head.

I went to take his arm. "Really?"

Vincent looked down at me, his gaze on the upturned corner of my mouth.

His eyes then lifted back to mine. "Really."

·:·. Fin..·:·

Final Fantasy VII and its characters © Squaresoft, Inc. n.k.a. Square-Enix, Inc.