| 5 | Commentlog & Journal

[heroicdork]

Man, everyone seems so busy except for me! This stinks! Maybe I'll go work on that garden or whatever... ma always did say I had a green thumb!

... Hm~ Ms. Lu! Aerith! Cloud! I'll cook tonight! How about it?

Speaking of which, gotta find Cloud...

Hey, buddy! Wanna hang out a little? Man, this place sure gets you distracted with shiny, huh?

[

Comments

commentlog; inside the house; Lucrecia

[obscurae]

[ Having returned from their meeting prior, Vincent had accompanied Lucrecia back and was inside. He'd been waiting for a chance to be alone, and when Zack stepped out, he chose to make his presence known, standing quietly to a side and watching her. ]

You're upset, aren't you?

[ He wasn't one to beat around the bush, and while Zack's distraction was as obvious as Cloud's lie, he knew there were some things he needed Lucrecia to be able to clear up with him. ]

Re: commentlog; inside the house; Lucrecia

[forgivelessly]

[ Her hand jumped to her chest and she gave a quiet gasp before realization set in. It was only Vincent. She dropped her hand and stepped past him, into the kitchen, to begin making the hot chocolate that Zack and Cloud could enjoy when they were finished talking.]

Upset? What about?

[ It may have been a question, but there was a light clip to her tone; she knew exactly what he was talking about. ]

commentlog; inside the house

[obscurae]

[ Leaning against the wall near the door, he only watched her. Thirty something years back, he would have been entranced, captivated by her every move. It hadn't changed. But now, there was just something that he knew he had to maintain as an understanding. And he looked at her, watching her work, before turning his gaze to the chocolate she was making. ]

Sephiroth.

[ And he left it at that. He wasn't going to let this drag out. Not anymore. ]

commentlog; inside the house

[forgivelessly]

Sephiroth.

[ She repeated the name as if she were in a daze and must have been, as she'd yelped and jerked her hand back from the flame under the pan a second later. Never one to left work unfinished, she let her other hand tend to the ingredients as she suckled on the tip of her burnt finger, briefly.]

You told me he was dead, of course I'm upset. As any reasonable person would be.

commentlog; inside the house 1/2

[obscurae]

[ His eyes widened as he saw her hurt herself, quickly moving forward to aid her, until she spoke again. And of course, he should have rightfully been feeling guilty about what he had done, but he didn't. What good would it have done to tell Lucrecia what her son was like when they were chasing him to the Northern Crater?

Stopping a step short of her, he reached out, taking her hand in his to stop her, praying she wouldn't recoil. ]

commentlog; inside the house

[obscurae]

[ Knowing she was going to protest, he moved his other gauntlet-less but gloved hand over hers to stop her from what she was doing, before whispering something, that activated the armlet around his wrist. Materia, still glowing, he cast a small spell over where she burned herself, and drew his hands away before sighing and looking to a side. ]

Sorry.

[ Obviously meaning for grabbing her hand like that, not for lying to her, he continued speaking in a soft tone. ]

The Sephiroth you asked about... was this one. By the time you had asked... this one had long died.

[ He closed his eyes. ]

It wasn't a lie.

commentlog; inside the house

[forgivelessly]

[ When she looked at him, despite the mild edge that had previously accompanied her voice, she looked more exasperated than anything else. Her eyes drifted first to her finger and then to his face, where she suddenly placed that same hand against his cheek. ]

Don't close them.

[ Then her hand drifted away from his face as both arms encircled him and her face found itself buried into his shoulder. ] I said I was upset, I did not was I was ungrateful.

Any mother would be upset to learn that their child had passed and yet, I-- [ Her fingers tightened into the material of his cape. ] The fact brought me peace. Does that make me horrible?

commentlog; inside the house [1/2]

[obscurae]

[ Mildly surprised at her action, but not moving away, he merely stared back at her, unsure of what to do at that moment. Though he did find his cheeks coloring mildly, if he were still the man he was many years back, this may have been a golden opportunity for him.

But just as Sephiroth had died, so had he. He wasn't the Turk Vincent Valentine anymore. He was a doomed spectre, cursed to never join the Lifestream as well. ]

...

[ And then she moved, and he knew that it didn't matter. She wasn't repulsed, or angry... ]

commentlog; inside the house

[obscurae]

[ Hesitating a moment, he then relaxed, bringing an arm around her shoulder, just against her back, while his other hand came over the back of her head, as though to assure her he wasn't angry at her. His touch meaning nothing more than just an offering of solace. ]

You knew.

[ Softly spoken, he lowers his head a little, whispering as though to himself. But wanting to hold her for a little while more, he sighs and looks over her head. ]

You knew what he would be, didn't you? I don't see how it would make you horrible for being assured that your child wasn't going to bring himself pain.

commentlog; inside the house

[forgivelessly]

I saw visions. [ She began, remaining where she was, soaking up the comfort like a sponge. It was a rare moment when she would accept it without a fuss, because the last two days in particular had weighed rather heavily on her shoulders. It was then, as she continued, that her voice cracked slightly. ]

His visions. Jenova, fire, death-- Sometimes, they were so vivid that they brought me to my knees. [ But she would say no more on the matter and thus she remained silent where she stood, eyes closed, for just a little longer.

Was she forgiven?]

commentlog; inside the house

[obscurae]

...

[ He honestly was not surprised. With the injection of Jenova cells, and the fact that Sephiroth from so long ago had been able to predict his own 'calling' so to speak, to have had Lucrecia seen what she was telling him now... he wasn't surprised at all. ]

Lucrecia.

[ Keeping her close, but doing nothing more than hold her, he closed his eyes again. ]

He knows now, doesn't he? How much he believes is up to him... but now, we let things lie in fate's hands. [ Sighing softly, he held her a little more tightly. ]

To have been able to tell him what he never discovered... your part in saving him as much as you can, from becoming what he eventually will be... has been completed. Now you should have no more guilt.

I'm proud of you.

commentlog; inside the house

[forgivelessly]

[ With a gasp, she looked up at him before those cool, dark eyes welled with tears and she found herself crying before she could catch herself. It felt, then, as if a great deal of weight had been lifted from her shoulders, from those four little words.]

You--

[ Crying, yes, but she was smiling as she took a step back and tried to hide her face with her sleeves. Her tears were her own, nobody else needed to see them -- even if they were joyous ones. When she, with a final sniffle, managed to compose herself, she handed him a block of milk chocolate and hurriedly turned her back to him. ]

Mm. I imagine, by now, they're nearly done talking. We should hurry.

commentlog; inside the house

[obscurae]

[ Despite how he felt now, it still hurt him to see her cry. Surprised as he was handed the bar of chocolate, he couldn't help but smile when she turned away. Shaking his head, he set the bar aside on a plate on the counter, then grabbing a kleenex from the side, he moved so that he was standing in front of her, and this time, unhesitantly, he moved his free hand under her chin and raised her face to meet his, before he calmly touched the tissue to her cheek under her eye ]

They'll be able to tell you were crying with a face like that.

[ His voice was soft, almost gently chiding, and he looked into her eyes as he slipped his hand away from her face, offering her the kleenex. ]

Smile, Lucrecia. You look much lovelier when you do so.

[ She'd stopped smiling ever since the day he'd found out what he had... it was almost a request. He wanted those times to return, when the picnics and smiles were still common between them... ]

commentlog; inside the house

[forgivelessly]

The bar was for you to cut. [ She managed to murmur through the gentle treatment, before she accepted the kleenex in her own hand and dabbed the rest of her tears away. He was still kind even after all of these years and, for that much, she was grateful. So, it was with that in mind that she shot him a stubborn smile and made eye contact. ]

If you stand that close to the stove, your cape will burn, Mr. Valentine.

[ Leaning around him somewhat, she plucked the crimson fabric away from the burner before her smile became a bit more genuine. ] You have to be careful.

commentlog; inside the house

[obscurae]

[ Blinking at her action, wondering what just happened, he felt his smile fade just a little. If he was meant to burn in a fire, he would have long ago when Nibelheim had burned. Smiling to her, a small quiet smile, he nodded. ]

I'll try to be next time.

[ Reaching out to touch her cheek for a brief moment, he then turned around to pick up the chocolate, moving calmly to do as she asked, even as he glanced out the window. ]

Boys will be boys, I suppose...

[ Back to their own antics, he couldn't help but sigh. Cloud that idiot... he still had a long way to go, didn't he... ]