Every Now and Then

For Motchi

(-Chapter Three-)

Dawn was approaching as Cloud pried his tired eyes open to the noisy clattering of his phone against the floor. It had somehow fallen out of his pocket while he shifted in his sleep. And somehow, his signal had been restored.

"Hello?" he answered blearily, rubbing his eyes.

"Cloud."

He sat up, away from the wall. What time was it, and how long had he been asleep? He listened to the empty silence filling the house; the rain had stopped. "...Tifa."

"Are you alright?" she asked, her voice tinged with a strange mix of concern and suspicion. All at once it made him feel badly, but he had honestly tried this time. "It's almost lunchtime here. I was beginning to worry."

"I'm fine," he said. "I got caught in a storm. I'll be home as soon as I can."

"Okay," she answered, sounding disappointed nonetheless. "...The kids are coming home tomorrow."

She'd missed him. She'd wanted to spend some time alone with him. Honestly, how many opportunities did they get? Cloud sighed, running his hand through his hair as he stood, walking out into the lobby of the mansion. "I'm coming home." He peered out one of the broken windows at the cobalt sky. "...You okay?"

"Yeah," she said, followed by a short laugh. "Just don't get lost on the way."

He grimaced. "Okay. I'll see you soon. Bye, Tifa."

"Goodbye."

Cloud closed his eyes and thought about the long trip home; his muscles ached from slouching against the wall and from spending the previous day on his bike. The thought did occur to him to call up Cid and ask if he could meet him in Rocket Town for a lift. What they really needed to do, he thought, was organize some mode of transportation from the other side of East Continent, so that anyone who wanted to travel from Edge to Rocket, Nibel or Wutai wouldn't have to cross a marsh, an ocean, a desert and some mountains. If Cid weren't still running around all helter skelter for Reeve, he could really cash in on that.

"They do have an inn here in town."

Cloud started at the unexpected voice, whirling around as his ears followed the sound. Behind him, and not thirty feet away, Vincent Valentine sat on the banister, looking every bit as comfortable as he had in the coffin, the first time they'd met. How creepy.

The younger man's shoulders relaxed, and he raised an arm to run his hand over the back of his hair. "Yeah," he said shrugging, "I guess I didn't come prepared. You're... living here?"

"I wouldn't exactly call it living," Vincent replied, dismounting from his perch to land on the floor below. He walked casually towards the center of the room, passing Cloud and pausing to peer over the younger man's shoulder. "Is that your bike in my office?" he asked, mouth and eyebrow twitching.

"Your... office?"

"I could have an office."

Well, understandably, Cloud had felt the need to ask, considering the state of the room. It must be another of Vincent's bizarre attempts at humor, he thought. Whatever. "I didn't want it to get ruined in the rain."

"Hm," Vincent mused thoughtfully, narrowing one eye. "It is a good thing then, that you did not come in Barret's truck." He resumed his pacing. "How are things in Edge?"

"Alright, I guess," Cloud said, dropping his arm to his side. "The kids are happy, the bar's doing well. Can't really complain."

"...Hmph," he grunted, leaning against the wall.

"So...you've been staying here, then?" Cloud asked, once he realized Vincent was through with his end of the conversation.

"Not for long, but yes," was the reply.

Cloud folded his arms and shot the tall man a questioning glance. "Every bed in this place is covered in dust-mites. Where do you sleep?"

"In the basement," said Vincent, idly flexing his claw.

"...In the coffin?" Cloud asked, strangely not as bothered by this, well aware of Vincent's... tendencies.

"Yes."

Cloud tilted his head, shifting his weight. "Still a little odd."

"Is it?" he asked rather blandly, still playing with his claw.

"Yeah," Cloud smiled, "but you were always kind of odd."

"Perhaps I am just lazy," Vincent deadpanned, tilting his head to better gauge Cloud's reaction.

The blonde chuckled. "Why are you here?"

"Why are you here?"

"I asked you first."

"That's not a rule, you know."

"Fine," Cloud resigned, rolling his eyes and smiling. He did miss this every now and again. "I was delivering a package, and I got rained out. I have maybe enough gil to fuel up on the way home, if I need it. So," he shrugged, leaving the obvious to rest.

Vincent nodded slowly. "...Ah."

"Did you do that?" Cloud asked, gesturing to the pile of debris in the corner of the room.

"I might have. Did you get the package I sent?" Vincent asked, mildly interested and changing the subject.

Cloud folded his arms. "Of course, I'm the one who delivered it. Are you keeping it as a conversation piece, or do you just like the way it looks?"

Vincent crossed his arms again, an amused smile playing on his face. "I'm waiting for someone to come and break it down, as I can't move it by myself. Were the items useful?"

"Oh yeah," Cloud replied. "Those two can't possibly go through enough clothes. Though I'm sure they would have rather had candy or something half as good for them, I think Tifa was pleased."

"I've never had children, so I wouldn't know."

Vincent always did have a knack for using awkward and uncomfortable lines to repel conversation. Cloud felt he should say something. "...They're hard to keep up with."

"I should think so."

Cloud frowned, shifting on his feet. "Anyways, I'm sure Tifa will be doing a lot better once the holiday is done with. It's been a lot of work for her, with me running around on deliveries."

Vincent nodded, but didn't say anything.

"So why are you hanging out here in ShinRa Manor? I'd have thought it'd be the last place you'd want to revisit. Bad memories and all."

"Hmm," Vincent droned. "It has its purpose after all, I suppose."

"What's that?" the younger man asked.

Vincent straightened, pushing away from the wall to pace across the floor. "I have contractors coming later this week," he said. "A project I've been working on."

"Project?"

The gunman turned several paces away to face the youth. "Yes. I'm turning the mansion into a lodge."

Cloud blinked. That wasn't a half-bad idea; Vincent might be onto something. "Enterprising, much?"

"It should bring in a good amount of money," he said. "Skiing. Hunting. Rock-climbing. The town is not too far from the shore, either."

"Huh. I never figured you were the type to capitalize. Any reason?"

Vincent frowned. "It is good to have something to pass the time, is it not?"

If there was anything Vincent had plenty of, it was time. "I guess so."

"You guess pretty often. Indecisive, much?" Vincent turned towards the opposite wall, not paying attention to Cloud's curious stare or giving him the time to ponder the hidden meaning behind his words. "I am thinking about knocking those walls down," he continued, gesturing to the lower East Wing of the house, "and putting in a lounge. Entertainment perhaps, a full bar."

"Can you even do this?"

Vincent frowned. "The outside is made of solid cinderblock. All I really need to do is gut the place."

Cloud shook his head. "I meant, do you even own the mansion?"

"I do."

"Since when?"

"Since Rufus signed it over to me."

"Get real."

"And why not?" Vincent asked, raising an eyebrow. "I've got blackmail the likes of which you've never seen."

Cloud blinked.

"He didn't want this dump, anyway," Vincent said, kicking at the rotted baseboard.

"Well, it all sounds...pretty nice," Cloud intoned dumbly. At least the man had found something to hold his interest for a while. "I thought you hated crowds."

"Oh no," Vincent said. "I'm not staying. Bad memories and all," he joked, flashing a wicked grin that the blonde didn't see.

Cloud walked out into the middle of the lobby and placed his hands on his hips, staring up at the ceiling. "I don't know," he said. "What you're talking about...it might be worth it."

Vincent's eyebrows lifted, curious. "To whom?"

Cloud shrugged. "Someone."

"Yourself?"

The younger man dropped his head to stare at the other. "...What do you mean?"

Vincent dropped his arms and tilted his head. "Would you be interested?"

"You mean...stay here?"

He frowned thoughtfully. "The plans for the bar were drawn up with Seventh Heaven in mind."

"They were? Why?"

"It's the only bar I've spent much time in since thirty years ago."

"...Right."

"I don't think it would take long for Tifa to familiarize herself with it." He paused. "Barret is moving back to Corel, correct? The children would be closer here than in Edge."

"Whoa," Cloud said, holding up his hands. "Do I get a choice in this? Besides, wouldn't you rather have someone with more experience?"

The demi-human's eyes narrowed. "Do I look like I want to conduct interviews?"

Cloud straightened. "Not really."

Vincent held his hand to his chin thoughtfully. "We'll iron out the details, perhaps over breakfast?"

"Uh...okay? There's nothing open at this hour. Besides, I told Tifa I was going to head home."

"Hm. Perhaps I should whip something up, then."

Cloud blinked at Vincent's dismissal, then sighed. "Sure, what the hell."

Vincent didn't move. Cloud watched him for a minute, and then he began to look around.

"Uh..."

"It was a joke."

"Hmm?"

"There's nothing here," Vincent said, smirking.

"Oh."

"Exactly." Vincent narrowed his eyes. "Would you really eat something cooked in this place?"

"...No."

More silence.

"You know, your sense of humor still needs some work."

"I cannot help it that you are slow to catch on."

"I'm still hungry though. What kind of a host are you?"

"Why don't you ask my tenants?" he asked, heading up the stairs.

Oh, right. Haha. Cloud shook his head, following. "I thought I was doing you a favor by thinking this over."

"But it is not my job to feed you. You were uninvited. And you stashed your bike indoors."

"Oh-ho. You're such a cut-up."

"Indeed."

"Are you going to go on forever?"

Vincent grinned. "Only time can tell."

End Chapter Three

Final Fantasy VII and its characters © 1997 Square-Enix Co., Ltd.

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Note, March 14th, 2007: Vincent as comic relief; that's a new thing for me. But this is my favorite Vincent... one who gets a kick out of messing with people. Because he did, you know. In the game.

Depending how long the next chapter ends up, it may or may not be the last one. I was thinking this would end up being six parts long, but I'm thinking now it will probably end up being five. We'll see.

Feedback/comments are much appreciated. :-)