By Kristen Gupton-Williams

Vincent wasn't feeling up to mingling with all those gathered after the funeral. He walked with Tifa back to the house. Once they arrived there, Vincent took her straight to the bedroom they shared.

Tifa took a few steps in and turned to face Vincent. He was leaning against the door and reached down to lock it. She smiled at him, not having seen the particular look on his face before.

His head was slightly lowered, forcing him to look upwards in order to see her. The left corner of his mouth was pulled up, somewhere between a sneer and a smile. Although he lacked the male anatomy to show it at the moment, Vincent was very aroused. "You're really beautiful."

Tifa giggled, and looked away. "You're being silly…"

He cocked an eyebrow. "No, I'm not."

The tone of his voice caught Tifa's attention and she locked gazes with him. She suspected what was on his mind. How anyone could be in this state after being at their brother's funeral she didn't quite understand, but then again, Vincent wasn't like most people. Maybe it was his way of escaping the moment. "Are you just going to lean against the door all day or what?"

His smile widened enough to show his teeth. He wasn't doing this for any type of escape; he was doing it because seeing Tifa dressed as she was, made him feel overly erotic. He slowly approached her.

When Vincent finally got to her, Tifa was surprised by the force with which he kissed her. She gave in fully and let him invade her mouth.

While his lips were against hers, he carefully began to pull the sticks from her hair, causing it to fall over her shoulders. He pulled away from her for a moment to admire her with her hair down briefly, before taking her back into his arms. Vincent swept her up off the floor and carried her over to the bed where he lay her down. He sat beside Tifa and kissed her again, letting his hand find its way beneath the skirt of her kimono.

Tifa writhed at his touch. Vincent somehow always seemed to know how to do things perfectly. He moved to hover over her on all fours, never losing contact with his hand. He kissed her face and neck, and then moved lower.

After being with Cloud for so long, Tifa never would have imagined that such pleasure was possible. Vincent brought her to the edge quickly, but wouldn't yet let her have final satisfaction. Whenever he would feel her tense and get close, he would break of his contact with her momentarily until she calmed again. He managed to keep her teetering on the brink of gratification for over an hour. When he finally did let her come, it was with enough force as to cause Tifa to cry out.

Having received his own satisfaction in her release, Vincent lay down at her side and draped an arm across her. "I hope no one else is here, or they would have heard that."

Tifa blushed through her exertion. "Who cares?"

He knew that she really was spent from his actions in order to answer like that. Vincent was pleased with having made her feel so good. He continued gazing at her until they both fell asleep.

***

Vincent dreamt. He was walking down a city street in his old Turk suit. He neared an open-air coffee shop, and spotted Tseng sitting amongst the empty tables, sipping a cup of coffee. There was a magazine resting on the table before him that he was apparently reading. As Vincent continued to walk closer, Tseng looked up and acknowledged him. "Tsuvati, come sit."

Vincent did as ordered. In his dream he was confused with how Tseng could be here. "You're dead…"

Tseng laughed. "I know."

"Am I dreaming?" Vincent asked, already knowing the answer.

"Of course you are." Tseng set his cup on the table. "But I'm really here for the moment."

Vincent felt tears burn in his eyes. "I wish you were still alive. I miss you."

Tseng reached out and patted one of Vincent's hands. "Don't be upset. I'm okay, I really am."

"I just feel horrible for having killed you." Vincent still tried to keep the tears from falling.

Tseng smiled again. "You didn't kill me, it was Chaos. Still, I want you to know that I'm all right. This isn't bad at all. Nothing hurts, I can run forever and my heart doesn't bother me. What more could anyone ever ask for?"

"I don't know what I'm going to do without you." Vincent wiped a tear away with the back of his hand. It was only at that moment that he realized that his hand was human.

Seeing Vincent's expression, Tseng spoke, "We're all whole up here, Tsuvati."

Vincent was confused. "I'm dead?"

"No," Tseng laughed again. "You're very much alive, but I pulled some strings to let you come see me."

He still couldn't quite understand. Vincent stared into his brother's face, realizing that he no longer looked like the fifty-seven year old he had been at death, rather he appeared as he had when in his early thirties.

Tseng went on. "And as for what you're going to do without me, you're going to just have to find out. I can tell you that everything is going to work out fine. Tifa is going to take good care of you."

Vincent's expression went blank. "I'm going to get a normal body? Quigley's scheme is going to work?"

"I can't tell you, that would be cheating, but I can tell you that you will find happiness." Tseng suddenly looked thoughtful. "Oh, and our family all asked me to say hello."

"Where are they?" Vincent looked around.

"In the life-stream. This is just a vision made up for your benefit." Tseng sighed. "Once you get here, you'll understand. Just rest assured that we will all be together again."

Vincent felt new tears in his eyes, but not of sadness. "I believe you."

"As well you should, since I've already made the trip over. Oh, and thank you for the funeral service, it was very well done." Tseng stood up. "It's time for you to go now."

"Will I see you again before I pass on?" Vincent asked, not wanting to leave his brother's company yet.

"Yes, we will have this chance to talk one more time during your life." Tseng smiled down at him. "For now though, you need to go live your life."

***

Vincent opened his eyes to find himself back in his aunt's house. Tifa was standing next to him, shaking him gently. She had gotten out of her kimono and make up, and stood there in her street clothes. "Wake up, Vincent. You've been dreaming."

Vincent sat up and ran a hand through his hair. "Yeah."

"It's time for dinner. Everyone is here and Yokazi just knocked on the door. She wants us to come out." She held out a hand to help him up.

Vincent got out of bed and removed the suit he was still wearing from the funeral. He donned a pair of jeans and a long sleeve shirt. They opened the door and stepped out into the family room to find it filled with people.