Taste Testing

By: Illusion of the Mirror

"Hmm…that smells good…" Tifa hummed in delight. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad after all. She cocked her head to the side and looked up at Vincent, who was sitting across the table from her. He raised an eyebrow and lifted his hand. In it he held a blindfold. Tifa made a face. How did she get herself into this, anyway?

Well, she knew exactly how.

Vincent had proved to her time and time again that he was, indeed, full of surprises. Tifa had found out many things about him during their growing friendship. She found out that he wasn't just a mysterious killing machine, but many other things as well. He liked to go fishing, for one thing. He also had a thing for sweets. But the thing that surprised Tifa most about Vincent was that he seemed to have a knack for gourmet cooking.

The first time he invited her over to his apartment, she was greeted not only by Vincent, but also by a wonderful smell. "Are you cooking?" Tifa had asked, shocked. Vincent gave a half smile. "Yes. Is that satisfactory?" Tifa blushed. "Uh, yeah, of course! I just didn't think…"

Vincent turned and led her into the dinning room where the table was set with a tantalizing array of scrumptious looking foods. And they were every bit as scrumptious as they had looked.

Since then, Vincent had liked to tease Tifa about the whole incident by always cooking her little dishes here and there. But tonight was a different story altogether.

Tifa had just gotten done putting the kids to bed and had plopped into a chair in the front room. She was just about to take a sip of her hot tea when there was a soft tapping on the window. She quickly turned her head to find that it was Vincent standing at the window. She smiled and looked around. She got up and walked close to the window mouthing the words 'what are you doing here.'

Vincent pointed towards the door, and then turned on his heel and stalked up to it. Tifa rolled her eyes and set down her tea. It never seemed to fail that just when she had a moment to herself, something would come up. But she couldn't say that she was unhappy to see Vincent.

She opened the door quietly. "Hi, what are you-"

Vincent put a finger to her lips. "Shh. You'll wake the children." Then he carried a bag into the kitchen and Tifa could hear him moving things around. What the heck is he doing? She followed him in and saw him produce a pot and a spoon. "You brought me food?" Tifa asked with a bit of sarcasm in her voice. Vincent chuckled a bit and turned to her. "Not just any food."

"What is it?"

"I can't tell you."

"Why not?"

"It's a secret." Vincent gave her a sneaky little smiled and tapped his fingers together in front of his nose. Tifa sighed, but she wasn't angry. She was more amused than angry. Since she had gotten to know Vincent, she had found he was not only spontaneous, but also had a devious streak. She liked that. She especially liked the fact that he was really only like that around her.

She decided to play along. "Oh, really? Are you sworn to protect it?"

Vincent leaned in close. "With my very life."

Tifa smiled a broad smile. "So, why did you bring said item here?"

Vincent raised an eyebrow and smiled a crooked smile. "I thought you might like to play a game."

A game? Tifa let out a short laugh. The thought of playing a game with Vincent was humorous. I mean, he was Mr. Gunslinger. To piss him off could mean your life. But the closer she got to him; she could see that he had a much gentler side. She also knew there were few who ever saw it.

"What kind of game?"

"A taste test." Vincent held out the spoon. "You tell me the names of the ingredients I used in this, and I'll," he thought for a moment. "I'll wash dishes in your bar for a week."

"And if I can't?"

"Well, that will be the reward in itself; knowing that I baffled you." His devious smile was back in full force. And Tifa thought it was stunning.

"Okay, Valentine, I'll take you up on your game, but don't be too overconfident!" She snatched the spoon from him and sat down in a chair.

Then Vincent pulled out the blindfold. "What, you never said I'd be blindfolded?!"

"Well, I can't have you cheating, now can I?"

Tifa sighed. It was useless to resist. It she backed out now, she wouldn't hear the end of it for a long while. Besides, she was feeling quite competitive now. She'd show Vincent that he could never outsmart her.

Vincent stepped behind her and placed the blindfold over her eyes. He then tied it behind her head. She felt him lean in close and felt his tickly whisper in her ear. "Prepare for defeat."

Tifa heard Vincent sit across from her and take the lid off the pot. The smell wafted about the room. Stew. Great. There could be a million ingredients in stew. But Tifa was up for the challenge.

Vincent took the spoon from her and then she felt the cold metal touch her lips. She opened her mouth to take a bite. Mmm…heavenly. If there was one thing Tifa liked, it was food. She savored the bite and smiled. "Basil…onion…" she thought a moment. "…pepper."

She then felt the spoon touch her lips again. She tasted another delicious bite. "Thyme…potatoes…salt, of course…" She received another taste. "Um…" she desperately tried to find what the other tastes were. "Carrots…"

She opened her mouth and waited to be bestowed with another bite, but as she sat there, Vincent held the spoon up and looked down into it. He looked up at Tifa. She was so beautiful. He was so in love with her. He took the spoon and put it in his own mouth.

"Vincent…?"

Vincent set the spoon on the table and leaned across until his face was right up close to hers. She was so very lovely…

Tifa felt soft lips gently touch hers, but even though she was surprised, she didn't pull away. Vincent's hand went up behind her neck with his thumb on her jaw and he stroked her skin gently. Then he slowly pulled away. Tifa felt herself blushing. Then she smiled wryly. "Hmm…that's a tough one…let me see…" She put up a hand and lifted the blindfold to see Vincent eyes directly in front of her own.

She smiled warmly. "Ah, now, you see, I thought I tasted a little Vincent Valentine in there."

Vincent smiled and then looked self-consciously down. Should he have done that?

He got his answer when he felt Tifa's warm lips meet his again and her hand reach up to riffle through his ebony hair. She felt his response as the kiss deepened. She felt his tongue flick out and touch her lips and she responded by parting them to let him in. But they were abruptly interrupted by a girlish giggle from the doorway.

Tifa pulled quickly away to see Marlene smiling sweetly in the doorway. She was hugging her teddy bear and had one hand over her mouth. Tifa blushed quickly threw a glance to Vincent who was also blushing.

"Tifa," Marlene said in her sweet, girlish voice, "What are you doing?"

"Um…" Tifa searched for something to say.

"We were playing a little game, Marlene," Vincent said rising from his seat and walking over to her.

She looked up at him with her huge, brown eyes. "What kind of game?"

He looked down at her with such care in his eyes that Tifa had to suppress an 'ah.'

"A tasting test." He looked at Tifa with a smoldering gaze that she had to look away from.

"Oh." Marlene looked from Vincent to Tifa. "Can I just get a glass of water?"

Tifa stood. "Sure, honey." She poured the girl a small glass of water and then looked her in the eye. "Now you go right back to sleep, okay? You have school in the morning." Marlene nodded and padded off up the stairs, leaving Tifa and Vincent alone in the kitchen once more.

The silence was awkward, but then Tifa laughed softly.

"What?" Vincent asked with a curious look on his face.

She looked up into his eyes and strode across the kitchen to him. She stood right in front of him and put a hand on his shoulder. "I won," she said triumphantly.

Vincent broke into a smile. "I suppose you did." Then he leaned down to claim her lips once more.

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