By Kristen Gupton-Williams

Everyone gathered for dinner at a restaurant up in the city. There were a number of people sitting around the large table they had reserved; Vincent, Tifa, Angel, Reno, Cid, Brad, Porter, Rayna, Quigley, Dr. Arlin, and several other ASRIO agents.

Janice Arlin had ended up directly opposite to Vincent, and rarely looked at him through the duration of the entire meal. Once dinner was over however, she locked gazes with him. "Vincent, am I to understand that you and Tseng were Buddhist?"

Vincent cocked an eyebrow, not just at the question but also the rather biting tone in which it was asked. "Yes, we are."

"Huh," she crossed her arms over her chest, "I was under the impression that Buddhists were always cremated after death."

Her attempt to catch Vincent in some weird pigeonhole didn’t rattle him. "Generally, that is a Buddhist tradition, yes. But, Tseng and I are Wutain Buddhists, and therein have somewhat different ways. Burial for our people is the norm, such as was done with our relatives."

The doctor hadn't done enough homework on the subject and was angry with herself for not having known better. She relaxed her arms and let them fall to rest on the table before her. "I see…"

Vincent shrugged it off, not bothering to notice that all the other conversations going on around the table had ceased. Everyone was looking and Vincent and Dr. Arlin, all thinking it a little odd that she would bring up such a thing at dinner.

Janice did notice however, and immediately became more than a little self conscious about the way she had been acting. Her face flushed red, and she wanted to disappear. Knowing that it was better save face at this point than to keep acting so angry, she picked up her wineglass and stood. "I would like to propose a toast."

Everyone in attendance immediately stood, glasses in hand.

"I know what is foremost on all of our minds this evening and it is of course, Tseng. He was a good man, with a dedication like I have never known. We will all miss him very much as he was such a prominent figure in our lives. To Tseng." She raised her glass.

All present agreed with her words and showed it accordingly. As they began to retake their seats, Vincent remained standing for a moment longer. "Thank you, Doctor."

She smiled weakly, "It's nothing."

Vincent reciprocated her smile as he sat back down. He knew that she was trying to apologize to him in her own way, although be it more than slightly indirect.

After leaving the restaurant, Tifa had a strange request as she and Vincent went down the street. She stopped about halfway back to the base entrance and turned to him. "Vincent?"

He looked at her. "Yeah?"

"I want to go to the beach," she asked.

He knitted his brows. "You want to walk all the way to the beach on crutches? At night?"

She broke into a wide grin. "Sure."

"Why don't we just wait a few days until you can walk on your own?" Vincent retorted.

"Come on!" Tifa was growing anxious. "Can't you do anything spontaneous and fun every once in a while?"

Vincent sighed and rolled his eyes, aware that he couldn't possibly deny her such a request. "Okay, but I'm not carrying you."

"You won't have to," she at once started back down the street as fast as she could go with the assistance of her crutches.

Vincent went behind her at a short distance, causing Tifa to look back over her shoulder every so often to make sure that he was still following.

When they got to the end of the street they were on, they walked through a small parking lot and reached the sand. The tide was out and there was quite a way to go in order to reach the water. The full moon illuminated the sand and water, giving the whole scene a somewhat ghostly glow.

Vincent took one look at how far it was to the water and knew that Tifa would never make it that distance on crutches in something as hard to walk through as sand. In one fluid movement, he swept her up into his arms, causing her to drop the crutches and squeal in surprise at the same time. "What are you doing?"

"You can't make it all the way out there on your own." He said quietly as he started walking out toward the waves.

"I thought you said you weren't going to carry me." Tifa feigned a pout.

"What, don't you ever do anything fun and spontaneous?" he said flippantly back.

"Oh sure, now you're just making fun of me." Tifa laughed.

"That's because you're so damned funny." Vincent replied, sounding almost serious.

Tifa was happy. She and Vincent had had very little time together alone lately when they weren't simply asleep. It had been far too long since she had seen Vincent like he was acting now. She rested her head against his chest. "I wish it could always be like this."

Even though it would have been hard work for anyone else to make it through the sand carrying another person, Vincent's mechanical body made it easy. He got down to where the water was touching the sand. "Do you want to go in?"

Tifa giggled. "Is it cold?"

Vincent shrugged as he started to walk into the surf. "I couldn't tell you, but you'll find out soon enough."

"You're probably going to drop me in the water!" Tifa clung to him tighter.

"I'm not going to let go." Vincent kept moving forward. "Let me know if it's too cold, though."

Again she squealed as the ocean water splashed up and hit her back. "It's cold, it's cold!"

Vincent laughed. "You haven't even given yourself a chance to get used to it first."

"There isn't going to be any getting used to it, it's cold!" Tifa was nearly climbing up him to get away from the water. "And how do you know you aren't going to rust or something? Get us back on the beach!"

Vincent silenced any further protests by kissing her. It had been a long time since they had done anything even remotely romantic.

Tifa submitted fully and slid a hand behind his head, preventing him from pulling away. She didn't notice that he was still moving into deeper water. When they did finally break off the kiss, they were completely submerged in the cool water up to their shoulders.

Knowing that the water would help support her, Vincent let Tifa's lower body slide off his arm so that she was standing before him. No longer having to support her, he placed his hands on the sides of her face and just stared down at her.

Tifa smiled back as the small waves lapped around them. Time seemed to stop as they stood there. "What's on your mind?"

He just shook his head slightly and sighed. "I don't know."

Tifa knew what probably was on his mind, but also knew that with his body currently as it was that any sort of meaningful sexual encounter for him at this point wasn't possible. Deciding that maybe she should attempt some sort of conversation, she spoke quietly. "I can't remember the last time I was in the ocean."

Vincent's smile broadened. "If it was when we were here seven years ago with AVALANCHE and you, Yuffie, and Cloud came out here to swim, then I remember it good enough for you."

She was impressed by his memory of that time, but also confused. "That was the last time I was in the ocean, but you didn't go with us, so how do you remember it?"

"I didn't go with you, but I did watch you…" he confessed. "I sat under the pier in the shade and saw the three of you out here playing."

"Really?" Tifa raised an eyebrow, "why?"

If it had been daylight, it would have been easy to see him blush. "I'm a sucker for a pretty girl in a swimsuit, I guess."

"You'd better mean me and not Yuffie!" she teased.

He outright laughed. "Please, of course I was watching you. Yuffie… well, you know I didn't like her much."

"Whatever you say, Vincent." She got closer to him and rested her head on his chest. "What about you? When was the last time you were in the water?"

Again he sighed, "Before I left home in Wutai. My dad was a fisherman and Tseng and I would go out with him on the boat all the time and spend the day swimming. I haven't been in since then, until now. I guess it was because it just brought back memories of home and I didn't want them."

She could plainly hear the sadness in his voice and was sorry for having inadvertently pained him. "It's been a long time, then."

"Yeah," Vincent shrugged, "but this is just as good as it was back then."

Tifa reached up and placed her hand on the back of his neck again and pulled him down for another kiss. If he had been able to distract her from the water by doing this, then she could distract him from his memories the same way.

The low temperature of the water did eventually start to take its toll on Tifa and she started to shiver. Vincent noticed this and broke from the kiss and took her again into his arms and back to the sand. She went without protest, feeling that if she did stay in any longer that she would get hypothermic.

Once on shore again, Vincent fell to his knees with her still in his arms. He laid back on the still warm sand and soon Tifa was laying beside him, her head resting upon his shoulder.

Vincent suddenly grew a little self conscious about the obvious sexual tension in the air. "Tifa?"

She looked into his eyes. "What?"

"Can I…" his voice trailed off as his nerves got the better of him.

"What, Vincent?" Tifa hated how he was still so shy despite the fact they were wed.

Deciding that actions might speak louder than words, Vincent propped himself up on his elbow and gently pushed her onto her back. He let his lips meet hers again in a deep kiss, and allowed his free hand to glide down to the bottom hem of her shirt where it stopped.

Tifa knew that he was hesitating while he awaited some sign of approval from her. She placed her hand over his and placed it beneath her blouse.

Seeing that she wasn't going to protest, he moved his cold metallic hand over her belly and upward daring to touch her breast.

She shivered slightly at the coolness of his hand, but quickly grew accustomed to it. Tifa pulled back from their kiss. "Vincent, what can I do… for you?"

He smiled down at her. "All I want is to take care of you."

Any further words were halted as he kissed her again and invaded her mouth. At the same time he ventured to let his hand move down and beneath her skirt. Although his hand wasn't flesh, he was unbelievable delicate with his touch.

Tifa writhed slowly beside him as he continued to let his hand explore her. It was only a short while later that he brought her over the edge, causing her to cry out her passions into the night.

Thus relieved, Tifa rolled onto her side in order to nestle closer to him. "I still wish there was something I could do for you."

The expression on his face made it evident that he was as content as humanly possible. Having been able to see to her needs was all he needed to be satisfied. "You've done more for me than you could ever know."