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Someone to Love/ Someone to Protect	By : MidoriBond Category: Final Fantasy VII > Het - Male/Female Views: 1756 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VII, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 6
- 7
- 8
Author's
note: To
Vinnie the Vampire, I love you. You don't know how much I adore your
reviews. You too Femme Fatal, and everyone else that reviewed. Now,
having said that, I just need everyone to know, everything up to here
has happened for a reason. I know I'm kinda slow getting there, but I
just want you all to keep that in mind and keep reading, even if you
hate what I've done.

Oh,
and for those that are reading this, and haven't caught on, this is
Vincent/Tifa (naturally), Reno/Yuffie (I think those two would be
kinda hot together), and I haven't figured out what I'm gonna do with
Cloud yet. I have a plan, but I don't know if I'm going to go through
with it.

And just so
you know,
I'm kinda excited, I'm getting really far in writing this. I usually
have the standard that I'll post a Chapter when I have at least two
waiting in the wings, and guess what, I'm about to write Chapter 10!
I'm just letting you all know that having updates so close together
really isn't my thing, but since I'm on a roll, and I know that
people are actually reading this, here you go!

Anyway,
Enjoy & Review!

Midori

Someone to Love...

by Midori Bond

Chapter 7

Reno gently
brushed Tifa's hair away from her face. A phoenix down, two potions,
three cure spells, and Yuffie's Cleared Tranquil, and she was still
unconscious. He took her hand into his own and rubbed his thumb over
her knuckles. "It's been three days, Tifa. Are you gonna wake up
anytime soon Babe?" he asked before kissing her hand. "I
need you to control Hell Hound."

From his spot
on the floor, Epy looked up and slowly started to growl. When Reno
shook his head and waved his hand, the beast settled down. Reno
looked at Tifa's still face again and smirked. "Hey, he listened
to me. I guess there's a first time for everything." He
continued to run his fingers through her hair again. "You have
to wake up and see this."

Yuffie leaned
against the doorway, her arm wrapped around her middle. She watched
Reno with Tifa curiously. Even though she knew they were friends, she
didn't know the real nature of their relationship. After spending
some time with the red-haired man, she knew he lived to have a good
time, and was very flirtatious. A pair of qualities she could appreciate.

"Has
there been any change?" she asked softly.

Reno shook his
head. "Only that Epy actually listened to me," Reno said in
a dejected tone. He leaned back in his chair and looked at the young
woman at the door. "How are your ribs?" he asked. He had
known that she hadn't done anything to heal herself. All of her
effort had been trying to keep Tifa alive.

She shrugged
as she walked into the room. "Pretty okay," she said moving
to sit at his side. "Nothing a little rest couldn't handle."
She watched him nod, and fought the urge to run her fingers through
his hair. He seemed so lost. All she wanted to do was comfort him. A
soft muse escaped her. Tifa seemed to have a talent for making men
fuse over her like that.

"What?"
Reno asked looking at her.

She shook her
head. "It's nothing," she said lowly. As she looked into
his blue eyes, she was reminded of a certain swordsman. "Has
Cloud come in to see her?"

Reno frowned
deeply. "He looks in once a day to make sure she's still
alive," he mumbled. "I swear, he's such a shit."

Without
thinking, Yuffie wrapped her arms around him. "He's Cloud,"
she whispered.

Reno leaned
back into her embrace and sighed. It had been so long since someone
held him like this. He tangled his fingers with hers, but kept his
eyes on Tifa. "You wanna know why she stayed with me?" he
asked, knowing that Yuffie wanted to know.

She leaned her
chin on his shoulder. "It would be nice," she confessed.

A faint smirk
crossed Reno's face. He was about to let someone else in on his
little secret. "Not too many people know this, but the boss has
a little sister." He glanced over his shoulder, trying to gage
her reaction.

"You
aren't her, are you?" Yuffie asked dryly.

Reno laughed.
"No, I'm all man Baby," he said moving her hand towards his
crotch. He continued to laugh when she pulled her hand away from him.
"What? You don't wanna see?"

"I'm
going to bite you," she said with a laugh. "Tell me about
Miss Shinra."

He rolled his
eyes and took her hand again. As he settled against her again, he
sighed. "Her name's Carrie, and we dated for a couple of years."

Yuffie's
eyebrow arched. "Rufus let you date his sister?" she asked
in disbelief.

"It's not
like he didn't know what I was doing. He signed my paychecks."
He couldn't help but caress the back of Yuffie's hands. "But
after everything with Kadaj, she got tired of visiting me in the
hospital. So, she dumped me."

"Wow, the
playboy Turk gets dumped? That's inconceivable," she said playfully.

"It gets
worse," he said turning towards her. He refused to release her
hands as he looked into her eyes. "I got lonely without Carrie
nagging me all of the time."

Yuffie saw the
playful look in his yes. "No, not you," she said, matching
his teasing tone.

He nodded.
"Yeah. And since Tifa didn't have any place to go, I asked her
to stay with me."

"So she
could nag you."

Reno chuckled.
"That's what I thought," he confessed. "But she wasn't
like that. When I got in my moods and I would be a dick, she's simply
shrug it off go do her thing, and call me on it when I started to
feel bad."

Yuffie
chuckled again. "She's had a lot of practice with Cloud,"
she reasoned.

Reno mused.
"I guess so." He then reached forward and tucked her short
hair behind her ear. The last time he saw her, she wore a short boy-cut,
and now it hung down around her shoulders. "I started to think
of her as my big sister. Especially after she kicked Epy's ass."
He smiled at the summon spirit when it started to growl. "Settle
down Hell Hound. It's the truth," he said easily.

"One day
he's gonna bite you," she warned him.

He couldn't
help himself. He leaned forward and brushed his lips against her ear.
"Will you kiss it and make it better?" he asked.

Yuffie blushed
as she turned towards him. "I might bite you myself," she whispered.

He smiled as
he lips brushed against him. "Is that supposed to deter me?"
he asked tilting his head to the side.

"If
you're going to make out, do it someplace else," Cloud said roughly.

The couple
pulled away from each other and looked at the man standing in the
doorway. Reno frowned as he brought Yuffie's hand to his lips.
"It's not like you've been staying here to watch her," he
shot. He kissed the back of Yuffie's hand and turned his attention to
Tifa again.

Cloud ignored
the comment. "Has she woken up?" he asked.

"Nope."

"Do you
know where Shinra took the baby?"

"Nope."

"Are you
going to be of any help?"

"To
you?" Reno asked looking at the blonde. When Cloud frowned, he
smirked. "Nope."

Yuffie frowned
and squeezed his hand. "Reno," she said softly. "Now
really isn't the time," she whispered.

He sighed as
he looked at Yuffie. Her huge eyes were looking at him with a
pleading expression. He knew it was going to be his downfall.
"Alright, alright." He turned his attention to Cloud.
"The science department is headed by Peter Mathers and Sophia
Gast. I haven't had any real dealings with them. Sophia gave me the creeps."

Cloud's
expression darkened. "What does she look like?" he asked.

Reno shrugged.
"Blonde hair, gold eyes. She looks to be about 5'3", and 26-16-26."

Yuffie's eyes
rolled. "Did you really have to give measurements?" When he
shrugged again, she shook her head. "I give up."

Cloud ignored
the pair and focused on Tifa. She was so still and pale. It was
wrong. He lowered his head and turned to the door. "Cid said we
should be reaching the North soon."

Yuffie felt
her stomach roll as she thought about being in the air again.
"Are you going to stay here and help find Vincent?" she
asked curiously. When he simply left, she frowned. "Cloud,"
she called going after him.

Reno turned
his attention back to Tifa and sighed. "This is going to be a
long trip," he said lowly.

* * * * *

Yuffie caught
Cloud's arm and made him look at her. "Cloud, what is your
problem?" she asked.

A bitter muse
left him as he moved away from her. "Don't worry about it
Yuffie," he said about to walk away again. He stopped when she
jumped in front of his path. "Look, just go back to Reno. You
wanted to be with him anyway."

A glimpse of
understanding, as well as disbelief struck her. "Oh no,"
she snapped as he tried to move around her. "You can't have it
both ways Cloud." When he frowned at her, she continued.
"You can't hold Tifa while wanting Aeris, and you can't tell me
who I can and can't spend time with while you're still confused about Tifa."

"What's
your point?" he asked through clenched teeth.

Yuffie
released his arm and glared at him. "All of us have stood by
your side through everything. We want you to be happy, but that
doesn't mean that you can hold us to you like some little brat that
doesn't want to share his marbles."

A snort left
him. "You're calling me a brat?" he asked. "That's rich."

"It's the
truth. Otherwise, you would be helping Lucrecia look for
Vincent." She saw the way his jaw tightened and pushed on.
"He's your friend too Cloud. And he's Lucien's father. Tifa
needs him."

"Don't
you think I know that!" Cloud roared. He didn't notice the way
Yuffie jumped back, or the way the mechanics seemed to stop what they
were doing to watch them. "Don't you think I know that Tifa's
going to be crushed when she wakes up? She's going to want to know
what happened to the baby, and she won't be able to forgive herself
for not being able to stop them. I know all of that. I know I can't
be the hero she needs. But I can't go find her white knight, not when
I feel this way. It's selfish, I know, but I can't. Not when she was
supposed to wait for me."

Yuffie sighed
as she reached forward and touched his cheek. "How long was she
supposed to wait?" she asked softly. "It's been almost four
years since Aeris died. You can't ask for more than that. It's not fair."

His shoulders
fell and he stepped away from her. "I know," he said lowly.
He then turned and walked away from her.

Yuffie sighed
as she watched him go. It was heartbreaking to see him so dejected.
She wrapped her arms around herself as she turned to go back to
Tifa's room. There was nothing she could do to comfort him, and it
made her heart ache. Aeris and Tifa were both much better with
dealing with him, but now, she was given the position. "I hate
high maintenance men," she mumbled before reaching Tifa's room again.

* * * * *

Lucrecia
frowned as she looked at the leveled remains of Nibelheim. She knew
that Vincent was still here. Chaos would always react to protect
itself, and its host. There was no way the demon would allow Vincent
to die. Not after having tasted freedom only four years ago.

Jade eyes
focused on one of the mountains. She knew there was a passage to Mt.
Nibel, and the reactor. That would be where he would be. She was sure
of it. A smile crossed her face as she saw the small tunnel entrance.
It was the one secret she and Vincent shared. As she removed the
foliage surrounding the entrance, she remembered the way he would
look at her. As if he would bring her the moon if she asked for it.

As she walked
through the tunnel, she allowed her mind to wander to the past. She
wasn't in any danger. She knew that the Jenova Cells inside of her
were powerful enough to drive away any threat. She also knew that if
Chaos was in here for six months, it was more than likely he killed
any monsters that still lived here.

A small smile
crossed her face as she remembered happier times. After seeing him
once he was released from his coffin, she would have never thought
that he was once a shy and thoughtful man. She could also remember
the way he kissed her. It was just once, but it was a memory that she
would hold next to her heart for all time. Even her husband didn't
kiss her like that. As if she was the only woman on the planet. A
soft sigh escaped her as she reached a fork in the path. She was a
fool to give him up. She was a fool for allowing Hojo to trap her in
a loveless marriage, and then steal her baby.

"Oh, how
things would have been different," she whispered as she took the
path to the left. Her eyes lowered as she felt claw marks in the
stone under her fingers. "Again, maybe not," she added as
she remembered Chaos.

One of the
demonic souls she helped create. Gast injected Destruction into his
own daughter, but Hojo held onto Chaos. Waiting for the right moment
to inflict the most damage. It was her fault. She allowed her affair
with Vincent to slip out. After she refused the Mako injections, Hojo
captured her lover and tortured them both.

She shook her
head and focused on the sounds ahead of her. She could hear ragged
breathing, as well as the sounds of a bird's cry. "Vincent,"
she said carefully. She heard a vicious snarl, but continued on her
way. She wouldn't back away from him. She had done so once, and it
cost him his freedom for thirty years. "Chaos, I won't leave
him," she called as she continued forward. She saw faint traces
of light ahead, and knew she had reached the Materia cave just before
the reactor. She ran ahead, knowing that she was going toward danger,
but not caring about anything but finding Vincent.

The sight that
greeted her made her gasp. A Phoenix was perched on a lone boulder.
Its wings were folded, as if it were either hiding something, or
casting its magic. Lucrecia knew the odds were good either way.
"Vincent?" she questioned as she stepped closer.

The
fire-bird's wings opened to reveal the beast of her creation. But
what made her pause was the gaping hole in his chest. "By the
Ancient's," she breathed. "What happened to you?" As
she reached out to him, his claws lashed out at her. She inhaled
sharply. "Chaos, I want to speak to Vincent," she ordered.
When nothing happened, she stepped closer again. "Let go Chaos.
I want Vincent."

The beast
roared as its shape started to pop and contort. Lucrecia caught his
body as he fell forward. She looked at him with saddened eyes. His
body was almost completely broken, and she knew what the Summon
spirit was trying to do. She laid him on the ground and started to
work on healing him. She wouldn't fail him again. She would heal him,
return him to Tifa and aid them in finding Lucien in any way she could.

* * * * *

Peter walked
into the large lab and frowned. The drugs that they were giving the
child were accelerating his age, but Sophia seemed to be digressing.
Currently, they both were sitting on the steel floor playing with
blocks. He sighed as he went over to one of his computers. "Are
you two having fun?" he asked dryly.

Sophia beamed
as the toddler laughed. "Yes we are," she chimed. She stood
and went to Peter's side. "Lucien can sing his alphabet, do you
want to hear?"

He looked at
her, trying to remember that she wasn't a typical blonde. She really
was a genius, when she wasn't catering to that thing's every
need. He inhaled as he looked at her. "Maybe later," he
said with a nod. "Right now, I have to analyze his growth rate."

"Mommy, I
gotta go potty," Lucien said running to Sophia's side.

She nodded and
took his hand. "Let's go potty then," she said before
leading him out of the lab.

Peter rubbed
his eyes as his computer processed its information. Lucien was
growing at the rate of a year a day, and he was showing abnormally
high intelligence. Knowledge of his alphabet was not surprising. In
another two days, he could begin training whatever gifts his father
had given him. Peter just prayed to whoever would listen that Sophia
would easier to deal with once he became older.

"Uncle
Pelley, Uncle Pelley," Lucien yelled as he ran into the lab.
Round ruby eyes looked at the man that he idolized. "I can
fly," he said in an awed voice.

Peter tilted
his head to the side as he looked at the child. "Really?"
he asked, matching Lucien's tone. This was something he could watch
the child for. This had meaning to his research. As Lucien
nodded, he gently fingered the child's black feathered wings. "Do
you think you can show me?"

Lucien smiled
brightly. His fanged teeth showing in his expression. "Watch
this." He started to flap the wings on his back and laughed as
he felt his feet lift from the ground.

Brown eyes
turned to the computer for a moment. According to his read-outs, it
should have been another week before the boy should have been able to
use his wings. Before he could enter the information into his
computer, Lucien cried out in pain and Peter heard the crack of one
of the delicate wings breaking under too much pressure, too soon.
Without thinking, he lifted Lucien into his arms and carried him to
the medical table.

"Uncle
Pelley, it hurts," Lucien cried.

"I know
Lucien. Let me find something to fix it, and then I'll get you some
ice cream," he said, knowing that the child's sweet tooth would
settle his cries.

"Okay
Uncle Pelley."

He slowly
inhaled went to the far corner. He hated being called Pelley, but for
now, it couldn't be helped. He just had to fix Lucien's wing before....

"Lucien,
what happened?" Sophia gasped as she ran into the lab.
"Peter, what happened to my baby?"

Chocolate eyes
rolled. "His wing broke. There's no need to overreact," he
said dryly. He looked at Sophia and saw that she was once again
fussing over the demon child they were supposed to be experimenting
on. "I can heal it with a simple potion."

"You
can't give him a potion," she yelled. "He's just a baby!
His body can't take that."

For once,
Peter felt his own temper snap. "His body can take a hell of a
lot more than you give it credit!" he shouted. "He was
levitating three feet off of the floor. Something he should not be
able to do until he's at least ten. If you would stop thinking like a
child, and remember that you're a scientist, you would know that this
is not a normal boy."

Sophia lowered
her eyes as she ran her fingers through Lucien's hair. "I know
he's not," she said in a whisper. "I just want him to know
that he's loved. All emotions are going to have to be pushed aside
soon enough, he shouldn't think that he's just an experiment."

Peter watched
her face, hating that he had to be the bad guy with her. "If you
felt that way, we could have left him with his mother."

"Mommy?"
Lucien questioned. The woman next to him was his mommy. He didn't
have another mother. There was no way.

Sophia shook
her head as she cast a sleep spell on the child. "I am his
mother," she told Peter in a cold voice. "Tifa Lockheart,
for all intents and purposes, is dead. She didn't want him, I did."

Peter's head
tilted to the side. "How did she not want him?" he asked curiously.

"She let
him go. He fell into my arms."

"Was this
before or after she had a scythe through her?"

Gold eyes
darkened. "He's my son," she growled with a familiar
sibilant hiss. "And nothing is going to change that."

TBC...
- 6
- 7
- 8
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Someone to Love/ Someone to Protect