Tifa was fairly sure within two bites that Lily made the best banana bread on the continent. Not too dry or crumbly, not too moist; and warm with butter on it...this was a reason to live all by itself.

Vincent seemed to agree. Polished off three pieces from the plate in minutes, and when Tifa got up to get herself a glass of water he lifted the empty plate in wordless supplication, still chewing the last morsel in his mouth.

A little hungry, Tifa guessed, and took the plate from him.

"Thank you," he murmured and shifted his weight onto his elbow before straightening his cards.

Lily made it look so easy. Told him to stay put, not to get up, to let people who *could* do things for him. Threatened to shoot him again if he so much as stepped on a noisy floorboard, because she would be listening. And he was so far obeying, and with not so much as one grudging look.

Though she supposed she would be happy to do just about anything, too, for a woman who could bake banana bread this perfectly.

She'd come back into the apartment, only an hour or so ago now, cloth and antiseptic in hand, expecting to see things as they had been before: Vincent on the floor and not looking at anything in particular, Lily beside him and bristling with barely concealed anger. But that had not been the case. Lily smirking, Vincent expressionless as always, but no longer sitting so stiffly; the undeniable impression that the world had been remade while she'd been away. And then, while Tifa had looked on in surprise, Lily had simply and carefully cured Vincent's wounds, wrapped him up again, and gone back downstairs without a word to get some gil and her cards. No explanation.

And Tifa hadn't ask for one. They'd just played poker on the floor, a sudden return to that fairly easy atmosphere she'd almost come to covet, and she'd been loathe to break it for any reason.

But now Lily had gone to do some laundry. Vincent seemed content, though, to keep playing. Back in rare form, she'd only won a couple of hands against him. And at times she was sure she'd seen his lips twitch with the hint of a smile as he'd soundly thrashed her again and again, taking more and more of Lily's gil in lieu of her first cheque from Mr. Fallowfield.

Enjoying himself at least, she thought with a smile as she carefully cut up the rest of the loaf and generously buttered each slice. He almost seemed to have forgotten his injuries. She poured herself some water and then made her way back over to her spot on the floor. And once she'd set the cup and plate down beside them she stretched out on her stomach and picked up her hand again.

First things first, she couldn't help thinking as Vincent reached for another slice of bread. And then he pushed four gil into the growing pile with the back of his metal hand, making sure to keep his cards concealed, before taking a bite.

Bluffing or not bluffing? He was making it very difficult to tell, somehow. She frowned a little to herself and glanced over her three jacks. Not a great hand, but it would still beat a bluff. She'd backed out last time, but for this hand she was in. She met his four and raised him four more.

Vincent met her eight without a pause. And Tifa knew if she lost this one she would either have to quit or starting writing him I.O.U's. Decisively, she called and took a breath. "Okay, show me what you have."

This time she was sure she saw a smirk as he lowered his cards. Three nines and two fives. Not high cards, but a full house beat just about everything. With a scoff she dropped her hand and pushed herself into a sitting position. "Okay, that's it. I'm out. Here, take it all." She pushed the pile toward him and almost wanted to knock some of it away as he unapologetically scooped the gil out of the pot. "I can see why Lily gets so worked up now, losing to you."

He merely raised an eyebrow as he began to collect the cards together. "If you can't stand the heat..."

She'd heard him say that a couple of times to Lily, but it sounded different directed at her, and she couldn't help a rueful smile. Most of the times they'd played before this, he'd almost gone on as if she wasn't there, except for the occasional glance in her direction. Now, she felt sort of involved. Like that first tentative conversation on his couch. A kind of acceptance, and she found she was sort of hungry for it. It felt good to have earned *something* from him, a man who seemed sort of inclined to ignore most everyone around him.

He was shuffling quickly, something she'd watched him do numbers of times now, but still with some fascination at the way he used his metal fingers, as deftly as if they were flesh ones. And she pursed her lips, trying to think of something to say. Communication still did not come easily, and she admitted to herself that she still wasn't really sure if Vincent liked having to talk at all. But she'd been told to do what she wanted. She cleared her throat a little. "So, are you heading back to Kalm later?"

He glanced up at her without ceasing the movements of his hands. And then dropped his eyes. "No."

She'd hoped as much. But as Vincent continued to shuffle with his gaze focused downward, she began to feel badly about how she'd phrased the question. As if she might've been trying to get him to confess that she'd been right. And that wasn't what she'd intended. She frowned to herself for a moment, and then ploughed ahead through her hesitation. "Sorry if that sounded like an 'I told you so'. I didn't mean it like that."

He glanced up again and after a second twitched his shoulders in a partial shrug. Lowered his eyes and continued shuffling. And then surprised her with a small sigh, as if he was about to speak.

"Thank you. For convincing me to return."

Quiet, but genuine, she thought. As much as maybe he didn't want to be saying it. And then he put the cards down on the carpet and carefully rolled onto his back.

Tifa took a sip of her water and watched him for a moment. "Are things okay now, between you and Lily?"

It was a moment before he gave a slight nod, almost as if to himself. A long silence followed. Eventually, Tifa put her cup down and reached for the cards. Shuffled them once, loosely, and then began laying out a game of solitaire. Glanced once in a while at Vincent. And after a few minutes she ventured a question.

"Are you all right? Do you need anything?"

He shook his head a little. And then gave another sigh. "I think I'm going to go into my room."

Tifa nodded and almost got to her feet. But then thought better of it and simply asked, "Do you want some help?"

He shook his head again and slowly began to pull himself upright, brushing the blanket aside. On one knee with a hand on the arm of the couch, he glanced at her again. "Just don't tell Lily I was doing this myself."

Tifa smiled and crossed her heart. "Our secret."

He nodded and gave a small grunt as he stood. And then made his way into his room and closed the door.

And, not feeling any real need to be anywhere else, Tifa stayed in his living room and continued to play solitaire.

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